So, with the many April Fool’s jokes this week, I thought I’d give you a bit of a fun cocktail:

Drinky: Black Magic

When served it’s off white in color due to the pineapple juice but as it settles down the color of dark rum appears. Wait until the second or third cocktail and then introduce this, its fun watching peoples reactions as their drink changes colour.

Ingredients:

* 150ml Pineapple juice
* 30ml dark rum
* Dash of orange squash
* Dash of lemon juice
* 10ml grenadine syrup
* 30ml Peter Herring cherry liqueur

Method:

1. Blend all the ingredients with three cubes of ice
2. Pour this in a cocktail glass and serve

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Linky’s:

Have to have: Ninja Throwing star magnets

Will stop the Madonna Linkage but, I have no idea how to process how this makes me feel

This will be stuck beside my door from now on!

Possibly the cutest way of celebrating a growing new arrival: Belly Series

New things for my bike, new things for your bike?

Monkeyeletric Bike Lights

And something I got this weekend, once I’ve tried it I’ll let you know how (if) it works:   a coffee holder for your bike

Cup-to-go from Tazzina Cafe on Browersgracht

Can imagine Xbox will be on the list for one of these some magical day soon

And the loveliest ad I have ever seen (yes I know its evil Coca-Cola advertising)
Made my uterus cry, from my eye sockets!

#alanshair tried to take Alan by suprise

From this weeks BTW metup in Dublin (more to come perhaps in other cities)

Alan Costello posts his favorite images Set One & Set Two

Over at the Kitchn they have some seriously good tv snacks *drool*

1. DIY Microwave Potato Chips – Make your own potato chips! So easy, and you control how thin and crispy they are.

2. Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce – Wow! The mother of all sports-party appetizers. Deeeliciioussss……

3. Kale Chips – Keep it really light with these surprisingly addictive and tasty kale chips. Try with some vinegar and olive oil, or some pepper and sea salt. Delicious!

So the Obama’s give the Queen an iPod, but Michelle got a little more personal

Check out the video of the 8sec protocol shocker

Hug me Queeny!

Sinead Cochrane gave us a peek at her research on Irish Blogging and not to be outdone by one so young,

A University of Melbourne study published suggests that workers that use Facebook and Twitter during the workday are more productive.

The University of Melbourne study showed that people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not.

Another study, shows that having sisters make for better mental health in families?
*shakes head* Come round my house and I’ll show you how wrong that is!

Speaking of families, Sweden allows Same-Sex Marriage
And Iowa also upholds Same-Sex Marriage rights lawyer for the plaintiff’s Dennis Jonson said:

Go get married, live happily ever after, live the American dream

Adam & Eve

And finally:

The Register reports, that a German website has been given till the 6th April to pull their site or face legal action.

File Sharing? Piracy? Porn?

No! Playmobil!!
Playmobil are not happy with Klicky-bible’s depiction of scenes from the Bible using thier figures.

Today I spotted on wordpress.com mainpage

Hawt Cark Post Boy

Corklangerdan’s post about how Cork has “honoured” US President Obama by naming a street in the city “after him”

Barrack St in the city centre is the street in question. Pity we didn’t pass through it on our #iba09 photowalk.

I love the supposed text that Obama sent….

“The text reads ‘thnx 4 de shout out lds, nce 1, dat a hurley stcking outta de wall?”

Anyway, nice work Dan!

Note that todays post is about Dutch – Irish relations…. lol, how topical for me!

I LOVE this video… its playing in a loop on my iTouch and in my head.
Wil-i-am – Yes we can

I have been allowing myself the luxury to go back over some of my favorite Obama speeches, without the fear of the “Hope reality check” being cashed. In so doing I have realized what I see of myself in Obama, and it is the reflection of your best self in someone that attracts you to them.

I find parts of myself in his ideals and theory’s. Like Obama I was raised in what would be termed a broken home, my mother could not give me money or status, but like Barack’s family gave him, she gave me love, education and hope; the hope that I would be able to make my life better.
His speech in Wisconsin in February, held the main ideal I was given from my mother in terms of self belief, of course she didn’t use words like this (these are Obamas words), but none the less this was her sentiment.

Nothing will happen unless you begin to hope, and by hope I mean imagining, fighting for and working for what did not seem possible in the first place. Things wont change if we wait for some other person, or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

This sense that I would have to make it for myself, that I should study and work and get a good job, because I was the only thing that would pay my bills, and give myself the life my mother never had the chance to have.

I remember very clearly the talk she had with me, after a parent teacher meeting when I was about 12, telling me in her own words that I had to do this, not for her or the teachers or my friends, but because I was the person that could change my life. No one was going to drag me along, I had to get up and do this. And if I didn’t want it for myself, if I couldn’t dream of it for myself and work for it for myself, then no one could help me.

Its partly that drive, to give myself as many opportunities as I can handle that landed me here.
I knew that my industry was looking weak in Ireland and that I wasn’t likely to get a good job in the sector by sitting around. And when I had almost begun to lose hope in finding anything, this appeared concrete, but it meant a risk and several losses and way more permutations than my brain could reason out.

So I hoped for the best, and thought if I work at it I can make it happen.

There are many days ………… and then I think, Yes I Can.

So in the words of the man least likely to become president elect of the USA, be the change you want to see in the world. Its only when you dare to hope that you can make something good happen.

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There will be a catch up post soon and a New York post, with photos (my girlfriends photos that is)

Elf