I am excited to give you Astrid, interviewing our most recent Street Team Award winner, Niamh!
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Interview with Niamh - The Enigma
There are many I had considered for this next interview, so many names and each deserving a spot in the limelight. But I had someone at the very top of my list and I knew it was going to be a hard sell to get her to agree to this - cannot believe she agreed! I am incredibly intimidated by her; she is super-smart and a mystery to all of us, so it is an honour for me to get this chance to have a little chat with her. (And the timing is perfect since she was just won this months Street Team Award)
Yeah, i was actually thinking this is NOT great timing! There is going to be a pretty high concentration of "me" on the street team blog after...pretty much none, ever! Sorry folks!
(however - as a side note: thank you so much to all who voted and left such lovely comments under Kendall's vlog. It is truly appreciated)
Astrid: An easy opener - and this one is for the newbies - how does one pronounce your name? Is it weird that the SoGo world calls you Nia?
Niamh: Well, one or two lovely people still stick with with the full name, so it hasn't totally disappeared! Anyway, yes, it is very weird! I have no idea where that came from but it definitely wasn't me! "Niamh" is obviously Irish and is pronounced like "neeeve" or sometimes like "neee-ahv" (i guess the latter version bears some relation to "nia" maybe?!). There's no "v" in the Irish language, so an "mh" or "bh" is generally used to give the "v" sound - as in Siobhan (Shiv-on) or Dearbhla (Derv-la). Anyway, sorry, this is not meant to be a grammar lesson!
Astrid: I remember the first time I saw your name I thought it was pronounced like Ni-arm (we don't put emphasis on the "r" here so I guess more like Ni-ah-m). And I had no idea Siobhan was Irish. And that was definitely not how I pronounced it. Something more along the lines like "Sorbonne". Ha! Thanks for the lesson, Neeve :P
Astrid: I am curious, how does an Irish French-Law student discover and maintain an interest in an American film production company? And why THIS company?
Niamh: The reality is that I (like most people I imagine), would probably never have come across Southern Gothic if it weren't for One Tree Hill. There was particular capsule of time in my life in which I watched a lot of One Tree Hill! This was around about when I was doing my final year exams at school before university - my group of friends at the time were all fans, and between them lent me series 1-4 on dvd. As somewhat of a diversionary tactic when I was supposed to be studying, I watched them all throughout about a 1 month period! Anyway, no one wants to hear my life story, but this was a really lovely time for me for various reasons, and it is has become a little associated with One Tree Hill (and particularly some of the music on the show) in my mind.
So, tribute over! Time passed, I went away to uni as did all my friends, my OTH viewing became more sporadic due to other time committments etc - I did however still keep up with it online occasionally. On one such occasion, I visited The One Tree Hill Blog (i think) and there was a link to Hilarie's first post on the old blogger site....the rest followed!
Astrid: I did not peg you for an OTH girl. Mostly because you watch "The Good Wife" - one is not like the other! :P So, somehow I did not figure that this would be the connection. Good to hear about your "discovery" :)
Niamh: Oh, "The Good Wife," how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...! I defy anyone not to enjoy a bit of teen angst once in a while though! Don't really keep up with OTH now but yeah, for about a month when I was 18, it provided me with some much needed relief from exams and textbooks, and so I always have fond memories of it :). Now "The Good Wife," we could do a whole interview just about that...
Astrid: So since then, it has been more than a year since you first started commenting on blogs and chatting in the chat room. What were some of your first impressions of the blog/website/cbox?
I actually do remember my first time in chat - think i started off speaking to Vero in Spanish and so everyone thought i was Spanish for a while! Spoke with Ali and Megan and Sue as well i think - it was the first time I had ever participated in any kind of real-time chat. Though had been sort of having "conversations" with people in the comments of blogs/vlogs, so it was quite fun to remove some of the barriers and be able to communicate more easily.
Astrid: Spanish Niamh! On that note, how many languages DO you speak?! (And yes, I like that chat has made it easier to have real-time conversations. Many bonds/friendships have been formed this way.)
Niamh: Just english for the most part! But am not too bad at french and spanish, and do a bit of Irish as well. Thinking about starting to learn German at some stage next year, but we shall see.
Astrid: Is there any one moment over the last year that stands out for you – either good or bad? I seem to remember that vlog where Hilarie addressed the rumours about her leaving One Tree Hill as being a fairly pivotal moment, where I realised that SoGoPro was about something real. Not just another bland site for publicity/self-congratulatory purposes, blatently run by managers and publicists.
Astrid: I think this is probably still the most watched video. If you watch the "feedjit" thingy for a while, you can still see people landing on sogopro.com via a link to that vlog.
Niamh: Really? I had no idea - so observant, Astrid!
Astrid: What do you think of the extensive SoGoPro social networking sites? Are they beneficial (particularly in the new technological environment) or do you find it distracting from the main site? Also, what is your take on social networking sites in general?
