MetaFilter posts tagged with London

"More than one American has offered to buy up our Tower and erect it on Palm Beach as a bungalow!"

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:16:06 -0800

The Open Road London pioneering colour footage from 1927 (SLYT)

Cokaygne in my brain

Abiezer — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:42:16 -0800

Past Tense is a publishing project exploring London radical history. Their website has texts telling us about William Cuffay, the black Chartist tried and transported for levying war against Queen Victoria; an account of an early instance of women's organised labour struggle during the 1908 Corruganza box-makers strike; the drunken uproar of the 18th-century elections for the spurious Mayor of Garratt, really putting the 'mock' into 'mock election'; a yeoman farmer in Kett's Great Rebellion of 1549; the burning of the Albion Mills; and much more, including some walking tours to locations linked to radical history in various parts of the metropolis.

"He was my knight on a shining bicycle"

memebake — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:04:41 -0800

Franny Armstrong is the director of McLibel, The Age of Stupid, and founder of the 10:10 campaign, which aims to cut 10% of carbon emissions in 2010. She was walking through Camden, North London, on Monday night, when a group of young girls pushed her against a car. One of them was armed with a metre-long iron bar. She called for help from a passing cyclist ... who turned out to be Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.

"... I said, 'That's the mayor of London!' and they ran off. They must have thought they were going to get in trouble. One dropped the bar, so Boris picked it up and cycled after them. He returned a few minutes later and walked me home, and we talked about 10:10."

Boris is not known for being particularly sympathetic to environmental views (see If you want to be green – kill a cow and Boris cuts environmental team by half). And Franny voted for Boris' rival Ken Livingstone in the last Mayoral elections, although she concedes "If you find yourself down a dark alleyway and in trouble, I think Boris would be of more use than Ken.". But is there a possibility this chance meeting could have a lasting political effect? Boris and Franny's twitter feeds show that Boris agreed to personally join the 10:10 campaign.

Long Form Journalism on Secret London, Murder Ballads, and other topics of interest

filthy light thief — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:17:36 -0800

What do Cliff Edwards (1928), Lloyd Price (circa 1959), The Rulers (1967), R.L. Burnside (late 1980s/ early 1990s), Grateful Dead (live in 1993), and Nick Cave (live in 1996) have in common? If nothing else, they all sang some variation of the crime of Lee Shelton, also known as Stack O'Lee, Stagolee, Stack-a-Lee , Stackerlee, Stagger Lee and other names, with as many variations in the details of that fateful night. Join MeFite Paul Slade with his journalistic narrations of murder ballads, tales of Secret London (previously), and other works of long-form journalism (which may or may not be ideal for the web, previously). [via mefi projects; more clips and bits inside] Of the three murder ballads currently covered on PlanetSlade, Stagger Lee is the most commonly covered, with some counts tallying tributes by more than 400 different artists. The version of Stagger Lee by Lloyd Price (then and now) is apparently the most common version to start from, with covers by Ike and Tina, Isley Brothers, Wilson Picket, Bob Lumen, Tommy Quickly (wiki), and Huey Lewis And The News, P.J. Proby (wiki), amongst others. Burnside's version, from the 2001 compilation of of tunes and interviews, recorded between 1986 and 1993, called Well...Well...Well (perhaps named for his filler phrase), was covered by Samuel L. Jackson in Black Snake Moan. More fun with Stack-o-Lee: how to play a version by Mississippi John Hurt. Yet another version was performed by The Rulers, entitled Wrong Emboyo, from 1967 on a Jamaican single on the Sir JJ label, UK single (Rio R 132) with Why Don't You Change on the b-side, 1967, produced by JJ Johnson. This song was covered by The Clash on their 1979 album London Calling, with the song re-titled as "Wrong 'em Boyo." Versions of this song have also been titled "Wrong Embryo." For further deconstruction of the song, check The Stagger Lee Files (moving from geocities, which was covered previously). Frankie and Johnny may be behind Stack-o-Lee/ Stagger Lee in the count of covers (wikipedia states "at least 265 versions") but the tale that started before Allen Britt was dead lives on, from the movie of the same name featuring Elvis and Donna Douglas to Lindsay Lohan as Lola Johnson from A Prairie Home Companion (the movie), as well as Johnny Cash (once or twice), Chet Atkins, Dr. John, and more, with 10 versions of the lyrics at Bluegrass Messengers. Going way back, here is Frank Crumit's version from 1927. Knoxville Girl is the story that goes beyond the shores of the United States, and before there were states to unite, though it has found a home in relatively modern country music. Hear "a confession sung in the first person" from Arthur Tanner and His Corn Shuckers, recorded in 1927; The Louvin Brothers in years past, and recently performed by Charlie Louvin and friends (along with further write-up on the ballad and the performers). Also: Wilburn Brothers, Jim and Jesse in 1976, and Nick Cave.

