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I'm sorry to be so morbid but we've been told to expect the death of a close family member soon. We've heard the reports of the medical consultants and basically, bar a miracle, there's little chance going back - and this will be the first passing of an immediate family member.

I'm the only man left if/when this happens and I want to know, honestly, and in practical terms, what to do, expect, plan for, anticipate and so on.

It happens to everyone and the more informed I can be, the better I can look after things that just need sorted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-33020329

Jimmy has some fervent opinions on Paisley, the Irish question and the rest.  I wonder how many incandescent loyalists will be outside his concert in Crumlin Road Gaol tonight screaming No Surrender!

Nearly choked on my tea watching this wee lad on utv news http://www.joe.ie/entertainment/video-this-irish-teenager-has-an-absolutely-astounding-voice-that-defies-his-age/481201

PSNI to draft in four Gaeilgoirí for the UK city of cultúr's all Éire fleadh this De Domhnaigh.

Very confusing craic all together, nach mbeidh?!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15186967

Van Morrison's 1967 song Brown Eyed Girl has been played more than 10 million times on US radio. Of course, he didn't turn up for the award in London, but anyhow, I agree, Van's got hundreds of better songs than this granny-at-wedding evergreen.

Moondance, Madame George, Domino, Bright side of the road, Days like this, Cleaning windows, for starters.  Any others?

"A visit by the British Queen to the Irish Republic will probably happen before the end of next year, according to Taoiseach minister Brian Cowen.

Mr Cowen's comments came after he met with his British counterpart David Cameron at Downing Street on Wednesday.

It is understood arrangements between officials in London and Dublin are currently being discussed.

It would be the first visit to the Republic by a British monarch since partition in 1921.

Mr Cowen said there was now no obstacle to the British Queen coming to Ireland.

"I think that would be a good development," the taoiseach said.

"I think also that the importance of an exchange of state visits says a lot about the modern bilateral relationships we now have "


So, where would you take Lily on her wee trip? Croker? The Curragh? Killarney? Or Killinarden?

[still]

Sorry, I'm really tired of this fawning to the status quo. I was over in London there last week and despite the fact I have some very good, decent friends there, in Britain, I am still Irish, I am different, in accent, attitude and outlook on life. I am proud to be Irish, to be separate from England etc, not because I am a bigot, or sectarian in anyway, but because I live on a small island and know I am different, and I also believe that Ireland should, and will, be united some day, one day, and not because of Sinn Féin, or some pseudo-republican dream, but because it deserves, as do we do, to be united, as Irishmen and women, in one island, perhaps against the world, but as a free-standing island in the world.

[Grovelling news report from the BBC]

Grovelling news report from the BBC

A "nationwide celebration" (does that include Cullaville?) will be held to mark The [British] Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the UK government has announced.

Events to mark The Queen's 60 years on the throne (if she makes it, ffs) will take place in the first weekend of June 2012, with an extra bank holiday being created.

Lord Peter Mandelson said it would be a "truly historic occasion" which would allow the British people to show their "pride and affection" for Lily The Queen.

The Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002 was marked by celebrations across the UK, including a royal tour and a pop concert at Buckingham Palace (errr, by Brian May of Queen).

First Secretary of State Lord Mandelson told peers that a series of "fitting events" would be held in the summer to 2012 to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and that planning was at an early stage.

He said the British government had agreed to grant an additional bank holiday on Tuesday 5 June to provide a focal point for the celebrations.

In addition, the traditional May Bank Holiday at the end of May will, in 2012, be moved to 4 June to make it a four day weekend (meaning the whole of Ireland will be off on 4 June).

Noting that Queen Victoria Saxe Coburg-Gotha was the only previous British monarch to have reigned for 60 years, Lord Mandelson said 2012 would be a "landmark year".

Hailing The Queen's time as sovereign as "near-perfect", (Jesus H) Lord Mandelson said the celebrations would give the British people the opportunity to show their "great pride and affection" for the Queen and her contribution to British life.

"People across the whole country will want the chance to recognise this remarkable achievement," he said.

How odious can you be Mandy - but hey, if it falls on a weekend Armagh will be playing in the 2012 Ulster, then it gives us two days to recover from, errr, whatever result....

What's the best intro to a song you ever heard?

I'm an oul 60s head so I'd have to go for something like Jumpin' Jack Flash, Like a rolling stone, River deep mountain high or similar.

Anything else out there?

60s:
Last time - Rolling Stones

70s:

Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Blinded by the light - Manfred Mann
Lola - Kinks
Boys are back in town - Thin Lizzy
Atomic - Blondie

90s:
Verve - Bitter sweet symphony

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8339552.stm

According to a recent survey by Collins, colloquialisms are dying out, even the precious Norn Iron spake.  Does no one 'wet the tea' no more, wear 'gutties' to go out runnin, have a 'poke' on a hot day or scratch their 'oxter'.

What favourite wee words do yous 'uns have that no wan outside of dear oul Ulster would have a buck notion what ye is on about, like.

With the proliferation of beard growth on the Tyrone team (a bit like Croatia bleaching their hair in 2002), would you allow for just a few more days stubble to grow on your face if you thought it could win you a 3rd Sam Maguire or will you forever shave your gob like your da cos it's the only bit of daily non-metrosexual activity you'll allow?

Well, it's that time of year again, with them Oscars on the horizon, and the American Film Institute have announced their Top 100 movie quotes of all time; here's the top 10 I got from the press this morning.  What do you think, or any that should have been right up there?

