Wow, blast from the past...Saturday, August 30, 2008
Girl power
Forbes' annual list of the world's most powerful women. German Chancellor, Dr Angela Merkel, tops it again. Let's hope Sarah Palin isn't on that list next year!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sarah Palin is MuckCain's running mate
Clever boy. Cynical, but clever. Read a profile of Governor Palin here.
Great analysis over at Salon that asks the inevitable question: Should Obama have gone with
Clinton?
Meanwhile, read Hillary's reaction to Palin's selection...
This didn't take long - Palin's inspired a new spin on the term 'Milf' - she's the VPilf...
Lastly! Jon Stewart's take on Palin. Hilarious.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Gilmore gal at the DNC
Gilmore Girls fan(s), lend me your ears! The show's uber-talented creator Amy Sherman Palladino is guest blogging for EW.com at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Read here.
Didn't she do well?RAW talent
Feature on the new RTE drama RAW in this month's Gay Community News...
I’m trying to get Australian actor Damon Gameau to name-drop just a little bit, but he’s having none of it. He has been living and working in Los Angeles for the past 14 months, and admits that he is friends with just about every Antipodean star working in Hollywood today. So who is the most famous name in his phone book? Nicole? Cate? Hugh?
“I’m revealing nothing,” he laughs. “Let’s just say I know all the ones who are doing well over there at the moment.”
It looks like it won’t be long before Gameau’s name is up there with the best of his Aussie comrades, thanks to his forthcoming role opposite another fellow countryman, Anthony LaPaglia, in the political thriller Balibo, which tells the true story of the murder of five Australian journalists during Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 1975.
Before that, however, Gameau will be seen in RAW, a new six-part series written by Lisa McGee that airs on RTE Two in September. The show’s action takes place in and around the fictional Dublin restaurant of the title, and focuses on the lives and loves of its impossibly good-looking young staff.
Gameau stars as Geoff, a gruff, hot-headed sous chef, who is also gay and seemingly brimming with confidence regarding his sexuality. In the opening episodes, Geoff finds himself drawn to the restaurant’s clumsy, timid Czech waiter Pavel (played by Krystof Hadek), who, we discover, came to Ireland after his family kicked him out for admitting his true sexuality.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their polar opposite temperaments and experiences, romance blossoms between the two, but their differing takes on love and intimacy soon put a strain on their burgeoning relationship.
These days, gay characters are a given in any modern drama worth its salt, but it’s still considered a ‘brave’ career move for straight actors to play queer on screen. Neither Gameau nor Hadek approached the project with that mindset, however.
Off-screen, they became good friends, and shared an apartment along with two other cast mates on Hanover Quay during filming earlier in the summer. As they explain to me over coffee in KC Peaches on a biblically rain-soaked Tuesday morning, being relaxed around one another was the key to making their love scenes work.
“I think we were lucky in that right from the first day we were very comfortable with each other,” Gameau explains. “It would have been harder if one of us had an ego, but both of us came to it with the same attitude. We didn’t really talk about it to be honest. Our chemistry on screen just developed from our own connection. We had to physically express it now and again, but so be it. It’s our job to do that.”
In fact, the greatest discomfort for the two stars stemmed from that age-old problem for gay men and straight women everywhere: stubble burn. “There was one kissing scene where Damon literally scratched my lip,” Hadek says in his charmingly hesitant English. “The make-up girl just said to me: “See what it’s like for us?” I could definitely live without it.”
One of the most refreshing things about RAW is how it doesn’t resort to stereotype in depicting its gay characters, and instead aims for the kind of realistic, honest representations seen in US television shows like Six Feet Under and Brothers and Sisters.
“We talked about that a lot,” Gameau reveals. “There was a suggestion that I should shave my head, or behave a certain way that would explicitly signify the character’s sexuality, but I was like, ‘Why conform to any preconceived notion?’
“Obviously this guy’s anger is covering something, and you see throughout the series that he is scared shitless about who he is. I think that’s a really interesting way to portray a gay character. He doesn’t have to be this mincing or butch stereotype. He’s just a regular guy who happens to like guys.
“Geoff is great fun for me to play. I rarely shout and I’m not an angry person. I’d never do what he does. Australians are quite relaxed by nature, so this allows me to blow off a lot of steam.”
Hadek, meanwhile, has the more familiar gay role: the scared young man just coming to grips with his sexuality. However, during filming, the actor found an unexpected way to understand his character’s fears regarding homosexuality.
“My character was supposed to be Polish,” he explains. “But the casting director said that they couldn’t find a Polish actor who was willing to play gay. The few Polish actors here said they were not interested.
“They decided to make him Czech when I was cast, but that kind of story certainly helped me to get a sense of Pavel’s turmoil of having to escape from a homophobic society.”
The long working days have meant that neither actor has been able to take in much of Dublin life on their first ever visits here – apart from the drinking, of course.
“We normally go for drinks with the cast and crew on Fridays, so you feel like shit on Saturday and don’t want to really do anything!” Gameau laughs. “We’ve eaten in a few nice places and saw a play in the Abbey. I love just walking down Grafton Street, though. Dublin has a really nice vibe to it, and a great atmosphere. It’s quite happening as a city.
“My mum was born in Killarney so the plan initially was for her to come over with me, but it fell through. It’s an excuse to come back though.”
As you read this, Gameau will be deep in jungles of East Timor filming Balibo, while Hadek will still be preparing for a role in a new Czech movie set just after the Second World War. The part requires that he lose a substantial amount of weight, which means he has had to kiss one of his new favourite Irish treats goodbye.
“No more Guinness for me,” he laughs. “It’s a pity because I really started to enjoy it since I’ve been here. The things I do for this job!”
I’m trying to get Australian actor Damon Gameau to name-drop just a little bit, but he’s having none of it. He has been living and working in Los Angeles for the past 14 months, and admits that he is friends with just about every Antipodean star working in Hollywood today. So who is the most famous name in his phone book? Nicole? Cate? Hugh?
“I’m revealing nothing,” he laughs. “Let’s just say I know all the ones who are doing well over there at the moment.”
It looks like it won’t be long before Gameau’s name is up there with the best of his Aussie comrades, thanks to his forthcoming role opposite another fellow countryman, Anthony LaPaglia, in the political thriller Balibo, which tells the true story of the murder of five Australian journalists during Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 1975.
Before that, however, Gameau will be seen in RAW, a new six-part series written by Lisa McGee that airs on RTE Two in September. The show’s action takes place in and around the fictional Dublin restaurant of the title, and focuses on the lives and loves of its impossibly good-looking young staff.
Gameau stars as Geoff, a gruff, hot-headed sous chef, who is also gay and seemingly brimming with confidence regarding his sexuality. In the opening episodes, Geoff finds himself drawn to the restaurant’s clumsy, timid Czech waiter Pavel (played by Krystof Hadek), who, we discover, came to Ireland after his family kicked him out for admitting his true sexuality.
Despite, or perhaps because of, their polar opposite temperaments and experiences, romance blossoms between the two, but their differing takes on love and intimacy soon put a strain on their burgeoning relationship.
These days, gay characters are a given in any modern drama worth its salt, but it’s still considered a ‘brave’ career move for straight actors to play queer on screen. Neither Gameau nor Hadek approached the project with that mindset, however.
Off-screen, they became good friends, and shared an apartment along with two other cast mates on Hanover Quay during filming earlier in the summer. As they explain to me over coffee in KC Peaches on a biblically rain-soaked Tuesday morning, being relaxed around one another was the key to making their love scenes work.
“I think we were lucky in that right from the first day we were very comfortable with each other,” Gameau explains. “It would have been harder if one of us had an ego, but both of us came to it with the same attitude. We didn’t really talk about it to be honest. Our chemistry on screen just developed from our own connection. We had to physically express it now and again, but so be it. It’s our job to do that.”
In fact, the greatest discomfort for the two stars stemmed from that age-old problem for gay men and straight women everywhere: stubble burn. “There was one kissing scene where Damon literally scratched my lip,” Hadek says in his charmingly hesitant English. “The make-up girl just said to me: “See what it’s like for us?” I could definitely live without it.”
One of the most refreshing things about RAW is how it doesn’t resort to stereotype in depicting its gay characters, and instead aims for the kind of realistic, honest representations seen in US television shows like Six Feet Under and Brothers and Sisters.
“We talked about that a lot,” Gameau reveals. “There was a suggestion that I should shave my head, or behave a certain way that would explicitly signify the character’s sexuality, but I was like, ‘Why conform to any preconceived notion?’
“Obviously this guy’s anger is covering something, and you see throughout the series that he is scared shitless about who he is. I think that’s a really interesting way to portray a gay character. He doesn’t have to be this mincing or butch stereotype. He’s just a regular guy who happens to like guys.
“Geoff is great fun for me to play. I rarely shout and I’m not an angry person. I’d never do what he does. Australians are quite relaxed by nature, so this allows me to blow off a lot of steam.”
Hadek, meanwhile, has the more familiar gay role: the scared young man just coming to grips with his sexuality. However, during filming, the actor found an unexpected way to understand his character’s fears regarding homosexuality.
“My character was supposed to be Polish,” he explains. “But the casting director said that they couldn’t find a Polish actor who was willing to play gay. The few Polish actors here said they were not interested.
“They decided to make him Czech when I was cast, but that kind of story certainly helped me to get a sense of Pavel’s turmoil of having to escape from a homophobic society.”
The long working days have meant that neither actor has been able to take in much of Dublin life on their first ever visits here – apart from the drinking, of course.
“We normally go for drinks with the cast and crew on Fridays, so you feel like shit on Saturday and don’t want to really do anything!” Gameau laughs. “We’ve eaten in a few nice places and saw a play in the Abbey. I love just walking down Grafton Street, though. Dublin has a really nice vibe to it, and a great atmosphere. It’s quite happening as a city.
“My mum was born in Killarney so the plan initially was for her to come over with me, but it fell through. It’s an excuse to come back though.”
As you read this, Gameau will be deep in jungles of East Timor filming Balibo, while Hadek will still be preparing for a role in a new Czech movie set just after the Second World War. The part requires that he lose a substantial amount of weight, which means he has had to kiss one of his new favourite Irish treats goodbye.
“No more Guinness for me,” he laughs. “It’s a pity because I really started to enjoy it since I’ve been here. The things I do for this job!”
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Kingfisher
Restaurant review from today's Day and Night in the Independent.
Festivals, I must admit, are not my thing. I'm waaaaay too fond of my creature comforts and though a culchie to my core, I don't much fancy the idea of spending a weekend roughing it in a tent, washing (if at all) from a plastic bottle, and traipsing around a muddy site that looks more like a major humanitarian disaster area than a concert venue. Continue here.
Festivals, I must admit, are not my thing. I'm waaaaay too fond of my creature comforts and though a culchie to my core, I don't much fancy the idea of spending a weekend roughing it in a tent, washing (if at all) from a plastic bottle, and traipsing around a muddy site that looks more like a major humanitarian disaster area than a concert venue. Continue here.
Eating disorders and body image problems - it's not just girls anymore
From today's Irish Examiner...
The fashion industry may have just belatedly started grappling with the issue of dangerously skinny female models, but are designers now directing the boys down the same chicken-chested route?
While buff hunks are still on top on most catwalks in New York and Milan, a growing trend has emerged amongst some design houses in London and Paris for stick-thin male models with size 28 waists and prominent rib cages in lieu of abs.
These days, the pumped-up athletic body type associated with Calvin Klein and Abercrombie and Fitch is competing with the scrawny, hollow-cheeked style exemplified by rockers such as These New Puritan’s George Barnett and Josh Beech from Snish, whose gaunt frame recently adorned the cover of Vogue Homme International.
Only last year, the size zero and double zero debate surrounding female models prompted a decisive backlash within the fashion industry, with leading figures like Diane von Furstenburg and Anna Wintour using their positions to wholly condemn the use of skinny female models with obvious eating disorders.
Closer to home, Irish beauty Rosanna Davison recently admitted that her London-based agency, Storm Models, had instructed her not to lose any more weight as it set a bad example for young girls (Davison is a dress size between 8 and 10, depending on the brand).
However, amidst the furore over waiflike female models – and they haven’t gone away you know – some male models started to shrink too. Designer Hedi Slimane has been credited – or blamed, depending on your view – for pioneering the paired-back look in men with his skinny jeans and lean suit silhouettes for Dior, causing other parts of the industry to follow his lead.
It all begs the question: is this penchant for skinny male models here to stay? And, furthermore, does it pose a detrimental risk to the concept of body image amongst young men?
“To a certain degree, there is a current trend for some male models to be super-skinny,” explains Declan Leavy, men’s editor with Social &Personal magazine.
“I call it the heroin chic look, all sunken eyes and cheekbones. Designers like Prada, Burberry and Lanvin tend to opt for this type of model and it baffles me how anyone finds it attractive or appealing.
“However, I think the male modelling industry is still dominated by the traditional chiseled features and muscled physique look.”
That’s a view that is generally backed up by the leading Irish modelling agencies. “The skinny models tend to be the younger guys as that’s when a lot of men are naturally thin,” says Rebecca Morgan of Morgan the Agency.
“The male models that make the most money and get the most jobs are in their late 20s and 30s, and from my experience, those ones would be considered small if they had a 30 waist size. The standard is more likely to be waist size 32 or 34.”
Lisa Cummins, a booker with Compton Model Agency, admits there is a small market for such a look, but dismisses the overall skinny style as a fad.
