A GALE IS A BLOWING

READ MY ULTIMATE MAGAZINE POST
What’s on today: Reflections on bad weather, and bad weather past … PLUS … My latest analysis of the American political bandwagon. Students becoming non-academic.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

A GALE IS A BLOWING

I was sat here thinking: what to write about today? Then Nature answered me. It came battering at the door, the windows, the rain lancing the panes, the wind triumphant as I took notice.
‘Write about me,’ it said – or rather, it roared as the gale blew, the forecasters threatening snow.

This morning I advised my youngest daughter to wrap up well.

This was before going out to school. She offered that knowing look. Said: ‘Am I bovvered.’
It reminded me of myself at that age; and now I remember again as I write – a morning like this (many mornings like this) delivering newspapers. Walking up the path to the door, soaked, freezing.
Walking back out, the dog chasing. The owner declaring: ‘Don’t hit my dog with your bag.’

‘Yea, right.’ I was bovvered.

Never again, I’d say, would I be out like this, on a morning like this. And many years later, the gale blowing, the snow, thick about my feet, my combats sticking to me and my trigger finger frozen as if an icicle.
So many military exercises like that I endured.
Never again, I’d say. And now I look at the gale blowing outside, and smile. No, never again.

© Anthony North, January 2008

PREPARING FOR SUPER TUESDAY

With Giuliani and Edwards out of the race for their party’s Presidential nomination, the politics is beginning to become clear. McCain must be set to finally go all the way for the Republicans. As for the Democrats, well, there may be a problem …
… read more …

WIKIPEDIA RULES, OK

More panic in British universities. Students are becoming so badly educated in ‘basics’ that they are needing ‘catch-up’ classes in Math and English. Indeed, many of our future doctors, scientists and engineers cannot add up properly …
… read more …

You can comment on any linked post below if you wish

END OF EMPIRE

The Second World War left Europe war-ravaged and economically inept. Many eastern colonies had been occupied by Japan and problems arose when the Europeans attempted to claim them back, causing a surge of nationalism leading to independence, and then civil war as factions fought for supremacy.

THE FRENCH EXPERIENCE

Nationalism had surfaced before the war in French Indo China, with Ho Chi Minh forming the Viet Minh. With the Japanese surrender, he declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in September 1945.
Soon the French returned, occupying the towns below the 16th parallel, but the Viet Minh controlled the countryside. In 1954 the French decided to break them by landing thousands of paratroops behind their lines, smashing them.
From January to May some 20,000 paratroops fought at Dien Bien Phu against waves of attacks. The French were annihilated, withdrawing from the country, Ho Chi Minh taking control north of the 17th parallel.
Algeria caused France similar problems, its new Republic deciding that Algeria would become an integral Department of France. Nationalist demonstrations arose, violently suppressed by the French.
However, by 1954 a socialist movement, Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN), began attacking French positions in Algeria, troops so fed up they nearly caused a coup in France in 1958. By 1962 Charles de Gaulle became president and recognised Algerian sovereignty.

FALL OF AN EMPIRE

The French had attempted to hold on to their empire. Thus they had trouble. The British realised the futility of the attempt, more concerned with transition to peaceful independence; a policy that led to the continued existence of the British Commonwealth of ex-colonies.
Malaya and Kenya were relative successes. In Kenya the nationalist African Union under Jomo Kenyatta formed in 1947 aimed at peaceful transition, but the Kikuyu tribe formed the secret Mau Mau to cause violent insurrection.
The British response was to form a large colonial police force, which brought activity to an end by 1956, a peaceful transition to government occurring in 1963.
In Malaya, a communist insurrection lasting until 1960 was met with HAM, or ‘hearts and minds’, with small British units fighting when required, but also befriending the villagers, taking away their support for the communists. Malaya also had a peaceful transition to independence in 1963.

END OF THE RAJ

India was more difficult. Nationalist stirrings began in 1885 with the Hindu Indian National Congress, and by 1942 it was realised independence was inevitable. Never a united country, it was plagued with religious animosity between Hindu and Muslim, represented by Jinnah’s Muslim League.
Gandhi did much to stem violence and work for independence with his peaceful civil disobedience, but the answer was partition. In August 1947 Pakistan was created for the Muslims, with India gaining independence led by Nehru.
A mass migration began as Hindu and Muslim found themselves on the wrong side; a bloodbath that led to a million casualties. Kashmir was never adequately sorted out, leading to a legacy of war.
This began in 1965, the problem more dire today, with both India and Pakistan producing nuclear weapons. Pakistan itself had further difficulties, power fluctuating between corrupt democracy and military dictatorship. Today, Pakistan stands on the verge of Islamic resurgence.

