Day 9 (Jan. 21): Blowing up the ranch

ANSWER: In 1955, Martin Luther King Jr. got a Ph.D from Boston University in this, the study of religion.

- Day 9 - 

I woke up rather late today. Around 10 or something like that. After getting ready and shuffling down the stairs, I once again found myself triumphant in beating Alex out of bed. I began to research everything, as I noticed that today was January 21. Since my audience will be dominantly American/cultured, I will just blankly state that it was a rather significant day for a few reasons. Notably, January 21 is Martin Luther King Day AND the Presidential Inauguration. I got a kick out of these two things combating each other for recognition if just because Obama's re-election (which I was in favor of) is brilliant symbolism to how far Martin Luther King Jr. had gone in his existence. 

However, I didn't notice it until BBC was on and suddenly they announce that they will be doing coverage of the event. It began to hit me. This may be the first inauguration that I have just straight up missed since the 90's. While I fail to find interest in being political, I do feel that there are some requirements in being a proud citizen. One is caring enough about the inaugural speeches. 

I remember in 2009 during my second semester of college. I had an 8 AM class. I am convinced that the teacher was blitzed out of his mind in some form or another. It wasn't long into the semester and he was already just the gawky guy who I felt people took thinking that he was going to be an easy pass. Jump just a few weeks, he mysteriously was replaced by a substitute that eventually became our teacher (and going further, was willing to help me out because she shopped at my store). 

So, on January 20, 2009, we were sitting in the classroom and suddenly the teacher just began talking about the significance of the inauguration. He let us out literally 15 minutes into the class to go out and just experience the inauguration. That was his suggestion to why class was very short. No lie. I immediately went to my car within two minutes, turned on the radio, and they were halfway through the ceremony and 10 minutes away from his inaugural speech. I should have been more aware in the first place, but it was still amusing that he hyped it so much and it was almost already over. As of now, I haven't heard or seen anything from the coverage. If you have any leads of what to look for, please let me know.

As you may have also gotten wind of yesterday, the inauguration brought out the nostalgic side of me. Remembering America as this bright spot on my dark post-high school period. To some extent that was brought up because it was that day and also because there is still some disbelief of being in England (even still, it is like "this is unbelievably cool. How did I get here?"). Also, Alex tends to have fascinating stories and all I have is two years of trying to get back on track mixed with pseudo depression (mind you, I am referencing 2009-2011 roughly). Also, none of the people that I knew were quite as interesting or involved in my life as the people that Alex references.

The other big reason that January 21 was significant was because today was the day that we would finally see Django Unchained. This is easily the only film that I assumed that we would pay to see during this whole trip. In an odd turn of events, it was actually Viv who suggested it, as we are planning a trip to Cirque Du Soleil in London on Wednesday, which was the originally planned day. Just like that, the day was booked.

We grabbed a lunch at the Standard. Up until now, culture shock hasn't necessarily been a perfect word for anything that has happened. I have just accepted that some places don't have Dr. Pepper and others don't have refills. Simple things like that don't bother me. Oddly enough, I experienced the peak of my culture shock in five minutes at the Standard on that day. First came when I asked the waiter for ranch dressing, and I swear he gave me a look that shouted "GET OUT!" but in a polite way. The other is that Adam Ant in the Thin Blue Line is not Errol Morris' the Thin Blue Line. The radio lead me to believe that Adam Ant was somehow involved in a murder mystery until Alex cleared it up. Maybe it is the cinephile in me, but the Thin Blue Line will always be first and foremost referenced as a documentary before a TV show exists.

We just sat around talking about our lives. Alex explained to me the significance of the rave scene that has puzzled me for most of the trip. I mean, it is great in Trainspotting, but it seemed to be more than a junkie's gimmick in the time that I was out there. It is because of the musical influence. We also talked about troubled friends and Alex thoroughly made me understand why Jay and Silent Bob Get Old is worth giving another shot. There are just those friends in your life that you want to help out. I get it. I guess the problem right now is that the episode releases are too inconsistent. 

