In Fact, Ah stop hovering

Saturday, July 30, 2005 

Waking the dead

Following the tragic death of a near neighbour, the remains are to be waked in the sittingroom of his house. Few things send chills down my spine, but being in the presence of a corpse does exactly that. It's a fairly infrequent occurrence of everyday life, especially now that remains are not being waked in the home as much as they were in the past.

Long ago, most people died at home and it was normal for the body to be cleaned and dressed for presentation in a bedroom or in the sittingroom. This evening I refused to go and pay my respects. I don't have as much of a problem with visiting funeral homes but in the enclosed surroundings of a family home, I buckle. My father was not pleased.

To make matters worse, my father is adamant that he be waked at home. Of course I'm very much against this idea. And I've told him as much. To ensure that his wishes are granted, he threatens to make provisions in his will!

Another gripe I have with the whole custom is that the surviving family members are reminded of that spot on the floor every time it is passed. It's where death lay for those few hours. Undoubtedly, family and friends would like it to be a living face that they remember of the departed. Too often I've gone to a funeral home and not recognised the deceased in the coffin. It doesn't do their memory any justice.


Published by Colm.  

30.7.05 | |  

Friday, July 29, 2005 

Tales from the sewer

What have Keith Gillespie, Cameron Diaz, Marco Sabba (annoying contestant in last year's Big Brother) and Andy Johnson got in common? They've all recently been victims of libellous claims made by the gutter press.

The News of the World accused Gillespie of raping two girls, the Sun said Diaz "snogged" a married man, Star magazine claimed that Marco Sabba felt up his work colleagues and the Daily Star stated that Andy Johnson had drug and alcohol problems.

Like many other people, I was never the first to feel sympathy for celebrities who were wronged by redtops. After all, these alleged stars feed off the press themselves, right? They also possess the wherewithal to fight off any mendacious reports.

However, the according to the Press Complaints Commission a few years ago, 90% of complaints come from the general public, i.e. those who might not risk bringing a case to court for fear of financial ruin.

This begs the question, how many people have been libelled and their reputations left in tatters? Doesn't bear thinking about. Think of all those ordinary folk who have had their named tarnished by over zealous, circulation-obsessed newspapers.


Published by Colm.  

29.7.05 | |  

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 

Dig!


Never in a million years did I expect a documentary involving the Dandy Warhols would leave me riveted and entertained, but Dig! managed just that. In essence Dig! documents the fortunes of two west coast indie bands – The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols.

I’d associated the Dandy Warhols with insipid candy-floss rock ‘n’ roll (and of course that Vodafone ad) and nothing in this film has changed that view. However unlike the band itself, this movie is a gem, largely because they’re not the stars.

Step up to the microphone one Anton Newcombe: lead singer with the The Brian Jonestown Massacre. A maniacal, egotistical, self-serving musical genius who makes Jim Morrison look positively modest and insecure. Shot over seven years by director Ondi Timoner, the documentary charts the initial friendship between Newcombe and Dandy’s lead singer Courtney Taylor. Both share a similar anti-mainstream view of the music industry and hope that their bands can become successful without conforming.

Taylor clearly respects Newcombe as a musician - almost to the point of obsession. But despite such obvious musical ability, the BJM manage to sabotage each and every opportunity they have at success. Thanks in the main to Newcombe. Quite simply, he is a lunatic. A man who wrote and produced three full-length studio albums in one year, can play 80 instruments and has a Dylan-like way with lyrics; yet when faced with the slightest criticism or questioning of his talent will not hesitate to lash out.

BJM gigs are sheer mayhem. If fans have the temerity to heckle the band, Newcombe doesn’t think twice about kicking a fan in the face (you can imagine how that goes down with the A&R people present) or stopping the gig immediately and shouting/fighting with the assembled audience.

He employs a similar ‘trip switch’ attitude with his band members, firing and hiring at will. Acrimony abounds, as do large quantities of serious drugs. Add in a ‘Jesus Christ’ complex and you’ve got a time bomb right there.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, Newcombe develops an unhealthy hatred of the Dandy Warhols once they become successful. Fuelled by spite he records a parody album entitled “Not If You Were The Last Dandy On Earth”, crashes a Dandy’s gig and hands out copies of the album, on roller skates.
Make yourself very happy and catch this movie before the run ends.


