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~ writer, designer, creative thinker

jensinewall

Monthly Archives: May 2016

sunshine in Dublin

31 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by jensine in Dublin

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Me Before You

Dublin is experiencing something of a heatwave – non-stop sun has been gracing our skies and it looks like it’s to stay this way. Of course that means that everyone is in a good mood, shorts are pulled out from below the long legged pants and sunburn red seems to be the colour of the moment.

The only problem is that the lure of the outdoors tugs and pulls at me while I try and get my word-count up. After all who wants to be strapped to their laptop when the sun is inviting you to play outside. But since I am lagging behind and my novel won’t type itself I am trying my very best to ignore the sun.

My reward will be a catch up with a friend later on this evening and some free tickets to go and see ‘Me Before You’ before it is on general release on Friday. And then of course there is always the dessert of choice when the weather is warm – ice-cream!

sunny Dublin

sunny Dublin

Max Richter at the National Concert Hall

30 Monday May 2016

Posted by jensine in Dublin, quotes

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classical music, Dublin, film music, Kafka, Max Richter, music, National Concert hall, quotes, sleep

Yesterday a good friend whisked me off to the National Concert Hall to experience the music of Max Richter. This German-born composer grew up in England and is possibly best known for the stunning score he composed for Shutter Island (On the Nature of Daylight) and his scores for the TV series The Leftovers.

We had front row seats and the ebb and flow of a mix of classical and contemporary music washed over us without any barriers. The violins lamented and soared, the cellos moaned and exalted, the piano sang, hummed and often led the way.

The concert started with The Blue Notebooks, inspired by Kafka, and the  words of Kafka led into imagined worlds of sound. After a short break we were treated to 90 minutes of Sleep. Max Richter calls it an eight hour long lullaby or cradle song and while listening it is easy to see why. Sleep is an exploration of the unconscious, which both music and sleep are doors into. The melting of strings and wordless vocals in a high, clear soprano, with the piano echoing, conjured up dreams and gave flight to the imagination.

It was a wonderful night out and the experience will linger with me for a while, just like the notes played lingered in the air.

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.

Plato

sunshine and kites

29 Sunday May 2016

Posted by jensine in Dublin, photography

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beach, Bull Island, Dublin, photography, photos, summer, surfing

It looks like it’s going to be a  beautiful day today – clear blue skies and a bright happy sun. So to make the most of this glorious weather I will be heading down to the beach today to watch surfers battle with the bay.

Every year a hoard of surfers (both kite and wind) and volleyball players, boggie boarders and beach lovers spend a weekend on Bull Island showing off their skills and competing for a win. The event is called Battle for the Bay and has been running for the past ten years, no matter the weather, so luckily for them this year the sun is shining down on them.

Before I head out I need to charge my camera and hopefully I’ll find a few pictures to snap once I get there.

waiting to save some lives

waiting to save some lives

on the rise

on the rise

a bit of orange in the sky

a bit of orange in the sky

deflated

deflated

Weekly Photo Challenge – Spare

28 Saturday May 2016

Posted by jensine in blogs, Dublin

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books, Dublin, ILFD, International Literary Festival Dublin, photography, photos, reading, Spare, spare time, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge : Spare

Tomorrow the International Literary Festival Dublin (ILFD)  is coming to an end. All week I have been going to readings and book signings, meeting new friends and dipping in to the world of literature.

A side effect, and one I could have easily predicted, is that my to ‘to read pile’ has grown. Four new books hold lots of promises between their covers and all I need now is a bit of spare time to discover them in.

As if the world was conspiring to make just that happen I found a small bar of Lindt chocolate hidden between the pages of my newspaper this morning, a gift from The Irish Times to sweetened the day. So now, armed with a cup of tea and the desire to read, I will sit out in the afternoon sun for a while and begin my journey through my new friends – the perfect way to spend any spare time.

the books (so far) the ILFD has made me buy - now all I need is some spare time to read them in

the books (so far) the ILFD has made me buy – now all I need is some spare time to read them in

looking up at shoes

27 Friday May 2016

Posted by jensine in Dublin

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angels, Dublin, heels, shoes, smile, south side, thoughts, walking on air

While walking o the bus last night I noticed something odd: a pair of heals dangling from a cable.

