The Middle Aged Adventurer

Magnumlady Blog

Back on a dull, dark day in January I was invited along to the Hawk’s Well Theatre in Sligo to have a chat about possibly having a photography exhibition there. I was thrilled to be asked! The exhibition was to be landscape images of the North West and with the help of my friend Heidi the ‘Wild Atlantic Wayfarer’ was born.

Little did I know at the time the immense journey it would bring me on. If you follow the blog you will know I love exploring and I’m passionate about this wonderful gem called Sligo that I’m so lucky to call home. Not only did I get to see more of Sligo with this project but I also got to see parts of Mayo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal that’d I’d never been to before. I met some amazing people along the way and it’s been a life-changing experience.

Although…

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Looking at how the media presented the Oxford Professor of Poetry Election for VIDA !

Poethead by Chris Murray

There is an interest for women poets in how media presents electoral processes like the recent Oxford Professor of Poetry appointment. Just as there is an interest in how media views poetry generally. “I would like to see something different at the next election. I would like to see the media discussing women poets and the benefits that they can bring to the chair, and how their role can influence emerging women poets. I feel that this can be achieved by speaking to women candidates with intelligence and not utilising them as filler material in your ossified view of what poetry is.” (VIDA)   I started Poethead as a platform that could create visibility for women poets and their translators. Poetry is primarily a process of creation, media meets poetry at the point where it has become a product, a published book. This convergence of media and poetry…

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Greg Wilson interview

Greg Wilson, the man who brought electro to Manchester in the early eighties. Plucked from a residency at Legends (now 5th Avenue) – the club at which Stu Allan would also break new music in the city – Greg was mixing tracks together when it was a new phenomenon. Recruited to play at the Hacienda by Mike Pickering, Greg had already appeared mixing on Piccadilly Radio and on Channel Four’s The Tube, a youth-oriented music show that was breaking cutting edge music. On that show, he demonstrated to a young Jools Holland exactly what this DJ mixing lark was all about, while Mike Shaft helped to explain the process to Jools and describe Greg as being, “one of the top guys in the field”. Greg’s innovative and fresh style earned him the Friday night Hacienda residency in the summer of 1983

You’re originally from Merseyside. Did you feel that, in the early eighties, Manchester as a city had something to offer you that Liverpool didn’t in terms of being somewhere that you could break the exciting new music that you wanted to?

Greg: Liverpool had major racism issues at club level post-riots in ’81, whereas Manchester had become more cosmopolitan, with students and artists moving into Hulme, which had a prominent black population, bringing about a melting pot environment. This is what gave Manchester its edge, and what would inform the course of the city’s music during the Madchester years – the black/white mix, as I called it. The Hacienda embraced this mix of people, something that could never have happened like that in Liverpool at the time.

Q: If you had a time machine and could pop back to early ’84, would you tell your younger self to take another path and perhaps keep DJ’ing, not even necessarily out of any regret, but just to see if your career evolved differently?

Greg:I needed to get away from it all. I knew instinctively, but hadn’t made any contingency in case problems arose after I’d stopped (which they did). I was cast adrift and it was bumpy, but I never fully capsized, so, at the end of the day, the discomfort was not only worthwhile, but totally necessary. Had I continued I’d have been going through the motions, and that’s not something I’m able to do – I’d fallen out of love with the club life and needed fresh nourishment in my life. It was the right thing for me, although it could certainly have been a better planned retirement!

Q: During that break, you produced music and managed bands. Even without the DJ gigs, that must have been a time when you gained valuable experience about other aspects of the music industry that have served you well today?

Greg: Many of the lessons of the music industry are unpleasant ones, stuff you’re often better off not knowing – ignorance can be bliss in certain cases. The music business wore me out. It was once the domain of mavericks – people who believed in the artists they signed, even when success failed to happen immediately. Without this type of support you could wipe so many artists, who had a bumpy start to the careers, out of Pop history. For example, David Bowie had released 4 non-charting albums (aka flops) before Ziggy Stardust set him on the way to mega-stardom, and the previous albums that had prompted such a lack of mainstream interest all of a sudden started selling like proverbial hot cakes. This couldn’t have happened in the 90’s, once the accountants had taken over the industry and everything was rationalised. Problem being that music isn’t a rational thing, but works most deeply with emotion. Yes it’s a business, but it’s music – there should be a balance. I say bring back the mavericks.

Q: Hip-hop has changed a great deal over the years and there are have been many sub-genres within it (hardcore, gangsta, jazzy, commercial, etc.) and styles that have some debt to it (bassline, grime, breakbeat, etc.). What do you think of the current state of hip-hop? Is it now a commercial monster earning millions for moguls that has forgotten its roots, or is there still an underground movement out there that is true to the urban spirit that gave birth to it?

