Audiovisual Favourites of 2015!

I somehow didn't write any 'Best of 2015' posts this year but that was not for want of ideas. I had loads of products and books I loved last year but my brain was all fluey when everyone else was posting great articles on their favourites so now I'm doing the same but for a slight difference, here's my audiovisual favourites, of which there are many.
I've learned a couple of things from concocting this; I'm a podcast convert and I apparently watch far too much Netflix, mainly. 

Hopefully my favourites for 2016 will be a bit more 'fresh air, jogging etc' and less of this lot:

A sneak peek inside my bedroom..except that my hair is never that swishy, nor am I that doe-eyed.

(In no particular order)

1. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
How could you not love Kimmy? Look at how bright and cheerful she is, in spite of having been kept underground in a doomsday cult for the last 15 years with three other women by a fake prophet (an actor who features elsewhere on this list in another TV show..)
And that's the thing about Kimmy; determined to be seen as herself and not a victim, she travels to New York with just her positivity and a plan to start a new life. There she meets and moves in with Titus Andromedan, a struggling actor with about a gazzilon hilarious lines. She gets a job as a nanny for an insanely out-of-touch socialite and slowly starts to get used to the world as it is now, with lots of brilliant pop culture references. One of my favourites:
Kimmy: You ARE gong to sing at the Grammy's with Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson!
Titus: Bad examples, but YES!
Love it. It's penned by the glorious Tina Fey and if that's not enough there's that extremely catchy theme tune (females are strong as hell…) and of course, Peeno Noir (or Pinot Noir, where the reference comes from), an ode to Black Penis. Amazing. 

2. Mad Max: Fury Road.

I have vague recollections of seeing 80's Mad Max and those recollections aren't super great but this updated version with Tom Hardy as the eponymous character blew away all that came before it. Set in a blistering dystopian desert landscape, Max finds himself captured by cult leader Immortan Joe and whilst trying to escape, ends up joining forces with Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), also escaping but with auld Joe's prized possessions; his harem of beautiful young women he keeps to impregnate. Delightful.
Luckily for Max, Furiosa is amazing at everything and is possibly the greatest female action hero that ever there lived. At the time of its release, lots of MRA's (that's Men's Rights Activists, in case you've been lucky enough to avoid them up to now) went on sad little rants about how Max was emasculated by Furiosa and what a disgrace it was that this film was ostensibly a feminist masterpiece, an opinion Tom Hardy memorably ridiculed during a press conference. I have yet to re-watch it to see if it holds up as well on a smaller screen, I doubt it will be as much of an assault on the senses as it was in the cinema but I'm sure it's still as thrilling as it was on first viewing.

3. Serial, series 1.
I got to this particular party very late but last Summer I listened to podcast series, Serial and quickly got hooked on the true story of murdered teenager Hae Min Lee and her ex boyfriend, Adnan Syed who was convicted for her murder, with only the testimony of his best friend used as evidence against him.
As the story wore on, I, like everyone else went through all of the same thoughts "he's innocent!", "err, that sounds really dodgy. Maybe he is guilty?" etc. There's no real conclusion to the end of the first series so I was really hoping for a second instalment of Adnan's case, unfortunately the second series is about an entirely different crime. Boo. 

4. Daredevil
Netflix have produced some really great series over the last couple of years, including Daredevil, based on the Marvel graphic novels. Matt Murdock is Daredevil, a blind lawyer-by-day and a crime stopping super hero by night, on the streets of New York. In particular he finds himself fighting against the exploits of baddie Wilson Fisk with the help of his work buddies Foggy and Karen and super nurse Claire who pops around to stitch him back up after his particularly bad spats. The fight scenes are pretty incredible; there's a whole scene conducted in a hallway that's a continuous shot lasting five and a half minutes..unreal! Series two, coming soon!

5. Master of None
Another great Netflix original series, Master of None is the product of the genius that is Aziz Ansari. I love this man's style, his book Modern Romance was brilliant as was his role in Parks and Rec and his stand up comedy so I was very excited about this series which he co-wrote and stars in. He plays Dev, an actor living in New York and tackling all the big life issues; having kids, love, living with someone, racism in show business, racism in everything, family (in particular, the sacrifices our parents made for us that we have zero understanding or comprehension of), feminism and how women's everyday experiences of life differ to men because of the actions of men. Overall it was a thought-provoking series but intertwined with a perfect balance of honesty and humour. I just found it really enjoyable, so much so that we decided after only one episode that we had to ration the series so we would savour it, rather than tear through it like we normally do!

6. Catastrophe
Now just finished its second series, Catastrophe follows Sharon and Rob (Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney) on their journey through impending parenthood following a one night (more like a week) stand. Nothing is off bounds and sometimes the humour veers towards the very rude and the very cringe but both of the main actors and all of the supporting cast are brilliant; it's a clever and warm show in spite of the intended crassness it sometimes produces. 

7. No Offence
This was towards the start of the year and so I almost forgot about it. In fact, I couldn't remember the name except to say "what was that brilliant cop drama/comedy on Channel4 that we loved called?"
Set in Manchester and featuring the city's police force as they track down a serial murderer of girls with Down Syndrome, it sounds like horrendous viewing but somehow the use of dark humour made it one of the best made shows we watched all year. It's very clever and absolutely addictive viewing plus the three main characters are all strong but flawed women, each with very different personalities who all add something separate to the unfolding drama. Prepare for a big twist in the tale as the killer is revealed towards the end of its run! It's already been commissioned for a second series and I cannot wait. 

8. It Follows
This is a super creepy horror with a difference. The premise here is that there is a sexually transmitted curse that takes the form of a very disturbing looking person following you. It could be anyone but you'll know they're following you because they're coming straight for you and will destroy you in the most violent way possible. No one else can see this person, just you and they are always after you. They can get in anywhere and find you anywhere; you can try and put distance between you but they will catch up. You can try passing the curse on by having sex with other people but that's only delaying the inevitable. Once the person you had sex with is killed, they're coming for you again.
The main character here, Jay, finds out she has this curse after she sleeps with her boyfriend for the first time. He was trying to pass it on so now she has to find a way to get rid of it with the help of her friends and her sister, without having to give the curse to some other poor unsuspecting person.
There are so many jumpy moments in this film, I was beyond freaked out. Its beauty lies in the fact that you never know when the next scare is coming and visually it's quite mesmerising too. Every scene has a somewhat hazy quality to it and overall it feels quite dreamlike- the film features things like a clamshell e-reader, 50's style cars, and an 80's synth soundtrack, all designed to confuse you so you can't tell what era it's taking place in. The cinematography is also quite startling and overall, you're left a bit discombobulated by the entire film. It's a horror but not as we know it. If you're sick and tired of torture porn, this new breed of clever horror is definitely for you. 

9. The Irish Times Women's Podcast
I don't know how I didn't know about these podcasts until this past year but I've made up for it since. Featuring interviewees like Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love), DJ Alison Curtis, Tara Flynn and Roisin Ingle discussing the impact of telling their abortion stories, authors Anne Enright, Pauline McLynn, Marian Keyes and Louise O'Neill and journalists and activists like Una Mullally and Ailbhe Smyth, there really was a wide variety of female perspectives explored. Personally I drew inspiration form a conversation with Marian Keyes, Aisling McDermott and Laura Kennedy about the power of make-up, HERE. 

10. Macbeth.
Possibly the most visually arresting imagery from the whole year (on a par with Mad Max), Macbeth maintained the Shakespearean language and the rough and raw energy of the original play but added in vast swathes of colour; yellows and reds that subsumed the entire cinema screen and gritty performances from Michael Fassbender and Marian Cotillard that at times felt intolerably grim (that bonfire scene, for instance). I previously had read the play but as I hadn't studied it in school, I had never had as deep a connection to it as I had King Lear or Romeo & Juliet so it almost felt like a new discovery seeing this on the big screen. It is a stunning film and easy to follow in spite of the aforementioned Shakespearean dialect. 

11. Jessica Jones.
Another Marvel superhero adaptation on Netflix. Similar to Daredevil, this was a slightly darker take on the graphic novel with Kristen Ritter playing the Jessica Jones to David Tennant's really very bad baddie, Kilgrave. Jones has super-strength and uses her powers mostly for good…she does drink a lot and treats herself terribly though. She's a private investigator and is generally pretty successful as she can more than hold her own but she gets a bit derailed when her arch nemesis Kilgrave starts showing up. After being a victim of his mind control, she's determined to put a stop to him for good. How do you stop someone who can control your every movement though? That's basically what she spends the series trying to figure out, with the help of her friend and kind of sister, Trish (who is also very capable) and her sometimes lover, Luke Cage (also a superhero and also getting his own series. He's pretty cool too so that should be interesting!)
 It was great to see a female-led superhero show that was as cool as anything the menz could do cause let's face it, Supergirl was pretty awful. 

12. Mad Men, final series.

I loved Mad Men. I remember when we first started watching it; himself and I had only recently started going out and it was the first series we binge-watched together (the romance). We very quickly grew addicted to the clever and sometimes very poignant story lines, the complicated characters (there's no point in me listing them, ALL of them were multi-layered and could be hated one minute and yet loved the next) and of course the perfect vintage styling, set pieces, real-life ad campaigns (Kodak carousel, anyone? Sniff..), real historical moments like the assassination of JFK and the first man on the moon, which somehow gave you a strong sense of nostalgia for a time you weren't even alive for! Phew!
It was just such a well made and brilliant show.
We finally caught up a few months after the finale first aired and although the final series was about a million miles away from where the show first started, I was touched by how it ended- it felt like it was all going down a very depressing road when it was pulled back at the last minute and they gave us the most gloriously triumphant Don Draper-esque ending that we could ever have hoped for. I had an actual beaming smile on my face for that last scene.
It still makes me a little bit emotional when I think about it..I know that's silly but that's eight years of my TV life right there, people!*

*need to get out more*

13. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Amy and Woman In Gold i.e films I watched and cried loudly to on the plane to and from America.
Yeah, I cry at everything anyway, but put me on a long flight, possibly with a mini gin & tonic and then give  me ALL the films with which I could possibly cry over and you my friend, have a sodden Chloe-mess on your hands.

