[CARTOON] Zebras and Lions

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Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, Third Edition



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Main stars pulling out from tourney

Well first it was Maria who has expressed that she will be withdrawing from the Dubai Open and then follow on by Roger Federer and now Rafael Nadal has also mentioned that he will be withdrawing from the tourney. All three were due to injury and needed some time to rest and then get back in shape. But usually it is kind of like that for sports athletes as they will always want to play their best and in the process stretching their limits and causes injury. Maybe there should be an award for the player who has consistently maintain the injury-free status and has always been participating in all the tourneys. Even though the three main stars are out, there are still exciting matches to be expected at the games. Perhaps at the next few tournaments, they will be recovering in time for them.

Gerard Cowan

Gerard Cowan was a wandering minstrel from the Emerald Isle whose love of music and restless nature brought him on a convoluted but fascinating journey over the course of his life. Gerard died in the United States in his adopted home of Pawcatuck, Connecticut on the 2nd February 2009 after battling for over 10 years against a brain tumour which was diagnosed not long after the birth of his three children. Pawcatuck is a small town of just over 5,000 people along the Pawcatuck River in the North Eastern corner of Connecticut on the Atlantic Coast. It is an old established town which is part of New London County and the Mechanic Street Historic District is a historic riverfront district on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a centre of engineering and textile manufacturing in New England from the 1800s and before that had a thriving seafaring and boat building tradition along the Mystic River. It is also the home of the Freedom Schooner “Amistad” made famous in the 1997 movie of the same name by Steven Spielberg about the 1839 mutiny aboard a slave ship which was travelling towards the Northeast Coast of America




Mystic Seaport

Gerard Cowan or "Bouncer" as he was nicknamed due to his exuberant character and physique was well liked amongst his friends in Dublin, in Scouting and in Traditional Music circles. Many of us met him last at Conor Maguire's funeral at the end of November 2008 in Dublin and while he was very obviously not himself he was still delighted to catch up with the old gang. I told him that Conor would have really appreciated he was there and he just said "Conor would have done the same for me." There was a lot of decency about Gerard and we felt for him in his fight against his illness. It is odd and unsettling that the two West Finglas friends who grew up two doors apart on Kildonan Avenue have gone from us in such a short time. Many people at that other sad occasion in Dublin had not seen Gerard for many years and were both shocked at the physical toll his illness had taken but delighted to meet him again after many years. The psychological toll on Gerard and those around him must have been immense as he had been told on a number of occasions that he had only months to live.


Gerard at Woodstock 1978

His obituary in his local paper “The Day” hints at the colour and variety which he packed into the 49 year long journey of his life;

http://archive.theday.com/re.aspx?re=550edf9c-b2d3-4319-b617-ccadb2c0e04a

“Pawcatuck - Gerard Patrick Cowan, 49, of Pawcatuck, beloved husband of Michelle Morris and father of Ciara, Ben, and Jamie Cowan, passed away, Monday, Feb. 2, 2009, at home after a long battle with a brain tumour. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he was the son of Margaret (Dignam) Cowan of Dublin, Ireland, and the late James Cowan. Gerard was a traditional Irish musician, and was also a veterinarian technician for many years in New Jersey, Michigan, and Virginia. At various points in his life he trained as a baker, worked as a tiler, was a stay-at-home dad with his triplets, and even a cowboy. He loved to fish, appreciated the outdoors and all wildlife, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and enjoyed listening to and playing traditional Irish music.

Besides his wife, children, and mother he leaves his sister and brother, Deirdre Duffy and her husband, Eric, and Robert Cowan and his wife, Ann, all of Swords, Ireland; a niece, Alana Witter; and his nephew, James Duffy.

A memorial service celebrating Gerard's life will be held Thursday, Feb. 5, at 11 a.m. at the Old Mystic United Methodist Church, 44 Main St., Old Mystic. There are no calling hours. The Mystic Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.

The family has asked any donations be made to Hospice of South-eastern Connecticut, 227 Dunham St., Norwich, CT 06360. The family invites you to visit www.mysticfuneralhome.com for the online guest book.”


