ISSUE 61
Featuring: SELF DRIVING CARS tattoo’s changing taboo & much more
C
FEBRUARY 2015
CONTENTS
STATE OF THE UNION SU NEWS TATTOO CULTURE OSCARS 2015 IN FOCUS GOOGLE CARS GCD TECH REVIEWS GENIUNE ARTICLE SU CLUBS
4 6 8 10 14 16 18 20 22 24
Contributors
Cover by: Richard Muprhy Cagda Erzincan Colm Corkery Colm Human Drew Peacock John Anderson Noor Saleh Pamela Machado Paul Quigley Pierce Connolly Robbie Bacon Robbie Morrissey
A letter from the editor
Hello again! I hope you’ve all kept well since the previous issue and i’ll assume we’re all back into the swing of college at this stage. Since the previous issue we’ve been working away here in the SU organising all of this semester’s events. We got off to a great start with the Refreshers party in DTwo. Recently we just wrapped up Welfare Week with attendance the highest it’s been in years so congratulate yourselves on being more health conscious! The Discovery trip has just gone. We took 50 students around Galway, Kerry & Cork taking in the Cliffs of Moher and Blarney stone among other sites. If you haven’t gone on a trip yet, well first thing is, you’ve missed out, the next trip on the calendar is the Surf trip which is unfortunately sold out. However, keep it here and you’ll get all the scá from the trip as well as the incriminating pictures. Next up though is RAG week which this year is in aid of Pieta House. I’ll let Claire explain it in more detail in her state of the union address. So until next time, be good! and if you can’t be good, be careful!
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Griffiti Magazine
Griffith College Students’ Union South Circular Road Dublin 8 Email: su.president@gcd.ie Griffiti Magazine is the Students’ Union Publication at Griffith College. It was established in 2004. All contents copyright of Griffiti, reproduction of any part of the magazine without permission is prohibited. The views expressed do not neccessarily reflect that of the college or the SU
STATE OF THE UNION CLAIRE ASTON, ASSISTANT MANAGER
Hi All,
STEPHEN DONNERY, VICE PRESIDENT & CLUB & SOCIETIES OFFICER
Hi All,
R.O.A.R.
T&Cs APPLY
SU NEWS WELFARE WEEK 2015
Welfare Week 2015 took place earlier this month with the aim of promoting student mental, phyiscal and sexual health.
of all different sizes. Peata, a voluntary organisation came in for Dog petting therapy. Dog petting is proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and combats isolation.
Activities planned throughout the week included a table quiz, a comedy and magic night, GYM workouts and dog petting therapy. The week kicked off with free condoms and apples being handed out by in the Students’ Union and to much surprise, the apples went faster! Tuesday saw a comedy and magic night with the world’s only sexual health magician, Shane Quilty, and Marcus O Laoire in the SU basement with all money raised going to RAG
week charity Pieta House. The irish Heart F oundation were in Cafe Arthur on Wednesday checking the health of Griffith students and with the overall prognosis very good. Thursday saw productivity stall in Griffith College and the SU filled with dozen or so dogs
Next up in the SU calendar is RAG week with activiies planned all in aid of Pieta House, a society which helps people siffering from depression. Griffith College has a free and 100% confidential student counselling service with 40 trained counsellors. Appointments can be made within 24hours. You can book by e-mail: counselling@gcd.ie or text/call on: 0851521511
G
5 1 ' M F RIFF
G
by Robbie Morrissey
Newstalk FM and UTV presenter Pat Kenny was on hand to launch Griff FM at Griffith College in January. Broadcasting for two weeks as part of an annual event for the faculty, Griff FM will began broadcasting from Saturday 24 January until Sunday 1 February. The fully student-operated station provides an excellent handson learning tool for Griffith College media and journalism students. Griff FM has been the launch pad for former students, including Chris Donoghue of Newstalk and UTV Ireland, Mark Simpson of Newstalk, Daniel Flanagan of Newstalk, Louise Denver of RTÉ, and Sinead Dalton of TV3. This year’s editors are former students, Alan Oliver, who has been Station Editor since 2012, and MA Journalism & Media Communications graduate, Peadar Breathnach. Speaking ahead of the event start, Pat Kenny said, “I am delighted to have
SU NEWS
been invited to launch Griff FM. For many students this will be their first opportunity to practice the art of broadcasting outside the confines of the classroom. It is an exciting time and I am looking forward to sharing in the excitement.” Radio Lecturer, John O’Donovan said, “We are delighted that Pat has taken time out of his very busy schedule to address the students and give his invaluable advice and insights to them. He is one of the most respected and experienced media professionals in the country and our students will benefit greatly from his guidance Henry McKean of ‘Under the Covers’ and ‘Moncrieff ’ on Newstalk was also in attendance at the launch. A journalism graduate of the Faculty of
Journalism & Media Communications at Griffith College who began his broadcasting career on Griff FM, Henry proves the worth of invaluable experience attained at third-level. A number of shows on the station included: ‘DRIVETIME LIVE, ‘D8’, ‘GCD @ 3’, ‘THE ARTS SHOW’, ‘THE GRIFF FM LATE BREAKFAST SHOW’, ‘GRIFF FM SPORTS SHOWS’ and ‘GRIFF FM NEWS, ‘THE LIVING ROOM’, ‘GRIFF FM MIDDAY LIVE.
