A lump of coal

I've been an incredibly bad blogger, I'm sorry! The thing is, I've actually been quite productive outside of the blogging world. Last week I organised a fundraiser with 5 of my friends and we raised over €2,000 for MarriagEquality!!! It was an absolutely brilliant night and I'm so glad I've become more involved with gay civil rights this past 6 months. Woooo!!!

You may remember that I was working away on my final year research too and I presented all of my findings today and that went just fine!! I'm delira it's over with now and I can meet up wit some friends over the hols. I have an excruciatingly painful schedule in January so I'll need all the rest I can get!!

To be honest that's about all of my news for now, planning a major night out right now! I'm not expecting to remember much in the morning. Ah well!!!

The Den

Another HILARIOUS video courtesy of Facebook. It's a clip of an Irish kids tv show called "The Den." The aim of the game is to guess what object/person/place/thing the pink pig is thinking of. Literally in tears watching it!!!! I want kids just so I can get moments like this!!

Murphy's Little Big Nights Out

OK so I saw Florence and the Machine last night, pretty unreal! Will put up a proper post on it later as I've got some work to do first and I need to do it justice! In the meantime, take advantage of this FANTASTIC musician Lisa Hannigan, such a beautiful voice and her songs were amazing... Epic night. Thank you Murphys!!!!!

Awareness Test

Courtesy of a friend on Facebook I found this youtube link. I can't say much on it as I'll give it all away but it makes a very valid point in an interesting way. Have a look!!

World AIDS Day

Well I know it was actually a few days ago but this ad makes a good point. 5,500 people live with HIV in Ireland, that's an incidence of just over 1/1,000. Pretty scary, particularly considering that hospitals all over Ireland are reporting an annual increase of 20-25% in new cases. Whilst treatment for HIV has come on in leaps and bounds, prevention is of course the better alternative. At the same time, we have to tackle the associated stigma for those living with HIV. Does this video do the trick for you? Would you kiss someone with HIV?

LOL!

Senator Jim Walsh

So Noise supporter Christina Walsh recently met up with Senator Jim Walsh and here's a flavour courtesy of Noise (full story here) of what he had to say...

Senator Walsh believes...

...that he should be able to call gay people 'FAIRIES';

...that women working outside the home are causing the breakdown of the family and psychological problems in young people;

...that the gay community should realise they simply DO NOT NEED marriage. They only want it because it's ?what other people have?. It's just consumerism, a fad - a bit like an iPhone!

Yeah I know, it's hard to believe that someone would actually come out with such vitriolic crap, but it happens. Noise have even made a lovely video to summarise his opinions. The scary thing is, that this is a man in power, he makes decisions that directly affect us all here in Ireland. If you've got a problem with that too, then let's make some noise??

Angry?

"On a scale of one to Chris Brown, how angry are you?"

I love pop culture references.

Wow...

The flaming piano says it all.

UCC Maths

The new UCC maths building.... under water. The path in the middle is a bridge over a (normally) tiny stream. Wow.

Flood and Ball Update

It rained again last night! Fortunately it wasn't too heavy but there's just so much pressure on resources as it is. College has officially closed for the week as the damage is quite bad, apparently the computer science block has been ruined and the cancer research center equipment is in bits. All of it new. :-(

The scary thing about this is that I live only 2 mins walk from all these areas and escaped COMPLETELY! My lovely friend LJ from SOS has moved in with me as her student accomm has been closed down and plenty more students from abroad are homeless so the Students' Union is calling for anyone to offer a spare room if they can.

On the good side, there have been no reported fatalities and everyone is banding together to help out. The Ball went ahead last night as well and was AMAAAAZING! Extremely hungover so that's always a good sign ;-) Didn't even have to wear wellies with my tux so I'm delira!!

Saying that, my tux jacket was taken so I'm hoping it gets returned...sent this email around to the class this morning..(Note I'm 6'6 and my jacket will fit very few people..RIDICULOUS!)

Jacket feeling a bit on the long side?

Find a surprise bottle of vodka in the inside pocket? (Classy I know)

Perhaps a little card saying "Please return if lost as my Mom will kill me"?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may have taken mine!

In true Corkonian style though, I'm sure it'll be graaaand.

Floods!!

Cork has officially been submerged under water!

(Pictures courtesy of M and N: Above: M's front garden, the hedge is 5feet tall! To left: Cork City Centre)

College was cancelled but fortunately I just got an email there saying the ball this evening has not been cancelled. I'll probably be bringing along some wellies so I can walk around town later on so pictures to follow of course! The river Lee burst its banks some time last night and loads of my friends have been badly affected by it. Literally all of the student accommodation at Victoria's Cross is submerged under a good few feet of water and electricity has been cut. My friend T is stranded in her apartment as the water rises up to 4meters at the bottom of her hill!

Tragically 4 girls passed away in a severe road traffic accident in Galway due to the bad weather conditions. Furthermore, all of the flooding can't be helping the search for missing Cork student Brian O Tuama. Hopefully some resolution will follow soon for everyone involved.

Thierry Henry

As everyone this side of the Atlantic knows, there was a qualifying match last night between France and Ireland for the World Cup. My Facebook news feed is literally overloaded with jibes at Thierry Henry for the so-called "goal" that sent them through to the next round. If you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, watch the youtube clip beneath, Henry is in the blue jersey, no. 12. Essentially he had a handball and the goal should have been nullified by the ref and it wasn't....Cue a million anti -Thierry Henry Facebook pages such as..

I hate Thierry Henry The Cheating French Frog

We Irish hate Thierry Henry (the cheat)

I hate Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry should apologise to Ireland

EDIT: Wikipedia has this to say about him...looks like someone's been changing the pages a bit..!;-)

To be honest, as an Irish guy I do feel terrible that we didn't get through to the World Cup but Henry himself has openly admitted that it was a handball, he just continued playing as the ref didn't call it. "I will be honest, it was a handball. Bu I'm not the ref. I played it, the ref allowed it. That's a question you should ask him."

Although I can't say that I like the situation, I think calling him a cheat is going too far so I won't be joining the Facebook pages any day now.

PS In other news, I presented the first draft of my FYP (Final year project) today and it went graaaaaand so I can thoroughly enjoy my college ball tomorrow night and get HAMMERED!!! WOOOO!!!! :-D

Ghostbusters

JEdward* better watch out, this guy's going to steal the limelight from their Ghostbusters song!

* The X Factor contestants for all you non UK/Irish readers :-)

The Fun Theory

The theory that by making something fun, you can change people's attitudes and actions for the better. Seems like it works pretty well here!

I can resist anything...except temptation

Why is this damn box of Roses just so hard to open!? It's almost like all the lovely chocolates inside are warning me of the dire consequences.... Mom will no doubt freak (she's keeping it for an occasion some time soon) but I'll placate her with the caramel nut ones that she loves for some reason. I'll only have the one anyway. DAMN IT!!! I picked the one in the yellow wrapper as I thought it was sticky caramel but instead I got syrupy caramel. What a disaster!

Ah well, one more won't hurt I guess. But now to hide the evidence, wrappers go straight in the bin OUTSIDE the house. I learned my lesson the last time. Never throw the receipt from a long list of spirits you've bought in your bedroom bin. Rookie mistake.

One more for the road I suppose... nah make that two, I'm a growing boy.

Quiet Time

Everyone should read this beautiful piece of literature. As I can't link you directly to the post, just scroll down to Nov 12th 2009 and read "Rimbaud's Son." Set some time aside to do this, don't rush the process, you'll need to savour every word. Sheila O'Malley is most definitely a writer to watch out for.

Such a heartbreaking story.

Bad Blogger

I know, I know, I've been a bad blogger! Literally rushed off my feet these days with FYP (Final Year Project) and a fundraiser I'm organising for mid December! My friend Alex had a concert on Friday night that I couldn't make it to so here's a quick clip of the amazing performance I missed out on. It's a piece called "Musique de Table" by Thierry de Mey and it's played entirely on..you guessed it..a TABLE! It's a seriously cool piece both musically and visually so do enjoy it.

And now to go back to burying myself in statistics.... :-/

Savage Music

OK I know, I'm posting a serious amount of music vids these days, but I just don't have the time to be blogging properly with my final year project due in in 3 weeks! Also have the college ball the week beforehand and I mean that's just compulsory, I'm pretty sure it counts for attendance and all. Here's a SERIOUSLY cool song by Janelle Monae called "Many Moons." Check it out if you're in need of a pick me up, it has a savage beat! I don't know how I missed it last year, must not have been released in Europe!

Just Beautiful..

As a huge fan of classical music, I'm just loving listening to this every night before I go to sleep. it's just simply beautiful. Makes me wish I was back in orchestra........**sigh indicative of the fact that college is essentially taking over my life until all I'll be able to do is recite the causes of clubbing**

More youtube clips..

I know I seem to be posting a lot of youtube clips these days, but I've been finding some seriously good stuff around! I swear I'm not just being a lazy blogger!! My friend E recommended these ones to me and he's got great taste so do enjoy them :-)

Foy Vance - Billie Jean


Erik Mongrain - Airtap

Africa - Perpetuum Jazzile

Another amazing Facebook find through a friend! Honestly, how did we ever survive before the creation of the internet?? Did we just drink more or something?

Here's Perpetuum Jazzile with their rendition of "Africa." Enjoy!

Michael Jackson Medley a Capella - Sam Tsui

Here's an MJ medley a capella I found through a friend on facebook. It's seriously cool, deffo a youtube hit!! Sam Tsui, a junior in yale University, records himself 7 times on this video...wowza!!!



Oh and for all you Glee fans!!!

Make some NOISE!!!

I may be incredibly hungover right now but this just has me all fired up!!! LGBT Noise is all set to go for the Dáil protest at the start of Novemeber and have made this cool ad for you to send around to everyone! It'll be at very short notice as the timetable for topics to be discussed is only released on a Monday so watch out for the announcements on lgbtnoise, Facebook, twitter, bebo.

I'll be there, but will you??

YAYY!!!

Yes I'm procrastinating. And yes of course, I've got an exam tomorrow, it's my greatest motivation for such time wasting. The thing is today was pretty exciting for me. Despite the fact that I'm absolutely wrecked form the last 4 weeks I've spent in General Practise, I'm on a bit of a high! Because today I discovered a dysrhythmia (abnormal rhythm) on a patient that no one had seen before.

