Apparently, there is enough blood in someone's decapitated head to keep it alive for 20 seconds.
Yes, I know.
And don't ask how I know or how the person who told me knows. Some things need not be discussed and finding that kind of information out comes over that category.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
pass
Sometimes, just sometimes, in a moment of not really doing much or even in a time of deep daydreaming a thought comes to you. Often, you have no real idea where it comes from or even why it would necessarily pop in there. It's alarming when it does because it's 'source' is a complete unknown. Or to coin that evil neo-con warmonger Rumsfeld, it's an 'unknown unknown'. Never a truer word spoken. Honest.
There was this one thought that came that was shocking and highly unexpected. I didn't know how to react to it as it is something that could never be 'found out'; proved or disproved. That thought was related to the moment of death. Not exacting the most charming or enjoyable of subjects and one which I am hoping beyond hope that I can avoid. The thought was this: if someone was decapitated a la by the gulloteen, for example, would the person being decapitated 'see' that his or her head had been removed from their body. Yes, I know. Gruesome and I'm not impressed by it. I'm not mental!
But the point remains; could the person know? Have an awareness that it has happened. For a split second perhaps. Indeed, could the person indicate that they could see it? Of course, I do not wish it to be proven one way or the other. Ever. As I mentioned, it's an unknown unknown much like finding out 'what it's all about'.
The reason I bring this up is because I'm currently reading the Idiot by Dostoyevsky. To my utter amazement, the 'hero' essentially asks that exact question when he is at lunch with the 3 daughters and wife of the General. He has never met them before yet goes on to talk about a public execution. I was surprised by this because it was such an obscure 'thought' in the first place yet here it is in one of the classic novels of the 19th century. He didn't really have an answer to it and thank goodness for that.
I'm hoping to occupy my time now so that I won't be idle and if I'm not idle I can't daydream and if I can't daydream then I can't have seemingly random thoughts come to me. And that would be best. I think.
There was this one thought that came that was shocking and highly unexpected. I didn't know how to react to it as it is something that could never be 'found out'; proved or disproved. That thought was related to the moment of death. Not exacting the most charming or enjoyable of subjects and one which I am hoping beyond hope that I can avoid. The thought was this: if someone was decapitated a la by the gulloteen, for example, would the person being decapitated 'see' that his or her head had been removed from their body. Yes, I know. Gruesome and I'm not impressed by it. I'm not mental!
But the point remains; could the person know? Have an awareness that it has happened. For a split second perhaps. Indeed, could the person indicate that they could see it? Of course, I do not wish it to be proven one way or the other. Ever. As I mentioned, it's an unknown unknown much like finding out 'what it's all about'.
The reason I bring this up is because I'm currently reading the Idiot by Dostoyevsky. To my utter amazement, the 'hero' essentially asks that exact question when he is at lunch with the 3 daughters and wife of the General. He has never met them before yet goes on to talk about a public execution. I was surprised by this because it was such an obscure 'thought' in the first place yet here it is in one of the classic novels of the 19th century. He didn't really have an answer to it and thank goodness for that.
I'm hoping to occupy my time now so that I won't be idle and if I'm not idle I can't daydream and if I can't daydream then I can't have seemingly random thoughts come to me. And that would be best. I think.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Bid
Today was football day. Inter-departmental football that is. Our Department are a merry bunch of aging players. Some have no real football background at all and we essentially just play for fun. We certainly have no real ambitions to win the whole competition; hell, to win a game would be a great achievement. The past 2 competitions weren't great. I think we've had a win and a draw in 6 games. Omens weren't good.But, we practice twice a week and we enjoy it.
It was an early start. Up and out the house by 7am in order to get to the football club for registration at 7.30am. Not the best time to be playing football. We had new strips as well. All white. Actually, it was the Liverpool away strip. Not too bad. It could have been worse.
Game 1 ended 0-0. We had our chances and in fairness we should have won it. I had a shot on goal which the goalkeeper pushed away for a corner. There were other chances but none went in. In fact, that was a relatively good start.
