Drink, Pain and Pretty Girls

So as the weeks fall off the calendar of 2012 I've managed to avoid alcohol this far, apart from a small blip at the end of January where I had probably 5 pints and a couple of whiskies over one weekend. At the beginning of the year I had quite intense stomach pain and other related problems. Medical advice had me taking more tablets for my stomach and these added to the pain killers I took just exacerbated things.

On reflection it occurred to me I'd been taking pain killers since leg surgery some years ago and also for my arthritic pain, the simple solution seemed to be to stop taking them completely and further medical advice confirmed my thoughts. I wouldn't say I was addicted to pain killers by any means but I'd been taking them for a good few years and sometimes in an involuntary way if I am being honest.

The latter half of January began with a concerted effort not to take any tablets at all and it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be but then after years of taking them the writing was really on the wall. A tough week ensued, gnawing headaches, inflaming arthritic pain and irritable biting urges to take tablets to get relief. I kept my resolve and self discipline and prevailed, for a whole week I took nothing and my stomach problems eased, normality was starting to return.

So here we are at the end of February and I'm feeling good, better than I have done in many a year. I avoided my strong pain killers largely, except for odd occasions and switched towards more anti inflammatory ones. As for drink? Well I was never a heavy or regular drinker, it has largely been confined to weekends for the last few years but not having any for the best part of two months has made feel much healthier.

I guess the whole experience has been an exercise in self discipline and a break for my body from certain substances. Will I still drink? Well of course, I'm a social creature after all but beer isn't as important as it once was in my youth. Will I still take pain killers? Well that's a yes also because some day's I'll just need them in order to function, arthritic pain is an ever unwanted companion and sometimes its nice to get some respite from it. The thing I will consider in future though is do I actually need them at that moment, can I tolerate it if I am say in the comfort of my home?

And what ties the pain killers and alcohol together? If I drink then I feel really tired and ache the next day or more, this adds to my arthritic pain and results in pain killer taking. The best solution I think is to just avoid alcohol as much as possible over the cold months, as I seem fine if I am abroad in warmer climates. The other obvious practicality is that as you get older even though you may drink less is that you still get hangovers (seemingly easier and on less alcohol) and a weekend on the beer takes longer to shake off.

So there we have it, a little confessional of sorts. I feel positive, I feel better within and I seem to have turned into some insouciant bohemian coffee shop 'bon vivant' in order to preserve my love of social surroundings and appreciation of pretty girls.

Evictions Begin

So the Occupy London group has been evicted with little violence and a few arrests and now the Occupy camp nearest to me in Nottingham braces itself for impending eviction, though it vows to remain. I've often passed the Nottingham one that's tucked away in the Market Square, I sometimes stopped to read pamphlets or posters and I agree with their plight and what they stand for.

On reading the BBC coverage on the story today and then moving on to the comments section someone stated 'The simple fact people needed to protest against corporate greed is a damning indictment on this governments policies.' That statement really says it all yet the irony is the protest would only ever be tolerated for so long, even though it was peaceful.

The local Nottingham bunch seem resolute but I suspect their fate will be the same. I found it interesting on a local website that the Nottingham lads had done their research on who owns the Market Square land. They say it was gifted to the people of Nottingham but the council recently changed legislation, though it's better explained if you watch the short video on this link. In total contrast to the report on the news in London the Nottingham protesters mention their support from local businesses around the square. Evidently shops and corporate elements in London are breathing a sigh of relief, no shocks there then.

I hope the Occupy protests go on despite a large amount of the populace not giving a damn. Democracy in this country is a fickle beast.

Photo used is from Nottingham Indymedia website and is of the Nottingham Occupy camp.

All The Power Of The World Resides In The Eyes

I knew as soon as I hit my snooze button this morning it was going to be one of those days. From the moment I got out of bed I was at odds with the day and it didn't get any better. After grabbing a shower (and not being able to get my hair to my liking after) I noticed the pilot light had gone out on the boiler and now refuses to relight. Thankfully the weather is warmer, I'll have to get it dealt with tomorrow. Then I went to pay my rent and the woman in the letting office seemed to count my rent over and over, on the plus side she gave me back the £20 I'd over paid. Then it was off to Nottingham for a hospital appointment I really wasn't looking forward to.

