Saturday 27 August 2011

Žižek: Shoplifters of the World Unite



I've not read contemporary philosopher Slavoj Žižek until today. But having now read his illuminating piece on the meaning of riots, I plan to get stuck in to his work. It's free to read now at The London Review of Books. Summarised in a sentence, I'd say is asks, "What is the point of our celebrated freedom of choice when the only choice is between playing by the rules and (self-)destructive violence?"

Photo credit: Hendrik Speck

Inside the secret life of hackers

Writing at The Guardian, Heather Brooke has written the best article I've yet read on hacker culture. Read it here. Here's the opening para - it gives you a pretty good impression of where she stands on web revolutionaries ...

"Hackerspaces are the digital-age equivalent of English Enlightenment coffee houses. They are places open to all, indifferent to social status, and where ideas and knowledge hold primary value. In 17th-century England, the social equality and merit-ocracy of coffee houses was so deeply troubling to those in power that King Charles II tried to suppress them for being "places where the disaffected met, and spread scandalous reports concerning the conduct of His Majesty and his Ministers". It was in the coffee houses that information previously held in secret and by elites was shared with an emerging middle class. They were held responsible for many of the social reforms of the 18th century, when English public life was transformed."

Yuketan Maine Guide for Inventory

US-made Yuketan are some of the nicest (and priciest) shoes around. Here's the latest collabo between Yuketan and Vancouver-based Inventory. The contrast of "khaki suede, natural welt and a black sole" works grew:


Via Inventory (see blogroll)

Friday 26 August 2011

Inverallen for Inventory Moss wooly hats

These Inverallen for Inventory bubble knit 'moss' wooly hats are to-die-for. Just ideal for a freezing cold Tuesday night at Loftus Road (you know winter's coming). I dread to think how frighteningly comfy they are too.

Here's some blurb from Inventory (which is quite possibly my have shop):
"It's the first time we've received our Inverallan order at the beginning of the season, and we're also excited that this is our best delivery from the Scottish knitters we've ever received. Along with a pair of beautiful shawl collar cardigans, we've produced a new style of the knit cap. It's called the 'Moss' cap and with a nice bubble knit pattern, the hats are a bit less bulky and a little bit more shallow than last fall. They turned out really great, the only problem is choosing which color to get."

High Ranking - Timbo King (ft. R.A. The Rugged Man)

Sorry but here's another hip-hop/children related post ...



ps I've always had a soft spot for R.A. The Rugged Man since early Rawkus days

Via Prog Porn (see blogroll)

Kids krumping

Firstly, let me fess up that I am not a particularly good judge of what constitutes good (or bad) krumping. And I hate kids in over-sized tees and caps. Regardless, I'm pretty much sure these youngsters are killing it?



Via Andrew Sullivans' Daily Dish (see blogroll)

Thursday 25 August 2011

Future serial killer


Middle Class Accidents

HanPicked (see blog-roll) has just alerted me to a great site called 'Middle Class Accidents' which chronicles imaginary bourgeois injuries. It's a riot. You can check it out here. You can even contribute your own pearlers if you wish. Below, are a few of my personal faves:

Getting 'pruned' feet after your Miele dishwasher leaked on the kitchen floor

Sprained an ankle slipping on the £1 coin you left your Polish cleaner as her Christmas tip

Limited-edition Guatemalan espresso granules stuck in retina after Nespresso capsule bursts under pressure in the machine

Friction burn to the cock through wanking to 'Betty Blue'

Twisted ankle caused by quickly running from Jamie Cullum's set to Katie Melua's at V Festival

Monday 22 August 2011

Hawt: Payne's BBQ, Memphis, Tennessee

If you watch this and are not starving hungry by the end, you either do not have a stomach or are a militant vegetarian. Like the kid says, the BBQ food looks like it "tastes so good make you wanna slap your mamma."

Barbecue Nation: Payne's BBQ, Memphis, Tennessee from SAVEUR.com on Vimeo.

The mouth-watering vid is part of Saveur.com's Barbecue Nation series, in which they takes a closer look at the lives of America's finest practitioners of this highly specialized, highly personal art. At Payne's BBQ the pork is chopped, not pulled, and piled high with mustard slaw.

