Memorial Day

As in the UK, yesterday was a bank holiday Monday here in the US as well - although not to recognise Whitsun but as the US Memorial Day. Formerly known as Decoration Day, this is a federal holiday (that means it's recognised by the US government unlike, say, the Confederate Memorial Day mentioned earlier) to commemorate U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. Whilst it first began to honour the Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War, it has subsequently expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. Interestingly, a long-standing tradition is the running of the Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) which has run in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.

The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with being the birthplace because it observed the day on May 5, 1866. From then, General John A. Logan - impressed with the way the South honoured their dead - decided a similar holiday for the Union and, in 1868, issued a proclamation that 'Decaration Day' be observed nationwide (it was on May 30th of that year). Unsurprisingly, some states in the South refused to recognise it - given that it honoured their opposition and this remained that way for some time - even as late as after World War 1. Interestingly, the official name, whilst first used in 1882, wasn't made official until 1968 - when Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved four holidays from their traditional dates to specified Mondays. Although some of these have subsequently changed since, Memorial Day still remains as the last Monday of May and, as you've probably realised, isn't celebrated anywhere out of the US.

Spoleto

With the end of May now upon us, with it - at least here in Charleston - comes the Spoleto festival - and it's city-organised counterpart - the Piccolo Spoleto - an annual 17-day extravaganza of art and culture with the potential for lots of things to see and do. The larger Spoleto festival offers some big events - two concerts that i wouldn't mind going to (i may yet book tickets) are performances of Mahler's 5th Symphony and Beethoven's 5th Symphony (along other works) with the prices ranging from $35-$70 - typical pricing for the larger spoleto events (although i managed to get some $20 vouchers that may help in that case). Fortunately, the Piccolo Spoleto events (organised directly by the city of Charleston) are also a bit more reasonably priced - and one in particular stands out for me - the One Man Star Wars Trilogy show - i'll keep you posted as to if i go and see it, and what i thought of it as well.

The history of Spoleto here in Charleston goes back to 1977 - when Spoleto Festival USA was founded by Gian Carlo Menotti, Christopher Keene and others involved in the Festival of Two Worlds. It was intended to be the American counterpart to that festival held annually in Spoleto, Italy (which started in 1958 as a forum for young American artists in Europe). Looking for a suitable location that would offer the charm of Spoleto, Italy, they selected Charleston - partly because of its wealth of theaters, churches, and other performance spaces. Also, the city is small enough to be dominated by nonstop arts events during the 17-day festival, but also large and sophisticated enough to provide a knowledgeable audience. Charleston has an extensive history of involvement with the arts from housing America’s first theater and ballet companies to housing the oldest musical organization in the country. And who said that Americans haven't got any sense of culture??

Where's George??

Today at lunchtime, my workmates and I stumbled across something that all but one of us had heard of - a thing called Where's George - and an associated e-mail address - www.wheresgeorge.com. Where did we come across this? Well, one of my colleagues was handed a dollar note in her change with the Where's George stamp on. She pointed it out to us all - and proceeded to elaborate. Y'see, someone somewhere thought it would be interesting to track the flow of money around the country and so there are a certain number of stamped bills in circulation (the website says a few million). Whenever you get one, you can log into the website and set up an account (if you haven't already done so), thus allowing you to enter the 10 digit code on the bill. This will then provide information to the people in question - but also gives you access to cool information as to where the bill has been and how long it has taken to travel.

As Kellie offered to let me input the bill, i did so - and found that this was actually the first time that it had been logged in since the stamp had been put on it. In this case, it had made it's way to Charleston from the other side of the state and had taken 82 days to get here - coming out at an average 'speed' of 2.1 miles a day. Thus, the bill goes back into circulation and at some point in the future will hopefully get inputted in again. As an example of the 'lifetime' of a dollar bill, they show you the story of one such note that started in New England and went across the country and back again. Twice. In the space of about three years. Pretty good going. Incidentally, for those of you wondering why it's Where's George, the answer is simple - George Washington is on the 1 dollar bill.

Splendid Sushi

Always one to try something new, I was invited out for sushi with a couple of workmates (one Japanese) and, having never had proper sushi before (I tried some once at a party but it all cooked 'sushi'), i figured what the hell and so accepted. The place in question - called Oriental Garden and located out in Mount Pleasant - had a high recommendation by my friends - so i figured that if the sushi was that good, then better to go there than have some sub-standard stuff elsewhere. Despite looking a bit like a dive on the outside (it was formerly a KFC), the restaurant was pleasant enough and the staff were friendly. I was a bit hesitant at first - the thought of raw fish was enough to make my stomach churn - but i set that aside and, quite frankly, the sushi was bloody fantastic.

