Latest news with #ThisIs
Sunday World
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Aslan star Billy McGuinness recalls hilarious performance for Henry Mountcharles
It took place a decade ago as Billy was camping in front of Slane Castle with his wife, Adreena, and their two sons, Jake and Liam, now 21 and 26 ASLAN star Billy McGuinness once supported David Bowie in front of 80,000 fans at Slane with the band, but today he recalls another hilarious performance at the castle for an audience of one – owner Henry Mountcharles. It took place a decade ago as Billy was camping in front of Slane Castle with his wife, Adreena, and their two sons, Jake and Liam, now 21 and 26. 'We had got permission from the Slane groundskeeper to set up camp and we had the guitars out and I was singing ballads – The Wild Rover, Whiskey In The Jar, all that sh*te – and we were drinking cans,' Billy tells the Sunday World. 'Our tent was pitched in front of the castle and the next thing we saw Henry's wife, Iona, coming towards us. Aslan with new frontman Lee Tomkins Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 6th 'I went, 'oh balls, we're in trouble now!' I said, 'this is Henry's wife, she's coming down to stop us and tell us to take the tent down.' 'But she said, 'Henry is up in the bedroom, he has the window open and he's listening to you singing. Can you sing a bit louder he's really enjoying it? So, of course, I said that was no problem. 'We had a box of wine and we said, 'Do you want a glass of wine?' She said, 'Yes, I'd love one.' She sat down with us for the night and she got stuck into the box of wine…absolutely brilliant.' Billy struck up a friendship with Henry Mountcharles through the years and says he was deeply saddened to hear of his death last month at the age of 74 after a long illness. 'The first time I met him was when Aslan were supporting Bowie at Slane in 1987,' he recalls. 'Henry poked his head around the door of the dressing room that day and he said, 'I love that song, This Is.' He was passionate about music. Henry and Iona Mountcharles 'I live in Bettystown and I met him a few times out in Slane. One time I was out there in the bar and Iona said, 'Henry is in the snug, will you go in and chat to him. We had a great chat and I discovered that he was so knowledgeable about music. 'Henry put Slane on the map. I know you had Lisdoonvarna, but there were never gigs like Slane. He got the ball rolling to have a real rock venue outdoor and it was in a natural amphitheatre. 'So many fans have seen the biggest bands in the world at Slane and have such great memories from those days thanks to Henry. 'He'll be missed big time and I hope his son, Alex, keeps the buzz going. It would be great if he keeps the gigs going in Slane.' Aslan, who will next Friday release a stunning new single called A Hand To Hold, have re-established the legendary band and are enjoying a new wave of success since losing their much-loved iconic songwriter and frontman Christy Dignam. With their new singer Lee Tomkins (39), the band will head out on tour to Australia this coming week and have a string of UK and Irish shows taking them up to Christmas. 'We're going 43 years this year, so Lee wasn't even born when Aslan formed, which is making me feel very old,' Billy laughs. 'But Lee has fitted in and has now taken control of the band. The big test for Lee when we came back from Australia last year was getting up with Coldplay. Aslan's new single 'I said, 'Is Lee going to be able for this?' But I was more nervous than he was. I was bricking it going on stage. He took it in his stride. He's fearless. 'Aslan played with Bowie and with Elton John and so many brilliant artists over the years, so it was great for Lee to experience the biggest one – Coldplay.' Lee, a native of Finglas, said he's been working as a singer with different bands for more than two decades. 'It's not a case I was on the streets and they picked me up,' he tells me. 'I've been around the block a few times so you just know what to do. 'I remember going to see Aslan playing in Finglas and the places would be crammed. 'I was watching them and thinking how great the band were, but I never thought I would be singing with them now. That's one of them chances life gives you.' Aslan's new single, A Hand To Hold, will be released on all music platforms next Friday.
