Saw this and it made me *squee*

Maybe you've seen it already but it was new to me this weekend.
Wandering round the Trailers in Apple I spotted this little gem...



Tim Burtons new movie 9, due out on.... 9th - 9th - '09 :)
Me likey it already...

then the trailer began to the strains of The Captain by The Knife and I was in love.



Seemingly the main song in the trailer is Welcome Home’ by Coheed and Cambria.

According to Trailer-9.blogspot.com -

Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov are co-producing the movie 9, an upcoming CGI animated science-fiction movie created and directed by Shane Acker. 9 is animated by Attitude Studio (in Luxembourg) and by Starz Animation (in Toronto), with a few sequences done by Duncan Studios in LA and will be released by Focus Features.

The lead voice actors are Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly and Crispin Glover

Plot:
“When 9 (Elijah Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.

Yippeeeesssss!!! :)

Ps any other Knife Fans out there? If you liked that video let me know, they are one of my favourite bands, and I miss talking about them

Knowing MeMe , Knowing You.

Yes before you complain I know its not pronounced like its written!

Anyhow, the ever lovely Rick OShea in his post on Friday said he Would Like To Meet 5 fellow bloggers at the upcoming blog awards on 21st Feb.

I am really looking forward to these awards, not as someone asked cause I have a possibility of winning one. I will not even make nominations, and that is fine as I'm not really a proper blogger. But really cause in the last year of reading these blogs, and in the last seven months of being on twitter and chatting to many of these lovely folk on a more daily basis, I have made some really meaningful connections (at least to me) and I am looking forward to putting voices to words! :)

So to the MeMe Batman!

"This Meme is simple.

Name 5 bloggers you haven’t met in the flesh before that you’d like to say hi to at the Blog Awards, say why if you want, link to them. They then, in turn, link to 5 bloggers they’d like to meet and so on.

That’s it. It’s just an icebreaker for the night. Yes, I know they might not be coming but it might act as an incentive."

Rick O'Shea - I'd be a horrid liar if I said I wasn't looking forward to meeting this man

McAWilliams - The person who features highest in my tweet cloud and to whom online is a real family affair

oh gosh why did I decide to do this.....

The NationalLottie - Lottie's blog is fun and funky and interesting. I love reading what she's been up to and she's found the time to call in to mine and say hi

Prototype of a Person - Sinead gets excited about the same things as me, and when I read her blog I am hopeful that if I can stick to what I want to post and stop navel gazing, I may have a good blog too.

This is What I Do - Darragh has been keeping this blog about as long as I've been "keeping" mine, with one difference, he uses his and makes it great. I'm really looking forward to meeting him.

People I also REALY REALLY want to see too, but I only had 5 choices are

Catherine, Alexia, Marie, Ben, Damien, Tommy, Sinead and about a hundred others!

See you in Snork! :).

Dog Day Afternoon!

Email sent by me today:
-----------
Hi RTE

Just an email to say that my afternoons haven't been the same since Rick O'Shea stopped that chat and fun I've come to love.
As I'm not the greatest fan of the 2fm daytime play list, its not t he music I tune in for, its the chat and fun.
I used to work in a big office with lots going on and then I moved to another office, just me on my own and Rick and crew (Amanda 1 & 2) made this bearable!
I really really miss the craic, please bring Amanda 1 & 2 back full time and allow Rick to do what he does best, entertain, amuse and inspire us.

Office jobs suck, and radio makes a difference, but Good radio makes HUGE difference.

I've begun thinking about hunting around for another station RTE 1 is out as Mooney does my head in, but Phantom is looking good as at least i like the music.
The only thing keeping me (and many more like me) with 2fm is the hope that you will listen to us (as much as we listened to you) and reinstate Rick's show to the way it should be.

Please bring the chat back!

Clair
-----------

Please join the Facebook goup -
If It's Not Broken Don't Fix It: Keep Rick O'Shea and Nikki Hayes Talking

While I'm not the biggest fan of Nicki Hayes's chat (each to his or her own) I really miss Rick O'Shea's afternoon show, I loved the chat and craic, the messing and the weird ideas.
It was like having a gang of friends in the office, conversations I could dip in and out of and ideas I thought about long after the show was over.

Over the Christmas 2fm decided to change the line up and removed Amanda, Rick's sidekick and researcher and limited talking on the show to "and the next track is" - boring!
While Rick is doing his best to keep it entertaining, in whatever way he can within his remit, it really is ruining my afternoon.

So if you like decent day time radio (despite the sucky general playlist) please join this FB group and send RTE a quick email to voice your displeasure.

Thanks

... and the next track will be.......

Others that agree with me
MamanPoulet
Nighmair Creative
Donnam13
Donegan Landscaping
Ian Walsh
Raptureponies
Grandad
MaxiCane
CupidStunt
Ballyboughal.net
Shadowsatsunset
Tales from west cork
Cackaloo.com
Lecraic.com
www.anthonymcg.com
www.mulley.net
golez.net
UnaRocks
tribune.ie
Darraghdoyle
UnaRocks
Irishtimes.com

Festive Feelings

I haven't posted in a while... a variety of reasons, catching up with friends here after spending all of October on the move, and more recently as I haven't felt great in my own skin. Combination of dark evenings, lack of energy and being a wuss feeling sorry for myself. I went home this weekend for my Mum's birthday, we decorated the tree, I heard my nephew practising his songs for the High Babies Nativity in which he will be Joseph, I tortured my sister a little over her new beau and I spent time with my girl. All of this reminded me I have quite the charmed life.

Which brings me to things people are doing to spread goodwill and showing us how lucky we all really are.

Outside our office sat Donal, the loveliest guy ever, he had a bad set of circumstances that left him where he was. We would all give him a couple of coins a week (he needed 18euro a day for a hostel that he had to leave every morning at 9) One Christmas we clubbed together and got him a pair of boots some good socks and some long sleeves. Anne was best at remembering Donal, if there was new clothes around her house that her husband or family had no use for. I usually just contributed a couple of coins and a cup of tea and bar of milk chocolate lindt (he had a weakness for that chocolate) Our office is no longer there but some friends live nearby and I ask them to help him out if they see him.

Kids on the street break my heart, I usually try and give them a sandwich or cuppa, even if it means doubling back and being late by a min or two. There was one young boy I would see on Nassau St or around College Green, he was usually crouched low and crying, I stopped to talk to him a few times but I never got far, I would just come back with a hot chocolate or something else to drink. Almost every time I would stop to give a kid on the street food I would get a good reaction, that came out wrong, what I was trying to say is that I have only once had complaint from the person I was giving the food to.

I dunno what is the individual solution in Ireland is for this, a fellow blogger Sinead came up with this suggestion a while ago, so I wanted to put it back in here again, perhaps to start the conversation again. It was brought to my attention a few months ago but a young visitor that there were no/very very few homeless people on the streets in Amsterdam as compared to Dublin. This is true, I'm not sure why, although talking about it with some friends they have informed me that its a combination of better social policy and stricter control on the streets in Amsterdam. Cities outside of the big tourist centre have homelessness, its just they get moved on and sheltered more in Amsterdam so as not to interfere with the tourism.

Anyhow, back to others in the community doing great things to help their corner of the world and spread the feeling that we are very lucky indeed.

Firstly: The lovely Catherine came up with this wonderful book, written by the bloggers of Ireland. It’s now available to buy for €14, and €4.61 of this will go straight to Focus Ireland. Click here to order your copy! It comes with your own inner glow, and a great read to boot.

Secondly: Well this is actually two in one, Pat Phelan, telecoms genius and all round nice guy has been (and is still doing) Christmas Give-aways, check them out here. He's using the Give-aways to give great advertising to The Jack and Jill Foundation. The winner of the last one was Niall Harbison of ifoods.tv who very generously decided to re-raffle the very cool Nokia E63 he won. All money raised will go to the children in Crumlin Children's Hospital. So if you fancy a cool phone for the price of a raffle ticket (€5) while feeling the warm glow of helping someone out this Christmas go here and throw your hat in the ring.

Thirdly: My best mate Sadhbh is involved with some talented folks in voluntary Irish radio to raise money for the ISPCC by way of spreading Christmas Cheer... tune in here

Anyway.. there you go, hope the warm glow of the Christmas Season will reach you soon (if its not there already) and wrap you up in its festive embrace for a week or two.

