Now at tikichris.wordpress.com

Hi. I’ve decided to consolidate my personal blogging activities and have started a wordpress blog, tikichris.wordpress.com. Anything that I might have posted here at The Adventures of Tiki Chris will now be posted there. Same goes for content that I might have published at ontoTravel or ontoLondon: it will now be posted on the new site. I'm not doing away with these old sites - just not actively posting on them anymore. Indeed, I may find some need to publish content through them in the future.

For off-the-cuff mobile blogging, I’m keeping my Tumblr blog, tikichris-to-go. If you haven’t checked it out yet. I hope you will, I have a lot of fun with it.

Thanks so much to regular followers of this blog. It means a great deal to me to have had you “tuning in” these past few years. I look forward to continuing the journey with you!

Sincerely,
Chris
- Facebook - Flickr - LinkedIn - Tumblr - Wordpress -

Londonist Behind The Lens: Chris Osburn AKA Tiki Chris

Hey! That's me! Very cool, but I'm gonna make you visit the actual Londonist post to see the shots.

Londonist Behind The Lens: Chris Osburn AKA Tiki Chris
By Londonist
Londonist
January 24, 2009

London is (or at least often can be) such a photogenic place. There's just something about it. I mean, for the most part, it's not incredibly beautiful … not like Paris or Barcelona anyway. Nor is London terribly stunning; you really can't compare it to the vertical awe of Manhattan or the mind boggling expanse of, say, Shanghai. However, the story London tells through its streets, landmarks and faces (oh the faces in this town!) is as compelling as any I've ever experienced. The story is one of weathering crises with resolve and engaging the world on its own terms. Through my photography, I hope to share that story with the viewer. Sometimes I think I come close to succeeding.

Read the complete Londonist Behind The Lens post and see the photos at Londonist.

It's Friday Already? (January 23, 2009)

It's Friday Already? (January 23, 2009)

I did a whole lotta livin' but not a lotta postin' this week. Unfortunately, I had plenty of pesky desk work to do as well. But hey, that's life.

Anyway, I did happen upon a pack of FURRY wildlife on the streets of London (and luckily had my trusty camera at hand to document the encounter). I also managed to get one more Sickboy article published.

Other than that, not much really. I'm still adjusting to the (INCREDIBLY AWESOME) fact that there's a new President of the United States of America. I had some homemede pasta e ceci and a Moonpie too ... And played surrogate tourist for an old friend back in Chattanooga.

Life is good,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - The Adventures of Tiki Chris - tikichris to go

Sickboy: Stay Free (Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art)

One more Sickboy article. Here's a link to some more stuff I wrote about his Stay Free show.

Sickboy: Stay Free
Chris Osburn, London Correspondent
Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art
January 2009

Not content to simply wow exhibition goers with a retrospective of his best street and studio work, prolific London graffiti artist, Sickboy (whom we interviewed back in February 08), saw his recent solo show, Stay Free, as an opportunity to give something back to his fans in the way of offering his massive Stay Free Factory installation as a prize to one lucky exhibition visitor. During the December 4th through 10th run of the Stay Free exhibition, a thousand golden keys were released to the exhibition visitors with the person whose key fit the lock becoming the new owner of the Stay Free Factory (worth an estimated £20,000).

See more pics and read the complete Sickboy: Stay Free review at Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art.

The Week (and Then Some) in Review (January 16, 2009)

The Week (and Then Some) in Review

As my dear old mom might say, I have returned "from runnin' around all over tarnation." Hi. It's good to be back. Since my last Weekly Update, way back on the 16th of December, I've ...

- had the best damn BBQ ever;

- made some New Year's resolutions;

- got a haircut;

- and oh so much more!

All the while, I've relied upon the kind kitten-like instincts of a super-fantastic London-based cat sitter to care for my two lil kitty-witties. Yay for responsible people.

So there ya have it. My first Weekly Update of 2009. Question is am I gonna be able to keep up with these on a regular basis much longer? We'll see.

Bestest of the best,

Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - The Adventures of Tiki Chris - tikichris to go

Yo Jersey Shore Bands: This ROCK GODDESS Needs Some Back Up!

I believe this picture speaks for itself. Hook this lady up with some kick ass toonage and you'll be a hit!

