Photo courtesy of Flickr user Colm Bracken

Under the shadows of Big Ben and Westminster exists a beautiful, Baroque square. Within it stands St John's Church, now a concert hall.

Last night, the 40 minute queue outside the venue gave the crowd attending the Arcade Fire gig a chance to admire the wonderful work of one Thomas Archer. Being a wonderful setting that it is means that there's no Costcutter or corner store in striking distance. This means no beer to sip from a can. Add sixty minutes of waiting inside the church and you've got a perfect mix of agitation and sobriety, in admittedly fabulous surroundings.

That's where Arcade Fire came in. Oh, the elegance! What lucky 500 people we were to have their scribblings of poetry ready to greet us at our chairs? What privilege it was to sit in silence waiting for their arrival from a room marked "Arcade Fire Dressing Room" as Ben struck the half-hour past 8 o'clock tone?

But they were beautiful too. Fresh from the previous night's antics on the steps, the 10 Arcade Fires stood two feet beside me to play a slow, acoustic "Wake Up". So sweet to hear music as it should be heard, so close and so personal.

The rest of the proceedings took place on stage for the next one and a half hours amidst much instrument hopping. Bored of playing the bass? No probs, bang on fake ivories for a bit. After all, every other Canadian band is practicing the art of instrument sharing.

The reverential silence between songs at the start prompted the lead singer Win Butler to joke that we were like a Japanese audience. This gag belied the fact that we were really enjoying their tight set. The crowd, embued with the indie appreciation for a relatively unknown band, slowly saw sense. Haiti and some of their new stuff from Neon Bible was as energetic as anything you're likely to see this year.

During the stomping Rebellion, Win Butler went walkabout. Standing on my chair, he managed to step all over my coat. Probably my finest rock'n'roll moment probably followed when I roared at him to "Mind my coat!". (Go play "Where's Wally?" below and here)



It must be really hard to make so many sounds gel into something coherent. However, Arcade Fire make it look easy. How many times have you heard Funeral and thought that it could never be as good in a live environment? Some of the new tracks bring a Bruce Springsteen/Johnny Cash flavour to their repetoire and will be instantly applauded. Some others will receive the next-song button treatment.

If it was good enough for Chris Martin last night, it was good enough for the rest of us who paid £16 to gain entry. The 56 euro price tag and the surrounds for the Dublin gigs might not match St John's, but you can always blame MCD. The ferry doesn't pay for itself you know!

tags:arcade fire

Published by Colm.  

One of the Most Interesting on Flickr this week. From Señor Codo's collection.

One of the best headlines I've seen on a rag for some time. This one's from the London evening freesheet, thelondonpaper.

Pig Farmer: Serial Murder Claims "Hogwash". Bet you this guy is cussing his luck that he doesn't have Tony Killeen as his local representative.

Are you ready for the Wow!? Windows Vista goes on general release at midnight. As Ballmer might say: "Aero!, Aero!, Aero!".

In reaction to the news that Motorola may axe 350 Cork jobs, Labour councillor Ciarán Lynch says: "Such job losses would represent a savage blow to the local economy and to the families directly affected." What type of public representative would use the word savage in this context? Now a nice pint of stout could be aptly described as 'savage' ...

Latest play to hit London's West End ... "Harry Potter and the Erotic Fixation with Horses".

tags:links

Published by Colm.  

Watch this all the way through.

tags:prank

Published by Colm.  

There's nothing like a football teaser to liven up a boring night in the pub. Answers to this seemingly impossible question are fire out left, right and center. Heads are scratched, fists clenched and mini scuffles erupt more frequently than a row in an Ireland v Australia international rules match. The local's 'stato' is dragged into the debate and there are delirious scenes of joy when eventually the puzzle is solved. Well last night, when presented with the following teaser, was such a night.

Name 2 Irish players, 2 Welsh players and 2 English players who during their careers played with THREE clubs which won the European Cup/Champions league. The players may not necessarily have won the competition while playing but the club they played for must have won the European Cup in its history.

For any clarifications and possible hints use the comments and we'll give out the answer later on today.

And no - one of the English players isn't $tevie Me.

tags:Soccer

Published by PMC.  

Update:

Amid some confusion, it has emerged that just one nomination will suffice to make the long list. In Fact, Ah might need you later. So whist, let ye!

For crying out loud people, there's only a two days left. Get your votes in now. The new form even allows you to do it all in one go.



Nominations are open for the Irish Blog Awards 2007. The date this year is March 3rd and, like last year, the event will take place in the Alexander Hotel.

If you like biscuits, you're from Sligo, waste a considerable amount of time coming here or just get all moist (sweaty) thinking about the amount of testosterone that flies around here, then take two minutes out of your busy schedule to go and vote for us for Best Group Blog and/or whatever else takes your fancy. At least this is one instance where e-voting got off the ground in Ireland. And it didn't cost 50 million Euro!

Francie said he's going to go on a blind date with the Bebo award winner. We will be checking beforehand that she's at least 16 years of age.

tags:irishblogawards

Published by Colm.  

