Elephant rides around Dublin zoo in the mid 1900s

Hugh Cooney. What the jaysus is he all about? We’re really not sure but his videos are hilarious & creepy & clever as f*ck. In one of his most recent videos, which he screened at his live show on Wednesday night, one of them fairy fellas from the hills above Ballymore Eustace finds him and tries to lure him out for a drink. 

Also please check this out because it’s ACE

“Everyone’s Irish on March 17th.”

U2 in Dublin,Ireland-1st September, 2001 at Slane Castle

I took this last week at the Dun Laoghaire Movies in the Park. It would be nicer if it didn’t say “poo” on the end wall.

WOUNDS//PYRAMIDS

gravediggers in dublin, by evelyn hofer.

The Blessing of the Boats (by Salmon Leap)

An annual ceremony held at Bulloch Harbour, Dalkey Co Dublin.

40° 5’ 6” North
083° 7’ 24” West

While out of town last week for corporate training, MY HUSBAND GOT TO SEE THE DUBLIN (Ohio) CORN FIELD. I am *so* envious! 

No, really!

I just love random, little known installations. I had known about the cornfield for a while, but Husband didn’t. Imagine his surprise and bewilderment to drive around a corner and discover over 100 giant concrete ears of corn. I wish I had been there to see his reaction. He wasn’t aware that I knew about this installation, but he knows me well enough to realize this is something I’d adore. He took these pictures for me.

The Center for Land Use Interpretation (one of my very favorite websites) has this to say about it: 

The 109 giant ears of corn on a lawn in an office park near the town of Dublin is a project conceived by the artist Malcolm Cochran, in 1994, for the Dublin Arts Council. It makes a statement about the transition of much of Ohio’s landscape from farms to suburbs. The site, once owned by an agricultural researcher who hybridized corn, is now across the street from a new Nationwide Insurance company office, where 1,500 employees were recently relocated from downtown Columbus, a city that has one of the highest downtown vacancy rates in the nation.

The CLUI also provides a link to Roadside America’s page about the corn. I believe I could lose hours on both of those websites. I’m going to try to resist, but I take no responsibility for any lost time on your part ;)

Enjoy!

 Elephant rides around Dublin zoo in the mid 1900s

Eddie Rockets know how to throw a good 4th of July party! I shot...

Le bonheur de vivre.

Man, I love Matisse. His art books are on show in the Chester Beatty library. I wish someone would come with me. I’m probably going to go anyway, but you know…

Hit The Road: Making It Easier To Get Around :

Hit The Road is a Dublin-based startup that aims to help travellers plan their journey around Dublin city by giving exact directions via train, bus, light rail, and by foot. The site combines the timetables of Dublin Bus, DART and LUAS services to provide a one-stop journey-planner for the city’s main public transport services.

Essex St, Dublin 2

she is so beautiful, and I love her music :D

Camels and visitors at Albert Tower in Dublin Zoo in the late 1800s.

Muse @ Dublin O2, 6th November by olly_og on Flickr.

Muse @ Dublin O2, 6th November by olly_og on Flickr.

DUBLIN STREET ART - Tivoli Car Park by infomatique on Flickr.

Eddie Rockets know how to throw a good 4th of July party! I shot and edited this little video last year. 

One Week in Dublin

Check out two new additions to the ERIC bands section

Dublin solo act KaraKara

and Dublin Duo Fuzzy Empire

Check em out here

Never by KaraKara

The Rolling Hours by Fuzzy Empire

The Dublin wheel at the Point.

Harry and Alfie playing in Temple Bar 3.

Check them out here  http://harryandalfie.tumblr.com/

Old hooks on the Liffey docks.

Harry and Alfie playing in Temple Bar 1.

Check them out here  http://harryandalfie.tumblr.com/

Harry and Alfie playing in Temple Bar 2.

Check them out here  http://harryandalfie.tumblr.com/

Irish Artist Felim Egan: Why I’m Sailing – video | Occupied Palestine | ??????

