Free Media
Live Music
The music scene here is fantastic; I can see good/decent live music every night of the week for free at the local pubs. Irish traditional music is nice, and easy to find, but the run-of-the-mill trad group is usually better for background bar activity than straight-up music appreciation. There are a few good standard rock cover bands, but they're getting a bit old after a few shows each. There's a reggae/ska band that gets down well enough but whose set I've all but memorized, and an African group that tosses out light, extended grooves, and is good for a lazy evening alone. Then there's the Wednesday night open mic, which I keep saying I'll participate in - next week... But there are still some periodic acts I haven't checked out yet, as well as the occasional bigger small-time artist that plays for free, usually at the Roisin Dubh.
Dead Music
We have a cd/tape player in the kitchen at the Salmon, but a meager and disappointing collection of media. Sometimes travellers passing through bring along their collections, but I haven't run across anything particularly interesting yet. The last few days Bobby Dylan has sung while I cooked, which, while comforting, is known to me -- and does not fulfill my constant need of new noise. On the other side, last weekend in Castlebar I awoke to Van Morrison's Astral Weeks album; an extremely pleasant (and new-to-me) experience.
Lit
My Galway Public Library card was one of the best 2 euro investments I've made, and after finishing James'The American, and Thoreau's Walden & Civil Disobedience from home, I borrowed and read Joe Henderson's mediocre Marathon Training book, then graduated to Einstein's Ideas and Opinions and Bertrand Russell's In Praise of Idleness, both of which I'm currently buried in.
Net
Here I am. A friend's help has granted me unlimited internet access at the local university, (I won't link to it to avoid losing this access,) so I can use the computers in the labs and the library whenever they're open. Next step = account on the unix machines here.
Film
The same university's library does not enforce its policy of displaying an ID card upon enterring; along with the computers, I can (and do) read books, magazines and reference material, though without the possibility of borrowing them. They also have an excellent video collection and viewing stations. Today off from work, and designated a lazy day by my tight schedule, I took in Taxi Driver and Blade Runner. The former was excellent and interesting - and while profound and intelligent, very accessible and relate-able for anyone. Blade Runner I didn't enjoy as much, partly due to my sitting in a chair too long, the small television screen and videocassette not allowing me to appreciate the movie's best feature: its special effects, and the presence of Harrison Ford's bad narration, which I understand is not in the more recently released director's cut edition.
Yeah
You might call me stupid to travel to a different country then spend lots of time enjoying what I could at home. I would try, uselessly, at a few poor rebuttals, then finish with a "you're stupid too."