Gourmet Fish 'n Chips & Lighting Up the Docklands

Last night, I took the family in to the town centre to have a look at the public art installation in the Docklands. On the way, we decided to stop by somewhere new for dinner. We'd been curious about The Dandelion across from St. Stephen's Green, so when the LUAS dropped us off, we strolled over to have a look at the menu. The early bird special seemed decently priced, especially in comparison to the all-American TGI Friday's next door. Two courses were €15.50 per person and included a few simple dishes like a hamburger, fish and chips, and a stir fry dish.

As we were escorted to our table, it was hard to miss how extravagantly retro the place was decorated. Didn't seem like we fit in, pushing our pram along with our 4-month-old sucking away on her soother, though at the same time it was relaxed. I walked around to have a better look at the restaurant a little bit and noticed that it could be rented out for private functions. It seemed very conducive for parties and celebrations. The food was amazing. I ordered the fish and chips and my wife ordered the stir fry. I hadn't realized how elegantly and perfectly balanced fish and chips could be! And my wife loved the stir fry.

Then it was off on the long trek over to the Docklands. Below are a few pictures from the Docklands installation called Lightwave 08. Our 4-month-old daughter is particularly captivated by lights, so it was fun to see the look of wonderment on her face as we strolled through Grand Canal Square.

Powered by ScribeFire.

A Brand New Film Festival with Potential

While it’s good to know that there is a tight community of adventure sports fans in Ireland, it’s unfortunate that none of them seem to own a computer with decent video editing software.

Last night, I attended half of the Wee Adventure Film Festival in The Sugar Club. I had planned on making my €10 entrance fee go all the way, particularly to see Shakinda’s VJ mashup of the film highlights at the end. However, I decided during the break, after having watched the first 8 films, that being forced to stand for another 2 hours through dodgy home-made movies was just not worth it. It seemed that virtually all of the seating at tables in the club were reserved for the 16 teams of people (and their friends and family) who had submitted films. The rest of the space in the aisles and at the back was filled to capacity with the rest of us, holding our beers close and apologizing to others around us anytime we shifted our weight or brought our pint to our mouth.

While most of the films were given minimal time in cheap editing software, much of the footage was indeed an adrenaline rush. In particular, the second film portrayed skydivers falling backward out of a perfectly good hot air balloon. Despite the shoddy camera work and annoying, deafening sound of the wind in the microphone, a collective gasp swept over the room as the festival audience obviously caught a glimpse of what it’s like to free-fall into wide open spaces.

Other highlights of the first half of the festival included the poetic way in which the first rock climbing film was narrated. Also, a kayaking film shot in Norway was probably the closest thing to a professionally produced adventure documentary and an orienteering film included some quality filming and artistic presentation.

I’m sure the organizers of the event were well-pleased with the turnout to this festival debut. I can only hope that the buzz and excitement from this year will motivate the organizers to give incentive for more quality offerings at the next festival, should there be one. I imagine there could be endorsement deals from various equipment/clothing companies as a result. Best of all, a growing, ever-improving festival such as this could go a long way in promoting adventure sports in Ireland.

But for heaven’s sake, don’t let the athletes themselves shoot or edit the films. At least not without sending them to some sort of adventure filmmaker’s seminar first.

Dublin Goings On

Always lots going on in Dublin. This week in particular, I'm hoping to stop by an art installation in the Docklands. On Wednesday night, The Sugar Club is hosting an extreme sports film festival, featuring guest VJ Shakinda, whom I had a chance to meet a few months back through some mutual friends. Also this month, the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is on from the 15th - 24th. Last year, Once was all the rage at the festival, after gaining popularity at other European film events. In fact, it sold out within hours of the Dublin film festival box office opening up.

On the 14th, my brother is over for a week. Always enjoyable having family over to visit and give us a chance to show off this beautiful part of the world that we live in. Aside from just strolling through St. Stephen's Green and down Grafton Street, I usually also enjoy taking people to the Book of Kells and the Guinness Storehouse. However, with my li'l bro here, it'll be a unique opportunity to stop by some pubs that I haven't had a chance to visit yet. The Blue Light, The Porterhouse, and Grogan's are at the top of the list.

Trad Story-Telling in Temple Bar

On Saturday, my family and I ventured in to the city centre to see a friend from Prague. While we were there, we caught some of the traditional story-telling that was happening in conjunction with the Irish Trad Festival. It was interesting, but not really much more than your typical street performer. In fact, there was a busker in Temple Bar Square doing observational / improvisational humour in between the story-tellers and he was actually far more entertaining. With that said, it worked well for the trad festival and seemed to be a hit with the kids.





After having a chat with our friend in The Joy of Coffee, we headed West to the edge of Temple Bar for Dublin's finest kebab at Zaytoon's (arguably also Dublin's dearest kebab - a tenner and some change for a meal combo.) After dinner, in my pre-fatherhood days, it would've been straight across to The Porterhouse for a pint and some Irish trad. But alas, a 4-month-old can only take so much action in the city.

(Note to parents: Bit of a rough ride taking a pram through Temple Bar, unless it's got big wheels and state-of-the-art suspension.)

Trad in Black & White

Saw this brilliant picture on Flickr the other day. Really captures the atmosphere of an Irish trad session. I'm usually impressed by the group of musicians in a given pub session, but it's when I really focus my attention in on one musician that I'm blown away. (Granted, it's not usually the bodhran person.) Really wish this pic was offered in higher resolution!

Off to hear some traditional story telling in Temple Bar after lunch. Hopefully the Little Miss will allow us to stick around long enough to catch some music as well.

Temple Bar Irish Trad Festival

One of my favourite bits of Irish culture is the Irish traditional music session where typically you'll have up to 10 extremely talented musicians sitting in the pub with their drink of choice, jamming together to a host of traditional Irish music. Instruments range from the bodhran, fiddle, banjo, guitar, and a small accordian-like instrument called a concertina, among others. My favourite spots in South Dublin for such craic are Johnnie Foxes pub (a well-known tourist stop), which features a whole range of Irish trad, including the folk singing and Irish dancing, and The Wishing Well in Blackrock (Monday nights).

This evening, the Temple Bar Irish Trad Festival kicks off with a host of concerts, workshops, children’s activities, and other events. For some of the shows, you must book tickets, but a good number of the pubs in Temple Bar (more than usual, anyway) will be hosting trad sessions at no charge. Festival goers will also have opportunity to meet the various musicians and performers each night at 11pm in the Project Arts Centre for conversation and craic.

My family and I are also looking forward to the action out on the street where there’ll be bagpipes and traditional storytelling. Hopefully the Dublin weather forecast will stay favourable!

Here's some rough footage of a trad session at a pub called The Celt here in Dublin:

Irish Baby Adventures

Having our first child here in Ireland was a great experience, as I mentioned several months ago. One of the best parts about it was that it was FREE! In the States, medical insurance would have paid for much of the expense, but certainly not the whole thing. There still would have been a big chunk o' cash coming out of our own pocket.

But then there's the cost of living in Dublin . . .

We received a gift voucher from Mama's & Papa's, a British maternity and babywear shop. It's a very nice, high-end shop with clothes and baby "equipment" at costs much higher than we would ever be willing to pay. Last night, my wife stopped by the Mama's & Papa's shop at the top of Dundrum Shopping Centre and was shocked to see a cashmere cardigan priced at 78EUR. SEVENTY EIGHT EURO! For something that will get spit up on and only used for three months anyway! I won't even bother to translate that number into American dollars.

Fortunately, we have lots of friends and family around us who've given us enough baby clothing for a small army of babies. That is, a small army of babies that don't spit up and explode beyond the reach of their nappies. Otherwise, it's only enough clothing for a small army of ONE baby. (I believe Caitlyn's personal record is 4 different outfits in one day.)

Street Performer

Walking down Grafton Street on a clear day, you're likely to run in to a crowd surrounding a street performer outside Stephen's Green shopping centre. Usually, I peer over the heads of the onlookers for a moment and decide it's not worth my time as I head back to the LUAS or to whatever meeting I'm already running late for.

Today, however, I stopped briefly for a routine glance at the unofficial "Grafton Street Performers' Stage" - and got hooked. It wasn't the fact that your man with a Kiwi accent was doing an impressive job of juggling basketballs or that he could also balance himself on a unicycle 3 meters high. I think I was most impressed with the way he made people a part of his act.

For example, at one stage, he called on a 5 year-old boy to hold the basketballs. Now, the sight of a small boy holding 3 basketballs, each one twice the size of the boy's head, is funny enough. (See picture below.) But as he interacted with the boy and joked around with him, he cleverly made the boy a participant in the act without patronizing him. He did the same with the other 3 adults that he pulled from the audience.

Brilliant stuff. Makes me look forward to the next Street Performance World Championship next summer!

