Tag Archives: London

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Bradley Manning – The real War Hero

In this country – the UK – any British soldier who has been fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq is called a hero by most of the mass media. Something I have always had a problem with, because these wars as we all know – or should know – were unlawful or plainly crimes against humanity fought in the interest of some huge global corporations who sought after power, control and resources in these regions. Of course we were told these were wars against terrorism but as we have all seen you cannot fight successfully one terrorist hiding in a village by bombing the whole town. All you will end up with is a lot of innocent people and even more angry victims who might become terrorists as an answer to the pain that was brought to them.

Any soldier who signs up for an army who fights in these wars is either ignorant or supportive to the real aims of these wars or was successfuly brainwashed into believing that he was doing the right thing. In both cases I would refrain from calling any of them hero – I’d rather call them fools or victims of the ruling elite. I know this might sound harsh to people who are relatives or friends of soldiers who served in either country – and maybe even died. But I do believe these families have to face the truth – that there was and is nothing heroic about these wars despite all the hell and hardship their beloved ones had to go through.

The only (U.S.) soldier I know who would deserve to be called a hero is sitting in military prison at the moment – facing a life long sentence or even the death penalty. This man is called Bradley Manning. In 2010 while being stationed in Baghdad he got hold of more than 260.000 partly top secret diplomatic cables. Manning decided to hand these over to WikiLeaks wich prior to these had already shoken up the world with the massive Afghan and Iraq War document leaks.

The information reveiled with Manning’s help showed the real often ugly two-faced relationships the U.S. diplomats had with their international counterparts plus many facts that worldwide leaders would have loved to keep secret as they often showed their questionable or wrongful doings.

Leaders of the Arab Spring revolution pointed out that the cables worked as catalyst for overthrowing the corrupt government in Egypt.

In May 2010 Manning was arrested and the first hearing was held on 16 December 2011 the day before his birthday.

Yesterday on Saturday a group of activists gathered in front of the U.S. embassy in London to call for a release of Manning. Passionate talks were held by members of the Occupy movement, the Pirate Party Veterans for Peace and others.

I wished there would have been a thousand times more people – but I guess they all had more important things to do – such as Christmas shopping. Bradley Manning in my eyes did something brave and heroic. He decided to risk his own freedom to better the world for all of us.

Check out the lastest information here: http://www.bradleymanning.org

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Rumpus – Where the Very Wild Things Are

It was only my second Rumpus ever,  but the night confirmed for me that this is my favourite party in London town. The mini-festival atmosphere incapsulated by the big old warehouse premises of the Electrowerkz in Islington was electrified by a sheer endless array of random moments created by a beautiful mix of people. Almost everyone made an effort to dress up – which meant I could have almost been blindfolded and still would have been able to take brilliant shots. I felt like all I needed to do was to point and shoot and I could be guaranteed someone interesting was doing something interesting right in front of me.

Wicked danceable Life bands, Djs playing DnB, Dubstep, Ska, Pulp-Fiction-Tunes, Polka – man there was everything – except Techno or House. So a reallly refreshing compilation for your ears

If you needed a break from dancing your bottocks off you also had a little cinema, a cake stand, art installations, hot food, and of course the talented hair and make-up ladies from “Hairy Poppins” – who in case you needed a little upgrade turned your hair and face into somethig out of this world.

Click on the link here for the full FB gallery>>.

And also check out the official Rumpus webpage www.rumpusparty.co.uk

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DJ Yoda Live VJ set @ P3 – London

I love this stuff! Yoda is one of my Alltime DJ-Heroes. He collects samples of videos and sounds that we all stuffed our brains with when we were young and TV our best friend.

He then throws them in a massive surprise bag and pulls them out in his super funny and entertaining style. You never know what you get next. Pure Randomness on the Dancefloor.

If you have a chance to see him live – grab it! It’s like traveling back in time.

He is on tour in the UK at the mo – check his webpage for the dates.

www.djyoda.co.uk

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6956870&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1

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Something tells me…(Vol.10)

…they don’t like Chavs in here…

I can’t understand why!! Cause they look so lovely…

If you want to know how much of a chav you are, you can make the ultimate Chav-test here:

www.getlippy.com/quizzes/chav-quiz/quiz

It asks you questions like:

1 . Have you ever gone for a romantic dinner for two at Pizza Hut?

2 . Does your wardrobe contain one or more items in that Burberry check?

6 . Is drinking bottles of cider in your local bus stop a favourite pastime?

8 . Do you own a special tracksuit ‘for best’?

11 . Do you know anyone that’s ever been on Trisha?

 I just did the test – and it said i am a Wannabe chav: “Wannabe chav You clearly know you are not, nor will you ever be anything even closely resembling a bonafide chav but that doesn’t stop you from jumping on the bling bandwagon every now and then. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of pretending though you’ll never be able to hold your own with the true Burberry brigade.”

I should be worried – very worried.

 

 

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A Great Night-Out Story told through Government Posters

Can I ‘ave another one and one for this lovely lady here? Hey you! You look mint? What’s your name?… Are your parents thieves or how did they steal the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes?…

….Naaaaah, you’re sooooo not fat!!!! I think you’re really fit!!!…Can I have two more, please?

A few hours later: Boa, I sooooo got the munchies now. I really need some fooooood!

Later at her’s: Naaah, it’s sooo much better without!!! Trust me, I can take care of that….

