Tuesday, 26 March 2013

The Wrath of the Beast



The sound of a powerful wind in the distance broke his concentration. He looked up and sneered, mouth pulled back bearing ferocious fangs as he scratched at the air with his claws. He knew they would come. He knew they had been watching and waiting.

He followed their movements as the illuminating strong wind came closer, swooping quickly over him and narrowly catching him on his head. He roared in anger, shaking his fist and standing to his full length, ready for a counterattack. The wind came again, flying low like a descending plane, careering toward its target. At the last second, it launched itself far above his head, escaping the claws that threatened to rip open its torso.

The night became still again, peace hanging in the air. His eyes searched the sky but it only held the stars. The wind had left as swiftly as it had come. He scratched at the night air as though they were hidden and looked around him, checking his surroundings. He stopped. The glowing wind floated on top of another building, the snow white mist moving slowly from side to side.

He sneered and grinned, misty air from his nostrils penetrated into the atmosphere. He started crouching forward slowly, taking calculated steps as he watched his prey keenly. Then suddenly he broke into an athletic run, his scaly feet picking up speed with every touch of the ground. As he reached the edge, he flew through the air, the sky carrying his body through time and space. He landed with precision on the roof of the next building.

The mist was suddenly still as Torres slowly edged forward, growling under his breath, crouching low with every step as if he was manipulating his prey. It remained still. The beast stopped, his face close to the mist, his breath blowing coolly in its face.

Like a strike of lightning, the pain penetrated fiercely through his body. The claws ripped into its scaly body and the beast cried out in agony. He turned and saw another stream of mist rise high into the sky, twisting rapidly in the air like a small tornado, getting ready for another attack. He quickly looked in front of him and saw the mist before him had gone. How was this? And where did the other attacker come from? He pushed the thought quickly away and turned back to the sky. Despite the excruciating pain, he was ready.  As the swirling wind came swiftly toward him, his claws sharpened, waiting for the moment of impact.

What happens next? Find out in Vicinity at www.amazon.co.uk

 

Sunday, 24 March 2013

Work Those New Sexy Pins

I don't know about you but sometimes I wish my legs were thinner, slender, sexier (and longer). Now don't get me wrong, my legs aren't ugly - they're quite cool but it would be nice to have my pins noticed every now and again when I'm out on the town.

Its sad but there are many women who have this predicament. They see the beautiful celebrities in their designer dresses or outfit on the red carpet with the nicest pins ever (especially if the dress is short or has a high thigh split) and think "I wish I had legs like those!" They think because these celebrities can afford a personal trainer that their own dream of achieving that goal is out of the question or out of this world.

Or bringing it closer to home, they see a beautiful woman in town in a mini dress or skirt and marvel at the smooth legs walking daintly in high heeled shoes - Jimmy Choo or Louboutin? Then think that could never be me. Nonsense! It can.

But I'm a larger size, I hear you say or I just can't do it. Again, I say nonsense! So what if you're a larger size? Do not let your size stop you from bringing out the slimmer you that is itching to get out and say hello to the world. You are beautiful inside and out and you will be even more beautiful when you have those gorgeous pins to show off to your man or a potential one. It may not be easy at first. Like anything else, it takes dedication, focus and determination to get where you want to get to. Remember the dress you saw in the window and you really wanted to hand over your credit card but you felt it wouldn't fit but you would fight tooth and nail to get that dress. Be like the Kellogg woman and work toward your goal.

What if you are already slim but you think you have massive legs or thighs? Same again, do not let these thoughts defeat you. If you desire to change them, then do something about it. Take one step at a time and when you feel like giving up, visualise those sexy legs of yours coming down the street and the masses of people stopping to stare as if you're  a huge Hollywood superstar. You can do it!

There are many ways to start your journey to thinner, slender and sexier legs. Here's one to start with.

Click Here!

You Can Be A Great Fashion Designer Too?



It's no secret that most young girls interested in fashion dream about being a famous fashion designer one day. They grab fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar off the stands like hot cakes and gasped with delight at the latest designs by Versace, Christian Dior, Christian Louboutin, Louis Vuitton, Stella McCartney, Armani, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Math, Felder Felder, Bora Aksu - the list goes on. Or they whisk through the pages of celebrity magazines to see who was wearing what to the Brits Award, or the Oscars or even to a UK or international film premiere.

