http://worldofwonder.net/bite/ami en-us Copyright 2008 Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:00:42 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss If you too want to come over all Eco friendly I suggest you start at Green Union and search their exhaustive directory but here are some of my favourites... Tammam - Beautifully designed eco wedding dresses Wedding Tree Favours - why have the usual chocolates when you can help the environment with your very own tree to mark your special day. Utterly Sexy Cafe - gorgeous cakes as featured in Episode 1 of S2 here here Happy Eco hunting! Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/09/eco_weddings.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/09/eco_weddings.html Ami Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:00:42 +0000 I've just spent lots of money developing some photos taken on a Diana camera. The Diana is a plastic box of magic, first marketed as a toy many years ago. It’s established quite a cult following on the basis that you can never quite predict what any of your shots are going to look like. Part of the appeal is in surrendering yourself to its whims, its random flashes of colour and contrast, your inability to focus it. And so with minimal effort the shots are rendered beautiful by some mysterious in-camera alchemy. And while the photos technically record information much less accurately than a 7 mega-pixel digital smart-ass, this film camera seems to more accurately reflect the moment. All of the developed pictures have an inherent art – creamy, sensate squares. So hailing a cab in New York City looks exactly how it felt. Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/08/photo_reflections.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/08/photo_reflections.html Ami Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:09:41 +0000 as they possibly could right at the front of the stage. The expressions of joy on their faces my favourite part of the whole gig….. oh, and then I met Tony Soprano…. Being in NY for only two days we didn’t want to keep it low-key. We followed the Sumner kids to The Box where the last vestiges of the little girl in me were painfully extracted by the show stopping show. I couldn’t begin to mention what happened in there on this public blog but let me just tell you it was all ugly and you’d have your mouth agape the entire time if it weren’t for fear of flying excrement. Apparently those trendy New Yorkers have seen it all. The following day we hit Central Park, a burger joint, and the Diesel Store before catching a ferry to Liberty Island to watch Radiohead playing at All Points West (AKA Coachella East).
Good golly gosh- as if their light show wasn’t enough, the huge stage backed by Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty really was a sight to behold. Too bad we spent the whole time searching for the bar (which we never found). After the video work I’ve done for the Police, it was cool to check out the Radiohead video screens- they used only six or so static cameras and split the screens up to show them all simultaneously- the result was what I’d call a juxtaposition of the honest and the arty. After a quick ferry back and a disheartening 2 hour struggle to find a cab downtown, we were safely on our way across the bridge into Brooklyn. The previous night at the Box, while I had been sharing inane and obscene words with two hot gay men, the gloriously straight man in my life had been chatting with Brooke, the owner of the Glasslands Gallery. The place is what you might call a Brooklyn Jazz Club with a giant shrimp on the wall. We headed there to hear Jon Spencer (of the Blues Explosion) playing with other band, Heavy Trash whose Myspace page declares they sound like: rrrraa-a-a-ahhhh, ba-BAM! st-ba-rrrrrrooo-ba-ba-boom! Wop-BOP-a-be-ba-ba-rrrrrrrraaahh-ra-ra-CRASHH-bang-blaaaa-ah-ah-BABY! BABY! B-B-B-ABY! Doom-doom-doom-doom-sssss-zzzzz-ping! RAAHHHK! RAAAAHHHHK! boink. Despite disabling bouts of jet lag induced open-eye dreaming I could tell the gig was rocking and Jon seemed like a pretty straight up guy when we talked to him later. Jon was even so kind as to offer us his sweaty signature on the CD we bought. Particularly kind as we’d bought it at the Radiohead gig. Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/08/they_built_this_city_on_rock_a.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/08/they_built_this_city_on_rock_a.html Ami Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:31:47 +0000 I want to tell you about the strangest of occurrences- I was in a gym. On a Saturday. Before noon. There were rows of joggers lined up on treadmills, trainers to the rubber, intimidating me. The smell of chlorine and flapping noticeboards intoxicating. Thank god I was there for Tango lessons and not some plug-in sweat session. So Tango, tango tango. A lucky trip to Argentina sowed the seed. The ever thoughtful friend who introduced me to my fiancée Jordan also introduced us to Tango. The Buenos Aires tango shows sold with dinner and a bottle of wine are crazy wired routines for tourists but, in a dark and fabulous club call La Catedral, tango showed us its true colours. Couples locked together and stepping in the dark of the smoky hall, a big bleeding heart hanging from one wall and a battered red halo of lights above the dance floor. Tango is improvised. And the man leads. Back in LA Fitness in Clerkenwell. Liz and her incongruously large breasts begin teaching us to Tango. With chests locked and faces close, it’s easier than you might imagine to be led by your man. Movement is facilitated