Day 24: on why suicide IS NOT painless...

One of the news stories doing the rounds at the moment is about Pop singer, Lana Del Ray, and her unfortunate choice of comments earlier this month about suicide. Apparently she was talking about her musical inspiration and how many of her idols had died young, then finished by saying "I wish I was dead already."

This would probably have slipped under the radar, possibly, (I mean she's not exactly known for her happy, chirpy, upbeat songs, is she?) except Curt Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, stepped up on Twitter

and took the singer to task.

Her exact words were:

'@LanaDelRey  I'll never know my father because he died young & it becomes a desirable feat because ppl like u think it's 'cool'(cont)'

@LanaDelRey Well, it's f**king not. Embrace life, because u only get one life. The ppl u mentioned wasted that life.Don't be 1 of those ppl' 

Adding: '@LanaDelRey ur too talented to waste it away. (sic).'

Since those comments, Frances herself has come under fire from Lana Del Ray fans, who claim she was attacking their heroine. Frances has since allegedly removed the tweets, instead choosing to defend what she said - something I really, truly believe she had no need to do. Here's what she tweeted instead:-

A few years ago, my Uncle committed suicide. He fitted a hosepipe to his car and decided to end his life. I hadn't seen him in a while, we weren't exactly close (my family doesn't really do close as a rule), but still it was a bit of a shocker. I saw the consequences of those actions first-hand, my mum both distraught and yet also angry that he couldn't have turned to someone, anyone in the family for help had he needed it. From what I understand, his last days were miserable ones in which he really didn't know what else to do and couldn't see a way out of the hole he felt that he was in.

I totally agree with Frances. I think she should have left her comments up, and I don't think she had any need to justify her words. Suicide is not glamorous. The deaths of such people as Amy Winehouse, Curt Cobain and countless others who have died before their time, either by their own hand or not, is a tragic waste.

Suicide though is worse. It is not an action without victims, and those victims have to live with the thought that they weren't or couldn't be there for you at a time when you needed them most. Regardless of the fact that you never went to them for help, still a small part of those left behind will always ask if that might've been their failing, not yours.

As an idol to millions, Lana Del Ray has a certain responsibility. I understand she may just have been careless with her words, may well not have meant them to have come out like that, and allegedly regrets uttering them now (blaming the interviewer, not herself by all accounts), but whe you are in the spotlight like that, you need to think about the things you say.

How many people out there right now share her thoughts, that they wish to die, and now might be inspired to do something about it because Lana Del Ray thinks that it is romantic to die before your time? Hopefully not many. I'd like to think people were not quite so impressionable as that, but the unfortunate fact is many of them are. 

Did you know that according to recent statistics, the male suicide rate is more than three times that of females? It's a sobering statistic. Thankfully, official records show that the amount of suicides overall continues to decline every year.

If you are at all worried about someone, or have feelings of suicide yourself, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour support service on 08457 90 90 9.

Suicide is a selfish act. It is not something to aspire to. 'Live young, die fast, leave a good looking corpse' is not the message we should be telling our young people. 

That's it for today,

Sorry it was a bit grim today, I'll try and be more upbeat tomorrow I promise! lol

Sparky xx

And now, time to die.....

There was a lot of talk and controversy this week surrounding the documentary, hosted by Terry Pratchett, about a man with Motor Neurone disease who had chosen to travel to Switzerland and uphold his right to take his own life. The documentary came under the spotlight because it filmed right up until and during the moment of his passing. I didn't watch, and that was a personal choice, but I understand it was very moving, emotional and thought-provoking. 

Though I personally have no interest in watching someone die, and find the thought quite distasteful whatever the reason for its broadcast, I can fully appreciate why the programme makers made the decision they did to show the death in full. It is important that we, as human beings, are given the right to choose the manner of our own passing should we be in a situation from which we are never going to return though whether or not I would make a similar choice, I am not sure. (I think I would rather go out kicking and screaming!) I also think it is important that people be educated and see exactly what goes on in such clinics as, with similar schemes forbidden in this country, it is important that people be aware of all the facts before making an informed decision. Assisted Suicide seems to be a dirty phrase in this country but I think we all have to remember it is our life and we probably should be given the right to end it when we choose.

Though it is a different matter entirely, I had an uncle who killed himself by breathing in exhaust fumes a few years ago now. He did it because of financial worries and depression but my thoughts have always been that, despite the damage and hurt it did to the rest of Mum's family, it was his decision and you have to respect the fact that it was his life to do with as he pleased to a certain degree. The question there is as to whether or not he was in his own mind when he made the decision and that is something no one will ever know. But essentially, why does anyone else have the right to say that, if we have considered all the options, we shouldn't be allowed to take our own life?

It is a difficult and troubled subject and maybe the death of two relatives in recent years (I lost another Uncle this year to complications of Pneumonia and Emphysema) was still too raw for me to be able to digest the programme objectively. Either way, I can fully understand why the decision was made as to why to show the programme and why Terry Pratchett, diagnosed with Alzheimers in the last few years, would want to help make the show.

