New Year, New Diet!

Oh god! It's the time of the year again where most of us are thinking about trimming the fat, off our food and ourselves!

Most people jump on serious fad diets, whilst others will go crazy at the gym buy getting on board some serious fitness regimes.

We're none the wiser as we're thinking about ways to counteract the Christmas excess too. We noticed GADUSA put up an experience on our site to have healthy meals made for four people.

The menu listing all the possibilities has definitely given us inspiration for healthy ways to eat as we enter the new year.

We personally think this year is all about moderation and not extremes, so we won't be cancelling out little occasional treats!

For your eyes only

Here it is, the official vid of the fish slapping. Sorry it took a while for us to get it uploaded. We kept on hitting the re-wind button to savour moment again and again and again...you get the picture.

Enjoy!

Belted!

So earlier this week our boss got slapped in the face with cold kipper as promised, it was quite an event!

That's not all we're doing to the help the Marine Conservation Society. We're also auctioning a bracelet designed by Roger Philby from Fluke Jewellery.

The bracelet is a one-off piece made from Silver, Gold and Copper. Tis the season to be to be giving so please get bidding.

Merry Xmas!

Slap our boss in the face with a Dead Fish

Jay our boss is allowing people to slap him in the Face with a dead fish! Don't worry he hasn't gone mad, it's all in the name of charity as all the proceeds will be donated to the Marine Conservation Society.

Please get involved and give us the satisfaction of watching him being belted in the face with a cold kipper!

Get bidding! Bid Bid bid!

The things Ireland is famous for?

We were thinking about all the things tourists associate with Ireland:

- Guinness
- Cheese
- Good Soda Bread
- Riverdance
- Shamrocks
- Cheese
- Leprechauns
- The Blarney Stone

As we said these are all things tourists associate with Ireland and not the locals. For people who have never been to Ireland, now more than ever is a good time to make a visit.

Why? Parts of Ireland especially Dublin are turning into very cosmopolitan and affluent hang outs for the rich, young and trendy. Dublin and other parts of Ireland now have their fair share of luxury hotels, amazing golf courses, upmarket bars, nights clubs and gourmet restaurants.

If the metropolis does not take your fancy there are always the Irish counrty retreats provide a relaxing contrast to the city.
Michelin Star Chef Oliver Dunne opened his restaurant, Bon Appetit in Malahide a year ago and it has gone down a treat with locals and tourists.

We are auctioning an exclusive VIP tasting menu at Bon Appetit if the thought of taking a trip to Ireland has taken your fancy.

Armchair Olympics and a TV Diet!

We’ve been away for a little while and this is mainly due to us staying glued to the TV and watching the Olympics at every available moment.

We’re so glad the GB team did well; we on the other hand have been playing another type of sport known as eating and drinking or at least talking about eating and drinking.

We’ve teamed up with select who are providing a walking gourmet tour of Milan where you can sample Italy’s cuisine whilst taking a tour of the city, get bidding if it takes your fancy.

The food on the tour is a distant dream in comparison to our Olympic Diet of crisps and larger!

Fight for your right to partaaay!

Any excuse to use that line, but we’ve all seen that show on MTV where "minted" children get huge parties thrown for them.

There’s nothing more entertaining than watching a real life adolescent version of Mel Rose Place. In the show we see teens tackle day-to-day world changing issues such as what to wear and what car to make celebrity style entrances in.

A UK company called iproductionz is mimicking the experience for people in the UK to buy, so now you can spend lots of money on your 16 year old's birthday and have it all filmed...even the drama’s ;-)

To support iproductionz we're auctioning two video experiences

Ben Vereen plays tribute to Sammy Davis Jr

We remember Ben Vereen playing Will Smiths biological dad in the Fresh Prince Bel Air when we were kids that and his appearance in Star Trek generations.

Trivial, novelty appearances aside Ben Vereen has played respectable roles in larger Hollywood productions and has been nominated for Emmy’s and Grammy’s.
Ben is back in London paying tribute to Sammy Davis Jr at the Shaw Theatre, its one legend paying tribute to another so we think it is worth watching.

Monounsaturated fats, get them into your diet the Italian way

I got told off and corrected the other day by a colleague. As I sat at my desk eating a burger one of the girls walked past and told me that “fatty food” would not take me far.

As a skinny guy I rebelled because everybody needs some kind of fat in their diet. I stood corrected as she told me it’s all about eating monounsaturated fats as they’re the good fats and they help reduce cholesterol and keep you slim.

All great news so I now have to eat nuts, avocados and olive oil all the time...not very exciting! No way near as tempting as my burger.

After digging a little deeper I found out Mediterranean and Italian diets are naturally rich in mono-fats as olive oil is produced in those regions and it forms a staple part of the Italian diet.

I’m now making a conscious effort to visit my local Deli more than my local McDonald’s in a bid to eat better.

Chocolate the UK’s best friend, no really it is!

For most women eating chocolate ranks right up there with shopping and sex as number one ways to pass time. For the rest of us it is our number one comfort food.

The average person in the UK consumes a whopping 11.24kg’s of chocolate per person, that’s almost 16% of the total body weight of an average sized man 70kgs. In total it equates to 30% of Europe’s total chocolate consumption.

As we’re auctioning tickets away to the chocolate valley we started looking at all the regions of Europe that are famous for producing some of the world’s finest chocolate:

- Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Paris
- Italy

Swiss chocolate is very high quality and it turns out that 53% of it is consumed within Switzerland (source wiki). Another country with high chocolate consumption, what we found interesting is the quality of chocolate consumed in both countries.

