Dara Clear, Author at The ClearOut

A Year of Watching – Reviewing 2022 from The Beatles to The Ring to Rule Them All – Episode 84

An attempt to wrap up the year that was becomes a review of stand out movies and TV taken in over the last twelve months. Somewhat symmetrically, Dara realises he began and ended the year watching the work of Peter Jackson – he took in Jackson’s Beatles documentary in January and is finishing the year by revisiting The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There have been plenty of other memorable productions along the way.

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The Finding of Gabriel’s Heart

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This year’s Christmas story features a man who is desperate for a break so he can feel worthy of his wife’s love. A larger-than-life blind man hijacks his night and steers him on a path towards victory. But is he all that he seems? And what does his one-eyed cat have to do with proceedings?

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The 2022 Christmas Special! – Episode 83

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Dara ain’t gonna lie – this was a monster effort to produce! A little recital with his wife, an unexpected but most welcome interview with his daughter, and a new story for the season that’s in it, all pulled together on the day of the episode. And done while sick.

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The Zero Sum Game of Loving Christmas – Episode 82

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In this Christmas shopping list of an episode, Dara has a look at the festive season through the lens of Christmases past. He also considers the pressure people are put under to partake of all things yule.

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Calling All Pamphleteers! What’s the Big Idea? – Episode 81

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In this episode Dara has a flea in his ear about what he sees as the shortage of social and political ideas to cater for a world that is outrunning itself.

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From Puppy Love to a Big Pash via the Front: A Mish-Mash Zig-Zag of an Episode! – Episode 80

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In this pinball machine of an episode, Dara bounces all over the place and is none the wiser at the end of it whether things held together.

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The Trickiness of Tone, or Do You Ever Put a Knob of Butter in Your Porridge? – Episode 79

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In this episode Dara discusses the importance of tone. Considering tone as the ultimate mood setter, he looks at it in the context of movies, public ceremonies and vocations. He also considers tone in the auditory sense, recognising it as a vibration, and recalls how thrilled he was as a child to hear and feel the rumble of the engine of the car ferry that he travelled on several times on journeys to London.

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Speaking From the Heart: Three Righteous Preacher Men – Episode 78

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In this episode Dara finds himself concerned about the upcoming FIFA world cup in Qatar. What blind eyes were turned and what palms greased to award the tournament to such an unlikely host nation? Footballers heading to the competition want to express their reservations about human rights abuses and the exploitation of workers, but FIFA wants them to ‘stick to football’.

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Heading Fear Off at the Pass, or Oh No, Not Another Catastrophe! – Episode 77

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A mental health-focused episode partly inspired by Blindboy Boatclub’s ongoing commitment to sharing his own mental health and wellness journey.

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The Helpless Gobshite Episode! A Defence of Men – Episode 76

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In this free-roaming episode, Dara attempts to thread the needle from poor mental health to perceived male incompetence and on to a celebration of non-toxic men.

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Dara Clear

A Year of Watching – Reviewing 2022 from The Beatles to The Ring to Rule Them All – Episode 84

The Finding of Gabriel’s Heart

The 2022 Christmas Special! – Episode 83

The Zero Sum Game of Loving Christmas – Episode 82

From Puppy Love to a Big Pash via the Front: A Mish-Mash Zig-Zag of an Episode! – Episode 80

The Trickiness of Tone, or Do You Ever Put a Knob of Butter in Your Porridge? – Episode 79

Speaking From the Heart: Three Righteous Preacher Men – Episode 78

Heading Fear Off at the Pass, or Oh No, Not Another Catastrophe! – Episode 77

The Helpless Gobshite Episode! A Defence of Men – Episode 76

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