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

Date: March 2017

I'm watching the #WWEHOF red carpet and imagining what Tim Gunn would say about a lot of these outfits #aside

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Haven't watched any indie shows this WrestleMania weekend. So much going on, I know this would have been a dream come true in my teens #aside

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I won’t be there (mostly ‘cause I can’t get home after) but Rotten Sound are playing a late show tonight in Dublin and they’re deadly so go #aside

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New Shinsuke T-shirt (out end of April) has a new nickname and no NXT logo. He's main roster bound post Mania #aside

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I'd pay good money to see Bas Rutten stretch JBL #aside

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Today, on the 30th anniversary of WrestleMania III, I learned that the Silverdome will be demolished. Detroit just did the job, brother #aside

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That awful WrestleMania theme song is instantly improved if you sing it like the Swedish Chef #aside

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The trailer for IT makes it look way more Elm Street than the miniseries. I’m not sure whether that’s good or bad #aside

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Watched that Kurt Angle puff piece on the Network last night. Impossible for WWE to admit a reduced schedule saved his life as much as rehab #aside

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Front page of the Guardian from 29 March 2017.

The front page of today’s Guardian. Given the creativity, they can be forgiven for accidentally Brexit-ing chunks of the Republic’s border counties (plus a bit of Wicklow, and a stretch of France). #image

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The more I think about Life (the film, not the abstract concept) the more it makes me angry #aside

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My Thumped review of Free Fire

My first film review in weeks, for various reasons mostly related to not being able to make it to press screenings. Shame it’s for another dud, and that’s coming from a fan of the people involved. #link

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Excellent news about Melt-Banana, Mike Watt and more playing the new DBD space this summer #aside

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Homeward bound after a trip to the city to see A Silent Voice. RIYL slice-of-life anime #aside

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Looking forward to that extra hour of daylight tomorrow evening #aside

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First time in months I’ve been able to mow the front garden and now I’m shattered #aside

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The horror clown only thinks he’s playing the media like a fiddle because they keep dancing to his tune. Maybe time to quit dancing? #aside

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Wired tasked a neuroscientist to explain a new concept in his field at five levels of understanding — from a peer to a five-year-old. [c/o Kottke.org] #video

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Didn't really need to see a photo of that footballer breaking his leg, people. I was already scarred for life by the Sid Vicious incident #aside

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New Artificial Brain, get in my ears #aside

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This country is so inept, no one in mgmt realised that having dual bus-rail stations would mean both are screwed if one goes on strike #aside

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I should probably feel more affected by yesterday since I’ve walked across Westminster Bridge practically every time I’ve been to London #aside

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Aeon: Why bullshit is no laughing matter

“For the bullshitter, it doesn’t really matter if he is right or wrong. What matters is that you’re paying attention.” The proximity of that sentiment to the Deepak Chopra references further on did not go unnoticed. But he’s a sideshow to the real danger of the anti-vaxxer scourge. [c/o LinkMachineGo] #link

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The only photos of London today, which I didn't ask to see, were from American news outlets #aside

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If RTÉ doubles the licence fee, we’re selling our TV #aside

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The Atlantic: Welcome to Pleistocene Park

Ross Andersen on a fascinating project in Siberia, already decades old, that’s attempting to resurrect the Mammoth Steppe ecosystem. It’s not just the scale of the biome itself in terms of both the space and time required (it’s a ‘Long Now’ kind of deal, for sure, when we’re talking about “a global land war” between grasses and forests over tens of millions of years) but the mind-boggling accelerated futurism involved in creating the approximation of an extinct species that might be the key to such a biome thriving beyond human hands. That’s not to mention the intersections of and implications for climate science and geopolitics and biotechnology and ethical philosophy. Wow, just wow. #link

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#NowPlaying Tusk - The Resisting Dreamer #aside

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Paste magazine on WWE’s slow progress on LGBTQ storylines

“When it makes sense,” said Stephanie McMahon. Which translates as ‘probably never’. We’re not even at the point where, say, ‘Darren Young’ the on-screen character reflects Darren Young the real-life openly gay man. Maybe that’s because he’s a face? WWE tends to save its better character development for its heels. #link

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Thanks to @justinsnow I’m having my brain blended by Black Cilice #aside

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The Guardian weighs in on the big bike helmet debate

Whatever the perceived benefits of wearing a helmet (which I do) or high-vis clothing (which I don’t), let’s be honest here: drivers are getting off scot-free on this ‘debate’. We in Ireland and the UK live in a car-centric culture, not to the extent of the US but real enough to stymie any real investment in and commitment to cycling safety via proper infrastructure and legislation. By the way, how about also factoring into safety studies the kind of driver that passes closely: in my anecdotal experience, it’s usually a taxi or similar professional road user, or a private individual in an expensive saloon like a Mercedes or a BMW. Let the sociologists unpack that one. #link

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Complicated feelings about Martin McGuinness #aside

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Rolling Stone profiles death metal veterans Obituary

Since Rolling Stone is all about embracing subcultures now, whether it be wrestling or whatever, it’s about time they paid tribute to a genre that’s, I don’t know, about 30 years old by my calendar? (Seriously, though, this is a nice sit-down-and-chat, and the new album I’m spinning now is worth a listen.) #link

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Oh look at that, NXT episodes from 2012 are being added to the Network today #aside

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Ten days left to back the Kickstarter for Rumble Road, a strategy road-trip game managing a group of rookie wrestlers across the country towards their big payday. Update 2017.03.23: the project's been cancelled with a few days to go, as developer Steve Kim wasn't seeing the support he needed. That's a real shame. There's a place for a game like this, and hopefully Kim will find someone else willing to take on the project or share the burden down the road. #video

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Never heard Japanese black metal/grind/noise band Endon before now. Reminiscent of Tusk, if you remember them: https://t.co/dFNwU2XlmL #aside

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Notes on #GamerConDublin

Bee and I had media passes to attend the first day of #GamerConDublin (or GamerCon Dublin, whatever it’s called) at the Convention Centre Dublin. It’s an event that generated a bit of controversy within hours of doors opening, as you might have read.

I tweeted some of our own experience of our visit, which I’m repeating here with additional observations.

More…

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Pretty sure I just saw a hawk in the garden. About the size of a pigeon. Any ideas? #aside

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manymaps

Pick a map, style it up, get a print. Simple. #link

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Ah crap, missed my window to choose keepers in my fantasy baseball team. I’m gonna suck this year, aren’t I? #aside

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I thought Chuck Berry was gonna live forever #aside

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Anyway, enough about that, let's see what's up with Wrestling Twit... nope #aside

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