Some text in which to test

So, Shawn has finally returned to trying to get some research (my own)-related writing happening (it’s only taken me two years to get back to it). And as those that know me realise, I am very place-conscious when it comes to finding the magic Third Place that I need to work effectively. The parameters are defined:

1. I can only seem to get effective writing and thinking done in the morning. Starting at 6am doesn’t pose a problem, in fact the mind is nice and sharp and creative at this point. Nothing makes me feel better than being able to put finger to key (or when using the iPad to screen;-) and get into the flow. Realistically in changed circumstances 8-8:30am as a starting point is more realistic.
2. I am not easily distracted by going on around me (within reason) and do actually seem to cocoon mentally when there is a bustle about.
3. I do like to be able to get a good latte and sometimes an occassional breakfast item, but usually am bringing along my own porridge.
4. I need a power outlet as the batteries on both MacBooks went to about two hours life after making the ‘upgrade’ to Snow Leopard.
5. I also need wifi access as much that I seem to do requires internet access. My little 3G dongle often suffices, but I have discovered that it can be easily stymied and can prove problematic.
6. Comfort is nice (i.e. a plush chair), but often a table keeps me honest (and let’s be honest – good posture is to be respected).
7. It should be located within easy proximity of home, but also in the direction of the office.

So, the usual suspects are easily investigated.

Starbuck’s Mespil Road is a nice shop. Comfortable and location is great. There is free wifi when you keep a minimum amount on your Starbuck’s Card, but the BTOpenZone service at this location is dodgy to the point of unusable. The iPad does better than the laptop. Unfortunately the 3G modem cannot find signal and is a non-starter. The coffee is good, although vanilla lattes at Starbuck’s in Ireland are very different beasts and I tend towards a soy chai latte instead. The porridge (referred to as perfect) very pricey and comes in a very small quantity. The addition of fruit and honey to it is a nice touch, but not at nearly €2 extra. I am forced to look elsewhere.

The alternate Starbucks is a 10 minute walk to Shelbourne Road. There is no wifi here. It’s a non starter. It might have worked on the 3G front, but that is limited to one device and location takes it away from the office.

The Coffee Company on Mespil is also potential, but it too suffers from a 3 3G blackout and only has outside seating…fine on the fine days…not so good otherwise. They make a mean latte though and do have porridge available at a reasonable price and good quality.

The new Fixx Cafe over on Dawson Street is also a contender. It offers free robust wifi and is a very comfortable spot. The coffee is extremely good. The rather funky furniture works for me and there is a good buzz about the place. When the Costa here closed (I am still in the dark as to why) it was a real blow to the immediate scene. The Fixx has gone a fair distance to filling the gap. The only real downside is that there are no apparent power outlets and I seem to know far too many people that walk in for a cuppa. Maybe a backup.

Today’s excursion was to the Cafe Java on Leeson Street. Currently the front runner. Offers free wifi, but cannot join the network. Luckily the place next door also offers free wifi and so we are up and running on the internet access front. There are even two tables serviced with power. The coffee is good, and even a few possibilities should one need some added food content. The only apparent downside is that it is a little quite. Business seems to pick up after 10:30 as locals drift in for a late breakfast. Clearly its not on the business route and doesn’t seem to be an arranged rendezvous for business meetings. Current front runner.

Will keep you posted.

Irish Fleeing to Canada

With a few spare hours to spend before the DHO Summer School, I decided to revisit Glasnevin Cemetery and check out the new interpretive centre. As you may remember from my earlier post, there was a grand, but damp ceremony staged to reopen the refurbished crypt of Daniel O’Connell late last year. When there I was impressed by this swoopy modernistic centre being built to welcome visitors to Glasnevin. Well, it opened a few months back and I finally got a chance to visit it.

A little background, to prove I actually visited the centre and took in a little of the knowledge they are dispensing. Glasnevin is a non-denominational cemetery that was opened in 1832 and is the largest cemetery in Ireland. Think Pere Lachaise in a less rolling and less forested surrounding. There are over one million souls buried in Glasnevin.

The new interpretative centre backs on the cemetery walls on Finglas Road. The cemetery itself is surrounded by high walls and even features watchtowers at the corners. The need to protect the inhabitants of the cemetery stems from the nineteenth century grave robbers that preyed upon the bodies of the deceased. The centre is a stunning new addition to the cemetery. The design, although modernistic does seem in harmony with the surroundings, the horizontal expanse fitting in well with the long walls surrounding the cemetery. The building is squat, and although a large edifice, the glass and stone sits well amongst the stone grave markers. There is a €6 entry fee to the museum. This seems a bit high given the paucity of exhibition content offered. There are basically two floors of things to see. On the lower floor (where you start) the theme is a journey under the ground of the cemetery proper…rather like a trip through the catacombs in Paris. The exhibits are well done, but brief. A short widescreen interpretative video is presented to establish the context of the cemetery within Irish history. There is an attempt to allow the guest to connect with the individuals buried in the cemetery through a collection of individual artefacts. The mood of the visit is established with lots of running water and a message relating to the multi-demoninational aspect of the cemetery is presented.

Taking an elevator to the first floor you get to play with some touch screens that take you through the life of Daniel O’Connell. Underneath a wall of windows that face the cemetery are a series of additional screens that choose from a select set of individuals buried at Glasnevin presented as a longitudinal timeline visualisation. As a visitor you can choose to explore biographies by choosing individual names using trackballs (remember those). Additionally (and I think this is rather cool) the timeline morphs into a social network visualisation of the person (node) of interest. Essentially the presentation presents a virtual community of the deceased, but allows you to explore the web of that society. Quite interesting.

The museum ends there. You proceed down the stairs to the ground floor and sandwiched between the two exhibit spaces is the obligatory museum shop and a lovely cafe. It’s a pleasant surrounding, but I am not sure that I have seen this level of heritage management at a cemetery. Quite fascinating.

The day was a fine one and I had a chance to tag along with one of the guided tours of the cemetery itself. Our guide was a very perky sort (in a positive sense) and expressed a wonderful enthusiasm for the history and the people buried in Glasnevin. She took us on a wide ranging tour of the grounds as well as Irish history and how much of it is bound up with the notable individuals buried here. The cemetery itself is a huge space and there are a number of very different spaces within it. Many of the spaces are wonderfully tree-lined in a way similar to Pere Lachaise. Many of the monuments are being restored by the Office of Public Works in Ireland and all in all this creates a very relaxing and specially spiritual environment. Obviously wandering in a cemetery is not for all people, but for those of us that find rooting in historical presence, Glasnevin is a very special place.

An amazingly gorgeous weekend in Ireland and I was invited to join with some friends heading up Lugnaquilla. It’s the highest point in Leinster and so wonderfully accessible from Dublin. I biked out to Stillorgan and we drove down through Wicklow to Glenmalure to begin our ascent. The drive itself is a treat as you pass through some of the most scenic glens and passes. 50 minutes from Dublin we kitted up for the climb. After our outing to Scarr a couple weeks ago, doubling our summits was a heady goal (500m to 975m) – but we were ready for it.

The four of us set out before noon and the day couldn’t have been better for it. The ascent from Glenmalure is in stages; each one a very different experience. After setting of on a trail, we quickly took a shortcut up through a steeper wooded area. That set the tone for the day. Rejoining the trail, we came to our first steep portion marked by a lovely waterfall rushing down probably 75m of exposed rock. The going started to get a bit more challenging as we zigged and zagged amongst rockfalls heading for the first crest. A fine test. Breathing heavily enough we reached the break and were presented with a gently inclined meadow. This is certaily the beauty of hill; walking in Wicklow. The diversity of the landscape. The meadow was crossed by a series of rivulets than meandered, all converging on the watefall at the crest of the hill. The meadow took us towards the north and the gentle peaty surface was a bit of a relief for the knees. The downside is the sogginess and one stays quite aware of footfalls. The gorse had just faded from the bright yellow fragrance that we had a few weeks back, but there was a bright profusion of yellow and purple flowers blooming throughout the meadow to fill the hillside with a subtle and glorious hue. The meadow was surrounded by rockfalls on either side, one the north to Ben Lee and the south by Ben Dun. Both substantial peaks in their own right, and also obscuring our eventual goal of Lugnaquilla.

After an hour or two we eagerly took our first break and sustained ourselves with a light snack. Pushing on our leader decided to take a little more aggressive, steep and challenging incline. Very good for the heart I say. We skirted behind a huge outcropp between the ridge heading for Lug and the other peak at Ben Dun. This led us to one last big push before we reached the flat plateau that gradually led to the highest point on Lug.

