A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..

Our first visit to Kamakura, a thousand years ago..

A story..

The king died then the queen died

isn’t a story.

The king died then the queen died of a broken heart

is.

Attenborough’s response to creationists’ hate mail – Boing Boing

Attenborough’s response to creationists’ hate mail – Boing Boing

“Sir David Attenborough gets a lot of hate mail because he doesn’t give credit to God in his documentaries.”

In an interview with this week’s Radio Times about his latest documentary, on Charles Darwin and natural selection, the broadcaster said: “They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance.”

Telling the magazine that he was asked why he did not give “credit” to God, Attenborough added: “They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a worm burrowing through his eyeball. The worm cannot live in any other way, except by burrowing through eyeballs. I find that hard to reconcile with the notion of a divine and benevolent creator.”

(via boing boing)

If there is a path it is someone else’s path and you are not on the adventure.

.. Just been reading Joseph Campbell on the Arthurian Grail Tradition, and stumbled on a passage that nicely explains something that had puzzled me. I’d often wondered why all the knights wandered around individually on their quest, rather than joining forces. Campbell writes this..

“… They thought it would be a disgrace to go forth in a group. Each entered the forest at a point he himself had chosen, where it was darkest and there was no path…“

Nice, huh? I liked it anyway..

..and of course no discussion of Arthurian legends would be complete without a reference to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch..

“… Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count. Neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three…”

Father Jack..

I was obliged at the weekend, against my better judgement, to attend the First Holy Communion of the daughter of close friends. It was, of course, a mistake – big old church, big old priest.. and all I could think of, as he continued to pontificate, were the words of the immortal Jack Handey, which, as it happens, were some of the first I quoted on this blog, a while ago now..

“If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is “God is crying.” And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is “Probably because of something you did.”

..and while we’re on the subject of Catholic Guilt, and sinners in general, no-one nailed it better than Mrs. Doyle..

The name of the OS

Umberto Eco, September 30, 1994

“The fact is that the world is divided between users of the Macintosh computer and users of MS-DOS compatible computers. I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. Indeed, the Macintosh is counter-reformist and has been influenced by the ‘ratio studiorum’ of the Jesuits. It is cheerful, friendly, conciliatory, it tells the faithful how they must proceed step by step to reach–if not the Kingdom of Heaven–the moment in which their document is printed. It is catechistic: the essence of revelation is dealt with via simple formulae and sumptuous icons. Everyone has a right to salvation.

“DOS is Protestant, or even Calvinistic. It allows free interpretation of scripture, demands difficult personal decisions, imposes a subtle hermeneutics upon the user, and takes for granted the idea that not all can reach salvation. To make the system work you need to interpret the program yourself: a long way from the baroque community of revellers, the user is closed within the loneliness of his own inner torment.

“You may object that, with the passage to Windows, the DOS universe has come to resemble more closely the counter-reformist tolerance of the Macintosh. It’s true: Windows represents an Anglican-style schism, big ceremonies in the cathedral, but there is always the possibility of a return to DOS to change things in accordance with bizarre decisions; when it comes down to it, you can decide to allow women and gays to be ministers if you want to.

“And machine code, which lies beneath both systems (or environments, if you prefer)? Ah, that is to do with the Old Testament, and is talmudic and cabalistic…”

Plus ça change…

A brief excerpt from a lengthy and intelligent piece by Dr. Ray Tallis, refuting the babble spouted by noble savage, back-to-nature, global village idiots, far too many of whom I seem to be running into recently. Wow, that was a bloody unwieldy sentence and no mistake..

“Tereza is staring at herself in the mirror. She wonders what would happen if her nose were to grow a millimetre longer each day. How much time would it take for her face to become unrecognizable? And if her face no longer looked like Tereza, would Tereza still be Tereza?”
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera.