As an editor and journalist for a fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazine, I often see these young girls at London Fashion Week and Graduate Fashion Week - excited and rushing to get the best seats (although the front row are always reserved for well established fashion magazines and websites). Some of these girls are bloggers, trying to catch the latest trends and designers to blog about, some are just interested in fashion and want to see what the latest styles and others are potential fashion designers.

I don't blame them. The first time I attended London Fashion Week and Graduate Fashion Week, I was in awe of the amazing talents that walked the catwalk. I was trying to write down every details of each garment but my pen or rather my hand wasn't moving fast enough. I really respect new and potential fashion designers because the sweat and tears, the long hours drawing, designing and making the garments and the panic before the showcase they go through, usually always pays off in the end.

For those interested in being a recognised fashion designer one day, if they're not already studying at one of the fashion institutes like London College of Fashion, Central St Martins, Istituto Marangoni or similar, they want to as soon as possible. By all means, please do go down this route. You will thank yourself for doing so. It'll be hard work but let your creative ideas flow through you and when you feel you can't do it, encourage yourself and visualise yourself coming out to a round of applause after a successful catwalk show of your collection.

Its true there are many books like The Fashion Designer Survival Guide or Fashion Sketchpad who will give you tips and guidelines on how to stretch, design and promote your work alongside your fashion education and encouragement from your tutors. If you're not quite at the age of enrolling at one of the said fashion institutes or similar educational establishments, or are just starting, perhaps prepare yourself in advance by reading a book or two tailored to your life's desires.

As a suggestion, why not try this for starters? A step-by-step guide on becoming a famous designer. You never know you may become the next Project Runway!

Click Here!

or here - how to be a fashion designer books

Who Is This Man?



He was hardly noticed by the masses of people that passed him every day preoccupied by their small insignificant lives. In their eyes, he was just a ragged and dishevelled old man burdened down by the sorrows and ills of life as he moved amongst them carrying the few possessions he owned in this hypercritical world, listening to their boring and pathetic but sometimes exciting and overrated conversations. Sometimes he could even read their most private thoughts by looking into their empty minds’ eyes.

Other times, he was admired, respected and almost worshipped as if he was the Greek god Adonis or a rock star or the most desired film star. He walked with confidence and charisma dressed in his long black coat and chiselled toned body rippling through his clothes, making the most headstrong, influential and successful business woman mesmerised by his radiant and enraptured beauty.
 
When he was the old man, he was ridiculed, harassed and dismissed by those who seemed offended by his presence and odour when he tried to make light conversation. They were in return, despised in his eyes, human beings, upright animals, scavengers, who thought they were better than him and were perfect but yet led miserable lives.
 
But when he was the young man, he was desired and the essence of every woman’s dream. He could make them do absolutely anything through the manipulation of their minds, the kiss of his lips and the sweet caress of his hand against their soft and warm skin as they crowded around him in the night clubs drinking expensive champagne and moving to the exotic music, giving them the very one thing that would open up treasures untold.
 
The human race could never understand or begin to appreciate the magnitude of his life story. It was beyond their comprehension and reasoning. They were blinded by their own self-pity, like the blind leading the blind into a bottomless pit. Just a whisper or a suggestion was all it took for him to steer them in the direction he wanted them to go.
 
He could also be anything or anyone he desired. A politician, an actor, a psychologist, a magician, a local policeman, a dictator, a child, a contradiction, a drug, a terrorist, a controlled chaos, a peace activist, a suicide thought, a kind deed. He had the power to do all these and more.
 
If people knew the depth of his persona, they would come to the conclusion that he led a dysfunctional life, a deranged individual who was one person one moment and another, the next, a schizophrenia who couldn’t differentiate between reality and fiction but he was so much more. Much more than anyone could ever think or apprehend.
 
Want to know more? Check out Vicinity at www.amazon.co.uk
 
 

Saturday, 23 March 2013

James Patterson - 11th Hour




Imagine this! You’ve recently got married, you’re pregnant and you’re a cop – a murder weapon used to gun down a millionaire has been taken from your own department’s evidence locker – what do you do? Who do you suspect?
 
