Tag Archives: Ireland

For Liberties: What Was Good About 2024? (in film)

Over at Liberties: my top 20 films of 2024. Tis the season for end-of-year lists. I tend to switch them up, depending on the outlet, because I don’t get attached to my lists. But those are the stand-outs. (Thanks to … Continue reading

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“The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed.” — Edna O’Brien

Today is the birthday of the great Irish writer Edna O’Brien, who just died this past summer at the age of 93. I came to her Country Girls trilogy fairly young. I was in college. I think that might be … Continue reading

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Screen Slate 2024 Poll

Happy to participate in Screen Slate’s annual poll: Best Movies of 2024: First Viewings & Discoveries and Individual Ballots My pics: Fun to scroll through – so many people polled, including directors like Pedro Almodovar and Whit Stilman!     … Continue reading

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“As long as the house of The Holy Spirit remains a haven for criminals the reputation of the church will remain in ruins.” — Sinéad O’Connor

It’s her birthday today. I’ll never be over it. If you were there, then you remember the singular moment when Sinéad O’Connor arrived on the world stage. It wasn’t like the appearance of any other “big star”. It was different. … Continue reading

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November 2024 Viewing Diary

Stranger Things, Season 2, episodes 5, 6, 7 (2016) Continuing the very slow “binge” watch with my niece Lucy, and having so much fun. She gets such a kick out of showing it to me. She knows every moment and … Continue reading

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“I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals.” — Jonathan Swift

“When a man of true Genius appears in the World, you may know him by this infallible Sign, that all the Dunces are in Conspiracy against him.” — Jonathan Swift I don’t have much time to read for pleasure these … Continue reading

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For Liberties: Edna O’Brien: Documentary of A Writer and A Star

Edna O’Brien, a giant of Irish literature, died this past July. The loss is almost too much to get your head around, at least not immediately. She was a prolific writer for 70 years. Her books (and memoir, and non-fiction, … Continue reading

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“What’s the difference between an exile and an expatriate? It seems to me that an Englishman in France is an expat, but an Irishman is an exile.” — Derek Mahon

“When growing up, my bunch of friends would have thought of ourselves as anti-unionist because we were anti-establishment. We would have been vaguely all-Ireland republican socialists. But then, when theory turned into practice, we had to decide where we stood … Continue reading

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“I would rather use light to draw with instead of making thousands of drawings.” — Mary Ellen Bute

“There were so many things I wanted to say, stream-of-consciousness things, designs and patterns while listening to music. I felt I might be able to say [them] if I had an unending canvas.” pioneering experimental animator Mary Ellen Bute If … Continue reading

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Stuff I’ve Been Reading

— Unacknowledged Legislation: Writers in the Public Sphere, by Christopher Hitchens There are a couple of his collections of older pieces – pre 9/11 – I haven’t read before. Many of these pieces were put in later collections (Arguably, and … Continue reading

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