Thoughts on my visit to St. Giles

WINDOW

I am a little in love with this church. I mean...just look at it.  

I can't yell at them to get out of the way.  Everyone hates Americans enough.

 I have so many pictures of this church. I took one every time we passed it. That should mean that I have a beautiful, Hallelujah-chorus pictures for the blog...but quantity and quality are unrelated...especially on a moving bus. 

To me, the intricacy of the architecture was practically hypnotic.  My compatriot was an Art History student who has spent time in probably every major church in Europe including Rome; she was less impressed.

Chapel of the Order of the Thistle

There is also the matter of the mass.  We just happened to be there in time for it.  I think I asked Emily if it was okay to sit for it.  I hope I did.  I generally like to ask people's permission before involving them in anything spiritual or religious.  

I get really picky about what people say about the Bible, God and Jesus.  Misrepresentations can do a lot of damage (see the Crusades and the Inquisition and terrorism).  What you say in a high-traffic tourist trap like St. Giles carries weight because of how many people hear it.

I had no problems with what was said.

All I heard was scripture and an eloquent and straightforward message of God's love.  In his closing prayer, he even prayed for world events close to my heart like the Israeli-Arab conflict.

So St. Giles...what are you doing Sunday?

Shown: World's Fastest Graveyard

P.S. I know the pictures on this blog aren't very good.  I got used to iPhoto for basic adjustments and my Mac is -- not kidding -- full.  The photo editing program I got for my PC is...high maintenance and a little intimidating.  Working on it.

St. Giles in Edinburgh: Pictures

In Defense of the Teflon Tomb Raider [updated]

Lara Croft gets a lot of grief. She has always been comically proportioned.  However, she was also rich, physically strong, smart, educated, adventurous and dangerous. She also, to my recollection was not actually promiscuous.  In my opinion, she is not only likeable, but a decent role model. 

The good news is that, from interviews with Crystal Dynamics, the team working on the TR prequel seems to be pretty devoted to giving the franchise a new realism and groundedness. Yes, the young Lara Croft will be shaped more like a human being, if only slightly. Reading the comments from the designers, it sounds like they know one of the big complaints about TR was Croft's Jessica Rabbit-like qualities, and they are trying to balance that with the knowledge that teenage boys buy games. Back to realism, but on a related note: instead of costume changes, her clothing becomes increasingly damaged and dirty, and she acquires items. There is also a verbal stress placed on survival and evolution. Hopefully, they are going to show us how Lara went from being a girl to being a tomb raiding bad***.

The bad news is that they are going to torment the young Lara. They examined the franchise and determined that her "teflon" perfection was the problem. Admittedly, the franchise jumped the shark, but it seemed more an issue of redundant gameplay than character, to me, but games aren't my full-time job. So, building on the foundations of decades of comic books, they have decided to give her a tortured backstory. Game Informer interviews reveal a stress on the player caring for Lara. I don't remember that word from articles about developing Mass Effect 2's cast. She is intentionally a head shorter than the men in the game to make her a visual underdog.

I have very mixed feelings. From the point of view of an author, putting your characters through hardship is how you develop the character and the plot. From the point of view of a woman in a fridge, I think that women get beat up disproportionately in comic books, games and movies.

People have started playing the game, and a lot of people like it. I am having a hard time deciding whether or not to play.

This report from Penny Arcade is glowing.

Some interesting, if crude, thoughts from Ctrl + Alt + Del. Please note that there is both a comic and an article.  Of course, part of the point is that men are crude, so an attractive, female character has to be artfully created in order to be something other than a sexual object.  They are clearly fixing problems that have nothing to do with me, which is part of my concern.

This is a terribly written report by a girl who played the new game for 3 hours.

The Ugliest Building in Edinburgh

Oh no

So this is the Scottish Parliament.  Those "hairdryer shapes" or "Hebrew letters" are actually supposed to be open curtains.  The idea is that the people of Scotland can look in and see their politicians hard at work.  I like the idea.  I object to the execution.  Apparently the architect passed on before it was done, and his wife finished the job.  It is sad that he died.  The fact remains that Edinburgh is a gorgeous city and the modern-art-beaver-dam doesn't really fit in.  The "Think Pods" at least look better and less creepy from the inside. 

Edinburgh: The Palace at Holyroodhouse

Holyrood Palace

The Palace at Holyroodhouse or Holyrood Palace or The Castle That Isn't Edinburgh Castle is the official residence of the royal family in Edinburgh.  No, you don't really get to see their stuff.  You do get to see some beautiful and historical stuff (which is pretty much the only reason I go anywhere, besides awesome people).  You aren't supposed to take pictures inside.  Nope.  No you aren't.

*cough* Anyways...

There is a spectacular ruin of a chapel outside:

I missed the whole history lesson because I couldn't stop taking pictures.

It does cost money to see it.  There is a student discount.  There is an audiotour that works kind of like a cellphone from the '90s.

Edinburgh: Bus Tours!

The Gothic Rocket

We got a set of 3 bus passes and saw the city (My Hostess' idea).  The strategy was to get an overview of the city so I could pick out what I wanted to see up close and possibly from the inside.  

The Omnipresent Castle

I got a fair amount of pictures, but more than that, I got my bearings.  I found it much easier to navigate the city after driving around it a few times.  And, yes, all the buses are double-decker.

The Firth of Forth

It is a beautiful city.

Haiti: How To Play With Kids Who Don't Speak Your Language

- Thumb war

- All boys everywhere will turn anything remotely gun-shaped into a toy gun. Jump in if you feel like it.
- Handslap game: two people hold out there hands in front of them with the palms flat. One person's hands are palm up, and the other's are palm down on top. The person whose palms are facing up attempts to slap the top of the other's hands. The other attemps to jerk away and dodge the slap. If the slapper succeeds, you switch roles.
- Other handslap game: sit or stand in a circle, sing song, as you are singing, slap the hand of the person on your left with your right hand, then the person on your left does that, go around the circle until the song is over. Tickle the last person to get their hand slapped.
- Dance
- Build things
- Origami

If you know any other way to comfort a crying foreign child besides holding them, and speaking gently to them, please let me know.