Latest news with #Orbital
Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
An affair with your aunt? I never made a beeline for mine
T here are not many Booker-winning novels of this century you would be happy to tip your camera at. I suppose you could try with last year's winner, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, in which some astronauts do absolutely nothing of interest while circling the Earth at 16,000mph. If I were Harvey I'd have put a couple of aliens in it, maybe a horrible one hiding in the water tank and another — a friendly one who helps to defeat the one in the water tank — banging on the porthole trying to get in. Or anything, frankly: a line of interesting dialogue, or a compelling character. Perhaps even a story. And so it has been for most of the century, except for 2014 when the Australian Richard Flanagan took the prize for what was a comparatively conservative work of fiction — and here is The Narrow Road to the Deep North (BBC1/iPlayer) on Sunday nights, the work of Screen Australia and starring Jacob Elordi, who titillated the world in Saltburn and is receiving superlative notices.
The Journal
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Journal
'A music industry on their knees': Organiser says smaller festivals need government support
GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO step in to help support smaller, independent music festivals in Ireland, according to Philip Meagher, founder of music festival Forest Fest. The festival, which returns to Emo, Co. Laois for its fourth year this weekend, will see Franz Ferdinand, the Manic Street Preachers, Travis and Orbital headline the main stage, while many up-and-coming Irish acts will be supporting. 'A lot of people in the music industry are literally on their knees because of the spiralling costs involved. Without the proper support structure in place, it's hard to see a future for the smaller, independent festivals going forward,' said Meagher. His comments come as other music festival organisers in Ireland have said that mounting costs are making it harder for them to keep going each year. There has been calls for the Department of Culture to roll out a 'more transparent' funding model for grants which many organisers say would help to safeguard the future of smaller festivals. Earlier this month there was confusion about whether major player Beyond The Pale would go ahead, while a number of beloved smaller festivals are not going ahead this summer, including Sea Sessions, Body and Soul, and Wild Roots. 'Extremely challenging' 'It is extremely challenging and the costs associated with putting on an event of this type and size are astronomical,' Meagher told The Journal. It is time now for the government to 'look at supporting smaller festivals around the country to assist with that cost', he said, adding that these festivals give opportunities for young bands in the country. 'It gives them an outlet to perform in front of large audiences. Without the independent festivals, there isn't that route for bands because the more established, bigger festivals don't seem to curate their events around the younger, up-and-coming acts. So we'd like to think we play an important part in that,' he said. 'It would be money very well invested by the government, because they get a huge return from the point of view of tourism, from the point of view of the catering industries [and from] the music industry itself,' he added. Advertisement Earlier this year, the government announced a Small Scale Local Festivals grant of €5,000. 'That wouldn't even pay for a water tanker,' commented Meagher, who believes the government need to dig deeper. Concert goers at Forest Fest in Laois Over-35s not hanging up their festival wellies just yet Meagher explains that unlike some of the larger festivals in Ireland this summer, Forest Fest is geared towards an 'older demographic'. In the era of 'day-clubbing' events, where those in their mid-thirties and above are hitting the nightclubs during daylight hours, Meagher said that the older generation is not hanging up its festival wellies just yet either. 'The whole idea is to provide a top end festival for an older demographic. I just found that a lot of festivals are geared more towards the 20 to 35 bracket, that there wasn't really a particularly designed event for the 35 and up demographic. 'So we basically set about raising an offering based on music of a particular generation, going back to the 80s, 90s, and also the best of the up-and-coming acts as well,' he said. Meagher said when people reach a 'certain age', where they might have had their families, they might have some free time now. 'They want to relive their youth and they're more than able to do it, they're well able to party and have a great time,' he said. RTÉ should broadcast from music festivals Showcasing Irish festivals by the national broadcaster is something Meagher said should also be considered, stating it would be a 'great idea' if RTÉ could broadcast from independent music festivals during the summer months. 'I've been watching the BBC coverage over the last number of years [of Glastonbury], it always makes for great television. And certainly I'd be very, very open to the national broadcaster visiting us and setting up on site. 'I think people would be very, very interested to be able to see behind the scenes at a festival and what exactly goes on and then to hear some live performances. I think it would be a wonderful idea,' said Meagher. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Irish Sun
7 days ago
- Climate
- The Irish Sun
I run Ireland's best kept secret festival with stacked line-up in tiny village of 300 – it's worlds away from my day job
THE boss of Forest Fest has revealed how he has turned down mega-buck deals from corporate sponsors because he does not want his event to become over-commercialised. Some 20,000 punters are expected in Emo, Co Advertisement 5 Philip Meagher was working behind the scenes at Electric Picnic for years 5 The festival will take place in the small town of Emo, Co Laois But it's the middle-aged attendees who the sponsors are more interested in - many of whom have kids who have grown up so they have lots of disposable income to spend. Philip Meagher told 'We have missed out on a lot of Advertisement 'But we want to run a true Philip, a well-known solicitor in Portlaoise, told how he shares similar views on how festivals should be run with his late friend John Reynolds - the founder of the Philip said: 'I think John is smiling down on Forest Fest this weekend, telling me how mad I am to do it. 'Because I was part of the original Electric Picnic team for the first five years, doing all the legals. 'It was one hell of a carnival ride so I got to know John very well. Advertisement 'He was an absolute visionary and genuinely loved in the industry. 'He could persuade you into doing anything, not because he was forceful but because he was a very nice man that people wanted to help. The pint-sized Glastonbury with healing area and kid's zone "Like John, I'm a great believer in being decent and kind to people.' The weather gods seem to be smiling down on Forest Fest along with John Reynolds, as the forecast for the festival this weekend is both warm and dry. Philip said: 'It's a great forecast for the rest of the week, dry and up to twenty degrees. Advertisement "But best of all no rain, and no wind which is great from a production point of view. 'Friday in particular is a cracker of a day with Saturday just as good. SELL OUT GIG "There might be a bit of cloud on Sunday but we're delighted with the news.' Amid the Philip said: 'The Advertisement 'We have missed out on a lot of money from sponsors who want to have a presence down here because our punters are older and have more disposable income than the kids who attend younger festivals." Philip Meagher Over a thousand Some 20,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event, swelling the village of Emo which has a population of 300. Philip said: 'The people attending take over Emo and the surrounding areas. This is the biggest Forest Fest we have ever done.' BIGGER AND BETTER Forest Fest organisers maintain they are 'deliberately prioritising atmosphere and experience over commerciality'. Philip said: 'We've got bigger and bigger from word of mouth. But if people come on a promise, and the staging is crap, they won't come back. Advertisement "But we've connected, not just to the punters, but to the acts as well. "That's why the names playing have gotten better and better each year.' JACK OF ALL TRADES Other well-known acts playing over the four stages include Orbital, The Stranglers, Billy Bragg, Peter Hook & The Light, Reef, Kula Shaker, Therapy?, Teenage Fanclub, The Farm, and Pillow Queens. Some big Irish acts including Hermitage Green, Something Happens, and The Riptide Movement. But festival boss Philip won't have time to see them all. Advertisement Like pal John Reynolds, who was once spotted trying to fix a gate during the Electric Picnic, Philip is not afraid to take any job that needs doing at his event. He said: 'I was on site this morning from half seven but I had to go into the village to buy a tin of paint. "There's something that needs a good coat and I'll be painting it.' To find about more about the event visit 5 Forest Fest is a weekend dedicated to arts and music 5 20,000 festivalgoers are expected to attend this weekend Advertisement 5 Philip said he turned down huge money from sponsors so the festival would remain 'pure'
Indian Express
15-07-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Why Orbital can be your next read: Find your place in the ‘waltzing ballroom' of the universe
With the safe return of astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and the Axiom crew to Earth this week, space travel has dominated the news and social media. So today's column is on Orbital, a book about six astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts conduct their experiments and observe the 'universe unfold in simple eternities', as they loop round and round the earth 16 times a day. Orbital, by English author Samantha Harvey, won the Booker Prize last year, and as you start reading this slim book, it is easy to see why. Harvey describes the 'theatre and opera' of the planets waltzing in the 'ballroom' of the universe, the 'feral and primal panther' that is 'raw space', with scientific precision and poetic lyricism. Have you ever seen a sunset and felt wonder expand within? Looked at the moon and felt an inexplicable pull? Harvey gives beautifully competent words to that awe and fascination we have all experienced. In terms of plot or character development, nothing really happens in the book. We get a few pencil strokes of the astronauts' lives and backgrounds, but Harvey does not get into details. Six people stuck in an aircraft for nine months could be the scene for immense drama and conflict, but