New York New York

This is a very short blog, so I'm sorry to disappoint my followers, but I was listening to the news yesterday morning, and I thought I misheard something.  Now, for my American followers, Ireland is most likely a few days behind the actual news story, so this is probably old news.

Did they actually say that, "The Naked Cowboy"who is playing his guitar in only his briefs on Times Square, entered the race to become the next mayor of New York?  Brilliant!

I quickly searched the Internet and found the news story, and behold, he had.  This could only happen in New York, the city that never sleeps.  And, to make things even better, his slogan was "Nobody has done more with less".  Here was a politician with a sense of humour.  Not like Arnie's slogan "I'll be back!" - back to do what?  Sign more police motorcycles to raise money, paying for debt in California?

But, the Naked Cowboy has actually, in his defense, a degree in political science. He's educated as a minister and he holds a certificate allowing him to marry people.  Why the latter, I do not know - and probably don't want to know.  But, some weird couple probably asked him if he could marry them on Times Square.

Unfortunately he withdrew his name from the race to become New York's next mayor - total letdown!  There was apparently too much red tape in the process - perhaps it was just a matter of the dresscode, mate?

But, you can still show him your support and you can find him on Facebook.  Loads of people claim they have been inspired by him, at least according to his Facebook page.  So lets hope he sticks with what he's good at -  entertaining.

So, to all people hoping to visit New York, the Naked Cowboy still shows off and plays his instrument on Times Square...:-)

Regards, The Naked Writer

"I Taw a Putty Tat", Tweedy Bird (1947)...

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables users to send and read messages known as tweets.

OK, so I joined the technology revolution and created a Twitter account to see what the hype is all about.  But, I'm convinced that I must be missing something and now I rather feel like wanting to slap that little tweety bird off its stick or feed it to Sylvester.

Tweets are text-based posts and you can only write 140 words per Tweet, and for somebody like me, that is proving to be difficult.  I'm the type of person that spells out every word in my text (SMS) message, to make sure people can read it properly.  If I receive a text (SMS) from a mate, with abbreviated words such as m8, then it'll take me some time to decifer the message - much to the frustration of my nephew.  I know that makes me sound old, but why can't people just spell the words?  No wonder so many younger people can spell anymore.  "Damn you, you mobile technology unit thingy!"

When following a person on Twitter, you get ALL their tweets, and this can indeed be very annoying - mainly because people you follow are most likely active tweeters and posts hundreds of tweets on a daily basis!

If you search a topic, then the same mayheim applies.  You are presented with a bulletin board that's alive and constantly updating.  By the time you see a comment and want to reply to it, it has been replaced by 243 other tweets.

For me it seems to be a way of getting attention and shortlived fame, with the short in your face lines of abriviated text that only a certain text (SMS) fanatic society understands.  Even the interface of Twitter is poor and how the hell do you expect to find anybody to "follow", when there are millions of Twitter users out there.  As an example, I searched for Drogba (Chelsea striker), but how do you know which one is the real Drogba?  You might wonder why the hell I would even "follow" Drogba, but that's not the point here.  Even the "RealDrogba" doesn't use Twitter, so why even sign up to Twitter.

Furthermore, I don't understand why some famous people want to share private aspects of their life with the Twitter community, stuff that you would only share with close friends.  Celebrities couldn't be that shallow, could they?  Ahsley Cole (another Chelsea player) is according to his Tweets, sharing very personal lines about his relationship with his wife "Cheryl just beat me up verbally. Ouch."

Demi Moore and Aston Kutcher are a couple that clearly is craving attention; her career more or less stopped after the movie Ghost and Aston makes the odd comedy B movie or Punk'd on MTV.  Personally, I don't rate either of them highly.  So, to get attention, which they actually manage to get on the news, they share their personal life details on Twitter, e.g. talking about what they've done to Demi's butt.  But (ha ha ha) does that give them more money or additional parts in movies - no.

I do understand that for countries that have Twitter enabled on their mobile networks, tweeting on the go, they can communicate with the World easily and realtime.  Latest example is Iran.  People were able to send pictures and news flash from within the country, to the frustration of the Iranian state.  Even Twitter postponed scheduled maintenance to keep people in Iran on the air.

Normal people, with no journlistic background, can be heard and share their comments on news sites, like Sky News, and thereby share realtime news stories.  That's probably the best part of Twitter.

I'm failing to see how Twitter can be used by companies, but that's probably just my narrowminded point of view.

So, what the hell is the point with twitter?

