On my final day in Japan I visited the artificial island of Odaiba (お台場) in Tokyo Bay. The island was originally part of a number of coastal fortresses but was redeveloped in the early 1990s as Tokyo Teleport Town, a showcase for futuristic living. It suffered when the “bubble economy” burst but has since rebounded as a commercial and entertainment zone.
I spent the weekend in the fine capital city of London, once my home for three years, catching up with old friends and family. Whilst bouncing between Waterloo, Esher, High Street Kensington, Bank and Canary Wharf I came across this rather intriguing poster. While the slogan is rather appropriate for the current economic crisis the poster actually originates from 1939 and was commissioned by the British Governments Ministry of Information during the Second World War (but never used publicly). Since its rediscovery in an obscure bookshop it’s become somewhat of an icon spawning many derivatives online (as well as opportunists ready to flog you a copy). I’ve created an iPhone wallpaper version here. It reminded me of these concept poster designs for the London 2012…
Apologies for not posting so frequently for the past couple of weeks – work/life has been very hectic (even more so than usual) and doesn’t look like it will let up for a few weeks yet. That said, I will endeavour to get a few posts out starting with this experiment I made recently… A couple of weeks back I moved rooms in the house where I live to the top floor “penthouse” which one of my previous housemates had just vacated. Aside from having its own ensuite bathroom (a major plus!) and a balcony it also has great back and front views. Whist enjoying watching the world go by I decided to try creating a time lapse video with the inbuilt camera on…
Last weekend I was lucky enough to be taken on a tour of One Canada Square, the tallest building in the UK, courtesy of a friend who works there. Situated at the heart of Canary Wharf close to where I live the main structure is 235m tall with 50 floors and is a prominent landmark on London’s rapidly evolving skyline. Having featured prominently in a string of recent films (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Bourne Supremacy, 28 Weeks Later…) and the UK version of The Apprentice recently it’s likely you’ll recognise the location. The higher floors offer amazing panoramic views of east London with the river Thames snaking its way around the Isle of Dogs. On a clear day you…
I’m a little late in posting this but on Tuesday I was lucky enough to be in central London at the same time as the RAF (Royal Air Force) was celebrating it’s 90th anniversary which included a cool flypast of the Red Arrows and Typhoon fighter jets. I watched from London Bridge which gave a great vantage point as the planes appeared seemingly out of nowhere over Canary Wharf leaving coloured smoke trails in their wake. It was all over in a matter of seconds but I still managed to snap a couple of OK pics with my iphone – more from the BBC. Not a bad way to spend a weekday lunchtime
Watching zombies terrorize your local neighborhood is all to common these today but it’s not every day you get to see your home and work place destroyed by US-led NATO forces, unless you live in Iraq perhaps. In an even scarcer coincidence that’s exactly what I got to observe tonight (with a touch of glee I might add) in the newly released film “28 Weeks Later“, the prequel to the 2002 cult hit “28 Days Later“. Those living on the Isle of Dogs may want to take shelter till this one’s blown over! A shot from the film – scarily similar to one of mine! I used to have a poster of the first film on my wall at university so it’s rather cool…
Hoping to take advantage of the last few dying days of summer this weekend I had a bit of a horticultural outing to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, south-west London. As you might have guessed Kew Gardens consists of extensive gardens and botanical glasshouses with all manner or exotic plants from around the world as well as a leading centre of research. I took along my D70s in the hope of getting some nice shots but having neglected to charge the battery I promptly ran out of juice after about 30mins (just after I took the above shot). Aside from this it was a pleasant day out and a nice break from the crazy pace of life in the city! As you may…
Finally after three weeks of rather non-stop living I’ve had a chance to stop and inhale! I really don’t want to let the site fall by the wayside so I’ll be making a concerted effort to try and keep up with a few posts a week from now on hopefully. I would go into some detail about what I’ve actually been doing recently but then I’d have to kill you… or you’d simply die of boredom! Sufficed to say it involved sitting on the beach, fusion and absolutely no sand or nuclear power. I’ve probably learned more in these past days than in a whole year of university but then again maybe this is the beginning of rose-tinting the past! I’m working in London’s…
Things have been quiet on the posting side for a few days as I’ve been away from fast Internet access visiting family in London. I’m back for the next few weeks at least now until my next excursion so will be updating regular as clockwork! The photos today are ones I took yesterday and are fairly coincidental – there’s no underlying theme here, just really filler as I’m quite tired tonight! N.B. Just after I took the above photo some receptionist came out of the building (Canary Wharf) and told me I shouldn’t be taking photos. When I asked why ever not apparently the whole ground around the building is privately owned so basically they can enforce whatever stupid rules they like!
It had to happen one day… I’m pleased to say that I’ve been offered a job which I applied for a while back and yesterday accepted! From September (after I graduate [hopefully!]) I will be working for an IT consultancy firm based in London (with offices around the world) as a “Technology Associate” which is basically a consultant/developer. It’s all pretty exciting and I’m looking forward to new challenges ahead! Hopefully things shouldn’t change much around here but something tells me I won’t have so much time to update. …the student days are nearly over! It was good to see an article today in The Times (page 14-15, T2) which echoed my previous comments on Hollywood’s vandalisation of Japanese cinema through remakes. Although I…