Last week I went to the Vernacular Architecture Group conference in Durham. It was great fun, but terribly exhausting also. We were going from 7am to at least 10 every night. I got to meet all of these vernacular architecture heroes. It was amazing to meet people who have written some of the things you've been reading and citing for papers. Adrian Green winked at me and I almost fainted... definitely star struck. Oh well. We spent the 3-4 days of the conference travelling all over Co. Durham and visiting these tiny little towns with names like Eastgate, Stanhope, Kilhope, Wall etc and climbing in people's roofs, mucking through farm yards, and talking to people about the mysteries of the buildings we visited. I got to talk to Linda Hall about staircases, and ask other experts questions timber framing, crucks, trusses, window mullions, door frames, you name it. It was pretty great. I also learned what about bastles, which are semi-fortified first-floor halls.
Everyone at the conference was eager and interested to talk to their "bursary" student about what I'm doing with my life, and almost everyone I spoke with offered advice for my dissertation extremely willingly. I was grateful for that. I came away with a list of buildings I should look up and a lot of contacts.
Durham is a lovely little city in a great county. The dales (river valleys between hills) were beautiful and I hope I can get back into them to explore some-- little rivers and streams everywhere. Its also lambing seasons so their were sheep kids everywhere, charging up hills after one another etc. I got to see some really young little things that were warming up under lamps, and some mothers who had given birth earlier in the morning. One of the sheep was not impressed w/ us exploring her barn and kept staring at us and stamping her foot vehemently. Over the weekend we went to Beningborough hall and there was a book entitled "Know your Sheep" on display, and I was extremely tempted to get it. I didn't, but I did try to find examples of all the sheep I met. Anyway, Durham was lovely, as was the area around. I met some people from the local vernacular architecture group and I may be joining them to do some survey. Tomorrow I am going up north again, this time to Berwick-Upon-Tweed, to help a classmate do some survey of a castle for her dissertation. Should be good times. Will try to post again later. love to all
York: Easter, 02-04/04/10
Easter...
On Thursday Shaneque, Rachel (Medieval) and I dyed Easter eggs! It was great fun. I dyed one blue and colored a pirate face on it w/ a parrot on its shoulder, but the parrot looked more like a penguin. The other one I liked was Russ's suggestion. I drew pajamas on it and then dyed the pajamas red. It turned out cute. I will try to post pictures.
On Friday I went to the stations of the cross meditation service at St. Michel-le-Belfry, in York. It's across the road from the minster and takes a little bit more contemporary approach to traditional services. I went with a friend to celebrate Good Friday. In England both Friday and Monday are bank holidays that we get off for Easter. Impressive, eh? It occured to me that we never really celebrate Good Friday, either in the church, or in the US. I was wondering why that is. In the church we never really have special services for anything, even Christmas eve, although we celebrate his birth and death just as much as any other religion. The only reason I can come up for this is that 1) the population of our church is so diverse, every area of the world has diverse ways of celebrating these holidays which have become culturally engrained, so by not having special services we allow all of our members to celebrate Easter/Christmas/whatever the way they traditionally (and culturally) would, 2) it means that we set aside time for the family to be together and to worship together, so the way we commemorate these holidays is totally up to us. These are busy times of year, so it makes sense to set aside some time for the family. Anyway, I don't know the actual reasons for this, but that's my thought.
On Saturday and Sunday we had general conference. I enjoyed most of the sessions and am taking time to review them online. I like waking up and listening to conference. On Sunday a few of my housemates and I (Rachel (Medieval) and Christine and Erin (friend of Rachel) made Easter dinner. It was so delicious. We had lamb, veggies, asparagus, sugary sweet potatoes, it was great. Below is the MOST delicious recipe we used for the lamb... which turned out soooo good.
Cranberry-Apple Syrup (originally supposed to be pomegranate, but we were poor)
4 c juice
1/2 c sugar
1 tblspn squeezed lemon
Combine everything and stir over medium heat until the sugar is all dissolved. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook until only 1 1/2 cups are left.
Lamb:
cut slivers into the lamb and put garlic cloves in there. cook the lamb according to the instructions on the packing. baste w/ syrup every thirty minutes.
Veg:
using the pan you will you to cook the lamb in, put olive oil in it and place it on a hob (oven thing). put sliced onions in there and cook until golden brown. Meanwhile, boil potatoes until only slightly done, drain and mix w/ the onions. Put the lamb in there and braise it about 10 seconds on all sides, add the rest of the veg, pour syrup over the lamb. Cover w/ foil until the last 30 mins.
So delicious. So much flavor its almost unbearable.
On Thursday Shaneque, Rachel (Medieval) and I dyed Easter eggs! It was great fun. I dyed one blue and colored a pirate face on it w/ a parrot on its shoulder, but the parrot looked more like a penguin. The other one I liked was Russ's suggestion. I drew pajamas on it and then dyed the pajamas red. It turned out cute. I will try to post pictures.
