25 Things

I’d been running in the park this morning and thinking “Jesus, I better get something up on that blog fairly quick”. May has been a relatively quiet blog month due to my attention being drawn to a number of other online projects but to round out the month and mark that fact that today is my 25th birthday, I’ve got one simply called 25 things.

Here are 25 “things” - moments, achievements, memories that jump out at me from over the years. They’re in no apparant

1. Getting a bike for my fourth birthday.
2. Learned to play piano.
3. Learned to play guitar. Musical instruments offer so much creative freedom and release.
4. Got involved in theatre (first production was a lead in a musical aged 15).
5. Graduated college and collected my shiny 1.1 degree which still sits in the roll it came in.
6. Started my own business. If it’s ever crossed your mind to do it, do it. I’ve learned some fantastic lessons and met some great clients over the past few years.
7. Started a theatre company.
8. Started KilkennyMusic.com (which has opened so many doors).
9. Formed a band (and another. And another. And another).
10. Heard my music played on the radio.
11. Started podcasting.
12. Started blogging and met all you mad, wonderful people.
13. Traveled around Europe growing up.
14. The fantastic relationship I’ve got with my family, however extended and scattered they become over the years.
15. Put myself on the track to fitness in 2008… and it’s working.
16. Traveled to America, Canada.
17. Directed Cannibal! The Musical after waiting seven years to take it to the stage.
18. Learning how to swim and subsequently bodyboard, surf and kayak - all three of which I need to do more often.
19. Falling in love… and out of love.
20. Skiing for the first time in Italy back in ‘98.
21. Rubbing raw chilis in my eyes (accidentally, I’d been cooking at the time) on that same skiing trip. When I reached for water I found neat vodka. You couldn’t script the comedy of mishaps that occurred that evening.
22. Learned how to drive
23. First road trip to Sligo on my own… great adventure
24. Lahinch 2007 with the KKM crew and my brother (subsequently returning home looking like a lobster).
25. 25 years living, working, eating, drinking and breathing in Kilkenny, home to some of the best people on the face of the planet!

Not quite a techy post but something a little light to round out the month. I’m off in search of some type of beer, possibly some form of comedy and a meet up with friends later.

Enjoy your bank holiday weekend.

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PodCamp Ireland Set For September 27th 2008

As the dust settles on 3DCamp in Limerick and bulk orders for sun cream, mustard, burgers and sausages start hitting the shops in Terryglass ahead of OpenCoffee Club BBQ in July, myself, Bernie Goldbach and Krishna De (at present) are putting the wheels in motion behind the second PodCamp Ireland.

What we can tell you at this early stage is that the day will be bigger than last year, it will be held in Kilkenny again, and PodCamp Ireland will take place on Saturday September 27th (same weekend as last year).

For the first themed BarCamp event of it’s type (towards podcasting and new media), we enjoyed a successful day in Kilkenny last September, opening the unconference doors to a host of new faces from the world of the arts, music, design and more.

Bolstering content on the day through new areas of discussion and development in audio, video, podcasting, blogging and catering for complete newcomers to experienced hands, we’ll be hoping to repeat the success of last year’s inaugural event.

If you are interested in getting involved in steering the day, lending ahead at any possible point, do get in touch with any of us. Blogging should resume on PodCampIreland.com over the coming days and weeks as we rejig the 2007 signup process to fall in line with the current system enjoyed by 3DCamp and CreativeCamp (i.e. there will be no wiki signup process as there was last year).

You can track PodCamp Ireland developments on Jaiku by visiting the PodCamp Ireland channel, or over on Twitter track the #pci tag.

Creative Careers Launches

I’ve had a couple of emails recently over CreativeCareers.ie but the Dublin-based site has finally launched and is operating at present as the only website completely dedicated to jobs and opportunities in the arts, creative and cultural sector in Ireland.

Brendan Mac Evilly is one of those behind the site and as a special launch promotion, those looking to advertise jobs online can do so for free up to June 1st of this year with a €50 listing fee kicking in from that date onwards. Other opportunities and postings remain free.

CreativeCareers.ie also features an arts directory and a list of third level college courses in the creative field. At present they’re also looking for individuals who can offer professional career advice for those seeking employment in the arts industry in Ireland. There are job listings in categories like Arts & Cultural Management, Arts/Creative Education, Design, Digital Media, Film, TV, Radio and more.

As well as job listings you’ll also find (which I know will interest some readers) volunteer and inter positions, whether volunteers are required for a day, a weekend or working up to an interns position outright. Two such events include the upcoming Eigse Arts Festival in Carlow and the Dublin Writers Festival.

Give it a look on CreativeCareers.ie. If you’re looking for work in the arts, you might just find something.

The Scarlet Lady Vanishes

On Saturday night I made my way to the premiere of Vultures epsiode 2: The Scarlet Lady Vanishes held in my home away from home of Cleere’s Theatre in Kilkenny.

