The Earth Beneath Her Feet

Geminid Meteor Shower

kim@lspace.org — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:18:58 GMT

The weather forecast promised partially clear skies for tonight, so I walked over to the edge of Victoria Park to see the Geminid meteor shower. As there won't be a new moon for a couple of days, there wouldn't be any moonlight to make viewing difficult.

Except this is central bloody London and "partly cloudy" means the sky is aglow with light pollution. Despite being out at peak time, I was only able to see three of the slow moving meteors.

I visited my auntie and uncle back in rural NZ this year and I remember him killing the house lights so we could go out to see the Milky Way stretching in a broad white band right over our heads. (The same uncle who took me down to the school field to see Halley's Comet when I was a kid.) Even in central Wellington, I could go out and see stuff, though it's not exactly ideal. Here, small chance.

It's a damn tragedy. What were these humans thinking when they separated themselves from the stars?

Le Weekend in Paris Pt. 3

kim@lspace.org — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:44:32 GMT

Felt a bit jaded when I woke up the next day and had to be revived with a pain au chocolat.

Despite the fact I no longer live there, I kept feeling tugs towards the south of the city. So, I decided to chase down my book recommendations at Gibert Jeune at St Michel. It was nice to be on familiar territory. Especially as we met some cheese on the way. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that you can buy clothes, shoes and other things there on a Sunday but all the bookshops were closed. Except for one small cheapie bookshop from which I bought a book just to have something.

Wingnut and me met up with my brother and his wife so that we could walk over to Port Royal to meet some friends. (It was all short notice so apologies to FiX who we missed the previous day. When Wingnut called, FiX was about to flee the country. Or into the country. Something like that.)

Wingnut decided to go via rue de la Bucherie to try and show M & K where the 1910 flood marks were scratched into the wall. He couldn't find the marks but was able to estimate the height as he'd just seen some of the old photos. Above shoulder height on him, drowning height on me.

The downpour that had been forecast for two days finally arrived and we got pretty soggy going down the rue Mouffetard, which was lively even so. Happily, we were able to take shelter in a bookshop (they were open round there) and I bought Saga by Tonino Benacquista (for fun), Rouge Bresil by Jean-Christophe Rufin (Prix Goncourt 2001) and L'Œvre au Noir by Marguerite Yourcenar (feminist, first woman elected to the Académie Française in 1980).

During a lull, we made it to our destination, one of my favourite places, the Académie de la Bière, where the mussels and fries were even better than I remembered. We spent about four hours there, just chatting and catching up. A good end to the weekend.

Le Weekend in Paris Pt. 2

kim@lspace.org — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:10:08 GMT

Cat by Rosina Wachtmeister

Felt a bit jaded when I woke up the next day and had to be revived with a pain au chocolat. Our hotel was located near Grands Boulevards, a bustling area near Opéra (9th arr.) that I was completely unfamiliar with. There were heaps bakeries nearby along with a lot of shops with certificates from the Beth Din of Paris, guaranteeing the food on sale is kosher.

The first thing Wingnut and me did that day was to leave our nose prints alongside everyone else's on the window of À la mere de familie, the oldest chocolaterie in Paris. After that, we wandered down the shopping galleries which had lots of lovely objects in the windows, especially the antiquarian booksellers. More nose prints. I then fell unreasonably in love with a painting by Edwige Leprin but decided on coming home that it wouldn't fit. Am still delighted with the porcelain cat that Wingnut had gotten me earlier though. A bit Dave McKean, without the creepy.

We tried finding a favourite café in the Palais Royal which does the best chai, but it had disappeared. Sometimes it doesn't pay to go back.

