Legends of the Sun Pig

At Worldcon last year Fiona made friends with two other girls of her age. They bonded over Minecraft. Unfortunately the three girls all live in different countries. But our holiday to Ireland this year brough Fiona close enough to meet up with Rowan, who lives in Cork. Fiona had been excited about this FOR MONTHS ever since Minecon 2015 was announced back in February, and we started planning our summer holiday around it.

We met up with Rowan, her brother Oscar, and her mum Sam in Tramore on the Tuesday 14th July. (Alex stayed home at the cottage.) I think that both sets of parents were a little apprehensive about meeting again, and how the girls would get on after a year of not being very much in touch. Right from the moment we met up on the windy and rainy Tramore promenade, though, it was like they had never been apart. We had some lunch at Misty’s diner on Strand Road while the worst of the rain passed, went for a long walk along the beach (watching the surfers, picking up rocks), and then let the kids indulge in a bunch of rides at the amusement park. Just before we split up to head home later in the afternoon, the kids had some great fun trying to avoid getting soaked by the waves as they crashed into the concrete ramp from the promenade to the beach.

In fact, we all had so much fun together (adults, too!) that we decided to meet up again later on in the week. Huge success.

We didn’t do much at all on the Sunday after we arrived at the house in Ireland. On Monday 13th, Abi and I left Alex and Fiona behind (this will become a theme), and drove to Waterford for a wander around. Nice wee town with a bunch of Viking remnants. One of our first stops was at the Shaws department store on the Quay to get some toiletries. My eye also happened to fall on a new wallet to replace my old one, which had been falling apart for some time. We strolled around the Viking triangle, had some refreshments at a café on Barronstrand St, and generally had a very quiet and pleasant afternoon.

After having seen a recording of their amazing set at Glastonbury last year, I suppose I went into this gig with my expectations set too high. It was good but not great. They certainly know how to work a crowd, but by the end I was bored of being told to put my hands up, and affirming that the party was indeed over here. They have a new (Kickstarted) album coming out soon, but they didn’t showcase any new material from it, preferring to stay with the old favourites. Also no merch, which gave me frowny face.

It was my first time at Tivoli Vredenburg (Ronda auditorium, 2000 person capacity; it wasn’t sold out). It seemed like a decent venue, although rather clean and clinical. It doesn’t have much texture and personality yet.

Support from Dutch rapper Digitzz, who was pretty good.

Following a tip-off on jwz’s blog, I’ve been listening to a lot of Veruca Salt lately, especially their new album Ghost Notes, and IV from 2006.

Also, Sleater-Kinney’s new album No Cities To Love has been out since January. I just realized that I’ve been listening to it for a good few months now, but have neglected to mention it here. I didn’t get into Sleater-Kinney first time round, before they split up in 2006. Remedying that now. No Cities to Love is stomping and excellent. Kicking myself that I missed them when they played Paradiso in March 🙁

On TV, Abi and I have finished watching season 3 of the US House of Cards. We’ve started on the original UK series now. I watched the original mini-series long, long time ago, but had forgotten most of it. We’re half-way through To Play The King now. I don’t think it has aged as well as House of Cards.

Films, quickly, in a big long batch:

• Minions: Decent
• Terminator: Genisys: Better than the critics would have you think
• 2 Guns: Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington have fun in this. I enjoy watching them in general, but the film itself was flimsy.
• An Honest Liar: Poignant documentary of James Randi, one of my heroes
• The Voices: REALLY WEIRD. Tries to walk a very fine line between sitcom-ish comedy, sympathy for a character suffering from schizophrenia, and serial killer fandom. Falls off the line a lot. Very uncomfortable watching.
• Adventureland: Amusing coming-of-age comedy. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart play well together on screen; I’m looking forward to seeing them together again in American Ultra
• Coherence: Excellent. Intense, low-budget science fiction that relies on a simple idea and good characterisation rather than special effects. 6 people, one house. No-one has to save the world.
• Blackfish: Strong, sometimes manipulative documentary about the marine amusement parks that keep orca whales for spectacle. I didn’t mind the manipulation, because I’m on their side.
• Ant-Man: Throwaway fun. Lots of Edgar-Wrightish touches, even thought he wasn’t able to see the project all the way through. Pity that every single character is a colossal stereotype.
• Mission: Impossible:: Rogue Nation: Spectacular action, well balanced between plot tension, stunts, and laughs.
• Kingsman: The Secret Service: Much better than it had any right to be. Composed and aristocratic, irreverent and wild. Some jaw-droppingly choreographed and filmed action scenes. Watched this with Alex & Fiona at home yesterday evening; Fiona watched it on the iPad again today.

I read Ernest Cline’s Armada in a single day last week — I haven’t read a book in a single day for ages. It’s good, but not as good as Ready Player One. One improvement over his debut is that the pop- and videogame-culture references are optional extras this time round, rather than integral to the plot. (You don’t have to have an intimate knowledge of Rush’s 2112 to understand the second half of the book.) It tries to bite off more than it can chew, though. The first half promises a lot, revealing layer upon layer of secrecy. When it hits the bedrock of the reality as posited, it carries on to a reasonably satisfying action climax…but it never goes even deeper. It could have been truly mind-bending, but it chooses a simpler pay-off instead. The fact that I had to finish it in a single day says how much I enjoyed it, though.

On the Saturday morning I got up for a solo breakfast at the hotel. Then we packed up and headed back out to the airport to pick up a car, and drove South to the Granary Cottage a few miles out of New Ross in County Wexford.

I enjoyed our time in Dublin. The city felt strangely familiar. It reminded me a lot of various Scottish cities, particularly Perth (but scaled up) and Glasgow. The familiarity was a sense that I knew where every everything was going to be before I saw it. Like, “I’m sure there will be a supermarket if we turn right here.” A feeling that all the historical buildings were just in the right place, and all of the pubs could not have belonged anywhere else. It was curious, and very pleasant.

I also found Dublin an extraordinarily friendly city. Just about every interaction we had was framed with a smile. Perhaps it was being on holiday that made me see everything in a positive light. The overall effect was to give me a very positive feeling about the place, and a desire to go back and spend more time there.

Friday morning in Dublin Abi and I got up early enough to enjoy some breakfast at the hotel. (Alex and Fiona were still sound asleep.) When we managed to rouse them, we all walked to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells exhibit and the Long Room of the Old Library. We visited Dublin with Abi’s Dad on a day trip long, long time ago (after Alex; before Fiona). I don’t remember much about it from that time, but the Long Room is the archetypal library that sticks in your head and never goes away. It’s magical.

We had lunch in a nearby pub (I think it was the Lincoln’s Inn? Their chicken wings were amazing), and then we hopped onto a tour bus. Abi stayed with us for a few blocks, but got off at St Patrick’s Cathedral. She visited some churches while Alex, Fiona, and I stayed on the bus tour. We had hoped to take a tour of Kilmainham Gaol, but places are limited. When the bus got there, there was a “sold out” sign up, so we stayed on the bus instead and enjoyed some more of the driver’s highly entertaining commentary.

None of us felt like eating much in the evening, so we just grazed. Fiona and I went out to see Terminator: Genisys in IMAX at the Cineworld. We both enjoyed it. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the reviews suggested. It’s not a classic, sure, but it had plenty of good moments.