David Ervine

I was sorry to hear of the death of David Ervine. Whatever else you might say about this paramilitary thug turned respectable politician, he was not a whiny, self-important windbag. The BBC's Mark Simpson remembers him here: Grandstand memories of 'man of peace'

Competitive Yoga

Apparently there is some talk of making yoga a sport in the next Olympic Games, or so says Kathy Phillips in a grumpy article about the state of yoga today. There is an element of yoga rockism to her scoving at Geri-yoga, but I think she is right to salute real-deal yoga as a path to psychological harmony rather than flat tummies. I also salute her love of yoga classes focussed on inversions rather than endless up-dogs and down-dogs.

Yoga has been on my mind a bit lately, and I have been thinking that it is time I re-embraced the path of bendiness. I have maybe been fortunate in my teachers, in that I do not really recognise the yoga chancers that Phillips goes on about - the classes never seemed like a pile 'em high exercise. So shout outs to Lisa, Greg, and Rani.

"Madder than Max, Dirtier than Harry"

The Internet has failed me... I wanted to write a post about THE ELIMINATOR, the greatest Irish film ever made, but there does not seem to be anything up there about it. Crucially, there are no images of it anywhere, so I cannot regale you with pictures of members of an unspecified paramilitary organisation battling against an accidentally reanimated army of zombies. So you will just have to take my word on its greatness.

Eliminator director Enda Hughes went on to make the chortlesome short Flying Saucer Rock 'n' Roll, in which Ardal O'Hanlon battles an alien invasion of 1950s Northern Ireland. After that he apparently remade Battleship Potemkin as Comm-Raid Potemkin, in the style of a three minute long video game. This never seems to have made it to the IFI so I have never seen it.

Where is this genius of Irish cinema now? Why have the face criminals who run this country prevented his films from receiving a video or DVD release? It is an unjust world when enjoyable fluff like FATAL DEVIATION is readily available for sale on the interweb while Enda Hughes' masterworks remain unseeable.

Film Ireland article on The Eliminator: Alternative Ulster

Swedish article on The Eliminator: Vad är detta? The Eliminator!

Last Night I Dreamt That Nobody Loved Me

The other night I had a dream that I was Saddam Hussein, in the execution chamber, about to be killed. I was doing a lot of time-wasting in the hope that something would happen to prevent the inevitable. It did not.

Continue to let the dice roll!

I have just discovered that there are millions of those I WAS A GOBLIN! articles on Freaky Trigger, with the others being set to link backwards and forwards to each other in a satisfying manner. Check out episode one here: Introduction

Those of you who know me through Spy School will understand how all this is greatly helping me advance towards completion of current espionage assignments.

Officially Fish

Capaybaras are the world's largest rodents. The Catholic Church classes them as fish so that people can eat them on fast days.

More Capybara action. And more. And make sure to check out the Perpetual Capybara Machine

"I'm not talking to you any more. Go away."

Man travels around Ireland trying to communicate solely through the medium of Irish, with predictable consequences: Cá Bhfuil Na Gaeilgeoirí?

Sympathy for the Record Industry

Martin Kettle mourns the passing of US chain Tower Records: Going off the record . There is definitely something to this, to the idea that record shops, and in particular big record shops with a wide range of stock, are an important part of the music purchasing mosaic. I do not think online sellers can throw stuff at people in quite the same way, nor even can small, specialised shops.

I am lucky to live in a city where the local Tower Records cut loose from the global chain some time ago. It still gives the impression of being a shop for people who like music, whereas HMV has become a discount DVD hell hole.

Let the dice roll!

Attention nerds! Internet superstar Tom Ewing is discussing fantasy role playing games on the games part of Freaky Trigger. It is the kind of thing you would find interesting if you like that kind of thing. Latest installment: I WAS A GOBLIN: There is another world, there is a better world

I played a role playing game with Tom once. It was not a FRP thing but a diceless narrative game set with a mid-19th century Victorian setting. Great days, Gay, great days.

Fair fae ye tae Europe!

Good news for the 1.57 million speakers of the Irish language - it is now an official language of the European Union.