THE THIRD WORLD

With the decline of empire, the Third World came into being, particularly in Africa, hindered by European-made boundaries locking incompatible tribes into the same country.
The result has been incompetent government leading to famine and war, as in Ethiopia and Angola, and still on-going in Congo/Zaire. UN attempts to sort the problem out have proved inefficient, with the debacle in crime-infested Somalia and failure to stop the Rwandan massacre.

THE SUEZ CRISIS

Apart from the successful Falklands War of 1982, when a British Task Force reversed an Argentine invasion, British and French world power came to an end in the 1956 Suez Crisis, when Nasser of Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal, forcing an Anglo-French force to re-take it.
US/UN opposition led to a humiliating withdrawal, European powers no longer having the voice to affect world affairs. Africa, in particular, continues to have severe problems, but even here success can be achieved.

SOUTH AFRICA

Following the war a white nationalist government came to power in South Africa, establishing an Afrikaner Republic. A policy of apartheid followed, with complete separation between the black majority and white minority.
Insurrection, despotism and global sanctions followed, resulting in the release of black activist Nelson Mandela from years of incarceration in 1990. Forgiving his captors, his African National Congress was elected to power. South Africa still has problems, but they are black problems as opposed to rule by whites.

© Anthony North, January 2008

Click History of Man on blogroll for more posts in this series

PICTURES OF LIFE - Chapters 21-22

Click Fiction Page for more of this novel

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

There are afternoons when the universe has gone round and round, building up destiny to the point where it could burst. Both individuals and a community seem on the point of implosion, when factors come to the fore and all hell breaks lose. But then it turns into a whimper. Perhaps it is the lull before the storm, but that afternoon on the street was the quietest most boring afternoon anyone could remember.
Maybe we can blame human nature. The universe may go round and round, but human nature causes people to go against the flow. They have minds, you see, and minds can demand immediate action or they can be overawed by events, requiring a respite; a time to take stock, to make decisions, to think. But it is another peculiarity of human nature that, when life turns to crisis, we inevitably make the wrong decisions. Maybe we should take longer to think, to take stock. Longer and longer, like, to eternity.
Dale Crawford was thinking of Bobby as the afternoon wore on. The school had rung:
‘Mr Crawford, Bobby didn’t turn up for school today.’
‘Are you surprised,’ said Dale.
‘What do you mean?’
‘He was being bullied. He hit back because you failed him. You told him the bad guys always win.’
‘We do not have bullying in this school.’
Dale guessed where Bobby would be. He’d be at the burned out house. He was deeply worried about him, but he was satisfied he was in no danger, and he had to work things out. He’d give him space – at least for a while.

DI Summers was thinking more than most. He had positioned himself in the perfect place to observe the street. He was up a tree, the burned out house to one side, the butcher’s shop next to it, the Old Man’s house at the top of the street and Picasso’s bedsit, Dale Crawford and Vernie James’s houses close by. He had binoculars in his hands and a determination in his heart.
‘We’re going to get to the bottom of this,’ he said.
‘We are.’
‘They think they can mess with me.’
‘They do.’
‘But they’re going to learn their wrong.’
‘They are.’
It was a very clear sign of the coming madness.

Two people on the street were reaching total despair. Both sat, almost comatose, in their respective houses. One was Vernie James. For a while he had held onto the idea of revenge on Dale Crawford. It tasted sweet – for a while. But it is a peculiarity of the supposed confidant man that, when life smacks him in the face, he is more likely to crumple than strive to be a warrior. And so it was with Vernie James.
He hummed a tune as he sat there, unmoved. It was a dirge and it added to his mood.
In another house, Old Man Hollis was humming the same tune. Why, we will never know. Indeed, the two men would never know that they hummed in concert. It is just one of those pointless elements of life with no importance and no reality to each of the men, for they would never know that they hummed the tune in unison. And they were both out of tune.
Whereas Vernie James was withdrawing into his shell, Old Man Hollis, however, was made of different stuff. He had built an empire out of nastiness, and he had no intention of ridding himself of his nastiness now. But frustrations had to be vanquished. His sons, what had happened to his sons? His life, what had happened to his life? People, he knew, would suffer.
‘Do you ever stop being miserable?’ said Rachel as she wandered past the study; saw the Old Man just sat there.
‘Misery is a constant in life,’ he said. ‘That’s why I dish out so much of it.’
‘I can’t take this,’ said Rachel, and stormed out of the house.

