REMEMBERING DAD... AND WHAT HE STOOD FOR

It's 19 years ago today that my Dad, Phillip, passed away.

My Dad was a genuinely good man. Very much from the old school. Someone who came from humble beginnings (much more humble than what we think of as "hardship" these days), had to leave school at an early age, and had to make his own way in the world.

He was, to a great extent, auto-didactic. He read about anything and everything and had a broad general knowledge. I was such a flaky kid in high school and it always amazed me how much Dad knew.

My Dad was best known for his exploits as a pilot. The Yanks gave him the Purple Heart during the Korean War for getting shot up while trying to find one of their downed pilots (even though he didn't like Yanks much!). He also worked with the airlines, as a flying instructor, charter pilot, flying the air ambulance... you name it.

By the end of his career (I'd have to check with my brother who is also a pilot) I believe Dad had clocked up about 23,000 hours and taught a big chunk of the next generation of Aussie pilots how to fly. That's how he made his name. Quietly and by giving.

As impressive as his career was, it's how he comported himself as a person, as a man, that still impresses me, even after the passing of these 19 years.

I remember that he was very honest, very loyal and a true gentleman. He held doors open, tipped his hat and stuck to his guns. There are too few men like that these days. We are far too occupied with things. Or with our egos and exploits. Wheelings and dealings. Nervous about speaking up and showing some backbone.

Many of us need a good dose of "old fashioned." And not in that ridiculous, Tom Brokaw "Greatest Generation" way. My Dad typified that generation and Brokaw's appellation for them would have been embarrassing to him -- to the extent he even paid any attention to it.

Dad hated fanfare. And he despised Hollywood war movies. (Seeing your mates mowed down without a soundtrack and an audience can have that effect on you.) I can still hear him saying: "Bloody Yanks, winning the war again."

My Dad was very fit and didn't drink or smoke except for the occasional small glass of something or a puff on a "treat" cigar or pipe.

But it 1991 he died of cancer -- a diagnosis which came as a shock to everyone who knew him. And they couldn't even tell us what kind of cancer. "It's everywhere." I just recall those words.

In remembering Dad I want to honor him by not letting the facts of his decline go unstated.

Before Dad was in the Air Force in Korea, he was a soldier in WWII in New Guinea fighting to keep the Japanese at bay. He was 18, 19. After the surrender, he was sent to Japan as a member of the occupational forces. He was posted in Hiroshima.

The best guess has always been that his exposure to radiation in Hiroshima is what eventually took his life. Those terrible damn bombs that were dropped EVEN THOUGH THE JAPANESE HAD MADE IT CLEAR THEY WANTED TO PACK IT IN ruined so many lives. Nuclear weapons are a curse to us all and we must rid our world of every last one of them.

The second point I make in honor of my Dad is this: In an age where we can split atoms, create technology for play and warfare that one can barely wrap one's mind around, perform miracles in space and surgery, nobody can convince me that we could not solve the cancer riddle! It's like the comedian Chris Rock said: There's no money in the cure, the big cash is in the treatments.

These are the big battles -- peace before war, nukes, health care -- that we all must fight. Because, as big as they are, they all boil down to individuals with families and stories. One day -- if not already -- one or more of them might boil down to you and yours.

Your efforts to right these wrongs will never require as much of you as was asked of my Dad -- and so many like him. Shame on us for every day we take the debts they paid, for us, for granted. And that includes the people who have fought battles within our borders -- and continue to fight them -- for the rights we enjoy.

Dad would also want me to tell you that even though men like him are called "heroes," he never thought of himself that way and he never glorified war. He did what he felt he had to do and there was too much pain in it all for but the most cursory of replay for us kids or anyone else. I've met other soldiers and airmen like this.

I know there are many fine men in the world and each generation has had their own.

But for me, my Dad was the one in a million.

And I miss him very, very much.

Take care,
Adrian

Orange Kaligraffyk Graffiti Letters - 2001

GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNGRAFFITI LETTERS MURALSOrange "Kaligraffyk" Graffiti Letters - 2001Write the words on the wall may be common, but if we make graffiti letters on the wall with a good design then it will make it look beautiful. Slah interesting one is this graffiti. With a bright orange color will stand out among the other colors of felt covering on the graffiti design. Thus the main design

Colorful on the Graffiti Alphabet Design

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KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT: THE WORLD'S TWO BEST FRIENDS -- PART 3

My life's ambition is to put myself out of work.

It's true. This is actually something that came up in the lunchroom one day when I was working at the nonprofit Corporate Accountability International in Boston several years ago.

We were a gregarious bunch and lunches and birthday celebrations often turned into fun Q&A sessions. One of our senior people said that her dream was to lie on the beach every day and read.

"C'mon, you'd get bored," said one of the others. "You love gunning for crooked corporations."

"No," responded the beach dreamer. "I want to win this thing. I want to put myself out of work."

Any true activist feels the same way. Sure, the work can be interesting and there's lots of peripheral knowledge and experiences that accrue along the way. But for those of us who really have our hearts in it, it's about the fox, not the hunt.

But for us to put ourselves out of work, we need numbers. We need YOU. And no, that doesn't mean activism has to be your profession. Allow me share two more anecdotes.

During one of my meetings with Noam Chomsky in his office at MIT I asked him, completely off the cuff: "Shouldn't I be going through government documents and primary sources the way you do?" (This is particularly meticulous, painstaking work.)

His answer surprised me. [I'm paraphrasing, slightly.] "No. It wouldn't be worth your time. It's what I'm good at. Why bog yourself down? You can read my findings in my books. Then you do what you do."

Another time I was watching one of the many documentaries featuring Chomsky and the film crew interviewed his late wife, Carol [pictured above], herself a former Harvard professor. Carol Chomsky was, at this point, working as her husband's de facto handler/gatekeeper/tour manager. She was asked a question that Noam himself has been asked countless times.

"What can the average person do to right the wrongs in the world?"

Her answer was simple: "They should lead an activist's life."

The aggregate message of these anecdotes is that we all have certain talents, varying amounts of available time, peculiar strengths and weaknesses. We can't all be 24/7 activists in a career sense. But there is NO EXCUSE for not doing WHAT YOU CAN to make the world a better place for those less fortunate and the generations that will follow us. When Carol Chomsky said we should "lead an activist's life," she meant that doing the right thing should be our mindset -- not something we tack onto our ourselves -- and we should live our lives accordingly.

We don't have to work in the nonprofit sector or become great dissidents or write mighty books. But our words and deeds and attitudes, what we consume, how we live, what we learn, what we teach our children, the opinions we espouse, should all, to some extent, feed into the positive "life stream" of the world.

We should be less selfish, more attuned to what's really happening around us, and have the courage to speak, and stand up for, the truth.

OUR SMALL SACRIFICES COMBINED WILL TURN THE WHEEL OF HISTORY IN HUMANITY'S FAVOR.

You can be a hero with the small decisions you make every day. And, perhaps, with larger actions from time to time.

"HOUSE ON FIRE" is not intended to recruit a generation of Chomskys. It is intended to encourage the "average" person to have the level of awareness that they most certainly should, to seek truth, and to live and die by their conscience. That is what Noam and Carol were talking about.

And, as I and many others see it, that's pretty much what we all owe our fragile planet and our fellow human beings.

