For just £3 you get access to an exhibition of unique, illustrated cotton bags (on sale, of course), created by 20 Japanese and UK artists, screenings of the original and uncut Godzilla and Toshio Matsumoto’s The Funeral Parade of Roses, and DJ sets from Jerry Bouthier, Sigmund Kraftwerk, David Andersson and Younger Than Me.

A ‘VIP’ ticket for £35, on the hand, gets you all the above but also drinks and a tasting menu from Marylebone restaurant Dinings. Some of the dishes on offer sound amazing: char-grilled Iberian pork with Korean spicy miso, soft shell crab sushi roll, seabass carpaccio with truffle salsa and ponzu jelly… These tickets are limited so don’t hang about if you want one.

Ichi-Ni-San (1-2-3), A Day for Japan, is on 20th August at The Russian Club, 340-344 Kingsland Road. Doors open at 1.30pm, tasting menu is available 6.30-8pm, tickets £3 / £35.

Bag design by Postics, available to buy on the day

This Week In London’s History

• Monday – 4th April 1896: The new premises for the National Portrait Gallery (next to the National Gallery by Trafalgar Square) open their doors for the first time.
• Tuesday – 5th April 1821: The newly rebuilt St Paul’s Church in Shadwell (a.k.a. the ‘Church of Sea Captains’) is consecrated.
• Wednesday – 6th April 1580: An earthquake, later estimated at a Richter magnitude between 5.3 and 5.9, causes the only recorded London fatalities to be attributed to such an occurrence.
• Thursday – 7th April 1779: The Reverend James Hackman follows Martha Ray, a singer and the mistress of the 4th Earl of Sandwich, to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. When she leaves the theatre after the performance, Hackman shoots her dead, seemingly out of jealousy.
• Friday – 8th April 1908: Edward VII appoints Herbert Asquith as Prime Minister, following the resignation of his predecessor, Henry Cambell-Bannerman, due to ill health.

London Quote Of The Week

London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years.

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

View from the restaurant at the top of the National Portrait Gallery captured by tomdanvers via the Londonist Flickr pool.

• Acclaimed pianist Noriko Ogawa will give a special concert at Kings Place on Wednesday 30th March, 7.30pm. The repertoire will cover Western classics and Japanese pieces, including one played on Myochin Hibashi (metal chopsticks) which are made of pure steel, normally used to cast Japanese samurai swords (£29.50 / £39.50 / £49.50).
• On a less classical note, the Cuban Brothers, DJ Yoda and Barry Ashworth from the Dub Pistols are DJing down the Old Queen’s Head in Islington on Thursday (8pm-2am, £5).
• God Don’t Like It are curating a night at the Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen on 10th April. Bo Ningen, Comanechi and The Catcher Nine play live, tickets are £7.50.
• Pure Evil Prints are selling a tsunami print for £100+£8 shipping.
• Bloggers for Japan are holding a sale and silent auction at the Horatio on Holloway Road, between 1-5pm on 26th March. Lots so far include signed books, clothes, stationery and jewellery.
• The Charity Print Auctions Flickr group has over 200 photos to bid on – auction closes 7pm tomorrow.

And as you’d expect, the Japan Centre are collecting donations via their website and in the Lower Regent Street store.

In addition, Soundcrash at XOYO on 21st May will be donating all proceeds to an earthquake relief fund. They’re working with Tokyo resident DJ Kentaro, who’s playing the night, to figure out where the money will do most good (£10 / £15).

Don’t just pray for Japan, give some money / image by Massimo Usai, from the Londonist Flickr pool

The match switched hemispheres following the earthquake in Christchurch which damaged the Crusaders’ stadium. The high profile game will be part of a major fundraising weekend for the Red Cross earthquake appeal with £5 from every ticket sold going to the charity.

A memorial service for victims of the Christchurch earthquake will take place before the fixture at midday in Westminster Abbey.

The Super Rugby match is on Sunday, 27 March at 4pm. Tickets are available online now at £50, £40 and £30. Tickets for under 16s are half price in all areas.

The British Red Cross is also running a Japan Tsunami appeal and a Libya relief appeal. A donation to their general fund will help people in crisis wherever they are.