Flickr user: missingsaddle

He knows his male hormones, does our Francie.

Last year’s winner of the Tour De France, Floyd Landis, has been busy trying to drum up support over doping allegations in relation to his controversial triumph. Landis can be seen as one of the lucky cyclists in the past few years making a decent amount of money as far as cyclists go. But with expected costs of up to $2 million for his defence hearing, he’s having to trail America doing information/benefit sessions to gain as many mighty dollars as he can.

I know of a guy who recently attended one of these sessions in New York, and his e-mail on the subject piqued my interest in the whole case. He met Landis on the night and said how he took the time to talk with just about everybody in the place (2-300 people). On the night an auction took place to raise funds and one of the more interesting items sold was a signed Jack Daniels bottle (Landis notoriously blamed Jack Daniels as a potential reason for the test result) which went for over $350.

Initially I, like many, was convinced that Landis had taken banned substances during his Tour win. His machine-like performance on stage 17 was the trigger for all the controversy. He somehow recovered from a disaster in the saddle the previous day to claw his way back into contention with a virtuoso performance in the French Alps.

Now, however, I’m beginning to side with Landis’s claims of innocence.

Some interesting info from his defence team:

... WADA contamination rule (samples not collected under sterile conditions): "The concentration of free testosterone and/or epitestosterone in the specimen is not to exceed 5% of the respective glucuroconjugates." Ratio = 7.7% in this case. Clearly contaminated ...


Radically different results from the same sample further emphasised this point. Testosterone/Epitestosterone ratio can't exceed 4:1. The ratio quoted by WADA was 11.4:1, obviously much higher. However, in four tests on the same sample the ratio increased, going from 4.1 to 11.4. Supposedly, contamination can cause the epitestosterone to deteriorate which would cause the T:E ratio to increase. If that's the case, then even the first test was likely higher than it would have been if they tested it immediately after he finished. What would it have been? Who knows, but definitely below 4. Also, his testosterone levels were normal (epi-T was low, causing the high ratio), further negating the contention that he took testosterone before the stage.


WADA isn't required to, and won't, provide Floyd's team with his six other test results from other days. These were all normal ratios. A couple were taken after this test too, further lending credence to the fact that he didn't take testosterone before stage 17, otherwise it surely would have shown up? How can someone mount a defence if they don't have all the information the prosecution has?

tags:landis

Published by Colm.  

Something that both I and James Mercer suffer from is an addiction to the three-chord pop wonder. Me, because they're easy to play on the guitar and him because he's so prodigious at creating them. Dylan, Young and lots more folk artists have perfected this in the past.

Unfortunately however, TV shows and bland movie directors like Zach Braff have been queueing up to get the chance to soundtrack a song from the critically acclaimed Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow. One of the side-effects of this popularity has been the onset of insomnia, so bluntly portrayed by The Shin's third album, Wincing the Night Away.

And no better album indeed to start a new day and end a good night. You'll go to bed thinking happy, positive thoughts. The ceiling may spin but only as a result of the kaleidoscopic intensity of the incredibly produced vocals and hooks that come from instant classics such as Australia and Phantom Limb. Listen to it on the way to work and I dare you not to tap something, be it your foot or your co-passenger's shoulder to tell them how good it is.

Part of this reviewer hankers for the stripped down, bleak and bare past efforts such as New Slang or The Past and Pending but this generally upbeat poptastic album should be embraced. The opening song Sleeping Lessons' primary goal is to do just that, hook you. You could even venture to say that it breaks into something like pop-shoegaze. At the other end, they wind down in typical fashion with a lo-fi track called A Comet Appears.

Overcoming the immortal Popularity versus Critical Acclaim battle is probably their greatest hurdle. Now there's an enviable position to be in.

Wincing the Night Away will be released on January 29, 2007.



tags:shins, james mercer, wincing the night away

Published by Colm.  

Dedicated Celebrity Big Brother follower and In Fact, Ah social commentator Francie has a bone to pick with Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty. Do they eat bones in India? Just wondering like.

P.S. Don't bother with the "In Fact, Ah are racist" comments. Been there, refuted that.

This year's Celebrity Big Brother had got off to a slow start and viewing figures had started to slump, but on Day 7, that all changed.

The show has been entangled with a huge row of alleged racism on the show towards contestant, Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shetty. A clique of contestants led by the motor mouth and former Big Brother contestant Jade Goody have turned on Shetty and portrayed the underlining hatred towards outsiders, still evident amongst many UK nationalists. Goody, who we know from her appearance on the 2002 show, has amassed a personal wealth of £8m sterling following her celebrity status derived from her show antics. This despite coming out with such classics as ‘They were trying to use me as an escape goat’ whilst on the show. She still knows how to market herself to the paying public and profit from it.

On the show Goody’s little racist group consists of herself, boyfriend Jack Tweed, model Danielle Lloyd and former S Club 7 star Jo O’Meara. Previously, Goody’s mother, who has been evicted, had asked Shetty, ‘Do you live in a house or a shack?’, whilst Tweed allegedly called her a ‘fucking Paki’, though the show producers later denied this saying he had instead called her a ‘cunt’, seemingly to suggest the term was less offensive. During a recent discussion over Oxo cubes another row erupted with Goody and Shetty, and afterwards Lloyd had referred that Shetty should ‘fuck off home’ whilst in conversation with Goody and O’Meara.

Viewing figures have rocketed by over a million since, and Channel 4 and producers Endemol must be secretly rubbing their hands at the expected increased ratings and voting revenues following the pairing of Goody and Shetty for eviction this Friday. Goody is 1/5 favourite with bookmakers to be evicted and faces a huge international public backlash when she leaves the house over her behaviour. Shetty meanwhile has been installed as favourite to win the show.
tags:big brother

Published by Colm.  

Spain's premier music festival, Primavera, have announced their first additions to 2007's line-up. Established names such as Modest Mouse (now with ex-smiths guitarist Johnny Marr), Low, Dirty Three, Band of Horses and Grizzly bear have all thrown their hat into the ring. There's plenty of hard-ass rock as well with Isis and Pelican on hand to grind you down. The highlight, however, has to be the appearance of Slint who are intending to play their haunting classic, Spiderland, in its entirety. Many more acts to be announced and it takes place in Barcelona on the 31st of May-2nd of June. Only €85 blips for a 3-day ticket, sure why wouldn't ya?



tags:[Primavera]

Published by El Commandant P.  

Image from Letter to America

Dear readers,

Already on the edge with six pints tonight after watching Sheffield Wednesday lose to Man City in the FA Cup, you can imagine the horror I felt when Mulley informed me (via Jett Loe) that Sligo Áine was no more. She's only gone and consigned Sligozone.net to memory! After a combustible year across the media, Áine has decided to retire from the public gaze.

In Fact, Ah, from first hand information, were made aware earlier in the year that she came up against "artistic" obstacles that prevented any further development of a career in the media.

We wish the best to Áine and hope that she returns soon to a Internet site near you.

tags:sligo aine

Published by Colm.  

"A tractor on aviation fuel."

That's how Dewi Morris described Rupeni Caucaunibuca (or Caucau as he is affectionatley known) during the weekend's Heineken Cup action on Sky Sports. Veteran World Cup winner Mike Tindall said 'Quite honestly he is the best player I have ever played against.'

It's hard to overstate the freakish nature of Caucau's natural talent and ability. He is one of those once in a generation sportsmen. He arrived in France from Auckland Blues in 2004 and made an instant impact. Top try scorer in France's Top 14 for 2004/05 and 2005/06, last October he was named France's Rugby Player of the year. Quite an accolade for a foreign sportsman plying his trade in France. Despite his habit of going absent without leave during preseason for both club and country, the Fijian's star has continued to rise and has been capped with some mercurial displays this season. At only 26, I have no doubt he is a more gifted player than Jonah Lomu, a player who still receives unwarranted attention to this day.

As anyone who has seen Caucau play this season will testify, he is at least 10KG overweight. In his defence, he did miss the entire pre-season and start of the season this year with what Agen accept was a serious illness. His surplus weight this season doesn't seem to have hampered him at all however, in fact he has turned in a string of man of the match displays.

His ability to cover ground (We're talking length of the pitch ground) at insane speed while looking like he is cruising is astonishing. When you add his ridiculously high skill level and agility into a mix with his raw athleticism, that's when the sparks fly. Despite his immense bulk and ability to break the 3rd and 4th tackle at will in a straight line he has a quite breathtaking step and jink in his armoury. At times he looks like the most lithe and flowing exponent of broken field running I've ever seen.

Another facet of the game he excels in is ball handling skills. His offload for the opening try in last Friday night's Heineken Cup game against Gloucester (see Video below for a poor recording of it) as he hit the deck would remind you of the agility and innate ability of a cat to land gracefully. To top it all off he has the tactical nous to adapt his game to whatever is put in front of him in terms of defence as anyone who witnessed his quite brilliant Contepomi-esque chip and catch try against Leinster recently will know all too well. The Heineken Cup competition will be worse off without him in the knock-out stages.

At least we can hopefully look forward (unless you're Welsh or Australian) to his appearance in the World Cup next September. He has the ability to be player of that tournament, and I for one would not bet against Fiji upsetting the Welsh or the Wallabies in that pool if Fiji can build a half structured team around Caucau.

As for the Irish Provinces over the past weekend, well it's strange times. Ulster have had what initially seemed like a very promising European season terminated early. Most of the headline players there seem to have continued to develop well as they did last year, yet the team seems to lack the moral fibre as a whole when it is really put up to them, particularly away from home. Their defeat to London Irish away was particularly galling as they were still on track to qulify for the knockout stages of the competition at that juncture. Home defeat at fortress Ravenhill by a very capable Llanelli side this weekend was the final kick in the teeth for a European season that saw the rug pulled out from under their feet.