At 976m by the iPhone, we had made it in around 3 hours and felt well satisfied with ourselves and deserving of our packed lunches. The sun was shining and the wind was a wee bit cold, but we feasted on a wonderful view.

The trip[ back down was taken at a far more leisurely pace and we were spared the harder decline that we could have sought. We set off along the expansive plateau at the crest of Lug and took a northernly jaunt down at a diagonal to meet the mountain meadow of earlier. Heading for the waterfall asa marker for the decline we actually ended up with a very knee testing descent alongside the waterfall and then crossed over the water at the foot. after the trail we braved the scrub once more and took the short cut off the beaten path arriving back at the car park thrilled with ourselves and exhilarated by a perfect excursion. All we can say now is onward and upward!

ps. Here is a beautiful stone marker at the base of our ascent commemorating those who fought in the 1798 uprising.

Eric Fischer has posted a new series of visualisations ‘Locals and Tourists‘ depicting the location of photos taken in urban areas around the world. In this

series he attempts to distinguish between those taken by tourists (people who seem to be a local of a different city and who took pictures in this city for less than a month) and those by locals (people who have taken pictures in this city dated over a range of a month or more). Intriguing.

I was struck by his ingenious re-use of the existing data to create new information. By exploring individuals posted pictures over time he was able to hypothesise as to whether they were visiting or residing in a particular area. This allowed for a means to compare the gaze of the two groups.

I immediately started to explore his map of Dublin to see if any patterns emerged and then to try and suggest explanations for them. There is a healthy and regular mix of photos by both groups in the central core, but immediately to the east is a large blue box of photos taken by locals. It appears to surround the new Aviva Lansdowne Stadium in Ballsbridge. On the northside there is a similar cluster of photographs by locals taken at the National Botanical Gardens. Interestingly around the Powerscrourt area to the south of the city are a cluster of photographs which cannot be distinguished as being from locals or tourists (yellow in colour). Fischer’s methodology of distinguishing between locals and tourists suggests that the people posting photos of Powerscourt revisit the area on an irregular basis or post pictures irregularly from only a select group of places. Interesting.

The most practical application of Locals versus tourists is to consider how a visitor might use these visualisations to find the hidden city known only to its inhabitants – to find those secret spots worthy of capture by locals, but seemingly missed in the tourist guides.

This set builds on his earlier work ‘The Geotaggers’ World Atlas‘ looking at from where the pictures were taken, whether from car, bicyle or when walking.

After a lovely weekend down at the end of the road in Garnish, West Cork, we found ourselves passing through the village of Béal na mBláth. Taking the opportunity and being so close we decided to visit the site of the the ambush of Michael Collins and his subsequent death at a bend in the road just outside Béal na mBláth. The ambush site is marked by a huge celtic cross and an interpretative sign located approximately where Collins was shot in August 1922. A small marker (which I show here) marks the spot where Collins expired.
Michael Collins was one of the leaders in the movement that resulted in Irish independence and was tragically assassinated on an inspection tour of his home county of Cork during the Irish Civil War.

The ambush site is located on what is still a small and winding road surrounded by hills on either side – a superb choice for an ambush. A large celtic cross is surrounded by a well maintained ironwork fence at the bend in the road. There are yearly commemorations of the anniversary of the tragic loss of Michael Collins to the future of Ireland. The siginificance of the loss is still the subject of conjecture and has much to do with the colour of one’s political stripes. Fine Gael hail Collins as the forefather of the party and sees the anniversary as a spiritual annual event. Fiana Fáil supporters on the other hand may be a little more tight lipped on their opinions about the event. In either case, the significance of the event is of unquestionable importance in Irish history. An article from the Independent published in 2007 eloquently expressed the significance of Michael Collins to modern Ireland.
Interestingly, the cross itself is littered with coins. I presume they are left as good luck tokens, but found this a curious practise. Maybe tribute to Michael Collin’s role as finance minister?

Walking into Rinsgend last night I was just struck on what a pleasant evening it was. Here’s a lovely shot looking down the Dodder towards the nearly complete Aviva Stadium with the Dublin Mountains in the background. It occurs that just to the right side of the Stadium you can even see the shape of Sugarloaf off in the distance.

