Encouraged to continue. So I shall.

As I've been encouraged to continue, by a very good friend, I shall attempt to do so. My main problem is where to start.

My interests are varied, so sometimes it really is difficult to pick a single subject.

At the moment I'm a bit preoccupied by events in Libya, mostly because I think they'll have a lasting effect upon everyone; a model to other would-be dictators on what not to do, and an example to any oppressed nation.

At the same time, in Madison Wisconsin, there are people who actually want to preserve the democracy they have and are having a difficult time of it: I'd recommend you all put boingboing on your reader feed, and if you don't have a reader feed, click on 'reader' on your gmail page.

So. The pope is being prosecuted in the same week as Gadaffi Duck:

Just remember who sold Gadaffi his planes, and Mubarak his tanks...... Here's some background so you know what Barclays, Standard Life (irony warning) and BT are up to when you give them money.

Oh, just in case you missed it, the ALL POWERFUL god of islam was righteously defended this week when another unarmed man was gunned down in the street in Pakistan: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-03/pakistan-minister-assassinated-after-blasphemy-law-challenge.html Good to know that an all-powerful, universe-creating deity has a few cowardly, illiterate morons to protect him and his bronze-age, mentally-ill, paedophile prophet. Such outstanding bravery by the 'soldiers' of Allah.

On a different note (sic) Beer and Bach by Cactus Music was lovely last week, encouraging me to go see more opera, so anyone fancy Tosca in London this summer?

Listening: Zero 7, Wasted Youth (UK), Sibelius 5th

Reading: Red Mars;Kim Stanley Robinson, The Bridge; Ian Banks, The Summer of Katya; Trevanian.

Interesting people this week: Charlie Sheen (not for anything good), the 2 Alices, Sarah and Mina (as always x)

Tomorrow (Weds 29th, 2010) is another evening of music at The Castle. Hopefully Ville and Laura will be there, not to mention the musicians from last week. I like the fact that it's very relaxed, nobody really has to try to be the next big thing, most of the folks there play because they love the music (special mention to Des).

And of course, I'll be playing with the most talented singer in London JC Ryan, always a pleasure.

Come along on Weds, Fri or Sat and enjoy the ambience that is The Castle and its musical friends.

Nice food too ;)

Apologies for absence.....

Busy few weeks, back soon. But in the meantime:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpuYoK6wv_Y

:)

I had a bit of a rant

I'd seen this story, but was waiting for corroborative evidence from other sources because it just seemed, well, sick.

And sure enough, it is very sick.

Can the vatican (you'll forgive me for not using capitals, ever, when I talk about religion, they don't deserve them) not see how stupid they sound/seem?

So, let's go through that whole religion thing again, just for the n00bs: You do what I (a man) says, or you will die, or burn in hell, or be outcast, or generally treated like shit. Sounds like a guy to me! I just can't imagine why women want to be a part of the priesthood. Are you mental? (Quote from 'Ultraviolet', great film)

Deborah 13: Servant of God

One of the saddest things I've seen on British TV, recorded in the UK, a 13 year old girl, raised by her parents, home-schooled, isolated from people her own age. 4th of 11 children, with no contact with people her own age. Sent out (or maybe volunteers, who knows?) to proselytise on a friday night, complete with bible tracts and an attitude for God.

Everything seems to be a sin in her little world, and it's a very little world indeed.

The family are easily described as young earth creationists, they actually think the planet is 6,000 years old. The bible is taken as literal.

Interviewer: 'What are you training them for?'
Father: 'Eternity'

Of course, everything the family watch on the internet (no TV) is from creationist broadcasts which basically repudiate anything not agreeing with the literal interpretation of the bible.

My main problem with the whole family isn't with the parents, but with the oldest sibling, currently at university, who seems to protest a little too much. He's probably the biggest influence on the youngsters, yet still, after going out into the big wide world, continues to contribute to the continuation of the usual fallacies.

He's the role model.

The whole programme reeks of guilt as I'm watching it.

Oh, no, the Big Bang is a theory....how can it be proved by science?
He takes her to meet his house-mates at his Uni digs.
On the way:
Brother looking at the landscape... 'look at it! Created, I think!'

So she meets his house-mates. Very embarrassing for the housemates.
Then shopping. 'Oh, what a shallow life, compared to when the "elements are all melting up"'. Rapture anyone?

Oh, it's too much. I'm not sure I can watch it to the end. The poor girl has no real social skills, no sense of perspective. Everything is about her and god, but no question of what other people do with their lives.

Interesting error: the bible, apparently says 'no drinking'. I seem to remember something about weddings and water into wine. No?

According to this girl, people who tell 'little white lies' and 'paedophiles and murderers' are all going to hell.

It's all guilt, guilt, guilt.

The last 60 seconds of the program shows a 13 year old girl struggling to make sense of cognitive dissonance, she has seen real life, people who don't think as she does. And she struggles to reconcile what she's seen with what she believes, and in my book fails. And she looks wretched going through that. Not her fault. The fault of the people who indoctrinated her. Very sad to watch.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the father of this family (his father was a churchman of some kind) fell in with the Jehovah's Witnesses, then went off to start his own cult, beginning with his wife. Lots of witnessing going on, and strict adherence to biblical truth.

apologies if that seemed a bit stream-of-consciousness, I began blogging after watching the first 60 seconds, I wanted to get down what I was seeing, I couldn't really believe it.

JH

(thanks to GemmaK for the head up)

Freedom of Speech vs Religion Update

Here's the petition for those who live in the UK, or are ex-pats and allowed to vote in the UK

Go!!!

Simple, Elegant Science.

Great story from the Singularity Hub (always worth a read to see what's coming in the future) about 'flu' viruses and a possible one-shot treatment.

Normally, we vaccinate against flu by using attenuated or killed viruses. This means that a damaged, non-infectious version of the flu virus is injected into the patient, triggering an antibody response. This is like being intoduced to a deadly enemy by photograph. Once you recognise the enemy, you are fore-warned. If the enemy invades, the immune system has a picture and destroys the threat. as the saying goes, 'fore-warned is fore-armed'.

The Singularity Hub story shows lateral thinking in action. The problem with viruses is that they mutate, as does everything, it's called evolution. So how do we protect against something that is constantly mutating?

Here comes the elegant bit:

Don't try to protect against the part of the virus that mutates, protect against the part that stays the same!

Of course, this may not be a case of lateral thinking, it's more likely (reading from the article) that it was an accident. But now that we have a tool to use, how far can we take it?

Is it possible that this approach can be used against HIV? I hope so. Flu is the beginning, and the article makes it clear that the vaccine is still in its infant stages, with trials in time for the 2011-12 flu season at the earliest.

After the good news that stem-cell research has indeed provided a cure for Chrohn's Disease, I feel optimistic. Research for the sake of research provides answers, sometimes it provides cures, sometimes more questions. We keep on searching.

(thanks to Singularity Hub)