Life drawing

I've looked everywhere for a funny comedy sketch about life drawing classes but cant find any. Drawing a man for the first time had me using the easel to hide his manhood and my red face until the tutor pointed out that i was barely looking at the model. Even worse was that the first male model was ginger (everywhere) with a twitchy eye -either that or he was winking at me..

These are from a class i've been going to at The Princes drawing School over the last few weeks.

I hope you like them!

MIA at Brixton Academy

Im confused. I saw MIA at Brixton Academy last night and was left confused.

On the one hand she was immense -in your face, opinionated and creative in her arm-flailing delivery. The gig was swamped by blinding lights and huge projections on stage, and a good thing too because the sound system chewed up her words so much that we couldn't hear them. So it was a good show -gyration included.

On the other hand it felt more like a club night where i was all too aware of what time it was, the giant standing in front of me and my handbag on the floor. I was more interested in the pictures on screen than the music which, having given-up trying to decipher her words through the mic, came down to the bassy chug chug and jing-a-ling of MIAs trademark sound.

Any gig you leave thinking you could have enjoyed it just as much on YouTube is not a good gig. Disappointed that my £27.50 bought me just under an hour of music i wont be shelling out to see MIA again. In saying this i respect her performance, her attitude and i rate her as a producer. That three-note chime from a computer dropped into tracks throws up enough conversation for a PhD. Her music is like one of those books for children that replaces the words with pictures -all the things that her gun-shots and Bangra samples make you think of are for a reason.

So for this reason i will still buy her music and if i could i would buy the projections too -raving in my Pjs being preferable to last night's show. Doesn't that say it all?

Influencers

Someone needs to make a London version of this. Production is slick in a way that belongs to anything with New York as a backdrop.

What are you made of when you're by yourself? 12.08

INFLUENCERS is a short documentary that explores what it means to be an influencer and how trends and creativity become contagious today in music, fashion and entertainment. The film attempts to understand the essence of influence, what makes a person influential without taking a statistical or metric approach. Written and Directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson, the film is a Polaroid snapshot of New York influential creatives (advertising, design, fashion and entertainment) who are shaping today's pop culture. "Influencers" belongs to the new generation of short films, webdocs, which combine the documentary style and the online experience.

Polarbear

I was first introduced* to Polarbear after a Poeticat gig a good few months ago now. Completely unaware of his work i did what any curious neek would do and Googled/YouTubed/MySpaced him when i got home. This lyricist wraps syllables around beats that have me nodding my head like i'm ready to dance. Then smiling at the wit and charm of his words. And thats just Jessica;

I went to see him at The Roundhouse for his most recent work 'Return'. Without the rhythm of some of his earlier work that i was used to it took some time to get my head around what i was watching/listening to. In saying that, after unpacking the story i was left with that kind of warm feeling of getting it -'it' being that need you feel to leave home and 'find' yourself and realising on your return that nothing and everything has changed.

Check him out and if you can get yourself to see Return on tour then do. Its amazing how clearly you can see things if your ears are open.

*My little star makes reference to my 'meeting' Polarbear. I said hello, so i dont actually know him but he seemed like a very nice man.

Distant Relatives returns

I went to see Nas and Damian Marley on the first round of this tour back in July. Im struggling to find the words to describe the quality and calibre of the show. In my book, not minding so much about the person elbowing you, the sweat dripping down your face and forgetting completely that you have to travel all the way home and haul your arse into work the next day clarifies just how good it was. And i do not like being elbowed, sweaty or out on a week night.

I bring this up now, nearly four months later because they're doing it all over again and this time they're hitting Wembley. Go, there are no words, you need to see this.

Marmara

I'm running out of reasons to not 'get involved' in this disgrace of a war in Palestine. My ignorance is the reason i haven't been protesting on the many occasions i could have. When things like this happen it compels me to learn more but the reality is sickening.

Our Deepest Fear

Why Dont You Love Me, HUH!!?

Gorgeous. The styling, the concept, her acting -and i can just about rinse some of my tribal skank moves over the beat on this, good value for money. How do they get that soft 1950s edge on the camera -my research is failing me!? I see a lot of myself in Beyonce, we even have the same cleaning-outfits. My pupils in particular have noted the resemblance and im sure its not just from behind.

Maybe he's just not the one? Or maybe he just plain, DUMB!

Its fine, i'm not bitter, honest.

