How Bizarre!

The BBC is highlighting an interesting house sale today - not ideal if you suffer from claustrophobia.

Imagination

Reading this post by Daddy, Papa and Me had me thinking back to my childhood and my imaginary pets.

I was fortunate that from a very young age I had pets of various different forms and sizes - some semi-wild such as frogs in the garden pond and a tortoise, other more domestic ones such as a budgie, a hamster and later a cat. Even so, I had two imaginary animal friends - a beautiful white stallion with silver mane and tail (inspired, no doubt, by Shadowfax) and a wolf.

I remember my pets keeping me company especially on long car journeys. Being an only child, long journeys were spent reading (yes,I can read in cars but not, for some reason, in those hideous continental coaches that wallow all over the road) but once it got too dark to read or I ran out of books my pets would appear. The wolf stretched out over the back seat of the car or perhaps keeping my feet warm while I watched the stallion effortlessly gallop alongside the car, bounding over walls, parked cars and another other obstacles.

So thanks to Trey for prompting the memory and here's to you, my beautiful creatures.

Happy Journeys.

Heaven or Hell?

Mr Sticker has written an excellent and most amusing post entitled 70 good reasons not to be a martyr. Go read ... now.

His comment, "So, suicide bombers go to ‘Heaven’ and get the same thing, day after day, after eternal day? Mm-hm. Hasn’t God got a strange sense of humour?" reminded me, dear reader, of one of my favourite to-quote-from books. (Stop muttering at the back, yes I am going to quote from Good Omens again.)

The angel and the demon have found out that the anti-christ has been born signalling the end of days, more specifically the end of their days on earth and the return to their respective habitats. The demon isn't too pleased about this and is trying to get the angel to see his point of view ...

"'There are no theatres in heaven,' said Crowley. 'And very few films.'"

He then goes on to describe the story where, every thousand years, a bird flies to a mountain, sharpens its beak on it, flies back and then repeats the process until the mountain is ground down to nothing.

"'-then you still won't have finished watching the Sound of Music. ... And you'll enjoy it,' Crowley said relentlessly."

(Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman)

As good as Julie Andrews might be, I don't think I could stand that! :o)

Happy Journeys

An explosive finale

BBC - Thompson's ashes fired into sky

I have to say that I was ignorant of this writer and his work but what caught my eye was the amazing send-off arranged by his widow and friends.

'Fireworks carrying the ashes of the writer exploded over the top of his memorial on his Owl Farm home.
"He loved explosions," Thompson's widow Anita said.
Friends were instructed to remember him afterwards with the clink of ice in whiskey.'

What a fantastic up-beat memory to provide for friends and family.

Sad News

Christian leader stabbed to death

'The 90-year-old founder of the French-based Taize Christian ecumenical community has been stabbed to death at a prayer service. '

As regular readers will know I have previously posted about my visits to Taize which is where Brother Roger lived and now, very sadly, was murdered.

I'm shocked and saddened by his death - everyone who knew about Taize realised it was only a matter of time before he died as he was an old man, but not in such a violent manner.

I usually detest gushing sentimentality just because someone has died but he truly was a great man. The word reconciliation was very prominent in Brother Roger's vocabulary and I know that he would want people to forgive the young woman that took his life. Unfortunately the rest of us would struggle to achieve the levels of compassion and love that seemed to come so naturally to him.

There are three sides to every story ...

... your's, mine and the truth.

Two news story provoked a reaction in me today.

Nun stages Da Vinci Code protest

I've written before about the Da Vinci code and I'm not going to repeat myself now, suffice to say I think it's a very fascinating book which raises some interesting theories in the context of a work of fiction.

Part of the Da Vinci code is being filmed in Lincoln Cathedral after Westminster Abbey refused. (Hubby raised a very valid point - if both cathedrals are part of the Church of England, how can one agree to filming while the other did not?) The Dean (the Very Reverend Alec Knight (which raises a bug bear of my own - how can someone be very reverend?!)) decided to allow filming there. Lets be practical - I'm sure the reported £100,000 donation will be a very welcome addition to the maintenance fund.

The Very Rev Knight said: "My view is that the book isn't blasphemous, it doesn't denigrate God in any way, but it is speculative, far fetched and heretical. It has clearly touched the public imagination, and the Church needs to open up a debate about it rather than throw one's hands up and walk away from it."

Sister Mary (the protesting nun) said, "It has developed discussion which otherwise we would not be having but at the same time he really should stand up for the truth and speak clearly."

Ah, there's that word - the truth. What a lovely simple word that comes with a whole world of complication behind it. Sister Mary's "truth" is clearly somewhat different to the Dean's truth and dramatically different to my truth.


