I met Ariana back in 2001. She played the lead in my first ever directing effort, “Thicker than Water,” and she did the accent as well: Southeast Louisianian (nearly impossible for even the natives). She’s since been in several features including “Me without You,” and “Susie Gold,” in theatre, music videos, commercials and on TV.

Anyway, after having been acting away in New York for a few years and returned to London with her smokin’ American boyfriend, she has just launched her own line of handmade, made-to-order designs called “Noodle Designs.” Bangles, cushions, chests, accessories.

You can buy directly from Ariana off Facebook, or wait ’til the designs are available at Of Cabbages and Kings boutique, Stoke Newington.

I’m digging this subversive little sticker I spotted on a wall in Upper St, Islington last night

Makes me want to go and look up the facts about the information that TFL gathers about my movements. That’s TFL plus any government/council busybody or their mates. And, no doubt, the police.

If you can’t make out the URL on the sticker, it’s:

http://www.neoexternalism.co.uk

Intriguing!

Ok i admit it I have a gambling problem…the problem is that I love it way too much. My poison is No-Limit Texas Hold’em poker, and everything about it. For example it is 12.34am and i am writing this post while playing online and watching a tournament on the telly. You catch my drift?

Well I am very excited that this Friday evening and Saturday daytime London is holding a Poker festival with a difference. And most importantly it is free to go along to!

Poker in the Park is taking place in Leicester Square in the small park area right in the middle of the square. It will have all kinds of top pros giving great advice and you can buy merchandise and helpful books etc.

One of the pros is fellow Englishman Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott…what a legend this guy is check him out here.

If you are interested in getting into the game then I reckon it would be a great place to go along and mix with other amateurs. There are even free tournaments to enter which you can win prizes.

Now being a lucky devil I will be living it up on the balcony of the Empire casino flashing my press pass and having some free booze with some showgirls (apparently) so there is even the chance to catch a peek at my ugly mug..if you’re lucky. (I am the one with the haircut similar to that of a German dictator)

These kind of free events are often round London but you never find out about them until it is too late. So I am spreading the word.

So come and become an addict like me….well no, don’t do that, but do come and have a great time with loads of fellow Londoners…and the odd hundred tourists.

So I got invited to a particularly posh awards to do in beautiful London town the other day. The usual free champagne, wine and beer flowed all night long and by 11 o’clock the night is going well (or so I thought) I decide to meet up with some friends around Liverpool street… and the next thing I know I am asleep on a night bus and it is 3am.

How did this happen, well quite obvious really, I got on and fell asleep.

Now most people who live in London will know that a London night can be particularly chilly at the best of times so the comfort and the warmth of a bus came as a huge relief and surprise when I first awoke from my slumber. The emptiness of the bus was also appealing to my inebriated self, so instead of getting off and hailing the nearest black cab and going home as any sober person would have done, I simply went back to my ZZZs.

Now buses do come to the end of their line eventually so when I was turfed off I can recall simply hoping on the next one that came along, oyster card in hand and finding a new corner to snooze in. Where the bus was going or where I picked it up from I do not recall or indeed do I care, but the warmth and cosiness of that seat once more led to me having a good hours snooze or so.

Soon after I was given orders by the driver to leave my seat with a depot fast approaching and once more a new bus was quickly located. Tactics began to be formed, as I headed back towards central London from where I think was the Finchely area.

I managed to time my journey on the final bus of the night as it arrived in Trafalgar Square at 5.30am and as the pigeons looked on in slight confusion and suspicion of this man still wearing a tuxedo from the night before I hopped on my first train back to my non moving home. Just in time for a few more hours sleep before jaunting back in to work as fresh as a daisy (that might be a slight fib).

So the next time you find yourself stranded with the final tube gone and no money for a cab, look for the nearest double-decker and get yourself the comfortable cheap alternative to a dodgy B&B.

This may shine a certain light on my person, as someone who A. enjoys a good hearty drink and B. doesn’t really care about what other people think.
Indeed I may easily offend or disgust you with the above revelations, but I say there are loads more people like me out there in the city and aren’t we the most interesting…I’ll let you decide that!

OK, so, not quite looking DOWN on St Paul’s - more like across…

This is one of a series of pics I took from the top of this building:

… while working there a while back.

Fun fact: there’s a helicopter pad on the roof! (No, silly - not St Paul’s, the office block.)

And round, in the other direction, we have Old Father Thames, Parliament and the ubiquitous London Eye:

As always, click pix to enbiggify (lots of interesting detail).

