Ripping Cowen apart may have been a rip too far

There were two winners last night in Ryan Tubridy’s interview with Brian Cowen. Undoubtedly, Tubridy’s assault on the Taoiseach will have earned him some respect among his doubters. But I wonder, and only time will tell, whether by ripping the Taoiseach apart did he rip a little too far and show up the soft side of the underfire Fianna Fail leader. There was a sense of sympathy for the man by the end of the interview. A sympathy which was aided in no small portion by the crowd that was nervously giddy and similar to the angry mob from the Simpsons. At one stage there was a look on Cowen’s face and you could see it running through his mind-maybe I should tell these people to stick their job and retire to Barbados or something . It’s hard to blame them though, Tubridy in fairness to him was asking questions that everyone has wanted to ask for months but hasn’t, to the best of my knowledge, asked. The question about Cowen’s drinking was a real, wo there, moment but one that the Taoiseach handled admirably. Bertie never got a question like that and I’m sure he didn’t get that big  red snout on him from being out pruning his roses in the garden.  By the end of the interview I think he actually won the audience over. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if his ratings were to climb after this. It was pretty compelling stuff.

Lovely day for a stroll#3

There was a short gap there. A gap of maybe an hour. The day timed it perfectly. And I took the chance to get out for a walk down the Shelbourne Road and beyond. Stopping into Roly’s to get the brown bread for the morning-ostensibly to be generous but really because I knew I couldn’t be arsed to make it and figured that it wasn’t fair to expect Ciara to do the same.

I kept going.  The silence on  Elgin Road’s tree lined street with its lovely protestant church was interrupted by a family of boxers being taken for a walk by their very proud (maybe a little precious) owner. Judging by its straight tail and unrelenting barking, the dalmatian up the road is not a fan. Silence was soon restored and the road belonged to me and an invigorated but sunny wind. 

A wood pigeon cut in with that soothing rhythmic coo-my favourite sound and even the magpie’s gurgling cackle didn’t sound too bad. Easy to see, even today, how Patrick Kavanagh found the streets around here so romantic with their regal houses and leafy boulevards. Even the usual bustling Baggot Street seemed quite calm today and the folks outside Smyth’s of Haddington Road were taking advantage of the dry spell.

It looks like it’s going to rain now. The day timed it perfectly.

Kutiman

I saw this some time back.  But got myself reacquinted with it. This guy, from what I can gather, is some Israeli guy who takes/poaches/steals/gives exposure to various different (as you will see) talented people and mixes it all together creating a cohesive song. And altogether it’s wonderful.

Sinead’s Hand

I’m probably way behind on this but I think it’s class. Hugh O’Conor is such a great actor. Good footballer too.

Lockerbie-Why in the name of God?

I don’t know whether or not the Lockerbie bomber is innocent or not. But I do know that he was convicted and whether rightly or wrongly he has been sent home to Libya without his sentence being overturned. And I’m sure that for him that sticks in his craw a little; if of course he is innocent.

Officially then, a guilty man has been sent home on compassionate grounds. But he now faces, according to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, “a sentence imposed by a higher power”.

 Why should God be burdened with this affair?

 Does Mr.MacAskill feel that God is less compassionate than the Scottish Justice system?

I can’t shake off the feeling that Mr MacAskill’s words are like those of a snooty class captain in a school telling a naughty little boy that he is really annoyed with him but that when the principal comes along he is really in for it.

I wonder is it not a bit patronising to the rest of us to put himself and God on the same level. Is he in touch with this “higher power”? How does he know that this higher power is even bothered with what we do on earth? What if any of the people that died on that plane were atheist? Would they find comfort in such a statement?

 Should it not be up to us humans through the proper systems to judge. By saying that the decision has now been taken by God, actually demeans Western democracy and the systems of justice that are in place. It is in fact positively medieval to even mention God in the same breath as human justice.

Why does a higher power have to come into it at all? The man was found guilty and convicted by us. He has been let go by us. Using God and the ’sentence of cancer’ to justify these actions  is a cop out. But what is worse is that it is wrapped up as compassion. What package is under the wrapping paper?

Lovely Day for a Stroll#2

At three hours long and several climbs of over 100 metres this jaunt from the Glendalough carpark  up through the Spinc forest and around the back of the Upper lake is not exactly a stroll.

