tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67554612011-07-08T11:46:42.664+01:00G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.comBlogger10741100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-6134251715260541792010-05-05T11:34:00.000+01:002010-05-05T11:34:55.619+01:00

Last week RTE 2FM's Will Leahy Show had a clairvoyant or 'medium' on the show. During the segment, which you can find here via the 'Listen Back' link (28th April 2010, approx 17:15) a caller asked the medium if she could 'talk' to her dead daughter. "How old was your daughter when she died?" asked the medium, or charlatan as I will now call her. "18" came the response. "Ah... yes... it was a

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-29685390026787466162010-04-10T10:25:00.002+01:002010-04-10T10:25:53.259+01:00

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-65220672457957190952010-03-28T23:58:00.001+01:002010-03-28T23:58:28.575+01:00

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-64283382093012382592010-03-25T09:22:00.001Z2010-03-25T09:22:20.270Z

Wingnuts Quarter of Republicans think Barack Obama is 'the Antichrist' The survey showed that 24 per cent of Republican respondents agreed with the statement that the president might be the Antichrist, and 38 per cent thought he was "doing many of the things Hitler did." According to the poll 67 per cent of Republicans thought President Obama was a socialist, 57 per cent thought that he was

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-89892312847009812092010-03-20T05:21:00.000Z2010-03-20T05:21:49.649Z

It would appear that articles by church apologist in chief at The Irish Times, Breda O'Brien, no longer invite reader comments. Must be all those weeks of having her arguments torn to shreds by anyone with more than a couple of brain cells to rub together.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-56867224009266397162010-03-06T18:55:00.002Z2010-03-06T18:55:31.533Z

Journalists, generally, are Arts graduates. Most of the time they have little or no education in the topic being discussed (unless it's history, politics or the arts etc). But, back in the pre-internet, pre-24 hour rolling insta-news days, newspapers and their hacks could take the time to investigate, research, analyse and explain the events of the day. Now, however, we have journalism via

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-81126334380818728932010-01-23T23:58:00.000Z2010-01-23T23:58:27.549Z

The first episode of the wonderful Charlie Brooker's Newswipe, in three parts:

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-63715006220073714482010-01-23T23:54:00.002Z2010-01-23T23:54:40.204Z

Good. About bloody time shysters like this started getting prosecuted... but just how dumb are the people in charge in Iraq?

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-61396850784525154952010-01-16T05:19:00.001Z2010-01-16T05:23:42.921Z

So, since September... Getting married - funny how some people reacted to how we did our wedding. More than one person carried an attitude that, because we didn't have the standard hotel reception, the marriage itself was somehow less worthy. Ah well, I suppose it was a bit much to expect everyone to get it. Honeymoon - went to California - San Francisco, Russian River and Santa Barbara. Loved

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-7209537328412286122010-01-16T04:52:00.000Z2010-01-16T04:52:37.035Z

So it has been a while! Blogging is a habit and, post- my wedding, it was a habit I had fallen out of. I don't know if I'll get back into it properly. I think I'll stick to short posts, maybe, from now on. I had two reasons for blogging, in hindsight. One, to get my amateur journalist pretensions down 'on paper' in the event that someone, somewhere would be interested in them and, two, so as I

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-2919203302305600312009-09-01T12:06:00.002+01:002009-09-01T21:13:27.866+01:00

All quiet on this front recently... because I'm about to get married! Woo hoo!! Yep - I have been very busy in and out of work. I'm getting married on Friday then heading to California for a ten day honeymoon. So my ranting and raving will be on hold til the end of the month. As I've said before I'm not a huge fan of traditional weddings, and neither is my wife to be, so we're trying to have as

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-41080695467489894112009-08-25T11:35:00.000+01:002009-08-25T11:35:55.601+01:00

It didn't occur to me that there'd be a way Northerners could make the Lockerbie bomber release about them and their own grubby little internecine nastiness. How naive of me.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-40370539438300314592009-08-17T01:53:00.003+01:002009-08-17T02:04:20.062+01:00

A truism of life is that people are convinced that the world is becoming an ever more dangerous or violent place, that the generation coming after them values life less and has less respect for others.In Ireland people think back to the 50s and 60s when the murder rate was non-existent and people, apparently, could leave their doors unlocked. That we now know children were being beaten and abused

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-20282061449969611412009-08-14T12:12:00.002+01:002009-08-14T12:40:08.754+01:00

As you may know I tried to catch a falling knife last year in that I bought a house for about 20 - 25% off its peak value, but an equivalent house in my estate is now down another 10% from that peak (raw figures of approx 390K, to 300K to 260K).Out of curiosity I did a search in my general area to see how much prices were coming down. Amazingly one particular estate - Mount Oval in Rochestown -

