Saturday On Earth

The 460-foot-long Asteroid 2013 ET was set to whizz past Earth on a Saturday in 2013 – the latest in our planet’s galactic ‘pinball contest’. Earlier that day, the 2013 EC20 passed even closer, and both within a month of the Chelyabinsk meteor’s Earth strike. The enormous piece of space debris was expected to pass just 2.5 lunar distances from planet Earth – the moon is approximately 384,400 km (238,000 miles) from us, meaning the asteroid’s flyby has been at a distance of about 950,000km (600,000 miles). Some astronomers have compared its size to that of a city block, others a football pitch.

This was a major event but how many of us knew or noticed that such a dramatic, beautiful & poetic casting happened to be above our heads. Asteroids should know that it they want to attract attention in Dublin on Saturday evening you may either switch your passage to another day or plan it early in the day the attention span gradually decreasing from 18.00 onwards as this does coincide with what I call the Regular Show.

The show normally starts with the happy hour and like a solar storm grows to a point where anecdotes, boisterous and others good humored jokes are enjoyed mainly in drinking establishments. As time goes by in the evening one can start to notice some breakdown in discussions culminating with sometimes wild and regressive comportments which I have sarcastically nicknamed P.U.B.S. Public Urban Behavior Syndrome :-). The PUB Syndrome has very specific symptoms such as the Irish Commute (fight) or the Irish Discussion in both cases they are dangerous to the patient himself or to the public.

The syndrome also gains momentum with time, in Dublin as you may have noticed from 23.00 onwards the mood normally switches from regular guys having some good time to ill-mannered, aggressive and sometimes violent young or middle aged individuals staring at whoever is crossing their paths, in line with regression principles they are barely speaking but more than likely barking insults as time goes on.

While sometimes making some attempt to articulate their hatred with a ill balance attitude they no longer understand boundaries, if you come across them I am urging you not to dare to answer you may just get away with a joke or an incomprehensible mumbling but things may be very different if you unfortunately have a foreign accent. The PUBS sufferer does not make any distinction whether you are a tourist travelling in the capital or whether you are one of the luckiest hard working chefs, waiters or a foreign dish washer chap finishing its first shift.

I say lucky because as the night progresses, the regular show becomes more intense and it is important to note at that point it does not obey any rules of follow any engagement framework except maybe the national sport & custom of carrying a knife.

Foreign workers would tell you they keep a low profile at night if they are lucky enough to be part of an ethnic origin which is not obviously noticeable, they will also abstain from speaking fearing their foreign accent will be noticed, colored workers avoid groups of youth, take away gatherings and other obvious points of rally. It is no good being or look like a foreigner in Dublin on a late Saturday night you are constantly on your guards whether you are walking on the streets or taking public transport trying to travel through the irrational logic of the PUBS affected individuals. You don’t feel safe and you fear being part of the Sunday morning local or national headlines.

Alternating moments of tension and calm thru your journey back home late that evening you may thank your lucky star that tomorrow morning everybody will say they had a great night and like the asteroid they miss it will probably all go above everybody`s head .

You, you will try to forget about it and you may even make an attempt to be off next week end as you perfectly know the regular show will be on AGAIN

NEXT SATURDAY