“That look just wouldn’t appeal to the masses,” she states. “It will have a certain time for maybe one or two seasons and then it will be gone. It’s just some designers trying to do something different and make a quick buck.
“Men can be lean, but have certain amounts of muscle, like Brad Pitt in Fight Club. There are always different markets, but most people in the industry know the ideal man is big, beefy and dominant, a real leader of the herd, and those kinds of skinny models don’t reflect that.”
Be that as it may, this elevation, however minor, of skinny male models, is taking place amidst mounting reports of rising rates of eating disorders and body image problems amongst men (including, most recently, British politician John Prescott).
Experts here and abroad have also identified a growing phenomenon known as athletica nervosa – an obsession with exercise – that is affecting more and more men striving to achieve the bodies they see plastered on the pages of lads’ mags like GQ and Men’s Health.
Ruth Ní Eidhin of Bodywhys, the eating disorders association of Ireland, says that an average of 10 per cent of callers to their helpline are now men.
“We’re certainly seeing an anecdotal rise in the number of men coming forward with eating disorders and body image issues,” she explains.
“I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that similar pressures are now put on men that have long been put on women. But there’s an assumption that eating disorders are something that don’t happen to men, which can intensify the denial already inherent in such disorders.
“There are a number of musicians and band members out there who are incredibly skinny, which does seem to influence fashion trends, and a lot more magazines are promoting certain looks, body types, and images of what a successful man or a “real man” is supposed to look like.”
Whether modern man has a burning desire to be super-skinny or buff and muscular, there’s only one way to tackle any problems that such pressures are placing on men: talk about it.
“I think the biggest thing is educating people,” Ni Eidhin says. “There was a lot of debate in the last few weeks in light of John Prescott’s admission. That was fantastic just to get people to realise that this is about men too. There’s too much pressure on everyone to base their sense of self-belief on what they see in the mirror. Getting this topic out in the open is the first step towards challenging it.”
*Bodywhys can be contacted on LoCall 1890 200 444
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Gold!
I highly recommend that you check out Sean Kenny's Olympics blog over on the revamped Irish Times website. Great stuff.
I'll be Dressed in Corduroy and Denim
Woohoo! Just got my tickets for humourist and all-round genius David Sedaris' reading at the Westin Hotel on September 11. Tickets (costing just eight yo-yos) are moving very fast so get onto Waterstones on Dawson St pronto before they all sell out.
Teresa: Making of a Saint
This is a movie trailer used in the forthcoming movie adap of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. Highlarious.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Obama's Veep...
Drudge says Obama's ready to announce his running mate as early as tomorrow (Tuesday). My top picks are Joe Biden, Tim Kaine or Kathleen Sebelius. Unless...
Meanwhile, McCain is ready to announce his running mate on Aug 29. Read here...
Meanwhile, McCain is ready to announce his running mate on Aug 29. Read here...
The Joke(r)'s on us
Christopher Goodwin had a good piece in yesterday's Sunday Times about why The Dark Knight has touched such a cultural nerve amongst audiences in America and abroad.
Stick to the Script
Irish band The Script topped the charts here and in the UK at the weekend with their self-titled debut album. It's fantastic news for the three guys, whom I interviewed for The Star back in March. I'm posting that interview below to mark their success. Well done lads!
Irish trio The Script might not be household names right now, but allthat is about to change with the release of their debut single We Cry next month.
The band consists of Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power – and their sound is like nothing anyone has ever heard from an Irish band. In fact, the guys' infectious mix of melodic pop and soul, blended with strong hip-hop and R&B hooks, is generating so much buzz that record company Sony BMG has invested more in pushing The Script in the UK and the US than any other band this year.
With so much seemingly riding on the single and their self-titled debut album, you would think the three guys would be buckling under the weight of expectation. But that couldn't be further from the truth. These music industry veterans - even though they're all still in their 20s – are enjoying themselves too much to get bogged down by pressure.
"It's surreal at the moment," front-man and keyboard player Danny (26) says. "We've been touring in England with Newton Faulker and The Hoosiers, which has really helped us build buzz and support from our live shows.
"We've been getting a phenomenal response. Big-time English radio DJs like Jo Wiley and Steve Wright have come to see us and are playing us. Terry Wogan actually played us the other day. He gave us a big intro, pushing the Irish thing. It's like we've broken through, and it's given us great confidence. We're loving every second of this."
The guys' debut single We Cry is a catchy and immensely polished soulful anthem that manages to be both bleak and uplifting at the same time. Lead guitarist Mark (27) explains: "We decided to come back here to make the record. I'm from James St in Dublin. When you listen to the lyrics about the kid who had hope and all of a sudden she has a baby –I know these people.
"I know the people like John in the song who was a great musician and he messed it up by getting into drugs – people who are victims of their environment. The single is an observation that says a problem shared is a problem halved. We're all in this together."
So where did their distinctive sound come from? "Living in Ireland you inherently have one ear on Ireland/England and the other on America," Danny states. "It's a bit of a mish-mash. Everything is going in, but we've spearheaded it into this particular sound.
"Mark's musical tastes are very much R&B, rap, hip-hop; Glen's would be funk and things like Sting and The Police; and mine would be emotional music, ballads, black soul music. Coming into the studio with three such different styles is like waves crashing together."
All three guys have been heavily involved in the music industry sincetheir teens. Glen has been gigging around the country for years, while Danny's brothers Dara and Ian were members of 90s band The Big Geraniums (co-managed by their dad).
In addition, Danny and Mark wereboth members of My Town in the late 90s, mentored by U2 boss Paul McGuinness. Danny and Mark then established a production partnership, moved to LA and began working with a host of American pop and R&B luminaries.
Itwas at this stage that drummer Glen (28) came into contact with the guys, and The Script evolved naturally from their jamming sessions.
"We had this crappy little studio in Venice Beach," Danny recalls."Glen came to visit us, and literally within four hours, we slapped him down in front of the drums and had him play with some of our friends. With us being producers, we used to have the best Venice Beach musicians coming through playing with us. So we threw Glen in at the deep end and he swam!
"From there we got on so well that we started working/writingtogether. It was never an outright intention to make a band – it just came about naturally."
The Script's debut album of the same name will be simultaneously launched in Europe and the US in the summer. It's a record born of an intense period in the band's life.
"The album is a bluntly honest snapshot of our collective lives as a band over the past year and a half," Mark reveals. "Over that time alot of stuff hit us. My mother was terminally ill in hospital and she passed away after ten months, and then four months later Dan's dad passed away suddenly.
"Those songs poured out of us at that point. I always said that if my mam died, then my life would be over because she was everything I had. But then when it happened I realised that every end is also a beginning, so a song like The End Where I Begin is an absolute honest reflection of that time."
Danny adds: "That was a very dark time in the band's evolution. And I'm really proud that we've come out of the opposite end of that, that we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and it wasn't the train!"
Teeing is believing
From today's Independent...
Jimmy Murray has always been sporty. He competed in athletic events right into his 40s and now, in his 60s, he regularly plays golf for his country.
His achievements sound impressive, until you realise that Jimmy is blind -- then they enter the realm of the incredible. He has just finished representing the Republic in the World Blind Golf Championships in Belfast, where he achieved his goal of finishing in the top 20.
Continue here.
Jimmy Murray has always been sporty. He competed in athletic events right into his 40s and now, in his 60s, he regularly plays golf for his country.
His achievements sound impressive, until you realise that Jimmy is blind -- then they enter the realm of the incredible. He has just finished representing the Republic in the World Blind Golf Championships in Belfast, where he achieved his goal of finishing in the top 20.
Continue here.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
You ad me at hello
Salon.com gets a political advertising expert to analyse the latest ad campaigns in the US presidential race. Interesting stuff.
Monday, August 11, 2008
How they got to Sesame Street
In honour of Feist's joyful appearance on the new season of Sesame Street, EW has a list of the most memorable Street appearances by artists like Paul Simon and Johnny Cash.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
Briefs encounter
Feature from today's Independent
It seems David Beckham has done it again. The founding father of metrosexuality, who made it acceptable for men everywhere to use moisturiser and wax their chests, has sparked another style revolution -- this time in the underwear department.Continue here.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Obama, McCain go after the 'pop'-ular vote
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Was the 2004 election fixed?
Andrew O'Hehir at Salon takes apart the new documentary, Stealing America: Vote by Vote, which revisits the contentious theory that the results from the 2004 US presidential face off between Bush and John Kerry were seriously dodgy. Worth a read.
Adam Sandler sings...
Adam Sandler does guest vocals on a cover of Freefallin' in Temple Bar's Purty Kitchen last night.
Lard times
Restaurant review of The Larder in 'Day and Night' in today's Independent.
Working from home as a freelance journalist can be a cold and solitary existence. Don't get me wrong, there's a helluva lot to be said for it. There are no public transport traumas, no insufferable office colleagues and, sometimes, no need to leave the house for days at a time. Continue here.
Working from home as a freelance journalist can be a cold and solitary existence. Don't get me wrong, there's a helluva lot to be said for it. There are no public transport traumas, no insufferable office colleagues and, sometimes, no need to leave the house for days at a time. Continue here.
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