VERGE
ISSUE XII
The Darkness talk rebuilding and line-up changes .. Neil Gaiman on Terry Pratchett collaborations ..... Gaming is Good for you ..... Emma Hannigan on beating cancer nine times .. Meteor Choice Music Prize front-row review .. Cork French Film Festival and more
Editor’s Letter Diverged
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – Eoghan The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the latest high profile Netflix series to be released to glowing reviews. It should be seen as no surprise that the show is a hit, coming as it does from 30 Rock creators Robert Carlock and Tina Fey. The series, which focuses on naïve and irrepressible ‘mole-woman’ Kimmy, who for 15 years was imprisoned in a bunker as part of a bizarre apocalypse cult (it’s just as strange as it sounds), looks to be the breakout role for Ellie Kemper – although many viewers might recognise her from her stint as Erin in The Office.
Cleartune – Robbie Since the arrival of the iPhone eight years ago (yes, eight whole years), smartphone apps for musicians have evolved into something far more practical than mini keyboard simulators and dodgy drum machines. Take Cleartune, a tuning app that utilizes improvements in smartphone technology by providing an accurate alternative to that tuner you can never seem to find. Music Studio allows you to play, sequence and edit virtual instruments along your way to creating your very own pocket-sized masterpiece. Finally we have Ear Trainer, a vocal training tool with over 230 pitch-controlled exercises that’s sure to improve even the most mediocre karaoke fanatic.
The Pillowman – Molly
Gossip Girl no more 02 V
Claire Fox As this is the penultimate issue of volume three of Verge, I’ll save the Oscar-style speeches and awkward tear-infested ‘thank yous’ for another fortnight. I’ll try to avoid the cringeworthy orations of Gwyneth Paltrow and Anne Hathaway, but I can’t promise anything! In the meantime, while the Express concentrates on the hotly contested Students’ Union Elections, we here at Verge have done our best to make this magazine an Election-free zone. So if words like ‘campaign’, ‘candidate’ or ‘President’ appear in any of our articles, please believe me when I say it is not intentional. Many have been plaguing these candidates with questions in the past fortnight, a feeling I have become used to as Verge Editor. On a regular basis I find myself inundated with questions from friends asking me what is Verge… ‘Is it a Gossip Girl type publication documenting the daily antics of celebrities?’ ‘No.’ ‘Is it an alternative
indie magazine?’ ‘Not particularly.’ Like all of the best things in life, Verge can’t really be defined; but if we had to pick a definition that described our magazine most efficiently, we would call it an ‘arts and culture supplement’. Maybe we should just get it stamped across the cover to avoid all confusion! So to all of you who believe that Verge is a celebrity gossip column, you are sadly mistaken. We have no interest in whether Prince Harry and Emma Watson are in a relationship (although that would be cool), or whether Kim Kardashian is a dedicated Draco Malfoy fan in deciding to dye her hair ice-blond. But while Verge doesn’t deal in subjects like current affairs or sport, it doesn’t mean we aren’t well accustomed to documenting hard-hitting issues. In this week’s edition, we speak with cancer survivor and author Emma Hannigan about coping with the disease, while our interview with reformed band The Darkness discusses the disastrous effects that drugs can have on making music.
Verge Editor: Claire Fox
Gaming Editor: Steve Barry
Film & TV: Eoghan Scott
Fashion Editor: Nicole Clinton
Music Editor: Robbie Byrne
Design: Kevin Hosford
Arts & Lit Editor: Molly Forsythe
Winner of two Tony Awards and an Olivier Award for Best Play, The Pillowman runs at The Everyman from the 16th to the 21st of March. As it is written by Martin McDonagh, the brain behind In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, The Pillowman promises to be an entertaining evening out. The production is by the Decadent Theatre Company who also performed the excellent Defender of the Faith earlier this year, while the play stars the ever-controversial comedian David McSavage (The Savage Eye), who is sure give a hilarious performance.
Bloodborne – Steve
I think it says a lot about a game that even a week prior to the release, I am already throwing my controller at the wall in frustration. The newest game developed by From Software, creators of the Souls series, Bloodborne will likely cause me to completely obliterate my PS4 before finishing it. A punishing action role-playing game, Bloodborne sees you take to the streets of Yharnam, a creepy town inspired by the trappings of Victorian London to kill horrifying creatures of the darkness.
Campus Style Name: Sarah Murphy Course: Commerce Favourite shops: New Look and Topshop Why did you decide to wear this outfit? It’s cold today so that’s why I wore the coat, and the skirt is just really comfy. Image by: Marc Moylan
Wishing On A Star In a candid interview, Claire Fox chats with author and self-proclaimed ‘cancer vixen’ Emma Hannigan about battling the disease an extraordinary nine times.
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here definitely seems to be something in the water of the seaside town of Bray. With comedian Dara Ó Briain, presenter Laura Whitmore and Olympic Gold medallist Katie Taylor all hailing from the satellite town, it certainly has star quality credentials. Author Emma Hannigan can surely be added to this list of well-known Bray off-spring. Having purchased her first books and met her husband there, Hannigan is now rearing her own children in the Wicklow town. Heart-warming and truly inspiring, an endless flow of endearing dialogue flows from the author’s mouth. “I lived in Bray and that’s where the first Dubray Bookshop originated. It was an amazing bookshop and my mum was a Montessori teacher. Both myself and my older brother were able to write at the age of three. We got a book every week. My Mum instilled it in me, you blame your mum for everything I suppose,” laughs the author. In 2005 Hannigan’s seemingly picture perfect lifestyle was rocked with the news that she possessed a rare gene, BrCa1, which made her 85% more likely to develop breast cancer and had a 50% chance of developing ovarian cancer. Instead of viewing this information as a negative, reflecting ten years on, Hannigan knows that had she not known about this gene she probably wouldn’t be alive today: “I feel that knowledge is power, so I always saw it as a positive thing that I knew I had it. I know now for a fact had I not been diagnosed with that gene and if I hadn’t reacted when I had, I wouldn’t be here now.” It was perhaps Hannigan’s steady educational background that allowed her to view this potentially fatal news in a positive light and in 2006 she took the brave step in having a double mastectomy to prevent the manifestation of cancer. However these precautionary steps didn’t prevent Hannigan from falling victim to breast cancer a year later and a whopping eight times thereafter. Still in her early 30s at this time, I ask Hannigan did she ever say ‘Why me?’ “No, I’ve never said that. It was one-inthree; it’s now one-in-two people who
will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. You know it’s not that unusual. It is unusual to have cancer nine times; I’ll give you that. “My prognosis was always positive, the doctors were always very clear about that. I’ve been very fortunate in that every radiation and chemo session that I’ve had has worked and eradicated the cancer that was there at the time. I’ve had recurrences and that is due to the gene but I know that I’m very lucky that the new treatments are working on me.”
