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Cover: Andrew Zuckerman
theblogpaper has been produced by users of theblogpaper.co.uk - this is the “best of� voted for by our community /05 / 02 / 10 - Beta_no3
Index: ART Article by run paint run run:
Bored of Banksy page 4
Article by followtheyellow
The Museum of Everything page 4
Photos posted by toaster:
Sculptures by Kate McDowell page 5
SPORTS Photos by Cole Barash:
Moments of a Nomad page 10
Photos by Max Colson:
Wardance: Boxers and Cage-Fighters in the UK page 11
CULTURE Article by Dan:
Porn - It’s All A Bit Wank Really page 14
Photos by Andrew Zuckerberg:
5th of February 2010 theblogpaper has been produced by users of theblogpaper.co.uk posting their articles and photos on the website. The highest rated and most discussed content has been collected and published in this paper. In this edition the following users have been published: gumbert444, Bruce Thompson - www.bruce.actioncat.co.uk, toaster, Vice UK - www.viceland.com/uk, theeuropean – www.theeuropean.de, bangsandabun - http://bangsandabun.com/, movieoverdose http://movieoverdose.wordpress.com/, SophieaMM, LickThatRiff - http://lickthatriff.com/, run paint run run - http://runpaintrunrun.blogspot.com/, followtheyellow - http://www.followtheyellowbrick.blogspot.com/, thomasbobs - http://thomasbobs.webs. com/, Dan - http://brody-ninjafunk.blogspot.com/, max colson - http://maxcolson.carbonmade.com/, HeatandEnergy.Org - http://heatandenergy.org/, benjaminC, santibenitez - http://www.elartedelaguerra.es/, mediaactivist - http://www.mediaactivist. com/, Matthew Moggridge - http://teashopandcaff. blogspot.com/, Keithruffles - http://www.keithruffles. com/, dasdesign, MrHyde - http://www.hereigo. co.uk/, hawks77, mona f, kasiabishop - http://kasiabishop.blogspot.com/, - Thanks to all of you! Published by: The Blog Paper LDT. 88-94 Wentworth Street London E1 7SA www.theblogpaper.co.uk We welcome any comments / suggestions: Drop us a line at: feedback@theblogpaper.co.uk
Bird
page 15
FILM Article by Sophiamm:
Burlesque Undressed page 16
Article by bangsandabun:
Why Sex and the City 2 Will Suck page 16
Review by movieoverdose:
Food Inc, page 17
TECHNOLOGY Article by theeuropean:
Interview with Jimmy Wales page 20
Note posted by rigsy:
The Philco PC. page 21
Note by movieoverdose:
Light Touch, turn surfaces into touch screens page 21
WORLDNEWS Article by santibenitez:
Spain, the last bastion of resistance in the network page 22
Article by MediaActivist:
Angel of the Public Interest page 22
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fashion
Re.Treat
Photos posted by benjaminC / London Average Rating: 4,3
www.unaburke.com
“This is a conceptual collection of wearable art pieces, depicting a series of eight human gestures associated with the cause, the physical and psychological effect and the healing stages of human trauma. Sculptural forms are created around the shape of the contorted female body. A number of pieces are reminiscent of prosthetics and medical braces. This signifies the potential for healing within the boundaries of something which inhibits the body.”
Kasia Bishop Amid lustrous colour Designer - Kasia Bishop / Photographer - Siobhan Canavan
Article by kasiabishop / London Average Rating: 3,6
www.kasiabishop.blogspot.com
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art
The Museum of Everything Article by followtheyellow / London / UK Average Rating: 3,5
www.followtheyellowbrick.blogspot.com
Bored of Banksy Article by run paint run run / everywhere... Average Rating: 3,6
www.runpaintrunrun.blogspot.com There is nothing quite like fame to influence how we interpret art... apart from perhaps knowing how much it cost. The problem with the former is that reputation often has little to do with the actual quality of what is perpetrated in the name of art. Often indistinct and always inescapable, ourobsession with artists personal history and reputations distort, and sometimes positively obstruct, the way we see. Our at once both clingy and contentious relationship with Banksy is a perfect case in point. He’s been floating high on his vast profile, inflated by huge belches of hot air from the media and middle class, for a decade or so. The problem is that his profile is several time more interesting than his art. At the core his art actually has very little substance. When you’ve identified the, frankly not very well concealed, tropes it can - a bit like a Terry Pratchett novel - get a tad boring. Think about your favourite Banksy piece and count off these factors: It’s dependent on simple visual gags, a peripheral understanding of some basic art concepts and a rather churlish teenaged set of politics. On the street Banksy catches the mainstream audience eye because the works sit in a context of street painting that is still essentially highly exclusive, expressly holding meaning for a tiny marginal group of people, and, unlike Banksys, has little regard for traditional aesthetics.
photo by Walt Jabsco www.flickr.com/photos/23597967@N00/
To 99% of the population graffiti is the kingdom of the blind, Banksy just happens to be the one eyed man. That doesn’t mean he’s up to sitting at the proverbial grown up table. In the gallery or the print fare he is like a clever teenager who’s been allowed to stay up past his bedtime. His gallery works are almost comforting in the way they both manage to be ever so clever and yet cleave to the well established Banksy form. They only hold our attention because of his reputation, because we are all the artistic equivalent of rubber neckers at a grusome car crash. We look to Banksy because we want that tart taste of controversy and novelty. However, when he holds so closely to form, surely whatever controversy his exhibitions might hold will be quickly dispelled? What is exciting about art that always manages to perfectly meet our expectations? If you look at his original print works, and the prices they fetch in the auctions and print fares, it becomes pretty clear that he is simply replicating one aspect of Warhol’s career without one ounce of Warhol’s brilliance. More so than Warhol, Banksy proves variations on a theme can only be applied for so long before becoming insufferably stale. So although Banksy is still consistently popping up in the news - images appearing over night on walls all over the world, purchased at some ridiculous price by whatever celebrity we are supposed to idolise now, jealously being vandalised or white washed over by thick thumbed councils - isn’t it time we got over him? Come on! lets all makes a critical resolution for the New Year and try from now on to extract the artist’s reputation from the art and actually look at what is in front of us?
Take just a few steps away from the chi-chi cafes and boutiques of Primrose Hill; follow the handlettered red signs tied to the trees; turn left by Chalk Farm Library and you find yourself standing before a crooked doorway fit for a fairy-tale or funfair. The sign above the door, reads simply, in mismatched letters: EVERYTHING. This is The Museum of Everything – a boldly-titled pop up gallery housed in a former dairy and recording studio, bringing together works by 90 artists from Europe, America and Asia. Yet what separates The Museum of Everything from London’s wealth of temporary art spaces and pop-up exhibitions is its subject matter: this gallery is devoted entirely to showcasing the very best in outsider art. The works on display here are created outside the mainstream art world, with its markets and its institutions: here, self-taught artists and makers represent a variety of extreme mental states, presenting a wealth of unique fantasy worlds and unconventional perspectives. As The Museum of Everything puts it: “For these artists there are no studies, no press junkets, no art fairs, no magazine spreads. Instead there are treasure troves of untrained work, discovered under rocks in basements and attics, its creators often unaware their art will ever see the light of day.” Far from the conventional white cube gallery, the works in this exhibition are presented in a deliberately haphazard fashion, jumbled together in exuberant, and almost overwhelming chaos. You encounter these works in a series of dimly-lit rooms, twinkling with strings of fairy-lights; ducking down rough-floored corridors under swaying bead-fringed lampshades; tripping down tottering staircases and along a labyrinth of creaking passages; peeping through windows and vitrines into miniature theatres of the obscure and eccentric. Every turn offers something unexpected to discover, from Charles August Albert Dellschau’s intricate sketchbook pages to Emery Blagdon’s complex wire ‘Healing Machines’ to Morton Bartlett’s disturbing mannequins. This mixed-up assemblage of works certainly reveals the vitality and diversity of outsider art, ranging from the meticulous, systematic order of drawings by Hioyuki Dori and Heinrich Reisenbauer to the imaginative flamboyance of Russian military enthusiast Aleksander Lobanov.
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art Each artist offer us a glimpse of their own particular imaginary space, be it the ghostly world of medium Madge Gill’s intricate black and white drawings, in which wistful female faces appear and disappear against an elaborate backdrop of Alice-in-Wonderland kaleidoscope patterns; Aloise Corbas’s portraits of fantasy princesses with flamboyant jewels and magnificent swirling hair; or Henry Darger’s ‘Vivian Girls’ – a complex, illustrated narrative about the heroic escapades of a group of beautiful young girls, which on closer inspection is disturbed by the inclusion of sinister and subversive elements in surrealist fashion. Peeping into these inner worlds, the viewer is occasionally invited to take a closer look through magnifying glasses or binoculars, in a clever play on the distance between gazer and object, artist and spectator, insider and outsider. This quirky showcase of secret artworks is accompanied by a series of texts by well-known artistic and cultural figures, including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Peter Blake, Ed Ruscha, Grayson Perry, Mark Titchener, Eva Rothschild, Jeremy Deller, Jarvis Cocker and Nick Cave; yet thankfully, on the whole they resist the temptation to overintellectualise, or obscure these works with contemporary art jargon. Instead, in general these texts appear to focus primarily on what inspires and excites about these works, setting the tone for an exhibition which skilfully side-steps value judgements. For in the end, it doesn’t really seem to matter who has made these works, or what their ‘outsider’ status might be: far from grappling with questions of what makes these works are ‘art’, The Museum of Everything is primarily focused on offering the viewer an idiosyncratic gallery experience. Though this quirkiness sometimes may feel a little too contrived, this higgledy-piggledy assemblage of artworks certainly conveys a vivid sense of intensity and frenetic energy often missing from a more conventional presentation of work. At the end of the journey you emerge, stepping through a ribbon curtain into a café that could be straight from a village fete – complete with tea, jam, and things to buy that have a pleasingly handmade aesthetic. Self-consciously kooky though it may well be, The Museum of Everything is certainly a memorable experience: a colourful treasure-trove of the surprising, thought-provoking and bizarre.