1   "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."   Rhett Butler   Clark Gable   Gone with the Wind   1939
2   "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."[2]   Vito Corleone   Marlon Brando   The Godfather   1972
3   "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am."[3]   Terry Malloy   Marlon Brando   On the Waterfront   1954
4   "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."   Dorothy Gale   Judy Garland   The Wizard of Oz   1939
5   "Here's looking at you, kid."   Rick Blaine   Humphrey Bogart   Casablanca   1942
6   "Go ahead, make my day."   Harry Callahan   Clint Eastwood   Sudden Impact   1983
7   "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."[4]   Norma Desmond   Gloria Swanson   Sunset Boulevard   1950
8   "May the Force be with you."   Han Solo   Harrison Ford   Star Wars   1977
9   "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."   Margo Channing   Bette Davis   All About Eve   1950
10   "You talkin' to me?"   Travis Bickle   Robert De Niro   Taxi Driver   1976

Well, have any of yous seen the Belfast Eye that's just been erected in the grounds of the City Hall?

Very impressive when you first see it, though it'll probably be £30 to get on it just to see the lough and the black mountain.

I know there was a version of it in the 70s on the top of Unity Flats....

It's 25 years this week since the birth of the emoticon, a symbol (or combination of symbols) used to convey emotional content in written or message form, which was created, purely by accident, by a US academic in September 1982 who was trying to differentiate between serious and tongue-in-cheeks comments on an early version of the internet discussion board.

The creator of the original emoticons :-) and :-(, with a specific suggestion that they be used to express emotion, was Scott Fahlman; the text of his original proposal, posted to the Carnegie Mellon University computer science general board on 19 September 1982 (11:44), was considered lost for a long time. It was however recovered twenty years later in 2002 by Jeff Baird, from old backup tapes.


19-Sep-1982 11:44    Scott E  Fahlman             :-)
From: Scott E  Fahlman <Fahlman at Cmu-20c>

I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers:
       
:-)
       
Read it sideways.  Actually, it is probably more economical to mark
things that are NOT jokes, given current trends.  For this, use
       
:-(

However, 25 years on, the creator Fahlman has disassociated himself from the myriad of 'cons that have developed since then, including eyes to heaven, tongue stuck out and even Marge and Homer Simpson lookalikes.  He has been quoted as saying he would like a frown on his gravestone because of the monster he created.

Don't know if threads on alcohol are frowned upon in here but I was talking to a whiskey drinker over the weekend about the virtues of Irish uisce beatha over Scottish or American whisky (and mixers if preferred).

Are there any whiskey drinkers out there that can tell me what real differences there are between a Jameson and a JD, a Tullamore Dew and a Glenfiddich. I'd only take a drop when I'm under the weather so I'm no expert.

[Think the lads are setting themselves up for a Nobel Peace Prize or two!]

Think the lads are setting themselves up for a Nobel Peace Prize or two!

"Leaders of Iraq's Sunni and Shia factions are to consider a series of principles on non-violence after talks involving Northern Ireland politicians.

The discussions were held at a secret location in Finland over the weekend.

They were chaired by Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin, and former South African government minister Roelf Meyer.

DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson was also involved in the four days of discussions.

The seminar was attended by about 30 representatives of Iraq's warring Shia and Sunni Arab factions.

The faction leaders have agreed to consult further on a series of recommendations, labelled the Helsinki agreement.

The 12 points contain clear echoes of Senator George Mitchell's principles on non-violence and democracy which paved the way towards the Good Friday Agreement.

Besides Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness and the Lagan Valley MP, other local participants included the former Stormont Assembly Speaker, Lord Alderdice, and the loyalist Billy Hutchinson.

The former IRA hunger striker and Sinn Féin official Leo Green took part, as did the public relations consultant Quintin Oliver who masterminded the Yes campaign during the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement.

The seminar has been organised by the Crisis Management Initiative, an organisation headed by the former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari who served as an independent inspector of IRA arms dumps."

30 years after the death of Elvis Presley, on 16 August 1977, I see there's an internet poll on what are his top 3 recordings - see the poll - with the years he recorded them.

It's funny that, for a career that only lasted 20 years, 5 of the songs listed are in his first two years. I wonder how 'cool' he is now, or do people just sit him as a grossly overweight, burger-eating parody of a star in a white jumpsuit and cape that made crap movies and died aged 42.

What do you think?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_enl_1185547418/html/1.stm

Northern Ireland's numerous murals have depicted life during the Troubles and beyond.

More recently they've helped draw tourists from across the world.

But Derry's best known gable wall has got people talking for an altogether different reason.

Free Derry Corner is turning pink as part of the Gasyard Feile.

The makeover is also timed to coincide with Foyle Pride Week, which is being staged in the city next month for the first time in five years.

"Given that Gay Pride is coming up at the beginning of next month, we thought we should come up with a positive way of making a contribution," said feile organiser Jim Collins.

"And what better way than transforming Free Derry wall - it's such an icon locally."

David McCartney of the Rainbow Project described the gesture as "a powerful gift".

"The focus of this year's pride festival is human rights and civil liberties and the wall is the perfect representation of that," he said.

I'm really not a big fan of chocolate now but when I was a youngster, I loved:

Wagon Wheels
Breakaway
Trio/Club Orange
Double deckers
Minstrels/Treets
Texan (not really chocolate)

The ones out now just don't seem to taste as good now.

Any others out there? - I am trying to remember the name of one wee bar that was kind of orange/ biscuity in an orange and blue wrapper.