FEATURES Tattoo Taboo: Is Society's opinion changing? by John Anderson
culture today goes hand in hand with pop culture. Celebrities such as Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown and Pink, to name a few, are all proud carriers of body art. Some celebrities are known for their trademark tattoos, such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s bull-head tattoo and his Samoan tribal tattoo and Mike Tyson’s controversial yet always laughed at eye tattoo.
T
attoos have always been considered a taboo subject. When it comes to going under the needle, we have always been told that we will be hit by regret, we will be frowned upon, and a common negative comment is that it will be harder to get a job. Someone who knows that better than anyone is Charlie Tumilty. Charlie Tumilty, at 26 years old, is a mother of two with aspirations to being a primary-school teacher. She recently underwent a level-two teacher trainee course in Hartlepool College of Further Education, and eventually had been offered the role at St John Vianney’s Primary School in Hartlepool, as part of her teacher-training course. On her first day, she was sent home and told to cover up her “inappropriate” body art with plasters and bandages. She is covered with tattoos and could not conceal them. The experience has led her to quit college and turn her back on her dream job to focus on her family. Nowadays it is very rare to see cases like this. Tattoo
So, how has tattoo culture changed? Why is it becoming more accepted? And if it is becoming more accepted, why was Charlie Tumilty asked to go home and cover it up? Leading the tattoo culture in Ireland is Dublin Ink. Dublin Ink is located on Cow’s Lane in Temple Bar. It started off in 2009 and it has since become the go-to place in Ireland for a top-class piece of body art. Mathew Larkin is the studio manager of Dublin Ink. The studio is a piece of art in itself, with niche pieces of art on the wall. The whole studio is open plan, so you can watch the artists do their work. “This is kinda one of the only tattoo studios that has a real open area that you can walk in and see a tattoo being done, which is cool; it’s a real friendly environment,” Mr Larkin said. He looks after the shop, clients, money, bookings, designs, Photoshop, almost everything. “I basically do everything but tattooing in there.” The way he talks about the shop, you can tell he is passionate about the place. “The Facebook page is massive; we are the sixth most liked Facebook page in Ireland. It’s constantly getting bigger and bigger because we have the opportunity of bringing over amazing artists from
all over the world. We have over 55 artists in the year, so every week we have a new artist with a different style, which gives our customers the best opportunity to get the tattoo they want.” Those renowned artists include the likes of Mathew James, Jack Connolly and Piotr Gie. He also talks about the expansion of the studio, not a new studio but extending their premises to add to the unique atmosphere Dublin Ink has. “We wouldn’t be looking at a new shop; we’re not like that. We’re not looking to expand out; we’re looking to bring more in and add to that feel.”
When it comes to tattoos, Mathew Larkin is no stranger to the needle, and also no stranger to the laser. He tells a story about his first tattoo. He was 15 years old in Spain with his mother, and he asked the artist for a skeleton to come out of the skin on his leg holding the Irish flag. The artist could not speak a word of English. Instead of the flag being green, white and orange, the artist painted it green, white and red. “I had the f**king Italian flag on my leg!” he exclaimed. “I was like, ‘What’s this?’ She was like, ‘It’s gonna fade up orange!’ Two weeks later: Nothing. So I covered it up with a dragon – hated it. So I got 11 months of laser removal and now I have a massive solar system on my leg. I love it.”
