Government Refuses to Step Down

Despite yesterday’s shock life-convictions of every Fianna Fail cabinet minister for serial-homicide, the Government refuses to leave office and call an election.

Beginining of the End

Whatever happens, we'll be alright.

Any moment now, Lenihan will stand before the Dail – if they can restore order – and we’ll discover just how Fianna Fail are going to screw us all.

Well, I say all… what I mean is the majority. you know, most of the population including children and children yet to be born.

I said to my colleague Rob,

“They’re simply not competent to deal with this”.

Rob astutely replied,

A Necessary Evil?

I’ve often wondered about those super-rich, driven, ambitious types who seem to exist purely to redistribute wealth from the masses to themselves. They never get enough – as if the money isn’t even that important to them but is rather a side-effect of empire building.

I often say things like “the mere thought of ‘The Irish Business Community’ just fills me with loathing” etc. But then I remember that not all business people are amoral – or evil, for that matter.

Just some of them.

Enough of the parasites to cause titanic damage and hardship for

What’s Looks got to do with it?

Take that Cowell, you total non-talent

I wrote this months ago, but as I have limited time for – er, anything these days I thought I’d put it up.

I never watch those dreadful humiliation shows, so poupular on TV nowadays; but I did see this Britain’s got Talent video on YouTube. My goodness! What an amazing piece of television!

Genuine talent – and not some wannabe, nor a sort of autistic/savant phenomenon of exact replication. No, this is real, mature, personal talent. Isn’t that awful? What made me think of autism?

Cowel was thoroughly shown up. Expressions of eye-rolling boredom, pre-judged distaste – even disgust.

Our 3yr old makes us watch this…

There’s a children’s programme on these days which is just… horrid. It’s called ‘Yo Gabba Gabba’. I can’t even begin to tell you how annoying it is. Johnny likes it – now and again. It’s like 12 horrifying hours of repeated nightmares that you might have had when you were young, enduring a delirious hell-night with brain fever or something. Charlie Brooker tears it apart at 5.53 mins into this:

The rest of his brilliant shredding of bad children’s TV starts at 2.25mins. Don’t watch it from 0.00 as it’s a tribute to the Chuckle Bros.

Pure Gold: 'Peppa Pig'

After watching Pixar movies like an addict since Chrimbo – Johnny discovered the much simpler Peppa Pig and ‘Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom’. Wonderful – genius animated programmes. Seriously, they are pure gold. I like them as much as he does. The design is so simple, the animation so rudimentary (though perfectly executed) it’s a wonder that the characters feel as real and funny as they do. But they do. Amazingly good little films.

Star Wars age 9: update

I’ve done a bit more work on the site – see it here – and have also set up another Blog to accompany it – don’t bother to see it here (there’s nothing to see yet!).

The Site Design (so far...)

I’m now hoping to use the main site as a vehicle for trying out some Flash Animation things. The Blog site will be for giving updates in a form that will allow easy interaction and comment.

I’m also using the whole thing as an exercise in creating many different web-channels if you like and making them work together. For example via: WordPress blogging, Flickr uploads, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and perhaps RSS and Twitter.

Hyping the hyperbole

I recently saw this illustration that I did a few years ago and it still makes me laugh.

I love the top tagline and the credits most of all

“Hey, I love that: John’s affectionately poking fun at all those wonderful 1950’s Sci-Fi B-movies.”.

No I’m not. I’m pouring – heaping – avalanching scorn on an absolutely crap genre of film-making. Forbidden Planet – a much loved movie, even by people who’ve never seen it – is probably one of the best of them but really, be honest: isn’t it more fun quoting from those godawful films and looking at the quirky stills than actually sitting through one of them? Ok, so you’re a film student, and you’re having some laughs at their total ineptness and feeling a bit superior – but really, shouldn’t they just be consigned to the recycling bin of hist..? oh, wait. that’s the trouble they have.

I must say though, ‘Ed Wood’ was wonderful movie: The worst filmmaker in the world meets Orson Welles in a cafe and they actually feel a creative connection. Woods’ sincere joy in what he’s doing is actually inspiring in itself. In Tim Burton’s and Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Woods, you get the impression that there was nothing cynical about what he was doing. He genuinely loved making those films. it was his passion. Almost like some of those Outsider Art people, his passion wasn’t matched by his ability – but it was a genuine passion none the less. I also enjoyed John Landis’ ‘Amazon Women on the Moon’. His swipes are affectionate.

New game show on telly tonight might be fun: You Have Been Watching. Charlie Brooker takes no prisoners when it comes to the dross that gets forced on the public. I sometimes think the media want to make people stupid, lower their expectations. The lower the critical faculties and expectationss: the easier to please.

Trouble is, you’ll need to watch telly to see it.

100 quid says: you won’t guess who wrote this

Have you ever thought about your soul – can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think that when you’re dead you just stay in your grave
Is God just a thought within your head or is he a part of you?
Is Christ just a name that you read in a book when you were in school?

When you think about death do you lose your breath or
do you keep your cool?
Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope
do you think he’s a fool?
Well I have seen the truth, yes I’ve seen the light and I’ve changed my ways
And I’ll be prepared when you’re lonely and scared at the end of our days

Could it be you’re afraid of what your friends might say
If they knew you believe in God above?
They should realize before they criticize
that God is the only way to love

Black Humour

Mel Brooks once quipped about the difference between comedy and tragedy:

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger.
Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.”

Is that ‘Shadenfreude’?

Forget ‘Men in Tights’ – his film ‘The Producers’ is to my mind, the funniest film ever made (except maybe for Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’). Featuring tragic comedy genius Zero Mostel. I say tragic because he was blacklisted during

SHADENFREUDE: it’s the little things that bring joy

It was looking fairly grim outside our window today. We might have become downhearted. But just then… without warning, life presented us with one of those wonderful gifts. One of those beautiful shining moments that shows that no matter how bad things might seem, how cloudy the skies: if you just stay positive you’ll always find the silver lining.

Oh the joy on our little faces as we stood at the window here on Leeson Street and laughed our arses off.

It's the little things that bring such joy. You just need to be open to them and they will come your way.

Wise Fr.Fergus standing beside me said – once again: