Writing by aj@lecraic on Friday, 31 of October , 2008 at 12:03 am
Already blogged this over on It’s the Credit Crunch, but it deserves an outing here too! Classic youtubery.
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Category: the beano, video
Writing by aj@lecraic on Thursday, 30 of October , 2008 at 10:50 pm

Great idea from John Braine. A simple, effective and independent ratings site for ISP’s in Ireland.
I remember before getting broadband myself and found it very hard to decide on which provider to go with. Boards.ie was a nightmare with long ranty threads and confusing advice. How did I finally decide?
Digiweb were just starting out at the time and were advertising heavily. One of the things I did learn on Boards.ie was the “contention” issue. I figured that a new ISP wouldn’t suffer from this problem so I threw caution to the wind, opened my wallet and slapped down a wad of cash to help out the new guys in the market. I’ve been happy with them ever since.
My rating and review is already up there. I recommend you rate your ISP too. It will be a great resource for anyone trying to make a decision on getting broadband for the first time.
Great job John and can I recommend you do a similar one for dentists in Ireland – the domain name is available!!
Category: current affairs
Writing by aj@lecraic on Thursday, 30 of October , 2008 at 10:21 pm
Irish Apprentice Review - Week 6


Review by Ian Walsh.
We are now halfway through this ‘gruelling’ 12 week job interview. This week proved how reality shows can be really unpredictable and it threw up possibly the biggest shock so far, which really disappointed me.
The task was clearly something close to Bill’s heart, and no we are not back on Moore Street again but in the showroom of a Renault garage. The objective was but a simple one, to sell cars. But the cracks clearly began to show from the off. Mark was clearly bored off his head and it wasn’t half obvious when he showed where his bored head was :
‘‘I’d rather be selling bananas on Moore Street’’
This was a complete shock to my system, and I was concerned when I saw this attitude and thought nothing of it at first. I figured he would surely change his tune and step up to the plate, but it wasn’t to be.
Nicky was project manager for Dynamo, and had the difficult task of keeping Joanna on a tight leash. A bit of an impossible task to keep her in check it must be said. This meant Nicky left herself open to being manipulated and undermined. It wasn’t entirely Nicky’s fault but she was indecisive and couldn’t make a clear cut decision, the total opposite of Joanna.
It seems we have made the transition from the ‘long grass’ to the ‘bushes’ , where Joanna has been waiting for Nicky to be project manager. Joanna seems to be at home with nature, I wonder where will she be next. Among the flowerbeds? Who knows..
As I said last week we would all like the chance to see Sarah as project manager and this week was her chance to shine. I haven’t any real criticisms about her but at the same time I wouldn’t be going off raving about her, not yet anyway. Stuart was essentially the star man and rightly so because this was his forte. He went from zero to hero and put himself right back in contention for the ‘dream job’.
Obviously Brenda makes enough money in her bridal shop that she drives a car that doesn’t use a conventional key, as she came out with this quote while trying to start one of the Renault models:
‘‘its been so long since I used a key’’
Luckily nobody asked to be taken on a test drive, or better still she wasn’t asked to park the cars in showroom. One may suspect that it may have taken longer than Stuart’s ridiculous two hour tour de force.
Now to the boardroom where Nicky had no choice but to drag Mark and Joanna in with her. As usual Joanna played the innocent little girl act having no clue why she was there. She is someone who I could never work with. She appears to be confrontational, undermining and manipulative – traits that I can’t tolerate. Mark on the other hand was ready to go. He threw the towel in the moment the task started. This is the same guy that was Bill’s special one ever since we lay eyes on him five weeks ago. Subsequently it was an easy decision for Bill and Mark was fired.
I am on the fence regarding the decision, he did give up on that task there is no doubt about that but based on past form was it the right thing to let him go? I liked Mark and I am sad to see him depart. I am sure a lot of people will be too, including Bill. I think from this point onwards its going to get very interesting.
Just a quick note, spotted in the Daily Mail. Monday nights episode peaked at 405,000 views, I’d like to say well done to the show and to TV3!
Rated 4/5 on Oct 30 2008
Category: Apprentice Ireland, telly, the apprentice
Writing by aj@lecraic on Tuesday, 28 of October , 2008 at 2:37 pm

Go on over and submit your own “It’s the credit crunch” stories, snippets etc. Email address is on the site.
Category: current affairs
Writing by aj@lecraic on Tuesday, 28 of October , 2008 at 1:04 pm
It didn’t take me long to decide who should be on the Irish equivalent of the Forbes magazine Hallowe’en mask feature for 2008. The first name that popped into my mind was Tommy Tiernan whose latest appearance on the Late Late show was quite the horror.
Apart from all the “inappropriate for national TV stuff” (which it was), the “riding Gay Byrne would be like riding Yoda” line, was really uncalled for.
So, Dear Tommy, you are the scariest person I could think of to put on this mask.
Happy Hallowe’en ye thick hairy fucker ye.

Category: current affairs, design, telly, the beano
Writing by aj@lecraic on Monday, 27 of October , 2008 at 5:16 pm
“Let me throw you a hot spud… when you’re walking down a populated street and your gaze falls upon a disabled child being pushed by a resilient parent, your gaze is not of admiration or respect. No. If you’re like me, like most of the planet, you’ll feel a sudden sadness. You catch a smell of pathetic tragedy that such a child occurred and you make a concerted effort not to stare.
As you walk away, you say to yourself: ‘Oh please God, don’t ever let that happen to my babies.’ ”
The above was written by K8 the GR8 and is, in her own words, a cry for help. St. Catherine’s in County Wicklow is an organisation that does wonderful work to help children like K8 the GR8’s son. Unfortunately, it’s teetering on the edge of survival.
Read the post. Look into the eyes of her beautiful child. Be inspired. Spread the word. Do anything you can to help St. Catherine’s. Be brilliant.
Category: current affairs
Writing by aj@lecraic on Monday, 27 of October , 2008 at 2:35 pm
Burn after reading

Text of review reads..
Supposed comedy caper following two witless Gym employees that find a cd with the memoirs of an ex CIA agent and decide to blackmail him for its return. If you want to look for the big Coen message in this, it’s basically that we are all dumb, witless, self absorbed idiots making our way through life and looking up or down at others we perceive to be more (or less) dumb, witless and self absorbed than ourselves.
Unfortunately, despite some great performances from a stellar cast, this is a film that just doesnt know what it wants to be and is outstanding for its use of the phrase What the Fuck?, which is how I felt after watching it…
2 Stars
Rated 2/5 on Oct 27 2008
Category: fag box reviews, films
Writing by aj@lecraic on Sunday, 26 of October , 2008 at 8:13 pm

Darren is taking the reigns of the live blog this week, the fun and games kick off just before 9 and if you’ve never joined a live blog, you should because it’s better than shouting at the tv screen.
Jennifer Maguire denies rumours of her and Ryan Tubridy being an item. She reckons it will be one of the women that will emerge as the eventual winner and I think she’s right too. She also says Bill is nicer than Sir Alan.
PS - Jennifer - if you’re reading this - thanks for replying to that email I sent you.
Meanwhile, the ab fab Orla McAdam is apparantly being swept off her Dundalk feet by some guy called Dave. Sounds promising and sure to last a long time.
UnaRocks wasn’t happy that Orla went last week and though Stuart should have gone. She has also heard from a little bird that next week is the episode to watch “because a lot of shit goes down.” Maybe Una should host the live blog next week.
That’s about it for this week. Car selling is the task for this week - should be good. See you at Darren’s at 9.
Category: Apprentice Ireland, the apprentice