Tiny Thoughts For A Big Week

So there’s this theatre company in Dublin called Fishamble that a lot of people like because they’re quite cool (this sounds familiar to my ears) they like to nurture new writing that's their thing and last autumn with The Irish Times they launched a competition called Tiny Plays For Ireland asking people from all over Ireland of any age to submit Tiny Plays (literally tiny, with a 600 word limit) with the best being performed in March so then I was all ‘Maybe I should try that’ and so I did back in November and I got some help from some very nice people and then I twiddled my thumbs until the Tiny Plays winners were announced and I said to myself ‘Well I’ve got two Tiny Plays now to do what I like with that’s cool’ and then I started doing other stuff

until Monday as I was in the school canteen during lunch feeling bored because I had eaten all my food and they were talking about Ben Lyng and I don't know who he is so I looked up my emails on my phone which you have to understand I never ever usually do in the canteen but then I got an email from Gavin Kostick the Literary Director (oooh) for Fishamble saying that they liked one of the Tiny Plays I had written called ‘The Moneylender’ and they also liked the Tiny Plays of other young things like me so they decided to stage a rehearsed reading of the work of younger writers and that included me.

So I stared at it for a few seconds and most of my brain had gone silent like it does when I get a big surprise but some part of my brain must have been working as I sprang up from my chair and shrieked unintelligibly for a few seconds in a very high pitched voice then ran as fast as I could considering the chairs I had to squeeze past out of the canteen and near the door I nearly crashed into one of the smallest First Years but I apologised profusely so there's no need to look at me like that

And I ran out onto the grass and the fresh air woke up the rest of my brain and I wandered around for a bit and when I resurfaced to my companions I apologised for my lollygagging but I kept it a delicious secret in my tummy for the rest of the day you know that feeling don't you

Because I hadn't told my parents yet and I hadn't told my friends who had helped me with the Tiny Play yet and I hadn't told my English teacher yet and I couldn't go around the school with my phone so I waited

My mother printed out about five copies of the email I got from Mister Gavin Kostick and people have been congratulating me and when they do that it's easy to think they're talking to the wrong person because surely this is not me what did I do?

And that was Monday and now it's Thursday night

It's only beginning to sink in now

Even if it's only six hundred words and will only last a few minutes if that and it's being read out as I have been trying to tell people

because I am extremely very nervous which I think I'm allowed to be but maybe I shouldn't be

but what if someone asks me questions about my Tiny Play that I should know the answers to because I wrote it and everything but I don't know what to say maybe I should read it a few more times and think of some answers

But a Very Important Theatre Company In Dublin like me now and I am young and things are starting have started for me so soon and I have so much time and I'm in just the right place at the right time and I am extraordinarly lucky

And you'll never guess what but Fishamble like my writing and want to stage it and show it to other people who don't know me at all strangers even

That's basically it and it may seem small but it makes all the difference in the world

Actually I haven't booked my ticket for the reading yet

Should probably do that

Yeah

Also thank you to the nice people at Fishamble for including me and thank you to the nice people at Devious       because they helped me with the Tiny Plays and they say I'm on their young writing drive now and it's nice to feel a part of something (well I already did, but it's been said now) and thank you to the nice person who is John Kennedy just because and thank you to my mammy and daddy because they're nice too (not that they're going to read that or anything)

Anyway it's 23:12 and I'm tired. And I wanted you to hear it from me first

And I'll probably have more info soon

Project Arts Centre. Dublin. 24th March. 17:30. It's free.

So I typed this out in some sort of haze, then went to bed and forgot about it until now. The reading is on this Saturday if you're interested. This is what the nice people at Devious Theatre had to say about it, and this is more about the Tiny Plays production by Fishamble, which you should definitely go to see if you can.


And I did get around to booking my ticket.


Eleanor Roscuro

WTF - Tumblr Cliches

So I was drifting around on Tumblr and as you find things, I came across this GIF. GIFs don't usually make me uncomfortable, but this does.

The blonde on the left is supposed to be the type of girl who makes brunette over here on the right's life a misery, with her shallow obsession with beauty, fashion, make-up and whatever these girls are obsessed with, and who alienates brunette who is obsessed with such sensible things as Harry Potter, Pokemon, Converse, pizza and Tumblr.

Since most of my posts lately have consisted of lists, I will try to articulate my opinion of this GIF in a list.

Reasons Why I Think Brunette On The Right Is Just As Shallow As She Is Trying To Make Out That Blonde On The Left Is:


~ Brunette believes that just because she likes things that are much different to what Blonde likes, or to put it another way, inhabits a subculture a little different to her peers, that she is better than them. She'll never come out and say that she is better, but instead spout out cliched statements like 'I'd rather be sitting at home on a Friday night reading Harry Potter than get drunk and drop the paw' regularly. She believes that the qualities and characteristics she possesses are rare, rather than being just a less common cliche. She also gives the impression that she is under tremendous pressure (usually from school) to become a 'normal' girl - see Blonde on the left - but she doesn't realise that there aren't any normal girls, and Brunette's image is just as fake as Blonde's. Everyone's got stuff. Brunette shouldn't look down on Blonde, because perhaps if they sat down and talked for a little while they might find that they've got a lot in common.