Instead we wound up at a nearby café close to one of my favourite métro entrances. Our crêpes arrived, but my drink and my fork did not. Upon application to the garkon, I got my juice de pomme, but no fork. My crêpes were cooling. I ask again. There is no fork. And again, but this time the garkon says that, despite the evidence, yes, there are forks, but they're being washed. Sure enough, some minutes later he comes out with a tray and starts handing people their forks. Café de la Comédie, remember the name. :-D

The hens and stags reunited for a late dinner at Pig'Z (2ème) which was gorgeous with forks for all. I'd been hoping to collar one of the French people in the party for new book recommendations and had heard the IT guy mention a book, so cautiously asked if he liked reading. Well, I didn't want to assume. He kindly answered that he'd majored in Lit. *facepalm* Could've spent all night talking books, really!

Le Weekend in Paris

kim@lspace.org — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:56:21 GMT

Followers of Wingnut's Twitter may have been given the false impression that he left poor pitiful me on the couch to go swanning off to Paris last Friday. This isn't true, as I swanned off with him. Figured it didn't matter if I spent half the time in my hotel room and, anyway, medicinal crêpes!

A Kiwi friend from London was going to Paris to get her wedding dress fitted in the company of a few of her girlfriends. At least, that's what she thought. The dress fitting happened, but instead of celebrating with a quiet drink, she was told she was now on her hen night and had tasks to complete. Reward for tasks completed was being reunited with her fiancé who thought he would be travelling to Paris with only one friend.

The five of us went to the Hôtel Plaza Athénée, because it apparently has some relevance to Sex and the City of which I am ignorant. Hels, however, whizzed through the S & C quiz and the logic puzzle which lead her to the Eiffel Tower nearby. We were queuing for crêpes when a loud Aussie voice from behind advised us not to buy from there because they weren't very good. The hen was completely shocked: it was five more of her mates. (The Aussie was kidding about the crêpes but I'm not. Avoid the van near the Eiffel Tower!)

It started to rain, so we hurried off to a large café to meet two more surprises. More tasks, including the bottle cap arrow puzzle and having to identify the ten languages that "I love you" had been written in.

After a few hours, I was given the job of leading the hens from the boulevard des Italiens to rue Tiquetonne. A short distance on the map, but somewhat longer at that hour. We picked up an astonishing number of French people on the way but eventually made it to where the stags were, Le Next. The French have such dinky names for their clubs. Suited this club anyway, which was dinky too, and cute, not to mention a bit of a maze.

Mission accomplished, I decided to go to bed "early". :)

Podcast Recommendations Please

kim@lspace.org — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:43:02 GMT

Folks, your recs for podcasts, pretty please? I've already got The Now Show, Dr Karl and This American Life. Prefer something amusing and light on the brain. English only.

Or I start singing the Bored Song at you.

The Oh God of Concussion

kim@lspace.org — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:08:55 GMT

Flu Jabs

kim@lspace.org — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:17:04 GMT

Getting a flu jab of any variety here is pretty much the same as in New Zealand. Anyone with underlying health problems gets an invite for a free flu shot and the times for the flu clinic. Once in the waiting room, people are called up one by one by a nurse to have their shot administered.

The Netherlands has a slightly different approach. Invitees turn up at a flu clinic, join the queue with their sleeves rolled up, hand over their letter/get their name checked off, walk through 'til they reach a nurse/medical type. Exhange of greetings: "Goedemorgen" "Goedemorgen" *swab*. A few steps later, they reach the GP, "Goedemorgen" "Goedemorgen" *jab*. Next, *press* and wait for bandage to be applied if needed. Bit of paper is ticked. Walk out door and that's it. Done in five.

I'm not sure why they do it this way for adults. Unlike the UK and NZ, the Netherlands tends to have single GP practices instead of group practices with large waiting rooms. However, France tends towards single GP practices too and they have individual appointments for flu shots. After you've picked the vial up from the pharmacy! But I'd be surprised if they did that with the swine flu (a.k.a. "la grippe A").

While the Dutch way lacks privacy it has the advantage of speed. One of the women waiting with me was getting the shot as a birthday treat and had a good long time to think about it before being called in. There was also plenty of time for people in the waiting room to reminisce about being given sugar cubes at school many years before. That's for polio, I think, foul tasting stuff.

Which reminds me, all this worry about swine flu, but I recently read that polio is now endemic in only four countries. Eradication is in sight. Exciting stuff!

Holborn

kim@lspace.org — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:47:18 GMT

Interesting pattern of damaged wall around an Underground sign:

Hands Up

kim@lspace.org — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:23:14 GMT

Outrage on Twitter over Thierry Henry's handball during extra time in France vs Ireland last night, which knocked Ireland out of the men's football World Cup. It made me have a look at the video and I must admit I wasn't expecting anything quite so blatant.

The French captain owned up to the handball after the match but said he's not the ref. [Edit: To clarify, Henry said it touched his hand. That's all. Which is not precisely what happened.]

There goes Fifa's Fair Play Award. Except if you look at their site, it's either not mentioned or referred to as a decisive "moment of drama".

The French press haven't been kind about their team. Libé leads with "La main de Thierry Henry qualifie la France pour le Mondial 2010", which is pretty clear. Le Figaro's front page: "Mondial 2010 : la France se qualifie sans gloire ". Etc, etc. They're also clear that Ireland was the stronger team.

I feel sorry for Ireland and can't help but hope that France's stay in South Africa next year will be a short one.

All Whites to the World Cup

kim@lspace.org — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:45:09 GMT

It was too early in the morning to be having heart attacks, but being awake turned out to be worth it as the All Whites beat Bahrain to go through to the men's football World Cup in South Africa next year. Still can't quite believe it. The last (and only) time NZ qualified was waaaay back in 1982.

My brother's a little weirded out by seeing guys he played with or against in the team, but very proud. The few names I knew are via him. But I can add Mark Paston to that now, for saving a penalty at the start of the second half and keeping it 1-0. A draw would've seen the last World Cup berth go to Bahrain. Heart attack!

P.S. Thanks to London, for providing some atmospheric thunder during the game. :-)

Ataque de Pánico!

kim@lspace.org — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:40:07 GMT

Montevideo gets a good stomping on. This was originally made for a music video, interspersed with shots of the band, but the plain version's best.

Ataque de Pánico! (Panic Attack!) 2009 by Fede Alvarez

I can't imagine the budget was huge, but hey, it's always fun watching places you know get trashed by giant robots.

Lost in a Book

kim@lspace.org — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:14:00 GMT

Apart from leaving Amnesty wonderful books, people leave wonderful things in the books. Photos, letters, tickets, drawings, etc. This is one of the oldest finds and still one of my favourites:

"To Rosalie with lots of love from Elisabeth"

Googling turned up a little bit of info on the photographer, Philip Gotlop, but nothing on her.

For a while I wasn't sure what to do with all these finds, but I've finally started scanning in some more of the best and have put the first dozen or so in a found objects gallery. Let me know what you think!

Random Dutch Observations

kim@lspace.org — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:50:25 GMT

Things that have jumped out at me while in the Netherlands for a few days recently:

The famous Dutch coffee brand Douwe Egberts has its own chain of cafés. Apparently, Amsterdam has had one for years, but the one in Den Haag, where we sheltered from the rain, seems to be relatively new. As usual, coffee is often served with a special little biscuit, tea generally without. Discrimination!

A photo of men driving mobility scooters in the Remembrance Sunday parade was on the front page of de Volkskrant on Monday.

Delft and Leiden seem to have turned into building sites. Den Haag Centraal is still a building site.

Had a nice chat with a woman on the train from Roosendaal to Rotterdam about this and that. Including something I called "varkensgriep" (swine flu) which she had to think about for a moment. The term had been changed to "Mexicaanse griep". The Netherlands is big on pigs: there's almost 12 million of them. Slightly less Mexicans, so they just have to put up with being maligned.

Every now and again, the Albert Heijn supermarket chain causes a frenzy with its collectibles. Right now, each 15 euros worth of shopping gets you one Snow White-themed figure. The supermarket even organises swap meets. Thus, an unaccompanied adult doing the week's shopping might well find themselves the target of hopeful children's eyes.