In closing, the burger had a chilli meat flavor going on. It was fine, but Alex assured me that it was because it was made from a certain healthy breed of cows and made from scratch in the kitchen. Also, the infamous dog that sleeps by the fire kept bugging us during our meal. It was great, if just because I finally got to see the appeal of a dog in a pub. However, it still feels weird that the dog pretty much surveys the place like he's the boss.

We finally left the house in the early afternoon and caught the train to Hastings. I decided to be quaint and listen to a podcast called The Treatment (host Elvis Mitchell probably will be remembered by me for his interview with Joaquin Phoenix in Interview Magazine where Phoenix says that "The Oscars are bullshit." I kind of love Phoenix more just because he is honest, and no, he wasn't strictly referencing the Oscars, but the campaigning process, which fortunately paid off). There was an interview with Quentin Tarantino about his new flick, and he also discussed the significance of food in his movies. I truthfully didn't notice it, but it is quite effective. However, if you want to hear a really twisted interview, listen to his most recent Fresh Air interview in which he says that he can relate to blacks because he grew up in a multi-racial neighborhood. I am fine with it up until his belief that it somehow makes it okay for him to write in a very black way. I have yet to look at Tarantino the same way since.

We made it to the theater in Hastings and everything was gravy. We had about five minutes to kill before the film started. After hearing "Tonight" from West Side Story on the speakers in the lobby, I was in a good mood (notably because yes, West Side Story is factually the best musical film adaptation ever). Alex and I sat around in the theater discussing our opinions on Tarantino. Up until this point, I had no idea what his thoughts were. Alex finds him to sometimes be too compulsive and has too much unnecessary stuff going on. I don't know, but as my review that will come will show, I think that he has reached his peak and needs to be controlled somehow. It really has the same things going for it that pissed me off with Heaven's Gate and that goddamn fucking stupid opening 30 minutes at the college scene. 

I am trying not sound pretentious with what I am about to say. In fact, I am not an expert on western films. I have taken a class and maybe have seen 20 over the course of five months. I understand the basics, sure, but that doesn't mean that I can tell you every single aspect worth mentioning. In fact, I forgot to look for that Shane moment in Django Unchained. I just worry that my broad overview of westerns and my enthusiasm for Sergio Leone's early work isn't keeping me from seeing the bigger picture.

Let us get down to the basics. The first 80 minutes is excellent. He honestly feels like he crafted a great revisionist film. Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx are badasses in a fresh way. The pace is moving and while it feels more slapdash than his other films, this feels like a true western, but with a spice of Tarantino. To be broad without spoilers: everything before Calvin Candie feels like a true western. There is the sense that Django is out for revenge and he is doing it well. It flips the genre on its head, but still manages to pay homage.

Everything post Calvin Candie is troublesome. I will admit that the idea of rescuing his girlfriend is a necessary element. However, the second half IS NOT A WESTERN! It is indulgent and is just an excuse for Tarantino to give his patented long conversations that feel more bogus this time and come across like "Hey, I read 'the Three Musketeers.' Look at me!" I know it is wrong to hate on a film just because it isn't entirely a western, but even then, there are two films here that just don't mesh well. You have the first half, which is a slapdash heroic fantasy and the second, which is a negotiation film that could be summed up in under a half hour as opposed to almost what feels triple that. If they had edited it down, I would feel like maybe this film could maintain its western credibility.

Using Ennio Morricone scores and shoving Franco Nero in for a cameo was nice, but the western take just fell apart in order to try and add more significance to the romance than what was essentially needed. Like I said, it was necessary, but it felt heavily bloated and tried to show Tarantino style, as done through the eyes of slavery. The humorous first half was ruined by the second half, which really had too much going on and didn't serve much of a purpose in advancing the plot. The whole mandingo thing was nice, but it went nowhere. This is oddly the first time that I can honestly say that I probably was bored during a Tarantino film upon first viewing. 

