That in my mind it is officially Springtime.

I ws nicely awoken this morning by a rare yet refreshing burst of sunshine. It actually penetrated the blinds and got in my eyes.
Added to this that I was able to walk around all day, and up till 8ish this evening; in a vest top, jeans and light jacket - without getting cold. Also I think I can smell it too.. you know when the council starts trimming the grass, and the haphazardly planted Daffs are coming up?

Yeah.. its here.

To top it all its 5 to ten, and I JUST closed the Windows as I was catching a draft… Its definately Pinkies Springtime..

RAWR

While you’re planning next week, here’s another good one:

Six of the most exciting crime writers in translation read from their work and discuss with their translators the challenges and highlights of the translator’s art. Leonardo Padura (Cuba), Matti Joensuu (Finland), Dominique Manotti (France), Gianrico Carofiglio (Italy), Didier Daeninckx (France) & Louis Sanders (France).

I’ll be there…

Monday, 3rd April
Tickets: £5 / £4 including refreshments
6.30pm
The Gallery at Foyles

The Spitz celebrates where the blues is at in the 21st century with a series of 11 fantastic shows throughout April. This is no moth-balled, anachronistic blues fest: oh no, the blues we celebrate is created by young and mature musicians alike using the blues as a template to create modern, innovative music, inverting tried and tested structures and turning tradition on its head.

First up - Son of Dave + Seasick Steve + Hillstomp, Wednesday 5th April, 7pm - 12am, £10.00
www.bluesinldondon.com

… you wont be hearing in tonight episode of Eastenders. Very Funny… And would explain why they are taking the word nigger out of the gold digger song on Capital radio….

Hmm… next issue… how do we all feel about ID cards?

I know it’s an easy thing to oppose (who wants the number of the Beast on them?!), but, despite the official speechifying, does anyone have a cohesive argument for them?

Some Like it Hot

A special screening, with the profits going to Amnesty International.

With: Marilyn Munroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemon

The antics of two idiot musicians who, after witnessing the St Valentine’s Day Massacre, struggle to escape the gangsters by dressing up in drag and joining an all-girl band. Comic complications aplenty ensue when one of the two strives to express his lust for Marilyn, while the other is being pursued by an amorous Joe E. Brown.

To steal from an amusing IMDB reviewer:

Marilyn, her trademark, displeasingly infantile voice aside, is a bombshell of thermonuclear dimensions, whose powers of titillation will not expire so long as there are hormones and/or Viagra. The sexual content, for socio-historical reasons cannot be as explicit as we’ve come to expect, but there’s still plenty of it, from Monroe’s see-through outfit to the double entendre worthy of the Farelli Brothers - including overtly gay themes that have a cult following of their own.

(more…)

The man sentenced to die for converting from Islam has now fled to Italy, and the government in Afghanistan want him back.

He was let off trial, but there’s a lot of local (to Afghanistan) uproar about letting him out of the country, most of it focused on Italy, who have stated that they’ll be granting him asylum.

The topic brings up a lot of related thorny issues - any thoughts from anyone on the following….
(more…)

From the psuedo-Italian latte to the Canuck Tim Horton’s regular, a coffee with milk is the bevvy of a thousand names. Would an antipodean flat white smell as sweet?

According to Coolhunting, “Coffee Geeks have already been praising the place, saying it could serve the best coffee in the city.”

Flat White

A new biography of Barbra Streisand alleges the superstar’s list of lovers includes Diana, Princess Of Wales’ former husband Prince Charles and her lover Dodi Fayed.

Barbra: The Way She Is by Christopher Anderson claims Streisand is “cheap,” has a “Maria Callas-sized ego,” is prone to huge tantrums and has a star-studded list of former conquests.

Warren Beatty, Ryan O’Neal, Steve McQueen, Kris Kristofferson, Don Johnson, Jon Voight, Elliott Gould, Andre Agassi, Richard Gere, Omar Sharif, Liam Neeson and Peter Jennings are just some of the men linked with her.

Anderson also alleges Streisand, 63, was banned from the White House during Bill Clinton’s presidency by his wife Hillary after the former First Lady discovered the actress had stayed overnight while she was away, the New York Post reports. Barbra: The Way She Is will hit stores on March 28.

(from the World Entertainment News Network)

That’s just creepy.

SHOOTING DOGS (15) Followed by Q&A with Producer David Belton
CURZON SOHO FRI 31 MAR 6.20PM
Tickets £9.50

After this screening of SHOOTING DOGS there will be a Q&A with producer David Belton and other members from the cast & crew.

SHOOTING DOGS (15)
Director: Michael Caton Jones. Cast: John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, Claire-Hope Ashitey, Dominique Horwitz. UK 2005

SHOOTING DOGS is a powerful fictionalised account of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda which focuses on the human aspect of events and is imbued with authenticity. Joe (Dancy, KING ARTHUR) is an enthusiastic young Brit teaching English in Rwanda. When the tension between Tutsis and Hutus escalates, his school becomes a safe haven. Joe stays behind when the Europeans are evacuated, only to find that the Rwandans are to be abandoned to their fate. The filmmakers used real locations and hand-held cameras to give a documentary feel, and many of the cast and crew were survivors of the genocide. This accomplished and committed film serves as a timely reminder that questioning the West’s role in Africa is as vital for the future as understanding the past.