work purchase and cross-mas gift

5 pounds baby. and it glows brighter than my casio

Obviously, this purchase was made solely on the the name

another thing on my doorstep

This is seriously about 25 feet from my window, an old relic of the Chinatown that used to be here on Commercial road, now just an out-of-place ornament next to a bus stop. I was really confused as to why it was there; there's seriously NOTHING that is oriental for miles around; except given a chinese take away or delivery place down the road. Well it sure is a sign of how things change, such as the predominant muslim and middle-eastern concentration now in the area and the uber-commercialized zone that is Canary Wharf just down the road.

a relevant anecdote:

On spotting and being seen by Asian-immigrants

It's really USUAL to get glances, nods and gestures that are along the lines of "Hello brother," or "greetings comrade," and anything that feels along the lines of whispering in my ear through a glance: "you - you are one of us."

A sense of belonging, an identification status, the universal nod of "we're going through the same thing" or just a feeling of understanding, the extended stare, the fixed eye contact that says, "we're both not from here, and have come from a similar place."

I'll get recurring glances, fixed eye contact, sometimes stares, and very rarely, subtle smiles, at least in the eyes. Girls on the street will not often smile at me, but will sometimes look occasionally. Older men and foreign males will look more than assimilated young men. If I'm at a stoplight, I'll be glanced at more than a few times by a 30-something asian driver. If there's a shop, street vendor or guy selling chinese, thai or even just kebabs and fried late-night foods, again more eye contact will be made whether its an older man, woman or someone around my age. And the trend also seems to lean towards more smiles. If I'm at a club, a drunk asian guy will give me the "whats up" nod or even go up to me to give me a handshake. Asian girls also seem to give me a lot more stares. Even at the shop I work at, Asian customers will wait for me to offer assistance before they say anything, often denying other employees of different ethnic backgrounds; sometimes they will go straight for me when they have a question.

write about something

I kept checking for a decent pallet of posters to come on, as well as trying to find a decently sunny day for some lighting. Had to stand on an intersection island for this, but definitely worth it.

Bike Theft

From The Independent:

"London market for stolen bikes

The streets around Brick Lane were depicted as a hotbed of bike crime going unchecked by the authorities (Cyclo-therapy, 11 October). Bike theft is, unfortunately, an issue across London, but the inference that the work of council market officers and the police in Tower Hamlets is ineffective misses the mark.

Tower Hamlets Council market officers seize bikes from illegal traders on the lane, and every week they provide details to the police of all bikes taken from illegal street traders. They are then checked against police theft records. From the hundreds of bikes seized over the past few years, not one has been reported to the police as stolen.

We have been working closely with the police and although we acknowledge there are illegal traders left, the numbers are nowhere near what they have been, and we will continue to work hard to remove them.

All untraceable bikes seized in evidence by police and market officers are sold back legally on Brick Lane as part of a joint police initiative. This is mainly an educational exercise, where information and advice is also given about how people can keep their bikes secure, and the dangers of buying from unlicensed, illegal traders."

tastes like london

obviously, not my photo. unless I did not go outside for about 15 years.

an authentic looking cod-and-chips was hard to find when I first got here, actually found a huge battered fillet at some place called King's, in the Angel Market that I posted a while back.

Well, salted-beef biegels are no less amazing, with soft, succulent beef (I can't usually afford) that's offered fresh, 24/7 on brick lane.

WSJ - Report on London Biking

OK, a few notes about this segment:

1. A CYCLIST in LONDON DOES NOT get WET ONLY 12 TIMES PER YEAR.

2. Evan's cycles is pretty goshdarn expensive (its a chain). I was punching myself in the ribs about the 150 pounds for "lights and accessories." WOW.

3. The congestion charge is no joke -- the Queen is trying to charge motorcyclists the same fee, resulting in some protests recently. I came upon an article stating how the average speed of transportation on London roads is below 9mph with junctions, traffic and lights. Thats literally SLOWER than horse-and-cart speeds ages ago.

