The US elections - why do I care?!

Okay, normally I don't do this sort of thing - comment on political issues, etc - but in an attempt to be more in tune with issues, etc, I've decided - what the hell!
So what follows is a bit of insight into Alan's view on the Democratic and Republican party nominations...

THE US elections. Well, not really. Actually, they're only the party elections for a presidential nominee, but they've drawn my attention like never before. And I don't really know why.

Well, I have a clue, I think it may be because I feel that in Barack Obama, the US has a chance to turn the corner and this time, choose a leader that they could be proud of, that the rest of the world might actually take seriously. Of course, first he needs to get elected as his party's nominee - something that looks unlikely!

Few people get at me like Obama - Tony Blair did, Mandela always does. Obama is just someone that you can look at and... believe in - which for a politician is a big thing! While Hillary Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic seat, seems forced and fake, her rival has inspired people - so much so that the Kennedy's have come out endorsing him, the daughter of JFK saying recently that she hasn't seen anyone inspire like Obama since her dad was around.

The other thing is, he's black - which would make him the first black president if he was to go all the way. Of course, Hillary is a woman, so the Democrats should be making history either way this time around.

Feminists around the US are lobbying behind Hillary - which in a way is a pity cos I think they're knda missing the point. Oprah was slammed by woman's rights groups recently for supporting Obama with comments like "We have the chance of putting a woman in the whitehouse and you support a man - how could you betray us," etc. That kinda says to me that many women are voting for Hillary because she's a woman - and not because of what she's saying / doing. I suppose that might be true for many black voters and Obama too, but I hope not.

Besides, if that's your argument, there have been lots of woman in the white house before - Hillary herself - but never a black person!

It's ironic also, that someone pertaining to be the hero of women is so often relying on her husband to get her support. One sees Bill Clinton on TV talking about Hillary at rallies almost as often as you see Hillary. Who's running again?

Anyhoo, all of this has had me up watching TV into the morning, feeling like a total nerd - but I just have the feeling that something historic is happening - and it's pretty interesting watching to see how white, male voters vote, how female voters vote, how black voters vote, how the young vote, etc - as they break it down state by state. And that's just the Democrats. There are 3 Republican okes still in the running! (Correction: latest development: 2 now)

(The above photos are from CNN.com)

THE FOLLOWING is an article lifted from The Irish Examiner which pretty much explains how I felt. Even though I cheated and went to bed at 1am.

IN THE small hours of yesterday morning a giddy crowd of 250 gathered around televisions at the Lime Café Bar in Dun Laoghaire.

It was the Champions League Final and a Sky Sports Super Sunday bound up in the intrigue of a Big Brother elimination night.

But those of us transfixed to the CNN commentary did not arrive to cheer as football fans or reality television addicts. This was a rare occasion for us who excite at Dáil (Irish Parliament)debates and Seanad shenanigans to come out and bask in the joy of being a "political nerd".

And what better motivation than watching the frequently incomprehensible voting process unfold behind what was America's most competitive Super Tuesday in living memory. The utter complexity of the race and the level of interest in Ireland was almost enough to give most people a legitimate excuse for buying a ticket to the event organised by the Politics.ie blog.

"It is just so close. Last time out we knew John Kerry was going to get the Democrat election and George Bush was going for a second term there was nothing at stake on Super Tuesday," explained Isobel O'Connor from Dublin.

"It is also about the fact we don't get to elect a president who carries the same power and influence around the world."

"It is democracy in action and it is not even a general election. So it is fascinating to see how the people have their say. You can see how they are pulling the numbers together and who they are targeting to get votes," said James Lawless from Sallins, Co Kildare.

Senator Dan Boyle, who spent his early years in America and arrived to Tuesday night's party with a cohort of other Green Party members, attributed the level of interest to the polarising affect of President George Bush and people seeking something different.

However, most in the bar admitted their primary motivation for making the trip to Dun Laoghaire was not to cheer for senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain or Barak Obama.

We were there because we were all political junkies wanting to watch an historic event unfold.

Deep down the results were a sideshow for us political nerds. Either the Super Tuesday Fix could be sourced alone at home in a darkened sitting room or in a bar in south Dublin with hotdogs and debate.

