Back in training After injuring my soleus muscle (the one that runs between the two heads of the big calf muscle) hill running in Canterbury, I am now cautiously starting training again. I have to admit that it was very tough not being able to run - psychologically I have changed my lifestyle to accomodate it, and I found myself at sixes and sevens without it, and physically I found myself restless and gaining weight. In an effort to avoid over use injuries again I have slowed my training pace down to 5 min/km (was previously frequently training at 3min 50sec per km). This slowdown drops my heart rate down to 134 bpm (which is around 70% of target heart rate), as opposed to 160 (85% of target heart rate).I still am going to take a while to get my mileage back up - I aim to do around 60-70km this week running, and 250km on the bike, and build back up to 120km running - following the 10% per week increase maxim. This will be switching between increasing mileage and increasing intensity - both of which are important. I will do my first speedwork at the track next week, starting on 8*880s once a week, with a target of 2min 50secs, and building gradually to twice weekly (tempo, fartlek, hills and intervals - alternating as needed), and easing back into 2m 30s per 880 yards (800 meters).The main reason for writing all this on my blog? To remind me not to overdo it again and fark up my legs again! Canterbury Half Marathon What a race! This was an incredibly hilly course that challenged all runners (I think the final field was nearly 600). As always I didn't start to strongly - something I need to train myself out of - but after a mile I had settled into about 20th place, where I stayed for the next 4 miles, running behind a very fit looking guy who I swear I have run against in some of my London races. By mile 4 another racer who had been trying to overtake me for over a mile finally got his way, and held his lead for about 800 meters, putting me back in around 21st place. However, no-one can accuse me of not being competitive, and I tucked right up behind him so that he could hear my breathing and footfall, and slowly increased the pace; in doing this I gave him the choice of going faster, moving out of my way, or letting me crash into him. He chose to move faster - but found very quickly that thepace did not suit him, and so as he flagged I overtook him and found myself back in my original position, with the familiar runner about 200 meters in front of me. I turned up the pace and moved out of my aerobic pace into my anaerobic pace, weighing up the risk of building up surplus lactic acid early in the race against the risk of getting stuck in the position. Within a minute or two I had closed the gap, and remembered listening to the commentators of the London Marathin this year onthe BBC, who recalled their coaches saying that if you catch someone up just go straight past them, it takes advantage of the head of speed you have developed, and delivers a psychological blow to the other racer who finds they cannot match your pace. I did exactly that, and powered straight past the competitor; the next time I saw him was as he crossed the finishing line!My new targets were two runners about 400 metres ahead of me, who were fairly well matched. I couldn't take either of these guys out until we were on a long flat - having reconnoitred the course the day before I knew a long 1 mile flat was about two miles ahead of us. Once we hit the hill leading to this flat I again slipped into anaerobic running, peeling off the metres on the hill whilst the other two guys slowed down. Whilst a dangerous tactic this was the best time to close the gap, and indeed it was so successful that I overtook one of the runners on the hill! This chap stayed close behind me for the next mile or so whilst I worked on the next runner; a competitor that almost broke me! No matter how hard I worked on closing the gap he seemed to anticipate my move, and maintained a healthy distance ahead of me. Worse, he was actually increasing the gap! As sign of desperation I started to road weave - taking the corners on the inside to try to cut off a few meters from my run. This tactic seemed to work, in conjunction with an energy boost (took a carb gel), and I finally took the guy out on mile 8. I was now getting very tired, and had built up lactic acid in my thighs and calfs, and to be honest was struggling. A crowd of supporters on th eroad side shouted "Go on Clapham!" which spurred me to run harder when really I should have pulled back a bit to recover. This spurt nearly cost me the race as I hit mile 10 - which was a very steep 1km hill. This hill proved to be a lesson in mental toughness as my body screamed for me to walk it, and the only thing keeping me going was sheer stubbornness. All through the climb I plodded up this hill - barely able to put one foot in front of the other, whilst all the time I knew that the runners I had already taken could be fresher and stronger than me, and take me on this hill. Luckily I was spared that fate and I breached the top of the hill without incident, and had a clear downward slope for the next miles, with another runner about 800 meters ahead of me.It was at this point that I somehow got a mad idea; to catch the runner ahead of me! Tired as I was I took the most dangerous gamble of this race. I increased my pace to around 18km/ph - well into my anaerobic levels and started to close the gap. The runner kept looking over his shoulder as I closed into him, 700 meters, 600 and so on. As I closed to 20 meters I huge wave of energy hit me, and I upped the pace to 20kmph, breaking the runner and building a large distance advantage pretty quickly. How I kept that pace up for the last two miles I will never know, but I did, and finished about 1 minute ahead of this runner, who afterwards said that he just had nothing left to give, he tried to catch me again, but was spent!All in all this was a tough race, made more difficult by warm weather, forgetting to wear my watch(!) and by the fact that I have a stinking cold! I wated to finish in 78 minutes, and come in the top 4, but I didn't. I did give my all, and ran a strategic race. Once the results are posted I will put them up - I suspect that I was most probaly in the top 15 in around 84 minutes - but that is just guess work! Quis custodiet? being an avid Watchmen fan, I have always liked the famous quote from Juvenal's Satire VI:"Quis Custodiet, ipsos custodes?"What tickles me pink is that this is often used to question our trust in military and police power. Juvenal was actually using it in a far cruder context, as per the below:"audio quid ueteres olim moneatis amici, 'pone seram, cohibe.' sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? cauta est et ab illis incipit uxor. iamque eadem summis pariter minimisque libido, nec melior silicem pedibus quae conterit atrum quam quae longorum uehitur ceruice Syrorum""I hear all this time the advice of my old friends--"Put on a lock and keep your wife indoors." Yes, but who will ward the warders? The wife arranges accordingly and begins with them. High or low their passions are all the same. She who wears out the black cobble-stones with her bare feet is no better then she who rides upon the necks of eight stalwart Syrians." Tired, aching and very happy What a wonderful experience the Greenbelt relay was! The Clapham Chasers submitted a team of 11 runners, 7 of whom arrived on Saturday morning for the event (two others drove themselves later that day, and the other two ran two legs each on Sunday). Before I get going with the race description i should acknowledge that the race photos I have linked to here are copyright material of the Bushy Park Time Trial group, bptt.net - and I have not had a chance yet to ask permission to reproduce them on my blog. I will send a mail today, but should the btpp.net guys want me to remove them then please let me know and I will take them off immediately. The same goes for the Box Hill photo - which is copyright material of the stragglers.org - the race organisers; the stragglers deserve a big thank you for all their hard work - thanks guys!Stage: 1Runner: Neil ADistance: 12.8 miles (18.02km)Difficulty: 5/10Finish Time: 1hr 08m 39sFinish Position: 5thStage 1 kicked off with Neil A (Team Captain) running Hampton Court to Staines, a 12.8 mile run along the thames. Neil was due to run two legs on Saturday, but still gave his all to this stage, coming in 5th (place to be confirmed once the results are posted online - all legs are out of 30). This was a great start to the race and set us up nicely for the rest of the day. Once I get some more details from Neil I will post these up as this race set the tone and pace for the rest of the day! A photo of Neil running through stage 1 is below:Stage: 2Runner: WillDistance: 9.7 miles (15.6km)Difficulty: 6/10Finish Time: TBCFinish Position: TBCWhilst Neil A was running from Hampton Court, Mike, Myself, and Jeremy (guest runner for the club who had contacted the race organisers and asked if any teams had a spare place - and we did!) drove off to the beginning of Stage 2 - our first deviation from the plan (we were supposed to go straight to stage 3 which is where I was running from). This was to drop off our bags into the other car - which would be picking each of us up from our runs. Stage 2 was Staines to Boveney, and was being run by Will - another of the clubs speedier runners who, like Neil A, was due to complete two legs on the first day. Having duly found Will, Justina and Andrea (the Italian Stallion) we dropped bags, went for emergency dumps at MacDonald's, and sped off to the beginning of Stage 3. This meant that we didn't get to see Will start off, but I am sure that he was quick off the blocks! Will was also running a difficulty 6 (out of 10) stage, with the course presenting 9.7 miles (15.6 km) with the first 40% of the course being along the Thames towpath, and the last 60% along roads and paths. Again, actual results will be posted on here once I get them off the website (once they are published). Again, once Will sends a race log I will update this - but a picture of Will mid run is below:Stage: 3Runner: Neil BDistance: 11.2 miles (20.5k)Difficulty: 5/10Finish Time: TBCFinish Position: TBCSpeeding off from Staines, Mike headed off for Eton, where my first stage was due to kick off, starting at Boveney church and finishing at Little Marlow. Passenger navigation was slightly iffy, and we ended up taking a fairly circuituos route through Windsor (where a quick trip the wrong way up a one way street sharpened the mind and navigation skills!), but we still made good time to Boveney. This small village lies west of Eton, and is beautifully located on the Thames. The weather, which had been unsettled for the past three days, had left the Thames path fairly muddy, but gave the field of runners little cause of alarm as the sun was doing its level best to peek out every now and then. Before we started the run we were told that conditions were more like a autumnal cross country than a summer run, which proved in the end to be very true. Still, the marshal gave the off and we all started what was to prove to be a great and fun run along the thames. Although I started off relatively quickly in fifth place, I was quickly overtaken by a runner from the Stragglers (I think), then by another from the Stock Exchange, and then by one from Britsh Airways! Aargh- had I gone off too quickly? Feeling foolish for having gone off so quickly I dropped into a steady pace with a competitor from the Dulwich Runners; a strategy that allowed me to recover a bit, and also to replan my race. Unfortunately, after about a mile the Dulwich runner got a coughing fit and had to stop, so I was off again on my own, although not for long - as a racer in yellow and black livery came up from behind and overtook me! From fifth I was now back at ninth, and only about halfway round the course! Resolving not to drop back any further, I increased my stride to keep up with this new runner - no mean feat in four inches of mud! Still, over the next two miles I gamely paced behind this runner, and as he started to make progress on the BA and Stock Exchange (LSE) runners, so did I - the race was back on! As we broke the 7th mile, I put on a spurt and overtook the yellow and black clad runner (was he a Straggler.org runner?) and started to put some pressure on the runners from BA and the LSE. However I didn't get to overtake them until we took a turn away from the river at 7.3 miles - but I saw my chance and took it, and as we hit tarmac, I lengthened my stride. Within a mile I had widened the gap between myself and the other two runers to about 100 meters - and could now see three of the front four runners ahead of me. A quick change back onto the thames tow path at mile 8 - and I knew that I only had 3.2 miles to go - which is just over 5km (a distance that I am very familiar with!) and so i decided to open up my stride again. Of course, that last 5.14km was to prove very tough, but all the time I could see myself closing on the lead group, until a Marshal shouted "400 meters to go!" - I was nearly finished; both in terms of distance and energy! I kept up the pace of the next 250 meters, and saw the fourth place runner cross the line - and decided that I would aim for a sprint finish. As I opened up my stride to the fastest i could possibly go I remembered all the pictures that have been taken at 10k finish lines recently as I sprint, with a cross between a grimace and a gurn on my face, and so I tried to relax my facial muscles so that I didn't look quite so much of a fool this time. I also scanned the crowd at the finish line for my team mates and spotted Andrea, Neil A and Justina near the back just as I crossed the finish line! Knackered, elated and not really knowing quite what was going on, I had finished fifth, 11 seconds behind the fourth position runner, with a time of 1hr 8min 39secs. This meant that I had been running each mile with an average of 6mins 8secs per mile, or 3mins 49 secs per km. That works out at 1hour 20mins 26secs if you take that upto a half marathon - over cross country! We will see how that works on road next week in Canterbury... The obligatory shot is here:That's it for now - stages 1-3 posted, with another 19 to go! I will post more later today, and hopefuly will have more information from the other CC runners, who each will have there own stories and battles. I also will post my personal battle on stage 19 - which was difficulty 9/10, and involved running down this: Results are in The results of the Clapham Common 10k are in - I came in 15th with a time of 36'45" (not 36'44" as I had thought). I am content for the moment.On another front; I was run over today - my front wheel is fragged, but I am fine. Basically a complete tosser decided to overtake me, in the rain and make a sudden left turn, and so took out my front wheel. Luckily I was only going arond 15kmph, and he was at around 10kmph (when he was actually turning) so I had time to jump clear. London - not a cycle friendly city. Partly my fault for not taking my usual Cycle Network route, which is low traffic and so would not have these problems. Instead I was on Shaftesbury Ave, opposite forbidden planet, outside Pasta Cafe, so busy and full of