TOFVenture

Putain 7 ans deja....

2012-02-04T18:00:00.000Z

Il y a sept ans ( le 5 février 2005 ) je posais mes valises en Irlande. Apres un long voyage en voiture de deux jours, incluant un ferry et un tunnel en train:

En fouillant j'ai éssayé de retrouver quelques photos du voyage et bizarrement je n'en ai pas pris tant que cela...

Départ de Grenoble, France

Un dernier coup d'oeil a la vue que j'avais depuis mon studio:

Sur le chemin, un passage par mon village natal : Hauterive, Allier, France
Coquelles - Eurotunnel
Folkestone, England
Pembroke, Wales pour prendre le Ferry, un voyage de nuit très calme.

Pour finalement arriver en Irlande: Roslare, Ireland
Je me souviens avoir conduit pour aller directement sur la cote ouest, Limerick, Ireland
Et voila ma fidèle voiture sur le sol irlandais... Elle y restera d'ailleurs... sans doute dans une casse ...

Je me souviens être arrive un weekend et donc m’être précipité pour visiter la cote et les plages , je crois que c'est une plage du Burren ou du Connemara....

Bref c’était il y a sept ans déjà, je passais cette première nuit a Limerick dans un bed and breakfast prés de mon futur lieu de travail ( le lendemain ), je ne savais pas a ce moment la que je ne resterais que six mois dans ce premier job, que ce serais les 6 derniers mois ou je ferais du Layout Analogique. Je ne savais pas qu'il me faudrait un an avant de me remettre a plonger un peu, et un de plus avant de joindre un club et de m'y remettre sérieusement. Je ne savais pas qu'un espagnol allais me faire découvrir un pub nomme le Costello et que 3 mois plus tard il allais mourir. D'un autre cote je ne suis pas sur d'avoir appris beaucoup plus que cela en sept, d'avoir progresse...
Surtout je ne savais pas que sept ans plus tard, je serais toujours en Irlande !

Le trajet sur Google Map...

View Travel to Ireland in a larger map

Stuff Irish Girls said to me...

2012-01-26T20:56:00.000Z

Following that hilarious video about Shite Irish Girl Say:

Just a compilation of the one I heard, or they said to me:

The weird questions:

"Auvergne, it's near Paris ?" actually works for any French place, the further form Paris the better.
"Are you sure you're single ?" what i am suppose to answer to that ? .. err actually no ?
"Are you married ?"
"Are you polish ?"
"I am fierce independent, are you sure you want to ?"

The tentative french talk:

"Je m'appelle xxxx" with an Irish accent
"Je veux une baguette !"
"J'aime le vin !"

Strange logic:

"I am not that kind of girl, i don't bring boys - like that - in my bedroom !"
off course this is said in her bedroom...
"You're so French, you're using a napkin..." .... well it was in a abrakebabra

The almost good :

"You wear me out"
"You're wearing me out"
"First time with a french, I highly recommend it"
"I think there is a connection" ... well never answer that actually you don't agree....

The not so good:

"There is no sparkle !"
"Sorry for the mixed signal, i am not ready to date yet !"

Limerick Music Scene

2012-01-20T14:01:00.002Z

I have spend my first thursdays evening of 2012 in the quite decent Limerick pub called: Bourkes ( website: http://bourkesbar.com ), enjoying some delightful and various musical acts. From electronic DJ Toby Kaar, to pop band "yeh deadlies", every night have been a joyful discovery.

Limerick is full of nice pubs where you can listen music, live bands and discover artists. The main venue for artist would be The Dolans ( http://dolanspub.com/ ) with the big warehouse but also a more intimate venue upstairs.Upstairs in the intimate atmosphere I have discovered Vertigo Smyth, James Vincent Mcmorrow, Maria Doyle Kennedy amongst other... while in the big concert room I have enjoyed The Answer, Lisa Hannigan, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mick Flannery...

There is also a concert hall in the University ( http://www.uch.ie/ ) , and The Daghda Space - sadly now defunct - use to be another alternative venue.

But beside the musical venues, the pub are showing great activities: Cobblestone Joe and Nancy Blake have regular live band on wednesday and sunday nights. The Curragower pub and Foleys allows you to listen to some blue grass.

Interesting DJ's can be heard in Mickey Martins, but also in my favorite funky bar: The Wicked Chicken.
The Wicked Chicken also entertain some concert downstairs or in combination with Baker Place.
In my head I am still bopping to some 50s song, thanks to show hosted by DJ Andy Smith.

And lastly Bourkes have started a series of great quality musical acts.

Limerick has a very much alive music scene, with passionate listeners and sound enthusiasts.
An interesting blog delivering gig reports: Indie Limerick ( http://indielimerick.blogspot.com )

Read here last thursday gig report:
http://indielimerick.blogspot.com/2012/01/certain-three-tour-2012-bourkes-bar.html

As a conclusion lets' finish with the lost brothers as seen on Other Voices:

2011 - A summary, top events...

2012-01-03T15:17:00.000Z

Top things which happen in 2011:

A lost

Diving trip to Inishboffin

Seeing Jethro Tull in concert (Dublin, March 2011)

The Waterford Tall Ship festival

A dolans concert: The Answer

Discovering Hook Head on a dive trip

xhh

Going back surfing

Working trip to Arizona, and making the 12 pubs of christmas over there.

No Pic available, thank god.

Seeing my firt octopus in Irish water ( down in Kerry ).

A trip to Dublin to see the Guinness museum and the French rugby team in Landsdowne Road.

And all the friends talks and activities...

Top Movies seen in 2011. Poor year for cinema attendance at least for me.

Black Swan (D.Arronofsky)
Tangled (Disney)
True Grit (Cohen)
Exit through the gift shop (Bansky)
Super 8 (JJ Abrahams)
Crazy Heart (Scott Cooper)

Reeling the years 2011

2011-12-29T18:01:00.000Z

Another spin of reeling the years.

The idea is very simple and based on a simple question: Where was I 5 years ago, 10, 15 ...etc ?
Previous post were: 2010, 2009 and 2008.

So let's go back in time by 5 years leap....

2006: Limerick, Ireland
My second year in Ireland, which saw my first dives in Ireland

Probably the year, I have visited the most Ireland, thanks to those guys: les boulets

2001: Grenoble, France
My first work ( permanent contract ) in France, Grenoble ( actually Meylan to be more precise ), as an engineer. And discover the nice bar in Grenoble:

Also the year I graduated Clermont-Ferrand university.

1996: Clermont Ferrand, France
Still in CPGE at Lycee Blaise Pascal

1991: Hauterive, France
Starting in French High School

1986: Hauterive, France

1981: Hauterive, France
I think this is the year I started going to school, or was it the following.....

1976: Hauterive, France
That christmas I am barely 9 year month old, and I have many dogs to take care of me ( in the photo below i think it was atos )

Playlist

2011-12-06T22:06:00.001Z

Not being very active on the blog scene at the moment, so here's my current playlist:

Hauterive

2011-11-13T09:18:00.001Z

Mon Village.... Hauterive
La place principale, telle que je ne l'ai jamais connu:
And the famous mineral source:

Concert - The Answer in Dolans

2011-10-01T09:38:00.001+01:00

Brilliant concert last night in Dolans, featuring the Northern Ireland band: The Answer.

The two support band were let's say entertaining, the first one though not bad, reminded me of spinal stap through their outfit ( head bandana, cut jean, leather trouser, goth style singer.... ), the second paid a lot less attention to its outfit, but as soon as the guitar started, they meant business, the energic singer performed the perfect warm-up to the leading act.

The first I saw The Answer , was at The Who concert in Cork, about 2-3 years ago, at the time I was really impressed by their style and their energy.

:D :D :D

Evening surfing

2011-08-24T23:51:00.003+01:00

Evening surfing ( after work ) are the dream in Summer in Ireland... lovely time down there.

Left work at 5pm, headed straight to Lahinch with my surfboard, and straight into the water. I am managing very slow improvement in my surfing abilities, anyway that was an excellent way to spend the evening. :D

A tour of guinness

2011-08-21T20:30:00.002+01:00

I went last saturday to Dublin to see a game of Rugby, and use the occasion to paya vist to the Guinness storehouse.

The tour is actually quite great, showing the whole brewing process of the stout, the old machinery, and the history of the brand, from his founder to the latest advertising campaigns.

Clear Water

Copper and barrels

Some advertising:

You end the tour with a delightful pint of guinness, at the top of the building, which overlooks all Dublin.

Then after the tour, we headed to the Aviva stadium, to see a good french performance ( not a fantastic one though but enough to secure a victory, before the world cup ).

And off course we ended the night in a pub ;)

Back in the surf....

2011-08-15T09:31:00.004+01:00

Great weekend, half productive ( another series of boat repair for the diving club ), half sporty/active ( surf but mostly body-boarding in Spanish Point, Sunday with PJ ), and all that fun and entertaining, with the mandatory passage to the Wicked and Costello on Saturday night....
All good. :D

PJ trying to ride a wave:

Additional blog

2011-08-12T16:54:00.002+01:00

I've decided to start a new blog, which will concentrate my various movie experience ( and only the stuff related to movies ). I'll continue that one, on a more personal note.

