Falling Slowly

Yesterday, The Irish Times featured a cartoon that brilliantly synchronized two facets of Irish current events: the Oscar award to Glen and Marketa and the Mahon Tribunal.

All I know about this Mahon tribunal is that it has something to do with the Taoiseach (pronouned "tee-shook" for you non-Irish - he's essentially the Prime Minister of Ireland) accepting money 10 or 20 years ago that he shouldn't have accepted and that this "tribunal" is going on and on and on and on.

As for the Oscar award for the film "Once," what a moving experience to see Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová performing that simple, beautiful song from a simple, beautiful film on Hollywood's biggest stage. People here in Dublin who are tuned in to the music scene have always known that Hansard is a brilliant song-writer. Too bad that the YouTube video of Markéta's little speech has been pulled, but props to Jon Stewart for bringing Markéta back onstage to share.

Irish Elections

It hasn't been easy to learn about Irish politics, even in this election season. This video was a big help in at least understanding what the political parties stand for.



Hmmmmmm . . . or maybe not.
(HT: ElBlogador)

A Walk Through Dublin

Seems like every time I walk through town these days, something interesting is happening, especially on a beautiful day like today.

I stopped by to chat with Dave (chalk artist in the picture below) and mentioned THESE GUYS. He said that he was thinking about doing some 3D chalk art himself. I also noticed a guy on stilts on the same corner as Dave. I think he was part of a promotional thing for a bank or something.



At the top of Grafton Street, something else got my attention: A life size Halo action figure. It was a promo for Halo 3 and for an XBox Live Gaming Centre on S. William Street. Didn't have a chance to check out the gaming centre, but it's now on my radar.



And finally, when I got to the LUAS at St. Stephen's Green, I noticed a group of TV cameras crowding around someone. I think he's a politician, probably chatting about the upcoming elections. He looks familiar. I should probably know who he is. Ooops.