The behaviour of the EU states towards Greece is inexplicable in the terms in which the EU defines itself. It is, first and foremost, a failure of solidarity. The ‘austerity package’, as the newspapers like to call it, seeks to impose on Greece terms that no people can accept. Even now the schools are running […]
Mark Lanegan is a little like one of those hybrid electric cars – a great idea on paper but one that never seems to have had the legs (or wheels) to take off into the stratosphere of greatness. His profile should be much greater than it is really, given the enormity of musical success he […]
“A poem often has a moment or a movement or an image, to deal with, not a whole series or interrelated and elaborated sequences, nor that sense of duration and vicarious experience that the novel brings. The best a novel can do is use its superstructure, all those cumulative bits of housekeeping, to achieve poem-moments, […]
It’s that time of year, when big newspapers publish long lists of hot travel destinations for 2012, often without rhyme or reason (and the distinct suspicion that lobbying and pr push have more to do with the compilation than attractions, charm, or interest). Having said that, we’re as partial to lists here at TMO as […]
So, recently I wanted to setup a circle on Google+ to put magazines worth following in, and it wasn’t as easy as you might think – to find the magazines that are on Google+ that is, not the actual process of putting them in the circle which is a cinch (see the background to Google+ […]
I have always had a morbid attraction to psychologically unstable characters- a penchant which I guess says more about me than the author/character in question, however, I can’t help wondering what it is that keeps us interested in the insane. It’s probably the mystery or the idea that there must be a kind of cipher […]
While Irish and Italian citizens participated in the protests against the US SOPA / PIPA bills, it seems that their own Governments are in the process of introducing very similar measures – perhaps even harsher. The Irish government is acting in the wake of a court case (EMI and Others Vs UPC) where record companies […]
Co. Limerick has a fairly distinct advantage over the Republic of Ireland’s capital, Dublin, in terms of its scenic setting. Limerick city itself curves around the full rush of the river Shannon- the largest river in Ireland and is the main touchstone location of the mid-west or Shannon region. Now, despite what you may have […]
Tuscany’s success in presenting itself as the ideal Italian destination is legendary. To the British it’s affectionately known as ‘chiantishire’, while for thousands of American and European readers it is linked indelibly with the romantic vision presented by Frances Mayes in Under a Tuscan Sun. The irony of it all is that the very things […]