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SCOOP ISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2013 LANDLORDS FROM HELL P13 INSIDE CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD P10 2013 THE VERY BEST OF INTERVIEW WITH BETTY SWING MACHINE P4
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Page 1: Scoop Issue 2

SCOOPISSUE 2 - DECEMBER 2013

LANDLORDS FROM HELL P13

INSIDE

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD P10

2013THE VERY BEST OF

INTERVIEW WITH BETTY SWING MACHINE P4

Page 2: Scoop Issue 2

CONTENTSISSUE TWO

PAGE 3: REVIEWSMutefish: On Draught, The Sweetest Thing, Cocoa Brown

PAGE 4: INTERVIEWUpcoming band Betty Swing Machine

PAGE 6: FEATUREBest of 2013

PAGE 9: STUFFChristmas page

PAGE 10: FEATUREChristmas Around the World

PAGE 12: STUFFWill ya have a cuppa?PAGE 13: FEATURELandlords from Hell PAGE 15: RECIPE

Bacon stewPAGE 16: JOHN DOE

The NSA spying scandalPAGE 18: BEAUTY

Salcura Antiac PAGE 19: EVENTS CALENDER

Things to do around Dublin for the month of December

CONTRIBUTORS

Words: Viola BernlocherHolly LennyMary McFadden Marie PinasseauAdam RifiJames Dooley

Photographers: Donkey HoteyBFI ShadowCoFluoxetineVivid Image Inc.Billy LyonsFood Irelandchefgeorgehirsch.comneogaf.comaveleyman.com123rf.comFrédéric BissonFibonacci BlueAndrew Rattowisepropertycare.comtripadvisor.co.ukindianexpress.comcampuscompanion.com

Designed by Mary McFadden with creative direction from Holly Lenny

Sub-edited by Mary McFadden

Letter from the

After a successful first issue, we have been very busy with this one! We realised that there were several things we weren’t happy with and decided to change, such as the design. We’ve subsequently had a massive design overhaul and we hope you prefer the new, simpler look. In this issue we have an interview with the band ‘Betty Swing Machine’ a swing group who are entering the Irish music scene. They’re lively and passionate, and we hope you’ll be able to make their upcoming gigs, details of which are on the back cover. Some of what we have in our pages this month includes a compiled list of the best of 2013 by our own Adam Rifi, a ‘Landlords from Hell’ feature and another ‘John Doe’ piece on the NSA and world spying for our anonymous rant section. We also have a Christmas themed page which really made us feel like kids again. Christmas is so soon, and we’re just buzzing with excitement at Scoop HQ. Have a great Christmas everyone, and make sure to look out for our New Year edition as well! We hope you enjoy!

Holly Lenny & Mary McFadden

editors

If you would like to contribute to the next edition, or if you have any complaints about this issue, please email [email protected] with your ideas. We’re always looking to improve so we value our readers’ input!

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REVIEWSThe Sweetest ThingThis little gem can be found by the quays and you can look over the scenic boardwalk as you drink whatever delicious hot beverage you’ve purchased. The shop itself is cosy and the staff are friendly. Although the prices are a little steep, like the €4 hot chocolate, you get what you pay for. The food is delicious and you can tell that the chocolate used is of the highest quality. They have a glass display of chocolate truffles that you can buy, or you could simply go for pre-wrapped goodies like shortbread and flapjacks. At the back of the shop, there are shelves full of chocolates that are obviously intended to be gifts, with some in baskets. You can also buy a chocolate fondue, no doubt with the shop’s own chocolate to melt in it. Overall, you do need to have money to spare to pop in here, but when you do it’s a fantastic treat.

Mutefish: On DraughtIf you’re walking down Grafton Street, you’ll no doubt hear some fantastic music as the city is overflowing with talent. Chances are you’ve heard Mutefish playing, and if you haven’t, well you’ve missed out! The album is perfect for almost any occasion; studying, napping, chilling out, having sex, feeling blue, or for background music during an awkward conversation. It’s full of spirit and, although it’s not intended to be, it just sounds so ‘Irish’. It makes you think of home and some of the songs, such as ‘De la Ferme’, is a real feet mover. As it stands now, the song currently has 23,853 views on Youtube with 149 likes and 0 dislikes. Give them a listen and raise that view count! Other favourites include ‘Muteation’ and ‘Wellies in the Air’. We’ll also be doing an interview with the band in the next issue, so stay tuned!

