Boob City

I have just begun work for Zoo magazine, the notorious lads mag.  Please understand that I am not talking about the kind of work that you see on page 3, but actually that I'm covering for the editorial assistant while she is on holiday.  Today was my first day and I already feel that I have been educated in, well, let's say, the ways of the world.  My eyes have been opened, through a constant stream of emails, to the twisted, slightly perverted men of the world and the, uh, curvaceous woman of the world.  At the moment my opinion is pretty low of these types of magazines - full of cheap, trashy nudity to help men get their jollies and rubbish editorial content in an attempt to legitimise the sale, and purchase, of these things weekly.  But I wonder if my mind will be changed after working there for 3 weeks...

    

East End...ers

So saturday was a good night...eventually.  It started badly, with me getting frustrated because my friends were being indecisive and annoying, when all I wanted to do was go out, have some drinks and a good old fashioned time.  My idea was to head to 93 Feet East because they were having what looked like a good club night on, but others were not so sure and were basically pissing about.  By the time 9pm arrived I was only half dressed and I had given up in favour of a vodka and lemonade - when my friend came through the door she was a little surprised, but I soon poured her a glass and she got into the swing on things.  Eventually three of us made it up to Brick Lane, but while waiting for others to join us from far flung places, we had some drinks in the Truman Brewery.  Now I don't usually come to the Brewery...well that's not true - I go there quite a lot because my friend's boyfriend owns it (yes, that's right, I'm bragging ever so slightly) but I'm usually only there in the daytime.  I hadn't realised until Saturday night quite how popular it is there now.  Apart from being slightly intimidated by the ultra trendy people, it was cool to just chill out outside the bars and cafes having drinks and chatting to strangers (some welcome, some not so much).  In the end, we didn't make it into 93 Feet East.  Instead we enjoyed the fact that for the first time in ages you could sit outside drinking and not get freezing cold in the process.  Then we got pancakes and made the long (bus) journey home. 

All hail the Lutheran

Apparently it's Luther Vandross' birthday today.  I know this because I was just out at Pigalle's in Piccadilly (more on the locale later) and they were having a special night with lots of different singers paying tribute to the big man himself.  I didn't actually go for the Luther Vandross tribute band you understand, I was there for a private party - my friend was celebrating the premiere of his new movie, Three And Out (go see it).  I hadn't heard of Pigalle's before, but it's a fairly popular club right by Leicester Square, and although I don't know what the music is like on nights when they aren't paying tribute to a late singer, it seems like a pretty cool place.  I mean, I ASSUME that normally the music is more "clubby", and they don't always play easy listening 105.4 type music...that would be kinda weird, right?

Mean Streets

I have been a little too preoccupied to write this week - first there was the excitement of getting a job (hooray for me!) and then there was the trauma of my car crash.  It was outside my house, and I was just turning into my drive from our notoriously hazardous road, when some madman came screeching up behind me way too fast, couldn't brake in time and so went smashing into the back of me.  And then, to add serious insult to injury, he took one sideways glance in my general direction and then sped off up the road.  Luckily, there was an ambulance parked just a few houses up and she saw the whole thing and caught his license plate and called the police.  It was a bit of an ordeal I don't mind telling you, and even though you don't think it will something like that kind of shakes you up for a little while.  To top it all off, the b*****d doesn't have insurance and they haven't arrested him yet, so it looks like my first month's wages will be going on my car repairs.  Just brilliant.  

Leatherheads

I went to see George Clooney's latest directorial offering the other night at Camden Odeon, which by the way is a very nice cinema, much better than other Odeons that's for sure.  Leatherheads is good fun, but far from a masterpiece.  It looks great - lots of sepia tones and stylish 20s costumes, and obviously George Clooney in the lead role is easy on the eye too, and he never misses an opportunity to stare into the camera with the famous Swooney gaze.  But as a director he certainly misses a trick or two - there are moments of brilliance and true comedy in this film, particularly the moments that are clearly influenced by the Screwball comedies of the 30s, but in other places he let's the scene down.  There is the potential for a laugh out loud moment or a memorable line, but instead it is filled with a quiet titter or some mediocre dialogue. Leatherheads is perfectly pleasant, but it's missed its potential.

Stand up and make me laugh

I went to see the stand up comedian Michael McIntyre at the St Albans Arena the other night, and laughed my little socks off.  If you haven't heard of him then get yourself over to Youtube right this minute and check him out...I guarantee he's going to be huge.  He takes some inspiration from the greats like Izzard, Evans and Connelly, but he's also got his own style.  He's been around for a few years, doing the Edinburgh circuit and the like, but I think this year he's really going to make his mark.  You heard it here first...    

I'm in the mood for dancing...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that if straight men can't find a lady friend to dance with then they will just grind up against each other...say what now??!  But it's true - or so it was in Loop Bar on saturday night this week.  This is not the classiest establishments anyway, basically just two huge levels of cramped dance floors, expensive drinks and bad music, much as I imagined it to be when my friend told me she would be celebrating her birthday there.  But the man on man action I really wasn't prepared for.  Seriously, give boys a little bit of alcohol and they sure can get friendly.  With each other.  All very bizarre.  But kindly some of them didn't leave us girls out, and even though we are all platonic friends they didnt have a problem with rubbing themselves up against us when we were least expecting it.  All well and good when you've been making eyes at a guy across the room all night, but when it's just your friend...? At one point in the strange night my friend came over to me and she whispered (or shouted, as it were, over the deafening music) "Ugh, I felt his whole anatomy!" I think that might have been the highlight of my evening.

Uneasy Protest

Today is definitely not a quiet day in London.  Since 10.30 this morning the Olympic torch has been carried through the streets on its journey to publicise the upcoming Olympics games in Beijing this summer.  Several notable personalities have been involved in each leg of the torch's journey - Sir Steve Redgrave, Kenny Logan, Konnie Huq, Amara Karan - and they have proudly represented all the good that the Olympic torch stands for.  But running alongside them have been thousands of Free Tibet protestors, rallying against the violation of human rights in China. The protests have, on the whole, been peaceful and the torch has been able to continue its journey while the protestors have definitely had their voices heard.  The situation presents a troubling dichotomy, and for that reason I decided not to take my friend up on his offer when he invited me to protest with him.  On the one hand I very much support the Free Tibet campaign and have done so for many years, having previously got involved in action to fight for Tibetan rights.  But on the other hand, I support the Olympic games and salute the good the event brings to the world, in terms of uniting nations and races and encouraging sport in young people.  So is it right to boo and hiss in the streets at the symbol of something that I also support?

But on the whole I think it has been a good day for London.  The sight of peaceful rallying and protesting is a bit of a thrill, and light has been shone on some very important causes.  It's definitely given everybody something to talk about.