Image of Twickenham rugby statue by doug88888 via the Londonist Flickrpool

This Week In London’s History

• Monday – 7th March 1969: The Victoria Line is officially opened by the Queen, in a ceremony at Victoria Station. Intended as a fast, congestion-relieving alternative to other lines (such as the Piccadilly Line), the line makes significant use of ‘cross-platform interchanges’ to help with changing lines.
• Tuesday – 8th March 1750: London experiences a minor earthquake, one month to the day after a previous similar quake, causing superstitious concern that another such event would be experienced on April 8th. It would be the last recorded earthquake with a London epicentre (so far).
• Wednesday – 9th March 1994: In the first of three unsuccessful attacks, the IRA fires five mortars into the grounds of Heathrow airport. None of the mortars explode.
• Thursday – 10th March 1906: The ‘Baker Street & Waterloo Railway’ opens, running between Baker Street and Elephant & Castle stations. It would soon become known as the Bakerloo Line.
• Friday – 11th March 1692: The Royal Chelsea Hospital is founded by Charles II. Designed by Christopher Wren, the hospital would also become the model for Greenwich’s Royal Naval Hospital.

London Quote Of The Week

A mighty mass of brick and smoke and shipping,
Dirty and dusky, but wide as eye
Could reach, with here and there a sail just skipping
In sight, then lost amid the forestry
Of masts; a wilderness of steeples peeping
On tiptoe, through the sea-coal canopy;
A huge, dun cupola, like a foolscap crown
On a fool’s head — and there is London Town!

Lord Byron, Don Juan

Picture by edscoble via the Londonist Flickr pool.

To most Londoners, the threat of an earthquake probably ranks about as likely as a giant mothra attack. But, says Roger Musson of the British Geological Survey, we’re long overdue a potentially lethal wobble.

Speaking at the British Science Festival at Aston University, Dr Musson explained that a minor fault under the Straits of Dover had previously caused damaging quakes in 1382 and 1580. According to an unreferenced note on Wikipedia, two children were killed in the latter, which has been estimated at magnitude 5.5.

“While the next earthquake would not be a disaster on an international scale, it will come as an unpleasant shock for a country that tends to think itself immune from earthquakes,” says Musson. Most modern buildings would be unaffected. But there could be severe damage to London’s huge stock of Victorian and Georgian buildings, many of which are propped and patched into stability. You’ve been warned.

Crunching the Londonist numbers of last week and seeing what picture is revealed…

40 million pounds estimated asking price to purchase troubled Liberty

5 managers so far this season for QPR: fifth time lucky?

205 jobs threatened at Kings College London (KCL) – and KCL staff threaten strike action in counterpoint

14 million pound facelift for Piccadilly Circus (but Eros gets to stay)

5 + 40 + 205 X 14 = 3,500 which is an enigmatic snapshot of an enigmatic stencil graffito, snapped enigmatically ‘through my sunglasses’ by Katcha in the Londonist Flickr pool.

This Week In London’s History

• Monday – 8th March 1750: London experiences a minor earthquake, one month to the day after a previous similar quake, causing superstitious concern that another such event would be experienced on April 8th. It would be the last recorded earthquake with a London epicentre (so far).

Random London Quote Of The Week

Hell is a city much like London—

A populous and a smoky city;

There are all sorts of people undone,

And there is little or no fun done;

Small justice shown, and still less pity.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

This Week In London’s History

• Monday – 9th February 1996: The IRA detonates a massive bomb near South Quay DLR station, just south of Canary Wharf. The explosion kills two men working in a nearby newsagents shop and causes £85 million worth of damage to surrounding buildings and infrastructure.

Random London Quote Of The Week

What is London? Clean, commodious, neat; but, a very few things indeed excepted, an endless addition of littleness to littleness, extending itself over a great tract of land.

Edmund Burke, letter to the Rev. Robert Dodge, 1792

London’s Weather This Week

The forecasters think that the current rain will be replaced by some sunshine mid-week. But, unsurprisingly, it will remain quite cold.

Picture taken from alexliivet’s Flickr photostream under the Creative Commons Attribution licence.

Fortunately, there are as yet no news reports of the sky tumbling down.

No, it wasn’t a case of a bad couple of pints you got at the pub yesterday evening, nor was it the magnitude of the moment you were sharing with that special someone – the earth literally did move last night.

Registering in at a 5.3, according to the British Geological Survey, it is the largest earthquake the UK has experienced since 1984. Centred in Lincolnshire but felt throughout much of England and parts of Wales, the quake started shortly before 1am and lasted a mere 10 seconds – long enough, however, to leave people – sorry – all shook up. With the exception of a man in South Yorkshire who suffered leg injuries when his chimney collapsed, all other reports fortunately seem to be of nothing more serious than shaken nerves.

Here at Londonist Towers, this Londonista was just slipping off into semiconsciousness and dreams of Never Never Land at the time of the quake. As the building rattled, we had the distinct thought, This sort of maybe feels like what an earthquake might feel like if I we had any idea what an earthquake would feel like (okay, so maybe it wasn’t so distinct). In the end, we just attributed the shaking to a really good party going on in the flat above ours. There are always really good parties going on at all hours of the night at Londonist Towers.

How about all of you out there? Did the earth move last night for our Londonist readers?

