Hendrix in London

cheap haircuts!

2007-11-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

If you still need a haircut and are feeling brave, you can get a cheap haircut from a student at the Vidal Sassoon Academy. Call 02072406635. I have an appointment for Tuesday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Oliver Sacks! Live, 100 yards away!

2007-11-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

Hey, all. Author/neurologist/Briton-turned-American Oliver Sacks will be live, in the flesh, at Waterstones Bookstore next Wednesday evening the 21st. (6:30 p.m. as I recall). If you saw the movie Awakenings, Robin Williams plays Dr. Oliver Sacks. I think Sacks will be talking about (and signing copies of) his new book, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Tickets are 5 pounds.

Doonesbury

2007-11-11T01:22:00.000-08:00

Check out today's (Sunday's) Doonesbury.

Diversity Week

2007-11-09T02:09:00.000-08:00

There are some good events at Bloomsbury Diversity Week, which will be next week (Nov 12-16).

Thanksgiving

2007-11-09T01:58:00.000-08:00

We are planning on having Thanksgiving dinner/sort of potluck here on Thanksgiving Day, November 22. We'll provide a turkey and pumpkin pies, but I'll need a good count of who is interested. Would you please send Wayne or me an email if you are planning to come and also let me know if you can bring anything (potatoes, a salad, some bread, stuffing, etc.) so I can plan.

Dinner will be at 6. Hope you can make it.

Lord Mayor's Show

2007-11-09T01:51:00.000-08:00

This Saturday is the Lord Mayor's Show - it includes a parade in which you can see the coach that's only brought out once a year (normally on display at the Museum of London, but it's in the part that's currently closed), bands, floats, etc. At 5 p.m. there are fireworks on the Thames.

Trusted Places

2007-10-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

Hey, all. I just ran across a scrap of paper advertising www.trustedplaces.com, a great site to find exactly the kind of restaurant you're looking for -- including everything from Afghan to Welsh. (Mexican/TexMex is on the list!) Happy eating!

Bloomsbury Festival Oct 19-21

2007-10-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone has safe travels!

When you get back, check out the Bloomsbury Festival (www.bloomsburyfestival.org). Lots of activities, music, etc. with themed routes through the neighborhood.

Free cookbook

2007-10-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

If you buy the Guardian in the ULU today (Monday) there's a free cookbook for students. If you don't make it time and want to borrow our copy, come and get it.

Check It:

2007-10-05T01:23:00.001-07:00

My sister sent me this, it's a story about a restaurant in Soho. Link here.

Freshers Fayre Friday

2007-10-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Here's the link to the Freshers' Fayre on Friday at the ULU. You can see what groups will be there and what goodies will be given away. http://www.ulu.co.uk/fayre/

Free lunchtime lectures across the street

2007-10-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

Practical information
Time and location: 1.15–1.55pm, Darwin Lecture Theatre, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT. Map to Darwin Lecture Theatre.
Admission: Free without a ticket. No need to book. Open to staff, students and the general public.
Contact: UCL Events Team +44 (0)20 7679 7675

Refreshments: On sale outside the lecture theatre, or bring your own.

Thursday 11 October Lousy Tale of the Naked Ape
Professor Robin Weiss (UCL Immunology & Molecular Pathology)
Although human DNA is 98 per cent similar to that of the chimpanzee, the infections we catch are 80 per cent different. Most are new acquisitions that we have picked up as humans spread across the world. In fact, pandemic infections like smallpox and influenza only date from the last 12,000 years or so after we formed settled farming communities and later developed large colonies known as cities. Does the history of infectious diseases help to predict future epidemics?

Tuesday 16 October 2007 Science in an Age of Delusions: Some Examples from Scientific Fraud, Quackery, Religion and University Politics
Professor David Colquhoun (UCL Pharmacology)We have seen a progressive erosion of the enlightenment values which form the very basis of science. The fashion for delusional thinking is already widespread among the general public and politicians. It has penetrated even into universities as power inexorably moves from academics to managers. Francis Wheen has suggested that this step backward towards the dark ages started to become fashionable in about 1979. The more interesting question is, when will it end?