Greg: Hip-Hop was the most successful music form of the late 20th century – it started out as a street form and ended up as a multi-billion dollar industry. That’s the fact of the matter, and artists are often taking financial decisions to the detriment of artistic integrity, but they’ve earned the right to do that if that’s their thing. It’s more a case of turning away from the mainstream and looking back underground – finding new branches that are growing from much purer motives. There’s always the underground, but sometimes it’s hidden in the shadows, out of view, and you have to get your torch out and have a good concentrated look about before you find it.

Q: A few years ago electro house popped up as a new genre, and more recently there has been its relative, EDM. Do you feel that giving the former’s sound that name was a misnomer and didn’t really have any relevance to actual electro, or do you see a connection between it, a relevance, to anything that was happening 30 years ago?

Greg: There’s a kind of distant relationship, but a lot of the Funk has been wrung out, and that’s the bit that does it most for me. We’re in an era where previous descriptive terms are often re-adapted to a contemporary form, which confuses the issue somewhat. For example, I still find it difficult to view myself as a Disco DJ in the current context, but that’s the term that’s most associated with the music I play nowadays, although, when I think of it, the range of stuff I play would probably have been placed in the Balearic category at a different point. I suppose it just leads to greater confusion when there’s more than one Electro, or more than one R&B, but that’s the way things are and you’ve just got to get on with it.

Q: As a DJ that’s credited with introducing new music to audiences, where do you think the next frontier might be? Do you think there’s anything new and exciting on the horizon, or is dance music just recycling itself and renaming its own sub-genres? Is it even possible that the best dance music has already been created and from here, it’s just homages and also-rans?

Greg: At the very moment you believe it’s all been done, something always comes along to shock you, and I’m sure this will be the case again, although I’m not sure of where and when. We’re going through a period, and a necessary one I believe, where people are re-connecting with the past in a way that’s never been possible before – via the wondrous scope of the internet. This is the heritage of younger generations, especially in a country like the UK, which has produced so many incredible recording artists, whilst embracing the greats from overseas, not least the black American artists who had such a huge bearing on the course of music and popular culture here in Britain. We’ve been in an era of taking things apart to see how they work, then copying what went before, whereas the next phase will have something to do with re-contexualising the past, rather than trying to re-create it. I’m hopeful that we’re approaching a more artistic time, where risk takers will gain more admiration, and the same-old same-old will be seen for what it is. It’s all about refusing to accept mediocrity – people need to strive for something more.

Q: Which contemporary Manchester clubs/events, if any, do you have respect for, that push boundaries in 2014 and you feel are making their mark on the city’s clubscene?

Greg: I played at Antwerp Mansion recently and really liked the environment. A great, slightly off-the-beaten-track venue with bags of character and a top attitude from those who run it. I really think this can be an important space for Manchester.

The Moore Institute Visiting Research Fellowship scheme for 2015/16

for more infomation contact mooreinstitute@nuigalway.ie

The Moore Institute Visiting Research Fellowships

in association with the College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies,

James Hardiman Library &

Galway University Foundation,

National University of Ireland, Galway

The Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies will award a number of Visiting Research Fellowships in the arts, humanities and social sciences for the period September 2015-June 2016. The Fellowship Scheme is designed to enhance the research culture of the University through collaborations between visiting fellows and staff at NUI Galway. Fellowship recipients will also benefit from working with the many rich collections within the James Hardiman Library and will have the opportunity to interact with the vibrant research community in the university, city and region.

Visiting Fellows will be provided with space in the dedicated Hardiman Research Building (HRB) where the Moore Institute is located. The HRB has seminar rooms, offices, and desks for a diverse community of researchers, including 16 postdoctoral fellows and 300 postgraduates in different disciplines. The HRB also has a research technologist (David Kelly) to assist with digital humanities projects and dissemination. The building provides the focus of research activity in the six Schools of the College (the School of Education, the School of Geography & Archaeology, the School of Humanities, the School of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures, the School of Political Science & Sociology, and the School of Psychology). Disciplines represented include Psychology, Education, Women’s Studies, Archaeology, Geography, English, History, the Huston School of Film and Digital Media, Irish Studies, Journalism, Old & Middle Irish, Philosophy, Classics, French, Gaeilge, German, Italian, and Spanish. Other research hubs at NUI Galway include the Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance; the Huston School of Film & Digital Media; Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge; the Irish Centre for Human Rights; the Whitaker Institute; and INSIGHT (formerly known as the Digital Enterprise Research Institute).

The Moore Institute will host fellows during their tenure. Its work is supported by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the European Research Council, the EU Framework Programme, the Marie Curie scheme, the Irish Research Council, and the Higher Education Authority’s Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions.

The James Hardiman Library has major print and archival holdings housed in Special Collections in the HRB, including 300 separate collections of books and manuscripts. These range from resources for theatre and performance research led by the Abbey Theatre Digital Archive, the papers of the Druid Theatre, Lyric Theatre, An Taibhdhearc (the Irish language national theatre), and Thomas Kilroy, to the papers of John McGahern and Joe Burke, as well as two major collections dealing with the recent ‘Troubles’ principally the papers of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Brendan Duddy. Special Collections also features the Douglas Hyde collection as well as other extensive folklore collections in manuscript and other formats. For details regarding the collections and access please consult http://www.library.nuigalway.ie/collections/archives/.

The Library offers excellent electronic resources covering all of the major academic journals. It also possesses substantial contemporary and historical printed resources; the latter include States Papers Online, Early English Books Online and Eighteenth-Century Collections Online. The University’s longstanding commitment to the Irish language provides further opportunities for engaging with the traditional arts of the Connemara Gaeltacht. Visiting fellows will have access to all the major repositories on the island of Ireland.

Moore Institute Fellowship Application

Fellowships will be administered through the Moore Institute and all queries can be directed in the first instance to mooreinstitute@nuigalway.ie.

The Moore Institute Visiting Fellowships are open to all disciplines within the arts, humanities and social sciences. As part of the award, all Fellows will be designated a staff sponsor during their period of stay. Fellows will have available desk space in the Moore Institute, with library and online access.

The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday 7 August 2015. Applications must be submitted by email to mooreinstitute@nuigalway.ie.

Eligibility: All applicants must hold a PhD or have a substantial record or profile of practice or performance. EU citizens and other nationals are eligible to apply. Awards are subject to the successful meeting of visa and any other requirements which are the sole responsibility of the applicant to organise.

Application: A complete application consists of a four-page proposal (maximum).

Proposal Page One: List your name, institutional affiliation, email address, telephone number(s), the period of fellowship requested (max. one month), the subject area of your research in terms of discipline or department, and a brief project title. Please also indicate where you learned about the Moore Institute Fellowships.

Proposal Pages Two-Three: Provide a summary of the proposed research project that explains the context, significance and projected outcome and impact (journal article, book, edited volume, performance, or other public dissemination) of your period of research in the Moore Institute. Please describe the people and resources important to your project in NUI Galway and where potential exists for future collaboration. NB: We also ask you to include a brief letter of support from a member of the NUI Galway staff relevant to your project.

Proposal Page Four: Provide an abbreviated one-page curriculum vitae stressing relevant publications and awards, and two named referees who are qualified to judge the proposal. No other items should be appended to the proposal, which should not exceed four pages in length.

Application Deadline:

The applicant should submit all materials together to mooreinstitute@nuigalway.ie. Complete applications for 2015-16 Moore Institute Fellowships must be received by Friday 31 July 2015. Applications received after this deadline or transmitted by post or fax will not be considered. Incomplete applications will also not be considered. All applications will be acknowledged by email so please ensure that you include your email address in the correspondence.

Award Announcement:

Decisions will be announced by email on or before 1 September 2015. Queries about applications in process cannot be acknowledged. Fellowship recipients and their research projects will be acknowledged in Moore Institute publicity.

Award Terms and Conditions:

Moore Institute Fellowships must be taken up during the period September 2015-June 2016. The Fellowship term is to a maximum of one month. There is no stated minimum. The amount of the award varies according to the length of stay and the available overall budget, up to a maximum of €2,500 per month (to cover reasonable travel and living expenses). During the research period, fellows are expected to have a significant presence at the Moore Institute. Fellows will be asked to deliver one public lecture/workshop or seminar, which may be recorded, and to consider consultation with students at the undergraduate and/or postgraduate level.

The Moore Institute must be accredited as follows in any publication or other outcome pursuant to the award:

The Moore Institute Visiting Fellowships are supported by the Galway University Foundation, the James Hardiman Library, and the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be judged according to the following criteria:

• Research profile and institutional affiliation of the candidate
• Quality of the research project
• Extent to which the proposed project would enrich partnership between the School/Institute and external research institutions and individuals
• Extent to which the proposed project would make use of Galway-based resources
• Proposed outcome(s)

For any further query, please contact mooreinstitute@nuigalway.ie

Manufacturer Settles Disability Discrimination Suit for Firing Employee with Breast Cancer

Kyklos Bearing International, LLC (KBI), an Ohio bearings manufacturer, will pay $50,000 and provide significant relief to settle a federal disability discrimination lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Donique Price worked at KBI’s Sandusky, Ohio manufacturing facility, where she operated a motorized scooter to move products and materials to and from an assembly line.  In 2012, the company’s medical staff imposed restrictions on Price because she had been treated for breast cancer.  The agency alleged, despite her breast cancer treatment and Price’s own doctor clearing her to work without any restrictions, KBI refused to consider outside medical opinions and fired her.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from discriminating against a person because he or she is disabled or perceived to be disabled.  The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (EEOC v. Kyklos Bearing International, LLC, Case No. 3:13-cv-01662), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

In addition to providing $50,000 in monetary relief to Price, the three-year consent decree resolving the lawsuit provides substantial equitable relief.  The decree prohibits KBI from violating the ADA and requires the company make individualized assessments of a person’s ability to perform job functions, in compliance with the ADA.  The decree also provides for the EEOC to monitor the company’s compliance with decree provisions.

Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence of the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office said, “We are pleased this settlement compensates Ms. Price for the harm she suffered and contains equitable relief designed to prevent future disability discrimination.”

The EEOC Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio and prosecutes discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

Ruling preserves tax credits for 6.4 million people in 34 U.S states.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld on Thursday the legality of tax subsidies for millions of Americans who signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, sometimes called Obamacare.

The ruling means 6.4 million Americans in 34 states will continue to receive the subsidies — sometimes called tax credits — that help pay for their health plan premiums under the health-reform law.

The 6-3 decision, which included an affirmative vote from Chief Justice John Roberts, is the second big victory for President Barack Obama and his signature domestic achievement.

“Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them. If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a way that is consistent with the former, and avoids the latter,” wrote Roberts in the majority opinion.

The tax credits are a linchpin of the 2010 health-reform law that has been broadly criticized by most Republicans and conservatives. They view the legislation as a gross example of federal intrusion into people’s lives. The main reason: Obamacare requires most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty.

Supporters of the law, which was championed by Obama and most Democrats, said Americans deserve affordable, comprehensive health care.

The tax credit showdown — known as King v. Burwell — was the latest in a string of court cases contesting core elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Roberts also was the key vote that upheld the constitutionality of the law in 2012.

The key point of contention in King v. Burwell was whether people in states that failed to set up their own health marketplaces, or exchanges, to buy insurance under Obamacare could qualify for the tax credits if they use the federally run HealthCare.gov online exchange.

Opponents of Obamacare insisted that, as the 2010 law was written, the tax credits could only be offered with insurance purchased through online exchanges operated by individual states. But only 13 states and the District of Columbia created their own exchanges. Most of the states that chose not to create exchanges are headed by Republicans opposed to Obamacare.

The Obama administration insisted that Congress intended to make the tax credits available to all eligible buyers, whether they use the federal HealthCare.gov exchange or a state-established exchange.

The Supreme Court agreed.

A ruling against the tax credits could have also had a major ripple effect, jeopardizing other key provisions of the health-reform law, legal experts said.

For starters, there were the 6.4 million low- and middle-income Americans in the 34 states whose tax credits hung in the balance.

What’s more, millions of people would have become exempt from the law’s controversial “individual mandate” — which requires most Americans to maintain “minimal essential coverage” or pay a penalty.

A negative decision also could have potentially weakened the Obamacare mandate requiring employers with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance coverage.

Under the health-reform law, individuals making up to $47,080 and families of four earning as much as $97,000 a year may qualify for tax credits to make their health insurance more affordable.

Tax credits for insurance premiums reduce monthly premiums of federal marketplace enrollees by 72 percent, on average. People who qualify for those credits pay an average of just $105 a month for health insurance, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A recent Avalere Health analysis found that consumers’ monthly premium contributions could have jumped by 255 percent, on average, in 2015 if the tax credits were stripped away.

“It’s hard to imagine someone who is young and healthy, who was getting three-quarters of their premium paid for by somebody else, is going to continue to foot that bill,” Elizabeth Carpenter, an Avalere Health director in Washington, D.C., told HealthDay.

If younger, healthier people dropped coverage, “individual” or “non-group” health insurance rates in the affected states — those that didn’t create their own exchanges — could have surged in 2016, affecting even non-subsidized buyers. (Younger enrollees are considered a key to the success of the Affordable Care Act because they tend to be healthier and their premiums are designed to help offset the expenses of older Americans, who are more likely to be sick.)

Only one in five Americans wanted to see the tax credit subsidies eliminated, a HealthDay/Harris Poll released this week found. About 45 percent supported continuing the subsidies and 36 percent said they weren’t sure.

Even Republicans said they were loath to halt the subsidies, the poll found. Only 36 percent of Republicans said they wanted the subsidies ended outright, while 24 percent said people should continue to get the subsidies and 39 percent said they weren’t sure.

Study Finds People Who Are Deaf & Users of Wheelchairs Face Added Discrimination in Housing

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Urban Institute have released a study that finds that people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and those who use wheelchairs, are told about fewer available rental housing units than those who aren’t. The study finds that housing providers are less likely to respond to people seeking house who use assistive technology and those who need accessible housing.

Visit Study Finds People Who Are Deaf & Users of Wheelchairs Face Added Discrimination in Housing

Labor Department Releases Report on Employment Characteristics of People with Disabilities

A new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that in 2014, 17.1 percent of people with a disability were employed. In comparison, 64.6 percent of people without a disability were employed. The report, “Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics Summary – 2014,” also shows the unemployment rate of people with a disability fell to 12.5 percent from 2013 to 2014. View the data tables for more information.

Visit Labor Department Releases Report on Employment Characteristics of People with Disabilities

Galway Film Fleadh 2015

The Galway Film Fleadh returns for its 27th year, on the heels of Galway being designated an official UNESCO City of Film and the Film Fleadh itself being named as one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World. As ever, this year’s programme of films and events has been curated to have something for everyone – locally, nationally and internationally.

The 27th Film Fleadh will open with the World Premiere of My Name is Emily, the debut feature from award-winning shorts director Simon Fitzmaurice. This road movie turned love story, starring Evanna Lynch (better known as Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter franchise) and Michael Smiley (Kill List; A Field in England), was directed entirely through the use of iris-recognition software.

Among the many World, European and Irish Premieres of New Irish Cinema, the Film Fleadh will host a Gala Premiere of the Oscar® nominated Song of the Sea; a sumptuous animation about a little girl who can turn into a seal and goes on an adventure with her brother to save the spirit world and other magical beings like her.

This year’s country-in-focus will be the Netherlands and the Film Fleadh will host a delegation of Dutch filmmakers, bringing to Galway a feast of contemporary Dutch features and documentaries, such as Son of Mine; Prince; Zurich and the Dutch-Irish co-production The Surprise.

Ticket Prices
Opening Film €20.00
Closing Film €20.00
Daytime Screening (before 17.00)
€8.50 (€7.50 Conc.)
Evening Screening (from 17.00 onwards)
€10.00 (€9.00 Conc.)
Late Night Screening (after 22.30)
€8.50 (€7.50 Conc.)

Way Out West €5.00
On The Box (Per Film) €5.00
Inside Out (Eye Cinema) €10.00
Oidhche Sheanchais & Other Lost Island Films €7.50
Song of the Sea, followed by Kíla concert €15.00
Mícheál Ó Meallaigh Tribute FREE (Booking Required)
An Afternoon with John C. Reilly €20.00

Ticket Packages
5 Ticket Daytime Deal €30.00
5 Ticket Evening Deal €45.00
(Please note that you will need to specify your chosen films at time of purchase)

PLEASE NOTE: Ticket Packages must be booked through the Town Hall Theatre Box Office

Season Ticket
Season Ticket for the Fleadh is €175.00 per person. This will entitle you to all screenings (except opening & closing films) subject to availability, a delegate bag, Fleadh t-shirt & a festival programme.

The re-capture of Jimmy Steele, 28th May 1943

The Treason Felony Blog

Having escaped from Crumlin Road prisonon 15^th January 1943, the northern government had offereda £3,000 reward for any information that might lead to the arrest ofJimmySteele(or the other three escapees). Havingremained atlarge,asIRAAdjutant General and O/C Belfast despite involvement inanumber of high profile incidents,at the end of May 1943his luck ran out and he was recaptured by the RUC. Duringthis time Jimmy is known to haveusedvarious safe houses, such as Trainor’sYard in Lancaster Street, Mrs McLoughlin’s in McCleery Street, Mrs Loughran’s in Amcomri Street, with a family called Thompson in a house off the Shankill Road andhisbrother Bill’s house (which had a hide in the roof)in Artillery Street. Despite the size of the reward and the levels of deprivation and poverty in the areas in which Steele usually hid, the money was never claimed.

On the night of28^th May, the RUC hadcordoned offa number of housesat the top ofAmcomri…

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