The Final Thursday Thought

Welcome to the final Thursday Thought.

This site was primarily for me to wax-lyrical about various topics, and see if anyone would reply. I did wax-lyrical (I’m better when I’ve had a few though!) and some replies did appear. But, as my time constraints get ever worse, it is time to relinquish this very site and commend it to the big hard drive in the sky.

Thanks for reading. We’ve made political comments, topical comments, comments about friendship, F1 and friendship. It’s been a good one.

El Paulo

Oil

Well, a big ‘hello’ to anyone who actually still reads this site!

As hurricane Katrina’s after effects hit the American public, with a state of emergency declared, and martial law in some parts, it’s going to take some clearing effort to fix. Shame really, New Orleans was an American city that I might have liked to visit! (Jazz capital and all that!)

Still, the effect on oil prices – they’ve topped $70 a barrel now – will be long effected. Oil production has been heavily slowed in the region, and as demand already out-strips supply, this might be the final nail in the coffin for petrol prices.

The snag is, oil affects everything. It’s the only fuel we use for transport. And, as we transport everything from all over the world with no respect to the distance, only cost, we’re using more than we have to. Excessive plastic packaging which is pointless at the best of times just adds to our woes. What can we do? Use less oil. How do we do it? Who knows? It’ll take action from the top companies all over the world. Not just the oil giants, but the food companies, the consumer services that produce things, governments, everywhere will have to act as one unit to try and help drive down the price of oil.

In the meanwhile though, get a pay-rise and prepare for higher prices not just for petrol, but for food, clothes, CDs, anything that needs to be transported from anywhere to get to your door. It’s going to be a tough ride, but what choice do we have?

The Thursday Thought

Over the past few weeks, my mind has been constantly swamped by this one thought, this one burning question, one which is so great that I'd thought I'd share it with you all...

What can possibly be better than watching a game of exciting test cricket on a long hot Summer's day, with great company, without a care in the world...and Pietersen's derrière in full sight?!!

Dear precious reader(s),
I am sorry to say that, as I am sure you have already noticed, the last Thursday thought was not written. This tragic incident is, I am truly sorry to admit, my fault. In an attempt to give my actions some sort of reason though do let me explain that I am not a full time member of the Thursday thought and was (...and am) currently on my vacation touring the world (check the tour dates to see if I'll be near you anytime soon at http://original10.blospot.com)
I don’t have anything up my sleeve for today however I do have a somewhat older text that I wrote. mind you I remember the contents of this particular piece of mine exactly and I must say that circumstances have drastically changed but I was in quite a mood when I wrote it so anyone who enjoys reading things that were written passionately I assure you this was.

"No, you're wrong"

I personally don’t like vulgar language and I know and can fully understand that others feel an even greater dislike for it than I but there's no other way to say it. I'm presently soooo goddamn pissed with my shitty, idiotic class (if I swear than I'm really going to go at it) that I can hardly see straight. What morons! All right till now it probably seams as though I might have gone a wee bit mad and am simply roaring at my poor class for no reason **sighs** maybe I don’t even have a reason but in life the one thing just plunks it self on top of the other till the whole leaning tower of pisa falls down and makes my face go red and my tongue spit at the next best person. hmmm I probably still haven't done a lot to change your opinion on my poor class though so I'll stop ranting and raging and will just go on with ranting ;p

here's the scene:
3 class, physics room, middle of the lesson, teacher just said something about volume and umm **thinks** pressure I believe
I raise hand to ask question related to subject. something along the line of "...but what about in a black hole?" A simple question. nothing odd and not totally stupid ...I think I mean do you know if and how much volume a black hole has and if it does than if there's pressure in it and and and? (Paul, you don’t count ;p)
my class however broke into hysteria and that along with my teacher (?!!!!!!!!) hello? have I missed something or is school not supposed to be a place to learn? the worst is, that he than said after many chuckles and a bit more prodding from my side that he didn't know what I was talking about! Fine, given physics is a large field but p-pppeleas!!! which of you hasn't heard of a black hole and didn't half way understand the question above? I didn't want a number just an idea of if the same rules that are here are also there. no genius question and sadly no million dollars to win. But ok. even teachers are people and people know nothing. so I'll leave him out of it.

This scene however is getting so common in my memory that it's starting to become scary.

3rd grade (after having learnt a bit about the planets in 2nd grad my curiosity was awoken and I started to look into a whole lot about the universe)
I correct the teacher in class and say that there are more than just 9 planets and that in fact not only a 10th but also even more had been found! (said with more enthusiasm than I can in anyway explain)
the result? laughter. howling laughter, a teacher shaking her head and saying "No, you're wrong."