Shibboleth pic courtesy of I.chaplin’s flickrstream via the Londonist Flickr pool

]]>

Fortunately, there are as yet no news reports of the sky tumbling down.

No, it wasn’t a case of a bad couple of pints you got at the pub yesterday evening, nor was it the magnitude of the moment you were sharing with that special someone – the earth literally did move last night.

Registering in at a 5.3, according to the British Geological Survey, it is the largest earthquake the UK has experienced since 1984. Centred in Lincolnshire but felt throughout much of England and parts of Wales, the quake started shortly before 1am and lasted a mere 10 seconds – long enough, however, to leave people – sorry – all shook up. With the exception of a man in South Yorkshire who suffered leg injuries when his chimney collapsed, all other reports fortunately seem to be of nothing more serious than shaken nerves.

Here at Londonist Towers, this Londonista was just slipping off into semiconsciousness and dreams of Never Never Land at the time of the quake. As the building rattled, we had the distinct thought, This sort of maybe feels like what an earthquake might feel like if I we had any idea what an earthquake would feel like (okay, so maybe it wasn’t so distinct). In the end, we just attributed the shaking to a really good party going on in the flat above ours. There are always really good parties going on at all hours of the night at Londonist Towers.

How about all of you out there? Did the earth move last night for our Londonist readers?

Shibboleth pic courtesy of I.chaplin’s flickrstream via the Londonist Flickr pool

]]> http://londonist.com/2008/02/i_feel_the_eart.php/feed 0 http://londonist.com/2008/02/monday_miscella_91.php http://londonist.com/2008/02/monday_miscella_91.php#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:40:09 +0000 Dave http://londonist.com/?p=7985

This Week In London’s History

• Monday – 11th February 1826: The University of London is founded. It would later be known as University College London (or UCL).

Random London Fact Of The Week

We may have briefly mentioned before that, until 1996, there was a fully operational nuclear reactor housed within the Royal Naval College buildings in Greenwich.

Codenamed JASON, the reactor was originally installed in the college’s King William Building in the 60s, for the purpose of training naval personnel in the area of nuclear propulsion. In 1996, in preparation for the sale of the building to non-military ownership, the reactor was shut down and a 3-year decommissioning plan was put into place.

By all accounts, this was not to be a trivial job. In 1995, the Independent wrote:

The reactor… has been operational in Greenwich – which proclaims itself a nuclear-free zone – since 1963. Its weapons-grade uranium is 90 per cent enriched – 30 times more radioactive than that used in commercial reactors. “It’s incredibly radioactive fuel,” says Mr Large, an expert in nuclear systems. “It’s not a power reactor, it’s more like a neutron radiation facility. It’s a very potent piece of radioactivity in the middle of a civilian area. To move it would be quite an undertaking.”

However it was successfully decommissioned, and the reactor (along with 270 tonnes of radioactive waste and 300 tonnes of steel and concrete cladding) was removed by the end of 1999. The full scale of the decommissioning project is documented here.

London’s Weather This Week

At least for the first part of this week, the forecasters promise that it will be dry and bright (if somewhat chilly and foggy at night). Make the most of the sunshine.

Picture courtesy of Fin Fahey’s Flickr photostream.

Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the city’s Congonhas airport in wet weather, then raced over a very heavily-trafficked avenue during rush hour, before crashing into a gas station.

For Gothamist, New York City’s aging infrastructure caused a huge steam pipe explosion in Midtown Manhattan that killed one, left two seriously injured and injured at least forty others. But in lighter news, Whole Foods’ release of the “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” caused fights amongst eco-trend-seekers. Speaking of eco-trends, congestion pricing was kind of approved to move forward in the Big Apple. NY State finally sued Exxon-Mobil for the mid-century Brooklyn oil spill that was about twice the size of the Exxon Valdez spill. And Gothamist has videos of their conversations with the manager and residents of the famous Hotel Chelsea.

SFist woke up to a minor jolt Friday morning, care of a 4.2 earthquake along the nervously-monitored Hayward fault, but what’s really shaking the city is theorange-laced anticipation of Barry Bonds inching closer to more record-breaking behavior. Other behavior includes VVM publication SF Weekly‘s dismissal of their web editor, Matt Stroud – SFist has the post that booted him out of said position. And speaking of controversial posts, the Propaganda III art exhibit had many arguing about freedom of speech, racism, anti-Semitism, and other precious topics of debate. Also, local SF Supes Chris Daly and Bevan Dufty almost throw down, one automobile owner’s desperate plea for a crime-free life, and SFist alum Derrick (“Obsession With Food” scribe) moves on to glory via his cover story in the Chronicle’s wine section. SFist couldn’t be more proud. Sob.

