Living in the 21st centuary.....

A common phrase which is overused is a cliché.  Generally speaking clichés are to be avoided as it royally pisses everyone off but, in reality they are not evaded hence, clichés!  In my opinion clichés are a necessary part of language and a powerful way to convey free advice and wisdom. 

I was inspired to write this based on something I heard today uttered by one of the most learned men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.  He is one of the Queen’s personal physicians.  His name will not be mentioned.  He stated the cliché – which used to drive me up the wall – “Life isn’t fair”.  Hearing it from someone outside of your circle friends or family, for some reason, had a greater effect on my thought process as I did not just scoff at a shitty cliché.   

I will attempt to express some wisdom of my own via use of common clichés heard in everyday speech.  Here are clichés that every person should live their lives by. These are all clichés which are still applicable in today’s world.

1. It ain’t over till its over. 

I was watching a rugby match on Saturday.  It was between Italy and France.  Pre match, everybody had written off the Italians.  It seemed as thought the French had won the game before they even kicked off.  At one point in the second half, the Italians were 12 points adrift with the French winning 12-6.  The Italians missed two penalties, however, their resilience and their never back down attitude saw them win 22-21 at the final whistle.  A win by a solitary point or a win by hundreds – it doesn’t matter, a win is a win.  Moral of this story is never give up – you could still beat the odds.

2. Do unto others.

This is a simple phrase which allows those from a young age to understand when something is wrong.  It would make you pause to think – “Would I like this to happen to me?” For example – would you like people to kill you?  Probably not! So don’t go around killing people!!

3. Always consider the source.

Things are not always what they seem.  In a funny game of Chinese whispers, gossip can always get misconstrued.  If you really want to get to the bottom of it you really have to be meticulous.  What I would suggest doing is just brush that dirt off your shoulder and move on.  Sometimes you need to realise some people are just not worth your time. 

4. Life isn’t fair

It really, well and truly is not.  Nothing ever goes according to plan.  Life has an annoying habit of throwing so much shit at you.  What do you do?  Yeah, just stumble and fall and bury your head in the sand.  NO!!!  You need to make the best of a bad situation.  No regrets. 

5. Surround yourself with good people. 

I particularly like this one as, for me, it emphasises that your rep won’t get tarnished by a group of dicks.  My old man always says never hang around with coal miners because when their hands touch yours, your hands are dirty too.  You think about that. 

This resonates more with me as good people tend to be better friends.  These are the people that you can rely on for an honest opinion as well as loyalty. 

6. Think before you speak.

It may sound like a ridiculous thing to suggest but, how many times have you said something and immediately regretted it.  A bad joke?  A ‘smooth’ line to a girl that’s not so smooth?  Starting a conversation with someone that you just wish you hadn’t?! Dude. Seriously.  THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK!

Also, how do you think rumours start?  You say something to a total retard who takes it a little too seriously. 

7. You just can’t please some people.

Some people seem to have a ‘self-important-holier-than-thou-superior’ attitude that, no matter what you do for are just never grateful, appreciative, thankful or approving of whatever you do.  These people are just not worth it.  Fuck ‘em!

8. Die trying.

Never give up.  I know this may tie in with #1 but, this is more based on ambitions in life.  Don’t give up on your dreams.  It is not going to be easy to achieve, unless you have simple dreams.  However, don’t go chasing more than one dream.  You could get lost. 

I also take encouragement from certain song lyrics.  I find music can rouse people to do some spectacular things. 

“Savoir the throne, but don’t mind the stool.” – Steve Winwood, “Take it as it comes”

This is often misinterpreted as thinking enjoy the high life but don’t mind the step down.  I think it is more – enjoy the brighter moments in life, the really good times but don’t be too bothered by the less pleasant times in life.  We do all go through them. 

“Whoever diggeth the pit shall fall in it” – Bob Marley, “Small Axe”

This is pretty much don’t start shit and shit won’t find you.  It is eloquently put – it is a more sophisticated way of saying ‘Don’t start none, won’t be none!’

“The ones you are calling wild are going to be the leaders in a little while” – Johnny Cash, “What is truth?”

A well put metaphor to explain that the youth have plenty of time to be grown up and will go on to lead their own lives, families, companies, countries.  Enjoy their youth.  Appreciate it while it lasts.   

