O'Malley

Oh, and his name is O'Malley.

Thanks for all the suggestions..it was a very hard decision to make

The Eyes Of My Eyes Are Opened

In the words of ee cummings
"i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of allnothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)"

But For How Long More?

while driving i wonder why no driver smiles. why everyone has upon their face a look of sadness and regret. anticipation not of good times to come, but of the troubles that are bound to come their way. if we expect troubles then we will get them. if we don't we still might. but at least we've saved ourselves some years of worry. and yet, im not going to drive around with a stupid smile on my face, because its really hard to. beeping horns, dim-witted pedestrians who feel the need to cross as the traffic lights turn green, traffic jams, petrol prices, sun in my eyes. oh how i long for the simplicity of the days i never experienced. when the whole world you would ever know was a mere mile or two around you. the world is contracting, our own worlds are expanding, our ability to love perhaps shrinking, our capacity for real communication gone.
a few months ago i posted about our increasing ability to practice the art of what i called "politeful ignorance". click here to read it.
we've also become adept at believing that everyone is against us. with all that's going on around the world, its no wonder. what ever happened to helpful salespeople? or friendly drivers? or happy children?
well, maybe the children are still happy. but i cant help but wonder..for how long more?

A Break. With Normality..

It's really hard to study when you've got a million and one things going through your head. Its even harder when those million and one things are all the same one thought. just in different forms... quite pointless.
Ah its all really quite pointless if you think about it.
At the end of it all, it doesnt matter what we do. What we say. Whether we get out of bed in the morning, whether we do our job. Give it 50 years and the world will have forgotten who we are. Except for the small few who do something which this superficial world deems worthy of committing to its memory. The strong write history. So do the dictators, the controllers, and the "democratically elected elite". So why do we carry on? I dont know. Maybe because if we didnt we'd probably go crazy. Someone once said "We're all born crazy. Some of us stay that way."
It's those who live at the edges of society that still hold on to the craziness that lies within us. Those who have been shunned by state and society are those who are most in touch with the demons and deep emotions that we daily bury deeper into our subconscious. Deeper until one day some of us explode, and do something so "out of character" that we wonder how we ever thought he was "normal". It's not normal to conform. Or maybe it is. Normality is what we label it to be and in this world that we live side by side in, conformity is normality. The law tells us what is normal. The law is written by those who for some reason believe themselves to be more "normal" than others. Some people are born more "normal" than others. Like the animals in Orwells Animal Farm, "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others". Abiding by this code of normality is unfortunately what most of us spend our entire lives worrying about. We worry that we'll betray the demons within us if we act strange. Yes, normality is the mask we hide behind when we can't face the depths of our emotions. And yet...what would happen if there wasnt this yardstick against which we can measure our actions? How would we ensure society would be protected from those who would cause it harm? Perhaps normality is safety... and it is if you think about it. When you meet someone who arouses intense emotions within you, a sense of fear overcomes you. A sense that you may have met a person for whom "being normal" is significantly harder. May have met a person who has access to a part of humanity, of eternity, of life, that we have forsaked in order to conform.

Oh, I dont know. I dont know where this is going...but I do know i have to go. Adios.

CAT!

Presenting..due to popular demand...

CAT!



This afternoon I put a blanket on my windowsill, and he had a brilliant time just lounging in the sun watching everyone come and go downstairs!






So guys, any names spring to mind? Oh and, the pictures dont do him justice! *sigh*

Stolen My Heart With A Meow

Two days ago, I took a step. A small step for mankind, a gigantic step for me. I adopted! He's less than a year old, with the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen. Big green almond eyes that seem to search your soul when he meows for his supper. Yes, he's a cat. Perhaps more accurately, he's a catten. Not a kitten, not yet a cat. Oooh, I can see Britney making a fortune out of this one!
He's been with me 2 days already, and although he's stolen my heart, I just cant think of a name that suits him! Currently stuck between a few...including Toulouse. O'Malley was a favourite for a while..he had been hit by a car so his back legs are a bit wobbly still. Currently he swaggers around with a bit of a John Wayne strut! Same strut that Thomas O'Malley the alleycat had in "The Aristocats". My boy definately always gets the girls! Too bad he's *neutered* shhhh

