#bodhran comedy

[tuttle-did-it]

WHEN A GROUP OF MARGINALISED PEOPLE TELL YOU THEY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE WAY YOU ARE REPRESENTING THEM, PLEASE LISTEN.

Don’t argue.

Don’t say ‘you don’t understand’ or ‘you’re reading too much into it.’ Don’t tell us that we’re ‘being too serious’ and ‘it’s really a great thing if you think about it.’ 

Marginalised people are allowed to criticise how we are being represented within mainstream culture. 

We are allowed to criticise someone exploiting us. ESPECIALLY if that person who is exploiting us doesn’t even take the time to listen to our criticisms. 

Inspiration Porn is not inspirational to everyone, and if you have to manipulate and exploit people to be inspirational, well, you’re kind of a shitty person. 

A much longer, more in-depth video about Mr Beast’s 1000 deaf people hear for the first time video and why we’re criticising him.

(I studied theatre and film with a focus on both writing and analysis on disability for clarity)

[spogwam]

Professional Development 1 - Women Working in Film and Television

On Thursday, the 7th of March, I attended the Women Working in Film and Television event, which I found very informative. The speakers were all great, but I resonated mostly with Lana Pheutan, an Actor, Writer and Director working in Gaelic media in Scotland – mostly with BBC Alba. As a fluent/native Gaelic speaker, I had heard of Lana Pheutan previously (the Gaelic world is a small one), but was unaware my career plans had so much in common with hers. She first studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands, based nearby my hometown and somewhere I previously studied Screenwriting. She went on to complete a BA in Acting and English, followed by an MFA in Acting for Stage and Screen at Edinburgh Napier University.

She works for Pretty Knickers productions, an all-female production company she was involved in from the beginning. She has previously worked as a Workshop Leader for Fèisean nan Gàidheal, an organisation which supports the development of community-based Gaelic arts tuition festivals throughout Scotland. I was also consistently involved in Fèis’s over the years, learning drama, the tin whistle, the bodhran, and singing. I’ve been involved in FilmG (Scottish Gaelic Short Film Festival) productions over the years, and remember Lana acting in the more successful, prominent short films of recent times. “Coig Puing a Tri,” an early film on trans issues, and “Sòlas,” a film focused on an abusive relationship, were both written and directed by Lana, and feature her in acting roles.

Lana has also worked with Bees Nees Media, a Glasgow based production company,

For BBC Alba, she wrote and acted in the Gaelic language sketch comedy show, “OMC,” acted on the prominent Gaelic Drama programme “Bannan,” and currently works freelance for the BBC. Her first TV series entitled “Glan Fhèin” was commissioned by BBC Alba and aired in September 2023. The series was co-written by Lana and co-star Hannah McKirdy, and follows two short-let cleaners as they embark on their busiest summer yet.

I find Lana’s career path very encouraging, as I also would love to write and direct a short TV programme for either BBC Alba or BBC Scotland – a long term passion project of mine. I think the best strategy for my professional development is to utilise my unique skillset of practical filmmaking skills with my fluency in the Gaelic language. There is a proliferation of demand for creative people in Gaelic media, with a distinct lack of Gaelic speaking students moving into the Gaelic media scene over the last several years from what I’ve heard on the grapevine.

I am in a unique position among my peers to enter the world of Gaelic-language media following my graduation, and I intend to continue my research into this niche area of Scotland’s national film industry. I had previously delved into this in last year’s case study last year was on Tony Kearney, the director of “Bannan” and more recently, “An Clò Mòr,” of which Screen Scotland was also involved. This provided me with a great insight into the inner workings of the Gaelic Television industry, and the production company Solus Productions in which Tony Kearney is a part of. Solus Productions have also produced popular BBC Scotland programmes like Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim, with Julie Nimmo of Balamory, and Greg Hemphill of Chewin’ the Fat and Still Game.

The fact that this production company works both in English and Gaelic with BBC Scotland and Alba respectively is interesting. It would be good to have a properly bilingual career, without limiting myself to a single language, giving me a greater chance at career progression within Scotland’s industry. Lana’s career path between freelance work for the BBC, acting and writing, has given me a lot to think about in my own search for work following this degree. I am still undecided on whether I will undertake a MA degree following my BA – this is something I will discuss in the following blog post. For now, I will continue looking for jobs (primarily where Gaelic is useful) at the BBC, STV, Channel 4, and compare and contrast them here.

I have reached out via email to Lana Pheutan, asking her for helpful pointers for someone in my position as a fourth year film student intending on working in the Gaelic Film industry. I will relay her response in a following post, and further discuss this career path in more detail. Thanks for reading.