On the train I paid using my bank card and the ticket inspector messed that up, so had to refund and re-issue. Money and me weren't getting on famously today, that much was evident. The train pulled into a cloudy Nottingham, I felt detached and tired but rallied when I saw some old Big Issue vendor friends. They were on fine form and despite the woes I know they have seemed full of smiles which gave me a reality check. Spirits lifted and some retail therapy done I caught the shuttle bus to Queens Medical Centre, my purpose being to state my case for some cosmetic eye surgery following the gradual decline of my cornea tattoo which was done about seven years ago.

On arrival I'd forgotten my appointment letter but they seemed fine about it. I sat and waited whilst getting comprehensively beaten at Scrabble on my ipad. Within no time I was called in to see the Indian surgeon that had done the original tattoo back in 2005. He's a lovely quiet spoken man, well groomed and with a nice persona. He recognised me and then said 'Didn't I discharge you a year ago?'

Well, he was right but then I was back to state I felt my tattoo had faded and could I have it topped up again? The thing was I wasn't at my articulate best, I mumbled and grasped for words. Things weren't going well, I took a deep intake of air, tried to clear my mind and hope the next two or three sentences contained some pretty impressive Mark Twain shit to swing it back to my favour.

My next couple of lines came out of nowhere, I regained some lost ground but there was still some way to go to bringing it around my way, if at all. I pointed to the fact my cornea tattoo had lasted seven years and I didn't need the whole thing doing again, just the centre. He retorted with costs, expenses and budgets. I empathised with the current politics going on health service wise and said I wasn't here for vanity, people were noticing it again. I guess at this point I wanted to add something along the lines of women have breast implants but you can't see them, you see peoples eyes everyday though. I held my tongue as the mood seemed ambient and he called in two extra doctors to take a look. They discussed things for five minutes and it seemed the operation was fairly simple and they were impressed it had lasted this long since the first time, though shadows of budgets and costs reared their heads once more.

After some pausing and note taking he said 'I'll add you to the list but can't promise anything.' I was then sent to have some photos taken before emerging to grey skies and rain. The wait for news of a potential surgery now begins. Narrowly missing the next train home I sauntered around a nearby shopping centre for a while before being ripped off for £2 at drinks vending machine. The journey home was slow, the clouds hung heavy full of rain across the fields and I just yearned for the comfort of my flat.

So hear I am, typing this blog and hoping something good comes out of today.

Greece

It's really sad to see what's happening in Greece and the burden they now have after the latest bail out. Greece is such a beautiful nation steeped in history and culture, my heart really goes out to them and the average Greek person that is having to suffer this latest set back due to the financial situation. Greece and Greek people, my thoughts are with you.

Hunkering Down

I guess it's that time of year where people hunker down and recover from the financial wounds of Christmas and come to terms with the dire unpredictable weather. I'm no different from anyone else, finances aren't healthy and it's just easier to stay home, nothing really seems to be happening in the current grey wide world.

I've not been doing much to be fair, just the mundane usual stuff and ticking over waiting for better weather and opportunities to come along. The new planned blog is still on the back burner, I've been looking into various hosting sites, layouts and formats. The thing is I very much want it to be right, hence the indecision and careful choice on things. I'm probably going to go with WordPress for several reasons. At first I was hesitant because though I can get a fairly cheap blog/domain name I'd noticed there were some WordPress blogs out there that weren't to my liking in appearance which did make me wonder about the quality of the templates on offer. On further investigation though I found some very nice ones and the fact I discovered I could also use WordPress on my ipad was another boon. It did occur to me to stay with Blogger and just create another blog here but that would be all too easy and I want a new challenge and a fresh look. So, things are still work in progress as I look at templates and how easy to edit with HTML or customise they are but I suspect things will happen in the near future.

In other geeky news I am thinking of toying with some movie software I've stumbled upon. Not camera recorded type movies but online gaming movies and editing. Anyway I'll give it a try and see what I can come up with, it might turn out a disaster, one can only try.