Marissa Carter: Cocoa Brown fake tanThis tan has been getting rave reviews from everyone, and for such a low price, it seems to be a beauty staple. Unlike other tans, the smell is a divine, floral scent which doesn’t over power you. The texture is creamy and glides on very easily without making you a terracotta colour. It’s not too dark on pale skin and it wears off evenly. A win-win on all levels! You can buy the bottle, a ‘tough stuff ’ remover and fake tan mitt in a set in Penneys for just €9!

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Interviewer MARY MC FADDEN talks to band ‘Betty Swing Machine’ about their origins, moments as a band and upcoming gigs.

The band members are singers Holly Pereira, Caoimhe Barry and Lucie Azconaga, with guitar player Stephen Daly and double bass player Tom

Mulrooney.

Hi guys. Thanks for having me. What’s the story behind your band name? Lucie: Um... Stephen: I’d be interested to know that actually! Lucie: Okay so the music we play is swing, and our final goal would be to go for electro swing. We wanted a name that represented old and new. Betty is a nice name, and Holly told me that in the US, girls used to be called Bettys. It sounded good! Plus my cat is called Betty.

What has been your biggest gig so far? Stephen: The O2. (all laugh) Lucie: We only started playing 7 months ago. Our first gig was in July. Holly: We played Citric Picnic and the Jack of Diamonds festival. A couple of small gigs; most of the time we’re trying to get the set together, it’s an enormous amount of work. You can’t just bluff your way through it. Lucie: The nicest has been in Bewley’s Theatre. It was

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From left to right: Stephen Daly, Caoimhe Barry, Lucie Azconaga, Holly Pereira and Tom Mulrooney

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How long have you been together? Lucie: We’re together since July. Holly: I knew Tom and Caoimhe, but not Lucie! Lucie: I placed adverts all over Dublin to try and get a singer to join me. My friend said she knew a singer, which was Holly, and she started playing. We wanted a third singer and so did the same with the ads again and we met Caoimhe, though Holly already knew her. Then we found Tom and Stephen and became a band!

just lovely and fit our kind of look. We loved supporting a jazz and swing duo called Vitale & Fernly. They are so good and we were great together.

When have you most struggled as a band? Holly: Trying to find a third singer and guitar player was very frustrating. There are so many musicians out there but they have to fit. And we needed a third singer because we wanted to do a three-part harmony.

What musicans/ bands influence you? Holly: The Andrews Sisters. Any swing music or barber shop really.Lucie: In the future, if we get to do what we want, we’d love to do electro swing.

What do you think of mainstream music today? Holly: It’s more about commerce than it is about music. Lucie: I don’t like it. Holly: It’s just a vehicle for fuelling advertisements. Stephen: Yeah, Kanye West is the biggest tool! Holly: Original pop music ticks most of the boxes, like The Beatles are pop and they’re fab, but in the past 10 years it’s become this weird entity that sells trainers. I don’t know. Stephen: I don’t pay a lot of attention to it, but you can’t escape it. I heard the new Arctic Monkeys song the other day, that was alright! Holly: Just hearing about fucking Jedward playing for Obama though... Stephen: It’s beyond embarrassing! Holly: The amount of people that work so hard and they don’t get anywhere, it’s just sad.

Do you write your own music? Lucie: We’ve just started. We do covers but we’ll develop our repertoire with some standard barber shop tunes with our voices working together. Maybe put a modern take on some old swing music. We have two originals, both working titles.

Holly: It’ll be kind of a cabaret set. We have a lot of visuals, like with choreographical dance music. You know, jazz hands!

Favourite song that you’ve played? Lucie: That’s hard to choose. Holly: All of them! Lucie: It depends on the gigs and how they’re going. Holly: Even if they’re hard to play, it’s a nice payoff!Caoimhe: “Sandman”, people go mad for it! Holly: “Bye Bye Baby”, even if it’s like climbing a mountain while it’s happening!

