Sports aren’t really my thing. I need to be more competitive or so I’ve been told. A refusal to throw yourself on tarmac or in front of a speeding missile, apparently won’t get you to a final. But I’ll play anything on a friendly basis and I was fine with that. Until I found the gym. As an undergraduate, with the facilities there waiting when I had free periods, I found my sport.
Nobody at the gym knew me, or cared how much I did or did not improve. I had no intention of being first in line for the treadmill, or the first to admit defeat to spinning, so finally, sport had to be mastered, not just played. And there was a distinct and probably not that healthy measure of success. A calorie counter. Would a pedometer have done the same thing? Yes, maybe, but to me, beating my own ‘score’ alone wouldn’t make me Master of a particular machine. This was about endurance. The longer I could keep going the better. The rowing machine in particular. This is about the effort put into each pulling motion and man or woman beside me, I was not getting left behind.
I have noticed many different types of people at the gym, those who spend maybe fifteen to twenty minutes on two or three machines and probably do this quite regularly, people who will stay on one machine for over forty minutes or longer, and then might move on to something else for a shorter or equal length of time, people who stay on one machine for an hour or more. The first time in DIT gym that I had to acknowledge I was going to lose a competition, was on the cross trainer. Forty minutes against a girl with dark hair and a blue t-shirt, who got on before me and still seemed entirely unaffected. I’m preparing for the rematch.
I love the feeling of de stressing I’ve come to associate with a room of treadmills, indoor rowers, stack machines and gym users. That part I would recommend. There are better ways to use a gym I am sure, and talking to the staff members at any facility will put you on the right track. But my way works for me and in the words of Christina Aguilera who is on my playlist, ‘Thanks for making me a fighter.’ (Finally).
Leonidas Chocolate Shop. Jervis Street,Dublin. Photo by Maria Degois
By Maira DeGois
Valentine’s Day is an occasion where most couples express their feelings, giving flowers, chocolates and romantic cards to their partner. By and large, we automatically think that February 14th is a girly day due to the scene created: pink balloons hanging up in shop windows, flowers selling in every corner of the streets and countless romantic boxes of chocolates on shelves of coffee shops. The biggest challenge is to find something different for them, which can be a difficult task.
This year, some women seem not too impressed with receiving flowers or any kind of present for that matter because they consider that one day is not enough to show their feelings.
For Christina McCauley (42), Saturday will be a normal day. She says: “I do not really expect anything on one day of the year because we treat every day as special.”
Carolyn McCarrick (23) says: “For me, it is just another day, but if you are busy in life, it is a day that you can stop and appreciate each other.”
However, Matt (27) gives a different opinion about it. He points out: “It is marketing, I think so. Because people expect things to be like what they see on movies or on TV. If it was not for TV or movies, I might get something because it is Valentine’s Day. But I would not get chocolates and flowers every single year, it is boring.”
Although this day is not so sweet for some couples, it is promising for business and especially chocolates shops.
Rafal Budny (30) works as a manager in Leonidas chocolate shop. He says this time of the year is important for his business. “This year, I did not expect to be so busy in the early days of this week, only Thursday and Friday,” he says.
Because of this, most couples prefer giving chocolate to their partners. Rafal adds: “Most of them go for milk chocolate, but in general they want good chocolate wrapped in a fancy box.”
Whether it is chocolate or flowers or just a kiss this year, remember to do something nice for your other half on the 14th February and every other day of the year.
Urbex – also known as Urban Exploration – is not something new, but it is becoming more and more popular. Urban Exploration consists of visiting abandoned places within an urban environment, such as old factories, tunnels that aren’t used anymore, old churches in ruins …that’s right, it really is about visiting abandoned buildings.
Urbex is a way for people to discover a urban world in which the environment is not controlled by humans anymore. In some cases nature has taken over and you can find roots growing through the concrete. Once you are inside the building, you can let your curiosity run free. See that ladder here? Why not try to climb up? No one will tell you what to do. And this door, what if you tried to open it? What could possibly stop you from opening it? The sign “Danger” on the door?
Danger. This is one of the only thing that could stop you in your exploration. Some street artists, who have experience in this field, managed to sneak in remarkable places, but they do it knowing there is a risk when you are exploring abandoned places, and mostm of all, they have experience.
In the north of Paris, an abandoned supermarket was found by street artists Lek and Sowat. After exploring it and seeing the gigantic capacity of this abandoned building (40 000 m²), they decided to start a project called Mausolée. They would invite other street artists to perform their art on the walls of this supermarket. They have also shot a video – you will find it below – which enables us to see how fascinating these places can be.
But several interviews of those two artists reveal how hard the access to this place was, for common people. They had to walk through “bushes full of shit, places where prostitutes and drug dealers were doing their business, and where it was nearly impossible to breath”. They also had to cope with heights, climbing up on an iron bar and suspended above a kind of turbine, with rusty barbed wires all around. Not easy. But the result of their courageous exploration is rather impressive.
If you are curious about these places and amazed by the beauty of old factories, buildings in ruins, rusty pipes and so on, but you are not… let’s say, very athletic – and I know what I am talking about here – all these amazing places are not easily accessible. Still, you can find places in which you can sneak in quite easily. Last year, back when I was living in Cork, I could see from my bedroom’s window a big building that seemed to be abandoned. It took me a while to decide to climb up the other side of the hill in order to find a way to get as close as possible to this place.
So there I was, in the middle of a residential estate, trying to understand how I could get in the abandoned part without dying. From my first visit, I learned that one part of the building had been renewed in a classy residential zone, but that the other part was still abandoned, and that other abandoned buildings were around this very same area. I also learned that some CCTV were in operation around the building. And the most exciting thing: the building was actually an abandoned mental hospital which partly burnt down years ago. G-R-E-A-T.
I then tried to learn more about the place, it was actually made up of two big buildings. Our Lady’s Hospital was the main building, the one which partly burnt down. St Kevin’s Hospital was the red brick building built in 1893, to support the first building. A friend of mine already visited the place, so he knew where was the easiest way to get in. We had to walk through the estate, pass through bushes, climb up a small rocky hill, walk a tiny bit through bushes again and slip under barbed wires. I thought that I’d die about five times, but you have to consider the fact that I sometimes step on my own feet when I walk on the perfectly flat pavement of Dublin city.
We managed to get in few buildings, but the main ones remained inaccessible. Metal panels were sealing windows and doors, chains and locks have been added to those panels. I think you could have managed to get in if you had a pneumatic drill. Unfortunately, mine wouldn’t fit in my pocket, no matter how hard I tried.
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When I went back home, in Paris, a friend of mine was motivated to try to find entrances to what we call La Petite Ceinture. This place is actually an abandoned railway that goes around Paris. My friend heard about several entrances to this place, but also told me that the city of Paris was beginning to work on those abandoned parts. They had in mind to make those places all clean and accessible to the public. We had to try to get there before they started cleaning everything. She lead me to the first entrance, we had to slip under a fence.
She managed to do it, but told me that after the fence, there was a big hole that would bother us a lot when we’d try to climb back up. She added that, moreover, she wasn’t sure whether the thing she rolled in when getting under the fence was really only mud. The size of my belly would not allow me to slip under the fence anyway. Once again, I should have brought my pneumatic drill. We tried another entrance, that looked really accessible, but believe it or not, two guards decided to show up. My friend being covered in mud and I having several spray cans in the backpack, we knew that we were looking suspicious, and decided to leave. We eventually found the entrance of a tiny part of La Petite Ceinture. But the railway was soon joining an active railway, and some security guards from the RATP – the French company in charge of public transportation – were watching us.
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So, what is to be remembered from all of this? Well, firstly, open your eyes when you are walking around town. You might find a building worth visiting. Secondly, do something that won’t cause you to be in danger: people do not have the same physical capacities. Start small, and if you feel like daring more and more, then go for it! Thirdly, keep in mind that there is nothing legal in doing this; even though you’re technically not doing anything harmful to anyone else, if a security guy finds you, you might be fined.
Albert Brooks, Alessandro Nivola, David Oyelowo, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in A Most Violent Year. (IMBD)
By Rachael Hussey
With Oscar season in full swing, spending an evening at the cinema is an easy option. Our long winter continues and there is nothing like a warm box of popcorn and some dimmed lights to escape our surroundings. After seeing a trailer for J. C. Chandor’s third movie, A Most Violent Year, I was intrigued. Loving films and all things New York and crime-related, it was an easy choice for my mid-week movie night.
It’s set in 1981, when a Brooklyn based oil tycoon is on his way to the top. Oscar Isaac (Drive, The Bourne Legacy) plays ambitious immigrant Abel Morales, who runs a successful oil company. Isaac does a tremendous job of portraying the juxtaposition of the ruthless capitalist as well as the dedicated family man. Jessica Chastain (Lawless, The Help) plays his fiery New York wife Anna Morales, with spunk and attitude, in many ways tougher than her husband.
The 1980s in New York City were notorious for crime, violence and police corruption and this film does an excellent job of portraying this in a strong yet understated way. As an oil mogul, Abel’s business is continually targeted for robberies, particularly his trucks distributing oil. We see how one truck driver, Julian (Elyes Gabel), copes with the constant threat of armed robbery after experiencing it early in the film. Julian admires his boss, who coming from a similar background against all odds created an empire, successfully assimilating the ‘American Dream’.
The film deals with the protagonists struggle to remain a moral and law abiding entrepreneur while also creating a prosperous empire. Aspiring to a position above his seditious competition Abel struggles to keep his position in the oil world with jealous competition, crime and the law continuously on his tail trying to bring him down. Issues of capitalism and extreme wealth are evident as Morales’ grip on his success slips and his desperation grows while he attempts to hold on to his business.
What’s great about the film is the clever and understated way it portrays the different sides of society: the exuberant wealth, the corruption from the law, the poverty and crime and the hard-working oil employees, representing the working class. While I admire the values of the film, the strong acting and the first-class production values, the essence of this gets lost along the way. As Abel’s obsession with staying on top progresses and his life continues to unravel the audience sees the seedy and corrupt side of this world but it does not happen quickly enough. The message of the story could have been achieved a lot sooner and with a lot more vigour while retaining the style and voice.
A Most Violent Year is a well-produced and well-cast film but it lacks the je ne sais quoi to make it a masterpiece or a classic film that will stand the test of time. While it has some memorable scenes and some beautiful cinematography of New York, the story is a little bit too long; so I suggest you see this if you are in the mood for a slow watch. Despite the title, there is little violence shown and not as much action as one might hope to see in a crime drama.
It begins like any other day. The alarm rings ten decimals higher than you’d like, the noise searing through your eardrums and peeling your eyelids open far too prematurely. It is insanely early by anyone’s standards and yet you have embarked on a mission so great that 6am is a necessary time to be alive and kicking.
You have of course promised yourself that this year would be different. That this year your love handles would be a thing of the past. You would wear your best frock, sip fancy cocktails and laugh about the times your stomach jiggled. Best frock? You would hiss, no. You are slim and attractive; you will become a nudist and consequently show everyone else the levels of fitness they are missing out on.
Except that it is 6am and you are sorely regretting this decision as it is only two weeks in and you have slipped up at least twice on your diet (the number is far greater but only you need to know the true figure).
You choose this time because during a rush of determination and stupidity the number 6 was imprinted in your mind with the connotations of health and fitness. Doesn’t everyone wake up this early? Is this not the first step to washboard abs? The problem is how are you supposed to do those 6am workouts when you are fast asleep and have snoozed your alarm 10 times already?
You have heard sleep is good for you so perhaps it is better to stay in bed.
By about 12 noon your stomach begins to rumble, you are at work. Hush now, you whisper. At this point you wonder if chocolate is truly that bad for you. There is a slim lady in your office and she is currently munching on a Cadbury bar: this seems too great a coincidence. But alas the salad you so painfully slaved over last night is sat on your desk begging for your attention. You even went to three different stores just to find natural beetroot. You cannot tarnish the sanctity of the salad with a chocolate bar. And yet the countless E numbers and preservatives are still calling your name.
At exactly 5:30pm you will finish work and at exactly 6pm you will arrive to your new second home; the gym. This is a wondrous place you tell yourself; you are in no way intimidated by those who use the machines with an expertise that suggests they are professionals. No matter you tell yourself, how hard can a treadmill be to use? Extremely. It is asking you to type in your weight and a strange paranoia washes over you. What if it relays this information out loud? At this point in your life you would rather it read out your bank details. Perhaps your balance would be a good weight goal for you? You wonder.
It has just turned 10pm and you are tucked up in bed replaying that gym session in your head. You wonder if you already look slimmer.
Six weeks of this daily routine has heavily dishevelled that determination you once held. The chocolate bar sits opened on your desk and the once ripe beetroot now rotting in your fridge.
Perhaps 2016 is the year. Until then you worry about whether you have put on more weight or not.
Spaghetti doggie style. Disney’s Lady and the Tramp. Photo by Little Tulip (Flickr)
By Aoife Lawless
So the big night is coming up. Saturday night! Date night! This week, it’s the mother of all date nights; it’s Valentine’s Day! Most coupled men will shudder at this knowledge and instantly go into mental overdrive trying to remember what gift it is that their other half has not so subtly been hinting about for the past few months. If in doubt, chocolates and flowers will do: women will forgive a bit of clichéd romance on Valentine’s day.
For the date itself it’s important to choose the right restaurant to suit your date. It is also vitally important to choose the right food from the menu. If you wish to retain your dignity and keep yourself from committing an embarrassing food faux pas read on. For first dates, stay away from anything that is tricky to eat gracefully. So guys of the world, don’t bring your girl out for wings or ribs or really anything eaten with your hands. Your date will not relish the image of her finery doused in hot sauce nor will she enjoy the image of your face, handsome though it may be, smothered in barbeque sauce with half masticated meat clinging to your teeth. NO, NO, NO!
Another thing to avoid is any shellfish that needs to be de-shelled, de-clawed or in any way detached from its body by force. Nothing ruins a romantic moment like a dismembered prawn skull slapping your date across the face as she purrs sweet nothings at you.
Snails fall into this category also; who wants to repeat that Pretty Women scene where Julia Roberts almost takes out a fellow diner trying to coax the ‘slippery little sucker’ from its shell.
Some pasta varieties should be given a wide berth too. As much as you might enjoy to fantasise that you and your other half will wind up sucking on the same spaghetti strand, Lady and the Tramp style, ending in a spontaneous humour-filled kiss, chances are, that ain’t happening. In reality you will probably be scooping fettuccine off your lap while you desperately wipe the creamy sauce from your lips and simultaneously check your teeth for stray herbs. For the latter, a knife will always make a handy mirror for a quick teeth check.
So when it comes to pasta, keep it short, penne, tortellini or ravioli are all your friend on an Italian style first date. However, if you’re a daring dater, disregard all you’ve read here. Go for lobster with a side of tagliatelle; crawfish with rock hard shells which will spray innards in every direction once popped; slurp that spaghetti to your hearts content. Let’s just hope that smile of yours will still be winning with spinach speckled teeth.
Last week a Kildare person won €10m in the Lotto. TheCity.ie reporter Seraphine Habimana took to Dublin’s streets to find out how people would spend a Lotto win.
Just a bit of courage, April’s first light will show up soon, we’ll do what we want and finally be able to lighten up. What a bad introductory sentence to talk to you about four Indie bands that will release albums throughout April. But if you analyse the sentence closely and if you are someone for whom Indie music is THE thing, well, we know that YOU know which bands we are going to talk about . For the rest of you, read on to learn more. We will introduce you to an Irish Folk band, a British Pop band, a British Grunge/Post-Grunge band and a British/Scottish/Irish Psychedelic Art Pop band.
Villagers – Darling Arithmetic – 13th of April
It’s chilly here today in the newsroom, as I am writing it is -5°C. Here at The City, we know exactly which song will fit this cold weather. On the second of February, Villagers uploaded the first single from their next album, Darling Arithmetic. The song is entitled Courage, and it is the type of folk song that has immediate calming power. You can easily close your eyes and imagine yourself sitting by the fire, wrapped up in a cosy blanket, sipping a hot chocolate with melting marshmallows. Conor O’Brien has a very soft voice that surrounds you and makes you feel like you are in a bubble made out of cushions. Loads of soft cushions, yet the bubble manages to fly up in the air. This first single is a hint of what we might find on Villagers‘ upcoming album, released on the 13th of April 2015, two years after the warmly welcomed Awayland.
Citizens! – European Soul – Expected on the 10th of April
If you want to warm up and are not in the mood for a cup of hot chocolate, the other solution might be to move. To dance. Citizens! to the rescue! Citizens! is a British Pop band who released their debut album Here We Are, two years ago. They signed up on Kitsuné, certainly one of the hypest record labels, but did not fall in what we would call the hype-trap. Citizens! are not one of those made-up Pop bands that are only made to attract young ladies. They are part of those Pop bands that are trying to restore our faith in Pop music. In Lighten Up, the first single from their second album entitled European Soul, Citizens! are definitely Pop. The song starts slowly, but this is just made to catch you better and to take you by the hand through the entire song. There will be a lot of head nodding to the beat of the song, and your feet are going to move. The best part? You won’t even notice it. European Soul will be Pop and is to be expected on the 10th of April 2015.
Drenge – Undertow – 6th of April
The third solution to stay warm is to go to those kinds of dirty basements in which small bands are playing loud music. Drenge‘s Post-Grunge is loud music, yet not too aggressive. It’s music to which you can start pogo and pushing people around – without hurting them. It’s all about fun and sweating. The Loveless brothers – yes, they are only two in this band, and yet they make so much noise – have this ability to create songs that are acting as real boosters on your body. While listening to We Can Do What We Want, the first single of their next album entitled Undertow, your entire body is moving. If you were feeling sleepy, this song will wake you up, it’s as if you were drinking an energy drink that works instantly. Drenge‘s song is very effective and goes straight to the point. The album will be released on the 6th of April, and will certainly make us sweat.
Django Django – Single : First Light – Album To Be Expected During Spring 2015
Django Django have not yet officially announced when their second album will be released, but according to NME, the album is due this spring. They have released their first single from the album entitled First Light. We must admit that First Light is a title which fits perfectly to the fact that the album will be released in spring. Spring. When the sun is starting to show up a bit more and when nature is waking up again from the long winter break. The first lights are waking up the animals and the vegetation is starting to grow again. You know, basic spring things. Django Django‘s music is refreshing, and their second album is something that we should all look forward to. Django Django have got the keys to wake us up from this long and cold winter.
“Just a bit of courage, April’s first light will show up soon, we’ll do what we want and finally be able to lighten up.”
Does is make more sense now?
Be ready for April, we feel that this month is going to be highly inspiring, musically speaking.
It goes without saying how important our Nursing staff are to our Health system. There are currently in and around 60,000 nurses on the Irish Register. Each year they pay a retention fee in order to remain on the register and therefore be legally entitled to practice. The figure for the fee was €100 but has now gone up by 50%. Across the country, and with the support of staff unions, predominantly the INMO, (Irish Nursing and Midwives Organisation), Nurses and Midwives have rallied against the increase.
