Next month, the Guardian will be hosting a two-day festival open to the public. The Guardian Open Weekend is an amazing opportunity for readers and the general public to get involved in a range of debates, talks, workshops, music, comedy, poetry and food. The open weekend is spread out across The Guardian offices and Kings Place and Hub King’s Cross which are only 5 minutes walk apart; ticket prices stand at £40 for a Saturday pass, £30 for a Sunday pass or £60 to secure entry for the whole weekend of 24th & 25th March. They’re not cheap tickets but with guest speakers such as Charlie Brooker (Black Mirror), Camila Batmanghelidjh (kids Company) and being amidst an event as such, I could be persuaded. I know it’s early days- still got about 6 weeks to go but tickets may sell quite fast. We’ll remind you anyway, just keep an eye on ‘What’s On This Week’. Loads more info available from the website.

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The Guardian Open Weekend

More than any other newspaper we can think of the Guardian is open. It has led the way in opening up to its readers – and in welcoming and amplifying other voices. Now we’re opening our doors – hosting a weekend at the end of March for a festival of ideas, innovation and entertainment. Guest speakers from around the world will join our own writers, editors, digital developers and photographers to participate in over 200 programmed sessions on everything from the American presidential elections to the Arab spring. We’re looking to welcome thousands of readers to take part in the weekend – March 24 and 25 – for an extraordinary mix of debates, talks, workshops, music, comedy, poetry, food and fun. We’ll be using numerous spaces in the award-winning Kings Place in London – with its canalside concert halls, galleries, restaurants… and newsroom.

Acne is fast becoming one of my favourite brands. It would be better if I could actually afford (and justify) spending that much money on clothes. One day! In the meantime I can still lust over the latest collection! Acne designer Jonny Johansson sent out a Morrocan inspired SS12 collection. He remixed the traditional with today’s street styles resulting in a cool, graphic collection punctuated with bold separates, grounded by a denim palette of white, black, and blue. Wide legged bermudas, cropped tops and trousers, knee length skirts and leather in the color scale we’ve seen around lately, mustard greens and yellows, orange and pink. Love it! Check out the lookbook on the flipside.

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Gosh IMAGINE if they did. Alcohol for babies – God forbid. I don’t think we humans will ever come THAT lost as a race to feed our babies with alcohol. Italian-based artist Anna Utopia Giordano has come up with a humorous yet shocking series that fuses iconic kid’s toy brands such as LEGO, Barbie and Disney with popular liquor bottles such as Jack Daniel’s, Absolut Vodka and Moet Chandon. Pretty creative and very well executed. I hope none of you think of putting a baby dummy on your alcohol bottles! :| More after the cut.

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Being the start of a new year and all, one phrase which I heard a lot of last month was ‘start as you mean to go on’. If that is to be an allegory for films in 2012 then it will be a very satisfying year as the standard of films in January was fantastic. This month, we have our first of four helpings of super-heroism, the return of beloved characters guaranteed to cause nostalgia for some, and much more. Read on for previews on all of February’s big releases.

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Chronicle (Out Feb 1)

You may remember watching a TV show called Heroes back in 2006. For those who aren’t familiar with the phrase ‘save the cheerleader, save the world’, the show was about people all over the world discovering they have powers and how that discovery affects their lives. It’s no surprise then that the trailer for Chronicle triggers memories of that once great show, as it too features teenagers who have mysteriously come into powers with funny – and calamitous – results. It’s Heroes on a bigger scale, and with impressive looking visuals and a trailer full of intrigue, odds are good that Chronicle will start off February strongly.

Starring | Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Dane DeHaan, Ashley Hinshaw, Alex Russell and Anna Wood.

Director | Josh Trank                      Certificate | 12A                              Run Time | 1 hour 23 minutes

Carnage (Out Feb 3)

Legendary filmmaker Roman Polanski’s latest endeavour is Carnage, a comedic drama which sees two sets of parents having a pleasant meeting with each other after their kids get involved in a playground scuffle. At least, it starts out pleasant; it isn’t long before the parents are acting like school kids themselves, and carnage ensues. Tara from the Yin & Yang team has already seen this one, and you can check out her thoughts here. 

Starring | Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly, Eliot Berger and Elvis Polanski.

