Kilkenny Bits and Bobs

Here are some items that didn't merit their own posts and are gathered up here!

Walking down Abbey Lane in Kilkenny, parts of the old medieval wall are still visible, as is a still used medieval gate.

L and J look like tough Viking invaders

Glad I'm not driving!

The old Courthouse building is still standing but not in use anymore. A sign said it used to be the jail as well.

Kilkenny Courthouse and Jail

Near the castle is a bank building that has been turned into a restaurant and bar called Left Bank which I thought was rather clever.

Left Bank on the right side of the photo

Market Cross is the local market though it is overrun with modern stores. Some gems are still hidden amongst the larger grocers and clothing/shoe stores. The kids enjoyed the flat escalator to the first floor.
 

Market Cross courtyard

Nearby Market Cross is the town hall called Tholsel. It was built in 1761 with a beautiful exterior that features the town crest and the town clock that chimes on the hour. The building had a major fire in 1985 but has been rebuilt and is used as the archives.

Tholsel

That's a crest!

The tourist information office was formerly the Shee House. Sir Richard Shee had the building built in 1582 as a hospital for the poor. It didn't close until 1895.

Tourist information

Across from the castle is the Kilkenny Design Centre and National Craft Gallery where artisans display their wares for sale. We were afraid to go inside. What if the kids knocked something over and we had to pay for it?!?

Pretty building, though

Kilkenny features a few alleyways off the main road that are picturesque.

Tattos are not allowed on the main road?

Other passages were less welcoming, as in they were guarded by dragons! This is Ireland, after all. St. Patrick got rid of the snakes but not the lizards!

I don't remember bearded dragons in D&D

Book Review: Better Days by Joss Whedon et al.

Serenity Vol. 2: Better Days by Joss Whedon et al.

The crew of the Serenity is off on another adventure! They seem to be robbing a museum but as soon as they make their exit, they are confronted by a robot drone that chases them through the city. They eventually capture the drone to sell to the guy that hired them. This makes the drone's manufacturer (who was demonstrating it for customers) rather angry in an "I'll get you later" way. Naturally, he will show up later in the story.

When they deliver the drone, the guy says he doesn't have the money but there's a big stash in a temple underneath a Buddah statue on a planet not far away. They reluctantly go off to find the money which turns out to be much more than the guy realized. Suddenly super-rich, will the money make Mal and the crew soft or turn a blind eye to hazards coming after them?

The story is interesting enough and has the trademark snappy Joss Whedon dialogue (fans of the show will love the moment when Jayne gives the Buddhist monk a wad of cash for manhandling the statue and the monk whispers, "The hero of Canton....is real!"). They use Chinese (or possibly just Chinese-looking) characters for swear words in the speech bubbles. The art is okay without being outstanding. The book is an enjoyable (and short) read but no where near as good as Shepherd's Tale.

Parental Warning: There are some discrete sex scenes and one torture scene with teeth being removed.

The Walking Dead Spin-off Series(es)

AMC announced that they will be developing at least one spin-off from the wildly popular The Walking Dead TV series. At New York Comicon, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman was interviewed by MTV, where they asked if it would be set in space. He confirmed that it would take place on the moon. Maybe he wasn't being serious. The cast of the TV show give their ideas here.

We hear at Zombie Parent's Guide have the real scoop on two new series being developed as part of The Walking Dead franchise:

1.The Walken Dead

The Dogme 95 group wants to get in on the zombie craze. In case you don't know, a group of Danish filmmakers got together and made a pact to "purify filmmaking" by not using special effects (practical, digital, or prosthetic) nor additional sound effects and music (i.e. a soundtrack) nor additional lighting. The location of the filming has to provide all the props, sound, and lighting they need to tell their stories. No fakery whatsoever. They eschew art for the sake of their art. As a result, they will need actors who already look like zombies since they can't use any make-up or prosthetic. The natural star of their show would be the popular actor Christopher Walken:

Get ready to lose that smile! Attribution: John Harrison from wikimedia

The production has been delayed because no actors want to play the roles of humans who will be bitten/eaten by the zombies according to the Dogme 95 restrictions.

2. The Joaquin Dead
A famous star decided to kill his acting career and become a rap star. After several disastrous TV appearances, he decides to revive his dead acting career. But can he do it? Welcome to Joaquin Phoenix in The Joaquin Dead.

Who knew his last name would be so appropriate? Attribution: Mimi C. at en.wikipedia

Rothe House, Kilkenny, Ireland

On the Medieval Mile in Kilkenny, one house has been converted to a museum that chronicles the life of the wealthy merchants who lived there. Rothe House is the 17th century home of the Rothe family, who connected three houses (from 1594 to 1610) in addition to having two gardens in the back of the property, making a fine example of Tudor construction.

Rothe House, Kilkenny

Our tour began in the gift shop, which struck me as unusual. Typically that's where tours end. We paid our admission and began our self-guided tour. We went out to the courtyard between the first two buildings where the children tried to pose but weren't quite tall enough to make the grade.

Two children hidden by the balcony railing

Inside the first hall, we saw the main entertaining and dining room, which includes a massive fireplace with an Irish deer's head. The particular species is extinct and would probably have been quite tall judging from the skull (and the description on the sign).

The first hall

Antlers as wide as fireplaces!

Upstairs from this room is a loft where the family and servants slept together, an unusual arrangement.

The loft

Other end of the loft

A display cabinet shows a Viking sword. The Vikings had raided the area several times. Since the property is owned by the Kilkenny Archeological Society, artifacts from around Kilkenny have been brought here.

Viking-era sword

From an even earlier period is an Ogham Stone, an example of various early Celtic stones with writing on them. Most are memorials dating from the 300s to the 700s A.D. The Ogham alphabet was used by locals up to the 1600s. Most of the surviving stones come from southern Ireland.

Ogham Stone

More fascinating to J was the windy staircase leading to a higher level in the second house.

Spacious stairs by medieval standards

The second house holds more historical artifacts, including a prop and gear from 1857, when the inventor Godwin Meade Swifte claimed to have flown a powered airplane some 50 years before the Wright Brothers in America. Swifte built the flyer in his home and had to have doors enlarged to take it outside. He couldn't find a motor both light enough and powerful enough to power the plane, so he used a pedaling system. He took the contraption to Foulksrath Castle where a small summit provided a good launching point. Not fully confident in his flying machine, he had one of his butlers try out the "Aerial Chariot." The chariot fell to the ground, resulting in a broken leg. For the servant, not the inventor. The project was abandoned.

Remains of the Aerial Chariot

Outside in the second courtyard, a nice display on heraldry adorns the wall.

Second Courtyard

Heraldry!

The courtyard also has the house's well which is fed with rainwater by the drains of the neighboring buildings.

Covered well!

Up above this area is the garden area which has been restored to its original 17th century model. The first garden has herbs and vegetables. The second is a small orchard with mostly apple trees. Some ducks also live here.

Herb garden

Orchard

Our path wound back through the various houses and courtyards and we exited, as we entered, through the gift shop.

Kyteler's Inn and Pub, Kilkenny, Ireland

Kyteler's Inn in Kilkenny is a very popular spot, quite old, and full of fascinating history.

Kyteler's Inn

The original owner was Dame Alice le Kyteler, daughter of a Norman banker. She was born in Kilkenny in 1263 and lived a prosperous life. In addition to her rich father, she went through four husbands amassing a fortune. By 1324, those jealous of her success accused her of poisoning her husbands and being a witch. Some nobles helped her escape to England.

Dames are always trouble, just ask Sam Spade

Her maid Petronnella fell under suspicion but sadly she did not have advocates in the nobility. Why Alice didn't take her to England is not explained. Petronnella suffered her mistress's fate--being whipped through the streets and burned at the stake. Alice disappeared from history after she went to England, probably the fate of many Irish lasses who went to the UK.

More appropriate at night?

The inn was a place of merrymaking and fun back then and still continues the tradition. Live music is available almost every night. I went one night and heard a duet that was quite excellent.

Live music and lots of patrons

Here's the musicians in case you couldn't pick them out

The next day, we all went after dinner for some dessert at the Inn. The live music started earlier so we hoped to expose J and L to some good Irish music. Unfortunately the bar area was full so we sat in a side room where echos of the band could be heard.

Medieval room

For dessert, my wife and I ordered sticky toffee pudding and the kids split the hot chocolate muffin with ice cream. J took the muffin and L the ice cream. L seems to have confused it with a fine coffee, because it was good to the last drop to her.

Drinking the less icy cream

In fact, she finished the side of ice cream that came with our sticky toffee and drank it to the last drop as well!

L is awesome!

Kilkenny Castle Adventure Playground

The Kilkenny Castle features a nice playground that has most of the standards and a few twists to make it more interesting.

Kilkenny Castle Playground

More of the playground

One twist was this twisty ladder that J climbed.

J ready for a challenge

There were many different ways to get down. J tried the slide, which was fun enough.

Not so challenging

Much more challenging was the two-rail slide that some of the bigger kids were trying. J decided to give it a go. At first he needed a little assistance, but after going twice, he could do it all by himself.

An unsure start

Riding like a pro!

He encouraged another little girl to try but she was too scared. They hung out for a bit anyway, becoming temporary playground friends.

Balcony scene for the younger set

L was off on a see-saw that had big cars on each end. You'd think that would make it easier to use, but then what's the fun of staying in your seat when you can climb all over? No sign saying "Keep your hands and feet inside the car at all time" was displayed and L took advantage of that.

L, the exit is to the side!

Later on, L just relaxed in a little hammock that should be made larger for parents to try out.

Restful L

As we left, we discovered this massive stump. It doesn't really have anything to do with the playground but I thought it was noteworthy.

Big stump

The Walking Dead Ep. 402: Infected

The Walking Dead, Season 4, Episode 2: Infected

TV rating

TV-MA

ZPAA rating

Late teens and adults

Offensive content

As I guessed, they are keeping the gore level high, including a "guts dropping" just like in the old Romero zombie films. There's some kissing though nothing more than affection expressions. Some pigs die terribly as do some humans.

Synopsis & Review

After someone dies in the prison at the end of the last episode, he comes back to take out his cell block. Some good horror thrill moments are eeked out of this scenario. Rick and the gang manage to get things under control but now they suspect some fast-acting flu virus was the cause of the first death and everyone in the block has been exposed. So a quarantine is on. Meanwhile, someone has been feeding mice to the fence zombies, who are about to push down the outer fences. More gross-out battles are in store.

The real heart of The Walking Dead is the human dramas within the larger zombie apocalypse, which we get here. Carol has been teaching the children to defend themselves so they will be tough enough to survive in the new world. She's worried Carl will rat her out to Rick because she's been teaching the children behind their parents' backs. The parents might not agree with spoiling the innocence of their children (kind of like public schools providing sex education whether parents like it or not). Carl eventually decides to tell his father toward the end of the episode.

Rick, in a surprising turn of attitude since the last episode, says he won't stop her as he straps back on his gun. His hope for a brighter future as a farmer seems darkened by his acceptance of the need for readiness. He gives Carl his gun back and seems ready to put his sheriff's hat back on, metaphorically and literally.

I remember Rick's big speech at the end of season two when he told the group they would have to do what he says when he says it no questions asked since they are putting him in charge. Kirkman referred to it in interviews as the "Ricktatorship." It seemed like it would be an interesting development with the prison and the Governor plot lines looming in season three. The "Ricktatorship" never really happened, though. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe the producers lost their nerve; maybe they've found it again. The interesting contrast between Rick at the prison and the Governor at Woodbury is lost but they could come up with something else.

But maybe they'll all die from the flu before anything interesting happens!