Competing Headlines

Friday, December 18, 2009

I found this interesting. Here are two headlines and subheads from two different news sources and apparently they are about the same story. Who would have guessed?

1. 'Obama: We are running short on time for a climate deal'

Subhead: Obama works overtime on climate deal

-CNN

2. 'Barack Obama's speech disappoints and fuels frustration at Copenhagen'

Subhead: US President offers no further commitment on reducing emissions or no finance to poorer countries

-Guardian, UK

I'm usually a defender of media bias, or lack thereof or whatever you want to call it, but these headlines made me laugh. They're actually opposite of each other. If you're interested, click here for the first article and here for the second.

Pop Quiz

Thursday, September 10, 2009

A couple of roommates and I have come up with a little test. The purpose of the test is to reveal if you are truly southern. And it all involves food/beverages. Here it is:

Do you like sweet tea?

 

Do you like boiled peanuts?

 

Do you like grits?

If you answered yes to at least 2 of the above, then congratulations, you’re southern!

If you only answered yes to one, then nope, you don’t make the cut.

If you you had zero yeses, then you fail.

And if you’ve never heard of the things in the questions, we’ll it’s time you head down south and try it because it will be the most amazing meal of your life.

 

So, who passed?

Arty Heart 1

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

In my last post, I promised a series, yet have done nothing with it. My apologies. Here’s the first installment of Arty Heart. Enjoy.

Now, I am by no means calling myself an artist, but this first piece I’m going to share with you is a picture I took in Paris. I’m completely obsessed with it.

Here it is:

So, what are you first thoughts? Probably ‘what in the world is this?”

Here are my thoughts behind it: I remember staring at this apartment building for awhile just thinking how cool it looked and wanting to meet the people that lived there. It looks like a massive quilt where each apartment window is a patch.

I love, love, love how each window represents someone so different and that can be seen through the variety of colors on the window coverings. It just reminds me that even in such a confined space, there is still such variety.

Now, the picture would be different if I zoomed in on only a few windows, but by looking at the entire building, the entire picture, and seeing all the little things that make it up, it brings a much cooler concept.

Thoughts my little potential arty hearts?

Arty Heart

Saturday, August 1, 2009

I’m going to start a new series (because I’ve been so faithful to the one established series I have already…). I’ve been told I have an “arty heart” and I love that. I think I’ve discovered what exactly has caused this and what it’s causing me to do. 

First, what caused it:

• My dad used to play the “who sings this?” game while riding in the car with him. I think I started to appreciate all types of music at that point.
  
• Then, in the 2^nd grade, I decided I wanted to take piano lessons. I did and didn’t stop until I graduated high school. I loved it. I almost majored in it, but after a lot of thought, I discovered playing the piano was something I just did for me (the nauseous stomach before every festival or recital led me to this decision).
  
• My mom always did crafts with me. We had a “make it” closet filled with random items that put together in the right way created something unique. She also planned amazing birthday parties for me that always involved making something and using our creative sides.
  
• I took dance lessons for a couple years. I wasn’t the greatest, but I had fun.
  
• And then, from 6^th to 8^th grade, I attended Humanities Middle School. It was a smaller public school that students had to apply to. It integrated arts into every class. I mummified oranges, made Faberge eggs, became Nefertiti in a wax museum, helped create a magazine, made paper, quilted, created replicas of old historical buildings, painted under tables while laying on our backs just like Michelangelo may have with the Sistine Chapel, etc. I wish I could remember everything that we did there because I think all of it was pretty great.
  

What it has caused me to do:

• Spend hours in art museums. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel and look at some of the masterpiece’s of the world. The Llouve in Paris, the statue of David in Florence, Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, MoMA & MET in NYC, every Smithsonian in DC, and various ones we stumbled across in London.
  
• Love architecture. I love brand new modern buildings. I love old buildings. I love skylines. I’m fascinated with them. I think having a long family history of brick-laying doesn’t hurt this love either.
  
• Became a concert junkie. I love music. I’m obsessed with it. I love finding new bands that haven’t quite hit the big-time yet and telling people about them. I would go to a concert every day if possible.
  