“When the grass is cut, the snakes will show.” – Jay Z, “Blueprint 2”

Take the time to allow the smoke to clear.  When shit hits the fan for you, deal with it and then when you are over your episode single out those who deserted you in your time of need.  Snakes.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – John Lennon, “Beautiful boy (Darling boy)”

Shit happens when you have made plans.  Life, as aforementioned, is not fair.  Stuff just crops up and nothing ever seems to go according to plans. 

“Some people graduate but we still stupid.  They tell you read this, eat this, don’t look around.  Just peep this, preach us, teach us, Jesus” – Kanye West, “Good Morning”

 Just because you have now graduated, it does not make you God’s gift to the world.  You absolute cunt!  You do not deserve a Nobel prize!!  Chances are, these people may be academic but have little to no common sense. 

“You know, religion has a lot to answer for” – Iron Maiden, “For the Greater Good of God”

I find that religion is being blamed for a lot of things nowadays.  People seem to believe that religion condones a lot of these atrocities where in reality, it is 100% condemned.  This lyric reminds me of my faith and the strength it has given me. 

“Complete the motion if you stumble.” – Red hot Chili Peppers, “Can’t Stop”

Even if you fall or trip keep trying to move forward.  No matter how stupid you look just keep trying to get there. 

Much Love,

Jackson L.

Imperial War Museum - London

Arriving at the Imperial War museum in London I was very excited about the day of viewing the weapons that have been developed throughout history and I just couldn’t wait to see the progression of the primitive weapons used in times of old to the latest in advanced warfare.  I thoroughly enjoy looking at uniforms worn by soldiers and generals as well as the knives, guns, cannons, tanks, scale model ships, submarines and aircraft all used in combat, not to mention replica missiles and bombs as well as deactivated mines. 

The museum offered these enticing collections –

Lower Ground floor – World War I and World War II and conflicts since 1945

Ground floor – Modern weapons gallery

First floor – Modern Weapons Gallery

Second floor – Art Gallery

Third floor – Holocaust exhibition

Fourth floor – John Ashcroft gallery

After finishing the brief security checks I walked into the ground floor of the museum where they had some military vehicles, such as tanks and very old submarines as well as an array of cannons.  The very first thing that caught my eye, and I honestly found rather odd, was a vehicle which was used as a roadside bomb in Baghdad in 2005.  It had claimed the lives of two soldiers.  I found it a rather strange beginning to a museum’s collection for some reason but, I just read the blurb, pondered over the remains of the car and only thought it was remarkable that they had managed to make me think highly of a rusty, burned out lump of metal which made me stop and stare.  I then moved on to the rest of the armaments on show and absorbed all the information that was on hand.  I really did enjoy the ground/first floor as it showed the progression in weapons development very well.  I saw a supermarine spitfire fighter plane which fought in the Battle of Britain.  I could not believe that it was so well kept.  It was suspended beautifully for all to see.  It was a plane which saw a successful defence of our land and it was flabbergasting to be able to see something which was part of a significant battle in British history. 

There were several tanks – British, Russian and Nazi German - I have never seen so many Swastikas in one place, for once, not causing any offense! But you were able to see inside of the cramped tanks and they gave some statistics about these devastating war machines, for example, their range (1500m +), their weight (over 22 tonnes, one was 44 tonnes) and their most effective methods for use in battle.  We even saw a bus known as ‘Ole Bill’.  It was used in the battlefield across Europe during WWI to transport troops to trenches.  It was present in Antwerp and it witnessed the horrors of the Somme.  It was enthralling to see this vehicle because it was there – there being those events that you learn about in a history class at school.

I then moved on to the lower ground for the WWI and II exhibitions.  My appetite had been whetted by my friends who had been to this museum and they described this collection as the vastest and most engaging part of the whole museum.  I was not let down.  It had absolutely everything.  It was pretty incredible as there were original helmets and uniforms and tunics on display as well as original, signed documents and diaries kept by soldiers.  The weapons they had on display were mainly rifles, pistols, revolvers and knives.  There were also a plethora of medals on display for valour and bravery.  News paper clippings were also present, a little discoloured, but very well kept. I found it incredibly interesting reading some of the clippings as it was a more intensive account of the events as seen, felt and understood at that time.  It was a more thorough account of an event which was still fresh in the press.  I saw many things from the military aspect and came to understand many things.  In addition to the array of weapons that was on display there were also the home front effort and many propaganda posters put on view.  It was interesting  to see how people responded to the war in those times and how they had to alter their lives so much – rationing, keeping the lights switched off in the night, ideas on how NOT to waste materials available to them.  It really was an effort!  There are far too many things we take for granted and it would have been difficult to survive and subject one’s self to this. 

