inconsequential truths

I. The hazelnut doesn't do much for me. It's taste is vaguely reminiscent of the end of a pencil, and I don't expect it has as much nutritional clout. In order of preference in my daily nut mix;

• Brazil nuts - generally uncultivated, mostly gathered from the rainforest floor. A satisfying bite with plenty of flesh.
• Walnut - Californian (though I don't know why they couldn't be English). Slight resemblance to ossified brains of small critters so may improve mental health or the ability to climb trees. A difficult nut to extract (though in this case I didn't have to).
• Almond - a taste sensation, though thin on flesh.
• Hazelnut - mere ballast.

II. Buddhism is a religion least likely to be practiced by aspiring time-travellers. However, for actual time-travellers it could be the most likely followed.

final days

Here we are, the leftover days, after Christmas and before New Year. They sit on the edge like the unwanted half a roast potato and the cold floret of broccoli, too much. Hardly worth the effort of crossing them off on the wall calender; they seem beyond any celebration.

My Serbian new colleague, Mitch, explains his orthodox church will celebrate Christmas on the 7th January. I find out this is because the church follows the Julian calender. This seems to be a tidier set up to me. The year ends and begins, with celebration, and looking forward to Christmas festivities. No scrag end days.

This calender business is pretty arbitrary in any case. Surely sanity should prevail now and we'll move the year end back to the Winter Solstice. Every day then counting; cleanness next to Godliness, and so forth. God, I feel better already!

But these few, odd days - bookkeepers' days - good only for reflecting and resolving, and, fingers crossed, nothing happens in them to fuck up what has been for me a pretty enjoyable year. Roll on 2010.

not the God question

My ''impossible'' question is no longer impossible; it has been downgraded to ''very, very difficult''. Having played the quiz I suspect this is largely due to the number of players ''skipping'' the question instead of guessing. Even if you can't read, you still have a one in four chance of getting it right! Using intuition, you can cut the odds even more. Though relatively illiterate, I still managed a score of around 60% over 200 questions using intuition, and a smidgen of common sense. The question was never impossible.

The question that is impossible is the existence, or not, of God. I think nothing gives me less satisfaction than hearing a debate about the existence of God. Unless it's about football; I just don't get it. But there are probably many parallels between supporting teams and religion.

The question of God's existence is not relevant. It's a distraction, it's missing the point by a mile. Isn't it time religious debates moved on? What's really relevant is the wisdom that has been laid down for the benefit of mankind across all the religions - and I'm including atheist ones too. Much of this wisdom crosses religious divides. This implies that this wisdom doesn't acknowledge the supremacy of any god; it is more important that knowing gods.

Gandhi put his finger on it when asked if he was a Hindu. Yes, he replied. And a Christian, and a Muslim, and a Jew. He wasn't just being diplomatic, he was pointing beyond the differences in gods to the wisdom at their cores. Wisdom for everyone's enjoyment and benefit. Not just for followers.