For my sins, I work for a large multinational in Ireland. One thing that has really started to grate on me lately is the way language is used around the place. I think many people are familiar with Buzzword/Bullshit Bingo, a concept originally coined by a graduating class of MIT students during an Al Gore speech, however recently I've been hearing new candidates for the Bullshit Bingo card:

Revert, as in:
"When you have finished reviewing the document, please revert"

Socialise, used in a meeting if key decision makers are absent:
"We'll go ahead with decision A and socialise it after the meeting"

Arghhh, somebody make the madness stop!

Any other examples readers?

Published by Paul.  

I came across this interesting blog today. Basically, these guys send hoax e-mails to companies, politicians etc. and post the replies on their site. Some of them are hilarious, such as the replies they received from a few electronics firms about whether or not it is safe to dry your underwear in a microwave. Well, I nearly wet my underwear reading it. It's top quality stuff.

Here's the Link thereignofterror

Published by Colm.  

I had the pleasure of seeing Wolf Parade in Whelan's last night. They're the latest band to rise form the prolific Montreal music scene. Canada is home to The Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Stars, The Unicorns, Death From Above 1979, The Russian Futurists, The Dears and Hot Hot Heat amongst others. It certainly is a hot bed of popular Indie music at the moment but if we look back over the past few years you will see Canada has been producing bands of a high pedigree for quite a while. Names such as God Speed You Black Emperor, Of Montreal, Do Make Say Think, Manitoba/Caribou, The New Pornographers and A Silver Mt. Zion. So why is Canada producing so many good bands?

Firstly I think the attitude of Canadians to the arts and their willingness to express themselves is quite different to what you'll find here. Having spent a year in Canada in 2001/2002 I got a sample appreciation for this 'Canadian expression'. Perhaps we were attracted towards people with an artistic streak in them but it struck me that nearly everyone we met was dappling in the arts to a certain degree. Be it as a musician, a painter, a jewellery maker or a writer it was quite a contrast to the expression of the youth of Ireland. When it comes to Montreal in particular it's the type of city that attracts many young people, not only because of the nightlife but the city also offers very cheap rents, low cost of living, a liberal mindset and excellent government support for the arts. As a result the indie music scene has flourished similar to Seattle a few years ago or Manchester in the late 80s.

So, briefly back to the gig last night. Despite a pathetic effort made by the crowd, Wolf Parade truly rocked on stage. The thrashing guitars, manic drumming and powerful vocals made for a really energetic gig. They didn't merely reel off the best tracks from their debut album but played off the cuff and treated us to a few non-album tracks which could easily have made it onto their debut L.P. 'Apologies to the Queen Mary". All in all it was a great gig and expect to hear a lot more from these guys in the next 12 months.


Padraig

Published by Colm.  

The ongoing dispute at Irish Ferries over the importation of foreign labour has far-reaching ramifications in Ireland. The company in question announced some months back that they were offering voluntary redundancies to some 500 staff and replacing them with cheaper agency workers, mainly from the EU accession states. Any remaining Irish Ferries staff who turned down the voluntary redundancy will have their pay and conditions altered and it is these workers who feel most aggrieved.

Irish Ferries are reportedly going to pay these new workers €3.50 an hour, less than half the Irish minimum wage. How can they do this? By registering their ships in the Bahamas and operating under that country’s minimum wage provisions. This is obviously the crux of the issue. How can a shipping company operating between Ireland, France and the UK justify paying rates more akin to Caribbean standards? Surely the customers that use Irish Ferries are not paying Caribbean prices for their tickets?

The manner in which Irish Ferries have handled this dispute has been nothing short of contemptuous. They have ignored the recommendations of the Labour Relations Commission and even the protestations of ‘Comrade’ Bertie Ahern when he said in the Dail that what was happening was wrong.

Crucially, Bertie has also said there is nothing the government can do about it. This would not be how SIPTU see it and their repeated soundings about the partnership talks being in jeopardy will be ringing alarm bells in Leinster House. Social Partnership has been one of the cornerstones of this country’s success in the last 15 years largely because it put a stop to the industrial disputes which crippled the country in the 1980’s. The government may yet come out of this with more than a bloody nose.

Finally, the plight of the new agency workers must be borne in mind. They were shepherded onto the ships late last week by security guards to start their new jobs only to find themselves at the centre of a bitter dispute. These workers will be paid considerably less than their Irish counterparts and their readiness to take the jobs illustrates the desperation of their circumstances. The willingness of Irish Ferries to exploit their situation reeks of a company who have no intention of being left behind in the ‘race to the bottom’.

