Sunday 27 March 2011

Anarchy in Piccadilly

ArchBlog popped down to Piccadilly on Saturday night to have a gander at the anarchists in action. Things were a bit heated down at the occupied Fortnum & Mason but it was a much more chilled vibe down at Trafalgar Square thanks to the bongo players.
Most businesses had shut up shop for the day. But braving the aggro was the (capitalist pig) Spar on Haymarket which was doing a roaring trade in king-size Rizla, Ginsters and tinnies.
Below are some snaps taken before the well-drilled clear-up op of central London had kicked into gear.
Earlier in the day, thousands had marched peacefully in support of the UK Uncut cause.
But trouble broke out as night fell as anarchists went on the rampage. The trouble led to over 200 arrests and left over 80 injured.

Graf outside The Ritz:

The coppers in this van weren't dead keen on my taking this snap. They looked really tired and a bit cross.

Dancing round the camp-fire in Trafalgar Square:

Police search for clues in Santander:

Cashpoints attacked:

Lloyds TSB booted in:

The Ritz: Trashed.

Discarded placards:

Friday 25 March 2011

Sudanese rap: Lemme take you to the movies shorty

Hey ArchBlog female readership!
Would you let self-confessed "your baby boy" BANGS take you to the moooovie? He'll get you popcorn and he "knows what else you like" ...

Via ArchBlog music man Al Shux

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Nuclear Boy: Fukushima for kids

The sitch in Japan is not good. In fact, it's very bad.
Japanese officials have warned that Tokyo’s tap water is unfit for babies to drink after radiation from Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant affected the capital's water supply, reported the BBC. Radioactive iodine levels in some areas are twice the recommended safe level and people in Fukushima prefecture, where the nuclear plant is located, have been told not to eat certain vegetables because of contamination worries.
With good reason, the radiation scare has freaked the Japanese people and some have opted to flee the embattled island. In response, a cartoon video has been produced to explain the nuclear crisis in simple terms to Japanese children. The (hopefully soothing) video – which likens radiation to a smelly poo which the diaper (reactor casing) will hopefully 'catch' - has spread like wildfire across the internet. Check it 'ere:



The vid is meant for nippers but its soothing tones have delighted pro-nuclear types.

The video “makes a lot more sense than many of the hysterical reports we have been reading in the last few days,” praised Fraser Nelson at The Spectator’s Coffee House blog. “The figures are not out yet, but it's likely that tens of thousands were killed by the tsunami. Yet the newspapers were all focused on the nuclear meltdown — which injured 15 people. The irony is that, when a tsunami strikes, the local nuclear power station is pretty much the safest place to be.” Nelson regretted that “the opponents of nuclear power have seized on Fukushima to stir up fear about nuclear power … I'd call all this out-and-out hysteria. And why? Three Mile Island killed no one, yet stymied American nuclear development for years. It would be a tragedy if Japan's "nuclear boy" spooked the West into doing the same — because our politicians are making normal (oil and gas) energy a lot more expensive and the renewable energy sources are still an uneconomic scam. It is part of human nature to fear what you can't see (radiation) more than what you can see (mud and water), even if, in Japan's case, the latter is the bigger killer. But energy policy should be decided on the facts alone.”

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Bartley Gorman, King of the Gypsies

Before Uttoxeter's finest son Shane Meadows made movies like "This is England" and "Dead Man's Shoes," he made a bunch of great shorts. This one is a real beaut. It's about one of Meadows' childhood heroes - bareknuckle fighter Bartley Gorman V, the King of the Gypsies. You'd travel a long time to find anyone as hard as Bartley. I dread to think what his 'bullhammer' punch would do to Audley.

For years, Meadows has been speaking about making a feature about the life of Gorman. It's his passion project. I hope he makes it one day.

Friday 18 March 2011

Mario Balotelli versus the bib

Balotelli has made quite an impact at Citeh. In 20 games, he's scored 10 times, been yellow-carded nine times and red-carded twice. He also can't put a bib on:

Via Mac

Thursday 17 March 2011

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Smiley Culture (allegedly) stabs himself in the heart

Reggae artist Smiley Culture has died during a police raid on his house in east Surrey. According to The Daily Mail (!) “the 48-year-old former singer is believed to have asked if he could go and make a cup of tea before being taken to a police station for questioning. While he was gone, he took a knife and plunged it into his own chest.”
The rap reggae pioneer had two hits in the eighties with Cockney Translation and Police Officer. Police Officer was an autobiographical song of how he was caught in possession of cannabis but let off when the officer recognised him as a reggae artist. Speaking about the hit, he told The Guardian last year: "My hit single Police Officer was a true story - the police used to take my weed. It was better than being arrested, and I made that into a hit."

"If Smiley hadn't made it cool for black Brits to chat "British" on record UK rappers would probably still be chatting "yankee" and there would have been no UK vocal flava to drum and bass, two step, dub step or grime. There would be no Dizzie or Tinie Tempah," insisted Dotun Adebayo at The Guardian.

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Old habits Die Hard

Just ask Gus and Grace Ridley, the world's oldest trustafarians:

Via Mat Laroche

Monday 14 March 2011

White Mountaneering geometric embroidered desert boots

These embroidered desert boots from Jap label White Mountaineering are the bomb. Ideal for padding round Tripoli, Cairo or Tunis on a nice (Arab) spring day.




Via Hypebeast

Honey, I Threw the Baby!

There's no reason to let having a baby get in the way of an active, outdoorsy lifestyle. Take this strapping young couple. When they are out rock-hopping of a weekend they don't let their (Chinese?) baby spoil their fun. Also, it's nice to see the little nipper is already wearing trainers.
Via Milo's ever-ace Hey Ladies blog.

International Stussy Tribe

You gotsta dig some of the original Stussy garms in this vintage vid and approve of Shawn Stussy's 'tude towards business:

Stussy Tribe - BBC's The Look featuring Chanel, RL & Stussy from Stussy Chapters on Vimeo.

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Otto takes a break

Here's a killer snap of Otto Gundry, ArchBlog's head of youth development, out and about in Peckham spreading the good word of the Lord. It's blates the best piccie to ft. on this blog this year. The devil will eat you (in Hell) if you disagree.

Rocky Mountain Featherbed

There was a time not so long ago when ArchBlog thought sleeveless puffa jackets were the exclusive preserve of ghastly hooray Henrys. Then along came Jap-enlivened US heritage brand Rocky Mountain Featherbed:


RMF is available from Present in Shoreditch