tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-367344022024-03-13T10:30:22.072+00:00A view from Kerrya view from Kerry, Ireland on politics, media,music, poetry, food, recession religion,fianna fail, fine gael, labour, sinn fein, rose of tralee, humour, spelling, kerryisms, tralee, listowel, killarney, ireland, bertie ahern, brian cowan, enda kenny, depressionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-20924622363039809092019-05-16T10:01:00.002+01:002019-05-16T10:01:50.094+01:00We're back!After a number of years of hiatus, the black dog has moved on. 'I'll be back' was all he said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-10257966052157939792012-12-02T14:07:00.001+00:002012-12-02T16:02:01.561+00:00Irish Times - The Story of Why, oh Why?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zDAH0-fnh8o/ULteDBofBrI/AAAAAAAAB0M/uaJ9S4DuOr8/s1600/ITimesErrataB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zDAH0-fnh8o/ULteDBofBrI/AAAAAAAAB0M/uaJ9S4DuOr8/s1600/ITimesErrataB.jpg" width="371" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Click for larger pic</em><br />
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">from paudi in the </span></em><a href="http://www.vfi.ie/Pub/2095-Munster-Bar" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">munster bar</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">,</span></em><br />
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This must surely be a new record for the Irish Times. How many typos can you count in the above sub-head? <br />
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Sure Ireland the best little country's in the world. According to Weekend Review, page 2 of the Irish Times dated 1st December 2012. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-23476258801194243512012-11-28T11:19:00.004+00:002012-11-28T11:21:30.574+00:00Improve Irish Schools by Thermostat<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s5M3_9vNtJc/ULXxfhwYTFI/AAAAAAAABz8/xce_9x2RDVA/s1600/trend.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s5M3_9vNtJc/ULXxfhwYTFI/AAAAAAAABz8/xce_9x2RDVA/s400/trend.JPG" width="108" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">click to enlarge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>from stockie in the tankard;</em></span><br />
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Give them cold classrooms and Irish schools enter the top tier of universal schooling. Trending in Ireland 28th November 2012.<br />
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Another pint there please.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-80307064446162622362012-10-13T10:41:00.003+01:002012-10-13T10:42:49.758+01:00The mystery of the missing hen boxes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9LipjI4WE14/UHk14G9LTOI/AAAAAAAABzs/W9Pjiur3yA8/s1600/Show+Letter.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9LipjI4WE14/UHk14G9LTOI/AAAAAAAABzs/W9Pjiur3yA8/s640/Show+Letter.JPG" width="438" /></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">from Paudie's iphone in Jack Duggan's bar in Castlemaine</span></em></div>
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How to be clear and concise in Kerry.</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-42178186215469097212012-07-20T10:52:00.001+01:002012-07-20T12:07:50.750+01:00Stumbling into the 21st Century<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kDIZIJH__70/UAkqOTyTuJI/AAAAAAAABwY/56Uh1SEnfmY/s1600/LisdoonvarnaVamp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kDIZIJH__70/UAkqOTyTuJI/AAAAAAAABwY/56Uh1SEnfmY/s400/LisdoonvarnaVamp.JPG" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>would you like a lemonade?</em></td></tr>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">from stockie's high stool in the <a href="http://www.ireland-guide.com/establishment/tankard_the.3643.html" target="_blank">Tankard</a>;</span></em></div>
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So you thought that bogtrotters live in the 1950's and that such events as the <a href="http://www.matchmakerireland.com/" target="_blank">Matchmaking Festival</a> are merely culchie gatherings. Look at the darling creature in the poster. Since when is Kristina (with a K) a good Irish name? Polish perhaps. Even so I can't really see her spreadin slurry never mind keeping track of tags. The mammy would not approve either.</div>
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I'm still going to <a href="http://www.matchmakerireland.com/" target="_blank">Lisdoonvara</a>. There are other areas I could explore with Kristina.</div>
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And what about herself below?</div>
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<img alt="http://www.matchmakerireland.com/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/slider4.jpg" height="147" src="http://www.matchmakerireland.com/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/slider4.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-90598750579452444562012-06-28T13:30:00.002+01:002012-06-28T13:42:54.633+01:00Attention to detail important<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ImsckzV165M/T-xNLx8ioAI/AAAAAAAABv0/CzslYIqwva0/s1600/LinkProfile.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ImsckzV165M/T-xNLx8ioAI/AAAAAAAABv0/CzslYIqwva0/s320/LinkProfile.JPG" width="257" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>from seanie <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8115115@N08/5235720158/galleries/" target="_blank">nancy moyles</a></em></span><br />