I just didn't want to watch it. 

If only we, in this country, were given the right to make other choices so easily.......

God created Man, Man creates Monsters.....

It has been an interesting time for Science this week...with developments that will shock and terrify those who think that we, as Humanity, are playing Dice with God, and awe and inspire those of us who  believe that knowledge and modern technological advances are the way forward for the betterment of our race!

 

Things kicked off at the beginning of this week with the announcement that Scientists in China are currently working on cows that will be able to produce drinkable human breast milk or its nearest Scientific equivalent within the next couple of years! Below is a direct quote taken from the Sky News pages: THIS IS NOT A HOAX!

 

"Chinese GM Cows Make Human Breast milk

3:49pm UK, Monday June 06, 2011

Holly Williams, Beijing correspondent

Chinese scientists have genetically modified dairy cows to produce human breast milk, and hope to be selling it in supermarkets within three years.

The milk produced by the transgenic cows is identical to the human variety and has the same immune-boosting and antibacterial qualities as breast milk, scientists at China's Agricultural University in Beijing say.

The transgenic herd of 300 was bred by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos which were then implanted into surrogate cows.

The technology was similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep.

The milk is still undergoing safety tests but with government permission it will be sold to consumers as a more nutritious dairy drink than cow's milk.

Workers at the university's dairy farm have already tasted the milk, and say it is sweeter and stronger than the usual bovine variety.

There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat. It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back. We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions.

Professor Li Ning, director of the research project

"It's good," said worker Jiang Yao. "It's better for you because it's genetically modified."

The scientists have also produced animals that are resistant to mad cow disease, as well as beef cattle that are genetically modified to produce more nutritious meat.

The director of the research project, Professor Li Ning, says Western concerns about the ethics of genetic modification are misplaced.

"There are 1.5 billion people in the world who don't get enough to eat," he said. "It's our duty to develop science and technology, not to hold it back.

"We need to feed people first, before we consider ideals and convictions."

In contrast to Europe, China has eagerly embraced genetically modified food.

GM cooking oil, papayas, tomatoes and potatoes are already widely available.

Insect-resistant rice and corn modified to help pigs absorb more nutrients were both recently approved by the government."

In other news an American Baseball Player, who had been injured in his long-standing career as a Pitcher for The Yankees, has been given a second-chance at continuing his dream. Apparently in a ground-breaking treatment, part of his fat was removed from his torso, spun through a Centrifuge to seperate the Stem Cells and injected back into his arm and shoulder so that damage sustained could begin to repair itself. Again, this is not made up but real authentic news.....again, I quote (this time from http://investorstemcell.com/forum/stemcell-news/1942.htm):

"Stem cells treatment on baseball player

Colon owes resurgence to stem-cell treatment - CBSSports.com

By Evan Brunell

Somehow, Bartolo Colon has made himself relevant after missing a full season of baseball and injecting his fastball with life, with an average speed of 91.7 mph arresting a decline that started with the White Sox in 2009.

Despite being knocked around in his last start, Colon now has an impressive 3.86 ERA that is actually higher than it should be, as his 2.79 xFIP indicates. He's made four starts and three relief appearances and has bailed New York out of the Phil Hughes-sized hole the youngster left as he battles his own mysterious velocity problems.

Stem cells may be to thank. As Peter Griffin once said on Family Guy, "why are they not funding this!?"

Colon left baseball in '09 with pain in his right shoulder thanks to a rotator cuff tear among other issues and accepted an invitation in March 2010 from Drs. Sergio Guzman and Lionel Liriano to undergo a stem-cell transplant and later a "booster shot," as DiarioLibre.com writes.

"We did not want to do a trial on a young 23-24 year old because the effectiveness could be questioned due to his age," Guzman said, after their original goal of Pedro Martinez did not come to fruition. "We did it with a veteran and we hope that Felix Sanchez and other Dominican athletes that have suffered injuries will also submit to this treatment so that they can prove what can be done with stem cells."

Both bone marrow and fatty tissue (and there certainly was plenty of the latter for Colon) were taken out of his hip, put through a process, then inserted in the shoulder. He was then injected with a plasma shot, which other big-leaguers have undergone for treatment. Each procedure took no longer than 40 minutes with minimal recovery time, and doctors contend that this process is more economical than Tommy John surgery, which is more expensive and requires a long rehab period.

"We have not invented anything, nor have we done anything new. This is being done the world over", Guzman added. "We received some training overseas to handle this type of things. Harvard University donated the centrifuges. This is no invention. What we do is take a little bit of bone marrow and we put it into an affected area."

Prior to the procedure, the doctors received approval from MLB owners, lawyers and doctors before moving forward. While it's unlikely this surgery will supplant Tommy John surgery, it could be another medical advancement that could keep pitchers on the mound longer. Jake Peavy, pitching Wednesday night in his 2011 debut, is another pitcher who has undergone fairly new surgery.