Leinster are still fluttering their eyelashes at the neutral supporter in a most seductive manner, whether they'll be up for sealing the deal remains to be seen. Personally I backed them to win the competition this season before it started at a price of 14/1 and I'm still quite happy with my bet. Victory away to Gloucester next weekend should ensure a route to a semi-final berth at least. I've been extremely impressed with Bernard Jackman this season, he has really brought some punch to the Leinster tight five unit in loose play. I just hope his arm will hold up under tough examination at line-out time at the business end of the tournament. New Southern Hemisphere signing Stanley Wright who has been propping at Jackman's side has done a good job of dispelling doubts around his calibre when he initially arrived. Again a very dynamic force in the loose and seems to have gained a steady foothold in scrummaging. Will Green on the opposite side also brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the front row which will come in handy later in the competition.

D'Arcy and Horgan's form so far this season and particularly in recent weeks has been unreasonably good. It's a joy to watch sport played by players so on top of their form. Horgan was recently named in rugby365's World XV for 2006 (along with compatriots Leamy and O'Connell) in a team that found no berth for Sitiveni Sivivatu or Joe Rockococo. It is Horgan's ability to contribute so much when coming off his wing looking for work and his handling skills (did you see _that_ pass this weekend) learned from time spent in the centre that sets him apart. Provided Contepomi has learned from his tragic and pitifully public mental breakdown in last year's semi-final, this Leinster team has the goods to go all the way.

As for Munster, well they're in the unusual position of welcoming English opposition to Thomond Park in the final group game of the Heineken Cup without their backs completely to the wall. I have a funny feeling about this match due to Munster already being qualified (of course there's still a lot to play for in terms of a 'home' quarter final) and the eerie atmosphere that could be produced owing to it being the old Thomond's last Heineken Cup Battle Royale. Everyone knows their unenviable home record in the Heineken Cup will come to an end some day, I suggest they will need to be extra vigilant next weekend to ensure they don't spoil it this season. Having said that, I take nothing away from their win away to Bourgoin which was achieved despite playing quite badly. The switched on Bourgoin team scalped Biarritz in the french domestic competition only the previous week and unusually for the Heineken Cup it was the switched on Bourgoin which Munster met head on this weekend. Despite this, and despite their own bad performance Munster came away with a win, and were centimeteres from a bonus point winning try at the end. That's the type of situation habitual winners come out of regularly in any sport.

I wouldn't be too worried about that performance in hindsight though, the dual absences of the invaluable Halstead and Leamy (well he was there in body, but at about 50% fitness) left Munster with very little in the way of punch up the centre. Wallace notably took on more ball than I've seen him do in a while to help make up for this.

As for the 'Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage', having watched quite a few Magners League, Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership games since January 1st, to my mind it's had an immediate positive impact. I haven't seen any stats analysed so far but I believe I've seen less resets, more stable scrums and an increased empahsis from front rows on technique rather than brute force. Well done IRB. If they now couple this with the very recent directive to referees to cut out feeding at the scrum we could see the scrum elevated to a much more interesting part of the game.

Rupeni Caucaunibuca, Agen versus Gloucester last Friday night

Brian O'Driscoll gives every underage coach nightmares as kids everywhere try to emulate the "self-pass" at every opportunity, Leinster -v- Ulster, 1st Jan 2007.

tags: rugby, Caucaunibuca

Published by Paul.  

A very novel way of making a few quid, you'll agree.


tags:thames

Published by Colm.  

After an absence of several months I've started tuning in to Donal Dinnen again. One of the founder's of RTE's legendary 'No Disco' and long time host of his own late night show 'The Small Hours" on TodayFM, I've been a fan for years.

Long before Lastfm.com, Pitchforkmedia or music blogs, Dr Donal was my musical reference of choice. Since my early days in college I'd tune in as often as possible from 11pm for what was a guaranteed 3 hours of brilliant music in an otherwise, bleak, NME inspired world of pseudo-alternative music on the Irish air waves. (Tom Dunne has a lot to answer for). Dineen's knowledge and collection of music is truely incredible and he has introduced me to many great artists over the years, the likes of Aphex Twin, Lali Puna, Sparklehorse, Susoma Yakota, Autechre, Board of Canada, the magical Lacklustre.

His fondness for low key electronic tunes and avant-garde electro was something that always made sure I returned regularly despite his muffled mutterings in between tracks. Thank god for that play list. Anyway between all the excessive hype, the endless recommendations and reviews online you could spend your entire life reading and wading through half a rain forest of column inches of musical guff when the best way to get in to music is to listen to the damn stuff.

That's what I love most of all about the small hours. Just as you'd be nodding off, Dineen would play a track that wormed its way into your semi-conscious mind, forcing you to bend your ear dangerously to the radio in order to catch the song title. Invariably it would be another gem and another excuse to head to the record store, something which I haven't been doing all that often lately.

Here's a favourite of Dineen's, the legendary Aphex Twin. A penny for this man's thoughts I'd certainly give.



tags:[Music]

Published by PMC.  

The second installment from In Fact, Ah's expert on the contests of speed among horses that either are ridden by jockeys or pull sulkies and their drivers - Francie.