by keeping weight on only one foot at a time, mirroring your partner, swaying in sync. The moving is natural, like walking. The man improvises the patterns you create on the floor to the melody of the music. Other couples are with us in the class, all of us having arrived here via a tango club in Argentina. I notice that we’re the only couple who seem to be making a song as well as a dance out of it. Me giggling at Jordan like a smitten 14 year old, and him yodeling along to the swells in the music. We step together with our thighs touching, toes not leaving the floor, feet coming back together in the middle of every step like a flirtation. And then we have to swap partners! Oh how the body and the souls of lovers find each other across the cosmos as if sought and bound through the ages, fitting together like snugly packed picnic hampers. Suddenly I’m touching the lackluster biceps of David. The biscuit smell of his breath the only thing in the space between us. This is quite a different dance. I cannot perceive the intention of his body, knowing not even which side of his body is carrying his weight and therefore not which foot will be leading. Partner after partner follows freakishly, the differing feel of the bodies, so not my betrothed, is unnerving. I strain to decipher the signals of their bodies, the way of their will until I am once more in the arms of my one true tangiero. Not to say that when we tango we don't look like dancing lobsters. Ha ha, and delightfully Google images has a photo of that…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e_Rbts5Q9Q&feature=related Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/08/it_takes_two_2.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/08/it_takes_two_2.html Ami Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:52:19 +0000 The thick feral sleep of my fiancé and I has been blissfully awakened this week by Tim’s guitar playing from the hammock outside on the roof. The hammock from which I now write. What will I do when he’s gone? Resume the daily unknowing snooze to the chorus of three frantic alarm clocks. Tonight Tim will be doing some live drawing on stage with my fiancé’s band Hot Head Show. Maybe I’ll film a bit….. Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/07/a_welcome_visitor.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/07/a_welcome_visitor.html Ami Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:21:04 +0000 That today is Independence Day has fallen rather into insignificance for today is also Zena's Wedding. Today, in a church in sunny Miami, Zena will become Mrs Gibbs!!! My own engagement period bliss was last night enhanced by a blubbering trip to the cinema to finally see Sex And The City. In the words of Charlotte's husband, 'I'm just a bundle of love today' and I'm so excited for Zena who is probably still catching up on a little beauty sleep at the time this goes online. Good luck Zena and send us some photos. Oh my gosh- I'm quoting SATC! Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/07/independance_day.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/07/independance_day.html Ami Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:14:48 +0000 Apparently locals were quite moved by what can clearly only be described as a bona fide sighting of the Virgin Mary in Mississippi last year- excluding the three people in the picture who are just wondering where the beer is. Further googles on ‘belly button’ came up with this blog Annoyingly he calls his blog a web-log as if he didn't get the message some how. As I suppose should be obvious mynavel.co.uk is about as interesting as a guy contemplating his navel can be. His most recent entry is quite amusing, however, and details the some of the google searches that directed people to his page such as 'my son loves my belly button' amongst others. On the blog- sorry- Log, you will find a photo diary of each day's belly button fluff with a discussion on the effects of his attire and the tucking in of his top. Now I'm quite familiar with this belly fluff phenomenon after living with my fluff producing beloved husband to be for over 6 years now- and I’ve always found it rather charming- one of the great wonders of the world blah, blah, blah, swoon, swoon… Mr mynavel.co.uk has unfortunately put a whole different (hairier) slant on the whole thing. If you think you are man enough I'd encourage you to take a look at this guy's fluff. It's surprisingly personal and rather unpleasant. For your information, my man's fluffs are an entirely different species- beautiful, perfectly formed, and always blue. Oh my god- is that what love does to you?!- you get competitive over belly button fluff!!!!! Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/06/under_the_weather.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/06/under_the_weather.html Ami Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:47:09 +0000 I had the most unexpectedly posh festival experience of my life last weekend at the Isle of Wight Festival. This was due to two factors, one being that I was doing a, fairly minimal, amount of camera work for two of the performing bands and was subsequently granted an Access All Areas pass, but also because I had the great pleasure of being accommodated in a camper van. The ‘Freedom Van’ was borrowed from my lovely soon-to-be mother-in-law and driven with a great deal of pride down to portsmouth and over the water to the island. The van chugged jollily along like a bus with the soul of a gracefully ageing hippy, and very good-naturedly permitted various admiring young folk to take pictures of