• Is it useful? Yes, for some.  You either tweet or you don't - hate or like.
• Is it a waste of time?  Absolutely, but so is Facebook and writing blogs
• Is it not a waste of time? Yes, some people use Twitter as a media to communicate and debate
• Why use it then?  Your choice, it's a real-time chat room

You will never know if the a person is real or not, but does that matter when having a discussion about Snow Leopard (latest Mac OS release), with fellow tweeters?  Probably not, as long as you have a sensible discussion and take every tweet with a pitch of salt.  If you are gullible enough to follow a celebrity, then don't trust what they write blindly, as there's a high possibility that it is in fact not the celebrity.

Your choice to tweet or not, I've decided not to.  Like any other technology or social web sites, it has been designed to communicate with people around the World and share information.

Flags of Our Fathers

The following blog is more serious than my normal blogs, mainly because it tackles a subject that might be a tabu or of a political sensitive nature.  The views and comments are purely mine, and are based on my understanding and impressions.

On my recent adventures of the isle of Ireland, I took the family to Northern Ireland for a long weekend.  We had a great time in Northern Ireland and it has some fantastic scenery.  I would even go as far as stating that some areas are nicer than most parts of Ireland, in regards to its landscape that is.  However, Co. Clare wins the competition.

The aim of this blog is to discuss (with myself, which sounds pretty pathetic) the impression I got when visiting certain parts of Northern Ireland, and be confronted with a fanatic love for the British flag, the Union Jack.  Most countries flag and are proud of their flags and have flags up all year.  But these villages in Northern Ireland take it one step too far - in my humble opinion.

However, this is something that I would like to understand, so please educate me, hence this blog.  Feel free to add your comments below.

I will attempt to give you a brief history lesson of newer times, as I couldn't be bothered boring you with too much hsitory, and if you do want to know more about Northern Ireland, then I would recommend Google.

Demographics:  Approx. 1.7 million people live in Northern Ireland and has an area of 13400 square km, smaller than New York City in area - NYC has more than 18 million people!

The history / background to this goes back to the early 1940s, but escalated in the late 1960s when the Troubles started.  The Troubles lasted for more than 30 years and consisted of acts of violence between nationalists (Catholic) and the unionists (Protestant).  More than 3200 people were killed during he Troubles.

The conflict itself was caused by the disputed status of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom and the discrimination against the nationalist (Catholic) minority by the dominant unionist (Protestant) majority.  The violence was carried out by paramilitary groups, such as IRA (Irish Republican Army) and UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) - bombings, shootings, beatings, etc. were normal  and daily occurences.  Belfast itself was torn in two and a giant wall erejcted, dividing the Catholics and Protestants.

The British Army and the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) upheld order, or at least tried to, and were regularly involved in voilent clashes too.

The British Government's objective (according to them) was to remain neutral in the conflict, while trying to uphold law and order in Northern Ireland, as well as protect the right of the people of Northern Ireland to democratic self-determination.  The IRA didn't agree with this statement and saw the State forces as an agressor in the conflict, claiming that the Brisitsh Army and UVF we working together.

As a fact, both sides of the conflict used violence to make their points, and neither of them hesitated using deadly force.  People were killed by either side, many innocent unfortunately.

Alongside the violence, the major political parties in Northern Ireland, including those who condemned violence, couldn't agree in the future of Northern Ireland and what the Government should look like within Northern Ireland.

Now, more than 40 years after the Trouble started, and 11 years since the Good Friday agreement was signed and voted in, one would assume that Northern Ireland has started the healing process.  But, to my surprise, this is not the case.

Driving through Northern Ireland, as we did in August 2009, only reflects that not all parts have moved on from supporting either Union Jack or the Irish Tricolour.  We went though villages were sidewalks, lamp posts, buildings and even trees were decorated with Union Jack colours.  This worries me slightly, especially when you then see giant gates outside estates and villages, displaying affection to Orange Order, as well as showing weapons and skulls.  Is it safe to be a tourist in these areas and does the tourists feel safe?

It is not only the Union Jack, but the mix of unionist flags that dominate the areas, displaying a variety of violence (or at least supporting violence) such as Red Hand of Ulster, Orange Order, UVF, etc.  Displaying the Union Jack flag is in fact fine, and is normal in most countries.

I can understand that certain parts of the public still want to show their allegience to either flag, but this simply takes it one step too far.  And, the Irish supports are just as fanatic in the North, in regards to showing the Tricolours (green, white and orange).  But, it is the unionists that are most predominant and I'm afraid that this fanatism is not good for tourism.  Tourists are still wary of violence and such a powerful display of support to a flag can only describe the residents as nationalists, which would be a worry for any visitor.