[concerthopperblog]

Review: Kitchen Dwellers- 'Seven Devils'

Bluegrass has a lot of common themes. Liquor, poverty, infidelity manual labor, and the devil are just a few. Dante Alighieri's epic poem “The Divine Comedy” isn't one of those common themes. But perhaps it should be. Many of those common bluegrass themes can be found in the Seven Deadly Sins, a large part of Aligheri's work. On their new concept album Seven Devils, Kitchen Dwellers explores the seven deadly sins, and some others, with gusto.

Aside from a brief instrumental “Prelude,” Seven Devils begins and ends with alternate versions of the title track. The opener, “Seven Devils (Limbo)” is a six minute slab of jamgrass goodness, featuring not only the standard bluegrass instruments, but also the Buchla synthesizer. Bettering that is the album closer “Seven Devils (Full Version)” which is a ten minute jamgrass clinic, using the same lyrics but stretching the instrumental interludes even further. As for those lyrics, it's a great way to bookend a story of the Seven Deadly Sins. “I might return an unclean spirit seeking rest,” vocalist Joe Funk belts, “a breath of old-fashioneds and foreign cigarettes.” Later, he insists “Let's start digging holes before my demons come / Make seven canyons for to bury each one.”

Aside from “Seven Devils,” the album's highlight track is “Waterford Son (II).” Tackling the second Deadly Sin, greed, it's the tale of an Irish immigrant who gets tied up in gang activity and eventually the westward expansion. With a Celtic vibe throughout (courtesy of Dermot Sheedy's bodhran and Doug Berch's penny whistle), it's a lyrically dense song without a chorus, but it works. A chorus would break up the storyline and the story is the sell here.

Another winner is as brief as “Seven Devils” is long. “Meagher's Reel (I)” explores Pride, the first deadly sin, in the best way possible, with barely a minute of pure Celtic virtuosity. Pride might be a sin in places, but Kitchen Dwellers have plenty of reason to be proud with skills like this.

Album single “Pendulum (V)” finds the band musing on addiction, and addiction replacement. “I’ve long had a theory that everyone has a baseline addictive tendency that must be satisfied, and it is up to the mind to decide at which point on the 'good' and 'bad' spectrum that habit is chosen,” Funk says in the album's press release, and the song's lyrics bear that up. “It ain't easy being sober in the life that we chose / Vices swing like diamonds on a pendulum.”

Seven Devils is a bold undertaking for any band. The material is weighty and concept albums are hit or miss in roots music as a whole. Kitchen Dwellers score a definite hit here. If you can call any album about the Nine Levels of Hell fun, this one is it.

Seven Devils releases March 1 on No Coincidence Records.

[placetobenation]

SmackDown on Fox Episode #45 SmackDown Episode # 1,094 Orlando, FL – WWE Performance Center 7/7//20 We open the show with a recap video that covers the Swamp Fight as well as what happened last week between The Fiend and Alexa Bliss. We then go to the Firefly Funhouse where Wyatt has removed all of the pictures on his wall and replaced them all with pictures of Braun Strowman. Wyatt says he has been getting a lot of hate for what happened to Alexa Bliss last week, but the person who should be blamed is Braun Strowman as he could’ve prevented it from happening if he had just given The Fiend what he wants. Wyatt says The Fiend will be there later tonight and he is bringing a special friend, Wyatt advises Strowman to give The Fiend what he wants or else Alexa Bliss will truly see how evil The Fiend can be. Wyatt then waves bye as this edition of Firefly Funhouse comes to a close. We go inside the PC and immediately go into the first match of the night.  Match #1: Matt Riddle vs Sheamus They lockup and Sheamus backs Riddle into the corner where he tries to rough Riddle up but Riddle fights back. Riddle goes behind and locks on a sleeper and then jumps on Sheamus’s back but Sheamus gets to the ropes to force the break. Both men circle the ring trying to feel the other out as neither wants to make the wrong move, Sheamus finally grabs a side headlock and uses it to slam Riddle to the mat and then Sheamus grabs control of the arm but Riddle is able to quickly escape and then he takes Sheamus down with a leg pick. Sheamus gets back to his feet and we are back to square one and once again Sheamus grabs a headlock but Riddle backs him into the ropes to force a break. Sheamus takes Riddle down with a knee to the gut and then puts the boots to him and then he grounds Riddle with a standing armbar until Riddle fights back with shots to the midsection, Riddle applies an armbar of his own but he can’t get Sheamus down to the mat so he uses some joint manipulation on the fingers to get Sheamus down and once Riddle does that he transitions into a hammerlock and then he transitions from into a pin attempt but only gets a 1 count.  Both men get to their feet and Riddle tries for a double leg takedown but Sheamus blocks and then he powers Riddle up and slams him on the mat with a powerbomb, but is unable to capitalize right away due to the pain in his arm. Sheamus delivers some right hands to Riddle and tries to whip him into the ropes but Riddle blocks and then hits Sheamus with a big forearm before backdropping him to the apron, Sheamus snaps Riddle’s neck across the top rope and then delivers the Ten Beats of the Bodhran. Sheamus climbs up top but Riddle hits him with a running forearm that knocks Sheamus down to the floor and that sends us to commercial.  We come back to Sheamus rag-dolling Riddle around as he has him in a rear chinlock, Riddle escapes and comes off the ropes where he is caught with a trifecta of Irish Curse backbreakers which gets him a 2 count. Sheamus goes back to the rear chinlock and this time when Riddle tries to fight out of it Sheamus hits him with a knee and then goes for a back suplex but Riddle lands on his feet and then drops Sheamus with a big roundhouse kick. Sheamus is somehow able to get right back to his feet but Riddle is ready for him as he hits him with repeated body strikes and then a push kick sends Sheamus rebounding off the ropes and then Riddle catches the arm on a clothesline attempt and hits Sheamus with a Pele kick. Riddle is fired up as he hits Sheamus with a couple of running forearms in the corner followed by an exploder, a PK, and a broton but Sheamus is still able to kick out at 2.  Riddle hits Sheamus with another broton and then goes up top looking for the floating bro but when he jumps off Sheamus moves out of the way and Riddle was able to see it coming as he lands on his feet and rolls through and then charges toward Sheamus who catches him with White Noise for a 2 count. Sheamus calls for the Brogue Kick but Riddle sidesteps and hits Sheamus with a deadlift German suplex for a 2 count. Riddle goes for a running knee strike but Sheamus side steps and catches Riddle in a schoolboy for a 2 count and then Sheamus hits Riddle with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Riddle goes over to the corner and sidesteps sending Sheamus shoulder first into the ring post and out to the floor. Riddle goes out and delivers some kicks to Sheamus’s chest but Sheamus comes back with a knee strike and then gets back into the ring. Riddle gets back to his feet and when he does Shorty G runs down the ramp and attacks Riddle to cause a DQ. Winner: Matt Riddle via DQ   Match Rating: **¾   After the match, Riddle turns the tables on Shorty and starts beating him down as he slams him into the announce table and the plexiglass and then takes him down with a flying superman punch off the steps and then sends him into the steps before he walks to the back. Sheamus throws Shorty G into the ring and lays him out with two Brogue Kicks for costing him the match just because he wanted to capture Corbin’s bounty.  This was a fun match between two guys who I didn’t know I wanted to see face each other but as good as the match was it would’ve been even better if it didn’t have a stupid DQ finish, but given that it was the first of 3 DQ/No Contest finishes in one night it wasn’t too egregious and I did like that they are continuing the story of Shorty G trying to cash in on Corbin’s bounty.  The Dirt Sheet with special guest Sonya Deville is up next.  We come back to Corbin talking to some random girl backstage when he is interrupted by a less than pleased Sheamus who is pissed about Corbin’s little minion costing him a win because of Corbin’s stupid bounty, Sheamus says that if Corbin tries that again he will kick his head off his shoulders and stick his crown up his ass and if Corbin thinks he is joking all he has to do is try him. Corbin says that Sheamus is lucky that he has to deal with Jeff Hardy because if not he would kick Sheamus’s ass right then and there and then Corbin walks off.  I liked that Sheamus took his frustrations further than just beating up Shorty and directed it toward Corbin as he knew that was the main reason as to why Shorty ran out there in the first place because you rarely see a heel confronting another heel.  It’s time for the Dirt Sheet We get a recap of last week when Sonya Deville beatdown Mandy Rose and cut off some of her hair. The Miz and Morrison start talking about what happened when their mics start cutting out and Morrison says that The Retribution isn’t booked for tonight’s show. They then talk about giving a victim of Sonya’s attack last week a platform and this leads to a dumbass 5 minute part of this segment where on the tron there is a video that shows some hair with googly eyes that Miz and Morrison do the voice for and this is so dumb I barely paid attention to what they said, however, I immediately got back into the segment when they then introduced Sonya Deville to the Dirt Sheet.  Sonya doesn’t understand why everyone is so confused as to why she did what she did last week, she was just delivering on a promise she made weeks ago which was to make Mandy as ugly on the outside as she is on the inside. Sonya says she absolutely enjoyed everything she did to Mandy last week because she could see that Mandy was scared and concerned about her face because Mandy’s good looks are all she has ever had going for her. Sonya says she doesn’t feel bad at all for what she did because she doesn’t respect Mandy. Sonya says she has broken Mandy both physically and emotionally.  Sonya said that everyone is waiting on Mandy’s music to hit but it’s not going to happen and then challenges Mandy to come out and prove her wrong. Miz and Morrison say that Mandy has been silent all week and hasn’t even posted anything on social media. Sonya says Mandy got to the WWE by winning bikini contests and then talks about how Mandy won a Bumpy Award (an award given out on the WWE Network exclusive show The Bump) just for making out with Otis and how the only bright side of all of this is that Mandy and Otis now look like a more suitable couple. Miz and Morrison start mocking Otis and Mandy and that is when Heavy Machinery runs out and beats down the heels until they retreat to end the segment.  The first half of this segment was some of the dumbest and shittiest comedy I have ever seen in wrestling and was so cringeworthy, however, once Sonya came out I was all about this segment as she once again stole the show and saved this segment from being considered as Wrestlecrap. I’m so glad this feud is continuing as it has been one of the top highlights on SmackDown for the entire year.   Match #2: Cesaro w/ Shinsuke Nakamura vs Lince Dorado w/ Gran Metalik They lockup and Cesaro pushes Dorado into the corner and delivers a punch and a knee to the gut before whipping Dorado into the opposite corner, but Dorado jumps up and over Cesaro and then cartwheels and backflips into another corner and when Cesaro charges toward him Dorado moves out of the way and then tries for a flying headscissors on Cesaro, but he gets caught and hit with a backbreaker followed by a European uppercut. Dorado grabs the leg of Dorado and is perhaps looking for the Big Swing, but Dorado kicks away and tries to get Cesaro away from him but Cesaro grabs the ankle and looks to pull Dorado up but Dorado lands on his feet only to be taken down with a leg trip from Cesaro. Dorado uses Cesaro to pop-up to his shoulders and take him down with a headscissors and then we get more Retribution light dimming, Dorado looks to hit a tope con hilo but Cesaro catches him and tries for a powerbomb, but Dorado grabs onto the top of the plexiglass and starts landing some punches on Cesaro and then dives off the barricade with a hurricanrana.  Dorado rolls Cesaro back into the ring and hits a sunset flip pin but Cesaro kicks out and then Dorado slides back out to the apron and hits Cesaro with an overhead kick and then goes for a springboard crossbody but Cesaro catches him and hits him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a 2 count. Cesaro grounds Dorado and hits him with some clubbing blows to the chest and then hits him with an elbow drop for another 2 count. Cesaro tries to lock in a surfboard but Dorado blocks that with a mule kick and then hits Cesaro with a jawbreaker.  Cesaro reverses a whip into the corner but runs into a boot from Dorado, Dorado charges at Cesaro and pops up on top of Cesaro’s shoulders and backflips off of them and then he hits Cesaro with a handspring stunner. Dorado goes for the moonsault trifecta but when he goes for the third Nakamura hops up on the apron to serve as a distraction and this allows Cesaro to hit Dorado from behind and then he goes for a Razor’s edge but Dorado counters it into a hurricanrana for a 2 count. Dorado bounces off the rope and runs into a big European uppercut from Cesaro and then Cesaro hits Dorado with the Neutralizer for the 3 count. Winner: Cesaro via Pinfall   Match Rating: *** This match definitely has to go to be added to the list of greatest sub 5 minute matches as these two put on one hell of a sprint to the point where I had to bump it up to three stars despite it not being a long match. I definitely want to see these two work together more and if they make Cesaro & Nakamura vs LHP official for SummerSlam it will definitely be the sleeper pick for best match of the night, just like this match was the best match on this episode of SmackDown by a long shot.  We are informed that The Miz & John Morrison will face Heavy Machinery tonight after what happened on The Dirt Sheet earlier in the night. We go backstage where Kayla Braxton interviews Heavy Machinery who are not happy. Otis says that Miz & Morrison crossed the line and while he doesn’t mind people making fun of him he will not stand for it when it comes to his peach Mandy Rose and when you get him angry it no longer becomes a laughing matter.  The Fiend then makes his way to the ring and this sends us to commercial.  We come back to the ring with The Fiend in the ring and Alexa Bliss is sitting below him. The Fiend circles around her and then backs up into the corner and crawls back towards her, it looks like he is going to put the Mandible Claw on her once again but this time she grabs his arm and then looks up at him and places her hand on his face and just as it seemed like the Bray Wyatt part of him was going to give into her but The Fiend part took back over and snapped him out it but before anything else can happen we hear Strowman’s voice as he is on the tron. Strowman says he doesn’t give a damn about Alexa as all he cares about is destroying The Fiend. Strowman knew that after the Swamp Fight he was either going to come out as the evilest son of a bitch anybody has ever laid eyes on or he would have the satisfaction of spitting in the devil’s face and now you’re looking at the evilest son of a bitch. Strowman said he tried to fight it and tried to resist but he has been pushed to his breaking point but now he is letting it all out and fulfilling his destiny. Strowman says he is more than a man, he is a monster and that Fiend can have whatever he wants at SummerSlam. Strowman tells The Fiend to face his fears and face the monster.  Much like the Dirt Sheet segment earlier in the night this segment was both good and bad. I enjoyed the first part with just The Fiend and Alexa as it further teases that perhaps she could join Wyatt in the future which as I said before is something I would love to see. I do have one problem with the Alexa part of the segment as it made zero sense which is how and why did Alexa just magically appear in the middle of the ring, it would’ve been much better if The Fiend had been dragging or carrying her to the ring as he made his entrance instead of her just showing up out of thin air. I absolutely hated the Strowman part of this segment as this deep-voiced “evil” Strowman just isn’t cutting it as this is not the Strowman people want to see because it’s not the same Strowman that everyone fell in love with. The lines they are giving him aren’t working either, mainly because he keeps repeating the same lines that he has been saying for the past month. Why do I feel like after hearing this promo that we are going to get Strowman as a monster at SummerSlam as they are going to go all-in on building a Fiend vs Monster match.  