London Architecture

One thing I have always been quite found of is the incredible architecture of London. It is quite fascinating how this city has evolved over centuries and the historical relevance of its buildings. I remember when we first arrived in London walking around the city in utter fascination at how incredibly beautiful the buildings were. It was like walking through a movie set as there is not such rich architecture in California.
The walking tour of the city was very interesting because it made the fusion of old London and new London very apparent. Although the old buildings have made a stamp on London I was actually quite amazed by the modern architecture as there was a building that was built inside out which I found to be absolutely genius since it was innovative and added a little edge to the city’s personality. The other building I found to be quite unique was the Gherkin. This phallic skyscraper is beautiful at any angle with its woman hips and curvature.
This tour as well as being in London has given me a greater appreciation for architecture especially seeing the pride that Londoners have in their city. It has taught me to adapt to new surroundings and grow to understand and value all that is past and present.

The U.S. - U.K. "special relationship"

The end of the UK – US special relationship has been sounded with an economic crash and a turn of power. Since the 1946 speech by Winston Churchill, the two nations have held exceptionally close political, diplomatic, cultural and historical relations until now. Over the years, the relationship has been maintained by two major powers has been due to the level of cooperation in military planning and execution, as well as the sharing of technology and intelligence at a level that some considered unparallel.
What I found most interesting about the lecture was that the US pays in millions of dollars into the British Intelligence budget. This definitely indicates a trusting bond of some sort as America is investing a lot of money into a British system. In fact the United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment to the British economy; likewise the United Kingdom is the largest single investor in the US economy. This is why the British economy took such a hard hit with the stock market crash in comparison to other major nations. The two not only share the same language or shared history but its economic policies seem to be quite in sync with each other.
While their relationship has been beneficial to both parties in many ways, I still think there is such a thing as being too close. Yes, it is absolutely detrimental to not have any allies during war time as having foreign support has proven to be very useful but where does one draw the line at being too close for comfort. Having such a close relationship drags one into the others problems and that itself can be a recipe for disaster.

Imperial War Museum

The War Museum was quite remarkable because it gave and illustrated facts from the war as well as its impact on people. The use of interviews, live and recorded was very effective because it showed how the war affected the real victims, the regular people. I came across two men who were sharing their memories from the war and what it was like living through Blitzkrieg and there is nothing like listening to a live recollection of the event and hearing the uncertainty these people lived with on a daily basis as they could lose loved ones or their lives without as little of a warning except the ticking of the V1 that served like the angel of death ushering them to their demise. Although there has been more civilian deaths in other wars, listening to these men speak reminded me that those recorded deaths were not just numbers, those were people’s lives. It was someone’s mother, daughter, father, son, brother or whatever the relationship may be, to someone they mattered.

I think the museum is quite brilliant in that it uses real live witnesses changes the experience completely. I remember walking through the Holocaust exhibit and this specific interview struck me. This lady was talking about the mass relocations. She recalled her family being told they were being relocated and were told to bring their most important things as well as pots and pan and home necessities and the glimpse of hope for normalcy that existed. For days they travelled, crammed together with very little air and forced to urinate or excrete in the open or on themselves. The experience was demoralizing as their most private acts became public. The museum was definitely eye opening and made me more appreciative of my life and opportunities as well as more respect for the lives lost and those who survived. I am greatful for the liberties I have and the respect for my human rights. It is very easy to take the little things for granted like the roof over ones head or even having a clean toilet at one's disposal.

ARCHITECTURE LECTURE AND TOUR

One of the truly amazing and magnificent things about London is its rich and historical architecture. Something that I have always commented about is Los Angeles’ lack of historical architecture when compared to London. In Professor Bob Craig’s architecture lecture and tour I was able to gain even more appreciation and understanding not only for London’s historical architecture but for London’s new modern architecture as well.

London is very full of rich architectural history that most Londoners are quite proud of. The times, however, they are a changing and there are those who believe that London deserves a more new and improved look. The compromise in this case is to allow the new to built in with the old but with a couple of limits. Protecting St Paul’s Cathedral and the view of it from several places in and around London due to its important architectural and historical significance.

During the walking tour I was really amazed by the new architecture already built special in London’s financial sector. I was surprised that my internship is within a five-minute walk of all these buildings. When I looked at new that is being built right next to the old I am reminded of how not to long ago the new rich and the old poor were very much concentrated in this one little area.

