VOL.XXIV, Issue 8, OTwo

SEE INSIDE: INTERVIEW WITH RTÉ’S TARA FLYNN SHOWCASING THE WORKS OF LE BOOM STUDENT COOKBOOKS AND THE RECIPES WITHIN IT’S BRITNEY FOR KENZO, BITCH!

Volume XXIV, Issue 8 17th April 2018

OTWO CONTRIBUTORS ISSUE 8 XXIV EDITOR Aoife Hardesty DEPUTY EDITOR Ruth Murphy ART & DESIGN EDITOR Joanne Olivia OTWO CO-EDITORS Claudia Dalby Dylan O’Neill

Dear All,

CONTENTS

ARTS & LITERATURE EDITOR Mary Sheehan

FILM & TV EDITOR Alexander Glover MUSIC EDITOR Cian Montague FOOD EDITOR Aurora Andrus FASHION EDITOR Shane Cullen

Arts & Literature 5-8 Games 9 Film & TV 10-13

ONLINE OTWO EDITOR Conor O’Boyle

Interview 14-16 Tara Flynn

CHIEF OF ILLUSTRATIONS Meadhbh Sheridan

Music 17-20

CHIEF OF PHOTOGRAPHY Phoebe Ireland

Food 21

STAFF WRITERS Clara Brannigan Rory Clarke Nathan Young

Fashion 22-25

CONTRIBUTORS Aisling Strafford Sambhavi Sudhakar Kevin Brophy Sean Delaney Aoife Muckian Emma Kiely Paurush Kumar Adam Lawler Rose Doherty Fearghus Montague Katia Gillen Camille Lombard

Travel 26 Aperture 28

LETTER FROM EDITORS

GAMES EDITOR Katie Lalwani

Here we are, end of the line. It’s been some year, we’ve been through a lot, me (the disembodied pairing of OTwo editors) and you (the random reader who picked up this issue). Let us tell you what to expect in this issue, once more, with feeling.

In Arts & Literature, we go to the Douglas Hyde Museum and ponder over the Tamara Henderson exhibition. The exhibition is supposed to transcend the physical and metaphysical realms, so that sounds like great value for money to me.

Games explores the age old question, in a feature-length finale article: Do video games truly cause violence? I originally asked could I weigh in on the topic, but apparently, banning the blue shell in Mario Kart wasn’t what they were looking for.

With exams creeping ever so nearer, and for some the year almost over, we fulfill our true purpose to students in Food reminding them that student life is a mere fantasy, and the real world exists in cookbooks and juice bars.

Film & TV justifies why nobody in college has gotten past watching old episodes of Spongebob Squarepants. This issue also features the passionate debate in favour of sitcoms in our daily schedule, because apparently you can have too much drama in your life.

Claudia got to travel (across the road) to the exclusive RTÉ studios, and interview actress and comedian Tara Flynn. They’re exclusive because you have to have a family member on the inside to get through the door.

In Music, we have a variety of reviews for your pleasure, including: The Vaccines, Kacey Musgraves, and our lord the Lesbian Jesus – Hayley Kiyoko.

Fashion looks forward to the future where exams are a thing of the past, showcasing our summer collection. With our massive, fuck off newspaper budget, we flew staff writer Clara to Japan to review Tokyo Fashion Week, and she didn’t even bring us back any presents!

In our final travel article, Camille takes us across the pond into the mythical Trumpland known as California. She managed to sneak through the wall and take some nice photos.

Turn to Fatal Fourway as we dig up the top scandals of the year in our most memorable moments.

That’s all from us at OTwo. We want to thank Mary, Katie, Aurora, Alexander, Cian, Orla, and Shane for all their exceptional hard work over the past eight issues. We want to wish you the best of luck in the future.

To all OTwo contributors - keep writing! The world needs more talented album reviewers and film analysers. Don’t stop until every book is a ‘Favourite Book,’ and every UCD student has been featured in Campus Chic. We owe it to the world.

Over and out,

Claudia & Dylan xoxo

Soapbox:

Feminist Dating Apps

Mystic Mittens Aquarius Jan 20 - Feb 18 Nobody follows your Spotify playlists, because you have a very...niche taste in music.

Pisces Feb 19 - March 20 Fish? Why is there no potato star-sign? It’s a true staple of the Irish diet; well except that one time.

Aries March 21 - April 19 Remember to stay grounded in reality and not let your mind float away with ‘notions,’ as your mother would say.

Taurus April 20 - May 20 Float like a butterfly, stink like the rear-end of a bull.

Gemini May 21 - June 22 I see a little bundle of joy in your future. Oh political!

Cancer June 23 - July 22 Just because you’re Cancer, doesn’t mean you have a free-pass. We all have exams, so quit being crabby.

Leo July 23 - Aug 22 Don’t agree to a shadow game with someone who enters tournaments on a semi-regular basis. You’re impressing no-one!

Virgo Aug 23 - Sep 22 You go girl, go get that sugar-daddy. Then give me his number. Kitty likes to get treats.

Libra Sep 23 - Oct 22 What are you going to do with all your free time, now that you’ve graduated and nobody is hiring?

Scorpio Oct 23 - Nov 19 Did you know that the Greatest Showman is about a fraud who exploited carnival freaks for profit? Because Mystic Mittens knows, Mystic Mittens knows everything.

Sagittarius Nov 20 - Dec 21 I bet you thought I was going to make a joke about the disease for Cancer this issue. Exactly what I expected from a Sagittarius, cynical to a fault.

Capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 19 It’s not easy living in the shadow of your older brother Unicorn, is it?

Bumble is the first dating app of its kind, that radicalises the heterosexual social norm of ‘men make the first move.’

On Bumble, men are powerless and expelled into the cyber abyss unless the woman initiates conversation. Ground breaking stuff. I tried out the self-proclaimed feminist dating app, but for a radical approach to dating, the outcome is far too familiar: dead-end conversations and dull dates.

On adaption to this new feminist dating milieu, I soon realised that initiating conversation with more than three words is a set-up for failure.

Being aloof, however, with a simple “hey” or even better a “hi,” proves alluring and sparks interest. Addition of a smiley emoji of any sort and you’re already bordering on too keen. So what was the outcome when a match jumped at my efforts to lead the conversation? I found myself with a date who spontaneously suggested to “go for a walk” instead of sticking to the original plan, which involved pancakes and me being hungry. We embarked on such a walk. I, however, was still hungry. He bought me a takeaway cup of green tea and what followed was an obstacle course of scaffolds along the Grand Canal Dock featuring lots of cobbled pathways. With an unfortunate combination of heeled boots, this resulted in me scalding my hand, as boiling water spilled over my cup with each and every step.

I asked myself if it was the first degree burn that put me off or the fact that he just wasn’t my cup of tea. The pursuit up until that point may have been a mutual effort thanks to Bumble, but this did not translate into a romantic connection.

Myself, and many of my female peers admit feeling conditioned to fall for the guy that makes them wait for the next point of contact, and ultimately depend on him to decide on the fate of the relationship.

This dangerously paradoxical mind-set is practically innate and yet I call myself a feminist? We behave in this way, as often, women taking any sort of initiative in the early stages of dating, can deter some men.

Maybe they are just evolutionarily wired to love the thrill of the chase.

In this technological age, perhaps using a platform such as Bumble can one day make it socially acceptable as a real life continuum for women to ‘make the first move,’ or must we wait to be selected organically in Coppers? We may have Bumble, but right now what persists is the automatic romanticising of sexism in the heterosexual dating game and ill-fitting takeaway cup lids.

Left swipe.

Words: Aisling Strafford Illustration: Meadhbh Sheridan

OTwo //

Advice from Andrew J. Geeks What do I do with my life after I graduate?

Oh the hubris! You, and your money, are very welcome to stay in UCD for as long as you like. Don’t think we won’t fail you just to get one last, sweet hit of that lump-sum repeat fee. Maybe you deserved to fail, maybe not - in my UCD, you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Even if you do manage to leave the graduation ‘ceremony’ unscathed, as a graduate, you can look forward to receiving an inordinate amount of unsolicited calls for ‘donations’ from the UCD Foundation; the registered charity which supports strategic investment in a university that strategically avoids investing in its students.

Even everyone’s favourite cool kids, UCDSU can’t leave love to stick around! Super Union President Barry ‘The Lad’ Murphy mentioned just the other day that “it wouldn’t even be weird if I ran next year you know, I just really need to get through to the kids.” Ha! Good man Barry! Anticipate some stellar graduate-level representation from NiallerGoingOn90 as he gears up to challenge Barry for the Presidency next year!

Is it worth doing a masters in Trinity?

Anything worth doing is worth doing far from the steps of Trinity College Dublin.

For only a fraction of the price of a Masters course in TCD, you can buy a bike pump and inflate your ego all by yourself! If you’re considering further education in TCD at this point, you’ve really missed the boat in terms of quality of student life. Not only was the university better funded 6 years ago, but the year-long Great Blaze of 2012 celebrated 420 years since the university was founded. Better times, no doubt.

If you failed to get accepted to a Masters-level degree anywhere else, you can take some solace in the fact that the Trinity-based Burkean Journal boasts some of the world’s biggest losers, so you will almost certainly go unnoticed.

Additionally, you may not be alone in making the jump to Trinity; TCDSU is one of a falling number of Unions that Niall Torris hasn’t yet had a whirl of. He may still choose to run for TCD Graduate Students’ Union in the near-to-distant future.

What’s Hot,What’s Not

Hot

Fundraising

Deadlines

Isn’t it great when in just a few days people can raise over €500,000 and rising for #Together4Yes? Really goes to show that people will dig deep for certain causes.

Did you know that Trinity have practically a month of no lectures, before they sit their exams? Because I learned this when my “friend” from Trinity was gloating over how many deadlines for essays I have directly before exams start.

Looking After Yourself

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NOT Data Mining

While studying for exams is important, stress can seriously impact your mental health. Remember to take a study break, drink water, and avoid late night cram sessions. Mind Yourselves.

How do you expect people to slide into DMs when companies like Cambridge Analytica can keep the receipts?

Summer Holidays

Trolling in the Comments Section

The topic on everybody’s minds. We’re not thinking of essays or MCQs. We’re focusing on which factor sunscreen to use when we’re lying on the beach. Just please post to Instagram in moderation.

Lads, c’mon now! We get that not everyone agrees with posts online. There are a lot of polarising opinions out there, but we have to remember that behind those posts, are actual human beings, with human emotions. Be respectful, and if you don’t agree with something, attack the rhetoric, not the person.

OTwo // Arts & Literature

Threads of Culture: Tamara Henderson’s Exhibit at the Douglas Hyde Gallery

Picture: Wikimedia

Sambhavi Sudhakar examines the transcendental work of Tamara Henderson, currently on display in the Douglas Hyde Gallery.

In its attempt to weave threads of creativity and culture into a fascinating picture, Tamara Henderson’s Seasons End: More than Suitcases is an achievement in artistic endeavour. More than Suitcases is Henderson’s first solo exhibition in Ireland and is inclusive of fifty art pieces - a collective compilation of her two previous exhibitions in Glasgow and Ontario. The speciality of her work lies in uniting the physical and the metaphysical realms in a harmonious manner. It presents a mixture of objects cast on human-like figures, draped in vibrant colours, and adorned with sundry accessories.

The anthropomorphic characteristics of Henderson’s works are apparent.

Each figure is infused with a unique spiritual aura, presented visually in varied colours and designs. Upon entering the gallery, one would observe how every figure is representative of a specific emotional, physical, or psychological state. For instance, three figures on the ground floor of the gallery labelled ‘Sleeper,’ are draped in robes which have designs popularly associated with the night. One such figure depicts the changing phases of the moon.

