Hello everyone, it's your friendly neighborhood Beatles expert again. It's going to be a short blog this week. I've been pretty sick lately. In fact, I just came back from spending almost 3 hours waiting in the doctor's office this morning. That resulted in a referral to another doctor which could take 3 or 4 weeks to see.
Because of my illness I did not get to adventuring anywhere. That being said, I do have a couple of stories that I've put aside in the event that I have a week with nothing planned. My first story I'd like to share is when I met actor Chris O'Dowd last year. He was promoting a children's book he had published after his hit tv show " Moone Boy." It's a comedy about a not so smart boy who has no friends and decides to create an imaginary friend (O'Dowd) and goes on adventures. Like I said, it's a real big hit in the UK and online.
A bookstore downtown was holding a meet and greet with him so I went. I got myself a seat in the second row so I was really close. He is quite tall in real life. He was at least 4-5 inches taller than me. He gave a talk about his inspiration of "Moone Boy" and why he decided to write a book. The story is semi-autobiographical in that many of the adventures the boy and his imaginary friend go on are experiences from O'Dowd's childhood. He admitted that he did not have an imaginary friend as a child. He was very funny and had everyone laughing in their chairs. He picked on America a bit in saying that we don't know humor, we take good British shows and turn them to crap, etc. At the end he opened it up to audiences to ask questions. I raised my hand first and asked him if he planned to release the book in the states and whether he'd change the book's humor ( British humor is crude and quite adult and this book was meant for children). He jokingly said " Yes, we'll just add footnotes."
Once the event was over, he signed everyone's books and took pictures. When it was my time, he was surprised that I was an American in Liverpool and we began talking. We talked about America, my master's program ( which he thought was cool), and teaching. He took a picture with me, gave me a hug, shook my hand and thanked me for the support. It ended up being a really nice time.
Because of my illness I did not get to adventuring anywhere. That being said, I do have a couple of stories that I've put aside in the event that I have a week with nothing planned. My first story I'd like to share is when I met actor Chris O'Dowd last year. He was promoting a children's book he had published after his hit tv show " Moone Boy." It's a comedy about a not so smart boy who has no friends and decides to create an imaginary friend (O'Dowd) and goes on adventures. Like I said, it's a real big hit in the UK and online.
A bookstore downtown was holding a meet and greet with him so I went. I got myself a seat in the second row so I was really close. He is quite tall in real life. He was at least 4-5 inches taller than me. He gave a talk about his inspiration of "Moone Boy" and why he decided to write a book. The story is semi-autobiographical in that many of the adventures the boy and his imaginary friend go on are experiences from O'Dowd's childhood. He admitted that he did not have an imaginary friend as a child. He was very funny and had everyone laughing in their chairs. He picked on America a bit in saying that we don't know humor, we take good British shows and turn them to crap, etc. At the end he opened it up to audiences to ask questions. I raised my hand first and asked him if he planned to release the book in the states and whether he'd change the book's humor ( British humor is crude and quite adult and this book was meant for children). He jokingly said " Yes, we'll just add footnotes."
Once the event was over, he signed everyone's books and took pictures. When it was my time, he was surprised that I was an American in Liverpool and we began talking. We talked about America, my master's program ( which he thought was cool), and teaching. He took a picture with me, gave me a hug, shook my hand and thanked me for the support. It ended up being a really nice time.
There are two art museums located in Liverpool that I have been to thus far. One is the Walker Art Gallery and the other is the Tate Museum of Modern Art. The Walker Art Gallery is the traditional Art museum filled with pieces dating back to the 1400's. I would consider this a small gem of the city of the Liverpool. It is not as big as the other museums I've been to, but it definitely has some great pieces. They had a whole room dedicated to Greek and Roman sculptures, Liverpool artists, and home decor. The home decor room included fashion pieces, silverware, napkin rings and my personal favorite... a Nintendo Gameboy! Who would've have thought that I have pieces of art sitting in my bedroom as I type?
The Tate Modern Museum is filled with Modern art. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Modern Art. Most of it is abstract and I just don't get it. They had a special exhibition on Andy Warhol that I went to see. I enjoyed this exhibit as I do like his Pop art work. One of the pieces exhibited was a painting of dance steps to a dance. It was really funny because there was about 20 of us doing the dance moves together trying to figure out which dance he painted. It ended being The Foxtrot. They also had his event art "Plastic Explosion" on display. This featured four walls of videos, lights and sound recordings. Fun fact I didn't know: The Velvet Underground were managed by Warhol. The Velvet Underground were the main subject in the "Plastic Explosion" event. Everyone around me were gasping at Warhol's brilliance in this event. For me....I didn't get it. They did have a newspaper review of the event exhibited from it's original premiere in the 60's from The Cleveland Press.
Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures in the Warhol exhibit. The rest of the museum was....interesting. One of the pieces of art was a "real" living room in which one was invited to sit down and watch tv. I sat down for a bit and everyone was looking at me as they passed by. Eventually, someone asked me " are you part of the living exhibit?" To which I replied "Yes, Yes I am."
The Tate Modern Museum is filled with Modern art. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Modern Art. Most of it is abstract and I just don't get it. They had a special exhibition on Andy Warhol that I went to see. I enjoyed this exhibit as I do like his Pop art work. One of the pieces exhibited was a painting of dance steps to a dance. It was really funny because there was about 20 of us doing the dance moves together trying to figure out which dance he painted. It ended being The Foxtrot. They also had his event art "Plastic Explosion" on display. This featured four walls of videos, lights and sound recordings. Fun fact I didn't know: The Velvet Underground were managed by Warhol. The Velvet Underground were the main subject in the "Plastic Explosion" event. Everyone around me were gasping at Warhol's brilliance in this event. For me....I didn't get it. They did have a newspaper review of the event exhibited from it's original premiere in the 60's from The Cleveland Press.
Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures in the Warhol exhibit. The rest of the museum was....interesting. One of the pieces of art was a "real" living room in which one was invited to sit down and watch tv. I sat down for a bit and everyone was looking at me as they passed by. Eventually, someone asked me " are you part of the living exhibit?" To which I replied "Yes, Yes I am."
Over the course of the past few weeks, I've spent some time walking around parts of downtown Liverpool that I had not seen yet. Mainly the business district and docks. While parading around Liverpool I have encountered quite a few Beatle places that I would like to share. First off is the statue of Eleanor Rigby. Tommy Steele, who was a Rock 'n' Roll star before The Beatles, created a sculpture to honor the lady of the song. Now this is not the same lady whose grave I showed you. He took inspiration of the lady described in the song itself. The sculpture is not hollow in that Steele filled it with metal and other bits and pieces. I also encountered McCartney's Bar. Another Beatle themed bar, this one focuses on all things Sir Paul complete with a bartender that has a McCartney tattoo and mullet.
The last place I found was the Eleanor Rigby Hotel. From what I understand, it was an early attempt to attract tourists to stay at a Beatle themed hotel. This was at a time when Liverpool hated being known only for The Beatles and downplayed their city as a tourist attraction. It ended up closing and turned into a strip joint. Now it really is a place for "All the lonely people..."
The last place I found was the Eleanor Rigby Hotel. From what I understand, it was an early attempt to attract tourists to stay at a Beatle themed hotel. This was at a time when Liverpool hated being known only for The Beatles and downplayed their city as a tourist attraction. It ended up closing and turned into a strip joint. Now it really is a place for "All the lonely people..."
Mark's Musings:
Pancake Day: Instead of eating Paczki's and calling it "Fat Tuesday" or "Mardi Gras", they celebrate Pancake day. And they eat lots and lots of pancakes. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Mystery Tours: They have these tours here every Sunday called Mystery Tours. Basically, you buy a ticket and hop onto a coach bus with no idea where you are going. The whole spectacle of it is that the bus may end up somewhere new and exciting, or just at a pub two hours away. Do we do these things in America? I don't know...
In addition to "Mark's Musings" I would like to add another little feature to my blog. I would like to now take the opportunity to reach out to anyone reading this to ask me questions. I would love to hear any questions that you have about England, culture, daily life, my academics etc. I thought I would begin posting answers in the coming blogs. So please ask me in the comments, skype, text, email, carrier pigeon, or facebook!
Trivia! 3 people answered, one winner. Survey says...15! 15% of women who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are buying them for themselves. They must all be married.
This week's trivia is....
Pancake Day: Instead of eating Paczki's and calling it "Fat Tuesday" or "Mardi Gras", they celebrate Pancake day. And they eat lots and lots of pancakes. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Mystery Tours: They have these tours here every Sunday called Mystery Tours. Basically, you buy a ticket and hop onto a coach bus with no idea where you are going. The whole spectacle of it is that the bus may end up somewhere new and exciting, or just at a pub two hours away. Do we do these things in America? I don't know...
In addition to "Mark's Musings" I would like to add another little feature to my blog. I would like to now take the opportunity to reach out to anyone reading this to ask me questions. I would love to hear any questions that you have about England, culture, daily life, my academics etc. I thought I would begin posting answers in the coming blogs. So please ask me in the comments, skype, text, email, carrier pigeon, or facebook!
Trivia! 3 people answered, one winner. Survey says...15! 15% of women who buy flowers for Valentine's Day are buying them for themselves. They must all be married.
This week's trivia is....
I've got an exciting weekend and week coming up. Halley will be flying in Friday morning and we are off to London and Dublin Ireland all of next week. Don't worry, I'll be posting another blog before I leave. But until then.....
Peace & Love,
Mark
Peace & Love,
Mark