And that is what will put us all "out of work."

Take care, keep smiling, and never give up on the future,
Adrian Zupp
LINKS
Noam Chomsky's website: http://www.chomsky.info/
Carol Chomsky's obituary, Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/12/20/carol_chomsky_at_78_harvard_language_professor_was_wife_of_mit_linguist/
Corporate Accountability International: http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might like to take a look at KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT: THE WORLD'S TWO BEST FRIENDS -- PART 1 and PART 2.

Tag Graffiti Alphabet Espace Graffoto BlackBook

GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNTAG GRAFFITI ALPHABETTag Graffiti Alphabet "Espace Graffoto" BlackBookAn graffiti alphabet is made for blackbook. Most graffiti design is used for decorative images on the surface of the wall, car or train. The goal was to beautify the objects to be more interesting compares. And this is one of the designs produced by graffiti artists, Work has become one of graffiti

How to Create Graffiti Name with Graffiti Creator

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I'M A LITTLE UNDER THE WEATHER

Hi All,

I'll get back to my current blog topic tomorrow night. I'm not too well this evening and I can't concentrate.

Just quickly, however: I just watched a recording of Michael Moore [pictured] on Larry King from Tuesday night. What I saw was very good. But commercials rained in at unannounced times, sometimes just a minute apart, disrupting what Michael had to say. What's up with that? Makes you wonder. It butchered virtually all of what MM had to say about recent Wikileaks events -- which really raises my antenna.

I'll write about the show and also Wikileaks soon. Off to bed now!

Take care and keep smiling,
Adrian

Making Time - for God

In life we get so caught up by our work, our families, friends, activities even by what we want. Worse - what we want from God - always being about us and never about giving but receiving and doing what we want, the way we want.

Making time for God is life to us, without God we have no strength, no life, no way forward but we become completely lost, dry and eventually die.

As much as we make time for work (sometimes working extra hours), friends (staying till late with them), our parents (to see if the are well), for a sport (to keep ourselves fit), we should MAKE TIME for God.
Make time to spend quality time with God.
Time to sit, read and meditate on the word of God.
Time to fast.
Time to consecrate myself to His will,etc.

If I can make time for my work, for other people around me; why not make time for the One I say is important in my life: God?
"I can never go wrong in making time for My God'.

Write Your Name in Graffiti Text with Graffiti Creator (graffwriter.com)

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KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT: THE WORLD'S TWO BEST FRIENDS -- PART 2

If you want to get a real handle on how the world works and how we all get manipulated, let's go hog wild and tap something once uttered by the worst of the worst: Adolf Hitler.

Hitler once said that the average man only wanted bread and circuses. (Hitler actually got the phrase from an Ancient Roman poem. But the fact that he used it adds emphasis.)

This is the ultimate elitist statement. What Hitler was saying was "Fill their bellies and give them amusing nonsense and they'll shut up and keep out of our way while we get down to the serious shit of holding power, exploiting them and doing as we please."

Okay, I'm not about to compare anyone to Hitler. What I will do is say that, in terms of manipulating people, many latter-day elites do use the bread-and-circuses strategy.

Think about it.

Political speeches, advertising, news reports, PR stunts, pressures to conform or be cool... they all have subsistence and/or entertainment at their core. Appeal to the masses sense of need for food and other "basics" such as trendy clothes (often in excess), then smother that with the cream of lowest-common-denominator entertainment to keep them occupied and out of the way.

Or as Bill Hicks put it in one of his skits: "Go back to bed America, your government is in control. Here, watch American Gladiators. Here's 56 channels of it. Sit on your couch and get fat and stupid. Your government is in control. And you are free to do as we tell you. You are free to do as we tell you." [paraphrase from memory] Watch the 35-second clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR3KwODDzeY

Hicks was never one to mince words but he got it right. I mean, look how dramatically television has changed over the decades. Ads have gone from someone holding up a box of soap powder and talking over a jingle in the 1950s and 1960s, to the most crazed Madison Avenue brainshit you can imagine. It's no secret that advertising today is developed by advertising vampires AND psychologists. What's up with that?

And that includes child psychologists because McDonald's, Coke, Phillip Morris (though they've been reeled in in recent years after hard work by activists!), and all the other squillionaire bottom feeders want to develop "consumers for life." Does this scare anybody else out there? Hey, they're messing with our kids!

And the average kid sees -- wait for it -- about 20,000 30-second commercials every year. (I'm pretty sure I've actually seen higher figures.) That's a lot of brainwashing and junk info being stuffed into our children's heads. Hours and hours of it. Type the words "number commercials children" into Google and be prepared to have your brain trickle out your ears.

This must surely have implications for cognition, memory, fatigue, attention span, personal world view, and more. Plus, the nature of the commercials nowadays -- e.g. a ton of ads for junk food -- are affecting other lifestyle choices. And physical health. (Googling this will probably give you heart failure. The health risks of reading my blog!)

Then we could talk about the shows on TV that dumb us down and rope us in with their reliance on excess and indulgence, simplistic non-messages, and their ability to titillate our voyeuristic urges. With some exceptions, major-rating TV shows these days appeal to our worst instincts. We want to see how so-and-so will backstab her roommate on Reality Show X or who's doing who when we tune into the latest Hollywood tabloid show etc etc. Nudity, violence, vicious gossip, wallowing in the trivial and inane... the list goes on. Gone are the days when you didn't even hear a minor cuss word before 10pm on TV. This is all blazing from the screen while the kids are still up.

I covered a lot of this stuff on TV in my previous blog entry "THE IDIOT CULTURE." Take a look at it.

But it's bread and circuses all the way. And it's messing up our thinking, stealing our time, dimming our creativity, dulling our objectivity and ability to critique, making it tougher to parent, and much more.

I don't even have TV. (I own a television but it isn't plugged into the outlet that pumps in the TV stations.) I haven't had TV for five years. And I don't miss it one bit. I enjoy quality movies on DVD and docos on DVD. That's about it apart from some occasional viewing at my fiancee's place.

But lest I be accused of sounding "holier than thou" let me add a rider: We all have our guilty pleasures. Yep, me too. Fine. The trick, I believe, is in whether the guilty pleasure is in control of us or if we are in control of the guilty pleasure. If you don't watch more than a "bit" of junk TV, hey, cool. And if you are aware of what it is that you're looking at, hey, double cool.

But if you find yourself immersed in this stuff to any degree, I'd encourage you to stop yourself and think about it. Believe me, I know what it's like: I used to veg out and watch one episode of "Cops" after another. Not good. (I was indeed a bad boy, bad boy... Actually, I think I was waiting for the episode where the handcuffed black man in the back of the patrol car would shout out: "Hey man, how come this car smells like crack smoke?!")

If you can say, "Hey, I don't care if I miss that show I like tonight because I want to read a book/play with my kid/CONVERSE with my kid/go out/exercise/etc." then that's a good sign. But if you feel an uncontrollable twitch coming on, call me immediately.

I hope this is making sense because I believe it with all my heart and it is important. Vitally important.

I first studied mass communication in 1987. There was one professor who tried to teach us about manipulative subtexts in various film forms (including TV) and I thought he was some kind of commie nut job (yep, I was very sucked in in those days). Now I know he was right. Since then I've read the literature, studied the trends, listened to child psychologists ON FILM admit to what they're doing, noticed how TV shows and commercials are actually constructed differently than in bygone decades so as to keep snapping your attention to FULL ON, and so on. I know more about this stuff than I really want to; but I felt I needed to.

