Monthly Archives: April 2009

Win The Demon’s Lexicon. Now.

  By Rick | April 30, 2009 - 11:34 pm | Books, Competitions, Site News, The Culch
82 Comments

This is our first Culch author exclusive and, like all good things, comes from a few pints. I was at a glorious hat party last weekend and met, through fellow Culchers Sinead and Mr D, the Irish blogger Sarah Rees Brennan who was similarly spectacularly hatted. From that comes this. Sarah’s first and highly anticipated novel The Demon’s Lexicon isn’t out in the shops until June but we have a first copy, signed for you by the author herself. As is the fashion we’ll award it to the best comment below by midday on Thursday of next week (May 7th). Sarah herself will be choosing the winner. Off ya go now

All Fired Up

  By Darren Byrne | April 30, 2009 - 2:00 pm | Apprentice, The Culch, TV
10 Comments

While the UK Apprentice may be in full swing, the second series of TV3′s Irish Apprentice has just started looking for this year’s hopefuls. At yesterday’s launch in The Dylan Hotel, Bill Cullen called for ‘warriors with liathroidi’. The second series takes place in a different world, an Ireland where the Celtic Tiger has gone and left us with an economy in serious difficulties. Last year’s Apprentice was exciting and fresh and without a doubt the best show TV3 has aired. Brenda Shanahan ultimately beat Nicky O’Callaghan to become Bill’s first Apprentice. Bill wanted someone who would ‘hit the ground running’. Returning to our screens in the Autumn, Bill will sit at the head of the boardroom again with Jackie Lavin and Brian Purcell in his ears. 14 new candidates will fight and bitch and moan their way into the coveted role of Apprentice to Bill Cullen and a package … There’s more →

Darren’s Movie News 30/04/09

  By Darren Byrne | April 30, 2009 - 1:12 pm | In The News, Movies & TV, The Culch
5 Comments

There’s a few very interesting bits of news today, methinks, but before that, don’t forget we’re all off to Cineworld on Parnell Street to see Crank 2 tonight at 6.30. Come along. More info here. In very exciting news, Oliver Stone is talking about the sequel to the iconic 80′s flick Wall Street. Michael Douglas has signed on to reprise the role of Gordon Gecko and it looks like Shia LeBoeuf will play a young broker trying to deal with the current economic meltdown. No word on Sheen as of yet. Wall Street is still one of the greatest films ever made and with the world’s economy as it is at the moment, Gordon Gecko could be the very character to epitomise all that we have grown to hate about the CEO’s and bankers who are getting off scott free. What do you think? Excited to see Gecko again? In … There’s more →

We love the Abbey and they love creative comments

  By darraghdoyle | April 30, 2009 - 12:28 pm | Site News, Theatre
1 Comment

Remember our competition for tickets to see Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre? We had two particularly funny and creative comments: Within the Abbey’s walls I ne’er have been, Its beauties unto me unheard, unseen. But if mine name be picked by chance from hat, Then maybe I could go and check it out and get a bit of culture and that like… from Mogueman, and from Ian we had But soft, what chance through firefox window breaks? It is free admittance, and a comment is the the cost. Arise, fair cinemagoer, and kill the celluloid moon, Who is already sick and pale with chickflicks That thou, the Abbey, art far more fair than she. Thanks to David at the Abbey Theatre, both commenters get to see the play tonight. Hope you enjoy it at least as much as Darren did.

Who do I pray to to make this not real?

  By Darren Byrne | April 30, 2009 - 11:07 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
8 Comments

This is quite possibly the worst movie ever made with an A-list cast. It stars Matthew McConnaghey, Kate Beckinsale and Gary Oldman as a……well, just look at this: Please someone tell me it’s a pisstake. When the going gets rough, it’s only the size of your heart that counts. Tip Toes was made in 2003. Has anyone seen it?

