Lastnightstony

Ok, getting up took a bit, but once I did, the wheels were going smooth. The photo above is from where I am staying. The Ramblas, which is smack dab in the middle of Barcelona, Spain.It rained like hell in the middle of the night last night. So to get my bearings, I went down to ocean at the end of the Ramblas. This statue is much like the one of Admiral Horatio Nelson in Trafalgar Square, London. Only this one is of Christopher Columbus.“Bicing” is the name of the bikes that are available for public access. Again, like in Paris, I have not been able to rent them. There is a couple of rental companies though that may hook me up for a day.So I walked around the Raval area to try and get an idea of the area. Quickly I found the MACBA- Museu d’ Art Contemporani de Barcelona.It was nice to be in a Museum for once when the kids are there for a school outing. The place was not crowed at all and I could even poach some shots. Probably not cool, but it’s all not worth a thing if people have no access to it. There was other exhibits that had all kinds of photography. One of them was about railroads in America. Funny how what is foreign for one is normal for another. I won’t bore you with images of that stuff. Living in Portland we know what a train looks like.This building was cool though and really close to a University. The skate kids outside all sounded like they were from the states. They most likely were.Later on I jumped on the tube to go see Sagarda Familia. Now my impression of Barcelona so far has been that it is a really chilled out town. Having the ocean near by will do that. Much like Santa Cruz, Brighton and Manzanillo. Another thing that lowers the volume on the vibe of a place is the adverts. Checkout the above shot of a tube stop in the middle of the city (Passeig De Gracia). Barca is not as extreme as Sao Paulo, but it does seem to calm things down. ————————————————Sagrada Familia———————————————————Welcome Sagrada Familia. My friend Beanie told me some thing the other day that really seemed to resonate while I was at this church. He said that we cannot confirm weather or not there is god or heaven, but what we do know is there is faith. If there is ever a time to believe, this is it. This temple/monument has been under construction for 120 years. It may not be completed in our lifetimes as well.From Wikipedia - Originally designed by Antoni Gaudí (1852 – 1926), who worked on the project for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to the endeavor, the project is scheduled to be completed in 2026. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked, “My client is not in a hurry.” When I arrived at the front of this place, there was a mob of teenage guys on some kind of guided tour. I got lumped in with them and my admission was free. Fitting that my old ass gets in with the kids. Once in the gate I went straight inside.This is the ceiling, designed after a the way a crustation is formed. Evrey aspect of this building is designed from something found in nature.I waited in line for a half hour and caught one of the last elevators up to the top.Looking these images is nothing more than some pictures of a church being built if you do not understand the cultural and historical significance of D’Antonioni Gaudi and his numerous architectural achievements. Not only did he invent the Art Nouveau movement, he started several of his projects that he knew he would never have the satisfaction of seeing completed. Humbling considering some of the things we do today are turned around in a matter of days. Gaudi was working on the Sagrada Familia up to his death in 1926.Here are some links to learn more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaudí

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Família

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona

After such a massive day on the feet I was ready to head back downtown and have a siesta. When I got to Catalunya tube stop, I was rewarded for the effort.

Sunday. A day of rest. A holy day. Why not go to Barcelona and see one of the most incredible pieces of design in the world. Of course, it’s a church. I’m a long way from being there at the moment, so it’s time to pack light and go to a place that has airplanes.I love London, it’s relentless with opportunity. There are so many billboards that punking one is apparently easy.Once I arrived and got sorted I had a chance to sit down and have a read from a great guide book. Le Cool is a guide book that takes it’s cues from people who were born here, lived here, visted and have spent very little time in Barcelona. The range of perspective is huge and the pages have so much design that it is a good resource for layouts and type regardless if you ever visit this city by the ocean. A pint of Guinness, a shot of Absinthe (yep, the real thing) and some pages from Le Cool and I am now ready to get started.The area of town I am in is called the Ravel. I look forward to getting around this area tomorrow. This is the most well lit street I came across.I have been totally crossed up getting my bearings. This devil is at the Barcelona Cultural Center on the Ramblas.So after a bit of walking around, I found a crowded bar that had some live music. A cool place that was full of what seemed like university aged students. Great space and cool style to it. It was really crowded and I could not get that close to the music, but the sound filled the space. Everything was spanish vibe Salsa. I did recognize this one though. A couple of bends in the sound and then it got somewhere that I recognized. It took a bit, but Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal seeped into the sound. Everyone knows that one from back in the hey hey.

That’s it for tonight. Tomorrow’s gonna be a big day of exploration.

