Louth-based alternative fivesome TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN may call to mind a bunch of musical fugitives, but there’s no tracking down a band that mixes Vocoder distortion with banjo strumming.
In the global geopolitical landscape, one story dominated all others in the Noughties: the so-called ‘War on Terror’, which has raged from 2001 until the present day. The 'war' has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives (estimates vary, but even the lowest estimates run to six figures), radicalised huge swathes of the world’s Muslim population and hardened anti-US and anti-Western sentiment throughout the Arab world and beyond.
Back at the start of the decade, when Facebook was in black and white, “social networking” generally revolved around hooking up with some mates in the local. But gradually through the decade, the convergence of mobile phone technology and the internet changed utterly the way in which people relate to one another.
It was a vintage decade for viruses, plagues and general pestilence (I love to cheer you up, dear readers). The Foot and Mouth epidemic, the Ebola virus, the SARS virus, bird flu and now swine flu... Yep, they all prospered in the Noughties.
With a slew of Oscar nominations to its credit, the Irish animation industry is on the crest of a wave. But leading voices in the sector say success has come despite, rather than with the help of, the national broadcaster, RTÉ
Patti Smith and Nick Kent have both penned flawed but nevertheless evocative memoirs, which make you pine for the degenerate rock ‘n’ roll days of yore
