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Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Pack your Farm Ville and move to Ireland Town
It is that time of the year again: rivers turn green, shamrocks are waved and we all feel a bit Irish. Paddy's Day is here and it is indeed a great opportunity to market Ireland as a tourist destination in these times of crisis doom and gloom.
A few weeks ago, Ireland was named the fifth most popular tourist destination on Facebook and now, to coincide with the country's national day, Tourism Ireland is launching an 'Oirish' rival to popular Facebook game Farm Ville, which is called Ireland Town.
Personally I think is a brilliant idea, we'll just need to wait and see how many facebook farmers we get to move from their cultivated Farm Villes and grab a bit of new turf in Irish Town. And, ultimately, how many will decide to visit the offline Ireland, encouraged by the virtual experience.
Happy Paddy's Day everyone!
A few weeks ago, Ireland was named the fifth most popular tourist destination on Facebook and now, to coincide with the country's national day, Tourism Ireland is launching an 'Oirish' rival to popular Facebook game Farm Ville, which is called Ireland Town.
Personally I think is a brilliant idea, we'll just need to wait and see how many facebook farmers we get to move from their cultivated Farm Villes and grab a bit of new turf in Irish Town. And, ultimately, how many will decide to visit the offline Ireland, encouraged by the virtual experience.
Happy Paddy's Day everyone!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Bring on the pancakes
Pancake mix:
500ml milk
2 eggs
200gr flour
pinch of salt
butter (to grease the pan so they don't stick)
(a pinch of baking powder for North American style 'fluffy' pancakes)
So far, it has been pancake Saturday, pancake Monday and pancake Tuesday this week... pancakes are some of those treats we seem to remember once a year but they are so easy to make and are so delicious, it is worth remembering them all year around!
This is roughly the recipe we use for the traditional ones (although in Galicia -where they are a Entroido/Carnival treat - they are usually made with water and just a drop of milk). For the 'fluffy' North American version, we just add a pinch of baking powder, make a slightly thicker batter and pour in the centre of the pan without letting it spread all the way to the edges.
Mr M has been trying to make some gluten-free pancakes with chick pea flour at work (as one of the guys is gluten intolerant) but the result wasn't very convincing - or so I hear. So if anybody has a successful and tasty recipe for gluten-free pancakes, let us know!
500ml milk2 eggs
200gr flour
pinch of salt
butter (to grease the pan so they don't stick)
(a pinch of baking powder for North American style 'fluffy' pancakes)
So far, it has been pancake Saturday, pancake Monday and pancake Tuesday this week... pancakes are some of those treats we seem to remember once a year but they are so easy to make and are so delicious, it is worth remembering them all year around!
This is roughly the recipe we use for the traditional ones (although in Galicia -where they are a Entroido/Carnival treat - they are usually made with water and just a drop of milk). For the 'fluffy' North American version, we just add a pinch of baking powder, make a slightly thicker batter and pour in the centre of the pan without letting it spread all the way to the edges.
Mr M has been trying to make some gluten-free pancakes with chick pea flour at work (as one of the guys is gluten intolerant) but the result wasn't very convincing - or so I hear. So if anybody has a successful and tasty recipe for gluten-free pancakes, let us know!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Running out of Road on World Book Day
Since today is World Book Day I have decided to write a little post about one book you might haven’t heard of. It is one of the many books that are self-published and sold online directly by authors each year.
There are a good few examples of DIY authors that have done remarkably well and the Internet, of course, has helped greatly breaking the barriers between artists and readers.
In Ireland, Roddy Doyle famously self published The Commitments before becoming a Booker prize winner and turning The Commitments into a hit film (and a major part of the country’s pop culture). And that was before the age of the net had even arrived.
However (for what I hear) the self publishing road is not always a smooth one. And the Internet is a very big place indeed!
Running out of Road is the first novel self published by half boss and half friend Jillian Godsil (and she is not paying me to write this!). As it happens, it was my first ever Kindle book as well, which I was quite excited about.
It is an interesting experience to read something by someone you see and work with everyday. Particularly when that ‘something’ is as raw, dysfunctional and f-wording as Bella’s story in Running out of Road.
Bella is a swearing, crude and damaged young woman in desperate need of a real meaningful personal connection. Abandoned by her father and estranged from her mother, Bella marries the owner of the local pub in Ballybawn, the fictional Irish village where the action takes place. But her marriage, like any other previous relationships in her life, is also doomed.