It was also grating that it was trying too hard to be cutting edge. It addressed racism rather nonchalantly, but otherwise, was completely overblown. Also, the music cuts were poorly used. Even the Rick Ross song, as anachronistic and pointless as I found it on the CD, didn't boost the momentum of the scene. There isn't that much of the "reinventing a song's purpose" going on with this soundtrack. I don't think any old song will be referenced to as "that song from Django Unchained." I pray that this gets people to watch Django, though.

On a side note, Christoph Waltz is great and more deserving of that Oscar than Leonardo DiCaprio. Also, I LOVED the Duck You Sucker reference. I even kept myself from ignoring the film by noticing where all of the tropes fit in. Congrats, he hit almost every mark.

After an unceremonious ride back on the train set to the Auteurcast's episode on Se7en, we walked to the house. Chris and Viv told us that they might be out. However, it never clicked with anyone to give us the keys. We ended up sitting at the pub across the street, the Queen's Head, in which we chatted with the barman about the movie. Another odd moment is that Alex not only used a lot of cursing, but felt no need to hold back using the word nigger when referencing dialogue from the film. While I admire the need to quote sources properly, America has wussed me to just call it the n-word. I don't even try to say it because of reverence for a time passed that seems to be best summed up in Minor Threat's "Guilty of Being White" song. Yeah, I try to avoid being racist at most costs, but you know, that also involves respecting the right not to use certain words.

We also discussed fantasy film team-ups. It started with Kubrick and Hitchcock and quickly evolved into other selections. This immediately got derailed by talk of how shitty Sucker Punch was and if Guy Ritchie was a quality filmmaker. We also tried to discuss who was under appreciated comedians of the modern era, though mostly settling on Aziz Ansari. Also, bad mentions to Paul Rudd and Michael Cera (though as I said, Crystal Fairy is going to be one for the ages). 

We finally located Viv and Chris and got the keys to the house. We went inside and out waiting for us was chilli. Alex pulled out the cheese and we began serving it up. I noticed that it was meatless and very heavy on onions. I only later discovered that this was because that it wasn't chilli, but was pasta sauce for pasta. Viv made us pasta, and I am kind of bummed that I didn't realize it until after I thought that I had a decent bowl of chilli with cheese on it. Alex also tested me with how much cheese I wanted to use on the "chilli" by saying that I could take as much as I want. He almost immediately regretted it.

The rest of the night was uneventful, as we just sat around talking until I went to my room and finished off the Auteurcast episode. I also caught up on Sundance news. However, nothing more exciting than the premiere of the trailer for the East. 

You guys, Ellen Page is back! I admit that this sounds like a non-sci-fi version of Branded, but still. Love to hear Page talking again, and more significantly, acting in movies again. Dumb thing to say... again, speaking that she hasn't skipped a year with a release in quite some time. But... gah! I am easily amused.

Also realized that I missed the last four days of Stargroves Vlog, so I worked on that until eventually going to bed at 2:30. I know, it is late, but I was up on time the next day. I think it isn't jetlag anymore. It is my normal schedule telling me that I can do whatever I want when I want. However, it was quite a day to experience all of this, and notably find that the Imposter was on sale in the market. This feels like a big deal because, well, I don't think that any market around where I live of that scale would sell a documentary.

However, I must admit that I find it odd that I am becoming a bogus film fanatic. People loved Pitch Perfect and Django Unchained, and I disliked both for critical reasons. Kind of sad, I guess, but it is still interesting to notice how I change from year to year. I mean, I really don't want Tarantino to make any more revisionist history revenge flicks. It feels really stupid now. It is also odd that my most watched movie of last year was Girl Walk // All Day. That says something, though notably that the Master is not out on DVD yet.

Quite a day of trying to appreciate how civil rights have progressed in America through the sight of Martin Luther King, Obama, and Quentin Tarantino. It was an odd day, if just to experience the growth of America through British culture. Also, I still am weirded out by how fine Alex is saying certain words, though within perfectly referenced context. In ways, it was that moment where you realized that we were in a more progressive period. However, I still argue that Hairspray (either one, really) was a better portrayal of respecting minorities. 