“I was born at the right time I think.” Although she is not a ‘guinea pig’ for new drugs, Hannigan is aware of how important these new clinical practices are in building cancer research and removing the deadly stigma that is attached to the disease: “I suppose I’m at the forefront of this new age of cancer in that it can be a chronic illness rather than a disease that will kill you and I’m very much the proof of that. I was born at the right time I think.” Hannigan owes her survival to modern medicine and doctors; “I don’t have special powers,” she adds. “There isn’t a reason why I survived. It’s not that I’m better at it than somebody else, it’s that the treatments are getting better all the time.” It was this time spent in hospital undergoing gruelling chemotherapy and radiation sessions that Hannigan turned to writing as a form of solace. With best friend and fellow author Cathy Kelly guiding her towards the names of various publishers, Hannigan received two book deals within ten days, avoiding the usually strenuous process that many authors face when trying to grab their first book deal. “I didn’t quite understand how difficult it is to get published. My heart goes out to those struggling with it and I’m sure they want to batter me right now. I’m not a religious person but I do believe that things happen for a reason and I do believe that people watch over us. Somebody good up there is minding
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me.” In 2011 Hannigan wrote Talk to the Headscarf, a memoir documenting her own battle with cancer. Written in her signature heart-felt and humorous style, Hannigan admits that it was a cathartic, yet surreal experience.
“If I hadn’t reacted when I had, I wouldn’t be here now.” “I found it really odd to write. I’d written two fiction books at this stage and then to have to write something that was fact rather than fiction, it’s very hard not to let your mind wander and think it would be great if she went
off to Paris in the next chapter,” says the author heartily. “There was definitely a sense, when I was writing parts of it, of thinking ‘Jesus, imagine if that happened to you!’ and it had happened to me. Bloody hell, if somebody told me all of these things were going to happen, I’d have never believed them. And you do forget. So I suppose it was a way of getting it all out. “I don’t really look back as a person, I always look forward. It’s really weird writing something that actually happened to you. You block out a lot of things I think.” Emma Hannigan’s latest book The Secrets We Share is available in book stores from April 9th.
Film & Tv Celebrating a decade in existence this year, the latest run of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes came with mixed expectations. However the show’s fourth episode blew away any of the worries of stagnation or formulism which can haunt sitcoms once the jokes begin to grow weary. The highlight of the series so far, and one of the best from the past decade for that matter, was ‘Charlie Work’, an episode which featured a stunning seven-minute tracking shot despite the involvement of a flock of chickens and body-painting among much else. Following a loosely familiar set-up, the episode moves at a breathless and, frankly, compelling pace. Many mistook the highly referential show for a Birdman homage when the timing is mere coincidence; the homage is being paid to True Detective.
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However it is an innovation which is a mere extension of It’s Always Sunny’s willingness to experiment. These trials have ranged from the topics covered, the pilot was entitled ‘Charlie Has Cancer’, to the actor’s physical appearances; Kaitlin Olson’s pregnancy became the defining plotline of season six while Rob McElhenney gained
The Gang Stays Fresh Stephen Barry reviews the 10th season of It’s Always Sunny. 50 pounds a year later – all to make a point of the characters not falling into the trap of looking better as the actors entered stardom.
“As the scars on Rickety Cricket’s face will testify, it isn’t a sitcom which returns to the pre-episode status quo.” In many ways it is the deconstruction of sitcom, making the protagonists utterly unlikeable but retaining character development. Dennis’s psychopathic controlling nature seems to be increasingly evident this series, Mac’s latent homosexuality remains an undercurrent for now and Frank’s descent into old age and ill-health looks set to feature in the near future. As the scars on Rickety Cricket’s face will testify, it isn’t a sitcom which returns to the pre-episode status quo.
Yet it has to be conceded that the laughs haven’t been as achingly hearty this term. It’s naturally difficult to keep reinventing the running gags that form a part of any sitcom’s identity, and this struggle has taken some toll on the show. However It’s Always Sunny does enough right to believe that it can keep finding new avenues of comedy: a superb leading lady, some excellent walkon characters and Danny DeVito are among the virtues that enable the show
to maintain a fresh voice long after the 2005 pilot. So with ten seasons almost done and two more already signed for, It’s Always Sunny is within touching distance of turning from cult hit to America’s longest running live-action sitcom of all time. Either way, it’s their quality as much as their durability which sets ‘The Gang’ apart.
Film review: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Daniel O’Driscoll gives his take on a sequel not just reserved for an older audience. For those who have seen The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, it is considered to be a ‘sleeper-hit’. After its 2009 release, nobody really expected amazing things from it, as it continued to gain momentum, finally becoming one of the year’s biggest box office hits. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel brings much of the same formula back to the screen; John Madden, returning as director, transporting audiences back to the visual bomb that is Jagpur. The plot itself follows Sonny, played by Dev Patel, as he tries to secure the money to buy a second hotel to expand his OAP Empire. Patel brought a consistent and youthful zeal to the part that worked charmingly with the more seasoned cast. The cast may be older but this is, in many ways, the saving grace of the entire film and a story
which is a rather slow one and almost dull at times. The thing that will keep audiences entertained is the spiky wit of Dame Maggie Smith and the effortless softness of Dame Judi Dench. These two matriarchs of the screen are backed up by a solid cast of some of Britain’s finest actors – slightly deflated by the wooden board-like Bill Nighy and diluted even a little bit more by throwing Richard Gere into the mix. Judging by the meteoric success of the first movie, a sequel was inevitable. It contains much of the comedic flare of the first installment, although there is something missing. The plot at times lacks a direction, dragging audiences through until Maggie Smith delivers a cuttingly perfect one-liner to wake us up again.
Although the movie is no way near as enthralling as the first one, there is a more somber tone present throughout. Rather than a happily-ever-after ending, audiences are given startling reminders of mortality and the passing
of time – reminding us that nobody is here forever, so we might as well enjoy it while we can.
Mother Knows Best? Emele Polly tells of her pick from this year’s Cork French Film Festival, Xavier Dolan’s Mommy. Satisfying every taste and exceeding close to every expectation, the 26th Cork French Film Festival was a resounding success. Documentaries, shorts, educational and 35-minute feature films were just a few of those that premiered in the Gate Cinema and St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral during the first week of March. Workshops were also held in various locations throughout Cork, with various live music screenings of silent movies also taking place. At events such as foreign films festivals, the temptation is to consider yourself out of depth in what was surely to be an overtly artistic and frustratingly pretentious display of film culture. However Mommy, starring Anne Dorval as the resilient and glamorous single mother affectionately named ‘D.I.E.’, proved the antidote to this perception. Die is seen trying to raise her charismatic yet violent son Steve, played by Antoine Olivier Pilon, who was recently expelled from a juvenile correctional facility. Steve returns home with his mother, where we soon see a markedly unconventional mother-son relationship unfolding. The actors work phenomenally well together, with clever and crude humour providing a wonderfully varied, entertaining dialogue. Director and write Xavier Dolan could not have chosen a more superb Mommy
than Dorval, whose cool yet cunning exterior plays perfectly to the childish energy of Pilon.
“The core of this film is an underlying and pervading theme; a mother’s unconditional love for her child, unlike Dolan’s previous film I Killed My Mother, which was seen from the son’s perspective” Yet at the core of this film is an underlying and pervading theme; a mother’s unconditional love for her child, unlike Dolan’s previous film I Killed My Mother, which was seen from the son’s perspective. Die’s consistent hardiness and recovery from each of her son’s mistakes only echoes this. From the scattered moments of surreal bliss, to the dark and poignant scenes, the film invites us into Steve’s world of
suffering, spawning from a severe case of ADHD and crippling anger issues. The film’s other main protagonist is the shy, speech-impeded Kyla, played by Suzanne Clement. Though having few lines, Kyla soon marks herself out as a strong influence and integral part in the upbringing of Steve. Quietly fierce, we are introduced to her after a murderous outburst from Steve, whereupon Die is forced to defend herself physically. Kyla not only becomes his home school teacher but also a figure of authority, as well as a loyal, committed friend to Die. The balance of this film rarely wavers and we are never felt feeling emotionally exhausted from the bleak outlook of Steve’s life, the outlandish
Film & Tv
scenarios, nor what could have easily been clichéd, tedious scenes. Even the uncomfortable, erotic undertones between mother and son are diluted with comedic and visually stunning scenes. The soundtrack, including the familiar Lana Del Rey, Dido and Celine Dion, couples easily with each scene in what is a surprisingly modern soundtrack. Substance and direction are ever present and the film progresses at a good pace throughout. The only major fault is trying to keep up with the subtitles as the dialogue was often fast and short. Otherwise, it stands as a long but well balanced film that will stand to Dolan and the actors for a long time.
