Martello

Two of my favourite photographs from the last year or so were both taken by Joe Cashin, an extremely popular contributor on Flickr and also an old friend of the family. Interestingly, both shots were taken in Co. Kerry and clearly demonstrate the truth in the statement that is omnipresent in Irish minds around this time of the year:

If only we had the weather

An Old Killarney Home (Muckross National Park, Kerry)

Evening on the Lakes (Killarney Lakes)

As parents of a delightful and vibrant 4 year old (going on 40), my wife and I constantly find ourselves re-using phrases that our parents used (in vain) on us. This regularly brings a smile to my face and I frequently pause to ponder about our own parent’s emotions back then, and how they must feel now looking at us going through the same thing.

I guess if I find myself witnessing history repeating itself once more in 20-30 years time, I’ll have passed on a little magic of my own, and may even be able to answer my own question.

With this in mind, my brother-in-law sent me this fine piece of art that captures many of the everyday phrases that our mothers undoubtedly used on us all. Enjoy!

We’ve all seen the documentary where the surgeon operates on a patient’s brain while the patient is still awake, placing electrodes at various points in and around the brain, observing the patient’s behaviour and responses to certain tasks they are asked to say and do, thus increasing the accuracy and effectiveness of their work.

Well, surgeons in the Nashville, Tennessee have just taken this to a new level with the legendary Blue Grass musician Eddie Addock. They actually asked Eddie to bring his Banjo with him to the operating theatre and had him play it while they operated on brain, ensuring that their efforts to cure his essential tremor symptoms didn’t adversely affect his livelihood and life-long passion for music.

So what would you bring to the operating theatre to aid the surgeons?

Source: SlashDot

A group of LEGO enthusiasts from Hong Kong have constructed their own version of the Olympic venues from Beijing 2008.

By the looks of it, they’re made mostly from fairly common LEGO pieces and as a result, they’re both highly impressive (as it anything made from LEGO in my opinion) but also refreshingly simple. Far too many modern LEGO kits have pieces in them that are all to realistic, taking the fun out of it for me.

Source: SlashDot

Today will go down as a say day in the annals of Irish folk music as it marks the death of Irish musical legend, Ronnie Drew. Most famous for his role as the singer with the Irish folk group, The Dubliners, Ronnie passed away earlier today in Dublin after a long illness. He was just 73 years of age.

Ronnie was almost as famous for his immaculately groomed white beard as he was for his unique voice. Whether he was talking or singing, or looking down the lens of a camera, Ronnie was unmistakably himself. He was truly one of a kind in every way possible and his passing will leave a void in Irish life for some time to come.

As we say in Ireland, “Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam” which translates to, “May his soul be on God’s right side”.