I had been advised to opt for safe options at first - and so ordered some tuna and salmon, but threw a bit of caution to the wind and got some mackerel as well (it tastes like tuna. At least out of the tin). However, the best thing about it all is that if you're in a group (there were 5 of us) then everyone can order various things and you can try all of it if you wish. Thus, I also managed to get some eel, and shrimp as well. And it was all very very good (although even my sushi-loving workmate was hesitant to try the mackerel as it still had the skin on). My japanese colleague also gave it the thumbs up - and said it was some of the best he'd had in Charleston. Let's mark this as a place to go for anyone visiting. And i shall definitely be looking out for sushi in the future.

82 Queens

I guess after leaving this up for a couple of days with just the title, i'm not surprised that someone wondered if this was a reference to a night out on the scene here - alas, it's not to be - but thanks to my anonymous commentator for raising a smile (I have an idea who it is anyway). Instead, the title refers to a restaurant here in downtown Charleston - situated on Queen Street - and i think you can figure out where the name comes from now. With another visitor at the lab this week (shopping around for a postdoc), I was offered the chance to go out to dinner with them last night (on the department) and had heard that this place was pretty good (I always scout out good restaurants for such occasions - for future visitors). A table was booked and off we went (myself, the visitor and Tom - an MD PhD student in the department).

The night was pleasant - and thankfully so - as the restaurant has a nunber of table situated outside - in a sort of two-three walls area with no roof (although the trees there afforded nice cover). Strange this is that, after a while, you forget you're outside. The menu had some reasonable variety - apparently the she-crab soup is considered the best in Charleston but i'm not a crab fan so passed on it this time (although the others had it and said it was fantastic). The main courses (around $18-25 an entree) were a good sized portion - i went for grilled herbed chicken on spinach and asparagus with ravioli and crumbled feta cheese in a spicy tomato sauce. Suffice to say it was very good indeed. We decided to forsake dessert this time (although it was VERY tempting - and we were feeling full) - but I would definitely recommend this place again. And, of course, as work were paying, it made it all the sweeter!!

The Da Vinci Code

With the release of the film of the novel approaching, a number of workmates (and myself) had expressed an interest in heading off to see the film last weekend. A few e-mail were exchanged and 18 tickets later, we all trooped off to watch - taking over an entire cinema row in the process (to some amusement). Anyway, as you have no doubt heard, the film has been whipping up a storm - as did the book itself. You may ask if i thought that it was worth all the hype and controversy? In all honesty, I enjoyed the film - as did many of my friends - i think because i went in expecting a good adaptation of the book and that's what i got. If there is one thing that detracts from the film, i'd have to point the finger at Audrey Tatou. Perhaps it's because she has to speak English throughout, but something about her just does not gel. Other than that, i enjoyed it - and thought it did a good job of making a lot of exposition reasonably interesting. I suspect that some of the negativity comes from people who are expecting to have a life-changing experience whilst watching.

Of course, the brouhaha surrounding the whole thing doesn't really help. I find it somewhat hard to believe that so much fuss is caused over a work of fiction - especially when the author has emphasised it as such. I think the trouble is that it 'could' be 'true' - and maybe the church are worried that people will think it is (hey, who said Americans are suggestive?). Or something. I also find it immensely annoying (and hypocritical) that some of the people causing a lot of the fuss over here were very dismissive when commenting on the Islamic reaction to those Danish cartoons - along the lines of 'But that's freedom of speech' etc. Talk about double standards - but then it's different when the boots on the other foot. Overall, i think the film has a reasonable message at the end (the book has been softened a little) in that it's all about what YOU believe above all else. Hear hear.

Double Duty

Continuing the trend of having an entertaining, if busy, social life at the weekends, i found myself with two parties to attend today - the former - a grill-out (BBQ) and ongoing party from about 5pm to celebrate the birthday of a friend and workmate (one of the MD PhD students here) and the latter - a graduation/farewell party to a good friend (the one who used to live in my apartment) who has now obtained her MD and is heading off to NYC to do residency. Although both invites said that neither food nor drink was necessary to bring, not wanting to look like a skinflint, alcohol was purchased and snacks were made (by my own fair hands i should add). Also, and fortunately for me, both parties were within walking distance of my house - and so it would be relatively easy for me to hop from one to the other.

