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Question Mark. Aus der Serie „Satzzeichen“ 2014
Rotierende Skulptur aus Lianen Findling, fluoriszierendes Klebeband, schwarze Totenkopf Büchse und Schwarz Licht
Skulptur, Objekt, Video, Installation, Fotografie
Markus Wintersberger 2014
Carlos Alberto Montaner: 5 Questions with U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo on Cuba & Latin America
Latin American genius Carlos Alberto Montaner interviews U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua.
Photos by Hannah Henderson
On Monday 19th May 2014 7:30pm-10pm our Founder of the Craftivist Collective Sarah Corbett took part as a speaker at Universette with a sold out event.
The Universettee is a series of mobile lectures that happen in people's homes with a variety of speakers from different walks of life. The emphasis is on learning about all sorts of issues in a non-threatening environment. The lectures are free but participants are asked to bring some food or drink to share. The syllabus is flexible and shaped by those who offer to lecture or host the Universettee. Lectures will be approximately 30-40 minutes followed by time for questions and discussion. The formal part of the evening will last no longer than 1 hour. People wanting to attend are required to book a place in advance as spaces are limited.
The talk was:
A spoonful of craft can help the activism go down.
We live in an ever-changing world where many forms of activism are not as effective as they once were. The terms ‘clicktivist’ and ‘slacktivist’ are used to describe minimal personal effort and engagement. Politicians have referred to such campaigners as ‘zombie campaigners’. Many people are becoming cynical and feeling like ‘robots’ just asked to do transactional activities rather than being helped in their own personal transformation to be the change they wish to see in the world.
My view as a professional campaigner working in public engagement and now as a full-time craftivist is that we need to adopt some new activism tactics: craft such as hand embroidery can address some of the problems in traditional activism and should become a valued tool in the activism toolbox. Craft connects your heart, head and hands, and when you relate that to justice issues, it can be world-changing personally and politically. Such activism is also able to reach out to people otherwise untouched by more traditional forms of activism.
I would like to talk about 3 ways in which craft really can help the activism go down: through personal deep engagement in global issues, through building relationships and conversations with influential change-makers, and through increasing awareness of and engagement with global issues by the public.
I will use my experience both as a craftivist and campaigner to critique some of the current methods of activism and to provide evidence of effective craftivism by the Craftivist Collective. www.craftivist-collective.com
Date: 19.5.2014
Time: 7.30 food. 8pm lecture
Venue: Bow (address provided on booking)
Speaker: Sarah Corbett, Founder of Craftivist Collective
Cost: FREE! email janicemacaulay@btinternet.com to book a space
The exhibition features the artworks from an interdisciplinary and culturally diverse group of architects/artists/designers investigating current and historical dilemmas facing new immigrants and political/religious refugees as well as their influences on local and global culture in everyday life and their complex relationship to artistic and cultural production. Each body of work represents a unique perception according to one’s individual expertise, experience, vision and culture identity.
Contact me if you have any questions about this image.
This photo is part of a set. You’re welcome to visit the complete series.
*****
Monument classified as World Heritage by UNESCO
Built in the XIV/XV century to commemorate the victory of the 6.000 men of the Portuguese army, against the 32.000 Spanish soldiers in one of their many invasion attempts, the Monastery of Batalha is the most glorious example of the Gothic architecture in Portugal.
The story tells that in the 1383-1385 crisis, when the Spanish army with their king was marching to Lisbon to claim the throne they encountered a small Portuguese army. Laughing of such small force they've decided to pass around because they didn't want to be delayed in their conquest. The Portuguese seeing that the only chance to keep the independence was to fight and win, started to insult the Spanish calling them cowards. It had its result as the Spanish decided to turn back to teach the Portuguese a lesson...
Right from the start the battle was a catastrophe to the Spanish. When their cavalry charged, the knights started to fall into the many traps built in the battle camp. Those who escaped reached the Portuguese army in a disordered formation and tried to pull back. But while some were trying to get back, large numbers of Spanish knights not understanding what was happening continued to charge and push all in their front against the Portuguese spears! More, the Portuguese army chose a very narrow space to fight and the long spears of the Spanish knights were not maneuverable, so they started to break them in half to make them shorter. The problem was that when the broken piece was thrown to the ground the horses tripped in them and fell...
Soon it became a catastrophe to the Spanish and their king was forced run to Spain barely escaping the Portuguese persecuting force. This victory kept Portugal safe for the next 200 years...
JROTC Cadets work together to answer questions during the "Leadership Outside the Box" portion of the leadership part of JLAB July 20 at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. JLAB tests the leadership and academic skills of JROTC cadets from across the nation. (Photo by Michael Maddox, U.S. Army Cadet Command Public Affairs)
Member of the audience questions Zoe Williams at the Edinburgh International Book Festival © Alan McCredie
Mr. Young stars Brendan Meyer, Matreya Fedor and Gig Morton on the red carpet for the 80th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade!
via WordPress ift.tt/2fbI7ME
Jake Behrens is an evangelist and engineer at Apple. Jon Parrott is works is a developer programs engineer at Google. David Demaree is a product manager for Typekit Adobe.
They all work in the the tech industry, and what also unites these three is their unconventional path to their current jobs. None of them have formal training in coding or computer science: Behrens holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism and advertising; Parrott says he barely graduated high school; and Demaree shares that he went to art school.
The three are among hundreds who took to Twitter this weekend using the hashtag #UnqualifiedForTech, showing that not all tech jobs require relevant credentials, and that great talent often comes from diverse and multi-disciplinary backgrounds.
But the conversation also revealed an unanticipated—and discomforting—trend: many who land jobs without a CS degree (or at least feel comfortable tweeting about it) are white.
The conversation was started by Alice Goldfuss, a site reliability engineer at GitHub with a degree in film. “I was tired of reading about how unqualified the Equifax [Chief Information Security Officer] was due to her music degree,” Goldfuss wrote in an email to EdSurge on why she created the hashtag. “Yes, there was gross misconduct and incompetence at Equifax, but that has nothing to do with her degree… I wanted to stand up for those who have an unconventional path into tech.”
On Sunday, the self-taught programmer tweeted the following:
Hi, I’m a Site Reliability Engineer at a large tech company.
I have a BFA in Film.
Anyone else #unqualifiedfortech?
— Alice Goldfuss (@alicegoldfuss) September 17, 2017
At first the conversation stirred responses from folks like Behrens or Parrot, many who felt empowered to share their non-technical backgrounds.
I’m a Sr Incident Responder at a gaming company. I have a BA in Genetics and French. Took no computer classes in school. #unqualifiedfortech t.co/KPIcTfgmuA
— Emily Gladstone Cole (@unixgeekem) September 17, 2017
Principal engineer & architect at an awesome tech co with ~250 engineers.
I have two degrees in plant ecology.#unqualifiedfortech
— Brent Miller (@foliosus) September 17, 2017
But it quickly opened up new questions about how privilege intersects with who benefits the most from certain degrees, alternative education providers, or even no formal higher education at all. “I think #UnqualifiedForTech speaks a lot to imposter syndrome and sexism/racism in tech,” Goldfuss shared. “Having a film degree means I never feel qualified to be in a technical role and being a woman means there’s many systemic biases that reaffirm my doubt.”
Other contributors in the thread pointed out that many of those who managed to land a tech job without the expected qualifications were men, white and still held some level of higher education under their belt.
Also worth nothing, I have an associates, a year experience, portfolio and github. If you’re a POC anything short of a bachelors won’t help
— Hakeem (@hxk33m) September 18, 2017
What’s missing in #UnqualifiedForTech: social capital of being a white straight dude let people believe your self-teaching was good enough.
— Taber Andrew Bain (@taber) September 18, 2017
When you get a moment, I encourage you to read through the many #unqualifiedfortech responses.
Then realize how many of us are white.