The blog is : http://tofcinema.tumblr.com/

33 Years ago

2011-07-07T11:07:00.001+01:00

pp_cg_travail, a photo by TOF2006 on Flickr.

Building the chicken house with my grandad. :(

Waterford Tall Ship 2011

2011-07-02T19:05:00.000+01:00

I went Friday 1st of July to Waterford see the tall ship, and took some pictures, little did I know...

Brilliant occasion ( http://www.waterfordtallshipsrace.ie/ )

Here's a slideshow of the pictures I take:

Blue Monday

2011-06-28T10:06:00.003+01:00

Monday sky was blue and sunny, so instead of heading back to the city and my flat, I took the opposite direction, straight to the west clare beach.

Ended up doing a short snorkel, the water temperature was actually better than the fresh wind.... defintely should have organized that damn barbecue.

Underwater Ireland over the years

2011-06-15T11:43:00.003+01:00

Inishbofin Diving Week

2011-06-13T11:08:00.002+01:00

I just got back from Inishbofin (Connemara) Saturday, after a great week of dives, great weather, good food ( thanks to the great cooks in the group), clear waters, a bit of mad trad session, and fantastic buddies. All organized by the Aughinish Diving Club.
What else could you ask for ?

Our base-camp, with the boat club:

One of my underwater buddy, a keen photographer, probably looking for seal or dogfish:

Decompression Time in the local pub:

Dawn colors:

Underwater shot:

The Harbour, on the day we left.... :(

The ferry who brought us back:

More information on Inishbofin:
http://www.inishbofin.com/

Hermit Crab in White Strand

2011-05-02T20:34:00.001+01:00

IMG_1205
Originally uploaded by TOF2006

Another weekend, only with one small shallow dive, hence the hermit crab in the picture.
A part that, this was also a busy weekend in limerick with the riverfest and the Munster game.

First octopussy

2011-04-28T02:29:00.003+01:00

Last monday, I saw my first Octopus in Irish Water. Actually we saw two, in was at 27 meter deep near Scariff island in county Kerry. One of my buddy, Brian was lucky enough to capture it on photo before his battery died. See below Brian picture.

Eledone Cirrhosa

octopussy
Originally uploaded by upskill2008

Via Flickr:
Brian snapped this little guy just before he squirted ink and I ran out of batteries. Diving off Scariff Island, Derrynane.

Cinema de quartier

2011-04-18T18:08:00.002+01:00

This last few months, I've rekindled my love for the cinema bis, by organizing viewing of some forgotten gems.
Last week, the theme of the night was Japanese Gore, starting with the cult "Tetsuo: The Iron Man" from Shinya Tsukamoto. To be honest I could not quite remember the movie, and though I understand its innovation, I was more impressed by Tsukamoto later work.

We quickly follow by the bizarre and perverse movie from 2008: "Tokyo Gore Police", quite extreme and at the same time very juvenile.

So far we had quite few nights around those alternative cinema, see below the list of movie we entertained:

Captain Orgazmo
Tromeo et Juliette
Surfer Nazis must die
The chinese Feast
Zu, the warriors of the magic mountain
Once upon a time in China
Machete
Clercks
Robotrix
Plan 9 from outer space
Troops
Godzilla vs. Megalon
The God of cookery
Monster X vs the G8

Officially back scuba-diving

2011-03-28T19:36:00.003+01:00

That's it, after a couple of snorkels in the lake and in the sea, I am officially back diving with an impressive 30 minutes dive in Newfie, Kilkee down to 10 meters. Lovely day and lovely dive with great people indeed.

To illustrate this some picture of Kilkee with the ladies going to train for the Currach race.

Concert Bucket list

2011-03-19T10:15:00.002Z

Radiohead: checked (Dublin 2006 and 2008 )
The Who: checked (Cork)
Jethro Tull: checked (Dublin 2011)
Gorillaz: checked (Dublin 2010)
Arcade Fire: checked (Dublin 2010)
Joseph Arthur
Page & Plant
P.J. Harvey
Tryo: checked (Grenoble)
Pink Floyd
Jeff Buckley: impossible
Bjork
Lisa Hannigan: checked (Limerick)
Mick Flannery
Noir Desir: no longer possible
Rodrigo y Gabriela: checked (Limerick)
Dyonisos

Self explanatory picture..

2011-03-07T10:21:00.000Z

Yep wet and cold....

What would you do if your income was guaranteed ?

2011-02-05T10:33:00.005Z

There is an interesting idea, coming from Germany:

Susanne Wiest petition for unconditionally basic salary ( In Germany any citizen can propose a law if it get 50000 signatures, actually this one got 120000, see the petition in german.

The proposition is, every single citizen would receive Euro 1.500.- per month as a basic right, without any constraint, attachment, commitment or compensation. Additionally people would be free to earn additional money.
This basic income, means, that whatever citizen decides to do ( work, watch tv all day,.. ) he would be secure in term of basic needs.
This independence ultimately would lead to a greater freedom, as you decide what you do, what you want to do and when you want to do it ?

I do have question about the whole feasibility of the thing, but that does lead to the interesting question of the title:
What would you do if you had no pressure to work for an income ?

Here's an excellent article (in french) about this question:.

Et vous, quel travail feriez-vous si votre revenu était assuré ? (Périphéries)

Favourite Pubs in Limerick

2011-01-24T13:34:00.001Z

After 6 years, in Limerick city, it's about time I compile the list of my favorites pubs in town, though the order might vary from year to year, month to month, mood to mood...

Mickey Martin: Funky and convivial, great music and amazing people.

Costello tavern: The best fiver you can spend on a Saturday night in Limerick, relax and calm for intensive talk downstairs, or even some beer-pong ... after just follow the red carpet (the mythical sweaty carpet ! ), and your feet will be able to do some crazy dancing on the tune of the Smyths, Radiohead and other RATM...
Bourkes: A new old place, which has been revived last year, very pleasant, with like in the country a good mix of different age group mixing happily.
Tom Collins: relax and quiet, perfect for a French talk in front of a pint. Used to have good traditional band on Wednesday:
Wicked Chicken: For many years my favorite in Limerick, small dark and wicked usually great DJ mix, ideal for a round of 2 of Jägermeister, I miss Phil the barman though ...
Curragower: Good, perfectly place on the way home on a Friday night, on the way to the Thomond park for the weekends...
Baker Place: The wicked chicken twin older brother ( sharing the same bathroom where naked men can slap their butt ), excellent to see young new band performing.
Dolans: the place for concert in Limerick, also great for a breakfast on Munster game day. Checkout the Gig listing on their website.
SinBin only on a salsa night ( as a replacement of Daffys): Well since Daffy's disappeared (RIP), we needed a place for the salsa party and the Clohessys nightclub turn to be a more than okay place.
Nancy Blake: Well this is a non-controversial pub ( the least objectionable pub for anybody), the classic always reliable, i probably prefer the smallest warmer room than the outback.

Special mention: The White House, Flannery's ( the one ion catherine street), The WindMill Bar, Clohessy's ( for the 6 Nations), The Locke Bar, Glen Tavern

Reeling the years (2010)

2010-12-28T10:46:00.001Z

Well I am continuing on the previous post from 2008 and 2009,
The idea is very simple and based on a simple question: Where was I 5 years ago, 10, 15 ...etc ?
So let's go back in time by 5 years leap...

2005
Location: Limerick, Ireland
My first year in Ireland, and I've already change company, moving from Analog Devices in Raheen, to Intel in Shannon, and with a slightly different job. Goodbye analog matching transistor, and welcome timing headaches.

2000
Location: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Final year at University almost, finishing with Physics and the joy of crystal growth, to plunge in the wonders of micro-electronic

1995
Location: Hauterive, France
Final year in Cusset and moving in september to Clermont Ferrand for the CPGE
First year in Clermont Ferrand

(By the way not me in this picture, but a fantastic afternoon at the top of Puy de Dôme )

1990
Location: Hauterive, France

1985
Location: Hauterive, France
I think this is the year we started go in the mountains (Alps) for ou summer holidays instead of the sea.

1980
Location: Hauterive, France
I think i've got a BigTrack that year at christmas... so sad it got thrown away ( after many mistreatment ), especially now that the toy is back in fashion.

Note this year no top 10 thing of the year, please see Times top Ten everything:
Time top ten

Three things about me ....

