Press TV again!

Well spotted ace 'cutbacks' fan Jonathan Mohan for spotting our Referendum Enda on Press tv's latest 'Double Standards' programme...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBRTjOvA1lM&feature=youtu.be&t=13m43s

Meanwhile, Enda and Noonan are chasing your Referendum 'yes' vote with their latest bulletin 'Stability and Lies'...

Referendum

Never mind the disappointment of the Eurovision (get over it people, the Russian grannies' church, demolished by Stalin, will never now be rebuilt...). We have a Referendum to defeat! Unless you're too scared to vote 'no'? After all, the government, aided by their pals in RTE News and The Irish Times, have been doing their damndest to scare the pants off the population for weeks. There are no other options? This is the only way? We need stability?

These are rollercoaster times people - we need agility, ideas and good judgement, not a pretence of conservative stability. But then... Politicians are neither agile, clever or quick witted. Who voted these assholes into power? Oh yeh... The poeple did...

Here are Ming and Mick, two stalwart revolutionaries... Vote 'no'...

401 'cutbacks' episodes

Since starting 'cutbacks', all the way back in September 2009, I've animated (to the end of April 2012) 401 episodes - including the four short films and the longer 'rinkydink' episodes. 4 hours and 45 minutes in total. I knew I was tired... Now I know why.

401 episodes! Here's the latest, from Ming...

Klout Hovering

My Klout score continues to hover around 24 (I'd prefer it to descend further) - I see some of my 2nd Year students have elevated to 58, way past Vincent Browne, Fintan O' Toole AND The WorldIrish website/Irish government social media diaspora 'initiative'. It just goes to show that the artificialities of well-funded, politically harnessed PR count for nothing against a gifted 21 year old creative with some friends! Go Melissa!

Jazis, am I actually influential about Iran???

Annecy 2012

My original first short film (15 mins long) from 1991 'To Forget' has been selected by Steve Woods for the 'Forty Frames of Green' Irish Animation retrospective at Annecy 2012. I am honoured.

Sorry, neither of the 'cutbacks' films ('Mister Heaney, a wee portrait' or 'Leitronium'), or my most recent Frameworks 'T'Was A Terrible Hard Work' made the selection... Every silver lining has a cloud?

NUI Maynooth 'cutbacks' Presentation

Thanks to Jeneen Naji (and to Kylie) for the invite to present 'cutbacks' at the launch of NUI Maynooth's Media Showcase on May 10th... Jeneen writes...

Well, thanks to all who attended last week's digital arts student work showcase in the Illuminations exhibition space in NUI Maynooth.

People seemed to really enjoy browsing the media films, the digital media web applications, and the music technology electroacoustic compositions. As if that wasn't enough guest Speaker David Quin, stopmotion cutbacks animator gave a really interesting talk on the trials and tribulations of getting your work out there using current digital media solutions.

Here's me, describing how to build President Sarkozy out of corrugated cardboard and electrical wire...

More of Jeneen's images are available at...

http://nuimedia.posterous.com/131102349

Be Still My Beating Art...

Well done to Laura et al on setting up the 'Be Still My Beating Art' exhibition in The Drawing Project. Very impressive work on the walls - as Paddy Graham said 'very accomplished...' Here's an Eimhin Mc Namara picture of me talking to Aine Mc Guinness... It's captioned 'With Dt Finn, Controversial figure linked with the DT Finn media Empire? and Áine Mc Guinness'

Controversial figure???

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1697572738#!/media/set/?set=a.3873195789815.2167960.1276275956&type=1

Sarko Admits Defeat

As voting closes in France, Sarko concedes that he has tonight become, 'just a mere Frenchman'.

My wife spent today making chocolate coffins and cuckoo clocks (as the dogs devoured them behind her back) for my Jack O' Metti film - the rough cut needs to be finished by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here's Sarko's Goodbye...

Japan Budgie

Three days he stood up to the interrogation of the Japanese Police, but in the end, we all reach a breaking point and we have to spill the beans...

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0503/smart-budgie-tells-police-his-address.html

Sarkozy's Last Message?

