Category: Pictures Page 34 of 46

REVIEW: Buddha Bar, London

On 11/08/2008

In London, Pictures, Review, Uncategorized

Now, I don’t normally review bars and/or restaurants on the blog; I leave that sort of thing to Mr Factory and his fancy mediterranean lifestyle), but as this place only opened on Friday, and I was there on Saturday, I thought I might try to get in ahead of Anton Ego and his colleagues.

If you’ve not come across it before, the Buddha Bar is a small-ish chain of restaurant-bars at various locations around the world which, unsurprisingly, are themed around the orient and Buddha. The picture above shows the Paris venue, and the London branch is very much the same in layout – the whole place is dominated by a massive Buddha statue, and the restaurant and bar alike are more shadow than light (as I mentioned in point 5 of this post, that can mean you fall over things). But it’s certainly got an atmosphere about it, despite effectively being within a hollowed-out leg of Waterloo Bridge (well, they call it Victoria Embankment, but it’s inside the northmost stump of the bridge, so)…

Anyway, the London branch was due to open some months ago, and its opening date was pushed back by several weeks if not months, meaning that the laydee and I turned out, by chance not design, to be dining there on what was its second night of actually being open. In terms of the environment, this was fine – the place was clearly finished and ready for business – and in terms of service, it meant that we often had several members of staff looking after us at once, which was a pleasant change from most dining experiences (and only once did one of them bump into a piece of furniture, which is more than I’d be able to do in such a darkened workplace).

As for the food and drink, well, take a look at the menu, and you can see if it’s your sort of thing or not. The absence of a specific vegetarian main course option on the menu is something of an omission, because there is one – I had a very nice vegetarian curry served within a hollowed-out coconut, which was tasty but not heavy, and nicely presented. The desserts are very good too, and, again, not overly filling.

If you followed the link above to the menu, you’ll see that the prices are pretty high (though if you want to see really big numbers, take a look at the bottom right corner of page 2 of the wine list. Crazy). And I won’t argue with that – the Buddha Bar isn’t cheap, but I think it’s not just a place to eat but also an interesting atmosphere to be in; more a place to go to celebrate an anniversary, or someone’s birthday, or a date when you want to do something a bit different.

A lot of reviews of the other branches tend to focus on the prices or to suggest it’s a slightly pretentious place, and I can’t pretend there isn’t some validity to that kind of comment, but if you want a change from the usual sort of environment, and don’t take it too seriously, I’d say it’s worth a visit.

I Think There’s A Comma Missing From The Speech Bubble Too

By John

On 09/08/2008

In London, Pictures, Twins, Uncategorized

This cartoon appeared on Thursday (7th August) in ‘thelondonpaper’ (their rendition, not mine), a free paper which is dished out in London of an evening.

You might like to contrast the cartoon with the following dialogue from the film ‘Edward Scissorhands’, made in 1990:

EDWARD: Kevin, you want to play scissors-paper-stone?
KEVIN: No.
EDWARD: No, why?
KEVIN: It’s boring. I’m tired of always winning.

As with jokes during the 1990s about Daleks being unable to conquer the universe because they can’t climb stairs, it’s usually a good idea to actually check the source material first…

And I Have Promises To Keep (Part 1 of 2)

By John

On 08/08/2008

In Link, Personal, Pictures, Uncategorized, Writing

Back in June, I promised that if I wasn’t a winner of the the Waterstones ‘What’s Your Story?’ competition, I’d post my entry here on’t blog.

Well, as you can gather from the fact there’s a picture above these words, I didn’t win, and so I’m sharing (if you click on the image, it’ll be more easily legible).

You can find out who did win by clicking here, and while you’re at it, why not order a copy of the book version?

All the profits go to charity, and as well as the winning entries it features not-published-anywhere-else material by writers like Neil Gaiman and Joanne ‘J.K.’ Rowling.

Go on, it’s only a fiver…

The Problem Probably Originates With Me Not Just Accepting That The Picture Is There, I Know, But…

By John

On 03/08/2008

In Fish In A Barrel, Pictures, Uncategorized

The picture here shows the front of the leaflet with which National Car Rental advertise the merits of joining their loyalty club Zoom.

Which is all well and good, but … well, what the jiggins is that picture supposed to depict? The driver appears to be holding her hand out, and I really wouldn’t like to speculate as to why.

… well, save to suggest that it puts me in mind of an gender-reversed version of the film Rita, Sue and Bob Too.