• Interested in photography. I’ve always taken a lot of pictures and posted them everywhere. This past semester I took a photography class, which just fueled the fire. I think I’m decent at it.
  
• Do crafty things. Make a magazine mirror, bracelet, whatever, I’ll do it.
  
• Watch any broadway/dance/musical. I’m a fan. Check out ‘In The Heights.’ It rocks.
  
• Love to travel. Discovering new cultures and the variety of art it brings is pretty exciting for me.
  

I’m sure that’s not the entire list of what this arty heart has caused me to do, but you get the gist.

So, on to the series. This is what I’m thinking…I don’t have a specific day for it, so it’ll be sporadic. “Arty Heart” entries will contain any type of art that I’ve come across that I want to share with you: A cool building, picture, museum, artist, painting, music (I’ll try to keep this and Tune Tuesday separate), or even a craft. I hope you enjoy it and your heart becomes a little arty in the process.

 

 

Out with the old, in with the new

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I’ve noticed several brand/logo changes lately. I wanted to share some with you and get some feedback!

The first is from Dairy Queen. I didn’t know about this change until I passed the one back home and noticed a new sign.

Here’s the old:

And the new:

Personally, I like the old better. I think it’s classic and looks great as a bright neon sign. It’s recognizable, but now these swooshes get in the way of that. What do they add to the idea of Diary Queen? Thoughts?

Next up is Pizza Hut, or now is SOMETIMES going to be labeled as The Hut according to their press release.

The old:

The new:

I think “Pizza” in the name really helped the brand recognition, so now I’m not sure about this new one. When people see "The Hut" they may be wondering what in the world they sell and choose not to go there. Compared to before, when the answer was obvious. I also do not like that they are using this logo at some locations and the old in others. I think that could be a confusing disastor for consumers. Like? Dislike?


The last I have for you is Pepsi. It’s not so recent and got a lot of talk in a lot of my classes.

The old:

The new:

The new logo was presented with a lengthy scientific report complete with graphs on the energy fields within the logo showing how it would pull buyers towards it. Well, it may have worked on me. I started buying Pepsi products and found a new love for Diet Pepsi (I blame the energy fields). The logo is American, modern yet still classic, and somehow has a friendly feeling. If you google image search "New Pepsi logo" you'll see all kinds of things: a variety of smiling faces within the logo, an overweight man within the new logo and Obama's campaign logo. Who has fallen for the energy fields??

Building a strong brand is a very lengthy process. So rebranding and changing the face of your brand is a big decision. It could change how consumers feel about the brand at first glance, good and bad, and it may cause a decrease in recognition or recall of the brand. Companies just have to decide if it’s worth it in the long run. So, who thinks these companies made a good decision?

Thrilling Tasteful Tangible Tantalizing Totally Tite Terrific Tune Tuesday

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Go.

So, I think I first heard this song when our amazing FCA praise band led it in worship one Tuesday. David Crowder released this song as a single, BUT I just discovered that someone from Charlotte actually wrote it and happens to be the brother of my photography professor I had last semester. His name is John Mark McMillan and click here to get the background on when and why he wrote the song. (I have the David Crowder version below without any intro).

Well, I think this song is pretty self-explanatory, but the lyrics really capture the beauty of our good and great God. I love having this song that allows me to sing it out to Him. So just press play below and reflect on some of the words I took out:



I listened to the song the other day while I was sitting on the beach back home. It was unusually windy and from the very start of the song, I was aware of God’s presence and the beauty He created around me:

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

Love this one!

When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

Oh how He loves us

When I was at the beach, the ocean part overwhelmed me because as far as I could look, all I saw was the big blue sea:

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.

I want my heart to do this every time I think of His love. I don’t want to be able to sit still:

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

Done.