Daily Mirror
23-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Tomatoes grow better and taste sweeter if planted next to flower
Gardening expert Ellen Mary explains why you should plant marigolds near your tomatoes Cultivating tomatoes is an incredibly fulfilling experience, yielding an abundance of fresh, nutritious produce that surpasses the flavor of anything found in the supermarket. Recently, I planted tomatoes alongside basil, hoping to enhance the flavour of my harvest. The plant has already begun to produce an impressive amount of fruit, showing no signs of damage. Eager to expand my tomato crop and with June being the last opportunity to plant, I visited my local garden centre to get another tomato plant. This time, I also picked up some marigolds, renowned for being one of the best companion plants for tomatoes, particularly in deterring pests. Not only do marigolds provide vibrant, prolific blooms that add colour to any area, but they also offer numerous benefits. According to gardening experts Jim and Mary Competti of This Is My Garden, marigolds are "pure gold", helping you "grow your best crop of tomatoes ever". Marigolds are exceptionally resilient, withstanding drought, pests, and heat. They attract beneficial insects that enhance the flavour of tomato plants while repelling unwanted pests, reports the Express. The potent scent of marigolds is particularly effective in repelling whiteflies and, even more impressively, mosquitoes, ensuring a safer gardening experience. While some green thumbs prefer to pot their marigolds and position them next to their tomato plants, I decided to plant mine directly in the soil near the plant. Both methods are acceptable - the objective is to situate those marigolds as close as possible to your plants to optimise their advantages. I initiated the process by planting my tomato plant, which had already begun to bear fruit in its original pot. I selected a sunny, sheltered location in my garden with soil enriched with ample well-decomposed homemade garden compost. During planting, I ensured the hole was sufficiently deep and that the plant was almost entirely buried up to its crown in the soil for stability. Moving to the marigolds, I made certain to plant these vibrant blooms within 20cm of the tomatoes. This proximity ensures they provide all the benefits of companion plants and makes watering straightforward when hydrating the tomato plants during the summer months. Once planted, I watered both the tomatoes and marigolds deeply. Deep watering encourages plants to develop stronger and deeper root systems, enhancing their resilience to arid conditions as these roots can access moisture buried deeper in the soil.
Los Angeles Times
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Their political futures uncertain, Newsom and Harris go on the road to Compton to feed young dreams
California's two most prominent Democrats remain mum on their future plans, but former Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Gavin Newsom both took time to tend to their political personas in Compton Thursday, attending separate events at local schools. As hundreds of graduating seniors crossed the stage in their blue and white regalia early that morning at Compton High School, many paused to shake hands and take selfies with an honored guest on the dais: the former vice president herself, who'd made a surprise appearance after being invited by a graduating student. Several hours later, Newsom read to young students at Compton's Clinton Elementary School before standing with local leaders in front of a cheery, cartoon mural to launch a new state literacy plan. The issue is one of deep importance to the governor, whose own educational career was often defined by his dyslexia. The adjacent appearances, which occurred a few miles apart, were 'coincidental,' Newsom said. But they come at a moment when both the high-octane Democrats are in a political limbo of sorts. The pair are viewed as potential 2028 presidential candidates, but the California political world is also waiting on tenterhooks to see if Harris enters California's 2026 race for governor – a move that would almost certainly preclude a 2028 presidential bid. Harris is expected to make a decision by summer, and her entrance would upend the already crowded race. With just 19 months left in his second and final term, the lame duck governor is scrambling to cement his gubernatorial legacy while also positioning himself as a pragmatic leader capable of steering his national party out of the wilderness. Harris, meanwhile, must decide if she actually wants to govern a famously unwieldy state and, if she does, whether California voters feel the same. Both Harris and Newsom were notably absent at the state party convention last weekend, as thousands of party delegates, activists, donors and labor leaders convened in Anaheim. Newsom was a famously loyal surrogate to then-President Biden. But in recent months with his 'This Is Gavin Newsom' podcast and its long list of Democratic bête noire guests, the governor has worked to publicly differentiate his own brand from that of his bedraggled party, one controversial interview at a time. Meanwhile, Newsom — who previously scoffed at the speculation and said he wasn't considering a bid for the White House, despite his manifest ambitions — is more openly acknowledging that he could run for the country's top job in the future. 'I might,' Newsom said in an interview last month. 'I don't know, but I have to have a burning why, and I have to have a compelling vision that distinguishes myself from anybody else. Without that, without both, and, I don't deserve to even be in the conversation.' Newsom demurred Thursday when asked whether he thought Harris would run for governor. 'Look, I got someone right behind me running for governor, so I'm going to be very careful here,' Newsom said to laughter, as California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond — who announced his 2026 gubernatorial bid back in September 2023 — smiled behind him. Harris attended the Compton High graduation at the invitation of Compton Unified School District Student Board Member MyShay Causey, a student athlete and graduating senior. She did not speak at the ceremony, though she received an honorary diploma. Staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report.
Scoop
04-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Psychedelics, Mystical Experiencing, And Organized Religion
Having been prone to so-called mystical experiences since before I knew what they were, I've never sought altered states, or used psychedelics to have one. So I wonder, is the use of psychedelics to have mystical experiences a mistake, or can they open the door? A long, carefully crafted but ridiculously entitled essay in the New Yorker, 'This Is Your Priest on Drugs,' purportedly answers this and other questions, though it leaves basic assumptions unexamined and unquestioned. The questions at the core of a 2015 program at John Hopkins, 'Seeking Clergy to Take Part in a Research Study of Psilocybin and Sacred Experience' were: 'Would a high-dose psilocybin trip enhance the well-being and vocation of religious leaders? Would the experience renew their faith, or make them question it? Would a bunch of religious professionals taking mushrooms reveal a common core shared by all religions?' The disturbing subtext of the New Yorker essay, and the push by the well-funded John Hopkins researchers to get religious leaders to experiment with psychedelics, is the unexamined need to preserve and reanimate organized religion. No one asked, then or now: How responsible is organized religion for bringing humanity to this hellish pass? And should religious belief, theology, dogma, ritual and intermediation be preserved at all? The author of the New Yorker essay, Michael Pollan, summarized his untroubled takeaways from the study: 'I was struck by the fact that these people regarded mystical experiences as authentic—not simply as a drug experience. Several people had encounters so transformative that the course of their careers have been altered. Three of them have started separate psychedelic organizations. So, in a way, they've had a conversion experience— but it was conversion to the value of psychedelics, within their faiths.' The conclusions of the study are as dubious as the attempt to place mystical experiences in the context of organized religion. For example, Pollen says, 'I think it's ironic, and somewhat humorous, that under the influence of psychedelics God turns out to be more female than male. I enjoyed finding that out.' Only that's not exactly what the study found out. The only Muslim and one of the few women in a study (which skewed 97% white and nearly 70% male), Sughra Ahmed, reported after her psilocybin trip that God was neither masculine nor feminine. 'God was above gender, above everything . . . an existence, not a figure.' 'And God was love,' she said, adding, 'It was just mind-blowingly clear how wrong we have it as human beings, and how we need to nurture love, to put it at the center of our engagement with humanity and animals and the planet.' One clergyman gave the game away when he said: 'We need to be cautious about theologically prescribing psychedelics, because you don't want to mess too quickly with the institutional structures that support the entire culture.' What culture, this utterly diseased and dysfunctional one in America? Or the inchoate, capitalistic, consumer and entertainment-driven global culture, tinged locally with dying remnants of the geographically distinct cultures in which people formerly lived? Elaine Pagels, an historian and professor of religions at Princeton, was not being ironic when she stated, 'Traditions can become fossilized.' The truth is that traditions, removed from the contexts of formerly intact cultures, inevitably become empty, meaningless, hollow and irrelevant to the individual and humanity. With respect to the study, as a rabbi said, 'I guess the punchline is that if you enroll people in a study and tell them they're gonna have a sacred experience, then some people will have a sacred experience.' The experiences the participants had on psilocybin varied greatly. As reported, 'a Catholic priest from Mexico heard directly from Jesus, but a Protestant minister said with a shrug that 'there was nothing particularly Christian about it.' One needs to be careful, and not because you'll discover that all belief systems are impediments to mystical experiencing, but because it's not all sweetness and light. Despite the glowing reports of ecstatic experiences and visions, one woman, Rita Powell, the Episcopal chaplain at Harvard, declined a second session because her first brought her face to face with 'the abyss.' Powell said that her facilitators had not prepared her for something so dark. 'One of them kept trying to reassure me that experiences of psilocybin were good, and beautiful, and unitive,' she said. 