On Friday I went to the stations of the cross meditation service at St. Michel-le-Belfry, in York. It's across the road from the minster and takes a little bit more contemporary approach to traditional services. I went with a friend to celebrate Good Friday. In England both Friday and Monday are bank holidays that we get off for Easter. Impressive, eh? It occured to me that we never really celebrate Good Friday, either in the church, or in the US. I was wondering why that is. In the church we never really have special services for anything, even Christmas eve, although we celebrate his birth and death just as much as any other religion. The only reason I can come up for this is that 1) the population of our church is so diverse, every area of the world has diverse ways of celebrating these holidays which have become culturally engrained, so by not having special services we allow all of our members to celebrate Easter/Christmas/whatever the way they traditionally (and culturally) would, 2) it means that we set aside time for the family to be together and to worship together, so the way we commemorate these holidays is totally up to us. These are busy times of year, so it makes sense to set aside some time for the family. Anyway, I don't know the actual reasons for this, but that's my thought.
On Saturday and Sunday we had general conference. I enjoyed most of the sessions and am taking time to review them online. I like waking up and listening to conference. On Sunday a few of my housemates and I (Rachel (Medieval) and Christine and Erin (friend of Rachel) made Easter dinner. It was so delicious. We had lamb, veggies, asparagus, sugary sweet potatoes, it was great. Below is the MOST delicious recipe we used for the lamb... which turned out soooo good.
Cranberry-Apple Syrup (originally supposed to be pomegranate, but we were poor)
4 c juice
1/2 c sugar
1 tblspn squeezed lemon
Combine everything and stir over medium heat until the sugar is all dissolved. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook until only 1 1/2 cups are left.
Lamb:
cut slivers into the lamb and put garlic cloves in there. cook the lamb according to the instructions on the packing. baste w/ syrup every thirty minutes.
Veg:
using the pan you will you to cook the lamb in, put olive oil in it and place it on a hob (oven thing). put sliced onions in there and cook until golden brown. Meanwhile, boil potatoes until only slightly done, drain and mix w/ the onions. Put the lamb in there and braise it about 10 seconds on all sides, add the rest of the veg, pour syrup over the lamb. Cover w/ foil until the last 30 mins.
So delicious. So much flavor its almost unbearable.
Recent Recipes
So...
Here are some recipes I've tried lately.
On the stove take a glass dish w/ a little bit of olive oil and cook thinly sliced onions and garlic until soft. Add pre-boiled (to almost done) sliced potatoes, mix together and put lamb chops on top. Cook in the oven at whatever temperature, and for however long is necessary to cook lamb chops MINUS 10 minutes. Take out and pour a can of tomatoe sauce over everything, add some herbs at any point-- whatever kind you like. Cook for the last ten minutes and serve. Easy AND delicious, relatively cheap for a nice Sunday lunch.
Snack:
you need cream crackers
Cheese (any kind, I used cream cheese)
Apples
Slice apples thinly, spread cheese on crackers, broil in over until apples are done. Delicious. I had it with tomato-basil soup and a tuna cake.
Here are some recipes I've tried lately.
On the stove take a glass dish w/ a little bit of olive oil and cook thinly sliced onions and garlic until soft. Add pre-boiled (to almost done) sliced potatoes, mix together and put lamb chops on top. Cook in the oven at whatever temperature, and for however long is necessary to cook lamb chops MINUS 10 minutes. Take out and pour a can of tomatoe sauce over everything, add some herbs at any point-- whatever kind you like. Cook for the last ten minutes and serve. Easy AND delicious, relatively cheap for a nice Sunday lunch.
Snack:
you need cream crackers
Cheese (any kind, I used cream cheese)
Apples
Slice apples thinly, spread cheese on crackers, broil in over until apples are done. Delicious. I had it with tomato-basil soup and a tuna cake.
My Thoughts on Health Care Reform
So... Living in England, I've noticed that health care reform, like electing Obama as our president, is another issue that many people outside of the US are looking at and saying "Finally, America," and yet there are many among us that fiercely oppose the idea of a "universal" health care system. The following two links are just two examples of websites that my friends have either posted on facebook, or emailed me, in response to this bill. I have also been invited to join facebook pages about it. The first of these is by Mike Rogers and the second is Mit Romney.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G44NCvNDLfc
www.noapology.com/Blog/Read.aspx?id=24#fbid=SsHb1LsiTbm
I've heard people cite fears that this reform is "unconstitutional", "takes away our rights and freedoms", is an "abuse of power" and even go so far as to say that health care is for the privileged few who had "earned" it. I'm really disturbed by this and I can't say that I can comment on the constituionality of it all, I'm responding to the outrcy from a moral standpoint. I am trying to blow off some steam by writing about it in a semi-public forum. I am interested to hear what you have to say in response. I don't assume to be completely knowledgeable about what this bill will do, except for what I have read on BBC. The following is a good overview of the debates and how we have gotten to where we are today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8160058.stm.
