Astrology, Rhesus Negative ..and Folic Acid in Bread

A month or so ago I found out I was rhesus negative - A negative in particular.  To be honest, I'm only mentioning it here for cynical reasons. I made a blog post about it over on my red hair blog (a place more apt for it, given some of the online woo associating RH- with redheads). Anyway, that particular post got a spike in views, so I'm mentioning it here to see what happens. It's a strange topic, as it's something that comes up online in woo-woo land, in relation to aliens and other wackiness, but it largely goes unmentioned elsewhere. It's similar to blood groups in general. They're a big deal in Japan, they make a big fuss about them. It's like a person's star sign (we'll come to horoscopes next). Here in the west it isn't considered worth mentioning though, unless for practical reasons like blood donations and so forth. The fact that I only recently found out my blood type confirming this general lack of care - and I only discovered mine because I purposely ordered a test from Amazon out of curiosity.

Astrology

More woo now. I've been taking a slight interest in astrology. Largely accidentally, as a channel I watch on YouTube dabbles in it. I'm sure it's all nonsense - it must be, right? But still it's a bit of fun and the history of it is interesting. Also, it strokes the ego a little bit. Like the rhesus negative blood, it gives a sense of, "I'm special."

"This is my chart, this is why I'm so interesting."

I mentioned that I was a Taurus on this blog not too long ago, that time in relation to childhood memories, and how it never really appealed to me. I never really saw myself as an angry, hulking bull. An unthinking hothead. However, the YouTuber pointed out that the bull isn't angry all the time. Most of the time it's solitary and placid. It's just that when it does get angry it gets really angry. Which is true of me, I must admit. A good example being this recent thing where the UK government is mandating that all plain flour must be fortified with folic acid.

I'm genuinely pissed off about it (though most of the time I tend to be shy and passive). I'm still in a mood now as a I type, even though my initial burst of annoyance was yesterday. (I wanted to overthrow the government yesterday 😅). It also annoys me that other people aren't as annoyed as I am. 

It's a bit of a detour from the astrology, but this impulse to mass medicate populations. In ways where it effectively becomes impossible or illegal to avoid it is just outrageous to me. We see the same thing with the fluoridation of water. Even if there were no health downsides whatsoever the principle alone would be worth fighting for. How dare you medicate me against me wishes.

And, as with Covid, I'm past the point of caring about public health. If the rest of the country are happy being treated like barnyard animals that's their problem. Not me.

We also recently had news that the UK government are banning restaurants from refilling sugary drinks - i.e. from giving free top-ups. Again in the name of public health. This one doesn't affect me in the slightest, but I'm peeved nonetheless. This endless interfering; this endless communism. So much money, time and effort wasted to busybody.

You really have to wonder at the mentality of the people making such rules. Some bad things that governments do make sense. For instance, censorship. I get why governments censor people. They want to exercise power, and people contradicting the narrative are a threat and hindrance to them. I don't agree with the censorship, but there's a logic to it. Bringing in a rule to ban the refilling of a cup of hot chocolate is just completely inane though. That they think the idea in the first place is telling. That they then go to such an effort to implement and enforce the idea condemns them entirely.

Give these people a China-style social credit system and they will be worse than China.

Back To Astrology

Anyway, let's back to lighter things. I got myself a birth chart thingy. (Just type 'create birth chart' or something to that effect into Google and countless free generators pop-up.)

My Moon is in conjunction with Venus, and they're both in opposition to Saturn, whatever that means. I did read some of the descriptions from the site that produced the chart and they were actually quite accurate to be fair. Especially in regard my woeful dealings with the opposite sex. Of course, there's always the tendency to pick and choose, and to see what we want to see though. The vagueness leaves a lot of room for interpretation. So it's easy to read too much into things.

Still, it's more fun than spending time trying to avoid the countless industrial chemicals the government tries to shove down our throats.

The Gary Neville Thing

For future context this is in response to Gary Neville blaming the "division in the country" on "white middle-aged men" who are putting up Union Jacks.

