| 9/1/2007 Current hot topic is Saddam Hussein's execution, so here are my 2 cents: I do not agree with the death penalty. Why? A very notable Commandment of the Lord is "thou shalt not kill". Since murder is wrong, then it's not like the executioner has been given special permission because he is expected to kill the convicted in the name of justice. I'm sorry but just because you're killing on behalf of the law doesn't mean you're an exception, it just doesn't and shouldn't work that way. The Commandment includes everyone. I remember a quote from Riker at the end of an episode of Star Trek TNG in which he says something like: "Not all rules are straightforward" (I allow Trekkies to correct me since I'm not trying to get it right). The only exception I can think of to "thou shalt not kill" is the mentally unstable 'cos they're not in complete conscious control. Another hot topic (on Sunday anyway) was the treatment of soldiers and their families. They complain of not being given enough leave, sometimes not enough money and the accommodation on the bases are really crap and substandard. Then on Sunday morning the MOD go and announce a £2.3bn refurbishment of their offices at Whitehall. One pricetag is £1000 per chair, and that's 300 chairs. WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING? Shouldn't they be more economical about the refurbishment? They can easily get good quality chairs at just £15 each minimum. I've been playing around with Facebook. Ben first introduced it to me back in November but I didn't sign up 'cos I thought no one I knew was on it. But then I go to Year 14 Prizegiving at my school and Sophie McGrath urges me to get an account because she declares: "It's what every student needs". I discover several of my old school "chums" are on there as well as 2 of my flatmates. Whaddya know? Oh and yes, at about Christmas Eve I had uploaded roughly 5 more chapters to Goth Story. I would have also added Chapter 16 but when I started proofreading it I realised I wanted to add something to it. So I've completed that chapter and after proofreading a couple more I'll upload them too. One thing I'm starting to frown at-in that story-is the fact that, when I completed the first draft the chapters were pretty much the same length as each other, now it's starting to become a bit random. I can't really say it's a bad thing though, since the quality of the story itself has improved quite a bit (I spotted a continuity error! Aah!) and a German novel I read a couple of years ago had chapter layouts much more random than mine ever could be: the first chapter was 40 pages long and a chapter in the middle (19 I think it was) only lasted 2 pages. Oh yeah, it's Mum's birthday today: Happy Birthday Alison Margaret Hüneke! |