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-51257884641806229542009-08-14T12:04:00.002+01:002009-08-14T12:07:01.532+01:00

So the krauts and the surrender monkeys are coming out of recession already. Good news... except the ECB might jack up interest rates again to head off inflation. So maybe not so good news. If other EU countries are recovering we better be hanging onto their coat tails for dear life.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-70222445058880281432009-08-10T19:42:00.005+01:002009-08-13T10:01:22.835+01:00

I've finally realised why I've been to very few small gigs this year (all I've really done is go to Elbow in Wembley in March and U2 in Paris in July. I'm also going to Muse in the Dublin O2 in November) - the beer brands haven't been sponsoring anything this year. There's been no Bud Rising and no Heineken Green Energy. Coupled with a decision I made to stop going to Dublin for midweek gigs, all

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-35235006915301987642009-08-07T12:34:00.000+01:002009-08-07T20:07:58.318+01:00

It's 12:34 and 56 seconds on 7th August 2009.Or 12:34:56 7/8/9.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-75053692288807772582009-08-06T13:07:00.003+01:002009-08-06T14:06:55.967+01:00

Some things...The government announced that VAT receipts are behind forecasts but what the hell did they expect after the April budget?... "Tax receipts are some €575m, or 3%, behind that profile, mainly due to a shortfall of VAT (€448m behind)." Personally I'm down about €300 per month since then. Of course my (and everyone else's) discretionary spending was going to drop.90% of the people who

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-54049144609383785002009-08-05T16:10:00.003+01:002009-08-05T16:18:34.971+01:00

Just to point out, seeing as these things seem perfectly normal in this country these days, an elected representative went to meet two convicted cop killers on their release from prison today and drove off with them. I haven't the words...

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-89146834837532164312009-08-05T11:19:00.002+01:002009-08-05T11:44:30.763+01:00

The radio stations are running those 'He drives, she dies' ads again. I went on a rant about them last summer.Apropos of nothing, from the last three weeks: "Woman killed in Galway road crash... The 25-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene. A second woman in her 30s, who was travelling in the car, was slightly injured...""Woman dies in Antrim crash... An 18-year-old woman has died in a

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-28687127056547197862009-08-05T11:09:00.003+01:002009-08-05T11:18:15.830+01:00

RTE are at it again. Barely a mention at all in the national news that multiple Traveller families are regularly brawling in the streets of Tralee due to yet another 'feud'.The Irish Times on Saturday had an article about it, but all I can find from RTE's archives is this pitiful report from last week, which, again, decides not to mention that the instigaters are Travellers; and the subsequent

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-63779523192289445852009-07-29T21:27:00.001+01:002009-07-29T21:29:15.188+01:00

This article by Ben Goldacre is well worth reading, as are the links. Although any parent who would let a chiropracter... manipulate... their child should probably have the child taken off them

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-21085764589182960222009-07-28T18:37:00.002+01:002009-07-28T18:43:13.000+01:00

So I chose to miss the Dublin U2 270 gigs. Didn't suit me to go, really, and Paris was a tremendous high I didn't wan to ruin, just in case...But these videos make me think it really was something special up there...

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-50196170470860448972009-07-28T17:32:00.001+01:002009-07-28T17:35:03.865+01:00

There has just been a bloke on the radio talking about his new business - airbike.ie.Is there anyone in this country capable of developing a new business that isn't just a bloody website?

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-12207426873033163442009-07-27T14:03:00.004+01:002009-07-28T07:57:48.634+01:00

The Daily Mail - the paper whose daily existence is pre-occupied by immigrants, house prices and all the things in the world that will either kill or cure you.And so today we have:'Do you ever feel as if The Authorities are doing their damnedest to scare us all to death?... When raising the threat alert for swine flu from level four to five in April, Margaret Chan, head of the World Health

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-76459759498909972892009-07-25T16:23:00.001+01:002009-07-25T16:29:02.115+01:00

Another example of a 'culture' that should be left to bygone ages and has no place in a civilised world - those cultures who regard women/little girls that have been raped as having brought shame on a family. Disgusting.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-6235363965597305932009-07-23T21:25:00.003+01:002009-07-23T21:28:14.712+01:00

There was a big hoo-ha in the media this week about Ireland's minimum wage being cut as a result of comments made at an economics think-in in Donegal... except the minimum wage was not discussed at all beyond questions put by the media. Quelle surprise

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-63574085527478724512009-07-23T20:14:00.005+01:002009-07-23T20:23:36.860+01:00

Having a blasphemy law enacted is a national embarrassment. Nobody should be free from ridicule - particularly those who believe in the concept of blasphemy. I'm pretty much agnostic about the existence of God, but I definitely do not believe that people who invoke His name know any more about His existence than I do and have any right to tell me what I can and cannot say about what they

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-75702091847957618422009-07-20T10:21:00.002+01:002009-07-20T15:23:29.884+01:00

I don't think of the recommendations of An Bord Snip Nua as cuts, I think of them as a selection of things we need to choose if we want to borrow more money for them or not, on top of the money we already have to borrow.In that context I find it quite easy to agree with most of them.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-55497936673351181572009-07-15T19:58:00.002+01:002009-07-15T20:00:18.601+01:00

If this report is right there's gonna be a whole pile of people suddenly realising that homeopathy and assorted 'traditional' medicines are a whole pile of useless cack.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-21279990876117219922009-07-14T20:01:00.005+01:002009-07-15T22:18:48.284+01:00

The gig in Paris was fantastic - pretty much from start to finish.New tracks Breathe, No Line on the Horizon and Magnificent were all excellent, while Get On Your Boots is an infinitely better song played live. The old favourites were class as usual and seeing Unforgettable Fire and, in particular, Ultraviolet live was fantastic.U2 'in the round' also worked very well - the stage is

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-55713367668346247062009-07-09T15:39:00.001+01:002009-07-09T15:39:58.523+01:00

This made me laugh. A lot.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-71902039924496153542009-07-08T06:14:00.005+01:002009-07-08T06:31:08.692+01:00

Robert Fisk, a journalist I have little or no respect for. In his latest piece in the London Independent he whinges about 'poisonous clichés'. To illustrate his point he says '...the Israeli secret police – who also torture and murder – tend to be "elite" or (my favourite) "second to none".'Really? You hear a lot about Israel, but I've never heard that. Admittedly Google isn't an ideal barometer

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-39127948903550362962009-07-07T23:29:00.002+01:002009-07-07T23:32:42.292+01:00

"A human lifespan is less than a thousand months long" he says.Hmmm, never thought of it that way...I want to live for 1,000 months. October 15th, 2060 is the target. I'll throw a party when I make it.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-45759268199084744022009-07-04T14:31:00.002+01:002009-07-04T14:37:24.883+01:00

'Pakistan ships attack Taliban' goes the headline.'Huh'? goes I, trying to picture an atlas in my head then wondering if Warren Terror (nearly 8 now) has gone to play in the sea off Karachi.Then I discover they mean helicopters. Memo to whoever: helicopters, unlike ships, rarely float on water.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-37273210584848597732009-07-04T11:33:00.000+01:002009-07-04T11:34:33.099+01:00

How to have the crap scared out of you in approx five minutes."While everyone else in Ireland has come to see the past decade as an embarrassing episode of collective insanity to be put behind us as soon as possible, the Government still sees it as the high point of our nation’s history."

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-20266737586378513722009-06-30T07:09:00.006+01:002009-07-02T09:18:24.486+01:00

This, apparently, is the set-list from the first night in Barcelona... and it's CLASS!!!BreatheNo Line on the HorizonGet On Your BootsMagnificentBeautiful DaYI Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking ForAngel of HarlemIn A Little WhileUnknown CallerUnforgettable FireCity of Blinding LIghtsVertigoI'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy TonightSunday Bloody SundayPride (In The Name of Love)MLKWalk OnWhere

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-69689932879993782002009-06-28T21:49:00.002+01:002009-06-28T22:16:06.328+01:00

To my eternal shame I have a soft spot for some of Phil Collins' music. I know. Anyway, with all the talk about the Thriller video, I remembered that this video captured my imagination like no other as a child:

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-72182602394820904422009-06-27T11:01:00.002+01:002009-06-27T11:26:12.713+01:00

Last night RTE News reporting on the reaction to Michael Jackson's death cut to a piece about the reaction from fellow celebrities. For some reason, then, Aerosmith's drummer was one of those giving his two cents. Anyway he came out with the following gem: "He wasn't just unique, he was above and beyond that - he was one of a kind..."

