The Sigla Blog

Am very excited about seeing the new Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield. I spent many an afternoon in its predecessor on Abbey Street, and saw my first films by Jim Jarmusch, Pedro Almodovar, Atom Egoyan, Krzysztof Kieslowski (the Three Colours trilogy) and so many great directors. The Screen Cinema on D’Olier Street could always be relied […]

While writing an article about the many legged music and culture machine that is Ladyfest Cork, I discovered several fantastic bands were on the line-up. Some I already know and am fond of - Janey Mac, Party Weirdo, Queen Kong, You’re Only Massive - but two in particular have really grabbed me, both all […]

If you can’t actually get around to reading all your old hardback books, here are a couple of suggestions. Via Curbly, a video tutorial on how to make this bag:

Or, via a Design Files interview with Australian book sculptor Nicolas Jones (more images via the link, something a bit trickier.

The Arts Show on RTE Radio 1 has been on a roll this past week. On Monday there was an interview with Junot Diaz about his new book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao . I can’t remember the last time a book was so hyped in the US before hitting these shores, […]

“Why are there no great female painters?”

Apparently all will be revealed in this Sunday’s Observer. Now, while I don’t expect the critics the paper polled to mention Mainie Jellett, Norah McGuinness or most of these women, surely Frida Kahlo would be considered a great female painter?
Experts will providing answers to that and questions like “What […]

Annette recently confessed that she’s addicted to Smith Magazine’s Six Word Memoirs, and challenges people to come up their life manifesto in the same amount of words.
I’ve posted before about Six Word Short Stories, and both the idea of summing up a person or a narrative in six words reminds me of something I read […]

Above is The Empire Strikes Back, as portrayed in Russian folk art. I also love the War of the Worlds one, The Matrix and Terminator. Some I can’t even figure out, but they’re adorable. My favourite is Spiderman. The full gallery is here:
Thanks to Martin.

Oh my god, Naughty by Nature are coming to Ireland! They play Tripod on March 6th. I wore this record out at parties over the years. Classic hip hop. Enjoy.

This weekend I’m chuffed to be heading off on a writer’s weekend. First a confession: I can’t decide if I’m more excited about the idea of writing or the thought of uninterrupted night-time sleep. Myself a a couple of other reluctant scribes are heading off together to do some mutual arse-kicking and get writing. This […]

“Writing, writers, do not come out of houses without books.”
On Friday, Doris Lessing finally received her Nobel Prize for Literature. Unable to attend the ceremony in Stockholm due to ill health, she pre-recorded her acceptance speech. Most winners understandably use such a high profile speech as a platform, and Lessing’s broached a wide range of […]

After Mike Murphy’s afternoon Arts Show, then Rattlebag, followed by The Eleventh Hour, the latest installment in RTE’s Arts review coverage - after last year’s upheaval - starts tonight at 8pm on Radio 1. The Arts Show, presented by Vincent Woods will not have to face scheduling hell and the graveyard shift that its immediate […]

Shakespeare’s finest dramaturgical device is perhaps the play within a play, and while Radio Macbeth sticks textually to the Bard’s every word, there is much more than “The Scottish playâ€? unfolding on stage. A cast of radio-era actors, clad in 1930s costumes, gather to rehearse Macbeth. What begins as an informal run-through, quickly becomes an […]