Putting the 'pro' in procrastinate

There are certain things you find yourself doing at certain times of the year like shopping before Christmas or carving pumpkins before Halloween. As the end of November creeps up a lot of us now find ourselves procrastinating in the lead up to some all important exams. Feeling guilty about not doing anything when you know you should be doing something is a feeling many of us are oh-so-familiar with. You know the procrastination disease is eating away at your productivity when you find yourself doing the following…

Excessive Cleaning

Sweeping, hoovering, polishing and taking out the bins when you should be sitting in the library working on a 3,000 word essay is a sure sign you know you’ve got it bad. You’re willing to do anything, including tackling the oven or fridge with a j cloth and a bottle of Mr. Muscle, to avoid what you really should be doing. Don’t lie. We’ve all done it. We’ve all been there.

Daytime TV

Now this was ok to do in first year; acceptable even. However hours spent watching quality entertainment courtesy of Jeremy Kyle or Jerry Springer is not acceptable in fourth year when you have a presentation to worry about or you need to submit the first draft of your FYP. If you’re waking up in the morning excited about seeing the lie detector and DNA results Jeremy promised on yesterday’s show then you know you’re in too deep. Way too deep.

Tea Breaks

I’m all for tea breaks and taking ten minutes out but, every now and again, a cup of tea and biscuit turns into a Friends marathon and, before you know it you’ve watched seasons 1-10 and you’ve written yourself into the script as a seventh ‘friend’. You don’t need college anymore you’re just going to hang out and drink coffee in Central Perk where thoughts of assignments, essays and presentations don’t exist.

Library Breaks

Congratulations on making it to the library first of all which means you weren’t procrastinating. But now that you’ve got here you’re not sure what to do with yourself so, after ten minutes of intense Facebook creeping, you decide you need a ‘short break’. Library breaks are almost as dangerous as the aforementioned tea breaks. A so-called ‘short break’ at the library suddenly turns into a wasted hour gossiping with friends and, before you know it, you forgot what brought you there in the first place.

The Daily Mail

As procrastination goes, for many people (mine included!), it’s a guilty pleasure to scroll through the Daily Mail, catching up on all the latest celeb news and gossip. Dragging yourself away and physically x’ing out of the Daily Mail tab can be an ongoing struggle.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have a cup of tea to make and an episode of Friends to watch... 

A learning curve

As the end of the semester creeps ever closer I have found myself wondering where in the name of God the last ten weeks went? It seems like only yesterday we were sitting in the newsroom, without a care in the world, reminiscing and catching up on all our summer adventures. But time waits for no man and now, here, we find ourselves knee-deep in the production of The Limerick Voice.

Although things got off to a little bit of a slow start, the pace is gradually picking up and the newspaper is finally starting to come together.  

What I love about journalism is that you’re always learning and there’s always room for improvement. The Limerick Voice has, most definitely, been a learning curve. I have learned so much about this beautiful city of Limerick that I never knew before. I have discovered people and places I never knew existed and I have had experiences I know will strengthen me as a journalist. Most of all I have learned from the people sitting beside me in class who have worked alongside me on the paper. As a group project I have worked closely with a number of people on different issues who I have learned a lot from. I've learned how to handle myself in certain situations, how to portray to people what we are all about and what we want to achieve in the best possible way, how to get the best answers out of people and how to look for that all important unique angle. I have learned that the best way to get a story is to physically go out and about and talk to people; old-school style! With all the advancements in technology and social media, sometimes we forget that there is a world outside our laptop and mobile phones where we can actually go out and speak to people face-to-face. I have definitely found that this is the best way to get the information and story I want.

One of the main difficulties I have encountered is waiting on people to get back to me but I guess that’s part and parcel of the job. Constantly emailing and calling people can be disheartening when the person on the other side of the phone or the laptop is not responding. But for every person that doesn’t reply, there’s probably at least 10 others that might. A lack of attendance and a general lack of interest from some people has also been discouraging. On the other hand, the enthusiasm expressed by many others must be commended.

As with any journalism project we have met with barriers and I have no doubt we will continue to meet them until the paper is put to bed. Overcoming these obstacles has been a strong learning curve too. With less than two weeks to go before we hit the shelves there is a lot of work left to do but I am positive it will be done.

I am so proud to be working with some of the most talented people I know and I am so confident that this is going to be a fantastic newspaper.

Watch this space!

Nightcrawler

Every so often a film comes along that leaves a creepy, spine-chilling feeling in the viewer. It leaves the mind wandering, questioning, doubting.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s intense performance in Nightcrawler is hard to shake off even hours after the final credits have stopped rolling and the cinema has been emptied.

