Smoke Signals

2007-12-23T18:53:00.000Z

Well I'm still here but the blog has been in a coma for the last few years. In some respects a lot has changed in my life over the last few years but its also surprising how much has stayed the same. The older you get the faster time goes...roll on 2008 - it's going to be a big year for me.

2005-04-26T10:26:00.000Z

Memorial. Inismór.

2005-01-24T10:52:00.000Z

It's a pity how work gets in the way of blogging but unfortunately I'm so swamped at the moment I've decided to go on hiatus for a while.

2004-12-22T13:14:00.000Z

Mr. Cat says have a meery beery Christmas!

2004-11-22T18:46:00.000Z

Remember the subservient chicken? Here's a subservient bar girl. It's hard enough to get a drink off her though.

2004-11-22T11:45:00.000Z

Oh look. Crane lifting stupidity makes no.2 on daypop. This happened a few months ago in Roundstone - a very picturesque village not too far from here. I guess we should be thankful nobody was hurt but I'm sure there were a lot of red faces around town that day.

2004-11-19T15:28:00.000Z

I didn't realise they played Hurling in Turkey... I guess you learn something new every day.

2004-11-04T10:47:00.000Z

In common with Brendan, I got the new Bob Dylan memoir late last week. It's a superb read indeed; surprising in the amount of detail he recounts - I suspect Dylan must have been an avid journal keeper all his life. He possess a very acute visual/verbal sense - which is also reflected in the lyrics of his best songs - his use of words, reconditioned cliches in many cases - to describe scenes and visions outside of any clear narrative.

The book is far better that I had expected. The chapter on 'Oh Mercy' alone is worth the cover price; his account of his search for new inspiration, the way he works to reveal the source of power within the songs, the realities of the recording process, the enthusiasm and reverence and taste he shows for music - it's a superb insight into the creative workings of a great artist. Plus, he comes across as an eminently likeable and sensitive individual. Who would have thought it?

2004-11-02T13:42:00.000Z

Second Hand Songs - A cover songs database.

2004-11-01T16:11:00.000Z

Somebody taking the piss here?

2004-10-22T08:11:00.000Z

A massive gallery of David Lynch movie posters.

2004-10-05T12:40:00.000Z

Online Encyclopedia NationMaster.com has a quite strange entry for Tuam.

2004-09-24T14:36:00.000Z

Kerry for President, Mayo for Sam.

The big match is on Sunday. Tickets are as scarce as hens teeth. None have come my way so it looks like I'll watch the game in one of Castlebar's friendly drinkin' establishments. Up Mayo!

2004-09-22T16:34:00.000Z

A tree.

2004-09-20T12:40:00.000Z

Quite entertaining. What would you do if you found someone's digital camera memory card? Post the photos on the web and write a blog around them of course...

2004-09-14T13:03:00.000Z

The Rock & Roll Hall of Shame.

2004-09-08T14:30:00.000Z

Into classic cameras? How about the Rolleiflex MiniDigi?

2004-09-06T10:27:00.000Z

The UK National Trust has preserved a photo studio as it was 50 years ago.

2004-08-31T15:34:00.000Z

Memory card survives explosion that destroys the camera - and records the moment of impact.

2004-08-23T17:59:00.000Z

Can you name a guitar heroine?

2004-08-10T12:21:00.000Z

I've been pretty much out of touch with what Mark E. Smith and the Fall have been doing since about 1989 so I went to their gig in the Roisin largely out of a sense of historical curiosity. But, bloody hell if it wasn't one of the very best concerts I've ever been at. Maybe they only played for little over an hour but the band had the crowd in such a frenzy from the word go that by the time they had sauntered off the stage the audience seemed too knackered to even attempt anything more than the most whimpering calls for an encore. But an encore did come, and while I was distracted by a face-off between a nutcase and a bowsie that was threatening to erupt into fullscale flailing, I could only wonder if The Fall were always this good and why had I written Mark E Smith and his merry crew off for a full decade and a half just because his songs used to give me a pain in the head. How can somebody that looks like a resident of a Salford doss house manage to summon a force that is more funk, more indie, more downright uncompromising rock n'roll than just about anything else being produced today? And while my tinnitus and I recover, here's the Fall Video Repository to amuse yourselves with (check out the videos from The Knitting Factory NY from April this year for a flavour of what was on show in Galway).