DI Summers had stopped talking to himself. He was listening to the conversation close by. The light was beginning to go and Bobby Crawford said: ‘Do you think we’ll see the ghost soon?’
Veronica Dean was sat, cross-legged on the ground, her equipment around her. ‘I don’t know, Bobby, let’s hope so.’
‘Well I hope he isn’t angry again.’
Summers looked forward to seeing the ghost himself. But surveying the street with his binoculars, he knew other things were afoot as well. From one door, Peter Picasso emerged, whilst from another, so did Thadias Grimes. And from the same emerged Dale Crawford and Julia James, going off in separate directions. And as if to compound the tension of the street, another door slammed as Rachel Hollis emerged from her house and stormed up the road.
The suspects were out, mischief was no doubt to be done, and just as Summers was about to take notes, his foot slipped and he fell right out of the tree.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

It was the second time Julia James had gone to the house that day. ‘Don’t go,’ Dale had said, ‘if you’re starting a new life, start it now.’
‘But I’ve got things there; things that I need.’
‘Buy new things. You don’t have to go.’
Frustrations built up. Finally, she screamed: ‘But I do.’
Dale was taken aback. ‘Why?’ he asked.
‘Because … because … I was married a long time. I need to know he’s alright.’
‘So you still care?’
‘No! Not in that way. I don’t want anything bad on my conscience.’
‘You’ve changed your tune.’
‘I know; which proves I was stupid before.’
So now she walked into her old house – her old life – once more.

Dale had left at the same time. It was getting dark and it was time for Bobby to come home. He’d had enough time, he decided. Now it was time to get back to life.
As he approached Jack Thomas’s house, Peter Picasso also walked up. Dale and Peter had never really had a lot to do with each other. Predictably, Dale thought him a bit of a crank. ‘You’re not mixed up in this ghost rubbish as well?’ said Dale.
‘Of course I am. Exciting isn’t it?’
‘It may be alright for grown-ups, but Bobby shouldn’t be involved.’
‘But Dale, it was Bobby who first saw it.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Don’t you ever talk to your son?’
‘Now wait a minute …’
‘The ghost first manifested in Bobby’s bedroom.’
It was all too much for Dale. ‘Bobby,’ he shouted, ‘time to go home.’
‘But dad …’
‘Now!’

Julia James looked down at the pathetic figure on the settee. Vernie James seemed to have adopted the foetal position as he slept. If you could call it sleep. It was more a troubled respite from wakefulness.
He talked as he laid there, his eyes closed. ‘Oh Julia, I love you, you can’t leave me, you’re my life. I can’t go on without you, don’t you understand that.’
He was oblivious to her presence. She was as ghostly as Jack Thomas, and as she looked around the room, she realized she always had been. Nothing was really hers. The house lacked the feminine touch, as if she was just an accessory to Vernie’s house.
Was THAT supposed to be love? If it was, it was a perverted love. Yet only now did she realize the reality of her past life. Indeed, she realized she couldn’t even call it a life.
Quickly, she gathered together her possessions, then she stood, once more, beside him. Putting her hand to her lips, she kissed it and then placed it on Vernie’s forehead. ‘I think I hate you,’ she said. Then she added: ‘But don’t do anything stupid, Vernie James. I couldn’t have that.’
She left.

Rachel Hollis had already left the street in her mind, but now she left the street physically as well. Indeed, there was always only one thing to do when she had got herself into this mess. She went clubbing.
She would club all night long, would Rachel. She would wear next to nothing and gyrate it seductively and energetically. She was, in effect, an advert to what she could do when she left the club.
Predictably, while she was doing this, a long line of men would come and go, and between gyrations she would interview them. If she found one she wanted, then she would play him as if she was an angler and he the fish. She would pull him close and then let him swim free. And this would go on until she had danced herself to a frenzy. Only when she was right would she catch him. And when that happened, he would have a night to remember.
But she never remembered his name.

While Rachel was getting into her stride, Dale sat exasperated. Julia had just arrived back and realised his mood. Maybe it was time for them to play couples.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
Dale told her about Bobby – the bullying, the stupid school, the even more stupid ghost. She listened patiently, holding his hand, and both she and Dale felt it was right.
‘Anyway,’ said Dale, ‘never mind my problems. What about yours? Did you get your stuff?’
‘Yes.’
‘And Vernie?’
‘I’m worried,’ she said. ‘I think he’s going to do something stupid.’ She sat there a moment, deep in thought. Then she said: ‘Still, enough about me. Do you want me to have a word with Bobby? See if I can ease him a little?’
Dale was overcome by this. ‘Would you?’ he asked, and it felt so good.

Veronica Dean was getting into her stride. ‘You see, Peter,’ she had said, ‘sometimes a ghost needs a helping hand.’ And now the two of them stood in the middle of the devastation, holding hands.
Veronica was nearing trance. ‘Can you hear me, Jack Thomas, I know you’re there. I want to talk to you.’
Peter wasn’t so sure this was a good idea, but he played along nonetheless. After all, it was him who had started it.
Suddenly, the night seemed to get darker. The sceptic among us would mutter something about a cloud passing over the moon, but to Veronica it had begun. ‘Can you see it?’ she said excitedly, pointing into the devastation.
Peter followed her gaze. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Really look,’ she said, ‘he’s beginning to materialize.’
Peter really looked, but he was unsure. But as Veronica’s voice rose in her urgings, there was no mistaking the knockings that suddenly broke out, and soon the angry voices.
Peter stared in disbelief. ‘This is crazy, Veronica,’ he said.
‘Be quiet.’
‘No … no … I can’t. This isn’t right. You’re playing with things you don’t understand.
‘Chicken.’
‘No, Veronica, I’m serious. You’ve got to stop.’
And with those words, Peter Picasso turned tail and ran.

