Queen Maeve's Tomb

The "mountain" of Knocknarea rises a little over 1000 feet in elevation. Situated west of Sligo town, Knocknarea overlooks the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the iconic Ben Bulben to the east. Around 25oo B.C., the people living in the area decided to add another 30 feet to Knocknarea by erecting Ireland's largest megathilic tomb outside of the Boyne Valley in the eastern part of the country. The tomb may or may not be the resting place of Queen Maeve, an accomplished woman whose prowess in battle and in the bedroom won her an important place in Celtic mythology. Whether she reposes on the top of Knocknarea or not, the tomb is definitely there, and on a clear day is easily seen from miles away.

Yesterday, Premium T. and I drove over to Knocknarea to take what a sign advised was a 45-minute "walk" to the summit. Ireland has not made a significant investment in switchbacks, so the "walks" usually go directly from point A to point B, in this case straight up a rock trail to the top. The temperature was fine and the rain spared us its presence, but the omnipresent winds grew more forceful as we neared the summit. (You can get an idea of the winds from the video on Premium T.'s blog here.)

On the way up, we saw everything from a solitary tree on a lonely hillside

to spectacular panoramas (that's Ben Bulben off in the distance):




The vantages from the summit were wonderful, if short-lived: The wind was so ferocious that we left nearly as soon as we arrived. On our way down, we met up with a pair of siblings, Shelby and Seamus, and a some kind of small, shaggy terrier who had followed them up Knocknarea. Shelby and Seamus hail from Minnesota and were in the middle of a 17-day trip to Ireland. They are making their way across Ireland by foot and bus, staying in hostels. (Shelby is a travel writer; you can read her work here.) This is the time in their life to do it this way; me, I've become partial to renting cars and nice hotels.


Meanwhile, in the rest of the world...

How can an even half-sentient human being remotely consider taking tripe like this seriously? And, yet, people do. It's enough to make a guy an elitist...

It was thirty years ago today, give or take, and I was present at Patti Smith's only San Antonio appearance. Greg Barrios looks back here. For the record, I was also at this legendary event, written up in Rolling Stone and now a salient chapter of punk mythology. I still remember people throwing full beers and plates of food at the stage. I've never seen an act feed off of hostility like these guys did that night...

Too good to be true? According to this article, Sens. Larry Craig (R-Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Men's Room, Idaho) and David Vitter (R-D.C. Madam, Louisiana) are co-sponsors of a Defense of Marriage bill. Just when you think right-wing hypocrisy can't be any more jaw-dropping, something like this always comes along. OMG, it is true...

Finally, in 254 B.C., the Roman playwright Plautus was born. Plautus established the conventions of modern comedy and pioneered musical theatre. Why do I care? Well, the estimable Roman was born about halfway between now and construction of Queen Maeve's tomb. Chronologically, she was as pertinent to him as he is to us. A little perspective never hurts!