London 2012

I know for most you have World Cup on the brain.  But please remember that you have the Summer Olympic Games here in London in two years time.  And in case you didn't know, when you are awarded the Olympics you are also awarded the Paralympics--where athletes with physical disabilities compete after the Olympics.

This is all well and good, except that you begin to notice that London's public transportation system isn't so handicap friendly.  Mainly, the Tube has very few handicap accessible stops (e.g., elevators).  Most Tube stations, you have to climb a few stairs to get to the lift (as they call elevators) or escalators.  So what are these less-abled people to do in two years time?  Rely on driving when Central London is riddled with traffic, let alone a congestion charge during the working hours.  Perhaps they should take black cabs that charge an exuberant amount of money for the convenience of curbside transportation.  There's always the bus, but I don't think these buses kneel so those less-abled don't have to figure out how to get up that big step.

I'm sure the paralympians probably don't have to worry about transportation whilst in London.  But perhaps their less athletic counterparts will find it difficult to take part in being independent to transport themselves to observe these athletes.  Maybe London's public transport has a similar system in DC, where you can schedule special transportation if you are disabled.

However, I do often wonder how handicap Londoners get around.  I can't say that I have seen disabled people around.  I do see elderly, struggling up stairs as the youthful rush by.  Perhaps London is making a plan to be a bit more friendly in 2012.

The Media You Say?

Hello!  I am back in the UK--specifically London--for three out of the four next months.  Hope you all (all three of you) didn't miss me too much.  :)

I'm sure many of you have heard of The Sun, a very popular tabloid (3 million copies per day sold nationwide in March 2010) owned by Murdoch.  I don't personally read it, but an old man was reading it on the Tube on our way into Central London.  I looked over in his direction and was taken aback by a large photo of a topless woman, and equally disturbed that this old man was reading the attached article.  Dan must have seen my reaction and quickly told me that the Sun was notorious for their page 3 naked girl (and a quick Wikipedia check confirms this is indeed true).  Craziness!

The US is well known for our Puritan ways, whether we like to admit to it or not.  Bitch is slowly appearing on late night television, but four letter words and nakedness are only on premium cable channels like HBO and Cinnemax (aka, Skinamax).  And publications, newspapers and tabloids, err on the side of fat actresses/actors in swimwear instead of full fledged nudity.  Meanwhile, UK television will have nakedness and cursing at around 9pm on free-view (non-cable subscription TV)!  Then you have the Sun of course.  Funny how we are not similar in this respect.

I guess this is what flaming liberalism feels like?!?

We Kicked Your Butt

And they don't care! I went to a party in South London for the 4th of July. The theme was "Americana" though there wasn't really anything Americana about it, except the two token Americans (me and one of the guys who lived at the house). I expected people to poke fun of us Americans--beer bellies, flannel, guns, etc. Nope, there were cups that looked more like a Puerto Rican flag than the US flag. Perhaps I just had high expectations. But I guess that's the way history is told from the loser's perspective. Oh well. In fairness they did have a lot of American liquors like Jim Beam and Jack Daniels; oh and Everclear--VT's drink of choice!

Sorry for the lack of thoughtful posts. I am actually back in the US, but my computer power cord started sparking and electrocuted me while I was in London. So now it doesn't work and I am borrowing a computer to complete other observations I had during my vacation.