The article, which was very fawning and pro-Dominican Republic to the point where you had to tune out the obvious bias (example: "... credit that goes to a team of surgeons made in Santiago de los Caballeros with the most advanced knowledge of present day medicine" -- we'll shortly learn that there's plenty of credit to go to a US doctor), made no mention of Dr. Joseph Purina of Florida who says he was part of the team that treated Colon.

“This is not hocus-pocus,” Purita told the New York Times. “This is the future of sports medicine, in particular. Here it is that I got a guy back playing baseball and throwing pitches at 95 miles an hour.”

Liriano says in the article that Purina was the one to provide the information and specialty to make the procedure possible, although Liriano had a major influence in selecting Colon and bringing the whole team of doctors together.

The Yankees were not aware of the procedure until just before the Times story ran, and notified baseball which is looking into it. Purina has previously used human growth hormone, banned by basbeall, in similar treatments but says he did not do so in Colon's case.*“I just won’t give it to [professional athletes],” Purita said. “I don’t need the stigma and that kind of reputation.”

Colon brushed off inquiries, saying "I don't know, I don't know," when asked about the procedure. Not much conclusion can be drawn from this as Colon speaks limited English.

Colon's agent, Mitch Frankel, for his part, believes the treatment helped Colon's resurgence, but wasn't the major part of it.

“The doctor feels that it definitely gave him a jump start to his improvement, although for me, personally, I don’t think Bartolo was focused on baseball mentally or physically for the last few years,” Frankel said. “I believe the problem was that and not his pitching. And I think once he made that determination, you can see the success.”

Up next could be a scientific study, because even with Colon's success, there isn't much information that can be extropolated from the procedure to date."

 

So you see, sometimes the truth REALLY is stranger than fiction! There are those who will be disturbed by stories like this in the Press. Personally I take all this as an encouragement that Science is not just about developing new and better ways to destroy each other but in moving forwards to better the Human Race as a whole. 

They say that from little acorns, big Oak trees will grow.....who knows what other scientific advancements might develop in the next few years based on research and experiments being conducted right now? Remember both these stories when next you think perhaps that we are living in an age where Science and Technology have started to stand still. And remember, just because Scientists might play at being God, it doesn't make them Gods! What they do today, in the future could benefit us all.....

Sparky out! xxxx

Sometime in the near future.....

Well, Face book has been a bit slow uploading my Blog of late so if you are reading this via My Notes on Face book then the year is probably now 3000. Not much has changed but we live underwater. Oh and your great great great great granddaughter?....Yes, she's pretty fine!

But seriously...it's been over a week since the Election fiasco and we finally now have a new government! Of course, the big news was all those people who didn't get in to vote before the booths shut at 22:00 and got turned away but I see this has mostly been forgotten about now in the press. Mind you, if you had 15 hours or so in which to vote, surely it's your own fault if you didn't get there in time? I know they say that there were big queues in some constituencies but I am sure that this was as much down to people leaving things right to the last minute as it was the "fact" being bandied around that more people turned out to vote than was expected. Hell, they had a big drive going on days before encouraging people to get off their backsides and vote, so honestly what did they expect? Like..duh! "Oh yes, we know we persuaded you to turn out to vote but like we weren't really expecting you to do so...we were just like saying y'know? We didn't mean it?" Cretins!!!!

So yeah, even though Conservatives didn't win the majority, (they got the most seats but apparently you need to get 51% to be in power and they didn't quite make that margin- yeah, I don't get it either ~ how can you get more seats than anyone else and still not win? Fracked up isn't it?) David Cameron is now our new Prime Minister after having to near enough boot a reluctant Gordon Brown out the door of No 10! But hey, good news for us Lib Dems because that lack of majority has meant that the two parties have had to join a coalition. A bit like Chamberlain and Hitler, one supposes....two opposing forces trying desperately to find middle ground. But which is which? Only time will tell.....but it is a interesting time to be living in right now, I can tell you! America has a black President, we spent almost a whole week with no official Government and now we have got a Government but it is being run by the two runners-ups because no one, in a General Election, could decide who they actually wanted to vote for!

Wouldn't it have been interesting to see what would have happened if all those people who didn't get a chance to vote actually voted? I suspect the results may have been just that little bit different....

A fair debate....

Just to say, I did try to find comedy posters of the other Political Partys but they seem strangely absent! There's not even any poking fun at the B.N.P that I could see,,,,very disappointing!

That is, until I visited B3ta.....

Vote None Of The Above....

So, it's Election day and I'd thought I'd have a little fun with some comedy campaign posters I have found posted on the net! You may have seen some of these already, but I found them rather amusing!! Please note, this in no way indicates who I am voting for...it's just that Cameron's Campaign posters have great comedy value!!

Now if Party Political campaigns were more like this below, then I would be more inclined to know who to vote for! This is what we need to bring in all of those people who don't bother to go to the polls! We need to Sex things up a bit! If Politicians looked more like this first image, then loads of blokes would vote in their millions!! Yes, it's sexist; yes, it's chauvinistic but yes, we all know it's also true! But don't worry, I haven't forgotten you girls...wouldn't you be more inclined to vote for a particular Political Party if your candidate looked like the second image below...?

Monty Python's flying media circus!