Londonist celebrated their Britishness this week. Their inner toffs were liberated at the Chap Olympiad, at which the upper classes compete for “golden bowler hats” in events such as umbrella hockey and “slap the bounder.” What-ho. They also attended a discussion evening in a ladies restroom – or “toilet,” to use the local lingo. Meanwhile, with the Transformers movie on the way to the UK, London’s cab drivers have been converting their motors into giant pink rabbits. And a new graffiti artist was in town, decorating London’s walls with 22 stencils of Lennon, Jagger and other musical icons. Londonist has got it all mapped.

Torontoist joyously recapped Conrad Black’s case, enjoyed a literally-interpreted billboard, gleefully discovered their readers’ comments on the scaffolding of Sassafraz, the city’s biggest celeb magnet, celebrated buildings with balls (not literally – that’d be weird), and launched Panoramaist, a new feature of VR panoramas that are really, really sweet. As usual, the good came not without a heavy dose of bad, as impending cuts to the city’s transit system had them grumbly the entire week.

The folks at Houstonist spent their week pondering life’s little questions – you know, like why Americans seem to need acres of public storage, why their city is a total sausage fest, and what, exactly, scared them about the ’80s. Speaking of conundrums, how about the old problem of maintaining your figure while getting hammered? Save that tip – you’ll need it when you hear about the Tammy Faye Bakker musical. No, seriously.

LAist hunted down Optimus Prime’s Sister at Nakatomi Plaza (setting of the original Die Hard movie). Even though Downtown LA was destroyed in Transformers, they are prepared, thanks to losing weight and getting fit in the most hardcore way: CrossFit. Not only can they now kick butt, but for light exercise in a town where supposedly nobody walks, they found out how walkable Los Angeles really is, which allows them to continue on their journey of photographing all 170+ neighborhoods in their city. However, walking doesn’t always allow for Suicide Girls and Catholic School Girl parties, but Hollywood movie parties do!

The dark mood that has somehow descended upon the Harry Potter franchise seems to have affected Bostonist‘s beloved Red Sox this week. On the bright side, Massachusetts residents might experience the joys of the Geico gecko, former governor Mitt Romney feels pretty, and Bostonist had the opportunity to enjoy the “best worst movie” ever.

Phillyist wondered why nobody says hello anymore and half-mourned/half-celebrated their baseball franchise’s most recent dubious achievement. They also fell in love this week – with an FM radio station, a Scottish rock band, and a movie remake. Local rockstar Jon Bon Jovi isn’t happy, but one Phillyist staffer, relying upon the kindness of strangers, is. And emo kids might finally clean up their acts. Yeah, right.

DCist was feeling a little silly this week, what with the talk of the town being the planned statue of former Mayor Marion Barry, to be included a “Scandal Room” in the soon-to-open D.C. Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, alongside Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. They also noticed a hilarious, unintentionally filthy-sounding headline at the Washington Post and pondered the merits of putting strip clubs underground. In between their laughter, they also took time out to note Mayor Adrian Fenty’s plan to appeal the recent verdict of the city’s handgun ban to the Supreme Court, and calm everyone’s fears by finding out that a historic movie theater isn’t really closing after all.

Curious about what’s going on across the rest of the Ist-A-Verse? Check out this week’s reader favorites in Chicago, Seattle, and Shanghai!

Sao Paulo photo via Flickr user Nana-Chan. NYC photo via Flickr user ~Raymond. Chap Olympiad photo via Londonist. Harry Potter fan pic by SFist Jer.

]]> This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it’s important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities.

Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the city’s Congonhas airport in wet weather, then raced over a very heavily-trafficked avenue during rush hour, before crashing into a gas station.

For Gothamist, New York City’s aging infrastructure caused a huge steam pipe explosion in Midtown Manhattan that killed one, left two seriously injured and injured at least forty others. But in lighter news, Whole Foods’ release of the “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” caused fights amongst eco-trend-seekers. Speaking of eco-trends, congestion pricing was kind of approved to move forward in the Big Apple. NY State finally sued Exxon-Mobil for the mid-century Brooklyn oil spill that was about twice the size of the Exxon Valdez spill. And Gothamist has videos of their conversations with the manager and residents of the famous Hotel Chelsea.

SFist woke up to a minor jolt Friday morning, care of a 4.2 earthquake along the nervously-monitored Hayward fault, but what’s really shaking the city is theorange-laced anticipation of Barry Bonds inching closer to more record-breaking behavior. Other behavior includes VVM publication SF Weekly‘s dismissal of their web editor, Matt Stroud – SFist has the post that booted him out of said position. And speaking of controversial posts, the Propaganda III art exhibit had many arguing about freedom of speech, racism, anti-Semitism, and other precious topics of debate. Also, local SF Supes Chris Daly and Bevan Dufty almost throw down, one automobile owner’s desperate plea for a crime-free life, and SFist alum Derrick (“Obsession With Food” scribe) moves on to glory via his cover story in the Chronicle’s wine section. SFist couldn’t be more proud. Sob.

Londonist celebrated their Britishness this week. Their inner toffs were liberated at the Chap Olympiad, at which the upper classes compete for “golden bowler hats” in events such as umbrella hockey and “slap the bounder.” What-ho. They also attended a discussion evening in a ladies restroom – or “toilet,” to use the local lingo. Meanwhile, with the Transformers movie on the way to the UK, London’s cab drivers have been converting their motors into giant pink rabbits. And a new graffiti artist was in town, decorating London’s walls with 22 stencils of Lennon, Jagger and other musical icons. Londonist has got it all mapped.

Torontoist joyously recapped Conrad Black’s case, enjoyed a literally-interpreted billboard, gleefully discovered their readers’ comments on the scaffolding of Sassafraz, the city’s biggest celeb magnet, celebrated buildings with balls (not literally – that’d be weird), and launched Panoramaist, a new feature of VR panoramas that are really, really sweet. As usual, the good came not without a heavy dose of bad, as impending cuts to the city’s transit system had them grumbly the entire week.

The folks at Houstonist spent their week pondering life’s little questions – you know, like why Americans seem to need acres of public storage, why their city is a total sausage fest, and what, exactly, scared them about the ’80s. Speaking of conundrums, how about the old problem of maintaining your figure while getting hammered? Save that tip – you’ll need it when you hear about the Tammy Faye Bakker musical. No, seriously.

LAist hunted down Optimus Prime’s Sister at Nakatomi Plaza (setting of the original Die Hard movie). Even though Downtown LA was destroyed in Transformers, they are prepared, thanks to losing weight and getting fit in the most hardcore way: CrossFit. Not only can they now kick butt, but for light exercise in a town where supposedly nobody walks, they found out how walkable Los Angeles really is, which allows them to continue on their journey of photographing all 170+ neighborhoods in their city. However, walking doesn’t always allow for Suicide Girls and Catholic School Girl parties, but Hollywood movie parties do!

The dark mood that has somehow descended upon the Harry Potter franchise seems to have affected Bostonist‘s beloved Red Sox this week. On the bright side, Massachusetts residents might experience the joys of the Geico gecko, former governor Mitt Romney feels pretty, and Bostonist had the opportunity to enjoy the “best worst movie” ever.

Phillyist wondered why nobody says hello anymore and half-mourned/half-celebrated their baseball franchise’s most recent dubious achievement. They also fell in love this week – with an FM radio station, a Scottish rock band, and a movie remake. Local rockstar Jon Bon Jovi isn’t happy, but one Phillyist staffer, relying upon the kindness of strangers, is. And emo kids might finally clean up their acts. Yeah, right.

DCist was feeling a little silly this week, what with the talk of the town being the planned statue of former Mayor Marion Barry, to be included a “Scandal Room” in the soon-to-open D.C. Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, alongside Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. They also noticed a hilarious, unintentionally filthy-sounding headline at the Washington Post and pondered the merits of putting strip clubs underground. In between their laughter, they also took time out to note Mayor Adrian Fenty’s plan to appeal the recent verdict of the city’s handgun ban to the Supreme Court, and calm everyone’s fears by finding out that a historic movie theater isn’t really closing after all.

Curious about what’s going on across the rest of the Ist-A-Verse? Check out this week’s reader favorites in Chicago, Seattle, and Shanghai!

Sao Paulo photo via Flickr user Nana-Chan. NYC photo via Flickr user ~Raymond. Chap Olympiad photo via Londonist. Harry Potter fan pic by SFist Jer.

]]> http://londonist.com/2007/07/elsewhere_in_th_28.php/feed 0 http://londonist.com/2007/01/news_from_aroun_9.php http://londonist.com/2007/01/news_from_aroun_9.php#comments Sun, 07 Jan 2007 05:32:27 +0000 sizemore http://londonist.com/?p=5102

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to.

In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend Vince Young (Hook ‘Em!) named NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year (albeit not in Austin), Playboy—which we only read for the articles—naming Austin’s Emo’s one of America’s Top Ten Rock Clubs, and a hip Austin neighborhood, once home to junkies and prostitutes, named one of America’s most eco-friendly.

Chicagoist was all about the verbs this week. They debated whether Playboy‘s pick for Chicago’s best live music venue was right or wrong, defended their city’s poor disaster preparedness rating from the Department of Homeland Security, giggled over the reportage of a New Year’s Eve party gone out of bounds, wondered if a Chicago branch of guerilla knitters had descended upon the city, and worried over the Rex Grossman problem affecting our Chicago Bears.

