Friday 31 May 2002

My current reading habits  Some times I feel that this weblog must come across as being consistently anti-American (although I prefer to think of it as anti-Bush). However, for the benefit of those who may find this tiring, I'm glad to be able to redress the balance in some small way with my experience of the glories of American book publishing. Read more here 7:35:14 PM  Your view

Senegal Shock at the World Cup: France, the Champion, Loses 1-0. The world's largest sporting event opened with a shock result today as the defending World Cup champion, France, lost to Senegal. By Jere Longman. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] Isn't sport wonderful? I very much doubt if any the 'experts' predicted this result! Here in Ireland, of course, attention is focused on our own team, who face Cameroon, their first opponents, at 7.00 am on Saturday Irish time. I've organised a bit of a party in my place, with friends coming round tonight with the firm intention of staying awake to watch the match live. It will be interesting to see if we follow through with this grand plan.       This match has extra significance because of the dramatic events of the past week, with Roy Keane, the Irish captain, being sent home by manager Mick McCarthy and a saga developing afterwards which divided opinion throughout the country and dragged on until Keane eventually brought things to 'closure' by making it clear that his return to Japan was out of the question. My own sympathies were instinctively with the manager, as I consider Roy Keane to be a bit of a petulant prima donna. Hopefully the rest of the squad can get their act sufficiently together to concentrate on the job at hand. 6:33:24 PM  Your view

Ireland Buys a Trove of Joyce Notebooks. The National Library of Ireland has acquired a sprawling collection of manuscripts by James Joyce, including drafts from "Ulysses" and proofs of "Finnegans Wake." By Brian Lavery. [New York Times: Arts] Joyce himself would have loved the circumstances behind this happening. It's certainly all very dramatic, and it was a really nice touch to offer the papers first to our National Library rather than send them to auction. Mind you, the eventual price is pretty staggering, and I'm sure there will be many voices raised against it, with the usual comparisons being made about 'spending the money much better on something else'. 6:24:29 PM  Your view

		© Copyright 2002 Jim MacCormaic . Last update: 29/09/2002; 06:03:00 am .