Uploads from Plastic Jesus

Revolution

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:02:52 -0700

33 and a 3rd, or 45 per minute, whichever your preference.

Saturday 20th April 2013 is Independent Record Store Day. In Derry that means Cool Discs on Foyle Street.

Free Derry Wall

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:34:53 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Derry, Northern Ireland.

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:34:36 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Dermie McClenaghan addresses a gathering in Sandinos Cafe Bar in Derry to mark the death of Margaret Thatcher. Dermie is one of the kindest men I've ever met, and he was able to acknowledge the complexity of a situation where you find yourself unable to find any compassion for someone who was herself despised for lacking compassion. The fact that she appeared to be the living embodiment of the policies of social destruction implemented by her governments makes it slightly less complex in this case. Shots (of the alcoholic variety) were distributed throughout the bar, glasses were charged, and Maggie was given a fitting send-off.

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:34:24 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Sandinos, Derry, Northern Ireland.

Greetings from the UK City of Culture

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:34:10 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

It's all a bit hazy but I seem to remember them shouting something along the lines of, "Maggie Maggie Maggie, Dead Dead Dead!"

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:33:27 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Sandinos, Derry, Northern Ireland.

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:33:27 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Sandinos, Derry, Northern Ireland.

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:33:26 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Sandinos, Derry, Northern Ireland. Apologies about how out of focus some of these shots are. Low light impairs photographic ability almost as much as alcohol. Seriously.

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:33:25 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Sandinos, Derry, Northern Ireland.

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:33:23 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Sandinos, Derry, Northern Ireland.

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:33:22 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Sandinos, Derry, Northern Ireland.

Thatcher Dead

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:33:21 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Sandinos, Derry, Northern Ireland.

She Stole Our Milk!

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:17:37 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Just add the spirit of one dead witch for a guaranteed good time.

Hunger-Strike Memorial

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:17:35 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Derry, Northern Ireland.

Free Derry Wall

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:17:34 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Derry, Northern Ireland.

Tramp The Dirt Down

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:37:58 -0700

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Margaret Thatcher, Maggie, The Iron Lady, or Wicked Witch, depending on your own perspective, is dead.

There are many who feel it is unseemly to celebrate the death of another human being, but in light of the drivel currently being spewed out by the British State Broadcaster (BBC to you, BBShit to me), I think it's important to point out that there are those of us (and we are many) who have been waiting for this day for decades.

I don't drink alcohol under normal circumstances, but these aren't normal circumstances. I intend to venture out tonight into the official UK City of Culture 2013, and toast the passing of the woman who has blighted our lives like no other. May she rot in hell with Pinochet.

(Just checked on isthatcherdeadyet.co.uk to find confirmation that "YES: Margaret Thatcher is dead. This Lady's Not Returning" #nowthatchersdead)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BZIWSI5UQ

www.amazon.co.uk/Tramp-The-Dirt-Down/dp/B001KQVF0W/ref=sr...

On the assumption that amazon sales actually count towards chart placings, wouldn't it be a truly wonderful thing for all humanity if this song was at number one when they put her in the ground?

Staring At The Sun

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:46:56 -0800

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

I happened to find myself in the middle of the protest outside Belfast's City Hall today, quite by accident, and couldn't help but hear Wee Bono's words echoing in my head, pondering what has and hasn't changed in my country since he wrote Staring at the Sun about us in 1996. Intrangisence is still all around, that's for sure.

I lead a non-sectarian, non-partisan life, and I primarily think of myself as neither British nor Irish, but rather Northern Irish, with no allegiance to either the green or orange traditions. I have no wish to antagonise anyone who shares my living space and who does happen to hold passionate beliefs regarding sovereignty and the expression of national identity. I do, however, see something of an absence of logic on the part of those who feel their Britishness is somehow being diluted by the failure to have the Union flag flying daily over Belfast's City Hall.

I may be mistaken, but unless someone can confirm otherwise, I'm not aware of any government or civic building in Great Britain which flies the Union flag on anything other than the same designated days as have been democratically agreed for Belfast. Couldn't it be argued that flying the flag on designated days is actually a more British expression of Britishness than flying it all the year round?

I wish we could collectively - and I do mean collectively, together - move on. Our society is broken, and it desperately needs fixing. One of the problems is that our western system of democracy is based on disagreement rather than consensus, so one side always wins while the other loses, and everything is always the other side's fault. Forever and ever, amen.

It allegedly takes 99 Paddies and a Part-Time Brit (imagine it to the tune of a well-known Jay-Z track) to run our sorry excuse for a country. And one of those 99 is Alex Attwood!!! Can we not do better, seriously? And when can we rid ourselves of the sectarianism enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement? There is much more to life than being legally required to register as either a Unionist or Nationalist before you can serve in our government. Or is our squabbling genuinely supposed to continue indefinitely?

I also happen to believe that Northern Ireland could sort itself out within a generation if our children were to be educated together. The perceived divisions in our society are without exception based on misconceptions, lies, misinformation and ignorance. We are all the same. Apart from the rich, obviously - they're a whole different breed, or maybe even a different species....

Back to Bono's lyrics, and the recognition that his tales of armour-plated suits and ties are actually based on Plato's Allegory of the Cave. After thousands of years I suppose I shouldn't hold my breath if I'm expecting that my generation will actually be the one to stop being happy to go blind.

Derry~Londonderry

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 10:50:55 -0800

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

In the year 2013, the place where I live has honour of becoming the UK's first official City of Culture (or CoC, as it's becoming known locally).

It seems quite likely that no one outside of Norn Iron is aware of this fact, as our wee country only makes the national news when violence rears its ugly head, or perhaps if the world's number one golfer gives an interview highlighting the difficulty he faces in choosing whether he should represent Great Britain or Ireland at the Rio Olympics. (For what it's worth Rory, I think you should compete under the Olympic flag in protest at the re-branding of "Team GB" to exlude "and Northern Ireland" from the official name.)

Anyway, while the official name of the city is Londonderry, and the massive majority of its residents only ever refer to it as Derry, it seems we are now supposed to refer to it at all times as Derry~Londonderry, with the "~" symbolic of the Peace Bridge joining the two halves of our divided city. The sad thing is I'm not making this up.

Derry~Londonderry

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 10:50:54 -0800

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Prometheus Rising

nobody@flickr.com (Plastic Jesus) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 15:55:59 -0800

Plastic Jesus posted a photo:

Happy New Year 2013.