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-42163053958481876862009-06-26T12:35:00.003+01:002009-06-26T12:39:25.863+01:00

More poor buggers who are the innocent victims of backward 'cultures' that are a stain on the human race..."Villagers, many straight from their farms, and armed with machetes, sticks and axes, are shouting and crowding round in a big group in Kenya's fertile Kisii district.I can't see clearly what is going on, but heavy smoke is rising from the ground and a horrible stench fills the air. More

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-90834469416183329242009-06-21T20:19:00.006+01:002009-06-21T21:45:04.258+01:00

More of it on Friday.As the anti-Shell whackjobs continue to move the goalposts in their opposition to the Corrib gasfield the Irish Times published an opinion piece by an Andy Storey who lectures on 'political economy and international development' at University College Dublin.It's a dreadful piece..."An international study in 2002 found that the vast majority of multinational oil and gas

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-30884251779485163442009-06-19T07:37:00.002+01:002009-06-19T07:42:35.658+01:00

D'Town come to Cork today for the first time since 2002, and only the second time since I moved here 8+ years ago.The season hasn't gone as well as I'd expected - a combination of horrific refereeing decisions and horrific defending denying us the points we should have earned.But we should have beaten Cork at home earlier this year so hopefully we'll put that right in the home of the langers

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-6602176173546479472009-06-10T09:12:00.003+01:002009-06-10T09:20:04.868+01:00

With all the excitement in Ireland the fact that the Brits managed to elect two BNP MEPs had slipped my mind.Dickheads. Anyone who voted for them should have their votes taken off them, or be injected with Swine Flu or something.'Communities Secretary John Denham told BBC Radio 4's The World At One: "We've got to make it very clear that we want to hear what those voters are saying."'You want to

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-70969465994931824002009-06-08T21:17:00.003+01:002009-06-08T21:27:03.503+01:00

That came round very quickly... so much water under my bridge since then...Money constraints mean a trip to the cricket isn't really on for me but COME ON YOU GALLANT GAELS!What a win! Johnston, Mooney & O'Brien!!Twenty20 >>> Six 'Nations'

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-9908545189113913882009-06-08T21:14:00.002+01:002009-06-08T21:16:04.633+01:00

Hah! Good enough for the bastards. Should have been more.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-9207335030204781572009-06-08T20:42:00.006+01:002009-06-08T21:14:21.312+01:00

Happy days!Neither Shinner has made it and furthermore both cliche machine McDonald, AND the intellectually retarded Kathy Sinnot, who disgraced herself taking part in that stunt with Irish hating UKIP MEPs after the Lisbon vote last year, losing the seats they had.It's quite impressive to be a high profile opposition politician and still manage to lose your seat when the government parties are

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-77776598148241777832009-06-07T15:05:00.004+01:002009-06-07T15:14:33.947+01:00

The talk is of 'meltdown' and of a 'tsunami' but, to be honest I'm amazed that first of all the turnout in these elections was only 55% odd and second that 25% of those voters still saw fit to vote for Fianna Failed. That one quarter of the people who could be bothered voting voted for Fianna Failed is depressing.55% is a miserable turnout, all things considered. Most people finish work slightly

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-55257781188972873312009-05-28T06:44:00.002+01:002009-05-28T07:01:29.114+01:00

An English Company called Neal's Yard Remedies, which sells 'ethical skin and bodycare products' is the subject of the Grauniad's Ethical Living Blog 'You Ask, They Answer' this week.I'm guessing the questions being asked weren't exactly what they were expecting!I think my favourite question is right down the end. It asks: "From the Neals Yard website [it states that] 'Remedies in the 30th

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-5491100769424368962009-05-27T22:42:00.001+01:002009-05-27T22:43:34.330+01:00

'nuff said

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-89278385776591677142009-05-26T08:16:00.002+01:002009-05-26T08:19:58.167+01:00

"A murder inquiry was launched after a 49-year-old man died following the fatal assault in the Coleraine area of Co Derry. Kevin McDaid was fatally injured when a large group of loyalists, armed with sticks, drove into a housing estate following football matches in Scotland involving Rangers and Celtic."Diseased shithole of a cuntry.And Scottish football is a pile of worthless shite too.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-38487085311644482652009-05-25T09:21:00.003+01:002009-05-25T09:31:22.577+01:00

So the mighty men of Ireland's east are the latest Heineken Cup winners. Furthermore they did it without boring anyone to death, which makes a nice change.One thing must be asked though - who were Boring Munster playing on Saturday? There seemed to be plenty of them knocking around in Edinburgh, squeezed into their jerseys and demanding attention for being Munster fans. Had they a friendly on or

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-5567256565559285112009-05-20T03:44:00.005+01:002009-05-20T04:18:58.290+01:00

After the Lisbon referendum last year I started to notice that whenever some whackjob had a letter consisting of anti-'establishment', pseudo-patriotic nonsense published in the national press, said whackjob invariably gave their name as gaeilge.Well today's Irish Times has a letter from a COILÍN ÓhAISEADHA of Bóthar Inse Chór, Cill Mhaighneann, Baile Átha Cliath 8 (that's Kilmainham in Dublin 8,

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-4816249680478500802009-05-19T23:59:00.002+01:002009-05-20T00:04:28.572+01:00

Even when it's about Leinster it is, in fact, still all about Boring Munster.It'd be nice to think they'd get over themselves but that's just me being foolish.Apparently there were 1,000 of them at the English club final last Sunday, singing their little dirge: The Fields of Athenry... Ugh...

