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Today's been a bit of a write off; I have a massive sinus infection and half my face swelled out..it looked horrible :) and sore as feck.
Gave up at lunchtime and came home - four hours sleep and painkillers and I look & feel a bit more human. I have tomorrow off so hope it will be gone by Saturday ...

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I've been doing this over at my poetry blog; not every day as Nanowrimo is taking up a lot of time, but every couple of days at least. Come good poetry from it too. if you fancy trying them, look at
http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/2009/11/25/2009NovemberPADChapbookChallengeDay25.aspx

there's different prompts for each day of November

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I have been pondering a conversation I had at the weekend and wanted to share...

I personally believe that all subjects are open to debate. I believe that debating thorny issues and delicate subjects is one of the best ways of exploring both what one believes and what others think.
If they happen to think something that opposes my view or offends my sensibilities I have the right to challenge it and vice versa.
In the course of any debate especially online (involving, as that tends to, more than two persons) then opinions will be aired on difficult subjects that will cause offence or annoyance to someone on that thread.

But recently I've come across a body of opinion that claims that if any such opinions are expressed then the thread is automatically a negative and prejudicial thread. That the debate itself is now inherently "racist" or "sectarian" - that allowing the expression of negative opinion is untenable in itself.

Yet, there are many reasons for negative expressions on these issues. Some of them are actually correct. No religion or society is perfect and none should be above comment or above criticism. Especially when the needs and agendas of these religions or societies impinges on the status quo. For example as a woman I believe I have every right to be critical of the treatment of women and the view of women in certain societies and religions, especially when those views threaten hard won freedom and equality for women in Ireland.
Equally the negative opinion may simply be incorrect and based on misconceptions. How can these misconceptions be challenged unless by well informed debate?
Or the person may simply be expressing disquiet, eg "How can we sustain this level of immigration?" without necessarily having a positive or negative attachment to that statement. It's a request for debate, for information, for opinion - based on their own fears or observations.

To react to expressions of disquiet or even outright illinformed prejudice by simply banning debate to my mind is ridiculous. To label every negative reaction to a religion or society prejudicial is even worse. There is a world of difference between the statement "All X are bad" and "This aspect of X's culture is bad" - and we are all and should be all open to the same criticism of our own culture or religion or society.

I've watched the wholesale dumbing down of debate on many fora and in many media both online and in real life and it's a terrible pity.
And it's generally neither welcomed nor pushed as an agenda by the very people most closley concerned with the debate. I have had the best and most informative discussions about Islam with islamic friends; the worst with woolly headed, confused middle class catholic irish people :)

How am I?:
contemplative contemplative
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I had the loveliest week - after recent months it was better than a holiday to have such a nice week. Apart from our lovely trip to west Cork for Samhain, on Thursday I went with a friend to the GRR Martin ([info]grrm ) book signing in Eason's on O'Connell St., Dublin. We had a very lively hour and half queuing to get our books signed, (there was a massive turnout) chatting away to each other and various fellow afficionados and then got to say hello, take a quick photo and have our books signed by one of my all time favourite authors. Mr Martin is Himself's all time favourite alongside Jack Vance so I got Himself a copy of Jack Vance "Songs of the Dying Earth" edited by grrm. Literally covering all the bases! Himself met us after work and we all went for coffee - great chat and lots of plans to meet up again soon.

And then on Friday I was extremely lucky and got to meet GRR Martin and his lovely wife Parris and that was just a brilliant moment. They say "never meet your heroes" but Martin definitely disproves the rule. My poor darling husband is still puking with jealousy but he is also delighted that one of us met him properly, because his first ever present to me, in an attempt to get me to go out with him, was Game of Thrones bby GRR Martin. Some people have "their" song, we have "our" poem and "our" book :) So our signed copies now have added meaning, and it was just one of those days where the stars align and fortune smiles on you.

And then another lovely friend called into town this morning and took me for coffee and a bun for my birthday - a great chat, and lovely company.