For more barbecue videos and recipes, go to saveur.com/​barbecue

Sunday 21 August 2011

Tyler Brule: London riots and the 'symbolism of sweatpants

Quite understandably, there's been an awful lot of post-match analysis done on what led to the London riots. There have been those who link the disquiet to coalition cuts. Others suggests that worrying high levels of youth unemployment have contributed.
Then there's Monocle magazine head honcho Tyler Brule's explanation; it's all about the garms. He's pretty much positive the rioting is belted to the "symbolism of sweatpants." Noting that 70% of the rioters wore trackie bums, Brule said, "it's a commentary on a defeated society ... when you wear elasticated trousers it's an endless cycle of bed, to misbehaving on the streets to going back to bed again."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


Via Agent Scully

Libyan uprising: State TV news anchor waves gun

You know a country is a little on the unstable side when the news anchor from state TV waves an AK-47 in the air live on air as a show of defiance to anti-government rebels.
As forces opposed to Col. Gaddafi advance to within 30 miles of the capital, surely we are reaching endgame.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Danny Macaskill's super mad decent bike skills

You'll likely not have heard of bike rider Danny Macaskill. I hadn't until 5 minutes ago. Turns out he's rad, crucial and gnarly. Check him out in action at an industrial train yard. You'll soon get over the lime green tee ...



Here's some more info:

This film was filmed in Scotland by director by Stu Thomson (Cut Media/MTBcut) for Channel 4's documentary Concrete Circus.
www.CutMedia.com
www.DannyMacaskill.com
Music is 'The Wolves' by Ben Howard courtesy of Universal Island Records

Friday 12 August 2011

Peter Oborne: "The moral decay of our society is as bad at the top as the bottom"


After his awesome hackgate article (entitled "David Cameron is in the sewer because of his News International friends") of a few week's ago, The Daily Telegraph titan Peter Oborne has followed up with a quite tremendous piece on "the moral decay of our society." It really is must-read. Below is the meaty bit. But do read it in full here:

"MPs spoke about the week’s dreadful events as if they were nothing to do with them.

I cannot accept that this is the case. Indeed, I believe that the criminality in our streets cannot be dissociated from the moral disintegration in the highest ranks of modern British society. The last two decades have seen a terrifying decline in standards among the British governing elite. It has become acceptable for our politicians to lie and to cheat. An almost universal culture of selfishness and greed has grown up.

It is not just the feral youth of Tottenham who have forgotten they have duties as well as rights. So have the feral rich of Chelsea and Kensington. A few years ago, my wife and I went to a dinner party in a large house in west London. A security guard prowled along the street outside, and there was much talk of the “north-south divide”, which I took literally for a while until I realised that my hosts were facetiously referring to the difference between those who lived north and south of Kensington High Street.

Most of the people in this very expensive street were every bit as deracinated and cut off from the rest of Britain as the young, unemployed men and women who have caused such terrible damage over the last few days. For them, the repellent Financial Times magazine How to Spend It is a bible. I’d guess that few of them bother to pay British tax if they can avoid it, and that fewer still feel the sense of obligation to society that only a few decades ago came naturally to the wealthy and better off."



Photo credit: UK in Italy (via Flickr)

ENORMOUS MENTAL STRENGTH

While it must be noted that ArchBlog is completely unbothered by developments at all other Premier League club other than QPR, this 'Stan' remix vid produced by Arsenal's Goonerblog is quite simply impossible to ignore.
There are some lines in this which are so bang-on-the-£ and totes megalolz.
eg "I'm your biggest fan, I even dug your underground stuff in Japan."
Respectful hat tip to Brizzle-based gooner and seasoned Westway campaigner J-Ro for the heads up.

Levis drop and then pull 'riot ad'

Here's the ad Levis put out on Tuesday night and then quickly pulled* when it dawned on them that pushing their blue jeans via an ad featuring young people confronting a police line during a riot praps was a spot on the tasteless side given a) people were dying on the streets of Birmingham b) a police station in Nottingham was on fire and c) Manchester was under attack from Haribo-crazed looters.
Is it possible that the Levis marketing dept may have played an ace hand by releasing and then retracting during the riots. I mean I'm sure this ad has now got more attn than it ever possibly would have done if it was released during 'peacetime.'
Here's what Mark Borkowski, a PR and branding expert, told MediaGuardian:
"Talk about bad timing. This illustrates what brands have been doing associating themselves with gangster-type behaviour. It shows how far Levi's has come from the ad showing teen idol Nick Kamen in his underwear in a laundrette."

