Dear Blog

You have been ignored for far too long, yet again.

I will write in you soon, I promise.

Ignorance is bliss... or is it?

The series of events which occurred today in Norway was truly harrowing. However, the series of reports which spread across the international media in the aftermath of the bombing and shooting was far more disturbing.

Hvil i fred

At no juncture did any evidence which could link Islamic extremists to the attacks emerge, yet every single newscaster talked of NOTHING but Islamic links. It proved nothing short of LAZY journalism.

The world has hit an all-time low. I remember once being told that World War Three would have some link to the 'sword of Allah'. As far as I'm concerned we've already launched a world war on innocent Muslims, charging them with all the wrongs of the world and jumping to conclusions about them with little care for the consequences of our actions.

Ignorance is bliss? Ignorance is dangerous more like it.

Your Masters Choice

I'm currently debating whether or not to start reading for my MA in Journalism.

I'm not sure that there really is much that I CAN read for it at the moment but I've found myself browsing through the old curriculum and checking book deals on Amazon. I have a feeling that despite my best intentions I will fail to engage in anything mildly academic any time soon.

Falling asleep on the sofa has become my forté, a fact which indicates that perhaps now is not the best time to be getting into any serious reading. I am absolutely living for this weekend and my trip to Galway to sleep, enjoy some free time and just relax in a totally different atmosphere! I want to forget the world, forget the drama and just enjoy the summer.

I've bought The Princess Bride, the original book which inspired the film and I can't wait to start reading it. I think it may be my companion for the train journey as doubtless my lovely fellow traveller will find it easy to drift off into the land of nod.

Yum. Westley.

My name is Inigo Montoya You kill my father.. prepare to die :P

Then again, maybe I should read a book for my Masters?

Decisions, decisions.

Eternal monotony of the lethargic mind

It's yet again been a while since I wrote. 40 hour working weeks seem to work wonders as regards sapping the life / energy out of you.

We're already half way through the summer and I've done relatively little but I guess it isn't too late to make the most of things. Our flight tickets for Majorca arrived today, reminding me that yes, I will get to lie in the sun at least once this year. With a masters fast approaching this is very very very welcome news.

Kudos to my ever narrowing vocabulary for that one. It's clearly a sign that I need to start reading and writing again.

With an eye to reasserting my intellectual ability I've purchased four books this week - fair enough, the Ross O'Carroll-Kelly one doesn't really count but hey, I wanted a cheap laugh. I'm starting to miss academia in a way which is oddly disturbing.

I'm facing a little challenge at the moment - having to justify why I should be selected for something based on why I think I'm good enough for it. I despise these forms, ones where you have to really sell yourself in a sense. I know I'm good at my job, as good as many of the other people I work with and indeed better at it than some. Still, it's never nice having to scrawl 'love me' across a page, regardless of whether or not you happen to be an attention-seeking miscreant like myself.

Hoping to book a nice weekend away this afternoon - I have five days off and really want to make the most of them. I also have a lovely new suitcase to bring with me, albeit one that's a little imperfect so I will be hopefully trading it for a newer model in work tomorrow.

I have the same suitcase as a four year old. Love it.

I also spotted this on-line and have since fallen in love with it. Sad, I know. However I think it's incredibly cute.

awesome

Anyway, life calls.

General Election 2011

Tonight I should really be doing an Irish history essay, yet I find myself distracted by the General Election turnout. Yes, it would seem that somewhere between first and final year I actually developed a fascination with voter turnout, a subject which left me dozing in my seat or playing Tetris during the lectures devoted to it in first year.

I'm not going to lie, I don't see this election as particularly significant. It is an election like any other, a 'drastic' change form Fianna Fáil to Fine Gael and Labour, echoing the election of 1992. Of course I was only three years old in 1992 so I wouldn't be able to remember much. What I do remember however, is an odd sense of unease about John Bruton and I can vividly remember the Rainbow Coalition that wasn't.

This was the first General Election I was ever able to vote in, but I wasn't a first time voter. Yes, I actually bothered to vote in the European Elections in 2009. I think Model European Parliament instilled in me a belief that the person who represented me in Europe was as important as the person who represented me at home.

But then that's what elections are supposed to be about isn't it? About what you WANT, about who you WANT to represent you? Is this year's election about that? For some, yes, it would seem so. However for others it seems rather unlikely. For many, #GE11 is more about what they don't want.

I just hope that they don't live to regret seeking revenge on those they didn't want without considering who they were handing power to.

Wish List 2011 - #1

Love this Oscar de la Renta dress Rihanna wore to the Brits.
I'd probably resemble death in it, but still.
Pretty.

До свиданья dinosaur

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

It was good enough for Romeo, so why not for my dinosaur?
My dear old laptop is starting to give up on itself.
The lovely compact 14" laptop looks set to be replaced by the relatively inconvenient 15.2" laptop.
However with no sound and a dodgy shut down sequence it would seem I have no option.

I will miss my beloved dinosaur.