Thursday 18 October 2007 Physical Fitness: Population Trends and Why They Matter
Professor Bruce Lynn (UCL Physiology)
Fitness, particularly aerobic endurance fitness, is an excellent predictor of future health. As a population, are we getting less fit as we get more fat? The information we have indicates that this is the case, but the data are fragmentary. How easy would it be to hold a regular national fitness survey? I will discuss how this could inform national fitness targets, shed light on the true state of the nation’s fitness and change our behaviour.

Tuesday 23 October 2007 How Russia Really Works
Dr Alena Ledeneva (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies)
In a 1939 broadcast, Churchill told his audience: “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Communism has long gone but is Russia becoming more transparent? My recent book ‘How Russia Really Works’ presents a new approach to answering this question. Rather than looking at what does not work in Russia and why, I concentrate on what does work and how. By analysing post-Soviet politics and business from the perspective of informal practices, I discover rarely visible forms of activity and dispel a number of commonly held stereotypes about corruption and illegality.

Thursday 25 October 2007 Sound Effects in Homer
Dr Stephen Instone (UCL Greek & Latin)
Homer was an oral poet. When he sang the ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ he relied on his memory rather than a written text. This method of producing poetry explains some features of Homeric epic, such as repetition, alliteration and metrical patterns. But does it mean that Homer never accommodates sound to sense in the way Virgil does – using fast-moving patterns to imitate speed, repetition of ‘s’ for hissing snakes, and so on? Scholars disagree on the extent to which Homer consciously strove to create with his words and rhythms sound effects relevant to the sense. This lecture, drawing on Homer’s Greek and English translations, will explore the issue.

Tuesday 30 October 2007 Symmetry and the Monster
Professor Mark Ronan (UCL Mathematics)
On 30 May 1830 a young Frenchman named Évariste Galois lay dying in a field outside Paris, fatally wounded in a duel. The previous night, he had written a letter he knew would be his last, summarising his mathematical work. Galois was just 20, but his use of symmetry to study equations has made him immortal. He started something that eventually led to the basic building blocks of symmetry. The quest to find them all produced a beautiful and mysterious object that lives in 196,884 dimensions, and may be connected with the very fabric of our universe. It is called the Monster.

Thursday 1 November 2007 Victims or Saviours – Can Plants Protect Us Against Global Warming?
Dr Astrid Wingler (UCL Biology)
Plants produce the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. By assimilating carbon dioxide, they dampen the current rise in carbon dioxide concentration and thereby global warming. To predict future changes, it is important to investigate how plants are affected by elevated carbon dioxide concentrations and by increased temperatures. Can enhanced plant growth counteract global warming or will global warming lead to the extinction of plant species? Can we offset our carbon emissions by planting trees or is it better to invest in new technologies for the production of biofuels? These and similar questions will be addressed in the lecture.

Tuesday 13 November 2007 The ‘Steam Intellect Society’ and the Founders of UCL
Professor Rosemary Ashton (UCL English Language & Literature)
The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, caricatured as the ‘Steam Intellect Society’ in Thomas Love Peacock’s comic novel ‘Crotchet Castle’ (1831), was founded in 1826 by Henry Brougham and a group of influential Whig and radical friends. Many of the group were involved in establishing UCL at the same time, among them James Mill, Zachary Macaulay, Lord John Russell and George Birkbeck. The Society exploited contemporary advances in printing technology and distribution to publish cheap, entertaining, informative works for the masses. How successful was it in its aims? What further connections are there to early UCL?

Thursday 15 November 2007 Creation and Evolution in the Universe: from the Vast Simplicity of Pure Energy to the Tiny Complexity of the Human Brain
Dr Francisco Diego (UCL Physics & Astronomy)
How old is the universe? Is there an eternal creator? The human mind has always faced the deep mysteries of existence, from primitive myths and religious beliefs to the discoveries of modern science. The universe appears to be evolving from a distant primordial event. The broad perspective of a linear timeline illustrates how vital that seemingly eternal evolution was to the universe’s development of its most complex structure: a bio-chemical organism that – despite its physical insignificance – has been able to show awareness and emotions, and to question and explore the very universe that created it.

Tuesday 20 November 2007 Too Many Men – a Time Bomb for China?
Dr Therese Hesketh (UCL Institute of Child Health)
A combination of traditional preference for male offspring, easy access to sex-selective technologies and the One Child Policy has led to abnormal sex ratios in China. Over the next 20 years it is estimated that 12–15 per cent of all young men in mainland China will remain single and will be unable to have families. The overwhelming majority of them will be of low socio-economic class. This talk will discuss the impact of this phenomenon. It will emphasise concerns about the marginalisation of these young men in society, leading to antisocial behaviour and violence, and threatening societal stability and security.