— Alice Goldfuss (@alicegoldfuss) September 18, 2017
“It’s far easier for a white man to get hired without proper credentials than a white woman, due to the ratio of white men with power in tech. And it’s easier for a white woman to get hired than a [person of color], especially women of color,” Goldfuss elaborated in an email. “Breaking into tech without a CS degree isn’t easy, but having the right skin color and gender gives you a leg up.”
tech white dudes rn: “I don’t have a CS degree”
meanwhile women poc gotta have 10x degrees just to get taken srsly
— butt | masking (@__biancat) September 18, 2017
The tweet storm touched at a common debate in the higher-ed community—what degrees or credentials are necessary to land a job in today’s changing work landscape? Goldfuss began her own career working in web support for a marketing company, but began learning Python at night to work towards her next role. After later becoming a software engineer, she then added Linux to her repertoire, again studying by night.
Goldfuss later moved into ops roles site reliability engineering. To get there she says she learned from books, watching videos online, getting help from colleagues “and many late-night mistakes.”
What’s clear from the hashtag—and research—is that Goldfuss is far from alone in that endeavor. A 2016 study by Stack Overflow, an online community and job board for developers, shows 69 percent of developers are self-taught, and less than half have a BA or BS in computer science or a similar field.
Wendy Nather, principal security strategist at the account protection firm Duo Security, told The Washington Post this week that it’s “extremely common” for companies like hers to hire workers coming from nontechnical backgrounds. The article reads: “What these people bring to the job is a way of thinking about problems — and then solving them — that draws on the best of other disciplines.”
Tech Employees Question Credentials, Prerequisites and Privilege With #UnqualifiedForTech published first on ift.tt/2x05DG9
Question about World War II veterans - How many people you killed during the war?
Answer - Not one.
Question - How did you have so many awards?
Reply-Fascists killed.
Photo taken at Play the Game 2013 by conference photographer Thomas Søndergaard. This photo is free to download and use for press or other non-commercial purposes, provided both Play the Game and Thomas Søndergaard are credited (Photo: Thomas Søndergaard/Play the Game). We would very much like to hear where photos are used so please send us your links. Visit our homepage at www.playthegame.org for more information on Play the Game.
Innovation ranks high on the political agenda. What should be done to reduce the big gaps in performance between EU countries and the regional disparities within EU countries? What kind of inventions do we need in Europe? How will the new EU-wide patent regime work and how will it improve on the current one? Which will be the role of "Horizon 2020"?
These and many more important questions about innovation in Europe were answered during this edition of the Citizens' Corner debate series, which took place on March 18, 2014, with a live stream from the European Parliament in Brussels. It was produced by Euranet Plus and Radio 24, Italy, a member of the Euranet Plus network.
This part of the debate was moderated by the Radio 24’s journalist Anna Migliorati and the following guests attended:
- MEP Patrizia Toia, Italy, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
- MEP Sergio Gaetano Cofferati, Italy, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament
- MEP Fabrizio Bertot, Italy, Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
- Ezio Andreta, President of APRE – Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (Agency for the Promotion of the European Research)
- Massimo Gaudina, Head of Unit Press and Communication, European Research Council Executive Agency
Get the audio and video recordings of the debate, interviews, photos and many more details at
euranetplus-inside.eu/citizens-corner-debate-on-europes-i...
អ្នកជំនាញភាសាអង់គ្លេស Andrea Echelberger ដឹកនាំកម្មវិធី ក្រោមប្រធានបទ "ការសន្ទនាជាភាសាអង់គ្លេស" ។ អ្នកចូលរួមបានរៀនពីរបៀបបន្តការសន្ទនា ដោយការនិយាយឡើងវិញ និងការប្រើពាក្យសំនួរអង់គ្លេស ដែលផ្តើមដោយព្យញ្ជនៈ WH ។ សកម្មភាពនេះជួយ ដល់អ្នកចូលរួមវ័យក្មេងទាំងនេះ អោយមានទំនុកចិត្ត នៅពេលពិភាក្សាជាភាសាអង់គ្លេស។
សមាជិកក្លឹបភាសាអង់គ្លេស ជួបគ្នាម្តងមួយខែ នៅមជ្ឈមណ្ឌលធនធានពត៌មាន។ វាគឺជាឱកាសមួយ សម្រាប់សិស្សនិស្សិតនិងអ្នកដទៃទៀត ក្នុងការបង្កើនជំនាញភាសាអង់គ្លេសរបស់ពួកគេ។
On June 1, 2015, the Information Resource Center of the U.S. Embassy welcomed a group of 20 university students for the monthly English Club.
