November 2008 - Rome, Italy

November 8

The plane landed in Rome. The flight consisted of two meals, dinner & breakfast, a movie, Meet Dave, me sleeping, & some turbulence. I got off the plane & went first through Immigration & then to baggage claim, where my parents and I met up with my sister Leslie. This was from 8:37 A.M. - 10 A.M. Italy time. It took ten minutes to find our baggage & to find the shuttle my Mom booked to take us to our hotel, Hotel dei Congressi, located on Shakespeare Street. We arrived & met the head of my Mom's conference, Adesh Jain & his wife. Then all four of us trumped up the staires to room 575. At 10:39 A.M. everyone but me laid down and took a nap for an hour. I took a shower & barely dozed.

At Noon the four of us went to the Metro Roma the subway station about two blocks from our hotel. We paid for 4 all day tickets, which was 16 euros or $18. We rode the blue line to Terimini and ran to the Orange Line. We got off & walked to Vatican City. It was raining so we stopped at the first door in the  wall, which led to a car garage, & asked the guards there it said  the Sistine Chapel was open. One guard was very rude & told us that we should visit the Basillica, St. Peter's instead since the Chapel was closed. We re-traced our steps along the wall to another, smaller, entrace & passed through. We saw a man dressed in a blue cap and poncho looking drapery & asked him if the Chapel was open. He said, "Ci, it closes at 4. It should take you 10 minutes walking to get to the entrance of the Vatican Meuseum, in which the Sisteine Chaple is located.

Yes again we walked along the way we had come & passed through Meseum security at 2:20 PM. It was beautiful walking through the corridors & rooms of artwork kept in the Vatican. There were oiriginal Salvidor Dahli paintnigs & original fresco work along the cielings and original Raphael tapestries.

Two paintings that caught my eye were:

The Salvior Dahli's painting of Jesus suspended in the air. But the viewer of the painting sees a cross even though one is not painted.

&

The Dream of Death. This oil painting depicts a woman lying on a cold concrete slab. The woman herself hovers above her body a look of horror on her face. In the lower left corner the Grim Reaper stands with his mouth open in an O sucking a shrould into his mouth.

Raphael, who I mentioned above, was a Renisance artist who painted graphic and horribly grotesque versions of Bible stories and Parables.

The Sistine Chapel itself is nearly indescriable. Above your head soars the fresco's of Michael Angelo depicting Genesis from "The Creation of the Sun" through "The Betrayal of Eve" and ending with "The Drunkeness of Noah."

On the wall, near the door you enter, is the painting of Jesus' crusifiction that Angelo did 22 years later. The deatil is flawless and beautiful. The painting of Jesus looks as if Jesus is 3D sticking out of the wall even though he isn't.

After the Chapel we exited the museum and ate Gilatto, I had Watermelaon. We walked back around the wall making our way to St. Peter's Basillica. The pillars holding up the courtyard walls are all topped by statues and in the center of the courtyard entrance is a small fountain. We stood in line and entered St. Peter's and viewed Michael Angelo's Pieta, a statue depicting Mary holding Jesus ( I think), it is behind bullet proof glass after a man tried to vandelize it in the 70s with a mallet.

In nooks & crannies are life size statues of the Saints, as well as cherubs. Near the main alter a staircase winds down to the crypt of St. Peter. Above the staircase sits a brass platform that stands on twisted legs about 6 feet tall. The brass & iron used for this were taken from the brass & iron tiles melted down from the pantheon. The alter near St. Peter's grave was taken from the Temple of Minerva from Nerva Forum in ancient Rome.

At the middle of the chapel is Micheal Angelos dome. The dome is beautiful, the art hard to make out from the ground. Near the entrance of the chapel is a red circle which was the place where Roman emperors and kings were crowned by the Pope.

Before we left the Vatican Museum we did look into the Vatican Garden. In the center of the garden is a rotating brass & iron earth that looks as if it's torn. It is supposed to represent the rise of mountains from the Earth's core.

A detail I forgot to add.The driver of our shuttle from the airport said "You are American? OBAMA!" and punched the air with his fist.

October 30 2011 - Tom Baker Signing

I am more than a bit late on this, but forgive me - getting back to the flat last night was bloody hard - due to closures between Hastings and Charring Cross.

But, anyways!  This past weekend was amazing. For those of you who aren't delightfully British (and making fun of me for trying to sound like a Brit) Hastings is a sea-side town.

The beautiful area is well-known for facing France across the English channel, boasting a large history of pillaging and burning raids - which it traded in the heat of the moment with France. Also for other battlerific reasons you should know Hastings.