Dean Flanagan, student Nurse and representative of the INMO, argues against the increase of the retention fee on the basis that it is the straw to break the camel’s back. ‘Outside of the registration fee the main thing has has been the Frontline cuts. The pay cuts and staffing cuts. Over the last five years there has been a loss of 5,000 nurses.’ From the perspective of the 1,500 student nurses trained a year, he points out, this means a loss of mentors. ‘They don’t have the support of five or six years ago.’ I asked for the number of nurses that have already paid the new fee of €150 and Dean replies, ‘From the latest figures published by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), where the fees go directly, there is no third party, there are around 60,000 nurses on the register. Around 18,000 have paid.’
As the NMBI is a self-sufficient body, funding has to come from within, but as Flanagan points out, the issue isn’t with the existence of the fee itself. Only recently have the NMBI published accounts of how the registration fee is spent and one bone of contention is the money spent on Q4, a public relations representative. The NMBI handle cases of fitness to practice and Flanagan states, ‘Before an outcome is determined all accusations are in the public domain.’ He also states that the last two years student nurses pay €20 to go on the student register. It will take another two years to find out whether this is on top of the proposed €150. Flanagan comments, ‘They have not said it will even stay at €150.’
In an open response to a letter from Kevin Figgis, Sector Organiser in SIPTU’s Health Division published on its website, the NMBI states, ‘The NMBI regrets that it has had to make the increase but the fee has been kept as low as possible for as long as possible. It was made clear at the time of legislation that the Board would continue to be self-funding and needed to plan and cost to fulfil its legal obligations. Following detailed negotiations with the Executive and Board members in 2013 it was agreed in October 2013 that an initial once-off sum of €1.6m would be granted by the Department of Health to the Board to cover 2013/2014 costs but that the board would have to increase its income in 2015 to undertake its commitments in the legislation.
Karen Canning, a nurse for 35 years and founder of a popular Facebook page for nurses and midwives opposed to the increase in the fee, has said ‘They have said they won’t keep us on the register if we don’t pay the €150 but some have paid €100 and their cheques have been cashed.’ The INMO have produced badges for those who have only paid €100. In four years there have been three increases to the registration fee and Canning adds, ‘We’ve taken pay cuts or reduced hours. We’ve got the same bills as anyone else. The NMBI do not fund or run courses, they do not pay us to take courses, a lot of us fund it ourselves.’
The City contacted the NMBI but did not receive a response.
Freedom: The voice of silence. Illustration by Ricardo Campus
By Maira DeGois
Undoubtedly, the beginning of this year has been most unwelcome for media workers. Through the news, we saw events that made us think about the fate of humankind such as the Charlie Hedbo attack and the killing of the Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto and businessman, Haruna Yukawa. Although the cause of these events were vastly different, both have a common point: extremism and intolerance.
On Saturday, not only was Japan in mourning, but many nations expressed sorrow. The 47-year-old Japanese journalist, Kenji Goto, was another victim who died in the name of democracy. Goto was seized in Syria by Islamic State (ISIL), trying to rescue Haruna Yukawa. The New York Times published the statement of the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe which shows his state of shock. He said, “[Japan] will cooperate with the international community and make the terrorists pay the price.” How would this be possible if it seems that the state is increasingly losing its control?
To find a possible answer, we must understand that some changes have occurred over the years. Some intellectuals would say that the world has entered a new phase in which the state cannot play a central role in controlling political violence. Economic globalization can also have an influence on the loss of the authority of state. Perhaps we do not need to go that far, but if we look at what has happened to these people, many of which are journalists, maybe this theory has a point. Nowadays, we can see that the state rarely negotiates with other countries to release hostages in war time, as happened decades ago. However, it has to deal with militias that use extreme violence as mean of coercion.
It seems that the Islamic militants want to give a message beyond the act of killing: to portray themselves as powerful and godlike. It seems like an endless world war in which we cannot stop. We see on the screen people losing their lives due to extremism of belief, faith or religion. However, to make the “terrorists” pay the price, as stated by Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe, could generate more problems than solutions.
We feel under threat, we see every day the rising menace of intolerance. It would be interesting to know about our future: if we will be more disturbed by the attacks of terrorism or if we will prefer being apathetic in front of our TVs.
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