I’m still kinda blah on blogging, so I thought I’d post one of my favourite Eddie Izzard skits.

I love this commercial! Love it!

Marias Pass is the lowest point along the continental divide and is located near East Glacier, Montana.

I did it! I made a video.

I think it’s possible that Dan is the only person who knows I’m a sucker for Opera, but I am. If an opera singer can’t make me cry, they’re not a very good opera singer. This guy, Paul, made me cry!

(Pssst! That means Happy Mother’s Day.)

Bella turned seven sometime between January and now, so she got a new bed for her birthday. She also got a stuffed pufferfish toy, but I kinda kept that for myself.

I am by no means Catholic, and if you look around you can probably guess where I stand on mythology, but it’s fair to say that I dig with my left foot. You’ll have to look up that reference on your own. Here’s a long post with various items in honour of St. Patrick’s Day.

3000 Murals (EDIT: To clarify, there are approximately 3000 Nationalist murals around Northern Ireland, this video only shows a small percentage of them.)

The biography of Saint Patrick via Ireland Newsletter

The Patron Saint of Ireland was born into Roman
Britain in the fourth century. He was captured as
a teenager by Niall of the Nine Hostages who was
to become a King of all Ireland.

He was sold into slavery in Ireland and put to
work as a shepherd. He worked in terrible
conditions for six years drawing comfort in the
Christian faith that so many of his people had
abandoned under Roman rule.

Patrick had a dream that encouraged him to flee
his captivity and to head South where a ship was
to be waiting for him. He traveled over 200
miles from his Northern captivity to Wexford
town where, sure enough, a ship was waiting to
enable his escape.

Upon arrival in England he was captured by
brigands and returned to slavery. He escaped
after two months and spent the next seven years
traveling Europe seeking his destiny.

During this time he furthered his education and
studied Christianity in the Lerin Monastery in
France. He returned to England as a priest.
Again a dream greatly influenced him when he
became convinced that the Irish people were
calling out to him to return to the land of
his servitude.

He went to the Monastery in Auxerre where it
was decided that a mission should be sent to
Ireland. Patrick was not selected for this task
to his great disappointment. The monk that was
selected was called Paladius, but he died before
he could reach Ireland and a second mission was
decided upon.

Patrick was made a Bishop by Pope Celestine in
the year 432 and, together with a small band of
followers, he traveled to Ireland to commence
the conversion.

Patrick confronted the most powerful man in
Ireland, Laoghaire, The High King of Tara, as
he knew that if he could gain his support then
he would be safe to spread the word throughout
Ireland. To get his attention Patrick and his
followers lit a huge fire to mark the commencement
of Spring. Tradition had it that no fire was to
be lit until the King’s fire was complete, but
Patrick defied this rule and courted the
confrontation with the King.

The King rushed into action and traveled with the
intention of making war on the holy delegation.
Patrick calmed the King and with quiet composure
impressed upon him that he had no intention other
than that of spreading the word of the Gospel.
The King accepted the missionary, much to the
dismay of the Druids who feared for their own
power and position in the face of this new threat.
They commanded that he make snow fall. Patrick
declined to do so stating that this was God’s
work. Immediately it began to snow, only stopping
when Patrick blessed himself.

Still trying to convince the King of his religion
Patrick grasped at some Shamrock growing on the
ground. He explained that there was but one stem
on the plant, but three branches of the leaf,
representing the Blessed Trinity. The King was
impressed with his sincerity and granted him
permission to spread the word of his faith,
although he did not convert to Christianity
himself.

Patrick and his followers were free to spread
their faith throughout Ireland and did so to great
effect. He drove paganism (symbolised by the
snake) from the lands of Eireann.

Patrick was tempted by the Devil whilst on a
pilgrimage at Croagh Patrick. For his refusal to
be tempted, God rewarded him with a wish. Patrick
asked that the Irish be spared the horror of
Judgment Day and that he himself be allowed to
judge his flock. Thus, the legend that Ireland
will disappear under a sea of water seven years
before the final judgment, was born.

Patrick died on March 17th in the year 461 at the
age of 76. It is not known for sure where his
remains were laid although Downpatrick in County
Down in the North of Ireland is thought to be
his final resting place.

His influence is still felt to this day as Nations
the world over commemorate him on March 17th of
every year.

The Shamrock Triad
This is also from the Ireland Newsletter

The Triad is a social custom and teaching tool
that was used to explain abstract concepts by the
ancient Druids. In addition, many of the early
deities, including Ireland’s patroness, the
Goddess Brigit, were considered ‘triple Goddesses’
or ‘triple Gods’. They represented various stages
of life (youth, parent, elder) as well as aspects
specific to one deity. For instance, the Goddess
Brigit was/is the patroness of the Hearth, the
Forge, and the Arts. The Sun God Lugh was also a
triple deity, as were Manannan Mac Lir and the
Morigeuse. The most likely explanation for the use
of the shamrock as a teaching tool is that the
Druids used it in discussing the nature of these
tri-part deities. Celtic Christianity embraced
many traditions from the old ways, and this
is most likely one of them.

Michael R. Gorman
Author and Poet
Sacramento, California

Irish Phrases

PHRASE: Slainte
PRONOUNCED: slawn-che
MEANING: Good Health!

PHRASE: Eireann go braugh (bráth)
PRONOUNCED: air-in go braw
MEANING: Ireland forever!

PHRASE: Beannachtai na Feile Padraig
PRONOUNCED: bann/ockt/tee nih fail/eh pawd/rig
MEANING: Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

I will add:
Beidh ár lá linn (Pronounced like bay our law lin) — We shall have our day
This, or the more common Tiocfaidh ár lá (our day will come) are slogans of Irish Republicanism.

And to end on a humourous note, Ali G:

Sites that are near and dear:
Ireland Wiki
St. Patrick Wiki
Irish Translator (this is a forum)
An Phoblacht
Irish Republican News
Sinn Féin

Tonight our neighbor’s house caught fire. The house wasn’t finished yet and was still uninhabited, so the fire department just wet down the surrounding area and let the house burn to the ground. This is some video footage that we took right in the middle of the burn. As far as we know nobody was hurt, but we’ll know more on tomorrow’s news I’m sure.
-Dan-

No, that was not an invitation. Just watch.