Eh AirCorps & F-16s? Nah you're joking right?

Does anybody want to tell me when exactly we bought F-16s for the Air Corps? I know we bought those 'trainer fighters' a couple of years ago which was somewhat farsical because we did not have the Jets as the next step up. Perhaps Defence has finally realised it and have got the jets and then the next step is the Aircraft Carrier which will pop up on the Irish Sea!

Liked it.

Nominate it.

Can you feel your ears burning?

Image via WikipediaDid you hear about Mary down the road? No? Well turns out she has been slipping into town and having a Swedish Massage every Tuesday morning when Tom is away. But Tom is apparently no angel either as he does like the auld tipple every sunday morning instead of going to see his maker.

Well so the story goes anyway. However all the above lines are just plain auld gossip but thats ok I no longer need to apologise for making gossip, just merely need to reign it in somewhat so that it is still effective. That is of course according to the researchers behind a project which claims that 'Gossip helps to glue society together' . Well it certainly will have some tougnes wagging and more whispering to be done in certain corridors of Society. I'm sure we all knew that anyway. I mean Tom told me the other day about those darn researchers calling him but he wasnt sure if Mary knew it or not.

Also no idea about the image....Zemanta picked it for me and I hoped for the best....

Liked it.

Nominate it.

Limerick Pride 2008

Image by cype_applejuice via Flickr

So it is fast approaching that time of year again...God it seemed like only last week in some memories that Jeff & I had that fateful brunch in Bar3 in Limerick and decided to create a float for Limerick Pride (Old Blog Link via Bebo, as well as here, and here). Well whilst neither of us are residing in Limerick this year, we can rest assured that we can't get dragged into it tooo much this year-until Gina gets hold of us that is.

In the meantime, the gang in Limerick have been planning and preparing for this years Pride and have branded parts of Pride under the Ilovelimerick.com banner. I love the idea, and I also love Limerick so naturally I am biased-I have also been reliably informed that there will be badges available with the ilovelimerick.com logo on it...I have dibs on at least 2 of those! Glad to see my old school mate & current holder of the 'You're A Star' Badge of Honour, Leanne Moore has rolled in behind the events as well as the only true reigning Queens of the Scene, Sheila Fitspatrick(Current AML & AMI) & the fablis Madonna Lucious.

Information about this year's Pride calender can be found @ ilovelimerick.com as well as the Parade Route, Partners and nights out. I will be there on the 13th. Be sure you are too. It will be nice to see another festival in the city for the summer...Still think the Riverfest in the May Bank Hol is too early in the summer to reach its full potential but thats a story for another day.

Liked it.

Nominate it.

Still I Rise

A Good friend sent me this Poem a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to share it with you all.

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard.Y

ou may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamondsA

t the meeting of my thighs?Out of the huts of history's shame

I riseUp from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I riseInto a daybreak that's wondrously clearI rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

(Maya Angelou)

Liked it.

Nominate it.

Here comes the Sun!

Just felt like spreading a little cheer and what better way that relying on Nina. :-) Take it away my dear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSSIlx9hiu8

Liked it.

Nominate it.

Comments & Updates

Image via Wikipedia

Ok well I do have a reason for not posting as frequently as I have been for the last couple of months. Between family deaths, work and finishing off my Masters, life has been a bit chaotic for the last couple of months. The Masters however (thankfully at last!) currently is sapping most of my free time and my not-so-free time out of my life. However it is a thoroughly enjoyable feeling to have a lead weight around your neck with the pressure that writing a Masters level thesis comes with. NOT! If it was not for the help and support of friends and family I would possibly have gone completly mad at this stage.

So what has the Hedgehog been up to for the last number of weeks? Well he has been pretty busy in work and he has been busy thesising it. Whilst also enjoying looking out at the sunshine from inside the Office and the Library in UCD. Thoroughly enjoyable experience. This weekend however I did not get much of the work on the thesis done as I would like. Thankfully I am off some 6 days in a row next weekend so I am aiming to get an awful lot done over those 6 days. Hopefully the first full draft of the whole text. I will also have the tissues ready for when it comes back to me with the dreaded comment boxes on the side.