Published by Flubber Monkey.  

26.7.05 | |  

Monday, July 25, 2005 

Are you ready to rumble?*

A lot of rattles being thrown out of the playpen lately. It what can only be described as a Royal Rumble, Irish bloggers have been locking horns over various contentious issues.

First into the ring is Sigla Mag with their piece The Blogosphere - Racing To See Who’s First To The Bottom? In it, Feargal McKay attacks the “peddling of rumour as fact” in two prominent Irish blogs, Gavin’s Blog and Slugger O’Toole. McKay says that this isn’t a personal attack, but his apology rings hollow after the particularly caustic “What “sources” were Slugger and Gavin relying on? Pop Bitch?” remark.

Next two contestants are the Freedom Institute and Year of the Big Drought. Their wrangle concerned the current shoot-to-kill policy being employed by the London Met. The man off the beer for a year asks that the FI apologise for their piece on the issue. I would link to it, but this blog has taken the stance not to link to the FI, once famously described as right-wing fascists by Thinking Out Loud at a recent blog get-together. As Jim Ross would say, “this one’s going to be a slobberknocker”.

With baby oil applied and the gravel voice flexed, the next two to take to the canvas are Dick O’Brien of Back Seat Drivers and Richard Waghorne of the FI, yet again. Just when you thought the love-in was going to continue after compliments were paid for the recent logo change, Richard Waghorne stings Dick by saying that his analysis on the recent Irish-Yank Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance was “DOA”. This could be a rematch …

Finally, a match up took place two weeks ago between the Irish Examiner’s Eoin English and Archiseek’s Paul Clerkin. In his blog, Clerkin states that “The Irish Examiner has published an article (7 July) which takes seven quotes from the forums on Archiseek.com out of context and uses them to back up its claim that Archiseek.com is anti-OAP."

To be the man you have to beat the man, therefore I am the man. Whooooooo!

* TIC (tongue-in-cheek) applied liberally to this post


Published by Colm.  

25.7.05 | |  

Thursday, July 21, 2005 

Tejas Verdes



Monologues aren’t my scene really. Especially the one-man show. Straight off, if you don’t like the actor, that’s it. Night ruined. Which is just as well that Tejas Verdes has five different actresses performing seven different monologues.

This play about the Pinochet regime in Chile has been running since July 6th in the Project, so I suppose this opinion (staying away from the word ‘review’) is a bit late.

Written by Fermin Cabel, Tejas Verdes gives us an intense and emotionally wrought account of the torture and oppression experienced during the 70s. In September 1973, the socialist-led uprising ousted the Marxist government to establish a junta that would remain until 1990.

The play tells the tale of a young social worker who was interred at Tejas Verdes, a hotel resort that became a torture camp. The protagonist, played by Sarah Brennan, is grassed up by her friend (Susan Fitzgerald) and subjected to brutal tactics designed to elicit Marxist secrets.

Ger Ryan who played the part of a gravedigger gave a most convincing performance. She graphically recounts the treatment of human remains and how she herself nearly met her end.

The set design is quite simple, consisting of a swing hung from the theatre ceiling. At the end, photographs of the victims are illuminated in the black backdrop to powerful effect. The Guardian gives the play a five-star rating and this Irish production isn’t half bad either.


Published by Colm.  

21.7.05 | |  

Monday, July 18, 2005 

Defiling dining


Mmm. Sea bass, wild salmon, homemade burger and fishcakes makes for an interesting gastronomic experience, doesn’t it? The setting was the outrageously beautiful Leenane in Co. Galway. Banked by Mweelrea and the Connemara mountains and flirting with the waters of Killary Harbour, the Blackberry Café & Coffee House seemed the perfect alternative to the grubby Village Grill down the road.

I’m no Paolo Tullio. Therefore I cannot adequately describe how lush the salmon was, how enjoyed the beef burger and sea bass were, and I would fall short in describing in exuberant tones the tasty fishcakes. But a sated feeling amongst the four of us was unquestionable.