Just so you know, the Cheltenham World Hurdle is taking place on Gold Cup day which also happens to be Ireland's National Drink Day, sometimes even called St.Patrick's Day. It’s impossible to oppose the favourite Black Jack Ketchum here. If I was going to pick a banker for the festival it would have to be this horse, or should I say "machine"?

Black Jack Ketchum has it all: speed, stamina and jumping ability. Currently trading at 4/5, he’ll be extremely hard to beat unless conditions are very testing. Even then, I can’t envisage this horse losing. Put the house, kids, wife and pension trust on him. Two horses I can see challenging Black Jack Ketchum to the line is firstly, Asian Maze, and that’s if he runs. He’s also entered for the Champion Hurdle, and currently trading at 10/1 he gives a bit of each-way value. The second is Mighty Man, trading at 6/1.

As for the second race, The Royal Sun Alliance Hurdle, the reason I’m including this race is because I have a serious tip. Everyone get on this horse, Arrive Sir Clive. Currently trading at 20/1, get on him now before his odds tumble on race day. If the ground is good, and I expect it will be, this horse will be right up there coming up to the last hurdle. I expect this horse to finish top 3 at the minimum, so he’s a certain each-way bet (is there such a thing?). If the ground conditions aren’t good, Silverburn would be my choice, currently trading at 10/1.

tags:world hurdle, royal sun alliance hurdle

Published by Colm.  

Friend of the Irish blogosphere and former Microsoft evangelist, Robert Scoble gives us the lowdown on the Apple iPhone.


tags:iphone

Published by Colm.  

For anyone out there distraught at missing out on Arcade Fire tickets this morning, despair not. After all, it was just Arcade Fire, not let's say, Kid Beyond and his truly amazing application of Ableton:





tags: music

Published by Paul.  

Now that course of action is not something I’m in favour of.

I regularly consume drugs of all manners. I’ve been a regular consumer of many drugs for most of my adult life, over 10 years or so now. I've chosen to subject myself to alcohol, nicotine (on and off) and caffine among other drugs, and continue to do so. The directive in the title of the post does however seem to be a sound, reasonable and entirely logical extension of the argument I get from most people who I talk to about the prohibition of certain drugs by law. Of course this perfectly logical extension of their argument is wholly unpalatable to a vast majority of the argument’s purveyors.

I would (genuinely) love to hear a rational, lucid and coherent argument from someone that alcohol and its stablemate legal drugs should remain sanctioned for use under the law while others drugs, cannabis for example are prohibited. My position does also advocate the legalisation of all drugs including those classed as ‘hard’. Given the emotion that usually clouds debate on the topic, cannabis (as an example in the debate, not as a prescription to the debaters!) helps steer the debate away from the emotive rocks that can shipwreck it compared to a word like heroin. This debate is something that I would have had a cursory interest in ever since I became a user of drugs such as alcohol, but it’s something which has interested me more and more in the past year or two.

I can attribute this increased interest in the topic to a number of events in the recent past. Firstly, a quite unsavoury event was visited upon someone close to me by someone involved in the trade of prohibited drugs. This is the kind of person whose existence and ability to flout the law seemingly at will is all wrapped up in their financial profit, made largely from recreational users of cannabis, among other prohibited drugs. That is, someone financed largely by people who are no different than me or most of my social circle.

Secondly, the prohibition of certain strains of magic mushrooms last year by a minister following the tragic death of a person which was associated with their use struck me fairly profoundly as something ridiculous in the extreme. This event did promote some limited debate in the national media regarding the prohibition of drugs in general which was something I had craved to see for some time. Unfortunately the quality of most of the debate that I managed to catch was extremely low and disheartening. We all know the kind of emotive reactions the subject provokes in bucket loads. Even a point as simple as the perfectly valid position of being anti-drug use but pro-legalisation of prohibited drugs is a nuance too far for most people I’ve conversed with on the subject or seen commentary from, or at least it’s certainly not a position they would have considered before.

Finally in recent months the increasing prevalence in the media of discourse regarding gangland killings and how to combat them has stunned me by the lack of serious debate regarding the prohibition of drugs and its significant role in the prosperity of gangland Ireland. Commentators and politicians alike gush with the gravest deploration of the situation and put forth their ideas to combat or, stop the press, beat the problem. Unfortunately an extremely small percentage of this pretentious soul searching and chest beating effort goes into an issue which is central to the problem, namely the prohibition of drugs. In fairness to politicians however I don’t see this as something someone can stick their neck on the line over and gain traction or advancement of the cause. An issue so engrained in society and so fundamental to the balance of the involvement of the state in the choice and autonomy of the individual needs to be tackled in a multi-partisan way. Journalists and the media have however no such defence.

