Nottalotta Week in Review (4th of July, 2008)

London Daily Photo: You Can Run But You Can't Hide by Chris Osburn © 2008

Nottalotta Week in Review

There was plenty of activity for me this week, just not much of it online. Anyway, I did start blogging for Qype (about Clerkenwell, an awesome photography exhibition at Tate Modern, and London from a photographer's point of view). I also had some very fantastic tapas on Sunday. Yum.

Enjoy your weekend,

Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Shanghaied Week in Review (Friday June 27, 2008)

Double Happiness by Chris Osburn © 2008

Shanghaied Week in Review

A bunch of my photos showed up on the Juxtapoz website this week, including some graffiti shots from Shanghai. Also, PhotoBox published a few of my Shanghai pics in the first of hopefully many more posts on their blog about my photographic adventures in China. Oh yeah, I uploaded several more Shanghai photos to Flickr too. 

Enough already with the Shanghai photos!? Okay, okay.  American Librarian in Freiburg, Chris Mavergames, shares his Expat Perspective with us about a recent visit from dear ole mom. Thanks Chris!

And, of course, there's a whole new heapin' mess o' London Daily Photos just waiting for you to take a gander at!

London Daily Photo: Try as You Might, You Can Never Escape by Chris Osburn © 2008

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Trespass Alliance: Inside Urban Art at Andipa Gallery (Juxtapoz)

Photos: "Trespass Alliance: Inside Urban Art"
Chris Osburn, London Correspondent
Juxtapoz
Thursday, 26 June 2008

The Trespass Alliance: Inside Urban Art group show at Andipa Gallery signifies a shift of urban art's almost exclusive presence in East London galleries to London's more chi-chi western postcodes.

Click here for complete post and all the photos.

Russell Maurice at Goodhood (Juxtapoz)

Photos: Russell Maurice's Industrial Magic and Light/Thursday Solstice
Chris Osburn, London Correspondent
Juxtapoz
Tuesday, 24 June 2008










Russell Maurice's Industrial Magic and Light/Thursday Solstice exhibition is now showing at London indie retailer and collective, Goodhood. Many of Maurice's works are digital print lamps but a number of collages, screen prints, and "other curiosities" are on view as well.

Click here for complete post and all the photos.

Shanghai Graffiti Photos (Juxtapoz)

Photos: Graffiti in Shanghai, China
Chris Osburn, London Correspondent
Juxtapoz
Tuesday, 24 June 2008









Generally speaking, graffiti in Shanghai is an extremely rare sight. Buildings come and go at such a rapid pace that, even if an intrepid artist had touched up a particular wall, there's a good chance that said wall would have been demolished soon after ... The exception to this rule is Moganshan Road, where you can hardly take a step without spotting some graff. The area around Moganshan Road is Shanghai's art district where, luckily, the art isn't just confined to the galleries and shops.

Click here for complete post and all the photos.

Photographing China (PhotoBox)

Photographing China
Chris Osburn, PhotoBox blogger
PhotoBox
June 24th, 2008










A recent three week trip to China (mostly for fun but with a little business thrown in for good measure) provided an overabundance of photo opportunities and a range of fascinating experiences to impart with readers of the PhotoBox blog. With the Olympics soon to commence in Beijing and unprecedented economic growth stimulating a building boom the likes of which the world has never seen, the difficulty wasn’t deciding when to snap a photo but having the wherewithal to put the camera away at all!

Click here for complete post

Swirling Week in Review (June 20, 2008)

Swirls by Emiana © 2008

Swirling Week in Review

Chet Zar's Ugly American
Beijing graffiti photos
China photos a la Emiana

Lamenting the Loss of Bubba's
London Daily Photos

London Daily Photo: Carpe Diem by Chris Osburn © 2008

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Chet Zar at Strychnin Gallery London (Juxtapoz)

Photos: Chet Zar's "Ugly American"
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Wednesday, 18 June 2008















Monster master Chet Zar's Ugly American opened at Strychnin Gallery's London location on Friday the 13th of June (how appropriate!)

Click here for complete post and all the photos.

Beijing Graffiti (Juxtapoz)

Photos: Beijing Graffiti
Chris Osburn, UK Correspondent
Juxtapoz
Friday, 13 June 2008

Osburn reports, “Similar to Shanghai, Beijing doesn't appear to have much graffiti, particularly for a city of its immense size. Still, if you know where to look, there's plenty to see. One brilliant part of town to view street art is the 798 Art Zone, an abandoned military electronics complex that's now one of Beijing's handful of thriving artist districts.”