Phillyist found puppy love—or infatuation, made a few predictions for 2007, contemplated the execution of Saddam Hussein, and struggled to get home. They strongly recommend both books and short films about giraffes, but suggest you steer clear of this very unpleasant bathroom experience.

Torontoist‘s commenters were keeping themselves busy this week—but how could they resist, with posts like this interview with a local condo king, a call for suggestions and comments for the city’s new transportation leader, a really large shawarma as a publicity stunt, thoughts on the best and worst of 2006, and a crew of rebel huggers?

Gothamist covered the rescue that everyone’s talking about, and showed what good karma the rescuer’s feeling—we’re sending some his way, too. They also let us know that Park Slope might not be as safe as we thought, but it’s still probably cleaner than Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Morrissey insulted a New York institution, but maybe he can make it up to them by gently stroking the concierge’s hair.

This week, DCist took a close look at why there is a monument to the founder of homeopathy, was holding its breath with anticipation at the thought of getting voting rights soon, caught its mayor in an awkward situation and asked readers to caption the photo, and discussed their mayor’s new takeover plan of their public school system.

SFist writer Matty Matt caught a bus confrontation on tape, and landed him—and SFist—on TV. Meanwhile, a mother-son team got arrested for pimping. And SFist Christina interviewed Lisa Congdon, who’s doing a very good thing for the Kim Family.

Londonist can’t stop raving about their city’s fireworks, and (this is a quote, we swear) would fancy having a go at the police’s latest PR exercise. The Tower of London has its first female beefeater, which is awesome. Paying nearly $5 (US) for a bottle of water, however, is not. And it’s been a happy, happy week for pop star Lily Allen: her dog, Maggie May, is home, safe and sound.

LAist presents us with the story of a relationship told through traffic signs, a review of a concert we wish we were at, the saga of an important record store that may be forced to close soon, and last week’s Tournament of Roses Parade—a.k.a. this week’s compost heap.

Parisist informs us that the French love their protests—including the arrival of the new year. (It still came.) An old Nazi stronghold and current government building is apparently worth more than Notre Dame and the Louvre combined. And we’re totally jealous, because apparently, once upon a time, New Year’s Day meant even more presents.

Bostonist is shocked—shocked, they say!—that their great state may bring a gay marriage ban to a vote. The low cost bus taking Bostonians to New York, and New Yorkers to Boston has a couple screws loose, but New Yorkers can save their $15 (for a ride on the Fung Wah) and quit trying to rename Boston’s neighborhoods. And tourists, visitors, and regular riders beware! MBTA fares have gone up and the fare structure is a little bit wacky.

Shanghaiist has been a little light on posting lately due to earthquake-related cable damage, but it hasn’t kept them from searching for sugar-free beverages, and reporting on Metro-themed ringtones, meat on a stick, and The Curse of the Golden Cleavage Flower.

Seattlest suggested how you might rid yourselves of your holiday buttermilk and interviewed the author of Vanishing Seattle. Speaking of books, Seattle’s publishing scene has been hit. Seattlest has some dating advice for Carrie Underwood and, while they’re handing out free advice, really thinks your kid should be wearing a helmet.

]]>

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to.

In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend Vince Young (Hook ‘Em!) named NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year (albeit not in Austin), Playboy—which we only read for the articles—naming Austin’s Emo’s one of America’s Top Ten Rock Clubs, and a hip Austin neighborhood, once home to junkies and prostitutes, named one of America’s most eco-friendly.

Chicagoist was all about the verbs this week. They debated whether Playboy‘s pick for Chicago’s best live music venue was right or wrong, defended their city’s poor disaster preparedness rating from the Department of Homeland Security, giggled over the reportage of a New Year’s Eve party gone out of bounds, wondered if a Chicago branch of guerilla knitters had descended upon the city, and worried over the Rex Grossman problem affecting our Chicago Bears.

Phillyist found puppy love—or infatuation, made a few predictions for 2007, contemplated the execution of Saddam Hussein, and struggled to get home. They strongly recommend both books and short films about giraffes, but suggest you steer clear of this very unpleasant bathroom experience.

Torontoist‘s commenters were keeping themselves busy this week—but how could they resist, with posts like this interview with a local condo king, a call for suggestions and comments for the city’s new transportation leader, a really large shawarma as a publicity stunt, thoughts on the best and worst of 2006, and a crew of rebel huggers?

Gothamist covered the rescue that everyone’s talking about, and showed what good karma the rescuer’s feeling—we’re sending some his way, too. They also let us know that Park Slope might not be as safe as we thought, but it’s still probably cleaner than Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Morrissey insulted a New York institution, but maybe he can make it up to them by gently stroking the concierge’s hair.