I’ve been in Dublin for exactly one week now. Here’s a bit of what I’ve learned since my arrival:

• Does Ireland have any meteorologists? If so, are they just told to wing it? Because the weather here is extremely unpredictable. An example of a typical day: Clouds, rain, LOTS of rain, clouds, sun, sudden rain, sun shower, sun. I’ve been good about keeping an umbrella with me everywhere I go. (Yes, I’ve yet to misplace/lose it. But there’s still time for that.)
• I can’t determine whether or not I like the sun setting at 10 pm. I’ll lean toward “like,” but I imagine that will mess me up a bit when I return home. (Right now, the sun just sets at 8 pm there.)
• “Crack” (spelled “craic”) in Ireland is not the same as “crack” in the US. I had plenty of fun finding that out on Tuesday.
• I found a drink. It’s called cider. It’s made by Bulmers.  Something tells me I will miss this stuff when I leave. (Although, do they have it back in the States? If so, I’ve a feeling it’s “not the same,” just as people told me about Guinness.)
• Regardless, I’m still a piss-poor drinker. It takes me forever to make it through a pint. People are kind enough to take notice of it here. :) (Or wait…they notice it back home, too. What? I like to take my time with the alcohol!)
• Coin money is useful here. Someone, please help me remember that. I keep breaking 50s and I’m sure it ticks off the cashiers just a liiiiittle bit.
• Irish people are incredibly friendly and carefree. It’s helped me to relax a bit, too!
• I’m not quiiiiiiiite ready to go back to the States on Tuesday. I think I need to spend more time here. For work purposes. Yes, I think I need to accomplish more work-related things, somehow. (With much love to my friends and family back home, if you’ve ever been to Ireland, you may understand why I’m not eager to race to the airport.)

Most of my week has been devoted to working, but some evenings, I’ve kicked back and enjoyed a few pints at the pub. My past two outings, I’ve been treated to some excellent live music. (It also helps that my coworker’s fiancee is a musician - a very talented one at that.) Last night, I even got to dance the ceilidh. It made me a little dizzy at the end, but it still was so much fun!

I haven’t made much time for sightseeing, unfortunately. Today is my last “free” day in Dublin, and I may spend a majority of that going souvenir shopping  and doing laundry. (I really need clothes! “But you can just buy clothes.” Yeah, true.) We’ll see where the wind takes me. (It may be windy at one point today, knowing Ireland.)

It pains me to say that I haven’t done much of this, but I have taken few photos (via phone):

OK, allow me a moment to be immature and laugh like I’m hanging out with Beavis and Butt-head. Every time I walk by this store, I can’t help but be amused by this. I had to take a photo.

Add one more letter and you have my last name! Perhaps there is a relation somehow. 

Oh, a reminder of home. (It’s just missing Ryan Howard.)

Live at The Blarney Inn (last night). Excellent show. Click here to see / hear them play.

I can not be thankful to my company enough for allowing me the opportunity to come to Ireland. Work’s been great, of course. (I’m so happy I finally had the opportunity to meet our Irish staff in person!) The extracurriculars have made the trip even better. I’m truly enjoying myself here, and have met plenty of interesting people in the process. (Can I visit again soon? :))

It’s almost 10 am. I should finally treat myself to an Irish Breakfast, now that I’m up early enough / not hustling to work. (Although that scone I had on my way to the office one day was pretty good. Mmmm…scones. And strawberry jam. Cue Homer Simpson drooling sounds!)

Love you all!

The Ambassador Cinema in Dublin.

The thing about us having this Gilmore-Girls relationship is that I barely can keep any secrets from her. So I told her about Dublin and Glee Live! And I thought she would freak out or something (which was the reason I didn’t tell her) but she was just like:

“Well I would have done the same If I had the chance to. I’ll give you some money for your trip and I’ll tell your father next week casually. Oh and btw thanks for being so honest with me. Since you finished your exams you’re more vivid and happier.”

BLESS.THIS.WOMAN.

“Future need a big kiss”

Street performer near Trinity College.

there’s this trend amongst a certain subset of young irish females (sometimes known collectively as knackers) of wearing colourful pyjama bottoms out and about. now don’t get me wrong, i’ll sometimes nip out to the shop to buy some milk in a pair of joggers, but if i were to actually go and meet my friends for the day, i don’t think i’d choose to sport bright pink checkered PJs:

i’m so curious as to where this trend originated from. is it just laziness? do they just leave the house without getting properly dressed? i certainly hope not. do they actually think they look cool? is it a rebellion against conformity? who knows. i’m always so tempted to stop these girls and actually ask them some serious questions about why they like wearing these kinds of outfits. but, you see, for those not living in ireland, you need to know that the kind of girls that dress like this are usually also very loud, very obnoxious, and quite likely to punch inquisitive strangers in the face. hence why i shan’t be asking them anything.

i’m not sure either what the deal is with the girl in the middle; tan wide-leg trousers, a pink blazer and red hi-tops is certainly an interesting combination. if anything, i give her 10/10 for originality.

Dublin 128-HDR (by Clem Mason)

We kick daddy out and have a mommy baby snuggle and snooze. Its what we do best.