The bar closed at 2.30am and the only stimulant left was the speeches of each candidate, the thundering predictions of CNN's Wolf Blitzer and the occasional cup of coffee.

While the crowd whittled down as the key states of New York, New Jersey and Illinois became clear the party remained intact.

The real die-hard addicts were still glued to the screens after 5.20am when the final predictions were made for the most important state of all — California.

With CBS reporting record turnouts in 24 voting states and American Samoa, it is abundantly clear that people really still care about an election.

This in the world's largest economy, where citizens are supposed to be among the most disaffected anywhere. And this enthusiasm told us nerds it is still okay to care, to be interested and to gather in Dun Laoghaire until dawn — getting excited about who might be selected to try and be elected as the next leader of a country on the other side of the ocean.

Roll on the remainingst of the primaries.

It shouldn't happen to a sub

This is another piece on 'The day in the life of a sub'

I'm in the process of working on another but I first have to make sure I won't get fired for putting it up here... (cos my blog is so popular, you know).

I came across this when I was subbing the other day...

Not only did it not make any sense to me, I didn't have a clue what the writer, or speaker as the case may be, was TRYING to say. Normally, if a politician says something like 'We is...', I'll change it, even if it is a direct quote, cos we don't TRY and make people look like prats (they do a good-enough job of that themselves).

The article said, quoting some Gaelic county head...

"I make no apology for the confidential nature of the way in which the county management committee went about the process of appointing a new manager.

"As we said we would do to the press at the start we announced a manager when the process was completed."

I had to phone up the journalist that wrote the piece and ask him what was meant, which he took exception to. He was obviously pretty old-school, and didn't take kindly to some youngster with a foreign accent telling him that what he wrote did not make sense.

"That's right as it stands," he insisted. "That's what yer man said."

"I believe you I said, but I don't understand what it MEANS..."

"Wait let me get my notes," he said, and trundled off, muttering to himself about the eejit on the phone, disturbing him at 10pm. He then came back and read to me word for word, the sentence as I had just read to him.

"So you see, it's what he said," he told me, proud that he had made no mistake.

"No look," I explained, "I don't think you undersatnd me. That sentence does not make sense in English. I want to know what he is TRYING to explain. I really have no idea."

After the third attempt at saying this, he finally explained to me what was being MEANT, but he said it so fast and I was so stunned that he'd actually got it, that I couldn't write it down fast enough and had to get him to do it again, which clearly made him think I was a fool. I think it meant that whoever was speaking was saying: when we have chosen a new manager, we will announce it to the press .

He insisted one more time that I could just have left that sentence as it was.

The more I look at it though, I just have to laugh. I can totally see someone standing up in front of a room and saying those words, with everyone in the room nodding gravely, understanding exactly what was meant.

Sigh... James Herriot - kiss my ass - it shouldn't happen to a sub.

Lent - why fast?

I thought I'd include this for those that don't know, for those that want to know and for those that need a gentle reminder. I'm not trying to be a bible-basher - those that know me know that I try to be anything BUT that... but I found this article quite well-written.

Why fast during Lent?

Is it to raisemoney to helpneedy in Africa? No.

Is it to draw attention to some issue of injustice in the world? No.

Is it to make a political statement? No. Is it to reduce one's excess fat? Quite evidently, no.

All of these reasons for fasting are good in themselves, but none of them is sufficient reason to fast during Lent. The above reasons may well be secondary motives in our Lenten fast, but they can also distract us from the real reason the Church imposes an obligation on us to fast during Lent.

And that reason is, put simply, to recover once again the primacy of God in our lives.

That primacy is in constant danger of being usurped by good causes that appeal to our better nature and by the more immediate (and initially more satisfying) demands of our sensuous natures, one of which is food. This more immediate danger is very real today, since we in the Western world live in the land of plenty. The temptation to make our belly our god is very great indeed. When the living God vanishes from public consciousness, then the danger of making food a substitute god becomes a real temptation, as we can observe all around us in our society today.

And, not surprisingly, though albeit for different reasons, it was the first temptation of the Devil to Jesus, after Our Lord had spent 40 days fasting in the desert (the second was the temptation to redeem the world by political means, the third was the temptation to sensationalism, to become a celebrity by doing something spectacular).