Buerk attacks women broadcasters (what a provoking title!)

Michael Buerk made the following comments. Of course, these may have been taken out of context but we'll know for sure when 'Don't Get Me Started!' is screened on Channel 5.

"Products are made for women, cars are made for women - because they control what is being bought. ... Some people might argue that this is a case of the pendulum swinging over the woman's side for a change, and eventually it will find a happy medium. ... Look at the changes in the workplace. There is no manufacturing industry any more; there are no mines; few vital jobs require physical strength. What we have now are lots of jobs that require people skills and multi-tasking - which women are a lot better at. ... All they are is sperm donors, and most women aren't going to want an unemployable sperm donor loafing around and making the house look untidy."

'Buerk added that the "shift in the balance of power between the sexes" had gone too far.'

I'm not sure how to react as I don't know whether these were made tongue-in-cheek nor do I know for certain what his ultimate point was in making these comments as some seem contradictory but ... honestly!

Females have been (and in some places still are) marginalised, denied a voice, belittled, traded and treated like property, denied legal status ... shall I go on?
I'm not a raging feminist and I certainly don't advocate the extreme position of women treating men the way we have been treated for centuries but come off it! Women are still under-represented in many fields of business, sports, politics, etc.
So we're redressing the balance ... and?

Happy Journeys

Petri dish supper

An end to battery farming or just science fiction?

"An international research team has proposed new techniques that may lead to the mass production of meat reared not on the farm, but in the laboratory. Developments in tissue engineering mean that cells taken from animals could be grown directly into meat ..."

This is not a totally new concept - burns victims can have a sample of cells taken and a lab can grow them enough skin to cover the burn, and a 3-D "printing" technique has enabled scientists to produce tubes of living tissue.

Whilst I'm not so sure that a lab cultured lump of meat would ever rival a free-range, organic, prime aberdeen angus fillet steak, this could be used to ensure that everyone could have access to a fresh supply of protein not contaminated by disease or growth hormones, whilst avoiding the horrendous battery farming techniques. Clearly there are lots of concerns before this could become a reality but very interesting never-the-less.

One minor point which bugged me, this technique, as far as I understand it, involves taking cells from a living animals (in the the same way as the skin example above) and using those to grow more muscle tissue (i.e. meat).

Why is it, then, the journalist fel it necessary to insert:
"Concerns have been raised about eating meat from cloned animals."
and
"The US Food and Drug Administration has asked companies not to market any products that involve cloned animals until their safety has been evaluated."
when this story has nothing to do with cloning?

This is playing to people's fears and muddying the water surrounding a possibly interesting scientific development.

Apologies to any vegetarians reading this if you found it distasteful.

Happy Journeys.

Same-Sex Marriage

The BBC is carrying an interesting story about a lesbian couple who were married in Canada whilst living there are now asking the High Court to recognise the legality of their marriage as they are now living and working in the UK.

Overseas marriages can be validated in the UK if they are recognised in the country in which it was performed and it can be shown that nothing in the country's law restricted the participants' freedom to marry.

They are saying that by recognising heterosexual canadian marriages but not homosexual ones, the UK is breaching their human right to privacy and family life and their right to marry.

As of Decemeber, homosexual couples are being offered Civil Partnerships which do confer (I believe) most if not all of the rights and priviledges that a marriage affords but is still not classed as a marriage.

This is a great step forward but I am confused as to the different title for what is fundamentally a marriage. I think it's a fence sitting exercise - by not calling it 'marriage', the government probably hoped to avoid too much of an outcry.

What I find very strange is unmarried heterosexual couples, who have chosen for whatever reason not to marry, saying that "unmarried" gay couples are being given the same rights as married heterosexual couples and that discriminates against them. (Um, gay couples can't marry?!) Homosexual couples are simple asking for the same legally protected rights and priviledges available to heterosexual couples. I understand that not everyone wants the big fuss, the outfits, the flowers, the party, the expense ... but a heterosexual couple wanting the legal rights and priviledges of marriage can pay a very modest sum for a quiet ceremony in front of two witnesses and a registrar - oh, that sounds very similar to the Civil Partnership procedure! :o)

If you choose not to marry, that's up to you. Don't complain when others want to.

Anyway, I think I'll be watching this with interest.

Happy Journeys

Touch down

It's fantastic news that the shuttle has returned safely. Whilst it costs one heck of a lot of money, I think space programmes are important.