South Carolina Makes Headlines

Sunday, July 5, 2009

South Carolina has been the state for news these past few weeks. And not good stuff. Here’s a recap for all you non-palmetto-tree-state-livers:

1. Governor Mark Sanford’s affair with an Argentinean woman. Great. First he was “missing” and then we find out this was happening instead. He’s been sneaking off, lying, using government money and cheating on his wife and family for the past few months. And he didn’t resign although outcries for it are increasing every day. I was quite embarrassed on many levels when he made the announcements: as a South Carolinian, a Christian (which he and his family are), and I thought if he brought up Beaufort Senator Tom Davis’ name one more time as being his buddy…geesh. I think Sanford was a lucky man when he scooted out of national headlines because of Michael Jackson’s death. Click here for the whole story.
2. Gaffney County has a serial killer and he has already taken 5 victims in less than a week. A little scary considering I was there just a few weeks ago for a wedding. The killer’s pictured popped up on CNN and CNN.com while over 100 investigators in the Carolinas are working on the case. Let’s get this guy. Click here for more information. 
   
3. This one didn’t make national news, but a huge fire overtook an old mill in Rock Hill, just blocks away from my apartment. Apparently the fire was so big, that smoke could be seen from as far away as Charlotte. The building used to be a bleachery, but has been abandoned for a while. It took more than a day for 55+ firefighters to get the fire out. Read more here.  

Let’s all hope that sweet southern little South Carolina will only make good news. Please.

Tasteful Tangible Tantalizing Totally Tite Terrific Tune Tuesday

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Everyone’s favorite Tuesday music blogging spot is back! Although I may need some help adding t-words pretty soon. Comment if you’ve got some. To check out some older Tune Tuesday posts, click here.

Go.

Song: Syndicate
Artist: The Fray
Album: The Fray

I’ve put the video down at the bottom, so press play and then read on!

The Fray is one of my top 3 bands. I love the piano infused into the lyrics that somehow can always be interpreted on a spiritual level. And I don’t think this song is any different.

This album was released in February and for now, this is my favorite song on the album. What I did first was look up the word syndicate, it’s only mentioned once in the song. So keep this in mind while listening:

syn⋅di⋅cate : a group of individuals or organizations combined or making a joint effort to undertake some specific duty or carry out specific transactions or negotiations.

I’ll just go ahead and say what I think this song overall is about because then I think the lyrics just fall into place. And this may be a long post, because I think this song is FULL of good stuff.

Much of the new Fray album seems to be about finding the Lord and the struggles of building our faith. Specifically, I think this song is about hardships, battles and doubts Christians face when we have built up that faith.

The thing that we are searching for, Jesus, seems to be so distant and old being over 2000 years old:

Halfway around the world
Lies the one thing that you want
Buried in the ground
Hundred miles down

And that can be frustrating causing doubts or times when we just want to give up even though we are “awakened” to the Truth:

First thing that arises in your mind while you awake
Bending you til you break
Let me hold you now

The chorus is kind of encouraging in that the person speaking seems to have been exactly where the “baby” is at and reassures them that its ok to ask questions and to just hold on to what they believe:

Baby close your eyes
Don't open til the morning light
Baby don't forget
You haven't lost it all yet

We have no idea the love and forgiveness that we are capable of that is shown by Jesus and we may not realize this until we see Him face-to-face:

Don't know what your made of
Til the one thing that you want
To come in with the dawn and suddenly changes

I haven’t quite figured out this line. This is the one mention of syndicate. Any ideas? I’m sure Monday is significant in that it is the day after Sunday. Perhaps the thought that people go to church on Sunday only to return to their same exact lives the next day making no changes after learning on Sunday:

Monday’s syndicate means everyone’s the same
But all we've lost to the flame. Listen to me now

Another line is then added into the chorus. This just reiterates the fact that there is questioning going on, but the one thing we know for sure is our God:

All we know for sure
Is all that we are fighting for

These next few lines are pretty powerful. I think they show that our God is mysterious and that we may never have all the answers (which is a struggle in itself, but also a beautiful thing because it shows how big our God is) even as our relationship with Christ grows and we get closer to Him:

Someday when this is over
We may still have no answer
For now is when I hold her
We are closer
We are closer
We are closer
We are closer

So what do you think? This is of course my interpretation, and I think many of these lines can be interpreted different ways. Some may even think it’s just about a long-distance relationship, but the Fray is always wonderful about putting deep, hard-hitting lyrics embedded into some very pretty music.



