“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”
Friedrich Nietzsche 1844 – 1900
Could I have as a favourite quote one which I only discovered in recent weeks – I decided that yes I could as it resonates strongly.
Saint-Émilion au Chocolat
Gosh, one month melds so rapidly into the next and before you know it the just-begun year is more than half over. Time does indeed fly: Easter now feels as distant as the outer reaches of the solar system yet was only three months ago. Now that summer has hit its stride Easter also seems like a different planet, one where the days were colder and central heating was needed as a talisman against the evening chill.
Good Value Eating out in Dublin: Fallon & Byrne Wine Cellar
A recent conversations I had with a friend set me thinking about eating out in Dublin: she had lately returned from a family holiday in Lisbon and was extolling the food-quality and value in restaurants in the Portuguese capital. Now, said conversation planted a seed of an idea that I might write the occasional post about restaurants, wine bars and cafés in Dublin where it is possible to eat reasonably well without paying a king’s ransom for the privilege.
Filed under Dublin, Food/Wine, Ireland, Restaurants/Cafés
My Week
This week Ireland hit the meteorological jackpot, the weather has been glorious with: crystalline blue skies, the gently whir of soft coastal breezes and a warm vibrant sun casting a glittery glow over everything. I love these balmy days but my favourite time is not when the sun is high in the sky but when it begins to dip and day starts to dissolves into inky night.
Toe Curling Cure for Insomnia
If I were to receive an A plus for anything in life a strong contender would be my sleeping ability: I can usually fall asleep within minutes of my head hitting the pillow and stay asleep for a full eight hours thereafter.
Filed under Musings
Social Media and The Pigeon House (not)
It’s a funny old world in general and in particular it’s a funny old social media world. I doubt that on a macro level the full impact of social media in its multitudinous forms on our lives is anywhere near fully understood: on a micro level I don’t fully comprehend the impact of social media as I engage with it on my own life. Case in point: Dublin’s Pigeon House (not) and my *Instagram feed.
Coursera
“Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world” Nelson Mandela
I am writing about Coursera just in case there is anyone out there, or at least anyone out there who reads JAA, who hasn’t yet heard of it, because Coursera is simply one of the best things on the internet that I have come across in some time. And it is free. Like all good things I heard about it by word of mouth when my friend C talked about taking Cousera classes at a recent book club meeting.
Filed under Education
Deirdre O’Donnell and The School of Jewellery
Note: apologies for the poor quality of some of the images.
I first wrote about talented goldsmith and designer Deirdre O’Donnell back in November 2011 when Deirdre was setting up a jewellery school and was navigating her way through the establishing-a-business- maze. The business seemed fair set for success as it was plugging a gap in the market and because of Deirdre’s stellar reputation as a craft jeweller and her passion for passing her knowledge on.
In which I reflect on my learning style
I have my best learning experiences ‘learning’ things I don’t actually need to know. In other words I seem to have an endless capacity to amass trivial and relatively unimportant pieces of information. These spin around my mind like a whirligig and are usually readily accessible, when needed. They seldom are. Random example: should anyone want to know what the relationship is between the editor of Italian Vogue and the owner of the Milanese gallery/shop 10 Corso Como I can readily supply the answer: they are sisters – Franca Sozzani (magazine editor) and Carla Sozzani (shop owner).
Filed under Musings, Photography
Dublin: UNESCO City of Literature and a New Stamp
When I walk Dublin’s grey-flecked flagstone pavements I am only dimly aware of the ghostly echo of the literary giants who once trod those selfsame routes. The roll call of the great and good of Irish writers of yore who have connections with Dublin is lengthy: Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce …
Just Add Attitude
Just Add Attitude 