Bring plenty of water, a rain jacket, chocolate and some sambos and get ready for a little bit of hurt, that is if you are not used to it. It’s worth it though. After about an hour and a half you will come across the wild deer that nose and nibble their way over the heather covered mountains. The views from behind and above the miner’s village are wonderful and as you make your way down you will see billy goats munching grass beside the waterfall. It was a Saturday when we went but although it was busy, there was plenty of room for everyone.

Very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Karl Sigfrid-Swedish politician takes a pop at the new blasphemy laws

I was interested to see that a Swedish politician has spoken out against the recent introduction (or is it reintroduction or indeed amendment) of our blasphemy laws. I think it may be worth while considering tranfers for politicians. Just like in football. Perhaps we could have an Italian as Minister of Defence, a Dutchman or woman as Minister for flooding, a Dane or a Swede as Minister of Common sense etc. Who would be the Ronaldo of a transfer market like that I wonder?

Anyway, Mr. Karl Sigfrid brings up some very valid points according to this report. There is a problem with the report though. Is it being reported because no Irish politician has said the same or because he is foreign and we are more inclined to listen to foreigners, in the ‘jaysus Maire look at dat, sure we’re that  brilliant they’re talking about us in Sweden’ sense?

Or do we just not really care about this kind of thing here and they really do in Sweden? Read on Mac Duff. 

http://news.ie.msn.com/world/article.aspx?cp-documentid=149235590

Lovely Day for a Stroll#1

The South Wall, Dublin

 
It may not look like much on the way to it and be sure to keep your car windows up while you speed past the stench from the waste treatment plant. But just beyond the pigeon house is surely the city’s number one walk: The South Wall.
Built in the 18th century over a period of roughly 80 years its function was to alleviate problems with sandbars and swells for ships arriving into Dublin port. Today you can watch the boats cruise safely past you on their way towards the Liffey as you walk out into the middle of Dublin Bay.
It’s a 45-50 minute jaunt up to the red lighthouse and back. The summer heather on Howth head is just lovely and on your right the Dublin mountains unfurl themselves down towards the dollhouse like sails twinkling off Dun Laoghaire. If you’re lucky a member of the half-moon swimming club might accidentally flash you a full moon.

The Bay City Stroller

The South Wall, Dublin

Angel of Harlem

Here in my apartment in Dublin 2 and Bono and the lads are soundchecking for tonight’s gig in Croke Park, Dublin. He’s in fine voice by the sounds of it. It’s going to be damn loud tonight, if I can hear it all the way over here on Fenian Street. Anyway, sounds like ‘Angel of Harlem’ is on the set list……now he is just doing a few oo oo oo’s, you know the high pitched ones that he does (14:04)

The Leeson Lounge

By Jonathan deBurca Butler

 

Judging by the photos on the wall the owner of the Leeson Lounge is a big fan of GAA and particularly hurling. Unsurprising then that it’s a bit of an oasis for country folk in Dublin

 

Sit up at the long counter and watch the football, hurling or darts on the TV that’s perched up in a corner or hideaway in one of the many comfortable couches for a heart to heart with the missus. We’re not sure who did the decorating but there is a red hue in this pub that’s reminiscent of some 1950’s private members club in London’s Soho. But far from being seedy it’s lulling.

 

The atmosphere is quiet but chatty. If you’re feeling peckish we can recommend the excellent toasted sandwiches. Wash that down with a very fine pint, sit back to watch Match of the Day or get an aul’ game of darts in-we think we’re going to enter the regular Monday night competitions.

 

Scores 180 on all fronts.

 

Morrisey’s, The Leeson Lounge, 148 Leeson Street Upper, Dublin 4

Mc Daid’s – As reviewed in The Dubliner magazine

Mc Daid’s

By Jonathan deBurca Butler

The large tiled decoration behind the bar proudly declares that McDaid’s of Harry Street has been on the go since 1873. The portraits of Dublin’s literary greats are particularly poignant as most of them frequented this old Victorian haunt. It’s not hard to imagine Behan or Joyce sitting at the ‘h’ shaped bar or tucked under the stairs at the back.

We love the sublime details; the high ceilings painted a deep red wine, the four small arched windows above the door are wonderfully colourful and would be fit for a Parisian Cathedral, the large and grandiose mirror opposite the bar, and the bookcase high up on the wall must be as old as the dusty books it holds. And all of this under the electric light of two modified gas lamps which dangle lazily looking over the patrons whose Italian leather shoes and high heels clack on the wooden floor.

A Dublin gem.

