Gambling with Vultures

I've been buying way too much stuff on ebay recently. It's a method of shopping that puts an element of gambling into the process. I wonder then could it be considered addictive?

A combination of shopping and gambling -- no wonder it's doing so well.

I just can't get the feeling out my mind that all the bidders are waiting till the last 10 seconds like vultures to jump in and take the kill. Bid-sniping as it's come to be called. Anyway can't write for long I've got auctions ending and I can feel the saliva dripping from my beak.

~Fraser

One man's rubbish is another man's treasure

I was scouting the charity shops in Salisbury when I went to Stonehenge recently. Fantastic sight, definitely worth a look if you haven't already by the way.

In the British Red Cross shop I stumbled on this little gem;

Not only is this a double sided piece of excellent sci-fi / fantasy artwork it also contains an LP I can fortunately play because my little lady bought me a Lenco Record player a little while back.

I only hope the birds outside my window are enjoying it as much as I am as I'm now on the second full play through.

If you've never had the experience of listening to Hawkwind before I recommend you pick up one of their cd's. It's psychedelic rock at its best.

~Fraser

And the Heavens opened

There's nothing nicer than getting creative when it's stormy. Finally got down to some writing and painting today, quite happy with the results too.

Some touching up is needed and I still need to base

them but liking the way they came out. For the Troll slayer I was contemplating white trousers but it looked too plain so I went for the ancient British look. I'm planning to change the pattern for the other four using a mix of plaid and chequered designs.

The Thief/Assassin is an old wayfarer converted so his shield hand is empty and his javelin is a stiletto knife.

Lastly the bell is the old Skaven Screaming bell taken off of the wagon so I can use it as the town bell in Mordheim.

~Fraser

Impressive stupidity

Getting changed today and flicking through channels I see an American chef pour coffee into molten chocolate. What she said next left me a little stunned.

"You can't taste it, but it will make a huge difference to how it tastes"

...right...

~Fraser

Schism

Martin Luther (not King Junior) the Monk responsible for the Protestant reformation within the Christian church was a figure that changed the face of European religion forever.

In the 1500s he nailed a set of theses to the door of his church on practices within Christianity that he felt went away from what the religion was supposed to be about.

Just to give you some idea, at this point monks were selling peoples bones under the premise that they were fragments of saints or even Jesus himself at high premiums. They were even seducing young women that they visited and all manner of immoral acts by abusing their position in society.

Martin Luther essentially caused a divide within the Church which would forever be known as the Schism.

I remember one quote from the Pope Leo X (no relation to Malcom X) at the time that this would be a slippery slope should the reform be accepted. That was probably the single most true statement of any Pope there's ever been as you can see walking down any town centre and witnessing the Pentecostal Evangelical Church of Latter day Science or any other of a thousand different cults that have sprang up over the last few decades.

That doesn't detract from the good work it did for the church however. It was a radical shake up of a religion that had started to slip into immorality.

Then I saw this whole storm that Radical Muslim group ISIS were kicking up.

It amazes me the extent of the Muslim religion - it's so vast and broad in it's belief. I know Muslims which are more British than I am despite having lived here my whole life and then you see others taking their religion to the streets with AK47s and Machetes.

I got thinking of how one set of beliefs could still be followed by such polar opposites of people. There are radical thinkers in every aspect of society, but most of us do a good job of putting a clear distinction in place to separate "us" from "them".

In fact none more so than the Christians - hence where the Schism came from.

The Muslim community takes a lot of fire for holding a brotherhood which while somewhat commendable for it's unity contains the kind of scum that they would do very well to distinguish themselves from. Exemplified by statements like "We don't police our own community" which was spoken by an Imam after the identities of members of his congregation were found part of a terrorist plot.

The bonds that tie the community together can only last so long as certain members test it with their radical thinking. When you hear the tales of "forced marriage" aka rape and occupation of towns in Iraq you've got to wonder when a normal Muslim is going to think, enough is enough, I can't consider myself brothers with these people.

I really hope the day comes when a liberal Muslim will walk up to his/her mosque and nail to the door a thesis on the wrongs that he/she can no longer be part of.

It's long overdue and we can then look forward to giving respect to what should be another peaceful, ancient and respectful religion.

~Fraser

Temptation

I haven't had to abstain in a while. I haven't even had to refrain either although the difference escapes me somewhat.

Going in for surgery tonight and told I can't eat all day. For someone who snacks for the whole of my usual routine it's proving interesting.

My will power seems fairly low and I'm getting some serious hunger. I work in an office where everyone is snacking so I decided to take a walk at lunch time.

Everything seems to smell tasty out here. The fumes from the canteen, Catering vans, freshly sawn wood. I'd eat anything right now and I think that was clear on my face, watching a rather plump pigeon hide when it saw me coming.

Like our other human faculties I imagine will power is the result of the same equation.

Natural disposition + training/experience - negative external stimuli = faculty/ability

I haven't needed to hold back in a long time. I find it hard to maintain my weight and harder still to put weight on. And don't think I don't get sick of people grabbing their belly and saying "I wish I had that problem."

Most thin people can look at those overweight and comfortably ask why they just don't cut down on what they eat. I imagine their mind and how badly it wants to give in and find relief.

We're at an exponential stage of human development.  We've got so much that we're becoming unstable. We've not had to be moderate so we lose the ability.

Perhaps it's good to flex a long out of use muscle and abstain a while. It's strange to think that I rarely eat because I am genuinely hungry. Sometimes it's just because food is there.

Makes me wonder what other faculties I have that desperately need some training?

~Fraser

Rivers

"Ever-newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers."

            ~ Heraclitus

It is truly amazing the way a positive experience can change your whole outlook or give you the nudge out of a difficult time and back to optimism.

Whether meeting old friends or making new ones, even if you are wrestling squeaky toys from their mouth.

Life is change, something even the presocratics understood.

An unrelated note is that it is also truly amazing what you find you've bid on the night before after a night out.

Although, that said, I am quite looking forward to my 1800's painting of Empedocles.

~Fraser

An Unexpected Journey

My mother hosted a Women's Institute meeting last night and was out in the garden so I was stuck playing doorman.

Each time I got comfy in my chair there would be a rapping at the door and I'd go and open it as a small lady would step in and make her way round to the back garden.

I couldn't help but wonder if a certain Grey Wizard had marked a magic rune on my door.

~Fraser

Ancestry

When I think of my family history through the ages, it truly amazes me to know that one of my ancestors was around at every major event in my cultural history.

The world wars, The rise of Cromwell and the English Civil wars, Scottish independence, the crusades. With such deep historic ties to culture and nation I wonder why I find myself so inexorably drawn to parts of history in particular?

Two things stand out in my mind as being fascinating subjects - the Celts and the Crusades and I've taken great pleasure in reading about them both over my life but is there more to than random curiosity?

Looking at yourself in the mirror and you can pick out certain features that can tell us about our past. Why could it not be the same for our minds? I'm not for one minute saying that we have memories of our relatives but what about the way we think? Similar interests, personality traits passed down through the ages for instance.

I find it curious when I spoke to my colleague at work who said he was interested in Norman history and when I looked at his long hooked nose and ginger hair, I could well believe it.

Perhaps these irrational interests are just the result of historical fiction we've encountered but maybe there's more to it than that. Just think that the history you find so fascinating might just have been written by your ancestors.

Painted by Renu Desai

~ Fraser

Interesting paths

I entered into a raffle at the weekend and had my eye only on one prize - a beautiful set of crystal whiskey glasses.

When they drew my ticket I immediately went over and took them back to the table - my mum asked if I knew what they were - and if I was sure I wanted them.

I didn't understand what she meant at the time but it turns out they belonged to my grandfather. My Gran had entered them into the raffle to get rid of them.

Strange how things have a way of working out.

~Fraser

Room with a view

It's easy to overlook the things around us and take them for granted. As far as views go, I'd say the one from my room was right up there with the best of them.

~Fraser

Deception

Sometimes politicians throw a curve ball -- just to mix things up.

I can see Obama has some real left wing tendencies and he seems to have a good heart, but in one fell swoop he has undermined years of an American political standpoint on terrorism.

1st rule - "We don't deal with terrorists"

There's something to admire in his desire to see an American soldier return home after five years of being imprisoned by the Taliban. On taking interviews with his own servicemen it later comes out that he was a deserter that worse still, ended up getting other soldiers killed in rescue missions.

So with all that aside and just thinking with the goodness in our hearts about saving a soldier serving his country, Obama broke the commandment that Bush seemed to hammer into us back when he held the reins.

Does the Taliban now realise it can leverage it's political message like never before in that people are actually paying attention to their outrageous demands. Four of their leaders now sent back to them with bitter memories of Guantanamo fresh in their minds.

I hope the USA is ready for any repercussions that trade off may bring. It seems like the least thought through decision Obama could make, one based on human emotion and no logical or sound reasoning at all.

At the very least I would have liked to have seen some military/espionage tactics at play here. Release four Terrorist leaders on inconspicuous grounds stuffed so full of tracking devices that they would think night time is longer due to the amount of satellites hovering above them in the atmosphere. Perhaps in a couple of months we'll even hear about a massacre in a Taliban training camp at the hands of the Navy Seals.

I truly hope for Obama's sake these "leaders" are too washed up and old to be of any use to anyone over there because this latest f@@@ up decision is about as mind boggling as the Super Mario Bro's Chess Set having Luigi as the Queen.

Good Intentions vs Good Policy?

~Fraser

EU Crisis

I'm not talking about the Eiffel Tower falling down or some such crisis, but there seems to be a certain sense that Europe is facing an identity crisis. A sort of EU Midlife Crisis.

With the recent momentum that the UK Independence Party has gained in the European Elections it's surprising to see that this wave of nationalism is not just local to the UK.

Considering that the more time that passes, the more integrated we all become due to cross country migration it's interesting to see us clinging to a sense of national identity in the face of this. I can understand that the more personalities and cultures we encounter in our country the more our own culture comes at risk of becoming lost in a sea of voices. This being said it seems we've made the mistake of falling into Right Wing thinking as a way to preserve it.

Stopping immigration in this day an age for a country such as the UK would be as economically viable as stopping manufacture of the wheel in an attempt to reduce pollution.

I only recently -- over the last 5 or so years have come to understand and appreciate what it means to be British. Part of that rich cultural heritage is the result of influences from outside.

Our ancestors were all the result of foreign influence, all the way back through a series of invasions similar to your yearly kitchen home invasion by ants. Except these ants planted flags and built houses.

Ever since I can remember and I dare say anyone else under the age of 70 we've been driving Japanese cars, wearing clothes with American and German Flags on, designed by French and Italians and made by the Chinese using Egyptian cotton. Drinking tea, burning incense and wearing shirts all of which were made in India while on my Korean phone. Is it that bizarre to imagine that people should want to make the journeys that their produce has been making for many years already?

A lot of the problems are caused by a minority of people who abuse the system and take advantage of our naive healthcare and benefits system and great standard of living.

The real problem is there are bastards all around the world in every country, including our own. Don't let those people ruin it for everyone else.

I can only imagine how UKIP would destroy the country through their utter lack of experience and intelligence in actual policy towards the economy but even if they only stopped immigration we would simply find ourself with more illegal immigrants and less legal ones.

People that would still come, with less money, less possessions, more desperate, less potential or hope. You may not agree with the numbers of immigrants coming into your country, but at least it's regulated. Closing the door would simply make all the gaps in the windows much more apparent.

~Fraser