All sorts of British

During dinner tonight, I got sucked into watching this documentary about J.K. Rowling, which was actually really fascinating-

So in honour of J.K. Rowling, I thought I would share a couple of my 'Harry Potter' pics from when I studied back in good ol' London last year-

This was actually a lot harder to find than you would expect

This might be my favourite picture. It's the dining hall at Oxford University that was also used as the setting for the Great Hall at Hogwarts. I had to attend a church mass and then sneak in here acting as an Oxford student in order to get this picture.

The outside of the dining hall at Christ Church, Oxford

I also found out another fun fact today. It turns out that I share the same birthday with this guy-

(I'm exactly one year older-August 24th)

As well as this guy...which isn't nearly as cool (a little embarrassing actually haha)

Another Markham in Classical Literature

I don't mean to brag about the Markham name again, but I found another reference to possibly another one of my ancestors, this time in Shakespeare. I am currently taking an Intro. to Shakespeare course and for our first play we are reading 'The Taming of the Shrew', which has been really interesting and funny so far. Anyways, in act 3.2, starting with line 48, Biondello (Lucentio's servant) describes the horse that Petruchio is riding on as he approaches the church for his own wedding:

"His horse hipped, with an old mothy saddle and stirrups of no kindred; besides, possessed with the glanders and like to mose in the chine, troubled with the lampass, infected with the fashions, full of windgalls, sped with spavins, rayed with the yellows, past cure of the fives, stark spoiled with the staggers, begnawn with the bots, swayed in the back and shoulder-shotten; near-legged before, and with a half-cheeked bit and a headstall of sheep's leather which, being restrained to keep him from stumbling, hath girth six times pieced, and a woman's crupper of velour, which hath two letters for her name fairly set down in studs, and here and there pieced with a packthread."

In the footnotes, it suggests that the source of these maladies and diseases that have plagued this poor horse were probably taken from Gervase Markham's How to Choose, Ride, Train, and Diet both Hunting Horses and Running Horses...Also a Discourse of Horsemanship (published in 1593). So it's possible that my ancestors have been a source of inspiration for both Dickens and Shakespeare now. Pretty cool huh?

Petruchio on his horse with his wife Katharina

   

Follow up on free courses

Alright well I realize how nerdy this will make me sound, but I had to share how I wrote Professor Wrightson (the Yale professor I mentioned in the previous post) an email telling him I really enjoyed his lectures and thanking him for doing it and everything. And to my surprise just a few hours later he emailed back! He basically just thanked me for letting him know and he appreciated knowing that people out there enjoy what he has to teach, but anyways I thought it was cool haha.

On a different note, I've been enjoying this tune lately by Mumford and Sons. I think it's the most recent favorite of mine-

Free School

Did you know that universities like Stanford, Yale, Oxford, Harvard and a bunch more offer free courses online? I found that out a couple months ago and since then have been 'sitting in' on a course entitled "Early Modern England" by Professor Keith E. Wrightson at Yale University. It has actually been very interesting and constantly causes me to think back on all the fun memories I had in London whilst studying abroad there a year ago. I would highly recommend checking this course out, or looking at the huge array of other courses offered. If nothing else, you can always use it as a way to put you to sleep! I know I can't fall asleep without something playing and a professor's voice is perfect for the task!

Here is Professor Wrightson in the introductory lecture to the course-

The full link for this course can be found here-

http://oyc.yale.edu/history/early-modern-england

Here is the link to all of Yale's online courses-

http://oyc.yale.edu/courselist

I am planning on checking out the class on Don Quixote after I finish 'Early Modern England'! Enjoy! 

Balls Deep!

Last night my flag football team Balls Deep played our last game of the season. It was a hard fought game, which we unfortunately did not come out on top of, but I wanted to give a shout out in remembrance of all the hard work, and blood, sweat and tears we left on the field after an incredible season. Go Balls Deep! 

David Copperfield

Did you know that there is a Mr. Markham in Dickens' David Copperfield? I've been reading it lately and the other night I was surprised to read of a character named Mr. Markham. It made me wonder if Dickens' had ever come across any of my ancestors and the experience led him to base one of his characters off their personality? Unfortunately, up to this point in the book, Mr. Markham's only cameo is during the night that Copperfield first became inebriated and blames it partly on Steerforth and his two buddies from school (Markham being one of them). Well in any case, it is nice to get the Markham name out there haha.

Going back to Dickens though, this is his third book that I've read and it amazes me how well he can describe people. I mean, who hasn't met somebody that doesn't resemble a Mr. Micawber or a Uriah Heep? I especially like this description of the slimy Uriah Heep-

"When the pony-chaise stopped at the door, and my eyes were intent upon the house, I saw a cadaverous face appear at a small window on the ground floor (in a little round tower that formed one side of the house), and quickly disappear. The low arched door then opened, and the face came out. It was quite as cadaverous as it had looked in the window, though in the grain of it there was that tinge of red which is sometimes to be observed in the skins of red-haired people. It belonged to a red-haired person-a youth of fifteen, as I take it now, but looking much older-whose hair was cropped as close as the closest stubble; who had hardly any eyebrows, and no eyelashes, and eyes of a red-brown, so unsheltered and unshaded, that I remember wondering how he went to sleep. He was high-shouldered and bony; dressed in decent black, with a white wisp of a neckcloth; buttoned up to the throat; and had a long, lank, skeleton hand, which particularly attracted my attention, as he stood at the pony's head, rubbing his chin with it, and looking up at us in the chaise."

(I think this drawing by Fred Barnard portrays him very well)

Fencing

So awhile back I found out that ASU has a fencing club and I've been thinking about joining ever since. Mostly because I would feel like James Bond from this video (minus the Madonna part). Maybe this semester it's finally time to make this a reality.