Almost any building you care to point to has its own story and identity. Whether it's an architect trying to get one over a competitor, an architect trying to outdo him or herself, or an architect responding to some social or physical constraint, there is personality in every pane of glass, every steel support, and every brick or block of limestone.
Read MoreWhat I Think About When I Worry About Talking (2)
One of the attractions of the authentic diner experience is that ritual of having your coffee cup repeatedly topped up. On my first morning in Chicago last autumn, taking a seat in the Sweet Maple Cafe, I realised I could partake in that ritual. There was just one problem: I don’t like coffee.
Read MoreRaw Craft and Raw Emotion
Usually, my reaction to celebrity deaths reported in the news is one of detachment. It says a lot, then, that I was genuinely moved and taken aback by Bourdain's death last week. The world felt a poorer place; I felt upset and vulnerable. This didn't seem like something that should have happened to the person I saw in that video.
Read MoreA Lovely Bit of Crumpet
Even my friend Helen, who only joined Facebook to organise a hen do and has barely used it since, felt moved to say something on the subject. A decade and a half of trying to share my art with those nearest and dearest to me, and finally I'd hit on the hot topic that had eluded me for so long: crumpets!
Read MoreFinding the Best in Film Screenings
What Sam has created in Screening Film is the website I once imagined ... but ten times better. Cinemas, film festivals and community screening organisations register on the site and enter their events, which then show up on a map like the one above. The whole thing is searchable by area, and blog contributors pick out upcoming highlights or review recent events.
Read MoreIndie Cinema Euro Stars
The only thing I can do with the language of France is ask for a vanilla ice cream, so understanding heated political debate was never on the cards. I fired off an email to the Nova’s contact address asking if I stood a chance of getting anything out of the evening, and started on a Plan B.
Read MoreLook at What We Made
The marina just outside Barton-under-Needwood, not far from Burton, is a unique setting for a cinema. The distinctive location put me in mind of the Kinema in the Woods in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. The eighteen-month-old Red Carpet can’t quite match the back-story of the Kinema (their first screening was in 1922), but history is irrelevant when it comes to a cheery hello and a bloody good lunch. The Red Carpet offered both in spades.
Read MoreDays of Ideas and Plumbers
You would think that a film adaptation featuring two video game plumbers, around which the stench of failure perpetually hangs like a blocked sink (ahem), would do little to merit a place in a celebration of science fiction. Happily, there are people out there who disagree.
Read MoreGuest Post: Packing in Flavr
No full blog post this time, but that doesn't mean I've been slacking. Oh no! I've been doing some food writing, the result of which is this guest post for Catherine Noble's food blog, Noble Nourishment:
Packing in Flavr
Read MoreEast End Enchantment
I’m here to watch two films about food, ironically (though neither mentions yams). The second one is a Danish film about a French chef who cooks for a puritan religious community. The first is my favourite, however. An American documentary about the most celebrated sushi chef in Tokyo: Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
Read More