Is the band your full time job? All: No. Holly: I’m studying animation. Lucie: I teach French and play in three other bands. Holly: We all play in other bands actually. Caoimhe: Yeah we have no free time. Lucie: Obviously the goal is to stop our other jobs and keep the band going full time though.

Do you have an album on the way? Lucie: We’re mostly doing covers right now. Holly: We’ll be playing mad French songs! Lucie: We have two songs towards the first album.

Where do you want to be in 5 years? Holly: The Bahamas. Lucie: Hopefully playing gigs and making a living from it. Holly: We’re aiming high. Caoimhe: And we work really hard. Lucie: You can’t go far if your expectations aren’t high!

Check out Betty Swing Machine’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bettyswingmachine They have upcoming gigs on the: 8th December at Sweeneys on Dame Street 20th December at The Harbour Bar, Bray 22nd December at The Grand Social on Liffey Street

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INTERVIEW / SCOOP

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BEST OF

2013Person of the year: Edward SnowdenTo some he is a hero, to others a traitor. Most people agree, however, that his unveiling of the NSA spying scandal made him one of the most influential people this year. After fleeing to Hong Kong, he continued on to Russia, where he is currently staying hidden from the public.

Food of the year: CronutPaying up to $100 for a piece of pastry sounds ridiculous? Not for the hundreds of people waiting outside Dominque Ansel Bakery in New York City. With a limited supply of cronuts, a mix between donut and croissant with a sugary filling; whoever came late had to pay the black market price of sometimes 20x the original price of 5$.

Tragedy of the year: Train Crash in SpainIt’s kind of morbid to try to find a “tragedy of the year” as everything involving people getting killed or hurt is a tragedy. However it is a good way of reminding people that horrible things happen and that people might need help. My personal tragedy of the year was the typhoon in the Philippines earlier this month. It is estimated that up to 3000 people died with hundreds of thousands affected. If you want to help with a donation you can do so at: http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow

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The days are getting longer, the weather colder. Christmas and New Year are around the corner, but before that, we would like to take a look back at this year and remember what mattered.

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TV series of the year: Breaking BadNo other series managed to leave such an impact on the TV world as this year’s series finale of the critically acclaimed ‘Breaking Bad’. Even weeks after it finished, people still talked about the show that possibly changed the approach to how TV series are being produced. And most important of all: it finally gave Bryan Cranston the recognition he deserved.

Song of the year: Blurred LinesLove it or hate it: Blurred Lines has been the most sold song in the US and the UK this year. Robin Thicke’s anthem about women, which was created and recorded in about an hour, was nominated for ‘Best Song’ as well as ‘Best Video’ at this year’s EMA’s and unfortunately I am sure that it will remain on radio and TV for quite a while; whether we want it to or not.

Game of the year: GTA VThe long anticipated continuation of the GTA series didn’t disappoint with this year’s release of GTA V. For the first time ever in GTA history, you have the ability to play from the perspective of three different characters. GTA V offers more gameplay in many aspects: plan bank heists, drive or fly around the vast virtual city of Los Santos, go scuba diving, play gold and much more.

Surprise of the year: Pope resigningHonestly, raise your hand if you knew that a pope could resign. I mean sure - politicians, CEOs but a pope? That may be because the last resignation of a pope dates back to 1415 and it is highly unlikely that someone still remembers that one. Former Benedict XVI’s resignation, among others, showed the world one important thing: if you are too old to do your job properly, don’t cling to it.

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BEST OF 2013 / SCOOP

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Creep of the year: Terry Richardson Richardson is one of the most successful celebrity and fashion photographers in the world and is definitely the creepiest. He has been repeatedly accused of sexual harassing young women modelling for him. His photos aren’t good and he’s a sexual predator, we here at Scoop are finding it hard to understand why he is still be hired at all.

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Internet Phenomenon of the year: Harlem ShakeIf somebody asked you right now what the biggest thing on the internet sensation this year was, what would you say? ‘What does the fox say’ maybe? That’s because trends on the internet die almost as fast as they are born. Nevertheless, the biggest internet sensation this year was probably still the ‘Harlem Shake’. After all, what is more interesting than people dancing in spasmic movements to the drop line of a mediocre song?

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Movie of the year: GravityUsually, movies being released around this time of the year are being called ‘Oscar bait’. And certainly, ‘Gravity’, a movie about two astronauts’ attempt at survival in outer space after their space shuttle is hit by meteor debris, is a huge contestant for a few Oscars. Together with the brilliant performances of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock and probably one of the best utilizations of 3D I have ever seen, Gravity is my personal movie of the year.

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Story of the year: NSA The government is spying on its citizens, reading their email and texts and listening to their phone calls. What sounded like a crazy conspiracy theory to many became harsh reality after documents about the NSA, released by Edward Snowden, hit the public.

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Meltdown of the year: Amanda Bynes From setting herself on fire in her own driveway, and blasting fellow celebrities with delusional tweets on her Twitter page, Amanda Bynes has been worse for wear this year. She was also caught throwing a bong from the window of her 36th-floor apartment. She claimed that the alleged bong was actually a vase.

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CHRISTMAS PAGE / SCOOPWhat is Christmas without the right kind of movies? Make sure to curl up beside a roaring fire with these two feel-good flicks!

For a great Christmassy (is that a word?) activity, head on over to Dundrum on Ice. It’s open 7 days a week from 3PM - 9PM except Christmas Day and prices for adults are €12 with children getting in for a euro less!

The smell of Christmas cookies baking in the kitchen is a scent hard to replicate throughout the year. Either way, take advantage of the Christmas cheer to put your apron on and get baking! The cookies to the right are a little fancier than you’re likely to make (not that we doubt our master chef readers...) but give it a go anyway and they’ll probably taste much better than they look!

Hearing Fairytale of New York on the radio is the one thing that assures you that Christmas is here.

We don’t get much snow in Ireland, but when we do, everyone and their mother gets out to throw snow balls at each other until their very bones are cold!

Presents are a big part of Crimbo, and nothing is worse than getting a generic box of shower gel. Be thoughtful with your presents! And don’t worry, nobody ever puts a bow on the wrapping paper; you’ll be lucky to receive it in a Dunnes bag!

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CHRISTMAS AROUND THE

WORLDChristmas is coming! By walking around Dublin, we can already see the decorations and the beauti-ful lights. So let’s look at some Christmas traditions and specialties in various countries around the world.

Chealsea

On Christmas Eve, we have turkey, stuffing and potatoes with some cranberry sauce. For the dessert, we have almost the same thing as for Thanksgiving, like apple pie and pumpkin pie. But especially for Christmas we have cookies with a lot of decoration. We also have a kind of chocolate candy called ‘fudge’. We drink some apple cider and eggnog which is a kind of creamy drink with whisky. We open presents in the evening and then we play games and watch Christmas movies. On Christmas Day, we wake up very early and we eat sausage roll and then we open the rest of the presents. In the evening, we have an enormous meal and watch TV.

Kea

In my country, we have three days to celebrate Christmas. For lunch on December 24th, we eat veal sausages with sweet mustard. Then in the evening of December 24th, I spend time with my parents. Every year we eat something different. Last year, it was potatoes, beef steak from Argentina and vegetables with a good salad. The dessert is home-made and generally it is ice cream. On December 25th, we go to my grandparents’ house. I love spending time with family! In the evening of December 25th, there is a Christmas ball. All my friends dress up and we eat and drink together, then at 10PM we go out. During the Christmas time, the entire city is decorated. There are a lot of Christmas trees, Christmas markets and lights.

Ali

In my country, the majority of inhabitants are Muslim but we celebrate Christmas anyway. I am also Muslim and I celebrate Christmas as a traditional Muslim event. Every year, I decorate the house with a Christmas tree. For the meal, we invite the family but also some good friends. In the morning of the December 25th, I have to get up very early, at about 6AM to offer and open my presents. Then we eat some dishes with beef, chicken and rice. This dish is called ‘biryani’. For the dessert, we have ice cream and traditional Indian cakes called ‘berfi’ and ‘rusgula’.

PAKISTAN

GERMANY

USA

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Hyunsuh

I spend Christmas Eve in my house. Most of the time I am with my family but I can also be with my boyfriend and some friends. We have a party after the meal. There is no special food for Christmas; we can eat whatever we want. In Korea, it is a very important event. All the living rooms and the shop windows of stores are decorated. It is a moment where everybody meets and spends time together. I have no extra present on Christmas Day because it is also the day of my birthday. It is very common that young people travel during Christmas holidays.

Cesar

For Christmas, I spend time with my family because I’m very close to them. But in Venezuela we can also invite friends to come to share this moment at home. We eat together. The most typical dish for Christmas is ‘hallaca’. It’s a kind of square pancake with beef or pork, olives, peppers, grapefruits and locked into a banana tree leaf which is cooked in boiling water. Then we also have ‘arepa’, which is bread made with white or yellow corn, sometimes garnished with ham, cheese or whatever else you want to put in it. For the dessert, we eat ‘dulce of lechosa’ or a papaya; it’s a traditional dessert which is prepared in Venezuela at Christmas and for the celebrations at the end of year. After the meal, we often go into town to look at the fireworks.

VENEZUELAKOREA

FEATURE / SCOOP

Reggy

For Christmas, all my family meets in my house or in my grandma’s house. We eat turkey and drink some wine. I really love eating lasagna so sometimes for Christmas I cook it even if it’s not a specialty. We also eat a dish which is called ‘pozole’; it’s a kind of soup with pork. In my family, we have a tradition. At 11 pm, we take a piece of paper where a name is written. This paper indicates the person to whom we have to offer a present.

MEXICO

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“Will ya have a cuppa’?” is the common question most Irish households ask before you have even passed the threshold. We Irish have an incredible attachment to tea with emotions flying high, demonstrated when asked, “Are you a Barrys or a Lyons drinker?” Debates ensue and opinions intensify, which can often cause divides between friends. No matter the weather, hot or cold, tea is always an option. During the

summer time my mum says, “Tea is great for cooling you down” and in the winter she says, “Tea is great for warming you up.” I don’t get it, it’s as though she doesn’t want me to judge her for her uncontrollable addiction to this magnificent leaf.

No matter what length of time you leave the Emerald Isle for, packing a box of tea is always an essential for your travels. My Gramps used to love telling the story of his days as a tea

smuggler back in late 1930s. Crossing the border from Northern Ireland into the south was always a difficult task during these days as taxes on tea in the south were extraordinarily higher than in Northern Ireland. As a university student, my Gramps would hide tea bags in his shoes, socks, jackets and even on his person, eventually selling it on to fellow students and making a nice profit for himself. Back then I think this was the equivalent of your friendly neighbourhood weed dealer.

Will ya have a cuppa? GO ON GO ON GO ON

VS

Mrs Doyle, Father Ted Captain Jean Luc Picard, Star TrekArthur Dent, Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

FAMOUS FICTIONAL TEA DRINKERS:

STUFF / SCOOP

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by Holly Lenny

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Coming to Dublin, with two suitcases and no place to stay is not a very pleasing experience. This happens to many first year students each September and it

happened to me. The one reassuring thought is, you’re not alone. And that is the problem. Because your next thought is, everyone is looking for a flat! And even if you’ve found one, sometimes the real problems start.

To find a decent place to stay, especially when the term has started, is not an easy task. The whole city is crowded with students who are desperately in need of a sheltered bed. Student accommodations are often no real choice; they’re often expensive and overcrowded. It must be paradise for landlords to rent even the dirtiest and smallest ratholes.