My opinions come from my experiences living overseas, and from my experiences living in America, while I was both insured and uninsured. I know that many people's problems with this health care system revolve around the WAY in which Obama pushed this bill through. I have not followed it closely enough to comment on that, the issues I address here are moral, rather than political, or statistics based.
This last summer I was recently graduated from university, did not have a job and could not afford health insurance. I got jabbed in the face during a rough soccer match and my first thought was "gosh, please don't be broken, I can't afford to go to the doctor."
Many of you also know that I drive a scooter and everyday I went out on that thing I narrowly missed being hit because someone wasn't paying attention. Every time I went outside of my house and got on my bike, or crossed the street I thought "Please don't get hurt, I can't afford to go to the hospital."
During the summer, though employed, I was still not in a position to afford health insurance unless it was with a $5,000 deductible. I was earning a decent wage, but was not salaried and was not working at a permanent job. I was also doing archaeology in southern Utah, surrounded by an assortment of dangers including swinging maddocks, black widows, barbed wire, and intense heat, to name a few. Every time I almost got hurt I thought "oh man, if I that had happened I would be in trouble." It was very stressful!
Alternatively, last night I was walking to the gym and I missed a step going down the stairs of a bridge and rolled my ankle. My first thought was "Well, that's why you shouldn't go out alone at night" and the second thought was "Thank goodness if I need to go to the doctor, I can." Why? I still don't have health insurance, so what's different? I am in the UK, living under the NHS, which is Britain's universal health insurance plan. I am neither a citizen, nor a resident, and yet, as an American, I am covered!
Add to this all the stories I hear from my mother, who works in a school in Georgia where a VAST majority of her students are living below the poverty line, such that they are eligible for two free meals a day. Parents of these kids work multiple jobs and can barely make ends meet, let alone afford health insurance. Their car breaks down so they lose their job, they can't fix their car because they have no job, but they can't get a job because they don't have a car. Add to this the concern that they have no health insurance and the amount of stress here is unreal. All the kids in my mom's school are from the same economic and education level and are, basically, all of the same race.
I know of other people who are already insured and get sick but their health insurance doesn't cover whatever illness they have so their family quickly falls into thousands and thousands of dollars in debt. This puts them below the poverty line and living on welfare, even though they were insured to begin with. Provo, where I used to live, has a huge number of people living on welfare and one of the leading reasons is due to unforseen medical problems. These are people how had decent jobs, but got screwed by their health insurance. Ask the people at the food bank, that's my source of information.
Another person has MS and for whatever reason loses their insurance because they change jobs, but since they have a pre-existing condition they aren't eligible for the insurance offered by their new employer.
Then look at how much aid the US sends to other countries every year to offer health care, sustainable access to potable water, food, medecine and health education. Look at the recent example of the earth quake in Haitii. Yet we can't even take care of the people in our OWN country who are suffering from comparable problems. What is the matter with this picture?
My Dad pointed something out to me this week that just adds fuel to this fire. The LDS church recently added "care for the poor and needy" to its former 3-fold mission of the church, yet most of the people I have heard complain about this health care reform are LDS. There seems to be a disjoint there, not only as Americans, but also among members of my faith. People are so concerned with how this could potentially "hurt" them, rather than with how it's going to help our country in the long run. I don't know how this will all work, but it seems likely to boost our economy, and give people more time and energy to devote to their families and to getting a better education, or a better job, without the stress of dealing with the consequences of living iwth inadequate health insurance.
I watched about ten minutes of The Titanic this week and heard my housemates talk about how appalling it was that the lower-class passengers were locked in the ship to freeze to death and drown while the first-class passengers were put in life-boats. Most of this was due to poor management on the part of the ship, and their belief that nothing bad could ever happen to them. Yet I remember hearing about this as a kid and thinking how disgusting it was that in the early 1900s there was such a division of class, that one group of people was thought to be so much better than another just because they had money (read: privileges), and that they deserved to live, whereas those without money and social status were not. Similarly, there are people who believe health care is a privilege that you earn, which is equally appalling to me. It shows that although we think we're doing well with "abolishing" discrimination, we're not. Whether its by race, social status, education, age, or gender, discrimination is alive and well.
People frequently cite the "American dream," and how the whole point behind the "American Dream" was that America was a place where if you work hard enough you can have anything. Well we need to get our heads out of this dream-fixation and focus on reality. Maybe part of our "success" in life is due to hard work, but I'd argue that a lot of it comes from the hard work of others, and lucky breaks. Our position in life is largely determined by the parents we're born to, their education and economic level, what side of the tracks they were raised in, and the economic level of those in our neighborhoods. It's the luck of the draw-- a series of breaks that ensure that we live a comfortable life. In my opinion, very little of our success actually has to do with our own hard we work and a lot to do with luck and blessings. Therefore, my reaction to this is that if we're blessed, then why aren't we blessing others? If we have privileges, why are we so selfish and so self-centered as to think that its because we worked hard, forgetting that it's also because a long line of other people worked hard and were given the appropriate opportunities for us to be where we are today. If we can accept that many, many people (and debateably God) have been invovled in our success, why can't we turn around and be involved in someone else' success? If all that means is paying extra for health insurance then what do we have to lose?
One of the things I love about the UK is that because they have universal health insurance people have more freedom to take up jobs doing what they love because they don't have to worry about things like health insurance. There is less of a stigma about those who hold jobs that are supposedly disgusting or undesirable. The apprenticeship system, though struggling, is alive. People can be craftsmen for a living, they can sell fruits and vegetables at a local market, deliver pizzas, or clean drains for a living and they don't have to worry about if their kid gets sick. My friend's mother has Chrons disease as well as a heart problem but she doesn't have to worry about taking a few weeks off of work to recover from surgery, and she doesn't have to worry about paying for specialist doctors. I just think that is right. That's the way it should be. I remember my Mom telling me about a time when she was pregnant and travelling through Europe with all of us. She had problems with her pregnancy and was able to go to the doctor and get treated for free, even though she is American. That just feels right to me.
Obviously these thoughts are not substantiated by facts and figures, my tirade is purely a moral one and I know nothing of how much this will all cost, or how much our country's current system will change. But I don't care. I'm willing to pay taxes through my ears so that everyone can have the right to health insurance. Ok, so nobody likes taxes, but to me its worth it to take the stress of not having health insurance out of people's lives. I think that, although costly, this plan will also stimulate our nation's economy because by not having to worry about health insurance, people will be able to focus on other things like how well their kid is learning to read in school. I think this is only one step towards improving our nation as a whole. Next is affordable higher education, because everyone deserves the right and opportunity to be educated-- just like everyone deserves the right to health insuance. I just think we should give this plan a shot, and see what happens. If it goes belly-up, it shouldn't be because we didn't give it a fair shot.
Two more links that I just got:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/22/AR2010032200410.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/opinion/23herbert.html?adxnnl=1&ref=opinions&adxnnlx=1269380307-Hbr7+f6nMj+svMWJy4NDhg
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G44NCvNDLfc
www.noapology.com/Blog/Read.aspx?id=24#fbid=SsHb1LsiTbm
I've heard people cite fears that this reform is "unconstitutional", "takes away our rights and freedoms", is an "abuse of power" and even go so far as to say that health care is for the privileged few who had "earned" it. I'm really disturbed by this and I can't say that I can comment on the constituionality of it all, I'm responding to the outrcy from a moral standpoint. I am trying to blow off some steam by writing about it in a semi-public forum. I am interested to hear what you have to say in response. I don't assume to be completely knowledgeable about what this bill will do, except for what I have read on BBC. The following is a good overview of the debates and how we have gotten to where we are today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8160058.stm.
My opinions come from my experiences living overseas, and from my experiences living in America, while I was both insured and uninsured. I know that many people's problems with this health care system revolve around the WAY in which Obama pushed this bill through. I have not followed it closely enough to comment on that, the issues I address here are moral, rather than political, or statistics based.
This last summer I was recently graduated from university, did not have a job and could not afford health insurance. I got jabbed in the face during a rough soccer match and my first thought was "gosh, please don't be broken, I can't afford to go to the doctor."
Many of you also know that I drive a scooter and everyday I went out on that thing I narrowly missed being hit because someone wasn't paying attention. Every time I went outside of my house and got on my bike, or crossed the street I thought "Please don't get hurt, I can't afford to go to the hospital."
During the summer, though employed, I was still not in a position to afford health insurance unless it was with a $5,000 deductible. I was earning a decent wage, but was not salaried and was not working at a permanent job. I was also doing archaeology in southern Utah, surrounded by an assortment of dangers including swinging maddocks, black widows, barbed wire, and intense heat, to name a few. Every time I almost got hurt I thought "oh man, if I that had happened I would be in trouble." It was very stressful!
Alternatively, last night I was walking to the gym and I missed a step going down the stairs of a bridge and rolled my ankle. My first thought was "Well, that's why you shouldn't go out alone at night" and the second thought was "Thank goodness if I need to go to the doctor, I can." Why? I still don't have health insurance, so what's different? I am in the UK, living under the NHS, which is Britain's universal health insurance plan. I am neither a citizen, nor a resident, and yet, as an American, I am covered!
