I’ve only dabbled in Dante, in my “visions of Hell” Italian paper at university (Dante, Primo Levi, Italo Svevo… cheerful stuff), and even then, it was, of course, only Inferno and not Purgatorio or Paradiso. This suited me fine: Paradiso just waffled on about a golden river of light that symbolised the incredible, pure love Dante felt for his beloved Beatrice, and Purgatorio seemed like Hell-lite.
31 December 2007
25 December 2007
Baby, It's Cold in Here
Christmas Day means the time-honoured (brand new) family tradition of swimming in the Med when it was pretty damn freezing. I kept my gloves off but it was still bloomin' cold, given that the air temperature was probably only about 12 degrees.
22 December 2007
Fairy Tale of NYC
The latest instalment of my latest guilty pleasure, AKA Gossip Girl, has left me craving NYC even more than usual. 'Twas the Christmas episode and there were plenty of NYC-at-Christmastime scenes, including skating on the Wollman Rink in Central Park.
I guess, to me, New York is Christmas or, at least, it has all of the elements for the perfect Christmas and having spent four out of the past ten Christmases there, I feel I am in a good position to judge. Here are a few of my favourite things about New York in December
1. Skating in Central Park. One of my favourite things to do in the whole world - the rink is decent-sized, the hot choc is superb, the choons are awesome but, most of all, the views of the skyscrapers lit up by night are outstanding.
2. Last minute shopping made easy given that there are so many great shops, and Kate's Paperie provides beautiful cards, wrapping paper and accessories to make even the cheapest present look classy and expensive.
3. The weather. It's only snowed on two of the occasions I've been in NYC for Christmas: one time was pretty intense (about a foot) although being New Yorkers, they just got on with cleaning the streets and getting back to normal.
4. The inevitable Boxing Day walk can be done on Brooklyn Bridge to maximise the spectacular urban scenery; it certainly beats walking along the Cam to Fen Ditton, anyway.
5. Jack's coffee shop feels even cosier and more inviting than usual when the weather outside is frightfully cold.
6. Apart from Christmas Day, the shops are open long, long hours and have great sales.
7. The Festive Spirit. Americans are so much better at holidays than we Brits are and everyone is just brimming with seasonal excitement, along with that New Yorker — can't stop, must get on — attitude.
Incidentally, when I was scouring the lyrics of the song that gave its title to this post, I came across a list of songs about NYC. Given how hard it was for me to make my selections for a California-themed playlist, I can see that creating one for NYC songs could take some time to pick my favourites (Interpol, for example, are a favourite band of mine but their song NYC isn't their best IMO).
Ah, New York, I miss you. Luckily, though, my dad is already dropping hints about the next family trip there, which should be in about March or April; I can probably wait until then, I suppose. I'm still jealous of my housemate who is there right now.
I guess, to me, New York is Christmas or, at least, it has all of the elements for the perfect Christmas and having spent four out of the past ten Christmases there, I feel I am in a good position to judge. Here are a few of my favourite things about New York in December
1. Skating in Central Park. One of my favourite things to do in the whole world - the rink is decent-sized, the hot choc is superb, the choons are awesome but, most of all, the views of the skyscrapers lit up by night are outstanding.
2. Last minute shopping made easy given that there are so many great shops, and Kate's Paperie provides beautiful cards, wrapping paper and accessories to make even the cheapest present look classy and expensive.
3. The weather. It's only snowed on two of the occasions I've been in NYC for Christmas: one time was pretty intense (about a foot) although being New Yorkers, they just got on with cleaning the streets and getting back to normal.
4. The inevitable Boxing Day walk can be done on Brooklyn Bridge to maximise the spectacular urban scenery; it certainly beats walking along the Cam to Fen Ditton, anyway.
5. Jack's coffee shop feels even cosier and more inviting than usual when the weather outside is frightfully cold.
6. Apart from Christmas Day, the shops are open long, long hours and have great sales.
7. The Festive Spirit. Americans are so much better at holidays than we Brits are and everyone is just brimming with seasonal excitement, along with that New Yorker — can't stop, must get on — attitude.
Incidentally, when I was scouring the lyrics of the song that gave its title to this post, I came across a list of songs about NYC. Given how hard it was for me to make my selections for a California-themed playlist, I can see that creating one for NYC songs could take some time to pick my favourites (Interpol, for example, are a favourite band of mine but their song NYC isn't their best IMO).
Ah, New York, I miss you. Luckily, though, my dad is already dropping hints about the next family trip there, which should be in about March or April; I can probably wait until then, I suppose. I'm still jealous of my housemate who is there right now.
15 December 2007
Bex's Guide to Oxford
I haven't been into Oxford in ages and I do miss the place, not least because there's so much more to do than in Cambridge.
Bookshops:
Oxford is pretty much the bookshop capital of the world; England, at the very least. Obviously, I exclude Borders and Waterstones from my list of favourites. The QI Bookshop is pretty awesome. It's just a smallish, circular room in the QI Club on Turl Street. The books are arranged, oh-so-quirkily, by subject area ("drunk", "the Great American Novel", "first love", etc.) and although the collection isn't huge, most of the books on offer are pretty interesting and it's always nice to see someone else's recommendations.