The only part of the Strowman part of the segment that I liked was the part where he said he didn’t give a damn about Alexa because that once again feels like a reason as to why Alexa would want to turn on him and join up with Wyatt, also why are we supposed to believe that he doesn’t care about Alexa when he was making a beeline toward her when she showed up in the Swamp Fight, this was just a terrible promo and a halfway terrible segment all together.  Match #3: Jeff Hardy vs King Corbin Hardy ducks a clothesline right off the bat and hits him with an inverted atomic drop and then works over the arm for a moment until Corbin breaks his grip. Hardy ducks another clothesline and comes back with a running forearm and then we get the inverted atomic drop, double leg drop, and a basement dropkick to the face for a 2 count. Hardy calls for the Twist of Fate, but Corbin hits him with a big right and then charges in, Hardy moves which sets up the slide outside and back inside spot and when Corbin slides in Hardy tries for the Twist of Fate once again but Corbin spins out and levels Hardy with a big clothesline for a 2 count. Corbin picks Hardy up off the mat a couple of times just to knock him right back down. Corbin throws Hardy to the outside where he hits him with some punches across the announce table and then rolls him back inside the ring. Corbin drives elbows down into the shoulder of Hardy and then locks in the patented Corbin rest hold, Hardy tries to fight out of it but Corbin takes him right back down for another minute until Hardy gets to his feet once again and elbows out of the hold. Corbin throws Hardy back into the corner and it looks like we are going to get another slide out and back in spot, but Hardy hits him with a dropkick through the ropes sending Corbin into the barricade. Hardy sends Corbin into the plexiglass and then throws him back into the ring but when Hardy slides in he runs right into a Deep Six for a 2 count. Corbin looks to pull Hardy in for the End of Days, but Hardy blocks it with punches and then tries for a sitout jawbreaker but Corbin connects with a knee to the chest which sends Hardy rolling to the outside. Sheamus runs down and hits Hardy with a Brogue Kick which causes our 2nd DQ finish of the night. Winner: Jeff Hardy via DQ  Match Rating: **  This match was absolutely nothing special and the fact that it gave us the second DQ finish of the night didn’t help make it any better. We come back from commercial to an impromptu match. Match #4: King Corbin vs Sheamus Sheamus works over Corbin in the corner with punches and kicks and then he bounces his head off the top turnbuckle and continues to stay on him with uppercuts and knee strikes. Sheamus sends Corbin into the ropes but drops his head too early which allows Corbin to kick him in the head, but when Corbin runs off the ropes he is caught with a kitchen sink by Sheamus. Corbin tries to roll out of the ring but Sheamus catches him and pulls him up to the apron where he tries for the 10 Beats of the Bodhran but Corbin blocks it and slides down to the floor to escape Sheamus. Sheamus goes to the outside but is taken down by a big clothesline from Corbin. Corbin sends Sheamus into the plexiglass and then delivers body blows to Sheamus and bounces his head off the announce table before sending Sheamus back into the ring.  Sheamus catches Corbin with a knee as he gets into the ring and then he clotheslines Corbin back to the outside where he delivers the same punishment Corbin delivered to him and then he sends Corbin into the ring post. Sheamus throws Corbin back into the ring and goes up top where he tries for a clothesline but Corbin ducks and then hits Sheamus with a side slam for a 2 count. Corbin delivers some mounted punches and then sends Sheamus shoulder-first into the ring post and delivers some more punches to the back of Sheamus’s head. We get our second Corbin rest hold of the night which Sheamus eventually fights out of and then he tries to deadlift Corbin for the White Noise, but Corbin slides out the back and levels Sheamus with a clothesline. At that time Riddle springboards over Corbin to cause a distraction and this leads to Sheamus hitting a Brogue Kick to pick up the win. Winner: Sheamus via Pinfall   Match Rating: **¼   If this match didn’t have Riddle interfering at the end to make it the third match on the show with a finish involving someone interfering I would have enjoyed this much better as these two hosses were beating the hell out of each other and I would love to see them face each other again but next time give them more time and a clean finish.   We cut backstage where Bayley looks worried and when Sasha asks her what’s wrong Bayley tries to act like nothing’s wrong but when Sasha asks her if it has anything to do with her facing Bayley on Raw Monday she does say that she wishes Sasha would’ve asked her first but Sasha reassures her that she has nothing to worry about and that not only are they role models but Bayley is her role model. A member of the crew walks up and tells them they are needed in the ring for a video conference with Stephanie McMahon and this sends us to break. We come back from commercial to Kayla Braxton who is interviewing Big E who talks about how he plans to give all of himself in this singles run and that while the support from the fans and the co-sign from Kingston & Woods should be a weight that holds him down instead it lifts him up. Big E and Kayla then do the New Day rocks together and Big E gets Kayla laughing.   Why was Big E in his gear when he didn’t have a match on the show? I love the chemistry that Kayla has with the members of New Day especially Big E as this was a fun little interview and the part at the end where Big E got Kayla laughing was kinda cute.  We then go to the ring where Sasha Banks and Bayley are awaiting their meeting with Stephanie McMahon via satellite. Stephanie congratulates them on winning all the gold and then Bayley and Sasha start trying to suck up to Stephanie saying that they want to be role models to all little girls including Stephanie’s daughters. Stephanie tells them to chill and while they may have found a loophole to the stipulation she made for the Raw Women’s Championship match last week she doesn’t hold a grudge and won’t be punishing them, however, she does want to challenge them and that’s why at SummerSlam Sasha will possibly defend her title against Asuka while Bayley will defend her title against the winner of a tri-brand battle royal which will be happening next week on SmackDown. I enjoyed this segment as Bayley and Sasha were great as usual as they were trying to suck up to Stephanie to the point where they bring up wanting to be role models to Stephanie’s daughters. I like the idea of the tri-brand battle royal to determine Bayley’s next challenger as that hopefully means a fresh challenger that we haven’t seen her against, I feel this is a perfect way to bring one of the many talented women of NXT onto SmackDown. Battle Royals are a guilty pleasure of mine so I look forward to covering that match next week.  