This week, DCist took a close look at why there is a monument to the founder of homeopathy, was holding its breath with anticipation at the thought of getting voting rights soon, caught its mayor in an awkward situation and asked readers to caption the photo, and discussed their mayor’s new takeover plan of their public school system.

SFist writer Matty Matt caught a bus confrontation on tape, and landed him—and SFist—on TV. Meanwhile, a mother-son team got arrested for pimping. And SFist Christina interviewed Lisa Congdon, who’s doing a very good thing for the Kim Family.

Londonist can’t stop raving about their city’s fireworks, and (this is a quote, we swear) would fancy having a go at the police’s latest PR exercise. The Tower of London has its first female beefeater, which is awesome. Paying nearly $5 (US) for a bottle of water, however, is not. And it’s been a happy, happy week for pop star Lily Allen: her dog, Maggie May, is home, safe and sound.

LAist presents us with the story of a relationship told through traffic signs, a review of a concert we wish we were at, the saga of an important record store that may be forced to close soon, and last week’s Tournament of Roses Parade—a.k.a. this week’s compost heap.

Parisist informs us that the French love their protests—including the arrival of the new year. (It still came.) An old Nazi stronghold and current government building is apparently worth more than Notre Dame and the Louvre combined. And we’re totally jealous, because apparently, once upon a time, New Year’s Day meant even more presents.

Bostonist is shocked—shocked, they say!—that their great state may bring a gay marriage ban to a vote. The low cost bus taking Bostonians to New York, and New Yorkers to Boston has a couple screws loose, but New Yorkers can save their $15 (for a ride on the Fung Wah) and quit trying to rename Boston’s neighborhoods. And tourists, visitors, and regular riders beware! MBTA fares have gone up and the fare structure is a little bit wacky.

Shanghaiist has been a little light on posting lately due to earthquake-related cable damage, but it hasn’t kept them from searching for sugar-free beverages, and reporting on Metro-themed ringtones, meat on a stick, and The Curse of the Golden Cleavage Flower.

Seattlest suggested how you might rid yourselves of your holiday buttermilk and interviewed the author of Vanishing Seattle. Speaking of books, Seattle’s publishing scene has been hit. Seattlest has some dating advice for Carrie Underwood and, while they’re handing out free advice, really thinks your kid should be wearing a helmet.

]]> http://londonist.com/2007/01/news_from_aroun_9.php/feed 0 http://londonist.com/2006/02/city_reduced_to.php http://londonist.com/2006/02/city_reduced_to.php#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:52:38 +0000 M@ http://londonist.com/?p=2815

Alas, Londonist never got to visit the biscuit city deep in the bowels of Selfridges. Nor did we witness the desperate scramble and crumb-laden aftermath as the edible artwork was scoffed yesterday.

It all sounds rather bonkers.

Once the first building was toppled, there was no stopping the ravenous audience. Within a few minutes the edible high-rise business district had gone the way of the shortbread and wafer Forbidden City.

And the following quote from artist Song Dong would make a fine entry for the Bulwar Lytton prize:

“I love it when the audience begins to eat,” said Song as the bread-stick and Jammy Dodger telecommunications tower went crashing to the ground.

During the fun and games, Song explained the purpose behind his art:

“It is about the transitory nature of our lives,” continued Song. “In Asia now, cities grow up in a day. You remember the city one way, and then it is gone.”

A worthy sentiment, no doubt made with solemn dignity amidst a crowd of drooling jammy-dodger-hurling cookie monsters. Sounds like things were nearly called off when health and safety spoilsports questioned the wisdom of eating three-day-old fig rolls.

Mr Song was having none of it. “Eat!” he demanded.

And they did, reducing the sugary cityscape to a heap of crumb and spittle.

A wilderness of crumbled carbohydrate replaced what had been great boulevards lined with Rich Tea and Hob Nob. It was as if an earthquake registering nine on the Richter Scale had interrupted high tea.

Next week, Damien Hirst carves an oil rig out of porcine offal and encourages public consumption.

Over on Channel Four right now Jon Snow is discussing yet another top ten list – this one is a little more interesting than most as it’s been compiled by one of Britain’s leading experts in disaster management to assess the major risks facing this country. Just to get you in the mood for 2006 we thought we’d post the list here… so many interesting ways for us all to go:

1. Gulf Stream Collapse

2. Flu Pandemic

3. London/Thames Estuary Flood Defence Failure

4. Catastrophic Sea-level rise

5. Major Thames Valley/London Winter Storm

6. Strategic Earthquake

7. Climate-perturbing volcanic eruption

8. South-coast Tsunami

9. Sellafield explosion and fallout

10. Nuclear terrorist attack on the City

Good to see the capital representing itself in so many chart positions.

