HIV/AIDs in South Africa

An intense topic, but a very important one. That's why my friend is embarking upon a three week trip to Cape Town to study the impact of leadership with regards to the pandemic in communities over there. A life changing experience no doubt, and an interesting trip to follow.

Keep up to date on her progress by reading her blog here .

I've now added a blogroll to my blog too, which I will be updating as I discover and read new blogs all the time. You can find it on the left hand side >>>>>>>>>

It'll contain links to Nicole's blogs and others I find interesting.. take some time and explore!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Its that time of year once again, a date that changes pretty dramatically each year, when we get to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. I say we..... really I mean the Christian population of the world. Though of course, in America, and in particular Wisconsin, Easter is embraced by all, in another excuse to leave work early, close down shops, and pig out on food! Like most major holidays, its a time for food, card and gift stores to stock up on "subject specific" material, making a profit selling special items for the season: Eggs, chocolate and so on. But you know what... it's fun! It's a great time to just relax for the weekend and spend some time with family and friends. We're in Racine this weekend, celebrating Easter as we did last year with the lovely Heitfeld family, who once again opened up their home to us with delicious cooking, entertaining activities and wonderful hospitality. Yesterday, we dyed hard boiled eggs lots of different colours, scattering glitter across the table. Today, we went on an epic hunt for plastic Easter eggs filled with yummy chocolate. We're still missing one. That's a fail. It has a See's chocolate piece in it too (that's a gourmet chocolate here), so we better get back to searching for it! Despite all the commercialisation, today is Easter Sunday, the supposed day Jesus rose from the dead. How that date changes every year still baffles me. Whether you are religious or not, I think the Easter story can teach everyone something about coming together, spending time with those you love, forgiving, and redeeming yourself for any wrong you have caused. I've never been one to fully embrace religion, but I can appreciate the meanings behind the stories. I think the Easter story was conveyed particular well 5 years ago, in Manchester of all places. The Manchester Passion was a live re-telling of Jesus' last days, told in an hour through the streets of Manchester with the help of famous Manchester music from the likes of Oasis, the Smiths and the Stone Roses. It really was very well done, and, though it sounds antithetical, was largely non-religious. You can watch the 60 minute live recording here on Google Video, available until April 29th. So best to get on that fast.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8802546541133390212#]

I'm going to turn my attention to the next holiday event now.... The ROYAL WEDDING! That's right, despite fighting a war to rid themselves of the monarchy, Americans are still fascinated with our royals, and are eager to get up early, throw themselves a little party, and watch William and Kate get married. The newspaper even had some recipes in this weekend on what kind of British food to serve! Cultural reciprocity at its best.

An Ominous day in history

April 20th. I suppose a lot has happened throughout the years on every single day of the year, but today seems like a particularly bad day.

Let's start with the worst first: on this date in 1889 Adolf Hitler was born. What the world would have been like if he'd died during his childhood.

In 1999, the Columbine massacre occurred, as 12 children and one teacher were killed by teenage gunmen.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, devastating the surrounding environment.

I think the world would be a much nicer place if none of these events had happened.

In other news, Mother Nature turned on Madison again yesterday, as the record precipitation levels for April 19th were shattered. We saw 1.3 inches of rain, snow and sleet. It was an icy, slushy walk home for work. We're so ready for summer now.

Vampires, 1950's New York, and some detective work thrown in: It's TV Time.

Most of the time, I don't really like watching TV. It's full of junk like terrible reality shows, shocking game shows, and irritable day time talk show hosts. Not having a TV really didn't bother me while I was at uni in the UK, or for the early part of the year here in the US.

In both the UK and the US, turning on live TV is usually just distracting. Hundreds and hundreds of channels, and there is just nothing I really want to watch. When I do find something, it's usually so bogged down with advertisements that it just isn't worth sitting through. At least in the UK I can watch some decent news on TV; here in America, that's generally not an easy thing to find.

