I finally got around to importing my old Ireland trip blog into WordPress. It documents the month long trip my wife and I took to Ireland in 2002, and which was taken to fulfill a research component of the M.A. program in Hawaiian Language and Literature program that I graduated from in 2003. It is written in Hawaiian.
Post Primary Gaelic-medium Education in Ireland
Memories of Musicians Institute
In spring 1985 I moved to Hollywood to attend Musicians Institute. On the first day of instruction all of us students (@500) gathered in the school’s performance auditorium for orientation. As a “getting to know you” exercise they had all of us in odd number rows (I was in row 1) turn around and introduce ourselves to the person directly behind us, then stand up and introduce that person to the rest of the class. Yes it took a while. The fellow sitting behind me was a guitar student named Nick Nolan, about 19 years old. He was also the…
Curbing The Clutter
view original Originally uploaded by lylamerle I thought we did a really good job of cleaning house and getting rid of a lot of things that we’d likely never use again before taking off for Aotearoa in January. We sold a lot of things in a garage sale, some went to the Salvation Army, and anything left over was taken to the dump. Our perspective on clutter changed a bit after our experience in New Zealand. We only brought those things that we felt we needed to survive, and likewise we bought few things that would need to be sold…
Pixenate: Photo Editing On The Web
One of the reasons I had neglected to use pictures in posts here for so long was the fact that in order to do any kind of editing (other than simple resizes) of the pics I needed to fire up Photoshop. Let’s face it – I’m not that into photography to take the extra steps required. When Scott came onboard and began to use pictures in every post I decided I needed to get with the program. A few weeks ago Walter Higgins posted a Jaiku asking for people with WordPress 2.5.1 sites who were willing to test his Pixenate…
Oideas Gael director reacts to Irish language report
Our friend Liam Ó Cuinneagáin comments on a recent report regarding the current status and future of the Irish language.
Conversation On Hawaiian Social Network Space
I spent nearly an hour on Skype with Conn Ó Muíneacháin in Ireland this morning. The topic: minority languages in the social network space. I was sick as a dog all weekend, and while lying in bed had a lot of time to ponder our college’s next move in regards to providing telecommunication services through the medium of Hawaiian. While Conn has no specialized training in language perpetuation or sociology (nor do I), I felt that he is very much a kindred spirit in his desire to be able to use his language in as many daily contexts as are…
Bualadh bos . . . Gaeltacht goes global
A group of Irish-Canadians have financed a Gaeltacht about 130 miles from Toronto. They have combined to buy 60 acres of land near the small but aptly named village of Erinsville, whose first five mayors were Irish. It would be amazing to see this kind of development happen for the Hawaiian language on the U.S. mainland. [ Free registration required ]
Edge Case Becomes Edge Cast
I really admire Conn Ó Muíneacháin and the work that he has done for many reasons, not the least of which being such a strong advocate for the Irish language without approaching it from an academic or theoretical perspective. He simply does what he does in such a way that everyone knows this is simply the way manner in which he goes about his life. I was very much following his lead when I converted my Nahenahe.net podcasts to be exclusively in the Hawaiian language last year. Language blogs and language podcasts shouldn’t just be about the language but in…
Where Are The Irish Artists On The Grammy Ballot?
I’m a voting member of The Recording Academy, which is responsible for the Grammy Awards. It amazes me how few Irish artists get entered. There are a few this year, including Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, whom I had only known as a member of Danu. I checked out her website and her CD sounds awesome. I ordered a copy and got a nice email from her. Susan McKeown, Lunasa, and Solas are on the Traditional Folk ballot, and Enya on the Album of the Year, which has hundreds of entries. Any Irish artists I’m missing? I’ll hold onto my ballot for…