Complete Blather

Two chords and a riff that repeats. And takes me right back.

A heartbreakingly beautiful song.

...this is fucking awesome:


They've turned a shitty, ugly beast in the city centre into an installation. And it looks fucking awesome.

http://www.tcd.ie/Communications/news/news.php?headerID=1250&vs_date=2009-8-1

What? How? What?

That tree is an institution.

Comments, please. Dylan Moran is a hilariously erudite, poetic standup comedian. I don't even like standup comedy, but our boy DM is amazing.

http://www.myspace.com/rosieellis

Have a listen to the tracks and let me know what you think. I have something of a stake in this girl's success, seeing as I was the one who pushed her into her first performance. In one year, she's taken off and is playing some Irish festivals and support slots over the summer.

If nothing else, y'all will probably get a kick out of her accent.

Inspired by a friend's account of a random attack he witnessed in Dublin last night:


This kinda shit--plainly pointless thuggery, executed by knackers--really pisses me off. Like, really.

I've been lucky enough thus far, but, by the laws of probability, it most likely won't be long until I'm subjected to some kind of random, unprovoked attack myself. I'm short and skinny, and despite some boxing/martial arts training, I wouldn't be able to effectively defend myself against someone much bigger, especially if they had a weapon.

I always wonder what would happen after I got attacked. What would I do? I know from experience that I am not one to dwell in self-pity or self-victimisation, but the question is, what happens after that phase? The stance I currently take [from my privileged position of safety] is the uncharacteristically Biblical "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth"; that is, find out who the fuck was responsible, and take them down. Yes, that sounds very gung-ho, and is perhaps out of character for me, but [especially if I was seriously injured] I couldn't just let it go. Maybe it's the result of my strange circumstances and upbringing, but I believe in payback. I believe in not letting people get away with fucking you over. And the law is usually useless in these situations. Victim impact statements, my arse. Not to mention the sheer pointlessness of sending a thug to prison, where he/she will spend months or years surrounded and influenced by other thugs and criminals.

So, that's the question, I guess. After you've been a victim of violence, do you break the cycle? Move on with your life and chalk it up to experience? Or, do you deny the assistance of the law/karma, track the perps down and get yo'self some payback?