Oh, you’re THAT sort of gamer…

  By TheChrisD | April 30, 2009 - 12:09 am | Games, The Culch
1 Comment

I see an awful lot of people online complaining about games that they just purchased, and how bad the game is in their eyes. One thing that is quite common about them though, is that they never actually bothered to even have a quick read to see what the game is about. So please, to keep all the Internet forums free of this useless drivel: Don’t buy Halo if you don’t want to shoot aliens in space, or get your ass handed to you by whiny American ten year olds. Don’t buy Guitar Hero or Rock Band if you don’t want to pretend to be a rock star when actually, you’re just looking like a twat with a piece of plastic. Don’t buy Left 4 Dead or Resident Evil if you don’t want to be in a zombie apocalypse fighting your way to safety. Don’t buy Need for Speed or … There’s more →

Star Trek

  By Sinéad | April 29, 2009 - 7:45 pm | Movies & TV
1 Comment

I was one of the fortunate few who attended the Star Trek premiere last night in Dublin. As a lifelong Trekkie it was extra special for me to be able to see this almost two weeks early, but this isn’t going to be a review (Rick has pretty much covered that part) instead I wanted to share some of my fangirl feelings about it. I’ve written once before about my love for science fiction, but Star Trek is definitely where it all started out. From a very early age I watched Picard and Kirk, and later Sisko and Janeway. I quite literally grew up consuming everything Trek, and in the process I learnt some very valuable life lessons. Star Trek has always had these long running ideologies – to be heroic, make the right decisions, don’t be selfish and above all else show compassion. These are part of me too. … There’s more →

Tonight’s Apprentice Live Blog

  By Darren Byrne | April 29, 2009 - 12:15 pm | Apprentice, The Culch, TV
Comments Off

You remind me of final scene from wizard of oz, you look impressive but behind the curtains there’s nothing there Will Sir Alan have a put down this week to match that? The UK Apprentice is on BBC tonight at 9 o’clock and the live blog will be running here and on Elf In Amsterdam from about 8.45. Unfortunately, I won’t be around this evening (I’m going to the theatre, don’t you know), but there should still be plenty of people around to help slag, slate, size up and slam the would be Apprentices.

Apprentice S05E05 Review & Gossip

  By Elf | April 29, 2009 - 12:10 pm | Apprentice, Gossip, Newspapers, The Culch, TV
Comments Off

Our “rough tough creme puff” from NY, who was going to give us “balls right now” is gone! Even she had to admit that her teams product was Pants! Yes last week the teams had the branding and marketing challenge, oh and there were hot branding irons in the fire by the time the final three were in the boardroom. Kim sensing her time was up and Lorraine was after sticking the knife in, turned to her Brutus with a venomous look claiming “I have always championed you”, and while Philip drawled “That’s so romantic” Sir Allen gave her a one way ticket back to the big apple. She did as many a losing apprentice and hoist her self by her own petard, claiming that this was the challenge she was here for, she took leadership of team Ignite. However, that was about as far as she took it as … There’s more →

Freaky Big Going On Thirty

  By Sinead Keogh | April 29, 2009 - 9:17 am | Movies & TV
8 Comments

In another life, when cinema AND a McDonalds were too extravagant for the student pocket, a friend of mine taught me the delicate art of getting takeaway food into the movies. The smell of chicken McNugget emanating from your coat and alerting staff to your scurrilous ways aside, there is a small sense of pride associated with being able to keep a large coke standing upright in your handbag while handing over your ticket for inspection and nipping down two flights of stairs to the screen. That other life being only a short six months ago, the last time we gave in to the McCinema craving was sometime before Christmas, and none of our party are proud to admit that the last time we did it, we found ourselves eating double cheeseburgers while watching Hunger. Last night we McCinema’d out of necessity as we were running late to see … There’s more →

Blind Yackety Hides in Seashells

  By Lottie | April 29, 2009 - 1:31 am | Music, The Culch
1 Comment

One of my favourite past times is discovery, not of places or things, but discovery of music. Particularly Irish music. It’s one of the reasons I adore The Choice Prize each year. I always come away with a new collection of “favourites”. So when we popped along to a charity gig in Greystones Theatre recently, my little ears got all perky and excited when local band, Blind Yackety took to the stage.

Bohemian Rhapsody, the old computer remix

  By darraghdoyle | April 28, 2009 - 4:25 pm | The Culch
2 Comments

Pop culture? Well possibly. Take one of the most popular songs in the world and get old computer parts to make the sounds for it. Et voilá: “No effects or sampling were used. What you see is what you hear. The following items were used: Atari 800XL was used for the lead piano/organ sound Texas Instruments TI-99/4a as lead guitar 8 Inch Floppy Disk as Bass 3.5 inch Harddrive as the gong HP ScanJet 3C was used for all vocals.” You’d have to ask - how did they decide they could do this and how long did it take? Found via the wonderful Zee on the Next Web.