Ernesto Neto

Hankering after seeing something good - went to Hayward to see Ernesto  Neto. Large interactive installation on the top floors of the gallery. Stretched transparent coloured fabric with what looks like knicker elastic edges, forming caverns, spaces and tunnels. Tubes of fabric (like a pair of old stockings) linking different skins, sometimes providing a hole to see through, or reach through, sometimes looking like a stalegtite.Watching other people inside the structures, ghostly wandering. Towers to stand on and view from a different angle, height. Feels like being inside a body, enveloped. Really worth a look.





And don't forget your swimming togs and a towel if you want to go in the heated roof top pool.

London River

Sometimes you have to see a film even though the reviews don't rave exactly. But it is filmed in a tight triangle of London with which I am very familiar. The hotel that the French father stays in is at the top of my Dad's street, as is Haringey train station that they all keep coming out of. The girl's flat is over a butchers on Blackstock road next to the college where I study ceramics. They walk about Finsbury Park, visit North Middlesex Hospital (I am fairly certain), ride a 259 past Manor House, have a cab ride through Crouch End, walk along the New River canal. Its very green, strangely. Not at all alien, although it might be to other people. My main distraction, from knowing the landscape too well, was my inability to suspend my disbelief because the routes were not right. Nobody would arrive to London get out at Haringey and then try to find a flat on Blackstock Road (same train, get off at Finsbury Park), you wouldn't walk to Blackstock road from Burgoyne by going over the railway - quicker to cut across the park. Anyway, it was a worthy film, quietly told. Tragic.

Spiky Men

First spiky man
Black hair spiked high at the front, skinniest skinny black jeans, black shirt open revealing sparsley hairy chest, dogtags, rolled up sleeves, tatoos, suntan.
Minute later, second spiky man
Black hair spike high at the front, beard. Black jeans, jacket, striped teeshirt.

Boyfriend Jeans

The boyfiend was looking for a pair of jeans to replace the ones that had worn out. Many pairs seemed to be designed with the right kind of styling and made in the particular shade of denim. Pairs were taken into the changing rooms. Coming out he was tugging at the belt loops saying they don't come up high enough. Look at my pants coming over the top, flinging his shirt up and displaying a good 6 inches of boxer over the top of the low-slung jeans. They're made to be that way I said. But they don't come up enough to keep my tummy warm. Looking round for inspiration I struck upon the shop assistants - jeans seem to be made this way at the moment I said pointing out the way their's were hanging off, paired with long teeshirts. Perhaps you need lower slung pants. (There was a section of Calvin Kleins that would have suited). It appears that all the jean styles now have a low rise with a belt-position just above the penis (has been a fashion for some time) but don't require the wearer to have the crotch hanging down to their knees (although there are still fans of this way of wearing jeans - belt hoops under the buttocks rather than over them). Finally pursuaded a pair purchased.

Later he is debating whether to take them back - finding it difficult to get used to the low-slung feel. Search for the perfect jean will go on.

Kids Films

In the last two weeks I've seen a number of films that are Us or PGs.

Toy Story 3 in both 2d and 3d - it was good, all of them have been. I came late to the joys of Toy Story but am fully converted. The niece and nephew loved it.

Space Chimps 2 - the only saving grace of this rubbish was that it was only 95p to see it on saturday morning. Absolute crap otherwise.

Karate Kid - they've done a good job of this remake. Liked it a lot. And Jadan Smith - is he ever going to be hot as an adult.

Monsters Inc on dvd - loving the movie. I remember at the time they talked a lot about the animation of fur and hair being ground breaking - it featured a lot.

Coraline  on dvd- neice desperate to watch it even though her friends found it really scary. She scared herself more than I believe the film scared her.

The Incredibles on dvd - loving this movie, neice and nephew are still a little young to understand it well enough. Great though.