Published by Colm.  

We had to take down the site over the weekend but we're back. We didn't quite foresee the popularity of the Dunphy clip and our bandwidth usage went through the roof so we decided to go offline for a while until things cooled down a bit. Unfortunately we also lost the original post. Apologies to anyone who took time to comment on the original post as these comments are irretrievable. This was what we posted last Thursday on In Fact, Ah. The post was titled "Dunphy spits the dummy, part MMDLXIII":

You've got to hand it to RTE, they provide novel sporting punditry. Whether it be Rugby with George Hook and Brent Pope, GAA with Mr. Spillane or Soccer with Messrs. Dunphy, Giles, Brady and O'Herlihy.

I hope you were fortunate enough to be watching the build up to Liverpool's Champion's League tie against Real Betis last night. Just in case you weren't I've sourced a recording of the pre-match debate by the panel on Roy Keane's departure from Manchester United. It seems you can take Keano out of The Reds, but you can't take the red mist out of Dunphy. Whatever you think about Dunphy, you've got to admit he is compelling viewing.

Published by Colm.  

"Rainy day, rain all day. Ain't no use in gettin' uptight."

Rainy day, dream away by Jimi Hendrix

It never rains but it pours in Rotorua.

Also it seems our van, The Jimi, has earth-shattering powers. It must be a case of his licks resonating at a certain frequency with Rotorua.

Published by Colm.  

Check out In Fact, Ah's (my) interview with Disillusioned Lefty.

Published by Colm.  

What a great way of travelling around New Zealand?

Anyone not interested in this (I know I wouldn't be), turn away.

Currently in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. Kuala Lumpur was wet, very wet. But the hotel room was oh, so sweet. Got to go and pitch a tent.

Later.

Published by Colm.  

The gig radar has been beeping today and the infactah crew are all onboard. We're stretching our wallets to bring you comment on some international acts coming to Dublin over the coming months.

So far we have the following weighing down our credit cards:

This Sunday Wolf Parade - Whelans, sold out unfortunately.
Friday 9/12 Test Icicles - Crawdaddy
Tuesday 13/12 Stars - The Village
Saturday 07/01 Mogwai - Temple Bar Music Centre
Saturday 04/02 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Crawdaddy
Saturday 11/02 Broken Social Scene - Crawdaddy

Published by Paul.  

The announcement yesterday by Northern Secretary Peter Hain of changes to local government structures in Northern Ireland is surprising for one simple reason; Sinn Fein is the only party supporting it. The proposal suggests cutting the number of councils from 15 to 7 and reducing the number of health boards (there are currently four!).

The DUP, SDLP, Alliance and UUP have all come out against it saying it is a “sectarian carve-up” which would likely lead to three nationalist controlled councils, three unionist controlled councils and one where the Alliance party would hold the balance. Sinn Fein have consistently backed these proposals and there are two possible reasons for this.

The first is that this reform would strengthen Sinn Fein’s power. Dr. Paisley has already come out saying that this development will allow nationalists to pursue a United Ireland in the councils they control. The second reason however seems more plausible to me; that these reforms are simply a ploy to get the unionists to cut a deal with Sinn Fein and reinstate power-sharing.

A quote from Hain sums it up best when he said "if they do not like the decisions I have taken, they better get back into government quickly in order to take forward the process of change”.

Published by Colm.  

When I read this story first I thought it was quite amusing. Then two questions arose:

Are you allowed to carry on lighters on aircraft?
If you aren't allowed how is this policed?

I'm pretty sure you can take aerosols as carry on. With a Lighter + Aerosol, Michael O'Leary could go undercover and really put the heat under his staff's behinds.

Published by Paul.  

I haven't quite been able to figure out what is wrong with me, but I've been totally oblivious to the Harry Potter juggernaut in recent times. I loved Mike Newell's "Pushing Tin" from a few years back and was intrigued to see his angle on J.K. Rowling's franchise, so I took myself along to the cinema last night.

I fidgeted with my rosary beads as I managed to cut a path to my seat through the hoards of teenage occultists. Thankfully I made it without being turned into a toad.

This was one of the most thoroughly enjoyable 157 minutes I've ever spent in the cinema. From what I've read, the production team had their work cut out for them in fitting as much of the novel as possible into the film format. This resulted in the action coming thick and fast, giving the film a great rhythm. The only place they slipped up was with the Ball scenes which slightly jarred with the flow of the film and felt a little bolted-on to me.

