RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRACEHEELS!

Raceheels! The pink heels are my favourite. Just wonder what you'd wear with them.

ObjectsOfDesire - Dan Pearlman

One very refreshing site I came across some time ago is Dan Pearlman’s ‘Objects Of Desire’. The guy is a designer, and on this site he presents really cool objects he designed, which you can make for yourself. Giant teabags to store dirty laundry, which you can put in the washing machine once they are full. A chair in the shape of a giant tin of caviar. A vase made out of plastic tubes. Furtniture tattooes. Not all of the objects are really functional, but they all provide a creative and often funny solution for an everyday problem. They all aim at making life a bit lighter and bring a smile on your face.

http://www.objectsofdesire.de/objects_e.html Scroll over the squares to see a first glimp of the object, then click on it to see more.

ROUTEMASTER

Today is the last day the Routemasters are out on line 159, the route I take on a regular basis to go to work in the morning. No more jumping on and off wherever you like it, no more chance to ride for free cause the conductor can’t be bothered to climb the stairs.
The Routemasters have been around since the 60’s and are just as typical for London as Big Ben or Nelson’s Column. Only a few lines still had them since most were already replaced last year. Line 159 was one of the lines that was originally supposed to keep the Routemasters as it is one of the lines that passes through the touristic centre of London, but in the end the Mayor of London decided to keep them only on lines 9 and 15. It’s a pity, but then again, how many European cities had the same busses for over 40 years?

I WANT TO DO - list

I’ve been thinking of things that I still want to do in life… Made a little list. Call it my dream list. Wonder if I’ll ever manage to do all of them, and if not how many I will fulfill.

• 
  I want to take a dive course and eventually become a dive master so I can move to a place like Zanzibar or Tobago to be a diving instructor. That feeling of being under the sea can’t be compared to anything in the world.
• 
  I want to learn some more languages: Portuguese (Brasilian version), Russian, Italian, Swahili, Arabic. And proper Jamaican patois, hehe.
• 
  I want to live in Zanzibar for a while. That place just blew me away. Beautiful, alive, rich history and culture, and clear blue water with coral reefs. See above.
• 
  I want to become a serious photographer. Build a career. Live of the sales of the pictures. Sell them in London or Paris or New York, get them published, and use the money to travel the world.
• 
  I want one room in my house (well, loft. Warehouse.) that I decorate completely in fifties style, and completely in white.
• 
  I want to build a hypermodern, thouroughly contemporary house on the beach in Tobago, and rent it out to rich British and American tourists when I'm not there.

Handset.

Next in our chapter 'Useful Stuff You Can't Imagine You Ever Managed To Live Without': the mobile phone handset. The combimation with the old fashioned Rrrrrring just has to work. Pity it isn't compatible with my phone.

Easter Island Tissue Box

The most amazing tissue box I've seen so far *lol* I suggest two of them, oe on each side of the bed, for that instant pacific feeling! From our friends at www.iwoot.com

Narnia

I popped into Borders yesterday after work, and found the first three ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ in one volume. For 3.99, a bargain! Now I finally will get to know what the whole thing is al about. Everyone is looking forward to the release of the film over here, and it just didn’t mean anything to me.
So I got the book, started reading at 11pm, and by 130am I had almost finished the first book. It’s actually quite good. Obviously it’s a children’s book, but the story is quite sweet.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang & Mrs Henderson Presents

Two weeks ago I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Really good, I hadn't llaughed so much in cinema for a very long time. The story? A guy is brgling a toy store to get a christmas present for his daughter or niece, but has to run as the alarm goes off. While running for the police he runs up some stairs, and goes into a room where a film company is auditioning for a gangster move. He gets the part, is off to LA, and gets involved in some deep shit. The film is very sarcastic, is full of ''coincidences'' and it is all just too funny :)




Went to see Mrs Henderson Presents, last night. It's ok, funny but with the serious background of WW2. Judi Dench is, as expected, brilliant as Mrs Henderson.

PAPER ART

These artworks are all made of paper, mostly out of one single piece of A4 paper. They are delicate, but really beautiful. I really like this, it shows skill and has a great poetic power. Anyone can cut a piece of paper, but just try to copy one of these. It requires patience, practice, 3d vision and a really sharp knife :) www.petercallesen.com

I first noticed these little Space Invader mosaics when I was living in Paris for a couple of months. Most of them are fairly small, about 25cm wide, and stuck to walls, monuments, boulders, stairs,… The first one I saw was stuck onto the soccle of the monument in Place de la République. After that I started to notice more of them, always blending into their environment so they never look out of place. Which is quite remarkable – after all they are images from a videogame and have nothing to do with the urban environment.
After coming back to Belgium, I started to see them over there as well (there is one in the Grote Markt), and all over Europe: Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Barcelona… Quite often people don’t even realize they are there, that is how subtle they are.
I learnt later that the guy who does them is a French artist who calls himself ‘Invader’ (of course).
I now notice them everywhere I go – even in New York I saw some. What I like about it is that it is one of these things that ties the different world cities together, something that helps the urban travellers and global nomads to feel at home wherever they go.
Have a look at the website, and after that, have a look while you are out and about. Fat chance you’ll meet one of these when you’re walking around town.

http://www.sixspace.com/gallery/invader2005/

New phone!

