SUSO

Santa's Ghetto

For those of you not in the know, Santas Ghetto is a yearly event where a group of street artists are brought together to showcase their talents providing a contrast to the avaricious consumerism of Christmas in the 21st century.

Last year they were appropriately positioned in the manic shopping mayhem of Oxford street, but this year they have gone a step further and taken the event to the one place people generally don’t think about in the run up to Dec 25th.. Bethlehem. In a former chicken shop opposite the church of nativity, in a town now dominated by poverty and conflict rather than celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the work of more than 30 artists is being displayed. Bringing together artists from Ramallah, Gaza and Bethlehem's Dehaisha refugee camp plus others from as far afield as Washington DC, Madrid and East Sussex, it is 3 floors of creative anarchy.

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Categories Art Tags Art Graffiti

By on 19/12/07

Pools Of Dreams

For UK wakeboaders Tom Watson, Lewis Cornwall, James Young and Lee Debuse their daily philosophy is one of total positivity and a sense of whatever it takes, I can do it.

Each has a story that defines them – in some cases these are stories of pure imagination and creativity – in others the stories are of triumph over adversity – triumphs born of belief and single mindedness to stick at it even when it hurts. You've already heard Tom's incredible story, so time to introduce the rest of the crew.

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Categories Sport SUSO Tags Sport Wakeboarding

By on 14/12/07

The Fastest Man On No Legs

That might sound like a cruel summation of a man born with a congenital condition, a man who, at 11 months, had both legs amputated just below the knee, but it’s what the media have been calling Oscar Pistorius of late, the South African Paralympic runner with his sights set on representing his country in Beijing next year - against able bodied athletes.

Because he lost his legs at such a young age, Oscar enjoyed his childhood much like any other healthy young boy - he was just never aware of the impact that such a disability might have on his life, and this disregard of his perceived limitations has endured.

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Categories Sport Tags Running Sport

By on 14/12/07

Elementary My Dear

A few years back, Tom Watson was one of the UK’s hottest young wakeboarding properties, but then a horrific car crash left him in a coma fighting for his life for well over a month.

Despite the psychological effects inherent to such a traumatic experience, he feels it only made him more determined to succeed in the sport. “I took it all for granted before that,” Tom says. “It’s definitely driven me to ride better than ever. After the crash, all I wanted to do was get back in the water.” He now bears the scars on his face and injury has left one arm weaker than the other.

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Categories Sport Tags Sport Wakeboarding

By on 12/12/07

Space Vibrations

I read this insightful little quote from eccentric “cosmic” musician Sun Ra in David Toop’s excellent Ocean of Sound at the weekend:

“Reality is too harsh. Imagination makes everything nice. Use youR imagination and get out of the most drab places by simply holding on to it and making it real.”

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Categories Music Tags Music

By on 10/12/07

You Don't Know What You're Missing

To all those yet to partake in a spot of cycling, even after our little call to action a few weeks back, what’s stopping you? Probably something like this, an extract we came across in Rapha's endlessly fascinating and visually stunning Rouleur Magazine:

“So, in front there was Tchmil, then there was Museeuw, then there was another guy from Gewiss in between, I think, then there was me and Baldato, riding two-up as hard as we could. I was puking up on the bike. And we came to the last sector and we caught Musseuw and the other guy, and came onto the Carrefour de l”Arbre, the last sector. There, I dropped the others, so I was second on the road - with the crowd and just going for it, that was the ultimate experience to be second on the road in the Paris-Roubaix, in shit weather, covered in shit.” SEAN YATES after finishing 5th in Paris-Roubaix ’94.

Still don’t fancy it?

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Categories Sport Tags Cycling Sport

By on 10/12/07

The Hare And The Tortoise

Apparently the American public knows nothing about Saturday’s big fight - the NY Times is yet to write a single word about it.

Over here, though, people who usually don’t spare a thought for boxing - people like me - are falling over themselves in anticipation of what’s being billed as the biggest fight of all time. I wonder if it’s the Americans’ disinterest in boxing of late that’s made Floyd Mayweather the ever-so-slightly over confident man he is today. Outside the media glare, he’s like a young pup blind to his mother’s teet. Neglected at home, he then feasts on anyone who cares to listen (he took part in Dancing With The Stars for God’s sake), and in the international spotlight of this week’s fight, there’s been quite a few of those.

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Categories Sport Tags boxing Sport

By on 7/12/07

The Colour Like No Other

Now that magenta is safe, we thought it time for a bit more colour chat. According to the futurists over at the Future Laboratory, Pantone 395C will rise in 2008 to become the undisputed, all singing, all dancing king of colour. Yes, the greeny yellow you see on the end of that banana you eat every day - the bit you rip through - is set for a big year:

“This jaunty tone is one of the key colours for 2008 and beyond. Yellow will see an increased use in advertising and communication, conveying notions of immediacy, action and emotional warmth. Expect complex tones rather than straightforward brights.”

I’m not sure I like being told what colours to like but hey, these guys need to make a living. Time will tell if they’re right or not. Watch this space in twelve months time...

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Categories Culture Design Tags Colour

By on 7/12/07

1938 - 2007

It’s 1974. You’re strapped into a makeshift rocket pointed directly upwards. You’re staring straight at the sky. Pretty much all you can see is blue, although you can just about make out the canyon somewhere beneath you - the one you’re about to jump. On a bike. You can see nothing else below you or beside you. The only way is up. Don’t fancy it? Tough. You’re on national television, you’re Evel Knievel, and there’s no going back.

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Categories Fun General Tags Icons Motorcycles

By on 5/12/07

Deep Breath

A guy I often see when I go out was in hospital last week. He suffered a collapsed lung. He’s 24 (I think), healthy and gave up smoking some time ago. So what happened?

Unbeknown to him, me or anyone else I know was this: spending large amounts of time absorbing huge quantities of bass can collapse a lung or two; and seeing as I almost always see said guy within metres of giant club rigs it seems likely this was the cause. So consider this not so much a warning, but more a little ‘heads up’ for all those who, like me, spend all their time soaking up what doctors now claim to be unhealthy levels of bass:

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Categories Music Tags Health Music

By on 4/12/07