http://baban103.blog.co.uk/en-EUMokoFeed10http://baban103.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/3a/d7c7376d64d9f95eb632cd89519838_160x200.jpghttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/30/christmas-understood-5140464/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-30:/2008/11/30/christmas-understood-5140464/Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:24:54 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/christmas_tree_06/3030342" title="christmas_tree_06"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/342/3030342_f8d1c27029_m.jpg" alt="christmas_tree_06" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>WikiAnswers - well was just refreshing my understanding of Christams and what it means, and found this info on Wiki site ...</p> <p>Religious historians attribute Dec. 25th being designated as Christmas to Pope Julius I, sometime in the 4th century A.D. It was set to coincide with the Roman Winter Festivals. </p> <p>The truth is complicated, and it depends upon what tradition you're referring to as "Christmas." "Christmas" as "Christ's Mass," the celebration of Christ's birthday, originated when the Roman Catholic Church decided to concecrate pagan traditions. The Church wanted to convert the pagans of Europe to Christianity, and as a way of doing so, they established a Christian religious meaning to the important and popular celebration of the winter solstice. They chose the birth of Christ because it echoed pagan attributes of the holiday, which celebrated, amongst other things, the rebirth of the Sun. ["rebirth of Sun"/"birth of Son," get it?]. The truth is that, before then, Christians didn't really celebrate Christ's birth; it was his death and resurrection that were supremely important, and his borth was a minor point without a fixed celebration. </p> <p>It's certain that Jesus ''wasn't'' born on December 25. In fact, the details in the Bible clearly point to his being born in the spring. Placing the holiday of December 25 was a direct attempt to co-opt solstice traditions. </p> <p>Christmas as a ''modern'' celebration, including most of the things we associate with it (Santa Claus, gift-giving, carols, egg nog, etc.), were a Victorian invention. A number of writers and politicians, including Clement C. Moore ("The Night Before Christmas"), popularized Christmas as a family tradition, in part to supplant undesirable older traditions that had become part of Christmas (including "misrule" traditions we now associate with Halloween!). For a detailed and fascinating account of the Victorian Christmas invention, read Stephen Nissenbaum's excellent "The Battle For Christmas." </p> <p>......... and</p> <p>Dec 25th was initially celebrated as 'Conquering the Sun Day', in which the Romans at the time, who worshipped the sun, thought the Sun God was pleased with them as the days started to get longer. They would have celebrations and exchange gifts. Those that believed in Jesus feared for their lives, and wanted to mark a day for his birth, and so did on the same day, under the guise of the Roman beliefs. So the birth of Jesus was celebrated around 460AD for the first time, and as the Church grew, it eventually took the day over for themselves. </p> <p>Interesting. </p> <p><a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_and_how_did_Christmas_start">http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_and_how_did_Christmas_start</a> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/30/christmas-understood-5140464/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/30/christmas-understood-5140464/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/21/destiny-fate-or-free-will-5072719/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-21:/2008/11/21/destiny-fate-or-free-will-5072719/Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:24:16 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/destiny/3003701" title="destiny"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/701/3003701_305184a873_m.jpg" alt="destiny" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Every now and again I have cause to glance over my shoulder and take a look at my journey so far. The road I have travelled is not straight, but is a mercurial ribbon of twists and turns often running right over the top of mountains! I see scattered here and there some hopes and dreams that litter the hedgerows like empty packets and wrappers. But here and there are tiny lights that shine, beacons of accomplishment - mostly part of my growth and things I have learned. What hopes and dreams lay empty and thrown are strange elements of my life. I look at them and wonder, did fate or destiny really lead me to that or this. Sometimes I feel a relief that some things did not work out - further down the road being able to see that it would have been disasterous to say the least. In this I feel a lesson has been learned. However, there are those that I cannot fathom as useful at all - not even today do I feel they served any purpose whatsoever.</p> <p>I wonder at fate and destiny. I don't like the idea of it in truth, preferring the more comfortable fit of 'free will' - feels like something I can wear without feeling stifled and trussed up. I can't help but believe that while there are many possibilities, chances, opportunities we can have in life, we actually choose with our own will which one we follow. But is this just me 'thinking' I have free will?<br> Perhaps I'm programmed to think I am free? Like the Matrix - its all an illusion.</p> <p>How do we begin to understand the concept of fate or destiny - I mean if I take apart a watch will it help me to understand time? The Kahuna<br> believe we have three souls - and part of our life on earth (if not all of it) is to learn lessons and return with that knowledge to our higher soul/self - this is how the Higher self grows and expands. </p> <p>When we ask what is our purpose - I ask what's wrong in us defining our own purpose? </p> <p>That road I've travelled is as full of mystery as the road ahead of me.<br> One step forward and I'm on the move again although today I am in no hurry, preferring to stop here and there to admire the view of the mountains, the sunsets, the early morning spider weaving her web, the<br> last song of the evening from the calling bird, the first sign of buds dusting a bloom on winters boughs. I am in no rush to any particular place and have learned to take the side roads on occasions and the leafy dappled lanes. After all it is the journey that matters not the destination - right? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/21/destiny-fate-or-free-will-5072719/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/21/destiny-fate-or-free-will-5072719/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/19/what-is-wales-5065544/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-19:/2008/11/19/what-is-wales-5065544/Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:47:36 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/welsh_dragon_pic/3000910" title="welsh dragon pic"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/910/3000910_3e1357573a_m.jpg" alt="welsh dragon pic" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p><img src="/img/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt=":>>" class="middle" border="0">Just thought I'd wander around Wales my way and take a look at some of the funny things I find there, and better described by John Winterson Richards in his book 'The Xenophobe's Guide tothe Welsh'....</p> <p>Welsh pride "Welsh pride is real pride - the sort of mindless, instinctive, animal pride that requires no justification or excuse...Such pride is the only thing one has left when one has been stripped of everything else...."</p> <p>How they would like others to see them ...."The Welsh simply could not care less what other people think of them. Among themselves, they not only think and believe that to be Welsh represents the highest form of human achievement - they know it" rofl..<img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>Special Relationships ..."If the English did not exist, the Welsh would have to invent them. To a very great extent, the Welsh define their national identity in terms of the English .." I think this is moreso in Rugby - I mean who else would we rise to meet on the field of battle if it were not the English lol <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>And let us not forget that when the Welsh are not having a go at the English they are having a go at each other! So the coastal Welsh have a go and mock the Valleys people and visa viz ..North criticises South regarding the language and so on ...we just like a good fight!</p> <p>"Wales is run by a secret and sophisticated elite, the extent of whose power is carefully hidden! Wales is in fact run entirely by women!" rofl</p> <p>"The Welsh have a great military reputation as men who enjoy fighting<br> and are good at it. This is probably because they found fierce and bloody warfare a pleasant and tranquil alternative to dealing with their womenfolk" ..</p> <p>"The dominant feature of a Welshman's childhood is his Mam. The traditional Welsh mam is a combination of the gentleness of a saint and the degree of flexibility usually associated with the average mountain (all rock and no sandstone!).</p> <p>As for Sex and Marriage .. well</p> <p>First Welshwoman: "Mary Pugh is getting married"</p> <p>Second Welshwoman: "Is she pregnant then?"</p> <p>First Welshwoman: "No"</p> <p>Second Welshwoman: "There's posh!"</p> <p><img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"> Singing and poetry are thought to be the domain of the Welsh.<br> Welsh language poetry has an ancient history going back to the celtic bards, and was very much an integral part of welsh life. The poetry has a broad vocabulary, and its emphasis on rhythm rather than rhyme.<br> It is true to say that some things are untranslatable, its metaphor truncated almost instantly by English. Having said that I believe<br> that Shakespear proved that English can be expanded to wonderful metaphor!</p> <p>Anyway more on the Welsh another day .. time for a cuppa and a welshcake I think! Bless our local post office that had a delivery of fresh bakes this morning! <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>Hwyl fawr! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/19/what-is-wales-5065544/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/19/what-is-wales-5065544/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/18/for-marmitekid-5055112/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-18:/2008/11/18/for-marmitekid-5055112/Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:17:44 +0100 <p>I never knew there was so much to know and you have certainly expanded my universe and taken me way out there! lol <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p><a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ikq9YHAfX2c">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ikq9YHAfX2c</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/18/for-marmitekid-5055112/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/18/for-marmitekid-5055112/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/18/for-xmillyxx-5055048/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-17:/2008/11/18/for-xmillyxx-5055048/Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:57:23 +0100 <p>Sometimes we can forget the magic, but you made me feel that excitement I once experienced as a child <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p><a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ycRnQVi4lxE">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ycRnQVi4lxE</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/18/for-xmillyxx-5055048/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/18/for-xmillyxx-5055048/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/17/yule-blessings-and-winter-solstice-5053725/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-17:/2008/11/17/yule-blessings-and-winter-solstice-5053725/Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:14:46 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/winterfairy/2995522" title="Winterfairy"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/522/2995522_4591cb85b0_m.jpg" alt="Winterfairy" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Yule time is coming, and I am wondering where I shall go to seek my log this year to burn and warm my hearth through the longest of the nights. Of course I can always go to the nearest garage and buy a big bundle of logs - but that wouldn't be the same now would it. The hills around my village hold on to the remaining ancient oaks who have not gifted the ground with a twig as yet, but somewhere I'm sure an old grandfather tree has dropped such a gift. It would be nice if it snowed too - crunch crunch on the lanes - cold toes and billowing breath glittered with frost and the faint hummmm of a song I used to sing a long time ago. </p> <p>Silence descends upon the hurried mind at winter solstice - sit and watch the flame light and warm and give us time to reflect and simply be.