Anywho, the walk to the Hospice - from the Sea Spray Hotel took about ten to twenty minutes. The air was fresh and the morning was rather warm and pleasant.

However, I would like to say - because it was after all the great T-Bomb I was meeting - I soldiered on ever after the uneven stone sidewalk nearly twisted my ankle into oblivion. But - the thought of Tom Baker made it worth it.

Myself and my three wonderful friends - hereby affectionately referred to by the acronym AES - accompanied me and we arrived a full hour early. That put us at the beginning of the que - which b-dubs always stayed the same length even to the end of the signing.

Now, since Tom has affiliations with the community as well as property in Hastings he donated art, books (signed and unsigned), and D-Who paraphernalia for low prices. I was happy to donate to the Hospice and am now the proud owner of:

1. Who On Earth is Tom Baker? the Autobiography

2. The Boy Who Kicked Pigs

both of which were pre-signed copies. I am super excited.

I have also got a picture of the wonderful Tommy-B signed for S.J.D., as I felt guilty for not printing Charcoal Tom out and getting it signed - and because her original of Tamm and Tommy is going to my dad.

Anyways - taking a picture with him was hilarity.  I shook his hand and we exchanged a greeting. Then the first attempt failed and the camera made a weird noise. Tom and I sat there for a few minutes and then burst into laughter - at which point SNAP went the first photo. Then on cursory - in case that didn't turn out well SNAP for the second

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I will skip the boring part of waiting in line (although I did wear an outfit that made me think of Elizabeth Sladen R.I.P. Sarah Jane: 

After a lot of aching joints and resigned thoughts toward the rain - although I blame the people behind me for jinxing the clouds - I finally had my big moment with Tommy-B and I am so glad - as a relevant tangent - to have such a fantastic roommate!

go to the next entry to see the moment in scene.

Tom Baker glances up when his agent interacts with the  girl wearing a pink dress. His eyes are bright and a smile splits his features before his brow crinkles in confusion.

"It's all a bit mystical isn't it?"

The girl tilts her head asking, "What is?"

"Weren't you wearing glasses earlier?" Tom asks.

"No, but I've got glasses. I've been wearing contacts the whole time."

There is a brief pause before he reaches forward slowly lifting the drawing of Romana and The Doctor (4) toward him.

The girl stands on the balls of her feet - although the blisters make it painful  - waiting in anticipation. He pulls it closer pausing for a long moment.

"It's very good," he says.

The girl nods. "My friend drew it for me," she says with pride. "I think one of my other friends - Amber - gave you some artwork that the girl who drew the picture made a few years ago."

Tom tilts his head slightly regarding the picture. "Ellen... et enough Ellen's to fill a boat."

The girl doesn't correct him. Before she can speak the agent leans forward - to hurry Tom along - and says, "Who do you want him to make it out for?"

The girl answers, "Richard."

She watches - knowing how great the moment of gifting will be when her dad opens the papers to see To: Richard Cooke Tom Baker written on the drawing.

Then, as he goes to hand it back he turns to his agent, "It's Tamm," he says dreamily.

The picture is handed back and he says, "It's so romantic. I look so chevalier."

The girl beams pleased with the compliments. Then he asks if there is anything else to sign. She pulls out his photograph and asks,

"Can you make this out to Stephanie? The friend who drew the picture?"

He begins writing then pauses. "Is that Stephenie?'

The girl thinks for a bit, "No, it's S.t.e."

"p.h.a.n.i.e," the agent finishes. After the photo is signed she shakes his hand walking back to her friends and waiting near the exit.

~ H.C. 

October 6 2011 - British Broadcast Company (BBC) Tour

This is all the information I learned yesterday - October 6  - when I spent ALL day at the BBC on tour. :-D  

Pretty self explanatory, I'd say! It was so cool. 

SECTION 1: BBC WORLD NEWS

The office for BBC World News is about four years old and located near the White City tube station. There are about 2,000 - 5,000 people staffed for the news broadcasts. This includes journalists, background checkers, travel agents (for free lance journalists who are sent on location at a moments notice with a ready visa and passport), and editors and news directors.

Three-Quarters of the news is Planned News: which are stories that are reserached and put together and the resolution of which are easily predicted. 

---> Theses include: Politics, Coverage of Parades and Marches, Sports, Entertainment, and a few other categories. 

One-Quaeter of the news then is Breaking News: stories that are covered by on-location free lance journalist the outcomes of which are not predictable.

