Welcome to my weekly blog,  SATURDAY SESSIONS!

In this blog, for the perusal of all our students, past, present and future, I include an extract from our interactive presentation Course, Ireland and its Culture. We explore and discover  Ireland and its Culture - so that's why I call them 'Logs', as in a ship's (or Star Ship Enterprise's J ) logbook! 

Each Saturday, I hope to post an extract from each of the Logs.

Below each extract, we have a corresponding extract  from the Mining The Text section which focuses on the use of English involved in creating the paragraph.

In our Course, participants sit back and listen first to a recording of the reading, then we read it together, look at how it was created and discuss the content involved!

In the afternoons and evenings, we go out, explore and discover!

If you wish to ask me any question about the text, by the way, just send me an e-mail at greg@bluefeather.ie

From Log 9, The Irish Language

          Ancient Greek historians, such as Strabo, first identified the Celtic nomadic culture in the Hallstatt region of Austria and the La Tène district of Switzerland.

          The origin of the Celts is unknown, but Irish is one of the oldest languages in Europe. Some of the words in international English today originate in Irish, words such as bog (from bog, soft - a bog is marshy land); galore (= a lot of; from go leoir, plenty) - Whisky Galore is the title of a Scottish comic film; smithereens, meaning, in bits or in pieces, from smidiríní; whiskey, from uisce, short for uisce beatha, the water of life, and a number of others.

          It is often said that the English spoken in Ireland is the clearest English in the world. Some scholars claim that the pronunciation of English in Ireland is closer to that of Shakespeare's time; the 'r' sound, for example, in a word like 'Ireland' is retained, whereas in England it is not. ('Are you from Ah-land?')

          Since the beginning of the 20th century in particular, Irish writers in English have achieved international renown (four Nobel prizes in Literature), arguably because they have been able to breathe the spirit of the Irish language into English and create a colourful, dynamic  and outstanding literature of their own in English. Irish writer Brendan Behan once famously said: 'The English gave us their language but we showed them how to use it!'

          As Irish is the first official language of the country, all place names are in Irish and in English. In the early 19th century, English map-makers (cartographers) translated all the place-names in Ireland into English. Generally, they tried to keep the original sound of the name but the meaning of the name was lost in English. For example, Dublin was originally Dubh Linn, Dubh = Black, Linn = Pool.  Near Dun Laoghaire (the Fort of King Laoghaire), the suburb of Glenageary is Gleann na gCaorach, The Valley of the Sheep.  Dun Laoghaire (correctly written Dún Laoghaire, the first word sounding more like 'Doon') is one of the few places in Ireland which has retained its original name. In the 19th century, before Irish independence, it was known as Kingstown for no better reason than the English King George IV decided to visit the harbour town on his way into Dublin. Although  if you ask me, the Irish had the last laugh because unknown to King George, they had really named Kingstown after King Laoghaire!

Three languages above: Irish, English and Norse. Maigh Nuad refers to an ancient Celtic legend and the Viking Leixlip means 'Salmon Leap'.

Some more snapshots from an ET's Notebook...

XXV

The cow in the abattoir;

The steak on the plate,

Denial.

XXVI

The roads and the motorways;

Across Nature's back,

Lesions.

XXVII

Payday for the commuter;

For the commute,

Payment.

Intro to haiku, blog March 10th, gregoryrosenstock.blogspot.ie

Welcome to my weekly blog,  SATURDAY SESSIONS!

In this blog, for the perusal of all our students, past, present and future, I include an extract from our interactive presentation Course, Ireland and its Culture. We explore and discover  Ireland and its Culture - so that's why I call them 'Logs', as in a ship's (or Star Ship Enterprise's J ) logbook! 

Each Saturday, I hope to post an extract from each of the Logs.

Below each extract, we have a corresponding extract  from the Mining The Text section which focuses on the use of English involved in creating the paragraph.

In our Course, participants sit back and listen first to a recording of the reading, then we read it together, look at how it was created and discuss the content involved!

In the afternoons and evenings, we go out, explore and discover!

If you wish to ask me any question about the text, by the way, just send me an e-mail at greg@bluefeather.ie

From Log 8, Irish Traditional Music

          

          The principal Irish traditional musical instruments are a) the uileann pipes, b) the bodhrán;  c) the fiddle; d) the tin whistle; e) the accordion. You may also hear the flute and even the spoons (like castanets).  The Celtic harp is also used but is not so common these days. Folk music  would have other musical instruments such as the banjo and the guitar.    

          Unlike the Scottish bagpipes, which is a marching instrument played standing up, the uileann pipes are played sitting down.  You blow into the Scottish bagpipes and the sound is sharp and arousing; the uileann pipes sound more melancholic and the air is pumped into the pipes with your elbow. Uileann is Irish for elbow.  It takes a long time and lots and lots of practice to master the uileann pipes!

