Labor Day (REVIEW)
Over the course of this very American holiday, convict Frank escapes from hospital, where he is being treated for appendicitis, simply by jumping out of a window. When he spots Henry, a boy out...
View ArticlePoetry, Remixed
The Poetry Storehouse has an excellent idea - to do for poetry what has worked so well for software, by making some of it "open source". They are gathering text and audio recordings of poetry, released...
View ArticleThe Rise and Rise of The Street Art Festival
Standing in the dank, fume-ridden disused road tunnel in an untrendy, forgotten corner of south London, little did I realise I was witnessing the start of a new art phenomenon. It was 2008 and the Cans...
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State of EastEnders 2014 From A Yank's Point of View
Next February EastEnders will celebrate its 30th anniversary of the BBC broadcasting four times a week a half-hour of fictional working-class strife, family rivalries and battles of the sexes. For...
View ArticleIs the EDM Bubble Good for Dance Music?
It could be. Let's start by clarifying something. EDM and dance music, as many of us know them, are two different beasts. There are parallels between them, but for the most part they are separate...
View Article'Never Anything but Kindness': George Saunders, Folio Prize Winner
Like many people gathered at the St Pancras Hotel last week for the inaugural Folio Prize awards, I was delighted when Lavinia Greenlaw, chair of the Jury, announced George Saunders as the winner. The...
View ArticleAdventures in Independent Publishing: Part 1
The New Punk Rock Last month, I finally joined the swelling ranks of the independently published. I'd thought about it long and hard, but in the end it was a pretty easy decision to make. I was tired...
View ArticleThe Birthday Wall of Grief
It's my birthday this week. The week I tend to think of more as Achilles heel week. Please-pass-the-Kryptonite week. Do-not-pass-go-do-not-collect-£200-week. You get the idea. Birthdays have changed...
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Cantering in the Dark With Stars Out
We drove out to the countryside as little niece had a horse riding lesson, it was dark and the stars were out. It was a magical little place, each stable had a hand-written description of the pony who...
View ArticleThe Voice 2014 Quarter Final
I can't believe we are already facing the live shows and can I just say what an amazing first series it's been for me. I will definitely be renewing my contract. I may even have to upgrade the spinning...
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'Wall To Wall' In the Making featuring RUN's exclusive 'Overflow' install
We don't believe in empty walls. We believe in Henri Lefebvre's "The future of art is not artistic, but urban" thought. And this is how the idea of a 'Wall to Wall' show was born. We want to lift the...
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Rugby Prop to Bond Model - Mason 008
So what do you do when you bump into Mickey Rourke in a bar? You become his good mate, visit him in his LA mansion and then you retire from your rugby career and follow your dream of becoming a film...
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Back Through the Looking Glass: The Lessons of Gravity
(Picture: Gravity teaser poster. 2013) "Lowry ... stood across the road from his subjects and observed. Often enough there are a number of individuals in a crowd peering back at him. They invite us...
View ArticleLouis Theroux: 'LA Stories - City of Dogs' Review
It's been three years since his visit to Miami's mega jail but alas, Louis Theroux returned this week with another look at the darker side of The American dream. With a more somber and sad view of the...
View ArticleMindfulness Is an Internal Weathervane
Let's drop the myth that you can empty your mind - that only happens when you're dead. But rather than run from or repress the critical voices (and we all have them, not just one in four but all of...
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Reality Check With Paul Weller
Paul Weller cuts a lithe figure in a black crew neck sweater and dove grey slacks that ride a couple of inches off the ground. His round-toed calfskin Chelsea boots gleam under the lights. A flashgun...
View ArticleMan Up
When I was offered the job of presenting Man Up (a series of 10 one hour docs where each week I take a thirtysomething bloke and do my very best to get him to 'man up') I asked myself the question -...
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Film Review - The Past
'The Past' is a should-see must-see brilliant drama from the Oscar winning director Asghar Farhadi with an unforgettable central performance that gave Berenice Bejo the Best Actress Award at Cannes...
View ArticlePlays v Film
A couple of years ago, I set some time aside to write. To write properly, not just thrash out a half thought through treatment or list of ideas or blog or thesis or paper or one of a hundred other...
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Life in the Arts Lane - Week 68 - TEFAF and Beyond
Monday morning at TEFAF brings a different mood; the preview day, Friday and the 1st weekend are widely considered the make or break days. If you have not done business by the close of the fair on...
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