Leading a music session in the Ballymun Scout Den

Gerard had a wide circle of friends amongst his neighbours and childhood friends, his involvement in the Scout Movement and in traditional Irish music circles. After leaving school he had a number of jobs before training as a baker and obtaining his City and Guilds with the major Dublin firm of Johnston, Mooney and O’Brien and afterwards did a number of jobs in catering and in music. Traditional Irish Music was his great love and he was an accomplished balladeer and guitarist who occupied regular pitches at music sessions at the famous Brazen Head (the world’s oldest licensed premises and mentioned in Leon Uris’s “Trinity”) and in O’Donoghue’s in Merrion Row, Dublin. The latter establishment is the holy grail of traditional music famous as the launch pad of the Irish Folk Group “The Dubliner’s.”

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/farewell-ronnie-drew.html

Gerard was a talented musician and singer and with his natural sociability he was a fixture at social gatherings amongst his wide circle of friends. It was his music which first brought him to the “Next Parish to Ireland”, America where he married, set up home and had three children who are not yet teenagers.

He loved the outdoors and weekends in the countryside and was an enthusiastic member of 57th Dublin Venture Scouts. As well as his own unit Gerard often joined in events with 1st Dublin and 5th Port Scout Groups. We also remember him giving freely of his time and effort on two other projects.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/ballymun-scouts.html

Firstly, in the late 70’s and early 80’s he was involved with 64th Dublin Scout Group based in the basement of Eamonn Ceannt Tower in the Ballymun Public Housing complex in North Dublin. This was a unique experiment in Scouting Outreach in a deprived area and Gerard was always on hand when help or assistance was needed as he identified with the aim of bringing the benefits of the Scout Movement to youngsters who needed it most.


Hiking in Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow; Francis Caulfield, David Caldwell, Gerard Cowan, Síle Mc Inerney, Ann Paisley, Gay Spencer

Secondly and fittingly for one with such a musical bent he was very much involved in the great event at Woodstock! This was not the small event in upstate New York but the International Scout Jamboree held at Woodstock in County Kilkenny in 1978. Gerard was down most weekends in the year beforehand where we were based in Cullen’s Farmhouse constructing the infrastructure needed for an event with 7,000 visitors over 10 days in August 1978. In true “Bouncer” fashion there were many happy musical evenings in Cullen’s farmhouse and in the local hostelries in the village of Inistioge



As his Obituary from “The Day” shows he fitted a great deal into his 49 years and touched many people. He was not the most organised or, at times, the most rational of people but there was no doubting his love of life, his exuberance which earned him his nickname “Bouncer” or his happiness in the company of others particularly indulging his love of music and the outdoors.

At times like this there is no point in looking for fairness or reason in what has happened, death is always a glutton and it never seems more avaricious than when it takes those who are too young and relish life. Nobody could doubt Gerard’s love of people, his capacity for friendship and his zest for life. Our deepest sympathies go to his wife Michelle, his children Ciara, Ben, and Jamie Cowan and his family in Ireland.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.


Gerard P. Cowan

Born Dublin, Ireland, June 16, 1959

Died Pawcatuck, Connecticut, United States of America, February 2, 2009

See also;

Conor Maguire;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/11/conor-maguire.html

Ballymun Scouts;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/11/ballymun-scouts.html

Interesting internet technology

These days I have taken an interest in reading on recent technology news such as online gaming and computer technologies. This was spur on by the news of facebook facing a big challenge of getting revenue. Facebook by far is a pretty successful social website and even though it is successful, it is not making money to sustain its technology. Online gaming seems to be profit generating on the hand. There's this thing they called advergames where it kinds of mean that they will attract gamers to play online and earn via advertising due to the large amount of traffic they have. I happen to read one article about a few young entrepreneurs earning good income monthly from the online gaming website. To make the internet technology more interesting there are also some competitions such as programming contest to encourage people to know more about xml and database technology. Participating in these competitions allow people to have a chance to win some prizes and it also enable the organizers to search for potential stars in the internet technology field.

Return of serve

In any match almost half of the points are lost or won in the return of serve. If some said that the serve is the most important shot, then the return of second is a close second. Anticipation or rather having the intuition is highly required to know the movement of the ball early and to execute control by using simple but reliable strokes.

If you think about it, the basis of returning the serve is similar to the normal forehand and backhand but the playing situation is somewhat different. The opponent has complete control of the serve and is aiming to put you under as much pressure as possible. Return of serve can usually be categorized as offensive or defensive.

