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.

More Dublin Graffiti, I wandered down a side street one day and...

i love that i can walk everywhere here. the city is so accessible and it doesn’t take too long to get from major place to the other. also, it doesn’t get dark until like 10:30/11 here. the sun has like a 3 hour delay compared to florida, so i never have to worry about walking around late at night in the dark. although… it does make it a bit confusing for dinner and sleeping.

Things we did today:

• Went to kilmainham jail
• Went to the Ireland Modern Museum of Art
• Went grocery shopping
• Went to Searson pub for dinner and drinks
• Walked to this really cute area near Grafton with pubs and restaurants and little boutiques. Got some icecream at this yummy place that I can’t remember the name of right now ahah. But it was good. Bailey’s icecream. Yee.

Very nice 2 see dis

More Dublin Graffiti, I wandered down a side street one day and it was everywhere.