The Sigla Blog

Fiona over at Mental Meanderings has posted a interesting piece about whether an IBTS policy of refusing blood from gay men is homophobic. Fiona thinks that it is and while I myself have issues with their policy, I don’t think the IBTS are intrinsically homophobic. My experience of the organisation has been largely positive […]

Courtesy of Ernie Whalley (scribbled over lunch hour he tells me).

Farewell, Bestie, if not quite the best
You far outdribbled almost all the rest.
A salivatory genius in your youth,
Who could have far outgobbed El Hadji Djouf.
In midst of fulsome eulogies we beg
Time to consider poor Glyn Pardoe’s leg
And all the red and yellow cards and fines
For […]

Forget the rather uninspiring Meteor Awards: a new Irish music prize has been announced to celebrate the work of Irish musicians. The Choice Music Prize will be awarded to an Irish album of 2005 chosen by a panel of 12 media professionals representing Irish print, radio and TV. From an inaugural shortlist of […]

Don’t blame me. Before the best of lists really kick off, In Fact, Ah had already started this a couple of weeks back, followed up with a very broad-ranging, disparate list from Auds over at realitycheck(dot)ie. Me, being me, I can’t just decide on a top ten, so I�ve come up with a […]

Further to all the where-will-Keane-go speculation, my (other) brother has just informed me that Portsmouth have just sacked Alain Perrin as Manager and that he reckons Keane might be offered a player manager deal…

Did anyone watch RTE’s Champions League coverage last night? In my doped-up teeth haze I wasn’t in the humour for watching Liverpool (I’d had enough teeth pulled for one day) so I missed Dunphy’s outburst. My brother tells me that Newstalk presenter responded to a remark in an article by “some journalist” (anyone know who?) […]

No blogging from me until the yelping pain in my face goes away. Am writing from the couch having just had a wisdom tooth removed under sedation in hospital (I actually typed ’sedition’ first time there, but I went to theatre quietly without inciting a riot and I think the drugs are talking/taking effect). […]

If further proof were ever needed that book prizes are being dumbed down, I’ve just spotted a story in today’s Irish Times revealing Cecilia Ahern is on the longlist for the 2006 Impac Award. (The link isn’t working at the moment probably due to outraged book lovers trying to click on the site and make […]

Currently, there is a cello being recorded in my sitting-room. Lots of eerie staccato and pizzicato going on, making the hairs on the back of my neck leap up. Maybe I’ll add a cello to my ‘biggest ambition’ list, along with that much longed-for xylophone.

Apologies for the lack of posting, I’ve been in mourning for Roy Keane and extremely busy.

There has been enough commentary and op-ed stuff about Keane doing the rounds over the weekend, but all I can say is that it proves what an arrogant fool Alex Ferguson is and I for one have increasingly fallen out […]

The shortlist for the 2005 Whitbread book awards have been announced and this story should give every aspiring writing hope. Rachel Zadok won this year’s Richard & Judy novel-writing competition and is now in the running for the Whitbread First Novel award. She faces three other books including Tash Aw’s acclaimed The Harmony Silk Factory.

On […]

Courtesy of The Guardian, some alternate endings for big movies. Would you pick a different denouement? Perhaps Tom Cruise’s character Maverick in Top Gun would say to Kelly McGillis’ Charlie (note male name): “Actually, I’m completely gay and planes are just big phalluses to me. I fancy Iceman really”. Or maybe Scarlett […]