Brian O’Neill – Page 87 – Slugger O'Toole

U2 release their short film set in Belfast. Kevin and Sadie with safety pins…

Brian O'Neill on February 16, 2015, 10:36 am

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U2 has released their short film “Every Breaking Wave” – Directed by Aoife McArdle. . The film is set in Belfast during the early eighties and tells the cross community love story of two punks. The film throws every troubles cliché into the mix, paramilitary dad – check, squaddies beating up punk – check, you get the idea. The film has not gone down well with some locals. Many people do not like it’s negative portrayal of Belfast, they prefer people concentrate on …

Kim Jong Paisley – Photos of the every other day

Brian O'Neill on February 12, 2015, 4:37 pm

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Remember the Paisley icon posters? Well the local artist TLO is at it again. This time its a mash up of Kim Jong-un and Ian Paisley Jr. The artist says: I’m interested in how people read and respond to the image. A woman in the holylands asked me who was missing? She thought the poster was of a real missing person. Lots of the posters have been defaced or removed. A large number remain in Antrim, Ballymena, Ballycastle and Belfast. There …

Photo of the every other day – great balls of fire…

Brian O'Neill on February 9, 2015, 5:50 pm

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Photo by David McDonald, taken February 7, 2015 The Rise sculpture at sunset, Broadway Roundabout Belfast. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.

Caption competition…

Brian O'Neill on February 3, 2015, 8:48 pm

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Gavin Robinson, Nichola Mallon and Máirtín Ó Muilleoir at 3 mayors event in Fitzroy Pres. Church. Part of the 4 corners festival (4cornersfestival.com) Be nice 🙂 Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a …

New York Times: 36 hours in Belfast

Brian O'Neill on January 29, 2015, 10:44 am

| Readers 2189

The New York Times have created a rather snazzy travel video of Belfast. It makes Belfast look REALLY good. I would want to visit and I live in Belfast. I know we complain a lot, and God knows we have a lot to complain about. But sometimes it takes outsiders to show us what we have. The video is currently the second most popular on the New York Times website. The branding value of such a video is worth hundreds of thousands …

Stranmillis launch their Spring Lifelong Learning programme

Brian O'Neill on January 27, 2015, 3:16 pm

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One of the benefits of working from home is the possibly of sneaking off to the cinema etc. when things are quiet. Each year I am also tempted to do some of the lifelong learning courses at Queens or Stranmillis. Unfortunately reality gets in the way and I seldom make it away from my digital shackles. If you have some free time the courses are really worth a look. Are you running night/lifelong learning classes? Feel free to plug them in …

Michael Mansfield QC to deliver the first Gerry Conlon Memorial lecture this Friday on the theme of “Democratic Bankruptcy”

Brian O'Neill on January 20, 2015, 3:48 pm

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An annual memorial lecture has been established by SDLP West Belfast to mark the memory of Gerry Conlon who died last year. The first lecture is this Friday 23rd January 2015 at 7pm in St. Mary’s University, Falls Road, Belfast. The “Democratic Bankruptcy” lecture will be delivered by Michael Mansfield QC, who worked on the Guilford case and is currently working on the Hillsborough inquests. There will be a panel afterwards with Patrick Corrigan from Amnesty International and Paddy Hill, …

How much are you worth? The new University of Ulster Vice Chancellor gets a £250,000 salary.

Brian O'Neill on January 12, 2015, 11:07 am

| Readers 1669

I was reading today about how Yahoo ex-Chief Operations Officer Henrique de Castro got a $60 million payoff. Henrique was sacked after being with the company only 15 months. Nice work if you can get it. On the local scene the University of Ulster has just appointed a new Vice Chancellor. Professor Paddy Nixon will get a £250,000 annual salary – £1000 more than the head of Queens, Professor Patrick Johnston. By comparison Birmingham University pay their vice-chancellor £400,000, Cambridge …

Muslim extremists kill 12 people at Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo

Brian O'Neill on January 7, 2015, 2:57 pm

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This story is still developing but what we know so far is at least two masked attackers opened fire with assault rifles at the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. At least one of the dead is a policeman. From the BBC: The gunmen shouted “we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad”, witnesses say. A major police operation is under way in the Paris area to catch the killers. Four of the magazine’s well-known cartoonists, including its editor-in-chief Stephane Charbonnier …

Are some NHS surgeons on a go slow to boost their private work?