Offensive return is played when you are trying to take control of the point from this shot onward. It can be used against a weaker first or second serve, when you are in a position to put your opponent under pressure. Defensive return is played when the goal is to get the ball into play. It can be used equally against a hard powerful serve.

[CARTOON] Wilson the Volleyball

Cast Away: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script Series)


Cartoon inspired by a spoof of Cast Away done on a Family Guy episode.


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A Lunch in Paris

The first order of business last Sunday in Paris was a visit to the Eiffel Tower, a structure which still has the capacity to astonish us today and must have done so by a factor of 10+ when it was first constructed. The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustave Eiffel's was unanimously chosen. However it was not accepted by all at first, and a petition of 300 names - including those of Maupassant, Emile Zola, Charles Garnier (architect of the Opéra Garnier), and Dumas the Younger - protested at its construction.





Ecole Militaire seen through the base of the Eiffel Tower



At 300 metres (320.75m including antenna), and 7000 tons, it was the world's tallest building until 1930. It was almost torn down in 1909, but was saved because of its antenna - used for telegraphy at that time. Beginning in 1910 it became part of the International Time Service. French radio (since 1918), and French television (since 1957) have also made use of its stature. During its lifetime, the Eiffel Tower has also witnessed a few strange scenes, including being scaled by a mountaineer in 1954, and parachuted off of in 1984 by two Englishmen. In 1923 a journalist rode a bicycle down from the first level. Some accounts say he rode down the stairs, other accounts suggest the exterior of one of the tower's four legs which slope outward.



However, if its birth was difficult, it is now completely accepted and is the iconic symbol of Paris itself. The tower has three platforms. A restaurant (extremely expensive; reservations absolutely necessary), the Jules Verne is on the second platform. The top platform has a bar, souvenir shop, and the (recently restored) office of Gustave Eiffel. From its platforms - especially the topmost - the view upon Paris is superb. It is generally agreed that one hour before sunset, the panorama is at its best.



The scale and audacity of its construction and the lifts accessing it in the four piers still astonish. However, for me it is the ascent from the 2eme Etage to the top is still impressive. Whereas modern towers seem hugely safe and secure there is a real sense of adventure ascending through the improbably spindly steelwork to the top and it is a great tribute to Gustave Eiffel, an Engineer and an Entrepreneur that it is still standing proud and strong in this, its 120th birthday.









10th arrondissement



After paying tribute to this symbol of Paris it was off to the meet our friend for lunch in the 10th arrondissement by the Canal St. Martin. The Canal Saint-Martin neighbourhood is nestled between Gare du Nord and République in North-eastern Paris, in the 10th arrondissement. The canal feeds into the Seine River in the South and the Bassin de la Villete and the Canal de l'Ourq in the North. Originaly an industrial area with warehouses and workshops it has gentrified over the past 10 years and morphed into an attractive residential area and lung for the city. Napoléon ordered the construction of the Canal Saint-Martin in 1802. It was originally built to link to the Canal de l'Ourq, further north, to supply fresh water to the city and link to the canal systems of Northern France. In the 19th century, the area was mostly occupied by working-class labourers. Only recently has it started to attract well-to-do professionals eager to snag apartments with views of the canal.









Canal Saint-Martin



Dimanche en Paris is special as swathes of the City are reclaimed by pedestrians and cyclists as the police close off whole areas (including the traffic tunnels) to cars. This is an example of what strong joined up city government can do and contrasts with the shameful spectacle in London when snow fell recently and roads to bus garages and ambulance stations were not cleared resulting in no buses running (this didn’t even happen during the Blitz!) and emergency services only transporting life or death cases. On Sundays, two streets running parallel to the canal, Quai de Valmy and Quai de Jemmapes, are reserved for pedestrians and cyclists—perfect for renting a bike and seeing the city from a fresh angle. Another possibility is to take a tour of the canal by boat.