I hadn't read the book that Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was based on but I would no doubt have cried at the ending of that too. The main character, Greg is forced by his mother to befriend her friends daughter who has just been diagnosed with cancer. They quickly become firm buddies and he becomes a constant in her life- he's there every day, regardless of chemo, depression, happy or sad times and soon he and his other friend Earl are tasked with making her one of their unique home-made indie films. Obviously I made a complete show of myself on the plane when this was on because it was sweet and funny and sad all at the same time.
Amy is the docu-film made about the life of tragic singer, Amy Winehouse and although I knew the story it was almost shocking to see the timeline of her downfall reduced to film-length. I had forgotten all about her absolute waster of a husband and her father, both of whom seemed to add to her issues rather than help her. Overall it's just a very sad look at an extremely talented woman, let down by those closest to her. Worth a watch for fans of hers and just fans of music and pop culture alike.
Woman In Gold was one we both watched on the plane on the way over. Helen Mirren plays a Jewish survivor of WW2, now living in America and running a fashion boutique. She finds out that the government of Austria, where she is from, have a painting of her aunt on display as belonging to Austria. This was a famous painting by Klimt which was stolen from her family by the Nazis in Vienna in WW2. Because this is the last link she has to her aunt, she sets out with her small-town lawyer (played by Ryan Reynolds) to get her painting back. A seemingly impossible task, you might think!
At one stage himself turned to me and was all: "are you crying again?!"
Me: "blub...the nazis..her family..blub" etc.

14. Star Wars; The Force Awakens
So, I have of course seen all of the original Star Wars films and the (terrible) prequels. God, not even Ewan McGregor could save them but The Force Awakens was most excellent. Some have argued that the reason why it's so loved is because it has a fair old whack of nostalgia and references to the original films from the 70's and to be fair it does feature the return of Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Chewie, R2D2, C3PO and Mark Hamill but it also has Rey and Finn, two brilliant new characters (pictured above) who were badly needed to shake up the usual Star Wars style.
Rey is a scavenger who becomes part of the Resistance; she's tough and can fight better than most of the men, she clearly has "the force" and more than holds her own against baddie Kilo Ren. If she's that good now, wait 'til she's been properly trained by a Jedi! For the first time in my life I understand Star Wars fever and I am so on board for the next instalment!!

15. Making A Murderer.
You'll surely have heard of this hit Netflix documentary by now but just in case; Stephen Avery, a man from small town Wisconsin with little intelligence and possibly a learning disability, was originally convicted of a crime he didn't commit and went to prison for 18 years. He eventually won his freedom but fell on the wrong side of the law again whilst fighting for compensation he rightfully deserved. The documentary follows his case from the beginning and looks at his family (all of whom are suspicious, if you ask me) and those involved with the case; the extremely dodgy local police force, the prosecutors, investigators and of course, the defence lawyers who are all kinds of amazing. If you haven't seen it yet, go now! You'll be immediately hooked!

And lastly, I've added in a 16th, just cause..

16. Grace and Frankie.
I know, more Netflix. Netflix is great thought guys, seriously*.
Anyway, Grace and Frankie are middle-aged women with grown up kids who find themselves thrown together when their husbands reveal they are in love and have been having a secret affair for most of their lives. The first series follows their new lives now the two women have moved in together and are trying to date again for the first time in years and get used to no longer being married. This series was very funny and you honestly won't do any better than Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda together; two amazing actors!!


What were your audiovisual favourites of 2015?
XX



*I promise I was not paid by Netflix for this post!

An Ode To Gilmore Girls

Amazing news came last night via Timeline that a limited-series revival of beloved show Gilmore Girls has been confirmed and will appear on Netflix with most of the original cast so far on board. Hurrah!! 

I was a late-comer to the show as I very mistakenly originally thought it was a Seventh Heaven type of schmaltzy American dross. Oh, how wrong I was. When I had to spend a lengthy period of time in hospital, it was Gilmore Girls that helped get me through. I recall a doctor one day asking me what I was watching and after he then asked me what it was about (having never seen it himself), I struggled. How do you even describe a show this multi-facetedly awesome?? 

So although I couldn't give an adequate enough reason as to why I loved it so much then, I'll make up for it now:

• Firstly it's HILARIOUS. One of the wittiest and most well-written tv shows I've ever seen, it's clever but not pretentious. There are plenty of genuine laugh out loud moments, in-jokes and long running gags. Oh and if you don't find Kirk funny then there's nothing I can do for you.

• It's comforting. Ideal for when you're not feeling well, or homesick, or when your mood is a bit low. Really it's akin to a big warm hug and a mug of hot chocolate (or coffee..when in Rome!) The characters are loveable and relatable. The show itself is visually beautiful (more on that later) and the story lines are all pretty mild; no one is murdered, life is generally all very pleasant- but- and this is important- it's never sickeningly sweet.

• At its heart it's about relationships and who has a better relationship than Lorelai and Rory? Their mother-daughter bond was a pleasure to watch; two smart, funny women who loved coffee and pop culture and from them, the relationships they have with those around them. It's also a strongly feminist show- Lorelai was more than capable of having a baby on her own and building a career from nothing. She brings Rory up to be a well-rounded, intelligent and decent human being and did so without any help. G'wan Lorelai!

• The secondary characters in the show are all amazing. I've already mentioned Kirk but what about Michel, Sookie (the wonderful Melissa McCarthy), Paris, Lane, Miss Patty and Richard and Emily Bishop, Lorelai's somewhat estranged parents? All well-developed, individual characters that added so much to the show.

• The Gilmores live in Stars Hollow, a small town in Connecticut. This means we get to see beautiful Autumnal hues of jewel coloured leaves filling up the town square in Autumn and snow (Lorelai's favourite) covering all the Christmas decorations in Winter. Having recently been to Connecticut, I can happily tell you that it heavily resembles the show- the diners all look like Luke's, the Bed and Breakfasts all feel like The Dragonfly Inn and the town centres all have that cute, quaint feel to them that you get from Stars Hollow. 

• The love stories are addictive. Lookit, I may have been all for each of Rory's different boyfriends at the time but I will always be firmly Team Logan. If they can nab Matt Czuchry back from The Good Wife for the new episodes I'll be only thrilled. No Dean, please. Never Dean. Obviously, I always wanted Lorelai and Luke to get together..that was a long auld road, wha'?

• It's a small thing but I loved the Gilmore coffee addiction, something I can definitely relate to although perhaps not on quite this level:

• Lastly and unsurprisingly, I loved Rory's book obsession. I could most definitely relate to her love of reading although it is sightly depressing how many more books she's read in comparison to myself! I wrote a blog post about the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge before HERE. I'm slowly working my way through it!

There's probably way more reasons to love GG that I'm forgetting and if I have, let me know in the comments! 

Anyone else really in need of a re-watch now?!

XX

(Just) 9 Of The Times Carrie Bradshaw Was A Terrible Person

It's not just constant re-runs of Friends that Comedy Central show, it's also Sex and the City. Although I've already seen every episode (and the two somewhat misguided films) a few years back, I've found myself re-watching it at lunch time on my days off recently. In that time I've discovered something which did not occur to me before.
Carrie Bradshaw is a terrible person. 

This is fine, she's a flawed character and I can appreciate that as it makes her more human. What annoys me though is the insistence that she's a good friend to her fellow Manhattan-ites Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. She really isn't, she's actually the worst and the whole "which SATC character are you" (and all the people insisting "I'm a Carrie") discourse that's out there is largely dominated by girls that look to her as an icon- both for fashion and lifestyle. Lads, no. She's awful. 

Observe:

That time she made Samantha attend her book launch party even though she had a disastrous face peel and didn't want to leave the house. She then made her go home early because her face was putting people off their canapés. Cheers.

The time she makes Aidan forgive her for the fact she cheated on him with Big by repeatedly wailing "YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE ME" in his face. Grant me strength.

The time she couldn't afford to buy her apartment because she bankrupted herself by buying very expensive shoes and then guilt-tripped Charlotte into giving her her engagement ring for the money.

The time she sent Aidan to help poor naked Miranda with her neck injury.

When she tells Stanley that he finally did it (developed a successful relationship with Marcus), he reveals that it's a sham and they're falling apart and she replies "thank god!", she's RELIEVED HER FRIEND IS MISERABLE.

Delighted with herself. Wagon.

She rings Miranda to rant about someone making a face at her in a bathroom and doesn't even ask her how she is or if she needs help while she struggles with her newborn baby on her own.

Not interested.

The time she arrived late to Charlotte's wedding because she chose that moment to tell Aidan she'd cheated on him. She was a bridesmaid by the way. 

Charlotte tells her "there's some things people don't like to say because of how it sounds, like….(big gulp) I'm getting a divorce". Carrie ignores this and blurts out "I'm lonely!"

And lastly, possibly also the worst: she forces Big's ex wife to see her by showing up unexpectedly on HER DATE to berate her into forgiving her for having an affair with her husband even though she's made it really clear she doesn't want to see her.