her as she passed. The merciful, and mostly undeserved, AAA pass saved me from the dark green cubic cavities of the dreaded festival toilets and I am still shocked to observe that every one of my toilet experiences involved a real flush, actual tissue paper, four permanent walls and a ceiling. At one point I actually had access to a shower, but felt that that would be missing the point somewhat. Do not worry, my hair was determinedly rocking the festival hag look by the Sunday with several people claiming a Slash sighting what with my matted hair, permanent sunglasses and crumpled cardboard top hat. Needless to say that at the end of the weekend, both myself, and the inside of the van, were looking rather jaded, but somehow we all managed to tootle back to London with some dignity intact, and a big smile on our faces. Ami x ]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/06/isle_of_wight.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/06/isle_of_wight.html Ami Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:32:31 +0000 The show is an unlikely cross between Peep Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm with a New Zealand accent- it’s all about the two guys trying to make it as a folk act in New York. What a shame we now have to wait for the next season to catch it again on BBC4. Meanwhile, there’s always Youtube. Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/06/flight_of_the_conchords.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/06/flight_of_the_conchords.html Ami Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:14:30 +0000 Chris Crocker's mission statement style, big-shout-out-for- the-only-gay-in-the-village video repartee is worryingly captivating. He appears in various states of distress and makeup and as '2prty2bstr8t' comments on one video does 'really look pretty with eyeshadow.' One emotive video posted of himself crying about the media's lack of respect for Britney Spears is ominously un self-aware except in the sense that the tears and the pout are clearly exaggerated for the camera. The video made it onto the Jimmy Kimmel show in the states where millions nationwide had the rare opportunity of laughing at a Youtube clip simultaneously. Needless to say a clip of the clip appearing on the show made it back on to YouTube and has currently had over 7,000,000 views. My favourite Chris Crocker is his vitriol against the use of the phrase 'it's so gay', his reasoning being that 'gay is not an adjective.' The world of the blog is a world without editor- a world where having something to say is all you need- because in the noughties we have Ultimate Immediate Free Speech. A quick read through the comments posted to Chris Crocker's videos is enough to show you the linguistic implications of this freedom (and by that I mean the swearing, racism and general climate for voicing aggressive intolerance, rather than the comparatively innocuous spelling errors) Something I am rather fond of however is a video response parody by someone posing as Chris Crocker's dad which appears in the Jimmy Kimmel clip. So in this environment of virtual flashing from reality’s trenchcoat, I've found the rather fabulous 'Faceyourpockets'. Empty your pockets onto your scanner, place your face against the glass and press Scan. Voila! you’ve bared your soul to the uncaring world. But of course it's not that easy- these images are truly art not just an online confessional. Put some thought into it. Can you find mine? Ami x ]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/05/a_scanner_darkly.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/05/a_scanner_darkly.html Ami Wed, 28 May 2008 11:14:15 +0000 Despite this crucial revelation I don't seem closer to finding the ‘dream’ dress - apparently I am supposed to have seen the whole wedding play out beautifully in my dreams and have the entire thing sorted out by now. For those of us 21st century ladies who haven’t been spending our formative years fantasizing the specifics of our wedding, the overabundance of generic wedding literature sadly offers little further assistance. Never fear- recent inspiration was found in the form of live accessories for the modern bride such as: Yes, that’s a goat she’s got. I'm sure it helps make the ‘tossing of the bouquet’ an extra memorable moment, with photographic record taking pride of place in the wedding album. For the moment my wedding muse is the dangerously addictive style.com which will have you clicking through catwalk shows like a coked up fashionista well into the wee small hours. Check out a small lookbook I just made here bearing in mind few of these dresses are either white or affordable. It appears I rather like ruffles though and I think it’s very important to avoid taking yourself too seriously on your wedding day, which brings me to wondering if I could pull this off: Although I suppose the only box that needs ticking is whether the groom can pull it off at the end of the night right? So what’s all the fuss about……. Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/05/wedding_dress_stress.