English Language Fellow Andrea Echelberger led the group through activities on "Improving Converstion in English". The participants learned how to paraphrase and use WH question words to continue conversations. This activity built confidence in these young participants to engage in dynamic discussion in English.
English Club meets once a month at the Information Resource Center. It is an opportunity for students and others to develop their English skills.
[U.S. Embassy photo by Pin Samphos]
... unfortunately not (at all)!!
Save The Children
I just want to ask a question
Who really cares?
To save a world in despair
Who really cares?
There'll come a time, when the world won't be singing
Flowers won't grow, bells won't be ringing
Who really cares?
Who's willing to try to save a world
That's destined to die
When I look at the world it fills me with sorrow
Little children today are really gonna suffer tomorrow
Oh, what a shame, such a bad way to live
All who is to blame, we can't stop living
Live, live for life
But let live everybody
Live life for the children
You see, let's save the children
For the children
Let's save all the children
If you wanna love, you got to save the babies
All of the children
But who really cares
Who's willing to try
To save a world
Save our sweet world
Save a world that is destined to die...
(recorded and co-written by Marvin Gaye)
You can help at least one child having a better christmas!!!
Please go to the following pool for more information:
www.flickr.com/groups/hummingbird_xmas/
Here you find more information about the CHILDREN AT RISK FOUNDATION :
www.flickr.com/people/beija-flor/
And please have a look at my pool:
The question is this - is the rest of the car in the skip? There is a bit of a clue here, the house it is outside is called Eau Rouge and I believe that close relatives of Danny Watts live there. Danny is a very successful British driver who graduated from karting through Formula Renault, F3, Porsche Supercup and A1 to racing at Le Mans for the Strakka Team where his best result is 5th.
I was tempted to knock on the door and ask if I could have it, but not sure the missus would understand :-)
Mustafa Abu Sway, Professor of Islamic Studies at Al-Quds University & Member of the Islamic Waqf Council in Jerusalem attends the International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem, Palais des Nations. 28 June 2019. UN Photo by Violaine Martin
There should be a giant question mark on my face at all times because I just don't know.
I feel like I'm in this weird transitional part of my life.
My mind is just racing with what ifs lately. Should I do this? What if I do that? Do I want to do that? How about this? Or why not? It's draining, very draining. I get ahead of myself, and start thinking about a year from now, trying to plan, and I can't.
I'm like this floating blob of a human.
Plus I feel like I'm a 22 year old (okay, in a week & a half) living a 17 year old's life. What I do now is pretty much no different than what I did when I was 17. Well, except pay bills & work constantly. I still live with my parents, I'm still in school. I'm not sure where I think I should be, just somewhere else. My best friend's going to be graduating from grad school around this time next year.
The only big NEXT STEP there is, besides getting my degree, is moving out.
Question Time: Electing the Next Director-General of the World Health Organization, 3 November 2016, Chatham House, London, cht.hm/2fK7wi2
This weeks Meme is Rites of Passage we had 20 questions to chose from and these are my 12:
1. Who was your first teacher? Mrs. Jelanik, nothing came up so I went with Mrs. J
2. Whose was the first wedding you attended? My Uncle Russes was the first i rememeber.
3. Whose was the first funeral you attended? My Grandma, Dad's Mom, it was the first I remember. She lived with us and died of cancer, she was the first person I loved to die.
