Nanci Griffith

Regan and I went to see Nanci Griffith at the Guthrie last night. This was my first visit to the "new" Guthrie. Very cool building, but I didn't really feel like I was in a theater. Regan said she felt like we were at the airport; a really nice airport. I agreed, but there was something a bit odd about the place. It was like a 1950s version of what an airport would be like in the 21st century.

The concert was fantastic. Nanci is (and always has been) adorable. I felt like such a sap because I got choked up several times during the show. She is a really good songwriter. I think my favortie song is "Trouble in the Fields". Whenever I hear that song I can't help but think of my people out in Tara Township. I wonder if Nanci will do an original song for the soundtrack? I am getting a little ahead of myself...

The perfect antidote to a rainy Sunday afternoon?

Phil Collins...Hits. All afternoon.

I asked Regan for his Greatest Hits for my birthday. "Easy Lover", "Sussudio", "Against the Odds", "In the Air Tonight"...one toe-tapping (or hear-wrenching)tune after another. Did you know Phil did a version of "True Colors"? Much better than Cyndi Lauper. I had forgotten about "Separate Lives" and "Another Day in Paradise".

Regan had some trouble tracking the album down. I didn't even know if Phil ever released a greatest hits compilation, but I hoped. She found it at the Electric Fetus and said she was kind of embarrassed to buy it. It's not like it was Cory Hart or something...

Thanks, Regan.

What is Sussudio? I am going to have to look that up.

I pity the fool...

Why is it that so many of my Minnesota Twins wear thick gold chains? I mean, really, Brendan Harris? Why a chain? You don't seem like a cheesy chain guy. Neither do you, Justin Morneau, but you wear one, too. You are Canadian, but what's your excuse Michael Cuddyer or Matt Gurrier (you had on quite a long chain with some kind of pendant)? We see them; they sneak out from under your jersey from time to time as upi stretch that single into a double or make a great stop.

What am I missing? Is there a big fashion trend that I am unaware of? Do they wear these necklaces off the field, say with a polo shirt or button-down?

Any ideas? Regan?

Can you picture it?

The winding country roads of Ireland, green rolling hills, an old guy in a tweed sport coat searching for a lost sheep, and my family meadnering along in an olde tyme horse drawn caravan.

As I told my mom and sister about this yesterday at coffee, I was in tears for laughing so hard. My mom was so embarrassed by my snorts and chortles. Just imagine how embarrassed she would be in the horse-drawn caravan!

But what an awesome reality show - "The McCormack Family: Travelers Once Again". The first step would be to get Maryn and Ainsley passports - every good tinker family has a couple of wee ones with dirt smudged on their flushed cheeks. I wonder if Matt and Jen will be up for this adventure?

IrishCentral.com

This new site has some good articles, including this one. I like how the author of the article scolds the Irish costars for allowing the offending actor to get away with such an awful attempt at an Irish accent.

My First St. Patrick's Day Parade

I wasn't irritated at all. Guess being out among the guys in green, faux-velveteen tails and huge hats with a buckles makes one more tolerant.

My favorites in the parade were the Irish St. Paul police officers and their pipe/drum. Oh,and the fire-fighters and fire engines.

This was also my niece's first St. Patrick's Day in St. Paul. I think she enjoyed herself.

We are thinking about marching in next year's parade. Of course, we want our contingent to be the best. Some initial brain-storming: pony cart, celebrity guests, a couple of 80+ year-old ringers (our oldest generation are all gone, but a grandma in an Aran sweater and tam is a sure crowd-pleaser). Regan and Eeny are fleshing out the plans.

Also went to the Landmark Center for dancing, etc. Those bouncy wigs are a little freaky, but the dancing was fun to watch.

Later, dinner at my house. Sister-in-law brought her delicious soda bread and sister made her signature Paddy O'Cupcakes.

Happy to be Irish.

Another glimpse at my true nature...

You Are Fearless

You have great dreams and unrelenting ambition. You go for what you want, and it's hard to deter you. You are incredibly competent and intelligent. You've had a very high success rate in your life. You tend to dominate people. You have a very strong personality, and others tend to heed to your demands. You're confident enough to be considered arrogant. You tend to think of other people in terms of what they can do for you.

Are You Flirtatious, Fearless, Factual, or Friendly?

My favorite part of this, "you think of other people in terms of what they can do for you". That is spot on.

I was at Walgreens today

and the woman at the register referred to the credit card machine as retarded. Three times. I was so embarrassed. I might need to send a note to the manager. I wonder if she will get in trouble? I hope not, but come on.

Get this...

Aine --

[adjective]: Smells like teen spirit

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Although I would be unable to live off the land...

I am an Indian. Just as I typed that I recognized how this is not PC. Are people still concerned with being politically correct?

You Are an Indian

It's likely that you spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid. You feel comfortable and at peace in nature. You identify with Native Americans. You are a truly helpful and giving person. You like to lend a hand. And while you do your best to do the right thing, people haven't always been kind back to you.

Are You a Pilgrim or an Indian?

Aine is mystified by Facebook.

My brother told me I should sign up on Facebook. Several months ago I did and I wish I hadn't.

I don't get it.

