Let's talk about farts.
When I first got to Ireland, the first couple of pubs I walked into, my first thought was, "Yeesh! Yikes! It kinda smells like farts in here!" I thought it was a coincidence, like maybe it just happened that the few places I went into happened to have plumbing problems.
However, now that I've been here over three months, I can say, *WITH CONFIDENCE* that Ireland has a farting issue. It's not the plumbing. People let their business out here all over the place. In the pub, as the night progresses, it just gets stronger. And it's not just the pubs. Today in the movie theater, before the movie started, you could hear someone farting. And then by the time the film was over, you could smell the smell of gas so strong, we couldn't wait to get the hell out of there
PEOPLE IN IRELAND LOVE TO FART. There, I've said it.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Today we went to see the documentary Waveriders. I enjoyed the film very much, but part of me was just so happy to see a film in a movie theatre that it wouldn't have mattered what the movie was. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a movie on the big screen -- I think it was Juno, believe it or not, and that movie was awful.
But as it happened, while I'm too much of a wimp to surf myself, especially since a friend of mine nearly lost his eyeball recently taking up the sport (though I must say, he kept at it, so that's the testament to the enjoyment of surfing), being a pisces, I do love all things to do with the sea, so while some reviews of this film found the footage to be "repetitive," I found it to be beautiful and relaxing to watch the waves breaking and the surfers riding. If this movie plays anywhere near you, I recommend you see it!
But as it happened, while I'm too much of a wimp to surf myself, especially since a friend of mine nearly lost his eyeball recently taking up the sport (though I must say, he kept at it, so that's the testament to the enjoyment of surfing), being a pisces, I do love all things to do with the sea, so while some reviews of this film found the footage to be "repetitive," I found it to be beautiful and relaxing to watch the waves breaking and the surfers riding. If this movie plays anywhere near you, I recommend you see it!
Monday, April 6, 2009
There are so many things about how the government in Ireland works that I simply DO NOT GET. Like, for example, this news story about Brian Cowan wanting to cut the number of junior ministers. Now, ok, that's fine. But what doesn't make sense is that he's asking them to *all* voluntarily step down so that he can re-hire only *some* of them. What a load of crap that is. Just cut the BS and fire the people you want to fire for chrissakes. I do NOT get it.
Friday, April 3, 2009
I convinced my father-in-law to accompany me to The Abbey Theatre to redeem my tickets to see Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. Mark's father, we'll call him "Bill," is 82 years old, worked as a mover until the age of 70, when he retired and took up windsurfing for a few years. A voracious reader, he is fascinated by World War two ("Hitler's War"), and while he doesn't read much fiction, he adores Shakespeare. He speaks passionately about Othello and the brilliance of Iago as a character. So when I won tickets from Culch.ie to see Comedy of Errors, I knew I had to take him with me. And luckily, he agreed!
Comedy of Errors is, of course, not one of Shakespeare's most played comedies. It's not as magical as A Midsummer Night's Dream, and not as sexy as As You Like It. It's not as easily adaptable to political topics as Measure for Measure, and not as bawdy as The Taming of the Shrew. But it's certainly not as convoluted as All's Well That Ends Well, nor as emotionally loaded as The Tempest. However the play was a good choice in that the plot really isn't terribly complex, and includes a lot of physical comedy, so that a person having trouble following the language could still understand the basic premise. The actors delivered the jokes very well, proving why we still read and watch Shakespeare all these years later -- because it still makes people laugh, especially his insults!
Cute directorial details that I particularly enjoyed were the big tough-guy Officer with the pip-squeak voice, and the plot signifiers such as disco dancing and the bell used repetitively throughout the play. And they used the set space very well, utilizing scaffolding towers on wheels, which they re-configured between scenes, and even mid-scene, to great effect. It proves that you don't need realism to bring an audience to another place because if the performance is good, the audience is more than ready to make that leap with you.
So we found it enjoyable. But were we overwhelmed? Well, no. But I think it's partly because Comedy of Errors isn't one of Shakespeare's best plays, and you can only do so much with it. Bill, quoting George Bernard Shaw, called it a "Potboiler." Still, there's nothing like that feeling of satisfaction when walking out of a theatre, having just seen a live performance.
Then we headed over to a pub on O'Connell Street called Madigan's. I thought it had some nice details inside, but there was a guy playing a guitar and singing through an amp, and he was about ten times louder than he needed to be, so it was a bit distracting trying to shout over it. We had one drink there and then decided to move on.
We wandered down to Brannigan's Bar, which, with it's flashing neon "BAR" sign, made me a little wary of what we'd find inside, but we walked in to discover a pleasant atmosphere and the quiet we sought for a bit of conversation. While Bill went up to get us a couple of pints, I called Mark on my mobile. He was up at the pub near our house, and was having trouble hearing me. "We're at Brannigan's," I said, "BRANNIGAN'S!" But it seemed sort of futile so we agreed to meet up later at home and hung up.
About a half hour later or so, Mark walks in, a little flustered, "Here you are!!" he says, "I was just about to give up! I called you ten times, why didn't you answer your phone?"
