December 2013 issue 58

griffiti

A letter from the Editor

Hi guys,

Welcome to the Christmas issue of Griffiti. We in the SU have been excited for Christ-mas for over a month now - and you may have noticed our countdown at the front desk. It has been an amazing year and although it is not over yet I hope 2014 will be as good for you all. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue - a Special thanks to Claudia Verdecchia for taking the SU portraits this month. They got us in the festive mood. If any of our wonderful photographers out there would like to make us pose for you, please email me.

In this issue we have lots of Christmas spirit with the best presents you can buy. We also have the truth about the fairytales we tell to children and what movies we watch all year round that are actually Christmas movies. As usual we have plenty of movie and music reviews for you including the infamous An-chor man 2. And some pictures from our wonderful Christmas blowout.

If you would like to contribute to Griffiti next year you can email me or drop into the SU at any stage. I am looking forward to the new year we have so much planned for you all - I hope you are prepared.

Have an amazing Christmas and a fab new year. We will see you all next year.

Aimee Doyle, Editor

CONTENTS

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

23

24

28

State of the Union

SU news

The best and worst Christmas presents

Fairytale, scareytale

Ruby lends his voice to Eirgrid protest

Christmas movies we watch all year round

Party people

Sports

Reviews movies and music

Reviews - two tech pages

The Genuine article

griffitiIssue 57

November 2013

Getting involved in Griffiti Magazine

Anyone wishing to contribute to Griffiti magazine should email

su.president@gcd.ie or visit Aimee Doyle (Editor) in the

SU Building.

Griffith College Students’ UnionSouth Circular RoadDublin 8 Email: su.president@gcd.ie

Griffiti Magazine is the Students’ Union Publication at Griffith College.It was established in 2004.All contents copyright of Griffiti, reproduction of any part of the magazine without permission is prohibited.The views expressed in Griffiti do not necessarily reflect that of the college or the SU

ContributorsStephen Donnery

Declan Kelly Claudia Verdecchia

Laura MurphyRobbie PurcellDaniel FlynnClaire Aston Sean Alari

Lorcan MullalyKatie Morris

Diarmuid CrowleyEva Paut-BrissaudMarie Pinasseau

STATE OF THE UNION

Claire Aston, Entertainments Officer

Sean Alari, Clubs and Societies

OfficerHi All,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS. Wow it is so hard to believe that the first semester is al-ready over, and that the new year is so close. It has been a jam packed 3 months and I hope that you have enjoyed it all. I have to say a big thank you to everyone that has been involved in the events this year. They would not have been as good without all of you and I hope that next semester will be just as good. Not to fear though as 2014 still has a lot to offer. Unfor-tunately you will be return-ing to them dreaded exams, but Wednesday 29th will kick off that first week back with a Refresher Party, just to ease you in to the Second Semester. That will be followed by RAG Week in which we will be doing our best to raise as much money as possible for Irish Autism Action, with the help of you. We will be hosting events and having

some fun activities going on throughout the week all in aid of Irish Autism Action. This will be taking place from the 11th-13th of February.We will also be having two trips, to Delphi Adventure Centre from the 21st – 23rd of February and a Surf Trip from the 21st – 23rd of March. Both have very limited places and are in high demand, so if you wish to attend make sure to sign up in the SU.

Last but not least there is the Griffith Ball, the event of the year, and it is one that is not to be missed. The black tie event takes place on the 11th of April in the Double Tree Hotel. The first 100 tickets are €35 and after that the prices go up. So make sure to get them quick.

I hope you all have a great Christmas. Claire.

Dear all,

It’s nearly Christmas time-and I can’t wait for Christmas Dinners, Christmas presents, 12 pubs of Christmas, overdosing on TV shows, Christmas jumpers, Christ-mas holidays, Christmas parties, Christmas hats, Christmas crackers, Christmas shopping and everything that is Christ-massy!

But I digress so let me take you through a brief introduction on what you can expect from the sports pages of Griffiti n° 58.All our sports teams are going to take a well deserved Christmas break and start back training mid January. We’ve had some tough competition but the guys and girls represented GCD proudly with top class performances throughout the first part of the

season. So this issue you’ll be able to catch up on all the latest sports matches and results and read about how awe-some we’re doing against all other colleges and universities. The sports season will start back in late January/early February and we can’t wait to win some more! 2013 has been a great year in the SU and 2014 is going to be even better. I’m head-ing into my last semester in the SU and in Griffith so I plan to make the most of it and I hope you guys will help me along by joining all of the clubs and societies - it is never too late!

So I hope you have a great Christmas and I wish you all a happy new year! Enjoy!

Sean

SUNEWS

Christmas PartyThe Christmas Party on Wednesday 11th was a great success with 300 Griffith Students taking over Madison Nightclub.

The dance floor was full with people dancing the night away into the early hours of the morning and the drinks were flow-ing all night long.

It was a great night and was really good to see some of the old faces that you used to roam the halls of GCD returning for a night of madness that only Griffith Parties can produce. Thanks to

everyone that made the effort and wore Christmas hats, jumpers and really embraced the Christmas Spirit.

A real mention needs to be given to the fashion design students that really stole the night, with Christmas light necklaces, Christmas jumpers, reindeer antlers and an inflatable Santa Claus and Reindeer just for added effect.

It was truly a great night and we all can’t wait to see what the next semester has in store for us.

CHRISTMAS TIME

CHRISTMAS TIME

CHRISTMAS BEER PONG TOURNAMENTThe Christmas Tournament was a great success with the champions Los Presidentes losing their normal title of 1st place and earning a new one as 2nd place for a second time this year, is it possible that their reign of success has finally come to an end?

The Tournament took place on the 3rd of December and we had 16 teams competing. It is safe to say it was eagerly anticipated to find out who was going to walk away with the prize.

After the competition ended, it was time to hit the town and we headed to Everleigh Gardens to make sure it was really a night to remember.

There were four groups and in the end the Champions were first time players Aaron Nam and Marcus Hughes in the team Beer Fear, who collected there 24 cans of the whatever took their fancy.

I’m sure there were some sore heads the next morning, and some hurt egos for Robbie Pur-cell and Daniel Flynn who will no doubt come back fighting for their position as the champions again.

