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

Date: May 2018

Nearly 11pm and there’s still a hint of light in the sky. My favourite time of year #aside

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I am happy and full of birthday braai #aside

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A collage featuring WWE wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura

The ‘dream match’ between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34 turned out to be a bit less than what we were sold. But this gallery on WWE.com in the run-up to the event was a nice touch regardless. #image

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The new Roseanne show is just her Twitter account. That’s it #aside

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Had a long day at work, then fell asleep on the couch after dinner and lost my 355-day Duolingo streak. Sad face #aside

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So, Solo underperformed at the US box office. But looking at the numbers, Memorial Day weekend’s been on the decline since at least 2013 http://bit.ly/2LGs093 #aside

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I won’t join the pile-on over That Headline. I once had Paolo Tullio go ballistic on me b/c I changed ‘scrutineer’ to ‘scrutiniser’ http://bit.ly/2LtYYJH #aside

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The 8th is repealed, my birthday’s next week and I’ve got a few days off coming up. Now I can enjoy the BOSJ a week behind everyone else #aside

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Good to see the UK's watchdog taking action. I still smart over the former UPC charging €200 b/c we moved to an area they didn't supply https://t.co/MNcjXh3x0z #aside

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So, what’s the bets on those awful No posters still being up a fortnight from now? #aside

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Here's a nice look back at Mad Max 2 from the Red Letter Media guys (even though they prefer Fury Road, or don't mention Waterworld even once) and one that makes me want to reappraise a film I only gave two-and-a-half stars on my last watch a few years ago. #video

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Less than two hours left to vote. If you haven’t yet, please do the right thing and fix our Constitution to protect women’s rights #aside

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The Breadwinner opens today in Ireland. I’ll share my review when it’s up, but you should go see it. I mean after you’ve voted Yes, like #aside

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What do Irish people consider their date of independence?

1916 is when independence was declared. When was it achieved? Arguably, as a society, we’re not quite there yet. I think back to history class in school, reading about how Irish unionists dismissed Parnell with the slogan ‘Home rule is Rome rule’; sectarianism aside, they were right. #link

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The weather looks decent tomorrow. No excuse not to get out and vote Yes #aside

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Not having TV anymore is convenient for my blood pressure this week #aside

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An hour in the driver’s seat from Nagano to Kanazawa by Shinkansen bullet train. This is my jam. (Be advised: there are a lot of tunnels along the first half of the journey.) #video

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An appropriate comparison is Cirque du Soleil, which I believe directly employs its talent with benefits, etc https://t.co/CVKCiJlMnV #aside

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My alma mater in the news. There’s really no need for this kind of development, which does nothing to solve the housing crisis https://t.co/mdahwKZ6wm #aside

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A Letterboxd list of ESPN documentaries

To keep track of what I still need to see. I watched quite a few of the initial series of 30 for 30 last summer; I can watch a good documentary about sport (or anything, really) any day. #link

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Just got my bicycle back from the shop, after the bearings fell out of the rear cassette a week ago and I had to walk home from the border #aside

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The spectacular power of Big Lens

There’s a lot to unpack here: the portrait of Luxottica's founder as the Vince McMahon of the spectacle frame world; rising rates of myopia tied to lack of sunlight and tech-related dopamine hits; the world at the mercy of an optics giant that “can choose to interpret its mission more or less however it wants”. #link

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You Think You Want Media Literacy… Do You?

“Media literacy is imagined to be empowering, enabling individuals to have agency and giving them the tools to help create a democratic society. But fundamentally, it is a form of critical thinking that asks people to doubt what they see. And that makes me nervous.” I’m not sure I draw the same conclusion; healthy cynicism doesn’t mean doubting everything one sees. But media literacy, or critical thinking in general, should never be confined to the absolute binary of ‘true’ or ‘false’. Context is key, as are layers of meaning, particularly as propaganda gets more savvy and sophisticated. #link

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One more thing: missed the Boaters at the door during the week but had our first Yes canvassers yesterday, lovely people #aside

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I was going to do a summary of what I would’ve tweeted but the only thing I can remember now is “It’s ‘laurel’” #aside

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Back on Twitter after a week away (bar an important DM) and I didn’t miss it as much as expected #aside

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The new Parquet Courts is out today, and it reminds me of the Minutemen more than anything else I’ve heard from them. Not that it sounds like the Minutemen in any specific way. (And not this particular song, which owes more to the Big Boys than anything else.) #video

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Eight Bands Leading the Crossover Thrash Revival

I dig Power Trip and Iron Reagan; I can dig this. (Also, maybe it’s something peculiar about the metal features on Bandcamp Daily, but they tend to get way more than average social media shares and comments, the latter of which are often along the lines of ‘you forgot Band X!’. I want to look at that as a positive sign of the genre’s health; that there are more artists doing things that excite listeners than what will fit in a given article.) #link

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