See? The worst. Thing is, I quite like Carrie (although I always preferred Samantha if truth be told). She's not perfect and no one is in reality so that's fine. It's all the people saying "life goals" in relation to her that bothers me.

If you can watch the show for what it is, then grand. It's just the romanticising of her character that annoys me I guess. 

Am I alone in that? Does anyone else think that Carrie is the absolute worst? 

XX

Love/Hate And The Response to *That* Rape Scene.

*Trigger warning; discusses sexual assault*

I can't believe that I'm writing this in this day and age but here we are. This is going to be short because I think the point is actually pretty obvious so no need to labour over it. 

Last night saw the series finale of popular Irish drama Love/Hate and undoubtedly, most of the country were tuned in. As usual, it was an hour long blast of violence with characters tortured and murdered and included a disturbing rape scene involving Fran, a prisoner in Mountjoy jail. 

We're shown his initial attack and his broken body afterwards, as he lies in a pool of his own blood, clearly in agony. 

Instantly, memes and jokes about these scenes sprang up across social media. I unfollowed those on Twitter who felt the need to share these comments but this morning I noticed my Facebook and Instagram feeds were also filling up with crass "jokes" too and as these were also people I'm friends with, I thought it would be better to just address it here rather than go through each individual and repeat myself several times. 

So for those of you who find it hilarious that a human being (fictional or not) was violently sexually assaulted with a piece of splintered wood, let me just point out this glaringly obvious fact; rape is not funny. It never has been and never will be. To laugh at suffering of that level instantly makes you less human. If you can watch something like that and not feel physically ill, fair enough. Good for you and your steely constitution. lf however you can watch that and then go on to make incredibly crude jokes, memes or comments about it then you're not only lacking a sense of humour but also any slight vestige of empathy or decency. 

Just in case you're also confused; rape involving a male victim or the use of an object is still rape. Would you laugh at a female rape victim? Did you also laugh at the rape of Siobhan last series? Maybe you did, maybe that's your thing. I don't know your (messed up) life. I do know however that people's justification for this on twitter have been nothing short of an epic grasping at straws; "it's only a tv show", "the rapist isn't gay so it can't be rape", "there was no sexual attraction so it wasn't rape", "sure he's a criminal himself anyway", "because it was an object people weren't aware of what was happening" etc. 

Seriously, just stop.

Yes, this was a work of fiction but one that was designed to show the degradation and humiliation of this character, something I think the actor and makers of the program captured perfectly. And really, it doesn't matter that this is a fictional character, things like this happen to real people in real life. Mocking and trivialising it when it happens on a television show (especially one with as great a cultural impact as Love/Hate) makes it harder for real life victims to speak up. Even setting that aside, if after seeing something that harrowing, your first instinct is to laugh about it, then you really need to reevaluate why you find something like that funny in the first place. 

That's just my two cents on the matter, if you have anything to add, please pop it down in the comments below. Sincere apologies if this was upsetting for any of you, if you need to talk to someone about your own experiences, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre provide a great service; (01) 661 4911.

XX

Dublin Culture Night 2014- What's On?!

I love Culture Night in Dublin and have attended almost every year that I've lived here so far. Unfortunately this year I won't be able to but I've compiled a mini itinerary for you if you are out and about and are wondering what's on. 

Firstly a bit about it; culture night runs throughout Ireland annually to celebrate culture, creativity and the arts. Hundreds of cultural institutions open their doors for free and extend opening hours so you can go for a nice meal or a drink after work and then pop along and see something beautiful free of charge in your own city that you've always meant to check out but never got around to. While it is on throughout the country, as I said, for this post I'm just focusing on Dublin, although I'd imagine Limerick will have plenty to offer too, being city of culture this year. 

Unfortunately, a lot of the events in Dublin are already booked out but there's still time to get in on this lot:

Glasnevin, Casino Marino, Christ Church and performers from Dublin's writer's forum.Photos via Culture Night website.

• Glasnevin Cemetery. We went to this a while back and loved it. While it sounds grim, the history of the place is absolutely fascinating. The museum is open from 5-9pm but sadly the cemetery tours are now booked up for the night. The museum itself is really interesting though and you can still walk around the graveyard and play "spot the 1916 rebels" if you're so inclined. Or, you know, go back another time and do the full tour cause it really is excellent. Also, make use of the cafe. They make a mean lemon drizzle cake. You'll need sugar and warm tea after the graveyard as it can be quite emotional.
• Casino Marino. This is actually one on our list that we've never been to so we'd definitely be going now if we could! This is described as an "architectural gem…cleverly disguising an interior of lavishly decorated plasterwork and richly patterned marquetry floors, hidden inside a neo-classical temple, bathed in a kaleidoscope of colour changing lights!" Wowzers! Open from 5-9pm.
• Christ Church Cathedral. We did this a couple of culture nights ago and it was really cool. Christchurch is obviously one of the more stunning historical Dublin buildings and at night time there's something extra special about it. Open from 6-10pm there'll be music, storytelling for children, a silent film screening and the opportunity to explore the church and it's surroundings. Be prepared to queue for this one as it can be very popular.
• The Workman's Club are hosting the Dublin Writer's forum for a spoken word and open mic poetry event from 5-11pm with a musical interpretation of Ulysses kicking off at 9.30pm.