Film Review: Still Alice Jordon Williams Salter finds Still Alice, the film which recently earned Julianne Moore her first Oscar, a wonder for audiences. Having already won ten awards, including the Academy and BAFTA accolades for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Still Alice, directed by Wash Westmoreland, is a winner for any cinema enthusiast It follows Columbia University lecturer Dr. Alice Howland on her journey from her diagnosis and throughout the rapid deterioration of her mental state. The heart wrenching depiction of her transition from a highly educated and quick witted woman into a victim of a debilitating disease is one which captivates the viewer into a very real portrayal of the illness. As an esteemed lecturer of linguistics, Alice’s inevitable struggle with words and communication is one which she finds devastating. With husband John (Alec Baldwin) and daughter Lydia (Kristen Stewart) at her side, Alice grapples with maintaining her
mental capacity and memory while exploring other aspects of life not associated with academia, on which her life had since been focussed. Moore’s performance shows a vast range of emotions, behaviour and even physical states which truly portray her talent as an actress, while simultaneously delivering a sympathetic, insightful and illuminating window into the mind of a sufferer of memory loss. With an outstanding performance from Alec Baldwin, the pair portrays the on screen chemistry and dynamic of a highly educated and motivated couple, and the strain the illness puts on both of their lives. Defying expectations, Kristen Stewart’s performance as an aspiring actress in a family of dedicated academics is endearing and sympathetic, and her struggle to deal with the situation and with her mother is easily relatable to the viewer.
Still Alice is a film which both engages and captivates the audience, while also bringing to light the reality of a progressive illness such as Alzheimer’s
not only from society’s point of view, but from the perspective of the sufferer.
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Art & Lit This month marks the 110th birthday of Dr. Seuss. Born on March 2nd 1904 in Massachusetts, Seuss’s real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. The author wrote and illustrated a whopping 44 classics of children’s literature over the course of a 54-year long career. Many of his books such as The Grinch, The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham still provide the first milestone for readers-intraining and, despite their age, remain adored by children across the world. A much-loved figure from our childhoods, many of us fondly remember Dr. Seuss well into our adult years. However the more one looks into his life, the more you realise that there is far more to this man than it first seems. So here are five weird and wonderful facts about the life of Dr. Seuss:
1 Theodor Geisel adopted the pen-name ‘Seuss’ after he was kicked off the college
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There’s a Seuus Leuss about this Heuss Molly Forsythe divulges the facts on the fantastic Dr. Seuss in the aftermath of the UCC Musical Society production. humour magazine, the Dartmouth JackO-Lantern, for drinking bootleg gin. Encouraged by a teacher to keep up his writing, Geisel took up the nom de plume in order to continue contributing
a list of vocabulary that all 6-7 year olds should recognise. Geisel returned nine months later with The Cat in the Hat, which is 1,702 words long but only uses 220 different words.
without the college’s knowledge.
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2 His 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo featured the first use of the word ‘nerd’ and Geisel is often credited with coining the term.
3 In 1954 Life magazine published a report on illiteracy among school children, which put the blame on boring books for children’s disinterest in reading. On reading the piece, Geisel’s publisher challenged the author to create “a book children can’t put down” using only words compiled from
He wrote Green Eggs and Ham in 1960 after his publisher bet that he couldn’t write a book using only 50 words. Not only did Geisel win the bet but he also ended up penning the fourth bestselling children’s book of all time in America.
5 Dr. Seuss didn’t just write for children. In 1939 he moved publishers on the condition that he would be allowed write an ‘adult’ book. The result was The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History’s Barest Family. Telling the story of Lady
Godiva’s forgotten nudist sisters, Seuss described the book in the foreword as: “A beautiful story of love, honour and scientific achievement.” The book was a complete flop and only sold 2,500 copies. Later on in his career he would comment: “I attempted to draw the sexiest babes I could, but they came out looking absurd.”
Ireland’s
Call In the aftermath of Seachtain na Gaeilge, Claire Fox continues the Irish language debate. With Seachtain na Gaeilge having closed its doors for another year, it’s an apt time to reflect on the state of our native tongue. Articles of this nature are always in danger of sounding like insipid Leaving Cert essays, so this piece shall be free of meaningless and dated proverbs, which serve only to conceal the true issue at stake – the Irish language, our language. Seachtain na Gaeilge (despite the glitch in the title) ran from March 1st to 17th. One of the world’s greatest language festivals, the events included writing workshops, plays ‘as Gaeilge’ and art exhibitions, culminating in the colourful and charismatic St Patrick’s Day Parade. Adults, children, fluent speakers and novice word-spinners nationwide and globally make an effort to get involved for these 17 days. But then is it all over?
We return to our routine lives where only English emerges from our lips. Do we forget about the Irish language and its beautiful idiosyncrasies? Here, in the diverse environment of UCC, it’s almost more common to hear the luscious European languages of French and Italian, or even Chinese, rather than our own indigenous Irish. Although our various Irish societies play a role in promoting the Irish language and our culture, it seems the majority of our student body is willing to let the language die. Nationally we have a stale state department responsible for running the Irish language and inefficient teaching methods from our schooldays, making it a wonder that the language has survived as long as it has. So while
it’s still alive, it’s best to focus on the positive aspects fuelling its existence. While TG4 is perhaps more famed for its incessant GAA coverage and re-runs of John Wayne cowboy films, the channel has achieved a lot in its relatively short existence. Innovative shows from Ros na Rún to Aifric have succeeded in bringing the Irish language to our sitting rooms and kitchens on a daily basis, while the addition of young and vibrant presenters make the language more attractive to our generation. Irish language publications, such as Foinse and Seachtain also provide us with Irish news where the quality of editorials and opinion pieces is not sacrificed for being in our native dialect – in fact arguments are strengthened for the educated writing style of one
schooled in the ancient language. While English will forever remain the language of our daily lives, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make an effort to speak Irish on a daily basis. Whether it’s just a simple ‘Dia duit’ or ‘Go raibh maith agat’, if we are consciously making an effort to speak the language it is more likely to withstand the storm. So be proud and dust off your cúpla focal – not just for St Patrick’s Day but for every day of the year.
