Realist

I have been meaning to publish this post for an age, I really mean an age. A long time ago myself and my dear friend Fionn decided to visit some of Dublin's more quaint cafes to pick some of our favorite and find some new ones.  I attended a poetry slam in The Chocolate Factory a few weeks before getting to Blas, where I heard it was a lovely cafe during the day. Eventually I managed to make the trip.  It's an absolutely beautiful space which seems the ideal place to spend your day drinking coffee and reading books. At the time they were serving 3FE coffee and Wildflour Bakery cakes - a wonderful combination if I say so myself! As I've mentioned it has been a while since I've been so this may have changed.  I remember being vaguely disappointed with the service but the space is so wonderful that I almost instantly forgot about it. As you can see from the photos below, its bright and brilliant.  Blas Cafe is located off Parnell Street around t...

I think a bit of slam poetry is overdue at this point. Here is Sarah Kay, a longtime personal favourite of mine accompanied by Phil Kaye tackling the topic of love.  This is a beautiful gesture towards love and more importantly the reality of love - not the conventional movie style romance, but the real kind.  Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye 'When Love Arrives.'

We've all been on a first date where we wonder what to say or if we've said too much. This piece is beautifully performed and expresses all that anxiety we've had at some point.  Sabrina Benaim 'First Dates.'

Disclosure certainly do not need any level of an introduction, after blowing up from their debut album they have returned with their second album, teaming up with some new musicians to produce some incredible sounds. They have released a video for Magnets which they have teamed up with Lorde to produce. Lorde is undoubtedly an incredibly talented girl who has a unique sound. Disclosure and Lorde are truthfully a match made in heaven. 

I'm a huge fan of Style Like U and everything they are doing at the minute. Their current 'What's Underneath It Project,' I think is really extraordinary and wonderful.  Lea DeLaria from Orange Is The New Black is being interviewed in this particular episode where she talks about her personal experiences as a lesbian, gender issues, bodily issues, her career and much much more. She has such a wonderful, open and honest insight on these issues. Personally, I found it remarkable how honest she is in all of these stories, including her homophobic attack - truly inspiring. 

Rudimental have been around the block for a while and I've been a fan from the get go. I'm not sure what you would categorize Rudimental as, genre wise, but they wouldn't be my usual. When I saw the video for 'Waiting All Night' I was so inspired to see popular music with a fresh video about something a bit more real, rather than girls dancing at a club.  Their latest release 'Rumour Mill' I've been listening to non-stop and really enjoying it. Also I really love the video for this, I'm not sure if it's the simplicity or the black and white - probably both.    Rudimental feat. Anne-Marie and Will Heard - Rumour Mill

I will put my hand up honestly and say 'been there done that' to Tinder. Overall I think it's an experience everyone should have at some point, there are a lot of benefits to it. Like meeting new people, boosting your confidence, improving your dating game and maybe a little romance - if you're lucky (I mean if you're VERY lucky).  However, as interesting as it was as an experience you can't help but wonder what are the consequences of online dating becoming so normal? On the one hand more people are using it and getting out there. On the other hand, it's making social interactions in a romantic sense scarce in the real world.  This very short film (would you call it a film?) shows a young guy trying to get a date offline.  What is interesting is how he struggles at first to strike up conversations, instead he walks up and says things like "would you go for a drink with me?" which isn't insulting but perhaps a little creepy o...