Last week Conor Lenihan planned to launch an anti-science screed. Then the taoiseach had a bad night, and the story died. But I was curious, so I sent an email to every sitting TD. Quoting the Project Steve statement, I asked three questions: Do you agree with the statement? Should evolution be part of the… Continue reading The Conor Project
Tag: Biffo
Design
Logos (singular) is a Greek word meaning, roughly speaking, the word of God. Logos (plural) is a word meaning opportunities for pointless productivity. Last month, Brian Cowen announced a fairly minor reshuffle of his cabinet ministers. Perhaps aware of how underwhelming the changes were, the Taoiseach also juggled a few words. Enterprise, Trade and Employment… Continue reading Design
Trick of the eye
You know how sometimes, your eyes expect to see something, so it takes you a while to see what’s actually there. Well this morning, I glanced at this headline in the Sunday Tribune: But this is what my eyes insisted they were seeing for a few moments: Strange how the brain works sometimes, isn’t it?
Making the Cut
When is a complaint not a complaint? When RTÉ broadcast a lighthearted complaint in March about a portrait of Brian Cowen hung in that national gallery, they received nine calls complaining the item was in poor taste. It’s not clear if the nine includes a call from Eoghan Ó Neachtain, who rang RTÉ director general… Continue reading Making the Cut
The Final Word
Remember #picturegate? As described in a complaint to the broadcasting complaints commission, RTÉ showed two portraits of the taoiseach, one ‘in a pregnant situation’. RTÉ News later apologised ‘for any personal offence caused to Mr Cowen or his family or for any disrespect shown to the office of taoiseach.’ But in response to a complaint… Continue reading The Final Word
Two Hundred Words to John Gormley
Dear John, Right now, you’re probably wondering where to begin. Half your membership wants you to pull out of coalition on Tuesday, the rest want you to stick the course. The wiser course is probably to knuckle down and get on with it. But to make that work, you need to change some things. First.… Continue reading Two Hundred Words to John Gormley
What Dan Boyle really meant in Tralee
Dan Boyle went down to Tralee last week to say ‘something controversial’. Boyle must have been aware of poll findings, and told his Kerry audience it was time to review the programme for government. ‘Most of the Green Party elements of it have now been implemented,’ Boyle said. ‘It is a document that is in… Continue reading What Dan Boyle really meant in Tralee
Leading the Charge
If I was Enda Kenny, I’d be worried. He rescued his party from political oblivion in 2002, bringing them back from 31 to 51 seats in 2007. Thanks in part to Biffo’s cluelessness, he now finds himself at the head of a party with 38% support in the latest poll, about to deliver a historic… Continue reading Leading the Charge
Bad News Bears
There’s a lot of shooting the messenger going on at the moment. An article in the New York Times, or a wrong word in a report from the IMF, and they’re off. ‘There has been comment which has been neither helpful nor, in my view, appropriate, and I would like to move on from that,’… Continue reading Bad News Bears