Okay, so I forgot to wear green today, I missed the parade at Celtic Fest on the weekend (complete with a myriad of multicultural performers from around the world amidst the traditional bagpipes and fiddles and packs of wolfhounds – ah, Vancouver, jewel of the Pacific, crossroads of the world), I didn’t have time to stroll down the road to the local pub for a celebratory pint of Guiness (although I did enjoy a double-shot of Bushmills from my liquor cabinet), I haven’t had time to crack open an SF book by an Irish author, and I’m not even Irish (although, typical Canadian mutt, I do have some in me), but this being St. Patrick’s Day, I figured I’d at least do a quick blog posting to highlight it.
Because it’s late after a full day at work (and that Bushmills is ever so gently easing my already considerable weariness into the forefront) I won’t go on as long as I could about all of the great contributions the Emerald Isle has made to western folklore and culture, nor do I have time to do a full role-call of all the great authors and books and actors and films. Rather, I’ll just give the nod to one who popped up on my radar again recently when I was re-watching the animated “Beowulf’ after purchasing the DVD: Brendan Gleeson. This Dubliner has always impressed me with his strong performances in a variety of roles, from the stolid but uneasy Wiglaf in the afore-mentioned Anglo-Saxon tale, to the uber-badass Snake-Plissken-on-a-broomstick Mad Eye Moody in the “Harry Potter” films, to the weary mourning father in “The Village”, to the vicious exploitative “entertainment” promoter masquerading as a righteous defender of humanity in “A.I.”, to the smooth-talking old scoundrel/new dad/ultra traffic jam-surviving hyper-evolved cat in an episode of the new “Doctor Who”, and the list goes on. You don’t need to chase rainbows to find treasure when you can watch a performance like that.
babbling relentlessly about science fiction, fantasy, and all points in between
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