tn2 Magazine Issue 5, 2012-13

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FEATURES//INTERVIEWS//OPINION//REVIEWS

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PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM

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CONTENTS

Sam Rockwell // 15

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OPENERS HOMEGROWN THE ODD COUPLE THE CITYGUIDE FACES UNTIL NEXT TIME THE FINAL SAY

THE REVIEWS

THE FEATURES

THE REGULARS 8 9 10 12 14 15

THOUGHT FOF FOOD SOUL REBEL BOT-ICELLI YARNSPINNER ON THE PROWL PSYCHO NUMBER 4

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TV BOOKS GAMES MUSIC FOOD & DRINK

Editor & Creative Director Aaron Devine Deputy Editor Henry Longden Copy Editor Eoin Tierney Online Editor Ciar Boyle-Gifford Editorial Staff Gabija Purlytė // Tom Lenihan // Deirdre Molumby // Declan Johnston // Paige Crosbie // Hugo Fitzpatrick // Paul Casey Alison Connolly // Jenny Duffy // Gheorghe Rusu // Alana Ryan // Katherine Murphy // Fionnuala Gygax Isabella Davey // Ciaran McGrath // Claudia Carroll Photo Editor Matthew Wilson Illustrator Alice Wilson Creative Consultants Dargan Crowley-Long // Éna Brennan Special Thanks Damien Carr, Matthew Taylor and the Trinity Publications Committee // Gabriel Beecham // Attie Papas // John Colthurst // Yu Tsai for the Sam Rockwell Photographs // Ronan Burtenshaw // Nora Eastwood // Ashleigh at Romley Davies // Staff at EPB Department of Trinity College Library for their ongoing support

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OPENERS

“BAH, HUMBUG!”

BUILDING THE BANK DESIGN Though it may not seem matter-of-course, Trinity’s aspiring art historians can find reflections of architectural styles ranging from their antique beginnings right up to modern day without venturing beyond Dame Street. The 1891 Ulster Bank on College Green, for instance, is Thomas Drew’s bold take on a Renaissance idiom. Only three bay-wide, it rises above its neighbours, the narrow proportions making it look even taller. This domineering effect is also heightened by the way the giant columns of the portico are raised high above our heads on the channelled podium and tall pedestals. The

exploited to the full in the rich classicizing ornamentation. In an almost Mannerist fashion, the façade seems to be built up in layers, the central balcony jutting forward on superimposed consoles. Columns stand proud of the wall behind them and detach themselves completely at the level of the upper balconies which recede deeper back, together with the vestibule on the ground floor. The grandeur of the portal arch and the coffered barrel-vault behind it, however, are somewhat of a false promise: the Banking Hall was demolished 1967 “to improve the working conditions of staff”, and the bland modern interior is very

Photo by Kristen Pye

extremely fine-grained texture of the bluish-gray Ballinasloe limestone of the façade gives off an impression of malleable clay rather than hard stone, and its sculptural qualities are

much anti-climatic. The magnificent porch is, nevertheless, one of the most charming places I can think of for waiting out a sudden spell of heavy rain.

Gabija Purlytė

LITERATURE This is a second edition copy of A Christmas Carol published in 1843, and was purchased by the Trinity Library in 1987 for £75.

A Christmas classic, this ghostly tale is probably Dickens’ most famous work.

It is bound in a reddish brown cover, which is embossed with the title encircled by a gold wreath of holly. The pages are edged with gold, and the volume is illustrated throughout

by John Leech, an artist who created many cartoons for Punch and also acted in Dickens’ amateur theatrical productions. His colourful illustrations really add to the story – in both jolly Christmas scenes of dancing and music, and eerie images of chained ghosts.

The miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come, and discovers the true meaning of Christmas.

The tale is divided into five sections, labelled “staves”, the musical term echoing the fact it is a carol. The poverty of the Cratchit family can be seen as a critique of poverty in Victorian England. However, overall, with its messages of generosity, love and community, this is a feelgood Christmas tale.

There really is something magical about reading this small, old volume – it’s guaranteed to get you in the Christmas spirit This book can be found and explored in the EPB Department of TCD Library.

Jenny Duffy

RISING FROM THE ASHES FILM There is much Oscar buzz surrounding The Master’s star Joaquin Phoenix at the moment, but it was Walk the Line which earned the actor his first Academy-Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role (coincidentally, he lost the Award that year to Philip Seymour Hoffman, his co-star in The Master).

In Walk the Line, Phoenix plays legendary musician Johnny Cash, a casting decision that was approved by Cash himself. In these films and others such as Gladiator, Phoenix plays the self-destructive man who is verging on insanity, a character-type defined with surprising accuracy by this poster.

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The colour composition, framing and slungguitar immediately make you think of a CD cover or concert poster, highlighting the significance of music in the film. The fire stencil and red and yellow colours refer to Cash’s iconic song Ring of Fire, as well as to the passion, love and even destruction which construct the narrative.

The central figure of Phoenix (striking in black, a colour he wears frequently in the film) is not lost in but stands before the fire in defiance, and his trademark facial features of furrowed eyebrows and curled-up lips are still distinctive in the picture.

Deirdre Molumby

OPENERS

COOKING UP A STORM

FRONT SQUARE FASHION

FOOD

HOT APPLE MULL Jesus it’s cold. And a bit miserable, what with essays, Christmas shopping and that sniffle that’s not really a justifiable reason for missing things but still makes you feel bad enough to want everyone to pity you. This apple mull is what you need. Light, comforting and spicy. The whiskey (or brandy) is optional, but it really is delicious and warming. It won’t do your essays but you’ll at least feel more human.

2 litres cloudy apple juice Thumb-sized piece ginger Peel of one lemon Peel of one orange Stick of cinnamon 1 star anise Grated nutmeg 8 cloves Honey Whiskey/Brandy (Optional)

1. Place the juice and all the ingredients in a thick-bottomed pan.

2. Simmer on a low heat for at least 30 minutes.

3. Adjust the ingredients to taste, adding more or less honey or spice depending on your taste.

4. Serve in a warmed glass or mug.

STYLE JS student Aoife McCarthy cuts a sleek silhouette crossing campus through a perfect combination of simple separates.

Throwing a bold vintage Burberry number over an otherwise muted and wintry palette of rich, broody burgundy both complements and plays with the ensemble, juxtaposing Scandinavian practicality with European insouciance. Her ability to incorporate soft and textured elements with more structured pieces, such as the updated doctor’s bag, adds some life to her outfit during Stephen Moloney these dark mid-afternoons.

Paige Crosbie

JUKEBOX FLASHBACK 30 NOVEMBER 1992 MUSIC Soon it shall be Christmas. And what says Christmas more than some Christmassy tunes? Jukebox Flashback isn’t really sure: Santa, snow and turkey would probably be the main contenders though. However, despite all three’s centrality to the festive season it’s pretty hard to beat an updated musical classic to get you merry. On November 30th 1992 Shane McGowan and Nick Cave released their collaborative EP What A Wonderful World merging – in a “Christmas miracle” of sorts – the talents of two musical greats. Morose and plaintive, the two crooners are a nice counterpoint to Wham! and the whole EP could act as some retro stocking fodder. Listen up.

Alana Ryan

NØGNE Ø BEER RANGE DRINKS Norwegian breweries are on the rise for the first time since the nineteenth century and winter is the ideal time to sample the wares of the Nøgne Ø brewery, which has been producing some well-crafted beers since 2002. They have a decent American-style bitter IPA, but their darker beers are the ones to watch out for.

The 10% ABV #500 mixes hoppy bitterness with sweet fruity flavours. The Imperial stout, jet black with a 9% ABV and strong tastes of coffee and chocolate, is a velvety beer to be savoured slowly. They are usually available from most good off licences like the Drinks Store, and, priced at a hefty €7, consider it a Nordic treat for Nordic nights.

Declan Johnston 5TH DECEMBER 2012 // 5

OPENERS

PARADISE LOST GAMES Paradis Perdus has one idea. You are not meant to be a part of the world. As soon as you step outside of your cave, everything falls apart: from the paradise of the title to nothing. Your presence kills all around you, preserving holes in the ground which leave you stranded in empty space. The only goal is to touch three blue crystals which are hidden in hard-to-reach areas of the

world. Given the disintegration of the landscape, this requires some planning.

Sergey Mohov has designed a game though which doesn’t insist on such concerns.

This is not really about reach-

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and Michele Kopff, subjects the player to an idyllic world twisted by their presence.

Bright colours turn brown and die. Music shifts from gentle strings to electronic hell.

Paradis Perdus is a game of refreshing simplicity. To extend it beyond its minimal goals – as happened recently with The Unfinished Swan – would also be to reduce its power to move. It only does one thing, but when the bottom drops out, it replicates the feeling of a bad dream with abnormal closeness. In doing so it provokes some measure of fear and sadness. It is not fun, but it is worthwhile.