PS: Fans review the gig.

2004-08-03T12:32:00.000Z

If you live near Galway, keep your eye's peeled for this chap. There's a cool $1 million reward on his head and he's already been spotted around here.

2004-07-27T13:33:00.000Z

Perfect for the Irish summer: Guniness Stout Ice Cream.

2004-07-23T16:51:00.000Z

German(?) flash game: Walk the drunk home.

2004-07-23T13:19:00.000Z

Smarter than your average songwriter: An interview with Sufjan Stevens.

2004-07-19T09:48:00.000Z

18th century English artist William Hogarth's 'The Analysis of Beauty'. Apparently, it's all to do with the serpentine line.

2004-07-16T10:47:00.000Z

"A way beyond the itchcebob
and over the proofran sea
you'll find a place called Stoogeland
where very soon you'll be..."

-Track 119 of the fascinating Funhouse Sessions boxset.
Even the 30 second samples ROCK. Via the spiffing new layout Allmusic.com.

2004-07-14T09:13:00.000Z

Womenfolk: The blog dedicated to women in music.

2004-07-13T12:44:00.000Z

An American author's bad experiences of Galway.

2004-07-12T14:38:00.000Z

Online stream of "The Golden Apples of the Sun": An Arthur Magazine compilation of the best new folk music as selected by Devendra Banhart.

2004-07-01T15:57:00.000Z

Weird. The Warlords of Pez doing it for for the kids. (64k video via thumped.com)

2004-07-01T14:18:00.000Z

Go on, get it off your chest: iWorkWithFools.com

2004-06-29T15:14:00.000Z

Via Metafilter. Video of Sonic Youth studio performance. I got the new album last week and whilst it covers familiar ground, I think it's probably their best collection of tunes since 'Dirty'.

2004-06-29T14:04:00.000Z

The Straight Dope has the answer to something we all need to know: -How large a file is a 128 kbps MP3 of John Cage's 4'33"?

2004-06-29T13:06:00.000Z

Fang-Yu Lin

2004-06-28T16:47:00.000Z

It was a pretty eventful weekend for me. I won't go into details but suffice to say the highlight was the Dylan concert in Pearse Stadium yesterday. The sound left a bit to be desired (especially at the back where the echo from the stands was horrendous; up front it was okay) but the gig itself was awesome. Dylan's band are one of the tightest outfits I've ever seen live. I reckon, the performance of 'Tangled up in Blue' bettered any version of that song I've heard before. And the guitar interplay during the 'Love and Theft' material, particularily during 'Summer days' was beautiful. 'Down on the Cove', 'Drifters Escape', 'The Man in Me', 'All along the Watchtower','Like a Rolling Stone'. Brilliant, brilliant stuff.

2004-06-25T14:57:00.000Z

The truth about Layne.

2004-06-23T09:41:00.000Z

The four word film review

2004-06-21T16:34:00.000Z

The Illustrated Smiths - Illustrate Some Smiths Lyrics!

2004-06-17T14:01:00.000Z

99 Rooms.

2004-06-17T09:43:00.000Z

I'll make no apologies. Big Brother may be lowest denominator entertainment but this season it's shaping up to be the best series yet.

2004-06-16T14:25:00.000Z

It appears that one of my favourite bloggers Plain Layne may be a work of fiction. Triggered by her latest hiatus, regular readers have trawled the net in somewhat frenzied search for evidence of deceit. Heavyweight sites Kottke.org and Metafilter are now in on the action.

2004-06-15T15:34:00.000Z

Balkanisation in Ballyhaunis?

2004-06-14T13:13:00.000Z

Carrot-tops arise and behold the Realm of Redheads!

2004-06-10T15:31:00.000Z

THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht

oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist

and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you

can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not

raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Prtety fcuikng Amzanig

huh?