In other news....I'm trying to write some poems for the November Pad challenge, and there are a few other new poems up at www.geraldinemoorkensbyrne.com

and I'm doing Nanowrimo again and this year's bit of froth is up at  http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/91696 

Have a good one, chickens !
How am I?:
content content
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Good morning chickens! I have a couple of good books for ye.
The first is Marian Keyes "66 Star Street" which marks a return to form for the Queen of fiction. It's a magical, thoughtful, genuinely sweet book with a real heart. It's very funny, sometimes sad and very interesting. Her last one This Charming Man didn't float everyone's boat - I quite liked it - but I think Star Street is a really good offering. It's very different in style from her early stuff but it has that sharp wit and warmth. I love the magic realism that pervades it, she juggles several storylines with aplomb and Grudge the Dog is my hero. It has a touch of Celtic mysticism but so lightly applied it twinkles on the surface.
Secondly The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest - the third and final part of the Millenium series from Steig Larsson. I loved the first two books and now half way through the Hornet's Nest I can say they are superb. I've rarely enjoyed a thriller series so much. The action picks up from the end of the Played with Fire book, Lisbeth Salander has landed herself in hospital with a bullet in her brain and a few more in her body. As the forces of secret Government move against her, Blumkvist and others wade in on her side to fight whether she likes it or not. It's so well written, and the characters are fresh and original (Lisbeth is my heroine!) it is a tragedy there will never be another.

I also read A S Byatt The Children's Book - I have very mixed feelings about this one. It's well written but it has a schizophrenic feel to it. On the one hand when the story touches on the private lives of the children it's excellent, but it then adopts the tone of a biography or historical tome, reciting dry facts and detailing laboriously the various movements in Edwardian society from Fabian to Arts&Crafts. Both sections are well written - but they jar horribly on each other. There are flashes of brilliance - the mother's manipulation of her abused son, a literary betrayal that causes real harm or the dysfunctional family on the Marsh- but too often the style is detached and unengaging and affected and the characterization is ridiculous at times. I am surprised it found it's way onto the Booker list although it's not as bad as the Quickening Maze (Adam Foulds) which was appalling. It's not the worst book I've ever read but it was a bit of a chore and - terrible thing to say about a book - it seemed to me an utterly pointless offering.
The only thing redeeming the Booker for me is that Hilary Mantle's brilliant Wolf Hall won :)
How am I?:
creative creative
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An Obituary printed in the London Times - not a joke and makes you think!

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place:
Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate;
teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch;
and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sunscreen or an Aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.
She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; by his wife, Discretion; by his daughter, Responsibility; and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I am a Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

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Just back home after visiting E & family - lovely evening, great food, doty kids and great friends. And it's almost Samhain- may the ones we love be with us tomorrow; may Winter bring us joy and may we all make it safely through to Spring.

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Well we had great plans for last week - house stuff, new website stuff - but it all went bellyup. FIrst we had my niece to mind so we took her to dinner and the cinema, then we had visitors unexpectedly and finally we discovered that the charity fundraiser fancry dress ball we'd promised to attend was on last Friday not this one coming. So we were out almost every night and by saturday I was exhausted. So of course my BIL invited himself and the family up to visit :) 
Great fun, even if I had to spend Sunday cleaning - but I was done yesterday. Of course the Bank Holiday meant Himself was off Monday which was lovely and we spent the day pottering, chatting, watching movies, going for a walk, visiting my parents. Lovely.
Doctors appointment today, and Thursday  - and fingers crossed off to West Cork on Saturday for 2 nights. Yay!!
How am I?:
touched touched
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Up - what can I say. I despise schmaltzy tear jerkers and usually if a film makes me cry I hate it but - the first 15 minutes of UP are simple and very emotive. The rest is absolutely hilarious, wonderfully drawn, amazing graphics, great characters, with a sincere heart. Himself declared it his favourite film (ever) I consider it the best film I've seen in years and our 16 year old niece thought it was bloody fantastic
YAY! for UP
How am I?:
bouncy bouncy
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I was delighted when Mantell won the Booker for this; having read all the shortlist this year (and most of the longlist) while there were other good choices (Brooklyn, Colm Toibin for example) Wolf Hall managed to be that most elusive of books -a literary gem worthy of the Booker that's also a cracking good read.
It's a very different view of Thomas Cromwell than one finds usually - portraying him at least partly as a kind father and guardian, loyal servant and man of the people made good. The era is effortlessly evoked and her Henry 8th is pitch perfect.
One of the best books ive read this year.

A close second is Sarah Waters The Luttle Stranger - evocative and strange and wonderful. Give Brooklyn a read as well - Toibin recreates 1950s Ireland as it possibly was; although his heroine is sadly too realistic in her passivity.

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