'Thanksgiving' in the USA, another observance of seasonal change.

The fourth Thursday of November in the USA is 'Thanksgiving', their fixed celebration of seasons, harvest and plenty. Based on ancient, pagan, seasonal celebrations, now, high-jacked for religious / political gains, it wasn't always a fixed date. For millennia, early peoples would have been aware that the summer growing season was over and their journey in to winter was beginning and food stores would have to last them through the colder period. This happens worldwide through history.

Early settlers from other lands brought with them the harvest rituals that they observed. In these new lands, the end of the growing season would vary in time and severity depending on location, the more northerly 'states' having an earlier and harsher on set of winter. Canadian harvest rituals are much earlier. This movable feast, however, didn't foster the 'United' feeling that the 'States' were looking for. Abraham Lincoln fixed the date on which all the states would celebrate in order to a give the people a sense of unity (1863). Various tales and unsubstantiated myths

Our twisted relationship with celebrity #DrMattSmith v #gemmacollins.

Everything that is twisted and wrong in our modern obsession with 'celebrity' has been seen in the UK 'news' (#NotNews) in the past few days. On the one hand, we have the brilliant Dr Matt Taylor. A dedicated, hard-working, genius, responsible for helping the ESAs Rosetta probe travel 4 BILLION miles across the solar system to land a module on the surface of a comet. The first time in history that this has been accomplished. A massive human achievement. Over 20 years in the planning and the result of targeted research and investment. That is NEWS. Despite this wonder of modern science, Dr Matt Taylor was not a household name and he became famous and was abused on social media for wearing a shirt, created and given to him by a female friend as a present. Most people had no idea who he is and what he and his wonderful team were doing or have achieved. They have 280,000 twitter followers.

Vaping. Take it outside.

It is simple. Take it outside. The insidious rise of 'vaping' as the acceptable face of smoking is astounding. It should be a regulated stepping stone that helps addicts to give up smoking, not a new industry that creeps its way in to society, becoming seen as 'normal' or 'cutting edge', designed to snare a new, younger market for profit. Insidious. In the UK, vaping should be subject to the same advertising rules as smoking, the same taxation measures and pushed to the same outside areas as smoking.

Instead, we are served loads of  'sexy' adverts on TV, the portrayal of this habitual need to draw noxious chemicals in to your lungs as 'cool' and 'modern'. These 'lifestyle' ads should be banned.

4 BILLION years, 4 Billion miles. Human achievement. Science.

It is mind-blowing. The journey started 10 years ago with the launch of the ESAs 'Rosetta' mission to land a probe on the surface of a comet. A comet that is more than 4 billion years old, known to us as Comet 67P. There has been 25 years of research and planning. Yesterday, 4 BILLION miles (over 6 billion km) later, the probe, named Philae, completed its journey. Landing a probe, the size of a washing machine, on a comet that is travelling at more than 40,000 miles per hour over such unimaginable distances is nothing short of astonishing. A peak in human achievement, a wonderful example of what human beings are capable of when they push the boundaries of science and modern technology. The cutting edge of our understanding of space, the solar system and the universe.

Bonfire Night. Burning Popes, religions, cats and traditions.

Bonfire Night. Burning Popes, religions, cats and traditions.

Another crazed, religiously inspired, leftover celebration. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic man who wanted to over-throw the King. The King was a Protestant who knew the importance of instilling religious fear in his servants . As the King survived an attempt on his life in the 1605 plot, it was thought that the Protestant version of 'god' was good and puritanical ministers in government effectively made it a day of compulsory worship. There is even the possibility that the whole 'plot' was an exercise in spin, designed to inflame anti-Catholic feelings. ( here ) In 1606, to avoid being hung, drawn and publicly disemboweled for his 'crime', Guy Fawkes jumped from