Just Stay at Home

Graffiti sketches the letter P with character.
This sketch of the letter 'P' is used to spell Pharmacologist in Perez' book Perez on Medicine.
This sketch of the letter 'P' is used to spell Podiatrist in Perez' book Perez on Medicine.

This sketch of the letter 'P' is used to spell Public Health Doctor in Perez' book Perez on Medicine. Via: nlm.nih.gov

The Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate Edition, a hand-finished exclusive addition, made its debut earlier this year at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.



The press release from Range Rover:
The flagship model adds a handcrafted luxury interior, using specially selected soft feel natural leathers, to an interior renowned for being one of the finest in the automotive world.

The driver benefits from the recognizable command driving position offering excellent visibility and comfort, and the rear passengers now experience first-class-style accommodation never before seen in a Range Rover.

Two stand alone electric rear seats enhance space and comfort for the rear passengers, making the Ultimate Edition the definitive chauffeur vehicle. The addition of a rear console extension, including a machined aluminium laptop table and drinks chiller, and two Apple iPads* as standard (the first car to do so), takes the Range Rover rear seat experience to new levels of luxury.

• First class levels of luxury for both driver and passengers:

• Rear cabin includes Apple iPads* as standard:

• Hand crafted finest soft feel leathers and machined aluminium detailing:



The luxury theme extends to the rear load space, with a super yacht inspired teak floor with metal and leather detailing.

• Super yacht inspired teak loadspace floor:


The interior story is completed with high-end semi-aniline leather seating and Oxford leather on the door casings, dashboard top and steering wheel. For the first time, Kalahari wood veneers are used on the facia and door top rolls and unique interior colourways of either dark cherry or Arabica are available.

Two new unique exterior colours, either Roussillon Red or Otago Stone, (also available in Santorini Black) are available along with body coloured door handles, dark atlas radiator grille and side vents to create a sophisticated finish. This Ultimate Edition is fitted with new and unique 20” multi-spoke diamond-turned alloy wheels, and unique tailgate badging. Customers also have the option of an Exterior Design Pack and deployable side steps.

The all-V8 engine line-up includes the superb new 4.4 litre LR-TDV8 Diesel engine with a new eight-speed transmission incorporating Drive Select with Paddle Shift as standard. This LR-TDV8 combines superior power with 313PS, 700Nm torque whilst delivering even lower fuel consumption and 14% less CO2 emissions than its predecessor in line with the stringent EU5 emissions standards. The combined cycle fuel consumption of the new LR-TDV8 4.4-litre is just 30.1mpg, making this the first Range Rover ever to better 30mpg.

The 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox tuned by Land Rover engineers to combine silky smooth shifting with exceptionally rapid response and improved fuel economy, catapults the Range Rover from rest to 60mph in a mere 7.5 seconds and complete the 50mph-75mph dash in just 5.1 seconds.

The LR-V8 5.0 Supercharged engine is also available delivering awesome power and torque, 510PS and 625Nm, propelling the Range Rover from 0-60mph in a breath-taking 5.9 seconds.

Both variants come with Land Rover’s award-winning Terrain ResponseTM system, which optimises the vehicle set-up for virtually all on-road or off-road driving situations, with five different settings to suit different terrains including new Hill Start Assist and Gradient Acceleration Control.

This Ultimate Edition was designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK and exclusivity is assured as each vehicle will be built to customer order only. 500 units will be produced and sold in over 20 markets globally.

Pricing will be announced by individual markets later this year.
*iPad is a trademark of Apple, Inc. registered in the US and other countries.

Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate Edition

So here's the thing about Alan Moore: I think he's an incredibly overrated writer of comics. I know that that opinion is simultaneously unpopular and popular. It's an unpopular opinion among the great multitude of people who think that Watchmen is the best comic ever, that Killing Joke is the best Batman story, and that everything else Alan Moore touches turns to gold.

