Happy Birthday, BDA

The Big 2-2. You're officially Old Enough to Know Better. Hope you have a great day, wish I could be there to celebrate, and have an excuse to eat cake...err, I mean, and mark this momentous occasion with my favorite brother. Can't wait to see you here in Londontown. Here's hoping Parents bring you back some cool swag from Hawaii..."shorts store," anyone?

Cause Celeb: "Indie" Alert

So, I'm sitting at home tonight, nursing a kidney infection, which feels, well, like someone kicked ya in the kidneys. Anyways, friend Edy (yes the Italian one for those in the know) pops up on MSN; his flatmate is at this bar in Little Portland Street called Social...I've never been, apparently I'm not cool enough for Social, although I'm definitely SOCIAL...anyways, I digress. Flatmate is sitting next to "Bjork and Aphex Twin." I happen to like quirky little Bjork and start making noises about how Edy's flatmate should go get me an autograph. Many cell phone calls ensue. Flatmate won't do it. So Edy, being the good man that he is, heads out the door to get it FOR me.

Anyways, it wasn't quite a success...Bjork totally refused (she "doesn't do that"), even when Edy showed her his crutches to get the sympathy scrawl (he's nursing a broken ankle), so out came the camera phone, and the above semi-visible pic was snapped. She wasn't with Aphex Twin, she was with Chris Cunningham, and apparently their level of sobriety was questionable. Although she could have made my dying kidney's wish come true. Props to Edy for trying. I'm totally deleting Bjork off my IPOD.

Other random C-list celeb sightings at Social: Richard X, and Leonardo di Caprio's ugly stand-in.

"The Looming Threat of Exams"

Okay, so maybe that was a bit melodramatic. The term is quickly coming to a close, that's true, and the great paper race is on now. I am starting to suffer academic burnout at this point as I've been in school full-time without a break since September 2003. This burnout sunk to a new low last night when I attended a panel discussion at school simply to make fun of the panelists.

Last month marked the third anniversary of the death of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journalist who was abducted and murdered in Pakistan. LSE hosted a panel discussion called "Press Under Fire," in which several prominent journalists would discuss the growing risks to their profession, as a memorial to Mr. Pearl. The panel would be moderated by Christiane Amanpour, the ubiquitous CNN "Chief International Correspondent" who manages to make every "story from the war zone" that I've ever seen her file be more about HER than the people actually affected by conflict. Also, she just has this very dramatic and over-the-top delivery that I find absolutely hilarious. My comment about the "looming threat of exams" is definitely a tribute to Ms. Amanpour...I can imagine her saying it in her long, drawn out braying English accent (I know, I know, I'm being a bit bitchy now, but I just find her SO affected, it's hilarious).

Anyways, the panel discussion was due to start at 7 p.m., and at 7:40 p.m., Ms. Amanpour finally graced us with her presence. This didn't endear her to me whatsoever. What...was she on a plane from Baghdad? Give me a break! In her "official bio," which she provided the student organizers with, and which they dutifully read before she began the panel, it was stated that Ms. Amanpour is "widely credited" as actually bringing the crisis in the Balkans to the world's attention...apparently, no one KNEW what was going on until Ms. Amanpour and CNN made their way to Sarajevo. Barf.

Anyways, the other journalists were all very interesting people and obviously do very difficult work, and it was worthwhile to hear what they had to say, but mostly, I was just interested in listening to C.A. speak (so I could perfect my impression). The best HAD to be C.A.'s opening question to John Simpson of the BBC, who was attacked in Kurdish territory during the first Gulf War: "John, are we [journalists] hopelessly trapped in an unbelievable vortex of violence and terror?" I mean, come on. What was he supposed to say to that? "Yes, Christiane. Yes we are. There is no hope." That's a real conversation stopper, I think.

Anyways, it was semi-interesting but mostly good for a laugh. CNN is the most trusted name in news, though, don't forget. Whatever C.A. says must be true....unbelievable vortex here we come...

Tourist-a-Matic

Or Tourist-a-Rama, whichever you prefer. This weekend my friend from Pearson, Albert, came to visit with his brother, Jordi, and we crammed as many tourist sites into two days as possible. We saw St. Paul's, Hoxton Market and Old Street, Borough Market, the Tate Modern, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, and more. Considering I hadn't even recovered from my recent tourist-a-thon in Provence, I thought I acquitted myself pretty well, but I am beat now. It's time for a week of sitting in the library reading, and doing a whole lot of nothing. It was great to see Albert, though, and realize that even though almost 6 years have gone by, you can still laugh together. The old jokes were still funny, and we made some new ones, too...