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-17441727055817149732009-05-19T22:49:00.002+01:002009-05-19T22:52:06.808+01:00

The word 'disgrace' is bandied about far too much. Sign of a simple mind I think.Just saying.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-90675043911650278952009-05-10T09:04:00.005+01:002009-05-12T01:30:29.128+01:00

EDIT: It turns out there were 'up to' 100 people involved in the protest. Or, to put it another way 'less than'...Those gobshites in Mayo decided to have another protest last night and decided to deliberately provoke a confrontation with the Gardaí by announcing in advance that they were going to pull down some security fencing.The protest was widely advertised on the usual bunch of whackjob

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-54338556240380237052009-05-09T15:33:00.004+01:002009-05-10T11:23:52.806+01:00

While Fianna Fail (fada deliberately omitted) are, rightly, taking all the blame for the mess they've gotten the country into a side comment usually made is that Ireland's 'low tax model' has been discredited. So on top of leaving many of Ireland's 30-somethings living in badly built shoeboxes in the middle of nowhere, the property craziness could be responsible for undoing all the good work that

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-85524269753297038532009-05-05T02:14:00.004+01:002009-05-10T11:25:16.999+01:00

Obviously living in Cork my opportunities to watch D'Town are fairly limited. So MNS on Monday nights on RTE 2 is obligatory viewing for me.Last Friday we played Bohs and got spanked 5-0. But the lads who go to the games and keep me up to speed with calls and texts were absolutely incensed with what had gone on. Well tonight I saw why (link for 4th May, first match shown) - an utter disgrace of a

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-12761261173965735152009-05-02T19:11:00.008+01:002009-05-02T19:33:17.090+01:00

Oh happy days!Oh happy days!!Oh happy days!!!I am so going to enjoy this...P.S. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are a number of nasty cunts playing for Munster. None more so than Alan Quinlan.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-30526126999151829782009-05-01T14:26:00.001+01:002009-05-01T14:28:15.768+01:00

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-91125525004710804242009-05-01T11:35:00.003+01:002009-05-01T11:52:32.260+01:00

Tomorrow's mockery doesn't seem to be getting quite so much attention as first-time around.Maybe it's just being taken for granted that Boring Munster will grind out a customary victory. Maybe the novelty of winning a competition heavily skewed in your favour is starting to wear off.Or maybe the hype is all around, just like last time, and I've just become immune to it.Still, if I'm lucky,

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-26953253980148671632009-04-24T12:52:00.003+01:002009-04-24T12:59:44.963+01:00

Ian O'Doherty today, in a rage at 'intolerant' Liberals, included the statement:'when you have some idiot like the Green Party's Ciaran Cuffe asking the Indo's John Meagher "are you a denier?" simply because Meagher pointed out that thousands of scientists signed a letter rubbishing the accepted myth of global warming, you can see the levels of arrogance and hubris held by these people.'Of course

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-75585772831110565752009-04-23T18:39:00.005+01:002009-04-23T18:53:55.872+01:00

The first slamming of President Obama (not counting bitter ex-Cheney sorts) I have read. It's by Bartle Bull, the journalist who first dared to call the 'surge' a success and the war in Iraq turned.There's some interesting stuff in it, but when he says something like: 'The US stock market has lost a quarter of its value since Obama’s election' you know he's on a bit of a mission.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-6921173882378163142009-04-23T08:46:00.007+01:002009-04-23T17:39:21.906+01:00

EDIT: This was my goodbye post earlier today after I broke my blog yesterday but a good friend helped me rescue most of what I had so feck it, I'll keep going.Besides, I see Royston is back in management...

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-14981348175490420322009-04-22T19:17:00.001+01:002009-04-23T14:18:50.219+01:00

Bollox

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-38894449000468705422009-04-22T13:51:00.003+01:002009-04-23T14:19:00.802+01:00

So the Brits have put 2% on booze and fags, 2p on fuel, introduced a £2,000 car-scrappage scheme and... fuck all else, really.They're basically doing the opposite of us and borrowing their deficits. They're not hitting the middle classes at all, and giving a few bob to home-owners losing their jobsI'm watching Sky and BBC and both are scrabbling to find angry Joe Soaps, yet there's really no news

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-32625142395185770662009-04-19T05:19:00.006+01:002009-04-23T11:13:40.606+01:00

