Monthly Archives: October 2011

Popscotch #3: Purporting Precarious Pop Culture Theories

  By Culch.ie | October 17, 2011 - 12:36 pm | Movies & TV
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What’s Popscotch? Popscotch is pop culture hopscotch. Popscotch is when two things marry in your brain, even though they wouldn’t touch each other in real life. Popscotch is when you make a spurious connection with something on TV, or in a song, or an ad on the side of a bus. Popscotch happens when you’re so immersed in pop culture that you don’t even know your own name anymore, but you could easily list the last seven features that Winona Ryder was in faster than IMDB. Popscotch… well, you’ll never really get it until you watch it play out. This month we’re contending that The Blizzards’ hit On the Right Track could well have been inspired by James Joyce’s Ulysses and is a shoe-in for the soundtrack if they ever make a modern adaptation. Ya wha’? We’re serious. Listen to it here: I walked the city for the second time … There’s more →

Screen Cinema - Junior Programmer Season

  By Culch.ie | October 13, 2011 - 12:40 pm | Movies & TV
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The Screen Cinema is setting up a year-long Junior Programmer season from this October where members of the cinema’s audience will have the opportunity to act as programmer for a night and play their favourite film. [They care about their customers you see.] To sweeten the deal, the Junior Programmer who gets the biggest turn-out for their show will win an exclusive year’s unlimited membership to the Screen cinema. Kicking off the Junior Programmer strand on October 27th is Jennifer Burke with her favourite film, the brutal and unflinching satire American Psycho. To be considered for the Junior Programmer season, people are asked to mail [email protected] with their favourite film and why they think it should be played. December’s Junior Programmer will be announced late October. I know what film Culch Towers would choose. Easy peezy chalky cheezy.

Events: Tonight - The Quiet Pint Comedy Club

  By Sinead Keogh | October 13, 2011 - 11:16 am | Comedy, Events
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As David O’Doherty would say, ‘do you enjoy enjoyment?’ Are you looking for something to do tonight? Are you suggestible? Read on. Certain members of Team Culch were lucky enough to go to college with some funny people who went on to become The Quiet Pint Comedy Club. A solid couple of hours of laughter and wit, the club has evolved from amateur stand-up to an ever more polished offering which regularly attracts some big name guests from the field of Irish comedy. It just so happens that their next show is this evening, and we recommend it massively. In their own words: “October’s edition of the Quiet Pint Comedy Club has arrived. Come to one of Dublin’s coolest venues, 4 Dame Lane, to see some of Dublin’s coolest comedy. Previous acts have included Dead Cat Bounce; Jarlath Regan, Damo Clarke, A Betrayal of Penguins and Andrew Stanley. Don’t miss … There’s more →

New Music: The Crayon Set

  By Culch.ie | October 12, 2011 - 9:50 am | Music
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It’s been desribed as “indie-folk-pop” - it’s energetic, catchy, lots of harmonies, with lots going on (strings, brass etc). It was produced by Nick Brine (The Beta Band, Super Furry Animals). You can download the EP for free - details below. We think it’s good [we really do Rob !] - and we at Culch.ie hope you enjoy the songs too! The Crayon Set are a music collective based in Dublin, Ireland and they play an upbeat, hook-filled mix of alternative indie pop/rock with some elements of folk and chamber also thrown in. They use a wide variety of instruments including oboe, double bass, wurlitzer, violin, cavaquinho, trumpet and flute and specialise in multi-layered harmonies. They have just recorded their debut album in Leeders Farm Studios which was co-produced with Nick Brine (The Beta Band, Ash, Super Furry Animals) and Teenage Fanclub’s Raymond McGinley guests on guitar. The album was … There’s more →

Festival Review: Spirit of Folk 2011 - Day 3

  By Culch.ie | October 10, 2011 - 10:42 pm | Festivals, Music, The Culch
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Spirit of Folk - Day 1 Spirit of Folk - Day 2 Day 3 - What folkin’ time is it lads ? We woke to realise we had all missed the folkin’ rugby match. Brekkie in the belly complete, we still had one full festival day to go. And what you maybe are starting to realise by now is that there was a lot more to SoF 11 than meets the eye. Take for example the Fingal Living History. Really nice guys. And although the video and images maybe don’t do them justice - the audio interview I did with them was going to go here, but - their story told is so good we decided to save it for air on The SodShow. It is that good. How nice were the folks ? They were also in the late night revellers tent last night! And like an advert for … There’s more →

