1. It’s Not Normal

2. Till Death Do Us Part
The idea of two people liking each other so much that they would choose to spend the rest of their life together is a one in a million occurrence. But even then, why do you need to sign a legally binding document? Surely if you both genuinely did feel that way you’d just stay together anyway. And on top of that, you also need to swear that the only way you’ll break up is if you die. What type of crazy contract demands that you agree to die as a part of it?

3. The Wedding
Weddings are up there with phoning the bank on my list of most hated things. You’re forced to go to some lame school disco at some hotel in the middle of nowhere, full of people you don’t know. On top of that, if you’re the unlucky mug hosting this thing, you’re expected to cough up thousands of pounds on things like balloons, cake and some mobile DJ. Hell no!

4. Divorce
Inevitably, once you’ve ‘run that ass into the ground’, it often ends in divorce. I’d say more then half of people I know have parents who are divorced. It’s pretty normal. And then life goes on. That’s once you’ve handed over half of everything own. So why get married and make your life difficult in the first place?

5. You Dont Really Want To
Marriage is a religious act. So if you’re not religious why would you want to get married? I’ll tell you why, because society dictates that it’s what you do. Another set of bullshit rules that we all just supposed to go along with, cause that’s what everyone else does. Well you know what, that Ol Boy A-Wizzle doesn’t, and neither does this little mo f*ucka..

New York, New York, it’s a hell of a town. My spiritual home, birth place of Hip Hop and House music, as well as untold bands, artists and some of the greatest movies ever. So where better to wind up the year that was 2011.

After a smooth 5 hour flight (during which I enjoyed the surprisingly good Another Earth), we touched down in JFK and jumped in a yellow cab headed for Midtown Manhattan. If you ever go to NYC, make sure you arrive in a yellow cab because not only do these guys have the best tips and advice, but also the view of Manhattan as you come over the hill in Queens will blow you away.

Once checked in at our Hotel, right across from Grand Central Station, we hit the street. Right away you can feel the electricity in the air. It’s like stepping into a movie. The streets are buzzing all night long, with really good street food on every corner. It’s also one of the safest cities I’ve ever been to with loads of friendly NY cops around, and nobody trying to run you over like in Europe.

Manhattan is laid out on a grid with all the avenues running the length of the island, and the streets running across (even numbers go east, and odd go west), so it’s never hard to find your way around. But to really get orientated you’ve gotta climb one of it’s famous skyscrapers like the Empire State Building, which has massive que’s (that you can pay to skip) and gives good all-round views, especially of downtown, and has a cool audio tour by some Italian guy called Tony. But the view from the Rockerfeller Centre at sunset kills it, as you’ll see the whole city, central park and the Empire State. It’s also home to the NBC studios where they make all the good American sitcoms, and where we bumped into actor Phil Davis who plays Mr Gilbert in the Inbetweeners. You also get an amazing view of downtown at night if you cross the Brookyln Bridge into Manhattan, or even better if you take free ride on the Staten Island Ferry.

Other sights to see include the High Line in Chelsea’s meat packing district, where disused elevated freight lines have been transformed into an urban park. Also the 9/11 memorial park, where the footprints of the towers are marked by two huge waterfall lined reflection pools. Around the edge of each pool The 2,983 names of the victims are inscribed into bronze parapets, grouped by company, flight, fire crews and so on. There isn’t a lot about 9/11 that hasn’t already been said, but they’ve done a good job in creating a very respectful long lasting memorial.

I said before, New York is like stepping onto a movie set, after all it has been used as the location for countless films. So whilst in town we took a trip down to Ghostbusters HQ on North Moore St in Tribecca as well as the Spook Central apartment building on 55 Central Park West. By there is another cool location, the Greyshot Arch in Central Park where they filmed the final scene of Cloverfield. Back in Chelsea we also saw the exterior of the Friends apartment building. Also the bridge outside our hotel was where Will Smith gets hung up and his dog gets bit in I Am Legend.

One of my favourite locations was Toms Restaurant on the upper west side, which was the diner from Seinfeld. They also serve by far the best breakfast in the city. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, syrup and all the coffee you want. New York is a great city for food. Unlike London, if a place looks good, quite often it is. Especially if it’s got a crowd. Grimaldi’s Pizzeria under the Brooklyn Bridge serves huge New York pizzas. The michelin star awarded Public over in Soho is also damn good, offering high concept food, over in a really happenin side of town. But by far the best place to eat in all of New York is Katz Deli in west village. It’s where Harry Met Sally and it well exceeds the hype. It’s a really informal family set up with a vast menu and the best pastrami sandwich ever!

New Years Eve in New York is the pole opposite of anything I’ve ever experienced in England. The streets buzz like a carnival, with everyone revelling, being all festive and fun. It’s amazing. I didn’t make it all the way into Times Square, cause the crowds are huge and some people stand there for up to 12 hours! But I did have a view of both Times Square and the fireworks in Central Park from 7th Avenue when the ball dropped.

