Well RTÉ are looking for Ireland’s Greatest (living or dead) and via face-to-face interview with 1,000 people (conducted by MRBI, they didn’t send Patrick McDonnell out with the microphone for this one) they’ve compiled the nation’s suggestions and there are a shortlist of 40 from which the national hero will be crowned.

Louis Walsh - Ireland's Greatest?

It works like this – the forty names were announced this morning on Ryan Tubridy’s show on Radio 1 and the public can vote for a top five. The top five will each be given a ‘champion’ (i.e. another public figure celebrity-type) who’ll fight their corner and there will be a documentary made about each one. Another public telephone vote will bring it all together on an episode of the Late Late Show in September, and Ireland’s Greatest will be crowned.

So who’s on this list you might ask?

Well of the forty, there’s an interesting few stats to be had:

20 are alive and 20 are dead

15 are from Dublin

Only 3 are women (Adi Roche, Sonia O’Sullivan and Mary Robinson)

6 are sportspeople

15 are from the entertainment field

….and there’s no Gay Byrne! (According to the rules, no RTÉ figures were included, neither were serving politicians).

Just give me the damn names you say? Right then…

Bono

Dr Noel Browne

Michael Collins

James Connolly

Eamon de Valera

Joe Dolan

Ronnie Drew

Colin Farrell

Garret Fitzgerald

Stephen Gately

Bob Geldof

Padraig Harrington

Charles Haughey

Seamus Heaney

John Hume

James Joyce

John B Keane

Roy Keane

Ronan Keating

Sean Lemass

Jack Lynch

Phil Lynott

Paul McGrath

Christy Moore

Liam Neeson

Daniel O’Connell

Daniel O’Donnell

Brian O’Driscoll

Michael O’Leary

John O’Shea

Sonia O’Sullivan

Charles Stewart Parnell

Padraig H Pearse

Christy Ring

Mary Robinson

Adi Roche

Wolfe Tone (the only one not listed with a first name on the RTÉ site – it’s Theobald lads)

Louis Walsh

Oscar Wilde

WB Yeats

What do you think Culchies? Who will you be voting for? Are there any glaring omissions? Where are TK Whitaker and Rory Gallagher?

Get on over to http://www.rte.ie/tv/irelandsgreatest to vote for your choice.

© Sinead Keogh for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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The last time I had anticipated a movie so much was back in 2008 when Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight hit cinema screens with an unrelenting, unapologetic thwack. Now, I never deluded myself into thinking that another hero action flick of Dark Knight standard was going to fall off the shelves of a Hollywood studio anytime soon but Matthew Vaughn’s KICK-ASS really had me interested.

I must be honest, I have never read the KICK-ASS comics and was indeed entirely oblivious to the concept until Summer of last year and even then I scoffed at the concept of Nick Cage in a faux Batman role and imagined a re-telling of the under-rated 1999 movie Mystery Men but the more I heard about the tone of the movie, the outlook, then the posters I was hooked.

“Okay you cunts… lets see what you can do now!”

Like Batman, the heroes of Kick-Ass lack an actual super powers*. Good intentions and foul mouths to make Tarentino blush, sure, but no super-strength, x-ray vision or bullet-like speed to assist in their vendetta against evil and general apathy.

The story is narrated by Dave Lizewski played by Aaron Johnson (see below for random factoid). Dave is an average high school teenager, not doing so well with the ladies, feeling a little overwhelmed by the general state of the world.  So Dave decides to actually do what so many comic book geeks have at least considered: get himself a costume and dress up like a superhero in order to fight crime.  However being untrained and lacking any combat skills whats ever Dave’s alter ego – Kick-Ass – spends most of his time merely getting his ass kicked at one point almost getting his ass killed.

Dave Lizewski: “How do I get a hold of you?”
Hit Girl: “just contact the mayor, he has a special signal that shines in the sky! It’s in the shape of a giant cock”

Enter Big Daddy (Nick Cage ) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) , father and daughter vigilantes on a mission of revenge. For me, Moretz is the real draw of this movie, its best asset and perhaps it’s weakest link*  from a purely plot point of view for at the tender age of 11 years old, Hit Girl is pure comic book fantasy and well and truly somersaults across the line between a well trained real-life hero and a fictional super-empowered wonder-girl.