Bobby Crawford’s bedroom was dark but inviting. Julia loved the thought of a child’s room. Maybe it was because she never had one. It was just another accessory Vernie James could do without.
‘Are you awake?’ she whispered, lightly.
‘Yes,’ said Bobby. ‘Who is it?’
Julia came closer. ‘It’s me.’
‘Oh, hello Mrs James.’
‘Call me Julia.’
‘Okay … Julia.’
‘How do you feel, Bobby. Do you feel sad?’
‘A bit.’
‘And do you feel confused?’
‘A bit.’
‘Life can be so silly, can’t it? All those stupid things that happen, and you think what have I done to deserve this.’
‘That’s right.’
Julia knelt by the bed; placed a hand by his. ‘Well you’ve done nothing wrong, Bobby Crawford. It’s the world going stupid, not you.’
They both smiled at each other then, and again Julia felt it was just right.
‘Julia,’ said Bobby, eventually.
‘What my love?’
‘Are you my new mom?’

Veronica Dean was busy communicating with the entity she saw before her. The knockings had eased, and she was sure she had achieved that. She closed her eyes and concentrated and images flashed before her. Whether they were images from Jack Thomas’s ghost or simply her own expectations could be debated for ever. But Veronica was sure she was having success.
Eventually, a new voice entered her mind – an angry voice. ‘What was that?’ she said, urging the voice on.
‘Oh, Julia,’ it said, ‘don’t do this. Come back to me. Please.’
Veronica snapped out of her trance and saw the man banging on a door down the street.
‘Julia, I love you. I can’t live without you.’
Veronica Dean stormed down the street. Tapped him on the shoulder. Said: ‘WILL you shut up. You’re frightening the ghost!’

(c) Anthony North, January 2008

Click Fiction Page for more of this novel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEYOND THE BLOG

READ MY ULTIMATE MAGAZINE POST
What’s on today: If you haven’t guessed by the title, it’s birthday time … PLUS … Infuriating BBC and its digitalitis. UK doctors fed up - Oh, shame.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEYOND THE BLOG

I don’t normally post a Diary piece on a Wednesday, but as it’s Beyond the Blog’s birthday I’ve made an exception. The blog has gone through many incarnations in its first year, but now I feel I’ve got it about right.
Along with its two sister blogs, Eye on the World and North’s Review, it deals in a wide variety of subjects, and together my ‘alternative network’ has, in the last week, raced through a rather healthy 200,000 hits.

My hopes for Beyond the Blog were many.

This is reflected in its diversity. On the pages you can find my writers’ archive, whilst my newish Magazine Posts form the centre of what it’s all about.
From here I link to my current affairs comment side, and to my beloved Fiction - whilst I also get much traffic to my twice weekly Mysteries posts. It is such a variation that inspired me to call this site Beyond the Blog.

Many blogs don’t survive their first year.

Beyond the Blog has not only done that, but I feel it is still growing, and will not be disappearing any time soon. Even if life became so busy that my daily posting had to go, I’d still be posting whenever I could.
But there is no risk of a reduction any time soon. This is because I like to think of myself as a writer, and if writers do not communicate, then they fail to provide the end product that writing is.
Finally, may I give a great big thankyou to everyone who has supported Beyond the Blog. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. And please stay with me as I enter my second year.
Once again, thankyou so very much!

© Anthony North, January 2008

DOES THE BBC KNOW WHAT IT’S DOING?

It’s facing job cuts. Apart from the odd piece of brilliance, its programs are rubbish. Welcome to the BBC, the pearl in British broadcasting; the public service broadcaster we all pay for through our licence, and the numbskulls who have nothing but contempt for us …
… read more …

DOCTORED DOCTORS

General Practitioners are fed up with the prospect of working longer hours. Threatening to leave the NHS, some want to charge £25 for a UK patient to see the doctor. This, whilst they are the best paid in Europe …
… read more …

You can comment on any linked post below if you wish

THE CREATION ACCOUNT

Happy Birthday Beyond the Blog

I’ve been fascinated with Genesis for many years. Over that time I’ve asked myself a simple question: is it mere myth, or is there real knowledge to be found within the poetic nature of the words?
I’ve decided there is. I offer no justification, here, for any arguments for or against the account. I merely lay out the facts as I see them. One point, however. In this analysis, I only cover Chapter One, which does not go into great detail about Adam and Eve. An analysis of this will follow in a later essay.