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ing the goal in time, or even making the sacrifice to leave the world and save it from destruction. It is about forcing the player to be the outsider, with no alternative. The art design by Fabian Bodet, coupled with the sound design and score by Matthieu Bonneau

THE TICKET // THE GENIUS OF HITCHCOCK: PT 1 // THE IFI // The first part of the IFI’s complete 52-film retrospective of Hitchcock starts on 9th December. Alongside the BFI, their London counterparts, they have worked to thematically curate the season. Although Part 1 doesn’t include any of the blockbusters, it is a great opportunity to see his lesser-known works.

THE DVD // STEWART LEE // CARPET REMNANT WORLD // The timing of its release may suggest it to be a good post-Meal Christmas stand-up comedy DVD. However, the morose tone of Lee’s latest tour dealt with the gloom of mid-life and his disconnection with the places he travels through. Expect clever wit that weaves through a rounded, unforgiving set.

THE SET // TORO Y MOI // BOILER ROOM, LA, 27-11-12 Available on Soundcloud, this is an outstanding set from the respected Californian producer. He plays Button Factory on the 20th January and this suggests it will be a Sunday night to sacrifice.

Note: Due to Paradis Perdus currently being in alpha, the game can take about five minutes to load --- available to download for PC and Mac at http://blog.sergeymohov.com/paradis-perdus-lostparadises/ Paul Casey

JOIN THE CONVERSATION @tn2magazine facebook.com/ tn2magazine 6 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

THE APP // FOODSTER // This electronic bank of recipes is made especially attractive by their quality and range.

Drawing from foodies’ website epicurious.com, the collection is made up with an archive of recipes from magazines such as Gourmet. It will even write your shopping list for you. Available for Android - €1.55

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THE BOOK // GRIMM TALES: FOR YOUNG AND OLD // PHILLIP PULLMAN // Pullman is the latest in a long line of authors to update the classic German Grimm Brother’s fairy tales. Pullman is utterly suited to the task, always having been a writer attractive to young and old. This is the perfect bedside collection to accompany the wet, cold nights.

Compiled by Henry Longden

HIDDEN AGENDA PRESENTS

THE C HRISTMAS PART Y

THE BUTTON FACTORY SATURDAY 22nd DECEMBER DOORS 11PM | ENTRY €10/8

WWW.HIDDENAGENDACLUB.COM

FOOD

PSYCHO DINNER: QU’EST-CE QUE C’EST?

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How autonomous are you when deciding what to eat in a restaurant? We look at how the restaurant industry tries to influence you, the consumer, in spending your money

ne of the best things about restaurants is that they come in all guises. Whether you want a sophisticated dining experience and are willing to pay, or you’re the knackered, penny pinching student who needs sustenance quickly on a budget, there’s an eatery that will suit you, if not several. The décor, the staff and the atmosphere are all elements which can decide if a restaurant will suit your own personal taster. However, restaurants are increasingly hiring marketing teams and so-called restaurant psychologists to ensure that their establishment rakes in cash. These experts claim that there are certain rules and guidelines you can follow which allow you to ensure that your customers are happy (and hungry) campers; and that they spend, spend, spend. Or in their words, make you “more comfortable” and your meal “more appetising”.

This idea has been popular in the US for decades and is slowly leaking into Irish restaurant culture, whether we are aware of it or not.

Good service is the basis of a good restaurant and can be the deciding point in whether or not you return. There is a line between friendliness and the kind of over-the-top service which culminates in a waiter saying “Missing you already!” as you scamper out the door. That overly friendly service style is based on psychology’s claim that you’re meant to feel more relaxed and comfortable when you think that you and your waiter are mates.

Recommended by experts are eye contact, carefully personal questions and, the one which sends shivers down the neck of any emotionally stunted Irish person, touching. Far from interpersonal skills, “Menu Engineers” as they are dubbed, are being hired all over the US to design menus. The top three rules? Never put a monetary sign on your menu. Secondly, put your

WORDS Paige Crosbie

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most expensive item at the top of the page so that the items coming after it seem more economical. People tend, in food choices as in life, towards the middle. Finally is the notion that people are more likely to go for an option which has a family member’s name before it. Bizarrely we would much prefer to eat Aunty Philomena’s Chocolate Mousse than just plain old chocolate mousse, whether or not Aunty Philomena is in fact a Lithuanian chef called Mantis.

Even the amount of noise in a restaurant can change how people feel about dining there. Most people don’t like quiet restaurants, or at least don’t like being the only person in the restaurant. But it seems more and more eateries are actively trying to make the atmosphere in their restaurant as noisy as possible. If you have ever been to 777 on Georges St you’ll know they are big believers in maximising noise. High ceilings and pumping music all combine to create an atmosphere that is fun and frantic, which restaurant psychologists say attracts more customers.

Most surprising about this restaurant psychology is the amount of it which is absolute crap. Cornell University have pretty much debunked all of the recommendations which I have talked about above. These methods don’t work. So why are they still gaining in popularity? As one restaurateur put it, “Opening a restaurant is probably one of the scariest and riskiest things you can do. It’s nice to think there’s some kind of formula that you can use to allow you to be at least a small bit more successful.” However I doubt a touchy-feely waiter would make anyone spend more. If you find yourself blowing a week’s pay on a meal because the waitress rubbed your arm, I’d say take a good, hard look at yourself son. The restaurant psychologist would of course say, “Told you so”.

ILLUSTRATION Alice Wilson

David Rodigan speaks to tn2 about all things reggae and shares his thoughts on the role of the DJ

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avid Rodigan is the world’s best-known WORDS reggae DJ. In the last Nicholas year, he has been made Maltby an MBE, won a prestigious Sony Gold award, and, best of all, took the 2012 Champion Trophy at World Clash Reset. Yet, last month after two decades with radio station, Kiss FM, Rodigan, who is half-Irish, resigned from his presenting role citing the “continued marginalisation of reggae music” as the reason for his departure.

Rodigan’s show had recently been moved from an 11pm Monday slot to an hour later, a step he interpreted as being an irreconcilable affront to the genre he loves.

It’s evident that the music is integral to his identity. He passionately explains “reggae has traditionally spoken out against injustice and social deprivation, rejecting Babylon in favour of a Rastafarian ‘ital’ lifestyle. This is the essence of roots rock reggae.

Its driving force is its hypnotic back beat.” Like most of Rodigan’s thoughts on reggae, this description embraces both its cultural and musical elements.

But one of the problems affecting reggae’s continued mainstream appeal is the genre’s uneasy transition from “ital” culture abstaining from, for example, foods with preservatives or alcohol, and encouraging the creation of uplifting art - to a more lyricallyaggressive, self-aggrandizing music. Rodigan has controversially championed musicians like Mavado, Vybez Cartel and Bounty Killer, all of whom reference gang-culture. However he says this doesn’t mean he is glorifying thug music: “It is difficult to reconcile some of the different messages in today’s modern forms of Jamaican music . . . I have become very concerned about some of the vacuous music

SOUL REBEL

MUSIC

“I SEE MYSELF AS BEING A CONDUIT TO THE MUSIC WHICH HAS ALWAYS MEANT SO MUCH TO ME”

which has been emanating from Jamaica in recent times. Obviously there are still artists who are flying the banner for conscious roots rock reggae, but they are in a minority. However, some tracks by certain artists actually reflect the lifestyle of the negative elements in the ghetto, rather than endorsing them.” This latter point mirrors exactly the argument used to defend hip-hop from similar accusations. The change in reggae’s typical subject matter is a reflection of how Jamaican society has moved on from the political context that existed during the genre’s emergence.

But does Rodigan believe that DJs have the power to shape perceptions of music? “I see myself as being a conduit to the music which has always meant so much to me; I play it in public and I talk about it because I want to share what I have discovered.” Does he feel there can be negative perceptions of a career playing other people’s music? “I do not see myself as a leech or a parasite earning money from some one else’s creation. Music has been recorded for over 50 years now in Jamaica, and it has traditionally been shared by like-minded souls via someone playing the records to someone else.”

The pertinent question, in London at least, is whether these like-minded souls are still around. The UK smoking ban struck a blow to London roots reggae nights, since “the smoking of herbs is very much a part of the Jamaican music experience, especially within the Rastafarian community”, but Rodigan believes the creation of outside smoking areas has now eased irritation. He is also reasonably sanguine about the demise of London’s famous Dub Vendor store, describing it as, “very sad, but a real reflection of how the marketplace has changed in terms of how people access music.”

While he may have resigned it would be wrong to cast him aside. Over the last few years, Rodigan has broadened his performances to include the UK festival circuit. “The festivals have certainly broadened my audience to a younger, middle-class audience.

This has been a real joy for me as I can see myself forty years ago in the faces of these festival fans”.