Gaiman’s Pratchett collaborations James McGlynn attends James Joyce Prize winner Neil Gaiman’s acceptance speech, detailing his work with Terry Pratchett. The opulent surrounds of UCD’s Fitzgerald Debating Chamber are host to a very unique kind of anticipation, as a bustling mid-afternoon congregation of admirers assemble and await the arrival of one exceptionally venerated author, Neil Gaiman. Noticing the particular volumes that these adoring fans bear, the diversity of Gaiman’s appeal becomes ever more apparent: there are fans who first encountered Gaiman as children, through such books for young readers as Coraline; while one group are in attendance due to Gaiman’s close connection to Sir Terry Pratchett. One individual even bears a plastic Tardis, highlighting Gaiman’s distinction as a writer on Doctor Who. The captivated audience sits in silence as Gaiman mirthfully reminisces on his inglorious journalism days. This was a path that he would soon abandon after being asked to pen an article on Dungeons & Dragons which, to his bitter amusement, was expected to emphasise the game’s supposed links to “suicide, Satanism and insanity.” Similarly luckless in his first published works, Gaiman had to make the impossible decision between biographing either Def Leppard, Barry Manilow or Duran Duran for one small
Happy Birthday Jack Kerouac! Molly Forsythe celebrates the life and times of the American novelist. Fans of Jack Kerouac will be delighted to hear that there are more books on the way from the author of the iconic On the Road. Having made an agreement with the writer’s brother-in-law, a Quebec publishing house, Les Éditions du Boréal, has announced its plans to publish a collection of previously unseen and unedited works written in Kerouac’s native French. The collection is due to be released in the spring of next year and the publishers aim to have an English translation published by the Li-
Art & Lit
publisher, eventually choosing the latter on account of the relative brevity of the band’s history and the relative speed at which he could get the job over with.
“It was like getting a call from Michelangelo, saying he had a ceiling he wanted to paint with you.” However comprehensive and convincing his Duran Duran biography may have been, Gaiman never abandoned his more creative literary endeavours in favour of the arguably more lucrative security of a career in journalism. Answering one scholar’s question on the origin of his ideas and inspiration, Gaiman whimsically responds that “writer’s block” is a madeup phenomenon, invented to “make writers feel special.” He also jests that a writer who is stuck doesn’t receive quite as many free drink offers as that most piteous sufferer of writer’s block, yet it is always clear from the vibrant, imaginative universes of his literary works that Gaiman has never been a sufferer of any such condition.
brary of America. Entitled La vie est d’hommage, the collection will include rare works such as the first half of a novel, La Nuit est ma femme. The collection will also feature a novella, Sur le Chemin (On the Road), which the publishers insist differs significantly from the celebrated 1957 novel of the same name. Jean-Louis Kerouac was born in 1922 and would have celebrated his 92nd birthday this month. He was raised in the French-American community of Lowell, Massachusetts and did not speak a word of English until he was six years old. The writer would become one of the leading figures of the 1950s Beat Generation (a term he claims to have coined himself) with the publication of his groundbreaking novel On the Road in 1957. Inspired by a series of cross-country road-trips throughout the 1940s with his friend Neal Cassady,
“It wasn’t unusual to get calls from Terry Pratchett,” he continues, piquing the audience’s interest in this pair’s personal connection, in what proved to be a mere fortnight before Pratchett’s recent passing. The likeness of his impersonation to Pratchett’s unmistakable drawl is uncanny, perfectly recreating the surprise and delight he must have experienced when Pratchett suggested their collaboration: “It was like getting a call from Michelangelo, saying he had a ceiling he wanted to paint with you.” The resultant novel was Good Omens, published in the early years of the internet when, he claims, carrier pigeons would have conveyed their ideas more punctually the novel both shocked and delighted readers with its liberal depictions of sex and drugs. The novel has also gained a cult status due to the myth that it was written over three weeks by a benzedrine-fuelled Kerouac. Despite the initial reception, the novel has since become an ingrained fixture of the modern American canon and is frequently cited as one of the most important works of the last century. With many celebrity admirers from Bob Dylan (“I read On the Road in maybe 1959. It changed my life like it changed everyone else’s.”) to Russell Brand, who made a documentary about the book in 2007, the novel’s legacy is sure to live on. Elated, Les Éditions du Boréal released a statement: “Above all, [readers] will discover the extraordinary sensitivity of Kerouac when he wrote in his native language.”
than the minimal information that their modems “squirted” between one another. Gaiman later goes on to explain how his Hibernian connections, telling of the time he spent writing American Gods in Cork, at Tori Amos’ Kinsale residence. However the collective intake of breath that followed his latest announcement (“that was a great noise!”) that he would be writing a new script for a six-hour long BBC production is but a glimmer of the excitement that will undoubtedly follow this as-of-yet unnamed project, serving as living proof of his tireless work as one of the most imaginative, original writers of our day.
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Light after Darkness? Robbie Byrne talks to The Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins about line-up changes, album number four, touring Ireland and telepathy.
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he Darkness are the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll cliché. From humble beginnings came stratospheric stardom and all its trappings: Drug abuse, alcoholism, fallouts, gig cancellations, rehab and the inevitable break-up. But true to the finest feel good film script, The Darkness discarded their differences – returning to their adoring fans just as ironic and, thankfully, more sober than ever. You just get the sense that somewhere Richard Linklater is inking a contract about a band from Lowestoft, with Jack Black penned in for lead role. Despite boasting such a fascinating backstory, guitarist Dan Hawkins is reluctant to discuss the band’s past: “You know, it’s so long ago now and things are so positive these days that I’d prefer not to talk about our breakup. We’re on a new chapter and it just doesn’t feel right to revisit the past. “I will say that we would have taken a
hiatus either way, no matter what the circumstances would have been. An artist can’t stare at his canvas forever; sometimes he has to walk away from it to get fresh inspiration.” With the most awkward question out of the way, I give Hawkins a moment to catch his breath as he returns to his hotel room following a post-lunch workout. It appears that The Darkness’s more health-conscious second incarnation is a far cry from the time its frontman was reported to have splurged £150,000 on cocaine following the success of Permission To Land. Our first glimpse of what the band have been up to, ‘Barbarian’, sees a clear change of tack where a simple, but crushing riff plays host to Justin Hawkins’s trademark wail. It’s a world away from the lovelorn fussiness of their comeback LP Hot Cakes – a change that Dan claims is intentional. “I think something went off in our heads
when we won the Ivor Novello Award [for Songwriter of the Year]. It’s the highest accolade in music but we were never songwriters in the strictest sense,” Dan says. “The Novello encouraged us to approach the last two albums from a songwriter’s perspective, but it just wasn’t right. For this album we wanted to go back to how we wrote Permission To Land – by building songs from riffs. I wanted to right those wrongs.” Dissatisfied, the group parted ways with their management and, seeking a fresh start, they travelled to the Kerry to lay down some sketches for a fourth studio album: “We went to the west of Ireland to get away from it all. We’re from Lowestoft, which is the most easterly point in Britain, and I’m pretty sure Valentia is the most westerly point in Europe. It seemed like the perfect place to escape. We thought we were four monks on a pilgrimage – we fell in love with the place.”
But following a brief Ibizan writing stint, the band was forced to deal with the shock departure of drumming stalwart Ed Graham. “We had a huge chunk of material written when Ed parted ways with us,” Dan comments, reluctant to discuss the matter in depth. “Following his departure we tried a number of drummers that we knew through our own circle of friends, but nothing was clicking. We wanted something a little different from the norm, so I went looking for a female drummer.” Setting himself a mission, Dan trawled the internet to find the perfect drummer: “I guess you could say we found Emily [Dolan Davies] on the internet. We are very lucky to have found her. She’s in the perfect place in her career – she’s played with some big names but she’s still an unknown. “Emily only came along for our last writing sessions in Norwich, where we eked out the last of our creative juices.
She co-wrote one of the two tracks that made it onto the album. It felt great because we threw her right into the deep end and she still managed to bring a new dimension to the band.” Though entering the fold at such a late point with one of the most divisive bands in the business is enough to overwhelm the most composed musician, she has taken the opportunity in her stride – much to the happiness of Dan; “Emily has been flawless so far, so it’s business as usual really. That reminds me – last night neither Frankie nor I had a high enough voice to reach the harmonies for ‘Growing On Me’, so here Emily comes along and nails it. Not being able to reach those high notes? We’re getting old.” True the golden era of glam rock, The Darkness blur the lines of gender and sexuality, so did joining a band in touch with its feminine side make Emily feel a little more at home? “I’d like to think so,” replies Dan. “We’re not some fierce, swinging bunch of fighting lads you know. I’d like to think we’re far more cosmopolitan than that.” Here is where The Darkness’s nucleus can be found. Sure, their subject matter is absurdly promiscuous cock-rock, but scratch under the surface and you’ll find a true slice of English gentry.
“We’re not some fierce, swinging bunch of fighting lads you know. I’d like to think we’re far more cosmopolitan than that.” Dan believes that the fruit of all this labour is the band’s heaviest record to date, where even the crushing riffs of ‘Barbarian’ are regarded as folk. “For this album you have riffs fighting for the same space. Any Darkness fan knows that we get bored very quickly, so there are no two songs that sound the same. ‘Barbarian’ is without doubt the slowest track; I’d even say it’s a traditional ballad rather than an out and out rock song.” Before Last of our Kind drops this June, the band have decided to generate some stratospheric hype by touring Ireland’s most exclusive venues. Reportedly making a loss on every single performance, Dan explains that the gigs are far more than just a warm-up tour: “We would never really call it that as I feel it would be unfair to our fans that have paid good money to see us.
Playing fresh material, especially with a new band member on board means that we can’t dive straight into playing festivals. We need to get to know each other first,” he says. “This is where the small venues come into their own because Frankie, Justin, Emily or I can hear if somebody is messing up on a certain note or beat.” It’s a move born from experience; one that the quartet are already reaping the fruits of. “The people are loving the new material. Playing a song for the first time is always an anxious moment but the crowds love what we’ve played so far. It’s such a relief to get a round of applause after playing a new track. “Whelan’s last night was absolutely fantastic; I hope the stage in Cork is a little bigger though because we keep falling over each other. It’s taking some getting used to.” But if there’s one thing Dan has had time adjust to, it’s playing alongside his brother Justin. Having jammed together since they were kids, he agrees that there’s more at work than sheer graft. “I think there’s definitely an element of telepathy involved – if that’s what you’d like to call it. I guess you spend so much time with someone like Justin that you just bounce off him when performing. I don’t put any conscious thought into it.” Dan’s focus is forever shifting and, as I run fresh out of questions, I resort to some good old-fashioned conversation: “A lot of people see musicians as lazy people who draw the dole. When you are a musician you make serious sacrifices. A lot of great musicians could easily have been doctors or lawyers. Musicians are incredibly intelligent people. “We slogged it for ten years and there
were times in my mid-twenties when I seriously considered packing in music for good. That’s why admire anyone who has the guts to try and make it in this industry,” he comments, before shifting focus once again.
“We’re on a new chapter and it just doesn’t feel right to revisit the past.”
the collection has diminished since. It’s funny – the less I wear my Thin Lizzy t-shirt, the more [our bassist] Frankie looks like Phil Lynott.” The Darkness’s fourth album, Last Of Our Kind, is available on all formats from June 1st. All images by: Kieran Frost Photography.
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“Ten years ago everything changed – artist development stopped as labels didn’t have enough cash to fund it. Record labels want the complete musician to arrive fully packaged at their doorstep. They don’t believe in nurturing talent anymore.” It’s a concern for all contemporary musicians, though Dan is convinced that he would have been lured into the world of music regardless of the generation he was born into. “If we were born in our parents’ time, I think we’d sound like Neil Young or Credence Clearwater Revival, or something like that. But there are so many possible variables. We may have gravitated away from rock and become the male Bananarama, who knows? One certainty is that I would definitely have been involved in music.” If Dan is known for one thing other than face-melting guitar solos, it’s his fine collection of Thin Lizzy t-shirts, so what variation can we expect for the band’s Leeside appearance? “You might see me without a Thin Lizzy t-shirt on this tour. I bought a tonne of them when we started selling records, but
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Meteor Choice Prize Shoots for the Stars
Music
Last year’s IFTA ceremony penned a new low into Ireland’s social diary. Though we Irish are long accustomed to awkward scripts, celebrity no-shows, and function rooms transformed into Oscar aping sets á la Dealz, few could have predicted the medley of failure that was the 2014 Irish Film and Television Awards. It’s a low that eases some pressure off the organizers of the 10th Meteor Choice Prize, as hoards of thirty-something’s make their way into the Vicar Street venue. Whatever happens tonight, they won’t have another IFTAs on their hands. Surely. Before any formalities commence, Song of the Year nominee, Kormac’s Big Band are first to take to the stage, performing their nominated track ‘Wake Up’. With a keen ear for the vintage and newfangled, Kormac’s mix of live turntables, touchpads and brass instrumentation expand the diminutive confines of the venue. If its organisers wanted to begin with a bang, they couldn’t have chosen a better act.
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As the hypnotic siren of ‘Drown Me’ dulls to silence, Today FM’s Paul McLoone walks to the rostrum. Forever on the edge of losing his audience, his oddball wit is a mixed bag of the comedic and cringe-worthy. Fearing his ship could sink without warning, McLoone assumes the role of paranoid captain – endlessly apologising for nominee no-shows, performance delays and sound errors. Wearing, but the Derry native has just enough charm to pull it off. Garage rock favorites, The Minutes are next, strutting their very own blend of gritty riffs and attitude. Some initial sound issues can’t stop the trio from pummeling the eardrums with two tracks from their latest LP, including the Meteor nominated ‘Cherry Bomb’. An irresistibly tense jam builds before breaking into the explosive chorus of ‘Hold Your Hand’. A standing ovation follows. Enough said.
An inconsistent 10th Meteor Choice Music Prize fails to hide Ireland’s real music talent as Robbie Byrne gives a front-row review of the event. Fearing his ship could sink without warning, McLoone assumes the role of paranoid captain - endlessly apologizing for nominee no-shows, performance delays and sound errors. A muted reaction accompanies the awarding of Best Song of the Year to The Script’s ‘Superhero’, and as yet another pre-recorded interview is projected onto the big screen, the audience becomes increasingly detached from proceedings.
“McLoone assumes the role of paranoid captain – endlessly apologising for nominee no-shows, performance delays and sound errors.” Our first Best Album of the Year nominee, The Riptide Movement, seek to turn the heat up by performing three tracks. But their radio-friendly guitarpop fails to gel with its live environment. Though the chart topping ‘All Works Out’ gets some of the more inebriated legs moving, the quartet’s Mumfordmeets-Slade theatrics seem dated and downright grating. A change of act forces another lengthy equipment reshuffle before our second Album of the Year nominee, We Cut Corners, arrive on stage. Undoubtedly the weakest performance of the night, the Delphi label-signed duo fail to grab the attention of a single onlooker thanks to a mix of awkward vocals and dull riffs. As the ceremony reaches its lowest ebb, downstairs chatter rises to the balcony seating. Something truly special is required to revive the ceremony’s flagging fortunes. “I’m sorry my guitar was out of tune so I had to improvise, people might think I’m a fucking jazz guitarist. Oh
My Awesome Mix, Vol. XII Cry Monster Cry
kind of man
Dublin brothers Richie and Jamie Martin craft a distinctive brand of harmony driven acoustic folk that has seen the duo become one of the most hyped names in the business over recent months. Fresh from their live debut at Cyprus Avenue, they give Verge their very own Awesome Mix.
