Putting Blogs to Faces (London Bloggers Meetup)

Folks talking about their blogs at the February London Bloggers Meetup at The Camel & Artichoke on Lower Marsh Street in London. Click here for info about the next London Blogger Meetup.

All Eyes on Banksy

All Eyes on Banksy, Photography by Chris Osburn © 2008

Works by iconic - and iconoclastic - graffiti artist Banksy are on view at Andipa Gallery in London. Here's da scoop from me to you!

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Preview: Banksy Exhibition at Andipa Gallery
By Chris Osburn
Londonist
February 27, 2008

Not only the world’s most famous graffiti stencil artist, England’s own beloved Banksy is also one heck of a studio artist. Don’t believe us (or any of the hype surrounding Banksy)? See for yourself at Andipa Gallery, where – starting this Friday – many of Banksy’s works is to be on view.

Click here for complete post.

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Banksy Exhibition at Andipa Gallery, London
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
February 27, 2008











... the bulk of exhibition is comprised of studio pieces which are very much available for purchase, if you've got the funds. For instance, an exceptional acrylic on canvas painting titled Sharks has a price tag of around £40,000 (yep, that's roughly $80,000).

Click here for complete post.

MrBaliHai's Britiki Round-Up

Here's MrBaliHai's summary of his recent trip to England. It's always interesting to read someone else's account of events. MrBaliHai's recollection seems accurate, especially his retailing of our meet up "last Thursday for a few Navy Grogs and Mai Tais."

Britiki Cheerio
Posted by MrBaliHai
Eye of the Goof
February 24, 2008

Aloha, I have returned from England. My body is 5 pounds heavier, and my wallet is a couple-hundred pounds lighter ... I'm off to the basement now to start running off my extra poundage on the treadmill.

Click here for complete post.

For Whom the Bell Tolls - Metallica

Remember Cliff Burton? Remember Cliff Burton!

La Settimana Rivista (February 22, 2008)

London Daily Photo: Meat Specialists, Photography by Chris Osburn © 2008

La Settimana Rivista

This week, when not becoming an Italian citizen, I checked out the Chris Von Steiner exhibition at Strychnin Gallery in London and got around to posting another London Short Film, this one of a lovely day out at Kew Gardens to view all the massive Henry Moore sculptures. But enough about me. Kimberly in Shanghai and Chris in Freiburg kindly contributed to ontoTravel's ongoing Expat Perspective series. Thanks! Of course, another week's worth of London Daily Photos have been posted at ontoLondon, including one particularly awesome shot from an anonymous contributor.

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris

Chris Von Steiner's "The Snow King" at Strychnin Gallery London (Juxtapoz)

Chris Von Steiner's "The Snow King"
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Wednesday, 20 February 2008















Mystical animals, such as giant stags, green owls and white wolves, provide symbolic underpinnings to the trials of the human characters in Von Steiner's works.

Click here for complete post.

E' Ufficiale! Io Sono Italiano.

If, for whatever reason, I seem more incredibly stylish or dashingly sociable the next time we meet, it might have something to do with my becoming Italian. See, after three years of marriage (to an Italian citizen), a few months’ worth of paperwork and then three more subsequent years of waiting, I have been accepted into the fold of Italian citizenry. My new Euro status is super cool on a number of levels - not the least of which is the opportunity to zip through the short line at European airports (although, I won’t actually have my passport for another couple of months). Furthermore, not having to deal with the British Home Office (which actually lost my American passport back in 2001) is very much a boon. Of course, it does feel rather incongruous to say “I’m Italian,” because, in so many ways, I ain’t. The inner core of my Georgia cracker soul just hasn’t come to terms with this yet (and may never). Still, if even a little of the warmth and graciousness that my Italian friends and family have shown me over the years rubs off on me, then an Italian Tiki Chris will be a very positive force in the world indeed.

Sail On/Commodores

Lookin' for a gooood time? Hell yeah.

Orange Alert in New Jersey (WTF?!?!)

Thanks to Michael for fowarding a link about an unnaturally orange glow eminating from New Jersey. Yikes!

New Jersey Freakshows
by El Presidente
Barstool Sports
January 21, 2008


Click here for all the hilariously disturbing photos.

Graffiti, cupcakes, tiki bars and more (February 15, 2008)

Lots of arty stuff this week like an interview with London graffiti artist Sickboy and photos from the openings of Sanderson Bob's Pure Yet Complex and Jef Aerosol's Spray it Loud. There's some video action for ya too: a short clip of me and some friends hanging out at London's newest tiki bar, Sugar Cane, and some footage from Sunday's Chinese New Year parade here in London. And just because you've been especially nice this week, here's a tip on where to find the best cupcakes in London ... and - last but not least - a week's worth of London Daily Photos at ontoLondon.

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

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ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris


London Daily Photo: MASSAGE
Photography by Chris Osburn © 2008

Sickboy Interview for Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art

Sickboy Interview
Words and photography by Chris Osburn
whitehot magazine of contemporary art
February 2008










Being a frustrated teenager, I needed an outlet other than drug experimentation, and graffiti was a very enticing world. Manchester at the time had a strong scene with Hulme and a lot of tagging going on. It just seemed a little edgier than art class.

Click here for complete interview.

Sanderson Bob’s "Pure Yet Complex" at Kemistry Gallery, London (Juxtapoz)

Sanderson Bob’s "Pure Yet Complex" at Kemistry Gallery, London
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Thursday, 14 February 2008














Pure Yet Complex, the first UK solo exhibition by graphic designer Sanderson Bob, ... features a selection of limited edition lithographic posters, explores the artist's "interest in line, color, perspective, movement and the edges of things."