Anyway, both parties were great fun for various reasons - the first because it was a continuous battle to keep the grill burning long enough for late arrivals to cook on, and also cause there was some homemade sangria - nuff said. The second party was pretty good too - again, good food, drink and company - and also cause i was feeling slightly tipsy by that point. Suffice to say, fresh air and a walk home would've been the order of the day (apart from the fact that friends insisted on giving me a ride). Is it any surprise, then, that i slept in on Sunday???

Back at the Gym

Having been kept from the gym for a couple of months - what with various hectic goings on at work, and a trip to Canada - as well as feeling a bit unwell and a birthday in the midst of it all too, i finally managed to haul my sorry backside back into an exercise routine a couple of weeks ago (and, my God, it's hard work!!). Anyway, the timing couldn't have been better - with a lot of the students at the university in the middle of exams, and revision and generally not making nuisances of themselves, it's made life a lot easier - in terms of getting onto machines and the place not being overly crowded. Having said that, i've had plenty of time to watch the comings and goings of the various people that use the facilities there - and they seem to be split into a number of categories.

There are the casual users - the ones that come in and use the machines for all of five minutes, maybe go and run for about 5 minutes and then leave, and probably wonder why it's not having any effect. There are the die-hards - the ones who are either stick thin (in the female case) or built like brick s**t-houses (in the male case) who spend every second of time in the gym working out (or walking to and from the water fountain). There are the average users (like myself) who fall somewhere between the two (to varying degrees) and then those that are evidently there on doctors orders (usually cause of weight) - who are trying to make the effort but either can't be bothered or don't really know what to do (and so do most exercises incorrectly). It's quite something to watch (as i'm running or cycling or rowing) as this microcosm society goes about it's business. Hey, at least it makes exercising a little more interesting.

Another Weekend, Another Party

So the weekend rolls round again and, with it, another BBQ in the sunshine at a colleague's house (hey, as scientists we all work hard so i think we're entitled to play hard as well). Anyway, the occasion this time was the 36th birthday of Chiara - a former postdoc at my current lab who has now become a semi-independent researcher with her own lab. As a result her other half (soon-to-be-husband Maurizio) arranged a party on early Sunday evening - drink, good food (as Italians, they naturally make a fantastic bowl of pasta) and a good time all round. It was a very pleasant evening indeed - even when it got dark and the storm clouds came (there was a HUGE thunderstorm in Charleston that night - but that's another story indeed). Certainly, one of the most interesting occurances of the evening was the singing of Happy Birthday in a good few languages (English, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, French, Polish and Dutch). Anyway, attached are a few photos of the evening for your perusal - and for the record, this is only the second party in a row. Honestly!!


Chiara - the Birthday Girl.


Aleksander and Jola


The Three (Italian) Stooges


Stefka and Maristella (Stefka's hair is NOT on fire)


CAKE!!!! (Need i say more?)


Kaz Hungry!!

Contra Dancing

Being one to try almost anything new, this evening I was somewhat roped into going to a Contra dance evening in West Ashley. Having heard of this style of dancing a couple of times, I was somewhat curious as to what it was like - with previous definitions ranging from 'like square dancing' to 'Pride and Prejudice style formation dancing'. I thought it sounded very similar to country dancing back in the UK - something that i had done as a youngster - and wondered if the whole country-contra thing was just the result of some verbal mishap along the way. Thus, dancing shoes in hand (not really - i just had comfortable shoes as it promised to be a long and energetic evening), off I went. Looking back at the history of contra dance, (for you Tracey), it seems that at the end of the 17th century, English country dances were taken-up by French dancers and were so named contra-dance or contredanse. As time progressed, these English country dances were spread and reinterpreted throughout the Western world. Ultimately, the French form of the name came to be associated with the American folk dances, especially in New England. So, it seems that contra dance is something of a descendant of country dance to the point where they are reasonably distinct.

Y'see, the thing with country dance in the UK is that are different styles - there are those where everyone is in a line facing each other or in circles facing in, in circles of couples facing in opposite directions, in squares and so on - it goes on. Contra dance always takes place in lines of two - yourself and your partner - and nearly always involves groups of four (thus, rather oddly, there are nearly always odd couples left out at the top and bottom of the line during the dance - perhaps a good thing as you can rest a little). A lot of the moves are similar - right and left hand stars, do-sei-do etc. etc. - but there seems to be a more formal style to it as, for example, when swinging your partner/neighbour, there is a particular stance and so on. Ultimately, i had a very good evening - albeit completely exhausting - and also spent a reasonable time trying not to tread on my various partner' dance toes. When you have your big size 12s, and they have bare feet - it's perhaps not the BEST thing to do.

