Daily Archives: January 20, 2009

politics

Over to You, Mahmoud

January 20, 2009 – 5:51 pm

Darragh was quick off the mark with Obama’s inauguration speech. It’s all here, and not a single ‘Yes We Can’ in there to keep the catchphrasers happy.

Obama could read out a steamy girl-on-girl Mills & Boon passage and the world at large would swoon and blog furiously about how great he is. This wasn’t quite so salacious. It was, and needed to be, more conservative than anything he said during the election campaign. His delivery is always strong and confident and imbued with stately gravity. The passage in the middle relating to America’s future dealings with challenging governments around the world was telling of a change.

“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

This puts the ball squarely in the court of the likes of Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmedinajad (and bankers from Anglo Irish who hide their loans), and it’s a far cry from ‘You’re either with us, or against us’. Change, eh?  Go The Rock Banana.

Permalink | Comment (0)
blogging ireland

How the Hell?

January 20, 2009 – 4:27 pm

20090120-gs4mxck8gnyb2hqng4x2j4t9hq

I’ve been nominated in the ‘Best blog by a journalist’ category for the Irish Blog Awards, which is hilarious/depressing, because at the moment, I’m more embroiderer than journalist.

Whoever’s responsible for this flattering fiasco – thanks.

Permalink | Comment (0)
internet journalism media radio

Rickety Radio Rabble-Rousing

January 20, 2009 – 8:53 am

There’s a massive wave of protest sweeping through the blogosphere at the moment, hoping to wash radio darling Rick O’Shea back into prominence.
Rick’s show, from 2pm to 5pm weekdays, has been pared back considerably. The complainants are lamenting Rick’s reduction to mere ‘human jukebox’ status in recent weeks. His show, which fused music with a grand exercise in filtering quirky web content, enjoyed a high level of audience interaction and discussion of pop culture, but now does little more than churn out chart music.

Rick has certainly proved his nice guy status, working hard for his chosen charity, the Irish Epilepsy Association. Rick himself is an epilepsy sufferer and has done a lot to raise the profile of the condition. He’s a radio lifer, having worked for FM 104, Atlantic 252 and others before joining RTE in 2001, and has built up a loyal following online and on the airwaves, using any means possible. He’s on Facebook. He’s on Bebo. He’s on Myspace and Twitter and his daily-updated blog. He’s hosting a Blog Awards here or there, working for charity and somehow, amidst it all, he’s hosting a radio show and dealing with kids and a marriage. It is, regardless of your opinion of the show, a miracle that Rick O’Shea doesn’t collapse out of exhaustion more often. The guy is spread wafer-thin. Perhaps the decision was taken by the RTE board for health reasons, purely because Rick wouldn’t slow down. read more »

Permalink | Comment (0)
Uncategorized

Feeds for thought

January 20, 2009 – 8:35 am

My reader is crammed with goodies at the moment, so I though I’d share five of the more recent additions.

First up is the Guardian’s Writers’ Rooms series, which features in the Saturday edition. Gives a great insight into where great writers do their stuff. Sebastian Faulks is the most recent, but it includes Gillian Slovo, Anne Enright, Roald Dahl and Charles Darwin.

Along a similar vein is Sinead Gleeson’s Musical Rooms, which does the same thing for musicians great and small. Can’t believe I’ve gone so long without bookmarking either of these first two.

University Diary comes from the keyboard of DCU president Ferdinand von Prondzynski. Great to see high-level academics really understanding the blog’s purpose and tone of voice.

The Editors’ Weblog is a must-read for journos and media types, and comes with less dross than the Columbia Journalism Review feed, which I’ve axed as it was just too much (go find it yourself if you must).
The Guardian’s Belief blog is good if, like me, you’re a bit obsessed with thoughts on religion. Great diversity of opinion.

Sail Mike is like the Trust Tommy of the sailing world, a teenager who’s sailing non-stop around the world, on his own, and blogging the whole trip. Pretty damn impressive.

Subscribe at will.

Tags , , | Permalink | Comment (0)