Well, my situation was as desperate as hell. Before coming to Dublin,I was told by many people that it’s relatively easy to find a room in a short amount of time. I didn’t want to rent one via Internet, without seeing it with my own eyes. I booked a hotel room just for the first four nights. On the Internet I started my search. I wrote to many people and got scant replies. Most of my calls went on like this. Me: “Do you still have this room vacant you’re offering on daft?” Landlord: “Are you a student? I only rent to young professionals and the room is rented already anyway.” Great. That really made me happy. After a short while I was sick of reading the term ‘young professionals’. I can pay my rent, even if I’m not a young professional. Unfair, but Landlords can rent to so many people now because everyone would be that glad to grab a single or even a shared bedroom, that they pay through the nose to get it! Often when you view a

room, you’re not alone. A huge number of other people are waiting to see the same place. After four days of searching I got an appointment to see a room. I was the seventh person to see the small but well-furnished room and the landlord told me that about thirty people had actually announced to come for the viewing. How crazy is that?

Having a small budget and competing with young professionals and other students, we find ourselves in a bad situation in the housing market and often have no other choice than to take the tiniest shoebox ever seen because anything else is not affordable.

One of the reasons for this problem is that there is a property shortage at the moment, especially in Dublin. 1500 properties had been offered at the beginning of November this year; four years ago it had been around 6700, as the new daft.ie report states. Due to this fact, rent went up 7.6 per cent compared to November last year. Talking to the author and in-house economist of daft.ie, Ronan Lyons, he says the reason for it is still due to the bursting of the property bubble in the financial crisis: “Construction projects dried up and now Dublin risks being under stocked with housing for the foreseeable future.” He doesn’t believe that the situation will relax soon. In the construction sector the costs of labour are still high, and planning in dense city centres is an additional problem, he says.

This means students have to start their search for accommodation early. It is better to stay in a hostel for a longer time than give in to panic and take an ill-appointed room. Check the renting index of the area online (www.

LANDLORDS FROMHELL

by Viola Bernlocher

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FEATURE / SCOOP

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prtb.ie) to make sure that the asked rent is not way too high.

Once they have a flat, many students face other challenges. Like landlords who don’t want to pay tax and just don’t register their property. I’ve heard of many students, who have to pay their rent in cash to the landlord. Another common problem is that landlords don’t care for their property. Repairs are delayed or simply not done and complaints of tenants often not listened to. Another girl told me that her heating is not working at all and the landlord refuses to help.

Check all of that closely before you take a flat. Even if you have already moved in, don’t forget that you as a tenant have rights as well. You have the right to live in a good flat which is looked after and repaired if there are problems.

There are some organisa-tions that help tenants who have problems with their landlord (see list below), and your Students Union could get you help as well.

If you’re having bother in your rented accommodation, check out the Private Residental Tendencies Board at www.prtb.ie for disputes between landlords and tenants. Information about renting procedure and tenants rights and landlords duties can be found at www.citizeninformation.ie

If your bathroom is showing any signs of mould like the pictures above, you must get it checked immediately as mould can be dangerous.

FEATURE / SCOOP

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Also a good thing to do is to talk to other students. They might be competitors in the housing market, but you are still here for the same reasons: making new friends, finding a decent flat and having fun studying.. That’s how I finally found my flat. I met my flatmate in university and told her of my desperate search. She told me that she had a spare bed in her shared bedroom. I moved in. The flat is old and was dirty, but at least it is near college. For now, after a prolonged and des-perate search, I’ll take what I can get!

PROBLEMS WITH YOUR LANDLORD?

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Winter is well and truly upon us. The hot water bottles are full, many of us have mid-terms and assignments, the sun has all but abandoned us, and it is dark before

we start work and when we finish. The picture is dire folks. For some, there is the comfort of a cuddle with that special some-one to get them through these bleak evenings. Unfortunately the majority of us find ourselves tragically single, so we comfort eat, filling the long lonely evening with food. It’s unashamed comfort and it’s delicious!

Nothing gives a bit of winter warmth like a good stew. This recipe is delicious and packed with vegetables for guilt free pleasure. You can use any meat but the best is bacon, chicken or turkey. I have made it with back bacon, bought in a popular value super-market where you can get a large piece relatively cheaply. It can be cut into slices which can then be frozen if not being used.