Another interesting figure titled ‘Disease’ is designed starkly differently from others, given its black sobriety, in opposition to the rich blend of colours worn by others. Similarly, a sculpture that encapsulates Henderson’s artistic talent entirely is the ‘Body Bar,’ which, in depicting the respiratory and circulatory systems, is an animated piece seen breathing in and out amidst a

sea of stationary figures. An important appendage to this piece of art is an urn containing the ashes of a burnt figure, which acts as a symbolic reflection of the cycle of life and death.

An assortment of cork, wood, mixed textiles, ribbons, lace, and chains among other things have been brought together in a symphony of artistic splendour.

‘Camera’ houses 16mm films, indicative of both Henderson’s pursuits in film-making and the preservation of moments and memories that define human experience. Quite a few sculptures are given names that are often assumed by people, and display emotions that are startlingly human-like. The piece entitled ‘Brenda,’ for example, is not only an elegant display of ribbon, chain, copper, and satin, but also presents the grace and demeanour of a young lady in how the drapes display drooping eyelids with

long lashes.

The figures retain their human-like traits in their regalia, for they are seen wearing shoes that were used by performers in their plays. Some figures are seen wearing fanciful headdresses while others are embellished with mirrors.

Some, like ‘Editor in a Suitcase’ contain pencils and notepads that are indicative of the profession. There is a rare sensuous appeal to Henderson’s work, whereby some of the artworks wear robes with pockets containing dried up flowers which emit a strong fragrance.

Even the previously mentioned ‘Body Bar’ contains essential oils which lend a lingering scent.

The material used to create these pieces are objects people use on a regular basis. An assortment of cork, wood, mixed textiles, ribbons, lace, and chains among other things have been brought together in a symphony of artistic splendour.

Henderson’s philosophy draws from a variety of sources, ranging from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Tiffany Watt Smith’s The Book of Human Emotions, to the works of Terence McKenna and the essays of Helen Keller. However, one individual from whom Henderson draws immense inspiration is London based kinetic artist, Liliane Lijn. Lijn’s work is renowned for combining the intricacies of technology with text, reflective of the human condition. Deeply personal and filled with emotion, Lijn’s works explore historical upheavals, the feminine archetype, and the relationship between language and time. The Douglas Hyde

Gallery displays her film Look a Doll!

My Mother’s Story in salutation of the influence she has had on Henderson’s artistic ventures.

One aspect central to Henderson’s work is that of travel.

One aspect central to Henderson’s work is that of travel. Her artwork is a vivid treasury of objects collected on her journeys. Much like the artist herself, the project has transgressed physical boundaries and gained a unique global character. The fabrics used to dress the figures were collected from Greece and Turkey. The dyes used to design them were from plants in the island of Seriphos. It is significant to note that the figures are provided with passport-like documents which attest to their specific identity. Henderson has incorporated remnants of her travels into her artwork. Every piece retains aspects of its parent culture. The abstract quality of Henderson’s work also appears congnisant of a spiritual journey between the human and divine, the tangible and the intangible.

The exhibition Seasons End: More than Suitcases is running in the Douglas Hyde Gallery until May 5th.

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OTwo // Arts & Literature

Who Wants to Be a Nobel Prize Laureate?

Dylan O’Neill looks at the possible contenders for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

IMAGINARY MOTION PICTURE EPILOGUE Kevin Doalty Brophy

some closing remarks from his wife:

Last year, Kazuo Ishiguro was awarded with the Nobel Prize for Literature, highlighting his works The Remains of The Day and Never Let Me Go, the latter dealing with the ethics of clone lives and autonomy. He became the 114th recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, joining such writers as T.S Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Bob Dylan, and Séamus Heaney. The question now is: who will be next recipient of this prestigious award?

Atwood has rejected the categorising of her novels as ‘science fiction,’ but instead coins the genre ‘speculative fiction.

An obvious contender is George R.R. Martin, for his A Song of Ice and Fire series. This epic fantasy book series began in 1996 with the publishing of A Game of Thrones. Taking inspiration from historical events, such as the War of the Roses, Martin has crafted a thrilling world that focuses just as much on the political workings of society as the fantastical side that readers have grown to love. Martin has received both critical and fan acclaim for his honest portrayal of human nature in the book series, similar to previous

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laureate William Golding’s Lord of The Flies. The series has been adapted to screen by HBO, and so it only stands to reason that the author who has had such an impact on readers and viewers, young and old, should be near the top of The Swedish Academy’s nominee list.

Continuing the trend of popular novelists who have seen recent success, Margaret Atwood, would also be a fitting inductee to the Nobel Prize hall of fame.

While Atwood is most recognised for her 1985 book, The Handmaid’s Tale, with its stark portrayal of the mistreatment and institutional rape of women in a theocratic government, she has also written many books that encompass themes such as feminism and society in science fiction, in works such as The Edible Woman and Oryx and Crake.

Atwood has received more than 20 awards for her works, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction in 1987. However, Atwood has rejected the categorising of her novels as ‘science fiction,’ but instead coins the genre ‘speculative fiction.’ For her success in pioneering as a female author in the genre of science fiction Margaret Atwood deserves to be considered for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Venturing into children’s literature, Neil Gaiman is a possible frontrunner for the prize. Awarding him would show that the Swedish Academy acknowledges the wide range of audiences that have become engrossed in his character-driven books. Most notably, the children’s book Coraline brings the same level of in depth characterization that may feature in adult fiction to a younger audience. With its dark humour and overall comment on the role of the family, Coraline has made

younger audiences ponder deeper philosophical questions. Should Gaiman be next to receive the Nobel prize, it would promote younger readers to take up his novels for enjoyment as opposed to just for education, leading into a surge of new readers around the world. One might argue to include children’s authors Dr. Seuss or Roald Dahl for the award, however they are both dead, and the Nobel Prize is not awarded post-humously.

Most notably, the children’s book Coraline brings the same level of in depth characterization that may feature in adult fiction to a younger audience.

As for a personal preference, I would be delighted to see President Michael D. Higgins awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The president has published several books of poetry including The Betrayal, An Arid Season, and The Prophets are Weeping, all of which can be found in the National Library of Ireland. Wouldn’t it be great if the next Irish Nobel laureate were Michael D.?

and to laugh at the situation we’ve found ourselves in the great deprecating absurdity of life viewed through golden prisms. in the face of such adversity there stands but one defence: can we stay up an hour later simply not go to bed?

Picture: Claudia Dalby

Picture: freestockphotos.biz

did you turn the immersion off before we went to bed; did I leave the tap running…? oh, this ordeal wrecks my head.

OTwo // Arts & Literature

An Interview with Thinkhouse — The Youth Marketing Company Joanne Olivia sits down to chat with Design Manager Brian MacRory, of Thinkhouse, about Dublin, internships, and socks.

Thinkhouse is a youth marketing company, with offices in Dublin and London, that connects brands with 16-35 year olds and has been listed as one of ‘The World’s Leading Independent Agencies’ two years in a row.

The company has a lot of in-house creatives including a full design studio, a film and content team, photographers, and copywriters. I met one of their designers, Brian MacRory, in Thinkhouse’s open plan studio (which allegedly has Dublin’s largest disco ball).

MacRory has been with the agency since 2016 and has worked on design projects for brands such as Heineken, Deloitte, Bank of Ireland, and Lifestyle Sports.

At Thinkhouse, we live and breathe youth culture which definitely has an impact on our work.

We started out with a chat about Dublin as a desired destination for creatives, and the company’s culture. As a creative destination, Dublin is often overshadowed by places such as London, New York, or Berlin and MacRory tells me about Dublin from the perspective of a local, “I think people should see Dublin as a creative destination, it’s full of young people hungry to push the boundaries of creative work. You only need to see some of the amazing work coming out of art colleges or even the underground parties creative collectives are throwing around the city. At Thinkhouse, we live and breathe youth culture that definitely has an impact on our work. It’s class and there are amazing vibes in the office every day. I would move to Dublin if I was from abroad.”

When he tells me about how he got the job in Thinkhouse, he mentions that the agency only hires paid Junior Designers. “One of the things I love about Thinkhouse is how it values young people. I’ve got mates who started out with some of the biggest agencies in Ireland and they didn’t get paid for months, sometimes 6/12 months went by with nothing but lunch and travel money. It’s outrageous. I feel privileged to work in an environment that not only rejects that but fights hard to fix this exploitation problem at an industry level.” He explains unpaid internships set up a bad system for the creative industry. “If everyone comes from the same background, they are not going to think differently, like someone would who comes from a different place or social class. It results in a lack of diversity in the creative fields, which is worrying.”

Last December, MacRory was part of the team who launched ‘Trainer Central’ for Lifestyle Sports, which featured Irish up-and-coming Hip-Hop

artists Hare Squead. Over a series of weeks, Brian and the design team worked on the look and feel for the campaign, which was rolled out across Ireland and manifested itself in train wraps, online ads, social videos, and on-street and in-store print ads.

Within the scope of the project, their team identified that teens, especially young males, find footwear as a great opportunity to express themselves and we detoured into a discussion on what Thinkhouse calls “the hyper-religiosity of urban shoe culture” on their website.

It sounds a bit extreme but is not far off.

There are Netflix documentaries dedicated to sneaker designers and Brian tells me about a colleague of his, who is an avid collector of trainers. Sneaker and socks seem to offer a safe place for men to express themselves without being judged. When asked about it, Brian says, “I wouldn’t be as into it as others.

I’d buy nice runners, but I’m way more into socks.” He was wearing a pair with pretzels on them (I checked).

The Thinkhouse content team also directed, shot, and edited two brand videos for the campaign and were given a loose brief, which allowed them to experiment with innovative layouts, film editing, lighting, and photography.

Some of the moving content was shot with a Nishika camera about which he speaks in excited tones. “The cameras have four lenses and can take multiple pictures from slightly different angles at once and create 3D-like images.”

They also collaborated with the art collective Subset, who created a mural of runners near Capel Street, to which Brian adds, “we are massive fans of their work. Dublin is such a small community, everyone who is doing cool stuff usually ends up doing cool things together.”

Finally, he explains, “My absolute favourite part was to show my dad a piece of the print work. I got to take him into the store and could say ‘this is what I do.’ He never really understood my job, but I think he kind of gets it now.”

To find out more about Thinkhouse’s global campaigns or current job roles you can follow them on their Instagram @thinkhouse or visit thinkhouse.ie.

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OTwo // Arts & Literature

My Favourite Book: Good Omens

Seán Delaney explains why the dark comedy Good Omens is his favourite book.

Good Omens is the product of two heavyweights of the fantasy world, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

While Pratchett is most known for writing the Discworld series and Gaiman for writing the likes of American Gods and Stardust, Good Omens is a novel that combines the talents of both writers.

The set-up of the book is very simple: the world is about to end. The son of Satan has been born The set-up of the book is very simple: the world is about to end. The son of Satan has been born on earth and is destined to usher in the apocalypse. However, the angel, Aziraphale and a demon, Crowley both think the end of the world would be a lot of work, so they agree to try and sabotage it. The narrative draws both from popular culture sources such as The Omen, but also more classical sources like John Milton’s Paradise Lost to create a story that is hilarious and endlessly entertaining.

The real strength of the book lies, however, in the

way in which the authors blend their individual styles.

Although I’m a fan of both of them individually, it was difficult to imagine how Gaiman’s intense imagery and sprawling plots would match with Pratchett’s jocular prose and often off the wall characters. However these styles entwine perfectly in this text. It is one of the few books that I found myself physically laughing at while I was reading it, but it also sucked me into the story and characters so that I was always invested in the narrative of the book outside of the comedy.

The characters are well defined and either likeable or absolutely detestable (the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and Adam the Antichrist are my particular favourites). The fresh twist on the biblical elements of the story made for an interesting read.

