Let's Hear It For New Dorks

Check this geek anthem for 2010 by a guy who looks like a skinnier version of Michael Jackson on Bo’ Selecta. What’s not to like with killer line delivery, such as… “Startin’ big trends with the tweets that I pass on, You should follow me because I’m friends with Ash-ton”.

TOTW 35

Shane Mc Gowan and friends song for Haiti is out today and we urge you to download it as ALL proceeds go to Concern. Kudos to Shane and his partner Victoria Clarke who made the calls and got some great names is music (Paloma Faith, Chrissie Hynde, Nick Cave, etc…) and film (Johnny Depp no less) to feature on the cover of ‘I Put A Spell On You’. Let’s face it this is credible music that has grit , soul and not some gushy, schmaltzy and tiresome Simon Cowell standard Westlife edition with the predictable big key change. Don’t get us wrong, that hit number one and raised some funds desperately needed but music fans outside the realm of the top 10 desperately needed an alternative so they could happily play their small part by downloading a song to help. We also stumbled across this graphic that compares historic U.S. event death totals to Haiti's devastating loss to highlight the magnitude of the disaster. The track is available here and join the Facebook group.

Nike Kits The Boys In Green

No not Traps Army, just all the other Nike national teams that are ready to play ball in South Africa this Summer. Check out Nikes sweet press kits that include the new Brazilian World Cup jersey within a bottle. The jerseys themselves are made from upcycled plastic bottles, 8 bottles to be exact. Another nice detail to all of the 2010 World Cup Nike jerseys is that they have a secret message printed on the inside behind the teams crest, next to the hearts of players. The Brazilian one above says “orgulho e amor”, which is Portuguese for “pride and love”. Nice.

Irelands Top Musicians Band Together for Barretstown

In what could well be a first for Ireland, this Friday’s Barretstown Inspirations fundraiser gig will be streamed live from Dublin's Olympia Theatre across the globe via music website MUZU.TV. This year’s show features a host of top acts including Paddy Casey, Mundy, Duckworth Lewis Method, Jape, Lir, Villagers, Gemma Hayes, Jerry Fish and more, all performing songs by their musical heroes. The live broadcast will available at http://www.muzu.tv/inspirationslive and will kick off at 7.30pm this Friday. While the broadcast will be totally free to watch, viewers will be encouraged to click through and donate to Barretstown, the camp for children affected by cancer and other life threatening illnesses. Viewers will also be able to engage in live web chat during the concert.

Tune of the week 34

This was meant to go up on Friday but got missed in all the excitment... our latest Tune of the Week is dedicated to Bitches With Wolves, whose fantastic rendition of it brought the Olympia house down on Friday night. The perfect start to a great weekend.

Desperados seeking party throwers

Think you know how to throw a good party? Desperados want you! Yep, Desperados a rather tasty new beer in Ireland is looking for peeps with good party credentials to host parties in their gaffs. We will provide you with the essentials, you just have to prove your worth. Check out the facebook page for more details.

Our Final Fantasies Come True

The artist formally known as Final Fantasy (Owen Pallet) is back in Dublin on March 18th and will be doing his thing for a sold out crowd in Whelans. BUT never fear, lucky for all, the Canadian musical dreamboat has added an extra date on the 19th for any who didn’t snag a ticket the first time around. Dust off your violin bows and get ready!

Check, check, check, him doing his thing at the Foggy Notions Christmas party many moons ago.

Crystal Shwing

Forget Crystal Swing, we’re much more into Crystal Shwing



More from Panti here

Heading East-wood

Anyone around Birmingham between the 23rd and 28th March should pop along to Synth Eastwood’s latest show at the Flatpack Festival

Fast Forward With Synth Eastwood from Synth Eastwood on Vimeo.

It's Snow More

It was bound to happen and now it’s official. Those ambiguous ‘bath salts’, along with other assorted pills and powders, will no longer be available to buy legally from head shops from next month. You can actually hear the collective sighs of relief from those friendly neighborhood drug dealers as the pesky legal highs are days away from getting washed down the drain. We predict a not dissimilar ‘shake and vac’ product will be out to fill the void.

Ben & Jerry’s Goes Globally Nuts for Fairtrade

Ben & Jerry’s has announced its commitment to go fully Fairtrade across its entire global flavour portfolio. From Phish Food to Chocolate Fudge Brownie, all Ben & Jerry’s flavours in Ireland will be converted to Fairtrade-certified ingredients by the end of 2011 with all flavours globally being converted by the end of 2013. Ben & Jerry’s was the first ice cream company in the world to use Fairtrade-certified ingredients starting in 2005, and today it’s racing ahead as the first ice cream company to make such a significant commitment to Fairtrade across its global portfolio. Fairtrade Fortnight also kicks off this week with Fairtrade Ireland asking the nation to swap their usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff. Each swap will be proof that Ireland wants developing world producers to get a better deal and while you’re in the swapping mood check out www.benjerry.ie where there are loads of prizes on offer and all you have to do is post what your fair trade will be. Win!

Oxegen 2010

Shocked? Surprised? Delighted? Disappointed? Indifferent? Heineken sponsored Oxegen's line-up is always a cause for much debate and this year is no different. So without further ado some of the acts to play Ireland’s biggest festival this Summer…

EMINEM, MUSE, JAY-Z, THE BLACK EYED PEAS, KASABIAN, THE PRODIGY, FLORENCE+THE MACHINE, PAOLO NUTINI, FAITHLESS, STEREOPHONICS, DAVID GUETTA, VAMPIRE WEEKEND, MUMFORD & SONS JOHN MAYER, HOT CHIP, CALVIN HARRIS, NEWTON FAULKNER, GOSSIP, THE TEMPER TRAP, EMPIRE OF THE SUN, GOLDFRAPP, LA ROUX, WOLFMOTHER, RISE AGAINST, THE CORAL, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, ELLIE GOULDING, TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB, ARMAND VAN HELDEN, STEVE ANGELLO, SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO, EROL ALKAN, STEVE AOKI, A-TRAK, AEROPLANE

plus more to be announced...

High Times

When a picture tells a thousand words…

Thinking about watching the Winter Olympics but just haven’t bothered ?

Check out photo genius Ryan McGinley’s High Fliers snaps commissioned by the New York Times and find yourself reaching for the remote…

Augmented Inc.

Augmented reality has crossed over to the body art world. ThinkAnApp in Argentina have developed software that recognizes barcodes on a curved surface (i.e - your arm). Imagine a summers day where we all have augmented reality sunglasses and instead of millions of tramp stamps we see a gallery of soaring eagles, dragons and majestic unicorns.

Pancake Chews-day

Our in-house chef Chewy Chewerson flips pancake after delicious pancake making it look a breeze. Yum.