Author Archives: Catherine Balavage

Homeland Series Two Coming to Channel 4.

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If you have just watched the last episode of Homeland, you may not have heard the continuity announcer declare afterwards that Channel 4 signed the rights to show season 2 as well. You may have been hiding behind the sofa, rocking backwards and forwards, sobbing softly at the unbearable tension of it all. And now you’ll have to go through it all over again.

So there we have it. The brilliant first season of Homeland is at an end, and what an end it was. Who saw THAT coming? Nick Brody is actually a CIA agent/alien/woman. Carrie Mathison is David Estes’ brother/imaginary friend/car. And Saul Berenson’s beard ended up being made of high explosive/cheese/bees. (Okay, I’m writing this before watching the last episode, because call me old-fashioned, but I like watching stuff on the telly when it actually transmits).

Speaking of watching it on the telly, the British viewing public, in their infinite wisdom, have been tuning in in droves. A consolidated weekly figure of over 4 million watched the show (including figures from the Monday repeat). That’s 4 million heads that are fried, eight million eyes that have popped, and 40 million fingernails chewed down to nothing (80 million if it’s a very flexible 4 million viewers and they are chewing their toenails too. Or chewing each others’ toenails).

I think, when we start talking about toenail chewing, we can probably leave it there, don’t you?

Bye then.

 

[thanks to Channel 4]

Eskimo PR Brand Watch.

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Sam Edelman: classic and quirky shoes. According to Frost writer Keshini Misha, Sam makes the best Chelsea boots.

 

The Pretty Dress Company.

Female figure loving dresses. Inspired by the glamorous females of the 1940’s and 1950’s. They hold in, push up and hug curves in all the right places. The name is accurate too, the dresses really are pretty.

I got a free tub of sweeties from My Sweetie Jar. Brilliant sweets. They offer a customisation service. Go to www.mysweetiejar.com if there is anyone you love enough to get some of these for.

BlackDressHQ sells nothing except beautiful and classy black dresses. I reckon Amanda Elisach would love this site. It was born because of the need to bring gorgeous Little Black Dresses all in one place. Gorgeous self- indulgence.

Prey of London. Luxe-rock inspired brand. Brilliant, edgy clothes. High end designs at mid market prices.

Simmi. Love your shoes.

Mou

POP Handset. It reduces radiation by 99%.

Bronx and Blink is the sister brand of Bronx. In fashion this season is Gothic Punk, 70’s Sophistication and Global Nomad.


Chinese Laundry. Brilliant shoes and accessories.

John Varvatos. Casual Luxury and rock’n’roll come together.

Sorel A classic brand. They have been making great footwear since 1962

Doll Boutique. Online retailer with a great range of brands. One-stop shopping heaven. Started in Glasgow in 2007, founder Arielle Shear felt that Glasgow was in need of something different from either high street or high-end designer fashion, but something in between, now we all have it at Dolls Boutique. Fresh, new, reasonably priced brands that are better quality than the high street.

D.L & Co call themselves Purveyors of curious goods. LA native Douglas Little aimed at bringing opulence and beauty to those who yearn for the uncommon and exquisite; and has managed beautifully.

See By Chloe. Sophisticated footwear. Just beautiful.

Vestry is dedicated to bring the latest trends. There are dresses to impress galore at the Vestry Online. Dresses start at £30 and their best-selling jeans are priced at £30. The Vesty used to be a major high street brand name but are now just online, and as popular as ever. Their site is full of beautiful clothes.

Moda in Pelle. A brilliant on trend footwear company. I love their country chic shoes, as well as power dressing, the affair and The Orient Express. Moda in Pelle have also launched a new range called Luxury Revel, it aims to create a ‘bridge between luxury shoes and accessible accessories’.

Juicy Couture. Needs no introduction. This LA brand’s new season range is more polished and put together says LeAnn Nealz, Juicy Couture CCO and Co-President. “I spend a lot of time travelling between London and Los Angeles, which got me thinking about this concept ‘LA Loves London’ – everything from Anita Pallenberg to T-Rex and Joni Mitchell”.