3. Pixies – Gigantic
1. Father John Misty – Bored in the USA
7. Luke Kelly - Raglan Road
2. Florence & The Machine – What
4. Rihanna, Kanye & Paul McCartney – Four Five Seconds 5. Van Morrison – Domino 6. Ryan Adams – Gimme Something Good
8. Fink – Looking Too Closely
shit – did I curse on live radio? I’m a badass… Let’s hope this keyboard is in tune.” Despite being forced to play ‘Gold’ in the wrong key, James Vincent McMorrow casts an unerring spell over his audience – cloaking the venue in a spectral silence. Performing without his backing band, a solitary McMorrow effortlessly draws tears and raises hairs before receiving the second and longest standing ovation of the night.
self titled debut and McMorrow’s second LP, Post Tropical.
At last, we’re on a roll, but as the forever-brilliant Delorentos perform three tracks from their stellar big label release Night Becomes Light, the show ends.
In spite of the suspect jokes and inconsistent live performances, it was the Delorentos’ Kieran McGuinness who brought the importance of the Meteor’s home: “It’s really important for us to have this event. It’s a struggle for us some of the time.”
The spotlights soften as the nominees for Album of the Year are catalogued in the name of formality. Overhearing some bar-side conversations prior to the show suggested that this category was a two horse race between Hozier’s
They were wrong. Irish-American trad outfit The Gloaming were declared the eventual winners, scooping a cheque for €10,000, evoking a mixed response. A surprise decision? Yes, but one nonetheless deserving given the ethereal beauty of their eponymous debut.
Our music industry, like the very show that celebrates it, may not be perfect, but its very existence is something certainly worth celebrating.
The Beyoncé Debate Rachel Muckley questions the media’s fascination with the ever-changing, yet consistent character that is Ms. Knowles. Beyoncé Knowles Carter is arguably the most influential celebrity of our time. Her career, which has spanned more than half of her lifetime, has seen the singer win Grammy Awards, perform at the White House, and sell out tours around the world. And yet her life is shrouded in conspiracy and mystery. Every day, celebrity forums crank out the rumor mill about marriage scandals, lip-syncing incidents, fake pregnancies and so on. Is it evident that the public delights in the idea that that Beyoncé’s life is a lie? The superstar’s show-stopping performances are fabulously extravagant and overtly sexualised. The Beyoncé concert experience is an imperative with an exaggerated exclamation mark, fore fronted by the force of this Cleopatra-like woman. It’s hard to believe then that in the same shadow stands a fundamental belief in religious morality. Raised a devout Christian, the singer placed her destiny into the hands of God: “When I’m confused about something, I ask God to reveal the answers.” As a proud African-American, Beyoncé has always been vocal about the inclusion of elements of African tribal culture in her melodies, dance routines and tour visuals. Therefore, owning a liberated voice of immediate impact, she is able to bring attention to a minority ethnic grouping within Hollywood.
Music
However, Beyoncé is no stranger to favouring commercialisation over ethnicity. Most famously, in the last 2000’s, fans accused newly emerging campaigns in which the singer’s skin seemed much paler, her hair blonder and her frame slighter than usual, as being photoshopped. Although such claims were denied, the incident still stands as a reminder that the songstress is a shrewd businesswoman and not above conforming to the superficiality of mass marketing. She knows she is simply a product of a generation, and she intends to sell it.
“Maybe her character isn’t suspicious and dishonest but life-like, and an exemplar of the way we are built as human beings.”
With ever so self-validating lyrics like “Ladies tell’em – I woke up like this,” Beyoncé is a self-proclaimed feminist. In a gender-equality essay released last year, she urged the public to “stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet.” And yet,
for all her talk of female independence, she’s remains an old-school romantic Her résumé includes highly emotional love songs inspired by her eight-year marriage to Jay Z, including ‘Halo’ and ‘1+1’. However turbulent their union may be, she has resided to stick by her man despite rumors of infidelity and family feuds. There is no middle ground; this is either an iconic love story or a masquerade. Beyoncé is Sasha Fierce; she is Queen Bey, a professional perfectionist and a wife and mother from a humble background. She is a person, like all others, honest in the complexity of nature. “Who I am on stage is very, very different to who I am in real life,” she remarks. This is her method of survival.
So maybe we’re missing the point. Maybe her character isn’t suspicious and dishonest but life-like, and an exemplar of the way we are built as human beings. We are all multi-faceted, full of the promise of power and weakness. Isn’t this how we protect ourselves, how we thrive? Maybe we should gravitate towards her vulnerability as well as her unyielding warrior stance. Of course we all need a bit of Beyoncé resilience, but I’m not sure how effective it would be to remain in that combatant mind frame while rocking a baby to sleep, consoling a friend, or sipping tea on a Sunday afternoon. You know, those normal things Beyoncé surely knows nothing about. Goodness, the one-dimensional-ness of it all. I’m bored of it already.
Quarter Block Party Review Mark Mavambu reviews the music festival which recently rocked Cork. Cork has been craving for something to happen on its doorsteps, an event that provides a stage to not only it’s own artists but also other upcoming musicians around the country. Quarter Block Party was precisely what Cork needed. The event gained national attention and helped put local and international musicians on a pedestal. One of the highlights of the event had to come from the Dublin based band Jet Setter. Their window performance, despite it not being very audible, was different and fun and that really is what music should be about. With bubbling energy and superb stage presence, Naive Ted and Shookrah were certainly among the top five performers of the event. Naive Ted, who sported his trademark Rey Mysterio mask and boxing shorts, was one of the more bizarre, if not the most entertaining
performers of the whole event. But I cannot finish without mentioning the rising success of ApocalypsE. The Irish Times listed them as one of the top three rising stars from the Leeside music scene and, fast-forward to February, where their curtain closing performance at the Quarter Block Party boasted the potential this alternative group of rap artists possess. The only disappointing aspect of the Quarter Block Party had nothing to do with the chosen performers but rather the scale of the event. Next year, Cork is craving an even bigger party to celebrate the very best in theatre and music.
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The Verdict: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Gaming
You’ll probably get eaten – but you should put up a good fight, says Steve Barry. the Bowgun, MH4U adds the Insect Glaive and the Charge Blade. The first is a javelin like weapons accompanied by a bug called a Kinsect, which can absorb the essences of monsters to provide buffs. It is also very much tied to the new mounting system, which allows you to jump on monsters’ backs to inflict major damage. The Charge Blade is a large sword and shield, which can transform into an axe to provide two styles of attack to suit any situation. However, one thing that must be said about Monster Hunter is that you must be prepared to fail. While that may make the game unapproachable to some, it is important to know that the beauty of all of Capcom’s MH titles is the difficulty curve. You must learn from your failures, and adapt to new surroundings and behaviours on a minute by minute basis. But, if you have a friend to help you learn the basics, the game becomes a much more enjoyable experience.
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complex and force you to learn from your encounters, or perish. It is true Darwinism – you evolve or you die.
