This is the third article in a series of profiles of link. I'm now trying to post the articles in the order that the people were chosen as link. This article was most recently edited on 9 May 2008.
link exploded onto Fanpop one year ago. Practically everywhere I went on the site last May, I saw content that Ciaran had contributed, as well as spots he'd created, such as the link spot. As with other Fan of the Fortnight recipients, I asked other link what they thought on ciaran.
R-S-Lee said: "ciaran is a valued Fanpopper and an excellent contributor. I have nothing but respect for him."
DarkSarcasm commented on his diplomacy in forum use: "He's pretty good at letting people know when they're wrong without coming across as completely rude."
I started a long correspondence with ciaran back in January as part of this series; here's what we discussed.
Harold: Describe how you discovered Fanpop, what you did when you found it, and what has kept you coming back.
Ciaran: I was on my bebo account and was making some changes to my Heroes fan club and someone posted a link to episode 10 of Heroes and that's how I found Fanpop.
Harold: What would surprise other Fanpop users to learn about you?
Ciaran: I'm double-jointed!
Harold: What is your favourite little-known spot?
Ciaran: link
Harold: Thanks for mentioning the Friday Night Project - I'd never heard of it before that, but it looks good. I may be joining that spot soon! But that brings up another question about types of comedy. There's a lot of different kinds of things that people find funny: highbrow jokes, political satire, awkward humor (anything Ben Stiller is in, as an example)...lots of stuff. I'm a sucker for link, myself - basically that's slapstick involving animals. What sorts of things do you prefer in your humor?
Ciaran: Well, I like all comedy really - all of it is funny, it just depends on my mood - but mostly I would say highbrow jokes.
Harold: Describe your favourite place.
Ciaran: The beach.
Harold: The beach is your favourite place...any particular beach? What time of day is best at the beach? Living in California, I know a lot of people with different attitudes about the beach, depending on what they do. What do you do there - is it mostly a place to hang out with friends, a place to relax, a place to meditate, a place to do sports (surfing, scurfing, swimming, diving, jetski), or a place to be inspired (to write/compose/create)?
Ciaran: Mostly a place to relax and sometimes a place to have fun, too.
Harold: What's the best thing about being a teen in Ireland?
Ciaran: link - Best Day Of The year!
Harold: What do you do on a typical St. Patrick's Day? What did you do this year, for example?
Ciaran: Well, I went out with friends and saw the parade and then we went up to Derry for the night.
Harold: What did you do online before you found Fanpop?
Ciaran: I was on bebo and youtube...now it's Fanpop all the way.
Harold: How has Fanpop changed since May 2007?
Ciaran: A lot - you couldn't make picks or upload pics...
Harold: Why do you think people chose you as Fan of the Fortnight?
Ciaran: Maybe they liked the stuff I posted!
Harold: Of all your Fanpop contributions, of which are you the most proud?
Ciaran: link which was a Heroes music video.
Harold: Name your favourite fictional character and explain a little why you chose him.
Ciaran: Ned from link. He can touch dead things and bring them back to life: one touch, life; second touch, dead again, forever. That is a good and bad gift at the same time.
I like that.
Harold: Talking of "Pushing Daisies": do you have a favourite episode?
Ciaran: Yes: Pushing Daisies 1x08 "link". That is my favourite episode so far but there are only 9 to choose from - it might change after season 2.
Harold: Name your favourite historical figure and explain a little why you chose him/her.
Ciaran: You probably never heard of him, but Fr. Hegerty - he was a priest in the 16th century. He told mass to all who would listen and was killed for it. Although I'm not very religious, I respect that he died for what he believed in.
Harold: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
Ciaran: link; I would wanna see a kangaroo and other stuff.
Harold: What music are you listening to these days?
Ciaran: link, link, different genres...
Harold: I've been impressed by your wide taste in music. Is there any kind of music that you just don't get/don't like?
Ciaran: Well, I don't think there is a type of music out there that I couldn't get into, but maybe I don't get all music. Maybe I don't get what the song is about or what the writer was thinking of when they were writing it...but I would most likely love the song.
Harold: What makes a good music video for you?
Ciaran: I like music videos with a story like link, which is my favourite music video.
Harold: What are you reading these days?
Ciaran: No time - studying for my mocks!
Harold: Talking about your mocks, would you care to explain what those are to the Fanpop users who might have no idea? Doing a little research, I read that they are evaluation exams that you take in school, but I don't know much more than that. How are the results used? Do you get placed in particular classes next term based on how well or poorly you did? Are the mocks in all subjects, or just maths?
Ciaran: They're in all subjects, but they don't really count in your final grade. It's sort of a practice test for the real one in May, the junior cert.