When it comes to tattoo culture, he believes the times are changing with how people look at tattoos. “People look at you in a different way when you have tattoos, but I feel it’s changing; the culture of it is changing. People are starting to appreciate it and let it in more. Hopefully in a few years, people can walk into a job interview with a tattoo on their hand and not be looked at like a jailbird.” When asked about Charlotte Tumilty, he is very blunt with his response. “If she has the qualifications, I shouldn’t see any reason why it’s stopping her. This is what I’m getting at; people are looking at her like she’s a thug. If she has the right qualifications, if she’s a good person, that’s completely acceptable. She could have gotten those tattoos at a young age and wanted to turn her life around.” Talking to Mr Larkin about his love of tattoos and his views on tattoo culture can be rather inspiring. He currently has no tattoos on his arms; he is pacing himself, waiting for the right inspiration to hit him. For body-art lovers like him, tattoos are more than just art. They are ways of expression, and judging by how Dublin Ink is doing, a lot of people share the same view. With over 55 guest artists at Dublin Ink annually, and then including their in-house artists, it is clear that Dublin Ink have a lot of customers; there is clearly a demand for good body art. During the interview, Mr Larkin said that John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was in the studio to go under the needle and get some script on his arm. Someone who is used to expressing himself through writing still somehow found a way of expression through body art. In the case of Charlotte Tumilty, the school she got her position is was a Catholic school, a school with old traditions. In modern times like these, a story like this can only be found in an old-fashioned institution. Like Mathew Larkin said, hopefully in a few years people can walk into a job interview with a tattoo on their hand and not be looked at like a jailbird. Those days could be closer than we think.
FEATURES Oscar 2015 The 87th Academy Awards Ceremony This year’s Academy Awards Ceremony happens on Sunday, February 22nd without anything to surprise us. The same old mix of drama movies, trendy-alternative, based-on-a-true-story and big productions did not fail to make presence in this edition. The race for the title of Best Picture lies among American Sniper, The Imitation Game, Birdman, The Grand Hotel Budapest, Whiplash, Boyhood, Selma and The Theory of Everything.
by Pamela Machado Boyhood: Richard Linklater’s Boyhood
plot may seem too simple and straight forward at glance: Mason, a boy who has to grow up through his parents’ divorce and meanwhile deal with his own issues as well. However, the real prestige of the movie lies beyond the 3-hour production. Being shot over the space of 12 years, the actors did not need to resort to make up in order to look older. Time itself did the entire job. The production was idealised in 2002 and along the twelve following years, the cast and crew met during 3 or 4 days annually to make the scenes of another year in Mason’s life. The process could have been a recipe for disaster since it takes care, attention and commitment to do such thing. But it actually turned out as another masterpiece of Linklater’s. The director knew the secret to make this work: adding the right dose of sensitivity and playing a soundtrack that makes anyone nostalgic. Watching Mason facing his teen years, his mother struggling to build a career for herself and his father constituting a new family is like watching to ourselves, our relatives and our neighbours’ life on a big screen.
Whiplash: This film is an instant classic. Perhaps the greatest surprise for this year, Whiplash is a delight for anxious and perfectionist people. The story revolves around Andrew Neiman, a young music student of the best American conservatory. Fletcher is his obsessed instructor who is never satisfied with his students’ performance. Neiman then starts to feel obsessed himself with the idea of “being great” and pursues perfection in a very sick way. The pain and stress are almost touchable for those watching the madness in which Neiman lives in. J.K. Simmons, who plays the role of Fletcher, deserves a special mention and also the Oscar for Supporting Actor. Whiplash is brilliant because it shows how far we can go if we break our own barriers and the famous saying “no pain no gain” literally comes to life when we see the blood running through Andrew’s hands.
The Theory of Everything: Stephen Hawking is widely known for being a genius like few others. The film The Theory of Everything, although, brings to light another perspective of the physicist’s life. Based on the homonymous book written by Hawking’s wife, Jane, the motion picture shows the progression of his neuro-degenerative disease but still follows the old recipe of love-plus-drama to attract the audience. Despite being an inspiration for many, the story lost a bit of its magic on the screen. The director James Marsh, unfortunately, was not able to show the real depth of the relation between Stephen and Jane. Just when we are about to feel Jane’s struggle to support her husband and raise their children, a connection is lost and our empathy at the character is gone. Both Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne, however, are at their best. The two young British actors conquered Oscar nominations and certainly stepped from promising talents to take part of the elite of Britain’s stars.
