Irish Folk Furniture

Loving this piece directed and filmed by Tony Donoghue with a camera bought on eBay for €150. It's so sweet that I felt all glowy and warm watching it.

Lonely and The Moose: Co-creation of a limited edition CD package

Well I heard Lonely and The Moose at one of their 'Beatroot' sessions and just thought they rocked. We started chatting over–yes–roasted beatroot another day. Tessa and Liz had an idea for their dream CD which would be a precious box holding a bunch of their transatlantic letters to each other. I really liked that and thought of a plan to make a mini-box package as a limited edition run. It would be cheap and cheerful, full of photos, lyrics, memories and teasers for the long run CD. We would all make it together in a 'production frenzy' on the grounds of the stunning Glebe Gardens where Tessa cooks. I think a bonus is that it's flat-packable too: so the girls took a bunch over to the States and assembled them on the road. IKEA-packaging.
Lonely and the Moose
Glebe Gardens and Cafe

Farewell to the Julia – Cork's lost passenger ferry

Running along the docks this morning I was caught up in the City Marathon to my own bemusement, and glanced across at the empty stretch of water where Julia used to sit. She had been a friendly presence in the port of Cork for the last couple of years. High and unmissable, you would catch glimpses of her from various parts of town. Initially she was busy between here and France and back again. But economics intervened and she was left redundant to sit indefinitely in the port until the sad day she turned round and left altogether: April 28th, 2012. Apparently she's servicing the Dutch oil rigs off the North Sea now.

Below is a riston print I did in the printmakers' on Wandesford Quay in 2010, and the next is sunset over the port and train station taken from my house only days before the departure. You can see the empty Elysium building just to her left, monument to the heydaze of the Celtic tiger, and the old R&H Hall building a little left of that again.

Making baby a present...

It's that age. If you aren't having your own, your friends are popping theirs. How can giving be a pleasure when plastic and generic sentiments seem unappealing? It's an ongoing mini challenge to give from the real heart, bypassing Hallmark sentimentality. Below are a couple of recent examples of baby stuff that I put together from the box of tricks. Any excuse to use a fountain pen eh.

Loving nerdy typographic stickers and muji origami papers – colour mmm!

A ribbon fetish is put to wholesome use in this easter bonnet set for little Erin's christening. One for the head, and a matching one for her wrist. (Thanks to Kate for helping me with the sewing).

Johnathan Harris – Personal Geography

Lovely idea and beautifully executed...

Julie Gough – Time and Space and Memory

At the moment she's in Ireland researching her roots and no doubt making something... Here are some images from Tasmania

West Cork, Ireland – A Day Out

RSA Animate - The Secret Powers of Time

Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world.
Lots more of these videos here. Super engrossing.

And, following up from a recent post about mirror neurons and the scientific validity of empathy, here is an appropriate video from the series expanding on this. It is based on a lecture by Jeremy Rifkin.

Life Remembered – The Vicon Revue

This gadget is pretty interesting. It just sits around your neck and takes photos all by itself. Either on timer or in response to sensing things happening by changes of location, heat, movement and more. There is no screen or viewfinder. It costs £500 ex VAT. Why?? Well, for people with Alzheimers who want to remember events in their lives. But also for research and arty stuff.

Developed by Microsoft Research Cambridge, via Infostethics ... Reminds me of Jean Luc Godard's latest flick 'Film Socialisme'. The trailer makes my mind spin.

A Ransacked Country House - Co. Tipperary

A distant relative had lived here for 86 years before reluctantly giving into the nursing home. Sure enough the property has been continuously raided by burglars (my parents use a different word). It's so sad to see a grand house crumble; a life plundered. Check out David Creedon's shots of similar houses around Ireland.

Transport China Part V – Stationary

Daniel Kahneman - The riddle of experience vs. memory

Video on TED.com

Transport China Part IV – Four Wheeling

Transport China Part III – Walking