2010-12-01T09:56:00.002Z

In 2010, I've definitely bad at blogging ( 8 post so far compared to the 87 i did four years, ago ) let's try to improve on this. This one came through FB, where you get tagged and have to write 3 things about you, so here it is:

Three names I go by:
1. Christophe
2. Tof ( only in France )
3. Christopher ( by most Irish who suppose there is final R in my name)

Three Jobs I have had in my life: ( by decreasing time length sentence )
1. Chip Design Engineer
2. Student
3. warehouse man / shop assistant

Three Places I have lived:
1. Grenoble France
2. Monza Italy
3. Clermont-Ferrand France

Three Favorite drinks:
1. Sparkling Mineral Water ( St Yorre / Chateldon )
2. Spiced Rhum ( Actually just finished filtering a 2 liters batch ready for consumption)
3. Tariquet Premieres Grives

Three TV Shows that I watch:
1. Try to reduce my TV consumption so...
2. Any documentary by the BBC ( Ian Hisllop Do gooders, Empire of the sea, The story of Kellogs cereals.... )
3. How I met your mother

Three places I have been:
1. Red Sea
2. Corsica
3. Belfast

Three favorite foods:
1. Andouillette
2. Potato Omelette (French style)
3. Pasta alla carbonara

Three friends that I think will respond:
1.NA
2.NA
3.NA

Three Things that I am looking forward to:
1. Christmas in Auvergne ( family and mountain biking in the snow )
2. Arcade Fire Concert in Dublin in 5 days
3. Getting back in the water ( scuba-diving, snorkeling ... )

Three Things that are always by my side:
1. Camera
2. Nokia cell phone
3. pen and paper

Gorillaz Concert Dublin 11 November 2010

2010-11-17T16:27:00.003Z

I went to Dublin last week for the Gorillaz concert in the O2.

The concert was absolutely brilliant, though i thought at time the crowd was a bit asleep. I'd almost forgot De La Soul, and how brilliant and energizing they could be.

It was not a band performing, but more a full swinging orchestra, with guest coming on the front line, and what guests: Bobby Womack, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, and Daley (you can listen the new Gorillaz song featuring him here) incredible revelation for me, Little Dragon....

Thanks Mr Albarn:

Ended up to be a quite pleasant few days in Dublin.

Which time orientation ?

2010-06-10T12:53:00.001+01:00

Interesting concept in that video.

I wonder what is my time orientation, i guess it varies, sometimes i am proned to past-oriented and other future

A week in TV Cartoon -

2010-06-06T13:49:00.000+01:00

Monday: Starting with a French one...

"Les mysterieuse cités d'or" created by Jean Chalopin, a sequel cartoon has been annouced for 2011 along with a feature movie.

Tuesday: Dare Dare... or in english Danger Mouse

Wednesday: Day of the children, and the charismatic captain Harlock

Thursday: CowBoy Bebop

Friday:The enigmatic and weird of Captain Future

Saturday: Because John Goodman is voicing the lion

Sunday: Albert Kwak

Because my high school year having breakfast in front of it, actually great story telling, I was amazed by the themes dealt in this ( rising of fascism in a small country, resistance... )

Ipod medium May 2010

2010-05-28T20:24:00.006+01:00

Ipod dear ipod, what's in store for me

Principle:
Playing with your shufle music player
Go to your music player of choice, and put it all on "shuffle." Say the following questions aloud, and after each one press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question.

What do you think of me, random music player?

Here today - The Beach Boys
"It starts with just a little glance now
Right away you're thinkin' 'bout romance now
You know you ought to take it slower"

Not sure you understood the question dear Ipod, but somehow you're right on the spot :(

Will I have a long and happy life?

Submarine - Bjork
"Do it now
Shake us out of the
heavy deep sleep"
Hum..... do you mean stop procrastinating, might be right....

What do my friends really think of me?

Billy Jean - cover by DuoDithyrambe

"She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don't mind, but what do you mean I am the one"

Somehow i doubt it ....

What does my S/O think of me?

Krazy Krush - Mrs Dynamite

"Long time I been waitin' to get next to you,
Long time I been anticipatin' the things that I wanna do,
Long time I been feenin' just for one kiss,"

Ouch does not look good for me, Mr Ipod

Do people secretly lust after me?

Someday - The Strokes

Someday, ... may be there's hope ;)

How can I make myself happy?

One good man - Janis Joplin
"Honey, I love to go to parties
And I like to have a good time, "

Oh.... looks it's gonna be party time....

What should I do with my life?

Digifucker - Fight Like Apes

And i thought i spend enough time in front of a computer...

Why must life be so full of pain?

Searching - Erykha Badu
"I am searching ..."
Good one

How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?

Yayabo - P18
Oh yeah !!!

Will I ever have children?

Black Hearted Love - PJ Harvey

"I think i saw you in the shadow"
Not sure how i can interpret that

Will I die happy?

Dazed and confused - Led Zeppelin
"Been dazed and confused for so long..."

Oh man, looks about right. Never contest what Robert says....

Can you give me some advice?

Jack in the Green - Jethro Tull
"Have you seen Jack-In-The-Green?
With his long tail hanging down.
He sits quietly under every tree --"

May be i should spend more time in the forest :D

What do you think happiness is?

I'am only sleeping - THe Beatles

"When I wake up early in the morning,
Lift my head, I'm still yawning
When I'm in the middle of a dream
Stay in bed, float up stream "

Not sure daydreaming sound right....

Do you have any advice to give over the next few hours/days?

Hunting for witches - Block Party
"i'm sitting on the roof of my house
With a shotgun and a six pack of beer"

the 6 pack beer sounds a good idea, going with a shotgun in the street of Limerick not so much

Better than any medium, at least cheaper.

A Week in Music - ww14-2010

2010-04-04T21:04:00.001+01:00

Monday:Dynamic start for the week
Franz Ferdinand - Aug Acsfe

Tuesday: Just after escaping a snow tempest on the Shannon-Limerick road.
P J Harvey - A place called home

Wednesday: I like to watch thing on TV ( especially Ms Dahl cooking and other BBC2 wonders)
Lou Reed - Sattelite of love

Thursday: I'm high as a kite, I just might, stop to check you out
Violent Femmes - Blister in the sun

Friday: Oh Baby let's go down tonight....
Ben Harper - Sexual Healing

Saturday: Two French groups (Dyonisos and Louise Attaque) covering a Blur song

Sunday: Reversing from yesterday, Anthrax covering a mythic French song "Antisocial"

Revoir Clermont....

2010-03-14T11:47:00.004Z

Spend a week back in France, and use a day to go back to Clermont, walking back to memory lane.

Walking errantly through the small streets...

Discovering old sculptures on the wall...

Finding even poseidon...

Remembering what a proper cinema is with an interesting choice...

In display that day: "A Serious Man" the ferocious latest Cohen, "A Single Man", ....

Passing in Vercingetorix shadow...

Seeing the cathedral.

And finally re-discovering the beauty of the Lecoq garden

So me......

2010-02-20T13:26:00.001Z

Procrastination from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

Lego Time Lapse Construction - 1

2010-02-08T10:47:00.001Z

Lego Time Lapse Construction. from Christophe G on Vimeo.

2009 - A summary, top ten things....

2009-12-31T22:03:00.000Z

A summary of the 2009 year in picture.

And to get in line with the annual top ten from Time, here's my personal top ten for 2009.

Movie: Pixar Up
The 10 first minutes are absolutely fantastic in term of story telling. And I got my quote of the year: "I hid under your porch, because I love you"....

Galway Volvo Ocean Race
In June, the Volvo Ocean Race visited Galway, fantastic atmosphere in town.

Halloween in Mickey Martin

One of the best party of the year.

Irish seals
2009, will be the year where I saw most seals, the first one were down in Cork in Union Hall basking in early march/april
Then we saw one or 2 venturing regularly near Kilkee.

90 years ago, my granddad was born, just had to celebrate his birthday.

Concert: Mick Flannery in Dolans

Snorkel with Dolphin in Milton Malbay
On of the most amazing encounter in the sea, as i was training for duck diving in Miltown Malbay, a curious dolphin came to see what i was doing...

PS3 Game: Assassins Creed 2
Finished it but still addicted to that game by now... have to wait for the third installment, now.

Obama election / French politics
Big hope from the USA with Obama election, and at the same time in France... the left wing are left arguing between themselves in front of a media omnipresent president.

ASM 10th final... lost again....
No comment. Congratulations to Perpignan.

Demie_Finale_ASM_ST
Uploaded by asm. - Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.

Top ten Movies seen in 2009
1. Inglorious Bastard - Q.Tarantino
2. Up - Pete Docter / Pixar
3. Moon - Duncan Jones
4. (500) days of summer - Marc Webb
5. District 9 - Neill Blomkamp
6. The Wrestler - D.Arronofsky
7. Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Woody Allen
8. Fantastic Mr Fox - Wes Anderson
9. Where the wild things are - Spike Jonze
10. The Ugly Truth - Robert Luketic

Additinal interesting movies:
Bolt - B.Howard/C.Williams/Disney
The Men who Stare at goats - ??
A Serious Man - Cohen
Waltz with Bashir - Ari Folman
The imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - Terry Gilliam

Lisa <3

2009-12-18T09:23:00.002Z

An additional interview done in Limerick:

Sarah Lynch interviewing Lisa Hannigan for "I Love Limerick" from Dominik Kosicki on Vimeo.

Reeling the years (2009)

2009-12-15T15:09:00.000Z

Following the post from last year, let's make that a yearly tradition.

The idea is very simple and based on a simple question: Where was i 5 years ago, 10, 15 ...etc ?
So let's go back in time by 5 years leap...

2004
Location: Grenoble, France

My last year, in Grenoble, a very strange year indeed, between "successful" promotion at work ( project and people management ), both great and tumultuous friendship moments... anyway that's the year I've decided i had to leave my job in Grenoble, and go abroad to see if things are different; at the time I had no idea of the country I would end up.

