I called to see my Dad yesterday, and he told me he has resurrected his old Pioneer record player. I have many memories of this device sitting in the corner of the “good room” at home, and after the needle and the rubber band that drives the player were replaced it works really well.
Seán Maquire (McQuire) recorded an album of songs in 1959, which my dad still has in his collection. Here’s twenty seconds of music from that album.
I have to confess I’m not familiar with Seán’s music at all, but an online search found a Wikipedia page about Seán McQuire which shows his birth surname as Maquire. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 77.
I’ll have to figure out how to properly record those vinyl records to digital format. Suggestions? It used to be simple to record things with an AUX or 3.5mm cable to a tape recorder, but Mac laptops and Android phones are more problematic. Maybe I’ll have to dig out my old desktop PC with its numerous audio sockets…
I have to confess, I never played any of the Monkey Island games. I was aware of them but point and click adventures really aren’t my thing. Many years ago I bought the first Simon the Sorcerer game because I thought it had something to do with Discworld. The graphics and speech in the game were outstanding but after only a short time I got stuck and gave up.
So, what’s this Monkey Island thing about then? How do I play the original “The Secret of Monkey Island”? We live in exciting times and the Internet Archive comes to the rescue!
On this page you’ll find a fully playable copy of the game you can play in your browser. If that’s not enough, there’s also the Ultimate Talkie Version of the game with full speech instead of text.
Playing in the browser is OK for a preview of what it’s like, but the best way to play it is through ScummVM. On both archive.org pages above you’ll find zip files containing “The Secret of Monkey Island”. The talkie version is much bigger, but by today’s standards, quite small still.
Download the game, unzip and point ScummVM at the extracted files and you can play the game on your home computer! As you’re unlikely to finish the game in one sitting, here’s how to save and load the game in ScummVM. Enjoy!
I presume I’m not spoiling anything when I post the screenshot above from The Matrix Resurrections. Close to the middle of the frame is the distinctive, rounded casing of a Commodore 1530 (C2N) Datasette. It’s the cassette player the Commodore 64/Vic 20/Pet used for storage way back in the 80s and early 90s. This Wikipedia page has more if you’re interested.
I’ve searched online, but so far only found one person who thinks the same as I do. If it’s not a C2N cassette player, then what is it?
We flew into Cork Airport early this morning after circling around County Cork for what seemed like half an hour. Our Ryanair flight went from Carrigaline to Fermoy, passing Blarney a few times, I think. My son was watching Google Maps on his phone, and we all noticed the banking of the plane as it traversed the skies around the greatest city in Ireland.
When we eventually did come down to land, my son wondered why there was still cloud outside when suddenly the runway was there outside, and we experienced a not too rough landing. Deep fog lay over the runway and airport. We couldn’t see any buildings as we roared down the runway but, brakes and reverse engines were applied harder than I remember in a long time, making me imagine the pilot had landed too far down the runway! A cheerful, “Welcome to Cork!” was announced shortly after, and the plane taxied off the runway to a stop. Phew.
We were last off the plane. The rush to get off, only to stand around for luggage and passport control, doesn’t make sense does it?
Liza Minnelli’s performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 is an iconic moment that will be remembered by fans of both Queen and Minnelli for generations to come. Her rendition of “We Are The Champions” was a poignant tribute to the late Freddie Mercury, and her powerful performance was the perfect way to honour his legacy.
Minnelli’s unique style and voice are well-known to fans of musical theatre and film, but her interpretation of “We Are The Champions” added a new dimension to the song’s emotional impact. She brought her own brand of theatricality to the performance, infusing the song with a sense of drama and intensity that perfectly captured the spirit of the tribute concert.
The emotional impact of the song was not lost on the audience, either. As Minnelli belted out the lyrics, the crowd responded with cheers and applause, clearly moved by her passionate performance. This emotional connection was undoubtedly strengthened by the fact that Freddie Mercury adored Liza Minnelli – their close friendship was well-known, and he had expressed his admiration for her movies and songs many times.
One of the most memorable moments of Minnelli’s performance was when all the other performers came on stage to sing behind her, arm in arm, celebrating Freddie Mercury with a song he wrote. This spontaneous moment of unity and camaraderie was a fitting tribute to the man who had brought so much joy and energy to the music industry. George Michael, who was also performing at the tribute concert, hugged Minnelli and joined in the group sing-along with the other performers, creating a powerful and emotional moment that brought the entire audience together.
Personal anecdotes about Minnelli’s performance abound, adding depth and interest to the story. One notable example is the fact that she was not initially scheduled to perform at the tribute concert – she was asked to step in at the last minute after another performer dropped out. Despite the short notice, Minnelli rose to the occasion, delivering a performance that was both passionate and heartfelt.
In the broader context of the tribute concert, Minnelli’s performance played an important role in honoring Freddie Mercury’s legacy. “We Are The Champions” is one of Queen’s most popular songs, played at many sporting events, and its enduring popularity is a testament to the impact that Mercury had on popular culture. By choosing to perform this particular song, Minnelli not only paid tribute to Mercury’s musical talent but also acknowledged his impact on the wider world.
In conclusion, Liza Minnelli’s performance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was a memorable and emotionally charged moment that will live on in the annals of music history. Her interpretation of “We Are The Champions” was a powerful tribute to Freddie Mercury and his enduring legacy. Tthe spontaneous sing-along that followed was a fitting tribute to the man who had brought so much joy and energy to the music industry. With her unique style and voice, Minnelli brought a new dimension to the song’s emotional impact, creating a performance that will continue to inspire and move audiences for generations to come.
The Irish EPA have an interactive map where you can see the radon area in your area. Enter your Eircode to zoom in. If you’re in Cork, it’s probably bad. Keep the windows open? Get a radon detector.
I’ll keep this short. You should download your Twitter data, Facebook data, and as you probably have that too, your Google data. You never know when you might be banned from using them, even accidentally.
After you’ve saved that data, go to Instagram and Reddit and do the same!
Download your Facebook data from Settings->Privacy->Your Facebook Information->Download your information. I like that they offer HTML and JSON options.
Google Takeout
Google Takeout is where you download your Google data. There is a lot there. At the time of writing, it shows 53 products, which includes YouTube, Gmail and Google Photos.
And finally, Reddit. You can download your data from their data-request page.
Keep that data safe. Don’t leave it in your download directory. It potentially has lots of private information you won’t want to be shared with anyone who uses your computer.
Google lets you schedule up to 6 data downloads per year, but it might be worth setting a calendar reminder to do this at least once a year. Store your downloads in dated directories to make it easy to keep track of when they were downloaded.
There’s an old derelict hotel in the village of Killeens near where I live and this evening it went up in flames, spewing a huge mass of ugly smoke into the air. Tonight’s bonfire night in Cork so it’s obviously done maliciously.
Paul Reidy posted photos from the scene on his Facebook account. I’m surprised there’s anything left to burn there as it’s been set alight multiple times in the past. The place should be demolished and something productive done with the site.
Here’s a video from someone who was going to film it for a Cork history video.
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