Janis Joplin

One of the greatest. Janis Joplin. Here Move Over

Cry baby

And Leanord Cohen's tribute to his former lover

Is peeing in the shower good for the environment.

Is peeing in the shower good for the environment. Hat Tip (Greenlagirl)

Decentralisation

Readers of my post on euro/euros may state otherwise but I confidently maintain that I am not a pedant. With that in mind there is just one further use of language that really grates on me. Since that fateful budget day a few years ago, decentralisation, or the plan to move a number of government departments to various locations around the country, has become a frequent talking point and another ball and chain around the governments neck. The only problem (other than the deeply flawed nature of the plan and lacklustre response which has had plenty of coverage) is that we are all talking about decentralisation, when in fact what has been mooted is a deconcentration plan.

Decentralisation is properly defined as ‘when a relatively large number of decisions are taken lower down the organisation in particular operating units’. So had Charlie McCreevy actually announced a decentralisation plan, the government would be in the process of transferring a part of state power to the power of local authorities. This is not happening. It would truly have been a change in policy of note if the government had decided to decentralise power to local government. The struggle for increased powers at local authority level reaches right back to the foundations of the state. Lets skip quickly over that potential for vision on their part.

The fact is that decision making will remain with the same central Government department and whatever rearrangement of staff moves to the new buildings. Nothing more than a physical change is happening, a transfer of functions, which is properly termed deconcentration. Of course it would have made much more sense if the government had instead sought to overhaul enterprise and employment policy so that there are incentives for industry and job hunters to set up in locations other than Dublin, but instead they gave their time over to an inaccurately named and inevitably badly received housekeeping job, the only likely outcome of which will probably be badly co-ordinated government. So there is plenty to criticise but at least in our conversations, posting and ranting lets call it by its proper name, deconcentration.

On a scale from one to Stalin: Chavez

In the ever eventfully life of Chavez. He has decided to start collectivisation of land. Rule by decree now collectivisation. All he needs to do is start a pogrom and he is Stalin.

15 minutes of Youtube

Mr T on Fashion

Nobodies Watching 24

Bill Maher on Bush et la

Neil Young

It always surprises me how few people know Neil Young's music. Now I can't go into music the way CK can go into cinema. And talk about the imagery, style and inspirations. But when you listen to Neil Young there just something in the voice. A distant sound of sadness that adds a tremor to the voice. That elevates the songs to greatness. The lyrics paint a rich tapestry of images. Genius. One of my fellow dossers does not know much of Neil and I keep telling him to listen. But as he probably wouldn't so here is 3 choice tracks to listen to. First old man

Heart of gold from 1971 performed prior to the release of one of the greatest albums of all time Harvest which this is off.

And finally possibly the greatest anti-war song of all time. Keep on rocking in the free world. WIth maybe the most powerful verse of a song ever.

I see a woman in the night With a baby in her hand Under an old street light Near a garbage can Now she puts the kid away, and she's gone to get a hit She hates her life, and what she's done to it There's one more kid that will never go to school Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool.

Work Thursday Vote Saturday

We over on Irish Election are running a campaign to get the election moved from a Thursday to a Saturday when people can actually vote.

Mary Hanafin

Here is my latest post about Mary Hanafin

Why have science when you can have John Gormely.

Here is something I posted on Irish Election about John Gormley

Science and politics don’t mix. Because science is not political. Take for instance the Green Party the UN and top scientists comes out with a report about Global warming and they herald it , the UN and top scientists come out with a report about Chernobyl and they say it was adding insult to injury. Why? Is it because they are all experts on radiation? No because it does not fit into their political agenda. So really should I be surprised when John Gormley goes on about the evils of fluoridation of water.

Now I too have been guilty of this (I actually regret that post). Political opinion is often clouded by emotion something that should not come into science. Also getting a rise out of the environmentalists is just too much fun. (if you want to know my opinion on climate change it is a mixture of man made and nature, it is going to be stopped by little measures rather then draconian measures. And the economy has to be protected as people are more willing to take the steps when it does not damage them that much ). But I have no power I am just a blogger doing all this for shits and giggles. And what I say here would be far from what I would actually do if I had power. But when you are in a position of power you no longer can go off on random rantings, you have to produce sensible policy based on fact.

But John Gormley campaigning against Fluoridation of water caught me on the hop. I mean what is the deal with that.

In the debate on Prime Time we had. In favour of fluoridation Dr Jacinta McLoughlin a member of the Monitoring Group on the Expert Body on Fluoridation who works at the Dublin Dental School & Hospital. Trinity College Dublin. While against was John Gormley is well I have no idea what his qualifications are but I guess they are not in dentistry. But maybe he is right maybe fluoridation is wrong and she is some kind of evil sceptic financed by the big fluoride corporations. Maybe all the scientist disagree with fluoridation maybe the scientific consensuses is undeniable maybe there is no denying that climate change sorry I mean Fluoridation of water is wrong.

