Travel Log I
04Jan2011 [personal]
Made it to London a couple of days ago — in time for a quiet New Year's Eve — and have been keeping myself deliberately disconnected from the web, checking in only occasionally, weaning myself off the constant connected Chatter. To wit, a collection of observations that would previously have become tweets:
- Gainsbourg is a fascinating film: a beautifully crafted world of whimsy, but a story that dithers, at times incomprehensible
- The Social Network is as bad as expected, with a bizarre representation of the web, a collection of unlikeable characters, and a lurching plot
- Megamind is great: an incredibly entertaining movie, and simply the best deconstruction of the superhero genre since Unbreakable
- The American is incredibly boring; if I had enjoyed it a little more I'd have called it "studied" and "understated", but it was so meandering I never developed any attachment to the character (it was only Clooney that got me through), and when I missed the final 10 minutes of the film I realised I didn't care at all what happened
- London appears to have changed a lot in the five years since I was last here; it seems its underlying form never really changes, but its representation, in the details, changes dramatically; I'm amazed at the amount of new development or redevelopment that's evidently been done within the last few years
- I haven't yet observed London in its natural condition, as the city's been full of tourists and out-of-towners for New Year's, but it appears to have an incredible underlying buzz; its scene is, however, a lot more uniform than say, New York, where I felt there was a different scene for everyone
- Cute Asians with euro accents — a head-turner, and something we don't get at home; I imagine they'll seem less strange in Paris, but here they make my heart beat
- I'm constantly struggling against my aversion to chains, but it seems, outside of pubs, chains are the only way to get decently-priced food; they invariably have good food (fresh, healthy) and a reasonable dining experience, but that keeps coming as a surprise
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