world leaders

Listening to the news on my phone while on the bus to work this morning, I heard the latest about the very scary situation which has developed in Myanmar. While the powers that be in the region get all muscled up, "world leaders appealed for calm". Which is great. I'm just wondering exactly who these world leaders are and how you qualify to be a world leader? Do you have to pass any exams, do a degree in world leadership? Do they have business cards with their title on it? What are the wages like? If anyone can let me know more about it I'd be very interested in it. I reckon that world leadership mioght be just my kind of thing. I have five kids ranging in age from eight to twenty, so I know all about appealing for calm.

I still have had no takers for Ellie's Pay it Forward project. Does no one want a gift from a future world leader?

Exposing the soft underbelly

The wonderful Ellie posted the following on her website yesterday. who could pass up such an offer?
"There is a book written by Catherine Ryan Hyde called "Pay It Forward", that has been adapted into a film starring Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. The premise is simple. When someone does something nice for you in any way you don't pay that person back, you "pay it forward" by doing something nice for another person. It's kind of like the gift that keeps on giving.So here's how the Blog world version of PIF goes.

I'll send a handmade gift (although my gift may not be made by me I will try to make it personal to the recipient )to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog saying they want to play. The only thing you have to do in return is "Pay it Forward" by making the same promise on your blog. If you don't have a blog you would be on the honour system of paying it forward in your day to day life. Of course, eventually I'd need your address to send you your goodies, so you'd need to be willing to part with that."
So let me know if you want to partake.

English (Ireland)

What is this English (Ireland) option when picking a language on your computer? does it mean that the spellcheck will recognise feck? That "so it will" or "so it is" at the end of a sentance does not get underlined in green? Does "Bertie" get automatically get capitalised? is an e automatically tagged on to the word "shit" does it automatically italicise "British justice" when it sees it in a sentence?
Does it always insert the word "crucial" into the phrase "another match for Irish soccer team" ?

recategorisation of sports

Ok, time for drastic action. We were always crap at soccer, give or take about four or five years since caveman started kicking stuff around the cave. We've become crap at rugby relatively recently and our international success at other sports are due to a combination of fluke, doping, fixing competitions and novenas. We need to push for the acceptance of some of our natural hobbies as international sports. Irish dancing in the Olympics, A ballad singing world cup, embassy-mooning test matches, sub-contracting marathons, slagging endurance events, Porter swallowing three day eventing. Fleadh-ceol-on-a-single-pair-of-underpants survival competitions. Lowest score in song contest contests.... Come on Ireland where's your fucking pride!

back to business

Busy week. New guitar students vary in age from 12-72, youngest and oldest indistinguishable in terms of enthusiasm, which is nice. Back to gospel choir practice on wednesday, big turnout and everyone is in great form. Our choir leader has had a trying summer. She holds joint Canadian-US citizenship, married to a man who has lived here since his family moved over from Germany when he was 8, but has never changed his german citizenship. So now they are making noises about deportation. Number one son is surfing and making chicken nuggets in Oz. Number two son, is demonstrating in Rossport, and the remainder of the clan are back to school, piano, flute, ballet, Irish dancing, swimming, jiu jitsu and music. The dog has a cough and the cat has furballs. Oh, and we're not allowed to drink the water..............again!

not getting any easier

In the absence of some of my coaching colleagues, I actually had to show my underage team the dynamic stretching excercises I wanted them to do. Wasn't able to get up from a chair yesterday without crying quietly to myself.

scary stereotypes

Coming home over the quincentennial bridge Monday evening haven't dropped my 16 year-old training ninja to ninja school, I saw a Mercedes directly behind me driven by a woman who was plaiting her hair while she drove.