I'll Have A Pizza That Francesco!

So, yesterday I discovered, and today confirmed, that not only have I passed my degree in Computer Science, but I have also achieved a distinction! It took a lot of hard work, and after the first semester, when I told our Course Leader that a distinction was what I was aiming for, he said that that it would be next to impossible. But, I knew that I could do it if I worked hard enough, and I feel more than vindicated in saying so, now that I have. I'm not sure what it means in real terms, other than indicating I'm slightly superior mentally (heh), don't know if I'll get an award to show that achievement or whatever.

Well, Hot Fuzz is out on dvd today, so that's what I'll be watching tonight. I have been (reliably? not sure about that!) informed that it's much better than Shaun Of the Dead, which I found fairly amusing, but I can see how it might not be so well appreciated beyond the shores of this Isle we call Brittania!

This morning we took a drive up to Inverness to acquire some Summer clothing, for our impending holiday in Lido di Jesolo. The kids are very excited about the prospect, as am I, having visted Northern Italy as a 10 year old, I can't wait for my return visit, and I'm especially looking forward to visiting Venice, even if it's just for a day! Ever since I watched Francesco da Mosto in "Italy, Head to Toe", I've been itching to visit Venice. It's great to see someone so passionate about their culture. Well, I must admit that Tomb Raider 2 has also inspired me to visit, but I hope not to be chased across the Rialto by Marco Bartoli's henchmen with their cudgels and Doberman Pinchers!

This Spartan Existence!

Better late than never I suppose, I finally saw 300 last night. I've been meaning to catch it for a while, but other things always seemed to get in the way. It was a bit slow in getting started, but when the battle scenes finally came, they were well worth it. I don't usually appreciate historic license, such as Mel Gibson often resorts to (Braveheart and The Patriot. Not to mention The Passion Of the Christ and Apocalypto), but in the case of 300 it merely added to the stunning visual banquet on offer. For the most part anyway, the central theme did run true to the historic narration.

I've often stated in the past, how I believe that every myth has at least a germ of truth in it, and modern people would rationalise the events of the Battle of Thermopylae and suppose that historians always exaggerated figures to lend greater credence to events, but there is little doubt that the battle happened, and pretty much as shown in the film (one would hope).

But, as I write this I see from some reviews that 300 hasn't been so warmly welcomed in the Middle-East, particularly by Iranians, in what was formerly Persia, who think the film is propaganda for action against them by the Americans. For me the film shouldn't be taken in a modern context, other than demonstrating that death is better than the loss of freedom, and in that respect it's us British and American citizens who are presently being subjugated by the constant withering away of our civil liberties. In the War On Terror, everyone must make a sacrifice for the New World Order!

The Science Of the Dead!

A year ago or so, I was watching a documentary on TV, which really made me stop and think at the time, and since I'm harking back to it now, I'm obviously still thinking about it. The subject matter discussed the personalities the likes of: Alexander Graham Bell, Guglielmo Marconi, Thomas Edison, John Logie Baird and many others besides, and seemed to suggest that although each of them had invented devices which we take for granted nowadays, their reasons for doing so were quite different to those which we now put them!

It was suggested that each of these esteemed scientists and many of their peers and predecessors were obsessed with making contact with the dead, or rather capturing the voices of the dead, and that each one of them believed that the devices they had designed might enable them to achieve that end.

You see, science never really ever achieves the ends for which it is intended, and most great discoveries are either accidental or coincidental, and often scientific research and design travel under the guise of something else, such as Bell's insistence that he was working on a device to aid the deaf. That wasn't what he was doing at all, but nobody would have funded his research had they known his true intentions. And, the outcome of his work was neither what he had hoped for, or indeed what he had claimed to be working towards. Nevertheless, where would we be without the phone, eh?

Just One Cornetto... Give It To Me!