Although the story of the end of the world in biblical terms is quite familiar to most, Pratchett and Gaiman twist it under the fantasy and comedy modes to change it into something else entirely, making it more entertaining.

I think in summation, the reason why Good Omens is my favourite book is that every time I read it, I enjoy it as much as I did the last time. The combination of styles, the comedy, the story, and the twist on the biblical story all serve to create a piece that I find myself always coming back to.

Around Dublin For The Laugh With summer just around the corner, it’s time for students to face the gauntlet of exams before jetting off on their J1 (and that’s just the lucky few). To combat this bleak time of year, Dublin City offers various different venues that feature a wide range of comedic talent. It’s industry level stand-up without the Netflix subscription.

To combat this bleak time of year, Dublin City offers various different venues that feature a wide range of comedic talent.

The Laughter Lounge is situated on Eden’s Quay and hosts year-round comedy events, among which is the regular ‘Live at the Lounge,’ which has seen the likes of Rory O’Hanlon and Enya Martin as just some of the big names on offer.

Tickets are from €26, but the lounge also has a fully licensed late bar, with pizza and nachos on offer. Just don’t wear tracksuits. What more could you ask for?

If, like me, you’re dirt poor from nights out, The Woolshed Baa and Grill, located on Parnell Street, hosts its weekly

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‘Comedy Shed,’ every Monday. Starting at 9.00 pm, the event offers 3 headline stand-up acts, with Joe Dowlin as MC, and is free for audience members. Previous comedians who have taken to the stage are: Tom O’Mahony (Republic of Telly), Al Lubel (Late Show David Letterman,) and John Colleary (The Savage Eye). For professional comedians and a pleasant atmosphere, Woolshed Baa and Grill is a great way to spend Monday evenings.

Finally, if you’re not too picky about your big-names in comedy, The International Bar hosts a ‘Comedy Improv Night’ every Monday. The longest running comedy club in Ireland, the Comedy Improv Night has seen such lineups as Tara Flynn, Michelle Read, and Sharon Mannion to name but a few. It’s €5 entry, and if you love re-watching clips of Who’s line is it Anyway? on Youtube, then the International Bar will have you in stitches by last-call.

If, however, you need to get your giggles on mid-week, then the Comedy Cellar Dublin, will satisfy you on a Tuesday and Wednesday night, the way only self-deprecating and political jokes can. For this show, tickets can be prebooked from €10 on Ticketweb.ie, but to see Neil Delamere, would you not pay a little bit more?

There you have it. Fill your weeknights with laughter and your days, annoying your office workers with rehashed jokes by the watercooler that you heard the night before.

Picture: Geograph.ie

Dylan O’Neill explores the venues around Dublin that tickle your funny bone.

OTwo // Games

Violent Video Games and Aggression: The Never-ending Controversy Do violent video games lead to acts of violence or is the controversy just a “moral panic?” Aoife Muckian details the history of the controversy, and weighs up both sides of the argument.

A recent meeting between Donald Trump and high profile members of the gaming industry took place to discuss the links between video game violence and criminal behaviour.

Coming in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, this was not the first time the government has deliberated this topic. With each tragedy, video games have come under scrutiny and have been blamed for influencing the violent and aggressive behaviour which led to these acts of violence, but is there really any evidence to suggest this?

Picture: images.igdb.com

In the past fifteen years, violent video games have been the subject of legal cases, statutes, and two resolutions by the American Psychological Association.

Controversy surrounding the violent nature of video games dates back to 1976 with the release of the arcade game, Death Race, a game involving running over and killing other drivers in an arena. This game was heavily criticised as it was seen to appeal to violent fantasies. Carly A. Kocurek, an Assistant Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology observed that although games depicting human-on-human violence were common at the time, Death Race was singled out. As Kocurek pointed out, this may have been due to how in other violent games, murder was justified in the context of warfare by American society.

Violent video games continued to come under scrutiny throughout the 1990s. In 1993, a

joint senate committee held hearings on violent video games, with the likes of Night Trap and Mortal Kombat coming under scrutiny. This lead to the establishment of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) in 1994.

Mass shootings in America further prompted the conversation to focus on a link between onscreen violence and real life violent behaviour.

The first video game lawsuit occurred in 1997.

Anti-video game activist Jack Thompson brought a case against several video game companies and other entertainment enterprises, after it was revealed that the Heath High School shooter regularly played video games. Thompson argued that the violent content in these games had desensitised and motivated the shooter.

This case was dismissed as these claims were considered to have made too far a leap.

The 1999 Columbine High School shooting saw the killers referencing video games including Doom in journals when planning their attack.

With this, the argument against video games was revisited yet again, leading to another lawsuit, which was again dismissed. President Clinton further suggested that games were one of the possible factors behind the shootings.

As school shootings continue to claim lives in the USA, the argument continues to reemerge. In the past fifteen years, violent video games have been the subject of legal cases, statutes, and two resolutions by the American Psychological Association. In 2012, Anders Breivik admitted to using Call of Duty as a training method for his attacks. Meanwhile, Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza’s video game obsession was often commented on in the media.

The influence of violence in video games is further observed in how shooters have used video games to train before carrying out acts of violence. The USA military have also used video games to train soldiers, with the Marine Corps licensing Doom II in 1996 to create the training device ‘Marine Doom.’ Furthermore, various studies, including the American Psychological Association’s 2005 and 2015 resolutions, suggest that violent video games increase

aggressive thoughts, aggression, and decrease prosocial behaviours. There are also concerns that the reward system for violent acts in video games may cause people to glorify these acts and that the content shown on screen may desensitise people to violence.

While some shooters have demonstrated tendencies to enjoy video games, this may not be the cause of their behaviour. A 2004 report by the United States Secret Services and Department of Education observed that only 12% of shooters had an interest in violent video games. Although the American Psychological Association study found increased aggression, there was no direct link shown between such aggression and criminal behaviour. In a recent scientific journal, psychologist Christopher Ferguson points out that the task force behind this resolution may have been motivated to confirm a pre-existing idea and some of the members may have been ideologically biased.

Some of these studies have also been criticised for the way in which they measure aggression.

Additionally, while the sales of violent video games have increased outside of the US, other countries have not experienced mass shootings to the same extent. In the US, youth violence has decreased despite the increase in sales of video games. This further highlights the lack of evidence to support the link between video games and acts of real life violence.

It has been four decades since the argument against video game violence first appeared and it continues to make frequent reappearances in public discourse surrounding mass shootings. Some argue that proponents use video games to escape delving into the broader question of gun control. Others feel that it is relevant to examine whether violent video games do increase aggression and criminal behaviour for policy reasons. As video games continue to evolve in terms of resolution and graphics, it will be interesting to see how the controversy evolves with it.

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OTwo // Film & TV

Review: Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) Creator: Álex Pina Writers: Esther Martínez Lobato, Javier Gómez Santander, Pablo Roa, Fernando Sancristóval Starring: Úrsula Corberó, Álvaro Morte, Itziar Ituño Release Date: Part 1 and 2 available now on Netflix Reviewed by: Alexander Glover

It’s easy to overlook foreign language TV shows. It seems like too much effort and, besides, there’s so much out there in English for us to get through. Well take yourself out of that restrictive mind frame because there are a lot of great series out there that you’re denying yourself.

Thanks to streaming, they’re more accessible than ever before.

Picture: http://midan.aljazeera.net/

It centres around nine robbers who attempt to the most ambitious robbery in history.

Money Heist, or La Casa de Papel in its original version, is one of these great shows. It centres around nine robbers who attempt the most ambitious robbery in history. Their aim is to break into La Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre, where money is printed in Spain, and stay there for as long as possible while they print mammoth sums of unmarked cash.

The plan is meticulously crafted and studied for months before the heist begins and the robbers are prepared for everything. Tasked with stopping them is the head of the police force, Raquel

Murillo (Itziar Ituño). She, and the mastermind behind the robbery, El Profesor (Álvaro Morte), enter a psychological warfare via telephone conversations.

The action shots are excellent throughout the series, and the acting itself is great for the most part, with just a few of the minor characters lowering the standard marginally. The use of flashback scenes to develop character backstories and the study time before the heist, allows the action to begin in the first episode.

The show is very well made and extremely clever. Who is good and who is evil is immediately clear, but at times it can be hard to tell who you’re rooting for. That was the aim of El Profesor who designed the plan, with winning the public opinion in mind. There is so much auxiliary action to the heist that it’s easy to get swept up in rooting for the bad guys.

The series was made by Artesmedia in Spain and when Netflix picked it up they decided to split season one into two parts. As of April 6th, both parts are available to stream. I watched it in the original version with Spanish audio and English subtitles, but other options are available.

I highly recommend checking it out, it’s the best show I’ve watched in a long time, in any language.

In a nutshell: An adrenaline-pumping, TV-version of a page-turner. One episode is never enough.

Review: Entebbe The mix of Germans claiming Israel to be fascist in its treatment of the Palestinian people, while holding Israelis hostage, is an irony not lost on this film.

The demands were the release of 53 pro-Palestinian militants and $5 million. After much deliberation over the ethics of negotiating with “terrorists,” Israel eventually sent in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to rescue the hostages.

While not the first film about this incident, Entebbe is different for two reasons. Firstly, many details of the rescue operation have only become public knowledge very recently. Secondly, and more importantly, the story is told in a more morally ambiguous way.

The two most central characters are

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German, both Red Army Faction alumni (also known as the Baader-Meinhof Group), whereas the Israeli soldiers get comparatively little screen time and no agency. The focus on the Germans, instead of the Israelis makes sense, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that there’s an element of whitewashing in focusing on the Germans instead of the Palestinians.

After all, it’s their fight.

The implied reasoning is that fighting someone else’s fight makes them interesting. In a flashback scene to Palestinian training camp, the Germans are forced to justify their allegiance.

Palestinian characters present horrific tales of losing their families during IDF excursions into their villages, whereas the Germans are there by choice.

The mix of Germans claiming Israel to be fascist in its treatment of the Palestinian people, while holding Israelis hostage, is an irony not lost on this film.

In one scene, one of the Germans takes an elderly Israeli hostage aside, only to notice an Auschwitz identification tattoo on her wrist.

All the technical aspects of Entebbe are executed well. The actors portray their characters as empathetic and flawed, with the exception of Nonso Anozie. Anozie, is excellent in the role of the indisputably unhinged and terrifying Idi Amin.

The action scenes are played in conjunction with a powerful dance by the Batsheva Dance Company. Surprisingly, this amplifies the intensity of already tense scenes.

In a nutshell: ​Entebbe is a wellmade thriller that’s more thoughtful politically than most films in its genre.

Director: José Padilha Writers: Gregory Burke Starring: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl, Eddie Marsan Release Date: 11th May Reviewed by: Nathan Young

Picture: africom.mil

Entebbe is a historical thriller based on the true story of the 1976 hijacking of a flight from Israel by two Palestinians and two Germans. The hijackers brought the plane and hostages to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda.

OTwo // Film & TV

Animation – Why It Still Matters Emma Kiely argues that animated film and TV deserves more respect than is currently given.

Animated films and cartoon TV shows have always been associated with childhood and immaturity. Watching Looney Tunes and Disney/Pixar films is a rite of passage for all kids. Once we reach adulthood should we forget about these and only return when we have kids of our own?

Some may argue that adults shouldn’t watch cartoons, or that animated films have no place in the film industry compared to war epics and intense thrillers. Nevertheless, you’ll realise that watching an animated film as a kid is a completely different experience to watching one as an adult, and yet the film still resonates with us, emotions are still heightened, and the characters and stories are just as appreciated.

Picture: Left: Wikimedia, Top: Flickr, Middle: Joel Ormsby, Bottom: Drillerblogs.com

You’ll realise that watching an animated film as a kid is a completely different experience to watching one as an adult.

When looking at animated films superficially, it may seem that they do not offer as much emotional engagement as mature, ‘grown-up’ films, but due to the simplification of the narrative for children, the emotional background of the story is more apparent and thus, more compelling. Take a look at Pixar’s most famous films in the past 25 years, each have a powerful subliminal message and deal with real-life issues. Finding Nemo discusses the power of the love between parent and child, and the loss of a loved one and the emotional intensity of Up will have you crying like a baby within the first ten minutes. The Toy Story trilogy depicts the importance of friendship more clearly than any other live-action film.

A really important piece of animation is the Pixar short Day and Night which is a simplification of racism and prejudice, presented in a fun way so that children can understand its subliminal message: that we should celebrate diversity. When broken down, it is clear that a lot of thought, psychological background, and emotional intelligence is put into these films.

Another perfect example is the 2015 picture Inside Out which depicts the inner workings of the mind.

Development was aided by the help of renowned professors of psychology from Berkeley. It should never be believed that just because these films’ prime demographic is children, that they can be enjoyed and affected by children exclusively.

It can be hard to remember that Pixar and Disney do not have full autonomy over the animation industry. Cartoon Saloon from Kilkenny has earned three Oscar nominations in recent years with The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and The Breadwinner. Their combination of

contemporary animation with old Irish folk stories makes for enchantingly beautiful films that will no doubt make you proud of Irish heritage. Cartoon Saloon take advantage of the freedom that animation grants and in doing so, combines magic with reality so that both kids and adults will not only enjoy but understand and resonate with the film.

Adult cartoons such as Rick and Morty, Family Guy, and South Park have earned a reputation for being student-oriented and associated with ‘boy humour.’ However, it’s not all dumb fart jokes, they can get quite political and engaging with current social issues too.

The Simpsons, for example constantly comments on the current political issues in America with Bush and Clinton being the butts of jokes in numerous episodes.

One of the most amazing features is the speed at which these shows can be made to include culturally relevant gags.

There can be a stigma attached to watching these shows, however, they offer a simplified version of TV. Now that TV is at its prime and getting more complex by emulating films, a cartoon can be as significant as live action shows and have just as entertaining a story but with a lighter, more relaxed disposition.

Regarding children’s TV shows, I think it is safe to say that they are still very relevant in today’s society and that is because they offer us a break from the stressing issues people deal with on a day-to-day basis. After a long day, it can be nice to swap heavy news articles and Donald Trump tweets for SpongeBob and Patrick or barely understanding what Beavis and Butthead are saying to each other.

There should be no shame surrounding wanting to revisit the cartoons from your childhood as they can offer a joyous and uplifting viewing experience whilst still retaining the emotional intelligence of mature television and film.

Chuckie Finster of Rugrats was wise beyond his years.

There should be no shame surrounding wanting to revisit the cartoons from your childhood.

From the outrageous success of Frozen to the highly anticipated Incredibles 2, it’s safe to say animation isn’t going anywhere. As we descend into more political upheaval and more social issues demand our attention, the boundless and magical world of animation allows us to see the world through the eyes of imagination.

It may be argued that because of their departure from reality, animation and cartoons are not culturally significant or relevant, but by creating colourful and joyous images, they can more easily explore the social issues that need to be discussed. Animation shows us that by changing and altering the world, we learn more about it.

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OTwo // Film & TV

Sitcoms: Don’t Stand Up Yet They have long been a core part of our lives; their lives becoming our lives, their triumphs becoming our triumphs, their setbacks becoming our setbacks. Is it time for us to move on? Is it time to leave, by the wayside, the Big Bang Theory, the Friends and the myriad other sitcoms which populate our television screens?

Is it time to stand up?

Many modern media consumers would have little hesitation in condemning one of the most historically successful genres that television has ever seen. I would not be amongst those.

People argue that, with the advent

The cultural impact of longrunning sitcoms cannot be underestimated.

of Netflix and other streaming services like it, sitcoms have become redundant.

It’s argued that we, as television consumers, no longer have need for the reliable sitcom. It is too rigid, being on at fixed times and, furthermore too banal, having perhaps less real action than some celebrated streamable alternatives. It seems to me, however, that these two purported flaws are actually the main benefits of a sitcom.

In a market over-saturated with choice, the simple pleasure of knowing what is on at a particular time, of knowing what you’re going to watch, cannot be underestimated. How many times do we come home after a long day at college/ work, looking to unwind in front of the television, only to be confounded by the number of choices available to us?

One can spend untold minutes flicking around on Netflix, looking for the ‘perfect’ show for the moment, to the point that the thing that was meant to relax us is actually exacerbating our stress. This is where the sitcom comes into its own.

It may not be the most inventive, or the most dramatic, but they’re always there, faithfully present, on the same channels, at the same time. There is little doubt that they are amongst the easiest shows to watch.

The practical benefits of a sitcom don’t stop there. One of their greatest advantages is that, with their steady casts and meandering storylines, we can keep abreast of what is happening without undue effort or attention. This is of great use when we are distracted, busy, or multi-tasking; in short: when we are living life.

Unlike dramas, one can flit in and out of a sitcom’s diatribe, and still retain a fathomable understanding of what is going on. We don’t have to sit at attention on the couch for an hour, straining to understand sudden plot twists and hear muttered remarks (Sherlock anyone?) - we can go about our lives. With sitcoms, we know the go-to jokes and comments, we appreciate the not-so subtle melodrama and we rejoice in the comfortable knowledge that, if we are to miss an episode, nothing transformative will have happened.

The cultural impact of long-running sitcoms cannot be underestimated.

Take the example of perhaps the most

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celebrated sitcom of the television generation, Friends. A simple storyline, revolving around six interconnected friends, it gave rise to some cultural phenomena.

From the sensation that was “The Rachel” haircut to some treasured one-liners, much of our culture is derived from this illustrious sitcom.

Many, including the nominal ‘father of the Irish specialty coffee scene’ Karl Purdy, founder of Coffee Angel, credit Friends with the Irish importation of coffee culture. We forget that, less than 20 years ago, many coffee shops used phonetics on menus, to help people pronounce ‘cappuccino.’ Sitcoms have a social impact far beyond our sitting rooms; their longevity facilitates social replication and mimicry, the likes of which is simply not possible with single-series dramas and the like.

However, sitcoms have historically been successful thanks, in part, to their transferability and ability to remain relatable and current, years after their original release. Repeats are what makes a sitcom truly useful to us. It seems to me therefore, that the recent tendency to politicise sitcoms, as the revival of Will and Grace has done, will damage the genre.

The show has succeeded by staying true to the original blueprint, timeless jokes and themes, a divergence away from which may prove fatal. The superfluous introduction of specific issues and themes will create whole series that rely, in large part, on their viewer’s knowledge of contemporaneous real-world events and characters. It’s not sustainable. In the short run it will doubtless see them succeed, but their legacy will be severely impacted.

Sitcoms have been one of the mainstays of our television culture, since the days of our parents and matchbox-sized, sepia-toned screens. They have been written off before; criticised for their banality and predictability - but they’re still here. They still dominate our teatime television slots. We haven’t grown tired of them yet. Moreover, if they stay true to their origins, I don’t think we ever will.

Picture: Top: Geoffrey Chandler via Flickr, Middle: Kadykianus via Wikimedia, Bottom: BagoGames via Flickr

With the future of sitcoms in doubt, Rory Clarke muses on the importance of the genre and its prospects going forward.

OTwo // Film & TV

Nepotism in Cinema Paurush Kumar examines the plight of nepotism and its effect on the world of film.

Picture: Top: Middle: Wikimedia, Bottom:Wikimedia, Army.mil

Nepotism exists everywhere, but one industry in which it is visible for all to see is cinema. Whereas stars like Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Will Smith, Shah Rukh Khan are all self-made actors, the filmmakers and the casting directors today have started to rely on their children, who are commonly called ‘star kids’ in Bollywood. This phenomenon is not limited to Bollywood and can be clearly seen also in the Western hemisphere.

‘Star kids’ does not solely refer to the children of actors, but also those of filmmakers and producers. They appear to have everything on a platter. A call to a filmmaker/producer and the ‘star kid’ has landed themselves a role. This is the sad reality of what goes on whenever a newbie is launched into the world of cinema.

It could be argued that social media gives these children a platform early in life and their famous parents give them a name that gets attention on these platforms. Thus, these ‘star kids’ are made stars before they ever appear in a film. Gone are the days when a normal Joe Soap could make it big in the world of cinema. The industry is on its way to completely ‘banning’ the entry of outsiders whose talents may be better than most of the ‘star kids’ being launched today.

A friendly neighborhood superhero once said, “with great powers come great responsibility,” so these ‘star kids’ have a lot to carry on their shoulders.

They have their parent’s image and legacy to carry on. They have to deliver to the expectations of the trade and critics alike. The 2013 film After Earth had one of the best actors of recent decades, Will Smith, who launched his son Jayden Smith with the movie. Not only did the film turn out to be a critical and commercial failure, but also people questioned Jayden Smith’s acting credibility.

Of course, there are benefits to having a ‘star kid’ in your film. Producers like it because money matters most nowadays and debuting a ‘star kid’ can draw a lot of buzz, especially from a company’s stakeholders. Not to mention all the promotion and publicity that the

kid and their famous parent will be able to provide for the film.

The recently released Midnight Sun, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son Patrick Schwarzenegger, opened to bad reviews. Criticism has been directed at Schwarzenegger’s performance for not being emotive and the movie has since tanked at the box office. Producers should realise the importance of critical reviews and positive word-of-mouth.

Without these, it doesn’t matter how famous the parent of a ‘star kid’ is.

However, exceptions do exist.

Think of Chris Pine (son of actor Robert Pine), Angelina Jolie (daughter of Jon Voight), Gwyneth Paltrow (daughter of actress Blythe Danner and film producer-director Bruce Paltrow), Michael Douglas (son of actors Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill), and Jennifer Aniston (daughter of actors John Aniston and Nancy Dow). These actors not only went on to win commercial success, but have successfully managed to carry forward their families’ legacy. There have also been actors like Mamie Gummer (daughter of Meryl Streep) and Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks) who were successful in their own right but have yet to carve a niche for themselves.

Gone are the days when a normal Joe Soap could make it big in the world of cinema.

Where these ‘star kids’ tried and succeeded at carrying forward their parent’s name, there are also kids like Connor Cruise and Scout Willis, who despite a dream debut, failed to make it big in the film industry, suggesting that no matter how strong a backing a ‘star kid’ may have, it is the talent that matters.

Even if talent is what decides the career of a ‘star kid,’ getting the big break into the film industry is what matters. In today’s world of cinema, catching a break in the industry is hard because of the ongoing nepotism. Recently, Karan Johar, a Bollywood actor, pointed out to a director stating: “You’ll play that stereotypical world of cinema biggie, who is like, you know very snooty and completely intolerant to outsiders… and flag bearer of nepotism, the movie mafia,” on a famous talk show. This line perhaps has a lot of truth about today’s world of cinema.

Even after this caused an awakening in the masses about nepotism, there seems to be little to no change. With more ‘star kids’ polluting the industry, it seems that the film industry is soon going to be more of a family business rather than a secular world like it used to be, back in the early 80s and 90s.

The dreams and aspirations of all those who desire to enter the world of cinema amidst this era of nepotism lie in a bleak future.

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OTwo // Interview

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OTwo // Interview

Interview with Tara Flynn: “I’m so looking forward to doing some nonsense!”

Tara Flynn is a self-identified hustler.

She never stops - not at the start of her career, and certainly not now. The scope of her work shows how she has set her sights high for her entire career.

Her mark is found in many corners of Irish entertainment - from television, to voice acting, to YouTube. She has published a book, You’re Grand, and her most recent on-stage production is ‘Not a Funny Word,’ a frank and frankly hilarious portrayal of abortion rights in Ireland, and her own personal experiences.

