Like Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines, like President Bush to New Orleans, like Bertie Ahern to, er, Fagan’s , I have returned. The reasons for my online absence (or should that be “offline presence”?) are varied and prosaic: the demands of a new job and “quality parenting” stand out. Of course, we should not discount the power of lassitude.
Yes, while I’ve been away my blogging antennae have quivered at certain events–the pharohic dispatch of our former “leader”, Charles J. Haughey, made me want to emit an anguished howl across the blogosphere. (And still the apologia dribble from the mouths from the great and the good–at some Summer School jolly a few weeks back, former Irish Press hack Tim Pat Coogan bizarrely suggested that Haughey’s avaricious behavior could be ascribed to head injuries he received in a car crash in the early 1960s.)
RTE’s hilariously woeful Autumn schedule also looked like a large trout conveniently swimming in a cylindrical container. Alongside the rip-offs of BBC 1’s schedule circa 2002, there is also the prospect of home-grown hard-hitting drama, such as “Legend”:
And you thought there were too many crims on Fairly Shitty .
So other than the usual, easy snide carping, what I’ve missed about the blog over the past few months is the chance to share some of the more interesting things you encounter through reading either online or even using that paper-based medium Google seems to be interested in. I’ll offer some updates in the days to come, but for the time being if you can get your hands on Michael Faber’s collection, The Fahrenheit Twins, I recommend you check out the story, “Vanilla Bright Like Eminem.” Emily Dickinson famously said “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” Well, you can recognise this an outstanding short story because it stings like a slap to the face.
Actually, the story is available online at Prospect Magazine: http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=5807 but it’s worth picking up the book for the rest of Faber’s collection.
It’s good to be back…