A storm over the Thames this evening proved once again who runs the lighting around here. Once the rain let up after supper, this full-arc (sometimes double) rainbow sprang from (according to where we stood, anyway) the Tower over the HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge to bury itself behind City Hall. (click any of the images to enhugify).

More after the jump … Read more

North side post rain - click for the bigger picture!

St. Paul’s from the Millennium Bridge, between showers.
(click to see it big ‘n’ grainy).
More and better shots tomorrow, er, later today.

Mack is leaving us this week, so were having a VERY last minute meet up tomorrow at Armanos cafe Tower Bridge….

“The bread is fantastic, contributing to sandwiches that blow the likes of Pret a Manger out of the water.” Flavour Magazine

With a reveiw like and a riverside veiw that i doubt we can go wrong - then we have the company of one Blogging LA’s finest to ice the cake!

image by discoverlondonbridge.co.uk

so why don’t you come down and join us at around 10.30am and sample the Brown Cow for yourself?
The full details can be found on the facebook event page, but while your there why don’t you join our facebook group and become a fan of Metroblogging London!

See you there!

This film was released one year ago in Brazil and before going to the movies, half of Brazil had watched it because some guys from the company that put the subtitles in English, pirated it on the internet. [There was actually a big gaffe when the Brazilian Minister of Justice said he had watched it before the official release].

I was surprised to see the banners in the underground this week, because being Brazilian, everyone always used to comment about “City of God” to me and I always recommended this film, but no-one [except Brazilians - who have at least one geek friend who could download the movie from the internet] had ever heard of it.

If you liked “City of God” and you like blood and violence, this one is definitely a must-see. While “City of God” shows how life and crime in favela are from the favelado’s perspective, this film shows how is the favela from the police’s point of view.

This film will be officialy released in the UK this Friday.

To the man with the face piercings on the No. 134 bus at 6:30 a.m.: thanks for showing me that chivalry is not dead. As the bus pulled up and opened its door, you smiled, did a little bow and waived me to go on first.

First, a definition from Wikipedia (bold is mine):

“Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood. It is usually associated with ideals of knightly virtues, honour and courtly love. Today, the terms chivalry and chivalrous are used to describe courteous behavior, especially that of men towards women.”

I know some guys have a beef with chivalry after the whole feminist movement, but I like that Wikipedia says it’s basically courteous behavior. And, don’t we need more of that in today’s world?

Read more

I do no’ thin’ that means what you thin’ it means, senor.

(Spotted earlier today at the Museum of Natural History)

I’ve learned two crucial things about living in London, in the most interesting and dangerous ways possible, since arriving for a month-long visit three weeks ago.

Indulge a dim American tourist for a second, if you will …

Sure, I’ve visited London before. One of the great cities of the world, and probably a close second to NYC for my favorite.

I stayed four summers with my parents when I was 6, 9, 12 and 18, and once about 23 years ago) and I have to say that I enjoyed just as much fun and gut-splurching fear climbing the gnarly spiral staircases up to the Golden Gallery at St. Paul’s on Monday as I did back then.

I also have a faint memory of my dad cursing at the top of his lungs when he accidentally shaved some paint off his hired Fiat with the back end of a lorry back then (bad turn). (Hang on - I do have a point, and I am getting to it …)

But that’s not so real as the moment I managed on my very first UK drive last month to make a right in our borrowed Vauxhall Zafira onto a quiet little street in East Dulwich - and then spent a good three or four seconds wondering why everyone was driving straight at me and honking … before I figured it out … Read more

To the young partier crashed out on the Northern Line at 9 a.m.:

Dude: While I can respect the amount of partying it takes to sleep sprawled out on the northbound train from London Bridge whilst everyone is stepping over you and scowling, you’re not cool.

While your mouth is hanging open so wide and you’re snoring so loud I could probably drop a ₤1 coin and it would fall all the way to the bottom before you even noticed, you’re not cool.

While you could snore through the coming apocalypse as well as completely ignoring the irritated older businessman who is even now kicking you in the shin trying to wake you so you’re not blocking the aisle and generally effing up everyone else’s attempt to just get to the office - you’re just … so … not cool.

You probably shambled onto the train from some party near South Wimbledon, and promptly fell asleep because you’re also on the nod, and now you’re a total disgrace, and small kids are giggling at you as the old fellow kicks you once more and this blogger steps off the train making a mental note to write about your sorry ass.

Have a little pride. Tuck your feet closer and close your mouth if you need to sleep it off en route home. Just saying.