"Well, I told you where we were," I responded, confused.
"I thought you said Flanagan's!" he said. Apparently he went to Flanigan's first, then stopped into Madigan's, to see if we were there. And then just when he thought he would give up, he looked down the street and saw Brannigan's. I was pretty amused. There are so many bars and pubs that end in "igan" that you can get really mixed up over them!
Comedy of Errors is, of course, not one of Shakespeare's most played comedies. It's not as magical as A Midsummer Night's Dream, and not as sexy as As You Like It. It's not as easily adaptable to political topics as Measure for Measure, and not as bawdy as The Taming of the Shrew. But it's certainly not as convoluted as All's Well That Ends Well, nor as emotionally loaded as The Tempest. However the play was a good choice in that the plot really isn't terribly complex, and includes a lot of physical comedy, so that a person having trouble following the language could still understand the basic premise. The actors delivered the jokes very well, proving why we still read and watch Shakespeare all these years later -- because it still makes people laugh, especially his insults!
Cute directorial details that I particularly enjoyed were the big tough-guy Officer with the pip-squeak voice, and the plot signifiers such as disco dancing and the bell used repetitively throughout the play. And they used the set space very well, utilizing scaffolding towers on wheels, which they re-configured between scenes, and even mid-scene, to great effect. It proves that you don't need realism to bring an audience to another place because if the performance is good, the audience is more than ready to make that leap with you.
So we found it enjoyable. But were we overwhelmed? Well, no. But I think it's partly because Comedy of Errors isn't one of Shakespeare's best plays, and you can only do so much with it. Bill, quoting George Bernard Shaw, called it a "Potboiler." Still, there's nothing like that feeling of satisfaction when walking out of a theatre, having just seen a live performance.
Then we headed over to a pub on O'Connell Street called Madigan's. I thought it had some nice details inside, but there was a guy playing a guitar and singing through an amp, and he was about ten times louder than he needed to be, so it was a bit distracting trying to shout over it. We had one drink there and then decided to move on.
We wandered down to Brannigan's Bar, which, with it's flashing neon "BAR" sign, made me a little wary of what we'd find inside, but we walked in to discover a pleasant atmosphere and the quiet we sought for a bit of conversation. While Bill went up to get us a couple of pints, I called Mark on my mobile. He was up at the pub near our house, and was having trouble hearing me. "We're at Brannigan's," I said, "BRANNIGAN'S!" But it seemed sort of futile so we agreed to meet up later at home and hung up.
About a half hour later or so, Mark walks in, a little flustered, "Here you are!!" he says, "I was just about to give up! I called you ten times, why didn't you answer your phone?"
"Well, I told you where we were," I responded, confused.
"I thought you said Flanagan's!" he said. Apparently he went to Flanigan's first, then stopped into Madigan's, to see if we were there. And then just when he thought he would give up, he looked down the street and saw Brannigan's. I was pretty amused. There are so many bars and pubs that end in "igan" that you can get really mixed up over them!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Shameless self-promotion...
I don't know why I haven't done it before, but I figure why the heck not... I worked hard on this so I should probably post it in case someone in Fashion or something should happen to come along and read this blog. It's crazy talk, I know.
But, anyhoo. For those just tuning in, I'm an aspiring Fashion Designer. And Here's my portfolio. Just for fun. And now I'm going to get back to sewing!
I don't know why I haven't done it before, but I figure why the heck not... I worked hard on this so I should probably post it in case someone in Fashion or something should happen to come along and read this blog. It's crazy talk, I know.
But, anyhoo. For those just tuning in, I'm an aspiring Fashion Designer. And Here's my portfolio. Just for fun. And now I'm going to get back to sewing!
Last night Mark and I went to see a performance by Lynnee Breedlove, singer from the punk band Tribe8, hosted by Queer Spraoi, a group associated with Seomra Spraoi. The description read, "Lynn Breedlove, frontperson of punk dyke band Tribe8, creator of the novel, short film, and audiobook, Godspeed, brings his One Freak Show to the Dublin, sharp as a new chainsaw blade, turning the specific universal, and making gender politics fun at last. Lynnee Breedlove’s ONE FREAK SHOW is queer, punkrock standup comedy on bodies and "community." His plan for world peace includes gender nesting dolls, cross-dressing stuffed animals, and a new edition of Our Bodies Ourselves for men. A human body quest for compassion, an irreverent look at the interior world of The Other, giving out permission slips to laugh at ourselves, Lynnee Breedlove’s One Freak Show brings activism and laughs through the usual ridiculous antics, this time including eggbeaters and duct tape. Knives and body parts are still part of the show."
The venue, called The Shed, was located down this spooky abandoned-looking industrial alley way -- the sort of place you might be taken to get the crap kicked out of you. But luckily it was well-lit. The space was marked only by a flier on the door, and you had to knock to get in. We brought our bikes inside with us, which was good because there wasn't really a good place to lock them up within a two-block radius of that neighborhood. The Shed is really a warehouse space. When you walk in, there's a little kitchen area to the left, and one of those outdoor screened gazebos, to give you an idea of how large the place is, the outdoor gazebo doesn't even take up a quarter of the indoor space of The Shed. It seemed to be the smoking area. There was a loft up above with several dead-looking computers, and an area with drum kits, guitars and amps below. several lines of chairs had been set up in front of a projection screen for a viewing of the documentary about the band Tribe8. While the movie was on, the kitchen served vegan stew and dessert. We didn't have the entree, but we bought the cupcakes and the brownies, and I have to say that it may have been the best cupcake I've ever eaten in my entire life. Mark had two!
I think Lynnee was used to performing to a large, adoring (American) audience rather than this small, reserved, and rather sober Irish one. The first few jokes fell a little flat and he even said something like, "You know, it's ok to laugh," which I think may be stand-up suicide, but eventually he hit upon a joke that got a laugh, and things did improve. But not all of the jokes translated culturally, and I think there was a little bit of explaining going on to the un-initiated in American ways. There were a couple of cringey moments where he seemed to imply that Ireland was part of the UK, which Americans can do, not realizing that it is a culturally important distinction for citizens of the Irish Republic. (Or maybe I'm just sensitive to this issue, living with a student of post-colonial theory!) Overall, the show was very entertaining -- I mean how can you not be entertained by watching a woman urinate while standing on stage, I ask you? Right now my family is reading this, horrified. That's performance art, folks!
Here are some shots of the performance:
The venue, called The Shed, was located down this spooky abandoned-looking industrial alley way -- the sort of place you might be taken to get the crap kicked out of you. But luckily it was well-lit. The space was marked only by a flier on the door, and you had to knock to get in. We brought our bikes inside with us, which was good because there wasn't really a good place to lock them up within a two-block radius of that neighborhood. The Shed is really a warehouse space. When you walk in, there's a little kitchen area to the left, and one of those outdoor screened gazebos, to give you an idea of how large the place is, the outdoor gazebo doesn't even take up a quarter of the indoor space of The Shed. It seemed to be the smoking area. There was a loft up above with several dead-looking computers, and an area with drum kits, guitars and amps below. several lines of chairs had been set up in front of a projection screen for a viewing of the documentary about the band Tribe8. While the movie was on, the kitchen served vegan stew and dessert. We didn't have the entree, but we bought the cupcakes and the brownies, and I have to say that it may have been the best cupcake I've ever eaten in my entire life. Mark had two!
I think Lynnee was used to performing to a large, adoring (American) audience rather than this small, reserved, and rather sober Irish one. The first few jokes fell a little flat and he even said something like, "You know, it's ok to laugh," which I think may be stand-up suicide, but eventually he hit upon a joke that got a laugh, and things did improve. But not all of the jokes translated culturally, and I think there was a little bit of explaining going on to the un-initiated in American ways. There were a couple of cringey moments where he seemed to imply that Ireland was part of the UK, which Americans can do, not realizing that it is a culturally important distinction for citizens of the Irish Republic. (Or maybe I'm just sensitive to this issue, living with a student of post-colonial theory!) Overall, the show was very entertaining -- I mean how can you not be entertained by watching a woman urinate while standing on stage, I ask you? Right now my family is reading this, horrified. That's performance art, folks!
Here are some shots of the performance:
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Mark brought home this flier from school for a pub event:
SHAG TAG PARTY
drink
giveaways
and loadz party games
"What is a shag tag? You will be given a sticker with a number on entry to disco bar: An 085 txt number will be provided so you can txt in msg's. For example (number 5 thinks number 10 is hot) The msg's are then displayed on the big screen in disco bar Remember the more drink the better the msg's. Men) uneven numbers woman) even numbers"
Apparently you also have to be drunk when you write the pub's promotional material. But seriously, let's think about the premise of this for a second. SHAG TAG PARTY. Get tagged, get shagged. Mark says that it's a brilliant idea. I agree. But we both agree it's brilliant and yet totally disgusting. On the other hand, it's refreshing that it just strips away all pretenses of what a bar really is: a place where people go to get laid. But the tagging reference evokes images of cattle being tagged and bred, like we're all just part of this social experiment for the purpose of mating. But at least these people are making a party out of it! A SHAG TAG PARTY
SHAG TAG PARTY
drink
giveaways
and loadz party games
"What is a shag tag? You will be given a sticker with a number on entry to disco bar: An 085 txt number will be provided so you can txt in msg's. For example (number 5 thinks number 10 is hot) The msg's are then displayed on the big screen in disco bar Remember the more drink the better the msg's. Men) uneven numbers woman) even numbers"
Apparently you also have to be drunk when you write the pub's promotional material. But seriously, let's think about the premise of this for a second. SHAG TAG PARTY. Get tagged, get shagged. Mark says that it's a brilliant idea. I agree. But we both agree it's brilliant and yet totally disgusting. On the other hand, it's refreshing that it just strips away all pretenses of what a bar really is: a place where people go to get laid. But the tagging reference evokes images of cattle being tagged and bred, like we're all just part of this social experiment for the purpose of mating. But at least these people are making a party out of it! A SHAG TAG PARTY
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