H Channel: Cities of the Underground - London

civil engineering skills of the romans and the Brits during 2nd world war in action! best!

deep level bunkers

london tube - 1st world underground railway 1940 nazi targets london: 8 million ppl. deep level bunkers were built to save londoners. bunkbeds with 8000 londoners cramped in. saved thousands of lives.

Thames river

much bigger than it is today. romans tambak, tapi lama2 soil deposited maka sungai semakin kecil.

ancient roman ruins

beneath the streets! secretly preserved now. evidences of central heating system.

london lost rivers

banyak jalan raya skang di london sebenarnya adalah sungai dulu. covered over in the 19th century. why? mase influx manusia, banyak housing and bulidings diperlukan. sebab kedua is they need an awesome sewerage system, so rivers were converted into sewage channels!

Westminster Abbey

underneath is another church and a burial site.

Churchill's secret hideout

I. suhaib Webb Talk

seize the day

• the importance of time
• time moves so quickly
  
• utilise our talents
• correct understanding of time- personified by the action
  
• kick our time wasting habits! : make a schedule!
  
• actualise the best of ibadah : make a schedule!
• da'wa: make them know Islam
• dont fall into the extremes of "everything is haram" or "everything is halal": ummatan wasatan
• understand the community we live in: bling-bling (hehe) -you should have knowledge of the religion and the knowledge of the 'hood.
  

perang uhud 3H

Pihak Quraisy 3000, Islam 1000 orang Walau bagaimanapun, Abdulah bin Ubai (ketua suku Khazraj) bersama tiga ratus orang yang lain telah menarik diri di tengah perjalanan mereka.

Di Bukit Uhud, 50 orang yang terdiri daripada pasukan memanah telah diperintahkan untuk mengadakan kubu pertahanan di atas bukit dan diperintahkan agar tidak meninggalkan bukit itu sama ada kalah atau menang sehingga diberitahu kelak.

Pertempuran bermula dan mula menyaksikan kegoyahan tentera Quraisy. Tentera musyrik mula berundur dan tentera Muslim mula nampak kejayaan mereka dan ketika itu, tentera yang bertahan di atas bukit mula meninggalkan tempat itu untuk memungut harta yang tertinggal dan menguasai medan kemenangan. Sebaik mereka meninggalkan bukit tersebut, Khalid al-Walid bersama tentera berkudanya serta beberapa pimpinan perang untuk mula menyerang dari belakang iaitu menerusi bukit tersebut.

Serangan tersebut memecah-belahkan tentera Muslim dan melemahkan pertahanan mereka. Ketika itulah muncul pelbagai dakwaan dan propaganda yang turut mengatakan bahawa Muhammad telah terkorban. Itu menyebabkan kebanyakan tentera Muslim menjadi lemah dan tidak bersemangat sehingga berpecah kepada kumpulan yang ingin meneruskan perang dan yang ingin lari. Walau bagaimanapun, Muhammad s.a.w. bersama Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, Umar ibni al-Khattab dan Ali bin Abi Thalib masih selamat. Ubai bin Khalaf ketika itu muncul untuk membunuh baginda dan baginda mengambil lembing terus menikam Ubai sehingga mati. Ini merupakan pembunuhan yang pertama dilakukan baginda.

Baginda turut jatuh ke dalam lubang yang digali oleh Abu Amar Ar-Rahab dan dikurung baginda di dalamnya. Ia menyebabkan kedua-dua belah lutut baginda tercedera, cedera pipi, gigi patah dan baginda turut pitam di dalamnya. Kemudian, muncul Fatimah bersama Ali membasuh luka baginda. Tidak kurang juga tentera Muslim yang lain. Jika tidak terkorban, kebanyakannya tercedera dengan hebat. Serangan bertubi-tubi dilakukan oleh tentera Quraisy dengan penuh dendam.

Lebih 70 orang tentera Muslim terkorban manakala hanya 23 orang tentera Quraisy yang terkorban. Hamzah bin Abdul Mutalib iaitu salah seorang panglima Islam turut dibunuh oleh lelaki Habsyi bernama Wahsyi. Dadanya pula kelihatan telah ditebuk dan hatinya telah dikunyah oleh Hind iaitu isteri Abu Sufyan. Baginda memerintahkan agar mereka yang syahid itu dikebumikan bersama pakaian mereka.

