Is this the way to The City of Dis?

Hat tip to Jo for this. Apparently, I'm a heretic and belong in the Sixth Circle of Hell:

Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis

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You approach Satan's wretched city where you behold a wide plain surrounded by iron walls. Before you are fields full of distress and torment terrible. Burning tombs are littered about the landscape. Inside these flaming sepulchers suffer the heretics, failing to believe in God and the afterlife, who make themselves audible by doleful sighs. You will join the wicked that lie here, and will be offered no respite. The three infernal Furies stained with blood, with limbs of women and hair of serpents, dwell in this circle of Hell.

Like a lot of internet tests, I've done this one before and usually come out in purgatory or as lustful (second circle). The more I do these tests, the more I think it depends on how you feel at the time. For example, today I'm feeling a bit crappy so I appear a wee bit more evil. If I were feeling good, maybe I'd be a bit more virtuous.

Love Ulster at it again

I don't really have the time nor the inclination to delve into what drives the Love Ulster mob (maybe not the right word to use after today's scenes but... meh) but from an outsider's point of view I have to ask why these people feel the need to profess their love for a province which we know they love (because they're unionists). However, I don't want to get down on Love Ulster - this is how they choose to show their "loyalty" so fair enough. (However, one wonders why they chose Dublin for the rally.)

Republican Sinn Fein, however, are a disgrace in my eyes. No one would expect them to agree with the march and having a cauntermarch - fair enough, but the fact that some RSF marchers (from what I here) instigated the violence won't endear that organisation to unionists, loyalists, the British government, the Irish government or even possibly to mainstream Republicanism.

James Blunt wins again!

This time, however, it was for worst album at the NME awards. I'm not sure if he was there to pick up the prestigious middle finger, but after the year he's had, does he care? I wouldn't.

Other winners included Kaiser Cheifs, Oasis, Kanye West and The Strokes. But the biggest winners were Arctic Monkeys who won Best New Band, Best Track and Best British Band.

The Return of Dual Monarchy?

Last night on Hearts and Minds Sinn Fein MLA John O'Dowd and the DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson had a nice wee chat about the talks that broke down last week. Or rather the talks which didn't even begin last week. I don't remember much about the "debate" (Jeffrey blockage) but John O'Dowd mentioned "joint authority" which reminded me of early Sinn Fein.

Arthur Griffith's vision was of a dual monarchy based on the Austro-Hungarian model. "Joint authority," if that is Sinn Fein's policy, seems like a return to that model but obviously without the monarchy bit. Kind of an advanced advanced nationalism. I'll tell you when I figure out what that means.

The (dis)unity of Irish football

The Setanta Cup is an annual competition between four teams from Northern Ireland four teams from the Republic which was first played last year when Linfield won it with a 2-0 win over Shelbourne.

It's not the first attempt at an all-Ireland football tournament but I think it is a significant tournament because it's the first post-Troubles attempt to do this. It's also in the news because Linfield played Derry City on Monday for the first time in 34 years. This has led to speculation about an all-Ireland football league with Derry City (who currently play in the League of Ireand having left the IFA in 1972 because of safety fears) supporting the idea and the IFA opposing the idea.

Presumably it would make economic (and geographic) sense for Derry City to play against northern clubs but I agree with IFA president Jim Boyce's argument that UEFA and FIFA currently recognise two Football Associations on the island which gives more teams the opportunity to play in Europe. If there were just one league, half these would lose out. (Currently there are four places available in the north and four in the Republic.)

Jim Boyce does not oppose the idea of an amalgamated league stucture to the Setanta Cup but an all-Ireland football league, he feels, is unworkable.

Please put your hands together for your host ...

...Pathetiiiic Sod! Otherwise known as Chris Logan.

I don't know why I keep whinging about my lack of oomph but I have an oopmh defect. Seriously, I go on the computer in the morning and, more or less, I'm stuck there for the rest of the day. Of course, I'm not stuck, I have the free will not to sit in front of the computer all day but the repellent of my university work is far stronger. Or it could be the pull of the interent and the promise of gratuitous nudity. It's wrong (but only in that it prevents me acheiving anything), and I've promised myself less of it but it's as if the little voice in my head (the one that says "Do fuck all all day") is in charge.

Heeeeres me!

I'm back.

After nine months of not really being arsed I've decided that this blog needs resurrected. I could have used this as a personal blog and created a new one for my political musings but my political musings are a lot more interesting than my personal life (and my political musings are not very interesting) so here we have a fusion of the two, along with any other crap that comes to mind.

I intend to use this blog as practice for any journalistic work I may undertake in the future. But it's more than that. There will be creative writing and I may use it as a kind of confessional but I hesitate to do this. Do I really want to bare my soul to God knows how many millions of people - not that that many people will be interested in the whingings of a 22-year old student from Northern Ireland. Just in the off chance - you know?