1999
Location: Clermont-Ferrand, France

In Auvergne, studying physics in Blaise Pascal University. Spending lots of time hanging out in cinemas and most notably in the Short movie festival.

1994
Location: Hauterive, France / Lycee Presles, Cusset
Failing the Baccalauréat

1989
Location: Hauterive, France / College Victor Hugo, Saint Yorre
I was not in Berlin for the wall fall.

1984
Location: Hauterive, France / Ecole primaire
France is winning the UEFA Euro_1984, and guess what everybody playing soccer, in the recreational area.
My parents now owns the local shop in the village.

1979
I am no longer the only kid in the house, as my brother just born in March, we're still living in my grand father house in Hauterive, Allier, France.

Xmas ... playmol time

2009-12-13T12:29:00.003Z

Les Arts Deco proposent actuellement une exposition sur Playmobil

www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr il etait une fois playmobil/

Je vous recommande de jeter un oeil sur les vieilles pubs Playmo....

How to make Babies

2009-11-10T18:45:00.001Z

How to Make a Baby from Cassidy Curtis on Vimeo.

I love Vimeo :)

Halloween Dive 09

2009-11-02T14:26:00.002Z

Underwater Kilkee - 1 from Christophe G on Vimeo.

Before Saturday night part, i went to Kilkee do a bit of diving with Tomas, a small one from the pier, mainly so he can test his new dry suit.
Interesting, and i've been able to play around with the video setting on my camera :)

Songs of the Week:
- Octopus Garden (The Beatles), I am rediscovering the Beatles, and on that one had to agree with Summer, this is one of their best song.
- Heartbeats - The Knife
- You can go your own way - Fleetwood Mac
- Seeing Things - Zero7

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T14:10:00.002Z

Mickey Martin Halloween party brilliant as every year

And Mister Pumpkin was there....

....
see you next year

Pixar - Up Up.....

2009-10-13T15:50:00.004+01:00

Just saw last night the latest Pixar UP. I know it's late, the Irish release is way behind the continental Europe one or the USA - actually the DVD is up for sale next month in the states, I can't really figure out why there is so much delay in Ireland ( off course the market is very small, but it's quite close from UK... )

As usual for Pixar, it's a very moving and great story, and so much focus is put on the characters, to enhance empathy. Technically, there is nothing to say, it's really on the story and the characters that the Pixar team is nailing it down.

Oh and i've seen in 3D, but it not used a lot in the movie, i think Toy Story 3 will make a lot more use of the technology:

Just have to wait 2010.
And there is more coming in 2011/2012 with "Newt" and "The Bear an the Bow", but i am not really looking forward to the follow on to Cars, as it's for me not the best pixar by far.

List of movies i am looking forward in the next upcoming months:
- Where the wild things Are by Spike Jonze ( see New York Times Article )
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus by Terry Gillian.
- A Serious Man by the Cohen Brothers
- Ponyo by the sea by H.Miyazaki
- Whip it by Drew Barrymore
- The princess and the frog ... another Disney

Moving (on)

2009-09-26T19:45:00.002+01:00

In the process of moving my stuff to the new appartment, the pirates have already been transferred:

and are now gently settling in...

though some are not very happy about the change...

the smaller ones especially

Week End Summary - 20090906

2009-09-07T20:05:00.000+01:00

Movie of the WE
(500) days of Summer

Good comedy about an hopeless romantic :o, and as so rightly said this is not a love story, but it has brilliant ideas.

Things I learned this weekend
5. I've got concentration issues.... should I blame internet ????
4. Edinburgh seems to be a nice city to live in, and there is a bar called the Tass ( like the french word cup )
3. The last and only other time a team won four Senior All Ireland in a row was in the fourties (Cork at the time)
2. There is stuff I know but which keeps surprising me, like Winter can start early in Ireland... here we go for the real dark rainy months...
1. Loads about myself, other interesting people, and how wrong i can sometimes be.

Songs of the week end
- Mick Flannery "I wish you well"
- Hall & Oakes "You make my dreams come true"
- Simon & Garfunkel "Bookends"
- The Smiths "There is a light that never goes out"
Take me out tonight....
- The Eagles "Take it easy"

And an interesting blog about expat experience: Lyonnaise in Vancouver

Mick Flannery - Concert

2009-09-05T10:23:00.003+01:00

Last friday i went to Mick Flannery concert in Dolans, brilliant act.

The Cork man himself

.
.
.

And just for the pleasure, i am adding one of his song accompanied by Lisa Hannigan:

Top 5 things I learned this Weekend

2009-08-31T21:13:00.002+01:00

Top 5 Things I Learned This Weekend

5. A movie with Matthew McConaughey must contains a scene where is shirt is off, bad (Sahara) or good (How to loose a guy in ten days)
4. I should not trust my horoscope, even the Chinese one, and it's funny to see that my French horoscope is completely different from my English and at the same time both are completely wrong.
3. Irish radio show are brilliant, a full hour of Radiohead on Sunday night (great)
2. I am curiously incredibly productive on Saturday and Sunday early morning, when left alone.
1. I am proportionally more inclined to procrastination on Sunday evening.....

15 books - 15 minutes

2009-08-24T13:04:00.000+01:00

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you. They should be the first 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

1. Lost Souls - Poppy Z.Brite
2. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
3. The Foundation Cycle - Isaac Asimov
4. Lancelot ou Le chevalier a la charette - Chrétien de Troyes
5. Robur le conquerant - Jules vernes
6. Truismes / Bref Sejours chez les vivants - Marie Darrieussecq
7. Poems ( Down By the Salley Gardens, my love.... ) - W.B.Yeats
8. MacBeth - W. Shakespeare
9. Sur le fleuve Amour - Joseph Delteil
10. Ailleurs - Henri Michaux
11. The Man in the high Castle - Philip K. Dick
12. Vies Imaginaire - Marcel Schwob
13. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
14. The Bloody Red Baron - Kim Newman
15. Les Onze milles verges - Guillaume Appolinaire

Hymn - Francis Giacobetti

2009-08-23T08:14:00.001+01:00

Great news, next year the Hymn project by F.Giacobetti will tour around the world in a series of expositions.
Giacobetti started that project in 1980, and it's a fascinating idea: basically he is photographying the iris ( and hands ) of famous people. I saw some of the picture, in an article in the French magazine Geo, few years ago, and the images of those iris are absolutely staggering.

See below a sample from the exposition website:

I'd love to be able to take pictures like those...

For your information: Giacobetti is a french photograph, famous for his pirelli calendar in the 1970, and for directing Emmanuelle 2.

5 movies for a desert Island

2009-08-04T00:06:00.004+01:00

Imagine you're alone on a deserted Island, with a DVD player and 5 movies.... on a rainy days what movies would you bring with you and why ?

1. Monthy Python Holy Grail
To keep the moral up, a bit of laugh, can be watch over and over again... especially to hear french swearing (Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! )

2. Chung King Express (Wong Kar Wai)
A romantic stylistic movie, because i fall in love with Faye everytime i watch the movie.

(Full Movie can be seen there, and Quentin Tarantino talks about the movie here)

3. Mon oncle (J.Tati)
Another simple feel good movie

4. Once upon a time in the west (Sergio Leone)
A classic

5. MegaVixens by Russ Meyer
Alone, on an island, migt rise some tension, so here's the solution, more cartoonish than real erotic stuff.

Surprisingly, i did not put any pixar movie, nor Kubrick ....
Note: Based on a French Article on Ecran Large.

Rodrigo y Gabriella ... summer 2009

2009-07-29T03:25:00.002+01:00

Oh god i miss the free summer concert in Grenoble, fortunately there is some good bands playing in Limerick, most notably in Dolans, last night it was Rodrigo y Gabriella, absolutely brilliant.

How many of these books have you read?

2009-07-28T12:06:00.002+01:00

How many of these books have you read?
Apparently the BBC reckons most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen *
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien *
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brone
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling X+
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte *
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X+
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare X+ ( i might be missing 2 or 3 )
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy X+
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X+
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell X+
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez *
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley X+
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov *
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas X+
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac *
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding X+
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville X+
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker X+
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce *
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola *
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert *
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle X+
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad X+
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery X+
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks *
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas *
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X+
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo *

Instructions:
a.Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
b.Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
c.Star (*) those you plan on reading.
d.Tally your total at the bottom
My score 15... not bad

iTunes - Medium .... tell me tell me

2009-07-06T17:34:00.003+01:00

Today 5 July - Playing with your shufle music player
Go to your music player of choice, and put it all on "shuffle." Say the following questions aloud, and after each one press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question.

