As a young teenager I was obsessed with weirdness. I surrounded myself with the bizarre. I embodied the odd. I watched horror movies compulsively, read extensively on the abduction techniques favored by different serial killers and studied the indoctrination methodologies of cult leaders (I could tell you more about the Manson Family than I could about members of…
Downtown Chicago in the Early Hours
Eager to shake the desynchronosistic hangover acquired by a transatlantic British Airways flight and having exhausted the hotel’s understandably sparse early-morning entertainment opportunities, I figured that a hike through the downtown Chicago area would perhaps prove the remedy I was looking for. For a major US metropolis, Chicago sure is quiet at 6am. In addition…
Hard Rockin’ In Chicago
In the summer of 2011, I spent several weeks traveling around America’s Midwest region. Following an unpleasant 10 hour flight from Dublin to O’Hare Airport, my traveling companion informed me that my first taste of the North American hospitality industry would be via a stay at Chicago’s Hard Rock Hotel. I was of two minds…
The Everyday Amusements of London Life
The frenetic pace of London life can often lead one to overlook the bizarre quirks that make this city such an entertaining place in which to live. Employ a keen eye and you don’t have to walk far before encountering some amusement or other. Sometimes juvenile, sometimes ironic, always interesting, here are a few of…
An Affair With Southern Italy
Of all the countries I’ve visited in the last few years, the place that has left the most impression is without doubt the Puglia region of Southern Italy. Effortlessly beautiful, this part of the world is home to a welcoming and generous people, outstanding Italian food and an amazing history. With time spent in the…
The Impossibility of Boredom in London
Although at times it can be a bit of a bummer (cramped trains, endless queuing, rotten winters, short summers, a disturbing obsession with class, the occasional damp personality), for the most part, living in London is pretty awesome. Before leaving Ireland to live in the Big Smoke, my Dad, taking inspiration from Samuel Johnson’s quip that…
The Obligatory Gushing New York Post
Earlier this year, the market research organization, Ipsos, conducted a poll to find “The World’s Favourite City”. Somewhat unsurprisingly, New York came in as the highest rate destination amongst the 18,000 “global citizens” polled. I was fortunate enough to have travelled to New York a few years ago and although I am very much in…
A Binge in 1990’s Video Gaming
Here is my utterly biased list of the games that represent the cream of the crop as far as overlooked 1990’s games are concerned. CYBERNATOR (1992 SNES) Released Masaya as part of a series of futuristic robotic war games during the 1990’s, Cybernator was an addictive post apocalyptic, run-and-gun platformer. In the game, two warring governments fight…
North Acton Tube Wisdom
Each morning, the staff at North Acton Tube Station in West London are kind enough to provide rail travellers with snippets of wisdom via their notice board. To be honest, they don’t need to do this but that they do is kinda heart warming. Here are some of their notices to help you looking toward…
Wicker Park Street Art
A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to spend some time in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. Known as being somewhat of a bohemian and artistic (hipster) hangout, the area contains some fantastic street-art. Here are a few pieces that I found particularly noteworthy.
Travel Fatigue
The exact logistical requirements of a journey from my flat in London to my parents house in Ireland include a 2 hour bus ride, a 55 minute express train, an hour long flight (taken on a budget airline), a 30 minute airport bus transfer service followed by a three hour cross country train and finally…
The Religious Uses of Adobe Creative Suite
While I have absolutely no inclination to align myself with the ideologies of this particular Christian cult, I have to give them credit for some innovative graphic design skills. This ditty was handed to me while passing through Ealing Broadway Tube Station on my way home from work. Nice job Junction 316.
Literature, Icebergs and Movies
The members of the Pure Cinema Movement of the early 20th century understood film and literature as two irreconcilably differing artistic forms. On the contrary, I’ve always thought that beyond cosmetic details the two actually keep to very similar conventions. If you have ever attended a creative writing course then I’m sure that you’ll be familiar with the…
Siegfried Sassoon, Hopelessness and Iraq
Snooping around the charity shops of West London a week past, I spied a copy of Siegfried Sassoon’s fictionalized autobiography, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, on sale for £1. The discovery of such a volume came as a revelation as although I had been aware of and enjoyed Sassoon’s poetic work (along with Wilfred Owen)…
A Poem
Every now and then I get the very peculiar urge to write poetry. Most of what I write is generally rather light and pithy. I harbor no surreptitious notions of ever being a poet proper. So, without further adieu. Here is a little poem for you. It’s called An Irish Camping Poem. An Irish Camping Poem. A…