Life

When I came to Ireland, I was amazed at how many TV ads there are for car insurances. It feels like every other commercial is for one of these insurances. As the market is so seemingly over-saturated, the companies have to be creative to get your attention. One of the most interesting and creative ads is for CompareTheMarket.com, which according to the advertiser people are constantly mixing up with CompareTheMeerkat.com - a site for comparing meerkats. The interesting twist is that apart from actually having built up a very elaborate site to compare meerkats (definitely check it out), a number of TV ads are run by the disgruntled meerkats, who complain that people drop by their CompareTheMeerkat site, looking for car insurance. There's a whole series of them, but I'll give you a taste of them after the break.

When I made the move from Germany to Ireland and finally got my dream 46" LCD TV, one of the first things I noticed about the TV program in Ireland were the amount of ads that got me chuckling or at least put a smile on my face. Others, who have come to visit have had the same impression. So, in the next few weeks I'd like to share with you some of the best ads here on Irish TV.

Most of them will fall into the humorous category, as nothing can make an ad more memorable than a good laugh. However, I am also fascinated by ads that leave an impression by their techincal or directorial excellence. We will take a look at some of these, and why I think they are great. If time (and energy) allows, I might post some ads that I think do not work well in my opinion. Again, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, and would love to see any other suggestions for ads that you think are worth watching.

After the break, I'll share with you an ad by the Belgian brewer Stella Artois. Our partner site 3plusHeinz has posted this a little while ago, after they had seen it here on Irish TV. All in all, a great ad with great style, that will surely put a smile on your face.

There is some type of music that seemingly just wasn't meant to be live: Electronica, techno, rap and hip hop come to mind. After all, who wants to see some dude work a keyboard, emit electronic voices using a computer or rap to a beat that would have probably sounded better mixed on a CD? Well, it turns out that this extra bit of challenge to make a live event a true "event" has resulted in some of my favorite versions of popular hip-hop and electronic songs. Today I'll share with you a classic of German hip-hop that just doesn't sound as good perfectly mixed electronically as it does live. Video after the break.

Today's Music Monday is more about a music video than the actual music itself. I am sure all of you have heard MGMT's summer hit "Kids" (and if you think you haven't, you'll most likely recognize it when you hear it). Maybe you have even seen the video that I am about to show you. What you may not know, is that this video, that has been watched over 28 million times on YouTube was actually made by a group of students (who never dreamed it would take off the way it did), and is completely unofficial. You can read an article on them and the video here. While personally, I am a fan of MGMT and love their first album I never quite liked "Kids" - that is, until I came across this video. Now, it has somehow grown on me, and the video feels so perfect to the music, that every time I hear the song I see the video in my head as well. I don't know why, but it somehow brings back many memories from when I was growing up. (And it probably does help that I find the girl exceptionally cute). Anyway, not only I was impressed by this work of art: MGMT liked these guys so much, they featured them in their next videos - this time officially.

Katie Melua is no stranger in the music scene, and her mix of pop with jazz and blues appeal to a large mass. Still, she may have passed you by, just the way I had not taken note of her until recently. Missing out on her would be a shame since her music provides for some great easy-listening, head-bobbing enjoyment. And I'll be honest: That's pretty much where it ends as well. You see, though her voice is great, it's not particularly memorable nor is her music. It seems she likes to dabble in different musical genres, and though she is great in all, she excels in none. In other words: It's perfect at-work music, that you can stream through your headphones to lighten your day without it interfering your so-called productivity. Hit the break for a live version of "Spider's Web" performed in Stuttgart.

I have always had a thing for Celtic folk music, and living in Dublin I get my fair share of that every time I stroll down Grafton street. The artist I am about to introduce to you may seem every bit as Irish as you can get: She plays the harp, has light skin and long red hair. She is however actually French, and goes by the name Cecile Corbel. It was my wife, who first took interest in Corbel's music when she stumbled upon one of her songs for the soundtrack of the upcoming Japanese animated feature "The Borrower Arrietty". Planning on buying my wife the CD I browsed iTunes for her music. And although they only had a single album (which does not contain the song from the soundtrack), I instantly fell in love with the 30 second previews streaming through my speakers, and bought the CD. I'd call it a great mix of traditional Celtic and modern day music, with songs ranging from classical waltzes to Celtic rock. Some might find her voice almost unbearingly soft, but I feel it fits the music perfectly. Check out a clip of Corbel and her harp skills after the break.

It may seem the low point of a boring life when you begin to post about grammar, and if you do not share my fascination for hidden structures within everyday life you will probably want to skip this. But I have recently come across an interesting simple explanation behind a translational mismatch between English and German, that has bothered bilinguals for ages: The classic "must not" vs. "muss nicht" false friend. Both are identical when taken word by word: must = muss, and not = nicht. However, together both mean entirely different things. While "must not" is roughly equivalent to "not permitted", "muss nicht" on the other hand means "do not have to". So why do we have this strange difference, and is one more correct than the other? Read on to find out.

Today I'd like to introduce you to a young Dutch jazz musician, Wouter Hamel. The 33 year old won the Dutch Jazz Vocal Competition in 2005 and received significant attention from the Dutch media. Since then, he has performed on several television shows and on the internationally-known North Sea Jazz Festival. I'd like to share with you one of his songs, which made it into the Top-100 charts in Japan (reaching #36). As I share a certain taste for cheezy-mellow jazz melodies with my Japanese friends, it is an instant-like for me. To match the funky tune you get a great music video that, if the music doesn't already, will definitely put a smile on your face. So to put some happiness into this Monday, hit the break:

Hi everbody and welcome to Music Mondays! In this series I will be presenting a usually lesser known song every Monday for you to enjoy. Why am I doing this? Well, for one, there are so many musical gems out there just waiting to be discovered. Even if you don't share the same taste, I will try to be diverse enough to at least give some inspiration or starting points. Secondy though, I want to begin blogging some regular series like these, so that the blog does not constantly go stale. To see the song of this week, hit "Read More"!

I was thinking about putting up some shocking headline to fool you all, but then figured since we don't blog enough that headline would be stuck on front page well after April had passed. So instead of me doing the fooling, here are some of my favorite April Fool's Day jokes around the net!

All this, and much more, after the break!