Oisín McGann's Blog
Wondering Aloud

Here’s news of an event any reader of this blog – or someone they know – might be interested in . . .

Does your child or teen love books and talking about books? Then this is the event for you – a fantastic literary lunch for young readers, with an author or illustrator at every table!
Fifteen authors will host fifteen different tables, and one of those tables has your name on it (don’t worry, you’ll get to meet all the authors!).

Meet and chat to Kate di Camillo and a host of other authors and illustrators:

Sarah Webb
Niamh Sharkey
P J Lynch
Gordon Snell
Mary Murphy
Kevin Waldron
Chris Haughton
Tommy Donbavand
Michael Emberley
Judi Curtin
Joe O’Brien
Don Conroy
Marita Conlon McKenna
Sarah Rees Brennan
Claire Hennessy
and last but certainly not least . . . me!

Every young reader will go home with a goody bag and there will be a bookshop on site to buy signed copies of all the authors’ books.

The event is sponsored by Walker Books, to celebrate their 30th birthday.

Time: 12 to 3.15
Venue: Royal St George Yacht Club, Seafront, Dun Laoghaire
Cost: e15 children   e20 adults
Recommended age: 9+
(Children under 9 must be accompanied by an adult.)
Tickets are strictly limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Booking: 01 2312929 or book online at  www.mountainstosea.ie

I don’t know if I’d qualify as a real petrol-head – on what most writers or illustrators earn, buying a car is a rare pleasure. But I definitely love driving, and I always grab at the chance to try a car I’ve never driven before. It’s not the speed I’m into – although that can be fun too. It’s the whole thing: controlling the car, learning about the engineering and design, seeing how the whole system of driving works out on the roads, where we all have to take responsibility for ourselves, and how we relate to each other when we’re driving. It’s easy to see how people can get obsessed with cars.

I got to experience a different side of it recently, when I went on an off-road driving course in Oldcastle. This is basically the skill of driving where cars just aren’t meant to go. Having driven my car up various rough mountain roads on my way to the start of a hillwalk, I can appreciate the skill it takes to go off-road altogether. And this was great craic.

I was surprised at just how slow you have to go – a lot of the time, you don’t use the accelerator at all, just letting the jeep roll forward (a 4×4 with a big engine will move on its own, once the engine is running and it’s in gear). In the rough spots, I rarely got out of first gear. I spent a surprising amount of the session without my feet on the pedals at all.

After being given a few brief pointers, I was stuck straight behind the wheel, and we were off along the course. At first we drove on trails around this guy’s farm (this is a part time thing for him), letting the vehicle follow the ruts in the ground across a couple of fields. But then we were taking deeper and steeper trails, where the stony gouges in the earth threatened to pull the tyres of the car if you didn’t steer properly. My instinct was often to try and steer out of potholes, or accelerate up over ruts, but it was all about patience and keeping a steady course. The vehicle could suddenly jump a rut and lose control if I gave it too much gas trying to overcome the terrain.

Not getting stuck was obviously one of the things to learn. This got trickier as we went down into ditches, through water that reached up to the tops of the wheels, with nothing but mud and rocks on the bottom. This was often done in a ditch with a tight turn, so you had to use the power and steering on terrain that fought against both. There were times I thought we’d get stuck on a climb, or going over a high bank, or tear out the bottom of the jeep on rocks. We finished up by climbing up and down steep banks, sometimes tipping the vehicle so far over to the side that it felt as if it was going to roll, but again, it was all about staying your course.

There are lots of these courses around, and I’d highly recommend the experience to anyone who likes driving. They make a great gift, and it’s better than buying more stuff.

I think it’s an ongoing challenge to use technology that works with the environment, rather than against it. We don’t live natural lives, but we can keep some of the best bits of natural living by combining environmental design, pragmatism and a bit of sensitivity. Wind turbines are a good example of this. A lot of people are offended by their presence on the landscape, and I can understand this. But if we have to have a means of producing electrical power, I’d rather those things than a power station that ruins the view altogether and spews out fumes. And I quite like how they look.

For me, their function and their design together make them attractive. They’re not going to solve our power problems on their own, but people who say renewable power can’t replace fossil fuels simply aren’t being realistic. The money, time and research spent digging oil and coal out of the ground, or producing nuclear fuel, is staggering. Put a fraction of that into developing means of harnessing the winds, the tides and geothermal power and we’d crack it much, much faster.

On a related note, I was sent this link to an article on an Icelandic architect’s firm that has proposed the design of human-shaped electricity pylons. You can see a concept image in the picture above. They would use the same materials and engineering as existing pylons, but simply be constructed in different shapes. There’s no getting away from the fact that pylons are always going to be ugly, but I liked this idea. At least they’d have a bit of character. And they can be built in different poses, bending forward to climb hills, kneeling down, looking at each other, etc. I think it’s best to run cables underground whenever you can, but it’s not always practical. This is an intriguing alternative. But more importantly, it shows that there are people out there who are thinking in different directions to solve very old, boring problems about how we can get along a little better with the world we live in. That can only be a good thing.

The TED organization (Technology Entertainment Design) features a series of talks that are less than 6 minutes long. So I’m going to close up this post by pointing you towards this talk by Derek Sivers about challenging conventional assumptions.

Last Wednesday, I took our young football nut to the new Aviva Stadium – or the old Lansdowne Road, whichever way you want to look at it – to watch Ireland play Argentina. He was well excited to see players such as Messi, Mascherano and Rodriguez strut their stuff. He also got to see Robbie Keane celebrate his one hundredth cap. I’m not a big soccer fan, but it was a great event to welcome in the revamped stadium.

The game itself wasn’t really anything to shout about, although Ireland acquitted themselves well, and Argentina’s goal was definitely dodgy. We didn’t get to see any real magic from the Argentinian stars. They were more agile on the ball, but a dogged Irish defence kept them at bay, and the second half was ours. Except we couldn’t manage to score. We were disappointed Robbie couldn’t lash one in to celebrate his tally of caps.

The stadium looked great – I love the curves, and the mad way we could see out the far end through all that glass. There were over 45,000 people attending. I thought the amount of booing and jeering of the Argentinian players was childish – our team may not be considered world-class, but our fans used to be. It would be a shame to become known for that kind of bad-natured nonsense. But for the most part, there was a great spirit in the place, and I look forward to going back.

Getting in and out of the stadium was very smooth, but I can’t say the same for getting in and out of the area. If you’re going in that way for a match, you wouldn’t want to be in hurry to get anywhere else.

All in all, we had a good night out, tainted only by an unexceptional Argentinian performance which, thankfully, let the Irish lads fight them to a standstill.

One of our roving Weird-Wide News reporters wandered into a big toyshop last week (you would think they had better things to do). But while pushing themselves around in a trolley, they  spotted a whole wall of Armouron toys. I was amazed to hear they were finally out (nobody told me), but happy to see them on the shelves.

These suits of armour have special joints that mean you can switch parts and make your own combinations – a bit like Lego you can wear.

The first two books have been out a few months now; ‘The Armoured Ghost’ and ‘Lying Eyes’. But it normally works the other way around – toys and TV or other merchandise come out first. I didn’t come up with the idea for the armour, I was just brought in to write four books to help set up the world, the characters and the first few stories. The next two books out are by Richard Dungworth, who has also done a few Dr Who books. After that, my third and fourth one should come along.

Apart from the money (obviously), I got into the project for the experience of working on something that offered opportunties in other areas. I was into loads of these kinds of franchises  when I was a kid – Star Wars, Action Force, Transformers – and it was a kick to be involved in helping develop a project this size. Publishing is always a team effort, but normally it’s a writer sitting on their own coming up with the ideas at the start. This was almost more like when I worked in animation, where different disciplines are brought in at different stages.

The principle behind the design of the toys also chimes with an issue I’ve long been concerned about – that of kids dropping their TV remotes, their games controllers (and yes, even their books) and going and playing outside. This armour will not protect your little ones if they choose to run about kicking the crap out of each other, but it should fuel a few fertile young imaginations in a way that gets them physically active, and that can only be a good thing.

I’ve long been a fan of Pixar, and when we first start seeing hints that ‘Toy Story 3′ was on its way, I was really, really hoping they were going to stay true to form.

Last weekend, Maedhbh and I dropped the baby into her granny and took our football/computer game fanatic to the cinema, equipped with 3D glasses from our collection (we keep forgetting to bring them with us when we go to the cinema, and end up picking up more). We stocked up on (very high-priced) pick’n'mix and drinks and settled into our seats to see if Pixar could match the first two ‘Toy Story’ films, and every other thing they’ve done.

They didn’t disappoint.

There was the sadness of a childhood left behind. The return to the core characters so more new ones could be introduced. A childcare centre that is a prison for toys, who are tormented by mental kids. Our heroes are trapped by the scheming of a bitter but cuddly tyrant and his henchmen, including a tattooed baby. Barbie meets a vain and two-faced fop named Ken. Mr Potato Head gets put in The Box (watch out for those ‘logs’), and later ends up becoming a tortilla. Mrs Potato Head loses an eye and develops second sight. The aliens finally find a Claw! worth worshipping.

Woody breaks out and then has to break back in again to spring his friends in a multi-coloured Great Escape (defying the all-seeing  Monkey). And Buzz becomes a cold-hearted prison guard and a flamenco dancing Spaniard. ‘Toy Story 3′ is brilliant fun, brilliantly executed. Well done again Pixar.

On Sunday, Maedhbh and I drove down to Waterford with our stubbornly independent toddler to attend the launch of ‘Enchanted’, an exhibition of children’s illustrations in the Garter Lane Arts Centre that was taking place the following day. The exhibition is part of the Sprog Children’s Festival, which runs in advance of Spraoi, the main Waterford arts festival.

On the way down there on the Sunday, we stopped in at the Rathwood Centre outside Tullow. It’s a huge garden centre where you can buy all sorts of (expensive) designer clothes, homeware stuff and souvenirs, but it also has a lovely restaurant where we had a delicious lunch. There are walks through the woods, or you can take a ride on the little train that goes around the estate. It’s like the Avoca centre in Wicklow – not quite as picturesque, but much bigger.