Many are calling Kick Ass the best Superhero movie in years. IGN say that Kick Ass is “a superhero movie unlike any that has gone before. A spectacular flight of fancy that takes genre conventions and turns them on their head. One that pays tribute to the rich history of the comic book movie, and yet in the process manages to create something wholly fresh and original. And quite possibly the benchmark against which future such efforts will be measured”

I completely agree that Kick Ass is something new, something brave for Superhero movies, a required if not natural evolution for the genre since the exciting days of Tim Burton’s Batman right through to the tame cringeworthy Spiderman 3.  Go see it, go see it soon, go see it many times, I know I will.

Photos from Universal’s Preview screening on 15th March 2010.

Silly random factoid:

Dave Lizewski is a real person who won the chance to name the lead character in Millar’s story.  Whether it was ego,  genius or a lack of any imagination that inspired him to name the character after  himself I guess his name will live forever in the annals of Superhero geekdom.

Kick-Ass is on general release in Ireland and the UK from 26th March 2010.

© Lottie for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Action, comic book, Dave Lizewski, Hit Girl, Kick Ass, Movies & TV, Review, Superhero

What is Points for Life?

Points For Life is a 24hour gaming event on June 5th 2010. Play will start at 9am on June 5th and last through to 9am the following day. It’s up to you to earn as many achievements/trophies as you possibly can. But it not just a full on games event. It’s your chance to give something back. This is for children’s charity, get a sponsor who can sponsor you per point or trophy (or who can just sponsor the event) and earn money for points for two charities, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Child’s Play.

Who’s behind it?

Daniel Lipscombe, deputy editor of the online gaming magazine ‘Resolution’. This explains why go for a gaming event but not his reasons, which are far more personal: “Just over three years ago my three-year-old daughter sadly passed away after a road traffic accident. She was cared for by the staff at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and it made me realise just how much charities like these need our help to continue”

Find out more: Find out the full story on the website

© Sharon for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: charity, games, Gaming

David Maybury at the IBAs 2009

Screw the Oscars and the Golden Globes, the IFTAs and the Meteors; for Irish bloggers, there truly is only one awards night – for Irish bloggers, there is no better night out than the Irish Blog Awards.

It’s the one night of the year where online meets offline, where the real and the fantasy collide in a cornucopian sea of bliss. Am I overselling it? No, I’m not. This is one damn fun night out.

Just a year after its inception, Culch.ie is very very proud to be nominated in the Best Pop Culture category. We would like to thank those who nominated us in the first place and put us on the long list. We would like to thank the judges for being so kind to take us this far. We would like to thank the category sponsor, Insure.ie . And we would especially like to thank and congratulate our fellow nominees, E-Dublin , the m0vie blog , Panti’s Blog Job and our own Mr Venntertainment .

The Blog Awards will be held in the Radisson Hotel in Galway next Saturday,  27th March 2010. It will be hosted by 2FM DJ Rick O’Shea and, as always, thanks to Damien Mulley for pulling the whole show together.

If you have not yet bought your tickets, go here and get them now . For the full list of nominees and for more information, go to Awards.ie and you can also follow the Irish Blog Awards on Twitter .

So, the question remains, do you know Anto?

Jen Davis and Peter Donegan at the IBAs 2009

© Darren for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: IBA, IBA10, Irish Blog Awards

The largest capacity purpose built theatre opened with a performance by the Russian State Ballet of Swan Lake to a packed house. Among that  house President Mary McAleese, Harry Crosbie, Paul Mc Guinness, Brenden Gleason, Daniel Libeskind (who designed the venue) and Paul Brady (who will perform there later in the year).

However it was Crosbie who had the first performance with a speech outlining and thanking all who helped bring the project to life. And  for his vision and effort he was rewarded with the first rapturous  applause and standing ovation. Of which I’m sure here will be many more  to come.

The building itself has been well document including this culch.ie post but as a first time user i found it excellent. Easy to get to, in and  around and it’s clear, like it’s big brother across the river, there  hardly a bad seat in the house.

As for the ballet itself well I enjoyed it thoroughly however I’m not sure I am an expert to examine the quality of the dance itself. The RTE concert orchestra provided the music which was excellent. I’m a huge fan of the RTECO and they didn’t disappoint. The one issue I had was with the lighting which felt very harsh. Lighting state changes were far too bulky and dramatic and the follow spottting operation was terrible.

