That’s Ireland

I’ve just spent some time enjoying This is Rapid News, a very funny podcast that Dubliner Mark Cantan produces every Monday. Episode 8, from last Monday, has two great interviews with a car dealer who is selling a lot of cars very cheaply using the Radiohead download model of letting customers choose their own price, and a drug addict who is so desperate to get a fix that he has moved to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban.

Mark also has some comedy sketches on Youtube, including this job interview that is hindered by an unusual condition:

And written material on his website, including the following: >>>

Man of Ideas

Mark has some very constructive ideas for civic improvements in Ireland. My favourites are:

• No More Automated Phone Trees. All phone trees must have real people giving the options.
• Piggy Backs for Old People.
• Uni-Bus. No more having to get a bus into town and then get a connecting bus to where you actually wanted to go. Just have one bus that goes everywhere. Simple.
• All Women’s Toilets. Turn all men’s toilets into women’s since men seem happy enough to just piss in the street like animals.
• Haggling. Bring back haggling.
• The Prank Commissioners. A state funded body that would instigate pranks upon the population, either on an individual or nationwide basis. Other possible institutions would be The Department of Goofing Off, The Office of Surprise Parties and The Ministry of Someone Fancies You.

Interview with God

Mark also landed an exclusive interview with God which includes the following Paxmanesque interrogation of the Supreme Deity’s PR spin:

Mark: Well, your press release says you created the Heavens and the Earth in seven days but isn’t it really true that it took several billion years for the Earth to form and life to begin?

God: Well…

Mark: And that you didn’t really have much of a part in it at all? In fact all the work was done by Physics, who has been too modest to claim credit for it until now?

God: Yeah, but I created Man in my own image.

Mark: No, you didn’t, Evolution did that.

God: Ah. But who invented evolution? Me.

Mark: No. Evolution is logical process that arises inevitably from mutation and the inheritance of characteristics. In fact every step in the process leading up to what the world looks like today has now been explained by natural causes and not as you originally said by you.

God: Well, I created the Universe.

Mark: No, the Universe was created by the Big Bang.

God: Right…Yeah…Do we know who created the Big Bang?

Mark: Well, it’s actually physically impossible to tell what happened before the Big Bang, so…

God: Alright then. I did that. That was my idea.

This is Rapid News

At the moment, Mark is focusing on This is Rapid News, so give it a listen.