OTwo Volume XXVI Issue 4 November 19th 2019
Astrid S
The Proof is in the Passion
OTWO VOL. XXVI ISSUE 4 CONTRIBUTORS
CONTENTS
Jerry Mayo Page 4 Staff Recommends
Editor Gavin Tracey Deputy Editor Aoife Mawn Art and Design Editor Alex Fagan Assistant Editor Nathan Young Design Assistant: Orla Keaveney OTwo Co-Editors: Jessica Viola Heather Reynolds Arts and Literature Editor Conor Halion Games Editor Andy Prizeman-Nolan Film and TV Editor Cíara Dempsey Music Editor Sinéad Dunphy Fashion Editor Hannah Pamplin Food Editor Sophie Tevlin Travel Editor Killian Conyngham Online Editor Emma Kiely Chief of Photography Alex Fagan Deputy of Photography Sofia Dragacevac Staff Writers Odin O’Sullivan Joyce Dignam Eoin Keogh Contributors Fiachra Johnston Alex Mulhare Hannah Ryan Murphy Paurush Kumar Harry Dixon Mike Stebens Anna Blackburn Emily Wigham Emma Nolan
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Arts & Literature Pages 6-9 Poetry Page 9 Games Pages 10-12 Film & TV Pages 13-16 Astrid S Pages 17-20 Music Pages 21-24 Food & Drink Page 25 Fashion Pages 26-29 Travel Page 30 Fatal Fourway Page 31
Seasons greeting nos amis! It’s the most wonderful time of the year and it’s time to share all of the fantastic pieces we have here! First, Heather Reynolds shares a festive Christmas Guide that takes you all around Dublin for the best things to do around the holidays in the Arts and Lit section. Sledding down into Games, Alex Mulhare discusses the Blizzard vs. Hong Kong controversy in this issue. On brand with the holidays, Hannah Ryan Murphy explores the Christmas film industry to examine if their purpose is more than just a cash grab in Film and TV. For our centre interview, Jessica Viola talks to Norweigan singer-songwriter Astrid S about her career and creating music. In the Music section, Anna Blackburn will bring you into the spirit when she discusses the best and worst Christmas albums of all time. With the weather getting colder outside, Sophie Tevlin shares a recipe for Baghdad Eggs for those warm nights at home in the Food and Drink section. As for fashion, Hannah Pamplin interviews the Irish designer, Emma Larkin about creating her own business and her create process behind making jewelry. Last, but not least, Odin O’Sullivan discusses the interplay of culture and tourism in Travel. Well, that’s all for now folks. We’re going to deck the halls with boughs of holly and be dreaming of a white Christmas. Happy holidays from all of us at OTwo and see you in 2020!
Jessica & Heather
Mystic Mittens Scorpio
Taurus
You’ve been feeling less attached with your friends these days, try to organise a night in or a night out to reconnect with those who care about you.
A new job opportunity awaits you, Taurus it’s time to take the leap. You are in need of change and this is the perfect way to start anew.
Gemini Sagittarius Cold weather is here, Sagittarius, so it’s time to get your flu shot (shoutout to my anti vaxxers). You don’t want a repeat of last year when in Week 12 you were as sick as a dog with countless deadlines to meet. Save yourself the trouble.
Capricorn
Love is just around the corner for you so be patient, my friend. Just keep calm and focus on you until you meet that special someone.
Aquarius The holidays are coming upon you, so it’s time to start saving. You’ve got a long list of people to buy for and a small budget for presents. Try saving your money early this year to avoid disappointment.
Pisces Something has been troubling you lately, Pisces. Try taking some time for yourself to rediscover what has been stressing you out. Remember, the most important relationship you can have is with yourself.
Aries You will not get your New Years kiss next year at midnight. Better luck in 2021.
That rude aunt who has no social awareness will ask you some personal questions during the holidays. Try planning ahead about how to respond to her quips.
Cancer You are going to receive a large lump sum of money soon, try to think wisely about what you will spend it on.
Leo You’ve been feeling like you’ve been in limbo lately. It’s time to make a change, whether it is in your relationships, college work, or with yourself, you need to switch up the norm.
Virgo Your computer will die right before you print out your heavily weighted essay that’s due. Here’s a tip: bring a charger and always save your work so you don’t amount to wasting time and failing.
Libra Stop texting that person that doesn’t put time into you. You need to dust yourself off and stop manifesting on the fact that they ghosted you on multiple occasions. Invest the time into yourself, your friends and your family this holiday season.
Soapbox
Graphic Violence: The dos and don’ts of freelance work By Fiachra Johnston As Art & Design Editor for OTwo and The University Observer last year, I helped create a paper and culture magazine that critics have since raved as “okay” and “kind of nice looking I guess”. From this solid mediocrity arose more design work on a freelance level elsewhere, and I’m very grateful to the paper for opening the door to more work. What I was wholly unprepared for was the Pandora’s Box of rage that has been opened since learning about the joys of freelance work. From my personal experience in the last two years of this hellscape, here’s some advice to any client looking for graphic work to make sure your designer will not explode à la Krakatoa: Please give a proper project brief, don’t just vaguely state your vision in one phone call and be unhappy that what is made doesn’t exactly line up because we haven’t yet evolved the ability to read your mind. Do be critical and ask for things you don’t like to be changed, but again, don’t be vague, and don’t ask for something to be changed just because you as “the boss” needs assert dominance and only knows how to do that by sabotaging your own project. Finally, please PAY your designer. Don’t make him turn into Jimmy Stewart from It’s A Wonderful Life screaming for money because you read “please pay within 30 days” from the invoice as “take this design as a gift, the chance to serve is payment enough, Your Majesty”. It makes us look scummy just trying to get what was agreed upon and makes you look either lazy or untrustworthy. Follow these basic steps, and trust your designer, and they’ll give you something worth your money. Fail to adhere to common business courtesy and the Ancient Council of Designers will curse you and your business for eternity. It’s a real thing, I swear.
OTwo WHAT’S HOT? Peppermint
Peppermint everything is all you could possibly need this holiday season. From skincare products to food, this festive herb is everywhere, and we could not be happier about it.
Jerry help! There’s only a few weeks left before Christmas exams and I haven’t even glanced at JStor. How am I going to cram everything in before my four exams? Christmas Day in the Clubhouse is the one day I won’t be missing, I’ll tell you that much, but what study tips could you give me that means I can go out for 12 pubs back home and not worry about my results? Yours, Maya Normusbutt
Flannels
They retain heat, they’re always on trend, and they look great on every body type. Plus, as every charity shop in the country has at least 10 at any given time, they’re a super eco-friendly fashion option for the colder months.
Trans Rights
With Transgender Day of Remembrance recently occuring on the 20th of November, Trans Rights are once again at the forefront of a lot of political discussion. With the crisis in trans healthcare in Ireland still being ignored by most major parties, it’s just as important as ever to stand in solidarity with campaigns like This Is Me.
Maya Normusbutt! Look, we’ve all been there haven’t we? And of course you’re not missing Christmas Day, sure you might as well scrap Christmas altogether if you did that- tell mammy you’re not coming home. C’mere, the good news is you’ve still loads of time, no need to panic until the walk to the RDS I always say, and even then you have the half an hour before to cram a few dates and shite in. Sure isn’t that all you need anyway? The most important thing is having a gameplan for study week: First, make sure you’re in the library early enough to rob the SU’s breakfast table. They do a rake of cereal bars and a load of free pens so you can save a trip down to the SU shop. Speaking of, the SU shops have started doing two cans of Red Bull for €3, so now you can down four of them when you’re on a rollie break outside James Joyce. They should make you feel jittery enough to bash out a couple of study cards that’ll make you look like a pure genius down in the RDS. Do that twice a day at most, but guzzle gallons of coffee to keep you going! Enjoy the bathroom breaks, they’re all you’re gettin’! Seriously though, relax man! They’re only tests at the end of the day, who hasn’t had to repeat something? Make sure you’re looking after yourself, sleeping enough and taking breaks. Before you know it, you’ll be down home nesting a hangover from 12 pubs with your mam shouting at you to get out of bed and bring in turf; bliss! Nollaig Shona agus ádh mór!
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WHAT’S NOT? Christmas Lights in November
Seriously, we at OTwo are all for some festive cheer, but this is getting ridiculous. We haven’t even gotten to the first box on the advent calendar yet, but town is glistening like a disco ball. Grafton Street’s lights went up in October. Does no one have any respect for Halloween anymore?
Pretension
The Hipster subculture seems to be on the verge of dying out, and honestly it’s about time. Building a personality around only liking things other people probably haven’t heard of, and only acknowledging the negatives in things they have is too much of a downer for the current political climate, and we’re all getting sick of saying “You must be fun at parties.”
Cold Snaps
There is, quite frankly, no point in the weather dipping below freezing if it’s not even going to have the common decency to give us a bit of snow while it’s there. It’s sled bait if you ask me. We’re due a proper midwinter snow, and it’s time Mother Nature paid up.
OTwo STAFF RECOMMENDS:
FESTIVE FAVOURITES Cíara Dempsey - Film and TV Editor: Christmas Bath Bombs
I miss when I didn’t spend every other evening over the Christmas holidays trying to explain to my relatives what I plan to do with a theoretical film degree, and that no, I never considered taking a business module because I don’t hate myself. When I need to escape, I turn to Christmas bath-bombs. From Lush, of course, because we’re all about being eco-friendly. My favourites are the “Christmas Eve” bubble bar, and anything that smells like gingerbread. You can still drink wine whilst in the bath, but there is no possible way for anyone to talk to you. Preserve your sanity this Christmas, and stay in the bath until your fingers shrivel up.
Gavin Tracey - Editor: Festive Drinks
Joyce Dignam - Staff Writer: Advent Calendars
The festive season has not begun in my house until you’re having a little chocolate treat every morning from the advent calendar. You wake up and you’re scared to move your duvet in case you let in the cold, it’s still dark out and more than likely, it’s raining. But you get to have a little pick me up from behind a cardboard window and suddenly it’s not so miserable anymore. Obviously, I’m easily pleased! I once ran a Twitter poll asking if we should make ALL calendars chocolate themed and got a great response. I may go into the all-year-advent-calendar business yet…
Jessica Viola - OTwo Co-editor: Peppermint Bark
Most Christmas drinks are lame to the max - mulled wine? Please, get out of here with your mulled wine nonsense. Alcohol boils at around 65ºc - so by the time you’ve heated up your mulled wine it’s lost all its oomph. Enough of that, you gotta give ‘em one of these. Make a pouch out of a j-cloth, put in some mint, cinnamon sticks, cloves, whatever you want really, and tie it up. Place it in a pot with a bunch of cloudy apple juice, and bring to a simmer. When you’re ready to serve it, add the alcohol of your choice (whiskey and rum are my favourite) and enjoy.
One of my all time favourite holiday treats is called peppermint bark. When I was a kid, my neighbours used to bring this festive candy over every Christmas Eve and it was always the highlight of the season for me. Now having moved far from the United States, I still carry on the tradition of making bark. For those of you who don’t know what peppermint bark is, it’s dark chocolate and white chocolate melted on top of one another and sprinkled with crushed up candy cane shavings. It’s the perfect holiday treat because it’s simple to make, looks aesthetically pleasing, and is highly addictive.
