Seen the Scene

Here's a little ditty I wrote bout back home whilst in Madrid...its not about anyone in particular...just the scene! haha

Get out of my way,
can't you see I'm from Hack-ney?
I've met Fay, I've got a skull tattoo
I bet I know way more people than you
I just love this town,
My K deal is only 10 pounds
Catch me at Nuke where I get in for free
It pays the rent while I dress T.V.
When I go out tonight,
Gotta get my hair just right
Tight 'Parrel pants and a stolen sweater
I'll get my picture in Super Super!
Gotta get those flyers out,
Might meet a talent scout
And he will talk contracts with me
Fame and fortune and KTV

In the Garden of Serenity 1 Sep 08

Today, I just needed to get out of the house and fall asleep in a park. So I headed of to good old El Retiro. After taking my cousin to see Palacio Crystal and El Diablo Statue (the only public statue of Satan in the world!), we went to take a look at the Botanical Gardens nearby, stopping off...sadly to say...at McD's. If you don't eat by 3.30 to 4pm then you are generally buggered for food until places open at around 8pm again. 

Some flowers and strange fruit. Strangely enough, one of the flowers was called El Diablo (The Devil).

The gardens were pretty full but the greenhouses which replicated tropical and semi-tropical climates were best. There was some pretty weird and spiky rain-forest vegetation going on! 

The Cacti were cool. Some were in flower which I believe is very rare!

On the way back I passed this Church which I think is called Iglesia de San Jeronimo El Real. I took this as a test shot as I'd like to return and shoot someone against the walls! 

Current Loves and Hates

(in no particular order...)

Loves

1. MGMT

2. 50's screen siren postcards

3. Chueca & Malasana districts of Madrid

4. My new tan!

5. My Salvador Bachiller vintage style gentleman's mini suitcase. Maximum debonair vibes!

6. Trash Fashion's track, "Night of Error". Duran/Human League/Super Cool-Germanic-Dark-ish 80's vibes/Y2K beepery/screechery!!! Myspace them now!!!

7. My new Canon 70-200 2.8 I.S L Lens. Ouch!

8. My Vintage Westwood plaid cotton bondage pants rolled up as shorts. La Style d'El Pirata!

9. The Greek company, Korres Natural Products

10.!!!Bad Religion & NOFX!!! Old school summer vibes! I saw Bad Religion in 93 & NOFX tour in 94! God that's 15 years ago!

Hates

1. People who don't recycle!

2. People who don't stand on the right on the tube!

3. British Weather!

4. The way that Primark make cool looking socks but they wear out after a few outings!

5. People getting over excited about Fashion Week - like what do you actually contribute to the British Fashion industry? So you bumped into Gareth Pugh on Kingsland Rd...Woop woop! Just another excuse...

6. People who think Wayfearers are a new design! Idiots!

7. The City of Leeds and all is stands for. What a joke! (almost) everything about you is dreadful; your clubs, your bars, your fashions, your haircuts - your ATTITUDE!

8. Branded sports-shoes and sportswear in general. 

9. Tight T Shirts with crappy logo's (esp by Diesel) So Leeds! Yuk! 

10. Some of the attitude I have encountered as a "foreigner" outside of Madrid. Grow up!

Lost in the Supermarket - 02 Sep 08

Today, I tried to reason with myself over buying something that I want more than need. I had seen a pair of optical glasses whilst passing an optical store in Plaza de Chueca, Madrid. At 344 Euros, they're not cheap. My heart says buy, want, WANT! But my rational mind says, "Hey Consumerist Pig! Do you really need these things? Shouldn't you put your money to better use?"

Spending on such luxuries as personal items has been virtually zilch recently. My rational is that anything I buy has to be some kind of investment in my photographic journey. Hence, the reason I spent a guilt free grand on a new Canon 70-200 f2.8 I.S L series lens.

My current mode of thinking is that the 280 GBP could be spent on some further photographic outlay, like maybe a studio flash head. Oh we'll see....

So after trying on the glasses and being flanked at the mirror by an assistant staring at me on both sides attempting to glorify my facial appendages, I decided to just "fuck it". They kep

t showering me with new frames nothing like the ones I liked. "Just hold back!", "It's all too much" I said in some roundabout way before making an exit.

Incidentally the frames were by a US designer called Blinde Eyewear and handmade in Japan. Michael Cane/Buddy Holly types that were black with a fade to see through at the lower part of the lens. Well, it's not like I don't own some fly Kirk Originals already!

So I got my retail kicks elsewhere in the form of a vintage postcard store that I had spotted the previous day when walking to Chueca from Retiro. They sell old b&w postcards of madrid in the 50's together with cards of old movie stars. 

I really liked the Bardot ones. I'm not into the blonde bombshell look, and generally not even caucasian girls but there is somethings about Bardot that is so unique. Kate, Aggy and others have been styled and modelled on this look over again but there is only one true blonde icon and thats Brigitte. And hey, she did the rock & roll thing better that Kate and Aggy too. Just check out her tracks, "Contact" and "Harley Davidson".

I was feeling pretty tired by now so I headed for the beautiful churchyard at Santa Barbara a few streets away where I have taken a nice afternoon kip. I slept on a wall next to these flowers which I thought were pretty psychedelic!

I rounded off the day with another sleep in the sun on a terrace above Moncloa metro station. It was about 7.30 by now and the sun was still beating strong. The terrace was close the the Universities and was popular with young people smoking, loving and hanging out after college. Perhaps I'll go back...