End.

Atlantic to the Nolichucky

Sunday, June 21, 2009

In the past week, I took a couple of mini vacations.

From Sunday, June 14 – Tuesday, June 16, I did absolutely nothing (except get a sunburn and play with some cute kids) on Edisto Island. Every summer, my aunt rents a house where the backyard is the beach. It takes about 10 seconds for me to get from the house to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the loveliest.

Edisto Beach, SC

From Friday, June 19 – Sunday, June 21, I explored the mountains, creeks and waterfalls around Erwin, Tennessee where my brother lives. Made a trip to the hippie-filled Boone, NC and dangerously rainy top of Roan Mountain.

Erwin, Tennesse

My question is….which do you prefer: beach or mountains? If you could only chose one, which would it be?

To the DC!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

I spent a couple of days in our nation's capitol with some fantastic people. Here's a fun shot of me at the Capitol Building.

DC is an interesting place. I didn't get the feeling there that I got in NYC or London or Florence (however, I did love the metro, but that may be my general love of public transit), but I still loved seeing all the wonderful sites that call DC their home. Gallery after gallery (most in which I got lost in) provided endless amounts of artwork to gaze at. Memorials provided a few moments to remember our country's past and those who've fought for it.

Overall, DC is a unique place. As it should be. Although it may not be my favorite, I still appreciate everything that it holds. Even that kid protesting, or reading from a sheet of preselected statements, outside the White House.

Although, it was a little bit eerie hearing this happened just a few days after we were in the city.

Next time I'm visiting the Washington Post despite the bored sighs of those who may be traveling with me!

Fake Runner

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

So I've been driving/riding all around Charlotte a good bit these past few weeks and have noticed this strange little thing people do. When crossing the street, sometimes a person notices a car waiting on them when they're just about in the middle. So they then pretend like they speed up by throwing their arms in some circular motion that makes it LOOK like they are running. But in fact, they are still walking, their arms are just swinging faster.

It's so silly. I laugh out loud every time I see it. I crafted together a little video that will demonstrate exactly what I'm talking about:




Anyone else seen this? Or do this?

Apple, You're so Cool.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Today I made a quick stop at SouthPark mall right after work. I parked near Macy’s and as I was about to walk out the door to head home, this caught my eye:


Yes. An iPod vending machine. Let’s just dismiss the fact that there is an Apple store in SouthPark mall for the moment and focus on the thought that there is a vending machine full of iPod products ready to dispense at the touch of a button.

I can’t imagine what type of impulse buys this machine creates.

I found the placement of the machine at this particular Macy’s pretty interesting. It was at an exit right in between men’s suits and children’s clothing. Hmmm…wonder who they are targeting? Businessmen and busy moms have many good reasons for purchasing an iPod.

I’m not sure how long these machines have been around, but I did find out that they are in Macy’s and various airports. I suppose this would make good money in an airport…all those times you’re sitting in a terminal looking at others waiting for your flight too, only to notice a loud person you hope isn’t forced to sit next to you for the next few hours.

The machines look pretty fun. I’d buy something just to touch the bright touch screen and see how the machine works. Once again, Apple marketers seem to catch onto some new/crazy/inventive/unpredictable idea to get you to buy their oh-so-wonderful products.

What do yall think? Stupid or Useful? Would you even consider making such a large purchase through a machine like this?

I'm going to go with Deni

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

I'm a little embarrassed to share the same name as this guy. Well, at least it's spelled differently. Check out this "rapper." You'll know why I put it in quotes once you watch it. I fast forwarded to the second verse, it so much better than the first, believe it or not. Enjoy!



Sad thing is, he's still making music. Poor thing. He just recorded a new song which can be found here if you feel so inclined.

Oh, and don't shoot hoops until you eat all your fruit loops.

