OK. A debate ?

You'd have to wonder just why Hillary Clinton decided to enter one-to-one TV whatever-it-is with Trump. She is in a lose lose scenario. There is no upside that I can see, for her. For him, it's all upside.
Could it be that this night, or tomorrow morning at 2am Irish time, will be the time she can say she lost the 2016 election.

This is the write-up in the local newspaper. There didn't seem to be a whole lot of point in being coy on the net anymore.

Prep for winter.

These last few weeks have been all a-go here. The insulator people came and pumped lordy knows what into the walls. Here we build, since the 70s or so with two skins of block or brick. Back when the house was built insulating was a seen by the builders as a nuisance and so they never were all that great at it. Plus the inch or two of polystyrene was only slightly better than useless.
Once the walls were done they proceeded to the attic and put another 8 inches of rock wool on top of the glass fiber already there.
I also got two fans installed, one in the kitchen and the other in the bathroom.
Also a path to the tank in the attic. So no more balancing on joists when I check it and clean it.

I'm doing the Kelby One World Wide Photo Walk in Clonmel. And had a big write up in the local paper. A far far faaaar more impressive achievement than getting into the national papers, (chuckle).

Going viral.

Someplace in the interior of the US state of Georgia exists a 4th grade teacher with an image that went viral.
Partice Brown has had about equal number of people thinking she's a harlot for the way she dresses, split to, a fine specimen of black womanhood.
Me, I think the way she dresses is her business and given her students are 9-10 if they are thinking sexual thought about her then it sure isn't the problem with the school nor the teacher. And if they were 14 or 15 year old boys, and she was their teacher in say maths. I can guarantee that she would bring in the highest marks in the State. And for heavens sake 15 year old boys are randy little sods and sure as shooting manage things on their own.
On the whole my issue would be that the salmon coloured dress is under so much stress that it couldn't be comfy. 

The lord of the rings

Just watched 'the 3 lord of the rings', tesco was doing an offer. Wouldn't say 9 hours wasted but at times you did root for the big eye thing.

9/11; or the 11th of September.

I was building a garden outside Dublin that day. When the clients daughter arrived out to say a plane had hit one of the towers of the trade centre. She had Sky and was watching the news at the time. Me, I processed it and thought a small Cessna sized plane was flying the city like occurred in Moscow and other cities in the previous few years, one landing in Red Square, had hit the building.
But I wasn't that bothered for I knew the size of those building and also knew that such a tiny thing wouldn't bother the building much at all.
Soon though more news came to me and I went in to see what was occurring. This was 2 o'clock our time.
That day, that evening, I went to the beach and looked out over the sea and sky.   

The biggest ugliest most poisonous thing.

Tipperary !!! for the win

Tipperary won the all Ireland hurling final yesterday.

Tipperary is in the Blue and Gold. This is the semi-final against Galway. I was somewhat conflicted.

Oh, for those that follow the LA Kings. Well you didn't lick it off a stone.

Gene Wilder RIP

Gene Wilder died yesterday after a few years of alzheimer's. He was one of the people that filled a space in my growing up that was good. Just the sight of him meant a smile.

Publicity photo of Gene Wilder for film Start the Revolution Without Me (1970)

Annual meeting of the Visual Artists of Ireland at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)

We had our annual meeting of the professional and advocacy body the VIA at the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham.

 A fairly useful trip. I've been to other such congregations in the past and they can be little more than a 'how great are we' for the administration and provide little but clapping hands to the people. The only thing I didn't like was the insistence that the fee was paid via Paypal, so I didn't pay using it and paid on the day.
As with most places in Ireland you find evidence of Empire. Here at the IMMA is no exception. It was built in the 1680s as the western defence to Dublin. Using the new theory of defence developed during the wars of religion. Where they ceased to worry about strong heavy walls, and expecting them to withstand an attack. No, this was three story quadrangle over basement, doubled in places.
It was good to see the newer Art in the gallery.

I've been doing some image adjustment this past while. I got some photos of my great grandparents that needed repair and refresh. Others too, but the early ones were more instructive relative to the degree of editing. You see you can make them look 'new' and that's an error I feel. And you'll see in the following just how this has formed some of my editing subsequently.

This plaque was erected in the hospital, when it was a military old folks home. And may be of interest to Americans. This lot were the 16th light dragoons and fought in the battle of the Brandywine in the van.

Olympics in Rio.

I put up a flag pole for the soccer Euro's that I decided to leave up for the Olympics. And while it didn't fly everyday it did on most.
In truth though I don't believe I've ever felt so 'who cares' about any games, but maybe I have. It could well be that I've always had this feeling about it. But I don't think so. What I find so difficult is you cannot follow 'a' sport for the TV companies are drawing the feed from whomever they think can give metal.
We have a Silver in Sailing (Women's Laser Radial) but sailing notwithstanding our miles of coast is not even a minority sport it's niche, if even that. Nook is smaller isn't it.
Anyway, we had what seemed like hours of it when we should've been following the heats of the longjump high jump and the pole vault.
Ireland has had a bit of amusement when our local head of the Irish Olympic Committee was arrested for what isn't a crime here in Europe, ticket touting (scalping I think the Americans call it). And the Brazilians whom the IOC reserved spaces didn't take up the space leaving most of the local tickets unsold for it seemed the Olympics was nowt more than a gigantic scam in their eyes, with them as the victims.
The Medal table is as usual. With America bringing back 100+ , then China, UK, Russia, Germany France between 70 and 40. In otherwords, unchanged in all but who sits where in the top 10 or so slots.
However a few things were thrown up that gives a slight easing of the cynicism. The Stateless athletes, refugees from the hell created in North Africa and the Middle East competed under the Olympic flag. And Usain Bolt !.

Tiny roses from my garden.