Personal Blogs

I should have brought this to you before.  America needs to grow up and recognise its responsibility.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjzrvRKv6Ks

America you want to be the ideal of democracy, then grow up.  Luckily there are people in the USA willing to fight for the right of democracy!  Unfortunately that is neither Trump nor Clinton!...Oh crap.... 

This wouldn't be so important but they hold the codes to nuclear Armageddon! 

My sister-in-laws family have lost their homes and on her mothers side we can't ascertain if they are still alive as the areas worst hit.  So if you can please give to

http://www.dec.org.uk/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_term=DEC&utm_content=Brand%20Terms&utm_campaign=Philippines&gclid=CLyWrI2g6roCFafnwgod5H8AEQ

Thank you

****UPDATE***

From my brothers facebook site.

Hi All

Please read this one ) Wanted to call upon everyone for help, especially as you must be aware of the events in the Philippines. Basically you might be asking yourself, how does that effect Darryn Clarke from Whitley Bay! Well, as you may or may not know, my wife is from Aklan province and houses have been flattened, so many fallen trees and power is still off.

 The village is called Ibajay in Aklan and my Mother in Law brothers, sisters and their children live in a small coastal village next to Tacloban. Both areas were hit hard by the Typhoon Yolanda.

 By good fortune my wife’s brothers are safe but need to rebuild and clean up, as you can see from the pictures a lot of trees have come down and we now have a skylight in Kuya (Brother) Jojo bedroom and no power. I’ll post more photos soon but the village has one generator to recharge a mobile. Myself and other family members outside of the Philippines have sent money to Pastor Nonoy to help a couple of families that have very little money or material to fix the damage. Who is Pastor Nonoy you might be asking? He is a longtime family friend and looks after the local church (the core of this community) and the local school attached to the church. Sadly, so far we’ve not heard yet from our family in Tacloban but hopefully we’ll hear something in the coming days!

 I’ve hesitated enough this week and decided it’s time to help more or regret not helping enough! I’ve set up a donation link with an existing verified PayPal account and even if we raise £10 it is enough to help a family in Ibajay village or surrounding villages that life has been turned upside down this week. There is also another Typhoon on the way, which could bring heavy rains so I’d expect there might be more damage or food issues and having no roof won’t help!

 We can be sure that 100% of the donations get spent in the right places and reach the people that need it. I can also promise that any donations will go direct to Paster Nonoy and be given where needed to rebuild a community. I’ll not send any donations anywhere without telling all where it’s going and who it will help.

 I’ve set up this donation PayPal button. I’m not expecting much but even £5 makes a big different for materials to rebuild. We’ve helped the brothers and a few families at the weekend; if you were thinking about giving then we can help more families in the area and you will know where the money is going. Message me if you want my contact number or home address.

 Click this to be taken to Paypal and please help:

http://tinyurl.com/keatbuz

Also, if you can share this message that might also help raise more for other families in the community and we can get the money to the people not the governments.

Regards,

Darryn Clarke

I'm kind of mesmerised by this video.  It's the lifecycle of Earth and it doesn't end well for us.

http://marcbrecy.perso.neuf.fr/history.html

Warning I use strong language.  I'm upset.

Innocent people have died not to mention young children.  My youngest thought this would happen to her and when I tried to explain, she was upset for her cousins, cousins in Pennsylvania, as she thought it was typically American... I'm not so sure she is wrong.

I am angry, very angry! Part of my anger is because I know I can't make a difference, at least not in the USA. This is to do with our cousins the Americans. Didn't you get it after Columbine! The second amendment, that bit about the right to bear arms. Are you off your trolley? This may be a law that in 18^th Century, even 19^th Century America, may have had validity. But not today, not in 21^st Century America. Sorry Charlton 'From these dead hands!' Heston, thankfully he is dead.... so take the fucking rifle from his grasp!

There shouldn't need to buy military grade weapons in a supermarket with ammunition that is designed to cause so much damage to the human body. Why? To protect Americans from what...Liberals, Marxists, Atheists, Muslims or maybe those damn Nazi/Marxist/liberal/atheistic/Muslims. America try to grow up! I'm a liberal atheist, are you going to kill me. I guess freedom should be defined as any European country. Can I ask you President what is more important, the erosion of freedom of speech, torture at Guantanamo Bay, the freedom of expression or the right to kill a person when you get pissed off? Seriously does the death of so many children justify the second amendment. We may not be perfect in Britain but after the Dunblane massacre we have tightened up the laws on gun ownership. It hasn't eradicated the problem but it is very rare.

These were teachers and very young children, who were thinking about Santa Claus, presents, and holidays. What have they done that makes your second amendment to be morally right.

President Barack Obama, how about changing the gun laws, especially the second amendment to the constitution. Those children should never have been in danger. Thanks to the second amendment they were. If you can't sort out your own countries problems then stay out of the rest of the worlds.  Seriously America (and lets face it Britain), just Piss off out of the rest of the worlds business!

I very rarely use the Metro system these days but since starting the OU, I figured it would be easier and cheaper to take the Metro into town, to get to the University. As we pulled into West Jesmond station, I noticed the building connected to The Longsdale Pub had disappeared. A small part of me died. That building was the Jesmond Picture House.

The Jesmond Picture House holds many fond memories for me. I spent a good part of my youth. Indeed as a Student, I was a patron of this establishment. Every other Saturday, we would visit my maternal grandparents, and with my younger brother in tow, we would walk the small distance from Bayswater Road to the Cinema. Saturday afternoons was 'Kids Matinee', and we were treated to an array of movies from 'Jason and the Argonauts' to the many Sinbad films that were made during the 60s and 70s. I can't quite remember how much it costs but I seem to think it was about 50p. For that we got not one but two movies. The first movie tended to be a short film, usually a Bugs Bunny/ Tom and Jerry Cartoon or an old Stooges film. Then there was an intermission and then the main feature.

Let me explain what I loved about The Jesmond Picture house. It was imperfect. As you went into the auditorium you were greeted by a large red curtain. On that curtain, from the projectionist, a light show was played with a cardboard cut out of all the astronomical birth signs spiralling to the sound of Cliff Richards and the Shadows hits. Weirdly this was mesmerizing. Eventually the movie would begin. The curtains would squeak across the stage and then the projectionist would play the first movie. Of course for the first few minutes it was out of focus, but he would get there.

After the first movie an Usherette came out selling ice creams, although I never saw them, selling Albatross. (This is for Python fans).

Now the main feature...For the first few minutes it was out of focus. (I have never not been entertained at this cinema. Even when the film was rubbish!)

It wasn't just the movie, the staff were second to none. They were friends of my Grandma. They always looked out for us.

The last time I was there I was about 20 and I went to see 'The Doors'. I'd seen it at the ODEON in Pilgrim Street. I am a big Doors fan and I wasn't impressed. However my flatmates were out, I had consumed quarter a bottle of Jack Daniels so I decided to go to the pictures to see 'The Doors'. I hid my bottle of Jack Daniels in my coat and bought a few Hamlet cigars. Went upstairs to the upper circle, where there were a few people, drank, smoke and finally, thought I understood the film. If only because I was drunk! (No I didn't smoke anything illegal!) As I left the upper circle I bumped into an usherette, who said 'Are you the son of 'my mother with maiden name'?”

“Yes.” I said

“Ooh she used to go to school with my daughter 'name', does your mother remember?”

I don't know, she never mentioned her. Yet I lie, to make her happy.

It made me realise how much I hate these modern, expensive, can't bring your own sweets, multiplex Cinemas.

I'm now a grumpy old man, but, 'when I were a lad'...We didn't have to pay a booking fee, or an extortionate amount of money, because they have more screens or associated with some American studio. Cinema houses were independent, and because of this a certain charm.

Progress does not always equal good.

Just heard Beastie Boy, Adam Yauch has died of cancer.

My heart felt wishes to his wife and family. 

I'm actually going to be serious with my blog I hope I don't do this often. I may also offend many people. It is not my wish, I just think society has evolved since about 3-4000 years ago and I am using this blog to get my thoughts across. Of course you can disagree and to not quote Voltaire, 'I am offended by everything you say, but I will damn well fight for the right for you to say it.' Who actually said that? I think it was a mate.

So here we go.

I have heard many times even from Agnostics and Atheists that one good thing about Judaism/Christianity/Islam is the 10 Commandments. It is the basis of law and order in the UK, you can't argue against these basic principles. I even heard it from a very intelligent person in my tutor group, which I started making my point but to be honest it did not add anything to the discussion on Plato. In a way they are right it is the basic law of many countries, however it is also the worse set of laws ever to be recorded in Human history.

Why? Firstly according to the Old Testament this is the rules laid down by God. A being who created the universe in 6 days. He is omnipotent and omniscience yet makes a bunch of rules which are vague and open to interpretation. I am going to go through each one and give my objection. But I have to say these ten rules are not all bad. I just prefer the FSM's 8 I'd rather you didn'ts and even they have flaws!

First of all we need a description of moral. I'm not going into the Socrates argument. It would take a lifetime!!!! So I'm going for the Oxford English Dictionary. Which is.....

principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour: the matter boiled down to simple morality: innocent prisoners ought to be freed

• [count noun] a particular system of values and principles of conduct: a bourgeois morality

• the extent to which an action is right or wrong: the issue of the morality of the possession of nuclear weapons

So.

1 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

First of all does YHWH know that there are other gods, maybe he is no more important than Bacchus? Either way on a moral level it doesn't matter, except for a paranoid deity.

2 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.'

Jealousy???? for an omnipotent and omniscience being this surely is an embarrassment. Are you telling me he is as vain as Simon Cowell? Again, not immoral.

3 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.'

Now this can have two meanings. If you promise an oath to your sister/brother/friend/ally etc and you break that promise, morally probably a no no. If it is just to say Jesus H Christ, then Blasphemy is a victimless crime. Also why does YHWH, Christ or Mohammed need a blasphemy law? Surely any blasphemer will burn in Hell for eternity, why should God need a law in the UK?

4 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.'

Great to get a day off and I think that it would be nice if we had one day a week where capitalism didn't win! I mean for Odin's sake why do we need shops opening 24/7...nearly. I am disheartened by people who get upset because for one or two days a year nothing is open! Get over it! Two days a year, shops are closed and yet people act as if there is going to be a Nuclear War, makes me think 'maybe we haven't evolved that much and our extinction is close.' Still nothing moral.

5 “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

This isn't a bad idea, but what if your mother was an alcoholic/junkie that used you to steal money or a Father that treat you and your Mum as a punching bag? I think Honour needs to be earned rather than expected.

6 'You shall not murder.'

Again as a rule of thumb a very good idea however, what if someone was trying to kill your love ones and you have no choice? Or if you were in a position of either them or you? This statement by 'god' is too sweeping. Let's be perfectly honest, religion haven't exactly stuck to this commandment.

7 'You shall not commit adultery.'

I have no objections to this. I admit, if I found out my wife was unfaithful I would be devastated. However, what if the man beat the women, or completely ignored her/treat her like a slave and she found someone who treat her with respect. Would we condemn the woman?

8 'You shall not steal.'

Again good rule, but what if your children are dying of starvation. Let's admit it we love the story of Robin Hood, 'Rob the rich to feed the poor'. The church has done this for thousands of years and not for moral reasons.

9 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.'

Lying......... the church..... I rest my case. Lying for Jesus is still lying. According to Pope Benedict condoms don't prevent the spread of Aids they are conducive in the spread of Aids. Never mind how he covered up the Child rape scandal the Catholic Church is trying desperately to deny and blame on all things Secularism??!!??

But again is lying always wrong or indeed immoral? No, does anyone condemn the Europeans of all religions that lied to the Gestapo or SS about Jews they may have been hiding? They are heroes in my opinion, yet they disobeyed the 9^th commandment, ironically created by the Jewish god.

10 'You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.'

Surely in the Western Christian world coveting is what makes the world go round! This capitalism! How many Rich persons tell us we should believe in god. The Christian/Muslim/Jewish church is probably richer than most companies! Also I am actually offended by the fact my wife seems to be seen as my property. She is not!

There is one thing that I can't ever justify and maybe a god should have mentioned and that is 'Thou shall not Rape.' Oh hang on there is look at Deuteronomy 22:28. Anyone does that to my girls, I don't want your money..... I want your head on the mantelpiece with your Balls stuffed in your mouth!!

Finally the other thing I don't understand is if all morality is based on the tablets of Moses, then does that mean every society before this, committed all of the above immoral? This includes any civilisation that never heard of Moses or Jesus. The Native Americans, Aborigines, Asians, etc etc.

Again I would like comments, this is me being honest but I believe this blog will be hated, however don't stop reading because overall I like to write nostalgic rubbish that might be humorous. It's just occasionally someone makes a comment that I react to like a bull to a red flag.

 Hello OU people

I seriously doubt anyone will read this blog. However, I thought 'why not, if nothing else I will just be typing to myself.' Is that worse than talking to oneself? I don't know, but unfortunately I do, (talk not type). I talk to myself at work, in the street and at home. Am I mad? Yes probably, but in a weird way I find it easier to work through problems. In my defence I haven't started arguing with a can of Special Brew....maybe one day. For some reason I can't do this silently in my head, it makes more sense for important decisions, if I say it out loud. I suppose at least I realise it's me and not some deity or Napoleon talking to me. Anyway I digress. Mind you it's my blog so I can digress all I want!

I'm going to digress anyway. Just before the end of the world didn't happen in 1999, I had to go to Glasgow for a meeting. As such I had to wear a suit! More about that later. I was on the 0600 train to Glasgow Queen Street. Hoping to get some sleep, I was kept awake by an ex-Major looking gentleman who in a posh voice, on a mobile phone, announced rather loudly to his wife and his secretary he was in fact on the train. Amazingly this conversation went on until Edinburgh Waverly! Thus I never got any sleep. However, it was the return that had me in stitches. While standing on the platform at Queen's Street for the train to Newcastle a 'bag lady' with her supermarket trolley in tow came up to me and asked for the time. I duly looked at my watch and gave her the answer. At which point she said 'You're a Geordie aren't you?'. I said I was and she replied 'Aye you're basically Glaswegians with your brains kicked out!' (actually the language was stronger than that, but it might contravene OU guidelines). She then toddled off leaving me crippled in pain with all the laughing. What a wonderful woman.

OK after that pointless, but I hope amusing story, I should give you a bit of background information. I live in the North East of England and I am a Newcastle United supporter. I have a wife and 2 children, both girls. Monty Python and The Goons are my comedic heroes and 'The Life of Brian' is the best ever comedy film, closely followed by 'Blazing Saddles'. Culturally and musically I have been described as a Heavy/Hippie/Goth/Punk. I love everything from Buddy Holly to The Sisters of Mercy, but The Beatles are the best group of all time... IMHO. I like literature and history, and my OU tutor is probably exasperated because I don't seem to know when to use capitals!!!! I'm really sorry, I don't do It IntenTionally, except obviously there.

Politically I see myself as a Humanist, liberal. To the Tea Party and Republicans in the USA that makes me a Communist! As for Religion I am an Agnostic Atheist, i.e. I don't know if a god or indeed gods exist, but based on the evidence given by believers, I am 99.9% sure they don't. 'Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.' (Christopher Hitchens, 2010) Having said that I believe that on a personal level anyone's beliefs are sacrosanct. I also believe that ideas are open to question, whether they be political, to do with the arts or religion and I won't hold religious leaders in awe if they support dangerous nonsense.

I would love to read your views and all are welcome. You can agree with me or rip me to pieces, personally, you can even swear at me. However I expect you to back this up with a decent argument. You can't call me a so-and-so without justifying why you think that.