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June 29, 2004
The big question....
Emmet contemplates the thorny issue du jour - 'Spider man or jeezos?'
Posted by dottie at 2:04 AM
Some graffiti
Pretty cool. Its actually painted on paper and stuck to the wall, so not Graffiti as such. Apparently its some bloke having a fiddle with himself. I dont know art, but I know what I like!
Grifters. Cool bike from the eighties or con artist? you decide
Posted by dottie at 2:00 AM
Flowers and the fat lady singing
Its customary at the end of something to be given flowers.
Having just finished the draft of my business plan for bookingbeds.com and the fact that Damian Rice's 'Eskimo' has just reached the bit with what sounds like a fat lady singing, I'm ready for the flowers!
This one turned out nice
These ones are whats known in the game as 'soft' - not good in photography. Or pornography apparently...
And as soon as I figure out how the macro function chooses its focus point we'll be rockin!
They were mighty purdy! I might try and get some decent shots tomorrow.
Posted by dottie at 1:53 AM
June 28, 2004
Bad video player! BAD!
Fuck. That. Machine. FUCK!
This is the only copy of Queen playing live at the rainbow that I have. And to make it worse it belonged to my late and sorely missed friend Cormac.
I know its only a bit of videotape, but its a link that I have with my friend. The fact that that tape is lying half-chewed by the video player is totally freaking me out! Bad machine! BAD! Let go! Fucker.
I'm going to dismantle that piece of shit machine to retrieve the tape, hope its not too chewed. I am NOT going to try and save the machine - if the mother must die to save the child then so be it. The SPDIF output didnt work on it anyway....
Sorry Cormie!
Posted by dottie at 9:55 PM
Sunshine beauty makeover
Dublin looks great in the sunshine. Even the normally drab old gates of the Kings Inn looks kinda interesting
Posted by dottie at 3:04 PM
Dubya
Americans! Please make sure he never comes here again. Vote the fucker out! He's a deranged lunatic! Why hasnt he been impeached??!!
Like they say - Feel the fear and do it anyway!
Posted by dottie at 2:56 PM
Rowena's Birthday BBQ
Colin's sis Rowena had her birthday the other day - we had a BBQ to celebrate! Sure you have to have some food to soak up all the beer!
Here's the birthday girl and Colin's dog Jake. Such a loyal dog - as long as you have a bit of food in your hand!
Aileen is the girl on the right and is Colins girlfriend, great girl. Thats her mate Julie. I think there's mischief brewing!
Smoking, eating, drinking, yapping....
The lovely Jakey! No Jake, the camera is NOT food!
Damo Heffernan showing his usual style ;) only kidding love ya Damo!
My little neice Alannah was also there and finally standing up (unlike most of the adults atthe ned of the night....) Cant wait till she starts talking, we'll see what really goes on in Petes house when no ones there! :) As you can see she already has well developed skill of playing to the camera!
There were other people at the BBQ too but I was too drunk to remember to photograph everybody - next time I promise!
Posted by dottie at 2:53 PM
Tree Killer
There was a contract killer in town from Moscow last week. The target? a tree..
It was a massacre - resin all over the shop. we did a Fargo on it and put it through the shredder after. Fun!
Posted by dottie at 2:31 PM
Back again - again!
More issues with the server - I can post again!
Posted by dottie at 2:23 PM
June 20, 2004
Fornicate and run marathons and THEN study to increase your brain power
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ss/stories/s1121140.htm
Cool! A new line - "Hey baby, wanna improve your word power?"
Posted by dottie at 6:10 PM
June 17, 2004
Uber Moth
I have seen HIM at last. Or maybe I should say IT.
IT has haunted my dreams for so long. IT has sent its messengers.
Instead of listening to their pleas I crushed them with my one-inch slap.
IT has watched over me and noted my movements, always keeping to the shadows, but letting me know it was there.
Watching me with its beady little, multi-faceted, ultra-violet sensitive eyes!
But now IT has chosen the time.
IT has shown itself to me.
No one else at the bus stop saw IT. I did. I saw IT's signs and knew.
When I returned to my home IT had placed an image of itself on my camera.
IT will make me pay for the raids on the moth rebel base. IT will make me pay for developing the WMD that is the 'one-inch slap clap' - scourge of the moths.
Look upon IT's works ye mighty and DESPAIR!
Posted by dottie at 1:04 AM
Farewell Dempseys music shop we hardly knew ye
Another small part of Dublin has fallen to the wrecking ball.
OK. The building was in need of a little repair. Well.. the front wall was bulging out in the street a LITTLE. OK, ok, the feckin thing was ready to fall down.