Some "bloody design consistency" on the Underground

badrolemodel — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:33:30 -0800

Eiichi’s self-confessed shock is now hopefully more understandable – he was not simply being asked to rework an old typeface, he was being asked to touch up an acknowledged “Old Master.” Johnstone Sans - A Typeface for the Underground. Johnston Sans helped begat the also classic Gill Sans, created by the now infamous Eric Gill (Previously) The undergroud font is commercially available from P22. Britsh Rail commisioned its own typeface in the 1960's known as the Rail Alphabet (new version here), created by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert who also produced the system for Britain's road and motorway signage (a free version is available here).

High quality antique maps of London & British Isles

slimepuppy — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:05:08 -0800

MAPCO's aim is to provide genealogists, students and historians with free access to high quality scans of rare and beautiful antique maps and views. The site displays a variety of highly collectable 18th and 19th century maps and plans of London and the British Isles... See also Old London Maps for more maps and articles about old London and its sights. (in part via warrenellis.com)

Crystal Space

Abiezer — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:45:39 -0800

Seizure is an art installation by Roger Hiorns (Introducing his work in a YouTube video); "75,000 litres of copper sulphate solution were pumped into the council flat to create a strangely beautiful and somewhat menacing crystalline growth on the walls, floor, ceiling and bath (Flickr sets) of this abandoned dwelling." First opened in late 2008, the deliberately temporary work can be viewed by the public (free) again, thanks to a delay to development at the site in the current economic downturn.

The Present Sound of London

nthdegx — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:13:40 -0800

The Present Sound of London -- "I’ve been lured to London by money at the hottest, stickiest time of year. Every time I visit, I’m struck by the noises—not necessarily their volume, but their strangeness and variety in comparison to the quiet humdrum of the provincial town where I live. So this time I’m equipped with an audio recorder." By Giles Turnbull.

Type Tart Cards

carsonb — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:32:02 -0800

Tart cards [NSFW] are the means by which many London prostitutes advertise their services. Step into almost any central London phone box and you can contemplate up to 80 cards inviting you to be tied, teased, spanked or massaged.... [Wallpaper Magazine] asked designers – from students to superstars – to find the tart hiding in every typeface and create their own graphic numbers.... all 450 cards can be viewed here. [NSFW]

In among this plethora of brilliant, witty graphic designs we would like to highlight the serious issue that lies at the heart of the world of tart cards – the plight of trafficked women in the sex industry. It is a subject touched eloquently on by Mike Dempsey of Studio Dempsey, who is a volunteer at the Helen Bamber Foundation which helps rebuild lives broken by human rights violations. While our exhibition is an ode to the graphic qualities of the tart card phenomena, Dempsey's design is a pertinent reminder of the sinister world that lies beneath every card.

Read Mike Dempsey's letter and design.

Oranges and lemons

verstegan — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:23:21 -0800

London Sound Survey collects the everyday sounds of the capital, including the bells of St Clement's, the call to prayer at the Whitechapel mosque, football fans outside Millwall stadium, a demo in Piccadilly, dubstep at the Notting Hill Carnival and a street preacher at Speaker's Corner.. not forgetting, of course, those ubiquitous sounds of London life, 'Big Issue! Big Issue!' and announcements of planned engineering works on the Tube. (Via.)

Dispatch and Tit-Bits treasure hunts

tellurian — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:59:07 -0800

Secret London has the story of a circulation promotion gimmick that runs awry.

London Shop Fronts

nthdegx — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:57:19 -0800

London Shop Fronts

Airstrip One

plexi — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:55:10 -0800

London police are now deleting tourists' photos because "photographing anything to do with transport is strictly forbidden."

