The Loop 365 days a year...your rrretroeuropa

Desserts spelled backwards is Stressed.

2012-01-09T17:33:00.010+01:00

In this austere moment of crisis, and after Christmas/Thanksgiving Year End Celebrations, it becomes notable that the chocolate has run out and there is a need for and indeed addiction to tasty items to supply peckish cravings for sugar.
The denial of these cravings can be quite depressing> in the Winter Months, spurred by the desire for sustaining nibbles
It is probably best to remember that ANYTHING you eat now, you will regret on holiday in June, July and August, until it becomes necessary to fully clothe once more

Walls that Speak

2011-05-06T09:27:00.013+02:00

Madrid Bars-Decoration on the Outside!

Wallpaper and Paint, decoration of the space around us, has always been the ultimate luxury- till now...and we love Ikea.

Since the advent of showhomes it has become de rigueur to demonstrate the latest trends and awareness of them to all and sundry.

The Symphony Showhouse!

Wallpaper has existed since walls needed decoration...They named a magazine after it

Wall decoration was around in the 10th Century...or up until polished concrete was possible.

'Serafine'hand-painted wallcoverings.

Papers were painted by hand, and by bespoke creators.

Previously, walls were decorated with tapestries or decorated with wood panelling, in Winter or in Castles, but in hotter climates, were decorated with tiles, mosaic or frescoes. Some rooms were completely clad in porcelain.
Some decoration addicts: Nureyev and Marie Antoinette..

Fontainebleu Palace

These influences were carried over into the first decorative papers, and are still traditional motifs, with flowers, leaves, and frescoe-style skies, angels and cherubs...Famous decoration addicts: Nureyev and Marie Antoinette
Today we are modern, printing has revolutionised our idea of possible 2D or flat decoration incuding decals, lit surfaces and giant photos and manufaturers vie for the perfect answer for YOU.

Street Heart Decals

Retro Words on the Wall

2011-04-24T20:11:00.011+02:00

After the invention of the printing press (1450) shifted monk-powered hand-illumination and calligraphy,

Font for newspapers was set in lines on a printing plate carefully aligned with 'pica'units or kerning done by hand and eye, twice a day!

Everyone knows Times(1931) from the Newspaper ,
and Arial from Ms Word

Retro Typefaces or Fonts from the 1900s stare at us from marketing and urban living, the London Tube (Gill Sans)and the Paris Metro (1900)
uses Guimard's Art Nouveau font

Gill Sans capìtals and lower case were designd separately, both in the Art Deco spirit of the 20s and 30's.

both use iconic fonts that have been in Guimard's Art Nouveau font "> fashion
forever.

Goudy created ampersands, a curiosity we use extensively,
and graphic artists motto 'typography is everything' shows influence on everything from colas..to catfood.

The exitement of font and its transferral from the typewriter is seen in
Courier

with its flat serifs and wide stamped letters, and who could forget
Comic Sans, immortalised by Stan Lee for Marvel, and then all graphic novelists! Thrillsville!

MORE:

'USE AND MISUSE OF TYPOGRAPHY IN MOVIES' and
'THE SCOURGE OF ARIAL' Mark Simonson

'ANDS AND AMPERSANDS' Steve Matteson

'BIBA' Angie Smith

'GOOD LOGO' www.goodlogo.com

'VIRTUAL TYPEWRITER MUSEUM'

'STAN (THE MAN)LEE'

RRRetro

2011-03-22T15:25:00.011+01:00

March Ideas
Here we have a space to extoll the beauties and coveting of retro, vintage and general delight in all things of quality, prestige and pre-mass marketing delight...

Some people love tin cans...
Here are some sources that first thrilled and expressed the decoration possibilities of simple home kitchen accessories, for example the Campbells Soup People now support the arts, after their cans were made world famous by Mr Warhol
The desire to dazzle with modernity being started by Alphonse Mucha...

Modern packaging gone wild! Soap, gravy, washing powder, egg, cigarettes, peaches, and of course BEANS.

Warhol was on a roll...
Victorian reproduction of graphic and illustrative works; signs, posters and labels and the printing of these 'lithographs' onto tin and aluminium was one of the first practical applications of this process, the flimsy but light and airtight results being used for tin signs, advertising plaques and finally conserves, pasteurised, treated and dried goods and foods with lasting success. The invention of plastics has not really eclipsed them even now, but that's another story.