No Place Like Home

Sunday, May 17, 2009

I grew up in one of the, if not the, prettiest places on the planet. Don’t believe me?




Yeah, I thought so.

I took it for granted while I was there. Sure I shopped downtown, layed out at Hunting Island, golfed at every possible course, found sharks teeth at the sands, went to church in a 200-year old building (yey BCOB!), ate countless shrimp burgers, had coffee at the waterfront park, wore Sperrys…on a boat, and looked at the gorgeous view from the downtown bridge while waiting in traffic because it was open. I did all of those things.

But once I went to college, I started missing it. I even began to miss that weird marsh smell. Who would have thought? When I came back home to visit I found myself rolling down the windows at the first sight of marsh.

This is my first summer away from beautiful Beaufort. I’ll miss being there over the summer, a really fun time. But I’ll be staying in Rock Hill and working in Charlotte at Charlotte Magazine as the marketing intern. I’ve already had several people at work ask me where I’m from and as soon as I tell them, their replies are all the same:

Oh! It’s beautiful down there!

And that's usually followed by:

Do you think you will move back there?

And my reply is usually:

No.

Ok, so I just went on talking about how wonderful Beaufort is and now I’m saying I don’t want to move back? Crazy girl. There are a few reasons why my answer is so quick and sure. One is that Beaufort doesn’t really have the job opportunities I’ll be seeking when I graduate. And two is that I love traveling to new places and seeing new things.

I’m really thankful of where I grew up. I loved it. I met some amazing, incredible people who have become my friends that I will never forget. It is a truly unique, one-of-a-kind place. I hope that in my future, I can discover what other unique places exist around the world!

This seems like a pointless post after re-reading it. Going on and on about how I love and miss Beaufort and then just said I probably won’t move back. Oh, well. It’ll always be home.

How could you be so heartless?

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

I’ve discovered something that irks me.

Here are some (not all, I admit I chose some of these just to prove my point) of the top headlines from CNN.com in America:

‘Idol’ blog: Kris Allen need not ‘Apologize’
Miss California USA to keep title
‘It was like the sky fell down,’ mom cries
Missing teen’s cell phone gives cops clue
How it feels to be judged on looks
Ranking the best, worst owners in sports

Really? Believe me, I completely understand addressing your audience, but what in the world kind of audience is regularly visiting the site if that’s the case. I am a little embarrassed because I do regularly visit the site, but find myself digging for what I want to read.

The reason this irritates me is for the simple fact that there are way more important issues happening around the world, but instead the decision on letting Miss California keep her crown is deemed more important. Ridiculous.

I feel a bit manipulated (and I began to feel like that in my media and politics class), because I find myself discovering news about my own country from friends who live in other countries. That’s sad. They have to tell me what is going with my president or my economy. They also inform me of information about their own countries that don’t seem to make it past the never-ending run of ‘missing teens’ stories.

For some reason I’ve always been obsessed and a little fascinated with the media and how it works. I am still obsessed, fascinated, intrigued and now just a little motivated to do something about all of this.

I know that CNN and all other media is a business, and a professor once drilled into my head that they only exist to make money. I just wish they would make money better.

A LowCountry Tale

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

One of my favorite foods is shrimp, for many reasons: I live 100 yards from where you catch them, they’re delicious, my dad would physically hurt me if I didn’t, and the most important reason of all…

I got attacked by a shrimp one time

Yup. I remember it so vividly. I was about 9 years old and was taking a tour of a shrimp boat in Beaufort with some family and friends. We were out in the river, the nets were pulled up, and the shrimp was tossed on the table. I had a front row view of the table with my head just peering over it.

Then all of a sudden, with all the shrimp popping up and down, one lively one jumped extra high hitting me directly between my eyes and then back into the ocean. The shrimp used me to escape. So now, I eat all the shrimp placed in front of me in hopes that I will someday get revenge.

I think my favorite shrimp dish (and there are many - watch this video from my favorite movie, Forest Gump, that names a few) is the lovely shrimp burger.