5TH DECEMBER 2012 // 9

ART

A PORTRAIT BY THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS MAN Art Editor Gabija Purlytė meets the creators of the AIkon-II project, an ongoing experiment that mixes science with art, which is unearthing some fascinating questions about the future of aesthetics

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an a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?” asked detective Del Spooner in the film I, Robot. Well, perhaps not yet a masterpiece – although that depends on your point of view – but they can certainly make an artsy sketch portrait of your face. The robot named Paul has been created by the artist-scientist Patrick Tresset in collaboration with Frederic Fol Leymarie, Professor of Computing at Goldsmiths College, London. The authors call it an “obsessive drawing entity”, it has one eye – a pan and tilt webcam – and one “crude robotic” left-handed arm, both bolted to a table, with a simple laptop serving as its brain. Using a black Biro pen and paper, Paul can sketch a portrait of a model sitting on a chair beside the table in 15-30 minutes. The camera eye often looks at the sitter while drawing, scanning his or her face with multiple saccades and fixations, then goes back to following the movement of the pen, sometimes pausing as if in thought or hesitation. In a final flourish, the robot adds its signature to complete the drawing.

Paul was created in the context of the AIkon-II project, whose main goal is “to shed some light on the (mind) processes that may characterize the emergence of style during a sketching creative act”. The robot has already been showcased in a number of exhibi-

at the moment is pure pretence – in reality Paul draws from a single picture taken at the beginning of the session. The authors’ goal is to have Paul draw interesting sketches of the public, and this includes sufficiently engaging the sitter as well as the audience, which in turn influences the way the final product – the drawing – is perceived and valued.

Paul fits into the broader ongoing scientific endeavour to find ways of making robots evoke the positive and empathic response that is necessary for productive human-robot interaction, or, as Frederic Fol Leymarie phrases it, improving “the quality of the (user) experience”. So the relatively cheap hardware used to make the robot is not just a measure of crisis-attuned thriftiness, its quirks make it more endearing: the joints make squeaking noises of varying intensity, and it is sometimes a bit “clumsy”, for example when the arm attempts to draw a straight line but cannot manage to do it perfectly.

We need to note, though, that the delusive aspects of the process should gain a real functional purpose in the future. According to Frederic, “as we progress in our modelling and understanding of the human artist in action, we need to comprehensively in-

“WE ARE EXPLORING ON THE ONE HAND THE PERFORMATIVE NATURE OF DRAWING AND ON THE OTHER THE PERCEPTION THE AUDIENCE HAS OF THE ARTISTIC PRACTICE AND THE ARTIST” tions, dedicated to both art and science. In gallery installations, Paul acts as a performer, and the authors say they are “exploring on the one hand the performative nature of drawing and on the other the perception the audience has of the artistic practice and the artist.”

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tegrate the most important actions and processes we know are at play: looking at the drawing, including the pursuits of the pen is key in (visual) feedback modelling; so is it for feedback, for memory and comparison purposes when looking back at the sitter.” Nor are the authors focused on “deceiving” the audience; in fact, as Patrick

ART

All portraits courtesy of Paul the robot Tresset notes, “even when we say that some of the behaviours are ‘fake’, people still react as if they were real.”

So is the finished portrait a work of art? Yes, but Paul is not the artist, at least not yet. By creating drawing robotics, Patrick found a way to engage with art again after losing passion “for doing things by hand” (a result of the treatment for mental health problems relating to post-traumatic stress disorder). As he says, “For the moment I’m still the author of the drawing and the author of the robot.” (This writer would also add author of the artwork as performance art, to which both Patrick and Frederic agree.)

From around the 1960s, with the emergence of conceptual art, the understanding of what constitutes “the artwork” has radically changed, with the emphasis from the physical product shifting strongly towards the idea and the process which produced it, to the extent that a physical object is no longer invariably necessary.

Just like the images which Yves Klein “made” in 1960 by having two nude models covered with blue paint drag each over across a canvas before an audience dressed in formal evening wear, Paul’s sketches are a recording of an event. At the moment, the robot’s drawing style imitates that of Patrick himself, who had been a successful painter, exhibiting his works in Paris and London. To my

question whether he envisages circumstances in which he would no longer be “the author of the drawing”, Patrick replies “when it will be possible to feed into a system some existing drawing and images for the robot to copy and observe, and to have the system develop its own style based on these influences”. In any case, whether a robot can ever be “an artist” is a matter for grand philosophical questioning about artificial intelligence, which we can all ponder upon.

That the sketches are aesthetically pleasing and interesting is of course important in itself. As such, they might not be “highart”, but rather the equivalent of the pencil-portrait you might get made of yourself in a holiday resort. They cost pretty much the same as well – in this year’s London Art Fair you could walk away with a portrait by Paul the Robot for £30. From a different angle, the drawings are ending up in museum collections too, for instance the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, perhaps in the same way a sketch or study done by a famous artist would be highly sought after.

Paul’s drawings, after all, are the first of their kind. At the moment, the authors are working on “implementing some drawing strategies based on visual feedback: in effect having Paul react to its own drawing whilst drawing”, so the project is bound to keep getting even more interesting in the future.

5TH DECEMBER 2012 // 11

LITERATURE

SPINNING A YARN

Author Donal Ryan speaks to tn2 on the back of his success at the Irish Book Awards, and discusses the inevitable pervasion of recessionary themes in contemporary Irish literature

LITERATURE

WORDS Alison Connolly ’ve never been told to read a book as many times as I was told to read The Spinning Heart. And as someone who works in a bookshop, that’s saying something.

Set in a fictional Limerick town, The Spinning Heart, by Donal Ryan, tells the story of a place ruined by the greed and fervour of the Celtic Tiger, where the actions of one sorry man send shockwaves through the lives of all.

I met the author a few days after he was crowned Irish Newcomer of the Year at the Bord Gáis Irish Book Awards.

Congratulations again. So how do you personally describe The Spinning Heart?

It’s funny, I always seem to have trouble doing that even though it’s not particularly complicated. I always just describe it as 21 linked monologues. It sounds boring when I say it now. It describes the experiences of the people in a small fictional town in Limerick in the summer of 2010.

There are two converging plot lines: a murder and the kidnap of a child.

“I HATE THAT HEMINGWAY BULLSHIT ABOUT HAVING NOTHING LEFT AFTER A BOOK” The book is being touted as the book of the recession, but the point about the village and its downfall was that it was really the cause of one man. Was that intentional?

Well yeah, I didn’t really set out with the intention to chronicle the recession, or be the recession writer. But you see then I got a bit smart and I thought this is the way I can get a hook with the agents and publishers. But no, I think when you write about Ireland as it is now, the recession is going to loom large. It’s going to be somewhere in the story. It’s inevitable.

And you had written a book previous to this?

Yeah, it’s set in the same village but ten years earlier, in 2001.

Just when the property bubble has inflated. The real boom was over and the madness kicked in. It’s about this guy who inherits land, ordinary pasture and dairy land, but it’s worth some crazy amount. And the book is kind of about the pressure that comes to bear on him. It’s called The Thing About December. I kind of started The Spinning Heart straight away after that. I had a bit of momentum built up. I had my little nine to midnight slot carved out and I thought “I better keep going, in case I never do this again.”

Did someone prompt you to continue the story of this village or did you just feel you should yourself?

Oh, my wife. With The Thing About December I stopped writing around October. I’ve done this a few times in the past.

Got 30,000 words into a book and then just stopped because I thought “this is shit. I can’t go on. I’m not a writer.” Only for Ann-Marie it wouldn’t have happened. Around March I went off on this plot tangent, got totally bogged down in intricacies. And my wife said “Jesus Christ Donal, what’s this? This is crazy stuff.” So I deleted about 10,000 words. And I sulked

for ages. I was real grumpy but she was so right really. Thank God. She’s kind of like a natural editor.

Some of the characters in The Spinning Heart are very dark, with elements of mental illness even. Was that always part of the plan?

Writing The Spinning Heart was easier . . . honestly, those characters kind of wrote themselves. Because each chapter is a character, they were all kind of one shot deals. I’d sit down and say “okay, I’m going to write this guy.” I suppose there are elements of myself in all of them and little bits of people I’ve met throughout my life, even though they’re completely fictitious. I think I was more mentally involved in the other one. Maybe even a little too much because I think I went half-mad writing it.

The chapters in The Spinning Heart are monologues, so did you have an idea of who the characters were talking to?

I kind of had the impression of someone going into a confessional but no one really goes into a confessional and completely speaks their mind. I just thought I’d write the monologues as people talking as if they could say what they really thought, and it would have no consequences. Because I know men like some of those in the book. Guys who wouldn’t say things like this, but would feel them. Guys who are just miserable. Full of this bravado on the outside but with this huge sadness inside them, which just consumes them. And I think people don’t want to see it. They know they’re horrendously sad, but they just accept it.

