Legend of the Liathmór

Posted on | January 8, 2015 | Comments Off on Legend of the Liathmór

Irish mythology tells of the Liathmór, a vast and malign entity that would cover the entire world with a thick, grey ‘Blanket of Dispair’ for years at a time. The sun would be completely obscured and the people condemned to a cold and dismal subsistence. So long would the Liathmór’s blanket block the light that, indeed, the existence of the sun itself became almost the stuff of legend.

Of course, these days, modern science has dispelled much of the old beliefs. We now know for a fact that the sun does exist and that the Liathmór’s thick blanket of grey misery covers mostly just Ireland.

Reading: Kraken – China Miéville

Posted on | January 7, 2015 | Comments Off on Reading: Kraken – China Miéville

So, I’m reading, I’m reading. Some peculiar bits and pieces but nothing too weird. Nice little story progressing. Get to around page sixty and

WHAM! What the crap? Clive Barker bursts out of the cupboard (watch it) carrying a tin washtub filled with the entrails of grotesque and alien monsters who have no right to exist in the universe of someone sane. He flings it everywhere. Argh, Jesus, it’s in my eyes. What’s wrong with the world? A phone rings. I answer and Neil Gaiman starts rabbiting on about theologies and theophanies and other theostuffies but I can’t concentrate on what he’s saying because Barker’s throwing giblets at me. What’s happening? What’s happening? Nothing is right anymore. Why is these brain broken? Why?

So, erm, yeah. Kraken. It’s good. I think.

The Pidgeon House

Posted on | August 1, 2014 | Comments Off on The Pidgeon House

Through heavy industry and shipping depots, past the travellers’ caravans penned in place by the massive concrete tank-traps designed to stop travellers parking their caravans, is Pidgeon House Road.

It’s all the brother’s fault. “Let’s go for a stroll down the end of the South Wall, ” he said.

We encountered the intriguingly named, Pidgeon House Road along the way. He was good enough to research and found this:

A man named Pidgeon who lived in the wooden house and acted as caretaker of the works and tools, finding the place become such a public resort, fitted out his quarters as neatly as possible, and, assisted by his wife and family, made arrangements for supplying meals and refreshments to visitors. He also purchased a boat to hire to his guests, had it painted and finished in an attractive manner, and as he dealt with only the best class of visitors, his rude hostelry soon grew to be a noted resort of distinguished citizens and wits, while the owner found himself on the fair road to fortune.

His house came to be known to all the Dublin folk as “Pidgeon’s House,” or the Pigeonhouse, and even after he and his family had gone the way of all flesh, and the old building, having served its purpose, had fallen into decay, the name was perpetuated in the title of the stronghold that in after years rose over its ruins.

From Weston St. John Joyce, 1920

Splendid.

As it turns out, the end of the South Wall is a ten mile round trip from town. A post-‘stroll’ pint of Guinness has seldom been more welcome.

I Want My Cheesy Horror Film

Posted on | April 28, 2014 | Comments Off on I Want My Cheesy Horror Film

If you wait too long to watch the cheesy horror film you DVRed a year ago, UPC might alter their subscription packages, without asking or telling, and restrict access to the recorded content that’s actually residing on the hard drive in your sitting room.

I didn’t change the subscriptions, you did. Stupid UPC.

Who’s for a brew

Posted on | April 16, 2014 | Comments Off on Who’s for a brew

I Know It’s Never Too Late

Posted on | March 13, 2014 | Comments Off on I Know It’s Never Too Late

I feel a bit bad, letting the old place go to rack and ruin like this. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s been kind of quiet around here lately. It’s not quite abandoned but I’m pretty sure a tramp has been living here and peeing on stuff.

When I popped back, I noticed that a ton of images were missing. I’d been posting them through Posterous and, although I knew that service was to die, I assumed that it had shoved the images here instead of just hosting them on its own systems and simply embedding links at my end. This was a stupid assumption and my noticing now is a mark of how often I visit. I was able to restore some of the images but there were a few I simply don’t have any more (no need to keep, I thought). I had to cull a couple of these orphan posts.

Maybe I’ll try harder. Maybe I’ll kick out that tramp, clean up the piss, dust off the cobwebs. Maybe I’ll make it fresh and vibrant around here. Maybe I’ll pop Paul Weller on repeat and breathe new, terribly interesting, life into the old blog. Maybe.

Maybe

)

Trained Scientists Notoriously Picky

Posted on | July 25, 2013 | Comments Off on Trained Scientists Notoriously Picky

ICR, together with the rest of the creation science movement, has made great strides in the last 40 years. In many areas, the superiority of the creation worldview has been clearly demonstrated. Even now, ICR is making exciting discoveries in the fields of biology and geology, and we have started new research initiatives in the field of astronomy. However, there is much work that still needs to be done, and this work is hindered by a lack of trained scientists.

 

…

 

For those who do have an interest in science, we wish to offer a few words of advice. Work hard to get the best possible grades and push yourself to truly understand the material. When choosing a school, choose one with a rigorous academic program and a research program that truly interests you. Although you should not be dishonest about what you believe, it’s probably prudent to not draw attention to your creationist beliefs while you are a student, particularly if you are in a field that directly touches upon the origins controversy (such as paleontology, biology, or geology).

Art’s Lough

Posted on | June 24, 2013 | Comments Off on Art’s Lough

Green and Bipolar

Posted on | May 4, 2013 | Comments Off on Green and Bipolar

HULK TIRED. HULK NOT SLEEP. 

GRRR. HULK ANGRY. HULK SMASH. SMAAAASH.

OOOH, BALL. PLAY BALL WITH HULK. YAY, HULK HAPPY. 

HULK FALL DOWN. NOW HULK SAD. NO BALL. NO BALL.

SMASH.

SMASH.

GRRR, SMASH.

(Parenthood)

The Venn Diagram of Wretchedness

Posted on | March 6, 2013 | Comments Off on The Venn Diagram of Wretchedness

Gerry Hayes

I mostly sit around all day and drink tea. Occasionally, I write stuff and send it to strangers so they can humiliate me and deride my efforts. Other than the self-harm to dull the shame of failure, it's not a bad life. Like I say, there's tea.