FEATURES

At this time of year we all start to worry – what can I buy that he/she doesn’t already have. What will they like? It is such a festive time of year where we all should be relaxed and happy but instead the mayhem of Christmas shopping causes ridiculous stress and anxiety for most. Here is a compiled list of last minute presents, some of the top gifts this year.Good luck with your shopping!

For him - the men in your life can often be hard to please, the top

gifts this year are...

If he is a film addict a mini projector is a genius idea. You can fold

them up quite compact and bring them with you wherever you go.

A perfect present for someone who has all of the movies under the sun but no way to watch them when he travels, it is also per-fect for a cinematic feel. Price range: €199-€300

The new Google Chrome laptop is the perfect gift for those dif-ficult to buy for tech guys. It is slim and compact – easy to carry. And best of all it never needs updates. You can download all of the apps you want and skype anyone you like. Perfect for those who maybe have to travel to work or college. Price range: €250

For the music lovers out there who constantly have their head-phones in or playing music from their phones a Bluetooth speaker would be ideal. You can connect it to your phone, Ipod or MP3 player and listen to your tunes without the hassle of wires. Per-fect for parties too. Price range: €40-€50

If he is into gadgets but you don’t know where to start when it

Your guide to Christmas presents

The musicians among us are dif-ficult to please. They have all of the instruments they want and you wouldn’t get the right one if you were to buy one anyway.

comes to that kind of stuff a camera helicopter is the way to go. This cool remote control helicopter is slick – what guy doesn’t like something with a remote? The best thing about this is that it has a camera on the front so he can film as he flies. Then plug it into a computer and watch your footage. Great entertainment for him – maybe annoying for you. Price range €50

Another cool remote control gadget, which may be a bit safer, is the worlds smallest race car. This mini remote control car is small but powerful and perfect for small spaces. €18

The musicians among us are difficult to please. They have all of the instruments they want and you wouldn’t get the right one if you were to buy one anyway. How about a DIY ukulele? Men love to make things and music lovers will get the pleasure of creating and playing it when he’s done – it couldn’t be anymore perfect! €49.95

Finally if everything else fails, an Ipod nano for €169 or a new smart phone are the reliable presents that every man needs in his life.

For her - they say women are easier to buy for, but they are never happy. This year stay in the good books with...

If she is a photograph addict and constantly has instagram open on her phone why not bring her back in time with the cool new polaroid cameras. They come in a range of colours, blue, pink, yellow and white. They are cute and compact and will fit in any girls handbag. Price: €99

If she is more into her jewelry than anything else why don’t you bling it up this Christmas with a designer watch. Marc Jacobs and Micheal Korrs have amazing ranges of stunning watches that she would absolutely adore. Price range: €150-€250

Stocking fillers are difficult to find. If she is a classy lady why not pop into Urban outfitters and pick up an extremely cute hip flask? It would certainly be used over the Christmas season and they come with cool designs that she will love. Price range €15-€20

Back to jewelry again because what better way to please her this Christmas? Or any time of year. A Pandora bracelet is always a perfect gift for any girl, and a great idea for you for all future birth-days and Christmas because you can buy any amount of charms to go on it. Price range:€ 100-€200

Another cool camera to buy this year is a lamography Diana mini

camera. It is not your regular digital camera – but film. It is some-thing different but quirky and easy to use and carry. They come in different colours and patterns and are perfect for any photography queen. Price €55

If she loves fashion and matching her bag with her purse than a river Island bag is a great idea. You can get plenty of different shapes and sizes and purses to match. Weather she likes big bags or small ones you are bound to find something that will suit here. Price range: €20-€85

And last but not least if you want to go all out and completely spoil her this year why not splash out and get an Ipad mini. She can keep up to date with facebook and twitter as well as take pic-tures and send emails. They are perfect for any girl who is always on the go but likes to keep in touch with friends and family while

doing so. €399

Back to jewelry again because what better way to please her this Christmas? Or any time of year.

We all grew up with fairy tales, no matter what generation you may belong to. For many of us they were cautionary tales that taught us life lessons through the medium of anecdotes filled with magic and wonder but they weren’t always so. The bulk of the fairy tales we are told as children trace their ori-gins back to Grimm’s Fairy Tales, a collection of stories complied by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812, and these were a far cry from the stories that lulled us off to sleep as children.Since the advent of Disney in this century, we have been provided with child friendly versions of the brothers Grimm’s stories and for that reason their original versions have become lost to the public at large. In the 1800s, the stories told to children reflected a different attitude to what is seen today, tales that warned of the dangers of the ‘dark for-ests’ came from a time when lone travellers were regularly eaten by wolves and other natural predators though nowadays they can be seen as allegorical warnings against wan-dering too far from one’s home but the best

way to show this is to offer a few examples.The tale of The Little Mermaid is one that

every child is familiar with and one that Disney has capitalised upon with the titular animated film and all the merchandising that goes along with that but the original story

by Hans Christian Andersen is no happily ever after. Rather than losing her voice and gaining legs, the sea witch’s potion grants the mermaid legs but causes her new feet to bleed constantly and feel as though she is forever walking on knives. At the end of this tale, the prince chooses to marry another woman, thus leaving the mermaid with the choice of killing him or turning into sea foam, the mermaid chooses to stay true to her love and throwing herself into the sea, promptly dissolves. Cinderella is another old story that has undergone the Disney beautification process, though the modern telling of the tale teaches young girls to simply put up with all of life’s injustices until a handsome prince comes along to whisk you away to a life of leisure and love, the oldest versions of the story paints Cinderella in a decidedly unflattering light. The original story tells of how Cinder-ella murdered her first step mother so her father would be forced to marry the house maid instead, this is where the Disney version picks up the tale with Cinderella forced into

Fairy Tale, Scary Tale

What are the real meanings behind the stories we tell children.

For many of us they were cautionary tales that taught us life les-sons through the medi-um of anecdotes filled with magic and wonder but they weren’t al-ways so

By Lorcan Mullaly

servitude to her new step mother and spoilt step sisters. A particularly gruesome part of the story that was overlooked in Disney’s

rendition is that the step sisters actually cut off their toes and heels so their feet would fit the iconic Glass Slipper, the prince failed to notice this until two of Cinderella’s bird com-panions point the blood out to the prince and proceed to peck the step sister’s eyes out as punishment for their deception. The tale of Snow White carries on the Brothers Grimm’s tradition of mixing moral lessons with extreme violence as in the orig-inal tale; Snow White is actually killed three times by the Evil Queen. At the beginning of the story, the Queen demands that the Huntsman she sends to kill Snow White bring back her lungs and liver as proof of her death. The Huntsman returns with the liver and lungs of a pig and once convinced that they belong to Snow White, the Queen devours both organs raw.

Upon learning that Snow White still lives, the Queen disguises herself as an old woman in

order to get close enough to kill Snow White herself. First by placing a corset on Snow White and drawing the strings so tight that she suffocates but revives once the corset is loosened, second by brushing her hair with a poisoned comb which causes Snow White to fall into a death like sleep, she awakens when the Dwarves return and remove the comb. The last attempt by the Queen to kill her is the most well-known, The Red Apple, but rather than poisoning her; apple gets stuck in her throat, causing her to suffocate and appear dead. Once placed in her glass coffin, she is carried away by the Dwarves and the

Prince for burial. On route however, the Prince trips on a root,

shaking the coffin and dislodging the apple stuck in Snow White’s throat returns her to life. The Evil Queen is then punished for her numerous attempts on Snow White’s life by being forced to dance with red hot irons strapped to her feet until she falls over dead.

One more story worth mentioning and another Disney classic is Sleeping Beauty; the animated film follows the story rather closely but leaves out one detail from the original story that allows it to remain child friendly. In the Grimm’s telling, Sleeping Beauty (Aurora for those Disney purists amongst you) is awakened by the kicking of the twins in her womb rather than the kiss of the Prince as she was impregnated by the Prince (or the King in the Grimm version) while she slept. Surprisingly, the King brings Sleeping Beauty and her children to his kingdom which deeply upsets his wife the Queen. The Queen attempts to have Sleeping Beauty and her children killed but is stopped by the King and banished from the kingdom, who then marries Sleeping Beauty and we all know how that particular song and dance ends. What is the point of this dive into the shock-ingly mature origins of some of the most revered childhood tales in the world today? It was to show us that almost every story we are ever told has its roots in times when the world was a much darker and scarier place, times when the wolves were literally at your doors at night and people feared the darkest corners of the land where all manner of ghouls, trolls and ogres dwelt. These old tales also held messages for children that instilled the values of their parents in them, remarrying for whatever reason would bring woe to the children of the previous marriage; chasing true love was doomed to failure and heart ache. Today’s world may not hold the eldritch, monster infested shadows of the 1800s but now we know that most of today’s monsters wear a human form and so it isn’t too harder to understand why we would want our chil-dren to still believe in Happily Ever After.

The Huntsman returns with the liver and lungs of a pig and once convinced that they belong to Snow White, the Queen devours both organs raw

In the Grimm’s telling, Sleeping Beauty (Aurora for those Disney pur-ists amongst you) is awakened by the kicking of the twins in her womb rather than the kiss of the Prince as she was impregnated by the PrinceBy Lorcan Mullaly

Leading national hunt jockey Ruby Walsh usually hits the headlines for his sporting prowess but of late he has been in the public eye on a different matter. Ruby has joined forces with his neighbours in County Kil-dare to protest about the proposed Eirgrid project to run a 400kv power line through this beautiful area carried by massive 45 and 60 metre high pylons. Ruby has hit out at Eirgrid for suggesting a number of routes, saying they are pitting neighbour against neighbour and he says people should band together and oppose Eirgrid, forcing them to run the cable under-ground. This project “Grid 25” the biggest ever seen in this country will involve 1,100 kilometres of power line carried by 4,000 huge pylons, from Cork to Dublin. Eirgrid have identified a number of one kilometre wide “corridors” along which the lines might travel and these are currently at public consultation stage. A number of protest groups have emerged along all sections of the proposed lines. This may unfortunately, as Ruby points out, have the ef-fect of setting neighbour against neighbour, and one feels that the route with least opposition may be chosen. Public concerns have surfaced since these operations have been proposed. Concerns such as the health effects, the impact on the landscape and tourism and also the effects that it will have on the agricultural business in the areas discussed. Research has been carried out on the health risks associated with these pylons, results have been found which suggest that there is a visible link between childhood Leukaemia and these power lines. Research-ers in America have published reports on their findings stating that the prevalence in childhood Leukaemia doubled in places near electrical pylons. In 2005 a 70% increase in childhood Leukaemia was found for those liv-ing in areas that were living within 200 metres of an overhead transmission line. These elec-tromagnetic fields (EMF’s) not only increase the risk of childhood Leukaemia but also brain

cancer, breast cancer and skin cancer. Alasdair Philips is qualified in both Electrical and Electronic Engineering and in Agricultur-al Engineering. Since 1986 he has built up a considerable knowledge of EMF bioeffects, and is one of the leading ‘alternative’ voices on the subject in the UK. Alasdair is a member of SAGE (the UK Department of Health Stake-holder Group on ELF EMFs) and a member of the UK Health Protection Agency’s EMF Dis-cussion Group. Powerwatch is used as a forum for a small group of knowledgeable engineers

and scientists who are concerned about the consequences of irradiated ‘blue world’ we are creating.Alasdair states that “There is also evidence (but not proof) that cancer effects extend out to over 600 metres away from the line – that is thought to be due to corona ion discharge from the line, charging of toxic aerosols and changes in the natural sky-earth static electric field. At present there is not enough evidence to provide a level of proof that would change policy. Even the magnetic field

evidence (above – the doubling in incidence of child leukaemia) has not been enough to change policy and require a safety corridor around powerlines – which I find immoral and unethical. But that is basically the agreed policy all over Europe.”Alongside of health risks, there are also eco-nomic downsides to these pylons. Local infor-mation even at this early stage is that house sales are falling through along these corridors, while the uncertainty is there. Presumably it will be next to impossible to sell a property which falls along the chosen route. Alasdair Phillips has suggested that Eirgrid should be forced to purchase all properties on the line at current market value and hence allow people to move from the vicinity of the infrastructure. However this is not an option for everyone, and certainly not for farmers whose land is traversed by these giants. Ireland is a green and fertile land from the point of view of ag-riculture and food production, should farmers be forced to allow Eirgrid cross their lands?The obvious solution would be to run the lines underground, but this also comes with its’ own difficulties and at no small cost. Eirgrid say these lines carry Alternating Current (AC) which cannot go underground. In order to put the cables underground (or under sea) the current must be converted to Direct Current (DC) for the underground length and back to AC when it comes back overground. At pres-ent the line which crosses the Irish Sea has a conversion system which when switched on at test stage rendered the phone system in Rush unusable and is now switched off. Alasdair Phillips states that this is because Eirgrid have used a “cheap and nasty” converter which will now have to be replaced by the proper tech-nology. This is not comforting to hear while we are dependent on Eirgrid to construct this project and it is hard to envisage Eirgrid investing hugely in order to put these lines underground as many communities hope they will. We watch with interest as the debate trundles on!

RUBY LENDS HIS VOICE TO EIRGRID PROTESTS

There is also evidence (but not proof) that cancer effects extend out to over 600 metres away from the line – that is thought to be due to corona ion discharge from the line, charging of toxic aerosols and changes in the natu-ral sky-earth static elec-tric field

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STUDENTS

With Christmas coming, films like the Santa Clause and Jingle all the Way will be playing on our screens. Yet there are some films out there that are set around Christmastime yet it is either not noticed by the audience or is overshadowed by the plot. Here are a few examples:

Die Hard: People have considered this one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time. However people forget that it is the festive season due to the non-stop ac-tion, the great acting from Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and the rest of the cast and of course the

famous line: yippee ki yay. However, the holidays as well as his estranged wife are the reasons why cop John McClane is in the Nakatomi Plaza and is able to defeat the terrorists from the inside. The film manages to give a few nods to Christmas from McClane writing “Now I have a ma-chinegun. Ho Ho Ho” on a corpse’s

jumper to main antagonist Hans Gruber saying to his con-cerned locksmith 2It’s Christmas, Theo. It’s the time of miracles.”

Just Friends: The main plot is where Chris (Ryan Reynolds) tries to make his high school friend Jamie (Amy Smart) fall for him. However like Die Hard, Just Friends uses Christmas as the reason for them to reunite as Chris’ plane received flight issues forcing him to stay in his hometown despite vowing never to return after Jamie rejected his love for friendship in high school. Also like Die Hard, this film has so much going on with Chris from reuniting with his family to controlling his insane client Samantha (Anna Faris) that you for-get it is set around the holidays. Yet there are chaotic scenes too clearly showing the event from the destruction of Jamie’s fami-ly’s Christmas decorations to Chris beating up antago-nist Drew at a Christmas pageant.

Lethal Weapon: Mel Gibson and Danny Glover

Christmas movies we watch all year round

By Diarmuid Crowley

People don’t realise that their first partnership took place on Christmas.

played famous cop duo Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. While the suicidal Riggs attracted audiences with his crazy antics as well sympathetic background, Mur-taugh’s no nonsense attitude was enjoyed by viewers too especially when he said I’m too old for this shit. People don’t realise that their first partnership took place on Christmas. Signs that Lethal Weapon is set around this time include the “Jingle Bell Rock opening,” the drug bust at the Christmas tree depot by Riggs, a Bugs Bun-ny Christmas special being shown on TV, and the closing scene where Riggs spends Christmas with the Murtaughs. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: An underrated dark comedy, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang sees thief Harry Lock-hart (Robert Downey Jr), private inves-tigator Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer) and Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle

Monaghan) embark in a murder mystery. The caper is set during the holidays yet that is forgotten through the intriguing plot and witty script. Signs to show that it is the festive holiday besides the decorations in-clude Harry trying to steal a toy for his kid to Harmony wearing a sexy Santa outfit. That combined with Lethal Weapon, Shane Black seems to love setting his movies around Christmas.

Gremlins: The film that told kids to follow rules through fear, Gremlins is set around Christmas as well. In fact the cute Mogwai creature known as Gizmo was a Christ-mas present for protagonist Billy. After spilling water on Gizmo, more Mogwais were created except they were trouble-makers. These spawns of Gizmo tricked Billy into giving them food at midnight resulting in them becoming murderous creatures called Gremlins. Audiences were so focused on Billy and Gizmo stopping the Gremlins that they didn’t pay attention to the season. However, this film probably explains why experts say you shouldn’t get a pet for Christmas.

Batman Returns: In this sequel, Batman goes toe to toe with the Penguin as well as having an on-off feud with Cat. Director Tim Burton set the film around Christmas-time. Why? Probably to tell audiences that

having an extra villain is like giving them a Christmas present or more seriously it’s to make the Penguin feel more like a threat to Batman and highlight the cold heartiness of this character. The holiday is mentioned in the film with one sub plot being the villains

kidnapping the woman who was going to light up Gotham’s Christmas lights. Yet the season is overshadowed by the interesting plot and characters that make the Batman films still memorable to watch. In Bruges: Throughout the film, beginner hitman Ray (Colin Farrell) harks on how much he hates Bruges to his partner and veteran killer Ken (Brenden Gleeson). However, Ray fails to realise that they ar-rived there at the jolliest time of the year. Of all of the films, In Bruges has the least evidence to highlight that it is set around the holidays yet if you look closely at the background be it Harry’s (Ralph Fiennes) house to around the city of Bruges, you can see decorations hanging up. However, it doesn’t matter what season, In Bruges is set as it provides great dark humour and introduces a new place for tourists that love history to go.

The holiday is men-tioned in the film with one sub plot being the villains kidnapping the wom-an who was going to light up Gotham’s Christmas lights.

Signs that Lethal Weapon is set around this time include the “Jingle Bell Rock opening,” the drug bust at the Christmas tree de-pot by Riggs, a Bugs Bunny Christmas special being shown on TV.