Add to this all the stories I hear from my mother, who works in a school in Georgia where a VAST majority of her students are living below the poverty line, such that they are eligible for two free meals a day. Parents of these kids work multiple jobs and can barely make ends meet, let alone afford health insurance. Their car breaks down so they lose their job, they can't fix their car because they have no job, but they can't get a job because they don't have a car. Add to this the concern that they have no health insurance and the amount of stress here is unreal. All the kids in my mom's school are from the same economic and education level and are, basically, all of the same race.
I know of other people who are already insured and get sick but their health insurance doesn't cover whatever illness they have so their family quickly falls into thousands and thousands of dollars in debt. This puts them below the poverty line and living on welfare, even though they were insured to begin with. Provo, where I used to live, has a huge number of people living on welfare and one of the leading reasons is due to unforseen medical problems. These are people how had decent jobs, but got screwed by their health insurance. Ask the people at the food bank, that's my source of information.
Another person has MS and for whatever reason loses their insurance because they change jobs, but since they have a pre-existing condition they aren't eligible for the insurance offered by their new employer.
Then look at how much aid the US sends to other countries every year to offer health care, sustainable access to potable water, food, medecine and health education. Look at the recent example of the earth quake in Haitii. Yet we can't even take care of the people in our OWN country who are suffering from comparable problems. What is the matter with this picture?
My Dad pointed something out to me this week that just adds fuel to this fire. The LDS church recently added "care for the poor and needy" to its former 3-fold mission of the church, yet most of the people I have heard complain about this health care reform are LDS. There seems to be a disjoint there, not only as Americans, but also among members of my faith. People are so concerned with how this could potentially "hurt" them, rather than with how it's going to help our country in the long run. I don't know how this will all work, but it seems likely to boost our economy, and give people more time and energy to devote to their families and to getting a better education, or a better job, without the stress of dealing with the consequences of living iwth inadequate health insurance.
I watched about ten minutes of The Titanic this week and heard my housemates talk about how appalling it was that the lower-class passengers were locked in the ship to freeze to death and drown while the first-class passengers were put in life-boats. Most of this was due to poor management on the part of the ship, and their belief that nothing bad could ever happen to them. Yet I remember hearing about this as a kid and thinking how disgusting it was that in the early 1900s there was such a division of class, that one group of people was thought to be so much better than another just because they had money (read: privileges), and that they deserved to live, whereas those without money and social status were not. Similarly, there are people who believe health care is a privilege that you earn, which is equally appalling to me. It shows that although we think we're doing well with "abolishing" discrimination, we're not. Whether its by race, social status, education, age, or gender, discrimination is alive and well.
People frequently cite the "American dream," and how the whole point behind the "American Dream" was that America was a place where if you work hard enough you can have anything. Well we need to get our heads out of this dream-fixation and focus on reality. Maybe part of our "success" in life is due to hard work, but I'd argue that a lot of it comes from the hard work of others, and lucky breaks. Our position in life is largely determined by the parents we're born to, their education and economic level, what side of the tracks they were raised in, and the economic level of those in our neighborhoods. It's the luck of the draw-- a series of breaks that ensure that we live a comfortable life. In my opinion, very little of our success actually has to do with our own hard we work and a lot to do with luck and blessings. Therefore, my reaction to this is that if we're blessed, then why aren't we blessing others? If we have privileges, why are we so selfish and so self-centered as to think that its because we worked hard, forgetting that it's also because a long line of other people worked hard and were given the appropriate opportunities for us to be where we are today. If we can accept that many, many people (and debateably God) have been invovled in our success, why can't we turn around and be involved in someone else' success? If all that means is paying extra for health insurance then what do we have to lose?
One of the things I love about the UK is that because they have universal health insurance people have more freedom to take up jobs doing what they love because they don't have to worry about things like health insurance. There is less of a stigma about those who hold jobs that are supposedly disgusting or undesirable. The apprenticeship system, though struggling, is alive. People can be craftsmen for a living, they can sell fruits and vegetables at a local market, deliver pizzas, or clean drains for a living and they don't have to worry about if their kid gets sick. My friend's mother has Chrons disease as well as a heart problem but she doesn't have to worry about taking a few weeks off of work to recover from surgery, and she doesn't have to worry about paying for specialist doctors. I just think that is right. That's the way it should be. I remember my Mom telling me about a time when she was pregnant and travelling through Europe with all of us. She had problems with her pregnancy and was able to go to the doctor and get treated for free, even though she is American. That just feels right to me.
Obviously these thoughts are not substantiated by facts and figures, my tirade is purely a moral one and I know nothing of how much this will all cost, or how much our country's current system will change. But I don't care. I'm willing to pay taxes through my ears so that everyone can have the right to health insurance. Ok, so nobody likes taxes, but to me its worth it to take the stress of not having health insurance out of people's lives. I think that, although costly, this plan will also stimulate our nation's economy because by not having to worry about health insurance, people will be able to focus on other things like how well their kid is learning to read in school. I think this is only one step towards improving our nation as a whole. Next is affordable higher education, because everyone deserves the right and opportunity to be educated-- just like everyone deserves the right to health insuance. I just think we should give this plan a shot, and see what happens. If it goes belly-up, it shouldn't be because we didn't give it a fair shot.
Two more links that I just got:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/22/AR2010032200410.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/opinion/23herbert.html?adxnnl=1&ref=opinions&adxnnlx=1269380307-Hbr7+f6nMj+svMWJy4NDhg
Wales
SO... I spent an amazing day in Wales. We went to two little towns near Snowdonia. Don't ask me to tell you where because I have absolutely NO idea what they were called. At the first one we just wandered along a river and had a marvelous time relaxing. It was beautiful. We climbed trees, I walked on rocks out in the middle of the river and we took tons of pictures. At the second place we walked up to a water fall and took more pictures and then down to a castle keep from like the 1200 or something? I don't remember. Right before we got there and climbed to the top someone had decided to urinate there and it stank like something awful. But the pictures were and are GRAND. Funnily enough I found a postcard in the nearby town of a woman with her son standing on a drawbridge. The kid is asking where daddy is and the mom tells him "he went in search of a loo" only to look up at the top of the castle tower in the background and see a single stream of black dots ejecting from the "tower" into the moat... it made me wonder if peeing from the tops of things is just a thing guys like to do? I guess it doesn't surprise me. lol Anyway, If you are my friend on facebook you can probably see a bunch of pictures there and I will try to post more soon. However, tomorrow I am off to Dublin and I am super stoked. Our plans include: St. Patrick's Cathedral, Newgrange, a trip to the archaeology museum to see the bog bodies, cheap souvenirs, and free tickets to the Guinness factory. It's going to be the best time ever. That's about 4 life-time goals all rolled into one, including the point that I am finally going somewhere I haven't been before! Life does not get better than this. I will report later. Love and kisses...
Rose
Rose
York/Wales: The last few weeks
SO, I'm ashamed that I have not blogged in a loooong time. Classes are going great and I am enjoying everything but have been decidedly stressed out because of everything going on this term. After much deliberation I finally decided on a dissertation topic and then my professor told me about a program with the British Institute in Eastern Africa that I could potentially use for my dissertation. It would be totally different and involve recording a colonial villa in... I forget where (somewhere cool). Anyway, I decided after some deliberation that i was more interested in the topic I had already chosen and turned down Africa! Can you believe it? I'd say that is pretty impressive... but to be honest the project sounded a little boring for a dissertation. However, I have been thinking about going there for 3 months after I finish my MA as a research delegate with the group. I think it would be totally awesome, but I'm not sure yet.
Anyway, for my dissertation I'm going to be studying tithe barns in England. My idea comes from Vitruvius, because the Romans were awesome. Actually, it is much older than Vitruvius. I believe it would date to at least the ancient Egyptians, although this belief is unsubstantiated by actual literature-- it's just my hunch. Anyway, it is well known and also well accepted that people have been using "sacred" geometry for centuries to lay out and design their buildings. This involves using organized systems of proportions in every aspect of the design process, in some cases it applies to everything from the floor plan to the shape of the mouldings around the celing!
In Vitruvius' 10 Books on Architecture, Vitruvius talks extensively about the appropriate proportions and geometry that should be used design particular types of buildings. If you remember the buzz-word "golden rectangle" that is what I'm talking about. However, this idea is not restricted to the "classical" or "western" worlds. Apparently even in Japan they used the set measurement "ken" to design their tea houses. Variations in measurements of the ken are used to establish a basic "mat" size and then the proportions for tea houses were so many mats wide, and so many mats long. Also, Islamic architecture, particularly Iranian/Sufi architecture uses common systems of geometry and proportions in the designs of their mosques.
Anyway, in England, and elsewhere throughout the "western" world cathedrals and monumental buildings have been studied extensively to determine "rules" for proportions and geometry, however I know of only ONE person who studies this related to vernacular architecture. So, here comes my project, have you figured it out? I'm going to look at tithe barns as a type of vernacular architecture, to see if the idea of using geometry and proportions carried over into this aspect of English architecture. I will be creating a survey of all maps/floor plans/data of these buildings to explore something new and exciting, and its all my idea! Cool, huh?! Anyway, it will be a lot of work, but it will be exciting. I also have a few journals in mind where I think I will be able to publish something. ALSO, I received a bursary to go to the Vernacular Architecture Group conference in Durham in April, so that is great. I will be able to meet people in the field and see some cool buildings. I'm not sure if this is where I'll go w/ my phd, but we'll see. One step at a time, right?