Setelah pulang ke Madinah, tentera Muslim mendapat penangan yang hebat apabila diejek oleh Yahudi dan Munafik Madinah dengan mengatakan yang mereka pasti terselamat jika tidak bersama berperang. Peristiwa ini memberi pengajaran kepada para sahabat dan umat Islam seluruhnya bahawa kita perlu taat kepada ketua selain Allah dan rasul-Nya.

[source]

Ancient Europe older than we thought - NG Nov 1977

1. "megalithic" Greek for "megas" large, "lithos", stone.


2. correct carbon dating by tree rings - calibration.


3. found out that west europe's early monuments (eg stonehenge and tombs) were erected way earlier than thought b4: not copying egypt/greece civilisations'.

Battles of the Prophet: short notes [Part 3]

The third Stage

The Battle of Hunain

• After conquest of Makkah, some tribes proceed fighting.
• 12000 Muslims, 10000 from conquest.
• Too confident.
• When arrived at Hunain, the Archers and the attackers stunned the Muslims --> they retreated in disorder and confusion.
• The Muslims then returned to the battlefield and fighting intensifies at the call of the prophet.
• Handful of dusts on enemy's face.
• Reverse of fortunes and enemy's utter defeat.
• ayat2 berkenaan the battle: 9:25-26
• After winning and collecting the booty, the Prophet left for Thaif to face the greatest number of the defeated idolaters.
• Invasion of Thaif : 10K men, led by Khalid al-Walid
• Muslim seige around castle, but shot lots of arrows at.
• to be far from arrows: ascended high place - now its Thaif Mosque
• the seige lasted too long and the castle seemed immune: retreated.
• distribution of previous booty: The Ansars x stuju... the Prophet talked to them. (page 485)
  

The Battle of Tabuk (9H)

• Byzantines prepare to attack.
• Prophet stayed away from wives 1 month: org lain got worried.
• too much paranoia.
• org jahat erected false moque: Masjid Dirar (the mosque of harm) suh the prophet berkati, but it was revealed onto him that its a false mosque.
• The Muslims left for Tabuk: 30 000 fighters.
• the Byzantines and allies x dare fight: so xde fight.
• effect: tribes turned to support Muslims
• Islamic State expanded- touched Byzantine's borders.

The Battle at Ubna

• Rasulullah lantik Usamah bin Zaid, 17 Tahun to lead
• but the Prophet wafat, so under S. Abu Bakar
  

Battles of the Prophet: short notes [Part 2]

The second Stage

The conquest of Khaibar

Dhat-ur-Riqa' Invasion (7H)

• 3rd party (apart from Mekkan and Jews) : desert beduins at Najd
• "expedition of rags" :one camel, 6 ppl alternate, injured feet covered

The battle of Mu'tah (8H)

• Mosty significant & fierce battle -start to the conquest of the land of the Christians
• Mu'tah: borders of Greater Syria, near Baitul Maqdis
• mission: carry letter to ruler of Busra, incercepted by governor of Al-Balqa', close ally to Caesar, the Byzantine Emperor
• big issue: war. 3000 muslims vs 200,000 byzantines (u. Heraclius) + allied arabian tribes
  
• Army leaders: Zaid al Harithah, JAafar Abi Talib, Abdullah bin Rawhah, Thabit al Arqam, Khalid al Walid (all but Khalid were martyred)
  
• Khalid change strategy: introduce forward division from the rear to cast fear into hearts of Byzantine by misleading that fresh forces had arrived.
  
• Byzantines believed they are trapped -stopped. Muslims retreat backt o Madinah, 12 martyrs.
  

The Conquest of Makkah

• Mekkan breached convenant.
• Abu Sufyan & Hind reverted.
• The Messenger prays in Kaabah and delivered an address to the Quraish: page 466.

Battles of the Prophet: short notes [part 1]

First Stage *tengah2*

The Tragedy at the Well of Ma'unah

• they gather firewood to buy food for the people of Ahlus-Suffah by day and study, meditate the meaning of Quran by night.
• birds circling the battleground.
• 70 of the best believers killed in the treachery.
  
