Having a Pink Moment...

While in a shop with friends, I whiled away the time by trying out some Depth of Field exercises...

Twitoaster

Conversations are being threaded together from Twitter as I write. Twitoaster is a useful way of surfing gently, keeping out of the main swell of tweets that bear down on the unwary Twit every second of the day and night.

Melbourne

Melbourne is a kaleidoscope.

Ever let the Fancy roam...

Yesterday I went to visit a friend who lives in the Mountains. Leaving suburbia from time to time is always a good move. Somehow the cosy anonymity of the housing estates that ring every European city in ever-increasing circles can stunt the imagination. The Mountains were still dotted with drifts of snow... So I took to looking at photos taken in warmer climes. Pleasure Never is At Home?

Malahide Castle, the Talbot Botanic Gardens

>br>

Irish Bloggers Unite

"Writing in a Twist" has been nominated
for the
Irish Blog Awards, 2009.

Many thanks to all who made this possible.






Irishkc.com devised this cunning .gif.

Fair Dinkum.

Kind Thoughts, Coronets and All That Jazz

I'm exhausted.

Monday mornings are usually my "forte".

Up and running for the new week is easily achieved after
a restful two days of gentle housework and hearty eating.

Not this time...

Somehow all the information gleaned at the wonderful
afternoon spent in Trinity College listening to
World Class garden writers speak
kicked in last night.

My rattled psyche spent much of the night taking
French class in an open plan school building
which, looked at in the grey light of day,
was the Edmund Burke lecture theatre and its
environs.

This is not a complaint.
Simply an explanation that it is sometimes
good to go into town on a Saturday and joggle
the old synapses.

Having taken reams of notes and snapped (in iso 1600)
enough images to give a new lecture of my own,
I'll leave it for another time to share all the extraordinary
ideas learned.

Enough to say that the Lewis Glucksman Symposium
was a glowing success
and that the speakers, all four,
should stand up and take a bow.

Lewis Glucksman Memorial Symposium

I Must Get My Categories Sorted Out Before I Write This Post

If you do a web search for "Grannymar" and "Fury" you will be
as surprised as I was to find that an ageist slur has been made
against her and, by association, against Grandad.

Here is where I must start to tread very gingerly indeed.
Not only has the Great Spam Buster in the Virtual Sky
stopped any possibility of my posting any response to
Grannymar's distress, I have started THINKING.

This activity, attempted on a cold March afternoon in Northern Europe,
is probably not a good idea. I should be uploading some of the increasing
body of photographic work which is the result of leaving the house far too often
in the past few weeks. I should be making a rhubarb, orange and almond pie
for my nearest and dearest. I should be learning yet another foreign language...

But instead, I'm sitting here wondering how Grannymar might best get an
apology for strange refences to "silver" bloggers and "weird web" and other
catchy phrases that sub editors seem to produce like the proverbial rabbits out
of proverbial hats.

Should my solidarity include "Coming Out" as a practising Granny.
Probably a bit extreme, as I continue to feel as lively as a Spring Chicken
and could never make much sense of ageism. A true grandmother is a wise
and venerable person, in my mind, It somehow seems to be a status earned over
years rather than a glib label.

Grannymar, through her fine contribution to the Irish Blogging
Community has earned this status and well deserves her
Award.

Perhaps she can take some comfort in the fact that journalism deals very often in labels and is meant to be superficial and entertaining.

The problem lies in linguistics, I'm afraid, and until somebody wakes up to the fact
that words can be hurtful when printed and directed at well-meaning people, the world
of print journalism will continue to be the mixed feast that it is.


Here, for what it is worth, is the reply I typed in an effort to get my thoughts
round this complex subject:
"You are right to protest, Grannymar.
Captions are not necessarily written by the
journalist who writes the piece, however.
Often even hacks are puzzled by the unusual
slant a catchy headline can put on their work.

If any editors should ever read this,
it's worth recording that I tend to go
to the Internet rather than to the mainstream
media for news and ideas and I don't tend
to think much about age when I read a piece
that is well presented.

Ageism has always been a feature of European
society. And it's not correct, I agree.

Well done on writing such a clear analysis of your experience,
and an apology would be in order."

The title bar here leads to a well written and respectful article
in the Daily Herald
about
older women and how they contribute to the lively
tapestry of everyday life.



It seems that I'm in the process of developing a hybrid new
sub-genre in the Blogosphere, that of the Outsider Poster,
who, unable to access other Blogs, comments in the Exosphere,
hoping to be heard.

What shall this genre be called?

Exospheration?

A Time for Elegant Colours?

During an idle moment at IMMA, I looked at the light streaming onto the table and tea cup from a high window.

The colours were pleasing. They reminded me of the paint I chose for my house in the
1980's.


Soft, elegant and easy on the eye.

Showtime

The Irish Bloggers who are also Flick members have startd posting photos tagged "irishblogawards".


Please to hit the title bar here.



Photos

We Had a Whale of a Time..

The Irish Blog Awards 2008 was a rip-roaring success.
Today, resting on laurels is allowed.

Irish Blog Awards, Part 3: For the History Buffs

Already historians are scrutinizing this new Blogging phenemenon.
Why do people do it?
Is it unstoppable?
Who are the best Photo Bloggers, who define the imagery of the genre?


Photos from 2006 Award Ceremony

The excitement of last year was enjoyable, as open voting allowed us all
a little flutter at the hustings.
We Were The Voters

This year the protocol has come of age.
Judges, upstanding and serious Blog Elders,
gather as I write to ponder their decisions and why they
were the way they were.

Philosophical days...

irish blog awards



irish+blog+awards

Irish Blog Award Preparation Has Reached Fever Pitch

I'm a great fan of Bock the Robber's extravagant
literary style. Heaven knows why, as his outbursts often scare
the bejaysis out of me.

Today, courage firmly in hands, I posted to his blog.
The result was suitably surrealistic.
Trigger happy, as usual, I managed to link my name to
a very entertaining piece about how to control your waiter
when eating out. I had meant to place a neat link to
ModernTwist2 there, but it was not to be.

Several attempts to rectify the situation left me with
messages that did not make sense, or that made me look
like a poisonous
SPAMMER.

Success, however had been partly achieved.
The comment worked, even if it was not the full comment I would have desired.

Irish Blog Awards, part 2: Memories Are Made of This

Irish Blog Awards Best Designed Blog


If you feel like a wander down memory lane,
the Link Bar above leads to photos taken
at the Irish Blog Awards in March, 2006.

There are some good ideas for taking top class
portraits and it is worth studying a bit, so that
we can recognise one another this year.


Irish+Blog+Awards

Irish Blog Awards + Never Apologise, Never Explain...

Everybody is up to high doh.
I went to the hairdressers yesterday and
when the friendly lady who was gradually
causing my face to emerge from amidst a
wild tangle of hirsute activity heard
that I was going to an Award Ceremony
she applied even more attention than was
necessary to the job in hand.

The result? Compliments in the clothes store
where I found a remarkable number of bargains,
classy enough to let me out into public places
with a bit of glitz and glamour.

Right, so... I'm ready for off...

Damien is getting into his stride and has begged
for "a little space" on the Big Night.

All I have to do is find a neat, matching clutch purse
to go with my neat little scarf.

The organizers are facing the
Labours of Hercules.

Welll done to all who have put in such a lot of work.