London Calling

Some days I just miss London. Yes, it can be a pain in the arse: the tubes don't run all night, middle of the night delivery doesn't exist, shops close early, getting a black cab past 11pm is downright impossible, but it's still one of the best cities on earth. April 8th is the birthday of Vivienne Westwood and also the date in 1977 that the Clash released their self-titled album. Both Vivienne and the Clash are pioneers/icons of Punk, and Punk IS London. So today is dedicated to all things English, or as much as I can get here in the City of Angels. If I didn't already have plans, I'd only hang out with my British friends for the night. Instead, I'm just going to eat English food - bangers and mash, Cadbury's chocolate (the type made in the UK, not the disgusting Hershey's factory stuff), maybe some fish n chips.....mmmmm.



Not in with the London theme, but definitely something to take note of: On April 8th, 2002 Suzan-Lori Parks became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama for her play 'Topdog/Underdog'. Today's quote comes from a commencement speech she gave to Mount Holyoke College in 2001 where she provided 16 suggestions for life:

"SPLURGE YOUR LIFE BY DOING SOMETHING YOU LOVE. My husband Paul is a musician. He says that the concept of talent is overrated because "talent" is really the gift of love. "Talent" happens when you are in love with something and you devote your life to it and its your love of it that makes you want to keep doing it, its your love of it which helps you overcome the obstacles along the way, and its your love of it that begets a talent for it."

P.S. It is also "Draw a Bird Day", but I found that far too ridiculous and cheesy to partake in. Apparently, it originated in the UK in the 1940s and the only requirement is to draw a picture containing a bird in it to "spread joy". Barf.

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