Two movies in 2 days - but oh so different! Gran Torino is a really good movie, political incorrectness yes, but ultimately it has a good heart. Clint Eastwood's best ever performance/direction? Maybe?
Revolutionary Road - superb performances from all! Di Caprio & Winslet - amazing(of course), but every single character shone , the neighbours, the office chums, Mr Pollack, Michael Shannon as the Giving's mentally unstable son... brilliant!
But it was so sad, so so dark, depressing! I did something I never did before - I left the cinema before the movie ended. When Mrs Wheeler ran out of the house and into the woods I contemplated leaving except I was sitting in a middle seat and didn't want to trample over everybody on the way out, but when she started to abort her baby I couldn't take anymore and left the Cinema(in tears). Don't know what the ending was? Maybe I will read Richard Yate's novel on which the movie was based! Maybe I shouldn't?
Still, it shows the amazing power of cinema. Now lets see, para manana - what else is showing in Cineworld in Parnell Street? Hotel For Dogs, The Pink Panther, Confessions Of A Shopaholic... ouch...
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
politicians presidents and royalty
While waiting at the traffic lights today for the lights to change to green I heard loud sirens and saw flashing blue lights approaching from behind. Almost immediately a Garda motorcyclist came speeding towards the junction and gestured to myself and others waiting at the lights to move over. He looked agitated and angry when some cars couldn't move over quick enough and he shouted and roared at them. So we all assumed it was an emergency, something really serious - maybe he was making way for an ambulance or fire brigade to speed through?
But "rambo" cop was not. His motorcyclist colleague also arrived at high speed just then and blocked the traffic coming from the other direction. Then a Garda car sped through the red lights, followed by - a LIMOUSINE!
That's what I hate about this little corrupt bankrupt banana republic. These people, be they politicians, presidents, kings or queens, think they are better that the rest of us mortals. I think it's an abuse of power! I firmly believe they should sit in gridlocked traffic like the rest of us - and maybe then they would sort things out.
THE PROBLEM WITH THESE PEOPLE IS THAT THEY DON'T LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD.
So I turned to face the Limousine with those VERY important people in it and gave them a "one finger salute".
I still remember the words of a poem I learned at school, "Sceptre and crown must tumble down and in the dust be equal made, with the poor crooked scythe and spade."
But "rambo" cop was not. His motorcyclist colleague also arrived at high speed just then and blocked the traffic coming from the other direction. Then a Garda car sped through the red lights, followed by - a LIMOUSINE!
That's what I hate about this little corrupt bankrupt banana republic. These people, be they politicians, presidents, kings or queens, think they are better that the rest of us mortals. I think it's an abuse of power! I firmly believe they should sit in gridlocked traffic like the rest of us - and maybe then they would sort things out.
THE PROBLEM WITH THESE PEOPLE IS THAT THEY DON'T LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD.
So I turned to face the Limousine with those VERY important people in it and gave them a "one finger salute".
I still remember the words of a poem I learned at school, "Sceptre and crown must tumble down and in the dust be equal made, with the poor crooked scythe and spade."
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Noel O'Flynn, TD and Ned O'Keefe, TD
Driving back to BÁC from the country late tonight I happened on a repeat of the morning's Eamon Keane show on Newstalk 106-108 and was disgusted to hear a Fianna Fáil TD from Cork ranting and raving about restricting immigration into Ireland because of the current economic climate (ironically a lot of our present woes were caused by Fianna Fáil's disastrous policies in government).
Noel O'Flynn, TD was echoeing similar calls made by fellow Cork TD, Ned O'Keefe. These two idiots are only looking for attention, they obviously have nothing better to do with their time and are trying to stir up resentment towards our immigrant workers by playing to the lowest common denominator. It is gutter politics. O'Flynn claimed that we have plenty of Irish and EU workers who need jobs and more or less told our immigrants to go back to where they came from, that we don't want them anymore. These are the people who toiled and sweated to make the Celtic Tiger years the great years that the were! They were often exploited and worked for low wages in jobs that Irish people turned up their noses at. They are the unsung heroes of the boom years. Amadán O'Flynn mentioned the nurses from the Philippines in particular. The Philippine health workers actually deserve special praise for the fantastic contribution they have made to our Hospitals and Nursing Homes - in fact if our President was any good she would be bestowing honours on them.
Newstalk also had Denise Charlton, a representative from the Immigrant Council of Ireland on the programme and she calmly and articulately demolished O'Flynns arguments. When he realized that he was beginning to look a little stupid he started behaving like a spoiled brat and interrupting the other speaker. One texter to the programme suggested that Newstalk get "that man from the National Front off the radio" and I couldn't agree more. Before he departed he had the temerity to tell another texter to have some "cop on" - talk about the kettle calling the pot black!
Our Immigrants (along with Polish, Latvians and others) have made a massive contribution to this country and I am sure the vast majority of decent people want them to stay to help get our country moving again. I am also sure that O'Flynn and O'Keefe are in a very small minority and I wish they would take a long holiday somewhere - like Kazakhstan.. or Outer Mongolia.
I also wish Newstalk would stop stooping so low. If this is the sort of journalism they wish to promote they will be losing a lot of listeners I suspect.
Noel O'Flynn, TD was echoeing similar calls made by fellow Cork TD, Ned O'Keefe. These two idiots are only looking for attention, they obviously have nothing better to do with their time and are trying to stir up resentment towards our immigrant workers by playing to the lowest common denominator. It is gutter politics. O'Flynn claimed that we have plenty of Irish and EU workers who need jobs and more or less told our immigrants to go back to where they came from, that we don't want them anymore. These are the people who toiled and sweated to make the Celtic Tiger years the great years that the were! They were often exploited and worked for low wages in jobs that Irish people turned up their noses at. They are the unsung heroes of the boom years. Amadán O'Flynn mentioned the nurses from the Philippines in particular. The Philippine health workers actually deserve special praise for the fantastic contribution they have made to our Hospitals and Nursing Homes - in fact if our President was any good she would be bestowing honours on them.
Newstalk also had Denise Charlton, a representative from the Immigrant Council of Ireland on the programme and she calmly and articulately demolished O'Flynns arguments. When he realized that he was beginning to look a little stupid he started behaving like a spoiled brat and interrupting the other speaker. One texter to the programme suggested that Newstalk get "that man from the National Front off the radio" and I couldn't agree more. Before he departed he had the temerity to tell another texter to have some "cop on" - talk about the kettle calling the pot black!
Our Immigrants (along with Polish, Latvians and others) have made a massive contribution to this country and I am sure the vast majority of decent people want them to stay to help get our country moving again. I am also sure that O'Flynn and O'Keefe are in a very small minority and I wish they would take a long holiday somewhere - like Kazakhstan.. or Outer Mongolia.
I also wish Newstalk would stop stooping so low. If this is the sort of journalism they wish to promote they will be losing a lot of listeners I suspect.
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