<br> I refer to two sites for information on the ancient practices and history, and it is perhaps wise to suggest that if there is nothing to add why write it<img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year (21st December) and was celebrated in Britain long before the arrival of Christianity. The Druids (Celtic priests) would cut the mistletoe that grew on the oak tree and give it as a blessing. Oaks were seen as sacred and the winter fruit of the mistletoe was a symbol of life in the dark winter months.</p> <p>It was also the Druids who began the tradition of the yule log. The Celts thought that the sun stood still for twelve days in the middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year.<br> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/wintersolstice.shtml">http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/wintersolstice.shtml</a></p> <p>The Winter Solstice is the shortest day, and longest night of the year, and is the traditional time to celebrate the truly important things in life: your family, your children, your home and looking forward to a wonderful year to come. Winter Solstice, although it is the longest night, (boasting more than 12 hours of darkness), it is also the turning point of the year, as following this night the sun grows stronger in the sky, and the days become gradually longer once more. Thus the Winter Solstice is also a celebration of rebirth, and there are many traditions that stem from this perspective. </p> <p><a href="http://brighterblessings.co.uk/articles/yule.htm">http://brighterblessings.co.uk/articles/yule.htm</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/17/yule-blessings-and-winter-solstice-5053725/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/17/yule-blessings-and-winter-solstice-5053725/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/17/winter-5053571/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-17:/2008/11/17/winter-5053571/Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:50:38 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/winter_reflections/2995427" title="winter_reflections"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/427/2995427_ef2a9a022b_m.gif" alt="winter_reflections" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening </p> <p>by Robert Frost (1923) </p> <p>Whose woods these are I think I know.<br> His house is in the village though;<br> He will not see me stopping here<br> To watch his woods fill up with snow.</p> <p>My little horse must think it queer<br> To stop without a farmhouse near<br> Between the woods and frozen lake<br> The darkest evening of the year.</p> <p>He gives his harness bells a shake<br> To ask if there is some mistake.<br> The only other sound's the sweep<br> Of easy wind and downy flake.</p> <p>The woods are lovely, dark and deep.<br> But I have promises to keep,<br> And miles to go before I sleep,<br> And miles to go before I sleep.</p> <p>Dust of Snow </p> <p>by Robert Frost (1923) </p> <p>The way a crow<br> Shook down on me<br> The dust of snow<br> From a hemlock tree</p> <p>Has given my heart<br> A change of mood<br> And saved some part<br> Of a day I had rued.</p> <p>Toward the Winter Solstice<br> by Timothy Steele </p> <p>Although the roof is just a story high,<br> It dizzies me a little to look down.<br> I lariat-twirl the cord of Christmas lights<br> And cast it to the weeping birch’s crown;<br> A dowel into which I’ve screwed a hook<br> Enables me to reach, lift, drape, and twine<br> The cord among the boughs so that the bulbs<br> Will accent the tree’s elegant design.</p> <p>Friends, passing home from work or shopping, pause<br> And call up commendations or critiques.<br> I make adjustments. Though a potpourri<br> Of Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Sikhs,<br> We all are conscious of the time of year;<br> We all enjoy its colorful displays<br> And keep some festival that mitigates<br> The dwindling warmth and compass of the days.</p> <p>Some say that L.A. doesn’t suit the Yule,<br> But UPS vans now like magi make<br> Their present-laden rounds, while fallen leaves<br> Are gaily resurrected in their wake;<br> The desert lifts a full moon from the east<br> And issues a dry Santa Ana breeze,<br> And valets at chic restaurants will soon<br> Be tending flocks of cars and SUVs.</p> <p>And as the neighborhoods sink into dusk<br> The fan palms scattered all across town stand<br> More calmly prominent, and this place seems<br> A vast oasis in the Holy Land.<br> This house might be a caravansary,<br> The tree a kind of cordial fountainhead<br> Of welcome, looped and decked with necklaces<br> And ceintures of green, yellow, blue, and red.</p> <p>Some wonder if the star of Bethlehem<br> Occurred when Jupiter and Saturn crossed;<br> It’s comforting to look up from this roof<br> And feel that, while all changes, nothing’s lost,<br> To recollect that in antiquity<br> The winter solstice fell in Capricorn<br> And that, in the Orion Nebula,<br> From swirling gas, new stars are being born. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/17/winter-5053571/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/17/winter-5053571/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/language-how-we-use-it-5048062/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-16:/2008/11/16/language-how-we-use-it-5048062/Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:05:10 +0100 <p>Are we at the 'effect' of language or at the 'source' of it.<br> Does language confine us or set us free? Can language be sacred as say Sanskrit (said to be the closest language to Welsh/Cymraeg)is thought to be sacred? Why did it develop and are we any good at using it? Do we communicate well with language? Do we maintain patterns of struggle by using language the wrong way - words such as 'success', 'better', 'best',<br> 'failure', 'achievement', and so on ... patterns of survival?<br> Should we use language to free ourselves, to explore who we are, to be who we are, or become who we can be? Does language set us free? We are sometimes overly preoccupied with 'getting it right' .. afraid of being 'wrong'ofbeing 'misunderstood', 'misinterpreted', 'confusing',<br> 'too serious', 'too glib'... always this overriding analytical bite attached to it all.. so language becomes an instrument for survival - a stressful interraction - of course once we become emancipated from 'caring' whether or not it all matters, then we are free to express whatever we like - aren't we?</p> <p>Is there a sacred 'I' that is muted by survival. Is there a way of making language sacred? Who controls the mouth? Language or 'I'?</p> <p>Vyaas Houston, M.A.<br> States that "What makes a language sacred is how we use it. If a language is used to discover the sacredness of life, it becomes a sacred language. Whether or not a language is sacred is determined by who is using it. This in turn has a great deal to do with whether a language is being used consciously or unconsciously, whether we use language as an instrument to accomplish our real purpose in life, that is, wake up and find out who we are; or we are unconsciously programmed by language, to maintain patterns of a struggle for individual survival established by previous generations."</p> <p><a href="http://www.americansanskrit.com/read/a_sacred.php">http://www.americansanskrit.com/read/a_sacred.php</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/language-how-we-use-it-5048062/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/language-how-we-use-it-5048062/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/fochriw-5047905/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-16:/2008/11/16/fochriw-5047905/Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:19:16 +0100 <p>Have you ever been to Fochriw? I'd like to say 'don't bother' but that would sound rude to an area on top of a mountain which in nature's terms is rather beautiful. My father during his lifetime seems to have had<br> a penchant for pubs (nice way of saying he was culturally bound by alcohol), and seems to have known where the most obscure pub was located - including Fochriw, which had a few sheep and an old pub with flagstones and the smell of keg beer, damp crisps and some toothless<br> retired farmers with bleary stares. </p> <p>I have a theory that this pub did not exist at all in the 'real' world - my father could just conjure up pubs at will - I mean who'd put a pub up there and the whole scene was like something from the very distant past. Enter the twiglet zone...</p> <p>Anyway Fochriw .. that day began with grey skies and drizzling rain that<br> we followed all the way to the top of the mountain - visibility like pea soup as we wound our way along the ribbon road to Fochriw's only pub.<br> My father was asked several times 'where are we going?' and he would say<br> 'you wait and see... its a surprise!'. Yeah surprise alright, and my mother sighed and held back her ire for our sake and tolerated the soggy crisps and half a shandy. There was a helluva row when we got home, and he left for the nearest pub slamming the door behind him.</p> <p>Ahh Welsh life - nothing like it <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>Of course when it rains that grey drizzly whinging rain that falls often in Wales, we call it a Fochriw day and shiver remembering the isolation of the little pub and the strange atmosphere. My father could not have cared less - all he wanted was a pint and it didn't matter if the devil himself served him! lol...it was the devil himself that made him I think!.</p> <p>So if you have been to Fochriw let me know that its for real ok? <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/fochriw-5047905/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/fochriw-5047905/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/museum-of-hoaxes-5046653/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-16:/2008/11/16/museum-of-hoaxes-5046653/Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:11:09 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/monkey/2992245" title="monkey"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/245/2992245_b0244c0288_m.jpg" alt="monkey" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/3836/">http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/3836/</a></p> <p>Makes me wonder ....</p> <p>Monkey Art Fools Expert<br> Status: Art hoax<br> Dr. Katja Schneider, director of the State Art Museum in Moritzburg, has been embarrassed by mistaking a painting done by Banghi, a 31-year-old female chimp, for a work by the late Ernst Wilhelm Nay:</p> <p>The director of the State Art Museum of Moritzburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Katja Schneider, suggested the painting was by the Guggenheim Prize-winning artist Ernst Wilhelm Nay. "It looks like an Ernst Wilhelm Nay. He was famous for using such blotches of colour," Dr Schneider confidently asserted. The canvas was actually the work of Banghi, a 31-year-old female chimp at the local zoo. While Banghi likes to paint, she is not able to build up much of a body of work as her mate Satscho generally destroys her paintings before they can get to the gallery. But this one survived long enough to give Dr Schneider a red face. "I did think it looked a bit rushed," she told Bild newspaper.</p> <p>Of course, this isn't the first time monkey art has fooled an expert. The classic case occurred in 1964 when newsmen from Sweden's Göteborgs-Tidningen obtained some paintings by Peter, a four-year-old chimp at the Boras zoo. They hung the paintings in a gallery, claiming they were the work of avant-garde artist Pierre Brassau. And soon the works were drawing critical acclaim. One critic wrote: "Brassau paints with powerful strokes, but also with clear determination. His brush strokes twist with furious fastidiousness. Pierre is an artist who performs with the delicacy of a ballet dancer."</p> <p>Unfortunately I haven't been able to find examples posted online of the art of either Banghi or Pierre Brassau. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/museum-of-hoaxes-5046653/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/museum-of-hoaxes-5046653/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/how-old-is-science-5046437/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-16:/2008/11/16/how-old-is-science-5046437/Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:22:05 +0100 <p>When did 'science' come into being? Four centuries ago? How long ago?<br> How did humankind manage before 'Science' came into being? How did they ever manage on good old fashioned 'theory' all those years ago?<br> Science now tolerates theory and cocks a rather bushy eyebrow at it as if it is a shadowy place where people wander around and around in a state of 'idea'. So what is this place of ambiguity, this place of theory and idea? Where is it? Is it like Narnia or if I go to the back of my wardrobe I may enter it one magical day? I believe this place called 'idea' is accessed via my cookie tin, as I always come away with a cookie and then follows an idea! <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"> </p> <p>Do you think that Science is more respectable than Theory or reasoning through thought alone - ideas, concepts, logic and conclusions? Does something have to be 'proven' to be valid, and who decides what constitutes proof? Science? </p> <p>What is the one acceptable belief, theory, idea, or call it what you will? I might say it's God? Does science tolerate this without proof?<br> Am not an atheist because there is no proof to make me so, but I am not necessarily a believer in accepted theological postulation (as there is equally no proof). In searching the bible it does not seem to argue for the existence of God - which is why we may rely on 'faith' alone.</p> <p>So Science - seems we give it quite a lot of credibility, a lot of trust,<br> and faith. Does it deserve its lofty position? Have we been forced to accept a rather young usurper that has monopolised what is 'true', 'false', credible, viable, acceptable, and worthy of belief.<br> Did they shut down the world of 'ideas', where imagination could expand and be creative about the world we live in, where ancient medical remedies lay dusty and forgotten somewhere in the shadows of the past, and so many people were ridiculed and blatantly destroyed - ancient healers, soothesayers, teachers and wise ones. </p> <p>How old is Science? How wise is it? Are reason and faith opposed?<br> Is it possible to prove the existence of the universe by reason alone?<br> Or does science alone have claim to such understanding? Let us hope we do not lose the magic we sense in what we don't really know.. that just by purely experiencing it we find a sense of joy - do I really need to dissect the vocal chords of a bird to know why it sings - isn't it enough to enjoy the song?</p> <p>Sigh.. think i've overdosed on beechams and lemon tea - or it may be the overpowering mind altering vics vapour - lol.. time for a cookie trip, unless the tin sucks me into another world! </p> <p>I think there was a philosopher called Anthony Flew (maybe I've spelt his name the wrong way, perhaps its Flu!)... anywy seeing as I'm up to my eyes in Flu I guess his name came back from the foggy mysts of my memory - don't know why or what he is about. Hmm.. maybe he's a psychic happening ? rofl... ahh I think I remember he was a methodists son who became an atheist and then reformed later on in life...anyway does it matter - he's not going to get rid of my 'flu' (sorry about pun).</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/how-old-is-science-5046437/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/16/how-old-is-science-5046437/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/15/the-flu-and-other-sneezes-5041535/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-15:/2008/11/15/the-flu-and-other-sneezes-5041535/Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:01:13 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/woman_with_flu/2989809" title="woman with flu"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/809/2989809_6517ae7450_m.jpg" alt="woman with flu" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>I guess it was only a matter of time before I got it. Not sure its the Flu as such but boy am I sneezing and coughing. Bmy Bnose is breally psore!! <img src="/img/smilies/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>Its that time of year when the medical profession is advocating we all get flu jabs especially those most vulnerable - who's that again? The elderly? Diabetics? Here I go again with my skeptical juices flowing - its out of control and am now fully addicted to controvertial opinion!</p> <p>The Times wrote in 2007 ..</p> <p>Flu vaccination is failing to save the lives of older people who are the focus of intensive annual campaigns, an official study suggests.More than 15 million people in England have the flu vaccine each winter, but the £150 milion programme has little effect in reducing hospital admissions among the elderly, researchers say. The study, by the Health Protection Agency and British universities, will fuel doubts over the effectiveness of the vaccine in older people,following a review that claimed the supporting evidence for mass vaccination had been “greatly exaggerated”. While the Health Protection Agency researchers insist that ministers should not abandon vaccination, they urge them to consider public health measures such as better housing, smoking clinics and focusing on other illnesses associated with winter colds and flu. Such measures would have much greater potential to reduce rates of hospital admissions for respiratory illness than the vaccination campaign has on its own, thes tudy suggests.</p> <p>An estimated 12,000 Britons died of flu in the winter of 2005-06, when outbreak rates were relatively low. The study, published online by the journal Vaccine, analysed hospital admission rates for the winter of 2003-04, covering 3,970 people aged between 65 and 89 registered with 79 general practices in England. Researchers identified 157 hospitalised caseswho had received a flu vaccine and 639 controls. Even after adjustment for age,gender, chronic conditions, deprivation and smoking status, flu vaccination still had no effect on admissions for acute respiratory illness. The World Health Organisation estimates that “vaccination of the elderly reduces the risk of serious complications or of death by 70-85 per cent”. </p> <p>A previous report, in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, stated that there was insufficient evidence to determine to what extent flu jabs cut the death toll in winter, if they did so at all. That review found that the “observed effects in the community-dwelling elderly are likely to be overestimated”, adding: “Solely relying on the influenza vaccine to control the annual winter bed pressure in hospitals isunlikely to be a sufficiently effective yearly strategy.”Jeremy Hawker, one of the authors of the latest study, said: “Of the elderly people who became ill with an acute respiratory infection such as bronchitis and/or emphysema, not just flu, in the winter, the ones that ended up in hospital were no less likely to have been vaccinated than those who were successfully treated in primary care.”Patients’ immune response to influenza virus, as well as to the vaccine, deteriorates with advancing age. But although vaccination may not protect all elderly people from infection, most of them benefit by at least having a less severe illness, Dr Hawkersaid. </p> <p>Times Database•HAVE YOUR SAY From Peter, London W1, My experience of the flu jabs has been similar to that ofBeryl, Windsor and her husband. Every time I have had the jabs, flu has followed.This year there was a slight variation in that the jabs were followed in 2-3 days by an attack of diarrhoea which was then followed by the flu. Why do the health authoritieshand out leaflets saying that the jabs do not cause flu, quite contrary to the evidence?Peter L. Griffiths, London, UK .My husband had Leukaemia and Heart Disease so was urged to have the flu jabs. Ashis "Primary Carer" [in fact his only Carer] I was told I must have them too. 3 years running we had flu jabs, and 3 years running we caught the flu. We stopped taking the jabs, and didn't get the flu again.The flu jab only works if that particular flu virus comes around. If the wrong type comes round you have no protection. It's all guesswork by the Drug Companies as to which one is about to arrive, and they do get it wrong. </p> <p>Beryl, WINDSOR, England I stopped having 'flu jabs (without adverse effect) because my Buddhist teacher told me it was introducing poison to my system unnecessarily. After fifteen years without it, I saw a frightening poster and in view of the description that it could destroy my immune system, etc., I called the doctor to apply for one. I am 63 and asthmatic but I was rejected by the receptionist as it has changed to 65 and because I was not on a green or brown inhaler. I have looked this up and it indicated level 3 Asthma, which I have but I use an orange inhaler which is not as commonly prescribed. </p> <p>Sigh ... what to do ? My mother is Diabetic and the last time she followed her doctor's advice and had the flu jab she had the worse case of Flu she had ever had, and was hospitalised for four days due to breathing problems. Never before had this happend to her. </p> <p>I too succumbed to the flu only after having the Flu jab and refused any further jabs after that. </p> <p>It seems relevant to suggest that the introduction of the flu via vaccine may work for some and not for others, but then again I've always argued that there's no such thing as 'just a cold' - one man's cold being another man's pneumonia!! </p> <p>Anyway am feeling pretty sorry for myself right now and am going to<br> make another lemsip. Am even off my cookies so I must be poorly <img src="/img/smilies/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/15/the-flu-and-other-sneezes-5041535/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/15/the-flu-and-other-sneezes-5041535/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/11/what-is-truth-do-i-recognise-a-lie-5020786/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-11:/2008/11/11/what-is-truth-do-i-recognise-a-lie-5020786/Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:50:36 +0100 <p>In past days I would have argued the guts out of the issue of 'truth', and dragged my sorry arse back all the way to Aristotle, and quotes from Pilate who I think asked 'what is truth' but did not stay for an answer from Jesus. Anyway does it matter? And does truth matter? Hmm...such a small question which 'feels' as if it requires a 'huge' answer, and perhaps that is why so much was written about it, or should I say pondered upon? </p> <p>So if we seek the truth how do we go about it? Is a lie an opposite to a truth? So rather than stretch my brain further, and seeing as I am<br> at least for the moment (and it may changed tomorrow) concerned with<br> worldly issues, and political agendas and so forth, perhaps a view of some lies would help to identify what is 'not truth' or at least what is considered a 'lie' and then we can ask again if any of it really matters... ok? (Thrusting a bite size cookie in my mouth and chewing with expectation shining in my eyes and ... a shut up will ya!) Just one last thought .. is there such a thing as a 'Noble lie'? Plato might suggest there is or is not?</p> <p>ok here we go then...Just a few examples <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>Jack Kelley: In 2004, it was exposed that USA Today correspondent and Pulitzer Prize nominee Jack Kelley had been fabricating stories and sources. He denied the charges and resigned. </p> <p>Bill Clinton: The 42nd President of the United States. Lied under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and subsequently, in 1998, became the second president in U.S. history (the first was Andrew Johnson) to be impeached by the House of Representatives. </p> <p>Richard Nixon: The 37th President of the United States. After it came to light that he had been involved in illegal activities, including wiretapping and harassment of political opponents in the Watergate scandal, Nixon lied and tried to cover up the misdeeds. The truth eventually came to light and he resigned before he could be impeached. </p> <p>Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany has come unstuck for telling the truth about lying. He wasn't tricked or trapped. It wasn't a late night ramble to his closest confidant that was caught on tape. Instead his recorded words were from an amazingly honest speech about not telling the truth, to his own party. </p> <p>And while he didn't intend it to get out to a wider public, he knew what he was saying and meant it to shock. He admits that his party has made a mess of Hungary's economy, and that "We lied morning, noon and night". </p> <p>Andrew Burgin guardian.co.uk, Friday March 19 2004 12.33 GMT Article history</p> <p>On the anniversary of the Iraq war the anti-war movement is marching once more. Demonstrations will take place in more than 100 cities round the world. In London people will march under the banner "No more lies, Mr Blair!"<br> What is clear is that the Iraq war was based on deceit and lies. Blair now says that when he went to the House of Commons to make the case for war he did not know that the 45-minute claim related only to battlefield weapons. To paraphrase Aneurin Bevan: if he knew this not to be the case he is too dishonest to be prime minister and if he really believed it then he is too stupid to be prime minister.