So it begins: £45 million cut to London Film Centre
The Department of Sport, Media, and Culture has decided that those last two parts of its name are superfluous and have cut £45 million from the planned London Film Centre, to be operated by the British Film Institute.
But they didn’t ignore the kids. A Night Less Ordinary, a programme encouraged love of theatre by providing half a million free tickets to people under the age of 26, was also cut, saving a princely £100,000.
18 Jun 2010
Doctor Hoot: All 11 Doctors drawn as Owls
Because it had to be done, that’s why. The artist is Pu-Sama
18 Jun 2010
City Hall refuses to release letters between Boris and Chuck over Chelsea Barrack
City Hall has refused to release letters between Mayor Boris Johnson and future King Charles regarding the controversial redevelopment of the Chelsea Barracks.
Adam Bienkov used the freedom of information act to ask for the letters after Charles complained that the Chelsea development was ugly. The developers soon dropped the plan.
City Hall reasoned that letters to the royal family are exempt from the act, however Bienkov calls bullshit on that:
[W]hen our future King has directly involved himself in hugely sensitive planning decisions and major financial and political deals, then I think it pretty clearly falls within the public interest.
18 Jun 2010
Daily MPfree: Liam The Younger
Liam The Younger is a bit of mystery. A Google search yields scant results; he’s on a small American Label, Underwater Peoples. No biog, obvs. But a link to two free albums here. Unusual for a musician not to hang the proverbial “it” all out on the internet for all to find.
This song was on an excellent Delicious Scopitone compilation earlier this year, and I’ve been pretty fearsomely obsessed with it since first listen. It sounds real. Fuzzy, Sad. Longing. And then it bursts into flames for an incredible outro that has me grinning like an idiot every time I listen. Check it out.
18 Jun 2010
Dozens of abandoned tube stations could be reopened as tourist attractions and venues
Entrepreneur Ajit Chambers of the Old London Underground Company has moved a step closer to opening up many of the tube’s abandoned stations.
According to Dave Hill in the Guardian, Chambers said he was ready to begin.
I met with Anthony and Boris a year ago to let you know that I designed a company that will make £40 million for London. The company has now been built, we have found funders; we are using the same engineering teams that are building Crossrail to open these stations up as tourist attractions and venues. I would like your help to get into the first three venues as soon as possible.
Also: here are some 1950’s posters found in a disused lift at Notting Hill Gate station.
17 Jun 2010
That News International online strategy: launch sweepstakes with footy blogs but don't tell them
If turning off the Times’ website to the public was not enough, the brain trust at News International took their leet online skillz to the Sun’s sport section.
The Sun launched a World Cup Sweepstakes involving 32 footy-related blogs. The trouble is, they didn’t actually ask anyone of them first. Once launched, an email was sent offering ‘bit of friendly competition between the best football blogs during the World Cup.’
One blog, It’ll Be Off had gone defunct, only resurrecting itself to mock the Sun.
I want to make it abundantly clear to everyone: I have nothing to do with this. I want nothing to do with this. And I am furious that the good(ish) name of my little blog, that ceased to be a concern some six months ago, is being used by the worst of all tabloids as some fucking publicity machine for their horrendous sweepstake generating iPhone app, and their even more horrendous newspaper. As I posted on Facebook when all this started, “Yeah, sure, I’ll be part of your World Cup blogging network.I’ll sign up the day you explain how it took 15 years to apologise for your Hillsborough coverage. The day you aren’t part of Murdoch’s News International empire. And the day you aren’t a bunch of odious, scare-mongering, right-wing cretins”.
Goal!
17 Jun 2010
Rambling through every borough in London, except the twin cities of Croydon and Westmister
Diamond Geezer just released his list of city trails for 31 of London’s boroughs for those who like to ramble. Two places you won’t be rambling: Croydon and Westmister, neither of which have councils that think you should be wandering about without a destination in mind.
17 Jun 2010
Madame Arcadi moves to Anorak
Media gossip/astologer Madam Arcadi announces that her new home is Anorak. At some point in a future to be announced. Visit the Madam-less Anorak here.
17 Jun 2010
With Miss October, X-Ray pin-up calendar girl, nothing is left to the imagination
Like your local auto parts manufacturer or Danny Dyer employer, EIZO medical imaging prints an annual calendar of pin-up girls. This one omits nothing.
17 Jun 2010
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- A unique collection of photos of Edwardian Londoners
- 9 poems about London: one for each of your moods
- Nice Interactive timeline lets you follow Londoners' historic fight against racism
- Diary of the shy Londoner
- Random Interview: Eileen Conn, co-ordinator of Peckham Vision
- The five best places in London to have an epiphany
- Could red kites be London's next big nature success story?
- Silencing the Brick Lane curry touts could be fatal for the city's self-esteem
- Margaret Thatcher statue rejected by public
- Number of people using Thames cable car plunges
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