Irish Wit & Wisdom

Since I was busy celebrating St. Patrick's Day at the local Irish pub, I didn't get a chance to post this last night.

Even though I have an Italian last name, most of my grandparents were Irish. In one sense, 'nationality' is just another set of labels we give ourselves. It is human nature, though, to organize into social networks of all kinds, and a national identity is just a larger form of a tribal identity.

Mostly, though, national pride gives us all a reason to have parades and get drunk. This page has some pretty good quotes by past Irishmen-

"St. Patrick’s Day Words of Wisdom"

"The problem with some people
is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober"
- William Yeats

On a seperate Irish train of thought, I also came across an out-there webpage via Renegade Futurist that speculates about the secrets of ancient Celtic & Druid cultures hidden by allegories such as St. Patrick. The basic premise is that Ireland was in contact with other lands in the East. It's called the Manifesto of the BLACK THORN LEAGUE, whatever that is supposed to be.

"In another interpretation of St. Patrick's anti-reptilism, the "snakes" he banished were in fact "druids", i.e. Celtic pagans.

The snake may have been an emblem of the Old Faith, as it is for many forms of paganism, including African (Damballah) & Indian (the Nagas) -- & even for the Ophite Christianity of Egypt (Christ himself depicted as a crucified snake)."

Although I'm not sure all of the "Manifesto" is true, some of the points reminded me of the ongoing speculation about the nature of the island's civilization before Roman invasion.

Early Religions of the Irish:
"Serpent Faith"

Ancient Celtic History

Story of the Celts

"The Cross and the Plumbline"

Google Glass, Through Drunk Irish Eyes

 
My tech life is dominated by Apple & Google products. I use only Macs & have the greatest invention of the modern age - the iPhone.

Despite the usual complaints of difficulty in upgrading & modifying, I love Apple hardware because it just works & I don't have to tinker with it. For a long time, I resisted getting an iPhone until my old phone totally crapped out, but now it's an integral tool in my daily life.

Google is another company that has created tools that I find indispensable right now. I use Blogger to create The Monkey Buddha blog. I have an online Picasa Photo Album. The navigation program Google Maps is freakin' amazing & has helped immensely with my anxiety when traveling. Google is digitizing works of art & also literature. In fact, they are digitizing the entire planet with Google Earth. One of my most visited pages, Google Search, with options of Images, Shopping, & Video, is absolutely miraculous, to an information sponge like myself. I talk to people all the time about how much it sucked in "the old days," trying to find answers about anything- before the search engine became the powerful resource it is today. The Internet is truly becoming a virtual hive mind, and search engines are the current key to accessing that collective consciousness. Although its power is awesome & could easily have detrimental effects, Google's definitely augmenting the capabilities of the human race in countless ways.

Dicover Magazine:

How Google is Making us Smarter

I don't think there's any question that the digital age is the most radically transformative of any time in known human history. The change & progress we're experiencing only seems to be accelerating, so we have very interesting years ahead.

Although it's been in development for awhile, the interactive eyewear called Google Glass is starting to get some attention. They are basically computerized glasses that can access online content, find directions, take pics & video, etc.

The Google Glass technology is already inspiring spoofs...

 Here's a video imagining how the ubiquitous ad culture will affect the experience:

Just in time for St. Patricks Day, this very funny video came out showing the day's festivities through a user's Google Glass experience:

St. Patrick's Day [through Google Glass] 

Since I don't wear glasses, it would be a big change to have eyewear on constantly. Instead of having to speak commands, there should be a way to look at icons & blink to make choices. Although it is interesting, & the state of technology to make it possible is truly astounding, Google Glass is simply another step in a process. The process seems to be the integration of biological & digital systems, to enable a greatly enhanced consciousness. I can't say if there will ever be an endpoint to this process, other than perhaps the conversion of our singular experience into the dimension of pure light.

After this glasses interface, though, it seems like the only logical progression would be to have a direct mind-machine interface that connects directly into the structure of the brain. This will truly alter the way humans perceive & experience reality...

Apple iThink

 

St. Patty's Madness

This weekend, I visited my college roommates & crew in North Jersey. A house full of people got together for our annual Irish-fest that kicks off in the wee hours of the morning. We all celebrated heartily all day despite the St. Patrick's Parade in Morristown being completely rained out.

It's one of life's great joys to meet up w/ old friends & continue to have fun times.

Here are a couple pics, & there are some public photos on my Myspace album.

Me, my former roommate Andy,
& Melanie - our missing roommate Joe's sister.

Part of our crew getting ready to leave to go into town.

In between 2 of my college roommates, Andy Smooth & Jon,
out on the town.

Celtic Irish Flag

Today is St. Patrick's Day, so this weekend I was celebrating my Irish heritage with Guinness, whiskey & Irish food. 

I made this design using the flag of Ireland & a Celtic knot. It's available at my Cafepress store.

 "Irish Celtic Flag"

available at the Monkey Buddha Bazaar

Secrets of the Stones: Decoding Ireland's Lost Past

 "Irish Celtic Flag"

available at the Monkey Buddha Bazaar

Although I have an Italian last name, 3 of my grandparents were Irish, so I enjoy celebrating my Celtic heritage on St. Patrick's Day.

Before I load up on Irish stew & Guinness, though, I wanted to post this excellent video I saw that explores the rich ancient heritage of Éire.

The documentary is from the Irish public broadcasting station, RTÉ. The video is an hour long, but worth watching if you're interested in Irish history.

RTÉ Television:

Secrets of the Stones: 

Decoding Ireland's Lost Past

Book Review: "Lore of the Bard"

I recently finished reading "The Lore of the Bard: A Guide to the Celtic & Druid Mysteries" by Arthur Rowan... just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

Though I have an Italian last name, most of my grandparents were Irish... & I've always felt a strong connection to my Celtic heritage. "Lore of the Bard" was an an excellent introduction to the lost arts of bardry. The Gaelic bard was an artist, usually a musician, who kept the cultural identity and mythology alive through song, poetry, & storytelling.

As an artist, I feel like I've walked in the bardic path through my visual art & can relate to many of the creative methods the author outlines in the book. Like the Druids, who were the educated priestly class, the ancient bards found their inspiration through solitude, silent introspection, & communion with nature. The natural world was a major source of inspiration for the bards, who were intimately connected with the cycles of the seasons & the mysteries of the outdoor environments, like the woods.

With their craft, they were doing more than just entertaining the people in the villages of Ireland. The bards were responsible for maintaining the collective memory of the people- while igniting the imagination & aspirations of the souls who they encountered.

"Lore of the Bard" has alot of great information about what we know of Celtic culture. It also provides illuminating insights into the individual process of becoming a practicing bard.

I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in Celtic culture and the artists it produced, who inspired countless people of pre-Catholic Ireland..