Keeping the peace.

reynir — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:50:41 -0800

One man died on the day of the G20 protests in London. He wasn't a protester, wasn't a police officer. Ian Tomlinson was a 47 year old newspaper seller trying to get home, who collapsed and died of heart failure. Three minutes before he collapsed and died, this happened. The official statement from the police made no reference to any contact between their officers and Mr Tomlinson but instead focused on the attempts to treat him after his collapse, and the much reported complaint that their officers had a couple of bottles thrown at them while doing so. The video footage was sent to the Guardian by a fund manager from New York.

Gee, 20

mippy — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:10:15 -0800

Protests against today's G20 summit in the UK turn predictably bloody. The main financial hub, the City, is closed off as a retail bank is broken into and dismantled. Another street, in contrast, is taken over and turned into an encampment.

movers and shakers in London town

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:07:54 -0800

I'll tell you one thing: if I was in London, I'd mosey on over to the Kinetica Art Fair. It looks like fun.

Blind Justice

ecorrocio — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:08:16 -0800

Blind Justice..... Sir John Fielding, 1721-1780, brother of novelist/playwrite Henry Fielding (Tom Jones), was a blind magistrate at the Bow Street court (known as the "Blind Beak of Bow Street"), home of London's first professional police force, the Bow Street Runners. Wonderfully fictionalized in a series of books by Bruce Alexander (a.k.a. Bruce Cook).

Lost London, in photographs

6am — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:59:39 -0800

User El_Greco of the SkyscaperCity Forum presents "Lost London", an absolutely stunning photographic thread of old London architecture.

I have nothing to declare except my prejudice.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:22:08 -0800

"Let them arrest me". Vehemently anti-Islamic Dutch MP Geert Wilders was scheduled to travel to London tomorrow to attend a screening of his controversial short film Fitna (wiki, mefi). Yesterday however, the UK's Home Secretary notified Wilders that his presence in the UK would pose a "serious threat to [...] public security" (PDF), presumably intending to refuse his entry into UK. Wilders plans to board the flight anyway, daring British authorities to arrest him. Not that he's sitting so comfy at home either, however: Wilders faces prosecution in the Netherlands for hate speech and inciting discrimination. The decision to bar the self-styled "freedom fighter" from entering Britain has met with widespread criticism from the Dutch cabinet -- which by the way is completely made up of Wilders' political opponents -- and fellow MPs. The Dutch Foreign Minister has phoned the UK Foreign Secretary and stated he was "deeply upset and disappointed" by the decision. British papers join the chorus of condemnation.

Death of the bookshop

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:26:17 -0800

London's Charing Cross Road was once a renowned as destination for bibliophiles. However this has changed as a number of bookshops have closed, the crime specialist Murder One being the latest. The Guardian looks how the street has changed between 1940 and now (flash). Meanwhile it's civil war in Hay on Wye...

More Photos of London From Above, at Night

cerebus19 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:28:05 -0800

24 more amazing photos of London at night, from above. Previously.

A survey of London's remaining professional darkrooms

nthdegx — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:05:05 -0800

A survey of London's remaining professional darkrooms

Klezmer and selling out

muggsy1079 — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:03:14 -0800

David Goo and the Variety Band have been gigging in London for a few years, but a recent appearance as a soundtrack to an advert could be what propels them to the big time. Merging ska, punk, indie and klezmer influences, read an interview with them here as they speculate on the concept of 'selling out'

The Other Eastenders

Abiezer — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:16:37 -0800

Kamal Chunchie charts the history of the black and Asian community in Canning Town, east London, in the 1920s and 1930s. It tells the story of the Coloured Men's Institute and its founder, Kamal Chunchie, a man who can rightly be called east London's first black and Asian community leader. One of the many excellent East London history projects at Hidden Histories.

London V2 Rocket sites ... mapped

swift — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:15:20 -0800

Autumn 1944, and London was under attack from space. Hitler's 'vengeance' rocket, the V-2, was the world's first ballistic missile, and the first man-made object to make a sub-orbital spaceflight. Over 1400 were launched at Britain, with more than 500 striking London. Each hit caused devastation. The 13 tonne rocket impacted at over 3000 miles per hour. There was no warning; the missile descended faster than the speed of sound and survivors would only hear the approach and sonic booms after the blast. via Londonist.