Brian O'Neill on January 7, 2015, 1:35 pm

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The NHS is in the headlines once again for all the wrong reasons. Here is a personal anecdote. My uncle has been in hospital for the past six weeks while he waits for a heart operation. He can get up and walk around but he needs to be in a ward for monitoring. As you can imagine he is going stir crazy. One reference puts the bed day cost to the NHS as £255, so that is 47 days x …

So much of the news this year has been hopeless, depressing, and above all, confusing. To which the only response is to say, “oh dear.”

Brian O'Neill on December 31, 2014, 8:08 pm

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The one highlight in the otherwise terrible Christmas TV was Charlie Brooker’s 2014 Wipe. It is well worth a watch. A segment of the show was from the acclaimed documentary maker Adam Curtis. In the piece Curtis explores the idea that our current political apathy and disillusionment with politics is a deliberate strategy by our ruling class to keep us all in the dark while they get on with plundering the wealth of the nation. I don’t normally believe in conspiracy …

The results of our 2015 predictions survey!

Brian O'Neill on December 31, 2014, 1:20 pm

| Readers 1497

More than 270 people filled in the survey over the past day and here are the results: Bad news for big Al but not entirely unexpected. Who will be the new SDLP leader? The favourite is Colum Eastwood, but can he reverse the party’s decline or are they beyond all hope? As Gerry Adams begins his 32nd year as President of Sinn Fein it is no surprise that many think he will hang on for another year. As with …

Get out your crystal balls, and take our 2015 predictions survey…

Brian O'Neill on December 30, 2014, 1:02 pm

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The survey is now closed. You can view the results here… Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.

Merged photos of Belfast old and new…

Brian O'Neill on December 30, 2014, 12:36 pm

| Readers 3516

Someone in The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has been busy with the aul photoshop. They have merged old photos of Belfast with modern views and the results are pretty cool. Whenever I see old photos of Belfast in its Victorian splendour I can’t help thinking it’s been downhill ever since. But I suppose we can console ourselves with indoor plumbing, antibiotics, the internet, Poundland and all the other wonders of the modern era. See all the photos on …

A Belfast Christmas Carol Video

Brian O'Neill on December 22, 2014, 8:47 pm

| Readers 308

I know what your thinking. A video shot in Belfast featuring child actors, how bad can it be? It is actually pretty good and well worth a watch. Well done to Colin Williams and CFC. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any …

Photo of the day – Belfast City Hall at Christmas

Brian O'Neill on December 20, 2014, 12:55 pm

| Readers 201

Photo by Belfast Snapper, Taken on December 18, 2014 Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.

Photo of the day – Ian Paisley Cuckoo Clock

Brian O'Neill on December 17, 2014, 1:31 pm

| Readers 485

One of Anto Brennan’s creations. Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.

Photo of the day – Six Mile Water, County Antrim

Brian O'Neill on December 15, 2014, 3:26 pm

| Readers 288

Photo by billy Mol, taken November 2014 Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.

Photo of the day – brakes!

Brian O'Neill on December 11, 2014, 4:51 pm

| Readers 304

Photo by James Hislop. Taken on May 16, 2014 Dan Kneen fails to control his bike during the Thursday practice session at the NW200 Brian O'NeillManaging Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a …

Traffic Today, Gondola Tomorrow – A proposal for a ski lift between Belfast and Lisburn

Brian O'Neill on December 11, 2014, 10:05 am

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Anthony McNamee is proposing this radical transport idea to ease congestion and make life easier for commuters. The idea is not as crazy as it sounds. There is a 1km Gondola system over the river Thames in London. For over 10 years I drove the road from Newry to Belfast and back, a daily commute of anything up to two hours in each direction. I was there in 2006 and 2007 for the full pain of the M1-widening project, and …