Daily Archives: August 27, 2009

Fridge Fright

  By Stan | August 27, 2009 - 11:00 pm | Featured Post, Movies & TV, The Culch
11 Comments

When Culch.ie said they wanted “fresh blood” for the site, I knew immediately that I wanted to write something for them about horror films. In an email to Darren I whimsically proposed, among other things, a piece about refrigerator-based horror. Not cal-horrific psychological snack-horror à la Bridget Jones, but full-on cinematic horror, featuring refrigerators. As inanimate props go, they don’t compare with helicopters and mobile phones for unsung importance, but they have played their part. And I could be their champion. I admit that this is not the most fertile territory for a full thesis. Initially the suggestion lay – on the seriousness scale – somewhere between mostly-joking and ha!-ha!-you-freakazoid, but a moment’s consideration convinced me to make it the subject of my inaugural post on Culch.ie. Here’s why: 1. It seemed like a good challenge. Could I assemble enough words about refrigerator horror without boring Culch.ie readers into weeping … There’s more →

See the Toll Trolls at the Bulmers Comedy Festival!

  By Niamh | August 27, 2009 - 4:38 pm | Comedy, Events, The Culch
4 Comments

The Toll Trolls, live, uncut and unsupervised…yikes! Next week is the start of the Bulmers Comedy Festival and one of the shows I’m definitely looking forward to is The Late Late Troll Show. Dublin’s 98 Toll Trolls, M and 50 will be leaving their usual haunt under the M50 and taking over the Olympia Theatre for one night only on Friday 11 September and I reckon they’ll be amazing. These multi-platinum selling trolls have been keeping people laughing in the mornings for quite a while now and they are promising a Friday night of off-the-wall comedy as well as some special guests on their The Late Late Troll Show. All kinds of craziness can be expected! Here they are having a chat about the film ‘I Love You Man’ You can have a listen to some more podcasts of the lads on with the 98 Morning Crew Dermot, Dave and … There’s more →

Fringe Fringe Fringe

  By Darren Byrne | August 27, 2009 - 3:01 pm | Events, Music, Performance Art, The Arts, The Culch, Theatre
1 Comment

Darragh did a great post about the Absolut Fringe Fest a couple of weeks ago with a brilliant break down of what’s on and what he’s thinking of going to. Check it out here. One thing that did catch my eye was the Festival Clubs. The idea is that rather than sit back and watch the goings on, regular punters can learn a thing or two and take part in the arts. There’s five different clubs with specialists in their field running each one. I’m particularly looking forward the Debate Club and possible the cheery sounding Glee Club. Debate Club: No longer the bastion of the angrily elite and irrevocably nerdtacular. Join Irish Times debate champion John Gallagher in the clubhouse as he shares his oratorical knowledge with you. Learn how to use big words to win an argument, like oratorical. The club will culminate in a presentation at the … There’s more →

Dublin In The Rare Oul’ Times

  By Niamh | August 27, 2009 - 1:30 pm | Events, The Culch
3 Comments

The IFI are currently doing an Irish Film Archive: On The Road season, visiting various counties with rarely seen, exciting local footage of days gone by. The Dublin branch of the tour, Dublin In The Rare Oul’ Times will feature in a variety of Dublin City’s libraries. Originally supposed to be during Heritage Week, it seems that this has been extended into September and October. They reckon that the archived footage will not only appeal to “nostalgia addicts but also to anyone interested in social, economic and architectural changes in Dublin from the 1930s to the 1970s”. The films to be shown range from a 1932 cinema advertisement for Clery’s department store, a 1949 ‘Safe Cycling’ public information film made for the Department of Local Government to reduce bicycle accidents often caused by bad cycling behaviour (as demonstrated in the film), to the later films of the 60′s and 70′s. … There’s more →

Music for The Golden Vale

  By Niamh | August 27, 2009 - 12:15 pm | Events, Music, The Culch
3 Comments

On 4 September next, the National Chamber Choir will perform in Cashel Cathedral, Cashel, Co. Tipperary. Music for Tipperary are presenting Music for the Golden Vale featuring contemporary Irish works from Ian Wilson, Rhona Clarke and Elaine Agnew-RTE lyric fm’s 2009 (and first ever) composer in residence - as well as pieces by Lesur and Palestrina. Conductor, James Wood will be joined by traditional sean-nós singer, Iarla Ó Lionáird and the world premiere of The Beloved and Her Lover, a specially commissioned work by Ian Wilson, will also be performed on the evening. “The Beloved and Her Lover is based on the dialogue between the Beloved and her Lover in the Song of Songs. These exotic and sensuous poems have inspired composers for centuries, and in this programme you can hear contemporary settings of these celebrated poems not only by Ian Wilson, but also by Elaine Agnew and Daniel … There’s more →

