Reflections on life at “De Witte Wand”…
I intensely dislike any reference to supernaturalism, but I think there can be profound mystical feelings which do not have to call on fictitious agencies like angels and demons and deities. The whole natural world is bathed in wonder and beauty and mystery. The feeling of the holy, the sacred, the wonderful, the mystical, can be divorced from anything theological, and is conveyed very powerfully in music.
"The idea is to have advertisements appear and fit in naturally to the games just as they would in real life," said Jay Sampson, vice president of North American and Asia Pacific sales for Massive, Microsoft’s in-game advertising marketplace.
Ooooh! Can I come round for an Alienfest? I’ll bring the margaritas and popcorn! Huh? Can I? Huh?
Well, of course you can! Mind you, I’ll have to find a time when Martin is off visiting friends – he’s not a fan of these sorts of films…
For generations my family in Rio held dual Brazilian/American or Brazilian/British nationality. The Brazilians could have cared less. however as a child in the southern US, my Brazilian roots did not go down well. Most people could not make the distinction and I was just another "wet back". Recent events in th States tell me not much has changed.
I seem to be doing okay in Belgium and it helps to speak two of the languages (French and German). I can follow the Flemish, sort of, but once I cross the frontier into the Netherlands, I’m lost, I’m afraid. Nederlands there sounds like nothing so much as a dog shitting broken glass, so hats off to you if you’ve mastered it.
Ha! Mastered it? I think not… I keep on getting back-handed complements about my charming accent. And I know that I mangle the language with my limited vocabulary and excruciating grammar. The trouble is, at home, I speak English and Martin speaks Dutch, and we understand each other perfectly…
My prized moment was when I saw a red squirrel up in the Lake district. Our dog was staring at something, couldn’t see what, so I got down and put my head next to hers, and sighted – and there it was on a wall, eating a nut. Much prettier than the greys, and I’ve never seen one since that day.
There are red squirrels in the woods nearby. I’ve only caught a few glimpses, and apart from one time, they’re far away…
"In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals. In Iran we don’t have this phenomenon. I don’t know who has told you we have it."
She writes very powerfully. It makes one wonder where is the Islam that once rivalled, and often surpassed, the West in science, art, literature, architecture, trade, mathematics, education, spiritual scholarship, and that revered the Prophet’s wife as a warrior and buinesswoman in her own right. All these elements make for the kind of vibrant and dynamic society that encourages the the so-called "Western" freedoms. Instead we have Islam ruled by the ignorant mob, much as Christianity is in the States.
Well, it would seem, according to Reza Mansouri, that many Muslims are guilty of a category error – they cannot distinguish between science and theology. It’s very depressing, and he does not seem too hopeful either.
Creationism in any of its forms, such as “intelligent design”, is not based on facts, does not use any scientific reasoning and its contents are definitely inappropriate for science classes.However, some people call for creationist theories to be taught in European schools alongside or even in place of the theory of evolution. From a scientific view point, there is absolutely no doubt that evolution is a central theory for our understanding of life on Earth.The Assembly calls on education authorities in member states to promote scientific knowledge and the teaching of evolution and to oppose firmly any attempts at teaching creationism as a scientific discipline.
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