A graffiti artist has vandalised a Banksy image in Hendon in an apparent show of disdain towards his fellow spray painter.
Less than a month after the painting appeared on the wall of a substation at the junction with the A1 and the A406 North Circular Road, it has been defaced by another urban artist.
Before being targeted, the image depicted a boy seemingly marking the wall of a power station with the words “Last Graffiti Before Motorway”.
But over the weekend someone painted the word “PRICE-LESS” across the wall, with one national paper yesterday running pictures of him in action.
Members of the Banksy Forum website, which follows the artist’s work, have condemned the art attack, with one member saying the perpetrator is “jealous, and bitter”.
Another man, who calls himself buddings, responded to suggestions Banksy only carries out work for financial gain, by writing: “I don’t get this at all.
“Banksy wasn’t paid to do it, he wasn’t hoping someone would sell the wall. Banksy could have done the same image on a canvas from the comfort of his studio for a massive amount of money but instead goes out in the middle of the night and gives London a little gift.”
He added: “How the hell does this remind Banksy of what urban art is all about?“
Forum member happy shopper said: “Obviously done by an idiot with no style at all.”
I think I am going to hook one of these Canon Cameras. With the Down Economy, there are just too many girls willing to take their clothes off these days.
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There is an old adage on Wall Street that no one rings a bell at major market tops or bottoms. That may be true in normal times, but as many have noticed, we are now completely through the looking glass. In this parallel reality, Ben Bernanke has just rung the loudest bell ever heard in the foreign exchange and government debt markets. Investors who ignore the clanging do so at their own peril. The bell’s reverberations will be felt by everyday Americans, whose lives are about to change in ways few can imagine. While nearly every facet of America’s economy has been devastated over the past six months, our national currency has thus far skipped through the carnage with nary a scratch. Ironically, the U.S dollar has been the beneficiary of the global economic crises which the United States set in motion. As a result, our economy has thus far been spared the full force of the storm.
This week the Federal Reserve finally made clear what should have been obvious for some time – the only weapon that the Fed is willing to use to fight the economic downturn is a continuing torrent of pure, undiluted, inflation. The announcement should be seen as a game changer that redirects the fury of the financial storm directly onto our shores.
In its statement, the Fed announced its intention to purchase an additional $1 trillion worth of U.S. treasury and agency debt. The purchases, of course, will be made with money created out of thin air through the Fed’s printing presses. Few can doubt that they will persist with these operations until the economy returns to its former health. Whether or not this can ever be accomplished with a printing press alone has never been seriously considered. Bernanke himself admits that we are in uncharted waters, with no map or compass, just simply a hope that more dollars are the answer.
Rather than solving our problems, more inflation will only add to the crisis. Falling asset prices, the credit crunch, declining consumer spending, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and layoffs are all part of the necessary rebalancing of our economy. These wrenching movements, however painful, are the market’s attempts to resolve the serious problems at the root of our bubble economy. Attempts to literally paper-over these problems will lead to disaster.
As a bartender and trainer at a national restaurant chain, Rebecca Brown earned a couple thousand dollars in a really good week. Now, as a dancer at Chicago’s Pink Monkey gentleman’s club, she makes almost that much in one good night.
The tough job market is prompting a growing number of women across the country to dance in strip clubs, appear in adult movies or pose for magazines like Hustler.
Employers across the adult entertainment industry say they’re seeing an influx of applications from women who, like Brown, are attracted by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash. Many have college degrees and held white-collar jobs until the economy soured.
“You’re seeing a lot more beautiful women who are eligible to do so many other things,” said Gus Poulos, general manager of New York City’s Sin City gentleman’s club. He said he got 85 responses in just one day to a recent job posting on Craigslist.
The transition to the nightclub scene isn’t always a smooth one — from learning to dance in five-inch heels to dealing with the jeers of some customers.
Some performers said they were initially so nervous that only alcohol could calm their nerves.
“It is like giving a speech, but instead of imagining everyone naked, you’re the one who’s naked,” Brown, 29, said.
