This morning.

A compilation of protests across the world over the weekend against covid response measures .

Meanwhile..

…via The Irish Times:

Crucial to understanding the political alienation manifest in the riots is that close correlation between declining trust, or persisting mistrust, in government and institutions and low vaccination rates. Mainstream parties throughout Europe have yet to understand how to tackle that.

The undermining of trust is also an important function of the reliance on social media, with 72 per cent of Americans and 83 per cent of Europeans using the internet as a source for health information.

Users fall prey to an echo chamber effect where tailored recommendations based on their personal “watch history” feed individuals’ concerns and rarely provide alternative or expert views. One of the challenges of the age is how to provide compelling online narratives to cut through the forest of quack medicine.

Um.

The Irish Times view on Europe’s Covid-19 protests (Irish Times)

Meanwhile…

Saturday.

City Hall, Belfast.

Meanwhile…

In fairness.

Thank Fritz it’s Friday.

In support of our beleaguered brothers and sisters in Austria, this week I want to know: what’s your favourite song sung in German?

Here’s mine.

Alas, there’s still no voucher – but them’s the breaks.

Please include video links if possible.

Lines close Midnight SUNDAY.

Nick says: Good luck.

Meanwhile…

Last week my esteem was won by Will for his choice of song about the ocean.

Will wrote:

“Tom Waits’ All The World Is Green from the album Blood Money. Containing the most delicious key change with marimba and bass clarinet solo.

“The gorgeous lyrics: ‘I fell into the ocean, when you became my wife; risked it all against the sea, to have a better life’.”


Nick says: Thanks Will and to everyone who entered.

Pic: Steamboat Vinyl, Limerick

From top: Ronnie Delany (left) and Kieran Mulvey, chairman of Sport Ireland; Ronnie with wife Joan and their grandchildren

This afternoon.

Arklow, county Wicklow.

A statue by sculptor Paul Ferriter and commissioned by Wicklow County Council honouring Olympic Gold Medallist Dr Ronnie Delany was officially unveiled in his home town.

Dr Delany was born in Arklow on March, 1935 and achieved international fame when, at the age of 21 he won a Gold Medal in the 1500m at the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, on December 1, 1956.

At the unveiling, Kieran Mulver, chairman of Sport Ireland, said:

 “At the raw young age of 21 years this gangly youthful figure confounded the greats of the athletic world by winning the Gold Medal in the 1500 metres Final at the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956. He achieved it in a then Olympic record time of 3.41.2, and he was then only the seventh man to beat the four-minute barrier in this prestige race.”

Pics: Michael Kelly

‘Sleepwatch’

A beautiful animation of an unusual story (that you can help complete).

Fergal Brennan writes:

As a documentary filmmaker, I’m always on the lookout for stories about the unusual in everyday life. A few years ago I recorded interviews with friends about strange part-time jobs they had had. I couldn’t believe my ears when my friend, Dee, told me her story.

When she was 19-years-old, she took a job sleeping in the same bed as an elderly man, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The reason being to prevent him from injuring himself at night.

Having had no previous training for the job, she described its challenges with sincerity and compassion — her initial aversion to the situation, but also her growing empathy as she came to know Mr Goldsmith. Despite his struggle to communicate, the strong bond of love between this man and his wife was clear and poignant for Dee to see.

Dee’s incredibly honest story and emotive voice got an amazing reaction when I played it to friends — I needed to make this into a film!

Fast forward seven years, and that recording became the foundation of my film, which has led to the launching of a Kickstarter campaign to complete the story. The campaign launched this Tuesday, and finishes on December 14 [At Link below]. Thank you!

Sleepwatch (Kickstarter)

Broadsheet.ie