welcome to the head of mikeyb February 8, 2010
Posted by bazmcstay in Life.Tags: Blog, Blogging, Mikey Brett, mikeyb, Reflection, Thoughtful
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no capital letters today in honour of the newest, most distractable blogger in the whole blogosphere – there’s a reason his domain name includes the moniker “adhd-boy”! i would like you all to welcome the bright, brilliant and beautiful mikeyb to the world of “writing stuff about stuff”. hopefully reading his words will bring you as much pleasure and cause for reflection as it has brought me. he is one of the most talented and thoughful human beings i know. read and enjoy. i love you.
te amo
Salt Of The Century January 25, 2010
Posted by bazmcstay in Vlog.Tags: Vlog, Youtube
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Here is my latest Youtube vlog offering – to those of you who only read me, you can also see and hear me on my Youtube channel! I’m aware that my hit count for my blog has increased in recent months and some of you may not have known I exist elsewhere, so please ENJOY!
See, I wrote that in capital letters. How could you NOT enjoy?!
iPhone, uPhone, We All Love The iPhone January 23, 2010
Posted by bazmcstay in Life.Tags: 3210, Alec Baldwin, Apple, Bebo, Bert, Bump, Christmas, Douglas Adams, Facebook, Ferrari, iPhone, Lambourghini, Luke Skywalker, Mac, Meteor, MSN, Nokia, PC, Pluto, RTE, Sci-Fi, Sesame Street, Skype, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stephen Fry, Steve Baldwin, The Future, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Tomorrow's World, Touch-screen, Toyota, Trekkie, TV3, Volvo, World Of Warcraft
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Christmas came and went in its usual manner – five or six days of familial films, pine needles in the socks and the exchange of gifts squirreled into the house under jumpers, in plastic bags and camouflaged by elaborate cloaking devices. One of those gifts given to me was a huge surprise: An iPhone 3G S. This, I was informed, was a combined birthday (which was in May), graduation (which was in November) and Christmas present. While it led to my having to abandon the excellent Meteor network after four and a half years of service, it nevertheless excited me beyond belief. The element of surprise was only one reason for this excitement.
See, I have that same envious side to me that inhabits the minds of children who holiday in the country but who see their friends jetting off to exotic climes. I have that jealousy which twentysomethings with Toyotas feel towards fatcats in Ferraris. I bear that grudge which exists between Bebo and Facebook, MSN and Skype, TV3 News and RTÉ News, Steve and Alec Baldwin, Pluto and the other planets, Bert and the other Sesame Streeters. Yes, it’s true: I have the PC-user’s heartfelt desire to be an Apple.
Apple are just the coolest of cool. They look sleek and sexy, bright and shiny, with pretty ways of operating, fancy futuristic programmes and they are the computers of Douglas Adams and Stephen Fry for whom my admiration is detailed elsewhere. They are the anti-clunk of Microsoft and PCs, with their constant need for Ctrl-Alt-Deletes and restarts. They are the sports car of computers, the Lambourgini to PC’s Volvo. They have been see-through and glistening white, they were flatter, thinner, quicker than any previous computer we’d seen. And they have a cool logo!
The only thing stopping me from converting to Apple was the fact I was brought up with PCs and, having reached the level of proficiency on Windows at which I am currently, I didn’t have the patience or time to make the change while in college with essays to do. But now I have finished my college education, I’m questioning my computer-sexuality. And the gateway to that conversion came in the form of my new iPhone. It’s touch-screen. You can drag the Apps about. It makes future-into-whooshing noises when you send messages. It IS the future.
Having been brought up with Star Wars as a central cultural reference point in my life, before moving on to the anything-goes future-vista of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, the sci-fi world has always fascinated me. Not in the Trekkie-anorak way, not in the pedantically-correcting-someone-when-they-give-the-wrong-circumference-of-the-Death-Star way, not in the World-Of-Warcraft-is-my-life way. But I loved programmes like “Tomorrow’s World” – yep, flying cars and TV glasses, all that stuff was eye-candy to my pre-teen eyes.
I grew up during the advent of mobile phones. I’ve watched them shrink from bricks to Lego. I remember when Nokias only had the BIG point on their chargers. I’ve made that coming-of-age journey from Nokia 3210 to iPhone. When I opened that present on Christmas Day, it was like I leapt into hyperspace. And when I discovered the Bump application (where you simply bump two iPhones together to send files) I was giddy with glee. This is surely how Luke Skywalker would send photos to Han Solo. Of course, he might not spend as much time updating his Twitter as I do…
@bazmcstay tweets: Just written a blog post. Lol.
“To Always Be A Little Boy And Have Fun” January 10, 2010
Posted by bazmcstay in Ireland, Latest News, Life.Tags: Adult, Childlike, Children, Delight, Dublin, Ireland, January, Life, Magic, Milltown, Patrick Kavanagh, Peter Pan, Play, Playtime, Silliness, Snow, Winter, Wonder
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An open letter to children, the childlike and everyone else:
See that quote up there, the title of this blog entry? That’s from Peter Pan and is the life motto of one of the most wonderful examples of a human being I have ever met, a person who does not just exist, but LIVES, every moment. He has been described as a “funny sort of adult”, but I’d rather think that adults are just “funny sorts of people”.
And you see this photo?
That is the view from my bedroom right now. This amazing person has another catchphrase: “It’s not my fault that everything’s AWESOME!” Isn’t this just awesome?
Well, isn’t it? If you don’t think so, I feel a little sad for you. With the recent snows bringing Ireland to what has been described as a “standstill” and creating supposed “chaos”, I’ve been struck by the negativity of those funny types of people we call adults. From every side are criticism of the authorities for not making it all go away. The moans and groans are those of boring old farts who think this white stuff is just another hurdle on their race to the grave. The white stuff from the sky is a hindrance to travel, an inconvenience for school-goers, a menace to us all.
I would say “Oh, grow up” but actually, the opposite phrase is what I am searching for. I say adults are funny sorts of people because I really think “people”, the best examples of them, are those who never forget what Patrick Kavanagh called “The newness that was in every stale thing when we looked at it as children”. People live, they are characters, they are vibrant, vital, alive with a joy for the world they have been born into, the planet that is their gift.
We don’t get snow in Ireland very often. It’s probably been well over a decade since we had any prolonged period of snowfall and it may be even longer until we see it again. Who knows? Life is unpredictable. Everything that happens should be a surprise and a delight. Occasionally bad things happen to us, but why should we go out of our way to find bad things where they don’t necessarily exist. Why don’t we see the world like children and find the fun in it all?
This source of mine wrote somewhere: ”I imagine things because it makes the real world seem more magical, I play because it makes my days more fun”. Here, now, on my doorstep, in the park across the road, on the bank of the river flowing through my quiet suburb, the world really IS magical. No need to imagine, Ireland is a playground of white.
I am so excited by the sight of snow. Some people look at me funny when I can’t stop smiling, when I pirouette in the powder, when I laugh for the simple reason that a snowflake tickled my nose. They can’t understand why I would slide down a hill on my ass or go for a walk at 11pm as the fall is at its heaviest. But I do. It’s as if this delicious world of ours is having an extra layer of icing applied. Our days become so dreary and monotonous sometimes, without excuses for fun and games. We should play, not complain. What exactly is wrong with being silly?
My friend’s stated biggest fear is losing his youth. Too many people nowadays are in a rush to grow up. There is a difference between acting maturely and losing our childlike nature. There is a difference between pursuing a career and ploughing head-down through life with no pause for playtime. The time we have on this planet is so short, we never know when it may end and we never know when it will snow again. We can’t predict what will happen to us, but what I do know is that tomorrow I will be going out into the wide, wonderful, brilliant winter world and enjoying every minute of it. All I want is someone to come out and play too – so who’s coming?
PS: Here is a video from my Youtube channel with me being silly with snow.
Advent Calendar 2009: December 24th – 5000 Early Christmas Presents December 23, 2009
Posted by bazmcstay in Advent, Life.Tags: Advent Calendar, Christmas, December, Present, Santa Claus, Stocking, View
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Yesterday I passed a little milestone in my blog-life. Yes, last night at about 10pm I reached 5000 hits on this very blog. Now, there are blogs the world over that get hundreds of thousands of hits a day and by no means does this make me a megastar. But it still touched me as a nice little achievement – in just over a year, 5000 people have thought it worth their time to come and read what I’ve got to say for myself. 5000 of you have been boosting my ego, making me think I can write a little and suggesting that I may be interesting. Well done to you. You’ve given me a lovely Christmas present. I appreciate every single one of your views and I hope that you will continue to find my scribbles and rambles worthwhile.
With Christmas arriving tomorrow, I’m not going to launch into any lengthy or serious blogging – you’re all probably busy doing some last minute wrapping, stuffing, scoffing and present-shaking! So, stop wasting your time here, get back to it and I’ll have a pleasant word for you tomorrow. Sleep well now, hope Santa comes.