          Originally, the bodhrán was made from the skin of a goat. Goose fat was rubbed into this skin and each instrument had a different timbre. The bodhrán is the pulse of Irish traditional music. 

          The fiddle is a violin; it is hard to imagine Irish traditional music without it.

          The tin whistle is a little like the flute but with a thinner sound, almost like the cry of a seabird.       

www.bluefeather.ie

The haiku train rolls on!

From the ET's Logbook:

XIX

Exhaust of the traffic;

In the bloodstream,

Bottleneck.

XXI

The tool of the taskmaster;

Above the whiteboard,

A clock.

XVIII

Sunrise at the seaside;

On the seashore,

Plastic.

Intro to the haiku (March 10th  blog) 

gregoryrosenstock.blogspot.ie        

www.bluefeather.ie

Welcome to my weekly blog,  SATURDAY SESSIONS!         

In this blog, for the perusal of all our students, past, present and future, I include an extract from our interactive presentation Course, Ireland and its Culture. We explore and discover  Ireland and its Culture - so that's why I call them 'Logs', as in a ship's (or Star Ship Enterprise's J ) logbook! 

Each Saturday, I hope to post an extract from each of the Logs.

Below each extract, we have a corresponding extract  from the Mining The Text section which focuses on the use of English involved in creating the paragraph.

In our Course, participants sit back and listen first to a recording of the reading, then we read it together, look at how it was created and discuss the content involved!

In the afternoons and evenings, we go out, explore and discover!

If you wish to ask me any question about the text, by the way, just send me an e-mail at greg@bluefeather.ie

EXTRACT FROM LOG 8, GUINNESS & JAMESON

Ireland and Scotland are renowned for their whiskies. Scotch whisky is spelt without an 'e'. The word whiskey comes from the Irish word uisce which means water. It's short for uisce beatha (pron. ISHKA BAHA) which means the 'water of life', aqua vitae. Maybe this is because of the medicinal properties of whiskey (or any alcohol!)  which is a kind of an antibiotic.

          The story is told that during the Golden Age, Irish monks went over to France to visit their colleagues. Although the Irish monks spoke Irish amongst  themselves, the language of communication (lingua franca)  at the time was Latin, just as English might be regarded as the Latin of our times.

          The Irish monks saw that the French monks had succeeded in distilling perfume and so they returned to Ireland with samples of the French monks' perfume. 

'The perfume has a lovely scent,' they said to one another in Irish, ' but you can't drink it!' 

          And so, using the same process of distillation, they created whiskey and called it uisce beatha!

           They were right! It is the water of life! (In moderation, of course!) The alcohol content of whiskey actually works to relax your blood vessels, allowing your body to better respond to infection by allowing the mucus membranes to ease, thereby relieving congestion. It's also an antioxidant which helps prevent cancer.

Welcome to my weekly blog, FRIDAY FEELINGS !

Three more haiku from the ET's Logbook!

XXII

The purpose of her life;

The purpose of her death,

Big Mac.

 XXIII

The lamb and his mother;

On the dinner-plate,

Lamb.

 XXIV

 The landscape;

At the end of the selfie-stick,

A face.

 www.bluefeather.ie

          Welcome to my weekly blog, SATURDAY SESSIONS!

          Readers have been asking me about the Breaking News last week; I'll be happy to answer any more questions about it - if I can!

          One or two Readers have asked me if I could attach the text only from now on in the weekly extract for students of Bluefeather, past, present and future - instead of the text with analysis as per the Course in Dublin.  It's easier to read without the distractions, they tell me! 

          Your wish is my command!

          This week it's an excerpt from our Log on Trinity College, focusing on The Book of Kells!

          The book took about thirty years to write. So what is it about?

          Basically, it is a copy of the four gospels of the New Testament in Latin. Because the letters and pictures and beautiful Celtic spirals are so colourful, we call it an illuminated manuscript. There are only a few of these amazing books left in the country and this one is the most beautiful.

          When the Vikings invaded in the eighth century, they attacked the monasteries for gold and silver and took the women and children to sell in the slave markets. Whenever they found an illuminated manuscript, they removed the wooden cover which had precious stones in it - but then they destroyed the book itself because they thought the writing was a magic spell that would harm them!  

          As it was written in Vulgate (spoken) Latin, it's not easy to follow for people who may have studied Latin at school. The Irish monks were the first in the world to separate words on the page. Up to then, writing had been in scriptum continuum;  a whole line consisted of words stuck together so the reader had to separate them mentally while reading.

          There is an interesting introductory exhibition, explaining the background to the Book of Kells. The book itself is now divided into two parts, the writing and the pictures. People have different ways of looking at the Book of Kells. The vibrant colours of its Celtic art is a pleasure to see. All the animals, birds and even fish that populate the book, show us that the monks enjoyed themselves while they were making this book but above all, the book was a reflection of the beauty of life and of the world. These monks were not so keen on the closed, stricter form of Mediterranean art. They preferred fantasy to realism. A lot of the art-work is so intricate that it is difficult to see with the naked eye.

