I have not watched football, or soccer as I prefer to call it, in ages. When I did, I was impressed by the level of performance, the intensity of the match and the agression by the two sides.
On the 29th of August, Manchester United faced off with their rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford. Despite attacking furiously at the start, it was Arsenal who drew first blood. Arshavin's thunderbolt strike hit the back of the net in the 40th minute, although United goalkeeper Ben Foster managed to get a touch on it. From then on Arsenal got the better of the match till Arsenal goalkeeper Alumia tripped Rooney in the box, and Rooney converted the penalty to make it 1-1 in the 59th minute.
Arsenal then attempted to take the lead, but 6mintues later Diaby scored an own goal, beating Rooney to the ball, making it 2-1. Diaby came close to equalising for his side a few mintutes later, and Nani and Berbatov almost extended Manchester's lead.
Towards the end of the match, van Persie scored for Arsenal, but his goal was ruled offside. Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager threw a tantrum and got sent off. He unprofessionally refused to go to the tunnel, and only complied after the referee's insistence.
The match ended a few seconds later, with cheers from the united fans.
November Foxtrot
The Alternative: Keeping it cool
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A discussion on evolution and intelligent design (Science and Technology)
Recently, the article on 12 September 2007 titled "The Flaws of Carbon Dating" has attracted a lot of pro and anti-evolutionary arguments. To help us clarify the controversey is, we invited our editor (defensedefumer), who is currently studying biology at university level to explain. Our interviewer is ex-actor Torch;D, whose knowledge of science is second-hand and sketchy.
Note: The transcript has been edited to for this blog (because we use pseudonyms).
Torch;D: Hello boss!
defensedefumer: Hello, Torch;D! It's great to see you once again.
(Some light-hearted chit-chatter)
Torch;D: Ok boss, I got a job to do, and I have a few questions about evolution and intelligent design. What is evolution? Keep it simple for the ex-actor here.
defensedefumer: There are many definitations, but the simplest and yet accurate one would be the change of the genetic material of one population of organisms to from one generation to the next generation.
Torch;D: What is intelligent design then?
defensedefumer: Well, admittedly there has not really been clear definitation to my knowledge yet, but a safe bet would be that certain features of the universe and biological systems are best explained by an intelligent cause.
Torch;D: There does not seem to be a conflict; they both seem pretty ok to me.
defensedefumer: I know, it sounds peaceful right? But intelligent design insists that natural selection, a mechanism of evolution cannot produce complex biologoical systems like the eye, or the bacterial motor, known as flagellum.
Torch;D: I know this sounds elementary, but what is natural selection?
defensedefumer: To simpify it, it is the process in which heritable traits make incresases the survivalibility of organisms to reach reproductive age to be more common over generations.
Torch;D: The survival of the fittest?
defensedefumer: More accurately, the survival of the fit enough. As long as a heritable genetic trait that enables a organism to survive long enough to reproduce, it's natural selection.
Torch;D: What is the mechanism for intelligent desgin, then?
defensedefumer (pauses for a moment to think): Irreducible complexity. To put it simply, if something is too complex to be evolved, it must have been abruptly 'designed' there.
Torch;D: I don't see a problem with that.
defensedefumer: The problem is that it is not science! Science seeks naturalistic explainations for naturalistic events. It's an argument from ignorance-- I can't see how something is done, therefore God must have did it. That's bad science.
Torch;D: But you are Christian, aren't you?
defensedefumer: Yes, I am. But evolution is not atheisitc-- like any science, it is areligion! It does not care if you believe in a God or not. It just seeks naturalistic causes. God is supernatural, and outside science.
Torch;D: Isn't evolution just a theory?
defensefumer: The word "theory" is very different in scientific language from English-- it represents a higher understanding of the facts availible. So, yes it is a theory in a way that it best explains the facts we have, and also a fact as accepted by mainstream scientists. Don't get me wrong, I believe in an intelligent designer, but that's not what intelligent design is.
Torch;D: Isn't evolution unobservable?
defensdefumer: It is. There's nylon-digesting bacteria, human chromosome 2 and the fossil evidence.
Torch;D: So I see. Thanks for your time.
defensedefumer: A pleasure! I have some books to recommend if you're interested. "Finding Darwin's God" and "Monkey Girl" are good books to start!
(End of transcript)
Torch;D
The Alternative: Reporting theories and facts.
Note: The transcript has been edited to for this blog (because we use pseudonyms).
Torch;D: Hello boss!
defensedefumer: Hello, Torch;D! It's great to see you once again.
(Some light-hearted chit-chatter)
Torch;D: Ok boss, I got a job to do, and I have a few questions about evolution and intelligent design. What is evolution? Keep it simple for the ex-actor here.
defensedefumer: There are many definitations, but the simplest and yet accurate one would be the change of the genetic material of one population of organisms to from one generation to the next generation.
Torch;D: What is intelligent design then?
defensedefumer: Well, admittedly there has not really been clear definitation to my knowledge yet, but a safe bet would be that certain features of the universe and biological systems are best explained by an intelligent cause.
Torch;D: There does not seem to be a conflict; they both seem pretty ok to me.
defensedefumer: I know, it sounds peaceful right? But intelligent design insists that natural selection, a mechanism of evolution cannot produce complex biologoical systems like the eye, or the bacterial motor, known as flagellum.
Torch;D: I know this sounds elementary, but what is natural selection?
defensedefumer: To simpify it, it is the process in which heritable traits make incresases the survivalibility of organisms to reach reproductive age to be more common over generations.
Torch;D: The survival of the fittest?
defensedefumer: More accurately, the survival of the fit enough. As long as a heritable genetic trait that enables a organism to survive long enough to reproduce, it's natural selection.
Torch;D: What is the mechanism for intelligent desgin, then?
defensedefumer (pauses for a moment to think): Irreducible complexity. To put it simply, if something is too complex to be evolved, it must have been abruptly 'designed' there.
Torch;D: I don't see a problem with that.
defensedefumer: The problem is that it is not science! Science seeks naturalistic explainations for naturalistic events. It's an argument from ignorance-- I can't see how something is done, therefore God must have did it. That's bad science.
Torch;D: But you are Christian, aren't you?
defensedefumer: Yes, I am. But evolution is not atheisitc-- like any science, it is areligion! It does not care if you believe in a God or not. It just seeks naturalistic causes. God is supernatural, and outside science.
Torch;D: Isn't evolution just a theory?
defensefumer: The word "theory" is very different in scientific language from English-- it represents a higher understanding of the facts availible. So, yes it is a theory in a way that it best explains the facts we have, and also a fact as accepted by mainstream scientists. Don't get me wrong, I believe in an intelligent designer, but that's not what intelligent design is.
Torch;D: Isn't evolution unobservable?
defensdefumer: It is. There's nylon-digesting bacteria, human chromosome 2 and the fossil evidence.
Torch;D: So I see. Thanks for your time.
defensedefumer: A pleasure! I have some books to recommend if you're interested. "Finding Darwin's God" and "Monkey Girl" are good books to start!
(End of transcript)
Torch;D
The Alternative: Reporting theories and facts.
Friday, August 14, 2009
North Korea releases two journalists (International News)
On the 5th of August 2009, North Korea released two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling back to the United States, after former president Bill Clinton paid a visit to the country.
I wonder what Bill Clinton said or offered to Kim Jong-Il. Afterall, he did what his wife failed to do. Perhaps it is just simply the act of making an ex-president come over.
Natasha Romanov
The Alternative: Skeptical or suspicious?
I wonder what Bill Clinton said or offered to Kim Jong-Il. Afterall, he did what his wife failed to do. Perhaps it is just simply the act of making an ex-president come over.
Natasha Romanov
The Alternative: Skeptical or suspicious?
Saturday, August 08, 2009
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review (Entertainment News)
To treat it seriously is to miss the point. I think I said it before, and I'll write it again-- G.I. Joe is a great film. Thin on plot, fantastic on action and excellant on effects, it does not disappoint. Just do not try to wonder why any government would give the Joes high-technology equipment and not their own soldiers. Or why normal soldiers' grenades cannot hurt the forces of Cobra, but the Joes using the same grenades can.
I really like the appearance of Brendan Fraser and Arnold Vosloo. I was kind of hoping of a few 'Mummy' references, but I guess it was too much to ask.
Well, the one thing I learnt was-- some people are too pretty to be bad.
Overall: 73/100
Nurlisa
The Alternative: It's good to be cool.
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