A conspiracy is afoot. Literary London is listless and lethargic these next few days – after back-to-back Burns Night and Australia Day outings this weekend, we can relate – yet there’s an explosion of midweek activity, leaving us paranoid that the powers-that-be are plotting to drive us crazy, leave us whimpering and indecisive, cursing our inability to be in two places at once. Yes, between this and the stock market madness, we’re a short......

Every day this month the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won't already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we'll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings... It seems that everywhere we’ve gone recently, we’ve had the opportunity to buy environment-friendly souvenir and decorative tote bags. Gone are the days when......

2007 is quickly slipping away, and with it the few remaining book events for the year. As most of us are busy buying books for the bibliophiles on our shopping lists rather than reading or going to signings this week, we thought we’d present you with an alternative Book Grocer today. For those of you already finished with your shopping (you overachievers you), the traditional listings follow. If, like Londonist, you go for the......

The Hangar Lane Gyratory has been given the dubious honour of being named Britain’s scariest road junction. In fact London claims 3 of the 4 top adrenalin-fuelled traffic experiences in the country, with Marble Arch and the Elephant and Castle coming 3rd and 4th on the list. Londonist begs to differ, slightly. Hangar Lane is, admittedly, a teensy bit petrifying on the first or even second encounter, but once you understand what it is there......

Langdon Park DLR station opened yesterday, to initially no fanfare, until Ken turned up with some free Oyster cards. Diamond Geezer has blogged in heartfelt detail about the "shiny alien mothership" lighting up a neglected, marginalised area. Langdon Park now easily links up with Canary Wharf and Stratford, where a second platform was also officially opened yesterday, possibly anticipating the immediate influx of people escaping Tower Hamlets for a day. TFL are consulting about......

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryan Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,......

With a month of holiday shopping, parties and general merriment in front of you, you’ll probably be in need of a few rest days. Here are a few things to keep you entertained if you fancy a night in. On TV, Londonist likes: Monday, 3 December How London Was Built (ITV2, 20:00-20:30) Who knew there were giant “seemingly unsupported” staircases in the Bank of England? Adam Hart-Davies shows us this very impressive sounding staircase......

Ahoy hoy, book grocery shoppers! The metaphorical book grocer aisles are stocked high with choice meats and sweet confections this December, so whatever your tastes, fill up your shopping cart and gorge yourself on this week’s selection of literary events – they’ll give you much less of a stomach-ache than mince pies. Monday: Revisit Sylvia Plath by attending the aptly named Sylvia Plath Revisited, at the ICA (7pm in the Nash Room £10 nonmembers/£9......

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits......

A special two-for-one offer on gig reviews this time. Londonist saw the slightly odd combination of Gorgoroth (old-school Norwegian black metal) at Scala on Wednesday, and former System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian the next night at the Astoria. Musically they were worlds apart, despite a shared taste for heavy riffs.Gorgoroth are not a band for the faint-hearted. Once arrested in Poland for a "blasphemous" stage show that included naked women on crucifixes and......

In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and......

After an extended holiday, Saturday Cinema Summary is back, courtesy of James Bryan... This week Ridley Scott makes a bid to join the hallowed greats of gangster films with American Gangster, the naked pixelated form of Angelina Jolie drips in gold in Beowulf and Brick Lane gets the film treatment. American Gangster seems to have all the ingredients of an instant classic, even the title smacks of definitive greatness. Throw in the setting of......

This weekend column is brought to you by the founders of Niceties Tokens, Liz and Pete of Team Nice. 19. Spinning Argh! No wonder there is apathy. At the time of writing this, a general election is still undecided, although if Gordon Brown goes ahead with it, it could lead to a really exciting time. They are going to really be schmoozing us lot, as our demographic are least likely to vote. In preparation......

It may not be the strangest sight that Nelson has descried from his perch this year, but the Lomography London Lomowall in Trafalgar Square would no doubt raise an inquisitive eyebrow from the good Admiral. Part of this year's London Design Festival, the Lomowall consists of hundreds of thousands of photos, taken with the cult Lomo camera, stuck onto plasterboard and arranged in a 350 metre long maze across the Square. The snaps have......

London, a melting pot of immigrant cultures and strange beasts. Amongst other things of course. But none of this is anything new. Way back in October 1958 a bear arrived on a lifeboat from Darkest Peru with a suitcase full of marmalade sandwiches. Luckily he was discovered on the concourse of Paddington station by the remarkable Brown family (possibly related to our glorious leader, we're not sure) and went to live with them at......

What are you up to this weekend? If the answer isn’t “I’m going poking round lots of quirky London buildings, enjoying Open House for all I‘m worth and whooping with delight at all the random facts I glean” then we’ve just lost a little respect for you. (Unless, of course, you’re going to a funeral, or setting off on holiday or something like that. We really don’t mean to suggest that you’re an uncultured......