Soludos: Comfortable unisex shoes.

I personally really love the Brigitte Bardot range. She is a style icon who has really inspired me.

Misfits Actress Sentenced to Community Service After Racially Abusing Taxi driver.

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Misfits Actress Sentenced to Community Service After Racially Abusing Taxi driver.

Lauren Socha, the BAFTA-winning Misfits actress, who plays a young offender has been sentenced to community service in an life-imitating-art twist. Socha, 21, drunkenly racially assaulted an Asian taxi driver.

Miss Socha is second from the right.

Socha plays Kelly Bailey in the hit show. She admitted to hitting Sarkander Iqbal in the face and screaming racial abuse at him in October 2011. She received a four-month suspended jail sentence and has to do 80 hours unpaid work.

Mr Iqbal said that Socha called him a ‘Paki’ and yelled ‘You don’t know who I am’. Mr Iqbal managed to record part of the attack on his mobile phone. In the recording you can hear Socha saying she will get Mr Iqbal’s family ‘lifted’ out of the UK and then launched into a trade of abuse.

Socha has previously said that anyone who calls someone a ‘Chav’ is a racist.

Mr Iqbal said she called him “every name under the sun’ during the attack.

It was terrible. She called me a Paki, a dirty b******, told me to **** off back to my own country and asked what I was doing here because I was Asian.’

Socha was also ordered to pay Mr Iqbal compensation.

Tributes Flood in For MCA Adam Yauch.

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The music world is still in shock after losing founding Beastie Boy Adam Yauch at the young age of 47. Yauch had a three-year battle with cancer.

His loss has been felt heavily by music lovers the world over. Coldplay, Jay-Z, Green Day, Antony Kiedis, Eminem, Louise Mensch and The Strokes all payed tribute to the rapper. Kiedes said: “We lost a good man today. He left the world a lot of beauty. I hope you carry that flame. Adam was for real. You can see the Red Hot Chilli Peppers tribute video below.

Yauch was diagnosed with cancer of the preaortic gland and lymph node in July 2009.

He founded the Beastie Boys in 1979, with Mike “Mike D” Diamond, a school friend, and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz. They started as a punk band, then they began experimenting with hip-hop.

The release of their first full album ‘Licensed To Ill’ became the first hip-hop album to top the Billboard album chart. The band released eight albums including ‘Paul’s Boutique’, ‘Check Your Head’ and ‘Ill Communication’.

Adam Yauch is survived by his wife, Dechen Wengdu, and their daughter Tenzin Losel. Rest in peace MCA, you are much missed.

Boris Johnson’s Workout Secrets. (Yes, Really)

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THE WINNERS WORKOUT


Boris Johnson’s personal trainer, Jon Denoris reveals the secrets behind Boris’s workout routine

After a month working with his new personal trainer, Jon Denoris, the new Mayor of London Boris Johnson can do 100 push up’s p/session, has lost 8kg and three inches of his waistband, as well as making significant life changes.

As part of Jon’s new ‘Pop Up Gym’ initiative to improve fitness and office diets in preparation for 2012 London Olympics, he has released a bespoke workout plan; similar to Boris Johnson’s to help readers get fit at work.

7AM – Power Smoothie

Blend two scoops of strawberry whey protein, two tablespoons of bio yoghurt, a handful of granola and a cup of skimmed milk. Add ice to finish. Drink one third immediately.

7.30AM – Clock-face drill

A simple ten-minute exercise routine. Begin in the starting position for a press-up, spin your body round like clock hands with your bellybutton as the axis. Randomly choose clock-face positions to spin to.

7.40AM – Power Smoothie

Finish the Power Smoothie made earlier.

8AM – Commute

In honour of our new mayor, take a Boris bike to work or walk at a brisk pace.

11AM – Desk based exercise

Break up your morning with a quick ten-minute stretch.

With your left hand, grip the underside of your chair. Slide to the right hand side of your chair and then pull down with your left arm. Whilst doing this, turn your head to the right and place your right hand on your head. Apply gentle pressure before swapping.

11.10AM – Snack

Elevenses are the highlight of most office workers’ mornings. Ensure that your meal contains a combination of protein and carbohydrates, such as peanut butter on wholegrain toast, orange segments and cottage cheese or nuts and an apple.

1PM – Lunchtime workout

If the office doesn’t subscribe to the Pop Up Gym classes, Denoris recommends a circuit based routine designed to be done in the office or in a nearby park. Do 20 reps for each exercise and then repeat as many times as possible in half anhour.

· Body weight squats. With your hands across your chest and your backside stickingout, lower your thighs so that they are parallel to the floor. Hold and then rise slowly.

· T-stand push-ups. When at the top of your push-up, rotate the body and stretch one arm out to the side and then up to the sky. Follow by switching sides.

· Lateral lunges. Begin by standing with both legs together and then lunge sideways, bending your knees. Follow by touching your feet with both hands, keeping the trailing leg straight. Return to a standing position before alternating legs.

· Single-arm rowing. Once squatting, lean forwards, sticking your bum out until it is 45degrees to the floor. Whilst using one arm to stabilise yourself, pick up your bag and lift it up and down ten times. Then alternate.

· Bicycle kicks. Lying on your back, cradle your head with your hands. Bring your shoulder blades off the ground whilst bending your knees. Alternate, touching each elbow to the opposite knee.

1.45PM –Lunch

Aim for a vegetable and protein-rich lunch. For example, two grilled mackerel fillets on a bed of spinach, with olive oil and lemon to taste.

4PM – Desk stretch

Place your left leg on a chair or staircase. Bend your knee, extend your right arm until vertical and pulse forwards until you feel a gentle stretch through the hip. Alternate sides.

4.10PM – Snack

Similar to the morning snack, mix up protein with carbohydrates. Denoris suggests pitta bread and tuna or a hard-boiled egg and a whole wheat bagel.

6.30PM – Commute home

Again on a bike or walking.

7.30PM – Dinner

Denoris recommends chicken stir-fried in peanut oil with garlic chilli soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and basil leaves. Serve with brown rice.

00.00AM – Bedtime

Constantly restricting sleep is an easy way to gain weight. Keep your sleep and waking times consistent. Aim for between six to eight hours a night.

Politicians ‘Least Trusted Profession in UK’.

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POLITICIANS VOTED LEAST TRUSTED PROFESSION IN THE UK

The RatedPeople Trust Index, calculated from four different attributes, has today revealed that politicians are the least trusted profession in the UK from a list of professions, coming bottom for reliability, honesty and quality of work.

The research of 2,054 adults, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the online trade recommendation service, assessed a range of different professions on four criteria: value for money, honesty, reliability and quality of work. Politicians were most likely to be voted as poor or very poor for reliability (62%), honesty (70%) and overall quality of work (57%), performing worse than both bankers and estate agents despite the maligned public image of these professions.

However, politicians managed to place ahead of premiership footballers in one category, value for money, where premiership footballers fared considerably worse, perhaps as a result of their multi-million pound annual salaries (76% rated footballers as poor or very poor value for money, compared to 60% for politicians.) By comparison, teachers enjoyed a clean sweep coming top across the board on the four criteria.

The research highlights which professions are trusted most by the British public, and of the different types of tradesmen included in the list, gardeners topped the list, however they came second overall across all the professions, to teachers for reliability, value for money and honesty. Electricians were named as the tradesmen that provide the best quality of work (50% rated the quality of electricians’ work as good or very good).

Perhaps because of the trade’s reputation for cowboys, and reflecting the 2.5 million disputes that happen every year, builders were named as the least trusted tradesmen nationally, scoring the lowest marks of all the trades assessed.

The UK’s most trusted professionals from our list are as follows:

1. Teachers

2. Gardeners

3. Electricians

4. Plumbers

5. Roofers

6. Builders

7. Bankers

8. Estate Agents

9. Premiership Footballers

10. Politicians

Rated across all four criteria: value for money, reliability, honesty and quality

RatedPeople.com’s brand ambassador and celebrity gardener, Toby Buckland, commented:

“I’m delighted to see gardeners made it to the number two spot in this research.

