Golden San Francisco

Situated along the shore of a large bay and sheltered behind the California coastal mountains, the city of San Francisco is to be found. The cultural and financial centre of the bay area is renown for its steep streets and panoramic views of San Francisco bay and the surrounding California Mountains. It has the second highest density population of any major city in the USA.

San Francisco is also known as the centre of high technology encompassing Silicon Valley. Some may also be surprised to know that it is considered to be a bird watchers paradise with hundreds of species going there every year.

Built by “forty niners” during the gold rush San Francisco has been described as one of the most enchanting cities in the world. Spanning the narrow inlet that extends fro the Pacific into the bay is the famous “Golden Gate” bridge, which links Oakland and Berkley with the main city. Known for its warm summers and chilly winters the San Francisco weather is pleasant throughout the year. Warm winds off the Pacific Ocean keep it from being too hot and prevent freezing ensuring that it never experiences extreme weather through either winter of summer.

Back in February 1887 it experienced four inches of snowfall, one of the exceptions to the rule. Snow is rare and although occurred again in 1976 it hasn’t been repeated. On occasion it does experience heavy rain and storms that come up from the Gulf of Mexico and the central Americas.

San Francisco culture now know to be wide and diverse all aspects from its famous local artists which can be found in a small village on the bay shore in Sausalito to Five star dining. A rich theatre scene along with its worldwide renowned gay culture.

Visitor can also explore the surrounding areas of marine headland the Napa valley vineyards and Berkley. With attractions for all ages many visitors view the sights with a tour. These can be guided walking, cruises or even flying tours by seaplane or helicopter.

San Francisco’s multi faceted areas of interest are in all too many to mention in an article, but hopefully is enough to encourage you to visit this wonderful city.

Police could get McDiesel

What is McDiesel? - A low polluting, environmentally safe bio fuel, which can be used in most diesel internal combustion and turbine engines. It is made from a mixture of diesel and used cooking oil from McDonald's restaurants. It reduces engine emissions is relatively safe and can be produced easily.

No wonder that the Police in Manila are looking at McDiesel as a green alternative to power their patrol cars. At first glance this would appear to be a diversion from McDonalds core business. They are of course known throughout the world, as a chain of restaurants and franchise of restaurants producing healthy and affordable fast food.

However, in what is becoming a ‘Green’ conscious world, it is good to see that the Manila police force has already converted the first patrol car to diesel/cooking oil mixture (McDeisel) and that it is already on trial. The Philippine government is studying the viability of its use and may convert more vehicles in time.

Bio diesel as its known is not new and can be mixed with petroleum fuel normally made from fresh or waste vegetable oils (triglycerides) that constitute a renewable energy source.

For McDonalds to get involved is a sign that we must all become more aware of renewable energy and it’s potential sources, who knows one day we could go to McDonalds not only to eat but also to fill up our tanks.

ThreadBanger arrives…

The new word in DIY, crochet, knitting, felt etc… is Threadbanger. A multi-media network of people, who want to share their passion for crafting with each other. Threadbanger’s aim is to help you create and find your own style. Through their newsletter, episodes, forum and blog they try to provide something for everyone. Their goal is to bring people together who share their ideas and advice with others on all craft subjects including Knitting, fashion, DIY, re-cycling and re-fashioning. If you wish to get involved then submit your own unique creations to their website.

Threadbanger will also provide you with tips, tricks and advice on many craft aspects. If interesting enough they will probably cover it in one of their episodes. Some weeks are dedicated to specific subjects. Like the week that was dedicated to T-Shirts madness. Rising through the ratings Threadbanger has over 200,00 subscribers and is continuing to grow. The range of subjects covered in some of the interviews range from Egyptology to sublime stitching.

A great site for DIY costumes and eco DIY makeup, threadbangers worldwide are helping this website to become one of the most popular. Turning up at local craft fairs and supporting budding artists the fans really support their efforts. Like some of the other social web sites, Threadbanger is one of the first to be truly dedicated to a niche web show.

Is this a peek into the future? Where perhaps every niche is covered by a specifically tailored combination of show, web presence, newsletters, blog and forums. The new term Threadheads aptly describes the fans and subscribers who with diy and craft can fashion and refashion anything with a pair of scissors and a sewing machine. So don’t throw your old clothes away become a threadhead go to Threadbanger and see what you can do with some advice.

24 series 8 starts

One of televisions most addictive shows, Kiefer Sutherland’s portrayal as Jack Bauer in the TV action/drama ‘24’ has kept audiences stuck to their seats for the last seven series. The programme, which has been running since 2001 has attracted nominations for no less than 58 Emmy Awards.

Recently voted by a significant number of Film and TV fans as one of the top and most compelling shows ever. If you have never watched it, maybe you have been missing some of the best television yo are lickly to see. The story follows the life and actions of the agent Jack Bauer through episodes, which segment 24 hours in the semblance of real time. Throughout the series we have followed agent Jack who works for the US government opposing fictitious terrorist threats. The series has had a number unexpected twist within plots and contains complex interwoven stories presented in fast paced format against the ever-decreasing ticking clock of 24 hours.

Allowing tragic events to occur for the sake of the common good has been a recurring theme thought out the whole series. The employment of torture or threats of torture to extract information from the ficticious criminals and terrorists has been sited as one of the reasons for its immense poularity. As season 8 starts to broadcast this month. rumours are already abound that Fox is negotiating Season 9, news that fans of the programme will be pleased to hear.

After conclusion of the the current series (series 8) 24 will become the longest running action/drama/espionage series in television history. All we can say is Agent Jack keep doing what you do best, we look forward to season 9.

Book of Eli

Denzel Washington plays the lead role in this well acted movie. With strong Christian and biblical references it is entertaining, absorbing and gratifying. For those who like to see a bit of blood and guts there is some brutal violence and some crude references. Directed by Albert and Allen Hughes and written by Gary white, the Book of Eli tells the story of a man on a quest traversing the wasteland of America in a post-apocalyptic future. Set thirty years after the final war, which wipes out most of planet earth leaving it in ruins the story is not so much about the man as the protection of the book. There are dark powers also searching for the book that understand the power of its words.


Eli (Densely Washington) reads the book on a daily basis trusting the voice he hears as a result, the voice tells him to head to the west and safety for both him and the book. Towards the end of his travels he meets Solara a young girl (Mila Kunis) who soon becomes enamoured with Eli and intrigued by his faith. The story continues with her desire for hope and the knowledge of the book that he carries. The book contains the knowledge to restore the civilisation to a dying planet, but could also be the reason why it is in this ruined state.


The film is the captivating story of mans crusade to bring back some form of order to chaos, by bringing hope and survival our hero has a long trek ahead to bring a sacred book to a safe location. The book of Eli is supposedly one of the missing books of the bible discovered at the same time as the Dead Sea scrolls. Either way Denzel Washington’s acting and the contents of the trailer make this a must see film.

Ricky Gervais to host Golden Globes

On the 17th January comedian Ricky Gervais will host the Golden Globe awards. One of the funniest men in the world he recently told Reuters, "everyone is sitting around and drinking. I'm going to be drunk, and I’m not going to rehearse. So, it's the perfect gig for me,”

Coming to notice as co-writer and star of The Office originally screened on the UK BBC 2 channel he received worldwide acclaim for his portrayal of David Brent in that series. Following that success he then continued with ‘Extras’ portraying Andy Millman. He has since starred in a number of films, and in 2004 won two golden Globe awards and an Emmy for best comedy actor. It seems only fitting that this quintessential English actor comedian should now be asked to host this award ceremony.

Known for his excellent stand up comedy routines the British public is pleased to learn that he will bring his latest stand-up show to London in April of this year.