The movie opens with Gyllenhaal roaming around grimy night-time LA as Louis Bloom, an ambitious but haunting character. Gyllenhaal’s appearance is noticeably different as he transforms himself physically for the role of Lou by losing 30 pounds and appearing bug-eyed and pale.

Lou stumbles upon a car crash and, transfixed by the TV news crew filming the tragic footage of a burning car and injured woman, Lou sees an opportunity. He gets hold of a cheap camera, a police radio and, before you know it, he’s crawling the streets of LA seeking out the worst crime scenes the City of Angels has to offer. He sells his footage to Nina (Rene Russo), a local TV station news editor who tells him quite honestly; “If it bleeds, it leads”. After receiving his first pay check Bloom is like an addict; unrelenting and determined to do whatever it takes to feed his addiction.

As Bloom becomes increasingly obsessed with his new-found passion the film gears up a notch as he races to crime scenes before the police can even show up. He is ruthless in his profession as a camera man and is prepared to sacrifice everything to get the best angle and footage he possibly can. He recruits an assistant in the form of Rick (Riz Ahmed), a nervy homeless man who displays morals Bloom is incapable of.

Rick and Bloom crawl the city’s streets by night eagerly anticipating the next gruesome crime scene they can record. As Gyllenhaal’s character becomes increasingly consumed and equally infatuated with manipulating crime scenes and capturing the most gruesome footage he portrays a blatant disregard for ethics or morals of any kind.

Writer-director Dan Gilroy raises important questions about media ethics when tabloid journalism comes under fire as Bloom disregards the rules and embodies everything a journalist should not be.

Gyllenhaal is captivating in his role as the cunning Lou Bloom. He is the determined, albeit ruthless, antihero we love to hate. Credit must be given to the powerful acting skills of Gyllenhaal who manages to keep the audience on his side even as his character steps up his merciless and relentless tactic, resulting in appalled admiration from the audience.

Nightcrawler delves into the seedy, sleazy side of journalism and exposes a side to the media we sometimes choose to ignore. But this is Gyllenhaal’s show and he well and truly steals it with a brilliantly dark and cold-hearted performance depicting the often cruel and callous nature of modern day journalism.

Nightcrawler is in cinemas now. Check out the trailer here:

What to say when you have nothing to say...

It’s like running a marathon; you don’t go in unprepared. You train. You go running with the club, you do what you’re told, you practice outside of training. You eat the right foods; stocking up on carbs and saying goodbye to alcohol. You do all the right things and take all the right steps, but sometimes it’s just not enough. Every distance runner’s worst fear is ‘hitting the wall’. It can happen anyone, at any stage of a marathon, no matter how diligently you train and eat. And, sometimes, there’s absolutely no reason for it.

Writing’s like that sometimes. At least I feel writing’s like that right now. I’ve been struggling with what they call writer’s block for the last few days and I just can’t seem to shake it. I’ve well and truly hit the metaphorical wall. And, right now, it seems ten feet tall. I’m wondering will I ever get over it.

It’s not that I have nothing to say; in fact it’s the opposite. I’ve plenty to say but I just can’t seem to transport it from my brain on to paper.

I sat down yesterday to write and I had nothing to say. I literally had nothing to say. For anyone that knows me, really knows me, then you will know that this is quite unusual. I always have something to say. I love debates and people challenging my opinion. I love justifying why I think or feel a certain way. I thrive off stimulating conversation. But yesterday the creative juices refused to flow.

I had loads of potential things to blog about. I agonised over a couple of different issues making the news at the moment wondering which one I would go with. The ongoing debacle over the Irish Water charges, the irony of wifi outage at the Web Summit, Eva Longoria’s much-publicised trip to Dublin and the Anti-Victoria’s Secrets Runway Show that took place in New York last weekend were all topics I toyed with whilst staring at a blank screen.

The cursor blinked back at me from the screen willing me to type something, ANYTHING. I closed my eyes and magically wished that when I opened them there would be 500 words dancing across the screen. Of course there wasn’t. But I at least hoped I would have been struck with some sort of inspiration. Like the animated light bulb going off inside my head.

For someone who (hopefully) anticipates a career centered around reading, writing, reporting and investigating, this is a weakness I really can’t afford. Writing my way through writer’s block is a work in progress as I try to figure out the best ways of overcoming this tricky and oh-so-inconvenient situation. I’ve learned that the best written blogs come from articles you’ve read, stories you’ve heard or things you’ve experienced. Forcing yourself to write something for the sake of it, on a topic you’re not particularly interested in, is a recipe for disaster. I learned this the hard way after forcing myself to write an excruciatingly soul destroying article on a topic I had zero interest in.