James Patterson, the world’s best-selling thriller writer and my all-time favourite author returns with another awesome thriller story in the Women’s Murder Club series.
 
Meet Lindsay Boxer, a homicide detective for the San Francisco Police Department. Lindsay is five foot ten. She was a sociology major and graduated from San Francisco State (to which she transferred from Berkeley when she found out that her mother had breast cancer). She loves beer and butterscotch praline ice cream. She has a border collie named Martha. She enjoys running, loves to read travel books and mysteries and her secret hobby is tai chi.
Lindsay has been divorced once and is now married to long-time boyfriend Joseph Molinari. She has a younger sister named Cat and a father named Marty, who was also a member of the SFPD. Marty left Lindsay's mother when Lindsay was 13.

In this 11th book in the series by James Patterson, Lindsay Boxer is pregnant at last! But her work doesn't slow for a second. When millionaire Chaz Smith is mercilessly gunned down, she discovers that the murder weapon is linked to the deaths of four of San Francisco's most untouchable criminals. And it was taken from her own department's evidence locker. Anyone could be the killer—even her closest friends.

Check this out! In the past three years, James Patterson has sold more books than any other author (according to Bookscan), and in total, James's books have sold an estimated 260 million copies worldwide. Since 2006, one out of every seventeen hardcover fiction books sold was a Patterson title. He is the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children's bestsellers lists and is the only author to have five new hardcover novels debut at #1 on the list in one year—a record-breaking feat he's accomplished every year since 2005. To date, James Patterson has had nineteen consecutive #1 New York Times bestselling novels, and holds the New York Times record for most Hardcover Fiction bestselling titles by a single author (76 total), which is also a Guinness World Record.

Patterson is the creator of the top-selling new detective series of the past dozen years, featuring Alex Cross and including the Hollywood-adapted "Along Came a Spider" and "Kiss the Girls," starring Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. He is also the creator of the #1 new detective series of the past five years, featuring Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club, from which the ABC television drama series was adapted. He has authored books behind six films on the Hollywood fast-track, including the upcoming Maximum Ride movie forthcoming from Avi Arad, the producer of X-Men and Spiderman.
 
He is the author of novels — from The Thomas Berryman Number (1976) to Honeymoon (2005) — that have won awards including the Edgar, the BCA Mystery Guild's Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award, and the Reader's Digest Reader's Choice Award. And, he has won a Children's Choice Book Council's Children's Choice Awards "Author of the Year" award (2010).

If you love thrillers like I do, James Patterson is the most awesome writer to give you the thrill of your life with twists and turns that will have you hungry for more! I’ve been an avid reader of James Patterson’s books since ‘Along Came A Spider’ with the amazing Alex Cross – remember the recent film ‘Alex Cross’ starring Tyler Perry, and ‘Along Came A Spider’ and ‘Kiss The Girls’ with Morgan Freeman years ago.

www.jamespatterson.com
 




Saturday, 16 March 2013

Jay-Z and Timberlake announce UK headline show

Justin Timberlake with Jay-Z

 
Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake will preview their Legends of the Summer US tour with a special one off date at the Yahoo! Wireless festival in the UK.
 
Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake will perform together at a newly announced third day of the Yahoo! Wireless festival.

The singer and the rapper will preview their Legends of the Summer US tour at a special one-off date in the UK, which will become the third day of the festival.

Previously it has been announced Justin will headline the first night of the event - to be held at London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - on July 12, while Jay-Z will headline the next evening.
The announcement of the extra date fuels rumours both artists - who teamed up for Justin's recent comeback single 'Suit and Tie' - will appear in some capacity on all three nights.

The third day of Wireless is also shaping up to be hip-hop heavy as joining the line up are A Tribe Called Quest - who will make their first UK appearance for 20 years - Nas, A$AP Rocky and Rizzle Kicks.

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of London Legacy Development Corporation, said: "It's a credit to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park that this year's Yahoo! Wireless Festival is the fastest selling in the event's history and we are delighted that both Justin Timberlake and Jay Z, will be performing a third date here in July with a preview of their Legends of the Summer Tour."

Also confirmed to appear at the Yahoo! Wireless festival are Ke$ha, Wretch 32 and Conor Maynard on Friday, July 12, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Flux Pavilion and Zedd on Saturday, July 13.

http://www.list.co.uk/article/49553-jay-z-and-timberlake-announce-uk-headline-show/

Source: Bang Showbiz



Stereophonics' Kelly Jones feels 'lucky'

Stereophonics' Kelly Jones
Stereophonics' frontman Kelly Jones feels "lucky" to be such a successful musician and always knew he wanted to be in the industry for the "long run".
 
Kelly Jones feels "lucky" to be successful.

The Stereophonics frontman - whose friends include Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood and David Bowie - has fulfilled his dreams of a long career in the music industry by recording eighth album 'Graffiti on the Train'.

He said: "I've been really lucky, sometimes I wonder, 'How am I here?' But I've had a great time just experiencing it all.

"When we were kids we always knew we wanted to be in it for the long run. We looked up to people like Tom Waits, Neil Young, Nick Cave, AC/DC and none of them were flash-in-the-pan bandwagon jumpers."

'Graffiti on the Train', is inspired by two young boys who regularly run over Kelly's rooftop and the 38-year-old musician aimed to create a coming-of-age story through the tracks, influenced by his own youth.

He continued to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It's a fictional story, but you could just as easily take it back to our first single, 'Boy in the Photograph', which was about a friend who jumped in front of a train.

"You find seeds of all these stories through your youth. There was a lot of that in the valleys when I was growing up. After the incident with the kids on the roof, I just played for 20 minutes. Three or four songs ran into each other and 'Graffiti On the Train' was in the chorus. It came from the subconscious."

'Graffiti On the Train' is out now.

http://www.stereophonics.com/

Source: Bang Showbiz



Friday, 15 March 2013

First Ever Global Kids Fashion Week






AlexandAlexa, the global online style destination for kids is delighted to announce the first ever Global Kids' Fashion Week (GKFW) launching in London this spring. The event will run for two days from 19th - 20th March 2013 and will take place at the Freemason's Hall, Holborn, London.

The schedule includes two main shows - an exclusive media event showcasing the latest AW13 trends from leading labels worldwide on Tuesday 19th March; and a public show with SS13 season looks from the AlexandAlexa brand portfolio on Wednesday 20th March. Proceeds from all ticket sales for the public fashion show will be donated to Kids Company, the charity partner for GKFW.

GKFW will cast a spotlight on premium kids' fashion, from both established designers and emerging names. Designers showing include:

• Luxury brands: Paul Smith Junior, Junior Gaultier, Chloe, Little Marc Jacobs, I Pinco Pallino, Suzanne Ermann, Anne Kurris, Supertrash
• Premium casual brands: Tommy Hilfiger, Diesel, Scotch Shrunk, Scotch R'Belle, Wildfox
• Emerging/independent brands: Rachel Riley, Finger in the Nose, Munster Kids

* more to be confirmed in early February

The event will feature runway shows and performances as well as a mix of playful activities for children and parents in collaboration with event partner the V&A Museum of Childhood.

After the show, refreshments will be served along with entertainment from supporting brands such as child-friendly nail varnish company Little Bu, a bloggers lounge and sponsored photobooth.

Ambassadors involved in the project include:
• Sarah Curran, founder of my-wardrobe.com
• Tanya Kazeminy Mackay, founding partner of Mama Mio
• Portia Freeman, model
• Pippa Vosper, founder of maternallychic.com blog
• Olcay Gulsen, Dutch fashion designer and founder of SuperTrash Girls

GKFW aims to educate and inspire people about Kids' fashion - celebrating how this specialist category has thrived and evolved over the past five years. The event is sponsored by AlexandAlexa.com, the global style destination for kids, who have played a major role in the growth of this market. Alex Theophanous, founder and CEO of AlexandAlexa.com says: 'Kids' fashion is playful, fun and innovative - we all believe it deserves its own dedicated platform. This is why we are so proud to be supporting the very first Global Kids' Fashion Week. With this event, we aim to put children's fashion on the map worldwide'.



