The Year of the Snake, and Christie's too!

So I earlier said that I didn't want this to become just another tourist blog, that I wanted this little blip on the internet's multitudinous tubes to be something slightly more. However, sometimes, opportunities present themselves within that context, and grow beyond that original encounter such that they become truly memorable. So, with that slight caveat aside, let's about talk about new year celebrations. More specifically, let's talk about London's Chinese New Year, billed as the largest outside of Asia.

One thing that struck me was the Englishness of the event. First of all, it was a grey, drizzly day, so check. Secondly, the locus of the celebration was a stage in Trafalgar Square, though of course Lord Nelson couldn't be bothered to turn around (probably because the event wasn't for him).

Unfortunately, because I generally value keeping my internal body temperature above what medical professionals call "bone-chilling freezing", I did not arrive early enough to make my stage to the beginning of the stage performances. Further, that somewhat self-serving tardiness also meant that a sea of umbrellas prevented me even seeing the on-stage presenters. As such, the main draw failed to really attract my attention, despite the more adorable umbrellas that I stumbled across.

However, fortune was on my side: I spied a friend of mine from an alumni event just the week before. He and his housemate were likewise getting tired of watching umbrellas get rained upon while the sounds of unseen skits bounced around the square, so we decided to head into Chinatown proper for both food and shelter.

Even with the crowd, we were able to snag a window table on the second floor of a fairly nondescript restaurant. Over hot tea and soup, we were able to get to know each other and dry up, bonding over tales of storied academia and the experience of being abroad. From our vantage point, we were able to look with pity upon those souls still out in the rain, and even caught a few envious glances in our direction. The animosity likely intensified as a dragon dance procession came right below our window and the crowd squeezed together as everyone attempted to snap a cell-phone picture over everyone else attempting to do the same. Meanwhile, we just took advantage of our height:

Afterward, my fellow alum's housemate received a call from his mother, who invited us to join her at work, which happened to be Christie's. So, we headed on over, and I was able to receive a tour of some of the art that was up for auction. At this point, I ought to point out that I am quite possibly the worst art critic of all time. To be fair, I feel I can appreciate the intentionality of a piece, as well as the amount of time and thought that went into its production, but I am utterly lost at recognizing the relationship between a particular piece and the art world as a whole, both in the historical and contemporary sense -- you know, the critical aspect of art criticism. So, while I honestly felt that most of it was quite good, some pieces -- like the formaldehyde-preserved sheep that had been cut laterally, such that you could walk between the halves and observe its innards -- left me like this:

After Christie's, we all went our separate ways: the boys went back home, but I decided to swing back to Trafalgar to see the fireworks display. Unfortunately, the weather situation had not improved all that much, and given the lighting contrasts, my iPhone-camera just could not stand up to the situation. However, I was able to snap these few pictures beforehand, so that you, my loyal readers, could get a sense of the spectacle:

Once again, Admiral Nelson could not be bothered to turn around (egotistical putz). Still, given the weather and the onset of the evening chill, I couldn't really blame him.

All in all, though, despite the weather, my Chinese New Year in London was a great experience. Here's to next year: Gong Hei Fat Choy!

Oxford Reloaded

My program took a trip to Oxford this past weekend, so I decided to upgrade my previous entry with some new pictures for your visualization pleasure.

The first part of our tour was in the the all-research All Souls College, the only one of Oxford's 38 (!) constituent colleges that does not house undergraduates. Instead, researchers are invited to apply to spend time there either as teaching or non-teaching fellows. A member of the University of Iowa College of Law was one of the latter scholars currently in-residence, so he gave us a tour of the college and gave us a lecture on English legal history. Given the familiarity of the architecture, I took the opportunity to be nostalgic about my undergraduate days.

The statue at the end of the hall is of William Blackstone, the 18th-century jurist who wrote the enormously celebrated "Commentaries on the Laws of England" that was highly influential in the young United States. Indeed, the Commentaries were the first methodological treatise on the common law since the Middle Ages, and in layman's terms, no less. Because of the novelty of the Commentaries, they were effectively the first law school supplements in the English-speaking world. (Unsurprisingly, contemporary traditionalists hated it and thought it inimical to proper learning of the common law. Shocking, I know.)

We next had a tour of New College, which is ironically one of the oldest constituent colleges of Oxford. Here you can see a portion of the old city wall of Oxford. Apparently, part of the original arrangement between the city and the university is that the mayor of Oxford must be allowed entry into the college every three years to inspect the wall. The most recent inspection was in 2011, a latest occurrence of a tradition that dates back to 1379. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to inspect it ourselves. Maybe next year.

As I made my way through the same grounds that once housed men like the eminent philosophers A.J. Ayer and H.L.A. Hart, and William Archibald Spooner, inventor of the spoonerism, I could not help but feel a twinge of sadness as well as a somber respect for their memories. Also, I bring up Ayer to mention that he once saved Naomi Campbell from Mike Tyson. At age 77. True story: the details are hilarious, look them up.

The capstone of our tour was a look at the Bodleian Library, the university's main research library, which holds more books that any other library (save the British Library) featured a very impressive courtyard...

... as well as the former entrance to my favorite school of learning.

Alas, so ended the official tour of the esteemed university. However, in a town as ancient as Oxford, there are always discoveries to be made. For example, did you know the oldest pub in Oxord, The Bear, was founded in 1242? In other words, the same location has been fueling camaraderie, debate, and intellectual engagement for nearly 800 years. Not to sound too Hegelian, but when the Weltgeist stares you in the face like that, it might be time to grab a mate, order a pint, and allow yourself to align with the zeitgeist. Which I did.

Cheers.