OK so it turned out that this abnormal rhythm was completely benign (premature atrial complexes) but it was pretty cool to be the first person to notice that this 87 year old man's heart beat was a bit off. Actually scrap that, AMAZINGLY COOL!! I then got to check out his ECG tracing and diagnose the condition (atrial fibrillation was the big concern but he had p waves so that wasn't the case, PHEW!!!)

I really can't wait for this year to just be over with now so that I can graduate (hopefully) and get on the wards properly. Speaking of, I should really get back to the study with that exam tomorrow as I'm going to be out ALL weekend for the Cork Jazz festival (WOOO) so ciao for now!

Piney

Getting old..

I know I'm only 23 years old but there are some times when you just start to feel the aging process kick in. And it's not a personal aging process I'm experiencing, it's a collective thing. What really brought this home is the fact that one of my close friends, O, has just moved to New Zealand for the next 2 years to work as a physio. It was pretty horrible saying goodbye to her last Friday when we all went out for dinner and drinks...eurgh.

Of my school friends, there are only 2 of us left in college as undergrads (both doing 5 year courses) and everyone else seems to be moving on. My friend F has just started his PhD, loads of friends have moved off to Dublin/London, out of home in Cork and everyone's starting to think of what they'll spend the rest of their lives doing. Pretty depressing really. I mean my friends have real jobs now.

The thing is, as my friend Tomato said at the farewell dinner, in a very unusually astute manner for him ;-), "Long distances don't affect long friendships" and I really hope that's true. Why couldn't I have said something like this when I was thrown forward to make the goodbye speech!! DISASTA!!!

So O have an amazing time over in NZ and although there's a good chance I'll be moving to Australasia for work just when you are about to come home, let's do lunch yeah?

Thank GOD for skype!

Project London

OK so as everyone knows by now (or at least everyone who's in my phonebook or on Facebook) Ryanair were giving away free flights all day. Well practically free anyway. I managed to book a flight over to London for €10.01 ...........and I'm thrilled with myself! It'll be just after I present my final year project, the culmination of much rushed research I expect to do over the next few weeks and quite possibly, the night before I present it.

Between the friends I've got living over there and the friends that are coming over with me, I just can't wait. It'll be....epic. Now to figure out that project thingy...

Is Dad mad, doctor?

I had just put away the pleural aspiration kit and labelled the samples, and had returned to the patient, whose family had now arrived, to check that he was comfortable. One of the adult children greeted me with the question, “Do you think Dad’s mad, doctor?”
“Mad?” I was a little bemused as to where this had come from.
“Yes. He said you are going to send off the fluid from his lungs
for psychology.”
After a few puzzled moments, the penny dropped: “No, not
psychology, cytology.”

James S Dawson senior house officer, Queen’s Medical Centre,
Nottingham

**giggles**

3 days sick in bed

Apologies for the infrequent blogging, I've been sick with the cold all weekend. Feeling much better now after a few days in bed so I thought I'd share a few of this weekend's obsessional ruminations with you before I head back to the Mitch in the morning!

And of course, Luke MacFarlane of "Brothers and Sisters." **Sigh**

Spulling Mistake??

The Americans are perfectly entitled to whatever spelling system they like in their own country, it's all about "Freedom of Expression" blah blah blah. ;-) I'll admit, it does irritate me though when I see words like:

Encyclopedia
Pediatric
Color
Favor

and WORST of all ........ "mold."

"What" you say??? Is this even a word?? I first came across this word during my summer in Chicago when I bought the final Harry Potter book. I genuinely struggled to figure out its meaning. After 5 minutes, LIGHTBULB!! What they really wanted to say was "mould." Now isn't that better. :-)

Please don't interpret this post as being the slightest bit anti-American either, I have loads of lovely American friends from that glorious summer in Chicago. Plus I've NEVER tasted pizza so good anywhere. Check out "Dués" on Ontario/Wabash and tell them you know me! I can also see the many benefits of adapting spelling in this way, English is convoluted enough as it is without making it more difficult to learn with weird spelling. Different strokes for different folks. It's just not the way I was raised....sorry I swear I didn't mean to paraphrase Miss California!

Do you remember the day when..

We used to mock at people who bought bottles of water.

I fondly recall being in a shopping centre with my granny as a child and us laughing, clutching our sides even at a man buying water, the hilarity of the situation!! My granny chuckled "A fool and his money are soon parted..." to me and I wholeheartedly agreed.

So as I sit here having my lunch, an empty water bottle on either side of my laptop, I feel like a bit of a hypocrite.

A letter

To the girl with the high heels,

I really want you to know how much you hurt me last night. Thanks to your fugly, stripper-like high heeled shoes and atrocious dancing in Havanas, you left a mark on me, one with physical and emotional implications. It was only thanks to copious amounts of alcohol as an analgaesic that I survived the night at all and now my big toe has been left red and swollen. Not nice.

There I was, enjoying a casual dance with my friends when you came tramping in my direction, your little hooves stamping to the beat of Lady Gaga. I should have know better and run at that point but I was naive. Then, with a casual, sadistic, shrill cry of "Paparazzi" you stamped your heel into my foot, piercing the smooth leather of my shoes with the cheap, hardened plastic of yours. If you didn't hear my yelp of pain you should have at least noticed where you were putting your feet. I mean, let's face it, you're pretty close to the ground even with heels.