Click here for complete post and all the photos.

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiya! (Friday the 13th of June, 2008)

Tiki Chris at the Great Wall of China photo by Emiana © 2008

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiya!

I'm back from my pilgrimage to China's mysterious Theretrdspectientower with all sorts of stories to share. Unfortunately, I ain't got around to sorting all those stories out yet. Stay tuned for plenty of posts about my trip in the next week or so.

While I was gone, some of my photos were on exhibit at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. I'm bummed to have been unable to make it up there to check it out but pleased nonetheless. ontoLondon's Daily Photos continued to be posted during my break as well.

Since returning to London, I've paid a visit to an excellent Japanese restaurant with a couple of the folks from Qype along with a few other bloggers and caught a piece of a rainbow for PhotoBox. I've also been pleased to find out that ontoLondon's contributing photographer, Anna Krsikova, will have some of her work in an upcoming show at London's AOP Gallery. Awesome!

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Online

Okay. I'm back. Wow.

Offline

The Tiki Chris blogs are on hiatus while I go have some non-blog fun. However, ontoLondon's Daily Photos will continue to be posted during the break. See you in a couple of weeks!
























Image courtesy of caspermoller's photostream on Flickr.

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris

Graffiti Photography Exhibition at West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds

Still feeling the love from Leeds! The West Yorkshire Playhouse will be exhibiting some of my London street art photographs from May 26 to June 8. I'd really like to thank Alex Croft of the WY Playhouse (for the opportunity) and to Terry Jones of Leeds College of Art and Design (for the hook up with Alex). My photos will be on display as an accompaniment to Tag ... just writing my name, an "original piece of Hip Hop theatre using break dance, bodypopping, rap-poetry, larger-than-life graffiti sculptures and videoanimation" about "a young obsessive graffiti writer in search of acceptance."

I'd also like to thank the artists whose artwork is highlighted in my photos for this exhibition:

Banksy, Cyclops, Dan Witz, Sickboy and Sweet Toof.

If you happen to be in Leeds while my pics are up and the performance is on, check 'em out!

Bruce Springsteen on New Jersey

I did my stint in the Garden State ... and loved it. Heck, the missus and I still own property there and have planned what seems to have become our annual trip back for the end of the summer (perfect time to visit the Shore). Despite the fact that NJ is the butt of many a stupid joke, with respect to my love of Jersey, I'm in good company. Here's the Boss at his induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, sharing his thoughts about growin' up in New Jersey:

When I first got the letter I was to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame I was a little suspicious. New Jersey Hall of Fame? Does New York have a hall of fame? Does Connecticut have a hall of fame? I mean, maybe they don't think they need one.

But then I ran through the list of names: Albert Einstein, Bruce Springsteen ... my mother's going to like that. She's here tonight. It's her birthday and it's the only time she's going to hear those two names mentioned in the same sentence, so I'm going to enjoy it.

When I was recording my first album, the record company spent a lot of money taking pictures of me in New York City. But ... something didn't feel quite right. So I was walking down the boardwalk one day, stopped at a souvenir stand and bought a postcard that said "Greetings from Asbury Park." I remember thinking, "yeah, that's me."

With the exception of a few half years in California, my family and I have raised our kids here. We have a big Italian-Irish family. I found my own Jersey girl right here in Asbury Park . I've always found it deeply resonant holding the hands of my kids on the same streets where my mom held my hand, swimming in the same ocean and taking them to visit the same beaches I did as a child. It was also aplace that really protected me. It's been very nurturing. I could take my kids down to Freehold, throw them up on my shoulders and walk along the street with thousands of other people on Kruise Night with everybody just going, "hey Bruce...." That was something that meant alot to me, the ability to just go about my life. I really appreciated that.

You get a little older and when one of those crisp fall days come along in September and October, my friends and I slip into the cool water of the Atlantic Ocean . We take note that there are a few less of us as each year passes. But the thing about being in one place your whole life is that they're all still around you in the water. I look towards the shore and I see my two sons and my daughter pushing their way through the waves. And on the beach there's a whole batch of new little kids running away from the crashing surf like time itself.

That's what New Jersey is for me. It's a repository of my time on earth. My memory, the music I've made, my friendships, my life ... it's all buried here in a box somewhere in the sand down along the Central Jersey coast. I can't imagine having it any other way.