--> This would include: Court Trials, Shootings, Riots, etcetera.

In any case all news stories have their background checked and this includes sifting through Civilian Journalists (the public as large's) input or what they call Public Generated Content.

---> This includes: Photographs, Text Messages, Phone Calls, Tweets, Face Book Statuses, Videos and Sound Bites submitted by the public at large - all of which must be thoroughly checked to make sure information is up to date and that images haven't been digitally remastered through Photoshop or other means.

After all of this is done the BBC can access extra information through their Yearly Subscriptions to other information hubs like ATPN or Eurovision.

Then when all footage is compiled, it's the job of Editors to sit down and put together a broadcast. All information is then put into a system and transmitted to a Rolling Script (teleprompter) which puts one anchor's text in White and the other's in Red. Since the broadcast is pre-taped and Static there are several stepd that are taken beforehand:

---> All cameras - about 7 - are manipulated through a sound board by the Director of the broadcast to catch the anchors in the best lighting and at the right angle.

--> current BBC World News backgrounds are on Green Screen - which means the anchor's always have to look ahead of themselves, they see themselves on a tiny TV screen that viewers of the news can't see. That' show they know when to being.

Fun Fact: BBC World News used to be taped live, but then they had issues with scrambled images - for example an anchor would be seen sitting but also walking around the room at the seam moment.  So They switched to Green Screen.

Now, just in case you're wondering why you should be in awe of newscasters:

They also have an earpiece which allows them to hear every sound, conversation, sip of water, que, etc. happening within the studio and they have to filter all the sound out and only pay attention to the Rolling Script, which I found out - when I got to practice a new cast  (I will post the video on youtube and get you a link) is not an easy thing to do.

ALL BBC broadcasts are funded by public donations. Another reason I have huge respect for the BBC - it is well liked and funded only by the public. Now in current times the offices are moving from White City to Central London - so the place I got to tour may no longer exist in the next couple of years.

SECTION II: WEATHER 

The BBC has 16 meteorologists working there currently - and as individuals each meteorologist runs their part of the broadcast by themselves, using a switchboard to indicate the height of the green screen, the lighting for their skin tone, and the sound.

----> They used to use Blue Screen with the weather but found that Green Screen offers crisper images.

----> Each meteorologists compiles the weather forecast before the taping allowing them - as I said before - to adjust the green screen to their height and the lighting to the skin tone. Also used in news casts is:

Color Separating Overly: These are either blue or green - because the shades of true blue and true green are farthest from the natural skin tones of humans allowing for the effect- when the overlay is used- of a disappearing body (invisibility cloak - Harry Potter) or the illusion of having no head (think Headless Horseman).

----> Instead of being a mirror image (as the new anchors see on their TV screen) Meteorologists see themselves on screen the correct way around so they have to retrain their brains to process that image. So if there are ever technical difficulties with the news cast it's actually a very difficult task to keep going without feeling out of place.

Section III: Television in General

Sets: all sets are made from Plywood and come in ready to make boxes (like when you buy a desk form Ikea). Once the set is assembled hooks are attached to it, each hook has a number which corresponds to a switch board key. Hooks can be manipulated to make it seem as if the set is rocking (like a boat) or to change elevation in the set.

Studios: all studios are completely empty. All the seats you see in shows like Doctor Phil or Opera - for example- slide back into the wall of the studio for storage when they aren't being used. that means there's about 100-300 seats stored within the wall. The studio floor - at BBC- is also painted a different color depending upon what show is being filmed. At the end of filming a Zambodi-like machine comes in and peels all the paint off. Having a smooth surface of paint is important for ease of camera movement. If they didn't put single layers of paint - so if they painted over instead of peeling it away- that cold cause the camera to get caught up and make a bumpy shot.

Lights: All the studios are flooded with cold air during a taping session. This is because the expensive cameras need to stay cool- and if they don't the lenses will crack. But- this is all about lighting. The air conditioning is needed because all the light in a studio run between 2,000-5,000 volts of electricity each. Making the room very hot. But, as I said before, lighting is important, is it mainly due to lighting that sets look glamorous and realistic.

Dressing Rooms: Are unglamorous. The BBC as 70 dressing rooms dating between 1960 (Doctor Who's first year) and 1990s. They are sparsely furnished with a wardrobe, counter tops, mirrors, and chairs. The more glamorous rooms may have sofas

An Example of a dressing room! 