So to the girl who wore high heels last night I say, get back to Michael Guiney's where you most likely bought those shoes and stay there, that or the lap dancing club "Secrets" anyway. If I see you in Havanas again, we will most likely have words.

Kind regards,

Piney

Ok....

You can't make this shit up. Taken from QID here. To be fair......

1. I did go clubbing once with a scissors in my pocket by accident.
2. Worse again, my friend managed to get through an airport with a huge penknife when we were over in Africa. She was only caught as she was going through security again for her connecting flight. Oops!
3. I know another girl who was being chased by a friend with a giant shovel as a joke. The police stopped them but she told them it was all fine as she had just buried her pet hamster in the park and showed them the grave for proof. There had been a huge procession of friends present for the sad occasion so it was all above board.

[UPDATE the post has been taken down! Also of note I've removed any names mentioned in this post]

I want to raise a debate about a situation that happened a while ago in the George and the events that took place thereafter.

First off, I know that a lot of people on this site go to the George and there are even some employees of the George that use this site, too, hence why I want some real opinions/feedback on what I'm about to raise with everyone (of course I know some will be biased in their opinions seeing as they frequent the George or work there)

Everyone knows the situation of the two lads (me being one of them) that stupidly went to the George with a shears and a blunt knife (for cutting round the grave, getting rid of weeds, etc.) and that due to that happening the Guards were called, which is 100% understandable given the situation.

What everyone doesn't know is what happened afterwards, and to be honest, probably not a lot of you know the full story of how we came to have those tools in our possession, so for your benefit I'll give you the gist, if not the details, of that day....

Me and my cousin had decided the previous day to go and tend to our Grandfather's and Uncle's grave out in Sutton as we figured it was time we went back out to visit them both seeing as it was a special day that day - it being the 'Blessing Of The Graves' which is an annual mark of respect for the dead.We made our way out separately, my cousin had gotten there before me and had already tended to the grave, so we said our prayers as you do, stuck around till the end of the service then made our way into town by train.My cousin had the tools in a reusable carrier bag and was tired from carrying them so I put them into a rucksack of sorts that I had with me, and a shears being the size it is, the top part was partially poking out of the rucksack which we then covered with the reusable bag we had. (Hundreds of people who were at the 'Blessing Of The Graves' that day were in the same predicament with their tools)We had spent most of that day at the grave and were shattered, so we decided to head to the George for a drink. We went into the old part, with the bag with the tools both securely in it, and ordered a drink. (Never for one second did we think we were doing anything wrong in bringing them in whilst having a drink - we never could or would have predicted what was to come..)We'd had a couple of drinks and we then decided to go upstairs, we left the bag into the cloakroom without any bother at all, and spent a couple of hours upstairs before deciding to leave which was around midnight or thereabouts because we'd had enough and we were going our separate ways (me to a mate's and my cousin to our Nan's).After getting the bag from the cloakroom and because we were leaving one another I gave my cousin both tools and they were placed in the carrier bag he had them in in the first place. I left there and then with my cousin trailing behind, and it was only a matter of seconds before I heard a commotion going on that I realised the Bouncers had taken the tools and that the Guards were on their way. (My cousin, innocently, asking for them back because my Nan would be angry if he didn't bring them home)The Guards came and my cousin was arrested while Management of the George (meaning, ****, the manager herself) refused to believe the story of us going to tend to our Grandfather's and Uncle's grave simply because it was in Sutton and we lived in another part of the city. My cousin was arrested, and not me, because he owned the tools and had them on him.

My cousin was, as you can imagine, stressed out to bits which resulted in him losing a load of weight and having panic attacks at the thought of being up in court and he feared the worse because no one realised the innocence of the situation.We were told of the date of when he was up in court (which was only recently by the way), but a few times before the court date we were reassured again and again that Management would calm down and that everything would be okay, so that eased our minds a little bit.However, after being up in court for "Weapons Offences" the whole case was dismissed and the Judge himself laughed at how naive we were and that it was such an unusual case, but that it was one of innocence - we were overjoyed and we felt such a weight being lifted there and then, it was just brilliant after all that stress!However.....in my thinking that the worst is over, that some normality will return and because we were reassured by certain staff of the George that things will be okay, I went to the George with some friends on Wednesday 30th September 09, but I knew at the very least I would be stopped by the bouncers even though I had talked to them a couple of times before, so I was expecting that, and to be honest only that...The bouncer said that the Manager would be down and I was grand with that, was actually looking forward to having a chat with her about it and that would be that.. but she comes out with the grumpiest, most unfriendly face on her, arms folded (pretty much like 'what do YOU want?') and I tell her 'I wanted to speak sooner but I was too embarrassed as you can imagine..' she then goes on to say, with absolutely NO emotion or feeling and in a calculated, stuck-up tone that I was, in fact, barred for LIFE! .....(every time I hear her say that in my head I still can't believe it!)Now, I'm no evil doer, I don't harm anyone, I don't like doing any bad on anyone, so how does she in her so-called professional, educated mind think that this PUNISHMENT she is giving me and my cousin somehow fits the "CRIME'" ...I can tell you it doesn't! It's unjust!

My cousin's been to court, it was dismissed and all I ever was was a witness to what happened and that was it...

