Often when I wake up I start singing the song Sing Hosanna! I was reminded of this on Sunday when I heard the song on a comedy show on the radio.
Most of the time I merely mouth it in a whisper as it runs through my head, or else I hum it or whistle it. I said that I start singing when I wake up, but I’m usually already singing it before I become aware of it and before I’m fully awake. It goes back to my days at Sunday School when I was about 10 years old, and it’s been happening on and off since then.
Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
Give me joy in my heart, … read on »
Archive for January, 2007…
New Species – Isothrix Barbarabrownae
The zoologists have been keeping a secret for years:
Illustration by Nancy Halliday, Courtesy of The Field Museum
The following quotes are from this report in the Independent from yesterday.
“Zoologists have discovered a new species of squirrel-like mammal, which they have described as a strikingly unusual creature, in the high mountains of Peru.”
“Scientists discovered the rodent during a field survey in 1999 of Peru’s Manu National Park…”
“Its formal scientific description and official naming has only now been made public with the publication today of a description of the Manu reserve findings in the journal Mastozoologia Neotropical.”
Apparently it’s closely related to South American spiny rats. Bruce Patterson, curator of mammals at the Field Musem in Chicago, said:
“The newly discovered species casts a striking … read on »
Ted Hughes and the 21st Century Zeitgeist
Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes
I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed.
Inaction, no falsifying dream
Between my hooked head and hooked feet:
Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat.
The convenience of the high trees!
The air’s buoyancy and the sun’s rayAre of advantage to me;And the earth’s face upward for my inspection.
My feet are locked upon the rough bark.
It took the whole of Creation
To produce my foot, my each feather:
Now I hold Creation in my foot
Or fly up, and revolve it all slowly -
I kill where I please because it is all mine.
There is no sophistry in my body:
My manners are tearing off heads -
The allotment of death.
For the one path of my flight is direct
Through the bones of … read on »
The Taliban Book of Rules
Did anyone catch this a few months ago? The Swiss paper Die Weltwoche published the new Layeha (book of rules) for the Mujahideen, basically the Taliban code of conduct. It’s mostly mundane practicalities:
3. Mujahideen who protect new Taliban recruits must inform their commander.
6. If a Taliban fighter wants to move to another district, he is permitted to do so, but he must first acquire the permission of his group leader.
9. Taliban may not use Jihad equipment or property for personal ends.
11. Mujadideen may not sell equipment, unless the provincial commander permits him to do so.
They’re running a tight ship over there. Any army worth its salt knows how to organize itself and keep discipline. There’s even some measure of protection … read on »
Latest GM Crops Forecast Model
There’s an interesting report on Reuters:
UK scientists downplay GMO threat to biodiversity.
Before reading this it had never really occurred to me before that one of the main reasons people object to GM crops is because they are too efficient. Herbicide-tolerant crops mean that most weeds can be killed, and this is seen as bad because no weeds means no spiders and insects which means no birds. But where do you draw the line? Obviously all agricultural advances of the past have affected biodiversity in certain areas. If you object to GM crops on this basis I think that the logical conclusion of your argument is that all agriculture is bad.
But, to be fair, I imagine what they want is a … read on »
Extinction Fears – Are Polar Bears Dying Out?
Polar bears have been in the news quite a lot over the past few years. Just yesterday I saw a feature on a Canadian Polar Bear centre, in the Metro. There is much concern over their future. According to Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity, polar bears could be extinct in less than 40 years. (Don’t wait to save the polar bear, from January 8th 2007).
The article is saying that:
1. Numbers are declining
2. Numbers will continue to decline
3. They will probably become extinct unless we halt human-caused climate change
Regular readers of this blog will know that my thinking on the environment runs against the prevailing opinion, but I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I’m not fair. I … read on »
The Architecture of Antoni Gaudi
“For the first time since I had been in Barcelona I went to look at the cathedral – a modern cathedral, and one of the most hideous buildings in the world. It has four crenellated spires exactly the shape of hock bottles. Unlike most of the churches in Barcelona, it was not damaged during the Revolution–it was spared because of its ‘Artistic value’, people said. I think the anarchists showed bad taste in not blowing it up when they had the chance….”
That’s George Orwell, in Homage to Catalonia, writing about El Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (The Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family). It is, contrary to what Orwell says, not a cathedral: it’s a Catholic Christian temple built … read on »
©2010 Alistair Robinson