I've had a few digs at Gary Neville over on Twitter about his comments. However, I always try to think about how I would word things were I posting to my real life friends on Facebook. It's easy to throw around off-the-cuff remarks on Twitter, where everyone's a stranger, but on Facebook you're forced to be mindful of the people you work and live with. In the real world I have plenty of friends that are from minority backgrounds in one way or another - British-born Muslims, black and mixed-race people (some born here, some from overseas), Eastern Europeans. In fact, where I work the list of nationalities is endless: Poland, Romania, Eritrea, Nigeria, Latvia, Greece, the list goes on..

Anyway, when I think in this way it only heightens my feeling that Gary Neville is wrong. It doesn't bring me any closer to his "everything is rosy, and you're just a racist for complaining" worldview. I just think he's irresponsible, and is making things worse by throwing around the label racist.

Old Trafford

The capacity of Old Trafford - the football stadium where Gary Neville used to play - is 74,000. If they sell all 74,000 tickets for a game and someone tries to buy one more then the guy working at the ticket office has to say, "Sorry, we're sold out. No one else can enter the stadium."

The guy doesn't do this because he's racist towards the ticket buyer, or because he's filled with "HATE." He does it because he has a responsibility, and sometimes being responsible means making hard decisions. On the one hand he wants as many people to come to the game as possible. However, at the same time, he also has a duty to make sure the people inside the stadium are safe. So there's a balancing act, and trying to get that balance right means sometimes having to turn people away.

Ideally the whole world would be allowed into the stadium to watch the game, but in reality there are practical limits.

The Stadium Britannica

Of course, it's similar with countries. Ideally we'd just let everyone enter, but, in reality, there are restrictive factors ..lack of housing/infrastructure, fears over social cohesion, etc. We want a vibrant stadium, but we don't want a rowdy, violent one - where things are too overcrowded and the stewards can't control the numbers.

Again, it's a balancing act, and that means someone taking responsibility and at times saying, "Sorry, you can't enter."

Yes, it's mean. But it's also mean to turn a blind eye to homelessness, crime, ever-rising rents, and all the various other issues.

Back To Facebook

Anyway, back to posting on Facebook. Gary makes things worse, because:

a) He makes it difficult for governments to take responsibility - i.e. they can't ever say, "Sorry, you can't enter," for fear of being labelled racist. (Or, if the government is in fact too idealistic to take responsibility he provides cover for them.)

b) He's basically telling the numerous people that are from minority backgrounds, "Hey, this guy complaining about immigration rates, or putting up flags, he's racist and he hates you." Sowing more discord.

So, if I go and post on Facebook, my numerous minority friends will think, "Wow, I didn't realise he's actually a RACIST!, he must secretly hate me and not want me in the country." Not, "Oh, he wants someone responsible managing the ticket office." Which is the reality.

And this is the reality for the vast majority of the population. Yes, there are a teeny amount of genuinely racist people, but they're a tiny fraction. Most people just want policies that are practical not ideological.

It's perfectly natural that someone from another country, or from a minority background, will have a tendency to think, "They're talking about me," when they hear someone complaining about immigration. I'd think the same if I was in their shoes ..but most the time I'd be wrong. As, again, most people complaining see the issue as a practical/numbers issue, not a personal one.

People like Gary should be reassuring people that it isn't personal if they genuinely want to lessen social tensions. They should be explaining the practical limitations that all governments face and arguing for a balance. Not stirring up fears further by painting kumbaya rainbows on one side of aisle and white Nazi bogeymen on the other.

It's in the interests of everyone here to want a safer stadium. Ultimately, homelessness and cost of living doesn't discriminate by colour, religion or nationality.

What is 'Arcade Copper Mining' ?

It's the latest craze. Everybody's doing it. Well, it's just me and my friend doing it actually. In fact, we're probably the only people in the country doing it. Basically, we're going to arcades to get 2p coins. We're mining copper ..on the 2p drop machines.

To understand why you first need to appreciate the (rather underappreciated) 2p coin.

