Comedy Stuff

I’m not normally a jealous person. I just can’t help liking what other people have, sometimes. Living amidst some of the wealthiest, most influential, and most famous people in the world has a way of doing that to you. So while everyone around you is getting promotions, making money, winning awards, getting published, or meeting the only celebrity you’ve actually ever admired, like, a whole heaping, freakin’ LOT, what else can you do but laugh away all that green envy? I mean, other than sink into a pitiful depression because of it. By cramming two great comedy shows into two weeks maybe I’ll forget for a few hours how goddam hard life is and I can forget wondering why it always seems like everyone ELSE gets all the rewards and glitz and prestige and love and success.

I’ve become a bit more familiar with UK comedians. Exposure to UK shows over the past year introduced me to a whole new kind of comedy, really. Compared to Tosh.O and Southpark and Brian Reagan and The Big Bang Theory – the only American comedy/comedians I actually like/pay attention to – British comedy is much drier, sarcastic and focused on stereotypes. Which often means that until you’ve lived here long enough to understand the culture and stereotypes to some degree you just flat out won’t get it. Or worse, everything they say will come out in such a fast, heavy accent you won’t even pick up a word of English. And they say Americans ruined “English” as a language. There are definitely some people on this side of the ocean who butcher it, too. And so you're trying to make out what they're saying by reading lips and facial expressions, which is near impossible when you're sitting 70 feet away in a giant, dark theater. But once you get past the content and the language barriers you can definitely find a few stand ups who will make you pee yourself laughing.

Personally, I really like the people they have on QI, the show hosted by Stephen Fry, ‘Quite Interesting’, because they’re all so damn smart. Well, smart AND witty and clever. Some people get all the gifts. And then there’s people like me who can’t make anyone laugh unless it’s accidental.

So to get to the point, I’ve been to quite a few comedy shows as well. Stand up acts made for TV, for shows, for charity, and just for fun.  Most recently, as in last night, I saw Russel Kane, a mad scientist-looking guy not much older than me from Essex. He was very good at acting gay – twirling and dancing around the stage and using a really stereotypical gay voice – and had more energy than a 5 year old injected with speed. But wild as he was, he was pretty darn funny; observational humor about raising kids. Apparently, it was a new show with fresh content for this tour, but here's a sample of his stuff from another tour:

Before that, moths ago actually, back in the spring, I went to a 3 hour comedy show at The Comedy Store near Piccadilly Circus where there were filming maybe 2-dozen stand up acts that would eventually be aired separately on Comedy Central. In that instance, we were first in line to get in and got front row seats, almost dead center. Inevitably, they heckled us and singled me out as an American but I thought it was a hoot. People here seem to worry about being singled out in the crowd but I like it! I’d be more terrified to be on stage, quite frankly. This guy was my favorite act and he picked on us really badly. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they cut that bit in the final edits. But you can still see me in the audience!

The one before that was for charity, raising money to support disadvantaged people in sport – kids, handicapped people, etc – by having athletes (coached by real comedians) do the stand-up acts. Now how terrifying would that be? To NOT be a comedian by trade and then to have to try to make people laugh? But their “comedy coaches” warmed up the audience first and then the athletes came on and they did pretty well, to be fair. They showed clips of them learning to be funny and about what makes a good act before they actually got on stage. The program was called Stand Up for Sport Relief.And the same guy in the vid above was an opening act at this show, too:

Next week I’m going to see Frankie Boyle at the Apollo and from what I hear he’s one of the best and most loved comedians in the UK. He’s a really harsh comic and they say you shouldn’t go to his shows if you’re easily offended. But really, if you can’t watch comedy without being offended you probably just not leave your house. Ever.

Le Gavroche

This is a post I’ve been meaning to get out for a long time, since the end of July, actually. Right before the move to Essex I was treated to a fancy-shmancy dinner for two at Le Gavroche. It was definitely the best one so far! Absolutely exquisite and worthy of all its Michelin stars. It's interesting to see the transition in myself as I become more attuned to what makes for exceptional dining. When I first moved to London I thought every upscale place seemed equally wonderful as the last but now I've been to quite a few and, darn it, now I'm turning into one of the uber snobs! 

The staff took politeness and delicacy to a whole new level. there were at least 5 people who were at our constant service but without lingering over us...apparently they’ve perfected the act of rotating from table to table at such accurate increments that they arrived at each one exactly as you'd need them, switching out silverware for each course, bringing mini samplers, folding and laying out our napkins for us as we sat down each time we got up to use the restroom. They’d walk you to the restroom, actually, so you wouldn't get lost (which happened to me at L’Atlier the very first time I went! I nearly walked into the kitchen!), and then someone else would rush to the table and refold your napkin while you were away so it wasn't in a crumpled mess when you came back.

So, the food. I’ll describe what we had and just so I’m not repeating myself, I’ll say in advance it was all delicious....as I already said, this was the best I’d ever had. They served two amuse bouche samplers first, a mini egg salad tartlet and a mushroom roll which was almost like a spring roll, but bite sized. Then we ordered drinks (but not off the wine list, partly bc neither of us drinks but also bc you had to buy by the bottle and they had bottles as expensive and 6,000 pounds!!). Then they brought us the sample starter which was a pork mash, like the consistency of mashed potatoes with a dot of apricot jelly sitting atop a thin triangular wafer...again, just the size of one spoonful. They let us select a roll from an array of breads when they brought the bread basket around and we both chose a French roll, long and comes to a crispy point at each end. It was served with two butter choices, plain and salted, each one molded in a different shape. Once you’ve touched the butter they bring a new butter pad around when they offer bread between the courses. Then our starters came. I had ordered artichoke with truffles, fois gras and chicken puree, which came served as a ball in which each ingredient was actually inserted in layers....it's really hard to describe, but it was white (fois gras) with brown spots (truffles) encasing the chicken mash, sitting on top of the light green artichoke layer, which was hardened and looked like soap, to be honest, but tasted just fine ;) (see below)

My friend got Grilled Scallops with a Clam Minestrone, which I was tempted to order but as I always get scallops I wanted to switch it up for once. Then the main came (after we refused the bread basket) and I had the Sautéd Lobster with Lemongrass and Coconut Infused Lobster Jus on a bed of Seaweed Pasta. When they present the main course they do a lot of showmanship at the table to demonstrate the final preparations. For mine they'd already had the meat perfectly removed and sectioned from the shell of the lobster but they bring it's shell out delicately resting on top of the meat, but they lift it away as they pour the peach-colored coconut jus over it. There was a small amount of the seaweed pasta (green of course) in a fat line along the bottom of the elongated dish, and then on top of it they lay the little meat sections with slices of coconut between each one, and then put some sort of cooked coconut in wedges along the sides as an added decoration. 

Very possibly the best food I’d had in my whole life. Then dessert. We both had Set Coconut and White Chocolate Cream, Mango and Lime Salad, as it sounded cool and refreshing on a hot evening. They bring it out in a square plate and the coconut-white chocolate has set in the bottom, similar to the consistency of dried frosting, into which they insert in a square grid pattern mini, mini lime jello squares (smaller than 1 cm wide) and orange mango jelly. in the middle, resting on top of the grid is a pile of shredded mango which has been left to ripen til it's orange, then thick slices of coconut on top of that. Again, divine. I don't think food and restaurant service gets any better.

It wasn’t until late in the meal I realized, after looking curiously at this drawing hanging next to our table during dinner that reminded me of a 9 year old’s drawing of a circus done in primary-colored crayon, that we were sitting next to an original Picasso. And despite the fact I’ve never particularly liked Picasso’s art I must say I was impressed and a bit humbled to be sharing a meal below a drawing that great master had created. It’s not every dinner I get to do that.

The Holstee Manifesto

That’s like a general theme in London, isn’t it; not enough space. We’re all living on top of one another. We can build up, dig down and spread outwards and still there’s not enough space. I guess that’s partly why it’s been such a damn challenge for me to find a permanent way to stay here. Border Control is just trying to push everyone out and also keep out the ones trying to come in. Even in this increasingly borderless, international world they’re locking their gates up even tighter. But by this time next month I’ll have my final verdict; I’ll know whether I’ve gotten the funding and approval to stay and do my PhD. Despite the fact people may read this and think doing that degree is just a way to slide past British BC, it’s not. That’s false and it pisses me off that people think that and leave comments saying as much. If that’s that you think you don’t know me one iota. I’m so completely dedicated to my field and anyone who DOES know me knows what a an absolute nutcase I am for fitness and health and running and nutrition. It’s one thing to dedicate your education and work experience to something – we all have to get by in this world somehow – but to dedicate your free time and all your energy to that same purpose as well shows some real focus and love for whatever that pursuit is. In my case, it all started with running and exploded from there. Hell, those motivational speakers notoriously tell us to “following your heart and do what you love” and for me it just so happened that what I love most has some real-world value. Exercise, it turns out, is a flipping great medicine therefore has some seriously positive implications for public health policy and change. I’ve dedicated the last 10 years of my life to fitness and running, like I said, and coming from someone who’s only 25, that’s nearly half of my lifespan. That’s a lot. What have you done nonstop for half of your life? So yeah, continuing my education in a field I love and feel so strongly about only makes sense. If it just so happens I can do it here in London, the one city I’ve really fallen in love with, well, all the better for me. 