You can click here to see all of the above explained or just put the TV on (careful to avoid Emmerdale).

No word yet on if any of those disasters will be made even more thrilling by the involvement of wolves or Ian Holm.

As we all know, a terrorist attack on London is “inevitable”, which probably means we should be prepared for it.

Thank the Lord then for London Resilience. They may sound like a vigilante guerilla group but they are actually the “strategic partnership that is working to ensure London is prepared for major incidents or catastrophes”.

The group have recently published their Emergency Plan (PDF document) for the city in case of attack, and it turns out that it’s slightly more detailed than “All Londoners please leave by the nearest exit and congregate in the Asda carpark”.

Here’s a few excerpts:

There are different types of emergency apparently, most of which sound like the titles of straight-to-video Charlie Sheen films:

“Sudden Impact – This type of event or situation happens with little or no prior warning. The effects are usually felt immediately and include transportation accidents, utility failure, industrial accidents or acts of terrorism etc.

Rising Tide – This type of event or situation has a lead in time of days, weeks or even months and includes health pandemics, flooding, foot and mouth disease, industrial action etc. The onset can be gradual and the final impact may not always be apparent early on.”

There is, you’ll be glad to know, a provision for requesting military aid in the event of a “Catastrophic Indicent”, however:

“Military resources are not specifically set aside for assisting in a Catastrophic Incident. So any assistance will depend on what assets are available at the time.”

Knowing our luck the army will be on a training exercise on the Norfolk Broads the day the shit hits the fan.

And what about Ken?

“The Mayor of London will act as the ‘voice of London’ in order to provide clear information and guidance to London’s population.”

Ken as the “voice of London”? We can’t decide if that’s a good or a bad thing.

And finally on to the really scary stuff: mass evacuation.

“Mass evacuation will take place by the use of public and private transport. The underground, bus and rail networks will be utilised.”

Oh crap. We’re all doomed. Doomed I tell ya!

“Underground services will arrive empty and pick up at the identified stations and then take passengers non stop to the outer zone Rail Heads. Underground services will not run through the suspended area, (even empty), and they operate at frequencies no greater than those typical during off – peak times.”

Great, what happens if all hell breaks loose on a Sunday evening, will we have to wait 9 minutes at Whitechapel to be evacuated?

There are 46 pages of this stuff over at the London Resilience site if you’re interested. Although watching Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and…erm, The Swarm back to back might be just as useful and much more entertaining.

]]>

As we all know, a terrorist attack on London is “inevitable”, which probably means we should be prepared for it.

Thank the Lord then for London Resilience. They may sound like a vigilante guerilla group but they are actually the “strategic partnership that is working to ensure London is prepared for major incidents or catastrophes”.

The group have recently published their Emergency Plan (PDF document) for the city in case of attack, and it turns out that it’s slightly more detailed than “All Londoners please leave by the nearest exit and congregate in the Asda carpark”.

Here’s a few excerpts:

There are different types of emergency apparently, most of which sound like the titles of straight-to-video Charlie Sheen films:

“Sudden Impact – This type of event or situation happens with little or no prior warning. The effects are usually felt immediately and include transportation accidents, utility failure, industrial accidents or acts of terrorism etc.

Rising Tide – This type of event or situation has a lead in time of days, weeks or even months and includes health pandemics, flooding, foot and mouth disease, industrial action etc. The onset can be gradual and the final impact may not always be apparent early on.”

There is, you’ll be glad to know, a provision for requesting military aid in the event of a “Catastrophic Indicent”, however:

“Military resources are not specifically set aside for assisting in a Catastrophic Incident. So any assistance will depend on what assets are available at the time.”

Knowing our luck the army will be on a training exercise on the Norfolk Broads the day the shit hits the fan.

And what about Ken?

“The Mayor of London will act as the ‘voice of London’ in order to provide clear information and guidance to London’s population.”

Ken as the “voice of London”? We can’t decide if that’s a good or a bad thing.

And finally on to the really scary stuff: mass evacuation.

“Mass evacuation will take place by the use of public and private transport. The underground, bus and rail networks will be utilised.”

Oh crap. We’re all doomed. Doomed I tell ya!

“Underground services will arrive empty and pick up at the identified stations and then take passengers non stop to the outer zone Rail Heads. Underground services will not run through the suspended area, (even empty), and they operate at frequencies no greater than those typical during off – peak times.”

Great, what happens if all hell breaks loose on a Sunday evening, will we have to wait 9 minutes at Whitechapel to be evacuated?

There are 46 pages of this stuff over at the London Resilience site if you’re interested. Although watching Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and…erm, The Swarm back to back might be just as useful and much more entertaining.

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