I also find that literally stepping away from the laptop is a good idea. Writer’s block is often symptomatic with stress and sometimes you just need a break. Taking your mind off the task at hand by going for a walk or meeting up with a friend is a really good way of refreshing and re-energising your mind. If you have a deadline to meet though you may not have that privilege.

Sometimes the well really is dry and I have nothing to say. But, deep down, of course there’s always going to be something to say. There will always be politicians making controversial decisions, celebrities dominating headlines and events taking place that need to be covered. There will always be something to write about. I’m a journalist after all, isn't that what I do.

All Hallows' Eve

I read an article a few days ago about a woman who said her daughter had a dilemma; she had three Halloween costumes to choose from and didn’t know which one to wear, so what should she do?! (Hashtag first world problems!)

THREE?! It’s a bit much isn’t it? When I was young I wore a black plastic bag and a pointy hat and, for all intents and purposes, I thought I was a witch. But that was the 90’s and those were simpler times.

Today, Halloween is a celebration many people are deeming the ‘new Christmas’ and it’s easy to see why. Retailers are certainly benefiting from the increased popularity of the annual event and a recent report found that, on average, Irish people will spend an estimated €41 million on Halloween this year. That’s a considerable amount of money for a celebration we don’t even get a few days off for!

In line with this, a survey carried out by Webloyalty of 1,500 people found that 60% of people will spend €40 on Halloween purchases. Two thirds of people surveyed said they would be buying chocolate, sweets and confectionary for the occasion, while the survey also discovered that one third of households would be handing out sweets to trick-or-treaters, with traditional Halloween foods such as barmbrack and nuts remaining a must-have.

Cinemas also rake in the big bucks as Halloween fright films dominate the box office. Whether it’s the exorcism of a little girl or someone returning from beyond the grave, Halloween becomes the perfect time to screen the latest horror movies.

Sparkling fairy lights, pumpkins on display and spooky creatures hanging off windows and front doors  has also become a must-do in the weeks leading up to Halloween, with many people putting in much more effort with their exterior decorations in October than December.

In saying that, when compared to Christmas, Halloween spending remains relatively modest.

Undoubtedly though, Halloween has grown leaps and bounds in the last few years and, in some ways, it’s become a celebration much more for adults than for kids. In the past it was regarded as a holiday solely for small children, putting on wigs and masks, and going out trick-or-treating. Nowadays Halloween is just as much for adults as it is for children. Fancy dress themed parties, ‘Nightmare Realmesque’ scare houses and competition over who has the sexiest, funniest or most outrageous costume has now made Halloween a much more exciting time for the big kid in all of us.

Social media has also played its part in the sudden urge to embrace all things spooky and scary. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have all helped highlight the day known as All Hallows’ Eve as users share, tweet and post pictures of their costumes, decorations and whatever they may be getting up to on the night.

What will you be doing?!

A little German drink calld Jägermeister...

I read every day. In fact, I read lots every day. I read local news, national news, international news, sports stories, travel articles, how-to guides, blogs on what other people are getting up to in their lives and everything else in between. I also read features. Which brings me to this; my latest blog post. I was asked to write about my favourite piece of feature writing and nothing immediately popped into my head. I’ve read so many features, on so many different topics, yet many are forgotten about before I even close the computer tab and continue with my day.

There is one feature I read, many moons ago, that sticks in my mind. For all the right reasons. It is an excellent example of everything a good feature should be. It’s about alcohol. Jägermeister to be precise. And no, before you jump to any conclusions, I am not a raging alcoholic. Occasionally, I crave under peer pressure, and order a Jägerbomb. Four for twenty euro is the deal in the nightclub. But I don’t like Jägerbombs and, if the morning after the night before is anything to go by, the seemingly endless hangovers I’ve suffered through echo what I already knew: I don’t like Jägerbombs and Jägerbombs certainly do not like me.

But back to the feature I was telling you about, before I started reminiscing on Jäger-induced hangovers.

“How Jägermeister changed the way we drink” is a feature article written by British journalist Simon Usborne. I came across it in April 2013 on The Independent UK website while I was, presumably, procrastinating from college assignments. Although the article focuses mainly on Jägermeister, it also explores how the

German spirit has changed the face of drinking. It looks at the phenomenon of Jägermeister, its rise in popularity and how it has made binge drinking more acceptable.