You have to mourn it still though. It;s one of the last original buildings on Parnell street. I'd like to see a balance between history and having enough places to stay.
And for Jaysus sake please say a prayer to whatever god you hold dear, that they dont put up one of those marble-clad monstrosities that seem to be the vogue at the moment.
In ten years time, people will look back at these hideous buildings with the marble missing in patches all over them - because the residents dont want tot pay the exorbitant servcie charges that would be needed to stave off the delapidation - and say to themselves 'wasnt there a nice little Georgian building there before they built this piece of crap?'
And of course by then it will be too late. Dublin architecture will have been raped by the developers and Fianna Fail and none of the history that made Dublin what it was will remain. The decline of our capital city started 20 years ago and shows no signs of slowing down.
Some more images of the building for context
Meant to say (damn never post entries when you are drunk..) that the main reason I am sorry to see it go is that Dempseys music shop used ot be in the bottom floor. Old man Dempsey used to be there rain or shine with a collection of guitars only marginally older than he was. Not that they were worth much.
I always used to like sticking my nose in, sit down on the rickety stool and scratch up the old cherryburst arch top that used to hang in the corner. Ah them were the days!
Comments
Deece
Did this building have a little tiny "extension" sticking out abouthalf way up ? ( it looked like a little tiny wooden umm ...toilet room? ( to call it a bathroom would give the false impression that there was room for any thing else other than a toilet) If it was then Im really sad it was gone , cos one of my friends lived in apartment nearby and we used to go on his roof garden and try and look in, and then there was the incident with the chinese take away ....
Mr 5thPercentile
Ha! I want to know the incident with the Chinese take away!
I didnt know you were a Dubliner - thought you were American, its strange for a local to be browsing blogs or so it seems.
I have put up other images for context - not sure if it helps you place it. the second context image faces toward the top of Capel Street, my back was to Parnell street with the UGC (or whatever its called now..) on my right.
Deece
Damn! i dont think its the same building. thinking about it now I think the building im thinking of was possibly near christchurch. It was totally falling apart and had a funny toilet room extension, and we suspected there were junkies who used to "avail of the facilities" ( the facilities meaning the fact that there were just about 4 walls and a roof and the police couldnt see them). The chinese take away story was more of a study of the aero-dynamic qualities of chicken balls and sweet 'n' sour sauce. I should probably have introduced myself - Im Denise I work with Peter and I briefly met you at some work drinks - best description i can give of myself is short, lots of piercings and i was probably clutching a JD and coke with a slightly manic nicotine-starved look about me!
noel
This was my uncle brendans shop !! I was often in there when I was a boy and have very fond memories of the shop with its small flat upstairs and little repair room just to the right after the shop area .I have not seen Brendan for years now but think he is still in fine fettle (years of using his bike to work)
Posted by dottie at 12:55 AM | Comments (4)
Review of l'Baabecoo d'Emmet
Definitely feeling the summer daze now buddies!
Today I was working away when I got a text from my good buddy Emmet, asking me over to Sandyford to attend a BBQ. Excellent. Only the second barbie this summer and the first real one as we were going to sit outside and everything. It was great.
Socialising and trying to make sure that raw meat is properly cooked while drunk -an excellent mix! We had a good time though, slagging the chef (top marks to Emmet for keeping the old savoir faire intact). Then inside for another bevvie and a wee chat (it was getting cold at this stage).
Myself and Emmet got to chat for a while after everyone else (big girls blouses) went home. After some quality time with my old friend I headed off to the bus and arrived at my door just as the rain began to fall - perfect timing all day.
and now? I'm pissed so I'm off to bed....Cheers!
Well seeing as its blooms day and all, I may have a 'literary event' before I hit the sack!
Heres the crew:
Mark 'Phats' C-onion-ley who tried to freak us out by insisting that the garlic like vegetable we were enjoying was 'hiding something' and that there was a 'plot or something' involving a humble common garden vegetable, I dont know we all became a little incoherent at this stage - I think it was after the second can of beer -sorry Mark!
Phil and his lovely girlfriend Anthea (confusingly nicknamed 'sav'). The man mercillessly teases everyone he meets - love it :) as forAnthea - somehow I forgot there was a lady present and burped as freely as if I was alone - she forgave me - what a girl!
All in all I would have to say that I enjoyed the whole event, top marks for food and drink and the company was unsurpassed.
10 out of 10!
Posted by dottie at 12:41 AM
June 14, 2004
Last years little leos
I was drying out the heads of last years plantings of little leo seeds - they're a pygmy sunflower.
I finally got round to stripping the seeds from the heads. They looked so forlorn that I had to record them for posterity.
