Pink Sauce

Today I popped in the National Portrait Gallery to view the paintings shortlisted for the BP Portrait Award 2011. This year was mostly underwhelming, I have to say, with many examples of a trend in modern portraiture that I find particularly annoying: the photo look. Paintings with the slick, smooth, slightly-soft-focused look of a photography. I do like hyper-realism but for some reason I can't abide that look in portraiture. The overall winner , by Wim Heldens, just about escapes my ire in that respect. Although I rather like it, it is also not part of my favourites. You can find them below in bad iPhone pictures I took myself (the links provide more info about the paintings and the artists): George O'Dowd by Layla Lyons, oil on canvas on wooden stretcher, 1800 x 1400 mm Abi , by Nathan Ford, oil on canvas, 280 x 200 mm and just because I like Maxi: Maxi Jazz by Joe Simpson, oil on canvas, 600 x 600 mm There was another one I liked, which I didn't photograph and doesn...

In the Open Letter sent out 7 June regarding the Gay Free Zone case, a number of gay and feminist activists closed by saying: "The East London Mosque claims to have no responsibility over those who speak there. The East London Mosque also claims to be opposed to the 'gay-free zone' campaign and homophobia. We demand that the East London Mosque live up to its stated word, take ownership of its platform and stop allowing its premises to be used to promote gay-hate campaigns." Salman Farsi, Communications Officer from the East London Mosque, speaking to the Guardian responded by saying: "Any speaker who is believed to have said something homophobic will not be allowed to use our premises, whether that is us organising an event or someone else. As for the condemnation of homophobia, our director has gone on the record on this." We, the undersigned, welcome the East London Mosque's statement that they will no longer allow their premises to be used by homopho...

“ But I bear no malice against the people I abuse: when I say an ill natured thing, ‘tis out of pure good humor; and I take it for granted they deal exactly in the same manner with me. ” Bit of binge drinking - Picture by Neil Libbert Have you heard the one about the "athlete" who had an affair with that woman off the telly and now he is suing Twitter because he didn't want people to know but everyone is talking about it on there? Well, I can't really tell you about it, yeah, cause of the super injunction thingy but I bet it's going to end up all over the papers anyway like what happen to that banker, Goodwin, yeah. That super injunction thing rather backfired for him, innit? Anyway, you'll never guess, on Friday evening I went to see that play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It's called The School for Scandal or something. It's quite famous, I think. And I heard that that bloke Sheridan he had to fight a dual (twice! imagine...) because a journalist h...

I don't know much about poetry but there are a few poems I like. this is one of them Jabberwocky 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!" He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought-- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two! and through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back. "And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" He chortled in his joy. 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; A...

We learned this afternoon that an 18 year has been sentenced to a £100, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge for placing stickers in various parts of east London, designating them as "gay-free zones". The stickers caused a lot of controversy in the area and even more discord within the LGBT community but thankfully nothing serious came out of it. The affray is probably already much more than what the people behind the stickers were expecting to achieve. Nevertheless, already I have seen people commenting that the sentence isn't enough, that is is a "f*cking joke". It seems to me that it is on the contrary about fair and probably quite close the maximum of what it could have been for the charge of public order offence of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour. It seems to me that £200 is quite a lot for someone who is on the dole, particularly as punishment for something they didn't even think was wrong. At the tribunal, Mohammed Hasn...