Daily Archives: December 4, 2009

Get in Gear…

  By NaRocRoc | December 4, 2009 - 9:27 pm | Events, Featured Post, Random Whimsy, TV
4 Comments

The Producers of the Top Gear know their way around a narrative. And the live show draws heavily on the format, caricatures and scenarios developed over the years on the show and in truth I’m sure the BBC are only too delighted to have a hugely commercial cash cow on their hands. Albeit a very well produced cash cow with such high production values. Again they’ve taken the show on the road, rock band style. And this week it has hit Dublin for a batch of live shows at the RDS. So Top Gear Live eh? It kinda feels like an episode of the TV show itself crossed with the immediacy and spectacle of a circus, except with more revs, wheel spins and handbrakes. If that sounds like your thing well then you’ll love it. But you wouldn’t want to have a migraine heading along as there’s an array of … There’s more →

RectoVerso #2 - The Her Fearful Symmetry Review

  By Sinead Keogh | December 4, 2009 - 12:51 pm | Books, Featured Post, The Culch
8 Comments

With many apologies for the long delay, illness and realjob overtime have kept me away. Readers and writers talk about that difficult second novel whenever a first novel is a runaway success. They’ve been saying it of Audrey Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry even though The Time Traveler’s Wife isn’t her only other work, (what of Three Incestuous Sisters, The Night Book Mobile – so on, so forth). Yet, irrespective of how many different titles Niffenegger has in print, Symmetry was always going to be judged as the follow-up to what was for some a seminal work. So, how does it stand up? I want to say I liked it. In many ways, I did. As it opened with the death of Elspeth Noblin and introduced her and her younger lover Robert, I was settled in for a slow but unfaltering pace full of description and introspection. I wasn’t immediately attached … There’s more →

The Friday Feeling - Movies out this week

  By Niall | December 4, 2009 - 11:55 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
2 Comments

Friday has come around again very quickly and there’s a full slate of brand new movie releases this week, including a brand new Irish production. It’s rare that we get to pimp an Irish movie so I’ll give it it’s on special section at the end.

Would You Like To See An Impersonation Of A Giant Smurf?

  By Lottie | December 4, 2009 - 9:51 am | Random Whimsy, The Culch
22 Comments

This isn’t normally our thing but seeing as the season that is in it and the person involved we have to highlight this. On Christmas Day long time Culch.ie commenter, Peter will brave the Irish sea in aid of Crumlin Childrens Hospital. Unfortunately my oldest son was born with a medical condition which needed a number of operations to try to fix things. During my time in Crumlin Childrens Hospital I came to appreciate the dedication of the people there but also see the severe limitations and budgetary constraints they work under. In times of recession the cut backs hit even harder on those that need it most. So it’s a cause very close to my heart. Every single donation is fantastic - no matter how small. The swim will take place on the North Beach in Rush at 12 noon and there website for donations is here. Every cent … There’s more →

Bring it On, Theron..

  By bngr | December 4, 2009 - 1:46 am | The Culch
4 Comments

Surely we have a new contender for Culch’s girl crush with Charleze Theron after her sending up of FIFA by pulling Ireland instead of France out of the hat during the World Cup practice draw. In case you missed the news earlier today, Charleze - a native South African with Irish connections through her long-term not-getting-married-til-gay-people-can-partner Stuart Townsend - is one of the people who will formally announce the World Cup draw tomorrow of the 33, I mean 32 finalists. In the practice session today when drawing the ‘France’ Ball she called out ‘Ireland’, and the story shot round the world and FIFA stated it was only a joke. But you’d have to wonder are they a bit worried that she might do the same thing tomorrow at the real thing? You’d hope that among the many odd rules of FIFA there is one that says the team that’s drawn … There’s more →