As seen in Sex and the City

by Ursula Doyle

If you have seen the 'Sex and the City' film, then you will have heard about this book. It is the book Carrie reads to get romantic inspiration from the greats through history. From the private papers of Mark Twain and Mozart to those of Robert and Oscar Wilde. Taken together, these "Love Letters of Great Men" show that perhaps men haven't changed so very much over the last 2,000 years; passion, jealously, hope and longing are all represented here. 

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark

This book is great for anyone who wants a quick overview of how the business of art works. Don Thompson, an economist and branding expert undertook a years research to write this entertaining study of the economies and psychology of art, dealers and auctions.

Thompson admits that material and some numbers in the book are single-source stories and facts, which are embellished in the retelling. Also the glossary of facts does not have any references or footnotes, as a result makes you question the accuracy.

The author is quite biased on the side of everything in contemporary art is a game of branding and marketing, which is probably true since the majority of "art" these days are meaningless to the general public without the fancy gallery/museum.

I found this book quite humorous in the attempt to answer important questions such as 'yes, but is it really art?' and  'why would a very smart New York investment banker pay twelve million dollars for the decaying, stuffed carcase of a shark?'.

Shynola

The video for the song was created by Shynola. It is set in a computer-animated environment, where Beck rises from a grave, digs up a dog, and climbs buildings, among other things. It was nominated for "Best Music Video" in the 2005 Arias Awards.

Shynola is the collective name of a group of four visual artists based in London who have collaborated on a variety of projects, most notably a number of acclaimed music videos for several pioneering artists, such as 'Go With The Flow' by QOTSA

The name Shynola is a reference to a line in the Steve Martin movie The Jerk which implies that all you need to know in life is the difference between shit and Shinola.

Spun

Spun is a 2003 independent film directed by Jonas Akerlund. The film's title is a reference to the slang term for the way users feel after going multiple days without sleeping while on a crystal meth binge.

The film holds the Guiness Book of World Records for the most edit/cuts in a full-length feature film. It includes more than 5000 edits.

Akerlund has convincingly simulated the drug addicts desperation by using constant jolting cuts, juddery camerawork, rapid mood swings, nail biting and a general sense of unpredictable chaos.

The film got mixed reviews. 'Time Out London' accused the film of "smug amoralism", and claimed that director Akerlund simply re-uses other people's ideas and techniques. Roger Ebert was more empathetic in his review, where he described the film as having "effortless wickedness". His main appraisal is the fact that the film in no way attempts to romanticise any of the characters.

I think Spun shares great similarities between the earlier Requiem for a Dream as they both use the same type of frantic camerawork, editing and drug concept.

The First Undersea Restaurant

Ithaa, the undersea restaurant in the Maldives descends 16 feet underwater and gives 12 diners 160 degree views of colourful fish, sharks and other sea life in the coral reefs through curved, transparent acrylic walls. 

I love aquariums and I love eating, perfect.

Rob Mueck

These amazing sculptures look realistic but actually they are made from fiberglass resin.

Mueck, a London based artist faithfully reproduces the minute detail of the human body, but plays with scale to produce disconcertingly jarring visual images. Scarily impressive.

Pebbledash Buildings

Yorkshire Post, Leeds

I can't say I have ever seen a nice looking pebbledash building ever. Pebbledash is basically render with small stones added to give a gritty vertical shingle beach effect to external walls. Of course today we know that walls should never be treated as vertical beaches, but back in the rush to build houses in the 1920s, it was widely used to cover cheap or inexpert brickwork and sadly it's still being used.

The Yorkshire Post building is a good example of this. It saddens me every time I enter Leeds. Leeds is such a great city with great buildings, just a shame that this is the first impression you get.

If anyone knows of any good looking pebbledash buildings, I would be happy at to change my mind...