Valkyrie

Yr hyn sy’n arbennig am y ffilm hon yw bod unigolyn yn penderfynu gwneud ei benderfyniad ei hun. Mae cymeriad Claus von Stauffenberg yn barod i herio’r sefyllfa bresennol yn hytrach na derbyn popeth yn ddi-gwestiwn. Roedd y rhan fwyaf o bobl yr Almaen ar y pryd yn tueddu i dderbyn popeth heb feddwl a dilyn ei gilydd fel defaid. Wrth gwrs, roedd peiriant propaganda’r unben yn gryf yn ystod y cyfnod hwn, ac mae’n bur debygol bod y rhan fwyaf o’r boblogaeth, a’r rhan fwyaf o’r fyddin hefyd, yn anymwybodol o’r hyn oedd yn digwydd mewn gwirionedd. Neu roedd llawer ohonynt yn ymwybodol o’r hyn oedd yn digwydd ond ofn herio’r awdurdod. Wrth gwrs, pan ddaeth Hitler i’r amlwg yn y tridegau roedd y wlad yn dioddef yn sgîl problemau ariannol byd-eang ar ôl chwalfa Wall Street ar ddiwedd yr 1920au. Roedd pobl yr Almaen eisiau credu ynddo a’r hyn yr oedd yn ei bregethu. Roedd yn hawdd dylanwadu ar genedl a oedd wedi colli ei hyder ar ôl cytundeb Versailles. Efallai mai’r wers i ni heddiw yw peidio chwilio am atebion hawdd mewn sefyllfaoedd anodd. I ryw raddau mae’r un peth yn digwydd yn yr Unol Daleithiau heddiw – mae pobl yn barod am newid ac eisiau croesawu’r cysyniad yma o obaith. Dyna ddigwyddodd yn yr Almaen yn y tridegau – roedd y bobl yn chwilio am arweinydd cryf ac yn dyheu am ddyfodol llewyrchus. Nid bod Arlywydd America’n mynd i droedio’r un llwybr. Ond mae’n dweud rhywbeth am seicoleg pobl, ein bod ni’n rhy barod i ddisgwyl y gall unigolyn drawsnewid sefyllfa. Rydym yn rhy barod i ddwyfoli unigolion.

Pratchett's PCs

I thought the first programme on Terry Pratchett was interesting. I was fascinated to see his PC setup. Wow! This man has six monitors!!! Why does he need six monitors? He answered by saying something like 'the only reason I have six monitors is because I cannot afford eight.' A clever answer, but seriously. I'm sure there is enough EMF coming from this single monitor, let alone six of the things. Later in the programme he mentioned that he had been suffering blurred vision recently. I understand that Alzheimer's is a serious disease, and he is to be commended for bringing attention to this issue. But you cannot help questioning the health implications of sitting in front of six LCD monitors for, presumably, hours on end.
What inspired me about the programme is that he is ready to do something about his condition. He is facing his disease with a rare combination of will and humour which will undoubtedly help others.

Astrological nonsense

How on earth (pun intended) can the position of the stars tell me what I should or should not eat. According to Chinese astrology I should feast on lobster, tuna, clams, oysters, spinach, radishes, cabbage, corn, lentils, peanuts and lemons. And, being a Dragon (and I welcome that part of the philosophy), apparently my worst enemy is caffeine in large amounts.
This is total nonsense. Such a diet would be monotonous, limited and boring. Let's consider them one by one:-
lobster - no idea how to eat it
tuna - girly food
clams - are these the same as mussels? If so, good
Oysters - can't open the damned things
spinach - only tastes acceptable as an Indian side dish
radishes - disgustingly bitter
cabbage - to be avoided at all costs (trust the instincts you had at primary school)
corn - excellent and versatile - can you believe popcorn and nachos come from the same thing?
lentils - too veggie, but again as a side dish, yes please
peanuts - if some people have life-threating reactions to them shouldn't we all tread carefully?
lemons - why the hell would someone eat a lemon?
As for coffee, discovering real coffee (rather than that freeze-dried rubbish) has been one of the great discoveries of recent years.