Y T R A P E L P O PE
In Focus by Pamela Machado
by Cagda Erzincan
by Pamela Machado
by Cagda Erzincan
by Paul Quigley
FEATURES SELF DRIVING CARS: SAFER FUTURE OR HACKERS PARADISE
by Robert Bacon Close your eyes and imagine yourself driving home from a long and stressful day of work. Now imagine that whilst driving you are also on the phone, ordering your favorite takeaway and simultaneously sipping the latte you just bought. Driving so recklessly is ill advised, not to mention illegal, unless you are sitting in one of Google’s Self-Driving cars, that is.
Nevada, passing legislation that allows these cars to operate on public roads and it looks like the rest of the world isn’t too far behind.The project team has equipped at least ten test cars. At the moment the law deems that whilst operating on the roads the car must have a fully licensed driver behind the wheel and one of the projects engineers in the passenger seat. The Self-Driving cars have a manual override that allows the driver to take control of the car, using either the brakes or steering wheel. In April of 2014 the team announced that they have completed over 1.1 million autonomous-driving kilometers. During this time there have been two incidents on the road, both due
“You may see a driverless
Google’s Self-Driving cars first hit the roads of Nevada in April of 2012, after the state passed a law on June 29th 2011, permitting the operation of autonomous cars. These cars require no human driver to navigate the roads, instead they rely on hi-tech equipment and software, which is called ‘Google Chauffeur’. Three more states soon followed
BMW or Toyota cruising by your house before 2020”
to human error. The first accident was when one of the Self-Driving cars was rear ended while stopped at traffic lights and the second was when a car was being driven manually near Google’s headquarters. Drivers are needed behind the wheel for the time being though, as the Self-Driving cars do have their limitations: they cannot navigate through car parks, differentiate between litter and a stone or pedestrians and the Gardaí, recognize temporary traffic lights and they are un-
When taking control out of human hands and putting it into a machine, there will always be worries. When asked about the reliability of the software used Dr. Lee said “I would expect it to be fairly reliable, I would expect it to be very well tested, but of course there will be accidents”.
proven in the heavy rain or snow. Google expects to have all issues fixed by 2020.
develop a business that would market the system and data behind it to automobile manufacturers. What all this means is you may see a driverless BMW or Toyota cruising by your house before 2020.
In 2012 Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, said that Google Self-Driving car will be available to the general public by 2017. Project director Chris Urmson revised this schedule in 2014 and indicated the release date may now be in 2020.
Dr. Brian Lee, director of software labs at the Athlone Institute of Technology, was asked what he thought of the Google Self-Driving cars project and said “With that sort of technology, you can have a lot more control of the cars. Theoretically they could be a lot safer”.
Google currently has no plans to become a car manufacturer, what they may do, once they fix the faults in this technology, is
show their strength? In relation to this Dr. Lee said, “Absolutely, there will be massive security concerns. I think hackers have shown that they can break into anything that
mind that $150,000 is on top of the price of the car itself. When Dr. Lee was asked if the price of this technology would come down to the level where the general public could attain it, he said, “They are very sophisticated, but Google are not making these for an exercise. Obviously they’ll have to be able to sell them, so yes is the answer”.
“I think hackers have shown that they can break into anything that they want to, they can control anything
In recent months there has been a lot of concern in relation to our security and privacy when using the latest technology. Will these autonomous cars be but another opportunity for elite hackers to
”
they want to, they can control anything”. At the moment it costs around $150,000 to kit one of Google’s Self-Driving cars out. Keep in
Dr. Lee said “I’m pretty sure you will see them (Google Self-Driving cars) on Irish roads in the next five years”. So, the question isn’t if or when Google’s Self-Driving cars are coming, the question is, will you be sitting in one?
GCD Tech
JAMMIN’: THE GLOBAL GAMES JAM
The 5th annual global games jam took place in Microsoft’s offices between January 23rd-25th. Organised by Griffith’s own Eoin Carroll, the games jam has become increasing popular. For anyone unaware of what the games jam is, the global jams – sponsored by Griffith College – is where young people from all over Ireland come together and create teams to make a game in the space of 48 hours. Teams can be made up of 1 person or teams can be made of 8. There was no limit. 10 students from Griffith took part in the weekend
along with students from colleges including NUI Maynooth, Pulse College, IADT, Ballyfermot and many more plus game enthusiasts. The theme of the weekend was “What do we do now”. The games created were all a very high quality. There were a game based on the Simon says premise, outer space shooters, First Person Shooters, penguin balancing, zombie killing, a game about building a team for the weekend, shooters, drunk simulator, a First Person Shooter to learn the alphabet. Speaking about his game and the event, Griffith student Donal Byrne said: “The theme
“Within the 48
hours probably learned more than a month of school or studying on your own”
was “What do we do now” and our interpretation of that was being able to adapt to a situation. So our game is that you’re in a room with a zombie and you have to figure out how to kill it.” “It’s an opportunity for all the like minded game developers in Dublin to meet, network and it kind of forces you to learn. We’re first year students and it’s out first year doing it and we had no outside help so we had to learn through necessity and within the 48 hours probably learned more than a month of school or studying on your own.” The overall winner was decided by a vote from all teams with the 1st prize going to TresAGH. A game that used Oculus Rift technology to help guide your player to safety on a deserted island. Second place when to Escape from Unity. A puzzle based game. The winners won windows devices among other prises. All participants
APP REVIEWS
were fed throughout the weekend by suppliers like Apache Pizza, Porko Loco, Brodricks, Aldi along with a healthy amount of fruit. Next year organizer Eoin Carroll said he wants to double the size to rival the world’s biggest. “I’ve spoken to Microsoft about doubling the space and they seem to be board”.
by Colm Corkery
IFTTT
QUIZUP
SWIFTKEY
IFTTTIFTTT (If This Then That) is a fairly new app to appear on the marketplace. Developed to do exactly what it says in the name, if something is to happen, then to do another action. For example, if you were to change your facebook profile picture, the app would automatically change your twitter picture to the same picture. The most amazing thing about ifttt is how simple it is to use. You might assume that these commands, would require some programming know-how—but they don’t, there is a large list of recommended receipes developed by IFTTT to start you off before starting to develop your own receipes.
QuizUp has been around for quite a while now, but having spoken to some friends I realised it has not really been spread around that much. QuizUp is essentially a buzz round, quick thinking quiz game based on pretty much any category you can think of from Science to New Girl to Kanye West, the selection of quizzes are quite literally, endless. This app is fantastic for anyone looking to burn up some time or to procrastinate. The more you play the more points you gain and level up. You receive funny taglines by reaching certain milestones based on leveling up, which you can then use as part of your username to boast to others.
Another app that has been around for quite some time now is SwiftKey, it has been named Android’s best-selling alternative keyboard for users, main reason it is getting a shout out is due to the fact it has now gone free on the android marketplace and has also been released alongside with the new IOS update! This ‘Mind-reading’ app adds user-driven enhancements; it accesses your emails, twitter, facebook and text messages to learn exactly what language you commonly use and removes the annoying “add to dictionary” that we have to go through when trying to use obscure made up words! The removal of the price barrier of the keyboard is truly fantastic as it brings the technology to more users worldwide.
REVIEWS
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY Release Date: February 13 Run Time: 125 minutes 50 Shades of Fucked up – uh Grey* is surely one of the most intensely anticipated literary adaptation since The Da Vinci Code. Millions of fans have already bought the book and enjoyed EL James’s erotic bestseller on their discreet e-readers. Now there is a film version written by Kelly Marcel and directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, which premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on February 11, 2015 and had a wide theatrical release on February 13, 2015 by Universal Pictures. Irishman Jamie Dornan plays the sexy –dark, intimidating, billionaire entrepreneur who sparks the ‘inner goddess’ in Anastasia Steele, the introverted, hopelessly romantic English literature student, played by the beautiful Dakota Johnson. Personally, I found the movie a bit rushed and some scenes needed more details and action. For those of you who didn’t read the book, you might find the movie a bit confusing because the movie lacks details in the book that are crucial to the plot. But overall I wasn’t disappointed although all the reviews were mixed and mostly negative about how bad the movie was. I won’t deny that I enjoyed looking at Jamie Dornan aka Christian Grey for 125 minutes, but the movie didn’t do the book or the genre any justice, if anything it was the most purely tasteful and soft core depiction of sadomasochism and BDSM in cinema history. So “vanilla” if you’d like. Their chemistry wasn’t the best, the connection between them was a bit dull and I felt like they were blandly reciting their lines with no natural flow –for the most part. Now for the fun part, the sex scenes in the movie are numerous, short and plain-spoken, but they aren’t smutty or raunchy. Basically, these key scenes are only there to advance the plot, and only the most buttoned-up prude will be scandalized. Like I said with the soft core depiction, the ropes, cuffs and collars are all standard issue “what comes to mind” of kinky –no biggie. For real life, perhaps, they are extreme, but for the movies, it’s nothing too weird. Not sure whether the movie was indented to be ‘hilarious’ in some scenes, but it certainly was.