Adopted him from this classic crazy cat lady. I swear to God her house is overrun with cats. I'm talking opening the front door and a swarm of cats milling in the hallway! Apparently though, once you adopt, (I keep referring to adoption because, and I kid you not, she made me sign ADOPTION PAPERS!!) you're not allowed to have a life. Nope, everything must be pushed aside for your cat..and although this seems to be what she herself chose to do, its not the path I personally feel inclined to walk!
"DUBLIN??!! YOU'LL BE GOING TO DUBLIN?? But...But...But what will happen to HIM??"
"INTERNATIONAL POLITICS???!! BUT...What about HIM??"
I assured her I would look after him, after which she turned to him and said "Did you hear that Sweetheart, you're going to be an international jetsetter!" So it seems I have to take him wherever I go. Lord above, it'll all work out, I cant be expected to decide all this now! By the way she was talking, she seemed to be expecting me to call up some random airline and book a seat for my cat "in the event that I may be travelling around the world for work purposes in ten years time!" ?!

She had named him Sweetheart. Although it suits him, he is a sweetheart!, I don't think I really want to be bringing up a cat with masculinity issues. Perhaps Hercules? Or Thor? Hmmmm...Or maybe the Rock! Ideas??

How Old?!?!?

You Are 27 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Take the quiz and let me know...am I the only one acting older than I am??! ;)

Paradise Almost Lost

Back in December, a "Lost World" was discovered in the Foga mountains of Indonesia. Over 2 million acres of rainforest. An area of land where no human had ever walked. "As close to the garden of Eden as you'll ever find on Earth" was how one of the scientists described it. Click here to read about it. Mammals that were hunted to near extinction were found in abundance here. Over 2 dozen new species of butterfly, bird and frog were discovered. No traces of civilisation, no knowledge of any person ever having set foot within this paradise.

And do you want to know the strangest thing? These "wild" animals, showed absolutely NO fear towards humans. They had never known the cruelty that humans shower upon the animal race, and so had never known the fear that other animals have toward us. The animals walked right up to the scientists and allowed themselves to be picked up!

When we describe something as WILD we are defining what is "wild". Perhaps we are the wild ones. We are most certainly the ones who have lost our way; the ones who have lost touch with the natural world and all that encompasses it. We are the ones who are empty within, who believe that nothing else exists but us. A whole world has been developed where the only thing that seems to matter is the human being. We forget that without animals, without plants, without nature, we would not be able to survive.

The Earth willingly gives us more than enough crops to feed us, and yet we rape and pillage her. Taking without appreciating. As if she is there just to serve us. Have we forgotten the animals that share our earth?? Oh how greedy and foolish we are. These "worries" that we have. These "cares", they are not real. They are a part of this elaborate play of 'modern life' that we are putting on. Putting on for whom? For our own enjoyment??

Where did we go wrong?

More Than A Nina Simone Coincedence?

Does it mean anything that every shop I went to in town today had Nina Simone playing in it?
4 shops on different sides of the city...all playing Nina Simone...2 of them the same song at the time I walked in.
Does it mean anything else that these are shops I didnt mean to go into, but were drawn to as I passed?
Hmmm...I think I know what it means. But I dont think I can post it here. Let's just say, the universe may be telling me that I made a wrong decision with regards to a certain person lately.

The Respectable Dead

Francis Stuart, from "Things To Live For"

"There is an emptiness within the human breast, a hunger for we hardly know what, that is the deepest and wildest of all desires. It is the falling in love with life, the dark deep flow below the surface. Subtle, crude, beautiful, terrible. A few have dared to open their arms to it, to plunge into it, and always they are wounded and humiliated; but they have been touched, have been caressed by those fiery fingers that curved the universe, and there remains about them a breadth, a spaciousness, a warmth of genius.
...the wounds are as precious to me as the ecstasy. For both bring me close to that lovely, terrible, profligate, austere thing that is life. To love, that is all that matters. To lavish love even on objects unworthy of it is infinitely better than living a cold, ordered life in a study, in an office, or even in a garden tending flowers. It is only through opening one's arms to life that one will find the ultimate peace and security. Only through suffering and loving. There is no short-cut. Protecting oneself against life is not peace but death. Of all the strage varied people I have met it has not been the sinners, the degraded, the drunkards, the gamblers, the crooks, the harlots who have made me shudder, but the dead, the respectable dead; cut off like a branch from the tree."

