Bits and Bobs

My mind does funny ol' things when it's tired.

Lack of sleep makes me have frantic, constant, staccato thoughts that are just plain random and useless. Last night while I was taking a *relaxing* bath, all I could think about was conversations I'd had in the day, playing them back in my mind like some boring black and white rerun. At one point I think I even said out loud 'What are you doing! Why are you thinking about that?' It was like I was on some kind of brain speed pill. (which I definitely am not) The grasshopper in my brain works triple-time trying to confuse me and everyone around me with maximum effect.

The more tired I am, the more the repressed O.C.D. side of me tries to get out. I get home, and a sock lying by the couch drives me insane. The tiny layer of dust on the TV (developed from only last week when I deliriously dusted it last time I was tired) almost has me in convulsions. I want everything to be perfect! I will not relax until it's all in place! But most of the time I'm just too tired to do anything about it.

The point of me telling you this today is that my post will represent the resident grasshopper in my head - bits of random thoughts as they come to me.

*There is a baby mouse living in my house. And it's not a pet. I'm not actually a person that's afraid of mice, but we need to get rid of it before it starts breeding and we have a mini mouse colony. I also don't think it helps that just recently I have watched the movie 'Mouse Hunt'. I go to bed at night expecting it to be making itself a nice pesto pasta and find it napping on our fluffy white bread loaf. I don't think I need to worry though, because it doesn't seem to like me much. I haven't even seen it - it appears to Conrad at different times during the evening and shies away whenever I come into the room.

*Goji Berries may be the new super food, but they give you zits. Lots of them. It is true that they make you hyper and happy and fill you up all nice and yummily, but I have 3 zits on my face right now - more then I ever had during my whole period of adolescence. It's embarrassing.

*We are heading down to Southampton this weekend to visit Conrad's cousin and his lovely girlfriend (and also his aunt and uncle). I'm pretty excited - it's nice to have 'family' to go visit that are so close!

*Thanks to the brave souls who shared their opinion with me in the last comment section! I was listening to my mp3 player on the way to work and a song I have heard a million times kind of jumped out. I had no idea what it was about, I always sort of listened to the tune. This seems to echo my thoughts on the previous post. So I will leave you with these words; (And then I promise I'll shut up about it!)

Crime For Crime the big day has come and the bell is sounding i run my hands thru my hair one last time outside the prison walls the town is gathering the people are trading crime for crime everyone needs to see the prisoner they need to make it even easier by seeing me as a symbol and not a human being that way they can kill me and say it's not murder it's a metaphor we are killing off our own failure and starting clean i am standing at the gallows everyone turned my way and i hear a voice ask me if i've got any last words to say i am looking out over a field of familiar eyes somewhere in a woman's arms a baby cries i say guilt and innocence are a matter of degree and what is justice to you might not be justice to me i went too far and i'm sorry i guess now i'm going home so let he amongst you cast the first stone nowadays we have all kinds of complicated machines so no one person ever has to have blood on their hands we have complex organizations and if everyone just does their job no one person ever has to understand you might be the wrong color you might just be too poor justice isn't something just anyone can afford you might not pull the trigger you might be out in the car and you might get a lethal injection 'cuz we take metaphors that far the big day has come and the bell is sounding i run my hands thru my hair one last time outside the prison walls the town is gathering the people are trading crime for crime the people are trading crime for crime people are still trading crime for crime (A. DiFranco)

Warning: Opinion Being Aired

There has been a lot of media coverage in the past week over Saddam Hussein’s execution. When I first heard about it I was shocked and somewhat appalled. The first thought I had was “They still do hangings?” I thought that this ancient punishment had gone out with the Wild West. And secondly to find out that people were happily watching footage of this? Surely, as human beings, enjoying the death of somebody else is against every moral that exists – not only Christian, but as citizens of earth.

I suppose this brings across a larger question as a whole about the death penalty. Personally, I believe it is 1 million per cent wrong. Killing someone is wrong. Who are we to judge who can live or die? Who are we to say that they will never repent, change, and recover in any way?

I am stealing this idea a little bit from Conrad – but isn't sending someone to p

rison about rehabilitation? Sending someone to prison isn’t just about letting them rot until they die, but about giving people a chance to change. I do understand that there are some sicko’s out there, and for the most part perhaps they will not change. But how do we know?

Isle of The Mighty wrote a post about this and in his comments has tried to answer my ponderings;

“…the definition of "murder" needs to be nailed down. If murder is merely anytime one
person kills another, regardless of circumstance, then I think we quickly
develop some difficulties--for example, if a man were to attack my wife and son
and I were to kill him the process of defending them, am I a murderer? Am I the
same as the man the stalks women and murders them brutally for pleasure?

If we acknowledge that there is more than one category for those that
take the life of another person, then I think we are in a position to begin
considering what is going on when the government uses its authority to sanction
the killing of a criminal. At that point the discussion becomes much more
interesting; I think the first thing we must ask is, what is the role of the
government?”

I like reading what he has to say. It's important to hear the 'other side' for my own sake, to understand why I am so against it. I think it's difficult to find the line between what we punish for and what we do not - But surely if we're uncertain about this, including death in the equation is just the wrong way to go.

I know that to many people I will just be coming across as 'liberal' (I'm also not much of one for labels) - but people causing death just sits wrong with me. Taking joy in someone's soul being put out makes my heart wrench. Yes, Suddam Hussein was a terrible person who murdered a lot of people. I just don't see how somebody else's crimes can justify another murder taking place.

I am writing these words here in a country and office where I feel somewhat mainstream with my thoughts. I know that some of my thoughts may offend - I hope not. As I hesitated to write these ramblings down, I started to wonder why I should worry about what I'm saying - surely writing a blog is about getting your thoughts down onto screen? I definitely know that my thoughts are not complete.

I would love to hear your opinions on the subject.