She is trouble, as people would say. She is troubled, it could be said. I suppose it is only a matter of perspective, and empathy.
Narrated in first person, we follow Bella’s thoughts throughout Running out of Road, her feelings and her screw ups, and we almost want to ring her up and tell her not to do half the stuff she is up to.
We are inside Bella’s head, with all the mess, the noise and the going ons in her complicated life. Jillian might use as many f-words as commas, but the writing is delicately crafted, words carefully chosen to give us a vivid image of what is feels to be Bella, running out of road, but ultimately surviving and maybe even finding a bit of hope.
Sure, like many other self published books, Running out of Road might need some editing and trimming down but then, who doesn’t?
Ah, and there is a lot of sex as well (just so you know!)
You can get a copy of Running out of Road, Kindle edition, for the price of a packet of crisps. And you never know, you might be one of the first people to read the next biggest thing.
There are a good few examples of DIY authors that have done remarkably well and the Internet, of course, has helped greatly breaking the barriers between artists and readers.
In Ireland, Roddy Doyle famously self published The Commitments before becoming a Booker prize winner and turning The Commitments into a hit film (and a major part of the country’s pop culture). And that was before the age of the net had even arrived.
However (for what I hear) the self publishing road is not always a smooth one. And the Internet is a very big place indeed!
Running out of Road is the first novel self published by half boss and half friend Jillian Godsil (and she is not paying me to write this!). As it happens, it was my first ever Kindle book as well, which I was quite excited about.
It is an interesting experience to read something by someone you see and work with everyday. Particularly when that ‘something’ is as raw, dysfunctional and f-wording as Bella’s story in Running out of Road.
Bella is a swearing, crude and damaged young woman in desperate need of a real meaningful personal connection. Abandoned by her father and estranged from her mother, Bella marries the owner of the local pub in Ballybawn, the fictional Irish village where the action takes place. But her marriage, like any other previous relationships in her life, is also doomed.
She is trouble, as people would say. She is troubled, it could be said. I suppose it is only a matter of perspective, and empathy.
Narrated in first person, we follow Bella’s thoughts throughout Running out of Road, her feelings and her screw ups, and we almost want to ring her up and tell her not to do half the stuff she is up to.
We are inside Bella’s head, with all the mess, the noise and the going ons in her complicated life. Jillian might use as many f-words as commas, but the writing is delicately crafted, words carefully chosen to give us a vivid image of what is feels to be Bella, running out of road, but ultimately surviving and maybe even finding a bit of hope.
Sure, like many other self published books, Running out of Road might need some editing and trimming down but then, who doesn’t?
Ah, and there is a lot of sex as well (just so you know!)
You can get a copy of Running out of Road, Kindle edition, for the price of a packet of crisps. And you never know, you might be one of the first people to read the next biggest thing.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Seal Sanctuary release in Courtown
The Irish Seal Sanctuary is a charity based in Courtown, Co. Wexford. Its team of volunteers rescue injured seals from all over Ireland, bring them back to their centre in Courtown and nurse them back to health. Once the seals are ready to get back to the wild, the Seal Sanctuary travel to the spot where they were originally found to release them.
On Sunday 13th February, it was time for Grace to be released on Courtown Beach, where she was originally found by a local during his walk.
There are many ways to support the fantastic work being done by the charity, from donations (online and at the centre), buying some of its merchandising (available at the centre in Courtown) or adopting a seal.
The centre is located behind the leisure centre in Courtown and next to the beach and the walking trails in the Courtown woods so it is a great Sunday activity - for people of any age.
On Sunday 13th February, it was time for Grace to be released on Courtown Beach, where she was originally found by a local during his walk.
There are many ways to support the fantastic work being done by the charity, from donations (online and at the centre), buying some of its merchandising (available at the centre in Courtown) or adopting a seal.
The centre is located behind the leisure centre in Courtown and next to the beach and the walking trails in the Courtown woods so it is a great Sunday activity - for people of any age.
The Science Gallery: Dublin's fun lab
It is not a museum, a Science lab or an Art gallery; and it is all of those at the same time. Dublin’s Science Gallery is a world’s first. A unique space designed to mix Art and Science, a wonderfully stylish and geeky environment where even a teenage crush can turn into a scientific lab experiment.