My own son is limited in his "screen time." Very limited but not unreasonably limited. He is almost 8. "Screen time" is TV, computer, and video games. And, to her credit, his mother also carefully polices the content of what he looks at and plays.

And he's happy because the limits feel natural to him. And he also rides his bike, draws, studies hip hop dancing, belongs to a children's theater group, visits museums, loves reptiles and marine life, plays with friends, and amazes his Dad with things and words he knows. I have never known him to be bored. He exercises (various functions of) his brain, his body and his emotional intelligence.

Basically, he's enjoying a similar, balanced lifestyle to the one that was commonplace for my generation. These days, sadly, it takes work and monitoring to get it.

Now let me back up again: I'm not trying to say my kid is better than anyone else's. Kids are vessels of potential and I don't regard any one as better than another: be it my son or anybody else. But he is an example that I can cite accurately because, obviously, I know him intimately. And he is being kept from the "bread and circuses" syndrome. Is he perfect? No. Will he have problems? Yes. Will he go through phases? Yes. But he is getting a full set of tools to deal with life and the curveballs it will undoubtedly throw at him. (Before you envy me too much think about this: I'm a bloke who has always struggled to fill the big shoes of my Dad, and now I find myself humbled by my own son. Oh dear.)

This whole "KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT" blog entry feels like tough love as I write it. But I do not mean it as arrogance or superiority. It comes from my conscience. I have loved kids all my life. I care about them. All kids. And I care about you, their parents, too.

Trust me, it takes real love and caring to tell you the crap you maybe don't want to hear. Of course, if you feel you are on a pretty good track already, then I'm going to tell you that it's up to you to help spread the word. The Idiot Culture must not steal our focus. The bread and circuses are not all there is. We are highly intelligent beings. Let's not allow that unique faculty to atrophy in a quasi (or actual) evolutionary way.

More tomorrow night.

Take care and keep smiling,
Adrian Zupp

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might like to take a look at KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT: THE WORLD'S TWO BEST FRIEND'S -- PART 1 and PART 3.

An Gorta Mór – Ireland’s Great Hunger.

I was delighted to hear from the remarkable Ruth Riddick in New York about an equally remarkable exhibition at the Irish Consulate in New York which she is involved with – “An Gorta Mór – Ireland’s Great Hunger” which is based on the collection at Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University.

Ireland’s Great Famine or The Great Hunger, as it is more commonly referred to today, ranks among the worst tragedies in the sweep of human history. Between 1845 and 1850, approximately 1.5 million Irish men, women and children died of starvation or related diseases. By 1855, more than two million more fled Ireland to avoid a similar fate. This decimation of her population makes Ireland’s Great Hunger both the worst chapter in the country’s history, and arguably, the single worst catastrophe in 19th century Europe.


The President of Ireland, Professor Mary McAleese opening the exhibition in New York

As for New York based Ruth who is providing communications services to the project she is one of life’s polymaths who has forged a career in the States providing consultancy in communications, advocacy, management and training as well as continuing her writing. She is special friend from the old days and she is known in Ireland as a leading feminist (a label she would never use herself). Ruth was a leading advocate for women’s rights and a rational humane approach to social problems at a time when they were both sorely needed in Ireland and when it took real personal courage to campaign on these issues. But there is much more to the talented Ms. Riddick than that as a perusal of her web site reveals;

www.ruthriddick.com/bio.html

As for the exhibition your thinking about the Irish famine will be irrevocably changed. Even the word “famine” in no longer used; the period is now known, inter alia, as the “starvation.” When I read the background on the Quinnipiac site I certainly learnt more than I did at school and it changed my view about the nature of the Famine. It is great with the developments in the North that the Irish-American perspective has moved on from the freeze frame it was in for so many years - I remember the old joke about there are only two political issues in Boston - "Trieste is Italian and Ireland must be united!"


Eviction of an Irish family by landlords during the famine

The Great Hunger irrevocably changed Ireland – its population was virtually halved, the dominance of the Gaelic language as the spoken language of the people was destroyed and the effects of the Irish Diaspora on Ireland and on the countries where the pitiful emigrants from starvation went to are felt to this day. It also reinforced the conviction that Irish people must take control of their own destiny and not be beholden to a foreign power.

As for the thrust of the exhibition to correct historical misapprehensions the President of Quinnipiac University writes;

“An Gorta Mór, The Great Hunger, is an attempt to set the record straight. For more than 150 years, the catastrophe that depopulated Ireland has been referred to as the Irish Potato Famine—as if a crop, and not a nation’s people, were the victims. Rather than an act of nature, The Great Hunger was the result of centuries of institutionalized oppression and callous disregard for human life. This unprecedented exhibition presents one of the world’s most extensive collections of art and literature portraying the tragedy and suffering in Ireland at that time. The authors, artists, writers and local voices whose work is collected in this exhibition stand together to bear witness to this crime against humanity.

It is critical that the Great Hunger be remembered accurately. In the 150-plus years since the Great Hunger, this tragedy has been downplayed and frequently distorted by Anglo historians and sympathizers. Too often it has been described as a disaster caused by the bad luck of a naturally occurring potato blight. British authorities, then responsible for ruling all of Ireland, were quick to agree, and thus took no responsibility for this epic disaster that claimed the lives of 1.5 million Irish people. Thanks to recent historians, such as Christine Kinealy, we now know that more than adequate food existed in Ireland; food exports from the country actually increased during the famine years. If only British authorities had possessed the will and compassion to deliver this food to the starving Irish. But British Government indifference resulted in the worst calamity ever to befall Ireland. It was not until 1997, 150 years after Black ‘47 that a British prime minister, Tony Blair, acknowledged that the British bore some responsibility for this terrible tragedy.

Irish-Americans must continue to publicly document this worst tragedy and human rights abuse in Ireland’s history—and to question those who even today seek to obscure the real causes of this human disaster.”

John L. Lahey, Ph.D. President, Quinnipiac University
Vice Chairman, New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee

Curated by producer Turlough McConnell, from the collection at Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University, the exhibition features art work by such major Irish sculptors as John Behan and Eamonn O’Doherty, as well as paintings, lithographs, photographs and etchings by other contemporary artists, and a fascinating selection of rare books and maps dating from the famine years and earlier.


Eamonn O’Doherty's marquette for a Famine Memorial

Quinnipiac University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours south of Boston. Quinnipiac comprises schools of business, communications, education, health sciences, and law, and a College of Arts and Sciences.

Website; www.quinnipiac.edu

Commentary on wall panels comes from important historians from both sides of the Atlantic, and is decidedly revisionist. It is right that the revision of the incorrect history of the Great Hunger is led from America as even during it Americans looked upon it as an avoidable human tragedy and identified with the people of Ireland many who ended up seeking refuge there after harrowing voyages in “Coffin Ships” where the bodies of those who died were thrown overboard.


The disproprtionate effect of the famine on the West of Ireland can be seen from this map

The Rev. John Hughes, D.D., Bishop of New York speaking from the Broadway Tabernacle on March 20th, 1847 gave a lecture on the Irish Famine and immigrations and in his speech said,

“The year 1847 will be rendered memorable in the future annals of civilization, by two events; the one immediately preceding and giving occasion to the other, namely, Irish famine, and American sympathy and succour.”