PARTY

PEOPLE

ROAR

ROAR

GCD SPORTSMen’s Basketball: The Griffith College Basketball team won 2 of their first 3 Division 2 fixtures, managing to reach 100 points on both occasions. Whether or not such performances con-stitute an all time Griffith record is up for debate; but what is not dubious is the fact that this team has amazing potential. The sea-son started with a victory against NCI (77-100) which were a tough team to beat. Although the gener-al feeling after the game, was that Griffith could have easily won by a 40 point margin, had they not been so inconsistent defensively. Knowing they had still much work to do in training Griffith prepared for the very difficult away game to NUI Maynooth which they unfor-tunately lost. Focusing on solving that games’ mistakes the team went

out to completely and utterly de-stroy bitter rivals DBS, by winning 100-39; therefore scoring 10 points more than the 50 points difference that NUIM managed to win by in their fixture against DBS. Not with standing the defeat against Maynooth, who will surely make the playoffs, Griffith has shown that it has everything it takes to get there. The team has not only shown that it has great individuals like La-zyLocks Rodenburg and FlySwatter McKeon; but it can also count on good all-round players like Rhi-no Rozeront, Vicious Vilius, Posh Josh, Swagga Daga, Cool Abdul, Supernova Altinova and many others. Whether these names are better than the players themselves is up to the reader to decide but what really matters is that our players have the opportunity to make the playoffs if they beat DKIT and WIT. Come on boys our fate lies in your hands!

The second round of the Badminton League was supposed to see 4 teams battle it out in the Swan Leisure Centre in Rathmines on Wednesday 27th of November.Through an unfortunate series of events however, ‘hosts’ DBS and subsequently GMIT both forfeited their fixtures as they were unable to field a team to compete. This left Griffith College and ITB to decide on whether or not, they should go ahead with the fix-ture. In the true spirit of sport both teams decided to play it out in St. Catherine’s Sports Centre, Griffith’s home court.Clearly the better team on the day, Griffith College – led by the great coach, Fusco – took maximum points with a 5-0 win over ITB. Both the men’s and women’s single matches saw exceptional performances from our very own Nicholas Moo and Sabine Albani who

won their matches in straight sets, 2-0.The highlight of the fixture was surely the men’s double which saw Gary Khor and Chee Hoe face two tough opponents. After losing the 1st set, the lads managed to narrowly take the 2nd set and give them-selves an opportunity to clench victory in the 3rd set which they did in emphatic fashion, winning by an ample margin.The final match to be played was the mixed doubles which saw French duo, Stephane Verez and Cynthia Marquis, gain a comfortable win against modest op-position by showing great concentration and respect for their opponents.Overall it was a good win for the Griffith Badminton Team who will host the next round of the League on February 5th 2014.

Badminton

Thursday 21st of November was a great day for the start of the Irish Volleyball Intervarsities. This year saw UCD hosting the event in their very own Stu-dent Sports Centre. The tournament got off to an early start with matches beginning at 9.30am for some teams. Luckily enough Griffith College did not have to start until 11.00am. Our girls started out with a walk over and a loss in their first two group stage matches respectively against IT Carlow and TCD. The former being a close game while the latter clearly showing that Trinity are of another planet. On Friday 22nd of November, the GCD ladies returned to the UCD sports arena full of confidence, knowing that they could do much better than what they had shown on Thursday. With this in mind Griffith won their last group stage match in dramatic fashion, beating Cork IT with a great comeback 2 sets to 1. Morale was high in the camp after clenching third spot in the group but the girls knew that Saturday’s playoff for a spot in the semis of the Plate could be their toughest

match yet. University of Ulster Jordanstown in fact proved to be the toughest competition yet. After go-ing 1 set ahead, the Griffith ladies lost the 2nd set due to lack of concentration and a bit of nerves. Luckily enough though, coach Andy Goti was able to get the best out of his players for the 3rd set which Grif-fith won by 16-14. And so the semis beckoned but Griffith were not going to stop just yet. With a terrific team performance against ITTD, our girls reached the just reward of the Plate Final. In considering their huge achievement Griffith realised that their hardest test had yet to come. Having won against GMIT in the other semifinal, Cork IT were looking for revenge and unfortunately for us they beat Griffith by 2 sets to 0 therefore winning the Intervarsities Plate Final. Nonetheless, our girls did their college proud and put in great performances that will be hard to live up to next year, when they will of course, be looking for revenge.

Women’s volleyball

After great perfor-mances in the pre-vious round of the league against ITTD and AIT our men’s volleyball team suf-fered a harsh defeat against tough GMIT. An away fixture is never easy, and when you add a three hour bus journey with a sports hall ceiling that is realistically too low to allow a proper volleyball match to take place, then you can use your home advantage to its full extent. Speaking to coach Swoboda after the team returned to the GCD campus it was clear that the guys were all disappoint-

ed with the result. The coach highlight-ed the fact that the GCD players were too nervous during crucial phases of the game and therefore did not play to their full potential. Coach Swoboda also men-tioned that not having a full team due to inju-ries and assignments was a key factor in the defeat. Nonetheless, it was a positive perfor-mance for many other aspects which cannot but help our players gain more experience and be better prepared for the third round which is due to be played next 5th of February 2014.

Men’s Volleyball On Sunday the 1st of December, both our table tennis teams made their way to UCD Sports Centre to compete in the Annual UCD Table Tennis League. This year Griffith College entered a Division 1 and a Division 2 team for the first time ever. It’s been 5 years in the making, and finally we now have a solid table tennis club which we are sure will stand the test of time. Unfortunately for our Di-vision 1 team, this first leg did not bring us the victo-ries that we deserved, es-pecially due to the fact that key players such as Marcus Hughes and Eric Choong, suffered injuries in the early stages of the 1st round of matches. This left star play-ers, Hugues Estienne and Alex Schaffer, to carry the flag for the College against

tough opposition like UCC and DIT ‘A’. With 3 wins in 5 matches the team will be in a good position to compete for top spot in the second leg of the league come next February.Considering the level of the opposition, our Division 2 team did exceptionally well managing to win 2 out of their 5 matches against more experienced players from the likes of Trinity College and NUIG. It was a great opportunity for rook-ies like Nam and Buthakwa to gain key tournament experience and to see the quality they will be facing in the second leg. All in all both our teams can take many positives from this 1st leg. We can only hope that they con-tinue their good form in preparation for next semes-ter’s intervarsities.