Since its opening in February 2008, the Science Gallery has hosted 14 exhibitions and received over 650,000 visitors, becoming one of the country’s top attractions. As marketing and communications manager Anja Ekelof points out, the Science Gallery team expected to reach around 50,000 visitors in its first year, instead they received 250,000. Not many museums or galleries in the world have achieved the level of enthusiasm and excitement surrounding the Science Gallery in Dublin – in only a couple of years.
So what makes the Science Gallery such a hit?
“It is about getting a balance,” explains Ekelof. “People want things to do, projects they can interact with.” And there is plenty of interaction at the Science Gallery: from the outside it might look like a trendy art gallery but get in there and it is like entering a playground for grown ups. As Ekelof says, it is an unusual way of looking at Science. The point is: Science can be exciting and creative.
The Science Gallery hosts an average of four to five exhibitions a year, including a main flagship exhibition; as well as workshops, experiments and events at the 144-seat theatre, from TEDx talks to movie screenings and gigs. The exhibitions and related activities vary in length and subjects but must follow two guidelines: they must have a scientific or technology angle, of course, and they must actively engage with the visitor.
“We’d like to present science in a different light. Our core age group is from 15 to 25-year olds, since they are the ones making decisions about their future now and we’d like to encourage them to choose Science-related careers. Ireland needs people to think creatively about issues that affect all of us so we’d like them to think differently about how they perceive Science and Technology.”
While there are many ideas lined up for the coming months, there is also an important element of flexibility that keeps the Science Gallery topics fresh and relevant. “We want to know what is happening in the real world in terms of research, be responsive and host topical exhibitions,” she adds.
In 2009, the gallery’s exhibition ‘Infectious – Stay Away’ opened three days before the swine flu outbreak hit the headlines across the globe. ‘Infectious’ explored the mechanisms behind contagious diseases (such as swine flu) but also more harmless concepts such as how good ideas spread and the basis of viral marketing. This kind of timing though, while purely accidental, could have been the best or the worst thing that could happen to the event. In the Science Gallery’s case it was a total success: 47,000 people visited the exhibition and the swine flu panic helped create that buzz. Ekelof says the team isn’t scared of being ‘controversial’.
The ‘Lab in the gallery’ is designed to get visitors actively involved in Science: while visitors interact with a particular piece, they are also contributing to pieces of real research and studies by real scientists.
One of the ‘labs’ that hit the headlines in 2010 was the ‘Love Lab’. ‘Love Lab’ brought together a series of ‘love scientists’ from different disciplines, including Neuroscience, Genetics, Psychology and Biochemistry, to test Science Gallery visitors and investigate what makes us attractive or feel attracted to certain people. Is it the smell, your genetic make up, the way your walk or is it your age? Maybe it is just a combination of them all…
Also in 2010, The Science Gallery packed its bags and set up camp, literally, at two of Ireland’s biggest music festivals: Oxegen and the Electric Picnic, bringing the ‘Biorythm, music and the body’ exhibition and series of events to its natural environment.
‘Green Machines’, the exhibition that just finished in mid-December, gave each visitor the opportunity to invest €5m on green technology and design projects that could radically change the way we live our lives and help us deal with environmental issues facing the planet.
The exhibition was divided in three areas: an investment bootcamp where visitors would get guidelines on green financial investments; an inspiration garden, where 18 green projects by startups from all over the globe were up for investment and a Design Studio, where visitors could leave their ‘green design’ ideas. A panel of judges then would choose the best designs from the workshops and a prize of €3,000 was given to the best idea to help its creator bring take it to the next level.
“We really wanted to introduce an economic argument in this particular exhibition, whose aim was to bring sustainable design and green technology together and make it more accessible, less threatening to the general public,” adds Ekelof.
Based on the investments made on the 18 projects during the exhibition, one of them was also selected as the winner of the Green Machines Investment Awards 2010.
Infectious diseases, concerts, the science behind desire and attraction, the physics of bubbles and foams, green machines… How does the Science Gallery team find all these themes and keep up with the expectations of its followers?
“We are very lucky to have some of the best researchers in Ireland involved. The Leonardo group, which includes people from science, the arts, business and the media, provides us with broad themes and, as a programming team at the Science Gallery, we further those ideas, invite experts and curators on the topics. We also tend to put an open call for ideas all over the globe so people and experts from anywhere in the world can submit their suggestions to the Science Gallery and the curatorial team,” she explains.
The gallery shares the building with actual research space at Trinity College and that’s where the idea for the Science Gallery was originally born. The nanoscience research team at Trinity wanted to showcase its research but not in a traditional museum environment but something that would allow them to interact with the public.
