Lishman's Barcelona Diary

Survival of the Lucky

Published on 2009-11-23 05:20:00

Evolution (or Darwinism) is one of those beliefs that in debates and pub arguments is nearly always pitted against Creationalism and by virtue of that comes out smelling smugly of science. But like a boxing champion choosing his own challengers, or a politician refusing to answer questions unvetted by his aides, to me this rather contrived binary opposition seems like a rum deal, something promoted to hide the present crisis of credibility concerning the Theory of Evolution.Darwin's Theory of Ev

The rise and fall

Published on 2009-11-16 11:30:00

MURTON'S TIMELINE:1830: Population 691838: Work on pit starts1843: First coals drawn1851: Population 1,3951889: Electricity first used in pit1892: Murton toll gates removed1902: Three putters killed in pit, two aged 14, one aged 181906: Colliery draws 4,131 tons of coal in one day1910: Miners strike over Eight Hours Bill1913: Foundation stone laid for first council house1914: First public telephone for Murton, based in post office1922: Cenotaph unveiled1923: Coal drawn from West Pit for first ti

The Kitler trap

Published on 2009-11-08 13:48:00

I threw another log on the fire and picked up my book on Mao. A few minutes later the doorbell rang. It was Rafa from down the road holding Kitler in his arms. I found her in front of the fire when I got up this morning. God knows how she got in. Gracias, Rafa. Cafe?No, thanks. Wife's sent me on a messageRafa always insists on speaking English to me because he spends a fortune on classes. I battle back in Spanish and we have a bilinguil conversation, both of us speaking the language were least

Hit me Tony one more time

Published on 2009-11-08 13:45:00

At the moment I'm reading two books: Mao - The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and John Halliday and Tony Benn's Dairies 2001-2007 for a bit of light relief. From what I've read so far, Mao was a born tyrant with little interest in Marxist ideology. He was on Moscow's payrole in his early twenties and back-stabbed his way to the top of the communist party sacrificing many soldiers and civilians on the way. Stalin recognised early on that Mao was a kindred spirit and rather than immediately awarding

Fire

Published on 2009-11-08 13:43:00

Woke up at 7.10 am. It was perishing cold. After a few minutes of agonising hesitation tring to squeeze some warmth out of the thin arrangement of blankets, I leapt up and put on my clothes as quickly as I could. Yesterday, we were still enjoying an Indian summer and overnight the temperature had dropped like a bomb. The wind was howling through the trees and buffeting the windows. Kitler was nowhere to be seen. I lit the kitchen stove - which runs off a gas bottle - and put the coffee on to boi

They hunt in packs

Published on 2009-11-01 10:31:00

Animals to emulate #1The wild boar (Sus scrofa)

Killer Quotes

Published on 2008-12-16 10:20:00

Humans as disease"We have grown in number to the point where our presence is perceptibly disabling the planet like a disease. As in human disease there are four possible outcomes: destruction of the invading disease organisms; chronic infection; destruction of the host; or symbiosis - a lasting relationship of mutual benefit to the host and the invader."From James Lovelock, who is a fellow of the Royal Society and one of the world's leading environmentalists. He is also the originator of Gaia Th

Lishman's weekly news round up

Published on 2008-12-14 04:54:00

It's official: Men really are the weaker sex. (London Independent, December 7, 2008)"Evolution is being distorted by pollution, which damages genitals and the ability to father offspring, says new study. Geoffrey Lean reportsThe male gender is in danger, with incalculable consequences for both humans and wildlife, startling scientific research from around the world reveals.The research – to be detailed tomorrow in the most comprehensive report yet published – shows that a host of common chem

Mount Ti Bi Da Bo

Published on 2008-11-18 04:06:00

It was like this. I'm standing on the side of Tibidabo. Kitler is sitting at my feet like an obedient dog. So maybe it wasn't really Kitler. Anyway, at the top of Tibidabo is a church and on top of the church is a statue of Jesus with his arms spread out. "Ti bi da bo" (I will give it to you) is what the Devil said to Jesus when he took him to the top of the mountain in an attempt to corrupt him by offering him all of life's worldly pleasures. The Devil spoke Latin, you see. Apparently, in the c

Where or when the truth lies...

Published on 2008-11-05 06:58:00

...I know not.On the twilit pages of today's press, __________________I _________________ ________________S- E- E______________ ___________ O** ß** A** M** A**____________ B*** I*** **** **** **** D*** E*** N***____ The** all-seeing-eye** had** a** dream** ticket__The new president elect is Barack Obama, whose real name