Earlier this evening I saw Munich, Stephen Spielberg's new movie. I have to say that I really enjoyed it and at over two and half hours long it's good value for money, especially when you get in for free! Well, it's not my fault if the nice women at the cinema keep giving me free tickets, in their eyes I'm probably like some kind of poor stray dog or something.

The film itself is an interesting and dramatic mix of politics, history, intrigue and vengence amongst other things. However, by steadfastly refusing to dehumanise the characters on any side, Spielberg essentially gives two fingers to the agendas of Bush and others like him all around the world who are trying to turn us into morons by convincing us that they are the good guys and that we must take out the bad guys (don't worry, they have a list) by any means necessary.

I seem to recall that your predecessors tried the same lark with the Indians, you Texas cowboy! (Hmmm, that should get my on a few CIA and FBI watch lists, they have really cool programs that are watching everything you know!)

Labels: Cinema

I was playing poker last night (no limit Texas Holdem) and well into the tournament (I was chip leader at the time :-) I was dealt the Ace of Hearts and the Four of Hearts. When the flop came I could hardly believe my fecking eyes - the Two, Three and Five of Hearts were staring right back at me! I had flopped a straigh flush and the more I looked at it, the more beautiful it seemed. (For the non-poker heads amongst you, there are only 40 possible straight flushes out of a total of 2,598,960 possible five card combinations. It's the highest possible winning hand in poker and getting one is like winning the Lotto!)

Anyway, like a langer I checked the flop as I didn't want to give the game away. After the turn, the only other player in the hand thought long and hard and finally deciced to go all in. As you can imagine, at this point, I thought all my birthdays had come at once. There I was wondering how I could make some money out of this hand and the other guy only decides to go all in and save me the bother. Not surprisingly, it took me roughly a millisecond to decide to call his all in bet. Hmmm, I wonder if I'll ever get a straight flush again?

Unfortunately, the rest of the night didn't work out quite as well. I went into the heads up with more than twice as many chips as the other guy and from then on I didn't get a single hand. The other guy kept going all in and each time I didn't even have a lousy pair to call him with. Finally, when I had to go all in, the other guy had an Ace in his hand and ended up with four Aces by the river. It was just that kind of crazy night!

Labels: Poker

Now this one has me more than a little excited! Check this, the Cork Jazz Big Band, a twenty piece jazz orchestra, yes, that's twenty of the feckers, are starting a new regular Monday night gig on the 30th January at Cyprus Avenue.

Personally, I'm expecting something fabulous so I hope I'm not going to be disappointed. I'm wondering if one of them will be standing in front, baton in hand, conducting the rest of them just like the big bands of the forties and fifties. To be honest, I have no idea what they are going to play but I already feel like Count Basie is coming to town!

Labels: Bands, Swing Jazz

For those of you that care, there is a Hed Kandi night at The Savoy in Cork this coming Friday, 27th January. Andy Norman and John Jones are headlining but there may be one or two others playing as well.

Also, Mark Doyle, the original driving force behind the whole Hed Kandi phenomenon has started a new label called the Tokyo Project. Lovers of good dance music everywhere, rejoice!

Labels: DJs, House

Ok, enough is enough! If another woman tells me to go to see Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee's new film, I'm going to scream (like a woman)! I'm sure it's brilliant and the scenery does look amazing but lets get real here people... it's a gay cowboy film! Me and the rest of my species are too manly (read insecure) to be going into cinema's buying tickets for the gay cowboy film.

Also, I fear that my image of cowboys as an iconic bastion of manliness as impressed upon me during my carefree childhood days would be devastated forever! It’s a far cry from The Hulk I tell ya, Marion Morrison would be turning in his grave! Now I need to saddle up and get out of here before the gay community gets a posse together and runs me out of town...

Labels: Cinema, Humour

Over the weekend I saw Jarhead, the new film by Sam Mendes, who previously made Road to Perdition and American Beauty. It follows the day to day lives of a group of Marine recruits from boot camp up to their participation in the first Gulf War. It’s not your typical action war movie and has a more subtle mix of drama, satire and humour. I practically fell off the chair laughing during the scene with the bugle rendition of Stevie Wonder’s Sunshine of my Life but I can’t say any more about that bit without spoiling it!

I’ve always wanted to play a soldier in a film, in all fairness, I’ve already got the haircut! So if any casting director out there needs another body for a war movie then feel free to give me a call! That said, I'd also love to play a Jedi in a Star Wars movie and a part in a Matrix film would be cool...

Labels: Cinema

I just found out that I missed the Impact drum and bass Christmas gig on the 29th December at An Cruiscín Lán, which upsets me greatly. This sorry state of affairs became known to me when I accidentally stumbled across the Irish Drum and Bass website.

If there are any other drum and bass nights around Cork, I'd appreciate it if someone would let me know. Not that I'll be able to find anyone to go to a drum and bass night...

Labels: DJs, Drum'n'Bass

The Roaring Forties are Cork's finest and hardest working swing jazz and jump jive band. These guys are incredible, if you like dancing and they're ever playing near you then you owe it to yourself to go see them! Also, their gigs are always full of way more woman than men so if you're male, single and you can dance then, Jesus, need I say more.

Anyways, they're launching their new album very soon and in order to get a bit of publicity they're really trying hard to get on The Late Late Show. Cause we all know in this country, you ain't made it until you been on the telly with Gaybo, oops, I mean Pat.

So do your good deed for the day now and e-mail The Late Late Show and tell them how they'd be like total fools not to put this band on their fancy telly show! You know it makes sense...

Labels: Bands, Swing Jazz, Television

I also recently finished an xbox game called Fahrenheit. Heh, it was Christmas, I had time off and I had to do something! I know that opinion is divided across the gaming community about this game but personally I thought it was brilliant. This is the future of adventure gaming and the developer, Quantic Dream, should be given loads of support for trying to take this genre to the next level.

Gruesome murders, cool characters, a great story, mature sexual content (these French developers just love breaking all of the rules) and superb Matrix style fights - what the Hell more could you want in a game???

Labels: Video Games

I recently finished a book called The End Of Oil - The Decline of the Petroleoum Economy and the Rise of a New Energy Order by Paul Roberts. Ok, it doesn't sound like a page turner but trust me when I say that if you live on this planet (probably true for most of us) then you need to read this book.

Interesting, informative, worrying and even downright scary!

Labels: Books

A quick acknowledgement to Donal, whose incessant work on his own blog has convinced me to get off my arse and start whipping my own blog into shape!

One of the annoying (in a nice kind of way :-) things about Donal is that all the girls just love him to bits, the lucky bastard. And you lot don't even bother trying to deny it, you know damn well you do... I guess there's just something about Donal!

Labels: Blogs