The word “vegetable” is a culinary term while the word “fruit” can be either a culinary term or a botanical term. So it appears that tomatoes and cucumbers are both fruits and vegetables; they don’t have to be one or the other! While they are fruits in the botanical sense, they are vegetables in the culinary sense.

An interesting side point which I just found out today: The advice you sometimes see on packets of peanuts stating that they may contain nuts isn’t as silly as you might think… apparently a peanut isn’t actually a nut!

Let us compare Russia’s entry to the United Kingdom:

Russia chose a singer who has won both Artist of the Year and Song of the Year at the MTV Russia Music Awards more than once. He has had several number one hits in Russia and is launching an international career. Russia invested over €10million and Bilan was accompanied on stage by one of Russia’s top violinists and an Olympic figure skater.

The United Kingdom sent a bin man.

Now maybe I’m being unfair. I like Andy Abraham and I think he is good. Personally I feel that he was on par with Shane Ward and either of them could have won X-Factor and deserved it. On Saturday night, he gave the performace of his life for his country. He sang well, he performed well but I just don’t think the song was right for Eurovision.

I believe that with a good song and a good singer, the United Kingdom could still do well and could even still win again. We last won in 1997 with Love Shine A Light and came third in 2002 with Jessica Garlick’s Come Back. She performed second on the night (statistically the worse spot) and I believe with a better draw, she could have won. Since Jessica Garlick, we’ve had a string of poor songs. When we don’t the competition seriously, the rest of Europe won’t take us seriously and won’t vote for us.

The options this year that the BBC gave the British public to vote on were poor. Let’s select a decent song next year and see what happens.

Dima Bilan previously represented Russia in 2006 and came a close second to Finland’s Lordi. This year they have been drawn to perform second last on the night which is a very strong position. The song is strong and the performance is memorable with Olympic gold medalist Evgeni Plushenko skating on ice on stage!

Bilan is currently recording his first international album in English which is being produced by Timbaland. One of the tracks on this album is a recently recorded duet with Nelly Furtado. In the past, he has also perfomed on stage with Shakira, The Black Eyed Peas, t.A.T.u., Michael Jackson, Beyonce and Rihanna.

Bilan enjoys enourmous success and popularity in Eastern Europe and with the strong position, strong song and strong performance, he has everything going for him in this competition so you have to believe in Russia!

Russia are the most successful country never to win the contest with four top three results so far this decade. I predict the first Russian win on Saturday night.

I think I might be the same though. I can’t remember the last time I left a voicemail message. I prefer to hang up and send a txt instead or generally just send a txt in the first place. I actually prefer txting to talking on the phone. Is this common? Are we becoming a nation of txters rather than talkers?

I have no doubt that the parents of the girl who died did not want their daughter to die. I believe that they think that they did the right thing and according to their beliefs, they did. I think they were wrong. But who am I to say that they are wrong? Do I have that right?

I’m not a religious person but I respect those who are and I am of the belief, along with many other people, that religious faith and science are not mutually exclusive and that prayer should be used alongside modern medicine. This idea reminded me of the story of the flood; you’ll probably know this one…

A flood threatens a town, forcing everyone to evacuate.
But Joe thinks, “I’m a devout man, God will save me,” and stays put.
As the waters rise, Joe’s neighbour comes by and says, “Joe come with me, we’ve got to go.”
Joe declines, “I’m a devout man, God will save me.”
The waters keep rising. Joe scrambles to his second floor. A fire-fighter in a rowboat comes by. “Get in the boat or you’ll drown,” he says.
Joe again declines, saying, “I’m a devout man, God will save me.”
Finally, the flood waters force Joe to his roof. A police helicopter comes by and throws down a rope. “Climb up or you’ll drown,” the policeman yells.
“No, I’m a devout man, God will save me,” Joe replies.
Soon, Joe drowns. He arrives in heaven and challenges God. “Why didn’t you help me?”
“What do you mean?” God says. “I did help. I sent your neighbour, a fire-fighter and a helicopter.”

People have the right to refuse medical treatment and if people have a belief system that doesn’t allow medical treatment then that is fair enough. However, when it comes to their children, I don’t know if parents should have the right to withhold medical treatment. I understand a parent’s right to raise their child in their faith? Who has the right to tell someone else how to raise their child?

It’s fair enough saying that this case proves that parent’s who refuse treatment for their children should be overruled. But where do you draw the line?  Should doctors or the government be able to overrule parents when it comes to the well being of their children? What if someone else was trying to impose their beliefs on your child? Is it ok to say that certain people’s beliefs are just wrong? Are we heading for a religious fascism where only the beliefs of those in power are right?

Today, MPs have voted to allow the creation of hybrid human animal embryos for medical research. The research has the potential to develop cures for serious illnesses that affect many people today. Despite the good that could come from this, the research is controversial and I would bet that many of those who disapproved of the parents’ actions will also oppose this research.

So just as some believe that any medical treatment is wrong, some believe that only some degrees of medicine is acceptable. Where do you draw the line? Who is right and who is wrong? I would say those who oppose advancing scientific research are just as guilty as the parents who refused treatment for their children.