Table Tennis

MOVIE REVIEWS

Based on the book of the same name “12 Years A Slave” tells the amazing true story of Solomon Northup. In 1841 Solomon Northup, a free man, lived with his family in New York City until he was taken on a trip to Washington when he was drugged and sold into slavery. The movie shows the story of his time in slavery under his different owners.12 Years A Slave boasts an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender (X-Men, Inglorious Basterds), Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek). It is directed by Steve McQueen who’s previous directing cred-its include Shame and Hunger both of which included Michael Fassbender as leading man. After being kidnapped, Sol-omon is forced to take the name of a Georgian runaway slave from his new owner so as to keep his identity as a free man hidden. Solomon quickly learns what he has to do to survive in his new life until he can find a way to get back home. He is then sold to a slaver called Mr. Ford (Cum-berbatch) who treats Solomon with a level of respect he hadn’t got since his life as a free man.

However, things take a turn while working on Ford’s plantation. In an effort to save his life Ford sells Solomon to vicious plantation owner Mr. Epps (Fassbender). It is here that Solomon begins his life as a cotton picker and sees how black people who are not free are treated by their owners. As Epps says throughout the film, “they are my property, and a man can do as he pleases with his property”. The performances given from these actors, some of which were making their debut in an American film, are phenomenal and you find yourself totally engrossed in the movie for the entire two hour run time.Fair warning, this is not a film for someone with a weak stomach. It does not shy away from showing the harsh reality of 1840s life on a cotton plan-tation. There are some violent scenes which can be a bit tough to watch but they are also a part of what makes this movie so powerful. Having already been released in America and it has received widespread critical acclaim with some even calling it the best movie of 2013. 12 Years A Slave is hotly tipped for an Oscar.

David Wozniak played by Vince Vaughn has gone through his entire life being the preverbal underachiever. He struggled through life bare-ly making a living as well as being in serious debt with the wrong people. Yet, is given the news that his ex-girlfriend if pregnant with what he believes is his first child. But his life is turned upside down with the news that, due to regular deposits in a sperm bank 20 years pervious, he is the bio-logical father of 533 children. Of those children, 142 wish to know the identity of their father so they file a lawsuit. He is then given a decision to make, keep his identity hidden or reveal to the world that he is the biological father of all these people.There are many strengths as well as weaknesses in this film. One positive in this film is the fact that it is extremely easy to empathise with the character David. Although the man is not the most likable person in the film it is difficult not to feel sorry for the torment that he faces in choosing to neglect his children for the sake of his livelihood as well as unborn child (the first he was aware of). One of the most blatant weaknesses in this film is the fact that the tone of this

film changes far too drastically and too many times. Although this film is dubbed a comedy there are many scenes that stray away from this idea as there are moments that are based around serious drug addiction as well as people living with physical disabilities. However there are moments of joy as well which culminate in a fashion that is similar to a romantic comedy which gloss-es over some of the heavier topics portrayed. This film is filled with hilarious adult humour mainly thanks to a very enjoyable performance from Chris Pratt who played Brett, David’s lawyer and clos-est friend. As well as this there is an appearance from How I Met Your Mother star Cobie Smulders, playing the ex-girl-friend Emma. Overall this mov-ie is an interesting watch due to the many different genres it goes through and is a daring move from director Ken Scott to branch out from the generic ‘comedy’ label. However the execution of this in practice is questionable as the tone of the film changes too quickly to maintain consistency. Yet, due to some good laughs, mainly from the performance of Pratt, this film is certainly a worth a

look.

“they are my property, and a man can do as he pleases with his

property”

Cert: 18Release Date: 10th January Running time: 134 minutwes

due to regular deposits in a sperm bank 20 years pervious, he is the biological father of 533 children.

Cert: 15Release Date: 16th DecemberRunning time: 105 minutes

Robbie Purcell Daniel Flynn

Shot in black and white, Nebraska is a bleak glimpse of present day America. There is nothing Hollywood about this film. It is stark and unforgiving. Nebraska stars Bruce Dent as Woody Grant, an elderly, de-feated alcoholic on the brink of his final years. We first see Dent wandering alone a desolate highway, he has the appearance of a vagrant and it is not long before he is picked up by high-way patrol and later collected by his son David, played by Will Forte. Woody is not a run away as such, he has embarked on a near 850 mile journey, by foot, from his home in Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska in order to collect alleged prize money of 1 million dollars from a sweepstakes scam. We get the feeling it is not the first time he has attempted this journey. Following further attempts to reach Nebraska, David decides to take him himself, if only to shut him up, much to the annoyance of brother Ross, Bob Odenkirk, and long suffering wife Kate, June Squibb.Nebraska is essentially the story of Woody’s life, tales of friends and lovers past, horrors he experienced in the Korean War, failed business ventures, all of which his son was not aware of. It provides insight into

how he became the hopeless alcoholic he is. Director Alex Payne chose to shoot in black and white in order to produce an iconic, archetypal look, and this was certainly achieved. The film offers a realistic view of Amer-ica. What we see is a country in recession, rife with unem-ployment and social problems. What we are presented with is realistic people, David’s long-term on-and-off again girlfriend is not the size 0, tall, busty babe type we are used to seeing on screen, instead she is a short, plump and realistic looking woman. This film instils a fear of grow-ing old, a fear that life might not go the way we want it to, a fear of dying with regrets. For such serious subject matter, it was surprising to find a gold-mine of humorous moments within it, with many provided by June Squibb, Woody’s wife Kate, imagine your sweet old granny with the mind and hu-mour of your best friend. David and Woody’s journey provided a last hurrah for an elderly man in fast declining health and a chance for the whole family to bond once again as a unit. What makes Nebraska special is its sense of realism, it’s so easy to imagine that this is your family.