Photos posted by toaster / USA Average Rating: 4,4
www.katemacdowell.com
Kate Macdowell
“In my work this romantic ideal of union with the natural world conflicts with our contemporary impact on the environment. These pieces are in part responses to environmental stressors including climate change, toxic pollution, and gm crops. They also borrow from myth, art history, figures of speech and other cultural touchstones. In some pieces aspects of the human figure stand-in for ourselves and act out sometimes harrowing, sometimes www.theblogpaper.co.uk
humorous transformations which illustrate our current relationship with the natural world. In others, animals take on anthropomorphic qualities when they are given safety equipment to attempt to protect them from man-made environmental threats. In each case the union between man and nature is shown to be one of friction and discomfort with the disturbing implication that we too are vulnerable to being victimized by our destructive practices.”
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art Photos posted by mona f / London Average Rating: 4,3
www.avatarsculptureworks.com
An Elderly, Chris, Self Portrait and Desolation
Photos by Bruce Thompson / Manchester, UK
Average Rating: 4,3
www.bruce.action-cat.co.uk
After studying Fine Art and Architecture, Bruce Thompson’s work is a combination of dreams, drawing, 3D modelling and rendering, and identifies itself with image, installation and architecture. Working from both physical and virtual platforms, Bruce’s work explores the subconscious mind to reveal ‘the hidden’, and aims to bring closer together ‘the primitive’ and ‘the complex’, in a body of work called ‘Reflexive Landscapes’. Bruce’s web site is http://bruce.action-cat. co.uk/
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Jamie Salmon is a British born, Vancouver resident, contemporary sculptor. He specialises in photorealistic sculpture, utilizing materials such as silicone rubber, fibre glass, acrylic and human hair.The themes of Salmons works are varied . He says “ I like to use the human form as a way of exploring the nature of what we consider to be “real” and how we react when our visual perceptions of this reality are challenged. In our modern society we have become obsessed with our outward appearance, and now with modern technology we are able to alter this in almost anyway we desire. How does this outward change affect us and how we are perceived by others? “
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politics Note posted by anne m / London / UK Average Rating: 4,8
www.mattrainwaters.com
“the beardfolio”
Article by Keithruffles / London Average Rating: 3,7
www.keithruffles.com
Scotland and Independence There are lots of people - myself included - who don’t want to see a Conservative government returned at the next general election. There are, after all, legitimate concerns that a Tory administration would inflict massive cuts to public services. Despite Labour’s failings over the past twelve years there is no questioning the positive contributions to British society the party has made whilst in office. But, sadly, the weight of public opinion seems to disagree. Opinion polls have for some time indicated that the Conservatives are the most popular political party in the country. Whilst the Tory juggernaut is certainly not unstoppable, and their election victory far from guaranteed, it will take something fairly spectacular to prevent David Cameron becoming the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Amongst the more pessimistic predictions of the potential fallout of a Tory victory - or optimistic, depending on your point of view - is that it could indirectly lead to the disintegration of the United Kingdom itself. The reasoning behind this fear is simple; the Conservatives are effectively an English party, and will be returned to Westminster without a substantial mandate from those regions of the UK outside England. This will lead to Celtic resentment of an English-foisted administration, particularly in Scotland, and secessionist movements in those areas will record a massive upswing in support and will ultimately achieve their long-held ambitions of independence.It’s not just your usual blog-standard conspiracy theorists who have put forward this doom-laden scenario;
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it appears that elements within the Liberal Democrat party also fear the very same. Speaking at a fringe event at the annual Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth the party’s Treasury spokesman Vince Cable predicted a situation where a Conservative government with few or no Scottish MPs would result in “a nationalist government in Edinburgh on a collision course with a government in London that is not interested.” Now there are rumours that the party may lend vital support to the SNP’s attempts to have a referendum on Scottish independence passed through Holyrood, in the hope of saving the Union. I’ve already expressed my doubts over the objectivity of such a referendum previously. But it certainly is an interesting scenario, and an ironic one given the Conservative’s traditional pro-Union stance. Indeed, that Cameron has spoken openly in favour of maintenance of the United Kingdom and has declared that Conservative candidates will contest elections in Northern Ireland means the English nationalist tag is a little unfair. That this situation failed to arise during the tempestuous years of the Thatcher regime will provide some respite to those who fear a nationalist backlash. It is also worth considering the United Kingdom’s peculiar constitutional arrangement. The Conservatives have frequently polled more election-day votes in real terms than Labour in England; allowing for the vagaries of first past the post it is still clear that Labour’s majority has been bolstered by MPs from Wales and Scotland, where Tory representation is far more sparse. A Conservative government in Westminster would still be bound by the UK electorate as a whole. Devolved government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also allows for a balance, with their own regional mandates and responsibilities. That there is some form of self-government provides a balance that might not otherwise have occurred in times past when a similar situation may have arisen. And as fellow-blogger Chekov rightly points out, with Edinburgh in SNP hands there will be always be clashes whoever is in power in Westminster. A Conservative government a bad thing? Almost certainly. An end to the United Kingdom as a result? I doubt it.
politics
Tell us another one... Article by Matthew Moggridge / London Average Rating: 3,4
Average Rating: 3,6
www.matthewmoggridge.blogspot.com Let me start by saying that I’m not a psychic, I don’t have a third sense and I can’t see dead people. I am a normal person with, it has to be said, a rightly suspicious mind. Way back at the beginning of 2003 when plans were afoot to invade Iraq, my brow was furrowed as I listened to media reports about resolution 1441, the so-called ‘dodgy dossier’ – which WAS dodgy – and all that stuff about how we, the citizens of the UK, were just 45 minutes away from being blown to bits by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. I remember all the trips Hans Blix and a gaggle of IAEA inspectors made to Iraq to try and find nuclear weapons that simply weren’t there and, of course, I recall the very suspicious (and, in my opinion, still unresolved) David Kelly affair. In short, it didn’t add up, but the impression we, the public, were being given was that everybody was trying their level best to avoid military intervention. This, of course, was a huge lie. I remember saying to people at the time when military action was first being mooted that it was a foregone conclusion. I just had a hunch that everything else was mere posturing to make it look as if we really tried our best to avoid an invasion of Iraq but in the end we simply had to go in to protect the UK. And then, to add insult to injury, to double-bluff the public, we heard afterwards that our intelligence services were simply not very intelligent and that was why we accidentally invaded sovereign territory. But, oh dear, it was too late to go back by then so we’d better get on with it. I’m still amazed at how people actually believe it. I won’t mention names, but people very close to me have what can only be called blind faith in Government. And now, of course, the truth is coming out, thanks to the Chilcott investigation, and we hear that Blair really was Bush’s poodle. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here:
Blair is not going to be punished in anyway for his role in what amounted to an illegal invasion of another country. If I recall correctly, he was gunning for the role of Middle East Envoy. Hold on a minute, isn’t that like giving Nick Griffin a job with the Commission for Racial Equality? In fact, judging by the way things work in this country, he’ll probably be rewarded for his role in creating a climate of fear in the UK that had a knock-on effect elsewhere and, of course, lead to other people being given awards when, perhaps, they should have been overlooked. Cresida Dick, the woman in charge of the police investigation that led to an innocent Brazilian being mistaken for a terrorist and shot dead on Stockwell tube station was recently awarded the Queen’s Medal. Sadly, the message here is that you simply cannot trust anybody in this world, certainly not the Government, whether it’s Labour, Conservative or Liberal. Never trust or believe in what you read in the newspapers or hear on the television and always bear in mind that somewhere there’s a hidden agenda – especially where the bigger, longer running stories are concerned. Invariably, somewhere along the line, you will find that your suspicions were, to some degree, right. The reason I have decided to put pen to paper is a newspaper report on the so-called swine flu pandemic that, at one stage, was going to be infecting a ridiculously large number of people in the UK. I think it was supposed to be something like 100,000 people per day! I remember thinking that this would mean that I was definitely going to be infected at some stage. I bought zinc from my local health food shop, started eating loads of navel oranges and making a point of keeping well away from anybody with the slightest sniffle. I began envisaging days off work, Lemsips and everything else one associates with the flu – like the Jeremy Kyle Show – and, secretly, I hoped that if I was struck down I would not be one of those who died from the disease. The Government was predicting 64,000 deaths. The climate of fear created and fuelled by the media had, to a degree, worked – until I started thinking, hold on, 100,000 people per day, surely I will know somebody with swine flu? Oddly, nobody I know www.theblogpaper.co.uk
has caught the disease – absolutely nobody. The so-called ‘swine flu’ pandemic was great for the work shy. All they had to do was call a helpline and spell out a few symptoms and they would be sent some Tamiflu and signed off of work for a week – job done (or not in this case). Anybody could do it and nobody was going to ask any questions. In the same way that the credit crunch gave businesses the best excuse ever to sack people without a decent reason, swine flu provided skivers with the equivalent of a Get Out of Jail Free card. And now the truth might be floating to the surface. I use the word ‘might’ because the report I read this morning was in a tabloid newspaper, an area of the media where the phrase ‘economical with the truth’ is definitely an understatement – although hats off to the Sun for a great headline when swine flu was welcomed into the UK; it led with ‘Pig’s ‘ere’. It is being claimed, not in the Sun, that the head of health at the Council of Europe, Mr Wolfgang Wodarg (there’s probably an anagram there somewhere) believes that the World Health Organisation’s swine flu pandemic was, in fact, completely false and driven by the drug companies who stood to make billions out of convincing us that it was for real. The Council of Europe has passed a resolution, proposed by Mr Wodarg, calling for an investigation into the role of the drug companies involved in the scandal and this at a time when it has emerged that the British government is trying to offload a huge consignment of Tamiflu that it ordered at the height of the scare. Not another case of faulty intelligence, surely? But there is a big problem here. If we stormed into Iraq for no reason, if swine flu was a sham, then what about climate change? We’re all busy trying to reduce our carbon footprint while putting up with the fact that China and America are producing more greenhouse gasses than the lot of us put together – it all begs the question, what the hell is going on? It’s all a matter of trust and I for one will continue to take everything I’m told with an extremely large bag of salt – even if it is true that the UK diet contains more salt than any other country in the world. Perhaps that’s not true either.