          The message itself didn't seem to be so important!   For example, in the Vatican, serious-looking bishops would give themselves a hard time debating what might happen if a mouse slipped into the church and ate a consecrated host. In the Book of Kells, the Irish monks had a good laugh at this problem when they painted two mice fighting for the possession of a big host in their mouths; or painted a mouse running off with a host under the nose of a cat!

www.bluefeather.ie

Welcome to FRIDAY FEELINGS !

Here are the next three haiku from the series, Notes from an ET's Logbook:

XV

The cancer ward;

On the trolleys in the hall,

The patients.

XVI

Murmurs in the art gallery;

A huddle of curators,

Trade dispute.

XVII

Anniversary of a footballer;

At his feet,

A balloon.

SATURDAY SESSIONS: BREAKING NEWS!   (A.S. Please excuse the format below as news was disseminated in a hurry!)
          On 14th February, 2017, a farmer was digging turf in a local bog here in County Wicklow when he unearthed what is arguably the most dramatic discovery in the history of archaeology.  In my own humble opinion, it is also the most significant discovery in the history of modern science.                                                                 
Yes, Dear Reader, it is that significant!  And in happened here in Ireland less than two months ago!                                                                                                                       
So what is it?  And why doesn't the world know all about it?                                           
The artefact they found in the bog resembles an ankh (see picture), an ancient Egyptian cross with a handle on it. Egyptologists believe that the ankh was a symbol of life.  It appears regularly in the ancient hieroglyphic texts.                                                       But where did the ankh come from and what was it for?                                                 
Jeremiah Ó Mhaoldomhnaigh, a curator at the National Archaeological Museum in Dublin, is an old school-friend of mine.  He was the one who told me about this amazing find, which has not yet been revealed to the mainstream media.  The artefact was sent to London and Berlin and from there to ESTEC in the Netherlands for further examination and verification.             

Jonathan McCarthy, an old school-friend of Jeremiah's, works at ESTEC, the European Space and Technology Centre.  Jonathan specialises in acoustics and electromagnetic vibration. Although the news of the find has not been officially confirmed, the mind-boggling story reveals that the ankh was, in fact, of extra-terrestrial origin. Furthermore, the specialists at ESTEC were able to establish that the ankh was used  to build megalithic structures such as Newgrange here in Ireland, dated at 3200 BCE - albeit believed by Jeremiah and many archaeologists to be much older than that.           It is assumed that ankh technology was also deployed in the construction of the Pyramids (dated at c. 2600 BCE) and Stonehenge (c.2200BCE).                                     
So what exactly is ankh technology?                                                                               ESTEC have extrapolated the following conclusions subsequent to their extensive examination of  the ankh and its application.  I quote directly from a recording of  my conversation with Jeremiah ,which he kindly permitted me to publish in this blog: 

"Jeremiah, I'm almost speechless at the very thought of this amazing discovery. Can you tell us again what the ankh was used for?"                                                             "Well, Greg, we believe it was used in the early days to generate the application of sound technology in the construction of  monuments like Newgrange in the Boyne Valley which comprises about two hundred thousand tonnes of stone. A similar technology would have been used six hundred years later to build the great Pyramid at Giza, which has an estimated mass of almost six million tonnes."                                    "But how did they do it? How did it work?'"                                               

"They simply matched  frequencies, causing the stones to levitate when the properly-tuned vibration was sounded by the ankh. "

 "Can you describe the procedure involved in the actual construction of these buildings?"                                                                                                                         "As far as we can tell, when a monolith is set to resound, its vibrations keep it in the air. A man sits on the monolith for as long as is required. He is, so to speak, the 'driver'. A light touch by him will move the massive stone in any direction."                 "So,what can we learn from this?  Can we use this ancient technology today? "          "Our construction industry today is primitive and ecologically unfriendly in comparison to what they were able to do and achieve in the past. In ancient times, people worked with nature, not against it. It appears that as crystallised blocks of basalt resonate at the frequency of gravity, the  - "                                                       "What is that, Jeremiah? What do you mean by the frequency of gravity?"                      "The frequency of gravity is the frequency between short radio waves and infrared radiation. The effect is that the blocks simply lose their weight. Building a Pyramid for these people was like playing Lego."

        

Lego! Well, you were the first to hear this amazing news today,thanks to

my old  school-friend at the museum in Kildare Street and his old school-friend

at ESTEC in Noordwijk.  Let me conclude by saying that it is my honour and

great privilege this morning to be the first to share this extraordinary discovery

with  with you, my esteemed readers of  SATURDAY SESSIONS!

          Please watch this space for further updates! 

                                                     Wicklow bog ankh