APRIL 2009

I DON'T DRINK BECAUSE..

I'd prefer not to get caught on tape trying to drink the breathalyzer like this poor old boozehound!

VOTE

After the US Presidential elections, the only other votes the world needs to cast are on... duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! THE WEBBY AWARDS! Many categories to choose from but let's get down to business and separate the wheat from the chaff by casting votes for the team at CIPHER!

Find them under: Market Place > Retail > The Brave New World

BRITISH LEGENDS: BRIAN BLESSED

Little do they know that while I may look like I am coolly taking pictures out of the plane windows I am secretly controlling and stabilizing the aircraft. The uncomfortable shifting in my seat when the plane suddenly loses altitude may, to the casual observer, seem like a fellow ready to shove an old woman out of the way to break open the emergency exit. It is in fact my way of restoring balance to proceedings and the other passengers should be jolly well grateful they have someone on board who truly understands the inner workings of aeronautical equilibrium.

Anyway, random shots of the sky don't keep me entertained. It's something I must, and in turn you, must suffer. ;) The only thing to truly keep spirits high around here is thumbing through the libraries of legendary comedians from back home. These are the geniuses who keep me entertained during these longs stints in the air or at the desk.

Brian Blessed: Actor, writer, comedian, Yorkshireman and demi-god!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 4.5

FAITH RESTORED

Refraining from comment after the first race of the season was purely a cautionary measure. Now we've had the second race in Sepang, Malaysia I am happy to say that Formula One may very well be back and better than it has been for a very, very long time. The scheduling of the races so far are questionable to say the least. Driving at 200mph+ as the sun is setting isn't the brightest idea as it causes all sorts of visual problems for the drivers as they try to pick out their entry speeds and braking points. But you can't have everything it seems in this sport.

What you can have, for the first time in a long time, is RACING! Cars overtaking each other and actually going all out for the win. Brilliant. A little confusing as that's what it should always be about. If you've had the misfortune to see some "action" from previous seasons you would have seen nothing more than an expensive procession of the most expensive race cars on the planet with some farcical race results thrown in for good measure.

Now, we have some serious racing and the big teams struggling to keep up. Not only that, but we have Brawn GP doing incredible things having only formed 3 weeks before the first race of the season. One again, Jenson Button took care of business in a storm hit race. Good man!

ROGER JOINS THE CLUB

The frustration of Roger Federer continues. Not performing at levels you are more than capable of reaching is probably the most maddening thing any athlete will go through. Especially if you have the game to dominate and are used to dictating proceedings. I have a suspicious feeling though that being so far ahead of everyone else for so long got a little boring for Roger.

Saying this, I wholeheartedly welcome him into the ultimate mental release better known as the Racquet Smashing Club. Everyone joins.. even Roger!

Roger giving the tennis courts over on Biscayne Bay a thorough testing

DEFINITION OF SPEED

The never ending quest for speed continues! This time we skip the car and head to the Shanghai Maglev train to sample 268mph/431kms and well over 217mph/350kms while banking to the right. Surreal.

Before my inevitable death in the sky I am served with a suspiciously jovial fruit plate
and rancid looking noodles which was actually spaghetti.

THROUGH THE LENS OF LiQi

I finally got to work with my friend and unfairly gifted photographer LiQi. We spent just under 10 mins snapping and managed to knock out the selection below. See LiQi's blog here for more images.

MAGAZINE TIME

Although some online content is "edited" over here, the magazine selection on the streets of Shanghai is as pure as you can imagine. Not only that, but the cost of buying the top notch stuff is FAR cheaper than anywhere else. It's just a case of walking through check-in trying my best to make the bag look as though it isn't laden with 20kg of reading material.