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I just noticed this profile on LinkedIn - it's from a past colleague of mine.<br />
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My quandry - do I embarrass him by telling him, or do I just ignore it (only the strong survive).<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-34908012880675403482012-06-26T14:51:00.000+01:002012-06-28T13:47:56.126+01:00Karren Brady v Emily VanCamp<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uEjj_VCiWA0/T-m8gq1AzSI/AAAAAAAABvo/6ffDSVMzQ14/s1600/EmilyKarrenBrady.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uEjj_VCiWA0/T-m8gq1AzSI/AAAAAAAABvo/6ffDSVMzQ14/s1600/EmilyKarrenBrady.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily VanCamp</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UVa_BBBjKtk/T-m8TJrzPNI/AAAAAAAABvY/8BZw38MMOzE/s1600/emilyVanCamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UVa_BBBjKtk/T-m8TJrzPNI/AAAAAAAABvY/8BZw38MMOzE/s1600/emilyVanCamp.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karren Brady</td></tr>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">from stockie's ipad in the <a href="http://ireland-guide.com/establishment/tankard_the.3643.html" target="_blank">tankard</a>;</span></em><br />
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I know, I know. But it's summertime and I'm getting confused. What is 'The Apprentice' judge Karren Brady doing in the Hamptons on that ridiculous show 'Revenge'. And for that matter what is Emily VanCamp doing with daddy amstrad?<br />
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Emily and Karren. Never seen together.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-6714862321651397652012-06-03T15:33:00.001+01:002012-06-28T13:49:14.777+01:00What was she thinking in 1954?<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yournlireland/6171319009/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6159/6171319009_068e057382.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yournlireland/6171319009/">Interrupted at Prayer</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yournlireland/">National Library of Ireland</a>.</span></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">from seanie in <a href="http://www.pubrepublik.com/index.cfm/page/pub/pubId/54" target="_blank">ruari's</a></span></em><br />
There's a book or story here, surely. The weight of scandal in the Catholic church allows to read into this photograph any meaning we wish.<br />
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Definitely a stare.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-62029440138055474372012-05-30T10:29:00.000+01:002012-06-28T13:52:09.636+01:00Thin Lizzie - Philip Lynott explains<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">from stockie at the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dULwH_fB94k" target="_blank">greyhound bar</a>;</span></em><br />
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More from the underground press publication Freep in 1971. in an article written by god knows who, a writer who calls our Phil Philip.<br />
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Philip didn't like Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin it appears - he preferred 'a more melodic style, but with drive'. <br />
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He certainly went on to achieve that ambition.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tiNlHuX5TkI/T8XmtghH7hI/AAAAAAAABuw/YwuMqZ810Lo/s1600/FreepLizzieOne.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tiNlHuX5TkI/T8XmtghH7hI/AAAAAAAABuw/YwuMqZ810Lo/s640/FreepLizzieOne.JPG" width="406" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DnOJnd-wk4/T8XnNOMTFaI/AAAAAAAABvA/kYk1unKokxA/s1600/FreepLizzieTwo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DnOJnd-wk4/T8XnNOMTFaI/AAAAAAAABvA/kYk1unKokxA/s640/FreepLizzieTwo.JPG" width="454" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-47417630274020025132012-05-23T12:19:00.005+01:002012-05-23T12:50:17.856+01:00From The Hippy days of 1971<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BY6tKU3om98/T7zFFCGfp4I/AAAAAAAABuY/fbV7gUhDQUc/s1600/FreepCover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BY6tKU3om98/T7zFFCGfp4I/AAAAAAAABuY/fbV7gUhDQUc/s640/FreepCover.JPG" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Front Cover</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>From the Hippy days of 1971<br />
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This is the front cover of a free broadsheet I got back in the day, in the old Dandelion Market I think.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7Bac7QEe9A/T7zHPFS62FI/AAAAAAAABug/Efuh6Wv6VW0/s1600/FreepBack.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7Bac7QEe9A/T7zHPFS62FI/AAAAAAAABug/Efuh6Wv6VW0/s640/FreepBack.JPG" width="445" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Back cover</em></td></tr>