The Apprentice Ireland Liveblog Week Two

  By Darren Byrne | October 10, 2011 - 6:56 pm | The Culch
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Welcome to the second of this year’s Apprentice Liveblogs. The show begins at 9 o’clock this evening on TV3 and our liveblog will kick off a few minutes before that. For those of you who don’t know, the liveblog is just a chatroom on this site where we talk about the show while watching it. It’s all very informal and tongue in cheek, so if you don’t like one of (or all of) the contestants this year, let us know. If you’re cheering on anyone in particular, let us know that too. You can follow it below on Culch.ie or you can launch a stand alone window and follow it there. Click here to launch in a standalone window.

Festival Review: Spirit of Folk 2011 - Day 2

  By Culch.ie | October 10, 2011 - 1:43 pm | Festivals, Music, The Culch
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Spirit of Folk - Day 1 Spirit of Folk - Day 3 Day 2 - The Adventure Begins Spirit of Folk Day 1 was an absolute belter I think it’s fair to say. And so the Three Stooges awoke to a full fry [who needs master chef when you have a gardener !] And somewhere around lunch time we made our way into the main arena to see what was in store. We were all well aware that having not arrived until after 4pm on Day 1, we may have missed a bit. First stop - first band on the main stage - Traz (a four piece Acoustic/Alternative/Folk band from Dublin): Post Traz, we took a wander through the woodland route and heard the familiar sound of uilleann pipes and a guitar bouncing through the trees. Two gentlemen, known as Lynched, were playing a set at the old well and … There’s more →

OWLS Children’s Nature Club

  By Jenny Foxe | October 10, 2011 - 1:26 pm | The Culch
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I discovered this club during Heritage Week. The event was advertised as a ‘Wild Kids’ discovery tour of Turvey Park in Donabate. I called the number and signed up my 6 year old, who loves nothing more than climbing trees and getting muddy. I dropped him to the meeting point and watched him wander off timidly with the other kids and ‘Mouse’ the leader. When I collected him after the 2 hours he was flushed, wet, muddy, in possession of a slingshot made from a twig and was talking at 100mph out of excitement about jumping ditches and making shelters. I signed him up for a year’s membership at a cost of €25. We get regular emails inviting us to events. The club has an allotment in St Anne’s Park where we are often invited as a family to go and help plant, dig and grow vegetables. The leaders there … There’s more →

Festival Review: Spirit of Folk 2011 - Day 1

  By Culch.ie | October 8, 2011 - 6:53 pm | Featured Post, Festivals, Music, The Culch
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Spirit of Folk - Day 2 Spirit of Folk - Day 3 If ever there was a festival where it’s title meant more to me after meeting it’s organisers, whilst I was there and in it’s entirety afterwards, this is it. Over three blog posts via recordings in word, audio, video and picture; the three who visited there, namely Peter Donegan, Brian Greene and Anthony McGuinness will paint a picture of just why all are already looking forward to SoF12 and why we already miss the experience that was SoF11. Spirit of Folk - Day 1 Enjoy your festival lads ! That was the greeting we got from the girl directing cars into the field. The field was clean. The grass was clumpy, but that makes for very comfy sleeping. The box office was in a caravan. The toilets were cleaned daily. All of the organisers were happy. The first … There’s more →

Game Review: Anto on FIFA 12 [Xbox 360]

  By Anto | October 7, 2011 - 11:36 am | Games
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Peter’s given his two cents on FIFA 12 on PS3 here so my take on the Xbox 360 version is below: I had the privilege of travelling to EA’s offices in London a few months ago to preview FIFA 12 and it was clear at that point that the team had done a lot of work on this year’s release. So now that we actually have it in our hands (it’s the #1 game this week in Ireland having gone on sale Friday), how does it compare to to FIFA 11 and is there enough to justify a fresh purchase?

