Adventures

Mesothelioma

My Uncle Derek passed away this past week from cancer caused by asbestos exposure: mesothelioma. I will be traveling to Hampshire to attend his funeral on Thursday.

I know next to nothing about the disease, and it turns out that not much public money (in the grand scheme of things) is devoted to mesothelioma research.

February 27 is Action Mesothelioma Day in the UK, and the Hampshire Asbestos & Support Awareness Group is asking for sponsors for a balloon release that day. There will be events held all over the country, so if you're in the UK, check for one in your area.

If you feel like it's something you want to take part in, please click here for more information on the balloon release.

Other worthy charities helping the fight against mesothelioma are the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund and the British Lung Foundation.

I'll be back with links to US charities as soon as i have some information for you.

Derek left behind his wife Yvonne, sister Beryl, and two children, Allister and Rebecca.
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Edit: If you are in Scotland you can swim with a shark to raise money for the British Lung Foundation. I'm looking at you, Dreyfuss.

Question

A debate has been raging amongst my friends on the connotation of the word supple. Some contend it conjures up ideas of softness, while others say flexibility comes to mind. I'm not going to say which one i think it is, but i will say that i am starting to wonder about an Atlantic split on this. Preliminary findings hint at Britons saying one thing and Americans saying another.

So, what do you think?

Jerry O'Connell vs Tom Cruise

Those of you who haven't seen the Tom Cruise Scientology video can watch it in its nine and a half minute glory after the jump. This post is mainly for showing Jerry O'Connell's parody of it, which is hilarious.

Things i have been meaning to blog about

In this whirlwind that is my life (sarcasm, y'all), i often think about blogging things but then never quite get around to it. So, here's a round-up of stuff that you may or may not find amusing:

• A few weeks ago i saw a woman on the bus. This was no ordinary woman, though; she had male-pattern baldness and a serious comb-over. I wish i had surreptitiously taken a photo, but alas, the opportunity passed.

• The grocery store was crawling with OAPs today, and i don't mean the sprightly ones who don't look a day over 50. These were the ones that lurch constantly from side to side, using their hand baskets as counterweights. Thanks to my quick reflexes, i managed to narrowly avoid getting hit by a slowly moving cart being used as a walker in front of the prepared foods.
• My dissertation supervisor wasn't wearing any shoes when we met last Friday.
• Are Cadbury Creme Eggs smaller than they used to be? Or is it that my hands are bigger?
• Something i love about reading medieval chronicles is you sometimes get descriptions of wars or towns laid waste followed by a terse announcement along the lines of 'Furthermore, Bertold, the king's secretary, on whose advice everything had happened, soon went insane.' That's from The Book of Recent Deeds by Arnulf of Milan. How can you not see the humo(u)r there? Is it just me? Okay, it's probably just me.
• How totally cool is it that i have recently walked home after 4:00pm and it has not been completely pitch dark?

That's all i can think of right now. I would like an answer to the Cadbury question, though...

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Resurrection

So i was able to get the iBook back up and running late Wednesday night (thank goodness). Since then i have been catching up with Dr H.'s transcription and working on dissertation research.

I met with Prof. Andrew Roach, whom you might remember from previous posts, on Friday, and we talked about possible directions for my dissertation. What we agreed on was to focus on three events, most likely the Battle of Civitate, the Patarini movement in Milan, and possibly something to do with Frederick Barbarossa and the Lombard League.

I need to come up with a bibliography by 8 February, so i have spent the past 24 hours researching possible primary sources (texts written contemporaneously with events). If only i could read Latin a little better (and Italian & German at all).

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons