Archive for the ‘Trivia’ Category

Defining the seasons

Thursday, April 28th, 2005

I've mentioned before some of the minor cultural differences that only become apparent to me as I spend more time here in Urbana. One is the definition of when the seasons begin. Late this February I was surprised to hear people speak of the coming start of Spring. As far ...

Who’s going to be Pope?

Friday, April 8th, 2005

I'd been complaining about a lack of Papal humour. Complain no longer, my children.

Some dates

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2005

Yesterday being the first of February I was prompted to check just when Pancake Tuesday was falling this year (some of you may know it as Shrove Tuesday, 'Fat' Tuesday, or Mardi Gras). It's next Tuesday, 8th February - guess I'd better go and buy more eggs and butter. mmmm... ...

Bush’s Irish link

Thursday, January 27th, 2005

This is priceless. They've eventually established Irish ancestry for George Bush and it turns out that it's Strongbow and Dermot MacMorrough. For those who don't know, Strongbow was the Norman who originally invaded Ireland in 1169, and MacMorrough was the Irish chieftain who invited him in - thus, setting the ...

Language differences

Monday, January 24th, 2005

Zach's post on dialects prompts me to write about my own experiences. Coming from Ireland to the States has obviously involved coming to grips with differences in both written and spoken language, and has not always been easy. As Zach discusses, it's not that one form of language or the other ...

Legal research in Cork, Ireland

Thursday, December 9th, 2004

Educated in law to Masters level? Interested in a 6 month research job? Then you may be interested in this.

I’ll get back to you on that

Wednesday, October 27th, 2004

Structured Procrastination is something every grad student should know about. I've been meaning to post about it for some time....

Strange Brew roadtrip

Saturday, March 27th, 2004

I've just returned from one of the more enjoyable nights out I've had in some time. GugaĆ­, the DJ who runs the Drum bar on Mondays and the Warwick nightclub on Thursdays (I'm back in Galway at the moment) had a 'road trip' (under his 'Strange Brew' moniker) to a ...

Story propagation on and off line

Friday, February 27th, 2004

My pointer to the Joyce estate's actions in relation to Bloomsday has been picked up by a lot of other weblogs - which is consistent with my observation that intellectual property is one of the main topics to take advantage of the highly skewed propagation trail in weblogs. Now ...

And Now, at last, it’s Mingering Mike

Monday, February 2nd, 2004

The New York Times has a fascinating story about a man who designed an entire series of 'false' albums and singles. Poignant and touching, it's a wonderful story.