Well actually no. Here are one or two or about 100 organisations that approve of fluoridation of water supplies.

Academy of Dentistry International Academy of General Dentistry Academy of Sports Dentistry Alzheimer’s Associatio American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology American Academy of Family Physicians American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology American Academy of Pediatrics American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry American Academy of Periodontology American Association for the Advancement Science American Association for Dental Research American Association of Community Dental Programs American Association of Dental Schools American Association of Endodontists American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons American Association of Orthodontists American Association of Public Health Dentistry American Cancer Society American College of Dentists American College of Physicians - American Society of Internal Medicine American College of Prosthodontists American Council on Science and Health American Dental Assistants Association American Dental Association American Dental Hygienists’ Association American Dietetic Association American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations American Hospital Association American Medical Association American Nurse Association American Osteopathic Association American Pharmaceutical Association American Public Health Association American School Health Association American Society of Clinical Nutrition American Society of Dentistry for Children American Society for Nutritional Sciences American Student Dental Association American Veterinary Medical Association American Water Works Association Association for Academic Health Centers Association of Material and Child Health Programs Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors Association of State and Territorial Health Officials British Dental Association British Fluoridation Society British Medical Association Canadian Dental Association Canadian Dental Hygienists Association Canadian Medical Association Canadian Nurses Association Canadian Pediatric Society Canadian Public Health Association Chocolate Manufacturers Association Consumer Federation of American Delta Dental Plan Association European Organization for Caries Research FDI World Dental Federation Federation of Special Care Organizations in Dentistry Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities American Association of Hospital Dentists American Society for Geriatric Dentistry Health Insurance Association of America Hispanic Dental Association International Association for Dental Research International Association for Orthodontics International College of Dentists Institute of Medicine Massachusetts Coalition of Oral Health National Academy of Sciences National Alliance for Oral Health National Association of County and City Health Officials National Association of Dental Assistants National Confectioners Association National Council Against Health Fraud National Dental Assistants Association National Dental Association National Dental Hygienists’ Association National Down Syndrome Congress National Down Syndrome Society National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped National Kidney Foundation National PTA National Research Council Society of American Indian Dentists The Dental Health Foundation (of California) US Department of Defense US Department of Veterans Affairs US Public Health Service Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Indian Health Service (HIS) National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) World Federation of Orthodontists World Health Organization

But of course John Gormley knows far more about dental hygiene then any of these organisations. I mean he is John Gormley after all. And sure don’t we all have toothpaste now. Well I am sure the above organisations have heard of toothpaste and have taken into account of toothpaste in their studies. And I am sure Jack Cottrell, D.D.S., president of the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) was wrong when he said that people drinking bottled water instead of fluoridated water was a cause of the massive rise on tooth decay does not know what he is taking about.

So what does John Gormley base his thinking on. The main thing he seems to base his argument is that a recent study stated that excess fluoride can damage infants teeth. Note the word excess. Not fluoridation causes this the word excess causes this. And considering that we have lower levels of flurodation then America and many other countries we are far from teh excess.

The most recent evidence shows clearly that fluoridated water should not be given to babies as it will cause fluorosis and God knows what else.

Anyway many experts recommend purifying the water given to infants anyway because of contaminants in the water that are not just fluoride. So really I don’t know what he is on about.

His other point is about mass medication that it is bad. I thought this guy would be in favour of preventative medicine which would prevent the dentistry services being clogged up with kids with far more cavities then normal. But I guess not.

I wonder does John Gormley must feel a certain kinship with the General in Dr Strangelove who sends the American Nuclear Bombers to blow up Russia thinking that fluoridation of water (the commies all drink vodka you see) is a communist conspiracy to steel our precious bodily of which he was made aware when his “loss of essence” during sexual intercourse greatly fatigued him.

Thank good we have no button to give to John Gormley.

Five go to Kirrian Island

Random Tuesday #3 (Thursday Edition)

The King is Dead, Long sleep for me
Hope you all had a great St. Patricks weekend. Mine was far busier than I, or my poor wallet, had anticipated or wished for. Friday, Saturday and Sunday saw me hitting the town having promised myself that 1 night would be as often as I’d venture out.

Ignoring the fact that my bank balance had more than a tinge of pink about it, last weekend saw the start of the new Formula 1 season in Australia and I wanted to watch the race live. As bad as this may sound, I have dragged myself out of bed for each of the last 11 years to watch the opening race of the new season live. Michael may not be around anymore, but I was determined to see what F1 would be like post-Schumacher. In my opinion, apart from a few notable exceptions, Schumacher has generated much of the excitement and interest in the sport over the past 13 years or so. In his role as Dick Dastardly he was nearly always in the action and could never be discounted. It would be interesting to see how F1 and I would cope in his absence.