I’m here to make me happy; not you and not anyone else. I love to explore and I love that this journey has let me meet so many new people. If I can make a difference along the way just by breathing passion into every day, what more can I ask for?

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.” - Henry David Thoreau

The View

On one hand, the stress of moving can make you physically ill. Especially when you're riding in London's stop-and-go traffic mash up. But on the other hand, the joy you feel once you've hauled and lugged a car-full of clothes and books across the city and actually settled all those things into a new home, in your own room, it makes all the head-pain, nausea and vomiting you experienced beforehand worthwhile.

And then, THEN you see your view:

You have The Shard dead center and, off in the distance, you can see the Gherkin. That's when you know you are really in London. You're far away from a really, unimaginably rough past few months. The contrast between then and now is a stark as the experience of trudging through a torrential downpour during a London winter's night to a warm, cozy lounge, sitting with your cup of tea by a fire. Location - and the people at each - is certainly a significant factor that makes a huge difference.

Colored Glasses

I’ve had a lot of really positive AND really negative feedback from this blog. Which surprises me because I’ve said over and over how I just write this as a diary for me – just for me to record the stuff I’ve done, as I always have, in order to remember it all. People don’t seem to get that and I’ve been slapped with some heavy criticism from Anonymous strangers who are, apparently, completely against Americans even being in this country in the first place. I’ve seen and met a lot of people since I’ve been here who rely heavily on stereotypes to classify every single person they come across, usually putting them in some box full of negative adjectives. Isn’t this why we get into wars and stuff? Because we take a whole group of people and say we hate them all; they’re different than us so we should get rid of them. Call me insane but I prefer to let people stand alone and show who they are as an individual. I know - crazy. 

So that’s a big reason I stopped writing these blogs for a while. I was sick of the negatives. On top of that the move up to Essex I’d mentioned earlier in the summer had not gone so well. And that’s the understatement of the year. There’s no need to go on a public rant here but the depressing state of things here has left me unmotivated to do much else other than avoid the house as much as possible – I continue to thank god for the ‘loneliness of the long distance runner’ because it’s been my saving grace on more than just this account – and look for my escape route. It’s really awful, really, really awful to feel trapped and alone in a country where you’re still a foreigner, to be taken advantage of by the people you’re living with, and then to have even more strangers online tell you anonymously how awful a person you are, with no basis at all in reality, pulling arguments out their asses.

Anyway, I’m moving out by the end of the month and there seems to be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. But being in that dark metaphorical tunnel for so long reminded me to look for the little things in life that make dark days seem brighter. I altered my morning routine bike ride to include audio/video of inspirational TED talks instead of punk rock music. I made the most of my weekends by cramming trips to all my favorite stops in London into two days. And most importantly I stayed linked to my family back home via all the platforms internet and phones have to offer. 

As a result, or one result, I should say, is that I wanted to change the tone of this blog again in order to showcase not just the big things in life that are obviously noteworthy, but also the little ones that crop up less noticeably but still make us smile. A goofy comic, a seasonal pumpkin spice latte, or a new book you can't wait to read. That's why I chose these photos from the Festival of Colors in Utah; I think they demonstrate two big ideas I'm trying to show here. Superficially, bright colors are enough to make people smile. But also, by transforming familiar things, like our friends and family, into something similar yet different, recognizable yet altered, this experience at the Festival represents the idea that we can choose to see things in a new way, with "rose colored glasses", so to speak. That ability is just as important to our happiness, if not more so, as big accomplishments, fancy vacations, wild nights out, or heaps and heaps of cash. So I want to give a little more recognition to the little bits of awesome in our lives, so that even when we're saying "life sucks" and everything just seems too damn hard we can remember that there's more to appreciate than we think as long as we're looking at it with the right glasses.