Regarding the Dutch and their love of cheese sandwiches, I discovered that some put sambal on their cheese to liven it up a bit. Reinier then said he's happy to put just sambal on bread, but I think that's only for very special snowflakes.

Small Wall Stories

kim@lspace.org — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:03:29 GMT

Twenty years ago yesterday the Wall was broken down. I saw it on TV and understood it was important but it didn't mean much to me. I was too young and too far away.

On my last day in the Netherlands yesterday, I heard a couple of stories that made it more real and personal.

In 1989, visitors from Dresden were due to bring paintings over to the Netherlands for an exhibition. Before the Wall came down, arranging the loan of paintings and other objects was a complete pain. It was difficult to get permission, embassies had to be involved, etc.

They weren't the only visitors. In the 1970's, someone came over from one of the Moscow museums to do archival research. She asked if she could copy some things and was directed to the photocopier in the corridor. After five minutes she came back to ask where the man for the photocopier was. It was explained to her that the staff did their own copying.

After some confusion, she said that she would never have been allowed to use a photocopier in the U.S.S.R., a man had to do it for you. Imagine if you sneaked a Western book or article in among the papers!

Anyway, like everyone, the visitors from Dresden knew something was brewing. They had free access to TV and radio in the Netherlands, and the museum staff kept them updated as well. When the news finally came, they went crazy with joy.

The thing the teller said they'd always remember is that the Dresden people took their van, now empty of paintings, on a trip into the centre of the city. When they returned it was crammed to the roof with Western appliances. Washing machines, TVs, everything. Because now they were allowed across the border.

Railing to the Netherlands

kim@lspace.org — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:34:45 GMT

Yesterday I caught the 6:59 laptop train to Brussels. Lucky, because if I'd travelled on Thursday as originally intended, I wouldn't have been travelling. Belgian Railways are having a mouvement social for 24 hours starting at 10pm. Funny thing is, I'm carrying various items in my bag to avoid the Royal Mail strikes...

This Eurostar had a good connection with the intercity to the Netherlands. It doesn't always. Sometimes, there's only five minutes to run from one end of Brussel Midi to the other, which means you either have a few minutes to run or an hour to scarf down a gauffre. However, this time I had a leisurely 19 minutes. Or they would've been leisurely had the international ticket website not gone on strike the night before, leaving me scrambling for a ticket at the station. Yes, I know you want to chat to your colleague but I still want an enkeltje Essen-Roosendaal. Please. Yes, with korting. Yes, 40% off. No, I'm not under 26. No, I do not have 10 cents. Thank you.

Yet another person has asked me why I travel by train instead of flying. My argument of convenience mightn't be convincing right now, but trust me, train screw ups are more manageable than flight screw ups.

It helped that I made it to platform 17 with under a minute to spare. Which is good because I wasn't stopping at Den Haag but travelling another two hours to what I think of as the Dutch equivalent of Slough. In the nicest possible way. First republican mail delivery complete. :-)

Part 3: Running, the FAQs so far

kim@lspace.org — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:24:52 GMT

Part 1: Beginner's Running Schedule
Part 2: Running Necessities

Thanks for your comments and questions. I've also had a few chats with people in RL, so I think it's time for the frequently asked questions. Leading by a mile:

1.) "Are you serious about getting the shoes fitted?" "I get pain in the ball of my foot, do you think it might have something to do with my incredibly ancient trainers?" etc, etc.

Yes, I'm afraid so. :-) Let's start by saying that a pair of basic trainers will set you back around £60-£70. There's understandable resistance to the idea of travelling a long distance to a running shop to get properly fitted for shoes and then spending a lot of money on something that you're not sure you'll enjoy or even keep up with. Even so, I'm serious about getting shoes fitted.

Most people do something called overpronating, their feet roll too far inward when they hit the ground, causing strain and possible injury to legs and knees. Pain in the ball of the foot, too. Beginners at any exercise are, of course, more prone to injury. Properly fitted shoes can compensate for this.

