Please Don't Forget How to Dance

After reading Kansas Bob's post on While we're here we should dance, the notion of dancing has been playing on my mind. Not that I am a dancer or anything. It is the notion that that dancing as a celebration of life. God is also known as Lord of the dance. Perichoresis or the relationship of the Persons in the Trinity is liken to a dance. So dancing as a celebration of life and of God.

Last night I was watching the War Prayer episode of Babylon 5. My daughter and I have decided to watch the whole series and the movies in the sequence it was aired. In that episode in the first season, Centaurian ambassador Londo Mollari said this to Vir, his aide.

Something my father said. He was old, very old at the time. I went into his room, and he was sitting alone in the dark, crying. So I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "My shoes are too tight, but it doesn't matter, because I have forgotten how to dance." I never understood what that meant until now. My shoes are too tight, and I have forgotten how to dance.

This episode deals with the call of duty and traditions in the Centuarian society. Marriages are arranged and are often used as means for merger of noble houses to make themselves more powerful. There is no room for love or free will. The ambassador realised too late for him that "My shoes are too tight, and I have forgotten how to dance."

Both of us are struck by this scene. Life has a tendency to tie us down and force us to conform to expectations and the norms of society. Hopefully it has not bound us so tightly that we are presently "living lives of quiet desperation." May we live life of moderation and not forget how to dance. May we not be so tied down by our obligations that we forget how to live, or have a life.

Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. ^Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.

(Ecclesiastes 5:18, 19).

The Twilight Zone - Are We There Yet?

I always like the Twilight Zone.



50 years later, 'Twilight Zone' bridges time

By WILLIAM KATES (AP) – 1 day ago

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call 'The Twilight Zone.'" — Rod Serling

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — On a Friday night in October 1959, Americans began slipping into a dimension of imagination as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. They've really never returned.

"The Twilight Zone," first submitted for the public's approval by a reluctant CBS, has resonated with viewers from generation to generation with memorable stories carrying universal messages about society's ills and the human condition.

Like the time-space warps that anchored so many of the show's plots, Rod Serling's veiled commentary remains as soul-baring today as it did a half-century ago, and the show's popularity endures in multiple facets of American pop culture.

The complete list of episodes here

My favorite is "To Serve Man."

What is yours?

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The Babylon 5 Song

Creative Spaces

Photographer Kyle Cassidy undertakes a project to photograph the creative space where some science fiction writes writes.

Take a peek here

Movie Review on Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation also known in short as Terminator 4 continues the hugely popular Terminator series which started with the movie, The Terminator (1984).

The year is 2018 and the "future" largely anticipated in the three movies, comics, novels, and a television series is here. John Connor is a leader in the Resistance movement against Skynet, an artificial intelligence intent on the annihilation of all human beings on earth. Those who are familiar with the Terminator storyline will know that Skynet achieved consciousness in 2004 and launched all nuclear missiles causing massive destruction in a day called "Judgment Day."

I enjoyed this movie. The story telling is fast paced, with lots of boom and mayhem, plenty of new Terminator machines and a thought provoking plot.

[warning: movie spoilers]

Basically this is about redemption. What will redemption involve- for a person and for humanity on the whole? The movie begins in 2003 when death roll Marcus Wright, a convicted repentant prisoner signed over his body to Cyberdyne for research purposes. Marcus was executed by a lethal injection. Judgment Day happened the next year.

Marcus was awakened in 2018 by a Resistance attack on the lab which stored his body. As the story develops, he found that he was a cyborg with a human heart and mechanical body and a chip implanted in his brain. Unwittingly he was part of Skynet's plan to trap John Connor, who has by now became an influential voice of the Resistance, though not one of its upper echelon leaders.


Marcus Wright is the hero of this movie. He was given a second chance for life by Skynet. He used his life well in saving Kyle Reese, a teenager he befriended (the future John Connor's father) and John Connor. In doing so, he shows how human beings are different from machines. Human beings have free will, compassion and moral conscience. By saving John Connor, Marcus actually offers salvation for John Connor himself, and through Connor, the human race. Though the movie is appropriately named Terminator Salvation, it may also be titled Terminator Redemption.

Most if not all of us have regrets in this life. By our actions or inactions, we have hurt people and cause undesirable consequences. I wonder how will we redeem our regrets if we are given a chance. And if we are given a second chance at life, how will we live the new life?

As I have mention in finding biblical allusions in apocalyptic stories there is much we can learn from the Terminator series. John Connor is often taken as the archetype of Jesus Christ, the saviour of humankind. Personally the message I have is not that of John Connor at all. The message is our present civilisation that seeks to turn us into machines in the name of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. This is closely linked with our embrace of technology. In a way Judgment day have occurred because we have surrendered our individuality and humanity. Neil Postman mentioned 20 years ago that the media is entertainment. Well, the media have become entertainment with short sound bytes and talking heads.


More than that, we have become the media. We given up our individuality when we give up our privacy. Through social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, and through out blogs we open our privacy for the world to view. Through technology we also gave up our humanity. Social policies are determined by statistical analysis programs that determine the cost-benefits. People has become a number, a statistic in the enormous database, the ones and the zeroes that define our humanity in the digital era.

