Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Glasgow

I had a busy day today.

Thomas and I arrived in Glasgow (pronounced "glesca", the faster you say, the less people will notice you're pronouncing it incorrectly) at 10:30am by train, and then proceeded to walk about Glasgow. It didn't take long before we realized it really isn't a town for tourists, but instead, a town for shoppers.
Shoppers on Buchanan St.

We took Lonely Planet's recommended walking tour, that just took us past a bunch of historical buildings that have now been turned into bars, luxury flats, factories, etc. We saw a Scottish funeral, visited the cathedral, wandered through the necropolis, etc. etc.
Glasgow from the Necropolis

I was lazy, and let Thomas do the navigating so I really had no idea where we were at any given point during the day. But when we ran out of places to see, I suggested the Willow Tearooms, which were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (an Art-Nouveau architect/designer from the early 1900s), and we followed that up with a visit to the Lighthouse, another design by Mackintosh.
The view of Glasgow from the Lighthouse Watertower
The view of Glasgow from the Lighthouse's former watertower.
Looking down the stairs from the top of the Lighthouse's watertower
The way down.

We headed back to Edinburgh and saw Hallam Foe at Cineworld (the place where popcorn costs £4! Only 30p less than a student ticket!). The movie was almost entirely filmed in Edinburgh, so it was cool to be able to identify all the buildings. We ended that night at the Whiski pub which was open surprisingly late. It was entertaining to watch the Hen Party behind us cause all sorts of drama with the management and bar staff.
Inside Whiski

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Hairspray

So, I went to see Hairspray with some of the international students. Without giving too much of the "plot" away, let's just say that the movie is in typical Broadway-musical style in that it takes a serious topic and makes it all butterflies and sunshine; in this particular case, it's the topic of segregation.

After the movie, I had to explain that segregation was not all butterflies and sunshine to my fellow movie-goers. They seemed to think that the film was based on truth, but instead Broadway musicals gloss over reality. I spend a fair amount of time dispelling the myths about America and Americans. I'm beginning to need some back up.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Rendez-Vous

A missed meet-up with the other international students, and I end up watching Paris, Je T'aime on my own in a theatre that holds ~80 people. It's like watching a movie in a large living room.

There's nothing like 10 short films about love in a foreign city to remind you that you're watching a movie without any friends...in a foreign city. The last one nearly killed me.

And then. AND THEN. I come home to this:
The refridgerator
That's right. My flatmate filled my shelf with Stella! You'd think the other three shelves would be enough? Then again, having a shelf full of beer may not be the end of the world...


I was walking back from the movie theatre at 11pm, and somehow ended up on the road with all the show bars. I thought I had maneuvered it so I wouldn't cross them (I would've preferred avoiding drunken guys coming out of lap-dance-a-palooza), but no harm done. There were middle-aged American women hanging out of the next building/hotel, taunting each party-goer that exited the neighboring establishment with, "Good evening darlin'" in a light Southern drawl. god. I love being American.