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Some of the stories we heard about stars requesting things (that you may know):

Paul McCartney wanted a 1970s dressing room and a full of fruit. (this request was granted)

Lady Gaga wanted extra fridges to be put in her dressing rooms to keep her wigs in. (this request was granted)

J-Low wanted puppies to play with before a show because they relax her. (this was denied on basis of protocol for the BBC)

There are also 5 Green Rooms at the BBC Studios we visited which are used as Hospitality Rooms - sometimes for wine/champagne and sandwich parties after a successful filming session. Or if stars request to use them for their personal room.

Fun Fact: I got to see  John Barrowman the actor who played Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood during a filming of his new show for ITV1 Chris Mollasses' Quiz Night.

Fun Fact 2: I also got to see the Tardis used by the most current Doctor and companions as well as a Dalek that starred on the show, the heads for the Oud, Cyberman, and another creature. As well as other props

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Also, I took a picture of the ceiling in the BBC - which is now a registered ceiling -which means it can't be destroyed- because the ceiling was what inspired the creation of the Tardis's console room.

So that was my great Journey into the BBC! It was fanstaic. Except the part where David Tennant was there that morning and I missed him .

~ H.C. 

November 5th, 2011 - The Gunpowder Plot & Last Farewells

Today was somewhat disappointing. There were no children on the streets saying "Penny for the  Guy." No large parades. And no bonfires in which effigies were burned. Where did the tradition go? 

I think it sort of died down and it's more of a story tradition rather than a lived out one. But yes, indeed, tonight was the anniversary of the (failiure of) the gunpowder plot. And the weekend that marked some of the last days I am going to spend here before going home.

I have to admit tonight was so worth it. The boat ride on the Thames was a mixture of 40s or 60s style boat cruise - during which - at different parts in the night - girls of our school group were led about by the singer. It was utterly fantastic. 

I had a great time with the family - enjoying our food and wines. Some of the dishes looked beautiful and tasted even more delicious than they sounded. Here are a couple:

I believe this was the chicken Marcella with rice and vegetables. It may have had a white wine sauce. Looking at it reminded me of the winning dishes on Top Chef. 

This was my dish. A succulent and tender lamb in a red wine sauce garnished with mushrooms and rice. It was one of the most delicious lambs I have ever eaten. It was so tender it melted in my mouth.

We enjoyed our food, wines, and the night - especially because we shared it together. Our family sat near each other on the bus as well as sharing a table for dinner.

On the bus ride over to the pier. It almost looks like LN has a halo or that an angle or ghost is hovering over her. I like to think it's a halo.

This is on the bank of the Thames with the London Eye in the background. Yet another photo of me and EJ that is an awesome backwards one!

Waiting for the boat to arrive. LN looked like a 40s airess to some billionaire, AS looked like she could have been from a band and H^2 was adorable like always.

We are now on the river boat cruise. This picture is awesomely taken and we look so cute. Thanks for lending me your belt H^2.

Here we sit, three beautiful and happy ladies. I have to thank H^2 for the ribbon I tied around my waist. And later in the night LN lent me her shawl so I could be Rose from Titanic.

Alright, SD (who lent me her dress) and EJ are so cute in this picture. The crazy angle is all me. I though it would be fun to experiment with the angle - although looking at it now sort of makes me sea sick. 0.0

At some point I got really into a song and was led up to the entertainers stage to dance with him. It was fun and yet I found myself slightly embarassed. 

One minute I'm into the song and clapping in my seat. The next I am up on stage dancing with the entertainer. He was such a sweet and talented person. He made the night fun and enjoyable with his music.

Another person who made the night was the son of Jason - one of the British Professors who taught for the Augie term. Jason's son is a little fashionista hipster. He danced on stage all night while we were on the boat. He had boundless energy and was kind enough to share a dance with me. 

This was at the end of the night, and he was tired but looked happy. He was really sweet and said he wants to be an actor. He definitely has the charisma for it.

We spent some time waiting - for the taxi - at the end of the night. So, being board as we were we took some pretty awesome pictures. LN and I got to be Rose from Titanic. It was the only night that we didn't mind the wind. 

LN - as we stood on the bridge attempting to flag a taxi - said "It's like we can be in Titanic." So, I took a picture of her looking over the river Thames. It works out especially well since her outfit was so retro-old style.

I, too, wanted to look like  Rose from Titanic. Although, the wind picked up a bit. I like the outcome it almost looks like I have wings. I also did the romantic looking back over my shoulder thing.

So, the night started and ended beautifully. And although we never burnt the leaf SD drew a face on and labeled Guy Fawkes, we certainly had a night were remember fondly. 

~ H.C.