The exhibition is open to the public weekdays through September 3rd from 12 Noon to 2PM at the Consulate of Ireland, 345 Park Avenue (17th Floor), New York, between 51st and 52nd Street. (Entrance also at 345 Lexington Avenue, near 6, E & M subway.)

Photo ID required for building access. Call ahead to confirm hours, (212) 319-2555 .

ADMISSION IS FREE.

www.thegreathunger.org


The legacy - One of the many deserted "Famine Villages" found in Ireland

An Gorta Mór – Ireland’s Great Hunger.

I was delighted to hear from the remarkable Ruth Riddick in New York about an equally remarkable exhibition at the Irish Consulate in New York which she is involved with – “An Gorta Mór – Ireland’s Great Hunger” which is based on the collection at Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University.

Ireland’s Great Famine or The Great Hunger, as it is more commonly referred to today, ranks among the worst tragedies in the sweep of human history. Between 1845 and 1850, approximately 1.5 million Irish men, women and children died of starvation or related diseases. By 1855, more than two million more fled Ireland to avoid a similar fate. This decimation of her population makes Ireland’s Great Hunger both the worst chapter in the country’s history, and arguably, the single worst catastrophe in 19th century Europe.


The President of Ireland, Professor Mary McAleese opening the exhibition in New York

As for New York based Ruth who is providing communications services to the project she is one of life’s polymaths who has forged a career in the States providing consultancy in communications, advocacy, management and training as well as continuing her writing. She is special friend from the old days and she is known in Ireland as a leading feminist (a label she would never use herself). Ruth was a leading advocate for women’s rights and a rational humane approach to social problems at a time when they were both sorely needed in Ireland and when it took real personal courage to campaign on these issues. But there is much more to the talented Ms. Riddick than that as a perusal of her web site reveals;

www.ruthriddick.com/bio.html

As for the exhibition your thinking about the Irish famine will be irrevocably changed. Even the word “famine” in no longer used; the period is now known, inter alia, as the “starvation.” When I read the background on the Quinnipiac site I certainly learnt more than I did at school and it changed my view about the nature of the Famine. It is great with the developments in the North that the Irish-American perspective has moved on from the freeze frame it was in for so many years - I remember the old joke about there are only two political issues in Boston - "Trieste is Italian and Ireland must be united!"


Eviction of an Irish family by landlords during the famine

The Great Hunger irrevocably changed Ireland – its population was virtually halved, the dominance of the Gaelic language as the spoken language of the people was destroyed and the effects of the Irish Diaspora on Ireland and on the countries where the pitiful emigrants from starvation went to are felt to this day. It also reinforced the conviction that Irish people must take control of their own destiny and not be beholden to a foreign power.

As for the thrust of the exhibition to correct historical misapprehensions the President of Quinnipiac University writes;

“An Gorta Mór, The Great Hunger, is an attempt to set the record straight. For more than 150 years, the catastrophe that depopulated Ireland has been referred to as the Irish Potato Famine—as if a crop, and not a nation’s people, were the victims. Rather than an act of nature, The Great Hunger was the result of centuries of institutionalized oppression and callous disregard for human life. This unprecedented exhibition presents one of the world’s most extensive collections of art and literature portraying the tragedy and suffering in Ireland at that time. The authors, artists, writers and local voices whose work is collected in this exhibition stand together to bear witness to this crime against humanity.

It is critical that the Great Hunger be remembered accurately. In the 150-plus years since the Great Hunger, this tragedy has been downplayed and frequently distorted by Anglo historians and sympathizers. Too often it has been described as a disaster caused by the bad luck of a naturally occurring potato blight. British authorities, then responsible for ruling all of Ireland, were quick to agree, and thus took no responsibility for this epic disaster that claimed the lives of 1.5 million Irish people. Thanks to recent historians, such as Christine Kinealy, we now know that more than adequate food existed in Ireland; food exports from the country actually increased during the famine years. If only British authorities had possessed the will and compassion to deliver this food to the starving Irish. But British Government indifference resulted in the worst calamity ever to befall Ireland. It was not until 1997, 150 years after Black ‘47 that a British prime minister, Tony Blair, acknowledged that the British bore some responsibility for this terrible tragedy.

Irish-Americans must continue to publicly document this worst tragedy and human rights abuse in Ireland’s history—and to question those who even today seek to obscure the real causes of this human disaster.”

John L. Lahey, Ph.D. President, Quinnipiac University
Vice Chairman, New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee

Curated by producer Turlough McConnell, from the collection at Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University, the exhibition features art work by such major Irish sculptors as John Behan and Eamonn O’Doherty, as well as paintings, lithographs, photographs and etchings by other contemporary artists, and a fascinating selection of rare books and maps dating from the famine years and earlier.


Eamonn O’Doherty's marquette for a Famine Memorial

Quinnipiac University is a private, coeducational, non-sectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours south of Boston. Quinnipiac comprises schools of business, communications, education, health sciences, and law, and a College of Arts and Sciences.

Website; www.quinnipiac.edu

Commentary on wall panels comes from important historians from both sides of the Atlantic, and is decidedly revisionist. It is right that the revision of the incorrect history of the Great Hunger is led from America as even during it Americans looked upon it as an avoidable human tragedy and identified with the people of Ireland many who ended up seeking refuge there after harrowing voyages in “Coffin Ships” where the bodies of those who died were thrown overboard.


The disproprtionate effect of the famine on the West of Ireland can be seen from this map

The Rev. John Hughes, D.D., Bishop of New York speaking from the Broadway Tabernacle on March 20th, 1847 gave a lecture on the Irish Famine and immigrations and in his speech said,

“The year 1847 will be rendered memorable in the future annals of civilization, by two events; the one immediately preceding and giving occasion to the other, namely, Irish famine, and American sympathy and succour.”

The exhibition is open to the public weekdays through September 3rd from 12 Noon to 2PM at the Consulate of Ireland, 345 Park Avenue (17th Floor), New York, between 51st and 52nd Street. (Entrance also at 345 Lexington Avenue, near 6, E & M subway.)

Photo ID required for building access. Call ahead to confirm hours, (212) 319-2555 .

ADMISSION IS FREE.

www.thegreathunger.org


The legacy - One of the many deserted "Famine Villages" found in Ireland

Sneak Peek: Episode 23 Goes Live Friday, July 30th!

Latest Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episode Written by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack

In our last episode of The Exquisite Corpse Adventure 22, by Lemony Snicket, we met Pirandello, the railway safety man. In the midst of a train wreck, Orlando, a girl with very short hair, knocked at his door. Pirandello soon learned that her parents had cut off her long, silken locks to weave a blanket. Fearing for her life, she had fled on the train. Orlando found three items unclaimed by the train wreck passengers and led Pirandello to them. Much to his delight, the first was a bag of gummy bears. However, the other two were very strange objects: a door and a head!

In Episode 23 by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, where are our heroes headed? Who does Nancy talk to? What do they find? What do Joe, Nancy, and Genius Kelly, the pig, negotiate?

Read the Episode and see Calef Brown's colorful and unique illustrations at Read.gov!

