Ragtag Giggagon

Have you ever been caught up in a flash-mob nobody told you about? And you are looking around, and you really want to dance, but you don't know the steps? Extending the metaphor (what metaphor?), what if you just strum guitar chords over and over, but you don't know the lyrics? Here is Eternal's I Wanna Be the Only One.

The Survival Girls book: http://thesurvivalgirls.com/ Among her other achievements, Ming Holden gained the top prize in a Glimmer Train fiction contest in 2013. The email announcing her win came into my busy inbox one morning last year, and I almost deleted it. I clicked on it, more to get it marked as read than anything else, and I glanced at some words of acceptance from the prizewinner of the latest story competition, with a quote from Madeleine Albright and something about the power of intentionality. “Politics and philosophy,” I thought. When I clicked through beyond the teaser (which DID NOT do her writing-advice piece justice, although quoting a Democrat-appointed cabinet secretary, and a bit of philosophy will - surprisingly - get me clicking at anything), there was a wonderful Obamaesque idealism in Holden’s jesuitical plea to write for others, once you have an intended readership in your head. That readership can be the EMO kids, the dispossessed, the refugees, the voice...

Ireland's First Missing Person's Day has been deemed a major success by all involved. At one event yesterday evening, American actor Anthony LaPaglia made an appearance. He talked about his television role on the series Frasier , playing the part of Daphne's Cockney brother. LaPaglia's character went missing for more than a day in an episode of the show, while he was extremely drunk. Unfortunately, contractual negotiations prevented Mr. LaPaglia from discussing a more pertinent role he has played on the tv series that rhymes with the phrase "Bithout a Brace". Another, less formal event was a Missing Persons coffee morning, held by Swords-based housewife Fidelma Turney. She was both delighted and surprised when four of those missing persons publicised by the government for the Missing Persons Day actually turned up for tea and biscuits, alongside a dozen of her neighbourhood friends. "I was going to charge my neighbours five euros a head," she exp...

Would you like to enjoy the delights of a luxury two week cruise of the Mediterranean? Then simply send in a recent photo of one of our sister ships and the prize could be yours! The Caribbean Jewel went missing three months ago off the coast of sunny and scenic Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean! To enter into the draw, simply send us a photograph of this plush, streamlined and elegant liner taken in the last 90 days!

Canadian television serials mistaken for US TV shows Every day - and night - millions of British and Australian subjects of Her Majesty are fooled into watching Canadian network dramas by mistake. The issue is becoming a growing problem. As they arrive home from work, and switch on their televisions, they are expecting imports from the United States of America. Instead, they are met with Canadian television imports - and because there are little differences in terms of accent and intonation, they are ultimately disappointed. Even worse, Canadian dramas do not have to have a warning preceding the programming, marking it out as an inferior product. However, a list of seven differences between the two kinds of shows have been drawn up by the Royal Office of Taste and Good Upright Trading (ROTGUT). The organisation's patron is Prince Philip. It is hoped that British and Australian viewers will be able to spot the differences, and channel hop if they fear that they are watching Canadian...

A not completely aberrant event in Ireland these days, with the Sea taking part in a RECLAIM THE STREETS protest. It calmed down a little later on.  Again, it calmed down a little later on... High tide and low tide below - low tide would usually be the high tide, but the high tide this time was a REALLY HIGH TIDE, and the low tide was in fact HIGH TIDE TAKING THE MICK. And for those who might say stuff like "Yaaaa, in my country this is narmal" you're quite correct. But the world is a-changing. And it truly is the end of d--[SPLUTTER, GURGLE!]. Low tide...