Yes, you’re homophobic.

January 30, 2014 //

Let’s say you were watching a TV debate, and one of the debaters claimed that it might be better for the children if black people and white people could not get married. Let’s say they couched it in claims that some of their best friends were black and that they saw nothing wrong with black people themselves, and by the way, that they felt that black people were of course entitled to all the same privileges as white people, except in this one small matter of marriage.

Would you call that person a racist?

Let’s say you were listening to a radio show, where one of the panelists asserted that French people and Irish people were better off not marrying. Now, she had nothing bad to say about the French, and had vacationed in France a few times, but, alas, marriage between French and Irish people was not such a good idea, thinking about how the children might be affected.

Would you call that person a xenophobe?

Maybe they thought small people were excellent, but marrying tall people was unconscionable.

Would you be entitled to call such people heightist?

So what do you call people who think that gay people are great, life and soul of the party and all, but there’s just this small thing about marriage that they wish they could refrain from?

I wonder. What words could you apply to such people? Any ideas?

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Categories opinions, Uncategorized

Photojournal: West Cork, January 2014

January 12, 2014 //

Yesterday, we headed to the Galley Head area in West Cork, halfway between Clonakilty and Skibbereen. The day was uncharacteristically perfect. The low winter sun offering this battered coastline some light relief.

The winter storms had not yet abated and the waves around the Long Strand (Castlefreke) were enormous, crashing loudly onto the beach. I caught some nice shots during our walk.

Castlefreke 6

We then headed to the Drombeg Stone Circle, close to Glandore. These Bronze Age Menhirs with their portal stones and altar is a reminder of mysterious times long gone. Close by is a wonderfully preserved “Fualacht Fia” – an ancient kitchen. Red-hot stones were added to the water, allowing the water to boil, thus cooking whatever food had been caught during the day.

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Categories Cork, photographs, tours and trips, Uncategorized

A thought.

January 6, 2014 //

If you were a prophet or a future religious figure, the most evil thing you could recommend would be for your followers to write down your words, then expect those words to be obeyed, rigidly, forever more.

It is arguments over written words that have inspired some of the greatest acts of evil the world has ever seen, that have created unending divisiveness and conflict and have perpetuated inequality and discrimination over the centuries. It is arguments over written words that have had allowed good people to do very bad things, all the time believing they were doing good.

So, if you were a prophet or a future religious figure and you really wanted to do good, then it’s enough to ask people to be nice to each other.

And then to say nothing more.

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2014 Anniversaries

December 31, 2013 //

2014

Ten Years Ago (2004): Ireland bans smoking in pubs; the Beslan massacre happened; a huge tsunami hits the Indian Ocean coasts of South-east Asia, claiming 230,000 lives. New website called “Facebook” launched.

Twenty Years Ago (1994): The Rwandan genocide; an IRA ceasefire announced after 25 years of violence; Fred West is arrested, bodies discovered underneath his house on 25 Cromwell St; Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa.

Thirty Years Ago (1984): Announcement that HIV virus is responsible for AIDS; Ronald Reagan visits Ireland; Ethiopian famine prompts huge international reaction; Bhopal chemical disaster in India.

Forty Years Ago (1974): Dublin and Monaghan bombings; Birmingham pub bombings; Richard Nixon resigns as US President; worst tornado outbreak in US history; Rubik’s Cube invented.

Fifty Years Ago (1964): The Beatles take America by storm, Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment; Martin Luther King wins Nobel Peace Prize; Mary Poppins is released.

Sixty Years Ago (1954): First polio mass vaccinations; first kidney transplant from a live donor; Rock and Roll begins with “Rock Around The Clock”; Alan Turing commits suicide.

Seventy Years Ago (1944): Most recent eruption of Mount Vesuvius; Normandy D-Day invasions; Warsaw Uprising; Battle of the Bulge; “Doodlebug” bombs hit London; attempted assassination of Hitler; Asperger’s Syndrome first described.

Eighty Years Ago (1934): US Dust Bowl; Bonnie and Clyde killed; Night of the Long Knives; Hitler becomes “Führer” of Germany.

Ninety Years Ago (1924): Irish language made compulsory in schools; Hitler arrested for Munich Beer Hall Putsch; Vladimir Lenin dies; last vestiges of Ottoman Empire abolished.

One Hundred Years Ago (1914): Beginning of World War I; first successful blood transfusion; Irish Home Rule bill passed; electric traffic lights first introduced.

Two Hundred Years Ago (1814): Napoleon abdicates, is exiled to Elba; British forces burn down White House in Washington; end of the War of 1812.

Three Hundred Years Ago (1714): Longitude Prize announced; End of War of the Spanish Succession; King George I of Hanover takes UK throne after Queen Anne dies.

Four Hundred Years Ago (1614): Logarithms invented by John Napier; Moriscos – Muslim descendants – expelled from Spain; Juan Rodriguez becomes first European settler in what would later become New York City.