Harold: If you're comfortable saying, how did your mocks go?
Ciaran: I could have done better.
Harold: What film/show have you enjoyed recently?
Ciaran: link & Pushing Daisies.
Harold: Do you have a favourite TV programme of all time? Favourite film?
Ciaran: A favorite tv show? I couldn't pick - I like "link", "link", "link", "link"...there are too many good shows out there, I couldn't pick. For a movie, I would have to say a link: it's the first movie I can remember going to see.
Harold: Tell us about the favourite thing you've seen on Fanpop in the past week.
Ciaran: That the writers strike might be over soon!
Because this article took so long, I asked again...
Ciaranlink. Even though I didn't get nominated, link won it all for link!
Harold: Describe your life philosophy.
Ciaran: I would love to work in the t.v. industry as a writer or producer or a director.
Harold: Having said that you'd like to work in TV, do you have experience in any of those, like fan films, drama classes, internship at the BBC, anything like that?
Ciaran: I have taken some drama classes but soon I hope to go to uni and major in writing and drama.
Harold: In your drama classes, did you find a favourite scene or monologue to perform?
Ciaran: I will admit I like the drama scenes with emotion, like when a family is ripped apart by tragedy like in "Brothers & Sisters": the scenes that keep you watching and intrigued in the story.
Harold: When you studied drama, did you do musicals at all? Here in the US, it's a rare school drama production that isn't a musical, but I can't help thinking that it must be different elsewhere...
Ciaran: Well, we mostly just did panto which is sorta musical but I don't think that there is any panto in the US.
Harold: OK, for this last part, let me present you a series of pairs. You decide which one you prefer of each pair:
Harold: Town, or country?
Ciaran: Town
Harold: Rock, or soul?
Ciaran: rock
Harold: Reading, or writing?
Ciaran: writing
Harold: Music, or TV?
Ciaran: TV, cuz TV has music too.
Harold: Chips, or crisps?
Ciaran: Chips/fries
Harold: Night, or day?
Ciaran: night
Harold: East, or West?
Ciaran: west
Harold: Short, or tall?
Ciaran: tall
Harold: Exercise, or diet?
Ciaran: exercise
Harold: Fiction, or non-fiction?
Ciaran: non-fiction
Harold: Thinking, or feeling?
Ciaran: thinking
Harold: Dog, or cat?
Ciaran: dog
Thanks, Ciaran, for all your time! Now I'll get back to watching a bit more of "The Friday Night Project"!
link exploded onto Fanpop one year ago. Practically everywhere I went on the site last May, I saw content that Ciaran had contributed, as well as spots he'd created, such as the link spot. As with other Fan of the Fortnight recipients, I asked other link what they thought on ciaran.
R-S-Lee said: "ciaran is a valued Fanpopper and an excellent contributor. I have nothing but respect for him."
DarkSarcasm commented on his diplomacy in forum use: "He's pretty good at letting people know when they're wrong without coming across as completely rude."
I started a long correspondence with ciaran back in January as part of this series; here's what we discussed.
Harold: Describe how you discovered Fanpop, what you did when you found it, and what has kept you coming back.
Ciaran: I was on my bebo account and was making some changes to my Heroes fan club and someone posted a link to episode 10 of Heroes and that's how I found Fanpop.
Harold: What would surprise other Fanpop users to learn about you?
Ciaran: I'm double-jointed!
Harold: What is your favourite little-known spot?
Ciaran: link
Harold: Thanks for mentioning the Friday Night Project - I'd never heard of it before that, but it looks good. I may be joining that spot soon! But that brings up another question about types of comedy. There's a lot of different kinds of things that people find funny: highbrow jokes, political satire, awkward humor (anything Ben Stiller is in, as an example)...lots of stuff. I'm a sucker for link, myself - basically that's slapstick involving animals. What sorts of things do you prefer in your humor?
Ciaran: Well, I like all comedy really - all of it is funny, it just depends on my mood - but mostly I would say highbrow jokes.
Harold: Describe your favourite place.
Ciaran: The beach.
Harold: The beach is your favourite place...any particular beach? What time of day is best at the beach? Living in California, I know a lot of people with different attitudes about the beach, depending on what they do. What do you do there - is it mostly a place to hang out with friends, a place to relax, a place to meditate, a place to do sports (surfing, scurfing, swimming, diving, jetski), or a place to be inspired (to write/compose/create)?
Ciaran: Mostly a place to relax and sometimes a place to have fun, too.
Harold: What's the best thing about being a teen in Ireland?
Ciaran: link - Best Day Of The year!
Harold: What do you do on a typical St. Patrick's Day? What did you do this year, for example?
Ciaran: Well, I went out with friends and saw the parade and then we went up to Derry for the night.
