Dublin, the capital of cinema for 10 days by Rodolfo César (Guest blogger)

Do you fancy a movie? Are in in Dublin from 16^th to 26^th? If so, you are in the right place. The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is taking place.  The idea of the event is to flood Dublin’s cinemas with over 140 screenings. Furthermore, Hollywood Greats Al Pacino (needs no introduction), Glenn Close (Cruella in 101 Dalmatians, Fatal Attraction), Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter, Planet of the Apes), Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now, The Amazing Spider-Man) and Michael Madsen (Free Willy, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs) will attend the festival.

Unfortunately, some screenings have already sold out. Like the one which Al Pacino is going to attend (20^th, 19h30, at the Savoy for Wilde Salomé, a story based on “The New Testament of Salomé”, written by Oscar Wilde).

On the plus side, loads of movies are just 8 euros.

During this, its 10^th year, the festival will screen 100,000 minutes of film. You will have Irish (with 16 new features and documentaries and 19 short films), German, French, Russian movies, and so on. It’s going to take place at Cineworld (Parnell Street, Dublin 1), the Lighthouse Cinema (Blackmall Walk, Smithfield Market, Dublin 7) and the Savoy (17 Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin 1). The best way to purchase your ticket is to visit the festival website (jdiff.com).

The Gala presentation is going to be at the Savoy, 19h30 on Thursday 16^th, with Cloudburst, starring the Irish actress Brenda Fricker (Veronica Guerin).  Tickets for this screening have sold out.

But, choose your film and you and your friends will have a great time.  Both discovering new movies and learning English!

Enjoy!

Check out this link: http://vimeo.com/36422156

Do you, like, speak, like, like a teenager, I mean, like, do you, like?

“Actress Emma Thompson says young people make themselves sound stupid by speaking slang outside of school. But while the use of the word “like” might annoy her, it fulfils a useful role in everyday speech.”

“Actress Emma Thompson”?

Have you like, even heard of her?  She is sooo, like, old!

Does Emma’s outrage put you off using fillers like “like”, “dju know wadI mean” (do you know what I mean)?

Or are you happy to buy time mming and ahhhing, and throwing in words with no meaning?

What’s your favourite filler?  Maybe these guys will give you a few ideas.

 

 

 

 

Beer, Music and Art (Part 2)

Here’s the promised part two of Rodolfo’s paean to his favourite Dublin watering-hole.

Outside and In

All those spaces are outside – now inside the pub, you have tables where you can watch games on a big screen. Going through, it has a lower bar, where the DJ plays and, sometimes, a band performs and roughly 50 people can dance. But if you are in the mood to have a private party, there is a space called the Craic Den that the owner rents out for 65 euros. The great idea is you can plug an iPod in or call your DJ friends to play there.

 

Daytime Drinking

Ok, sometimes you need to have a beer during the day. The Bernard Shaw is open at this time. You can also have lunch or drink a coffee. By the way, eating there could be a great pleasure. They have baked pizzas such as Molly Malone, Pablo’s Pepperoni, Get the Goat, Pick the Pear, Great Green, Totally Tropical and One With All. They are listed in the Dubliner 100 Best Restaurants 2012, from Evening Herald. Have a look at what’s up there on www.bodytonicmusic.com/thebernardshaw.

Guest Blogger: Rodolfo on Beer, Music and Art

Here’s the first in a new occasional series of guest blogs.  Rodolfo Cesar de Sousa lets us in on one of Dublin’s least well kept secrets: the pub that has everything.  Part one is up today with part two on Thursday.  Enjoy.

Beer, music and art in the same place

by Rodolfo César

With Beer in Mind

When the idea of drinking a beer comes to mind, what would be the perfect place to have it? Probably everybody has more than one suggestion; if you are in Dublin, go to The Bernard Shaw. What most people desire when they are having a relaxing beer is a comfortable spot, where they can chat with their friends, listening perfect music for that moment, maybe dance or eat something and, for sure, flirt. I am sure you will find all these things there.

Ancient and Modern

This pub is a sort of traditional place, (it was founded in 1895), with a modern feel. There are six spaces, each one different from the other. Also, the place is a small art gallery and it organizes exhibitions of new and reputed artists, photographers, illustrators, painters and writers from Ireland. With this kind of activity, the place honours its name since it remembers George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright who was awarded both a Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1939) for Pygmalion.

My Favourite

My favourite spot is the Big Blue Bus. Yes, that is what I said; it’s a bus-pub. The double-decker vehicle retired from the streets of London is in the back yard of the pub. The lower deck is a pizza kitchen (I would say that sounds yummy) and the top deck has tables for sitting out. Also in the back yard you have the smoking area and you can play pool there. Although the Big Blue Bus is located near to the smoking area, if you are on the bus you won’t smell like a cigar, don’t worry.

What to Do in Dublin

Over the coming weeks we’ll be running a series of blogs about things to do in Dublin, taking a peek at the lesser-known delights, those places that don’t quite make it into the guide books or onto school itineraries.

There’ll be contributions from some of Atlas’s greatest student writers – Shakespeare better watch out – these guys are doing things to the language he could never have dreamed of!

On Thursday we’ll have Rodolfo’s top boozer and all round culture spot.

But first up is one of my most loved Dublin institutions (which may actually be in some guide books but so what, it’s great).

Begun during the boom years with overpriced organic veg and a few cooked food stalls the Temple Bar Market, on Saturdays til about 5pm, has become an essential part of my admittedly very tame (I’m old and don’t get out much) week.  The prices have come down, the variety increased and they’ve got healthy eats of all kinds, and a few not so healthy ones too – but they taste good.

They’ve even got covers now in case it rains.

And anyone interested in a good second-hand read, can pop round the corner to the nearby book market.  All you could want from a weekend?

 

Are you a screenager?

There was an interview recently on RTE radio with a linguist from University College Dublin discussing words newly added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

The podcast is available here:

http://www.rte.ie/podcasts/2012/pc/pod-v-03011215m20stjmsoxforddictionary-pid0-920232.mp3

Most of them are what we call portmanteau words, which have been made by putting two or more words together.

Try to guess the meaning of the words below – for some I’ve given a few pictures to help out.

Post your answers as a comment.

screenager

(Think about what the teenager is doing)

frenemy

e-quaintance

staycation

And if you have any more share them round.

Til next week

P.S.  On the radio show the linguist said his favourite “mistake” ever was from a Thai student who said: “Don’t sarcastic me!”

Unfortunately “sarcastic” is not a verb, but it is a way of life.

 

 

 

Happy New Year

The Atlas Blogger is back, sluggish from too much sipping and sleeping, with a fuller figure and a slimmer wallet, teary-eyed in the wind.

Happy New Year!

As I’m getting a bit old for going out I “celebrated” the new year on my sofa.

But Atlas students know how to have a good time, in Ireland and abroad.  Let us know where you spent your New Year’s Eve.  And send some pics in if you have ‘em.

Resolutions

“You have got to change your life” Doctor Phil tells us on his TV show, echoing the great Prague-born poet Rilke.

Sarcastic David is of course perfect, so needs no improving, but most of you have ways you wish to mend.

So what new year’s resolutions have you made this year?

Post a comment and let us know.

PS: On second thoughts, I resolve to be a tad more modest and a touch more self-critical in 2012.

All the best for the year to come.