Unfotunately, I now feel angry.
Hubby and I have been talking about the space mission (after having watched the take off and landing - as an aside, the speeds and distances described are truly mind-blowing) which lead on to discussions about nuclear weapons and the ongoing conflict in all parts of the world. Sixty years on from Hiroshima and Nagasaki it is estimated that there are approximately 35,000 nuclear weapons in the world. The bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed roughly 70,000 people outright and a further 70,000 or more later died from radiation related illnesses/injuries. It is estimated that the world arsenal actually equates (in fire power) to 500,000 bombs of the size that were dropped in Japan. So on average, one of these newer bombs could be about 15 times more powerful. Drop one of those on a city and you could kill a million people with a massive fall-out causing incalculable damage.

I'm so angry as I think that it will take humanity being brought to the very edge before we can resolve our petty meaningless differences and work as one world to resolve our stupid problems; before we realise that our little lives are so insignificant when viewed in the context of the universe.

Now, I must say that last sentence sounds very depressing but I actually find it awe inspiring to realise how small I am.
When viewed from space the world does not have borders - but us land-based creatures that only use a fraction of a percentage of the earth's crust to exist cannot see beyond our own arbitrary borders and prejudice-tinted glasses. Hubby made the point that the majority of people are more interested in watching Big Brother then flicking over and watching a documentary about space exploration, the diversity of life on this planet or the dangers humanity is facing. Most people don't even have a rudimentary grasp of how awesomely vast the universe is. And it's shocking how little people know, or care, about the ball of molton rock we call home.

In Star Trek: First Contact (yup, another Star Trek analogy) humanity is in a terrible state. It is a meeting with an alien race (Vulcans) that pulls humanity back from the edge. There is the realisation that humans are not alone in the universe and it unites humanity in a way that no-one thought possible.
I would call myself a secular Humanist (must do a blog on that sometime) and I've found out that Roddenberry was too which perhaps explains why his work speaks to me so strongly.

I am not a mathematician or statistician (heck I can't even say statistician without stuttering) but surely it is incredibly improbable that we are alone in the universe. I'm not talking little green men, or pointy-eared logical men for that matter, but to exclude the possibility of another planet having an interesting mix of solid, liquid and gas elements which are conducive the evolution of complex life forms (note: I am not stating intelligence, just complexity) is arrogant to the point of stupidity. Perhaps the discovery of life on another planet will be enough to bring us back from the edge.

But, more and more, it seems that we will need something even more dramatic than that to unite us. Maybe when we are facing the real possibility of extinction through nuclear war or a massive astroid strike will we finalise realise that we are one race. Who we choose to pray to, love, marry, have sex with; what we choose to eat, drink, wear, drive; where we choose to live, work, die are truly meaningless issues ... it's the how that matters.

I hope I'm wrong.

Welcome home Discovery.

Happy Anniversary

Today's post is for my Hubby (but I don't mind everyone else having a peek).

A year ago today, you got dressed up in a heavy suit on the hottest day of the year. You put yourself in the limelight (a place I know you don't particularly enjoy). You answered "I will" to a very important question.

During the service, your Mum read a lovely extract from Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres. This sentence in particular stays fresh in my mind:
"Those that truly love, have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two."

We share our interests and discuss are differences. You continue to demonstrate to me that your logic and balanced view on life are worthwhile attributes whilst still encouraging my various artistic and creative endeavours, and enduring my empassioned outbursts on my 'cause du jour'.

You've held me when I've felt ill or sad; you've laughed with me; we've enjoyed new experiences together.

These lyrics played whilst we were signing the register (From This Moment On by Shania Twain), and they say it best:

Through weakness and strength,
Happiness and sorrow,
For better, for worse,
I will love you with every beat of my heart.

Happy Anniversary

New Anti-Terror Measures *rant warning*

On the BBC, a Muslim Cleric compares Blair to Hitler:

"Dr Naseem [chairman of the Birmingham Central Mosque] told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that he saw "similarities" between Mr Blair's approach to Britain's Muslim community and Hitler's demonisation of Jews early in his time as German Chancellor.
'He [Hitler] was democratically elected and gradually he created a bogey [think he means bogus] identity, that is, the Jewish people, and posed to the Germans that they were a threat to the country. On that basis, he started a process of elimination of Jewish people. I see the similarities. Everything moves step by step. I am saying these are dangerous times and we must take note of this.' "

I am not an historian but I know enough about that period of history to disagree with Dr Naseem.

Firstly, extremists/terrorists who claim to act in the name of a religious idealogy are not bogus creations, they exist in the world today.