It's also a popular opinion in that there are inevitably contrarians who will talk badly about the works of Alan Moore solely because the majority of fans and reviewers like what he does.

I don't fit into either of those camps. I don't think Alan Moore is great and nor do I think he's terrible. Watchmen is okay, but it's a bit too pessimistic for my tastes. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (at least what I've read) is excellent, but Moore's Green Lantern and Batman stuff mostly leave me cold.

But the thing we really need to be talking about (based on the events of the past few weeks) is Alan Moore's work on Swamp Thing. No doubt there are those screaming that DC has destroyed Moore's work on the character.

For those of you unfamiliar with Swamp Thing and Who He Is and How He Came To Be, I'll lay out the basic facts. The modern version of Swamp Thing was created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson in 1972. A scientist named Alec Holland is at work in the swamps of Louisiana when agents of a mysterious figure attempt to murder him with a bomb. He catches on fire and rushes into the swamp. Presumed dead, he is actually transformed into a hideous swamp monster and from thereon out must deal with the loss of his humanity.

It's a concept we've seen before, and one that works well. How does such a being deal with the loss of his humanity? How does he interact with those who will inevitably hate and fear him? We've returned to this concept with Aaron Lopresti's recent Garbage Man story in the Weird Worlds anthology.

But then Alan Moore comes along and completely changes the concept. Alan Moore seems to enjoy doing this; he likes to take things and graft his own ideas onto them without really caring about what may have come before. Alan Moore reinterprets Swamp Thing as a plant elemental who only believes that he's Alec Holland.

Now, admittedly I haven't read Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. But I have a hard time seeing how you could continue with the original concept after that. If he was never a human being then there's really "dealing with the loss of one's humanity." There are a slew of other issues, sure. But we lose the original, key concept of the character of Swamp Thing.

Which brings us back to Brightest Day. As I noted, some people are annoyed that Alan Moore's Swamp Thing has basically been undone. In Brightest Day Alec Holland actually becomes Swamp Thing. While others may disagree, I think this is a good thing. They are basically undoing what I see as a mistake made by Alan Moore.

When you work in a shared super-hero universe it's important to try and respect and stay true to the core concepts of the characters that are shared. Geoff Johns adds a lot of stuff to characters and concepts, but he always builds off the core. Alan Moore never seemed to care about that. Who cares about the writers that come next when you can just change a characters origin completely or shoot her in the spine?

Personally, I'm glad Alan Moore is no longer writing for DC. And I'm also glad that Swamp Thing is back... And back the way he should be.

*UPDATED PICS now include the cakes, the reception dresses, the ugliest hat and more.

The dress was by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. She donned the Cartier “halo” tiara, which was made in 1936 and given to the Queen as an 18th birthday present. And she's got the wave down cold.



Her earrings were custom-made by Robinson Pelham to match her tiara and were a present from her parents. Kate's wedding ring, which seemed to have given William a bit of difficulty in the slipping on, is a band of Welsh gold by Wartski.

The Cartier "halo" tiara:

As previously worn by the monarchy members before her:


The earrings made to match the tiara by Robinson Pelham:


No doubt, Kate Middleton, now being referred to as "Catherine," looked every bit like Royalty as she walked down the aisle.





People keep comparing Kate's dress to that of Princess Grace's, but they really were quite different except for the lace long sleeves:







above: Her bouquet consisted of myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, sweet William and hyacinth.















And, of course, the kiss:



Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge:

And they drove off in an Aston Martin:

The Cake, made by Leicestershire-based cake designer Fiona Cairns :


the chocolate McVitrine's cake for the recption:


The Sarah Burton for Alexader McQueen reception dress for Kate:

and sister Pippa's reception dress:


I would be remiss if I did not include a photo of the most talked about hat (it even has it's own haters facebook page) at the event, worn by Beatrice:

images courtesy of Getty, The BBC, The AP, The PA and The British Monarchy