By Noor Saleh
KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE Release Date: January 29th Run Time: 129 minutes Based upon the acclaimed comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men First Class), Kingsman: The Secret has one most overly done story lines I can think of: a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius. It’s hard to argue with a a big budget movie, done by the so called professionals, spending unimaginable figures of dollars with one aim in mind: to get it to the box office. But of course, at the same time it’s hard not to feel let down. The high budget movies do get a rough time as they have a lot of pressure to live up to their high price tag, however that is not an excuse for the blatant James Bond franchise remake. Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service has got he whole franchise down to a tee: the ingenious gadgets, suave heroes with the ability to identify a rare brand of Scotch from smell alone, megalomaniacal villains and deadly henchwomen with blades where their legs used to be. It’s filthy, funny and very violent and frankly it’s the most fun 007 has been in years. Kingsman: The Secret Service will actually be debuting in the UK and Ireland and will eventually debuting in America and elsewhere on or around February 13th. Especially considering that Fifty Shades of Grey will be sucking up all the media attention heading into the Valentine’s Day Weekend, a debut on the weekend of the 13th would be either a huge win for this comparatively under-the-radar picture, or a blunder they wont recover easily. I had high expectations as I was impressed with the comic book when I read it... Fast and funny, witty and gritty. More fun than James Bond could ever be.There’s enough fast paced action to take in and enjoy, but the somewhat generic plot and the spies inability to solve anything without slaughtering everyone in sight makes the film feel incredibly mindless. There is definitely a place for mindless action, of course, but this film can’t seem to decide if it wants to be taken seriously or be a fun romp.
ByColm Human
REVIEWS
You+Me - Rose Ave. You+Me are a folk music duo of Canadian musician-singer-songwriter Dallas Green, better known as, City and Colour, and American singer-songwriter Alecia Moore, better known as P!nk. Their debut album, entitled Rose Ave., was released on October 14, 2014, by RCA Records. This album in particular has struck me because of it’s beautiful nature. The unusual mix of P!nk and Dallas is very captivating. She met him through her husband Carey Hart, and they felt a musical connection, then Green was invited to LA and in just a single week they wrote 8 out of 10 songs featured on the album! The outcome of their collaboration is magical and heartwarming. They switched things up in the album where they didn’t just stick to the usual arrangement of harmonizing or trading vocal leads mid-verse, instead their voices just flow simultaneously on a beautiful background of soft piano and guitar. The album focuses on Green’s soft and melancholic voice in contrast with P!nk’s sweet and powerful voice. The album closer “No Ordinary Love”, features Green’s raw, harmonious voice at it’s best with P!nk singing one verse, while “Love Gone Wrong” best expresses their ability to share the spotlight, each chorus sharing harmonies, while the verses trade lead duties. The two tuneful tracks “Gently” and “You and Me” are beautifully harmonized with gentle finger-picking and mellow vocal flow. The rest of the album just follows the same vibe through the guitar, piano and beautiful vocals. The euphonious nature of this album will captivate you, specially because all of the songs go really well together it feels like they’re all merged into one long song. Their chemistry is so strong, which makes this even more beautiful to listen to.