2004-06-09T15:07:00.000Z

Slime mould DNA music.

2004-06-09T14:56:00.000Z

A great collection of music videos.

2004-06-04T12:42:00.000Z

This weekend we have the Guinness Castlebar Blues Festival. It's being going for 12 years now - which is some achievement. It's a fun little festival with more of a focus on the Guinness than on the Blues, but hey, who can argue when so much good music is free?

2004-06-03T14:48:00.000Z

The wonders of the internet. I'm currently listening to an official bootleg of last nights Pixies gig in London. Incredible stuff - it's like they never went away.

2004-05-31T12:15:00.000Z

Fowl play suspected in this mans death? :

2004-05-28T10:58:00.000Z

Think you can park a trailer?

2004-05-26T16:08:00.000Z

An excellent synopsis of 'Troy' - which is shite, in case you're wondering. For proper movie thrills may I recommend Kill Bill Vol. 2 - any single scene of which displays more imagination than Hollywood's latest overblown folly.

2004-05-26T12:07:00.000Z

Design your own cereal box. Via Exclamation Mark.

2004-05-26T12:03:00.000Z

Hey Kids! Learn how to fake UFO photos. Via The Presurfer.

2004-05-21T14:24:00.000Z

A second installment of the World's worst album covers. Get a load of the 'Playmates'.

2004-05-21T10:19:00.000Z

Kudos to Galway Mayo Institute of Technology student, Kevin Kelly for building a sophisticated Rubik's cube solver robot out of LEGO for his final year Engineering project. No doubt it was a complex and difficult task. However, one wonders if it was all original work or if he used the design published by LEGO Robotics supremo Johnathan Brown last year?

2004-05-20T12:31:00.000Z

Is is a new musical genre - Alt Christian perhaps? Whatever, Sufjan Stevens' new album 'Seven Swan's is incredible; certainly one of the best things I've heard this year so far - beautiful and inspirational in equal measure. But then again I've a soft spot for left-field understated folk-rock so here's another review by a believer.

2004-05-19T13:33:00.000Z

Are you up to speed with Britain's sex laws? Take this test to find out how little you know.

2004-05-18T15:36:00.000Z

Gmail swap. If any of you want an invite to join up for a GMail account, let me know and I'll email you.

2004-05-18T10:51:00.000Z

The Quantum Effects Devices Project. Heavy stuff.

2004-05-12T20:52:00.000Z

The Infinite Cat Project. Via Incoming Signals.

2004-05-12T18:16:00.000Z

Unleash the Orgasmatron.

2004-05-10T16:05:00.000Z

Noise Pop Mix Tapes

2004-05-07T09:22:00.000Z

I saw two great movies the other night. The Station Agent - a touching drama about solitude and friendship followed by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie which I can only describe as unmissable if you've ever loved and lost. It so good I think I go and see it again next week.

2004-05-06T09:40:00.000Z

A mad looking modern monocycle.

2004-04-28T17:33:00.000Z

I missed this article when it came out last month on Wired News:- How E-Voting Threatens Democracy. Topical in an Irish context given the controversial plan to introduce electronic voting nationally for the first time in the forthcoming European and Local elections on June 11th.

2004-04-27T16:43:00.000Z

Disordered Affections: The Blog of one of the 'ex' writers of Judging Amy who with the rest of her colleagues has recently been fired. Via Gossiplist.

2004-04-27T16:21:00.000Z

Speaking of UFO's. Here's a story about a suspected alien sighting in Boyle, Co. Roscommon recently which caused 'widespread shock and consternation' amongst the local community.

2004-04-27T13:00:00.000Z

Never mind your EU ministers' meetings or your Presidental visits, Galway is hosting an international UFO conference in June. More details here.

2004-04-26T16:36:00.000Z

Project Hipshot - John Brownlow's interesting experiment in street photography.

2004-04-26T10:10:00.000Z

An excellent post from John at North Atlantic Skyline blog on the unexpectedly painless acceptance amongst Ireland's drinking public of our bright shiny new smoking ban.

2004-04-23T14:50:00.000Z

Silly season in the U.S. south? Louisiana May Ban Low-Slung Pants.

2004-04-22T14:30:00.000Z

Rampant rhino gets amorous with car.

2004-04-21T14:44:00.000Z

Chinese enterprise on the web: ThreeDollarDVD.

2004-04-19T19:08:00.000Z

Proof once again, that with every advance in technology, somebody will figure out a way of using it for sexual gratification.

2004-04-19T15:51:00.000Z

Rip It Up And Start Again. Hopefully Simon Reynold's new book will be as good as the song.

2004-04-19T13:48:00.000Z

Theta States - Bedroom Music For Bedroom People: Some excellent mix discs on mp3 here.

2004-04-17T12:14:00.000Z

Bloody hell... I often park my car in Roche's carpark in town and I've never seen anything like this...!!!.!

2004-04-16T10:22:00.000Z

The Ph.D. Game.

2004-04-13T13:08:00.000Z

Anti-Barbie Wins Hearts in Beauty Pageant - or how an ordinary Russian teenager won the online competition to represent her country at the Miss Universe peageant in Ecuador.

2004-04-09T13:13:00.000Z

A journey through the dead zone; an amazing photo essay of a motorcycle journey through the environs of Chernobyl.

2004-04-06T15:42:00.000Z

For the record, Alphastates' gig last night in the Cellar was v.good. Thought you would like to know. Incidentally, on the way to the Cellar, I ran into Irish football legend Paul McGrath. He was on his own and seemed a tad drunk (some would say 'twisted drunk') - shouting away at nothing in particular. Quite sad really.

2004-04-06T09:30:00.000Z

Talented international troubadour and Galway resident Obo Martin's website. He's a brave man to mix it like that with the swans in the Claddagh basin.

2004-04-06T08:55:00.000Z

Mick Fealty of Northern Ireland politics blog www.sluggerotoole.com has contributed an interesting article to last Sunday's Observer.

2004-04-06T08:23:00.000Z

The MOOG archives.

2004-04-06T08:14:00.000Z

Sicilian Blazes Put Science to the Test.

2004-04-05T12:14:00.000Z

You are a GRAMMAR GOD!

If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!

How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

2004-04-01T16:08:00.000Z

The Worm Game.

2004-03-31T16:36:00.000Z

Map Your Motivations To Clarify Career Goals. This is the kind of shite I hate, but unfortunately, being a worker drone in a multinational corporation means I need 'career goals'....

2004-03-25T18:17:00.001Z

CRIMSON ROOM - A bloody difficult puzzle game.

2004-03-24T18:57:00.000Z

Wow your friends with Erotic Origami.

2004-03-24T10:06:00.000Z

Pretty impressive chat/collaboration environment: Collab.

2004-03-23T19:06:00.000Z

St Patrick's day shenanigans - Ronnie Drew with a half naked woman; of course, BP Fallon had to be involved.

2004-03-23T13:33:00.000Z

I'm back from France after an eventful and stressful journey accompanying an injured friend via an alternative route which included baggage mayhem at Gatwick and Ryanair selling the two extra seats our insurance company had reserved (and paid for) to accomodate my friend's broken leg. Never again will I fly with Ryanair. They can take their 'low fares' and shove then up their anzuzes.

2004-03-12T17:19:00.000Z

I'm off skiing for the week so there'll be no posting here until the 22nd at earliest....See you folks!

2004-03-09T18:28:00.000Z

Surprise, surprise: Ireland tops EU alcohol consumption table.

2004-03-06T14:54:00.000Z

Margot Knight's extraordinarily strange images

2004-03-05T11:03:00.000Z

A flash Sonic the Hedgehog game.

2004-03-04T13:15:00.000Z

An interesting left brain/right brain challenge: The Colour Test

2004-03-01T16:13:00.000Z

The Smile Shop: all about Brian Wilson's lost Beach Boys masterpiece 'Smile' which is finally due for release later this year.