Since my last post, the media coverage of the Jamie Bulger killers has gone through the roof with all the papers trying to discover the new identities of the killer pair. The Daily Mail claimed Robert Thompson is now gay and in a relationship with a partner who knows his past whilst details have begun to trickle out about Jon Venables and some of the stuff he may or may not have done. Suddenly, especially for the parents, it must be as though we have all stepped back in time to when the murder first occurred as it has all become a hot potato of a topic all over again!

On Question Time last week, respected writer and journalist Will Self argued, kind of, in their defence. He said that the media has branded them as uber-evil, as monsters but that murder is murder and in essence are they any worse than anyone who takes a life just because they were children when they committed the crime? Was it not possible as well that the pair did not know what they were doing? He described murder as an act performed with malice and forethought and claimed that, from the transcripts of interviews conducted with boys, it was not blatantly apparent that they had acted with any such malice and forethought. This is contrary to what I remember as I seem to recall that the pair tried unsuccessfully to abduct another toddler from the same Shopping Mall about an hour before they nabbed little Jamie. This to me smacks of forethought even if no malice was originally intended or at least to the extent that events occurred.

The problem is that this whole subject is such a complicated issue! There is no black or white, only shades of grey. I do think the Media though are at fault for over-publicising the whole affair this time around and that the Government really haven't helped matters! As soon as it came out that Venables had re-offended, and Will Self also mentioned that the list of crimes that could have resulted in Venables' parole being evoked are numerous and consist in some examples of very simple and innocuous things of the kind that we all participate in every day, I believe we should have had full disclosure of the offence to prevent speculation. I do not think we have a right to know the new identities of the pair; the decision to release them has been made, one would hope, under much consideration and despite what anyone may think the whole point of a justice system is that we need to have faith in the system or it is not worth having! But I do think that if you just release just a small trickle of information without any details then you are courting all sorts of misbehaviour from a media that hardly has the best reputation or track record in the first place. Either they should have withheld the information that Venables had been re-arrested or told us why he had been taken back into custody. By holding back, all they have done is blow up the whole sorry debacle into a full-blown clusterfrack!

The latest news is that all the media coverage and speculation may damage any future trial that Venables has to undergo. This in itself is dangerous as, in pressing to publish as much rumour and false truth about the pair that tabloid reporters can uncover, they could threaten to prevent him theoretically from going back to jail! I do not think this is likely but the fact that it is a possibility is worrying. Also all the media hoo-ha has the potential for innocent people getting hurt. One thing I heard of last week was that one person had to move when he was accused by his neighbours and harassed wrongfully for being Jon Venables. Is there not the danger that by whipping up a media frenzy and causing paranoia and widespread negative public feeling the papers might end up creating a society of vigilantism? The papers have a right to report the news as they see fit and to give us the information that they think we need to hear but there needs to be a certain amount of responsibility with their reporting because what they publish has wider and further ramifications. And is this our fault, in part, for becoming so media-obsessed and dictating what we expect from our journalism? Surely if they did not think there was a market for their own paticular brand of shit-stirring then they would not resort to such tactics?

On a brighter note, Gail Porter was on The Wright Stuff this morning as part of this weeks guest panel. You may remember she lost all her hair through Alapetia a few years ago and has been virtually bald ever since. Well, it turns out today that her hair has began to grow back! Something that had been suggested might never happen! Today she commented that it was the first time in several years that she had had to shave her legs!! The hair on her head is a little patchy but it is a vast improvement on how it was growing about a month ago when she was last on the show. Well done Gail- both for being positive through all you have had to endure through your ordeal but also for getting your hair back! You are an inspiration to us all! If only all of us could be so brave through adversity, the world would be one step closer to being a better place!

Nature verses nuture....who wins? You decide!

I don't normally use this Blog to discuss the news and instead use it as a medium for venting or for sharing my random thoughts but something that has made the headlines today demands, I feel, discussion just because by its very nature, it is such a serious topic. I am talking of course about the news that Jon Venables, one of the two boys responsible for killing toddler James Bulger, has been taken back into custody for breaking the terms of his parole. Venables was just 10 when he and Robert Thompson abducted and battered the two year old to death in a crime which shocked the world. The pair snatched James from a Liverpool shopping centre in February 1993 and took him to a freight railway line more than two miles away where they killed him. Some people reading this might be a little too young to fully remember the story but at the time, it was one of the most shocking and gruesome crimes ever witnessed by my generation.

Of course, Venables and Thompson have been guarded by a close blanket of security ever since they were released with new identities under the premise that they had been fully rehabilitated and so this is all the information that anyone is allowed to release right now; that Venables has quite simply violated the terms of his parole. This could mean he has committed a crime but it could also quite rightly mean that he has merely tried to return to Merseyside or that he has tried to get in contact with Thompson. The fact is all we can do right now is speculate and for James Bulger's parents, this must be a horrifying ordeal that forces them to re-live those first awful experiences all over again! But the point is...does this prove that they were released too early? Does this mean that rehabilitation hasn't worked? No one can answer that because we are not being given all the facts even though it has been suggested in the media that, in later weeks, more information might be forthcoming...