So let me finish with a Garden State benediction. Rise up my fellow New Jerseyans, for we are all members of a confused but noble race. We, of the state that will never get any respect. We, who bear the coolness of the forever uncool. The chip on our shoulders of those with forever something to prove. And even with this wonderful Hall of Fame, we know that there's another bad Jersey joke coming just around the corner.

But fear not. This is not our curse. It is our blessing. For this is what imbues us with our fighting spirit. That we may salute the world forever with the Jersey state bird, and that the fumes from our great northern industrial area to the ocean breezes of Cape May fill us with the raw hunger, the naked ambition and the desire not just to do our best, but to stick it in your face. Theory of relativity anybody? How about some electric light with your day? Or maybe a spin to the moon and back? And that is why our fellow Americans in the other 49 states know, when the announcer says "and now in this corner, from New Jersey ...." they better keep their hands up and their heads down, because when that bell rings, we're coming out swinging. God Bless the Garden State.



Photography courtesy of NJ - Library Events' photostream on Flickr.

Food 2.0: Nom, Nom, Nom was Brilliant!

Okay. If you’ve been around me lately, you know I’ve been in a bit of tizzy prepping for an upcoming sojourn (humongous barrels of thanks must be placed at the feet of my lovely Emiana for all the work she’s put into planning and orchestrating our trip!). Sadly, last minute obligations mean that I ain’t got no time to blog about just how awesome it was to participate in yesterday’s Food 2.0: Nom, Nom, Nom. But, I’d feel like a lowly heel if I didn’t say something about how much fun the event was. It totally rocked and everybody was super cool and all the food I tasted was delish!



What was Food 2.0: Nom, Nom, Nom? It was a cooking competition organised by the logistic superstar and networking goddess Annie Mole, in partnership with the very smiley and kind folks at TrustedPlaces.com and innovative lead sponsor SpinVox at the mega-impressive Cookery School (so super helpful and teeming with knowledge and practical advice) near Oxford Circus. The best of London’s online fooderati were pitted against each other for some truly inspired cooking … and all for a good cause (Action Against Hunger and Justgiving)!



That’s about all the time I have to post about Nom, but I did manage to upload a gazillion photos to Flickr from yesterday. There’s plenty more blog posts, etc about the event and I suspect a review will appear on Londonist soon as well.

Thanks for a wonderful day,
Chris

Rabbit Portal Friendliness from Leeds

Here's a super nice post about yours truly from Matt Saunders, a multimedia illustrator and animator who came round to check out my talk in Leeds. His site, Rabbit Portal is definitely worth a bit of snooping. In particular, his recent breakfast post is brilliant!

















Chris Osburn

Posted by RABBIT PORTAL
Rabbit Portal
Saturday, 10 May 2008

Chris Osburn recently came to visit our uni for an insightful and inspiring talk on contemporary street art.

Click here for the complete post.

Wine Wine Wine (May 16, 2008)

London Daily Photo: Save Energy by Chris Osburn © 2008

Wine Wine Wine

Two wine tastings in one week (here and here), a care package from Tio Pepe and a martini menu preview almost did me in, but I'm happy to report that I'm still hanging in there. It seems my Food and Drink editorship with Londonist has been skewing toward drink as of late. I reckon food will make a bit of a comeback soon enough. In fact this weekend, I'll be co-representing Londonist in Food 2.0: Nom, Nom, Nom, a cook-off organised by London Blogger Annie Mole in partnership with TrustedPlaces.com.

Speaking of Annie Mole, I was surprised that she and another well known online Londoner, diamond geezer, both took the time to leave comments about things I posted this week. Annie's was a rather cheery remark about my Wine Tasting with Qype post while diamond geezer's was a bit more critical in tone. He reckons my Gourmet Grazing with Tio Pepe review for Londonist was the "most blatant shameless context-free plug that Londonist has ever posted." Oh well. For the record, I don't consider the post as much a plug as a review which just happens to be positive. I guess he kinda has a point though.

In closing, I'd like to suggest everyone to have a look at this week's London Daily Photos and to check out a recent thought provoking post by my favourite blogger, Emiana.