What do you think of me, random music player?
"I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you"
Hyperballad - Bjork

Will I have a long and happy life?
"Let's Talk
Let's talk
Let the dirt fall
Let Heads Roll"
Passionless, pointless - PJ.Harvey

What do my friends really think of me?
"Send me home restless
Send me home damaged
Send me home disposes
Send me home damaged"
The Soldier - PJ.Harvey

What does my S/O think of me?
Hot Stuff - cover by Jape

Do people secretly lust after me?
"That either way you turn
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there"
Climbing Up the Walls - radiohead

How can I make myself happy?
"Show your hand
I'm jumping off the fence
Into your corner"
Show your hand - Super Furry Animal

What should I do with my life?
"And if I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted,
All the time, all the time, ohhh... ohh..."
Fake plastic Tree - Radiohead

Why must life be so full of pain?
"Purple haze all around
Don't know if I'm comin' up or down
Am I happy or in misery?
Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me"
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix (Franck Zappa Cover)

How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?
"Oh, My-ex says I'm lacking in depth
I will do my best"
Someday - The Strokes

Will I ever have children?
"And if you complain once more
You'll meet an army of me"
Arme of me - Bjork

Will I die happy?
"mailprintvotesmallerlarger
Send "Novocaine for The Soul" Ringtone to Cell Phone

Life is hard and so am i
You better give me something
So I dont die
Novocaine for the soul
Before I sputter out"
Novocaine for the soul - Eels

Can you give me some advice?
Salsa con coco - Pochy y su cocoband

What do you think happiness is?
"I've been waiting so long
To be where I'm going
In the sunshine of your love."
Sunshine of your love - Cream ( F.Zappa cover )

Do you have any advice to give over the next few hours/days?
"Bought a present for my guy
I bought him a pair of second hand boots
Those boots were white not pink
He liked to think, that he wore them well
He took them to the park, he wore them out
And played with the geese
Those geese were stupified"
Jake Summers - Fight like Apes

Next time i'll change the questions......

Been there

2009-06-15T19:22:00.004+01:00

An update in songs....

Been there, done that, messed around....I'm having fun don't put me down,
Bullet Proof (La Roux)

i love the quiet of the night time, when the sun is drown in a deathly sea
Death (White Lies)
yes this fears got a hold on me

It's a cruel cruel world, to face on your own,
Heavy Cross (The Gossip)

But every time it rains,
Youre here in my head,
Like the sun coming out--
Cloudbusting (Kate Bush)
Ooh, I just know that something good is going to happen.

Traffic Jam at Black Head

2009-06-08T10:27:00.002+01:00

There was a traffic Jam in Black Head this Saturday:

the reason: the start of LEG8 of the Volvo Ocean Race ( Galway to Marstrand )

As the boat left Galway, they come fast along SaltHill:

Loads of boat came to visit the race, and accompany them along the irish coast

As they pass the lighthouse, they all started tacking to take the inside route, between the Aran Island and the Burren... much to our delight:

And here's the chinese-irish competitor

Some boat came quite close from the shore (here Delta Lloyd ):

Finally everybody wished a goodbye and safe sailing top the Dragon:

King Seal

2009-06-03T13:17:00.002+01:00

Seal program tagging in Ireland:

Mobile phone for seal, i love it...

The data is available:
http://sealtrack.ucc.ie/

Other seal links:
Irish Seal Sanctuary

Irish Corals.... Deep

2009-05-26T07:53:00.000+01:00

The Irish Marine Institute, has published on youtube one of his latest expedition... and yes there is coral reef in Ireland.

Part 1 - 4

Part 2- 4

Part 3 - 4

Part 4 - 4

Ocean Racing

2009-05-25T11:41:00.002+01:00

Spend the weekend, traveling along the west coast:

View Larger Map

First to Galway to see the arrival of the Volvo Ocean Race 7 leg, brilliant atmosphere in town, and it was nice to see so many chips in the bay, especially at night when they escorted the wining boat.
And what a welcome, six thousand drunk Irish straight out of the pub ( 2 am closing time ) welcoming 7 sailer after 7 days at seas. Brilliant. The whole town was buzzing with the event, you almost felt like on a French marina on a sunny Sunday. After that i move to the other side of the bay ( Black head ) where i've got a glimpse ( it was dark around 3-4am) of the Irish boat : Green Dragon.

Finally i drive down to Doolin, to discover a nasty South South-West swell, preventing any boat launch there. So we finally decided to retreat to Kilkee, launch the boat, and try a couple of dive sites:
- the pinnacle was undivable, with breaking waves on the top of it ( due to low tide)
- bishop island turn to be a disaster, only 2 got down, but give up due to bad vis and swell at 25 meters.
Not a great day for diving.

UP on Colbert

2009-05-07T08:47:00.000+01:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Movies That Are Destroying America - Summer Movie Edition

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Gay Marriage

Being a tourist for another weekend - Part2

2009-04-30T11:50:00.004+01:00

Another weekend touring Ireland.

Saturday: Blarney Castle and the traditional kiss of the stone.

Inside the castle

Adn where everybody lining up fro a kiss of the stone

I've been surprised by the garden, this time,

And at the end of the tour, as a reminder of how changing is the weather in Irleand is... a beautiful blue sky almost cloudless.

On the next day we moved further south, in search of more sun, and ended up near Drunmore East.

And try to see the ship coming near Ireland, like that man:

Like the Metal Man in Tramore would say: "Keep out good ship, keep out from me, For I am the rock of misery".

Disturbing some seagulls on the way:

And even if we found some inviting signs, we did not go swimming:

Next week end back to Scubadiving...

Being a tourist for another weekend

2009-04-21T10:44:00.003+01:00

Another weekend, being the tourist around Ireland ( around Dingle ) and playing with my large angle lens (sigma 10-20 ).

Dingle Peninsula

Still Dingle where Ryan Daughter has been partially filmed:

in Dingle town:

And no he's not drinking Guiness, just coffee

Pub in Dingle town, easy to find it's in front of the church... and if you want to find the church it's in front of the pub:

Dingle local shops

UnionHall

2009-04-13T23:53:00.004+01:00

Just finish a quite typical Irish diving weekend down west cork. Here's the recipe:

- a big slurp of salty water

- 2+ pint of Murphys
- a rugby game ( to be watched at the local pub )
- some seals
- crabs, loybsters and anemones

- and finally meet and greet old and new friends

This toys are having fun without me...

2009-04-04T12:17:00.001+01:00

Hidden in the greens...

Indiana ... running

away from

the bad guys

Surf surf in ... Eire

2009-04-02T08:00:00.000+01:00

Waveriders Trailer from Waveriders on Vimeo.

The movie Waveriders (http://www.waveridersthefilm.com/) can be seen from the 3rd April in Irish Cinema theater. Time to go surfing....

Songs of the Month [Mar'09]

2009-04-01T09:48:00.002+01:00

Fight Like Apes : Something Global

Violent Femmes : Blister in the sun

R.Plant & Alison Krauss : Please read the letter

Frank Black : Bullet

Vampire Weekend : Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Luck of the Irish dive sites

2009-03-12T20:12:00.002Z

IMG_0140.JPG, originally uploaded by TOF2006.

I just stumble upon to this top ten dive site in Europe by Scuba Travel

1. Diving the Booroo The Zenobia, Cyprus
2. Blue Hole, Gozo
3. Cirkewwa, Malta
4. Booroo, Isle of Man
5. Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Scotland
6. Diamond Rocks, Kilkee, Ireland
7. Eddystone Reef, England
8. Secca della Columbara, Italy
9. Fanore, Ireland
10. Chios island, Greece

And guess two of them (Fanore and Kilkee) are actually at a driving distance from Limerick... to be more precise, number 6 is a regular dive site for our diving club... I'd also loved to go to Scapa Flow...
So let's go diving

What's at the end of the alley

2009-03-06T09:20:00.003Z

Walking in the city street, you may face some amazing discoveries, in a very small street, in a cul de sac in the heart of the city, here's one:

More on my other blog: Limerick Daily Pic: At The End of the Alley

Poem: If I should die beneath the sea

2009-03-01T22:25:00.002Z

If I should die beneath the sea --
What e'er the circumstance may be --
I only ask that you not cry
For such a lucky one as I.

But, rather, weep for those alive
Who know not what it is to dive
Into the planet's liquid heart
And of God's ocean be a part.

For even Christ must envy all
Who stroll along the ocean's wall;
Though wind and sea His will obeys,
He only walked upon the waves.

And may I ask for one thing more?
A simple cross beside the shore.
Below my name inscribe for me:
Lost to the earth, but found at sea.

Carson Ray... 1989

Evrything is amazing... and nobody's happy

2009-02-27T09:27:00.000Z

Materialistic 5 things

2009-02-25T09:05:00.003Z

...which makes me happy:
- my white MacBook, for my digital living.
- my camera (Canon EOS).
- my notebooks, all kinds:
from my work one A4, black cover
to the Moleskine Weekly Notebook (discovered it this year, I've finally found the perfect organizer )
not forgetting the small pocket one ( a clairefontaine ... like in School ) I carry all the time.
- a Bic Cristal pen, indispensable accessory to the previous items. I like its simplicity and robustness, probably the best pen Bis ever design even if it was almost 60 years ago (1950).
- a medal I've got since my early childhood.

And you, what day to day objects makes you happy ?

I've stolen that 5 things idea from Fabienne.

LCGA

2009-02-22T21:35:00.002Z

Two very interesting exhibition at the LCGA till the end of the week ( sorry or the late notice )

The Ice Above, the Fire Below and Other Works 2007-2009 - (January 15th - February 27th) by Clare Langan
Into Irish Drawing

I've posted some pictures of it on the Limerick Daily Pic Blog : http://limerickdaypic.blogspot.com.

