Someone once told me…

‘Someone Once Told Me’ is an internet photography project I’ve mentioned in a previous post…and as I said before, go and take a look for a proper explanation.

The theory behind it is that we’re all shaped by the things that people tell us. The idea of the website is to share these things, in a photo. There’s a different photo each day, and sometimes a backstory to add an explanation.

Last night me and my brother were photographed for the site with our ‘someone once told me’s (action shot above) which was lots of fun, so we should be on there soon.

Coincidentally, Mario, the man behind it all, also wrote the BBC article on the Cactus Kid I posted about earlier…small world!

Three for three...for three

I’ve been tagged by Giles (who just got married, congrats!) in a ‘three for three’ meme, which was originally started here by Jed.

This consists of three top three lists, which you then have to pass on to three other people. This is fun because it’s the first meme I’ve been tagged in, and also it’s pretty random and fun anyway (which Minxology is all about). So, mine is as follows:

Top three non-work websites

• Someone Once Told Me – can’t be described in a sentence and it's a photography website, so go and look at it. I LOVE this site, am going to be appearing on it soon, and will be blogging about it shortly
• Holy Moly – Popbitch but better
  
• Forever Amber – we have near-identical hairdresser pain – maybe it’s a ginger thing? - and also this and this post are possibly the funniest things I’ve ever read

PS – I’ve not included Twitter or Facebook, because I’d probably class them as work website, and using them is like breathing now, i.e. automatic.

Top three karaoke songs

• Total Eclipse of the heart, Bonnie Tyler
• You’ve got the love, Candi Statton
• Two More Years, Bloc Party

Top three weekend cocktails

• Belini - champagne and peach juice, yum
• Anything with champagne in it really, or prosecco or cava - and I'm a big fan of all three by themselves
• Ginger monkey - this was made (and named) for me by a nice bartender in a private members club in Soho. I’ve got no idea what it contained apart from fruit, champagne, and fresh ginger. It was unbelievably tasty.

So there you go!

I now tag Sandrine, Nick and Rax

Don't worry

Spotted on a detour to green park - oxford circus was shut due to crazy commuter overcrowding. As I took this photo, an old man walking past muttered 'I dont!' in my ear.

Boo! It's Obama vs McCain

As someone who never celebrated Halloween as a child (my parents weren't keen – well, if you think about it, it is pretty sinister) it always surprises me when people make any kind of a deal out it.

However, what surprised me even more was this fabulously random politically themed Halloween greetings card, sent by Nick when he visited the US this month. Inside it says 'as if Halloween wasn't scary enough' - !

Also this month, The Economist and MSN are running online polls to find out how the rest of the world would vote in the US elections. The Economist poll shows that in the UK alone, Obama is winning by a landslide 87%. I've got no idea what the real outcome will be, but results like this kind of suggest McCain should have a lot more to be scared about than trick or treaters and his face on a greetings card.

Nike pop-up store in Shoreditch

This is some cool art on the wall of the nike pop-up store in east london. Random things like this are why i love being around this part of the world.

'Cactus Kid' dies of thirst

According to a report on the BBC today, the Oasis ‘Cactus Kid’ adverts have been ordered off screen by the Advertising Standards Agency. They found that the implication of underage sex and teenage pregnancy meant they were unsuitable for broadcast.

I have to say, I’ve seen those adverts, and the implication of underage sex and teenage pregnancy completely passed me by. Apart from being vaguely annoying, the ads always struck me as being as sexy as – well, a cactus.

What actually got me reaching for my remote was the suggestion that a sugary drink could be used as a permanent replacement for ‘for people who don’t like water.’ What about your TEETH people? The ASA - and probably dentists throughout the land - agreed, concluding that this was ‘irresponsible and could discourage good dietary practice.’

The ad received only 32 complaints, which is hardly a landslide of outrage. But I really think you’ve got to question exactly what those 32 people had been drinking to make them complain about an inoffensive advert like this. Or maybe they were light-headed due to dehydration?

Bag it up

There’s been a lot of coverage in the press recently about supermarkets getting rid of plastic bags, but I’ve yet to see much evidence of this. They remain as prominent as ever on tills, and I’ve never once been charged to buy one. Could this all this talk just be (gasp!) corporate greenwash?

However, while standing in the till queue at Sainsbury’s the other day, I read about a new text service they’re operating. If you SMS a number with the time and date you go shopping each week, the system will message you a reminder to take an old bag with you, in a bid to stop you having to waste a new one.

As food shopping in my house is random and sporadic, it won’t be that handy for me (unless the system becomes psychic). However, for people that are regular shoppers, it struck me as a handy and environmentally-friendly use of technology. Read more about it here.