Lennard Ramone

  The history of the Atomic Wave.   When I was living in Holland, I was a member of a heavy metal fraternity at the University of Enschede, a city near the German border. Mind you, I never went to school there, I was just enrolled because a friend of mine was the founder of the thing. We had a bar on campus that served as the scene for many a night of debauchery. I would often embark on the 2 1/2 hour train journey from Rotterdam to Enschede on Friday afternoon and then wake up back in Rotterdam on Monday morning with little, if any, recollection of what had happened in between.   These were fun times.   Quite often, while we were listening to bands with names like Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death and Severe Torture, we would get bored of just drinking regular stuff like beer and vodka and come up with home made inventions like whisky-infused beer, store brand vermouth mixed with beer and, the Holy Grail of getting seriously hammered, the Atomic Wave.   The Atomic ...

The All Ireland Football Final is on again tomorrow.  For the first time since 2014, it will be a final without Dublin.  Going unbeaten from the start of the 2015 season up to this year’s semi final, Dublin set an all time record of 6 titles in a row.  This 6-in-row, I will go on record now, will stand forever.  If any team, during my lifetime, other than Dublin themselves, beats this record, I will buy anybody who cares to remind me of this statement a pint.  The final this year is between Mayo and Tyrone.  Mayo last won the trophy in 1951. It’s not for the lack of trying but, according to popular lore, Mayo have since then been under the spell of The Mayo Curse. For those of you who don’t have an intimate knowledge of Gaelic Football culture, let me explain. There are several versions of this popular myth, but it generally goes along the following lines: The Mayo team, on the way back to their home county on the West Coast, were celebrating with their new...