Marine Species of Ireland

2009-02-20T13:09:00.003Z

Chines Portrait

2009-02-18T15:10:00.003Z

If I was a fruit, I'd be a banana.
If I was a factory, I'd be a nuclear reactor.
If I was a city, I'd be Montreal.
If I was an animal, I'd be an otter, in the water craking nuts on my belly.
If I was an element, I'd be water.
If I was a building, I'd be a lighthouse.
If I was a color, I'd be blue.
If I was a vehicle, I'd be a citroen DS.
If I was an art object, I'd be Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.
If I was a smell, I'd be a salty marine breeze.
If I was a period in History, I'd be the Antique Greece.
If I was a sound, I'd be a whale song.

And what about you ?

Yes you can

2009-02-12T19:45:00.000Z

Some positive thinking

Spectrum Dream Jobs 2009

2009-02-10T11:49:00.004Z

Like every year in february, IEEE Spectrum, published interviews of 10 engineers who have "Dream Jobs"
Worth to have a look to see what kind of better job, you could dream doing, from creating a solar plane for an around the world trip.

Some interesting thing this year, like building electric dirt-bike.

But in my heart, still none are beating those two:

Designer for Lego Mindstorm (Dream Job 2004).
Lau Kofoed Kierstein: Playtime in the Land of Lego
What He Does: Comes up with ideas for new toys; designs toys
For Whom: Lego System A/S
Where He Does It: Billund, Denmark

Mythbuster (Dream Job 2006).
Grant Imahara (M)
What he does: Builder for the Discovery Channel's "MythBusters."
Where he does it: San Francisco.
Fun factors: Enjoys working on the eclectic "MythBusters" set, which features a motorized surfboard, a row of first-class airplane seats, and a larger-than-life rubber cast of a human rear end.
Basically blowing up stuff, in name of science... and entertainment.

Movies previsions for 2009

2009-02-04T21:17:00.003Z

There is a couple of movies I'd like to see in 2009. Here's the list.

Up
because it is the next Pixar movie, directed by Pete Docter (Monster Inc). And the story already attracts me: Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming. But at age 78....

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
a David Fincher (Fight Club) about an inverted life ( born old and finish dying young )

Vicky Christina Barcelona
because it's been a long long time since I've seen a Woody Allen, and I love Javier Barden. I know it's a 2008 movie but here in Ireland, there's some delay

The Illusionist
because it is directed by Sylvain Chaumet, which previous movie "Belleville Rendez vous" was quite magic.

Synecdoche, New york
by Charlie Kaufmann, his first movie (directed)

Bolt
because in those depressed times, I need a good Disney movie

Project 365 - Week 4

2009-02-01T23:17:00.003Z

Week 4 has been a photo-less week ( i am really bad with new years resolutions ), my excuse being upgrding my computer ( hard-drive and OS ), an overload of work at the office, and a very nasty cold... Anyway with february coming it should be all fine now.

Here's a summary of the first month of the project with only 18 of teh 31 photos expected.

Project 365 - Week 3

2009-01-20T11:01:00.002Z

Not much again this week, nor during the weekend (though i watch Munster demolishing of Sale, which was not a good news for the future of ASM in the H-Cup)...

[FR] Jeu des mille euros

2009-01-20T10:50:00.002Z

Le jeu des mille euros de France Inter viens faire un petit tour en Irlande, sans Lucien Jeunesse malheureusement....

10 Février 2009 Dublin (Irlande)
A l'Alliance Française.
Sélection et enregistrement (Adulte et Jeune) à 18H00.

12 Février 2009 Cork (Irlande)
A la Crawford Art Gallery.
Sélection et enregistrement à 18H00.

Donc si voulez montrer votre culture...

Project 365 - Week 2

2009-01-11T23:59:00.004Z

2nd week of my 365 project:

I've been incredebly lazy since i came back to Ireland, did not even put a foot in a pub, not even been back in the water, just back to work.

Project 365 - Week 1

2009-01-04T13:29:00.004Z

I've started a new project on Flickr, a 365 project, a picture a day about me, my activities.
I'll summarize each week in this blog:

A bit of web-surfing, comic reading, only 4 day in Ireland.
Here's the URL of the set:

10 movies I think frequently

2008-12-20T08:04:00.003Z

Ten movies I think of, frequently, those images fill my mind.

Chung King Express (Wong Kar Wai - 1994)
No point of telling the stories of that movie, you just have to let the images drawn you. I prefer the second story with Faye, how can a man not fall in love with her ? Even if she's a little bit crazy.

Bringing up baby (Howard Hawks - 1938 )
Another strong woman (this time its Katharine Hepburn ) storming into the life of a nice old chap, with some devastating effects ( and love not being the least).

Moonfleet (Fritz Lang - 1955)
Another classic movie from Hollywood ( I should probably thanks Eddy Mitchell and his TV show "La dernière séance" to have me discovered those movies ), the photography is absolutely fantastic, in a very gothic atmosphere, all the scene with the young Mohune deeply impressed me (and still today).

La Jetee (Chris Marker - 1962)
A short movie, all created with still images and a voice over. The story is trong and is at the origin of a remake by Terry Gilliam: Twelve Monkeys.
I miss seeing short movies ( if you go in Clermont-Ferrand in february, you should drop by the international short festival, to see thousands of them).

Silent Running (Douglas Trumbull - 1972)
An ecological tale in space, by the man responsible of special effects in "2001", and "Blade Runner". I like the image, of giant domes containing forest, deriving through space.

Monster Inc (Peter Docter - 2001)
Pixar... oh pixar, I love their movies. It's not about the techniques, the fabulous things they can achieve with computers, it's more the fact that all those prowess are based and for the story. Pixar movies have a real strength in very good story-telling, and everything in the making come in support of that.

Joe's appartment (J.Payson - 1996)
A MTV movie, actually its a musical, about singing cockroaches.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (J.SHarman - 1975)
One day I might come disguise as Franck N'Furter...
Don't dream it, be it

Santa Sangre (A.Jodorowsky - 1989)
What a shock when i saw this movie, the first time. From the elephant death, till the puppet son, this movie is full of (somewhat disturbing) invention.

My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki - 1988 )
Another shock, but of marvelous amazement, every time i walk in a forest i wonder which wonderful creatures are there in hidding.

Ten TV series which influences my childhood

2008-12-10T11:04:00.005Z

Here the ten TV series who influenced my childhood, for bad or good.

Litllest Hobo (French Title "Le Vagabond")

There was some sadness, about the story of this dog, which kept leaving at the end of each episode... I wonder if he ever found his family, if he ever settle down.
And a great lesson for life: every stop i make, i'll make a new friend.
Punky Brewster
Another seemingly sad story (a child abandoned by her mother in a mall), but it ends happily. I whish my parent would have let me paint my bedroom like she did, or even let me have the doghouse in my bedroom...
Magnum PI
Aaaah ... magnum... when i was 7, this is the way i imagined my life when i would be older, hawaian shirt, moustache, and sea kayak (not much facination for the car though, i'd prefer the 2 dogs zeus and appollo). Today I am almost there... Not.
Mac Gyver
One of the rare TV series, I watched with my father, the game was to see if MacGyver tricks were plausible, most of them are theorically right, but not really practicable... if you have Discovery Channel, I encourage you to look at the Mythbuster episode dedicated to Angus McGyver.
Code Quantum
One of the 2 TV series, I've seen all the episodes (with McGyver), a total nonsense scientifically speaking (unless soul exist). I love the episodes about Kennedy Assassination or about Al first wife. The final episode was also quite mystical, with a great Bruce McGill (yep the mythical Jack Dalton in MacGyver) as a god-like bartender.
Silver Spoon
Totally the opposite of punky brewster, though his mother does not take much care of him... on the other hand Erin Gray is a dream step-mother
Buck Rogers
It was not so much, the space action (i've seen some episode again recently, and was a bit disapointed by the action in space, BattleStar Galactica was much better for the battles in space, and the look of the spaceship and uniform), but the robot twiki is gas ... bidibidi ...bidi bidi.
Off course there is Erin Gray (she appeared in 3 series in this list), absolutely beutiful, but in one episode Arnold (Gary Coleman from Diff'rent Strokes - Arnold & Willy) confront twiki.
Whiz kids (in French "Les Petits Génies" )
May be the origin of my fascination for computer, it looks ridiculous to see what they were doing at the time (stopping a plane ..etc), but at the same time it kinda predicted what we are seeing today with the web

The A-team
Guilty pleasure, but how could you resist to that when you were 10 years old... You have a problem, let's weld some metal shield on a car and make it a tank, take your weapon and fire ... amazingly nobody ever gets hurt in the series, nobody die. It was also a yerribly mysogynic show
10 years later we discovered this parody by Benny Hill:

The Fall guy
Colt ... how many TV series did Lee Majors stars in my youth ? Part-time bounty hunter, part-time stuntman seemed an intersting career perspective at the time

To finish a special mention to Fraggle Rocks, for some reason, i did not watch much of it during my childhood, but even today it's a pleasure to discover a replay on the tv screen:

Entrez dans la danse, les ennuis n'ont pas de chance

---

On a completely different subject:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turn 60, today 10th of december.
Blog Bonne Nouvelle 60 years

2008 Top 10 Things

2008-12-09T11:16:00.006Z

The Time is publishing it's top 10 of evrything for 2008: Time Special Top 10 2008, so here's my personal top 10 for 2008

ASM 9th french rugby union championship final. Against Toulouse, even if it was not the result expected, Auvergne is still lookking to win the Brennus. Actually if Clermont win against Munster next saturday, this might replace that entry.