'It seemed like kind of sloppy hippie stuff about love and harmony.' There's a saying: 'Be careful opening the door; Darkness finds it much easier to enter than Light.' The project of leading desperately thirsty religious leaders to the holy waters of mystical experience through psychedelics will not satisfy the thirst of the dwindling flocks they're trying to lead. And if the remedy of partaking in sacramental psychedelics is for everyone, what in God's name do we need priests, pastors, rabbis and imams for? As far as psychedelics as a means for the individual to initially experience the sacred, I remain agnostic. Perhaps they can open the door, but there are no shortcuts to transformation. Besides, directly experiencing the immanent sacredness of life isn't just about the individual having 'mystical experiences;' it's about the transmutation of the individual and humankind. What we call 'mystical experiences' are essentially precursor states of a higher order, painfully and haltingly emerging consciousness of human beings. There is nothing 'mystical' about them actually. So-called mystical experiences are normal when the norm is not the noise of thought, and one learns the art of allowing stillness and silence to be the baseline state of the brain. For me (and it cannot be just for me), stillness of mind comes naturally through passive watchfulness of the inner movement of thought and emotion in the mirror of nature. Without seeking anything 'more,' I see meditation as a daily cleansing of the brain's palate and palette. The intent is not to have a mystical experience, or reach a state of insight, much less 'attain enlightenment,' but simply to cleanse and order the mind and brain. The numinous, or the immanent, or whatever one calls it, appears as it will. A pastor said, 'I was able to experience what the mystics were for some reason able to experience spontaneously…I don't think that my experience was less than theirs.' Yes it was, because it was artificially induced, and because he compared it. Comparison, with others or one's own previous experiences, must be completely negated for experiencing the sacred to occur. Less than a kilometer's hike from the locked gate at the end of the gravel road into Upper Park, there's a stupendous volcanic gorge that even many people in town have never seen. A huge fire was intentionally started near there last year, so the first sight of the unmarred beauty of the gorge since then was a shock. In previous years, I'd take a meditation overlooking the gorge once a week. After a few minutes, the sense of familiarity with the scene returned, given my many meditations at the stunning spot in the past. However, familiarity is the enemy of beauty, and memory is the enemy of meditation. Watching memories arise in the same way I watched the vultures soar overhead, the past dissolved in awareness. Sensory acuity deepened, and effortlessly, the brain and body became fully present. The door to a deepening meditative state opened, and the unknown, which is the essence of beauty, obliterated the known. The steep, volcanic walls of the gorge, and the browning grass on the slopes of the canyon that surrounds it, were seen again as if the first time, allowing the ineffable sacredness of life to be.
New York Times
12-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Newsom Tries to Understand ‘Bro Culture.' Will It Change Him in the Process?
It was a surprising revelation at the start of Gov. Gavin Newsom's new podcast. His son had become a fan of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing influencer who mobilized young voters for Donald J. Trump. Mr. Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, said that 13-year-old Hunter was such an admirer that he argued his father should let him attend the taping with Mr. Kirk. ''What time? What time is Charlie going to be here?'' Mr. Newsom recounted his son saying at bedtime. 'And I'm like, 'Dude, you're in school tomorrow.'' That Mr. Kirk had captivated the son of a leading Democrat and a feminist documentarian, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was an indication of just how popular conservative podcasters had become with young men. Many expected Mr. Newsom to respond to Mr. Trump's presidential victory by seizing the mantle as the voice of the resistance. Instead, he has become a different kind of voice entirely — the one on the podcast. The governor has been using his new platform to explore what Democrats need to do to win back young men. Along the way, he has tried to charm far-right figures, angering many in his own party and inspiring critiques that he's attempting to remake his image as a member of the liberal elite with well-coifed hair as he eyes a potential run for president in 2028. The first three guests on Mr. Newsom's show — officially titled 'This Is Gavin Newsom' — were conservative men who have enraged Democrats in the past. Besides Mr. Kirk, who has criticized gay marriage and diversity programs, there was also Steve Bannon, an architect of the MAGA movement, and Michael Savage, a conservative talk show firebrand. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
