Bakker Bugle Blog Say it three times fast. In Luxembourgish.

1 October 2007

Fitzwilliam Inauguration

Filed under: B&B,dublin,entertainment,ireland — Will @ 21:01

I have it, on good authority, that rich people hold galas to celebrate how great rich people are. We are parvenues, nothing more than envious bounders who bubble to the skim layer of the teeming masses. So we can, at best, emulate the men and women of quality who surround us.

1468173595_592d89f884_b.jpgThus, we inaugurated our entry into the Square’s echelon with all the class and sophistication we could muster. We took Doug lawn bowling at night.

A few months ago, Laurie sent us abroad with an electrified version of our favorite backyard game, bocce (or, more accurately, boules). We left our regulation equipment in Lake County, in favor of 1468169325_67f0af840b_m.jpgher gift. And now we have the ideal site. Fitzwilliam Square is incredibly dark given that it is in the middle of the city. Its lawn is finely mowed and frequently rolled, and the lighter balls do not damage it.

In Dublin, several tennis clubs include grounds for lawn bowling, the British variation of boules, or pétanque. I can be absolutely sure that there is nothing like the Bugle Boules Club of Fitzwilliam Square. It presently consists of me, Anita, and Doug, but applications may be made in person at Bugle HQ.

We’ll have a brochure available shortly. Until then, please visit our gallery.

Also, have a look at the two sets of photos from Doug’s visit: Set One and Set Two.

27 September 2007

Our Little Square

Filed under: dublin,ireland — Will @ 21:54

On Monday, I picked up our key to Fitzwilliam Square. We are now members of the Square’s association, and thus have the right to bring up to six guests with us onto the grounds of one of the last private parks in Dublin’s city centre.

Is it karma that summer ended, definitively, this week? What did we do to make the weather get so cold, so quickly? I will put on an extra layer or two and put some photos on flickr shortly.

The Irish use a charming euphemism for a cold snap: “It will be fresh,” or the always inviting forecast, “Fresher, with winds at near gale.” Here’s a rough definition for you: “Fresh” means “get out the gloves and sweaters, lads, ’cause it’s a weenie-shrinker.”

24 September 2007

Commenter of Constitution Week

Filed under: award — Will @ 19:55

It’s typically pretty easy to become a contender for commenter of the week: Pander to either Will or keely23sep2007.jpgAnita. But during Constitution Week, not a single commenter took the easy route by commenting on either of Will’s favorite subjects, the US Constitution and pirates.

Instead, Keely and Sharon challenged themselves. Sharon’s sundry comments showed a great range of interests. But Keely is Commenter of Constitution Week. Keely expressed a preference for the napoleon4.jpgBBB over Friday night television. She clinched the award with her comment at The Bugle at Flickr, thereby helping promote the expansion of the Bugle empire. (See illustration of that expansion at right.)

There is no special “Constitution Trophy” because Keely didn’t say anything about the Constitution. (A few of the Bugle staff are disappointed, but most think that Keely is more than deserving of this prize.) All the Bugle staff acknowledge Keely as the sovereign and legitimate award-winner. I, for one, welcome our new overlord of the comments. Viva Keely!

21 September 2007

Irish Word: galore

Filed under: culture,ireland — Will @ 9:33

Let’s start with an English loanword that originated in Irish: galore. In context: “Once I discovered the library’s DVD collection, I had movies galore.” Or, “When he took a photograph of the customs area, it was security guards galore.”

“Galore” is derived from the Irish, “go Leor,” meaning “enough.” As you can see, the English version is just a minor change of spelling.

“Ceart go Leor” means “Everything is alright” in Irish — at least in Cork, it does. I think that “ceart” means “just” or “very” in this context.

“Maith go Leor” is sometimes spelled “mongalore,” which is closer to the English pronunciation. “Maith go Leor” means “doing alright” in eastern parts of Ireland; it has a connotation closer to “tipsy” in western parts. (from Dolan’s Dictionary of Hiberno-English)

So if you wanted to be clever this weekend, you could say, for example, “D’ya tink Dave was a bit mongalore last night? He must have been celebrating his Bugle awards.”

Warning: Speculation
I don’t understand Irish grammar yet, but I think that the word “go” is a verb-modifier somewhat like “to” in English — as in, “I’m going to build a bench.” I’ll find some books to become better informed, but I’m swamped right now.

