Ireland’s Travellers invite a fair amount of voyeurism on account of their reputation for physical toughness and petty crime. The conventional wisdom is that this social group has decided to remain distinct from mainstream Irish society, in order to preserve their unique cultural traditions. But German photographer Birte Kaufman, who has documented life in a […]
Tags:economics·Ireland·Travellers
Just wanted to offer a quick bayarlalaa to y’all for sticking with this project over the past few weeks. Been hectic times here at Microkhan global headquarters, what with the book deadline looming and both the health-insurance and education systems conspiring to make the fam miserable. Better days ahead, for sure.
Tags:Ireland·Miami Showband·music
Columbus Day brings to mind all the various explorers who are more deserving of modern recognition than the dour Genoan you either love or loathe. One such admirable icon is our namesake, St. Brendan, who allegedly sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in the sixth century A.D. True, there is zero physical evidence to prove that […]
Tags:Christopher Columbus·exploration·Ireland·maritime·mythology·religion·St. Brendan·Star Wars
During our time in Ireland, we never ceased to be mystified by the venom spewed toward Travellers, perhaps the Emerald Isle’s largest ethnic minority. For starters, we had a tough time differentiating Travellers from their countrymen, although our Irish comrades never seemed to fail at the task. Alas, many of those comrades were barkeeps, and […]
Tags:boxing·crime·Ireland·Travellers
The 1988 B-movie “classic” Bloodsport is notable for three things: Forest Whitaker’s nuanced supporting performance, Bolo Yeung‘s ‘roided-out pectorals, and the novel highlighting of non-Asian martial arts. Microkhan, for one, was first introduced to capoeira through the film, and has been a fan ever since (which meant that his time in Salvadaor de Bahia was […]
