Brüno

And, I must gloat about it.
I'm seeing Brüno tonight. Many days before it arrives in cinema.

Am I excited? Hell yeah.
Will I love it? Most definitely. I've been waiting for months to see it.

So, whilst you sit at home, eating Popcorn and having a beer later on, I'll be laughing my guts out like I did when I first saw 'Borat'. Seriously? I encountered many a moment where I was laughing so hard, I couldn't catch my breath. Surely you know the feeling. No doubt it will be the same tonight.

Sorry about the shameless bragging, but I am just that excited.

P.S.
You did hear that Sasha Baron Cohen is coming to live in Ireland, and that he apparently duped two Irish personalities in the film. We'll have to wait and see!

Glastonbury-Festival-ticket-sold[1].jpg

Again, arguably one of the greatest summer festivals in the world took place this weekend, and at time of print, is still buzzing away in Somerset. Glastonbury featured tons of fantastic musical artists this year, including many new additions and talented performers.

There are so many bands to mention, all of which are on the official website and the Wikipedia article, so I won't even attempt to list them all. I have been following the event all weekend, mostly via the wonders of the BBC, who again created an excellent broadcast. I was taken aback, as usual, by artists such as The Ting Tings, Bloc Party, Bruce Springsteen, Dizzee Rascal, and strangely enough, Lady GaGa, who all put on a fantastic show for each of their relative sets.

I must be critical however, mostly directed at Ms. Lily Allen. I couldn't believe how poor she was on stage. The vocals weren't that great, and overall, the character was very dead. Sure, fans probably loved it, but from a music-fanatic perspective, I didn't really think it did her justice, taking away from her success with songs such as 'The Fear' and 'Not Fair'. I must also mention how bizarre of N.E.R.D. that their instruments were pulled by 'the powers that be' when they tried to play a full set. The group were only special guests, but Pharrell and his crew tried to kick of one of their energetic shows, whilst also stating that there were 200,000 people at Glastonbury. Slight miscalculation, me thinks. Malik Meer of The Guardian put it bluntly, but accurately: "Pharrell and the boys give it some welly on the main stage before getting the plug pulled. Cue diva strop.".

Bloc Party played as headliners on the 'Other Stage' and delivered a great set, letting everyone know that they are one of the finest groups on the music circuit today. In a very important piece, Blur are headlining today, Sunday, and will set the tone for their show in Punchestown on July 12th.

Many of the performances are floating around on the internet, so do download them or watch them, as they're sure to get you in the festival spirit, or gear you up for Oxegen, where many are playing in a few weeks.

Will I be going to Glastonbury next year? Hell yeah.
Simple as.

Michael Jackson

You don't need me to tell you that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, has died. He passed at the age of 50 in LA. Also, Farrah Fawcett, of Charlie's Angels fame, has too died. Overall, it's been a bad day for deaths of famous stars and icons.

However, Jeff Goldblum was reported to have fallen to his death in New Zealand: a completely fabricated story. It appeared on the internet via Twitter, created by a website that generates false news stories upon entry of a name. The truth is, he's not dead. You can see this bizarre, and slightly sickening website, by searching for it. It's called Fake a Wish. I'm not going to even provide a link to it in the blog, as it's pretty disgusting.

Twitter, Facebook and all the usual sites have been up and down like a Yo-Yo due to today's events. A mere search on Twitter will result in thousands of tweets regarding the deaths, mostly in favour of Jackson. But, only a few Fail Whales have shown up. Search from the sidebar is basically broken, and doesn't return results, due to the intensive loading of tweets, I can imagine.

At the same time, Perez Hilton, the 'blogger' is getting a bashing online, again via Twitter, from stars such as Pete Wentz, John Mayer and Ashlee Simpson, regarding his comments. It's not been a great week for him- he's got in a feud with Black Eyed Peas member, Will.i.am, after he apparently got attacked by him at an awards ceremony.

I've been sent an email from one person who has tickets to the Michael Jackson gig in The O2. She wonders, what will happen now? Will refunds be given, or will they not? All I know is that Viagogo, the ticket company behind the comeback tour, have pulled down the sales online, only hours after posting a tweet spreading the word about £76 tickets. Regardless, it's crazy that this happens so close to the show beginning.

The King of Pop is dead. One of the Angels has passed. Jeff is still around. Life is short guys, and you don't know what will happen next, so for goodness sake, make the most of it.

RIP.

Edit: Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video on YouTube is grabbing a new comment each second. Could records be broken tonight on this video?

MTV the television station that changed the world, in terms of music at least, has now gone out after the illegal music downloaders.

The advertising campaign "You are an ordinary thief, if you're listening to illegally downloaded music. MTV against piracy" was launched in the Baltic States with Creative Director, Tomas Ramanauskas, behind the wheel.

It's a bit choice, I think, as many do, for MTV to come out with a statement like this. Sure, I love MTV. It's brought music and entertainment to many. But, it is a very pointless statement to make, seeing as the music broadcaster is mostly beaming out rock stars and reality TV shows. If you've had your head in the sand for the past few years, all you've missed was snotty little brats having 'Sweet 16' birthday parties, Kerry Katona/McFadden having a couple of breakdowns, and of course, more rich kids living out their 'fashion' dreams- entirely unscripted for sure.

What I ask is, do we really need MTV to start speaking through the megaphone about piracy and illegal downloading of music? It's not like we're downloading episodes of The Hills, as opposed to the new Eminem album.

Whatever next? Those 'You wouldn't steal a handbag' adverts before I chow down on another re-run of the MTV Movie Awards?

novote.jpg

The TV is on in the house. The radio is blaring is on in the office.
My phone's got Twitter at the ready. The pot of tea is being freshly replaced every few minutes. It's results day.

And, without jumping the gun, but from suspicions...

Fianna Fáil and the Greens aren't the pick of the crop it seems.

Why? Beats me.

(Images taken by Niamh Smith.)

Louth

If you're living in Ireland and you've not heard about this- Where have you been? The nation has gone crazy. And not the kind of crazy experienced my motorists in the rain, or when snow falls: a bad kind of crazy.

To cut a long story short, the Leaving Certificate State Examinations were taking place today. English Paper One was scheduled. The country does it fine- all good. However, a school in Louth is accidentally given tomorrow's exam- Paper Two- one day early. Word spreads, panic sets in, and every student in the country goes wild, sending texts to everyone in their phonebook and desperately passing the information along via social networking websites. Then, after 7pm tonight, the shit hits the fan, the 'leaked' papers are confirmed, and then, the state body responsible decide to pull the paper and reschedule it for a Saturday morning because the backup contingency papers are not feasible for transport across the nation by 9.30am tomorrow. You've got the picture, I hope.

But, what happens? Sure, the State Examinations Commission get a bit of a hard time from students, urging the paper to be changed to a later date, some even making petitions for the cause. However, the majority? They blame those responsible for telling the truth. In brief- Louth. The county from which the security breach occurred. What came out of it? A Facebook hate group- 'Forget You Louth'.

So, angry students of the land, if the leak paper floated your boat before it was found as in the public domain, or if you simply seek a vendetta again the four culprits who notified the Examiner, spread your fury and blissful sadness on the page. After all, they are Judas, apparently.

The irony: this all happened the one day that I remarked how the Commission were very different to the rest of the Government- efficient, prompt and error-free. Poor Louth, you're getting the blame.

Muse (Matt Bellamy)

I'm excited to hear that Muse will be performing in the capital this year. They just announced that they'll be playing The O2 on November 6th.

The band are releasing their new album very soon too; 'The Resistance' is due to hit our shelves and be available for download in advance of the concerts, which are also stopping by many places in the UK, such as Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow and London, to name but a few.

Only this week did I hear 'Knights of Cydonia' being played at the MTV Movie Awards 2009 some of the cast of teen vampire/wolf romance flick 'Twilight' walked on-stage. If you don't know that movie, that last sentence will make no sense to you whatsoever.

