matter

I have decided on the next tattoo im getting, i have a load that i want to get done eventually (when i have money) but this one has shot to the top of the list..



Darwins sketch of the tree of life, and the words 'i think'

I feel this is such a beautiful image. The fundamentals of all life that has ever existed, so tentatively put down and so cautiously suggesting what we now know to be true. Darwin was a great man whom i feel opened the worlds eyes to the true beauty and the amazing chance of lifes existance. I wish that everyone could see evolution for what it is. A fact. The indisputable explenation of life on earth and ultimately how people have come to exist. It is not an insult to say we have evolved from apes, it is a privilage to understand the marvelous complexity of life and to know that ultimately every living thing is connected.

I just want the 'tree' sketch and the words 'i think', i will leave out the notes on the right hand side. Im thinking i may have it on the inside of my left forearm.


Also Ross Kemp returns to Afghanistan starts this week, i loved the first series. Im a fan of war (hence why i am studying war peace and international relations), well perhaps fan is the wrong word but i have always been facinated by warfare, and i have always wanted to be a soldier. Anyway here is a link to the show on youtube, its really freeking good. So far only one part of the five parts of the first episode has been posted but im sure more will follow. I would recommend anyone watches it. For those in the UK its a stark reminder of what our country is asking of its soldiers, and for those around the globe it shows the professionalism and the black humor that has always been a trade mark of the British Army



And also this is one of my favorite videos of the British Army, and one that has really made me consider joining the Army after university. Im deffinately going to do the selection weekends so i can potentially go to Sandhurst and become an officer if i choose to in the future. I think its a job i could really be good at and proud of, and fuck me it would be an interesting life if nothing else.


The music on that one is brilliant too.

And finally, one of my favorite quotes of all time which i think sums up my view of a possible career in the armed forces.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;
but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievement,
and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat"

Theodore Roosevelt