Bakker Bugle Blog

19 September 2007

Buckeye Morning

Filed under: dublin,entertainment — Anita @ 19:46

After traveling the first part of September, Will and I were eager to reconnect with Dublin this past weekend. While Will really wanted to reconnect via a nap, I thought a long walk around the neighborhood would be a better bet. And, since I’m “Annita P” I won the battle and we went for a walk.

Saturday morning was beautiful in Dublin. Cool, but with a warm sun that beat down from the sky. We walked towards the river Liffy, through the new south Docklands development. Strolling back home along the Grand Canal, we passed a small park a few blocks from our house. As we passed under the trees, Will pointed out the buckeyes on the ground.

For no particular reason, I love buckeyes. I think they are the neatest things. Once you get through the tough outer shell, the are smooth and interesting. Plus, there are the various medicinal purposes that buckeyes can be used for, if you suffer from certain afflictions. A remarkable little item.

We enjoyed our time back in the States tremendously. Still, I thought it was very nice of Dublin to give us a lovely welcome home, with sunny days and buckeyes on the ground.

Comments (3)

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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Comments (2)

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 careless 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.”

Comments (4)

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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Comments (1)

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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Comments (15)

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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15 September 2007

Saturday, summarized.

Filed under: mental state — Will @ 17:34

“Annita P” is an anagram of “anti-nap”.

I’m just sayin’.

Comments (5)

11 September 2007

Irish America, #1 of a continuing series

Filed under: expat,ireland,travel — Will @ 18:43

In my sister Theodora‘s neighborhood in Manhattan, there’s a pub that displays two Irish flags beneath the US flag: The Kinsale Tavern.

Flags at Kinsale Tavern NYC
On the left is the official national flag of the Republic of Ireland. On the right is an unofficial flag of Ireland, representing the four provinces of the island. According to an unsourced website:

The Four Provinces flag has two main uses. Firstly, it is an economical way of flying the flags of all the provinces – one saves the cost of three flags and three flag poles! Secondly, it is sometimes flown when a politically neutral flag representing all of Ireland is required. For example, Irish hockey teams, which draw players from both the Republic and Northern Ireland, use the Four Provinces flag as their emblem in international competitions.

That last explanation rings true to me. As I’ve seen on numerous posters, placemats, and menus:

A Publican must be a democrat, autocrat, acrobat and doormat. He must be able to entertain prime ministers, pick-pockets, pirates, philanthropists and police whilst sitting on the political fence. (from the web)

Comments (3)

Travel in America

Filed under: expat,travel — Will @ 17:00

First, fair play to Dave for the Dubs spy-photo. I wonder what story brought that jersey to Lake County. Also, thanks to Sharon for the suggestion. The staff are already hard at work on the first word of the week.

My travels took me to O’Hare airport in Chicago, suburban central New Jersey, and Manhattan. My flight to New Jersey took me through O’Hare. I had a window seat facing north, and the sky was clear. So I felt a little twinge when the plane was low enough for me to see the baseball fields, wide-open parks and roads, and distinctive spaces of my most recent home. My first bit of home-sickness — just a few miles from home!

Walking around New Jersey and New York City brought my attention to some features of Dublin life that I’d failed to notice. I kept starting sentences with the phrase, “In Dublin…” and I got self-conscious about that. (I heard an echo in my head: “One time, in band camp…”)

I can’t get those new observations organized right now, but I’ll work on it soon!

Comments (1)

5 September 2007

On hiatus for a week

Filed under: administrative,award — Will @ 7:15

Due to unexpected travel for the staff, there probably won’t be any posts until September 11. We won’t award a commenter of the week for this week. So we’ll have an extra-super Commenter of the Two Weeks ending September 16, and we’ll consider this week’s comments towards that prize.