Having said all that the night was far more about the theatre itself and what it says about the future for Irish audiences and hopefully Irish performers. A packed program is already planned with west end hits such as hairspray and legend Gilbert O’Sullivan. With only a few Irish acts on the bill so far I do hope this raises the stakes for Irish performers allowing them as well as the stars o the world to be seen by an even great number audience.

As Loughlin Deegan, Artistic Director of the Dublin Theatre Festival tweeted it’s Game on now!

You can find more about Grand Canal Theatre on their website , facebook or twitter .

© ekilko for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Click here to view the embedded video.

“Through the ages, from Maine to Scotland, stories are told of seals becoming women and fishermen falling in love. A visually arresting piece of physical theatre, The Harbour is a contemporary re-imagining of a selkie tale. The lives of a mother and her son are forever overturned when he brings home a woman from the sea. Using bittersweet humour and haunting live music, The Harbour unearths an over-fished world, filled with impossible desires and explores the fragile nature of the relationships that give us shelter, and a safe haven, in a chaotic and unpredictable world.”

Sound good?

Well, the lovely people at Draiocht have given us not one but two pairs of tickets to give away to see the show on April 10th. All you have to do is post a comment below and tell us what you think your mermaid/man name would be… I’m going with Perfect Fins for mine (you know…like perfect pins? yeah alright, not so clever just there).  Go ahead and do better…

Winners will be picked on April 1st.

Best o’luck!

© Sinead Keogh for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: competition, Draíocht, Free Stuff, Theatre

In the meantime, they have a new exhibition being launched tonight called ‘Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef’. I was at their recent TED X 3.0 talk and was really impressed by one of their speakers, Margaret Wertheim. Margaret has spoken at TED before, as you can see here:

Her goal is create awareness of the effect that Global Warming is having on the coral reefs, which are acknowledged to be one of the natural wonders of the world. How does she do this, you ask?

Margaret and her twin sister, Christine, crochet coral reefs. Crochet, it has been proven, is the only means available to replicate the hyperbolic shape of the coral reef. Fascinating stuff, if you think about it.

‘Tightly bunched mounds of brain coral, wavy strands of kelp, tubeworms, sea slugs and nudibranchs have all been mimicked with the twins’ techniques. Just as the diversity of living species results from variations in an underlying DNA code, so too a huge range of hyperbolic crochet ‘species’ may be brought into being through modifications in the underlying crochet code. There is an ever-evolving crochet ‘tree of life’.’

Their project has spread virally around the world, and at this point in time, over 3,000 women and a few men have contributed to this hugely successful project. It’s a fascinating venture and I have been lucky enough to see the exhibition take shape today.

In advance of the launch tonight, they did a photo shoot with none other than Sophie Merry (of Groovy Dancing Girl Fame ).

HYPERBOLIC CROCHET CORAL REEF opens on March 20 and runs until June 11th at Science Gallery, Pearse Street, Dublin. It will be open Tuesday-Friday 12:00-20:00 and Saturday-Sunday 12:00-18:00. If you can’t wait, there’s a VIP preview tonight which you can sign up for here . (You’d better hurry though )

© Venntertainment for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Art, Christine Wertheim, Coral, Crochet, exhibition, Global Warming, Hyperbolic, Margaret Wertheim, Reef, science gallery, TED, Trinity College

I still stand by my review – it is a gorgeous film, beautifully realised by Tim Burton. Anne Hathaway steals the show with her best performance to date and newcomer Mia Wasikowska is a superb older Alice.

But now that the film has been out for a few weeks, Culch.ie wants to know what you thought of it. And for going to the trouble of leave us a few comments about the film, we have some rather cute and retro Limited Edition Alice in Wonderland Viewfinders to giveaway. To be in with a chance of getting one, just let us know what you thought of the movie – and be honest.

© Darren for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Alice in wonderland, competition

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© Bryan for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Predators, Robert Rodriguez, trailer

The lives of others was an experimental blog that was started back on March 18th 2008. What made this blog compelling was an anonymous format that provided the ultimate freedom to share or to speak, to mention the unmentionable and to explore feelings and emotion. Almost two years on and the site has now closed its doors to new secrets.