• Amr ter kill 2 ppl given protection by the prophet - blood money to be paid: collect from muslim and jews --> cause the invasion of bani an-nadeer later on.

The Invasion of Bani An-Nadeer

• with the Jews.
• a war of conspiracies and hatching intrigues.
• Meeting with the Prophet, Abu Bakr, Ali, Umar to pay blood money, ask them to sit under a wall of their houses and wait.
• plotted to kill the Prophet. --> he knows so they rush back to Madinah
  
• Ultimatum to Bani Nadeer: evacuate Madinah within 10 days.

The Invasion of Al-Ahzab (the Confederates)

• Proposal of Salman al-Farisi to dig trenches of defensive lines.
• treachery of Banu Quraizah
• A man from Ghatafan -declared has embraced Islam secretly: shuttled btween the Jews, Quraish & tribe of Ghatafan to incite each party to let the other down
  

Al-Hudaibiyah Treaty (6H)

• Prophet enters Makkah for Umrah: blocked by Quraisy
• Uthman bin Affan sent as msgr to Quraisy: rumor of death --> Bai'at-ur-Ridhwan (the pledge)
• Hudaibiyah treaty agreed upon
  

The Tipping Point: short notes

characteristics -
contagiousness, little causes can have big effects, changes happened not gradually but one dramatic moment.

three rules -
Law of the Few: connectors, maven, salesmen

-stanley milgram- six degrees of separation experimnt -- 3 same ppl last2.. "connectors"

kenapa? sebab kenal banyak groups of people

Stickiness Factor

Power of the Context: external enviroment, law of 150

this sporting life

"to have a sound mind and in a sound body is something that would be worth praying for"
Juvenal, the Roman poet

"Walking is man's best medicine"
Hippocrates, the Greek physician

Strange Maps : Europe's divides

from StrangeMaps, October06 :

An interesting look at the religions and language groups that are elements of division (and union) in Europe. The mapmaker wanted to make a point by indicating three ‘core areas’ where a certain language group and religion overlap - resulting in an area that is Germanic+Protestant, another one that’s Slavic+Orthodox and one that is Romance+Catholic.

added references :

• Germanic Languages - The largest Germanic languages are English and German (map)
  
• Romance Languages - comprised of all languages that descended from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. (map)
• Slavic Languages - closely related languages of the Slavic peoples - speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. (map)
• for the religions, just wiki if you dont already know or to know more
  

Strange Maps : Market Reef

from this awesome blog, pick of the September06 archive :

Market Reef is a little island between Finland and Sweden that is shared by both countries - and is the smallest island thus divided between two nations. The bizarre border on Market Island (Märkat in Swedish) was caused by the Finnish lighthouse that was accidentally built on the Swedish side of the border. It was transferred to Finland, while an equally large piece of the Finnish half became Swedish.

The island is uninhabited, but is a favourite destination for radio enthousiasts, as it is listed as a separate country in amateur radio call numbering.

The Religion of Love

God is the friend of those who have faith. (3:67)
Verily God loves, the doer of good. (2:195; 5:13)
Verily God loves those who repent. (2:222)
Verily God loves those who put their trust in Him. (3:158)
Verily God loves the just. (5:42; 49:9)
Verily God loves the pious. (3:75)
God loves those who exercise patience and perseverance. (3:145)
God loves those who love cleanliness. (9:108)
God loves those who fight for His cause. (61:4)

from the article
The Religion of Love
by Dr. Khalifa Abdul Hakim

Congo's Long War

(Condensed version of this article from TIME Magazine)

Introduction

1. In Congo, a nation of 63 million people in the heart of Africa, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) estimates that 3.9 million people have died from war-related causes since the conflict in Congo began in 1998, making it the world's most lethal conflict since World War II.
2. Yet Congo's troubles rarely make daily news headlines, and the country is often low on international donors' lists of places to help.
3. Congo represents the promise of Africa as much as its misery: Its soils are packed with diamonds, gold, copper, tantalum (known locally as coltan and used in electronic devices such as cell phones and laptop computers) and uranium. The waters of its mighty river could one day power the continent. Yet because Congo is so rich in resources, its problems, when left to fester, tend to suck its neighbors into a vortex of exploitation and chaos. And so fixing Congo is essential to fixing Africa.