School Demolition

Just got this video/audio track from a friend today. Hilarious, even if it isn't really an 8 year old girl. I don't know who it really is, but my guess is that it's a radio DJ speaking through some digital effects or something.

Dublin Babies

Late last month, our daughter Caitlyn was born at Holles St. maternity hospital. Needless to say, I haven't given a lot of time to blogging since then. I will say this however - Dublin is a great place to have a baby! We used the community midwives scheme through the Irish national health service and we were very impressed. Not only were the midwives really helpful in the months leading up to my wife's delivery day and during the labour, but they also dropped by our house for a visit every day afterward for a week. Those of you who've gone through the experience of having a baby understand how helpful that is for clueless first-time parents!

Irish Breakfast Blog

I'm a big fan of the Full Irish Breakfast (even manage to swallow the black pudding down these days!) Sometimes I'll even order it for lunch, if it's on offer. That's while you'll understand my excitement about a great blog that I found today that will assist me in my search for the perfect breakfast in Dublin - Rashers and Eggs. Never imagined a blog could make my mouth water so much.

Cartridge Green

Here in Dublin, there's a brilliant way to both save money and be environmentally sound in your use of computer printer ink. It's called Cartridge Green and there are four shops in Ireland (three in Dublin). I took my black ink cartridge in to the shop in Leopardstown Road today and it cost me only 10 euro to refill it. That's about half as much as it would cost to drive down to PC World and replace the cartridge with a new one!

Cartridge Green are also promoting franchising opportunities. So if you're an entrepreneur type, have a look at those options as well.

A Walk Thru Dublin Culture Night

Kristy and I were out for Dublin Culture Night on Friday. First, we met up with a friend for a quick bite to eat at Zaytoon – THE BEST kebab place that I’ve found in Dublin. From Camden, it was over to play tourist at St. Patrick’s Cathedral where they were offering free entrance and guided tours. (Yes, I know they need to revamp their website!) The choir rehearsal that was happening during the tour was a nice touch. It’s a beautiful cathedral, but I’m glad we were able to bypass the €5 entrance fee that’s usually required.

From there, it was over to a brilliant new art gallery called Gallery Number One on Castle Street, directly across from Leo Burdock’s chippy. The folks at Gallery Number One have given the place a very cool vibe conducive to just chilling out in one of the sofas, surfing the internet or reading one of a handful of art books laying around. There’s a collection of live concert photography, as well as a few paintings hanging on the walls. Next door is a design agency called Ebow which seems to be run by the same artist(s).

Next, we strolled down Lord Edward Street to Parliament Street where we popped our heads in to the Oxfam bookshop. They had some live music going but it was bit crowded so we took off for Meeting House Square where they were supposed to be showing a film in the open air called “About Adam.” We're pretty sure it was some other slower-moving film that was actually showing.

After that, it was beginning to get difficult for my wife, who’s now 37 weeks pregnant, so we headed over to O’Neill’s for a seat and a few drinks. So, in the end, we only made 4 out of the 100 events, which we were okay with. I wouldn't think that the organizers would expect people to do much more than that. Everywhere we went in the city centre, we saw people pulling out their Dublin Culture Night brochures and maps, so it was obviously a big success. Looking forward to it again next year!

Shakespeare in St. Stephen's Green

It was a warm, dry (though humid) day in Dublin. Having come into town in search of WiFi and good coffee, I discovered the city bustling with activity.

The buskers were out, of course, taking advantage of the favourable weather.

Dave was also out, doing his chalk art thing, though shifted from the corner of College Green and Grafton to the median in the middle of College Green. When he explained to me that the Guards had kicked him off the corner, I told him he’s doing the city a great service and that they should know better! I also informed him about Dublin Culture Night (and, later in the day, delivered a brochure to him). He wasn’t sure if he would take advantage of the evening’s “cultured crowds” moving through the city and keep up the chalk drawing, or try to attend a few of the free events for himself.

Later, in St. Stephen’s Green, Public Shakespeare were putting on a free performance of The Taming of the Shrew at the W.B. Yeats memorial. It was an absolutely brilliant show and the performers often walked through the crowd and interacted with the audience, evoking both laughter and applause. It’s been on twice every day, at 1 and 4pm, since 26^th August. This Saturday will be the final performances.

Also in St. Stephen’s Green is an installation of wildlife photos by South African photographer, Steve Bloom. CLICK HERE for a sampling of some prints that are for sale from his website.