Do you want to go and see some Peregrine Falcons? We were enjoying ourselves today on a leisurely stroll along the South Bank (home of London's finest avian encounters) when we stumbled upon the RSPB outside the Tate Modern. They had four telescopes pointed up at the central tower. To the naked eye nothing could be seen but with the help of the lens the beautiful creatures were a delight to watch. The birds......

If, like us, you’re exhausted and skint after the bank holiday weekend and just not up to taking advantage of all the fun things London has to offer this week, here are a few things you can watch and listen to from the comfort of your front room. On TV, Londonist likes: Thursday, 30 August Robbie Coltrane: B-Road Britain (ITV1, 21:00-22:00) Robbie Coltrane takes to the roads and travels from London to Glasgow using......

Remember Derek? Our very own secret agent? Well he's still roaming the capital with his water pistol. He's not too happy with the pseudonym but appears to have forgiven us. And what a busy week he's had. First, there was a stakeout at an embassy. Sorry, even we don't know which one. Then he kills people and then has to do it again. Now before we go any further, let us stress to the......

It seems that half the country (and Londonist staff) is on holiday at the moment. Still, here's the best of what's on musically across the capital this week.Jazz singer-songwriter Norah Jones  is the highlight of Bank Holiday Monday night, playing with M. Ward at Hammersmith Apollo. Tickets are sold out, however be sure to check out scarlet mist and other providers. Meanwhile hardcore punk stars Bane play Underworld, with £10 tickets available either on the......

Today, a very marvellous structure opens to the public in Kensington Gardens. The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, designed by the Tate Modern sun maker, Olafur Eliasson, and award winning architect, Kjetil Thorsen has been described as a spinning top with mind-bogglingly complex geometries and a dark, spiralling ramp twisting around a shell-like auditorium, containing it within taut, twisting strings Our first impression is that is looks like a helter skelter, urban, park shark about to......

Bug bites of all kinds are annoying. We can't think that anyone actually likes the itchiness and general uncomfortableness that comes with being bitten by an insect. And we're all aware that bites received on holiday can be potentially deadly. However, we don't usually think that bug bites here at home anything to get worried about. Diseases caught through bug bites aren't just for holidays though. Peter Kemp of Teddington noticed three tick bites......

Kate Monro is working on a book about that most intimate subject: how people lose their virginity. She's interviewed Londoners old and young, male and female, gay, straight, Muslim and Roman Catholic, able and non-able bodied. And she's always on the lookout for, ahem, a new angle... Why are you so curious about how people lost their virginity? I’m nosy! No, seriously, it came to me in a light bulb moment. A friend and......

It's not too late to enjoy London's outdoor events but it really has become a case of pouncing on any bit of fun going when the sun shines and hoping the rain stays away until the music stops. We've previously brought to your attention the Watch This Space festival which has been faithfully providing free outdoor performances outside the National Theatre since the beginning of July, but were frankly a bit lukewarm about it,......

If all your mates are off on holiday and work is unbearably dull and hot then here's some home entertainment to get you through the mid-August slump. On TV, Londonist likes: Monday, 13 August Panorama (BBC1, 20:30) If you're avoiding Dawkins on Channel 4 (and we've no idea why you would but it's not about London so we're not going to make a fuss about it but it's on at 20.00 and we could......

Sometimes it feels a bit like London is our very own playground. This is never more true than when Street Wars comes to town. Grab a water pistol, don a rather cool disguise and let's play! Allow us to explain. Street Wars is a three week event/game/festival of assassination silliness that you can get involved in too. It's already taken over New York and Paris and it's about to hit London. The concept is......

If you're anything like Londonist, you're saving up to go on holiday somewhere sunny (well let's face it, it's not going to happen here any time soon). So, like us, you'll be watching the pennies this week. This means we can't go and see David Suchet at Theatre Royal Haymarket, or go and watch the new Simpsons Movie. We're very annoyed about this, so we've found some exciting free stuff to do instead: Monday:......

Whilst seemingly everyone in London is on holiday, very few new tours and gigs are being announced... However, Shed Seven have added another show to their two night Shepherds Bush stand, now playing on Friday 14th, Saturday 15th and Monday 17th December. Tickets for this new date go on sale along with new dates in Manchester, Glasgow, Oxford and Leeds go on sale at 9am this morning. Turin Brakes have announced their first UK tour......

Once you've conquered the Thames by swimming its entire length in 21 days, what's next? A nice luxurious holiday? Perhaps some time to just relax with a takeaway and something good on the telly? Not if you're Londonist's favourite swimmer Lewis Pugh. Then it's time for a nice brisk swim in the Arctic Ocean. On Sunday 15th July, Pugh is going to attempt the first long distance swim at the North Pole. And why......

Flying’s not been getting good press lately what with us all worrying about our carbon footprints and the end of the world being nigh. With summer holiday season approaching, then, and with us having quashed our environmental guilt and said, ‘Dammit, I deserve my cheap, Mediterranean jaunt in the sun’ it is rather disheartening to learn that the big boss of Heathrow has openly admitted his airport makes him cringe and we’re all in......