• One piece of Back Bacon• One chopped onion• One chopped clove of garlic.• Three to four carrots • One stick of celery • Four to five average potatoes/seven to eight baby potatoes.• One packet of vegetable soup/vegetable stock cube

Take your back bacon and cut into slices, as thick or thin as you like.Generally you will get three to four slices. Boil one to two slices in a pot of water (Depending on how many you are serving or how many days dinner you intend to make, generally a slice per person).

Add one chopped onion and a chopped clove of garlic. Bring to the boil.As the Bacon is coming to the boil chop your carrots and celery (you can add as many vegetables you like that you may have in your fridge and need to use). Add to the Bacon in the pot and boil for approx 30 minutes on a medium heat.Add your potatoes. If you are using baby potatoes just rinse and add to the pot. If you are using larger potatoes, clean and peel them. You may also need to cut them in half de-pending on the size of your pot. Then add them to the pot.Finally, take at least half your packet of vegetable soup and mix with a little water in a cup.

RECIPE / SCOOPby James Dooley

Back bacon stew

Add this to the pot. If you do not have soup you can alter-natively add a vegetable stock cube to the pot.Leave to simmer for a fur-ther 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then serve!It’s happiness in a bowl. You deserve some TLC so take the time to be good to yourself and cook something delicious this evening… let’s face it, if you’re single, nobody else is going to cook for you and if you eat enough takeaways you’ll probably be forever alone. Put down the chopsticks and pick up the carrots!

BACK BACON STEW

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THE WORLDWE LIVE IN

TODAYA rant on the NSA, Obama, Cameron and what else seems to be wrong in the world these days.

What kind of world are we living in today? Govern-

ments spying on its peo-ple and on their ‘allies’ and ‘friends’. But it seems that nobody really cares anymore. People would rather sit at

home and watch their reality TV shows and movies to es-cape into a world where real concerns can’t touch them. Some of them are even in fa-vour of the government spy-ing on us.

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When the story first broke loose, polls in the US and Israel showed that most people were actual-ly quite content with the government digging into our private and social lives, into national and international politician’s phones and emails and into global corporation’s secrets, all for the sake of defending us from angry terrorists whose only goal is destroying our very life. Never mind that most of these terrorists are a crea-tion of imperialistic wars as a former U.S official, in an interview with Huff-ington Post stated: “Every drone strike creates 40-60 new enemies.” So basi-cally, all the USA is do-ing is protecting us from the enemies they created themselves. Another ex-cuse Obama tried to offer the public about how all these cases of eavesdrop-ping could’ve happened under HIS administra-tion was that he actually had no idea that it was going on. Now I’m not sure if his PR team had the week off, but if even the most powerful person in the world has no idea what is going on with his agencies, it makes you

think doesn’t it? Well at least it’s okay because it was public knowledge all this time right? Well, except it wasn’t public knowledge until a former NSA employee named Edward Snowden mus-tered the courage and decided to let the public know about what was happening behind the mysterious doors of the NSA headquarter in Mar-yland. How people are able to call him a traitor remains a mystery to me, but everyone is entitled to their own (stupid) opin-ion I guess.

At the same time I won-der how the USA can re-main claiming that it is a democracy despite all this new information being released on a daily basis. It seems that the Obama administration wants to set an example for other possible ‘whistleblowers’. “If you decide to tell the truth, you better be ready to face the consequenc-es.” The consequences, of course, are going to pris-on.

But let’s move away from the big US and come to its little sister: the UK. CCTV is so com-mon, you wouldn’t be

surprised if somewhere there was a recording of you sitting on your own toilet. But it’s all for our own safety isn’t it? It all prevents terrorism and dangerous people coming into the coun-try, doesn’t it? Accord-ing to foreign ministers, both from the UK and the US, there have been dozens of cases where terror attacks have been prevented in the past because of surveillance programmes. Odd-ly enough, neither the US nor the UK has yet named any specific cases in which terrorists were stopped. Makes you think doesn’t it? Why countries that are usual-ly not so reluctant with boasting about having stopped terrorists don’t want to name even one specific incident. May-be they want to protect the people involved; or maybe there just isn’t one to name. But let’s come back to the good old Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron, who must be just about as ex-cited as a child on Hal-loween upon hearing that, contrary to the US, there is no First Amend-ment in the United Kingdom. That must’ve been around the same

