Puppetry courses at the Little Angel Theatre
Posted April 5, 2009 – 8:18 pm in: Art
One of my friends is attending a puppetry course at the Little Angel Theatre and I was invited to see some work in progress. It was really amazing what can be done with simple techniques like silhouettes and paper cuts. My friend’s story was about an old woman who often goes to Harrods and can’t understand how the fruits are so fresh until she sneaks in to a private room and discover the secret…My favorite part was when tea bags were used as a time metaphor before each one of the journeys to Harrods as you can see in the picture.
Ruby is a wonder (Close to Old Street)
Posted March 25, 2009 – 11:39 pm in: Restaurants
Ruby is a tiny cafe/takeaway which can get very busy during lunch time. It is one of a kind and I hope it will survive the competition with the chains like EAT and Pret who can offer lower prices but not the authentic taste. The food is made from simple ingredients and prepared in front of you. So what is cooking? Sandwiches with Chorizo, Chicken breast or steak, Pasta, Grilled haloumi with roasted vegetables, soups and more… The staff is working efficiently, helping each other and the food arrives quickly. The prices are very reasonable, around 5-7 pounds for a dish. Address: 35 Charlotte Rd, London EC2A 3PB
One good thing about the iPhone…
Posted March 23, 2009 – 12:59 am in: Interaction Design
One good thing about the iPhone is the hard key for silence mode. This is such a highly used feature that it’s quite shocking that Nokia didn’t think about this before… On a Nokia phone you will have to select ‘Menu’ then ‘Profile’ and then ‘Silence’ – not so quick… Hard keys on mobiles are usually used for volume controls, taking a picture, on/off switch etc. The logic is that if you need to do something very frequently and quick, it should be available on the top level interface. There is a limit on how many hard keys you can put on a device so it is very important to prioritize what are the most likely to be used features.
The Paper Cinema
Posted March 15, 2009 – 8:44 pm in: Art, Uncategorized
A cast of hand-drawn marionettes are magically brought to life by the Paper Cinema.It is amazing to see what can be done by using simple techniques like illustrated moon on a stick animated in real-time. It is quite an unusual way of viewing cinema which makes you think that there are unlimited possibilities without the need for stuntman and computer generated animation. This experience is very charming because of its simplicity. The characters movements are very basic but understandable and funny at times. The crowd applauded resoundingly, as if they were saying ‘Thank you for showing us something we haven’t seen for a long time’
Three headphone cables approaches
Posted March 15, 2009 – 7:54 pm in: Interaction Design
What is the ideal cable length? Depends on where you use the headphones. If you use them at home, you probably want quite a long cable so you can connect it to your stereo and still be able to move around. If you mainly use headphones on the move, a long cable becomes messy and requires constant effort to untie jammed-up knots… The middle headphones in the picture has a special plastic object designed to avoid knots by wrapping the cable around it. This solves one issue but creates another which is where to put this plastic object… The right headphones has a telephone-like cable which is much shorter than the others but can be stretched. The cable is quite thick but seems to solve both problems in quite an elegant way.
La Porte des Indes (close to Marble Arch)
Posted March 15, 2009 – 6:32 pm in: Restaurants
‘La Porte des Indes’ is about the Legacy of France in Indian regional Cuisine. If you are open to this combination you are likely to enjoy it, if you are on the hunt for authentic Indian food this might not be the place for you. The place is quite huge and requires a large group of people to run it every day. The deco is tacky and overwhelming at the same time. If you come too early, go downstairs to the ‘Jungle Bar’ which is surrounded by animal paintings. You will be able to throw your peanuts shells on the floor.
Read more>>
The Art Of Lost Words
Posted March 8, 2009 – 9:00 pm in: Design
An exhibition of design, typography and illustration inspired by forgotten words. 47 participants have chosen from among the dictionary’s lost but lovely words, with an open brief to create an original work inspired by their choice. Proceeds from sales go towards the National Literacy Trust. Carefully selected artworks from a very high quality. It was a pleasure to view this and also discover that many items were sold. The visual interpretation for the word ‘diloricate’ [v. to rip open a sewn piece of clothing] by Jess Wilson was an illustration ‘20 men diloricating their tops’ based on Youtube videos which was very funny and fresh idea. More details here.
An elevator which will not let you change your mind…
Posted March 7, 2009 – 12:17 pm in: Interaction Design
Imagine you have a meeting on the 6th floor… You select the number ’six’ from the control panel outside the elevator. You go inside and suddenly realize that you forgot your mobile on the 2nd floor… The control panel is not available anymore… You can try speaking with the elevator, but this would probably not work. Your only possibility is to go to the 6th floor, exit the elevator, select number two from the control panel and wait for the next available lift… Outrageous!
‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ by Woody Allen
Posted March 2, 2009 – 12:37 am in: Film
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a fantastic film by Woody Allen who often choose the subject of fantasies in relationships like in ‘Manhattan’ (1979). It was very touching to see how the characters were dealing with their relationships, all of them suffered from very different complexities. One of them was ‘chronically dissatisfied’ and seeing herself as ungifted. Another character was just about to marry a person who could potentially bore her to death… The third character was so free to do whatever he wanted that nobody wanted to stay with him. The film has a lot to do with what do we aspire to be, acceptance of our life and is it right to try to change or just be happy with what you have got. It doesn’t matter if he is a gangster in the Cohen Brother’s Film or an artist like in this one, Javier Bardem is excellent and charismatic actor. Penélope Cruz reinvented herself in Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver and again in this one. Although the film is funny at times and entertaining, it deals with very sad and complicated moments in life.
Belgo Noord (Close to Chalk Farm tube)
Posted March 1, 2009 – 6:20 pm in: Restaurants
This is a really good Belgian restaurant, one of four branches. (the other locations are in Covent garden, Holborn and Clapham)
When you enter, you can see what is cooking in the kitchen which is great! Thier specialty is Moules, Frites (chips…) and beers. You can find a wide range of flavored beers such as Banana, raspberries ,cassis as well as Chimay, Dekoninck and Duvel.
Read more>>