I think it’s reasonable to accept (and widely accepted) that a concept as ostentatious as a war on drugs will never be prosecuted successfully to an end by the criminalisation avenue no more than the current war on terror will be solved by military means. There are far too many complexities underlying such problems. The active damage we are doing as a side effect of this illogical imaginary line where the law sanctions some drugs and prohibits others is phenomenal. People who become dysfunctional because of habitual use of prohibited drugs are stigmatised and incarcerated, whereas people who abuse alcohol or nicotine (with just as destructive consequences for their families and communities, nicotine smoke in a particularly direct manner) and are ill as a result are treated as a healthcare problem. That’s part of the human cost.

What about the economic cost – how much does it cost us to put all those minions of the drug trade in prison for a short spell a few times during their twenties to train them further up the hierarchy of their chosen trade? There are so many facets to this debate I could go on at length with (I’d love to…) but for now, this is enough. My writing today was prompted (it’s been a while coming!) by a cold, impartial and extremely useful hour long debate on the subject which I caught on Tonight with Vincent Brown on Tuesday night, I urge you to listen as it’s a rare gem as far as my experience goes with the topic in the Irish media. I'd also like to tip my hat to the odd mention of the topic I’ve seen from other Irish bloggers over the past year. To my mind vacuums left by the mainstream media are one of the most worthwhile applications our blogging community can be turned to. Worthy reading can be found by:

Graham Ó Maonaigh [Labour Youth] - Ending Gun crime requires a ‘harm reduction’ approach to drug use

The Swearing Lady - Where do you get your smoke from?

The Quiet Road - The Madness Of Cannabis Prohibition

Last but most:
Twenty Major - How to stop the drug related killings

During a radio debate around the time of the prohibition of magic mushrooms I did hear one lady advocate the banning of alcohol and tobacco which is at least consistent (if misguided in my opinion) with a policy of prohibiting the currently illegal drugs. She was the only advocate of prohibition that held a position of integrity deserving of respect that I’ve ever heard in this debate. Is it too much to ask that people at least present self-consistent positions on the topic?

So if you can spare the time, have a listen to Vincent Brown’s programme and somebody, please come back to me with an attractive argument on why alcohol should be sanctioned while say, cannabis, is not. Of course any other views or points would be very welcome also.

Tonight With Vincent Brown, Tue 9th Jan 2007. "Has the war on drugs failed and should we de-criminalise drugs?" [Requires Realplayer] with guests:

Michael Mulcahy - Fianna Fail, Dublin South Central TD
John Mooney - Sunday Times
Tony Geoghan - Director of Merchant's Quay
Rick Lyons - Executive Director of The Irish Penal Reform Trust
Bobby Smith - Child and Adolescent Consultant, Drug Treatment Service Board
Gerry Cameron - Spokesperson for "Law Enforcment Against Prohibition", USA

tags: drugs

Published by Paul.  

Here's a post from Francie, who incidentally has a driving record just slightly better than that of Richard Hammond :-)

Irish drivers, don’t you just love them? For a majority of them the rules of the road is a once-off document that is studied prior to their driving test, and then banished from their memory following a successful pass. On a recent drive from Dublin to Sligo, I once again experienced the stress involved in driving on our national road network. The majority of this nation has a distinct lack of understanding for the rules of the road. Many drivers are a time-bomb on our roads waiting to go off; it's no wonder road safety is such a high topic in the news.

Why don’t people understand that the outside lane of a dual carriage-way or motorway is for overtaking, and drivers should only enter this lane whilst in the process of overtaking another vehicle and then re-enter the inside lane until they need to repeat this process? That means that no, you cannot hog this lane for your own pleasure and hold up traffic behind you enticing them to break the rules also by using the inside lane to overtake you.

And roundabouts, an Irish driver's idea of a decision-making nightmare, oh … how do I get onto/off it, what way do I go round, what exit do I take? This, I feel, is because roundabouts were a non-existent feature on many of our rural road networks until recent times. I have often seen cars driving around a roundabout in an anti-clockwise direction; mayhem waiting to happen!

But what irks me most is the lack of indicating by drivers on roundabouts. People forget that upon entry to a roundabout, he/she must either indicate left if they are taking the first exit (and stay in the inside lane if doing so) or right if taking any exit after, and then proceed to indicate left when exiting the roundabout.

The media and politicians keep ranting on about road safety and particularly speeding on roads, and what has to be done to stop the high number of fatalities on our roads. What I feel is needed is better education on the rules of the road, and this should start in our schools as a subject.

tags:driving

Published by Colm.  

Arcade Fire

The Olympia Theatre

Monday 5th March 2007

tags: music

Published by Paul.  

Via Philip Sherburne I learned Cocoon Styled have gathered together a truly gigantic digest of links to bootleg recordings of techno sets from all over the world in 2006. There are many sets linked to for each artist featured including the likes of James Holden, Dominik Eulberg, Shinedoe, Magda, Miss Kitten, Adam Bayer, Richie Hawtin, Andre Galluzzi, Ricardo Villalobos, Tiefschwarz and many more. Go take a look, I hope your broadband connection is feeling healthy today.