Another night out in Dublin, unfortunately someone took my jacket home with them…. :-/

Not Banksy, an old shop front in Dublin.

The Ambassador Cinema in Dublin.

Dublin to CORK!

This was taken while Dave and I were walking to Gav’s birthday dinner. It seems as though I’ve just been wandering around the Dublin coast for the past two weeks doesn’t it?

I have. 

Flying into Dublin!

This weekend I went to Dublin with Ciara and it was amazing. 

Dublin is one of the nicest places I’ve ever been, it’s like the same size as Chelmsford but it’s a capital city, it’s mental but brilliant. Everyone is so friendly too! Everyone had said that Dublin has the friendliest people and they’re so right. We got on the bus from the airport to the city centre and the bus driver was the loveliest person I have ever met in my life and bus drivers are usually so miserable! 

The Hotel was lovely too and we spent quite a lot of time in it because it was that good! We got addicted to Celebrity Salon and ate waaaayy too much rubbish but it was so much fun! 

The only downside is that I was supposed to meeting up with Shane but he got in a mood because I said he couldn’t stay with us and then he said he couldn’t get two buses in a day so he didn’t come. I wasn’t that bothered about meeting up with him but I was dissapointed that he wasn’t coming. I just started to think that there’s no point in us texting all the time. We just text about the same things and I don’t know hardly anything about him. It’s ridiculous and it does make me upset but it also makes me angry. So I texted him while I was in Dublin and basically said there is no point us talking anymore and we had an arguement about it but I’m contemplating deleting his number. 

BUT apart from Shane who is ridiculous, I had the best weekend and I will be going back to Dublin in the near future. 

I’m going to spam you with pictures now.

Johnny Fox’s Pub by where to willie on Flickr.

Turns out she’s actually wise.

I’m going to Dublin. I’ve made it very clear to them that I’m on a super strict budget and cannot be doing fancy things like spa days & cocktail making classes. I’m now on the lookout for things to do for free in Dublin!

Suggestions anyone?

Also, my sister never uses her telly as the DVD player bit is broken, so she’s given it to me until I can afford a nice new one. I really do love her to bits.

Rachael and I went to Dublin yesterday to try and get into Frighten the Horses, but failed at getting tickets in the afternoon, so we missed the first few acts. We hung around Dubs for awhile, and ate dinner (delicious, delicious nachos!) in a Czech restaurant/pub. We ended up grabbing a drink at Pantibar, which is a pretty well known gay bar in the area (mostly men). We headed back to the venue (Block T) to see if we could get into the show late, but knew we were going to head to the after-party, regardless. Again, no luck, but they told us to come back around 10:45. We headed to Dice Bar for another pint, and listened to an awesome DJ spin for a bit. I really liked the vibe of this place - it was leaning a little bit toward high heels and over-done makeup, but was hanging on to its rock roots by the shirttails - one of the bar tenders was an awesomely tat’ed up 6’6” bearded installation in the place, who added a taste of hardcore to the air of the place.

Heading back to Block T, we ended up getting in just in time to see MEN, who were totally awesome. Dancing, fun - an awesome band, and really fun music. The crowd was kickin’, and it was just “good vibrations”, as my last host, Dee, would say. 

We left there and ended up at the after-party at Mother We are One over in Temple Bar. Unfortunately, on our way there we were rejected from three (3!) separate pubs (we needed to use the facilities) absolutely, purely based on how we looked. It sucked, and it ripped my heart out. That’s the first time that’s happened to me, but I don’t think it was for Rachael - and I know plenty of other people who’ve been rejected from places. If we’d been showing skin and wearing heals instead of hiking boots, I have no question that we would have be allowed in…fucking security guards. 

Luckily, the after-party was awesome, and turned around that experience. Good people, good dancing, good fun. DJ JD Samson from MEN (and from Le Tigre) spun, and she was totally awesome. Deadly, I should say in Irish fashion. I met a few really cool people - great craic. 

Exhausted by the end of the night, the sun was coming up as we walked back to the hostel (4 AM, anyone?). We picked up some kebab and chips on the way, and chowed down before heading to bed. The falafel was deadly, and a good end to the night. 

I headed to Cork this morning, and am sitting in the Bru Bar hostel, about to head to get some chow. Off to Baltimore, and finally to Sherkin Island to my next host tomorrow. Lots of travel, hopefully followed by a bit of quiet isolation on a tiny, beautiful island. Looking forward to quiet and reflection. 

I leave you with some Le Tigre, for your viewing pleasure: