SUSO

Blog/ Four Go To War

Ex-pat kiwis find enemies in old friends.

It is death! It is death!
It is life! It is life!
This is the hairy person
Who caused the sun to shine
Keep abreast! Keep abreast the rank!
Hold fast!
Into the sun that shines!

Translation of 'Ka Mate', The New Zealand All Blacks Haka. 

Passion, skill, pride and tradition - these are the ever-presents in all the biggest and best loved games in the world. When players are willing to fight, bleed and run themselves into the ground for the cause and fans turn out in cold winter rain to support the teams that represent them, that is when amazing things happen and remarkable stories unfold.

In November, 1978, Munster became the first Irish rugby team, provincial or national, to ever beat the mighty New Zealand All Blacks. 30 years on and the two sides met again to commemorate that famous day. Times change, and the 2008 Munster side that took to the field had 4 kiwis of their own, poised, emotional and baying to take on the countrymen that stood before them. Rumours were abound that the Munster Four had something up their sleeve. A private welcoming party of sorts.

The crowd rose to their feet as the brooding All Blacks milled around and found their places. The customary pre-haka silence was absent from Thomond Park. They new something was up. The All Blacks took position, but it was the ex-pats that would make the first move...

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Categories Sport Tags Sport Team

By Moscow on 26/11/08

Bloc Weekend 2009

The UK's premier celebration of underground electronic music has a new home for 2009.

Last year we were at Pontins in Norfolk. This year, though, it’s different. We’re talking luxury. Real luxury. Think clean bed sheets, hot water and a fridge. Think central heating that works. Yes, in 2009, Bloc Weekend is moving to Butlins.

In all seriousness, it does look like a marked improvement on Pontins, which, in the dank grey grip of a March weekend, and with barbed wire perimeters, resembled an army barracks or prison more than it did a popular UK holiday destination (see below). It didn’t matter of course. With that kind of music on offer (see Karl Bartos, once of Kraftwerk, above), nothing could spoil the party.

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Categories Music Tags Bloc Weekend Music Festivals

By on 25/11/08

70,200 Samples In 33 Seconds

Johannes Kreidler’s amusing performance reveals the antiquated nature of the music industry’s model.

Who’s bored of talking about music in the digital age, about file sharing, copyright and prehistoric business models? Fed up of talking, Johannes Kreidler, musician and performance artist, did something about it instead.

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Categories Art Culture Music Tags Music Art Music Industry

By on 17/11/08

The Conversation

"They are like two boxers. They know something, between them, that no one else knows.” Jon Voight.

It hit me during the summer. I hadn’t seen Heat for at least a couple of years, I definitely didn’t own it on DVD and with Amazon’s one-click buying mechanism, I realised I could be achieving a full-frontal Michael Mann onslaught, in my living room, within a matter of days. What a prospect. I even bought the limited edition version.

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Categories Film Tags Film Mann

By Moscow on 12/11/08

The Fear Of Creativity

Check out Tim Brown’s talk on creating creative environments for creative people to live and work creatively.

Some companies get the whole ‘funky’ thing wrong and workplaces can start to look like the set of Rugrats. Tim’s argument, though, isn’t necessarily centred around wacky pink beanbags and ‘chill-out zones.’ It’s basically about fun. Fun leads to friendship, friendship leads to play, play leads to creativity. Not as foreboding an equation as Master Yoda’s, but no less accurate.

 

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Categories Design Fun Tags Ted Design

By Moscow on 7/11/08

Even Better To Share

The people have spoken, but will it stick?

The Gum Election is a guerilla art project that started in New York last month. The result? A lot less gum on city streets, a campaign that can be emailed around the world in seconds and some prescient people that spoke with there slobber and got there wish. Genius.

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Categories Culture Design Politics SUSO Tags Politics Election

By Moscow on 5/11/08