We’re living in the age of augmentation, when lips, teeth, and breasts are only the tip of the ‘fake it til you make it’ iceberg. These days reality is augmented in every Instagram picture; perfection is entirely achievable with enough patience to capture the right moment, plus the right filters. And it’s turning us all into [...]
A scam benefiting a few rich chancers, supported by some orange squares. The pernicious influence of ‘positivity’ and ‘getting things done’ flying in the face of all realism. A determination to do the impossible, against all expert advice. And leaving the innocent inhabitants of an island nation penniless and unhappy after a lot of goodwill and [...]
It was Madeleine Albright who said that there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other, but she forgot to mention the gigantic reservation in the underworld specially set aside for women who constantly criticise each other. Not a week goes by without a woman in the public eye being pilloried [...]
As my son grows from a baby into a toddler I have realised that parenting mainly consists of finding something new to be afraid of at least once a day. While romance is a long way in his future, a study I came across yesterday about how teenagers are now approaching relationships struck fear into my [...]
There are dangers we anticipate ahead of our children in their journey in life. Roadblocks like illness, or bullying, diversions like getting in with the wrong crowd. Behavioural issues, problems at school, and when they’re a bit older, inadvisable experimenting with drink and drugs. Many of these dangers are amplified by the internet, with cyber-bullying, grooming [...]
Last week I gave a speech to members of the CPA in Cork about the importance of personal branding. It's a concept that makes most of us squirm (myself included) but these days, even if you don't want to call it that, most of us do manage our own brand through various platforms. It was one [...]
You love your friends, right? You may not agree with them on everything, but you know they are people of integrity and value, and sure, they’re a bit of craic as well. That is probably the case for your real friends - ie the ones you know and regularly spend time with in person - but [...]
I’m thinking of pitching a new business idea to Enterprise Ireland. Millions, it could make. Millions, I tell you! It’s franchisable, scaleable, international, all those things they love throwing money from the National Pension Reserve Fund at. The best bit is I don’t need to learn any new skills, and in order to become one of [...]
We’ve all been there. Steve Carson (husband of Miriam O’Callaghan) reportedly said last week – joking, I’m sure – that there are three of them in the marriage. Steve, Miriam, and Miriam’s iPhone. Apart from the obvious – how she has time to even breathe, never mind tweet – it begs the question; how many of [...]
Students often get bad press, and with exams currently going on or in prospect in most colleges, they are having a tough enough time at the moment without doing it to themselves. But the utter stupidity of a Facebook page I came across this week proves that college culture creates an astounding ignorance of [...]
