In the World

I posted on twitter/FB today that I had some really strange dreams last night. A few people asked me about them, so I’ve relented and will post it here. I apologize in advance for the blank spots. Dreams are like that: They don’t have to make sense.

//start dream//

I’m sitting in a train station, on a bench on the platform.

A train passes through the station, and stops suddenly. Over the loudspeaker, it is announced that there was an accident, and that Dora the Explorer is trapped under the engine guard.

For some reason, this really upsets me, and I determine that I have to go save Dora.

I run to the end of the platform, and in moments find myself lost in the middle of an endless swamp crisscrossed by sections of rotting wooden platforms. I begin jumping from crumbling dock to dock, trying to make my way to the front of the train, which is nowhere in sight.

After a while, I am overcome with emotion and collapsed, crying and screaming. For some reason, Dora being trapped under the train still has me greatly upset.

Eventually, I see some birds circling overhead. I stand up, and the birds fly back towards the platform, which has reappeared. In the distance, I can see that the train has started moving again.

Suddenly, I find myself running through a store. I pass several clothing racks, and stop at a shelf full of large plastic spaceship models.

And then I woke up.

//end dream//

So, did I make anyone’s brain explode?

I am a big science fan. Our universe is full of things that we cannot even begin to understand.

I’m reading a book right now called 13 Things That Don’t Make Sense by Michael Brooks. It’s a very interesting little work on some of the persistent mysteries in the various fields of science.

One of the most interesting issues (to me at least) is a controversy that I hadn’t even heard of until now, called the Pioneer Anomaly. Google Pioneer Anomaly for an in-depth look. In a nutshell, though, the Pioneer Anomaly appears to disprove more than 400 years of accepted Newtonian science concerning gravity. It gets its name from NASA’s Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft, whose trajectories through space don’t line up with what the accepted science says. In other words, the math that says how gravity will influence their flight is wrong.

The answer could be something simple, like “some NASA scientist forgot to carry a one”, or something complex like “everything we know about physics is wrong”.

In any case, it’s fascinating to read about. A real science detective story. Exciting!

Oh, and there’s new pics from everyone’s favorite orbital observatory! The Hubble lives!

So my blog is here now, rather than where it was before. Pardon the mess. I’ll have the graphics and themes sorted out soon.

Until then, READ THIS!

Last week saw the premiere of the orchestral arrangement of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

The premise is pretty simple: Show The Two Towers, but without the musical soundtrack. The music is all performed by a live orchestra, while the movie is playing.

I saw The Fellowship of the Ring last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was very surprised, however, at the sheer number of people who had never actually seen the movies. Okay, not surprised: shocked, dismayed, and aghast. To me, not having seen Lord of the Rings is very nearly one of Paul’s unforgivable sins, ranking up there with not having seen Star Wars, Back to the Future, Aliens, or The Princess Bride.

But enough about my life as The Critic.

What I really wanted to post about was this car I saw while leaving the Wolf Trap center:

Notice the sticker above the brake light, and then notice the license plate. There were large door-sized posters on each side of the car, but I was already embarrassing everyone who was with me, so I settled for this one crappy photo.

So yes, I’ll agree with the sticker, but with the caveat that church is spelled with a lower-case “c”. “Church” with a big “C” is something that true believers can’t “come out of”, because the “Church” is the body of believers. A “church” is just a building, or a grouping of like-minded people, or any other “Christian” event where Christ is not present.

And on to the license plate: KJV only. Really? Of all the positive, encouraging, life-affirming, Christ-affirming messages you could preach, THIS is what you get a vanity license plate for?

What happened to peace, love, and justice? [Insert your own "In the name of the moon" joke here]

I’m going to go out on a limb here and bet that the driver of this car wouldn’t find my current favorite translation of the Bible to be very, well, “canonical” isn’t the right word…but I’m not going to re-write this sentence to be able to use the word “heretical”.

I would imagine that this translation would also be unsuitable. And this one. And especially this one.

Oh, and if you’re the owner of the car in the above photograph, shoot me an e-mail. We can get together, throw back a few beers, and argue over who has the best translation. Or we could duel it out in Rock Band.