In modern Britain, 2p and 1p coins are thought of as little better than trash. People will often throw them away even. Or just discard them on the counter as they receive their change at the store (that's if they're still using physical cash). However, it really is a case of people knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing. As these coins are actually rather special. There's a certain dying romance that very few people see ..yet.

Let me explain..

Firstly, the 2ps that were minted before 1992 are solid copper, and thanks to inflation the actual copper in these coins is now worth more than the nominal value of the coin. So a copper 2p is actually worth about 5p in raw copper terms.

[This is just going by the general market price for copper. Obviously, in actuality, things aren't quite so simple. It costs money to transport and refine copper. People - in particular businesses - want to buy it at scale and in a form that's useful to them. So the copper in a handful of copper coins isn't going to be much use to anyone in reality.

Also, it's illegal to melt coins down in the UK. Even if the cost, effort and time wasn't prohibitive ..but we don't want to melt them down anyway - see the next point.]

Secondly, these coins are old. They're becoming historic. The first ones were minted way back in 1971 - that's over fifty years ago. They have the face of a now dead monarch on them. Queen Elizabeth II.

Now again, you aren't going to make much money holding onto these coins. They're not exactly rare - there are literally billions in circulation. Still, they're physical objects in an increasingly digital age. How much longer will they be in circulation? Are they one of those things that people will only begin to appreciate once they're gone?

When you think about it it's actually quite incredible that we can receive a physical piece of art that's over fifty years old in our change when we pop to the shops.

The post-1992 2p coins are just copper-plated steel. So they're little more than tokens really. Pretend 2ps. Likewise on the continent, where they have their new and modern Euro, the smaller denomination coins are just copper-plated steel. So our big copper 2ps are already something of a relic.

And none of our other coins are quite so old either. The 5p, 10p and 50p coins we now have are all smaller imitations of their original counterparts (like me, you may be old enough to remember the big ol' 5ps we used to have). The pound coins have changed too. The only other coin remaining in circulation in its original form is the 20p - and they were first minted later, in 1982. So the 1p and 2p coins are the cheapest, but, conversely, also the oldest.

And the best place to find these 2ps in large quantity is another place of nostalgia .. The Sea-front Arcade.

The arcades in British seaside towns also hold a certain dying romance. Like our pubs and decaying highstreets there's a feeling of decline. That the modern world is making them increasingly redundant. We all remember the 2p drop/coin pusher machines from our childhood. (They're actually still quite popular if my recent trips are anything to go by.) They're something we all have a certain fondness for. They've always been there - there, by the sea. With the fish 'n' chips, and the ice creams, and the teddy-pickers, and all the other arcade games.

But if (presumably when) the 1p and 2p coins are taken out of circulation they'll get taken out of circulation too. There'll be no 2ps to put into the slots. So they'll have to go as well.

Arcade Mining

So me and my friend travel to the various local coastal towns. We get a few pound worth of 2ps from the change machine. Then we keep hold of the pre-1992 copper ones and disperse the rest with relish into the slots. If we win any more copper 2ps we keep them too - the copper-plated token 2ps we win then going back into the slots, in the hope of winning more.

(I won a duck)

It's a little hobby; a little trip out. We get the fun of playing the 2p drops while we still can. And we get to mine some physical precious metal - well, semi-precious base metal - at the same time. Some little pieces of history. Complete with the little old Queen of England in relief. Like little vinyl records - only appreciated once obsolete.

So get yer-self to the seaside. Get a few seashells from the beach ..and get a handful of copper from the arcades. A few memories from the coast to take home.

A Thousand Years of Peace

I said I'd post more frequently, but today I was struggling to think what to type. Instead I was more inclined to continue editing the second book of my work of fiction. I'm not sure what draft this is. I think third, could be forth, not sure, but I'm at the stage where I'm semi-publishing each chapter on its blog as I go. This was the latest one:

Someone Else's Kingdom, BOOK II - Scene XIX

The chapters are labelled scenes in this second book. Everything's nice and short. Internet age friendly.

I also ended up blogging about my fpl (fantasy premier league) team. So, as per yesterday, it really is all about me.