Met up with Beanie for a day out in iceberg lettuce cold London. On my way over to his house, I found some more great visual texture.Soon we hatched a plan to go check out an exhibit at the Imperial War Museum. On the way there, I noticed a Honda billboard up the road. Sure enough it was a bit of Beanies work. Beanie has been Mr. Honda for the past year at WK. Lots of good work that has not only thoroughly pleased the client, but also garnered recognition from design mags and annuals. Good job dude.The Imperial War Museum is deceptively large. Of course, at first impression it is grand in it’s scale since they have full size planes hanging from the ceiling as if they were toys. It was the depth of all of the exhibits here that was exhausting.Unlike every other museum in London, taking pictures here was cool with security. Only the main exhibitions were camera free. We made our way upstairs to the poster exhibit, Weapons of Mass Communication. An exhibit that had a lot of pieces that spanned at least the last 100 years of war propaganda from all over the world.Down in the basement of the place was all kinds of stuff. Portraits of the biggest political villians ever like Adolf below. To tools of the trade. Uniforms, all kinds of guns and weapons, exhibits about D-Day, the bombings of London in 1914, what it was like in the trenches, video history from the gulf war, and bombings by the IRA. It’s all here and done in a way that is not morbid or morose. There were a lot of 10 year old boys running around the place.Models of massive ships.These are signs that would be found in the trenches.After several hours here, we made our way to the Southbank Centre. Free Music concerts and other exhibitions.Right outside was a great skate park. Below is Magma books. Great place for design books and eye candy. This is from the 14th floor of some hotel near Oxford circus.A long day with a great catch-up with an old mate. I was knackered by the end of it. Time to get some sleep because tomorrow I am heading to another airport. London Gatwick to Barcelona. 

Friday marked my last day of work at Wieden+Kennedy London. Amazing how fast time has flown by. When in Rome, one would eat grapes and probably stand around naked posing for a neoclassical sculpture. Well, we are not in Rome. We’re in London. In London, we take piss in our drinks, or go get pissed, or just drink piss. You can get piss at the take away or bring your piss in a bottle. Jesus, where’s the loo? Tony Davidson, ECD of Wieden’s, showed up and started taking drink orders. All of a sudden things got desperate.

Sunny day in London this morning and look who walked in, Beanie.Beanie has been to Chile and back. He has ridden around the geological organ pipes known as the Andes and has lived to tell the tale. It is with Beanie that my story of coming to London has also begun. What could be more fitting than to go have a little catch up over some proper British beans.We went down Brick Lane to The Pride of Spitalfields. The least expensive pub and grub I have come across yet.I had not realized it, but it has been two years since I have seen Beanie. He came over to the Portland office for 3 months on an exchange. Our friend Rob came over here in his place. Check out this old post from the Wieden + Kennedy Studio Blog that Rob and I started just after their swapping of desks. Aptly called, British Beans.

Beanie is a good photographer, check his flickr page, and in a few weeks when he has his stuff sorted, I will get a bunch of them on here to check out. And with his return to work, soon will be my return to Portland, Oregon. Before that though, I have one more trick up my sleeve before I cross the Atlantic. Stay tuned.

OOH is an acronym we use at WK Portland for Out of Home. This refers to ad space that can be found in all kinds of situations for the public. In London, the volume of advertising is staggering. Also, the shelf life of any ad is a lot shorter than things in the states. I like seeing the work that gets produced out in the world.The Nokia London Store Launch was last Thursday. It is over on Regent street near Piccadilly. WK is launching more stores around the globe. The adverts feature real people which is refreshing to see. Most of these people in the ads are friends and family of WK London employees. This is the Oxford Circus tube station. I have also seen Nokia inserts in this weeks Time Out London. Check out the site for meeting London. http://www.meet-your-city.com

 This is the Honda Problem Playground ad that launched a week ago. I have seen it 100 times on various channels. There is more print work popping up all over the place this week.This Honda billboard is on Commercial Street on the Way to Mama Thai’s. Damn good Indian food for lunch. Same ones in the tube as Ollie is pointing out. This is the Nike Mercurial Vapor ads that I have worked on with the rest of the crew here. This big spot is in the entrance of Niketown right now. It was in last nights Arsenal match program as well. One big difference I am seeing here as compared to the states is that a lot of the work is much more visible in my everyday life. It is satisfying to see the work out in the world. That buzz will never get old for me.

Monday night and time to go to Islington to see the Gunners. But first, a couple of pints of piss to get started.  Welcome to Emirates Stadium. An 18 month old venue for the Arsenal Gunners who are the top team in the Premiership. A win tonight can put them 5 points ahead of Manchester United. WK London’s David Brodie, Guy Featherstone and Oliver Mcquitty are my partners in crime for tonights match. 

A place that is known as the library for how quiet it can be. I thought it was anything but. Seattle Seahawks fans have been known to be rabid back home. I think when it is cold out, it just makes you want to yell to keep warm. Arsenal came out burning hot and scored in the first ten minutes. It all went a bit flat for a bit and the half closed 1-nil. At the half I swined on some fish and chips that will probably live in my colon for the next month. It’s all good though. It’s fucking Arsenal. The Blackburn rovers keeper was the lone yank on the pitch.And then it happened. 