our astronauts — two Russian men, an English woman, an Italian man, a Japanese woman, and an American man — are team players, disciplined soldiers of science. What makes the book worth reading are the eyes the astronauts — and Harvey — see the universe through. Her language has exultation, contemplation, philosophy, and a buoyant hope that touches and uplifts. The book is essentially a still life of 'humans in space'; Harvey herself has called it 'space pastoral'. Space travel has gone from being science fiction to an almost mundane activity. Harvey gives us the 'inside story' of something we read about in terms of launches and splashdowns, records and figures. Harvey has no background as an astronaut, and you can wonder why go to her to read about something enough scientists have written about. But that is the beauty and indispensability of fiction. Harvey humanises the astronauts — their rigorous training, their punishing loneliness, and yet their unconquerable elation — with the scope and flight of imagination that a novel allows, and a scientific journal must suppress. What it tells us about our lives Orbital is a short book, but I would not call it a 'quick read'. The paragraphs demand attention to fully appreciate their depth and beauty. The astronauts live inside a cramped aircraft, where their limbs are craving gravity to resist. They miss their families, the simple pleasures of walking, or seeing an animal, or holding their loved ones. But outside, a magnificent, magical universe upholds. A typhoon roars towards the Philippines. Climate change alters the earth's face. Another set of astronauts have just left for the moon, outstripping these six. They never lose sight of any of this. Similarly, we sometimes tend to live inside our problems — a job not going well, a bad relationship, a health scare — to such an extent that it blinds us to the larger life around us. No matter how all-encompassing a problem seems right now, the sun still rises, people love our smiles, there are pleasures we can give our mind and body, terrible suffering is all over the world, and it is important to not lose sight of all this. Then there are the lessons on gaze and scale. The scientists live inside their minds, inside the aircraft, and in the vastness of space. They are observing the whole universe, even as the ground crew observes them all the time. They are also observing each other. We too live in mirrors that reflect each other, inhabiting our inner worlds, the worlds we share with family, with friends, at the workplace, and the larger world. Orbital teaches us to hold together these various paradoxes, pulls and pushes. The book has many ruminations on the earth's place in the universe and our own place in all of this, and one stood out for me. 'Maybe human civilisation is like a single life — we grow out of the royalty of childhood into supreme normality; we find out about our own unspecialness….if we're not special then we might not be alone.' As babies, we are the centre of attention, we are told we are special, the best thing in the world. Most of us grow up to realise we are quite ordinary. And that should really be a comforting thought. We are perfectly average people free to make lasting bonds with other average people and together admire the extraordinary life we are blessed with. What it tells us about the world First, of course, is what it literally tells us about the world, what the astronauts observe. The border between India and Pakistan is so brightly lit that it is among the few international boundaries visible from the ISS. The mangroves of Mumbai are disappearing. Human greed is distorting the entire planet. The book also makes an interesting point about how space travel itself is changing. The six astronauts here are dedicated to the cause of science. They diligently take their blood and urine samples, record their moods, their sleep, because they realise that they, too, are data, part of the experiments they conduct. Their experiences will be studied to improve space travel. In this way, their reasons for going to space are very different from a billionaire's jaunt on a spaceship. When a journalist asks one of the astronauts, Shaun, to comment on how the moon mission is writing 'humanity's future', he repeats the question to his colleague, Pietro. Pietro answers, 'With the gilded pens of billionaires, I guess.' Shaun also starts formulating a response to the journalist's email, and his reply at once sounds polished, artificial, in deep contrast to the raw musings of six intelligent humans we had read so far. The way the line stands out reminds us of how our public conversations are sanitised, generic, while our intimate ramblings are much more alive. The one part of the book I found jarring is where it comments on politics. Broadly, the premise is that from space, borders between countries are invisible and it is easy to forget about politics. Harvey insists this is 'not naivety'. But if the author needs to tell this to us separately, instead of showing it through the characters' thoughts, their contemplations do seem naïve. The best books leave us with interesting points to ponder long after we are done with them. For me, one such point in Orbital is when it talks about the creation of Earth. Two views of two astronauts are contrasted: 'Look … where solar systems and galaxies are violently scattered … What made that but some heedless hurling beautiful force?'…'What made that but some heedful hurling beautiful force?' Is all great creation a random, beautiful, act of various factors just clicking together? Or does creation demand a powerful, violent, but ultimately benign force, a god? What do you think? See you after 15 days, Yours Literary, Yashee yashee.s@ P.S: If you love books, write to me with what work I should discuss next. If you are not a reader of novels, follow along, and maybe you will begin to delight in the wonder and wisdom, the practical value, and the sheer joy of fiction. Yashee is an Assistant Editor with the where she is a member of the Explained team. She is a journalist with over 10 years of experience, starting her career with the Mumbai edition of Hindustan Times. She has also worked with India Today, where she wrote opinion and analysis pieces for DailyO. Her articles break down complex issues for readers with context and insight. Yashee has a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from Presidency College, Kolkata, and a postgraduate diploma in journalism from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, one of the premier media institutes in the countr ... Read More
The Spinoff
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 11
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books' stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin Random House, $60) Still going strong. 2 Abundance: How We Build a Better Future by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (Profile, $40) If books could rule the world. 3 There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (Penguin Random House, $26) A moving, generous intergenerational novel that shows how water connects us. 4 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Vintage, $26) The kind of novel you can read in one day and then think about for months. 5 Butter by Asako Yuzuki (Fourth Estate, $35) Could make some comparisons to a certain mushroom trial over the ditch but it might be too soon. 6 No Words for This by Ali Mau (HarperCollins, $40) The Spinoff's Alex Casey and Claire Mabey had a lot of thoughts and feelings about this memoir. 7 Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Serpent's Tail, $30) The road trip novel that's really about intergenerational trauma. 8 On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (Vintage, $24) The predecessor to number nine on the Wellington list. 9 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden (Penguin, $26) One of life's perfect novels. 10 The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb (Simon & Schuster, $40) A new father, freshly addicted, struggles with his relationships. WELLINGTON 1 A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin, $60) 2 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Vintage, $26) 3 James by Percival Everett (Picador, $38) Terrific novel that Taika Waititi just might be getting his fingers into for the film adaptation. 4 Delirious by Damien Wilkins (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) Another terrific novel that would make a beautiful film, also. 5 The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38) 6 Pūkeko Who-Keko by Toby Morris (Puffin, $21) Dad jokes for the win! A terrific and terrifically fun new picture book by beloved Toby Morris who has taken the humble Pūkeko and given him a witty, adventurous book that will delight all ages. The genius is that the question and answer format makes a read aloud experience interactive and funny while also helping children (and adults) stretch their vocabulary and think inventively about language. Bravo! 7 A Voice for the Silenced by Harry Walker ($35) Harry Walker gave a fascinating interview over on RNZ's Saturday morning show about this book which gives voice to people in prisons. 8 M ātauranga Māori by Hirini Moko Mead (Huia, $45) If you're unaware of Professor Mead's work, here's a bit about him: Distinguished Professor Tā Hirini Moko Mead Mead (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Manawa and Tūhourangi) is the author of over seventy books, papers and articles. He was foundation professor of Māori Studies at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington and was an inspired founder of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in Whakatāne. A scholar of Māori language and culture, Tā Hirini was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006 and received a knighthood in 2009 for his services to Māori and to education. 9 The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Jonathan Cape, $38) In the Times Literary Supplement, Claire Lowdon writes: 'The Emperor of Gladness shares much with its predecessor [On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous]. The protagonist, Hai, is the gay Vietnamese American son of a refugee mother who works in a nail salon. He has fond memories of a schizophrenic grandmother. Once again, he is a teenager – just. 'He was nineteen, in the midnight of his childhood and a lifetime from first light.' In both books, the opioid crisis haunts the narrative and claims the life of a young man beloved of the protagonist. Above all, the two novels have a common poetic telos: to discover beauty in lives lived on the margins of society. 'My dream was to write a novel that held everything I loved', says Hai, 'including unlovable things. Like a little cabinet.'' A post-apocalyptic tale of women and friendship. The Spinoff Books section is proudly brought to you by Unity Books and Creative New Zealand. Visit Unity Books online today.