Five Hundred Years Ago (1514): Copernicus first outlines his theory of Heliocentrism.

Six Hundred Years Ago (1414): Council of Constance begins, ending the Western Schism, where rival popes contended for supreme authority of the Catholic Church.

Seven Hundred Years Ago (1314): The Scots defeat the English in the Battle of Bannockburn; Last of the Knights Templar burned at the stake.

Eight Hundred Years Ago (1214): The Mongol Army, under Ghengis Khan, lays siege to Beijing.

Nine Hundred Years Ago (1114): A crusade is launched on the Muslim held Balearic Islands.

One Thousand Years Ago (1014): Brian Boru defeats his enemies in the Battle of Clontarf. Brian is killed in during the subsequent rout.

One Thousand One Hundred Years Ago (914): Foundation of Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city.

One Thousand Two Hundred Years Ago (814): Death of Charlemagne, first Emperor of Europe since the collapse of the Roman Empire.

One Thousand Four Hundred Years Ago (614): Persians capture Jerusalem, carry off the True Cross, the Holy Lance and the Holy Sponge. Birth of Aisha, wife of Muhammad.

Two Thousand Years Ago (14): First Roman Emperor, Augustus, dies.

Two Thousand Three Hundred Years Ago (287 BC): Archimedes of Syracuse, mathematician, engineer and possible inventor of the Antikythera Mechanism, is born.

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A Seasonal Thought

December 24, 2013 //

None of us are perfect, all of us have our troubles and none of us are going to be around that long. Let’s be as kind as we can to as many people as we can.

Happy Christmas.

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A week without my smartphone.

November 29, 2013 //

Old Mobile Phone

It’s been over a week without a phone. I’m coping. I’m not sure if others are.

1) No ‘Where Are You’ messages.

People don’t know where I am! Maybe I’ll arrive at the station on time. Maybe not. They have no way of knowing and I have no way of putting them out of their misery. Put it this way: I’m adding drama to their lives.

2) No Podcasts.

Hurrah! I’m a citizen of Ireland again, listening to Morning Ireland, George Hook and Arena. Instead of interesting shows from the UK and the US, it’s back to living in the goldfish bowl that is Irish media. Boy, will I have a backlog to get through when I finally get a new phone.

3) The constant need to update my status on Twitter all the goddamn time has greatly diminished.

So many pithy thoughts lost to posterity. You’re so upset, I can tell.

4) Photographs, of which I have none.

A whole haystack went on fire yesterday morning right beside the house. A transformer exploded near the house a few days earlier. Both incidences were as dramatic as you get in this part of the world. We even had fire engines. And what evidence do I have of these momentous occurrences? Nothing. I’ll show you a picture of the scorchings instead over the coming days. It’ll be almost like witnessing the real thing. Almost.

5) Remembering things is fun.

It’s amazing the extent to which I have left the phone organise my life. Without it, every deadline is a bit of a guess. I’m now reliant on people looking angrily at me. I so wish there was a button I could press to stop people looking like that. A Happy Face Button – there you go now. Who wants to invent that for me?

6) Back to using Voicemail.

Did I tell you I hated voicemail? Back in the halcyon smartphone days, I could safely avoid it for weeks on end. Now, it is one of the only ways I can be contacted. “Press 3, then 5, then 1 to continue. At the tone, enter your passcode then press hash. Sorry, please enter that 10 digit code again. Sorry, invalid response. Please try again later”. The designers of voicemail are as close to pure, unrestrained evil as you will find in the world today.

Life should return to relative normality next week. If not, please don’t try to find me and above all, please, please, don’t leave me a voicemail.

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Categories stuff

Three Films

November 23, 2013 //

Nothing much to report about my last day in Singapore as it was all a big rush to make a police statement about the phone, then pack and get to the airport. As ever, people were super friendly. I’m missing it already.

I saw three movies on board:

World War Z: I wasn’t gone on the first part of the film (any horror flick involving kids always seems dreadfully manipulative), but I got hugely into it. Stunning scenes, particularly the wall breach in Jerusalem. This being an airplane movie, Singapore Airlines cut the scene on the jet. Aww.

Red 2: Awful shite. Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Anthony Hopkins, how could you? Did you need the money to pay off a drug debt? Did you even read the script in advance?

Man of Steel: So it’s 2013, and the saviour of the human race is still a tall good looking white American guy with great pecks and great teeth. Plus ça change. A rehash of the 1980s’ Superman 2 film, now with whizz bang graphics and Dolby sound effects. Visually spectacular – particularly the spacecraft scenes – but the endless fighting and boo-hoo nostalgia ruined it for me.

Is may be just me, but I think CGI has ruined Hollywood.

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Categories reviews, tours and trips

Singapore – Day 5

November 22, 2013 //

Today I managed to get to see much more of the city, taking in Chinatown, the Harbour Front Centre and the Singapore River as part of an evening on the town. 

Chinatown left an impression. It’s a large district of the town, with a diverse food market in the centre. The sights and smells make it a must see. Talking of smells, I got to whiff the delightful odours of the Durian Fruit today (they make pancakes from it). It’s pretty overwhelming. The fruit is not permitted aboard local trains and busses because of its pungency. We also passed by the Sri Mariamman temple – an amazing building in the centre of Chinatown. Close by is the Buddha Tooth Relic, which contains pretty much what it says on the tin.

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Speaking of trains, the Singapore MRT (Mass Rail Transit) system is pretty amazing. Hyper-clean, efficient and railed off by screens to avoid anyone getting too close to the tracks. There are signs on the floor telling people where to stand when alighting the train. The toll gates instantaneously calculate your fare based on the distance travelled – it’s completely cashless and based on a card top-up process. It’s also one big public service announcement, with signs telling people the fines for bringing food and drink onto the trains, or asking people to give up their seat for people in need. 

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It must be one of the only cities in the world where you don’t see people begging. Maybe I was in the wrong places, but I didn’t come across any vagrancy at all – not even packs of teenagers parading their boredom and weltschmertz for all to see. Everyone seems polite, well dressed and civic minded, even the kids. Added to that I saw no stray cats or dogs. Even mosquitos are a rarity in a country that’s only a few miles from the equator.

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We went to the Harbour Front shopping centre for the evening. Across the strait was Sentosa Island, a theme-park / leisure area for the city. It’s connected by cable car and sky-train monorail. The shops are already bedecked with Christmas decorations. I have to say it’s an incongruous and strange sight when the temperature outside is a muggy 30 degrees. From our vantage point in the Queen and Mangosteen pub, we were treated to a wonderful lightning show – no sounds, just regular darts of electricity illuminating the sky.

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It was also the first time I was able to appreciate the Singaporean accent. To my untrained ear, it sounds a little like the Mauritian accent – a mixture of English and other regional accents. 

Finally, we ended up in a bar on Boat Quay just across the river from the Asian Civilisations Museum. We were all quite tired then, so we quickly made our move back to the hotel – the conclusion of our last night in Singapore.

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Singapore Day 4

November 20, 2013 //

Still no sign of the phone. I’ve no idea where it might have gone. The hotel are doing an investigation, but I am now doubtful anything will turn up. 

All the pity, because we ended up in downtown Singapore last night but I have no photos to post up. We were in a bar / restaurant called La Terrazo, near Chinatown. The area is full of bars and clubs and there was a buzz to the place. It reminded me somewhat of Chicago. Apart from the low houses in this area itself, it’s all modern skyscrapers. Singapore is a high-rise society. Almost everyone lives in a government funded apartment, the cost of which, even subsidised, can be enormous.

Everyone talks about the government here too. The taxi-driver yesterday morning couldn’t stop talking about the government all the way to our destination. According to the BBC, Singapore tops the tables for so many important things: low crime rate, education, health, low corruption – yet has some of the unhappiest people in the world.

Singapore also is one of the biggest cities for gambling in the world, surprisingly close in annual revenues to Las Vegas. Singaporeans themselves are discouraged from gambling and have to pay 100 dollars per night for the privilege of attending a casino.

Many of the expats I have spoken to here love the place. The reason they commonly cite is its centrality. It’s only a short plane ride from Bali, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Kuala Lumpur is only a few hours up the road. It’s terrific for those of a certain age who want to see the world. 

Tomorrow is my last day here. How time flies.

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Singapore Day 3

November 19, 2013 //

Oh Christ. No photos tonight. I’ve lost my phone. I’m not sure if I misplaced it in the taxi on the way to work or in the hotel somewhere. It might even be at work, but so far no sign of it anywhere. I’m experiencing withdrawal systems.

Other than this, today went ok. Lots of work again, but a nice meal in the evening in the centre of Singapore. This time we ate at the Crystal Jade Korean Ginseng restaurant in the plush Ngee Ann City shopping centre. I have a love of Asian dumpling soup, so I was in seventh heaven.

What is it about Singaporean taxi drivers? Last night, we were just a little tardy getting into our taxi and before we knew it the car had driven away – a cloud of black smoke in its wake.  The driver was clearly annoyed that we had tried his patience so much. Today we took a cab with a driver who clearly preferred the delights of Siberia to the humidity of Singapore. The cab was absolutely freezing inside. We were delighted to get back to the hotel, so we could start to get circulation back into our hands and feet.

I can’t get over the friendliness of the people here. Everyone I have met is so willing to help. Their attention to detail is impressive too. When I was asking about my iPhone, the receptionist I had given my details to needed to server another customer, whereupon the other receptionist got involved seamlessly, as if they had both communicated telepathically.

Jetlag is having its effect tonight. I’m wrecked now. I’ll be up early tomorrow to put the finishing touches to my presentation tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll hear some good news about my phone.

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