Year: 2005
Fear and Loathing in Lapland
Air-raid sirens, scary machinery in the dead of night. Burning crosses, and hangman's nooses. Read about the latest weird occurrences at the Greenpeace Forest Rescue Station in Northern Finland » (apologies, link no longer working)
The Maybe Logic Academy
Sue packs her bag and goes to magick school with the 'Maybe Logic Academy'. She doesn't know what to expect, but suspects it will be an interesting experience... This month I am enrolling in the ‘Maybe Logic Academy,’ for some perilous experiments in the world of magick. I’m wondering if I’ll remain unscathed…It’s some time since I’ve donned that particular hat, except in a recent case of restless spirits (now I wonder what that could be?) The ‘Maybe Logic Academy’ is an online learning centre and community. I came across this site on Robert Anton Wilson’s website, and quickly jumped over to have a look... The Academy offers courses in the latest mind-bending theories for those who like to question their reality and perhaps broaden their perspectives on life. Students are offered the opportunity to blow their minds by learning from cutting edge authors and theorists. The site seems promising,...
Carl Sagan and the Demon Haunted World
12 part T.V. shows. Alien contact. CSICop and Marijuana. Mars and Venus. One man did it all. Ladies and Gents, meet Carl Sagan... "In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method and the reasons for a Bill of Rights. With it comes a certain decency, humility and community spirit. In the demon-haunted world that we inhabit by virtue of being human, this may be all that stands between us and the enveloping darkness." Kennedy Recently, when reading Robert Dalek's superb biography of President John F. Kennedy, I was struck by one of the challenges that Kennedy faced during his campaign for the White House - his Catholicism. Kennedy and his campaign managers spent countless hours trying to deal with what was seen by many as potentially Kennedy's greatest weakness - a suspected inability to seperate the duties of his office from the teachings of his religion....
Blather on TV: Sue does the Big Bite
Sue Walsh gets her 15 minutes on the Big Bite by talking to David McWilliams about the concept of blogging. Why, she isn’t quite sure. On air at 2.25pm tomorrow and repeated at 8:30 am Wednesday morning on R.T.E.1 I’m in R.T.E reception, along with five other pale, lost looking people. We are here to talk about blogging, and why we do it. I’m plastered in make up and have a microphone under my dress (!). I approach the couch, where David McWilliams is waiting. ‘The Big Bite’ is a daytime discussion program hosted by the wonderful David McWilliams; the broadcaster and journalist. He is also (allegedly) the man who coined the phrase 'The Celtic Tiger'. The program is aired every day at 2:25pm, and usually focuses on human interest stories. The reason we were invited onto the program was to discuss blogging, as this is a new concept to...
Twin Peaks: Motif Watch
Dave's out in the forests of Northern Finland. He's armed with his knives, his laptop, and the first series of Twin Peaks. Damn fine cup of coffee... Up here, at 69 degrees north, with nothing but thousands of miles of snow and forest in every direction, a man is given to thinking about the dark soul of the forest - and how it manifests in that most susceptible of forest inhabitants - the human. Some time ago, blather.net had a very sucessful article about Withnail & I that attracted lots of comments. As I watch Twin Peaks I'm going to post trivia, details of symbolism, and anything else that catches my attention. And I invite you to do the same. (and yes, I know there's loads of websites that already do this, like twinpeaks.org, but... who cares?)
The Blather Guide to Easter
Giant bunny rabbits, chocolate eggs and the story of some guy called Jesus. As the season arrives, Sue gives you the low-down... When I was a small(er) girl, Easter was a time of great mystery. The statues in the church covered up, the gory story of Jesus’ death and the excitement of egg hunting on Easter Sunday all added to the strange atmosphere on Easter week. It was perplexing, this mixture of crucifixions and chocolate. And what about having to kiss the statue of Jesus? That gave rise to a few strange nightmares I can tell you… I have since been interested in the symbolism of that week, the death and rebirth themes which mirror nature’s cycles, and how religion tries to express and explain them. These themes predate Christianity; in fact the word Easter comes from the Spring Goddess Eostre, who gives her name to the female hormone oestrogen....
The Haunting (part 3)
Blather correspondent Lyra concludes her chilling tale... Some time has passed since I last wrote about my haunted house. So what's happened since then? Did I become possessed by some (rather quiet) evil spirit that is plotting to take over the world from my sitting room? Have I succumbed to such a point where I now have my feet up in a nursing home, watching re-runs of Dallas? No fear - neither of these scenarios have occurred. But let me tell you what really happened. I was at my wits end - I had been attacked in my bedroom, and my flatmates Sorcha and Ruth were scared, and considering moving out. We talked again about asking a priest to bless the house, but the one I approached seemed sceptical. I think he had us labelled as a pack of hysterical women! To me, there seemed only one practical solution. I...
Reindeer Roundup In A Finnish Forest
Article and photo gallery: Dave spends an afternoon in the forest with the Sámi herders as they do a 'reindeer roundup'... Read More » (this blog is no longer on greenpeace.org, unfortunately)
Transmission from Ice Station Reindeer
daev reports in from the the Arctic - 69° north... For the next couple of months, I'll be reporting from Inari, in Lapland, northern Finland. I'm here working on a Greenpeace project - we're working in partnership with the Sámi people, to protect the ancient forests - crucial for herding reindeer - from Finland's national logging company. While much of northern Europe is under snow - we'll be having it for the next while. The Forest Rescue Station is 3 degrees north of the Arctic Circle, and few places are on the same latitude - extreme north Russia, north Alaska, Canada, Greenland, north Norway, and a little bit of Sweden. Spilled coffee on my jacket earlier, while out at the camp. The coffee froze instantly... Weblog: Forest Rescue Station » Greenpeace: Greetings from Ice Station Reindeer »
Feed Your Brain: Kenneth Clarks’ ‘Civilisation’
In the beginning, there was the beeb and the beeb was in black and white.... And the lord said 'Not bad'. And the Lord was happy. 'But let's have some more' said the Lord, and lo, springing from a rib that was lying around the White City, the Lord created the Beeb 2. But there was a problem. Was it the beeb for kids? For politicians? For sports fans? Was it for wine drinking toffs, or curry guzzling retards? And the Lord said, 'Get me Kenneth Clark'. 36 years ago the first broadcasting of the great opus that was 'Civilisation: a personal view by Lord Clark' took place. Students of the history of art will possibly be familiar with text version of Kenneth Clarks' work, becoming as it did, one of the staple texts for end of school examinations on the subject. Those of you unfamiliar with the full whacking-great...