Thurston Moore: Plays at Union Chapel London 31st May 2011.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MICHAEL MAPP 2010

Thurston Moore will be In London on Tuesday 31st May at the Union Chapel  to celebrate the release of his fourth solo album Demolished Thoughts produced by Beck Hanson the album launched on the 23rd May is available to download or purchase from leading music outlets.

Moore's one-date London show is set to be very different than we are used to hearing from the SonicYouth main man. This beautiful album features acoustic guitar and vocals and classic songwriting from Moore other featured artists violinist Samara Lubelski, harpist Mary Lattimore, bassist Bram Inscore, drummer Joey Waronker and Beck.

"Demolished Thoughts’ is an equally beautiful and brooding work ; while there’s more than a few tonal similarities to some of your favorite Moore compositions from years past, the execution this time around is nothing short of staggering". Matador Records 2011.

http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2011/03/11/coming-may-24-thurston-moores-demolished-thoughts-lpcddigital-album/
A Sonic fan since being invited to their first London concert 02/09/2004 and subsquent concerts to most recent New Years Eve, I am hoping to attend this concert it would be great to be in the presence of Moore again his warm up beat persona. It's aways great hanging out with the guys on and offstage. Just a little F.Y.I they love Green and Black chocolate!

Concert Details
ARTIST: Thurston Moore

SUPPORT ACT: Michael Chapman
VENUE: Union Chapel, London, UK
DATE: Tuesday 31st May 2011
ADVANCED TICKET PRICE: £17.50 + bf
VENUE ADDRESS: Compton Terrace, London, N1 2UN
VENUE TELEPHONE: 020 7226 3750
AGE RESTRICTIONS: All ages. Under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult.
DOORS OPEN: 7.30pm
CURFEW: 11.00pm
http://www.atpfestival.com/events/thurstonmooreunionchapel.php
SOLD OUT

Crowd by Crow Theatre

We arrive at The Secret Garden Pub to an atmosphere of anticipation and mystery, we purchase our drinks and are then ushered to the garden at the rear where we meet the majority of the fellow audience seated in an area to the left of the garden. We locate a seat and just as we are about to get settled a sizable group of people energetically make their way directly through the area we are occupying “Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through!”. The production begins, actors begin asking audience members to help assemble tents they start handing out beer and setting the scene.

A rather timely piece set in an England not too far into the future, government cuts along with the global economic situation have devastated the nation, a disaffected public a have taken to mass protests and decent which have ground the country to a halt. As the country teeters on the brink of collapse power cuts are frequent broadcast’s are limited and the military have been mobilised to try and retain order.

We join our group of individuals from varying background’s as they set up camp for the evening prior to the mother of all protest’s the following morning, during the course of the night we see the group argue, have fun, confront their own preconceptions, pull together and ultimately triumph.

Posted by Michael.

Eclectica, A Vintage Gem!

Eclectica located at the western end of Wandsworth road, a real treasure trove. this is a vintage second hand shop which offers such a diverse array of items from the weird to the wonderful, the kitch to the classic.

On entering the shop you are greeted by a visual feast of colour and chaos with items to catch the eye of any visitor who truly appreciates character and vintage. On initially discovering this shop I immediately became compelled to return with my camera and my wallet such was the intrigue created by the aesthetic which immediately formed very good and lasting first impression.

The shop is owned and run by Samm a very trendy approachable individual with a keen eye for the extraordinary in the mundane, a vast collection of iconic items are present either forgotten by time or passed over by the lacquer and speed of today’s pop and information culture. In a world where everything is new improved and homogenised. Eclectica provides an oasis of difference, nostalgia and history.

Wondering around this shop envelops me in memories of bygone era's, and thoughts of the stories these item's would tell if they could talk, of peoples live's, habit's and interest's. The visual nature of the shop invites visitors to take a little time to explore this truly interesting environment.

 Eclectica

803 Wandsworth Road,

Clapham,

SW8 3JR

Tel 0207 622 6844
Mon-Sat 11am-7pm

Posted By Michael.

Toon shaded fluids

Oddne put this music video on facbook and it's truely amazing.

IS TROPICAL - THE GREEKS (official music video) from EL NINO on Vimeo.

I wondered whether the explosions were actually hand drawn, but I couldn't find any information on how they did it. Anyhow, I decided to give toon shaded 3D fluids a go.



I didn't spend much time on the actual simulation, so it can obviously look much better. But the main thing is that it didn't take any time at all. In order to get a nice smooth result, the mesh resolution has to be quite low, which means that the mesh generation doesn't take long (almost realtime on my old machine). Rendering was extremely quick (3min for 48 frames on production settings and full 720p resolution). To draw that by hand, would have probably taken me a few hours (and it still would notlook good) Doing it in Maya can easily be set up and rendered within half an hour and look really nice.

Movie Magic!

I'm in the middle of making my showreel and I obviously want a nice intro. So I went back to video copilot to see what's new with motion graphics and After Effects. On the blog there Andrew Kramer posted this YouTube clip of an old episode of Movie Magic (air date 1994). It's a bit long but so worth watching.

Happy Birthday To Me: A Restorative & Foodie Friendly Day In LA

The best gift this Gemini could get for her birthday is a day of restoration....and that's exactly the gift i gave myself.  Just me, on my own time card, doing what i love where i love.  No responsibility, no work, no strict agenda, no one else, just me on my own device, taking time to appreciate the things i love.

I took the day off to cruise up to LA to my old stomping grounds, venice beach and santa monica.  The traffic was a doozy, but well worth it.  After my 3 hour trek (should have been about a 1/3 less of that time) my first stop was the mother of all Whole Foods in Venice.  I arrived at 11am hungry for a little mid morning sniggity.    This particular Whole Foods is BEYOND AMAZING.  It's HUGE and a vegan/vegetarian/raw foodists/single ladies mecca.  I swear single chaps are casing the joint, hanging at the tables outside, eating, and waiting to catch your eye or converse over the newest local food item, juice medley, or kombucha flavor.

notice on the left the 'venice' sign graffiti'ed onto the building.  Classic venice.

Look at all the amazing raw foods they make in house!!

And a vegan taqueria??? really?  This is insane! 

My next stop was YAS (yoga and spin).  I LOVE YAS.....LOVE!  It's just an awesome spin class.  Simple sequence.  You know what you're getting.  It's only 40 minutes so you push it every song....you sweat....you sing....you spin.  It's fab.

plus it's on abbott kinney in shopping heaven.

view from the studio.  they used to put the garage door up during class, but they didn't this time :(

And to rehydrate myself after spin, I hit the lowe's hotel pool, grabbed some rays, and sipped on a freshly muddled raspberry mojito.  AMAZING!

view of the santa monica pier and beach from the pool

the BEST mojito i've ever had. 

Time to shop!  I hit the 3rd street promenade to check out the new mall that opened there.  Plus, Nordstrom is having there half yearly sale.  HOLLAH!

view of the prom from the mall

Just a few days prior to my arrival, "The Market" opened at the mall.  It's a fabulous, glammed out, localized, mostly organic food court.  Muy impressive i must say.  This is no mall food court that i've ever seen.  It's more like a sampling of something you'd see at the embarcadero in SF.   All local, all fresh, and many organic vendors.  One of my favorite breakfast spots i often eat at when i'm in LA "The Curious Palate" is in there, as is the most fabulous gelato and sorbet shop:  Nice Cream.

ilovenicecreamcom

I've read about Nice Cream before and seen their shop on Abbot Kinney, but had never gone in.  Nice cream is the kind of stuff us foodie lovers dream about.  Beyond amazing dairy based gelato and sorbet, they boast VEGAN (dairy free and soy free) sorbets too.  I chatted with the owner, Laura, over a Nice Cream Cone.  Her and her husband moved from Copenhagen Denmark where apparently gelato shops were huge.  They wanted to open a business that was all about the right thing - simple ingredients and fresh real flavor.  I sampled the 4 vegan sorbets (there are a bunch of dairy based gelatos that also looked beyond amazing).  The vegan choices out that day were lemon, mango, chocolate, and strawberry...all of them delicious.  She uses guar gum as a stabilizer.  This makes it possible to keep her vegan nice creams to basically 4 ingredients:  guar gum, water, cane sugar, and flavor.  This also keeps the calories low.  At around 60 calories per 4 oz serving (depending on flavor) these nice creams are not only pleasant on the palette but nice on the waist line too.

she mentioned that the pistachio rocks! (dairy based gelato)

seriously delicious vegan nice cream - dairy free..soy free.

All of this foodie business aside, the best dollar i spent all day went to a performer on the promenade. 

Sad to see how empty his jar was because i could have watched him all day.  Now this might not appeal to you the way it did me, but seriously...a skeleton puppet singing Al Green with a clown chilling and witch pumpin on the piano?  How could you not be entertained.  Priceless.