So there it is, New York. I can say without a shadow of a doubt, it is the greatest city on earth. I could literally go on all day about how and why, but I’m afraid I think I’m gonna be a little too busy sorting out a green card. All I’ll say is, make sure you get to experience New York once in your life, you wont regret it.

And on that note, these are my top music releases of 2011 if you’re interested (in no particular order),

Hudson Mohawke ‘Satin Panthers EP’
Hud Mo is one of the most successful Beats producers in the world, with a solid gold back catalogue and sell out shows worldwide (we caught his show in October at XOYO) The first I heard of his ‘Satin Panthers EP’ was when Spencer Numbers dropped ‘All Your Love’ at the Sonar Festival, Barcelona in June. Also caught Alexander Nut dropping ‘Thunder Bay’ at Soundwave, Croatia in July. Every track on it rocks my world.

Star Slinger ‘Marriage (Remix)’
First I heard of Star Slinger was when Huw Stephens played ‘Mornin‘ on Radio 1 last winter. I later met him when he played Sunday Best, and also caught his sets at Fabric and the Camden Crawl. Dude has knocked out too many dope remixes to count, including tracks by artists such as Cocteau Twins, Niki Minaj and Pony Pony Run Run, as well as his work on the amazing Air France single ‘It Feels Good To Be Around You‘. Dude announces himself as a ‘glorified DJ’ and that’s the charm of his music. It’s got a really raw old skool Hip Hop ‘cut & mix’ feel, but at the same time working with very current material in a really current style.  Most importantly his stuff just makes you feel good and wanna party.

Beastie Boys ‘Make Some Noise’
The ‘Fight For Your Right (Revisited)’ video was the last major music video events, since Michael Jackson was doing his thing, and is easily one of the best music videos I have ever seen. Videos aside, the Beastie Boys have to be one of the most consistent acts of all time. It’s like every few years they re-emerge with a track as hot as the last. ‘Make Some Noise’ certainly doesn’t buck the trend, and is also a front runner for bass of the year. Baa-ba-ba-ba-baaa!

Gil Scott-Heron ‘I’ll Take Care Of You’ (Jamie XX Remix)
Love this track. Heard it all summer long, but in particular it reminds me of when Jamie XX played at the Primavera Fesitval in Barcelona.

Roots Manuva ‘Watch Me Dance’
Over looking that one time we witnessed Rodney flip out on Ryan Air and got himself arrested on the way back from Soundwave Croatia, the dude has put together a great album this year, the highlight being this little number.

So there it is, 2011. And despite the fact that I complain about pretty much every piece of shit record folk would try and feed you in day to day life, and my growing hatred for your standard British night out, it’s been a great year for tunes and partyin. Good to see a bit of change around at the top, and I’m feeling pretty good about 2012. And if I get a couple spare minutes I might even pull my thumb out of my ass and finish off a few joints.

Walkers (Wildey Remix) by Wildey

I’ve been to Paris a few times and as I’ve said before, the place is the cool. You’ve got some of the worlds most famous landmarks right there, and Parisians are just straight up cool. I’ve always known Paris to be a place renowned for it’s music scene, but you gotta see how sharp these people dress. Even the tramps and thugs got some swagger. Not at all egotistical flaunting, just a really solid sense of style from the ground up.

Shopping in Paris is crazy! You’ve got pretty much all the big fashion houses right on, or just off the Champs Élysées. And some of the price tags would make your eyes water. Straight up, I firmly believe that Louis Vuitton put the decimal point in the wrong place by mistake, and just decided to go with it. I’m talking €150 for a keyring. That said, the quality of the clothes there is off the scale.

Paris is also famous for it’s art, so whilst in town we decided to check out some galleries. First up was the Pompidou Centre, famous for it’s inside out design, and very cool modern art. Through college and uni I’ve studied artists like Dali, Duchamp and Bacon, and when you see these works in the flesh, it’s like meeting one of your hero’s face to face. Biggest highlight for me Francis Bacon’s work, as his distorted fleshy art style was a major influence on Masahiro Ito‘s designs for Silent Hill. The Edvard Munch exhibition was also really good, showing how the artist would continually repaint new interpretations of the same work. Something seen all the time in music, and certainly in the reproductions that Banksy & Brainwash knock out. I love that approach of experimenting with an idea, then running with it to see where it goes.

As we went back in time at the Musée d’Orsay, you could clearly see the origins of this approach in the early pointillism of Van Gogh and the impressionist work of Monet. Winding the clock back even further to the classical art of the Louvre, you arrive at a point long before photography where art seems primarily focused with direct representation rather than interpretation. There are a huge number works focusing on Christianity. Artists back in the day seemed very keen to aligned themselves with the the church which was the power house of its time, just as modern artists are aligned with a design & production orientated society. But it is cool to sit and stare at these massive paintings, and to consider how each person captured in the scene, each played a part in that moment in time.

