When this kiss is over it will start again.
It will not be any different, it will be exactly
The same.
Its hard to imagine that nothing at all
Could be so exciting, could be so much fun.
Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.
Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.
I first heard this a few weeks back at David Byrne’s concert in the National Concert Hall and then I heard it on the radio yesterday evening too. This song is decades old and it’s pretty interesting when you look at the lyrics. The wikipedia entry on it states:
It explores the idea of achievement and purpose by way of identifying heaven as the perfect victory over human goals, and, subsequently, by showing this heaven as a place where the perfectly best thing happens over and over at the exact same time in the exactly perfect way (“Oh, heaven, heaven is a place… a place where nothing ever happens”.) In this way, it mocks achievement as an absurd, or even futile, struggle.
There’s also a video which has since disappeared where Fianna Fáil politicians are morphed into Hitler. How very becoming of a Labour politician to use that. Keith’s disappearing videos seem to be common enough. His one on the Green Party was removed.
Socialist party social media press conference
First was the Socialist party social media press conference on Sunday. The first time a political party in Ireland did a conference for bloggers and interacted with them in the room, on uStream so there was streaming video tot he web and also taking questions via Twitter. Bit of the future right there methinks. Joe Higgins was a good host and his team of supporters did a great job making it all fall into place.
Show and Tell with Sony Ericsson This was on Tuesday night in the Odeon and muchos thanks to them for supplying the venue for free. Big big thanks to Sony Ericsson for sending along a very patient staffer and to Clarify, their PR people, for putting it together. Looks like we’ll have more Show and Tell events over the next while with the format slightly changed after feedback. Details on how other companies can take part in Show and Tell.
MeasurementCamp Dublin
Wow, didn’t it do well? 70 people turned up MeasurementCamp Dublin. Big big numbers. Loads of new faces. This is going to be a monthly event and maybe we can bring it to other places in Ireland besides Dublin. Enjoyed myself at this and well done Lauren for putting so much effort into it.
via Thrill Pier: All Tomorrow’s Parties from Warp Films will play in Dublin on June 20th at 9pm as part of the Irish Film Institute’s Stranger Than Fiction Festival.
It’s tough to watch and tough to read. Not only did horrific abuses happen but those that then testified were 1) told if they wanted compensation they could not go public and 2) They got grilled by barristers as if they were criminals. Your tax money made all of this possible.
Seven barristers.
Throwing questions at us.
Non-stop.
I tri.. attempted to commit suicide, there’s the woman who saved me from committing suicide, on me way down from Dublin, after spending five days at the commission. Five days I spent at the commission. They brought a man over from Rome, ninety odd years of age, to tell me I was telling lies.
What may prove to be a turning point. Michael O’Brien from Fianna Fáil talks about what he went through during the commission:
Mr. Chairman, I’m surprised at the minister there now.
First of all Mr Minister (directed at Minister Noel Dempsey) you made a bags of it in the beginning by changing the judges. You made a complete bags of it at that time, because I went to the La Foy commission and ye had seven barristers there, questioning me and telling that I was telling lies, when I told them that I got raped of a Saturday, got a merciful beating after it, and then stuffed…
… he came along the following morning and put holy communion in my mouth.
You don’t know what happened there. You haven’t the foggiest, you’re talking through your hat there. And you’re talking to a Fianna Fáil man, a former councilor and former mayor you’re talking to, that worked tooth and nail or you, for the party that you’re talking about now. Ye didn’t do it right, ye got it wrong.
Admit it.
And apologize for doing that. Because you don’t know what I feel inside me. You don’t know the hurt I am.
You said it was non-adversarial.
My God.
Seven barristers.
Throwing questions at us.
Non-stop.
I tri.. attempted to commit suicide, there’s the woman who saved me from committing suicide, on me way down from Dublin, after spending five days at the commission. Five days I spent at the commission. They brought a man over from Rome, ninety odd years of age, to tell me I was telling lies.
That I wasn’t beaten for an hour, non-stop by two of them.
By two of them.
Non-stop from head to toe without a shred of cloth on my body.
My God minister.
And could I speak to you (comment directed to Leo Varadkar, Fianna Gael), and ask your leader, would you stop making a political football of this.
You hurt this when you do that.
You tear the shreds from inside our body.
For God’s sake, try and give us some peace.
Try to give us some peace and not to continue hurting us.
That woman will tell you how many times I jump out of the bed at night with the sweat pumping out of me. Because I see these fellas at the end of the bed with their fingers doing that (gestures) to me. And pulling me in to the room, to rape me, to bugger me and bate the shite out of me. That’s the way it is.
And you know what?
You know what, sometimes I listen to the leader of Fianna Fáil. I even listened to the apology. T’was mealy mouthed, but at least t’was an apology.
At least t’was an apology.
The Rosminians said in the report, they said they were easy on us. The first day I went to them. The first day to Rosminians in my home which is Ferryhouse in Clonmel, ’cause its the only home I know. He said “you’re in it for the money”.
We didn’t want money.
We didn’t want money. We wanted the pr… someone to stand up and say “yes, these fellas were buggered, these people were ra…”
Little girls. My daughter, oh sorry, my sister. A month old when she was put in to an institution. Eight of us from the one family, dragged by the ISPCC cruelty man. Put in to two cars, brought to the court in Clonmel. Left standing there without food or anything, and the fella in the long black frock and the white collar came along and he put us in to a van.
Not a van, a scut truck, I don’t know what you call it now. And landed us below with two hundred other boys. Two night later I was raped.
How can anyone…
You’re talking about constitution. These people would gladly say “yes” to a constitution to freeze the funds of the religous orders.
This state, this country of ours, would say “yes” to that constitition if you have to change it.
Don’t say you can’t change it.
You’re the governement of this state. You run this state. So for God’s sake stop mealy mouthing. ‘Cause I’m sick of it.
I’m sick of it.
You’re turning me away from voting Fianna Fáil which I have done from the first day that I could vote. Because. And you know me. You know me Mister Minister. You’ve met me on a number of ocassions. So you know what I’m like.
The competition is the ‘Change Your Life Education Fund‘ – entrants submit a 2,000 word essay with an application form (available from NCI website), and could win a prize package worth €35,000. This is made up of an education fund worth 20K (with NCI), and other supports like mentoring, executive coaching, a laptop & software, gym membership, book allowance and even a personal styling package.
The essay in 200 words or less is the answer to the question: Why do you want to change your life, and how could education help?