Off to yoga at Exhale.  I took Seane Corn's class and yes she is absolutely amazing!  Loved the class.  It was all hip opening and focus on outward leg rotation.  By the time i got to pigeon i pretty much just melted through the earth. 

...and for my last stop of the day, din din at a raw restaurant: Juliano's Planet Raw.

I tried photographing my food, but it was dark and the flash over exposed the pix....so you'll just have to add your own imagry here.  It had been a while since i've eaten here and while the food is good it's not as amazing as i remember...or perhaps my palette has changed.  What i love about raw foods is the freshness.  The lightness.  Mary's Secret Garden in Ventura has nailed this aspect. This place seems more about raw transition/celebratory raw foods.  Heavy in nama shoyu (salt) and pumpkin seed or nut pates, i felt the food was tastey was a bit too decadent for my belly.  I ordered more than i could eat so i packed up the extras to take home, but i doubt i'll eat the leftovers.  The drive back from LA was slightly uncomfortable.  I only ate a handroll and some raw fries (zuchini crusted in buckwheat), but my belly was not digging it.

I arrived home at 11.  Wired.  Andy had a gluten free cupcake from cupcakes squared for me.  I would post a picture if i still had the cupcake, but it didn't make it 2 tics before it was devoured.  Any discomfort from dinner was forgotten about when i saw the cupcake....well until the next morning.  I had a bit of a foodie hangover.  But no regrets.  It's okay to indulge on your birthday!

May Half Term Events for your Diary!

Saturday 28th May
Polka Theatre Wimbledon
Box Office 020 8543 4888
Three Billy Goats Gruff and Other Furry Tales
See your favourite fairy tales come to life in this puppetry show featuring the three little pigs and the big bad wolf and Goldilocks and the three unsuspecting three bears and the classic Three Billy goats.
Suitable for ages 3+

Sunday 29th May –Monday 30th May
National Family Week,
Clapham Common
11.30am-6pm.
The National family Week kicks off in style with this free day two day event.
This brilliant two day family event will provide entertainment, activities and free giveaways. The main satge will have dance acts, Lazy town star Sporiticus and family fun games.
For more information go to http://www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk/

Tuesday 31st May

Orleans House Gallery
Twickenham
Lifesize drawings for Children with Disabilities
10am-12 noon.
Experiment with different ways of drawing, using varied materials to draw as large as your body and so small you need a magnifying glass.
Suitable for ages 8+
Charges apply booking is essential 020 831 6000

Family fun Day in the Park Wimbledon Park
12.30-3pm
A fun filled afternoon of family entertainment, with a sports day races, rounders, and a children’s entertainer. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Parents must book a place. Please bring food for the picnic.
For more information 020 8788 4379

Storytelling, Chesterton Junior School,
Battersea
2-4pm.
A workshop in which you can act out your favourite stories and get involved in the drama project.
For children and young people aged 8-14 years and their mums and dads.
To book your place please call 020 871 8626

Wednesday 1st – Thursday 2nd June
Amphibians and Reptiles,
London WWT Wetland Centre, Barnes
10.30am
Meet these shy creatures and learn about their habitats. This event is part of Animal Encounters Week. For more information 020 8409 4400
Or go to http://www.wwt.org.uk/london

Friday 3rd June
Behind the Scenes:stage combat workshop, Polka theatre, Wimbledon
10.30am-12.30pm.
Meet the fight stunt choreographer from the last summer production of Pirates! You will be taken through manoeuvres and techniques that make stage fighting safe but convincing.
Suitable for ages 8-13. Charges apply.
http://www.polkatheatre.com/

Saturday 4th June
Pirate Picnic, Tooting Common Café Streatham
11am-1.30pm
Meet other ship mates, find hidden treasure and take part in story telling and arts and crafts. There will be a fancy dress competition at 12.20pm. For children and young people aged 0-16 years. Children must be accompanied by a parent. Drink and fruit will be provided but please bring a picnic.
 For more information please call 020 8871 8626

Sunday 5th June
Sunday carnival Art
Carnival Kites, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham
2-3.30pm
Enjoyable Arts and crafts session, make your own carnival kite. Suitable for children aged 4+. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
 For more information go to
 http://www.richmond.gov.uk/arts

Introduction of new fees at Battersea Park Adventure Playground

Image: Will Martindale Battersea Labour Party.