Like many aspiring actors, Flynn followed her passion for the theatre through (mostly) ignoring her degree and taking to the stage at any opportunity, in UCC’s Dramat. Spending so much time acting, as well as busking in bands, meant that she missed “quite a few classes by third year - I always wanted to be somewhere else!” She credits college, and admittedly her English and French degree, for being the stepping stone to making a move on her dreams.

Flynn comes from Kinsale. Growing up she tried to soak up as much theatre and culture as was humanly possible, in South Cork. “I knew I wanted to be an actor from a very young age, although there were very few people becoming actors in Ireland, and definitely not in Kinsale!” She was most particularly grateful and mildly amazed that “the nuns” brought them to Stratford-UponAvon to watch productions there. “In the 80s! It was really progressive, and I’m so grateful for it now.”

Flynn knew there was no way, that she could get into what was her original aspiration, classical theatre acting, without “sheer dumb luck or moving straight to England without any money.”

So, after college, she moved to Dublin and did everything and anything to be around theatre. Connections in the dramatic scene saw her regularly attending comedy nights. “Totally by accident,” she stresses. She was working on the door at the comedy club, which led to getting on stage and performing stand up. She soon created a comedy group with her friends called ‘the Nualas,’ because they thought their songs and jokes “were really funny [to us] and we were wondering would this be funny to anyone else - and they were!”

Comedy took over, and she was happy it made her a more-rounded actor.

In the creative field, you can’t just stick to one thing. “Hustle, hustle, hustle!” she laughs. “I’m always out there, sending CVs, MP3s for voice acting, doing stand ups and that kind of thing. In a very small pool like Ireland, you have to diversify.”

She regularly does extra things like voiceovers to make ends meet, and adds “that’s a joke! I know it’s better than cleaning toilets - although I’ve done that too!”

I think heightening awareness of women’s writing, so that women stay writing for themselves and other women, is so important.

Acting and the arts are not known for consistent careers and reliable incomes, and I ask her if she was ever scared that her career wouldn’t work out. “Oh yes, I’m still terrified all the time!” She exclaims, “but I love my job so much, and staying in the business has felt like a real success to me.” Starting in 1990, Flynn has been in the industry for almost 30 years, which soars high above the average of 6 years. It’s so low because freelancers are simply not supported, particularly if you want to sustain a family.

This especially pertains to women, and after the age of 26, there are fewer roles for women. “We’ve got to make it more equal, so that you don’t suddenly see people disappearing from the business at childbearing age for financial or other reasons. I think heightening awareness of women’s writing, so that women stay writing for themselves and other women, is so important.”

Another issue for freelance actors and creatives is dismissal of the arts, and having to work two, three, or even

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four times as hard to get paid. This is what leads to the hustling, but when people ask Flynn to do “small” bits of work for free, she finds it “an insult that they would ask. I can’t afford to promote their work for free.” Flynn however, like most artists, recognises that it’s not all about the money. “I’ve boiled it down to: ‘how am I being nourished with this?’ If you can’t get paid, it’s important to feel enriched in some way. Like at the moment, I’m filming something (and I won’t say what it is yet!) and it’s for practically nothing, but we’re having a great time filming it and it’s a fun character for me to go off and build... and with all the campaigning going on, it’s reminding me that I’m an actor, as some people have forgotten!”

This is what leads to the hustling, but when people ask Flynn to do “small” bits of work for free, she finds it ‘an insult that they would ask - I can’t afford to promote their work for free.’

With her involvement with the campaign to repeal the eighth amendment, she thinks people see her as controversial. From her perspective, the issue doesn’t have to be contentious, “it happens to so many people!” Flynn is very clearly passionate about the issue, and speaks insightfully and eloquently and so she is often asked to attend panels and talks. “Right now, everything I’m doing is for the campaign, and it’s all for free. People think I’m getting paid; no!” If she is offered any speakers fees, she asks them to put them back into the campaign.

She has a steady focus, and her dedication comes from the crucial need to act now. “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen on May 25th, there are always surprises and we can’t be complacent, but we know from talking to people and the letters people send us. Our inboxes are full of the kind of stories you can’t even imagine. Things that are far more horrific and tragic that are happening… that people haven’t even hypothesised about.”

“We all have to do our bit, even if it’s just wearing a badge, or saying to a conservative ‘well I’m voting yes and here’s why.’” Flynn laments the criticism of campaigners of the past, because it was thanks to them that the referendum has been possible at all. “It was women like Ailbhe Smyth, Enda O’Brien, and Mary Holland, who started chipping away at the wall of silence, and we should be grateful for them as now the rest of us can speak. I’m so grateful to them. The wall of silence is protecting a lie.”

While passionate and immensely proud to work for the campaign and achieve a positive result, she misses her real job, acting and storytelling: “I’m

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very excited to get back and do some nonsense come July, I can’t wait!”

“Nonsense” is a word you could use to describe some aspects of her most recent production ‘Not a Funny Word,’ which I saw in The Complex in March. The performance details an experience of hers, one which only adds to her passion for Repeal.

Flynn had to travel by herself to Utrecht for an abortion. The experience was hugely significant for her, and writing the show helped her to process it.

For the show, “I wanted it to be like a hug, where you’d go out singing along.

If it was something happened to you, you’d feel minded, but if you were someone who would never choose that option, you wouldnt feel alienated from the show or the story.”

Due to the subject matter, many have the impression that it would be very dry. In fact, the show is refreshingly honest and positively hilarious, from on-the-nose jokes about Ireland’s hypocrisy, to painfully realistic descriptions of disappointing one night stands and bad doctors. For Flynn, doing a scripted set is much easier than doing a talk or panel “because it’s what I do. I know when tough bits are gonna come so I’m prepared for them, I know when it’s gonna be hard to speak.”

“Some things are hard to say in front of people,” she reflects, “every night a different bit catches me. I’ll go there with the full emotion of that, and even saying it aloud, it’s how I felt, but I puncture it with a little bit of humour - I know the humours coming, so I’m able to say it!”

For Flynn, the arts can help immensely in keeping the conversation going in a way that isn’t provocative, though it ends up being challenging.

She feels comedy can help people to process difficult situations. “I use a lot of humour for distance,” but a lot of the show isn’t funny; it’s heartfelt, it’s heartbreaking.” That can be hard for any Irish person, we love a bit of a deflection,” she laughs.

My personal favourite part of the show was the song ‘Burn Her She’s a Witch,’ which was an interesting political commentary that compares medieval witch hunts to life as a woman in contemporary Ireland. The songs were composed by Alma Kelliher, and only add to the depth and complexity of the humour in the show. For the first few showings, they held a Q&A afterwards, and an older man, who Flynn immediately expected to have unwavering opinions, was positive. “‘I just want to say this was REALLY funny.’ He said, ‘I expected it to be shouty and quite negative.’ Flynn feels discussions are not wholly constructive, thanks, in part, to the media, who present the discussion as a binary, contentious issue.It’s a discussion Flynn knows Irish people are capable of. “I’m not a controversial person. I’m funny, I’m messy, and I make dumb choices about people, and I’m left with the consequenceses, and I’m like you. We’re full and rounded people, and sometimes we make mistakes, and life is all about the mistakes we make and how we cope with them.” She wants the show to be stigma-busting. “The stigma is global, and it’s going to exist after [the referendum],” but she wants to do it with as much humour as she can. Sometimes we’ve to talk about serious things, and some of the show isn’t funny at all, but comedy is important for everyone: “it adds warmth to something that can make you feel out in the cold.”

Pictures: This Is Pop Baby

OTwo // Interview

OTwo // Music

Brace for Le Boom Cian Montague interviews Le Boom and their newly released single ‘Coma’.

Perhaps because of the immediate popularity of their first songs, or because of their slew of live shows, it often feels as if “DIY-electro-dance duo” Le Boom have been around for a long time.

Vocalist Christy Leech doesn’t feel quite the same: “Does it? We’re together two years this summer so it still feels pretty new to us,” he says. You’d never know it from the way Leech and bandmate Aimie Mallon have come into their own.

Le Boom are in the middle of their biggest tour yet, with dates across Ireland as well as the UK. At the time of interview they are poised to play a soldout show in the Button Factory. Are they excited? “Button Factory will be a special one for us. Most of our following are in Dublin and even though we’re both from Meath, Dublin gigs always feel like home gigs to us,” says Leech.

It’s nice to have a live sound,” she says, “The more weird percussion and unusual samples we can find the better!

Clearly Le Boom have been enjoying the international aspect to their music. They recently played two shows in London. “It’s an amazing buzz to get to a new city like London and have fans there, and to hear them singing the words in their mad English accents!” says Leech. Mallon describes their show at Latitude festival last summer as a favourite. “When you go to the UK first, you really don’t expect any big reaction at all.

We weren’t even well-known in Dublin, so it was huge leap, but we got a really good late slot on a really cool stage in the woods. We played to hundreds of people that night and it was bananas.”

“Bananas” might be a good word.

Le Boom have earned a fierce reputation for their live shows, and recent audiences have been treated to their “boppiest, sweatiest set” yet. How has this developed? “Well, it seems to be constantly changing. When we started playing together, the set was slower and probably had less energy – we used to stop after every tune [and] get a clap – maybe like a regular indie band would do,” Leech says. “Now, it’s become pretty intense; I think we only stop playing once for about 30 seconds in our hour-long sets, so they’ve become more of a journey than a stop/start kind of thing. The set has also become a lot heavier – like, it’s still the same songs but they are much more dancey and clubby now.” One interesting aspect of their performances is Mallon’s use of glass bottles as percussion. “Rather than using a sample on the drum pads, it’s nice to have a live sound,” she says, “The more weird percussion and unusual samples we can find the better!”

What sort of music are they into themselves? “Right now, I’m listening to The Blaze a lot,” says Leech. They’re clearly proud of the music coming out of their home country, too. “The Irish scene is so good at the moment,” continues Leech, “I really like Pillow Queens. Soulé is great. Mix & Fairbanks have become good friends as we gig on the same circuit, but they are so good too. Cinema is class as well.”

As a duo, Leech and Mallon have obvious chemistry, and I’m interested to know how they go about writing together. “It depends,” says Leech, “Sometimes it starts with just a song on piano that we start layering up with beats etc., and

sometimes it starts with a beat.” It’s a constant collaboration. “We send ideas over and back to each other all the time, and then when we feel like we have something we can work with, we take it to a rehearsal studio and jam it a bit til it feels right.”

While Le Boom’s gigging has taken off in a major way, official releases have been slower to arrive. Their debut single and the tune with which they first made their name, ‘What We Do,’ came out in August 2016, but it would be over a year before we heard an official follow-up with ‘Don’t Need It Now.’ After another wait, their third single ‘Coma’ has just dropped. It seems that the studio releases don’t matter so much when the live show is the real draw; of course, these tracks are all live staples anyway. “We’ve been taking our time and learning our craft and so far, we’ve been mainly focusing on the shows,” says Leech. “Our Spotify looks a bit bare at the moment.”

This could change in the near future. “There are plenty of new tunes in the oven at the moment for future releases. Just letting them get nice and tasty!” says Mallon. Soon there will be a single, “we are planning to just lash them out over the next year, but an EP or an album, who knows? Maybe down the line!” There are plenty more live appearances on the horizon, too. “We have some really nice shows coming up in UK and Europe at The Great Escape and Primavera in Barcelona, so that’s something to look forward to,” Leech tells me. Things are clearly kicking off for Le Boom. Those fans who want music for home listening have had to show some patience, and a little more may be needed. As we know, good things come to those that wait.

Le Boom play several dates in Ireland between now and June. ‘Coma’ is out now.