Shameless Plug

PoetiCat Presents:

A bank holiday Monday filled with great music, comedy and poetry! FREE BBQ, cheap beer and a beer garden and fingers-crossed sunshine! Plus a t-shirt decorating competition! This is an event curated by PoetiCat and we're bringing together some of the best acts we've seen this year. Put this one in your diaries early as its sure to be a sell-out event. Come and celebrate the bank holiday Monday with us!

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Doors at 5pm (night ends at 11pm)

Tickets:
£3 in advance from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/80103
£5 on the door

Map & Directions:
http://www.windmillbrixton.co.uk/Location.htm

Foreign Beggars

Thursday April 29th wasn't the first time i'd been to see Foreign Beggars. This time at the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen tickets were a modest £9 with a friendly bouncer thrown in for free. In the absence of Orifice the boys still pulled of an eclectic set being sure to pay homage constantly to their absent friend. In the name of diversity the dip into heavy metal was a crowd pleaser for sure reinforced by the mosh-pit that formed at the front of the crowd where i was stood, and crushed. Not cool.

Sometimes trying to please the masses spreads the goodness a little to thin instead of enriching it. The keen-bean, 'trendy' college-kids were happy -although they would be, out late at night, in East, wouldn't they?

Not to end on a downer heres a sideways clip of MC Zani doing his thing. And to think i was getting all excited at the hint of some bashment (note the camera bouncing) which lasted all of 30seconds. You tease!

Ps. Ive just looked at the site. Tickets were £7 in advance. I got done!

Three things you should never wear.

Unless you want to look like a mannequin white tights are not a good look. Tear them into strips and stow them in a first aid box.

Ed Hardy = Pirates on LSD.

Hoodies, perfume, thongs and whatever else they sell -no.

Beckham has worn it, but so has Jordan.

If you want to show off that you've got a lil junk in your trunk then fine, but leggings on their own are not worth that front view.

Sing it with me now 'C.A.M.E.L T.O.E'.

Get to know

'Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it' -Karl Marx 1845.

Thats all.

Ask Your Girl

Want to shout an old friend who founded the brand 'Ask Your Girl' a few years ago. The brand reaches from music and fashion into sports, film and events. The man himself says;

'Ask Your Girl is based on the empowerment of women its all about asking for their opinion rather than assuming or telling them what to think'.

Hit here to check the blog.

Always good to catch up with old friends -i look forward to collaborating in the near future.

Back on the grind

This week i've been work-ing-HARD. If i have to sit in a room with posh, arrogant dickheads for another day i may well have to emigrate. It seems that education = being middle class and so i've been rinsing-out my 'well-spoken' voice all week -my mum would be proud.

Anyway, lets not generalise, lets not stereotype. I apologise.

Next week im out at The Foundry for the launch party for I Love Migrants -because i am PROUD of my mixed-up migrant moms and pops! Read more to better understand their campaign spreading the truth about migration in the UK.

Plus its on my birthday so ill be blagging my way to a free T-Shirt if it kills me.

Went to see The Infidel finally. I should have guessed it would have been disappointing. The film squeezes every last drop out of Jew/Muslim stereotypes and the cinema was, inevitably full of Jews and Muslims which was more interesting to see than the film. The film errs on the side of safety in sticking to the superficiality of what it means to be a Jew/Muslim -then again what was i expecting? The twist at the end topped it off as being a farce and was a poor finish. In saying that there are more laughs in it than just what's in the trailer and Djalili has definitely mastered his one-trick. Dont pay to see this, maybe pick it up from a lady selling pirate-DVDs from a plastic bag but not worth the big screen.

Back on the grind -i need another holiday!

Up and coming things to do.

And this is why London is the bees-knees.

Music

Festivals for the faint-hearted, two tame weekend-ers to bring your Marks & Spencers picnic to.

Last year i saw Kanye headline at Wireless but for me, Q-Tip bossed it. Pink headlines Friday and LCD Soundsystem/2manydjs take the Saturday slot while Jay Z closes the show on Sunday.

All worth seeing but ill be throwing-up my hova sign like someone not quite cool enough to do that on Sunday.

Did you know what hova meant...? Interesting....

A newbie to Lovebox i missed it last year for whatever reason. With a line up for 'those who know' this is the quirkier of my two offerings. This year Lovebox extends to three days starting on the Friday for which i will be legging-it from work to see my dearest Dizzee.

Hit here for details.

Btw Sunday looks a bit special claiming it 'blends the coolest music, emergent art, cutting edge fashion and more to create an all-inclusive polysexual event unlike any other'.

