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Another entry from Roll the Dice, showing a cunning method of crossing Tower Bridge without being stopped by tourists.
Check out more Touch Ups in our archive and, if you feel inspired, send in your own photoshopped imagery of the capital to londonist - at - gmail.com.
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After last year's popular pre-season game between the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the O2 arena, the NBA are coming back and this time the Heat are on. They'll be practicing with some Nets as the teams from Miami and New Jersey face each other on October 12th in what will effectively be a second leg to their Paris friendly three days earlier. James Bidwell, chief executive of Visit London, commented:
The return of the NBA Live Tour to London is a tremendous boost for the capital. Last year's sellout game at the O2 attracted visitors from across the UK and Europe and bolstered London's reputation as the most prestigious global sporting city in the world.
Unlike the NFL, who are also returning this autumn, and the NHL, the US basketball setup is not going so far as to play real, proper fixtures in Europe, but, especially given the number of regular season matches that NBA teams play, we would be surprised if it didn't happen before long. Last year's visit of eventual NFL champions the New York Giants for a league game at Wembley revealed the unexpected British roots of a couple of their key players and, although neither the Heat nor the Nets feature anybody from our shores, there are a few Brits dotted around professional basketball including Sudanese-born Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls, who began his career with Brixton Topcats after his family were given political asylum in South Norwood, and fellow-Londoner Pops Mensah-Bonsu who is now with Benetton Treviso in Italy after spending last season at the Dallas Mavericks.
Miami Heat, not unlike their NFL counterparts the Dolphins, are really struggling in the current season and languish at the foot of the Southeast divisional table with only 13 wins and 59 losses. Basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal, who led the Heat to the NBA championship only two years ago, suffered injury setbacks and an unaccustomed tendency to fouls, was controversially traded to the Phoenix Suns this February and is presently involved in a war of words with his former club. Hitting form in Arizona, the veteran could most recently be seen assisting his new protege Amare Stoudemire in demolishing the Nets, delivering what Dave D'Alessandro of New Jersey paper The Star-Ledger described as "the unofficial death knell for the [Nets'] 2007-08 season." Both teams will be hoping the London buzz can offer them the kind of momentum it gave to the Giants.
When Londonist looked yesterday the best available pair of tickets were in block BK 108 in the Lower Tier at one end of the court and cost £70 + a £6.50 service charge each. The cheapest seats advertised were in the Upper Tier and would set you back a mere £30. If this is the event you really must do in style you could seek out the courtside tickets at up to £250.
Photo via my name is dan's Flickr stream.
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It?s always nice when a band play a venue a lot smaller to those they?ve grown accustomed too, which was exactly what happened this afternoon when Southampton foursome Delays graced the miniscule stage of Camden?s Lock Tavern for Clash magazine.
Spending the best part of an hour wowing the assembled fans, media and curious regulars they ripped through a selection of B-sides, covers and old favourites. Everything was stripped back to the core, and whilst the electric bass and guitars were kept, Aaron?s synths were kept well away, leaving him to look a bit lost with a tambourine.
Thrown in halfway through the set was a brilliant cover of James? ?Laid?, however as lead-singer Greg commented ?hopefully you all know it well enough to cover up the bits we don?t know?. Quickly followed by some birthday wishes for some lucky fans, ?...and the lucky bingo numbers!? joked Greg, clearly enjoying doing a more stripped down, laid back set.
A quick jog down memory lane with ?Nearer than Heaven? and time is rapidly running out, so Panic Attacks from their recent ?Love Made Visible? EP is given a complete makeover, becoming a sensational crowd sing-along, raising the roof of the tiny pub, even getting a few of the smokers outside on the patio looking in. Closing out was a cover of Neil Diamond?s ?Cherry Cherry?, which they recently played on Dermot O?Leary?s Radio 2 show.
All too soon their set was over, leaving the Long Blondes to DJ out the night at the Lock Tavern. However, for those of us lucky enough to be there will testify: if they can bring down the Lock Tavern in such style we?d hate to think what they can do to Koko in May.
Delays play Koko on Friday 16th May. Tickets are on sale now priced at £14 each. New album "Everything's the Rush" is out on May 5th, and they'll be featured on Eddy Temple Morris' XFM show this coming Friday, 4th April.
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Oxford prevailed. But you probably know that by now. And the view from the shore? Wet. But Londonist was there.
In the name of journalism, we packed ourselves into the Doom Bar tent in Furnival Gardens yesterday with 300 of our closest newly acquired friends and did our best not to spill/be spilled on/grind/be grinded on whilst waiting optimistically for the rain to let up. It didn?t (much), so we darted out with just minutes to spare to huddle along the Hammersmith shore and perch precariously astride the puddles of mud. Fortunately, there are some hardy types among the Flickr folk who were better positioned than we were. Read on to see what they saw and learn what we learned at the 154th Boat Race.
We learned: That in addition to the wellies and binoculars we foolishly left at home, protective eyewear would have been quite useful, as we were frequently having to duck to avoid taking the point of an umbrella in the eye.
We were reminded: That it really is only about 3 minutes of live viewing time. You spot the crews, they?re upon you, they?re gone. It all happens rather quickly. Fortunately, we followed Londonist?s own sound advice and positioned ourselves not far from the big screen so that we could continue watching once the crews had blown by.
We think: That Londonist?s grandmum could have rowed the course faster than these chaps. Well, to be fair, conditions were rubbish, but it was still the slowest Boat Race in 61 years.
We observed: A girl greeting a bloke with a firm but friendly, erm, cupping action. Is this the equivalent of an insider handshake? Should we try this with all our Oxbridge mates/co-workers in the future?
We rejoice in the knowledge: That it?s good to be heavier and older. The Oxford crew was almost 12 lbs a man heavier than the Cambridge crew, and American Mike Wherley, the Dark Blues? 5 seat, is, at 36, the oldest man to have both competed in the race and been part of the winning crew.
We like: That despite the fact that there is something a bit obnoxious about an event that dubs itself as the start of the social season, the festive atmosphere gave us reason to hope: dreary winter days to end, good times ahead!
Would we do it again? Yes. Despite the wet, the wind, the woefully brief actual sports spectatorship (people watching is quite good, though), we remain suckers for those fleeting few electric minutes when two boats of eight harmonious bodies glide by and thousands of people along the shore stop to watch.
If you missed it or, like us, were running back and forth between the shore and the big screen, you can watch the race in full here. And check out Londonist?s interview with a former boat race umpire here.
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So we had Banksy caught in the act and unmasked a while back.... now here's a video apparently of the man himself at work and having his say:
Thanks to Gothamist reader Sam Horine for the heads up.
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