Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
US author & satirist (1842 - 1914)

I only saw one thing in the Spiegeltent during this year’s Midsummer Festival and that was ‘The Nina in Me’. I really enjoyed Karen Underwood telling her life story through the songs of Nina Simone. It was great hearing so many Nina Simone songs sung live. Karen Underwood has a wonderfully powerful voice which did the songs justice. She also did a good job of talking to the crowd and getting them involved when she wanted them to be involved, like when she got everyone in the Spiegeltent singing ‘he’s got the whole world in his hands’!

BellX1 played a gig in the Marquee in Cork on the 26th of June. It was great to see them play in Cork again. Villagers played support and got a half decent response from the crowd. BellX1 put on a superb performance and really got the crowd going. They played an energetic set and then came back on for an excellent encore. The set was so energetic that Paul managed to change the colour of his lovely fitted red shirt. When they played ‘I’ll see your heart and raise you mine’ they interspersed some of ‘Man in the Mirror at the end, much to the crowd’s delight. They didn’t mention anything about the fact that Michael Jackson had died the day before but it was a really nice tribute all the same. I think they also dropped two lines of another Michael Jackson song into the middle of their song ‘Next to You’. This was a really happy gig. When the band had left and the lights came back on the Marquee had ‘Billie Jean’ playing and a group of guys near us were doing some excellent dancing. A nice way to end the night. :-)

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.

Carl Jung
Swiss psychologist (1875 - 1961)

You Are Pretty Logical

You're a bit of a wizard when it comes to logic While you don't have perfect logic, you logic is pretty darn good Keep at it - you've got a lot of natural talent in this area!

If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down but the staying down.

Mary Pickford
US (Canadian-born) movie actress (1893 - 1979)

16 new acts just added to the impressive Electric Picnic line-up.

Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Dinosaur Jr
Neko Case
Dan Deacon Ensemble
Diplo
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
The Temper Trap
Buraka Som Sistema (live)
Major Lazer
The Acorn
First Aid Kit
Julie Feeney
One Day International
Fake Blood
Boy 8 Bit
The Lost Brothers

Your Job Satisfaction Level: 53%

Your job is about average. There are some parts you really enjoy, and some parts that stress you out. It's possible that you need a small change. Maybe you should switch companies or positions. It's also possible that you're simply burned out. No job is perfect, even a great one. Give yourself a personal day to think about your career goals - and if your current job is helping you achieve them.

This is straight from the Ray D'Arcy Show for all the rugby lovers out there! (You know who you are)

There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.

Bertrand Russell
British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)