NiallOK’s Blog

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I’ve been listening to classic episodes of the ground-breaking BBC comedy radio show from the 50’s and 60’s, The Goon Show - and, while I’m not old enough to have heard it the first time around, I remembered listening to it back in the early 90’s when it was played again on RTÉ Radio… and I was a huge fan of it (along with Scrap Saturday).

A lot of people don’t seem to realise the absolute importance of a show like this - the Goons (Spike Milligan - the man who looks a lot like my uncle, and who threw himself so much into creating and writing the show, he had a nervous breakdown, Peter Sellers - the man for whom the words ‘versatile comedy genius’ were first strung together, and the literally irrepressible shouty little man, Harry Secombe) having been one of the first and greatest radio comedies of all time (still!) and one of the biggest influences on more modern comedians such as the Monty Python crew, Eddie Izzard and Billy Connolly.

More about the Goons can be read here. Here’s how they ended it… The Last Goon show of all (in a trilogy of five wonderful YouTubey parts), recorded as part of the BBC’s 50th anniversary celebrations:

Read the rest of this entry »

Microsoft have come up with a follow-up to their first Gates & Seinfeld TV ad.

This time the lads are ‘connecting’ with people (by moving into their house and taking over the daughter’s pink bedroom)…

Microsoft’s advertising boffins decided to employ the services of one Jerry Seinfeld (he who is famous for creating a sit-com that was ‘about nothing’) and their ex-CEO and one of the world’s wealthiest men, Bill Gates. Makes sense I suppose,- could see them forming a credible comedy pairing… until I saw the ad they created…

Now, to be fair, this ad is just supposed to “set up the characters” and not specifically meant to be amusing… but it’s hard to see how it advertises anything that’s anything to do with Microsoft (unless they ARE actually going to make our PC’s tastier and chewier…)

There’s more of these to come so I guess, ultimately, time will tell whether this pairing works or not. For now, though, Apple have nothing to worry about. Their ads which are shorter and cleverer, still reign supreme.

Yes… well I mean “shot” in the photographic sense.

Today, a large number of local Gardaí were on hand for photo-shoots and interiviews and to give out a few hundred leaflets in the streets of Swords in Co. Dublin. The reason behind it is their ongoing investigation into the attack which took place in the early hours of last Sunday morning in Jacko Park in the town, during which a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted leaving her with serious head and facial injuries. Crimestoppers are offering a €10,000 reward to track down the culprit - who is aged between 18 and 25 years of age, is 5ft 5ins to 5ft 8ins in height, has dark hair and sallow skin, and was wearing a black baseball cap and a black zipped hoodie at the time. Plenty of media people were present, with newspaper photographers, TV3 reporters and an interviewer from FM104 (the girl in black with the red mic) all there when I was passing.

More info from the Irish times, here. Hopefully something good will come from this and Gardaí will get some solid leads and find the asshole in question. Swords Gardaí can be contacted at 01-666 4700 or via the free Garda Confidential Number 1-800-666-111.