Contact me if you'd like to get in touch with this soulful diva of the Shore!

Sweet Toof and Martin Lea Brown at Sartorial Contemporary Art

Double-Bill Sweet Toof/Martin Lea Brown Exhibition at Sartorial Contemporary Art
Chris Osburn
Londonist
December 19, 2008



Both [Sweet Toof and Martin Lea Brown] have the uncanny ability to juxtapose images of violence, illegality and desperation with vivid colours and an exuberance too often avoided in contemporary art (at least in this town). The results provide viewers with an opportunity to ponder societal anxiety and the fragility of cultural norms at a time when such topics truly resonate. In other words, this is cool shit that’s worth ogling. Very zeitgeist-y!

Read the complete Sweet Toof/Martin Lea Brown review at Londonist.

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Sweet Toof & Martin Lea Brown: Double Billing at Sartorial Contemporary Art
Photography by Chris Osburn, London Correspondent
Juxtapoz
Saturday, 20 December 2008


















More on Sweet Toof & Martin Lea Brown's double billing at Sartorial Contemporary Art at www.sartorialart.com

See all the Sweet Toof & Martin Lea Brown photos at Juxtapoz.

Online and Looking Ahead!

Okay I'm back in town and ready to take on 2009. Of course, if you've been following my tikichris to go and ontoTravel blogs, you'd be forgiven for thinking that I never really went away.

Now two weeks deep into January, I'm feeling energized and inspired about 2009, particularly after reading the "Ten tasks of Atomic Tony Tiki" over at the Atomic Tony Tiki blog. I was so impressed by ATT's "shit list" that I've decided to come up with a few of my own priorities for the year. In addition to eating more leafy greens and getting back into the habit of going to the gym on a regular basis, (in no particular order) I would like to …

1. Be more social with my social media activities:
I spend a lot of time blogging, tweeting, updating my status, uploading photos etc. Of course, it's always great when I receive a kind comment from someone that took the time to respond to me. Not only should I reciprocate more often, but I really ought to take the initiative to let my social media contacts know when I appreciate what they've shared with the online world.

2. Take better pictures:

Practice makes perfect! I've got the knowledge (lodged in my brain somewhere) and certainly can access more photography-related info with ease. I just gotta get out there, take more shots, experiment and learn from my mistakes and successes.

3. Be a better writer:
Similar to "take better pictures" - I hopefully will continue to thoughtfully apply myself to my craft.

4. Be a kinder person:
I've a long way to go but I'll keep at it!

5. Let people know how, when and why I appreciate them.
To align my words with the forces of good and make nice with people more often.

Happy New Year,

Chris

Non-Blog Christmas: See You in '09!

The Tiki Chris blogs are on hiatus while I enjoy some holiday cheer with family and friends. My ontoLondon Daily Photos will continue the rest of December and I'll probably post a few on-the-go bits every once in awhile on my mobile tikichris to go blog. Aside from that, I'm gonna lay low for the next few weeks. See you next year!

Voscars Winner - Jizz in My Pants

Okay. I wasn't just a Panasonic new talent panelist, but also a judge at the Virgin Mobile Voscars where a bunch of us London bloggers got together and decided on our favourite viral video. Read lots more (than I have time to write at the moment) about the event at one of my fave blogs, Fake Plastic Noodles.

The winner? Jizz in My Pants. Yay!



Here's a list of all the contenders. Mostly hilarious stuff with lots of Obama homages too.

Jizz In My Pants
Diesel’s xXx SFW p0rn x
Cat Man Do
Investing in Wind Energy
BBC BinLaden Tape
Barack Roll
Unexpected Performance
Where the Hell is Matt?
TFL’s Cyclist Awareness
Marmite Breastfeeding Ad
Thriller on the Tube
Berocca Fish
Wassup Obama
Hamster on a Piano
Obama and Ellen
Quicksilver Surfing
Jeans Jumping
Banned Snickers Commercial featuring Mr. T
Manowar
Little Gordon
The Phone Call
Sydney Harbour
Shop at Home Camera
Sneezing Panda
Bike Hero
One-take Thriller
Allah Made Me Funny
Jim Carrey on Ice
Rick Roll
Do the Green Thing

My fave was probably the Diesel’s xXx SFW p0rn x vid. Anyhoo, I had a lot of fun participating and would love to do it again!

Panasonic Next Generation Talent Winner

As mentioned back towards the beginning of this month, I participated as a panelist for the Panasonic Next Generation Talent thing-y. Well, the results are in - along with lots of video footage from the evening. Oh boy.

So ... check this clip if ya wanna see me acting way more important than I ever should:

... and this one to see us panelists pontificating about the winning piece:

And, of course, here's the winner! Cool.

Read more about the Panasonic and New Generation Talent here.

Better Late Than Never (December 16, 2008)

Better Late Than Never

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, okay. So I'm a little late with this weekly review. But if you knew the kind of hellish Friday I'd had as well as how awesome my Saturday and Sunday were, you'd forgive me. Besides, I took off Friday night for a weekend in Berlin. There are plenty of other highlights that I wrote about during the past week or so. Be sure to take a second or two to sniff around my blogs. Thanks!



Anyway, for the rest of 08, I plan to squeeze out a few more posts. I'll keep the ontoLondon Daily Photos rolling into the New Year and will surely have some scrappy moments to share on my mobile tikichris to go blog. But for all intents and purposes the Tiki Chris blogs are on hiatus until 2009.



Merry Christmas,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - The Adventures of Tiki Chris - tikichris to go

Sickboy - Stay Free

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Stay Free with Street Artist Sickboy (until 10th December)
Chris Osburn
Londonist
December 4, 2008



... prolific street artist Sickboy stepped up to the challenge of wowing London’s jaded art mob with his first major solo exhibition- an exhibition that’s as defiant and provocative as it is fun and vibrant.

Read the complete Stay Free with Street Artist Sickboy review at Londonist.

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Photos: Sick Boy's "Stay Free"
Photography by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Tuesday, 09 December 2008












Stay Free is open to the general public through December 10, 2008 at The Tramshed in Shoreditch, London.

See all the Sick Boy's "Stay Free" photos at Juxtapoz.

Panasonic’s Next Generation Talent Competition

To kick start its campaign for the new Viera Home Hub TV, Panasonic has teamed up with Young Creatives Network to challenge students across the UK to create a film, storyboard or print ad telling the story of the new Panasonic Viera Home Hub TV. Read the brief here.

Among the many entries, six were short listed last night by a panel of “social media, advertising and tech experts,” a panel which for some crazy reason included me. But don’t worry too much because the rest of the panel were super topnotch expert-y peeps:

- Head of Advertising at Panasonic, John Dixon;
- Beri Cheetham, Creative Director for Billington Cartmell;
- Oli Christie, Creative Director at Inbox digital agency;
- Rich Trenholm, reviewer for technology news site CNET;

- Willem van der Horst, digital strategist for Ice Cream 4 Everyone;
- Social media and tech expert Ged Carroll;
- Guillaume Foutry, social media and photographer/design blogger;
- James from advertising and design site Spinning Around;
- Vice Magazine's Alice Judge-Talbot, an alternative culture and trend spotter magazine; and
- Matt Gierhart of advertising and creative sites Josh Spear and mattgierhart.com.

Very cool. Thanks to Panasonic, Young Creatives Network and PR agency onlinefire (hey Melanie!) for including me. As judges, we were given the very fun and somewhat challenging task of choosing the six pieces we deemed worthy of winning £6000 of Panasonic gear and perhaps playing a role in Panasonic's Viera campaign.

But enough about us! Here’s where you come in: The final winner is to be decided by the general public (that means YOU). View all six and vote for your favourite online (and become eligible to win a Panasonic S7 camcorder!). The voting is on now and continues until midnight tomorrow (Wednesday the 10th). The winner will be announced Thursday morning on the Next Generation Talent website.

Barcelona Street Art at Smithfield Gallery in London

(P)review: The Best of Barcelona’s Street Artists at Smithfield Gallery
by Chris Osburn
Londonsit
December 2, 2008



Barcelona XL engages the viewer with a variety of wonderful colours and an array of various styles which somehow work together in the same gallery space exceedingly well with no one artist or piece overshadowing the others. This is one exhibition you shouldn’t miss.

Read the complete Barcelona’s Street Artists at Smithfield Gallery review at Londonist.