Uncharted 3 : Drakes Deception - Preview

  By Andy Gaffney | October 7, 2011 - 9:17 am | Games
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We have all been there, you love something with all your heart but alas you had reached the end, and yes while the terms you parted on were friends who deeply cared for each other, but perhaps it is time to move on. Yes the next couple of months will be spent looking at photos of Christmas, sat around in an oxtail soup stained ‘Play it cool Trig’ T-shirt hoping that if someone is lucky enough to be experiencing their company right now, they know how to make them happy but knowing that they never will. Yes the months after ‘Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves’ were tough but now she wants me back. The game was nearly pitch perfect, the world of dashing tomb raiding Indiana but cooler Nathan Drake was one of the most fun and playable worlds that had been seen on this generation of gaming. It also … There’s more →

The Laughter Lounge - The Festive Office Party Survey

  By Culch.ie | October 6, 2011 - 6:17 pm | The Culch
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Blah Dickie Rock. Sprouts. Pudding. Yer One’s alright. Trebble Brandy with 17 lumps of ice if your buying. Ho, ho, who ? Yer damn right she is. Yes folks it’s coming to Christmas party time. But, did you know….. People who watch the movie ‘Elf; are 3 times more likely to insult their boss at the Christmas Party than people who watch ‘Home Alone’ 3 out of 4 banking, finance and insurance staff would not bring their partner to the celebrations compared with 1 in 4 public sector workers People who eat Cranberry Sauce are 4 times more likely to insult their boss at the Christmas Party 3 in 5 people would never call in sick the day after the party because it is too good of an opportunity to slag off their colleagues Brussels Sprout lovers are twice as likely to phone in sick on the day after the … There’s more →

Music Gigs: Fidil - Saturday 8th Oct, Mermaid Arts Centre

  By Culch.ie | October 6, 2011 - 3:08 pm | Gigs
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Who: Fidil When: Saturday 8th October, BRAY Where: Mermaid Arts Centre, Main Street, Time: 8pm Tickets: €16 / €14 Booking Phone: 01 2724030 or online at www.mermaidartscentre.ie How good are they ? a masterclass in the marriage of tradition and musical exploration, and a milestone in traditional music - The Irish Times A trio of undeniable range, vision, and chops… compelling the listener to ponder a rich, rewarding sonic palette produced by three fiddles and nothing else. Enchantment inevitably follows - Irish Echo

Game Review: Peter on FIFA 2012 [PS3]

  By Peter | October 5, 2011 - 10:15 pm | Games
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One of the joys of writing for Culch.ie is definitely when a package arrives. Special delivery. Please sign. Bam ! FIFA12. A note of thanks to the crew at O’Leary PR for organising a PS3 and an XBOX copy for Culch.ie. That aside and to more pressing matters. The Game. Welcome Back FIFA - Summer was excitement level Pat Kenny without you Changes - Culch Towers knew changes were on the way - for EA told us - remember the blog post The low down on FIFA12 ? Read it. It has relevance here and saves much paper. I chose to do two things when I got my copy. One online game - unranked. Which became three games. I lost them all. Manager mode. Professional. Five games. Lost them all. Disaster. Manager mode - Semi Pro. A one-all draw with Chelsea. I’ll setlle for that. And then i got sucked … There’s more →

New Music, Festival: Hard Working Class Heroes 2011

  By Culch.ie | October 5, 2011 - 2:06 pm | Festivals
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Hard Working Class Heroes – 2011 Annual Showcase Festival and Conference for New Irish Music runs 6th / 7th / 8th October 100 Bands - 3 days - 6 Venues - 1 Ticket HWCH And The City returns for a third year, bringing artists out of the nighttime music venues and into additional city centre bookshops, cafes and alternative venues. HWCH And & City will present lots of free events across the 3 days of the festival. These are not to be missed all-ages opportunities to check out your favourite Irish bands in very intimate and up-close surroundings. The HWCH Convention begins tomorrow [Thursday 6th] at 5pm with the first BandTips session taking place downstairs in Filmbase. The industry panels start on Friday at 2pm in The Button Factory with the first panel being Meet The Geeks followed at 3.30pm with The A Team. For all the details on the convention and … There’s more →