Portrait of William of Ockham by Peter Paul Rubens 1617

UK: William of Ockham (1287-1347-49?) – Origin of “Occam’s Razor”! (22.8.2026)

The Church and the State would have us believe that out of this quagmire of human ignorance and darkness – rays of light emerged. I can say that William of Ockham did write copious numbers of texts on all kinds of academic and theological topics, including politics, biographies, and philosophy. Part of the delay in the examination of his work by the Vatican in the 1320s was caused by its sheer volume. And it would seem that after his “Excommunication” – the nature of his work became ever-more defiant and questioning of Church authority. I think his conflict with the Church solidified his method of the efficient use of knowledge as a means of critiquing Church dogma and theology. Indeed, William appears to become nearly “Protestant” in his argument with Avignon. He may not have coined the term “Occam’s Razor” (why would a humble monk do such a strange thing?) – but he certainly earned the right to be considered a strong candidate for its modern inception due to the nature of the hostility he had to contend with. Although I am always suspicious of bourgeois sources (due to their a priori anti-Socialist position) – I believe we can trust the two I have included below. As always – think for yourself.

The Beautiful Boy!

Emails: The Homosocial World of King James I – as Recorded in Shakespeare’s Sonnets! (10.3.2024)

The Sonnets have been altered, suppressed and repressed over the last four hundred years – and particularly since the advent of the 1885 anti-gay laws in the UK (passed at the same time as the ancient Age of Consent of ’12’ was raised to ’13’ and then to ’16’ in quick succession) which were used to try and imprison Oscar Wilde in 1895. With the 1967 abolition of these anti-gay laws (which outlawed sexual activity between consenting adult men) – the Sonnets were once again lauded as masterpieces of observation and wit. I suspect that an updated edition of Arden will introduce a more astute LBGTQN+ interpretation – one that this community might well find inspiring and uplifting.

Exhibits – ABBEY MILLS: MERTON PRIORY CHAPTER HOUSE – 900 YEAR OLD WOODEN ARCH! PART 5 (7.8.2022)

We met Mr John Hawks (who owns Toby the dog) who personally introduced my daughter – Mei-An to a computer screen and keyboard featuring a Minecraft programme relating to the exhibition! Mei-An skilfully navigated the challenges and completed all the tasks without a hitch and with John Hawks watching! All very impressive! We were also pleased to meet other Chinese people visiting amongst the multicultural crowd! Please enjoy the following photographs and happy learning!

UK’s Earliest Parliament (1236 CE) – ABBEY MILLS: MERTON PRIORY CHAPTER HOUSE – 900 YEAR OLD WOODEN ARCH! PART 3 (7.8.2022)

Abbey Mills has always seemed to be a busy commercial area of South London and has a long history – like much of this area. In the old days, much of the UK was covered with Catholic monasteries, churches and many other similar buildings, Following the dissolution of the monasteries during the late 1530s, all this Catholic dominance came to a sudden, dramatic and violent end when Henry VIII decided he would no longer recognise the dominance and authority of the Pope! This single act changed the world forever and ushered in modernity, individualism and capitalism! The Old Church was replaced with a ‘new’ version that was then spread throughout the world through British (and European) colonialism! The point is that we are all the product of history – that is ‘of what came before’ – and that these strata of our being lies primarily buried beneath our feet and awaits rediscovery! Experts, governments, individuals and special interest groups can argue about the provenance of these finds, but one point everyone involved in this debate agrees upon is that history is undoubtedly beneath our feet!

Video Footage – ABBEY MILLS: MERTON PRIORY CHAPTER HOUSE – 900 YEAR OLD WOODEN ARCH! PART 2! (7.8.2022)

Hopefully, these random videos will assist people all over the UK (and the world) to understand and appreciate this wonderful exhibition of 12th century British history! Furthermore, we want to assist the elderly, the vulnerable and people with disabilities and difficulties to experience this exhibition ‘remotely’ – so that they are not excluded from the sharing of British history – which belongs to us all! After teaching Chinese martial arts this morning, we drove from Sutton to South Wimbledon (a distance of 3.9 miles) which took about 30 minutes to achieve! We then walked a slightly longer way around the supermarket and along the river until we reached ‘Chapter House’ – a place we did not know exactly where it was! However, the day was sunny, we were happy and time was on our side!