</p> <p>There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. There were no links between al-Qaida and the Iraqi regime. But the biggest lie of all was that this war on terror would make the world a safer place. In Britain Sir John Stevens, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, now says that a terror attack in London is inevitable.</p> <p>We also now know that the war was illegal in terms of international law. There was no second United Nations resolution and the military was concerned enough about the legality of military action to demand further assurances from the attorney-general. Lord Goldsmith had to search far and wide to find support for the position that the attack on Iraq would be lawful. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/11/what-is-truth-do-i-recognise-a-lie-5020786/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/11/what-is-truth-do-i-recognise-a-lie-5020786/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/09/liars-and-cheats-our-leaders-5007422/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-09:/2008/11/09/liars-and-cheats-our-leaders-5007422/Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:07:30 +0100 <p class="left">At a time when hopeful people around the world welcome Obama as President of the United States, when people have referred to the 'changes' he promises and cried tears over his rhetoric, I feel somewhat emotionless. Is this part of getting old? Have I already seen too much? I remember a time when 'words' were believed, rhetoric ignited passion and rekindled hope, a time when jingoistic speeches were<br> the springboard from which we cheered our way to the future. Then along came Tony Blair (creepy shark music please). Having voted labour for<br> most of my voting life, here was something new! I listened to his<br> great speeches, his great promises, his call for 'change' too - and there was something wrong with all of it. Then somehow it all seemed a bit depressing - and as I told a good friend of mine who was still<br> waving the Labour flag three days after Labour won the election "Tony Blair is nothing more than a closet conservative". For the first time<br> in my voting life, I did not vote Labour and this seemed to shock some of my friends. And I have never voted labour since. In fact it is becoming increasingly obvious that voting at all for any particular party is a waste of time as the 'govenment' gets in anyway!</p> <p>So who do we trust? The Government that lies about 'weapons of mass destruction' and plumets us into yet another conflict in foreign parts?<br> The most blatant and telling truth is that the world is in a mess, and for all the rhetoric, fancy talk, statistics and number crunching, and political mumblings, none of the political leaders have done anything to address the 'global' issues that will and are affecting our daily lives.</p> <p>They talk about globalisation which is aimed at more control of the masses by a handful of rich and powerful people. This does not really have anything to do with cleaning up the earth or helping the starving in Africa for example. If it were, by now, things would be much better, and all the excuses for the 'unsuccessful' outcomes would never have existed.</p> <p>Mark Lynas a climate change writer has an interesting blog site that readers may want to visit ..www.marklynas.org</p> <p>"The irony is extraordinary. At a time when world leaders are expressing grave concern about diminishing food stocks and a coming global food crisis, our government brings into force measures to increase the use of biofuels - a policy that will further increase food prices, and further worsen the plight of the world's poor."</p> <p>Biofuels will take food out of starving mouths, and hey! even our own!! And the UK Government is keen to play its part in all of this. I wonder if anyone will fall for the great lie they will spin us to justify this? After all we must have cars right? We have to work? To pay for the food 'we' eat, and prices have rocketed? </p> <p>"The UK is not uniquely implicated in this scandal: the EU, the United States, India, Brazil and China all have targets to increase biofuels use. But a look at the raw data confirms today's dire situation. According to the World Bank, global maize production increased by 51 million tonnes between 2004 and 2007. During that time, biofuels use in the US alone (mostly ethanol) rose by 50 million tonnes, soaking up almost the entire global increase."</p> <p>Next year, the use of US corn for ethanol is forecast to rise to 114 million tonnes - nearly a third of the whole projected US crop. American cars now burn enough corn to cover all the import needs of the 82 nations classed by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as "low-income food-deficit countries". There could scarcely be a better way to starve the poor.</p> <p><a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2008/04/food-prices-lynas-biofuels">http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2008/04/food-prices-lynas-biofuels</a></p> <p>I guess its time we considered Global stockpiles of grain which is being severely depleted - as it will affect each and every one of us. And if food prices continue to rise as predicted there will be millions pushed deeper into the poverty ditch, and it won't just be African people starving - how about a Global famine? </p> <p>So who do we trust to run our lives? Have we abdicated too much power to individuals who feather their own nests? If we relinquish any more of our own power to the State one day we will not even have this place to debate issues freely - and as we are seeing of late, sites apparently are being shut down. </p> <p>As if to add weight to an already gloomy outlook, thunder explodes over the village and the rain hammers down like shingle against windows and doors. It is hard to keep hope alive in a quagmire of liars, but as the old addage goes 'the truth will set you free' and the 'truth' is out there but VERY hard to find.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/09/liars-and-cheats-our-leaders-5007422/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/09/liars-and-cheats-our-leaders-5007422/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/06/fireworks-4991650/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-05:/2008/11/06/fireworks-4991650/Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:24:57 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/avatars_cool_fireworks/2964095" title="Avatars_Cool_Fireworks"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/095/2964095_5c0faeb3c4_s.gif" alt="Avatars_Cool_Fireworks" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Another November 5th comes and goes and rain has not come to dampen sparklers and rockets - I like fireworks. My little dog hates the loud noises and has parked herself on my lap since 6pm and has remained there other than my excursions to the bathroom or kitchen for tea and cookies.<br> My back yard lights up occasionally as the bigger fireworks are set off ..and she barks and growls and I sit and soothe her. I have been<br> in a very withdrawn mood which has grown since yesterday - I get like this sometimes when I seem to need to 'go inside' to 'sort things out', and at these times conversation is very stilted with me. There are times when I do not like to speak, preferring to write - in fact I think I communicate best when I write. Perhaps I ought to start writing notes to people rather than engage in long and often unnecessary (in my opinion) conversation. I have a habit of analysing behaviour (perhaps it is the years I spent studying it) and quantifying certain things.. like collecting data. What I notice about conversation on a daily basis is that it tends to include much of the 'same', and I find myself<br> wondering why we engage in this? I can almost write the script I will<br> hear each day. This need us humans have to speak about 'anything' rather than 'nothing at all' is odd to me.</p> <p>My partner rings and asks me every day 'what's the news'? I answer the same as I always do 'nothing' - a single word which seems to make him very uncomfortable. So perhaps I ought to stretch the reply out a bit with more unnecessary words? I am sure I may appear rude but really I have a thing about wasting time and energy on unnecessary stuff.<br> So my partner says "well you must have some news". I reply as usual,<br> 'no, nothing'. Then I ask him what news he has and guess what! He says<br> "I don't have any". Ok he uses more words than me. </p> <p>There is something about the telephone perhaps? We have these contact calls as I call them... a means of having some sense of the bond between us. It is always a relief when we are actually together because we<br> can see each other smile or look a certain way, and we talk - but then<br> I am either full on with talking or completely mute and just a listener.<br> Sometimes I have things floating around in my mind, ideas, and a bit of knowledge, but for some peculiar reason I find it hard to engage in<br> conversation and just let it float around up there without speaking about it. How strange am I? Well how far down the rabbit hole shall I go? <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"> </p> <p>And so fireworks...there are no children in my house so there were no fireworks, however I had a great view of the fireworks exploding over the hill in front of the house - rockets firing in all directions from<br> unseen houses - zilions of tiny star-like orbs of silver, gold, red and green - rainbows of colours. I couldn't help but think each firework reflected the way I feel and think - burning bright one minute then fading one by one into nothingness. Something tells me I am a little weary of having ideas that are pointlessly shared because even in the sharing they fade into the nothingness of disinterested ears. </p> <p>Perhaps that's why I write so much - here they can linger and become<br> more than just fading sparks. </p> <p>I try to entertain myself with computer and music, and sometimes painting - sigh .. am staring at a half finished painting I promised my mother, but I have no enthusiasm for it. My muse has taken a hike and may return some time this year .. who knows.</p> <p>November is not a good month for me - the grey low ceilings of cloud, and an eerie stillness creeps me out - always has. Perhaps that is why I withdraw - hiding from the weirdness of November. December restores my energy and it is upward and onward again lol..</p> <p>Think I've written enough...time for a cuppa and the usual cookie<img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/06/fireworks-4991650/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/06/fireworks-4991650/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/the-politicians-and-the-hand-sign-of-baphomet-4985749/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-05:/2008/11/05/the-politicians-and-the-hand-sign-of-baphomet-4985749/Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:00:57 +0100 <p><strong>THE FOLLOWING SITE IS WORTH VISITING FOR MORE PICTURES OF FAMOUS AND POWERFUL PEOPLE USING THE STRANGEST OF HAND SIGNS SAID TO BE SATANIC IN ORIGIN</p> <p><a href="http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Wicca%20&%20Witchcraft/signs_of_satan.htm">http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Wicca%20&%20Witchcraft/signs_of_satan.htm</a></p> <p>HAVE INCLUDED A FEW PICS HERE FOR EXAMPLES ...</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/satan_hand_1/2961611" title="satan_hand_1"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/611/2961611_cfe46ba117_m.jpg" alt="satan_hand_1" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/satan_hand_2/2961612" title="satan_hand_2"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/612/2961612_227d0015d0_m.jpg" alt="satan_hand_2" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>The first image Represents the horned god of witchcraft, Pan or Cernunnos. Note the thumb under the fingers and given by the right hand. The next image is a sign of recognition between those in the Occult. When pointed at someone it is meant to place a curse. Note the thumb over the fingers and given by the left hand.</p> <p>Note the same hand signals used by powerful people in the world .. why the same hand signal? Why the sign of Baphomet.. an association with satanism..all very odd...</p> <p>More pics of those powerful people using the sign/signal... whatever the hell its for?