Hello, world. I’m MacDara Conroy, and this is my blog.


Date: April 2017

Weeknotes #810-817

Well. The time since my last weeknotes did not go exactly as according to plan. But that’s nothing unusual for me. Here are the highlights:

  • A few print deadline scheduling changes meant planned writing was either scrapped or put on the long finger. Ultimately that turned out to be a good thing, as I made the time to wrap up my fourth Noises On! column for Thumped: long, long delayed, but hopefully you’ll find something of interest in it. Of course now it’s up, all I can think of are the records I didn’t mention. FOMO and all that.
  • Only two film reviews, as previously linked, for Free Fire and A Cure for Wellness. Scheduling conflicts meant a bit of a screening drought for a few weeks, but in recent days I saw a couple of late April/early May releases, and have another one on the agenda for next week. Still trying to spend less time with passable movies in my leisurely viewing, which has meant more TV than films in my diet; lately we’ve been flying through The Legend of Korra of an evening.

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Noises On! #4: It’s catching up

Late with this owing to a busy week: a long-delayed round-up some of my favourite sounds from the last couple of years. Emphasis on the ‘some’, mind you, as all I can think of now are the records I forgot to include. Such is life. #link

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Wrestling Twitter twisting themselves in knots over the Mauro situation will never not be amusing #aside

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Fell asleep during the first new MST3K so that's a good sign #aside

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New Prime Time Wrestling uploads going up on the Network. I know what I'm watching tomorrow #aside

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Reading the AAIU’s prelim report into Rescue 116 and it’s horrifying stuff #aside

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The world is a scary, horrible place #aside

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#NowPlaying Hexis - Tando Ashanti #aside

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Do you need to see a film twice for it to work?

That’s a good question. Certainly there are films that grow better with age, and multiple viewings can reveal new things with each experience. But does that mean said films need to be seen more than once to be fair in judgement about them? I don’t think so, and if that’s what the filmmaker intends, then that’s a bad filmmaker. Speaking as a reviewer? It’s not a prerequisite to watch more than once, since the vast majority of people will pay to see a movie only once. That doesn’t, however, preclude reappraising a film after the fact. (Also: I’m not a re-reader of books, and I don’t think it’s fair to compare books with films in that respect; the investment of time and mental resources is completely different.) #link

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Watching Legend of Korra s03 and who shows up but Henry Rollins #aside

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Right, I should learn how to play this bass I’ve had for over a decade. But I should probably re-string it first #aside

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Call me old fashioned but if this Shibata thing is a work, New Japan can get in the bin. And if you defend it you can get binned with them #aside

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Okada/Shibata was everything everyone said it was. But that Shibata needed surgery for a brain bleed after makes me feel… not so good #aside

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Was supposed to be at the Miss Sloane screening tonight but had to work late. Watching NJPW Sakura Genesis instead #aside

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Wait a minute, I thought everyone hated the Thor movies #aside

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The myth of Tokyo’s PSF Records

An audio tribute by Tristan Bath upon the death of label founder Hideo Ikeezumi. Some beautiful noise here, my favourites being acoustic bass solo improviser Motoharu Yoshizawa and the ghostly Shizuka’s ‘Bloodspattered Blossom’. #link

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"To become the perceived ‘eyes and ears’ of the gardaí at protests … undermines our ability to carry out our work.” https://t.co/ARalfdfo4E #aside

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Listening to the new Orthodox and wondering why they’ve never scored a horror film #aside

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Thought it was common knowledge that airlines routinely overbook flights. How they deal with it is where the story lies #aside

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Just counted 17 goldfinches on the patio #aside

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Tickets for Chris Jericho’s Vicar St evening are €35 a pop? Guess who just made the list #aside

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Did a search this morning for 'Shinsucat Nekomura' and how the hell has no one else done this already? #aside

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First braai of 2017 and it’s the best one in this house thus far #aside

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The MLB At Bat app really needs a sleep timer #aside

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Notes on WrestleMania 33

Kevin Owens vs Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 33

Some quick notes on this past weekend’s WWE shows for WrestleMania in Orlando, fleshing out my tweets you might have already read as I watched things live from home.

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Don’t tell anyone in MeFi Baseball that I lucked into first place by auto drafting and forgetting to check my team before Opening Day #aside

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Staring down the barrel of 12 hours of WrestleMania madness, starting now with the @TheLapsedFan livecast #Manes33 #aside

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