“…If, as I believe, the distinctive genius of humanity is to establish an identity which lies at an ever-increasing distance from our organic nature, we should rejoice in the expression of human possibility in ever-advancing technology. After all, the organic world is one in which life is nasty, brutish and short, and dominated by experiences which are inhumanly unpleasant. Human technology is less alien to us than nature (compare: bitter cold with central heating; being lost without GPS and being found with it; dying of parasitic infestation or spraying with pesticides). Anyone who considers the new technologies as inhuman, or as a threat to our humanity, should consider this. Better still, they should spend five uninterrupted minutes imagining the impact of a major stroke, of severe Parkinson’s disease, or Alzheimer’s disease on their ability to express their humanity. Those such as Fukuyama who dislike biotechnology do not seem to realise that the forms of ‘post-humanity’ served up by the natural processes going on in our bodies are a thousand times more radical, more terrifying, and more dehumanising than anything arising out of our attempts to enhance human beings and their lives. Self-transformation is the essence of humanity, and our humanity is defined by our ever-widening distance from the material and organic world of which we are a part, and from which we are apart.

L’homme passe infiniment l’homme. (Blaise Pascal, Pensées)

In short, do not be afraid…”

Happy Birthday to me..

Now that’s what I call a birthday song..

… “TETRAGRAMMATON!”…

Saudi Arabia, our partners in peace..

Saudis prepare to behead teenage maid

“The imminent execution of a teenage maid in Saudi Arabia drew fierce criticism yesterday and provoked condemnation of the kingdom’s prolific use of capital punishment.

The case has brought fresh attention to the draconian Saudi criminal justice system which is expected this year to set a new record in its use of the death sentence.

Mohammad Rezina, mother of Rizana Nafeek, with two of her daughters at home in Sri Lanka

Human rights campaigners yesterday urged the authorities not to behead a 19-year-old Sri Lankan maid found guilty of killing a baby in her care.

According to the Saudi authorities, Rizana Nafeek admitted strangling the four-month-old boy while feeding him with a bottle.

But Nafeek, whose job was not meant to include child care, has denied making any such admission. She claims the child had begun to choke before losing consciousness in spite of her desperate efforts to clear his airway.

Tonight is the deadline for appeals in the case. Unless the Saudi authorities change the sentence or the parents of the victim offer clemency, Nafeek will have her head cut off by an executioner wielding a sword in front of a crowd of onlookers.

In 2005 there were 191 executions but that record could be surpassed this year as 102 have already taken place just over half way through the year. Last year the total dipped to 38 but this year’s figure already includes three women, according to Amnesty International.

Nafeek, who had been denied a lawyer at her trial, is one of 5.6 million foreign workers who live in Saudi Arabia. The vast majority are domestic workers such as Nafeek, employed to look after the homes of oil-rich families.

According to the Sri Lankan government, Nafeek had only been in the country a few weeks when the incident happened in May 2005. A government delegation tried to fly to Saudi Arabia to organise her appeal but it was delayed because of visa problems.

Beheading has always been the punishment for murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and armed robbers in Saudi Arabia, which follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

In February, four Sri Lankan workers were executed for armed robbery and their headless bodies left on public display in Riyadh, triggering harsh criticism from international rights groups.

Amnesty International says some defendants are convicted solely on the basis of confessions obtained under duress, torture or deception.

Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty International UK, said: “It is an absolute scandal that Saudi Arabia is preparing to behead a teenage girl who didn’t even have a lawyer at her trial. The Saudi authorities are flouting an international prohibition on the execution of child offenders by even imposing a death sentence on a defendant who was reportedly 17 at the time of the alleged crime.”

There are so many foreign workers in Saudi Arabia that they account for a large proportion of crimes committed.

“The workers commit big crimes against Saudis,” said Suhaila Hammad of Saudi Arabia’s National Society for Human Rights.

She said the number of executions had risen because crime had increased. She said that prisoners were treated humanely and that beheadings deterred crime.

“Allah, our creator, knows best what’s good for his people,” she said.

“Should we just think of and preserve the rights of the murderer and not think of the rights of others?”

(Via Daily Telegraph.)

Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog

Courtesy of Cheechwizard…

Hahaha… Lots of excellent LOLChaucer here. This one’s my favourite..