New Year Jingles

2011-01-04T12:55:00.003+01:00

Resolutions as follows:
Music: Lets crank up the available tracks and tunes to accompany a breathtaking new wave of positivity and wade through the floods, snow, torrential rain with joy,
and beforehand buy GOOD WELLINGTONS.

Fred Flare has a great colection of music for this purpose...n a handy pop-out window complete with multicoloured letters and a fab list of DJs or salta-discos (disc jumpers: so cool)to select your mood.

Get it here! Just click the tiny boombox next to the Fb logo...

Merry Christmas One and All

2010-12-13T17:40:00.005+01:00

Hmm cheese and wine, hot toddy, christmas pudding and rum sauce, brandy butter, chocolate, marzipan, liqueur (chocolate/s), turkey, chestnut stuffing, a series of small salty things shapd like fish, wheels, coins, sticks, chocolate log, oranges, plums in chocolate, wine, slightly macabre experimental animals-in-animals roasted, sweets, advent calendar chocolates, ham, nuts, dried fruit, oranges. Yum

Striped Sock Fan Page for Hallowe'en

2010-09-15T13:31:00.010+02:00

Is this the most famous sock puppet of all....

A FAN PAGE FOR THE STRIPED SOCK LOVERS OF THE WORLD... To love striped socks or striped hosiery of any kind and share pictures, thoughts and colour combinations here, amongst friends. Yes it's on FACEBOOK
Let us consider the best of the Striped Sock Cine moments and the impressions, fears and delights that stripes inspire, especially in hosiery...

Beetlejuice vertical stripes for that look with tension...

Blythe wears striped socks...

A wintry walk in the sock visions of the past and present, and a craft review of the talented striped sock creators still out there...

Trick or Treat!

Success! Meaning?

2010-07-20T17:32:00.004+02:00

Well what is Success?
We asked some random people and came up with intriguing answers!
See what you identify with...

What does success mean to you?
A: A full bank account
B: Tons of friends
C: A house in Antigua

Do you think you are successful?
A: Not yet, but I will be!
B: I try, I believe success is communication not indifference
C: I think you have to know what you want

Do you think succssful people are nice people?
A: Well, its not a nice world
B: It takes all kinds
C: No

What is a successful wage to you?
A: Millions
B: Enough to relax and think about who else might need a hand
C: 100,000 a year?

What does a successful person eat for breakfast?
A: Nothing, maybe an expresso
B: Healthy food
C: Nothing

What does it take?
A: Very hard work
B: Hard work and/or luck
C: Sponsors

Considered successful achievements:
A family man
A lawyer
A wedding planner
A doctor
A prime minister
A president
A popstar
An art dealer
A car owner
A house owner
A sponsor
A lottery winner
God

A Winning Post! Another Author takes the track by storm!

2010-06-01T13:21:00.004+02:00

This time we have caught a winner and not just in his fields of Cycling and Coding repute but a Father and now Writer!
Andy Allsopp - Author of 'Barring Mechanicals' (available and selling fast world wide!)
Has graced us with entertaining and philosophically profound answers to our questions, as asked by the fans...

1. What is the inspiring thing about cycling?

You remember the feeling you get when you're a child and you stick your head out the window in your dad’s car for the first time? The way the wind buffets your face, the way the air feels solid as it flows under your hand, the ground rushing by just out of reach, above you only sky? Cyclists get that every day.

2. Do you prefer open roads or peopled zones?

Cycling is a deeply immersive way to travel. There's no boundary to divide your body from your surroundings. As such, the dynamics of cycling change necessarily when you enter / exit a highly populated area. Intersections, crossings, erratic drivers, distracted pedestrians combine to pose an interesting set of hazards that demand your full attention. Navigating each successfully gives a good feeling of reward, and offers plenty of opportunity for pleasant interaction. Most of my riding is done on the daily commute across London.
The same activity on the open road is an entirely different experience. Weather systems and geology which are rendered irrelevant by the necessary commute suddenly become dominant. Pushing the pedals becomes a meditation. You literally lose yourself in the landscape.

If I have to chose, I'll take open roads, with a friend alongside.

3. What inspired you to write about your experiences?

When signing up for LEL as a relative newbie, I joined a cycling forum to get some advice. There is a strong culture within the online community for providing ‘ride reports’ of activities undertaken, and it wasn’t long after I finished that requests started coming in. The resulting serialisation was driven by gentle peer pressure from the outside, coupled with a cathartic demand from the inside to provide an account of my experience.