A crop of Calef's Episode 23 illustration appears at top right.

Award-winning authors, Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, as a team, have written more than 50 books for young readers, including picture books, beginning readers, information books, and biographies. Focusing on African and African-American stories, they believe they have, "...a dual goal of improving the self-image of African-American children and of encouraging an open attitude in all children toward cultures different from their own."

Look for their books at your local library or bookstore.

Calef Brown is an author and award-winning illustrator. Some of his own works have fun titles like, Polkabats and Octopus Slacks and Dutch Sneakers and Fleakeepers. His works have also appeared in numerous magazines including Time, Newsweek, and The New Yorker. You can see more of Calef's quirky illustrations for The Exquisite Corpse Adventure in Episode 3, Episode 7, Episode 15, and Episode 19.

Some of Calef's works include:

Visit Calef's website for more information on his books and illustrations.

ENJOY THE EPISODE!

Graffiti Alphabet on the Pyramid Structure of the Wood Dice

GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNGRAFFITI ALPHABET PYRAMIDGraffiti Alphabet on the Pyramid Structure of the Wood DiceThere may already know what it is pyramid. If you do not know, at least know how to form a pyramid. Basically triangular pyramid shape, so it can be said tapered at the top. Symbolized by a power and glory. At this time there is a graffiti alphabet design with the letters A - Z. All the

Graffiti Fonts Planet Benson

GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGNGRAFFITI FONTSGraffiti Fonts "Planet Benson" Please give your comments about this graffiti image, Thanks....

The Justice Gap in Tooting

The killers of Ekram Haque; Leon Elcock and Hamza Lyzai and their victim in hospital

There is widespread disbelief and anger in the UK about the message given to society by the sentences passed on three London teenagers who attacked a man leaving a mosque with his three year old daughter. It was called a “happy slapping” attack and resulted in the death of the pensioner who was attacked “for fun.” Local MP Sadiq Khan has described the sentences as “truly shocking”, a sentiment which is widely felt.

Shocking footage shows a man dying in the street after a “happy slapping” attack as his bewildered granddaughter stands by his side. CCTV footage released today shows 67-year-old Ekram Haque lying flat on his back as his hooded attackers aged 14 and 15 flee. They ran up behind and felled him with a powerful blow for the fun of it. Ekram Haque, a retired care worker, was standing outside the local mosque in Tooting in August last year. He had been there to pray because it was the Holy month of Ramadan. Hospital doctors turned his life support machine off a week later.

A judge ordered that the boys, previously granted anonymity because of their age, be named and shamed. Leon Elcock and Hamza Lyzai struck as Mr Haque waited with three-year-old Marian outside the Idara-e-Jafferiya mosque in Church Lane, Tooting, last August 2009.


Ekram Haque and his grand-daughter Marian

In the film she is seen playing at a railing under his watchful eye when the thugs, who had filmed previous attacks on a mobile phone, attack. The girl goes to his side, falls to her knees, her hand pushed out across his chest towards his face as if pleading with her grandfather to get up and show he is all right. A man in white robes, believed to be Mr Haque's son Arfan, rushes out of the mosque and takes the little girl inside before phoning for help. Elcock was on bail for an attack on an elderly Asian couple at the time.

Judge Martin Stephens told them: “You committed a series of very serious, cowardly, deeply unpleasant offences against elderly and vulnerable men and women. The attacks were entirely gratuitous and done without thought for your victims. Some of the attacks carried out on earlier occasions, although not of the same seriousness, were filmed by you as part of what you saw as fun. As a result of your so-called bit of fun, Mr Haque was deprived of a full and content life and his family were deprived of a devoted, inspiring and beloved father and a grandfather.” Three teenagers were originally charged with the murder of Mr Haque but lawyers accepted pleas to lesser offences after consulting the victim's family. Elcock, now 16, and Lyzai, 15, both from Tooting, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Elcock was sentenced to four and a half years and Lyzai to three and a half. With time served already, Elcock could be free in 18 months while Lyzai could be out in just over a year. The charge against a third defendant, who was 14, will lie on the file. He was sentenced to six months detention for two other attacks.

The judge said his powers of sentence in relation to the assaults were “very limited” because of the defendants' ages. He lifted restrictions on naming Elcock and Lyzai as a warning to others “who may be tempted to indulge in such appalling behaviour”. Outside the Old Bailey, Arfan Haque was furious that Elcock had been let out on bail after a previous attack, saying: “The Crown Prosecution Service needs to buck up their ideas, because they are being bailed and just walking free. My father is dead, it's just a disgrace.”

Lawyers for the “happy slap” gang claimed they were simply bored teenagers craving entertainment. Oliver Blunt QC told the court: “They are young, bored, listless youths who sought entertainment in this extremely unpleasant and distorted fashion.” Throughout the Old Bailey case the three defendants did not show a flicker of remorse, sitting impassively as they watched the sickening violence on CCTV film. Leon Elcock, the oldest of the three and the gang leader, was said to recruit his “foot soldiers” with the same ruthless intimidation he showed his victims. He shares a council house in Tooting with his mother and five siblings. A serial truant after being suspended from school for assaulting a teacher, he is suspected of committing several robberies. Hamza Lyzai is Ugandan-born. Neighbours claim he was transformed from a polite boy into a killer when he joined the gang.

The youngest defendant, who was not named, photographed the gang's attacks. All the “happy slap” clips recovered by police were found on his mobile. A teacher told police she found him watching internet clips of elderly people being happy slapped and he was “laughing hysterically.”



Can anyone actually explain why these loathsome individuals were given such lenient sentences? Reading the Home Office guidance would suggest anyone aged over 10 but under the age of 18 can be given "Detention for life" for manslaughter. So how exactly does a pitiful 3 and a half years come into play? And if the judge is in fact constrained by the system then the system needs changing. A man has lost his life, a family had theirs irreversibly blighted and the perpetrators will be back on the streets laughing about it in a year and carrying on their trend of violent crime on their next unfortunate victim.

It is difficult to see how the sentences meet the needs of retribution and rehabilitation. Is anybody in any doubt how these totally unrepentant feral teenagers will behave on the streets of London when they are released in just over a year’s time? It is even more difficult to imagine how the family of Ekram Haque will be able to explain to his grand daughter Marian when she is older that her beloved grandfathers life counted for so little in the eyes of the justice system. All of our lives have been devalued by this lenient sentencing which says you can cause somebody’s death for “fun”, record and leer at the scene on your mobile phone and get away with murder with only minor inconvenience in your own life. These shocking sentences which do not address the need for retribution and rehabilitation cannot be allowed to stand.

The Justice Gap in Tooting

The killers of Ekram Haque; Leon Elcock and Hamza Lyzai and their victim in hospital

There is widespread disbelief and anger in the UK about the message given to society by the sentences passed on three London teenagers who attacked a man leaving a mosque with his three year old daughter. It was called a “happy slapping” attack and resulted in the death of the pensioner who was attacked “for fun.” Local MP Sadiq Khan has described the sentences as “truly shocking”, a sentiment which is widely felt.

Shocking footage shows a man dying in the street after a “happy slapping” attack as his bewildered granddaughter stands by his side. CCTV footage released today shows 67-year-old Ekram Haque lying flat on his back as his hooded attackers aged 14 and 15 flee. They ran up behind and felled him with a powerful blow for the fun of it. Ekram Haque, a retired care worker, was standing outside the local mosque in Tooting in August last year. He had been there to pray because it was the Holy month of Ramadan. Hospital doctors turned his life support machine off a week later.