Director | Roman Polanski           Certificate | 15                                 Run Time | 1 hour 20 minutes

Man on a Ledge (Out Feb 3)

Sam Worthington has got a busy couple of months ahead of him. In March, he reprises his role as Perseus in Wrath of the Titans. Before that though he is the Man on a Ledge, aka Nick Cassidy – a former NYC cop turned con determined to prove his innocence. Unbeknownst to the police and the captivated crowd, the stunt is just a ploy to pull off a diamond heist with his brother (Jamie Bell). It’s an interesting twist on the typical heist movie, and with a strong supporting cast in Ed Harris and Elizabeth Banks, this could prove to be a fun watch.

Starring | Elizabeth Banks, Sam Worthington, Jamie Bell, Ed Harris, Kyra Sedgwick, and Edward Burns.

Director | Asger Leth                     Certificate | 12A                              Run Time | 1 hour 42 minutes

Young Adult (Out Feb 3)

Charlize Theron is back with a vengeance this year with three films coming out in 2012. Young Adult, her first film since 2009’s The Road, sees her star as Mavis – a novel writer who returns to her hometown after a divorce to rekindle a romance with high school boyfriend Buddy (Patrick Wilson). There’s just one problem; Buddy is now happily married with a kid. It’s not easy to make such an unlikable character compelling to watch, but Theron looks to have done just that. Her performance garnered a lot of Oscar buzz, and although ultimately Young Adult was snubbed by the Academy – as were many excellent films – I am looking forward to seeing her in action.

Starring | Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Patton Oswalt, Emily Meade, and Collette Wolfe.

Director | Jason Reitman              Certificate | 15                                 Run Time | 1 hour 34 minutes

The Woman in Black (Out Feb 10)

The first film after the Harry Potter saga was always going to be tricky for Daniel Radcliffe. Interestingly, he’s gone with horror flick The Woman In Black, previously a book and still a London play. Radcliffe stars as Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer who travels to a remote village to organize the affairs of a recently deceased client. Instead, he encounters the ghost of a scorned woman set on revenge. As with all adaptations, the challenge for filmmakers is to stay loyal to the source material whilst making the film their own, and with a suitably creepy trailer, there’s a good chance that The Woman in Black will be a hit with fans of the book as well as new audiences. 

Starring | Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds, Alisa Khazanova, Mary Stockley, and Lucy May Barker.

Director | James Watkins             Certificate | 12A                              Run Time | 1 hour 35 minutes

A Dangerous Method (Out Feb 10) 

It’s not hard to see why Michael Fassbender is an actor in demand right now with excellent performances in last year’s X-Men: First Class, and last month’s Shame and Haywire. He is joined by heavy hitters Viggo Mortensen and Keira Knightley for A Dangerous Method, a film about the early days of psychoanalysis. The film examines the relationship between Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) and his prodigy Carl Jung (Fassbender), as Jung experiments on Russian patient Sabrina Spielrin (Knightley) using Freud’s controversial new methods. Knightley is particularly adept when acting out a different century – see Atonement, The Duchess and Pride & Prejudice for details – and with the addition of the also excellent Vincent Cassel, this promises to be an interesting watch.

Starring | Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon and André Hennicke.

Director | David Cronenberg      Certificate | 15                                 Run Time | 1 hour 40 minutes

The Muppets (Out Feb 10)

The Muppets are back this month with their 9th feature film. This time, Kermit and the gang must reunite to stop despicable oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) from destroying the Muppet theater. This will no doubt prove nostalgic for those who grew up watching the legendary puppet characters, whilst the younger kids are also guaranteed to enjoy it. The trailer already showcases some trademark Muppet humour, and with a whole host of celebrity cameos (some of which are listed below), this looks to be a great film for all ages.

Starring | Jason Segel, Chris Cooper, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Danny Trejo, Jack Black, Selena Gomez, Zach Galifianakis, and Whoopi Goldberg.

Director | James Bobin                  Certificate | U                                   Run Time | 1 hour 50 minutes

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (Out Feb 17)

Let’s rewind the clock back to 2007; Ghost Rider had disappointed fans and critics alike, but had somehow still brought in $228 million worldwide. Now Nicolas Cage reprises his role as the cursed anti-hero, with a story that takes place eight years on from the previous effort. New directors Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine have decided that darker is better and the changes they’ve made are already evident, chief among them a far more charred Ghost Rider. With Idris Elba joining the cast and explosive action guaranteed, Spirit of Vengeance will hopefully be more deserving of the money it will undoubtedly rake in. 

Starring | Nicolas Cage, Ciáran Hinds, Violante Placido, Johnny Whitworth, Christopher Lambert, and Idris Elba.

Directors | Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine       Certificate | 12A              Run Time | 1 hour 35 minutes

Safe House (Out Feb 24) *ONE TO WATCH*

It is difficult to remember a film where Denzel Washington wasn’t good. After a filmless 2011, he’s teamed up with Ryan Reynolds for Safe House. The plot sees Reynolds’ bored rookie cop Matt Weston tasked with keeping watch over fugitive Tobin Frost (Washington). When the safe house is attacked by mercenaries, Weston is forced to go on the run with Frost. Brendan Gleeson and Vera Farmiga make for a strong supporting cast, and if the trailer is anything to go by, Washington and Reynolds play off each other well. Add all this to solid looking action sequences, and it’s not hard to see why Safe House is my one to watch this month. 

Starring | Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Brendan Gleeson, Vera Farmiga, Robert Patrick, Liam Cunningham, Nora Arnezeder, and Rubén Blades.

Director | Daniel Espinosa            Certificate | 15                                        Run Time | 1 hour 55 minutes

Rampart (Out Feb 24)

Set in LA in the late 1990′s, Woody Harrelson stars as Dave Brown, the last of the dirty cops. When Brown is caught on tape ‘doing the people’s dirty work’ by exerting his own brand of justice, he becomes embroiled in a vicious scandal that sends his life spiralling downward. Penned by James Ellroy, the writer of L.A. Confidential, you’d be hard pressed to find a darker film this month.

Starring | Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Ben Foster, Brie Larson, Anne Heche, Ice Cube and Cynthia Nixon.

Director | Oren Moverman         Certificate | 15                                    Run Time | 1 hour 48 minutes

Dope! I don’t think we’ve featured many sculptors on the site before. Nicola Yeoman is a installation artist (not your traditional sculptor!) who plays with the concepts of perspective and spaces. I definitely have to go see this with my own eye, the perspective is so well done – I’ll probably end up circling the sculpture in order to find an answer in there: “as the viewer finds him or herself able to walk within and about the work—the relationship of the viewer with the object renegotiated and the interplay of dependence altered.” I’ll be check it out soon at the Wyer Gallery in London, more details here. I’m sure these photographs are taken at The Old Truman Brewery?! First floor. Am I right? Hop on after the cut to see more work from the London based installation artist.

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Will I ever wear Beckham branded bodywear? Probably not. I don’t like the idea of wearing boxers with another man’s name on it – plus how many people are going to see your boxers?! Anyway, let’s talk about the man himself. If you’ve read the site for a while then you’ll know I have looked up to him for a long time. It sounds sad but he’s inspired me since I was kid – back then mainly because of his style but then as I grew up it was more to do with his passion and enthusiasm for his art. He perfected his craft; at the peak of his career no one could consistently bend it like Beckham. He’s a family man, a brand and a style enthusiast. Of course I’m a fan boy #pause, so there was no way I was going to miss this event. I wanted to capture the legendary no.7 with my lens. More on the reverse.

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I took along one of my work colleagues, don’t need to describe her reaction to seeing Beckham – she turned red, bought long johns and even got them signed. I have to hand it to H&M for organising such a collaboration, planning an event like this and pulling it off. I won’t waffle on longer, I will interview him soon. It’d be nice to pick David’s brain on marketing and branding as opposed to the usual – family, fashion and football talk. Ladies & gentleman, I won’t waffle on any longer. Photo story…

And I lied. I got Jen to buy me DB for H&M longjohns. Now I feel super human and warm.

Shop The David Beckham for H&M Bodywear Collection

From a drastic change in styling to securing a place is Asos, River Island executed a great plan that has ultimately  changed their brand perception for the better. The past few years has the seen fashion retailer go from strength to strength and if next seasons campaign is anything to go by, 2012 will also be a good year for them. The new collection comprises of 8 different stories, Tribal, Marine and Casino standing out most! Browse the full thing after the break

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 River Island Online Store

I know i’m not the only one that starts a regular routine of fitness and exercise at the gym which lasts about 3 weeks but then after that nothing….. Id o it all the time. I always say i’m going to make sure that I keep it up and continue to work out for a sustained period of time but there’s just something wrong with my motivation. Correction, the real reason is that i’m Lazy but let me stop talking about my lack of commitment and start talking about what I intended this post to be about. The lookbook for Dolce & Gabbana‘s upcoming Spring/Summer Gym-wear Collection has found its way to the world wide web. When I first had a look at what is on offer all I could think about is my failings at trying to get fit but then my attention soon turned to the clothes on display and the grey Italia ensemble in particular. Now that outfit I can rock with, might have to cop that. Any who peep the collection after the break. Notice how I didn’t even comment on the models body, yh thats cause i’m trying to not be jealous and the only way to do that is to not acknowledge lol *sigh*

