Slimming for the Beach http://blog.philipcasey.com The News and Blog section of Philip Casey's website Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:02:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en © philipcasey@dublin.ie () philipcasey@dublin.ie() The News and Blog section of Philip Caseyacirc;euro;trade;s website philipcasey@dublin.ie No no http://blog.philipcasey.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg Slimming for the Beach http://blog.philipcasey.com 144 144 Keeping up with The Times http://blog.philipcasey.com/keeping-up-with-the-times/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/keeping-up-with-the-times/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:19:21 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/?p=229 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Keeping up with The Times", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/keeping-up-with-the-times/" });]]> As most of you may know by now, The Irish Times has lowered its paywall on its newspaper, though not its archives.

This was something that Damien Mulley predicted in January and announced last week on his blog. His initial reaction is here. I’m quoting him rather than giving an opinion myself as I’m still getting used to the new design, and am still getting lost in places. The Ireland.com url seems to be shaping up as a what’s on, or magazine-type site.

There are some goodies at the bottom of the front page, and I particularly liked the audio slideshow, showing the Chinese demo in favour of the Olympics. However, the videos appear to be browser specific, ie IE only, or at least they don’t like Linux. When I tried them I got three x,

Compatible Internet Browser x
Windows Media Player/Quicktime x
Macromedia Flash 8+ x

I use Firefox 3, use VLC to play Quicktime movies, and have Flash 9, so that’s a bit disappointing.

The actual newspaper is at http://www.irishtimes.com/todayspaper/ and as I have a homemade page of links as my start page, I dropped that into it. I actually like the way links to all stories are given on the front page, making for an easy scan, although the font here is hard on the eyes. However as I intimated earlier, it’s in the subsections that I’m getting a bit lost at the moment. For instance I like the Technology subsection of the Business section, and couldn’t find that for a while. No doubt it will be second nature soon. [update]: yes, it’s easy in fact. Clicking on the Business tab does it].

One other problem concerns the images. They are so small that their subjects can be either distorted or unrecognizable. There doesn’t seem to be any enlargement of photos to compensate for this, either. Also the captions to the side are a bit weird, I find. But such problems are easiliy rectifiable in css and no doubt will be soon.

I hear subscribers are being offered access to the premium archive until their subscription runs out, but from what I’m told you can’t copy anything from it, as in save as or copy and paste. If you actually want a copy of something there is a whopping fee.

I’ll leave it to Mr Mulley and colleagues to comment knowledgeably on media matters, but I can’t see that lasting. How many will pay something in the region of €80 for what looks on screen like a fuzzy reproduction of their good selves in the newspaper from 1980 or whenever? Again I’m not a media expert but it seems to me that free access with ads would be far more lucrative for the paper.

Anyway, I wish it well, and I’m delighted to see the new approach. There’s a lot of really good people in there, and here’s to their success with the brave new direction.

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/keeping-up-with-the-times/feed/ Silicon Republic http://blog.philipcasey.com/silicon-republic/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/silicon-republic/#comments Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:09:30 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/silicon-republic/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Silicon Republic", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/silicon-republic/" });]]> Silicon Republic, Ireland’s technology news service, has a tasty makeover.

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/silicon-republic/feed/ Chumann scríbhneoirí Óga/Úra na Gaeilge http://blog.philipcasey.com/cumann-scribhneoiri-ogaura-na-gaeilge/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/cumann-scribhneoiri-ogaura-na-gaeilge/#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:19:33 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/cumann-scribhneoiri-ogaura-na-gaeilge/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Chumann scríbhneoirí Óga/Úra na Gaeilge", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/cumann-scribhneoiri-ogaura-na-gaeilge/" });]]> Being the one-man band behind Irish Writers Online, I get a lot of requests for links, and of course I do my best, but being as human as the next, I find that courtesy goes a long way. Muiris Ó Meara wrote me the following email, and I’m quoting in in full because I appreciate a few things about it. He addressed me in Irish first, making the positive assumption that I could at least read and understand it. Then he accompanied it with an English translation, just in case. I find that a very nice approach.

A Philip chóir, táim ag scríobh chugat mar gheall ar Chumann scríbhneoirí Óga/Úra na Gaeilge. Bunaíodh an cumann seo chun tacú leis na scríbhneoirí óga/úra atá ag saothrú i ngort na Gaeilge d’fhonn is go bhféadfadis misneach a thabhairt dá chéile. Fé láthair táthar ag iarraidh an blag idirlín atá againn a fhorbairt agus ar an intinn seo atáim ag scríobh chugat. Feicim go bhfuil nacscanna luaite agaibh ar an suíomh s’agatsa agus ba mhór againn dá bhféadfá nasc don gcumann s’againne a chur in airde ar an suíomh s’agaibhse.

I am writing to you with regard to Chumann scríbhneoirí Óga/Úra na Gaeilge na Gaeilge. This organization was established with the intention of giving young and new literary voices writing in Irish a platform whereby they could reach a (potentially) wider audience. It was also felt that these new literary voices would benefit from the mutual support which such an organization could offer young Irish-language writers and regular Irish-language workshops. We are presently trying to develop our blog and this is really the reason I am writing to you. I see that on your site that you have listed links to other sites and we would really appreciate it if you could place a link for our blog here. Chumann scríbhneoirí Óga/Úra na Gaeilge

Beannacht,
Muiris Ó Meara
Ríona Nic Congáil
Majella McDonnell

So I’m very happy to give them a plug. Besides, even if it’s just started, it seems a very nice and lively site and I’ve put it in my RSS links, so I can have a peek on a regular basis.

