..Megumi Igarashi...

This is art:

This is art:

This is art:

This is art:

This is art:

This is art:

But this is not art?

Release Megumi Igarashi now!

...Xmas humour...

 Cheesus crust

Cheesus toaster

Cheesus grater

Cheesus cheetos

Full BBC Documentary Films 2014 Hermaphrodites Male and Female Sex In O...

...Childfree women are invisible...

In a society where everything is child-focused (even in the West), becoming a mother is seen as the top achievement for a woman in her life.

Take a pregnancy announcement for example - or the birth of a baby. 
The (future) mother is congratulated - again and again and again. Congratulatory cards and presents are sent to her and the father.

Well, I thought that making one's genitalia procreate is as common as changing one's t-shirt. Procreating is a biological function. So, what's the point of congratulating someone when a baby is born? We are 7 billion people on this planet and we are struggling for natural resources - so why do we congratulate every human being adding into the problem via procreation? 

Some of you may say that giving congratulations when a baby is born is a social obligation. We are entitled to say 'congratulations' to expectant parents, otherwise we will be stigmatised as 'antisocial'. 

Well, I don't! I 'd rather be myself and be called antisocial than say something I don't mean. 

But let us now go back to the points raised on the first paragraph. 

Is having a baby the top achievement in a woman's life? 

In fact, the answer is yes. With so many women out there, many cannot boast for anything else than 'being a mum or a grandma'.

But how about the childfree? We certainly don't tick the boxes that would make us worthy in the eye of the 'normal' beholder - don't we? 

So, how about if a woman - a childfree woman - does really well in education or in her career? 

Take Jennifer Aniston for example. Remarkable and awarded actress. She is often labelled as selfish because she has had no children (here).

Second example: Gertrude B. Elion: Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine, 1988 US. She was never married and had no children.

There she is: in the picture. 

MY ROLE MODEL

So, is getting a Nobel Prize less important for a woman than having a baby? It is for the average Jo out there. 

You know what? Sometimes I think that poor Gertrude received very few congratulations cards after winning the Nobel Prize, compared to what she would have received if she announced she gave birth to a baby. 

...The holiday...

Well, I don't celebrate Xmas. What Xmas? I am an atheist. 

I haven't put up any tree or anything. I find it pointless. 

I do however enjoy all the social aspects of social occasions, e.g. nice food, good company, a bit of bubbly. After all, why not? This year I am planning to spend the holidays with my OH. On the 25th, I will be serving a three-course dinner:

• Appetiser: baked mozzarella sticks and stars and greens and beetroot salad.
• Main: turkey wrapped in bacon, otherwise it tastes of nothing. Lots of veg on the side.
• Pudding: 'Xmas' pudding with rum sauce.

I usually have duck with orange sauce for the main, but this time I am going to serve duck on new year's eve instead. 

I am very busy this year, i.e. my free time is going to be limited during the holiday. Well, I will at least try to relax a little bit and spend some time with OH.

I am planning to re-watch a few films: the '12 monkeys' is on the list. 

I have also ordered a new book to read. The left hand of darkness. It's coming all the way from the States, as I ordered it from Amazon.com. Hurry up postman - I am thirsty for a splendid book!

...Discrimination...

...Echinacea tablets: the natural 'antibiotic'...

A couple of weeks ago I had the most horrid toothache ever. I was in pain for 3 days and nights, taking ibuprofen every 4 hours or so. 
Paracetamol did not help. Ibuprofen was just about working.

As I was unable to see the dentist straight away (I was out of town) I booked my dental appointment for the following week, but while waiting, I decided to take some echinacea tablets. 

Encinacea is not exactly an antibiotic. It's not a medicine. It's a herbal remedy. 

Enchinacea tablets strengthen the immune system and make it attack infections.

I took 3 tablets a day for a couple of days, and the following morning... my pain was gone!

I still had to go to the dentist (obviously) but my dentist agreed that Encinacea had helped reduce infection.

If it was not for Encinacea, the tooth infection might have spread. 

I am glad I discovered this powerful herb. 
Apparently, it helps getting rid of cold and flu too!