Political History

1. After decades of often brutal foreign rule, first as the private possession of King Leopold II of Belgium and then as a Belgian colony, Congo won its independence in 1960.
   
2. But within months its first elected Prime Minister had been killed by Belgium- and U.S.-backed opponents because of his growing ties to the Soviet Union, an assassination that eventually opened the way for army general Mobutu Sese Seko to grab power.
   
3. A U.S. favorite during the cold war, Mobutu presided over one of the most corrupt regimes in African history, siphoning off billions from state-owned companies and allowing most of the country to languish.
   
4. In 1996 neighboring Rwanda and Uganda jointly invaded Congo to eliminate the Hutu militias, known as the Interahamwe, that had been responsible for the Rwandan genocide and were hiding in Congo's eastern forests.
   
5. As the invading armies advanced across the country, Mobutu fled, and the invaders installed a small-time rebel leader named Laurent Kabila as President.
6. But things got worse. In 1998, after Kabila got too friendly with the Interahamwe, Uganda and Rwanda invaded Congo again, triggering what became known as Africa's first world war.
   
7. The scramble for power and resources dragged in forces from at least eight African neighbors, spawned a myriad of Congolese factions and set off campaigns of ethnic cleansing.
   
8. Kabila, as nasty and corrupt as his predecessor, was shot dead by one of his bodyguards in 2001. His son Joseph, 29, assumed power. One year later, after some arm twisting by continental power South Africa (whose leaders recognize the crucial role Congo could play in their plan for an African rebirth), the young leader and most of the rebel groups and foreign forces in the country signed a peace deal.
   
9. A national army was formed, aimed at integrating soldiers who had previously been trying to kill one another. And the Congolese people, who maintain a sense of spirit and beauty despite the horrors around them, dared to hope for a better country.

Today

1. In the three years since then, some things in Congo have improved.
   
2. Mining firms have returned, and cell-phone companies are doing a booming business.
   
3. But in some parts of the country, the fighting has never really stopped. The U.N.'s peacekeeping force has got tougher in the past year, chasing rebels and apprehending or even killing them, but the force lacks the numbers to impose complete order.
   
4. Congolese troops who are supposed to be helping the U.N. peacekeepers have proved ineffective and corrupt and have been hampered by slow and often nonexistent wages.
5. The European Union is working on ensuring that salaries and rations get to Congo's soldiers, and there has been some improvement.
   
6. But corruption is still a big problem. A Western official in Kinshasa, Congo's capital, estimates that at least $3.2 million of the $8 million a month budgeted for Congo's military is stolen.
7. Frustrated and often hungry, Congolese units have taken to looting and pillaging the people they are meant to protect.
   
8. The upsurge in rapes, killings and torture by Congo's security forces has become so serious that the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo is debating whether to end its cooperation with the police and army altogether.
   
9. Congo's elections, set for July 30, have become both the great hope for and the great threat to the country's recovery.
   
10. It can take four or five days to travel 50 miles by road. The country's main artery remains the snaking Congo River, which is full of treacherous sandbars and shifting currents.
    
11. The country "hasn't had a census since 1984. There are no ID cards in memory. We will need at least 40,000 to 50,000 polling stations," says William Lacy Swing, veteran U.S. ambassador in Africa and head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission to Congo.
    
12. He says the poll will cost $422 million. "Elections should be a time of national unity and reconciliation. But if it is not handled correctly, it can be a moment of great division."

Closing

Is the world willing to see it through? The shame of indifference should be reason enough for action. But without more money from the developed world to help rebuild, without more troops to secure the peace and protect innocent civilians, without a genuine effort by Congo's leaders to work for the country rather than just their part of it and without Congo's neighbors ending their meddlesome ways, Africa's broken heart is unlikely to heal. In 10 years' time, you may be reading another story much like this one. The only difference will be that millions more people will have died.

ideas and conflicts , forgotten and remembered.

"The history of ideas is intrisically woven with the history of conflict. and all too often only the conflicts are remembered. the ideas, are forgotten."