Art

Chris Ofili's exhibition at the Tate Britain has been on my to-do list for a while and i still haven't been (ends May 16th...). If i'm honest its because i don't like it when things are hyped-up this much, it always ends with an anti-climax -i prefer to slip in when its past its sell-by date. In saying this the reviews have been good and Tate pulled out all the stops a few weekends ago with Bring the Noise to launch the exhibition. Ofili's heritage explodes in your face in this retrospective of his gorgeous work. A good name to drop in conversation -go, it will feed your soul.

Are you ready for this next one?

Are you sure?

16 years after that performance at Eurovision and 15 since the show started touring Riverdance returns to the Hammersmith Apollo for its Farewell Tour. Now i know you may roll your eyes, you may smile at my love of this Irish phenomenon but i defy anyone to not enjoy this. Cue goosebumps...

My tickets arrived today...!

Brain

Something else i missed before was this 1001 Inventions exhibition highlighting Muslim heritage in the world. Originally i wanted to chase this before it ended after writing my undergraduate dissertation on the role of Islamic, Asian and Jewish civilisations in the rise of modernity (im paraphrasing). I was genuinely awe-struck at how much the modern world was shaped by them. You will be blown away by how much the Muslims contributed to everything from clocks to medicine.

The exhibition is at The Science Museum until June 30th.

Hit here for details.

And guess what, its free!

And finally, i was saving this one. Just trust me here.

Whether you're a Marxist, a lefty or none of the above this long-weekend is well worth the small ticket price. The sheer number of speakers in one place at one time means that you're guaranteed to find something of interest. With music, art and plenty of stalls to visit in-between talks theres always a good atmosphere at Marxism.

Hit here for more.

In the pursuit of knowledge, in the name of debate and discussion! Go!

But just to warn you, beware of the 3.2 billion people who will ask (chase) you about joining the SWP...

Enjoy.

And yes, i'm sure you all know what 'bees knees' means, but i love Urban Dictionary.

TED

I mentioned something called TED before.

TED describes itself as follows;

'TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize'.

I first came across TED a few weeks ago when a lecturer used a clip from this site. Because im a neek, i indulged in more, and more. This talk really moved me. The author of 'Eat, Pray, Love' (another book i would like to read and probably wont) Elizabeth Gilbert speaks about the pressure on and suffering of creative people. Its long, but really worth a watch -and its not as pretentious as it sounds, promise.

I love the way the Greeks and Romans regarded creativity as something beyond or outside yourself. That you have a genius as opposed to are a genius.

With this in mind i've had a realisation -i definitely have a genius. I imagine him to be small, Irish-Leprchaun-like with a mischievous smile. He does however speak a different language to me and despite tugging on my leg 24/7 i just don't know how to communicate with him.

Clothes are good, writing this helps, shaking-a-leg definitely works but there is more. What to do?

The Infidel

I cannot wait to see this film. The story is so painfully close to the line that i'm intrigued at how they've played it. From what i've seen/read it succeeds in not offending anyone and there my friend is why its a beauty! Comedy has grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns time and time again and now, why not make light of the deep rooted antagonism between Jews and Muslims!!? I really really hope this chips away at some of the ridiculousness of it all -especially for those second and third generation migrant families very confused by culture, religion, identity....... oh the woes!

Im told 'Embedding disabled by request' so hit here for the trailer.

There's no place like home

I spent the last few days oop norf in Edinburgh with some girlfriends from work. Scottish people (or at least the Scots we came across) are lovely -id forgotten what good customer service and just plain friendliness looked like. We climbed a volcano, watched the 1o'clock cannon go off at Edinburgh castle and ate our way through The Rough Guide's recommendations. The pool, sauna and jacuzzi at the hotel didn't hurt either.

Until i got food poisoning..

I can confirm that the mussels below (which weren't even worth it) kept me wrapped around our Hilton-hotel toilet for nearly two-days. I wont divulge the details as to why i had to set-up-camp in the bathroom -needless to say it was not a good look.

I left not with any resentment at how much id paid to throw-up for two days (i did initially have a good time) but rather with a distinct and familiar feeling... Ive been all over the UK; Manchester, Newcastle, York, Scarborough, Canterbury to name a few, and each time i leave re-affirming my belief that London is possibly the greatest city in the world. I am a city girl and i am one of those awful Londoners who maps-out the UK according to how far a place is from London -to be fair, you can get anywhere if you start in London. And it is without shame that i rant about how gorgeously diverse and eclectic this city is. Other places in the UK just don't cut the mustard for me. Heritage and history yes, but once you've seen one castle/stately home you've seen them all.