I understand the need for secrecy, if anyone discovered the pair's new identities or their new locations, their lives unquestionably would be in danger and whilst I believe that is all they deserve, to be hunted for the rest of their lives and to live in fear of being discovered, I do not believe vigilante justice would solve anything in the long term. But I do believe we have a right to know what Venables has done if only to stop speculation in its tracks! At the moment, all those who thought he should never have been released will be saying " You see, we told you this would happen; the kid is evil and always will be and by releasing him you have set him free to act again!" whilst others who supported his release will be saying "Look, the system works. He may have been released but as soon as he stepped out of line, he has been taken back into custody proving that he is constantly monitored and that he is never really going to be free ever again!"

The point is we don't know if what he has done has any relevance to those earlier events. But by speculating, we are bound to think the worst simply because we are not being told anything different.

I remember watching a drama called Child A on television a couple of years back. It was highly thought-provoking and took the premise of a young teenager who had killed when he was a young boy and had now been released back into society with a new identity. He was filled with remorse and just wanted to start his life anew with no connection to his past but people found out who he was and he soon became hounded by all those he had come to consider as colleagues and friends. It had chilling echoes of the news at the time that Venables and Thompson were going to be released and gave as much food for thought as the Gary Glitter drama equally did last year for different reasons!

Perhaps the biggest question the Bulger murder brought up, and which is still relevant today, was that of were Venables and Thompson inherently evil or were they a victim of the surroundings they were brought up in? In other words is it nature or nurture that leads someone to kill? Were the tweo friends born evil or were they created that way from their upbringing? Personally I do not think there is any clear-cut answer but I do think it is hard to think about anyone ever being born totally evil!! I am a strong believer in that what occurs around us as children is fundamental to the way we behave as adults and regardless of anything else, Venables and Thompson knew that they had done wrong. It is just that, as children, they were unable to sense the scope of that wrongness or to percieve the wider implications of what they had done. They just weren't hard-wired yet to think that way. Please note- I am not defending their actions IN ANY WAY but I am simply trying to look at the broader picture with an unjudgemental eye.

From my own experience as a dad, I look at Emilie and do not believe that it has already been pre-programmed how she will behave in the future. I believe I have a strong moral imperative to mentally guide her and teach her the differences between right and wrong. She is not perfect and sometimes mis-behaves now and then in small doses but when she does I ask myself what the reasons are for her mis-behaviour. Is she tired or hungry and thus getting irritable and more likely to play up? Or is she re-enacting behaviour she has seen me or her mum demonstrate? If she kicks out or goes to slap me, is it because she has seen me and Mrs.Sparky play-fighting and now thinks it acceptable? I know that when I have done something and gone " (sigh) Oh, for god's sake!" She has copied me and gone around going " (sigh) sake...sake!" If she can copy things she hears said, isn't it just as likely that she will copy behaviour patterns?

And this is the thing. As children we have a poor moral compass and a tendency to imitate. There was a lot of talk at the time of the Bulger murder about the two boys having been exposed to violent movies. This brought up a discussion about whether said movies should be banned. I have heard similar debates in recent years about violent computer games such as GTA. But people forget; these games and films are certificated 18 and this is done for a reason not just because the red certificate looks good on the cover. All kids watch 18 movies before they are supposed to, I did too- often without my parents knowledge, but the thing is they shouldn't! Some kids are more impressionable than others and these films and games are designed and sold with adults in mind and are hence certificated that way for a reason. I know someone who regulary allowed her child to play 18 games without any compunction. He turned out okay, fair enough, but when he sold me one of the games and I played it I was shocked that he had been allowed to own it as it was full of not just violence but also colourful and racist language! It was presenting a satirical look at people's attitudes towards people of mixed race but how is a kid to know that? When he hears terms like "spear-chuckers" and "fucking gollywogs" he is more likely to find it funny because it is forbidden and not what you are supposed to say and there is every chance he will begin then to start using such terms; now considering them acceptable because they were used on something he saw or a game he played! The point is, kids shouldn't be exposed to such racist terms or such colourful language until they can understand why these things are not acceptable. And sometimes, it is down to you to explain why that is so. In some cases, in fact in most cases then, I guess what I am saying is you have to blame the parents.

I should point out that not all of it however can be laid at the parents' doors! I have heard plenty of stories about kids from a good home who have gone wrong and this is as much about the influence of their friends and their peer group as it is about their upbringing. Sometrimes you cannot choose who your kid hangs out with when they leave your house and I DO appreciate that. But I also think that, as parents, you have a BIG responsibility for gently guiding your child down the right path.

This whole issue, this very debate is a moral minefield! And thats why it is important that it should constantly be discussed and not swept under the carpet or white-washed in some kind of witch-hunt against 18-certificated media.. In the meantime, my thoughts go out to the parents of the late James Bulger who, right now, must be distraught and worrried that history may have, not repeated itself exactly, but perhaps come close to doing so.....and I hope that it is not long before their and our minds are put to rest about what Venables might or might not have done; even if it is just a general suggestion rather than specifics.

