Crazy local custom.

[Squidbot]

So, while standing on the 5th floor balcony of our office building today, I could see more than 9 blazing fires on the hill across the way. There was a lot of speculation at work about what the hell was going on. Co-ordinated arson? Huge accident?

Mrs Squid investigated and it turns out that there is a custom here in Cork to burn garbage on the 23rd of June. No really :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/linvuiet/Cork/11464447.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/linvuiet/Cork/11465279.jpg

I'm amazed by this. The stuff that was burning was just horrendous. Tyres, refrigerators, all kinds of plastics...

Crazy.

[Purple Santa]

So, while standing on the 5th floor balcony of our office building today, I could see more than 9 blazing fires on the hill across the way. There was a lot of speculation at work about what the hell was going on. Co-ordinated arson? Huge accident?

Mrs Squid investigated and it turns out that there is a custom here in Cork to burn garbage on the 23rd of June. No really :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/linvuiet/Cork/11464447.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/linvuiet/Cork/11465279.jpg

I'm amazed by this. The stuff that was burning was just horrendous. Tyres, refrigerators, all kinds of plastics...

Crazy.

I expect a circle of people sacrificing a human to be in those pics somewhere ...

[MrBibbz]

Crazy people there in Cork

[mister slim]

Yeah, at least they're not publicly burning Englishmen. Which I believe is still legal in Ireland and Scotland. Possibly in Wales too, but really the Welsh have more convenient people who need burning.

[Inspector Fowler]

Wow. If I watched the BBC and never went to the UK I wouldn't have guessed you guys have rednecks too. Huh. You learn something every day.

[Food Nipple]

I'm amazed by this. The stuff that was burning was just horrendous. Tyres, refrigerators, all kinds of plastics...

Crazy.

Do they have a separate holiday where it's customary for everyone to take a shit in the water supply?

[TheEpicOfTyler]

That's horrible.

[biosc1]

So...with all that garbage burning, they like to stand around and watch? Stand around and take a whiff of all those burning chemicals?

Brilliant.

[Squidbot]

So...with all that garbage burning, they like to stand around and watch? Stand around and take a whiff of all those burning chemicals?

Brilliant.

I know! The city was covered by a pall of acrid smoke. It's such a beautiful city and wonderful place in every other way, it was quite shocking to see.

[Narradisall]

Wow, thats a nice rule there.

The first pic makes it look like the tree is going up in flames.

What do you expect with the Irish though? I'm surprised there aren't more drunk people stumbling about.

[Dorkandproudofit]

Here in Franklin, we have a weird local custom, too. On Saint Patty's day, we all get stupid drunk and try unsuccessfully to pick up girls while staggering around and talking in slurred speech.

Oh, wait, that's done everywhere.

My bad.

[Chris_D]

It's kind of related.

I was listening to a BBC report how small companies in one part of China had made a business out of the world's old PCs. Basically, they would receive huge shipments of old PCs and parts from countries like the U.S. and go through them stripping out all the working bits, and then build PCs from the parts that were tested and ready to go. These could then be sold locally or in nearby countries like India. The one big problem is that the parts that weren't used were disposed of by burning them. This was resulting in a toxic cocktail of metals and poisons going into the soil and the air. Sadly, the employees hadn't realised that they were slowly killing themselves, their families, and others living in the area.

Naturally, the big computer companies are just happy to dump their waste without having to pay for environmentally safe disposal or recycling.

[torrefaction]

Here in Franklin, we have a weird local custom, too. On Saint Patty's day, we all get stupid drunk and try unsuccessfully to pick up girls while staggering around and talking in slurred speech.

Oh, wait, that's done everywhere.

My bad.

Amateur day.

[ClannerDelta]

We build a tripod on the frozen river. Then we bet on when the ice will melt and the tripod will sink.

Yeah, fucking exciting.

[Food Nipple]

We build a tripod on the frozen river. Then we bet on when the ice will melt and the tripod will sink.

Yeah, fucking exciting.

I hear they do the same thing in California with houses and earthquakes.

[Nameless]

We build a tripod on the frozen river. Then we bet on when the ice will melt and the tripod will sink.

Yeah, fucking exciting.

We do that, but with a car.

[mister slim]

We do that, but with a car.

In Maine we did the same thing, but with a redneck driving the car.

[Goronmon]

So...with all that garbage burning, they like to stand around and watch? Stand around and take a whiff of all those burning chemicals?No, see that guy in the first picture? He has his hoodie pulled on. Therefore he is perfectly safe.