Game 2 was a defeat. I think it was 3-0. It was a strange game. Their 'captain' was somewhat vocal, shall we say. He was tackled, went down like a lead balloon then shouted that 'you could have broken my leg!' I think not you big girl's blouse. He got up and tried to start a pushing match with the guy who tackled him - a 5 foot 7 girl's blouse against a 6 foot 4 defender. He had balls, I'll give him that. All mouth though. Later in the game he scored a tap in. In response to scoring he tensed up as if to show all his muscles and yelled 'yeeeeeeeeeah'. What an ass. Would have loved to given him a hard but fair tackled.
Game 3 was another game that we really should have won. It ended 1-1. We were OK. Not great at going forward but solid enough in defence. I scored our goal. I went through on goal, one on one with the goalkeeper - who was Scottish! - he came out but before he got to me I slid the ball past him into the net. 1-0! They went and scored with about a minute to go. Disappointing.
Game 4 was going to be interesting. We needed to win but sadly we didn't. I think it was more to do with tiredness actually. It was an open game but we lost it 2-0. One of our guys got taken out and had to get subbed. No real clearcut chances for us and there was no real complaint's about the score.
Overall, 2 draws wasn't too bad. Could and should have been a win at least. Writing this later in the day, I'm hurting!
Next time...
It was an early start. Up and out the house by 7am in order to get to the football club for registration at 7.30am. Not the best time to be playing football. We had new strips as well. All white. Actually, it was the Liverpool away strip. Not too bad. It could have been worse.
Game 1 ended 0-0. We had our chances and in fairness we should have won it. I had a shot on goal which the goalkeeper pushed away for a corner. There were other chances but none went in. In fact, that was a relatively good start.
Game 2 was a defeat. I think it was 3-0. It was a strange game. Their 'captain' was somewhat vocal, shall we say. He was tackled, went down like a lead balloon then shouted that 'you could have broken my leg!' I think not you big girl's blouse. He got up and tried to start a pushing match with the guy who tackled him - a 5 foot 7 girl's blouse against a 6 foot 4 defender. He had balls, I'll give him that. All mouth though. Later in the game he scored a tap in. In response to scoring he tensed up as if to show all his muscles and yelled 'yeeeeeeeeeah'. What an ass. Would have loved to given him a hard but fair tackled.
Game 3 was another game that we really should have won. It ended 1-1. We were OK. Not great at going forward but solid enough in defence. I scored our goal. I went through on goal, one on one with the goalkeeper - who was Scottish! - he came out but before he got to me I slid the ball past him into the net. 1-0! They went and scored with about a minute to go. Disappointing.
Game 4 was going to be interesting. We needed to win but sadly we didn't. I think it was more to do with tiredness actually. It was an open game but we lost it 2-0. One of our guys got taken out and had to get subbed. No real clearcut chances for us and there was no real complaint's about the score.
Overall, 2 draws wasn't too bad. Could and should have been a win at least. Writing this later in the day, I'm hurting!
Next time...
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Debrief
That was a good start. 1-0 to Scotland over a decent Czech team. Even though it was 'only' a friendly, a win is a win and given that we have posted only 3 wins in the last 16 games and indeed not won a friendly in Glasgow 14 years, it will certainly do.
Craig Levin's first game in charge was always going to be interesting and promised to be more about containment and being hard to beat. He lived up to that, yet, that was the foundation of the teams of the last few years and was in many respects stripped away by the last manager. I'd rather be hard to be beat than consistently getting stuffed.
It also marked a return of those who had decided not to work with the last manager. If they can do a job and enhance the team, then I don't necessarily see any difficulties with that. We are a small nation with a small pool of players to choose from. We need the best players playing and not sitting at home watching on the TV. Ultimately, we want to qualify for a major tournament.
Craig Levin's first game in charge was always going to be interesting and promised to be more about containment and being hard to beat. He lived up to that, yet, that was the foundation of the teams of the last few years and was in many respects stripped away by the last manager. I'd rather be hard to be beat than consistently getting stuffed.
It also marked a return of those who had decided not to work with the last manager. If they can do a job and enhance the team, then I don't necessarily see any difficulties with that. We are a small nation with a small pool of players to choose from. We need the best players playing and not sitting at home watching on the TV. Ultimately, we want to qualify for a major tournament.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Invincible
It shouldn't rain here. Certainly not in March. It's the desert for goodness sake. It's 'meant' to ran for about 5 days a year in December or January. And that's it.
But no.
Saturday night saw heavy rain and big, big thunderstorms literally right overhead. It rained solidly for about an hour and a half. Long enough for a giant lake to form at the bottom of the road. Thankfully, I wasn't out and about. Seemingly the rain caused severe traffic jams and indeed a number of major roads that go from Dubai to Sharjah (the next Emirate over) were flooded and therefore impassable.
That wasn't the end of it though.
I walked into work on Tuesday and was in the office a bit earlier that usual. About 5 minutes after arriving, the heavens opened. It wasn't just a bit of a downpour. It was pelting it down and continued for around 5 hours. Without stopping! The guys in the office love it because they never really see rain. I am not a big fan of it. Given that Scotland has 200 days of rain a year, I could quite happily live without seeing anymore. They are like 'It's brilliant' blah blah. No it's not.
The reason it's not brilliant is because Dubai isn't set up sufficiently for rain. And neither is Sharjah. The rain on Saturday was only a 'practice' for the real thing. Lakes formed, cars got stuck, roads were impassable, drains burst, 'soil' washed away, roads closed. It was horrible. When the rain did finally stop, the sun came back out to play. I had no particular issues getting back home at all but I did notice that the roads were significantly quieter than normal. Perhaps everyone had gone home early!
I wonder if I can insert some photos?!
Yes he can!
But no.
Saturday night saw heavy rain and big, big thunderstorms literally right overhead. It rained solidly for about an hour and a half. Long enough for a giant lake to form at the bottom of the road. Thankfully, I wasn't out and about. Seemingly the rain caused severe traffic jams and indeed a number of major roads that go from Dubai to Sharjah (the next Emirate over) were flooded and therefore impassable.
That wasn't the end of it though.
I walked into work on Tuesday and was in the office a bit earlier that usual. About 5 minutes after arriving, the heavens opened. It wasn't just a bit of a downpour. It was pelting it down and continued for around 5 hours. Without stopping! The guys in the office love it because they never really see rain. I am not a big fan of it. Given that Scotland has 200 days of rain a year, I could quite happily live without seeing anymore. They are like 'It's brilliant' blah blah. No it's not.
The reason it's not brilliant is because Dubai isn't set up sufficiently for rain. And neither is Sharjah. The rain on Saturday was only a 'practice' for the real thing. Lakes formed, cars got stuck, roads were impassable, drains burst, 'soil' washed away, roads closed. It was horrible. When the rain did finally stop, the sun came back out to play. I had no particular issues getting back home at all but I did notice that the roads were significantly quieter than normal. Perhaps everyone had gone home early!
I wonder if I can insert some photos?!
Yes he can!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Frequency.
Currently on my grooveshark playlist:
/In no particular order/
Ash: Goldfinger.
Not because of the obvious James Bond reference but because it is fantastic. They wrote this when they were 17. Seventeen!
Goldfrapp: Slide In (DFA Remix).
It's just an orgy of high hat and drums along with the seductive, spacey tones of Ms Goldfrapp. All about 20 minutes of it all.
Blur: Music is my Radar.
A slow burner. 'Hidden' at the end of the 'Best of' and probably overlooked. I don't imagine it got an airing during last year's 'tour'. The video is very retro, very Kubrick.
Delphic: This Momentary.
This year's new hope by all accounts but found on Kitsune last year. New 'New Order'. Perhaps. Tipped for big things but when has that ever really matter. If it sounds good, then that's enough.
The Drums: Let's Go Surfing.
It shouldn't really work but does it ever. The bassline and a chorus to die for and one that is a bit of a rip off of a certain 'song in Tom Hank's 'Big' but why not? Down down by the rollercoasters...
Snow Patrol ft. Martha Wainwright: Set Fire to the Third Bar.
A controversial choice. Snow Patrol aka bedwetters in the Coldplay vain. Certainly not a fan of them per se. Even more surprising is the fact that this song was first introduced to me, not with the sweet voice of Martha Wainwright but the almost identical tones of Cheryl Cole. I must be selling out but you can't argue with the song. I think Snow Patrol have a 'thing' for 'lying down'. Strange.
Metallica: St Anger.
They got a bit of a slating over this album. It was essentially the 'break up' album and it has that kind of a feel to it. This song however, is brutal. It's an assault in every sense. The crunch of the guitar's are unlike what they have sounded like on previous albums; that, couple with the beating of steel sound of the snare drum makes this something of a 'departure'. Not sure about the 'whoooo' bit though.
Two Door Cinema: Something Good Can Work.
The most 'hopeful' song on the list. It's a ray of sunshine.
Phoenix: Litzomania.
The best song ever about a composer and that includes 'Rock me Amadeus'! I could listen to Phoenix all day. French to!
Any other suggestions?
/In no particular order/
Ash: Goldfinger.
Not because of the obvious James Bond reference but because it is fantastic. They wrote this when they were 17. Seventeen!
Goldfrapp: Slide In (DFA Remix).
It's just an orgy of high hat and drums along with the seductive, spacey tones of Ms Goldfrapp. All about 20 minutes of it all.
Blur: Music is my Radar.
A slow burner. 'Hidden' at the end of the 'Best of' and probably overlooked. I don't imagine it got an airing during last year's 'tour'. The video is very retro, very Kubrick.
Delphic: This Momentary.
This year's new hope by all accounts but found on Kitsune last year. New 'New Order'. Perhaps. Tipped for big things but when has that ever really matter. If it sounds good, then that's enough.
The Drums: Let's Go Surfing.
It shouldn't really work but does it ever. The bassline and a chorus to die for and one that is a bit of a rip off of a certain 'song in Tom Hank's 'Big' but why not? Down down by the rollercoasters...
Snow Patrol ft. Martha Wainwright: Set Fire to the Third Bar.
A controversial choice. Snow Patrol aka bedwetters in the Coldplay vain. Certainly not a fan of them per se. Even more surprising is the fact that this song was first introduced to me, not with the sweet voice of Martha Wainwright but the almost identical tones of Cheryl Cole. I must be selling out but you can't argue with the song. I think Snow Patrol have a 'thing' for 'lying down'. Strange.
Metallica: St Anger.
They got a bit of a slating over this album. It was essentially the 'break up' album and it has that kind of a feel to it. This song however, is brutal. It's an assault in every sense. The crunch of the guitar's are unlike what they have sounded like on previous albums; that, couple with the beating of steel sound of the snare drum makes this something of a 'departure'. Not sure about the 'whoooo' bit though.
Two Door Cinema: Something Good Can Work.
The most 'hopeful' song on the list. It's a ray of sunshine.
Phoenix: Litzomania.
The best song ever about a composer and that includes 'Rock me Amadeus'! I could listen to Phoenix all day. French to!
Any other suggestions?
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Showtime.
Another defeat for Scotland.
Wooden spoon ahoy unless we can beat the English at Murrayfield and hope for a minor miracle against the Irish.
It didn't need to be this way. We should have stuffed the Welsh; my god we should, at the very least, have drawn with them. But no. We just can't do it. Then, the Italians. Home or away we can't beat them. It's embarrassing. Today was case in point. They might be improving but certainly we're not getting any better. Although, we are totally inconsistent. We beat Fiji and the Australians back in November so we have potential. We should have beaten Argentina and Wales. Had we done that, things would be looking very rosy. Instead, they aren't.
That is in contrast to the Magner's League in which the club sides are in the top four. /sigh/. So depressing. Even a win against England might not arrest it.
Wooden spoon ahoy unless we can beat the English at Murrayfield and hope for a minor miracle against the Irish.
It didn't need to be this way. We should have stuffed the Welsh; my god we should, at the very least, have drawn with them. But no. We just can't do it. Then, the Italians. Home or away we can't beat them. It's embarrassing. Today was case in point. They might be improving but certainly we're not getting any better. Although, we are totally inconsistent. We beat Fiji and the Australians back in November so we have potential. We should have beaten Argentina and Wales. Had we done that, things would be looking very rosy. Instead, they aren't.
That is in contrast to the Magner's League in which the club sides are in the top four. /sigh/. So depressing. Even a win against England might not arrest it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)