Well, it's the Blog Roundup, so it must be Thursday. The pulse of the London Blogtinuum has gently been returning to normal over the past week, with the exception of the continued discussion and analysis of the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian electrician who was shot eight times by the Police at Stockwell station last Friday.
When dealing with matters Stockwell, there's really only one place to turn: OnionBagBlog. We've been meaning to get around to OnionBagBlog for a while, but Al Qaeda repeatedly thwarted our little plan. Still, better late than having to dash for the train, thus violating the new "shoot to kill" policy for running in tunnels.
The media spotlight that swung onto Stockwell after last week's killing didn't exactly show south London in the best possible light, and in response the OnionBag Blogger has launched a concerted and thorough effort to extol the charms of his home. Which makes for great reading and a timely reminder to Hampstead-based media types that they shouldn't automatically write off a London district simply because it has a branch of Costcutter and a "Guard Your Phone!" sign in the Tube station.
Continued after the jump ...
To begin with, there's the Seven Wonders of South London. Brixton, for instance, has got a windmill. Has Islington got a windmill? I think not. Not to mention Battersea Power Station. Has Alexandra Palace ever appeared on the cover of the Pink Floyd album? Is that the sound of crickets?
Talking of cricket, what about the Oval? Has St John's Wood got a legendary cricketing venue? Oh, hang on, it has. Still, you get Londonist's point. There's nothing more entertaining to read on a London blog than a spot of local pride, especially if it tells you things you never knew before, such as the fact that if you stand on your tiptoes in the gents' loos at Herne Hill Velodrome, you get a perfect view of the track.
(Speaking of local pride, this Pimlico-based Londonista loved this post about our local cab shelter.)
There's a serious point to all this as well, and that makes the OnionBagBlog more than just a collection of local oddments. Mr Onion is rightly distressed and pissed off at the routine neglect that much of south London gets from The Man - The Man in this case being Kate Hoey - and this lends his blog a campaigning air. Did I mention that it's funny as well? Anyway, if you feel like abusing your internet privileges for a couple of hours and a heady blend of sport, photography, anarchist politics and paeans to the Beautiful Sarf appeal, then check it out.
Another Stockwell blog that's regularly updated with interesting stuff is Gia. For instance, here's a post (written before the facts were known, it should be said) about the effect the killing at Stockwell had on one kitten's testicles.
A further shout-out that was delayed by the machinations of Al-Qaeda and the killing of Mr De Menezes is to James of Short Term Memory Loss, who gave us a nice virtual tour of the London Litblogs scene. Apparently these are blogs devoted to "literature", which is something quite new and involves taking stuff that is normally written on the web and inking it onto pulped sheets of dead tree material. Outlandish and freaky though "literature" may seem - it's full of women called George and men called Evelyn, fercryinoutloud - the litblogging scene has been getting a fair amount of press attention, and our fair city would seem to be its UK epicentre.
Here are some of James' recommendations, starting of course with his own litblog, which he says is "obsessed with unpopular books and dirty London bookshops (and unpopular shops and dirty books)". This week he reveals where to get three books for £2, and you can't say fairer than that. Also, check out this great post about the work of artist Tom Phillips.
Flicking on a few pages, we come to Four-Eyed Bitch (opening image a shade NSFW if you work surrounded by prudes), which is a "Stoke Newington-based roundup of literary events and gateway to the lovely Suicide Notes site". It's also great reading, but sadly direct linking to posts seems to be either forbidden, impossible, or beyond Londonist's navigation skills. However, any site that tells Julie Burchill to "shut up" gets a gold star:
Do what you do best: staying up all night, eating biscuits and crying, you fat rent-a-completely-predictably-'perverse'-opinion. Did this woman ever have anything relevant to say?
Also included: Analysis of the Sweet Valley High series and links to a collection of inscriptions found in second-hand books. It's a must-click.
Next up, the London News Review's Books Diary - "Sporadically updated but frequently hilarious". If you missed these fake Penguin covers in the Line, first time round, they're all archived here.
Last but not least, the Buzzwords blog - "Excellent linkage from the mostly Londonista 3AM Magazine". It's a linkfest in the manner of Things rather than being jam-packed with content, but you could happily spend a whole day browsing using Buzzwords as a portal. (Again, some images slightly NSFW IYWSBP.)
That's it for this week. In the manner of our little litblog roundup, if you plough a specialist furrow - be it sports, food, basket-weaving, Satanism, the films of Russ Meyer, radio, neck injuries or bicycle repair - and know of others like you, drop Londonist a line and we'll see if we can shove a referral or two your way. All we ask is that all blogs are London-based. We have to draw the line somewhere, as the actress once said to the Boundary Commission.