Aoife Mawn - Deputy Editor: Harry Potter Marathons
Conor Halion- Arts and Literature Editor: The Father Ted Christmas Special
Every Christmas myself and my siblings will marathon Harry Potter on RTÉ. From Stephen’s Day to New Years, we barely change out of our pyjamas, get up at 1pm, eat leftover turkey and chocolate and cocoon ourselves on the couch watching more RTÉ than we do for the entire rest of the year. Normally they show two Harry Potter films a day, so we get up ten minutes before to make a cup of tea, only move to get more food and then back to bed right after to continue the same cycle for the next few days. It’s incredibly boring and lifeless, and I love it.
Let me set the scene. Its December 23rd, you’ve only just managed to finish your Christmas exams while also juggling brutal hours at a part time job. You arrive home with the last of your Christmas shopping, collapsing onto the couch, exhausted. That’s when you hear the familiar jangle of the Father Ted opening. You open your eyes and find yourself watching “A Christmassy Ted.”, grinning like a maniac. While it’s true that you can watch the Father Ted Christmas special on demand at anytime of the year, I find it has an extra magical quality at Christmas, like chicken soup for the funny bone.
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OTwo - Arts & Literature
Is William Blake Still Relevant? Conor Halion reflects on one of the Romantic period’s foremost artists and addresses the question; does William Blake still matter? Having attended the William Blake exhibit at Tate Britain earlier this month, I am led to reflect on the legacy of one of the Romantic period’s most controversial and influential artists. While we are all familiar with Blake’s poetry and paintings today, like many artists, he was largely unrecognized during his own time, with many of his contemporaries considering him nothing more than an “unfortunate lunatic.” Today however, Blake has infiltrated every inch of society, and one can find him referenced in everything from film, such as Red Dragon, to even videogames, with his prophetic books serving as a loose inspiration behind the plot of Devil May Cry 5. But as John Higgs pointed out in his recent book; William Blake Now: Why William Blake Matters More Than Ever, there is so much more to William Blake than pleasant memorable rhymes and gnarly religious imagery. While Blake’s work can be difficult to penetrate, for those willing to apply themselves, it is also a deeply rewarding experience. But let’s rewind for a moment, who was William Blake and why should we care?
“While Blake’s work can be difficult to penetrate, for those willing to apply themselves, it is also a deeply rewarding experience” William Blake was born in Soho, London, in 1757, the son of a shopkeeper and the third of seven children. Blake’s artistic journey began in the days of his early childhood, when climbing the stairs of the family home in Broad Street, he claimed to see a vision of God through the window. Blake’s family encouraged his artistic calling and in 1779 he enrolled as a student at the Royal Academy of Arts. The Royal Academy encouraged its students to imitate the work of the artists of the Renaissance period, such as Donatello and Michelangelo. While Blake could easily recreate the work of the ancient masters, he did not want to simply imitate, but rather sought to express himself in his own terms. Thus began Blake’s great love affair with relief etching, a process by which he painstakingly etched images onto tiny plates of metal and dipped them into acid to create a unique image. What marks engraving out from other art forms is that, due to the varying effects of the acid upon the metal, no two images ever come out the same. Blake saw the spontaneity of the engraving process as God’s way of manifesting itself through his art. It would be easy to assume from this line that Blake was your average run of the mill, God fearing Christian, and indeed, from a surface reading of poems like ‘The Little Chimney Sweeper’ and ‘The Lamb’, it would be easy to make this assumption, however, as with Blake’s entire body of work, there is never a simple answer.
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Urizen, a recurring character in Blake’s mythology, with his white hair and flowing beard, is a counterpart to the God of the Old Testament. However, with a golden compass in hand, he measures out the world around him and thus sets limiting chains upon it. This version of God is a figure of cold logic who serves to enslave humanity rather than liberate it. So then are we to take the opinion that Blake was an atheist, and his portrayal of God was an attack upon Christian values? Again, the answer is anything but clear. Urizen’s foil arrives in the form of Los, the eternal artist who stands as a symbol of creativity and rebellion. In the Marriage of Heaven and Hell Blake remarked that “all deities reside within the human breast.” Los, an anagram of Sol the Latin word for sun, is the sun generated from within the human soul. The God that Blake saw within his work, the divinity of human imagination made manifest through art.
“The God that Blake saw within his work, the divinity of human imagination made manifest through art.” Blake’s idea of God being the ultimate creation of humanity rather than vice versa, is a remarkably modern one, and later philosophers such as Nietzsche and Camus explored this topic too. The unofficial English national anthem,‘Jerusalem’ is lifted directly from the preface to his book, Milton. However, Blake’s character, Orc, is the living embodiment of anarchy, who’s very existence threatens to topple to Old Regime, and his poem, ‘Visions from the Daughters of Albion’ advocates sexual liberation and freedom. Blake is thus one of the few artists in recorded history to be claimed both as an ally of the establishment and the anti-establishment, perhaps reflective of the contradictory nature of his work. Ultimately, I believe Blake will always remain relevant to society. Like The Tyger, he is someone who you can carry with you all the way from innocence to experience.
OTwo - Arts & Literature
Your student guide to the festive season
Unsure how you should spend your break? Heather Reynolds breaks down some of the best things to see and do in Dublin this WinSo, you’ve got a fair bit of time to kill in the capital this Christmas season, and your not sure how to do it. This is completely understandable, as Dublin seems to be a place where there is simultaneously nothing and everything happening at any given moment. So, setting aside the obvious events, like the Gaiety Panto, which is a good shout if you and your gran want to see a hoard of sugar-high theatre tweens perform a copyright dodging version of Aladdin, this is your go to guide for the festivities in this fair city.
works you can find in Dublin, and is always well worth the visit. The tour is free, and all materials are provided, so this is a perfect chance go appreciate the collection and architecture of the gallery, while also getting those creative juices flowing. Once Upon a Time at Bingo Loco 30 Nov-31 Dec - Collins Avenue With many, many sessions running over the month of December, bingo’s favourite wild child is adding bundles of festive cheer to their usual madness. Catered by Eddie Rockets and with a full bar, this fan favourite for anyone who likes a bit of bingo and loves a bit of craic is selling out fast, so get your tickets before they’re all gone. Tickets start at €22.03 on the Bingo Loco website.
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings 10-28 Dec - The Peacock Stage at The Abbey Theatre A dark comedy, billed as suitable for ages 8 and over, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings is coming to the Abbey after winning Best Design at this years Dublin Fringe Festival. It received brilliant reviews at it debut, so if you missed it in September now is your best change to experience the magic of magical realism live on stage.
This is NOT a Cult 9-14 Dec - Boys’ School at Smock Alley Theatre No Desserts are bringing their post-apocalyptic play with music (not a musical) to one of the most interesting performance spaces Dublin has to offer. Come on down the winding ramps to the basement and hear the good word of Jesus 2 at this historic theatre in the centre of Dublin.
Tickets start at €16, with concession tickets starting at €14.
Tickets are €15, with a student and OAP concession rate of €12.
The Dun Laoghaire Christmas Market Every weekend from Nov 30th to Dec 23rd - 11am to 7pm One of Dublin’s best Christmas markets is back with hand made gifts and wonderful food. This market is definitely worth a trip out to see, hosting everything from hot chocolate stalls to hemp products for pets. It is also, shockingly, the home to a ferris wheel that was apparently the original one used in the filming of Grease. This market holds a lot, and very little of it is something you would like to miss. Sketching Tour 1:30pm, 21 Dec - National Gallery of Ireland This free event is a must see for anyone interested in the fine arts. The gallery hosts some of the most beautiful
Irish Museum of Modern Art Open Tues-Sun - Royal Hospital Kilmainham There are too many exhibitions running here over the Winter break to even attempt to list, but rest assured they are all incredibly interesting. Specific exhibitions are typically ticketed in IMMA, however they’re free to enter for full time students, and on Tuesdays to the general public, although they do suggest booking in advance to ensure you get in. If you’re bringing friends or family with you, or you forgot your student card, tickets start at €5 and don’t run higher than €8.
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OTwo - Arts & Literature
Krampus; Demons, Austrian Fascists, and the death of culture Krampus - a half goat, half man, Christmas demon, has cultural roots in Middle Europe stretching back to pre-Christian times. Gavin Tracey examines the historical and contemporary Krampus. Krampus, a demonic admixture of man and goat, has been a part of European Christmas celebrations dating back to pre-Christian times. By the mid 17th century, he had been fully incorporated into the Christian winter holiday tradition. Krampus is the malevolent companion of St. Nicholas, a remnant of european paganism that featured heavily in the Catholic countries of middle Europe, in countries such as Austria, Czech Republic, Northern Italy, and Croatia. Sporting long, curled horns, thick black hair, a chain, and a long, pointy tongue - he’s a Devil like, evil presence. A child who’s been well behaved will be visited by St. Nicholas and given gifts, their misbehaved counterparts are whacked with a bunch of sticks and taken away to Krampus’ lair. In folklore, Krampus appears on December 5th, known as Krampusnacht (Krampus Night), to take away bad children in his sack. In recent years there has been a renewed interest in Krampus - Krampus festivals where men drink heavily and run through town, to Krampus Christmas parties, and even a stand alone film. Where was this new pop-culture Krampus born, and what does it say about how the holiday season has been co-opted and commercialised? The commercialisation of Krampus began around 1890, when the Austrian government gave up control of the country’s postcard manufacturing. The industry boomed, and along with that boom came a host of Krampus cards, warning its recipients to be good. Most featured illustrations of the demon carrying away children. It was not long however before adult versions began to appear, featuring Krampus carrying off women, or in the role of a suitor. Krampus was actively suppressed by the Catholic Church - like most fun things. The Austrian Fascists - pre1938 Nazi invasion were deeply Catholic, but nonetheless still very fascist - actively tried to remove Krampus from the holiday festivities. A December 1934 article in The New York Times read “Krampus Disliked in Fascist Austria”. Even until as recently as the 1950s, the Austrian government distributed pamphlets titles “Krampus is an evil man”.
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Like nearly everything in our modern holiday traditions, Krampus exists now as a product - intellectual property to be bought and sold around the holidays. Though always present as a part of middle European holiday tradition, it was his introduction to the American public imagination that we can thank for what will come of all this. The Christmas holiday has always been a strange and uneasy balance between novelty and tradition. In this regard, the figure of Krampus is a god send for advertisers. Here we have the bad cop to Santa’s good cop - a merchandisable figure for the 13+ year olds who have little but scorn and sarcasm when it comes to the traditional Christmas they have come to know. Ironic for a character who is, at his core, anti-consumerist. Some take it further than this - dressing up as Krampus and taking part in old pagan rituals in the deep woods of middle Europe. For some, Krampus represents a return to the days of “wild men”, to the deep ties between man and nature that were lost as monotheisitic religion came to dominate the continent. The goat man who terrorises children is seen as a figure by which to bridge that gap between nature and man. Krampus is Christmas in microcosm - heavily commercialised and marketed towards particular demographics, while also being a figure of real spiritual importance to a dwindling number. Given that the totalising nature of the market, it would appear that the latter will continue to dwindle, until Krampus goes the way of every formerly novel addition to Christmas. It will become tired and hackneyed, just another plastic figurine, part of the complete and wholesale sacrifice of the sacred and meaningful on the altar of profit. He is the “bah humbug” of days gone by - and just like “bah humbug” you can be sure that Krampus too will be commodified and co-opted to the same extent. Krampus is but one example of this. Look around you, everywhere, everything is being stripped of meaning so as to maximise profit. Culture is dead - at the very least it is dying.