 Wandsworth Council have unveiled their plans to start a pilot scheme at  Battersea Park Adventure Playground (BPAP) charging children £2.50 to use it at Weekends from October 2011.


These fees have been introduced to encompass staffing of the park during peak hours, the high cost attached to Health and Safety and overall maintenance of the park. The financial constraints on the council have resulted in BPAP having to generate money from it's users. At present no plans have been disclosed as to charging on Weekdays and during the school holidays and term times. 


As you can imagine their has been local discontentment to this fee along with other slashes to local services in the borough which has had an impact on local families. Ken Livingston Labour's Candidate for Mayor of London and Sadiq Khan Labour MP are in support of councillor Tony Belton's new petition against Wandsworth Conservative's plans to put a 'tax on play' and showed up in full force to Battersea Park Adventure Playground on Saturday 21st May to speak to the locals about their concerns. Both Labour representatives have been very vocal in their opposition to these plans:



Sadiq Khan at Battersea Park showing his support against the introduction of new fees.

    "It will be children from the poorest families who lose out" Sadiq Khan.



Ken Livingston at Battersea Park showing his support against the introduction of new fees.

 "I believe London's Playgrounds and parks should be free for London's families. I am deeply concerned at this attempt to turn publicly funded playgrounds into areas which only the rich and privileged can enjoy" Ken Livingston.


 One thing that is clear is the BPAP fee will surely affect poorer families with 2+ children, free activities in the borough which aids social, explorative, emotional and physical development should be protected under Local Play Strategies, and Every Child Matter's to support inclusivity removing all barriers associated to play. 


If you believe the £2.50 charge to be unfair sign the petition at 
www.tinyurl.com/pay-to-play-petition or  
 http://tinyurl.com/424qsbb 
e-petition ends on the 4th June 2011


Thank you to Battersea Labour Party organisers Will Martindale and Andy Fearn and Michael Mapp for the Images.




John Freida Live Haircare academy

Hey, i hope you're all well,

Sorry i haven't posted in so long, i've just been so, so busy with exam revision, but it'll all be over by the 10th June, so expect a comeback!

I just wanted to share with you something that really interests me,on 27th May at 1pm, you will be able to 'watch the John Frieda Haircare Professionals demonstrate the latest hot summer styles and answer fans hair related questions, while you can join in from home to learn how to achieve salon hair from your bedroom.'

This is so exciting to me as one of my favourite things is trying out new hairstyles, and it'll be great to learn from the pro's!

I hope you'll be tuning in, i know i will!

Watch the trailer here

I hope you're all well and i'll speak to you soon!

The Round Zuchini Challenge Becomes A Vegetarian Feast

Challenge:  To find use of a grapefruit shaped zuchini from my friend's CSA

Result:  A Vegetarian Feast

My friend and fellow yogi, Casey, gave me a huge round zucchini yesterday from her CSA.  She mentioned that not only did she get more food than she can eat this week, but that she was challenged to use some of the produce.  I hear this often from folks that go with CSA.  I too can sometimes stare in marvel at a crazy piece of produce that i can't identify, but that's part of the fun:  figuring out what it is and how to make it something spectacular.

HUGE!

The round zuchini proved hardly a challenge for me since i eat a lot of zuch's and have many recipe ideas for them, however this was the largest and roundest zuchini i ever worked with (about the size of a grapefruit), which actually made it PERFECT for mandoline slices to be used as chips, shells, raw-violis, or wraps.

sliced finer than 1/8 inch

I had picked up some organic corn the day prior at the co-op down the road.  Cut from the cob and mixed with chopped tomato, red onion, cilantro, black beans, cumin, EVOO, and sea salt, it made a great stuffing for my now 'zuchini taco shells'.

i used a spring-form pan to form the corn salad stack

tapatio was great on this

Andy was making his specialty - Guacamole.  He used a trader joes kit and added some cilantro from our garden.

The zuch slices also made great chips for scooping up some guac.

There were still more slices left after all was said and done.  These became the easiest dish ever,  zuchini carpaccio.  Lay out the slices, drizzle with EVOO, some coarse sea salt, and fresh sliced basil from the garden.

so simple - so good.

Andy also grilled some portobella mushrooms and the extra ear of corn i purchased, but by the time we sat to eat neither of us was too hungry from nibbling on the guac.  We managed to make our way through the zuch and the corn salad.  The mushrooms are going to have to be used in a salad tomorrow. 

incredibly fresh and delicous veggie feast!!!