solstice

Merry Yule.

Today we got up nice and early to see the sunrise from our loft window - the sky was beautiful, silver and rose and white, the clouds shifting and changing and becoming more sharply delineated as the sun came up behind them and shone through them. Eventually we were rewarded by the sight of the sun rising above the clouds, whereupon it was too bright to look at. We lit a candle and opened a present each.

Then we went for our traditional solstice walk, up to one of our favourite trees in the neighbourhood, which has a holy well underneath it, where the Romans left offerings.

Shall we liken Christmas to the web in a loom? There are many weavers, who work into the pattern the experience of their lives. When one generation goes, another comes to take up the weft where it has been dropped. The pattern changes as the mind changes, yet never begins quite anew. At first, we are not sure that we discern the pattern, but at last we see that, unknown to the weavers themselves, something has taken shape before our eyes, and that they have made something very beautiful, something which compels our understanding."

--Earl W. Count, 4,000 Years of Christmas (candlegrove.com)

oxymoron

Just finished reading The Men Who Stare At Goats by Jon Ronson. Quite possibly the most disturbing book I have ever read. Not only because the American military took some fairly fluffy new-age ideas and turned them into horrible tortures and spying techniques; but also because these nutters have an awful lot of power. Which they used to try out their oddball, disturbing and cruel ideas on the unfortunate detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib and countless other undisclosed locations. And they managed to make it all seem innocuous by letting the information leak out that they were "only" playing them Barney the Purple Dinosaur - well, once might not have been too bad, but after the hundredth time anyone really would go insane. So next time an American military type wanders up to you and does something completely random, consider the possibility that they may in fact be trying out "PsyOps" on you. All in all, the book is proof positive that military intelligence really is an oxymoron.

leave him alone

BBC News: Politics: The Lib Dem leadership options There is no sight more unedifying than MPs baying for the blood of a slightly tarnished leader (not that Charles Kennedy has ceased to be shiny in my opinion). He is doing a great job for the Lib Dems - it makes a change to have someone who goes in for issues and not tit-for-tat confrontational policies. For goodness sake, leave him alone. It doesn't do the party or its cause any good.

best ever festive songs

The ones I like...

1. The Holly and the Ivy (Christian or Pagan versions)
2. The Sans Day Carol
3. Gaude Te (especially when performed by the Medieval Baebes)
4. O Little Town of Bethlehem (but not the last 2 verses)
5. Stille Nacht (the original version of Silent Night)

Nominations welcome. If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged - blog your own list.

worst ever festive songs

The songs I hate the most....

1. Mistletoe and Wine (Cliff Richard)
2. Last Christmas (Wham)
3. Have yourself a merry little Christmas
4. I'm dreaming of a White Christmas (Bing Crosby)
5. Merry Christmas (Slade)

Nominations welcome. If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged - blog your own list.

sysadmin God

If God was a Computer Programmer

This explains everything. Really.

yesterday's gym

2km (200 calories) on the cross trainer at level 7. 5km (75 calories) on the exercise bike at level 8. 1km (50 calories) on the rowing machine at level 5.

happy Monkey Day

Happy Monkey Day / Bueno día del mono / Fröhliches Affentag / Meilleurs voeux pour le Jour de Singe.

Monkey Day is an annual holiday celebrated on December 14th that offers people a reprieve from the traditional religious holidays permeating the month of December. Monkey Day is a fun way to celebrate all things simian, an excuse to hang out with friends and family dressed as monkeys and grunt at one another, and at the same time promoting knowledge and awareness of monkeys and their simian kin.

Speaking as a Monkey, I think it is good to raise awareness of our nearest kin. So here's some links to organisations that help primates (source: monkeyday.com). Also we should be celebrating the original Monkey King, Sun Wukong.

segregation

Iraq: Civil rights groups protest sex segregation in schools

Azzaman reports (December 4): Civil rights groups have protested new rulings that make segregation of sexes in Iraqi schools compulsory. Education ministry has issued regulations under which mixed teaching even at university level will be forbidden. In some universities and schools, girls are forced to wear the veil or scarf and forced to attend classes separately. Mixed education at the primary and tertiary levels was part of the country's secular system until the 2003 U.S. invasion of the country.

It's ironic that Americans' much-touted "freedom and democracy" also includes the freedom to turn Iraqi society towards the more extreme manifestations of Islam - despite the fact that much of the population does not agree with this sort of thing.

interfaith solstice

Last night we went to the Bristol Interfaith Group's midwinter gathering, which was lovely. A Buddhist sang a song by Billie Holiday. We heard a Baha'i story and joined in with a Baha'i song. Then there was a Unitarian carol (It came upon the midnight clear), some Methodist kids did a poem, and a Buddhist did a chant. The Jewish community got us chanting Psalm 133 in Hebrew. I read my poem, Winter has come round again and explained the significance of the solstice to Pagans, and got everyone to sing the first two verses of The Holly and the Ivy. Then the Muslim kids told us all about Ramadan and Eid. It was a lot of fun, and I had some interesting conversations with people from other traditions.

death toll in Iraq

George Monbiot » Bringing Out the Dead - the number of casualties resulting from the invasion of Iraq could be as high as 194,000 (with the most probable death toll being 98,000 - if you exclude the Fallujah casualties).

another freedom gone

BBC News: England: London: Activist convicted under demo law

This is the death of freedom of speech (or at least a very serious illness), as John Humphries correctly said on the Today Programme this morning. Maya Evans stood near the Houses of Parliament and read out a list of names of soldiers killed in Iraq whilst tolling a bell. She was arrested, convicted, and given a conditional discharge - but this means she now has a criminal record.

even more gym

Went to the gym again today.
2.48 km on the cross-trainer (that's 246 calories) in 15 minutes at level 5.
3.53 km on the bike (that's 64 calories) in 10 minutes at level 8.
1km on the rowing machine at level 5 (I can never remomber the calories for that one).