This Is A Public Service Blog Posting

By John

On 30/07/2008

In Fish In A Barrel, Pictures, Uncategorized

Some days are more difficult than others – weather, transport, the pressures of work and home life, or even the poor manners of strangers in this sometimes indifferent world can put a dent in your day, and cast a shadow over your mood.

With that in mind, I wanted to supply the picture to the left of these words as a mood-lifter should you be feeling a bit glum, or in need of something to make you smile; I mean, which of us doesn’t feel cheered by the sight of Robert Kilroy-Silk covered with manure?

A Wanderer, Lonely As A Cloud

By John

On 28/07/2008

In Fish In A Barrel, Pictures, Twins, Uncategorized

I know that David ‘Tenth Doctor’ Tennant and Cliff Richard both appear to have the ability to regenerate (or otherwise to fight the ravages of time), but I don’t know if this was what they want us to associate with his performance as Hamlet, somehow…

Yes, yes, I know it’s a reference to this painting. Indulge me, if you will.

REVIEW: The Dark Knight

By John

On 25/07/2008

In Pictures, Review, Uncategorized

I think I’ve written before about my near-obsession with Batman (consider it akin to Jerry Seinfeld’s feelings for Superman), so you probably won’t be surprised to know that I went to see the new film last night.

There’s been a lot of hype and hoo-ha and coverage about it, not least because of the death of one of its stars and recent allegations made against another (hence the picture above, which is something that is oddly appropriate given aspects of the film), but I’m going to stick to commenting on the actual film here, not personal aspects connected to the cast or the marketing push.

Overall, I enjoyed it a lot, and it’s probably about as good a Batman film as you could hope to see; the plot’s full of twists and genuine surprises, and even though the film lasts something like 150 minutes, I get the feeling that certain storylines or scenes could have been given a bit more room to breathe. That said, it scoots along at a fairly breathless pace, in a nice taut way – even the sequences which look more like character moments tend to have some resonance or ramifications later on in the film.

I’m trying to keep this review spoiler-free, but suffice to say that the overall plot is a logical continuation of the situation at the end of the previous film (‘Batman Begins’), with a new District Attorney in place as Gotham’s various gangs scramble to take control of the various rackets in the city. Cue the Joker, in a performance by the late Heath Ledger which is more likely to generate nervous laughter than genuine chuckles. The Joker’s played here as an agent of chaos, and given that Batman is almost the living embodiment of one man’s attempt to impose some kind of order on a chaotic situation (both in his own life and that of his city), it’s only right that, as the film goes on, Batman struggles to anticipate the Joker’s next move.

You’re probably wondering, though, about the explodey-boom bits, and if there are good gadgets and vehicles, and oh my goodness yes there are; some of the stunt-based sequences are really rather spectacular, but like a film such as Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the scenes actually have a reason to be there as the story unfolds.

I mentioned Ledger’s performance, but I think it’s fair to say that there is not one bad turn in this film; it’s a strong cast, and all of them do very creditable jobs, even if some of them have to do less to impress – maybe it’s just me, but I do feel that Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman have sufficient goodwill in the bank that just seeing them in a film is a good thing.

The end of the film is interesting, too – whilst it leaves things open for another in the series, the status quo has been shaken quite considerably, so it would be interesting to see how the story would be continued. Given the box office success of the film, a continuation seems likely, but if it wasn’t by the same team (cast and crew) a dip in quality would seem pretty much inevitable, though I’d be happy to be surprised.

Overall, then, this is a film I’d wholeheartedly recommend – it functions well as a crime film or a thriller, and has enough character bits and explosions to keep the eyes as well as the brain entertained. If you can see it at an IMAX cinema, by the way, I urge you to do so – some of the sequences have been specially shot to take advantage of the screen and sound capabilities of the IMAX technology, and it’s very well used indeed – it enhances the film without being gratuitous.

Clearly, They Don’t Know Jack

By John

On 24/07/2008

In Fish In A Barrel, Pictures, Uncategorized, Writing

After my comments about how The New Yorker is noted for its lack of errors, I was rather disappointed to see the mistake shown here, on page 133 of the issue in question.

It is, as many of my fellow Limey readers will immediately realise, Jack Davenport, aka Miles of This Life or the voice of Mastercard. Tut tut.

Still, the Tomine cover is still just as pleasing as ever, so I’m not really complaining.

(The danger of a post like this, of course, is that in it I make some horrible typographical or factual error, and thus find myself open to criticism for exactly the same reason. Still, that’s what the Comments facility is for, I suppose…)