Beaches

The combined effects of having access to a car and having a (slightly energetic/crazy) dog to walk meant that, this week, i thought it might be a good time to take a trip out to one of the beaches in the vicinity and let Wahine (Hawaiian for 'little girl' by the way) stretch her legs a bit there - so to speak, as the beach rules dictate that dogs are kept on a leash the whole time. Anyway, yesterday evening, I hopped in the car early evening and headed off to Folly Beach - a short drive away (about 10-15 minutes). Whilst the weather was warm, there weren't huge numbers of people about and so I managed to park quite close to the sea - and off we went. Perhaps what is more surprising is that this is actually the first time i've been to the beach since i got here last June (I blame both the lack of access to a car, and the fact that i have no suitable beachwear - a fact i am hoping to change this coming weekend). Anyway, i also had my camera handy and took a couple of snaps for posterity. Enjoy.

Confederate Memorial Day

Confederate Memorial Day, also known as Confederate Decoration Day (in Tennessee) and Confederate Heroes Day (in Texas) is a holiday in parts of the United States - perhaps, unsurprisingly, in predominantly the Southern States of the US but, unlike other holidays, it is less of a compulsory holiday than, say, President's Day or Labour Day. It is recognised as a day to honour those who died defending the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The founder of the Federal Memorial Day was a General John A. Logan - the Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic who, it is said, was so impressed with the way the South honored their dead with a special day, he became convinced that such a day must be created to honor Union dead (this later became the national Memorial Day).

Perhaps unusually is that the states that honour this holiday in the Southern USA do not conform to a set date and there are, in fact, two or three dates over the year that are considered Confederate Memorial Day depending on the state you are in. For example, Florida and Georgia celebrate this on April 26th - to honour the date when Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Union General William Sherman in 1865. By contrast, both North and South Carolina celebrate today, May 10th, as this was the day that the Confederate president Jefferson Davis was captured in 1865. Thus, this post should strictly be titled, I guess, NC and SC Confederate Memorial Day - but it's a bit less of a snappy title. Nevertheless, I find it interesting that both a holiday (and the confederate flag that is often seen waving all over Charleston and, indeed, the State) are still about - given that it is really the 'losing' flag and the 'losing' team.

Animal House

One thing that i've missed a lot, pretty much since leaving home for the first time, is not having an animal around the place. I'm very much a cat person (although i like dogs as well) and since i was about 5 years old, the family have always had at least one cat. I'm also unable to get a pet here - as my tenancy forbids it (although my neighbor with the same landlord does have a dog so i may double check that). Anyway, that didn't matter this week as i had agreed to look after a colleague's animals whilst she was out of town for the week - plus with the added bonus of her lending me her car (she lives on James Island, a short drive from downtown Charleston) so allowing me the chance to get a bit of practice at driving on the right.

So, having dropped Kelly off at the airport on Saturday, i've been getting used to having animals about - five cats and a dog. The cats (Tubbs, Gracie, Retreat, Elliot and Janeway) are all quite varied personalites which make it interesting - and a couple of them like to bother me during the night (Retreat nearly gave me a heart attack by jumping on to the bed right in front of my face last night). The dog, Wahine (spelling?) is generally well-behaved and lets me happily boss her about - although she gives me those 'puppy-dog' eyes quite a lot if i do. Suffice to say, at the end of the week, i think i'll be happy to get back to my animal-less existence.

BBQ Season

Okay, so whilst BBQ season probably started a few weeks back when the weather first started getting warm over here, it just seemed like a snappy title so allow me some poetic licence, okay? Anyway, yesterday was the first BBQ of the year for me (or grill out as the Yanks are so fond of calling it). The occasion? My colleague Jola and her husband Aleks (spelling is correct, they are Polish) were finally celebrating moving into their first home (why finally, i hear you ask? Well, they moved about six weeks ago!) and so invited a large number of us over for food, drink and, well, the general merry making. Added on to all this, another workmate bought their karaoke machine round and so you can quite imagine what it was like as people got slightly drunker and the songs got seemingly harder to sing either in pitch or tone.