Mc Daid’s, Harry Street, Dublin 2 6794395

Dublin Theatre Festival Preview – As published in September’s Temple Bar

The Cast of 'Black Watch'

By Jonathan deBurca Butler

In 1957 the Dublin Theatre festival opened with Tennessee William’s controversial ‘The Rose Tattoo’.  Garda reports at the time, spoke of some “objectionable passages” and scenes that were “lewd, vulgar and offensive”. Alan Simpson, who ran the Pike theatre with his wife Carolyn Swift, was arrested, somewhat bizarrely, after the show ended its run. The charges against him for his part in “producing for gain an indecent and profane performance”, were eventually dropped but his theatre was ruined and his marriage collapsed due to the pressures surrounding the bad publicity.

It is unlikely that such real life drama will be played out at this year’s festival, and unlikely the authorities, in an effort to protect our morals, end up ruining a marriage. But such is the rough and tumble world of the arts that you just never know.

 The line up for the 2008 Dublin Theatre festival may not prove to be as controversial as the inaugural festival. However, if the (allegedly) increasingly obese, soap-opera obsessed couch potatoes of this fair city decide to get up of their posteriors and go to see one or more of the plays on offer, they should be royally entertained.

Last year was a record year for the festival, taking in over €1million for the first time in its 51-year history. Attendances were up by twenty three per cent on 2006 and the organisers are hoping for a similar turnout this year. Inevitably, as with every sector of Irish life these days, the economy may have a part to play in the number of rumps on stools, but judging by the fact that Michael McDowell’s utopian café culture seems to be still thriving (heck not even the Italians know what all these different Italian coffees are), the festival organisers shouldn’t have too much to worry about.  

One reason to attend this years festival will be the appearance of Vanessa Redgrave in Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking. The production, which centres on a woman’s efforts to deal with the sudden death of her husband, is taking place at the Gaiety and is a massive coup for the festival, considering this is only one of three cities where the play is to be staged this year. The 71 year- old star, famous for her roles in films such as Blow up and Venus, has won acclaim for her powerful performance from both the media and her peers and tickets for this show are expected to go quickly.

 Other eyebrow raisers are plays and performances based on the work of Virginia Woolf (Waves), Fyodor Dostoevsky and F.Scott Fitzgerald(Gatz) as well as fresh interpretations of Albert Camus’ ‘Caligula’ and Beckett’s ‘Happy Days’.

But perhaps one of the most intriguing productions of this year’s festival is an adaptation of Franz Kafka’s freakishly dream-like short story ‘Metamorphosis’, a collaboration with Iceland’s Vesturport Theatre Production and the Lyric Hammersmith of London. This darkly decadent treat promises to be very physical and vibrant, using as it does climbing cables and a split stage to heighten the drama and tension; it also features music by Nick Cave and long-time collaborator Warren Ellis.

There are, of course, many home productions to choose from over the two-week period. The Gate Theatre, which is celebrating eighty years this year, is putting on Brian Friel’s new version of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler.

Druid’s Irish premiere of Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan directed by Garry Hynes- the first woman to win a Tony award for direction- takes to the stage at the Olympia from the 6^th October, while at the Helix Fishamble are doing a new play by Irish playwright Robert Massey called Rank, which deals with Dublin’s transformation over the last ten years. Including, I assume, our uncanny ability to mispronounce Bruschetta.

The National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Black Watch, based on interviews with soldiers from the regiment of the same name and their time in Iraq, will be staged at the RDS. Having just gone on a sell-out run in Edinburgh, this production is expected to get a lot of attention not least for its strong language and somewhat contentious if relevant subject matter.

 Mark Donford-May’s reworking of Mozart’s The Magic Flute moves the 18^th century opera to a modern township setting in South Africa and offers something a little different for supporters of opera.  CoisCéim Dance Theatre will present Dodgems transforming the O’Reilly Theatre in Belvedere College into a fairground where a real bumper track is the stage for the clashes of lives and personalities that take place during the show.

This year’s festival also includes some workshops and panel discussions. The pick of the bunch is Vanessa Redgrave in conversation Colm Tobin. Perhaps they’ll talk about the development of the lewd, vulgar and offensive in today’s theatre.

Whatever the topic of their discussion, like all the festival, it’s sure to be quite memorable.

By the way the prices vary quite a bit from €20 to €45 but there are student stand-by tickets from about a half hour before the show depending on availability and OAPs also get a discount. Bear in mind that if your booking they’ll charge you €2 per ticket, so book on the net.

Vanessa Redgrave

Be sure to come back September 30th for  a review of Metamorphosis