Braided in Eoin

A scandal sparked by pervading misogyny within the Gaming Industry causing tension and division, the likes of which the Gaming World has never experienced. The unfortunate legacy of the clumsily named Gamergate will be one of sexual harassment, death threats and just plain nastiness. This, however, does not give a clear reflection of what has transpired in the passed couple of months and the consequences which will continue to be seen in the following few. Anita Sarkeesian, who found herself very much on the front-line during the height of this scandal, claimed during  her interview on the Colbert Report  that Gamergate was in actual fact not about ethics in gaming journalism, and that it was actually centred around attacks from males on females within the gaming space. Perhaps a forgivable amount of egotism is at play here, given the ordeal Sarkeesian had to endure, because this is simply not true. Sexism and misogyny in gaming was certainly the fuse, and should be the most i

To preface this piece of writing, I would like to say that I have thus far thoroughly enjoyed my time in the States, and Texas for that matter and found the American people nothing but welcoming. Any of the gripes expressed in this blog are not intended to give the impression that I have been another one of those snooty European visitors who complain about every insolent characteristic of US society. Within the first few days of life in the US, one thing became apparent to me: The three R's are not high on the American people's agenda. Now I have visited America before, but only in the tourist capacity. On this occasion, I have been a temporary resident, which means that I have had to engage in all the various American affairs necessary for making my time in the States as comfortable as possible. For example; shopping in Walmart .  Before charges for plastic bags became a common feature in supermarkets across EU countries, people were far too frivolous with the con

When these players step onto the field, winning can be all that absorbs their thoughts. So much so, that they forget recreational enjoyment is the sole reason they are even there. Mario Balotelli famously said that "When I score, I don't celebrate. It's my job, does a postman celebrate when he delivers post?". This type of humble-brag quote swept the sporting media and football fans reveled in its sentiment. Not too many stopped for one second, stepped away from their photoshop template of Balotelli donning his sincere face and actually worked through the pragmatics of this mantra. Does Mario actually believe that his 'job' is to deliver a spherical piece of leather through a 24X8 foot gap? If so, then could he please start performing this pseudo-job at Liverpool. But of course it isn't. Whether he likes it or not, he's an entertainer. Lets take it back around 100 years in the anthropology of modern day sport, to the birth of professional sports

Footie elitists oftentimes become butt-hurt over what they view as Americans not 'getting' the beautiful game. But do we really want our friends from across the pond loving our most treasured sport? Based on TV ratings; one would not be quivering at the lip with the thought of John Brooks' dramatic late winner against Ghana in last week's World Cup finals game encapsulating a nation of people who, until now, have viewed football as a children's game to play on Sundays, in contrast with how many Europeans and South Americans see it: as a way of life. Just over 11 million Americans tuned in to see their national team's first match. This year's Super Bowl piqued at 111 million. If my  Leaving Cert pass-maths serves me correct then that's 100 million more.  And yes, one might say that comparing the two within the context of America is a jaded way to view the popularity of the sport. However, I urge you to bear in mind that this is no ordinary sporting

It's safe enough to say that every single being in the entire multi-verse has seen the selfie that Ellen DeGeneres took with all those A-list Hollywood actors at the Oscrars and then retweeted it 700 times each (cannot confirm whether these numbers are accurate, but a decent estimation I would say). However, an image which many people may have not seen was the view from behind this photo, of Liza Minnelli desperately trying to grow 5 or 6 inches. Of course, the good people in Ellen DeGeneres' PR group made her privy to this micro-publicity crisis. Ellen was quick to make amends with the star in order to avoid any tarnishing of her good name by taking a selfie of just her and Liza, in which she looked decidedly less fervent in comparison to her world-record breaking pic: Mind you, Minnelli herself does not look particularly excited either. Disdain, if anything is to be read from her poker-face.  So what is this all about? Well I believe this occurrence brings some

Disclaimer: Realising there's a very thin hypocrisy line upon which I'm treading - by all means, call me out for any comments you believe come across as such. While perusing the infinite expanse of youtube, I stumbled across a video by Jenna Marbles, y'know that Blonde lady with an overtly hardball New York accent who seems to only use the right side of her mouth to speak? Well if you don't know who she is, she's a vlogger. That being a 'video logger' who exercises somewhat the same practice as I am now in that they talk about subjects and topics with an audience that doesn't exist yet, then posts this media up on the internet for the audience to flock to them. Now when I say "stumbled across" this video, I'm not using the meaning of the phrase exactly. It's more like stumbling across an island rather than a rock. This video, entitled Things I Don't Have Time For,  has nearly 2 and a half million views. It really makes o