I was able to enjoy one back home last weekend at The Shrimp Shack (the best place to get and the shrimp are from right across the street). Basically, all a shrimp burger is is shrimp beaten down and then formed into patties. Then they are usually fried, but on a bun with some tarter sauce and served. Delicious. There is nothing much better than that, I promise.

Here is a picture in case you can’t imagine the goodness I’m describing:

My "book" continued...

Sunday, April 12, 2009

I’ve previously blogged about the “book” I want to write at some point in my life. (I put book in quotations because it’s really not a book but rather just a compilation of ridiculous things).

Read here to catch up on what the book will be about and the first few stories that will go in it. This book won’t be anything close to what this guy will one day release, but funny nonetheless. Here are some brief descriptions of new stories that will definitely make it in the book:

• Being on a plane ride for 8 hours and standing in the customs line for 30 minutes right next to rapper Flo Rida. Didn’t get a picture, autograph, or anything. I’m not sure if he even made it into England- he was asked to step aside for extra questioning.
• Losing my camera in a field when the boys holding it, dropped it to start running from a bull that started running towards them. Why were they so close to a bull you ask? Scavenger Hunt. It was dark and we thought it was a horse.
• Jennifer and I got interviewed in front of BBC in London.
• Playing the cowbell (a big dream of mine) with the Winthrop Pep Band at a basketball game!
• My restaurant experience in Chinatown in NY. First of all, there was a line of about 20 people waiting on a table and when we went to put our name on the list, they just took us right back to a table ahead of everyone else. And we couldn’t understand our waiter one bit. Overall, it was sketchy and a true Chinatown experience. And really yummy.
• Having a car that doesn’t turn off. Read more here.
• Getting pulled into a funeral procession/parade/street dance by an older man in New Orleans. It was fun dancing with a random guy in the middle of the street with a band that walks right behind you.
• Spending 6 hours, yes 6 hours, in a Wal-Mart in Georgia where we got stranded on the way back from a youth trip.

I’m sure there are TONS more, but these are what I came up with for now. Please comment and let me know if you think of any others. And I’m still looking for a book title.

I Hate Cars

Saturday, April 4, 2009

A quick break from London here.

I never had any car problems while I was in high school or at home. But now that I have moved over 300-miles away, away from my dad who deals with car issues for me, I’ve had several.

Most recently, yesterday, I dealt with a very unique problem:

My car would not turn off.

Yup. I put it in park, went to turn the key to turn the ignition off only to find it stuck and not willing to turn or turn off. What does one do in this situation you may ask. After a few seconds and the realization that car dealerships and shops were closed, I considered my options:
• Let the car run out of gas and eventually turn off
• Rip the key out by sheer force (not from my wimpy self of course, but instead my friend who plays basketball for WU)
• Freak out, cry, call AAA and find another solution

I chose the third option. However, upon calling AAA they told me they could not immediately help me because my car was still in service. Exactly.

So instead, myself and 3 other girls had to pop the hood (which took a quite a few minutes) and be talked through via phone on where to find the black box that held the fuses, pick the correct fuse out of like 20, and pull it out. I now wish I would have taken a picture of all of us crowded around scared to pull it out in fear that we may get shocked or catch something on fire.

After several minutes we pulled the fuse and off it went! We were pretty proud of this great accomplishment.

So then I had to intentionally lock my key in the car (which was still in the ignition) and get AAA to tow it to the Saturn dealership the next day to fix it.

I got the car back today and it’s fixed! Woohoo! But while watching my little Saturn get pulled up on that tow truck, I told Jennifer I just wished we had trains, busses and subways that took us everywhere like in England. Then problems like these would not happen. But then she promptly reminded me that instead we would have the problem of people jumping on Subway tracks at our stop causing us to ride all over the city of London to get home. I don’t know which is worse.

Funday Sunday

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Jennifer and I decided that Sunday was our favorite day in England. It consisted of actually getting into London, me seeing Big Ben, Parliament, and the London Eye for the first time, Hyde Park with Speakers Corner, Trafalgar Square, Hillsong Church, and Piccadilly Square. It was a jammed-packed day and soooo much fun.

The more I think about it, the crazier I think it is that we experienced Speaker’s Corner and Hillsong in the same day, actually within hours.

So Speaker’s Corner is an area in Hyde Park in London where public speaking is allowed. Basically, it’s just a bunch of people standing on ladders yelling and screaming their opinions on topics like religion, language, politics, or even how everyone (including men) should wear stilettos. The fun, or intense, thing is that the crowd interacts with the speakers: argue, yell at, cheer, debate, etc.

We heard all kinds of new ideas like one lady who said,

America is made of all the losers of the other countries.

We were not a fan of her. One speaker demanded from one member of the crowd (they actually seemed to know each other well) to try and name the

features of the creatures

that proved evolution.

Although the several hours we spent there was entertaining and interesting, we left feeling sad and had to leave because we really just couldn’t take listening to it anymore. I think it was the crowds arguing with the Christian speakers, where we spent most of our time, that made us feel this way. I don't really have another word to describe how we felt, just sad. Often crowd members would look at us and ask what we thought of the Christian speakers and we responded in some positive way and they would look at us like we were absolutely out of our minds.

So we left Speaker's Corner and soon entered Dominion Theatre in London where the mega-church Hillsong meets. I’ve always loved the worship music they release and right when the worship began, an awesome and exciting atmosphere was created. Every single person in the crowd was worshipping individually and freely. It was encouraging to be there and to see others (especially neat since they were from a different country) worshipping the same powerful God I do.

I think I find it funny that we did both things on the same day because they represent two extremes. I don’t know. I think it’s hard for me to grasp the idea that they both exist so closely to one another. And I know for sure that London is not the only place where this happens. I’ve just yet to encounter it in America.

New Sights of Old Things

Thursday, March 26, 2009

So it's been awhile and I’ve been asked a few times when I’ll start blogging about my trip to London, or at least post some excerpts from the journal I kept while I was traveling. So I guess I’ll start now.

It’s difficult for me to pick what I want to write about first. I experienced/saw/met so many things and people that had some sort of impact on a thought I had before going to London or gave me insight into a new one.

So let’s see….I’ll start with our day at Windsor. A little excerpt from the journal:

We came out of the train station looking at Windsor Castle in the distance. The flag was up which apparently meant the Queen was there. Jennifer and I tried to pick what room she might be in – Possibly just 25 feet away.

It was fun walking around Windsor and then we decided to explore new territory with our wonderful host/tour-guide/guy that always kept us laughing, Neil. So over the bridge we went and soon after found Eton College, an all-boys school famous for those who come through and then onto Oxford. They’ve also had several Prime Ministers go there.

Now this may sound terribly silly and perhaps dumb, but this is the thought that sunk into my head when walking back to Windsor from Eton:

Everything is so old here.

Now, I meant this in all seriousness and was just comparing my surroundings in that moment to what I am normally surrounded by back in South Carolina or in Charlotte. Now don’t get me wrong, if you know me, you know I’ve always had a fascination and love for skyscrapers and all types of modern architecture. But there was something different about these buildings and landmarks. And even my hometown Beaufort, which has quite an historical background, is like a baby when compared to landmarks in England.

Listen up, after a little research, I found that Eton College was founded in 1440 and Windsor Castle is like 900 years old.

I love the fact that I had the opportunity to be around something so old and historical. Thinking about what people were like when the building was new and how many different types of people have passed through and seen this same building is something that definitely keeps me thinking.

And I think I’ve decided why this is so interesting to me: Because seeing these landmarks is so new to me, yet they have been there for so long. It was like I was discovering something for the first time that’s been there for several centuries. That’s something that makes me smile- discovering something new. I’ve always had this mindset within music, now it’s just in a 900-year-old building too.

So what do you think? Do you prefer to be in a modern city like Charlotte that has history to make now? Or somewhere like Windsor where you are surrounded by history? Maybe a mix?

I thought I had this figured out prior to London, but now I’m not sure. I might just have to move every few months to satisfy this little “I need to see something new” bug I’ve gained from London.

I'll post some pictures of that day soon!