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Photos: "BCNXL, Barcelona XL: Homage to Catalonia"
Photography by Chris Osburn, London Correspondent
Juxtapoz
Friday, 05 December 2008











"I believe these artists have been inspired by the unique political and social culture of Catalonia, which faced many years of repression during the dictatorship of Franco," explains curator Janspivey.

See all thh Barcelona XL photos at Juxtapoz.

Whitley Neill Gin Cocktail Recipes

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR. Can't see the above photos? Click here to view them at Flickr.

As blogged about for Qype does London, Monday was a very fun night out sampling a variety of gin-based cocktails (featuring Whitley Neill gin). What I failed to mention was the night's Whitley Neill Top of the Tree Challenge angle and that it was all ultimately for a good cause. Of course, why should I, when Timinator’s already posted this:

In keeping with gin’s botanical makeup - and the company’s branding - the cocktails had to include only ingredients that come from trees and had to be served in bars that stock Whitley Neill gin. WN are also donating to Tree Aid based on the number of entrants they received.

I guess for me, enjoying a decent cocktail and celebrating the art of mixing a great drink are ends unto themselves. Anyhoo, here are the recipes of my favourite drinks from that evening (as well as info about the bar and bartenders who made these treats):

Lost Cherry
by Roberto De Vivo
Lobby Bar at One Aldwych
One Aldwych, WC2B 4RH

40ml of Whitley Neill15ml Noilly Prat vermouth15ml Maraschino infused with fresh cherriesGlass: MartiniMethod: Pour all ingredients in a shaker and shake well, double strain.
Garnish: 1 x large maraschino cherry at the bottom of the glass.

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Reciprocal Cocktail
by Jay Lambert
Quo Vadis
26-29 Dean Street, W1D 3LL

Ingredients: 30 ml Whitley Neill25 ml Whitley Neill Tincture-Pink peppercorns-Grapefruit Zest-Liquorice10 ml white CacaoCampari (rinse)Glass: Pony/martiniMethod: Stir with ice (except Campari)and strain into a chilled pony glass rinsed with Campari.Twist orange or grapefruit zest over the glass from a height and discard.Garnish: No garnish.

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Tippler's Tree
by Julian de Feral
Bureau
13 Kingly Court, W1B 5PW

Ingredients: 50ml Whitley Neill15ml Giffard Abricot15ml maple syrup20ml lime juice4 dashes chocolate bittersGlass: cocktailMethod: shake and strainGarnish: a chocolate maple leaf.

The Week in Review (December 5, 2008)

The Week in Review

Tequila, gin, massive venison burgers, walnut brownie chunk cookies, guilt-free curries, collaborative street art in a snazzy exhibition space, giant floating snowmen, a frisky Santa and oh so much more!

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - The Adventures of Tiki Chris - tikichris to go

Herakut in London

Preview: Herakut Airing Their Dirty Laundry in London
Chris Osburn
Londonist
November 28, 2008



... think darkly witty feminine broad strokes (that’s the Hera contribution) emboldened by the thoughtful and masculine touch ups of Akut.

Read the complete Herakut review at Londonist.

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Photos: Herakut's "Dirty Laundry"
Photography by Chris Osburn, London Correspondent
Juxtapoz
Monday, 01 December 2008












If you can't make it to Convent Garden to see their stunning Dirty Laundry in person, don't worry, we've got all you need in more exhibit photos here.

See all of Herakut's "Dirty Laundry" photos at Juxtapoz.

All the Good Stuff in Review (November 28, 2008)

All the Good Stuff in Review

Okay, T-Day came and went with me settling into full-on Xmas mode and thinking back on all the good stuff that's happend this year. Most recently, the good stuff's included an awesome photography course, a pizza recipe designed just for me and an extraordinary comment left on this blog!

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - The Adventures of Tiki Chris - tikichris to go

THANKS!

I’ve got so much to be thankful for. Family, friends, kitties, interesting work, a nice home in the world’s greatest city, etc. 2008 has been a brilliant year for me and judging from stuff lining up for ’09, next year promises to eclipse the ‘08 fun. I hope everybody reading this post has been having a blast as well. Thanks!





Sappy Thanksgiving,
Chris