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Published: Mongrel Magazine, November 2006

90 SECOND NATTER WITH… MUQTADA AL-SADR

Fave holiday destination…
Ibiza

Fave food…
Burger and chips!!

Fave drink…
Malibu, peach schnapps, mickey finns… d list goes on cause i would drink anyting!!! Read the rest of this entry »

SOLITUDE (1941)

An all-time favourite track of mine.

THE MAN WHO WALKED INTO WALLS

It’s six o’clock on a Thursday evening and Hartigan’s – an old fashioned, family-run boozer on the doorstep of Stephen’s Green – is filling up with after-work drinkers. I’ve heard a few stories about this place. But this is my first time across its threshold.

With its rough-and-ready decor, bizarre zig-zag layout and curious blend of customers, Hartigan’s actually reminds me of nowhere so much (and I realise that this may be a pretty obscure reference for 99% of readers) as Julian’s of Midfield. Read the rest of this article here.

BEACH BUMS OR FUTURE EIGHTIES ICONS? [UPDATED]

Okay, this is how this competition works: The first person to correctly identify both of the young whippersnappers in the above photo – or to offer a better incorrect answer – wins a very special, possibly non-existent prize. I’ll redact all correct answers until lunchtime, with the correct answer being announced at around 2pm-ish. Oh, and neither – repeat neither – is Cllr. Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan. Read the rest of this entry »

“SHIT…”

NEW ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING

My niece Lola was born the same day Michael Jackson died. I’m still secretly hoping that, by some cosmic accident, she may have inherited some of MJ’s singing and dancing abilities. So far, though, there’s little to suggest that she has. She naps a lot. Tends to shit herself on a fairly routine basis. Don’t get me wrong, we all have our accidents. But this girl shits herself, like, ten times a day. It’s embarrassing.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that babies don’t really fall within my area of expertise. In fact, before Lola was born, the number of babies in my circle of acquaintances was zilch. (Nothing against babies, we just tend to have different interests.) But over the past month I’ve been spending quite a bit of time around this one. Studying her M.O. Seeing what makes her tick. After the jump: the Shocking Baby Expose Every Adult Must Read. Read the rest of this entry »

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME (1968)

Easier on the eye, but not in the same league as a vocalist, Zooey Deschanel sings the same song here.

“I WANT TO BE RIGHT UP THERE WITH THE GREATEST LEGENDS OF SHOWBIZ: THE JUDYS, THE SINATRAS, THE OLIVIERS, THE CLARK GABLES…”

He’s a prodigiously talented performer and composer who has battled addictions to drink and drugs. But for now the sun is all that’s frying Rufus Wainwright’s brain… Read the rest of this article here.

THIS IS FUNNY

My favourite part of this clip is the way the crowd immediately start chanting “MIDGET FIGHT… MIDGET FIGHT… MIDGET FIGHT…”, as though that’s, like, the officially recognised chant for using when two midgets get in a fight.

“YOU KNOW THE WAY LIFE ISN’T FAIR, RIGHT?”

My phone is ringing. It’s Aidan. I might have guessed. “You know the way life isn’t fair..?” he asks. As opening gambits go, this is one of his better efforts. (The last time he rang with bad news, he said “You were never too fond of that coffee table, were you?”)

Immediately, my mind races through all sorts of horrific possibilities. Aidan has run over my dog. Aidan has impregnated my sister. Aidan has murdered my pregnant sister and run over my dog while making his getaway… It’s almost a relief when he coughs up the truth. Read the rest of this article.