Ins/Outs #21

May was such an interesting month for me. I have really felt so grateful and excited and nervous and lit crazy movie, a jumble of optimism and trepidation and fears that I won’t get every single solitary thing done on my to do list. This is what being 23 is all about I am told.

Chess

I predict chess clubs will become the next trendy sober friendly social affair. I am saying this because I have seen two being posted about in New York and London in the last 3 months. The trickle down effect means that in roughly 18 months a Dublin creative will start one in [insert trendy Dublin City location] and it’ll be a crossover of run club aficionados and beamish tattoo havers.

I think chess specifically will be perfect for this kind of thing because you can do it in pairs so it’s a new way to socialise while learning a skill that is abjectly good for the brain and requires focus that would inhibit scrolling at the function. In a Cork context, this would fit in perfectly somewhere like Sonflour (with some spenny organic wine & an alcohol free option too). Social drinks (or not!) afters in Impala of course. lol new business venture passion project anyone?

Trips to NEA on the rise (indicator of US weakening as economic superpower)

Okay put the tinfoil hat on with me for a second. Trips to South East Asia represent western imperialism and dominance - think white European digital nomads driving up house prices for locals in Bali. I have recently witnessed an increase in trips to North East Asia, Korea, Japan and China - these kinds of trips signal a different curiosity about the technology and culture of these nations. Also disclaimer, when I say I have witnessed it, I’ve seen 3 people I follow on Instagram going to NEA in the last 6 months but still, China used to feel like somewhere unwelcoming that westerners only ventured to on business trips.

Going to South East Asia now is closer to a lads holiday in Marbella, yes you’ll try a few words of Spanish but most tourists there are generally focused on partying (no bad thing mind you). The tone towards NEA countries, especially Japan, illustrates a great respect for their culture as a whole but people don’t associate those countries with partying necessarily.

Now consider those “you met me at a very Chinese time of my life” memes, the soft power of China extending across the world through your phone as the U.S makes questionable decision after questionable decision. The U.S has been shaken severely as an economic superpower recently and in the cracks China (and by consequence NEA in general) has been able to swing public sentiment their way. This has been happening gradually for years with their intense technological investments but now it’s accelerating as people venture to NEA for leisure as well as business.

BTW I would still travel SEA and NEA but the vibe of those two holidays is miles apart in terms of budget, perception and cultural interaction. So next time you think about going to Japan or China, think about the long lasting impact of the Cold War.

Tying your shirt around your waist

ALARMING and puzzling news as I witness my mother’s signature jumper carrying technique being appropriated in fashion editorials….Nymphet Alumni has a good episode on the pastel goth revival and we all know layering is in but this? This is a new frontier not previously explored.

Tying your jumper around your waist is so NAFF like, it’s just the epitome of uncool to me I can’t shake it. It would genuinely take nuclear war to convince me that it’s cool and not just a sign that I am prematurely becoming my parents. However baffling it is, Rachel Ojuromi and Debby Fasingha makes it look so effortless and, dare I say it, chic!

The Sun

Life in Granada is so so beautiful because the sun is always out. I swear the sunshine here is crisper than anywhere else, it is omnipresent and looming. A woman in work kept telling me that my skin was muy blanquita and that I need factor 50 on at all times.

How do I tell her that I am actually considered kind of tanned by Irish people? Like the fact that I don’t immediately go lobster red means I am halfway to Brazilian in Ireland, and you're telling me I’m albino by Andalusian standards….humbling to say the least.

Vogue España

It’s kinda good, and holding it physically in your hands out and about does feel very Carrie Bradshaw. Like it’s glamorous and it’s a learning activity. I am on a quest to find somewhere in Granada that sells Dazed or i-D, I don’t care what language their in, I need to possess the Alexa Demie x Petra Collins shoot.

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Ireland being a beg for success

Irish media stop being a beg challenge: JW Andersen mentioned, IMPOSSIBLE EDITION!!!!! The way Irish media deal with successful Irish people is so embarrassing like it always comes across so desperate and repetitive. The interviews & profiles I have seen always try to sneak in a joke about the immersion or emphasise how their Irishness is central to their success when the real key to their success was emigrating to London in their early 20s lol.

It’s also particularly beggy when a successful person is half Irish or was born and raised in Northern Ireland and has never expressed any nationalist sentiment like, they have a job now stop asking them their Centra chicken roll order. Like seriously! A lot of Irish creatives do not use Ireland in their work and that is okay, not everything has to relate to where you are from.

A good example of this is Craic magazine trying to capitalise off of Jonathan Andersen’s success with Dior, posting all the cool girls read Craic, all the cool girls wear Dior on an Instagram create mode background. Fair enough he wore their t-shirt but this cannot pass for actual journalism. 

Runners

Furckkkk them hokas out the window girl it is time for Old Maiden Shoes. I recently indulged in a pair of blush pink ballet flats and they make me feel like 1. Marnie from Girls (how twee, how 2010) 2. My 5th class teacher who always wore ballet flats and was probably a Marnie in real life 3. Tiffany Pollard calling Gemma Collins’ shoes Old Maiden type shoes like that is how they look and also 4. Amy Winehouse.

Air conditioning 

Recently I was in Manchester and omfg it was boiling!!!!! Seeing PinkPanthress in the O2 Victoria was amazing but wow, nowhere in the UK are they prepared for that kind of heat. 

It was 30 degrees the day after and I genuinely could feel parts of my brain shutting down to conserve energy.

Fear of heights 

Recently I went to a festival and there was a few rollercoasters and it was AMAZING!!!! Honestly I forgot how much fun they are because I haven’t really gone on any rollercoasters since Funderland pre-covid.

If you’re familiar with Spanish rides there’s this one that’s basically a huge dish with seats and you sit on the side until they turn it at a 45 degree angle to try knock you off your seat. The whole point is to try stand up or cling to the railing. No belts, no insurance, legiterally no problem.

Also there was a rollercoaster that I was terrified to go on but I forced myself to and once at the top it hit midnight and fireworks went off right in front of us like, fortune favours the bold!

The Rest is History podcast

I had four and a half hours of travel to do the other day so I listened to this 4 part series on the Iranian revolution in the 1970s. It was so good I can’t recommend it enough. It’s so interesting to have that background on the conflict happening now and realise just how big a deal killing the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was.