Fixin' ta git me Irish up...and a few updates...

First, I'm going to do the serious thing and mention that I've noticed all the hits I've gotten on previous posts about Syria, Iran, an Iraqi family I was close to, and Egypt.  Things have gone from bad to worse in all of those areas, with the possible exception of Iran which just stayed bad.  I have chosen not to do daily updates on those and have chosen instead to blog about any sort of change in direction, when they occur, and so far, none has occurred to date.  For a blow-by-blow update, your best bet is to stick with Twitter and Follow those people that I had previously recommended, and keep in mind that with regard to Egypt, Mona Eltahawy doesn't keep as close an eye on Egyptian affairs as one might prefer.  Better: The Big Pharaoh and Ahram Online.  The latter is good with following Syria and other Middle East affairs as well. For Arabic-speakers, Follow Sandmonkey. He'll Tweet in English sometimes, but usually in Arabic.

Another Google Plus community added my blog because of their interest in recipes and although I've resolved to post more the last time this happened, I haven't.  I *will* get to that, and it's *definitely* on my To Do List.  It's just that I've filed that under Mañana Projects.  A "movable feast", as it were.  Just consider it to be inevitable.

Now, about my Irish...I've got one.  Deal with it.  My Celtic-extracted friends who tend to get offended by put-on Irish airs just for the occasion of St. Patrick's Day will just have to cringe again for the entire 24 hour period, because I have a legitimate license from a genuine Irish priest of Dublin to do what I do.  Look at it this way--living in Oklahoma means that I've had to put up with 'way too many renditions of "Danny Boy", aka "Londonderry Air" and this is the one annual chance I get, to get even...with my version of "London Derriere".

According to the counsel of Padre Dave (Father David Rice, if you must know, formerly a professional photographer who performed my baptism in Guinness Stout--not the light stuff, mind you) "it's not a sin if you don't take pleasure in it".  You can bet that St. Paddy's Day is when I sin like hell.

You might as well start bracing yourself now, cuz I'm on a tear the whole weekend. Let the blarney begin.

But first....Shortwave Shindig, aka Shortwave Winterfest in PA.  A lovely worldwide adventure it is, too.  Pointed my browser to one of the links they mentioned and found an archive of Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic. Wonderful!!
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Ah--good question.  If Padre Dave was properly a native of Ireland, why is he Padre?  Well, that's because his Irish was bigger than his priesthood.

Huh?

It's like this--he had a thing for a gal whom I'll just call Lucia, and he wasn't all that discreet about it.  Basically, didn't care who in the apartment complex (well, it was a converted off-campus dorm, actually) knew it.  That's why we all called him Padre Dave.  Fondly.  Lucia's Mexican.

Padre Dave, if you're still with us, I'd like to hear from you.  Same goes for everybody who was there at Saluki Arms at the time.

But on the 18th, Elvish will have left the building.

 

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Sunday footnote-- #Egypt: 60 Minutes aired (re-aired) its segment about Bassem Youssef, "the Jon Stewart of Egypt" and it appears that he keeps going on and off the air there.  More's the pity.  But I also notice the absence of my pro-Muslim Brotherhood friends on Facebook, too. None of these developments are to be celebrated.

#Iraq recently passed a law permitting marriage to 9 year old girls.  Everybody else is shocked and I'm wondering what took 'em so long...because I know this to be The Ayisha Standard.  But Shiites don't recognize Ayisha as significant as Sunnis do. Saddam's Ba'athists  were too secular to permit it, apparently, and what amazes me, really, is that the Shia majority thinks that's a good idea.  That's a Sunni thing.  My guess is that it's an effort to placate the Sunni radicals that keep up the suicide bombing incidents going over there.

For those unfamiliar with Islam's two factions and the role Ayisha plays in the difference, I will post more, but not tonight; it's to late for that at the moment.  G'night everybody!