I want this music! Batala Washington DC – 48 Hour Music Video Project –
See on Scoop.it – Music for a London Life
Ursula O’Reilly Traynor‘s insight:
See on www.youtube.com
bestoflondonlife
a quirky look at London Life
Archive for the month “February, 2014”
USA: The Best Of Washington Life?
See on Scoop.it – Beyond London Life
Perhaps Washington’s life lies in places far away from the National Mall, all scattered with majestic monuments boasting freedom and sovereignty. Sports bars with happy hours and slider specials colonised by navy-blazered, beige-trousered, brown-loafered boys, as desperate to turn their internship into a job as they are to catch the attention of the girls at the booth next to them.
This was the Washington I saw when I first arrived in the New World I have come to consider my New Home. Washington life is the tree-lined sixteenth street, the pedestrian part of Penn Avenue, the green patch of mall where Sunday football teams meet for a good (net)work-out.
Though border control reminds me I’m an alien with a delightful accent, my DC community welcomes me back and assures me I’m home.
When the notion of ‘Washington’ is erased, people can think of ‘DC’ as their own ‘District’ to build their popular monuments on the less celebrated avenues of Rhode Island and Georgia. We make music on streets lower down the alphabet and dance in basements that the interns with their hairdos couldn’t know about. Neighbourhoods once notorious for fear now adopt global bass beats and throw parties, revellers in glitter and wigs, quasi-pyjamas, or shiny pants.
The colours clash and muddle, they melt and curdle like tropical beats on the Blandensburg Road. While Washington looks on, magnanimous and free, we live to create a new story for DC. The tale won’t be sports bars and obelisks, but capoeira on Malcom X Park, the ladies of Batalá leading the parade, and stereos harking back to local legends: Mr. Hathaway and Roberta Flack, and Marvin Gaye. You have to look closer for beauty beyond monuments and avenues to admire murals by anon, taste Ethiopian spices, and sway to the analogue soul of the streets lower down the Alphabet, higher up the map.
Nischa Pieris
Ursula O’Reilly Traynor‘s insight:
Introducing our guest contributor Nischa Pieris
and here’s a taste of her Washington DC
Batalá Washington !
and capoeira on Malcom X Park
British Museum’s Viking show locates the original Scandinavian Noir
See on Scoop.it – London Life
The big new exhibition in the museum’s newest hall will float many a longboat, though those simply seeking the raping and pillaging berserkers of legend may be surprised
Ursula O’Reilly Traynor‘s insight:
from 6 March
info and booking
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/vikings.aspx?gclid=CLCD89eU7rwCFWLHtAodqiMASg
See on www.theguardian.com
Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium – Opening Day Announcement – It’s this Saturday, March 1
See on Scoop.it – London Life
That’s right, kitty-cat-canoodlers of London. We’re opening on Saturday 1st March 2014. Visit our website to book your seat! http://ladydinahs.com/bookings/
Ursula O’Reilly Traynor‘s insight:
We heard about this last February http://sco.lt/82cLp3
Its been a long time in the preparation
but it’s here at last
and it’s going to be VERY BUSY!!
See on www.youtube.com
Passions Between Women in Victorian Britain
See on Scoop.it – London Life
“Florence Nightingale famously, or notoriously, claimed ‘No woman has excited passions among women more than I have’, while bewailing her experience that ‘Women have no sympathy… they crave for being loved, not for loving. They scream out at you for sympathy all day long, they are incapable of giving any in return’.
Were passions between women in nineteenth century Britain doomed to be thwarted, whether from lack of reciprocity, or because of societal attitudes that stereotyped romantic friendship as appropriate, perhaps, for the adolescent girl, but something that ought to be superseded by marriage?
Dr Lesley Hall, Senior Archivist at the Wellcome Library, will explore the varied stories of women who loved and were loved by other women at this historical period, and these suggest that the reality could be rather different from the depressing picture painted by Nightingale.”
The Museum is a short walk from the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and attractions along the South Bank. We are located in the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital, at parking level.
The nearest underground stations are Westminster (on the District and Circle line) or Waterloo (on the Northern line).
The nearest railway station in London Waterloo.
Bus routes include 12, 53, 76, 77, 148, 159, 211, 341, 363, 381, 543, 507, C10, RV1
Ursula O’Reilly Traynor‘s insight:
Tonight’s interesting talk @ Florence Nightingale Museum.
18.30 start.
£8
Great London Thinkers: Bertrand Russell
See on Scoop.it – London Life
Join Rick Lewis at this open discussion and explore the life and work of Bertrand Russell.
“Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.” Bertrand Russell (1872 –1970), outspoken British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic certainly avoided this mistake. His ideas made a great impact in a number of academic fields. He was also a prominent anti-war activist; being imprisoned for his pacifism during World War I. In 1950 Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought.”
Rick Lewis is the founder and editor of Philosophy Now.
See also open discussions on Mary Wollstonecraft and John Locke.
This event is organised in partnership with Philosophy for All.
Free admission
No advance booking required; please note places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ursula O’Reilly Traynor‘s insight:
01 March 2014
2: :30 PM
FREE
See on www.bishopsgate.org.uk
Platterform’s Sea Adventures Pop-up Rooftop Restaurant in London Fields
See on Scoop.it – London Food and Drink
Platterform have taken over the roof space on Martello Street, London Fields, previously used by Coppa last summer, and have created a maritime-themed pop-up with a series of different chefs all cooking seafood. Dave Yorkston starts on 13th Feb, followed by Ayam Legend (6th – 15th March), Vinn Goute (20th – 29th March), and finally The Foragers, (3rd – 19th April).
See on www.londonpopups.com
Artist of the Day: Luke Sital Singh « The Falcon’s Nest
See on Scoop.it – Music for a London Life
The Dark Flowers is a multi-artist collaborative project spearheaded by Paul Statham, a British songwriter who is best known for his work with Dido, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus and Jim Kerr of Simple Minds.
Ursula O’Reilly Traynor‘s insight:
Love Luke
See on thefalconsnest.wordpress.com
USA: Amtrak’s Plan to Give Free Rides to Writers
See on Scoop.it – Beyond London Life
Amtrak has begun offering “writers’ residencies” to, well, writers – long roundtrip rides aboard Amtrak trains dedicated solely for the purpose of writing. (The Wire talks to @Amtrak about its plan to give free rides to writers
See on www.thewire.com
city music ~ Brand New Ancients
See on Scoop.it – Music for a London Life
Kate Tempest. On tour. More info: http://brandnewancientstour.com/ ;
Ursula O’Reilly Traynor‘s insight:
Kate Tempest puts the V into visceral.
See her live. I did. Don’t ask me to do a full A to Z. A for astonishing. Stopping there for now.
See on www.youtube.com
bestoflondonlife 