4. Is there a lot of work for you in typing, or does it come smoothly?

I write much like my riding style: lots of exploratory jabs down dead ends, meandering routes, diversions and sudden climbs, mere pauses where others would stop, all ending up considerably further across the page than might be entirely necessary. In terms of a formalised process, I tend to start with a few thoughts about what the chapter should include, allow it to brew in my mind for a day or so, then try to get it onto the page in a single hit as a simple stream of consciousness. Moving it from mind to (electronic) paper allows me to evaluate the record from a third person perspective. I read back through it and tidy up where necessary, seeking substitutes for repeated words, ensuring the sentence flow and rhythms work towards my intent.

5.Was the book a natural progression?

Yes. Feedback from the ongoing ride reports had been very favourable, and a few readers contacted me to ask if I had considered publishing. These were tailed by offers of assistance that saw me through a series of proofs and typesetting.
As a body of work, I would estimate around 95% of the narrative used in the book is lifted from the original forum posts, representing around 50% of the total effort. ‘Online’ is a very forgiving medium for writing: the words spill from the top left to the bottom right of a page that is exactly as tall as your chapter, definitions for any specialist term employed are available at the click of a button, supporting material can be brought to screen in seconds. In comparison, the printed word is a harsh mistress, readers flailing in and out of footnotes, the flow orphaned by unexpected page breaks, geography requiring the reader brings a handy atlas.

What was to be a quick once through for grammar became a fairly heavy task, but I feel the end result has been worth it. I’ve had favourable feedback from non riders, and this suggests that the revisions have been a success.

I believe it is important that the book retains the original structure wherever possible. This is the closest I can get to the ‘first generation’ record of my experience. Some of this is visible in the book’s episodic flavour, informed by the forum’s strict 5000 character limit on a single post.

6. You have chosen an interesting publishing form, do you find that made the process easy?

Without self publishing, I the project as it arrives today would have been largely impossible. When approximately half way through writing the original posts, I knew I would like something physical to justify the time commitment outside of the cycle forum: an analogue printed version to keep on the bookcase, maybe share with my family. Originally seeking academic book binding solutions, I was soon pointed towards self publishing via Lulu. This has allowed me to produce and distribute copies considerably cheaper and easier than would have been possible otherwise.

7. Has it been an adventure? What do your family think of the many skills of their Pa?

It has certainly been exciting journey, and even in this largely digital age a book has an instant currency that can legitimise the effort required to get words on the page. My family’s contribution of time and understanding has been an essential part of this process, and I couldn’t hope to have done it without them. At 27 months, Ted is still a little too young to realise that a writing a book is anything other than common, but his mum is extremely proud.

8. Do you plan to bring your art into the cycling arena? and to your fans?

I think there’s always a little crossover. When you ride long distance, the friends who come along bring much of themselves to the mix. The peloton is a very open community, and most of us know each other’s passions and histories. This side of the screen, all of us are indexed pretty neatly on the web anyway. Its never too hard for interested parties to dig up my cyclechat, deviantart, or youtube account.

We Got One!! An Author in Waiting...here with answers...

2010-04-20T12:17:00.003+02:00

HEllo Crowd,
Well we finally hoodwinked an actual author - apart from ourselves, obviously- to give us the scoop on the skills and actions, as well as the focus, determination and personal effort required to make it big.
Steve Watson's tome is already a success and says something about women, society and the future!
Check him out on Twitter
Steve - Do you have a fan page on Facebook???

Have you considered a filmscript that could bring your story to the hard of reading?

I have. I love film, particularly films that have been adapted from books. I'm interested in the way that film has to work differently from a book, yet achieve the same end - they're just two different ways of telling the same story, after all. I've already been working on a screenplay of 'Before I Go To Sleep' and it's helped enormously with the redraft of the novel, in helping me to see just how pared down a scene can be yet still work. Novels will always be my first love, but screenwriting is definitely something I'd like to explore more.

Have you written many other works?

I have written my whole life. I can't remember a time when I didn't write. Stories, novels. Some poetry. But as far as work that I would be happy to call finished? Not that much. But then I think it's rare for any piece of creative work to be finished. There's always a disconnect between the idea of the work and the work itself, a tension between what you want the piece to be and what the piece itself wants to become. Plus, for me the process of writing is one of exploration. When a piece has taught me all it can I find myself itching to move on.

What do you think of the contemporary written field?

There are some great books being written. Some of them are being published. But there's an awful lot of crap being published, too. And books coming out, supposedly written by a celebrity who claims to never read? Part of me thinks it's good, if the fact that it's got a glamour model's name on the front means that someone picks it up who wouldn't otherwise, but part of me thinks it's all feeding the celebrity beast, the idea that celebrity, that being famous, is an end in and of itself. It shouldn't be. But, if I had to decide, I'd rather see the tube train full of people reading crap than not reading at all.