Francis Stuart

For lack of anything of significance to write about, allow me to quote from a favourite book of mine, by a wonderful writer. From "Things To Live For", by Francis Stuart.
He speaks of Dublin and Ireland.

"I walked through those streets that I once fought to defend, feeling a little like a stranger. And it was this spirit of smugness and deadness that we fought against and were defeated by. The spirit of liberal democracy. We fought to stop Ireland falling into the hands of publicans and shop-keepers, and she has fallen into their hands...
...Democracy is the ideal of those whose lives as individuals are failures and who, feeling their own futility, take refuge in the mass and become arrogant in the herd. The productive worker, who takes pride in his work and exults in it, is never democratic because he feels no need for this refuge. He stands alone. He does not believe in the rule of the majority because he does not feel himself to be one of the majority. The skill that he brings to his work is something unique and differentiates him."

Image Is The Truth You Want To Know

It's all about outer image isnt it? Forget what's on the inside, if it looks good on the outside, that's all that counts nowadays. Things could be falling apart, but if it seems like its not, then its all fine. Let's build more roads and ruin more of the countryside. Yes, we know thats irreversible damage. The ruination of habitats and scenery. Yes, we know that. But we'll tell you what....we'll plant LOADS of trees and bushes, so you cant see the road. Then it will look like the natural environment still remains beyond those new trees and bushes. It seems like it, so unless you decide to delve deeper and investigate what lies behind the trees, you can safely go on with your ignorant lives believing that beyond the bushes there is no destruction. Closing your mind to the truth. That greed has led to more tar and cement.
God, I think its at the stage where humans KNOW they're stupid, but they just don't care. Because if they were to care, they'd have to do something to right the wrongs on this earth, and well quite frankly that requires time and energy. Two things that most people aren't prepared to give unless it leads to their own personal satisfaction and gain. What a selfish race we are.

A Full Fat Mistake?

For the past few years I have been annoyed over and over again by those who feel obligated to question my choice of foods.
"FULL FAT MILK??!!"
"REAL BUTTER??!!"
"OH MY GOD, WHITE BREAD??!!"
Yes, bar the white bread which I agree is less tasty and nutricious than its brown counterpart, I feel that if I want to eat or drink something, I want to eat or drink something that doesnt taste like its been put through a rubber factory. Additives, Preservatives, EI this, BA this, Vitamin this, Mineral that. It really is a bit too much to handle at times. And well, forgive me if sometimes I feel the need to have something NATURAL in my system. Sure, real butter has some fat, but is that a bad thing? It has taste! It has quality! And to me, thats worth the extra millimetre around my waistline. I remember living with this over-weight, obnoxious, arrogant girl who was always trying to lose weight. It was quite amusing watching her have dinner every night, because along with the pound of lard, she always made sure to have skimmed milk! Got to have your priorities right you know!
Of course, as it is with all media inflicted ideas, there came a time when I too began to question my choices. Began to question whether I too was committing a sin with each gulp of full fat milk cascading down my throat into my stomach. Whether "a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" applied to dairy after all.
Finally though, what did it for me, was the fact that dairy actually clouds your aura. Its not good for your vocal chords, and apparently not good at all for your spirituality and to be honest, when I was feeling quite misty and aura-clogged the other day, I decided that I needed to cut down on my dairy consumption. Granted, it was neither concern about my weight nor my physical health that prompted the shift in perception, but a concern for my other-wordly qualities, I was sure that this new outlook would be greeted with agreement, acknowlegment, a "well, its about time"!
Going into a random little shop I came across, I walked confidently over to the fridges, and reached for "LOW FAT MILK". Imagine my suprise when, as I placed the milk on the counter to pay for it, the old woman behind the till gave me the look I had been on the receiving end of for many years, and with a voice full of disbelief and worry at the tragic mistake I was about to make, turned to me and said "No dear, you must have made a mistake, this is actually LOW FAT MILK!!"
*Sigh* You just can't win can you?