Thursday 22 November 2007 Using People’s Names to Infer Their Origins – Implications for Academia, Government and Commerce
Professor Richard Webber (UCL Geography)
Passing a list of names through an expert system, one can now establish the ancestral origins of their bearers, often right down to specific towns. Coding names on telephone files and electoral registers by their origins reveals interesting insights on migration patterns both within and between countries. By coding the names of their service users, government organisations now monitor the effectiveness of their diversity policies and businesses establish which minorities buy which products and services. This lecture summarises the methods used to infer origins from names and presents eye-opening research findings.

Tuesday 27 November 2007 Fair Health: Health Inequities Within and Between Countries – A Global Challenge
Professor Sir Michael Marmot (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health)
The 20th century has seen impressive gains in health and life expectancy in many parts of the world – but these improvements are unequally distributed. In every country, poor people and those from socially disadvantaged groups get sicker and die sooner than people in more privileged social positions. Not only is there a gap in health between the best-off and the worst-off in society, there is a gradient in health running between them. This gradient can be linked clearly to social and economic conditions. The Commission on Social Determinants of Health was set up by the World Health Organisation to collate global evidence, raise societal debate and recommend policies with the goal of improving the health of the world’s most vulnerable people. This lecture will review the compelling case for action.

Thursday 29 November 2007 How the Zebra Got Its Stripes – Getting to the Heart of Pattern Formation
Dr Andrea Sella (UCL Chemistry)
To a chemist, one of the many intriguing features of biology is the exquisite ability of biological systems to control pattern formation – from the stripes on the side of a zebra to the feathers of birds – and the extraordinary silicate architectures of diatoms, biological systems display spectacular examples of structural control across a wide range of scales. To do this, organisms have harnessed chemical processes in a remarkable way. In this lecture, I will use a number of chemical reactions to illustrate these ideas. If all goes well, we may even bring an inorganic system to life. No mention will be made of the periodic table and no chemical background is necessary.

Tuesday 4 December 2007 Law and the Millennium Development Goals: Like Water in Marriage?
Professor William Twining (UCL Laws)
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are an important part of the campaign “to make poverty history”. What has law to do with this, except perhaps to serve as a brake on development? What can law contribute to universal primary education, infant mortality, clean water, or adult literacy? At first sight, not much. This lecture will examine obvious and not-so-obvious ways in which law may assist or frustrate the MDGs with special reference to poverty reduction strategies in Uganda and Tanzania.

Late at Tate Britain

2007-10-03T10:23:00.001-07:00

Hey! Apparently, the first Friday of every month Tate Britain stays open late! It's open 6-10 p.m., with the last entry to exhibitions at 9 p.m.

The website says you can "Relax with a drink and enjoy exhibitions, performances, music, talks and films on the first Friday of each month."

All events at Late at Tate Britain are free, and exhibition entry is half price (no concessions).

This month's edition of Late at Tate Britian has the theme AGITATE, to "commemorate the 1807 abolition of the slave trade, and celebrate the power of radical speech."

"Join us for thought-provoking discussions of works in the Collection, make a selection from the Human Rights Jukebox, or design your own slogan T-shirt, plus film screenings and an eclectic mix of music."

Sounds fun!

Back in Little Rock . . . .

2007-09-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

This month is the 50th anniversary of the beginning of desegregation of Little Rock Schools. Vanity Fair has a profile of Elizabeth Eckford at http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/09/littlerock200709?currentPage=1. Other good coverage is available at www.arktimes.com.

Fall Break Tips

2007-09-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hey, all. I actually have another blog at http://www.europeanodyssey.wordpress.com/. I assembled two big posts recently -- one of packing tips I learned while I was traveling, another of reviews of the hostels I stayed in. You might find them helpful.

The two biggest tips tips:

- If you get bored easily, listen well, and have an iPod, consider getting an audiobook or two from Audible.com. That way, you don't have any extra weight or bulk in your pack, but you're still entertained on long train rides.

- Think ahead about washing your clothes. Laundromats are very rare in Europe, especially Spain. Lots of hostels have laundry facilities, though. Just plan ahead to stay in at least one hostel with a washing machine during the fall break trip. To make sure you find one, you can do a specialized search on Hostelworld.com: On the “Book Your Bed” panel, click “Additional Search Options” and then “More Facilities.” Select "Laundry."

My tips post also a recipe for homemade wrinkle-remover spray. Is there anything more important to the young traveler? Haha.

Thames Festival

2007-09-16T04:59:00.000-07:00

Just in case you are looking for something fun on Sunday, the Thames Festival continues today. Think Riverfest on steroids. The grand finale is the Night Carnival/parade tonight, followed by fireworks. For more information, go to www.thamesfestival.org.
Diane

Open House London

2007-09-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest events this weekend is Open House London – an opportunity to get inside many buildings normally closed to the public. The online guide is £3 at www.openhouse.org.uk, but if you would like to take a look at it, come by our flat. Most buildings, walks, and tours (there are 660!) are free.

There’s a special exhibit at the Soane Museum – if you want to read about it, feel free to borrow our Time Out. There’s also a review of the First Emperor exhibit at the British Museum (for which over 101,000 tickets have already been sold!). It’s a little pricey (£12), but gets a good review. It’s also your only chance to get inside the truly wonderful reading room in the center of the indoor courtyard. It’s open the entire time we’re here.

Potluck will be at 6 on Monday in our flat. All are welcome – if you don’t cook, bring a drink or some bread or something that just needs to be heated up – Tesco and Sainsbury have lots of good and fairly inexpensive stuff! Tesco has pizzas on 2 for 1 this week, and that good sparkling peach water 3 for 1.14, I think. Tesco also has a good markdown section just before the produce. There are some bargains there.

Hope you have a great weekend!

British Library

2007-09-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

After people had trouble finding the boat races, and after we never did find the Bloomsbury walk, I hereby swear to check every event with the original source before posting it. No more relying on Time Out!

On the bright side, it gave us time to go to the British Library today, and there's a fantastic exhibit on sacred texts of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Go to http://www.bl.uk/sacred for more information. You need a ticket, but it's free. Last day is September 23. Be sure to also go to their standing exhibition where you can see the Magna Carta, Shakespeare's First Folio, and listen to a Beatle's song while looking at the original composition.

Potluck Monday night at 6 at our flat. It doesn't have to be culinary genius - something from the "ready to cook" section at Tesco's is great! Salad, bread, and drinks are also easy contributions.

There's another American prof in town looking for a babysitter. If you're interested, let me know and I'll get you her number. Her daughter is 6, turning 7 this month.

Hope you have a great week!

Top 10 Free (or Super-Cheap) Things to Do in London

2007-09-08T01:41:00.001-07:00

St. Christopher's Hostels have a newsletter, and this week it focused on -- ::heavenly choir of angels sings:: -- saving money in London! Most of the tips are weekly free events, but these four are time sensitive:

3. A Taste Of Bhangra

Check out the Brunei Gallery at the School of Oriental and African Studies in Russell Square. (We walked past this with Susie -- it's on Thornhaugh Street.) The current exhibition is called From Soho Road to the Punjab and it covers 50 years of Bhangra music, culture and style in the UK. It's free, showing until September 21, 2007.

4. A Good Read With Amnesty International
Amnesty International is hosting a free City and Tower Hamlets Festival. Head down to Christchurch Gardens in East London on September 16, 2007. Between 1pm and 5pm they will be selling books, donated to Amnesty International by newspapers who receive them for free (to reviews). This means the books are brand new, published recently and priced competitively! There are also CDs and food for sale and live music. You'll find the gardens on Commercial Street, opposite Spitalfields Market.

5. There's Something A Little Bit Fishy About This
Not everyone is fan of fish but if you happen to love those healthy oils and don't mind the smell then you should definitely take yourself to London's 2007 Festival of Fish. Like all the best things in life, it's free! When you arrive at the south bank of the Thames via London Bridge, simply follow you nose to the Hay's Galleria. Here you will find some of the best fish and seafood from around the world. Significantly the dates of the event mark the start of the 2007 native oyster season so we're crossing our fingers for some free samples, on September 7, 8 and 9. There's also wine, champagne, Guinness, street entertainers, face painters and a live Caribbean steel band thrown into the mix. Click here for the gritty details.