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sports
Wardance: Boxers and Cage-Fighters in the UK
Photos posted by will challis / London Average Rating: 4,2
www.MaxColson.CarbonMade.com www.Twitter.com/ThatPoshBastard “Max Colson is a freelance digital photographer from London with an eye for photojournalism and the possibilities of digital media. Featured on BlogPaper are excerpts from his first project on the full contact fighting scene in the UK, a project which was brought into being by his relationship with the well respected fighting shop the London Shoot Fighters, and the exciting UK boxing prospect Yassine El Maachi. His current work is focused on the participants of the underground rap scene in London.
Photos posted by hawks777 / London Average Rating: 4,0
www.bergmoench.koga.com
the bergmönch
this is quite nice, der bergmönch, which means sort of something like mountain monk. The idea is that you climb up any mountain which is obviously the hardest part, and the bergmönch will then give you an exciting ride back to the valley. There is no saddle instead you may kneel down ( like a monk )... Looks cool , would like to ride that, but i dont know if I would like to carry it all the way up a mountain....
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sports
Photos posted by KJS / London Average Rating: 4,4
www.colebarash.com
Moments of a Nomad
In his series “Moments of a Nomad” Cole Barash gives an inside of what it is like to be travelling around as a professional snowboarder. Cole Barash has come a long way. By the age of thirteen, Cole Barash begun to define his vision of the world through the lens of a camera, it is said that a young man is stimulated by the consciousness of how much depends upon his own exertions and this held true in the awareness and determined pursuit of the craft by adolescent Barash. Now only view years later, at the age of 21, Cole Brarah’s work is among the most publicized and respected in the world of snowboarding. From classic magazine cover shots to emotive lifestyle, to international advertising campaigns, and anything in between, the strength and influence of his creative vision is undeniable. Today he is shooting for such clients as OnBoard Snowboarding Magazine, Nike 06 , Volcom, Oakley and Transworld Snowboarding Magazine. He continues to evolve both as a professional photographer and as a student of the creative process, by exerting himself at every opportunity. For more photos check out his website; www.colebarash.com or his blog; ColeBarash.Blogspot.com www.theblogpaper.co.uk
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music Article by LickThatRiff / London Average Rating: 3,3
The 10 Most Influential Guitarists Ever!
www.lickthatriff.com
Hello All, Hope everyone is ok? Anyway just thought that I would do this post nice and early so that you all get a feel of what guitarists have influenced me the most in my life so far. Remember this is MY list and MY opinion so please don’t go shouting at me saying someone shouldn’t be in this list. Although I would love to hear your feedback and maybe your top 10’s aswell. This is in no particular order either. So here it goes:
Noel Gallagher Ok, I know what’s going to come from most of you, “He’s overrated”, “He’s arrogant”, “He’s just a pop guitarist.” But I defy any of you write the amount of top quality songs that this guy has written. Fine, by his own admission he’s just an ‘average’ guitarist, but give him a guitar and watch as he churns out that great opening riff of ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’, or that melodic solo from ‘Live Forever’, or even those four iconic chords from ‘Wonderwall.’ You can knock his arrogance, personality, or cocky swagger all you like, but 60 million albums can’t deny the fact he’s one of the most influential guitarists in British history and maybe even the World! He singlehandedly made a generation listen and want to pick up a guitar, and, in the end isn’t that what guitar and music is about?
Pete Doherty Right until I started writing this list I didn’t realise how controversial this post might be. I know a few of you wouldn’t have liked my choice of Noel, and I know even more of you will hate this next choice. I know a lot of people just see Pete as one big druggie, but should that really shroud his amazingly raw in-your-face talent that shot him to fame with the Libertines? I mean you just have to listen to ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ to hear that it’s one of the greatest guitar songs of the 21st Century. And as for ‘Time For Heroes’ well that is just a pure classic in terms of songwriting ability. However the main reason that he has made it into my list of favourite guitarists is that when he plays the guitar he really feels it, and so do I, and so do millions of others. Alright he’s not the greatest guitarist technically, but did we pick up the guitar to strain for hours over our technical ability? NO! We picked it up to feel the music, feel what we were playing and to feel that we were that SCREAMING guitar!
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Alex Turner
John Lennon So what can I say about Lennon that has not already been said… Well not a lot to be honest. And I imagine a lot of you will be wondering why he’s in this list. Well that’s because he was the rhythm guitarist in the greatest band that ever lived! That itself is a feat. What’s more is his ability to compose amazing songs, I mean any guitarist can throw a few chords together that work, but what sets Lennon apart from others is his ability to put quality meaningful lyrics to those chords, if you listen to ‘Working Class Hero’ you will see what I mean. The guitaring is simple, yet the lyrics are very powerful and the song is also very Dylan-esque. Lennon never claimed to be a good guitarist, ‘I’m not technically good, but I can make it howl.’ This sentence epitimizes Lennon and opitimizes guitaring… you can be as technically brilliant as you like but if the guitar doesn’t sound good or if there isn’t any feeling then you might aswell pack up the plectrum and go home.
George Harrison Ok, Rolling Stone magazine named him as 21 in their top 100 guitarists of all time. The better guitaring half of the Beatles was never going to escape my list! There are just so many riffs, licks and solo’s to mention, from his early stuff like ‘I Feel Fine’ and ‘Day Tripper’ to his later work like ‘Yer Blues’ and his own masterpiece ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’ His guitaring never seemed to play an unneccessary note and although his songwriting wasn’t as prolific as Lennons, whenever he did pen a song it was a truly amazing song. From the opening bends in ‘Something’ to the capo on the seventh fret in ‘Here Comes The Sun.’ This was a guitarist worthy to be 21 in the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, and in my opinion a guitarist worthy of higher praise. I for cannot wait to play his guitar in The Beatles Rock Band game! Rest In Peace George. www.theblogpaper.co.uk
The first song I heard from Alex Turner was ‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ and what a song it was! It was like a rump steak; Raw, Rugged and Bleeding with passion! Alex’s opening few bars in this song blew me away as a guitarist and as a person. How could this fresh faced 19 year old just enter the industry without any advertising or promotion, and enter his bands first single at NUMBER ONE! The guitaring on his début album also amazed me and songs like ‘Still Take You Home’ and ‘Mardy Bum’ still do to this day. He’s not as fresh faced these days and his side project ‘The Last Shadow Puppets’ has taken him down a darker route. Others dislike this side of his writing but I still think it suits him. It’s opened some avenues in his ability that seem a throwback to the 60’s. Which is Great! Alex has moved through many different styles, from him wiritng about jumping taxi’s and chatting up girls, to his now darker psychedelic side. One thing remains the same… His ability to pick up a guitar and whack out a riff!!