Of course, I am generalizing here, and taking some liberties with the truth. For there are actually a number of high quality TV shows I enjoy, on both sides of the pond. (I probably do watch more US, than UK made shows, but do not ask me to compare or pick one over the other- the BBC has some fantastic programmes- perhaps a blogpost for another time.)

Thanks to the internet and websites like Hulu and Netflix- as well as these new found discs called DVDs- I'm able to watch almost all of those favourite shows whenever I want- and without the commercials. Better yet, I do not have to worry about the show clashing with something important.

I do have to make time with Nicole's hectic homework schedule though.

Recently, we have been watching three very distinct, completely contrasting TV shows, all of which have been very entertaining: True Blood, Mad Men, and Sherlock.

True Blood was first on my watching list, recommended to me by Nicole and my Mum. Though it has been described by some as "soft porn", it is actually a very engaging tale with an interesting spin on the ages old vampire myth. It also has a killer theme tune.  You see the way True Blood is set-up, there is a reason why the myth of vampires continually reoccurs throughout the ages; they are real, but live in secret, with their own underground society. Yet in the tolerant, accepting, modern twenty first century, vampire leaders have finally decided the time is right to come out into the open.

The series revolves around a small town in the Deep South- Bon Temp, Louisiana- coming to terms with the reality of vampires , drawing parallels with the treatment of African Americans in the mid twentieth century. The story is very outlandish at times, but the actors all do great jobs with their characters, and it is really pretty hilarious at times. And it does get a little intense too. I particularly love the dumb nature of Jason Stackhouse.

As we finished season two of True Blood, and since the third season isn't available on DVD until next month, we have reverted back to watching episodes of Mad Men. This is another TV show which has been around for a few years now, detailing the everyday lives of the Madison Avenue Advertising men in the 1960s. I heard lots of good things about it, mostly from people I know are huge fans of the West Wing (one of the the best TV shows ever made). So, after I was advised to watch Mad Men to help get into character for the short film I did, we finally rented it from the library and sat down to watch.

Mad Men couldn't be more different from True Blood. It's pride is in the authenticity of its show, and its accuracy to history. And it's pace is a far cry from the high speed at which Sookie races through life. I'll admit that it took us a little while to get into, but once you sit through the first two episodes are so, you're hooked. Mainly just to see if these characters are actually for real.

You see for the longest time I really didn't like a single character on the show. All the guys are obnoxious, sexist ***holes, and the women are pathetically ditsy. But then you start to see some redeeming qualities, only to have them shattered by inherent flaws with these people. It really makes you wonder what it was like to live in 1960's Manhattan.

I think Mad Men's greatest quality is its subtlety. So many things are hinted at and alluded to, but nothing is ever made clear. It really does make for addictive watching. It has the strangest endings though; no cliffhangers here, just poignant moments. I do however love the different music they choose to play at the end of each episode.

Finally, there is Sherlock, a show made in good old Blighty by the good old BBC. So far there are only three episodes, but they are each "double episodes", an hour and a half long. As the name might suggest, they tell the story of Sherlock Holmes, only it isn't Baker Street in the 1800s. This miniseries re-imagines Sherlock for the twenty-first century, and they do a great job at it. Benedict Cumberbatch is outstanding as Holmes, really nailing the eccentricity of the character. Watson is also a great match,and the two make for entertaining watching. The stories are well written by two great British writers (who also write a lot of Doctor Who), and I am looking forward to the full length series which is in the works.

Thankfully, they should all provide many more hours of happy viewing, all with new seasons on the way. At least three separate shows to go at. Good job they are separate- I am not sure how well the Mad Men team could a create an ad campaign for Tru Blood, or how Sherlock would go about investigating vampire disappearances!

Superbowl- A Super Day

Another long overdue post, but hey, who's counting!

Given that the new NFL season is currently in purgatory, bogged down with arguments over-as usual-money, it seemed fitting to reflect on the last season.

In particular, the final game of the last season, the championship match between the winner of the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference (NFC and AFC), known to every, single American as The Superbowl.

The name is even known outside of the American Football sphere, even it its association isn't clear.

Full disclosure first- I do not profess to know very much about Football, or about the Superbowl tradition, and I think the titles of the two conferences (NFC and AFC) are very silly. However, I have fully adopted American culture, and embraced the football craze, if you didn't already know. I have watched a number of full games now, could probably do a reasonable job explaining the main rules, and officially follow two teams- the Wisconsin Badgers, and the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers, the professional football team playing in the NFL out of Wisconsin, are awesome: Not just because their fans are the craziest in the league, sitting through numerous negative degree, snow falling games; nor because they are a franchise owned entirely by their fans; not even because you get to wear a cheesehead when watching them. No, they are awesome for all of these reasons and many more, and because they hold the most national league titles in history.

They added a 13th to that number by winning the Superbowl this year, an experience I shared with them (even if I was in Madison and they were in Texas). This despite a team plagued by injuries, and the least favourite to advance through the playoffs.  But they did it, and played an exciting game in the Superbowl to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to victory.

I digress, for this blog is about the Superbowl day itself, and not the actual purpose of the Superbowl- strange as that may sound- but here are some highlights from the game.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPLbiROT220]

I'll happily explain the game to anyone in England who is interested-- also check out 4.28- when a camera man goes flying!

OK- back to original blog post purpose- Super Bowl Day.

As I said earlier, every American knows what the Super Bowl is, and a huge percentage of the population takes the time to participate in a Super Bowl party. It isn't just about the football you see; it's about the atmosphere, it's about the family and friend get-togethers, the relaxing day before work, the food (traditional Wisconsin Brats) and the drink and the all-around merriment. Almost regardless of whether your team makes it to the final, or if they win or lose. Of course, a win does add an extra intensity to the celebrations.

There is nothing like it at all in the UK. 111 million viewers, tuning in to watch a sporting match. I doubt even England in the World Cup Final could draw that kind of (proportionate) response from the population.

Because the thing is, many people don't tune in to watch the football, they are here for the entertainment: the half-time show, the trailers and the commercials.

Each year a "super act" performs at the stadium, broadcast live to a hundred million viewers. This year, aiming to please the younger viewers, organizers showcased the Black Eyed Peas. While they had a spectacular show in terms of dancers and flashing lights etc., they largely disappointed.

Again however, the half-time show isn't necessarily why a lot of people watch the Super Bowl. Many people simply wait for the show to cut to commercials.

That's because ad companies put their very best work into creating and debuting new, hilarious, inspiring, clever and downright silly adverts during the Super Bowl. These ads haven't been seen on TV before, and are often kept tightly under wrap. Party goers sit around discussing the ads; websites reblog and analyze them afterwards. It is an ad companies dream to showcase their work during this time.

And the time doesn't come cheap either. At the halftime mark, a 30second ad costs $13 million. Better make sure it's good, and brings in new revenue!

These were two of my favourites;

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0&feature=player_embedded]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-STkFCCrus&feature=player_embedded]

For a full list of all the ads debuted, check out this link here

Along with the commercials, film studios debut new trailers for their upcoming blockbusters; this year we had previews of Captain America, Thor, Transformers 3, Super 8, the new Pirates movie and Cowboys and Aliens. Check out some of them here

With the game over, it was time for all the post-game analysis. And here was the one thing which bothered me- everyone was calling the Packers "World Champions". Granted, they had beaten everyone there was to beat, made it to the finale of the football season and won. But world champions? There was not a single game that featured a non-American team.

Again, granted no other country really plays "American Football" but that's no excuse. The answer is to simply encourage other countries to play, then perhaps eventually there can be a world championship, and the winners can be crowned world champions.

There's one international convert in me already!