Click here for complete post.

Jef Aerosol: "Spray it Loud" at Islington Arts Factory (Juxtapoz)

Jef Aerosol's "Spray it Loud" at Islington Arts Factory, London
by Chris Osburn
Juxtapoz
Wednesday, 13 February 2008












[Jef Aerosol's Spray it Loud] features many of Jef's most recognizable stencils of pop culture icons and rock 'n' roll legends such as Nick Drake, Ian Curtis and Neil Young. However, Jef also utilizes his talents to draw our attention to society's less celebrated: an elderly beggar, a homeless mother and child, a runaway child huddled in a corner.

Click here for complete post.

Tuesday night at Sugar Cane tiki bar in Clapham Junction, London

Here's a little diddie from last night's get together at Sugar Cane, a pretty cool newbie tiki bar in Clapham Junction, London. Big thanks to MrBaliHai for organizing this impromptu gathering and to Sugar Cane for the attentive service, fine drinks and good eats!

tuesday night @ sugar cane
a short film by chris osburn featuring:
will kane, world of kane
trader jim, pocketiki
mrbalihai, eye of the goof
sian, exotic tramp
tiki racer
tiki chris

Hey Good Lookin'/Hank Williams

One of America's most brilliant poets and sincerist performers! And if you don't like him, you are certainly more than welcome to kiss my ass.

Seven Days Down (February 8, 2008)

Okay, so it's been awhile since I posted any original content specifically for this blog. Well, I got around to writing another I ♥ T-Shirts post this week, this one about a tee from that awesome lil tiki bar, Forbidden Island. Aside from that, I was kinda busy keeping an eye on the market for urban art in London and starting a new "Takeout Stakeout" series for Londonist ... and, of course, posting a whole new batch of London Daily Photos at ontoLondon.

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

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ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris


London Daily Photo: Secure
Photography by Chris Osburn © 2008

I ♥ T-Shirts: Forbidden Island

Comfortable, practical, and these days the only accessory you need to make a statement, it's hard to imagine a world without the ubiquitous T-shirt. I ♥ T-Shirts takes a subjective approach to this modern fashion phenomenon with each post dealing with a favorite shirt.

Shirt: Forbidden Island
Designer: Tiki Diablo (the tiki on the back), Martin Cate (lettering), Hanford Lemoore (boards, tiki torches and flames)
Price: ???
Purchased: Gift from the Forbidden Island staff
Status: Top of the stack!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in November (seems like ages ago now) while tiki road trippin' through California, I had the pleasure of mingling and drinking a few times at Forbidden Island, a fine little Polynesian-themed bar in the East Bay town of Alameda. In a show of aloha spirit, the folks there were kind enough to slide a free FI T-shirt my way. Mahalo! It's a comfortable Hanes "Tagless 6.1" (whatever that means), and I wear it often. There's a big ass tiki on the back of the shirt (an image based upon an actual carving in the bar). The graphics on the front are pretty awesome too. I love the crossed tiki torches and wonky letters. I'm not sure if you can order the shirts online (click here for the FI website) but that's all the more reason to visit one of the San Francisco Bay area's coolest bars.
























Interested in contributing a review of a favourite T-shirt or perhaps sending along a sample Tee to be reviewed? Click here to access my email address. Then, send an email with a brief description of your idea/product along with any relevant online links.

I ♥ T-Shirts is sponsored by Chongolio's Lost-Isle.

Real-Life Sopranos Stuff

Thanks to Emiana for passing on the info about these real life, modern day mobsters.

90 jailed in Palermo and New York: the bosses of the new Italy-Usa pact
The haul has been codenamed "Old Bridge". It could be the beginningof a series of assaults against the "Cosa Nostra" 'families' in America
by ATTILIO BOLZONI
La Repubblica
(7 febbraio 2008)

It's the biggest mafia haul since the days of the "Pizza Connection". Striking the bosses from Palermo and New York, the Inzerillo 'family' and the Gambino 'family' these 90 arrests represent a simultaneous attack on 'Cosa Nostrà on both sides of the Atlantic. An attack on an organization that was becoming once again a force on the world stage of international trafficking.

Click here for complete article.

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The old New Jersey mafia war: Corleonesi killers against the Inzerillo
In Antonino disappeared in 1981; earlier, in the same year, Pietro's bodywas found in the trunk of an old car with a 5 dollar note in his mouth
di ATTILIO BOLZONI
La Repubblica
(7 febbraio 2008)

The other was Pietro Inzerillo whose corpse was found on 15 January 1981 in the trunk of an abandoned automobile in front of the Hilton Hotel of Mont Laurel in New Jersey. He had a 5-dollar note in his mouth, and a two-dollar note on his genitals.

Click here for complete article.

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... and click here for photos of the mob bosses shopping, dining, and posing in New York.

Superfreak - Rick James

Super Duper Tuesday has me superfreakin' out!

Another Week in Review? Already? (February 1, 2008)

Already another week? I guess time flies when you're having lousy burritos in London. Time also zips along at a rather rapid pace when ... I'm viewing puzzled smurfs with ridiculously elongated genitalia and large glittery bottles of Chanel surrounded by dildos and when I'm viewing cool art at current London exhibitions such as Sartorial Contemporary Art's How Women Are group show and Phil Corbett's Erotic Terrors of the Deep.

Yeah, it's already February ... 2008. All of January's Daily Photos have been posted at ontoLondon. Say hello to February (before we know it, it'll be spring).

Enjoy your weekend,
Chris

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ontoLondon - ontoTravel - Tiki Chris


London Daily Photo: No One
Photography by Chris Osburn © 2008