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IT’S A DAY of rest, and you may be in the mood for a quiet corner and a comfy chair. We’ve hand-picked the week’s best reads for you to savour.
When Lorraine met Yves on a first date, they were both smitten. But little did they realise it was also his last day alive. (Salon, approx 11 mins reading time, 2388 words)
“Help me stand up,” he said. But when I wrapped my arm around his waist and pulled him toward me, we both fell forward, my back hitting the vanity as I struggled to cushion him from the fall. His eyes fluttered. He was clearly in pain.
2. Why don’t we talk about Africa?
That’s what Ijeoma Oluo asks in this essay, where she speaks to her brother in Nigeria about the Boko Haram killings. (Medium, approx 11 mins reading time, 2388 words)
He patiently explained to me the realities of Nigerian politics. Everyone is corrupt. An honest politician would not be able to survive, because nobody else in government would support him or her. All you could hope for was that your corrupt politicians would be the ones siphoning off government funds.
More and more of us are falling back in love with vinyl. This article details its difficult comeback. (The Guardian, approx 30 mins reading time, 6043 words)
While demand for records is increasing year by year, Optimal’s stock of machinery is old, and getting older. New presses are unaffordable, unless the big companies were to invest, but vinyl is still too small a sector of the market for them to be convinced. The kind of painstaking maintenance and technical ingenuity one might think of as the Cadillacs-in-Cuba model keep the industry going. But for how long?
Lindy West met a troll that pretended to be her dead father. Here’s what happened next. (The Guardian, approx 14 mins reading time, 2912 words)
Someone – bored, apparently, with the usual angles of harassment – had made a fake Twitter account purporting to be my dead dad, featuring a stolen, beloved photo of him, for no reason other than to hurt me. The name on the account was “PawWestDonezo”, because my father’s name was Paul West, and a difficult battle with prostate cancer had rendered him “donezo” (goofy slang for “done”) just 18 months earlier
This wonderful article about the Lisdoonvarna matchmaker Willie Daly is crammed with gems. (New York Times, approx 10 mins reading time, 1811 words)
Then, sometimes with no more than a twinkle and a nod, he might introduce two people, buying a woman a drink or nudging a farmer toward the dance floor. “There’s a good deal of magic in it,” he said. “I’m not a big believer in too many words.”
Would you go dumpster diving? Matt Malone does, and makes a mint from it. (Wired, approx 24 mins reading time. 4807 words)
He comes out with a box containing a complete Uniden Wireless Video Surveillance System—two cameras and a wireless monitor—which normally retails for $419. A quick inspection reveals that it’s all in perfect condition, although someone has clearly opened and repacked it. “A return,” he says, then plunges back into the dumpster.
…AND A CLASSIC FROM THE ARCHIVES…
Ever heard of The Shaggs? They’re a weirdo band made up of the three Wiggin sisters, whose life was more than a little difficult. (New Yorker, approx 24 mins reading time, 4981 words)
Depending on whom you ask, the Shaggs were either the best band of all time or the worst. Frank Zappa is said to have proclaimed that the Shaggs were “better than the Beatles.” More recently, though, a music fan who claimed to be in “the fetal position, writhing in pain,” declared on the Internet that the Shaggs were “hauntingly bad”
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Cool article. The Brits are hilarious.
@Lisa Saputo: and they make your corps wait wks till burial . We just prefer a 3 day bender
Another tradition is one hundred years old this week, the tradition of Irish Republicans refusing to swear allegiance to the British queen and refusing to take their seats. Surely it’s time FG and FF put their money where their mouth is, run candidates in the north and take their seats in Westminster? Surely if they believe SF should take their seats then they would do the same? Surely they would win seats in the north after all they’ve done for Northern Nationalists? Surely!!
@European Bob: that tradition is not 100 years old. The tradition died out in 1921 when Ireland got its independence, but was started again in the 70s by a splinter faction of the Workers Party calling itself Sinn Fein.
@European Bob: calm down Shirley.
@European Bob: surely you can’t be serious?!
@Big Red: Actually the Workers Party came from Sinn Fein not the other way.
Sinn Fein split into Provisional and Official, the Officials became “Sinn Fein the workers party” then just “The workers Party” from which Democratic Left split, who then merged with (took over) Labour. I think The Workers Party is still around, but I believe that Thomas McGiolla was the last to be elected to any major position.
@European Bob: slight lack of understanding what a republic is, there Bob. A office holder of a republic cannot swear alligeance to any royal of any origin or to any other power that does not eminate for the people of that republic. FF, FG or anyone considering that would have to form an external party, taking note that any crossing of the party whip (over serving office holders) would be illegal and treasonous to that republic. I dont know, but I suspect it’s similar for the house of commons over there.
@Greg Blake: I’d imagine taking up the oath in the UK, would negate any right of SF MPs to direct or influence the voting of any SF TDs.
@Big Red: You might want to recheck your facts there. They are a little bit on the alternative side.
@Big Red: Note to Red, Ireland didn’t get its independence in 1921. 6 counties still occupied.
@European Bob: its a pity it can’t just become another British parliament tradition, where they symbolically deny sinn fein mps entry a few times, and then just let them take their seats…
@Big Red: partial independence
Maintaining all the fuss and feathers of empire is the root cause of the British sense of self importance.
@Kevin Barry: like wearing a shamrock to commemorate a 1,500 year dead kidnap victim Welsh “saint” who drove the non-existent snakes out of Ireland?
@Robin Pickering: you have us on that one. ;-), All countries have their quaint customs, it’s what makes the world interesting. As long as they are harmless, then let them at it.
@Greg Blake: true. Life would be boring if we were all the same.
A total bunch of clowns the lot of them
@Ciarān: word
@Ciarān: Why are they a bunch of clowns?
@jo mixon: Do i need to explain or have you not been following the news for the the last 2 years?!
I knew a village bycicle who loved the black rod
“Right honourable” means a member of the privy council. Nothing to do with ministerial office
@Dave Ringer: that’s correct. Jeffrey Donaldson from the DUP gets referred to as “the right honourable” just because he is on the queen’s privy council. He is not a minister.
I find this very offensive to Blacks & Rods
MPs are traditionally called ‘honourable’, or ‘hon’ for short. They aren’t referred to by name by other members, but by the constituency they represent. The Speaker calls them by name.
A ‘friend’ is an MP in the same party; referring to others, they are just a ‘member’.
‘Right hon’ means the member is a member of the Privy Council; the get the letters PC after their name.
‘Hon and learned’ means the member is a QC, the equivalent of a SC.
‘Hon and gallant’ means the member is a Sir, a knight.
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