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OTwo // Music

Gig Guide

Radar: Janksy A rising internet star chats to Cian Montague.

MAXI JAZZ 6 MAY – THE BOWERY Faithless’ Maxi Jazz will play a personal DJ set in the intimate setting of the Bowery, Rathmines on bank holiday Sunday. Maxi uses the mic and a turntable to get the party going and his crowd interactions are always great at larger venues, so expect even more engagement here. Maxi blends reggae, funk, soul, and hip-hop from the last 30 years and of course big hits from Faithless such as ‘Insomnia,’ ‘We Come 1,’ and ‘Mass Destruction.’ Tickets are €22.50.

Check it out if you like: Faithless, Fatboy Slim, Damian Marley, Moby

ISLAND 12 MAY – WHELAN’S London four-piece, ISLAND, have just dropped their debut album Feels Like Air and will bring it to Upstairs at Whelan’s this May. The alternative band are guitar-driven, and the new album feels like it will put them on the map with potential anthems ‘Horizon’ and ‘The Day I Die.’ So far, the band have only sold out small venues, but they sound powerful live, and Upstairs at Whelan’s would be a great place for their sound. Tickets are €13.

Check it out if you like: Kings of Leon, Grizzly Bear, Kaleo

THE ROLLING STONES 17 MAY – CROKE PARK One of the biggest bands of all time hit Croke Park for one night only next month. Perhaps surprisingly, tickets are still available. This could be due to the high price or perhaps tastes have shifted towards Ed Sheeran, who is in the Phoenix Park on May 16th, 18th, and 19th. Either way, this is a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to see the iconic Rolling Stones in what could be their last Irish appearance. This gig marks the start of a 14 gig European run. Expect to hear all the hits like ‘Gimme Shelter’ and ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ as well as a few surprises. Tickets from €70.

Check it out if you like: The Beatles, The Doors, The Kinks, Cream

CIGARETTES AFTER SEX 22 MAY – OLYMPIA THEATRE US ambient pop group Cigarettes After Sex make a Dublin pitstop at the Olympia Theatre before a summer filled with festival spots. The group make chilled music that’s perfect for relaxing, studying, or, err, as the name suggests, going to bed.

Their breakthrough song was 2012’s ‘Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby.’ If you didn’t get tickets for The XX’s shows at the Tivoli Theatre next month then this could be what you’re looking for. Tickets from €27.

Check it out if you like: The XX, Mazzy Star, Beach House, Warpaint

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Joseph McGuirk, a creative music production student in IADT, has been making waves on the internet recently with his musical project Janksy. His work seems particularly impressive after you learn that he’s only 18. Somewhat comically, despite being less than a year out of school, he seems preoccupied with getting older: “I’m always telling myself, aw I’m turning 19 now, fuck’s sake, it’s going so fast. I kind of need to remind myself of my age.”

I do it all by myself, and it’s all coming from my bedroom.

Janksy makes indie/alternative rock tunes built around guitar licks and mellow vocals. He does everything himself, including the production work, where he uses sampled drums and puts everything together. He says that his songwriting process varies, but “Lyrics are always last, because I use lyrics to portray what I’ve been writing all along in terms of the music. Lyrics enhance the story.” He often writes about “coming to terms with situations that I’m finding myself in.”

His most popular track, ‘Limbo,’ for example, is about the difficulties of transitioning into adulthood.

Who has influenced him most? “The top three to come to my head would be David Bowie, The Beatles, and Frank Ocean,” he says. “David Bowie and The Beatles more so because of how they changed the game…but I kind of fell in love with Frank Ocean just because of his persona… and

that ‘enigma’ label attached to him.” There is something about Ocean with which Janksy closely identifies: “It reminds me of… I’m not an introverted person, but when it comes to being artistic, and with my music especially, I kind of do it all by myself, and it’s all coming from my bedroom.”

Despite having only four songs available online, Janksy has built up a sizeable following, with many thousands of plays, including a combined YouTube and SoundCloud total of more than 30,000 for ‘Limbo,’ not bad for an 18-year-old working from his room. “It blows my mind!” says Janksy, “When I released my first song on SoundCloud, which was ‘There For U,’ it hit 100 views in maybe like a week, and that to me was like, ‘holy shit!’ and now seeing the amount of listens is pretty crazy.”

Where does Janksy see himself taking the project? “I’ve been starting to jam with a bassist and a drummer, and we’re looking to do some live shows over the summer… I’m really looking forward to it.” He wants to get up on the streaming platforms, and has more music coming too: “It’s kind of like an EP, I’m gonna call it a ‘song series.’ That’s going to be coming out by the end of the year definitely, probably by the end of summer, and hopefully there’s a music video to come with that.” He laughs, “Pretty much all of my creative willpower is going into that.”

There’s something endearingly simple about the whole operation. Janksy has no pretences, despite the sudden surge in interest in him. He has moments of self-consciousness in our talk, but mostly gives off an air of quiet confidence in his music. “I don’t know, it’s weird talking about it,” he says, “but at the end of the day, it’s being who I am.”

OTwo // Music

OTwo Summer Festival Guide 2018

Picture: Wikipedia

Adam Lawler rounds up the hottest festivals to attend in the year of our Lorde 2018.

It isn’t freezing, it’s only lashing rain every second day, and the eternal grey that leaves you confounded as to whether it’s morning or evening is occasionally broken up by some sun; hey guys, it’s officially almost Irish summer.

That qualifier is needed because an Irish summer isn’t like a regular summer; even our hottest day is undercut with chills, unseen even by the UK, which is like the tropics compared to here, despite their complaints. Summer in Ireland isn’t hot but that’s okay; this year’s festival line-ups look clouty with a chance of Heineken-sponsored rain.

Electric Picnic continues to be the go-to Splenda-esque Glastonbury substitute in Ireland, and this year’s lineup may have the 16-year-old blue WKD enthusiasts shaken to their cores, but its riches are bountiful. Kendrick Lamar, Massive Attack, and N.E.R.D form the headlining trio, with indie queens St. Vincent, Jessie Ware, Sigrid, Garbage, and Wolf Alice mixing icy Workmans cool with the good vibes Chvrches, George Ezra, and Dua Lipa are bringing to the table. In the grand scheme of festivals, and if festivals were paralleled by colleges, EP is the true UCD festival, appealing to every demographic and providing the mainstream element that every other festival revolves around.

The giant Stradbally party is placed at the tail-end of the summer (August 31st to September 2nd) so it creates a climactic feeling, the culmination of all

other festivals and of summer in general.

Body & Soul remains a mainstay for those who see themselves as chill and at one with nature (read: IADT). The festival takes place from June 22nd to 24th in Ballinlough Castle, Westmeath in a gorgeous forest environment. The

The main pick of the bunch, however, is The War on Drugs, whether you think they’re gorgeous Springsteenesque longcar-journey rock or “beer commercial lead guitar shit. outdoor element combined with co-

lourful art installations, vibrant clothing choices, woodland discos, workshops, and discussions, keeps it srongly within the festival ethos of leaving reality and

immersing in music. This year is packed with transcendent dance and electronic acts such as Jon Hopkins, Fever Ray, Daithí, and Shamir, plus Irish alt-pop goddesses Saint Sister.

If Body & Soul is the IADT of festivals, Forbidden Fruit is NCAD through and through: a bit pretentious, but ultimately kind of cool. Taking place on the June Bank Holiday weekend in Kilmainham, there is a tsunami of cool acts such as Kendrick collaborator Thundercat, charismatic two-step MC Vince Staples, Glass Animals, and, ahem, Idris Elba, for the thirsty among us. The main pick of the bunch, however, is The War on Drugs, whether you think they’re gorgeous Springsteen-esque long-carjourney rock or “beer commercial lead guitar shit.”

Longitude returns to Marley Park in July. The fact that there’s no camping means picking and choosing the best days remains the culture, but this hasn’t stopped the same 16-year-old crowd from crying out about the hiphop-centric line-up. Ignoring the fact that it’s truly astonishing that a popular music festival would pick acts based on the music that is popular at present, Friday and Saturday promise to be fiery affairs. Sunday continues to be the chill, indie-adjacent come-down day, having hosted The National, Christine and the Queens, and Father John Misty in recent years. If you’ve been claiming Sunday tickets for years for this very reason, this

year is your karmic pot of gold. Solange, Sampha, SZA, and Anderson .Paak form the ethereal basis of the Sunday mood, and with the clout each has gathered over the last couple of years, miss them at your peril; they won’t be back soon.

Knockanstockan is still the go-to small, raucous Irish indie experience; there you will find Munky, Kojaque, and up-and-coming Irish rapper JyellowL, who performed at UCD Fashion Show last year, before it was a trainwreck.

The most interesting prospect, however, isn’t any of the well-established summer bops. It’s the brand new All Together Now festival in the gorgeous Curraghmore House, Waterford, over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

For its “maiden voyage” this year they really pulled out all the stops with some impressively high-calibre acts including folk worriers Fleet Foxes, electronic innovator Mura Masa, futurist R&B icon Kelela, Swedish country sisters First Aid Kit, Jape, Ghostpoet, Talos, Mogwai, Róisín Murphy, Chaka Khan… you would be forgiven for having to sit down after reading the line-up.

We may get shit weather, but as everyone’s dad says, if you waited for sunny days to go outside in this country you’d never do anything. We know how to make the most of the rare sunny day, and this summer’s festivals amount to one colourful and vibrant celebration.

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OTwo // Music

Album Reviews

Review: Fearghus Montague

Review: Claudia Dalby

Post-punk revival icons The Vaccines are back again with their fourth release, full of that raw sound that saw them shoot to stardom way back in 2011, but does Combat Sports offer anything new?

From the outset you’re struck with a real sense of déjà vu. The album’s opening track, ‘Put It on a T-Shirt,’ falls straight back into the pattern of old, with heavy, on-beat drums, and bass guitar. Certainly not all that innovative and after three or four of these similar songs it soon becomes monotonous. Combat Sports is reminiscent of the old Vaccines, but essentially lacks the soaring festival anthems. It’s much of the same but without as many concrete ideas. Lyrically, the album can be entertaining, but disappointingly a lot of the music itself feels thrown together, as if the band were in a rush while playing.

There are certainly some tracks that don’t fall into the quintessential Vaccines bracket. Unfortunately, many of these sound like cheap rip-offs of The Strokes (‘Someone to Lose’), Kaiser Chiefs (‘Nightclub’), MGMT (‘Young American’), and Stereophonics (‘Take It Easy’).

Even José González isn’t safe; just listen to the chord progression on ‘Rolling Stones’.

You can easily sympathise with The Vaccines here.

Their attempts to break the mould with their last album English Graffiti were met with reviews of mediocrity, so now, in a panicked retreat to their initial sound, we’re left with something that feels safe and unremarkable. You could happily tap your toes to it, but it is not very challenging music, and it won’t leave a lasting impression.

In a nutshell: Same old Vaccines, but watered down and unexciting.

Hayley Kiyoko’s debut album Expectations has big hits - 90 seconds of overture will tell you that.

Electropop-y synths and clapping beats lace a narrative of aching heartbreak, the calamity after first love is lost. Expectations has, well, expectations to shake in an industry stale with heterosexuality. Kiyoko’s choruses have aspirations for the mainstream: to carve a gap for queer stories.

Confessing to “over communicate and feel too much” but “know exactly what I’m feeling,” Kiyoko knows she is being played by a girl who is “sleeping with him.” The album portrays the full impact of losing a first love. It feels like a concussion - quite literally “I bang my head” in ‘Mercy/Gatekeeper,’ where in underwater beats, Kiyoko laments: “All I wanna do is cry.”

‘Under the Blue/Take Me In’ feels distinctively inspired by Lorde with an imposed juxtaposition of two conflicting feelings, which, for Kiyoko, isn’t as eloquent and lyrically precise as in ‘Hard Feelings/Loveless.’ The bright, positive beats are chart-happy and honest, and Kiyoko is seeing deserved success for writing openly about lesbian relationships in the industry.

The narrative of self-confidence while drowning in feelings is unwavering - the positively addictive “did you take-him-to-the-pier-in-Santa-Monica” stretch highlights ‘Curious.’ However, past the ‘XX’ interlude, ‘Wanna Be Missed’ is the last interesting take on the “I will hang around until you want me” message which starts to flop at ‘Palm Dreams,’ a bouncy track that is a little exhausting at this point - making this album slightly overcooked.

In a nutshell: Expectations brings a valuable focus on complex and intense feelings, but does not move much past this. However, do stay for the gay.

Review: Rose Doherty

What are you listening to? History Soc Gráinne McCloskey (Events Co-ordiantor): ‘Check the Rhime’ - A Tribe Called Quest Ben Crossan (PRO): ‘Otha Fish’ - The Pharcyde Ryan Brogan (Lecture Series Co-ordinator): ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ - Tears for Fears Anna Blix (Secretary): ‘Chan Chan’ - Buena Vista Social Club Niamh Carrick (Auditor): ‘Call It What You Want’ - Foster the People

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Pictures: Left: Flickr, Middle: Flickr, Right: Flickr

Expectations

Combat Sports

Golden Hour

Kacey Musgraves returns with her third album Golden Hour, a wistful and dreamy take on family, love, and the nuances of everyday life. Musgraves established her rebellious reputation with tracks such as her first album’s ‘Follow Your Arrow,’ a hit that includes rolling joints, celebrating LGBT+ rights, and ignoring the judgment that one encounters in a small town. It’s not your typical country song.

Musgraves continues this ethos with her new sound. Nevertheless, instead of her regular country-pop mix she incorporates disco with electronic influences.

Guitars are paired with vocoders as she moves away from country tradition.

This collection is sonically cohesive from the delicate ‘Slow Burn’ to the brief but poignant ‘Mother’ (which Musgraves has revealed was written during an LSD trip).

The most daring song genre-wise is the disco-infused ‘High Horse.’ Guitars and banjo join up-tempo beats and high-pitched piano chords in this unusual pairing.

The Grammy Award winner makes these tracks seem effortless hiding the technicalities behind them.

A highlight of the album is ‘Butterflies,’ where Musgraves details the moment she met her husband, and experiences a relationship that brings her to new highs: “Cloud Nine was always out of reach/Now I remember what it feels like to fly.” Equally strong is ‘Space Cowboy,’ a lyrically sharp piano-driven ballad in which Musgraves details the breakdown of a relationship. It doubles as an easy listen or an emotional powerhouse, depending on your mood.

In a nutshell: An effortlessly daring take for those who dislike traditional country.

Hayley Kiyoko

The Vaccines

Kacey Musgrave

OTwo // Food

Things Just Got Juicy Clara Brannigan reveals how you wouldn’t be hard-pressed for a great smoothie in The Juicery in Dublin Tucked away in the prime location of Georges Street Arcade is the Juicery, a local fresh juice and smoothie bar.

Upon entry, you are greeted with a tall menu presenting an impressively wide variety of juices, smoothies, and elixir shots, with interesting ingredients. The owner, Ronan, is welcoming and chatty, clearly a reason for the success of the business. “It’s an independent brand,” he says humbly. “We don’t cut any corners, and we make sure everything is always fresh.”

The menu offers delicious juices, each with unique ingredients and a plethora of health benefits.

Indeed, fresh it is – colourful fruits, green vegetables, and a huge range of seeds, grains and supplements fill the menu. Each juice holds unique ingredients, and a plethora of health benefits.

What makes the Juicery different in comparison to popular health pop-ups like Chopped or Sprout, is certainly the quality. There are new smoothies that have just been introduced to the menu, like the ‘Lemon Cheesecake,’

the ‘Watermelon Quencher,’ and the ‘Matcha-Avo.’ The latter smoothie was particularly interesting, with some of the main ingredients being avocado, spinach, matcha green tea, and raw honey.

This concoction packs a punch with its energising ingredients. Other popular smoothies include the Super Green and the Berry Good.

The Juicery offers 100% natural cold-pressed juice with no added sugar.

Ireland has already gone through the smoothie craze, but cold press juices could be the latest trend. Cold pressed juicing has become popular as the process extracts the maximum amount of nutrients from fruits and vegetables. The Juicery is one of the only juice bars in Dublin who cold press on site, meaning all the juices are made fresh while you wait. This unique factor has attracted the attention of fitness celebrities, like Patrick Beach and Carling Harps. The world-renowned yoga instructors included a visit to the Juicery on their vlogs.

They remarked that the juices were ‘clean, creative, and flavour balanced.’

If you’re in need of a quick pick-meup, then look no further than the turmeric shot for €2.50. The superfood smoothies all have fantastic ingredients but a particularly delicious one is the ‘Lemon Cheesecake,’ which includes lemon juice, vanilla extract, cashew nuts, and more. Popular juices include the Green Supreme and the Ginger Zinger, both with rejuvenating ingredients. However, juices and smoothies are a little pricey, at

€5.80 each, likely due to the quality of the produce. Experience-wise, the staff are lovely, and the shop has a modern aesthetic and a bright ambiance – you

could call it juicy!

I Can’t Cook: A Guide to Student Cookbooks Aurora Andrus reads up on the recipes in student cookbooks.

Every day of our lives, we are moving closer to the realities of adulthood. It sometimes feels like there is no clear deadline signalling the moment we will cross from kind-of-adult into I-guess-Iam-now-an-adult adult. Suddenly it may become clear that it’s time you finally learned how to cook.

While eating out is endlessly tempting, it may not prove to be the better option if your priorities are your budget, and good nutrition. Cooking at home is the solution, although this can be daunting for those inexperienced with a hob or tiled surfaces. Cookbooks line bookshop shelves promoting fast, easy, and cheap recipes, and their selling point is their suitability for the vulnerable student, who is stereotypically too disorganised and distracted to focus on cooking.

However, the following cookbooks aimed at the experienced, adult chef can be complicated – recipes are often costly featuring obscure ingredients and methods requiring a chunk of time.

Student cookbooks are specifically aimed at students and designed with them in mind, but are the recipes suitable to our hectic lifestyles?

The Hungry Student cookbooks by Charlotte Pike offer three options for the novice chef. The three different books

include a regular cookbook, a vegetarian cookbook, and an easy baking cookbook. Dinner recipes include curries, lasagnes, soups, and banoffee pie, and there are also lunches, snacks, and desserts. The recipes are laid out in a clear and logical way making them easier to follow. They pay particular attention to cooking on a tight budget by ensuring ingredients can be locally sourced.

Eat Yard, next to the Bernard Shaw, is always busy and offers up some seriously tasty food from burgers to cannolis.

The Student Eats: Fast, Cheap

Healthy cookbook by Rachel Phipps advertises itself as ‘the best triedand-tested recipes for students.’ The

recipes in this cookbook are a bit more adventurous and mature with recipes like pearl barley, pomegranate, and pistachio salad. Pomegranates and pistachios are not cheap, which initially may turn a budget-conscious cook away.

However, the book provides hacks for more expensive recipes, like buying a pomegranate and deseeding it yourself.

The cookbook follows this structure throughout with more upscale recipes, alongside tips and tricks on how to achieve them on a budget.

The UCD library holds a decent collection of student cookbooks that can be found on the top floor. Unbeknownst to some, UCD publishes its own cookbook, mostly aimed at Freshers and international students but helpful for everyone, providing information on nutrition, cooking equipment, food safety, budgeting, and a diverse recipe catalogue.

Assignments and exams take up a lot of our time, but it is also important that we fuel our bodies to get through our busy schedules. Whether you are a beginner or more experienced cook, the student cookbooks out there can help you figure out how to cook healthy foods and expand your palate without breaking the bank.

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OTwo // Fashion

The Summer Celebration Bring a touch of sunshine to your wardrobe with these colourful pieces.

Photographer: Alex Fagan Clothing and accessories kindly sponsored by: Stylist: Shane Cullen Coast, 5 St Stephen’s Green, Models: Kate Lally, Jennie Carr Dublin 2

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OTwo // Fashion

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OTwo // Fashion

It’s Britney for Kenzo, bitch!

Shane Cullen analyses this year’s biggest collaboration between the worlds of music and fashion.

The 80s inspiration carries through to the clothing with electro green crop tops, denim baseball caps, and lace up boots, all made from the inevitable denim.

and playful floral three pieces, Britney returns to all her Glory in this new ad campaign.

La Collection Memento No.2 made its debut in September of last year at Paris Fashion Week’s Spring Summer 2018 shows, where the show took place during the interlude of a play. It displayed a wide variety of oversized and jungle printed kimonos. The concept behind the jungle designs was an ode to Kenzo’s founder, Kenzo Takada. While Takada retired in early 2000, he has remained an active member of the fashion world by continuing to design and make appearances at Kenzo shows.

Shooting in Paris for the campaign, Kenzo’s new collection is a tribute to their 80s denim jeans range which launched in 1986. The 80s inspiration carries through to the clothing with electro green crop tops, baseball caps, and lace up boots, all made from the inevitable denim. In an interview with Vogue, Spears gave the collection the seal of approval, adding that it was “youthful.” Creative directors for Kenzo, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, had Spears in mind to be the face of their campaign from the beginning, as they said that it was a celebration of icons.

As Spears gears up to prepare for her summer Piece of Me shows, becoming the face of an established brand like Kenzo is perfect timing. Talking about

As Spears gears up to prepare for her summer Piece of Me shows, becoming the face of an established brand like Kenzo is perfect timing. her own style in the Vogue interview, Spears admits that she does not take the same fashion risks now as she did in the earlier years of her career. It remains unclear if she was referring to the time she wore a live snake during her MTV VMAs performance, or just outfit choices in general. These days Spears can be found modelling her favourite outfits at home on her Instagram videos, which have developed a cult following. With the new project to her name, expect plenty more mansion catwalk videos styled by Kenzo.

Picture: Wikimedia

Britney Spears, wearing head to toe denim? No, you haven’t been transported back to 2001; it’s not the MTV Video Music Awards, nor has she gotten back with Justin Timberlake.

Instead this is one of the pieces taken from Britney’s collaboration with French luxury brand Kenzo, her first major fashion collaboration in recent years. The pair have worked together to relaunch Kenzo’s newest collection La Collection Memento No. 2. With printed crop tops

Livin’ La Vida Vuitton Katia Gillen discusses how Louis Vuitton Menswear is ready for a new look.

Abloh has expressed hope that his position within the fashion brand will create the perception that the industry is attainable to people from more diverse backgrounds.

Virgil Abloh will be their new Men’s Artistic Director. This makes Abloh the first black designer to hold the position of Artistic Director within the fashion house.

The brand made the announcement on Twitter, and revealed that Abloh’s first show would take place in June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris. He will be replacing Kim Jones, who has gone

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on to become a menswear designer for Christian Dior. Abloh will become one of very few people of colour to have been in charge of a major luxurious fashion house, alongside Balmain’s Olivier Rousting and Givenchy’s Ozwald Boateng, who left his position in 2007.

Virgil Abloh began his career working for Fendi. He has also worked as a creative director for Kanye West, wherefrom he went on to create his own brand Off-White in 2012. Through his fashion house he has collaborated with other reputable brands such as Nike and Jimmy Choo. The brand has received recognition from many celebrities, which have included Rihanna and Kim Kardashian. His sneaker collections have been worn by Gigi Hadid, Beyoncé, and Naomi Campbell who also expressed her support for the designer on Instagram following Louis Vuitton’s announcement.