I got my new phone yesterday! SonyEricsson W8001, aka 'the Walkman phone'. It comes with a 512Mb data card, which can be upgraded to a 1Gb one. All that to store music, cause this nice little toy has got an MP3 player built in. Saves me the cost of buying an MP3 player for now, after all this phone came for free as an upgrade of my contract. Design-wise this phone is not really that fab (I am not fond of the colours) but the walkman and the 2megapixel camera (with autufocus) make up for that big time. Me happy!

GIS-vlaanderen

I guess this is only interesting if you're from Flanders:

http://geo-vlaanderen.gisvlaanderen.be/geo-vlaanderen/kleurenortho/

Also from The Purple Store: travel mug + coffee maker. Essential Urban Accessory, for as far as I'm concerned. Make coffee while you iron your shirt in the moning and then rush off, with a mug full of hot 'n fresh 'n delicious coffee to drink on the tube/bus/train...

The Purple Store

THE PURPLE STORE is a site that sells purple stuff. Everything purple. Clothes, houseware, accessories, you name it and they have it. These shoes are my favs, I just love them! Torild, you as the shoe expert, what do you reckon?

DENMARK ROCKS!!!! Bob Bon Land

Have a look at the page, it speaks for itself. Some descriptions i found online:

''One person's review of Denmark's 4th largest amusement park, Bon Bon Land, home of Hundeprutter, the farting dog. ''

''How do you describe a park that has really nice theming, but themed to candy characters based on toilet humor? Yeah...it's hard to describe!''

http://www.themeparkreview.com/europe2005/bonbonland/bonbonland1.htm

iPod Giganto

Bird flu reaches Paris

Essential kitchen equipment: the 'All Men Are Bastards' knife block! Much nicer than the typical polished wood block from Ikea :) Just be careful who you give to as a present for Christmas... Many more of these gadgets at www.iwoot.com

ch-ch-change-heees!

changed the layout and colors a bit (thanks Matt!). It isn't all perfect yet, but we'll get there at some point :)

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

Tim Burton - how can you not love his work? The animation is a lot smoother than Nightmare Before Christmas, but the story is sweet and the characters are just great. Saw the movie yesterday.

Kinky Boots

Went to see Kinky Boots with Nev. It's hilarious! Really funny, with a bit of a serious note as well. www.thefilmfactory.co.uk/kinkyboots/

in4mador

www.in4mador.com A great collection of links, nicely organised in different categories. Good for hours of browsing, and some of the sites are just great.

Bootylicious

Just got back from Bootylicious, the largest gay Urban clubnight in the UK. I hadn't been for over a year, and it was cool to go there agin. I just love the music, a mix of rap, R&B, ragga, soul and dancehall. The crowd? Mainly black, and very enthusiastic. The fighting lesbians are a regular attraction :) BUT.... tonight they just went too far. Two girls started fighting, and one of them managed to spread tear gas on the dancefloor. I was right next to it when it happened, I had never experienced tear gas before but I can assure you it is not a nice experience. Fortunately, my friend Gizzia realized much more quickly what was going on and he showed me to cover my nose and dragged me outside. It was unsure whether they would continue playing music, and after some discussions they did start the musice again. But after a few minutes the promotor announced that because of safety reasons they were closing the club for the night.

winter

Winter has come to the country where everyone has an ipod in his bag but no decent shower in his bathroom: it started to rain. It will probably continue until May, when we have two warm weekends and three dry-ish months. One could call it the wet season, but then again the dry season isn't really dry. Around half January we can expect about 2 cm of snow during three days, which will cause the traffic to come to a complete standstill standstill. Trains, of course, won't be running either but that's a rather normal situation. If they do run, they get off the track very easily and crash, so it isn't really that bad they don't go out.

Almost weekend....

Frank Lloyd Wright in Pop Up

Popped into Liberty during my lunch break and saw this really cool book: Frank Lloyd Wright in Pop-up. I’ve seen quite some pop-up books with buildings before, and most of the time they don’t really look that good. The round buildings are rather square, the tall buildings don’t stand up straight etc. Not this one though: detailed, very good pop-ups of six of Wright’s most important buildings. I think I know what to ask for christmas, hehe.

Going to Norway to visit my friend and ex-collegue Torild! I am leaving the office on the 12th of November after work, going straight to the airport, and I will be back on sunday around midnight... Then work on monday *auch*
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/no.html

My friend Andrew started his own club night, launch night was yesterday. It will be on twice a month at the Fringe, on Kennington Lane (just around the corner from where I live, how very convenient). Urban music, in a venue that has this house party feeling to it. Different, much more intimate than a regular night club. Go check it out!

Atomium

André Waterkeyn, the engineer who created one of the most intruiging buildings in Belgium for the World Expo in 1958, died on saturday at the age of 88. Bit of a pity, as after a long battle they finally started the renovation of the whole thing, and it's only a couple of months until it is re-opened to the public. He won't be there to see the final result of the renovation.