Now I know that last year there was a project around Dublin called ‘look up and put a sparkle in your step’, all over Dublin there were signs and  sparkly heels were draped over cables encouraging Dubliners look up. But the heels I saw yesterday were white, no sparkle and more importantly no sign. So I couldn’t help put wonder what the dangling heels were doing there.

Since it was on the south side of the Liffey maybe it’s a signifier for a particularly posh drug dealer or maybe the sparkle has just worn off. But either way the dangling shoes made me smile, and a thought occurred: maybe even walking on air in hurts when wearing heels, and that is why angles go barefoot!

elegant street decoration

elegant street decoration

 

it’s all Russian to me

26 Thursday May 2016

Posted by jensine in art, Dublin

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books, Dublin, Dublin literary festival, ILFD, Ireland, literary festival, Nobel Prize Winner 2015, Svetlána Alexiévich

Last night I sat on the most uncomfortable chairs for and hour and a half to listen to Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich talk about her work. The event was billed as a conversion but it ended up being more like a lecture – Irish journalist Conor O’Clery  would ask a question and off she’d go, only interrupted by her interpreter to allow us to catch up with what she was saying in Russian.

Her stories were long and winding, circling around questions she asks herself and answers she is trying to find. Fascinated by stories she has made it her life’s work to listen to the stories of those who are usually not asked. She likes to go beyond the expected and find the mundane that is tinted with the extraordinary.

When asked if her international success and her Nobel Prize have changed the way she is viewed in her own country, she lives in Belarus, she sighed and said ‘being in opposition to the authorities is a long held tradition by writers where I am from, but now we are also in opposition to our own people, this is new and much harder.’ She went on to say that during the fall of the Soviet Union there was so much hope but that ‘freedom doesn’t come over night, freedom is a long, long way.’

‘We didn’t really know our people, we worshiped an ideal of what we believed the people to be- but they weren’t. So we built bridges to go over rivers, but the rivers then went another way.’

Chernobyl is of particular interest to Alexievich ‘there was no precedence’, that made the stories the people told so unique and surreal. ‘Soldiers were on rooftops washing the them, and scrubbing firewood – it was like in science fiction. As physical beings we could not grasp the unseen, what we could not smell, touch or see.’

After an hour and a half shifting around on my seat, a dance everyone in the audience was occupied with, it was time to join the long queue to have my copy of Chernobly prayer signed. And I have to say that was the only point in the evening where I was somewhat disappointed – Alexievich signed my copy but her attention was elsewhere. A Russian speaking woman was monopolizing her attention, not very considerate to the rest of us who waited in line. And it was clear that Alexievich was very tired and maybe I should have just let the opportunity slide- but then how often does one get to ‘meet’ a Nobel Prize winner?

An added bonus of the night – I met two wonderful women in the queue and we ended the evening over wine, olives and lots of chat – in English.

Svetlana Alexievich (courtesy of Headstuff.org)

Svetlana Alexievich (courtesy of Headstuff.org)

International Literary Festival Dublin

25 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by jensine in Dublin, Ireland

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Anakana Schofiel, authors, Dublin, International Literary Festival Dublin, Ireland, Lucy Caldwell, reading, Selina Guinness, Svetlána Alexiévich, writing

Ireland is known for it’s writers and this week Dublin is celebrating all things literary. Yesterday evening I went to a talk with two wonderful Irish writers: Lucy Caldwell & Anakana Schofield. They both read from their books and engaged in a lively discussion about character, language and setting hosted by lecturer Selina Guinness.

It was truly inspiring to listen to two successful writers talk about what they do and listen to their hard won words. Sadly their weren’t that many people in the audience, those who didn’t go really missed out, but since we were such a small crowd I got the chance to exchange a few words with the authors – and both were generous with their time.

On the way home, a bright green bag holding Lucy Caldwell’s short story collection Multitudes swinging by my side, I felt really lucky to live in a city that celebrates  authors and gives them so much space.

me getting my book signed by Lucy Caldwell (courtesy of ILFD)

me getting my book signed by Lucy Caldwell (courtesy of ILFD)

Tonight I will be listening to Svetlána  Alexiévich, the Belarusian investigative journalist and non-fiction writer who won the Noble Prize in Literature last year, the first journalist to ever have done so and only the second non-fiction writer since Winston Churchill in 1953 to have been given the prize. I can’t wait to hear what she has to say and hope to get my copy of her book signed.

There are more events I’ll be attending as the week turns into the weekend and I hope that by listening to all these acclaimed authors some of their words will steep into my fingers and help me on my own literary endevours.

 

 

 

 

just wondering

24 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by jensine in thoughts

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bee, determination, photo, quote, thoughts, Wayne Dyer, wondering, writing

This morning I was watching a  bee flit around the flowers on my windowsill and marveled at how she seemed so filled with purpose and determination. Her weight bent the stalks of the blossoms but she held on and crawled inwards as far as she could go. After a while she flew off and left me wondering.

Wondering about why the bee knew with such certainty what she wanted and how she was going to get it when I often struggle with that. Not the knowing what I want, more the ‘how I’m going to get it’. Seeing how the bee allowed the stalk to bend to the point that it would break, but it didn’t made me wonder if maybe I just give up to quickly sometimes.

With that in mind I will keep staring at the blinking cursor on my screen and hope that my attempts at getting this book done will be rewarded, without me breaking or me breaking my laptop first!

There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love; there’s only  scarcity of resolve to make it happen.

 Wayne Dyer

bee

 

summer plans

23 Monday May 2016

Posted by jensine in travel

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Tags

Germany, monday, orgainise, photo, plans, summer, travel

With all of my end of year assignments handed in and all of my students work graded it is now time to start thinking about the summer that lies ahead. My plan is to head over to Germany for a few weeks – some family celebrations and a wedding are calling – and I have decided to stay there and write.

My trip abroad is only one month away so I’ve asked my godmother if I can stay in her weekend get-a-way and she has said yes. So I’ve booked an outbound flight and now I need to figure out when I’ll be coming back.

With that in mind I have a lot to plan, organise and finances to sort out – emails to write are at the top of my list for today. And since I will have a house guest staying in my home while I’m away I need to make sure everything is tidy and clean.

But for now I can say I am getting excited about what lies ahead and only hope everything goes off without a hitch!

where I'll be staying this summer

where I’ll be staying this summer

 

sunny Saturday morning

21 Saturday May 2016

Posted by jensine in health

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

endorphins, halo-effect, health, psychology, Saturday, summer, sunshine, vitamin d

It’s meant to be raining, according to the weather forecast, but the sun doesn’t seem to have gotten that memo. For now it is shining and keeping those rain clouds at bay.

Studies have shown that we become nicer when the sun is shining, we tend to be quicker to answer researchers, give directions more readily and we even reach further into our pockets and give larger tips. Even the stock-markets trade more and is three times more likely to go up when the sun shines. Yes, even traders and investors feel more positive on sunny days, but unlike us they don’t just buy an ice-cream cone but put their money into bonds.

This happiness and optimism that awakens in us when the sun comes out to play is called the “halo-effect”. Now the halo effect defines how we see things due to our knowledge of an other thing. So, if someone is good at say card games we assume they are good at dice games too, or if someone is bad at football we assume they are bad at basketball as well. And when the sun shines making endorphins bounce around in our brains we just assume everything is good, because we feel good.

Sadly the downside to summer frolicking is that the suicide rate goes up. The reason behind this is that someone who is feeling low sees lots of happy, jolly people and it makes them feel worse about themselves so they become more prone to seeking a permanent solution.

But with all that said I just think most of us love the luxury of letting the warmth of the sun caress our skins and enjoy wearing light summery clothes. Of course we have to be mindful to not burn but letting the sun tickle us helps produce Vitamin D and as our skin is highly efficient at doing just that only 15-30 minutes of sunshine creates the same amount as drinking 200 glasses of milk would.

I am not a fan of milk myself I think I may just treat myself to an ice-cream, let my skin take care of the vitamin D production and let my endorphins run wild – what a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

like a sunrise inside a flower

 sunshine inside a flower

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