I managed to get home Sunday morning with about 10 minutes to spare before the race started at 3am. I had had a good night by then and didn’t feel like I was sacrificing much by leaving a little early. Sitting down on the sofa I watch Kimi Raikkonen, Schumacher’s replacement at Ferrari, make a good start and take the lead.

At the end of lap 1 he had around 2 second lead over Nick Heidfeld in the BMW.

Next, Kimi was sandwiched between Mclaren drivers Alonso and Hamilton, explaining to the camera in his monotonic manner how he had just won his first race for Ferrari.

It appears that I fell asleep and an 11 year tradition now lies in ruins.

Google Desktop
Recently, I’ve felt like changing my image somewhat and I’m considering growing a beard, or some facial hair. Previous attempts at this have been disastrous but recently I find that a shave once every 36 hours or so is needed to keep me looking someway tidy. In a wider context, this rate of growth puts me in line with some 14 year olds but it represents a marked improvement for me. As recently as a few months ago my average would have been about twice that putting me in line with some 14 year old girls. Perhaps now I have the means to do something on the southern plains of my head to offset my concerns over the steadily receding hairline further north.

Yes, for a year or two now I’ve been facing up to the fact that my hair is giving up the ghost and starting to detach itself, with some frequency, from my ceann. My fear is that I’ll end up looking like Mr Burns by the age of 30 at this rate. I've resolved that when that day comes, off the lot will go. No comb-over for me thank you.

My paranoia was awoken on bank holiday Monday when I got my hair cut short for the first time in a long time. I went to the Grafton Barber and although chuffed to see that Johnny Depp had been there before me, I was initially appalled with the results. However, after some reflection, I now feel that some facial hair might suit the new Do.

Segueing beautifully, I believe that my Google Desktop has a bit of the HAL about it and is observing me, reading my thoughts and messing with my mind. I know that sounds absurd but hear me out.

With the above two concerns occupying my thoughts of late, I was a little unnerved when my Google Desktop Word-A-Day informed me yesterday that ‘pognography’ is the art of growing a beard (Hands up all those who misread that first time through).

A sign, perhaps, to go ahead with the beard?

However I got the distinct feeling I was being mocked on seeing today’s Word-A-Day.

‘Pilgarlic’: A bald headed person.

Squeak Squeak
My damn shoes are starting to annoy me.

As outlined in the first Random Tuesday, I am required to wear a suit to work and with it, shoes. Although some of the office has carpet, the corridors are tiled and my shoes have recently developed the annoying habit of squeaking noisly with each step I take.

This annoys me as now the entire office can hear me coming and going and as a rule I dislike people knowing my business, even when my business is their business.

This new habit also makes a mockery of my shoes 'Hush Puppies' branding.

Irank

There is new blog comparing Ireland to other countries statistically.Check it out.

Twenty gets a book deal.

Seemingly Twenty has gotten a 2 book deal.

For your information.......

The Rolling Stones will announce the dates for their European Tour today, Thursday, at 4 p.m. The big news is that this mornings newspapers are speculating a concert in Slane will be pencilled in for August.

Happy Birthday to William Shatner born this day in 1931. An absolutely usless but none the less interesting piece of trivia I carry around with me is that he was involved in the first inter-racial kiss seen on American TV. Both he and the fellow crew member of the Startship Enterprise were possessed by aliens at the time though. Shatner has his own website naturally enough. On the site is a link to his DVD club, where he advocates horror, sci-fi and fantasy movies that have slipped under the radar. I've a new appreciation of such movies after finally getting around to watching Peter Jackson's 'Brain Dead' a few weeks ago. When funds allow I might consider joining.

Entertainment.ie has a Lotto winnings calculator on their site. Essentially, if you use the same Lotto numbers each weeks you can slot them in and hey presto, the calculator will predict what your winnings should have been since 2003. It goes without saying this could lead to very depressing news and you will forever curse that one week you were away on holidays.

Finally, Irish movie 'Once' is released tomorrow. The movie directed by John Carney, stars Glen Hansard, formerly of the frames and is much hyped having won the World Cinema Audience Award for Dramatic Film at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival.

Dossing Times Top Bands

With all the crap in the world sometimes we forget the great bands out there. Here is on from the 70s. The Stranglers. Here is Golden Brown. Which is an truly lyrically great song and the video is great. As one person said on the comments of the video.

The video and the lyrics are multi-layered. On the surface, beautiful sceneries, exotic settings, promising adventures down the Nile. Below the surface, the fading of an Empire, a failure to adjust, boredom breeding anxiety and nostalgia - laying down the arms, tying oneself to the mast - never a smile, never a frown. Poignant..

Live version of Peaches from 1977 ish.

What ever happened to the heros

Ad for the Stranglers greatest hits with Keith Floyd for Some reason.

15 minutes of Youtube

Just one clip today. We are big fans of Penn and teller here. Here is a clip about Peta

Four Years On...

I still remember exactly where I was sitting this day 4 years ago when Bush announced the long expected news that they were to extend the war on terror into Iraq. I had just begun an internship in New York State, we arrived the day before St. Patricks Day, we were mini-celebrities asked to our eternal embarassment to take part in the city's parade (Albany, the state capital, not the New York one! - we declined, I don't think I would if asked again now) and felt a great deal of excitement at what lay ahead for us. A number of days later we genuinely felt a great sense of foreboding, watching the news while our American housemates went about enjoying spring break.

When I think of the long and tragic story that has unfolded since it saddens me deeply. News stories in the following days visited different towns around the State to assess the impact the oncoming war would have on their day to day lives, did they know then the massive numbers of American lives that would be lost? No coverage was given to the likely impact on Iraqi towns and no coverage will ever likely do justice to the devastation incurred by the Iraqi people and no correct record will ever be made of the number of lives lost in the rubble of their villages and towns.

The day before we arrived in Albany a man had been arrested by shopping mall secuity for wearing a T-Shirt saying 'Give Peace a Chance', at a dinner during our first week it was recommended to us to not air any grievances we might have had on the war - we as strangers were mildly effected, I was one of 3 guys and it took us 8 weeks longer than fellow female interns to be registered with Inland Revenue to begin getting paid, this was only a mild precursor to the rigid Homeland Security measures inplemented since. Then over Easter, distant American cousins came to visit me in New York and told me they had cancelled holiday plans to France because of what the French did to them. A few weeks before we came home the son of a collegaue at my work had been called to service and couldn't make our going away party as he was having moulds made of his teeth for identification purposes in case anything happened. It was a strange frustrating time, we had the best of times there, experiences that will never be had again and I wouldn't want to because they were so special but that unease at what was to come and how it worked out worse than we could have imagined never escapes me on ominous days like today.

Dublin

So a move to Dublin has some inevitability about it this year. I’m overeducated and inexperienced and it is the only place in the country with such a concentration of work and opportunities that it could present a good outcome having spent 6 years in college. I’m in too minds though. It is a fine place that I have enjoyed many good weekends out in, but like handing back a relative’s baby, the idea of committing to the place is daunting. I’ve been impressed with the pubs, the cinemas, the choice and the idea of the potential lifestyle an inhabitant could enjoy. But what I’m wondering is will I be too busy working, commuting, wondering where next months rent will come from and generally trying to carve out an existence up there to enjoy any of these extras or have a life outside of the job I go up there for? I’m a Cork man, should I put faith in my options down here and sell out for a few years to the various versions of admin jobs around Cork, that recruitment companies have been trying to sell me on in the hope they will turn into something more? The irony of it all is I have applied for one job in Dublin that would require promoting and lobbying for businesses to establish themselves in Dublin, when it is the outcome of such work and the already existing concentration of work in Dublin that means I feel limited in Cork. A large percentage of friends have all been dragged like drones to the Queen Bee in Dublin. Are my to become an inevitable statistic, a consideration in changing the Luas fares, start eating bagels and in a few years have my kids sent on school excursions to see what cows look like? Or are my being too negative? Let me know. One job I applied for has a condition that they will be decentralising to Edenderry, so maybe I should be thankful to get to live in such a hub of services and industry?

Guinea Fowl with Parma Ham and Chilli sauce.

I have been so busy the last few weeks that I have been unable to cook a meal in 3 weeks. So now that I have time. I have been back to the oven.

Guinea Fowl with Parma Ham and Chilli sauce.

Ingredients

1 Guinea Fowl.

4 Strips of Parma Ham

Olive Oil

Butter

Pepper

Cream

Red Wine

Sage 1 Green Chilli

Chicken stock

Sear the skin of the bird. Melt some butter and brush on the skin of the bird. Rub in some black pepper. Cover the skin of the bird with some parma ham and sprinkle over some sage. Put in to the oven for 1 hour. Based occasionally and remove parma ham with 20 minutes to go. At which point add some red wine to the roasting tin.

Prepare the chicken stock. Once cooked remove the bird from the roasting pan. Finely coop up the chilli and fry for one or 2 minutes. If you want it cooler remove seeds. And pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of this. Adding the chicken stock and add some cream. Crush up the Parma ham and too the pan. Reduce sauce until happy with it.

I had this with some roast potatoes and a wee bit of salad.

More Curious Casting

Those in the know are confidently reporting that Cate Blanchett has signed on to star in the upcoming Indiana Jones installment. Reports here and here, describe the role as crucial, though as with every other detail of the film, secrecy is the order of the day. Whatever about being a love interest, I hope her acting chops are put to good use, it would be great to see her play a villain.