FlogBlog

Moving on

2005-05-28T02:30:00.000+01:00

I'm sure you noticed, but if not; this blog is dead.

My new blog is now operational over at adammonline.blogspot.com, as part of my site (www.cdfemedia.com/students/2005/adamm). Please do check it out.

Thanks

Gmail Is Teh Sex

2004-10-07T22:59:00.000+01:00

Some time ago I posted on my new Gmail account, and posted the pro's and con's of it compared to hotmail and yahoo mail.

With recent updates google have basically answered all of my complaints except for one.

I was annoyed at the way the contacts worked, that you couldn't click a button and go straight into a new e-mail on the chosen address. Now the contacts have been improved tenfold. Given their own section you can search through the contacts, and go straight into a new mail to one or multiple addresses with a simple click rather than remembering what letters to type in in the "to" field. Also, when you click on the address you can see all the mails they have sent to you, fabulous stuff!!!

Other nice features are the abilities to forward all mails to other addresses, and most importantly the new Gmail Notifier. I downloaded "pop goes the gmail" a while back and didn't really like it, but this google made tool is brilliant. It stays in your toolbar, and checks your mail every 2 minutes, giving you a little bar with the mail info when one comes in, it also allows you to turn on hotlinked email addresses into gmail links, so when you click you go straight to your gmail account.

The only problem I have now is the Archive section. You still cant view it seperatly from the rest of the mails, so anything put in the Archive can only be seen when you choose "All Mail". A small bit annoying, I suppose!

Debate? I've Seen More Heated Salads

2004-10-02T18:58:00.000+01:00

I'm not saying the debate was rubbish because neither side really got into it, I'm saying it wasn't a debate because neither side was allowed to get into it. It was quite interesting, I must say. It was also the first US Presidential Debate I've ever taken the time to sit through and I wasn't at all bored. However, those of you familiar with the Irish style (and UK style) of politics will wonder where the debate actually was. Every week Tony Blair is put through his paces in PMQ's. He has to deal with criticisms from the Tories, The Lib Dems and even his own party members. There are no rules, it's gloves-off stuff here. Bertie Ahern has much the same, although not as entertaining. Once every 4 years the US president and his rival (actually, it's a maximum of 2 occassions ever) get's asked a number of pre-approved questions which are always answered with the same rhetoric as before, excusing minor deviations the script remains in tact.

So what did I get from it? Well I'd vote Kerry if I had the chance, I fall into the ABB category (the one for smart people who understand that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush). Naturally I was hoping Kerry would win and make ground on Bush, and naturally I approached the debate somewhat bias. Despite my bias, I did my best (with all my journalistic training!) to look at this from the centre. I judged each response on it's own, and not on who was saying it. There were some moments where I smiled at the tactics of Bush because they were clever. Saying that I still think Kerry won.
Now people complain that the presidential debates and even campaigns are about style over substance. Well, they are, but it makes perfect sense when you think about it. Excluding the swing voters (and there aren't very many who are truely completely undecided) people already have their beliefs set. They might think Kerry is great and Bush is a moron, or they might think Bush is a leader and Kerry is a flip-flopper. Whatever their boy says they will support, because its what they believe and its what they want to believe. So what the person says doesn't matter. Republicans will laugh off Kerry and cheer Bush, and Democrats will heckle Bush and clap Kerry. How they say it, and how they look does matter. You can say all the right things but have a face of "help, I'm sinking", and you'd lose out. Why? Well whoever supports you will over look your image the once not so sure will take one look and say "He's sweating.!! Look at the fear in his eyes!". It's hardly democratic but hey, whoever said American politics was?

Kerry won on style because he adapted well. His answers at least seemed to correspond to the question at hand. He looked studious as Bush said his bit. He was confident in what he was saying. Bush lost on style because he relied on his script too much. He often missed the mark in his responces, he got aggitated and aggrivated at Kerry when he spoke and really seemed to lose his cool (for example when he responded to Kerry with "Of course I knew Osama Bin Laden attacked us! I knew that!".) He showed frustration and raised his voice. He also delayed from time to time in his responses as if he had to think about it too much.

Substance is a different matter. I'm going to say Kerry won because I agree with his point of view. Others will say Bush won because they agree with his point of view. I will say that Kerry managed to hit the balance of attacking Bush without looking desperate. He kept at the "Iraq was the wrong target" message, he took a number of digs at the Tora Bora incident, he struck Bush on handling N. Korea, he used facts, figures and quotes very effectively and he even managed to mention Haliburton without slinging mud. Bush went for the flip-flop claims (without using those exact words), and implied that Kerry thought Saddam was not a threat, even though he said before he was. Thankfully Kerry dealt with that fully towards the end.

So what does this mean? Well Kerry hasn't seen the polls turn around just yet, but they still could. Edwards and Cheney go head to head on Tuesday, which should be interesting. Kerry managing to win a debate on foreign policy is quite a gain, given it is Bush's strongest campaign tool. Thursday see's a debate on domestic policy and the economy is certain to be the main focus. Kerry should mop the floor here, but lets not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

I also think we've found Kerry's crux for his campaign... "More of the same". It's not great but he seems to be trying it out on the campaign trail, it will certainly effect people who fear more job losses, more tax cuts for the rich and more wars, lets just hope those people will be enough to swing things.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2004-09-23T01:00:00.000+01:00

You may have noticed the new look. It's quite different yes, and nowhere near what I'm looking for.
I was hoping to be able to mess around with enough to make it my own, but that doesn't really seem likely, so chances are I'll end up finding something new soon enough.
I'm still hoping to get my original plan working, but it's so far turning out to be a lot of work, and a lot of up-keep, and that's even after getting someone else to design it for me!!

In other news, I've started listening to Pearl Jam's Binaural again, what I would see as their worst so far (but it's a damn good album to have as your worst!). No-where near as bad as I remember it to be, actually damn good.

Update In Progress...

2004-09-12T21:18:00.000+01:00

I've been a bit lazy with the blog lately, and I'm planning on updating it soon (layout-wise, I mean).
I have a template which I'm trying to get working at the moment, so hopefully I can have it up sooner rather than later, the current style, while original is quite crap so I want it changed one way or the other.

I'm also messing with CSS to see what I can do with it, so we shall see where I get with that.

Sit tight, blogfans.

Blogging With The Stars

2004-09-12T21:02:00.000+01:00

I was recently pointed in the direction of this blog, belonging to the one and only Zach Braff... you might better know him as John Dorien, from Scrubs. No? Go watch Scrubs, take some time to realise the time you've been wasting with all other modern comedies, and then come back to me.

Welcome back... now... that guy, it's his blog for his new movie "Garden State" which I am really looking forward to.
This is one of the first proper blog's I've come across that is actually written by the person in question, with most places getting the webmaster to relay facts to the fans. I'm always excited by stuff like this (just like the access section of the Nine Inch Nails website).

I've made it my personal goal to have a friendly chat with Braff at some point in the near future. I know its unlikely, but he seems like a nice guy, and I tend to like nice guys. Wierd.

Just One Of Those Moments

2004-09-09T22:02:00.000+01:00

I took my dog for a walk today and rather than bring her on the lazy route of up the road and back, or the slightly less lazy route of around to the local shopping centre and back, I chose a new (and somewhat longer) path.
I headed up to the Ballymun road and planned on walking down it to Santry lane, and home from there. The thing is Ballymun Rd. is currently at the heart of the new Ballymun town/village constructions. There are some impressive new building's already up, from civic offices to housing to a swimming pool; the traffic layout has completely changed as has the paving and road surfaces; and the infamous flat's are slowly getting beaten down into pulp.
Now, I've gotten a bus down this road many times before, but I realised I haven't actually walked down it in years, way before any work began on it. It's a fact I have come to realise that Dublin city is beautiful at night. That's not to say that it's horrible during the day, but something extra appear's at night time. It might be the street-lights or the style of structures or that dirt is less noticable in the dark, but I challenge anyone to walk from O'Connell St. down to Grafton St. at night without being charmed within an inch of their life. The Liffey Boardwalk is a nice stroll too, once you avoid the drunk's who tend to swarm it in places. Anyway, Ballymun is no different than the city centre when it comes to late night beauty.
So I walked along, with Lateralus playing in my ear (inspiring enough, really) and I was amazed by what I saw infront of me. Ballymun is currently this great mix of the old and the new. These slick new apartment blocks and office's, with nice curving architecture next to a testament to the failures of 1970's planning and design; the bulky, blocky and over-bearing flat's. I saw a working orange street light giving off it's odd glow, right next to a more rounded and futuristic white-lighted version which will soon replace it.
The traffic cone's and diversion sign's, the temporary light's, the new paving, the huge crane's, the semi-demolished tower, the semi-constructed office block.
I'm glad to see this happen to Ballymun. For so long so many families have had to do their best there, in the shadow of the scum we all connect the name to. I just hope they won't be given a chance to get a grip on the new Ballymun, but I wonder where they'll go if they don't. What is interesting about the change is that no-one minds, really. Everyone has their own ideas as to what way the new town should look and work, but no-one really want's to stick to what they've got. There is little or no charm to the place as it stands, certainly none that will be lost as a result of new houses.
I can't wait to see it all finished, and I hope it stays as beautiful as its starting to look. I would be optimistic enough to say that if you give people something to be proud of, they'll do everything they can to keep a hold of it.

Adam

The Internet, flogen And Me

2004-08-29T19:34:00.000+01:00

I've been "online" now for a few years, and I've noticed that in that time, the way I use and act on the internet has changed dramatically, just like I have as person in real life.
When I first got connected to the internet, I was far from computer illiterate, I knew a decent amount and could use a PC with ease, however I wasn't web literate, and by that time all the horror stories of being online were coming to the fore. People stealing credit card details and personal information, paedophiles and perverts trying to fool and lure the not-so-cautious to their houses; All of that stuff. So naturally I approached this wonderful invention with a fair helping of paranoia on top of my enthusiasm at finally being able to have my own e-mail address.
As time went by, I began to become more realistic about the internet. I had figured it wasn't as great as everyone said (especially not on a dial up connection), and I had worked out how easy it was to be safe. If you don't want spam, try not to give out your e-mail address. Don't open attachments from people you don't know. Don't give personal information to someone in a chat room, and most certainly do not agree to meet them somewhere. All that was left after was enthusiasm, and so I got to work on my first webpage. Some may remember it, and sadly it's now gone from this place, so I can't show you all. I made it in Word, Enough said. It had nothing in it. Nothing.
My next web-venture was slightly more impressive (I was still using word, and to this day I would say it looked pretty good for someone with no decent web publishing software, and no knowledge of HTML, CSS etc.). Here's where my downfall came. I stumbled across a nice community of forums called boards.ie. I found it through Phantom FM, as their web-board is part of that community. I signed up, still all chuffed with myself in regards to my new fancy pants website. And I wanted to tell everyone.
Basically, and making no excuses here, I was a total knob. I posted everywhere about my site, and couldn't understand why people got so annoyed as a result. I ended up getting banned, and soon re-joined, still a little confused as to why I was kicked out. In my defense, I didn't know how these places worked, I didn't realise they were so organised, but in truth I should have read up to find out first. Slowly, I matured as a "contributor" to the site, and I would like to think that at this point I don't come across as a complete tool. I'm sure I have my moments, but generally I do my best to be a nice guy, and hopefully that shows. There are a few users who refuse to let bygones be bygones, and thats their perogative. If they don't want to forget it, then it's no problem with me. I was a fool, I admit that, I apologise. If thats not good enough, I'm not going to waste my time trying to please you. There are others who I just don't get on with, and as is the norm in a community which reflects life, these things happen. However, I cannot stand the personal vendetta's that seem to exist. The people that will do their best to dis-agree with you everywhere just because you don't have the same political outlook, the people who bring up past occourances as proof that you are a spammer in the present. Anyway...

When I started on the internet, I came up with flogen, my net-ego. In my paranoia, I didn't want anyone to know what my real name was. Just in-case. I used to frequent blast.ie too, and kept up my net persona at all times. It soon dawned on me that everyone I knew there knew me in real life, so it was kind of pointless. boards.ie, on the other hand, I probably know 2 people in real life that go there (maybe more, but I just haven't made the connection yet!). It has now gotten to the point, though, were I don't mind if people know my name, or know what I look like for that matter. So what? Big deal! I still use flogen in forums and so on, but just for the sake of tradition more than anything (and because its never taken... Adam usually is).
I would go so far to say that this is me reaching some kind of maturity on the internet. I am no longer a young foolish spammer/troll, I am no longer afraid of people knowing my name, I am sensible enough to know what to keep private and what's ok to let out. As part of being a teenager, it seems to be common to look back on things you did years ago and cringe. Sometimes I look back on things I did a year, or 6 months ago and cringe. I do the same with my beginnings on boards.ie, but there's no use in regrets. Without getting too clichéd, what is the point? Can you change it? No. Can you learn from it? Yes. It's all part of growing up I guess, and I'm not embarressed for being an ignorant 14 year old, or being a 15 year old nervous wreck, or being a geeky 16 year old, or a 19 year old wannabe-philosopher. I'm just enjoying it when it happens, and I'll make my decision on its worth later on in life.
For anyone from boards.ie who may be reading this, I hope that I wasn't that much of a pain in my early days (I'm certain I was, I see people just like me all the time there now). I'll know to read the charter in future!
It's getting to the point now where I think I may attend the next boards beers (basically a regular get together for the boards.ie population). It's something I wasn't interested in before, partly because I figured I'd get a bad reception once they knew who I was, partly because it didn't appeal to me. Now I don't worry about that, and I'd like to go along even once, just to see what it's like. It's just that I don't know anyone there, and I'm not sure if I could rope my girlfriend into keeping me company just in-case!

Adam

Rantings From A Tired Man, A Heavy Heart And A Broken Spirit

2004-08-21T21:37:00.000+01:00

Do excuse my somewhat dramatic title, but thats how I'm feeling at the moment; tired, heavy and broken.

My job gets ever more painful as the minutes tick by, and to be fair thats about all that is dragging me down (to be fair and thankful, I must say). I must also point out that I have less than a week left at that hole of a job. Once my pay slip is passed onto me, and my bank account gets the dust blown from it, I shall depart it with much fervor and haste.

I have a job interview this monday, so do wish me luck.

In other news, it has come to my attention that "The Great British Soap", something that we in Ireland have done our best to mimic, is infact nothing more than piss. Not much of a revelation, some may mumble and grumble, but don't mis-understand me. I never believed them to be the cornerstone of great entertainment, but they seem to be hitting an ever worsening decline into trash.

Ireland and the UK has long sniggered at the farsical goings on with US daytime television. Evil twins, amnesia, wedding after wedding after wedding... "how silly" we said, "Utterly insane" we scoffed, "Are those real?" we pondered. In reality, I would much prefer the completely off the wall nature of these shows over the more grounded attempts at soap in the UK.

The stories are repetetive, the settings are cheap and temporary and the characters are weaker than mormon coffee. At least with American soap (and I spent many an unemployed day laughing at the happenings in Sunset Beach), you know you're going to get something that couldn't possibly happen in real life, all acted out by visually appealing women in constantly sunny surroundings. Sure, its unrealistic, but if I wanted real life, I'd speak to my family.

Soaps in the UK are almost vouyerism. It's like watching what your neighbours get up to without the risk of them seeing you (and minus the swearing). I believe that most Americans know what they watch is trash, but like it for the same reasons.

Anyway, just something that came into this tired brain of mine. As a counter balance to the neurally numbing job I do, and the intellectually void people that generally accompany me in it, I have decided to up my ventures into literature. After reading Stephen Fry's magnificent 'Moab Is My Washpot', I have now moved onto Ulysses, probably the ultimate challenge (at least within the confines of Irish literature) to any self assured reader. So far, so good. Some paragraphs are to me what diplomacy is to George W. Bush, but mostly, I understand it perfectly. I'm over 120 in, which is not brilliant for the time I've spent (about 2 hours a day, for the last 5 days), but for such an accomplished work, I think I'm doing OK. I only suspect it to get much much harder, but we shall see, I suppose. On the plus side, it seems to be encouraging me to think more eloquently, and thus speak as such. I probably sound like a prat, mind you. What the worry, though?

Some excellent lines in it... off the top of my head... things like "God said 'Lazerus, come forth', and he came fifth and lost the job", or "I caught a cold in the park the other day, the gate was left open". Snigger worthy one liners are more than present, and I am often forced to 'pfffth!' with laughter on the LUAS or bus home. How rude of me.

Just to let you all know, the site is coming close to a well needed face lift, and all with thanks to Sam_Hain, my friend, fellow blogger and partner in job related vandalism. It is pretty close to being finished now, or so it looks, but when it's done, it's done... so no rush Mark!

Shave a Bulluck,

Adam

Group Hug?

2004-08-14T13:17:00.000+01:00

Last night, I bid a good friend of mine adieu as he heads off to the US of A for a few months as part of his college course. He'll be back in December, and I know that when he is, we're sure to have a 'welcome home' drink, but it just got me thinking about friendship, friends and everything related.

I have many friends. I'm not trying to brag here, I don't have hundreds (infact some might think I don't have all that many), but I have plenty for me. Some friends I know since I was very young. Some I only know a year. Some I can sit and talk about my deepest feelings with, some I would generally only joke and chat with. I realised, and remembered, that I have had many friends in the past whom I no longer speak to, and it hit me that as a child, you don't often make real friends, you just make friends to suit the situation.

In primary school I had 3 good friends. We hung around with each other all day, swapped music, and went to each others houses from time to time. Once we finished primary school, we lost touch completely. I was going to one secondary school, and they were going to another. We never fell out, we stayed good friends all the way. We had each others phone numbers, knew where we all lived, but we just didn't get in touch.

The 3 lived very near each other, and went to the same secondary, so I'm sure they stayed in touch, but I lived further away (not that far, 15 minutes walk), and was going somewhere else. I rang one of them about a year later, and it was like speaking to a complete stranger. We had nothing to say to each other. By coincidence, one of the three is in the same college as me. He looks exactly the same as he did (something I can't claim of myself), I spoke to him once on a night out, he didn't realise who I was, and it wouldn't have mattered, for it was the most awkward conversation I've ever had. Again, we had nothing to talk about, nothing to say. I see him now, and we don't even give each other a nod of recognition. The point is, these people were my friends from primary school, but once we went our seperate ways, there was no need to stay in touch. It was convenience, really.

I don't feel like they stopped talking to me just because I was going somewhere else, I had just as much of a chance to try and organise something with them, but didn't, and had it been anyone else of the 4 who was in my position, I don't doubt the same would have happened.

After secondary school, similar happened. About half of the people I hung around with there, I only speak to when I see them. I don't go looking for them, and they don't go looking for me. We still joke and laugh when we meet up, but we don't go out our way to do so. Others, I still ring or e-mail or see when I can, and when they can. This is because they're real friends. I don't mean that in the Hollywood sense of them always being there for me and all that sentimental arse, but that I did my best, and they did there best to keep in touch, just because we wanted to. It wasn't a matter of speaking because we were sitting next to each other any more, or because we both walked the same way home. It's because we get on well with each other, have plenty to say and hear, and always have a laugh with each other.

Back we go to last night, and there I was with an old co-worker, sharing drinks and wishing luck left, right and centre. I haven't worked with him for nearly a year, and due to my financial situation, I haven't even gone out with him in that time. I still kept in touch though, I'd head into the job and chat to him, text him from time to time, that kind of stuff. He happens to be doing the same sort of course as me, so he's been helping me out with getting my foot in the door. The same goes for my other friend, who was there for some of the night. I still keep in touch with him where I can. In fact, it is none other than sam_hain, fellow blogger (if he got off his arse and did some), of whom I speak.

Hopefully, as I drag my ass out of debt, and get my finances sorted, along with my timetable into which I have to fit college, work, work experience and socialising, I will be able to go out more often with these people, and others. I feel like I've missed out on a lot of that over the last year, which by rights was the year I should have been doing it as much as possible.

As any reader of my blog will notice, I tend to blog long, meandering blogs. Something I will surely sort out over time. I just dont want to be mis-understood in my views, and in the process I get muddled. Basically, my point here is that real friendship, real, real friendship is the kind that lasts after the initial 'common ground' has been lost. A friend from work is a friend as long as you work together, a real friend is one who you stay in touch with when things have changed.

Adam

I Was Looking For A Job, And Then I Found A Job...(and heaven knows I'm miserable now)

2004-08-08T21:04:00.000+01:00

So after my months of job hunting and moaning about being poor (while simultaniously dragging myself further into debt by getting broadband and a limited edition Pearl Jam vinyl), I managed to get myself a job. Great stuff!! No.

This job, out in Sandyford, is my real experience of office work, its also my first job in which I am using any of my college education, and the first time I have ever been asked about salary expectations in an interview (it's usually "starting wage is €8".. and thats it, no negotiations). This is also the first job that I really and truely hate and dispise.
I am up every weekday morning at 6:30 or so, I have to be out of the house no later than 7:20, and I then get a bus to O Connell St., followed by a trek to the top of Grafton St, topped off by a journey from one end of the LUAS line to the other. I then sit at my computer (here's the only perk... its a lovely iMac, you know, the one with the flat screen that you can swivel and direct?) and get increasingly pissed off as Quark 4.1 crashes every 2 minutes or so. I might be finished at 5:30, but thats not for sure. I was in 'til 9:30 last friday, which meant I didn't get home until after 11 at night. The work is easy, but its boring and bland. No real skill or style is needed, just a knowledge of what sequence of buttons to press, and what to do when Quark hits you with your 75th error message of the day.
I have been keeping myself sane in the knowledge that this is short term, infact I start college in late September, so I have to finish up by then. Still, this isn't quite enough. I have instantaniously begun to look for another job, in the hope of getting the hell out of there very, very soon. My aim is to be gone by next monday, and I'll let you know how I get on. I would have to get another job anyway, but I wasn't intending on looking this soon, but when one must...

I certainly do hope that this is not what I have to expect from the publishing industry (Its a magazine, by the way, a car magazine). I know that this is not a real 'journal of opinion', and I know I'm doing the production rather than any actual journalism, but still, its worrying. I think I'll stick to my interest in radio, and maybe do a column in some sunday newspaper, as well as write numerous culture defining novels and adapt them all into even more defining movies which are scored by Trent Reznor and star all the actors that I have respected over the years. Not to mention the countless award ceremonies I will be forced to attend. Yes, that should be enough for me.

Anyway, I have plenty to say on my co-workers (there are about 2 nice ones), and on the sister publications of the magazine I work for, but I'll save that for another time (and hopefully when I wont be working there anymore).

Adam
(p.s. Its always a bad sign when you hear a 'Smiths' song and think "thats so true...", especially when that song is apparantly Morrissey's sarcastic jab at critics who deemed their music too drab and depressing...)

Announcing The Latest Addition To The Family

2004-08-08T20:35:00.000+01:00

In a follow up to my "Goodbye My Puppy" blog from some weeks ago, I would like to introduce you all to Gandhi Maguire, our new dog.
She's 2 years old, or there-abouts, and is a Labrador/Something cross. She's very affectionate, super hyper and a good laugh all round. Perfect for the job, really!

Her name was originally Kim (or Kimmy), but because she was in a rescue centre for alot of her life, it didn't seem to be something she responded to. My brother and I chose Gandhi as a kind of tribute to our lovely dog Buffy, and have managed to get it to stick. Basically, when Buffy didn't want to go out of the house (if there were bangers going off, for example), she would go dead weight and not move an inch. In order to get her out of the house, we would have to life her up, put her out the back, and run to the door before she could run back in herself, which was far from easy. We would refer to it as her 'Gandhi' (you know, peaceful protest...), and as it was a famous trait of hers, we thought it would be a nice way to remember her.

I am still working at getting a second dog, as company for Gandhi when we can't play with her and so on. Groucho is that dogs proposed name.

Adam

Expect Minor Delays

2004-08-02T23:32:00.000+01:00

Just thought I'd drop in and give you all an update on how things are, given my lack of blogging lately.

I started a new job out in Sandyford Industrial Estate, which explains my lack of time on the home PC. Its around 1 1/2 to 2 hours travel each way, and the hours are a bit unpredicable so far, so I get home every day wrecked. I hope to be out of it as soon as possible. The work is OK, the location sucks, and the hours are far too unpredicable for my liking. I dont mind overtime, but adding 2 hours on top to get home means I have to be careful not to plan too much after work, and I also don't know if we even get paid for the hours, which sucks. Even if I dont get anything else soon (and I have one job in mind) I know I don't have long there, as its full time and the 2nd year of college is on its way.

Anyway. Otherwise, we have a new dog, Gandhi, a lovely black labrador cross, extremely hyper etc etc. I will devote a blog to her soon, and stick up a picture for you all to see too.
I am also after getting in touch with Dublin radio presenter (and RTE Rugby pundit) George Hook in relation to work experience on his show. I was shocked that he even got back to me. Even a bit of advice would be brilliant, and any more than that a bonus, so fingers crossed for me, please!

Thats the main stories so far, and basically my reasons for not being around the computer so much lately (the job is the main one, though).
My usual rants will return, there is plenty to talk about, as always... such as my thoughts on what RTE could do with itself, and what the government should do with themselves...

Talk to you all soon, anyway.

Adam

Extra! Extra! Publicans Realise The Workings Of Economics!

2004-07-24T01:28:00.000+01:00

It would be folly for you or I to consider the Irish publican to be a moron, however, it would be a forgivable mistake to make. The recent introduction of the smoking ban in Ireland has been a general success. There has been a reported 98% compliance rate within the first month of its introduction, and despite the VFI (Vinters Federation of Ireland) and their sensationalist predicitions of the apocolypse that we were to face once the law was enacted, people are still going to pubs.
"There has been a huge drop in trade", say some publicans. "I had to lay off 3 staff members" say others. "How on earth am I supposed to get an '04 Merc at this rate?", plurged one disgruntaled landlord. Arse. There is currently no evidence to show a direct drop in trade since the introduction of the smoking ban. There is evidence, however, to show that there has been a steady decline in sales over a 7 year period, with punters favouring a night in with friends over a night out, and with this fact we begin to see the lie behind the publicans dying swan routine.

(for anyone interested, I'm going to avoid debating the pros and cons of the ban, and if it should or should not be implemented. It is law, this is about how to deal with it)

Let me first say this; the argument made by some that Irish pubs would suffer from the ban due to the loss of atmosphere is an insult. We all need ciggarettes to have a laugh? Only the smokers can have craíc, while us non-smokers sit in awe at these painfully funny long-term suicide bombers?
I heard Christy Dignam, singer of Dublin band Aslan (some of you may say "who?". Frankly, you'd be right to, and I envy your ignorance.) on Newstalk 106 today saying that their gigs in Ireland have lost a lot of their atmosphere, because people keep going out for a smoke. He said (and I para-phrase him) "They stay for 'Crazy World' and then they go for a smoke, then they come back, and stay 'til 'This Is', and then go for a smoke". How terrible. Well, Christy, here's an idea. How about writing more than 2 songs on which you base your fame, that way they might stay for longer. May I also make the point that if you're gigging for 22 years, and you can still notice people coming into and leaving your gigs, you should pack it in.

Now, onto the real issues. Why have publicans been complaining from a drop in trade? Are they lying? Maybe, but not certainly. The constant drop in trade has been, in my humble opinion, for one reason. Price Hikes. Year in, year out, prices in Irish pubs has risen, and risen. Sometimes its taxes, and fair enough, thats out of John Publicans hands. That doesn't mean they are totally out of control of prices though. Why can I buy a naggin of Vodka in an off-licence for the price of 2 shots in a pub (or there abouts)? Pub's have to pay for glasses, and taps... right? Well, taps are a once off expense, and not a constant one. Also, taps are often paid for by drinks companies, just like the glasses. More staff? Well, not really, off licences can be just as heavily staffed as pubs. And here's the kicker, what about soft drinks? Why does it cost me just as much for a pint of Coke as it does for a pint of Guinness? There is no soft drink tax, so you can't blame that. It's greed, folks, plain and simple, and increasingly over the last 7 years, the Irish consumer has slowly realised the waste a night out is. With high drink prices, transport costs and often enterance fee's, a night out in Dublin (and other Irish cities/towns) is a painful and unrewarding experience. Why has it taken this long for the publicans to notice? Well, it hasn't, but it would look terrible for them to come out and say "There has been a huge drop in trade, and its all our fault... we're greedy bastards, and hopefully we'll get ours in hell". They instead waited for a new law that some were suspicious of, and pinned their angst to that. And what are they doing about it, now that they face a problem? As a good friend of mine (and one with quite a strong economical mind) pointed out, any business that faces a drop in trade would improve its service and drop its prices. The publicans, being the entraupanural type that they are, broke the law instead. Galway's Fibbers Magee was first to break rank. One night, they dealt out the ash trays once more, and announced an indoor smoking area. Trade was at an all time low. Figures such as 63% drop were thrown around, staff cut backs were mentioned, and public support was theeming. Mr. Lawless (ironic, no?), owner of Fibbers, forgot to mention that his pub was a student getaway, and always faces trade drops in summer, it was a kip, he owned 3 other Galway pubs (and so his poor little publican was made redundant in favour of more realistic fat-cat image), and his pub was situation on Eyre Square, which was going through extensive maintenance which included digging up the road infront of the pub. From my own experience, construction work is enough to cripple any pub. The Isaac Butt of Dublin, a pub I dealt with for some time, was almost completely shut down due to the Luas works which went on infront of it.
Thankfully the law breaking pubs were dealt with accordingly, and the Health Boards have since gotten tougher on anyone showing signs of illegal activites as regards the pubs.

So what should pubs do? A drop in price would be nice, but there is so much more possible. Let me give you an example of contrasing service and style. Redz and O Reilly's, both situated on the Quays in Dublin, within 3 minutes stroll of each other. Redz is a popular club-ish kind of place. It's a few euro in, and the music is quite dancy, although nothing 'hardcore', not my type of music, but it could be worse. It is stuff (as its main section is downstairs), smelly and sweety. The clientel are moronic and drunk, and if you want a pint you better be prepared to queue for some time, just to get a warmey pint which the barperson spent 2 seconds pulling (not a huge deal, unless you drink Guinness). You then push your way through the sweaty people, and find a leaning spot at a nearby wall. You could put your drink down on the crowded table close to you, but don't expect to get it back. O Reilly's is a much more relaxed affair. It is in one of the more dingy spots of the city, but nothing terrible. There is an outdoor area, with canope and outdoor heaters incase of bad weather. This way you can get some fresh air, relax and chat. The outdoor area has music playing lowly. Chart stuff. Not my type, but there is the odd song you might hum or sing along to if you felt like it. Inside is much louder, and better for anyone interested in a dance. If you are sitting outside, and you want a pint, don't worry. Just stop a waiter/waitress on their next round, and make an order. It'll be back to you in a short period of time, and you would'nt have moved an inch for it. From what I know the prices are the same in both pubs (high), although I think Redz charges more. However, for the sake of argument, lets say they are exactly the same. Which would you go to for a drink, a chat or even a dance? All it takes is some service to make it worthwhile. Bouncers who hold the door open for you rather than growl at you as you enter. Polite staff who actually make drinks properly. Simple stuff.

Hypothetical situation. Lets say that figures come out to show that the ban has caused a 30% drop in trade, and some pubs are facing closure. Will the law be repealed? My left man-tit it will. Micheal Martin stook his neck out on this, and he wont back down. So did Fianna Fail, and god knows they hate back tracking (E-Voting, anyone?). Apart from that, they know that closure of some pubs is not a bad thing, its business. Ireland has a problem with binge drinking, and extra policing and tougher laws can only do so much. Less opportunities to drink will certainly play its part too. In my area, there are 5 pubs within walking distance of each other. In nearby Finglas, the village sports (off the top of my head) 7 pubs all within minutes of each other. Infact, in Finglas there is a short row of buildings which has 3 pubs on it. What other enterprise would be able to survive under such high levels of competition? can you imagine 5 large toy shops all working next to each other? Or even 7 resturaunts with half rate food and bad service? Competition grows and grows, but in some kind of economic shambles, prices still rise, and service still drops. It is fair to say that Irish business tends to work like this (Eircon still have a grip on the telecoms market despite being the dearest of all main players. This is due to the ignorance of the customer, the inability of the government to deal with their abuse of monopolies, and their underhand tactics in keeping customers, such as mis-information on charges). The pubs are now a victim of their own greed. I would be sad to see any person lose their job, or company, but if there is no demand for the service, it will end. This is a fact of all economies, and a failure in business comes down to the owner for their lack of enterprise, planning, and know-how.

Once again, kudos to Fianna Fail for this. Finally it is the smoker who must go out of their way to enjoy their vice, and not the non-smoker who must go out of their way to avoid it.

Adam

Why Men Don't Ask For Directions...

2004-07-08T17:51:00.000+01:00

...Because morons tend to tell them the wrong one's.

So I make my way out to Sandyford Industrial Estate today, and realise that I don't know where I'm going. Luckily I have a half hour to spare before my interview, and I know the name of the section the place I'm looking for is in. I go to the nearby AIB Bank, where the receptionist directs me down the road, left, straight, through the lights, straight, and across the road to some place or other. I get there (after 10 minutes walk) and spend about 10 minutes pacing around the place trying to find my destination. As it nears 12, I head into the nearest offices and ask them for more directions.
"Erm, I don't think thats in this place... just go across the road, straight, through the lights, straight, and it should be on your right.".
"Thank you".
I got there 10 minutes late, but the guy didn't seem too pissed off about it, infact he didn't seem to care at all. I, on the other hand, was a fuming ball of stress, frizzy hair and sweat... I'm sure I looked like the perfect candidate.

What was the funniest thing was, on my way back to my destination a polite couple stopped me, and asked me if there were any resturants nearby (in a tone of shock that they hadn't yet found one). I instantly thought to myself "Resturants..?? OK, you do realise that you are in an industrial estate... don't you? Generally, these places are more known for their offices are warehouses, rather than fine cuisine, you morons.", but I'm more polite than that, so I pointed out that there was a hotel somewhere in that (/me points) direction, and they might find something in or around there.

Naturally I was cursing that silly cow in AIB. I mean, as a kid, I used to enjoy mis-directing cars down cul de sac's in my local area, but when you work for a bank that's a big player nationally and internationally, you might think twice about those fun 5-8 year old pranks. It makes sense, though, that she was a receptionist rather than a teller, God knows what might happen if they put her in charge of any money.

Adam

And The Lord Say 'He Shall Be Without Beard' And So It Was Done

2004-07-07T23:02:00.000+01:00

It seems to me that the God's are conspiring to keep me without facial hair for some wierd reason.
I recently decided to shave after a few months of having a fancy and stylish beard (ok... it wasn't that fancy or stylish, but it was a beard). I decided that I looked better with it (and also the hair seemed to hide the weight I've slowly been putting onto my face), and so made a one man agreement that it was better to grow it back.

Then, a few days into the re-growth I had to shave it because I had to look my best for something, and the stage in between clean shaven and beard is always scruffy looking. So once that event was over, I started to let it grow again. Then the next week, the same thing happened, and I was forced to shave again. I have now gone just over a week withouth a shave, and things were looking good, I was getting close to being able to tidy it up, then I get an e-mail inviting me to an interview for a job... FUCKERS! I go for over half a year hunting for jobs, and now, when I need to look scruffy for a few days, I get an interview!!! Its ok, though, I'm glad, I'd rather shave and get a job than continue to go without. I can wait until September to shave again (chances are I wont be able to go scruffy if I get the job... touch wood and all).

I also need to embelish slightly for a chance at this job, or at least I think I do... so wish me luck.

Adam

The Way Things Are, The Way Things Will Be

2004-07-05T17:13:00.000+01:00

As anyone with half a brain and an understanding of the world will know, the US Presidential elections are fast approaching. At the moment, things seem pretty tied between Bush and Kerry, and the mud slinging from both sides has gotten well under-way, but what are we to expect from the coming months, and most importantly, the four years following??

Well, you can be sure that this election will be much more polar than the last. While Independent Nadar was did serious damage to Gore last time (but no more than Gore did himself), I don't expect the same to happen this year. In 2000, left wingers and fence sitters didn't mind putting in a vote to a 3rd Party candidate. It wouldn't be a big deal, its just one vote. This time, (and I hate to use this childish generalisation) You're either with him (Bush) or against him. Those opposed to Bush know that Nadar will not get in, and will know that, while they may not like Kerry that much, to them he is the lesser of two evils. Bush supporters will know that they have to get Bush in no matter what, and will be sure to vote. The small amount of Conservatives who voted Nadar last time, will also be sure to go for Bush this time. While I am sure Nadar will get plenty of votes, I doubt he will impact this years election nearly as much as he did last time.
So what else does this polarisation mean? Well I would expect a very high voter turn out. There are many on both sides of the fence who see this election as decisive in the future of America, and I suppose it is to some degree. The Bushies will say that if Kerry gets in, terrorists will be given greater freedom to enter America and destroy each and every city. Kerryites will say that if Bush gets in he will go further down an unreturnable path of isolation and warfare, which will lead to America being left alone with many, many enemies and virtually no economy. I would be surprised if we dont see record turn-outs for this November.
I am certainly looking forward to the televised debates. I want to see what each man is worth when they step up to the mic and have to defend themselves against the one person that wants to beat them down more than anyone else in the world.
One thing to certainly look for, and beware of, is spin. This campaign has seen more propoganda and spin than any other to my memory. Both sides know the effect of the media, and are doing their best to pump out the best ad's and counter-ad's in order to grab the swing-states. On top of that many media outlets are becoming more and more extreme in an attempt to sway voters subtely. Channels and papers that were once moderately left or right are now doing whatever they can to sully the image of their opposite sides. Also, activists and activist groups are going into over-drive to encourage people to vote. Bands like Pearl Jam are set to play the swing states in the coming months. Michael Moore has his new film out. Moveon.org had a highly successful campaign to find the best anti-Bush 30 second clip. In response Right wingers Move America Forward are trying to stop theatres in the US from showing Moores film, pro-Bush shows and gatherings are being organised in the swing states and websites like electionprojection.com have been countering left wing spin.
It is important that we all watch and listen to the news given to us with an open mind. Do not take anything as fact until its backed up with plenty of evidence. Do not shrug off information just because it doesn't suit you're opinion on one side or the other. This is only way for you all to make an educated decision on who you support, and is especially important for any American readers here, as they are the ones making the difference.

What can we expect after the elections? Well, that all depends on who wins. There will be differences depending on a Dem or Rep president, but they will both face the same challenges. Don't be fooled into thinking that Kerry will instantly pull troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and will instantly patch things up with certain countries across the world. While I believe that Kerry will be more moderate and has a better chance of easing the riff (lets not forget that Bush has given his opinion on things, and it will be hard for him to backtrack, at least Kerry can come in with a fresh opinion), I dont bank on it happening. Perhaps its gone to far now, and the US and EU will drift apart more and more until there are no real political links anymore. Maybe this is just a short term division. I do believe that the EU/US relationship will never be the same again, and the UN will have one more chance to save itself in the next 5 years, which if not taken may see it become another League of Nations. As the EU slowly becomes more of a unified state, it may become a contender as a superpower. I dont perticularly want that, but the US does need a counter-power to keep it check, and vice versa. I can't see the EU becoming so unified that that happens, at least not for some time, but its possible. Whether it will lead to another Cold War-esque show off will have to be seen, I do hope that there will not be another battle for superiority, and that any notion of Empirism on either side of the Atlantic is dropped in favour of peace, realism and bringing things forward.

Adam

Bertie, Not Just A Silly Name

2004-07-05T16:38:00.000+01:00

So after a very successful 6 months as EU President, Bertie Ahern admitted to RTE Radio that he had the support of 21 EU members out of 24 for the job of EU commissioner (Romano Prodi is just finishing his term).

It would have been a bit of a promotion, thats for sure. Taoiseach of Ireland, an admittedly small part of the EU (although it does have one of the fastest growing economies of the 25...) becoming the man pretty much at the top of it all. He certainly earned it. In his 6 months as EU president, Bertie oversaw the entry of 10 new countries to the EU, the signing of the contentious EU constitution as well as the negotiation of Prodi's successor. Pretty nifty work. Now, the 10 new members was going to happen no matter who was in control, but he did a good job of it.

So why didn't he take the job? It was certainly a step up for him. Well, I'd say he knows just how bad it would look for him to leave Fianna Fail now. They've just suffered an embarressing defeat in the european and local elections, and to bail now would look like the captain jumping ship... infact it would be the captain jumping ship.
Its also a finite job, and after the 4 year term, Bertie would almost certainly have to return to Irish politics. At this point (and one can only dream) Fianna Fail may be out of power. Its unlikely, but you never know. You can almost be sure that Bertie wouldn't get his old job back. Brian Cowen is the most likely successor to Bertie whenever he goes, and the man is a good politician, and a great public speaker. Bertie is a good politician behind the scenes, but a god awful public speaker. If he left for 4 years, it would be tough work to get to the top again, he'd get a minister job, I'm sure, but thats it. He could always hope for the Presidency job when it comes around again, but he's a bit too young to be an ex-Taoiseach who takes the retirement job of President.

So I imagine he see's a long future for himself in Ireland, and in power. I understand that Prodi is returning to Italy to take on Berlusconi, and if Fianna Fail were out of power it would be easy for Bertie to do the same, but thats unlikely, because, quite frankly, the opposition sucks.

Adam

America Brand Freedom

2004-07-02T02:34:00.000+01:00

John Gibson, that guy from Fox so busy being right wing he keeps forgetting to think (a common disease in the US, it seems), seems to be picking and choosing the terms of what America Brand Freedom^TM really is.

Saddam Hussein's defense lawyer says the former dictator will not get a fair trial, and that his captors have already decided his fate.

The statement presumes Saddam should get a fair trial in which it is possible to be acquitted.

Why would anyone presume that in this 'free world' Bush is kindly creating for Iraq, a trial would be anything but fair?

Of course, Saddam is going to be found guilty. Who could think otherwise?

For once, I agree with you, John. It would take a pretty terrible prosecution to allow Saddam to walk free. He is guilty of many, many crimes, no question. Given that some of the crimes he is being charged with include his attack on Iran, and his gassing of Kurds with chemical weapons, I wonder if America can be found guilty of being an accomplice... especially Rumsfeld, he was the one that struck all those deals with the man to deal with those darned Red's in Iran...was he not?

So a couple of dopey, French-trained lawyers in Amman, Jordan think they could get him off.

You see, there you go, slinging mud again. Someone has to defend the man, even if they dont have a toe-nail to stand on, you have to go marching along with your 'France = Poopey Heads' banner, just because they wouldn't play ball for legitimate reasons.

Saddam has been guilty since 1958 when he was arrested for killing his brother-in-law. He's been at it ever since.

Now the Iraqis have a chance to do justice by giving him as fair a trial as the obviously guilty can get, and then executing him in accordance to whatever Iraqi law they have just changed to make sure they can execute him.

Anybody who thinks anything else is going to happen is a dope or dangerously naive.

You've just proven the guys point. Whatever you have seen on the news, or gotten over the wires over the years, and whatever the rest of the world has gathered over the last few decades, this man must go into the court 'innocent until proven guilty', thats a staple of freedom, and of a just law. You may know deep down he's guilty of every sin and crime under the sun, but until the evidence is put to a judge and jury, and they agree with your view, you cannot tell them what he is or isn't.
This trial is obviously going to be influenced from what the world knows about Saddam, but here's the interesting point, how many of the crimes we know he committed would you say he has told his own people about?? And is the jury made up of regular citizens of Iraq, or others? I mean, if its just citizens, theres a chance you'd get some hardcore Saddam-ers in there. While you or I have the advantage of viewing from a far, many people living in Iraq still think Saddam is a God, and will be hard pushed to be told otherwise by what they see as a puppet government of the US.

I'm sure, in all your journalistic training (sorry, I laughed so much there I think I'm bleeding from somewhere) you know about 'contempt of court'. Now, I don't know if it works the same in America, and I doubt it will hold in Iraq, but under Irish law, they'd have a good case to say the jury has been influenced so much by exterior forces (rumours and myths and half truths), that they could not possibly be un-bias. You would be held in contempt of court for commenting on a trial before a verdict is met. That is what the defence team are hoping to achieve, a situation where an un-bias hearing is impossible, and so the case must be thrown out of court, and all charges dropped. Its not likely to happen, but its probably their best chance at getting him out of it.

Adam

We All Walk The Long Road

2004-06-30T01:04:00.000+01:00

In the last week, I have been forced to contemplate death on two seperate occassions (I'm not counting my dog here, by the way, I'm talking about the passing on of two people). Up until recently, death has always been a result of old age to me, and while I knew inside that wasn't really the case, there were never any instances close to me to make me truely realise otherwise. While neither of the people involved were related to me, I certainly knew a decent amount about them or those close to them, enough to make me stop and think.
Both instances had their similarities, and were both very tragic. I won't go into detail, out of respect for those passed on and their families, and because there is no real need to. However, it has become all the more apparent to me that life itself is the most unpredictable thing in this world. It may last for more than a century, or it may only last an hour, and no matter what you do, you do not know what will happen to you. You could live the healthiest of lives, and die of a heart attack at 30. You could eat rubbish all day long, and live to see 100. My point is, though, its not worth thinking about the many ways you might leave this place, what is important is that when you do go, those you leave behind will be able to say you had done everything you could to make life good. Obviously its a good idea to stay healthy and be as safe as you can, but don't waste you're time keeping yourself covered in bubble-wrap; go out and do something worthwhile. My worst fear about death, is that I will have nothing to show for it, and that I'll be forgotten. What I've seen in the last week has made me realise, that for the most part, I can ensure that fear doesn't become a reality, but only if I take advantage of whatever comes my way in life, and do whatever I can to be the person I want to be remembered as.

Death is only senseless when there was no life beforehand.

Adam

Walker, Texas Ranger

2004-06-25T21:35:00.000+01:00

For those of you who don't know, George Dubya Bush is coming to Ireland today for a quick nap before he flies to Turkey for some summit of some description.
Co. Clare, where Air Force One is to land, has been shut down, the 2 members of the Irish Army have taken the gun they share and are on their way to patrol the place, protesters are lining up in Dublin, Galway, Tralee, Waterford, Sligo and Clare to show their feelings (including the Lord Mayor of Clare and the local Catholic bishop), and residents are fuming at the fact that they can't move from their houses because Georgey is nearby, and yet Bertie insists on welcoming the guy...!!

here is a link to a 'rare and exclusive' interview with Mr Bush by Carol Coleman of RTE. The interview itself is about 16 minutes into the clip for anyone interested.
Firstly, Mrs. Coleman is no doubt anti-Bush, and she does try and catch him out, but no more than any self-respecting journalist would try and catch a politician out. However, she is extremely nervous IMHO, and so fails to nail him on many points he screwed up on... for example:
* He didn't answer her when she asked was he going to be even handed with Israel/Palestine, and she didn't nail him on it.
* He didn't answer her on the question of 'do you believe you are fighting God's battle?', again she didn't catch him on it
* He ignored her remarks that the war in Iraq is not tackling terrorism, despite it being a valid point. She didn't follow up.
* He claimed the world was now a safer place than it was, she never mentioned the recent publications that said terrorist attacks had doubled in the last year, when she tried to say it was not safer, he used the Sept. 11th card, saying that the world was supposed to be safe then, too. She didn't press him any further.
* He claimed the bomb attacks in Madrid had nothing to do with American policy, which it certainly did. She didn't say anything.
* He called Pakistan a democracy, she didn't correct him.

Now, that seems like a bad job by Coleman on paper, but you have to hand it to her. She isn't the most experienced of interviewers, there are few at RTE that are good at nailing politicians. She had her questions vetted 4 days in advance, giving Bush plenty of time to get his spiels down. As you can see, Bush was completely un-statesmanly and rude to the interviewer, and was quick to silence her whenever her comments didn't match the script. He also played the famine card, saying Irish people would empatise with his work in helping famine victims in Africa (obviously hinting at the fact that we were once on the recieving end of a famine).

Bring on Jeremy Paxman, he'll sort the moron out... although I'm sure the Bush administration are far too clever to put Dubya up against Paxman, he has a reputation for destroying politicians who dodge questions... which tends to happen a lot.

Adam

International Relations For Dummies

2004-06-18T15:22:00.000+01:00

So lets say worst comes to worst, and Bush gets a second term. I will put money on it that by March 2005 at the very latest, he will have US soldiers fighting somewhere else. Blair may not back him up this time, though, as the British people are showing an increasing anger towards the Iraq conflict, and with British General Elections expected in April 2005, it would be foolish for Blair to go into them with a war waging in his name (I mean, c'mon, he's not that stupid). Anyway, I was trying to figure out where Bush Inc. would go next. North Korea? Well lets see, they have (and are very proud of) their WMD, they are led by a communist leader with no free elections, and are blatently denying their people basic human rights and freedoms... why this sounds like a job for Captain America, doesn't it? Well, lets take a sneak peak into the on going talks between the US, North Korea and South Korea:

USA: Do you have WMD's?
NK: Yes. We do. Want to see them? Look, here they are on the map.
USA: No, thats fine, thanks. OK, give them up to us, now!
NK: No.
USA: What do you mean 'no'?
NK: No, I wont. They're ours.
USA: Well if you don't you're in big trouble.
NK: Why what are you gonna do about it?
USA: Well you saw what happened in Iraq, didn't you?
NK: So, they didn't have nukes.
USA: Well we thought they did
NK: Really? Wow... you're more ignorant than we thought.
USA: Well I was told they did, anyway.
NK: Who told you?
USA: Well, erm... our friends in Britain made a dossier up about it, some 6th grader gave them loads of information. Ermm... anyway.. please give them up.
NK: No.
USA: We wont hurt you if you do.
NK: How about we hold onto them, and you still don't hurt us?
USA: Well, how do you know we won't attack you just 'cos you have big weapons?
NK: Because they're nukes, goddamn it!
USA: We might still attack.
NK: *cough* CHINA *cough*
USA: What?
NK: Nothing..... *whisper* Korean War, Korean War, Korean War
USA: What?
NK: Nothing.
SK: Hey, can we get rid of all that propoganda stuff near the border? It's pretty costly.
NK: Can we still hate you?
SK: I guess so...
NK: Deal.
USA: OK, we might not attack you, but we can put sanctions on you.
NK: You already have sanctions on us, and we're fine with them, it just gives us someone else to blame the state of our country on.
USA: But you'll starve!
NK: *cough* CHINA *cough*
USA: Damn it!
NK: Can we go now? We're missing the daily execution of traitors.

In contrast, here's the secret meeting between Iraq and America before March '03.

USA: Ok, hand over all your illegal weapons, or else...
IRAQ: But we don't have any illegal weapons.
USA: Dont lie to us, we know you do, you used them in 1990.
IRAQ: Yeah, but we figured we'd better get rid of them after that, they're gone ages.
USA: Really? So you have a pretty much non existant defense force now...
IRAQ: Well.... I guess we do... bu..
USA: Thats fine, thanks, see you at the UN.

So where will it be? It's gotta be weak (America can hardly afford another war, let alone one that... gosh and golly, they might have to fight in), its gotta be small, and its gotta be insignificant. It's also gotta have a healthy oil supply, no allies, and a dislike for Israel is prefrable. All volunteers please send a SAE to:

George W. Bush
The Whitehouse
Washington DC
United States of America

Adam

2004-06-14T13:43:00.000+01:00

Goodbye My Puppy

Any of you who have read this blog will know that I do my best to stay away from turning it into a diary. While most of my blogs are opinions rather than personal emotions, please forgive me for going down this route today as I mourn the loss of my beloved dog, Buffy. I know that this may seem a bit melodramatic too, but as I write it I am upset, but do understand that I know this is not the most important thing in the world, its just important to me right now. Begin sap-o-meter in 5,4,3,2,1......

Today my dog of 11 (or more) years was put to sleep. Naturally, I was and am extremely upset, however (and apologies for the cliché) it was the right thing to do. Firstly let me say that she was not named after the well known vampire slayer. We got her before the show was famous, and while I think the film had been and gone, I didn't know of it. I still remember so much about her. I remember I was getting a lift home from Cubs (thats the scout section for younger kids) when my brother told me with great joy in his voice that we were getting a dog. Until then we had no pets, due to my brothers asthma which stopped him from coming too close to cats, dogs and cut grass. The doctor had said he was ok with dogs now, but not cats or cut grass. Thinking about it, I would say the whole alergy thing was made up by my parents to avoid getting a dog. They had one before (I was too young to remember), and my brother was alive and asmatic then too. Bastards. Anyway, I was more than happy to hear this news, and quite quickly the ball got rolling. My mother knew of a woman who was burdened with a rake of newborn pups (the result of a midnight encounter with a Labrador and a frisky Golden Retriever), and so we went to see them. I can still recall being surrounded by the cutest of puppies, all jumping for attention as if they knew they had to put on a good show. We picked out the one we wanted, a girl (because male dogs have a tendency to hump things) with one white paw, if I remember correctly (that was how we distiguished her from the rest). We then spend a week or so counting down to her arrival, my brother and I marking each day on the calender with a red marker. Despite all the excitment, we managed to sleep late on the day we were getting her.
When we picked her up she was jumping around the car like a maniac, amazed by all this new stuff, all these new faces and voices. When we brought her home and opened the back door she belted down it with glee at all this space to run in and all these plants to dig up, but suddenly realising that her brothers and sisters wern't there too, she darted back to us, and huddled at our feet.
The first few nights were torture, as she stood at the door and whined non-stop. The 'hot water bottle and clock' trick soon eased her fears. My cousin came to stay a lot during that summer, and being a puppy, she wasn't pushed about doing anything to entertain us (much to our dissapointment). She would eat and sleep, sometimes urinate, and sometimes grant us a few minutes of play time.
Over the 11 years, she became a family member, as all good pets should. She was brilliantly clever, unflinchingly loyal, constantly happy and never a burden. She was protective but never aggressive, fun and never a chore (even when I had to shovel up her waste produce), and she was family.
One example of the great mind she possessed, was when she was in the house sitting in her spot while we watched TV. Crocodile Dundee was on (or was it the sequel), and she gave her opinion by falling asleep and soiling the carpet in disgust. I felt like doing the same thing, but I didn't have that luxury.
Whenever I was going on holiday, or due to be out of the house for any length of time, I would sit up on the roof of her box, and she would jump up and sit next to me. There I'd tell her that I was going somewhere or other for whatever length of time, that she was to be good, and that I'd bring her back something nice. There were times she was the only one who got a present (I would have gotten some for everyone, but the rest of the family were never big fans of bouncy balls). Atop her roof we also performed our trick. She would jump up on it, I would stand next to her and she would lift her front paws onto my shoulders. She would have great fun looking over the wall to see what was going on next door, and I would have great fun holding back the tears as her nails dug into my skin.
After an attempted burglery on the house, she gained a distaste for people who wore baseball caps (I don't blame her, there only good for holding off the sun, and around here you don't it that much). Some scumbag had broken our back window. I'm still not sure of what happened, but from what I know, she attacked him, and he hit her... either that or he got freaked and ran. While I didn't see (or dont remember) I think she was cowering in the corner, which would lead me to believe he hit her. The problem was, she was such a friendly and happy dog, she wasn't always the best fighter. Saying that, few dogs are strong enough to over power a human unless trained to do so. She once almost killed a hobo who stumbled towards my mam in a drunked stupor one night. Buffy sprang towards him, hair on end and paws spread as far as possible to give the illusion of largeness. She didn't kill him though... he just moaned that she scared him.

At the start of the year it was found that she had a tumour in her stomach which was completely in-operable. We were told that she would have only weeks to live, and all we could do was make her comfortable until she was ready to go. Bring on June, and she was still refusing to give in. Anyone who has seen my dog will tell you that, even when she was 10 (which is past pension time in dog years), she was amazingly active and surprisingly hyper. While old age had begun to show itself in her (she would get tired chasing the ball after about 30 throws rather than her usual 50), it wasn't until Holloween that things went downhill. As is customary, she went off her food at this time, eating what she had to and nothing more, due to a fear of the loud and constant explosions around her. After Holloween, however, she stayed the same. After a few visits to the vet, and some bemusment, they finally found a lump in her stomach.
Today, we made the difficult decision to put her to sleep. While I had tried to avoid it, I knew that she was far too uncomfortable to be getting any joy out of life. I don't think she was in pain, but she was eating very little, her weight had dropped severely until she was next to nothing, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to do simple things like stand up, or climb out of her box. It was hard enough to see her realise she hadn't the energy to run anymore, but it was impossible to have to help her up from sitting, or watch her try in vain to balance herself while going to the toilet. A vet and his assistant called to the house, after I decided that she wasn't to be cremated (we had the choice of paying for a communal cremation, or an individual one). I decided that she was a part of the family, and a very good friend and companion, and so I would show her remains the respect they deserved and earned over the years. The vet and nurse were very nice, doing their best to comfort me without being unprofessional. My mother was also there, and while she too was upset, she was able to hold herself together more than me. So there I was, all 6ft something of me, long hair and a beard, crying my eyes out while holding onto my dog. With 2 quick injections, she grunted and laid down her head and fell asleep. It was an overdose of anastetic, and so she felt no pain whatsoever. Whats funny is that before the nurse left, she asked me if I was I ok, I said yes, and she moved to kind of pat my back, to show appreciation for her support I raised my hand, leading her to believe I wanted a hug. It was one of those marvelously awkward moments that makes life worth living... then again, maybe she did want a hug... only messing.
She died on her cushion in the corner of the room, quite apt, it was her spot after all. I moved her onto her towel (the one we used to dry her when it rained heavily and she got caught in it, when we washed her and when we got back from the beach), and rapped it around her. I took her dog tag from her collar, removed her collar and left it next to her, and began moving her down the end of the garden.
I had made the decision that I would bury her. My brother had said he didn't think he could, and he was in work anyway, so I did it alone, which I was happiest with. It took me some time to dig what I felt was deep enough, and I then collected some of her earthly possessions (she was part egyptian, I swear) and lifted her down. I said goodbye to her, and did what I had to. I left her collar beside her, along with the squeaky toys she always loved to break (and so stop the squeak).
It was strangely theraputic, to bury her. It was my way of paying my respect to her, and saying goodbye. I had promised myself that I would take care of her, and refused to have her body thrown in with countless other dead dogs.

I am sure some of you are thinking I'm a bit sad to feel this way about a dog. Don't get me wrong, I know this is not the worst thing in the world, and its not something I plan to obsess about, but when someone or something is a part of your life for 11 years (the majority of my life), its not easy to say goodbye. When that something or someone has been there through your transition from child to man, its not easy to lose them. And while I am upset now, I know its the best thing for her, and I am grateful to have had such a wonderful companion for those difficult teenage years. My mother pointed out something to me while mentioning the idea of another dog. I was saying I'd rather not talk about it just yet, give it a few days at least, but she pointed out that its a great compliment to Buffy that we would be so keen to get another dog, she gave us such a wonderful experience to begin with.

Sleep tight, my puppy. You were the best pet I could ever have wished for, and a testiment to the notion of dog being mans best friend. It was hard to watch you fade away over the last few months, and it was hard to say a final goodbye today, but it is so easy to remember how much joy you brought me, and it is much easier when I know that I have given you a fitting send off. I will remember the fun we had, and I will never forget you.

Adam

2004-06-10T13:50:00.000+01:00

My Buddy Vinny

I'm sure some of you (you two over there) should remember my post titled "Adam's Practical Mathematics: Lesson 1", which featured pictures of a glass of white russian, a bottle of champagne, and a scene from 'Monty Pythons The Meaning of Life' involving a lot of vomit.
Given that it was some time back, some of you may not have noticed the new friendship I have just struck up with Vinny, the owner of the website (www.insignificantthoughts.com) which hosted the champagne bottle image. After finding I was using his image, he posted this show of support for my work in my comments box:

"If you want to use my images, please download them and use them on your own server. Stop being a bandwidth thief and linking directly to me.

Thank you."

To which I replied:

"You're a nice guy Vinny.

Adam"

To which he decided to change the picture which my img URL linked to to this:

Vinny, c'mon, I thought we were buds!!
I don't know a hell of a lot about bandwidth, but surely one small image which I linked to my blog (which only has around 300 hits total at the moment) wasn't draining away his bandwidth.... I dunno, maybe its the fact that a lot of my posts are aimed at everything he holds dear, George W. Bush, Middle America, Fox News etc. etc.

Naturally, to this guy who loves everything from Bill O Reilly to Rush Limbaugh to 'The Free Republic', and who has some kind of obsession with Ronald Regan (he's dead, rest his soul, what he did or didn't do when alive doesn't change that) figures that me hosting his picture makes me a cocksucker, which is why he's such a nice guy IMO.

Hey Vinny, ever figure that by putting stuff up on the internet it is then a part of the public domain and so out of your control? If you don't like people using your images then maybe you should try and remove them from search engines, or take them off the site altogether, either that or password protect your site. I wouldn't have used it had it not come up when I typed 'campagne' into google images.

You're still a nice guy, though. No, really. You are. Well actually, that was a lie.

Adam

2004-06-08T17:32:00.000+01:00

Bless Us All

There is a God.

Adam

2004-06-04T16:43:00.000+01:00

Gmail Ist Sehr Funky

After reading the link on my cousin Michael's blog in relation to gmail (can't link directly for some reason, will fix), I thought I'd put up my own thoughts on the whole thing.

The link to Eric Case's blog which tackles all arguments against gmail covers things well, I'm not concerned with my info being abused, however I do worry if google was to be taken over by some evil corporate bastards (I don't know why, but google seem to be a nice guy company, where Microsoft and that fail... maybe its just superb marketting.. or maybe they are just nice guys).

Anyway, I am enjoying my Beta trial, and the freedom of not having to wipe out e-mails I like just because there's no space. I am also enjoying the ability to send mp3's as attatchments, as well as other bigish files (i think 10MB is the limit... better than 2.5MB for Yahoo). The way a list of addresses comes up when you type in the first letter is also nice (and its not your computer remembering a name you typed before, its gmail taking addresses from your contacts). The labels are easy to apply, and easy to make, and the star system is a nice feature. I love the conversation feature, it tidies up the whole thing, rather than having to search back through old e-mails just to find what you said earlier. While I haven't had to use the search option yet, I can imagine it being very useful when I have hundreds of e-mails in my inbox, and the archive is handy for e-mails you want to keep (like funny stuff), but aren't going to be using all the time, I also like the auto refresh, which means that if an e-mail is sent to my while I have my inbox page open, it will automatically show up without me having to keep hitting refresh on my browser. Finally, the ad's are brilliant, not the fact that they are always something relative (although thats a plus), but the way they are totally inobtrusive and small compared to yahoo, which is littered with loud and ignorant banners.

Now, the down sides. Firstly, the contacts page can be annoying for two reasons. Firstly, if you want to send to multiple names, you have to type each one individually. You can use the drop down menu I mentioned, but its a bit annoying, and you always tend to forget one or two. It would be much better to have a tick box (like yahoo) where you can click them all at once, and hit 'add'. Another downside is the way gmail insists on saving the address of any e-mail you send. So if I were to e-mail some customer support group, that address is added to my contacts, even though I won't be likely to need it again, and if I do, I can go to the site or something. This means that every few weeks (depending), you need to purge your contacts page of everything but your friends and associates. I have heard complaints about spam filters, but I haven't gotten any yet, so I won't say anything. I would also like to see a gmail icon added to my google toolbar, like the blogger button. I'd expect this to happen once it goes public. I am also fuming that I haven't been given the chance to invite others!! Damn you gmail!!

While there are a few problems, I havent come across any technical bugs yet, and the only issues I have are easily ignorable. Also, its worth remembering that this is till beta, and I am sure there will be a few tweaks before a full release. The fact is, even with the few problems, it beats yahoo and hotmail hands down, and their offer of 100MB storage is too little too late now.

Adam

2004-06-03T02:18:00.000+01:00

I want my MTV (to die a horrible, horrible death)

MTV... Music Television. Once the voice of a disillusioned generation, now a money hungry bunch of corporate pigs with no interest in real music, and not a spec of knowledge as regards talent... if its got dollars cellotaped to it, and its showing a bit of boob/leg, then its good enough for them.

As far as I'm concerned, these assholes need to be punished... so I figure, you sue them for false advertising...
They say music television.. right?... lets look at todays (3rd June 2004) schedule and see (this is MTV UK and Ireland by the way):

06:00 Wake Up with MTV: Ok, good start... an hour of music.
07:00 The Base Chart Show Trevor Nelson: Still ok, its not pure music, but theres plenty of it here... its a chart show.
08:00 Ultrasound: Hip-Hop Dollars: Ouch... this isn't music.. its just crap... but its only 30 minutes, we can ignore it... right?
08:30 Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica: Bad call again "M"TV... reality TV show.. sure, they're involved in the music industry (or so they claim)... but its not music.
09:00 Room Raiders: Jesus... not another non-music show??!! So stupid dating show for perverts, this...
09:30 Diary of...Beyonce Knowles: Is this for real? Another one?! More 'look at me, I'm famous... its hard work being so rich.. this jewlery is so heavy'.
10:00 European Top 20: YAY! Music.
11:00 Beyonce: The Rise and Rise Of...: Damn, thought we were getting somewhere... Now its 'I'm so famous... look at everything I've done and the money its made me'
12:00 Usher Gets MTVd: MTV'd? what the hell is that? From the current trend, I'd say it means getting followed by cameras for a while, but theres no need to sing.
12:30 Cribs: 'Look at my car, look at my bling, look at my huge house, I have all this for being a tool, and you, you educated little family man, you will die of poorness and be buried in a lunchbox... hahahahahaha'
13:00 Room Raiders: Bloody Perverts again... check the music-o-meter... nothing.
13:30 Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica: HA! That big titted blonde is unbearably stupid... Ha.. ha... no.
14:00 Carmen and Dave - Till Death Do Us Part: I used to have respect for this guy, great guitarist, but this just sucks ass...
14:30 Have Boybands Gone Busted?: "Documentary" about boy bands... I'm sure it was riveting investigative journalism... really.
15:00 Dismissed: Another fucking brainless dating show for florida tarts and jocks... music-o-meter has gone onto power save mode.
15:30 Wade Robson Project: Ok... this isn't really music, its a dancing game show (sound more fun than it is). But it features music.. so thats a half point.
16:00 Cribs: sigh.
16:30 Room Raiders: How much of this shit do we need?
17:00 Punk'd: This can be quite funny some times... but not on the 15th viewing.. and its not music.
17:30 Dismissed: More dating shite
18:00 Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica: Yes, she did just say that...
18:30 Christina Gets MTVd: Lucky Christina... more diary shite I guess.
19:00 Christina Aguilera: The Rise and Rise Of: Fucking hell.
20:00 Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica: AHHHHHHHHH!!!! She won't shut up!!! AHHHHHH!!!
20:30 Punk'd: It was funnier earlier when I hadn't seen it before.
21:00 Breaking Point: Show about musicians, featuring no real music... great.
21:30 Punk'd: Yeah, I caught it the last few times, thanks.
22:00 Viva la Bam: Oh look honey, that spoilt little fucker from Jackass is desperatly trying to cling onto his fleeting fame... aint it funny how he hits his dad alot? No, you're right, it isn't.
22:30 Behind the Ass: Jackass best of... "Hey guys, remember when I used to be funny?"
23:00 Dumbass Thursday: More Jackass kinda stuff, and Dirty Sanchez, which is Jackass with less style and more welshness.
01:00 Cribs: Take down that address... I have an idea.
02:00 Celebrity Death Match: Another show for the 'funny for 2 minutes' pile.
02:30 Happy Tree Friends vs Cribs: A cartoon versus an ego massager... wheres the bloody music?
03:00 All Nighter: Ok... I assume this is music...

So lets tot up the figures...of the 24 hours in the day... 6 of them on MTV featured music (thats 25%). For a station that says its MUSIC television, thats pretty poor, but lets mess around abit more. Of the 34 shows within the day, 4 contain music videos. Thats about 11%. For a station that claims to be UK and Ireland based, about maybe 4 or 5 hours were made within the UK and Ireland (depending on how much Dirty Sanchez is shown in the Dumbass slot), and thats being generous. The shows at 3AM and 6AM are likely to contain mainly American artists, but they are probably put together by the UK studios, so in reality there is probably about 2 to 3 hours of UK based shows, and about 0 seconds of Irish content. Everything else is from the US, except for the European chart show, which is, well European.

So I think I have grounds to sue. I could force them drop the M, and the UK and Ireland... call themselves something like:
Vaugely Music Orientated But In Reality Just Stuff About Money and Dating and That With Very Little Coming From The Uk and Ireland But A Tiny Amount Nonetheless TV.... or VMOBIRJSAMADATWVLCFTUAIBATAN-TV......... I think it has a ring to it.

Adam

2004-06-03T02:07:00.000+01:00

Things To Do Before I'm 20

* Write a book (and get it published, or at least on the way to being published).

* Get an iPod and iBook, and look snazzy.

* Get a haircut (not short, just something other than the lions mane I currently possess).

* Celebrate an end to G.W.Bush's reign of terror (or else have a wake for planet Earth).

* Begin to realise I am at the end of my teen years, feel a bit happy, then a bit sad, then don't care.

* Practice fake smile at crap presents I'm sure to get on 20th Birthday (everyone is saving up for my huge 21st...*cough* *cough*).

* Meet a few famous people, and see if they really are nice guys... such as Zach Braff, Eddie Vedder, Trent Reznor, Dylan Moran. At least 1, please).

* Learn HTML good and proper, do up my blog so it looks all nice and stuff.

* Get fit... and work on pre-empting my beer-gut thats already sneaking out of me.

I have until mid-March 2005... watch me go....

Adam

2004-06-01T23:26:00.000+01:00

My 2eurocent

As I have mentioned before, the Local and European elections are coming up in Ireland (and the rest of Europe.. Obviously), but along with these two factors, we also have a referendum to deal with regarding citizenship.

For those of you who don't already know about it, here's a link with impartial information, to quickly sum it up, at the moment anyone born on the Island of Ireland (NI included) is entitled to Irish citizenship, and thus European citizenship. If passed, the new legislation will mean that anyone born on the Island of Ireland will be entitled to Citizenship but only if one or more of the child's parents are Irish Citizens, or if the law dictates otherwise in that specific case.

Now, information has been scarce on this thing, debates have been heated but mis-informative, the bill has been rushed and Fianna Fail and the PD's have only just begun to give information on it, with 2 weeks to spare. Opposition parties are complaining saying it should be put off until a proper debate can be held and more information can be given and discussed. I agree, but that's not going to happen. So what we must now do is get as much information as we can on it, and make up our own minds. There's not that much to it, in reality.

The pro side have been telling us how Ireland is the only EU country with such an open route to citizenship. It has been telling us how Irish hospitals have been swamped with 'citizenship tourists' who travel here when heavily pregnant with the intention of having their child, getting EU citizenship and moving on to the UK or other places (or stay here) to get free stuff. This, according to the pro side, has put an enormous strain on the health care system in Ireland, and can only get worse.

The against side has told us that this proposal is racist. That the strain on the health care system has been greatly over exaggerated, and that there are other reasons for stretched services. That this bill will mean that children born here with foreign parents will be kicked out straight away. A few have also come out with the idea that it is not up to us to deal with heavily pregnant women coming here, but rather up to airlines (its against regulations and they should enforce it).

I plan to vote yes, but I don't agree fully with the pro side. Let me address both sides.

Pro:
Hospitals have been swamped with citizenship tourists:
From what I have read, I disagree. here's a news article from 2002 in relation to a study of unbooked deliveries in an Irish hospital (written by a doctor who was supposed to have written to FF saying the situation was getting out of hand). Obviously, if these people were traveling here heavily pregnant, they would hardly have booked into a hospital, maybe they did, but I doubt it very much. From this, we see that there are 101 unbooked deliveries in the space of 2 years. Of that amount, a total of 20 were from countries other than Ireland (and not all were necessarily asylum seekers). So 20 patients in 2 years is crushing our health care system? God help me if I fall ill any time soon. Granted the study is 2 years old, but I've seen nothing to show me there has been a sharp rise in these figures.

Ireland is the only country with such an open route to citizenship:
Agreed.

There is now an enormous strain on Irish hospitals
There is, but its nothing to do with 'Citizenship Tourists'. Here are some figures to mull over:
The budget for the National Maternity Hospital in Holles St, fell from Ã€5,726,000 in 2003 to Ã€5,132,000 in 2004

According to the CSO's yearly summary report, 60,500 births were registered in Ireland in 2002, which is the highest birth rate seen here in 15 years.

It may get worse...proposals by the Medical Manpower Forum to close all specialist hospitals and a number of general hospitals within the State, will result in the closure of up to 12 of the country's 22 maternity units.

Ireland spends just 6.5% of GDP on healthcare compared to an EU average of 8.3%

Ireland has a higher annual budget than Switzerland, yet Switzerland spends $3,857 per person on health compared to $1,569 in Ireland.

So its nothing to do with the drop in funding, the rise in births, the lack of public spending on health despite the resources to do so, and the closure of maternity units, its those 20 mothers. Right.

Against:
This proposal is racist.
No it isn't. This applies to all children born here to foreign parents. Not just to Asian people, or black people, to all people. That includes people from across the world; the US, Canada, Australia, Russia, Africa, Japan, Iraq..Anywherere that isn't Ireland. Anyone who dares call me a racist for supporting this act will get a swift kick in the crown. Calling someone a racist is just a scare tactic, hoping that they will do whatever they can by proving you wrong. Sure, this act may be used by racist groups as part of their aims, buthat'sts just unfortunate. Anyone who wants this brought in to stop Africans/Asians/etc getting into Ireland should be dealt with accordingly (see my kicking idea, then multiply it by 20,000).

Strain on the health care system has been exaggerated:
Well, not really, but it doesn't seem to be there as a result of asylum seekers.

There are other reasons for stretched services:
Agreed.

This bill will mean foreign children born here will be kicked out right away:
No. All people born here will be dealt with as normal, if they are legitimate asylum seekers, they can follow the regular process to claim asylum. If they work on visas, they will obviously remain here until that expires. This does not mean we can just throw all foreign children off the edge of the country, it just means that its harder for the fraudsters to become Irish and EU citizens.

Its not up to us to stop heavily pregnant women to travel
Is it not? Since when? Sure, the airlines should stop passengers flouting their regulations, and if they don't they should be reprimanded, but we can't pass the buck here and expect other people to do our work. If there is a hole in the law, then we should fix it, and not sit and hope someone else will stop it being tested.

As you can see, I don't really buy either side 100%, but I do agree with both on some issues. The fact is, our hospitals are suffering due to under-funding, and FF should be held to task over this. When they tell you non-nationals are the problem, you can tell them the reality of it. However, there is a loophole in our law (which is aunforeseenen result of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement) and if we have the chance to fix it, we should. I don't think its as pressing an issue as we have been told, but if a loophole exists why should we wait for it to be exploited before we act? We can fix it now and avert the possibility (as small as it may be) of any future crisis. Once this loophole is patched up, FF can no longer blame anything like this for the state of the health care system. When its still in the shits next year, we can ask them why they told us this would fix it. We are all intelligent people here (I hope), why can't we sort out this problem, and address the others as they need to be addressed? And as for people who have said that FF are making excuses regarding fixing a loophole. They probably are. Irish law is littered with loopholes, and many will remain as they help politicians and their friends out. Just because we have so many, does that mean we shouldn't start fixing them? Just because its so common in Irish law, does that mean we should do fuck all to deal with it?

I will vote yes, but I will hack into anyone who tries to tell me that this is the solution to a crisis. There is no crisis in citizenship. The only crisis is due to mis-managment by the government, and I want to know why. While I feel that problems should be fixed, and this is a potential problem that needs to be fixed, I know for a fact that this is a cynical attempt at diverting focus from the real issues, and I will ensure that the government know I am not being fooled.

Adam

2004-05-31T16:44:00.000+01:00

Doorstep Challenge: An Update

I recently made an open challenge to an politician running in the local/european elections to justify their use of campaign posters in my area, if I was convinced I would pledge my No. 1 to them (see here)

So far, all I've had knocking has been Fianna Fail candidates, two in fact. The first one, a young lady by the name of Julie Charmichael was using posters, and justified them by saying they made people in the area aware of her so they could then read into her and find out what her views are. Not a bad attempt, but I'm not buying it. You want local notoriety, then get involved in as many aspects of the locality as you can, do more door knocking etc etc. Otherwise she seemed genuinely interested and nice, and I told her of my appreciation for anyone who does the door-to-door campaigns.
The other FF head, 'something' Johnston was not using campaign posters, and according to a leaflet of his I recieved only days earlier it was his way of addressing the pollution issue. Quite admirable I felt, and so I told him so. He lost any chance of me voting for him, however, by telling me that it was very expensive to put up posters, and by leaving up to me to mention the enviromental and visual damage done by them. He was also totally disinterested in anything I had to say, and simply said he hoped I would vote for him, and goodbye. Goodbye indeed.

Adam

2004-05-30T19:55:00.000+01:00

Feed My Will To Feel This Moment

I thought this was a truely beautiful piece of artwork, and while I'm not a huge art-buff, I instantly felt something after seeing this.

Some of you may recognise the style, its by a guy called Alex Grey, who designed the artwork for prog-rock band Tool's latest album, Lateralus, which Grey goes into in detail on the site.
The concept behind the art is, from my point of view, to show the astounding complexity of life itself, even in the smallest of acts. To show us just how precious life is, as well as show us the spiritual connections between us (as seen in the above with the link between the heart and mind). This work seems to be an artistic development of the idea of a collective consiousness, as well as looking at the idea of chakras and the soul, which is something I am quite interested in.

Check out the site, and check out Lateralus too, some beautiful concepts there, without that churchy-vibe that tends to hang around all spiritualism. It also seems to be a multi-religion concept (or at least Greys work does) so you wont be struck down for checking it out...!

I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.
Lateralus, Tool

Adam

2004-05-29T01:00:00.000+01:00

Same Shit, Different Channel

My right-wing friend, as you may have seen in the comments on my last blog, gave me this link as a way of proving me and my crazy peace-loving mindset wrong. The link leads us to The Australian Newspaper website, and to an editorial that attacks Michael Moore's new Documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, as well as his last one, Bowling For Columbine.

As its after 1AM, I havent gotten time to read through it fully, but I will, and I will also show what trash it is (I already noticed the claim that Bush and Clinton acted pre-emptivley in Kosovo, as if to justify Bush and Blairs pre-emptive action in Iraq. The difference being it was NATO that went to Kosovo, and it was for more solid reasons than phantom WMD's and made up links with terrorism).

Anyway, something I do have time to show you for now, is this lovely link.
Trust the viewpoint of the Australian as much as you would Fox News, or The British Sun. Why? Because they're all made by the same greedy scum-bag.

night-night

Adam

2004-05-27T21:58:00.000+01:00

The Irony Is Not Lost

My old secondary school was Pobalscoil Rosmini in Drumcondra.
The place was a complete kip, but had (and still has) some of the most interesting and intelligent people working there that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. It also had (and has) many, many assholes.

Their website came to my attention the other day, and its not exactly brilliant, but it suits the school, badly designed and underfunded.
While browsing through the 'EUROWEEK' section, which I had never heard of before, I came across this lovely little section, which is something that any Dubliner (or person who has been near Dublin in the last few years) will find very apt....

Rosmini, you've still got that sickeningly ignorant charm... and I still have your duck.

Adam

2004-05-27T15:30:00.000+01:00

Can Anyone Explain This?

I want an ipod... I really, really want one.
As there is the possibility of a well paying job on the way, I may be able to afford one soon, so I've begun to tease myself again by visiting sites and shops to eye those sexy little things up.
Now, maths was never my thing, but can anyone explain this equation to me?
www.apple.ie/store

So the first model costs €350, and you get 15GB for that. The next one is 20GB, and it costs you €450. The biggest one, 40GB, costs €550. So how does it cost you €100 extra for 5GB in one model, and the same rise for an extra 20GB on top of that? You get a dock and a carry case when you choose the 20GB over the 15GB, but does that cover the €75 which is left after you take away the €25 which should be the cost of the extra 5GB??

Scam artists.... bloody cowboys... lucky they make such brilliant stuff, otherwise I'd be so pissed off.

Adam

2004-05-26T23:50:00.000+01:00

I Cannot Wait For....

...the new Nine Inch Nails album, bleedthrough.
I've been a fan of his/theirs for some time now, and while some of his stuff isn't the best, its still really enjoyable.
NIN's first album, Pretty Hate Machine is sometimes dodgy (Down in It), sometimes brilliant (Sin). Follow up EP's Broken and remix album Fixed are much heavier, with the latter being very Aphex Twin-esque. The album he's best known for, however, is the beautiful 'The Downward Spiral'. A genius prog-type album which charts the characters rise through fame, drugs, sex and drink until his ultimate inward collapse ends with 'Hurt' recently covered by the late, great Johnny Cash (I'm still undecided as to which one is better). His latest album, The Fragile (2CD) did quite well due to his fanbase, but critically not so good, how could it live up to TDS anyway? I'll be honest, I thought it was good but not great... I kinda put it down after a while.

The news of the new album, along with other things, has made me go back to it, and I must say it is much better than I remember... much much better.

Check out www.nin.com for the new site, which is interesting if not a bit boring. Be sure to check the access section, where you can send questions to the man himself, some interesting stuff on it so far, and its updated every 2 or 3 days.

Now heres my idea. I have a book in progress which I am very proud of (but not so proud of my inability to write it). I'm a bit of a day dreamer, and was thinking about the chance of it being made into a film. I doubt it could be, it would be hard to translate to film and I'd rather not bother than try and fail and look like a moron (there's also the slight roadblock of needing to get it published first... and written). However, I was thinking that if i did end up making it, I'd only do so if Trent Reznor agreed to do the soundtrack. Why? Well, I've already planned out a pivotal scene to the sound of La Mer (from the fragile), and to top that, the guy is a musical genius... really. For those of you not familiar with his NIN work, he's produced the brilliant Natural Born Killers soundtrack, the Lost Highway soundtrack and did the music and sound effects to Quake 1. Anyway, if you listen to The Fragile, just for the intrumentals, you can see how good the guy is... I went see Monster the other day, and it was a great film, but I sat through it thinking "Trent Reznor would have made a much better soundtrack to this". A bit sad, but its only because the film suited his dark style, and his music has the ability to be disturbing and/or packed with emotion from one end of the scale to the other. So Trent, if you happen to fall across this blog, call me, we can do lunch... :D

Anyway, pop along to the site, check it out (there are some good examples of his talent in the visuals section, perticularly the live studio recordings), check out some of his stuff, and buy bleedthrough when it comes out.

Et quand le jour arrive
Je deviendra le ciel
Et je deviendrai la mer

Et la mer viendra pour m'embrasser pour moi
Vais à la maison

Rien peut m'arrêter maintenant
La Mer, The Fragile

Adam

2004-05-22T15:49:00.000+01:00

If They Jumped Off A Cliff....

Fox News, over the last few weeks, have been reporting on the Abu Grahib Prisoner abuse pictures, like most other places. Now while right-wingers like Bill O Reilly have the good sense (for once) to say there is no justification for the abuses, alot of other people within the station seem to disagree:

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player.html?9178&My_Word&My%20Word&acc&wvx-300
John Gibson feels that its ok to abuse Iraqi prisoners because Nick Berg had his head cut off.

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player.html?9270&Hannity_and_Colmes&Outraged%20Over%20Outrage&acc&wvx-300
Alan Colmes, that poor excuse for a left-winger (read the chapter on Hannity and Colmes in "Lies and the Lying liars who tell them") does his best to tackle a brainless maniac who believes that because of Sept 11th, Daniel Pearl and Nick Berg, its ok to beat up and kill Iraqi prisoners.

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player.html?9315&Common_Sense&Common%20Sense&acc&wvx-300
Neil Cavuto feels that because Americans in the Twin Towers were denied their rights, the Iraqis should be too.

Now, The thing is, if America and its supporters want to take the higher moral ground, then you cannot ever say that 'its fair because its happened to us'. I thought America was better than Al Quaida, i thought it was land of the free, law abiding and pure. Now 11th of Sept was a horrible horrible event, as was the killing of Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl, but what is being solved by lowering yourself to this level in your retort? It doesnt make the world a better place, infact it makes it all the more volatile. It doesnt allow you to act like a better person, because showing support for these abuses means you are not.
There may be a big difference between killing thousands by flying a plane into a building and stripping someone down, hitting them and humilitaing them, but it doesnt make the lesser of the two OK. I understand that prisoners of this nature need to be interrogated, but there are plenty of ways to do it without breaking American and international law. Condoning these abuses just adds to the chain of tit-for-tat attacks.

Adam

2004-05-21T19:43:00.000+01:00

Kill Bill

If this is true, I dont intend on getting the next version of IE. I've already been told how much better other versions are, but havent bothered to switch over because I'm lazy. However, I hate msn search, and have grown a certain fondness to google over the last year (backed up by my lovely new gmail account). The google toolbar I have does wonders, and has blocked over 1100 pop-ups to date, it also gives me a direct link to blogger and googles search (which I can have as gaeilge, if I could speak it... :D). I dont like it when things I need to make my PC work start to tell me what to do with it when it does work.
Hopefully by the time I need to get a new Internet Browser I'll be rich enough to buy afew iBooks and iMacs.... OSX here I come!!!

Adam

2004-05-21T18:55:00.000+01:00

Viva Kaufman!

If only this was true. It might be, but I doubt it very, very much.

/me waits patiently for solid evidence.

Adam

2004-05-20T17:07:00.000+01:00

Passing The Buck

Thats exactly what has been happening with the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. The US government say it is not policy to act as the soldiers photographed did (what did you expect?) and the soldiers say they were following orders.

While I doubt that the US Military is being completely honest with us, and I would put money on it being a much more common practice than they want us to know, I do not for one second feel sympathy for the soldiers involved.
Even if they were told to strip and beat Iraqi prisoners, they didnt have to, and the lastest picture () hardly portrays the soldier above as a victim of her career, or someone who is unwillingly following orders. You do not smile and give a thumbs up to the camera over the dead body of an Iraqi you have just murdered unless you are a sadistic and twisted little fuck. Don't feed me that bullshit that you were just follow orders, you may have been told to do it, but you certainly seemed to make the most of the 'chore' you were given.

Adam

2004-05-18T20:50:00.000+01:00

STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!

Now the latest 'in' thing has to be iPods, and its intended media, the mp3... and who wouldn't want one? Just look at the sexualness of it:

On top of that, it can hold up to 10,000 songs (5 weeks of music!!!!) as well as play games, take memos, be used as a dictaphone, a hard drive and a storage unit for your digital camera should you fill the memory card up.
The thing is, this is more than a fad, its popularity has shaken up the music world (and its about bloody time too). For a start, mp3's have given anyone the chance to download entire albums for free, and the iPod (along with iTunes) has proven to the moany execs that rather than fight this new trend, they can sucessfully embrace and capitalise on it. While I don't believe that mp3 will be around for too long (they are bound to be improved upon sometime in the coming years), I do believe that we are entering a new time in music. Saying that, I hope, I really hope that digital media does not take over from the likes of CD, tape, Vinyl and even MD. While the ipod is truely a thing of beauty (and something I intend on owning as soon as possible), it is nothing compared to some of the most beautiful artwork that can be found in the solid media.

Recently I have found an interest in vinyl (while still working hard on my CD and mp3 collection). I got the took the old record player out of retirement, and hooked it up to the AUX in my brand-spanking new USB-stereo (a nice fusion as well). I got my hands on the old decent record still in my house, which is Pink Floyd - Dark Side of The Moon, and listened with relish. Since that time, I have bought afew, but not many, new records. I have decided to buy every Pearl Jam record on vinyl (which is how they are supposed to be heard, really). I now have Ten, No Code and Riot Act, and owning each one has given me a new appreciation to the recordings.
Perfection through its existance is flawed. I don't really want to hear perfectly clear and cold vocals all the time, give me the crackling warmth that can only be found in vinyl. Give me the elaborate packaging that adds so much to the first and 50th listen, I dont want a jpg image as a poor subsitute.
While I love mp3, and hope that its advent will mean better prices for us the consumer, as well as an end to obsene record contracts for shite-hawk artists, I do not want to see it, or anything like it, overtake the wonders of going to a record shop and buying a CD, and listening to it on the bus home while leafing through the booklet, or getting a vinyl and carefully placing the needle down before enjoying the beautiful sounds and visuals.

Heres a quick list of albums you should get (or at least look at) for their marvelous artwork (as well as sounds):
Pearl Jam - No Code (cover made from a collection of polariods that are layed out to make the 'no code' symbol when looked at from a distance, lyrics printed on the back of real size polaroids from front, disc is a ouigi board... exceptionally beautiful on vinyl)
" " - Vitalogy (layed out like a vinyl, with a mock healthbook inside)
Tool - Lateralus (underneath the black plastic sleeve is a great booklet which is clear plastic. the front page has a man on it, and as you turn each page you see deeper into him, so the second page shows his insides, the third his bones etc.
Tori Amos - Scarlets Walk (the album is about a cross-America journey, the little box contains a DVD with info and videos, the CD, and a map detailing the journey as well as polaroids taken on the trip)
Joy Division - Closer (nothing amazing about this, however the cover is a nice portrail of the music, bare, bleak and simple)

Thats all I can think of for now, but feel free to add afew in the comments page.

"Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."
Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993)

"I passionately hate the idea of being with it, I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time."
Orson Welles (1915 - 1985)

Adam

2004-05-16T04:48:00.000+01:00

Adam's Practical Matamatics: Lesson 2

+ Information X Spin = Fox News Reports = Lies... LIES.... LIES!!!!

For those of you who dont believe me, I refer you to example 1(a), this article (which you can also watch video somewhere):
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119936,00.html

Now, lets not get into the issue of Nick Berg's death. It was horrific, and no-one should have to die like that. I truely hope the killers suffer, as anyone that cold hearted should. My issue, is with this Fox asshole and his blatent lying and spin, along with the opportunism he approaches this story with. He claims that the death of Berg puts an end to two major arguments of the anti-war movement.

The first is that the invading of Iraq over weapons of mass destruction was a lie.

We hear that over and over as if it were liturgical chant, but it is phony through and through.

Ok... I dont know how Bergs death effects this debate in any way, but lets just pretend it does... how exactly does it destroy this argument?

Bob Woodward's book tells how CIA Director George Tenet assured President Bush that WMD was a "slam dunk."

So if the wMD story was wrong, it was wrong. But Woodward himself proves it was not a lie.

Really? wow... now I'm not sure what the book says, but lets just say it does say Bush was apprehensive but was told by the CIA it was a good case, and that what the book says is fact (I'm taking a leap here...). Now.. the WMD claim was used with much zeal until the US realised the steam had run out on it, and the truth was now obvious. They then began to back-track. So, you say, that if the WMD story was wrong, it was wrong, but not a lie.. I see... so them telling us that Iraq had WMD when it was clear that they didnt is wrong but not a lie?? So US officials (CIA, FBI or Bush, whoever it was) knew the case was weak (understatement), told us they had water-tight proof, and led a war on that basis, and yet they didn't lie?? hang on, let me check my dictionary...

wrong adj.
Not in conformity with fact or truth; incorrect or erroneous.

lie n.
A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.
Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.

So from that we can gather that the wrong is in something that is untruthful or false, while a lie is to tell something that is untruthful or false. I do believe we were told that WMD existed in Iraq.. therefore, they lied. You could say that they CIA etc etc didnt know it was untrue, but seriously, do have such a lack of faith in supposedly the best surveilence opperation in the world to say that they couldnt figure what was in Iraq or not... are they that incompetent? all of them? If your answer is yes, then tell me this... why have none of these incompetent fools been sacked?? From the FBI, to the CIA to the White House, alot of people must have been stupid to make such a big mistake, and should be fired.

Lets move on:

Then there's the Al Qaeda-Iraq connection.

We know Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is an Al Qaeda associate sent to Iraq by Usama bin Laden. Now we've seen him in Iraq cutting off the head of an American, and holding it up to the camera.

I dont think anyone is going to say that Al Quaida is not involved in Iraq at the moment, maybe they're not, but I'd say they are, its a perfect breeding ground for their fundamentalist ideals, and they get the chance to take on the people they seem to dispise.
However, the anti-war argument did not say 'Al Quaida will not be involved in Iraq in afew months', it said 'Al Quaida are not in cahoots with Saddam Hussein'. You see, the pro-war heads were trying desperatly to get the peoples support, and they knew that anyone who deals with Bin Laden is an instant enemy of America (the Bush family excused, of course). Sadly they just couldn't plant any links between the two for one small reason.. It was a total lie and (as I have said before) would have been a complete ideology and personality clash between Bin Laden and Saddam.

This kind of Journalism is disgusting. This guy takes advantage of a horrific incident in Iraq to try and take apart two of the countless credible arguments against Bush. The first one has nothing to do with the story, he just hopes he can fog your mind with patriotism and emotion so that you'll open up and swallow anything he throws at you. The second is a complete 180 spin and ignores the fact that the disputed link was refering to Saddam and not post-war Iraq.

back to my maths.... ermm.... QED.

"Americans detest all lies except lies spoken in public or printed lies."
Edgar Watson Howe (1853 - 1937)

"The visionary lies to himself, the liar only to others."
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

Adam

2004-05-15T22:20:00.000+01:00

Men At Work

As you may have noticed, I'm trying out afew new colours for the blog page, and with my limited HTML knowledge, it aint easy (trial and error really).

I prefer this style to the original, although theres alot I want to do with it, once I figure out how... (such as center the words 'FlogBlog' at the top, which I just cant seem to do.

Anyway, the idea is to make mine a bit different from the pre-set options of blogger.com (although they are lovely), so far its different, but not great!

Adam

2004-05-14T19:07:00.000+01:00

My Doorstep Challenge

It's election time here in Ireland, or at least local and European elections (Can you smell that?? Smells like... Apathy!) and along with the plethora of promises that fly at you like P45's at a UK Newspaper Editor comes the mass of election campaign posters. And here is my problem.

So what exactly is the point of these things? I can't see one, but I can see a lot of down sides to their existence..

1: A Waste Of Paper: Straight forward enough, thousands upon thousands of these things are printed every few years, and a couple of rain forests must have to be cut down in order to sustain their production

2: An Eyesore: In Dublin at least, there is at least 1 poster on every pole, be it a street light, a traffic sign, or a power line. I'm still waiting for the giant one to be wrapped around the spike. So basically any trip anywhere involves you seeing countless politicians (or wannabe politicians... even worse) smiling at you as you go. Now lets be fair on these matters, it must be a rule in Irish politics that you reach a level 5 minimum on the ugly-meter, or else you cant join.

3: Potential Hazzard: There was a case of a Socialist Workers Party poster blocking a traffic light near me in the last general election. They can also sometimes block traffic signs, and of course they can fall off their pole and cause a slight bit of hastle as they land on the windshields of moving cars.

4: The Big One: OK, excusing all the little things, here's the big question, what do they do for your campaign? The posters usually say 'Vote xxxxxx xxxx for Europe' and name the party. They may also come with slogans, such as Roysten Brady's 'Drive' (is that a command or a statement?), and 'energy' (what about it?). There are the classic generic ones 'Working for Ireland' or 'working to make Ireland a better place'... How?? Can you explain to me how you're going to do that? Is it by making posters with your mug on them?? There are no political policies on these things, they add nothing to the debate. I mean, they must thing we are idiots! Do they really believe that seeing a picture of someone smiling will make me vote for them? Will seeing them haunt me at every turn, but offer me nothing really convince me into giving my support to them?? Are we that stupid that we make our voting decisions on the appeal of a poster??

So here is my doorstep challege. I want any politician who knocks on my door to give a justification to the use of campaign posters. I will not accept 'because everyone else does it', or 'its not my personal idea'. If you have posters as part of your campaign, then you must have personal justification for them, and I want to hear it. The first politician to convince me will receive the lovely gift of my 1st preference in June. That is a promise. I will not mind voting for them, be they Sinn Fein, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail or Nazi Party, once they can convince me. You see, I like door to door politicians, because it gives you a chance to challenge them. Its fun. Anyone out there who refuses to talk to these people have no right to complain about them behind their back. Its just like not voting, you have no say, so shut up. I've had a lack-luster 1 so far... and as the poster campaign hadn't begun, I never challenged him on the issue, but if he returns I will.

So if someone is looking for your vote, and they knock, have fun, even if you don't care about politics. Find something your passionate about (there has to be something) and drill them with it. Try and catch them out, try and get them to make promises, purposely disagree with a core policy of their party... Its fun!!!

Here are two photoshop pics I made.. one relates to the above rant, and I suppose it is both a joke at the style of De Rossa's new posters, and a comment on Irish politics. The second is an oldish one I did for college where we had to re-design a book cover, was happy with my work:

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.
Paul Valery (1871 - 1945), Tel Quel 2 (1943)

The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
Larry Hardiman

Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies.
Dalton Camp

Adam

2004-05-11T21:25:00.000+01:00

The War on [insert appropriate enemy here]

I recently came across this article, which I just have to blog about:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1212721,00.html

For anyone in a rush, heres a quick overview of what it has to say:

The Irish media have been accused of helping to fuel the anti-American hatred that led to the suicide attacks on 11 September, 2001.

Retired American diplomat George Dempsey has claimed sections of the Irish press and broadcasters share the responsibility for what happened in New York and Washington DC on 9/11. In an exclusive extract from his memoirs published next month, the former head of the United States Embassy's political section in Dublin has also launched a bitter critique of Irish foreign policy.

Now, anyone who is in a rush (or anyone who enjoys the Republican way of total ignorance, unquestioning support and a belief of ones superiority over others) should head off now, as I intend on deciphering this piece to see exactly where the problem lies.

Lets begin:

On the Irish media's response to the attacks, Dempsey said: 'Let us be clear about this. The Irish media, in general, bear their share of the responsibility for what happened in the United States. For far too long in this country there has been a prevailing view, which denigrates and condemns and even vilifies American foreign policy. Many of these venomous falsehoods - such as claims that hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were killed in the Gulf war - have continued to spill out over Irish airwaves this last week. The hatred of America, which drove the suicidal terrorists, doesn't flourish in a global vacuum.'

Okay, lets be clear on this. The Irish media bears no responsibility whatsoever for the attacks in America. To claim that it does is rediculous. Firstly, Irish news services have never vilified America, Americans or American policy, it has merely reported it. While some journalists have made comments on these policies through editorials in newspapers and on News-discussion shows, they are only giving an opinion on the facts present, and would be held liabel if they did otherwise. I think you have more to fear about the legal freedom American media enjoys, however you guys seem to have that little chestnut all wrapped up. Secondly, assuming that Irish media is out to get America, and does nothing but tear its policies to shreads day in and day out (which would be easy money, really), do you actually think this is a factor in 11th of September? Do you really think that Osama Bin Laden and Co. were sitting around watching Friends on RTE, drinking coke and minding their own business when a news bulletin came on saying 'America Sucks, America Sucks, America Sucks' to which Bin Laden agreed and decided to devote his life to destroying the USA?? Of course it was, because it damn sure as hell wasn't anything to do with the CIA arming the guy up to the tits just because Afghanistan was unfortunate enough to be facing the USSR. It wasnt to do with the fact that once Russia moved out defeated, you left the country high and dry? Now I'm not saying either of these occourances are justification to kill thousands of innocent people, nothing is, but its certainly a much better explanation for his feelings towards America than the concept that RTE told him what to do.

Oh, and no-one has claimed that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed, perhaps you're refering to the Gulf War of 1990... the one you were actually in office for... the one where approximatly 50,000 - 100,000 Iraqis were killed, possibly more. But please, dont try and tell us that thousands have not been killed in Iraq in 2003-2004 so far... even the folk deep south would laugh at that as they polish their guns waiting for Jihad and UFO's.

He claimed that Irish columnists appeared to blame the United States itself for the terrorist attacks rather than Osama bin Laden's Islamist network.

Now theres spin if ever I saw it. No-one has questioned that Bin Laden organised the attacks on the Twin Towers, the guy went on TV and said he did it for god sake, and thats the kind of thing you dont lie about to look cool. Irish Columnists did however point out that America's dodgy foreign policy is what has helped to form a breeding ground for people like Bin Laden. Example, they support Iran, then switch support to Iraq, fund the Iraqi army and supply weapons and logistics for its war against Iran (and suggest possible strike points for chemical attacks). They then attack Iraq because it used these American weapons in Kuwait (they also tell the people to rise up in Iraq, which they do, and subsequently get crushed). They support and trade with Saudi Arabia, despite their known terrorist links and weapons of mass destruction. They show un-wavering support to Israel, which is basically squatting on land it doesnt own, and they condemn everything Palestinians do, while supporting Israeli retaliation no matter how over the top it may be. Now once again, this isnt justification for killing innocent people, but it once again helps us to understand why these guys are so pissed off.

Dempsey, who served as a senior US diplomat in Dublin between 1988 and 1992, singled out the Irish Times and RTE in particular for what he described as 'witless pandering to Arab irrationality and intransigence'.

That line is a beauty, aint it? Arab irrationality and intransigence. Now, I can take this eithe of two ways. Either Dempsey is a racist and believes that all Arabic people are irrational and intransegent, or he has just made a sweeping and generalised statement without giving evidence of such 'pandering' or explanation of what he feels is irrational. Either way, it is pure ignorance.

The ex-diplomat claimed that the Irish media were dominated by 'an invasion of the body snatchers from a planet peopled by time-warped 1960s radicals and Marxist revisionist historians'. Dempsey said this domination led to coverage that was more favourable to dictators like Saddam Hussein than the United States. He pointed to the constant use of anti-American journalists and commentators on RTE and the Irish Times who were asked to report or analyse foreign affairs as evidence of this alleged bias.

Well, its an improvement from the common notion of Leprechauns and drunken men in flat caps chewing grass.
Sorry Mr. Dempsey, but you seem to have the entire Irish media confused with IndyMedia. The media is infact filled with... wait for it... JOURNALISTS (shock!!)..... and the coverage is more favourable to... wait for it... PEOPLE WHO WOULD LIKE UN-BIAS FACT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A BLOODY BRAIN (gosh!). Oh, and proof of alleged bias is not attained in claiming reporters are anti-America, evidence such as reports which are blatently bias would be much more accurate.

In his critique of Irish foreign policy at the time of the 1991 Gulf war, Dempsey noted that Ireland 'was the only country in the civilised world which did not support the coalition in that war - the only assistance lent by Ireland was to allow US military transports to transit Shannon airport'.

What? *double-check* What? Can anyone else see the contradiction there??? Is it just me?? So we didn't suppor the coalition... which would imply we opposed it, which would imply we supported Saddam and the boys (see 'spin'). OK, so what exactly do you call us giving you the use of our airports for re-fueling?? Obviously its a sign of your disgust for everything America stands for. Well I would call it a direct violation of our neutrality as an independent country, but lets not get into that just yet. (Saddam did deserve to be attacked in 1990/1, but America did deserve a slap for arming him in the first place)

He added that during the build-up to last year's invasion of Iraq, 'Irish attention seemed preoccupied with questions of Ireland's neutrality, as though there was a moral case to be made in support of Saddam's contention that Western "imperialism"was behind it all'.

My god, this guys head must have been so far up the elephants ass that he missed the class where they described neutrality. Now, when a war is about to start, its somewhat important that a country makes its decision on its stance regarding it. Therefore, it was important the we the Irish thought about the war, and made a decision on it. Now I know that goes against the party line, the whole 'question us and die' thing, but that just doesn't cut it over here we like to think. The reasons the vast majority of Irish people opposed the war, well its simple, and its not because Saddam is a real nice guy or anything. You see, like many people we dont really agree with this whole pre-emptive culture, to support it should mean its full implementation, and its full implementation would cause chaos within seconds. Say I kill a heroin addict, and when questioned, i say it was a pre-emptive attack to ensure he didnt rob my wallet. My evidence lies in the fact that he's a drug addict, and probably wants to score some drugs, and would need money to do that. Me having money makes me a possible target. Should I be let go??
Now, we just didn't buy into the whole WMD claim, cos we like to see evidence. We didnt buy into the whole terrorist links, because anyone with an IQ higher than a very clever shrimp would know that Bin Laden and Saddam hate each other, Saddam is an infidel and a western conspirer in Bin Laden's eyes, and Bin Laden is a fundamentalist nut-job who holds religion higher than power in the eyes of Saddam. they just dont compute. We didn't buy into the whole liberation thing because we know that big business dictates American policy, and so human interest is never a factor. My word, us and our America hating ways have been proven so wrong, havent we? I mean, the whole WMD thing has.. oh wait. But the terrorist links are... no.. wait... and your humanitarian efforts are... actually forget it.... We dont support wars that are unjustified.

So why exactly is this guy coming out with all this stuff?? To sell his new book? Maybe.. quite possibly actually.
However, I'd say this is more than that. Its simply another case of America passing the buck on things. Their policies didnt cause tension, it was Irish media. It is the same rhetoric that has been splurging out of the Bush admin since he got his moral ticket to do whatever the fuck he likes. This idea that if you dont give your un-wavering support to our blind cause, you're against us, that if you question what we're doing, you are collaborating with the enemy. That if you refuse to fight with us you will never be forgiven and your actions will never be forgotten. I call it Freedom Fries Syndrome, that opposition to American ideals is instant relational suicide. God help us if we have another 4 years of this... I dont think we can survive it.

"To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is a deep delight of the blood."
George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

"Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame."
Laurence J. Peter (1919 - 1988)

"...You can't blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity."
Graham Green, *The Quiet American*

Adam

2004-05-04T13:56:00.000+01:00

Adam's Practical Mathematics: Lesson 1

( X 6) + =

(White Russian X 6) + Champagne = Vomitus Maximus

"Alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life."
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

"I have never been drunk, but often I've been overserved."
George Gobel

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."
Henny Youngman (1906 - 1998)

Adam

2004-05-02T01:59:00.000+01:00

Protesters Protest, Gardai Guard, Media Lie

For those of you who missed it, May Day 2004 has just passed us. For Ireland, this was no ordinary May 1st, though, as we suffered a case of Murphys Law regarding timing.

To the best of my knowledge, May Day is usually quite uneventful here, we just dont care really. Being a Communist is too much like hard work. Sorry, thats a generalisation, May Day is not all about Communism. (Its also about kicking in McDonalds windows, which isn't an entirely bad thing). Anyway, there has been trouble in the past regarding anti-globalisation protesters in Ireland, not from the Protesters, but the Gardai. But this year was different, our very own Bertie "ehhhhhhh" Ahern is European President, and May 1st marks the entrance of 10 new members into the EU, for which we are (rightly) to have a big celebration. London halved its May Day forces, because they thought everyone would come over here, and alot probably did.

Heres the problem though, as the event drew closer and closer, our beloved tabloid media, and even more respectable media, began to go about riot-happy."1 Billion Disgruntled Anarchists With No Willies Head For Dublin To Eat Statues And Pick Fights With The Elderly" read the headlines (maybe not, but something like that). People ran in fear from these bastard children of Adolf Hitler and Maggie Thatcher. Dublin was to be fenced off so that the living dead couldn't spread any further.... oh the humanity.
So things passed by... and nothing happened. Except the thing I thought always would. Dublin scumbags would use this as an opportunity to hit a Gardai and get the 'hippies' blamed. A 'skirmish' broke out near The Phoenix Park, police stopped a peaceful march, some muppets threw bottles, riot police moved in and tried to push the crowd back towards town, and afew people get sprayed with a water cannon (if you dont want to get wet, get out of the way, and slap the guy throwing the bottles for causing all this anyway). From what I saw, the police acted fairly for once, although I feel bad for the people who were trying to get their point across and have been degraded by some idiots (although I'm not saying I agree with the protesters, they just deserve a chance to be heard).

And so Rupert Murdock does it again, sensationalising facts so much that calling a rat well hung is almost believable. My next blog will be all about him, and how his hand is firmly on the bum-cheeks of Ahern, and vice-versa.

"I was not lying. I said things that later on seemed to be untrue."

Richard Nixon, discussing Watergate

"The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers."

Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

Adam

2004-04-29T21:18:00.000+01:00

Cling-Ons, My Hatred For Them

i refer not to those aggressive flem-balls from Star Trek, nor the results of rear end mis-managment, but instead the people who sit in wait for the next big thing, and then jump aboard the fad-train to Coolsville station.
Let me give you an example in something I am quite passionate about, music. I'm a fan of rock music, among other things, and for many years battled the adversity such taste causes (;)), and now its the in thing... (or at least they say it is, thankfully the majority of my favorite bands have not been soiled yet).
So now I'm faced with the horror of stumpy children running around with the hoodies of terrible bands like Slipknot and Linkin Park, long chains that weight down their super-baggies, and morose facial expressions as they struggle to be moody. However, it can be funny, if you head over to Temple Bar you can see them trying to skateboard beside Central Bank, and thats where their stupidity shines through, given the pathways are cobblestone...

I used to like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, kinda. I went to see them twice, and they sucked twice. I'm not such a fan anymore. Saying that, I take insult to the hoards of idiots who claim to be fans because they heard Californication on Muppet FM (not real), the same idiots who caused nothing but trouble at their Landsdown Road gig, they just didnt know the rock gig code*. Anyway, heres my beef. They like RHCP, but only because they heard their last two albums, they probably dont even realise they existed before then, heres an example of a conversation with one of these people:

Me: So, You like Red Hot Chilli Peppers?
Idiot: Yeh, Derr only bleeedin' Deadlah.
Me: Right, so what album do you like most?
Idiot: Californacation is de shit... (begins to sing "Dream of Californication")
Me: But what about Blood, Sugar...?
Idiot: Er, Well me ould-fellas diabetic...

You may say that I have no reason to be angry at these people, I should be happy that real artists are getting money rather than the boy-bands they used to like. Well, no, you're wrong. You see, pop is a dirty, greedy animal. Over the years it has managed to adapt to its conditions, and feed off those of a low IQ. Now we have bands like The Rasmus and Busted (I'd link, but they dont deserve your hits, and you deserve to be kept away from such crap) who claim to be rock, and claim to play their own instruments/write their own songs etc etc, when in reality they are a pop act in disguise, and a bad one at that. Another problem is this, the people may like bands that I like, but they still act like idiots, and they still are idiots. Now their just being stupid while listening to half decent music.
Luckily genius bands like Tool, Pearl Jam, NIN, Soundgarden and Temple of The Dog, along with other more alt. stuff like Tom Waits remains somewhat obscure... that kind of music needs independent thought, and cannot be appreciated by a pre-pubesent little runt who thinks theyre handy with a skateboard and some spraypaint.

*The Rock Gig Code:
Have respect for other people, crowd surf with your feet up so you dont kick people in the head, mosh, but make sure your not punching people, if someone falls, pick them up, if someone collapses, get them to a safe place, dont pull people into a violent mosh pit that dont want to be in it.
Break any of the above rules and expect to be injured by one of the Shirtless Hairy Rockers that frequent any and every gig known to man.

"A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic."
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

Adam

2004-04-29T02:20:00.000+01:00

The Trouble With Money #457

So its nearly May, and I am just finishing college, and am still jobless. I am around €700 - €800 in debt at the moment, and that bill is bound to rise and rise, I have also supidly agreed to take on afew gigs in a venue in town, meaning I need to cough up €200 for next week (which I should be able to make back, but can't be certain), I also need to pay a deposit on a holiday for summer 2005 as it must be booked well in advance, and .
The funny thing is, at the start of August I am supposed to have around €700 paid in order to go away this year. Now I'm a scout leader, so going away is not exactly a holiday, but thats not the problem, I'd go, but I dont know how to pay for it. Do you see the funny bit? OK, so its a bad joke.
Male Prostitution is quickly becoming a serious possibility in my mind, anything but McDonalds.

"Lack of money is the root of all evil."
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)
(Shaw does it again... legend)

"I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something."
Jackie Mason (1934 - )

Adam

2004-04-16T01:57:00.000+01:00

A Booby, The FCC and Me

So Janet Jackson flashed a bit of chest, and like that Right Wing America instantly finds grounds to destroy the freedom that they pride themselves on so often. What a load of crap.
Censorship, to me, is a necessary evil, but like all evils (such as sweet lady liquor) moderation is the key. Now, here in auld Ireland we're kinda in the middle of the censorama-meter. We don't allow a lot of things, but we don't go nuts about some profanities and a bit of flesh. I can live with that. My wish for how this country is censored, would be much more relaxed however. Here's the way I see it:

The watershed is a good thing, as children are likely to be watching TV during the day, and shows should be made to accommodate for them..... After 9 or so, I think we should all pull the rods from our backsides, remember we're all adults and get a life.

Profanity: here's a little known fact, I learned the majority of the bad words I know from my mother. It wasn't at school, it wasn't TV, it was my mother. Whenever she was driving. Now, who on Earth gives anyone else the right to decide what is suitable for me? If I want to hear all the latest rude words kids these days are saying, what gives you the right to stop me? If I don't know, how am I supposed to figure out if they're slagging me or not.??

Violence: Ever been in a playground? Or in the company of two children both wanting exclusive playing rights on a toy? Van Damme learned all his moves from children, that's a fact*. The news is much more violent than any TV show, with looped videos of the 'latest Iraq footage' on Sky (which is Latin for 'Rupert Murdock is Satan on Earth') News. I would be amazingly angered to think that the BBC or RTE were told not to show anything too violent in-case it upset anyone.
*ok, that's not a fact, but it might be true...maybe...no

Nudity: Now the idea of censoring nudity makes me laugh more than anything. OK, bad language is the creation of society. Violence is considered by many to be un-natural too. However, to say that the human body is something that should be hidden from view is.... Well its unpronouncably bizarre. If you think that nudity should be censored, do me a favor. Next time your about to have a bath, or a shower, or your getting dressed, look in the mirror. You see that think in between your legs there? that is nature, its 100% natural, and without it you WOULD NOT EXIST. There is nothing wrong with the naked body. NOTHING. Why on earth do you think Children grow up with complexes and sexual disorders?? Is it because they were raised in a house that told them not to be ashamed of what The Higher Power of their choice has given them, or was it because the were raised in a house that told them that anything related to their bodies is dirty and wrong? Nudity is something that should never be censored. Ever. I understand why sex should be post-watershed, but not simple nudity. You just have to look at yourself to see a naked body, those of you with partners only need to do a little bit of convincing (mood depending) to see someone else's naked body. GET A LIFE!

Now. Here's where I sell my case. Here's where I shut up all the arguments. Here's where I para-phrase Bill Hicks heavily. The reason Right Wingers give for wanting the above cut from existence is this gem:
"What about the children? We have to protect the children?"
OK. Here's the thing (keep in mind my above comments about child friendly shows). After a certain time (say 9PM), the majority of viewers would be Adults. Now, for anyone to tell an adult what they can and cannot watch is an amazing limitation on freedom of choice. I may not want to watch a violent or rude show, but I would like to have the choice just incase I did. Now, if you do not want your children to watch a violent show, a rude show, or a sexually orientated show, then it is YOUR job to stop them. They are your children, not the states, not mine. No-one else is responsible for their up-bringing other than their parents/guardians. For you to blame TV or Music or Video Games for their bad behavior/lack of morals is a cop out of the highest order. As a parent it is up to you to monitor their media consumption as best you can until they are old enough to make the choice themselves. If you are in-capable of doing that, or if you refuse to do that, then you are not a fit or capable parent, and should never have had a child. END OF STORY. Why should we all be burdened with Barney at midnight just because YOU cant be bothered to turn off your kids TV and give them a book??

One interesting side-effect of the media crack-down in the USA has made me think, what are FOX going to do? Now most educated folk know just how amazingly bias FOX is, and how censored its news output is, but from what I understand, they distracted the American people from this by showing smutty shows such as 'When Skirts Fall Down 2' and so on... So with this crack-down, how on Earth are FOX ever going to distract the people from the fact that they are Cheerleaders of Team Republican?? I do wonder.

To sum up the above rant (apologies for the length) here's a quote that compresses it into one line:

"Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but, unlike charity, it should end there."
Clare Booth Luce (1903 - 1987)

And Heres one from A Great Irishman, which in todays context ads to the claim that America is going backwards rather than forwards:

"All censorships exist to prevent any one from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorships."
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

Night all,
Adam

2004-04-15T04:05:00.000+01:00

Kudos, Bertie

I had my first experience in a pub since the ban came in last night, and I must say it was very enjoyable.
No-one was smoking, the pub was busy enough, and the place smelled nice enough (not like farts and BO like I had been warned).
Well done Mr. Martin, you've made a cynical voter a little warmer to your profession, but I'm still not voting for Fianna Fail. Why? Because so far the score is about 16245 points to 1 (thats for the ban)... dont worry, I wont vote Fine Gael either, that Enda Kenny is as wodden as a pine door....(I wonder if he's related to Pat)

I promise this blog will get more interesting as time goes by.
I really should stop my 4am posting.

ps, I just found out that someone is using my first preference URL 'flogblog.blogspot.com' for a Golf related blog. Why? because flog is golf spelt backwards... supposedly
Adam

2004-04-13T01:23:00.000+01:00

Procrastination Is The First Step Towards Trying

Why is it that when you have something to do, you will do everything you can to put it off??
I have about 11 assignments due in for next week, and yet I am desperate to avoid them, I will sit staring at the computer screen for hours on end, or watch some terrible muck on the TV or something, just to avoid it!! I enjoy the work (well some of it, not all of it) but I just DONT want to do them... or more start them, once I get going Im fine...

Im posting here as an reason not to do the work too by the way...

Adam

2004-04-08T01:09:00.000+01:00

FIRST BLOG!!

Welcome...
My first order of buisness is to curse blogger.com for not letting me take the URL flogblog.blogger.com for some reason.
Secondly, thanks to my cousin Michael for giving me the idea of starting this blog... heres hoping I put it to good use.

let me tell you about myself so you know what to expect:
my online name is Flogen (long story), or Adam to those that know me in the real world. I am 19, currenly studying Journalism and hope to be a novelist, because that means I can make a living from doing something I love, not have to get up early (being late is a hereditry disease in my family) and I might get really lucky and get nominated as one of these.
I have no political loyalty (as in I am not one of those idiots who votes for a party just because my parents did), although would consider myself quite liberal (or left from centre)... I also despise George W. Bush and everything he is doing to this planet. Every day he spends in office in America brings us one day closer to WW3, and his gun-happy, oil loving red-neck view on the world is as twisted as a spiral.
Musically, I am a devotee of the church of Tool (:P) and Pearl Jam, I also like bands ranging from Nine Inch Nails to Neil Young to Outkast..
I have a very lovely girlfriend of nearly 4 years, whom I met as a scout (which I am still a member of)
Thats all you need to know about me, for now anyway. The rest of my blogging will be less about me and more about observations I have made. THIS IS NOT AN ONLINE DIARY....nor is it somewhere for me to vent personal problems... just maybe some anger at world issues....

anyway, enjoy it, or at least try to... hopefully it will get more enjoyable as time goes on.... if so I'm gonna take it off line, print it out and make a book out of it, which you will have to pay €20 to read...

Adam(flogen)