20 September 2007

Photos for Phans of Cyclists and/or Bakkers

Filed under: dublin,entertainment,ireland,sports — Will @ 21:13

Hello, all! I just posted some photos of the Tour of Ireland on our flickr account. And I wrote a bunch of text for each photo. Are you sitting comfortably?

The best way to enjoy the photos is to click through, in order, as a set. Here’s how you do it.

1. Open the set by following the link:
http://flickr.com/photos/willbakker/sets/72157602086146256/

2. Click on the first photo — the upper-left corner of the group.

3. Read the title, above the picture. Read the description, below it. Snicker, guffaw, marvel at my wit.

4. Check to see whether there are any “notes” on the photo — boxes on the picture itself that point out details.

5. If you have something to say, write a comment! (Disclaimer: Comment on Flickr may or may not be eligible for Commenter of the Week awards. Bakker Bugle not responsible for any injury and/or loss of income due to commenting activities.)

6. Time to move on. There’s a grey control panel to the right. It shows the previous photo and the next one. Click on the next photo.

7. Repeat until:

  • your belly hurts from laughing
  • you’re bored
  • your eyes cross
  • the boss walks by, unless your boss is Keely
  • you reach the end of the set

Oh no! Don’t be sad! There’s another set! But it won’t take as long. Start here:
http://flickr.com/photos/willbakker/sets/72157602086280884/

If you don’t want to see next year’s Tour by the time you’re done with this, then I’m not worth what Fáilte Ireland is paying me.

19 September 2007

Belay Yer Cutlass and Mind the Yardarm

Filed under: culture,entertainment,ireland — Will @ 15:51

Yo-Ho! A Jolly International Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day to ye! It seems a little crass durin’ the Week o’the Constu… Constee… er… Week o’the Foundin’ Document o’me Nation. D’arrrrgh, one can’t expect international events to give way for a commemoration whut our own fearless captain didn’t raise his rum to. (Sink me! If it be interestin’, feast yer deadlights on my comment below.)

Aye, I remember back when we sprogs were let out o’our foul urchins’ bulk for a short sun’s spin, to splice the mainbrace with enough grog to keelhaul an English blaggard. I’d play kick-the-bung with me hearties and I’d dance to the Cap’n’s hornpipe for a laugh. Arrr, I even sang an Irish sea shanty now and agin.
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17 September 2007

Commenter of the Two Weeks ending September 16

Filed under: award — Will @ 22:04

Dave earned his second Commenter of the Week award by finding a little bit of Dublin in his own environs. Dave’s effort to document his sighting of the elusive Dubs-jersey in the wild was impressive. We can only imagine the smooth moves and onlywintwice_17sep2007.jpgcareless elegance of Dave’s Operation Cameraphone.

Fair play, Dave! Don’t take our allusion to British intelligence as a slight on your character. We all know that Bond belongs to the whole world.

“Fair play” means, roughly, “Nicely done” in casual Irish english. The tone is most often admiring and slightly impersonal: Artfully parking one’s car may earn a “Fair Play” from a passing pedestrian. Less frequently, I’ve heard it said with a begrudging tone: After Cork’s drubbing in the All-Ireland football championship Sunday, a Rebel might say to a Kerry fan, “Fair play to ye, Kerry mangled our best men, like.”

Happy Constitution Day!

Filed under: administrative — Will @ 18:13

Today is Constitution Day in the USA. How will you celebrate the 220th anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution by the delegates of the (First) Constitutional Convention? The US president wishes to:

encourage Federal, State, and local officials, as well as leaders of civic, social, and educational organizations, to conduct ceremonies and programs that celebrate our Constitution and reaffirm our rights and responsibilities as citizens of our great Nation.

What’s your favorite part of the Constitution? Mine is the 14th Amendment. I especially like Section 1.
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Now I do hate the British

Filed under: expat,travel — Will @ 13:02

Many times, the cheapest airfare back to Dublin includes a connection through Heathrow. My experiences with Heathrow have not been positive. Last week, however, I had an extraordinary exchange with the UK’s immigration service.
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Playing with Technorati

Filed under: administrative — Will @ 8:00

Don’t mind me, I’m just the maintenance guy. I’m keeping the blog in line, checking the connection with its Technorati Profile. Have a good one.

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