In light of my recent mention of Ricardo Villalobos' 2006 release Fizheuer Zieheuer, the mix available at Cocoon Styled from his set at Fabric's 7th Birthday Party (Part 2) begins with this track and continues with an interesting upcoming release from Villalobos: an 18 minute remix of Dubstep star Shackleton's brooding, 9/11 musing track 'Blood On My Hands' focusing on the vocal:


"When I see the towers fall,
It cannot be denied that,
As a spectacle,
It is a realization of the mind.

You see, I'm standing on a mountaintop
And letting out a scream,
It's the language of the earth,
It is the language of the beasts.

There's no point to look behind us,
We left the corpse behind,
Because flesh is weak and forms break down.
They cannot last forever."


tags: techno, music

Published by Paul.  

Over at Okeydokefootball.com, ex colleague of mine JJ Worrall and his friend Mark Vance discuss the weekly happenings in the football world. A new episode gets sent across the Int0rweb every Thursday night in what they claim is Ireland's first and only independent football podcast.

Think Dunphy and Giles with even freer tongues. Fantastic stuff.

tags:okeydokefootball

Published by Colm.  

For those of you who missed El Commandant P's performance on the Moncrieff show earlier this week, here's an opportunity to listen again to the most talked about interview in the biscuit world since ... well, ever.

Right click here, and Save Target As

tags:biscuits

Published by Colm.  

Hilarious video on MyTube or YouSpace (can never get that right)that explores the relationship between media owners, ad agencies and clients. Eerily close to how things really are. The clincher was the clip with the Fat Boy Slim music.

tags:advertising

Published by Colm.  

My recent trip to Berlin for New Years provided me with an opportunity to exercise my new toy a Fuji digital camera. It's really good in low light and easily pocketable, so I'm looking forward to some good gig photos during 2007. Anyways, here's a few photos and words regarding the Berlin trip.



A bust of Karl Marx at Strausberger Platz on Karl-Marx Allee. This 90 meter wide boulevarde (Stalinallee until 1961) was the greatest flourish of the East German Government's pomposity. The boulevarde was built from scratch between 1952 - 1965 from a blank canvas of utter deriliction along the artery where the Soviet Army grinded their way into Berlin during WWII. The gargantuan apartment blocks lining the Allee on both sides were known as Volkspaläste (People's Palaces) as they offered conveniences such as running hot water, central heating and lifts. A 2KM walk along this boulevarde can really immerse you in the awe that the East German government tried to project upon its citizens and it's an unmissable facet of Berlin.




This 25 meter tall aquarium is the largest cylindrical aquarium in the world and is home to 2,500 tropical fish. There is a glass lift which rises directly through the centre of it. Only in Berlin would you find such a beast in the lobby of a Radisson SAS hotel!




The roof of the Sony Centre at Potsdamer Platz. This thing looks like a massive umbrella which gently floated down to rest on the surrounding high rise buildings. It's an intricate design and slowly morphs colour at night. It's the centre piece of one of Berlin's largest regeneration projects, Potsdamer Platz which is now one of the most modern and stylish areas of Berlin.




In the foreground is the recently opened Holocaust Memorial just south of the Brandenburg Gate and in the background The Reichstag, Germany's immensly impressive and regenerated parliament building. You can see the Reichstag here in the background complete with its huge glass dome which you can walk to a viewing platform at the top of.




The Entertainment options for New Year's night were prolific, but there was only one place to be in town, Berghain/Panoramabar. The place has to be seen to be believed and I don't know anyone who's ever seen anything close to it. You'll just have to go!


The running order for the New Year's Eve Party in Berghain/Panoramabar was something like:

Berghain
1:00 h – 5:00 h Marcel Dettmann
5:00 h – 8:00 h Ben Klock
8:00 h – 12:00 h Andre Galluzzi
12:00 h – 15:00 h Len Faki
15:00 h – Ende Luke Slater

Panorama Bar
1:00 h – 5:00 h Margaret Dygas
5:00 h – 6:00 h Tobias&A Guy Called Gerald (live)
6:00 h – 10:00 h Cassy
10:00 h – 14:00 h Nick Höppner
14:00 h – 17:00 h Boris
17:00 h – 20:00 h Prosumer
20:00 h – 24:00 h (ende) Tama Sumo und nd_baumecker

We got out of there about 6p.m. on Monday evening. I think my body clock has just about recovered today, but I'd do it all again at the slightest opportunity. In the Panoramabar Tobias & A Guy Called Gerald put on an awesome live set, Nick Höppner and Boris put on very different but equally blinding DJ sets while downstairs in Berghain Ben Clock and Andre Galluzi got everyone losing themselves on the dancefloor with relentless abandon. Record of the night had to be Hearthrob's 2006 release Baby Kate which went down like a 10,000 volt sandwich among the revelers when aired in different sets on both floors.

I'm off to check the next window of opportunity for a long weekend + cheap flights to Berlin. In the meantime for a Berlin fix, Dubliners can look forward to the visit of My My (Nick Höppner, Carsten Klemann and Lee Jones) on February 3rd. Although they're touring their widely  acclaimed 2006 debut album as My My live, according to their myspace page we'll hopefully get a DJ set afterwards from either Klemann or Höppner, both regulars at Panoramabar and Watergate in Berlin - either would be very welcome!

tags: music, berlin

Published by Paul.  