Anyway, today we went to Wales. It was freakin' awesome. The weather was the best. It was sunny and blue skied all day. We went to two small towns in the vicinity of Snowdonia, which is apparently famous. At the first one we hopped a fence and just walked along a river. It was so clear and beautiful (the water). There were also good trees for climbing and I got pretty far into the river by walking on rocks, but I did get my shoes wet. The second place we went to was right at the base of Snowdonia and it was also neat. We walked to a water fall and then to the ruins of a 13th century castle/keep. It was awesome, but I was really irritated that there were so many beer bottles and cans everywhere. It was such a beautiful place, it just fell disrespectful to be leaving trash everywhere. Also, someone had pee'd on the top of the keep very soon before we arrived there and it wreaked! I was very irritated. However, the day was great. It was so beautiful. If I had had my Chaco's I would have been walking around in that river, for sure, although I did hear it was cold (snow run off and all). Anyway, I took some cool pictures and will hopefully put those up soon.
Oh, and I suppose I never mentioned the stereotypes party we had. We all had to come dressed up as a stereotype from the country/region/state where we are from. Well, being from Utah I couldn't resist going as a polygamist's wife. It was a little scary how much everyone loved my costume. I decided after a few hours that the comments were getting out of hand so I changed into my Snoopy-Peace t-shirt instead. lol, that party was a looong night. They forgot to dilute the last batch of punch with sprite and people got pretty toasted.
A couple of weeks ago there was Viking festival in York. We got to watch people dressed up as Vikings do fighting demonstrations. I was hoping they would choose me to be a victim slave girl but they ran out of time, alas...
The other day I also saw this old lady hobbling down the street. She had a cane but wasn't using it. I couldn't figure out what was going on so I walked up next to her and she was holding this squirming cat. lol! She was trying to put him in the house because she was going on a trip and it kept getting out, so I took it from her and helped her put it away. It was hilarious. Then later I was walking by that house and saw a suspiscious grey cat, I only hope it wasn't the same one. Anyway, I got a great laugh out of that, silly kitty! Anyway, all for now, it's very late. The next time I write will probably be after I go to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day. Anyway, pictures to follow, night!
Anyway, for my dissertation I'm going to be studying tithe barns in England. My idea comes from Vitruvius, because the Romans were awesome. Actually, it is much older than Vitruvius. I believe it would date to at least the ancient Egyptians, although this belief is unsubstantiated by actual literature-- it's just my hunch. Anyway, it is well known and also well accepted that people have been using "sacred" geometry for centuries to lay out and design their buildings. This involves using organized systems of proportions in every aspect of the design process, in some cases it applies to everything from the floor plan to the shape of the mouldings around the celing!
In Vitruvius' 10 Books on Architecture, Vitruvius talks extensively about the appropriate proportions and geometry that should be used design particular types of buildings. If you remember the buzz-word "golden rectangle" that is what I'm talking about. However, this idea is not restricted to the "classical" or "western" worlds. Apparently even in Japan they used the set measurement "ken" to design their tea houses. Variations in measurements of the ken are used to establish a basic "mat" size and then the proportions for tea houses were so many mats wide, and so many mats long. Also, Islamic architecture, particularly Iranian/Sufi architecture uses common systems of geometry and proportions in the designs of their mosques.
Anyway, in England, and elsewhere throughout the "western" world cathedrals and monumental buildings have been studied extensively to determine "rules" for proportions and geometry, however I know of only ONE person who studies this related to vernacular architecture. So, here comes my project, have you figured it out? I'm going to look at tithe barns as a type of vernacular architecture, to see if the idea of using geometry and proportions carried over into this aspect of English architecture. I will be creating a survey of all maps/floor plans/data of these buildings to explore something new and exciting, and its all my idea! Cool, huh?! Anyway, it will be a lot of work, but it will be exciting. I also have a few journals in mind where I think I will be able to publish something. ALSO, I received a bursary to go to the Vernacular Architecture Group conference in Durham in April, so that is great. I will be able to meet people in the field and see some cool buildings. I'm not sure if this is where I'll go w/ my phd, but we'll see. One step at a time, right?
Anyway, today we went to Wales. It was freakin' awesome. The weather was the best. It was sunny and blue skied all day. We went to two small towns in the vicinity of Snowdonia, which is apparently famous. At the first one we hopped a fence and just walked along a river. It was so clear and beautiful (the water). There were also good trees for climbing and I got pretty far into the river by walking on rocks, but I did get my shoes wet. The second place we went to was right at the base of Snowdonia and it was also neat. We walked to a water fall and then to the ruins of a 13th century castle/keep. It was awesome, but I was really irritated that there were so many beer bottles and cans everywhere. It was such a beautiful place, it just fell disrespectful to be leaving trash everywhere. Also, someone had pee'd on the top of the keep very soon before we arrived there and it wreaked!
Oh, and I suppose I never mentioned the stereotypes party we had. We all had to come dressed up as a stereotype from the country/region/state where we are from. Well, being from Utah I couldn't resist going as a polygamist's wife. It was a little scary how much everyone loved my costume. I decided after a few hours that the comments were getting out of hand so I changed into my Snoopy-Peace t-shirt instead. lol, that party was a looong night. They forgot to dilute the last batch of punch with sprite and people got pretty toasted.