Nee How! I Want To Send Fax!

It's a truth universally acknowledged that not many people in China have a need to telephone Ireland. Or maybe they do and I've been kept in the dark...until this morning that is. This morning, I was fortunate enough to be the lucky person to be called from China! About 10 times to be exact actually!
4:30 AM, did I mention it was AM???!!!! My home phone starts ringing. Oh this piercing, shrilling, God-awful sound that awakened me from the depths of my slumber. I answered:

"Nee How, I want to send fax! Can you turn on machine?"
"I'm sorry, but you have the wrong number."
"Long Number?? Oh hee hee, ok."
"Bye"
"Bye!!"

So I thought that was that and I could go back to sleep. Nope..that would just be too easy. It's no fun doing something if you don't do it right you know! Snuggling under the duvet, I was just closing my eyes when the phone rang again!

"Nee How, I want to send fax! Can you turn on machine?"
"This is the same number. Wrong number."
"Oh! Solly! hee hee"
"Ok BYE"
"Bye"

Obviously Miss Nee How didnt believe me when I said it was the wrong number because what followed within the next 20 minutes was a series of, im not joking when i say 5 or 6, 2 ring calls. Her obviously hoping that by typing in the same number over and over it would magically get her through to the right number! No! That's not the way it works!!
I lay awake staring at the ceiling, waiting for the next 5 second ring, and eventually picking up the phone and although there was no-one on the other end explaining: "This is a home phone number. Wrong Number. Do not call it again!"

It must be remembered that prior to the interruptions I was having a wonderful sleep. Dreams filled with good times, and happy times and great things! Well, ok I don't really remember what I was dreaming, but I had been asleep and at 4:30 AM that is the state I most prefer to be in!

Finally the phone rang AGAIN. I picked it up before they had time to cut off. It was a man. Mr. Nee How I'm thinking? And oh the noise in the background! It sounded like a betting office, a greyhound track, a restaurant and an underground black market organ selling den all rolled into one!

"Hello?? HELLO??" (I was getting mad at this point!)
"NEE KEE!!! NO! NAI! NEE KEE! Koni chios rhgoish kos hai haa hoo hee, oh *realising he had made a phone call to the other side of the world* Nee How? Nee How?"
"Yes, HELLO. You have the WRONG number!! WRONG NUMBER! NO! NO FAX."
"Nee How? Nee How? Koni choigh chi ni ho di!"
Apparently he thought I spoke Chinese, I dont know. But I hung up.

Don't worry though. He rang me back! Did you think I'd be lucky enough that he wouldnt?
I couldnt take it anymore!! I just couldnt!! Before he could even say anything, I picked up the phone and just let him have it!

"THIS IS THE WRONG NUMBER! IT IS THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT HERE AND WE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP! SLEEPING! SLEEPING! NO CHINESE HERE! NO FAX! WRONG NUMBER! PLEASE DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER AGAI.."
He hung up on me!

I didnt take anymore chances though...I unplugged my phones!
I still have his number on my caller ID though... And the temptation to do the same to him when he's asleep is oh so strong!! Nee How anyone?

Still Smiling!

Strikes me as typical that a blazing sunny day would turn to rain the minute I'm too far from home to walk back, in shoes that were NOT meant for the rain! *sigh* It's ok though, I'm still smiling! ;)

A Day In The Life Of......

The Sexual Politics of the Vegetarian Section of the Freezer!

