BlindFish Ideas

Celebrating the Dead For something different with the students I decided to do a lecture exploring the Mexican day of the dead. The main reason for this was to practice the critical evaluation process for religious events. I choose Dia de Los Muertos as I guessed (rightly) that they did not have a pre-existent understanding of the religious, cultural and theological elements of the celebration.  Great summary of the festival can be read here .  In my own research for the lecture I tried to read as much as I could about the Mexican tradition and the wider catholic tradition of All Saints and All Souls day. In all my research I was stuck by one over arching idea. Death is not a taboo subject that is feared in Mexico. Death is celebrated as an essential, positive and even humorous part of existence. The festivals seems to have two sides, the remembering of dead relatives (with associated belief of the souls returning to earth) and the celebration of death. Both sides intrigue me b

Huff Po Highlights the moral questions involved with slutty Halloween I have always been surprised how girl react to Halloween. Normally reserved girls may suddenly dress up like vixen exposing more flesh in the middle of Autumn then they ever do at the height of summer. Beyond just the amount on show it surprises me how much much sexually suggestive and provocative content finds it way into to costumes. Now I do believe that for some girls they are choosing this style and may even find it freeing but my concern is the growing social pressure to conform to this pressure. It is well established that media impacts young minds. I doubt that every young girl is happy in the costume they are finding themselves in. I do feel this issue highlights how sexism is still a strong undercurrent in culture with the expectations it places on women. I believe this is an example of how women are still expected to be sexual objects for men. Objects that must conform to specific pressures. Pressure tha

Just seeing if I can link my public post easily into my blog using ifttt.com from Gareth Cheesman - Google+ Post Feed Just seeing if I can link my public post easily into my blog using ifttt.com http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Getting ready for my own personal day of the dead celebration More photos from Gareth Cheesman Día de los Muertos

learning more about the structure of HIV Found this up close representation of the HIV virus. Liking how I know kinda understand what the different parts all do. #sexed from Gareth Cheesman - Google+ Post Feed https://plus.google.com/105027235212851335345/posts/8DkEpaLFi7ihttp://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

Just Say No! Rick Perry's approach to sex education has helped Texas boost ... from Gareth Cheesman - Google+ Post Feed https://plus.google.com/105027235212851335345/posts/1ZsVSa2ohKfhttp://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

. COOL! Lego Time Twister Clock! . *Amazing Action! ( Not what you expect! ) . Please Share and Thumbs up! Time Twister - LEGO Mindstorms Digital Clock ! from Gareth Cheesman - Google+ Post Feed https://plus.google.com/105027235212851335345/posts/KH3frjBbdtZhttp://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

I created this image to use as a discussion starter in my work, what do people think about it? I wanted to think about how gender equality is often present in attitudes towards oral sex, especially (but not always) by me. #sexed from Gareth Cheesman - Google+ Post Feed https://plus.google.com/105027235212851335345/posts/6EbGKrZEjxfhttp://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

I know its silly but i love this video Funny Cat Playing Basketball from Gareth Cheesman - Google+ Post Feed https://plus.google.com/105027235212851335345/posts/46XEafUEPamhttp://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

The New Zealand rugby team performs a 'haka' before each match. It's a Maori war challenge dance. During the Rugby World Cup several 'Flash Hakas' happened around New Zealand. Michelle sent me this one which I think is fantastic. from Gareth Cheesman - Google+ Post Feed https://plus.google.com/105027235212851335345/posts/bGk3YvAexc2http://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png

HPV vaccine for boys to prevent cancer Just dug down to find the transcript of the USA CDC press release about its recommendation for all boys to get the HPV vaccine. Just wanted to highlight a couple of points from what they said. "The committee did feel the burden of disease in males justified routine vaccination. They thought that there was likely to be additional benefit to girls and women by reducing the spread of the virus but they did think that the burden of disease in males alone was sufficient to recommend the vaccine." This to me is key that the CDC recognises that the threat of cancer for men is high enough to justify a costly vaccination campaign. This is not just about protecting women (who are recognised as at a higher risk of fatal cervical cancer). This is also about protecting men which I do see as an issue of equality. "The quadrivalent vaccine that Merck produces, Gardasil, has been approved for use in males by the FDA. These recommendations for m

Now I want the new nokia windows phone but this bendy concept phone look amazing. Even though I am a google fan boy I don't really crave an android phone. Partly because i have always liked Nokia phones for their camera build quality. So lets hope I can get the new nokia phone soon and i will keep my eyes peeled for this bendy phone. EditNokia's flexible user interface prototype demo

I have very mixed feelings about this story. As a Christian I believe in prayer, I believe God can and does heal people from HIV. But I struggle with pastors encouraging HIV patients to stop taking medicine. I strongly believe medical science is a gift from God and rejecting medicine can mean rejecting God. If anyone believes God has healed them that is great but genuine medical confirmation should...Expand this post »I have very mixed feelings about this story. As a Christian I believe in prayer, I believe God can and does heal people from HIV. But I struggle with pastors encouraging HIV patients to stop taking medicine. I strongly believe medical science is a gift from God and rejecting medicine can mean rejecting God. If anyone believes God has healed them that is great but genuine medi

Just been asked to go on BBC radio Merseyside again, should be on about 8AM. You can They want me to talk about a new brook study about "how good is sex education in schools." Couldn't find a copy of the study on the brook website. But i think this Guardian article is talking about it. I think you should be able to listen to it http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/merseyside/How good is sex education in schools?A new report says that young people find their sex and relationship education lacking. So what can be done to improve it?