Poetry... Two Old Friends
OTwo - Arts & Literature The Bus-rider I pity the Bus-rider, riding back and forth, day in and day out, seemingly on every bus I’ve ever been on.
Two old friends Catching up. Cold hands clutching Warm coffee cups. Growing apart But clinging on To times when Everything was fixed With a song. When we were happy To be miserable And anything Was possible.
He sits, his face full of thought, in his world of hoary glass, with his eyes focused like lasers. He reads sometimes, and sometimes he writes, but mostly he simply stares. Stares into the world with a look that splits falsehoods and pretenses, and sees what there is to be seen. Sees, and reflects, and then, as if struck all at once, begins writing with the lightning still hot in his hands. His preoccupation is so encompassing, so intense, that I imagine he must often miss his stop, prolonging his never ending journey. Adding another go around, in the hopes that Time has changed us this time, maybe, he might just snap out of it in But not as much time. As we’d like each other to think. You wonder what it will be like, when he finally You’ll go there gets there. When he steps off and smells the air And I’ll stay here and stretches his legs. Watching years pass You wonder if the destination is even all that In a blink. important, to someone like him. But we can still have coffee, Someone who treats the journey as a gift, as A taste of old ways, mundane and beautiful as a breath. Wasting hours Someone with seemingly infinite patience, conThat felt like years. tent to live what others merely experience. Time slows down again Someone who sits there, day in and day out, As we sip. taunting me as I choose to ignore him, pulling my phone closer and edging myself into liminal Sinéad Dunphy distraction. Someone so steady and stable that he stands as a rock, working away, a testament to my sins. I envy the Bus-rider. And all I could be. If only the bus rider was me. Killian Conyngham
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OTwo - Games
New Year, Same Game? With the recent issues surrounding WWE 2K20’s release, Eoin Keogh offers his criticism on the annual-instalment model. With developers becoming more and more focused on releasing content every year, despite any remaining issues, it begs the question; what effect will such a model have on upcoming releases? A recent example of developers constricted over deadlines is the new WWE 2K20. The development of the WWE games has been managed by Yukes since 2000, but they were dropped in favour of VisualConcepts for this edition of the game. 2k games has decided to remain silent on the issues plaguing development since the fans reaction to the trailer for the game. WWE games finally responded on Twitter to the initial concerns of fans, and on the 25th of October they said within two weeks they expected to have a patch to fix these issues. But the quality, or lack thereof, extends further than just the graphics. The game is riddled with mechanical issues as well; from NPC’s getting stuck in the barriers and in the ropes, to the character controlled by the player not performing the correct moves and glitching through the floor. The graphics looking like a downscaled Wii game might be nostalgic for some, but this €60+ price-tag doesn’t warrant this. The issue came about when the Yukes development team left the game, leaving the VisualConcepts team solely responsible. They had to complete the project with only a six month period to meet deadlines. The development of a game is difficult enough within such a time frame, but when the time frame is cut in half, picking up a project someone else started, and the need to improve from last year’s instalment, the challenge is almost impossible to complete. An arduous task it was, leaving consumers with the mess that is WWE 2K20; a game outdone in almost every way by 2K19, released a whole year earlier. This is the market that yearly releases function in; the selling of almost the same game every year with slightly updated features. Releases such as the newest Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare, while maintaining their annual release tradition, isn’t subjected to the same fatigue associated with other releases. 30.71 million copies of Call of
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Duty: Modern Warfare 3 have been sold thus far, making it the highest seller of the franchise while the new Modern Warfare has totalled, according to Business Insider, just shy of $700 million in sales. While they are certainly profitable, I would argue that yearly releases put developers under too much pressure, resulting in less-than-stellar releases. Projects like The Last of Us and Spiderman are curated over years, and the quality speaks for itself. The Last of Us is a visually stunning game, with a meticulously crafted emotional tale of survival in the apocalypse. The fan-favourite status it has received is exemplary of the developers’ hard-work. The second installment is due for a May 2020 release, originally slated for February 2020. Noticing potential issues in development, Naughty Dog opted to delay the project, rather than releasing something sub-par. Spiderman, another game that was in development for a considerable time frame, shows what such efforts can result in. The colours, the shimmering light at dawn and dusk reflected by the Avengers tower, the movements of Spiderman slinging through the city are simply spectacular. The game is excellently written; a tightly-woven narrative following a post-grad Peter Parker protecting New York, while battling constant criticism from concerned citizens. The gameplay is smooth, with relatively no major glitches. The reason why is simple; the major title, one of the most acclaimed of this current generation, took around four years to develop and release. The developers that worked on the project had the time necessary to make and release a finished product, instead of being overworked and forced to release a barely-functioning title on time, like WWE 2K20. For games to function and have all the elements that make their respective genres great, they need to have time for developers to work. Otherwise, the results are half-baked titles that players spend upwards of €60 on, only for it to be almost identical to the previous instalment. The issue with these yearly releases has become not only a consumer’s issue, but a workers’ issue too, and that is why I for one will avoid such games and continue to support titles that don’t require the developers to be overworked, and consistently deliver great gameplay regardless.
OTwo - Games
Blizzard vs The World: The Blitzchung Controversy Censoring players, half-baked apologies, and the use of announcements as a smokescreen; Alex Mulhare brings us up to speed on Blizzard’s involvement in the Hong Kong protests. The gaming world is predictable in that it’s never been too far from controversy. Last month, the community experienced yet more strife, in the form of some politically charged turbulence at the hands of Blizzard Entertainment. This company is quite the behemoth in terms of its longevity and popularity with its core fanbase; Blizzard Entertainment is a developer and publisher responsible for such cult classics as World of Warcraft, Diablo, and recently Overwatch. Although Blizzard sustains a predominantly Western fanbase, most notably in North America, the Eastern Esports market is expected to expand into a massively profitable area for video game companies in the coming five years. For this reason alone, it is exceptionally easy to understand that Blizzard would hold a vested interest in expanding its prominence across the Chinese market, who are pivotal to their plans of expansion. Evidently, this potential for immense financial gain became the single most powerful driving force behind the intense scandal that Blizzard Entertainment is currently embroiled within. On October 6th, a Grandmasters tournament for Blizzard’s own popular card-collecting game, Hearthstone, in which a Hong Kong-based player, Ng Wai Chung, who games professionally under the alias of “Blitzchung”, emerged victorious. It is worth noting that Blitzchung was already a familiar figure in the realm of Esports before this controversy took place; a highly regarded Hearthstone player, now competing in the Grandmaster tournament, the most difficult competitive category, with earnings standing at $20,000. Following his victory, in a customary post-match interview, Blitzchung appeared on camera wearing a gas mask in a display of solidarity with the pro-democracy protests that have been raging through Hong Kong for the past several months. With the mask’s status as a symbol of the rebellion, Blitzchung’s intentions were made perfectly clear. He then proceeded to express further support in the form of a rallying statement, which is now often used by protestors on the streets, roughly translated as “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our age”. Two days later, on October 8th, Blitzchung was swiftly
punished by Blizzard. Quoting from Section 6.1 of the Grandmasters official competition rules, “Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD”, Blizzard removed Blitzchung from the tournament, confiscated his earnings, banned him from participating in the competition again for another 12 months, and even fired the two commentators preparing to interview him. Before the ban was announced, however, Blitzchung stood by his non-violent protest, and admitted in a statement that, “My call on [the] stream was just another form of participation of the protest that I wish to grab more attention ... It could cause me [a] lot of trouble, even my personal safety in real life. But I think it’s my duty to say something about the issue”. Inevitably, this has been met with severe backlash over the past month. Hearthstone players reacted with immense fervor upon the announcement of Blitzchung’s punishment, an act that many other players of Blizzard’s games followed suit, with many fans cancelling their subscriptions to Blizzard’s services and vowing to no longer support their upcoming titles. Some were also quick to criticize how Blizzard would rather be complicit in the Chinese oppression of Hong Kong in the venture of expanding into a profitable market than permit a player to express their right to free speech. Such backlash had a ripple effect outside of Blizzard’s community too, with the CEO of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, taking to Twitter on October 9th to announce that, “Epic supports the rights of Fortnite players and creators to speak about politics and human rights”. The entire fiasco has placed Blizzard in a highly uncomfortable position of their creation, and in a futile attempt to draw attention away from the Blitzchung incident, they announced a sequel to their incredibly popular online game, Overwatch, on November 1st. On the same day, the president of Blizzard Entertainment accepted accountability for situation, however, he did not lift Blitzchung’s ban from Hearthstone tournaments, choosing to continue at a previously reduced suspension of 6 months. With no clear end to the dispute in sight, only time will tell if Blizzard can maintain popularity within such a vocal community.
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The Outer Worlds: An Authentic RPG After coming out to largely positive reviews, Andy Prizeman Nolan offers his take on Obsidian’s latest project, The Outer Worlds. The Outer Worlds is the product of a combined effort from the teams that worked on Fallout One, Two, and New Vegas. The result? A wonderful RPG experience based in a world rife with exploring and interactivity potential. Set in a colony of planets named Halcyon, you create your own colonist to uncover a series of conspiracies unfolding within the governing corporations. I bought a copy of The Outer Worlds on a whim, and since its release, I have sung its praises to anyone who will listen. The worldbuilding is detail oriented, something that has been long associated with developers Obsidian. Even in the first area of Edgewater, I found myself completely immersed in the setting, going out of my way to converse with residents just to discover as much as possible about the colony. There is an unmistakable charm to the world of Halcyon. As you progress the world slowly begins to develop, one which drips of influence of games like Bioshock and Borderlands. The gameplay is tailor-made for experimentation. Through character stats, there are a plethora
of playstyles that the player can implement, allowing for multiple playthroughs through different perspectives. Weapon-play feels efficient, with the Tactical Time Dilation system providing a smooth blend of the V.A.T.S and Dead Eye systems of Fallout and Red Dead Redemption. Dialogue can play a pivotal road in progressing the story, and the depth of options for the player is undeniable. Your own choices play a role in how the story unfolds, and how you react to certain scenarios can affect everything from the plot, to your reputation with different factions. Overall, The Outer Worlds is a must-have experience for any fans of RPG’s. As a huge fan of this genre, it hits every key element that need to be present in a great RPG, adding its own flavour of identity throughout. Though, while many make the comparison, it is so much more than just Sci-Fi Fallout. Punchy writing, subtle humour, and a multitude of side quests and intrigue to keep players invested, it delivers on virtually everything that was promised to players, resulting in a vastly rewarding product.
