leyden40’s blog

Wow, okay I have not updated in so very long!
Things have been flying by, I am busy every minute! Let’s see since last time… three concerts, countless nights out, some how getting my school work done, seeing every conceivable inch of London, Halloween madness, and a Beetle’s walking tour for good measure!

I saw This Town Needs Guns at Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen. Amazing musicians, seriously check them out if you’ve never heard them! Next was Halloween, and oh my KoKo in Camden for a dance/costume party. This venue and club is one of the greatest in London. It is a hue old theater that continues to hold live shows. Five floors, countless balconies, and plenty of dark corners to hide in if you need a minute to catch your breath or actually have a conversation. I was here once again just this past weekend for the Dead Prez concert. That was an experience I’m so glad I am able to say I’ve had. “Revolutionary Hip-hop”, enough said.

On Halloween night we were in Camden yet again, (I’m seeing a pattern haha) but this time at the Roundhouse. What a venue this place is! It is actually round with a domed roof. We were there for the trance group Shpongle. The stage performance alone was insane, the music was nearly constant for more than two hours, and included a massive light show. It was an overload for the senses, again something I feel so lucky to have experienced.

(I must again mention that I’m sorry I can’t post any pictures on here. There are lots of new ones all the time however on my flickr and my facebook.)

The Beetles tour which we took just this morning was actually far more worth it than I had expected. Normally paying some guy to give you a tour of a place you walk around all the time would seem absurd. However, he turned out to be a really cool guide, who told us some wild stories and pointed out a lot of over looked areas of Soho and west London. The highlight of course was taking the tube just three stops north to Saint John’s Wood however and seeing the real Abbey Road. I believe that our picture (two friends and I laying down in the middle of the street) is the best one ever taken at that spot ha. Expect that image to be coming soon!

Still I feel like I have so much to see! I have yet to ride the London Eye, which I feel is imperative, and I need to get to Harrod’s again just something I feel like I’ll be pressed about upon arriving home haha. Oh, and we have planned or at least booked a flight to the Netherlands, and will hopefully be making the journey to Amsterdam in early December. A new idea of a Paris trip is now in the works, I don’t know if this will happen, I have to again play it by year.

Christmas comes early here! Since there is no median (Thanksgiving) between Halloween and Christmas, Oxford Street, Regent as well as the far more fun Carnaby Street, and most of all central London are already decorated for the season. It makes me think of Manhattan, but it is certainly unique in its own ways. If the weather holds, tomorrow shall be another day of discovery deep into the heart of London. Wish me luck, new Polaroids being created daily.
(please ignore any glaring grammatical errors I have no time to read this over)

Cheers!

_luke

All right, it’s been quite some time since I’ve updated, but I think I needed that time to really do some more things and learn a couple of things in the process. I have officially been in London for one month on Friday. To celebrate that day I went to make some photos, more specifically Polaroids, using my coveted Sx-70 film. I thought the results were something, posted them on polanoid.net, a website I belong to and what do you know? I won Shot of the Day! I was so excited, I even received 10 euro credit to the polapremium store!

Ok Ok, with that excitement behind us.. everything else has been really interesting here. The recent areas that I was discovered rival that of some of my favorite places in America. Namely Brooklyn, Philadelphia (Fish Town), and Los Angeles. The people are awesome, the atmosphere is just right! I’m probably having the most fun just getting on the tube when I wake up or right after class and just spend the day in a new neighborhood. Walking until I physically can’t anymore and getting on the nearest tube or bus for home. I feel slightly home sick at times like these though, I wish everyone could be here, could see this place, I know they would love it!

There is talk now of an impromptu trip to Amsterdam.. could be a good way to spend this weekend. Guess I’ll just play it by year. The one great thing about living in London is the ability to get just about anywhere you would want to go. It is certainly not cheap many times, but the conveyance is unbeatable!

Cheers!

Two days ago. I met my Dad at King’s Cross St. Pancras at 6.30 for a trip 130 miles north to Leeds. It was amazing. I mainly just people watched all day. (Pictures up on Flickr). All the same, it was really an interesting place to see and take in. I went to the Leeds museum of art and saw a very compelling exhibition by a contemporary artist: Hughie O’Donoghue. I would suggest looking at what he is up to. It’s like nothing that I have seen in a very long time.
Tonight may be very interesting as well. There has been talk of an 80’s theme dance party in Camden Town. Needless to say Colleen and I are quite excited!
Cheers!

Today is the last day of September, and it really marks the beginning of two full months in London, plus nineteen days. Not that I’m counting the days, but I figure I should be aware of my time here and others aware too. Class began this monday, and honestly it seems like it is going to be alright. I have a philosophy class and a Media Age both which seem to coincide with my aesthetics class semester, so I’m feeling confident and excited that they will be a good time.

Tomorrow I don’t have class so I’m going to take advantage of my freedom and the National Rail Service and go north to Leeds. My dad is in Europe on business and I’ve decided that (although I met him in Camden town last weekend) I should certainly take advantage of seeing another part of England while also getting to hang out with my dad haha.

I found a copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for £2.50 the other day. If you have never read it I would suggest you start as soon as you can. That, and one of Thompson’s other novels, The Rum Diary. Just saying.

Class again in four hours, I’m going to go take a bus somewhere I’ve never been. Cheers!

Alright well it appears that I havve used all my uploads within this site. So to see pictures, (I have already posted many), click here: Flickr
Life is fine here in London. Classes start Monday so I’ll able to save some money not going out every night haha. Yesterday was a great time Middlesex put on a scavenger hunt for the international students, and let’s just say group 5 took home the £50 prise! By took home I mean spent that day, but still it was awesome! So saw amazing sites along the way, again check my flickr to see some that I have already posted, and keep checking for new ones coming soon!
I took a tour of the art department today and it honestly made me quite home sick. Their print studio is very similar to ours, and it made me want to screen print so so badly. When I get home I’m going to be an art making fiend haha
Cheers.

Settling in to London has been quite an experience already. But you know like anything else you can get used to it. The school itself is amazing, and due to the fact that I have still yet to start class, it is even better. The people I’ve been meeting are awesome, and every night there is a chance to go out, or just hang out and have fun. I came to Europe for a reason, and have already affirmed my belief that their own cultural norms are much closer to those that I personally believe in, in contrast to those of the United States. I feel so lucky to be spending three months here!

Alright I am writing this from my iPod because I cannot seem to get online on my laptop.. No worries however. Already this trip has been a rollercoaster of highest highs and lowest lows.. I have a good feeling that i’m going to enjoy when class starts. Until then Colleen and I are just adjusting and finding some really cool people to hang out with. Pictures will be added whenever I can get my computer online… Until then I’ll just keep writing. Missing amrica slightly but again I think I’m just anxious because eveything is so new. Take care friends!

Alright, so as of now I leave for my semester abroad trip in roughly eight hours..
Colleen and I are off to Middlesex University in North London.
How we came to the decision to study at that particular school, in that particular country is hard to remember haha
After probably a year of talk, our trip is upon us.
To my friends, this will most likely be the easiest way to find out what I’m up to, that and email (lleyden04@yahoo.com).
Thanks to the wonderful Beth Dombkowski I have a shiny new Nikon ‘Cool Pix’ to document my excursions! So expect lots of pictures!
Alright, talk to you from the other side of the Atlantic..
Up, Up, and…

This is year is nearly over! It’s crazy, it seems to have just snuck up on me. All my friends have had their senior thesis shows and finals a quickly approaching…

Thursday Ray’s show Oh! the Humanity
Amazing work, with a great opening, and all our friends!

*courtesy of Kristina Guardino

Friday Dia:Beacon New York trip was awesome!

*courtesy of Kristina Guardino

It was a fun filled day of bus ride sing-a-longs, rest stops, conceptual art, running in some grass, and free lunch. It couldn’t get much better, and it only did due to the fact that just about all my favorite professors accompanied us!

Well, this week should be interesting, a lot is going on! Saves the Day Thursday woo! I need to make sure to stay in school mode though, I just want to make art, ah!

Tonight at the Progressive Coffee House, on West High Street, in Glassboro NJ. Please come out at 9pm, art, coffee, music, and fun!