Albert Hammond Jnr/Nick Valensi Ok, so I know this is two guitarists but there is good reason for that which I will get to later on. Firstly let me tell you why I think the Strokes should be here. They are here because the Strokes are probably the most important guitar band of the 21st Century. Now I know I’m going out on a limb here but they are in my eyes the best guitaring band to emerge out of the 21st Century. They produced three albums in total but on these albums were some truly amazing guitar tracks. These include ‘Someday’ and ‘12:51’. But the most notable of tracks from the New York Quintet are ‘Reptilia’ and ‘Last Nite’. Reptilia has an amazing riff going through the verses and as for Last Nite, well if you don’t know this song and solo then I won’t really consider you as a guitar fan. This then brings me to why I have both guitarists here when really Nick Valensi is mainly the lead for The Strokes, well this is because on some tracks the most obvious being Last Nite, Albert Hammond Jnr pumps out the lead and especially the solo. Its why I fell in love with the strokes, that one solo that just hooked me in.
music
Jimi Hendrix
When I first heard this at around about the age of 13 I thought “I’m never gonna be able to play anything like that!” But when I actually tried it, I found that it wasn’t as hard as I first thought. Its a short solo that in its simplicity, gives so much depth to the song, and when its heard anywhere, for an Alternative music lover it instantly strikes a chord and gets air guitars plucking! In fact if you check out my ‘About Me’ page you will see me air guitaring to this very solo in the bottom picture.
Gaz Coombes For those of you who don’t know who Gaz Coombes is, he is the lead guitarist in an English band called Supergrass. For those of you who don’t know them I suggest you look them up, especially their debut album ‘I Should Coco.’ Anyway, again with a lot of people on this list I wasn’t always into Supergrass, I mean I do remember liking about two of their songs but that was only when I heard them on the radio. I can’t remember what it was that made me decide to download them but something just clicked. I downloaded their discography and since then I have loved every one of their songs. They are one of those bands that don’t seem to have a bad song on any album, if you know what I mean. The first song of theirs that I ever heard was ‘Alright’ and although this song had a piano based intro the solo on this was so melodic and beautiful. However once you get to know Supergrass and Gaz Coombes as a guitarist, you really see that he’s very accomplished at what he does. His most recent Supergrass album had some amazing guitar riffs on it, ‘Diamond Hoo-Ha’ being one of the best with a dirty thick riff over the verse parts. One of my favourite songs from Gaz Coombes is one that is slightly slower with a great guitar riff, its called ‘Time.’ Anyway Gaz Coombes has influenced me greatly in my guitar playing, especially some of his later stuff with some nice riffs.
Wow! This guy was a L-E-G-E-N-D! I don’t think anyone can argue him being on this list or any list for that matter. Rolling Stone Magazine put him at #1 of the 100 Guitarists. Why? Well it’s only because of the small fact that he was the greatest guitarist that ever lived! The guitaring this guy could do with his baby toe is probably better than I could ever do with my two hands. I can always remember the first time I heard Hendrix’s guitar whail. I was 12. I was round my friends, and I’d only been playing for a week or two. I don’t think I’ve ever been so amazed in my life. As a young aspiring guitarist, to hear the sounds that Jimi’s guitar was making was unbelievable, astounding and indefintaley inspiring. It blew me away and still does to this day. My favourite Hendrix track is ‘All Along The Watchtower’ And I know this is a Dylan song, but that’s the reason why it’s my favourite Hendrix song, because he completely makes it his own, there’s barely a shade of Dylan left in the song. The Hendrix legend will always live on! RIP!!!
Bob Dylan Up until about 2 years ago I wasn’t much of a Dylan fan. Well it wasn’t that I wasn’t a fan, it was more that I didn’t know much about him. Then one friend who I looked up to musically told me to listen to a few of his songs. And as of that day I fell in love with Dylan. His songwriting ability is truly incredible. He’s Inspired so many guitarists up and down the years including the man just above him in my list. I find it quite odd and surprising that Dylan didn’t make it into Rolling Stone Magazines 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time. When I looked through the list I was shocked that he wasn’t there, I really thought he would be. Anyway back to this guys music. Some of the greatest songs ever created were by this man and what’s more some great guitar classics aswell. Take my favourite Hendrix song, ‘All Along The Watchtower’ such a great song on Hendrix’s part but that stems from the simple chord progression on the original Dylan song. Another song that’s often highly regarded within the guitaring world is ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’ I remember reading a Total Guitar edition a few years ago where they tabbed how to play it and it was just a simple chord progression. I suppose Dylans Guitaring maybe wasn’t up to scratch for Rolling Stone Magazine, however when you think of all the www.theblogpaper.co.uk
bands and artists he inspired The Beatles, Hendrix and Guns ‘N’ Roses to name but a few, you really have to sit back and take notice. Especially when these people that he inspired are considered some of the worlds greatest guitarists; Harrison, Hendrix, Slash. Bob Dylan is a Legend! 34 Studio Albums. Cant. Argue. With. That.
Angus Young So Angus Young, a Great British guitarist. Well British-born anyway, I’m claiming that! He’s a great guitarist, I think everyone knows that. Although again Rolling Stone Magazine have surprised me by putting Angus way down the bottom of their list at #96 which I think is completely ridiculous. Most guitarists rate Angus Young as one of the pioneers of guitar and definately one of the most importantly people in Rock history. His dirty blues solo’s and amazing rock riffs should leave him sitting above 30th at least. Anyway I think I’ve ranted too much about Rolling Stone Magazine tonight. The great thing about Angus Youngs guitaring is that it has a range of so many different levels. I remember when I first started playing I wanted to play like Angus Young, and I could. It didn’t take me and my friend too long to learn the basics to ‘Back In Black’ and when that happened I felt great. I felt like I was an amazing guitarist. And that’s what Angus’s playing does to you. You’ve got ‘Hells Bells’ for a more intermediate guitarist and then you have all of his bluesy solo’s for the more advanced guitarist. Its amazing. I don’t think there are many guitarists out there where an 11 year old beginner can sound to a non-guitarist just as good as a 50 year old advanced player, but thats the beauty of AC/DC’s songs, and Angus’s playing and writing. I think without Angus Young and AC/DC, guitaring wouldn’t be the same today, and my guitaring definately wouldn’t. Suppose thats the end of the list now. This list was a very hard list to make and took me a lot of time and effort. There were a few more guitarists that could have been in the list but at the end of the day I had to put pen to paper otherwise I would have been there all day. How about you make your own list of the top 10 guitarists who have inspired you? It’s a good little exercise, and it might even reignite a passion for a guitarists songs that you haven’t played in a while.
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culture
Porn- It’s All A Bit Wank Really.
Article by Dan , London Average Rating: 3,8
www.brody-ninjafunk.blogspot.com Sex is a beautiful thing, a wondrous connection between two human beings that is a combination of attraction, desire, and the simple notion of sharing yourself so intimately that nothing can separate two souls as they join together in one of nature’s most special gifts. Or if your British, it’s a soul sapping slog that only goes to highlight your many flaws and insecurities, and makes you physically want to flay off your own skin and wear somebody else’s so you don’t have to spend another waking moment trapped within the walking carcass that is your own miserable body. But on a whole, most people quite like it. And pornography is an age old offshoot of the notion of getting down and dirty that has been around since the early cavemen first learnt to draw on their cave walls, even if it was only stick women with really big boobies. I have a confession to make though. Porn and I don’t really get along. Instead of finding it titillating, it only amuses me to almost dangerous levels. Which I think is just missing the point entirely if I’m honest. Quite a shock though, I’d imagine? I’m a man. I live on my own. I should have porn spilling out of every nook and cranny of my flat, right? Nope. That’s not to say I haven’t partaken in porn, who hasn’t? It just hasn’t invaded my life like most blokes that I know. I saw my first porn film at the tender age of 12. It was a stonewall classic called Deep Inside Vanessa Del Rio that one of my friends had on video and was passed around our little circle of chums with fevered breath and shifty eyes. Eventually it was my turn to take the video home. I stuck it in the back of my wardrobe and waited for an opportune time to take it out and watch it. When that day came, and I was alone in my house, I put the video in our player, and with shaky hands, pressed play. My internal monologue played out something like this. Yeah, I’m gonna see some people have sex. I can’t wait. I’m gonna
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see some boob and some sex. I like this films theme tune. OK, here’s the lady. She’s sexy. Yes, she’s getting naked! Alright! Boobies! Ohhhhhh, so that’s what it looks like. She’s hairy. And here’s the man. Now he’s naked. I feel weird. And now they are- OH MY GOD! WHAT ARE THEY DOING? THAT’S HORRENDOUS! I HAVE TO DO THAT? I’M NOT DOING THAT! WHY IS HE PUTTING IT IN THERE??? NASTY!!!!!! Lucky for me, someone had part recorded over the tape with an episode of Knight Rider, which put me out of my shocked misery and made me eject the tape pretty quickly. But I now have the psychological problem of immediately getting an erection and a sense of shame whenever I hear the Knight Rider theme tune. Just thank god that pavlovian response doesn’t happen every time I see David Hasslehoff. That would take some explaining. As my own world views widened, and my 12 year old self was replaced with an older and semi-adult self, my experience with porn began to change as well. When I began to understand all the “Ins and outs” (snigger), porn films began to take on almost depressingly predicable scenarios in the way they played out on the screen. They would basically centre on the star of the film, a woman who’s “Sexploits” (double snigger) would be the plot of the movie, as she generally shagged her way through a procession of men. The protagonists would always seem to be cut from the same cloth. The men would be perma tanned slabs of meat, so pumped full of steroids it was amazing that their balls didn’t resemble two frankly startled grapes with a huge swinging dick like an out of control fire hose lassoing around them, and they always had the same befuddled expression on their faces, like they were continuously trying to remember if they had left the gas on at home. The women quite often seemed more like mannequins than real human beings. Everything nipped and tucked, with fake breasts that seem to defy the natural laws of gravity. And vaginas so hairless and smooth, that every time the man went down to administer oral sex, he would recoil in horror on seeing his own face looming back at him from her reflective nether regions. So once whatever contrived set up had taken place that would get them in a position to start having www.theblogpaper.co.uk