Niamh: I can see how they act as good pointers to sogopro.com - and that seems to be the way in which sogopro is using them. From what I can see on twitter (don't follow on facebook), there is rarely any "new" content as such on there, just updates as to when something has been posted on the main site. I like it that way - I'd rather have one centralised, comprehensive and reliable soure than have to go looking up 4 different websites to piece together information. (Astrid: Agreed!) Social networking! Big question! Here's the thing: I love "social networking" - but feel like sometimes there is a danger of forgetting that that phrase had a real-life meaning before it ever had an online connotation. Social networking is meeting someone from Australia who moves to England, allows you to follow their journey and inspires you to be braver. It is chatting to someone from France who proof-reads your boring essays on the law! It is learning about "obuntu" from South Africa, and the civil war and sweet tea from North Carolina, and much more besides. But "social networking" is also about getting out from behind your computer and not being a slave to it. It's about catching up with old friends over 3-hour coffee and cake sessions. It's going to the cinema and discussing the film on the whole walk home. Having a few White Russians and singing karaoke! I love and value all of these things, and (try) keep a balance in my life.
Astrid: Absolutely!! I have heard some shocking stories about people updating their twitter accounts while having a "real-life" conversation with someone. Perfect example of being a slave to your computer/cell phone. But to get to the good stuff.... White Russian induced karaoke sessions??!!! I would pay good money to see this!!!
Niamh: All good clean fun... but there is no evidence anywhere. ;p
Astrid: So you say... lol.
Astrid: Let’s say you’ve won a competition and the prize is you get to suggest a film for SoGoPro to produce. What would you suggest? What would it be about? Who would you cast?
Well now Astrid if I had an idea for a future blockbuster, do you think i would just give it away for free?! It might involve George Clooney though, for purely shallow and self-indulgent reasons.
Astrid: Ha! Touché! Ah George. Now there is a man who gets finer with age...
Astrid: If you had to “sell” Ireland as a filming location to the Hellick, what would be your selling points?
Niamh: Number one selling point: it's really cheap!! I think that seems to be the main persuasive factor for the productions that have already come here anyway! HBO has been filming "The Tudors" just outside Dublin for a number of years now, and they are starting another series in Belfast this summer called "A Game of Thrones." Apparently its some kind of fantasy thing, and that is obviously a fairly expensive genre if you want to do it right, so they're trying to save some cash by filming here and using entirely British/Irish actors and crew. There have been quite a few films made here over the past number of years, some of which really show off Ireland and some of which pass incredibly convincingly for other locations.
Astrid: I did not know that about The Tudors. You learn something new everyday! I must admit, I do not know, offhand, of many films shot in Ireland. I guess I fall into that trap of thinking that anything shot in the UK is done in London/England.
Niamh: Well, to be fair, most are! Ireland has a couple of good studio facilities though - plus you can find a cityscape and a rural idyll within pretty close proximity of one another - so for all these sorts of practical reasons, Ireland seems to be becoming more attractive to filmmakers. This is obviously before you even START on the charm, good looks and sparkling personalities of the locals ;p.
Astrid: Oh so modest :-D
Astrid: You clearly have a gift for languages / written word. Is there any other talent that you don't have that you wish you did?
It occured to me in my exam today that I really, really wish I could write faster. Aside from that, don't really have any desire to be good at things I am clearly bad at (team sport, drawing, i could go on!). I often, however, wish I were BETTER at things I am already pretty good at. I suppose that's a positive thing though - complacency in any form is probably to be guarded against. Definitely believe in that saying "God blesses you so you can bless others..."
Astrid: Your love for music is no secret. Had it not been for you, I would never have discovered the awesome Duke Special. Has there been any artist/music suggestion from either the street team or the Hellick that made it into your playlist?
Duke Special is so good! I actually interviewed him recently for a newspaper I do some stuff for, and he's great (how can you not love someone who tells you that if they weren't a musician, they'd like to be a Canadian mountie?!!) Everyone should youtube him! Anyway, as for music discovered through SoGoPro, I have never particularly gotten into the music podcasts, but am sure over the months I've found lots of great suggestions from people in chat or from the Hellick. I guess the most recent would be Mumford & Sons, who Nick seemed to be championing a while back... ooh and also found "Angus and Julia Stone", and "Georgia Fair" from Alina's wonderful blog :).
Astrid: LOL! Of all the things, a Canadian mountie?! I have a hard time imagining him as such. Georgia Fair!! I love their sound. Fun fact: They recorded their debut album in North Carolina...
Niamh: Did not know that! You learn something new every day! (p.s have actually seen a few Canadian mounties in my life, and they ARE pretty cool - but don't think that would be my back-up career all the same.)
Astrid: There have been many many YouTube links thrown around in chat. Any of them been particularly memorable for you?
Well, i think most of them have probably been thrown in by me! I am definitely guilty of going slightly off-topic-ish on that score.
Astrid: I am not complaining! I have found some gems in there, so I say, Keep 'em comin'. Weren't you the one that brought us Catherine Tate? We have not been "bovvered" since!
Niamh: I do love Catherine Tate (though Geordie Georgie is my favourite i think, not Lauren). Wish she would do some more episodes!
Astrid: To close – What would your obituary and/or headstone (tombstone) say?
I truly have no idea! And wouldn't like to speculate!
Astrid: I saw this one and thought it was funny: "Here lies an honest lawyer, And that is Strange."
Niamh: Ah, you left the lawyer joke til the end, that was kind!
Astrid: ;-)
Thanks for agreeing to do this, especially with your busy schedule! Hope everyone enjoys getting to know you better as much as I did!
Pleasure! Didn't think it was really my thing, but I can't say no to you, Astrid! Plus, your questions were so interesting, I actually wanted to take some time and think about them, as much for myself as for anyone else! Thanks for making this whole thing painless :p
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