They are such an effective tool, comment boxes. Espicially in MS Word. Such a pleasurable visual experience to see a row of comments down the side of your hours of heart,sweat and tears of work as you realise 'Oh crap there is soo many holes in my argument I will never get this done. Arghh'. Comments are a great way of boosting confidence. However it is something which has to be done and endured. Personally I much prefer those comment boxes in MS Excel. These comment boxes lurk in the corner of the cells. All you see is a little red arrow in the top right hand corner of the box. Blink and you will miss it. Sometimes that is a good thing but er it does not help your Intellect much.

So hopefully the comment boxes will not be many when I get it back. If it is well I will worry about it then. It will involve trawling back through my reams of articles, books, electronic journal articles and finding even more appropriate content in order to expand my argument further. Once I have that appropriate content, I will then take note of the page number to make sure that I do not loose the reference for fear of being accused of plagraism. Following on from that I will double check to make sure I have the reference put in my Bibliography folder and then back that up 3 times-Hard disk, USB & GMAIL- for fear of loosing it and completly cracking up. Then I will continue to hammer out my argument and hope for the best. This all seemed like such a great idea last year and when all is said and done and when I do hand in the Thesis in September, it will all be worth it. Until then I will return to my sea of paper and concepts and hope for the best.

Liked it.

Nominate it.

The Confessional

ITALIAN BOY'S CONFESSION
(Of course, Catholics know that names are not to be mentioned
during Reconciliation (commonly known as «Confession»)

This could only happen with a little Italian kid…

Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose
girl'.

The priest asks, 'Is that you, little Joey Pagano?'

'Yes, Father, it is.'

'And who was the girl you were with?'
'I can't tell you, Father, I don't want to ruin her reputation'

Well, Joey, I'm sure to find out her name sooner or later so
you may as w! ell tel l me now. Was it Tina Minetti?'
'I cannot say.'
'Was it Teresa Mazzarelli?'
'I'll never tell.'
'Was it Nina Capelli?'

'I'm sorry, but I cannot name her.'

'Was it Cathy Piriano?'

'My lips are sealed.'
'Was it Rosa Di Angelo, then?'

'Please, Father, I cannot tell you.'
The priest sighs in frustration. 'You're very tight lipped,
Joey Pagano, and I admire that. But you've sinned and have to
atone. You cannot be an altar boy now for 4 months. Now you go
and behave yourself.'




Joey walks back to his pew, and his friend Franco slides over
and whispers, 'What'd you get?'


'4 months vacation and five good leads'

Liked it.

Nominate it.

Test

This is a test post via Word 2003 mainly because I wanted to check out how nifty it is and more to the point how practical it is!

Mr. Mandela

Happy 90th Birthday Mr. Mandela.

Liked it.
Nominate it.

Miss me but let me go

I have been delaying writing this particular post for as long as possible and I have not wanted to post anything until I had this posted so please do forgive the lack of posting but this is important. There are two reasons for this, namely timing but more importantly the sheer emotiveness of this topic. Last Wednesday week, my nanna passed away peacefully in her sleep. She had a long life and a tough life with many crosses to carry.

To say that this upset me is to state the obvious. I loved my nanna very very much and I will miss her dearly.

In the last couple of years of her life, my gran has been living in the care of the nursing staff of the Hospital of the Assumption in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. She enjoyed her time there and I know she loved being in a place which respected her dignity, whilst also allowing for her to have her privacy when required. For a women who used to walk up and down the road to town and to visit her neighbours, it always annoyed and frustrated her that she lost her ability to walk unaided. However, this physical affliction did not mean that she lost her mental health and she maintained her networks of friends and family and always had a caring word for all of us.
Image via Wikipedia
My Nana came from a family of seven, two boys and five girls. She was originally was from Adare, Limerick and she always loved to return to it whenever the chance presented itself. As per the papal bull of the early 20th Century, she along with her siblings were brought up as Roman Catholic in a mixed marriage (Protestant & Roman Catholic). A marriage which was not favored by her Mothers Parents. Indeed her Catholic education permeated into her own family and she was a very devout women to her Church and God. My Grandmother had many stories from Adare, one which I remember was a conversation she had with her mother who had secured the permission of the Earl of Dunraven for her children to cross through his land on their way to school. She was always reminded that this was a privilege and not to abuse it.

