'Good Friday' again and luckily I'm working today as usual. For some amusement check out the comments on today's Irish Times Poll - on whether pubs should be open today or not.

Well the original neolithic structure probably had something to do with lunar cycles too...check out the "8th wonder of the world" here. Apparently no tampons were harmed during the making of this monument!

Will Smoke Signals be here in a years time? Probably. Here's an interesting post from the Daily Pundit on the future of the so called Blogosphere.

Go raibh maith agat Cormac of the excellent blog "The Plastic Cat" for linking to me. The chances are that if you are reading this you came from there.

And from there I see that nofusion has an allegedly complete list of Irish weblogs - although I have to say Smokesignals does not appear.....never fear recognition will come some day - meanwhile I'm off to the Hunstman now for a few jars.

Spam...where would we be without it? Ever think of responding?...these guys did. Or how about turning it into Super Spam Soundz of the Seventies...

The Bertie Pool affair,...have our public servants wasted taxpayers money again? Is this more evidence of incompetence and/or corruption at highest levels? Maybe..maybe not - I've given up caring. What I do what to know is..is that hairstyle real or is the real cover-up that of Paddy Teahon's bald pate...????

Well maybe I was little too harsh on the Oscars - went to see "In the Bedroom" last night and I was well impressed. The performances from Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei were fantastic. I found the movie greatly moving and emotional (even reminding me of people and evvents in my own life) and of course the photography was magnificent. One of the best I've seen in quite a while. But even if it was nominated in several Oscar categories it won nothing.

Now look at this - fuck ups galore....Business 2.0 - Magazine Article - The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business

So the Oscars....an irrelevant and boring celebration of shit films ("a beautiful mind"....huh?)..thats it for another year I suppose.

However I did see a fantastic movie on TV at the weekend - "Possessed " staring joan Crawford. It's a wonderfully captivating movie - I had no intention of lounging around for a few hours on a sunny sunday afternoon, but from the first scene I couldn't leave it. What a terrific script, brilliant dialogue and great performances. Why don't they make movies like this any more?

I had a dream last night where I met playwrightDavid Mamet in Johnny's pub...funny guy but a bit wierd. And what was wierd was that in my dream I was convinced I had previously had a dream about him. A memory of a dream within a dream...

Obviously Mary 'Robbo' Robinson isn't too popular a figure with the American right - ref Matt Welchs posting here.

Looks like its gonna be a wet Summer in Ireland - Scientists on alert for ‘El Nino’ in coming months

I figured I should record that I bought 3 CD's this weekend - The Beta Band 'Hot Shots II', Victoria Williams - 'Musings of a Creekdipper' and Tindersticks 'Curtains'. All were cut-price and all sound pretty good. Also went to see Oceans 11 at the local movie house...all in all it was harmless entertainment.

Well I just about survived St Patricks day - although a few jugs of 'Paddy's Poison' (Vodja, bacardi, bols and Orange) nearly put paid to me. The head isn't great today and it was looking dodgy for a Smoke signals posting but then I found this. The Verilux HappyEyes floor lamp - it spreads natural sunshine all over the room - now this is technology!

Isn't that Dennis Pennis preparing Asia for the World cup?

I'm not generally a huge fan of classical music. But this Glass Engine is one of the coolest things I've seen on the web. It includes I believe, everything that the composer Phillip Glass has recorder.

Stephen Jay Gould - one of my favourite authors is releasing his magnum opus -The Structure of Evolutionary Theory.

Check out these alternative Smirnoff Ice Ads. Courtesy of the Evil Gerald

Now this is funny - th Onion skit on Feminism.

Camera fished from pond now takes surrealistic photos - check out the article here.

North Korean reaction to news of the secret Pentagon nuclear arms review - see this report in the Irish Times. Its not often we can position the North Koreans on the moral high ground...

Here's an interesting . article on corante about Weblogs, Ideaviruses and the propagation of new information.

"it's a lot easier to blog a quick link than it is to come up with your own content! When you come across an interesting link during your surfing, just stick the link in a blog window, snippet out a quote, and (if you're up for it) add a quick comment. It may only take you a minute... but if your visitors check out the article, then they could up to half an hour of reading out of it."

What an interesting religion...I remember the Druze playing a part in the mess taht was Lebanon in the Eighties.

What is it about unhinged Americans and schools? - check out this story.

Well ...what a weekend. Too much drink, too little sleep. I just about managed to stay up to watch the second episode of 24 last night. Much better than the opening episode. The excitement levels are building and given the suspense, I have forgiven the producers for the smorgesbund of plotlines revealed last week.

Also - I bought the new album by Fog yesterday evening. It was an impulse buy based on the fact that I had already red to okay reviews of it and it sounded interesting and different maybe. I was either that or 'Things we lost in the Fire' by Low. I'll get that some other time I guess.