sex, you could almost start playing porn bingo as it was almost so predictable as to how it was going to pan out. Right, she’s blowing him. I got that one. Now he’s going down on her. Tick that one. Now she’s riding him. Yep, that’s on my card. Any minute now they will change position. Is it doggy? Nope, it’s the praying mantis. Now it’s doggy. And here comes the cum shot. HOUSE! It’s basically about as erotic as slapping two cuts of raw steak together. But the thing that sets my, frankly rather odd, sense of humour off, is the “Dirty talk”. Sex instantly makes us stupid. It’s unavoidable. Now I don’t know if any of you kinky souls have ever recorded yourselves, but if you have, play it back with just the sound and no image. You sound like an idiot. Sex takes up so much brain power that what little is left is only our most basic functions, so when we start doing the dirty talk, we sound like we have just had a very powerful frontal lobotomy. And porn films seem to be under the impression that we like this, so they go all out to give us more of what they think we like. Idiots talking gibberish during sex. Ohhh yeah, fuck me hard. Pound me with your hot meat. You like my wet pussy? One thing that seems to be repeated often is the fact that the couple can’t quite seem to believe that they are having sex. We’re doing it. Yeah, we’re really doing it. We’re doing it hard baby. We’re really doing it hard and fast. It’s like some odd form of philosophical debate amongst morons. If two idiots fuck in an office, are they really there? If the woman really wanted to freak the man out, during mid thrust, she could grab him by the ears, look him deep in the eyes and say, “But are we really doing it?” causing the man to suddenly doubt his own existence, which in turn will make him lose his magnificent erection and go in sit in the corner to contemplate who exactly he really is. One of the most soul destroying pieces of dirty talk I have heard in a porn film was this little beauty. “Stick your big fat cock in my meathole.” Now let me break that down for you. Stick. Your big fat cock. In my meathole. I don’t think in all of the history of written literature has there ever been a more awful collection of words placed in one sentence. That one statement has basically reduced something that is beautiful, life affirming, sensual, and just generally amazing, and turned into donkey shit. Plus it also shows porn up for what it really is, just two rapidly decaying sacks of flesh, pointlessly and joylessly grinding away at each other in a pathetic attempt to stave off the rapidly approaching spectre of death lurking menacingly on the horizon. Well I’m horny now, how about you? With the explosion of home internet use within the last 15 years, all the porn you want can be beamed directly into your homes at the click of a mouse button. You want to see someone with no hands trying to fuck a chicken? (and let’s face it, who wouldn’t?), have a little search around and I’m sure you will find it somewhere. Websites like Youporn, Spankwire, and Redtube, all provide a never ending visual stream of folk doing the wild thing for you to consume at your pleasure. And yet these sites don’t really appeal to me either. Unlike porn films, these sites cut out the story and just show endless clips of people getting down to it. But whenever I have watched anything on there, being the stickler for narrative that I am, rather than get turned on, I just seem to be asking myself loads of questions. Whose kitchen are they in? Is that the baddie? Why is he dressed like a pirate? So instead of getting my juices going, all I end up doing is desperately trying to fill in a back story for something I’m not really interested in anyway. I’m sticking to my imagination in future. In that I am always amazing, have endless stamina, and I never cry halfway through like in real life. Which is always a bonus
culture Article by thomasbobs , UK Average Rating: 3,3
www.thomasbobs.webs.com
The Age of Distrust I am 18, I am still young in comparison with the majority of people in the world, but even I can see a degradation of simple trust in our society. The days of everyone trusting everybody else are almost up - replaced with a depressing need for background checks on anyone offering to baby-sit for a day or drive the kids to school. “Innocent until proven guilty” - the phrase that our legal system is supposedly based on is now little more than a myth from a happier time and common decency is met with suspicion and a defensive stance.
Photos posted by dasdesign , London Average Rating: 4,0
Nowadays a defendant is expected to provide evidence of their innocence rather than the prosecution being expected to provide evidence of wrong doing. How did we ever get this far? When did old men suddenly all become paedophiles instead of a source of wisdom and knowledge about the world? When did the word ‘teenager’ become a blanket term for yobs and muggers? When did the teenaged years suddenly become the prime age for having babies? When did every immigrant entering our country become a benefit thief? When did all Muslims become terrorists? You want an answer? The answer is ‘never’. These things are fake illusions created by a press desperate to find a new edge and sell papers. The world is not going to the dogs as papers (from both the left and right of the political spectrum) would have you believe. We teenagers are not a group of mindless, sex-obsessed, hoodie-wearing yobs that should be feared. We’re not the mug-shot age group. We’re a group you should be cherishing
- we’re your future for crying out loud. Give it 20 or 30 years and we’ll be the ones decided how much pension you’ll be getting and at what age; show some respect! Many people, if not most people, now look upon the idea of old men having a friendly relationship with a young child as if it’s automatically paedophilia. We all think it, but none of us would think that of our own Grandpas. And if none of us think that of our own Grandpas, how could any old man be a paedophile? It’s like my Grandma. She moans on about teenagers being anti-social and ungrateful before turning to me and saying, “Oh, but obviously not you, dear.” Do you think any Grandma thinks their grandson would do those things? That’s not to say that there are absolutely no pedophiles and absolutely no anti-social yobs, but if you believe the papers then they’d be found on every street corner - which they’re not! There’s a lot of street corners around me and not once have I seen a yob or pedophile on them! It is just cringe-worthy.
The birdbook is a series of photography’s by American artist Andrew Zuckerman, who created stunning high resolution visuals of birds in motion.
www.birdbook.org
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film
Burlesque Undressed
Article by SophiaMM. / London Average Rating: 3.5
www.theblogpaper.co.uk/sophiamm-0
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As a woman, I was a little apprehensive about going to see a movie about Burlesque to be honest. I assumed the target audience would be more geared towards men. That it would mainly be a lot of bare flesh, jiggling breasts a go-go, and a girl in a martini glass. I admit I was a little worried that the whole experience might end up being just a little uncomfortable. At least that was what I was thinking before watching “Burlesque Undressed”. But after watching the documentary, I was completely bowled over and all my assumptions about the genre were proved to be completely unfounded. So here are the reasons why: Immodesty Blaize, the star of “Burlesque Undressed”, is first of all a clever and smart woman. She talks about Burlesque as if she is a history teacher, however she does so in such a dazzling and sexy way that made “Burlesque Undressed”, if nothing else, the most entertaining history lesson I have ever had and history was one of my favourite subjects back in school so it just goes to show. From the origins of Burlesque Entertainment to modern day Burlesque as an art- form she explains in great detail the whole genre. She speaks about the correlation between the economic recession and the need for glamorous, fun and sexy entertainment such as Burlesque, linking it to the Twenties, Forties and Fifties. She also explains the difference between Burlesque and Striptease, however does not deny, that when it comes down to it “I am a bloody stripper” and laughs. Second of all Immodesty Blaize is a successful Business Woman. With producing her own show, she employs 65 people and has costume designers in London, Paris, Chicago, New York and Las Vegas and furthermore her own 12 piece big band. Not to mention that one of her costume designers is the same one that previously worked with Kylie Minogue, Stephan Jonas. On average it takes her about a year to come up with and organise a new performance from designing the costumes with her designers, composing the music with her big band, working on the stage design, as well as rehearsing the whole act with her other female dancers. And the final product is very impressive. Third of all she looks like a woman with a healthy diet and a healthy way of exercising. “Burlesque embraces the female form” says Immodesty Blaize and adds “I like having breasts, hips and being a size 10”. Her body is sexy, she looks a bit like a reincarnated Betty Boop, which sets a great example of how a woman can look amazing without being a size zero. “For me glamour is about making the very, very best of what you’ve got. You polish and you refine, you polish and you refine. As opposed to beating yourself up because you don’t look like Kate Moss. I find it beautiful when a woman can be herself” says Immodesty. Moreover the film is simply fun. The elderly Burlesque legends like Satan’s Angel tell their stories and their experiences with husky voices from dating Clint Eastwood or getting stoned with Janis Joplin to spending several nights in jail for showing their buttocks. It feels a bit like listening to the wild grandmother, you never had. Overall the film is entertaining, educating and gives an impressive look-behind-the-scenes into the world of Burlesque and Immodesty Blaizes´ work, a good way to spend 88 minutes and if you don’t believe me than go and see for yourself. www.theblogpaper.co.uk
Why Sex & The City 2 Will Suck Article by bangsandabun / London Average Rating: 3.4