In fairness to the Brits the ones that don't drag their knuckles really don't like it when their police kill innocent people. Shame the same generally can't be said for yanks.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-45169943706391154002009-04-19T04:31:00.003+01:002009-04-19T05:16:59.628+01:00

In March I made two investments. One to spread my money and one 'bounce' bet. I bought the Eurostoxx50 ETF at €19.45. Today it's at €23.41, a 20% rise.I also bought MAN Group in the FTSE100 at stg£1.98. Today they're at £2.74, a 38% rise. I bought them because they specialise in hedge funds and I figured that, when the recovery comes, they should out-perform the market. They have, after all

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-48045151557812022272009-04-19T01:16:00.004+01:002009-04-19T01:52:50.445+01:00

A science blogger detailing how the Daily Mail in England has been running scare stories about the cervical cancer vaccine (e.g. 'How safe is the cervical cancer jab? Five teenagers reveal their alarming stories'), while simultaneously running a campaign in the Irish edition to 'shame Fianna Fáil into into providing Ireland’s life-saving cervical cancer jabs'.Newsarse. Wonderful stuff.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-91626036021997939662009-04-18T03:13:00.003+01:002009-04-18T03:22:44.352+01:00

The teachers have been attempting to focus public attention on cutbacks in the education sector. Whether or not this is a smokescreen for 'leave our pay and conditions alone' we'll have to wait and see. However one stat that gets churned out ad nauseum is that our spending on education in relation to our wealth is 'next to bottom of the OECD table' or some such shocker.Well you can have a gander

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-35369863316979119312009-04-16T08:17:00.002+01:002009-04-16T08:26:08.538+01:00

Accepting that everyone's point of view is equally valid or that 'there are two sides to every story' is an intellectually retarded attitude to life. By extension, then, I have the same attitude to the opinion that all cultures and beliefs are equally valid and worthy of respect. Horseshit. Any culture that even attempts to excuse marital rape let alone legislate in its favour is uncivilised,

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-14757301272407847472009-04-15T13:14:00.002+01:002009-04-15T13:36:46.305+01:00

Twenty years ago today I was in a pub in Forkhill Co. Down, ready to watch the FA Cup Semi-Final. I was 11 and all I really remember about the day is that they cut the live feed from Hillsborough on BBC1 and went to the News studio. Then the death toll seemed to rise by the minute - 'two', 'seven', '15' I think, 30-something, 50-something, 'over 80', '94'. I remember, too, that at the time I had

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-34707909403668939372009-04-11T02:23:00.002+01:002009-04-11T02:34:10.959+01:00

I don't want this to read like I rank murder in some sort of League table. But despite the cowardly, disgusting, pointless shite in the North, and the vile nature of the 'mistaken identity' murder of Shane Geoghegan, there's just something about criminals murdering those who stand up to them in a court of law that turns the blood cold.I've had conversations in the past where people have said they

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-44841144450667563842009-04-10T21:00:00.005+01:002009-04-10T21:10:52.242+01:00

So I'm reading today's Irish Times online and I get to the Opinion section. 'What's this', I muse, stroking my chin (forgot to shave y'see):'Interesting', I think, 'an economist who actually thinks that gutting the spending power of the middle classes is a good way to kick start an economy. Who's this lad and how has he come to that conclusion?':'Ah for fuck sake...' I'll tell you I was actually

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-41602825067292869782009-04-07T15:43:00.003+01:002009-04-07T18:12:53.341+01:00

So today is Budget B, after they ballsed up the last one.But I'm bloody sick of people going on about 'fairness'. Every single twat in the country that wants fairness is just saying that they expect mythical others to get screwed while they remain unscathed.My personal biggest fear is the PRSI ceiling and the income levy... let's see...EDIT:Ouch! PRSI ceiling AND the Income Levy AND the Health

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-29354946997394826742009-04-07T12:03:00.002+01:002009-04-07T12:24:37.462+01:00

Gotta love Paxman:I was reminded of this clip while watching Charlie Brooker's class new show, Newswipe.Watch this section about the Jade Goody coverage:

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-58290655114393280832009-04-07T12:00:00.004+01:002009-04-11T02:35:39.407+01:00

Que sera, seraWhatever will be, will beWe drew with It-aly!Que sera, sera....Pretty sure I'm better off not seeing much of the post-match analysis. I'm guessing that Italy, the World Champions in the world's most popular sport, are, in fact, crap and that celebrating draws against teams with demonstrably better players than ours remains a heinous crime.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-3015181570223049612009-03-30T18:47:00.002+01:002009-03-30T18:51:22.906+01:00