But a stomach-churner was on the way. While cutting a birthday cake in the restaurant, the owner found it necessary to manhandle the cream sponge. Sometimes food needs to be handled. That’s okay. But what he did in between handling the slices of cake was unforgivable. You see, when his hands got messy from all the cutting, he decided to lick them. All this occurred in full view of the diners in the room. When he went to offer the plates to the birthday party, there was a globule of cream stuck to the corner of his mouth. Oh dear.

We politely declined a share of the cake and made the appropriate “we’re stuffed” excuses. Nothing for it but off to the now famous Gaynor’s for some libations to wash away the foul memories of the finger-licking incident.


Published by Colm.  

18.7.05 | |  

Friday, July 15, 2005 

Taxpayers taken for a park and ride by Martin Cullen (uggghhh)


The Public Accounts Committee are to investigate the allocation of €375,000 to park and ride facilities for the Tall Ships festival in Waterford last weekend.

The park and ride facilities in Waterford, coincidentally where Martin Cullen was elected last time round, was a ‘pilot scheme’ according to the Minister.
How this tomfool is still in the cabinet is beyond credulity. So far, he has wasted €50 million on an e-voting system that was never used, awarded some allegedly dubious PR contracts to Monica Leech who allegedly rocked his tall ship, opposed the smoking ban and called the bin tax protestors “spongers”.


Published by Colm.  

15.7.05 | |  

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 

Why?

Last night on RTE’s Prime Time, Mark Little asked what could be done to prevent future terrorist attacks on London. He made the point that it was simply not enough to “drain the swamp” so that there would be no mosquitoes.

One of the first questions that needed to be asked post 9/11 was “why did they do this?” The same rings true for London now. Why did four bombs detonate at rush hour, killing more than 50 people? What are these terrorists’ motivations?

Simply saying “they hate our freedoms” is not good enough. However, it has worked for Bush and Blair. Both have been re-elected and both employ the same monotonous battle cry. A coincidence? I think not. The great unwashed like these bite-size offerings because they can sum up in a few simple words the anger that they feel towards terrorists.

Meanwhile, the Left gets caught up in unwieldy debates, uses political speak, and has no such slogans. But they did use something as powerful last year, but with a lesser degree of success. This weapon of course was the photograph. Abu Ghraib should have been enough to convince the British and American public to start asking questions about the war on terror.

That the terrorists last Friday were deranged is not up for debate. Were they jealous of the commuters on the Tube going to a 9-5 job? Did they hate their freedom? Did they resent the fact that such opportunities are not afforded to people in the Middle East and those not in the First World? Were they exacting revenge for the thousands of civilian deaths caused by the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq? Did they carry out this deplorable atrocity owing to a misguided interpretation of Islam?

Whatever the answer is, people need to start asking the why questions.


Published by Colm.  

13.7.05 | |  

Monday, July 11, 2005 

Costa del Clare

Spanish Point during the weekend ...



Published by Colm.  

11.7.05 | |  

Friday, July 08, 2005 

Get yourself some culture this weekend



Summer’s a time for music. And there’s no better weekend than this to offer such a variety of plangent sounds. The biggie of course is Oxegen, with five stages and 80-plus bands over two days. Fantastic acts including Bloc Party, Interpol, James Brown, The Killers, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Magic Numbers and many more.

However, climaxing this week is a lesser-known music event called the Willie Clancy Summer School, otherwise known as Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy. This traditional music summer school (festival) is full of recitals, dances, classes and exhibitions.

Starting on the first weekend of every July, the event has made a name for itself among the purists and has been attended by some of the legends of trad music. Artists such as Seamus Ennis, Junior Crehan, Bobby Casey, Paul Brady, Donal Lunny, Davy Spillane, Christy Moore etc have all played in Miltown Malbay. Too many to name.

For some background and pictures, go here. I hope to have some pictures next week of some happenings.

The three provincial football finals are on this weekend in Munster, Ulster and Connaught. Check out the GAA Web site for more.

Anyone staying in Dublin can go and see “Deep Throat”, which is showing at the IFI.

Nothing like a bit of culture, eh?


Published by Colm.  