“The challenges will grow increasingly complex and force you to learn from your encounters, or perish. It is true Darwinism - you unique creatures to battle, several weapon classes to master and hundreds of weapons and armour pieces to craft.
I
t’s been nearly a month since my hunter, Grayson, began his journey with his ginger, feline Palico companion, Babs, into the vast plains, deserts and mountains of the world of Monster Hunter. In that month, according to my in-game clock, I have hunted numerous wyverns, dragons, serpents and the occasional ape, as well as gathered my fair share of bugs and ores for over eighty-five hours. Now, you may think that this is more than enough to complete any game but in the case of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, available on the Nintendo 3DS, it is barely scratching the surface. MH4U is unparalleled in its depth of content, offering nearly a hundred
For the uninitiated, Monster Hunter almost definitely appears to be an untameable beast. At the beginning, you are plunged into a mostly nameless world as a fledgling hunter, clad in simple leather armour and equipped with a basic iron sword and shield. It is from here that you will complete a series of basic tutorials before facing your first proper beastie, and after that, your options of play will only expand. There is no levelling system in MH4U, as opposed to traditional Japanese Role-Playing Games, your progression is based on your own merit. You will fight monster after monster, repeatedly, carving them for their scales, shells and horns in order to craft wonderfully designed weapons and armour. This series of fights is best described as a greatest hits of boss battles. As you go, the challenges will grow increasingly
evolve or you die.” The most important thing to examine with any new Monster Hunter title, is the creatures it adds. While we part ways with some monsters from the previous English release, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, the new monsters make their presence outweigh those tenfold. The three stand out new foes are the serpent Najarala, the arachnid Nerscylla and the draconic Gore Magala. Let’s not spoil the mechanics of their respective fights, as learning how to contend with the monsters’ behaviours is half the fun. These monsters add new types of movement patterns that are often harder to predict, and inflict new status effects and attacks that will throw even the most experienced hunter off. Next to monsters, new weapons are always important to cover. In addition to the returning weapons, from the Sword & Shield, to the Switch Axe and
For the first time on a portable system (the series has been previously released on the Playstation 2, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Wii U), Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate offers online multiplayer. Somehow, Nintendo and Capcom have managed to create one of the most stable online multiplayer experiences available at the moment, with my experience having only dropped connection once in my tens of hours. In the Gathering Hall, you can team up with up to three of your friends, or other random hunters to fight even larger monsters, or some you have already encountered at a greater difficulty level. Here the game shines, with it encouraging you to work together and synergise your strategies to hunt the biggest game, and reap the rewards. You will progress up ranks, from the beginning at Low Rank, to High Rank and maybe after a few hundred hours, G Rank, each offering their own challenges, and in the case of G Rank, utterly unique hunting experiences. MH4U is an incredible title that I am far from finished with. It is visually stunning for a handheld game, offers artificial intelligence that betters many other games across genre boundaries, and gives you much more value for the precious money you spend on it that nearly any other current game that I can think of. Its only downfall is a barrier to entry that you must break down for yourself, or with the help of someone more experienced. Even then, if we do not question Dark Souls for its difficulty, we cannot question this game. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate may push you off a ledge rather than hold your hand, but you will be thrown into a world that will absorb and enthral you as you climb up the food chain… and maybe still get eaten anyway.
Why Gaming Is Good For You Aoife Gleeson explains why gaming, contrary to popular belief, has many benefits for users.
Gaming help develop your spatial awareness, which is useful in the fields of engineering and architecture. Studies of cognitive behaviour of gamers also showed improved attention allocation, or ability to filter out irrelevant stimuli to focus on the task at hand. So, you’re not wasting hours playing Modern Warfare, Destiny or Titanfall, you’re developing your cognitive reaction time!
5 Learning new skills
G
aming often gets a bad rap, particularly in the media. They’re used as a scapegoat; an easy, punchy headline substitution for an actual examination of deeper issues of crime and health care. Gaming has often been demonised, with pious, uninformed politicians who lobby to have them banned outright and parents who chide their children for ‘wasting their time’ and ‘melting their brains’. In recent years, research into the effects of playing video games has grown exponentially. Not all of it is pretty – gaming can be highly addictive and excessive play can contribute to depression. These are very real issues that merit discussion but these negative effects have been much more highly publicised than the seldom mentioned beneficial aspects of gaming. Verge has compiled six reasons why gaming is good for you, and how you can even help science along the way!
1 Coping with pain Video games have been shown to help individuals with pain management and chronic pain, as they work as an effective distraction mechanism for the player. During a study in which subjects were exposed to pain stimuli while playing video games (versus a control group that wasn’t playing), the subjects playing video games showed a much higher pain tolerance than the control group. An example of this in
practise is a virtual reality game, called SnowWorld, which was developed for burn victims to reduce pain during treatments of wounds. So, even though you probably already play video games when you’re sick, now you have actual proof that they make you feel better.
3 Increased perseverance
2 Anxiety Relief
For younger players, gaming can also help in processing and regulating negative emotions, like failure and frustration, in a safe environment. In most games you die, or fail, a lot. This repeated failure (followed, hopefully, by success) can help in developing perseverance and persistence. Video games can serve as a motivational tool for young players to show that success can be achieved, despite failure, through continued efforts. Since kids can often be over-coddled and shielded from any type of failure, a game that challenges them with persistence in the face of failure is probably a good thing.
Playing simple puzzle games with high accessibility and low commitment, like Angry Birds, Candy Crush and Threes, can help lessen anxiety and regulate your mood through repetitive action and reward. So, next time you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, maybe try playing a few minutes of one of these creations on your phone to see if it helps. Much anecdotal evidence also exists of more complex, artistic games helping people cope with deeper issues, such as dealing with sexual identity or depression. Re-mission, a game made available for free to young cancer patients, involves playing as a nanobot injected into a human body to fight against cancer. The game allows children with cancer to better understand their disease, while educating them on treatment. Children who played the game were shown to have improved adherence and compliance to their treatments.
4 Improved problem solving and spatial awareness Playing shooters, set in a fast-paced, constantly changing environment, can help to improve your split second decision making skills by requiring lightning fast responses. They can also
This one may be a bit of a cheat, since it depends on how you define a video game. Gamification is the usage of video game elements in non-gaming contexts in order to make an activity more appealing. Think of Duolingo, where you have a limited number of hearts and power-ups to keep you engaged in learning a language. A cooler example is Zombies, Run!, a running app which plays audio narrations of a zombie outbreak as you run. The app will give you locations to get to for ‘supplies’ and sometimes, when your location triggers a horde, you’ll have to run faster for a short period of time in order to outrun the zombies or risk losing your supplies and life, all while sound effects play over your headphones. Gamification can be used for a wide variety of subjects, like classroom education and the training of surgeons. Here’s hoping we see more cool implementations like this in the future.
6 Helping important research Another really interesting example of gamification is ‘Foldit’, a puzzle game created by the University of Washington. You’re given a protein, which you have to fold as effectively as you can, into its most compact form. The best solutions are analysed by researchers, who can then apply the information to real life problems. Notably, the crowdsourced research helped researchers by successfully modelling a HIV related enzyme that the scientific community was unable to unlock for a decade. In a more bizarre example of gaming helping research, a glitch in World of Warcraft caused a hit point draining spell to spread, functioning like a plague and killing characters it came in contact with. The ‘Corrupted Blood Plague’ was subsequently studied by epidemiologists due to its similarity to real life pandemics.
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Fashion
Supermodel Me Claire Fox investigates whether the supermodel has become a distinct species.
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he age of the Supermodel is over, dead and buried. Ten years ago, most critics in the world of fashion would have given a reluctant nod of agreement to my opening sentence. Household supermodels, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss were still considered runway royalty, even though their heyday had long since passed and although Victoria Secret sensation Gisele Bundchen was dubbed a supermodel, her lack of allure when compared to the Big-Six of the 80s and 90s took the ‘super’ out of her model status. However, in more recent years there has been a turnaround, with a new-batch of beautiful faces rising to the challenge to take the catwalk crown. Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss and even Kendall Jenner, of the Kardashian Clan (whether rightly or wrongly so) have been given the title of ‘supermodel’ by the media. But are they really supermodels? Do they correspond to the construct that was created for them in past or are they paving their own way? And the biggest question of all what is a supermodel anyway? While former Sports Illustrated and Harper’s Bazaar cover girl Janice Dickinson has continually claimed that she coined the term supermodel in the seventies, in reality it had been in existence
long before then. For most, the world’s first supermodel was the gamine and waifish, Londoner nicknamed Twiggy. Her signature eyeliner flick, thin frame and cropped androgynous hair-cut won the hearts of the entire globe. In 1967, The New York Times, attributed the title of supermodel to Twiggy, while Glamour did so the following year. At 5 foot 6, Twiggy was by no means of exceptionally tall stature, so whether she would have succeeded as a supermodel by today’s standards is certainly questionable, with most catwalk queens
“Just as the world seemed ready to resign supermodels to bygone days, a new crop of beguiling beauties strutted onto the scene.” towering at 5 foot 9 at the very least. English beauties Twiggy and Jane Shrimpton laid the foundations of supermodel status for a new wave of model wonders who would storm their way into the 80s and 90s. This was undoubtedly the Golden Age of the Supermodel. Cindy Crawford’s alluring beauty mark allowed her to earn up to $800,000
for a single photo-shoot, while Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and the later addition of Kate Moss completed the ‘Big-Six’ supermodel squad. Kate Moss’s ability to pull-off garage grunge just as successfully as simple elegance made her a winning contrast to the demure and sultry Campbell, their difference complementing each other. The noughties did nothing to foster the emergence of new supermodels. With actresses and TV stars fronting beauty campaigns and magazine covers, the demand for supermodels waned. Although Georgia-May Jagger, famed for her gapped-grin and red-lipstick, was the face of Rimmel and Rosie-Huntington-Whiteley featured widely, they lacked the sheer supremacy that a true supermodel needs to possess. Schiffer and Crawford declared that the time of supermodels was over and that they “had lived through it.” However, just as the world seemed ready to resign supermodels to bygone days, a new crop of beguiling beauties strutted onto the scene. The 2012 London Olympics was a perfect time for Cara Delevingne to pa-
rade her modelling prowess alongside household names Campbell and Moss. Fresh from a successful Burberry Campaign, Delevingne became the face of DKNY and Yves Saint Laurent. Meanwhile American Karlie Kloss’s sleek demeanour has allowed her become the muse of Jean-Paul Gaultier. While, in recent months, Kendall Jenner has worked the runways of London and Paris Fashion Weeks, it remains to be seen whether she is deserved of the title of supermodel. Has her infamous family status been the reason for her rise in the haute couture sector or has it been for her own modelling merit? The fashion archives will tell us whether these contemporary faces made the cut as supermodels. For many, becoming a supermodel is all about luck but in reality it is all about attitude. You don’t have to be the most beautiful girl in the world to lead the pack at a Chanel show. Attitude, confidence and originality have been the winning qualities of supermodels past and present. And if you possess these qualities, according to Jean-Paul Gaultier, you have the ability to “advance fashion by ten years.” No pressure then Kendall!
One Weekend, Many Perspectives Nicole Clinton muses upon Paris Vogue’s glamorisation of the road trip.
Fashion
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photo-shoot spread entitled Un Week-end from Vogue Paris last year conveys the highly romanticised notion of travel in a relatively organic way. Photographed by Mikael Jansson, the actual clothes, although provided by high-fashion designers such as Prada, Saint Lauren, Gucci and Alberta Ferretti, are not particularly glamorous. It is the idealised imagery and the general aura of magnetism that create an overall impression of beauty. We observe the stylising of items that are not traditionally associated with sartorial supremacy such as chunky knit jumpers, wool socks and manly, baggy trousers. This is perhaps where the spread’s genius and allure lies as it masters the art of the fashion photograph – to glamorise everything, even the terribly unattractive. The spread is offered an intellectual dynamism by its play with gender roles and its implication of fashion’s part in their expression. The shoot revolves around just two models and while the opening picture leads the viewer to believe that this is a simple, Thelma and Louise themed endeavour, the notion that this is more than a platonic relationship begins to creep in as one photo gives way to another. The brunette
appears to be taking on the masculine role and the blond the feminine one, but the implied genders are not exuded in the models’ own physicality. Both girls have stunning, effeminate features that are flawlessly defined by elegant make-up and silky, long hair, a look that is classically affiliated with femininity. Therefore, the suggestion of gender is purely conveyed through clothes. The model with the male role wears loose-fitting slacks, leather loafers and masculine shirts in the majority of the photos, showing barely any skin. The model who embodies the more feminine character dons shorter numbers, waist defining coats, flowing skirts and revealing blouses. The spread demonstrates fashion’s crucial part in the acquiring and communication of gender roles. The insinuation of the nature of the girls’ relationship with one another is treated in a subtle way. Their channelling of opposite genders joined with their body-language and their positioning injects a hint of romance and sexual tension into their liaisons, without being explicit. The colour scheme utilised throughout the spread meanders through a neutral palette employing autumnal tones such as rust, red, cream, beige and
brown. The usage of these shades is not confined to the clothes and makeup but rather extends itself through to each element of the photograph. The lighting is based around rich, sunlight hues, loaning the visuals an almost dreamlike quality. It exudes a sense of warmth and humidity, allowing the viewer to not just ‘see’ the setting but to ‘feel’ it in their bones. The brown tint additionally aids the suggestion that we are witnessing the events of a by-gone era as it produces an old-fashioned, sepia effect. A sense of naturalism is established through the shadows and lens flares. The outfits exhibit items and textures associated with the countryside or travel in previous eras such as wool jumpers, leather, Wellington boots, oversize trench-coats, neckerchiefs and aviator sunglasses. The principal theme embodied in Un Week-end is travel. The spread envisions a past world that is far away from GPS and Facebook check-in. While the holiday in the countryside that we observe is not necessarily affiliated with a glamorous vacation, it is the folklore that surrounds the notion of travel that attaches style and romance to the photographs and their settings. The spread presents an intersection of location based solely on the cultural associations with different forms of travel that it displays. The car scenes
induce the near mythological American concept of the open road. The country fields and the old-fashioned deck-chairs next to the beach possess a British aura. And the nautical imagery of boats and piers exemplifies the atmosphere of a French fishing village. The title, Un Week-end, also highlights a mix of cultures, considering that the French word for weekend is just the English word with a definite article attached. In the photo-shoot, the idea of travel is depicted literally through the visuals but also symbolically. The spread is enchanted by the notion of travel as a metaphor for escapism, stemming from the desire to flee the pressures of everyday life, to be free.