Hmmm. That performance on Saturday wasn't much cop at all. And tomorrow morning I'm heading to Ialy for the biggest match of Trap's reign so far. We should get beaten and maybe fairly well. But the defence have been playing very well mostly - although Killer at left back is a disaster and the two up front would be fine with some service but God we have nothing in the middle at all. I cannot

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-1401614635551872262009-03-27T10:07:00.007Z2009-03-28T17:21:12.070Z

Y'see no matter what level of depravity and/or total fucking lunacy nordie psycho-killers subject the rest of us to, there's always some clichéd tosser who's in need of a bit of electro-shock:New comments have been posted to your account. To manage these posts visit:http://www.haloscan.comBen wrote the following:http://www.haloscan.com/comments/dealga/3879976945443939411/You talk of the north as

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-35209154215061260392009-03-23T15:06:00.001Z2009-03-23T15:08:20.603Z

I burst out laughing when I read this:"29-year-old Philip Collopy accidentally shot himself with a handgun in a house in St Mary's Park, Limerick, in the early hours of Saturday morning.Gardaí believe Mr Collopy was showing a friend how to kill someone when he put the gun to his own head without realising there was a round in the breach.There were about seven people in the house at the

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-79637578804856815412009-03-23T07:40:00.003Z2009-03-23T07:49:00.189Z

That has been some week of sport for me - Liverpool thrashing ManYoo, who then go into mini-meltdown, D'Town thrash $helbyville, nice-guy Bernard Dunne comes back from humiliation to be a world champion and the egg-chasers end their hoodoo. It's great for those players - O'Driscoll in particular - to finally get their Grand Slam. I'll just have to avoid the mountains of utter guff undoubtedly

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-1987790387195168232009-03-20T10:26:00.003Z2009-03-20T12:26:08.298Z

I had the displeasure of watching some of the Meteor awards the other night. Class acts like Elbow and Imelda May (who I had seen the week before in Cork) wasted on a bunch of disinterested chav kids. And Amanda Byram, who I used to think was hot, was a joke of a presenter - all head and arm movements like she mimicing a stroppy African-American reality TV contestant. She also managed to say '

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-4722481490613017012009-03-19T16:50:00.002Z2009-03-19T16:52:21.409Z

I completely agree with all of this:"We were warned repeatedly that the property bubble would burst but preferred to dwell in low-tax illusion‘SURE THEY’RE all the same,” goes the bitter refrain. The funny thing is, I’ve checked and it’s true. A comparison of each party’s 2007 manifestos reveals remarkably similar policies, especially on taxation – the bedrock of the economy. Sinn Féin’s are the

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-19299593494592247522009-03-16T22:41:00.003Z2009-03-17T00:58:42.553Z

A timely article on that nutjob (ex)teacher in Mayo:"MAURA HARRINGTON Political Prisoner of Shell” proclaimed the poster being held by her husband, Naoise Ó Mongáin, standing outside the Department of Justice in Dublin on Friday, writes PETER MURTAGH .So it’s “here we go again” time on the Corrib gas controversy, although at least this time it’s not going to be “Free the Rossport One”. No,

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-38799769454439394112009-03-16T14:13:00.003Z2009-03-16T14:23:38.402Z

Went to Wembley to see Elbow on Saturday night. Awesome. Again.Because of the related travelling I only saw the ManYoo Liverpool match last night but hallelujah it was only fantastic to watch! The exits appear to be well designed at OTT...On the flipside D'Town has made a poor start to the season. Still it's early days and a good spanking for Shelbyville this weekend will ease the nerves.But

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-285246322866217802009-03-09T23:56:00.001Z2009-03-09T23:58:56.463Z

I don't fucking believe this. Will somebody please cut these fuckers' testicles off with bolt-cutters before they fuck anything else up?

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-53752183947792691042009-03-08T12:56:00.001Z2009-03-08T12:59:31.148Z

Unbelievable. This shit again. They really are a bunch of stupid cunts up there. Hateful, hateful bastards.I hope that the retard that's after ordering this gets a bullet or two in the head from the SAS ASAP. Absolute hateful bastards.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-56640143994517684962009-03-06T10:39:00.002Z2009-03-06T10:43:40.104Z

C'mon d'town!Really looking forward to this season now. We looked good in our pre-season, I believe, and tonight we're back in the big time, live on RTE, playing the champions. Sweet.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-14274743921744260462009-03-06T08:22:00.008Z2009-03-06T15:44:01.934Z

What I would do (my tuppence worth):I would scrap a lot of the items you can claim tax credits or tax relief for - like work clothing, service charges, medical insurance, union subscriptions and so on - the items that can't be considered to be impacting the elderly, infirm or disabled or to be impacting job security or job creation (so not tuition fees, business expansion plans and so on).I would

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-60592136902177483482009-03-02T01:40:00.001Z2009-03-02T01:42:21.859Z

Jesus it really is class.And I now have a few more potential blog-post titles. If only Joe Strummer were still alive...