Ahemm…oops…really…sorry…

 

 

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I loooove Brick Lane Sundays!

I don’t care if it is one of these super-trendy places – everytime i come back from my Sunday trips from Brick Lane – which have become almost a ritual of mine – I have a camera is loaded with a huge set of colourful photos.

The only shame is it can’t record smell otherwise it would probably explode from the smell of the many curry restaurants and world-food market stands you can find there.

I can’t get enough of that unique flair that the area around Brick Lane owns. It is a saturated mix of old and new, East and West, trendy and forgotten, ugly and beautiful. On Sundays the streets are covered by all sorts of market stands – selling you selfmade designer clothes, freshly cooked food from around the globe or just old junk – made of the most obscure varsity of items you can imagine. Anything from old shoes, CDs and casette tapes (remember?), 90s mobile phones, 80’s video games, collectors comic books, toys from your childhood – the list is endless and treasures are many to be found.

I ‘ve never seen before the way these second-hand sellers are offering their stuff. All items are displayed on nothing else but a blanket or a piece of cloth or even just layed flat onto the bare pavement. The objects are sometimes put down very messily but sometimes arranged in perfect geometrical alignment. As much as the displays differ in style their owners differ too. From rather funky and fashionable art-student lookalikes to run down alcoholic types – the characters are as coulourful as their goods.

The market seems very popular with the young crowd – probably also due to the fact that it closes at 5pm on Sundays – very convenient for party-goers.

If you, like me, like to get up late on Sundays and fancy some food and just to stroll around and hunt for photos or treasures (it’s the same for me) and if you don’t mind the sometimes high concentration of supercool Fashionista-stampedes – then Brick Lane is the perfect choice for you.

For more photos click here>>

 

Facts:

Sunday Upmarket:

Every Sunday, 10am-5pm

Ely’s Yard (entrances on Brick Lane & Hanbury Street)
The Old Truman Brewery
London E1.
(Tube – Aldgate east / Liverpool Street)


The Backyard Market

Every Saturday from 11am till 6pm and Sunday from 10am to 5pm

The Old Truman Brewery
91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL

www.sundayupmarket.co.uk

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Eating in a Fairy Tale – The Pale Blue Door Restaurant

The outside only gives away a few hints about what’s going on inside.Once in a while you discover places that you will never forget because you feel they were build with endless amounts of love, thought and creativity. The Pale Blue Door is definitely one of them.

The artist Tony Hornecker spend about 6 years to turn an old warehouse garage into a little wonderland of obscurity – a place that he has now made into an absolute unique restaurant.

Once you found the place hidden away in a darkened alley in North East London you will enter a different world.

It is packed with objects from a forgotten past and from all over the globe which one does never stop discovering when wandering around the themed rooms.

There is the Ten Ted Pavillion – which looks like how i would imagine a Parisian Brothel from a hundred years ago would look like with red curtains and candle lights on old chandeliers. It fits a few tables suitable for 2 – 6 people.

Then there is the Main Hall – which – again – was packed with hundreds of bizarre objects and pictures and an array of 7 or so discoballs – ah yea and the stuffed chicken wich had its head stuck into the wall! haha.

The hall leads upstairs to the incredibly cosy Doll’s House – which is really only half a room as it is just about 1.50m high – so better don’t try to stand up! This is the place where we had the luck to eat our lovely dinner. The room can only be entered via a set of wooden wonky stairs which were made out of something like old wine-bottle boxes. Now imagine you wear high heels like our amazing dragqueen waitress A Man Da Pet and you have to climb up there and then squeeze yourself into the room crawling on your knees while holding the food and drinks!

LounThe cosiest restaurant I’ve ever seen – here the inside of the Doll’s House…ging on a comfy bed feeling like dolls in their house surrounded by old pictures, a massive cracked mirror, dozens of old toys and puppets we enjoyed our delicious 3 course meal.

…to which access is not the easiest for someone bigger than a 1.50m. Here our fantastic waitress A Man Da Pet.

After we were filled with yummi food our waiter turned into a performer and showed us and the other enthused guests how Tina Turner should REALLY move her arse!

10 out of 10 for entertainment and atmosphere.

Tony, his photographer friend Ralf (who also served us food and drinks) A Man Da and the cat Stella were some of the most welcoming and charming hosts you will ever find. They made the whole experience even more worthwhile.

The view from the sofa in the Main Hall – looking up to the wooden stairs which lead you to the Doll’s House and the Brazilian Brothel Room – which wasn’t opened on the night – so I can’t tell you what it’s like unfortunately. In the front Stella the house cat on her favourite place in the house.

We arrived first that night and left last! And if we could’ve – we would have stayed forever!

If you’re after an unforgettable feast for your tummy AND your eyes then the Pale Blue Door is just the perfect thing for you.

Check out my gallery for more photos>>

Booking Tables:

You need to book in advance: Contact Tony at thepalebluedoor@hotmail.co.uk

Tables can be booked for 8pm or 8.30pm – usually from Thursdays to Sundays.

Prices:

£30 buy you a nice 3 course meal – Veggi Option available

Address:

The Pale Blue Door, 5 Glebe Road, E8 4BD

And this is the view down from the second floor – well or more precisely the 1 1/2th floor. The food from Tony and Ralf was as delicious as…

…the entertainment from A Man Da Pet.