Beck - Morning Phrase Nowadays if you’re almost interrupted by Kanye West after beating Beyoncé for Best Album of the Year, you’re doing pretty well for yourself. The last time Kanye rudely interrupted the winner for best album of the year at the Grammy’s they became a worldwide sensation, that of course was Taylor Swift. Now I’m not saying that Beck isn’t a worldwide star or anything but he has fallen away from the pack of famous alternative rock musicians, since his 2002 album ‘Sea Change’. He made a comeback with the great ‘Modern Guilt’ album in 2008, even though he released two albums in between ‘Sea Change’ and ‘Modern Guilt’. Modern Guilt built up his reputation with tracks such as Gamma Ray and Youthless. But Beck took a three year break from making music and in 2013 started working on his 12th studio album ‘Morning Phase’ for release in 2014. So why did Kanye attempt to interrupt Becks acceptance speech? Could it be Beck wasn’t better than Beyoncé? He doesn’t like beck? Maybe Kanye just wanted a bit of attention? According to sources Kanye believes that Beyoncé album was more ‘artistically direct’ than Becks. I don’t know what Kanye has been smoking but he must be out of his mind to believe such nonsense. Beck produced his whole album while also playing various instruments such as guitar, piano, bass and also various orchestral instruments. While on Beyoncé’s album she had over nineteen different producers and even more writers. Now on to the album itself. It has been labeled as an acoustic album when it was released in a press conference even though there is a use of electrical instruments. The opening track is twenty seconds long and it is just an instrumental. I personally don’t think this is a great way to start off an album, but the next few tracks are great. The track ‘Morning’ I think is a great track with its chilled out vibe with a high tone of lyrics and an acoustic riff that is just electrifying. ‘Heart of the Drum’ is a more upbeat track with a heavy bass line and a simplistic drum beat and is one of the better track on the album. ‘Blue Moon’ and ‘Blackbird Chain’ are the main tracks to listen to on this album. The two tracks are my personal favourite’s and are by far the best on the album. A great album by Beck I have to say, it’s a great album to just unwind to and relax when listening to. I would give it a fair 7/10.
By Noor Saleh
By Pierce Connolly
THE GENUINE ARTICLE
Ed Sheeran confirmed to play Croke Park in July. Claire can’t go #lol
Punishment deemed to be fair for assistant manager Claire Aston sent to Cork as punishment for under par job performance by Drew Peacock
For those unawares, Griffith College has three locations around Ireland: Dublin, Limerick & Cork. However, Dublin remains the only campus with a students’ union. This is due to the small size of the other campuses. News broke in recent times that Griffith College Cork have begun the process of setting up their own Students’ Union. Still in the early stages but progress is progress. One of the main issues was trying to find staff to “hold the fort” if you will. SU management recently had a meeting with Cork as to the best way to set up a students’ union. Well.... this is what assistant manager, Claire Aston, believed it to be. In reality, it was her interview with Griffith College Cork. Due to her under par performances in her duties SU manager Paul Walsh has sought a way to off load her without making waves. Speaking to the genuine article, Mr. Walsh said that, “well she’s just not been able to cut it. Promoting her has probably been my greatest mistake as manager”. At the moment, Cork is seen as the purgetory or limbo of working in the SU. A just punishment some would say.
Claire has been made aware of her impending departures prior to this article going to print. Dispite this she was unavailable for comment. It is thought she’s finding a way to ship off a replacement and try rescue her job. Other Students’ Union staff were shocked by the announcement. Vice-President & Clubs and socities officer Stephen Donnery was even visibly shocked. “I dunno, I thought she was alright, hi. I suppose towards the end she was more interested in how full the kettle was as opposed to her parties. Actually...yea, good shout, Paul.” President, Robbie Purcell was even more bemused. “What? She’s going where? Does that mean i have to open up?” Meanwhile, officials in Griffith College Cork seem delighted with their soon to bew employee. “She’s been working there for years. She’s a proved party planner with great people skills.. We’re not terribly worried about her recent
performancesas she’s joining the cleaning staff.” If you wish to help Claire try save her job she is believed to be setting up a pledge website at the address: www.whatthefuckispaulatimclassatmyjob.com although this remains speculation. Claire has been a permanent fixture around Griffith College for the past four years. Her presence is sure to be missed. This will be more to do with nostaligia than loss of work rate or excellent parties. Claire is expected to depart her position at the end of March when preparations for the Griffith Ball are finished and the lads don’t have to worry about it. There is expected to be a power vacuum amoung the Ents crew to fill her job on a temporary basis with PaddyPower currently backing outisde Pierre Cannoli to take over at 1/4 with second favourite Paul Quigley out at 5/2. Whatever happens, students are believed to continue partying no matter the outcome.
