Blog Archives: May, 2004
Once More with Hobbits
Some readers may know that about 2 years ago I started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Before I started watching it, I thought “what kind of show has a name like Buffy?” Then I saw the musical episode “Once More With Feeling” and decided that any show that could put on an episode like that was worth watching. As good as it is, though, Buffy has remained a sub-genre.
And now a sub-genre of a sub-genre: Once More With Hobbits, a rewrite of Buffy’s musical episode to tell the story of The Lord of the Rings. It features “Going Through The Motions”, in which Bilbo prepares for a long expected party, Boromir’s ode to the Ring: “Under Your Spell”, Sam and Frodo’s hazardous “Walk Through The Fire”, and the parting of the company at the Grey Havens: “Where Do We Go From Here?”. Maybe Peter Jackson will release another version of The Lord of the Rings.
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10k Evil Run
(Thanks for all the recommendations on Canadian films. I will see what I can find here in Oxford and do my best to build the proper impression of Canadian cinema in my housemates.)
Saturday night I went to a very classy joint in town to celebrate Mark‘s 25th birthday. I don’t think I could imagine a more disparate and varied collection of people coming to one place, but unfortunately I couldn’t stay late and meet them all because on Sunday morning I had to wake up early so I could… 
Oxford 10k run ten kilometres in a so-called “fun” run! Seriously, if I ever come across the person who decided that because fun and run rhyme they should be used in the same sentence without a negative in between them, I’m going to make Gloria during a swimmeet look like a fuzzy teddy bear. (I think the only people reading this who have any idea how much of a threat that is are my parents, but trust me, it’s scary. Very scary.)
So I ended up running 10k in a marginally tolerable 51:53, which is a bit off what I could have run it in high school, but not so bad considering I didn’t do any meaningful training (especially since I didn’t stop). And it was a beautiful day with sun and clear skies, the kind of weather that ought to accompany a May weekend. So I was able to catch a few rays, and have even been wearing sandals these past few days. But EvilHousemateCaroline informs me that the typical gray English weather will be back before long. “The clouds’ll come out… tomorrow…”
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Canadian movies?
I need some advice on movies. Last night my housemates and I watched Men with Brooms, and let’s just say that it didn’t go over as well as I may have hoped. Sure, it’s not a great movie, but it’s about curling. Curling! Anyway, I’m looking for suggestions on other Canadian movies that would be worth showing to others. There’s Canadian Bacon, of course, but can you think of any others? Leave a note.
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Punting with Patrick
Punting under Magdalen Bridge Patrick came up to Oxford to visit this weekend. With spring having allegedly arrived in Oxford, one can now go punting. Caroline took me punting just over a week ago and described me as a fast learner, so I decided to take Patrick punting on the River Cherwell.
Patrick punting on the Cherwell What is punting? It’s most plainly described as pushing a flat boat down a river using a big stick, but, more romantically, “the quintessential image of Oxford is surely summed up by the sights of punts making their languid progress on the Thames and the Cherwell.” (from the BBC).
Pat gave it a brief try, as you can see, but decided he preferred letting me do all the work pushing him down the river. How gracious of him.
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Harry Potter casting rumours
I occasionally read Harry Potter news sites, and the most amusing rumours that come down the pipelines are those about casting. Although unlikely to be true, there have occasionally been rumours of Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) being cast as Lord Voldemort for the Goblet of Fire, and more recently of Audrey Tautou (Amélie) being cast as Madame Maxime (the giantess with whom Hagrid falls in love). Probably not true, but just imagine Mr. Bean as an evil villain. Pretty scary indeed.
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Europe 2004 Photos
My biggest photography expedition yet: 744 raw photos, narrowed down to 399 photos totaling 662 MB, all labeled, all sorted into albums. Of course, that’s only mine; Laura’s probably got another 600 photos. But fortunately, dear reader, you don’t have to look at all of them, only the good ones.
Links to the albums: Oxford, Windsor, and London, Rome and Venice, Switzerland, Paris, and Edinburgh.
Update 2004/05/02: Laura’s photos are online as well.
A few of my favourite photos:
Divinity School, Bodleian Library 
Soldiers in the new Guard
St. Peter's dome 
St. Peter's Square from above 
The arches of the Colosseum at night
The Eiffel Tower at night 
The Louvre at night 
Notre Dame's facade at night
