The new Where the Hell is Matt video including Ireland

I <3 Matt Harding. Biggest regret I had last year was not taking the chance to dance with him in Dublin last June. This video? 42 countries and 18 months. Wow.

Spotted the Giant's Causeway and Stephen's Green in this one.

His great website is on http://www.wherethehellismatt.com and you can comment on his new video on his website here.

Well done Matt!

FF3: Paul Walsh joins boyband, bloggers get together

Click on photo for bigger.

NKOTB are here - New Kids On The Blogs. With the support of new member (and most generous host) Paul Walsh, this boyband is set to dominate the music markets of southern Carlow, Laois, Leitrim and the Aran Islands with their unique covers of:

• Relight my Fire(fox)
• Come on Baby, light my Fire(fox)
• Goodness Gracious, great balls of Fire(fox)
• We didn't start the Fire(fox)
• and of course Johnny Cash's Burning Ring of Fire(fox)
  

Last night's launch party for Firefox 3 was fun. I got to meet so many people and put faces to names, as well as catch up with many more.

One of the personal highlights was gathering bloggers together (thank you Elly!) for this photo. Can't imagine there's been this many together since the Blog Awards.


Click for bigger version

I'll get in trouble now trying to name everyone and missing people, but the ones I know - and Elly has helped me find - are:

Peter Donegan, Niall Donegan, Dennis Deery, Paul Campbell, Alan O' Rourke, Justin Mason, Keith Gaughan, Eamon Leonard, Iarfhlaith Kelly, Maryrose Lyons, Laura Czajkowski, Elly Parker, Darragh Ó Héiligh, Gordon Murray, Niamh Smith, David Maybury, Anthony McGuinness, Darren Byrne, Liz Lyons and of course Paul Walsh and Adrian (Aido) McMahon.

(Missing are Joe Drumgoole (who stepped away) - apparently Putplace is in beta next week - and George Pratt who was nowhere to be found...)



Got them all to autograph the back of the photo too!



I also finally got to meet the lovely Marie, to chat with Roseanne, to meet (I think?) Damian Bannon, to meet Keith and Niall from Blacknight, to see George's new N95 (he's very proud GM!), to have a pint with John Peavoy and Gordon (after much twittering of location) and to kidnap Debbiemet, who is just one of the nicest people ever. Need your garden done? Contact her.



Elly was lucky enough to bag herself a launch t-shirt.



Once Ben finally showed up and bar was closing, we predictably headed on to Eddie's where himself and Liz wanted to get in on the Hello Sheila thing...





Other photos of this nature taken by the lovely people at Quest.ie are live on EventPhotoIreland. I love this one of Paul and Aido. Bohoe also has some great shots on pix.ie


All photos compliments of www.quest.ie

If you know of anyone in the photo that I missed, if you were there and enjoyed it or if you just want to say how silly I looked in the above photo, please leave a comment :)

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, prepare to die

Sometimes YouTube is just mega.



Update: just been emailed the Top 10 best Lightsaber mashups. Classic!

Chocaholics: Have a break, have a (slice of) KitKat

I've just got this by email and thought I'd share. I wonder if Grannymar on Monday or Deborah on Tast.ie will take up the idea?

KitKat for serious chocaholics:

We decided to pimp a KitKat Chunky, although there are 2 others already, we thought we could do better in honour of this fabulous snack! We wanted to go BIG.

Ingredients:

• 30 x Sainsbury's Luxury Belgian Milk Chocolate
• 3 x ScotBlok Chocolate Flavour Cake Covering
• 6 x Loacker Quadratini chocolate wafers
• 1 x wallpaper dipping trough
• 1 x sticky backed vinyl floor tile

Day 1: We cut out the KitKat logo from the floor tile and stuck it to the bottom of the trough (in reverse).

Melted about one third of the chocolate and poured it into the mould. The kids have never seen so much melted chocolate before.

Day 2: The chocolate set overnight. Next stage was to arrange the wafers in five layers along the chocolate.

Then melted the rest of the chocolate and poured it carefully around the wafers, then over the top. The house was starting to smell like Cadbury World. MMMMMMMM! We could not fit it in the fridge flat, cos it was far too big.

Day 3: Woke up early to check the BigKat. Still not Hard enough! Had to put it in fridge, but on a slant.

Finally at around 6pm our creation was hard enough to be born! It turned out surprisingly easy.

Anyone for a slice?

Vital statistics:

• Size L 59cm x W 17cm x H12cm
• 45,888 Calories
• 1860g saturated fat
• 1120 Weight Watchers points ( this equates to 3 months worth of a daily allowance for a woman)
  
• Cost £36.42

One of the geniuses behind the project:



Now I like chocolate (especially Green & Blacks Mint) but not sure I could manage something like that. How about you?

How volunteers helped make the Dublin Writers Festival great

Over the past few years I've volunteered with a number of festivals, events and charities because I enjoy the experience. Each person I meet, each event I attend and each lesson learned all contribute towards my enthusiasm and anticipation of the next opportunity I get to help make a difference.



My experiences to date have been varied. You very much see where the whole swan analogy has come from - serene on the surface, flapping like mad underneath. However you deal with that simply - a quick evaluation of the situation, an idea of what to do and how to get it done and above all keep smiling.



When the opportunity to volunteer for the Dublin Writers Festival came up recently I was initially hesitant. After all, this isn't something "fun" like St Patrick's Day or The Cat Laughs, this is serious literature, conversations, awards and discussions.

There are many great authors in attendance, it's run by the Dublin City Arts Office and it is, no doubt, for the serious scholars and literary addicts who can quote someone like Tom Stoppard with ease.

That was not me.



However I decided to give it a go. New experiences and all that.

To be frank (perhaps a little more than I should be) I'm surprised the Writers Festival doesn't get more support. The people in the Arts Office deserve great praise for managing such an important event (in what's supposed to be a literary city) with limited resources at their disposal.



Programme director Liam Browne, himself an author, put together a superb event featuring:

over 40 Irish and international writers and poets, journalists, political commentators, and even lawyers for a series of readings, discussions, debates and public interviews. The Festival will explore the themes such as war, loss, national identity, Irish values, childhood, crime, and the art of the short story.

That's no mean feat. Léan Ní Chléirigh took the mantle of volunteer coordinator for the first time and rose to the challenge admirably, ensuring each person knew where their venue was, what they were doing and keeping swanlike calm throughout.

What happened over the next 4 days were a whirlwind of meeting people, making friends, having discussions and pints and laughs and getting things done. I was based at Project in Temple Bar and there authors, presenters, staff and volunteers all worked together to get things done.



From even before the opening event, a conversation between authors John Boyne, Claire Kilroy and Lloyd Jones right through to the closing with Ian Rankin and Colin Bateman, the volunteers put up posters, met authors at the airport and hotels, greeted the audience, tore tickets, directed people, ensured venues were ready, escorted people, answered queries, readied for changeovers and more, all keeping cheerful, polite and calm throughout.

What's more, we/they were all happy to. In return we got to attend the events and post-festival celebrations for free. They have been very generous in recognition of our contribution.

As Léan said in an email to us:

Just a quick mail to say thanks a mill for the last week. At the party on Sunday there were a lot of compliments from Liam, Jack (Gilligan, Dublin City Arts officer) and the Ladies in the Arts Office about what a lovely bunch you were and I'd just like to add my voice to that chorus.

... Being able to rely completely on you all was fundamental to the success of the festival.

And there-in lies the invitation to everyone. You can use your experience, your skills and your resources to help make any event successful.


A quick snap with JP Donleavy.

Volunteers have a wide range of skills, talents and expertise to bring to any situation. Even enthusiasm can be of great benefit, especially when all you seem to see is spreadsheets, proposals and issues. We are happy to help with ideas for marketing, for fulfillment, for spreading the word. All you have to do is ask.