Although a rather ‘soft’ day yesterday, circumstances demanded a flying visit to Glasnevin Cemetery. The occasion was the public opening of the crypt of Daniel O’Connell, one of the great Irish figures of the nineteenth century. I felt compelled to make the journey, and with a small group of weather braving souls we paid a sort of tribute to the Great Liberator.

I have been wanting to visit Glasnevin since arriving in Ireland and it had, until yesterday, eluded my grasp. The cemetery as you can read from the linked wikipedia article is the largest nondenominational cemetery on the island and it contains the last resting spots of some of the most notable public figures of the last two centuries. In fact, the article claims it contains the remains of over 1.5M souls. That seems a rather heady claim, but bears consideration. Existing during famine times the cemetery existed during a period when roman catholics were not permitted to maintain their own cemeteries and had to conduct what rites they could in protestant graveyards.
Certainly Glasnevin is on par with a place like Pére LaChaise in Paris as the national cemetery. However, the cemetery in Paris is rather lush and you have a feeling of creeping organic decomposition and a sense that you are at the portal to the underworld. At Glasnevin, there is a sense of reaching out towards heaven. The vast collection of monuments soar upwards and you feel surrounded and amongst the concrete remembrances, but clearly on a worldly plain.

The cemetery is hard to miss. As you approach you can see the magnificent round tower erected over the crypt of Daniel O’Connor for a great distance and on closer approach the towering walls and guard towers at the corners make the site unmistakable. Even on a dreary day one is in awe on approach. This feeling of great appreciation that one is in a special place is all the more heightened as you walk amongst the markers of figures that you may only be familiar with from the pages of history books or spoken in reverence. Casement, Boland, Devoy, Brugha, Collins, Maud Gonne Macbride, to but name a few. And only a few as the weather was filthy and I now look forward to heading out on a sunnier occasion to pay proper respect to the memory of the many more that are buried here.

The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, gave a very thoughtful and extremely poignant speech (in the driving rain) paying tribute to O’Connell as one of the first human right activists and connected his legacy directly to the ideals of the Irish people today. The visit was brief, but we did manage to get down to the crypt and actually touch O’Connell’s sarcophagus. The vault itself is decorated with motif’s rooted in the nineteenth century, fine celtic knot work and bold statements of the accomplishments of the great man. I hope that the pictures that I share can do this justice.

On another note there is a huge shiny new visitors centre nearing completion which promises to ‘tell the story’ of the souls buried at Glasnevin…I look forward to seeing the interpretation.

If you choose to visit Glasnevin, Bus 40 leaves from Parnell Square quite frequently and drops you right at the gates to the cemetery. Bus 140 is even better as it comes right from UCD down the dual carriage way, Leeson Street, Stephen’s Green and across the river right past the cemetery as well, so it is very easy to reach. For myself, I hope that I can find a nice dry day to revisit and experience the cemetery.

Well, after a long hiatus here’s a quick blog post. Won’t try to cover all that has changed since the last one…now married and living in a fine house in Dublin. I do feel driven to cover the vote on Lisbon tomorrow.

When I started here last year I just missed the No vote. I did witness the multitude of signs on all the street posts (resoundingly no) and I have a collection somewhere. This time around the Yes side is determined not to be caught napping. Tomorrow will tell the tale.

On the absolutely esoteric side, I wanted to share a couple posters. This first No poster, I simply don’t get, but then maybe I am missing all the subtle hints. There are actually two versions. One is dated 1945-2009 – the other 1916 -2009 and the tag line – European/Irish Democracy? What the hell do they mean? They both feature the same little girl’s face with the eyes changed in colour…a lovely green tint for the nod towards the Easter Rising. I just have no clue. Is a poster like this supposed to make me want to vote no? Am I defending the poor waif’s shattered dreams? The poor wee thing.

Just to be somewhat even handed though, here’s another crap poster (there are good ones out there too) by the yes side entitled ‘Yes in the City.’ Almost enough to vote No. Not sure what this one is trying to convey either, but all it says to me is that Yes means materialism and whiny navel gazing. I feel compelled to protected my country of residence from that sort of thing.

All the signage does make for the most colourful street scenes, so to make up for the fine autumnal colours that I expect that I am missing in Canada, I am finding my enjoyment on street lamp foliage rather than maple trees this season.