What do you consider outstanding mainstream ficton currently?

I'm not reading much at the moment. When I'm in the middle of a project I don't have time for much other than research. And re-reading. I re-read a lot. So I don't know. But there aren't many risks being taken in literature at the moment. Most books disappoint.

What do you eat for breakfast?

Today? Coffee and cereal. At the computer. I do my best work when I'm half asleep, and not really aware I'm doing it.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Writing. I want to have seen 'Before I Go To Sleep' published, and successful, by which I mean 'being read'. I want to be on at least my third book by then. But as long as I am in a position in which I can write then I'll be happy.

Great Movie Quotes and Moments

2010-02-25T15:19:00.011+01:00

Who can forget?
Scripted versus Spontaneous communication on film

Apparently Star Trek was just one long glib jam session, with comic and comic strip genius in every episode, created by joint effort to blow everyone's mind and defy humour with futuristic and challenging aliens and alien activites and a leader that denied the posibility that only earth ladies were his domain and mobile communicators have great reception in any planet system, when we have still not overcome the frozen aisle's lack of network even today, 30 years later.*

Its not what you do but the way tht you do it; who can forget Bogart in the Maltese Falcon (John Huston)'The stuff that dreams are made of', and the perfect casting that lead to The Shadow's servant and evil merchant 'Jean Baptiste Emanuel Zorg'.
Only Milla Jovovich could carry off a Multipass with such innocence and determination and we must ask ourselves who thought of the immortal 'coffee grounds' moment in Heath Ledger's 'Casanova'?

It's all 'Noodle Salad' as Jack Nicholson says in 'As Good as it gets'

New Year Resolution

2009-12-30T11:16:00.005+01:00

Being that this is the year I received my first photo mug from a tiny relation, I feel the need for greater erudition.
Ace: Ah! Improved rudeness!
Ed: Sadly, no, but things like reading, and to this end we shall be interviewing NEW WRITERS. There will be a list on twitter!
Ace: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Ed: SO I am compiling to start with a worthy NEW WRITER, STEVE WATSON, who has written about memory, and the woman of today.
Ace: Can you read?
Ed: I've read some...

Moment of reflection on a DIFFICULT year

2009-11-02T19:00:00.003+01:00

Checking out tumblr.com... See Retroeuropa there..

When things look black...

2009-10-12T12:50:00.002+02:00

‘When things look black, paint them with polka dots’
A motto for our times, delight in being the lemon with a flamenco dress WITH THE PAINTBRUSH.
The horse may even enjoy it too.
Minute Maid campaign ‘Limon y nada’

Northern Hemisphere midyear blues

2009-07-21T23:01:00.006+02:00

Ed: So, Ace, oracle of our time, what's the 'word'? Ace(8): Well ideally, something cool and energy-giving that was not a strain on the vital organs, Ed. A swim perhaps. I feel that as we approach the delightful though party-hard sign of Leo, that those who know will be reaching for the ice pack, chilling and leaving the baggage behind for a relaxing new wave of activity. Ed: Well ok, thankyou for your deep and appreciated though vague and non-directional insight. We follow the haiku as usual and I personally enjoyed the recent 'washing' reference, didn't you Ace?

It's Life, Jim

2009-07-13T21:14:00.003+02:00

Special recognition deserved from Europe to Australia for this delightful offering to the world of loungers and pool living. Instant retro elegance by Corey Baker.

Eco Bamboo as well.

My favourite new email...CONTEMPORIST DESIGN

Other delightful and memorable home additions..Corin Mellor's Plywood pieces

It may never happen

2009-07-09T10:32:00.000+02:00

Ace Ball brings you the words of the day.. If you think 'Ah, today I will look for that confused and distracted soul in the street, and tell them to smile, it may never happen' DON'T. Say happy birthday, and see if you are right...

Mod if I caution

2009-07-05T18:51:00.005+02:00

News in of our new collaboratorrr, A (8) Ball.
The Ace will inform us of our best move for the day (of course we do not uphold any of his advice) but you may find it useful during procrastination...It will be as if your conscience were speaking, much like the cartoons, though I hesitate to suggest which ear he hides behind...

ED: So Ace, what's it to be for today? A day of Tennis, of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and etc?
ACE: Today I say - Maybe take the first bus that passes your destination. He who takes the first bus reaches their destination quicker.
ED: Wise, wise...