The WWI exhibition it explained the outbreak of the war and how it digressed into a world war and it, explained how many different machine guns were developed to fire more rounds per minute to halt an attack from the enemy.  It detailed the complicated trench network which was employed by both sides and at the end of the WWI collection you were able to experience a life sized model of a trench and walk through a replica of a trench to further appreciate what it really was like for all the brave men that gave their lives for the protection of their country. 

There were many stand out items on show in the WWII collection.  Once again they displayed the different weapons from different countries as well as different uniforms, even the different uniforms Nazi soldiers had as they had to fight in the harsh cold weather in Russia as well as more temperate areas across Europe.  The scale models of the ships were just astonishing.  The attention to detail was beyond breath-taking and the stories they had to tell were even better, for example, the infamous German U-boats.  There was a model of one U-boat which, in just one summer, sank over 1006 TONNES worth of ships belonging to the allies.  They also had many allied emblems, several British coats of arms, the American eagle but one of the most well kept ones, one that I touched (and had bullet holes) was the Nazi eagle which bares the Swastika in its claws.  It had been ripped the top of a building it still had some remains at its foot.  It was a heavy piece of bronze décor to symbolise a Nazi establishment.  It was on display on its side.  This, for me, symbolised many things.  The fall of Nazism, as it was torn off of a building and it is now found in a museum lying on its side.  Also, the fact that it bore the bullet holes and the damage, the bronze was beginning to corrode – it was fading like Nazism had faded through history.  However, the fact that it exists at all and wasn’t completely disposed of is a reminder that racism and cultural prejudice still exists today.  One would think that we had been taught a valuable lesson from the war, however, it would appear that we will never learn.

Another interesting part of the WWII exhibition was the Far Eastern influence on the war.  The land of the rising sun – Japan – towards the end of the Second World War was a time of great devastation still, even thought the world war was indeed over.  Japan saw two atomic bombs fall on two different cities – Nagasaki and Hiroshima– only 3 days apart.  Due to the intensely high temperature it completely incinerated stones and slates or houses and plastic bottles.  It displayed such items.  It was inconceivably devastating to these cities and it was a ferocious option for the American military to take. 

By the end of viewing the WWII collected works, we were able to experience a simulated air-raid.  We were put in a shelter and then following the ‘air raid’ we got to see what it was like for post air raid and see the destruction and chaos it had caused. 

I chose to view the WWI display first and, even though it was busier than the WWII, I am pleased I did as it gave me a good insight as to how much more extensive the weaponry was for WWII.

The next part of the museum was the conflicts following the world wars.  The Korea war in the 50s, the 6 day Arab – Israel war in the 60s, Vietnam 60s/70s, Iran – Iraq in the early 80s, Iraq, Kuwait in the late 80s early 90s and The Gulf wars (89-91 and 2003- present).  There were a lot of iconic pieces of footage, some which I remember seeing on the news myself, others I had never seen in my life.  It was definitely a worthwhile part of the museum.  It was a reminder that war is, regrettably, more frequent than it should be. 

There was not much to see in the art gallery so I went straight up to the Holocaust exhibition where we were able to get a real account of those who survived the horror of concentration camps.  It began with the rise of Nazism in Germany – it described how, after WWI, Germany was heavily sanctioned and they were not allowed a military and due to the economic strain on the nation, especially after the global depression, unemployment rates were at an all time high.  The country was poverty stricken.  The people turned to the national party.  The Nazis.  Eventually the real Nazi agenda became more and more evident to the rest of the world as their scientific researchers were carrying out very outlandish studies into different racial backgrounds and the publicly condemned the Jewish, Gypsy, black and other communities.  The German population seemed to turn a blind eye as their country was a super power over night, as it appeared.  Terror then struck Poland as all the Jews in Germany were persecuted.  Some who had tried to escape the Nazi regime and fled to Poland were caught up in the terror of the Nazis. 

The more I waded through the Holocaust exhibition, the more and more I discovered about how, absolutely horrific it was.  I know it is a stupid thing to say because it has always been known to be such an incredibly terrible, low period in our history but, to see the things that were on display really had a profound effect on me.  To see the shoes worn by the victims of concentration camps piled up one on top of the other, like their lifeless bodies would have been piled up one on top of the other, was a more vivid explanation of the real horrors that occurred than any history lesson I have had.  To learn how their bodies were desecrated – the ashes of their bodies used to fertilise lands, things of value were either stolen of used in the Nazi war machine, their hair used in tapestry – left me feeling perturbed and overwhelmed. 

