SOAPBOX
I'VE NEVER BEEN KNOWN NOT TO FORM AN OPINION AND WHAT'S THE POINT IN HAVING ONE IF YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO SHARE IT?
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Kamala Harris & The Democratic Convention
Apologies to Stephen King but as I read the title for this post I couldn’t help thinking about his short story – Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank Redemption – not the story itself just the rhythm of the title. It, like the title of this post, has the ring of a name for a 1960s Motown band. That I’m afraid is the only place where all three intersect. The first is genius, the band might have had some potential, but this is likely to be a rambling rant. To paraphrase the old saying, we all know opinions are like a’holes – everbody’s got one and they’re all full of shit. It’s a line I use regularly and everytime I do I’m conscious it includes me. So of course this post should be read with that caveat firmly…
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The God of Small Things
All my life I’ve had a problem finding value in the day-to-day actions of everyday life. It’s not that I craved constant drama or anything of that sort, in fact I tend to shy away from drama even when it’s a genuine crisis. I just never learned to worship at the altar of the God of small things. Maybe it’s repetition that causes me a problem, although I just spent hours over the past three days organising hundreds of music files by dragging them to new locations on a hard drive. Or possibly the lack of challenge involved in doing things that require little or no new learning. It could be the pointlessness of doing something, like cleaning or repairing, that will simply need to be done again and probably sooner rather than later. Honestly I don’t…
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Toxic Masculinity & The Emerging World Order
I have to admit I’ve always had a fear of the pendulum effect when it comes to societal developments. Like every other person who welcomes improvement in equality and the practice of tolerance and respect, I celebrate every step forward with a sense of joy and a sigh of relief. These steps go a long way to help restore my faith in humanity in general and those who take risks to benefit others in particular. But there has always been a faint murmur of concern at the back of my mind when those changes appear to be part of a wave of change rather than a constantly mounting ripple of reform. Newtons Law of action and reaction comes to mind – for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. That’s what I…
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Regrets & How To Fix Them
Lucky old Edith Piaf had none but, like Sinatra, I reckon when we reach our sixties we all have at least a few, regrets that is. Relax, my Irishness won’t allow me to use this time together to roll out the few I have – too few to mention? – even though it might be a lot less expensive than a therapist (something else being Irish sees as totally alien). What I really wanted to chew the fat about was the notion of regret when you retire and have to reinvent yourself once again. I say once again because in reality we do that a few times over a lifetime, from child to adult, to partner, to parent, but each of those reinventions are gradual over time and influenced by role models and society’s requirements. Post-retirement, or…
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WHAT HAVE WE BECOME?
The second statistic informed me that 10 women are murdered each year in Ireland by their husband or partner in their own home. At home where they should be safest and by the one person they thought would love and protect them. I don’t recall their sad demise being reported in banner headlines and that’s probably because it’s no longer “news”. What does it say about a society that accepts that homelessness and violence are acceptable and especially at a time when we’re congratulating ourselves on how well we’re recovering from the recession. There’s never been more money floating in this country apparently and the future’s looking bright (or so they say…again). However, none of that recovery seems to have made a difference to those who live in fear of losing the roof over their head or…
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THE FAILED GENERATION
PHOTO: Franklin / AP “I was a child in the sixties Dreams could be held through TV With Disney, and Cronkite, and Martin Luther Oh, I believed, I believed, I believed Nanci Griffith – It’s A Hard Life I’m in my mid-fifties and I was a child of the sixties. I grew up with the momentum of foreign protests igniting protest marches in my own country aimed at restoring civil rights to minorities that couldn’t be distinguished by colour, but was based on religious belief. I enjoyed the hope of the technological revolution during the”power years” of my late-20s and early 30s. We enjoyed the drive for equality in a country that at one time lagged behind the rest of the developed word by a decade. Equality brought about by the kind of unity that EU membership offered a…
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6 THINGS I’D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR MR.TRUMP
www.flickr.com/photos/donkeyhotey/11360949604 I was always told in polite company to steer clear of discussions about sex, religion and politics. Of all of these I can’t seem to steer completely clear of politics and now is probably not the time for me to start. On this occasion, I want to thank the US presidential (almost) candidate Donald Trump for the many things he has contributed to humanity. Here goes- Thank you, Mr Trump, for proving that we middle aged white men are such spectacular boors. After all, that’s what our detractors have been trying to tell us for such a long time now. Thank you, Mr Trump, for turning the presidency of the US into a 3 ring circus. Maybe this will teach our children that celebrity is not always just benign curiosity. Thank you, Mr Trump, for reviving…
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IT’S ALL PORK PIES…
You know the old joke: “How can you tell if a politician is lying? His lips are moving!”. We’re about to embark on three weeks of a general election campaign where a lot of lips will be moving. The last time the Irish people went to the ballot boxes to elect a new government our economy was circling the toilet bowl and about to get flushed; we were told we the people would pay billions to bail out the banks; the Celtic Tiger was fed on a steady diet of greed and subsequently died from obesity; unemployment was heading for 15%; worst of all our sons and daughters had begun to revive an old Irish tradition of emigrating to anywhere but here. At that point the voters said ‘enough’ and booted out the same old crew that…
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SUPER POWER
I came across a video promoting a private university in the US that describes itself as a university for heroes (check it out here). It’s an intriguing idea and it got me thinking about superheroes and super powers. If you were to be offered a super power what would it be? I think I’d opt for the ability to fly. As I get older (and heavier) I don’t get up much speed on foot anymore and even though I can get around in my trusty Jeep I miss the days when I could cycle or stroll at a decent lick. So I think I’d really do some good if I could take to the air. Up, up and away……
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WHY SOME OF US DON’T HAVE ONE TRUE CALLING
I came across this TED Talk and it helped me understand why I think like I do (up to a point). I always thought I had butterfly brain and despite trying to find a single lifelong burning passion I’ve flitted from one to another for practically my entire life. Pity my parents aren’t still around to hear I’m actually a Multipotentialite! See it here