idiots. C'est la vie, n'est pas? Clapham Common 10k Results Just finished the second installment of the Clapham 10k (first was in March, with a time of 41'11", and 50th out of around 320). Provisionally my time is 36'44" this time round, and my position was (I think) 18 out of around 300. It was a really tough run as my fainting and shin splints have kept me out of training for nearly 2 weeks - with only cycling to keep me fit. Plus I have put on 1.5 kg. But, to say I am really happy to have broken 37 minutes does not describe the feeling - I was aiming for 37'45" and finished a minute under. Elation!Next I will try to break 36' - although I suspect that will be tough; the next race in this series is July, which will likely be hot, whereas today was cloudy and cool - perfect running weather.So - for the rest of the month I have the London Greenbelt Relay (2 day cross country team event) and the Canterbury Half Marathon (target time 1hr 20m).On an aside, I suspect that the acupuncture and praying for my shins to stop hurting (no kidding, praying the Lord's prayer as I was running - and it did stop hurting) both helped me today, so thanks to the Chinese dude who stuck pins in me, and thanks to God (Kanga - stop cringing!) for answering a very heartfelt prayer.Yet another aside - congrats to Justina (from the Clapham Chasers - the club i run with) on finishing first female with around 37'56" (I think), and to Neil A who finished around 8th with 35'44" - a great day to be a Chaser! Another Online Journal Ok - so my fitness tracing is at www.coolrunning.com as previously posted; now my diet is here. Obsess, obsess, obsess.... wah - u really very siao running now! Kanga made me laugh with this comment, as when you find something you enjoy, and are relatively good at, you tend to go mad for it. I remember when we were doing Taekwon-Do that she was naturally very talented at it - and was, to borrow a phrase; "really very siao" for it. But yes, I am happy to admit that I really get a buzz out of running, especially the competitive aspect. I love beating another racer, and I also love the challenge of being beaten (and fighting another day!). But, most of all, I love competing against myself, constantly seeking to raise the bar, and to shave my time nearer to my (secret) target. It is a great way of developing focus and confidence, and a good way of meeting new people of all walks of life and ability.Kanga - as an aside I am really looking forward to you moving over. I hope to move house before you arrive - the target area is Kingston on Thames. Try looking on google for UK rentals in Kingston upon thames. Very nice leh! Race Fixtures and Results This month is the real start of my season, with a full calendar:07 May 06: Sutton 10k ---- Result 38'36" (new Personal Best)11 May 06: Assembly League - The Dome 5k14 May 06: Clapham Common 10k Series21-22 May 06: London Greenbelt Relay (355 km 2 day event - 11 member team)28 May 06: Canterbury Half MarathonMakes me tired to think about it - looking forward to seeing how it all goes!Anyway - late addition to the post, checked the men's team results from today and we came fourth out of 27 teams, which is pretty good, and I came 42nd out of 409, so I am still just sy of the top 10% on the field.For a giggle see this and check the pictures for clock time "38:34" to "38:37". I was determined to close that gap, and I nearly got him! Training is yielding results! The training regime (cycling and running daily) is beginning to yield more results - I was doing intervals at the track this morning before work, doing 800 meter intervals with 2 min recovery between sets, and recorded the following splits:Interval 1: 2:42:15Interval 2: 2:49:54Interval 3: 2:53:88Interval 4: 2:50:60Interval 5: 2:52:74Interval 6: 2:52:98Obviously I caned the first one too hard, but I pulled back to my target 2mins 50secs pace fairly well for the others. Using various pace calculators that baseline on intervals, I get a predicted finishing time of around 35 mins - which is unlikely in my next race (two weeks time) but, with training at this level I think a July race in the sub 37 minutes is possible.Races in May:7 May: Sutton 10k14 May: Stage 2 of the Clapham 10k Series22-23rd May: London Green Belt Relay (team event)The weather here is getting really nice and warm, and as I am out cycling and running for about three hours each day, I am getting pretty tanned! Also had a great cycle on Saturday - preceded by a 10k run. The cycle was 110km - fantastic!Endorphin addict? Interesting Blog I saw this blog on the BBC website - it is a homeless woman living in a car in london. It is a powerful and moving diary, well written and in many respects feels like a perverse view into one persons dissolution and deletion from Society. Croydon 10k Results I ran the Croydon 10k today - finishing with 39:48. That put me at position 56 out of 714 runners. All in all I am pretty happy with this - it is my personal best on a challenging hilly course. My target (now that I have broken 40 mins) is to break 38 mins, which means shaving 12 seconds off each kilometer - which is a lot