Gianfranco Fini, Italian deputy prime minister and leader of the right wing party Alleanza Nazionale, has pinpointed a new enemy in the never ending ‘war on terror’: pacifists. At the annual meeting of AN’s youth brigade, Fini urged his members to be the “”vanguard of a great battle for peace against pacifism”. He continued, “Pacifism […]
From yesterday’s Washington Post: “Florida neurologist Marc Swerdloff was taken aback when one of his patients with advanced dementia voted in the 2000 presidential election. The man thought it was 1942 and Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. The patient’s wife revealed that she had escorted her husband into the booth. “I said ‘Did he pick?’ […]
Ireland’s perennial entry in the Mr. Gravitas competition, John Banville, will be giving a reading at the Irish Writers’ Centre tomorrow (16 September).Although I’ve read, I think, four of his novels I’m somewhat on the fence about Banville (obviously I have to have read 10 novels by an author before I can come to a […]
The other night I succumbed to one of those blank trawls of the channels that take approximately 25 minutes now that I’ve shelled out for NTL’s digital service. In between blurred clips of Hitler barking on the History Channel* and wildlife mating/killing each other on National Geographic, I came across the usual nostalgiafest on VH1, […]
This first post to the Threemonkeysonline blog, which aims to give writers based in Ireland, Italy, and Spain a platform for their opinions, miscellaneous musings, and favourite links, is concerned with events unfolding in New York as it becomes increasingly apparent that President Bush has a good chance of staying in the White House after […]
The whole of Italy is in this dish, with a simple recipe that puts together flavours and shapes from the Alps to Sicily. And please acknowledge that on purpose I left out my home land – Romagna – to avoid accusations of being 'campanilistic'. However, if you wish, you could replace orecchiette with the mythical […]
A ten minute recipe for when you come in from work and there's virtually nothing in the fridge except two close-to-gone-off courgettes, an onion and an open packet of diced smokey bacon. Actually, make sure the eggs are fresh!! If you didn't even have the chance to stop by the bakery, serve with toasted wholemeal […]
This recipe is totally invented, being a mix of Brasilian, Chinese and Thai style cuisines. I feel I should warn you that the preparation is quite lengthy and the washing up quite heavy (inevitably you end up using every single utensil in your kitchen), but I can assure you that the result will be worth […]
Every so often, a blockbuster sequel comes along that succeeds in deepening and improving on its predecessor. Most notable in this regard has been The Empire Strikes Back, along with Superman II and Aliens. Now we have Spiderman 2, a film which blends action-packed adventure with a thoughtful exploration of identity. There is much more […]