~ Also, one of the things in the Brunette's thought bubble is Nutella. What? If Brunette just sits around and thinks about Nutella all day, then maybe she is as vapid as she believes Blonde is.

Oh, I didn't need a full list after all. That's good.

Now, to those who read and comment on Apostrophe, I know you are all articulate, intelligent, astonishingly attractive and very nice people.

Sorry, I've forgotten my point. Oh, I know! You're all nice! Just saying.

Eleanor Roscuro

Going, Going, Gone

So remember a while back I blogged about a play I was excited about, called Scratcher?

That's part of a season of three plays, called In The Future When All's Well. Did I mention that? No, I didn't. Well, the second one is called Shifting, by a young chap called John Kennedy. He is a nice person.

Shifting is a comedy about making the first move. The bittersweet story is centred around a birthday party in the suburbs of Kilkenny City where a group of childhood friends try to have one last hurrah together before going their seperate ways into adult life. But as the night progresses, this final flirtation with their teenage years degenerates into a booze soaked mess of accusations, confessions, cake and unwanted gatecrashers.


It's being directed by John Morton, who also directed, wrote, and starred in Scratcher, and is being assistant directed by me.

*cough* *shuffles feet*

So, yeah.

Sorry for my absence, but I really have been busy! I have a valid excuse! I'm assistant directing a play, this play, and it's brilliant! The whole experience! Everyone's so nice, and it is truly an honour to get to do this. Ha, Google Chrome just put a red squiggly line under honour. Stupid American spelling.

But anyway. You know, it'd be nice if people came.

Shifting opens on April 18th and runs until April 23rd in No. 76 John Street, Kilkenny. It's the first week of the Easter holidays, so if you're around, you probably won't have anything else to do. Apart from come. Tickets are €10, but on the first night, Monday April 18th, they're only a fiver. These fiver tickets can only be bought at the venue, and the rest of the tickets can be booked at DeviousTheatre.com or booked on 056 – 7794138.

I know it's unrealistic to ask a lot of you to come, like the people who live in a different time zone. But if you live near-ish, I'd love to see you there.

Oh, and I wrote a little blog for the Devious Theatre website. Here it is. There's pictures and everything.

Kisses,

Eleanor Roscuro

P.S. For those who don't know, shifting is an old slang word in Kilkenny for kissing. Get it?

Let's Talk About Our Feelings

Let's have a chat over a nice cup of tea. Well, you can have coffee if you want. I've never liked coffee, but I'll be having some of that rainbow sugar if you don't mind. With my tea. I take milk.

Hi there.

Sorry about my absence. I feel like we never chat anymore, you and me. We should do that now! OK, I'll start. This is my blog after all.

1. So a few days ago at rehearsals, we were having a short break and I was playing with one of the juggling balls and trying to keep it up with my hands and moving around and eventually I found myself standing in the middle of the room and facing the back door and outside John and Ross were talking and on my left Alan and Geoff were talking about playing the guitar and someone was rattling around with mugs in the kitchen and behind me Angela was doing something and on my left down the ramp Jess was playing the guitar and singing with Connie and I was just standing there and staring at the ball, tapping it with the palms of my hands and humming the song DFTBA by Hank Green in my head and under my breath, and while I was standing there I realised how utterly amazing my brain was to take all of that in and think about all of those people at the same time and what they were doing and why and reprimanding myself at the same time because it was really none of my business what they were doing, and also thinking about things I needed to get in Educational Supplies for school and then thinking about school on Monday and if I needed to do any homework and thinking about
what I was going to eat later and also thinking about the ball I was trying to keep up with my hands and how amazing my brain was for being able to think all of those things at the same time and trying to decide if my brain was simply a brilliant organ or if I was too scatterbrained and flighty to concentrate on one thing at a time. And then I dropped the ball.

2. WAIT A SECOND!!! I haven't told you anything about any rehearsals yet! Um... Can you wait, just for a few days? Before I tell you, I'd like to have something to tell you. Know what I mean? Oh, never mind.

3. This year, both Barack Obama and the Queen of England will be visiting Ireland, within fourteen hours of each other! That's nice of them. Apparently Obama's oldest living relative lives somewhere near where I live, so he might pop over. Princess Margaret, the Queen's sister, once visited the town where my mother grew up when she was a little girl, and I still have one of the dresses Lady de Vesci used to wear. It's gorgeous. Anyway, the visits will be great for the economy. That's good.

4. Bo Burnham will be coming to Kilkenny in June, as part of the Cat Laughs festival. I'm not really a big fan, but I'm glad people on YouTube and the Internet are being seen by IRL people as real entertainers, not just teenage crushes. Not that I'll be able to go, the Cat Laughs is strictly over eighteens. Still, it brings €8 million into Kilkenny!



5. I read an amazing book recently, called The Queen Must Die by K.A.S. Quinn. I think I'll write y'all a review! But not in this post. You might have noticed the new Reading List over at the left there. Thing is, I keep buying books, but I never have the time for reading them anymore. So I've decided to be very strict with  myself and I am not allowed to buy anymore books (sob) until all the books in this list have been read. Every single one of them. I've just finished To Miss With Love by Katharine Birbalsingh, which is a MUST if you go to, or have ever gone to, secondary school. No matter where you live. Go read it.

Goodbye...

Oh, and thank you all for your kind, supreme patience.

Eleanor Roscuro...

WTF - General Election 2012 And The End Of The World

I think I might be more terrified than any other time in my life. (Hello, good evening, how are you all doing?)

Apart from the time I saw a man almost drowning in Tramore. That was scary.

And when I read Tyranny by Leslie Fairfield. That's the scariest book I've ever read.

But this isn't a book. This is real life. This will be an extremely long post. Brace yourselves.

Remember back at the end of November, during Alternative Blogging Week, I told you about the EU and IMF's loan of €85 billion to Ireland? And how no one knew what was going to happen? WELL...

At the start of the recession, in 2008, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister, say 'Tee-Shock') Bertie Ahern:

Yeah, he decided to retire and so, the Tànaiste (successor), Brian Cowen:

He became Taoiseach. And of course, you already know from my fully comprehensive guide that the banks were poor, then the government under Mr. Cowen guaranteed the banks... After all of this, and more scandals, the hate for Mr. Cowen was so widespread and unanimous throughout the country that in an attempt to minimize his association with Fianna Fail, his party, he stepped down as party leader. Mr. Cowen is not Taoiseach anymore. In fact, for the past month, we haven't had a Taoiseach. We're having a General Election. Probably should have mentioned that. Sorry.

Polling day is 25th February, in three days and a bit (and before you start getting any ideas, I'm under eighteen, so I don't have a vote) and today, the first canvasser came to our house. (Honestly, it's not like I live in the back of beyond.) He belonged to the political party Fine Gael.

A quick note on Fine Gael - Fine Gael literally means 'Tribe of the Irish'. Was second-largest political party in Ireland, after Fianna Fail (Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen) and is led by Enda Kenny:

Since the election started, he has been a contender. Really, he's grown quite popular with people, because they don't want to vote for Fianna Fail, since it was their (coalition) governments that led Ireland before and during the recession. Fine Gael say the government is full of corruption at the moment (true, unfortunately) and  that they're going to make everything better.

But, in my opinion, even if they try, they won't be able to give everyone jobs and make the country prosperous again.

Are you still here? If you are, thank you. Keep reading, I'm not done yet.

When Iceland and Greece went into bankruptcy, they quickly got rid of their corrupt governments and banks, but Fianna Fail still remained in power up until the end of January. There have been no serious protests of any kind. It's actually quite strange, because Irish history is, in a nutshell, seven hundred years of uprisings and rebellions against our English oppressors, in which many heroes have died in vain. Nobody seems to want to do that any more! People are angry about what's happened to them, their standards of living have definitely dropped, and our young people, our assets are emigrating in search of work in Australia or America, and they have so many problems that they've lost faith in our government, in these political parties. But nobody wants to protest or be martyred for the good of Ireland! What on earth has happened?

A few weeks ago, I went to see The Way Back. I saw the Russian gulags in Siberia, and the spread of communism (and yes, we have an Irish Communists Party) in the twentieth century, and as I walked out of the cinema, I was struck with the terrible thought of how lucky I am that, because of blind, blind chance, that doesn't happen in Ireland. And then I thought of Egypt, because that was in the newspapers, and I thought to myself, 'What am I doing to make sure that doesn't happen to Ireland?' And all I came up with was a big, fat NOTHING.

And I know you're thinking, 'Eleanor, why would you think that would happen in Ireland?' I'm getting to that. Hang on a second please.

It was only a blind chance that I was born white, female and Irish, in 1995. I believe it was only a blind chance that Ireland is not a dictatorship, and Egypt was. Yes, I'm aware that there are number of factors that have led to Ireland's democracy, and Egypt having a dictator, but you know what I mean. I said earlier that there have been no serious protests against Fianna Fail and the banks. Yet. It may take years, or six months, but something will crack. And some young, handsome graduate is going to protest about something, students fees maybe, and get himself hurt. And he will die. And that'll be the START.

Think Egypt, Libya. The fighting and rioting in Ireland will be on international news, as the death tolls rise. Maybe you'll see videos on Facebook or YouTube of protesters being shot in the middle of Grafton Street. Maybe I'll be in one of those videos. And then, eventually, America will step in, as it does, and bring in the big guns. And those guns will be really, really, really big. And this just won't be happening in Ireland, oh no. This will be happening all over the world. Total devastation. And then the superpowers, like America, will move in with their terribly big guns and they'll think they're trying to help. But they won't. And then, the people in those superpowers will start to get mad, and the superpowers and the terribly big guns will move out and try to sort out things at home, but it won't work. Third World War. And you'll have countries like Ireland and Libya destroyed, and the superpowers imploding, and the world will end. In, you've guessed it, 2012.

You may not believe me, and that's fine. You may like to telephone the HSE and recommend me for counselling. I would prefer if you didn't do that. But yes, I do believe this will happen. And it terrifies me. But imagine how terrified I'll be when I have to barricade my doors during a siege, wondering when I'll next get to eat. I'm not saying this is all certain. The only thing I know that's certain is that Ireland's next Taoiseach will be white and male.

Again.

And now, to ask myself the same question that I asked myself after seeing The Way Back:

What am I doing to make sure that Ireland survives all of this, to prevent the end of the world?

Nothing.

And it really, really depresses me.

But anyway.

You can just take all of this with a pinch of salt, if you want.

Eleanor Roscuro

STUFF I BE DOIN WI ME LIFE WOT

Yeah... I'm hungry.

Hello.

You may not have realised this yet, but I don't spend all my time on the internet with you. This is what I've been doing with myself this past while. Don't worry, it's all terribly interesting.

1. Being Nostalgic And Kicking Myself: A few weeks ago, I re-read the Roald Dahl books, all of them. I used to read them all the time when I was younger - Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox... But as I was re-reading them recently, I started to notice... things. Things like all the alliteration Dahl used. All the time, with every single character in every single book, everyone is crying 'Great galumphing galizzers!' and it gets very repetitive. And the heroes and heroines, the children, THEY'RE ALL THE SAME. Seriously, there's nothing to distinguish them from each other, which is annoying. And I was reading and noticing these things, and other things too, but I didn't want to notice them. I am older now, and I ruined the Roald Dahl books for me, and it's all my fault. And after realising this I went off and sulked, like the baby I am.

2. Addiction #56: So Tom Milsom joined Tumblr. Yes, you read me correctly. Tom Milsom is now on Tumblr. Amazing, isn't it? Go and join him on his odyssey! (Yes. I did just make a terrible pun, or whatever that was. You're welcome.)

3. Becoming Trendy - Part #375: So a few days ago I came across a new post by Miss Vintage Vixen who I secretly but not very secretly adore, and it was a post about this band. This wonderful band. Sleigh Bells - Infinity Guitars. It's just...



You know? And the song is relatively simple, almost the same thing over and over again, but when that thing is so good, it doesn't really matter.

4. J'adore l'animation! This film probably won't be screening in my local omniplex, but it will stand the test of time better than whatever CGI 2011 is going to give us. It's called Le Vie un Chat. It's so pretty, and it's a shame that people here aren't buzzing about it. But still. Plus, I want to know more about the life of the cat.




5. Embracing the Force: So yesterday I was drinking some tea and I was shown this ad. There's not really much I can say that hasn't already been said (but still, that could be applied to almost everything, couldn't it? Why am I saying it?) Anyway, this is one of the best examples of child acting I've ever seen. Whatever he does again, his face should not be shown. It just makes it that much better.



Also - what's the Superbowl?

Eleanor Roscuro

This Is Musings of an Undiscovered Genius

So last Sunday I was going to put this as my Quote of the Week...

Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered - either by themselves or by others.


Mark Twain

And I thought that'd be great, since Mark Twain is usually quoted a lot and it mentions undiscovered geniuses and everything, but something made me read it again. And again. And again.

And now I've just realised that I need to change the name of this blog, even though I don't want to. Labelling myself as an Undiscovered Genius is automatically saying to myself 'Eleanor, you're fantastic and everything, but let's make sure no one else knows about it, OK?' And I don't want to do that. The name Musings of an Undiscovered Genius was incredibly easy for me to come up with when I first created this blog. I just thought 'OK, my blog needs a name... Musings of an Undiscovered Genius! Yes!' And I thought I was being kind of cocky and confident about the genius part, which I am (both cocky and confident and a genius) and the undiscovered part simply meant that... I'm not sure. I think it meant that I wasn't really well-known, (which seems incredibly superficial now that I'm fifteen and wiser) and that my potential still needed to be... discovered. Musings was created at a time in my life where I wasn't exactly bouncing around with happiness. And 'Musings of a...' has been used SO MUCH. Ugh.

But finding a new blog name is going to be really hard, and that's why I'm reluctant to change. And Music at Musings worked so well, it was simple and there was alliteration! But I NEED to change this name. And I'm so afraid I'm going to eventually pick a completely rubbish name that won't appeal to anybody (because something I've noticed about blogs is that the best blogs have rubbish names and the worst blogs have absolutely brilliant names) and I can't just call it Eleanor Surname because I'm still only fifteen. Safety and all that. Oh God.

I don't know whether to thank Twain or dance on his grave.

Oh, and this counts as a Quote of the Week.

Alternative Blogging Week - The Gossip Blog

Morning all! Snow is falling thick and fast here! All schools in my area are closed, and today is Wednesday. Today, Musings becomes a Gossip blog!

1 - Mean Girls 2 is so not fetch.


Being creatures of the internet like myself, you've probably already heard about Mean Girls 2. If you haven't, here's the trailer:



WTF? They're not putting it in the cinemas, which really says enough. I mean, Mean Girls was a hit when it came out. If they waited this long to make a sequel...

2 - Turn Off The Dark might suffer from vertigo.

Bono and The Edge from U2 have written a musical, a la American Idiot. It's called Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark and it's first preview performance opened on Broadway last Sunday and sold over $1 million worth of tickets within 24 hours. It has the most expensive Broadway set ever made, costing $65 million dollars (strangely, the previous record holder was Shrek: The Musical! What on earth happened to that money?) There's a lot of wire work, with Spider-Man swinging on his web into the audience, they had to renovate the whole theatre for that. During rehearsals one actor broke his toe and another broke both his wrists. I'd give a review, but I haven't been to see it. Yeah. There's a hiccup. But I'm sure this will be remembered for years. But in what light? We'll just have to wait and see...

3 - Different faces, same problem.


So this might have fitted better yesterday, but whatever.

After Christmas, Ireland is having another general election. I mean, I'm sure our present Taoiseach (prime minister) Brian Cowen would have done fine without the recession. Ten years earlier, perhaps. But now, for the first time ever, maybe the Labour party will be in power. Well, it's not like I'm going to get the chance to choose. But there are people campaigning to lower the voting age from eighteen to sixteen... Roscuro for Taoiseach! I should make election posters...

And that's the showbizzy, gossip blog! It was quite hard finding interesting news, I must admit. And I checked  Silly Old Daniel and Perez Hilton and everything! Tomorrow's Thursday, when Musings will become a book blog! I must admit, I'm excited about that one. Halfway through!

Eleanor Roscuro

Vulture Private/Personal/Professional Investigations

In the fair Irish city Kilkenny,
Three gentlemen detectives reside
Who use their wits and cunning
To solve, and thwart bad guys.

James Vultour, raising Cain,
With socks and sandals too
And Dan McGrain (the man's a saint)
Who's always pointing at Andrew

And we can't forget Niall Tennyson,
Who makes a lovely brew
The sanest guy in V.P.I.
(And he smells lovely too!)

Vulture Private Investigations
Solve mysteries, but these days
They're battling the evil Pinkertons
Led by an elusive Ms Blaise

But never fear, for V.P.I.
Are made of sterner stuff
(Like Tennyson's tea and cigarettes
And maybe Dan's got snuff),

So come and join their motley crew
Of teenage chavs and stoners
Taxi drivers, litter wardens,
But no moaners and groaners!

Vultour, Tennyson and McGrain
The best detectives you'll ever know
 Log on vulturespi.com
And let's enjoy the show!

Whenever I try to write a poem with a rhyming scheme, I fail miserably. So I'm quite proud of that. Yep.

Vultures is a Kilkenny based sitcom about three private detectives, or dicks, running their own agency. Is it any good? Oh yes. Oh yes indeedy. (Well, it's actually bloody brilliant, if you really want to know.) Vultures is the brainchild of two locals, John Morton and Paddy Dunne. (During my escapades with the Red Square Kibosh during the summer - if you don't remember, click here - I ran into John a few times, because he was one of the official Kilkenny Arts Festival bloggers with Ken McGuire. They're both very nice.) It burst onto the internet in late 2007, early 2008, with their first episode entitled The Kris Kringle Konundrum, about the struggles V.P.I. have as they try to buy each other the perfect present for Christmas. Since then, it has grown from strength to strength. There are seven mind-blowingly awesome episodes in this first season (and hopefully not the last...), and the amount of professionalism that's been put in is incredible. The actors are amazing, the characters are unforgettable, and they make little trailers for each episode! And character profiles on their website! And some characters even have their own little websites! And it's just so damn good!

And another reason why I love it is because it's based entirely around Kilkenny, and I recognize streets and places all the time, and it's just so selfishly great to be able to say 'Oh, I was chased there too!' And it's so Irish, and most of my readers are from America (with Ireland coming in a close second) and Americans love Irish things, don't you? Like me! So watch the first episode, The Kris Kringle Konundrum, and if you like it, go to their website and watch the rest! If you don't like it, go to their website and watch the rest!

 (Note - I've only started watching Vultures in the past few months, and so am relatively new to it compared to other viewers. Please excuse any inaccuracies I make. It's my birthday this weekend you know.)

Eleanor Roscuro

Happy Blogday Everyone!

I am an idiot, and I'm sorry.

So on Sunday 7th of November 2010, Musings of an Undiscovered Genius was one year old! One year! I can hardly believe it! Thank you all so much for your support and words. I'm so, so pleased that any of you read what I write here, and I am just so grateful. Thank you!

Oh, and I got my hair cut in September. Much longer now. I'm sorry, I can't smile in photos.

Eleanor Roscuro

Other People Think I'm Great Too, You Know.

I've gotten another award! I love it when people apart from myself think I'm great. Ace-Of-Aoife thinks I have 'a Blog With Substance'. Wow. I have requirements to fill too! I like those ones. Let's get on it!

Thank the blogger who gave me the award.

Dear Ace-Of-Aoife,

Thank you so so so much for this award! This means a lot, and I'm so glad you think me deserving of it. Have a nice day!

Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience in five words.

Enlightening, lucky, inspired, funny, creative.

Pass this  to 10 other bloggers who you feel have a substance in their blogs.

Grace
Rae
Macky
Leanne
Jenny
Daniel
Derek
Muireann
Skylark
and Jamie

Thanks everyone! I'm actually uploading a new video as I type. 164 minutes to go...

Eleanor Roscuro

I Have Finally Decided What I Want To Do With My Life.

I want to do this:

Durham University students offered Harry Potter course

Students are being given the chance to sign up to what is thought to be the UK's first course focusing on the world of Harry Potter.

The Durham University module uses the works of JK Rowling to examine prejudice, citizenship and bullying in modern society.

So far about 80 undergraduates have signed up for the optional module, part of a BA degree in Education Studies

.Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion will be available for study next year.

A university spokesman said: "This module places the Harry Potter novels in their wider social and cultural context.

Moral universe

"A number of themes will be explored, including the world of rituals, prejudice and intolerance in the classroom, bullying, friendship and solidarity and the ideals of and good citizenship."

The module was created by Dr Martin Richardson, head of the Department of Education at Durham University.

He said the idea for the new module had been conceived in response to growing demand from the student body.

He said: "It seeks to place the series in its wider social and cultural context and will explore some fundamental issues such as the moral universe of the school.

"You just need to read the academic writing which started to emerge four or five years ago to see that Harry Potter is worthy of serious study."

 Now come on... You can't say that's not appealing to you!

Eleanor Roscuro

If you want to read my Derek Landy interview, you can do so here.

That is all.

Things I Really Must Do Over The Summer - Revisited #2!

I know I'm a little late with this, seeing as it's August 12th, but by doing this I want to prove a point. I have two weeks left in this summer. This is what I planned to do to fill the last three months:

• Finish Fresia I'm on the third draft, but all the plays I've seen with the Red Square Kibosh have influenced my ideas...
• Try to go to beach - often ...Ah. That. Well, I'm going on holiday next week, so maybe... 
• Go for picnics in Castle Park I've spent most of last month and this month inside the castle, and I have lunch there, with my friends, so can I pass? Hang on, this is my list! Of course I can!
• Go to Holidays premiere Still waiting for details...
• Read 100 books Ugh. I have failed miserably. I bow down to you Ariella!
• Write list of 100 books to be read See 'Read 100 books'.
• Write at least three articles for PunchTheSphinx 1 more to go...
• Don't stay up and sleep all day, such a waste. (This blog post is being written at 00:52. I love burning the midnight oil, but it's really difficult because I can't wake the rest of the house, and they can't know I'm up... Why did I have to get the creaky door? I haven't done that since June! And I really want to. I had to get up early every day for the past month, thank you Red Square Kibosh and I'm relying on my last week to try to go to bed earlier, get in the habit for school. Wah!
• Get new clothes. The Urlingford Package! Every year, my twenty-four year old cousin sends me all her old clothes, although she is very small, and her trousers are getting short in the leg... My cousin will be getting the Bennettsbridge Package soon. Then she'll pass the clothes on to another cousin. Who will pass the clothes on to her sister. Who will then get some new patches!
• Watch three Audrey Hepburn movies. Ah.
• Get new Converse. Remember the Stars and Stripes Converse I got? Well, they don't fit me anymore, so I got some new ones, (PRODUCT) Red for €14 euros in TK Maxx! My mum thinks they're too big for me, but Size 8 fits perfectly!
• Dye hair bright red. I will be getting the ends of my hair dyed blue soon, and that'll be it. I was thinking about getting a pixie cut a la Emma Watson/Carey Mulligan, but I decided against it. For now...

When I was writing that, I got really annoyed, because from that list, you wouldn't think I've done much this summer at all. But I have! I have... (Bullet point time!)

• Been an art critic
• Cleared out my books (You'll find out about that in a post...)
• Gave Kilkenny Some Loving
• Learnt how to make coffee (Not for me, yuck!)
• Took part in Life in a Day
• Started video blogging
• Learnt how to make podcasts (Should I make podcasts for you, my dears? Oh! I could do radio plays! That would be so cool!)
• Been offered a once-in-a-lifetime interview opportunity which I will tell you about at the end of this post... (This is me, building up the suspense... Ooh...)
• Learnt how to make animations (I'm in the middle of making one now, so keep your eyes peeled!)

I am so proud of myself! Everyone should do this, even if you think that you've done nothing this summer. Yes you have. And now, I have two things to tell you about! (Including the absolutely amazing interview that I am doing...Ooh...)

Second biggest but still important news first... I told you all that I was an author on PunchTheSphinx? Well, I've written this post on how to write a kick-ass blog, and I'd love it if you would give it a little read! I think it's my best post for PunchTheSphinx yet. Give it a read, and then check out some of the other articles! They're class like. (I've never typed that before. Wow.)

And now, on to my other news...

Remember the Red Square Kibosh? Of course you do! *ruffles hair fondly* Well, I have been given an ultra-exclusive opportunity...

To interview...

One-on-one...

DEREK LANDY!!!!!!

I'M GOING TO INTERVIEW DEREK LANDY THIS SATURDAY!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!

ME! DEREK LANDY! INTERVIEW!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those who are not fans of the Skulduggery Pleasant books, that's the author. I'm going to get an exclusive interview with him on Saturday. Two days time. *faints*

So, everybody, if you have any questions for Derek, put them in the comments, and they shall be asked! (Well, you know, the sensible ones. Nothing offensive, don't try that.) Remember, give them to me by Saturday!

Trying to come up with a new sign-off thingy,

Eleanor Roscuro

Special Blog Announcement! (Wow, I Sound So Authoritive!)

This is a Special Blog Announcement because I was going to post about two other things, even though I can only remember one of them at the moment, but then I got a lovely award, called the Honesty Award, from Macky at A Wallflower's Words. Give her a follow! She said my writing was 'very awesome'! Hooray! I have to answer some questions for the award, honestly of course, so I'll shoot:

Share one thing that nobody knows about you.
Absolutely nobody? OK... When I'm talking to my friends, I end every second sentence with 'Because I'm brilliant!' but I don't really think I am.

What is your biggest regret in life?
My biggest regret in life... At the moment, that is not cleaning my room. I'm in it now, and it makes me sad.

What would you do with a thousand dollars?
I'd get guitar lessons and put the rest towards a new house. I hate Bennettsbridge, I want to live in Kilkenny city, cause that's where it's at, yo dawg! Or something.

If you could go back in time, would you still be with the person you are with right now?
If you mean my imaginary boyfriend, then no.

What do you like or dislike about my (the tagger's) blog page?
There's nothing really to dislike about A Wallflower's Words! I like the new template, and the cool dictionary definitions, and all the creative posts that make a great blog!

I hereby award the Honesty Award to:

~ Leanne Woodfull from Thunder + Threads
~ Grace from Not Another Love Song
~ Jenny from Fiction Isn't Fair
~ Lauri from Lauri Angel
~ Ailish from Hello, I've Missed You Quite Terribly

High-Fives,

Eleanor Roscuro

Do I Deserve These? (Shush Eleanor, Or You'll Have To Return Them!) Ah. Thanks Eleanor. (I Shouldn't Have To Think For You!) You're My Brain. (Oh.)

OK, supermegabumper post coming up! You're welcome. I've been spending days writing this post, so sorry for any delays!

I have won two awards from Ace-Of-Aoife and Ailish, and I have been tagged by Ailish again! Hooray! Thank you very much girls! Now, on to business!

Right, this is the first award...

Nice, isn't it? Anyway, here's some requirements to fulfill... Dum de dum...

Get really excited that you got the coolest award ever!

*cough*Look up!*cough*

Choose one of the following options of accepting the Oh My Blog! award:
(a) Get really drunk and blog for 15 minutes straight, or for as long as you can focus.
(b) Write about your most embarrassing moment.
(c) Write a “soundtrack of your childhood” post.
(d) Make your next blog a ‘vlog’/video blog where you’re basically talking to the camera about whatever.
(e) Take a picture of yourself first thing in the morning, before you do anything else (hair, make up, etc) and post it.

Hmm... I think I'll choose (e), although you'll have to wait for tomorrow for a photo!

Pass the award onto at least three, but preferably more, awesome bloggers and let them know.

Okey-dokey then. Award number two is the Honest Blog Award. Thanks Ailish! Seems I have to answer these questions and then award six other honest bloggers. Alrighty.

Share one thing no one knows about you.

Hmm... I know! I don't tell anybody anything. I keep my cards very, very close to my chest. So there are lots of things no one knows about me, and that thing I just said is one thing. But now you know it. So it isn't valid. Why am I dissecting this question so much?

What is your biggest regret in life? (Hello, everyone has regrets!)

My biggest regret... is not stepping up to the plate when I should have, and putting away my pride, in order to help someone. It still haunts me.

Have you ever been jealous of someone else's blog page and why?

Oh, plenty of times! Most of the time it's just because they have such good relationships with their readers. I hope I get some of those relationships someday...

What would you do for $1000?

Take it.

What secretly makes you happy? (Money? Kids? Porn? Sunshine?)

What secretly makes me happy... If I told you that, then I would be openly enjoying it, and that wouldn't be fair, would it? (I know I'm not being quite frank answering these questions, I just don't want to be so truthful on the Internet, when it can upset a lot of people. Plus, a girl needs secrets.)

If you could go back in time, would you still pick the person you are with right now? And why?

Well, I'm not with anyone right now, except in my dreams... But I never planned to pick them, ever. And even if I could go back in time, I wouldn't pick them, but I would still fall in love with them, because I'd still be me, and I can't change that. Space-time continuum and stuff.

What do you like or dislike most about my blog page?

...I dislike how much I like your blog, Ailish, because I want to answer this question properly. Oh well. Let's try the next one!

If you could take a trip anywhere, who would you take with you?

I'd go to New York, and I'd take EVERYONE in Kilkenny Youth Theatre .(Inside joke time!) Including Anna, Keith and Ronan. (End of inside joke time.)

And now, the tag! This will be fun! OK, here are the rules...

1. Set your iPod or MP3 on shuffle.
2. Hit the next song button, and whatever it "lands" on is the answer to the question you were asked.
3. Laugh out loud at the answers.
4. Tag six people.

Are you male or female?

Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy - Glen Hansard (:D)

What do people feel when they're around you?

Careful - Paramore (They should be! I'm very clumsy. I slipped three times yesterdayday!)

Describe your current relationship.

I'm Not Calling You A Liar - Florence & The Machine (So, in denial? Or in defense?)

Where would you like to be right now?

Kiss And Tell - Alexander Rybak

How do you feel about love?

I Gave You All - Mumford & Sons (Hmm... Feeling resentful today?)

What's your life like?

Viva la Vida - Coldplay

What would you wish for if you only had one wish?

Tremble For My Beloved - Mutemath (So, a beloved to tremble for?)

Say something wise.

If You Want Me - Marketa Irglova

How would you describe yourself?

Hot and Cold - Katy Perry

What is your life's purpose?

Alone - Glee cast feat. Kristen Chenoweth (Celine Dion cover. And how depressing is that prediction!)

What is your motto?

Brendan & The Secret Of Kells - Bruno Coulais and Kila (OK...)

What do your friends think of you?

Cops and Robbers - The Hoosiers (I never knew I was such a bad influence!)

What do you think of your parents?

Seven Nation Army - Vyvienne Long (Red Hot Chilli Peppers cover)

What do you think of very often?

Mad About The Boy - Ava

What is 2 + 2?

The Monks - Bruno Coulais and Kila

What do you think of your best friend?