A judge ordered that the boys, previously granted anonymity because of their age, be named and shamed. Leon Elcock and Hamza Lyzai struck as Mr Haque waited with three-year-old Marian outside the Idara-e-Jafferiya mosque in Church Lane, Tooting, last August 2009.


Ekram Haque and his grand-daughter Marian

In the film she is seen playing at a railing under his watchful eye when the thugs, who had filmed previous attacks on a mobile phone, attack. The girl goes to his side, falls to her knees, her hand pushed out across his chest towards his face as if pleading with her grandfather to get up and show he is all right. A man in white robes, believed to be Mr Haque's son Arfan, rushes out of the mosque and takes the little girl inside before phoning for help. Elcock was on bail for an attack on an elderly Asian couple at the time.

Judge Martin Stephens told them: “You committed a series of very serious, cowardly, deeply unpleasant offences against elderly and vulnerable men and women. The attacks were entirely gratuitous and done without thought for your victims. Some of the attacks carried out on earlier occasions, although not of the same seriousness, were filmed by you as part of what you saw as fun. As a result of your so-called bit of fun, Mr Haque was deprived of a full and content life and his family were deprived of a devoted, inspiring and beloved father and a grandfather.” Three teenagers were originally charged with the murder of Mr Haque but lawyers accepted pleas to lesser offences after consulting the victim's family. Elcock, now 16, and Lyzai, 15, both from Tooting, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Elcock was sentenced to four and a half years and Lyzai to three and a half. With time served already, Elcock could be free in 18 months while Lyzai could be out in just over a year. The charge against a third defendant, who was 14, will lie on the file. He was sentenced to six months detention for two other attacks.

The judge said his powers of sentence in relation to the assaults were “very limited” because of the defendants' ages. He lifted restrictions on naming Elcock and Lyzai as a warning to others “who may be tempted to indulge in such appalling behaviour”. Outside the Old Bailey, Arfan Haque was furious that Elcock had been let out on bail after a previous attack, saying: “The Crown Prosecution Service needs to buck up their ideas, because they are being bailed and just walking free. My father is dead, it's just a disgrace.”

Lawyers for the “happy slap” gang claimed they were simply bored teenagers craving entertainment. Oliver Blunt QC told the court: “They are young, bored, listless youths who sought entertainment in this extremely unpleasant and distorted fashion.” Throughout the Old Bailey case the three defendants did not show a flicker of remorse, sitting impassively as they watched the sickening violence on CCTV film. Leon Elcock, the oldest of the three and the gang leader, was said to recruit his “foot soldiers” with the same ruthless intimidation he showed his victims. He shares a council house in Tooting with his mother and five siblings. A serial truant after being suspended from school for assaulting a teacher, he is suspected of committing several robberies. Hamza Lyzai is Ugandan-born. Neighbours claim he was transformed from a polite boy into a killer when he joined the gang.

The youngest defendant, who was not named, photographed the gang's attacks. All the “happy slap” clips recovered by police were found on his mobile. A teacher told police she found him watching internet clips of elderly people being happy slapped and he was “laughing hysterically.”



Can anyone actually explain why these loathsome individuals were given such lenient sentences? Reading the Home Office guidance would suggest anyone aged over 10 but under the age of 18 can be given "Detention for life" for manslaughter. So how exactly does a pitiful 3 and a half years come into play? And if the judge is in fact constrained by the system then the system needs changing. A man has lost his life, a family had theirs irreversibly blighted and the perpetrators will be back on the streets laughing about it in a year and carrying on their trend of violent crime on their next unfortunate victim.

It is difficult to see how the sentences meet the needs of retribution and rehabilitation. Is anybody in any doubt how these totally unrepentant feral teenagers will behave on the streets of London when they are released in just over a year’s time? It is even more difficult to imagine how the family of Ekram Haque will be able to explain to his grand daughter Marian when she is older that her beloved grandfathers life counted for so little in the eyes of the justice system. All of our lives have been devalued by this lenient sentencing which says you can cause somebody’s death for “fun”, record and leer at the scene on your mobile phone and get away with murder with only minor inconvenience in your own life. These shocking sentences which do not address the need for retribution and rehabilitation cannot be allowed to stand.

KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT: THE WORLD'S TWO BEST FRIENDS -- PART 1

Things don't look to me, like they used to be. -- From the song "As the Days Go By" by Aussie rock star Daryl Braithwaite.

I've been reading about a variety of things lately (Wall Street, Blackwater, the new bionic age, and more) and watching a variety of documentaries (modern food, "democracy," the mass media, and more).

It's good to expand one's knowledge and keep the brain alert.

I could certainly read and research more, and I plan to. What is your confidence level in your knowledge about the world you live in?* I don't mean if you can point to Beijing on a map or name the prime minister of Britain. I mean your "hard" knowledge. (We'll discuss creative thinking at another juncture.)

To wit: Do you know what's in your food? Your water? Do you know who the people and corporations are that really run the planet and the implications of that for your everyday life? Do you know what's being done to the air you breathe? How many nuclear weapons there are in the world and what things could trigger nuclear Armageddon? Do you know that there are far more civilian casualties in the forays of American imperialism than there are military casualties?

Do you know who the CEO of Goldman Sachs is, what his motives are and why you should have at least a cursory understanding of this company? Do you know what the bailout of the banks really meant for us all and how it happened? Do you know why the employment rate is so high? And that it's actually considerably higher than the percentages you are told on the news?

Do you know how TV advertising affects the news you get -- and the news you DON'T get? Do you know that certain mega companies own many other companies and brands and media stations so that while you think you have many lifestyle and information choices you really don't?

Do you know the names of the companies that are profiteering in the BILLIONS, in illegal and undemocratic ways, from similarly illegal U.S. military invasions such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan?

You can find out these things, and much more, EASILY! You have no excuse in the Google age. You just have to be careful to select the most open, honest and verifiable information sources when Google spits back your list of options.

I mean, ideally, you'd also be reading books and articles on some of these things by people like Noam Chomsky, Norman Solomon, Amy Goodman, Naomi Klein, Howard Zinn, Michael Moore, William Blum, Arundhati Roy, Michael Albert, George Orwell, etc etc. But if not, you can at least go to democracynow.org (watch their news online each day at a time that suits you!!) or Zcommunications or fair.org or commondreams.org or wikileaks or stopcorporateabuse.org (where you can learn about your food and drinking water) or ippnw.org (where you can learn about the nuclear threat) or dozens of other great sites. Or get your hands on some of the more objective DVD documentaries available.

If you want leads on information sources, just email me at adrianz59@yahoo.com

If someone came into your house and told you how to raise your kids, what you should eat, how you should look, what you should drive, what you should care about, how blindly patriotic you should be... you would throw them out. Because you have the right to think for yourself. But every time you flip on the tube, that is what's happening. Admittedly, you have to be alert to it because the messages you get are generally dressed up in entertainment. (The word "infotainment" is one of the great tricks of recent propaganda.) It is not healthy, objective, honest information. It is junk education and, at its worst, plain propaganda (political and commercial) and outright lies.

