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Been busy lately… going to be even busier over the next two weeks, as we launch Emerald Radio – our college’s 1 week long Internet-only radio station, which I’m manager of – and the reason why I recently created a 15 minute documentary programme on the Irish language (thanks, Orlagh!).

If you’re interested, the station broadcasts to the world for limited hours daily from March 8th to 12th. More info will be on the web site (which I’m responsible for).

On a slightly unrelated note, here’s Thin Lizzy with “Emerald”:

During my two weeks in i105-107 (I was there for a week of college work experience, but stayed longer out of choice), I was working on news – this involved writing copy, doing interviews (including Eddie Hobbes!) & editing down clips from them, doing vox-pops and putting packages together (including voicing them). They liked the packages well enough to actually air them during the main (12.45pm) iWitness news bulletin… which was nice

Here’s some of them:

“Brief History of Willie O’Dea” package for iWitness News by niallok

“Love is…” package for iWitness News by niallok

I spent the last week helping out down in i105-107 as part of my work experience for college. I didn’t really need to do it as I’ve had about 10 weeks experience working in radio stations since September (we’re only required to do 2 for the course) but I reckon the more I get – the better, and… well, I just plain like it there – t’is a great little station, so it is.

The highlights of the week for me included:

Singing and busking in the Big Busk-Off with the “iDrive with Nadia & Phil” team in the Bridge Centre, Tullamore. We were up against “Breakfast with Bernard & Keith”. I played the drums (a.k.a. the empty water cooler bottle). Highlights of our performance included Valerie, Fields of Athenry and Hit Me Baby One More Time. Yes. The crowd loved us. Got plenty of hugs and gave out “Hugs & Handshakes” vouchers while there. Bernard & Keith still won. Foul play was suspected. Great craic, all the same

Tonight is the night that the Christmas FM crew finally get a chance to have a get-together and enjoy themselves after “bringing the magic of Christmas” to Dublin and Cork for a month. I’ll be there, as I featured on the station, reading Christmas Stories on Keith Shanley’s Breakfast Show (along with my college classmate and friend Suzanne Scollard) and presenting a show on Christmas morning itself.

The station, which broadcast from the D4 Hotel in Ballsbridge, managed to raise a whopping €70,000 for their most Christmassy of chosen charities, the Simon Communities of Dublin and Cork – an incredible achievement – while helping bring a bit of Christmas spirit and joy to it’s many listeners.

Here’s a brief documentary video (by Jen) about the station, that even features me…

Three hours ago, I suggested a meme on twitter (where I’m @niallok by the way!) based on renaming movies in an Irish-y way. I called it “Movies Made Irish” and it involved taking a word out of the movie name and replacing it with an Irish place or town name with presumably hilarious consequences (you know?… like… “Raiders of the Lost Arklow” and so on).

I even proposed a hashtag for it (”#moviesmadeirish“) – yeah it won’t start trending or anything, but it helps to keep track of it and it grew quickly enough, evolving beyond just town names, with Irish-isms, symbols of Irish life and other silly mutations being thrown in.

Here’s some of the best ones (with town/place names):

Freddie Got Finglas’d, Castle-knocked Up, Lord of the Ringaskiddys, ET: The Extra Killesterial, Raiders of the Lost Arklow, Bray-Fart, Meath Myself and Irene, Dublin Indemnity, Dublin Your Money, When Harry Met Sally Gap, Romancing the Blarney Stone, Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Ennis, Die Another Bray, Jurassic Cark, Crocodile Ardee, Bridget Jonesboro’s Diary, Naas/Off, The Ring (Of Kerry), Finding Nemo Rangers, Kimmage Mutant Ninja Turtles OR Teenage Mutant Nenagh Turtles, East Wall-E, Armagh-geddon, Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones (Co. Monaghan), The Belfast and the Furious, The Fast & The Firhouse, An Offaly Big Adventure, The Killiney Fields, Schindler’s Lisdoonvarna, The Grapes of Bunratty, Dundrumdog Millionaire, Killaloe Framed Roger Rabbit, The Shawshankhill Redemption, D4 Confidential, Rush & Lusk Hour 2, Indiana Jones and the Templeogue of Doom, From Lusk ‘Til Dawn, Fantastic Mister Foxrock, Silence of the Lamb Doyle’s, Men in Blackrock, The Witches of East-Link, Derry Maguire, Marino Royale, Munster Vs Aliens, The Men Who Stare at Goatstown, Kiss Kiss Bang Bangor, How the Newcastlewest Was Won, The Replacement Killashandras, Alvin and the Leixlipmonks, Ringsend of Days, Das Booterstown, Carlito’s Bray, Macroom with a View, The Rock (Of Cashel), Mulhuddart Drive, Stand By Meath, Bridge on the River Moy, Munsters Inc., The Order of the Phoenix Park, The Spy Who Came In From The Coldcut Road, Sleepless in Stoneybatter, Lucan for Eric, Looking for Errigle, Malahide and Seek, A Cork-Work Orange, Singing in the Slane/Singing in the Slaney, Some Like It Howth, Dead Man Walkinstown, Glendalough, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Lost in Naas

And then there’s the ones that don’t mention town names but are still funny…

Apocalypse Cowen, Three Blokes and a Chissler, Sophie’s Joyce, The Mammy, The Mammy returns & The Mammy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Feckless (Clueless), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Rode Me, Ó Deartháir Cá Bhfuil Tú?, The Begrudge, Silence of the Shams, Twelve Angry Dublin Bus Passengers, The Sisterhood of the Traveller’s Pants, Irish Dancing With Wolves, Diddley-die Hard, The Breakfast Roll Club, Snakes on a Pint of Plain, Foot Luas, Macauley Culkin …in “Free Gaff I & II”, A-Wolfe-Tonement, Ghost in the Shell Garage, Sherlock Gaffs, Saving Private Ryanair

It’s still going on as I type… thanks to @duggan, @psneeze, @clearskies, @lecraic, @ByGina, @sharononeill, @calumvs, @garthicus, @GSheehy, @KeavyL, @nonsequitir, dartacus, @Mojo_Marty, pluincee, EvilPhil, sintaxasn, @gerrymulvenna, @dermdaly, @Azrael1, @cianm, @feylya and @sineadkeogh to name but a few for taking part… it kept me entertained (and kept me from working on a college assignment, lol!) – I was following a lot of you already, and am now following a bunch of you for the first time!