In just two years, The Science Gallery has built a loyal fan base, with over 4,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 2,000 fans on Facebook.
“We have a huge proportion of repeat visitors at the Science Gallery, people who have come about six to 10 or 12 times and the Science Gallery is part of their social life,” says Ekelof.
“The gallery is also about creating a community, a core group of people attending events, tweeting and sharing ideas. We are open to clubs such as the robotics club and we also organise meet the author sessions, where the public can meet the authors of Science related books and ask questions, either in person on via Skype.”
What helps make the Science behind the gallery accessible to all ages and groups is also the team of enthusiastic mediators. They are mainly college students from a variety of disciplines, and are at hand to answer any questions and lead visitors through the exhibitions.
The summer months and August in particular, Ekelof explains, were very busy at the Gallery, as the gallery has been included in many tourist guides attracting thousands of visitors and its fame has started to spread beyond Ireland – like those viral ideas studied at ‘Infectious’.
As Dublin prepares to become City of Science in 2012 for the Euroscience Open Forum, the Science Gallery will certainly play a very important part in helping the general public understand the relevance of Science and Technology in our every day life – and make us all take part, get involved.
The Science Gallery by numbers:
-1,900 kisses were grown during ‘Infectious’
-15 dogs donated DNA for ‘Infectious’
-691 litres of washing up liquid were used during ‘Buble’
-3,000 electric pinickers visited the Science Gallery tent
-145 workshops have been hosted at the gallery
-74 collaborating scientists
-71 collaborating artists
Links:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ScienceGallery
http://twitter.com/#!/SCIENCEGALLERY
http://www.sciencegallery.com/
www.facebook.com/ScienceGallery
(published in PCLive! magazine in December 2010)
Since its opening in February 2008, the Science Gallery has hosted 14 exhibitions and received over 650,000 visitors, becoming one of the country’s top attractions. As marketing and communications manager Anja Ekelof points out, the Science Gallery team expected to reach around 50,000 visitors in its first year, instead they received 250,000. Not many museums or galleries in the world have achieved the level of enthusiasm and excitement surrounding the Science Gallery in Dublin – in only a couple of years.
So what makes the Science Gallery such a hit?
“It is about getting a balance,” explains Ekelof. “People want things to do, projects they can interact with.” And there is plenty of interaction at the Science Gallery: from the outside it might look like a trendy art gallery but get in there and it is like entering a playground for grown ups. As Ekelof says, it is an unusual way of looking at Science. The point is: Science can be exciting and creative.
The Science Gallery hosts an average of four to five exhibitions a year, including a main flagship exhibition; as well as workshops, experiments and events at the 144-seat theatre, from TEDx talks to movie screenings and gigs. The exhibitions and related activities vary in length and subjects but must follow two guidelines: they must have a scientific or technology angle, of course, and they must actively engage with the visitor.
“We’d like to present science in a different light. Our core age group is from 15 to 25-year olds, since they are the ones making decisions about their future now and we’d like to encourage them to choose Science-related careers. Ireland needs people to think creatively about issues that affect all of us so we’d like them to think differently about how they perceive Science and Technology.”
While there are many ideas lined up for the coming months, there is also an important element of flexibility that keeps the Science Gallery topics fresh and relevant. “We want to know what is happening in the real world in terms of research, be responsive and host topical exhibitions,” she adds.
In 2009, the gallery’s exhibition ‘Infectious – Stay Away’ opened three days before the swine flu outbreak hit the headlines across the globe. ‘Infectious’ explored the mechanisms behind contagious diseases (such as swine flu) but also more harmless concepts such as how good ideas spread and the basis of viral marketing. This kind of timing though, while purely accidental, could have been the best or the worst thing that could happen to the event. In the Science Gallery’s case it was a total success: 47,000 people visited the exhibition and the swine flu panic helped create that buzz. Ekelof says the team isn’t scared of being ‘controversial’.
The ‘Lab in the gallery’ is designed to get visitors actively involved in Science: while visitors interact with a particular piece, they are also contributing to pieces of real research and studies by real scientists.
One of the ‘labs’ that hit the headlines in 2010 was the ‘Love Lab’. ‘Love Lab’ brought together a series of ‘love scientists’ from different disciplines, including Neuroscience, Genetics, Psychology and Biochemistry, to test Science Gallery visitors and investigate what makes us attractive or feel attracted to certain people. Is it the smell, your genetic make up, the way your walk or is it your age? Maybe it is just a combination of them all…
Also in 2010, The Science Gallery packed its bags and set up camp, literally, at two of Ireland’s biggest music festivals: Oxegen and the Electric Picnic, bringing the ‘Biorythm, music and the body’ exhibition and series of events to its natural environment.