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Wine Tasting with Qype

My head hurts ... and it's all Qype's fault. Well, to be fair they had a little help from Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. The reason for my throbbin' noggin is because last night I had the good pleasure of tagging along with a few fellow Qypers (Tim, Shiny Gemma, Annie Mole, and Guernican) and Qype commanders Rob and Andrew to LVMH's showcase of New World wine producers at swank and refined Il Bottaccio on Grosvenor Place. Super nice.



I could run through all the wines but, um I think Rob and Tim have already done brilliant jobs summing the night up on their blogs. As Tim points out in his Plumment Onions post, Aussie vintners Green Point had a winner of a reserve Shiraz accompanied by a gorgeously scrummy spoon of goat cheese foam with honey and cracked black pepper. The Malbec offered by Argentine Terrazas de los Andes was worth keeping in mind for the future as well. However, my faves were from Cloudy Bay, a winery from Marlborough, New Zealand. I especially enjoyed their Te Koko and am very appreciative that they allowed me a taste of their (hush hush) under the table bottle of Pinot Gris.

Of course, it wasn't just the wine that did my head in. After the tasting consensus was to carry on at the pub! We made a b-line to the Grenadier which was unfortunately closed for a private function but soon got cozy with a pint at the nearby Nag's Head.



Click here to check out my Flickr set of photos from the event.

How was the Graffiti/Photography Talk in Leeds?

Last week's talk at Leeds College of Art & Design went well. I even got a few chuckles. There was small audience in attendance (thankfully!) but they seemed really into graf - and my photos! My talk served as a bit of a prelude for the upcoming Burning Candy exhibition at the college (as a ton of my photos are BC-related) and I'm super honoured to have played a small part. The folks up at Leeds are in for a treat and recommend anybody who can pop into the college to see the Burning Candy installation to do so!

Burning Candy
Sweet Toof, Cyclops, Tek 33
Leeds College of Art & Design
presented by Sartorial Contemporary Art
May 19 – June 27

For more about the upcoming Burning Candy exhibition at Leeds College of Art & Design visit:

http://www.leeds-art.ac.uk/home/news-events/exhibitions/
http://sartorialart.com/burning_candy_pr.html

Miranda Donovan at Lazarides Gallery (Juxtapoz)

Photos: Miranda Donovan's "Lost World of Innocence"
Words and photos by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Friday, 09 May 2008











With her first solo exhibition in the UK opening at Soho's Lazarides Gallery, the young British painter Miranda Donovan is off to a fantastic start! ... Lost World of Innocence features more than twenty paintings and raises issues about the effects urbanity on communities in light of the current global phenomenon of urban expansion.

Click here for complete post and all the photos.

Tiki Chris Week in Review (May 9, 2008)

Photography by Chris Osburn © 2008

Tiki Chris Week in Review

I took the train up to Leeds yesterday to give a talk about graffiti and photography. I'll try to post something about how it went in the next few days.

I covered the opening of the Ron English/Adam Neate exhibition - one of the best shows I've seen in months - for Juxtapoz.

London photographer Anna Krsikova provided most of ontoLondon's London Daily Photos for this past week. Awesome!

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Ron English & Adam Neate in London (Juxtapoz)

Photos: Ron English & Adam Neate in London
Words and photos by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Saturday, 03 May 2008


Maybe not the first two artists you'd think to exhibit in the same space together, but a double billing of Britain's beloved Adam Neate and America's legendary Ron English at Elms Lesters Painting Rooms in London is nothing short of eye candy wonder.

Click here for complete post and all the photos.

Graffiti/Photography talk at Leeds College of Art and Design

If anybody's in Leeds on Thursday (May 8), I'll be at the College of Art and Design giving a free talk with lots of pretty pictures of mostly London graffiti.

Chris Osburn Talk
1pm, Thursday 8th May
Studio Theatre, Blenheim Walk
Leeds College of Art and Design


Chris Osburn is an American freelance photojournalist and filmmaker living and working in London. As a foreign correspondent for publications such as Juxtapoz and Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, Chris covers England's burgeoning graffiti scene from the frontline, often accompanying notorious street artists on their outings.

A list of the renowned artists which Chris has photographed in action includes Sweet Toof, Cyclops, Sickboy and Dan Witz. He has interviewed significant contemporary urban artists such as Paul Insect, David Choe and Invader and has extensively photographed the works of numerous legendary artists, including Jef Aerosol, Adam Neate, and Banksy.

Click here for more information.

