16 Apr 2010
Iceland destroys banks, British air industy; makes celebratory t-shirt
Icelandic fashion designers E-label have announced a commemorative long tee imprinted with images of Iceland’s erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano. [Via Blackbook] Follow SNIPE on Twitter
16 Apr 2010
First ever TV leaders' debate
Andrew Sullivan’s reaction to the leaders’ debate
The debate felt – how can I put this – like the fruit of a great chastening, as the Tories flee their Thatcherite past and Labour absorbs the legacy of a brutal recession, a divisive war and 13 years in power. My gut tells me this election will swing strongly toward the Tories in the final stretch. When a government has been in power for more than a decade and its central argument for re-election is fear of an untested opposition, it’s in trouble.
16 Apr 2010
Gate-gate stuns Mile End
Two new commuters have joined the throng at Mile End tube station this month. Their names? Confusion and Dismay. The reason? The disappearance of the shortcut gate in the pedestrian railing which shaved precious seconds off the walk to the station.
The gate, created by the sneaky removal of the appropriate screw in the railing to allow a section of it to swing back, had been part of the Mile End community for an age. Hundreds of pedestrians made a bee line for it at the start and end of their working day, zooming past the poor mugs who chose to travel the extra distance to the pelican crossing, and feeling a smug sense of superiority at taking advantage of their local knowledge.
But in a mysterious incident in early March, the gate was ripped from its remaining, indeed its pivotal, screw. One concerned local leant the fallen gate neatly against the rest of the railing, presumably in the hope that the authorities would be persuaded by this act of tidiness that the section need not be replaced.
For several day the ruse worked and the shortcut remained – as a gap now rather than a gate. But then, the inevitable happened. The railing was fixed. Properly. There was no longer any gate. No longer a way through.
Ever since, pedestrians have been seen approaching the railing with an expression of hope on their eager faces, only to turn away in disappointment and distress when they find that there is no path through the metal bars. Occasionally, one will wrestle with the metal, as if by force of hand the gate could be conjured back into use. Now and then, a frustrated commuter will vault the railing where the gate once stood, leaping through the air in suit and tie, refusing to face the indignity of being forced to wait at the crossing with the common horde.
Most, though, now that the initial confusion has passed, simply turn and proceed to the crossing. Acceptance has come. Where once there was a gate, now there is none. But questions remain. Where did it come from? Where did it go? And will we see its like again?
Flickr photo by Mike Knell
16 Apr 2010
Greenwich council officers get free tickets to an O2 suite
From Andrew Gilligan at Greenwich.co.uk
According to the report, the shows seen for free by Greenwich Council officers in their private hospitality suite included Metallica, Simply Red, Lionel Ritchie, AC/DC, Russell Brand, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Kings of Leon, Boyzone, Madonna, James Taylor, and Pearl Jam.
They particularly liked Britney – council officers went to see her ten times. Beyonce, another favourite, scored four and Kings of Leon three. There were also numerous performances of Walking with Dinosaurs and Ben Hur Live.
15 Apr 2010
LA is much sunnier than LDN for BBC execs
BBC Worldwide Production, the exporting arm of Auntie has changed agencies in Los Angeles from ICA to CAA, according to Deadline.com
Sources tell me CAA agreed to rep not just the company but also Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, and John Smith, Chief Executive of BBC Worldwide, on the downlow. The reason is that both top execs are convinced they’re about to lose their high-powered jobs. I’m told they want CAA to act as their personal head-hunters and find their next executive positions — hopefully with a media company in the U.S.
15 Apr 2010
15 Apr 2010
14 Apr 2010
Tonight: Mount Eerie
Phil Elverum of celebrated US cult act The Microphones plays London’s Scala tonight under the guise of Mount Eerie.
06 Apr 2010
Reinvented… With Nike Air Max; AlunaGeorge says 'in London I found out who I am'
AlunaGeorge is a London based duo consisting of electro-pop singer Aluna Francis and producer/keyboardist and former indie math-rock guitarist George Reid.
Starting a little over a year ago after meeting through the internet, and brought together by the mutual respect for each other’s music work, the British duo has come a long way: from the London suburbs to the inner city, from the studio to the live venues, Aluna and George tell us about how they made it and how they reinvented themselves to become AlunaGeorge, something more than the simple sum of its parts.
And London might as well be the third element of the British act, because it’s the city that allowed them to be free to express their own creativity and style allowing them to achieve a more personal approach to music. After all “reinventing is a way to give new life to something. And sometimes you find out that something that you reinvent today makes more sense than what you did in the first place”, they say.
For this occasion AlunaGeorge reinvented their song My Town, an ode to London and to the infinite possibilities it gave them to become who they really are. In Aluna’s own words: “While living in the suburbs I was the odd one out. In London I found out who I am, who I want to be, and how to make it happen, because this is a make or break city. If I hadn’t moved to London I probably wouldn’t be making music in the same way… or at all. You need the kind of environment that’s conducive for writing”.
Watch the video from Nike Air Max here.
03 Apr 2010
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- Random Interview: Eileen Conn, co-ordinator of Peckham Vision
- Number of people using Thames cable car plunges
- An interview with Desiree Akhavan
- A unique collection of photos of Edwardian Londoners
- The five spookiest abandoned London hospitals
- Margaret Thatcher statue rejected by public
- Only 16 commuters touch in to Emirates Air Line, figures reveal
- Peter Bayley has worked for 50 years as a cinema projectionist in East Finchley
- The five best places in London to have an epiphany
- Punk brewery just as sexist and homophobic as the industry they rail against
© 2009-2026 Snipe London.