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Coming Soon - The Moscow Derby

Smog

Having been born in London after the industrial revolution their are some things i've missed out on.

The Bubonic plague for instance. Slavery is another, the Crusades could also be added to the list.

But every so often fate deals you a special hand and you get to experience what life would have been like had you been born in a bygone era.

Recently I moved to Moscow, and we are currently enjoying the hottest summer in Russia's history.

I use the word enjoying lightly because along with the sunshine came the bush, forest and peat bog fires, and the Smog.

Smog! That classic ailment for developing nations. I do hope it won't give me Cholera! In-fact it's more likely to give me malignant Lung Cancer.

I'm not a smoker. My whole of my life i’ve avoided smoking, even over here where it’s dirt cheap and a national hobby, but now I read that every time I spend a couple of hours outside i might as well have smoked TWO packets of cigarettes!

This turns going to work, posting letters , getting milk into a lifestyle choice - it's no longer just excessively boring. It does me physical damage....

This morning I saw a man in a cloud of smoke jogging next to River Mockba, I wonder if this guy knew his valiant effort to get in an early morning run was going to be rewarded with a tumor the size of a golf ball- mind you - I couldn't see if he was running from anyone.

The air in Moscow is 7 times more polluted than it was prior to the arrival of the hot, dense ,and pungent ash clouds that sticks you as you walk down the street, seeps through every window, door and crevice in a building, and is constantly trying to fool your brain into thinking people are celebrating Guy Fawks night at 5am on 4th August in city beyond the edge of Eastern Europe.

I know Guy Fawks was a bit of a rascal but that takes it too far.

So then I also found out the stuff that's burning at the moment are leafs, timber etc that could have been cleared years ago, so not only are my lungs being infested by filthy dirty smoke , but it's filthy dirty second hand smoke, i'm getting second hand smoke from a middle aged junkie who nobody has been arsed to pick up off the floor yet.

If this has told you anything, bygone era's sucked.

Varsity Day 2005

London's 2010 Fireworks

I watched London's New Years Firework display from the rooftop of Westminster Studios. A truely breathtaking experience. Unfortunately my phone camera doesn't do the specticle justice.

Tsar Tipped for Glory

'Tsar' lastest Russian film tipped for Oscar honours.

'Tsar' is a rich-looking historical epic set in 16th century Moscow, where the forces of good and evil square off in an epic struggle between the spiritual monk Filipp and his childhood friend Ivan, tsar of all Russia also known as Ivan the Terrible.

Pavel Lungin, winner of Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for his film Taxi Blues in 1990, takes the helm as director and given the films infamous subject and high production values, he will be expecting more success with this film.

An insider on the Oscars panel said: 'the film is both a visual feast and a fascinating look into Russia's past, if it's chosen it could do very well'.

If 'Tsar' is chosen by the Russian Federation's Oscars National Selection Committee to be Russia's latest nominee for the Best Foreign Language film at the 2010 Oscars, it will continue the Russian Film industries rich and successful tradition in this catagory.

Russia's most recent film to scoop the prize in 1994 was 'Burnt By The Sun' directed by Nikita Mikhalkov and since then Russian films have been nominated an impressive 5 times for the award.

The Soviet Union also received a total of nine nominations, which included three winners before 1991.

Amid a Global economic downturn many film studios are struggling to make ends meet but with the Russian film industry producing movies of this quality it looks in rude health.

The announcement for this years nominees is scheduled for February 2nd and everyone involved with film will hope 'Tsar' will showcase the Russian Industries strength.

Bon Jovi and I at Work...

Just a quick shout out to the Legend Jon Bon Jovi. His new stuff aren't quite the same nostalgic, immense rock anthems we are all used to. But that is mainly because they are not meant to be and it takes time for songs to achieve that sort of credibility...

However a great guy and true professional... Jon Bon Jovi you're a hero