Radiohead "In Rainbows" in Dublin
An excellent new album, distributed freely through the web (i know it's actually 2007).

And on the top of that, i've seen them in a fabulous concert in Dublin, dreamy from the start with a double rainbow welcoming the group in Marlay Park.

Wall-ee
The last pixar marvel, absolutely enchanting, in particular the silent 1st part of the movie.

US presidential campaign
From Hilary raise, to Obama victory... it has been a quite exciting and over-publicized campaign. Change could not come at a best time ( or at a worst ? ).

Bertie Ahern stepping down.
Fascinating, a great political figure, which shape today's ireland, a finance minister who does not have a bank account (how did he get paid ? in cash ), a man who lead the peace process. He had an incredibly long career in Irish Politics, which is contrasting, when you compare to the american system: Obama political career only started 4-5 years ago, while Bertie started in his 20's... France is unfortunately no different.
With all the afairs, he also did a lot for the raise of Irish stand up comedian.

Large Hardron Collider almost start up
The Large Hardron Collider, building is finished, and experiment will be able to start. A particular feeling about that news, as lots of my teachers in Clermont University worked ( and are still working ) on that project.

Munster-All Blacks in Thomond Park
What a game, makes you proud of living in Limerick.
Everything, from the Munster haka to finsh was exceptional that night.

Lisa Hannigan "Sea Saw"
Some interesting things happen this year in music, from Portishead latest addition "Third" to MGMT "Kids", but i have a tender preference for Lisa Hannigan first album, and not only for her live show in UL.

Basking Sharks in Kerry
The first time, I saw so huge animals in the sea... I know it's not a big news, and they are quite frequent on the Irish Coast, but it's in my top ten...

Next year I'll try to get closer, bigger picture of them.

Crunch....
This growth rate seems unreal, and crazy for most part of the year, and now it's gone, in less time than it takes to write it. How artificial has been our occidental capitalistic lifes ? We'll see if 2009 brings better alternatives

[FR] 10 Dessins animés qui m'ont marqué

2008-12-05T10:25:00.005Z

Les 10 dessins animés qui m'ont le plus marqué dans mon enfance:

Rémi sans Famille
Je reste encore aujourd'hui traumatisé par la série d'épisode ou les animaux meurent un par un.

Galaxy Express 999
De nouveau une série trés sombre, qui débute par l'assassinat de la mère du héros lors d'une partie de chasse, peuplé d'humains en quête d'immotralité et de perfection via la robotisation de leur corps. Réalisée par le même créateur de la série Albator, un autre dessin animé marquant de ma jeunesse, c'est le même univers désespéré. J'ai depuis abandonné l'idée de devenir un pirate, et d'avoir une cicatrice sur la joue ( un peu a la Joffrey d'Angélique )

Les Mystèrieuses cités d'or
Une fantastique série ( depuis des années, ils annoncent une suite, peut-être sur grand écrans ) de Jean Chalopin (créateur de l'Inspecteur Gadget entre autres). J'adore l'ambiguité de certains personnages (en particulier Mendoza_, et je restais faciné par le petit documentaire a la fin de chaque épisode.

Les Mondes Engloutis
Trés trés étrange série, sur un monde au centre de la terre qui a oublié ses origines

Dare Dare Motus (Danger Mouse)
Comment ne pas adorer un série dont le héros est une souris blanche borgne, j'ai récemment redécouvert la série dans sa version anglaise originale, c'est a mourir de rire.

Cobra
Ca y est je me suis fais a l'idée que je n'aurais pas un bras-canon pour Noël.
De nouveau la série a des cotés assez sombre et adulte, qui sont surprenants pour une série pour enfants.

Cat's Eyes
Avec ses trois filles sublimes ( au niveau filles subblimes cela se rapprochent de Cobra ), je crois que j'étais amoureux de célia.

Nils Olgersen et les oies sauvages
Excellent histoire, même si je ne me souviens plus des détails et de pourquoi Nils se retrouve réduis a cette taille.

Candy et Lady Oscar
Ce qu'on peut appeller "guilty pleasures", je n'ai aucune idée de l'histoire de Candy (si si sérieusement), je me souviens juste que les gens étais trés méchant avec elle (mais alors trés trés méchant, si bien qu'enfait je n'aimais pas regarder ce dessin animé). Lady Oscar m'a aussi marqué, je ne sais pas trop pourquoi, j'ai juste cette image trés forte de longs cheveux blonds flamboyants, sur un uniforme militaire blanc.

L'Empire des cinq
Plus que les robots, je reste marque par les différents sites qu'ils visitents au cours de leur combat, en particulier StoneHenge.

Je me dois de rajouter quelques séries suplémetaires:

Pole Position
Juste pour les voitures qui sortent d'un camion ( l'un de mes jouets favoris etaient un camion qui permettais justement cela )

Sherlock Hound
L'une des meilleures adaptations de Sherlock Holmes, avec "Private Life of S.H" de Billy Wilder (1970) et les interprétation de Jeremy Brett, même si c'est une adaptation trés trés libre. Réalisé en partie par Hayao Miyazaki, la série a un attrait tout particulier avec la délicieuse Ms Hudson.

Et pour finir la définition du bonheur par maitre Vitalis:

Le bonheur
Uploaded by gerald_helios

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Reeling the years (08)

2008-12-03T14:00:00.001Z

I am stoling an idea from some french blogs (Fabienne and Olivier who started the thing ).

The idea is very simple and based on a simple question: Where was i 5 years ago, 10, 15 ...etc ?
So let's go back in time by 5 years leap...

1978
I am 2 years old, living with my parents and my grandad in a small village in Auvergne, France near the river Allier.
According to the pictures taken by my dad, i've got a brilliant future in construction or maybe woodworking.

May be i should have gone this road... because the shed we were building is still there.

1983
Still living in Auvergne, we move to a different house in the same village ( i've calculated that my father moved at least 6 times in his life without actually leaving the village ).

The familly got bigger, with th addition of my brother.
I am also starting going to school in Hauterive.
This is also the year, my first computer began to be sold: Alice (8kb RAM, no hard drive...), first contact with informatic which would become predominant in my professional career and also the comic artist called Moebius which made the packaging illustration.

1988
Moving to junior School, in St Yorrre "ca va fort", and also moved to the best computer in the world the Amstrad CPC 464. Yeah I know, from now on I am and will be a geek.

1993
High school, I am in scientific section (is it a surprise ?) and have strangely terribly low notes in my favourite subject: physic. May be i was distracted by girls...

1998
I am in Clermont Ferrand, still in Auvergne, student in Blaise Pascal University.
And guess what, I am studiying physics.
I've started taking interest interest in photography with an old argentic canon (an old T60).

This is also there, I felt deeply in love with cinema, mainly because of the International Short Film Festival.

2003
I've moved to Grenoble at the end of my master to (finally) start working in a small company but on the winter of that year, I was actually on a mission in Milano Italy.

My first real taste of expatriation, I did not stay long enough to be able to speak Italian fluently but it was 4 great months, with some disturbing discovery. I actually discovered that italian girls have the same taste for decorating their bedroom as my 12 year old cousin (except one room was red and black while the other was white and blue ).

2008
I am in Ireland, on the west coast, since 2005.
Enjoying a lot of scubadiving and a bit of guiness.

[FR] Nos Enfants...

2008-11-28T09:22:00.002Z

un documentaire francais sur la nourriture, les dangers de l'agriculture industrielle reposant sur les produits chimiques.

Le website du film:
http://www.nosenfantsnousaccuseront-lefilm.com/

A ecouter en particulier, le podacst de Serge Orru a l'univeriste de la terre 2008:
http://www.actus-durables.fr/2008/11/podcast-de-serge-orru-a-luniversite-de-la-terre-2008/

Neil Delamere

2008-11-24T12:13:00.003Z

Last saturday, I was in Glór (Ennis, Co Clare) for Neil Delamere performance. It was excellent, as i almost piss on myself, learn a new word (Ghee, butter in all Indian food restaurant), and finally become highly suspicious towards AnPost.

Neil Delamere is an Irish comedian, one of the regular panelist of the RTE show : The Panel.
I've put some videos of the show previously here.

So here's another one:

Maturity

2008-11-20T09:18:00.006Z

On devient adulte lorsqu'on a accepté ces 5 i
Irreversibilité du passé
Imprévisibilité du futur
Imperfection du présent
Irrémédiabilité de la mort
Insensé du tout.

Carlo Moïso

Which you can translate by:
"You're becoming an adult when you accept thes 5 I:past is Irreversible future is Imprevisible present is Imperfet death is irremediable everything is Irrational ( the word insensé has actually a more powerful meaning)."

