Boston Serial Killer?

If people falling into rivers and the sea after a night's drinking was evidence of a serial killer on the loose, I'm not sure where that would leave Ireland. Still, interesting to see the trail of perhaps-linked disappearances.

Irish wolfhound at Bunratty Castle Folk Park

I saw this Irish Wolfhound in one of the sheds. Huge dog. I wished I'd seen it walking out-and-about though (although obviously it would need some supervision!)

Ailwee Caves during the rain

Last August I visited Ailwee Cave in County Clare when it was very rainy outside. I was pleased to see that the water level in the cave only raised slightly, and the staff there managed the whole process very well. The water all goes to help the stalactites, which can be seen in the photo below:

Opius Bliss at the Beehive in Boston's South End

I caught Opius Bliss last night at the Beehive. Great set, including a cover of the Eurythmic's "Here comes the rain again". Great food too (though only one vegetarian item on the main course menu).

Who bombed Aleppo? Maybe it was the Continuity IRA

Surreal times as US and Russian militaries argue on Twitter over who's bombing Aleppo. pic.twitter.com/E1iwRMU41Q

— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) February 11, 2016

Hurling with "compromise rules" in Boston

Hurling came to Fenway Park in Boston last year. Using soccer goals, the version of hurling took a bit of getting used to. Due to the smaller pitch, "normal" hurling rules would have resulted in a huge number of points. The goals-only approach successfully avoided that.

I was less happy about the use of quarters rather than halves, and the confusing (to me) countdown which was used. But it seemed to go down well with the crowd which was more used to American sports.

All in all, a hit. Definitely looking forward to the next time hurling reaches the big time in the US!

Treasures at National Gallery, Dublin

I visited the main National Gallery location on Dawson Street (beside Leinster House) in Dublin and it was good to see how well-presented the exhibits are. Much better than I remembered from school tours 20+ years ago. Some highlights below (photos don't do them justice).

Dunkin' double-take

Looks like a Dunkin' Donuts, doesn't it?

It's Donut King at Wellington Airport in New Zealand.

Great Irish bar in San Francisco - The Irish Bank

Always loved this bar, which is a short walk from Union Square. The story about how they originally registered the domain bankofireland.com is an interesting backstory also. If you look closely at the bar you can see the old faded "Bank of Ireland" name there. Fitting because it's close to the financial district.

A nice Irish gift - screenprint of Dublin with added drop of Guinness

I love this screenprint of Dublin from MeAndHimAndYou.com . It is "Printed with solvent free, water based ink and a small drop of Guinness using traditional screenprinting techniques". Usually when I drop Guinness into something I'm printing, it's a bad thing :-) But here the results are great:

Effin in County Limerick deemed "Offensive" by Facebook

I'll withhold any Limerick jokes :-)

www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1203/breaking19.html

#danarumours LOL

As people outside of Ireland may not know, Dana (who won the Eurovision for Ireland with "All kinds of everything") is running for president of Ireland. In the Irish presidential debate last night, she mysteriously said that a "vile rumour" about her was about to surface. This has led to much Twitter speculation about what the rumour is....

My favourites are:

• she stole her eurovision song off Norwegian band Nin Huguen and the Huguenotes
• (also on that note) she kicked Bishop Brennan up the arse
  
• (one for the Irish speakers) A Porn Video Of Dana Was Leaked Called Arse In Uactaharain
• she secretly had potatoes during the famine

Or what about "She drove to Canada with a dog strapped to the roof of her car". No wait, that was Mitt Romney: I'm thinking of the wrong election there.