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</div>Over the next few days I'll post the rest of the mag. Serious nostalgia. I can smell the Afghan coat now.<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-2629748056412815292012-04-28T12:16:00.001+01:002012-06-28T13:55:54.090+01:00Greece for the holliers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WxiAJbjrEUQ/T5vP1sclk8I/AAAAAAAABuM/ei4UPtji6wo/s1600/GreeceDivine.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WxiAJbjrEUQ/T5vP1sclk8I/AAAAAAAABuM/ei4UPtji6wo/s400/GreeceDivine.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>from Sean Ban in the snug in the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/oystertavern" target="_blank">Oyster Tavern</a>;</em></span><br />
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I was sipping a grand pint just now as I wondered about the up-coming holliers when I saw the above in the times.<br />
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I was thinking of Kilkee but now I don't know. <br />
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Kilkee, Greece.<br />
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I suppose there is a difference.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-28362772314020040492012-03-27T11:24:00.003+01:002012-03-27T11:37:28.894+01:00Household Charge - Just and Necessary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tMrT6n3yaSs/T3GVE-BDpcI/AAAAAAAABuE/DHdFHEd8fuo/s1600/HouseholdBar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tMrT6n3yaSs/T3GVE-BDpcI/AAAAAAAABuE/DHdFHEd8fuo/s640/HouseholdBar.jpg" width="548" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Household charge €100, Consultant p.a. €200,000 (as if) Job Seeker €188</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>from Seanie in the Tankard;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">There I was contemplating the creamy head on my pint when a vision appeared to me, just like at Lourdes.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What does €100 mean to a person's weekly income? See above.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sure it's only €100, everyone can manage that. Why it's only a night out. It's what the country needs right now. Maybe you could get a loan from the bank and pay the €100 charge over the counter at your local (as if) Post Office.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Just sayin.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-58145206888260115742012-03-20T22:25:00.002+00:002012-03-21T17:15:37.658+00:00I Miss the Old Vinals<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YlxZAT-Owzg/T2kDTG-sLqI/AAAAAAAABts/bsiotV-Rx2M/s1600/VinalsTralee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YlxZAT-Owzg/T2kDTG-sLqI/AAAAAAAABts/bsiotV-Rx2M/s320/VinalsTralee.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Credit (but no fee) to Sean Ban</em></td></tr>
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This sign has graced a wall in Tralee for many a year. Unfortunately it has just been removed. This photo purely for posterity.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-12014190170032528112012-03-20T22:20:00.001+00:002012-03-21T17:16:24.208+00:00Spelling to go<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O29YvSg7kqQ/T2kBok9q7tI/AAAAAAAABtk/1nJEgGnuQGs/s320/ArdfertTaco1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Credit Sean Ban</em><br />
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<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">It's not right. It's too easy. Ardfert, Sunday afternoon.</span></div></td></tr>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-67906556176294419412012-03-20T21:58:00.003+00:002012-03-21T17:15:03.204+00:00Were have I been?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-THBL_v9gA04/T2j9cmx9-_I/AAAAAAAABsk/JDEdj5aJS18/s1600/blackdog.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-THBL_v9gA04/T2j9cmx9-_I/AAAAAAAABsk/JDEdj5aJS18/s320/blackdog.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">June 2010 was the last post. The chap above is the reason for the long delay.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-63068776527572672122010-06-15T14:21:00.000+01:002010-06-15T14:21:13.450+01:00Safe, staid Listowel. For the craic.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>from agnes at the bar in the<a href="http://www.listowelarms.com/index.php"> listowel arms</a>;</em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong><em>"The writer's greatest asset is his indignation"</em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">John B. wrote that observation a long time ago, in a different century. In JB's early works from almost 50 years ago, there certainly was indignation. His voice uttered the hitherto almost unutterable, his voice showed an Ireland that no-one really wanted to be talked about. At least not publicly. John B., revered now, did receive some shall we say, negative waves, during his lifetime, but sure that's all forgotten now. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">There is now a wonderful festival in honour of the legacy of Listowel writers, including John B. It really does what is says on the tin - it's a week for writers in Listowel. I quote from the <a href="http://www.writersweek.ie/2010/aboutus.html">official website</a> "<em>Writers' Week festival was established in 1970 to celebrate those writers and to provide an opportunity for Irish Writers in general to develop their talents and meet new audiences</em>".</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">The key words here are <em>'meet new audiences'</em>. I will return to that, but in the meantime.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><strong>Premier Writing Festival?</strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/TBdsDtjpw9I/AAAAAAAABfE/g-e5MNwQRx0/s1600/DWWTweetLWW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/TBdsDtjpw9I/AAAAAAAABfE/g-e5MNwQRx0/s320/DWWTweetLWW.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">It seems from the above official twitter profiles (15th June 2010) that there are two Premier Literary events in Ireland. What makes Listowel different? The Kerry Group Award for Irish Fiction? John Banville won it this year - a wonderful, erudite, pleasing writer, full of classical references. Where is the <em>'indignation'</em>? Look at the past winners (I challenge you to find out who ALL the past winners were - don't try the official website) and you will find a list of safe, but wonderful, writers. I do not deny the worthiness of the winners - how could I? Have they not won prizes for their works from many sources?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Does LWW draw fame and credibility to itself by choosing known, proven winners, or at least safe winners? What differentiates it from any other literary festival in the world?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Is it the 'craic' and John B's ghost? Where is the heart of JB, or indeed of any Listowel writer, in <em>'Infinities'</em> ?</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Would the man who wrote 'Many young men of twenty' be 'safe' ? Listowel owes it to itself to look at it's raison d'etre, to quote an old kerryism. The festival deserves to flourish, not wither on the vine.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Meet New Audiences</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/TBd5Wb7y9vI/AAAAAAAABfM/9E5htjj7RK8/s1600/web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qu="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/TBd5Wb7y9vI/AAAAAAAABfM/9E5htjj7RK8/s200/web.jpg" width="155" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">This is perhaps another challenge which LWW could, should and must take up. The incident with Paul O'Mahony and a committee member (see <a href="http://listowelwritersweekfringe.com/wordpress/?p=1722">this</a> and <a href="http://kerryview.blogspot.com/2010/06/mozart-disgrace-in-listowel-maybe.html">this</a> ) shows up the interface between the old and the new. Surely the best way to 'meet new audiences' is to fully embrace the net and all it's tools. It's not only LWW which falls down here, but that only creates a gap, an opportunity for LWW to leapfrog other festivals.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Some examples for you. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The official LWW twitter profile (see above) shows 10 tweets! 10! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">-Don't bother with the LWW facebook page.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">-Blog, - what LWW blog? None. (though there is excellent <a href="http://listowelwritersweekfringe.com/wordpress/">Fringe blog</a>).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">-The web-site should give more - a lot more. As mentioned above, there is no list of past winners. What about links to writers, editors, publishers? Some video links? Excerpts/full reprints of poems/stories? The web-site is not just a brochure - it is the LWW primary window to the world, to which all else connects.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">-On-line discussions, Q/A sessions?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">-Facilitate press - both official and citizen</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">-Accomodate 'fringe' events/matters</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">None of this costs a lot of money, but the impact world-wide for LWW could be immense.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The audience could be enormous, both for the LWW and the writers.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Unless LWW wants to be known as a parochial, provincial literary festival with a bit of craic, it must change.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I come to praise Caesar, not bury him.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-7470598853924096632010-06-15T00:16:00.002+01:002010-06-15T11:02:59.981+01:00Mozart a Disgrace in Listowel? Maybe<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">from agnes in the bar at the meadowlands;</span></em><br />
<br />