So apart from that nothing much has been happening apart from staying home, reading and online stuff. The stomach problem seems to have subsided but I think the answer to that was down to the tablets I was taking for pain relief and the fact I had been taking them for a long time. It's been sensible diet time and also a period of little alcohol intake, the driest start to any year apart from a few at the end of January.

Oh and I was told by a female friend to 'Sex my blog up a little'. Well I can only do that if there is any sex happening!

Perfection

Her name is London Andrews, she's a model with very ample and feminine curves, I know very little else about her apart from the fact in my eyes she is 'perfection'.

Cold Memories

It's funny how the weather often evokes memories from the distant past. I was looking out the window the other day and the frozen grass opposite took me right back to my school days. The year would have been about 1981-2 and I was at middle school which was for ages 13-16. On joining the new school I didn't do physical eduction lessons (P.E) at first because I'd had surgery beforehand so whilst my class mates were out playing sports I was wandering the school grounds picking litter, in full view of others. Looking back they could have sent me to one of the school libraries but the physical education teachers were akin to Nazi officers, they'd only encourage the stronger fitter lads and if you were skinny, fat, overly tall or like me - short, then you were fair game for humiliation. Fortunately one of the school care takers would take me into the warm boiler room and make me a brew away from wandering the cold school playing fields.

Later I got the all clear to do sports and in truth whilst it was good to feel included I was never a sporty person so was never going to fit in with the P.E teachers. There were two of them, I'd say at the time one was almost 40 and well spoken, the other had a north east coast accent and was probably mid thirties, both were extremely fit and popular with the ladies. They were also very arrogant and liked to make you feel there was definitely a hierarchy amongst males. Reflecting back they did nothing to build self esteem only demolish it, they never liked me but I was not alone as they openly disliked others.

I guess some of it was designed to make you 'man up' which we now use as a popular phrase. I recall playing football on hard frozen ground in the fog, nipples freezing from the cold and feet that felt like blocks of ice and hurt when you kicked the ball. Of course you endured it, it was the male thing to do, I also endured the cross country runs but I never minded those so much because though I wasn't a fast runner I could hold a steady pace so never came last. After that first initial year we got to choose what sports we wanted to do regularly, I opted for badminton and the trampoline because they were both indoors and suited me. A rugby player or football player I was never ever going to be and I had the good sense to realise it early on.

The divide between the boys continued, fit stronger males being encouraged and nurtured, engaged in manly banter whilst the others were the butt of jokes or made to look humiliated come shower time. I hated maths as a subject but I think I hated physical education more.

One day I found a disposable cigarette lighter near the games gym, I lit it and turned to show a friend and was confronted by one of the angry sports teachers. He seized his chance and took me to see the headmaster and made a big deal of it. I explained I'd just found it, lit it and had been discovered, that was all. Of course I was given a stern telling off but I don't recall much else. On going to the next physical eduction class I was told by the teacher who found me with the lighter I wasn't wanted at his class, it was good news really as I was able to go to the library and read books instead.

Nowadays I expect they are both old, more so the one that banned me from his class and I hope that as they lost their vigour in life through age they learned lessons in that you cannot always be gifted with strength or physical prowess. I never really got the worst of them, though others did but after those school years I did play football more and periodically did jogging, I was fleet footed for many years but we all slow down eventually.

Starbucks

In my town there's a whole panoply of coffee shops and tea rooms ranging from the more recognised branded names such as Starbucks and Costa to the 'old dear' type tea rooms. We also have a few privately owned select establishments, one called 'Stray's' springs immediately to mind. Living in a small town I feel quite spoilt that there's such a good selection to frequent. My place of choice though is Starbucks. Usually I veer away from corporate chains but my local Starbucks has several advantages in my opinion over it's rivals.

The first advantage is the location, it sits on the eastward side of the market place and has a great view of what's happening through its large windows which is great for people watching and observing daily goings on. It also seems to be in best position from lunchtime onwards to catch the sun and another bonus being it has ample outside seating.

Secondly, it's clean, tidy and the staff are friendly and attentive, they regularly seem to be bringing sample drinks around for you to try.

Thirdly, it has an hours free wi-fi available, always handy if I am in there with my ipad.

Lastly it has my favourite drink which is called 'Tazo chai tea latte' which is a very frothy cinnamon tasting drink that I find irresistible.

Starbucks it can be argued isn't the cheapest place to drink and this is true compared to my local pub where I can get a pot of tea or coffee with free refill for a measly £1, a large cup of Tazo chai in Starbucks is £3. So, with that said, I don't drink in Starbucks daily, the local being convenient and cheap and good for irrelevant chat and a read of the daily papers. Costa coffee isn't too far away and that in truth has a lovely more plush interior that others. Strays on Middle Gate has that continental feel, which Jazz music hanging casually in the background and reasonably priced decent food.

I guess Starbucks is the place where I feel I treat myself a little, I can indulge in watching passers by, surf the net and sip my favourite drink and if I don't want the more decadent drinks they do regular black coffee with a refill.

Feeling Let Down

Usually I'm a happy hobbit, carefree and jovial but the new year hasn't started according to plan. Most of January I've had a stomach complaint, as yet to be fully determined. At first it was thought to be stomach acid but the tablets the doctor gave me just made things more erratic, the best way to describe it is like a latent dull stomach and should it not clear soon I'll be back to the doctors to investigate more.

I've managed to avoid beer for most of January and would like to say I've felt better for it but with the dodgy stomach I can't really say that with conviction, the ironic thing is that my stomach is usually the least problematic bodily thing I have (apart from it could be smaller!)

Another thing that made January end on a sour note was being let down by a friend. I'll try and condense things to make it shorter but basically last year I asked a friend to go see a band we both like, at the time he was just in a new job and wasn't financially up and running, so after some deliberation about it, he said no. Last month I noticed the same band were back, in London at the end of February at an ideal venue. I did the maths and realised it wouldn't be too expensive and decided to pitch my idea to him once again, bearing in mind the said band tour very little here. It was received well and he said his girlfriend would probably come too, no problem, it was all good. Days dropped off the calendar and I tried to chase him via text, a mixture of responses came back but all initially favourable, he might drive down etc and in turn I'd said I'd help towards that. More days passed and the gaps between text widened, inside I resigned myself to the fact he'd changed his mind, the thing was I needed an answer, firstly as I really wanted to go with him as he likes the band, and he's a good friend, secondly if he let me down I could explore other options.

On Sunday I got a late text, saying much as before, he couldn't warrant the expense etc, it felt like a groundhog experience of sorts, though his decision had taken eight days to make. To be bluntly honest I felt let down, massively so in fact, almost like he couldn't be arsed. I'm not going to bad mouth the guy, he's a smashing fella and infectious company. The thing is, I know he is planning to go on holiday, so I feel he should have made his decision about the gig earlier and put me in the picture, surely he knows, like most do where his finances are at. I just felt strung along really, as I'm very much a black and white guy when it comes to many things in life. So now I am left scrambling to sort something after this delay and probably nothing will happen. Finances aren't great for me at the moment but for this I would have pushed the boat out a little, life without risks is boring after all. The irony is, if Glastonbury tickets suddenly appeared for next year he'd book without hesitation.

So it's into February not feeling at my best, hopefully the therapy of disclosure by writing about things on here may help get it off my chest. I'm not going to fall out with my friend over it, I'm far too long in the tooth for that, and all said and done he's a good person but neither am I really happy, it'll pass and the band will probably come around again if I don't see them this time.

Bills

Like most people I pay bills, and I mostly think the ones I get are reasonable or I have some hand in them such as choosing the service provider or deal etc. On the heating and electric front my bills are relatively low in the summer time but come winter, even though I am often reluctant to put the heating on they are quite shocking. I tend to stick to something like 2 hours of heating a day really, I live alone and so I can layer up clothing wise. These days though because I have an arthritic problem and can be in pain I sometimes have it on more, though its done manually and once my place is warm off it goes.

Having just had by heating and electric bill for the last quarter I have to say I find what they charge pretty criminal. I can pay it, that's not the problem but my feelings go out to the elderly and unemployed or low income with young families, they must really struggle. Of course here in Britain the corporate hierarchy of these firms are clueless because why should they worry when they get a fat bonus and are on their luxury yacht in Barbados basking in warmth?

Ten years ago my heating bills for gas seemed considerably lower, nowadays they've easily trebled and will probably carry on rising. As a nation we need to be investing in affordable heating like many other countries are. The big companies need to stop with all the advertising bullshit and comparison web sites they influence and just give a solid value for money service. Where will it all end? I dread to think.

Disgaea 4

I walked into my local game store yesterday and noticed the new Disgaea 4 on the shelf. Now, I am quite sycophantic about the whole series and this is the only title I don't yet have. I reached tentatively for it and saw the price was slashed in half, result as games are way expensive these days. It was pre-owned but pretty much new and the guy at the counter said someone had purchased it and traded it in a couple of days later. Their loss my gain, and it was the only one they'd had in the store, as the Disgaea series isn't really mainstream, a fact I'm glad of.

So it's back to Disgaea madness, prinnies, demons, anti-heroes, quirky Japanese anime and a game that will devour hours of my time. Geek heaven awaits! Oh and the video reviewer gets it wrong when he states sometimes you can't see what's happening, you can, you just rotate the screen with the shoulder buttons, it's amazing how they can review stuff seemingly having not played it fully.

Creationist Propaganda Of The Worst Kind

Whilst collecting and sorting my mail from a basket that catches it at the main door at the bottom of the stairwell this morning I noticed a neighbour had mail from a christian creation church named 'Creation Ministries International'. It was bound in transparent cellophane and thus easy to see and read. I couldn't help but notice that it had a picture of Charles Darwin overlaid with a no entry sign.

The Article was written by a Gary Bates who heads it with 'Pressing on with questioning evolution'. Ok, so it's not really my mail to read, though as neighbours the first one to the mail tends to sort through it and leave peoples letters in respective piles. I quickly perused the article for a moment and the content was contradictory from the beginning. The author opens with 'Can we imagine living in a world devoid of christian influence (well I can actually), where compassion is regarded as a weakness and abortion is acceptable because babies aren't wanted or just the wrong sex?'

We then get some biased paraphrased world war two history lesson of sorts, Hitler's regime killing millions of Jews and around 70,000 handicapped German people. We get mentions of German people being duped by propaganda, eugenics programmes all culminating in the fact it was social Darwinism to blame. Near the foot of the page it states 'Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it'. I didn't read on, as I've stated though it was clear to view it wasn't my mail and what I was reading was only making me feel angry.

It's almost like creationists have created an alternate christian reality for themselves, a different world with their own take on history, so let's address a few facts mentioned in the article I briefly read.

Let's begin with the holocaust Gary mentions and I will refer him to letter wrote to the Pope Pius XII during the war by Ukrainian metropolitan Andrej Septyckyj referring to the German government as a regime of terror and corruption, more diabolical than that of the Bolsheviks. The Pope replied by quoting verses from Psalms and advising Septyckyj to 'bear adversity with serene patience.'

Wladislaw Raczkiewicz, president of the Polish government-in-exile, appealed to the Pope in January 1943 to publicly denounce Nazi violence. Bishop Preysing of Berlin did the same, at least twice. Pius XII refused.

And lastly when advised by his own clergy such as Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI, who wrote to him and said, 'The massacres of the Jews reach frightening proportions and forms.' Pope Pius simply said there wasn't enough evidence to verify the rumours. Though to be fair there is examples the pope did covertly intervene on some occasions such as the deportations in Hungry though the vatican largely remained silent throughout the war to the atrocities when it could have raised its voice and made a difference.

Let's also mention his predecessor Pope Pius XI who said 'Mussolini is a wonderful man. Do you hear me? A wonderful man'. This was the same pope that blessed Italian bombers as they went to bomb Ethiopian villages in Mussolini's war of Imperial conquest.

I want to end this little segment on the holocaust and Gary's alleged Darwinian influenced eugenics programme by quoting Hitler himself;

'I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the almighty creator; by defending myself against the Jews, I am fighting for the Lord. I would like to thank providence and the almighty for choosing me of all people.'

Of course looking back in ancient history and events in the bible you soon find it in spades, Moses ordering his people to kill all of the Midians, in Numbers 1:7 in the bible it states;

'They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. 10 They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps.'

But it gets better, not content with the above, when women, children and other captives were taken along with the war booty Moses says in part 15 'Have you allowed all the women to live?' he asked them. 16 They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." Notice how they keep the dames for themselves?

There's many other such examples in the bible, god it seems doesn't really have a problem with ethnic cleansing at all, in fact he actively encourages it. So, Hitler from his above quote would seem to be acting on divine inspiration, of course we also know he did want a pure Aryan race but his theory and take on it wasn't about the many in Germany, it was about the whim of the few in power that facilitated it.

And before we move on let's not forget Noah's Ark and gods own mass genocide and ethnic cleansing of the world, it don't get any bigger or better than that!

If we look at the closing line I read and quoted above 'Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it' then we only have to look at later regimes in Cambodia and Serbia or the Kurds in Iraq to know that people who DID know history DID in fact repeat it. Mankind has always been a tribal creature and sadly through history has always fought amongst itself being the Red Indian tribes of American, to the Aztec tribes among countless others. Add religion into this mix and mans desire for control and power becomes heightened and atrocities become justified because they become a God's or Allah's will and command. Religion has been used to justify many wars and slaughter throughout history as we all know.

Let's move onto the disabled and abortion bit he mentions. Well with the above we can only conclude pregnant women of opposing tribes in biblical areas were killed but there's more specifics in the bible too. The Book of Leviticus, Chapter 21, says that if you are a disabled person you can’t be a priest or take communion; in the New Testament, it says renounce sin and you can ‘take up thy bed and walk' (Luke, Chapter 5); and disability is seen as a punishment from God, ‘be cured if you sin no more,’ in John, Chapter 9.

Or we could move onto Leviticus 21:17-23 which states 'Whosoever ... hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or anything superfluous, a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a blemish of the seed'.... it goes on some more but I'll spare you.

As with the other stuff there's more examples I could quote, religious apologists I'm sure could add their own 'nicer' biblical quotes to the debate but this only serves to demonstrate how the bible is a contradictory fractured affair, rewrote and badly edited over the ages.

As for abortion, well it's not nice but sometimes necessary in the world of today, if I was told an unborn child a partner was expecting was deaf, blind and dumb then what would be the point of them being in a world they couldn't interact with, see or hear? Taking the religious drivel above into account there'd be no point them being here anyway because if there was a heaven they'd not be welcome.

I really don't know why it comes to Darwin or natural selection what creationists are afraid of, or why they seek to disprove it or eliminate it from enquiring rational minds? There's more resounding evidence and proof for it than there ever has been for creationism. Francis Collins, the American physicist/geneticist who was the leader of the human genome project and is also a christian puts the mankind's age at around 100,000 years old, other scientists differ on it being older or younger but many say older. That said, when we look at the creationist side of things happening about 6 or 7 thousand years ago we could say over a timeline and on what Collin's says that mankind was here for 99% of the time regardless. During that duration he had to forge his way in the world enduring war, famine, resettlement and natural disasters. It's only in the last percent of Collin's time frame that god actually gets interested in mankind and sets up shop in a hot arid backwater of the world and his created crew get busy doing his work (Adam and Eve rubbish to one side here). We all know though through archaeology and recorded history that civilizations had risen and fallen, people such as Alexander the great had crossed most of the known world and the ancient Greeks had been talking some degree of sense about democracy and philosophy. Gods of course had been created in abundance before the alleged main dude entered the fray to explain of course what mankind couldn't explain back then.

I find it sad to see that organisations such as the Creation Ministries International would post such blinkered one sided rubbish to people. To refer to your own article Gary, you and the organisation you are in are duping people with propaganda of worst kind.