8.7.05 | |  

Thursday, July 07, 2005 

Irish Defamation Law and Bloggers

Gavin over at gavinsblog.com mentioned yesterday that it would be handy to have a synopsis of what Irish defamation means for bloggers. I felt it my civic duty to write a few lines and impart my modest interpretation of the law. Should anybody spot errors, please let me know.

What I have written is not intended to be the definitive or last word on the issue, therefore anyone who might be the subject of a libel action should not rely on my information as a reasonable defence. "But I read it on th'Internet your honour" won't wash.

One important point to note is that anything written in a blog is subject to the same rigours of the Defamation Act of 1961 as any other published material. The only grey area in my mind (boom boom) is in deciding whether or not the libel is in permanent form.


A few interesting facts

Libel is actionable -- person bringing the case doesn't need to prove that he has suffered any damage a result of the libellous statement
Libel can be a crime as well as a civil wrong
Libel is in permanent form -- this is an area that I'm not sure of when it comes to blogs. What if a blog has been completely deleted as well as all instances of it in search engine caches?
Libel cases are heard by a judge and jury. Jury decides damages. This might change in any new defamation legislation introduced by McDowell. Judges may be the sole deciders when awarding damages.

First off, there are three main questions that need to be answered in order to prove a case of libel
a) was the statement defamatory?
b) was the statement identifying a certain individual?
c) was the statement published to a third party?

No definition of defamation exists in Irish statute but the following was used in a high profile case ...

"Defamation is committed by the wrongful publication of a false statement about a person which tends to lower that person in the eyes of right-thinking members of society or tends to hold that person up to hatred, ridicule or contempt or causes that person to be shunned or avoided by right-thinking members of society."

Right. Salient part of the above statement is "which tends to lower that person in the eyes of right-thinking members of society ..."

Moving on the three questions (a, b and c) mentioned above .

a) Was the statement defamatory?

This can be answered by analysing the definition of defamation mentioned previously. Does the statement make the person look a fool in the eyes of right-thinking folk?

b) Was the statement referring to a certain individual?

If the statement identifies the person by name, question answered. However, if there is no name mentioned the Plaintiff in any libel action must prove that it indeed referred to him.

c) Was the statement published to a third party?

If you blogged it and it's live, then yes.

Innuendo
Some might think that skirting around an insult/defamatory statement is protection enough from the law. Not so.
A definition of innuendo "An innuendo is a defamatory imputation whereby the facts known to the reader import into the words some secondary meaning as an addition to, or alteration of, their ordinary meaning."
It may be a defence to claim not to have intentionally written the defamatory remark.

Damages

Damages can be mitigated when

- the plaintiff had a previously bad reputation
- an apology and retraction is offered
- the plaintiff had already received compensation in a similar case

Defences to defamation

3 main defences for bloggers (more defences available for lawyers, members of the Oireachtas, people reporting crimes to the Gardaí etc)

1. Consent

The person has consented to the publication of the statement. For example, an interviewee lets something slip in an interview

2. Justification

The defendant in a libel action may plead that the statement is substantially true. A person cannot claim that his good name has been tarnished if he didn't have a good name in the first place. Warning! If this defence is not successful, it can lead to punitive damages being awarded to the Plaintiff.

3. Fair Comment

An opinion based on fact. Would have to prove that the statement concerned a matter of public interest, was fair and made in good faith and that it was based on fact.
I would imagine that this was the defence taken by Gary Lineker in the recent Harry Kewell case.

It is therefore advisable to carefully monitor comments made on weblogs. Although you may not have made the statement yourself, you as the publisher are obliged to take whatever steps are necessary to avoid the publication of libellous remarks. The old argument that the editor of a newspaper cannot possibly read every article it publishes doesn't work. The buck has to stop somewhere.

The law in Ireland is plaintiff-friendly. A retraction will not save your bacon. Indeed, publishing a retraction can incriminate (as far as I know). A retraction may only mitigate damages.



Published by Colm.  

7.7.05 | |  

Tuesday, July 05, 2005 

When book meets author

Hodges & Figgis have an impressive sale at the moment. They have lots of books going for as little as €4. I rarely go to a bookshop with the intention of buying one particular book. What usually happens is a little voice in my head says: "Buy it!" whenever I see something that's
a) cheap
AND
b) written by an author of note.

Upon entering the shop, my gaze rested on a colourful book cover that had a €4.99 price tag and was written by Colm Tóibín. My credit card was going to take a beating.
Having rounded up about four books in total, and with my Mastercard begging for mercy in my pocket, I headed for the checkout.

I almost bumped into a man with an odd-shaped head while forming the back of the queue. Him being the older, I suggested that he go first (I didn't enunciate this bit of thinking). His reply to my invitation consisted of a grunt and of a peering out over his glasses like a judge would do. The somewhat rude Colm Tóibín proceeded to the checkout and got his loyalty card stamped.

Books I bought ...

The Master by Colm Tóibín
Great Short Works of Herman Melville by Herman Melville
Why Orwell Matters by Christopher Hitchens
East of Eden by John Steinbeck


Published by Colm.  

5.7.05 | |  

Monday, July 04, 2005 

I'm dead, long live Infactah.com

A little introduction ...

My previous blog has gone AWOL along with my host and my, now defunct, domain name colmbracken.com. Anyway, to pastures new. My new project is this baby here, infactah.com. And since Blogger has a wicked new photo facility, it will hopefully make for a more visual experience.

Turned up for the Saturday night blogger get-together in the Market Bar. It was interesting to put some faces to blog names. Those present included the gregarious Gavin Sheridan, Dick from Back Seat Drivers, Winds and Breezes, Thinking Out Loud, WYSIWYG and the Freedom Institute.

However, I was a tad disappointed that some bloggers didn't turn up. We did discuss whether or not to draw up a "Name and Shame" list with the intention of publishing it.


Published by Colm.  

4.7.05 | |  

Saturday, July 02, 2005 

Lima bound

Hi all,

I'm delighted to be joining the infactah blog posse. Over the next few months i will keep ya'll informed of our adventures in South America. I'm sure there'll be lots of highs, especially when we hit the Andes. A bit nervous tonight before departing the Emerald Isle but excited at what waits ahead.

hasta la vista

Claire & Co.


Published by Colm.  

2.7.05 | |  

Friday, July 01, 2005 

Spinning a yarn

Following on from yesterday's post on brainwashing, today's subject is spinning. Not an altogether unrelated subject you'll agree.

Everyone spins. And many spin great yarns. In fact, ah, some people I know have difficulty telling the difference between the lies and the truths that they tell.

However, for others the act of spinning is very much a calculated effort designed to befuddle the listener of spin. So it's no wonder that the Labour party in the UK and FF here in Ireland spend so much on spin.

Alastair Campbell is so busy in New Zealand with the Lions tour that I reckon some day his pants are going to fall to his ankles from the spinning. Oh, wait that's happened already.

The government has been fond of spin of late too. Only the other day it announced that it was to introduce a "green card" system for immigrant workers. When Irish people think of green cards, they think of the Morrison Visa and possibly that annoying French actor Gerard Depardieu. Green cards meant permanent residency for the Irish who went to the US.

So when the Irish government announced this green card system as part of the Employment Permits Bill 2005, what they should have said was that there was no guarantee that holders would be entitled to stay indefinitely.

I wonder will the same trousers-round-the-ankles spin syndrome affect Micheál Martin? Cut the bull, grab the horns and tell us the truth. We can handle it.


Published by Colm.  

1.7.05 | |  

The Biscuit Tin Series

Biscuit Tin 1 - Fig Rolls
Biscuit Tin 2 - Fox's Classic
Biscuit Tin 3 - ToffyPops
Biscuit Tin 4 - Custard Creams
Biscuit Tin 5 - Cadbury's Chocolate Shortcakes
Biscuit Tin 6 - Fox's Millionaire's Caramel
Biscuit Tin 7 - Biscuit Maintenance
Biscuit Tin 8 - McVitie's Chocolate Hobnobs
Biscuit Tin 9 - Oat Crumbles
Biscuit Tin 10 - Jammie Dodgers
Biscuit Tin 11 - Xmas Special


Best Group Blog 2007

Last posts

Archives

Links

Email In Fact, Ah

Syndicate this site (XML)



Powered by Blogger
and Blogger Templates