You may or may not know of the <a href="http://listowelwritersweekfringe.com/wordpress/?p=1722">story of Paul O'Mahony</a> who was accosted and challenged by a Listowel Writers' Week (LWW) committee member for recording an event at the festival. "You're a disgrace", she said. It is not entirely clear what her problem was, but it seems that she thinks recording an event at the festival without permission is a 'disgrace'. I wonder.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/TBayvGjsnxI/AAAAAAAABes/F37jGFB6BQo/s1600/mozart2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/TBayvGjsnxI/AAAAAAAABes/F37jGFB6BQo/s320/mozart2.jpg" /></a></div>Mozart is not generally considered to be a disgrace, but he did not have to contend with the LWW committee. Way back when, Allegri's <em>Miserere</em> was performed regularly in the Sistine Chapel, a public place you would no doubt agree. However, the Vatican thought that this <em>Miserere</em> so special that no written copies of the music were allowed. Young Mozart (fourteen years of age) was unfortunate in that he did not possess an iPhone, so he was unable to copy the piece and blog it, YouTube it, Podcast it - nothing. But he did have a prodigious memory - he memorised the entire piece and wrote it down after the performance - outside the chapel, of course. Disgraceful behaviour. And yet, copies were made of Mozart's notation, and bootlegs, mostly pretty bad versions, went out to the great unwashed.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to copyright. And I have no intention of discussing that here. Someone will just rob my post without seeing this part. <br />
<br />
Which brings me to the LWW ladies problem with recording. I would venture that she has learnt, or just picked up on, the fact the the music industry hates copying - copying by anyone other than themselves of course. Copying has been a huge bogeyman since the cassette tape was invented. How many people were introduced to obscure, non-mainstream music through cassettes ? And went on to spend a lot of money on LPs, CDs, MP3s - all legal? <br />
<br />
Most of the events at Listowel are readings, poetry recitals, sundry live performances. The vast majority of the people involved are not millionaire writers. All of them, I am pretty sure, are more than appreciative of a world wide audience via the web - YouTube, the Fringe Web and for God's sake even the official LWW website! (I am doing a separate post on that matter). <br />
<br />
If nothing else, it is surely the duty of a Writers' Week to spread the WORD. To inspire others to read, write and above all to buy the arists' work and support their endeavours.<br />
<br />
By using and facilitating tweeters/bloggers/photo-journalists LWW would open itself to the entire world. The LWW committee might be wonderfully amazed at the amount of people out there in the big, bad world who really want to know more about LWW. The amount of people who are willing to take the time to trawl the web for news, videos, readings and photos is vast, absolutely vast. If I was a poet I would love my readings to be heard and available everywhere. I would hope such publicity would be converted into sales, obviously. One cannot eat poetry.<br />
<br />
Maybe, at the end of the day, a handshake, even a Virtual Web Handshake would allow the LWW and bloggers/tweeters/citizen journalists get along and promote the LWW itself.<br />
<br />
The simple solution is for permission of the artist, not the committee, to be sought with full credit to all artists/readers/performers given and posted.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">"<em>Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot</em>"</div><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mozart pic care of http://todopera.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/</span></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-14170035548515322442010-06-03T10:50:00.000+01:002010-06-03T10:50:21.601+01:00Sentimentality doesn't win at Listowel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/TAdrako3P_I/AAAAAAAABcc/qWhL99J1IEY/s1600/great-world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/TAdrako3P_I/AAAAAAAABcc/qWhL99J1IEY/s320/great-world.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>from loki in the half-way bar listowel</em>.</span><br />
<br />
This being an unusually hot day I sit in the shade of the Half-Way bar, half-way(ish) between Listowel and Tralee. This being Listowel Writers' Week I sit a few kilometres from the festival where the winner of the Irish Fiction Award will be announced. I've been dreading this moment. Not 'Let the Great World Spin' (LTGWS) please, although I note that the prize is not called the 'Best Irish Fiction'.<br />
<br />
First of all I must state that I own a signed (by the author, not by me) first edition of the book, and that no-one will borrow it - or any of my books come to that. So at least I show one of my failings.<br />
<br />
The entire LTGWS is shot through with sentimental writing - a pair of Irish brothers whose father leaves the family home at an early stage, the poor mother dying of cancer, the girl with a concience, the prositutes with a heart of gold, the jewish judge and his wife who mourns her son lost to war and on and on and on. There is also the unnamed tightrope walker tip-toeing between the great World Trade Towers back in the 1970's.<br />