However there is some good news. Anothers Life , a website that provides a similar format has come to the rescue. I set up the site with the aim of keeping the this medium alive. The new site has no connection with Lives of Others, other than the anonymous format that is used.

The site has been available for a few days and has already received a number of posts. Pop over to Anothers Life and start sharing your unmentionables! You can also follow Anothers Life on twitter @anotherslife .

© Jason Roe for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet | Add to del.icio.us
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2010

Twestival 2010 is happening. Thursday 25th March. 6.30 pm – 12.30 at the ODEON on Harcourt Street. This year Concern is the benefactor of the WORLDWIDE event.

On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness.  Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good.  All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects.

Whats the Bands and entertainment line up – check this out! you won’t be disappointed.

Buy your Dublin Twestival Tickets here

with thanks to the bands:

• The Shoos
• Candice Gordon
• The Last Tycoons
• The Morning Dew

© Peter for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: buy tickets, concern, dublin twestival 2010, festival, Twitter

Leap Year?

I Know Who Killed Me?

Batman and Robin?

All strong contenders, no doubt. But this revered title undoubtedly belongs to a particular labour of love starring, directed, produced, executive produced AND written by the mysterious Tommy Wiseau. I give you…THE ROOM.

It has to be seen to be believed. Honestly. Never has a movie made so little sense, with so many sub plots briefly introduced and quickly abandoned, nor has there ever been a leading man such as Tommy. He’s like some kind of vaguely Eastern European cyborg, with an accent once described as “Borat trying to do an impression of Christopher Walken playing a mental patient.” This alone should give you reason enough to want to see this film. Tonight, at 8.00, SoundCheck in Spy Bar are screening The Room. I know it’s short notice, but if you can’t make it, worry not! There will be another screening in May, where the audience will be graced by the presence of Greg Sestero, who plays Mark. For those who have seen it, “Oh hi Mark” is actually one of the funniest and most quotable lines in the whole thing. Not to mention classic quotes like “Leave your stupid comments in your pocket!”, “Chocolate is a symbol of love” and conversations like this:

Mark: How was work today?

Johnny: Oh pretty good. We got a new client… at the bank. We make a lot of money.

Mark: What client?

Johnny: I can not tell you, its confidential.

Mark: Oh come on. Why not?

Johnny: No I can’t. Anyway, how is your sex life?

Seriously. And I didn’t even get to the creepy recycled sex scenes and the conversation that takes place with three main characters playing football in an alley wearing tuxedos. FOR NO GOOD REASON. The moral of the story is: go see this movie, because you will never ever forget the experience.

The Room @ SoundCheck on Facebook

Kitty

© Redlemonaders for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Have a break? from Greenpeace UK on Vimeo .

Nestlé had this ad pulled from Youtube claiming copyright violation. Greenpeace put it up on Vimeo instead. Remember, Nestlé are as dirty, as dodgy as they come.

Further reading: Greenwashing .

© Allan for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | No comments yet | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: greenpeace, nestlé, youtube

Via Kotaku .

© Allan for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: mario, Nintendo, pieta, Sculpture

David O'Doherty and Adam Hills at G'nite Cats 2009

Happening from June 3rd to 7th (i.e. over the June Bank Holiday weekend), the line up of comedians on this year’s bill include some of last year’s highlights: Dead Cat Bounce, David O’Doherty, Jason Byrne and Sarah Millican as well as some faces back on the Kilkenny circuit after a break (Dara O’Briain for one) and some brand new jokesters making their Cat Laughs debuts in the form of Simon Amstell and Gearóid Farrelly.

Kilkenny promises to be a great weekend of comedy talent if last year was anything to go by so Culch recommends booking somewhere to rest your head quick sharpish and getting to work on your dream line-up to see as much comedy action as you can across the five days.

Over 40 comedians will be taking to the various stages at venues around Kilkenny over the course of the festival and while we can’t mention everyone, we’ve studied the form in 2009 and here’s our racecard of Irish hopefuls:

Dead Cat Bounce impressed some very sticky-hot Culchies in a sticky-hot venue at an evening show last year. Their brand of musical comedy is original and hilarious and having caught them twice more in 2009, I can say they charmed three times and are worth a look!

