Delicious beetroot cocktails (no, really), mini borschts and enough vodka to keep a Ukranian village merry throughout the 12 days of Christmas, the Zorokovich 1917 launch party sure was a lot of fun. Check out our photos here.
0 CommentsAuthor: maureen
Here’s something to raise the spirits in this cold and snowy weather: This Friday’s launch party for Zorokovich 1917 vodka, the silent star of our original web series How to Re-Establish a Vodka Empire.
From the blizzardy wastes of Douboviazovka to a cocktail lounge in London’s Mayfair, this little vodka’s come a long way. Filmmaker Dan Edelystn will be holding court at Aura Mayfair from 4pm, sharing the sensational story of how the chance discovery of his grandmother’s diaries led him on an epic journey through his family history, from pre-revolutionary Russia to civil-war era Belfast, and to his great-grandfather Ilya’s vodka distillery, still operating in 21st-century Ukraine.
The challenge he then set himself was to:
- Revive the family vodka brand and, like a perky young David, take on the Goliaths of the alcohol industry
- Restore the fortunes of his ancestral village
- Make a drama-documentary detailing his family history, starring himself and his wife, to be screened on UK television channel More4 in 2011.
How hard could it be?
Watch the story from the beginning.
Zorokovich 1917 is now on sale in Selfridges, London’s swankiest department store.
You can find out more about the launch party on the event’s Facebook page. Dan and his production team will be filming scenes for the documentary film at the launch party, so be sure to slip on your glad rags and wear your jauntiest ushanka hat.
0 CommentsStylish yet eminently practical, Ben Radcliffe’s powder-coated fixed-gear Flouro Bikes will get you noticed in all the right ways. I challenge you, drivers, to not spot THIS beauty in your rear-view mirror.
0 CommentsHere at Babelgum Metropolis we’re getting pretty excited about Primary Flight 2010, Miami’s annual outdoor mural festival and the world’s largest event of its kind. Steamrollering into its fourth year, Primary Flight just gets bigger and bigger – over 250 world-class artists have already taken part, and this year’s impressive line-up includes luminaries such as Burning Candy, Escif, Herakut, Nunca and ROA (who hit the headlines in the UK recently, after a massive public outcry saved his artwork from destruction by an over-zealous local council).
Check out these video highlights from last year’s show, including an interview with curators BooksIIII Bischof and Logan Hicks. The artists will all be on-site painting from November 29 to December 5 2010. Find out more at primaryflight.com.
0 CommentsLast Wednesday, Ralph Lauren blew our minds with this amazing 4D art installation, projected onto the facades of their flagship stores in London and New York. Three-storey models sashaying out of the building, polo players smashing their way through masonry, and the olfactory delights of Ralph Lauren’s Big Pony fragrance drifting through the night air.
So how on earth did they do it? Find out in this behind-the-scenes video.
0 CommentsLet’s hear it for the bike courier. In these times when fair-weather cyclists breeze merrily along bike lanes around the world, we should remember those front-runners, racing through rain, sleet and snow, alongside lorries and deep in traffic fumes, all for the love of their two-wheeled metal steeds. It is courier culture we have to thank for messenger bags, for the popularity of fixed-gear bikes and, of course, for getting our packages delivered on time.
In this week’s new episode of Freewheelers, we meet London courier ‘Crazy Socks‘, who introduces us to his self-built ‘Surly Streamroller’ and explains why he believes Eeyore is the ‘original Goth’.
And in the final episode in our Vice Versus series, we go deep into London’s Rollapaluza scene, a static indoor bike race held in pubs and clubs. And believe us, this ain’t no Spinning class – this combination of blood, sweat and beers isn’t for the faint-hearted.
0 CommentsOur intern Anneliese goes on holiday for five weeks tomorrow, the lucky girl. Here are her five top tips for a sizzling summer.
- Creative ways to spend a cool summer.
Mtv’s ‘The Hills’ : Kids Reenact
- It’s always a sunny and glamorous life in The Hills, with never a cloudy or dull moment as the stars are sure to constantly cause drama. Your summer could be the same: The sun is there, so all you need now are a few arguments, large glasses, bikinis and heels.
- Football began the summer on an exciting note. The excitement’s now continuing with all the new summer singles.
Surf, Live, Paint: Inspired by Design
- Ideas of where and how to spend your summer in an artistic light.
- Bikini bodies for summer time are extremely important for females and males, so shed those pounds.
When you spend your free time dressing up as a giant bunny and cavorting merrily with all your synthetically plush chums, it’s easy for people to get the wrong idea. Sure, some Furries like to rub each other up in ways that strike most of us as just plain wrong, but it’s not all about finding Roger Rabbit hotter than Jessica Rabbit, or secretly thinking Bambi’s mom is a MILF.
Our friends at VBS.tv have made us this strangely touching little video about the Furry community in London, who turn out to be sweet, shy earnest types, who found new confidence through adopting “fursonas”, be it a “cabbit” (half-cat, half-rabbit), a “wolf-dragon hybrid” or – as one Furry enigmatically puts it – “how I like to be: bright colors on a darker background”. And like a real-life Care Bear Kingdom, the Furry community declares itself to be one big happy family: “You’re never really alone”. Awww.
So next time you see a Furry, just give them a little cuddle. You might like it.
0 CommentsEarth Day 2008 is on April 22nd. To mark this international day to highlight environmental issues, we’ve put together a playlist of nature documentaries that explore man’s relationship with wildlife and the environment.
The My Planet: Zed Documentaries channel features award-winning documentaries from around the world, including the Keepers of the Forest series, which looks at grassroots wildlife protection. From Costa Rica to Madagascar, ordinary people are using the limited means at their disposal to aid the survival of their endangered local species.
Also on My Planet, Zed Documentaries, Sea Legends explores the ancient, spiritual connections that still exist between some ethnic groups and creatures of the sea.
Land of the Giants documents one woman’s personal journey through Tasmania to find the tallest trees on the planet – but she discovers that the mighty trees’ future is precarious as a result of man’s intervention.
And finally, Ice Worlds looks at life at the two poles, following emperor penguins in the Antarctic and polar bears in the Arctic.
0 CommentsWith thousands of hours of content and over 50 channels to explore, the big question facing new visitors to the platform is just where to begin your journey. As always at Babelgum, we offer you plenty of choice.
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