Don't believe me? Read a little about it (some source suggestions below). And PAY ATTENTION when you watch TV rather than just let it wash over you and think how cute that commercial with the kids/puppy/cartoon characters/talking car/idiot clown is. What is that advert really saying to you and about you? And why does the news look like such a skewed song and dance act?

And what stories and facts might the news you watch be leaving OUT?

Maybe we aren't as clever as we think.

Then there's our kids: How clever are they (all biases aside)? For that matter, how clever can we seriously expect them to be? They haven't chosen how they are educated; we have, by letting things slip to the levels they have.

If we need better education for our kids shouldn't we be attacking the root of these problems? Shouldn't we be hounding Washington about education funding and what our kids are taught? (Not to mention what nutrition -- or lack thereof -- schools feed them.) As far as I can tell, apart from a very thin layer of schools in the United States, the education here is poor and declining. And that's not an indictment of the industry of many of our teachers.

It's an indictment of a governmental and economic system that allows it to happen in the richest country in history. You can get all kinds of rankings from all kinds of sources. But nearly every one of them will tell you that, whatever the measure, America ranks poorly with semi-comparable nations when it comes to education. And that's only for the usual memory based things. The notion of free thought never comes into it. Sad.

Even if you send your kid to a "good school," what are they learning? Can they even spell? If you say "yes," I'll take that bet and I know I'll win nine times out of 10 or better. I taught college English and writing for seven years -- the literacy levels were appalling! I've worked in an elementary school. I pay attention to this stuff. Kids can't spell. And that's the very thinnest end of the wedge. I won't even bother asking if they are learning anything substantive about how the world works because I already know the answer to that question and it would be a shameless bet to make. (I'll return to this in the next day or two.) Suffice it to say that it is not in the interest of certain people to have a generation that is educated in this and starts asking questions.

Which brings us the full circle to the question: What do you, as an adult, really know? Do you know more about Lindsay Lohan or your favorite TV show than the mechanics of funding the education system and setting curricula? Do you get your "best" info from the tube? Have you ever really tried to get solid, well-documented information about the most important issues in life? (Isn't that part of parenting too??) Have you ever even considered requesting a government document under the Freedom of Information Act?

Have you ever gone online to look at the voting records of your congressmen/women on issues like education, pollution, war, bailouts, lobbyists, taxes, corporations, military spending, poverty, you name it? All matters that directly affect you and your loved ones. Yes, directly!!

Do you ever take 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour out of your day, your week, to just quietly reflect on these things and what you might do? Or do you jump to "unwind" in front of your flat screen? (If you don't sleep well, you might want to look into just how relaxing television really is, with its quick cutting, volume surges and mentally agitating content. Quote: "According to new research presented at Sleep 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, television watching may be an important determinant of bedtime, and may contribute to chronic sleep debt." -- Science Daily, June 8, 2009)

Have you ever taken significant time to act on the important things you've learned about much-needed changes in education and other important areas of our society and lifestyles?

This blog topic, "KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT," will be in two or more parts. I will try to keep each installment bite sized. I've opened the can and I'll tip out the rest of the worms over the next few nights. It might not be comfortable: dealing with your conscience seldom is. Dealing with harsh external realities in the 21st century can be even worse.

I hope you'll stick with me and think this stuff through. And maybe make an effort to help positive changes happen. And share some of this with your friends.

That's my hope and that's why I take time out of my own day to write this blog.

Take care and mull it over,
Adrian Zupp
* I am not trying to imply my knowledge is superior by posing this and similar questions.

ADDENDUM: SOME RELEVANT QUOTES FROM ALBERT EINSTEIN... A PRETTY SMART BLOKE.


"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

"Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds."

"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."

"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."

IF YOU FOUND THIS BLOG POST INTERESTING you might like to take a look at KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT: THE WORLD'S TWO BEST FRIENDS -- PART 2 and PART 3.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

I sat down this morning and started writing a blog entry that came straight from my own conscience. It's about me and it's about you. It's about responsibility and it's about self-indulgence. It's about now and about the future. It's about us and "them." It's about us and our kids.

It's about a lot of things. But mainly it's about making an effort.

As my conscience opened up like an artery slashed by some sharp truths, the bleeding became almost uncontrollable.

So I will be posting what I'm writing in two parts or more -- probably more. This is your heads up. I'm putting a lot into it and, I dare say, it's vitally important stuff.

I will make a commitment to run the various installments on successive days, even if it means I go without sleep. It's that important to me.

So I hope it will be at least a little important to you. After all, it's about all of us.

Please read it and please spread the word to your friends. What I'm trying to do with "HOUSE ON FIRE" is offer some insights that have taken me time and effort to acquire. All I want to do is put them out there. Please help me.

I will post the first part tonight, USA time. Title: "KNOWLEDGE AND EFFORT: THE WORLD'S TWO BEST FRIENDS -- PART 1."

Until then, as you were.

Very best wishes,
Adrian Zupp

Making Time - 24 HRS

There was a wife who wants said in a meeting, 'if you make time to do you nails - you will have time to read the bible.'

But something that I have been saying to myself in the past months is that, God gave time to us for everything. Sometimes we get so busy in our lives and we constantly like to use the phrase; 'I don't have time'.


I have asked myself; how many hours did God give us in a day? so why is it so hard to sometimes manage everything because God knew what He was doing when He created 24 hours a day!


The problem? Lack of organisation, especially concerning time. Daily!


ONE - My day has to start the day before!
I usually prepare everything, my clothes, the handbag I will carry, the shoes the day before. 


This helps me to keep organized and the following morning I will not delay or waist time because I don't know what to wear or I did not iron my clothes or not sure which bag to choose.

How to Draw Graffiti Design ......????

Most people believe that graffiti is illegal (vandalism). Then how to make graffiti legal? This time I will teach you tricks to make graffiti legally and properly.1. Create graffiti in a paper but create an attractive design graffiti. If your difficulty forming a good character design, you can take advantage of existing online sites. There are a bunch of sites online where you can go to get some

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Carry Your Candle (Lyrics)

Graffiti Fonts El&Font Urban CalIigraphy

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3D Graffiti Using Calligraphy Style on Each Letters Design

GRAFFITI GRAPHIC DESIGN3D GRAFFITI EFFECT3D Graffiti Using Calligraphy Style on Each Letters DesignMake a graffiti design by mixing with an other style is something that complicated. The difficulty is not in making its design but on how to unite the two designs to match. And this is one of the work of graffiti artists. Create 3D Graffiti with in the form of calligraphy, a little complicated but I

O'Donoghue's Opera

"O'Donoghue's Opera" is a unique and hilarious film starring Ronnie Drew and his band of bohemian merrymakers who include 'The Dubliners' and other favourite Irish musicians of the time like the McKenna’s and Johnny Moynihan. Made in 1965, Ireland's first musical was never completed due to financial difficulties and remained unseen until veteran filmmaker Tom Hayes brought the out-takes to Sé Merry Doyle who painstakingly restored the gem and launched it at the 1998 Dublin Film Festival. Based on the ballad 'The Night That Larry Was Stretched', sung by a young Johnny Moynihan, Ronnie Drew finds himself caught in a hangman's noose as a reward for his dubious career as "the best burglar in all Ireland". The film which is tongue-in-cheek (all the way) has the flavour of an Irish Spaghetti Western and captures the spirit of Dublin camaraderie like no other work before or since. The Guinness, the music, the wit and the grit, its all there in abundance. It says it all, when we see Ronnie fully decked-out in his stripy burglar outfit, trying to evade the law by disguising himself with a pioneer pin.