I don't have much else to say. It has been one week in England, and it has been something. Sometimes I feel like I still am in the middle of a gag and that I am going to drive 20 minutes back home. As much as I enjoy England, you occasionally feel like home is very close. I am not suffering homesickness, but I do have that sense of disbelief occasionally. Notably, I just don't want to screw up my time with Alex by worrying. So far, so good.

QUESION: What is Theology?

Day 6 (Jan. 18): Supermarket Fantasy

ANSWER: Often called the race of truth, it can be for the whole team or just one cyclist against the clock.

-Day Six-

As it has been established, I fell asleep very hard at 8 pm last night. I  have  no idea what happened in the last conscious 10 minutes of my night, but when I woke up, I had an odd daze where I looked around the room, almost forgetting that I had taken up space in Alex's. It was only made more trippy because he had on a red lava lamp that seemed to accentuate the room in an eerie, humdrum fashion that almost made me feel like his room was exotic. Since I didn't care to figure out where the light switch was, I just accepted that the light would be this way for the remainder of my stay.

However, an 8-5 sleep is pretty impressive, and I got enough sleep. Enough to the point where I realized that getting back to sleep was impossible. Of course, things were only made more interesting by the fact that my iPod was charging in the other room, which was currently procured by the other guest, Bill. It would make no sense to go down there and grab the music player without seeming somewhat voyeuristic. 

I was left with my phone, and since it got connection to the internet, I tried to use it diligently, but ended up going overboard. Reading was no longer satisfying me, so I decided to start watching videos. Of course, the most enjoyable part was when I discovered that the Hives did a video for "Abra Cadaver." It was an old school throwback to horror films, and for all the ingenuity that was put into it, my favorite part was when the guitarist just slid across the floor as if on a moving device. Millions of videos do that, but as usual, I seem to admire the little things.

After a little Girl Walk // All Day and catching up with everyone back home, I noticed that my phone was wiped. I was also going mad, as I was now up in the room for two hours with very little to do. It was getting closer to a reasonable hour, so I decided to take a shower. It oddly featured a couple turns of the door knob from outside, but even that wasn't enough. When I got out and downstairs, it was almost 8 and everyone was still asleep. I didn't feel like going back up the stairs, so I just walked around looking at stuff in their house. I didn't fondle anything, but with an indefinite amount of free time, I could justify looking at every picture with a fine eye.

I eventually gave up and sat on the couch where I petted the cat and waited for the world to wake up. Chris was the first one up and about, and after mistaking me for Alex through a conversation in the dark, he revealed that we were having a cooked breakfast. Sausage, eggs, beans, and pancakes. It was quite good and also kind of a relief to have the world waking up. I don't understand how people can have problems sleeping if there is nothing to do at 5 AM. It was a trip that I had been up four hours before everyone came down complaining about sleep. In fact, this trip is odd solely because I rarely go to bed before midnight and now I have seemed to make a routine out of it.

We started the day off simple by watching some videos that Chris found online. I think it was from the Annex or something. He first showed me a video of this Australian group called Axis of Awesome that took every song written on four chords and made a medley out of it. It was pretty impressive. We also watched a video of this guy miming to Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn," which was only made better by the man's facial expressions throughout the entire event. It also got to discussion of other comedians that I will be introduced over the remainder of my stay. I  have no idea what they're called, so I apologize.

I also discovered that through the back door of the house, a cat came in. Not the two that live here, but just one with a bushy tail that was intensely adorable. It was almost heartbreaking to part with it as the snow came down and we had to get a move on. It also got me thinking about how different cats are in the states. I am not saying that all are like this, but animals tend to be very defensive where I am from. They won't let just anyone near them unless they sense that you are harmless. So far, I haven't met a cat that just walked up to me and wanted attention. I first noticed it last time when pigeons refused to fly away when I got close. No matter how much I chased them, they were more contempt with walking near me than flying off from yards away.

We were eventually on our way to Kent to do some grocery shopping. Being from Long Beach, I still am finding it revolutionizing that people can drive great distances without a stop light. It was the same in Arizona. Sure, you had stop signs, but for an extensive drive, there was only one light. I know that it was the country side essentially, but it was weird that it was just a long, winding road that seemed to be fortressed with trees. I also discovered that Paul McCartney and Johnny Depp have homes in the general vicinity and Rod Stewart used to own one a long time ago. 

Also, just to contrast cultures, I have heard a story about Depp a few times. For Halloween, he went incognito as a postal worker. The next day, everyone commented about how the new postman looks an awful lot like Johnny Depp. That is way more entertaining than hearing that people stopped him and questioned who he was. which feels very American, or just Californian.

Once we got to Kent, more interesting things came up. They have limited parking in their supermarket parking lot. This is made noticeable by security cameras that record the moment you arrive and then it is up to you to get out of there within two hours. Maybe it is the extensive amount of time in grocery stores, but it made me think that we basically were going to go straight there and spend 40+ minutes looking at stuff. I am not that way, but I feel like stereotyping customers, especially since we were buying a lot of stuff.

But we went to the nearby shopping area where Alex and I split up from the group, which also featured Chris, Viv, and our driver for the day, Bill. It was pretty much a day to try and catch up on the loose ends of my presents list to family. I won't spoil if anything was bought, but I did see a lot of interesting stuff that could possibly be coming home with me. Also, we stopped in at a local book store where I learned a few things. Alex is way into choose your own adventure books, he thinks that there will be another Scott Pilgrim series (as a consistent follower of Bryan Lee O'Malley, I am still challenging him to prove it), that there is a novel adaptation of Dawn of the Dead, and I have not read any Kurt Vonnegut. In a way, I felt like a bad person with that last one. 

Plenty of interesting shops were visited and I even got a picture inside a phone booth for good measure. However, by this point, I was finally introduced to snow. I haven't seen snow since I was a young kid, so this was quite a treat. Also, the only places that I really get cold are in the cheeks, nose, and hands. A hood combated most of it, but the hands were still an issue. I brought it up with Viv when I next ran into her. She oddly had a pair on her, so she gave them to me. Somehow, all of this weather gear feels strange, as in California, it feels excessive. But here, I cannot imagine time with out it.

After Alex finished a really flat strawberry soda that he called a liquor, we headed over to the supermarket, which was called Tesco. I was excited to see what the interior looked like. Outside, it was practically the same layout, save for an elaborate area to put carts that featured a large overhead. I get that it probably has to do with the weather, but it still blew my mind how inconspicuous it tried to look.

Inside, it immediately reminded me of Wal Mart. it  had a very warehouse feel to it. However, that is just because the ceiling and lighting have this aura that makes it feel like everything was shoved in there as opposed to properly placed. The layout isn't too impressively different and not worth going into detail about. The aisles are longer and don't split down the center, which is the only significant difference. Alex even showed me the area where they had DVDs on discount, which wasn't all that impressive, though makes you wonder about his sanity when he calls the Paul Verhoven Total Recall really bad and Wrath of the Titans anything but unnecessary. I am not even calling that cultural differences. I am just saying that the 90's Total Recall in his algorithm is improperly placed and should never be below Wrath of the Titans in any spectrum.

The checkout lines were the more impressive. I let Viv take care of the grunt work and I just stood and looked over the entire store's layout. For starters, I hadn't heard an intercom request assistance for anything. People bagged their own groceries in plastic bags (though they were being advertised as reusable), and most impressively, the cashiers actually had chairs to sit on.

If you want to hear people bitch about the grocery business, just talk about the chairs at the check stand. That is a very personal subject. We don't have it in the states no matter where I go. However, 100's of hours of being a bagger has given me time to listen to people complain about their feet/back hurting. Yet they cannot have chairs because the customers would find that they are lazy and other complex reasons like that. I am not saying that chairs for the entire duration is the goal, but as a bagger, who has had to be on his feet for eight hour shifts, I am aware that the human body isn't always prone to being pristine after moving around in very limited quarters. The checkers more-so, as they are not allowed to leave their check stand lest they are doing floor work, and in most cases, nobody is allowed to do that before five.

So the chairs is a revolutionary idea. I get where the complexity would come from, speaking as the baggers would be heavily handicapped by not having chairs, but the checkers are a different story. I sympathize with the desire for them to just rest their feet once in awhile, and sometimes breaks are not enough. I am not about to start a revolution, but for those that really want to know, chairs are the most ground breaking aspect of my visit.

Also, as I left, I noticed that the Tesco sign had open hours posted by the entrance. That is also quite something, as it is Monday through Saturday 8 AM to 10 PM and on Sundays 10 PM to 4 PM. I admit that convenience for us would be sacrificed in that, but being open 6 AM to 11 PM just really, really, really makes you jealous. I am not saying that the overall service of the trip is superior, but it felt like they were somewhat successful in creating an apt working environment. I suppose the only issue is that employees would be complaining about the need for more hours. 

Back at the house, I finally got to see what a ground covered in snow looked like. If the place wasn't very rural and had cars going every which way, I would be happy to just get down and snow angel everything. As it stands, I am so tempted just to spend the snowed in time walking around Rye to see what a city covered in white looks like. For a boy from Southern California, this is somehow also revolutionary.

It is odd that in my stay, I have found the simple things more exciting than the buildings and landscapes. The stone beaches, the chairs, the snow. You don't get those where I'm from. It almost feels novelty. I also talked to Viv, who was concerned that the trip wasn't meeting my standards. I pretty much have stated many times, many ways that I just got on the plane and that was the end of my plans. I just wanted to see Alex and do something fun with him. So far, I would say that it is going great. I also find it weird that when we do go touristy, I end up being overwhelmed and tired. However, when I see snow outside my window, I am thrilled. Go figure. Hopefully it doesn't hold up seeing Django Unchained in the next week somehow.

The night wasn't that much more exciting. We finished off season one of Threesome, and I found one episode exceptionally hilarious. Also, this is mostly in terms of sitcom filming, I was rather impressed with the way one sequence with a merry-go-round was shot that almost seemed to be more artistic than the scene needed to be. Overall, I am just really digging this show and I want to see where it goes.

The night wasn't eventful, as I ended up having dinner and almost crashed immediately. I tried to hold up until 10 PM in order to fix my sleeping routine. However, I made it to 9:30 before I was told by Alex to just go to bed. I decided that it was a great time to catch up on Sundance coverage, which was officially starting that day. I was about to watch Katey Rich and Matt Patches' video log on day one. I had it already to go. Somehow, I ended up falling asleep right as the page was loading. It drained my battery, but gave me plenty to watch this morning. So far, I am now convinced that Crystal Fairy is one of my anticipated films of the year. Michael Cera doing drugs in Chile? Yes please. Also, I have seen shots of Ellen Page there with the Touchy Feely crew and now I am kicking myself because she actually is there. 

Though don't get me wrong, I would regret if I chose that over seeing Alex. True, it does little to forward my career, but I think the time away has done me good. Just finding new things to appreciate is enough to make this trip successful. I think I just needed contrast in my life. I still have no idea what happened when I went to Brighton that made me overwhelmed, but having a slow day after that really put me in my place. 

Side note, expect a review on CinemaBeach from me on A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III. I was expecting to write that up before I left, but I ended up doing it last night all here. Now the question is, did I like the idea of that movie better than Gangster Squad? I am really having trouble determining which of the two is the best film of 2013 so far. I would say that John Dies at the End would be it, but I still consider that a 2012 released based solely on VOD release. Of course, that review may not pop up for awhile, depending on how much more important Sundance coverage is, which I am sure will be more significant for the next week or two. It will be up eventually.

Another slow day, and I promise to try and get the pictures up soon. I am also going to be calling family back home today. We have some interesting developments in the process, so I will be excited to hear about those. Also, I hope to hear from Tiger. I miss that cat. Anyways, I hear breakfast calling my name, and hopefully this is a start to a day where I am not out of sync after a few days of early to rise and early to bed. In fact, I'll leave you with a quote:

"Early to rise and early to bed leaves a man physically rested, but socially dead."

-Yakko (Rob Paulsen) in Animaniacs

QUESTION: What is a time trial?