yay for patience!

hey guys,

so, the wireless still isn't working, but by an act of something big and cool i managed to finally upload the pictures you've all been reading about. perhaps this won't be such a good idea, though. maybe you liked my descriptions better, and now that you see the actual pictures they won't measure up to the ones you had in your mind, and you'll all just say i'm a lousy photographer. well, if that's the case, then i'll just describe the pictures from now on, and you can make them as good or as bad as you want.

anyway, amazingly, nothing interesting has really happened in the past week. i've basically been going to class, and reading a few plays, and not writing nearly as much as i should. i've been kind of sick, but i don't have any pictures of that, sorry. so, since there's nothing really new to report, i'll just show you the pictures i finally managed to get on here. i won't bother decribing them again, as you have the previous descriptions. it will be like a mix and match game. only it should be really easy. unless my descriptions really suck.









more to come soon, i would think. i'm actually doing something interesting this weekend, so in theory i will have something new to write about. until then,

cheers,

scott

finally back

hello all...

sorry about the lack of postings recently, our wonderful tech person has decided to play with the wireless connection around here, and i was unable to connect on my laptop, and there is only so much imac i can take...
actually, the wireless is still down, but i have magically connected my laptop by jacking a cable from the evil macintosh corporation. however, the connection is really slow.

so, after seeing all of those pictures with little or no explanation, i suppose you might want to know where i went and what i did. lessee...

we went to the aran islands, in county galway, which is off the west coast of ireland. to be specific, we were on inishmore, the largest island, and a very cool place. and by cool, i mean amazing and wonderful and all things good in this world. so i guess i would say i had a pretty good time. first, however we went to galway, the city, which is kind of like a smaller, quainter dublin. think portland as compared to seattle. that was about it. we spent too long there, if you ask me, and i was glad when we finally got on the ferry to head to the island. the cool sunset picture i took over the atlantic was from the ferry.

we got to the island, and took far too long getting to the hostel because we were terribly distracted by all the cool scenery and old abandoned buildings. we had a good dinner of amazing curry chicken, and then went to the local pub, which was also very cool. we hung out with our program directors, got to know them a little better and then went to sleep in a cold hostel room, only to be awoken at around 4 am by some irish guys looking for their friend who was sleepwalking. fun stuff. we saw them the next morning at breakfast, and besides hitting on everything that moves, he explained that their friend then got into bed in the girls room (an empty bed, luckily), and they finally found him around 5. so, good stories i get.

we then went on a bus tour, which at first we were very unenthuised about, but it turned out to be very cool. we spent most of the time at dun aengus, which was the subject of the last post, and it was amazing. right on the cliffs, it is a 3000 year old fort, built before even the celts came to ireland. i spent as much time up there as time allowed, and we were late coming back to the bus, but whatever. i am fully planning on going back some weekend before our time here is done. we also got to explore an old church, which i have pictures of (see below), and had a really good lunch of baked potato and leek and potato soup. then i bought a sweater, and we went home.

anyway, a very good trip indeed, and the result of that, mostly of our time up on the cliffs, is that i have completely changed the idea of what kind of play i was going to write while i am here, and am currently working on a piece which will incorporate local myths and fairy tales. so that's exciting i think.

and so, now what everyone has been waiting for...the pictures...



...



ok...so apparently with this stupid connection being how it is, i can't get any pictures to post right now. so i'll put those up as soon as i can. that is to say, as soon as the wireless connection is fixed and i can get a decent speed. but let's see if i can't describe the ones i was going to post...


ok, so this is a really cool church that was one of the first things we saw on the island. it is basically a shell of a church, with boarde up doors and windows, but we managed to get in by climbing through some holes. it was very neat inside with trees growing and lots of empty bottles, probably left by local kids. the cool thing about this picture is the sky in the background, which is kind of a blue and purple sunset. very pretty.

this next one is a thatched hut we saw on the bus tour. this is the only picture i took on the bus, and it's not terribly good, but it is an example of a traditional aran hut, like they used to live in. there are people that still live in houses like this on the island, but i think that this one was uninhabited. it's white with a thatched roof and red window frames (i think?)

this one is me on the cliffside. i am standing by a wall, about 4 feet from the 200 foot drop. you can't really tell how cool it is from this picture, but if you take the one from the other post which is the cliffside shot with the big jut sticking out, that's basically where i was standing, you just can't see it in the picture.

this last one is a very cool picture. this is three other people on the trip during the ferry ride, when the sun was coming over the water. i managed to get them almost completely sillouetted behind the sun, and it is a very nice picture, i think. i think the people are trip, meg and elysia. if that means anything to anyone. i'm sure i'll have some pictures of some of them at some point.

anyway, those are my kick-ass pictures, and if you check back soon, maybe you'll actually see the pictures themselves, instead of my excellent descfriptions of them. so check back later, and we'll see what we can do!

keep on rocking it in the states!

cheers,

scott

Dun Aengus Part 1

just grass and stone, like the rest of the island, but only to a point. crawl to the edge, just enough to see the end of the world. drop away to nothingness, down to the angry churning of the atlantic, crushing the rocks as if seeking revenge for long unpaidfor crimes. the wind blowing up at you, and you understand what it must be to freefall, to fly. the endless ocean your only scenery, gliding into eternity. until, that is, you edge your way back onto the stone, and grass, and the world reclaims you once again. but not forever...









...

Dun Aengus Part 2

words to follow...

addendum (read next post first!)

adventures in nerd-dom (part 2)

hello and welcome to the part 2 of the adventures in the nerd-dom. this is the James Joyce section of our tour, so if you aren't a fan, you might as well stop reading now.

still here? good. the other day we took the DART (train) down to sandycove to see the James Joyce tower and museum. it was COOL! admittedly, i'm a nerd, but it was still cool! but first, a little history on the tower:
after the british no longer needed the tower for military ventures, they decided to lease it out to starving irish writers. enter Oliver St John Gogarty. he started staying there, and he invited his friend James Joyce to come stay as well. MEANWHILE, Joyce was putting the finishing touches on his poem, "The Holy Office", which basically attacked the Dublin literary scene, and accused Gogarty himself of snobbery. Gogarty read this after he invited Joyce, but before he got there. fun times indeed. a few days later, Samuel Trench joined them in staying in the tower. Trench was anglo-irish, and therefore not subject to Joyce's attacks, but had an annoying habit of only speaking in Irish, which irritated Joyce more. one night, Trench had a nightmare about a black panther in the tower, and fired his gun into the fireplace. Gogarty then leapt up, yelled "leave him to me!" and proceeded to shoot all the pots and pans on the shelf above Joyce's bed. more fun. needless to say, Joyce left the tower, and soon left Ireland all together with Nora. the tower was later immortalized in Ulysses, along with Gogarty, who became Buck Mulligan, and Trench, who became Haines. Dedalus of course represents Joyce. SO, if you are still here after that, here are some pictures...



this is the tower. neat huh? as you can see, it definitely looks like a military tower. wouldn't it be cool to live in? i asked about over night stays, but the guy at the desk said that security wouldn't allow it. damn. anyway, moving on...



this is the stairway leading up to the tower. also very cool and narrow and twisty, and i really want to stay here. damn again. also, it's a lot longer than it looks. the tower doesn't look that tall, but you wouldn't know it climbing those stairs. anyway, since this stupid blog thingy can't have more than 5 pictures on one post, i had to pick and choose carefully, so if you want to see more, email me, and i'll send you as many as you want on an individual basis. most of them are really nerdy though. so, that being said, this is probably the most important thing i saw there...