Apart from the few animals we could see in one of the paddocks, there’s a falconry on the grounds, and we happened to show up at the right time to catch the falcon display, watching the hawk swooping low over our heads to snatch ‘prey’ thrown into the air. If you’re ever down that way, particularly if you’re taking a break from a long drive, Rathwood’s well worth checking out.

On Monday, we made our way over to Garter Lane for the launch. Broken into two parts of the centre, the show features work by Niamh Sharkey, Annie West, Adrienne Geoghan and Bruce Ingman, as well as a few of mine. Adrienne ran a couple of workshops in the morning, leaving a room full of books and drawing materials that became a hive of creative and messy activity.

Then there was much mayhem as the kids ran around fuelled by orange and biscuits, marshmallows and buns. Some local VIP’s did their meeting and greeting and some of the gang from CBI ‘facilitated’ (which I think means they stood around chatting, having a good time and being influential – like God, they move in mysterious ways). In the midst of this, Bruce, Adrienne and I did some readings and a bit of drawing for a very mixed audience, while Maedhbh tried to stop our little girl either eating the crayons, or drawing on everything that wasn’t paper.

Thanks to Kathleen and everyone at Garter Lane for setting up the exhibition, I hope both festivals go well for them. And thanks to Jenny in CBI for the two photos of the launch. The show will be up until the end of August, when it moves to Galway for the Babaro Festival.

I was down in Kilkenny on Monday, for a session in Stone House Books in the MacDonagh Junction shopping centre. It’s a lovely bookshop, independently owned, and I had a really good time chatting to the kids there. The shop is running a book club over the summer – with discounts on the books they discuss – and their first featured book was ‘Wired Teeth’.

Since I was visiting the home of the Cats, on a whim, I decided to check out where the connection between cats and Kilkenny came from (for those who don’t know, it’s the nickname for Kilkenny’s indomitable hurling team). The possible background stories are actually pretty gruesome . . . but interesting. I particularly like the limerick:

There once were two cats of Kilkenny

Each thought there was one cat too many

So they fought and they fit

And they scratched and they bit

‘Til (excepting their nails

And the tips of their tails)

Instead of two cats there weren’t any!

During the session, a new news site called 32.ie dropped in to check things out. You can check out their report and (a somewhat abbreviated) interview on their website.

I found this piece of video – ‘Big Bang Big Boom’ by Blu – on David Maybury’s blog. It’s a really clever combination of live action film taken in some inner city sites, along with animation using all sorts of different techniques, to describe the birth of the universe and the evolution of mankind (sort of). It’s full of great images, inventiveness and humour and I thought it was brilliant, so I’m posting it here too . . .

From today, until the 28th of August, you can see some of my original artwork at the Garter Lane Arts Centre on O’Connell Street in Waterford. I’m taking part in a children’s book illustration exhibition, entitled ‘Enchanted’, along with Niamh Sharkey, Adrienne Geoghan, Annie West and Bruce Ingman. Adrienne is also doing a couple of workshops there on the 26th of July, the day of the official launch, and a couple of us will be doing readings on the day as well.

This is an excellent chance to see illustration work in the flesh (so to speak), and even buy one or two, if the urge takes you (and I hope it does). Once it finishes in Waterford, the exhibition will then move on to Galway, for the Babaro Festival.

I mentioned missing llamas in a post a while back, but it seems some other wild creatures have been let loose on the world over the last few days.

You’ve got to love this first one. A group of fifteen monkeys being used by a lab in Japan, escaped the other day from a high-security research center at Kyoto University. They had figured out how to use tree limbs to catapult themselves over a seventeen-foot-high electric fence.

They have since been caught – lured back using peanuts, goddammit – and returned to the facility. And the handy tree limbs have been trimmed back. See if you can spot the dejected-looking monkey sitting among the cut branches in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture.

This is not the first time monkeys have made a break for it. In a similar incident back in 2008, fifteen Patas monkeys escaped from a zoo in Florida. They didn’t use trees this that time. They were put on an island, surrounded by a fifty-foot-wide, eight-foot-deep moat. Apparently, this breed of monkey can’t swim . . . but nobody told the monkeys. They swam across the moat and did a runner.

Closer to home this time, a penguin went AWOL in Dublin city yesterday. According to the Irish Times, the female Humboldt penguin, named Kelli, was stolen from Dublin Zoo by some sad gits. But with typical penguin cunning, she escaped her penguin-nappers. She was found wandering the streets of Dublin, thanks to the electronic tag that all of the zoo’s animals are fitted with (though you would think some member of the public might have spotted her – flightless aquatic birds are not a common sight on the streets of Ireland’s capital).

Most people think penguins are cute, but I’ve never trusted them since watching the Wallace & Gromit film, ‘The Wrong Trousers’. That was one creepy penguin. I tell ya, you just can’t tell what’s going on behind those beady eyes.