http://www.globalkidsfashionweek.com/



Erarta Galleries at Art Paris Art Fair




Erarta Galleries at Art Paris Art Fair | RUSSIA, Guest of Honour

RUSSIA, Guest of Honour at Art Paris

Art Paris Art Fair has invited Russia as guest of honour this year. A central space in the fair will be dedicated to 11 galleries from a number of cities in Russia including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Rostov on Don and Vladivostok, while some 15 European galleries will show work by Russian artists. With about 90 artists represented, Art Paris will be an opportunity to discover and rediscover Russian art from the 1930s to the most contemporary production.
Erarta Galleries is pleased to be one of the select Russian Art Specialists to participate at Art Paris, March 28th - April 1, Booth G1 at the Grand Palais.
 
 
Dmitry Shorin, I Believe in Angels - Sculpture no. 8, 2012, hand-finished polymercoated polyurethane.
 
We will present a series of dramatic new sculptures by Russian artist Dimitry Shorin. Shorin has been exhibited internationally since 1995 and is on permanent display at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and The State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
I Believe in Angels, a series of large-scale sculptures, debates the concept of progress and the limits of the human body in the digital age. Our notion of progress is intrinsically linked with how fast we can move yet the opposite must be true, as cultural theorist Paul Virilio puts it ‘physical speed freezes you’. Our bodies are synchronized with technology, rendering the physical, animal form obsolete; it cannot keep up. From Leonardo Da Vinci to Felix Baumgartner, we have coveted the ability to fly, and Shorin is similarly seduced by the possibilities of flight. In this new work Shorin has created in his signature voyeur’s gaze a series of human flying machines. Drained of colour and placed in the heavens, Shorin’s airplane girls embody our newfound capabilities.
In exploring definitions of beauty and the transcendental power of the feminine, Shorin assigns guardianship to womankind, giving an angel her wings in the most modern sense. Shorin looks to mass media images and revises clichéd ideals in mythical terms, placing the woman at the centre of our evolution as a species. In the assimilation of the industrial and the corporal, Shorin presents to the world a guardian angel for the information age.
A catalogue with an essay by respected writer and critic Edward Lucie-Smith will be produced as part of the project.
Erarta Galleries will also be presenting important works by other prominent and exciting emerging artists including Ilya Gaponov, Irina Drozd, Vladimir Ovchinnikov and Rinat Voligamsi.
We look forward to welcoming you personally to this springtime event for modern and contemporary art.


Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Kate Moss: The Kate Moss Book



















The Kate Moss Book created by Kate Moss herself, in collaboration with creative director Fabien Baron, Jess Hallett, and Jefferson Hack is a highly personal retrospective of Kate Moss’s career, tracing her evolution from “new girl with potential” to one of the most iconic models of all time.

Kate Moss began modeling as a teenager and achieved recognition when photographs of her shot by Corinne Day appeared in British magazine The Face. She made her so-called “waif” mark as a counterpoint in the 90s to then-dominant, Amazonian supermodels like Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Linda Evangelista, and, with countless international magazine covers and fashion features, and campaigns for brands including Calvin Klein, Chanel, Bulgari, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, and Longchamp, has remained one of fashion’s most enduring and influential forces.

Moss’s magic has been captured by the world’s leading photographers, and this volume spans the entirety of her unparalleled career, from model to fashion designer, and muse to icon. Told through images that Moss has personally selected, KATE shows the influence of her collaborations with top photographers and artists over the last two decades, and clearly demonstrates why her career has had, and continues to have, such incredible longevity.

Photography by Arthur Elgort, Corinne Day, Craig McDean, David Sims, Hedi Slimane, Inez & Vinoodh, Juergen Teller, Mario Sorrenti, Mario Testino, Mert & Marcus, Nick Knight, Patrick Demarchelier, Peter Lindbergh, Roxanne Lowit, Steven Klein, Terry Richardson and others

Including many ‘never-before-seen’ images from her own archives and those of the illustrious photographers with whom she has worked, KATE is a must-have for anyone interested in one of the most iconic models in the history of fashion media and modern culture. 

www.rizzoliusa.com


Read my book review in The Bite Magazine by clicking the icon below:



Interested in Kate: The Kate Moss Book - just click below to go direct to the Amazon website.