Love in Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"He was still too young to know that the heart’s memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past..... only then did he understand to what extent he had been an easy victim to the charitable deceptions of nostalgia"

"that may be the reason he does so many things," she said, "so that he will not have time to think." -Leona Cassiani, kawan F. Ariza on Dr. Urbino

No one described him better that he did when someone accused him of being rich. "No, not rich," he said. "i am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing." -Uncle Leo XII


"The only regret i will have in dying is if it is not for love." -quote; Pius V Loayza, Florentino Ariza's father

Why we study the Seerah ? quote for later references

- "...Allah (swt) reminds Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Qur’an that he is being told of the prophets of before in order that his iman (faith) increases. Hence, if the stories of the previous prophets can strengthen our prophet’s iman, then imagine what the story of the best of mankind should do to our iman."

7. Seerah lays out a precise methodology of the revival of Muslim Ummah. How to bring about the honor and glory that once was. How did the Prophet (pbuh) start in the middle of the most illiterate society in the face of earth of that time and within two decades he controlled all of Arabia. And by another two decades, after his death, Muslims controlled all from Spain to china! How did that happen, what were the stages that it went though?

8. We learn how Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) trained the sahabah (companions). What was his tarbiyyah. How did they become the best of all nations? What methodologies did Prophet use in order the make them from the worst of the worst, from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high.

9. It brings about comfort and peace to the heart. Each person enjoys what his heart is conditioned to. If a person’s heart is evil, he enjoys evil. If a person’s heart is pure, he enjoys pure.

10. Studying Seerah is the primary way of defending the honor of our beloved Prophet (pbuh). Defending his honor is an obligation upon us. How can we defend him when we don’t even know him!

So to summarize the blessings of the seerah:

“It is the study of the best matters, of the best human being, of the best time frame and the study of the evolution of the best religion.”

from here.

The Alchemy of Happiness - Al Ghazali (4)

from Chapter 4 to the end

"He who is blind in this life will be blind in the next life, and astray from the path."(53)

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"But even among those who have worldly possessions such as wife, children, houses, etc., there are those, who, though they have some affection for these, love God yet more. Their case is like that of a man who, though he may have a dwelling which he is fond of in one city, when he is called by the king to take up a post of authority in another city, does so gladly, as the post of authority is dearer to him than his former dwelling." (56)

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"Therefore a man should say to his soul every morning, "God has given thee twenty-four treasures; take heed lest thou lose anyone of them, for thou wilt not be able to endure the regret that will follow such loss."(77)

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"Happy is he who does now that which will benefit him after death." (77)

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Online version of the text here

The Alchemy of Happiness - Al Ghazali (3)

Chapter 3 - The Knowledge of this World

"... man has forgotten that their real necessities are only three- clothing, food and shelter, and that these exist only with the object of making the body a fit vehicle for the soul in its journey towards the next world." (45)

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"The deceitful character of the world...pretends that it will always remain with you, while, as a matter of fact, it is slipping away from you, moment by moment, and bidding you farewell, like a shadow which seems stationary, but is actually always moving." (45)

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"The world is like a table spread for successive relays of guests who come and go. There are gold and silver dishes, abundance of food and perfumes. The wise guest eats as much as is sufficient for him, smells the perfumes, thanks his host, and departs. The foolish guest, on the other hand, tries to carry off some of the gold and silver dishes, only to find them wrenched out of his hands and himself thrust forth, disappointed and disgraced."(48)

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"Although we have said so much against the world, it must be remembered that there are some things in the world which are not of it, such as knowledge and good deeds. A man carries what knowledge he posseses with him into the next world, and, though his good deeds have passed, yet the effect of them remains in his character. Especially is this the case with acts of devotion, which result in the perpetual remembrance and love of God. These are among "those good things" which, as the Koran says, "pass not away." (49)

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miscelleneous quotes

"It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish." -Mother Theresa

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."-Mark Twain

political quotes

no idea where i got these: saved them eons ago :-

"The problem with political jokes is they get elected."

"We have weapons of mass destruction we have to address here at home. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Unemployment is a weapon of mass destruction."