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Source

I thought I’d sneak in and steal this week’s one while the boys (DJB, the current champion of Throwback Thursdays, and Yin) weren’t looking. This week the internet has been abuzz with footage and glowing reviews from soul icon D’Angelo‘s European tour, taking place after the crooner took a 12 year hiatus. Personally, rather than being excited at news of his return, I was skeptical; many a super-talented icon has ‘returned’ to the stage to lacklustre effect (Lauryn Hill, anyone?) so I didn’t rush to get tickets for his London dates (happening this upcoming weekend February 3rd/4th). This time though, my skepticism led to me missing out on what’s set to be an electric show, so while I kick myself, you kick back and reminisce to this classic cut from his album Brown Sugar.

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And if you haven’t peeped any of the footage from his current tour, watch this performance of ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)’ in Le Zenith, Paris:

After a brief hiatus, (finals week, traveling, sickness and all that jazz) – I plan to be back and writing with a vengeance.  Hope I’ve been missed.

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We became one

The night I let my tears dance with the mouth of this man.

I watched as they danced from his lips and back to my fingers.

They wouldn’t leave me that easily, my tears, they’d

Escape from my eyes

But quickly find a way right back to me, reminding me that on the days

When I feel like this

They will always be there with me.  They were the ones that always came.

But he,

This man,

Well he let them fall.

Allowed ounces of my beauty to leave my body with

Every step I took away from my being.

He let me cry myself to life

Convinced me that

This too shall pass

And soon

With him

I’d laugh myself to death.

Die with laugh lines so deep my children’s children’s children could build sandcastles in them.

Castles as high as I always dreamt my husband and me would live in.

Not this guy though,

No.

He wouldn’t be the man I ended my life with.

Even if he does hold the breath I take in his back pocket, and

Promise to give it back to me

Gasp by gasp.

Yet,

I’d only lay with him

Give him inches of me while hiding my miles and

Leaving my baggage outside my room door so I could escape at the crack of dawn

And continue on my journey,

Alone.

But I’d still give him my kisses,

I’d lace my touches with the attention we both deserved but i

Never received.

I’d give him the body my mama made in vain and

Hide him in my cave alongside the rest of my demons I’d locked in there.

I gave him the legs that would walk towards him and

Then my conscious,

That would eventually walk away from him.

I gave it to him,

Like my feet

-but not for too long,

I needed something to anchor me to the ground that moves beneath me.

My soul,

That would sometimes grow wings and fly faster than a chorus of angels in Heaven and

My heart.

Which I tried to give him

Alongside my mind

But they’d run away together,

Sick of the torment I’d put them through all these years.

I gave it to him all.

Bit by bit

Inch by inch

Miles and miles with

Gasps and sighs and

Groans, moans, in every type of tone.

I gave him everything

But my name.

Because as long as he had everything but my name,

He couldn’t tarnish it with the tongue that would eventually taunt me and

As long as I didn’t know his

-I could never

ever,

love him

While everyone says my poems are sexual, please don’t mistake this poem for a one-night stand.  This poem is about refusing to give your all to someone even if they deserve it.

This poem is for those who are simply scared to open up to someone because of the fear of being let down.  Trust me, I know how it feels.  Oh and I’ve felt it – over and over again.  And, I’ve realised, apart from the pain you feel when you’re disappointed, the blow to your ego is what really destroys a person.  How did you let it happen again?  And again?

We are all humans though, right?

I used the analogy of a name because it’s the simplest thing you can receive from a person but, dammit, it’s such an important thing that we take for granted.  Our name is our identity – it’s what our parents decided they wanted the world to call us.  It’s where some of our nicknames stem from.  It appears on your birth certificate and then again on your death certificate; pretty much anything important includes your name.  So to not give someone your name – how much could they ever mean to you?

I can’t say everyone should go and open up to anybody – I’d be a hypocrite if I did so – but nevertheless, when someone is really trying to get to know you, I think it’s worth the long shot to try and give a little something back

Let’s start with your name.