We cut backstage where Miz, Morrison, and Sonya are chilling when Kayla walks up for an interview and asks them if they regret anything they said during the Dirt Sheet earlier in the night but they don’t regret it and say that what they did was sophisticated commentary and they were trying to outsmart Heavy Machinery because outsmarting Otis is like playing chicken against a pot-bellied pig and then they say more disparaging things toward Heavy Machinery before walking off.  Match #5: The Miz & John Morrison w/ Sonya Deville vs Heavy Machinery It looks like we are going to get a lockup but Morrison hits Tucker with a forearm and a couple of kicks but the tide quickly turns when Tucker catches the leg of Morrison and uses it to slam Morrison to the mat. Tucker then hits a waistlock takedown and then mounts Morrison for a moment and then goes for another waistlock takedown, but Morrison back elbows Tucker to escape his grasp. Tucker blocks a kick from Morrison and then takes him down with a clothesline and then we get some more Retribution light flickering.  Tucker sends Morrison into the babyface corner and tags in Otis who whips Tucker into Morrison for an avalanche and then Tucker sends Morrison toward Otis who hits Morrison with a shoulder block which Morrison takes a hilariously unrealistic spinning bump from. Otis sends Morrison into the ropes and Morrison flips over the back of Otis and makes a tag to The Miz. Otis no-sells some strikes from The Miz and then rips his shirt off and hits The Miz with a headbutt and a body attack before tagging in Tucker. Heavy Machinery hits The Miz with a double belly bump which sends Miz rolling out of the ring and then Tucker dives off the apron with a cannonball that takes down both Miz and Morrison and this sends us to break.  We come back and Miz has Tucker in a front facelock and as Tucker tries to walk over and reach his corner he is hit with a knee to the face and a big boot which sends Tucker staggering back into the heel corner. Miz tags in Morrison and despite Tucker trying to fight his way out of the corner Miz catches him and we get a double team combo of a backbreaker and double stomp combo which gets him a 2 count. Morrison hits Tucker with a kick to the back and then tries for a running knee but Tucker gets his feet up and kicks Morrison in the leg. We get a quick strike exchange before Morrison kicks him in the leg and then hits the running knee he was looking for earlier and then tags in The Miz.  Miz and Morrison hit Tucker with a double gutbuster and then Miz hits him with a basement DDT for another 2 count. Miz leans Tucker across the middle rope and distracts the referee long enough for Morrison to get in a cheap shot. Miz and Morrison try to hit their catapult and slingshot elbow combo, but Tucker forearms Morrison off the apron and then and then sits down on Miz. Tucker makes the hot tag to Otis who comes in with clotheslines for both men and a flapjack on Morrison. Otis slams Miz and then throws Morrison across the ring with an exploder and then he hits Morrison with an avalanche and then he hits the Caterpillar elbow drop for a 2 count when Miz breaks up the pin.  Tucker pulls Miz out of the ring and looks to hit him with a clothesline but Miz sidesteps and this sends Tucker into the barricade and then he sends Otis into the steps. Mandy Rose runs down and we have a brawl that leads to the match being thrown out.  Winner: N/A via No Contest   Match Rating: **¼  After the match, both teams hold back their respective ladies to keep them from ripping each other apart and that sends us to break.  We come back to the women still trying to get to each other while they are being held back and while this is happening the lights go out momentarily and then come back on. The match was decent but nothing special and it completed the trend of the night of having shitty non-finishes. This match was just a way to set up the brawl between Mandy and Sonya at the end. I like the new shorter hair on Mandy as it really suits her. I have a feeling all of this hair cutting could be leading to a hair vs hair match at SummerSlam between Mandy and Sonya.  We cut inside the arena and The Retribution has arrived with weapons and they start to tear up stuff and then harass the crew at ringside which sends Graves and Cole running to the back. Retribution then goes behind the plexiglass and attacks one of the female PC audience members and then they go back in the ring with some spray paint and paint up the place, finally they grab a chainsaw and cut the ropes before hyping each other up as the show comes to a close.  I get what they want this Retribution group to be but I feel like they shot themselves in the foot right from the beginning when they announced the group was going to debut on Raw as that completely does away with the chaotic, unpredictable, and anti-WWE vibe that the group is supposed to have because why would the group tell WWE ahead of time they are going to show up and furthermore why would they even want to communicate with the company they are supposed to be against. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I liked this closing segment on SmackDown as I feel they wanted it to be as chaotic as some of the other faction debuts in history with the most notable being the Nexus, however, this segment paled in comparison to that awesome Nexus debut. I think one reason as to why this segment didn’t connect for me personally was because the whole time I was more concerned with who these people are under the mask rather than what chaos they were causing whereas with the Nexus debt we knew who they were right from the start and thus could put full concentration on the actual chaos they were causing. With that said I will remain optimistic about the Retribution storyline and look forward to seeing where it goes next because I don’t think it’s dead in the water like a lot of other people do in the IWC.  I know a lot of people are shitting on this segment (as well as the Raw Underground segments) because of all of the camera cuts but for me, all of those camera cuts don’t hinder or help my enjoyment of a segment or match, I don’t know what it says about me but I never really notice or pay attention to the camera cuts in the moment and probably wouldn’t ever pay them any mind at all if people didn’t bitch about them constantly, of all the things that make WWE hard to watch at times the camera cuts are at the bottom of the list for me.  After the great show we had last week this week’s show was a letdown as we had 4 out of the 5 matches end in either a DQ, No Contest, or distraction, we had a stupid segment where Miz and Morrison talked to Mandy Rose’s hair, we had Strowman cutting a terrible promo, and the final segment didn’t come off as impactful as they had hoped it would be. The highlights of the show were the Cesaro vs Dorado match, everything involving Sonya & Mandy, and the interaction between Alexa Bliss and The Fiend.  That’s all for this week see you guys next week for more blue brand action including a giant tri-brand battle royal.