4. Who was your first boyfriend? Todd, he was my first real boyfriend.
5. When were you first aware of your puberty? Age 12
6. Who took your virginity? Todd
7. At what age did you lose your virginity? 17
8. What was your first permanent job? I worked at the local Pharmacy in 9th grade, worked there for 2 years.
9. How old were you when you got married? 21
10. Who was your Maid of Honor? My sister
11. When did you or do you hope to retire? Today!
12. Heaven or Hell? Heaven!
Big thanks to the photographers whose pictures I used:
1. Mr. & Mrs. Pump, 2. Christmas by the Lake, 3. ...Thank you so much, my sweet friend, Kim, (Kim's Picture Gallery) for your beautiful testimoninal....., 4. Living Room - Decorated!, 5. A day at the beach, 6. ..would be the way we were.., 7. Calocybe gambosa (St George's Mushroom) 9430, 8. bedside books, 9. Red Cat Blue, 10. Twinkle, 11. Sunday Afternoon, 12. Thin house
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
U2 answer fans' questions at Somerville Theatre. Photo taken by Steve Lawrence for @U2, www.atu2.com. Please contact for usage: Contact @U2
After our first night of mid-30 degree temperatures, I thought I might have already seen my last butterfly of the season last week in the mountains. Much to my surprise, this question mark found a warm perch near me as I was watching for birds in the backyard this afternoon.
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly 30th annual session - General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions / 30ème session annuelle de lâAssemblée Parlementaire de lâOSCE - Commission générale de la démocratie, des droits de lâhomme et des questions humanitaires
Vancouver, British Columbia, Colombie Britanique, on July 1, 2023.
© HOC-CDC, 2023
Credit: Bernard Thibodeau, House of Commons Photo Services
HAVERFORD, Pa. — The teenager leaned into the microphone, pausing for a beat. She had a question for Hillary Clinton, about her high school and Donald J. Trump.
“At my school, body image is a really big issue for girls my age,” began the girl, Brennan Leach, 15, who had a red bow in her hair. “I...
expressess.com/hillary-clinton-to-girls-question-on-body-...
US Army (Atlantic Aircraft Corp) Fokker C-2A #51 AC 28-120 "Question Mark" at Rockwell Field . This aircraft established an air-refueling endurance record of 150 hours in January 1929.
JMF Haase Collection
via San Diego Aero Space Museum
This photo is from the J.M.F. (Joseph Malta F.) Haase collection, courtesy of the San Diego Aero Space Museum. J.M.F. “Bunny” Haase was a Navy Chief photographer who documented all the aviation activities from the early 1920 through the early 1930s at North Island that at the time encompassed the Army’s Rockwell Field and NAS San Diego. His large collection also covers civilian and Army aircraft as well. His air-to-air photographs are featured in many aviation reference books but usually under the credit line of US Navy. Chief Haase also participated in the second Alaskan Aerial Survey in 1929 and was responsible for the first US motion picture of the sun’s eclipse done in 1930 that was done from an aircraft.
Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
A very long, and unproductive day.
I guess I have a few questions for anyone willing to answer. Do any of you ever have days where you can't think of anything at all to create? Most of my days are that way, and I end up needing to look at other people's work for inspiration instead of dreaming things up on my own( I do not mean copy other's work, by the way). How much of your work is "inspired" vs "dreamed up"? Is your mind a plethora of ideas, or a wasteland with the occasional sprout attempting to take root in barren soil?
Sometimes I worry I'm left brained instead of right (not that there's anything wrong with that), due to my lack of ability to create "good enough" original ideas. It makes me question if I should even be pursuing photography.
Gosh, every bit of this is horribly articulated. Maybe some of it maketh sense?
studio portrait isolated on white background of a man senior having a post-it with a question mark on his head
The importance of asking questions has occupied the human mind since time immemorial. Posing questions to friends, figures of authority – even oneself – can lead not only to information, but also enlightenment. Such has been the approach of singer/songwriter Dolores O’Riordan. First bursting upon the music scene as lead singer of The Cranberries (whose debut album was snappily titled Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?), O’Riordan has been following a solo path since 2003. Her first solo disc, Are You Listening?, came out in 2007; now she presents her Cooking Vinyl Records follow-up, the slyly-titled No Baggage.
“I probably haven’t worn my heart on my sleeve like this since the second Cranberries album [1994’s No Need to Argue],” she says. “It’s at times very confessional and dealing with my true emotions. Everyone, through their experiences or their background, has had terrible moments where they think they can’t handle it. With this record I’m trying to show that, no matter how bad things may seem, it’s not really that bad in the big picture.”
Looking forward and backwards – sometimes simultaneously – is one of the new work’s primary themes, as evidenced on such key tracks as the quasi-Beatlesque ‘Fly Through’ and its yearning for unambiguous solutions, the bittersweet nostalgia of the insinuatingly catchy ‘It’s You’, and the blunt, seemingly self-critical ‘Stupid’. “That one’s about how some people, maybe a lot of people, can feel when they find themselves in a difficult situation,” O’Riordan explains, “and how that can continue to affect them years later.” A similar approach permeates ‘Skeleton’, which takes its title not just from the physical structure at each person’s core but also from the all-too-common “skeletons in the closet” that we all have. Not for nothing does the song advise that, despite frequent wishes to the contrary, “You can’t outrun your skeleton”. “The way children, and many adults, have this fear of skeletons was something I wanted to explore,” O’Riordan says. “We all have one, physically and spiritually, and realizing that can make you a stronger person. Learning to accept your experiences, and see how they’ve made you the person you are, is something I feel very strongly about.”
Always a keen observer of human behavior in its many manifestations, O’Riordan says that lately she’s been taking a closer look at her place in life, securely in what she calls a “middle generation” between her parents and her children. “It’s been said before,” she muses, “but it’s incredible how quickly life evolves. Life really is a journey, and there’s no such thing as perfection, really. I’ve come to see how important it is to accept the challenges and uncertainties that come up, and to accept them as a part of life. I never lack for inspiration,” she adds, noting the ever-developing perspectives she shares with her various family members. “A lot of this material was written and inspired by what’s around me. I know I’m fortunate to still have my parents, and I didn’t want to be one of those people who’s always on the road or in the studio who suddenly realizes they should have spent more time with their children. Certain moments only last for so long,” she notes, “and it’s important to live within those moments.” Those moments nowadays are often spent with her husband Don Burton, their three children (aged 3 to 12), and a 17-year-old son from Burton’s previous relationship. Together they split time between Dublin and Ontario, Canada, where she takes solace and inspiration from a home “deep in the woods. There’s lots of wildlife around, and it’s about as far away from ‘society’ as you can get. It makes for a nice little escape.”
O’Riordan knows something about escape. Born in 1971 in Ballybricken, Limerick, Ireland, she answered an ad in the early 1990s placed by brothers Noel and Mike Hogan seeking a lead singer for what was then called The Cranberry Saw Us. Impressed by O’Riordan’s soaring vocal style and songwriting skill – she already had a rough version of “Linger” in hand – they soon offered her the gig. Led by “Linger”, debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It … eventually hit #1 in Britain. Follow-up No Need to Argue cemented the group’s popularity via such popular tracks as ‘Zombie’ ‘Ridiculous Thoughts’, and ‘Ode to My Family’ ultimately being certified 5x platinum in Europe (hitting # 1 in Germany, Austria, and Australia, and # 2 in the U.K.), and 7x platinum in the U.S. A massive tour followed, with stops in England, Europe, the U.S. and Mexico, and the band – in particular, O’Riordan – started regularly popping up on the covers of music magazines, from Rolling Stone and Pulse to Q, Vox, and Musikexpress. Sold-out shows in Japan and Australia soon followed. The heavier-sounding To the Faithful Departed (1996) – which also hit # 2 in the U.K. - was followed by 1999’s Bury the Hatchet and 2001’s Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, each amply illustrating an evolving maturity and confidence – but also increasingly hinting at a growing world-weariness on the part of its seemingly tireless lead singer. Accolades and opportunities continued to proliferate: In 1996 she appeared at Luciano Pavarotti’s annual “Pavarotti & Friends” charity concert in his hometown of Modena, Italy, performing ‘Ave Maria’ with the maestro and a version of ‘Linger’ with Duran Duran’s Simon LeBon.
After thirteen years, five albums, countless concerts (including some opening stints on the Rolling Stones’ Licks tour), and enormous international success with The Cranberries, in 2003 O’Riordan decided she’d had enough. “It had become too much of a compromise,” she says of stardom. “At the end of the day, I was very much feeling like a product. The weird thing about having success with a record is that everyone says, ‘Okay, now the next one has to be bigger and better!’ Eventually it becomes very much a ball-and-chain situation, and I got tired of it. I wanted to be free of that collar.” Living in the wilds of Ontario became a meditative experience, time which O’Riordan spent painting, volunteering at a local school, and generally “becoming human again. I needed to figure out that, if I wasn’t the singer of The Cranberries, then who am I?” Walking away from music for good, however, ultimately proved not to be an option. “I started writing just for the sake of writing,” she recalls, “and over time I realized I wanted to get back into the spotlight a bit. There was a sort of ‘Why do you want to do it all again?’ feeling, but by that time the world was a different place, and I was surprised to find that I’d been missed. There was a kind of respect there, waiting for me. Sometimes it’s good to go away for awhile,” she laughs. Indeed, even during her prolonged break she was invited by Pope Benedict XVI to appear at the Vatican’s annual Christmas concert in 2005, performing ‘Adeste Fideles’ with Italian singer Gianluca Terranova and a new version of ‘Linger’ – her only live performance of that year. Meanwhile, sessions for Are You Listening? went smoothly and a tour followed its release.
Falling back into bad habits was, however, never on the agenda. “There’s only so much wine you can drink on the road,” she declares, “so instead I took to writing songs to hold me together. You always feel guilty for being away from your family when you’re touring, but I was able to create this spiritual outlet. A lot of the songs came really fast.” O’Riordan co-produced No Baggage with Ontario-based Dan Brodbeck, resulting in a bright, clean sound that finds the singer’s still-astoundingly emotive voice front and center, be it on the gorgeously piano ballad ‘Lunatic’ or the forthright, anthemic rocker ‘Be Careful’. But there’s also room for sonic experimentation, most obviously on ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’, with its Indian-styled instrumentation and structure. It’s a song that O’Riordan is clearly proud of. “That song’s really about how there are two kinds of people: those who are believers and have faith, and those who scoff at such things,” she says. “It has a kind of mysterious sound to it, unpredictable; it doesn’t sound anything like normal.”
Some fans may also be surprised to hear that O’Riordan remains friends with her former bandmates, but, after all, The Cranberries never really split up; instead, they went on hiatus. In fact, in January, O’Riordan played a set at Dublin’s Trinity College with the brothers Hogan to commemorate her being made an Honorary Patron of Trinity’s Philosophical Society. “We sort of checked each other out at first, counting gray hairs and examining waistlines,” she laughs. “But when we started playing it was as if we’d never stopped; there were no nerves, nothing weird. It was completely natural, and it was nice to know that we still have that.” Small wonder, then, that the ever-inquisitive O’Riordan continues to view life – and her place in it – with stoic calm.
The question posed by No Baggage is, clearly, meant sardonically. “I hope listeners find some comfort and can relate to what they hear with this record,” she says. “The key is to realize that there’s always hope. Thinking that can make it so.”
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly 30th annual session - General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions / 30ème session annuelle de lâAssemblée Parlementaire de lâOSCE - Commission générale de la démocratie, des droits de lâhomme et des questions humanitaires
Vancouver, British Columbia, Colombie Britanique, on July 2, 2023.
© HOC-CDC, 2023
Credit: Bernard Thibodeau, House of Commons Photo Services