Chaat

A little  non-descript restaurant in the heart of Shoreditch blew me away last night with their minced lamb dish. Cosy and fun, they played Toots and the Maytals last night, whilst we happily devoured their few but excellent dishes...

a few episodes of Episodes

I'm loving this TV series at the moment.... after a long day, I've made it part of my grind to watch Bev and Sean  (the woman is from Black Books and I don't know the guy but he's very funny), two successful TV writers in the UK who try to break America with their TV series. That's when they meet Matt Le Blanc, who plays himself and bears very little ressemblance to the Joey we all know and love (I think that's the all-important point and I have a sneaky feeling he funded this whole thing on his own to prove the strength of his grey matter).Anyway, it's funny in that gently mocking sort of way and, set in LA, will leave you warmer than usual at this time of year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x7fjr

gooey music

http://www.roughtraderecords.com/dylanleblanc

Theme of the month: creative flow

I saw Black Swan at the weekend, thinking I would not give into the hype surrounding this part-horror, part- thriller but I loved it for it's depiction of a girl coming of age in the ultra competitive ballet world. This film is extreme and takes you with it..... by the end, the stress got too much and I was covering my eyes and jumping in my seat and all because this girl (the ever-ebullient and wonderful Natalie Portman playing the prima ballerina, Nina) is so emotional and anxious that she actually thinks she is killing her rival when, in fact, she is killing herself. The age-old adage that people actually destroy themselves quicker than anyone else can is revealed through Nina's duality and her inability to accept herself, convinced that there is something more that she can do to achieve.Perfection is not about control.

Gabriel Orozco at the Tate

Chessboards, lumps of plasticine, toilet paper in ribbons on the ceiling,  human skulls, empty shoeboxes, photographs of puddles and a billiard table await you if you feel like being slightly provoked or laugh and scoff at the whole thing. Open until April

Theme of the month: creative flow

I watched The Flower of my secret (1995, Almodovar) last night. A precursor to Todo Sobre mi Madre, it is an expressive melodrama which fuses many of Almodovar's classic themes of striking colour, scenario, role of women/men and witty dialogue. What I find fascinating about this particular film is that it stands on a film precipice; whereas his earlier films were overdone with outrageous drama verging on the strange, this one sets the tone for Almodovar's future as mature auteur. Leo Macias ( Marisa Paredes) is a romantic novelist who writes saccharine tales standing in stark contrast to her own failing marriage and general despair. I love her character and how pathetic her life becomes, I love the underlying ridicule of her situation and I love that Almodovar chose to go this way with his incredible material....

Entente plus que cordiale

The French Institute in London is hosting British writers who want to talk about French their favourite French authors or just show off French language skills, or go to the bar if it all goes pear-shaped.

Emanuelle Alt is new EIC

Some people are just born for the job and even if you squint, you can tell that Emanuelle is top banana ( I hate that expression but I have just eaten a banana and it really was very good) She is all set for her new position as Editeur- in- Chief  of Paris Vogue... no pressure then to keep up her uber glam, rock/dressed down/dressed up/ i'm a great hanger look....... I  have the same colour jeans as her so BFF...

Caitlin Rose sings a perfect song for monday morning

http://www.myspace.com/caitlinrosesongs/music/songs/shanghai-cigarettes-72311371

" This will never be right and I will never let go..."

Theme of the Month: Creative Flow in Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is a very moving film and perhaps not one to take your lover to, particularly when in a fresh, whirlwind phase of the relationship. It just might dampen the spirits and cut your dream phase a little short. Ryan Gosling is brilliant as a blue collar working class boy who just wants the very simple things in life. And Michelle Williams holds a steady gaze that says " why didn't I marry someone else?" the whole way through the film. The music is Grizzly Bear which actually suits the jumpy style of the film, as it goes from past to present and relives the very painful moments of both the good and the bad of a relationship.

Monsieur on traffic

"What's wrong?"
" Oh, it's just this guy in front of me who won't move because he's trying to drive and shave at the same time"

I love the tube

This picture was taken by the photographer Michael Wolf, who journeyed to Tokyo only to come face to face with the horror of the rush hour over there. Although there have been times where I have been so squashed by my fellow traveler that I can smell their oblivion to deodorant, I have thankfully never felt quite like this person looks in the photo.

Theme of the month: Creative flow

Diego Luna has made the tricky transition from gorgeous actor and friend to Gael Garcia Bernal to gorgeous actor, friend to many, I'm sure, and director of his very own debut " Abel". Yet again, life shows us that roles are transient and unfixed, that whatever you do, the process feeds creativity. The simple ticking of time allows us to catch hold of the reins and steer all our passions and probably most of our unconscious selves in dreams and turn them into an alternative yet brilliant reality. I am always stunned by the way it all happens, by the seemingly insignificant and often fleeting idea that comes back around and pokes you, like one of those so-called friends on facebook. Diego Luna's idea is of a boy who returns from a psychiatric ward and decides that, instead of dwelling on the absence of his own father, he will become the father of the house. In a twisted way, all is perfect, until his father comes home.....

Theme of the Month: creative flow

You can tell that, like many, I have made this month about yoga and clean living. Too many Goombay Smash cocktails  have left me thirsty for a pure elixir to wash away the sins. However, rather than sipping on nettle tea or reaching for home-made enemas, I prefer to revel in the season's new releases. Top of my list is Blue Valentine, which, whilst it does not promise a fairy-tale ending nor does it follow the age-old happy Hollywood denoument, seems to offer a more innovative account of the ebbs and flows of a relationship in its final throes.

Junkanoo.....

My trip to the Bahamas left me a little colder than I had hoped, as storms and bad weather circulated the island followed by an ear infection which chilled me to the core. However, the most warming and enriching experience I now look back on is the Junkanoo, a street parade and carnival that starts at 1am on Boxing Day and goes right through to the next. Everyone was out on the streets, from Bahama mamas to the softest, cutest looking bahamian babies, all rooting for their favourite parade groups in the thick of huge rivalry between certain leader groups like The Saxons and The Valley Boys. My new favourite things are : listening to Junkanoo music whilst eating plantains...