The characters really have an enormous amount of depth to them. It seems like so much work must have gone into giving the characters all their layers.

Well I think I had so much of that with the first book. I had it done. I hate to say “suffering” because I hate all that Hemmingway bullshit about having nothing left after a book. But I think I had all the suffering out of the way with The Thing About December. I was on the crest of a wave. I was determined to get this one done.

“I WAS A LITTLE TOO MENTALLY INVOLVED BECAUSE I THINK I WENT HALF-MAD WRITING IT” And what’s the plan now? Have you got another one in the pipeline?

Yeah, like an eejit I went off and started two novels at the same time because I had two ideas in my head. And they’re kind of set in the same area, the same village . . . God, maybe it’s a bit much.

It won’t be a bit much. Donal remarked that he hadn’t really received a bad review yet and that he really needed one. I originally offered to make this piece as bad as I could. I’m afraid I’m going to have to go back on my word.

Donal Ryan’s novel, The Spinning Heart, is in bookshops now 5TH DECEMBER 2012 // 13

STYLE

ON THE PROWL

WORDS Isabella Davey Alice Wilson

PHOTOGRAPHY Matthew Wilson

Meet the McGinn sisters, the brains behind TheProwlster.com, Ireland's most exciting new fashion website

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lobal reliance on the internet is reaching new peaks and now online shopping represents 16% of European retail sales. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is causing independent businesses and designers to be slowly squeezed out to sidelines, where they wallow among other has-beens like toe rings and Winona Ryder.

Enter TheProwlster.com, an e-commerce retail site whose aim is to forge a comprehensive lifestyle zine. It is a refreshing concept from the McGinn family; sisters Sarah, Grace and Jennie form the trio of fashion experts. The Prowlster team have created a solution that seems to support the blossoming Irish design trade as well as feeding our obsession with everything prefixed with an “i”.

Both an online sales partner of Irish designers and an exhibition of shoots provided by a varied Irish contingent, the function of the website holds credibility in our current times of financial hardship and creative wealth. This is much more than just a showcase on fashion: this is social commerce adapting to the needs and desires of its audience.

The McGinn sisters have created a site that overlaps the editorial with the social, revealing their blogging roots which formed their initial foray into the competitive world of online fashion criticism. Their noted blog What Will I Wear Today provided them with the platform to establish themselves in their own right.

It tempted them with greener pastures and led to the conception of The Prowlster. Talking to Jennie McGinn, she noted that “blogging reaches a point where you have to take a new direction with it as

your background.”

In discussing the brands they are currently retailing, from the sleek industrialism of Capulet & Montague to the established Irish label Chupi, Jennie emphasises that they “wanted to offer a mix of products across a range of price points so we could offer something to younger people and students as well as professionals with disposable income. We approached certain retailers directly, but after a point, retailers started contacting us about selling on Prowlster . . . definitely confirmation that we are heading in the right direction!”

They certainly are, with a transatlantic release not off the cards: “The intention for Prowlster is to create a global magazine and a global brand. Magazine commerce is about to explode and this concept is more deserving of an international stage, and we would love to be in a position to promote Irish design and creativity across the pond.”

What caught this writer’s attention about the concept driving their online retail space is the facility for people to get involved in exhibiting their talents. The home page features a variety of posts that swing from photographers to fluoro woollies and back again, while their desire to avoid siphoning off their site into specific sections reflects the malleability of our generation.

Exhibiting Irish talent online, TheProwlster.com provides an optimistic insight to the future of fashion in this country. The pragmatism of its creators ensures it will not be a has-been, but is rather here to stay.

OUR PROWLSTER PICKS OF IRISH DESIGN Emma Manly On the top end of the price bracket but the attention to detail makes you see why. With scalloped edges, perforated leather, scattered studs and giant collars, her items are immaculately tailored yet simple.

Electronic Sheep These designers hand draw all of their bold designs and are inspired by Film Noir cinema – think 1960s graphic design. Their mid to high prices merely reflect their fantastically original pieces of hand-made knitwear.

Capulet & Montague Eclectic and distinct, C&M’s colourful pieces are hand-cut Perspex ranging from paper aeroplanes to tiger heads. Added bonus?

Completely affordable and well worth the money.

CHANGING FACES © The Helmut Newton Estate

T WORDS Aaron Devine Tom Lenihan

he 1990s have just taken shape. Sir Mix-a-Lot, Mariah Carey, Right Said Fred, and Boyz II Men rule American radios. Bill Clinton has just beaten incumbent George Bush Sr in the US Presidential election, and Tom Hanks is on the verge of being a global movie superstar. Meanwhile, Hanks’s future co-star in The Green Mile, Sam Rockwell, is perched in the front seat of a car, lingering outside the room of a roadside motel.

Through the motel room window, he is witnessing a woman engage in an adulterous affair, while the man in the car with him is videotaping the whole event as it unfolds.

This brief spell as a private detective’s assistant was one of the more unusual periods in the actor’s otherwise conventional rise to stardom. Before garnering attention in independent films like Box of Moon Light and Lawn Dogs, it was this sort of work that helped support Rockwell’s fledgling acting career. Now a long time ago, it’s a part of his life that Rockwell actually describes to tn2 as being “pretty boring most of the time”.

Then again, it would seemingly take an awful lot to get the actor excited: speaking in a Californian drawl with an unusal New York edge, the most enthusiastic summation he can muster when talking about his experience on Jon Favreau’s Cowboys and Aliens is “fun”, while he describes the set of his latest film – Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths – as “pretty friendly”.

Although verbally subdued, with the diverse portfolio of roles that he boasts, his vocabulary as an actor is no doubt more expressive. Comfortable as either psychopathic “Wild Bill” Wharton in The Green Mile, cocksure con man Frank Mercer alongside Nicholas Cage in Matchstick

16 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

Actor Sam Rockwell talks to tn2 about his past work, Christopher Walken comparisons, and what drew him to his latest film, Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths, which hits cinemas this weekend

Men, or conflicted game show host Chuck Barris in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, he has also recently come into his own as a leading man in 2009 film Moon. In the latter, his haunting dualportrait of astronauts stationed long-term on the moon (where all is not quite as it seems) had critics calling for awards to be showered upon him. A topic that he feels most eager to discuss, Rockwell insists that Moon “was a highpoint of my career”. It presented a more subtly nuanced side to Rockwell’s acting that he hadn’t displayed much before, and, as it was such an intimate role (he is the sole actor on screen for the vast majority of the film), was he disappointed not to have received more formal recognition? “It would be fun to get accolades, but ultimately you can’t rely on that for affirmation. It doesn’t always help anyway . . . in the business sense.

Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s very random how that stuff can affect your life.”

Moon was director Duncan Jones’s first feature film so this was, as Rockwell points out, somewhat of a risk at this stage in his career: “Duncan wasn’t a proven director at that time, but he came to me and I just felt like I had to go do it. But it was amazing, it was a great experience for me because of Duncan.” Suddenly very enthusiastic, Rockwell responds almost instantaneously when I ask if he would like to be a part of the sequel that Jones is said to be working on, at the minute in the form of a graphic novel: “I’d do it in a second.”

Repeat collaborations aren’t something Rockwell shies away from, which has led him to his latest role in the aforementioned Seven Psychopaths. The actor previously worked on Martin McDonagh’s play, A Behanding in Spokane, alongside his co-star in the new film, Christopher Walken. Although generally praised by critics, the play was derided by some, including the New Yorker, as bordering on the racist, not necessarily in its language but in McDonagh’s framing of race as a theatrical tool. Nevertheless, was it this play that led to Rockwell taking the subsequent film role? “I think it was just that Martin had such a great track record with Beauty Queen [Of Leenane, his 1996 play] and The Pillowman, and then In Bruges, of course. And I knew Martin a little bit, so I was really excited about it.”

Despite having already worked with Walken onstage, one would imagine that Rockwell found himself in a daunting position shar-

MUSIC

“MOON WAS A HIGHPOINT OF MY CAREER. DUNCAN JONES WAS AN UNPROVEN DIRECTOR BUT I JUST FELT LIKE I HAD TO GO DO IT. IT WAS AMAZING”

ing the camera with such a screen legend, especially when Walken is at his weird, blackly comic best. Instead, Rockwell firmly dismisses any public preconceptions of Walken, warmly insisting that it was “really fun [there’s that word again] to work with him” and that he “was really playful”. A far cry, then, from the darkly off-centre persona Walken has cast for himself through his more sinister roles.

But Rockwell shares Walken’s tendency towards these characters with a hard-edged weirdness, inevitably causing comparisons to be drawn between the two performers, a 5TH DECEMBER 2012 // 17

FILM Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) – After big-screen success Rockwell returns to relatively smaller projects including George Clooney’s Confessions. He plays popular game show host Chuck Barris who claims to be a CIA assassin.

The Green Mile (1999) – Rockwell plays maniac killer “Wild Bill” Wharton in Frank Darabont’s Hollywood blockbuster. The film was budgeted at around $60m, earned $290m, and garnered four Academy Award nominations.

Iron Man 2 (2010) – Turning back to the blockbuster, Rockwell stars in Paramount’s Iron Man 2. Playing the narcissistic Justin Hammer he drops any serious introspection while satisfying the demanding energy and Hollywood arrogance that the character requires.

Snow Angels (2007) – Budgeted at 5% of The Green Mile, Rockwell truly indulges in the arthouse alongside Kate Beckinsale in this small-time tragedy.

He plays a broken man, documenting his erratic embrace of religion.

Seven Psychopaths (2012) – Sam Rockwell’s latest film sees him fit into a star-studded cast in this farcically fun piece from Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. It follows the unfolding events when Rockwell’s character Billy steels an LA gangster’s Shih Tzu.

Compiled by Henry Longden

suggestion Rockwell welcomes. “That’s a high compliment.

To be compared with him, to be in the same sentence as him, is a great thing for me. It’s a pleasure to have known him, to work with him and be friends with him.”

Walken is just one other member of the impressive Seven Psychopaths ensemble cast that also features Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Olga Kurylenko and none other than Tom Waits. Perhaps their involvement is testament to the quality of McDonagh’s previous (and first) feature, In Bruges, and the esteem with which he is now held.

Indeed this latest picture picks up where his debut left off, with a vaguely absurd premise shrouded in richly dark humour. Rockwell plays Billy, part-time dog thief and best friend to Farrell’s Marty, a struggling writer. Billy and his partner Hans (Walken) end up stealing from the wrong doglover, and violent hilarity ensues, providing Marty with all the material he needs to finish his screenplay.

Possibly armed with the best lines in Seven Psycho18 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

paths, it’s another comic turn for Rockwell, illustrating the protean nature of his career in that he moves across genres seemingly at will, and oscillates between theatre, independent film and big budget cinema. Has he set a career trajectory to achieve this remarkable balance? Perhaps not. Instead he simply suggests that he likes being out of his comfort zone.

“It’s good to make yourself scared and challenge yourself.

Theatre . . . is always a terrifying prospect. Moon was very terrifying but I did it. It was ultimately a good thing and made me a better actor.” It would seem that it’s this fear that drives him, “that excitement, that adrenaline, because you want to play a great role.”

So it’s just about the role and not the type of project? “I’ve done Charlie’s Angels, Lawn Dogs, Box of Moon Light, Iron Man 2, I’ve done a lot of theatre. I’ve mixed it up quite a bit. I feel like I’m all over the map. But I think it’s wherever the good script is. It doesn’t matter if it’s comedy or drama – you just want to do what’s good.”

MUSIC

Singer-songwriter Conor Linnie talks to tn2 about how punk has informed his folk sound, what makes a good lyric, which artists have inspired him, and how playing with a band has changed his music

WORDS Alana Ryan PHOTOGRAPHY Matthew Wilson

C

effect on all his tracks. In today’s world where virtually every boy fashions himself as a musician of some description, it’s the dexterity of the guitar playing which sets Linnie apart. Interestingly, for the debut album Astray which will be released in January, Linnie decided to record with a full band. By layering strings, percussion and drums over the original guitar he expands the sound in a way which he “never thought possible before”.

Yet as an English Doctoral student, it seems natural that, irrespective of band numbers, creative lyricism must remain to the fore. In an animated interjection he vehemently declares, “Don’t ever compromise the lyrical sense of the song for the melody . . . if the lyrics are good enough they’ll provide their own melody.” His lyrics are poetic and ornate (“Through bloodshot eyes I spied you, Through writhing bodies on the floor; Let this smoke veneer surround you, Let it suffuse you till you see no more”), imbuing the music with a complexity far removed from

“I DON’T WANT TO BE LIVING IN A SHACK”

onor Linnie: folk musician, English Lit PhD student and Bray native is sitting in a quiet corner of The Buttery regaling me with stories of his musical trajectory to date.

Inspired by The Clash, he began to play guitar at sixteen, and quickly formed a local punk band with friends. A rather incongruous beginning for a musician whose songs are a far cry from the anger, emergency and abrasiveness of punk. But, as he explains, those first influences left an indelible mark: “The idea of punk music . . . having a really driving rhythm, it being really essential to the musical style – I’ve always kept that, that fundamental idea of something propelling the song in a really concerted manner.”

Increased exposure to early Bob Dylan and John Martyn – which he found to be “elegant, in an understated way” – led him to folk. For him, the direct nature of solo guitar was the prime attraction: “It was the most immediate form of expression for me, it was a way for me to get my lyrics into music now.” A talented and motivated musician, he quickly immersed himself in the genre by appropriating the American finger-style plucking through “listening and learning”. A distinct style, it’s used to great

HOM EGR OWN

the average chart hit. He draws his inspiration from a number of sources, but admits that while writing the album it was primarily the poetry of Louis MacNeice, Allen Ginsberg and The Beats which fuelled his imagination. Such sources weave their way into his conscience and help create a narrative which is utterly heartfelt.

Yet, aware of the dangers of receding into an introverted and indulgent creative sphere, he makes a determined effort to ensure his music reflects “the excitement of life . . . [the] songs are striving towards a buoyancy”.

As our conversation draws to a close Linnie offers one last insight into his musical passion: “When you write a song and then you decide to play it, every time you play it you almost live inside the song.” It’s evident that as a musician he cares immensely about his craft; its growth and perfection. But he wryly quips, “I don’t want to be living in a shack.”

Conor Linnie plays The Sweeney Mongrel on Dec 18th and 22nd 5TH DECEMBER 2012 // 19

SEX/OP

THE ONE THAT JUST DOESN’T HOLD BACK MONDAY It was her first time at our house. She admired the posters in the sitting room for their various ironies. The 6ft x 4ft periodic table was particularly amusing to her. “What’s your favourite element?” She thought for a moment. “Neon. You?” I just kind of shrugged. I thought Neon was a good answer though and mentally noted that it was now my favourite element. We drank and laughed about our mutual friends and she asked if she could stay over. I said that she could. We went upstairs. The time between our first kiss and penetrative sex was about four minutes. It felt impersonal but satisfying, and she nestled into me as a little spoon when we settled. “What’s the deal with the periodic table anyway?” I lay mock sarcasm over a joke I’d used before. “So girls feel we have chemistry or something.”

“I FELT NO GUILT AND PUT MY PHONE BACK IN MY POCKET WHILE I WALKED ALONG CAPEL STREET WITH A FAUX-FUR COAT DRAPED OVER MY SHOULDER AND A BAG OF MIXED 90SSTYLE SHIRTS IN MY HAND. I HAVE THINGS TO DO. I HAVE NO TIME FOR A GIRLFRIEND” TUESDAY “Hey! I no your busy with your disser but we should meet up today if your around for a min x.” I felt no guilt and put my phone back in my pocket while I walked along Capel Street with a faux-fur coat draped over my shoulder and a bag of mixed 90s-style shirts in my hand. I have things to do. I have no time for a girlfriend. Later, I text: “Left my phone at home today. Sorry. Will see you tomorrow xxx.”

BOOKS & FILM: MADE FOR EACH OTHER? FILM

’Tis the season for adaptation, it seems, with movie releases including The Hobbit, Life of Pi and The Great Gatsby approaching. But before all the complaints begin (“Bah, humbug!

Another unfaithful butchering of a classic!”), I would like to draw attention to some of the prejudices that the adapted film usually faces.

First, there is an assumption that the adapted film is a “simplified” version of classic arts like literature, and is produced for the masses. One imagines an ongoing war between literature and film, which only one can win. Additionally, when one reads a novel, they project their own fantasies

“THERE IS AN ASSUMPTION THAT THE ADAPTED FILM IS A ‘SIMPLIFIED’ VERSION OF CLASSIC ARTS LIKE LITERATURE, AND IS PRODUCED FOR THE MASSES”

FRIDAY We see each other in the evening and I stay at her house. I shudder as I lay my hand on the soft skin of her amorphous stomach. She says that she is so happy with me and I stay silent. I decide to at least take away my false enthusiasm. Maybe she will break up with me. It’s nearly Christmas.

I may have to wait until the New Year to do it. Or I will emigrate. I am ineffectual. To flee would be best.

onto it, imagining the story in a personally idealised way. The movie, however, projects a single vision (namely the director’s) which really cannot be reinterpreted, and the reader is infuriated when “it isn’t the way they imagined it would be”. Robert Stam writes in Literature and Film, “A ‘faithful’ film is seen as uncreative, but an ‘unfaithful’ film is a shameful betrayal of the original. An adaptation that updates the text for the present is berated for not respecting the period of the source, but respectful costume dramas are accused of a failure of nerve in not ‘contemporising’ the text.” There seems to be no winning.

There are a few approaches to adaptation that have proven successful. One has been to enhance the thematic material of the source, for example, Shrek changed from a simple children’s book about a cheerful ogre into an intelligent satire of Disney and a touching story. Another has been the use of extraordinary CGI effects to create visuals which are even better than you imagined when reading. Alternatively, The Perks of Being a Wallflower saw the novel’s author write the screenplay as well as direct the film adaptation (for who knows the key material of the book better than its writer?) resulting in a critically-acclaimed film. In any case, it is time that adaptation earned some credit as an art in itself – for there is an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Like any film or novel, an adaptation is a reflection on the time in which it is produced, and it is arguably more interesting in its inclusion or exclusion of material from the source produced in a different time. The debate around adaptation should not surround questions of fidelity to “then”, but the interpretation of “now”.

Deirdre Molumby

Submit your anonymous sex diary www.tinyurl.ie/tn2sexdiary

“IT’S TIME THAT ADAPTATION EARNED SOME CREDIT AS AN ART IN ITSELF”

WEDNESDAY She looked like Ke$ha. The same ditch-blonde hair in a permanent state of straightened-last-night (but then I woke up in a bath tub). A pretty, freckled face with lips that are never quite together. She’s getting fatter though. We’ve been together less than three months and I’d say she has gained a stone. I’m repulsed by her. Sex is a chore. If my gut was encroaching on Palestinian territory, I would feel unattractive. She’s emotionally fragile: she has self-esteem issues, family problems, a history of bad relationships and a myriad of other things that I, by now, only find tiresome. These were previously interesting to me but I am growing to loathe her.

SEX OP

THURSDAY “Are you around today? x.” I consider texting back, “NO.” I sit in the library wondering if I could gather myself and tell her I haven’t had a real class in a month and only work Sundays now. I’m not really under that much pressure with my dissertation. I’ve slept with someone else and I’m going for a drink with that girl tonight. I’m texting an ex-girlfriend. It would kill her but the longer it goes on, the more hurt she will be.

20 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

TRAVEL

MAIDEN HEAVEN

WORDS Nora Eastwood

Steeped in legacy and rich in culture, Derry~Londonderry has often been overlooked despite its beautiful riverside setting and wealth of unique historical attractions. It’s a veritable treat to have on your doorstep, just three hours from Dublin, and within minutes of the glorious beaches of Inishowen.

The determined air of “can-do” optimism in Derry has allowed the “Maiden City” to become the driving force behind the north’s cultural revival. Having been awarded UK City of Culture for 2013, there will be many exciting events in the coming year, as the city plays host to the Turner Prize, Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, Other Voices and much more. But perhaps Derry’s biggest attraction is the people themselves: warm, witty and welcoming.

WHAT TO DO . . .

The celebrated Bogside Murals provide a local interpretation of the past, present and future aspirations of the local people. The wall-sized murals poignantly capture pivotal moments of the Troubles, such as the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre. A tour, including a presentation from the artists, costs £10 and ends with a Q&A session.

Bedlam Vintage Market is one of Ireland’s largest vintage emporiums. It hosts an array of vintage clothing, antique books, jewellery and crafts, as well as some superb newer stock. This former convent also houses Ireland’s first ever 1940s vintage tea room.

Situated just inside The Walled City is St Columb’s Cathedral, the first cathedral of its type, built after the Reformation in 1633. Recently restored at a cost of £4 million, the cathedral provides a suitable point of respite on a tour of the walls but is itself a treasure trove of historical interest. Its Chapter House Museum has a display of artefacts dating from the Siege of Derry in 1689.

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WHERE TO EAT . . .

Cafe del Mondo Craft Village Located in this charming 18th century village within the city centre, CdM serves a multicultural menu that changes monthly. Everything is freshly prepared using organic, local produce.

Fiorentini’s Strand Road Est. 1912, this perfect Sunday afternoon destination is a family-run ice-cream parlour and café serving everything from fish ‘n’ chips to their famous knickerbocker glories. The café is quiet, preferring instead the natural sound of locals chatting and catching up.

Coming in Issue 6

VILNIUS

WHERE TO DRINK . . .

Sandino’s Café Bar Water Street A lively and friendly bar that hosts the city’s most diverse range of live music.

A wide selection of craft beers are on offer and the cosy downstairs bar has a strict no-TV policy and hosts a casual trad session every Sunday at 7pm.

2 GREAT FREE ACTIVITIES IN DERRY • •

Opened in June 2011, Derry~Londonderry’s Peace Bridge connects two traditions over the Foyle. A stroll across the walkway links the cityside with the newly opened Ebrington Square (home to many events during next year’s City of Culture) and St Columb’s park on the Waterside.

The Void Gallery is an artist-led contemporary art space and holds free exhibitions year round. It is the home gallery for twice-Turner prize-nominated visual artist Willie Doherty.

Grand Central Bar Strand Road This is one of the oldest bars in the city, and has recently been restored to its former glory. Ornate original features offset against a thoroughly contemporary drinks menu, this three-floored live music haven is a mustvisit.

SAGE ADVICE Derry~Londonderry is infamously hilly; luckily you can get a taxi from one side of town to the other for around a fiver.

You can cycle pretty much the whole breadth of the city too along the banks of the Foyle.

F A C E S

JOHN MCLEANE

TO TCD STUDENTS: “I HAVE BEEN VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE THAT MAKE UP THE COLLEGE”

T V // LITERATURE // GAM E S MUSIC // FO O D AND DRI NK

REVIEWS

FEATURING MID-SEASON TV ROUND-UP

BY CIARA FORRISTAL AND AOIFE DHOCHARTAIGH

REVIEWS

MID-SEASON T V ROUND-UP

TV Although all but one of the original cast remain in the BAFTA-winning Misfits, the E4 show continues on its mad-capped adventures and crude commentary on the lives of the ASBO generation. Although adjusting to the new characters Jess (Karla Chrome) and Finn (Nathan McCullen) might be hard, and comparing them to their predecessors inevitable, the show is still highly imaginative, dark and absurd in its supernatural elements and the dialogue continues to be sharp.

The return of the BBC’s 1950s drama The Hour saw many parallels being drawn with its modern-day equivalent, particularly the investigation of a sex abuse scandal regarding high-ranking officials of the establishment. Bel’s pursuit and investigation of the abusive sexual treatment of women is a more plausible one than the espionage case of its debut season, which aimed for the intricacies of the likes of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but failed farcically in attempting to tie up its loose ends in a coherent manner.

The Amish have always been a group that have intrigued, particularly as technology continues to advance and we reap the benefits of such innovation. Five Amish teenagers travel to Britain to engage in typical adolescent behaviour during a period of freedom known as “Rumspringa”, in the documentary series Meet the Amish currently airing on RTE2. Not only does this programme open the Amish teenagers’ eyes to the wonderful opportunities that are available to their British contemporaries, it forces the viewer to take stock of all the advantages that we take for granted.

Gossip Girl’s final season is proving something of an homage to the last five. While referencing the show’s history is a great idea in theory, and very much in keeping with the self-conscious, 24 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

self-referential nature of Gossip Girl, in practice it consists largely of clumsy references to past drama and a parade of seemingly arbitrary guest stars (Poppy Lifton, anyone?). There have been a few nice parallels, like Dan and Serena’s elevator breakdown, whose virtue lies mostly in how understated they are. More of these would be great, and less of Nate rambling on about that one time he broke Carter’s nose.

How I Met Your Mother’s latest season has had a similarly patchy start, as those poor kids head into their eighth year of Ted Mosby’s seemingly endless narration. As the gimmick of knowing the ending starts to wear thin, Ted’s storylines have become a list of ways to mark time until the mother arrives. The show has always been about enjoying the journey (since we already know the destination) -- when the writers make that journey entertaining, and don’t get stalled in places like Ted Gets Back Together With Victoria For No Reason At All, that’s when it’s at its best.

Over on Boardwalk Empire, the huge cast remains problematic: there are a lot of wonderful characters not getting airtime because there just isn’t enough. A standout plot has been Margaret’s women’s health campaign. Boardwalk Empire inevitably revolves around men, given the subject matter: lady gangsters would involve serious artistic licence, on a show (rightly) acclaimed for historical accuracy. While the show has strong female characters, from Gillian’s brittle, intense brand of crazy to Billie’s breezy confidence, their plotlines usually concern the men in their lives. It’s great to finally see a foregrounded plot all about women.

Ciara Forristal Aoife Dhochartaigh

REVIEWS

LITTLE BIG PLANET KARTING SCEA

GAMES It seems to be the unavoidable fate of the Sony mascot to wind up in a kart racing game. Like Jak and Crash Bandicoot before him, the loveable Sackboy of Media Molecule’s Little Big Planet series finds himself behind the wheel in Little Big Planet Karting.

This is a disappointingly uninspired kart racing game in the vein of Mario Kart or Crash Team Racing. It has all the whimsy and charm of Little Big Planet and LBP2, and maintains that adorable primaryschool collage aesthetic. As a new kart racing game however, it is sorely lacking, with unoriginal design choices and derivative mechanics. The Play-Create-Share mantra is as central to this game as it has been in past LBP titles, but is the possibility of having unlimited user-created levels really that appealing if playing those levels isn’t fun?

Little Big Planet Karting contains all the tropes of a kart racer and brings little new to the table. Boosting off the start; drifting to go faster; weapon pick-ups that include: a red rocket that tracks its target, a green rocket that doesn’t, and a blue rocket that hits only the player in first position. Little Big Planet Karting has clearly taken much from what Mario Kart has done. Its execution of these mechanics can be described as competent, but that’s all it can really be. Developer United Front Games have crafted a perfectly passable kart racer, but mechanically it lacks any serious improve-

II.2

ARTFUL ALI SMITH HAMISH

HAMILTON//PENGUIN

LITERATURE Writing a review about Ali Smith’s newest offering, Artful, is a daunting task. It’s daunting for a number of reasons. Firstly, the book is like no piece of fiction I have ever read. It is fluid, juxtaposing, elaborate. It is non-fiction within fiction, a medley which manages to work, while never quite settling. Secondly, writing anything after reading this book leads to enormous selfdoubt. How dare I attempt to put thoughts into words. I am in no way qualified. But try I must.

It’s either that or embrace the wrath of my editor. So blame him.

Before delving into Artful, it’s worth noting a number of things about its author.

Ali Smith in no way limits her-

self to writing traditional novels.

She has written a number of short story collections and a memoir. She has compiled collections of essays, written plays and even dabbled in lyric writing. It’s safe to say that Smith is a devotee of the written word, which goes some way to explaining the complexity of Artful. And Artful is a complex book, even though it barely reaches 200 pages.

Reduced to its bare components, Artful tells the story of a couple. One of them is alive, one is dead. One moves around their home: thinking, remembering, narrating. The other also moves around their

I

ment over the original. The game is simply dull. What it’s doing has been done better elsewhere, and if you have any prior experience with kart racing games you’ll find the actual racing bland.

Visually, Little Big Planet is anything but. It is lively and colourful. The materials used to construct the race courses are reminiscent of arts-and-crafts classes in primary school. Corrugated cardboard for roads, lollipop sticks for fences, and bottle caps for steering wheels. The aesthetic carries over to what is the most interesting part of LBPK: the level creation. Creating a track is a lot more approachable when you’re dealing with cardboard and stickers rather than 3D meshes and texture maps. Making a level in LBPK is an enjoyable undertaking and as easy as it has been in past LBP games. Driving a route to quickly plan out your race track is a smart and intuitive system. You can have a track up and running in five minutes, or you can obsess over it for days.

But to what end? The community has come out with some stellar tracks, but without an enjoyable game to play them, it seems like wasted effort. On paper we have a match made in heaven, the carefree playfulness of Little Big Planet and the easy-yet-fun accessibility of a kart racer, but it hasn’t clicked. No amount of Stephen Fry voiceover can save it.

Hugo Fitzpatrick

home, covered in dust and slowly succumbing to the inevitability of death. Part of the couple’s tale revolves around the past profession of the deceased and the essays they were working on.

Four essays: On Time, Form, Edge and Offer, and Reflection respectively. Each essay is subsumed within this simple love story.

At times the essays seem to sit at odds with the story, at other times you forget you’re reading a novel, or anything like one.

Take the essay On Time as an example. Each sentence seems to hold a new literary reference.

One moment you are reading Michelangelo, the next, Jackie Kay: from that to Charles Dickens and on to Jose Saramago.

The breadth is astonishing, the quotes almost perfect. As if the best English class ever taught,

there’s so much to take in, but everything is relevant. And then the narrative jumps back to our protagonist and we are immediately back in the house.

Somehow simultaneously back in reality and back in fiction.

Even though Smith is teaching an education’s-worth of art in a single book, she never loses sight of the story. Every page between the essays reveals more about the characters and their life, and more about their passions and peeves. Smith conveys the minutiae to perfection, while also constantly challenging the reader with much broader themes.

Artful is an intriguingly colourful book. The word “different” doesn’t seem to do it justice, but different it is. Easier to read than to review, give it a chance. You’ll be surprised by how enjoyable and impressive it is.

Alison Connolly

If you like the sound of this, try - A Little History of the World

by E.H.Gombrich.

5TH DECEMBER 2012 // 25

REVIEWS

GERRY READ JUMMY FOURTH

MUSIC An obscuring blur shields most photographs of Gerry Read’s visage, à la SBTRKT, but the young artist’s rise to a point of almost prodigal consideration is clear to trace. At age eighteen, he released his first EP on Dark Arx, and this introduction to the multi-instrumentalist presented a dovetailing of what is indisputably house and a refreshing refusal to create within a genre’s more restrictive bounds.

Now 20, his debut stands as an impressive progression from his stylistic roots of drum-laden, heavy-handed experiments.

The whole album is atmospherically off-key, with a tangible sense of delicate restraint. What sets Read apart with Jummy is the evident straddling of executive finesse and dexterity. This is detectable beneath the deceptively simplistic level of sound. The avid drummer has spoken of club culture’s association with escapism through but not necessarily in music, and even expressed a desire to provide arrangements that cater for self-acknowledgement and perhaps even contemplation. Certainly, a criticism of house is the frequent absence of deviation from stock beat templates, a robotic flawlessness that results in a listening experience antithetical to full human engagement. In short, house can be tired. That, however, is not the case with this debut album.

Jummy is ordered through rather ingenious disorder: a series of beats are running technically out of sync, but result in re-

WAVE

inforcement for each individual facet of the track. The drums consistently reel the listener in, and the music sample comes next. The ensuing minutes lead to their curiously erratic but measured distortion. One of multiple standouts on this offering is Make A Move, a prime example of a meticulous unfolding of layers. Through the lo-fi and static, jazz-esque undercurrent, these beats reinforce each other sometimes as if through a lack of natural cohesion. Read has produced something uniquely odd and abstract, but crucially he doesn’t ever sacrifice accessibility. Graceful and commanding to the ear, the Suffolk-born, Australia-uprooted Brit has a little more skill at creating a spacious quality and depth than most today. A palimpsest of various samples are laid down in choppy, unexpected fashion, and a hazy vibe dominates the record.

Texturally, the LP could be grit-encrusted velvet, but Jummy is too much of a loungelizard to propel the listener to the dancehall. Luckily, Read’s confident and unjaded toying with sound structures saves it from ever approaching safe elevator-house status. This is a promising and self-aware release, cementing his reputation as one to watch. It is for any house fan one to be downloaded, turned up, and latched onto. After all, many of us can appreciate the presence of design in disarray, and find comfort in a good smattering of clutter in musical architecture.

Katie Abrahams

II.I

THE WEEKND // TRILOGY The idea of editing and compiling three of your own mixtapes into one long album might sound selfindulgent, but The Weeknd’s Trilogy manages to avoid this pitfall, instead offering up indulgence of the aural kind. Canada’s Abel Tesfaye presents his collection of lush, seductive songs that writhe and moan without ever being too overbearing; as with previous releases, the beauty of The Weeknd’s output is in the chilled, almost-sleazy vibe permeating the tracks.

With brilliant layers of samples from a variety of artists – pretty brushes of Beach House to brash strokes of Siouxsie and the Banshees – this is R&B rebranded. It’s slick, it’s intelligent, and there are wonderful glitchy moments of electro interspersed between the smooth beats. At three-hours long there is an occasional sense of repetitiveness, and some tracks were better on the original mixtapes, but – as a whole – Trilogy is the epic its title suggests. Tara Joshi

ALICIA KEYS // GIRL ON FIRE These days, a pop album with only a few club tunes is a rare thing, so Alicia Keys’ Girl on Fire is a welcome change. Most definitely a love album – Keys explores her feelings for music-producer husband Swizz Beatz – tracks are often down-tempo and simple, pared back to vocals and piano or guitar. Although it is unlikely to get much airplay due to serious heavy breathing, Fire We Make is a great Marvin Gaye-style slow jam, the perfect accompaniment to luuv-making. More chart-friendly tracks recall Beyoncé’s Run The World (Girls) with their marching-band drums and, unfortunately, Keys has chosen one of weakest examples, Girl on Fire, as the lead single. This includes the obligatory Nicki Minaj verse and plenty of “Woah” notes which drag on – wailing that will no doubt be rehashed by next year’s batch of X Factor hopefuls. A nicer feature of the album is when Keys’ two-year-old son, Egypt, sings along on When It’s All Over. Ignore what hits the charts and explore the rest of this album which stands out as a return to R&B. Orla Delargy 26 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

REVIEWS

II.I

DAMSON DINER SOUTH

WILLIAM

ST

FOOD & DRINK I’ve always been an urbanite. I’ve had happy stints in the wild, but I’m inexorably drawn to the seductive stage show of lights, humanity and history authored by urban citizenry.

This spectacle plays itself out in multiple layers of life weaving thousands of narratives which will never be told to the wider world.

So for a Friday night, I traversed our own city to find these.

Meeting up with an old school friend, we made the short walk from college to Damson Diner on South William Street. Ah, the swanky new den of glass, mounted graffiti and tropical neon colours Amy Huberman selected to launch the latest in her line of fiction for Loreto alumni. It’s everything you’d expect, swarming in the glamorous and the faux-glamorous. Here come the menus and a tangle of blonde hair. Give me seared tuna and my friend a €14 mushroom burger and the most impossibly contrived cocktails you have. That’s right, more chilli sauce in mine.

My tuna is more of a concept than a meal: three circles of thin pink tuna steak, decorated with arranged slices of radish, pickled ginger and cucumber. In fairness, it’s delicious. The cocktails are good; the bartender even comes over to inquire as to our satisfaction. The place quickly fills up with high heels and make-up applied by the spoonful and it’s time for me to make my exit. I bid my friend adieu, and head back to college to roll out my bike.

The next leg of this journey is best done alone. I leave the demesne of the Dublin walls, heading for 72 Thomas Street, the city changing under my wheels as I get lost. I lock up the bike and two wrong turns later, I’m walking up a dark alley, turning a corner to see a car on fire. No word of a lie. I hightail it out of there and, back on track, I find the ultra-boho Oscar Verne’s Café in the Ferocious

I

OSCAR VERNE’S CAFE THOMAS

ST

Mingle Marcade. The Marcade is in theory a market tucked away from the outside world, featuring stalls and shops selling vintage accoutrements, but really seems to serve as a meeting place for the like-minded. It’s usually open Thursday until 8 pm, and Friday to Sunday until 6 pm (with new opening hours just announced to extend well into Friday and Saturday nights), but the occasional Speakeasy event at the café keeps it open until 4 am.

The Marcade itself is like the set of Moulin Rouge. There is an uncannily large number of Terry Pratchett doppelgangers in waistcoats and top hats. The crafts and antiques stalls are shut, but the silent movies are still playing on a projector. The decor is Irish Catholic iconography mixed with Victorian trinkets galore. The Virgin Mother keeps vigil over a gramophone, draped in a fur coat.

Three double espressos in antique cups from the 1980s coffee machine for a euro each and I’m suddenly very stimulated. A quick scan of the room: we have a chatty middle-aged transvestite, the Army of the Ironically Dressed, women spontaneously bursting into beautiful song and a hippy couple with their kids.

Myself and the barista Garry strike up an instant rapport.

You’ll find conversation easily here. I keep getting the feeling that one of these Terry Pratchetts will take me under their wing and become my mentor in some fantastic tale that involves the protection of their fragile bohemian haven.

Later, cycling through the frostbitten Phoenix Park for home, I slow with satisfaction at the point where the candle burning for the Diaspora is visible in the Áras window on one side, and the city lights are panoramically sweeping out over the other. There’s a lot going on down there.

Declan Johnston 5TH DECEMBER 2012 // 27

UNTIL NEXT TIME ...

... SOME EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES TO FILL THE CULTURAL VOID

Wednesday 5th December FILM Afternoon Talk with Dr. Harvey O’ Brien on Action Movies: The Cinema of Striking Back // IFI 16.10 // FREE but ticketed

Thursday 6th December ART Christmas group show ‘AC2’ official opening // Oliver Cornet Gallery 19.00 // FREE (until 20th December)

Friday 7th December DANCE Swan Lake // The Tchaikovsky State Ballet // Bord Gais Theatre 19.30 // From €35

Saturday 8th December THEATRE The Dead // Abbey Theatre 19.30 // From €13 (until 19th January 2013)

Sunday 9th December FILM The Lord of the Rings Marathon // Light House Cinema From 12.00 €7.50 per film (Season pass available)

Monday 10th December FOOD Terra Madre Day // An international day celebrating locally produced food // Pop-up restaurant event by Slow Food Ireland in Foxrock Tea Rooms 19.00 // €40 all inclusive

Tuesday 11th December ART Exhibition by Siobhan Hapaska and Stephen McKenna // Kerlin Gallery FREE (until 19th January 2013)

Wednesday 12th December MUSIC Handel’s Messiah // Our Lady’s Choral Society // National Concert Hall 20.00 // From €22.50

Thursday 13th December FILM Begin the Beguine // Part of José Luis Garcia Film Season // Instituto Cerventes 18.00 // FREE

Friday 14th December XMAS Dublin Flea and BLOCK T ‘Christmas Cracker’ Market // Haymarket, Smithfield Square, D7 12.00 - 19.00, 11.00 - 18.00 // December 15th and 16th // FREE

Saturday 15th December MUSIC John Talbot // The Button Factory 21.00 // €20

Sunday 16th December XMAS Christ Church Cathedral Christmas Market // Christ Church Cathedral Crypts 11.00 - 16.00 // FREE (until 22nd December)

THE FINAL SAY Neasa

Conneally

“THERE IS NO CLEARER HALLMARK OF THE GOBSHITE THAN A CHRISTMAS JUMPER”

In what clearly is some form of technical glitch in the time-space continuum, Michaelmas term is nearly over; the days are growing shorter and much colder and we finally have the joys of Christmas to look forward to, with lights a-sparkling and visions of sugar-plums dancing in our heads. But Christmas isn’t all carols and mince pies with the Provost; it is also a source of unique frustration and annoyances caused by your fellow man (and woman).

The pains of battling the crowds of people just to walk down Grafton St, terrible TV ads and even worse songs are all perennial downsides to the “most wonderful time of the year” but there are also a few newcomers that seem to exist only to make you grind your teeth.

A new phenomenon that has really hit saturation recently is the scourge of the Christmas jumper. There is no clearer hallmark of the gobshite than a Christmas jumper. A few years ago, they were fortunately only seen on hipsters who were attracted to their ugly retro-cool, but they are now literally piled high in Penneys, and can be seen on every obnoxious idiot between Kehoe’s and Bruxelles as they commence their tour of the 12 Pubs of Christmas with “the lads”. People seem to think that wearing a mass-produced polyester item of clothing with a snowman on it will show that they are hilarious, wacky individuals who are “full of the craic”. Bonus “banter” points are to be awarded if said jumper has flashing lights or is accessorised by antlers.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy good time as much as the next person, but having enforced rules makes it less like a catch up with old friends and more like a tour of duty in a warzone. All that partying is exhausting, especially New Year’s Eve, which is consistently the worst night of the year and only seems to exist to ensure that you start the next year with a sense of disappointment and (more often than not) regret.

As such, I have somewhat fond memories of the Christmas two years ago where it was too snowy and icy to leave the house, negating all

obligations of getting dressed and moving away from the fireplace.

I also strongly disapprove of Christmas FM, Christmas decorations up before the second Sunday of December, and anything that indicates that people are having too much fun.

Of course, I am not a complete Christmas Grinch; spending the entirety of Midnight Mass wondering if the priest dyes his hair is always a fun tradition, and I am also a big fan of that week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve where your sole duty is to eat constantly in your pyjamas whilst watching DVD box sets.

In fact, all the food (apart from the turkey, which I’m pretty sure is a less delicious version of chicken that people only pretend to like) is one of the major highlights of the time of year: I can’t really pretend to have any quarrel with a season in which cheese and wine feature so heavily. I also love this new phenomenon of ice-skating rinks appearing in random car parks and on the roofs of department stores. Finally the hours and hours of rollerblading as a child have finally paid off as a useable skill!

Spending time with family is also hugely appreciated, even if it took us less than 24 hours under the same roof last year before someone was told to “Fuck off and die”. Happy memories!

Christmas morning may not be as exciting as it once was before you realised that “Santa” was just a series of elaborate lies pedalled by your parents and the entirety of society, but even someone as cynical as me can’t help feeling warm and fuzzy when exchanging gifts under the tree. I’m personally hoping for an iPad this year, but there is a constant comfort in the traditional orange and bag of chocolate coins left in your stocking.

Ultimately I think that is the reason why Christmas is simultaneously both so frustrating and brilliant: the sheer predictability of it. We all know exactly how it is going to play out, just as we know that we’ll all return to college in January much fatter and poorer. And I, for one, wouldn’t have it any other way.

Follow Neasa on Twitter: twitter.com/neasaconneally

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