The long room, Little museum of Dublin, BFG cake!!, Merrion square. Photos via Culture Night website.

• The Old Library & Book of Kells. I don't really need to give a reason for why you need to go to this, do I? Open from 5-10pm, you don't need to book for this but again, prepare to queue.
• The Little Museum of Dublin. Again, we spent a Sunday afternoon here recently and loved it. I actually can't recommend it enough. This is the people's museum of Dublin in the 20th Century, with exhibitions over three floors. There'll be free guided tours on the night along with special performances and a "few surprises" apparently. Open 5-9.30pm.
• Roald Dahl Cake Exhibition. In case you missed this last weekend in Temple Bar, you can head to Waterways Ireland visitor centre to celebrate the life and work of Dahl in the best way possible- through cake! There'll also be workshops on cupcake design, cake decorating and french truffles. Open from 7-9pm.
• "Downstairs Dublin", Merrion Square. I love the buildings in Merrion square and they're all coming alive for one night! Featuring a series of "talks, installations, projections and pop up events in the outside basement spaces", you have to look down to discover "mini-stages, surprises, live debates, music, food, art, drama, dance from leading artists, writers and thinkers". I love the idea of wandering from each house to the next and discovering something completely different in each outdoor basement! How exciting! This would be top of my to-do list to be sure! From 5-10pm.

As always, there's loads more you can do, including; walking tours, art exhibitions, visiting Dublin's landmark buildings and galleries and if I were you, I'd fit in as much as possible. It's such a wonderful night and celebration of our culture and heritage, I'm actually jealous of everyone who's going! You can find out more from the Culture night site HERE. Let me know in the comments if you're planning to visit anywhere or what your own past experiences of culture night have been! 

XX

Netflix Shows You May Have Overlooked

Like a lot of people these days, we tend to forego TV for a bit of Netflix of an evening because we have the weird sort of addictive personalities that need to watch a whole series in one go. We do that a lot. Of course, there's some really obvious options on Netflix, like Orange is the New Black, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and House of Cards and some old classics like Buffy that I may watch slightly too regularly (ahem) but we've discovered a few gems recently that are well worth checking out if you think you're running out of shows to watch.

Fringe

For shame on us that we're only discovering Fringe now but my God, is it a great show. Borrowing more than just a little bit from the X-Files legacy (I was a huge fan back in the day), this deals with all the really weird stuff out there with a team lead by FBI agent Olivia, who is amazing in every possible way. I spend most of my time watching this going "G'wan Olivia!", cause she's just great. She gave a whole speech to her boss in an episode the other day where she was all "you say that I'm too emotional to do my job, which by the way is something men always say to women to question their ability but I am emotional, I use it to be a better agent and help get into the minds of victims". PREACH. 

She's intelligent, capable, quick-thinking, empathetic, basically just everything you want in a good female protagonist.

And yeah, you're eyes aren't deceiving you, that's good old Pacey Witter up there, looking all hot and stubbly. Joshua Jackson (as he's normally known), plays a highly intelligent MIT drop out who's there to interpret the ramblings of his mentally unstable but brilliant scientist father, who although eccentric, has his finger on the pulse of the paranormal. Together they work their way through all the crazy cases that come their way. Like the X-Files, there's a constant undercurrent of there being other forces at work; the "powers that be" are somehow involved in all of these instances and there are running themes like the "bald man" who pops up in different episodes for you to spot; letting you know there's something bigger going on. Basically, it's just a really excellent watch but not for the squeamish. Netflix has four seasons of it but I think there's another two out there.

Episodes

We actually stumbled across this one on TV but it was on about series three and as we liked it so much we said we'd go back to the start. Low and behold; the first two seasons are on Netflix (there's a third and I think they're making a fourth). I can highly recommend this understated but very sharp comedy. The basic premise is that British sitcom writers (and married couple) Sean and Beverley have a really successful career at home, having just won a BAFTA for their TV show. On the back of that, they're offered the chance to make the same show for a US audience so with some trepidation they move to LA. That's where it all starts going wrong as the TV network insists on casting Matt Le Blanc (playing a hilarious fictionalised version of himself) in the main role, which he's completely unsuited for, thereby meaning they have to change the entire premise of the show. From there it just gets funnier but there's also something really comforting about it; the characters build friendships along the way and there's lots of little in-jokes that are carried throughout. Matt Le Blanc is amazing in this too; you get the feeling he really loves playing this charming but arrogant version of himself with perfect comic timing. 