</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/bush_satan_sign/2961614" title="bush_satan_sign"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/614/2961614_e3bdb7ff55_t.jpg" alt="bush_satan_sign" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/bush_satan_5/2961615" title="bush_satan_5"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/615/2961615_3595e51400_m.jpg" alt="bush_satan_5" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/abdullah_satan_sign/2961616" title="abdullah_satan_sign"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/616/2961616_895e0b8329_m.jpg" alt="abdullah_satan_sign" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/dick_cheney_satanic_salute/2961617" title="dick_cheney_satanic_salute"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/617/2961617_d2f2f8e3b5_m.jpg" alt="dick_cheney_satanic_salute" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/obamasign1/2961618" title="obamasign1"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/618/2961618_18dbca77b5_m.jpg" alt="obamasign1" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/sarcozy_presidentfrance_satanic/2961619" title="sarcozy-presidentfrance-satanic"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/619/2961619_f7107079ce_m.jpg" alt="sarcozy-presidentfrance-satanic" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/prince_william_satanic_sign/2961620" title="prince william satanic sign"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/620/2961620_32e004a0f0_m.jpg" alt="prince william satanic sign" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p></strong> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/the-politicians-and-the-hand-sign-of-baphomet-4985749/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/the-politicians-and-the-hand-sign-of-baphomet-4985749/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/some-of-the-world-s-strangest-laws-4985706/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-05:/2008/11/05/some-of-the-world-s-strangest-laws-4985706/Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:28:08 +0100 <p>Did you know :-</p> <p>It's illegal in France to name a pig Napoleon? Or that in Ohio you're not allowed to get a fish drunk?</p> <p>It is illegal for a cab in the City of London to carry rabid dogs or corpses. </p> <p>It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.</p> <p>It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside down. (OOPS!)</p> <p>Under the UK’s Tax Avoidance Schemes Regulations 2006, it is illegal not to tell the taxman anything you don’t want him to know, though you don’t have to tell him anything you don’t mind him knowing. </p> <p>Royal Navy ships that enter the Port of London must provide a barrel of rum to the Constable of the Tower of London. </p> <p>In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants – even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet</p> <p>In London, Freemen are allowed to take a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll; they are also allowed to drive geese down Cheapside. </p> <p>In Chester, Welshmen are banned from entering the city before sunrise and from staying after sunset. </p> <p>In the city of York, it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow. </p> <p>In Vermont, women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth.</p> <p>In London, it is illegal to flag down a taxi if you have the plague</p> <p>In Bahrain, a male doctor may legally examine a woman’s genitals but is forbidden from looking directly at them during the examination; he may only see their reflection in a mirror.</p> <p>The head of any dead whale found on the British coast is legally the property of the King; the tail, on the other hand, belongs to the Queen -in case she needs the bones for her corset. </p> <p><a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2251280.ece">http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2251280.ece</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/some-of-the-world-s-strangest-laws-4985706/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/some-of-the-world-s-strangest-laws-4985706/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/big-brother-gets-bigger-4985664/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-05:/2008/11/05/big-brother-gets-bigger-4985664/Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:11:03 +0100 <p>Government black boxes will 'collect every email'</p> <p>Home Office says all data from web could be stored in giant government database</p> <p>By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor<br> Wednesday, 5 November 2008 </p> <p>Internet "black boxes" will be used to collect every email and web visit in the UK under the Government's plans for a giant "big brother" database, The Independent has learnt.</p> <p>Home Office officials have told senior figures from the internet and telecommunications industries that the "black box" technology could automatically retain and store raw data from the web before transferring it to a giant central database controlled by the Government.</p> <p>Plans to create a database holding information about every phone call, email and internet visit made in the UK have provoked a huge public outcry. Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, described it as "step too far" and the Government's own terrorism watchdog said that as a "raw idea" it was "awful".</p> <p>Nevertheless, ministers have said they are committed to consulting on the new Communications Data Bill early in the new year. News that the Government is already preparing the ground by trying to allay the concerns of the internet industry is bound to raise suspicions about ministers' true intentions. Further details of the database emerged on Monday at a meeting of internet service providers (ISPs) in London where representatives from BT, AOL Europe, O2 and BSkyB were given a PowerPoint presentation of the issues and the technology surrounding the Government's Interception Modernisation Programme (IMP), the name given by the Home Office to the database proposal.</p> <p>Whitehall experts working on the IMP unit told the meeting the security and intelligence agencies wanted to use the stored data to help fight serious crime and terrorism, and said the technology would allow them to create greater "capacity" to monitor all communication traffic on the internet. The "black boxes" are an attractive option for the internet industry because they would be secure and not require any direct input from the ISPs.</p> <p>During the meeting Whitehall officials also tried to reassure the industry by suggesting that many smaller ISPs would be unaffected by the "black boxes" as these would be installed upstream on the network and hinted that all costs would be met by the Government. </p> <p>"It was clear the 'back box' is the technology the Government will use to hold all the data. But what isn't clear is what the Home Secretary, GCHQ and the security services intend to do with all this information in the future," said a source close to the meeting.</p> <p>He added: "They said they only wanted to return to a position they were in before the emergence of internet communication, when they were able to monitor all correspondence with a police suspect. The difference here is they will be in a much better position to spy on many more people on the basis of their internet behaviour. Also there's a grey area between what is content and what is traffic. Is what is said in a chat room content or just traffic?"</p> <p>Ministers say plans for the database have not been confirmed, and that it is not their intention to introduce monitoring or storage equipment that will check or hold the content of emails or phonecalls on the traffic.</p> <p>A spokesman for the Home Office said that Monday's meeting provided a "chance to engage with small communication service providers" ahead of the formal public consultation next year. He added: "We need to work closely with the internet service providers and the communication service providers. The meeting was to show the top-line challenges faced in the future. We are public about the IMP, but we are still working out the detail. There will a consultation on the Communications Data Bill early next year." </p> <p>A spokesman for the Internet Service Providers Association said the organisation was pleased the Home Office had addressed its members and was keen to continue dialogue while awaiting a formal consultation.</p> <p>Database plans were first announced by the Prime Minister in February. It is not clear where the records will be held but GCHQ may eventually be the project's home. </p> <p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/government-black-boxes-will-collect-every-email-992268.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/government-black-boxes-will-collect-every-email-992268.html</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/big-brother-gets-bigger-4985664/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/big-brother-gets-bigger-4985664/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/aha-prozac-gets-the-boot-from-fat-4985640/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-05:/2008/11/05/aha-prozac-gets-the-boot-from-fat-4985640/Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:56:46 +0100 <p>Fat people are more jolly </p> <p>Ever since Falstaff, fatness has been associated with jollity. According to psychologists at Lakehead University in Canada, the "jolly fat" hypothesis might actually be true, at least among women. Not only have they found a link, they suggest a mechanism, too: oestrogen.</p> <p>They put forward the idea that body fat protects women again negative moods. In other words, the fatter a woman is, the less depressed she gets.</p> <p>In the two-part research, the team looked at Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure that takes into account both weight and height, and compared it with mood in a group of young women. They found that the higher the BMI and body size, the lower the number of symptoms of depression, anxiety and negative mood. In fact, the most depressed were all thin, while the largest were the least miserable.</p> <p>For explanations, the psychologists turned to biochemical research that suggested the possibility of a link between oestrogen and mood, and the brain chemical, serotonin, the target of widely used antidepressant drugs. They say very potent oestrogens are primarily found in fatty tissues, suggesting that women with higher body weight may have higher levels.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/aha-prozac-gets-the-boot-from-fat-4985640/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/aha-prozac-gets-the-boot-from-fat-4985640/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/do-not-adjust-your-mind-there-is-a-fault-in-reality-4985607/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-05:/2008/11/05/do-not-adjust-your-mind-there-is-a-fault-in-reality-4985607/Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:37:33 +0100 <p><strong>That's right - there is nothing wrong with our minds! That's the good news! The bad news is we are being prevented from knowing this! If we question anything (and we should) then we are probably sticking our necks on the chopping block of those who control everything, from media to the stock markets - your brain and your jobs<img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"> </p> <p>Anyway just to prove that the world has been influenced by some real<br> no brain personalities here's some interesting statements that made me laugh a lot ...</p> <p>"While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially I consider it an impossibility, a development of which we need waste little time dreaming.<br> - Lee DeForest, American radio pioneer, 1926."</p> <p>"Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.<br> - Darryl F. Zanuck, Head of 20th Century-Fox, 1946."</p> <p>Radio has no future.<br> - Lord Kelvin, British mathematician and physicist.</p> <p><strong><br> Communication</strong></p> <p>This `telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a practical form of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.<br> - Western Union internal memo, 1878 </p> <p>Well informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical value.<br> - Editorial in the Boston Post, 1865</p> <p><strong>TRANSPORT</strong></p> <p> ...no possible combination of known substances, known forms of machinery, and known forms of force, can be united in a practical machine by which man shall fly long distances through the air...<br> - Simon Newcomb (1835-1909), astronomer,<br> head of the U.S. Naval Observatory </p> <p>What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect held out of locomotives travelling twice as fast as stagecoaches?<br> - The Quarterly Review, England (March 1825)</p> <p>Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.<br> - Lord Kelvin (1824-1907)<br> British mathematician and physicist</p> <p>Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia.<br> - Dr. Dionysus Lardner (1793-1859)<br> Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy</p> <p>Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.<br> - Marshal Ferdinand Foch,<br> French military strategist and World War I commander.</p> <p>It is an idle dream to imagine that automobiles will take the place of railways in the long distance movement of passengers.<br> - American Railroad Congress, 1913</p> <p>Men might as well project a voyage to the Moon as attempt to employ steam navigation against the stormy North Atlantic Ocean.<br> - Dr. Dionysus Lardner (1793-1859)<br> Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy</p> <p><strong> Computers</strong></p> <p> There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.<br> - Ken Olson, President of Digital Corporation, 1977</p> <p>The Internet will catastrophically collapse in 1996.’<br> - Robert Metcalfe, internet inventor</p> <p>Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.<br> - Popular Mechanics, 1949</p> <p>We have reached the limits of what is possible with computers.<br> - John Von Neumann, 1949</p> <p>I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.<br> - Thomas J. Watson Snr., IBM Chairman, 1943 </p> <p><strong>NUCLEAR POWER</p> <p> ...any one who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine...<br> - Ernest Rutherford (1933)</p> <p>There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom. The glib supposition of utilizing atomic energy when our coal has run out is a completely unscientific Utopian dream, a childish bug-a-boo. Nature has introduced a few fool-proof devices into the great majority of elements that constitute the bulk of the world, and they have no energy to give up in the process of disintegration.<br> - Robert A. Millikan (1863-1953)<br> speech to the Chemists' Club (New York)</p> <p>There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.<br> - Albert Einstein, 1932.</p> <p>All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.<br> - Ronald Reagan, 1980</p> <p>I rest my case <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p></strong></strong> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/do-not-adjust-your-mind-there-is-a-fault-in-reality-4985607/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/05/do-not-adjust-your-mind-there-is-a-fault-in-reality-4985607/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/03/a-day-s-journey-4978886/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-11-03:/2008/11/03/a-day-s-journey-4978886/Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:22:27 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/bad_morning/2958243" title="bad_morning"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/243/2958243_d028756da8_m.gif" alt="bad_morning" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>This is how the day began and a true likeness of my morning look as you can see - I do look like this! This is how all my morning looks are, and I don't ever recall a day when I looked anything but ragged and<br> steam-rollered, clinging to my coffee mug, and anything else that will<br> hold me up! Lol.. I don't do mornings (I have a t-shirt that says so!),<br> and hate the postman who forces me to the front door as I growl 'what fresh hell awaits me now!". I mutter and rant about the mail that wastes so much paper on stupid adverts for stuff I really don't want .. I mean I REALLY DON'T WANT IT! Can't they hear me!!??? Gawd! I must be getting old - one thing's for sure the stuff keeps pouring in through my letter box, hundreds of trees wasted on garbage - straight into my recycling blue plastic bag that now adorns my new kitchen!! Ugggh..<br> packaging - its all packaging - mounds of it! I am trying my best to<br> buy stuff without packaging! Not easy!</p> <p>I switch on the news - same stuff being milked for all its worth - the economic crisis, and I'm still ranting that its all contrived!! No one listens .. its like a tsunami, am drowning under a sea of crap and more crap! I throw the rest of my mail onto the coffee table - I know what's in those brown envelopes or nice big white ones - bills and more bills - and a letter to tell me my gas and electricity will be going up by 40% this November!! Ah f..... k off why don't you! No one listens .. my bills are still going up. I refill my coffee mug and sit down - my blood pressure is rising, I can feel it! </p> <p>The Congo ... now that's a crisis! Not a sudden one actually - a long standing one ...almost invisible until Milliband decides to fly out there! Invisible and overshadowed by dross that's purported to be important! J. Ross and Brand? Yea... that sort of thing! Milliband .. just to be seen doing something! Uggh...Is there oil there? Hmm.. don't think so? Perhaps he'll pop in for a visit to Israel while he's at it?<br> At my fingertips is a rage that could go on for volumes, but there's<br> enough written about inhumane regimes, wars, and all the struggles we can think of in this messed up mud ball rolling about in space!</p> <p>I can practice loving kindess ... well part of me wishes I was out there in the Congo right now doing something a little more practical. Instead<br> I have to sit here gripping a mug of coffee and trying to prevent the top of my head from exploding onto the ceiling. So its another prozac beginning to the day - but I'm damned if I'm going to swallow a pill because of it! </p> <p>Christmas looms like a monster rubbing its hands together - and Oxford street prepares to dump tradition in favour of mobile lanters in the shape of the solar system. Hmmm.. do I care? Not sure ... something rumbles inside me and I balk at my reaction, after all I don't really<br> do Christmas that well!! The Winter light festival ... another meaningless event for me, and more money wasted? And so this is Christmas .. la la la la la la ...</p> <p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1082493/Christmas-No-Oxford-dumps-traditional-themes-favour-WinterLight-festival.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1082493/Christmas-No-Oxford-dumps-traditional-themes-favour-WinterLight-festival.html</a></p> <p>Time to go shower the disgust off me and I emerge feeling half human again (whatever that is). My little dog looks at me and wags her tail obviously pleased I am in a better frame of mind. The sun is shining and it is an altogether pleasing day outside with autumn colours blazing under the rays. I open the door to my small yard and let the sunshine<br> kiss away the furrows on my brow - loving kindness is much easier to give when the sun is shining lol ..I breathe in .. a deep breath and watch the small billow of life escape into the air as I breathe out.<br> Things are feeling lighter and brighter and well... can't hate the day for long when everything feels so good outside. The garden is slightly<br> overgrown but I trail up the small path to where the trees sit patiently, boughs almost empty, a leaf falling silently. I am a million miles away from 'out there', and just for a moment I am free from the<br> crowding and overwhelming voices of the world screaming and demanding...</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/caffeine_molecule_md_wht/2958431" title="caffeine_molecule_md_wht"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/431/2958431_b25444581c_s.gif" alt="caffeine_molecule_md_wht" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Guess the caffine molecule is kicking in ... <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>My 'to do ' list stares me in the face and I stare back. It seems to grow every day and I wonder how my life can be so 'full' of things to do, all of which I don't want to do! Like going to the dentist this afternoon and having my gum frozen and the sound of that drill! Arrrrggh!! Its not the day for dentists! But I have no choice, and<br> the hour approaches and I must face the horrible smell of the place of torture and sit in a miserable waiting room with magazines dating back to god knows when, well thumbed pages, torn covers and a few plastic toys meant to distract the little ones. Sigh...my turn comes, and I<br> slowly enter the torture chamber, sit back in the horrible pvc chair and get blinded by the huge spotlight. Half an hour later, mouth numb and lisping, I pay the huge amount for a filling and leave like someone with a face that looks like I've got palsy! Back in the house I make some tea and well, most of it misses my mouth entirely and ends up on my new clean blouse! Why can't I ever do this when I'm wearing something I don't mind destroying!! </p> <p>I switch on my laptop and wait for it to wake up. I go trolling the news here and there and find ...</p> <p>"Published Date: 02 November 2008<br> By Siobhan McFadyen and Kate Foster<br> MASS vaccination of Scottish schoolgirls against cervical cancer should have been delayed because not enough is known about possible side effects, a leading researcher claimed last night.<br> Dr Diane Harper, one of the world's leading experts in the field, said safety trials of the Cervarix vaccine should have been conducted for at least four more years before the decision was taken to give the jabs to thousands of girls in schools." Well, am not surprised to find this appearing 'after' the event!</p> <p><a href="http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/latestnews/Expert39s-fear-over-cervical-cancer.4652314.jp">http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/latestnews/Expert39s-fear-over-cervical-cancer.4652314.jp</a></p> <p>And so it goes on... no real surprises anymore and I decide to go and meditate for an hour and possibly fall asleep ...<a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/dreaming_firl/2958507" title="dreaming firl"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/507/2958507_64656f49bf_s.gif" alt="dreaming firl" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>Tea time comes and goes and more news.. what's that? Obama plans a free baby sitting service provided by the Federal Government? OMGD! Is this the begining of early brain washing? "Zero to five" plans .. look it up!<br> Call me paranoid .. rather that than hoodwinked!</p> <p>I light a candle and pray - don't pray to anyone in particular, just sending my thoughts out to the universe and hoping someone catches them and intervenes. A believer in the power of thougt, I do this regularly, and hope that it does some good. My mouth has now melted, and I munch on a cheese sandwich and save my cookies for the next cuppa. Bread crumbs spill into the keys of my laptop as I rant at the screen. I blow, sending further cascades of breadcrumbs everywhere! I must remember to swallow the food before blowing!</p> <p>After pages of bad news there was this ....</p> <p>Tax Website Shut Down As Memory Stick With Secret Personal Data Of 12million Is Found In A Pub Car Park</p> <p>'Ministers have been forced to order an emergency shutdown of a key Government computer system to protect millions of people's private details. The action was taken after a memory stick was found in a pub car park containing confidential passcodes to the online Government Gateway system, which covers everything from tax returns to parking tickets. An urgent investigation is now under way into how the stick, belonging to the company which runs the flagship system, came to be lost.'</p> <p>Well when we are all suitably scared enough we can all stick out our wrists and line up for chip and pin implants - now that will make us all safer won't it! Funny how so much 'confidential' information has gone missing this last year or so...</p> <p>Am going to stick my head down the toilet now and flush the crap out of it.. its been a funny old day, and were most of it not so tragic I'd be laughing my socks off by now!</p> <p>Still its good to have somewhere to come and just unload and rant <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/03/a-day-s-journey-4978886/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/11/03/a-day-s-journey-4978886/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/31/questions-about-rainbows-answered-in-a-song-4959214/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-30:/2008/10/31/questions-about-rainbows-answered-in-a-song-4959214/Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:46:12 +0100 <p><a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eUwTdqPkluY">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eUwTdqPkluY</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/31/questions-about-rainbows-answered-in-a-song-4959214/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/31/questions-about-rainbows-answered-in-a-song-4959214/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/how-she-knows-this-wonder-called-maya-angelou-4958973/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-30:/2008/10/30/how-she-knows-this-wonder-called-maya-angelou-4958973/Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:58:58 +0100 <p>This is some of Maya Angelou's poetry that reflects like a mirror some of my own pain and suffering, some of the courage I need and strive for in my life - she knows Maya Angelou, she knows so many lives..