Make it stop…

Before he even gets started on his speech… can someone just stop him?

Or at the very least, can the BCI, or some similar all-powerful types, decree from on high that on a certain date in the relatively near future (can we say May 30th?), we can all stop talking about the man?

I’d almost like to count the number of times I’ve heard his name on radio in the last day/week/month/year/decade. My head is spinning at the thought of it.

Let’s just get on with things.

Love him or hate him, he’s done now.

What’s next?

On a lighter ‘note’

JD Salinger thought Raiders of the Lost Ark sucked.

Seriously - take a look, or if you’re so inclined, buy the proof… and maybe send it to Messrs Lucas & Spielberg as a memento.

And then two weeks went by…

Last night I ended up in a two hour long discussion about the impending doom of it all, and how none of us can really afford to flippantly quit jobs on the grounds that it’s not perfect and there’ll be another one around the corner. This is prompted by multiple friends who are currently making that exact plan, and multiple others (mainly of the generation who have seen a recession first-hand) gently suggesting that they re-attach their booties to reality for a bit.

The point? Maybe there wasn’t one. Even the government is admitting that the economy is getting a bit slower. I’m not yet convinced that it will be a ‘proper’ recession, but I am convinced that whatever correction (that’s the buzzword, isn’t it?) occurs will be difficult for a generation who, for the most part, have grown up with everything they wanted, and have never gotten around to developing coping skills for when things go wrong. It makes me wonder how those who never got to ‘have it all’ in the first place will be treated and/or cope. It also makes me deeply suspicious of the government.

Is it just me, or are they all suddenly using a lack of cash as the best new excuse for their consistent mismanagement of every possible area of public service?

Last year we had six solid months of ‘there’s no recession coming, that’s crazy talk’, then they got re-elected, then they made a few more messes, then yer man resigned and now in his last week he finds the cojones to admit that the health and education systems in this country are circling the proverbial drain. It counts as news only because of the admission. Nobody in this country needs to read the latest report from the OECD, because we’ve been living that particular dream for years.

Apparently there is no more money for mental health services. And there is no more money for suicide prevention. And, in fact, according to some people, things are just fine as they are.

Look at the papers. Look at the front page of every paper in the country (try to ignore the utterly counter-productive tone of many of the headlines) in the last four days and then tell me that things are just fine as they are.

There is no money for mental health services. But the taoiseach is urging his successor to buy a new government jet. It’s like a very, very bad joke - one that is actively going horribly, horribly wrong.

Somebody hire a PR pro… please..

In the worst PR move since Pat Kenny first used the phrase “squatters’ rights“, Aer Lingus have cancelled around 100 flights book by opportunistic types who found business class seats to the US on sale for €5.

Above and beyond issues of contract law or the lack thereof, you’d wonder why they couldn’t just bite the bullet and turn it into a decent gesture rather than shooting themselves in their PR department’s foot.

In the name of pure comic timing, it was Pat Kenny himself that made that suggestion this morning. While politely ignoring his own little faux pas against the little people earlier in the week.

¡Viva España!

More good news from Spain - the country where they studied women’s clothing sizes in high street shops, proved it’s all nonsense, and have now sat down with the major retailers to start making sense of such things!

There are now more women than men in the Spanish cabinet. The fact that in this supposed age of equality that shouldn’t be news can for now be ignored. The fact that we in Ireland are so far down the list of the percentage of women in parliament is something that can’t be. But is.

I wonder how long it would take us to achieve that same level of representation? Another 50 years? Longer?

And perhaps a better question: How many of those nine women in cabinet are named Maria?

[Answer: One]

In related news, Berlusconi’s first act since his election seems to have been to pour scorn on this new cabinet of women. I’m going to hope it’s a case of misinterpretation. What are the chances?

PD’s new leader is…eh… the other guy?

The ‘other’ leadership ‘race’ is over, and Ciarán Cannon has been elected by a very slim margin as the next leader of the Progressive Democrats.