<br />
Enough already, as Colum would write.<br />
<br />
It is always a bit pernickity to find fault in a book because of historical details, but if the author wishes to establish some credibility then surely a bit of accuracy is called for. Within the first few pages of the book we are informed that the boys grew up in Sandymount on Dublin Bay in the mid-1950's. On weekend mornings the brothers walked with their mother on the beach where "<em>Two enormous red and white power station chimneys broke the horizon to the east</em>" (<em>p12)</em>. I am a child of fifties Dublin and I thought those chimneys were not built until the early 1970's. I checked, I'm right. If I'm wrong tell me, I'll delete the post.<br />
<br />
But that does not damn a book. <br />
<br />
Every so often Colum (should I now start writing Mr. McCann?) can't resist relieving himself of some witticism; a "<em>hospital that looked like it need a hospital</em>", "<em>Miro, Miro on the wall</em>". At other times Mr. McCann employs sledgehammer, if not a pneumatic drill, to ram home some point he wishes to make. Just one example of this is where he takes three-quarters of a page to descibe death by many means - death by this, death by that. Or, as he himself sums up the list " <em>A stupid, endless menu of death</em>". Quite. I was reminded (unfavourably) of Martin Amis and his page of 'fuck' in 'Success' (1978).<br />
<br />
Ulitimately I found the book to be full of sentimentality, and Irish sentimentality at that. The device of the tight-rope walker and the Twin Towers is very flimsy. There is the air of a movie script about the whole thing.<br />
<br />
Enough already.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-73009980401867759672010-05-20T23:56:00.000+01:002010-05-20T23:56:13.906+01:00Your moment of Zen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S_W94ItbrOI/AAAAAAAABZE/bjDQF_EEBy8/s1600/rtesport.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S_W94ItbrOI/AAAAAAAABZE/bjDQF_EEBy8/s320/rtesport.JPG" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-27019084844350913652010-05-17T10:52:00.001+01:002010-05-17T10:53:48.782+01:00Listowel for free !<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S_EOmsCA35I/AAAAAAAABYk/7dep1bKwQjM/s1600/listowelOffer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S_EOmsCA35I/AAAAAAAABYk/7dep1bKwQjM/s320/listowelOffer.JPG" width="274" wt="true" /></a></div><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">from stockie in the <a href="http://www.vfi.ie/pub-list.php?origin=leftmenu&town=42510">munster bar tralee</a>;</span></em><br />
<br />
I was just sinking a nice pint when I came across the above snippet from the Irish Times. No, I don't work for the old lady, but a free trip is a free trip.<br />
<br />
And Listowel is not too bad a place.<br />
<br />
Click the pic to enlarge it, if you need specs, like me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-85995669147726372932010-04-20T18:39:00.001+01:002010-04-20T18:43:20.830+01:00Mythbuster Speaks Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S83mwNSuPoI/AAAAAAAABTQ/TPlDWhAXqFs/s1600/adam-savage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S83mwNSuPoI/AAAAAAAABTQ/TPlDWhAXqFs/s320/adam-savage.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>from seanie in the <a href="http://www.anvilbar.com/">anvil bar boolteens</a>;</em></span><br />
<br />
<strong>Food for The Eagle</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<em>By Adam Savage</em><br />
<br />
Good evening. <br />
I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to read my speech from my new iPad. <br />
Yep. I'm not only a humanist, I'm also an early adopter. <br />
<br />
I want to start by saying that, to me, any discourse from me about how one can live a moral existence without religion or the church would sound improperly defensive. That there's an opposite to be defended is absurd and based on a provably false premise. So let's dispense with that. <br />
<br />
(To be clear: I'm referring to the humanist axiom "Good without God," whereby "good" means morality. It's provably false that there exists no morality outside of religion, therefore the statement sounds defensive to me.) <br />
<br />
By what route does anyone come to believe what they believe? We all like to imagine that it's based on a set of logical facts, but it's often a much more circuitous route. <br />
<br />
For me it was pretty simple. I'm actually the fourth generation in my family to have no practical use for the church, or God, or religion. My children continue this trend. <br />
<br />
Here are a few things I've learned.<br />
<br />
Prayer doesn't work because someone out there is listening, it works because someone in here is listening. I've paid attention. I've pictured what I want to happen in my life. I've meditated extensively on my family, my future, my past actions and what did and didn't work for me about them. I've looked hard at problems and thought hard about their solutions. <br />
<br />