Abloh’s works merge what has traditionally been perceived as street fashion with more luxurious high-end designs, blurring the lines between the two. Abloh has expressed hope that his position within the fashion brand will create the perception that the industry is attainable to people from more diverse backgrounds, saying “This opportunity to think through what the next chapter of design and luxury will mean at a brand that represents the pinnacle of luxury was always a goal in my wildest dreams. And to show a

younger generation that there is no one way anyone in this kind of position has to look is a fantastically modern spirit in which to start.”

The fashion industry has faced scrutiny recently for borrowing designs from cultures that are not represented within major luxury houses and not giving due credit to those cultures. It would be fair

to assume that having Abloh in the position of creative director will not only help Louis Vuitton stay on top by applying the designer’s proven ingenuity and original vision to the brand, but also help change how ethnicities and cultures other than the standard of white and Western are approached by the industry.

Picture: squarespace.com

Louis Vuitton made headlines last month when it announced that GhanianAmerican designer

OTwo // Fashion

The Tokyo Trend Clara Brannigan reviews the bold and brave runway style at Tokyo Fashion Week. than capture an aesthetic, she immerses herself in the preservation of the intricate skills that have developed in Japan over centuries. The collection’s strongest moments feature flashes of colour with white and blue chunky sweaters and woven leather with colourful patches.

Kurogouchi does more than capture an aesthetic, she immerses herself in the preservation of the intricate skills that have developed in Japan over centuries.

and texture to showcase their core concept of unisex dressing. They painted a powerful image that desirability can be stripped of regressive gender norms.

On the DressedUndressed runway this translated into White sheer blouses with built in underwire, suit jacket leotards and shirts with slits that teasingly showed a hint of backside. While mostly a monochromatic collection there were bursts of colour in the form of burnt orange bomber jackets and electric blue

This season, Emiko Sato and Takeshi Kitazawa’s collection DressedUndressed utilised tailoring

bicycle shorts. The Undressed side of it was provocative and playful as it reworked classic pieces in a sultry way.

The collections weren’t the only highlight; the street style stood out with eye popping iconic looks featuring oversized garments, giant hair, platforms, and neon print. Familiar trends also featured, like colourful plaid, leopard print, and logo bags. The best dressed guests took a maximalist approach showcasing the true creativity of Tokyo Fashion week.

Picture: Flickr

The only word to describe Tokyo fashion week is ‘extra.’ This is the third season since Amazon became the headlining sponsor of Japan’s biggest fashion event. They have kept to their word by supporting local emerging brands and breathing new life into the fashion week. Amazon’s sponsorship has caused a shift, with the fashion week featuring cult brands like Undercover and Sacai that have been previously shown exclusively in Paris. The newly developed ‘At Tokyo’ programme gives brands the opportunity to sell their collection online through Amazon fashion, which offers international shipping. This season brought popular niche brands like Ambush, Hyke, and Akikoaoki bringing a high fashion feel that Tokyo had not quite experienced before.

Maiko Kurogouchi had already shown her collection just weeks earlier in Paris, yet this did not hold her back as the designer arrived for her debut ready to impress. Kurogouchi brought her Parisian verve while delivering a succinct perspective of Japanese fashion with her collection Mame. Kurogouchi’s ready-to-wear was an ode to Charlotte Perriands, one of the first western female designers to explore the region in depth. The collection featured floral patterns, echoing kimonos made from local textiles. Kurogouchi does more

Campus Chic

Wooly spring gear

Rise of the retro jumper 25

OTwo // Travel

California, Here We Come Camille Lombard recounts the diversity of art and culture she saw, exploring the South-Western state.

Usually when I tell people my favourite thing about the trip I took to California last summer was the amount and the diversity of the art, the looks I get in return are ones of disbelief. Indeed, ‘culture’ is not the first word that comes to mind when considering the West Coast of the United States. It is for that reason that I would like to present a selection of the things I was able to experience during the two weeks I spent there, a far cry from the Santa Monica beaches and Hollywood glam.

When I first landed in Los Angeles, I was very eager to discover the cultural side of the city, and elected to spend my first day roaming around the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

The first impression I got of the museum was Chris Burden’s Urban Light, a piece made up of 202 cast-iron street lamps gathered from around L.A. Impressive by day or night, they set the tone of the city: captivating and unexpected. The museum and its numerous buildings are home to a dazzling selection of modern work, by the likes of Picasso, Mondrian, Klee and Kandinsky, as well as Greek and Roman art collections. Also featured is a world-renowned collection of Islamic art, plenty of pieces from Africa and, in the Pavilion for Japanese Art, pieces from the Far East.

After LACMA, I took a completely different approach and decided to pay a visit to the ‘skull-ptures’ of the Natural History Museum. Its massive collection

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spans more than 35 million objects and specimens! The first thing you notice when entering the main building is this giant 63-foot-long fin whale skeleton, which sets the tone for the rest of the visit which features thousands of bones, from Native Americans to the Catholic missions, the Industrial Revolution and the World Wars, to the present day. It’s a fascinating experience; however trying to see it all in just one visit is a mammoth undertaking.

The next day I headed to the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum. Back in 1875, a group of palaeontologists discovered animal remains in the pits at Rancho La Brea. Some 130 years later, palaeontologists are still at work, having recovered more than 3.5 million fossils from the mire. Many of these specimens are now on display in this very old-fashioned museum, a nice addition to the Natural History Museum.

The Griffith Observatory, my last stop before leaving LA, is also well worth a visit for its exhibition, which centres around humans’ relationship with the sky.

Situated on top of a hill, the view from its dome is also fantastic, especially at sunset, when you can see the sun disappear behind the Hollywood sign – very La La Land-esque!

The road between Los Angeles and San Francisco was another highlight of the trip. Instead of taking the shorter way inland, I decided on the scenic route: Route 101, which follows the Atlantic

Ocean between the two cities. The views were majestic, going from endless turquoise ocean colliding with the impressive cliffs to dense forests and national parks. I even found a beach with hundreds of seals sunbathing!

These murals, fantastic works of art and activism, are everywhere and their bright colours give the neighbourhood a unique identity.

Where LA is loud, shiny, and busy, San Francisco is a lot more relaxed and casual. It is still a bustling city, full of different people and cultures, but in a less ostentatious way than Los Angeles.

My time in San Francisco involved fewer museums and more walking around the city, taking in its unique architecture and history. The only museum I visited there was the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Unmissable.

After that, I decided to spend a

couple days just roaming the city. I started by visiting Mission and its murals that were initiated by the Chicano Art Mural Movement of the 1970s as a symbol of empowerment and struggle by the Mexican Community. These murals, fantastic works of art and activism, are everywhere and their bright colours give the neighbourhood a unique identity.

I then went on to visit Castro, the distinctly LGBT+ neighbourhood of the city.

San Francisco has always been at the epicentre of the gay rights movement, but Castro is the heart of the community in the country. Countless pride flags float around the streets, and you can very easily spot Harvey Milk’s house as well as several other landmarks of the gay and lesbian rights movement. The atmosphere is always festive, especially at this time of year, with Pride just around the corner.

The next day, I visited more of the city and its classic landmarks: Lombard Street, the Pier which is bustling with life and joggers at all times, and of course the Golden Gate Bridge. Finally, after 2 weeks in the country, I flew out of San Francisco to Paris.

While I loved both cities and the West Coast in general, San Francisco now holds a special place in my heart, and I am eager to go back this summer.

It is a city I would urge people to visit, taking at least a week to explore and to let it show you all of its secrets and the things that make it so great.

OTwo // Fatal Fourway

Fatal Fourway

Most Memorable Moment Ruth Murphy

Dylan O’Neill

Aoife Hardesty

Claudia Dalby

It’s been a crazy year. Katie Ascough certainly spiced things up by accusing us of bias and asking for a tribunal where she could plead her case at what was basically a tribunal where she could plead her case.

My favourite moment in all this, however, was when I wrote, what was probably my lowest quality article of the year. It took the least effort and took most of its information from a Facebook post. On Facebook, Katie Ascough’s campaign page rejoiced in the news that a Boojum truck was coming to campus and explained that: “Getting a burrito bar to UCD was one of my election goals,” and that she had spoken to UCD’s Hospitality Services Manager who had agreed to pursue the idea.

Boojum were not pleased and asked to be removed from this narrative and not to be used “in such a manipulative way.” Imagine that, Dublin’s best burrito place, in my opinion, gave out to Dublin’s worst SU President, in many people’s opinion, for being manipulative.

It’s beautiful that Katie’s campaign page then complained about Boojum getting involved in student politics even though it was her campaign page that had mentioned them in the first place. Someone was telling fibs here or completely misunderstanding how time works. Katie also accused them of being “pro-impeachment” even though the private company never made such a statement. It’s pretty surprising that an SU president accused them of supporting the impeachment of an SU president.

“Any goss in Medicine?” A simple question to a friend bloomed into my most memorable moment of the year. You know that feeling you get, when you text your friend time-sensitive plans, and they follow through? Well that was what it was like finding people to interview and writing up an article, that would not only be on the front page (above the fold), but go on to get picked up by national media.

I was just coming off the high of getting my thesis results over the Christmas break, when I overheard my friends in Medicine talking about not getting one of their results for a module. I casually mentioned it in the office, and was asked if I could follow it up.

When someone tells you details and adds that they don’t want their name mentioned, you know you’re onto something juicy.

And boy (and girl), let me tell you it was juicy. So juicy, in fact, that the day after we distributed the paper, I got a email from a reporter at the Independent.ie asking me about the article. Later that week, when I was at lunch with my friends, I received another email, this time from the theJournal.ie, asking about the article.

It was a bizarre chain of events, but one of the most memorable of the year. What was also memorable was the money I got for selling them my article. There’s now one more Science student from UCD who can say they’re a freelance journalist on LinkedIn.

My most memorable moment of the past year were a series of moments during which, in Donald Trump-esque style, my writing, and my newspaper were shouted about under the heading of ‘Fake News.’ For those of you who may not remember those days, let me refresh your memory.

Once upon a time, there was a young science student who did not know Law, and became the President of UCDSU. She made a decision, which many people did not agree with, and so those people called for her an impeachment referendum.

In the build up to the referendum, student journalists kept asking for comments, for articles, for her to talk to them. She kept refusing. Then she turned around and started complaining about how nothing was ever written in her favour and how the newspaper was very biased and an unreliable news source.

A meme was posted on her campaign Facebook page mocking those who write for the paper, and insinuated that the UO made up reasons to impeach her, and ignored the reasons why she should not be impeached. That meme was posted on the day I received a phone call to tell me my grandmother was dying.

What was most memorable about those moments was the support the paper received from family and friends, and surprising places (here’s looking at you College Tribune) and without a doubt, the incredible work of UO staff as we read about how biased we were in national newspapers.

Thank you to a wonderful UO and OTwo team for making this year exceptionally memorable.

It was pretty easy to “wing-it” this year. As a final year student, I was feeling lost for direction as graduation loomed over me, and so, I held our student leaders up to high standards of precedents for behaviour like any normal person would. Therefore I saw it as not only conceivable, but necessary, to pretty much take out any article from the paper that I didn’t like. If you were wondering why your article didn’t appear in the issue – it’s sitting comfortably in my bin! I also asked my friends from other universities to do my essays to take pressure off final year, and proof-checked everything after it was printed, rather than before.

Truly, the most memorable part of being involved in the paper this year has been the relationsh- I mean friendships we’ve made along the way, and I wouldn’t take it back for all the personal criminal convictions in the world.

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APERTURE Something Like Spring

Aoibhín Ryan, ‘Kilkenny’

Aoife Hardesty

Ryan O’Donnell

Ruth Murphy Claudia Dalby, ‘In Berlin‘

Ryan O’Donnell

Dylan O’Neill