The Alchemy of Happiness - Al Ghazali (2)

Chapter 2 - The Knowledge of God

"love is the seed of happiness, and love to God is fostered and developed by worship." (38)

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"... there are some who, failing to find God by observation, conclude that there is no God and that this world of wonders made itself, or existed from everlasting. they are like a man who, seeing a beautifully written letter, should suppose that it has written itself without a writer, or had always existed." (39)

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"...whosoever wishes for a livelihood, or for wealth, or learning, must not merely say "God is merciful," but must exert himself. although the Koran says, "every living creature's support comes from God," it is also written, "Man obtains nothing except by striving." (41)

The Alchemy of Happiness - Al Ghazali (1)

Chapter 1 - The Knowledge of Self

"reason may be called the vizier, or prime minister, passion the revenue collector, and anger the police officer. under the guise of collecting revenue, passion is continually prone to plunder on its own account, while resentment is always inclined to harshness and extreme severity.

both of these, the revenue collector and the police officer have to be kept in due subordination to the king, but not killed or expelled, as they have their own proper functions to fulfil. but if passion and resentment master reason, the ruin of the soul infallibly ensues." ( 22)

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"nor is it only by reason of knowledge acquired and intuitive that the soul of man holds the first rank among created things, but also by reason of power." (25)

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"besides mere incapicity, there are other hinderences to the attainment of spiritual truth. one of these is externally acquired knowledge. to use a figure, the heart may be represented as a well, and the five senses as five streams which are continually conveying water into it. in order to find out the real contents of the heart, these streams must be stopped for a time, at any rate, and the refuse they have brought with them must be cleared out of the well. in other words, if we are to arrive at pure spiritual truth, we must put away, for the time, knowledge which has been acquired by external processes and which too often hardens into dogmatic prejudice." (26)

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"any one who will look into the matter will see that happiness is necessarily linked with the knowledge of God. each faculty of ours delights in that for which it was created: lust delights in accomplishing desire, anger in taking vengeance, the eye in seeing beautiful objects, and the ear in hearing harmonic sounds. the highest function of the soul of man is the perception of truth ; in this accordingly it finds special delight." ...

"a person in whom the desire of this knowledge has dissapeared is like one who has lost his appetite for healthy food, or who prefers feeding on clay to eating bread. all bodily appetites perish at death with the organs they use, but the soul dies not, and retains whatever knowledge of God it posseses ; nay, increases it." (27-28)

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"man has been truly termed "microcosm", or little world in himself, and the structure of his body should be studied...by those who wish to attain to a more intimate knowledge of God, just as close study of the niceties and shades of language in a great poem reveals to us more and more of the genius of the author." (29)

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"the body may be compared to a steed and the soul to its rider ; the body was created to the soul, the soul for the body. if a man knows not his own soul, which is the nearest thing to him, what is the use of his claiming to know others? it is as if a beggar who has not the wherewithal for a meal should claim to be able to feed a town."

Freakonomics - Levitt & Dubner

a quite interesting read. time permits not for a lengthy review or such ; hence i'd just put in the chapters with short answers (banyak lagi explanation die actually >,<) for later personal references.

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intro: the hidden side of everything

1)what do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?
they cheat... sometimes.

2)how is the ku klux klan like a group of real estate agents?
usage of fear to influence

3)why do drug dealers still live with their mum?
orang atas je kaya, org bawah keje teruk2 sbb nak jadi org atas but just a small percentage would make it..other live in bad conditions

4)where have all the criminals gone?
authors cite abortion legislation.. hmm?

5)what makes a perfect parents?
moderation, me thinks.

6)would a roshanda by any other name smell as sweet?
sometimes.

epilogue

AIDS-The Ultimate Challenge : E.Kubler-Ross

the book is throughly about coping with dying from AIDS. its main theme revolves on ignorance about AIDS in the US at one time (its an old book), misconceptions, dying with peace and the experiences of the volunteers.

i didnt expect much from it -got it just because it goes for a dollar from the bookshop- but in the end its okay. wasnt particularly written well, but perhaps the main thing is what i gained from it, no?

it reminded me on things that i need constant reminder of. i think to be reminded of death at times is a good starting point in cleansing the heart. a reminder that what God has given us and our loved ones today might not be there tomorrow. it'll make us prepare best we can for the after-life; along with living our borrowed time here on earth to the fullest :-)

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Quotes:
"none of us is so unique as to be exempt from the human condition."