Was doing my grocery shopping today. On my way to the vegetarian section of the freezer, I noticed there was a man choosing some vegetarian frozen options. Noone out of the ordinary, your average Joe if you will, but you know what? I stopped in my tracks because at the moment that I noticed him, I had to mentally slap myself on my mental behind because not only was I shocked, but I was also puzzled. Puzzled that a MAN would be buying vegetarian food. Had it been a woman I am certain my reaction would have been blind indifference. However, here was this man making the choice I agree with and do you know what rushed through my mind?? "Huh! What's HE doing there? Oh, he's probably buying for his girlfriend!"
Can you believe that?? This is what society has reduced us to! It's a truth as old as time, but for a man not to eat MEAT points negatively toward his masculinity! For a woman, it has always been expected that she would ensure her man received the meat, since he was the dominant member of the family and for the dominant member of the family, the best foods are firstly his. Confound it, but I still cannot believe I subconsiously associate men with meat and meat with power. But I do. I do, and I believe that mostly everyone does too.
This was the idea behind an extremely interesting book I read last year. Click here
to check it out. The objectification of animals is equated with the objectification of women. The consumption of meat, equated with the consumption of women (whether through pornography or rape). It's an extremely interesting book and one which I would encourage anyone to read.



According to the website here's a little peek at what to expect:

- Sexualized fragmentation. Fragmented body parts of animals who will be eaten depicted in such a way that thoughts of women as sex objects are clearly evoked as well. Breast and thighs advertised on menus, as well as specific examples like "We serve the best legs in town," draw upon the patriarchal fixation on women's bodyparts.

- Animals feminized/sexualized. Animals presented in poses and clothes human females are represented in our culture (svelte legs, a "chick" in high heels, often animals posed like women, animals who are four-legged made to appear both "sexy" and bipedal, animals in bikinis). "I ate a pig..." Exactly who are they referring to?

- Back-entry shots of both animals and women. In pornography, back entry shots are constructed to convey both women's accessibility and imputes to them an "animal-like" nature, that is, "animal-like" in a speciesist culture, a view that sees women as desiring being sodomized; sometimes animals who are seen as consumable are positioned that way as an invitation to consumption.

- Connecting flesh eating and other forms of animal oppression to prostitution and pornography ("strip", "buck-naked", "Live Nude Lobsters!", and the "Happy Hooker," etc.).


Now you must excuse me, I have some peas to shell and a hut to clean... "COMING HONEY"

The Sagernator

THE SAGERNATOR...

Possibly coming to an Irish City near you soon!! Stay Tuned!!

Don't Correct Disney! Or Israel!

Listening to the "Tiny Cities" album by Sun Kil Moon, those of you in Cork, you should have read my review on it! In the fabulous An Sceal... No? *sigh* Yes I know, I hadnt heard of it either, until they asked me to start doing reviews that is.

Today, Liam Thornton told me a story which I think pretty much sums up the attitude taken by the States (and its Corporations) towards Israel.
While in school, him and his class were taken to Euro Disney, Paris, for a trip. Anyhow, some ride, I think it was "It's A Small World" (the classic that it is), showed the countries around the world and their respective capital cities. Jerusalem was listed as the capital of Israel. What was the capital of Palestine? Nothing, since there was no mention of Palestine...at all. Liams teacher stood up and brought to the attention of the workers there that the information shown was wrong, and that Jerusalem is NOT the capital of Israel. The capital of that "country" is Tel Aviv. Simply a teacher of Geography pointing out a simple mistake. Like if they listed Manchester as the capital of England. I'm sure it would be EXPECTED that someone would point out the mistake.

Apparently Disney didnt take lightly to this simple correction...they threw the teacher out of the ride for Anti-Semitism!!

A Helpless Situation?!

I've always been told never to talk about religion or politics. Why? Because it just leads to arguments. Somehow though, I seem to always want to talk politics. And I'm not referring to internal national politics. I'm referring to INTERNATIONAL politics. Especially things close to my heart...for example the Palestinian situation.
I cannot explain how much what's happening to the Palestinians upsets me. Even talking about it upsets me, and what gets me the most is that way that the majority of the world are Pro-Israeli. Or if not Pro-Israeli, then Pro-letting it all carry on the way its been for the last century because they couldnt care less.

This is the problem with the world...they couldnt care less. As long as they're happy, as long as they are not directly affected, they're happy to carry on even while this injustice is being carried out not very far away.

Im so sick of it, because I don't know what I can do. How can I make people care? How can I change the way people think? How can I make some people realise that the way they are thinking is completely one-sided and totally influenced by Western media? I dont know what I can do. I don't know what I should do. It feels like such a helpless situation. For once in my life...I feel totally, completely and utterly helpless.