Jason Byrne did a hilarious double act with Adam Hills at last year’s festival when they both introduced Hans Teeuwen (say it with me: “Nostradamus, Nostradamus”…don’t ask). Though Hills is sadly absent from this year’s line-up, Byrne is back and if his recent Vicar Street show was anything to go by, he’s on top form.

Gearóid Farrelly was unknown to me until a ten minute stint supporting Dead Cat Bounce in The Twisted Pepper a few months back. I haven’t managed to see him anywhere since but there were laughs enough to recommend making it your business to catch this up-and-comer in Kilkenny.

PJ Gallagher has been doing the rounds this year what with having the new DVD out. I saw him at FM104’s Havin’ A Laugh back in August – I recommend you see him too.

David O’Doherty, with a large dollop of personal bias and swooning on my part, does things with tiny keyboards that will make you cry tears of laughter. His very low energy musical whimsy reaches high points with numbers such as Florence Falls (I haven’t heard it anywhere but on the first CD – please do it live DOD!), Sent A Text and Very Mild Superpowers. I’ve seen him in Whelans, I’ve seen him at the Carlsberg Comedy Carnival, I’ve seen him as part of a line-up at a charity show in Vicar Street and I’ve seen him cycling down Camden Street – you ain’t never seen such consistently quality whimsy.

Maeve Higgins has the potential to be a hard hitter. She tried a few lines on abortion at a gig a couple of months ago that didn’t go down well, but the smart comedy is brimming behind the happy girly routines and she’ll find her stride. On the final night of Cat Laughs last year she stepped into a line-up to replace a comedian who was ill (help me out Culchies – who was that?) which meant we ended up seeing her for three shows in a row. It was surprisingly pleasant. While I will never forget that her foundation is called Honey Beige, it’s gotta be said that Maeve’s come a long way and she’s just darn sweet to listen to.

Eric Lalor has got to be the gentleman of the circuit. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better example of someone genuinely on the up and feeling the joy for what they do and it carries through into a lovely onstage manner. I haven’t managed to catch him live since FM104 at Vicar Street a good few months back, but that’ll be rectified at Cat Laughs.

Dara O’Briain is obviously the big Irish name in Kilkenny this year. A lot of people may have seen him during his mammoth Vicar Street run – I did in January and we’re going again at the end of June because no two Dara shows are the same. The audience interaction is second to none and the man is at the top of his game. Ticket up, no excuses.

Check out http://www.carlsbergcatlaughs.com for more, don’t forget to go watch all the comedians play in the Ireland Vs the Rest of the World free football match on the Sunday and get your tickets for this year’s new innovation – the treasure hunt on the Saturday!

Eric Lalor, Tommy Tiernan and others line out for Ireland in the Ireland vs the Rest of the World football match

See you there?

© Sinead Keogh for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
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Traces features 5 young artists fresh out of circus school, all in their early twenties, mixing classic acrobatics with such street forms as skateboard, basketball, and parcours. The result is an intimate circus experience (à la Cirque du Soleil) yet with a more urban flavor, as these young artists explode onto the stage with a renewed dynamic energy.

The show takes place in a make-shift shelter, an unknown catastrophe waiting outside the doors of tarp and gaffer tape. The five characters constructed this clubhouse to live to the fullest what they believe could be their last moments, hoping to leave nothing unsaid or undone. In the face of this impending disaster they have determined that creation is the only antidote to destruction, and their brand of creation is the fleeting impulses and desires that extend through bodies and unfurl onto a stage – the stories told through music, song, dance, speech, illustration, and high-risk acrobatics.

They use every mode of expression available to them, hoping to leave a lasting mark… to leave their traces (you see!) as best they can. As they tell stories of their past, share with us their various personal strengths and weaknesses, the audience gets to know these five performers from every possible angle.

Traces will be in The Olympia Theatre, Dublin for 6 nights only, from 12th to 17th April. Tickets are available now from Ticketmaster from €28 including booking fee. However, you could see it for free…

Competition

If you want to be in with the chance of winning tickets for you and 3 of your friends to see the opening night of Traces on 12th April in The Olympia, leave a comment below. The winner will be selected on Saturday 3rd of April, giving you plenty of time to gather your friends together for this brilliant night out.

© Darren for Culch.ie, 2010. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Circus, Cirque Du Soleil, Olympia, Traces