[Purple Santa]

No, see that guy in the first picture? He has his hoodie pulled on. Therefore he is perfectly safe.

Is it a Prototype hoodie? Maybe it's giving him special powers :p

[KamaItachi]

You wanna see some fires? Wait for St.Paddy's day or the 12th of July.

[Squidbot]

What do you expect with the Irish though? I'm surprised there aren't more drunk people stumbling about.

Nice. Stay classy.

[chex]

Minnesotans have an annual "Polar Bear Dive" on the first of every year. A bunch of these crazy folks get on their swim costumes and jump in the ICE COLD WATER when its generally around -20 Fahrenheit (usually before wind chill).

[JRR006]

They do that here too, mostly as a fund-raiser for charity. Not sure it's a "custom" in that sense. I think I'd rather write a check than jump through a hole in the ice. Still, we make what fun we can here in Blandville.

[GrenMag]

Still, we make what fun we can here in Blandville.


I always thought Blandville was in Kentucky. Seriously.

[pseudopseudo]

Minnesotans have an annual "Polar Bear Dive" on the first of every year. A bunch of these crazy folks get on their swim costumes and jump in the ICE COLD WATER when its generally around -20 Fahrenheit (usually before wind chill).

You say that like ALL Minnesotans do it - I'd never heard of that, and I lived in Minnesota for 24 years.

That being said... sounds like something we'd do.

[JRR006]

I always thought Blandville was in Kentucky. Seriously.

Ah! Wikipedia agrees wholeheartedly. Perhaps "BlandSville" would have been the better subtle barb at the cultural wasteland wherein I make my home.

[diablopath]

I always thought Blandville was in Kentucky. Seriously.

What do you have against Kentucky?
We're a completely modern state.

[Banacek]

We do that, but with a car.

Is that where you hide the bodies?

It's from a novel. I won't say which one so I don't ruin it.

[BLeeP]

What do you have against Kentucky?
We're a completely modern state.

At least the western part is!

;)

[cp#]

You town is a bunch of fucking idiots.

[Squidbot]

You town is a bunch of fucking idiots.

Good job you pointed that out as clearly nobody else noticed.

[pseudopseudo]

Is that where you hide the bodies?

It's from a novel. I won't say which one so I don't ruin it.

What, you mean American Gods?

[SilentScreams]

So when it's a tradition it's ok to release poisonous gasses into the atmosphere?
I don't know about Ireland, but I'm pretty sure that's illegal here.

Speaking of which, I'm going out to murder a few hookers. It's ok though, it's a yearly tradition of mine.

[DangerousDaze]

Last time I was in India (in the southern Kerala region) I noticed a lot of fires by the side of the road. Turns out that people just dump rubbish by the roadside day after day, and when the piles gets big enough someone comes along and sets fire to them.

So be thankful they do it in Cork just one day in the year. ;)

[opsin]

Bloody skangers!
I wonder if my friend is still in Canada, or whether he's back home in time for those horrors?

[Squidbot]

So when it's a tradition it's ok to release poisonous gasses into the atmosphere?
I don't know about Ireland, but I'm pretty sure that's illegal here.

It's not strictly legal here, but the idiots still do it. The authorities are apparebtly pissed about it.

[Banacek]

What, you mean American Gods?

That's the one :)

[Narradisall]

Nice. Stay classy.

*shrug*

I calls em like I sees em.

Some people aspire to transcend sterotypes, some wallow in them.

From my personal experiences, the Irish I've met fall 100% into the wallowing type.

[SilentScreams]

By "met" do you mean "seen on Family Guy" by any chance?

[GrenMag]

What do you have against Kentucky?
We're a completely modern state.


Nothing in particular against Kentucky. I just dated a girl from Cape Girardeau a couple of decades ago and we went to check it out on a whim. Small town, a bit larger than where I grew up (no "town" within 10 miles). Quaint. A lot less apparent inbreeding than I expected. :)

[KamaItachi]

*shrug*

I calls em like I sees em.

Some people aspire to transcend sterotypes, some wallow in them.

From my personal experiences, the Irish I've met fall 100% into the wallowing type.

From my personal experiences, the Londoners I've met fall 100% into the 'uglier than an extra from East Enders' type.

[Narradisall]

From my personal experiences, the Londoners I've met fall 100% into the 'uglier than an extra from East Enders' type.

Touche

tooshort