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/05/wedding_dress_stress.html Ami Mon, 19 May 2008 12:59:02 +0000 To celebrate almost 2 full weeks of ridiculously good weather, the man and I had a little BBQ at the weekend. Although we're not grown up enough to have a garden yet, we do have what we like to call a 'roof terrace'. Being lucky enough to live above a bookies, we have exclusive access to the roof of its one-storey toilet block. To complement our roof terrace/toilet cotch we have installed a hammock purchased in haste from Hammock Heaven who delivered it the next day (as should always be the case). Needless to say the BBQ was hot but happening with our weird ethnic music blending seamlessly with the R n B from the pub across the road where a chap called Abraham was celebrating his 80th. Although Sunday morning saw the roof looking like I'd turned my house inside out with every chair, plate and knife outside- we quickly tidied away all the discarded meat before heading down to Brick Lane. Boy is it busy there at the weekends but it's all about the people watching anyway. With a spot of luck we bumped into a friend who was selling bacon butties and mojitios- an unexpectedly winning combination. Our little trip out was cut short by a need to hurry home and set up the hammock cinema. This involved simple ingredients of aforementioned hammock and roof, together with one white bed sheet from Asda and a projector. before we knew it (after a lot of effort) Michelle Gondry's film, Science of Sleep, was 4 feet wide on the roof in front of us. To complete the idyll we added a blanket or two and BBQ'd some salmon. Ooh la la. Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/05/swinging.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/05/swinging.html Ami Thu, 15 May 2008 13:36:53 +0000 Did you know that only female mosquitoes have that little sucker tube and they don't suck at you for food. The vegetarian 'mosquitas' use the protein in your blood to harvest their babies. So those little bites are even worse than you thought- you've just facilitated the expansion of the swarm........ If you think the mosquitoes should start working for you, have a little look at this ridiculous site offering free mosquito ringtones Brilliantly they're supposed to be adult and teacher proof tones because the frequency of the 'mosquito call' is too high for old people to hear. Definitely worth testing this out on a grandparent or just using to annoy people. I have to say I'm pleased to note that I can definitely hear the tones that the site says are inaudible to those over 24. Last week I told my hairdresser I was 25 and he said,'that's ok- you're old but you're still hot.' Is that a compliment? Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/05/invasion.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/05/invasion.html Ami Thu, 08 May 2008 10:11:01 +0000 Last weekend had me putting to the test all those posing chops learnt from America’s Next Top Model- those sedentary sofa hours not wasted after all! My friend Barry Macdonald, who usually shoots bands, was looking to expand his portfolio and I was the red-stockinged guinea pig in his fabulous fashion shoot. Might I also just mention that I am slightly intimidated by the news that Zena AND her bridesmaids have dresses for her wedding already. My lot not looking half so impressive as yet with no dresses in sight, er…. but I do have a florist! For Zena or anyone who’s interested/engaged/dreaming/bored- here is a little blog run by a lady who makes wedding ‘mood boards’. You can tell her your colour scheme or the vibe of your wedding day and she’ll mood-board it- or you can just scroll through the many already up- like this tasty citric wonder: Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/04/i_wann_be_on_top.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/04/i_wann_be_on_top.html Ami Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:30:21 +0000 It’s been about a month since our last series and a lot has happened (including me finally having my haircut and frustratedly trying on at least 50 wedding dresses, none of which will be invited to the wedding). At the end of the last series, the Bite girls were lucky partakers in a ‘denim party’ courtesy of Ilovejeans.com and their Denim To Your Door programme. If you missed the episode- suffice to say that this new take on the Ann Summers/ Tupperware party format provides a long needed antidote to the horror of jeans shopping on the high street. A Denim to Your Door party is the perfect environment for jeans-buying - surrounded by your friends in the comfort of your own home you can try on pair after pair, with both drinks and honest advice on tap. An unfortunate lack of cash at the denim party, however, led to my desperate denim dash to Selfridges earlier this week. Despite the near paralysing prospect of a denim purchase with no time, no friends, and no drink in sight, I quite quickly snapped up a pair with my name written all over them! Turns out posh denim company, Earnest Sewn, (as seen on an Olsen or two) has brought out a new (and slightly cheaper) line called Earnest Am I. It just so happens the various tags which adorn the jeans look like they’re saying Ami.
Earnest Sewn promises you will, ‘find an unwavering appreciation for denim and the fading mystique of American ingenuity and craftsmanship’. So it would appear they are a little, um, earnest. None the less- Did you Know?....... It turns out you can recycle your old jeans into building insulation and Earnest Sewn sponsored an initiative to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Have a look at how you could help here. This sponsorship makes even more sense when you look into how to get YOUR name on a pair of their jeans. If you pay upwards of $700.00 you can have your Earnests custom made to your measurements, and they’ll print your signature on the label. Ami x]]> http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/04/the_importance_of_being_earnes.html http://worldofwonder.net/bite/2008/04/the_importance_of_being_earnes.html Ami Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:26:53 +0000