A couple of weeks ago there was Viking festival in York. We got to watch people dressed up as Vikings do fighting demonstrations. I was hoping they would choose me to be a victim slave girl but they ran out of time, alas...
The other day I also saw this old lady hobbling down the street. She had a cane but wasn't using it. I couldn't figure out what was going on so I walked up next to her and she was holding this squirming cat. lol! She was trying to put him in the house because she was going on a trip and it kept getting out, so I took it from her and helped her put it away. It was hilarious. Then later I was walking by that house and saw a suspiscious grey cat, I only hope it wasn't the same one. Anyway, I got a great laugh out of that, silly kitty! Anyway, all for now, it's very late. The next time I write will probably be after I go to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day. Anyway, pictures to follow, night!
York: Timber framing day, Malton and Eden Farm, 04-05.02.10
SO, the last couple of days have been really cool. Thursday and Friday were our timber-framing days with our Vernacular Architecture course. We learned to make wooden shingles and pins with traditional tools and how to use an axe and adze to hew a tree. We also did a "Timber Framing Museum" where we learned to look at pieces of wood and identify how they had been worked based on the markings on them. Was really, really cool. We learned all about carpenter's marks and tools used to make them. A good book to read, I hear is "The Village Carpenter" I hear it is interesting and also entertaining. I emailed a few people yesterday to find a dissertation topic. I still don't have one. I found the Timber Framers Guild for the United States and asked them if there were any projects they wanted done and they emailed me back the same day and were really excited. Apparently they have an affiliate in the UK, in Hereford, and he is going to talk to his staff to see what they can come up with. But they say it shouldn't be a big deal. I'm excited because I am really interested in timber framing "something" and I think it might also mean I can make some contacts in the field. I told them I might be able to do a comparative study of some sort between the UK and the US-- which would actually probably be ideal because as part of the Secretary of Interior's Standards and Guidelines an Architectural Historian in the US has to have coursework/experience with American architecture. As we all know, I don't have any of that except for one course in Modern Architecture, which turned out to be a "We love Frank Lloyd Wright and Only Talk about Him" class. As it turns out, I don't really LIKE Frank Lloyd Wright, but that is a subject for another blog post. Anyway, I'm hoping I hear back from these people soon and that they have some suggestions that my supervisor will like. I really appreciate my supervisor but she hasn't been the most helpful person in this "find a dissertation topic" experience. Very hand off... which is great, except when you don't really know what is expected of the dissertation and have little-to-no experience with medieval British architecture. Then it is very frustrating. Well, I guess she did give me three suggestions but they were all to do with the minster. Well, anyway. I'm excited to hear back from them and in the mean time I have a few back-up ideas on the burner. We'll see. Today I have to write a paper that's due on Monday and I haven't even started. Wish me luck!
York: Movie Night w/ our inhouse famous person 19.01.10
So, one of my housemates was in a few films growing up. So some of the girls in my house have been searching down his films. Well, it was discovered that this guy housemate played a pretty important role in the all time hit "Back to the Secret Garden"... yes that's right, a SEQUEL. So, my friends have been searching it high and low and while one of them was at home in the states finally got ahold of it. They arranged a movie night but didn't tell any of us what the film was until we got there... it was "Back to the Secret Garden." However, our famous housemate wasn't around. We decided if he never came in we would hint at him that we had all seen it by quoting random one liners to him from the movie at will. Well, about ten minutes into the movie he walked into the commons room, paused, and looked at the screen a 1/2 second before he made his first appearance and right before his appearance realized what it was, clasped his hands against his face, let out an expletive and said "There I am... Oh my Gosh... Oh the sexual tension. That girl was crazy, he kept phoning me after that..." and on and on. It was amazing. His reaction was classic. It was a strange mix of shock, embarrassment bordering on shame and humor. Loved it. Then he kept walking through the commons room and alluding to scenes to come "Did she push me in the fountain yet?" "Wait till the end, there's a great running scene, I'm a horrible runner" and then he would leave and come back later. Afterwards we had a great after-showing in which he made final remarks about the movie, talked about the main actress who was crazy and is now famous and rich and signed our copy of the movie which I hope someone will sell online. I guess our housemate has quite a following on IMDB (?) and many potential internet stalkers, none of which can figure out where he is right now and what he is up to. We have been joking about getting on there and either trying to sell his things to them, or taunt them w/ our information on his current location. We think it could be a real money-making venture. But in the end, the best part is we can all say we knew him after his hay day. The funny part was seeing that our beloved housemate has not changed all that much. Same facial expressions, similar one liners he spouts now about poets and international affairs. Apparently he had issues with the director b/c the lines were such crap he kept refusing to say them, so there are a lot of shots of him staring off into the distance not talking. LOL It was a great night.
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