The Swiss tend to consume rich, locally produced high quality chocolate in comparison to the Brits who consume more confectionary which is higher in vegetable fat and refined sugars.

We’re not telling anybody to stop eating their fav bars from the convenience stores however next time you grabbing a bar think about the quality of the chocolate your eating. A better quality bar may contain less vegetable fats and chemicals inside it plus more of the good stuff which can be derived from chocolate, such as antioxidants.

Funny Music Videos – The slightly quirky ones are always the best

We think the way “best music video” awards are handed out should be changed. The awards seem to go to the most visually artistic videos or the ones that use most special effects.

Some of the best music videos are pure talent because they provide great entertainment value, they’re funny and slightly corny.

Snoop Dogg’s Sensual Seduction was genius because he went back to entertaining the audience with humour, the added retro chic and low light filming was an added bonus.



Out of all the videos we saw last year (some of which were filmed with multi-million dollar budgets) we found Snoop’s one to be the most memorable.

If we had the chance to make our own music video or at least direct an artist’s video, we would strip things right back down to provide pure entertainment value.

Michael Jacksons “Beat it” (1982) was and is still one of the most entertaining music videos of all time, the video highlights were real break dancing and amazing choreography.

Both Michael Jackson and Snoop Dogg’s video have gone into to music video halls of fame because they provided genuine entertainment value. We hope to see more bands and artists go back to using this formula instead of relying too heavily on special effects and technology.

September music festivals – Our round up of the best for 2008

So you haven’t had a chance to make it to any festivals this year and you’ve missed out on all the good gigs? Think Again

This year the UK will host a wopping 150 music festivals around the country therefore Glastonbury is definitely not the be all and end all.

August will accommodate the bulk of this year’s summer fun but if you’re away some place else or simply cannot get the time off work there is no need to worry as there are still some good festivals to attend in September, our pick of the favourites are as follows:

Bestival: Isle of Wight
Sugarhill: Liddington, Berkshire
Weyfest 2008: Tilford, Surrey
End of the Road Festival: Netown, Dorset
Sound Sanctuary: Kent

So there you have it...out pick of the best for music festivals in September. We hope you have fun attending them, please send us a postcard ;-)

Zorbing – love it! Who would you like to Zorb with and why?

We love Zorbing, getting hurled down a hill in a giant inflatable ball is definitely one way to get some adrenaline kicks.



Now you can do it with a couple of beautiful glamour models strapped inside the ball with you. We think this is going to take off pretty quickly, but why stop at glamour models?

We think Zorbing sould bring people together ;-) I’d personally like to have a “Zorb” with someone who has a very large afro because it would go all over the place whilst your inside that Zorb ball.

Who would you like to Zorb with and why?

We've been looking into Zorbing with a bit more detail:

History of Zorbing
Homeland of Zorbing New Zealand
DIY Zorbing - buy your own ball

Women’s Winter 2008 fashion trends

With London fashion week approaching we thought decided bounce some thoughts ask our lady friends about fashion trends for the year ahead.

Yellow and bright shades, geometric patterns, x-short shirts and fur. These are what the fashion experts are calling the latest trends for fall/winter 2008.

Also narrow waists, nipped waistcoats, bubble sleeves and wide necks are also big this fall as they have been a running theme in Jean Paul Gautier’s collection.

We asked the girls in our office what their winter wardrobe must haves were:

Cashmere/Wool Shawls

Trench Coat / Wooly Parkas / Pea Coats

Pumps

Boot-cut Jeans

Tote Bags

Turtleneck jumpers

Cardigans

Black trouser pants

If you're planning on attending we have exclusive tickets up for auction where you can sit with fashion experts Brendan Courtney and Angela Buttolph!

Putting a price on getting close to God!?

We see it all here when it comes to all things bonkers but recently we've had a submission from a guy who will pay £5000 to have a "holy experience" and get close to the Pope.

We're keeping his identity confidential but we think his chances are slightly, ahem...slim.

The man is willing to go through security screenings and any safety measures in order to meet the pope in person.

If any anybody can help him there is £5000 GBP in it for you!

Hit list of bad celebrity hairstyles! Sometimes even they get it seriously wrong!

We stumbled upon news of Katie Holmes with a new haircut, we could be slightly out of touch with the fashion/beauty world but we’re questioning how cool it actually looks?


Others on our hit list are:

· Sly Stallone who has been seen walking around with greasy long locks.

· Donald Trump, that comb-over is a serious nooo no!

· British footballer Chris Waddle

· Russell Brand – back comb over kill

· Amy Winehouse – the beehive

· Keith flint – his prodigical horns

· Kurt Russell – It’s not the eighties anymore, give up the mullet!

· Eggney Spears, we meant Britney...but you can understand how we got confused earlier last year

Well that’s our pick of the worst any more suggestions? If you’re going to go to a celebrity hair stylist don’t take example from the names above.

Is Kelly Osbourne girlfriend material? 66% said no!

Kelly has had a recent makeover for stage appearances in Chicago and movie appearances in "The Town That Boars Me".

She's had a rep for being a temperamental madame at the best of times. On top of all that she's been known to be a bit of a princess too...the average guy's idea of a nightmare girlfriend.

Now that she has sexed up her look by making herself appear more mature and demure would you date her and put up with some of that wild character?

We conducted a survey amongst the Sweemo crowd and 66.7% of people came back with a no, despite her new look and mature career moves.

Oh well if you're that interested you can bid for a chance to get close to her.