Fústar (the creator/author of this blog) prefers not to reveal his secret identity…choosing instead to wallow in the invigorating anonymity offered by the 'blogosphere' (an anonymity fatally compromised by his attendance at the 2006, 2007 & 2008 "Irish Blog Awards").

He lives in Limerick and is ably assisted by Jess (who sorts out all those pesky technical/design issues).

As for the blog's title…the Hiberno-English Archive has this to say:

fústar: // n. v. busy, agitated behaviour, Seán Ó Coileáin/Cork; to bustle about fussily < Ir. fústaire, bustling person < E dial. fooster < Ir. fústar, fussy behaviour, bustle, activity. 'Stop foostering about, will you!' foosterer n. a fussy person; a messer < Ir. fúastaire + E -er (see messer). 'Stop your fústaring and get on with your homework'...

So in Irish it is rendered 'fústar', while the anglicised spelling is usually given as 'fooster', 'foosther' etc.

Why was it chosen? No particular reason apart from the fact that…

a) I like the the way it sounds.

b) I have a soft-spot for words that suggest agitation.

and…

c) My father is a man who has turned "fústaring" into an art form.

My other blogging project (started 2007) is Greetings Earthlings: An Alien Miscellany.