Originally, the Atomium (a huge enlargement of an Iron atom) would have been demolished even before the World Expo ended. Fortunately, it survived, and after the renovation it should be shining again.

www.atomium.be

Au revoir Paris...

It's a bit sad... The last friend of mine living in Paris has decided to move. Back to Blois, where her parents live and where she grew up. No more friends left in Paris. Some in the Ile de France, but none in the city itself. One more chapter closed. I have been to Paris so many times in the last couple of years, I lived there for a couple of months when I was studying, and I just LOVE it. I would love to move there again, at some point. It's stil on eof the most exciting, beautiful and most stylish cities I know. *sigh* Au revoir, Paris. And all the best to you in your new life, Emilie. We'll be in touch.

wallpaper, wallpaper and more wallpaper

http://www.veer.com/ideas/wallpaper/
GREAT site with loads of really cool wallpapers. Interesting from a graphic point of view as well as for the sense of humour. They regularly have new ones, and the collection of wallpapers is getting big. Plenty of choice for everyone, check it out!

Moscow in Paris blog

Another blog that caught my attention. In French this time. Written by a rusian guy who lives in Paris. The texts are well written, and he includes good pics, often made by himself.

chicken of the sea

New commercial,to be launched in Asia. Click on the image to see what it is all about.

buxx blog

First blog I ever came across, and still a good one. The occasional spelling mistake is easily forgiven, cause the guy has really good topics and links. In Dutch.

Play that funky muuuuuusic

Nostalgia galore! VW Camper meets Vinyl Record. When you place the small VW camper van on a record and switch it on, it will drive around the record and play the music through the speaker built into the van's roof.

home sweet home

In Belgium for a couple of days, visiting mummy and daddy and family and friends. Ah, life is good over here!

holidayyyyyyyys

2 weeks. Before starting new job. Off to see mummy&daddy in Belgium tomorrow :)

Manchic & Oh la la Paris

These are the two blogs of Steph&Alec, two guys based in Paris. Manchic is specialised in trends, fashion and hot new models; Oh la la Paris is more personal. Both read like magazines: lots of pictures and good topics.

GOT A NEW JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After three years in office I finally got myself a new job! I will be starting on the 22nd of August, and since I already had 2 weeks holidays planned, I only have one more week to go here. Life is sweeeeeeeeeet :)

Tour de France Oh La Laaaaa

Oops, accident! Lycra only stratches that far, you know.

It has just been confirmed that a suspected suicide bomber was shot at Stockwell station. It's geting very close to where I live: Stockwell is the next station from Vauxhall, Oval is 5min walk from my house...

Exactly two weeks after the attacks in London: new incidents. Again explosions were heard, again they happened north, east, south and west, again a bus was involved. No one has been killed this time, but people are scared again. It feels like whoever organised the explosions did it as a reminder, to show that it isn't over yet.

HTML color lab

So handy: click on a color and it gives you the code; click on another color and it puts it next to the first one so you can see the effect of both together. http://www.visibone.com/colorlab/

Two minutes of silence

Two minutes of silence are being held in remembrance of the victims of last week's bomb attacks in London.

Travel accessories, love 'm!

My favourite brand for travel accessories is definitely Go-Design. Stylish, inventive, good quality and affordable. This foldable glass is a good example. Nightshade, their eye mask, is the most comfortable ever. I use it on sunday mornings, when the sun is coming up when I am about to go to bed :) I also have the luggage tags, the money belt, the comfort pack,... Good stuff.

Soho

Isn't this one of the most horrible tea pots you've ever seen? Apparently it was designed for the celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee. They don't come cheap either: £99! Deliciously tacky.

Protest - Joy - Shock - Grief - and now?

All in about one week's time, in London:



Protest
The Live8 concert, drawing attention to the problem of extreme poverty, was simply amazing. I was so lucky as to be there, as close to the stage as I could get. Great performances from Madonna, U2, Annie Lennox and of course Pink Floyd. But what really made the difference were the movie clips and speeches that reminded of the real reason why we were there: urge the G8 leaders to make bring an end to the extreme poverty in the world. http://www.live8live.com



Joy
Trafalgar Square went wild when it was announced that London will host the Olympics in 2012.



Shock
Explosions in the Tube and a London bus shock London and the world. We did expect it, yes, but it still comes as a huge shock when it finally happened. I was at work at the time, unaware of what was happening until I received the first calls and e-mails from friends and family abroad. Over 50 were killed, 7 of which in Edgware Road station where I pass through every day. Why?



Grief
The day after the full extend of the attacks became clear. There are still bodies buried in the trains in the tunnel near Russel Square. Body parts were spread all around the exploded bus. People are still missing. Why??

ART - Kinu Sekigushi

Great artwork from a Paris based Japanese guy. Very polished and smooth, but strong and beautiful colours.
(Erotic content - stand clear if you're not too keen on that!)

http://www.kinu-sekigushi.com

London Calling to the World!

Hello to all!

Finally, a webspot where all of my friends/family members/acquaintances from about anywhere in the world can follow what I am doing here in London. Need to figure out how exactly this is gonna work, but log on regularly to keep updated!

-g-