Posted by dottie at 10:14 AM
Summer and the smoking ban
People have been taking to the smoking ban very well. No major problems. Good little sheep. Healthy little sheep. Suck it up!
What happens when it comes to the winter? Smokers are all very funny now with their jaunty - 'I'm off for a breath of fresh air' when they pop out for a quick one. But what about the winter - I mean the REAL winter, wind that would strip the skin off your face, loaded with needle sharp ice-crystals that pass as rain in these parts. Will people finally throw in the towel? Is smoking that addictive?
Who am I coddin' - once a smoker...
Posted by dottie at 10:01 AM
Sunshine
Wow. What a day. Blue sky. Beaming sun. Dublin looking like the Med.
And here I am with the blinds drawn hoping to get a tan from the CRT of my monitor.
Days like this you gotta ask yourself - what the hell am I doing?
The answer? I'm not sure but I'm sure it has to do with gratification delay, wish fulfilment.... and more than a dash of revenge fantasy.
Bugger it, I'm going for a walk up the Botanic gardens!
Posted by dottie at 9:55 AM
June 11, 2004
The Empire strikes back
It was as if many souls cried out together and then were silent
There was a great moth massacre today. The feckers have had their secret rebel base under the couch the whole time.
My Goblin Horde(*) made short work of the little blighters, transporting them to darkness and oblivion.
Mwah ha ha ha ha! Victory is mine for now....
Note (*) Actually its a goblin hoover.....
Posted by dottie at 9:56 PM
June 10, 2004
George Benson, ladies and gentlemen, George frickin Benson!
Went to see George Benson, ladies and gentlemen George Benson(*) a couple of weeks ago.
He rocked. In fact he did more than that - he grooved!
He was great. The man is a guitar god. The effortlessness of his playing and man did he play, it was inspiring. To paraphrase Jack Nicholson - 'It made me want to be a better guitarist'.
Here you can see (well.... sorry about the image quality) his very lovely percussionist (yes, a lady...) who came down and sang a song with the great man. She fine.
I had a longer clip (10Megs) but it just wasnt uploading - sorry!
(Please download rather than playing it from the site - ta!)
(*) Note: Every time he was mentioned on stage they called him George Benson, Ladies and gentlemen, George Benson - I think he got his name changed, the same way that James Brown is now known as - James Brown, James Brown ladies and gentlemen. I think its like wearing a kaftan or something like that, maybe a 'tribal name' knida vibe?? Answers on a postcard please....
Posted by dottie at 3:04 PM
Tummy Bug
Ugh!
Yesterday I was sick as a dog. It started at about 7 in the morning when I was awakened by an urgent need for the toilet.
I spent the next 8 hours or so alternately exploding from both ends and sleeping (not all at the same time you understand...)
The downside was that I missed the Chaka Khan concert for which Emmet had given me a ticket. Apparently it scored only 4.5 out of 10 on the Emmet scale, so I only feel bad for not being with my mates instead of guilty and kicking myself for missing a great concert.
I did want to be down the front waving my arms about screaming 'I'm every woman' even though I would look like a big queen. Apparently she got some people to come up on stage with her and strut their stuff.
It reminds me of the old joke - Q: how many Dublin guitarists does it take to play a guitar solo? A: 67 - one to play the solo and the other 66 to stand there saying 'I could do that'.
Comments
Deece
My deepest sympathies on the explosive illness. My mate Emmett has had bouts of what we thought were food poisoning for as long as I have known him ( bout 7 years) but about a month ago, after spending 36 hours screaming in agony and banging his head off the wall, he eventually allowed his girlfriend to call a doctor. He got rushed to hospital and when they opened him up they discovered that his appendix had ruptured aaaaages ago and it was now infact decaying inside him. How gross is that ? Just thought I would share !
Posted by dottie at 2:28 PM | Comments (1)
June 6, 2004
Ronnie Reagan is dead
At 93, after 10 years of Alzheimers he succumbs to Pneumonia.
Posted by dottie at 7:08 PM
Rhododendrons
I am designing and building the new web site for the Deer Park Hotel in Howth (http://www.deerpark-hotel.ie - old site at the moment but my new version should be up within the next three weeks - hopefully!).
I'm glad to have the chance as its a place full of memories for me. Its a fantastic place with lots of Golf courses and all that. The ground are amazing. They have over 800 species of plants, most notably their rhododendrons. They only bloom at the end of May and into the start of June, its a short -lived thing but fantastic to see.
I used to spend a lot of my childhood around here, climbing through the Rhododendrons to get to the top of the hill, hard work but well worth it.
We had a special secluded spot we would go to and start a bonfire (always on rocks, it never spread). We would cook sausages over the open flames, drink cidona and leap madly over the fire until it started to get dark, then madly race back down the mountain, through the Rhododendron forest thinking we were being chased by wolves all the way. Good fun.
Check out the eye-candy below...
Posted by dottie at 6:53 PM
June 4, 2004
The auld triangle
I've started taking a stroll up the royal canal every day (not the whole lengthof it mind...) and its lovely. A little oasis in the desert of phibsboro.
Its a canal fabled in song and verse, most famously (for me at least ) in Brendan Behans 'The Auld Triangle'.
The lock gates are beautifully kept as the canal is still used - for leisure traffic only nowadays.
Heres the bauld fella himself.
The whole chair is cast in bronze - including the bird!
This is the view Brendan has to enjoy
A quick step over this lock and you are out onto Dorset street.
A little way down and we come to a memorial to the man who wrote our previous rugby song, err, I mean national anthem. This is a song that most of us hold dear to our hearts, we are taught it in school as we learn the great sacrifices made by our great patriots.
Yeah, I know, I cant remember the words either...
and that fecker Burty Ahern has to get in on the action. The plaque below this one records that the plinth was unveiled by the Taoiseach - what about the poor feckers had to make it?
Posted by dottie at 11:17 PM
June 3, 2004
Moths and spiders
Unfortunately our flat is infested (inundated, mobbed?) with moths. They are everywhere and its very annoying to have to chase them away from the evidently irresistible computer monitor screen when I am working late at night.
I've taken to mashing the little feckers. They are very difficult to get in mid-air. I think in nature that they 'listen' for changes in air pressure that would indicate an approaching bat or bird and in the case of my flat an approaching hand. They literally drop out of the air and avoid a crushing that way.
I have had to learn to do the equivalent of Bruce Lee's 'one-inch punch' to take them out. Cupping my hands slightly I ease them to about 8inches either side of my unsuspecting target and when the time is right - I STRIKE!
Messy but effective. And unfortunately the body usually drops in to my cup of tea. Blighters.
At this time of year there are also quite a few spiders knocking around. These I dont crush. I have respect for spiders. You always have respect for something you fear.
Surely not! A little thing like a spider? Well, I have learned to overcome the worst of my fear (terror). Why am I scared of spiders? I wont call it a phobia because its not an irrational dread of the little creatures. There is a reason.
I'll have to go way back to when I was just a teenager and in school (cue flashback music and weird floaty video effect )
We used to have a break at around eleven o'clock in school (elevenses?) where we would get half-stale bread spread with maragarine or (sometimes even jam!) and we could have tea and milk or cordial.
The cups we used were ancient bakelite jobs probably left over from the great war. They were brown, chipped, scraped. We didnt mind - we were kids, getting sick from 50 year old bacteria was all part of the great tapestry that is growing up.
Anyway, I got my cordial and took a bite of my bread muching happily on the slightly stale, dry edge, savouring the texture as it contrasted with the icky margarine and the sweet raspberry jam. Having swallowed I took a gulp of my cordial.
I felt something in the back of my throat. I felt it move. I felt it scrabble up my throat and try to enter my mouth.
The people nearest me were covered in an explosion of orange cordial and morsels of bread and jam. No spider though. He was still scrabbling away in the back of my throat.
I of course, didnt know what the fuck was in the back of my throat - all I knew was that it was alive. I was not in the habit of eating live things. I was in a panic.
I managed to spit him onto the floor and finally saw that it was a big, black hairy spider with big black beady eyes looking at me. He was still scrabbling in a mixture of bread paste, cordial and my mucus.
I ran to the nearest bin and dry-retched for the next ten minutes with a teacher beside me demanding an explanation for my outrageous behaviour. Twit.
Please forgive my weakness then when I catch spiders in a glass and seal them in with a sheet of paper before letting them go out the window. I respect the little fuckers. I have to - I'm scared shitless of them.
Posted by dottie at 12:44 PM
Hungover to fuck!
Went out on Tuesday to celebrate Rory's 30th (yay Rory!). Got hammered on the Porter Houses Oyster Beer (not diffivult for me who hasnt drank regularly in a long time...) before heading across the road to Isoldes Tower for a more commercial stout, then back to a friends flat in Hanlons Corner try to play guitar before falling asleep as the sun rose.
I was good for nothing yesterday, hardly got any work done. I'm STILL feeling fucked over today - I'm getting old.
Happy Birthday Rory!
Posted by dottie at 12:00 PM
June 1, 2004
Flash! Beatles Come together
This is fantastic. I love this song especially from the Beatles and someone has done a fantastic job of making the basic figures used in the video expressive and full of character. Wow. Humbled.
Beatles 'Come Together' flash movie
Posted by dottie at 1:44 PM