</p> <p> <strong><br> Still I Rise</p> <p>You may write me down in history<br> With your bitter, twisted lies,<br> You may trod me in the very dirt<br> But still, like dust, I'll rise.</p> <p>Does my sassiness upset you?<br> Why are you beset with gloom?<br> 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells<br> Pumping in my living room.</p> <p>Just like moons and like suns,<br> With the certainty of tides,<br> Just like hopes springing high,<br> Still I'll rise.</p> <p>Did you want to see me broken?<br> Bowed head and lowered eyes?<br> Shoulders falling down like teardrops.<br> Weakened by my soulful cries.</p> <p>Does my haughtiness offend you?<br> Don't you take it awful hard<br> 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines<br> Diggin' in my own back yard.</p> <p>You may shoot me with your words,<br> You may cut me with your eyes,<br> You may kill me with your hatefulness,<br> But still, like air, I'll rise.</p> <p>Does my sexiness upset you?<br> Does it come as a surprise<br> That I dance like I've got diamonds<br> At the meeting of my thighs?</p> <p>Out of the huts of history's shame<br> I rise<br> Up from a past that's rooted in pain<br> I rise<br> I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,<br> Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.<br> Leaving behind nights of terror and fear<br> I rise<br> Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear<br> I rise<br> Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,<br> I am the dream and the hope of the slave.<br> I rise<br> I rise<br> I rise. </p> <p>Maya Angelou </strong></p> <p><strong>Touched by an Angel</p> <p>We, unaccustomed to courage<br> exiles from delight<br> live coiled in shells of loneliness<br> until love leaves its high holy temple<br> and comes into our sight<br> to liberate us into life.</p> <p>Love arrives<br> and in its train come ecstasies<br> old memories of pleasure<br> ancient histories of pain.<br> Yet if we are bold,<br> love strikes away the chains of fear<br> from our souls.</p> <p>We are weaned from our timidity<br> In the flush of love's light<br> we dare be brave<br> And suddenly we see<br> that love costs all we are<br> and will ever be.<br> Yet it is only love<br> which sets us free. </p> <p>Maya Angelou </strong></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/how-she-knows-this-wonder-called-maya-angelou-4958973/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/how-she-knows-this-wonder-called-maya-angelou-4958973/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/druid-symbols-4958895/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-30:/2008/10/30/druid-symbols-4958895/Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:37:51 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/druid_symbol_awen/2946269" title="Druid symbol Awen"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/269/2946269_ad565dbe7e_t.gif" alt="Druid symbol Awen" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>This is the symbol called 'AWEN' .. three rays of light. Some say it means 'inspiration and illumination'. This is a symbol that my Order uses.</p> <p><a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/triskel/2946283" title="triskel"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/283/2946283_9a098e551b_s.gif" alt="triskel" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a> </p> <p>The triskell is considered British origin, finding its way from Scotland Wales and Cornwall over to Brittany. The 3 arms are said to represent Earth, Wind, and Fire. It is often said that the triskel represents the three druidic virtues or the three stages of life to the Celts. </p> <p>I also have as part of symbolic dress a white alb, a white cord sash,<br> and a torc. This Torc was gifted to me when I completed a three year<br> course on Druidism, its origin is apparently French, made by a Druid.<br> There is paperwork that came with it and it was made in the 1800s apparently. The documents are written in French, and my brother keeps promising me he will find them (somewhere buried in his house amongst books and paperwork and so forth). It came via a friend of his and while he passed the Torc on to me he forgot to give me the papers <img src="/img/smilies/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" class="middle" border="0"><br> Perhaps it is not that important.<img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>I do not wear the head cloth (never could stand anything on my head!) but I have gathered some ivy today and have begun making a wreath of it to wear on my head tomorrow <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"> Think I'll make one for my little dog too..she's very passive about my quirkiness and will sit there patiently keeping me amused <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>I wish everyone a happy Samhain .. may all your journeys be safe and<br> your tomorrows full of peace and joy <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"> </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/druid-symbols-4958895/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/druid-symbols-4958895/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/when-days-are-strange-4958165/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-30:/2008/10/30/when-days-are-strange-4958165/Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:09:48 +0100 <p>The morning began with the house cold (forgot to leave the heating on), and my little dog wagging her tail happy to see me always! I grumbled my way to the bathroom and flicked the switch on the boiler that fired up with a strange thump - but it always does that and I always wonder why. Kettle boiled while I brushed my teeth and once again tried to remind myself that I needed to visit a dentist, and just as quickly put it on the 'to do' shelf in my brain, not wanting to face anymore pain for now. My feet hurt, my back hurt, and I sighed half way through the brushing the toothpaste foaming around my lips. I looked at myself in the mirror and wished I hadn't. I stared at my eyes and wondered again who I was and with no answer coming from the heavens I continued brushing. I haven't lost my memory completely, and asking myself 'who' I was simply came as it does on so many other days since 'who' I was no longer linked itself to a neat uniform and so many badges, with duty rotas and skills that others depended upon. </p> <p>I have had a long while now to contemplate my life - the 'who' question raising its 'issues' often. I realised that so much of 'me' had become<br> 'who' I was in this role and that role. Many hats, many faces, many props that had defined to the world 'who' I was. But who am I really?<br> Strip anyone of their role and what is left? Do any of us know 'who' we really are? </p> <p>So this is how my morning began - but a cup of coffe and a little time, the day began to feel warmer inside out. I realised that I was on a journey, and that even when roles had drifted and flown and left me stripped of any sense of security, there was something else I could feel..perhaps for the first time .. I began to sense 'who' I really am.<br> One can use words such as 'unfortunate', 'unjust', and well so many<br> words that do nothing to erase the feelings that can and are very painful. But I remember little snippets of people who have suffered worse - devastating experiences in their lives, and I get up to meet the day with a smile....wincing at my painful feet, but determined to walk nevertheless!! <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>"I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it!" Maya Angelou </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/when-days-are-strange-4958165/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/when-days-are-strange-4958165/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/coincidences-4953602/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-29:/2008/10/30/coincidences-4953602/Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:43:07 +0100 <p>Strange things happen to people (it seems) - and I've had my fair share of them in my life (so far)!! Anyway here's some real coincidence stories - or perhaps not so coincidental? </p> <p><strong>Finnish twin brothers</strong>, aged 71, were killed in identical bicycle accidents along the same road two hours apart, police said. "This is simply a historic coincidence. Although the road is a busy one, accidents don't occur every day," police officer Marja-Leena Huhtala told Reuters. "It made my hair stand on end when I heard the two were brothers, and identical twins at that. It came to mind that perhaps someone from upstairs had a say in this," she said. </p> <p><strong>Identical twins</strong>. Identical accidents. Identical deaths. Two hours apart. This astonishing coincidence was reported in newspapers and on newswires around the world in early March, 2002. The odds of it occurring seem remote in the extreme, and it causes one to wonder, as the woman did above - even for a moment - if there's more at play here than mere coincidence. Is it the hand of fate? Is it true, as author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote, that "there are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from." </p> <p>History is full of amazing and sometimes bizarre coincidences that give us pause and keep us scratching our heads in wonder. Here is just a small sampling:</p> <p><strong>Other Coincidental Deaths</strong><br> This is a similar story of coincidence, not of twins but of two brothers. In 1975, while riding a moped in Bermuda, a man was accidentally struck and killed by a taxi. One year later, this man's bother was killed in the very same way. In fact, he was riding the very same moped. And to stretch the odds even further, he was struck by the very same taxi driven by the same driver - and even carrying the very same passenger! (Phenomena: A Book of Wonders, John Michell and Robert J. M. Rickard)<br> <strong><br> Mysterious Monk to the Rescue</strong><br> Joseph Aigner was a fairlly well-known portrait painter in 19th century Austria who, apparently, was quite an unhappy fellow: he several times attempted suicide. His first attempt was at the young age of 18 when he tried to hang himself, but was interrupted by the mysterious appearance of a Capuchin monk. At age 22 he again tried to hang himself, but was again saved from the act by the very same monk. Eight years later, his death was ordained by others who sentenced him to the gallows for his political activities. Once again, his life was saved by the intervention of the same monk. At age 68, Aiger finally succeeded in suicide, a pistol doing the trick. His funeral ceremony was conducted by the same Capuchin monk - a man whose name Aiger never even knew. (Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not!) </p> <p><strong>Winnings' Rightful Owner</strong><br> In 1858, Robert Fallon was shot dead, an act of vengeance by those with whom he was playing poker. Fallon, they claimed, had won the $600 pot through cheating. With Fallon's seat empty and none of the other players willing to take the now-unlucky $600, they found a new player to take Fallon's place and staked him with the dead man's $600. By the time the police had arrived to investigate the killing, the new player had turned the $600 into $2,200 in winnings. The police demanded the original $600 to pass on to Fallon's next of kin - only to discover that the new player turned out to be Fallon's son, who had not seen his father in seven years! (Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not!) </p> <p><strong>Strangers on a Train</strong><br> In the 1920s, three Englishman were traveling separately by train through Peru. At the time of their introduction, they were the only three men in the railroad car. Their introductions were more surprising than they could have imagined. One man's last name was Bingham, and the second man's last name was Powell. The third man announced that his last name was Bingham-Powell. None were related in any way. (Mysteries of the Unexplained) </p> <p>More stories at <a href="http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa031102b.htm">http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa031102b.htm</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/coincidences-4953602/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/coincidences-4953602/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/human-phenomena-4953566/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-29:/2008/10/30/human-phenomena-4953566/Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:28:53 +0100 <p>Ever heard of 'Reverse speech'? Well I didn't know anything about this until I found it on the net tonight. It seems that if we have two kinds of speech ... 'overt' that goes forward and 'covert' that which is spoken backwards.</p> <p>David John Oates, an Australian researcher, is most often credited with discovering the phenomenon; he's certainly responsible for coining the phrase "reverse speech" and for promoting it in books, in lectures and on his website, Reverse Speech.</p> <p>Oates doesn't claim a paranormal origin for reverse speech, but rather believes it is a natural function of human communication that is present with us since birth. In fact, he believes that children speak backward before they learn to speak forward - only we hear it as infantile goo-goos. According to Oates, "human speech has two distinctive yet complementary functions and modes. The "overt" mode is spoken forwards and is primarily under conscious control. The "covert" mode is spoken backward and is not under conscious control. In the dynamics of interpersonal communication, both modes of speech combined communicate the total psyche of the person, conscious as well as unconscious."</p> <p>Interesting .. yes? 'Reverse speech, apparently, doesn't flow as readily as normal forward speech. When normal speech is played backward, only bits and pieces of reverse speech can be recognized about every 10 to 15 seconds, says Oates, in the form of a few words or short phrases.'</p> <p>The "Evidence"</p> <p>Naturally, Oates has plenty of reverse speech examples on his website, which you can listen to if you have a sound card and some kind of sound player like RealAudio or MediaPlayer. Most of the examples are, not surprisingly, from celebrities. There are examples from the Clintons, presidential candidates, Mike Tyson, John Lennon, O.J. Simpson and even the parents of JonBenet Ramsey.</p> <p>Many of the examples presented are easy to understand, while others require a bit more imagination. In fact, if Oates didn't have the reversed speech written out on the website, one might be hard-pressed to hear what he's hearing in some examples.</p> <p>For instance, when in a press statement Patsy Ramsey says,</p> <p>"We feel that there are at least two people on the face of the earth that know who did this and that is the killer and someone else that person may have confided in."</p> <p>... what Oates says she's saying in reverse is pretty clear to hear:</p> <p>"I'm that person. Seen that rape."</p> <p>On the other hand, with the Mike Tyson reversal when he is talking about his future in the boxing profession, Oates claims to hear:</p> <p>"Money. Get our funds. I shall be rewarded."</p> <p>... I think most listeners would find it very difficult to distinguish those phrases, even when the sound byte is played at very slow speed, without first reading Oates' interpretation. </p> <p>Some interpreted reversals just don't seem to make sense, or don't live up to the "voice of truth" claim. In a reversal of Neil Armstrong's famous "That's one small step for man" declaration as he stepped on the surface of the moon, Oates hears:</p> <p>"Man will space walk."</p> <p>How does this translate as an unconscious truth? For one thing, astronauts and cosmonauts had already space walked many years earlier. What is it that Armstrong could have been trying to unconsciously convey with such a statement? Several of the other reversals are equally enigmatic.</p> <p>Oates isn't the only one doing speech reversals, of course. Since he popularized it, many others have tried their hand at it.</p> <p>At Encounters with the Unknown, Patricia Mason, a "reverse speech analyst," has been recording the experiences of people who claim to have been abducted by aliens. She listens to their reverse speech for subconsciously remembered details about their abduction experiences. The results are often pretty goofy. For example, when an abductee named Jody says, "And there's something in you that..." Mason hears in reverse: "Everything is not your net." Huh? It kind of sounds like that... but what on earth does that mean?</p> <p><a href="http://paranormal.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://members.tripod.com/%7EPatricia%5FMason/">http://paranormal.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://members.tripod.com/%7EPatricia%5FMason/</a></p> <p>Just going to tape myself speaking now, and then try and reverse it ..<br> hmm...don't think I have the right technology here for that <img src="/img/smilies/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" class="middle" border="0"> Am a failed scientist due to lack of funding!! roflmao... mad scientist ..however I feel I have collated quite a substantial amount of data on the best cookies to dunk and not to dunk ...eg .. rich tea buscuits are not good dunkers.. and you have to be pretty quick if you do before they disintegrate into mush in your tea .. and .. AND.. they never seem to really fit the cup like a digestive .. too big!! I find a quick nibble around the edge helps before dunking proceeds<img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>Anyway onward and upward ... trying to think of a simple statement I can make and then revers.. so I guess its not just reading it backwards is it? It's also reversing the letters of each word? Can you smell burning? I think its my brain on fire!!! uggh...</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/human-phenomena-4953566/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/human-phenomena-4953566/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/laughter-another-human-mystery-4953488/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-29:/2008/10/30/laughter-another-human-mystery-4953488/Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:02:47 +0100 <p> <a href="http://www.blog.co.uk/media/photo/laughter/2943924" title="laughter"><img src="http://data5.blog.de/media/924/2943924_21c2d3ff4f_m.jpg" alt="laughter" vspace="5" hspace="5"></a></p> <p>We take it for granted this thing called 'laughter', and more recently I have had cause to laugh so much I realised I had missed it! Its absence<br> had completely eluded me, and only realised how wonderful it can be when I had cause to really laugh!! <img src="/img/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="middle" border="0"></p> <p>Anyway, it is a bit of a mystery. I mean if you were asked to laugh<br> right now without cause what would happen - how would it feel - would it feel 'normal'? Laugher seems to be quite a spontaneous act and not<br> a conscious act in itself. Indeed it seems to occur unconsciously.<br> We can try consciously to stop it (that's hard lol), but we don't consciously produce laughter in the way we produce words. Is this an insight into our 'unconscious mind' as Prof. Robert Provine suggests?<br> He says that very 'little is known about the specific brain mechanisms responsible for laughter' - hows interesting I thought! It's not like we all laugh at the same things either. I mean I get jokes more than often but quite frankly don't always find them funny. It is really hard to be polite and laugh at a joke you don't find funny!</p> <p>And we don't always just laugh at jokes! Do we decide to laugh or does our brain make the decision for us? That's the question Prof. Provine<br> throws into the pot!<br> <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077386/">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077386/</a></p> <p>Interesting stuff... wonder where the feather is in our brain that tickles us to laugh - and why are we ticklish? Being tickled can be very unpleasant yet we laugh!! Damn we are a weird species!!! roflmao!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/laughter-another-human-mystery-4953488/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/30/laughter-another-human-mystery-4953488/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/26/celtic-new-year-4936817/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-26:/2008/10/26/celtic-new-year-4936817/Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:56:08 +0100 <p>As I follow the path of the Druid, my new year begins on the 31st October..Samhain, a very spcial time for me and I do love the peace it brings. I don't do much other than light candles and send my thoughts and prayers, some for healing, some for thankfulness for what has gone, and a time to reflect on what I need to do in the days to come. It is also a time when those gone before us draw near (so they say), and I send my thoughts to them also and ask that they guide us as best they can to do what we can to heal wounds and safeguard our journeys.</p> <p><a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kbrImB-KsuM">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kbrImB-KsuM</a></p> <p><a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp7vfLachV4">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp7vfLachV4</a></p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/26/celtic-new-year-4936817/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/26/celtic-new-year-4936817/#commentshttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/22/hate-sprouts-humbug-4911947/tag:baban103.blog.co.uk,2008-10-22:/2008/10/22/hate-sprouts-humbug-4911947/Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:22:41 +0200 <p>Hate Sprouts - humbug!<br> I really dislike sprouts! Every christmas a dish of them appears on the table and every christmas most of them are left. I've had recipes for using up sprouts which don't help at all - I still hate sprouts!</p> <p>Having mentioned the dreaded word 'christmas' I have a strong urge to book a flight to<br> Lapland for three days - well I had the urge that is until I saw how much it would cost! Sigh...my dream of a log cabin, snow, reindeers pulling sleighs - I wonder where we got such romantic ideas of Christmas? From what I've seen for most of us its a mad rush before, a lot of eating, farting and sleeping inbetween (plus the washing-up and endless grazing a family seems to do). What do I like about Christmas? The day after boxing day, by which time I've tempted fate by disobeying the cardinal rule of 'not' taking any decoration down<br> until the 12th day. </p> <p>I'm trying to figure out a way of being ingenious and novel with christmas gifts this year - but I know that I will get overwhelmed by not knowing what to get, and will end up with<br> the usual socks, ties, a book or two for the men in this household. I don't suppose they would like a badly made piece of pottery that I hand painted? Is there anything anyone really needs after the age of 15yrs or thereabouts, other than a Ferrari perhaps?<br> What is Christmas about other than some religious significance - and as I am not in the least bit religious in the traditional sense, Christmas is an odd time, when we chase<br> a Dickensian dream, when the poor get a chance to be happy for at least one day on scraggy chickens and home made pudding and mince pies - oh and of course it snows just as they<br> are giving thanks for 'so much'? Humbug! </p> <p>Sprouts - well perhaps this spoilt western child than I am would be more grateful if it knew a little hunger in the real sense - the starving people in Africa wouldn't mind a sprout or two right? How fortunate I am that I can have likes and dislikes just on the basis of taste!</p> <p>I shall not complain about sprouts again! But Christmas still feels like the hypocrite's holiday for me, and I perhaps the biggest one of all? Such is the illusion we can have that our opinion is important enough to warrant a rant about sprouts - perhaps I ought to rant a bit more about third world poverty and starvation?</p> <p>Wonder what Santa will bring us this year - how would we feel if he brought nothing>? Has the credit crunch really hit us all? I had cause to spend time in a city this week, and<br> I didn't see much different - shops were packed - people buying goods (not groceries) - is there a recession? Bet there will be a good sale in sprouts this year all the same!</p> <p>Am going to make a cuppa and meditate on the faces of my brothers and nephews and mother etc should I decide not to buy gifts this year but to let them know they've adopted an endangered species, and sponsoring a child in India who needs clean water. I think they would be pleased actually even if it felt a little strange having a tree without pressies under its boughs. There's also a scheme where you can buy a tree and have it named after you I have one, growing in some forest somewhere...I think the scheme is run by the national trust or something like that - will have to check!</p> <p>So sprouts and Christmas and time to reflect perhaps on what is and isn't ... is and isn't what you may ask .. well that's up to each of us in our own way .. isn't it?</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/22/hate-sprouts-humbug-4911947/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>lifehttp://baban103.blog.co.uk/2008/10/22/hate-sprouts-humbug-4911947/#comments