Lastly, I am still amazed and baffled at the fact that after four months of living in London and doing British life and culture classes I was still under the impression that St Paul’s Cathedral was catholic. It wasn’t until Bob Craig’s architecture walk that I was informed that St. Paul’s Cathedral is in fact protestant. I had heard it from someone in passing and I guess because I was more interest and fascinated about the cathedral as a great historical and architectural monument rather than a religious holy place I never gave it anymore thought. If anything I have learn from Professor Craig is this one very important and significant bit of information about St. Paul’s Cathedral.

British Law tour and lecture

The main point that I found interesting throughout the entire lecture on English law and the walk from Temple station was that the system has become outdated and is losing its impact because of it. This stuck out in my mind because it was a full vocalization of a thought that has seemed to work throughout many of the semesters, which is that English culture is failing to do as it once was because many of its procedures are now irrelevant. This does seem though to run against what most people think of English culture holding its traditions and its history higher than anything else.
The primary reason that our lecturer insisted that English law procedures are doing more harm than good is that they are intimidating and alien to the common man. English law procedure still requires that barristers and judges wear wigs to court along with gowns, which is a tradition that has existed for centuries. While the wig wearing has become more relaxed over time and people who are taking part in law procedures are able then to relate more with the people they are working with. Most criminals these days have come from a lower social status and because of this they would not know what to do in this scenario.
While I do find some appeal in the prestige and the history of wearing wigs to court I can see how it is not a very practical way of doing business. The concept of keeping up these outdated practices in only one section of social interaction does more harm than good. While it could be that by keeping up these practices we are trying to keep up certain standards, the more important thing to examine is whether they are standards that truly have an affect on society or if it is just lost symbolism.

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM

My object for the imperial war museum is a P-51 Mustang Fighter Plain, made by the North American plain company. It is a grey fighter plain that is small but filled with style. The plain has a white and black-checkered tip that looks like a very funny and cool nose. It has a black tail with the numbers 472218 and on either side of the air plain you can see three things. Towards the front of the plain in black cursive letters that are outlined in red you have the name of he plain – Big Beautiful Doll. The middle part of the plain has the letters “WZ” in black with a red outline. Towards the back of the fighter plain you have a drawing of the plain’s wings – a black circle with wings coming out of it and a white star in the center. Lastly, on the left hand side of the plain there were about fifty check marks in an almost perfect dot box square shape

It is the highest air plain in the museum. The plain hangs from the ceiling at eyelevel for people in the top floor. I first saw it when I walked into the museum and looked up, but I was able to see it more up close when I got to the third floor, right before entering the wing of the museum that is the concentration camps during WWII.

The history of this plain was very much the same as any other fighter plain during WWII. Both the pilot and his plain were in charge of protecting its country and attacking the enemy. This plain caught my attention because of the unique way in which it was painted. To me the plain represents a young brave soldier who is proud of who and what he is fighting for. Most importantly what amazed me about this plain is the check marks on the plain, which represented the number of enemy plains that this one plain had already destroyed. The plain and it’s pilot became example to it’s people and an intimidation to it’s enemies.

Special Relationship lecture

The relationship between the English and American’s has defiantly changed from its original position of warring countries. Throughout the years they have been able to form a sort of partnership that reached its highpoint in the twentieth century. The actions that took place during World Wars I and II were the defining moments when the United Kingdom and American’s were able to work together to a capacity that had not been seen before in world history.
Because World War I was a war that was able to reach all over the world and divided countries between two sides it would be expected that the most powerful countries to win would be the countries looked to for world leadership. It was through this that the special relationship between the United Kingdom and America was built and then began to thrive throughout the rest of the century. What then tends to be taken as the first strong example of this special relationship is the United States entering World War II along with British soldiers and their allies. Through this war we began to see the first real bond between the English Prime Minister, at the time Winston Churchill, and the American President, who at the time was Franklin Roosevelt. The way the two countries have been able to keep this sort of friendship in their leaders has been interesting over the years, but I found it to be especially interesting over these recent years. It makes sense to me that Ronald Regan and Margaret Thatcher were able to work cooperatively and that Bill Clinton was able to keep a strong relationship with Tony Blair. Both of these pairings were with leaders of a similar political stance and that may be why the special relationship was able to exist so well. Over the past few leadership terms though there have been very differing view points on each side with roughly eight years of Tony Blair and George Bush Jr. and then the start of Gordon Brown and President Obama. While these four leaders have all tried to remain friendly with each other they are of very different viewpoints and have seen what is now being called the end of the special relationship. While the countries and the leaders have maintained a good friendship they are not working together in the same way and we have to look towards other countries for the possibility of joint leadership.