WISH YOU WERE HERE
Please tell me you know Sexy People. It's that photo blog that collects incredible portraits of ordinary folk? Yeah? Well, Renzo, the good taste behind it, has just launched a new blog celebrating the perfect postcard. It's called Wish You Were Here. Subscribe.
WORLD'S FASTEST GUNSLINGER
TURNIN' TURBO DASHBOARD
This was the most precious thing in the universe when I was nine. It went everywhere I went. I even took it to bed and played under the covers.M.A.S.K. CRUSADERS WORKING OVERTIME FIGHTING CRIME
How much did I love the 1980s cartoon series M.A.S.K.? Well, fast-forwarding twenty odd years, I just watched the title sequence again and I still remember all the words. The "Danger Zone"-esque theme tune rocked the socks off my pre-teen world. Still does. Turns out the M.A.S.K. song was written by two guys, Shuki Levy and Haim Saban, who wrote ALL of the best cartoon theme tunes of the 1980s, including Inspector Gadget, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Dinosaucers, Dragon Quest, He-Man and She-Ra.
* For those who haven't seen it, M.A.S.K. was an anime-style show which shamelessly ripped-off both G.I. Joe and Transformers. It pitted a special taskforce of good guys known as M.A.S.K. (Mobile Armored Strike Kommand) against the unambiguously-named bad guys known as V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem).
EVERY GOOD MARRIAGE BEGINS WITH TEARS
Bengali girls are not allowed to fall in love. Their love lives are looked after by relatives who match them up with a man from back in Bangladesh. Some say it's a cultural practice but, more often than not, arranged marriages are made in exchange for UK citizenship. Bengali girls who refuse to do what they're told face being banished from their family home and blacklisted by their community - all because they don't want to spend the rest of their lives bowing down to some random dude they've never met before.
"Every Good Marriage Begins With Tears" is a documentary about Bengali girls from East London who rebel against the tradition of arranged marriage. Intimately shot and exquisitely put together, it's the best thing I've seen in ages.
RETRO ADS FROM AFRICA
This 1986 ad from Côte d'Ivoire is my favourite. It's for a mosquito repellent called Super Timor.
This ad demonstrates the hand-to-hand combat skills you'll inhale when you smoke Gauloises cigarettes.
This 1960 ad from South Africa aims to flog a badly-named hair product called Petrol Hahn.
This one isn't from Africa, it's from Hungary and it's for a bug spray. Compare/contrast with the top one for Super Timor.
This ad demonstrates the hand-to-hand combat skills you'll inhale when you smoke Gauloises cigarettes.
This 1960 ad from South Africa aims to flog a badly-named hair product called Petrol Hahn.
This one isn't from Africa, it's from Hungary and it's for a bug spray. Compare/contrast with the top one for Super Timor.
OMAR SOULEYMAN & THE UNSUNG HERO
Syrian musical legend Omar Souleyman is a cool motherfucker and we're psyched about seeing him at the Sublime Frequencies gig in London next week. But, after reading Omar's bio, turns out there's an even cooler dude in the band - namely, Mahmoud Harbi...
"Mahmoud Harbi is a long-time collaborator and the man responsible for much of the poetry sung by Souleyman. On stage, Harbi chain smokes cigarettes while standing shoulder to shoulder with Souleyman, periodically leaning over to whisper the material into his ear. Acting as a conduit, Souleyman struts into the audience with urgency, vocalizing the prose in song before returning for the next verse."How gangsta is that? Peep Mahmoud chattin' lyrics to Omar here:
"THE GODS ARE HERE!"
Scene: A Black Sabbath autograph signing session in Nowheresville, USA. Protagonist: A way too old guy getting way too excited. My hero.
DALSTON SOUNDSYSTEM
Our buddy Blaise has somehow convinced the legendary reggae selecta DJ David Rodigan to play at the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston tonight. To get in the mood, here's a selection of favourite dub standards...
Triston Palmer - "Joker Smoker"
John Holt - "Police In Helicopter"
Black Uhuru - "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner"
CRISTIANO RONALDO TRICKS
Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand has launched an online magazine called #5 - named after the number of his jersey. As you might imagine, it's completely smothered in cheeze sauce, but this video of Ronaldo showing off his football tricks had me mesmerized.
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