For anybody wishing to hear dirty biscuit talk, then tune into Newstalk106 tomorrow (Thursday 4th) at around 2.45pm.

Watch out Moncrieff - El Commandant P has been looking for a post-lunchtime slot on the radio for years.

tags:newstalk106

Published by Colm.  

Image from Flickr user Jimmy Six Bellies under CC Attribution, Noncommerical and No Derivative Works license

Francie is quite the expert when it comes to the nags and he's getting excited about Cheltenham already! He learned the gambling game when he came out of the Priory last year. Well, he had to occupy his mind somehow while off the grog. Don't even ask about his addiction to Sherbert Lemons - it's worse than all of his other vices put together!

With the glorious racing festival that is Cheltenham only 11 weeks away, a lot of would-be contenders for the major prizes showed their credentials over the Christmas racing schedule. Here at In Fact, Ah we bring you a few ante-post tips on each of the main races for the festival.

First off, the showpiece, the Gold Cup.

In the King George at Kempton on Stephen’s Day, Kauto Star showed why he is currently as low as 6/4 with some bookies to win this showpiece event .With Ruby Walsh onboard, he clattered both the fourth last and final fence at Kempton but still managed to stay upright and coast home to an easy win. Many see this machine as a dead cert come March.

No doubt, Betfair customers will be laying the horse come race day, but my money will be elsewhere. Last year's winner War of Attrition, currently trading around 4/1 is my favourite to regain his crown. Come good ground and a faster gallop at Cheltenham, this horse will jump and stay the distance, something Kauto Star cannot be so sure of doing. He ran in third at Leopardstown in the Lexus Chase behind The Listener, currently trading around 10/1, and Beef or Salmon who's now at 25-1 (do not touch with a barge pole, this horse WILL NOT win the Gold Cup). An excuse can be made that the ground was far from his liking.

Another horse I feel will challenge is In-Compliance (trading around 8-1), I have a sneaky feeling this horse may well be the eventual winner and will like the distraction the Kauto Star Vs War of Attrition battle will bring to allow for a quiet preparation. If I was to give a horse to get-on-now pricewise it would be Cornish Rebel, if he runs. He should get a place and is currently at around 33/1.

tags:cheltenham, goldcup

Published by Colm.  

Image from Flickr user LeoL30 under CC Attribution, Noncommerical and Share Alike license
Hark, hark!

Those crazy Chinese - don't they know that 2006 was the year of the Pig and not 2007? Well, it was for me anyway and that's all that matters. Not that I've transmogrified into a beastly hog shape (not entirely), but I've eaten rather a lot of the damn swine. What chance do us carnivores stand when the most ardent vegetarians get weak at the knees with the whiff of frying bacon? This year I'll be setting thousands of pigs free from their farm captors in the hope that the supply of back bacon is curtailed enough to take temptation out of sight at the corner store.

No doubt you've also spotted my negative feelings towards the passing of another year, as referenced by the word play in the post title. Every year I have to come to terms with the gloomy realisation that another notch on the Gregorian solar calendar means that the sum total of my earthly years is increased by one; it's my birthday.

Not being a materialistic person does dampen the blow that would normally be experienced when friends and family sometimes give a Christmas/birthday two-for-one gift. It doesn't bother me because I'm terrible at giving presents myself. The best present I got this year was a mention for In Fact, Ah in yesterday's Sunday Tribune as one of the blogs to watch in 2007.

However, I'd like to point readers in the direction of true blogging quality.

Post after post Niall Byrne opens so many doors to aural heaven. If you're in need of a purgation of the music soul, you'd do worse than heading over to his blog at nialler9.com/blog.

Mulley continues to play the Roy Keane of the Irish boggersphere. He pivots the play, sometimes barks, makes a great captain and he's from Cork!

One blog I keep returning to is that of Irish-born Observer columnist, John Naughton. His obsession with all things Int0rweb is played out brilliantly on his blog Memex 1.1, which can be found at memex.naughtons.org. His New Year resolution is 1920 X 1200. Terrible.

Two of the best Irish blogs for sports analysis are Tom's Sporting Almanac and An Spailpín Fánach.

I can't see how the Irish Election blog won't become a sidebar of reference for Interweb-reading Irish electorate come May.

Keeping it country is the girl most men would be terrified to bring home to the Mammy. Swearing Lady, we salute you.

On the homefront, In Fact, Ah has no great plan for 2007. If I get my shit together, I might just start that podcast I've been putting off for the past few months. We hope to showcase a talented singer-musicmaker in the next few months. I heard his material after this year's ReUniRank^(TM) which was held on December 22nd in Jack Nealons of Capel Street. It's the real deal and will hopefully trump all the staleness that pervades the Dublin singer-songwriter scene.

*ReUniRank = last night before Dublin's Christmas exodus where connected UCG graduates and various other parties (In Fact, Ah was well represented)meet up for some stout.

tags:2007

Published by Colm.