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Chris Osburn at Leeds College
by Katie Zuppann

Juxtapoz
Friday, 02 May 2008

Our buddy Chris Osburn will be chatting about graffiti and the London street art scene at the Leeds College of Art & Design on May 8th ... If you’re in the UK, make sure to stop by Leeds and have a bit of Osburn knowledge whispered into your ear.

Click here for complete post.

Freak-a-Zoid - Midnight Star

If you knew how much I love this song (and this video too!), you probably wouldn't admit to being my friend!

Tiki Bars and Cointreau Caviar (May 2, 2008)

London Daily Photo: Homeward by Chris Osburn © 2008

Tiki Bars and Cointreau Caviar

Fun stuff this week. I sampled some Cointreau Caviar for Londonist and played "tourist on the Thames" for PhotoBox. The latest ish of Tiki Magazine - featuring a good bit of my content - arrived in the post too. Nice.

Something else that's all nice and happy and mentionable is the new activity on my 5 Good Reasons blog. The blog is a bit of a backwater but is something I try to keep alive simply because it makes me happy. Anyway, newbie Siany recently happened upon the site and has injected it with all sorts of prolific joy. Thanks!

Of course, there's another week's worth of London Daily Photos at ontoLondon for ya to take a look at!

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Tiki Magazine Spring 2008 Out Now

Hey the new ish of Tiki Magazine is now available. It's got a killer Bamboo Ben cover by Ernie Keen and a bunch of great articles, including three by yours truly (along with some of my photography). I did a couple of write-ups from last November's California Road Trip, one about Tiki Magazine's art show at the Bali Hai in San Diego and the other about Tiki Central Crawl in the San Franciso. The new issue also features my piece about visiting Rotterdam and hanging out at the only tiki bar in the Netherlands. Gee, when I put it all down in writing, it makes me realize how ridiculously fun my life can be at times. Mahalo Tiki Magazine for the opportunity to cover some really fun events and to travel in the name of Polynesian Pop!

Visit tikimagazine.com to get your copy and to subscribe!

Breakin' the Law - Judas Priest

You don't know what it's like ... Breakin' the law, breakin' the law!

Wee Week in Review (April 25, 2008)

London Daily Photo: Layered by Chris Osburn © 2008

Wee Week in Review


Not a whole lot to report. I Checked out David Hochbaum's "Tracking Invisible Cities" at Strychnin Gallery. Good stuff.

This week's London Daily Photos at ontoLondon feature some stellar shots by London photographer, Anna Krsikova.

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

David Hochbaum's "Tracking Invisible Cities" (Juxtapoz)

David Hochbaum's "Tracking Invisible Cities"
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Tuesday, 22 April 2008










Friday, April 18th saw the opening of Manhattan-based artist David Hochbaum's solo exhibition, Tracking Invisible Cities, at Strychnin Gallery's London outpost. The show includes a number of David's signature photo constructions: mixed media collages built from "a mélange of wood, metal, and paper, with photographic and printed matter" …painted with oil, acrylics, varnishes, pencils and inks with custom-made frames.

Click here for the complete post and all the photos.

Weeeeeeeek in Review (April 18, 2008)

London Daily Photo: On the Job by Chris Osburn © 2008

Weeeeeeeek in Review

Check out a couple of interviews I conducted for Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art. One with French artist Chris Von Steiner about his recent Snow King exhibition, the other an incredibly insane Q&A with LA sensation David Choe, an interview that's well worth a read! I mean, where else ya gonna read quotes such as "God still gives me spots once in a while to keep me humble."

Other cool stuff this week? I started blogging for PhotoBox, the UK’s number one destination for online photo sharing, storing and printing. Click here for more about that.

Of course, there's yet another week's worth of London Daily Photos at ontoLondon including a couple of really nice shots from London photographer, Marta Alabau.

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Chris Osburn Interviews David Choe (whitehot)

Chris Osburn Interviews David Choe
by Chris Osburn
whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art
April 2008

Anger comes from having giant boils filled with creamy yellow puss on your face that won't go away when you're in high school, so a girl would never even consider touching any part or anywhere near your penis, when that is all you want and desire - for someone to touch, or accidentally bump into your stiff pubescent cock, and so you look like a MUTANT and why you relate to the X-MEN, and then you start to draw the X-Men, and then you get really good at it, and the girls still won't look at you, but at least they'll look at your art, which of course has a million lines and details, because everything you lack in composition and anatomy and perspective you make up with obsessive details, which is fine, because the longer they stare at the art, the longer you can look down their blouse and catch whiffs of their beautiful hair. God still gives me spots once in a while to keep me humble.

Click here for complete interview.

Interview with Chris Von Steiner's Snow King (whitehot)

Chris Von Steiner's Snow King
by Chris Osburn
whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art
April 2008










My influences are all very different. It depends on the show that I am working on. For The Snow King, I drew from Disney for the snow. I really like the winter scene in Bambi. I also went to museums and studied the Old Masters, such as Rubens. One artist who especially inspired me was John Singer Sargent because he painted a lot of portraits. He wasn't classified with the impressionists, but his kind of painting is kind of between impressionism and realism. With this show, I tried to translate vector illustration with what he did with oil.

Click here for complete interview.

PhotoBoxing

Recently I started blogging for PhotoBox, the UK’s number one destination for online photo sharing, storing and printing. I really appreciate the interest that the good folks at PhotoBox have taken in lil ole me. I reckon this opportunity will be a fun way to further integrate my love of photography with online babbling. I'm looking forward to blogging about my experiences with PhotoBox as I learn about all the services and features they offer. So far I’m impressed. I’m also keen to blog about PB's progress as they work toward launching a new platform for their entire site ... and to simply further inundate the world with my thoughts and images. Here are the links to a couple of posts I've done thusfar:

Meet our new blogger!
Chris Osburn, PhotoBox Blogger
PhotoBox Blog
April 7, 2008












Hi. My name is Chris and I am pleased to let you know that I’ll be logging in to blog for PhotoBox two or three times a week. As a pro-am photographer and writer living in London, I think this will be a super opportunity to share my thoughts (and photos!) with all you lovely PhotoBox members ...

Click here for complete post.

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Easter weekend in Marrakech
Chris Osburn, PhotoBox Blogger
PhotoBox Blog
April 9, 2008








I’ve just now got round to uploading my pics to PhotoBox (see ‘em here). It was my first time uploading photos to PhotoBox. It was a pretty easy process really but I’m still getting my head round it. I will say the photos uploaded quickly and more smoothly than has been the case with similar sites out there.

Click here for complete post.

To All the Girls I've Loved Before - Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias

The winds of change are always blowing.

Marrakech Quickies, New Jersey Chicken and More in Review (April 11, 2008)

London Daily Photo: New Jersey Chicken by Chris Osburn © 2008

Marrakech Quickies, New Jersey Chicken and More in Review

Oh geez! I'm so frickin' bizzy right now that I almost forgot to write this weekly update! Anyway, here's the best bits from this week:

For checking out the recent Phil Frost book signing for Juxtapoz, Katie - the webmaster at Jux - referred to me as "our trusty British buddy" - nice one.

I (finally) posted a new review in my South Seas Cinema series.

Emiana's series of Marrakech photography at ontoTravel continued through the week with more still to come! And if that's not enough for you, I posted two videos from that same Marrakech visit: one of aphenomenal street musician in Marrakech's night market, the other of a really cheeky kid acting kinda dirty up in the Atlas Mountains.

Also, it snowed on Sunday. I filmed it.

Of course, there's another whole week's worth of London Daily Photos at ontoLondon too!

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Death by Blogging

In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop
By MATT RICHTEL
New York Times
Published: April 6, 2008

To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic. There is also no certainty that the stress of the work contributed to their deaths. But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style.

Click here for complete article.

Vote for Skull-a-Day!!!

One of my favourite blogs, Skull-a-Day, has been nominated for a Webbie, which Skull-a-Day's administrator (Noah) describes as "basically the web equivalent of getting an Oscar nomination!" Awesome. Here's more from Noah:

Hey folks, I'm incredibly excited to announce that Skull-A-Day is an official nominee for a 2008 Webby Award! My site is one of only five included in the Personal Web Site category! Not only is the site eligible for the The Webby Award, but you, yes you, can help the site win the The Webby People's Voice Award! Voting starts today and runs til May 1st. The winners will be announced May 6th and be honored at the 12th Annual Webby Awards in June! So what are you waiting for? Please vote for Skull-A-Day today!