“Perhaps the reason that we have fared so well in the study is that gardening is a labour of love, it’s very easy for people to see the amount of hard work that goes into doing a gardening job and the results can completely transform an outside space.

“Building trust with your customers is an essential part of being a gardener if you want to achieve the best results for them. Trust ensures that they take your recommendations on board and have the confidence to rely on you to achieve the highest standards. Like so many in the trade, our reputation as professionals is built on this.”

The RatedPeople.com Trust Index also assessed which attributes are most likely to cause people to feel distrust when they first meet them. For more than two thirds (68%) of Brits, they are most likely to distrust a person if they have bad manners. This is followed by poor eye contact (52%), an unkempt appearance (40%) and being inarticulate (28%).

Brits aren’t a superficial bunch however, as being shorter (0%), unattractiveness (1%) and being younger (2%) were least likely to be cited as factors that make the most difference when it comes to deciding whether to trust someone. A further 1 in 10 (9%) people said that there are no attributes that would cause them to feel distrust. With actions speaking louder than words for these people, the four trust criteria are all the more important for helping to build a positive impression of a profession.

The features that will most make a Brit distrust someone are:

1. Bad manners

2. Poor eye contact

3. Unkempt appearance

4. Being inarticulate

5. A weak handshake

6. Badly dressed

Tariq Dag Khan from Rated People commented:

“They say that you form an opinion on someone within the first 30 seconds of meeting them, and our research has shown that a person’s behaviour can make all the difference.

“Builders, like other tradesmen, need to improve their image. Shows like Cowboy Builders and Rogue Traders taint the reputation of all tradesmen when in fact the vast majority of them deliver a job well done and at good value. One way for them to counter the unfair misperceptions is to improve communication with homeowners, as not doing so can fuel distrust. What helps is to be clear upfront about each project, starting with: what work is required; when it will be completed; and at what cost.

“Investing in home improvement can be a major commitment. So it helps when homeowners can be sure that the people they’re hiring to carrying out the project can be trusted to do the job right. Services like RatedPeople.com give consumers the confidence to know what they are getting before they take the plunge. The service works like word-of-mouth, by allowing homeowners to review the recommendations of thousands of other homeowners as part of the hiring process. It also allows tradesmen to build a profile for the great work they’re doing. This only helps to boost their trust ranking, so that next year they top the chart.”

Sundance London Film Festival 2012 Highlights

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Sundance London Film Festival 2012 Highlights

 

This year Sundance came to London with resounding success. Frost went along and has picked out some highlights.

Extranjero by Daniel Lumb & Crinan Campbell. This won the first ever Sundance London short film award, and rightly so. Well worth a watch.

The Return (Kthimi)

An amazing short film set in Kosovo. Everyone thought he died during the war but a man returns from being a prisoner of war and his wife, who he hasn’t seen in four years along with their son, has to tell him that she kept her rapists baby. Powerful and haunting.

Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared.

Weird but kind of wonderful.

Tooty’s Wedding

This short film is hilarious. Especially when the lead actress tells her husband “Yesterday a man said my breasts were a 7, which is actually quite high”.

Under African Skies by Joel Berlinger

Highly acclaimed at the festival. Paul Simon’s historic Graceland album sold millions of copies and united cultures, yet divided world opinion on the boundaries of art, politics, and commerce. On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Graceland’s release, Simon returns to South Africa for a reunion concert that unearths the turbulent birth of the album. Despite its huge success as a popular fusion of American and African musical styles, Graceland spawned intense political crossfire. Simon was accused of breaking the United Nations’ cultural boycott of South Africa, which was designed to end apartheid.

 

I really liked this film. Very well-made and interesting story.


The Queen of Versailles
The Queen of Versailles premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and received the U.S. Directing Award for Documentary. Sundance Institute  provided creative support for the film at the 2011 Creative Producing Summit.

 

A very good documentary. Worth watching.


 

Did you go to Sundance London? What did you think?