Well done to all concerned. It’s a great development, because if writing is a lonely task, writing in a minority language like Irish is lonelier still. And some recent research on my part showed that with few exceptions, notably the great Cló Iar-Chonnachta, it’s very hard to get information on Irish language writers. This despite the fact that some Irish language sites have a lot of money at their disposal. The web is a great opportunity for the Irish language, and here’s hoping the young writers now beginning their literary journey will take the opportunity with both hands.

Chumann scríbhneoirí Óga/Úra na Gaeilge

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/cumann-scribhneoiri-ogaura-na-gaeilge/feed/ Robert Kennedy’s speech announcing the death of Martin Luther King Jnr. http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-kennedys-speech-announcing-the-death-of-martin-luther-king-jnr/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-kennedys-speech-announcing-the-death-of-martin-luther-king-jnr/#comments Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:15:01 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-kennedys-speech-announcing-the-death-of-martin-luther-king-jnr/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Robert Kennedy’s speech announcing the death of Martin Luther King Jnr.", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-kennedys-speech-announcing-the-death-of-martin-luther-king-jnr/" });]]> This is Robert Kennedy’s impromtu speech announcing the death of Martin Luther King Jnr.

He asked the crowd for “an effort to understand, compassion and love.” Then he said:

My favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote, “Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

The weeping, silent listeners had probably never heard of Aeschylus, but they understood what he meant. Kennedy finished:

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Robert Kennedy was assassinated 40 years ago this month. RIP.

See What if RFK had become President? Newsweek

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-kennedys-speech-announcing-the-death-of-martin-luther-king-jnr/feed/ The Girl Who Silenced the World at the UN http://blog.philipcasey.com/the-girl-who-silenced-the-world-at-the-un/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/the-girl-who-silenced-the-world-at-the-un/#comments Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:27:24 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/the-girl-who-silenced-the-world-at-the-un/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "The Girl Who Silenced the World at the UN", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/the-girl-who-silenced-the-world-at-the-un/" });]]> Born and raised in Vancouver, Severn Suzuki has been working on environmental and social justice issues since kindergarten. At age 9, she and some friends started the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They traveled to 1992’s UN Earth Summit, where 12 year-old Severn gave this powerful speech that deeply affected (and silenced) some of the most prominent world leaders. The speech had such an impact that she has become a frequent invitee to many U.N. conferences.

KarmaTube [via Digg]

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/the-girl-who-silenced-the-world-at-the-un/feed/ Brian Lynch reading http://blog.philipcasey.com/brian-lynch-reading/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/brian-lynch-reading/#comments Sun, 11 May 2008 21:26:25 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/brian-lynch-reading/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Brian Lynch reading", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/brian-lynch-reading/" });]]> Brian Lynch will talk about and read from his novel ‘The Winner of Sorrow’
in Pearse Street Library next Wednesday 14 May at 6.30pm. Admission is free.
see Brian Lynch’s website.

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/brian-lynch-reading/feed/ Europe’s Babel http://blog.philipcasey.com/europes-babel/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/europes-babel/#comments Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:38:48 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/europes-babel/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Europe’s Babel", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/europes-babel/" });]]> Multilingualism is a special feature of the EU, but at the same time it presents an obstacle to understanding. Should Europe agree to use English as a lingua franca or must it promote each individual language?

Europe’s Babel
[via Digg]

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/europes-babel/feed/ Robert Greacen dies at 87 http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-greacen-dies-at-87/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-greacen-dies-at-87/#comments Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:04:37 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-greacen-dies-at-87/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Robert Greacen dies at 87", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-greacen-dies-at-87/" });]]> GREACEN Robert Henry (Sandymount and formerly London and Belfast) - April 13, 2008, aged 87 years, at St Vincent’s University Hospital, husband of the late Patricia Hutchins and loved father of Arethusa. Poet and member of Aosdana. Sadly missed by his family and his circle of friends and fellow writers. Memorial Service (following private cremation) in Abbey Presbyterian Church, Parnell Square, Dublin (Findlaters) on Saturday, April 19 at 12 noon. Refreshments afterwards at the Irish Writers Centre, Parnell Square. Family flowers only, donations if desired to Habitat for Humanity, Quadrant House, Chapelizod, Dublin 20.

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/robert-greacen-dies-at-87/feed/ Wanderlust: Björk’s new video http://blog.philipcasey.com/wanderlust-bjrks-new-video/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/wanderlust-bjrks-new-video/#comments Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:00:24 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/wanderlust-bjrks-new-video/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Wanderlust: Björk’s new video", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/wanderlust-bjrks-new-video/" });]]> Björk’s new video, Wanderlust. Magical as usual.

This is Björk’s video gallery, on which, oddly enough, Wanderlust isn’t available as I write.

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]]> http://blog.philipcasey.com/wanderlust-bjrks-new-video/feed/ Lest We Forget: An open letter to my sisters who are brave http://blog.philipcasey.com/lest-we-forget-an-open-letter-to-my-sisters-who-are-brave/ http://blog.philipcasey.com/lest-we-forget-an-open-letter-to-my-sisters-who-are-brave/#comments Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:41:32 +0000 Philip Casey http://blog.philipcasey.com/lest-we-forget-an-open-letter-to-my-sisters-who-are-brave/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Lest We Forget: An open letter to my sisters who are brave", url: "http://blog.philipcasey.com/lest-we-forget-an-open-letter-to-my-sisters-who-are-brave/" });]]> A beautiful essay as endorsement of Obama by the great Alice Walker, who argues that

we must build alliances not on ethnicity or gender, but on truth.

Alice Walker on Obama, The Root.com

[via Daily Kos]

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