A bee-heavy animation by Harry Partridge featuring a superhero whose special power largely involves releasing swarms of bees.
That’s what this bees about.
Yearly Archives: 2013
Goodbye, Ms Gillard, it was good,
While it lasted, but old Kevin Rudd,
Got his own back,
You once gave him the sack,
And this time he struck and drew blood.
John Moynes
(The Age)
While John Oliver ably holds the fort back in New York, a bearded Jon Stewart, currently on location filming Rosewater in Egypt, dropped by last Friday to visit his comedic counterpart Bassem Youssef, who has appeared several times on The Daily Show.
Naturally, there were Jewish gags. Also apricot gags.
Do Not Like
at
‘Liking Isn’t Helping’ – a powerful ad campaign for Crisis Relief Singapore mocking the guilt-assuaging cult of the Facebook ‘Like’ and suggesting that people who really care should volunteer to help instead.
The thumbs in these genuine press images of pain and loss are thankfully ‘shopped in.
Kinky
at
Cuff ’em boys…
Andrew writes:
Saw this innovative use of Garda handcuffs just off Wexford Street, Dublin, yesterday, thought you guys might enjoy it….the budget cuts must be taking their toll.
TL;DR?
at
“Dear Taoiseach,
“I am not sure why I am writing this email, I have never written an email like this but I wanted to share the experience I am going through in the event that it might give you some insights into the challenging few months that are ahead of me as a result of the abortion legislation in Ireland.”
“I am a 33-year-old married woman, pregnant with our much-anticipated, wanted and longed for first child – the excitement of welcoming our first child as I am sure you are familiar with, is huge.”
“However our world crumbled last week when the 20-week scan showed fluid in the brain and after some tests in Holles St our little boy has been diagnosed with Trisomy 13 also known as Patau Syndrome – a syndrome that is known to be incompatible with life, one where we are likely to lose our little boy at any day or if we were to go full term where he will only live for hours or days at the most.”
“We were faced with the huge decision of what to do next; the realisation that we have no choice and that I am now caught up on the Irish abortion debate as a 33-year-old married woman is overwhelming.”
“We have decided not to travel to another country where we would have options; another country that would look after our needs better than the Irish medical system can. We have decided to allow nature to take its course – which means putting our lives on hold for five months; waking every morning not knowing if this is going to be the day that I will miscarry or whether I have to face another well wisher congratulating me on my ever expanding bump telling me ‘isn’t it so exciting’ or ‘summer is a lovely time to have a baby’- yes it would be a lovely time to have a baby but unfortunately medicine tells us that this baby is incompatible with life, is unlikely to make it full term and if it does he will like only last hours or days at most….however the Irish Government would prefer to put us through what will be the toughest months of our lives…”
“We talked about the fact that if termination was an option in Ireland – would we have gone down that route? We cannot answer that question but the fact that the choice has been made for us by people in government adds to the heartache of the whole situation. We are grieving for a baby that will never live, a baby that will be with us in the womb-only for possibly 5 more months or possibly 5 more days, a baby that will be loved unconditionally and a medical system that is prolonging this painful process far longer than is necessary.”
“To sum it up, my email is essentially for you to consider babies with terminal illnesses when your team is discussing the abortion debate, it is not just about women whose lives are in danger it is also about the well being of women like me who are faced with a long road that will ultimately lead to a heartbreaking end.”
“Doctors should have the power to assess a situation and offer an option of inducing labour if people are faced with this situation – it is not an abortion, it is offering women the option to termination a pregnancy on medical grounds – I urge you strongly to consider the difference for any legislation changes that are being considered.”
“Thank you for taking the time to read my email.”
An email to Enda Kenny on February 5. The author says she received no response or acknowledgement from the Taoiseach’s office. She then resent it on April 17, requesting an acknowledgement which she received from Patricia Collins, Mr Kenny’s assistant private secretary. She gave birth to a stillborn baby boy on May 4.
Ex-Monaghan United manager Roddy Collins
On why it’s more than a game.
Cormac Hargaden writes:
I know sport is rarely your bag but we have a football series with a difference running on Setanta Ireland at the moment called Return Of The Rod Squad.
Next Monday night at 10pm the fourth and final episode airs – and among other things, it gearshifts from comedy to tragedy as one of Ireland’s most colourful and toughest men sees his club go bust and his players left without a job.
.Some lighter clips from the programme and full episodes of the original IFTA winning prequel The Rod Squad here.
Lorna writes:
On my cycle to work this morning, I passed a set of car keys on the ground at Leesons St Upper [Dublin]. Figuring a fellow cyclist has lost them, I went back to pick them up. I’m now trying to see if I can locate the owner! They’re for a Peugeot and have the owner’s bike lock key & house key on it! Can you ask your broadsheet viewers if they’ve lost their keys this morning?
Sir Henry’s, South Main Street, Cork
Munster’s blissed-out, langer-filled answer to Manchester’s Hacienda.
Now a play!
Deep, written and performed by Ray Scannell, above, is taking place in the Half Moon Theatre in Cork city until Sunday night, as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival.
The story is told thought the dilated eyes of a 35-year-old pill head (top), supported by DJ/VJ narrated audio-visual discography with documentary footage of the club.
The blurb:
“Ten years ago the spiritual home of Cork’s first generation of ravers closed forever. This new show from one of Cork’s finest theatre-makers marks the occasion by exploring the social and political backdrop of the time. Featuring documentary interviews of the club’s main figures and footage of nights at the club (can you spot yourself amongst the smiling faces?), Deep is the story of an era told through the personal journey of a Deep House Junkie who, at 35, has lived through the peaks and troughs of the last two decades, and is still intent on raving to the grave.”
Yeah, boi.
On RTÉ’s The Meaning of Life With Gay Byrne last night, Bono spoke to host Gay Byrne about God and his tax arrangements
Essentially, U2 is a business and he’s a tough guy.
And, you know, GET OVER IT.
Gay Byrne: “If I don’t ask you this, I’ll be criticised and if I do ask you this I’ll be criticised but since you’ve touched on the subject now. The subject of U2’s taxation arrangements, whereby people are expressing their wonder at what they call your hypocrisy, not my word, their word, hypocrisy of haranguing us all and asking us to pay for more international aid, at the same time as you shift your company overseas in order to save taxation.”
Bono: “Yeah, but it’s [unintelligible] of Irish people to be critical of this is because the shock horror moment here is U2 behaving like a business. (Fake shock facial and gasp expression). And I mean our, we live in a small rock in the North Atlantic and we would be under water were it not for very clever people working in Government and in the Revenue who made tax competitiveness a central part of Irish economic life.
It is the reason we have companies like, you know, Google and Facebook and, indeed, I helped bring those companies to Ireland. So it’s more than churlish for Irish people to say well we don’t want an Irish company involved in that stuff that we do want everyone else. I mean we do pay a lot of, I want to say, we pay a lot of tax and…but we are, you know, tax sensible. But, as every business is. And why is it because I’m involved in these…some people think as idealistic things but I think as pragmatic things, why can’t U2 be tough in business? This thing of the warm, fuzzy feeling, you know we want you know this…I’d like people to get over that. Because that’s not who I am. I am tough and I may have, you know, I may sing from a very private and intimate place and I make art. But I’m tough-minded and I’m intellectually rigorous, I hope. And, I think U2’s tax business is our own business and I think it’s not just to the letter of the law, it is to the spirit of the law.”
Byrne: “In that context do you think you’re removed from the everyday lives of people in Ireland, especially today?”
Bono: “That must be true.”
Watch here (from 27.40)