Articles written by Sean McGoldrick

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About me - Sean McGoldrick

I'm a 31-year-old Irishman, living in Dublin, harbouring ambitions to do something different. I used to work in a call-centre. I quit in October 2007 to try to make a living as a blogger. Wish me luck!

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Celebrations & Holidays > Thanksgiving The history of Thanksgiving: 1 of 11

Thanksgiving is a festival celebrated in the United States on the 4th Thursday in November. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in New England by the Pilgrims who had left Plymouth in England on September 6, 1620. Their first winter in the new world was a hard one. They arrived woefully unprepared for the difficulties that...
Society & Lifestyle > Personal Morals & Values Honesty is the best policy: 11 of 93

I have had honesty thrust upon me from an early age. I have my plain and simple parents to thank for that. But more than that I have my blushing cheeks to thank. Maybe I was too young when I heard about George Washington chopping down a tree but I believed the story and anytime I was tempted to lie I found my burning cheeks ...
Entertainment > TV News & Commentary Reactions to the Sopranos series finale: 3 of 15

From the beginning the Sopranos was a hit (no pun!) and it managed to maintain this momentum all the way through. It was a fascinating mixture of ordinary life, happy families, mundane existence and murder and violence. One moment we could be sympathizing with a character for having had an unhappy childhood or for feeling be...
Society & Lifestyle > European Culture Living and working in Dublin, Ireland: 1 of 4

I grew up in the west of Ireland, in the wild countryside, without running water or an indoor toilet, central heating, a telephone or a car, with public transport limited to one bus per week to the nearest big town which was thirteen miles away. The surprising thing is that I'm not ninety years old! I'm substantially younger...
Entertainment > Music Business Music piracy: Is downloading music ethical?: 15 of 50

While downloading may well have an impact on royalty income for artists it is not unethical to do it. Listening to downloaded music may be similar to listening to a pirate radio station. The loss of royalties to the record label, and from there onto the artist, are compensated for by the increased recognition that the airpla...
Food & Drink > Food & Drink (Other) How recipes bring back memories: 9 of 19

Boxty on the griddle, Boxty in the pan, If you can't make boxty, You'll never get your man I have fond childhood memories of boxty. There are variations on the recipe for boxty and you will find that the word can be used for very different things. In my experience it is a thin pancake made from potatoes and flour and fried o...
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Money clips: 1 of 1

I never heard of a money clip until I saw one in an American movie. I think it was Die Hard. If it wasn't that specific film, it was something like it. The hero was a man of few words, strong, macho, quick-witted, ingenious and irrepressible. As a man of few words myself I liked to associate with the other descriptors as wel...
Entertainment > TV Show Reviews TV show reviews: Duckman, Private Dick, Family Man: 1 of 1

I've started watching Duckman from the beginning again last night. Duckman - full title 'Private Dick, Family Man' - was released in 1994 and ran for four seasons before being cancelled. The star of the show, Eric Tiberius Duckman, voiced by Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeld), is a rude, obnoxious, unsuccessful loud mout...
Food & Drink > Food & Drink (Other) Thoughts on food and beverages: 23 of 41

Spaghetti Bolognese had done many things for me over the years. It has been the main string to my culinary bow. I could always say I knew how to cook because I was able to make Spaghetti Bolognese. It has kept me alive and allowed me to vary my diet away from my usual staple foods of Chinese take-away, pizza and cereal. I've...
Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: Readers share their first jobs: 24 of 42

The great advantage of working in a dead-end job is that it doesn't really matter what you do in the end. People aren't likely to die if you press the wrong button. The funny thing is that I only realized this recently. I've been working in dead-end jobs since I started working. My first job was counting cars. There were sev...