As she grew older, and with jobs scare my Grandmother got a job in what was the Waterman's Inn in Killaloe. Thus began a love affair with that town which lasted a lifetime. She married my Grandfather in 1947 in the Catholic Church of St. Joseph's in Limerick city and she loved him dearly. One of the stories we have recalled in the last couple of weeks is that of her Wedding photo with her beloved Johnny. They married on Shrove Tuesday in Feb 1947 and it was snowing so she was unable to wear her white shoes as part of her outfit so she had to wear pratical black 'wedge' shoes for the duration of the ceremony. However she forgot to change the shoes for the Photograph, which meant that it was taken without her lovely white shoes and instead she had her pratical 'wedge' shoes! She was not amused but with time she was able to see the fun side of the story. Their time together however was to be shortlived. In 1975, my grandfather died and my Nan was left with nine children ranging in ages of 27 down to 11, my Uncles and Aunts.


Tough times and a hard cross to carry for some. However life moves along as at a quick pace just when you need it to stand still, it does not and having dependent Children does not allow for much room for waiting around. So she reared her children with decorum and instilled respect in them and in their children in doing so. She was a truly magnificent women.

I have two enduring memories of my grandmother. One is from when I was around 6/7 and it was the summer holidays, and the Sun was belting down. We were down the town and we decided to go over the old railway bridge by the river. It also meant that we would be going past the Swings in the park, which was far more important for me! As we came down the railway bridge, there was alot of ants on the stone work and I asked her what were ants a sign of. She gave me a look as if to say 'does this child ever stop asking questions' but responded calmly that she had no idea what ants were a sign of but to stop looking at them and to help her down the steep steps. It was a good deflection of the topic and I easily forgot about it when I saw the swings.

My second enduring memory is the day she left home in an ambulance after she had fallen again and moved into the nursing home. That day was a very sad day for all of us. At the time I did not want it to happen. With hindsight, it was the right decision and whilst she was away from her home, She still managed to be the centre of attention at all of our infamous family gatherings-9 children and 28 grandchildren make for a pretty great gatherings ;-)- and amazingly she still managed to get all the news of the Parish before any of the rest of us saw any of the smoke signals!

Yes my nana had a long life. She died on the weekend of her 88th Birthday-Coincidently one of her Aunts is still alive at 105! Yes it was hard at times. She outlived her husband, Johnny, one of her brothers, George, three of her sisters, Margaret, Kathleen & Bridget as well as three of her grandchildren, Cathal, Seoirse and Michaél. and Yes we will miss her alot. Death comes to us all in the end, however short or long our life span is we can only do our best. The large crowds in our home and in the church, coming from nine different parishes as well as seven priests at the Funeral, are a testament to a life well lived.

Rest in Peace Nan and say a prayer for us all. God knows we need it.

Susan Josephine Hickey (1920-2008)

Miss me but Let me Go
(Anon.)

When I come to the end of the road and the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room, why cry for a soul set free

Miss me a little but not for long, and not with your head bowed low
Remember the love that we once shared, miss me...But let me go.

For this is a journey we all must take, and each must go alone,
It's all a part of the Master's plan, a step on the Road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart, Go to a friend we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds,

Miss me...but let me go.

Liked it.

Nominate it.

Eavan Boland at the National Gallery of Ireland, Wednesday 2nd June 2008.

Image via WikipediaSo some of you may be wondering why I posted the Pomengranate earlier this week....Well it is one of my favourite poems by Eavan Boland....However my main reasons was I wished to share it with you but also because I am going to listen to a poetry reading she is giving tomorrow in the National Gallery on Merrion Square at 1pm.This is part of the Gallery's summer lunchtime events and there are some pretty interesting talks and discussions on every week day over the course of July. For further information go to the Gallery's website here.

Liked it.

Nominate it.