My Name is Maximus Decimus Meridius

Hello from swinging London. I tried to update the other night, but the internet basically hates me and there was an error or something. The pub on the corner has free wireless, so I had gone down at like 10pm to get online and check email and everything. I was planning to buy a drink, but one of the tables outside (they have about four in a row along the side) had an empty bottle of Smirnoff Ice, so I just got to sit down and look like a paying customer. Oh, how tricksy we are. Anyway, I was typing away on the laptop and updating the post that never was, when this guy comes out and sits down at the last table in the row (there’s no one else outside). Well, my reason for existing became immediately apparent, because he was a little inebriated and started singing to himself. In French. I pretty much loved my life about then. It was priceless. If you’re going to sing when you’re drunk, doing it in French makes it about one million times better.

Oh, want to hear about the best game ever? It really is. Basically, someone picks a song for you and you have to turn up the volume in the headphones up so loud that you can’t hear yourself, then you have to sing along. And everyone sounds relatively…terrible. It’s terrific. You missed a great rendition of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” the other night by yours truly. It was right after our evening at The Eagle and Child (a.k.a. one of the pubs where the Inklings met in Oxford, also called The Bird and Baby), so that probably had some effect on the performance. Didn’t drink quite enough for the song to be in French, though. That would have been something.

So, we went to the theatre tonight. It was Shakespeare’s Richard II starring Kevin Spacey. They did a terrific job. Anyway, here’s the crazy part. We were leaving after the show, all filing out of our row, when I glanced over at this small group of people who hadn’t left their seats. There was this very strange moment when I realized that the guy on the end looked exactly like Russell Crowe. So I turned to Becca, who was behind me, and quietly pointed out, “I think that’s Russell Crowe. At least, he looks exactly like him.” And then the blonde woman next to him looked over at us. By then, the word had passed down the line, and everyone from our group behind me was looking over. Then the usher started to, well, usher us out, and it kind of hit me that it really was Russell Crowe. So we all got out to the lobby and were starstruck and giggly together. I felt kind of bad that we were so obviously staring at him, because if I was a celebrity I would hate being gawked at. But it had all happened so fast that there wasn’t really another way to react. Anyway, I was a bit proud of myself for my skills of observation. Definitely have eagle eyes or something.

Anyway, that’s enough for today. Stay out of trouble, kids.