When you pass a bakery window like this one, it's pretty hard to pass it by (as evidenced by the way it stopped me in my tracks this past Saturday near Covent Garden).  These aren't mere cupcakes -- they're enormous, gorgeous "candy cakes."

According to the store's website, "Candy Cakes" was established in 2004.  They make odd flavoured cakes with names like Spider Lovin’, Techno Mouse, Alphabet City and The Chocolate Flyer – and I’m not quite sure what some of those actually TASTE like, but you can always ask the gal behind the counter if you’re feeling scared.  They claim that every “cake” is made of natural ingredients with no artificial coloring, preservatives or additives, which is pretty cool, considering how crazy and toy-like they look.

The above pic is the best I could get while standing outside the shop.  The below pic is from their website, which shows how pretty some of them are.  My personal fave is the bright blue one with a piece of fried egg gummy candy on top (see far right of pic above).

A little something for the inner child in all of us.

 

i'm not going to name names, but i just have to get something off my chest without mincing words or trying to be "diplomatic." 

the thing i need to get off my chest is this:  a lot of British people (Londoners to be specific) are self-important assholes.  from the pushing and shoving strangers on the tube to the snobbish Oxbridge-educated crowd to the smattering of random, inconsiderate people that surround me, the British folk in London have done nothing to prove that they are the proper, civilized beings they walk around believing they are.

when i can get through a single WEEK without being pushed around either physically or metaphorically, perhaps i'll amend this view, but for now i must state that the British people living in London are just as much a bunch of poor-mannered animals as any of the so-called "ugly Americans" they love to so publicly hate.

after nine months of trying to live a new, married life in London, my negative feelings about the people of the city haven't eased up one bit -- even with the benefit of a loving English husband.  if i may be extra-catty for a moment, i'd also like to add that the "ladies" of London are the coldest, most unwelcoming bunch of gals i've ever come into contact with.  when i moved here i learned quickly that there's no use trying to make friends with them -- they're 100 times worse than anything you'd find in, say, Hollywood.  in fact, i recall my very first night in L.A. quite vividly:  i heard no less than 10 genuine "welcome to LAs" and probably collected as many new phone numbers.  was life in 1997 really that much friendlier, or is this truly a culture thing?

believe me, Londoners, if i could afford to pack up my husband and house and leave Britain tomorrow, i would. 

please note:  if this blog offends you, stay tuned.  i'm taking my first trip to France in a few weeks and who knows?  maybe the Parisians will make Londoners look like saints.

 

There's a collective sort of thing called Crush and Lovely "Moving Pictures" who's making a cool series of web films right now.  They hit the street of a random city with a camera and sound guy and ask passers-by a single question.  They record the responses and edit them to a tight 50 replies, which become a web video anyone can watch. 

In New Orleans, Louisiana they asked: "What would you wish to have happen by the end of today, if you could have ANYTHING happen?"  Surprisingly, not everyone wished to become a millionaire.  In Brooklyn, New York, the question was: "If you could wake up anywhere tomorrow morning, where would you chose?"  The 50 people in London, England goes online in the near future, and more are to come.

Some of the people's responses will make you laugh, and in my case, some will make you well up with tears.  Take two minutes and check one of them out.  Leave them feedback - or answer the question yourself.  Here's the link:

http://fiftypeopleonequestion.com


 

with less than two weeks left to go in George W. Bush's presidency, there are a lot of TV and internet items reviewing the highs and lows of W.'s time in the White House.  today i read an article on The Guardian's website that covered some of his most humorous blunders (which should make even the staunchest Republicans grin). 

here are my top 10 from the list in no particular order...

1.  
great mangled syntax:  "Families is where our nation finds home, where wings take dream."

2.  he asked a New Hampshire audience to imagine themselves in the shoes of a single mother:  "Working hard to put food on your family."

3.  when he
speculated about the effects of the merger of Time Warner with AOL he said:  "Will the highways to the internet become more few?"

4.  in "Journeys With George," a documentary on the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush jogs up and down the press bus demonstrating a talking fish toy called "Big-Mouth Billy Bass" with genuine excitement.  (i have to admit here that the first time i ever saw a Big-Mouth Billy Bass i, too, thought it was insanely funny.)

5.  in Frank Bruni's campaign memoir "Ambling Into History," Bush apparently raved to journalists about the "unbelievable" White House dessert menu, saying:  "Yesterday... we had this, I'm not even sure, coffee ice-cream... surrounded by this unbelievable meringue... beautiful meringue."  adorable.

6.  he choked on a pretzel while watching a football game, blacking out, injuring himself and waking to find his dogs Spot and Barney worrying over him.  awww...

7.  Beijing, 2005:  he strode from a large press conference walking directly into a locked door.  there isn't a person on the planet who didn't see a clip of THAT, though it's only fair to note that the whole thing was really the fault of the President's handlers, not him.

8. 
during an early campaign stop in South Carolina he said:  "Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?"

9.  in the "umm, what was that?" category:  "Suiciders are willing to take innocent life in order to send the projection that this is an impossible mission." 

10.  on challenges facing gynocologists:  "Too many OBGYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."

you've been a great audience -- thank you and good night!

 

just when you think you've seen it all, a new celebrity endorsement commercial comes on TV and creates a new low -- or high, depending on how much it makes you laugh.

in America celebrity endorsements are common.  lots of athletes sell energy drinks or athletic gear, pop stars sell soda and most actresses have at least one hair or makeup product endorsement deal -- and it's been that way for years -- but the American deals are very carefully chosen.  in Europe and Asia celebrities are much more willing to do all sorts of endorsements, as their American fan base will never see what they're doing, and well, foreign work pays big money.

some of the larger campaigns that pop to mind are Eva Longoria selling Magnum ice cream bars, George Clooney selling Nespresso espresso/coffee machines, Catherine Zeta-Jones shilling for T-Mobile and Reese Witherspoon selling Avon cosmetics, but there are some lesser-known (and far more amusing) ones airing in England lately.

tonight on TV i saw a shirtless, sweaty Iggy "Lust For Life" Pop posing as the in-your-face spokesman for...  wait for it...  Swiftcover Car, Travel & Pet Insurance.

don't believe me?  see photo above (couldn't find the TV ad anywhere online yet).

more deliberately funny is Johnny Rotten Lydon from The Sex Pistols working as the current spokesperson for Country Life English Butter.

umm, what?

it's a particularly enjoyable spot -- here it is, courtesy of YouTube, for you Americans who don't get to see it...