Back to Muse. I hope to drop along to the gig in The O2 (accidentally titled 'O2 Depot' on NME.com), and as ticket prices are not as high as some- €54.80 - €59.80- it's more of an incentive. It's no doubt most of the Blast FM crew will be in attendance, especially because such a thrilling band will grace the stage in the new venue, with that all-powerful lights show.

Matt Bellamy & Co.- I salute you!

Summer

Is aoibhinn liom an samhradh.

I can't express how glad I am that the weather has picked up. For ages it was dreadful; with constant rain and winds, and generally poor all-round. However, never fear, as the sun has arrived.

As the Irish usually do, the minute some rays are visible, we're out on the deckchairs, and the cheap plastic table that we bought cheap six years ago in 'Roches Stores' is laden with egg salads, chilled beers (occasionally to be found in a Hellmann's mayonnaise bucket) and packets of Tayto crisps- because after all, we can't lose our pride there, oh no.

Whilst I was basking in the sun today, flip-flops on and sunglasses at the ready, I relaxed with a Corona Extra and thought of a perfect summer anthem to reflect this sunny spell experienced over the nation. Which was most appropriate? 'The Bongo Song' by Safri Duo.

Why, you may ask, did this match perfectly? Well, firstly, because it's a ridiculously catchy song. It was released all those years back in 2001 (doesn't feel like that, does it?) and captures the happy, fun and joyful moments of summer. Secondly, it suits because us Irish, with out 'Wow, it's the sun; let's get stuck in it' ways, we love that sort of music, particularly when chilling in the midday sun. Thirdly, because we always think we are able to dance, even though Irish blokes can't. Ever. Especially to Samba and Electronica.

Make your Bank Holiday Monday perfect: Press play, turn it up, and relax in the garden. Please. At least before it changes on Wednesday.

MoreCowbell

Boy, do I love Cowbells.
And Christopher Walken. And I suppose, Bombfunk MC.

What happens when the three are combined? It makes for a quality track. Well, kinda.

Head on over to www.morecowbell.dj and make your own Cowbell/Walken creation.

I've fused the legendary "Freestyler" with the duo, and it came out a little something like this:

 
AgTweet

I spent a long time trying to find an Irish Twitter mobile number, and for some strange, unexplainable reason, I could not find one. Then today, just as I give in to the Devil (Meteor's 25c international SMS rate) to update to the UK number, and spend some ludicrous amounts on setting it up, I find that a little, yet fantastic service entitled Agtweet exists.

Agtweet is one of the handiest little creations I've come across, which allows Irish Twitterers vent their lives, easily, and simply, by a local SMS number. It's the brainchild of James Kennedy and boasts connectivity to the service for all Irish carriers, with numbers already available on Vodafone's 087 and Meteor's 085 networks.

I've just begun to use it, and already I am reaping the advantages. As I'm on a fixed cost plan, with free text messages to any Irish network, it instantly saves me money from paying extraordinary international rates, such as the 25c I was being charged, up until now.

Yours truly doesn't boast about having a fancy Smartphone, or a Blackberry or iPhone with a set tariff where I can post constantly without pricing fears, so Agtweet suits me down to the ground; and no doubt many others will benefit hugely from this simple, easy, and best of all- free, service. Plus, as stated on their website, they promise: "We won't share your number with anyone. We'll never spam you. We'll never charge you for the service". What more could you really want?

Now you've no excuse not to keep in touch. Could Agtweet be the best Irish companion for our already Twitter obsessed nation? Probably. Quite simply, Agtweet offers you a service that Ireland was denied for so long, well before our rip-off networks even jumped on the ball and created a shortcode. It's a service that money-man Eddie Hobbs would be proud of, that your wallet would thank you for, and overall, what will change your online presence; in a way that's fast, easy and free.

Check it out now. You won't regret it.
Agweet.com

And don't forget to follow those behind it too: @Agtweet -
@JamesKennedy. Oh, and do drop me a hello too: @davidokeeffe.