That's only one of the things they'll look at though. For example, when I was on the treadmill, they told me that I land way more forward on the foot than usual. Apparently, 9 out of 10 dancers will do that and it's not a problem except it creates extra load on the legs, for which a different type of shoe can compensate some. Also, my shoes won't last the more usual 500 miles.

Lastly, even if you decide that running's not for you, the shoes can provide good support for walks, so it won't be a total loss.

2.) In tones of disbelief, "Do you run while it's raining?"

Er, what country are we in? Water falling from the sky is not an excuse to skive. :-) It honestly doesn't bother me much, the trick is to be properly dressed.

Family members of the Wicked Witch of the West might want to try the treadmill instead. Personally, I prefer a drenching, but it's about whatever works for you.

3.) Orjan wrote, "I would probably have to add a week 0 to the schedule to get fit enough to be able to run for two minutes."

Not a question, but a good idea and a good example of listening to your body. If anyone feels they need to do this, go for it. And let me know what you think.

As always, please don't hesitate to comment or ask further questions here or if you see me on IM or RL. And please don't apologise for taking up my time, I'm happy to help.

Autumn Run

kim@lspace.org — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:14:13 GMT

I couldn't regret the turning of the seasons this morning. Light mist over grass, wind blowing orange-yellow leaves out of the trees, dogs running along the dirt track... and a leaf suddenly seizing hold of my ear. Either it was trying to nick my iPod or the squirrels have developed a brain attack system.

Anyhow, I can't believe this exists in dirty old London.

Wee City Planets

kim@lspace.org — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:19:54 GMT

This is seriously brilliant. London, Paris, Rome, etc. turned into Wee Planets by Alexandre Duret-Lutz. There's an older set of photos of Paris and France too. (via @LDN)

Part 2: Running Necessities

kim@lspace.org — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:49:15 GMT

Part 1: Beginner's Running Schedule

There's heaps of gadgets and amazing running gear available, but you don't need a lot when it comes down to it, which is one of the reasons I like running.

1. Properly fitted shoes. That means going to a reputable shop and walking or running on their treadmill so they can do a gait analysis. If you don't know a local runner to ask for advice (hello, mpk!) search on a local running club's website.

2. For women, a sports bra. If you haven't been measured recently, do so to ensure it fits properly.

Btw, what I've been telling you is all standard advice designed to help you get the most out of running while trying to ensure you don't become one of those tedious people with a tedious injury. Ahem.

Going on to no. 3, which is non-standard advice. ;-)

3. A thick skin. Available from the Shop of Life. Mostly for those Running While In Possession of a Vagina, Running While Visibly Disabled, Running While Fat, etc, you get the picture. If you've been harassed in the street for this, running shoes will not grant immunity. I don't want to put anyone off, but forewarned is forearmed.

4. Eyes in the back of your head. See, Shop of Life. When it comes to safety, it's the traffic you most need to watch out for. Or, in my case, suicidal squirrels.

That's it for now. Hope it's clear. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

Part 3: Running, the FAQs so far

Part 1: Beginner's Running Schedule

kim@lspace.org — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:24:00 GMT

A couple of people have asked about how to start running. There are a number of beginner's running programmes out there, but this is the one I used when I got back into running (unfortunately, it's been so long that I can't find the source.) I like it because it goes in minutes instead of miles.

Before starting this 10 week programme, you need to be able to walk for 30 minutes, four times a week. The schedule asks for four of the workouts each week, with a day's rest between the first three sessions.

Week     Run         Walk         Repeat
1     2 minutes     4 minutes     5 times
2     3 minutes     3 minutes     5 times
3     5 minutes     2.5 minutes   4 times
4     7 minutes     3 minutes     3 times
5     8 minutes     2 minutes     3 times
6     9 minutes     2 minutes     2 times, then run 8 minutes
7     9 minutes     1 minute      3 times
8     13 minutes    2 minutes     2 times
9     14 minutes    1 minute      2 times
10    30 minutes

A short walk to warm up is sufficient. Afterwards, do some stretches to cool down and hold them for 15-30secs. Your body will tell you the next day which ones you should've done.

