May 12 2004
Threat rating: Medium. Your total lack of decent
family values makes you dangerous, but we can
count on some right wing nutter blowing you up
if you become too high profile.
What threat to the Bush administration are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
May 12 2004
from LunaNina
Current track: Ferdia’s Song by Horslips
No tag for this post.May 12 2004
Growing up in Ireland -memories for anyone over 30, according to the site I stole it from, well I’m not near 30 yet, and I remember most of these too 
I’m talking about Hide and Seek in the park, The shop down the road,
Hopscotch, Donkey, skipping, handstands, stuck in the mud, football with
an old can, Dandy, Beano, Twinkle and Roly Poly, Hula Hoops, Jumping the
stream, building a swing from a tyre and a piece of rope tied to a tree,
(If you live in Dublin the lampost), building tree-houses, climbing up onto
roofs. Tennis on the street, the smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.
Hubba Bubba bubble gum and 2p Flogs, macaroon bars and woppas, 3p
Refreshers and wham bars, superhero chewing gum, golf ball chewing gums and
liquorice whips, desperate dan and roy of the rovers, sherbit dips and Mr.
freezes, marathon bars and everlasting gobstoppers. An ice cream cone on a
warm summer night from the van that plays a tune chocolate or vanilla or
strawberry or maybe neopolitan
Wait … Watching Saturday Morning cartoons … short commercials, Battle
of the Planets, Road Runner, He-Man, Swapshop, and Why Don’t You?,
Transformers, How do you do?, Bosco(SANDY), Forty-coats, the Littlest Hobo
and Lassie, Chucklevision, The Muppet Show, MacGyver, Scarecrow and Mrs
King, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven, or staying up
for Knight Rider and Magnum PI.
When around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like
going somewhere.
A million midget bites, sticky fingers and mud all over you, knee-pads on
your jeans, Cops and Robbers, Rounders, tip the Can, Queenie-I-O, climbing
trees, spin the bottle, building igloos out of snow banks, walking to
school, no matter what the weather, running till you were out of breath.
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt, Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights,
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles,
Being tired from playing… Remember that?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon
Football cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.
And don’t forget the Marietta sandwiches we’d make by buttering a cupla
Marietta biscuits and stickin’ them together. And that quare oul mixture
made in a tall glass with HB ice cream and Taylor Keith Red Lemonade.
I’m not finished just yet…
Eating raw jelly, orange squash ice pops
Remember when … There were two types of sneakers - girls and boys and
Dunlop Green Flash and the only time you wore them at school, was for
“P.E.”, Gola football boots.
It wasn’t odd to have two or three “best” friends, when nobody owned a pure
bred dog, when 25p was decent pocket money, when you’d reach into a muddy
gutter for a penny, when nearly everyone’s mum was at home when the kids got
there, when it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner
at a real restaurant with your parents
When any parent could discipline any kid or use him to carry groceries and
nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When being sent to the head’s office was nothing compared to the fate that
awaited a misbehaving student at home. Basically, we were in fear for our
lives but it wasn’t because of muggings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents
and grandparents were a much bigger threat! and some of us are still afraid
of them!!!
Remember when….
Decisions were made by going “eeny-meeny-miney-mo.” Mistakes were
corrected by simply exclaiming, “do over!”
“Race issue” meant arguing about who ran the fastest. Money issues were
handled by whoever was the banker in “Monopoly”, the game of life and
connect four, atari 2600’s and commadore 64’s. The worst thing you could
catch from the opposite sex was germs. It was unbelievable that Red rover
wasn’t an Olympic event…
Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a biro barrel pea
shooter or an elastic band. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better,
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable vitamins, Ice cream was considered
a basic food group.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.. Abilities were discovered
because of a “double dare” Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but
also the fiercest protectors
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!! Pass
this on to anyone who may need a break from their “grown up” life…
I DOUBLE DARE YA!!! Bagsy it, no returns and no magical changes.”
Current track: Girl You Have No Faith In Medicine by The White Stripes
Tags: Ireland - 1980s, nostalgiaMay 12 2004
Author: Mark Little
ISBN: 1904301525 DDC: 303.482730417090511
May 12 2004
While watching 24 on RTE last night I started to think about what we approve of in our TV heroes, and what we would say were it real. Then this morning while I took a look at Crooked Timber there was a question about is it ever right to torture some one, and suppose you had, in order to track down and find a bomb that would kill millions of people. What should you do then?
John at Crooked Timber suggests that the torturer should turn themselves in and accept any punishment, which is a valid option imo.
But my thoughts were more with the difference between what we cheer on on the TV and in films. I’m not talking about way OTT Ah-nuld type films here, but ones that are based more in “real” emotions, even if the situations are totally unbelievable.
To take 24 as an example, I don’t think that while I was watching the second season that I was overly concerned when that fella (actor also in Buffy, cabinet man? worked with Sherry?) was tortured, this time round however, with what is going on in Iraq the question of whether Jack and Chase were right to stick a knife in someone’s hand in an attempt to extract information did bother me.
The difference between then and now? Last year it was just fiction. This time there is an element of reality in it.
I think that torture is wrong. Without a doubt, but if I had to weigh torturing one person with saving a thousand others?
Of course, is one life less valuable than another? And there is also the fact that maybe you got the wrong person? And once the first person is abused, wouldn’t it be easier to justify doing it again?
And here was me thinking that 24 was just harmless entertainment!
Current track: Lover, You Should’ve Come Over by Jeff Buckley
Tags: 24, Crooked Timber, ethical dilemma, terrorism, tortureMay 12 2004
dir. Errol Morris
Robert McNamara - Himself
I saw the trailer for this when I went to see Van Helsing, it stood out because I hadn’t seen it before. Yes the gorram “day after tomorrow” trailer was showing. But the trailer for this doc. really interested me.
Now I may have studied history at college, but all I really now about the cold war comes from that Kevin Costner film (no not JFK), Thirteen Days and to be honest I hadn’t really paid that much attention to the film. The parents had rented it, and I was in the middle of a book. Continue Reading »
Tags: 8 Stars, Cold War, documentary, Errol Morris, Robert McNamara, The Fog of WarMay 12 2004
Yougov have this pdf listing the British public’s views on Iraq, and whether the US & Britain were right to to take military action against Iraq.
Its quite interesting to see the ups and downs in support/opposition. Makes you wonder if people really are that influenced by the media, or if its just the qay the questions were framed, and the different people asked. And of course there is always that Mark Twain saying about lies and statisics
the chart version.
Current track: TSP by Muse
Tags: Britain, Iraq war, people, politics, polls