Emmanuel Adebayor scored with about 40 seconds to go in the game. I knew it was coming and was ready for it. Arsenal had been surging for 20 minutes at that point and the crowd really wanted it.  *Update: The Wankers at Youtube sent an email saying the video that I obviously took myself is a part of copyright enfringement. It is a really good clip and it was getting a bunch of comments on youtube as well. The fact remains that I have the video and will upload it to this site later on. It’s that good.

Adebayor for Arsenal from Tony Frusciante on Vimeo.With that it was a mass exodus to the tube. Bollocks to Buttcheeks with 40,ooo fans chanting all kinds rhymes and tributes to their club. 

Glorious Day in Londontown today. Crystal blue and no wind. Walked up Commercial Road to the Hoxton Urban Lodge to meet up and spend the day with my friends Andrew and Christin. Everytime I leave the house I find something new or see something in a way I have not seen it before. Straight off I saw these great train lofts. Can’t really explain much more than what I am seeing, but it appears these are some really cool places some one has built and turned into flats. Got to figure out how to do this in Portland.I have not made this walk up the hotel in the daylight, but I noticed all of this great street art. There is a Banksy piece across the street as well. This is Andrew Dickson and Christin Spagnoli and they might be doing the coolest thing I have ever heard of. These two fine folks, who both work at WK Portland, are travelling around the globe in an easterly manner visiting each office in the Wieden+Kennedy global Network. New York City, London, Amsterdam, Dehli, Shanghai and Tokyo are the destinations of their course. The objective: to write a book about the global culture of the agency that has been recognized by Adweek as the Global Network of the Year. I can’t even begin to envision the information overload that will ensue. My head spins from just being here in London, let alone trying to grasp all of those other places. It is truly a great gig and something that no one will be able to predict. Hence why you do such things. So while they are here, I have tried to share my experience a bit and go explore some new things of London with them. First stop today, Camden Town.

*check out Christin’s site as they make their way east. http://globtastic.typepad.com Cemden reminds me of Upper Haight in San Francisco. A young and bohemian bunch of people cruising shops that have all kinds of fashion, shoes and all kinds of stuff. The road was shut off only a few blocks from the tube. Apparently an explosion occurred in the wee hours this morning, causing a fire to a store. Debris was all over the street and the Metro PD had the area closed off. Due to this we changed direction and headed over to Oxford Circus.While Christin and Andrew were in Top Shop, I popped next door to NikeTown. Low and behold there was the Mercurial Vapor ad I have worked on the last couple of weeks in the entrance. It appears they took the single page ad and made it into a large size wall poster. As a designer, you always notice little things that have been toiled over that get mangled by someone else. Still a big trip to see the work in person so fast. I will go into more depth about WK work in an upcoming post.We headed over to Picadilly to look around for a bit. Next thing we knew we stumbled right into Chinatown during Chinese New Year.This year is Year of the Rat. Myself being a water rat specifically, I have been feeling quite aligned with things. London has a pulse of it’s own that is really fun to be apart of. All you got to do is step outside.

Welcome to Green Street in Upton Park. Home to Boleyn Ground and the West Ham United Football Club who was hosting Birmingham City. Both clubs are over 100 years old. This my first visit to a proper English football match. With springtime weather conditions, it was a great day for some footie.You may have heard of a film called Green Street Hooligans from a couple of years ago. This movie depicts some of the lore of football hooligans. This seemed like a rough area of town, but I did not see any fights or hollywood drama break out.Boleyn Ground is a particularly small stadium. 35,ooo is full capacity. This first video is of the crowd sing the West Ham anthem “I’m forever blowing tiny Bubbles” opens each half. 

West Ham came out and scored after being on the pitch for only 5 minutes. It looked like it was going to be a wash straight off. It was not long before Birmingham was taking a penalty kick to even the score.

The score did not change for the rest of the match. This was not a popular result for the home crowd supporters. West Ham is a mid level team in the Premier League. Birmingham is at the bottom. Home team supporters figured their team was better than what they displayed today. The guy next to me had no problem showing his dismay by cussing in such ways that it left me in awe. I wanted to ask for some definitions of what he was saying, but I figured I should not press my luck.After the game I got a hold of some friends who are in town from Portland. So it was back to the Tate Modern. Andrew, Endy, Christin, Lee and Sheena now have a band shot for their first album. Shena, Lee and Endy are off to NY & Argentina tomorrow, duty calls. Christin and Andrew will be here for a couple of more days before they head around the rest of the world. To celebrate our tansient lifestyles at the moment, we went to dine at a Bengali joint that has strange French paintings. Some how seemed fitting.

Happy travels and I will see you in the 503.