Le Chaland



Our destination today was a Bistro called Le Chaland (which means "the barge") on the Quai de Valmy. This is the type of unpretentious neighbourhood establishment found throughout France with a compact menu featuring tried and tested dishes and where you stroll in without booking for a coffee, drink, a read of the paper or as in our case Lunch or Dinner. Le Chaland was typical with 5 starters, one of which is always a very good lentil soups, 3 classic French salads, 4 meat dishes, a pasta and a couple of fish dishes. The menu is brought to you on a four foot high blackboard (pardon; 1200 mm!) and everything is prepared fresh in house, woe betide the chef who uses a packet sauce in such an establishment! Generally starters are 7 euro and Mains 12/14 euro. The produce and style of cooking is always of the locality. This is why the Food Critic of Le Figaro recently criticised Gordon Ramsay’s establishments as “photocopier restaurants” with the same formula replicated across the world.







Speaking of reading a paper in a Bistro Ireland had conquered “Les Bleus” in Rugby Football the previous day at Croke Park in Dublin and I noticed with amusement the headline in the French sports paper L’Equipe “Croques en Croke Parques” which means chewed in Croke Park! Inside there was four pages of analysis on how the French Squad could not beat the referee!









Now for the serious business in hand, a white wine was chosen for the starter and a red for the main course. For starter myself and our host chose Croustillant de chèvre; this is good goat’s cheese encased in millefeuille pastry and deep fried and served hot on a simple green salad (normally small romaine leaves) with a dressing of vinaigrette, capers and herbes de province. The contrast between the warm, salty cheese in its very light pastry case and the crunchy salad makes this a very satisfying dish. The present wife chose a plate of Assiette de Charcuterie, a selection of freshly sliced cold meats served simply with cornichons or miniature French gherkins. She pronounced them excellent.





Boeuf Tartare



For the mains our host ordered the Boeuf Tartare with frites. This is finely chopped top quality steak (normally rumpsteak) served with raw egg on top and with capers, chopped onions, parsley, Worcestershire sauce and freshly ground salt and pepper on the side. You then mix it yourself at the table to taste. The Sage has not ordered it for some time since he eat it in Bertroli’s in Floral Lane, London many years ago and his companion decided there and then that she could not have babies with a man who eat raw meat. There were no such considerations today but I ordered the Magret de Canard. This means Duck Breast in French where a breast filet (including the fatty side piece) is pan fried with pepper, put to one side and the pan deglazed with cognac which is flambé and then cream is added to make the au poivre sauce. The Magret (which is still pink inside, “au point”) is then sliced and served with the sauce over and in this case with Duchesse potatos. Classic, simple and delicious. Mrs. Sage went for a veal chop with pasta with a fresh peppery tomato sauce which she pronounced excellent.



Satiated by our generous plats we shared a cleansing apple ice cream with our calvados and coffee’s before strolling along the canal to enjoy this relaxing day in Paris. Le Chaland is a Bistro Tenant and very much part of the neighbourhood. You rarely find places like this in England with the chains serving their standardised offerings or the Gastro-Pubs being overwhelmed by pretension and the Braying Chablis Swilling Classes loudly vying for attention.









Mr. Quiz



A word about our amiable and erudite host for he was none other than the famous “Mr. Quiz” of Paris! An Irish expat who is a long time resident of the 10th arrondissement. His bi-lingual Pub Quiz is a Parisian phenomenon as is his stern hosting of the Wednesday night Quiz at the Green Linnet near the Hôtel de Ville. Have a look at the website;



http://quiz.eblana.eu/



His fame has spread far and wide as Pub Quiz’s were not common in France before he launched them and here is an article from The Times no less on this cultural import to France;



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article675987.ece



Mr Quiz lectures at the prestigious Sciences Po in Paris and runs Eblana offering language training, translation and business support services in Paris;



http://eblana.eu/



Eblana is the name of an ancient Irish settlement believed by some to have occupied the same site as the modern city of Dublin. The earliest reference to Dublin is sometimes said to occur in the writings of Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy), the Greek astronomer and cartographer, around the year 140 AD, who refers to a settlement in Ireland called Eblana. Like James Joyce and The Sage, It seems Mr. Quiz has left Dublin but Dublin hasn’t left him!



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/06/james-joyce-and-me.html



So if you are looking for authentic Bistro Fare in Paris you could do worse than roll up to Le Chaland (closed Monday) and if you do so on a car free Sunday you have the added bonus of seeing this charming quarter along the Canal St. Martin at its best. Bon Appétit as they say in these parts!







Le Chaland

163 quai de Valmy

75010 Paris



tél. 01 40 05 18 68



Métro : Château Landon Louis Blanc



fermé le lundi