Inside View from Ireland

ETA paint bombs

SAN SEBASTIAN -- While walking around some yellow and red paint spatters in San Sebastian, I heard that Spanish police blew up a bomb left by ETA on an electricity pylon. Basque guerillas have adopted a new tactic of targeting the country's power infrastructure. The armed separatist group placed bombs on two high-tension electricity towers run by grid operator Red Electrica. Police found one bomb on a pylon near the French border in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa, the host of the Manifesta exhibit.

Bilbao on foot

THE BEST PART about European culture is finding it on foot. Our trip around Bilbao will put us next to stunning features as well as in the shadows of new things.

Both have their charm.

We will be pressed for time so we're taking Trip Advisor's recommendations and will see three buildings in our walk-about.

Walking on glass

BILBAO -- Santiago Calatrava's "Puente del Campo Volantin" or "Zubizuri" is the most graceful footbridge I have ever seen. Its curving glass deck gives pedestrians an unimpeded view of the river below. It's a short walk along the river from the Guggenheim Bilbao.

San Sebastian Film Festival

SAN SEBASTIAN -- This little city (smaller than my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania) has made itself an essential stop on the annual film circuit. It's probably the fourth largest film festival in the world. It's strong enough to attract A-listers like Woody Allen. It gives Latin American directors a platform to reach a wide audience. The elegant Basque surroundings help--like the shell-shaped bay that lies less than two minutes from my hotel and the elegant meals from many Michelin chefs.

On autopilot over San Sebastian

UNDERWAY -- This blog is on autopilot during the next five days as I discovere the wonderful beaches of San Sebastian, the Guggenheim Bilbao and immerse in the visual arts of the Basque country. The adventure starts at the red dot (the hotel) and includes the two-minute walk to the beach.

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Hotel Zaragoza -- Enjoy the pictures. Ignore the typos. It's a visual arts expedition.
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Another reason to read German

HEISE -- The magazine Telepolis reflects on the perceived information needs of young people today. It's a fascinating read, written in German. Online translation tools make the essay easier to read but understanding German is the only way to really comprehend the main points.

Refused leave to land two years ago

I HAVE A FUJI S602Z camera and a Mass Card from my dad's funeral to remind me of the events arising out of being refused leave to land in Ireland two years ago. I bought the camera during the unscheduled trip to the States and I used it to snap pictures of my dad during a glorious week when we shared good times. He died a few months later. Every September I relive my front line experience with Irish immigration because I make short breaks outside of Ireland around the 20th of September every year. When I come back to Dublin from Spain this year, I'll remember the events of 21 September 2002.

3000 spams a day

KNOWSPAM -- During the first month of Knowspam service, filters had blocked 100,000 spams from Lance Arthur. That's an average of 3,000 spams a day. The poor guy's Yahoo Directory listing describes him as an "award winning designer and iconoclast butthead." He turned into a spam magnet after he launched Glassdog with its web development and design tips. It evolved into a blog.

Beheading video

BBC -- The British and Irish evening news presenters announced the beheading of American hostage Eugene Armstrong tonight but I won't be pointing to the video file of the event, just as I wouldn't run a graphic still sequence of the beheading in a newspaper. Google understands the issue and programs its AdSense server to provide only Public Service Advertisements on pages discussing this violence.

Yahoo Smells Flickr

YAHOO -- I like browsing the Flickr Zietgeist, Yahoo Buzz and Blogpulse Phrases. Now Yahoo is offering readers a chance to roll through the news via Photo Highlights. Caution: doing this will suck away productive time. But that's what reading the paper on the job does anyway.

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Yahoo! News -- "Editors' Picks"
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