[shannoneichorn]

Definitely need more Karl Urban Bones. Updating my fan cast of a new Trek series:

Karl Urban Bones

Tawny Newsome

Jack Quaid

Bodhran Comedy

Chris Pine: Yeah I mean I’m NAMED Kirk and I’m gonna have SOME of Kirk’s personality traits but I am trying to somewhat make my own character

Zachary Quinto (in his oddly high pitched voice): I WILL be emotive because I MUST portray Spock’s inner turmoil! But not too much! Still gotta stay true to the character!

Karl Urban: I fused souls with DeForrest Kelly.

[celtfather]

Charmas are Stark Raving Celtic #382

Listen to an entire album, from start to finish, by Charmas, a Celtic fusion group out of Santa Cruz, California. This band is gonna take you on a fun emotional ride full of awesome Celtic music. http://celticmusicpodcast.com/

If you enjoyed this week's, please share it with ONE friend.

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is dedicated to growing our community and helping the incredible artists who so generously share their music. If you find music you love, buy their albums, shirts, and songbooks, follow them on Spotify, see their shows, and drop them an email to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.

Remember also to Subscribe to the Celtic Music Magazine. Every week, I'll send you 5 or 6 cool bits of Celtic music news. It's a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Plus, you'll get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free, just for signing up today. Thank you again for being a Celt of Kindness.

VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20

It's easier than ever to do. Just list the show number, and the name of one or two bands. That's it. You can vote once for each episode help me create next year's Best Celtic music of 2018 episode. http://bestcelticmusic.net/vote/

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

You get to Charma's newest album Stark Raving Celtic. If you enjoy it, show your support.

The Highland Games Song

Pancakes at Midnight

She Moved Through the Fair

The Dreaming Tree

The Road to Hana

Brains S.A.

Jonny Hardie's Tumble

The Meeting of Old Friends

Spancil Hill

Willie's Gone Awa

Memories in the Wind

by Charmas from Stark Raving Celtic

"Bluenose" by Charmas from Songs of the Sea

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather. To subscribe, go to Apple Podcasts or to our website where you can become a Patron of the Podcast for as little as $1 per episode. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

CELTIC PODCAST NEWS

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. My name is Marc Gunn. I am a Celtic musician and podcaster. This show is dedicated to the indie Celtic musicians. I want to ask you to support these artists. Share the show with your friends. And find more episodes at celticmusicpodcast.com. You can also support this podcast on Patreon.

Once again, I am very pleased to share with you an album in full. From start to finish.

I started this a number of years ago when I learned that DJs in the 70s would sometimes do they same. They would play an entire album from a band so you could hear what it was all about. I've done this with Jed Marum and Poitin. I'm actually restarting the Pub Songs Podcast and gonna share ALL of my albums on that podcast in the months to come.

But today, I'm very pleased that Charmas were kind enough to allow me to share their brand new album. Elise, their piper, fiddler and band manager has been chatting with me for several months. She inspired me to listen to their new album. And it was beautifully made and a lot of fun.

Elise tells me that Stark Raving Celtic is a concept album, best enjoyed from start to finish, with a lava lamp and a bottle of good whiskey. This diverse music collection opens with some mighty Irish and Scottish pub/comedy songs, including a blood-pumping anthem for Scottish Highland Athletes. Its instrumental tracks build from gentle melodies into full-on power sets, featuring various combinations of Great Highland Bagpipes, Scottish snare drum, Irish bodhran, African hand-drumming, bass and kit drums. The grand finale is modern Experimental fusion, still rooted in Celtic music, but exploring a new direction for this diverse, and intensely creative group of musicians.

Now there's only one track not included in this show and that is not podsafe. That's their recording of "The Auld Triangle". It kicks off the show. Hopefully, this episode will inspire you to check out the band and find out more about them. You can find them at charmasband.com.

They are on Facebook, you can follow them on Spotify, and Elise has made several playlists with theirs and others music. I'll add those to the shownotes as well.

Here are Four Spotify Playlists by Charmas:

Celtic Adrenaline Rush

Fresh Irish and Scottish Celtic Comedy

Celtic on Repeat (Beautiful Trance Music)

World Fusion International Buffet

Elise says she would love to add music from all your bands to these playlists. All they need to do is comprehend the etiquette:

1. LISTEN and pre-choose your best material for a particular playlist(s).

2. FOLLOW the playlist (this is just common courtesy.

3. THEN SEND your link(s) to the playlist curator.

TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS

Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through it's culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos.

2019 is the Celtic Invasion of Star Wars. 2020 is the Origins of Celtic Invasions. You can find out more about these two exciting trips. Join the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST!

This show is listener supported. Instead of trying to find advertisers, I've decided to let your generosity fund the creation, production, and promotion of the show. You'll get episodes before regular listeners, discounts on merch, and when we hit a milestone, you get extra special episodes, including a bonus episode of the Celtic Christmas Podcast that will come out next month.

I want to thank our newest patrons of the podcast: Melissa A.

You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast at http://patreon.com/celticpodcast

I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? You can send a written comment along with a picture of what you're doing while listening. Email a voicemail message to celticpodcast@gmail.com

Check out this episode!

[bodhrancomedy]

ngl i never twigged Bodhran was your name, so will now be working under the assumption your surname is Comedy

Sure.

[awfullyqueerwriter]

The problem with epic is that it looks really fucking amazing, but I'm really bad at listening to something without visuals.

No, I don't reaally know why I'm such a big fan of the mechs either.

I will keep doing Epic until someone takes it away from me.

[tuttle-did-it]

First of all, it’s horrific that people are abusing @bodhrancomedy. It’s disgraceful, there’s no excuse for it, and these people are evil. 

Second of all, these people have likely not even seen one of his videos and already are so passionate about this absolute stranger’s life that they tell him to kill himself?? 

And why? Because he made a video saying that inspiration porn isn’t inspirational to the people being manipulated for the masses? He’s right. 

Fuck humans. There is no excuse for this. Be better. 

Part 2 of Gender Recognition is stupid and arbitrary.

(I’m he/they/ze)