You should not get majorly out of breath, your pace should be such that you can hold a conversation. Singing along to your mp3 player, like the runner I passed this morning, is optional.

Most importantly, listen to your body. And enjoy. :-)

Part 2: Running Necessities
Part 3: Running, the FAQs so far

Lost Letters

kim@lspace.org — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:10:20 GMT

At 5 this morning, I was not woken up by a woman on the phone speaking German. Unlike yesterday.

According to the landlord the German couple who lived here moved away about five years ago. The correspondence has only recently dried up. Official letters, postcards... wedding invitations!

In the building in Paris, letters mostly went into a pile at the bottom of the stairs (despite the charming letterboxes). Some of them were addressed to people who hadn't lived there for at least half a year. It was the handwritten letters from places like Ethiopia that got me. No return address, so the senders might never know why they didn't receive a reply.

Previously, in Leiden, I'd decided to carry out a vigorous campaign of "retour afzender" on letters that didn't belong. The stream dried up after only two months. But that was one house (sort of) with only four people in it. With six flats in one building, I felt like I should only tackle letters for our flat, though even then I soon got tired of the letters NPAI (n'habite pas à l'adresse indiquée).

You might think that the moral of all this waffle is about sending out a change of address in a timely fashion. However, I was still picking mail up in Paris two years after the move (unsurprisingly, the digicode hadn't been changed.)

Stick to e-mail?

NZ Police Advice

kim@lspace.org — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:21:52 GMT

I tweeted this earlier, but it's such a perfect Friday afternoon video that it deserves a wider audience. It's a clip from a reality show, Police Ten 7, featuring a NZ police slogan. Pure gold.

Police Ten 7 - Safer Communities Together

The End of One & Other

kim@lspace.org — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:48:12 GMT

After 100 days, the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square is empty once more. 2,400 people all spent one hour on the plinth doing whatever they wanted in the name of Antony Gormley's One & Other project.

The project attracted the predictable "but is it art?" wankery, even before it ended on Tuesday. Well, it might not always have been art, but what it was, was absolutely worthwhile.

I managed to get to Trafalgar Square a couple of times, most recently while searching for Unseen Academicals. But mostly my experience came courtesy of the excellent coverage provided by various O&O droids. I'll miss having the live feed sitting in the corner of my screen and the accompanying Twitter convo alongside it.

There's a very nice final highlights video available. The rest of the highlights are worth browsing through as well.

The thing I'll remember most about this project is just how lovely the participants were. There were a few randoms up there but people seemed so stoked at being able to take part. Have just noticed the Telegraph say they "seem to symbolise something about the indefatigability of the human spirit", which is a more arty way of putting it. :-)

I hope there'll be a similar project sometime in the future, but outside of London.

More Free Rice

kim@lspace.org — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:17:03 GMT

For those of you, who, like me, are not reading Unseen Academicals right now... remember Free Rice? The website that donates rice in return for correct quiz answers?

Well, someone posted the link recently and I discovered that the vocab game had been updated. Last time you guys were going for level 50, this time the levels go up to 60! Bonus: if you click on "Subjects" in the top menu, you can test your knowledge of art, the periodic table, geography, maths and other languages. Who's in? :-)

The Hunt for Unseen Academicals

kim@lspace.org — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:39:50 GMT

Up and down Charing Cross Road I trudged. Foyles hoped to have it by the end of the day, Borders was kinda blank and Blackwells checked their order but couldn't swear to an arrival date. Waterstone's near Tottenham Court Road has been closed since works started on Crossrail. It was getting towards the end of lunch, without lunch.

I got on the Tube and tried to console myself with thoughts of the chocolate brownies at the Lyric Square Farmers' Market. But wouldn't you know it, the small Books Etc in Hammersmith station had copies of Unseen Academicals sitting in the window.

The Tube journey home this evening was the most enjoyable ever.

However, Wingnut has a superior claim to the book because he has germs. Not boy germs or swine germs but rhino germs.

I'm just waiting for the book to fall from his weak and feeble grasp...