Ronnie Drew

O'Donoghue's Opera is an Irish film starring Ronnie Drew and his bandmates in The Dubliners. The film is a mock opera, based on the ballad "The Night Before Larry Was Stretched". It was shot in 1965, but was left uncompleted after the film's production ran into financial difficulties. In 1996 filmmaker Sé Merry Doyle oversaw its restoration, and it was first shown at the Dublin Film Festival in the late 1990s. - Wikipedia



The movie “O'Donoghue's Opera” on Google video; approx 37 minutes

“The Night Before Larry Was Stretched” is an Irish execution ballad written in the Newgate cant. The ballad is estimated to have been written around 1816. Will (Hurlfoot) Maher, a shoemaker from Waterford, wrote the song, though Dr. Robert Burrowes, the Dean of St. Finbar’s Cork, to whom it has been so often attributed, certainly did not. The Newgate cant in which the song was penned was a short-lived colloquial slang of 19th century Dublin. "This is only one of a group of execution songs written in Newgate Cant or slang style somewhere around 1780s, others being 'The Kilmainham Minuet', 'Luke Caffrey's Ghost' and 'Larry's Ghost' which, as promised in the seventh verse, comes in a sheet to sweet Molly."


Kimainham Gaol, Dublin

A French translation of the song called ' La mort de Socrate' was written by Francis Sylvester Mahony, better known as “Father Prout” for Froser’s Magazine and is also collected in 'Musa Pedestris, Three Centuries of Canting Songs and Slang Rhymes [1536―1896]', collected and annotated by John S. Farmer. In 'Ballads from the Pubs of Ireland', p. 29, James N. Healy attributes the song to a William Maher, (Hurlfoot Bill), but doesn't note when Maher lived. However, the song is attributed to a 'Curren' in 'The Universal Songster', 1828, possibly being J. Philpot Curran or J. W. Curren.

The song provides the narrative basis for the film 'O’Donoghue’s Opera' which was filmed in 1965 with members of The Dubliners with 'The Night Before Larry was Stretched' performed by Johnny Moynihan. Elvis Costello recorded the song on 1996's 'Common Ground — Voices Of Modern Irish Music'. The film and ballad is based on the strange but true premise that in Dublin jails the tradition grew up of the family and friends being allowed to wake the deceased when he was still alive (!) the night before the hanging as they would not receive the body afterwards as condemned prisoners were buried in quicklime pits in the prison grounds. This may seem strange today and it was a courtesy only extended to “Common Criminals” (Not murderers or political prisoners) at a time in the Georgian era when over 200 crimes, mainly against property, attracted the death penalty. Similarly families were allowed to bring food into prisons otherwise the prisoner would starve. Finally the hangman would be paid to get the prisoner drunk so he wouldn’t show fear on the scaffold.


Execution of Robert Emmet

See; The Years of the French

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/03/years-of-french.html


Lyrics; “The night before Larry was stretched"

I
The night before Larry was stretched,
The boys they all paid him a visit
A bit in their sacks too they fetched
They sweated their duds till they riz it
For Larry was always the lad,
When a friend was condemn’d to the squeezer,
He’d sweat all the togs that he had
Just to help the poor boy to a sneezer
- And moisten his gob ’fore he died.

II
The boys they came crowding in fast;
They drew their stools close round about him,
Six glims round his trap-case were placed
For he couldn’t be well waked without ’em,
When ax’d if he was fit to die,
Without having duly repented?
Says Larry, ‘That’s all in my eye,
And all by the clargy invented,
- To make a fat bit for themselves.

III
‘’I'm sorry dear Larry’, says I,
‘For to see you here in such trouble,
And your life’s cheerful noggin run dry,
And yourself going off like its bubble!’
‘Hauld your tongue in that matter,’ says he;
‘For the neckcloth I don’t care a button,
And by this time tomorrow you’ll see
Your Larry will be dead as mutton:
- And all 'cos his courage was good’


The Dubliners


IV
"And then I'll be cut up like a pie,
And me nob from me body be parted."
"You're in the wrong box, then", says I,
"For blast me if they're so hard-hearted.
A chalk on the back of your neck
Is all that Jack Ketch dares to give you;
So mind not such trifles a feck,
Sure why should the likes of them grieve you?
- And now boys, come tip us the deck."

V
Then the cards being called for, they play’d,
Till Larry found one of them cheated;
A dart at his napper he made
The lad being easily heated,
‘So ye chates me bekase I’m in grief!
O! is that, by the Hokey, the rason?
Soon I’ll give you to know you d—d thief!
That you’re cracking your jokes out of sason,
- And scuttle your nob with my fist’.

VI
Then the clergy came in with his book
He spoke him so smooth and so civil;
Larry tipp’d him a Kilmainham look,
And pitch’d his big wig to the divil.
Then raising a little his head,
To get a sweet drop of the bottle,
And pitiful sighing he said,
‘O! the hemp will be soon round my throttle,
- And choke my poor windpipe to death!’

VII
So mournful these last words he spoke,
We all vented our tears in a shower;
For my part, I thought my heart broke
To see him cut down like a flower!
On his travels we watch’d him next day,
O, the throttler I thought I could kill him!
But Larry not one word did say,
Nor chang’d till he came to King William;
- Then, musha, his colour turned white.

VIII
When he came to the nubbing-cheat,
He was tack’d up so neat and so pretty;
The rambler jugg’d off from his feet,
And he died with his face to the city.
He kick’d too, but that was all pride,
For soon you might see ’twas all over;
And as soon as the noose was untied,
Then at darkey we waked him in clover,
- And sent him to take a ground-sweat.

This is a moving and sentimental ballad in 9/8 time about a lad who is about to be hung. They really did put your coffin (trap case) in your cell and let your friends in to wake you on the night before the hanging in Dublin around 1816. Glims are candles.

"Jack Ketch" was the generic name for the hangman, as "Chips" was for a ship's carpenter and so on; the original Jack Ketch was "the common executioner 1663(?)-1686. He became notorious on account of his barbarity at the executions of William Lord Russell and others." A "Kilmainham look" may be something like a Ringsend tango or a Ringsend uppercut (a kick in the groin) - or perhaps not. Kilmainham was the county jail in former times, and later was the scene of the execution of the leaders of the 1916 Rising. Larry may have been confined in Kilmainham or in the Green Street prison, the "new" Newgate which replaced the old Newgate in the 1770s. Kilmainham is remembered in another prison ballad called "The Kilmainham Minit", i.e., "minuet", the dance of the hanged man.

“He came to King William;” - This was an equestrian statue of King William of Orange, erected in 1701 at College Green in Dublin. Always controversial, it was repeatedly daubed, defaced and blown up; in 1929 it was blown up for the last time, and later broken up for smelting. Presumably the bold Larry was important enough to be hanged in the large public space of College Green rather than at the prison itself (Maurice Craig's book on Dublin - whence the information in this paragraph - included an old photo of Newgate, showing the hanging-apparatus over the main door, "as in most Irish gaols")