First Boston, then Dublin
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Antitobacco Trend Has Reached Europe.
On Jan. 1, Ireland is expected to become the first European country to ban an indoor tradition. By Lizette Alvarez. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]
That shift in temperature is hell freezing over. That howl in the distance is a dog being bitten by a man. That subtle change in lighting is the moon turning blue.
As an Irish music (and Guinness) fan who has been kept away from the pub-music scene by the clouds of smoke, I’ll be shopping for Aer Lingus tickets if this story comes true! I can’t think of better news to use as my first test of this weblog’s RSS (Really Simple Syndication) connection to link to news soures.
As a bonus, if I understand the system, readers who bookmark this story directly through the Times, like this, will find the story fades into the pay-as-you-go archives after a while, but my weblog’s Userland-affiliated RSS link on the headline above should keep working.
I look forward to drinking a smoke-free toast in Dublin in memory of my Dad, whose initials were, coincidentally, R.S.S., and my Mom, who got me interested in Irish music. Both my parents might have been online with us today if the restaurants where they worked hadn’t been part of the cigarette culture.
(They’d also be very proud to see me at Harvard so soon after finishing the Ph.D., even if the Harvard connection is just another piece of my endless romance with college campuses and software… no paycheck or diploma involved.)
