I’ve gotten into a fairly unhealthy sleep pattern cycle that I really have to break – especially at the weekends, when I work in a bar and generally get home at around 2am. Once a week (Sundays, usually), I’ll stop off at the chipper and get a fresh cod and curry chips… probably a bad idea too, if I’m honest- health-wise certainly,- although I convinced myself recently that once a week is okay. I meant to make a new year’s resolution to cut down on it (or cut it out entirely) and get more healthy, but that’s easier said than done as I like it too bloody much for my own good!

Once home, I’m reluctant to go to sleep and usually watch a bit of TV with the dog for company. When I do eventually go up to the bedroom, I’m too awake to sleep and stay up reading, browsing, chatting, tweeting, facebooking, watching movies – and yes, occasionally, blogging.

Sometimes I have a few drinks while doing this… alone. Bad idea.. I know! – and this goes on until I finally start to feel properly tired – stupid o’clock usually (often after 4 or 5am) – a lot of the time actually in bed with the laptop on a tray on my knees, and I end up not getting up until 1 or 2pm the next day.

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!

Some really big and highly anticipated movies coming out in 2009…

Star Trek, The Watchmen, Wolverine, Angels & Demons, Transformers 2, Sin City 2, … and then there’s THIS:… “Terminator: Salvation” – due to bring to a close the apocalyptic story of cyborgs versus humans, 25 years after it started with “The Terminator” – and this fan-made teaser trailer (which admittedly does include a lot of old footage – but it’s old footage that fits perfectly) has me looking forward to it immensely.

Arnie’s not going to be in T4 and there’s no travelling back in time this time around but (as the Wikipedia article shows) there’s still a pretty strong cast, and the story is pure and simple – the battle for survival in the war with the machines – so I’d still be hopeful that they’ll churn out a quality sequel this time.

“The Voice” has been silenced. Don LaFontaine died on Monday from “complications from pneumothorax, a collapsed lung that causes air to build in the pleural cavity” (youch!).

Don’s name is known by pretty much everyone in the media business – be they presenters, producers voice-over artists, whatever – he’s done 30+ years of voice-over work in the entertainment industry and has been the official voice of Paramount Pictures – one of the most recognisable voices in the business, along with literally thousands of trailers and ads – and he was best known, probably, for his trademark baritone intro “In a world…”

Still don’t know who he is? Watch this:

and then this (ABC News special report)…

I find myself in the all too familiar territory of agreeing entirely with something Twenty Major has said… the Irish blogging scene does feel a little dead at the moment. It’s like we’re in the middle of a lull. A sort of blogging recession, if you will.

Mind you, it’s not like I’m doing much to combat that as my own blog has gone a bit quiet of late… I guess I’ve just not had much to say, really… must work on that. Especially if I’m going to be in with a shout at the 2009 Blog Awards (ha!), which are being held in Cork.

Here’s what Tommy Tiernan thinks of the Cork accent, by the way:

So… um… what’s happening with me ?…

Well, I scored a few goals tonight,- real ones,- playing football down in our local sports & leisure club, before coming home and being beaten 10 – 4 in FIFA ‘08 on the PS3 by my brother. He was Argentina, I was Liverpool (with newly added Robbie Keane ).

Saw The Dark Knight on Saturday in the VIP cinema in “movies @ Swords” and there’s very little I can say about it that hasn’t already been said. It. Was. Awesome.

Not much else going on with me… how are you?