Cool Protest in London/MYCM Takes Another Break

Off to NYC for a few days break, to see old friends and watch my parents renew their vows (aww...)

In the meantime, here is a very cool protest movement being spread around the internet, taking place in London at the end of the month - unfortunately I won't be able to make it there to participate. Will you?

"A recent law has made it illegal to protest anywhere near parliament without official police permission, and comedian Mark Thomas is organising a stunt to highlight the danger and stupidity of having this law in a democracy. Please note that taking part in this is 100% LEGAL, and the whole purpose of the stunt is to overload the system by dozens of people all asking for permission to protest all at the same time.

The Law:

Under section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act it is an offence to organise or take part in a demonstration in a public place within the “designated area” (up to 1km around parliament) if authorisation has not been given by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. Participants may be subject to a fine of up to £1000 and “organizers” face up to a year in jail.

Dozens of people have been arrested for not complying with the law even when they are taking part in “Lone Demonstrations” – i.e. if they are one person with a placard.

Many people see this legislation as an assault on our civil liberties and human rights.

However if you apply for permission 6 days in advance for a lone protest (ie 1 person) they cannot refuse permission so in order to highlight the ridiculousness of having to ask for police permission to hold a peaceful demonstration, Mark Thomas is organising a mass lone demonstration evening.

Stage 1

Decide on your protest! This can be something you feel strongly about or something very silly - it’s up to you. Then you need to fill in the official form (which is very simple) and there is a copy of the form here.

Stage 2

Meet on Thursday 24th August outside Charing Cross police station any time 5.30pm-6pm to hand in your SOCPA forms.

You have to fill in the form and hand it in to the police 1 week before your protest, so everyone has to turn up at the same time to give their forms to the Police. This will mean if 100 people turn up and apply for permission, then the police have to license and approve 100 lone demonstrations

If you can’t make it to hand the forms in but want to demonstrate on the 31st, either scan and email the forms to this address, or post them to:

Ben Stern
S2S Suite Z00
9 Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane
London E1 6QL

Stage 3

The mass lone demonstrations will be 1 week later on Thursday 31st August in Parliament Square and will again be at 6:00pm for 1 hour, so this event is open to those with day jobs.

Come along! Join in! Exercise your democratic rights! The more people who come the bigger an impression this will make!

Chris Atkins

Thanks to Londonist for the original heads up!



Please check it out, be back soon I swear!

Taking a Stance: World Trade Center (The Movie)

Now I'm not usually the opinionated type (note: sarcasm) but here is a place I feel compelled to take a stance.

I understand that the Oliver Stone production of World Trade Center attempts to stay true to a story of two rescue workers involved in that day, that those workers wanted their stories told, that its not a dramatic movie about the whole day but just one microcosm, etc etc etc. (I've heard it all.)

And maybe, yes, this will serve as a dramatic reminder to those around the country not directly affected by 9/11 of the horror of that day. But what good will that do when there are still American (and other) soldiers dying daily in conflicts in Iraq - a war started (at the time) in the name of the War on Terror (namely, those who terrorized us on 9/11?) Isn't it a bit soon to be watching a historical docu-drama along the lines of "Titanic" and "Pearl Harbor" for an event that occurred five years ago, is still fresh in many people's memories, and, furthermore, is still influencing people's lives as we speak?

Not to mention the many people suffering from unknown breathing ailments as a result of spending time in Lower Manhattan - the health hazards and air quality problems as a result of the attack still haven't been clarified.

Having been a few blocks away from the Twin Towers on that day, it makes me (personally) sick to think of those events being made into a Hollywood blockbuster. I was in high school at that time, and I still can't really wrap my head around my emotions, having witnessed that magnitude of tragedy. It makes me both angry and extremely upset that one perspective of that day was made into a Hollywood event, now released as a summer blockbuster movie for maximum profit.

Bottom line: Isn't it a bit earlier for this? Plainly put, is it right that people will have a Friday night out, sit with the popcorn and soda, and have this as their entertainment?

Just a thought.



Another thought - I guess this does prove that no matter what you do to America, we will always come back with a way to capitalize and profit on our tragedies. Big business, big money. When does the "World Trade Center: The Movie" merchandise get released? Collectable WTC Action Figure Happy Meals anyone?

AngloMania in NYC

AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression
in British Fashion
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
Anglomania, the craze for all things English, gripped Europe during the mid-to-late 18th century (and yours truly from about the age of 5.) Through the lens of fashion, the exhibit AngloMania examines aspects of English culture, such as class, sport, royalty, pageantry, eccentricity, the gentleman, and the country garden, which have fuelled the European and American imagination.

Under the guidance of the Met’s Costume Institute, the English period rooms are now infused with a sense of fancy, filled with clothes from the 18th and 19th centuries alongside more whimsical togs by contemporary British designers.

Each room takes an English institution—such as the gentlemen’s club, the garden and the hunt—and examines how fashion honours and subverts tradition.















God Save Vivienne Westwood


As one reviewer wrote in the Economist:

"Anglomania" ultimately is not an exhibition about clothes. It explores the culture that created them. And the British, better than anyone else, have been able to put an entire socioeconomic treatise in the folds of a ball gown.

Well put. So what are you waiting for?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Ave (at 82nd St)
Tel: +1 (212) 535-7710
Open: Tues-Thurs, Sun 9.30am-5.30pm; Fri-Sat 9.30am-9pm

For more information visit the museum’s website.

(Note: Apologies for posting this so late - perhaps partially out of greed, not wanting anyone else to see it until I do! I will be viewing this much talked about exhibit next week on my visit to NYC, and I highly recommend you do so as well - its only open until September 4th!)

They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!

Sorry its been a while. Lets call it a mental health break. In dedication to the combination of stress, anxiety, depression, and insanity of the past month, in typical MYCM style, here is a fun song to make it all better - a 1966 song called "They're Coming To Take Me Away" by Napoleon XIV (a serious one-hit wonder!) It really is brilliantly funny, simple, and catchy.

Where was this song during that last horrific breakup, eh?



In other news, MYCM is back and has a lot for you. So watch this space!

Download:

They're Coming To Take Me Away - Napoleon XIV

Buy:

The Second Coming - Napoleon XIV (Amazon)