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-52516807433073867212009-03-01T04:35:00.003Z2009-03-01T06:09:37.966Z

First impressions? I like it. I really like it. All I was looking for was an album that would be a lot better than the last two and it definitely is that.Magnificent is exactly that (I bet no one else uses that line...) and is probably the best song they've recorded since Miss SarajevoTitle track No Line On The Horizon appeals to me a lot more than Beautiful Day or Vertigo ever did.Things

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-61095583630374735162009-02-27T16:37:00.003Z2009-02-27T16:52:24.615Z

On RTE Radio 1 this afternoon there was a vox-pop in Stockholm (for some reason) where the hack was asking local folk various questions about the Irish recession and the banking scandals.Unsurprisingly the answers to questions like 'Have you heard of Seán Fitzpatrick?', 'Have you heard of Anglo Irish Bank?' and so on were mostly met with a short 'No' and I detected a hint of 'what the hell makes

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-58439746966978213502009-02-21T06:03:00.007Z2009-02-21T06:41:04.900Z

This protest march today is, ultimately, a complete sham. When it's presented as 'a national protest... against the manner in which the financial crisis is being handled by the Government' I'm all "Absolutely! Count me in!!" But it isn't about that at all. Not really.When the unions say 'It is accepted that everyone will have to contribute towards resolving the current problems, but this should

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-77972364967765919662009-02-20T16:07:00.001Z2009-02-20T16:12:11.414Z

When did people go from saying 'I couldn't care less' to 'I could care less'? No one sent me the memo.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-45161790298045782052009-02-19T18:40:00.003Z2009-02-19T18:56:01.357Z

I've waited to mention that I bought a Samsung NC10 netbook recently until I was convinced I liked it. Well I LOVE it! 160 GB hard drive for all my music, movies and pictures; a 1.8 Ghz atom processor, which easily handles everything I need to do; 1 GB of RAM (I bought an extra 1 GB, which I mightn't have needed); it has a built in webcam, weighs about 1 Kg and the battery easily lasts about 6-

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-65751446861863464352009-02-18T18:54:00.003Z2009-02-18T19:06:36.567Z

Apparently U2 are playing Croke Park the last weekend of July. Well I'm not going. Last time out I queued overnight only to get horrific tickets in the part of the stadium with the worst sightlines and even worse acoustics.Instead I'll just work out where they're playing on the Ryanair route map and go there.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-67879110594614742762009-02-14T02:24:00.004Z2009-02-14T05:16:18.369Z

You can pretty much sum up the results of the Irish Times polls as one big collective shout of 'something must be done, just don't expect me to pay for it'. Then again that doesn't take into account the opinions of Ireland's substantial ostrich community.Furthermore you just know that Fianna Fáil's national poll ratings will never translate into General Election results. The parochial crap that

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-81855041081248336032009-02-13T21:20:00.003Z2009-02-13T21:27:33.047Z

The world of stupidity we live in crystallised almost simultaneously by the recent experiences of three journalists I link to:Ben Goldacre and the anti-MMR media halfwits.Johann Hari and the oppressive Islamist hate-mobs.Skeptico and the Global Warming denialists.

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-82220758511375524672009-02-13T20:06:00.001Z2009-02-13T20:08:17.969Z

Just heard of this today. What an amazing line-up. I'll be getting my hands on it ASAP!DARK WAS THE NIGHTTHIS DISC1 Knotty Pine – Dirty Projectors + David Byrne 2 Cello Song (Nick Drake) – The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez3 Train Song (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) – Feist + Ben Gibbard 4 Brackett, WI – Bon Iver 5 Deep Blue Sea – Grizzly Bear 6 So Far Around the Bend – The

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-76704676257908358132009-02-12T22:24:00.006Z2009-02-13T02:38:57.920Z

I can't wait 'til the Irish football team are out of Croke Park and back in Lansdowne Road. It really is an awful stadium to watch football in. In fact, between the relatively brutal U2 concerts of four years ago, and the eerie or non-existant atmospheres of smaller and one-sided Championship matches, I'm not even sure it's half the place it's cheerleaders regularly crack it up to be.I couldn't

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461.post-27721972621693346612009-02-05T04:05:00.003Z2009-02-05T04:11:22.875Z

Have a read of this letter in Wednesday's Irish Examiner:'HOW Karl Marx must be chuckling. He wrote the following many years ago in Das Kapital: “Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take on more and more expensive debt, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to the bankruptcy of all

G1.Seekernoreply@blogger.com0