Edition 3 : And here comes sucess...

2009-05-05T21:29:00.008+02:00

Here comes my chinese rug...so sang Iggy whom we admire..and now our Haiku delight of the day:

"Palms welcome sun and rain;
Green fingers up outstretched,
Cool dawn sand dunes rest. "

Japan-style triplets are by Andrea who seems so talented at them.
We are always on the lookout for more authors so keep us informed for the next editions.

Buds of Spring

2009-05-03T20:25:00.004+02:00

Bringing you the Haiku of the day:

"As the buds open
Growing Season's stillness bursts
Through sleeping branches"

More Anon anon...Loop365
Buy the book and Calendar 2010 - taking orders now:
http://retroeuropa.etsy.com

Teamwork and Loop it

2009-05-02T19:20:00.006+02:00

Teaming up with HAIKUCHALLENGE of Facebook Fame, we are bringing you a tiny, daily (ha, let's see...) inclusion of oriental style peace and tranquillity in the crisis strewn wreckage of the mad city and money and omg etc.
RSS to Reset superconscious!
Coming up en seguida, as they say...
:Loop dee loop, loop dee la...

Todays fragment of fragile fun:
" Light of morning dawns,
Paper cool, slides through
My open Window "

Food Glorious Food

2009-03-04T16:56:00.011+01:00

Today a check on the madness, an update on mad food and delightful scientific activities with fruit and veg. Ah! Origami Croutons!

Of course my favourite is the specialist cake designer ShiminLi and her Insane Cakes that could only spring from a glazed imagination, in designer shoes...

Last but not least- How to make huge pink sugar roses look edible.. Gum Paste Bows

A Sense of Humour, A sense of taste

2009-02-04T21:32:00.010+01:00

Food is becoming a more important commodity in the marketplace every day, but what kind of food matters more.
I like to ecologise but with melancholy and alarm I oversee the noxious and bizarre sythesized comestibles I have encountered and consumed, when it was fun at the time.
Who can forget Space Dust, and the story of the boy who exploded after combining his fix with a cola drink!
Candy Cigarettes of course, and jelly worms, and prawns made of strange pink substance not like meringue.
However, the savouries are far more disturbing- Ok margarine is an invention that seems to have ben justified like NYLON, and in the same age group, but PopTarts?
And Crabsticks?

I know an Italian's pride that is wounded by Alphabetti Spaghetti, and the spanish are horrified by baked beans, made with sugar??! In cans???
It gives the supermarket experience that extra exitment and distracts from the concrete pillars - or is it just the lighting...
Let's play TROLLEY DASH I've got my eye on the creme eggs...

Happy Happy Happy Joy Joy Joy

2009-02-01T14:44:00.004+01:00

Well a new start looms as I prepare my latest venture, QuitaPelusa Inc.
Based on the services model, and with new machinery ready for maximum oiled performance and lean budgeting overheads, I will enter the Retiro Park in Madrid for the first day of a new, social, exiting and rewarding field.
Roughly translated the Quita Pelusa is a small service that can be retailed at as low as 1 euro a session, providing an efficient finishing within a half hour.
Lucrative and especially as we reach the fresh days of Spring with light and energy surging we all head for a stroll on Sunday and find - Horrors - that the sweater of all Winter has balled up a fright and we must remedy the situation ToutSuite...
Hence I chose Madrid, the light there unequalled showing any flaw outstandingly!
A small footprint at the entrance, exit or perhaps near the lake, in sight of events in the Crystal Salon and away we go!
I advise a few previously prepared garments/socks and a couple of machines and a good supply of batteries. Voila!
I shall now indulge in creating a Lucian Freud or inded a Jackson Pollock at my leisure...

Well, Well, well; 3 holes in the ground...

2009-01-07T19:03:00.005+01:00

Its a new YEar, and it doesn't feel better yet.
The good news: Someone called and hadn't paid me!!!
The bad news: That's all till Feb, so far..but there's three weeks till Feb and anything can happen.
Apparently Uranus is opposite Saturn and that juxtaposition did not fill me with immediate joy - What does it mean? Is there any significance in - no, don't even think about it.
Sudden change could be on the cards, and it could mean Santa is still hiding and will keep a good watch out THIS year...
I am backing Ecology and Ecotourism and Education, all the Es without the Freeze (death, y'know, like OD)
Chow fer now, let's get back to living with our own little vegetable garden, and we can check out the hole in the ground problem later..