...a book. that's right, a book. but not just any book. no sir. are you sitting down? are you ready? this right here is a first edition of Ulysses. that's right. i know, you're all stunned. number 893 of 1000. crazy. cool. i can't truly believe i saw it myself. rockin'.

anyway, we saw loads of other stuff in the museum, all too cool to describe. then i bought a poster of Joyce from 1904 (the picture, not the poster itself. i wish). so, we were walking back into town, which is quite a nice lovely little seaside town, and it was a nice day, the sun was shining, it was a little windy, but not too bad, and we were passing these kids jumping into the Irish Sea off of rocks, and we thought: "that looks like fun. too bad we don't have our swim trunks" then we realized "hey! we're in europe! we dont need swim trunks! we're guys! we have boxers!" so, we stripped down to our boxers, and jumped in the water. literally. it was really cool. we swam around, it was freezing, and we had fun and talked with some really dirty-mouthed little kids. man, they were dirty-mouthed. so, i didn't get any pictures of us jumping in or anything, because, hey, i was swimming. but, i did take pictures after we were out, and sitting around in our boxers all wet. tim's boxers were white, and so...i won't show ALL the pictures...i'm not running that kind of site. but here are some nice, clean, wholesome after-swim pictures.



ok, i lied, the damn blogger site can only do 4 pictures at a time, not 5. so, this is me and my roommate Adam. i'm the one with the glasses. i know it's hard to tell sometimes. anyway, so as an addendum, i will put up a picture of Adam and Tim after they got out on a new post. but that's it. that will be the whole post. so, you'll have to read this first. ok. that's it. that was the cool trip. we walked back, hem with wet boxers and me commando, and ate at a pub. good food. chicken with cream cheese and potatoes. and guiness. then we took the train back and took showers. it was a good day.

until next time, cheers!

scott

adventures in nerd-dom (part 1)

hi hi hi, my little droogies...

ok, enough references from that movie. anyway, if any of you know me, you probably don't need to guess what this post is about, judging from the title. adventures in nerd-dom...hmm...what could that mean? people can be nerds about anything, but if you know me, or if you have seen my typewriter...well, here are some pictures. first stop is really cool, but not quite nerd-dom...



this is the Garden of Remembrance. it is a tribute to all those who lost their lives for Ireland's independence. it is a very pretty garden, with a very cool statue, and not a lot of people. but you aren't allowed to walk on the grass. oh well.

now, on to the nerd-dom! did you guess right? i went to...



the Dublin Writers Museum!!! dun duh da! yes, all you fellow writing nerds (ie, jess), i saw it on a map, and had a free afternoon, and so i ventured there by myself to learn more about Ireland's writing past. terrible good fun. now, you will notice that i don't mention anything about James Joyce here (except right here), and this is because i am saving it for part II of my nerd-dom adverntures, which will focus on the James Joyce museum and the man himself. sadly, however, once i got into the museum, i found out pictures were not allowed. that means i only got a few.



this is a first edition of Dracula, by Bram Stoker, who was apparently Irish. now, this was the only bootleg picture i really managed to take. so, the book may be ruined from the flash, and i may be banished from the museum for life, but at least i have a picture to post here. carly, this is for you. next up, for the british scene designer in everyone's lives...




this is a very cool picture i found of Sam Beckett. i'm pretty sure i was allowed to take this picture, but all the same, i checked the hallway before proceeding. now, the picture is not actually distorted, that is how it was painted. it is called "Beckett and the Sea". pretty cool, huh?

anyway, this is what i did on tuesday, and soon i will post again with my Joyce pictures. after i sort through them to see which i want to post. i took a lot. i'm a nerd. i did warn you, after all.

cheers!

scott

oops

so, i just realized that everything is out of order. so if this is the first entry you see, and you are looking for new stuff, skip down TWO entries, and then work your way up. ok? cool.

scott

testing testing...

so, i'm about to test the pictures thingy. here goes...



Yay! it worked! i am a genius! anyway, this is christchurch cathedral. it's also old, but it still looks old. it also looks Catholic, but it's not. it's actually Church of Ireland. NOT to be confused with Church of England. I can't really tell the difference between the two, but i couldn't really recognize one independently anyway. so, they are different, that's what i know.

and the last picture is...