From a patient of AIDS:
"There's lots of things that go into making or taking a journey or trip. you have to get ready for it. you have to make sure your place is reserved, and you have to get on the train or get on whatever conveyence is appropriate and get there."

AIDS~The Ultimate Challenge : E.Kubler-Ross

A Pictorial History of Soccer - Dennis Signy (1)

this book's full with interesting and at times funny tahap dewa anecdotes of football.. if too list them all would take forever :-) . still on the "Birth and Developement" Chapter ; and might trackback some other time to include anecdotes from 1st 30 pages as well. but here's some from current reading, page 33-47...

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"Tradition also has that the first ball used was the head of a dead Danish brigand; but this particular game evidently became so violent that it was stopped and replaced by a running match"

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"on 15 Oct 1887, another record was set in Cup-tie. preston beat Hyde 26-0...every player except the goalkeeper scored, although suggestions have been made that the game may have run an extra half an hour because of an error by the referee." (34)

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On throw ins:

"the throw in from touch at first was done with one hand, but so expert did some players become at reaching the goalmouth with throws that it was decided in the 1880 to first make the thrower use two hands and then to make him throw with his hands above his head from a standing position." (35)

A Pictorial History of Soccer - Dennis Signy

The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

"we are dwarfs ; but dwarfs who stand on the shoulders of those giants, and small though we are, we sometimes manage to see farther on the horizon than they."

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"because learning does not consist only of knowing what we must of we can do, but also of knowing what we could do and perhaps should not do."

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"the good of a book lies in it being read. a book is made up of signs that speaks of other signs, which in turn speak of things. without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts, therefore it is dumb."

The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

Postcards from No-Man's Land, Aidan Chambers

"have you noticed that life has an if in it? i mean the word. L.I.F.E. so the iffyness of life was there all the time. i just hadnt noticed. what a domkop!" (231)

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"in the diary, anne says that youth is lonelier than old age. D'you think that's true?"
"i havent thought about it. do you think it is?"
"how would i know? havent been old yet."
"nor had anne, so how could she know?"

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"but you must think i'm mad, falling for a girl who's only words in a book."
"some people say falling in love is a kind of madness whenever it happens. if that's so, all i can say is i would rather be mad than sane"

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"i asked Geertrui the other day what she thought love is- real love, true love. she said that for her real love is observing another person and being observed by another person with complete attention."

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"the difference is, i have noticed, is that a mother battles on behalf of her son against the world, whereas a father batles to possess his daughter for himself."

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"i see with an eye that feels
and feel with an eye that sees" -JW von Goethe

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excerpts from :- Postcards from No-Man's Land, Aidan Chambers

Che - A Memoir by Fidel Castro

1) On worries of economic colonism and dependence to the States:

"if we stay on this road, we will be increasingly poor, weak, dependent , and enslaved to imperialism. this gloomy perspective also confronts, to an equal degree, all the underdeveloped nations in Africa and Asia. if the industrialised and educated nations of Europe, with their Common Market and supranational scientific instituions, are worried about the possibility of being left behind and contemplate with fear the perspective of being converted into economic colonies of Yankee imperialism - what does the future have in store for the peoples in Latin America?

2) on the people:

"but no one really has an honest answer or a consistent policy that will bring genuine hope to the nearly 300 million human beings who make up the population of Latin America. devastatingly poor in their overwhelming majority, ... they have the right to the material things in life, to culture, and to civilisation. so the most dignified thing would be to remain silent in the face of the actions of Che and those who fell with him, courageously defending their ideas." (94)

3) On Che's many virtues -

"He never kept a Sunday to himself." (108) -reference to Che's voluntary works.

4) random quotes:

"Hasta la victoria siempre! (ever onward to victory!)"

"people may contribute to the making of history, but history also makes people."

It would be a sign of ignorance to believe there is only one way of doing things.." (150)

"work doesnt harm your health, work promotes health, work safeguards health, and work created humanity" (155)

Che - A Memoir by Fidel Castro