Good news all round. Finally managed to get a holiday booked for July, and we're heading for Lido de Jesolo in Italy, for 2 weeks. Just the small matter of getting to Manchester Airport first, quite a journey. We looked at flying internally from Aberdeen to Manchester, but the cost of that was ridiculous, so we will be going via 3 trains, with an overnight stay at a hotel at Manchester Airport, on the way down and the way back. Not ideal, but from a simple economic viewpoint, in our case, essential!

The location is ideal really as we will be able to take day trips to Venice, Verona, Florence and Lake Garda, we'll have the beach if we want it, and a Water Park nearby I believe, always an essential on holiday! I believe that my final coursework and exam results are imminent also, as I've been reliably informed that, the examination board met yesterday. Fingers crossed I get the right results, or I'll have to rethink the whole rest of my life!

The Problems with the Crucifixion!

There are several issues I have with the Crucifixion story. Don't get me wrong, I'm not disputing it happened, it's just that certain key elements of the story don't add up, and any sort of minor investigation into the historical background of the event will quickly reveal what is wrong with the story, as it has come down to us.

The only problem in answering those key questions through a historical examination, is that those people who truly believe that Jesus died on the cross, to save us from our sins, don't want to know about anything other than what it says in the Bible. For them , the Bible is unassailable. They don't even care that most of it was probably concocted from fragments of stories more than a hundred years after the event, and that ever since it has been censored, edited, cut to ribbons and altered to suit various political and doctrinal agendas.

So, you ask, what problems do I have with the Crucifixion story, as a "rational" individaul capable of examining the story objectively. Well, if we rule out the suggestion that Jesus was the Son of God, and examine his situation as though he were a mere mortal man, then the issues become obvious:

• Why did Jesus die so quickly on the cross, when usually it took days to die?
• Why did Jesus appear to die immediately after having his lips soaked by the sponge containing vinegar, was it perhaps some sort of knock-out drug used instead?
• Why did blood pour from the wound in Jesus side, inflicted by a Roman soldier? Had he really been dead, he would not have bled so easily!
• Why was Jesus body taken down so quickly? Usually the body would have been left for a significant period of time, before removal from the cross.

The answers are not immediately apparent, but can be deduced quite easily. Firstly, crucifixions were public events, and the crucifxion of Jesus was no exception, only it took place in a private garden owned by Joseph of Arimathea, and any spectators were at some distance from the event.

Secondly, the Passover was used as a pretext for taking down the body of Jesus, and as such he had to appear to die quickly. The usual practice was to leave the condemned man on the cross until his chest began to collapse from supporting his own weight, at which point the knees would have been smashed, to bring a swift conclusion to the suffering. However, we can clearly see that it wasn't intended that Jesus should suffer such a fate, so his apparent death had to be brought on prematurely. Thus the application of the sponge. There were plenty drugs found naturally in Israel at that time, which when applied correctly could slow down someones heart-rate significantly enough to cause them to appear to be dead, and it seems that that is what happened. The bleeding from the spear wound suggests that he was quite alive as he was taken down and hurried to his tomb, where we can assume he was attended to throughout the night.

So why would such an event be orchestrated in the first place? Well, Jesus appeared to die a martyrs death and be resurrected. He's looking pretty good so far. He gets to leave all his trouble behind and head for pastures new, presumably India. The Romans didn't care about Jesus, but he had some powerful friends who were able to direct the full course of events. Presumably, Pontius Pilate was aware of what was to happen, his only dicatate being that Jesus disappears forever, and that everyone believes him to be dead. Perhaps Jesus wanted to appear before the people like an angel risen from the dead, but was so prohibited by the Romans that he was left with no choice but to leave, otherwise, next time it would be for real!

Foucault's Key To the Templars Tribal Legacy!

Did I tell you already? I'm not sure... I'm reading Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. I'm actually almost at the end of it. As usual, I have been surprised by Eco's literary ability, he really demonstrates great depth of characterisation in his novels. His background research is also meticulous, as is his ability to tie seemingly unrelated subjects together with great ease.