Vultures is the flagship production of fledgling film company, Mycrofilms, based in Kilkenny and engineered by three great friends of mine. Like ourselves at KilkennyMusic.com, Mycrofilms have just received some arts office funding for 2008 which will enable them to complete the series, production wrapping on the sixth episode by next summer.

While I enjoyed the first episode immensely, the guys have raised the bar for the second episode which was extremely well received on the night. Even if it’s just for the music video montage early in the show, do, give The Scarlet Lady Vanishes a look.

Running time on this one is a bit shorter at around the half hour mark (compared to the TV hour of the first episode).

For more on the show, check out VulturesPI.com.

OpenCoffee Club BBQ - Don’t Forget The Jalapenos

Jalapenos might not be high on the agenda at the Opencoffee Club BBQ but what you might find in Terryglass on Wednesday July 16th this year are

• Over 40 like-minded people with backgrounds as entrepreneurs, people in startups, investors, those with a love of technology and business and beyond…
• Talks on providing wifi in remote areas, Twitterfone demos and giveaways, location-based services, mobile applications and likely loads more besides.
• Childcare services on the day (great to see this as it was one of the points raised out of CreativeCamp in Kilkenny in March)
• Food, beer, a pub, a lake and the opportunity to network with a terrific bunch of people.

Hopefully the weather stays good and there’ll be some outdoor activities or talks as well. While I haven’t quite figured out if I’ll be able to attend (might get up for the afternoon as I’m gigging that night in Kilkenny) you can register your own interest here or if you are interested in giving a demo or a talk then use this signup link.

Kick-off is 11am on the day and ends “when the last person goes home”. As such, Evert & co. have been nice enough to provide a list of accommodation in the area as well.

53 And Counting… 3DCamp Is On The Way

I’ve mentioned 3DCamp before but thought I’d put the idea back in your heads as the date is rapidly approaching.

Next weekend (not this weekend) sees the inaugural 3DCamp take place at University of Limerick, the next in the line of themed BarCamp events running in Ireland. The attendees and speakers list continues to grow for what should be a very focused and very informative day covering virtual worlds, mirror worlds, mashups, haptics and all things 3D.

If you’ve never been to a BarCamp type event and the world of 3D grabs your attention then ditch the inhibitions and mark May 24th into your diary.

Twelve talks (so far) have been planned at present, some of which will see Sabrina Dent talking about making money in Second Life, Haydn Shaughnessy looking at ‘Culture, Content and the Next Web’, and organiser James Corbett talking about how he built the Clarion Hotel through Google SketchUp.

For those of you planning on staying over in Limerick and enjoying some of the post-event activities, there’s also an accommodation list available on the site.

The Scarlet Lady Vanishes, This Weekend

Close friends of mine and advocates for internet film, the Mycrofilms crew are set to debut the second of six planned webispodes of Vultures this Sunday.

For those who attended CreativeCamp in Kilkenny earlier this year, we held a lunchtime screening of the first episode, the Kris Kringle Konundrum. The second episode was filmed over late March / early April and after a small technical hitch is now ready for public viewing. Having spent a day on set of both productions so far, I’ll be attending the cast and crew screening in Cleere’s Theatre in Kilkenny this Saturday night.

Vultures, written & directed by John Morton & Paddy Dunne (who are also part of The Devious Theatre Company fold, the theatre company I established with John over two years ago), is the story of three private detectives who run a small scale private investigation agency in small town Ireland. The moderately successful business is called Vulture Private Investigations and specialises in dealing with divorce cases, fraud, missing persons, animals and plants and occasionally, just occasionally, they’ll be served up something that approximates a mystery.

The trio of Mycrofilms, The Devious Theatre Company and KilkennyMusic.com were all successful in securing funding from Kilkenny County Council’s Arts Office earlier this month. With funding set to be released around the start of June, there’s going to be a flurry of film, theatre and music activity in Kilkenny over the summer months.

The Scarlet Lady Vanishes will be available from VulturesPi.com, iTunes, Blip.tv and a number of other online sources from Sunday morning, May 18th.

D-Day June 26: Driving Test

It wasn’t all that long ago that I applied for my driving test (could have been Easter) but yesterday I finally received notice of the date - June 26th, smack bang in the middle of Trainspotting no less.

The test too has been outsourced to SGS who will be in Kilkenny on the day.

Has anyone had any experience with testing instructors from SGS or notice anything different in tests outsourced to independent testers or instructors?

I must say though, I’m quite looking forward to it. Between work, music, theatre and the increasing frequency of drives to and from Sligo, I’m spending more and more time on the road. While I’ve enjoyed almost two years on a provisional license, turning 25 at the end of this month and having my insurance up for renewal in August places the test at the right time, financially anyway.

All I need to do now is pass the thing…