See, I order my life by the same mechanism that I use to build things. I cannot proceed to move tools around in the real world until my brain has a clear picture in it of what I'm building. The same goes for my life. I've tried to pay attention. I've tried to picture the way I want things to be, and I've noticed that when I had a clear picture, things often turned out the way I wanted them to. <br />
<br />
I've concluded by this that someone is paying attention—I've concluded that it's me. I've noticed that if I'm paying attention to those around me, to myself, to my surroundings, then that is the very definition of empathy. I've noticed that when I pay attention, I'm less selfish, I'm happier—and that the inverse holds true as well. <br />
<br />
I think one of the defining moments of adulthood is the realization that nobody's going to take care of you. That you have to do the heavy lifting while you're here. And when you don't, well, you suffer the consequences. At least I have. (And in the empirical study I'm performing about interacting with the universe, I am unfortunately the only test subject I have complete access to, so my data is, as they say, self-selected.) While nobody's going to take care of us, it's incumbent upon us to take care of those around us. That's community. <br />
<br />
The fiction of continuity and stability that your parents have painted for you is totally necessary for a growing child. When you realize that it's not the way the world works, it's a chilling moment. It's supremely lonely. <br />
<br />
So I understand the desire for someone to be in charge. (As a side note, I believe that the need for conspiracy theories is similar to the need for God.) We'd all like our good and evil to be like it is in the movies: specific and horrible, easy to defeat. But it's not. It's banal. <br />
<br />
There's a quote I love: "Evil is a little man afraid for his job." I always thought some famous author said it, but I asked my 200,000 followers on Twitter today, and it turns out that Roy Scheider said it in Blue Thunder. <br />
<br />
No one is in charge. And honestly, that's even cooler. <br />
<br />
The idea of an ordered and elegant universe is a lovely one. One worth clinging to. But you don't need religion to appreciate the ordered existence. It's not just an idea, it's reality. We're discovering the hidden orders of the universe every day. The inverse square law of gravitation is amazing. Fractals, the theory of relativity, the genome: these are magnificently beautiful constructs.<br />
<br />
The nearly infinite set of dominoes that have fallen into each other in order for us to be here tonight is unfathomable. Truly unfathomable. But it is logical. We don't know all the steps in that logic, but we're learning more about it every day. Learning, expanding our consciousness, singly and universally. <br />
<br />
As far as I can see, the three main intolerant religions in the world aren't helping in that mission. <br />
<br />
For all their talk of charity and knowledge, that they close their eyes to so much—to science, to birth control education, to abuses of power by some of their leaders, to evolution as provable and therefore factual (the list is staggering)—illustrates a wide scope of bigotry. <br />
<br />
Now, just to be clear. If you want to believe, or find solace in believing, that someone or something set these particular dominoes in motion—a cosmic finger tipping the balance and then leaving everything else to chance—I can't say anything to that. I don't know. <br />
<br />
Though a primary mover is the most complex and thus (given Occam's razor) the least likely of all possible solutions to the particular problem of how we got here, I can't prove it true or false, and there's nothing to really discuss about it. <br />
<br />
If Daniel Dennett is right— that there's a human genetic need for religion— then I'd like to imagine that my atheism is proof of evolutionary biology in action. <br />
<br />
There may be no purpose, but its always good to have a mission. And I know of one fine allegory for an excellent mission should you choose to charge yourself with one: Carlos Castaneda's series of books about his training with a Yaqui indian mystic named Don Juan. There's a lot of controversy about these books being represented as nonfiction. But if you dispense with that representation, and instead take their stories as allegories, they're quite lovely. <br />
<br />
At the end of The Eagle's Gift, Don Juan reveals to his student that there's no point to existence. That we're given our brief 70-100 years of consciousness by something the mystics call "The Eagle," named for it's cold, killer demeanor. And when we die, the eagle gobbles our consciousness right back up again. <br />
<br />
He explains that the mystics, to give thanks to the eagle for the brief bout of consciousness they're granted, attempt to widen their consciousness as much as possible. This provides a particularly delicious meal for the eagle when it gobbles one up at the end of one's life. <br />
<br />
And that, to me, is a fine mission. <br />
<br />
Thank you. <br />
<br />
<em>— Delivered to the Harvard Humanist Society, April 2010</em> <br />
<br />
The above speech can be found at <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/features/savage.html">boingboing</a>. By going there you can check out all the comments people like to make after reading such a speech.<br />