time when some goril-las were sent down to ‘The Guardian’s head-quarters to smash a few hard drives containing leaked material by Ed-ward Snowden and also around the time when David Miranda, part-ner of Glenn Greenwald who is in close contact with Snowden, was de-tained at Heathrow air-port for hours without any official charges. To put the cherry on the sundae, Cameron per-sonally appealed to the ‘social responsibility’ of newspapers to stop publishing NSA related material. Can anyone please get Mr Cameron a dictionary for Christ-mas and bookmark the pages with ‘social’ and ‘responsibility’? It seems he is a little bit confused.

So what exactly am I trying to say? Maybe that we are manoeu-vring towards a future at the level of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ - an all-around surveyed police state where the rights of the individual are worth less than a penny in a wishing well and worst of all; nobody caring. But maybe I am just overreacting. Or maybe not.

Protest against NSA surveillance

JOHN DOE / SCOOP

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BEAUTY / SCOOP

At the end of the summer I experienced a condition I have never had before in my twenty-two years of life; acne. I escaped my teenage years pizza-face free, except for the odd pimple, but now it is full blown acne! I spent the majority of the summer abroad teaching in Sicily, but once I stepped off the plane and on to Irish soil again it was as if my skin was screaming “No! Not back to this place!”

“Mum, I think I have acne,” I mentioned, staring in the mirror with a frown, my once crystal clear skin a distant memory. “Don’t be silly Holly, you can’t get acne at this age. You’re not even a teenager anymore,” she declared. Well not only was that a sting to the fact I’m rapidly making my way into my twenties, but she was in fact wrong. After consulting my doctor and carrying out my own research, I discovered you could develop acne at any stage in

your life. Only developing acne in your teenage years is simply a myth. Since the end of August I have tried every method and remedy under the sun. My mum has bought me really expensive creams, which the pharmacist told her ‘works like a miracle’. The only miracle I can report was that it left me with red blotchy burns on my cheeks, as if I was going for that ‘explosion of blush all over my face’ look. It just made my spots more pronounced.

I feel really sorry for people who have battled with acne for years, most notably men, who unfortunately aren’t seen to be socially acceptable if they wear makeup to cover their blemishes. I once met a man who deliberately grows a beard to cover his acne and scarring. Let me tell you though, makeup can sometimes make the problem worse or actually enhance your imperfections.

It was an accidental visit to the health food shop when I discovered ‘Antiac’ by the brand Salcura. This liquid spray comes in a 50ml bottle that claims to purify, soothe and calm skin if you’re suffering with acne, white heads, black heads, pimples or blemishes. This is officially my miracle skin product and it’s only €13; pretty cheap for a miracle right? The first night I sprayed it, my skin automatically felt calmer and that raw feeling of my irritated spots began to disappear. The surprising thing about this product is that every ingredient is 100% natural, no nasty chemicals. The ingredients include:| water, vitamin and mineral solution, Dead Sea minerals, tea tree oil, sandalwood oil, sea buckthorn oil, manuka oil, nerolina oil and eucalyptus oil. Antiac was even voted as the best acne treatment by Channel 4’s ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ television program.

On salcuraskincare.com you can order a free sample just incase you don’t believe me about the magical powers Antiac possesses.

GOT ACNE?A review by Holly Lenny

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1st December – 12th January : Sleeping Beauty pantomine at The Helix, 12th - 13th December: Docklands Christmas Festival, 3rd December - 18th January: Wicked the musical, 18th - 31st December: Wicked Wolf comedy nights, 3rd December: Avenged Sevenfold at the O2, 8th December: Steve Hughes - While it’s Still Legal, 10th - 15th December: Mrs Brown live at the O2, 28th December: Leinster VS Ulster, 17th December: Tenacious D at the Academy, 20th December: Betty Swing Machine at the Grand Social, 24th December: Christmas Eve, 25th December: Christmas Day

EVENTS AROUND DUBLIN IN DECEMBER

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