7. Free theatre with The Scoop at London Bridge
Just down the road from the Hay's Galleria, on Borough High Street, you'll find the More London venue, next to the Lord Mayor's building. This is the back end of the More London Free Festival and the organisers are celebrating this with six weeks of free theatre. It's only running until September 9 but you can still catch some great performances of The Grapes of Wrath and Disney's Jungle Book. Be warned though, these dramatisations about the depression in America and the musical stylings of Mowgli are immensely popular and the free places are allocated on a first come, first serve basis. They play every Wednesday to Sunday.

You can access the rest of the tips, which all seem pretty promising, here. Enjoy!

More free books!

2007-09-08T01:15:00.000-07:00

These are in Wayne & Diane’s room:

William Shakespeare The Great Comedies and Tragedies
Macbeth (2)
King Lear (2)
Love’s Labor’s Lost
World War One British Poets (2)
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

And, for just pleasure reading, Texas Monthly (August).

A Visitor's Britain

2007-09-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

There are a number of copies of A Visitor's Britain (for Susie's class) in the lounge in the basement of Janet Poole, and also one in the bookshelve by the stairs to the basement. I think these copies can be borrowed, and Susie has said we should go ahead and grab ourselves one if that's the case.

Free stuff this weekend

2007-09-07T01:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks, everyone, for coming to the reception. We really enjoyed having you! I've invited all of you to be authors on this blog, so anyone can post.

Here's some free stuff this weekend:

World Press Photo Exhibition, Royal Festival Hall, Belvedere Road (Waterloo tube). 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. daily through Sunday. The best of photojournalism from the past year.

Exploring Bloomsbury's Historic Squares. Sunday 2 p.m. Meet at the Euston Road north exit of the King's Cross St. Pancras tube. From JPH, go left on Gower. At Euston, use the tube station to cut under Euston Rd. (you're not getting on the tube!), then go east on Euston (this is turning left as you come out of the station). Walk past the British Library, then look for the King's Cross St. Pancras tube. King's Cross and St. Pancras are both enormous train stations right next to each other. We're planning on going, so if you want to go with us meet in our flat at 1:30.

While you’re there, the British Library has a wonderful gallery, with items including a Gutenberg Bible, the Magna Carta, and the original Alice in Wonderland. They have a fun thing called “Turning the Pages,” that allows you to look at more pages of historical texts than the one that happens to be open in the exhibit. Notice, too, the statue of Isaac Newton in the courtyard. Not that you could miss it.

Another free exhibition is the London Wall Project at the Spitz Gallery in Old Spitalfields Market. It runs through September 24 and includes “personal aspects of public celebrations.” Sounds interesting. Also, the Great River Race on the Thames is 12:55-4:10 on Saturday.

There are tons of other listings in TimeOut!

By the way, have you noticed that the wallpaper on this blog is nearly identical to the upholstery on our couch?

Welcome to the Hendrix in London blog!

2007-09-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

We thought this might be a good way to share things we've learned. If you have things to add, post comments or email them to Diane. Watch here, too, for announcements from Wayne.

Great websites for getting around:

Central London bus map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/centlond.pdf

Transport for London's web site: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/. This lets you put in a starting and ending address and find the best route. It will even tell you if you're better off walking! Plus it has announcements about the tube strike.

Know you saw a shop but can't remember the name? Try http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/. It lets you see what shops are on a road via a picture of the streetscape. Here's an example from Tottenham Court Road: http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/tottcrt/tcr_w1.htm.

Deals of the week:

Buy Time Out this week - it has a 2 for 1 coupon for dinner at Wagamama, meaning 2 can eat a great dinner for less than 10 pounds (through 9/11). The closest Wagamama is on Streatham, left off Gower just past Great Russell Street. By the way, Time Out is available for a discount at the ULU (2.10 instead of the cover price of 2.80).

Sainsbury has ready-to-bake pizzas (cheese, pepperoni, ham & pineapple) on for less than 1.70. They're decent, not great.

Upcoming deals:

Use a Post Office phone card for 15 pence calls (unlimited time) to the States on Sundays in October! Go to the Post Office to get a card and for more details.

Reminders:

Get your Oyster card if you haven't already. It allows you to travel for half price, and will never exceed the cost of a daily pass (3 pounds on the bus, more on the tube).

The welcome reception is at 5 Thursday in our room.

The first potluck (purely optional!) will be Monday at 5:30 in our room.