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And yes, I know about the 'sex scandal'.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-21951051344595593572010-04-20T09:15:00.000+01:002010-04-20T09:15:30.348+01:00Laugh with Jesus.<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fTzXJMU1sLc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fTzXJMU1sLc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>from agnes in the </em></span><a href="http://www.grandhoteltralee.com/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>grand hotel bar tralee</em></span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>;</em></span><br />
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Enough of this church bashing - well at least for 3.41. Laugh and then return to church bashing. All churches please. Not just christian.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-65591317416773383712010-04-19T15:15:00.000+01:002010-04-19T15:15:45.795+01:00Arabs can laugh too, it's true<object height="370" width="450"><param name="movie" value="http://www.liveleak.com/e/32f_1269448759"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.liveleak.com/e/32f_1269448759" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowscriptaccess="always" width="450" height="370"></embed></object><br />
<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">from guest reporter lar o'toole in the </span></em><a href="http://www.kerrytourist.com/details/oyster_tavern.shtml"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">oyster tavern</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">;</span></em><br />
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Arabs get a bad press. Yet they are human too, and just as prone to making a fool of someone else.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-75954807532813120902010-04-18T22:20:00.000+01:002010-04-18T22:20:39.188+01:00Jesus loves you, but not in that way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S8t1Egiq2nI/AAAAAAAABR4/dkpsK2CR4Rw/s1600/kingdom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S8t1Egiq2nI/AAAAAAAABR4/dkpsK2CR4Rw/s400/kingdom.jpg" width="287" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>from seanie in the <a href="http://www.property.ie/commercial-property/The-Huddle-Bar-Strand-Street-Tralee-Co-Kerry/56570/">huddle bar tralee</a></em></span>;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Isn't that a fine set of abs altogether. This is a real painting, in a real church. No, not in Ireland, impossible. We would never have the church mix up such matters as Jesus and well, affairs below the navel, as 'twere.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Where else but in godless America, <a href="http://www.stcharlesokc.com/news.php">Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church</a>, 5024 N Grove, Warr Acres, Oklahoma, USA, to be exact.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A quote from <a href="http://newsok.com/warr-acres-catholic-church-has-crucifix-some-say-shows-exposed-genitals-of-jesus/article/3453833?custom_click=rss">newsok</a>; "<em>Critics of the crucifix take issue with what appears to be a large penis covering Jesus’ abdominal area. Seeton said the portion of the crucifix in question is meant to be Jesus’ abdomen "showing distension” — not a penis</em>".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A <a href="http://www.stcharlesokc.com/news.php">quote from the pastor</a> (as they call them over there) "<em>As many of you are aware, the crucifix for our Church was painted in accord with the ancient tradition of iconography. While many found it to be a very beautiful piece of art I deeply regret that some found it inappropriate or even offensive. It certainly is not the intention of the artist or myself that the cross of Jesus Christ be a source of division or result in disrespectful statements. For this reason the artist has agreed to modify the work. It is my most sincere hope that in the future all those who look upon the crucifix will only be led more deeply into the mystery of our salvation. May you continue to have a blessed and holy Easter Season</em>".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Would dear old Benedict like to add it to the Vatican collection before it is altered forever?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36734402.post-39335718420474441792010-04-14T10:50:00.001+01:002012-03-21T17:16:24.209+00:00Listowel Writers Right<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S8WNUC6IClI/AAAAAAAABRI/wLC731X_iE4/s1600/listowelright.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Vwr1zgjSuEI/S8WNUC6IClI/AAAAAAAABRI/wLC731X_iE4/s320/listowelright.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>from agnes in </em></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsa11/2114224253/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>freezers</em></span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>;</em></span><br />
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Sorry for all the trouble.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1