Equally, volunteers, remember you can get involved in whatever way you can. Most of the festivals out there have low budgets and resources and would be happy to have your suggestions and skills. Know some way you can help? Put your hand up and suggest it. Think you've got a good idea? Tell the people who can make it happen and make it so.

Darren has written great posts about his first time involvement and I think he enjoyed it. I know Niamh did as well.

My personal take? I got to meet some lovely people, listen to fantastic authors speak and have a chat with writing superstars like JP Donleavy, John Boyne, Evelyn Conlon, Roy Foster, Alan Gilsenan, Ivana Bacik, Lloyd Jones, Claire Kilroy, Hugo Hamilton and Justin Cartwright for free - all I had to do was do what I like doing.

Even Tom would have to applaud an opportunity like that.



I may not have met all the volunteers or those involved but my congratulations to Maura Carty, Vicky Kearney, Catherine Neville in the Arts Office, Jack Gilligan, Liam Browne, Ian the photographer, Léan Ní Chléirigh and the other people who made the magic happen - Niamh, Darren, Agata, Andrew, Caoimhe, Gisela, Hannah, Kevin, Li, Mary, Melanie, Niamh B, Randall, Sarah and anyone else who helped make this an unforgettable experience.

Thanks to you all :) I'll be back!

There's a new badge in town...

And I want one!


Image from Grannymar

So, GM and Will, geniuses that you are, is there an application form? A practical exam? A bribe? A hug?

I guess I'll find out here.

Hello Sheila, remember me?

Monday in Davy Byrnes was just one of those random nights. Unplanned, uncoordinated and deliciously fun. I learned important lessons - a smile and a glint in the eye goes a long way. Saying please and thank you always helps.

But above all I learned to never, ever leave my camera behind with Anthony, Darren or Niamh now they've been involved in this.





Sheila left her camera behind her in the pub, with all the great photos she’d taken of the night. All the people she'd been with. So we thought, what if we added, erm, everyone else? Tourists, locals, barstaff... everyone? Tee hee hee.







All photos can be seen on my pix.ie page. My sincere thanks to everyone in Davy Byrnes for their great sense of humour.
Sorry Sheila!



I would greatly appreciate that because this was done for fun and with the willingness of so many nice people, that these photos are not used to make fun of any of the participants. Please contact me regarding using the photos, and if you'd like any taken down, just let me know.

Spencer Tunick participants - here's what happened in Cork

Image from RTE.ie

For anyone participating in Dublin on Saturday, Stereotyping's post on his experiences in Blarney yesterday is well worth reading.

"Nudity really is no big thing, we just think it is because we hide it away almost all the time. Those in doubt about the Dublin installation should definitely do it. It’s unlike anything else you could do.

If you never do anything else special in your life, at least you can say you did that. I doubt there was anyone there who didn’t enjoy the experience and it feels good to have been part of something, to have shared a profound experience with a bunch of (mostly) strangers. I felt alive. I feel alive."

You'll find it here.

There's also a great report from Patrick taking part over on Pat and Amy’s Weblog.

"As everyone got dressed, a woman saw Ray D’Arcy, a local radio show host, and shouted, “Ray D’Arcy, I saw your willy!” Then, more quietly to her friends, “I did.”

What did it feel like to pose for Tunick? Again, it wasn’t uncomfortable, and it was surprising how it didn’t even feel like I was nude, really, but rather it felt very normal, very quickly. Everyone was there to have fun and help create a bit of art, and that’s just what we did."

There's a note from the Cork Midsummer Festival Director.

Finally, Twenty's post is funny.

If it were up to me I’d arrest the whole lot of them, charge them with public indecency and send Tunick to jail for 15 years for crimes against humanity.

Does that strengthen your resolve or make you even more fearful? It's a bit of both for me. Lying in bed this morning I was thinking 3 more sleeps. Eeek.