She, *****, the manager of the George, has to be the most unprofessional person I have ever come across with such a bad sense of decision-making, especially since she took my business out on to the streets of Dublin instead of arranging to meet at a quieter, more convenient time. She allowed everyone to know my business and publicly humiliated me, even after me and my cousin had already had a fair share of humiliation already.... it was, without doubt, the most embarrassing, degrading and stressful situation I've been in to date and one that left me in tears (stress/humiliation wise - the court case comes in at a close second) A friend of mine who was there stated to me afterwards how unprofessional it was for her to do that, but not only that, it was heartless.I've been going to the George for years as has my cousin, in fact much longer than she's been "managing" gay clubs. My cousin even said that I had basically nothing to do with what went on and that her decision to bar me for life is one that's wrong and unjust. But you know what, I say the same for my cousin because he went through so much due to our 'good deed that went horribly wrong'. I know the whole thing is mad, but tending to a relative's grave is the last hing on a young person's mind these days yet we do it all the time, it just happened to be the 1st time we ever brought the tools into a public place but it was naive of us to do this, and that's why I thin it's plain wrong to be punished again and again (barred for LIFE) for something that was done innocently :(

I feel like the walls are closing in and that no matter what good you try to do in this life, it'll just come to nothing...

Anyway, please tell me, honestly, what you think about the situation and her decision. I'm getting legal advice during the week but your opinions would be helpful, thanks a lot.

French Kissing

Well quite a lot of it anyway by the looks of this, sheesh!!! A great idea and public demonstration. C'était génial, bravo et merci!

Marijuana in Kids with ADD/ADHD

Oh dear Lord........ I hope someone has removed her licence to practise by now. She actually suggested giving kids marijuana cookies. No really.

Too busy for blogging

Incredibly busy at the moment so I'm just going to be lazy and throw up some nice tunz for you to listen to in my absence!

Baby Beyoncé

I don't care about the survival of the species really. It's for moments like this that we should all have children.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Here I come!

So my first month's rotation is coming to an end. And you know what that means? I'm being shipped off to Mitchelstown! I've heard great things about where I'm working but guys...I have no internet in my accomm!!!!!! :-O

OK I'm going to be positive, that means no distractions, so loads of study yeah??

Hmm, I wonder why that didn't cheer me up.

Wow.....

You should really watch this youtube video. It's just beautiful.

To appreciate it fully, you have to understand the context and history of the Ukraine. I'm going to assume that no one needs reminding of WWII but you may not be familiar with Holodomor. This refers to the famine of 1932-33 where the Stalin essentially starved the Ukrainians despite the fact that there was more than enough food being produced by the country. It is often known as the "terror famine of Ukraine" and the death toll is estimated between 2.6-10 million. No one really knows.

This is Kseniya Simonova with her "Sand Animation" who won Ukraine's Got Talent.

Eid!

To all my fellow bloggers and friends in college, HAPPY EID!!!!!!

Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri guys!!!!

Eid Mabuku LJ!!!! Oh crap I mean Eid mubarak!!! ;-)

Honestly, I don't know how you all do it, how you can manage without food or water during daylight for 4 WHOLE weeks! I certainly wouldn't be able to cope so I really admire you for your faith and determination. You've all done so well so enjoy the celebrations!

Eagle Vs Shark

Last night, I had a movie night with my friends LJ and Fi over at SOS! so I just have to tell you all about this great film called "Eagle Vs Shark." It's this quirky little rom com that's so endearingly awkward, I loved it! Check out the trailer here for some great snippets and quotes such as;

Father: Do you want to leave a message for him?

Jarrod: Tell him.... that justice is waiting for him.

Father: OK Justin, thank you. Bye bye!

If you're looking for something with a bit of a different twist you should definitely check out this New Zealand film, you won't regret it! I'm so besotted I'm already planning on going as the shark (see picture) for Hallowe'en!!!! It's not your average rom com but I'm confident that you'll have just as much fun as I did so enjoy!

Music to my soul!

My friend Fayoona over at SOS! always has great taste in music so I thought you'd all appreciate her latest youtube recommendation, the soundtrack to a movie I really want to watch, "500 Days of Summer". Thanks Fi!!!

Cuppa coffee anyone?

Cork Action for Equality will be holding a coffee morning in aid of MarriagEquality next Friday 25th September from 12-3PM in The Other Place Cafe. There'll be info on how to contact your TDs with free TD packs and info on what the rights the new civil partnership bill gives same sex couples...and what ones it doesn't!!! Join the Facebook fan page (just set up this morning) here!

Come along and I may even chat with you!!!

Oh Kanye....

I know every blog in existence is doing their bit on the Kanye West outburst at Taylor Swift during the VMAs and we're all probably saying the exact same thing BUT.... I want to have my little rant too!!

What a fool. Please get over yourself. To be honest, I don't even need to say much more so instead of posting the video you've already seen, here's what he wrote on his blog. How articulate of him.

“I’m sooooo sorry to taylor swift and her fans and her mom. I spoke to her mother right after and she said the same thing my mother would’ve said. She is very talented! I like the lyrics about being a cheerleader and she’s in the bleachers! …………………… i’m in the wrong for going on stage and taking away from her moment!……………. beyonce’s video was the best of this decade! I’m sorry to my fans if I let you guys down! I’m sorry to my friends at mtv. I will apologize to taylor 2mrw. welcome to the real world! everybody wanna booooo me but i’m a fan of real pop culture! No disrespect but we watchin’ the show at the crib right now cause … well you know! i’m still happy for taylor! Boooyaaawwww! you are very very talented! I gave my awards to outkast when they deserved it over me… that’s what it is!! i’m not crazy yall, i’m just real. Sorry for that! I really feel bad for taylor and i’m sincerely sorry! Much respect!!”

