Will Knott

Everything happens in threes. Its an old saying, but it applies.

Appropriately I was on a movie set when I heard about the death of Paul Newman died on Saturday (Jaiku SMS delivering the news other services can’t reach). He was an inspiration to many. He inspired many to act. He also inspired many to make their own celebrity endorsed pasta sauces, but I’ll forgive him that. After all, at least some of his brand went to charities including Barretstown. On that note, get a Barretstown bandanna from Xtravision shops.

Next I found out that the mezzo-soprano Bernadette Greevy had died the day before. Unlike the above movie star, I met her. Back in my opera days, mulling about back stage in the National Concert Hall at my first opera. Fun days, and oddly less tiring than the ones I’m in at the moment. She not only inspired others, the trained other with technique and skill. She participated in the first official cultural exchange from Ireland to China back in the eighties where she gave public recitals and masterclasses in three major Chinese cities. She founded the Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival in 2000 to give an outlet for Irish talent to be spotted. She was more than an inspiration. She was a practical hands on helper in the results of the inspiration.

And finally, we have the death of all the major banks.

Sorry, no we don’t.

And finally, Twenty Major is dead.

That’s the only explanation I can think to explain his sudden departure. He dead, or at least the person behind the Twenty mask, and as part of his will he requested this method to let his character go.

Unless he is being confined to a maximum security facility (where they don’t have phones or net access, but do have wide screen TVs, budgies and lots of “blu-tack”) where he will meet three other guys, promptly escape to the Dublin underground (or maybe the Paris underground, or Metro at least). Soon, still wanted by the government (so no change there), they’ll survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, they won’t help either. But I can see the outrage being blogged.

I wonder if this means the rest of his cast are getting their own blogs.

Well maybe.

take care,
Will Knott

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This post has changed direction several times in the last three days.

At first I was going to write about green issues. What happened was that I bumped in to a pair of representatives for Change.ie, a government run site for creating a plan of action for environmental change and reducing Ireland’s (and maybe the world’s) carbon footprint. I told the reps that I was surprised that there hadn’t been blogger outreach to other blogs concerning green issues, and pointed out a few that I knew of.

One rep asked me to e-mail in the details of the sites, the idea was to get something of an aggregator going.

The first person who came to mind was Ms. Phoebe Bright…

who seems slightly miffed in this photo about what happened next.

Phoebe presented at the recent Open Coffee BBQ about energy, energy demand and a technological solutions to change the thinking currently driving our consumption habits. Well worth a read if you weren’t at teh presentation.

Also, how can I forget Greennav. Actually I did, which is why I e-mailed in the links. Greennav is an odd mix of a group blog in that anyone can add to it. So its one better than an aggregator, is something of a community. And yes its full of green hints and tips.

Even the landscape gardener Peter Donegan has added a collection of green hints and tips to his site.

And now a change in direction.

Ladies and gentlemen. Get them together, as the response from the government sources was “that’s nice, anyone can blog, go ahead”. Or a “we’ll do nothing thank you”.

This is one of those areas where we should collaborate, and double, nay triple the voices to get the messages, and actions out there. A green meme. Not just an internet meme but a get off our backsides and do something about it meme.

I’m just not sure what.

But its this tendency for collaboration which brings me to to the next change of directions, sponsored by Twenty Major and Adrian Weckler.

They have complained about the fact that …

1. We’re not angry and fighting enough. (But Mr Weckler things me are too angry).
2. We aim for consensus
3. We don’t do enough investigative journalism
4. Bloggers seem to be people who are fake

Well lets see.

I know that I don’t intend to ever get close to Granddad without a stab-proof vest, but the Irish blog-sphere is a small place. If you don’t count Bebo blogs, you could fit most of the Irish bloggers in a medium hotel for an awards ceremony. Because we are a small group, the chances of prolonged bickering are few. Grudges can be held, but so can tongues. And the word “community” tends to hold sway. (Besides, Twitter is the place for small short-lived Irish fire fights). And besides, Barcamps, Tweet-ups, Open Coffee clubs, photo-walks and general get-togethers happen enough to prevent full blown flame wars that lead to bits going missing.

As for a consensus. Well, the early Irish bloggers were either techies, or non-technical people in the technology industry (sometimes in the one person). In this world, standards mean a lot. Consensus gets the job done. And could a barcamp exist without consensus?

As for people who aren’t and don’t aspire to be investigative journalists not doing enough investigative journalism for Mr Wreckler’s liking. Well, circular logic only gets you so far. Maybe you would be willing to teach us the way, and teach us, using your blog or course, on how to do these investigations. I think a few hundred well trained (even if we are bored, lonely or angry) bloggers might do you some justice. (Besides you forgot about Maman Poulet teaching journalists how to do their jobs when it came to Michael Lynn).

And finally, “bloggers are fake”. Now he’s not talking about fiction blogs, nor blogs maintained by a fictional (or pseudonymous) character. He’s talking about people who create great blogs, to get employment, and once employed, stop blogging. I can only assume that he means people who want to write for a living, and are using their blog as a portfolio in the same way that an artist creates work for themselves, to get their own style (or voice) and use that portfolio as a way to become a writer.

Well, if they exist, and I actually expect that they do, then more luck to them. If the only reason they wrote was to get someone to pay for the writing, then isn’t it better that they stop blogging?

Can we all agree to that?

take care,
Will Knott

She verbed his adjective adjective noun
He verbed adverbially
She verbed back
Then they verbed adverbially like simile

I remember a brilliant clip like this on the first Comic Relief. Please let me know that there is a clip of this somewhere…

What brings it to mind is this Romantic Writing competition on RTE radio (yeah, its Pat Kenny, that’s why you didn’t hear about it) in conjunction with Harlequin Mills and Boon (when did they combine?).

Given Twenty’s entry in to the book world I think I might be able to squeeze a short story out of me.
Sometimes I can’t resist a good verb.

Will

tags : verb, Comic Relief, today with pat kenny, Romantic Writing, competition, RTE, Harlequin, Mills and Boon, twenty major