Anyway, fortunately for all the weather held out for the day (given that the forecast was for showers and/or possible thunderstorm) and, in fact, was very nice indeed. The house in question was very nice - whilst it is quite a way from downtown (about a 25 minute drive), it's in a quiet neighborhood and, although relatively close to a main road, is fortunately protected by a few layers of trees that both soundproof and hide it. There was a lot of vegetarian food on offer (both Jola and Aleks are) - all of it pretty tasty too (I particularly liked the hummus and warm flatbread. Yum) and we all sang the night away. Well, some of it anyway. I also managed to sneak a few photos - watch this space and they will hopefully appear this week.

Cinco De Mayo

Today at work, there seemed to be a general buzz - and when i asked about it, i was told that it was Cinco de Mayo - literally translated as the 5th of May. Further questionining and i was surprised to find that this wasn't actually one of the many US holidays that seem to crop up throughout the year but actually is to commemorate the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. Although it is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, there is some recognition in other parts of the Mexico, and also especially in those U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. However, contrary to popular belief, it does not represent Mexico's Independence Day - and the actual date for this is September 16.

The battle at Puebla happened in 1862 at a violent and chaotic time in Mexico's history. Having finally gained independence from Spain in 1821 after a difficult and bloody struggle, a number of internal political takeovers and wars (such as the Mexican Civil War of 1858) had ruined the national economy. Because of this, the country had accumulated large debts to England, Spain and France - and the latter decided to use this issue as a reason for empire expansion. Invading the coast, the French army marched towards Mexico City - but encountered strong resistance and ultimately defeat by a smaller and less well-equipped army - the victory celebrated here. Whilst this was short lived, the French ultimately managed to install a ruler of Mexico, this was also relatively brief as the US (after their civil war) provided more support and the French, ultimately, were expelled. Of course, for American citizens to celebrate this, is something akin to Englishmen celebrating St. Patricks Day - but, i guess, any excuse for a party!

Back to Baseball

WIth having a relatively quiet week planned - in anticipation of a party at the weekend, it was something of a nice surprise to be offered some free tickets for a baseball game this evening - and naturally i jumped at the chance. Having been to a couple of games last year and found them pretty enjoyable, i was very happy to renew my acquaintance, particularly after my softball-playing exploits of recent months. Once thing that amuses is that a lot of Americans i've spoken to on the subject moan that the game is too slow. I tell them that they should watch cricket where one innings can take a day and a half - and then they'd understand why it's pretty fast-paced. Anyway, another major reason for going along is being able to use it as an excuse to sit in the sun and hot temperatures (at 7pm, it was still 29C), to relax and enjoy myself.

The game itself was reasonable - when we (myself and a colleague) were leaving, the game was (alas) 5-2 against Charleston with 1 and a half innings left - but given that it was 9.30 and we were both tired, we figured what the hell. Well, it might have been that or the consumption of alcohol - the next time i go, i really should remember that 32oz beers are NOT a pint and that drinking three of them is almost certainly gonna give me a hangover the next day. Still, it was good to wash down the boiled peanuts with (something of a Southern thing but absolutely delicios, let me tell you). And as for the Seventh inning stretch? Well, it's merely a time when everyone gets up, stretches and (if you REALLY want) sings an old baseball tune off-key. Remind me to bring ear-plugs next time.

Immigrant No-Work Day

The ongoing debate about what to do with illegal immigration over here in the US has been percolating for some time - kinda like a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico - and yet there still seems to be lots of debate as to how the current administration is going to handle it - particularly given that their recent proposals on the matter were, after a fashion, laughed out of the Senate. Well, today, matters took an interesting turn with the appearance of 'America without Immigrants' work day - a day where the intent was for all immigrants (legal or otherwise) were to not go to work and see what happened. Personally, i was expecting all the McDonalds across the nation to be shut - but i don't think that happened.

Y'see, the major problem was that a lot of immigrants didn't want to skip work - mainly as they had gone through the long arduous process of legal immigration - rather than the illegals who seemed to be the major focus of the day. And, indeed, why should they? It seems to be asking a lot for the illegal immigrants to not only enter the country illegally, but then try and badger the government into letting them stay. But then other's point out that the immigrants do the jobs that Americans don't want to do (the menial tasks) so stopping the flow would be a bad idea - however, as someone quite appropriately pointed out, it's not that the Americans don't want to do the jobs, it's just that they won't do these jobs on a slave wage. And there i thought the slave trade ended a couple of centuries ago.