The latest political thing is the Trump Gaza peace plan. I watched the press conference he and Netanyahu gave. It felt optimistic, so hopefully it's a big step in the right direction. Hope being the key word. I'm not sure what the expectation is.

Trump was doing his usual bravado thing. Saying things like this is going to be the first time we have peace in "thousands of years". People always get their knickers in a twist over these pronouncements. The, "He's an idiot!", "How can someone this stupid be president?!!" comments. They still struggle to understand that Trump is a salesman, and that he's honed this technique over decades. You can argue the rights and wrongs of it, but he knows what he's doing. He isn't an idiot. Of course, sometimes he does just get things wrong. Again, he's a salesman, not a historian. But it all misses the point. He's focused on outcome. He doesn't really care about the technicalities as long as what he's saying has the desired effect.

And that UN speech. Wow. You just never, ever, see a politician speak like that. It was truly incredible to watch.

Anyway, that'll do for today.

The Music of Dreams

I hear the chatter of magpies.

I said I was toying with the idea of posting more. Then, immediately after finishing that last post, something else occurred to me that I feel is worth noting down.

One thing I've been trying to improve is my sleep. I was going through a period where I was finding it very difficult to sleep (overthinking - endlessly rehearsed conversations in the mind with the trouble-making swan goddess). Anyway, I'm having very good sleep now ..thank God. And I really appreciate it. Less overthinking has helped, but also more practical things, like trying not to drink tea/coffee or eat in the hours before bed. Consciously slowing breathing has helped too.

Anyway, one consequence of sleeping more is more dreams. I've had quite a few recently. Last night I had one where some music was playing, and in the dream we (there were other people there) were trying to find out what band it was. Like when you hear a song on the radio that grabs your attention, so you search the lyrics on your phone in the hope of finding out what it is.

It was a strange dream, and I'm sure dreams are just kaleidoscope-like collages of the things that are already in your mind. However, it always amazes me that the mind can construct music in a dream. The music in this particular one was original. It wasn't something I'd heard in real life, though no doubt it was of a genre. I can't fully recall it now, sadly. There's more just that vague post-dream recollection of the sense of things. It was sort of goth rock/post-punk in vibe. That general ballpark. Still, the way the mind can do that is amazing really.

I wonder if AI works in a similar way to dreams. The way it takes all this real world information, then spits out a nearly-sensical construct of it. Or should I say, do dreams work in a similar way to AI?

Implementation vs Culture

I've been toying with the idea of posting more frequently again. I fear it might just be endless navel-gazing though, as my thoughts are all about me at the moment, and I'm kind of on vacation from politics. I'm trying to self-improve and be a better person, cliched as that sounds. Working on my weaknesses rather than indulging my strengths.

Also, I feel that politics is on autopilot currently. Everything's set. The directions of travel are obvious. We're not really at a pivot point where small nudges will make a big difference. Or where something new needs adding into the cocktail.

Labour have a huge majority. So that's something that just can't be changed at the moment. There's little point crying about it. The time for that was before the last election. People talk about an earlier general election being on the horizon, but why would you do that if you have a huge majority and you're implementing what you want to implement? And even so, Reform are broadly on the right track for if and when an election comes. So that's all happily in motion too.

It feels like there's this race going on between culture and implementation. In the UK the Blairite/globalist faction have the reigns and are just ploughing on with their plans. Meanwhile, the cultural landscape is moving in a different direction. Both feel like unstoppable trains. So the question is:

Will we see conflict or will we see synthesis?

The fact that Keir Starmer is waving union jacks and acknowledging the need for better border controls suggests we'll see synthesis. However, some of the talk around digital IDs and confronting Reform's 'racism' has more the feel of, "We're at war with our enemies."

So we'll wait and see.

In the US it's slightly different. There Trump, who's with the cultural momentum, has the reigns and is implementing his own things. And it's the more globally minded that are waiting it out. Planning for a post-Trump world. Either way, it seems everyone is planning for future battles. It's a time for sleeping on the battlefield, as I say. A good time to work on yourself ..if you're me.