‘Green Machines’, the exhibition that just finished in mid-December, gave each visitor the opportunity to invest €5m on green technology and design projects that could radically change the way we live our lives and help us deal with environmental issues facing the planet.
The exhibition was divided in three areas: an investment bootcamp where visitors would get guidelines on green financial investments; an inspiration garden, where 18 green projects by startups from all over the globe were up for investment and a Design Studio, where visitors could leave their ‘green design’ ideas. A panel of judges then would choose the best designs from the workshops and a prize of €3,000 was given to the best idea to help its creator bring take it to the next level.
“We really wanted to introduce an economic argument in this particular exhibition, whose aim was to bring sustainable design and green technology together and make it more accessible, less threatening to the general public,” adds Ekelof.
Based on the investments made on the 18 projects during the exhibition, one of them was also selected as the winner of the Green Machines Investment Awards 2010.
Infectious diseases, concerts, the science behind desire and attraction, the physics of bubbles and foams, green machines… How does the Science Gallery team find all these themes and keep up with the expectations of its followers?
“We are very lucky to have some of the best researchers in Ireland involved. The Leonardo group, which includes people from science, the arts, business and the media, provides us with broad themes and, as a programming team at the Science Gallery, we further those ideas, invite experts and curators on the topics. We also tend to put an open call for ideas all over the globe so people and experts from anywhere in the world can submit their suggestions to the Science Gallery and the curatorial team,” she explains.
The gallery shares the building with actual research space at Trinity College and that’s where the idea for the Science Gallery was originally born. The nanoscience research team at Trinity wanted to showcase its research but not in a traditional museum environment but something that would allow them to interact with the public.
In just two years, The Science Gallery has built a loyal fan base, with over 4,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 2,000 fans on Facebook.
“We have a huge proportion of repeat visitors at the Science Gallery, people who have come about six to 10 or 12 times and the Science Gallery is part of their social life,” says Ekelof.
“The gallery is also about creating a community, a core group of people attending events, tweeting and sharing ideas. We are open to clubs such as the robotics club and we also organise meet the author sessions, where the public can meet the authors of Science related books and ask questions, either in person on via Skype.”
What helps make the Science behind the gallery accessible to all ages and groups is also the team of enthusiastic mediators. They are mainly college students from a variety of disciplines, and are at hand to answer any questions and lead visitors through the exhibitions.
The summer months and August in particular, Ekelof explains, were very busy at the Gallery, as the gallery has been included in many tourist guides attracting thousands of visitors and its fame has started to spread beyond Ireland – like those viral ideas studied at ‘Infectious’.
As Dublin prepares to become City of Science in 2012 for the Euroscience Open Forum, the Science Gallery will certainly play a very important part in helping the general public understand the relevance of Science and Technology in our every day life – and make us all take part, get involved.
The Science Gallery by numbers:
-1,900 kisses were grown during ‘Infectious’
-15 dogs donated DNA for ‘Infectious’
-691 litres of washing up liquid were used during ‘Buble’
-3,000 electric pinickers visited the Science Gallery tent
-145 workshops have been hosted at the gallery
-74 collaborating scientists
-71 collaborating artists
Links:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ScienceGallery
http://twitter.com/#!/SCIENCEGALLERY
http://www.sciencegallery.com/
www.facebook.com/ScienceGallery
(published in PCLive! magazine in December 2010)
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Green Machines
It is not just a gallery, not just a museum and definitely not just your average lab, I suppose The Science Gallery in Dublin is a bit of all that. And if you haven't been around to check out its latest exhibition: Green Machines, do go and visit before this Friday 17th December, as it is the closing date of this fantastic eco-themed display. It is free entry (donations accepted!).
While visiting Green Machines a few weeks ago, I just fell in love with the cardboard PC (recompute) and a couple of other designs, such as the sink/loo. You'll get to 'invest' in your favourite green ideas and your investment will count to choose The Best Green Machine of 2010.
If you are interested in eco design, sustainability or simply have a couple of hours to spare around Dublin city, pop in. You'll love it.
I'll be writing a bit more on the Science Gallery for PCLive! magazine soon...
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