I don't want to spoil anything for anybody yet to see it so I won't go much further. In any film I watch I always find that it's the small parts that make a film really stand out. In this regard, Ralph Fiennes' Voldemort and Brendan Gleeson's Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody were downright stellar.

My only concern now is that when I go back to watch the first three installments they won't live up to this one.

Fire up those broomsticks and get down to the cinema today!

Published by Paul.  

For all you table quiz boffins out there a few of the infactah crew are helping to organise a charity table quiz next Wednesday the 23rd of November in Fitzgearld's pub (adjacent to the Centra store, beside O'Connell bridge). Unfortunately our leader Colm won't be in attendance as he is off in some far flung little country somewhere in the South Pacific called New Zealand. God knows why he went all that way just to see a few million sheep, sure don't we have enough of them in Ireland?

Anyway with regard to the table quiz all money raised will be sent directly to the Mangango mission in Zambia. Zambia is a country which receives little media attention, primarily because its people have lived in peace since its independence in 1964. However the absence of conflict does not necessarily equate with improvement in living standards. 68% of Zambia's citizens live below the national poverty line and one in six children die before their fifth birthday. In the past two years maternal mortality, deaths from AIDS and child hunger have been rising.

Currently the situation in Zambia is grim. Zambia's Vulnerability Assessment Committee (VAC) identified that up to 1.23 million people would need relief prior to the next harvest in February-March 2006. Crop failure of between 40% and 90% has been identified in 27 affected districts.
The Mangango mission, located in Malengwa is one such area. The co-ordinator of this relief operation is Father Damien Loughrey. Damien's work includes managing a Leprosarium and a Chesire home for physically and mentally disabled children. From the reports we have received from him, food supplies are already running low in the Mangango mission. To compound matters there is still no sign of the desperately needed rains. The survival of these people is dependent now on food donations from the E.U. These supplies are often slow in coming however and are never sufficient. SOMEONE ALWAYS MISSES OUT.

This is where our support comes in. The money we raise will go directly to the Malengwa area and will help alleviate some of the suffering of these forgotten people.

If you are free on Wednesday the 23rd and would like to showcase your table quiz talent while supporting a worthy cause, your presence at this quiz would be much appreciated.

Published by Colm.  

It had to happen. Roy Keane has quit Man United and its not really a surprise given the comments he made recently on MUTV and the general deterioration in relationships between himself and Alex Ferguson. No doubt the reaction by united fans will be similar to that of Take That fans when they broke up. There will be candle lit vigils out side Old Trafford and the phone lines of talk shows will be full of weeping Keane lovers threatening to kill themselves unless Roy returns.

I just hope he signs for Celtic.

Published by Colm.  

Come tomorrow, my posting here will be very limited for the next month. See, thing is, I have to catch this plane to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning, stay there for a few days and spend a month touring the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

Hopefully, the baton will be picked by some of the others here in my absence.

**PS. Goys, please use the spellchecker.

Published by Colm.  

Published by Colm.  

Although this blogger won't be able to attend, it is worth noting that The National play Whelans this Saturday, 19th November. More than most, this band attempt to vary style and melody and make truly wonderment-inducing (whatever the fuck that means), if sometimes dark, music.

Download "Baby, we'll be fine" here.

Published by Colm.  

As a follow up to yesterday's post, In Fact, Ah would like to point readers in the direction of today's Irish Independent. It carries this utterly distasteful photograph of a man who was shot dead in the passenger seat of a car in Clontarf last night.

The Independent reports that it is a reprisal killing for the two murders carried out last Sunday night.

Published by Colm.  

Intruder shot dead, drug dealing in hospitals, gangland crime and murder, hitman murders bouncer in front of his wife. All of these stories make for depressing reading at the breakfast table.

The government appears to be losing the fight against crime. In particular, figures indicate that violent crime levels are rocketing. Murder, rape, gangland crime and various other types of serious crime are reaching epidemic proportions. The latest gangland killings brings the tally to 9 the number of people that have been murdered in this so-called 'turf war'.

But it's not making the headlines like "Bryan Kennedy sings for Ireland" would do. Gangland violent crime invariably doesn't happen where I live. If you're reading blogs, it more than likely isn't happening near you either. As the French would say at the moment, "Loin des yeux, loin de coeur".

I used to laugh at older people when they would say that drugs are the root of all evil. Now, I'm coming around to this view too. The amount of crime that has its origins in the drug world is astonishing.

It will be interesting to see the party manifestos for the next general election. Maybe they'll get a few tips from Messrs de Villepin and Chirac.

Published by Colm.  