Meanwhile, this is pensive Sparky tuning out for now......

Crash, Bang.....What a pretty picture!

Well, it has certainly been a busy few days this week since I Blogged you last!! Firstly, I finally recieved a reply from my local M.P concerning the issues over food waste management that I had raised with him. Basically it was a lot of stuff about how food waste needs to be cut down and is starting to be used to generate power and how, enviromentally, we are currently behind other European countries such as Germany in our use of such energy supplies. I decided to write back a reply and have stated how that was not the point I was trying to make and that I was more concerned with how food becomes classified as "food waste" in the first place!

As a chef, I am acutely aware that some foods (such as fruit as illustrated in Jimmy's Food Factory) can be eaten after their use-by date with no ill effect. I am also aware of the reasons why supermarkets cannnot sell this produce however once it has surpassed its shelf-life. But my burning question is why this cannot be then distributed to people living on the streets rather than unnessecarily being broken down to create energy? Surely if the food is acceptably edible, then this is almost as bad a waste of resources as just chucking it away! I fully understand that morally it is better to use it for energy than bin it and that this DOES address some enviromental concerns but I am equally sure that, to quote my letter, "homeless people on the street care less about enviromental issues and more about where their next meal is going to come from!" But then, homeless people don't vote do they or is that just me being a tad cynical? Anyway, we will see what kind of a response that gets me......I quite understand why it is impratical to transport surplus food to third world countries where there is famine or people are going hungry, after all we are supposed to be reducing our carbon footprint and besides much of the food would spoil en route, but really- what is wrong about helping our own people who are less advantaged than us for whatever reasons?

My M.P also mentioned in his reply the work that a charity called Fareshare do without actually explaining who they are or what their policy is. I know I could look it up on the Internet and find the answers in 5 minutes but I have never heard of Fareshare and am blissfully unaware of what good deeds they might perform. Which lead me to wonder if anyone else had any idea without looking it up and cheating? If anyone reading this actually DOES know, then please enlighten me. In turn, I will ask a few people at work to see if any of them know of this Charity's work. Consider it almost as a social experiment if you will...if I find that nobody really knows anything, only then will I do my research on the Web and track the Charity down.But my M.P used the name as if it was something I OUGHT to recognise......

The other thing that has happened recently is that I have had a little prang in my car! I was supposed to be meeting friends in the city after work Tuesday night as someone from work was leaving and they had all gone out for a meal. I was going to meet them later on at a little pub close by when, turning right at traffic lights, I collided with a Taxi!!! My car needs a whole new wing and a headlight replacing but this is going to cost me my excess which is £200!!! A costly price for one second of not paying enough attention!! I am not happy about it but have kind of resigned myself to the fact that it was all my own stoopid fault and there is nothing I can do about it now anyway as what's done is done! Still, is quite annoying as you can imagine as I don't exactly have £200 just laying about!!

As far as my reading is going, currently I am reading Richard Dawkins' book "The Greatest Show On Earth" all about how the theory of Evoloution cannot be disproved! Though I have put this on the back-burner for awhile while I read Stephen King's latest, Under The Dome, which is all about an invisible barrier that shuts off a New England town from the rest of the world leading to all manner of Lord Of The Flies power struggles and heirachy emerging amongst the townspeople! It is very very good, an epic read and very much written in the vein of It, iNSOMNIA, tHE sTAND AND nEEDFUL tHINGS. It is especially good because there are subtle nods towards his other books hidden in the text. For example, one character describes the area of blackness outside The Dome on the other side as being a Dead Zone; the title of a classic SK novel famously made into both a film starring Christopher Walken and a T.V show. In another segment, a poster on an Internet forum describes what has happened to the town as being "just like in that movie, The Mist!" Which is another SK film based on a short story he wrote.

If you are a fan of Stephen King, then this is one book you need to be picking up as it is AWESOME!!!

Thats all for now folks...nyuk nyuk nyukk!!!

All those things that we have done....

First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to say that following my E-mail to my local M.P that I have had absolutely no response; not even a standardised reply from his office. I am very disappointed even a tad disgusted that no one can even be bothered to reply to me but do wonder if I am a little naive for expecting any response. Maybe I should be more aware of just what a wasteful society we live in and maybe the fact that I am not just emphasises even more my naivety but I kind of thought I might get some kind of an reply even if it was just a thank-you for your concerns. This kind of restores my lack of faith in politicians!

I saw another programme that resonated with me last night and had a great emotional impact; it was called The Execution Of Gary Glitter, some of you may have seen it, and was shown on channel 4. A work of fiction, it took the premise that the death penalty had been restored to Britain and was re-established as a viable means of dealing with murderers and sex offenders guilty of offences against children under 12. Paul Gadd, known better to the public as Gary Glitter, had been extradited from Vietnam for crimes committed there and was to be charged and sentenced as a way of trying out this new legislation. The man playing the role of Paul Gadd was very good- managing scarily to both look and sound exactly like the convicted paedophile. This made for very uncomfortable and yet strangely compulsive viewing!

I think the purpose of the drama was to make us question just whether or not we really SHOULD bring back hanging by throwing the grim reality of the consequence directly in the public's face. Lots of people talk about bringing back the death penalty but, as last night attempted to show, the reality of the situation is vastly different to what most people perceive. For starters, someone has to pull the lever and whilst many people might claim they would not skimp at such a task, you have to ask just how many people actually would be capable? When you break it down to the bare bones, you are asking someone to take another's life no matter how deserving of that punishment they might be and that is going to have an effect on you personally and is something you are always going to have to live with. Likewise for the jury. Could you live with the fact that your decision had sent someone directly to their death? That you singularly were responsible?

I am not arguing that these people such as Paul Gadd deserve any sympathy- hell no! - but by surrendering them to public execution you have to ask whether you are crossing a moral line and reducing yourself to their level. Surely the whole point of justice is to establish that we are above their base immorality; that we are, in fact, "better" than them and more human? As soon as you cross a certain line, do you not risk the danger of becoming just like them?

It was interesting because all through his trial and the sentencing, Paul Gadd seemed unable to accept that what was going to happen to him was actually going to be his fate. Perhaps because such a punishment had not been administered for 46 years in Britain and because his case was so far unprecedented, Gadd seemed to think that his death sentence was never going to go through. But, unlike in the States, in Britain it was stated that a person sentenced to hanging would be executed within 30 days of judgement leaving little time for appeal. Of course, his defence counsel applied to the Home Secretary for annulment of the penalty but it was left to the final moments before we discovered that such an appeal, the only one that could be made under the circumstances, had been denied.

I said at the beginning that the programme was emotional and indeed, towards the end, I found myself almost choking up. Not because I in any way, shape or form felt sorry for this fictional depiction of Paul Gadd, because such people physically disgust and revile me, but because the execution of another human being is always going to be a horrible thing to watch. And this had been shown as though it was a real documentary with only a disclosure at the beginning and between advert breaks that this was a work of fiction.

Paul Gadd made for a pitiful sight in his final moments; as he was escorted from his cell and the hood was placed over his head, you heard him utter "This is a wind-up right....?" It was truly horrifying to hear the panic in his voice as he realised the truth finally of what was about to happen. It sent chills down my spine and was one of the most uncomfortable and distressing things I have ever witnessed on television. I wish to repeat- I FELT NO SYMPATHY FOR THE ACCUSED IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM but to put another person to death is in no ways something I feel I could promote. Before this programme, I thought that yes a return to the death penalty was a good move but I question now the moral implications or the ethics of such a decision. It is true that there is always the danger that an innocent person will be put to death, though there was no question of innocence in this case, and also that whereas DNA evidence now is judged to be perfectly admissible, in future years who is to say that some new discovery will not come along better than DNA evidence that will mean DNA testimony is then questionable? But there is also the question of just how far are we willing to go for justice? Do we really want to bring back an eye for an eye in what is supposed to be a civilised society?

I think the death sentence's return would be a double-edged sword. Something needs to be addressed as crime levels are higher now than they have ever been with many more recorded instances of murder, rape and child abuse being reported. And there is widespread belief that criminals are treated way too leniently by both the courts and the Prison service but how far ARE we prepared to go? Would the death penalty REALLY be any kind of deterrent?

Last night was all about what good television should truly be about. Television programming should sometimes make us question what we think we know about society and force us to address certain important issues. It shouldn't just be about Eastenders or Hollyoaks. The programme last night stated in it's closing moments that 54% of people asked advocated a return of the death penalty. That is only a small majority but it would be interesting to know if last nights programme changed any of that 54%'s views. As for me, I am more sitting on the fence than I was before the programme but think if pressed I would go against a return of such barbaric measures! I know one thing; I would not have wanted to be on the jury that passed the final sentence! I am not sure if I could live with the weight of such a decision and I definitely would not want to be in the viewing gallery on the day of his execution! I think such a sight would remain with me for the rest of my life and surely that is more a punishment for the viewer than for the convicted; the convicted loses his or her life but it is the person who helped put him or her there that has to live on with the memory of what they have done! And if that is the case, then just who is ending up being punished??

Everyone responsible for last night's production should truly be commended. It was a brave decision to air such a highly controversial drama and everyone in it played their role to chilling perfection. How dirty must the person who played Paul Gadd feel now I wonder? His was so accurate a portrayal that it almost felt like you were watching the real Paul Gadd! Many will think this was just a piece of media sensationalism and maybe in part they are right, but it is my belief that it was done very well and I do wonder how the real Paul Gadd would feel about it should he got a chance to watch it. He came over as totally unremorseful in this last night and totally unforgiving. With that in mind, I wonder if he might not merely be bemused. But then he is a sick fuck who should be given little consideration in the first place!

For what good it will do....

Not that I think for one moment that it will achieve anything, but I have decided to E-mail my local M.P regarding my concerns about the feature on Jimmy's Food Factory the other night. I have pretty much summarised some of the points that I have made here regarding the mass waste of food and how shocking such a situation is when people in third world countries and indeed homeless people in our own country are starving! I don't expect much of a response and this is the first time I have ever felt compelled to write to my M.P but I am so apalled that I felt I had to do SOMETHING!

If anyone has any other sugestions about paths I could take, I would appreciate hearing from you. I am considering strongly writing to the local paper too as I feel this is something that really should be highlighted and addressed! I do not know the last time I felt so outraged and apalled!

Reasons to be angry...1,2,3...

Usually I find myself using this Blog to rant and rave about work as a means to let off steam and vent a little; which is unsurprising really seeing as I spend so much time there and so little time actually at home. But for this Blog entry, I have found something else to rant and rave about that takes a good, hard look at the bigger picture of the world at large.

First of all, I wish to mention something else that has happened to me in the last few days. My friend Kate has inadvertantly introduced me to a new Blog that I have begun to follow. I say inadvertantly because she posted about the Blog on her FB status and I decided to check it out for myself. The blog is http://whatneffydidnext.blogspot.com and is written by a friend of hers who has given up her everyday life to become a volunteer in Uganda! It is a very humbling experience reading this and it is so heartfelt and honestly written that it is difficult to read the Blog without feeling touched by it. This woman is so unselfish and genuine but at the same time so remarkably brave. How many of us would be so prepared to do something like this? I know I couldn't do it! Whenever she can, which depends on whether or not she can get an Internet conection or not, she uploads her latest experiences all about what she is up to and how she is helping the locals in whatever small ways that she can. It really opens your eyes and helps you to see what life is like on the other side of the world; something that so many of us are so unfortunately blind to. We live our lives here, blissfully unaware of what is going on in third world countries or even worse, choosing not to fully acknowledge it ~thinking about these things only when the usual aid requests come in every year or when fund-raising programmes such as Comic Relief are shown. But the fact is, the way people live their lives in these countries is shocking in this day and age that we live in where, here in the West, we throw things away willy nilly and are surrounded by modern technology and all manner of worthless gadgets that we use to enhance our lives but are really so unnesssecary to our existance and survival!

Which brings me neatly around to the reason for me choosing to write today's Blog entry! Watching Jimmy's Food Factory the other night on BBC1, there is a piece all about how we manage to get tomatoes in the supermarket all year round not just in season. Many of these are imported because it costs so much energy to heat the greenhouses in this country that would provide us with all-year-round tomatoes. One farmer however had found a solution by using thrown away fruit and vegetables from the local docks to make combustible energy to fuel his greenhouses. Jimmy took a look at this food that is needlessly thrown away and I was shocked at the sight of a mountain, and that is no exaggeration, of bananas that had been classed as unaccectpable in quality and were just going to be disposed of. There was nothing wrong with these bannanas but inspectors had claimed they were "too ripe" for supermarket shelves and had so rejected them. Jimy even picked one off the pile, peeled and ate a bit of one and there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH IT!!!!!! Now bearing in mind everything I have just discussed, about us living in a disposable culture and one full of unnessecary goods that make our lives easier admittedly but are NOT ESSENTIAL TO OUR EVERYDAY LIVES, then the notion of all this food going to waste physically disgusted me! I already do not much like waste but I have never really seen or been aware of waste on this sort of scale before. Remember, this was just bananas. Think for a moment about how much other fruit and vegetables likewise is deemed unfit for us to eat when in fact there is nothing wrong with it and it simply fails to reach an unfairly high unacceptable standard! If there is a likewise quantity of other fruit and veg, added together that makes a hell of a lot of food. Which, when there are people starving in this world or living in squalor all around the globe, is utterly and totally disgraceful. Regardless of third world countries, what about all the homeless people begging for something to eat and starving in THIS country? Surely food shelters could make good use of this "unfit" produce at little cost to ourselves? It would be better than it just going to waste and alright, so the farmer is going to make use of this wasted food but only so that he can satisfy the law of supply and demand that we as consumers have put on supermarkets so we can get tomatoes all year round! Is that really that important when there are people who do not have even one iota of our comforts and luxuries living in this world today. It is the twenty-first century for fracks sake, surely we are intelligent enough or advanced enough to come up with some kind of solution to these problems aside from the obviously good work that charities such as Comic Relief perform. Wouldn't it be nice, for example, to live in a world where Comic Relief et al were NOT NESSECARY?

These are important issues and ones that too often get swept under the carpet. I wish I knew if there was anything I could do to change things but I fear mine would be just be one lone voice in a wilderness of silence! Still I wonder that there must be some way to bring such issues to a wider audience. I canot be the only person who saw that programme and thought it was an utter disgrace.....

This world in which we live is a cruel and vicious one sometimes.....but it does put things into perspective! The next time I am pissed off and feel like moaning about trivial things like my job or the people I work with, I am going to upload Neffy's Blog or think about that programme the other night and remind myself of what is more important in life! That there are many others in this world who do not have the luxuries or the comfort that so many of us take for granted and that we are exceptionally fortunate to live our lives the way we do!