Screen Classics

  By Darren Byrne | August 27, 2009 - 11:39 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
4 Comments

Okay, we’ve talked about it before - the classic movie season that Screen Cinema was running. I loved it. It’s been great to have the opportunity to see All About Eve and Casablanca on the big screen. I even got to watch Brief Encounter for the very first time. Well, now that the season is over they are already planning the next and they want your help. For being so lovely and greeting the screenings of classic films with such enthusiasm, they are opening the vote to you for future classic films. Just email [email protected] with your top three choices from the following list. My three will be The 39 Steps (apparently there’s a remake in the works), The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and The Great Escape. What about you? Drop a comment below with your list or with some suggestions that aren’t on this list. I’d love … There’s more →

Grind your bones: “Unbalanced Pieces” by Soulsavers

  By Will | August 27, 2009 - 11:05 am | Music
2 Comments

Title: Unbalanced Pieces Artist: Soulsavers Label: V2/Cooperative Release: Out now Grinding. Unrelenting. Those were my first thought when listening to “Unbalanced Pieces”. Its not a happy song. Sorry, no dancing here. Mark Lanegan’s voice (he serves as the main guest vocalist on the “Broken” album) reminds me of a resigned Johnny Cash, but with darker tones. It suits a piece about things getting worse. And worse. But like a car crash, you can’t stop listening. Its not an ear worm of a song, but it will burrow itself in your skull. Then it surfaces at the worst times. Dark alleyways. Midnight noises. In the pause of a doctor’s diagnosis. Not happy time. I’m still giving it a thumbs up. Sometimes grinding is the right thing to hear. I can’t find a video for this (OK, YouTube has something, but its not an official release). If you want to hear it, … There’s more →

Social Media Blues by Scott Rodgers

  By darraghdoyle | August 27, 2009 - 10:22 am | Music, Random Whimsy, The Culch, The Internet
2 Comments

I normally despair at all the songs about “social media” because they’re rarely good. Let’s see how I can insert “social networking” into a song, rhyme it with something and hey, maybe I’ll become popular on You Tube. Wooo. They can be awful. This one, on the other hand, is actually quite good, in a “oh that’s amusing” kinda way. Fair play to them. I’ve listened to it at least three times. Wonder what that says about me? Thanks, Lauren for posting that, I think…

Colonel Popcorn’s Minute Movie Mystery

  By Colonel Popcorn | August 27, 2009 - 1:23 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
13 Comments

This is a little series I’ll be doing just for the fun of it. A few little teasers of movie trivia from well known movies. If you get it right it’ll make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. If you don’t win you can revel in the fact that the winner is probably a movie geek who’s never had sex. All in good fun! 000OOO000 Cheating in this will result in the baby Jesus crying a tear of shame on your behalf and all of Culch thinking that you smell. You may not use Google, Twitter, Facebook, the IMDB, texting, emailing, phone calling, writing, and/or Jedi mind tricks or any other form of cheating. I’m watching and I know where you live. 000OOO000 Guess the movie - Released in 1988. Bill Murray was first choice for the lead role, but couldn’t be contacted. Kathleen Turner was uncredited for … There’s more →

Shooting Monkeys/Arctic Stars

  By Darren Byrne | August 27, 2009 - 12:00 am | Featured Post, Music, The Culch, TV
1 Comment

We have been transported back in time by the hairy time machine. It’s no longer 2009. It’s circa 1997. I’m in Transition year and being slagged for wearing my Naff jacket, which was so two years ago. In class, we heavily quote The Fast Show, seriously discuss and debate the decline of the X-Files and lust after Ulrikakakaka. Shooting Stars returned to our screens tonight. It’s still awful. It’s still full of terrible jokes and buffoonery. And yes, it’s still hilarious. From Ulrika’s faux disgust to Vic’s knee rubbing, from the Dove From Above to George Dawes, it’s every inch the same show I watched and loved as a teen. I really felt like I had just fallen into a 1990′s bubble. This was not helped by my choice of music post-Shooting Stars. Arctic Monkeys’ new album, Humbug, sounds like it was written, performed and produced in the mid-nineties, but … There’s more →