A MATTER OF DAYS

At the time in which the Creation Account was written, the only element of reality with which man could interact was the known Earth itself. The universe above his head was the home of supernatural influences and didn’t enter his world view.
Hence, there is the direct assertion at the beginning of the account that: ‘In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth’. The actual construction of the heavens was literally of no value to them.
This said, the actual Creation occurred in Six Days. I would immediately agree with the Comte de Buffon, who argued that the Six Days were, infact, vast amounts of time. This is understandable in terms of the people at the time of the account. Their only easily measurable length of time was that dictated by the sun and moon - i.e. the day.

THE SIX DAYS

The first major assertion of the account relating to Earth is that the Earth:

‘was without form and void; and a darkness was upon the face of the deep’

The most generally accepted theory for the formulation of planet Earth is that gravity affected gas clouds of particles, attracting them into an etheric whole that would eventually condense into the planet as we know it.
Hence, at the beginning of Earth’s existence, it WAS without form, and void. At such an early period in Earth’s formulation, the solar system would also have been in a more primeval state, the gases being attracted to form the sun not yet densely packed enough to form nuclear reaction.
It is therefore valid to say that darkness was upon the face of the deep. And lo and behold:

‘God said, Let there be light, and there was light’

The sun had compacted to a point to allow nuclear reaction. And by the end of the first day, Cod had created night and day.

‘And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
‘And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
‘And God called the firmament Heaven …’

At the beginning of this period, the condensing gases would be changing constitution the closer such gases were to the central point of gravity. Hence, towards the centre of the cloud, the gases would be beginning to liquify. On the outer edges of the cloud the gases, however, would still be in a gaseous state.
In the centre of this reaction would be a point where liquid and gas would be breaking away from each other, forming the actual construction of the hard planet, and its circling atmosphere.
Hence, the waters under the firmament would be divided from the waters above, eventually becoming the planet and sky. And so endeth the second day.
God was particularly busy on the third day.

‘Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear … ‘

The atmosphere, having been created on the second day, the condensing of the actual planet had begun, and before long we see the construction of the land and the sea. Hence, the waters were gathered unto one place, other than upon land.
But God didn’t rest, for on the same day we find:

‘Let the Earth bring forth grass … ‘

As the Earth was forming the land and sea, it also formulated a concept known as the ‘primordial soup’ - a kind of cooking pot, wherefrom came life. And on the third day we clearly see these two processes going on almost simultaneously.
Admittedly, grass did not suddenly sprout of this ’soup’ - rather, the first form of life would be bacteria - but the writer of the account identified the first living thing as the genetically most basic form of life he could see about him. He had no knowledge of bacteria or microscopic creepy-crawlies, but intuition and scientific integrity remain sound.

The scientific hits within the Creation Account are becoming quite staggering. But God slept until the fourth day. Then:

‘ … and God said, Let there be lights in the firmament to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons and for days, and years …
‘ … And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also.’

We can immediately see an apparent problem here. It is ridiculous to see the sun, moon and stars only being created at this point in planet Earth’s evolution. But we must remember from what frame of reference the Creation Account is written.
Mortal existence could only be viewed in terms of the Earth itself. So to understand the fourth day, we must view it in terms of what the writer could have experienced had he been on Earth at the time of the fourth day.
The Earth had produced its initial life, the sea and land were existant, and it had an atmosphere. The concept of day and night would also exist. But of what order? For instance, would Earth have had an atmosphere as we know it today?
Science says not. Rather, the atmosphere would have been extremely volatile and gaseous, to such an extent that the whole Earth would have been shrouded in dense cloud. Light and dark would be appreciable on the Earth’s surface, but it would be a fused light, unlike day and night as we know it today. And as for celestial bodies, they would have been veiled from view.
Hence, from the Earth’s surface, the sun, moon and stars would not be visible. So on the fourth day, the atmosphere thinned out to become the atmosphere we appreciate today; exactly in line with scientific theory the sun, moon and stars would suddenly appear.
And so to the fifth day.

‘And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven’.

On the fourth day we saw the correct identification of vegetation before the evolution of actual creatures. Now, on the fifth day, we also see the correct process of creatures being first evolved in the sea.
So far so good. But within evolution theory, sea creatures must then crawl out of the sea to become land creatures, BEFORE they take to the sky. The Creation Account seems to get it completely wrong by saying creatures appeared, first, in the sea, and then in the sky.
Do we at last have an error in the creation account? No. Not necessarily.
Scientific methodology can be best identified as data collection, or observation, intermingled with intuitiveness. And in this apparent error we can see proof of the ‘observation’ element of scientific methodology.
Imagine you are a scientist in the second millennium BC. You have intuitively decided that creatures first came from the sea. So you look at the kinds of creatures you have around you - land animals such as sheep and dogs, birds, small reptiles and insects.
Which of them appears to resemble the next stage on from the fish? A sheep or dog shows no resemblance at all. They have well developed, muscular legs and hairy coats. Nothing like a fish. Insects are out - too many legs and too small.
So what about reptile? He can also be discounted. Although he is scaly, he has well developed legs and teeth. Even the fact that he can exist in water need not necessarily lead to the conclusion that he came from fish.
But what about the bird? Here we have a creature with rudimentary legs, suggestive of the next step forward from fish. He has a beak rather than well designed teeth. He has wings, which could be construed as a development of the fin. And as any fisherman will tell you, birds are clearly visible flying over the water when bringing in the catch.
Hence, it is feasible to argue that our second millennium BC scientist would opt for bird as the evolutionary outcome of fish. However, there is a more intuitive possibility here, too.
The actual evolutionary process from the fish is most likely the reptile. But the point is, the evolutionary line, leading to the present-day reptile, was not around to be observed by our ancient scientist. It had become extinct.
He could not, therefore, have seen this transition phase in action. Yet, as becomes obvious from the Adam and Eve Narrative, which will be discussed in the future, something intuitive within our scientist had suspicions regarding the reptile.
For it was the ’serpent’ - an ungodly creation - that tempted Eve, being condemned to crawl along the ground on its belly, as a snake.
And so to the Sixth Day.

‘And God said, Let the Earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and the beast of the earth after His kind: and it was so.’

Thus we have the evolution of present day creatures, created ‘after His kind’, which itself can be termed to mean the next stage on from the previously evolved cousin; a direct hint at the acceptance of evolutionary principles at work in the account. All that is missing is man. But later that day …

‘ …God said, Let us make man in own image … ‘

And later:

‘God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.’

And by the end of the Sixth Day evolution is complete.

(c) Anthony North, January 2008

Happy Birthday Beyond the Blog

COMMONSENSE BY DIKTAT

READ MY ULTIMATE MAGAZINE POST
What’s on today: What has government done to commonsense? … PLUS … the real values of Britain’s Gordon Brown. And a little horror story to chill you.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

COMMONSENSE BY DIKTAT

You’ve all heard about the research. It can come in many forms. Beefburgers can make you fat. That’s a classic. As if we didn’t know already. But to science, we don’t. If it isn’t proved, it may not be right.
We all know it’s right, because we’ve employed commonsense. But we’re not supposed to use that any more. Don’t you realize that? We cannot be trusted to be correct in our commonsense judgements.

This is a problem that is becoming dangerous.

What happens in science usually passes down to society. So hey presto! Welcome to political correctness. The vast majority know it is wrong to discriminate, but we can’t know this through commonsense. We’ve got to be told.
In the UK, health and safety is gathering ground, too. This is the real social stinker. Anything that can be dangerous if commonsense is not used must be banned. Because we’re not allowed to use commonsense.

Commonsense, you see, has been politicized.

It has been taken away from us mere incompetent people, and placed in the hands of authority. And only their pronouncements can be classed as commonsense.
But of course, it isn’t commonsense they impose on us, but diktat. Governments have realised a new way to control – to politicize our value judgements themselves. And here, good reader, is the real irony. In the age of the individual, government is now guaranteeing that individuality is no more.

© Anthony North, January 2008

GONE BRITANNIA

It has been reported that the ‘esteemed leader’ has approved the removal of Britannia from British 50p coins. This symbol represents so much of what is Britain. So how does this stand regarding Brown’s love of British values …
… read more …

Fiction Xtra - BED MATE - a touch of horror; not for those of a nervous nature

Is the world we see about us real or illusion? Is the world a hard, material fact, or does reality bend to how we want the world to be? Philosophers and theologians have grappled with this question since history began and never have they provided a satisfactory answer. But in our day to day lives we need not worry about such things. Or should we …
… read more …

You can comment on any linked post below if you wish

NATURE OF GOD - OTHER

READ MY ULTIMATE MAGAZINE POST
What’s on today: Scripture says God is above the universe, but could He be seen in a different way? … PLUS … Liberals love faith schools - strange. British police get militant.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

NATURE OF GOD - OTHER

For many years I’ve thought about God. I’m not a practicing Christian, but I’m certainly not an atheist, either. I suppose, in some ways, we need more than the material to be complete.
I’ve decided to write down my thoughts and ideas on the subject in a brief way, rather than the in-depth essays I’ve previously written. This is the first of a series of such posts, which will appear over the next month or so.

I cannot grasp the idea of God being ‘other’.

By this, I mean an entity separate from the universe, and all that is within it. My research into mysteries has convinced me of the possibility of a form of ‘consciousness’ in the universe.
Quantum theory is slowly moving in this direction, also. And mystics have long thought that the way to access a universal consciousness is by descending into your own inner mind.

This would change the position of a possible God.

For rather than being ‘other’ He would be intrinsically connected to the universe, and man. This is a much more acceptable concept to me.
In effect, God could well be ‘higher’, in that He is a much more encompassing level of consciousness, whereas we are ‘lower’; but He would certainly not be ‘other’. Would this make the idea of God more acceptable to our skeptical world?

© Anthony North, January 2008

FAITH SCHOOLS

David Cameron has angered people by deciding to send one of his children to a Church of England school rather than the nearest schools. Yet there is a degree of hypocrisy in this anger …
… read more …

POLICE MARCH

I watched a frightening sight on the news last night. There it was, in stark intensity. 20,000 British policemen marching in protest at the government’s handling of their pay review …
… read more …

You can comment on any linked post below if you wish

THE SCIENCE OF PRECOGNITION

The ability to see into the future is one of the most enigmatic areas of paranormality. To accept that it occurs we have to abandon our sense of ‘now’, and to accept a merging of all time, including the future, which rationally has not yet happened.
This, however, has not stopped a whole host of theories regarding the subject. From pseudoscholars, to philosophers, to scientists, the existence of a ‘future’ has fascinated some of our cleverest minds.

PHILOSOPHISING TIME

To French philosopher Henri Bergson time is not in the world. Rather, it is a subjective quality, needed for us to place order upon the world. English author J B Priestley went further, arguing that we had to be taught to appreciate time; and once taught, we were imprisoned by it. But these ideas actually tell us little of the mechanics of time.
One theory to explain precognition is the ‘bow wave’ effects. As a boat ploughs through water, it leaves ripples which dissipate with the passing of time. Could time be similar, causing ripples that go back to the past from the future? Ripples of knowledge that we can intuit?

THE TIME SCIENTISTS

Prof Paul Davies suggests there are an infinite number of universes. Could we cross into other universes? And if so, could we re-enter the same universe at a different point in time? Cosmologist Thomas Gold suggested that the direction of time is a product of the universe expanding. But what if it is really contracting? If so, it is an illusion that time goes forward. It is really going backwards. Hence, we experience things that haven’t yet happened.
A further idea is the block-universe hypothesis. Here, the four dimensions, including time, are really static. Movement is really consciousness moving through it, rather like a beam of light, illuminating and making it real. But if the unconscious is more like a searchlight, it will pierce deeper and wider, the unconscious appreciating events before they happen.

AN EXPERIMENT WITH TIME

British engineer J W Dunne was fascinated by the subject, keeping a ‘dream diary’ for many years. Once, in South Africa during the Boer War, he dreamt he was stood on a hill watching a volcano erupt. The number 4,000 was connected with the image.
Later he heard of the eruption on Martinique which killed 40,000. On another occasion he saw a train disappear over an embankment in his dream. A couple of months later the Flying Scotsman plunged over an embankment not far from the Forth Bridge.
Writing about his experiences in his 1927 book, ‘An Experiment With Time,’ Dunne argued time existed in layers, each slightly more advanced in time than the others. Alongside these layers were various selves, or states of consciousness, in the person. At times we can move into higher layers, thus appreciating the future.

CAUSALITY AND FREE WILL

There is, of course, a problem with these ideas. None of them can be proved. Indeed, the idea that we can see the future flies in the face of logic, particularly concerning the law of causality.
This simple law states that a cause must come before an effect. For instance, if you are shot, a gun must first be fired. It is ridiculous to surmise that you could experience the wounding (the effect) before the gun firing (the cause). Events simply must happen in order for the world to make sense. But if a definite future exists, then this order is blown.
Philosophically, we also have a problem with free will. Fundamental to who we are is the idea that we can make choices. Such choices lead to actions, and it is those actions that will go on to form the future.
However, if a definite future already exists, then those choices become irrelevant, and our free will is a fallacy. Such an acceptance of a future negates our ability to think and act. Rather, we would simply be mindless players of a universal tune.

TOWARDS OTHER DIMENSIONS

As we can see, there seems to be severe problems concerning the possbility of the future already existing. Scientific theories are unproveable, and philosophically it is ridiculous. So should we forget the idea that a definite future is already there to intuit?
The easy answer is yes. But there is the possibility that we haven’t grasped the concept yet because of our knowledge is not up to the job. Basically, it is us who let ourselves down.
Maybe, in the future, this will change. But if so, where would the most likely theory come from? I’d put my bet on the possibility of other dimensions. At present, eleven dimensions are theorised to exist in the universe.
Similarly, many theorists are beginning to argue that consciousness extends into the fundamental construction of the universe. If we thus see a possibility of a deeper form of consciousness existing in other dimensions, we can change our appreciation of what ‘time’ is.

THE ETERNAL NOW

To us, time flows in an orderly fashion. It may slow down or speed up, dependent upon Relativity Theory, but it does not go backwards - at least not in the universe we experience. But there is nothing to say that other dimensions have to exist in time. Indeed, ‘time’ is a dimension in itself.
It is the fourth dimension, and length, breadth and height exist within it, as we experience the three-dimensaional world in time. Other dimensions are beyond our experience, so are likely, also, to be beyond time. But what does it mean to be ‘beyond’ time?
If time does not exist, then everything can logically be said to exist at once. There would be no past, present or future, but simply an eternal now. Perhaps we are cut off, in normal consciousness, from this eternal now.
But at times when our consciousness changes, such as in an altered state, maybe we catch a glimpse of an eternal now, and perceive just a modicum of knowing of what will happen then.

(c) Anthony North, January 2008

Click Mysteries page for more of the unexplained

CELEBRITY CREATIONS

READ MY ULTIMATE MAGAZINE POST
What’s on today: A Sunday Scribblings prompt looking into a worrying aspect of cosmetic surgery … PLUS … A couple of ramblings from a short time back. And a whodunit.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

CELEBRITY CREATIONS

Many in Britain have followed the life of Jordan for years. Who is Jordan? Real name, Katie Price, she was a ‘model’ who went on a mission to have the biggest breasts in Britain. Enlargement after enlargement followed.
As did various other ‘cosmetics’, and coupled with a seemingly wild lifestyle, she epitomized the idea of celebrity without talent. But Jordan took her ‘celebrity’ to new heights.

It began on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.

On this survivalist reality show, she met and courted singer Peter Andre in front of the cameras, and since then, she’s lived an entire family life, with kids, through reality shows.
Hopefully, Jordan has a real life under this publicity façade. But recently there’s been a change. Perhaps embracing motherhood, she’s changed her hair, reduced her breasts, got rid of the tan and had a new nose. Estimated cost £40,000.

This is perhaps the most worrying aspect of all.

We go through various changes in our life, but Jordan seems to have done so in a totally material way. The ultimate in consumerdom, she has changed her ‘personality’ through the knife.
Totally living in the material and the media eye, she has become, literally, her own creationist – a media image in plastic – and has surely confirmed that the throw away society now includes the person.
Somehow, it terrifies me.

© Anthony North, January 2008

This is a post inspired by aSunday Scribblings prompt. Have you had a go yet?

WHY NOT TRY SOME OF MY RECENT RAMBLINGS?

GLOBAL WARMING BACKLASH

A movement against man-made global warming seems to be growing on the internet, and I think it will gather steam. Reasons seem to vary …
… read more …

Fiction Xtra - MATCHBREAKER - a short whodunit for you all

Cuthbert King sat in his study contemplating the letter in front of him. Some sixty years of age, his mind was as sharp as ever, and as he pushed his mass of white hair from his eyes, he turned to Mr Sprat.
‘I don’t think I can resist this one,’ he said …
… read more …

CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME - THE BEGINNING

As regular readers will know, I have the condition, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I’m often asked questions about it, but apart from the occasional mention, I haven’t really written about it …
… read more …

THE ROOT OF DESIRE

READ MY ULTIMATE MAGAZINE POST
What’s on today: My first attempt at a Writers’ Island prompt post. Hope you like it … PLUS … Pickpocketing gangs back on the streets of London. The strange story of two Goths and a Chippie.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

THE ROOT OF DESIRE

We can do it with passion. It can take over our entire mind, dictate our every action. Whether the subject is the person you love or a hamburger, it is immaterial. When you want something so much, you are the plaything of your desires.
The ‘hamburger’ is more important to the subject than my flippancy seems to suggest. It was the psychologist Abraham Maslow who devised the idea of the ‘hierarchy of wants’. It was a simple system to explain what drives us.

Most people only achieve the first four basic wants.

These are to eat, to have shelter, to procreate and have family, and to satisfy your self-esteem. The average life, and social evolution itself, seems to fit into these four categories.
The mind and body seem to be hard-wired to achieve these things, and usually in the order mentioned above. And at the root of these goals is our ‘desire’ for them. And arguably, without the impulse to ‘desire’ something, we would never do anything at all.

This tells us something important about ourselves.

We like to think of human beings as rational people, yet desire is very much an emotional state. So seeing it is so important to our survival and achievement, are we really as rational as we think?
I suspect not. Rather, we are what we are because of our emotional desires. And we will crave a particular desire absolutely whenever it enters our mind - even if it is as innocuous as that hamburger.

© Anthony North, January 2008

This is post inspired by a Writers’ Island prompt. Have you had a go yet?

IS FAGIN BACK?

The incorrectly named News at Ten led yesterday with a report of massive police raids around London on Romanian gangs who have been bringing in children as young as 4 to work as beggars and pickpockets …
… read more …

WITH A PINCH OF SALT

There’s a marvelous story doing the rounds of a Goth who leads his girlfriend around on a leash being banned from a bus after being told no dogs allowed. Is this victimization, as is claimed …
… read more …

You can comment on any linked post below if you wish