more difficult than you would imagine.... A God of Peace? A question that vexes me fairly regularly is how so many Christians and much Christian Literature can talk of a God of Peace, and a God of Justice without seeing the obvious contradictions. I understand the roots of these beliefs fairly well, in both New and Old Testament traditions. In the New Testament, the most famous Peace quote is Romans 15:33:"Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen." And in the Old Testament we have Isaiah 2:4:"And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war." Now, famous Justice quotes (I prefer to think of them as retribution quotes) are found in both the NT and OT, with Romans 6:23 being the famous NT:"The wages of Sin is Death"Whilst Exodus 21:22-27 furnishes us with the OT reference:"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"The vexation is that peace and justice, in the Christian tradition are, in my opinion, based on the notion of a Transcendental justice, that results in a Godly peace. That is, if you follow God's Law, you shall have peace. If you do not follow God's Law, then you shall feel the meting of His Justice. This is not the fuzzy 'God is Good, God is Love, God is beauty praise Him!" found in Christian Hymnals. This is the God of Abraham, the God of the middle east. In truth, an Islamic fundamentalist in many ways more truly embodies the Christian notion of God, as revealed in the Bible, than most Christians. This is a topic I could explore at some length - but the idea is not to preach, but to provoke and challenge people to examine their assumptions in faith, to not just accept Brother John/Sister Mary's teachings, but to think for themselves, using the bible as the cornerstone for the analysis of faith. In doing so, maybe people may be shocked at what they are subscribing to. Or, worse still, maybe they won't be. 05 March Run 05 March Run Originally uploaded by taekwon-dodo. A very frustrating morning as my running GPS ran ou of battery after 9km! However, I have use MapSource to restructure my route and my heart rate timer to restructure my entire time out - which was 3 hours 25mins 21 secs including my walking from Putney back home (the missing part on my running map) The route on the map is 25.9 miles - just shy of a marathon - and I most probable took 25 mins to walk home - giving me a marathon time of 3hours. Later I will go out and cycle the route with my Garmin - as I did not think I had run more that 18 miles - and am a bit suspicious of the whole thing - as this puts my current time at my June/August target!As it is I have logged this in coolrunning as 21 miles based on input from serpentine running club which lists the Putney Bridge to Kew Bridge and back again portion of this run as 13 miles. My house to Putney Bridge, via Battersea Bridge is 8 miles - which, at 21 miles is more like the 18 miles I expected (and puts my avg pace at 5.19/km which is my long distance pace - so seems more likely) 26 Feb Running 26 Feb Running Originally uploaded by taekwon-dodo. Having got back to the UK I have been trying to push my distances out a bit more for running, as well as doing intervals and fartlek to improve speed. The London cityscape slows me down as it has it's share of hills and wind, but I think by the end of this year I should have got my 5km run under 20 mins and hopefully get my 10km into the under 37mins area. Meanwhile - today I ran from my house to my office - and then turned around and ran back - for a total of 27km. In fact it should have been 30km but I had to walk the last three km as I could feel the first rumblings of calf damage - plus some rubbing injury in a sensitive male spot. Anyway - here is the pace a heart rate graph for today. A slow run into the wind for the first 19km, but a satisfying run never-the-less.I am now posting all day to day running stuff on www.coolrunning.com - for the terminally bored you can view my stats - my userid is NeilBurton37 and the public password (the one you use to view my stuff) is "gothedistance" (obviously sans quotation marks!) Lazy Christian Thinking - Biblical Refutation Part 2 As promised - I am continuing my look at common examples of poor bible understanding by many Christians, as well as just bad editorial in the Book itself. My aim, as previously stated is not to denegrate Christianity - but rather to refute scriptural literalism, and to show it for what it is - poor, lazy thinking.Matthew 1:1 - 18I am going to paraphrase this as it is a long Geneaology of Jesus of Nazareth, which has a primary purpose of showing that Jesus was descended of David. This is important, as God made an oath to David that his descendants would forever hold the rightful ownership of the throne of Israel. The three important bits I want to look at are:Matthew 1:1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.Matthew 1:6Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of UriahMatthew 1:11Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exileOk - so 1:1 and 1:6 fulfill an important task - namely to establish Jesus as a Davidian descendant, and further, as a descendant of Solomon. The first lineage (Davidian) is important as in Jeremiah 30:7-9 God makes a crucial promise regarding the Messiah (from the Hebrew "Moshiach" meaning anointed):'Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress, But he will be saved from it. ' It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.'But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. This is taken, by both Judaic and Christian tradition (which are of course the same in this matter) to mean that the annointed King of Israel, the Messiah, will be of David's line. It is to satisify this promise, or covenant, that Matthew goes to great lengths to show Jesus' lineage is Davidian.Secondly, Matthew states that Jesus is descended from Solomon. This is extremely important because of 1 Chronicles 22:9-10, which states:Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days: he shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.So, God's oath to Israel, and David is further explained to mean that David's line, through Solomon shall be the rightful holders of the throne of Israel. Now, we can begin to see why Matthew goes to such great lengths to establish a geneaology that descends from Solomon!Now, having gone to such great lengths to establish the royal line, I want to draw your attention to Matthew 1:11:Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exileJechoniah was the King of Judah at the time of the Babylonian exile. He was also, by Matthew's own admittal, an antecedant of Jesus. And so now comes the important linkage - Jeremiah 22:30:Thus says Yahweh, Write you this man childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; for no more shall a man of his seed prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling in Judah.This text is talking about the wicked Judahian King, whose line God curses to never more hold the Jewish throne. The name of this King - Jechoniah.His father - Josiah. His reign - the exile into Babylon.So - if Jesus is indeed a descendant of Jechoniah, then he can never hold the throne of Israel. And if he can not hold the throne, he may never be anointed. In other words - he cannot, by Jewish tradition and law, and by fulfillment of prophecy, be the Messiah!Matthew has proved quite succinctly, that Jesus is not the fulfillment of Toranic or Talmudic prophecy. Whatever else he is, by Matthews report, he is not the Anointed King. Therefore, scriptual literalism must, by definition, be based on a false premise. The Book cannot be 100% literal truth if it contains such glaring contradictions. It *must* require interpretation. Otherwise Christianity is based on some very shaky foundations; which - by the way - is the core Jewish objection to it - that it is interanlly inconsistent with jewish tradition, scripture and law. Rampant Hypocrisy The BBC reports that "In Islamabad, President Pervez Musharraf said newspapers that printed the cartoons [of the prophet] were "oblivious" to the consequences for peace and harmony in the world. "I don't see how any civilised person can take the issue of freedom of press to hurt the feelings of such a large population of the world," he told visiting journalists. "Whether an extremist or a moderate or an ultra-moderate, we will condemn it." "Where were the vocal condemnations, the street protests, the uproar, when Islamic militants were beheading people in the middle east. When Al-Jazheera showed these horrific images on TV, when suicide bombers blew up the twin towers, or four lads from the north of England decided to simultaneously kill people on the tube and bus networks. The reactions are not equal or proportional. Much as muslims may hold the Prophet to be sacred, we hold life as sacred. Respect must run both ways, and the fact that it hasn't for the past 70 years has led to this current problem. As Iain Banks' main protagonist in "Dead Air" sardonically points out on his radio show; western nations do not force visitors to wear mini skirts and boob tubes, yet middle eastern nations enforce female visitors to cover themselves up. Cultural respect cuts both ways - and yet, when it comes to the Arab/Muslim world, it doesn't.This is not a hate post. Nor is it a diatribe against the Muslim faith. It is merely a post pointing out that:"Why do you notice the sliver in your friend’s eye, but overlook the timber in your own? How can you say to your friend, "Let me get the sliver out of your eye, when there is that timber in your own? You phony, first take the timber out of your own eye and then you’ll see well enough to remove the sliver from your friends eye"Matthew 7:3-5 (scholar's version) Which D&D Character Are You? I Am A: Lawful Good Elf Ranger DruidAlignment:Lawful Good characters are the epitome of all that is just and good. They believe in order and governments that work for the benefit of all, and generally do not mind doing direct work to further their beliefs.Race:Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.Primary Class:Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.Secondary Class:Druids are a special variety of Cleric who serves the Earth, and can call upon the power in the earth to accomplish their goals. They tend to be somewhat fanatical about defending natural settings.Deity:Mielikki is the Neutral Good goddess of the forest and autumn. She is also known as the Lady of the Forest, and is the Patron of Rangers. Her followers are devoted to nature, and believe in the positive and outreaching elements of it. They use light armor, and a variety of weapons suitable for hunting, which they are quite skilled at. Mielikki's symbol is a unicorn head.Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail) Lazy Christian Thinking - Biblical Refutation Part 1 Whenever I hear pastors and priests sharing their world view (as I did on TV today), based on biblical or scriptual literalism (a very new, nineteenth Century phenonoma), my blood boils. So, I am going to start an analysis of common Christian misconceptions, based on flawed and poor understanding of the Talmud, Torah and the new Testament.The Virgin Birth: Matthew 1:18"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost"This is Matthew starting to prepare a thesis that the Virgin Birth (not to be confused with the immaculate conception of Mary, which I will cover another day), is a prophetic fulfillment of Isiah 7:14:"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."All well and good, or so it would appear. But, let's gather context to Isaiah 7:14 and try to understand whether Isaiah is making a prophecy concerning the Christ. Isaiah is actually responding to the King of Judah, Ahaz, who is ruling one of the two Jewish kingdoms of the time (Judah was ruled by the descendants of the Davidian line, and Israel (the other state) was ruled by the descendants of Saul) - King Pekah ruled Israel. Pekah had made an aliiance with Rezin, the Assyrian king, and was preparing to wage war against Ahaz, via a consolidated Israeli/Assyrian march on Jerusalem (the Judan capital). Ahaz, fearing defeat, was deeply concerned, and Isaiah reports of Ahaz and the Judan people that "their hearts were moved as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind." Isaiah 7:3.To allay the fears of Ahaz, Isaiah assures him in the name of the Lord that these two kings will not succeed against him; and asks Ahaz to seek a sign of the Lord (Isaiah 7:11 "Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above"). Ahaz however, is not stupid, and is aware of the various prohibitions against testing the Lord, and declines Isaiah's offer (Isaiah 7:12 "I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord").Isaiah, sensing the wisdom of Ahaz' position replies in verses 14-18:"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; the king of Assyria. And it shall come to pass in that day, the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria"It is clear from context then, that Isaiah is telling Ahaz that a sign will be given, of biblical and epic proportions (a virgin birth!!), and that the child resulting from this sign will be a son; and that this sign will be an omen of success to Ahaz, for before this child will know the difference between wrong and right, the Kings of Israel and Assyria would have failed and both would no longer be kings ("the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings").So, in summary, Matthew 1:18 is based on a deeply flawed understanding of Isaiahian scripture, and is the first irrelevance within the Christian belief structure. What is singularly worrying about this, is that the Virgin birth is a central tenant of the forgiveness of sins (via the man born of woman, without original sin), and therefore part of the grand design of Christian redemtption - whilst being based on poor theology! Needless to say, I will tackle this later on.I hope that this is interesting to at least some readers of this blog, and is not inflammatory or offensive. It is just that preachers of all faiths have such power to shape our thoughts and beliefs, that it seems critical to analyse the validitity of their arguments and, when they are clearly wrong, to expose them. Big brother Firstly - how many pages link to you? Try (obviously replacing the URL) in Google:link:monster-ru.blogspot.comSecondly: Follow this linkOver and out For the sake of shame; China take a bow I wish that I could honestly write that I do not react with some vigour to television reportage; unfortunately, in writing that, I would be lying. So, it is easy to imagine my reaction to the prospect of China blocking any UN security council action against the Sudanese Government as castigation for the atrocities committed in Darfur. To summarise:One third of the population homeless (2 million people)Estimated 300 000 killedJanjaweed effectively government sponsored genocide engineersDisease and starvation rampantThe reason to block any sanctions - Oil. China (and to a lesser degree Russia) have substantial investments in Oil and other commodities in Sudan, and don't want to risk upsetting either the government or trade. Shame on you China. Shame. It looks like you are truly set to take your place as a new America on the world stage. For four Kanga tagged me...Four jobs you've had in your life:- Janitor at a high school- Chef in Japan- Call centre operator for BT- Enterprise ArchitectFour movies you could watch over and over:- Preaching to the Perverted- Tampopo- The Matrix- The Lord of the Rings (All three considered as one homogenous movie)Four TV shows you love(d) to watch:- CSI- Battlestar Galactica (the new one - not the camp one)- Newsnight (with Jeremy Paxman)- The Outer LimitsFour places you've lived:- Oita, Japan- Amsterdam, The Netherlands- Jalan Elok (Orchard Road), Singapore- LondonFour places you've been on vacation to:- Tokyo, Japan- Koh Samui, Thailand- Arnhem Land, Australia - Jukkasjärvi, SwedenFour places you'd rather be:- Amsterdam- Singapore- Tokyo- SydneyFour of your favourite foods: - Lincolnshire Sausages- Miso Ramen- Steak- Samy's CurryFour websites you visit daily:- mail.yahoo.com- google- news.bbc.co.uk - monster-ru.blogspot.comFour tagged:Afraid it dies here - I have a limited pool of BlogBuddies, and they have all done this already. Dear Tag, RIP. Abortion test case - another can of worms Reading this on the BBC has raised a few interesting questions. The Crown Government has successfully argued that parents have no right to know if their daughters, under the age of 16, are seeking terminations or treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. The most interesting of the published comments came from Philip Sales (presumably QC), who is reported to have argued that:"The UK has very serious problem with high teenage pregnancy rates - and confidentiality was a key component of government policies to reduce conception rates and improve sexual health."Now, in a country that officially does not have abortion on demand, this seems very like a backdoor policy to reduce teenage pregnancy via abortion; education on conception and sexual health being the other twin pillars of a triumvirate birth reduction strategy. It also would seem to be based on the notion that the state: the health care services: and the minor, are the only morally and legally involved entities in the information flow. These seems to be counter-intuitive in a state where parents can be issued ASBOs (Anti Social Behaviour Orders) for their children's behaviour, and can also be imprisoned (yes, sent to gaol) for their children's truancy. I would argue that if Government policy is premised on parental responsibility for their children, then this self-same policy should preclude the exclusion of parents from the information loop. It is patently absurd to argue that in a country where a minor cannot have a tattoo without the active collusion of a parent, it is perfectly acceptable (in law) for the same child to have a termination outside of the cognisance of their parents. I can accept that the parents may not have the right of decision, but they should be empowered to help their daughters deal with the possible traumatic aftermath of their decision, and be enabled and empowered to provide their duty of comfort and care to girls who have, legally speaking, been raped. A Lovecraftian excuse to party? Today at 0445, I awoke; which, considering the time of day, was in itself nothing short of miraculous. However, my arousal on this occassion (as is so frequently the case in pubescence, and yet so rarely so in adulthood) was with purpose and vigour; I was to travel to that Dutch city of renown: Amsterdam.Amsterdam, as a former occupancy of mine, holds a certain frisson, an electric thrill awakened by memory, and nurtured by a nostalgia that I rather suspect will persist to my termination. Even on days such as this, when the stated function of my travel is work, I am at the mercy of this City's playful ministrations. As my plane descended from cloudy skies, my portal revealed a yawning vista that lacked even the mildest of pimples, moated by a legion of canals, eliciting a tremor of excitement from those lepidopteran that reside in my gut. My somewhat obvious state of agitation at a return to my former home prompted a train of thought on memory, which, apart from being a sideline from my narrative, might have a more generalised value.Often memory and the reality that it entombs are at such great variance that to call one the capture of the other is to entirely miss the purpose of both. Memory is a hit of heroin; it is the cotton wool padding of a smack induced euphoria. Memory protects us from reality, it enables us to take the breathtaking and make it commonplace. Yet the perversity of memory must be its uncommon ability to take the habitual and inflate its place in our consciousness to that of the superlative. As I sit here, writing this, I wonder if my mind is not playing tricks on me; if Amsterdam might not be all that I remember, if it is not actually a lighthouse guiding us away from the rocks of European drudgery: In short, is Amsterdam just another city?Before I type another letter, or carve another rune, I am going to go out and taste this city, compare its flavours with those in my head, and thus objectively decide: "Is Amsterdam fun?" Sweden northern lights Dare I say 'nuff said? Excuses for image quality can be found in my flickr comments