An eerie looking video by Mike Kacperski, showing photos of places around Dublin (and in Wicklow) in a time lapse. A bit too much color for my taste, but atmospheric nonetheless.

PLACES AROUND DUBLIN from Mike Kacperski on Vimeo.

Just a quick idea if you are going out tonight, and a free one on top. Rock Candy!

Back once again, with “something to get your teeth into” taking place in both Shebeen Chic and Sweeney’s Bar in city centre!

Friday the 19th November

2 Venues
5 Stages
20 Live Acts
All for FREE!

You’ll find more info and a complete line-up over at their Facebook-page.

A good thing, and maybe someone wants to send the IMF-representatives there to show them there’s still life and culture and art in this insolvent country, despite all gloom…

Last week, the good guys from Simply Zesty had invited me to attend the launch of the next stage of Vodafone’s World of Difference initiative, but I could however not make it. I do however like to provide some information about this programme (which I really think is an initiative that’s worth supporting, never minding the brand that’s behind it). What you do is basically donate yourself instead of money. Here’s a statement from the official press release:

Vodafone Ireland Foundation’s World of Difference programme is offering 30 people the opportunity to take a 3-month paid placement with an Irish charity of their choice. This is the chance to donate more than money; it’s the chance to donate yourself.

The programme opens for entries today and the winners will take up their position with their chosen charity next February. Interested applicants are encouraged to find a charity that they want to work with, agree on a position they can fulfil and then apply online at www.vodafone.ie/foundation or the ‘World of Difference’ Facebook site. Likewise, charities are advised to find their own applicants for the programme if they have a specific project in mind but just need the right person. Charities can even seek like-minded souls and advertise for suitable applicants on the Facebook site to find their perfect match.

So if you really want to support and help a charity (and got 3 months to spare), why not think about applying? You’ll find all details over on their website, and you can apply until November 21st.

Here’s also a short video, showing what I missed on the night of the launch and featuring some tips from a successful applicant for the programme:

If you are up for entertainment that has nothing to do with people dressing up as sl**ty nurses or Dracula this weekend, maybe you should visit this year’s edition of the Darklight Festival.

Welcome to Darklight, Ireland’s premier festival celebrating independent, DIY and artist films. Now in its eleventh year, Darklight 2010 promises to be an exciting weekend of film, animation, art, music and workshops. It began in 1999, as an opportunity for artists and filmmakers to share their work and experiment with new technologies and has emerged as one of the most important art events of the year.

This year, the festival motto is “The Heroes Edition”, as the festival planners asked contributors of the past festivals to invite their personal heroes to come and exhibit & perform at the festival. After the launch tonight, the festival takes place in various venues like IFI, Filmbase or the Grand Social over the next three days.

We in Dublin had our fair share of festivals this year already – the Dublin Writer’s Festival, the Dublin Soul Festival and the Latin America Festival to just name a few – but we’re not done yet. Which is a fact I very much appreciate. So, without further ado, here are my favourite festival picks for the upcoming months:

Image by Absolut Fringe

Phizzfest (09. – 12.09.) – The Phibsborough Arts Festival has its premiere this year. This promises a fantastic opportunity to explore this touristically underdeveloped working-class neighbourhood from a different perspective. Also is Anne Enright reading at the festival and I live here, so there are two things that speak for the festival

Absolut Fringe (11. – 26.09.) – This year’s edition of dublin’s own Fringe Fest seems even more packed with great events and artist then last year. I’m especially looking forward to the Icelandic Music Weekend with my friends FM Belfast.

Arthur’s Day (23.09.) – This may come as a surprise for some, but after the success of last year’s worldwide Arthur’s Day the Guinness Brewery decided to have a ball on this special day again this year. And the line-up is nothing else than fantastic.

Hard Working Class Heroes 2010 (07. – 09.10.) – In my opinion the HWCH is Dublin’s most likeable music festival. Battalions of bands and musicians will spread out to 7 venues all over town to provide a showcase of what’s hot in the Irish scene at the moment. Don’t miss it.

In case you are still looking for something to do this weekend, and feel the need to spice up the Irish version of the season otherwise know as “Summer” with some tango-rythms, salsa-sounds and spicy food, maybe the first festival launched by the Latin American Native Community in Ireland (or LANCI for short) is worth a visit:

2010 is the bi-centenary of the independence of Latin America. LANCI is launching a new festival to commemorate and celebrate this year . This will incorporate the 8th International Tango Festival.

The LANCI Festival aims to give international recognition to the varied cultures of Latin American Countries. This Latin American Festival offers a variety of artistic and traditional presentations including music, and dance in the form of salsa, samba and tango, traditional foods and film, photographs and paintings from Latin American artists.

This is the first time that a festival of this kind is being held in Dublin. A cosmopolitan city like Dublin guarantees that this type of event will be a success.

You will find the full programme on the festival-website, and I’m especially lookign forward to the Latin American fair or “feria” in Temple Bar on Sunday.

Avatar Days is a pretty neat short movie about online gamers living in Dublin – only that they swapped places with their online-avatars here.

Originally created for the Darklight Festival’s ’4 Day Movie’ project, Avatar Days is a portrait of four online gamers in Dublin whose daily lives contrast with their virtual identities. Advanced 3D technologies and Motion Capture animation were used to insert the players’ in-game characters in place of their real selves against the backdrop of the banal urban landscape which they inhabit.

Avatar Days from Piranha Bar on Vimeo.

Remember the friendly guys from Friend?, one of the first bands we featured in the Discovered in Dublin-series? The 5-piece has intensively toured in the last year, and has also secured a deal with local label Eleven:Eleven. And they are playing in Whelan’s this week. On Thursday, to be more precise. Together with two other Alternative/Rock bands from the North, Kasper Rosa and Axis Of.

So, if you are interested in getting a glimpse of the next generation of Irish alternative hopes from both sides of the border, why not head to Wexford Street on Wednesday – even to celebrate the German win over Spain after the game on Wednesday. To whet your appetite, here are Axis OF with the video for their new single “Port Na Spaniagh”:

Here’s a nice video (with a Johnny Cash-soundtrack, as in Dawn of the Dead) from this year’s Dublin Zombie Walk in aid of the Irish Cancer Society. Freshly animated zombies though, not much decay to be seen