Northern Ireland have for years been without sufficient funds, so most villages/towns are farily run down, but painting the villages/towns red, white and blue doesn't make this go away.  On the contrary, it makes the problem even bigger, as it makes the villages/towns look even less inviting.  The Northern Irish citizens must consider the future of the country and understand that they need to promote their beautiful country in a different light.  We actually sped through some of these villages and avoided to stop to tank the car in those places too, and we have lived on the isle for more than 12 years.

Sights like Giant's Causeway, rope bridge, beaghmore stone circles, Torr Head, etc. are amazing and should not be spoiled by tricolour villages, red/white/blue or green/white/orange.

Again, these are just my views and opinions, and how I felt when visiting Northern Ireland.

Go Obama!

It was a pleasure to wake up Wednesday morning after the US presidential elections, to discover that Obama had won - most people had predicted this already, but there was always an outside, even remote, chance that McCain would win. Imagine Palin as vice president, for the most powerful nation in the World. Just the picture of her trying to negotiate with hostile leaders, e.g. North Korea.

Obama has spread joy around the Globe and has rock star status. Countries around the World celebrated the election results, and Kenya even made the 4th November a National Bank Holiday.

What impresses me, is that he seems to be honest in his communication and he has some realistic aspirations for the US. He uses the technology available to people, such as Facebook, which he will further explorer to make it easier for citizens to keep linked in. It’s about time that a Government uses the technology, which every citizen in the World has access too.

Who cares if his middle name is Hussein and does it matter if he was a registered Muslim? This just makes him a n even better candidate to tackle the foreign policy of the US - which Bush completely destroyed (don't even get me started on the devastating impact of the Bush era).

Obama has a vision of how to bring the US forward, create jobs and provide for it’s citizens. Today we are all a little bit African-American.

- by the way, I'm sure the Irish claim Obama has Irish roots too, just like Grace Kelly, Muhammad Ali and JFK.

Smooth Criminal...

You know it by know, by I'm from Denmark and the Scandinavians are well known for being extremely well indoctrinated by local environmental friendly organizations, often sponsored by the authorities.  We recycle everything, from a tea-bag to the leftovers of the chicken roast; glasses and cans are washed, before placed in a clear box, papers is stacked and kitchen waste on the compost.  Surprisingly, we still do nr. 1 and nr. 2 inside - for now.

Ever since I was a kid, we were told to recycle, so this is obviously something that is deeply rooted in my system.  So, you can imagine how it must have felt to move to Ireland, a country for whom recycling is just as foreign as visiting Svalbard.  In the city centre, you have more flying plastic bags than pigeons, and everybody seem to believe that trash-bins are some weird art, placed around town to promote Dublin Council.  You can't walk more than 5 meters without getting stuck in chewing gum.  Yes, a bit exaggerated, but not much.

So, we try to recycle as much as we can in our household; recyclable stuff in the green bin and everything else in the grey bin - simple.  Bottles, well they of course have to be put in bottle containers that are placed strategically nearby the local off-license store.

I normally visit the bottle container once every month, we don't drink much, so I have all the bottles in cardboard boxes or bags.  I placed the bottles in the boot and drove off towards my target.

At the bottle station, I placed the green bottles in the green container, brow in the brown container, etc. you get the point.   When the cardboard box was empty, I folded it and placed it next to all the other boxes - between the containers.  There are NO waste bin in the vicinity for some reason.  After my green duties had been completed I went home.

Months went by and fall came.  The leaves were falling off the trees colouring the ground in shades of brown and yellow.  All of a sudden, we received a letter from the council.  It was a litter fine!!  WHAT THE HELL!  Was my first comment, fairly loud, then hysterical laughter.  How could that be?

So, my dear wife called the council and they informed her that I had been caught in the act.  They had me on CCTV camera.  "But where was this offense done?" So, she got the hard evidence emailed to her.  Still pictures of my placing the folded cardboard box between the bottle containers.

I was devastated.  I've always placed my trash in the allocated bins, except the odd cigarette bud, and recycled my garbage.  Now this, how do I explain this to my parents?  They will cut me out of their will and and will not get their paper-shredder!  A depression was starting to press my shoulders.  I had to take matters into my own hands, so I called the council.

Again, using all their customer service skills like "tough!", "nothing we can do", "your fault", I didn't stand a chance.  Then I played my triumph card, informing them that they had failed to install waste bins near the containers for the trash, but I hadn't calculated with their brilliant defense answer "but that would just mean we would have to empty the waste bin weekly, we don't have time for that, and we have to cut costs somewhere".  Man, these guys were pro's.

I unwillingly accepted the fine and paid €150 to the local council.  Morale of the story is that I no longer use the glass containers and throw everything in the grey like everybody else.