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Books
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Do Words Matter?: Book Review of Political Discourse and Conflict Resolution – Debating Peace in Northern Ireland
Tweet I share many of the concerns of Andy Pollak, whose recent post ‘My Response to the Slugger Begrudgers’ zeroed in on the ‘relentless flow of negativity’ of some Slugger commentators. Pollak’s post was largely concerned with the medium of the blog. Indeed, I think the anonymity of the online world encourages extreme discourse and [...] read our review »
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Sunday Supplement
Tweet It being Sunday, we’ve all got time to consider and ponder things at greater length than during the working week, yes? If it’s good enough for the Sunday papers, it’s good enough for this guest blogger. So here’s the review section… Actually, it’s my introduction to a book published last year, Goin’ Down Slow: [...] read our review » -
Books: Listening to Van Morrison…
Tweet Great little review of Listening to Van Morrison by Griel Marcus… It’s a short book, not a biography or a career survey, but an attempt to follow those moments in Morrison’s music, as he’s made it from his first records with Them, from Belfast in 1965 to the present day, when something happens that [...] read our review »
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Comment on What does the Irish flag mean to you?
on 3 April 2013 at 9:29 am
Hy-Brazil, the Westernesse.
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Comment on Dealing with Benedict’s legacy
on 12 February 2013 at 9:31 am
Flashy – though I concur that a precis would have saved 5 minutes we won’t retrieve, methinks t’was more “I don’t like Ratzinger because he’s a, delusional at best or evil in reality, hypocrite”.
Good riddance.
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Comment on Farewell to Gaelscéal
on 5 February 2013 at 9:36 pm
“a language to sell pigs in” illustrates the matter perfectly. Render unto Mammon that which is necessary but keep your kultur safe at home.
Two cashiers at a FoodFlood mart in Donegal Town (one a matron, the other somewhat younger) are native speakers and I, utterly monolingual, am constantly thrilled by the number of YOUNG people eager to exchange with them what gaelic they can muster, so Hope abides.
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Comment on Red C Poll: Government parties ‘stabilise’ with Fianna Fail steady as she goes…
on 11 January 2013 at 8:46 am
It seems to me that the governing (sic!) coalition of chancers has lost 11%, but FF has gained scarcely a third of that.
The real winner is SF which is 60% higher than in the general election (though from a peak of 100% last May) and the independents (technical group – what sort of bloodless, dehumanising title is that, esp considering the plurality of votes they garnered) support has increased by a quarter to rival FF.
There is tumult in Heaven and turmoil on Earth, the situation is excellent” – cod chinee proverb,
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Comment on “There were, he said, no aborigines in Ireland…”
on 28 December 2012 at 8:47 pm
Exogeny is as old as bipedalism, marry/mate out (of tight group) or die out. Pretty simple & lots of fun. Hybrid vigour rules!
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Comment on Does the South really want the North as part of Ireland?
on 23 August 2012 at 10:16 am
I wouldn’t have the North as a gift, even with the MASSIVE subsidies from the British Exchequer. Some things are worth more than money and they do NOT include Planter mentality & Mad Dog wannabes.
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Comment on Britain and Ireland as one – an understandable mistake?
on 13 August 2012 at 10:17 am
I’m probably the last person alive (kinda sorta) who hankers after EFTA & Commonweath (nee Empire) Preferred.
OZ may have been settled up to 50% by brits but more than a third (depending on defintion & dodgy records up to 40%) were Irish – hence their abiding regard for Blighty. (cf etymology – arabic/urdu for “wounded”meaning where you went with a sufficiently disabling number of missing limbs or organs.)
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Comment on A new IRA emerges lashed together from the wreckage of the old…
on 30 July 2012 at 1:05 pm
Young bucks, fed on tales of their elders, will always want their “whiff of cordite” and always there will be the cynical, the sinister and the simply evil willing to enable them for their entirely separate ends.
Ramped up without a clue.
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Comment on Why was Romney booed?
on 13 July 2012 at 2:02 pm
The MittBot has the EQ of a lawnmower, eg his gold plated turd comment re NASCAR team owning.
I doubt that he could even rouse enthusiasm at NARWP given his tin ear for adjectives & unverbs – listening to him speak is to wonder why he is allowed to do so.
It must be admitted that he does has very electable hair, just the right amount of grey at the temples and his single, discernible policy, to have his jawline made Prez, is at least sufficiently KISS for him to understand.
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Comment on Four years on in Ireland’s crisis: No blame, no pain, no shame…
on 9 July 2012 at 3:40 am
Possibly one reason for the non response is that everyone has skin in this scam and they know that if just one thread is pulled, ie a collar felt, then the whole thing unravels and it’s justice for all.
And we can’t be having with that now, can we?
Who knows where that would lead?
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