Is it true? The end of Sarkozy? It seems so... For 'cutbacks', my Napoleonic Sarko has been a great character, pairing up neatly with Frau Merkel, defeating Gaddafi and saving the eurozone - it's been an occasionally exciting Presidency!

Apologies for the paucity of 'cutbacks' videos this weekend - I'm up to my ears trying to finish the 'Jack O' Metti' film in time for the Galway deadline... It's getting there slowly.

Meanwhile, here's President Sarkozy...

Klout Score Again

My Klout score leaps from 24 to 26. My son says '26? That's disgraceful!' One of my 4th Year students offers to trade me some Klout points in return for 'a word' when he applies for that all important lecturing job. I explain that no-one in our Institute listens to me anyway... My word is probably poison... That's why my Klout score is only 26...

Also, I don't live on Facebook, like normal people. Tomorrow IS another day...

Vatican Flashbacks

With Cardinal Brady and The Vatican shamelessly sticking to their guns, I remembered this overlong and rather unfunny 'cutbacks' episode from April 2010, with Mister Heaney replying to The Pope.

Two years on and they're still pretending that it's all okay!

Klout Again

My next project will be to keep my Klout score doggedly below 20... It will make me distinctive. I pride myself on going against the crowd...

My Klout Score

OMG, after three days hard work grooming my Klout profile, my score has leapt from an initial 10 (out of 100) to 24 (and it's declining slowly). Klout measures my influence in social media? 24? God damn it, I have 3rd year students who have a score of 41! They should have their own tv chat shows (I always believed in them). I am not an envious person...

But then I discover this caveat in the 'Understanding Klout' info...

'Other networks that we're working to measure are Facebook Pages, Youtube, Instagram, Tumblr, Blogger, Wordpress, Last.fm and Flickr. You can already link these accounts with your Klout profile, and we look forward to incorporating your activity from these networks to our score soon.'

Aha! I look forward to that day too... Work faster Klout people... Once Youtube is hotwired into Klout, my score will soar from 24!

To 25...

Jedward's Referendum Stability Brainwashing and Lies

Jedward answer the latest Referendum question...

Press tv - Israeli Submarine

Well done to loyal and eagle-eyed 'cutbacks' fan Jonathan Mohan for spotting that Press tv are using our Dominic the hedgehog to front one of their articles on the Israelis' new submarine 'Tannin'. As usual, you thought I was making this up?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP61thNDPN4&feature=youtu.be&t=5m10s

Here's my original, unedited 'cutbacks' Israeli Submarine from March 2012...

Enda's Vision of The Near Future

Don't listen to lies! Taoiseach Enda outlines his somewhat threatening vision for a 'post no' Ireland - rats in the street, no pay for the gardai (or gardai going feral as Laura Venables once put it - you get the picture). A post-apocalyptic nation... Sort of like 28 days later, but with Fine Gael as the zombies... Or maybe that's where we are right now, before the Referendum? Nah?

Household Charge Still Unpaid

Even as we're sliding inexorably into the combined frenzies of Eurovision and the Stability Treaty Referendum, we mustn't forget all the unpaid Household Charges out there. Can't pay, won't pay...

300,000 views

youtube/cutbacks2010 passed 300,000 over the weekend! Thanks to all subscribers, regular viewers, commenters and emailers for all the support over the past year and a bit...

'cutbacks' is occasionally viral, but the intention is to keep producing a viable and sustainable series of Irish political commentary, developing characters and tv programme potentials along the way.

I'm still trying hard to move the 'cutbacks' project towards real funding and tv, but it's an uphill battle. I'll persist, but it may take some time to achieve...

Thanks to all the 'cutbacks' believers! Hump the begrudgers! Keep watching!

Enda Kenny's Deep Meditation

Enda apparently didn't fall asleep during a jobs announcement last Thursday, but was 'reflecting deeply on the thoughts being put out...' Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore leapt to his defence 'I have never caught him asleep anyway...'

http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/kenny-brushes-off-snoozing-claims-3093545.html

Mikey Casey (biffoandbuddies) told me about this one yesterday... I immediately remembered an Enda and Eamon 'cutbacks' from July 2011... Who says I can't predict the future?