A poem I wrote about my father, who recently turned 79 and has been showing the signs of a mind and body slowing down and no longer being cognisant of the happenings of everyday life in real time. Not all the time, but enough to be of justifiable concern. It is old age. It is […]
Breasting the Tape Read More »
In this episode Dara asks the question – what movies really do it for you? Before giving his own answer, he explores the types of masculinity that he has been attracted to on the big screen since he was a child. From the days of Spencer Tracy, through the Star Wars and Indiana Jones era, to the modern emotional landscape of ‘men’s movies’, he covers a lot of ground and a lot of movies that all capture a certain type of bruised masculinity.
Such big feelings!, or Learning masculinity from the movies – Episode 18 Read More »
In this episode, Dara reflects on body image and the objectification and commodification of female beauty and sexuality. He discusses the sexist rhetoric and dynamics that he has always found pervasive among many of the men he has known. Along the way, he revisits his own introduction back in the day to the sexualised female iconography of Playboy magazine.
If I can’t get love, I’ll take acceptance – Episode 17 Read More »
In this episode, Dara gets stuck into expectations and how imposing they can be if they are too rigid. He draws a connection between unmet expectations and the loss of control, and the anger that results from that.
The weight of expectations and accepting loss of control – Episode 16 Read More »
So, as I continue my gloves-are-off approach to all things social media, I have started to write very quickly composed poems – using the lovely Miraquill app – inspired by specific episodes of the podcast. I present the first three here with the relevant episode beneath.
In this episode Dara touches on sugar consumption and gut health and warns of the danger of big lunches if your afternoons are going to be demanding.
He talks about using social media to promote his stuff and realises he can barely remember how his points of view evolved, which leads to him confessing an inability to retain information.
The travellator express to nowhere, or Put down that cereal, old man! – Episode 15 Read More »
I sometimes think that the only sane way to live is to pretend no one else exists. Only in that way can anything resembling serenity be nurtured. That that is the only place where true strength can be cultivated.
Wishing Others Away Read More »
In this episode Dara walks the corridors of nostalgia and explores the underpinning emotion that informs that longing for the past. The journey takes him to the movies of his childhood and starts him thinking about when childhood ends and adulthood begins.
The nostalgia shark is coming for my squirrels! – Episode 14 Read More »
In this episode, following some thoughts on Afghanistan and the Taliban, Dara reflects on conflict in his own life and looks particularly closely at his marriage and the diverging paths that have emerged there.
Conflict and the Place Where You Live – Episode 13 Read More »
In this episode, I look at the unwitting victims of a biblical exorcism before cruising through Michael Cimino’s 1978 masterpiece, The Deer Hunter, with particular focus on Robert De Niro’s performance in it. A case for greatness is made and De Niro is pitted against Lionel Messi, the Argentinian footballing genius. The anthemic God Bless
Why De Niro is a gangster, not a lover or The case for greatness – Episode 12 Read More »
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