Maybe I will keeping posting. Perhaps my more personal focus will be illuminating? Even if only for me. Returning to the idea of digital ID. Politically I'm completely against - I don't want the Chinese-style social credit system it may bring about. The digital dog lead is just that - a dog lead. However, on a personal level, I just don't have the fear anymore. I've kind of already accepted the coming reality of it. So that's an interesting thing to me. Is it stoicism? Is it resignation? Is it bravery? Is it a confidence that things will work out in the end? Or is it just a consequence of getting older?

Back at the outset of 2020 I had real fear, which brought with it a sense of panic and urgency. I don't have that now.

My Thoughts on the Charlie Kirk Assassination

This Charlie Kirk assassination thing has really bummed me out. Taking it on face value it's just a sad, sad thing. He seemed like such a good guy, who had so much potential. He was a key figure in the MAGA movement. The one person, from a long term strategy point of view, that you wouldn't want to lose. So it feels very hollowing, on both a personal and a political level.

However, this is the thing with the, "Taking it on face value," that I feel I have to squeeze in there. The sadness is amplified by a sense of uncertainty and dislocation. What happened? What's true and what isn't? Are my real emotions being wasted on unreal things? I try to speak in a more circumspect way these days, but as I've alluded to before on here, it's true that sometimes media/government just fabricate things. Parables are told in news form.

Everyone's a conspiracy theorist now it seems. So there's little point pretending I'm speaking some great secret here. In fact, in today's world of mass media, and now AI, you'd have to be lobotomised to not question things. In a world where artificial is so easy only a fool would accept things unthinkingly. And if you do choose not to think (as many do), the smart move is to automatically not believe the things you see on screen. As at least that way you avoid the emotional drain and the buy-in.

It's easier to not care. To console yourself that it's all just political theatre and that therefore you can cast things aside into the box labelled fiction. However, as I type, this looks very vivid and real. It looks like a man - a decent Christian family man - has been the victim of a mafia-style hit in broad daylight. The footage itself, from multiple angles, looks bloody and conclusive.

The official narrative is that it was carried out by a loony leftist with a trans girlfriend. A narrative with clear elements of soap opera. There are also other oddities: the boomer guy in glasses who originally claimed to be the shooter, who was led from the scene with his trousers around his ankles; the fact that the very question Kirk was answering was about trans shootings when he was shot. So it all leads itself to a mishmash of interpretation. A bloody act of violence wrapped in cartoons. I don't know how to fully parse it. I don't know what's happened.

And, of course, if you can't get a handle on what's happened you don't know how to respond. You find yourself fighting spooks, spectres and monsters. Are you swinging your feeble sword at a monster, or was it just a shadow? Or are the monsters fighting even bigger (and more dishonest) monsters themselves? The complexity leaves you helpless. Uncertain what the landscape is.

The one thing you can have certainty over though is your own values. In a world full of lies and violence your own actions can at least be true. Even if they tread uncertain ground. Which brings me to a point of optimism. I'm struggling to get a handle on this situation, but generally I'm quite good at reading the larger cultural landscape, and I think the major upshot of all this will be more people finding faith. It was going that way anyway, but this will only push that further. The left/right political stuff is becoming redundant, as people search for a firmer foundation to root their world upon.

In America they have a real, living Christianity, so that will swell from the upswing.

Here, in the UK, things are different. We really are a godless people. The only major living cultural reservoir in the country is Islam. So it's harder to say where things will go. Recently we've had all the flag waving on the streets. I love the Union Jack, but these political symbols are puny when stood up against the behemoth of faith-based religion. Even a nationalism rooted in ethnicity is weak as it lacks the power to convert. Once upon a time the Union Jack (and its English and Scottish parent flags) were symbols of religion as well as of nationhood. They're literally the cross. However, again, religion has to be living, and barely a single living Brit would think "Christianity" when they see these flags now. For sure, the street rabble of the English looks pathetic when compared to the church unity Americans often show.

It seems strangely unfitting to talk about the UK. Perhaps I should've saved that last paragraph for another blog post. May God bless America.