From Taboo to a New Chic: Has Death Become Our New Pornography?

Death is one of those things we don’t really like to talk, or even think, about – mainly because people feel that it’s too distressing, much too confronting and far too mysterious, too much of a taboo.

When we find ourselves faced with the subject in polite conversations, we quickly back track, mumbling and muttering in hushed tones.  But yet we can’t avoid it.

With the click of a mouse or a turn of a page, we are greeted by songs, poems and films written about death.  Websites and forums have been dedicated to the much ‘tabooed’ subject.

Ben Franklin once said that it’s the one thing in life you can’t escape.

Pop Culture’s Latest Porn Star

But yet after filling our stomachs with the latest fast food craze or ready made meal, we sink into our sofas, and flick on the television and get our daily dose of death.

Whether it’s the news, your favourite soap opera, the latest action film or even a classic horror movie, death is glamorize, glorified and unavoidable on the screen.

The Fallen Apple

Brian Lenihan

First the Catholic Church stole Irish childhoods, and now the Irish government have stolen young adulthoods with their latest crippling budget.

The latest announcements of Budget 2010 is that new applicants for job seekers and supplementary welfare aged 20-21, will see their benefits cut to €100 per week.

When questioned over the harshness of the cut to young adults unable to find work in these difficult times, Minister Hanifin offhandedly replied ‘well they should be in college at age’!

Of course, I forgot how every young Irish person applies for college straight after completing their Leaving Certificate.

If I Actually Managed to Interview Brendan Hackett, would it go Something Like This?… (Hackett Puts Magic Touch on Failing Team)

The following article was an assignment for college, and the interview was fabricated and represents neither the beliefs nor words of Westmeath Manager Brendan Hackett.  After finishing the piece, I thought it was half decent and decided to post it. Enjoy.

Taking a leaf, and managers, from the Kingdom to try train and shape the Westmeath team for All Ireland glory was tried and tested; and failed.

Some lay the blame on their teaching skills; others suggested that maybe the language barrier was at fault; who knows. But if the kings of GAA can’t teach us, something drastic was definitely needed. .

And it was on a cold sobering August evening, in the offices underneath Cusack Park that that ‘something drastic’ was decided on.

Huddled around a table, deep in plans and preparation, a six-man selection committee agreed a replacement for Tomas O Flaharta; a replacement that no-one of sound mind would have thought of.

And so amid the rolling thunder and flashes of lightning, the role of the new Westmeath manager was decided upon.

Failure to Grant Wishes of Students

Minister Of Education: Batt O'Keeffe

Without fail, Batt O’Keeffe and our Department of Education have yet again, missed their self-set deadline of 30^th October for first instalments of Student Maintenance Grants.  Like the tradesman who blames his tools, the Department of Education have blamed the delay upon students and their “slow response of submitting their applications and information”.

BCFE

With over 50% of BCFE students relying on grants to help them with their day-to-day struggles of being full-time students, the delay has added an extra pressure on vulnerable students.  The first six weeks of college being the most critical period of the year, first time students often find themselves struggling financially with living expenses weighing heavily on their minds; and the reality of a high drop-out figure for 2009/10 becomes more and more of a possibility.

Figures show that there has been a 30% increase in the number of students applying for maintenance grants this year.

The Death of Print

Nursing a hangover from the internet’s 40^th birthday bash in autumn; I recall the previous night’s whispers and rumours running amok that the death of print was just hiding around the corner.

Spoken bravely by technology’s geeks and nerds, high on the fumes of alcohol coming off journalists and writers sulking in the corner, I wondered if I maybe was too hasty in choosing my profession.
Further investigation was needed, by mean of the internet… having to resort to my supposed successor; I sank further into a post drinking, pre- redundant depression…

Abdullah’s Final Fence Falter

What with all the allegations and accusations hanging over his head since the beginning of Afghanistan’s second ‘democratic’ election, few would have thought that Hamid Karzai would see the campaign through and even fewer thought that he could actually come out victorious.

But, just like the sneaky underdog that was Milhous Nixon in ’72, Karzai has been declared the ‘legitimate leader’ of Afghanistan after the second round vote was cancelled by the Independent Election Commission (a board of officials he himself had appointed) ; leaving speechless millions of people the world over.

Brand New – Daisy (2009)

Overnight Success Stories

Jesse Lacey is a 31-year-old middle-class Long Island native. He also is the front man with Long Island alternate rock band Brand New; which in turn, makes him an idol in the eyes of thousands of teenage ‘emos’ worldwide. A three letter word that can destroy a band before they even begin, cast off as nothing more than musical dribble not worth giving the chance.

Ignoring the labelling and tags, Brand New have, over their last eight years, with each and every offering, strived to push the boundaries of their musical abilities, making them like none other.

Debut ‘Your Favourite Weapon” (2002) on indie label Triple Crown made an over-night success of the band, becoming the creators of the generation that is now known as the cash cow genre of emo.

In this false and image-conscious scene fuelled by fickle fans and scenesters, the Long Island natives knew they had to create something even more special with album number two. And after nearly two years of label turmoil (which we won’t get into here), second album ‘Deja Entendu’ (2004) was quickly recorded and released on Dreamworks.

The Twisted Pepper Café Launch & Absolut Art Exhibition

A New Solution

Sick of Starbuck?  Munchies pissing ya off?  Well then Bodytonic have a solution for you!

Coming up on the Twisted Pepper’s first birthday, the boys at Bodytonic have fought through the doom and gloom of the recession and are launching The Twisted Pepper Café.  From Monday 12^th October, the Café will be open 7 days a week from 4pm with quality teas, coffees and nibbles on offer.

“Is that all?” I hear ya whinging… no actually it’s not!  There’s also an Absolut Cocktail bar, non-stop drinks specials, a jukebox and a round pool table.  Bet you wouldn’t get any of that in any of your south side cafés!

Drink away your recession blues/dole money and celebrate the launch in the Twisted Pepper this Saturday (10^th Oct) from 8pm onwards.

A Little Advice Goes a Long Way…

“White-trash trailer-park viewers? You can have millions of those, they don’t matter”.

CNN’s Fergal Ryan, earlier this week at BCFE College, casually slates FOX viewers as he dismissed FOX’s Bill O Reilly’s claim that CNN ratings had begun sliding in the last six months.

Line producer with the news station since 2003, Galway-native Ryan, from the age of ten, knew he “wanted to be a journalist” but it wasn’t until after graduating from Politics/Legal Science in his home town that he went on to complete a degree in journalism in DCU.

Shortly after a brief freelance career he began working on RTE’s Today at Five as a courts reporter, a period of his life he reminisces upon fondly telling the wedged room:  “I really enjoyed my time in RTE, [working with] such a high calibre of colleagues was amazing.  It was the most rewarding and fulfilling time in my career”.

It was his time at RTE that helped Ryan gains a name for himself on the international stage, but after four years of Irish evening television, Fergal wanted more of a challenge. It was around this time that he heard that CNN were recruiting a line producer for a show, taking the plunge, he applied for the position.  

Men are Redundant (A Future of Lonely Nights with Sex Scenes on a Muted TV?)

The Beginning of a Whole Different Ball Game

1996 was the year crew-cut, hairy-legged feminists worldwide rejoiced; science was on the road to eradicating the one obstacle in their way to ruling the earth; man.  And their reason for rejoicing?  1996 was also the year of Dolly the sheep,
now a household name, but back then in the ‘90s, an unimaginable step forward in biological science.  Back then we’d already heard all about sperm banks and of all types of fertility treatments, but this was the beginning of a whole different ballgame.