5th grade geography
(class sitting in the geography room, we were supposed to say what one can produce out of coal)
-plastic
-heat (etc.)
me :"diamonds"
laughter.
the teacher in a manor as though she were talking to a little kid "no Adriana, diamonds are stones"
more laughter

there are many more incidences where I was told that I'm false, that I'm an idiot and even been called crazy for saying things ....only when I look it up I see that I'm right. The impact, the reaction of the others have on you though is really astonishing. For about an hour or though I must admit I really felt as though I was being silly and that there isn't such a thing as a black hole. and it took me about two weeks when I was younger to believe and understand again that it indeed is possible to make diamonds out of coal. I don’t what sympathy or what ever you'd probably come to me with but I want an explanation.
why do people laugh when they haven't an idea what another is talking about? and why are others (teachers for example) not open to something they've never heard of? The mass of people and simply just one whole group has soo much power it is truly astonishing. Everyone claims that they can stand up against it. but can anyone really? I hate to admit it but I just shrunk when they all laughed. It took about 2 seconds for them to make me believe that I was wrong. ...sure the idea that I was wrong didn't last long ...but still as I said I hate to admit it but I really did think I was wrong and was just being silly for about a whole hour!! AN HOUR!!

Beautiful People 12

Is this the iconic photograph of our summer? It may have taken me some time to get my party photos onto the Internet, but finally they are here. And, with their arrival, it's time to launch a competition of sorts, to find one photo which can sum up our summer. Send them to the normal address under 'Summer Photo' to theoneandonlypaul@gmail.com. The prize is yet to be confirmed, but entries must be in before the 31st August, so get them sent! Good luck!

The I.R.A.

After the London bombings for the second time last week, it’s good to have some good news to report at long last.

The IRA has finally agreed to down arms and fight its cause for a united Ireland peacefully and through the democratic channels. After 30 years of violence, including the horrors of the Manchester bombing, they have decided to put their arms beyond use by January 2006.

The question is though, why did it take 30 years of on and off cease-fires and the killing of hundreds of people to decide that violence isn’t the answer?

The Thursday Thought

Unfortunately, as I keep disappearing from my house and spending more time in Bolton than at home, the Thursday Thought has been suspended for this week only. But here's something to muse over.

What was finally decided at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles? No, really?

Friends!

There’s something about friendship.

It’s powerful, meaningful and causes more emotions than almost anything else.

Unlike most things in this world though, it’s not all that flawed. Short term friendships come and go, that’s a fact. But if you can keep a friendship going for 4 years, 7 years or even 14 years (putting that into perspective, it’s more than 77% of your life so far) then it must have gone through so much. The question would be, if it’s lasted so long, would you really want to go out of your way to jeopardise its future?? If it’s lasted so long, no matter what happened, you’d be willing to at least talk it out face to face and try and work out the problem that did indeed threaten it lasting for a lifetime. At 14 years, it would have lasted for some of the more trialling times of your life and it would be very likely indeed to last the lifetime. And these friendships are very hard to come by.

Friendships should not be thrown away over one reason. Ever. However good the reason was at the time, it won’t stand. I know, big bust-ups never really last more than a month or so, if the friendship is good and true, isn’t that right Chris?

Friendships never really end, they always continue for many more years than you recognise that they do, as our memories are long and vast, so take into compass every single friend you’ve had, and that remains.

We are sociable people, this too is a fact. And the more friends you have, the richer a person you are. Arguments will happen – we are only human – but what will separate you from everyone else is remaining calm, not skipping to conclusions and approaching the situation in a mature and calculated way. Big arguments get you nowhere, especially if you come to rash conclusions during one.

So I urge you all to keep the friendships you have. They are amicable things. And the good friends you have, whatever the argument, will stay by you even if all looks lost. They are trying their best to work things out in their own way, and you’ve got to help them by talking things over with them. Even if it seems like they’re against you, you’re probably wrong. So take a few deep breaths and approach them, face to face, eye to eye, voice to voice and talk it out. Don’t get angry, don’t let them push you around, but make sure that the friendship stays and grows to take on a new, eve stronger form than it had before.

I don’t know about you, but the friends I have now I want to keep for some time yet and combine them with the new ones I will make, not lose and replace them. You need to live life to the full, and the only way to do such a thing is to have as many friends as you can keep. So, keep your friends and live this life like it’s your last – mainly because it is.

Time is precious, as are friends. Don't waste either!