People ive met on my humble travels around the UK have been lovely but cultures and ethnicities outside of London feel largely segregated -im not going to lie, it freaks me out. I went to a school where i knew ONE fully English person. Ive studied Sociology long enough to understand the ins-and-outs of why this is and equally that the sheer number of people in London is the main reason that it glows so gorgeously with diversity. I am of course assuming that we all agree this is a good thing..?

The English (and Scottish, and Welsh, and Irish) countryside are no doubt and from what small sections i've seen, stunning. But im happy to squash-up to a bikini-clad tanner with my picnic blanket in Hyde park in return for everything else London has to offer. In London, everyday, i can be whoever i want to be -you name it and ill find you a place that you can do that/be that person. I might not know my neighbour's name but a smile and a nod in the morning is just fine for me -at least until there's a power cut, then ill come knocking.

Ps. I really did have a lovely break in Scotland, honest. Thank you Edinburgh and all your lovely sights and people. And in particular your little gems..

Two weeks to play, rest and work

Been busy the last few days -mostly running around telling everyone and anyone that im off work for two weeks. Did you get that? TWO WEEKS! There is, always, work to be done but for now its time to embrace the things i love -friends and family, going out, coffee and wearing all of my clothes/shoes.

Easter started with some drawing (of my shoes...).

Then spent Friday at the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year exhibition at the Natural history Museum -heres the online gallery for you to enjoy but you should definitely make the effort to go.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/onlineGallery.do

It was the first time id seen photography presented over light-boxes so wherever there was a white space in the image it wasn't printed it was light coming through. Thats probably standard now but i was impressed.

Friday night had me shakin' a leg at the Indigo2 with Blackstreet ON FORM after god-knows how many years. You dont get boy-bands like this anymore.

I knew nothing of Teddy Riley until he (at age 43) BROUGHT IT with his own little set. I was later educated by a Ms.Fosang about how much he produced including most of MJs 'Dangerous' and his role in the birth of New Jack Swing (im not going to lie, i didnt know it was called NJS until yesterday).

Saturday i woke up at an unspeakable hour after a beautiful amount of sleep and finally got to finish my book. I've been reading 'Push' by Sapphire which is the book that the film 'Precious' is based on -a good, but shocking read.

Sapphire doesnt fail to take you right into the sounds and smells of Precious' trauma. Hit here for an outline/review of the story if you don't already know.

I dont agree about what it says about writing from Precious' perspective though -i think this is what makes the book and felt that the way her writing progresses throughout the book marks the progress/journey she makes in her life (this might be something to do with me being a teacher).

Will get onto watching the film and let you know.

And i had the rest of Sat made when my housemate Geek suggested she call some friends, cook-up a feast and dedicate the night to watching Twilight (the final bit was her request). After a few hours of Street Fighter on my old XBox and too much food i got caught slipping not even half-way through the film...

Thank you to the photographer -not my best side.

The best thing about 'entertaining' at home is that your bed is always just a tip-toe away.

Isn't it wonderful?

I've just been floating through some blogs with a big smile on my face -all over the world people are posting little slices of their life, their ordinary and often extraordinary lives for the world to see. It made me think about the beauty in all the little things that pass us by like the stories you share with your friends, the thing you saw that made you smile, that person you spoke to..

I'm (evidently) starting to embrace blogging, am an avid Facebook-er and I'm sure ill end-up on Twitter and anything/everything else that comes along. I wonder if Michael Aspel walked-in on me for 'This Is Your Life' would my red book be a scrap-book of all my status updates and blog-posts?

There are those who roll their eyes at it all but you know what i say - it is what you make of it people!


Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Taking it all in.

It been a long, but positive weekend.

Nobody should have to set their alarm for 6am on Friday night alas i did and was at the Institute of Education all day Saturday. Im on the grind (as they say) Mon-Fri but Sat marked the start of the taught-modules for my Ma in Leadership which would whisk me and my brain cells away to a better, smarter place.

Im not a proper academic but i do love a bit of learning. Life long baby!

I wont indulge in all the fascinating content of the day's lectures but just to give you a taster below is a link to an article by Michael Maccoby on why we still need leaders who are visionaries.

http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/panelists/2009/08/we-still-need-visionary-leaders.html

Another highlight was TED... but more about this another time....

Sunday was spent with my beautiful, beautiful sister who at the age of 15, took ME out for the day. We went to see Blaze at The Peacock theatre where a huge chunk of the audience had come to see Tommy and Lizzie from 'So You Think You Can Dance' -my sister included. In saying that each dancer more than held their own and the production was tight with a much appreciated focus on the dancing without binding it to a narrative. And they were dropping some TUNES too;

Im not far off from this standard myself but i prefer not to be restricted by choreography.