Nostalgia Review: Silent Hill 2 While later instalments disappointed many players, Andy Prizeman Nolan returns to the game that epitomises true horror; Silent Hill 2. While Silent Hill’s first title for the PlayStation One was well received, the sequel took the project to unfathomable heights. Released in 2001 for the next generation of consoles, Silent Hill 2 plays through the perspective of James Sunderland, who finds himself in Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his wife Mary, who passed away three years prior. Despite the fog initially stemming from the PlayStation One’s graphical limitations, the sequel opted to utilise it, later becoming synonymous with the identity of the franchise. Clues regarding characters and their stories are strewn throughout the world, but the game leaves it entirely up to the player to seek these out. This is part of what makes it so effective in gripping its players. The game refuses to hold their hand, instead leaving them stranded in this otherworldly town, isolated, constrained and alone. Silent Hill 2 plays the long game with its players, relying on build up and suspense to leave the player on edge. The fear doesn’t always come from what you see, but from what you thought you had seen. Whenever the game transitions into the more hellish design, this
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motif is emphasised. Even with today’s eyes, this transformation holds up fantastically. The ambient landscape devolves into a being in its own right; it feels alive. There isn’t a necessity for action to convey such horror; its psychology and storytelling carries this in droves. The world is presented as being almost a personal Hell for the characters of the story. Nobody comes to Silent Hill accidentally; an idea that is persistent with James Sunderland. Without spoiling the plot, the choice of setting, ranging from hospitals to lakefronts, and the use of symbolism between the antagonists as figments of James’ inner conflict provides a disturbing, interpretational experience. The game holds complete control over the story. The opening is rather ambiguous, and nothing is made certain until the game feels it is ready to express it. By providing its players with a lasting psychological experience, memorable atmosphere, and that bonus dog ending, Silent Hill 2 is a pleasure to revisit today.
OTwo - Film & TV
Review: The Irishman
Martin Scorsese’s much awaited epic crime film The Irishman has finally hit cinemas; Cíara Dempsey reviews.
It’s really rather difficult to write a review of a Scorsese film. With Scorsese himself being seventy-six years old, you could certainly be forgiven for considering yourself lucky to live at a time when he is still releasing new films, and leave it at that. Similarly, with performances by such industry icons as Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, who came out of his unofficial retirement just for The Irishman, it truly is difficult to give oneself the critical distance necessary to write an articulate film review. However, with that being said, allow me to sum up; The Irishman is a masterful longform drama, that could only be made by someone with the directorial experience of Scorsese. The performances are near-immaculate, the production design is a masterclass in immersion, and despite the film’s three and a half hour run-time, the story never once lags. The Irishman tells the life-story of Frank Sheeran (DeNiro), a truck driver who falls in with some powerful mobsters. DeNiro plays Sheeran at various stages throughout his life, with the use of digital de-aging. While DeNiro delivers a powerful performance at each stage of Sheeran’s life, the use of CGI de-aging distracted, at times, from what is an otherwise stunning film. Perhaps it is worth examining whether names like Scorsese and DeNiro carry too much weight, so as to allow the filmic license to use digital effects, rather than casting a younger actor. However, the flipside of that argument is the experience of DeNiro skillfully play out the entire span of a man’s life, and the nuances that such a performance requires. Scorsese’s direction revels in the nuances of performances, and the complex character relationships developed in The Irishman are truly a privilege to watch.
A24 and the Myth of the Indie Company Odin O’Sullivan investigates whether or not A24, and companies like it, can ever truly be considered indie. A24 are the New York based independent entertainment company who specialise in film production and distribution. Founded in 2012, A24 have shot to prominence in the worldwide film scene in only a short number of years, producing or distributing some of this decades most original and important work to come out of America. Their list is long and features an assortment of prominent filmmakers, from up-and-coming new American filmmakers like the Safdie Brothers and Ari Aster, to prominent European auteurs like Claire Denis. They seem to have appeared and filled a Miramax-shaped hole in the film landscape. A24 are independent insofar as they are not beholden to shareholders, and as such, have no obligations to studio executives who may force them to cut up an auteurs masterpiece before its release. According to many of the filmmakers who have worked with A24, they are very accommodating and are almost always willing to give an artist creative control. But are they indie cinema? Or have they commodified the iconography and indicators of indie cinema in order to corner a section of the market? If we take indie to mean both independent of big business, and also as a counter to the mainstreams of both business and art, then yes, A24 could be considered indie- but not quite. A24 may present like a plucky start up, but the reality is that it was founded by three veterans of the film production and distribution industry; Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges. They had the money and the prestige to get A24 off the ground and almost immediately started to distribute independent, genre, or art-house films from directors who could lend them some indie legitimacy. Their first film was written and directed by Roman Coppola, son of Francis, and their follow up was Spring Breakers by Harmony Korine. Very few directors in the American indie film scene are more respected than Harmony Korine, and by distributing Spring Breakers and basing much of the advertising around the fact that two ex-Disney actors (Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens) star in what looked like a sleazy soft-porn from the way the trailers were cut, is a play straight out of the Miramax book. They have also recently cut a deal with Apple to produce original films. Apple, hoping to compete with Netflix and Amazon has obviously turned to A24 to produce their films due to their “indie” credentials and massive success. It is highly unlikely that Apple will allow indie filmmakers carte blanche when making work for them; could this be the beginning of A24 forfeiting its indie credentials? Would an “indie” company be so quick to partner with one of the biggest companies in the world? What A24 is doing is important for the film industry, but don’t get it twisted, they’re not just in it for the love of film.
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Twas Twas the the issue issue before before Christmas, Christmas, and and all all over over Netflix...they’re Netflix...they’re bringing bringing out out films films that that are are basically basically pointless. pointless. Hannah Hannah Ryan Ryan Murphy Murphy explores explores the the Christmas Christmas film film phenomena: phenomena: What What exactly exactly is is it it about about these these films films that that draws draws people people in? in? Is Is there there any any merit merit to to them them whatsoever, whatsoever, or or are are they they simply simply just just aa cash cash grab grab for for big big companies companies to to make make an an even even bigger bigger profit? profit? Halloween is over, which means that Christmas is officially here (at least according to Dublin City Council, who already have the Christmas lights up). With the Christmas season comes the inevitable slew of terribly-written, badly-acted Christmas films that we all seem to end up watching despite the vast quantity of better things we could be doing with our time. Let me specify what kind of Christmas films we’re talking about here. You know the ones: they have Christmas in the title, so they’re easy to identify. They’re cheesy to the point of physical cringing, starring a mixture of fresh-faced young bloods and veteran teen-drama actors who can’t get any other work and are trying to stay relevant. These films can be found in various places, but they are mainly made by the Hallmark Channel, Lifetime and Netflix. They’re often some of the most popular films on these platforms, and it’s now become the norm that a huge number of them are churned out at an unbelievable rate each and every Christmas season. And why exactly is that, you may ask? Well, quite simply, they make a tonne of money. In 2017, 17.6 million people watched the opening weekend of the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas season, while in 2018, their Christmas programming (‘Countdown to Christmas’) pulled in almost 70 million viewers (and that’s without counting how many people watched ‘Miracles of Christmas’, on their sister channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries). With each Hallmark Christmas film costing approximately $2million to make, the profit Hallmark is making from ad revenue and product placement from these films is mind-boggling. Similar figures aren’t available from Netflix, who keeps schtum on anything related to their viewership and money, but given their Twitter account’s 2017 callout to the 53 people who watched ‘A Christmas Prince’ for 18 days in a row, it’s safe to assume that their numbers are around the same. To put it bluntly, these Christmas films are nothing but a cash grab. They’re all the same, with no artistic merit to them whatsoever. Typically, they follow a good-looking girl with an unsatisfactory life and at least one dead relative, who is given a big Christmas-related opportunity that will change her life. In the midst of this, she meets a boy, who is usually some sort of rival at first, but over the course of about a week they’ll fall in love, until girl messes it up. Following a heart-to-heart, some tears and soul-searching, boy eventually forgives girl with a big romantic gesture just in time for them to enjoy Christmas
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together. Throw in fake snow, a soundtrack consisting exclusively of songs with the word ‘Christmas’ in them and some of the worst dialogue ever known to man, and you’ve got yourself a Netflix Christmas film. Every single one of these films is some sort of variation of this, with usually the only difference being a prince or a princess of some fake-sounding country replacing a main character. The acting is subpar at best, the music is average, and the sets are nothing special either. Even the actors in them are aware of how stupid they are, with Rose McIver, star of ‘A Christmas Prince’, posting a picture on Instagram of a review of the film’s sequel that called it “Beautiful, royal garbage”, with the caption “Awww they called us beautiful!”. It seems the actors themselves only sign on to these films for the salaries, not because they feel a connection with the script. In the end, it’s just about money. These films are all so generic, it’s genuinely hard to differentiate them. Although the optimist in me hopes that they’re being made due to people’s passion for film-making, the realist in me knows that they’re made purely for profit. However, although these films give you second-hand embarrassment, they’re not totally unwatchable. If anything, sometimes they’re fun to watch just to laugh at their ridiculousness. They’re easy to watch, which means that for a brief moment, you can escape the stress of your daily life by watching stupid, gorgeous people fall in love at Christmastime. However, watching these pointless films leads to companies like Netflix, making more money-grabbing Christmas films, which results in the quality of their films generally getting worse; it doesn’t give much hope for the future of the film industry. Imagine a world in which all films weren’t made for the sake of art, but solely for profit, with just enough effort thrown together to make a film that’s barely watchable. It’s a bleak thought, to be honest. For the sake of film-making, we should be strong and hold out for a decent Christmas film, instead of “A Christmas Calendar”, which made me feel hollow for wasting an hour and a half of my life watching it. They may be easy to watch, but they’re not worth it. Don’t settle for “A Christmas Wedding Planner”, hold out for another “Miracle on 34th Street”. I promise you won’t regret it.
OTwo - Film & TV
Exploring Conspicuous Costuming and the Academy Awards Paurush Kumar explores the pitfalls of awarding Best Costume Design. Awards Season is just around the corner, and with it comes the importance of justifying some shining achievements in filmmaking. One important, and sometimes overlooked, aspect of filmmaking is the costume designing. Costume designing serves to create authenticity and construct the period correctly. However, it could be argued that the Academy Awards seems to be highly skewed and selective of their opinion when it comes to rewarding in the costume designing. As per the history of the Academy Awards, it could be said that the Academy tends to award the designers of the films which are period films or fantasy films. Considering the Academy Awards Best Costume recipients such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and their competitors cement the fact that Academy prefers to reward and nominate the films which have been set in history or have been fantasy films. What the Academy may not take into account is the fact that in the race to award the more lavish or the more stylish costumes, certain elements of costume design get left behind, and it could be argued that the Academy forgets to reward those designers who design
costumes based on the character’s nature. For example, Mary Zophres’ costume for Mia (Emma Stone) in La La Land was aptly done as it matched her character’s positivity and even gelled with the surroundings. Not only Mia’s but also Sebastian’s (Ryan Gosling) costumes matched his character, thus highlighting that costuming should work to reflect the character’s nature, and not just the historical or fantasy period in which the film is set. Therefore, amidst Awards Season, there is a need for us to reconsider the ways in which the Academy awards nominees in the costume department; it is simply not about the jewellery or the dresses but rather the surroundings and the individual character which determines their dressing style.
I’ve Never Actually Seen...Blade Runner Eoin Keogh re-visits Blade Runner and finds a still-relevant Sci-Fi classic. In all my years on this planet, I’ve missed out on quite a few classics that everyone else has seen and can’t believe I haven’t. It was never a priority for me to see movies like Blade Runner (1982), especially because it seemed like a nerdy film that I would be slagged for watching. When the opportunity arose to watch Blade Runner and review it, I couldn’t resist the chance to give my opinion on the well known classic. From the opening scene, I felt a strange familiarity. The film echoes Star Wars; a mish-mash of cultures in a futuristic world where everyone drives flying cars. The handsome face of Harrison Ford definitely contributes to my liking of the film. The story follows Deckard (Ford), a human bounty hunter who attempts to recover a rogue replicant, or android. The idea of A.I. becoming so advanced that it can pass something similar to the Turing Test is nowhere near an original concept in the almost forty years since the film’s initial release, but even still, Blade Runner constructs this narrative into a more believable story then most new titles. The film follows Deckard through this futuristic society on his quest to track down a rogue unit. Not only is the story great, the cinematography is amazing, with shots that would still hold up in today’s industry. The audio quality isn’t the best, but I feel
it adds to the overall aesthetic. The film actually managed to correctly predict some futuristic elements that have been developed today; voice recognition and control is becoming a massive area of development for technology with the likes of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa becoming more advanced with every update, and as such, Blade Runner remains relevant in contemporary society. Blade Runner certainly lives up to the hype; particularly, the ending of the Directors cut, released at a later date of 1992, made me go back to a couple of scenes and re-analyse them. I loved the ambiguity of the ending, and the small details in the film hinting that Deckard himself is a replicant. Re-watching some key scenes in the film and looking at the wording of some of the lines like “You’ve done a man’s job, sir,” makes the theory more believable, as well as making the character of Deckard more realistic. Furthermore, Deckard repeatedly takes beatings from the replicants, who are meant to be much stronger than humans; all of which ultimately constructs the film’s wonderfully ambiguous conclusion. Overall, I loved the film, with its futuristic aesthetic, its talented actors and it’s amazing cinematography. The concept of the film is amazing, and while neither the graphics or sound quality have really stood the test of time, I can understand why the film has gathered such a following. I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.
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Irish Indie Spotlight
Sam McGrath Irish film-maker and photographer Sam McGrath may not have made a feature film yet, but you have definitely seen his work. Responsible for music videos for Irish artists such as Kojaque, Luka Palm, La Galaxie and Soulé, McGrath is already leaving his mark in the Irish film scene. His concepts are unique and executed with slick professionalism; you would never guess that he had only been making music videos for a little over a year and a half. Graduating from BESS (Business, Economic. Social Science) in Trinity, McGrath himself has said that he felt lost and wasn’t happy to continue down that path; a path which would include applying for accountancy firms and working a desk job, climbing the corporate ladder and so on. It was around that time that he began to make short films and play around with different styles. After realising that this was what he wanted to do with his life he began to work with local Dublin musicians, the most fruitful collaborations being the ones with Soft Boy Records. Date Night, the track by Kojaque and Luka Palm, as well as their follow up single AirBnB are two masterful projects, which both boast videos with high-concept, slick transitions and vibrant colour. They also have a very distinct grounding in a particularly Dublin feel, which seems to permeate all of McGrath’s work. He has said that his main goal is to make a feature film and if his work on music videos is anything to go by, we can expect incredibly exciting things. McGrath’s work situates him squarely in the ever-expanding Dublin art-scene, and in an age when our clubs keeps closing and our rents keep rising, McGrath is an important voice in the ever-resistant realm of Dublin artists. You can keep up to date with McGrath’s work from his Instagram, @sadmcgrath.
Natasha Waugh Natasha Waugh is an Irish director whose timely and masterful work firmly situates her as an increasingly prominent voice in the Irish film scene. As a graduate of UCD’s own film programme, and a previous auditor of the UCD
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Odin O’Sullivan and Cíara Dempsey let you know which Indie Irish directors are worth keeping your eye on. Film Society, Waugh should be on the rader of any filmically minded UCD student. Waugh co-founded the Dublin based Filmmaking/Videography Company “Fight Back Films” in 2013. Her directorial style and talent truly shines in her short films, of which she has directed five to date, and co-directed another. Amongst these are Terminal (2016), which Waugh wrote and directed. An incredibly topical film released ahead the repeal of Ireland’s Eighth Amendment, Terminal packs an emotional punch and deals with the struggles faced by women under the Eighth Amendment with an insightful and intelligent touch. Waugh’s honest and empathetic voice shines in Terminal, and her dedication to her craft is evident. It stands to reason, therefore, that Terminal was deservedly nominated for Best Short Film at both the 2017 Irish Film and Television Awards, and the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards, and won Best Irish Short Film at the Indie Cork Film & Music Festival in 2016, amongst others. More recently, Waugh has directed Mother, which stars Hilary Rose (Young Offenders) as a loving and hard-working mother, with a seemingly perfect family life. However, the arrival of a new kitchen appliance upsets the family balance; trust me, Mother is a short film which cannot be done justice on paper. Mother premiered at the 30th Galway Film Fleadh 2018, and was funded by Galway Film Centre and RTÉ. Mother was produced with the mentorship of Emmy winning director, Dearbhla Walsh, and is currently making the rounds at a variety of film festivals. Most recently, Mother was awarded Best Short Film at the Clones Film Festival, and was also featured in the Dublin Feminist Film Festival. Waugh has also recently worked with LGBTI+ foundation BeLonG To Youth Services, creating a series of videos as part of their Stand Up week, which runs from November 11th-15th, and aims to encourage people to take a stand against homophobic bullying, and which screened before UCD Film Society’s screenings in the same week. Natasha Waugh is an already-established voice in the Irish film scene, and her insightful and topical work only goes from strength to strength.
OTwo - Centre
Astrid S
Living through the lyrics 17
OTwo - Centre
Jessica Viola chats with the Norweigan pop star, Astrid S. about authenticity in songwriting, touring with Troye Sivan and new music for 2020. It was back in 2015 when Astrid S. opened up for Troye Sivan’s Blue Neighbourhood tour in Dublin that I had first heard of this Norweigian singer songwriter. She brought so much spirit to the stage and energy onto the crowd that it was clear she was destined for greatness. Three years following this encounter, Astrid is now 23 years old and has reached wide acclaim with over 7,000,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Astrid graciously chatted to me about her start on Pop Idol, her inspirations, and her outlook on the future. After receiving a genuinely warm greeting by Astrid, we begin the discussion about when she knew she wanted to become a professional singer. “I’ve done it my whole life, but I didn’t do it professionally until I was 16, after I was on a singing competition on Norwegian television. So, it wasn’t until I joined the TV show that I knew that this is what I wanna to do. I remember it being the most exciting time of my life because it happened, it was kind of random that I auditioned for it and then it suddenly went over all of my expectations. I didn’t even think I would go
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through the audition, so I just remember it being overwhelming but in the best way, being able to sing and perform and it was kind of an epiphany because I just realised what I’m gonna do with my life and this is what makes me the most happy so it was a great time.”
“I just remember it being overwhelming but in the best way, being able to sing and perform and it was kind of an epiphany because I just realised what I’m gonna do with my life.” Shortly after Astrid placed fifth on Pop Idol, she began to work on her music career. With projects such as her self titled EP, Astrid S. and her other newer developments Party’s Over, Trust Issues and Down Low, the singer struggles to precisely describe her sound. “It’s always hard to describe your own music, but because I didn’t go to music school, I find it hard to put into words what my music sounds like but I guess it’s just electronic pop with an urban twist, that seems a bit lush to me.” Even though Astrid has a difficult time in defining her music, there is one aspect of releasing her own music that she finds important, songwriting. She passionately tells me, “I can only speak on my behalf, but for me it’s been very important I think to have a whole kind of ownership for a song you write yourself,”
She continues this point by stating; “You’re supposed to release music that hopefully will connect to people and make you tour for years and maybe you will have to perform the song many, many times a year and for years. For me I think it’s been important and it’s the core to why I love being an artist to be able to make songs and meet songwriters and producers, and to explore how to put into words all of these feelings and situations that everyone goes through.” However, Astrid also reveals, “I think it’s totally up to each artist and sometimes I’ve had songs that have been pitched to me that I feel like I really can connect to and it really gives me the feeling of ‘I wish I had written this song’ or ‘I feel like this is something that I could’ve written.’ I don’t see any wrong in performing that song, I think it’s up to every artist and do whatever feels right.”
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divulges her favourite artists at the moment and who share would love to work with in the future. “I really loved Tove Lo’s debut album, Queen of Crowds, and also Troye Sivan. I think it’s really cool what Billie Eilish is doing these days too. I would love to collaborate with Troye Sivan because he’s one of my favourite artists and has been for so many years. It would be a dream to work with Tove Lo, I think she’s a great songwriter. I think there’s so many I want to collaborate with, but I think those two are on the top of my list.”
“I think all an artist can do as a support act or a main act is to be yourself and then naturally the people that connect to you will maybe become your fan as well.” The singer elaborates on this point by telling me about a new experience she has had in songwriting when she asked her fans to tweet her their favorite lines or phrases. She reveals the thought process of this idea. “If I can remember correctly, I think it was me and my team we were in a meeting and I think we had done some research on all of their artists at the label and they try to figure out what or how they are perceived on the different territories. We came into the conversation that not a lot of people know that I write my own songs and a lot of people assume that I don’t.” With this concept, Astrid called out to her fans on Twitter to help her create a song in 24 hours and uploaded the results. This video has reached over 130,000 views on YouTube and counting. She continues her story by stating, “So we thought of a way to show people that I write my own music and to show them how I do it and on top of that maybe involve them in some kind of way. I think that’s how the idea started and then we came up with the idea of writing a song within 24 hours of suggestions by my fans. That was a very fun experience. ” Along with seeking inspiration from fans, Astrid S. is also motivated by other music artists. She
After spending countless months on tour opening up for Troye Sivan, there is no doubt that Astrid only has respect for this Australian singer and his fans. She reflects on her first experience opening up for Troye and states, “I remember that being extremely exciting. I was maybe 18 years old back then and I was such a big fan of him, so it was great. Back then, everything was so new and my career had just started off by being a supporter and having no idea what to expect. His fans were so incredibly welcoming and I could really feel like they cared for me and connected with me and my music.”
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OTwo - Centre
The Norweigan singer explains, “I think all an artist can do as a support act or a main act is to be yourself and then naturally the people that connect to you will maybe become your fan as well, which is what I’m hoping when I do support stuff is to try to find or reach out to the people that haven’t heard my music yet and who would like to listen and connect to it.” Apart from being a supporting act for artists, Astrid S. has also headlined two tours, Party’s Over as well as Stripped Down Tour. Although she enjoys opening up for musicians, Astrid gleefully says, “It’s just another level of excitement” when she is able to headline her own tour. She continues this point, “It’s so cool to get people to listen to my songs and think that they’re there to see me. That’s such a special feeling. I think there’s a lot of thought behind it. Additionally, Astrid expresses that her favorite aspect of touring is “definitely the shows and to see the audience, because with all the numbers online with streams and followers and stuff, it’s so special to see upfront how people actually are so excited to see you or listen to a specific song. I don’t know, you can tell by the look of people’s face what kind of relationship they have to my music, to the different songs I play. It’s very absurd in a way, but sometimes I try to take it all in and it’s the most special feeling in the world.” Astrid also discusses her relationship with her music and how she remains authentic to herself in her
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songs. She specifically talks about a song from Down Low called ‘Part of Me’ and how she resonates so closely with it. “It’s a song that I put a lot of thought into. I just remember feeling that day in the studio after we recorded the demo, that this weight was off of my shoulders. I had this concept, these thoughts that I have been thinking the whole summer and finally I was able to put it into a 3 minute long song. It just felt so good to be able to put into words how I felt and it’s a song that means a lot to me, so I think that’s my favourite off the EP. I love all the lyrics in Part of Me because it’s so genuine and it’s one hundred percent exactly what I would like to say so it’s hard to choose one specific line.” Although her newest EP was just released in September, Astrid says that she is continuing to make music and reveals her plans for 2020. She has already planned on touring around the US and will be playing Manchester, London and Glasgow in April. We close our conversation by discussing Astrid’s aspirations for next year. “Hopefully I’ll keep working on my debut album and my next tour and then have everything else ready for 2020. It’s a little bit scary but it’s mostly exciting.” She keenly affirms, “I just try to focus on making an album that I feel proud of now and that I feel is authentic to me.”
OTwo - Music
Album Reviews
The Definitive Albums of the Decade Sinéad Dunphy 10. Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves This Grammy winning album’s ethereal atmosphere and soothing melodies characterise the current music scene perfectly. 9. Lemonade – Beyoncé There’s no denying the cultural weight Lemonade holds. From its diverse soundscape to its powerful imagery, Lemonade is Beyoncé’s masterpiece.
I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This – Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra
Desert Sessions 11&12 - The Desert Sessions - Josh Homme
Harry Dixon
Mike Stebens
The actor, Jeff Goldblum, who is most notable for the Jurassic Park series and The Fly, has branched out into a new professional field, music. I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This is this second album from Goldblum’s newfound jazz career, after 2018’s The Capital Studios Sessions. Along with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, Goldblum rounds up a crew of silken-voiced features to take the lead on many songs: Sharon Van Etten, Fiona Apple, and Gregory Porter being the standout performances.
Desert Sessions is the brainchild of Queens of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme. The idea is to take a bunch of musicians, many of whom have never met before, and put all of them in a studio in the Californian desert with the mission to let their creativity flow. Desert Sessions gives them a chance to break the rules, free of genre barriers.
There’s a warmth to the album which is evoked by the orchestra’s lush instrumentation and the musical conversation it has with the set of vocalists. The gorgeously toned saxophone, trumpet, and piano solos are abundant, lending energy to every track while still having enough slow passages to make the album worthy of background music – said wholly as a complement. The last track on the album, Little Man You’ve Had a Busy Day, is vocally led by the man himself in an endearing timbre akin to Chet Baker. In a nutshell: The album is not trying to break new ground. It could seem safe and in a critical sense, uninteresting, but being able to listen to a jazz album by Jeff Goldblum makes for an overall charming experience.
Homme is the common thread; performing on all of the songs. ‘Noses in Roses Forever’ and ‘Easier Said Than Done’, both written and sung by Homme, are essentially QOTSA songs. The other songs all stand completely on their own and have hardly any similarities with each other. ‘Move Together’ has ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons singing over an odd drum loop, his voice far from its usual sound. The honour of the most bizarre song goes to ‘Chic Tweetz’, which may only be explained by the presence of a lot of alcohol in the studio. In a nutshell: The result is an album full of surprises that leaves its listeners puzzled and wondering what they just experienced in the last half hour. It is worth giving it a second spin to more fully discover the charm it possesses.
8. thank u, next – Ariana Grande This is a landmark not only in Grande’s career but in pop music in general. For a pop superstar to apply DIY attitude to a major label release sets a new precedent for the industry. 7. Currents - Tame Impala Anyone vaguely interested in alternative music undoubtedly knows this album. The production is masterful and the sound so influential across genres. 6. I like it when you sleep… - The 1975 The 1975 are always current; always evolving. This record fused 80s pop with indie rock, dressed up in a pretty, millennial-ready package. 5. Melodrama - Lorde Produced by Jack Antonoff, Melodrama perfectly encapsulates the confusing blend of ecstasy and devastation that is entering adulthood. 4. Channel Orange - Frank Ocean Everything Ocean releases is met with unwavering praise and deservedly so. The production on Channel Orange was innovative, the lyrics timeless and the vocals seductive. 3. AM - Arctic Monkeys One of the few modern rock bands who can still claim relevancy; Arctic Monkeys were at the top of their game with AM. A generation of young people obsessed over this album. 2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye West Love him or loathe him, Kanye West is one of the most influential artists of the decade. MBDTF was ambitious, indulgent and risky. It’s often regarded as his best work. 1. To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar Political and sociological themes drive this hip-hop masterpiece. Lamar cemented his place in music history with this critically acclaimed album. Unapologetically black and inspiringly defiant.
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OTwo - Music
Why is Kanye West Still Relevant?
Sinéad Dunphy delves into the fascinating world of Kanye West and attempts to make sense of his madness.
Kanye West is one of the most infuriating and fascinating individuals of our time. He is always controversial and always the centre of attention. His latest album Jesus is King is a gospel album devoted to spreading the word of God and redefining West as a good Christian man. The album has received mixed reviews but was a commercial success. As usual, the album’s production is interesting and creative but it is lyrically weak and worships Kanye himself about as much as it worships God. However, no matter how much offense his words and actions may cause, Kanye remains untouchable. To best illustrate the convoluted, winding road of Kanye’s relationship with controversy, perhaps it’s easiest just to run through the timeline: 2004- Kanye released ‘Jesus Walks’, a powerful track detailing his struggle to keep faith in a world full of racism and injustice. 2005- Kanye left everyone speechless when he declared “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” on a live broadcast in aid of the Hurricane Katrina victims. 2013 – On ‘New Slaves’, Kanye made a provocative observation about how conspicuous consumption is a form of modern slavery for black people, pacifying and holding them back. However, Kanye continues to promote such spending. 2016 – At a concert, Kanye stated that Trump is a genius and claims he would have voted for him. 2018 – On TMZ, Kanye questions if slavery was a choice due to how long black people were enslaved in America. 2019 – Kanye recommitted to Christianity, started his Sunday Service and announced his desire to change his name to Christian Genius Billionaire.
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Kanye’s new found Christianity is extremely
self-serving. The rapper even went as far as to say that he received a $68 million tax refund as a gift from God and a divine intervention. Funnily enough, the changes Kanye has made since committing to God have largely dealt with his wife and children and don’t seem to focus much on his own actions and lifestyle. In a recent episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians, West is seen complaining to his wife the night before the Met Gala that her revealing dress was affecting his soul negatively. West insisted that Kim should not look so sexy in public since she is his wife and shouldn’t be looking sexy for others. While Kim largely shut him down she did acquiesce his concerns somewhat when she agreed to remove the fake nipples from the gown to make Kanye more comfortable. Kanye also claimed that during the recording of Jesus is King, he requested that his unmarried staff and collaborators refrain from having sex while they worked on the record. On top of this, the musician made changes at home, removing televisions from his children’s rooms and taking away makeup from his daughter, North who had previously been allowed to wear it regularly. All of these changes involve people around Kanye adjusting, but it’s hard to find anything that Kanye himself has done to improve himself and honour God, other than his Sunday Services which he uses to promote his own music and clothing, which is again, self-serving. The musician and mogul’s actions have always been ego driven, impulsive and stubbornly contrarian. Even when he stood up against the negative portrayal of black people following Hurricane Katrina and boldly spoke out against George Bush, he was still being the ego-driven, inconsiderate man we know him to be today. His message was powerful but it also distracted from the cause he was there to support and as usual, it was clear he hadn’t thought out what he was going to say. Kanye has built his persona on being counter culture. In the early 2000s it was more daring to speak out against the President and to fight against racism and classism. Now that these discourses have become more prevalent in popular culture and have progressed in society, Kanye is switching to the other side of the fence. He is anti-democratic, anti-Me Too. He feeds his ego by feeling like he is a revolutionary. It is increasingly difficult to understand why Kanye West is still relevant. His delirious rants are no different than those of all the racist, conservative boomers on Facebook. He contradicts and undermines himself, he insults the very people whose patronage he depends on and yet his career remains unblemished. He has 8 consecutive number 1 albums, sold out clothing lines and sneakers and everything he does musically or sartorially sets a trend. It seems that his talent outweighs his increasingly outlandish and hypocritical actions. Additionally, there are of course, some people who drink Kanye’s Kool-Aid, buying into all of his self-aggrandising nonsense. Undeniably, the crazier Kanye acts, the more publicity he gets and as the saying goes, “any publicity is good publicity”.
OTwo - Music
The Best and Worst of Christmas Music: The Good, the Bad and the
Cash Grab
On the other end of the spectrum we have Christmas songs that probably won’t go down in history for inspiring any festive cheer. I think we can all agree that ‘Don’t Shoot Me Santa’ by The Killers is hardly the song that’s going to get you in the holiday spirit. The depressing tune is devoid of any Christmas spirit and may have been written for charity, but is not something you’d want playing when baking cookies or decorating the tree. Similarly, New Kids On the Block released their cringey Christmas single, ‘Funky, Funky Christmas’ in 1989 and you’d be hard pressed to find a worse one.
“If you haven’t heard ‘All I Want For Christmas is You’, you must be living under a rock and desperately need to Anna Blackburn discusses the best and worst expand your Christmas playlist.”
of Christmas music and questions the artistic There are also some hidden gems in the genre, integrity of the Christmas album. so if you’re looking for something new or forgotten, The
Listening to Christmas radio can be fun, but you hear the same few songs over and over, covered by different artists. This begs the question: is recording Christmas music for the love of Christmas or is it just a cash grab? Quite possibly the latter. However, who can deny the infectious appeal of a good holiday tune? With Halloween well and truly over, your friends will finally let you start listening to Christmas music, so it’s time to get your Christmas playlist in order. It’s always best to start with the classics. Elvis’ Christmas Album holds the top spot for best selling Christmas album worldwide with over 10 million sales. The record is full of hits, including ‘Santa Claus is Back in Town’ and ‘Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)’. Following Elvis, Bing Crosby’s album Merry Christmas, is the second best selling of all time. However his classic cover of ‘White Christmas’ released on its own in 1942 is the best selling single of all time in all genres. It is a must for any Christmas playlist. It’s no surprise that Rolling Stone listed iconic artists like Ella Fitzgerald and the Beach Boys, in addition to Elvis and Crosby, in their top 25 Christmas albums of all time, but their choices don’t cover enough from this century. Two of the most popular current artists in the genre are Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey. Bublé’s 2011 album Christmas has made it to the top 10 every festive season since its release. It includes classics like ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ and has lesser known but just as spectacular singles like ‘The More You Give (The More You’ll Have)’. Carey, while not as Christmas focussed as Bublé, has the one song you can’t resist singing when it comes on the radio: ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’ If you haven’t heard that one, you must be living under a rock and desperately need to expand your Christmas playlist.
Jackson 5’s ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’ and Gayla Peevey’s ‘I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas’ are cute songs that are perfect for kids. Josh Groban is another popular Christmas artist and his song ‘Believe’ from the movie The Polar Express has a warm feel-good tone in which he sings about believing in the spirit of Christmas. If you prefer something a bit more light-hearted, Straight No Chaser, an all-male a cappella group, does a loaded holiday mashup in their ‘12 Days of Christmas’. Barenaked Ladies original holiday album titled Barenaked for the Holidays has Christmas and Hanukkah songs to fit everyone’s holiday music needs. Believe it or not, actor Adam Sandler even wrote a witty song made popular by tv show Saturday Night Live called ‘The Chanukah Song’ in order for people who didn’t celebrate Christmas to feel more involved in the holidays. Even if you aren’t Jewish this song is definitely worth a listen. Now, lots of celebrities love Christmas as much as the rest of us but unless you’re Michael Bublé, sustaining a whole career on Christmas music isn’t likely to happen. However, releasing a Christmas album is an easy way to earn some extra money with little effort. So for most artists, even if they do love Christmas, it must be about the money. This very much decreases artistic integrity, especially because not all artists who record Christmas albums even celebrate it, like Barbra Streisand who is Jewish but still holds one of the top Christmas albums in history. There is a falseness to the whole thing. Some of these artists are damaging the spirit of Christmas without even realising it, butchering classics just for money. The Christmas music market is so oversaturated it can be hard to fish out anything good but it’s worth looking. It may be a cash grab, but the commercialisation of Christmas is at this point a tradition in itself and it’s not Christmas without your favourite holiday tunes wafting through the chilly air around you.
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OTwo - Music
Irish Artist to Watch - Blondmodel Emily Wigham praises one of Ireland’s best new acts, Blondmodel. With their funk-ridden, head bop-able, yet melancholic debut single coming out in time for Valentine’s Day this year, Blondmodel’s synthy ‘Phonecall’ gave a new meaning to the Hallmark-created holiday. A couple of twenty something year olds making great music in their bedroom studio – what could be more beautifully millennial than that? The two Dublin locals, who each had a yearning to create music from a young age, came together to form what I think could be one of the best Irish duo since Barry’s Tea and chocolate Digestives. Blondmodel are providing our twitter-bound, angsty generation with some absolute bops, which might even make you nostalgic for the terrible date you went on two weeks ago. Following their debut single ‘Phonecall,’ the two released a full EP called Polaroid Token, comprised of 4 songs, including their first release. Each of these hold within them different aspects of and attitudes to the same few situations that we find ourselves in while dating in our early twenties. Each song, so obviously produced with absolute love and serious talent, bring about joy, calm and some teary longing for all those we’ve loved, lost and absolutely despised. One song, ‘Plum Glum’ even lays out the comical experience of someone living post break-up, absolutely not missing their ex, revelling in their empty bed the next morning, which ends in the eventual, and all-too-familiar experience of completely backsliding. Their most recent release came in July, Lost Souls, Pretty Ghosts, and it continues their long line of funky, synth-filled tunes which you can’t help but shoulder-shake to. The two seem to be able to capture the consumer driven ideals of groovy pop songs while still managing to stamp each one with their own unique sound. They are definitely artists to watch and with a back-handed slogan like “they are not about you,” solidified in their Instagram bio, the listener gets a real kick out of wondering who each song really is about. The band promises new music around Christmas time this year, and to say I’m excited about what’s to come next is absolutely an understatement.
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Gig Guide – Emma Nolan Lawriii Craic
Upstairs at Whelans Sat 30th Nov €12.60 The Dublin hip hop scene is bursting with talent these days and Lawriii Craic is one of the best. Hailing from Bray and with years of experience under his belt, this rapper is a skilled MC who puts a lot of meaning into his music. While a lot of his peers are making more lo-fi, jazz and techno inspired music, Lawriii Craic is straight hip hop with a sound similar to 90s East Coast rap but with some more contemporary production. Thought provoking tracks like ‘Pine Trees’ and ‘Believe’ prove this is definitely an artist to watch and a show worth going to.
Clairo
The Academy Tues Dec 9th-10th €22 Clairo is the current queen of bedroom pop with over 5 million monthly Spotify listeners and a critically acclaimed debut album released at the tender age of 20. The singer is bringing her dreamy lo-fi sound to The Academy this December for two nights. Clairo’s rise to fame was extremely quick and unexpected as her amateur bedroom recording of her song ‘Pretty Girl’ went somewhat viral. However this year Clairo has exceeded expectations, growing as an artist and releasing Immunity, a truly impressive, intimate album full of raw emotion which will be showcased in December.
Scouting For Girls
The Academy Tues 17th Dec €34 No one is immune to bopping along to a Scouting For Girls song. Especially one from their 2007 debut eponymous album which reached number 1 on the UK charts and spawned a slew of massive hits like ‘She’s So Lovely’, ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’ and ‘Heartbeat’. The band’s latest music has not enjoyed as much success as their first two albums, but it has much the same appeal. Scouting For Girls’ brand of pop rock is certainly safe and arguably a bit generic but there’s no denying it’s fun. You’d want to be wearing your dancing shoes for this gig.
OTwo - Food & Drink
Stodgy Grey Goodness Despite it’s horrid reputation, Nathan Young reckons there’s something special about British cooking. British cooking is subject to longstanding campaign of slander, where it is accused of being grey, stodgy, and overboiled sludge. No self respecting person of culture would go near a British restaurant serving British cuisine. Even in Britain, high end restaurants serve foreign, usually French, food. Quintessentially British food is reserved for pie shops, take aways, and pubs. Places where the supposedly unwashed and uncultured, or at the very least the intoxicated, eat. That there is an array of fine foods from across the continent is a given. A defence of British cooking does not necessitate dunking on French food, though it is amusing how much they pay chefs for the express purpose of not cooking their meat. What is so great about British food is precisely what lends itself to being great in pubs and takeaways-it is homely and filling. It is stodgy, yes, but stodge means carbohydrates, and carbs are beloved for a reason. Even in this republic, rightly proud of its opposition to the British empire, can British food flourish. Despite the collective national jape of pretending that fish ‘n’ chips is Italian so as to not have to admit to liking something English, chippers are a British innovation found in every town in Ireland. And it’s no wonder it’s popular, Just look at any
of the classic British pub dinners; Roast beef with potatoes and yorkshire puddings, fish ‘n’ chips perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, then drenched in salt and vinegar. Pies and pasties stuffed with meat, offal, and gravy. All served with a pint of room temperature bitter ale. For dessert, a pudding made with treacle, toffee and fruit, served in a bowl of custard. British cooking isn’t fine dining, it’s simple yet wholesome cooking, and it deserves to be respected for that.
Baghdad Eggs Sophie Tevlin shares a reliable favourite for You will need: two eggs, dark winter evenings. I’ve cooked this recipe or variations of it for several years, and though I tweak it a bit every time I make it, it hasn’t really changed in its essentials. I can’t remember where I stumbled across it – all I know is that it rejoices in the wonderfully evocative appellation of ‘Baghdad Eggs’. It’s quick, not too fiddly, and very soothing – the creamy richness of the egg yolk is cut with the sharp lactic tang of the yogurt and combines very well with the spiced onions. I like to serve it with toasted wholemeal pita bread, sliced cucumber and garlicky spinach, but it’s also nice with some salad leaves and a roll. Makes enough for one hungry person but will feed two in a pinch. A word on the spices: this is a safe space to mess around a bit and experiment. I always start off with two teaspoons of cumin seeds and one teaspoon of coriander seeds (preground is ok if that’s all you have, but the seeds keep their potency for longer and add textural crunch). Then whatever odds and ends I have knocking around in the cupboard – garam masala, dukkah, curry powder, chilli flakes, fennel seeds – bearing in mind that the overall effect should be warming and aromatic, and not blow your head off.
one onion, aforementioned spices, olive oil, about half a mug of good-quality full fat natural yoghurt per person, fresh herbs (parsley and mint is the knockout combo here, but basil is good too), flaked salt and black pepper. Start by chopping the herbs quite finely, mix into the yogurt with a bit of salt and set aside. Chop the onion into small cubes. If you have any handy, chop up some celery and add that, for a sweet and herbal undertone. Dice in some carrot as well and it’s a sofrito. Congratulations! You are now officially FancyTM. Heat the olive oil in a small heavy-bottomed frying pan, and gently sauté the onion etc. for about ten minutes or so. Add your spices and shimmy around. When they start to release their aroma, crack in your eggs on top of the layer of onions and cook until the white is set and the yolks are your favourite point on the runny-gooey spectrum. Lever out onto a warm plate, dot with the herby yoghurt, season with salt and pepper and serve with your preferred accompaniment.
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OTwo - Fashion
camp for christmas
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OTwo - Fashion If there was ever a time to go all out, it’s during the Christmas to New Year’s party scene. Our shoot this issue is an homage to the Met Gala: Notes on Camp theme. This winter season put on a show with glitzy gowns, bespoke headpieces, and a gilded palette. This issue features locally sourced glamour; dresses from Starla Boutique, and jewelry and headpieces from Emma Larkin Design. Stylist: Hannah Pamplin Models: Sofia Dragacevac, Emma Moloney, Orlagh McDonald Photographer: Alex Fagan
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OTwo - Fashion
In Conversation with...
Emma Larkin Design Hannah Pamplin sits down with Emma Larkin to talk about working with silicone, her self-titled company, and stopping consumers on the street. What inspired your designs? Did you develop thing, and that’s what those little leaves (points your style while you were in college? to gold leaf and branch headpiece) are made out of. Definitely more drawn to materials. HavSo, the course that I did was jewelry and metal- ing the stuff, then trying to like, play around with work, [in NCAD] and I was really bad at metal- it. It’s kinda like I’m winging it, basically. work. I found it really technical, really, like you need to have the precise bit and cut and stuff, When would you say ‘I’ve made it!’? you have to use fire. So all of those kinds of things just really didn’t appeal to me. To be honest, I feel like I’ve had a few of them al When I was in final year, we had to pick ready. My favourite shop in Ireland is OmDiva in our own project. I had a tutor, she makes art jew- Dublin. It was literally two days ago last year that elry out of alternative materials. She introduced I launched my stuff there. I remember thinking, me to silicone. I was always really drawn to col- ‘This is it’, like ‘I’ve made it, this is the dream’, it our, that was like my main thing. To get colour in can’t get better than that. For me, I think that I metalwork, that’s almost impossible. Whereas, would like to have my own shop/studio, a bouwhen I found silicone, it was just you add a bit tique/studio. Also, what my dream is ultimately, of paint or add a bit of dye, then it’s there, it’s for someone to look at a headpiece and be ‘Oh bright and colorful! When it came down to my that’s one of Emma’s, that kind of thing. Having actual designs, it was more so about the materi- that style that’s really recognizable, that’s the al than it was about the whole process. end-goal for me. You also make big headpieces, which we’re You were saying you were in OmDiva, and in borrowing for the shoot. What is your thought Nine Crows as well, did they approach you, process for that like? did you approach them? I like big and bold stuff. All the designers that I like on Instagram are ones that are really out there. In terms of my jewelry, I would say that it’s quite commercial. I would like to say that you could wear it anywhere, but other people might not say that about it. But in terms of the headpieces. I’ve been trying to make statement pieces. I would like to make more statement jewelry that is a bit more expensive, and a bit more one-off, event-focused. My inspiration, again, it’s about the materials. I would look in charity shops or Mr. Price, and shops like that. I see something funny, not funny, but I see something that I think looks interesting, I’ll buy it and not know what I’m gonna make with it. I bought this garland, a Christmas garland
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That’s funny actually, the Nine Crows thing. OmDiva put up a post and they were looking for designers. So I went up, dropped in samples, and that kind of happened in order of how it should. In terms of Nine Crows, I really wanted to sell my stuff there, and they weren’t getting back to me. So I decided to go in. I went in and brought samples. I gave it to a girl, ‘Hey listen will you hold onto them, I don’t want any commission, just hold onto them as samples, see if they work’. I gave them a selection of different pieces. I got an email the following week, and it was from someone and she was like, “Oh my god, Emma, two of your pieces actually sold” and I was like, “No, no, I knew that they would though” .
You’re running your own small business! What are the pros and cons? Like no one tells you what to do - pro, and no one tells you what to do - con? No, no, exactly, I couldn’t have said it better myself. This wasn’t supposed to be a business. After college, I moved to Canada, like every other person in the country. And I was offered an internship in Estonia. So I was like, ah, this is not gonna come up again. I moved to Estonia and I worked for a jeweller there. And it was only when I was working for him that I realized that I didn’t want to be spending my time making other peoples’ work when I could be making mine. I was also still really conscious that I was coming back to Galway. I felt like there weren’t really people doing what I wanted to do, in terms of art jewellery. I felt like the jewellery scene, which I now know is not to be true, but I kind of felt the jewellery scene in Galway went as far as a Claddagh ring. When I came back, I made a really conscious decision, to make stuff, I’m gonna use what I know, and get another internship if I can. So that’s when I started working with a milliner, Emily-Jean, in Moycullen. It was from them that I started making my own jewelry. All of a sudden I felt people actually liked them. I was making them just because I wanted to. I did a start-your-own business course with Local Enterprise Ireland. I remember they were like, ‘Emma, what did you find the most surprising thing about starting your own business?’. And I said, “Oh, I have to make a profit to have a business”, and she was like, “No way?” You can tell that that was where I was coming from, that I just wanted to make stuff. But also money would have been nice, and it is nice. People don’t tell you that it’s lonely, especially if you’re designing on your own, it is quite solitary. And also you’ve no one to second-guess, or to be like ‘Do you think this is bad?’. My parents are like, ‘Emma, they’re all lovely’ like no one’s gonna be like, ‘Emma, that’s not good’, and even when my dad does say that, I get really upset. No, it’s definitely rewarding, the pros are seeing strangers wear my stuff. It’s the biggest deal to me.
OTwo - Fashion
was like, “They’re mine!” and she was like “No, no, they’re mine”, and I said, “Oh no, no, but I made them!”, and she was like ‘Okay you weirdo, stop touching me’. After that, I was like, don’t approach them, just kinda smile at them, as if they’ll know. Final words, do you have any advice that you would give people who want to go into art as a career, or for people thinking of starting their own business? My big thing I say to people is, definitely, 100% go for it, but don’t rush. I had an opportunity to sell my stuff really early on, before I had anything. I put up one Facebook post, I had an opportunity to sell my stuff in a shop. I was like this whole business thing is gonna be so easy. When it fell through, I was so upset. I was kicking myself. But it was only six months after that happened, that I felt I was genuinely ready to sell my stuff in shops. I wanted the whole in-between bit not to happen. Whereas, like, it needs to happen for it to be good. If you like your pieces, more than likely other people are gonna like your stuff. I’d tell anyone to go for it, follow your dreams.
Find Emma in OmDiva Boutique, Nine Crows, Two Wild Geese, Ah Sure Look It, and on her I went up to someone at Two-Door Cinema online store emmalarkindesign.com. Club, in the big tent. I held her earring, and I Instagram: @EmmaLarkinDesign Do you ever stop them?
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OTwo - Travel
The Interplay of Culture and Tourism Odin O’Sullivan explores how tourists can affect the culture of the places they visit. The Shaw is dead, the extension on its lease was refused and now it will be zoned and knocked to build another hotel, or block of bourgeoise student accommodation. What caused this and how can a space as vibrant, popular, and as integral to the Dublin art scene as the Shaw close? The short of it is Dublin doesn’t exist for you or me anymore. Dublin now exists solely for tourists and the rich, as anyone living here knows. Dublin is getting more and more expensive all the time. We are in the middle of a housing crisis that the government is ideologically opposed to solving. Rent is unaffordable for almost everyone, any spot you do get you’re probably in a bunk bed or sharing a room for six hundred quid a month. Every other building is an Airbnb and every building after that is a hotel. Of course, this isn’t all the fault of tourism, it’s mostly the vulture funds, the speculators and the landlords in the Dáil. But a key part of the issues is landlords realising they can make more money short letting to tourists on Airbnb than renting to tenants in Dublin. Tourists contribute to the housing crisis by staying in Airbnb’s, by populating the hotels that spring up just as cultural spaces are knocked down, and by spending money in overpriced tourist bars dripping in paddywhackery. Knowing how tourists affect our city and how some act while they’re here, it’s important to make sure you don’t contribute to the denigration of cultural spaces, to an ongoing housing crisis, or be a nuisance when you go abroad to other cities.
“Dublin now exists solely for tourists and the rich.” There are many kinds of tourism. The family getaway to a beach resort cut off from the country it inhabits, the “finding yourself” gap year trips to South-East Asia, or what is probably the most popular and affordable form of tourism, the city break. We’ve all seen the alerts from
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Ryanair telling us that it is only 12.99 to fly to Amsterdam for three days and many of us have jumped at the opportunity. Since our time there is so fleeting and usually packed with activity it’s not often tourists will understand or experience what it is like to live in that city as a full time resident, and not a holidaymaker. Barcelona is a key example with anti-tourism sentiments boiling over into recent protests. As Almudena Lopez Diaz writes in the Independent “Low-cost flights, as well as the popularisation of home-sharing platforms such as AirBnB…have contributed to the growing number of sightseers. In turn, investors are speculating and buying entire buildings – some where families have lived for decades – to cater for this growing industry. Landlords are seeing an opportunity to gain up to four times as much as they would for renting to long-term local tenants, and 40 per cent of Barcelona’s tourist apartments are illegal. This is leading to a shortage of housing for those who live and work here and driving up rents, which increased by 16.5 per cent in 2016.” Areas that would have once belonged only to locals, spots that would have been a cheap place to eat or drink, or a quiet place to socialise are becoming busy with tourists, more expensive, and packed and noisy. Tourists come in; prices go up. As a tourist you can work to limit your negative effect on a place. Try not to use Airbnb or any other short-term letting group. If you have to make sure to research the cities laws surrounding them and make sure that by staying there you are not contributing to a housing crisis, the gentrification of an area, or an illegal letting. Be respectful of the cultural places you visit, be they museums or nightclubs. Try learning some of the language and understand that you are a visitor in a living city. It is not a tourist attraction that is meant to cater to you. Most locals, whether they be Irish or Spanish, don’t hate tourists, just what their city has done to accommodate and cater to tourists at the expense of its citizens.
OTwo - Fatal Fourway
how i found out the truth about santa Conor Halion - Arts and Lit Editor
My older cousin told me in the upstairs of our grandad’s house when I was like twelve, big whoop. However, I do remember the day I accidentally let it slip to my younger cousin , and oh boy, it was a doozy. So we were having dinner at my uncle’s house for some reason and we were all sitting around the television afterwards, just having a good oul chat. I was like fifteen at the time and my younger cousin had lost her last baby tooth. My uncle asked her was she going to leave it under her pillow for the tooth fairy and she said no, because the tooth fairy wasn’t real. Now being fifteen, and having been raised on a diet of Friends, I immediately channelled my inner Chandler Bing. “Wait the tooth fairy isn’t real?” I said innocently. The whole room erupted into laughter, I could hear applause in my head, stand up career here I come hehe. But being a big dumb perfectionist, I just had to take it one step, further didn’t I? “Next you’re going to tell me Santie isn’t real.” I quipped. And that was the day the laughter died. Every adult in the room, my own mother included, fixed me with an absolutely murderous stare. In the corner my cousin blinked slowly and looking up at my uncle, said in a quiet voice: “He is real, isn’t he Dad?” My uncle just gave me a look that screamed: “Bellend” I don’t get invited to family dinners anymore.
Odin O’Sullivan - Staff Writer
We all had that one friend when we were young, a loud and obnoxious only child who was given everything his little heart desires. This kid had proto-heelys, a Playstation 3, a go-kart, and all the other cool shit that none of the rest of us could afford. A kid like this has no need for Christmas. If you get everything you could ever want whenever you want it Christmas is just another day where you get whatever you want whenever you want it! This boy had no need to believe in Santa because the magic gift man had just always been his dad. So, this child with a stunted sense of wonder decided that no other child on our street should enjoy the sense of wonder that comes from the mystical bearded man gifting you WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 on PS2. So, one day he waited until we were all out on the road playing football and he deigned to informed us that Santa wasn’t real, and it was actually our parents. I lived in denial for many years after that, clinging on to the idea of Santa out of pure spite for this child’s audacity at shattering six children’s collective festive belief in Santa and the power of Smackdown vs. Raw 2009.
Orla Keaveney - Design Assistant
My childhood was pretty much defined by the fact that I could be really smart and really dumb at the same time. A good example of this is when I was 8 and a boy in my class - let’s call him Nathan - was going round telling everyone that Santa wasn’t real. He’d been in his attic and found a box full of all the toys he’d had on his Christmas list, along with the list itself. 8-year-old me spent the afternoon processing this, and by the time I got into my mom’s car that evening I was absolutely raging. My mom was going through her MCR phase at the time so “Teenagers” was only revving me up. My mom listened to my squeaky rant about what that Nathan from school had been saying, figuring out how to explain that she’d been lying to me about Santa for my entire life. Except before she could get a word in, I declared “It’s so OBVIOUS what happened. Nathan’s parents must think he’s a really bad person, so they bought all the presents he wanted in case Santy didn’t get him any. Nathan is SO stupid and a big fat liar, good thing they did that ‘ cos he’s definitely on the naughty list. Like one time...” And then my very relieved mother just let me shit on this poor Nathan kid for the rest of the way home, and I lived in blissful ignorance for another 3 Christmases. I eventually learned the truth from a South Park episode, which an 11-year-old probably shouldn’t have been watching, but that’s a whole other issue.
Heather Reynolds - Otwo Co-Editor
Picture this: it’s the first lunch break after Christmas. Five second classers are huddled at a prime spot by the railings, where there’s a lip in the ground just big enough to sit on. One of them speaks up with excitement, “Guys, I found out something huge over Christmas!” Early Christmas morning, it turned out, after they’d finished up with gifts, she went into the kitchen to get a drink. Her brother, five years older and thinking she’d gone upstairs, then congratulated her parents on how well they’d done picking out her Santy presents. She cornered him later that evening and he confirmed it: Santa hadn’t come to their house on Christmas Eve. Of course, when she regaled us with this tale none of us believed her. Her brother, now an actor, was known for making things up, and we reminded her of this. However, as much as we denied it, the seed of doubt had been sown, and within two years Santa had stopped coming to all of our houses too.
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at The University Observer