Lent is the time, when Jesus Christ through the voice of the Church invites us to withdraw with Our Lord for 40 days in preparation for the celebration of the great mysteries of his passion, death and resurrection, the source of our salvation, namely of our liberation from all that keeps us from the joy of union with God.

Forty is a symbolic number. It is the number of years spent by the People of God in the desert after their escape from Egypt, when they were tested by God before entering the Promised Land. It is the number of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai in union with God before God revealed the Ten Commandments to him. And it is the number of days spent by Jesus in the desert, where he too was tested and found worthy, before he took up his public ministry that ended on the cross.

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent lasts 40 days, calculated by leaving out Sundays, which are not, strictly speaking, fast days and which should not be treated as such.

Lent is a time to withdraw to the desert that is our interior life, our soul, which, like a dry weary land without water, thirsts for God, the living God. To experience a little physical hunger and thirst helps us to become aware of the deeper hunger and thirst for God that constitutes our unredeemed selves. In this way, it helps to restore the primacy of God in our lives. It restores joy to our lives. It also helps us recover our taste for the good things of creation, such as food and drink.

Lent is above all a time for prayer, for withdrawing a little from the hustle and bustle of daily life to be alone with God in the secret room of our hearts, to encounter the hidden God. The danger is that, using the Lenten fast for any other reason — like collecting money for Third World projects, for example, which are good in themselves and can be personally gratifying — can so easily distract us from the initially less appealing task of seeking the face of God.

But that is the real purpose of the Lenten Fast.

D Vincent Twomey, Society of the Divine Word, is the professor emeritus of moral theology at Maynooth. He is a regular contributor to religious monthly, The Word, from where this article is copied.

Emma in Cork 2007 / 2008 - Part 3

EMMA HITS CO KERRY

And so we hired a car and headed to Co Kerry, which is one of the most stunning, if not THE MOST STUNNING, county in Ireland.

We wanted to show Emz the Ireland outside the gray cities, where all the houses are the same and the greyness of everything gets you down if you look at it too long. Rural Ireland is stunning, not that Killarney itself is so rural, but driving around Kerry, where you have sheep on the side of the road, that's rural, and that's cool!

Our first stop was at the hotel where Cath and I attended the wedding reception of my friend Brianne (pro: Bree - Anne), who I used to work at EI with.

The hotel had a stunning view of the Gap of Dunloe, which, seeing as we were in the area, we thought we may as well go and show her. Leading up to the hotel was a lovely tree-lined road which was worth a piccie too.

After Dunloe se gat, we headed off to Killarney, where cath had booked us into a hostel. I have to say, it was probably the nicest hostel we've ever stayed in. We had a four-bunk room all to ourselves and the kitchen was pretty cool. We even got a free breakfast - which we didn't know about - so it was an added bonus!


That night, after we made our food and had a big ol chat with some geezer from the UK, we headed off to the town centre to find some traditional music. As is the norm, most things only really kick off at about 11pm, so we drank a few jugs while we waited and when the music came on, it wasn't traditional at all, but contemporary music like James and REM, etc. It was quite cool but we were right at the front by the moerse speakers so we got blasted a bit.

After that we headed onto the streets and took a few piccies of the Christmas lights which were quite cool.





We then headed back to the hostel and it was then that my horrible secret was revealed... I'm a cross-dresser. But Cath's Pajamas are just so...comfy!

After a few games of cards and a few cards of 30 seconds, the girls looked so cute that I had to snap this photie before hitting the sack.

Day 2

After brekkie, we headed to the car which we had parked in a nearby lot and found that someone had taken delight in spray-painting a golden line along the back of our rented car. Luckily, there was so much dew / frost on the car that we could actually scratch the gold paint off the black without damaging the original coat - which was lucky because you'd normally have to pay the rental company about 250 euros for that - even though it wasn't our fault!




Deciding it was our lucky day, we headed for the Ring of Kerry, a scenic drive of a few hours drive which has some great scenery, including some Chapmans Peak-type views, sheep on the roads (as mentioned), lakes, villages, etc.

