January may still be with us, but before you wish it away, remember that without January, my January gift give-away concept is meaningless and vague, and nobody wants that. This week it’s all about the pampering, and if anyone deserves a pamper, it’s you. So, if you’d like the chance of receiving a 75-minute session of the ease Design Spa Body Detox Classic to make you feel just that little bit more human, send me an e-mail.
Give my love to the city, Ron

Anglo-American, wife-husband duo Rue Royale bring a little piece of their own divergent influences to their music and blend them into a beautiful sound. I should probably mention something about this being analogous to how all relationships should be, but that may just creep everyone out. She brings a gentle trance-pop of the UK and he, the dark Americana folk of the US. Due to a pretty loyal fan base, they recently raised more than they expected via Kickstarter to record their new album and will be playing at Bar Rossi tonight.

Thursday 9 pm, Bar Rossi

Video games are fast becoming the dominant media experience for many people. Whether it’s on a smart phone, social network and especially on a console, games now have bigger budgets, character development and emotional immersion than most movies, books or music. The Global Game Jam, taking place at Rote Fabrik this weekend, sees thousands of people and locations connected around the world as they come together in small teams to design and build new games within 48 hours. This isn’t only for the computer programming nerds among us, as aspects of design, story telling and just good old creativity will all be required. The Game Jam’s doors are open to all and you can join any team whose ideas interest you, although expect a pretty sleepless 48 hours.
Friday 5 pm until Sunday 5 pm, Rote Fabrik

Kim Noble is an award-winning performance and video artist from England, who also happens to be an award-winning comedian and his new show You Are Not Alone comes to Gessenerallee on Saturday. In You Are Not Alone, Kim documents his attempts to unburden himself from the isolation that modern society can create and to connect himself to something real and authentic. In the case of the slightly provocative Mr Noble this would include documenting his neighbours sex lives or having x-rated chats using a fake profile. No one said connecting with the world would be easy but at least it should be funny and thought provoking.
Saturday 9 pm, Gessenerallee

In the heart of the financial district stands Zurich’s first high-rise building, the Hochhaus  zur Bastei (Bastion Tower), and for the next 8 months all 7 floors of this 1950’s behemoth will be transformed and dedicated to the art of photography. The Photobastei will become the home to a kaleidoscopic role call of various photographers, artists, galleries, curators, agencies and will have enough space for up to 50 simultaneous shows. They also have a bar area that will be used for artist talks and workshops as well as hosting parties and live music.
January to August 2014, Photobastei, Bärengasse 29, 8001

Sculptures, mysterious contents of dusty drawing portfolios and
all kinds of homemade art wait for new owners. Artists, designers and
hobbyists will sell their creative outpourings that haven’t yet made ​​it into MOMA, on Sunday at Remise. Small art lovers and treasure hunters meet at the Kunstflohmi to haggle, exchange art and chat over coffee and cake. If you’re also interested in showing and selling your creations, they still have a few places left. Write to [email protected] to make a reservation.
Sunday 11 am to 6 pm, Remise

Russel Brand comes to town with his stand-up comedy show «The Messiah Complex». In an interview with Bluewin he stated 3 reasons  not to miss his show on Friday the 11th February at Kongresshaus «It’s warm in the hall, the seats are comfortable and it might be raining. However, I expect him to have me in stiches. After all, this is the man who says: «If this is the end of the world I'm going to go out laughing with an erection.» As tickets are selling out quickly, I thought a little preview would be appropriate. And I also have one pair of them to give away for free. Just send me an email, telling me why you need a good laugh.
Preview: Tuesday 11th February 8pm, Kongresshaus

Life is too short to eat tasteless soup! Although I stole this wisdom from my favourite Vietnamese restaurant (they do a superb pho soup) I refer to another venue: Tokyo Tapas. A few weeks ago they set up their stall in the market hall at Viadukt and sell the best Udon Noodle Soup (and Sushi) I ever had the pleasure to eat. Its taste lingered in my mouth and truly satisfied all taste buds. And for the price of 9 francs, I'm eternally grateful they found this new spot on my lunch route.
Tokyo Tapas @ Viadukt. Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 10 am to 8 pm, Friday and Saturday 8 am to 8 pm

On Sundays I like to stroll through town on my hunt to discover what's up and new. However, I realized that I tend to end up in the same neighbourhoods, wandering along well-trodden paths. To break this habit I came up with a new system. At every crossroad I flip a coin. Heads for left, tails for right. This way chance dictates my route, I get wonderfully lost and found many new spots and venues. Try for yourself.

I’m a big fan of podcasts. On my search I came across Guardian Short Sories Podcast, where authors read short stories by another writer and then explain why they like the story. I enjoyed Lucy Wood’s « Notes from the House Spirits», read by Jon McGregor so much that I had to press repeat and listen to it all over again.

Can you be happy for 100 days in a row? What started out as an online project in Zurich, became viral and gathered more than 30,000 participants in less than a week. What do you have to do? You register and then you’ll post a photo each day of something that made you happy and that makes your life beautiful. The sad news is: 71% fail. But the good news is, it’s never too late for happiness. Take on the challenge!