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
NEWS IN BRIEF James Number of people writing 14 instead of 15 in the date going down. Despite the name, no jam found at the Global Games Jam. Number of people spotted in Victorian clothes found not to be related to Penny Dreadful.
howley Occupation: IT Mastermind Greatest Ambition: To hide his
Facebook pictures better
Computer Science students claim to have developed AI. They still don’t know how.
Hobbies: Engaging women
Dog Petting Therapy backfires and causes many girls to go to hospital due to over gasping.
off?" & Home & Away.
Student’s faring well after Welfare Week. Students feel decived by “the Zoo workout” in Raw GYM.
Likes: Saying, "Have you turned it on and Dislikes: Neighbours Interesting Fact: The SU is kept running thanks to a steady supply of tea, coffee and James running over to fix everything.
SU CLUBS 2014/15 In this issue we’re taking a look at the men’s and women’s volleyball teams. Both teams are playing their last league match of the season this month.
Fatima Balza
Andrew Goti
Brendan O Toole
Age: 26
Age: ??
Age: Well hidden
Guilty Pleasure: I loveee eating chocolate, could eat a full bag all by myself. When I eat so much of it and get to the point where I think I should stop eating them, this is is when I say to myself “ahhhhhh... I better I go buy more instead!” And I continue eating them. Something about chocolate that I cannot control!
Guilty Pleasure: Addicted to Street fighting
Guily Pleasure: Pretending he’s Liam Neeson
Name: Julius Schmid
Name: Walaa Ajjawi
Name: Sandra Brunet
Age: 19
Age: 20
Age: 21
Guilty Pleasure: German Beer
Guilty Pleasure: I like to
Guilty Pleasure: Shower Singing
interview my teddy bear; I pretend he’s a famous footballer. When the interview is over he asks me out. good practice!
Name: Cathrin Ratz
Name: Denis Mondon
Name: Noor Saleh
Age: 20
Age: 21
Age: Team Baby
Guilty Pleasure: Serious honey and raisins addiction
Guilty Pleasure: Perfoming in his One Direction tribute act
Guilty Pleasure: Writing dirty poems while singing to my dog, Spenser
Name: Spenser Mitchell
Name: Mukesh Jodhani
Name: Wennie So
Age: 22 Guilty Pleasure: Knorr Soup
Age: 27 Guilty Pleasure: Yoga to improve his volleyball agility
Age: 20 Guilty Pleasure: Knitting Shreddies
Name: Martin Thomas Age: Guilty Pleasure:
Signing autographs & posing for photos as Gareth Bale
Name: Marcel Bader
Name: Tim Pulsmeier
Name: Sinisa Nicul
Age: 22
Age: 21
Age: 24
Guilty Pleasure: Looking at himself in the mirror while eating
Guilty Pleasure: Joined Volleyball to pick up chicks.
Guilty Pleasure: Peppa Pig
Name: Felipe Feitosa
Name: Josefina Bentz
Age: 23
Age: 25.5
Guilty Pleasure: Watching Pretty Little Liars in his Powerpuff girls onesie
Guilty Pleasure: **Too sexual to print**
Name: Vanessa Mallet Age: TBD Guilty Pleasure: Novelty mugs
Name: Hatice Bilada Age: TBD Guilty Pleasure: Extravagant hats
Name: Anne Marit Raaberg Age: 21 Guilty Pleasure: Twerking
Name: Charlie Wen Age: 22 Guilty Pleasure: Interprative dance
STUDENTS’ UNION SABBATICAL OFFICER POSITIONS BENEFITS:
FULL TIME JOB. FULLY PAID ON-CAMPUS ACCOMMODATION. WAGE OF €1000 PER MONTH
PRESIDENT ROLES INCLUDE: WELFARE OFFICER COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER EDITOR OF GRIFFITI MAGAZINE
VICE-PRESIDENT ROLES INCLUDE: CLUBS & SOCIETIES OFFICER DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 31st MARCH. APPLICATIONS CAN BE PICKED UP FROM THE SU
CALL INTO THE SU FOR MORE DETAILS
15th ANNUAL
APRIL 17TH R.O.A.R.
DOUBLETREE BLACK TIE ESSENTIAL. BY HILTON TICKETS AVAILABLE IN THE SU FIRST 100 TICKETS €35 SECOND 100 TICKETS €40 ALL TICKETS AFTER THAT €45
T&Cs APPLY