Just found these snaps. I much enjoyed my second trip to Tokyo because I was a little bit more prepared for the food situation. And I took my Canon S80.
31
Jan
Why Alex Is Really A Loser
65% of the British public paid 50p to vote for a man who recently starred in a violent rape flick, called ‘Killer Bitch’, to win a television show. Musclebound Alex Reid, who was filmed strangling a woman, later celebrated a cage fighting victory by posing for photographs, both biceps up, with his foot on the head of his unconscious opponent. I seemed to be the only one on the Internet to voice a protest, with the tweet, ‘if Alex Reid wins this, I’m leaving the country’.
It was retweeted back at me countless times, and one Twitterer even offered me a ticket to Iraq, because Alex mysteriously became the nation’s favourite. Vinnie Jones rightly predicted it was, ‘an impossible feat to turn the British public around in just three weeks.’ But you know, I’m all for remarkable comebacks. I love it when the bad turn it round and become the hero. Jones is a case in point. He committed GBH on the football field, chomped the nose of a journalist, and ended Gary Steven’s career, but, remarkably, became an accomplished actor, mellowed out in LA, and turned his attention to acting instead of hell-raising. He loves his wife, whom he nearly lost during the birth of his daughter- a fact he kept away from the Big Brother cameras.
I ghost Vinnie Jones’ column in Loaded, and he’s among a number of our regulars who are born again heroes. Who would have backed Richard Bacon to survive that cocaine scandal? Us Brits seem to love the fallen hero: Knock ‘em down, and build ‘em up again. Jade Goody was a racist and a bully, but in her battle with cancer she somehow vindicated herself to the public.
Which brings me back to Reid. Was this his turnaround moment? No. He simply got paid £100,000 to appear on a television show (remember when CBB used to be for charity?) it ended, and he got the most votes. In three weeks he managed to not cross-dress, not mention his girlfriend (the most hated woman in Britain), and not appear in violent pornography. Fifty pence? Money well spent, after all, he’s giving it all to charity. Isn’t he?
Vinnie To Win…!
I’ll be supporting my columnist and pal Vinnie in tomorrow’s final. I’ll also be bringing my laptop to Elstree because Production Editor ‘Maddy’ is demanding VJ’s column. “He’s two weeks late,” Maddy keeps saying, unaware that Jones has been a bit busy of late. Anyway, enjoy this classic Vinnie Jones limited edition Loaded cover from the 100 covers special.
Loaded LAFTA Awards!
“Loaded has come in for a lot of stick over the years,” said this year’s LAFTA Legend Frank Skinner, “and rightly so!”
It was a quip that summed up the debauchery of the magazine and our annual comedy awards: Take a room full of top British comedians, throw in a Welsh rap collective, pour in endless booze and serve. That was the recipe for this year’s bash…
If you’re interested to see who the winners were, click here!
What’s It Like To Work At Loaded and GQ?
This video was made by Maxim editor Greg Gutfeld, and plonked on the end of a covermounted DVD. It was at a time when the (now defunct) magazine was waging wars on rival men’s magazines. It was an exciting time, when people were sending cakes with ABC figures iced on the top to each other. The first guy is meant to be Dylan Jones I think.
Anyway, the Loaded one was really funny. I think it was meant to upset us, but to be fair it was pretty spot on. We were going through a real tea and cake phase at that time.
Naughty Drop of Neon…
I’m planning on having some exposed brick-work caper going down in the next few months, and a few of these babies are on my hit-list. This is from an exhibition in Carnaby Street right now…although prices are about £300, just to hire one for a week. Cripes.
Hand-Scrawled Coverlines, A History
The new Esquire prompted the hunt to find out who first scrawled coverlines using a pen rather than a computer. Here’s that potted history right here in a visual ho-down. The Front example may not have been arty, it might have just been cost-cutting. I used to work there.
Esquire
Front
Elle
Max
Esquire
It’s Well Rotted Muck!
Ladies and gents, allow me to ruin, sorry, improve your lives by introducing you to this new blog by former Loaded Deputy Editor, Andrew “Woodsy” Woods. My features editor for many years at Loaded now looks set to follow in the footsteps of ‘Modern Toss‘ by creating his own cartoon humour. The man is, as I heard Jimmy Carr once accuse him at an award ceremony, “clinically insane.” He’s also the funniest person I know, and I’m loving his new work.
There’s also on display, some of the cartoons he ‘imagined up’ for Loaded. Many of them, like the above ‘toilet duck’, have made me LOL more than any other drawing. The strip below, “Big Ron Accidental Racist,” (Loaded, 2007) is also an excellent example of his work: offensively brilliant. It’s been pinned to my desk for years.
So to check out new characters, ‘Drunken Dad,’ and ‘Dog Translator’, click here.
Copycat Crimes…
The idiom says that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But this new ‘online magazine,’ Jacked, has just blipped on the IPC radar, and we’re not fans. In borrowing the Loaded font in such a manner, and by plonking a dolly bird in front of the logo, it looks just like the Loaded brand.
"Jacked"
"Loaded"
This has happened before, actually. With a paintball magazine in North America, who even went as far to call themselves ‘Loaded’. I seem to recall that they didn’t last long. ‘Jacked’ is registered to a gentlemen who lives in Enfield, North London, who I imagine is shortly going to receive a ‘cease and desist,’ or as the Loaded team might say, “Schtop.”
Famous Loaded Cock Ups!
Check out these stories of debauchery and general madness from Loaded staff. I’m in there just twice. Eh?
Click the below image to see!
Controversial journalism
Loaded has historically attracted talented, yet troubled writers. James Brown said, “I was told you need 99 straight guys and one weirdo to make a magazine. I did it the other way, I chose 99 weirdos.”
Flying under the flag of ‘Gonzo’ journalism, originated by Hunter S.Thompson, many articles are written under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Loaded writer Martin Pashley was banned from a town in Atlanta, USA, for destroying a vending machine while reporting for Loaded as his alter ego “The Sex Hunter”. Writer Jon Wilde was punched in the face by snooker player Jon “Hurricane” Higgins, and again by chef Keith Floyd in July ’96, during interviews for the magazine.