*It might no longer be going out on the tellybox but it's still viewable on YouTube and Levis' official website, per MediaGuardian.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Thug-finding Guttenberg press


As all my friends (and wife) joined the iPhone revolution I felt rather left behind with my old-fashioned, somewhat chunky BlackBerry (Bold).

That's until this week.

According to multiple reports, most of the rioting has been co-ordinated via BlackBerry's closed (or 'encrypted' for the boffins) messenger system. I now look at my BlackBerry in a different light. In a sick sorta way it's suddenly become achingly hip.

But I'm actually a little scared of the little blinking thug. I wonder if it might soon order me to headbutt the window of JD Sports or steal a bottle of rose from Costcutter at 9 in the morning. I'm wondering just how smartly evil is my smartphone?

Here's how blogger Guido Fawkes analysed BlackBerry's bizarre week: "Blackberry PR must be in turmoil, gone from being weapon of choice of business execs to weapon of choice for looters." On Tuesday morning, tech specialist @mikebutcher told BBC Radio 4 Today that mobile phones have become "weaponised" and that group messaging systems are "the thug-finding Guttenberg press." Eek!

Tuesday 9 August 2011

London riots: Hackney erupts

Upskirt footage from Monday night's battle for Mare Street:

Via Prog Porn

Subway: Society's over

The Manc branch of Subway won't be back in 5 minutes. They are quitting the planet.

Via @xsophmayx (Twitpic)

The Nando's generation


I've spent the last two days knee-deep in the coverage of the London riots. I've read lots of explanations as to why the kids are revolting. Below, is the one I find the most convincing. It's from author Clive Bloom at The Financial Times:
"the spread of riots ... is exclusively a function of economics, not racial tension. These are events devoid of political intent: they have little in common with the student violence earlier this year, except their use of social media as an organisational tool – although this time by the disenfranchised poor, rather than the educated, politically aware white elite. These are riots marked out by the looting of Foot Locker and Nando’s – the shopping places of Britain’s new underclass. Those who have grown in a world where social identity comes from consumption find themselves barred in times of economic hardship, except by theft."

Taking candy from a baby

Some of the YouTube vids from the London riots make for hard viewing. It's tough to watch kids burning down their own futures. There's one that's particularly upsetting. Why? It oozes evil. In it an injured and disorientated young man is seen being 'helped' to his feet by rioters. As blood pours out of his nose they proceed to rob him. How low can you go? This low:

Via The Periscope Post

Quote of the day: Stringer says 'fallback'

Here's what Idris Elba AKA Stringer Bell of The Wire has to say about the London riots:

“London Come on!! This aint it!! Fallback from this shit!!”

Good on at least one role for model stepping up to the plate.

Via Twitter

Don't mind me

Remember, not all people in beige chinos and blazers are scaredy-cats. In fact, some are completely and utterly unflappable.

Via http://thewestlondoner.files.wordpress.com

I'm looking but no-one's wearing brogues

A wrong turn into Totting-ham ...

Thursday 4 August 2011

A Concerto for Football

There's less than two weeks to go until QPR once again grace the top division of English football. What better a time to flag up diehard superhoop fan Michael Nyman's achingly beautiful A Concerto for Football. Re-live 1991 at Loftus Road right here, right now:

Massive props to Mr Xan Blacker (complete with trade union chic orange wooly hat) for the appearance on 5.28.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

F.C.R.B. Midnight Football

F.C.R.B. (Football Club Real Bristol) is a oh-so-trendy label which makes upmarket garms inspired by footy or for footy. It's impossible to get hold of in the UK (as far as I know) but is still a staple of the UK streetwear blogs. They've just released their Midnight Football pack. It's designed for, well, playing football at midnight. Handy. Ish.

A+ for Engineered Garments

Engineered Garments clobber is quite superb. I'm a huge fan of almost all of it. Inventory Stockroom have just received a drop of the latest line. The rust-coloured Bedford jacket (one they do every season) really stands out. I also love the white work shirt they've had in for a while. The two would go great together.