Halloween Skull Mask Project by Skull-A-Day (Virginia) © 2007

Aloha Oe to Ft Lauderdale's Hukilau

Odds are if you happened upon this post because you're contemplating attending this year's Hukilau then you already know that this year will be the last of these brilliant events. Here's more about the news from a recent email from Tiki Kiliki, the event's co-creator, co-founder, producer and organizer:

As we go into this 7th year I see how we’ve grown as an event, I see familiar faces and so many new ones each year. I’ve seen your children grow and some of you get married or engaged while at the event. I’ve met some of the most incredible people from all over the world – it’s become a personal journey, one I will never forget ... I encourage all of you to try to make this last year, as I promise to make every effort to bring you the last and the very best yet. There will be additional performances, seminars and surprises announced within the next week to accent our already stellar lineup. You will also see schedule changes so keep a good watch for those so that you can plan your vacation accordingly. It has been my extreme pleasure bringing Hukilau to you year after year, this has been an extremely difficult decision to say the least. I’m so looking forward to seeing all of you in June as we celebrate one last time together!

Sounds like a lot of fun. Now I'm doubly bummed I can't make it. Click here to visit the Hukilau's website.

South Seas Cinema: Eux et Moi

Welcome to South Seas Cinema, a series of posts about films set in – or pertaining to – Polynesia and the South Pacific.

Okay okay, so it's been months since I posted anything in my SSC series. I blame an ocean of other obligations and, honestly, just not coming across any truly inspiring movies with the right sort of South Seas slant. Anyway, I recently happened upon a set of good ones that has me all fired up to rant about. It's called Eux et Moi, a DVD collection of two short films by French ethnographer, Stéphane Breton, about his experiences in "the field" - a small village in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Eux et Moi is post-modern Anthropology at its most compelling. Breton shares his insights, discoveries and doubts openly in equal measure as a social scientist and storyteller. His rapport with the villagers makes for great viewing, and - without giving too much away - his inadvertent role in shaping the dynamics of the village is fascinating.

Eux et Moi is narrated in English and French with subtitles in both as well. I'm not quite sure how to get ahold of a copy. Unless, like me, you pick one up at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris. Here's a link to the museum's bookstore; they might be able to help.

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South Seas Cinema is sponsored by
DESIGNinBLUE
architecture&design
mail@designinblue.com
+44 20 (0) 7947 359 456
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Phil Frost Book Signing at Elms Lesters (Juxtapoz)

Phil Frost Book Signing in London
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Friday, 04 April 2008










Before Elms even opened its doors, a queue had formed outside. Once the doors were opened, the queue of fans eager to meet Phil and have him sign a copy of book snaked through the gallery and continued to grow for at least the first hour.

Click here for complete post (and all the photos).

Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

Dylan at his orneriest!

Good Times at the Coach and Horses, hosted by Qype

Qype throws a good party. But don't take my word for it:

Qype party and almost missing last Tube home
Annie Mole
Going Underground
Friday, April 04, 2008

Went to the fab Qype party last night, so was able to help drink them dry as the booze flowed (quite literally) freely.

Click here for complete post.

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Qype Party: The Aftermath
from Rob
Qype Blog
4.04.2008

Judging by the decidedly hungover emails we’ve had today it seems that everyone had a great time.

Click here for complete post.

Bracing Week in Review (April 4, 2008)

London Daily Photo: Warning by Chris Osburn © 2008

Bracking Week in Review

Hi. Emiana and I were in Marrakech over Easter weekend, where Emi took a bunch of great photos. Check out the series of her Marrakech photography at ontoTravel (there are two pics up now but it will continue through this coming week). Emi also provided the unfortunately close to our flat crime scene content for one of this past week's London Daily Photos at ontoLondon.

While she was doing all that, I got around to wrapping up my posts from the Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes. There's a killer video interview with porn, comic books and horror movies aficionado (and brilliant artist) Matthew Bone and a two part video interview with the quirky Angie Mason. Part 1 is a brief conversation about her cute yet brooding art and Part 2 is a fun lil fast motion clip of Angie drawing me a pic. You'll love it.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention: I got braces.

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris Presents

Fusion Five Festival: Angie Mason Interview PART 2 - Angie Draws!

Here's Part Two of my video interview with the quirky and lovely Angie Mason conducted during the Fusion 5 Festival in Cannes hosted by Strychnin Gallery. In this segment, Angie, a visual thinker, decides to draw an answer rather than deal with any more of my babble! Enjoy.

Metal Mouth

Yep I got braces. Maybe a couple of decades later than most folks, but I got 'em. And it certainly didn't impede me having a ridiculously good time at the Qype do at the Coach and Horses in Soho.