MK Ultra - Muse (...Right then.)

What is your life story?

Heavy Cross - The Gossip (It's a cruel, cruel world...)

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Howl - Florence & The Machine

What will you dance to at your wedding?

Hurricane Drunk - Florence & The Machine

What will they play at your funeral?

Gold Digger - Glee cast (Kanye West cover)

What is your hobby/interest?

Girl With One Eye - Florence & The Machine (Wow, there's a lot of Flo here, isn't it?)

What is your biggest fear?

Let The Flames Begin - Paramore (Yeah, arson isn't really on my Happy List...)

What is your biggest secret?

Just Dance - Maximo Park (Lady Gaga cover)

What do you think of your friends?

Hello, Brooklyn - All Time Low

What will you repost this as?

Candy - Paolo Nutini

Wow. How random. And now I have to award/tag six people!

.{Miss Vintage Vixen.}

The Soap Opera Experiment

A Wallflower's Words

Not Another Love Song

Dirty Kisses + Filthy Lies

Daydream Believer

Ladies, you can accept either award, and the tag if you wish. I love sowing seeds of confusion!

High-Fives,

EleanorLight

Dum Dum Dum... Oh? What's This?

I am quite contented this minute. It's the sort of state book characters are in before their life changes unexpectedly. Perhaps their parents will die, or they will win the lottery, or they will move house, or a mysterious man will post them a mysterious letter... OK, it's the next minute now, and nothing's happened yet, so I'm going to get on with this post. The ice-cream deserving Snaily has given me an award! Hooray! (Ice-cream deserving... I have created a new term of praise. I am now a literary GOD!)

Aha! There are requirements I must fulfill! Onwards, keyboard!

*Display this award in some way on your blog.

'cough' 'Look up!' 'cough'

*Name seventeen of your favourite random things.

1. Being right.
2. Winning arguments.
3. Making pancakes.
4. Getting blog awards.
5. Hammocks.
6. My Sergeant Pepper/Kasabian's Empire video jacket.
7. Horrible Histories.
8. Tea (milk and two sugars please!).
9. Being sarcastic.
10. Discovering a new band, and loving it.
11. Movie soundtracks.
12. Eargasms! (A term invented - I think... - by a writer from PTS. Apparently they are 'ORGASMS in your EARS!' It's part of his music reviews.)
13. Being right and winning arguments.
14. Swimming in the sea.
15. My iPod, with it's Paperchase cover.
16. My blue and yellow Bershka headphones.
17. Headbanging.

*Award four of your favourite random bloggers.

I think I'm sensing a pattern here, with this randomness thing... Anyway, these are four of my favourite random bloggers, so picked because they don't seem to fit into a genre all the time, such as fashion blogging or music blogging. Like mine!

.{Miss Vintage Vixen}.

Lauri Angel on the condition that she accepts that she IS good enough to accept my awards, because that's two now. And you are good enough. OK? And post something about your Irish Student Press article, (Yes, you are right people, that is a national newspaper!) because that was cool.

Annalee McGarry

Ace-of-Aoife

High-Fives,

EleanorLight

Just Enjoy The Show...

So there I was, drafting a post, when I decide to go on to Musings, to check for comments and see if anything needs to be fixed, when I found a comment from Ariella, saying that she had made her own blog award, and I was one of the first recipients! After whooping and running around a bit, I sat down and started fulfilling the requirements. Which is what I'm doing now. OK, I have to post 'the weirdest picture that you've ever seen or taken' and since I don't really take photos that are weird (I never get the opportunity...) here's the weirdest photo I have ever seen...

I didn't take this, but I was still present when this was taken. But that doesn't matter. Look at that arm! Oh, and SGuitar is there too, in the middle. He's quite new to blogging, so give him a read! Yep, this is what Kilkenny Youth Theatre do in their spare time... Told you we were awesome.

And now I have to answer questions.

*Have you ever used Photoshop?

No, but I have used Picasa. I can't make photos the size I want them to for PTS posts though, which is really annoying! (PTS is for another post, dearies...)

*Have you ever wanted to kill your camera because you couldn't get the perfect picture?

Many, many times. But I dropped it in the snow a few months ago, and now parts of it don't work right, and it makes me sad. And it's really frustrating.

*Have you ever taken a picture from the top of a very steep hill or a cliff?

I try not to go near the tops of very steep hills and cliffs.

And now I have to give the award to eight other people...

Lauri Angel

Thunder + Threads

Music and Life

Style Rookie

.{Miss Vintage Vixen}.

MessyCarla: A Fashion Blog In A Size Sixteen

Annalee McGarry

Dirty Kisses + Filthy Lies

High-Fives,

EleanorLight

We Are The Winners Of Eurovision, WE ARE! WE ARE!

The Eurovision Song Contest Final is on tomorrow.

Ireland got in.

You may have noticed I'm not saying much. Usually you can't shut me up. I guess I'm still in shock.

This is how Niamh Kavanagh got in to the final for us.



I know because of the block voting, you'll probably do this anyway, but United Kingdom, would you mind voting for us please? We'll vote for you. :) And, anyone else from Europe, it would be very nice if you would vote for us too. Please?

Do You See It?

My followers are BACK!!! Welcome back everybody!

I'm just so happy!

YIPPEE!!!