Anyone else feeling nauseated?

The Picture of Dorian Gray

I look forward to making comparisons between the book and the film. Somehow I can see a lot of the gay subtext being lost in the film....on purpose.

Goodbye

I'm out Tyra. That's it.

I refuse to watch ANTM any more on the basis that literally minutes into season 13, you started speaking English with a french accent. You've done it a lot over the years and it's annoyed me every time. Even more annoying is when you sing whatever you want to say. Emm why? It's been good these past 12 seasons but I just can't take it any longer. Things have been going downhill for a while now, your "fashion institute" where everyone acted like a robot was a particular let down. As was your commentary as a "beauty in the mirror" or something during last season's makeovers and when you took on the roll of the "Goddess of Fierce."* I've always enjoyed the scandal, getting to know the girls (Analeigh...**sigh**) and the photoshoots. It's been a blast but we've come to the end. For your own sake, I think you should get back to the roots of the show and ditch the commercial stuff, it was better way back then.

So it's with immense regret that I say this, but...goodbye.

*cringes

A polite way to say go away.

"Emm I think I'll just go to sleep now so I arrive in Zanzibar refreshed...."

Yes I actually said this to someone who wouldn't leave me alone on the boat from Dar es Salaam to Stonetown. I mean get the picture, I told you I don't have a Facebook account, a phone number or even a home address!!! GO AWAY!

The majority of times I chat to a stranger, it works out pretty well but I learned my lesson here.

To be honest, the funniest part of the whole encounter was watching C's face opposite me as she "read" Twilight and giggled at my failed attempts to tell him to F off in the most polite way possible. Thank God for being able to speak Irish.

Acoustic - Use Somebody

Good job guys :-)

The Madonna and Child

I'm not normally into celeb-blogging. I'd just like to point out something glaringly obvious that I'm sure the tabloids have picked up on already.

Left: The Madonna and Child - Da Vinci

Right: The Madonna and Child* - W Magazine

*Her new bf is called Jesus and is 28 years her junior in case ya didn't know!

Names you wouldn't call your child..

OK I need to relieve myself of some geeky jokes myself and my friend M just love.

Ever heard of the name Malena?? It sounds lovely doesn't it? One imagines this beautiful, tanned brunette sitting on a beach, she could be a character on an Italian soap for all we know! This is before you know what "malena" means to anyone in the medical profession. It's hilarious.

Another brilliant medical name would be William Rubin. Shortened to Billy Rubin* of course. I'm. In. Stitches.

Don't judge.

*Bilirubin

She's got the X Factor

I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for some reality show stars. But rightfully so, I mean this girl is soooo endearing! I think she looks a small bit like Misha Barton, one that eats, is pretty amazingly down to earth and can sing so beautifully. I think she's officially my favourite. Can I say that so soon?? Oh but she's soo special! Best of luck Lucie Jones!!!

Looking forward to Saturday night's show already and the inevitable "I swear, there's just a bit of dirt stuck in my eye" moments.

It's like a party in your mouth

You have been cordially invited to a party...in your mouth.

I've already managed to convert a number of friends so this should be easy, I'll have to copyright this idea any day now. So here it is, my brilliant hangover/party/depressed mood food:

1. Heat a roll in the microwave
2. Put a Twix inside the heated roll and allow to melt
3. Get a bag of original crisps (that's chips for you American folk, I prefer Taytos but Pringles will do), crunch them up and heavily coat your melting Twix.
4. Eat at your leisure and pleasure.



Still wondering about the title? Well here's why.



Do you remember when you were a child, those days when you used to get handwritten invitations to parties (I mean do they use emails now or what?) and party bags at the end of the day? Well this food recreates those memories, one in particular. It's that memory of the Mom putting the food on the table in front of a crowd of kids pushing and shoving each other, it's the taste of simultaneously stuffing your face with chocolate and crips and those mini sausage rolls that were simply intrinsic to a successful party. It's such an individual experience, unique to every child. Trust me, you'll remember it straight away.

Love's Hope

"I am looking for the love of my life that broke my heart... if anyone shops at Magenta in Horsham or knows of this place, please let me know.. Im trying to get in touch and make him see that I forgive him for what he did. Love can overcome everything cant it???? "

Oh I really do hope you find him my Canadian w4m - 44

Update

This post from 2 weeks beforehand:

I dont know if you even know this site exists, but you were the love of my life, my soul mate. We made such plans, you sent me cards every week, sometimes little trinkets and sometimes lovely gifts, esp the swarovski necklace I still have to this day. You have shown me how cold you can be, but regardless I love you and I always will. I hope that one day you come to your senses and see what you gave up. Its been over a year since I found out you were telling another woman the same things you were telling me.. and here I sit. I hate to appear pathetic, but I love you MRE.

Feeling Pensive..again

I'm in that mood again, the one where I'll only post really sombre and thoughtful songs. I was just reminded of how beautful Jay Brannan's music is. The lyrics in "Housewife" are so endearing, as are all his songs really. If you've never heard of him, you can check him out in the movie "Shortbus" (he wrote the great soundtrack "Soda Shop"), I'll review it sometime as it's a fantastic movie. In the meantime, have a listen to this just before you go to sleep tonight and sweet dreams :-)

PS Yes I do know I'm posting this in the morning, but I'm already planning a power nap later on this afternoon!

Oh do blog some more!

You've got to love this girl. I'm trying to convince her to come back to the blogosphere. I get along fantastically well with her in college (we were partners for most of last year) and she's responsible for the odd collection of Malaysian phrases I come out with every now and again, terima kasih Ezlyn!

Whenever you read her posts, just think of a petite Malaysian girl recounting her story with this huge, beautiful smile, so polite she just can't say a mean thing about anyone and so excitable when it comes to shopping. Oh and did I mention she's just fantastic for a good gossip, gasps in all the right places.

Here she recounts the rush of shopping addiction, hilarious.

"However, sometimes (if you have zero will power like me), you're caught in that moment of.. euphoria when you are overwhelmed with the amazing choices of clothes on your laptop screen and like a brainless programmed robot, you click the PURCHASE button instantaneously. In the aftermath of the shopping frenzy, you slowly come to your senses and fall into a deep dark chasm called regret. "

Take me to Lisbon!!!!

All of the hype is starting again for the repeat Lisbon treaty referendum. To be honest, I think I will be quite ashamed if it doesn't pass. The last no vote reflected so poorly on Ireland as a nation as I feel it was a vote based on misinformation by organisations such as Coir etc. Furthermore, there was so much anti governemnt sentiment that no one really wanted to follow their advice and voted no, just to spite them, typical Irish!

Here are some of the sensational posters Coir have at the moment. I've thrown in a number of parodies that are flying around the net but it's difficult to tell which ones at times though.... ;-)

PS The puppet in one of the posters is Bosco, the main character of a children's TV show in Ireland 18 years ago. Also a big thanks to C who spotted all of these pics!

Gloves

I very rarely post anything that's NSFW but this Joan Collins interview has to be shared. Enjoy :-)



Just another way youtube has made my life more meaningful.

Embarrassing Moments

We've all had them so for your amusement I'll share three (of many) with you, in order of the least to the most embarrassing.

Story 1.
I was walking home from town one day and as I was passing through college, I popped into the bathrooms. Now ya see, I was in a bit of a rush but I mean I know UCC really well so I just ran over to the Aula Maxima (where I had all of my summer exams) and right into the gents. Or so I thought. It was only the second that I closed the cublicle door behind me and a slew of women walked in that I realised my mistake. I was in the ladies and worse again, there was a wedding on in the area.

Literally* hundreds of women queued up to use the ladies so I resolutely sat in my cubicle with the door locked................for 45 minutes. Honestly, it took that long for them to apply all of their makeup and gossip about how beautiful the bride looked but more importantly, who was going to sleep with whom after the reception.

Story 2.
I always got along well with my teachers in school. They were the bees knees and I looked on them with awe and admiration, they could do no wrong. Unfortunately, I was quite the innocent child growing up too and one day my Dad had to sit me down to explain the facts of life. After all was said and done, I was admittedly a little shocked. My only response was "Does my school teacher really do that??!!" The thing is, my teacher at the time was a friend of the family so this made the revelation even more startling. I mean, this woman used to call by my house over the Christmas holidays!

It wasn't until years later that I realised just how embarrassing this story was because.......... my parents thought the whole thing was so hilarious that they told her over dinner one night. Furthermore, she found thought it so funny that she told her friends and was only thrilled to recount the story in detail to MY FRIEND whilst she was in the house. I'm still blushing.

Story No 3.
We have German tv channels at home so I recorded this bit on animal testing (makeup and stuff) on a show for my German class at school. Admittedly it was a very geeky thing for a 17 year old to do but I got along great with my teacher and I thought we might get a chance to watch The Simpsons, which was on after the documentary. The next day I bring in the video, we watch the animal doc and I ask the teacher if we can just carry on watching.

Bad. Choice.

Turns out, the next topic they were discussing on the show was....breast implants. German TV is hardly known for being conservative so they interviewed porn stars from then on about what kind of implants they'd gotten etc. My teacher kept on stopping and fast forwarding but every time she pressed play there'd just be a big zoom in on some porn star and she'd have to ask "Eh...Piney when do you think this'll be over?"!!! Everyone in the class was in stitches saying I'd brought in my "private collection." If only they'd known I was gay back then.

So there you have it peeps! I can only hope by sharing these stories with you that I'll get over them...some day.

*OK maybe like 25-30

Yum

Pretty Hermes patterns and pretty model boys.....! You'll just love my friend LJ's site!

My Sixth Sense

OK so I know technically we have way more than six senses (I'm sorry I've just got to be scientifically correct about this, you have to count in taste, smell, touch, hearing, vision, proprioception, vibration, temperature etc etc) but it's the easiest way to describe my uncanny ability to know when my phone will ring.

I unconsciously take my phone out of my pocket on a REGULAR basis only to find it rings 2 seconds later. I like to think it's my hidden talent à la Heroes.

Anyone remember those days when everyone was worried about the risk of brain tumours with phones......?

Weight Issues

As all of my friends know, I have a ridiculously fast metabolism. I can literally eat anything and the calories just somehow disappear into nothingness. It's a guy thing I guess, my Dad only has to look at a gym and the pounds fall off. It's not that I want to be overweight, I just don't want to be so slim and I'd like to have a few calories to draw from for energy this year when the exams start getting tough.

In fact the only time I have ever felt overweight (it was really a case of being faux fat to be honest) was when I was in the London Topman this summer and I had to try on all the leftover/way too small for anyone to buy clothes during a sale. I felt fat. It only entered my head for a split second and then I remembered "Oh wait I have a BMI of 19.7, that's just not right" but it happened. Fortunately my friend LJ was there:

Me: This one won't fit either. It's because I'm FAT isn't it??
LJ: Don't you FUCKING dare use the "F" word!!!

It really made me consider how girls feel going into clothes shops and being forced to literally measure up to the shop's expectations of what weight you should be. Wow. You really do have it tough!

Either way, I've started on a new diet. It's called the "Eat as many calories every day so that you have energy to study" diet. I get my usual three meals a day in and then I make sure to have real butter on my sandwiches with a healthy bit of cheese and then I add in some Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream (1,350 calories per 500ml tub!) for good measure. Scones are optional in the evening, but real butter with some jam and a glass of full fat milk is a must.

The thing is, I just know I'm going to get sick with a cold/flu or something over the winter in which case I will lose my appetite. I've been known to lose up to 14 pounds in 3 days this way. Drastic preventative measures must be put in place.

Even more ridiculous was my Chicago weight gain/loss saga. I worked in a pizzeria all summer, literally living off their delicious Pesto and Cheese pizza (the staff informed me that this would me the most fattening) only to put up a meagre........14 pounds. It was also quite startling to find out that it's quite difficult to get full fat products in the States. Full fat yoghurts were IMPOSSIBLE to find so I had to resort to eating baby yoghurts (cheaper and rich in calcium for strong bones in your child). So I came back to Ireland after 3 months of hard work, starting eating healthily/normally again and....within 2 weeks I'd lost it all.

Dagnammit.

Quote of the Day

"People think nature is all flowers and honey and nice animals. No, it's a bitch."

"Why he's as angry as a bag full of cats"

Honestly, this one lecturer is just cracking me up. I would say he's a "cr*cker" but apparently that's a really derogatory term for white people. And here was me thinking it was a compliment?! I've learned from my mistakes now though. I will not be saying that to an American.....again.

Missed Connection

I'll be perfectly honest here, I LOVE reading the Missed Connections ads, particularly those on Craigslist. The thing is, I'm certainly not looking for that one ad that describes me perfectly (tall, dark and handsome etc) as I will read just about any post from any country. It's just that you can find that perfect combination of endearing, romantic posts and fricking hilarious, psychotic ones!

I'm really not sure if this one is real or simply just put up for the fun of it, but either way, the title "Saw You in the Cemetery - m4m - 25 (London)" will catch your attention.

Furthermore, this post that I 'm eh "borrowing" from this lovely blogger verifies the awesomeness that is Craigslist.

Let me begin by saying that I am not angry and that after finding out who the guy is that you are fucking, well, bravo. He’s hot. I get it, the whole French thing is a major turn on, and to be honest, I don’t blame you. Furthermore, since I know you two search CL for people to join in, I felt it to be the best way to let you know the following before you come bounding home tomorrow afternoon.

1. I’ve known for about a week now. Contrary to popular belief, I can smell him on you when you come home after a night of “studying,” or, “working.” I wondered what that was. Not cool.

2. After a brief moment of being really pissed off, I realized that we are living in MY apartment. -Sweet!! As such, your key fob will no longer open any of the outer doors to my building. Your parking pass has been deactivated and security will not let you past the front desk. Furthermore, your access card allowing the elevator to go my apartment has been deactivated. Also, the door locks have been changed.

3. I have ceased all automatic monthly payments to your bills. You no longer have access to any of my accounts. Perhaps the French guy will take up your student loans. He does know your poor, right?

4. Your belongings are gone. Since I am a reasonable man, I have moved them into a Self Storage unit. The unit is paid up for a month so you’ll have ample time to get them. The address and combination to the unit have been left with the security guard at the front desk. I couldn’t remember if the stuffed panda was yours or mine so I threw it in with the rest of your stuff just in case. I’m not sure how long the plants will last though.

5. Security has been alerted at my office and you will not be allowed entry. Don’t try it. Those guys have about 50 pounds on you, and they carry guns.

6. Anything you have with you right now is yours and I will not look to get any of it back. Just a suggestion though; don’t try and sell my watch. I have the certificates for it and most reputable dealers won’t buy it unless you have the proper documentation. Those that would will probably just take the watch from you, along with your wrist and most of your arm.

7. The keys to your car are at the front desk as well. Your car will be towed unless you pick it up before 5pm on Tuesday. Although I might change my mind between now and then so, the sooner the better.

8. I have blocked your number.

9. I’ve blocked your mom’s number.

10. I’m keeping the dog. Even though you picked him out, I paid for him. He likes me more anyway.In case you missed it, I’m breaking up with you.You were good. I had no idea that I slowly became your sugar daddy, which is weird because you are older than I am. How’d that happen?