Harold: What did you do online before you found Fanpop?
Ciaran: I was on bebo and youtube...now it's Fanpop all the way.
Harold: How has Fanpop changed since May 2007?
Ciaran: A lot - you couldn't make picks or upload pics...
Harold: Why do you think people chose you as Fan of the Fortnight?
Ciaran: Maybe they liked the stuff I posted!
Harold: Of all your Fanpop contributions, of which are you the most proud?
Ciaran: link which was a Heroes music video.
Harold: Name your favourite fictional character and explain a little why you chose him.
Ciaran: Ned from link. He can touch dead things and bring them back to life: one touch, life; second touch, dead again, forever. That is a good and bad gift at the same time.
I like that.
Harold: Talking of "Pushing Daisies": do you have a favourite episode?
Ciaran: Yes: Pushing Daisies 1x08 "link". That is my favourite episode so far but there are only 9 to choose from - it might change after season 2.
Harold: Name your favourite historical figure and explain a little why you chose him/her.
Ciaran: You probably never heard of him, but Fr. Hegerty - he was a priest in the 16th century. He told mass to all who would listen and was killed for it. Although I'm not very religious, I respect that he died for what he believed in.
Harold: If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?
Ciaran: link; I would wanna see a kangaroo and other stuff.
Harold: What music are you listening to these days?
Ciaran: link, link, different genres...
Harold: I've been impressed by your wide taste in music. Is there any kind of music that you just don't get/don't like?
Ciaran: Well, I don't think there is a type of music out there that I couldn't get into, but maybe I don't get all music. Maybe I don't get what the song is about or what the writer was thinking of when they were writing it...but I would most likely love the song.
Harold: What makes a good music video for you?
Ciaran: I like music videos with a story like link, which is my favourite music video.
Harold: What are you reading these days?
Ciaran: No time - studying for my mocks!
Harold: Talking about your mocks, would you care to explain what those are to the Fanpop users who might have no idea? Doing a little research, I read that they are evaluation exams that you take in school, but I don't know much more than that. How are the results used? Do you get placed in particular classes next term based on how well or poorly you did? Are the mocks in all subjects, or just maths?
Ciaran: They're in all subjects, but they don't really count in your final grade. It's sort of a practice test for the real one in May, the junior cert.
Harold: If you're comfortable saying, how did your mocks go?
Ciaran: I could have done better.
Harold: What film/show have you enjoyed recently?
Ciaran: link & Pushing Daisies.
Harold: Do you have a favourite TV programme of all time? Favourite film?
Ciaran: A favorite tv show? I couldn't pick - I like "link", "link", "link", "link"...there are too many good shows out there, I couldn't pick. For a movie, I would have to say a link: it's the first movie I can remember going to see.
Harold: Tell us about the favourite thing you've seen on Fanpop in the past week.
Ciaran: That the writers strike might be over soon!
Because this article took so long, I asked again...
Ciaranlink. Even though I didn't get nominated, link won it all for link!
Harold: Describe your life philosophy.
Ciaran: I would love to work in the t.v. industry as a writer or producer or a director.
Harold: Having said that you'd like to work in TV, do you have experience in any of those, like fan films, drama classes, internship at the BBC, anything like that?
Ciaran: I have taken some drama classes but soon I hope to go to uni and major in writing and drama.
Harold: In your drama classes, did you find a favourite scene or monologue to perform?
Ciaran: I will admit I like the drama scenes with emotion, like when a family is ripped apart by tragedy like in "Brothers & Sisters": the scenes that keep you watching and intrigued in the story.
Harold: When you studied drama, did you do musicals at all? Here in the US, it's a rare school drama production that isn't a musical, but I can't help thinking that it must be different elsewhere...
Ciaran: Well, we mostly just did panto which is sorta musical but I don't think that there is any panto in the US.
Harold: OK, for this last part, let me present you a series of pairs. You decide which one you prefer of each pair:
Harold: Town, or country?
Ciaran: Town
Harold: Rock, or soul?
Ciaran: rock
Harold: Reading, or writing?
Ciaran: writing
Harold: Music, or TV?
Ciaran: TV, cuz TV has music too.
Harold: Chips, or crisps?
Ciaran: Chips/fries
Harold: Night, or day?
Ciaran: night
Harold: East, or West?
Ciaran: west
Harold: Short, or tall?
Ciaran: tall
Harold: Exercise, or diet?
Ciaran: exercise
Harold: Fiction, or non-fiction?
Ciaran: non-fiction
Harold: Thinking, or feeling?
Ciaran: thinking
Harold: Dog, or cat?
Ciaran: dog
Thanks, Ciaran, for all your time! Now I'll get back to watching a bit more of "The Friday Night Project"!