Posts from — June 2007

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or maybe here….

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I had the pleasure of interviewing author John Connolly yesterday, far and away one of the most enjoyable interviews I’ve had in a long time. Interviews can be quirky, and as a journalist, you’re always conscious that you’re imposing on someone to fill space on a page and make a living. You feel like you’re under pressure to seem genuinely interested in the subject, even if that is genuinely the case. It’s akin to the crawling guilt you feel in the presence of Gardaí.

Of course, that means that you risk coming across as a venal, malingering hack, disinterestedly waiting for the sound bite before running off in a hissing fit of pleasure like Gollum with a ring.

Not so yesterday, John was eloquent and easy to talk to. Not being a huge crime fiction fan didn’t seem to matter, either, as we talked about the discipline of writing, the nature of journalism (he worked freelance for the Irish Times) and why people write. It’s clearly a passion for him, and you can see why readers and writers alike warm to him.

His blog, neatly patched into his official site, is here.

Full write-up in the Echo soon.

Email me for the password to the post below.

Update: Not the fault of the person behind the byline. Everything is clarified here.

THIS still MAKES ME VERY ANGRY.

Blatant apparent cut-and-pasting from an Indo freelancer.

My article here.

Indo article here.

Similarities? I think so. Wonder if she invoiced them for her hard work?

She didn’t. See above

‘There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats’.
That’s what Mr Toad said in The Wind in the Willows. Had he been on board the Navimag ferry as it lurched about the Pacific like a drunk in a panic, he might have saved his tweedy mincings for another time.

The journey in question: a three-day gauntlet run down the Patagonian coast in a 400-foot ro-ro ferry during the worst Pacific Ocean storm in three years.

Money quote:

‘Careless diners somersaulted backwards off their chairs, their whirling limbs taking out neighbouring diners in a hail of expletives and mashed potato. The captain called through warnings of big waves on the intercom in urgent Spanish, at which everyone braced for impact.

Watery Peril in Patagonia – Sunday Business Post, June 24, 2007

Sailing slowly through snow-peaked Andean mountains, sipping wine on deck and watching whales; the Patagonian Fjords sounded like the trip of a lifetime. It was – but for all the wrong reasons, writes Markham Nolan. [Read more →]

Seeking an Irish-based cartoonist with a firm grip on the balls of Irish politics for a project here, which could become an ongoing affair.

Interested parties should email newsdesk[at]irishecho[dot]com[dot]au.

EDIT: We’re no longer looking, but if you fancy dropping us a line we’ll keep your details on file for when we do. Thanks to everyone who got in touch.

With huge swells predicted today, this webcam could be one to watch. The Pasha Bulker, washed up on Nobby’s beach little over a fortnight ago, is due to take another pounding if the swells materialise.

Pic from the SMH