The thing that makes Paris special is how its cultural history of art, fashion and music connects with modern times. You can spend all day checking out art by a bunch of French artists, then at night you can go down down and party at the same place they did, the Moulin Rouge, where we caught a bangin set by Dorian Concept (check out his track Trilingual Dance Sexperience, the video is awesome!).

So there it is, Paris, I absolutely love the place. And if you’re ever in town, and want to know where the party’s at, holla at my good friend, promoter & DJ Nick V and tell him that Ol’ Boy A-Wizzle sent ya. Bon!

I just got back from my first taste of Christmas shopping in Bath.  Good lord!  See, I love Christmas!  Why?  Christmas Presents!!!  When I was a kid there was nothing better than circling the coolest toys in the Argos catalogue and hoping the ol’ jolly home invader deemed you worthy.  I was just like the kid in the John Lewis advert, except I genuinely did just want to get stuff and still do.  As a matter of fact I still help out my folks by sending them my Amazon Wish List.  But as much as I like to give presents, I can’t be doing with the the ordeal you’ve got to go through when shopping for them.

First up you’ve got to navigate your way through an army of ditherers.  Drives me nuts.  Folk who refuse to embrace the benefits of directional motion, chosing instead to shamble about like a bunch of zombie idiots.  And as if that aint bad enough, why not jam all the roads on your way there, bring your dog and a pram the size of a rickshaw.  And then half the time they don’t even buy nothin!  They just look at a bunch of stuff and then go home.  It aint right I tells ya!

Even when you do finally get up in a store, the nightmare doesn’t end.  You’ve then got to negotiate a maze of crowded, over stocked isles with the obligatory pram obstacle, and all at sauna temperatures.  I mean what’s all that about.  Shop keeper knows it’s cold out.  They know you’re going to be in the store with your jacket on.  So how about cranking the heating down a few hundred degrees?

Aside from all that, and having to listen to f***king Slade every year, it aint so bad I guess.  As you’ll know I am a big hotdog fan, and them hotdog’s at the Christmas market are damn good.  I like that mulled wine too! Mmmmn!

Either way, I reckon I’ll be doing the rest of my shopping online this year.  And if anyone at work recieves a certain kind of ‘toy’ for secret santa, here’s a little clue as to who may have bought it…

It often startles folk when they learn that I am not in my teens, but am in fact in my mid-twenties.  So I get asked all the time, what is my secret to looking so fresh.  So right here and now, I’m gonna share with you my top anti-ageing tips.

1. Lifestyle

First of all, if you’re spending all your time smoking, necking booze and shooting up on speed balls or whatever, then you’re going to get old very fast.  The more toxins you force your body to process, like any machine, the more likely it is to break down.  To avoid this, never smoke or take drugs, drink in moderation, mixed with water or juice, and don’t intake large amount of alcohol all at once (i.e shots).  Give yourself loads of time to sleep and recharge.  Also remember to sleep on your back and not on your face, as that also will give you lines and wrinkles.

2. Diet

The more toxins and free radicals in your system, the faster you age.  So drink loads of mineral water to flush the bad stuff out and the good stuff in.  Eat loads of high anti-oxidant fruits & vegetables.  As a rule try to eat in colour.  If it keeps it’s colour (e.g berries) or is a dark green colour, then it’s going to be full of antioxidants.  Also avoid contact with plastics (i.e plastic food packaging & synthetic fibres) as these toxic chemicals are absorbed into your body.

3. Supplementation

It can be challenging to get all the vitamins & minerals you need from your food, so supplementation is a good idea.  I take:

- Muti Vitamins & Essential Minerals: Ensures you get everything you need.
- Anti-Oxidants (Coenzyme Q10 and Pycnogenol): Fights free radicals and oxidative stress from cardio vascular exercise
- Krill Oil: High in Omega 3, good for joints, skin and brain cell development.  Also because Krill are small, their oil contains less toxic heavy metals than fish oil.

4. Fitness

Pilates, core and interval cardio are great, but it is essential to take a powerful anti-oxidant (e.g Coensyme Q10) to fight the ageing effects from pumping all that oxygen through your system.  Also generally avoid endurance cardio (i.e marathons).

5. Skin Care

Personally I have an extensive skincare regime. In the morning if my eyes are a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack whilst doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply a herb mint facial mask, which I leave on for 10 minutes whilst I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an aftershave with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look old. Then moisturiser, then an anti-ageing eye balm, followed by a final moisturising protective lotion.

If you haven’t got time for that, the essentials are…

- Exfoliate, cleanse, tone & moisturise daily
- Never ever ever over expose your skin to bright sun light.  Always use an adequate level of SPF protection, and as soon as you see a reaction (pinking) then block & cover.

So there it is. And next time you hitting a hot jump-off spot, and security wants to see your identification, you know who to thank.  (That Ol’ Boy A-Wizzle, that’s who!)