BY THE BEARD OF ZEUS! He’s back! Everyone’s favourite anchorman Ron Burgundy and the rest of the Channel 4 news team are back and this time they’re leaving their beloved San Diego and taking on the Big Apple, New York City.Anchorman 2 resumes the legend of Ron Burgundy in the 80s with Ron and his now wife Veronica Corningstone anchoring the WBC news. However, when Ron is fired and Veronica is promoted he leaves the family home they’ve made together, returns to San Diego and becomes an alcoholic.He’s then gets another chance at anchoring the news. He’s offered a slot at the new GNN news station, the world’s first 24 hour news station. After taking the job, he gets the ‘old gang’ back from they’ve new lives away from the newsroom. Once Ron has his team back together, they get to New York and find they’ve been put in the graveyard slot and so in typical Burgundy fashion, tries to make himself number 1 at all costs. In this case, he wants to beat Jack Lime, the anchor in the prime time slot, in ratings in the hopes of getting his slot and because of a bet he made. It is from here that the real journey begins.Anchorman 2 brings up two

issues in today’s media, the issue of media ownership where you see the owner try to censor some “un-favourable” news and 24 hour news channels re-running stories to death and turning rubbish into news. The movie pays homage to the original by referencing some stories and jokes but doesn’t do it that it feels like they took a cop out when writing the story. It’s perhaps not AS quotable as the first but there are still a lot of gems in there. The only fault I can find with this sequel is that they perhaps ruined Brick. When he talks he doesn’t make much sense and they’ve really just exaggerated the character from the original. There is an array of high profile cameos which you don’t expect and they’re put in at just the right time.It’s almost 10 years since the original was released and you get the feeling they waited just the right amount of time to build the hype and get the right script so they didn’t ruin the first movie which is quickly becoming a classic. If you loved the first Anchorman, you won’t be disappointed with the

sequel.

This film instils a fear of growing old, a fear that life might not go the way we want it to, a fear of

dying with regrets.

Cert: 15Release Date: Running time: 115 minutes

Katie Morris

Cert: 16Release Date: 18th DecemberRunning time: 1minutes

It’s almost 10 years since the orig-inal was released and you get the feeling they waited just the right

amount of time

Robbie Purcell

MUSIC REVIEWS

Beyonce’s surprise album was released literally overnight without warning. The sales hit the roof as everyone wanted to hear her new sounds. The LP is projected to sell around 600,000 copies this week, putting it at the top of the Billboard 200 charts based on just four days’ worth of sales.Critics are excited for the stars unannounced return to recording, which arrived amid speculation that she could just be releasing a single or two before the end of the year, let alone a full album.The 14-song collection features “Drunk In Love,” a new collaboration with husband Jay Z; “Mine,” featuring Drake; Superpower, with her “I Miss You” collaborator Frank Ocean; and “Blue,” a song with her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. “XO,” long rumored to be a single from the singer’s new album, also appears on the track list.Every song on the album has also been given a video, all of which are available on iTunes; “Grown Wom-an,” a promotional cut that Beyonce performed during her Mrs. Carter world tour this year, appears as a bonus video, but did not make the album’s track list. “Standing on the Sun,” penned by Sia and featured in a H&M ad, is nowhere to be found.

In the video for ‘blue’ never mind Beyonce. Fast forward to 4:10 to see the star of the show: Blue Ivy Cart-er, dancing around in a white dress, laughing, smiling and hugging her mom. Whether you’re a mother or someone who doesn’t have a mater-nal instinct in your body, this video is too cute not to grin at. Home videos and kid photos are shown all the time in everyday life so in that sense, the video is nothing new. But Blue Ivy looks like one little bundle of fun, and considering the (reasonable) privacy Jay Z and Beyonce have with showing off their child this video is a welcome surprise. Most of the video shows other people’s children and originally may make fans think Blue Ivy will just be in silhouette until she shows up looking dead at the camera. This is an adorable Beyonce tribute to her daughter that is sure to be appreciat-ed when she grows up. It’s clear from the start that Be-yoncé is a different album on many levels, but, at the end of the day, all of the external aspects, including the videos, don’t mean anything if the music isn’t any good. Outside of any residual “do’s and don’t’s” from her last studio album, 4, released in 2011, there were implicitly no real expectations from this unexpected project, and she plays into that in a big way. The self-titled is easily her

most experimental to date, featur-ing unconventional, often elongated alternative R&B tunes that don’t resemble anything on top-40 at the moment, but are conceivable po-tential hits. She pulls it off with such poise, charisma, and confidence that, even after the first listen, you can’t help but be floored by its quality. Un-like the hyped and heavily promoted albums from the likes of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé is far less a compi-lation of individual songs than an in-tricate, cohesive collection of music. She still exemplifies her range and diversity as an artist, but it all comes together so flawlessly that this feels like a well thought-out studio album, which is, unfortunately, a rare occur-rence these days. Thus, it’s almost impossible to comprehend the album on a track-by-track basis.This compilation of music videos plus songs is exciting and fun and worth the surprise release. The beauty of the self-titled “Beyonce” album is songs that may have not been inter-esting initially sound better because of the videos and vice versa. And some songs and videos just stand on their own. This grown woman did her thing. “Beyonce” is worth the iTunes purchase

Beyonce - Beyonce

REVIEWSTwoTechPagesSperm botsScientists at the Institute for Integrative Nanosciences in Dresden, Germany, have created “the first sperm-based biobots”—a cybernetic micro-organism made of metal and a bull’s sperm cell that can be remote controlled and used to impregnate an egg or deliver a drug to a target anywhere inside your body.

The spermbot was created using a 50-micron-long microtube, which was used to capture the sperm cell, leaving its flagellum—the tail that propels the sperm—outside. Then they used a magnetic field to control the direction of the metal tube, pointing the sperm into any the bearing they wanted.

According to the research leader, Oliver Schmidt,

“sperm cells are an attractive option because they are harmless to the human body, do not require an ex-ternal power source, and can swim through viscous liquids.” Sounds gross, but it’s quite clever.

Google Chrome bookThe new year could be the year that Google’s Chromebook platform gains real traction, according to research from Digitimes. Chromebooks are light, inexpensive notebooks built for online computing. These small laptops have just 16GB of internal stor-age and connect to the Google Drive, where you can store your videos, music and pictures. Chromebooks are neither powerful nor meant for intensive use (es-pecially gaming) but instead offer you a convenient way to access your information on the cloud. You do need an internet connection for cloud computing,

but Google is making both their operating system and Chromebooks more offline friendly. When you find yourself offline, Gmail, Google Docs and other apps will save your progress then automatically sync your files and update your system next time you have a connection.

Best compact camera – Fujifilm X100SAt just shy of €1,000, Fujifilm’s successor to 2011’s well-received X100 is hardly on a par with cheap-er compact cameras. But then that’s really not the point. Get past the beautiful looks, which really got gadget fans cooing, and you find a camera that takes seriously impressive pictures.

Boosted autofocus smarts, resolution improved by 25% and noise reduced by 30% mean that images taken with this stunning snapper look sensational.

This months tech page involves crazy bull sperm, 2014 being the year of the google chrome book and plenty more geek fun.

TwoTechPages

Top 5 APPS This Month TOP 5 GAMES THIS

MONTH1. GTA V - One of the most anticipated games of the year, and is living up to the hype it created. At number 1 again.

2. Call of Duty, Ghosts - written by the writer of the film Traffic, COD is quieter than its predecessors. Like Fifa COD will be popular because of the brand and will be one of the most popular shooter games yet.

3. The Crew - This is a game that turns the USA into one giant racing circut. Basically a faster bigger game than Need for Speed.

4. Supermario 3D world - The firts multiplayer 3d mario game with each character have a unique abilities in a colourful enviornment.

5. Assasins creed 4 - Arguea-bly the best game in the franchise, A sea based incredable game.

1. Snapchat is one of the most popular apps at the minute. You snap a picture or video, add a caption and send it to your friends - but seconds later it is gone forever. It is edgey and original, but is the snap-chat craze here to stay or just a phase?

2. Spotify has been out a while but is getting more popular again due to it now being free on mobile phones.

3. The journal is number 3 this month and we are glad to see that people are interested in news. This app is better than other news apps and easier to use. It is simple and always keeps us interested with some quirky articles thrown in.

4. Dumb ways to die app has finally arrived on andriod and this must have game is simple yet addictive. There are 15 different puzzile in this game and the objective is not to die.

5. Instagram is in the top 5 this month. The new update will let people send pictures to just one person at a time. In competition with snapchat, but will remain more popular than any other photo app.

Out of a tight pack of competitors, Fujifilm emerges as our clear favourite.

Best TV – Sony Bravia KDL-55W905ASony set new LCD picture standards in 2012 with its HX853 series, and it has done the same again this year with the 55W905A. The killer trick of this outstanding new TV is its Triluminos colour system, which delivers a much wider and more nuanced col-our range than we’ve seen on an LCD TV before.

The set’s contrast and sharpness are both outstand-ing too, its audio system is one of the best we’ve heard and its online services include plenty of video streaming options.

Best tech toy – Lego Mindstorms EV3Lego remains the most amazing toy on the planet. But playing with its Star Wars kit is difficult to justify when you’ve got a beard and are suffering from male pattern baldness. Step forward Mindstorms EV3, Lego’s amazing robot, which combines the compa-ny’s traditional plastic building blocks with robot-ic technology. Basically, it’s a chance to build and programme your own robot, with various models to choose from. Make it walk and talk or just download the dedicated app for iOS and Android and set it any task imaginable.

THE GENUINE ARTICLE

Last week we witness the revealing of the statue/sundial monument thingy on the field. Taoiseach Enda Kenny was present and a memorial book was also unvealed.

We are still not certain what the statue/sundial monument thingy is. The previ-ous suggestions that it was to be a statue of our security gaurd, Redmond Quigley were false. As were the rumours it was a dig to China or statue of Griffith presi-dent Diarmuid Hegarty.

At the ceremony free wine and food was handed out to staff and students as well as important looking men in suits. The money spent on this has cleared out Artuhrs bar and there will be no wine served for the rest of the year. Luckily there will still be food served but Arthurs card vouchers are now deemed invalid because all of the money is gone.

Griffith’s money situation was also hit by paying for Mr Kenny to be air dropped into the auditorium because he ‘wanted to make an entrance’. Once he was seated in the golden chair he insisted on having, the ceremony began. After an extremely long speech - where he name dropped the likes of Obama and David Cameron the crowd were forced outside.

It is believed that the red sheet that was covering the statue/sundial monument thingy cost more than studying for 10 years in Griffith. This extravagant spend-ing of course is to better the campus with pretty white squares of concrete with things sticking out of them. The giant pencil will of course be on our campus for many years to come and will go down in history as a reminder of the year Grififth spent all of the money on a huge stick.

By Ben Dover

Griffith college statue/sundial monument thingy clears Arthurs out of wine - the horror!

Entire Griffith budget spent on statue/sundial

NEWS IN BRIEFS

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

MargaretTracey

Occupation: Griffith cleaner/superwoman/tea connoisseur

Hobbies: collecting furniture polish, painting her sitting room brown and bleedin cream

Likes: Cleaning the SU because the staff are bleedin deadly

Dislikes: Cleaning anywhere else that is not the SU

Interesting fact: Margaret used to be president of Griffith college

Greatest ambition: To marry Sean Alari and move to Italy with him

The contents of this section are satirical and may offend. The views expressed do no represent the views of the SU.

Griffith’s money situation was also hit by paying for Mr Kenny to be air dropped into the auditorium because he ‘wanted to make an entrance’. Once he was seated in the golden chair he insisted on having, the ceremony began. After an extremely long speech - where he name dropped the likes of Obama and David Cameron the crowd were forced outside.

It is believed that the red sheet that was covering the statue/sundial monument thingy cost more than studying for 10 years in Griffith. This extravagant spend-ing of course is to better the campus with pretty white squares of concrete with things sticking out of them. The giant pencil will of course be on our campus for many years to come and will go down in history as a reminder of the year Grififth spent all of the money on a huge stick.

Enda Kenny was not allowed play pool in the SU due to lack of student card

Beer pong champions, los presidentes loose a second tournament - say they will be back for revenge in the new year

Spar sells out of red bull and other energy drinks as the final assignments are due in

Christmas party a massive success as special guest, Santa Claus, shows up

Students start a protest to keep the SU open over Christmas in fear they will miss the SU staff too much

The genuine article is looking for a new contributor.

If you think you have what it takes to write what the people want to hear then please send your details to bendover@hotass.com or su.president@gcd.ie

IMPRESS ME.