It seems the nations small size has compelled us to reach beyond our borders and enter into commerce with our neighbours and beyond to such an extent that we are ranked 5th in Foreign Policys annual ranking of the most globalised nations in the world. Economic integration and personal connectivity (the term used to capture […]

It is usually closer to Christmas before we get a sense of the new TV shows that will have established themselves as must see TV in the US and receive the most hype when they reach our shores. Big names continue to head for the small screen, of note is ‘Damages’ which RTE1 is alreadys […]

FEMA, the US emergency management body, certainly don’t like to make life easy for themselves. Reviled for the poor co-ordination of the response to Hurricane Katrina it emerged last week that they held a ‘fake’ news conference, detailing their management of the Californina fires. Giving only 15 minutes notice to genuine news broadcasters, they instead […]

Yednnek has done an impressive redesign of his blog. Check it out here.

There is a great quote from Oscar Wilde mentioned in the letters in todays Irish Times. I saw and really enjoyed ‘Stardust’ last night and it just has put me in an aspirational, imagination fueled mood today. The quote fits that mood perfectly:

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at […]

The trouble with absolutes is they can never be agreed upon. You can take all the moral stances you like on anything from abortion to slavery and there are advocates for each side, unwilling to concede to a judgement on human actions. Reconciling the inconsistencies presented to us when we look at the big picture […]

DVD for October: ‘Hidden’
(’Cache’ - French with subtitles)

There is a strange muted-ness to the performances in ‘Hidden’. The whole film seems an exercise in observation rather than one engrossing us in the world of the film. Cary Grant and Eva Saint Marie scaling Mount Rushmore in ‘North by North-West’ came to mind - even as […]

If you haven’t heard of this movie its a Bob Dylan biopic, with the musician being portrayd by 7 different actors. The trailer lists the cast, a mighty eye catching one. This film will be an oddity and garner some sort of cult following if nothing else.

1. Hound of the Baskervilles

I picked up this book, part of a set of 5 I was given as a present, without even knowing it was a Sherlock Holmes story. If ever I was unable to put down a book it was this. Never a moment set aside to see what proportion of the bulk […]

Noel Dempsey, clearly has had coaching from Michael Martin on how to push blame onto nameless civil servants, in an attempt to explain how on his second day in the transport portfolio he was not informed of the news of the Aer Lingus decision to stop flights to London from Shannon. Hopefully someone will raise […]