I left the museum after seeing the John Ashcroft gallery.  This was just a room with a display many different medals that have been awarded for many different things throughout history.  It was a nice way to finish the tour of the museum but nothing had such a reflective consequence in my mindset as the Holocaust exhibition did.  I left the museum. 

As I left the museum through the same doors that welcomed me, I saw that car bomb from Baghdad that was detonated in 2005.  I remembered seeing it only a few hours before and thinking it was an odd addition to the museum.  I no longer thought this as I realised it was the perfect addition to this particular museum.  I thought this because, for a long time, I was very excited to see this museum and journey through the history of weapons, war and famous battles throughout our history.  I lost sight of the true devastation, destruction, chaos and pain that war causes.  It was an ideal introduction as it allows one to be under no illusion of what war is.  Yes, there are great weapons on display – forget not, however, what exactly those weapons are used for. 

I left having enjoyed my day – a free trip to a museum in London on a good day where I learnt about the many different eras of war and appreciated the number of lives lost for something people passionately believed in.  However, what I did not expect to happen was to be as blown away as I was in the sense of realising mankind’s capacity for great things like love, generosity, selflessness and inventions for the greater good.  However, man’s capacity for war, hate, death, obliteration and anguish has and, in my opinion, will always overshadow the great things. 

The science of improving on and making more advanced weapon technology is a science that should not be invested in nearly as much as it is, if at all!  It is disheartening that as more and more wars occur, there was always a progression in weapons which were more efficient at taking the lives of our fellow man. 

Much love,

Jackson L.

Christopher Nolan, you blow my mind.

Christopher Nolan, the director of many epic films such as; The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and of course writer as well as director as the famous four Oscar winning Inception has blown my mind with his seamless ability to bring epic fantasy and action movies with deep meaning to life.  I, a long with virtually everyone with any interest in cinema, eagerly await his next film – The Dark Knight Rises (out in 2012). 

Although his films are out of this world genius, it was not his films that totally blew my mind this time around.  I was watching Alan Carr: Chatty Man the other day, one of his guests was Tom Hardy.  An actor who starred in Inception as, Eames also, he acted as Charles Bronson, who is one of Britain’s most notorious prisoners, in the critically acclaimed Bronson.  He is an actor which I rate highly.  Anyway, he and Alan Carr began discussing Christopher Nolan’s personality traits and I learned that he has neither a telephone, nor a mobile phone nor an email address!

How incredibly awesome is that?! I don’t know anybody that doesn’t have a mobile phone or an email address! Even 10 year olds have phones and a Facebook and email addresses etc.  In today’s world it is unheard of not to have any of these commodities.  He chooses not to have them and I thought to myself “That is fucking awesome!”  Imagine not having the constant hassle of being obligated to respond to people who text you or call you because you know that next time you see them they will be all “Hey! I tried calling you and you didn’t pick up!?”  And you’re sat there thinking “Yeah…take a fuckin’ hint, mate!”

Don’t get me wrong, I use my phone for everything; texts, calls, email, facebook and twitter.  I am a seriously well equipped to keep in touch with the world! But, depite this, there are people who get in touch with me that I will always respond to and there are others that I just think “Why did I ever give you my number?” I just think it must be pretty sweet to not have to worry about charge on the mobile phone to keep in touch with anyone.  Imagine if you will, not having a mobile phone for a week?  Some people would lose their minds.  But, we do take all these things for granted.  When you consider the internet, I have lived in a world where the internet did not exist (I am so very glad it does exist) and we survived just fine but,  for example, a few weeks ago in my office, the internet was knocked out due to workmen cutting the wires and everyone went ape shit!!! Truth be told, I was one of those people.  I don’t think I can be without my phone or internet for more than a day.  Even when I am on holiday, I can’t help but check up on the latest sports news, world affairs, emails, what people are up to on Twitter and Facebook.  There is nothing wrong with that.  However, imagine internet did not exist tomorrow.  Despite it’s young 15-20 or so year age, it has had such a massive impact on the way communicate, access information, watch a live streaming of events and even shop, there would be chaos without it!  Although it is unlikely the internet will not just disappear one day, we really do take it for granted. 

It is a profound statement for an individual to make to not have the most forms of communication in the so called technical age.  For this reason, Mr Christopher Nolan, you have blown my mind!