Do people really care about what other people are doing RIGHT NOW? Why is that something that needs to be shared? And what's with "friends" telling "friends" what they are doing when what they are really doing is telling their "friends" what they are doing?

I don't get Facebook just like I did't get High School. Maybe if I was under twenty I would understand.

That's all for now. I wish someone could explain it to me...

The most important thing you will do today.

You will wonder how you got on in life without knowing this.

You Are a Chocolate Chip Bagel

You are creative, experimental, and and self-aware. You are a very bohemian person, and you tend to live a strange life. Of all the types, you're the most likely to go for strange food combinations. You tend to have coffee for breakfast. Anything with lots of coffee will do.

What Kind of Bagel Are You?

From the Isle of Man...

comes a good story.

Regan - read it and we'll discuss (de Valera, Collins, uprising, civil war, treaty, etc.) later.

Blue Skies

With the start of the new school year, the e-mails from the sky-diving club at University College, Limerick have started up again.

I am not sure why I get these e-mails. I thought it was from when I helped the Irish Fest with and had e-mails forwarded to me, but I quit that months ago. I am kind of glad they didn't stop coming. I like to imagine I am:

1. A college student again.
2. In Ireland.
3. Ballsy enough to sky-dive.

I really want to go to the kick off club party at Molly's on Monday. It sounds like fun.

Blue skies! (that is how the club president closes his e-mails)

It is as if they know me...

Not really. I am stubborn, but flighty, extreme, and unstable? Please.

What Your Name Says About You

Your name says that you are mostly: Ambitious but stubborn Your name also says you are: Artistic but extreme Unconventional but unstable Passionate but flighty

What Does Your Name Say About You?

My Irish History

I won second-place in the Kansas City Irish Fest writing contest. The theme was "My Irish History". A couple caveats: the first-place entry was announced as having won by a "landslide" and there may have only been three entries...


It was usually around Thanksgiving when the teacher would gather us in a circle and ask us to share our ethnic backgrounds with the class. As my classmates struggled to piece together their intricate heritage pie charts (“I’m one-eighth French, one-eighth German, one-half Swedish, one-fourth Norwegian…”), I waited patiently for my turn. I had it easy.
“I am 100% Irish.”
Although I was proud to be Irish-American and liked the ease of being 100% something, I had never thought too much about what it meant.
Early in my life, my dad defined Irish for me. He was passionate about Ireland – from the history and the music to the legends and the poetry. He would sing along to The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem as he worked at his desk. I can hear his favorites like “Roddy McCorley” blaring from the stereo speakers in his den.
Dad was a bit of a romantic with a flair for the dramatic. He would get misty-eyed when reciting a poem by Yeats or when recounting the struggles faced by the Irish people throughout history. Sometimes the music was a little loud and my dad a little sappy, but this is what I thought being Irish was all about.
On a spring day in 1981, I came home to find an Irish flag draped across our front porch. I could only imagine what my dad was up to. Dad wasn’t around and when I asked my mom about the flag she told me it was to show support for Bobby Sands and his hunger strike in Northern Ireland. My mom explained the situation to me - the IRA, Sands, and the unjust treatment of the prisoners. Sands just wanted to be recognized and treated as a political prisoner.
I didn’t think my mom had it in her. She was the one who had put up the flag. What a surprise! My mom was just as Irish as my dad, only in a different way. New possibilities emerged to define what it meant to be Irish-American. I have embraced the complexities of my heritage and the expression of who I am.
Looking back, it was the other kids who had it easy. I doubt many of them spent much time wondering about what it meant to be Franco-German-Swedish-Norwegian-American. They could quantify who they were – they had a pie chart.

Back burner.

I am not actively pursuing a guide dog right now. Not the right time. I think what I want right now is more of a pet. Like a turtle or a bird.

Or maybe I just need my brother and his family to move here - I think nieces are way better than pets.

My first niece just turned one-year-old yesterday. She is absolutely the cutest thing ever. And I will have another niece in September. Yippy! I can't wait.

The perfect thing to determine my personality...the beach!

What the Beach Test Says About You

You like people, but you're careful about who you get close to. Friendship is important to you... so important that you aren't just friends with anyone. You don't fall in love easily. It takes you a long time to get used to someone. Intimacy doesn't come easily for you. You are deeply passionate about several things in your life. You're not passionate about much... and the few passions you have are truly obsessions. Your sense of humor is sarcastic, snarky, and realistic. You're not exactly happy-go-lucky.

The Beach Test

Guide Dog

I think I want to get one. I never thought I would want one, but I think it might be time. It has been ten years since I became (mostly) blind. There are a few problems:

1. I am very allergic to dogs (and just about everything else) and even the so-called "hypo-allergenic" breeds still can be a problem to an allergy sufferer.
2. I am not sure I am a dog person.
3. I don't want to get close to a dog only to have it die. I was reading a little bit on the web about when you have to retire your dog and it broke my heart.

I still think I want one. I will report back when I have more info.

Who is that?

I just turned on David Letterman and I could not figure out who the guest was. He really sounded familiar, but didn't look even vaguely familiar to me.

It was Al Pacino. Freaky. I felt the same way when I saw Robert Redford on the Academy Awards several years ago.