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Everything posted by Bitseach
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Love M*Beth - "The Scottish Play" (bad luck to say the name in full!) love, love, love it. Also like Hamlet a lot, and The Merchant of Venice is great (although seems anti-semitic reading/watching it with modern eyes) and Henry V - wow. Never really liked A Midsummer Night's Dream though and I think Willy Shaker was having an off day when he wrote The Taming of the Shrew! Total crap! I prefer Prokoviev's version of R&J to Shakespeare's though - probably just because I saw it first as an opera and because the music is stunning. Have you seen Sir Ian McKellan's film version of Richard III? It is one of my favourite films ever - simply breathtaking and watch it on the big screen if you can possibly do so. Suddenly it all made sense: "My Kingdom for a horse" etc and it was so well done that one barely noticed it was in Elizabethan language! WOW! Blade, where are you based? If you get the chance get to one of the performances at the Globe Theatre in London. It's been rebuilt according to the original specifications (within the limits of modern fire regs etc!) on the original site and has the female parts done by men etc. You can go down in the pits, where it is accepted, nay, encouraged to shout out in parts of the performance or in the stands (tip: pay the £ and get the seat cushion!). I saw Henry V there and it was captivating. (some people condemn it as being "theme park" Shakespeare but ignore them - it's just good fun)
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I had originally planned to support England and Ireland as far as they went and then France to the final but it looks now like that was a bad plan! (what has happened to France??) Nice to see a lot of the "smaller" teams do well though - still can't believe the USA beat Portugal but the result made me smile! I hope the US goes through to the next round.
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News just in - from http://www.bbc.co.uk in the News section. "The United States authorities say they have prevented a plot to attack the country using a radioactive dirty bomb. US Attorney-General John Ashcroft said a known terrorist, Abdullah al-Mujahir, had been apprehended on 8 May in Chicago while planning to build and explode a radiological dispersion device. He said that Mr al-Mujadir, whom he described as an operative for the Islamic militant al-Qaeda network, posed a serious and continuing threat to the US and had been put in the custody of the Defence Department. Mr al-Mujahir, a US citizen also known as Jose Padilla, was in prison in the US in the early 1990s before visiting Afghanistan and Pakistan and meeting al-Qaeda officials, Mr Ashcroft said."
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Well that's all right then - he clearly deserved it. I suppose women who wear skirts and are then raped also deserve everything they get! For God's sake, maybe the guy went into a bar for a drink and didn't read the "Red-necks only" sign on the way in. Anyway, my point that was that I *wouldn't* take a red neck over some other yobbo group for exactly the reason that they have been know to kill gay people and people from ethnic minorities!! Scum is as scum does.
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God Save the Queen!
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Good Lord - which countries are these that have powers of resurrection??! LOL Re: treatment of POWs. The difference, as I've explained earlier, is that the USA has signed the Geneva Convention (see http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm for details) and some other countries that you might be thinking about have not. Unfortunately for your argument, it does not matter at all if your enemy has signed or not - as a signatory you are bound by the Convention. It's tough! Bits' (ex British Army)
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Yes, but in an ideal world there would also be sufficient stable two-parent families for each child that needs to be adopted. There are not. It is not particularly relevant to say that homosexual couples are inherently less stable than heterosexual couples - both are pretty unstable it seems these days and many gay couples are together for decades; many straight couples last only a year or two. Even more teenage kids get pregnant with no means of looking after, caring for or paying for children and yet they are "allowed" to be mums! I have no problem with gay couples adopting children - after all they will be subject to the same stringent vetting rules as hetty couples who wish to adopt so there should be reasonable grounds to suppose that an element of stability is already there amongst those gay couples that are allowed to adopt. Incidently I know of a couple who had two children before they knew they were gay. The mum came out to herself, her friends and her children when they were about 11 and 13. Dad came out later. The two girls are now adults of 18 and 20 and are the loveliest, best balanced, coolest, most mature kids I have ever met. Oh yeah, and both kids are straight, as if it matters!
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Canadians, I have found, are VERY patriotic anyway. When they travel abroad they ALWAYS wear little maple leaf badges to ensure that none of us Euro types think they're American! LOL Interestingly, I've noticed that post-11th September America became super-patriotic and all showed their flags at every opportunity. Here in the UK it took the start of the World Cup to get us all to get out our flags! (helped by Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee celebrations at the same time of course!) I've never seen so many Union Flags and cross of St George flags as I have this few weeks. However usually people here are not really into flags unless they're right-wing fascist types so the rest of the populace don't really like flag-waving. It always amused me to see American police officers wearing US flags as shoulder patches - is it in case they forget what country they're in??
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Hi there, I can only agree with all of the above! You can't really get better than Funakoshi's books, and the Nakayama series. I also recommend "Karate GRappling Methods" by Ian Abernethy (?), which is WELL worth a read for practical applications of katas! Many you'd never have thought of!
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Yup, it's in there, though not too common. In fact it's in a kata but I can't remember the name of it right now. I'll let you know...!
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Ho hum - check this out! http://www.assh.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Patients_and_Public/Common_Hand_Concerns/Hand_Fractures.htm Gives nice pics of all the bones too!
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No, but well done indeed for getting the sponsorship and being able to go! And best of British once you get there!
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It's a good site. One of the better "chat" sites I've seen (bet you never thought you'd hear that coming from me!!) Well done and keep it up! Bits'
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LOL - probably best not to!
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Joanne I'm in exactly the same boat as you and have recently bought some training 'chucks. My first advice - BUY FOAM ONES! 'Chucks really hurt when your arms start to fatigue and your swing deteriorates to the point that you crack yourself on the head. Even the foam ones nearly concussed me one time! There's quite a good site linked from another discussion which should give you some ideas - I'll find it and be back in a mo! Here we are: http://soulgrind22.homestead.com/ Definitely worth a look, although beware that the vids take a while to download, even on a T3 line so if you're using a regular modem you'll be online for an age! Otherwise, Fumio Demura's books give a good (but a bit dull!) starting point. Apparently the second one has some katas, which I would like to learn - the first one is really basic and covers grips etc. Finally, as if you need reminding (!) don't carry them around in the street as they're classed as an offensive weapon and you'll be prosecuted in the bat of an eye! _________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My karma will run over your dogma ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [ This Message was edited by: Bitseach on 2002-06-10 09:17 ]
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Interesting, although I think the one silliness is the inclusion of belts within this system - why use the civilian eastern martial arts uniform guidelines when there are already many fine military progress systems in place? (especially when the belts are Tan, then 1st - 6th Dan!!!) Also, as every soldier has to learn self-defence and by the end of the course one is a "total marine" what does that say about the other marines - are they inadequate? Surely by the time one has completed one's Marines training and has a bit of experience one should have the necessary skills anyway? Certainly with things like bayonet skills, marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat I'd expect that of any soldier who's been through Basic Training. Bitseach (ex-British Army)
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Hmm, sounds like bunkum to me! I despair when martial artists get into all that "death stare" etc stuff! Seem to remember Gichin Funakoshi in "Karate-Do..." saying that he too thought it was all rubbish as people were making mad claims about karate even in his day! I'll stick with the master on this one! (mind you some people CAN do remarkable things with their bodies - Shaolin monks being the obvious example)
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I was SO hacked off that it was only on Pay-Per-View here in the UK and the news only was able to show stills! Aargh! Where I live we are not allowed a satellite dish (listed building), cable does not serve us and bloody ITV Digital have gone bust! So I couldn't see the fight. I was really glad to see Tyson get his arse whipped though - he really is an objectionable little man!
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I would also recommend to anyone and everyone a very good book - "Sports Injuries" by Malcolm Read. It has extensive diagnostic sections with advice for the amateur and professional and tells you soon enough when to see a health care professional! However it also has a very useful feature of rehab ladders to get you back from your injury and takes it nice and slow. I highly recommend it and have also seen it in quite a few physiotherapists' offices. Amazon.co.uk definitely do it but I'm sure you can get it from any good bookshop. [sorry if this is spam but the book really is that good!]
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I hope this isn't considered spam but I read an ad in "Runners' World" the other day from http://www.creatine.com and they have versions of creatine that are tailored towards different effects, eg, men's and women's running formula that also contains other stuff and glucosamine to help protect the joints. Might be worth a look. I note that they mention cramps in relation to water imbalance (which we all knew anyway) but claim that the creatine should help with this, but then I also note what Kickckick and others have said about needing extra water when on creatine so I guess it's a toss-up when it comes to water intake and cramps! I note also in the women's running formula that it isn't supposed to increase bulk. However I don't know how true any of these claims are, so keep letting us know your experiences! Cheers "A bhitseach"
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Ah but you don't know what size my boobs are!!!!
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Good Lord! At my old dojo you graded for something like £10 to cover admin costs and the Sensei would buy you your belt as a "well done" present!
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No no no! Not to the point that you cannot or can barely use the muscles the next day - that is too much! You run the danger, in doing this, of doing proper damage to the muscle tissue and you could end up with scar tissue, not muscle tissue! It may look bigger but will be totally useless and set you up for injuries and tears in the future and will affect your flexibility. It is true that training causes *slight* damage to the muscles tissues that increases muscle mass as the muscle repairs itself - you'll see it called "hypertrophy" - and this is why recovery days after resistance training are so important. Leave AT LEAST a day between weights work-outs for muscle regrowth to be most effective. Exercise should not be done to the point of pain, although a slight burning is usually a good sign that the muscles are being worked hard in the anaerobic range. The "no pain, no gain" ethos has largely been discredited now. Even if it means your progress might be a bit slower, keep it safe! Good luck!
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I have now started taking GS daily along with a cod liver oil capsule, and can report so far a niggling knee-pain has reduced significantly. Personally, I don't care if it's just a placebo effect or is really helping my cartilage thickness but it hurts less when I bend it. Think I'll keep taking the snake-oil now! Cheers folks!
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Patellar instability CAN be helped by quad exercises. Start gently, eg by rolling up a towel and putting it under the leg as you sit upright on your bed, legs outstretched. Then gently try to straighten the leg, pressing the towel down into the mattress. This doesn't feel hard at first but by increasing the number of reps you can exercise the quads safely and gently. I wouldn't advise jumping straight into heavily weighted leg extensions! Too much strain! However, you really must be lead by the physiotherapist, who will be able to advise you properly and who has your medical case history. Good luck!