Trailer Park Boys

Another comedy, except this one is not new to me. There's about seven seasons (all on Netflix) that I'd actually seen all of way back when I was in college and loved but himself had only seen a couple of episodes so we said we'd watch the whole lot. Trailer Park Boys is a faux documentary based in a Canadian trailer park, focusing primarily on the main characters Ricky, Julian, Bubbles, Mr Lahey and Randy. Ricky and Julian are petty criminals, constantly trying to make money from really stupid schemes they come up with while their friend Bubbles (in the middle) looks on in exasperation, although he sometimes helps out of loyalty to them. Mr Lahey is the trailer park supervisor, while Randy is his assistant and they both have it in for the lads. Obviously, each episode is completely predictable because nothing ever works out for them but the characters are all hilarious, as are their interactions with the other residents of the trailer park and there are so many running jokes, it's brilliant. There are parts of it that have had me struggling to breathe from laughing; it really is that good. 

Archer

We only started watching this one a couple of weeks ago but we're already hooked. This is an animated comedy series about a secret service intelligence agency based in New York. Archer is an extremely egotistical agent, considered to be one of the best there is but everything he does is done to benefit himself in some way, much to the annoyance of his mother (head of the secret service and voiced by Lucille from Arrested Development!) and ex girlfriend Lana, also a brilliant agent. Each episode sees some new challenges for the agents where the most random and ridiculous things occur- it's totally over the top and makes fun out of the likes of James Bond that thrive on sexism and stereotypes. It's laugh out loud funny due to its complete weirdness. 

Have you seen any of these?

Any other unusual ones on Netflix we should be watching?

XX

Casual Sexism To Sell "Novelty Items"??

You may have seen some of the controversy over this image which appeared on Twitter (photo courtesy of @jenharrisbede) today. Harris, an actor/comic/writer/rapper was disgusted to find this item on sale in River Island and took to Twitter to let the brand know how unimpressed she was. 

And then, we got to see the ugly side of the Internet. As Sali Hughes tweeted, regarding the same incident:

image source

For my part, I mostly saw people in support of getting this removed from stores. It makes light of domestic violence against women in the most crass way possible; using what has been described as a "novelty item" and playing on old fashioned, offensive concepts. The fact that they've used an actual functioning tool to physically silence the "nagging woman" and one that is better known for its use in muting victims of sexual violence etc makes it all a bit grim really. Then I saw that Irish website Her.ie put a post up about this on their facebook page. Now, generally I try and avoid the comments on either her.ie or the Journal because really, my blood pressure can't handle all that stupid but I clicked in just to see if the mood was the same as it had been on Twitter.

Here's a sample of some of the comments (and yes, these were 99% from women):

"If only there was a way to gag these nagging idiots who complained."
"The complaints just reinforce the stereotype - idiots "

" I think the people complaining should be given one for free and taught how to use it. It's a joke for god sake why do we all have to be so bloody politically correct all the time now. Just have a giggle and move on."

"Sali Hughes could do with one"

"Get a life..... Get a sense of humour... FFS..."

"Does no female have a sense if humour....?!"

""Novelty" item jeeeezeee people see the fun in it...the empty shelf or space should be filled with signs "humerous" gifts on sale discount for people without it "

"Too funny, would love 1 me these  the world's gone mad & lost its sense of humour"

"Pity they don't sell senses of humour  they probably would get offended by that too "

Where to start. OK, firstly, the "get a life/sense of humour/grip/whatever, is a seriously weak response. If you can't tell me why this isn't sexist, isn't offensive and is in fact, hilarious without resorting to one of these then I'm not sure you've fully understood the issue. 

You don't find it offensive and you're a woman? Great! Delighted for you. There are lots of women and men that have found this disturbing including my husband and I and most of the decent people of twitter who I know. Does that mean that we're all right and those people are wrong? No, but at least I can explain why I think the way I do. 

Not one person who commented said it was funny for any particular reason, other than "it's a novelty item", "it's humerous" (poor spelling, also to be found throughout comment sections everywhere) or "it's a joke". A joke that uses embarrassingly lazy, sexist generalisations to demean and abase half our population is not a joke and it's not acceptable. The problem with things like this is that it's a domino in a long line; it seems fine and innocent now (to certain people) but added with all the other little jibes about women, the comments, the abuse in the street, the sexual harassment in the workplace, again in the streets, in pubs and nightclubs and you're laying the foundation for the following (and these are just the tip of the iceberg):

Image source

image source

Image Source

Organisations like The White Ribbon Project are trying to stamp out the sexist mentality that is still so pervasive in our society by stopping all types of violence against women, starting with "jokes" and comments made between the "lads in the pub", street harassment and all types of verbal, physical and sexual violence where men are the perpetrators. I think there's a long way to go before that is actualised but in the meantime, the fact that people of both genders think this is not only acceptable but hilarious is very worrying. If you think there's nothing wrong with this then at best, you have a terrible sense of humour. At worst, you think little of the degradation of women and are in fact, a misogynistic ass. And yes, women can (and are) misogynists too. Before you suggest it, if River Island were to bring out a similar product for women, I would be equally as offended. That's what makes me a feminist, I want equality for women AND men. One can't exist without the other. Things like this that reduce one sex to a lower level than the other through the use of jaded gender stereotypes and humiliation is NOT OK. 