4. I'm curious as to whether the mayor REALLY and if so, how often, he commutes by bike.

5. Top complaints being perspiration/BO and Helmet-Hair? It's kinda funny, but at the same time a legitimate concern.

Attention Experiments

saw these on BBC a while ago




cool stuff by London cyclists

March Against Climate Change (absent)

So I wanted to really attend and give support and experience this protest, but how am I supposed to turn down premiere tickets to Macaframa? Quite the dilemma. Well over 10,000 people attended this march, just one of many around many other countries around the globe. I was curious to check how it turned out and thought some of you might find these interesting:

not my photos

not my photos

I missed the march, but this was definitely worth it

Attended a screening of Macaframa and the Fixed magazine launch party. Words don't say much, so just look i guess. Can't believe I forgot to bring the camera.

not my photos

the bike racks were overflowing by noon.


no bike polo, but a charity race


"bike room" on the 4th floor


tricks


contests

not my photos

thank you to everyone who made this possible

Discovered another gem here in the UK: TK Maxx -- the English equivalent of TJ Maxx in the States. Found these for a low 25 pounds, and i think they're kinda retro cus the original laces were yellowed and I cant find them online.

backyard view

Friendly Looney Tunes Graffiti

on the Day Care center behind my house

You're Jealous, I Know.

this is what my food looks like BEFORE I eat it. Yes, that's right, the chicken isn't eaten yet, although it may look like it, I simply pull out the meat over the head of the drumstick so that it cooks faster and gets rid of more grease. The cheese was my special way of treating myself to having a job and celebrating thanksgiving simultaneously.
s

the best place in london

Cool group of people always -- Saturdays seems to bring in the older crowd, and some tourists (its on a very popular streetcorner for crying out loud). Upstairs seemed to be more of the young hipsters, a lot of drunkeness, socializing, sitting to techno/electro. Downstairs in the basement however, is much more arty, experimental, and underground. There's live performance art, experimental film projects, sound-mashing dj's and eclectic bands. Tonight, you have a dimly lit area with a dark curtain separator, a few dozen stools, film projector and in the middle of the room, a rotating steel disc embedded in the concrete floor -- brown and rusted and squeaky, this merry go-round serves as the dance floor for the energetic and enthusiastic who writhe to the tunes of modern jazz-indie fusions. Onlookers on the outside, those tired of dancing or a notch too timid to get into the action themselves, contribute to the energy and vibe by pushing the disc round and round while the dancers bust headstands and just do whatever natural improv movements they feel during the 6, 7 and 8 minute songs played.

The Entire basement hallway is covered in graffiti - and the bathroom is where you'll find a more intense concentration. Not wanting to look like a pervert or just weird, BUT wanting to get some real graffiti samples for some projects I'm working on, I locked myself in a stall and snapped away. It's really crazy how its everywhere, and it's actually promoted. There's even a documentary on bathroom graffiti featuring this place.

Getty Images Gallery

So apparently theres a physical gallery for the famous Getty Images, the leader and behemoth of stock images online. While it was cool to see an intersting selection of photos from london's history, it was basically like they combed through the online archives under the tag "London" and just boiled it down. I mean, the framed pieces were available as instant print reproductions and there were supplemental photos in binders...which, basically were, literally, printouts of the webpage with the photo on it.

I mean, the digitizing of the archival and databasing process is magnificent, theres no doubt about it. But it really turns something that WOULD and, in theory, still is somewhat epic/intense/tedious (searching for ancient photos from a mass of books and collections to put together an exhibit), into a showcase that might have been purely clicked, saved, and printed without ever touching, visiting or filing through archives. Yes, its not that these collections and databases aren't comprehensive, I'm sure they are,and they make the process way more efficient. But call me old-fashioned, but it just FEELS different although the end product, or at least the selections, might have been more or less the same either way.


Above is the Whitechapel riots, taken place on the street I bike almost dailiy to get groceries in the early 1900s, when working-class men blockaded the street to prevent a labor strike from marching through. You see the suits fleeing for their lives as the police decide that they're not playing nice with the blue-collars.

oh....bros, bros, everywhere

even when i travel to the other side of the world, theyre still here

for those of you nonbelievers who thought my shoes didnt look bad...

Hercules and Love Affair

Not much to say really...A very eclectic ensemble with 2 (sometimes 3) vocalists, keyboard/electronics guy, trumpet, trombone, and all the usual pieces of regular bands -- kinda reminiscent of a modern big-band era thing. Very jazzy, wonderful pieces.



Also, Watch the guy in the audience in the bottom left of the video...the guy in the white shirt. You're welcome.


And...the most hilarious bassist...EVER

Tate Modern

So this is the THING that everyone is seeing right now in London, this huge installation in a sporting arena/theatre sized room, with a huge red alien structure, alien spider, and huge cat skeleton next to a huge bitten apple....not sure the significance, but with the bunkbeds it's supposed to signify the fear people experience with the apocalypse. People are allowed to touch, sit and lie down on the beds to look at the space or watch the odd film playing, or even read the books lying around some of the beds (all with the theme of fear and the end of the world: War of the worlds, 1984, etc).






A gruesome, zombie-like portrayal of rich people eating lobsters at expensive restaurants.

Each color is a different message. I thought yellow was interesting: