Interesting comment on the upcoming Supreme Court nomination

Spotted on the BBC Website:

"It is indeed an oddity that the court absent Stevens consists of 6 Catholics and 2 Jews. I have joked in the past that it's a fair offset for the overrepresentation of WASPs in the Congress (and until 2009, the presidency)."

That does seem rather surprising. Perhaps an unusual number of Catholics took to the law in the USA 40-50 years ago? A sort of 'Kennedy effect' we didn't know about?

Not really that surprising. Both Catholicism and Judaism have traditions of legal interpretation (canon law for Catholicism and Talmudic interpretation in Judaism). Protestantism in most of its forms looks to the Bible as the one and only source. You don't have the same tradition of dispute and resolution.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2010/04/obamas_supreme_court_choice_wi.html#P95209647

Celtic vs Rangers at Gillette Stadium

This summer? Could it be true?

I'd imagine there would be a lot more Celtic fans around here, but it would be interesting to see how many Rangers fans come out of the woodwork:

http://boston.com/community/blogs/less_is_more/2010/04/old_firm_to_play_at_gillette.html

Donald Clarke, Irish Times film critic, asks "Are Americans stupider than Europeans"

He asks the question in jest, of course, regarding the fact that European film names are sometimes changed when they are shown in the US.

I would add the counter-example of the Pauly Shore "classic" Encino Man which was renamed "California Man" in Europe because Europeans may not know the significance of Encino.

Here is the article - the comments are worth reading.

Irish book of the decade

My vote goes to Netherland by the Cork-born Joseph O'Neill. Many of the other books are quite "worthy", but Netherland has the advantage of being a good read.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0414/breaking42.html

Google Maps places a bank branch right on the Red Line

Quick - where is the TD Bank branch at 579 Boylston Street? Near Copley Square, right?

Bing gets it right:
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=42.350421999999995~-71.07665500000002&lvl=15&sty=r&where1=579%20Boylston%20St%2C%20Boston%2C%20MA%2002116-3601

Google Maps, on the other hand, reckons that this particular TD Bank branch is located right on the Red Line train tracks heading south from South Station, or perhaps it is in the Fenway.

Best by February 1912

Seen on a Stop and Shop frozen vegetables packet:

Show me the way to Vermont

Pictured last week in the Yarra Valley, near Melbourne in Australia:

Phoebe Prince

This is a story which has got no attention in the Irish press, although it concerns an Irish girl who recently moved to Massachusetts (South Hadley) from County Clare, went to school in South Hadley, and then killed herself as a result of bullying there.

Speaking as someone who moved from Ireland to Massachusetts also, the whole "US High School" thing is very confusing and I can only imagine what it would be like to move from a small village in Clare into a US high school.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/03/30/standing_up_for_phoebe

Ireland leaves the PIIGSty

Ireland famously was included in the "PIIGS" group - Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain. But now Ireland may have exited the group, having implemented tight budget controls:

“Ireland has left the pigsty for the time being and it has come out smelling of roses,” said Stuart Thomson, who helps oversee more than $100 billion as chief market economist at Ignis Asset Management in Glasgow, Scotland. “It doesn’t face the same problems that the southern Mediterraneans face this year.”

From Bloomberg this morning.

Dunkin' Donuts in Dubai

Mind the Melodica Deathship

Looks like good advice. Seen in Tara Street DART Station in Dublin:

The British Government's guide to finding faggots in Methuen

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a handy listing of "British Shops in Massachusetts". But, with my Irish radar on, I can't help noticing such entries in the list as "Cape Cod Irish Village", "Erin's Own Irish Imports", "Irish Imports Ltd", the "Irish Speciality Shop" and the "Irish Cottage". hmm...

Thwaites Market in Methuen is the real deal though. It is described as a "Retailer and importer of British meat pies and meatballs, pork pies, sausages, scotch eggs and faggots." It's good to know that the Her Majesty's Government is providing a helpful service for seekers of pork pies, scotch eggs, and faggots in Methuen.