Ghost horses?

I sent Tom Dunne an email.

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Tom,

I'm a bit of a Radiohead fan and one song that always brings a smile to my face (not often you can say that about a Radiohead song) is "You And Whose Army?" from Amnesiac .

It's a great singalong number if you're odd and it's one I love listening to on my headphones as I walk around Sligo town, singing out loud.

There was one line in the song I was unsure off and since I'm thinking of blasting out "Whose Army" at Open Mic soon, I thought I'd look up the lyrics online. Imagine my shock to find out that I've been singing the end of the song all wrong?!

Instead of repeating "you and whose army?" like I thought, it goes:

You forget so easily
We ride tonight
We ride tonight
Ghost horses
Ghost horses
Ghost horses
We ride tonight
We ride tonight
Ghost horses
Ghost horses
Ghost horses..

Who? What? Where? Whole different song now. In fact, it's even better.

Anyways, just thought I'd let you know what's been happening with me.

Your listener,
John The Bad.

Burn

New piece on 269 called Burn.

Wonder why they got rid off Mailbag....

I left the following on someone's voice mail in RTE about ten minutes ago.


"Hi. I've a question. Why am I not watching Kill Bill? I mean it was on half an hour ago but now I'm seeing that it's raining in Scandinavia. I guess what I really wanna know is, why did you put the news and weather in the middle of Tarantino's 4th film? And not only did you put it in the middle of the movie, you put it in the middle of the massive fight scene! In the middle of the fight scene! You know, the whole film has been building up to this fight scene, and you put the news and weather in the middle of it!

The weather's finished. I'm now watching an ad for a film with Michael Caine. I see, it's on tomorrow night. I guess you're gonna stick the news into it too. Ok, the trailer's finished. Hang on.. yup... you guessed it... ads! Well well well. You know this is why I don't watch TV. I get out videos. I also download stuff. Do you want to know what's happening on Lost? I'm up to date with ABC. Anyway, please stop putting ads in the middle of Tarantino movies or I'll said Uma Thurman over to stick a samurai sword up your-." Beeeeeeeep.

Blood on the stage

Here's the poster for the new show. We're on in the college Black Box on Wednesday... just read the poster, ok?

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Today, while we were rehearsing, we started to throw each other across the space or as Bob said, "fuck him over there."

At one stage, brave Colum Enright cut his foot and we ended up with his blood on the Black Box floor. The man soldiered on.

Blood on the stage - we're getting closer to the Raincoats all the time.

And it stoned me to my soul

Martin Stone is coming to get ya!

U-24/7

Wow. One moment of doubt and my faith is back as strong as ever.

I haven't got all U2's singles and B-sides. What I do have, I ripped and put the mp3s into a folder ages ago. I went back to it the other day and added some new mp3s and tidied it up and I've been listening to it ever since. That's 46 songs or approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes of U2.

Listening to singles and b-sides is a cool thing to do. You get to hear where the band started and where they are now. You get to hear the single releases of the greatest band in the world (TM: U2) and you get to hear stuff you'd normally miss - like Willie Nelson singing a song that U2 wrote for him called "Slow Dancing."

I guess they still matter.

21

At some stage today, Bob will make his way back out to the Venue in Strandhill and find his head. Until then, we have no pictures from last night.

Allow me to say that Ellen's 21st Glam Rocking Kickass Party was fantastic! What a night?! The get-up of everyone; brilliant outfits. Alan - I'll never look at you the same way again. Cathy's cross-dressing. Playing gay-chicken with Brian (actually, I don't wanna think about that). Pat riding Bosco up the arse. Ellen's speech - shuuut uup. Some gobshite dancing on his own at the start before Duck and Trish saved him. Trish's dyed hair. My wig. Duck... Duck... DUCK! DUCK BELONGS ON STAGE.

Ellen! I want you to have a 21st every Saturday.

Kung fu mudafucka!

Window in the skies

U2.

I've been a fan all my life. No song was a bad song and Bono could do or say no wrong.

They were Irish - not to be a U2 fan was downright unpatriotic. They sang about Northern Ireland and Martin Luther King and San Salvador. Being a U2 fan was a serious job.

Then came Achtung Baby and the madness of Zoo TV and U2 became fun. With "Elevation", they were unspeakably cool. With Bono's extra-curricular work, they were always right. At Slane, I was in the presence of grace.

U2 - the sons of God made gods of rock.

But things started to change.

I learned more about third world debt and I wondered if Bono was going about things in the right way. Live 8 worried me. Then I read No Logo and that nailed it; the man was wrong. Despite what he sang in An Atomic Bomb, his methods were crumbs from the rich man's table.

A change in tax laws for millionaires saw U2 move their company out of Ireland. Fuck that, I thought.

--

All in all though, what's that got to do with the music?

Good point. I was a U2 fan for the music from the very start. Even if I don't agree with Bono, what does it matter as long as I love the songs?

However, I have heard cracks in the soundtrack. First were the Best Of's. Ok, they were a way to get my hands on some B-Sides but I didn't like the idea of U2 releasing Best Of compilations.

Then came Bono's work on "What's Going On?" It was a terrible song but it was for charity and he had tried a good charity song with Wycleff that had bombed so I couldn't blame him really.

And then the unthinkable. A couple of songs on How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb were just south of naff!

--

John The Bad said what?! Sounds of breaking furniture and raised voices. A woman screams.

--

I know, I know but it's the truth. There's something about "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" that, while it doesn't near make me cringe, it does fail to click for me. It's not that I don't buy the song - it's about Bono's dead father! - but I just find it a little... off.

So, lately, I've found myself loosing some interest in U2. I was starting to realise that they didn't matter as much anymore. Tell a rock band that they no longer matter and they'll tell you they'd be better off dead.

Trish got me Zoo TV for my birthday on DVD and while I loved seeing it again, I couldn't help but feel that things were better back then.

U2 fell off my radar.

To make things worse, a couple of weeks ago, I heard that they were releasing another Best Of. They've taken their earlier Best Of 80's and Best Of 90's to bring us... well, the Best Of the Best Of's. 18 songs that include a couple of new ones. U2 going for the Xmas market, again.

One of the new songs is called "Window In The Skies." I heard it last week on Tom Dunne and to be honest I was only half listening. Then Tony Fenton played it today and I gave it a proper listen.

The song played in my headphones and I grinned from ear to ear.

It's just great. It's about love with a capital L. It's beautiful. It's serious. It's fun. It's cool. It's U2.

God hasn't left the building yet.

And so it is....

Mohill lost to Corofin in the Connacht Club Championship. Hard luck men. We'll be back.

I apologise for the language that follows....

Yesterday in Croke Park was a disgrace.

I recommend you all read Tom Humphries in today's Irish Times. He sums the whole thing up much better than I can.

After ten minutes of complete thuggery from what I can only call Aussie scumbags, we lost four, four of our better players. We only had three on the interchange bench after that.

At one stage, there was a mini-riot taking place when some of the Australians went on the attack (with the ball this time) and scored a goal and, despite the fight going on, the goal was allowed!

Then Sean Boylan told the players he didn't want them to play on after the first quarter. I can't say I blame him in a way but still, that wasn't the sort of thing they needed to hear.

After that, the Aussies beat us soundly. That's the strangest part of it all. They would have beat us without resorting to the shit they pulled.

Our shooting was terrible; there's no excuse for it.

Alan summed it up the best. When this circus started, they had the advantage of the tackle and we had the advantage of the round ball. But now, we still can't get the hang of the tackle but they've not only gotten the hang of the round ball, they're better than us with it.

My solution is, get rid of the mark. Then we might see some flow to the damn game.

---

The Aussies are motherfucking, goddamn, scumbag knackers. They shouldn't be let back in the country. That they die roaring.

The referees were a joke. Not a set of balls between the four of them. How in the name of holy hell was there not one red card used yesterday? What do you have to do to get sent off in this game? Shoot someone? It's a damn good thing I didn't have a gun yesterday.

Our shots for overs were absolutely awful but I can't criticise the lads too much; that wasn't football out there.

All in all, a rather shit day at the office.


--

It looks like the GAA wanna pull the plug on the whole thing. I don't want that to happen. When it's played right, it's a good game. And I like the idea of GAA players getting to play for their country. But why does it have to be the Australians? They're wankers.

I'll leave the last word to Sheedy, the Australian coach,

- I think Ireland were the aggressors last week and this week.

Yup, folks, that's the mentality we're dealing with.

8 points ain't a whole lot

In fact, Ireland's lead going into tomorrow's second Test in Croke Park is just over 2 points in Gaelic football terms. A couple of overs (an over is worth 3 points) from the Ausies and they're back in it.

Maybe it's pessimism but I'm worried that Australia's higher levels of fitness and strength will see them through the vital final quarter and land them the series. I hope I'm wrong.

One thing I know for sure is that the Australians are gonna come out tomorrow looking for a fight. They're gonna forget the ball and go for the man. It's imperative that Ireland don't play into this and that we just concentrate on playing football. The same thing happened two years ago when we won the first test well and the Australians tried to start a fight at the start of the second test. I was so proud of our lads that day. They kinda looked at the Aussies, said - sure, you go ahead and fight but we're here to play football. And play football they did; we annihilated them.


This time it's different. This Australian side is a lot better than two years ago. (Maybe they're not quite as good as last year when the killed us dead but they're still tough.) We need to keep our heads, improve our kick-outs and put the damn ball over the bar.

Tomorrow's sell-out crowd in Croke Park - 82,000 - will be the biggest crowd at an Irish international in any sport ever. In my opinion, that's a testament to GAA's supremacy over other sports in Ireland. I wish the knockers of International Rules would, well, knock it off. The sport has it's problems but it's still young and deserves a chance. It's also the only way our great footballers get to play for their country and anyone who would deprive Kieran McGeeney of his Irish jersey can take a flying fuck.

I'm heading up to Croker with Alan, my dad, Garrett and Karl. I want two things from tomorrow; an Irish win and a good game.

Let you know how it goes.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed, this one

Aussie Rules footballer, Brendan Fevola was sent home from the Australian International Rules Team after assaulting a barman in a Galway nightclub. When asked to comment by Australian newspaper, The Age, Brendan had the following to say for himself.

- Obviously, I've done the wrong thing by getting him in a headlock. It was pretty stupid. And I'm just glad I didn't hit him. I would have been in more trouble if I hit him. A lot more trouble. It was just a headlock. If I wanted to hit him, I would have hit him. But I didn't. I just had him in a headlock.

Aw well, sure that's alright so.

It's a fecking brilliant world

From today's Irish times. It's the "sex attack" bit I love.

Italy may skirt issue of special loo for 'Luxuria'
John Hooper in Rome

ITALY: The speaker of Italy's lower house of parliament has an unusual problem as he prepares to rule on the appropriate sanitary arrangements for its most singular member.

Wladimiro Guadagno, who prefers to go by his former stage name of Vladimir Luxuria, describes himself as "transgender" and, while he has never had a sex change operation, dresses and behaves entirely as a woman.

Since being elected to parliament in April, the actor- singer-turned-politician has been using the ladies' loos.

But last Friday, the sight of Mr Guadagno adjusting his skirt and preparing to freshen his lipstick proved too much for one of Silvio Berlusconi's supporters. Elisabetta Gardini said she felt as if she had been the victim of a "sex attack".

Peacemakers suggested that a third loo might be created for Mr Guadagno and his assistant, who is of a similar orientation.

But the spokesman for the Christian Democrat Party was adamant that "there are only two genders - male and female".

After a heated session, the house affairs committee dodged the issue by saying that an MP's choice of loo was personal.

© The Irish Times © Guardian Service

So far, so... ok

International Rules Football Series 2006
Test 1
Pearse Stadium, Galway - 28/10/2006

Final score:
Ireland 48 - 40 Australia

This means we're eight points in front going into the second test. A poor game but a good result.

The second test is tomorrow week, 5th November in Croke Park. I'm going to the match with Garrett, Karl, Jim Snr. and my cousin, Patsy.

Patsy is in Rome at the minute (the tough life of a journalist) and I kept him updated on the match by texts. On hearing tonight's result, he said - Brilliant. Now let's bury them next Sunday.

A man after my own heart.

31536000 seconds...

... flew!

Biodiversity

Bob put his bio on his blog - check it out here. Not to be out done, here's mine.

--

John Rogers simply is. And the world is a better place because of that.

It was a feeling that I didn't recognise.

My brother Jim has often said that if you come from Mohill, in Leitrim, in Connacht, in Ireland and you support Spurs... well, you soon learn to handle defeat. He was right, dead right. And then came last Sunday.

Cloone pitch. The forecast was wrong. A beautiful October Sunday. The 2006 Leitrim Senior County Final; Mohill versus St Mary's of Carrick.

In fact, for the first seventeen minutes, it was St. Mary's playing no-one. Mohill didn't register a score as Carrick hit 1-4.

We finally got going but it always felt like it was gonna be too little too late. Ten minutes to go or so and we were five points behind. Carrick's defence seemed to be impassable. We needed a goal.

We didn't get it.

Instead we hit six straight, damn near righteous points to no reply. The equaliser was greeted with a roar from my gut. The winner was near fatal and the final whistle...? I can't describe it. Relief? Joy? More like rapture. I dropped to my knees and cried.

--

Mohill 0-13, St. Mary's 1-9

My home town is a town of champions. The best in the county. Karl said he never saw Mohill play so well. Patrick said he saw tears in George Dugdale's eyes. As for me; I didn't get to see it. Unbelievable. History was made without me.

But what does it matter? I'll always have that memory of Shannonside and me screaming at the radio and then Trish holding me as I tried to figure out what the hell had just happened.

So here's to the Mohillians; we're heroes again.

Summer's not finished yet

Country, province, county... and club.

A month ago my county lost in a final in Croke Park. Last night my province lost against Ulster. Just now, Cyprus gave my countrymen a lesson on how to play. What's a man to do?

There's still Mohill GFC.

Tomorrow in Cloone - barring more rain tonight - Mohill play St. Mary's of Carrick in the Leitrim Senior County Final. Mohill last won the senior title in 1971 and haven't contested a county final since three years later. Mohill were last in this position before I was born. Years and years of Mohillian dominance at under age football has never really come to fruition. Tomorrow's final is long overdue.

Nothing comes as close to home as club football. With the Leitrim team, I know all the names of course and I know some of the players to say hi. With the club it's different. I know everyone of them including the young guys (Murph is the old man of the team and he's two years younger than me). This means so much; it's easier to celebrate with men you grew up with and it's harder to handle when they lose. This is street football.

So, how will it go? Hard to tell. Carrick came through their semi-final replay by destroying Allen Gaels. Mohill's semi-final win against the Bors was last-gasp stuff. This was the match where Mohill put an end to the soft-centre myth; a myth that has held more credence in Mohill than anywhere else. Carrick have a bigger midfield and have come through an arguably harder journey to the final. Mohill are younger and faster. They may be inexperienced at this level but every Mohillian on the team has won county medals at one underage level at least. Many of them have played for Leitrim at all levels. When these players hit their rhythm, they play the most fluent football in the county.

But it's going to be tight and it's going to be tough - really tough if the forecast for tonight is correct and the pitch swims with water.Mohill need to dig deep. They must want to win more than oxygen. And they most never, never stop believing for sixty minutes and more.

I won't be at the game; I have to work. I'll be keeping track by phone and I can only hope, only hope.

Cyprus 5 Ireland 2

To the rest of the football playing world, all I can say is - Jaysus, look over your heads! Flying Saucers!

Who said this?

'It is quite unacceptable that a member of Dáil Éireann and in particular a Cabinet Minister and Taoiseach, should be supported in his personal lifestyle by gifts made to him personally.' (Dáil Éireann transcript, September 1997)