Eva Stone, a 25-year-old dancer at the Pink Monkey, said dealing with occasional verbal abuse from patrons requires “a thick skin.”
Makers of adult films cautioned that women shouldn’t rush into the decision to make adult movies without considering the effect on their lives.
“Once you decide to be an adult actress, it impacts your relationship with everyone,” said Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of adult film giant Vivid Entertainment Group. “Once you make an adult film, it never goes away.”
The women at the Pink Monkey say dancing at a strip club might not have been their first career choice, but they entered the business with their eyes wide open. The job gives them more control and flexibility than sitting in a cubicle, and “it’s easy, it’s fun and all of us girls … look out for each other,” Brown said.
In this economy, “desperate measures are becoming far more acceptable,” said Jonathan Alpert, a New York City-based psychotherapist who’s had clients who worked in adult entertainment.
Many people have asked me many times to write something on How to Pick up Girls in a Grocery Store. Truth be told, the reason I haven’t written about How to Pick up Girls in a Grocery Store, is I don’t go “Grocery Shopping” in a traditional sense very often.
For Prosciutto Di San Daniele, I go to my little Italian market. For Fresh Uni, I go direct to local divers. For Steaks, I got juice at the local butchers. For Household Supplies, I order them online (do you really need to pick up out your own box of trashbags?). Pastrami and Rye, I get shipped in from New York. Stone Crabs shipped in from Florida. Jamón Serrano from Spain. Etc.
Here is the article (my comments in Bold and parenthesis):
There’s a reason they created fancy grocery stores like Whole Foods: to bring together good-looking people of the opposite sex in a cozy, appetite-stimulating environment. So if you’re not picking up women along with your fruits and veggies, you’re missing out on a prime opportunity to snag a girlfriend (or just a booty-call) by Christmas. Some things to keep in mind:
(I have been to Whole Foods before, and I would hardly call it a great place for model scouting. Generally speaking, most people in there seem pretty un-healthy. Kind of pulls away the curtain from the whole “organic” thing doesn’t it? Either way, I don’t mind Whole Foods for their food, but saying it’s a stronghold for beautiful people is stretching it. Maybe they should have a doorman and a list?)
Best time to try: Thursday or Friday between 7 and 9 p.m.—when taken chicks are usually out with their boyfriends.
(This might be good advice, but Thursday or Friday between 7 and 9 p.m I am usually having a Vampire Nap, getting ready to go out (in places with later nightlife ie Miami Beach) or just getting to the restaurant on the West Coast.)
Who to look for: A babe who’s still dressed up in her work clothes, and therefore feeling more confident and flirty than she would in sweats.
What to say: Ask for her help—women can’t resist a man in supermarket distress. You heard spaghetti squash was a good sub for pasta—does she know what it looks like? Which hot chocolate do kids like best? (Because, you know, you like to keep some around for your nephew.)
(Yeah, yeah, questions are always good. I think a better place to swoop girls would be the Vino Aisle. At least then you know she boozes. And you can spit some Vino Game too.)
How to get her number: Don’t. Instead, give her your card and say something adorably self-effacing, such as, “Hey, if you ever feel like doing some charity work and helping a guy learn how to cook, give me a call.”
(Not sure if I agree with this. The whole “Ill give you my card” Game is pretty flimsy at best. I think you need to transition from the Vino to share something in common, then make a plan. Escalate quickly. Its a preferable situation for her to not give you her number, than to think about if some girl from Whole Foods is going to call you all day, like some chimp. Plus, I don’t want just any girl knowing all my info on my card. Unless of course you use some “dummy” card.)
Advanced move: If you live in a relatively small city or town, chat her up the first time you see her, but wait until you bump into her again to give her your number. Of course, that means staking out the store. But, hey, that’s why they added chairs and tables near the coffee bar.
(Everybody these days seems like they are throwing out “Advanced moves”. First of all, there is nothing Advanced about living in a “relatively small city or town”. Its idiotic. (An exception could be made if you are living in a small Basque beach town during summer). Either way, I never go “staking out the store” unless its to pull a heist.)