Bizzarely enough, as you may have noticed, I have a slight interest in the Knights Templar, among other subjects, but I hadn't realised this book would focus on them to such an extent, so I have been pleasantly surprised. It actually deals with just about every secret or open society, you can think of. Add in a splash of European History and some dazzling characters, and you have a wonderful story. I hope the ending is going to be everything it's building up to be, not like "The Island Of the Day Before", which although superbly written, had a rather anti-climax of an ending.

So now I have another four books remaining to be read, the remainder of my literary purchases from during College time. I wasn't able to read them then, because the workload was just far too intense. Anyone who says their Degree was easy, is either:

1. A Liar
2. Barking Mad
3. Stephen Hawkings Love-child

I'm none of those unfortunately, so I had to work my ass off. These are the booking awaiting a read from my dusty bookcase:

• The Tribes Of Britain by David Miles
• Turning the Hiram Key by Robert Lomas
• The Tower by Valerio Massimo Mandredi
• The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

Seems eclectic at first glance, but when I look again at the list I can see a common thread, but perhaps that's just my mindset right now from reading Foucault's Pendulum!

The New Adventures Of Tintin!

I know it's not entirely new news, as I heard about it a couple weeks back, or rather read it on Digg, but for anyone who still hasn't heard the news, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are going to be making a trilogy of films based on the adventures of Tintin, including one together.

Now, I don't know how anyone else feels about this, but personally, I have grave reservations. Allegedly, the films will be in a format similar to Polar Express, presumably so they can have a host of celebrities do character voices. My main reservation is that they're going to Americanise it, which would surely be tragic and completely ruin it. Secondly, are they going to base the films on the original books? and, if not, who's going to write the screenplays? Are they going to set in in the same time period, or bring it up to date? Because if the do, it will suck!

There are so many things they could do to inadvertently destroy it, and I can't help thinking that anyone who grew up reading the books and watching the cartoon series, may well be bitterly disappointed with the outcome. I remember as a child, hiring out The Black Island, from the library, and I thought it was superbly written. Of course, as an adult, I can see that it was slightly ridiculous and portayed a stereotypical Scotland rather than the real Scotland, but by God it was a fun read for a child!

So, fingers crossed they do the right thing, or else they'll have legions of closet Tintin fans to answer to!

The Ghost In the Machine!

So, the second part of the double-header as promised, detailing my experience with the supernatural, although as with my UFO sightings, I never actually saw a ghost, although I do believe it made its presence very clear to me, as I shall recount to you now.

Around the year 2000, I think it was, I was working in a very large sawmill, operating some gargantuan machine which spewed out boards at an alarming rate. As, everything was automated, there were just myself and an older guy working in that area of the mill. That part of the mill had been built just the year previous, maybe 2 years earlier, and during construction, a Swedish guy, who had been overseeing the operation was inadvertently killed by a rather large vehicle. The details of which are rather grisly and slightly dubious, so I won't divulge them here.

Anyhow, I was working away there one day, it was a nice sunny day, I was fairly relaxed I guess, I think it was a Friday, so the week was almost over. Next thing, I sensed someone running up behind me, and I thought they were going to grab the back of my neck. I suspected it was the fork-lift driver who worked at the end of our line, as he often came in with new orders or to realy some problem with the conveyor, and that was the sort of thing he'd do. Because, the machinery was elevated, about 7 feet off the ground we were working on this wooden flooring, and so I felt the vibrations as though someone was running up behind me, and at the same time, I had looked down and saw a shadow coming up from behind me.

So, given all of those indications that I was about to be grabbed from behind (I even felt as though I was grabbed, afterwards), you can imagine the surprise I got when I turned around and there was nobody there. I got a real scare. I went to see "Anon" who worked with me, but was at the far end of the machine, and at that time out of sight. I said to him, quite seriously, "I think this place is haunted!" He was a fairly sober guy, so I thought he would chide me and tell me not to be ridiculous, but au contraire. He replied "Yes, but he's a friendly ghost, he likes to knock things over for a laugh, he doesn't mean any harm!"

I've never forgotten that encounter and frequently wonder if the Swedish guy was trying to get my attention, as it seemed that he was "allegedly" held partially responsible for his own death, when rumours to the contrary suggested that, he was probably entirely blameless. No further comment!

Close Encounters of My Kind!

Alright, this is the first part of a double-header about UFOs and Ghosts, or more precisely my limited experience with both of those! Firstly, I've had perhaps 3 experiences in my life which you might consider encounters with UFOs, although no single encounter could be strictly defined as a UFO encounter, because on each occasion all I saw was a light. Well, this is Scotland and usually it's dark, so even lights can possess strange properties.

The first encounter was, when myself and a few mates went for a wander in the countryside in late October aged 18-19, pitch dark, and probably with a drink in. We were heading into the hills (walking) near Arradoul, when we saw a light (seemingly) in a nearby field. Initally it looked as though it was a bicycle light, but then the light stopped and started shining up into some nearby trees. Very odd we thought, and as we discussed it, the light suddenly turend and shone towards us. The next thing this light, and whatever object it was attached to, took off, up towards the hills, and at a fair speed too, ceratinly faster than a bike could go. Our puzzlement only increased when we moved closer to where we had first seen the light, and realised it was a newly ploughed field, all the fields there had been ploughed, and there was no road, yet the light had moved across the field with no wobbling motion, which indicated to us, that whatever the object with the light had been, it couldn't have been on the ground, or it would have been alll over the place.

That first encounter as odd as it was, in no way prepared me for the other 2 encounters I had, almost exactly a year apart from each other. In my early 20's ,say around 1995, I was working at a sawmill in the Woods near Fochabers, and each morning I had to get off the bus and walk about a mile through the woods and a farmyard to get there (in the very dark, with big cats wandering around (but, that's for another time)). So, on this morning, I get to the farmyard and strangely (more exciting than scary), there was what appeared to be a massive spotlight shining down from above this row of trees, near the stream (like those ones you see in war films, that bright). The light was shing here and there and then it shone on me, so I just stood looking at it for a while, it was very close, and there was absolute silence. Then, just like that it disappeared, without a sound.

Then, perhaps a year to the day later ( I surmise), almost the same thing again, except this time I arrived at the sawmill, to see a light (identical to the first) panning around by the stream, about 50 yards from the mill. I wanted to go closer, but I couldn't do it, because I realised that whatever it was I was looking at, it was definitely unnatural. As before, the light disappeared in an instant. I later thought, as cows are abducted by aliens (apparently), that both lights had been over the stream, in spots where deer would cross, or come out of the woods to drink, perhaps they had been after deer. I offer no explanation for what I saw, alien or not, I recount what I saw faithfully, and leave the cause open to interpretation. Tomorrow, my most singular ghostly encounter laid bare!

The Mysterious Comte De St.Germain!

Who was the msyterious gentleman pictured above, who styled himself the Comte De St.Germain? and besides his love for ostentatious jewellery and his command of several languages, what secret did he possesss that made him apparently ageless? For the Comte was not only an extremely knowledgable man with wisdom seemingly beyond the grasp of a mere mortal, but he also moved freely among the aristocracy of Europe for at least two centuries, while always maintaining the appearance of a man in his late forties. His first documented appearance was in 1700, and his last in 1896, which would have made him around 245.

The man is all the more remarkable for the information he imparted to certain individuals, for instance it is told that he had descibed locomotives, steamships and space travel. He was supected to be none other than Christian Rosenkreutz himself, and was said to possess the Elixir of Life. He himself claimed to be 4000 years old owing to his discovery of the Elixir of Life, and that he had gone under many guises throughout that time, but it's true that he had access to untold wealth, and his advice and company were sought by almost every European monarch.

You can decide for yourself whether the Comte was a charlatan, or if he did indeed possess the secret of eternal life. Perhaps other cirumstances contributed to his ability to live to an impossible age at a time when the average life expectancy was only 35 years of age. Who knows? But, it's certainly a compelling tale, that's for sure!