Elf!

Yes they did..... and so did I

Ok I know old news and you are sick of it....
But I'm not and its my blog so ....tough.

I LOVE this video... its playing in a loop on my iTouch and in my head.
Wil-i-am - Yes we can



I have been allowing myself the luxury to go back over some of my favourite Obama speeches, without the fear of the "Hope reality check" being cashed. In so doing I have realised what I see of myself in Obama, and it is the reflection of your best self in someone that attracts you to them.

I find parts of myself in his ideals and theory's. Like Obama I was raised in what would be termed a broken home, my mother could not give me money or status, but like Barack's family gave him, she gave me love, education and hope; the hope that I would be able to make my life better.
His speech in Wisconsin in February, held the main ideal I was given from my mother in terms of self belief, of course she didn't use words like this (these are Obamas words), but none the less this was her sentiment.

Nothing will happen unless you begin to hope, and by hope I mean imagining, fighting for and working for what did not seem possible in the first place. Things wont change if we wait for some other person, or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for.

This sense that I would have to make it for myself, that I should study and work and get a good job, because I was the only thing that would pay my bills, and give myself the life my mother never had the chance to have.

I remember very clearly the talk she had with me, after a parent teacher meeting when I was about 12, telling me in her own words that I had to do this, not for her or the teachers or my friends, but because I was the person that could change my life. No one was going to drag me along, I had to get up and do this. And if I didn't want it for myself, if I couldn't dream of it for myself and work for it for myself, then no one could help me.

Its partly that drive, to give myself as many opportunities as I can handle that landed me here.
I knew that my industry was looking weak in Ireland and that I wasn't likely to get a good job in the sector by sitting around. And when I had almost begun to lose hope in finding anything, this appeared concrete, but it meant a risk and several losses and way more permutations than my brain could reason out.

So I hoped for the best, and thought if I work at it I can make it happen.

There are many days ............ and then I think, Yes I Can.

So in the words of the man least likely to become president elect of the USA, be the change you want to see in the world. Its only when you dare to hope that you can make something good happen.

----
There will be a catch up post soon and a New York post, with photos (my girlfriends photos that is)

Elf

Google Goggles

And why not!

This is just class, and if I wasn't numerically dyslexic it might even work for me.

Google - Mail Goggles

I have sent a few mails late at night after a few drinkies...
Thankfully I haven't made and total cockups yet.... but it is likely!

I love the fact that its time sensitive too...
as my mate Mick said, obviously comes from the Dublin Office. :)

**EDIT** Only realised now that OF COURSE Lexia had this first

Also.... Stephen Fry on Twitter
*gulp* *faint*

Too Cool!

Going to NYC on Sunday for a week.... hoping to get
A: prepaid sim there to use my 3G phone for websurfing there
B: an Itouch!! *further drooling*

Please if you have recommendations, of restaurants, bars, sights, places in NYC I'd love to hear them! :)
Will be trying out Lottie's list here too :)

Have the Avenue Q tickets
Have a cool hotel on Central Park South (with Central Park View)
Have to meet boss man for lunch on the Tuesday (free fancy meal)
Have tickets to David Letterman (thanks to NY office)

What else should I do?

Cccchangees!!!

Anyway, quick post to mark the first day in a world sans Alliance Atlantis my Alma Mater (really it was) of 7 yrs.
Yesterday the Dublin office, the last office to bear the name Alliance Atlantis on its doors, closed for the last time.














Anyway, as I am an elf that's opposed to change, this makes me sad.
Somehow the fact that there were still staff (Al and Lisa) there seemed to take the edge off the pain. I know its just an office and just a company, that in the end didn't care about us. But it was so much more than that for me.

My university experience sucked hairy monkeys balls, and really that office and the mayhem and friendship that occurred behind its creaky, sticky brown doors replaced that magnificently. Except it was better as I was earning money!! :)

Anyway, thought I might post one or two of the shots from that era, now passed!

So long my old friend.

Just Say Aaaarrrgh!

Saw this on The National Lottie - its excellent! (both this entry and the blog in general)

Go check out the blog, click on the image to go to the entry!

Thanks Lottie. :)