You all know how much we love Arcade Fire here at ITM.
They recently jammed at Madison Square Gardens and here you can see close-up pics of them rocking out.
In other news, we’re very pleased to hear that Arcade Fire will be playing at Dublin’s O2, with supporting acts Vampire Weekend and Devendra Banhart. Tickets for the O2 gig are on sale Friday 20th August, with a price tag of €55.80.
All candidates seem normal when they’re on TV, it’s only that when after the soundbyte is over we realise that they didn’t know what they were talking about.
Via Buzzfeed
Please excuse me while I get sick into my popcorn bucket.
I saw the trailer for Knight and Day back in March when I headed along to see Prince of Persia. It was extremely entertaining and promised a lot but little did I know that the best bits from the film were succinctly shoved into a two minute trailer. It was a waste of months of anticipation.
Diaz plays June Haven, a mechanic rushing to get to her sister’s wedding. As a mechanic, surely Diaz could have injected a bit more spine in Haven, I would’ve thought her apparent grease monkey skills would be put to better use. She doesn’t know how to use a gun and it’s primarily set in America. Any tomboy worth her salt would’ve already jumped on the gun culture, what could possibly convey more phallic symbolism?
Tom Cruise is Roy Miller, the suave secret agent who uses Diaz as a decoy and eventually falls in love with her. Obviously, there’s the tension between them, adventure, action, conflict which splits them up and resolution of conflict at the conclusion. It’s the typical make-n-bake Mills and Boon Intrigue or Harlequin novel. There’s comedy in spurts and fits but nothing memorable. It’ll easily be forgotten as it doesn’t make much of an impression.
**Geek Speak**
Remember Buffy The Vampire Slayer? The actor who played Riley, Buffy’s former boyfriend around season five? He makes an appearance as Haven’s old flame.
Verdict: It doesn’t warrant a second viewing unless exceptionally inebriated at a hen party gone wrong. Real wrong.
Rating: 
Starring: Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.
Director: James Mangold.
Writer: Patrick O’Neill
Just back from a jaunt in Temple Bar. Industry Design in Temple Bar (at the end of Cow’s Lane) is nice but way too expensive and maybe a little to desigery for me. €60 cushions. Lovely cushions, but still €60 a pop. I might pop back for a chair or a clock though.
However, I bought a lovely new tea set for €30 in Lucy’s Lounge on Fownes Street. Owner Dee was delightful. Going to put the kettle on and make buckets of chamomile tea this afternoon. Flaunt your imperfections, as Dee said. Lovely Lucy’s. Thank to Catherine for the tip!
The dramatic opening of Beautiful For Ever allows us to question why a young lady would commit suicide at the close of the 19th century. To understand this unfortunate situation, we must look to her mother for an explanation.
Sarah Levinson aka Madame Rachel was a Jewess cosmetician, plying her trade to ladies in the shelter of her Bond Street store. Racism was prevalent in London and combined with the condemnation of artificial beauty to enhance looks, Madame Rachel was held under further suspicion and scrutiny. Natural beauty was hailed as true beauty which was to be valued above any poor artificial imitation.
She trained two of her daughters, Rachel and Leah, in the art of cosmetology selling ‘Jordan Water’ and many exotic lotions for extortionate prices in both London and Paris. This led to clients pawning jewellery in secret, as their husbands retained financial control over expenses. Greed is Madame Rachel’s hubris and ultimately the destruction of her empire.
Ironic to think that just over a hundred years ago, ladies of high standing were determined to give themselves a pale complexion. Tans were sign of working women and not ladies even by rural estimations. If ladies could see modern definitions of beauty, they’d probably swoon in shock.
I felt the opening chapters of Beautiful For Ever, Rappaport had very little to work with the background of Madame Rachel. This was thinly veiled as Rappaport lists the exclaimed ingredients for Madame Rachel’s potions, lotions and enamelling (‘whitening of the skin”). Beautiful For Ever becomes a social commentary of 19th century London in an attempt to bulk out the book with more content. When you get into the real story behind Madam Rachel to say she had an eventful life is an understatement. Glancing at the bibliography, it’s evident Beautiful For Ever was heavily researched but there remains a sensation that it still wasn’t enough, but then again what more could we want?
Verdict: It’s an interesting read but certainly isn’t compelling enough for a second look. If you’re a fan of Herbert Asbury (The Gangs of New York) and interested in the Victorian era, this book is for you.
Rating:
RRP: €15.72
Publisher: Long Barn Books
ISBN 10: 1902421523
ISBN 13: 9781902421520
I had to blog this. Meow Meow Happy Fight is about giant time-travelling kitties. It was developed by UK indie game developer Big Pixel Studios for the iPod Touch and iPhone. Meow Meow Happy Fight is released today with in intro price of $0.99/£0.59/€0.79 but will go up to $2.99/£1.79/€2.39 soon.
Normally in games set in the future the world is in chaos and crumbling apart. In Meow Meow Happy Fight, it’s the exact opposite.
Everyone is too happy, extremes of anything are bad.
Happy Cat travels back in time to see the not so happy reality we live in present day.
Happy Cat comes to destroy.
I adore the Fable franchise, it was one of the main reasons I invested in an XBox 360 instead of the same generation Nintendo or Sony consoles. Fable 3 looks like a great addition and I can’t wait for it to be released.
Lionhead Studios developed the Fable franchise after the success of the Black & White series. Black & White is the only PC game I play time and time again, followed closely by Dungeon Keeper 2 developed by Bullfrog. Ironically Peter Molyneux was involved in all three of these productions. Games where you choose your own path whether being benevolent or evil holds an appeal to a mass audience.
Those who dare to hope, find nothing to hope for.
Eyeball Mario.
New QOTSA album in the works?
Are you the writing exception?
Iron Man versus Kool-Aid Man.
Kitty door stopper.
Bricks deserve a spin cycle every now and again.
Gives a new meaning to the word ‘bricked’.
It’s at the 55 second mark when it kicks off.
Via Teen.com, here’s Tegan and Sara’s brand-new boppy video for On Directing. Definitely a pop-out-loud tune sans their tendency to be a bit self-regarding.