www.bangsandabun.com Warning: This post may make you want to punch babies, computer screens or indeed, me. Lest we get ourselves into a situation a la the Great Madonna Debacle of ‘09, I thought I should give that warning up front. I am about to say some unsavory things about Sex and The City. Please take a moment to check your blood pressure, align your chakras and get Deepak Chopra on the line to counsel you through this. I loved the Sex and The City TV series. I thought it was witty, stylish and even revolutionary in its content. But when, just before Christmas, the trailer for the Sex & The City 2 movie came out and hysteria spread around the internet faster than Paris Hilton’s STDs, I got confused. And here’s why: The first Sex & The City movie was trash. There, I said it. I went to see it in a movie theatre packed to the rafters with dizzy bitches in cocktail dresses and their gay best friends. (I won’t touch on why everyone got dressed up like they were going to prom and some of the boys were wearing tiaras, suffice to say, you can take a thing too far. It’s not that serious.) At the end of the movie, as the girls sniffled into their hankies and the boys applauded like they were at a Ricky Martin concert, I figured I must have been watching something altogether different. Let’s break down what actually happened in that cinematic flop:
film
Review: Food Inc Article by movieoverdose / London Average Rating: 3.7
www.movieoverdose.wordpress.com
in her life. All signs point to WRONG. She rolls up to the wedding with some hideous feather in her head, only to be stood up by Mr Big. After buggering off to Mexico and weeping for days on end, it’s decided it’s all one big misunderstanding and she marries him anyway. Cold feet be damned! Whichever way they tried to dress it up, the underlying message was that Carrie is over 40 and frankly, it’s never gonna get better than this rich fella who treats her like crap. Being with him is better than being a spinster. Quick, pass the ring! Then there was Miranda. Her husband Steve cheated on her for the lamest of reasons. Now, while I do believe, in a marriage, you should always try to work it out, in this case, it was completely out of character for Miranda to tolerate such nonsense. But, she takes him back anyway. Why? Because she’s over 40, with a child. It may never get better than Steve, who cheats. Better to be with a cheater than be a spinster. On to Charlotte, whose infertility was one of her main story lines on the show. So she adopts a baby from China (why not a poor American kid? I never got that). Ahh happy endings. But wait, all of a sudden, in the movie, Charlotte gets pregnant! It’s a miracle! Yes, yes, I get that it can happen, but I found it hugely offensive and insensitive to women who struggle with infertility to make it seem as if it was that simple. The only one who kept it real was Samantha. She stayed true to who she was and wasn’t afraid to leave her toyboy when it wasn’t working out. But aside from Samantha, the overall message was that you should settle. Because you’re old. Once you get to a certain age, demanding certain things like oh, I don’t know, not being stood up on your wedding day, is just ridiculous. You shouldn’t be picky. Just settle. And wear nice clothes while you do it. Will I see Sex and The City 2? Of course I will, because it looks ridiculous and I’m a sucker for good wardrobe styling, but all this hysteria and people acting like the first movie was actually good? Yeah, I think you need to reassess.
Documentaries about food run a difficult gauntlet of having to balance sober analysis without dipping into polemic proselytising. Super Size Me, though partly a driver of change in the fast-food industry towards a more sustainable and healthy menu, was a one-track, single-avenue attack on McDonald’s and the ilk. The film itself makes valid points, but audiences don’t like to be told something they already know but feel either powerless to change or be empathetic about. Witness the unease at the message of environmentalism and anti-wastage in Wall-E for a further example. Food Inc sets itself in a different documentary universe to the films of Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock, laying out its points in a sober, if visually interesting manner rather than placing a protagonist at the centre and then driving home points with sensationalist, personalised stories relating to the central subject. It should be noted that Food Inc is not above doing this, but it’s done as part of a wider narrative rather than a single moment intended to make one point. The problem that the film runs into, by taking such a tact, is that its message becomes extremely broad. There are attacks on the beef, pork, poultry and corn industries, all of which are well-argued and evidenced, but the overall effect is one of overwhelmed anger and frustration. It even carefully sets out a range of measures that consumers can take to try and help with the problem. But even this is somewhat undermined by the fact that you know, as the audience, that this film will not be seen by enough people to affect the kind of change needed. The problems they highlight are systemic and deeply-ingrained and despite their urging that it is the consumer which holds the power, the knowledge remains that it would take a movement amongst everyone to actually drive real change. That said the documentary is a very effective argument against capitalist values within another industry.
www.theblogpaper.co.uk
It won’t be news to anyone that the FDA and swathes of government and judicial branches are littered with former industry figures, a trend which must have a significant impact on the kind of easing legislation which allows the kind of hyper-consolidation and monopolisation of different parts of the supply chain. It makes the troubling point that people are given significantly less protection by the FDA than the corporations that the agency is supposed to scrutinise. It’s the latter development which Food Inc concentrates on, namely the way in which multinational corporations will drive down costs, gain more power and all at the cost of the quality of the food. There are startling examples of the kind of clandestine practices used by the likes of Monsanto (agricultural biotech giant) and Smithfield (pork producer and processor), notably their exploitation of illegal immigrants through an alleged deal with local authorities. The main strength comes when the filmmakers concentrate on solutions. They interview a farmer who says that his traditional farming methods – looking after the animals, preparing the meat by hand – is a more efficient model than that used by the corporate entities when the external and subsequent costs around healthcare and the environment are considered. They also have a section focusing on the organic food market, the (ironically) inorganic acquisition strategy of major FMCGs and supermarket groups being employed to gain exposure to that market and the positive impact that this may have, even if it involves a kind of compromise to corporate America. What you are shown will, or at least should, drive outrage and anger at these massive conglomerates, but the real villain of the film is the government, for allowing big business to dictate policy beyond its own interests to the point where it begins to inflict pain on the consumer and on farmers, the true producers at the heart of the industry. Though the film is far from perfect, lacking a sense of focus which would be needed to truly allow people to feel as though they could help, you would have to be of stern stomach not to closely consider your shopping and eating habits after this film.
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environment Article by heatandenergy.org / London Average Rating: 4,3
www.HeatandEnergy.Org
The smartest climate change idea ever? I recently wrote an article titled “Pay as you save –the smartest climate change ever” aimed at home owners” following UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband announcement in December. The plan briefly is to trial “The Home Energy Pay As You Save scheme” which will give 500 UK households the opportunity to invest in energy efficiency and microgeneration technologies in their homes
with no upfront cost. Householders will make repayments spread over a long enough period so that repayments are lower than their predicted energy bill savings, meaning financial and carbon savings are made from day one. Though, I had some disappointment that so few homes are to be involved, I congratulated Mr Miliband and expressed that in my opinion this is one of the smartest ideas of the 21st Century and if successful has the potential to put a real dent in energy consumption and costs and potentially this was enough to win my vote at the next general election! However, the details are still a little scarce, but I am further disappointed to learn that British Gas are to be involved. This will simply add to fears of where the responsibility of the loan will reside – the building or the homeowner, will you be tied to British Gas for energy supply etc. Why allow one of the utility companies to be involved at all – the vast majority want independence from these organisations and would opt for off grid power
CONCEPT
The Moon Villa Note by d.hauer / Amsterdam Average Rating: 4,3
www.royalhaskoningarchitecten.com Royal Haskoning Architects designs a villa on the moon! For the February issue of the popular- scientific Dutch Quest magazine Royal Haskoning Architects has given their vision on the design of a villa on the moon. The villa is a spherical mini biotope on the moon. It is metaphorical reference to the earth. The villa forms a contract with the rough and dark moon landscape. A smooth and transparent sphere with a green living environment inside. The thinking beyond borders leads to innovative solutions and typologies. The villa is designed to provide the energy, water, food and oxygen it needs, since there is nothing available on the moon. It isn’t a traditional house with rooms and walls, but a continuous space without walls. House and garden are one. Only the spaces which ask for privacy, like bedrooms and bathrooms, are placed in closed smaller spheres. Interesting detail is the “split level” principle. Between the different floors there is a height difference of 1, 20 meters. Because the gravity on the moon is only 1/6 of the gravity on earth, the different levels are accessible without any staircases. The following multidisciplinary team worked on the vision: Dennis Hauer, Rob Pascha, Kevin Brandau, Frans Blok (VHP) and Erik Tober (Building Services)
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www.theblogpaper.co.uk
generation as soon as it’s a viable option. The manufacturers and suppliers of these technologies need to re-align their thinking slightly, and perhaps reinvent themselves as energy providers as opposed to distributors. Wouldn’t it be better to pay them your monthly household budget for clean and renewable energy. Alternatively, create a lease/ purchase scheme, lots of people cars, this would eradicate fears of purchasing inferior or inefficient equipment and so drive micro –generation to mainstream markets. Here’s a thought, instead of bailing out the irresponsible banks, V.A.T. reductions and scrapage schemes, why not provide the manufacturers of micro-generation technologies interest free loans to create such a leasing schemes. Consider the positives of such a scheme, job creation would be huge, manufacturing jobs (could this re-invent British manufacturing?), builders, ground workers, plumbers, gas fitters, surveyors etc. Not to mention that every householder would benefit financially long term and cut co2 emissions..... WOW!