Our first stop:

The roads were windy and treacherous, and about as wide as two small cars, although they would narrow every now n again so be wide enough for only one small car. Despite that, the speed limit is still 100, although every now n again it would drop to 25, which is about the speed your car would go if you got out and pushed it along a flat road. There was no 50, no 60, no 80 - it was either 100 or 25, which had me either doing half the limit, or almost doubling it. Our car adopted a choice phrase whenever we saw a sigh saying 25 - which involved the three of us telling them exactly what they could do with their 25. I won't repeat it here.

Evan Almighty said it best when he said: "SHEEEEEEEEP!"

Catherine reckons that the Irish government made an error in printing about a million too many '100 speed limit' signs, and had to use them up around the country. I think she's onto something.


Anyhoo, we were pretty close to a spot where we could drive across a bridge to be on an island so we did so and stopped for another photie. There was a cool rock announcing that we were on the island so we got out to snap a few pics and BOOM - down came the rain. We belted back to the car but had got fairly wet in the 10 or so seconds we were outside.

Then, further along, we saw a sign announcing

'THE SKELLIGS'

which, because I'm so knowlegable, I knew were rocky island a few miles offshore on which puffins tend to lay their eggs. We headed on a slight detour and a nice lady even lent us her binocs so we could have a slightly closer peek. They were quite cool.

While we were there, we snuck into a 'no-go area' - just to say we did - we're so sneaky!

And I took this one of my wife - the uber-babe.

An hour or so later, we hit the mountainsand and at the top of one pass, we stopped at a viewing spot for a packed lunch (we're so organised). For me, as is evidenced by my large belly, a great lunch includes coke, chocolate biscuits and the like - but to the Heany clan, what excites them - friggin carrots! Cath and Emma fought over one particular carrot and thought it was hilarious!

The view from this spot was pretty cool - and invluded a stone circle, which we weren't about to drive back down to, to find out what it was.

Later, after a brief hailstorm, we came across a view of Ireland's tallest mountain, Carrantouhill (I think I spelled that right). It had snow on top, which had us all feeling a bit chilly. Only one thing for it. Tea and pancakes at a local shoppie!

Which was really divine!

And from there - back to Killarney for supper and a beer!

Guinness and an undertaker...

I was pretty knackered after driving for the better part of a day, but we still needed to show Emz some Oirish music. We found a place that served pub-grub and did music and sat and ate happily until the music began - but once again, it wasn't Oirish. But seeing as we clapped after each song, yer man asked us if we had any requests and I asked for one of our favourites - a big crowd favourite in Ireland - 'The fields of Athenry' - a song about an old codger being sent off to Australia as a convict for stealing some food from the British landlord to feed his family.

He played it really soulfully and so Emma had got her first real taste of Oirish music.


But as we needed more and he was going back to the modern stuff, we went pub-hopping, looking for some more. We came across a pretty packed place where a band was playing some quality Irish stuff - albeit with no fiddle - and were lucky to find some seats. I liked the place right away - it had a Liverpool flag hanging in the corner!

A stag night was also in progress and we got to talking to some of the guys, which gave Emma another taste of the Irish men in action. As the two girls with me both love their numbers and figures, I told them that the men had obviously done THEIR maths and seen one guy (me) and two girls - and moved in for the kill. One of the guys was an undertaker and his friends told him that he could tell us our height just by looking at us, which he duly did - spot on, down to within a centimetre. He was quite a cool oke actually, and we shared a laff - although he had a strong accent on him and Emz struggled to understand what he was saying.

The music was quite good here too.

But what trip to Ireland would be complete without a taste of the black stuff and so I surprised the girls with a half-pint and made them share it. To their credit, they finished it, which I certainly can't do with a pint of the stuff. I don't think they liked it so much though.

DAY 3

After church the next morning we headed to Ross castle, which is but a short drive, where we looked out over a quiet lake and had a bit of fun posing with the cannons, etc...

... played Romeo and Juliet...

... went for a long walk ... and found a bull for Emma to befriend in her red top. She was chicken though, we tried to make her go closer.

Then we began the trek back to Cork but on coming around a corner, bumped into these geezers. We didn't know hat they were all doing, walking around in the rain, until one took off his jumper, swung his arms a bit, juggled a ball, and then hurled it down the road. "Aaaah! Road bowls" I said - "the 'other' great Gaelic game," remembering the bowls stories I've subbed for the paper (see other stories on this blog).

We were in a little village called Kealkill and the locals were obviously having some 'big' match. Don't ask me how it works - no-one but die-hards knows how the sport works.
we decided to eat lunch as we drove along behind them (they offered to let us past, but we were quite happy to get a glimpse of the sport while we munched saamies.

Last stop before home though was a trip to Blarney castle, where you can kiss the Blarney stone for the gift of the gab. Cath has kissed it every time we've been but my folks have asked me to never do it again as I just can't shut up. So while the girls got down to kiss it (at the top of the castle) , I took photies.

The girls in front of the castle...

And Emma pointing at where the stone is...

Cath absolutely forbade me from including this photie, so here it is. This was taken at the wishing steps, a slippery stone staircase at the best of times, but especially in the rain. To make a wish, you have to go down it forward with your eyes closed, and then back up, backwards, again with your eyes closed. Cath is the picture of concentration...

And that's that - our trip in a nutshell - albeit a very large nutshell. Emma's gone now and the house just isn't the same without her. Come back Emma, we won't make you sweep and clean and make tea for me anymore!

Emma in Cork 2007 / 2008 - Part 2

With the weather hitting freezing, we had to dress up a bit --
but damn we look stylish in our beanies!

As Emma arrived on about the 30th or there-abouts, one of the first points of call was to do the New Year's Eve thing. Now seeing as Emma was with us, Cath and I had to pretend to be cool and do something - unlike a few years back when we sat on our bed, watching DVDs on our laptop (dear God we're old). So we found a place where Cath had been with her work buddies that was pretty cool and which had room to dance around in which was pretty cool.

I worked on New Year's eve but a few of us went in an hour earlier and we got let out at about 10pm so there was still plenty of time to lubricate the throat before the celebrations began.

We give Emma a hard time about her 'alcohol problem' ever since we saw some photos of her on facebook looking like she'd downed a few bottles of champagne. She claims the photos in question were just bad photos and that she was entirely sober - but who are you going to believe - her or me?

Anyhoo, we took a few more photies of her for facebook - to show her friends that her problem is still alive and kicking! Good girl that she is, she played along. We tried to get a similar one of Cath, but she just looked like she was enjoying her drink so we eventually had to just get her to stick her tongue out and close her eyes...

Then came the dancing. In traditional Alan fashion, I stuck my bum out when I danced to every song but as Emma is never going to again see the people in the pub / club, she didn't mind - and even let me swing her around to a few songs.

But then the song ended and a new song came on

... which

was a ... TRADGEDY!

A few hours later, the countdown began and we popped our party poppers, which Cath had given me as a stocking filler for Christmas, and hugged each other. We stuck around for a few more hours before grabbing some LEGENDARY chicken burgers at Hillybillys on the way home.

All in all - a good night. Thank God we had Emma with us. The only thing I missed was 'Dinner for one' - the TV show that comes on every year at New Year's Eve in SA and which no-one here has ever heard of.

2008 here we come!

It wasn't long before things were back to normal. In fact, you could pretty much say that the new year started as the old one ended - with Cath and Emma fighting each other on the couch. There was tickling, hickeys, poking and even the grabbing of unmentionables and at one stage, Cath got Emma 'with the bone'. Trust me, you don't wanna know! This photographer enjoyed the action and happily snapped away while the girls carried on oblivious to anything but each other!

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS...

Cath decided that the girls needed to spend some quality time having a makeover session. I don't know why - neither of them copuld possibly be any more good-looking (unless they were a Valkenburg of course - Cath is, but not by birth the poor girl)

Anyhoo, while I was at work, they did the whole hog - face masks, cream, etc.

Cath enjoyed the smell of the body yoghurt so much (Christmas gift from Mart,Inge, Kiara and Jake) that she even tried to eat it. IT ISN'T FOR EATING CATH!

Then I got home and discovered that Emma had the biggest collection of toe-jam in the entire world. I mean really, you could stuff pillows with the stuff between her toes! There was nothing for it -- I had to give her a toe-floss. The beautification process was then complete.
If you notice my expression, it was really hard work -- some of that stuff was
really wedged in there!

And so on to Part 3 - Our trip to Kerry.