...another door. sorry, but i think this one looks cool. it's also part of Christchurch Cathedral. it's the kind of door i want on my house someday. a nice suburban area, white picket fence and this. the dungeon door of death.

so that's dublin! at least the historical part of it. hope you enjoyed the pictures, i think i may actually take some more eventually. next weekend we are going to the Aran Islands, so i will probably take the camera.
Oh, and Ireland lost to France last night in the World Cup Qualifier, so bad news for Ireland. Let's hope things work out for them, shall we?

cheers to all,

scott

more great craic in dublin

so here is the rest of the dublin tour. more pictures, and more humorous comments...i hope.



this is the House of Lords. at least...the old House of Lords. it's pretty impressive looking, but if you look closely at the podium in the back...that's right, this room is smack in the middle of a Bank of Ireland. maybe this is where they wine and dine their uber clients, now. as far as i know, they didn't keep any other room intact, even the house of commons. I asked about that, but the answer was just some mumbling about "...some shed out back" oh well.



this is a tapestry in the previously aforementioned House of Lords (i'm sure you could figure that out, i really just wanted to use the word "aforementioned") it appears to be some sort of battle scene. i'm sure they're portraying the winning side...probably Ireland...but it might be England.



this is Dubling Castle. or what is left of Dublin Castle. this is the only part of the "castle" that still looks castle-ish or old in any respects. i guess Eddie Izzard wasn't talking about Ireland when he was talking about running into castles with his car. oh well.



this is a cool door, that looks like it's from a hobbit hole. see? see? the doorknob is in the center...see? shut up, OK, i like doors.

so, i think this whole blog problem is about how many pictures i can put on one entry. let's test this theory, shall we?

fun in historic dublin

hello all.

hope you have all been having great craic in the US, doing stuff and talking to people, and whatever it is you do there without me. (great craic means great fun, by the way)

today, we took a historic walking tour of dublin, emphasis on walking. it was extremely interesting, and our guide (who is also teaching a course while we're here) was extremely well informed, very passionate and very, very long winded. he also got distracted a lot, which wouldn't have been a bad thing if it didn't turn a 3 hour tour into a 3.5 hour tour. needless to say, i had to take a nap afterward, which was not long enough.

as people have threatened me with force to do, i swallowed my pride, put on my tourist hat, and took some pictures on the tour. so, here they are, and i'll do my best to provide clever little captions.



so, this is the front gate of trinity college, founded in 1592 (i think). very old, very prestigious, very expensive. a curious tidbit is that it used to be entirely protestant until about 35 years ago. quite recent for integration. (ok, maybe it's not THAT interesting, but it's all i could come up with)



this is a tower in the middle of trinity. yay. there is a bell in the tower older than the university. that's an old bell.

seriously. think about it, that is an OLD bell.

ok, the blog program is acting wacky, and i can't get more pictures being the technical illiterati i am, so more will follow later!

have fun andkeep on truckin'

scott

my mailing address

in case anyone wants to send me cookies!

scott herman
NYU/TSOA
20 Fishamble Street
Dublin 8, Ireland

the joys of international travel!

yay for giant heavy bags! and needing to tote them all around the largest airports ever!

i had some stressful moments on the trip here, if my sarcasm didn't register correctly. it didn't help that my connecting flight to LAX was delayed and late getting in, so i only checked in for my aer lingus flight with 90 minutes to get my bag screened, get through security and get to the plane, which boarded 45 minutes before takeoff. so, i got to the gate with about 10 minutes to spare. and then i realized i hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and it was 4:00. so i grabbed a banana, then found out it was mushy, so i grabbed another banana. a superior banana. and it was good.

the flight was long, but i had a TV screen in the back of my seat, and got to watch mediocre movies. i saw kingdom of heaven, herbie: reloaded, and bambi. bambi wasn't mediocre, it was good, but the others were only so-so.

getting into dublin was fine, customs glared at me but let me through. the cab ride was rather uninteresting. however, the cabbie did have a very boring radio station on. it was all covers from the 60s, pretty-boy-esque doowop type stuff (neil sedaka eat your heart out), or songs that were supposd to sound like they were covered from the 60s. let me tell you, if you thought the real songs had some cheesy, bad lyrics, it was nothing compared to the "new" ones. half sounded like they were all sung by the same two guys, one guy singing about his unrequited love, because he loves in a "weird" way, and the other guy mostly sang about running from "special agents", or running to mexico.

the fun part about the cab ride was the subtle hints of the irish's feelings toward the US. my personal favorite was "hillbilly's express, southern fried chicken".

that's all for now, maybe next time, i'll have actually done something!

scott