Usborne’s writing encompasses everything a feature story should. It is journalistic; it is researched, descriptive, colourful, thoughtful, reflective and thorough.

He uses colourful descriptions throughout his article, accurately describing the “sticky dance floor” where he meets college students Paul, Polly and Andy, enjoying Jägerbombs.

His use of meaningful anecdotes really brings the piece to life as he recalls the nightclub and the people he met there. Significant quotes from some of these people drinking Jägermeister is also significant to the article. "It's my third, and I'll probably have another one," one is quoted as saying, while another recounts the night he drank one too many: "I did 12 of them in 10 minutes," he says.

Although it seems this feature may have originally stemmed from Usborne’s own observations from a night on the town, he uses this to his advantage and turns it into an excellent feature piece, giving readers information in a pleasing and entertaining format.

He provides us with fascinating statistics that highlight the popularity of Jägermeister: “Last year, Britain got drunk on 4.4 million litres of Jägermeister, equivalent to 6.3 million standard bottles (or almost 180 million shots). Five years previously, we managed fewer than 700,000 bottles, and only 70,000 in 2003.”

Usborne solidifies his feature by visiting the headquarters of Jägermeister and interviewing expert sources such as Marcus Thieme Jägermeister’s head of Western Europe, Daniel Wresinski, a master distiller, and Andrew Knowles co-founder of JKR. His research into the history of Jägermeister, it’s origins and how the company has developed over the years is extensive. He informs readers about the history surrounding the green colour of the bottle and the logo of the mythical deer.

Usborne makes some interesting points that readers, or even lovers of Jägermeister, may not even know: Jägermeister itself is trying to distance itself from the Jägerbomb as, the company believes Jägerbombs, usually mixed with a carbonated energy drinks like Red Bull, take away from the true beauty of the original Jägermeister.

For me, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from this excellent example of feature writing. The article exemplifies what exactly makes a good feature story: a human interest angle that focuses on particular people, places and events. It highlights the importance of carrying out background research and ensuring you have expert sources, in order to give credibility to the story.

It also shows how good features cover a topic in depth, going further than hard news coverage by amplifying and exploring the most interesting and important elements of a situation or occurrence. It highlights the difference between hard news by showing that feature writers have extra time to complete background research, interviews and observations; a privilege often denied to hard news journalists reporting on breaking news stories.


Here is a link to the original article: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/how-jgermeister-changed-the-way-we-drink-8577209.html 

The changing faces of celebrities

She was always unlucky in love, religiously kept a diary and wore those infamous granny pants during a rather flirty encounter. Yet the face of the much-loved Bridget Jones was barely recognisable as actress Renne Zellweger debuted a drastic new look on the red carpet last night.

The 45-year-old actress set tongues wagging when she stepped out at the Annual Women in Hollywood Awards and looked noticeably different. 

The Chicago actress’s skin looked completely smooth and line free while her eyes looked slightly larger. Her face also appeared slightly puffy causing the rumour mill to go into overdrive. 

It’s not the first time speculation has surrounded the actress and her ever changing appearance, in particular her fluctuating weight, which has been a talking point for many years. 

Zellweger joins a long list of famous faces who have had a little helping hand along the way in remaining pretty and youthful. However, surgeries do go wrong and some celebrities just don't know when to stop. I took a look back at some of the questionable plastic surgery decisions some celebrities made over the years.

Donatella Versace 

The Vice-President of high-fashion brand Versace, 54-year-old Donatella has had her fair share of plastic surgeries. Her trademark swollen smackers, as well as adjustments to her nose, have gained plenty of attention over the years.

Michael Jackson

The King of Pop only ever admitted to getting two nose jobs in his whole life, however a look at the difference in his appearance between the 1980's and the final years of his life suggests otherwise. The picture opposite shows the Thriller singer pictured in 1979, 1988 and 2005. 

Heidi Montag

Reality star Heidi Montag found herself dominating headlines worldwide when it emerged she underwent 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day. The Hills star reportedly had her breast implants increased to DDD's, a brow life, nose job and liposuction on her stomach and thighs, among other things.

Janice Dickinson

The self-proclaimed first supermodel of the world, Janice Dickinson, has, reportedly, had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cosmetic surgery done in order to maintain the beautiful looks that catapulted her to international fame in the 1970's and '80's. 

Jocelyn Wildenstein 

The New York City socialite became famous during her bitter divorce when it emerged she had spent four million dollars on her extensive facial surgeries and extravagant lifestyle