3 signs

look familiar? ikon used detail from one of the lovely todd greene’s amazing artworks. click here for more of his work. then covet. and perhaps purchase.

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i headed into the city yesterday for a meet-and-greet conversation on behalf of ikon and detoured down to the Dáil a couple of hours after the march of solidarity (report here) to view the ribbons, children’s shoes, flowers and placards that had been tied to and placed at the gates. the crowds had dispersed and the barriers folded away…

(molesworth street, dublin)

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while in town, i had *intended* to pick up some academic texts that i’m looking to read before i get back to university. somehow i ended up in a comic store instead. oops. i picked up a copy of Persepolis, long overdue, and i now know where and when i can get my mitts on a copy of the collected edition of gaiman’s recent Batman 2 parter, whatever happened to the caped crusader? and as if to remind me why i knew when i started reading graphic novels that i’d need to resist compulsive tendencies, it didn’t end there…

(click image to enlarge)

and so it is that after several years of persistent-and-rather-shameful-not-getting-around-to-it, i’m finally reading, Watchmen.

it all looks amazing, the story is unputdownable, and this paperback edition feels gorgeous. i wish all books would be printed in this format. it’s kind of floppy and the pages have a lovely texture.

the likelihood of me changing out of my sweats today, let alone doing anything remotely productive, is gonna be a challenge. the list of academic books will have to wait…

LB

MARCH OF SOLIDARITY: PUBLIC INVITATION

from the irish times online,

Victims of child abuse in church-run institutions will today hand over a petition to the head of the Conference of Religious of Ireland.

After a silent march through Dublin children’s shoes will be left at the Dáil gates and white ribbons will be tied on the railings outside Leinster House as a mark of respect for those who suffered clerical abuse.

Christian Brother Kevin Mullan and at least one representative from other orders named in the damning Ryan report have accepted invitations to attend.

The organisers of the march Christine Buckley, from Aislinn, John Kelly, Survivors of Child Abuse in Ireland, Noel Barry of Right of Place and former Fianna Fáil Mayor of Clonmel Michael O’Brien will lay wreaths, two black and two white, outside the Dáil.

A spokeswoman for the organising group, Survivors of Institutional Abuse Ireland (SOIAI), said: “The silence will be broken only when survivors intone the names of the 216 institutions as the petition is being handed to Sr O’Connor and Br Mullan outside the Dáil.

“Then 108 white balloons and 108 black balloons, representing the living and the dead of the 216 institutions, will be released into the skies.”

The demonstration begins at the Garden of Remembrance at noon, travels down O’Connell Street and over to Kildare Street.

Organisers urged people to attend and said those who wish to show solidarity should wear a white ribbon and sign and post the Petition of Solidarity, available on the SOIAI website www.irishsolidarity.com

get the f*ck out (me, not you)

for some reason i’ve taken into my head to label all my posts to date.
it’s tediously slow going and i fear it’ll take weeks to complete. i’ve only got about a sixth done. but i’ve started, so…
i’ve no idea what prompts this somewhat OCD-leaning behaviour that comes over me. perhaps some part of me feels in need of order or categorisation.

summer is here in dublin. it’s tee and flipflops warm. and sunny. which begs the question, why the bloody hell am i sitting at my laptop when i could be outside…?

off to find some compost for my pots and nasturtium seeds… hands deep in soil makes for good therapy and gentle ordering of the soul… after a week filled with people and conversation, my brain is full and i’m in need of solitude…

hoping it’s sunny with you,

LB