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technology
Interview with Jimmy Wales co - founder of wikipedia
Article by theeuropean / Berlin Average Rating : 3,7
www.theeuropean.de The European: We all speak a lot about social media in these days. Where does it end, where will social media be in a few years? Wales: Well, this is a really good question. In many ways social media, especially the first forms of social media, have a very simple parallel to the past. For example the email is a very simple parallel to sending someone a letter. On the other side there is nothing comparable to Twitter in traditional communication. It is broadcasting, but only to people who decide to listen. It is a very different kind of communication. And of course we also have Facebook which has way more more features. And then we have something like Wikipedia, which maybe has a traditional analogue in the sense that a group of people are collaborating to write something together but it is certainly a new form of communication. So when I think about the future, I don’t think only about technical development, but also about the fact that the potential unification of certain people with a certain level of literacy and the right tools will encourage new innovation. What those are, I don’t know. The European: So if you say we literate and as a result will be able to use the technology, the next step is augmented realities. We will be able to let our footprint wherever we are on the planet. Is this like you go to Munich and visit the main church and you see on your cell phone what other peoples comments on that site are? Wales: Yes, we have certain interesting things. There are applications on Wikipedia that are like that. Within Wikipedia people have geo-tagged the coordinates of many things in Wikipedia. One could combine this with a mobile phone application, in form of a button, that provides you with you with those geo tags. The procedure would be pretty easy; if I would like to know more about an object, location, etc I push the button and Wikipedia uses the geo tags to supply me with the right Wikipedia entry. That’s very cool application, not just for Wikipedia. Wikipedia is going to cover the popular and historically important things but there is plenty of other stuff that people may want to know about: What is that? Oh it is McDonalds.
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The European: You were speaking about Wikipedia. Some years ago it was said, that’s the wisdom of the crowd. Today we have selected groups that define whether or not a story is posted. Is that a step backwards? Wales: Actually Wikipedia has always been more like that. When it first emerged, people talked a lot about crowd wisdom but I have always resisted that nation. From the start we knew that the idea that Wikipedia provides each of the 10 million community users an equal say has never really been Wikipedia. It has always been a core group deciding and exercising judgement about what is published and what is not. Recently, people finally noticed how Wikipedia works. Wikipedia is not a magical emerging phenomenon, actually, it is far more traditional then most people believe. On the other side it is also untraditional in many ways of course. The European: Tradition would have philosophically a vision of what man is like. Now we have the web and we speak a lot about algorithms. So is everything about you predictable, is everything formable into algorithms what man is about? Wales: I don’t think so. Not yet maybe. I think most would people agree with me that Wikipedia is a remarkable phenomenon and that there is almost no technology behind it. That’s the thing. Well ok, internet is technology and so forth but it is just a database and some tools added, but there are no algorithms, computers are not deciding things and we are very far from that. I mean, the things we are able to do in genuine intelligence now are pretty remarkable, but we are still very far from encapsulating genuine human judgement. And then in terms of predictability, yes certainly behavioural analysis in advertising, certain predictable patterns sort of make sense, which is not a surprise. That is not a sudden discovery that a 21- year old single male might want to look at girls. The advertisements recognize that. If you are on a webpage about babies you might buy things for a baby. That’s the basic meaning of targeting. It has got a lot more sophisticated, but I still think there is nothing too advanced about it yet. The European: Would you say about the political philosophy regarding the web, is something like web2.0 only possible because we have the idea of individual rights, the expression of yourself? I mean is this what web2.0 is about? www.theblogpaper.co.uk
Is that something that could just simply build on our development we had before? Wales: I think so, yes. I think there is a certain attitude that underlies web2.0 type phenomenon, that’s really more about a cultural attitude, which is very widespread, of course in the US, in Europe, basically a Western phenomenon. The idea that each person should be able to express themselves. Not just, that the person should be legally allowed to, but also that it is a good thing that we support it and we like it. And if we have a friend who has written a novel, we congratulate him and we have a party and even if have read the novel halfway and it is not very good, but I still tell him: Good job. I am glad you wrote this. Because we think it is wonderful that people are expressing their ideas. And the web2.0 of course builds on that. If you take your picture of some famous monument and upload it to the web for everyone to see, we don’t think: Who are you? Why would you publish a photo, you are not a professional photographer. How dare you to do that? No one says that, we say: That’s great. You put your photos up and we can see them. The European: Just one last question I mean we had a time in the television era. We would all sit around the television and speak about what we saw on TV. Now everyone has their own laptop, their own device. So now there is less conversation because of the web. Is that a correct observation? Wales: I think it’s both correct and incorrect. Let’s take an example. What are you doing all day? What are you studying, what are you reading. Well I know you a little bit, we have some friends in common right. Eventually we became Facebook friends, and if you send out an interesting link, I may follow the link and think: there is this guy in Germany, I don’t know very well, but he sends out interesting links. I kind of know what you are thinking, not in depth but then with closer friends you communicate with them a lot more than in the past about what they are reading. We are sending out interesting articles to friends all the time. Intellectual things, silly things and so there is an enhanced degree of communication with your friends. I think most people experience this phenomenon. People I knew at high school all went off and did different things. One went to Google, one is a professor. You have lost track of them all. But know through Social Media we are all back together. There is increased communication but it is true we don’t sit in front of the television together in the same room.
technology
Note posted by rigsy / London Average Rating: 4,2
www.schultzeworks.com Note posted by minniek / London Average Rating: 5,0
www.lightblueoptics.com
The design of the “Philco PC” was inspired by the 1954 design classic Philco Predicta, as well as an eclectic mixture of modern minimalism, the steampunk movement, and antiques. “The result is a design aesthetic that blends multiple elements of the familiar, but with some surprisingly fresh styling that just so happens to house a state-of-the-art Windows 7 PC.” explains Dave Schultze...
Light Touch is an interactive projector that instantly transforms any flat surface into a touch screen. It frees multimedia content from the confines of the small screen, allowing users to interact with that content just as they do on their hand held devices – using multi-touch technology.
www.theblogpaper.co.uk
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worldnews Article by MediaActivist / UK
Average Rating: 3,8
www.mediaactivist.com
Spain, the last bastion of resistance in the network Article by santibenitez / Las Palmas, Spain Average Rating: 3,5
www.elartedelaguerra.es In a world where child pornography infested with, which our data in the network are accecible by any government without which we can do about it, in which culture has become an industry greased entertainment expensive and inaccessible, a small country of irreducible Spanish people stand still and forever that their rights are overlooked in the network. Spain is the only western country which still is a right to copy, paste, share and download contents from the network. The offense is trying to make money doing it, but it is not without profit. Now the recording and film industry has made the liberal Spanish government to introduce a final disposition in a law called Sustainable Economy (things of the crisis) gives capacity to those industries to close websites through an administrative commission, bypassing the normal judicial procedure requiring the Constitution and, therefore, allow them to circumvent fundamental rights such as freedom of expression. We all know how this works. The copyright as a tool of censorship used by corporations and governments. There are many examples, but to show a button. In 2005, renowned Indian photographer Sharad Haksar, the same photographer who owns the photo that heads this article, published a photo which claimed that Coca Cola factories in Madras dried drinking water wells that poor communities came to get it. Coca Cola reported him for trademark infringement. So far, this would never have occurred in Spain, because the law means that art and freedom of expression, do not forget that the photographer made a complaint, are over trademarks and of course, above the interests of any government. Spanish Internet users know what it means to subject rights to interests that are not citizens - have suffered forty years of dictatorship.