The good news is that plenty of people are aware that ignoring this won't help; River Island had to take the product off the shelves and offline following complaints. 

I'd love to hear your opinions on this, especially if you can explain to me why this is funny! To the comments!

Recently Read: February & March!

Yeah, I know this is super late but I got too caught up in the actual reading of the books to do any reviews so I'm putting February and March together and will pop April up next month!

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

Told from the perspective of three women, it takes a while to work out the connection between them. This is slowly revealed as they each get their own chapters for their story. The husband in question is Cecelia's husband. She finds a letter addressed to her and only to be opened in the event of his death. Curiosity gets the better of her eventually and what she reads changes their lives forever. Sounds intriguing, right? Yeah, I thought so too. Look, it was grand, a passable read but definitely not the best thriller I've read so far this year. Some are describing this as "chick lit" but the subject matter is definitely in the thriller category as far as I'm concerned. While it wasn't a bad read at the time, it was pretty much instantly forgettable-I had to go back and read the synopsis of this to remember what happened. That rarely happens with books I've read only a month ago.

Overall, meh. 

Starter For Ten by David Nichols

I was a big fan of One Day (the novel that came after this) so I was eager to give this a go. The story follows Brian on his first year in college, away from home and the friends he grew up with. "Starter For Ten" refers to his lifelong ambition to get onto University Challenge. Brian isn't the most appealing character; he never says the right thing, has delusions regarding his own intelligence, social standing and abilities with women which can at times make for fairly cringe-worthy reading. That said, it was also laugh out loud funny in parts and just extremely witty. I wouldn't read this if you're hoping for another One Day but I really like Nicholls style of writing so I enjoyed it. On a side note, I also appreciated the Smiths references ;)

The Innocents by Francesca Segal

This is a modern reworking of the Edith Wharton novel, The Age of Innocence, which I thought was an interesting concept. That was before I read it. 

The story is that of a couple in their late twenties, about to get married after almost a decade together. This is a big deal as they're part of a close-knit Jewish community in London where marriage is a natural progression and something the entire extended family becomes apart of. Unfortunately, Adam, the groom-to-be falls for the bride's free-spirited, sexy cousin (the opposite of his fiancee Rachel) and then...well, nothing really happens after that. For me, it took too long to establish its storyline and even then not a huge amount happened. Things moved slowly, as they often do in real life and while that's realistic and perfectly fine, it doesn't make for the most exciting plot for a book containing 288 pages. I'd give this one a miss.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This is a children's fantasy novel about a young boy Conor, who while struggling to cope with his mother's failing health due to terminal cancer, experiences visitations each night from a monster outside his bedroom window. The monster tells Conor he's there to help him but must tell him three stories- each one seems to have the theme of "humans are complicated and the most obvious explanation is not always the right one". Each story has greater impact on Conor's life during the daytime until eventually it culminates in a major showdown between him and the monster which, if I'm honest, had me in absolute floods of tears and once again in public (this is a regular occurrence for me when I read a book anywhere outside of my house). Although this technically is a childrens book, it's also very accessible for adults and deals with themes and emotions that we're all familiar with in a more grown-up way than I was expecting. I read this on my kindle cause I got it in the amazon kindle sale after Christmas but the hardback version has some rather beautiful illustrations in it too that are well worth having a look at if you can get your hands on it.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer "No Future For You"

This is number two in the graphic novel series which carries on from where season 7 of the TV show left off. I'm really enjoying these so far; the style is very much in-keeping with the programme and the drawings are brilliant. This one focuses a bit more on Faith, the "bad" slayer, who everyone loves..some more so than Buffy herself *controversial*.

Harry Potter and The Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling

No 3 in the series and I'm well on my way to getting all of them finished this year as part of my reading goals. Loving the series and I really enjoyed this one, which a lot of people have told me is their favourite! I can't judge yet, obviously!

The Book Lovers Companion: What To Read Next

Himself and I actually got this for my mammy-in-law for Christmas but I picked it up when I stayed in the in-laws house recently and had it finished in a couple of hours. Featuring a foreword by Lionel Shriver and reviews throughout from English literature experts, critics and avid readers, this is a very handy guide for anyone who finds themselves stuck on what book to pick up next. It covers old school to modern classics with recent releases in there too and highlights interesting discussion points about each book which would be useful for you if you're part of a book club. I was pleased to find that I'd read a lot of the books that are mentioned but I did also get lots of tips for books to read in the future too.

Have you read any of this lot? 

XX