Category Archives: beliefs

arts, beliefs, environment, food+drink, history, links, medical, memes, science

Monthly Links

Well then … Here we go with another collection of links to items you didn’t know you didn’t want to miss.

Science, Technology, Natural World

In the latest of the grand space projects, NASA has retrieved a couple of hundred grams of an asteroid and dropped it back to Earth.

Now we’re coming down to the top of a 22,000-foot volcano where Earth’s highest-dwelling vertebrates have been found

Japan has a new island thanks to an underwater volcanic eruption.

Still on the fiery nature of Earth, there’s been a swarm of earthquakes happening in Iceland, which likely precedes a volcanic eruption.

Still on earthquakes, a researcher, at the Vatican Library, has found a 500-year-old Hebrew note which reveals an unknown earthquake swarm in Italy.

Now to the natural world …

Serotine bats (above) have surprised scientists by being the first known mammal to have procreative sex without penetration.

Staying with rodents … experiments suggest that rats may have the power of imagination.

In the Amazon there’s a somewhat horrifying parasitic wasp (below) with a huge head, and it is just one of over 100 newly discovered species.

This is somewhat bizarre … it seems that starfish are just a large, flattened head, with no body. [££££]

Health, Medicine

Scientists seem to have worked out why some people get headaches from drinking red wine.

And now we have three items for the female population …

In the first, OB/GYN Dr Jen Gunter tries to once and for all explode the myth of menstrual synchronization.

Dr Gunter then looks at the sense in poking garlic up your vagina.

Finally academic sex researcher Dr Kate Lister tests oral probiotics for vaginal health. [££££]

Sexuality

And now on to actual sexuality … in which Dr Emily Nagoski looks at some approaches to sex for the disabled.

Expert sex therapists suggest the usual 20 ways to revive your flagging libido.

Environment

On the interaction between wild pigs and golf courses.

Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics

Why is there this assumption British voters become more Conservative with age – and is it true?

Let’s obscure the players’ genders and then see how men’s and women’s soccer compare.

Art, Literature, Language, Music

Archaeological finds are revealing that art is much older than our species. [LONG READ] [££££]

There’s a boom in people taking up life drawing.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Near China’s “Terracotta Army” archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 2000-year-old sheep-drawn chariot.

Moving west, a large number of clay stamps used to seal Roman documents (above) have been discovered in Turkey.

Meanwhile off the coast of Sardinia divers have discovered around 50,000 Roman coins.

A cartographer has created a London Underground style map of Britain’s Roman Roads.

Excavations around Sutton Hoo in Suffolk continue to turn up suprises. One latest find is the remains of what might be an early 7th-century temple.

Coming gradually up to date … A hoard of medieval pennies dating from the reign of King Stephen has been found in Norfolk.

In Germany they’ve found a centuries old grave containing a skeleton with four prosthetic fingers.

Dr Eleanor Janega takes reveals the real story behind the killing of Joan of Arc.

Forensic research proves that the Ancient Ram Inn in Wotton-under-Edge (above) is old, but not as old as is made out. [LONG READ]

London

Here’s a look at the life of Wenceslaus Hollar who is best known for his panoramic views of 17th-century London (below).

Food, Drink

The convoluted story of the sandwich called Gua Bao. [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Mathematician Kit Yates looks at whether the time has come to stop changing the clocks twice a year.

Cheese-rolling, straw bears and weird rituals: one man has made it his life’s work to record the whole of British folklore, and he now has a massive collection.

There’s a collection of walks around the UK’s strange and sacred sites.

Returning to sex researcher Dr Kate Lister, she’s written about growing out her pubic hair for the first time in 20 years. [££££]

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And finally, in a surprise revelation it has been discovered that a supposed Yeti hair actually belonged to a horse.

amusements, beliefs

August Quiz Answers

Here are the answers to this month’s five quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.

August Quiz Questions: Mythology & Religion

  1. According to 1 Samuel 17:4, what figure stood six cubits and a span tall? Goliath
  2. What is considered the oldest Japanese religion? Shinto
  3. What is the name of the imaginary city built in the air in The Birds, the comedy written by the Greek playwright Aristophanes in 414 BC? Cloud-Cuckoo-Land – or Nephelococcygia in Greek.
  4. Which legendary king was the father of King Arthur? Uther Pendragon
  5. Guru Nanak was the founder of which religion? Sikhism

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2022.

amusements, beliefs

August Quiz Questions

Again this year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

August Quiz Questions: Mythology & Religion

  1. According to 1 Samuel 17:4, what figure stood six cubits and a span tall?
  2. What is considered the oldest Japanese religion?
  3. What is the name of the imaginary city built in the air in The Birds, the comedy written by the Greek playwright Aristophanes in 414 BC?
  4. Which legendary king was the father of King Arthur?
  5. Guru Nanak was the founder of which religion?

Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.

beliefs, thoughts

Transgenderism

A few days ago Brad Warner, one of our favourite Zen Masters, wrote an interesting blog post titled Transgenderism: A Buddhist Perspective.

It is indeed just as the title says. Brad gives a reasoned view of his interpretation of Buddhist philosophy as applied to transgenderism. It may not accord with everyone’s view – indeed it may not be the view of all Buddhists – but he ends up saying pretty much what I have thought for a long time:

[W]hen I see people trying to solve their deep suffering by altering their bodies with chemicals and surgery, I wonder if they are making a mistake. And I wonder if we should be so quick to allow children to make permanent changes to their physical bodies that they may come to regret. It may be better to reserve that for adults who have had adequate time to consider the ramifications of such drastic alterations … I think that, rather than trying to alter one’s body to align it with one’s ideas about one’s “true self”, it would be better to learn to live as comfortably as possible with the mind and body that one’s past karma has manifested in this life.

I would go a little further … Many boys will wonder, and ask about, what it’s like to be a girl – and vice versa. That’s a natural part of childhood curiosity. But it seems to me likely that many well-meaning but misguided adults who are in a position of care and influence pick up on this and, knowingly or not, end up over-influencing the child to “act out” their inquisitiveness without any checks and balances. As Brad says, this should be left to mature consideration in adulthood, or perhaps better to learn to live with what you were given. But then none of that is easy.

beliefs, current affairs

On Freedom of Speech

To paraphrase a comment I saw elsewhere …

A freelance sports commentator has been told by a company he works for how he may and may not make comments, unrelated to his work, on his social media; and he is not being contracted until he agrees. This appears to be an outrageous political stitch-up in which the spine-less company has kowtowed to an increasingly Fascist government in an attempt to suppress free speech.

I’m not going into the realms of who is involved (we all know the current brouhaha) nor who said what and to whom.

But we need to get one thing straight …

FREE SPEECH IS SACROSANCT

I am entitled to my opinion, and to express that opinion. If you dislike it, that’s your problem and reflects on you, not me. I am not, and cannot be, responsible for your beliefs, actions, emotions etc. We none of us can control the brains of another.

And vice versa … If you say something I dislike or disagree with, that’s my problem. I can choose to be publicly (or privately) annoyed or I can stop and think. Even if I fundamentally disagree with you, you are entitled to have and express your opinion. And, as I have said on may occasions, I will defend this right to the last.

If I believe, as I do, that the government are a bunch of pathetic, self-serving c*nts I have the right to say so. I don’t expect them to agree with me; that is their problem and their privilege; it does not entitle them (or any third party) to muzzle me.

How about we all just grow up!

beliefs, environment, science, thoughts

Mars & the Moon

Stop building a spaceship to Mars
(and the Moon too)
and just plant some damn trees.

Stop building a spaceship to Mars and just plants some damn trees
Isn’t it more important that we protect this planet against global worming etc.?
Just think how much good all that money could do, and how much
environmental refurbishment could be done by just 10% of the money.

amusements, beliefs

May Quiz Answers

OK, so here are the answers to this month’s quiz questions. All should be able to be easily verified online.

May Quiz Questions: Mythology & Religion

  1. In Greek mythology who or what guards the gates of the Underworld? Cerberus, a three-headed dog
  2. Theravada and Mahayana are branches of which major world religion? Buddhism
  3. Which group of traditionalist Christians of Swiss German Anabaptist origins was founded by Jakob Ammann? The Amish
  4. According to Norse legend, what animals pulled Thor’s chariot across the sky? Two goats
  5. What three words begin the Book of Genesis? In the beginning

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2021.

amusements, beliefs

May Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

May Quiz Questions: Mythology & Religion

  1. In Greek mythology who or what guards the gates of the Underworld?
  2. Theravada and Mahayana are branches of which major world religion?
  3. Which group of traditionalist Christians of Swiss German Anabaptist origins was founded by Jakob Ammann?
  4. According to Norse legend, what animals pulled Thor’s chariot across the sky?
  5. What three words begin the Book of Genesis?

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.

beliefs, books

Book Review: The Little Book of Humanism

Andrew Copson & Alice Roberts
The Little Book of Humanism: Universal Lessons on Finding Purpose, Meaning and Joy
Piatkus; 2020

It’s a long time since I’ve written a book review here. That doesn’t mean I’m not reading, but it does mean I’ve not managed to finish enough books to make a review worthwhile: like always there are many books on the go, and most are cast aside at the arrival of something new.

I would never claim to be a humanist. I probably am one, but I don’t profess to know enough about humanism to feel that’s what I am. Besides I try to avoid anything which wants me to believe in some creed, however loose it may be.

So I was motivated to read the recently published The Little Book of Humanism.

Let me say straight away that this book does what it says on the tin: it is a very basic guide to many of the ideas and beliefs behind humanism. Sadly though I found it tediously wanting. It came across to me as a series of would-be-inspirational quotes strung together with some pieces of text made up of platitudes and the obvious. I don’t know Andrew Copson, but I expect more of Alice Roberts – this may not be an academic work, but Roberts can do better than this.

I expected the book to make me stop and think; to present me with deep ideas about humanism. It didn’t. All I seemed to get was a feeling I was being told things which are patently obvious. I expected something with more “bite”, and something rather more formally construed.

As so often though, that is probably very unfair of me as the book likely isn’t intended for someone like me who has spent many years thinking about what they really do believe and their personal morality. It is, I suspect, much more aimed at those who’ve maybe heard of humanism, but don’t know anything about it and who feel disillusioned with mainstream religion. For those people it is probably quite a good route into humanism, without being a dogmatic text full of formal beliefs (which humanism really shouldn’t be anyway).

What also disappointed me was the quality of the production. The copy I have, while hard-bound, looks as if it is glued rather than stitched with the cover also too lightly attached. The content is printed on very rough, off-white paper which resembles thin blotting paper – that’s commendable if the paper is recycled, but the lack of finish to the paper, and the lack of brightness, does make the book a less enjoyable read. The actual text uses a mix of serif and sans serif typefaces, in a variety of point sizes: again something which irritates. I’m also not sure “little” is the right adjective; yes the book is the size of a small paperback but it’s quite thick and chunky; I wouldn’t call it pocketable. This is partly down to the modern fetish for extraneous white space; to quote Ambrose Bierce “the covers of this book are too far apart”. Overall the production looks cheap and as such is possibly not a good advertisement for the humanist movement.

Overall I was disappointed, but maybe unfairly so.

Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆

beliefs, nudism

Saturday Nudes

What are you doing on Saturday?

Me? I’m planning to spend as much of the day as possible without clothes because this Saturday is BN’s (British Naturism) Great British Take-off.

The idea is just to experience naturism and home nudity, so all are encouraged to spend as much of the day as possible without clothes to enjoy the liberated and exhilarating feeling that comes from being naked whether indoors or out in the fresh air and sunshine. The event is also part of BN’s efforts to raise money for their charity of the year: British Heart Foundation.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that during lockdown people are dressing less (and maybe not at all) and are keen to throw out the rule book and try something new. At any time, even in lockdown, you can be nude at home: indoors or in your garden – and it is perfectly legal.

As a general rule, nudity is not illegal in UK. You are entitled to go nude in your garden even if the garden is overlooked – unless you do so with intent to cause alarm and distress. You do not need to tell your neighbours, although you may wish to.

Public nudity is also not illegal, unless (again) it is done with intent to cause offence, alarm and distress, or it is likely to result in public disorder. Going about one’s normal activities in the nude is unlikely to fall foul of such laws; the Police and CPS have clear guidelines on this. However do note that some local authorities may have bye-laws prohibiting nudity (and even toplessness), for example in parks or on beaches; the law may also be different outside England & Wales – so it is wise to check first.

I’ve blogged before about the benefits of nudity and it isn’t just that feeling of liberation that makes nudism so worthwhile. Nudity is actually good for you, both mentally and physically. There is scientific evidence (see for example here) that nudist experience has a positive effect on body image and self-esteem. Moreover nudity helps children rather than harming them; if safely exposed to nudity they seem to grow up to become more aware and better adjusted adults.

So, temperature permitting, I shall doubtless be spending as much of Saturday as possible without raiment – as I often do – around the house. Do I go nude in the garden? Yes, but discretely! I generally don’t stray more than 12 feet or so from the backdoor; although we are overlooked the neighbours would have to peer hard to see down into this space. Most times (like 99%) if I’m going beyond the ha-ha I do at least put on a pair of shorts – there’s a fine line between being free and frightening the horses.

Here I am at a nudist club, aged 8 or 9, trying to drown my mother

Notwithstanding the above, I still hear you say “How can you do this?”. Well, I don’t have a problem with nudity – anyone’s nudity. I was introduced to naturism by my parents at the age of 8 or 9 and regularly saw my parents in the nude at home. In consequence I have never had a problem with nudity: whether seeing others or being seen. I’m comfortable in my skin, even if I maybe don’t like the amount of flesh it contains. So why do people have a problem? We all know what’s under your t-shirt and jeans, my t-shirt and jeans. I wear clothes to cover other people’s embarrassment (or if I’m cold).

So why not join in and spend Saturday tous déshabillés. You never know, you might enjoy it. And if not you don’t have to do it again.