I was listening to the brilliant BBC program: Thinking Allowed (available in podcast), and they were talking about Male immaturity. Basically men today are no longer the manly men of the past, gone are the manly figures of John Wayne and Gary Grant from the movies, replaced by some eternal teenagers. TV, and movies seems to be all about teenage year not anymore about growned up. Men seeking eternal youthness, and playing video-games. An interesting thought by the guest, was that games enable men to play with power until the day the have real power... which does not seem to be the case.

The guest of the show was Gary Cross author of "Men to Boys: The Making of Modern Immaturity".

Reflecting on this, may be I should stop recreating Pirates battle with my playmobil:

Or try to make Godzilla vs Goldorak with my lego sets:

Thanks to "Ma Vie sans Moi" a French blog for the opening quotation.

Stand Up and Fight

2008-11-19T08:26:00.002Z

In a replay of the famous 1978 victory over the All-Blacks (12-0), last night Munster played New Zealand in the newly renovated stadium... and what a game....

The 1978 victory is the beginning of the Munster legend, as Munster is the only irish side to have ever beaten the All-Blacks, the game also inspired a play : Alone it stands.

And the game last night was fabulous, even with a second string team ( most of Munster player were taken by international duty, O'Gara, O'Connell, Flannerys... were playing for Ireland last Saturday), Munster put all his heart into the game, pushed by its fantastic public. One of the best game of rugby I've ever seen.

So the song of the week is....

STAN' UP AN' FIGHT (TOREADOR SONG)

Thanks a lot! I'm sure glad to be,
To be where I c'n see
So many friends o' mine.
How've I been doin'? How've I been doin'?
If you really wanta know de truth,
I'm doin' fine!
Seventeen decisions in a row,
An' only five on points; de res' was all K.O.
Jackson an' Johnson, Murphy an' Bronson,
One by one dey come,
An' one by one to dreamland dey go.
How's it done? You ask me, how's it done?
I got a trainer man who taught me all I know.
Sure feels good to have him in my corner,
Hear his voice a-whisp'rin' low:
"Big boy, remember, you mus' remember...

Stan' up an' fight until you hear de bell,
Stan' toe to toe, trade blow fer blow,
Keep punchin' till you make yer punches tell,
Show dat crowd watcher know!
Until you hear dat bell, dat final bell,
Stan' up an' fight like hell!"

When you fight out in de open air,
In a patch o' light de ring looks small an' white.
Out in de blackness, out in de blackness,
You c'n feel a hun'erd thousan' eyes
Fillin' de night.
Cigarettes are blinkin' in de dark,
An' makin' polka dots aroun' de baseball park,
People are quiet den dere's a riot!
Someone t'rows a punch
An' plants it right smack on de mark...
Someone’s hurt, you kinda think it's you.
You hang across de ropes
Da's all you want to do.
Den you look aroun' an' see your trainer's eyes,
Beggin' you to see it through,
Dey say, "Remember, big Boy, remember

Stan' up an' fight until you hear de bell,
Stan' toe to toe, trade blow fer blow,
Keep punchin' till you make yer punches tell,
Show dat crowd watcher know!
Until you hear dat bell, dat final bell,
Stan, up an' fight like hell!"

Excursion in Dublin

2008-11-16T13:51:00.003Z

So I went to Dublin, this Saturday, leaving the west for a tour in the big city... drop my car at the infamous red cow roundabout and took the luas for the town ( the best way to spend a day in Dublin, and not being bothered by your car).
As soon as i went through Temple Bar a strange feeling took control...

Yep french-attitude, the street were full of french tourist, students, I probably headed to the wrong part of the city between the Temple Bar Food Market to pay my homage to sir rory
and the Irish film Institute who is organizing this month a French Film Festival.
Did not have time to go to Howth as planned (next time).

As a result, during the all afternoon, I heard principally french followed by Italian and finally some english.

But where there the Irish ?

Actually they were all in the pubs, in great expectation of the: Ireland vs New-Zealand rugby game in Croke Park.
It did not turn out to be a success, as Ireland failed to beat the All-Blacks, again in 22 games, Ireland only manage to get one draw and 21 defeats.
All hopes are now on the shoulder of might Munster.

[FR] En avant la musique...

2008-11-13T11:13:00.002Z

Noir Désir is back with some new music, you can see it there: Site Officiel http://www.noirdez.com/.

I want snow....

2008-11-12T10:55:00.001Z

Please....

Feud

2008-11-11T10:14:00.004Z

In those doom and gloom times, while Limerick was preparing itself for the replay of the big game, there is one word I wished would not appear: feud.
Last Sunday an innocent man died in a usually quiet area of Limerick, not very far from where I used to live. After a 6 months break, a 14th life has been claimed by the feud between rivals drug gangs of the city. This time, the victim is not even remotely related to the gang activities, but it was also the case for the burn children. Seems Saint Liam is replacing the saint patron of the city.
Limerick has a drug problem, actually Ireland too ( Cork and Dublin are no better ), with a very exposed coast ( 8 vessels to protect a 1,970.5 miles coast ), which means it's a gateway for drug coming from seas (this month another yacht full of drugs has been catch on the cork coast of Ireland ), and a sadly growing population of consumers.

The Limerick Blogger has more on this issue, with reactions of people of Limerick.

Note: There will be a march organized in Limerick: start at Perry Square, at 2pm on Saturday the 15th of November.

Addendum: The Limerick blogger community has been quite active, over the event.

Bock the robber

lo que dice candela (spanish blog)

Looking forward 2009

2008-11-09T12:24:00.002Z

In those depressing time, where everybody's talking about recession, something to look forward in 2009, the next Pixar movie Up:

(From Trailer Addict)

Top ten things to do in Ireland

2008-10-28T11:04:00.003Z

Recently Alison Curtis on her Today FM show, listed with the help of the listeners the top 10 things to do in Ireland, and this is what they came up with:

Top 10 things to do in Ireland before You Die
10. Wake Up Beside a Galway Girl
9. Visit Newgrange
8. Road Bowling
7. Pint in the Grave Diggers Glasnevin
6. Climb Carrintool
5. See a gig in De Barras Clonakilty
4. Paddys day in Doolin
3. Go to the Ploughing Championships
2. Attend the Culchie Festival
1. Watch an All Ireland Hurling Final in Croke Park

I personally only manage to do only one of those ( number 9, and it was worth it ) in the list.
So here's my personal top ten:

11. Listen ghost stories in Kinsale.
10. Watch the sunset over Rock of Cashel.
9. Circumnavigate Ireland in a sea kayak.
8. A night out in a Doolin or Brandon pub.
7. Spend a night on one of the Aran Island, after a day of cycling, you'll enjoy the best guinness in the world.
6. Watch a hurling game in Croke Park ( an all Ireland final would be a best, but even the club final on Paddys day is interesting ).
5. Visit Newgrange ( Ideally, on a solstice day, but you have to be drafted ).
4. Drink a pint in the South Pole Inn, on your way to Dingle.
3. Have an unexpected encounter with dolphins on the west coast of Ireland ( can be expanded to seal and basking sharks).
2. Climb all the way up to the Skelligs.
1. Participate to a Currach race down in Kerry or a Galway Hooker race up to the Arans.

Tom Crean

2008-10-23T09:30:00.004+01:00

English: Photo of Tom Crean taken aboard the Endurance, 1914.

I went to the theater last night to see a wonderful performance about Tom Crean, at the Belltable. I've already talked about him in a previous post.

He went three times to the South Pole with Scott and Shackleton, and survive all of them.
Terrific story, remarkably brought to life with some humor by the comedian Aidan Dooley. The piece is called : "Tom Crean - Antarctic Explorer" (Written and Performed by Aidan Dooley).

There is a highly recommended book by Smith, Michael: Tom Crean: Unsung Hero ( Mountaineers Books ).

And if you're on your way to Dingle, don't forget to stop in Anascaul, and have a pint in the blue pub after the bridge: the South Pole Inn.

The Bisounours go to the Pub

2008-10-13T10:08:00.002+01:00

I've seen an interesting comparison between the land of the "Bisounours" (Care Bears, Bisounours is the French translation ie kiss bears) and Ireland, in another expat blog (Estelle), since I have in my head pictures of Bisounours drinking in Pubs, getting drunk.....

When doing this, I actually discover that in the care-bears there is an Irish connection through "good Luck Bear" ("Grosveinard" in French), who is green and bears a hearted shamrock. And you actually can see its influence in that ad:

Have a Great day.

Beach Horse Race

2008-10-06T10:51:00.003+01:00

Last Sunday, I was in Kilkee ( trying to dive as usual), absolutely gorgeous day, blue sky.. absolutely perfect, and despite the gale warning in operatiosn on all coast, the sea was nice to us.
But the main attraction was on the beach, as a horse races were organized there. It's an annual event and a very enjoyable one.

Preparing the racing Field:

The Track:

Reconnaissance:

And here we go:

From the pier:

....

2nd Blog

2008-10-04T18:08:00.001+01:00

I've been looking for a while a blog called Grenoble Daily Photo , it shows a picture a Grenoble everyday. I used to live in Grenoble before coming to Ireland, so it's interesting to rediscover part of this city ( and even some parts I did not know).

So it kinda of inspirate me to do the same with the town I am currently living in : Limerick.

So here we go: Limerick Daily Photo