Secondly, Blair is not rounding up all muslims, anyone else who may be muslim, anyone who may wish to help innocent law-abiding muslims or anyone who opposes him. He is not herding these people onto cattle trains for transport to extermination camps. He is not seeking to ethnically cleanse the UK of all racial minorities except "pure blood british".
(As an aside, there is no such thing as the 'Aryan race' in the UK - historically we're a fabulous mix of angles, celts, danes, french, roman, etc - just look at the evolution of our language in The Adventure of English for proof.)

There are unfortunately those minorities who would wish to see the UK like this. They are probably the same people who are taking advantage of the current climate to commit racially motivated crimes. Their warped thinking equating all those of asian appearance with fundamentalists/extremists. For most people this idea is as abhorrent as it is absurd. Many comments have been made by British Asians via the media that these people aren't acting in their name and these acts are incongruous with their beliefs.

Britain may not be perfect but as a country we have certain common goals and ideals. What most people want is to be able to live in relative peace and quiet, to go about their daily business safely. Those who wish to live and work in Britain should respect the British way of life. That is not to say that Britain requires them to loose their cultural identity, far from it. But Britain is a western culture and with that comes certain moralities, ethics, beliefs and way of life. If they can accept that way of life, they are welcome. Those who seek to actively destroy that way of life should not be welcome. And that is not an unreasonable request.

This article shows the proposals that are being discussed. Here are some:

* New grounds for deporting and excluding people from the UK - including fostering hatred or, advocating and justifying violence to further beliefs.
* Make justifying or glorifying terrorism anywhere an offence.
* Automatically refuse asylum to anyone with anything to do with terrorism anywhere.
* Create a list of foreign preachers who will be kept out of the UK and consult on creating new powers to close places of worship used to foment extremism.

We are led to believe that the people involved in the bombings in London were potentially manipulated by extremist/fundamentalist leaders. They were used as pawns. No other family in Britain should have to loose a son or daughter in that way.

I am a firm advocate of human rights but at present Spock's famous saying holds true, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".

If excluding a small number of people from the UK helps to make it safer for everyone else living in Britain, Blair has my support.

It's a bugger

Via the journal of one of my most favourite authors, Neil Gaiman, I found a link to a speech by my other most favourite author. This is a speech that was given by Terry Pratchett at a book award ceremony. I know I have waxed lyrically about TP and other great authors before. Forgive me while I do it again.

I've linked to this in reaction to a recent Time Magazine article which says:
"The [fantasy] genre tends to be deeply conservative--politically, culturally, psychologically. It looks backward to an idealized, romanticized, pseudofeudal world, where knights and ladies morris-dance to Greensleeves"

Huh?? People who dismiss certain books as "just fantasy" either aren't reading decent authors or just don't get it.

TP has created a world with different continents, styles of governments, races, gods & religions, wars, corrupt officials, legal systems, transportation, prejudices (sound familiar?). The stories are written in the fantasy style - they have a pre-industrialisation feel; there are wizards, witches, magic, dragons ("put in one lousy dragon and they call you a fantasy writer") but there are sparkling moments of clarity for the reader in which you realise that his books are a commentary on the strange, bizarre and downright ridiculous things humans get up to. Suddenly, you're laughing at yourself and our modern 'civilisation'.

In his speech, TP comments on how humour is a very useful tool in putting across ideas:
"The problem is that we think the opposite of funny is serious. It is not. In fact, as G K Chesterton pointed out, the opposite of funny is not funny, and the opposite of serious is not serious. Benny Hill was funny and not serious; Rory Bremner is funny and serious; most politicians are serious but, unfortunately, not funny. Humour has its uses. Laughter can get through the keyhole while seriousness is still hammering on the door. New ideas can ride in on the back of a joke, old ideas can be given an added edge."

This speech was written in 2001 but TP's next statement seems to be even more relevant for the present time:
"It's just unfortunate that the current international situation is pretty much the same old dull, stupid international situation, in a world obsessed by the monsters it has made up, dragons that are hard to kill. We look around and see foreign policies that are little more than the taking of revenge for the revenge that was taken in revenge for the revenge last time. It's a path that leads only downwards, and still the world flocks along it. It makes you want to spit. The dinosaurs were thick as concrete, but they survived for one hundred and fifty million years and it took a damn great asteroid to knock them out. I find myself wondering now if intelligence comes with its own built-in asteroid."

And I'll leave you with a quote from Good Omens By Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman which also seems to sum up the extremes in human behavious that the world is currently seeing:

"And just when you'd think [humans] were more malignant than ever Hell could be, they could occasionally show more grace than ever Heaven dreamed of. Often the same individual was involved. It was this free-will thing, of course. It was a bugger."