Maybe this shouldn’t come as a surprise to me, or anyone, but it does. Mostly I feel bad for Fiona O’Malley - though some might argue we should all feel worse for poor Ciarán who has, to say the least, a tough time ahead of him.

It speaks volumes that this isn’t even the top story on the news today. I know the PDs could never truly be compared to FF in terms of ’significance’, if only for mathematical reasons, but considering the whitewash of all media outlets last week over a leader who didn’t even need to be ‘elected’ and who won’t take over (officially at least) for another few weeks, it’s fairly impressive that they just can’t get the air time.

It will be interesting to see what plans Cannon has to bring the PDs back to life.

Possibly time to try the tactics of one Victor Frankenstein.

Best ad I’ve seen in a while

You may have noticed that Henri Hippo has made a glorious return thanks to the nice people at UlsterBank who believe in getting them young! :0)

Crucially, their ad campaign (featuring newly re-drawn Henri) focuses on the olden days when Henri’s (presumable) grandfather was the main man.

My slogan of choice says it all - “Remember when all you wanted in life was a Sodastream?”

Yes dagnammit, I do, and now I want one all over again…

IMPAC update

Finished The Woman Who Waited last night.

It’s a nice short one, and beautifully written. Bit of a strange story which I found very engaging up til the last ten pages where I think it lost its way just a little. Given that it was written in French, about Russia, and then translated into English, there is a definite sense of “I am not reading this in the original language”, which added a certain charm to the language and I suppose is to be expected of many of the books listed for IMPAC.

Next: De Niro’s Game. Longer, possibly ‘worthier’. We’ll see.

The New Boss (and his teeth, hair, weight, bald patch?)

Following on from my last post, Cowen has now been officially declared as leader designate. Let the fun begin.

Newstalk this morning are running a discussion on the soon-to-be-Taoiseach. Not so much focussing on the minor issue of “oops here comes a recession” but instead discussing vital issues like his dental records, physical health, eating habits and the potential development of a bald patch.

I would be delighted if Cowen would now respond with the words “Feck the lot of you, I don’t care what you think of my appearance, and I’ll be donating my make-up allowance to cancer research”.

The best part of this whole debate is the presumption that Bertie was a looker. Am I missing something? Maybe I’m too young to appreciate his charms, but he truly never struck me as a stunner.

Meanwhile a gentleman (truly) called into the station, suggesting that the public airing of these grievances about Brian Cowen’s appearance are totally inappropriate - which I agree with - but then he ruined it all by suggesting that such a conversation would never be allowed about a female politician.

Excuse me a moment while I refer you to {almost} every article ever written about a female public figure.

Did this guy not notice the last decade of baby-eating jokes every time Mary Harney is mentioned? Or the constant references to the illhealth of the minister for health? Sweet je-us, we live in a world where a candidate for the most powerful political position in the (western) world can’t go a week without reference being made to her visible cleavage or lack thereof.

But back to the point. Brian Cowen doesn’t want to be seen as the charmer with the pretty smile - he wants to be seen as a dedicated, hardworking bloke who has earned the privilege of leading his country (a privilege, might I add, that his predecessor pi$$ed into the wind). I would hope he can make this abundantly obvious as soon as possible, so we can all go back to talking about the serious issues facing this country, for the first time in 18 months.

Priorities in a world gone mad

Am I the only blogger on the island of Ireland who didn’t post anything yesterday?

Possibly. Though I was a little busy planning a street party…

A thought based on today’s coverage of ‘recent’ events:

What is wrong with us as a nation, that the airwaves are full of people complaining that while Brian Cowen is undoubtedly very intelligent and well able to run the country, because he’s quite grumpy looking and a bit unfriendly he isn’t a suitable candidate for Taoiseach?

Not surprising I suppose, from people who will re-elect the sitting government time and again while actively complaining about the state of our health service, education system and transport infrastructure. But it has to be said, the appearance of grumpiness versus the admitted use of political donations for personal use? Are ye joking?

News just in: Dermot Ahern is out of the running - let the coronation begin, grumpy or not.