I didn't get any posts in yesterday due to the Blogger downtime. I had intended to make some references to the Abortion vote - and how the pro-life lobby had dissappeared up their own arses in arguments over the definition of 'unborn', 'risk', 'suicide', 'health' and indeed the old chestnut 'life'. ..but I didn't.

I did get a few amusing links yesterday... how about this for a reolutionary invention. A Godsend to drinkers everywhere!

And yet another conspiracy theory about Sept 11 - this time its a Pentagon cover-up.

Last but not least - check out this observation test. Stare at this picture really closely for at least two minutes to see if you can figure out what is wrong in the picture. Remember, give yourself enough
time to figure it out.... (This is best with sound).

Now I'm glad I voted....Voters reject abortion proposal by tiny margin.

Irish abortion referendum latest - it looks like it's going to be close but the 'No' vote should prevail. It's the old rural/upban divide at work again. Read the story here.

Hey! Congrats to Bazil at www.miscellaneousBS.com and Joe at www.j_cuttheshit.blogspot.com for leaving the first comments!!! Bazil and Joe, you'll be top of the list when I get around to creating my links list!. And thanks to the Pepys Project for adding Smokesignals to their directory.

I watched this program last night - Dispatches: Secrets of the Saudi State. Interesting and disturbing. Should something be done? Does the regime actively support terrorism. Or should the west continue to support the current regime instead of inflaming the nest of Islamic fundamentalism that so obviously lies at the heart of that nation.

The enigmatic SF writer - read here about the Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick.

Hey look! - they've changed Sesame Street.

Had a tough night last night. Went to the Josh Ritter gig at the Roisin last night only to find it sold out. So we waited and had a few jars. Luckily the man at the door let us in to see the last 30 mins of the set. It was my first time seeing the guy play - I had expected him to be more straight ahead country. But two things struck me - 1. the place was full of young girls. 2. The guy was actually pretty funny!. Kinda reminded me of a young Loudon Wainwright. (Speaking of whom - I must check out some more of Loudon's music.) Anyway, Josh wasn't bad - good singer / competent songs - didn't excite me a great deal but then maybe I missed the best part of the gig. He also does a mean Shane MacGowan impression. After that we went nightclubbing and now I've a sore head.....

Must answer these on Friday..smattering.org >> the friday five

I never been a fan of that Star Trek codswallop but this is thought provoking...the blogosphere = the Borg.

Must read this account of ..How bin Laden got away.

Also...last Friday for the first time ever I attended a greyhound race. Eight bets and no winners - it's a mugs game...and cold too.

I went to see "a Beautiful Mind" on Saturday night. Its a mind numbingly boring film and should have every chance of winning a shedload of Oscars. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it but just when it was about to get interesting it got shit. (Round about that part where they threw him into the loony bin for the first time).

Well here it is - all you ever needed to know about the forthcoming Abortion referendum in Ireland here. Personally, I am against it on the ground that it makes a joke of our constitution as well as being against my pro-choice ideals.

Is this what I'm waiting for - it may have a layout that I actually like...BlogSkins.com Signup

Check out the music recorded by my friend's band Veneer. They spent a year working on these songs and overall they are pretty good and well recorded.

Hey! I've just changed the template for theis Blog. Not sure if its any improvement over the old one. Meanwhile here's the latest Evil Gerald.

Personality Profile

Heres my results from this test. I think they might be accurate....or maybe not.

Your Existing Situation
Sensuous. Inclined to luxuriate in the things which give gratification to the senses, but rejects anything tasteless, vulgar, or coarse.

Your Stress Sources
Resilience and tenacity have become weakened. Feels overtaxed, worn out, and getting nowhere, but continues to stand his ground. He feels this adverse situation as an actual tangible pressure which is intolerable to him and from which he wants to escape, but he feels unable to make the necessary decision.

Your Restrained Characteristics
Feels cut off and unhappy because of the difficulty in achieving the essential degree of cooperation and harmony which he desires.
Feels that things stand in his way, that circumstances are forcing him to compromise and forgo some pleasures for the time being.

Your Desired Objective
Needs a change in his circumstances or in his relationships which will permit relief from stress. Seeking a solution which will open up new and better possibilities and allow hopes to be fulfilled.

Your Actual Problem
The tensions induced by trying to cope with conditions which are really beyond his capabilities, or reserves of strength, have led to considerable anxiety and a sense of personal (but unadmitted) inadequacy. He reacts by seeking outside confirmation of his ability and value in order to bolster his self-esteem. Inclined to blame others so that he may shift the blame from himself. Anxiously searching for solutions and prone to compulsive inhibitions and compulsive desires.

Your Actual Problem #2
The fear that he may be prevented from achieving the things he wants leads him into a relentless search for satisfaction in the pursuit of illusory or meaningless activities.

There can never be too many nutty sites on the web...

What a fantastic festival - SXSW. I never realised they had such a huge line-up. Wish I could attend.