Budgets and Podcasting

It was budget day today in 'the old sod' which had zero impact on my financial situation as the measures announced really only related to anyone with Kids under 6 years old or those property developers with millions in tax havens. I watched the live cast of the speech up until the screen turned green and upside down, It got difficult to stay motivated, I couldn't actually see anything at all, it became like the alien's view in alien, I remembered Tommy Cooper's joke:

went up the town today to buy a pair of camouflage trousers....................But I couldn't find any !!

I subsequently learned about the new (universally welcomed by academia here) fourth level education tier that's been announced, yet another hegemonic construct, specifically for PHD students and the preservation of higher class/glass ceilings in the country's universities. Not a peep about the main primary and secondary levels, nothing about social inclusion or stay at education initatives, a bit of buddy backslappin' really, buy what else do you expect in ireland.

I have been listening, watching and reading various pod casts, videoblogs, blogs and articles for the last couple of months, just doing some groundwork for when I launch mine in a couple of weeks. Some really cool and innovative stuff out there, and of course the debate is absolutley raging about the bucket loads of shite being produced by the semi-literates in internet cafes.

Frankly I think everyone should have a voice - however annoying to some.

Baby Steps

I have been very busy lately, having parted company with midas some six months ago - http://www.midasinitiative.com/index.asp My attention has returned to the finer point in life - i.e. actually enjoying it and living it rather than listening to people who seem to be under the false impression that you can somehow blag it, sell it , 'own' it, impart it, quantify, qualify or even covet those imponderables that may be the lifeblood of groups of people. Totally Sad but Typical Irish bog standard 'my field' mentally. ( JB Keane, not an academic ref)

Oh well that's that rant out of the way, Just glad to be away from it. Some genuinely lovely people involved with it, especially those individuals whom I recruited to join it, however as my mother often said, 'had I known then what I know now' - I personally would have steered well clear of the whole self important mess in the first place. Good idea just poor execution, insufficient integrity and too much ego for it to actually achieve significance in my book.

Yes so I have also been working on short movies , digital animations, music and loads of other really interesting stuff round games, digital and interactive media. I've decided to start podcasting - hell I have access to as much equipment now as a small south American country so why shouldn't I do some cool stuff with it. What with the run up to santy and co on the horizon and a big deal of commitment for 2006, If I don't do it now I might never get the opportunity.

IOA - or Irish on-line army are a bunch of cool gamers currently owning me on CSS servers, I'll post the IP when I get a chance - or if someone every actually posts a comment about it.

anyway...... onwards and upwards we go.