The Washington Post today reports that the number of people executed in the US fell from 65 in 2003 to 59 in 2004. According to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of people receiving death sentences stands at its lowest point since 1973.

Amnesty International's figures reveal that only China, Iran and Vietnam executed more of its citizens than the US did in 2004.

Published by Colm.  

Libel is an issue to has come to the fore for blogs. The medium is accessible to millions of readers and can have huge power in forming and swaying opinions. Any remark that lowers a person's reputation in the eyes of right-minded members of society can be devastating if untrue.

Commenting on ongoing court cases can also have a serious impact on the perception of justice. If a newspaper says that a defendant is guilty and should get 10 years behind bars while the case is still being heard, it can look very suspicious if the judge hands down a 10-year sentence. The perception could be formed that the judge was somehow influenced by the newspaper.

It is therefore something that bloggers need to be wary of. One particular post in a prominent Irish blog this week in my view would be found to be in contempt of court if spotted by the judge. The post remains online despite my attempt to persuade this person to remove it.

Published by Colm.  

Here are a few facts to chew on ...

According to Forbes, the second and third largest companies in the UK deal in oil.
BP and Shell have a combined profit of $34.7 billion for the last year.
The price of oil stands at $70 per barrel.
Ireland is spending billions on new roads that accommodate petrol-burning vehicles.
Oil is running out (up for debate, but a general consensus exists that it cannot be sourced forever).

Even the Republicans are turning on oil companies in the US.

Published by Colm.  

Its getting close to that time of year when everyone under the sun comes out with their Top 10 of this and Top 10 of that. We've decided to get in ahead of the posse and start the debate on the Top 10 Albums of 2005.

Anyway, here's PMc's Top 10

Favourite Albums of 2005

1. Sufjen Stevens - Illinois
2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
3. Sleater Kinney - Woods
4. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
5. Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Matt Sweeney - Superwolf
6. Boards of Canada - Campfire Headphase
7. Fourtet - Everything Ecstatic
8. M.I.A - Arular
9. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
10. Broadcast - Tender Buttons

Favourite albums I heard for the first time this year

(In no particular order)
Ulrich Schnaus - A Strangely Isolated Place
Modest Mouse - Good News for People who Love Bad News
Low - The Great Destroyer
Markus Guetner - 1981
Devandra Barnhart - Rejoicing in the Hands
X-Plastaz - Maasai Hip Hop


PMc

Published by Colm.  

Bloc Party - Olympia Theatre, Monday 7th November 2005





Download Monday night's This Modern Love (7MB - Right click, Save Target as)

Published by Colm.  

My DVD rentals on DVDRentals.ie since March 2005 ...

Ray
All About My Mother
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Downfall
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
The Assassination Of Richard Nixon
The Aviator
Kinsey
Taxi Driver
Hotel Rwanda
2001: A Space Odyssey
I Heart Huckabees
Man On Fire
Unbreakable
Das Boot
Withnail And I
Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind
Meet The Fockers
GoodFellas
Oceans Twelve
On The Waterfront
Rear Window
Dogville
The Fog Of War
Finding Neverland
Elephant
The Village
Coffee and Cigarettes
Straw Dogs
Open Water
Citizen Kane
The Incredibles
DodgeBall
Panic Room
Carandiru
Hellboy
Zatoichi
Shaun Of The Dead
Blind Flight
Anchorman

Published by Colm.  

Much to In Fact, Ah's delight, the local serves this publicity-stunted stout. Our own poll (3 people sampled, 8 pints sampled) reached the conclusion that two thirds of Guinness drinkers will like it.

Some punter is selling 'rare' Brew 39 beer mats on eBay. The other day I scraped one off my shoe when leaving the pub.

Published by Colm.  

Following the mistrial earlier this year, the Catholic Worker Movement have had their trial collapse once more in the Central Criminal Court. Yesterday, it was suggested by their defence that in the interest of the public's perception of the Irish judicial system, that it would be appropriate for Judge Donagh McDonagh to excuse himself from this case. It is alleged that the judge was invited to the two Bush Jnr inaugurations in 2000 and 2004. The judge duly dismissed the jury but refused to talk in court about his "social history".

It is significant that Tom DeLay's name popped up in court yesterday. It was he who had extended the invite. The anti-war defence interestingly noted that DeLay "had recent difficulties".

Of course, it would be nice to discuss further the implications of yesterday's events. But sometimes the threat of jail is enough of a deterrent for In Fact, Ah.

Interview with Damien Moran.

Published by Colm.  

Missing out last time due to exam study, I'm especially looking forward to seeing Bloc Party play the Olympia this Monday. Their debut album "Silent Alarm" has been a hit with the buying public and critics alike. Frenetic songs like "Banquet" and the beautiful "This Modern Love" demonstrate how Bloc Party transcend many music genres. But modern punk is definitely the tag that has stuck.

Being hyped by some as the new Franz Ferdinand doesn't help, but even if they don't have too many potential singles for Top of the Pops, Bloc Party can be satisfied that they have created a very durable album that will still be listened to for years to come.

Stream Bloc Party's "Silent Alarm" here.

Sellout show.

Published by Colm.  

Get yourself to the Temple Bar Music Centre tonight and enjoy a plethora of sounds from varied instruments played by Architecture in Helsinki. €15 well-spent and doors are @ 8pm.

Keep an eye out for the In Fact, Ah posse. We'll be the ones acting all cool and loudly articulating how much we know about music.

"See that band up there. I was a fan when three people would turn up to their gigs."

After all, we did hear The Arcade Fire before you.

Published by Colm.  

Eamon Dunphy reckons a treble on Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea is a good bet this weekend. Paddy Power are offering somewhere in the region of 4/1.

Published by Colm.  

Handy resource for spotting autism.

Courtesy of the Autism Biomedical Information Network

Published by Colm.  

Chaired by Senator David Norris, the Trinity Hist society played host last night to a debate which questioned whether the War on Terror can ever truly be won. What turned out to be an insipid affair was only rescued by the chair's closing speech. In Fact, Ah was disappointed by the lack of substance that characterised the Trinity students' orations. They lacked the spirit and passion that one would normally expect to hear in the grandiose debating chamber of the Graduates Memorial building. Full of rhetoric and low on fact, the majority of them pussyfooted around what the war on terror actually meant.

One of the more interesting speeches came from Richard Waghorne of the Freedom Institute. Like what he stands for or loathe it, Waghorne has presence. His style of delivery is credible and you could almost fall for what he tells you.



My hearing isn't what is never was so I unfortunately missed the names of the two other guest speakers. One was an aspiring toff who kept going off on a tangent about some linkage between the class system and the War on Terror. This was met by much guffawing on the part of the Trinners wannabe toffs.

Another speaker who had written some book or other came and went without leaving any sort of impression.

The larger-than-life John McGuirk of the Freedom Institute took to the floor and flapped about for five minutes as he told the story of his friend from Virginia being stationed in Iraq. He bizarrely and embarrassingly wrapped up by telling us how his friend received eye drops from home. Somebody had replaced the eye drops with bleach in the container that was sent to him. The relevance to the debate? Your guess is as good as mine.

Finally, the chair had his say. Norris was one of the few people in the room to have ever visited Iraq. Himself an anti-war proponent, the Senator was almost spitting as he described in real terms the cruel and unjust war that is being waged on the citizens of Iraq. Perhaps one of the more memorable moments of the night came when he shouted "unscrupulous liars" while pointing in the direction of Richard Waghorne.

Published by Colm.  

One is trying to fob off a white elephant of a transport system on us, the other's a character from the Simpsons.

Today FF and the PDs announced their super-duper plan to bring us into the 19th century. Amazingly, there wasn't even a mention of Lyle Lanley in the Transport 21 plan.

We're going to have seven new Luasesseses, two fantastic metro lines, DART extensions and and and even a big shiny new central station in St. Stephen's Green linking the whole lot together.

Wow! I can't wait. It's going to be so cool. Who knows, they might even have it all running before then?

Get real. The Luas was first proposed in 1990. It was five years late and cost three times as much as originally planned. Now they want to build seven new lines. Christ on a bike!

DART services, which connect posh areas in the south to posh areas in the north, were improved recently. It took two years to add extensions to the platforms. Now they want to extend the line itself - to Wexford.

The exchequer takes in around €38 billion in receipts every year. They want to spend a year's national income on one area of living - moving. What about things that are more important to survival? Can we now expect the government to spend the same on the environment, the health system, housing, education? The list is endless.

Published by Colm.  

As Des over at Thinking Home Business points out "if I find another blog is linked to mine and the theme and content are not incompatible with mine, I like to reciprocate the link ..."

So it's high time that In Fact, Ah does likewise. The following have been added to the blogroll on the right-hand side.

Internet Commentator
Caoimhe Burke
Gerry O'Sullivan
Mental Meanderings
Hugh Green
The Dossing Times
JL Pagano
Neither Indifferent Nor Sceptical
Disillusioned Lefty
Julius Geezer
Pretty Good Year

Published by Colm.