I didn't go to Walton Street today but that's probably the coolest place to hang out, with the Phoenix cinema, Freud (cafe-bar in a former neo-classical church) and assorted other clothes and bookshops that seem to change every time I go.
Bookshops:
Oxford is pretty much the bookshop capital of the world; England, at the very least. Obviously, I exclude Borders and Waterstones from my list of favourites. The QI Bookshop is pretty awesome. It's just a smallish, circular room in the QI Club on Turl Street. The books are arranged, oh-so-quirkily, by subject area ("drunk", "the Great American Novel", "first love", etc.) and although the collection isn't huge, most of the books on offer are pretty interesting and it's always nice to see someone else's recommendations.
Arcadia has second-hand books (almost all fiction) along with assorted gifts. The books are pretty cheap and the guy who owns the shop is friendly, so the shop is definitely worth a browse.
Blackwells is the grandfather of the Oxford bookshop family but you can't beat it for the range. It is bigger and more spacious than Heffers in Cambridge, and has a great second-hand department, as well as the Norrington Room, the academic department in the basement.
Other shops:
Fresh, Aspire and Browse, all have assorted girlie clothes and accessories. Perfect for secret santas or secret splurging on oneself. A girl must buy her overpriced, exquisite stationery from somewhere; The City Organiser is that place. They have Moleskines, posh fountain pens, gorgeous writing paper, non-Paperchase cards and Dr Who gifts! What variety, eh?
Food and drink:
Brothers is my favourite place for coffee in Oxford, although the coffee there isn't always the greatest (they do, at least know how to make a cappuccino, even if it sometimes comes out as more of a latte) but the atmosphere is great (especially in term time when it's full of students chatting about Important Oxford Things) and it's right in the middle of the awesome covered market.
Other shops:
Fresh, Aspire and Browse, all have assorted girlie clothes and accessories. Perfect for secret santas or secret splurging on oneself. A girl must buy her overpriced, exquisite stationery from somewhere; The City Organiser is that place. They have Moleskines, posh fountain pens, gorgeous writing paper, non-Paperchase cards and Dr Who gifts! What variety, eh?
Food and drink:
Brothers is my favourite place for coffee in Oxford, although the coffee there isn't always the greatest (they do, at least know how to make a cappuccino, even if it sometimes comes out as more of a latte) but the atmosphere is great (especially in term time when it's full of students chatting about Important Oxford Things) and it's right in the middle of the awesome covered market.
They have cool coffee facts and quotations printed on the wall too; also, they have the Grauniad available, which is great when your parents only have the Telegraph and you want to catch up on your leftie-themed news.
Pieminister is new; I'm not a big pie fan but I can never pass up such a quality pun and I spotted it as I was walking through the covered market.
If you want a sandwich, though, where better than The Sandwich Shop of Dreams (AKA Harvey's)? Now that I've left, I can't make any guarantees of the quality but there was always a great range that catered for all of your sandwich needs.
Finally, Quod, which serves the best burgers in Oxford (after a few shaky periods) and does a fantastic mojito. The Old Bank Hotel, to which the restaurant is attached, is the trendiest hotel in the city as well as being my dad's bank when he was a student here.
I didn't go to Walton Street today but that's probably the coolest place to hang out, with the Phoenix cinema, Freud (cafe-bar in a former neo-classical church) and assorted other clothes and bookshops that seem to change every time I go.
12 December 2007
Chaque Mot A Son Histoire
It was probably inevitable that the kid who used to read the dictionary would want to be an etymologist when she grew up. Deprived, at university, of the areas of linguistics that really interested me, I made do with semantic change — how the meaning of words changes over time.
w00t is WOTY
Geeks everywhere will, I'm sure, be celebrating the victory of w00t as Merriam Webster's Word of the Year for 2007.
As voted for by site users, w00t:
1. w00t (interjection): expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all0; similar in use to the word "yay."
MW also comes up with the word's etymology: "we owned the other team"—again stemming from the gaming community") but this seems to be more of a folk etymology.
They don't mention the word's sarcastic use which is, as far as I can remember, the only way in which I have ever used it. Lexicography in the news again. W00t. etc. Edit: I do remember my mate Steve using "w00t" in a sarcastic way in about 2002; perhaps this is actually the homophone "woot," which evolved separately from its geekery counterpart.
As voted for by site users, w00t:
1. w00t (interjection): expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all0; similar in use to the word "yay."
MW also comes up with the word's etymology: "we owned the other team"—again stemming from the gaming community") but this seems to be more of a folk etymology.
They don't mention the word's sarcastic use which is, as far as I can remember, the only way in which I have ever used it. Lexicography in the news again. W00t. etc. Edit: I do remember my mate Steve using "w00t" in a sarcastic way in about 2002; perhaps this is actually the homophone "woot," which evolved separately from its geekery counterpart.