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Angel of the Public Interest
Nor do we understand why an internet user should have fewer rights than a normal citizen. No government would ever punish a citizen by giving away or sharing a book or music CD, with no democratic government would ever put a tape on the mouth of any citizen on the say whatever he wants about anything .. . then, why an internet user to do? To make matters worse, the disposal of law sustainable economy is driven by a progressive government. Internet users do not understand, we do not understand that a progressive government laws encourage to violate rights rather than expand them. Spanish Internet users have put us on a war footing, and have done so because we understand that governments can not violate rights under the guise of defending the company profits, because the rights of citizens are above the profits of any company. But we did too because the European Union has approved a package of measures for telecommunications, which violates the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and the constitutions of various countries that comprise it. Europe is not U.S., European citizens do not understand why their rights must be reduced for a company to earn more. Recording and film industries in Europe have achieved higher profits in 2009 than ever. And we need your help. We need it because the internet rights are not the rights of one or the other, the Internet has no borders, when the rights of citizens are violated in Iran, China, Cuba or any country, rights are violated in all Internet. When a dictatorship do it, when a government of religious fanatics do it, we know what to expect, but when a democracy do it we must say loud and clear, NO. This is the moment that European citizens must say enough is enough, because we are the bottom, we are the last frontier that can stop this escalation against the rights of citizens in the European Union. The parliament and the various European governments has become European integration in the Europe of companies, when it should be the Europe of citizens. Europeans must ask ourselves what we want and act accordingly. We must realize that if we lose this battle Internet will become a state of siege and emergency limited human and fundamental rights by governments bribed by corporations. It’s time to tell our governments and companies they represent that our rights are not for sale. Good night and good luck www.theblogpaper.co.uk
“The night after I was sworn in, I waited for a visit from the angel of the public interest. I waited all night, but she did not come.” - Federal Communications Commission chief Michael Powell, an avid deregulation advocate and son of Colin Powell.Does media matter? That’s what I’m asked a lot. Well, ask yourself how many of your opinions have been formed by something you heard, something you saw; a television show, a magazine, a song, a movie, a newspaper, or even a conversation - which, in turn, was likely largely based on opinions formed from...media! Sorry, but there’s really no way around it, honey. Media controls the world. That’s just how it is. The more we’re informed, the more our opinions are formed. We like to kid ourselves; we prefer to pretend that we’re not influenced and know it all already. But deep down, we know that’s just not true. The media plays a particularly prominent part in influencing our decisions. But who controls the media? I guess that’s pretty important, then, eh? Well, unfortunately, it’s being left to rich, greedy, white, right-wing men in suits who - funnily enough have the tendency to tell twisted tales to the people consuming their media, so that they keep hating each other and voting the right-wing political parties into power. That’s pretty much how the whole thing works, right there. In Britain, after boom-and-bust Conservative strategies left the incoming Labour government in economic turmoil, selling out the unions who funded them - and subjected to the (first) Winter of Discontent - Margaret Thatcher led the Tories back to power in 1979 with help from not
DESIGN
Photos posted by MrHyde / London Average Rating: 4,1
www.hereigo.co.uk A hybrid novel can be seen as a hybrid image-text novel, not a children’s book, graphic novel/comic or gift book but a book where written text and graphic devices such as illustration, photography, information graphics or typographic treatments may interject in order to hold a readers’ interest, adding interactiveness to the book and also giving the printed page a multidimensional visual surface. It is a kind of book that requires the readers’ actions and also to be handled and experienced.
worldnews just the clever, cynical, fake (and now-infamous) billboard poster designed by advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, but also Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid newspaper The Sun encouraging the population to vote for the Tories, like an evil nanny feeding a starving child arsenic and telling them “It’s good for you,” and it being trustingly gulped back. No doubt many working class people - feeling that Labour had already significantly compromised their socialist approach moulded three decades earlier by the great Clement Attlee - felt less enthusiastic about voting for Labour again, staying at home. That’s to be expected. But it was predominantly the less industrial, more middle class, more suburban south of England that provided the push needed to solidify the support necessary to put in - and keep in - a Conservative government, all the way to 1997.The Tories didn’t simply fall from favour in 1997. No, it’s no coincidence that Rupert Murdoch had become impressed by Tony Blair’s “Third Way” route for New Labour that promised to continue the media deregulation started by Thatcherism - so much so that he had his News Corporation, and indeed The Sun, support them...resulting, of course, in their rise to power. And also resulting in deregulation and near-monopolisation of the media for Mr Murdoch. Sure enough, Blair’s Britain continued along that path, as did Bush’s United States. In 2003, Murdoch claimed Bush “will either go down in history as a very great president or he’ll crash and burn...I’m optimistic it will be the former.” He put his Fox News Network to work on making his hopes a reality, almost always portraying Bush in a good light, discrediting his critics, and - most crucially - omitting certain facts about him and his party, only increasing the role of the channel as being, in actuality, Faux News, while Murdoch bought MySpace two years later, and continued his quest for his right-wing domination of the media world, and the people of the planet showed the propaganda wasn’t completely succeeding as millions marched in streets across the globe in opposition to the UK-US led illegal invasion of Iraq. The Bush administration, of course, didn’t let these deeds go without reward. In the spring of that same year, Colin Powell’s son, Michael Powell, in his role as chief of the Federal Communications Commission, set about dismissing
thirty year-old rules while further loosening restrictions on just how much media could be controlled by a single company like News Corp. These changes threatened to allow a single network to buy stations that, combined, reached as much as a staggering 45% of the American people. Think about that for a moment: one ideology, one message, one slant - bombarding as many as almost a half of all Americans. Murdoch could control the information of entire cities in the world’s most powerful nation. Yep, deregulation was still being attempted in return for propaganda and campaign funds donated to the bigwigs by the media moguls. It was becoming a tired old sick joke. Speaking of sick jokes, Powell simply stated, “The night after I was sworn in, I waited for a visit from the angel of the public interest...I waited all night, but she did not come.” This peeved a lot of people, with leading media activist Aliza Dichter responding, “Since he had trouble seeing one angel that dreadful night on March 22nd, we shall descend upon him in droves!”, planning a protest and Indy Media announcing “We encourage all Angels such as yourself to come to the gathering dressed in your best Angel garb - halo, wings, glitter, the whole nine yards. (If no angel gear, come anyway!)” They’re still waiting for the droves of angels to descend on the FCC, and I’m very tempted to come to Washington, D.C. myself. There are all kinds of media activist opportunities there, because it’s the seat of power, and if I’m allowed there, I’ll be helping to kick the legs from under it along with the rest of the people wanting change through responsible, fair media. Barack Obama’s great. The media has pleasantly focused on the fact that, for the first time ever, an African-American now resides in the White House. Why trivialise it? Why reduce it to tokenism? He got where he is today because he wasn’t Colin Powell; he represented the wishes and hopes and dreams of America. He made promises he is already struggling to keep while under pressure from the same old system - be it by appeasing the military industrial complex by pulling forces from Iraq and simply putting them into Afghanistan, or by using the economy as an excuse to put progressive policies on the back-burner. Yes, his achievement is historic, yes it’s important - but we must not forget the real reason he was put
into power, because a black man means nothing unless he represents the people, and nor does a woman. Deregulation was pushed to unprecedented places by Margaret Thatcher, one of the most devastating Prime Ministers in British history. That’s something worth remembering. And with that in mind, it’s time to take back control of the airwaves and the printing presses, because once Murdoch and his ilk have had their way, we’ll only get their side of the story.When the media lie, they get sued. So what do they do instead? Omit. It’s lies through omission. If someone threatens you and your loved ones, and provokes you into threatening them in return, to then accuse you of threatening behaviour would only be part of the story, and, some might say, as bad as lying. That’s what the mainstream media do: they lie through omission. Omitted details about immigration, about Iraq, about Palestine, about Ireland, about everything. There are certain things they’d rather you didn’t know about or focus on. Because if you did? You’d be ripping their papers and brand-new backsides for their bosses; you’d be organising and forcing change. Ever noticed how everyone complains about how hard life is, and how much they work, yet things just largely stay the same? Ever wondered how that’s even possible? They filter the information; they tell you that the arsenic is good for you! Everything’s okay; just blame the immigrants. Everything’s alright; blame the benefit frauds. Everything’s fine; blame the poor who went into debt. Whatever you do, don’t even consider questioning capitalism’s free market or why there are just a few privileged people with eight-bedroom mansions, limousines and lear jets, while the mass majority in the world are struggling, and 1.4 billion live in official poverty. What the media clues you in on is nowhere near as important as what they’ve left out. It can be quotes, statistics, editorials, and the screaming headlines themselves - overpowering or even replacing a few extra crucial details to the story. Given the fact that more and more of the media is being controlled by fewer and fewer people - with right-wing interests in contrast to the interests of the mass majority - our information is being controlled more and more, as well. It’s being filtered. But heck, information is too important to our lives to be left in the hands of the right who are doing us wrong. We have to do something.
Hybrid novels: A new way of reading narrative fiction
This remediation of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde tries, by adding playful graphic devices to the original novel, to engage readers in a more dynamic narrative experience and help them at the same time to understand the story more easily.This was my MA Major Project whilst studying at LCC in 2009. www.theblogpaper.co.uk
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DESIGN
Photos posted by gumpert444 / London Average Rating: 4,1
www.m-cycles.com Massow Concept Cycles is the brainchild of design guru Barend Massow Hemmes. The concept of designing motorcycles based on iconic corporate logos was for many years a concept which lived on paper. In March 2006 through a friend, Barend acquired 2 iconic Leaper Mascots which had previously graced the forecourt of a Jaguar dealership. The iconic Jaguar moulds used to stand proudly on top of every Jaguar Car dealership as a symbol of quality and sophistication. By chance, one of the Massow designs was based on the old Jaguar logo. So with the Jaguar in mind, Barend set about transforming his paper vision into a working reality. 3 years later, with expert help from Polar Cycles, the Jaguar motorbike was ďŹ nally completed and Massow Concept Cycles was founded. For more information check out the website; www.m-cycles.com
Article by ViceUK / London Average Rating: 4,0
Vice Photo Blog: Gash! at The Macbeth 08.01.2010
These photos are from the Vice UK photo blog, which features new party photos every day. Photos are of GASH! at the Macbeth by Holly Lucas.
www.viceland.com/uk
theblogpaper 5th of February 2010 - If you would like to see your articles / blogs / work in print, just log on and start posting at theblogpaper.co.uk...take it easy...