Wandering Elder

I recently watched the first episode of the program "How the Universe Works."  I found it to be moderately okay.  The Nova series "The Fabric of the Cosmos" is far more instructive, in my opinion. But, if you do watch the first episode of "How the Universe Works" which is focused on the Big Bang Theory (not the television show, either), you will probably come to deal with two facts. 1.  The people who designed the show only had one graphic to demonstrate the concept of the initial explosion of the universe.  You will see the same big blue explosion over and over and over and over and over.  It gets so bad that you forget to listen to the narration because you are too busy thinking, "Don't they have any other video effects to use?" 2.  You might have a slight sense of disquiet resting with you by the end of the program. It is the second aspect that I would address. Even if you haven't seen the show, the theory of the Big Bang seems ...

I would like to take a departure from my usual writings. ...come to think of it, I don't know that I have "usual" at this point in my blog. Anyway, I wanted to do a music review. It has to do with the most recent entry from the band Yes (remember them from the 80's?), entitled Fly From Here .  Though it came out in 2011, I thought I might offer something of a retro-review. If you have kept up with their career over the years, you will be aware of the fact that the roster for this band is huge.  With the exception of Chris Squire, the bass player, there is no one who has appeared on every album, and that catalogue is extensive, going back to their first record, simply entitled Yes in 1969.  In 1980, the longtime front man, Jon Anderson, left the band.  Pushing forward, the remaining members added to their mix Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes.  The album the created, Drama was one of those that I found quite enjoyable musically.  Squire's bass playing e...

A friend of mine and I were speaking in general terms about the authority of the pastor within the context of the local church.  As I wrote in my post a few weeks ago, sometimes the authority of the church subverts itself, as in the case of stigmatics, by proclaiming them to be persons with a special revelation, but then have to backpedal when or if that revelation runs counter to the accepted and orthodox traditions. On the other hand, as my friend and I were saying, the Protestant church itself is struggling with the issue of pastoral authority.  Not because we have stigmatics running around proclaiming against us, but because we have congregations in which the pastor is not viewed as the theological authority.  Let me explain how that happens. In many cases, the authority of the pastor is only granted so long as the pastor preaches or teaches that which is already accepted as 'true.'  In other words, the pastor has authority if what they say matches with wh...

I recently went back and watched Batman Forever - that's the less remembered one from the old 80's and early 90's run with Val Kilmer as Batman.  It is pretty over the top in most respects.  But as I watched it, I began to realize that not only have the comic book genre movies become far more complicated and visually stunning, they also have a different atmosphere about them.  Comic Book Movies for sure, but they don't make themselves as caricatures of the comics from which they originate.  That I find refreshing.  I have been a comic book fan since when I was quite young.  In many ways I feel that comic book movies are just now starting to match the imagination and vibrancy they had within their pages.  With a few exceptions, most of the comic book movies out now  can be taken seriously by comic book fans and movie fans alike - and one doesn't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy or grasp the movie.  By that, I mean one doesn't have t...