The Race for the Double Helix

The Eagle, Cambridge

OK, Carrie D. . . . Do you remember watching this film in Ms. Krol’s Genetics class (one of the few in which we actually did scientific research)? She would be so proud knowing that I stopped at the establishment where Watson & Crick announced their discovery of the Double Helix!….Hortense would be excited, too!

“One of my favorite history books is one called Moving Through History—it is a book about dance.”

This is what Dr. Odd Arne Westad , Cold War expert at the London School of Economics, told me today after I introduced myself and explained why I chose to attend the Global Cold War Seminar. (I had mentioned a bit about our new course dealing with Chinese History, Culture & Movement.)

Can you imagine? An LSE history professor, who earlier in the day made an appearance on CNN, and one of his favorite history books is Moving Through History? Does he have a clue that his words will cause me to work extra, extra hard on my project for his class???

I love being a student because it reminds me just how much students may be affected by the things we (teachers) say. That affective connection means so much!

This seminar is going to be even cooler than I had imagined. As I said, my prof asked us to explain, briefly, why we chose the Cold War seminar. Everyone’s answers were so engaging….some of my older classmates spoke of elementary school duck and cover drills, two Russian participants spoke of perspective and how they are very curious to hear what we have to say, many talked about their dads being stationed in Vietnam, others spoke about being stationed at the 38th parallel in 1984 , others talked about how much the mini series The Morning After freaked them out (evidently it freaked Nancy and Ron out, too) or how they loved the movie Rocky Four.

This all made me think of the letter Mrs. Will asked us to write in 1984. I was in 6th grade. I urged President Reagan to reduce the number of nuclear weapons because
“the U.S. and the USSR have enough weapons to blow up the world 20 times over.” I included a huge crayola-colored picture of a bomb enclosed in a red circle with a line through it. (Terribly original, I know.) Now that I think about it—this could’ve been my first task as a political activist. Hmmmm. Thanks Mrs. Will!

Do you have a memory of the Cold War?

Nate, you would LOVE the Tate!

Tate Modern

Sorry I had to do it. The rhyming thing, I mean.

My first stop today was the Tate Modern. I think I will chalk this up as my favorite thing in London. The building is amazing, and the art is sooo cool—they even had a showing of Yvonne Rainer’s (Judson Church Founder Extraordinaire) work. Imagine that…a modern dancer in a modern art museum. How novel?

Other things I saw and loved: Robert Therrien’s Untitled gigantic table & chairs, Cornelia Parkers appropriation of Silver objects (steamrolled and hung from the ceiling)—Thirty Pieces of Silver, Miroslaw Balka’s untitled piece of used soap, the PROPAGANDA Room with social realist art of the Bolsheviks, Robert Morris’ untitled industrial felt sculpture—he let the materials determine their own shape.

At the Tate, I met up with my friend Orlando, who, after finding out that I was with Barack Obama in Grant Park on election night, wanted to follow me around the whole of London. Very friendly, these Brits!

After the Tate I headed to…

Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
St. Paul’s Cathedral
The British Museum (Now I have seen half the remnants of the Parthenon at the British Museum and the other half in Athens. According to the British Museum at least it is now exhibited for the “entire world” to see.)
Victoria and Albert Museum of Decorative Arts
And Buckingham Palace

Heading to sleep now while someone out my window is playing the theme to West Side Story on a flute.

“It’s a Tah MAAAH Toh”

Big Ben

London Eye

Camden

Visiting with Mike Dickson

Two of Mike's Kids--Katelyn and Bruce

This morning I woke up and headed to the Parson’s Green stop (4 stops from the 2009 Wimbledon Finals match—I’ll have you know) in West London where Mike Dickson, his wife Kirsten, and their three kids—Bruce, Katelyn, and Anna live. It’s been about 18 years since I’d talked to Mike—and, back then…. he was a homemade beer-toting conservative . . .anyone out there remember Ms Hall’s AP Gov class....
Ms Hall: “Students tell me where you fall on the political spectrum.”
29 Students: “Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, Liberal, . . . “
Mike D.: Conservative
Wow, things have changed.Yes, folks, Mike Dickson, West Point grad, admitted that he has turned liberal. Gotta love that! (Mike, let me know if you don’t want the world to know your business.)

My burning question for Mike: Do your kids speak with an English accent?
Mike’s Answer: No, no…. maybe when they start school.
Real answer: YES. Most definitely, yes. They have English accents, and they eat fish n chips! . . . And they are sooo sweet. When Kirsten picked up a tomato and said, “What’s this?” Both Bruce and Katie shouted, “That’s a Tah MAAAAHHHH Toh!”

This was such a fun afternoon. Mike and I got to reminisce about crazy Hammond and the “factory model of education” we received there. I got to play trains with Bruce, and watch Katie navigate the streets of London on her scooter (this is exceedingly impressive!!!) . I even went grocery shopping at the hippest grocery store on the planet (and purchased cute little reuseable bags that say, “Waitrose.” I will tote with pride around Chicago.

I can’t imagine a nicer Sunday afternoon in London.

Later, I went to Camden Town—Lisa Prodromo’s stomping ground in 1991. Met up with friend & playwright, Neill (struggling playwright, that is) who took me to the Dublin Castle. Evidently THIS is where the punk movement started. (Let me know if this is disputed—I’d like to know.) Camden was like nothing I’d ever seen before—sort of like Wicker Park in 1992—but way, way more extreme. (in a good way, of course.)

Protests in Picadilly

“HAR-ay HAR-ay HAR-ay HAR-ay Ha-RAY-Krishna” . . . this is the roar I hear seconds, literally seconds after my mourning at the site of a makeshift Michael Jackson memorial is interrupted by a cavalcade of hundreds, perhaps thousands of MJ celebrateurs donning white sparkle gloves and singing “Ma ma se ma ma sah ma ma cu sa.”

Hundreds, perhaps thousands Hare Krishna followers, dressed in peach robes, donning bald heads, & playing drums—similar to the 1979 Threes Company episode in which I was first introduced, however suspectly, to this religion—ascend on the streets of Picadilly.
I know it is confusing. One second I am respectfully mourning MJ along with a few other somber folk , the next I am in the middle of two demonstrations—one in celebration of the King of Pop, one in celebration of … Krishna. Who could imagine? It was a strange and somewhat fitting clash of cultures . . . Who said I should skip Picadilly?

Also hit these other sites in London…
Portabello Road Antique Market Notting Hill Market (this is what a market should look like!)
Museum of Natural History
Big Ben
London Eye—didn’t ride it, just saw it
Trafalgar Square-complete with a Pride music celebration
Picadilly
Leicester Square

“Welcome to London, Love.”

Laban Institute in London

Why do I not live here? Gosh I love this place. So I got off the plane and headed to the Laban Institute today. Didn't get to dance, but did get to walk around and visit the library. Huge dance libary with individual viewing stations and an extensive archive of dance video, scholarly articles, and books on dance. I've never seen a collection like that before.

Lisa, I bought a book on teaching dance that starts off with your Aristotle "we are what we repeatedly do" quote. Funny, huh? (Oh, and why are you not living in this city? You really need to be.)

Susannah and Chief Murfay--any chance we can do this (see photo) in the Lindblom garden? :) It’s a performance area, with seating, sculpted right into the land. Evidently they showcase dance works in this space in the spring and summer.

Walked around Greenwich. Cool Market.

Justin, this Oyster card you lent me is fantastic! And. . . . just so you know, the next time you head to London, I am coming with!

Follow Hayley's blog, too.....

she is far more witty, and likes to poke fun at me.... (but who doesn't, right?)

http://hayleysunshineherford.blogspot.com/