2012

The Year The World Didn’t End

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It’s that time, when one sits back and reflects and comprehends what we saw in a year that went too fast for some and not enough for many more. A year that exploded with talks and murmurs of the Euro Crises and Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Yemen led to the western world holding its break as North Korea launched and defied sanctions with a rocket that came down faster than it rose.

The Summer months saw a build up of election madness in the US that carried controversy after controversy before London 2012 temporarily reduced unemployment in Great Britain and produced stars and inspired a generation. Mr Munch’s Scream, moved on for just shy of the cost of Christiano Ronaldo as CERN and The Mars Rover push the boundaries of science and exploration.

The first Bionic Eye opens a window to a new world as Islamic blinkers are tightened with the Innocence of Muslims while Felix Baumgartner shows the potential of the human mind and body with Hurricane Sandy reminds us Mother Nature can take lives in the blink of an eye.

The Gaza crisis heightens as children are blown to pieces in Connecticut without the feeble excuse of a superhero movie while lunatics and fanatics destroy one of the greatest monuments from the ancient world as the world almost ends.

Why the EU got a peace prize and Obama got awarded is still a wonder to most as Dick Clark and Whitney Houston show awards are worth very little when life ends and we move into the next realm of our existence.

With a world that didn’t end surely we can dare to dream and hope for a better 2013, a year where less innocent people die where drought and mother nature can be tackled better  and harnessed and where  many must not only see a new year but also a new fishing bowl of possibility where all one can do is cast a line and wait for a bite.

How To Pen A Eurovision Song: Songwriter Sharon Vaughn Speaks on Jedward

JEDWARD MANIA

Q1, How does one go about penning a Eurovision song?
I REALLY DON’T KNOW. ALL WE DID WAS WRITE THE BEST POP SONG WE
COULD AT THE TIME.

Q2, How did you feel when you knew Jedward would perform it?
I WAS ECSTATIC AND COMPLETELY SURPRISED

Q3, What are the essential elements to a good pop song?
IT HAS TO HAVE A HOOKY MELODY AND LYRIC. WATERLINE IS A VERY DIFFERENT
AND UNUSUAL TITLE BUT THE SONG ITSELF IS VERY SING-ALONG-ABLE.
AS YOU CAN TELL FROM THE FANS!

Q4, What do you think is needed besides a song to win Eurovision?
JEDWARD ARE THE PERFECT ACT FOR EUROVISION BECAUSE THEY EMBRACE THE ENERGY,
FUN AND THE GLITZ OF THE EVENT.

Q5, Have you looked at the other competitors entries and if so which
do you feel are strong?
TO BE HONEST, I HAVEN’T. THOUGH I AM WATCHING THE SWEDISH
MELODIFESTIVALEN VERY CLOSELY. THERE ARE SOME INCREDIBLY
TALENTED PEOPLE IN THE COMPETITION. ALSO A FRIEND OF MINE IS THE
WRITER-WINNER FOR NORWAY, SO I WISH HIM WELL, OF COURSE.

Q6, Do you have any words of advice for those wanting success in the
music industry today?
MY ADVICE… IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE… BUT ALMOST DOESN’T SCARE AWAY
THE ONES WHO MAKE IT. AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DONE IT A LONG TIME… JUST
KEEP DOING IT AS LONG AS IT IS JOYFUL THERE ARE SO MANY NAY-SAYERS AND
NEGATIVE REPORTS ABOUT PIRACY AND THEFT OF INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTIES AND ALL OF THAT IS TRUE AND TERRIBLE. BUT THE FACT ONE CAN MAKE
A LIVING WRITING SONGS IS A GLORIOUS AND WONDERFUL THING.
IT IS THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD… AS LONG AS IT IS A JOY TO YOU…
IF NOT, DON’T TRY IT OR QUIT AND MAKE ROOM FOR SOMEONE ELSE WITH THE
FIRE IN THEIR BELLY.

NOW OR NEVER,

2012 mayan culture

Here we go, 2011, welcome to the penultimate year of existence according to our Mayan Brothers,
We as irish people stand on the verge of political change over, emigration and bleakness, europe as an entity is getting tighter in many respects and looser in others, some say we are closing in on the United States Of Europe fear, others say we may break apart as the EU while the Euro is thrown around like a spoilt child among divorced family members.
College Fees rise, grants are cuts, banks go bust, galway niteclubs Gpo and Cuba Fail to make it new years day as Zhivago Falls into Liquidation,while hotels and airlines deal with laying off staff and dole queues stretch into eternal darkness and confusion mixed with the spoon of uncertainty. not to mention superquinn in NAAS!
as a people, we veer to extremes, we are either  very rich or very poor, we are either vv serious and on the dry or polluted drunk, we are lavish and extravagant or dirt skint,is it in our nature to be extremists, occupation for 800 years, and the release that came with it led to nationalist passions and madness in the years of our BOOM

in my fathers life time, he has seen emigration in the 50s, stability in the 60s, emigration in the 70s and 80s, and prosperity in the 90s and noughties, and now emigration once again.

what does this say about us?do we not learn from our mistakes, is the philosophy of drinking through the misery enough, when will we learn,

out of these economic and financial black holes and dole and unemployment has come artistic expression. we produce more multi platinum musicians per head than any other nation in the world, we have produced more nobel winning writings per head than any other nation and we are mad creative!

music, art, writing for screen-theatre-novels-poetry, you name it we do it! and we paint ur shed for ya too!

so from 2011 to 2018 ish if we exist that long where will the James Joyces, Becketts, U2’s and Cranberries come, the honest answer is from the misery around us, so look around next time you queue to buy a euromillions lotto ticket or collect your dole cheque, the person beside you could lift our nations spirits, on a playing field, on a musical stage, or at an oscar or grammy cermony,we have had more sporting success and eurovision wins in bad times then we have in good!

So lets see where 2011 takes us,