As the human fought back in post-apocalyptic Judgment Day, we need to fight back against the dehumanisation of our society. I am not a Luddite. I love technology as much as the next guy. However we must be aware of what technology is doing to us as individuals and as human beings.

"but we will stand against Skynet's army as one. And we will win as one. My name is John Connor, and if you are listening to this, you are the resistance."

Movie Review on Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation also known in short as Terminator 4 continues the hugely popular Terminator series which started with the movie, The Terminator (1984).

The year is 2018 and the "future" largely anticipated in the three movies, comics, novels, and a television series is here. John Connor is a leader in the Resistance movement against Skynet, an artificial intelligence intent on the annihilation of all human beings on earth. Those who are familiar with the Terminator storyline will know that Skynet achieved consciousness in 2004 and launched all nuclear missiles causing massive destruction in a day called "Judgment Day."

I enjoyed this movie. The story telling is fast paced, with lots of boom and mayhem, plenty of new Terminator machines and a thought provoking plot.

[warning: movie spoilers]

Basically this is about redemption. What will redemption involve- for a person and for humanity on the whole? The movie begins in 2003 when death roll Marcus Wright, a convicted repentant prisoner signed over his body to Cyberdyne for research purposes. Marcus was executed by a lethal injection. Judgment Day happened the next year.

Marcus was awakened in 2018 by a Resistance attack on the lab which stored his body. As the story develops, he found that he was a cyborg with a human heart and mechanical body and a chip implanted in his brain. Unwittingly he was part of Skynet's plan to trap John Connor, who has by now became an influential voice of the Resistance, though not one of its upper echelon leaders.


Marcus Wright is the hero of this movie. He was given a second chance for life by Skynet. He used his life well in saving Kyle Reese, a teenager he befriended (the future John Connor's father) and John Connor. In doing so, he shows how human beings are different from machines. Human beings have free will, compassion and moral conscience. By saving John Connor, Marcus actually offers salvation for John Connor himself, and through Connor, the human race. Though the movie is appropriately named Terminator Salvation, it may also be titled Terminator Redemption.

Most if not all of us have regrets in this life. By our actions or inactions, we have hurt people and cause undesirable consequences. I wonder how will we redeem our regrets if we are given a chance. And if we are given a second chance at life, how will we live the new life?

As I have mention in finding biblical allusions in apocalyptic stories there is much we can learn from the Terminator series. John Connor is often taken as the archetype of Jesus Christ, the saviour of humankind. Personally the message I have is not that of John Connor at all. The message is our present civilisation that seeks to turn us into machines in the name of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. This is closely linked with our embrace of technology. In a way Judgment day have occurred because we have surrendered our individuality and humanity. Neil Postman mentioned 20 years ago that the media is entertainment. Well, the media have become entertainment with short sound bytes and talking heads.


More than that, we have become the media. We given up our individuality when we give up our privacy. Through social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, and through out blogs we open our privacy for the world to view. Through technology we also gave up our humanity. Social policies are determined by statistical analysis programs that determine the cost-benefits. People has become a number, a statistic in the enormous database, the ones and the zeroes that define our humanity in the digital era.

As the human fought back in post-apocalyptic Judgment Day, we need to fight back against the dehumanisation of our society. I am not a Luddite. I love technology as much as the next guy. However we must be aware of what technology is doing to us as individuals and as human beings.

"but we will stand against Skynet's army as one. And we will win as one. My name is John Connor, and if you are listening to this, you are the resistance."

Finding Biblical Lessons in Apocalyptic Stories

In his Christianity Today online article, Jesus and the Terminator, writer Peter Chattaway looks for biblical allusions in the Terminator stories. He notes,

In the first Terminator, Kyle is sent back in time to protect Sarah, and although he does not know it, he will also become John's father. Thus, the film portrays an annunciation of sorts. As the Terminator robot kills everyone who comes between itself and Sarah, the film evokes parallels to the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem. And just as the birth of Christ took place against the backdrop of a cosmic war in which the final outcome was never really in doubt, so too the birth of John Connor is soaked in the blood of battles he is destined to fight. (It's also tempting to suggest that John Connor's initials might have messianic parallels, but they are also the initials of writer-director James Cameron, so who knows?)

The sequels complicate matters in a number of ways, as more robotic assassins and more protectors go back in time to fight over John's life, but the allusions remain. The second film reveals that the day the war with the machines began is called Judgment Day. A spin-off television series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, also makes explicit use of biblical themes, partly because one of its lead actors, Richard T. Jones, who plays fbi agent James Ellison, is an openly devout Christian. Read more

I have been a fan of Terminator stories since the first movie (you may ask what I am not a fan of. Well, I must confess I am not a fan of watching football. No, don't throw that stone!). I have been reading Terminators novels, have my collection of the Terminator movie DVDs and Terminator comics. I even played Terminator computer games which I have truly enjoyed.

Sarah Connors remains an enigma in the series. According to Chattaway, Sarah Connors is responsible for the whole war! He derived this from watching deleted scenes in the T1 DVD.

Just as the Terminator came back in time to kill Sarah and prevent the birth of John Connor, thereby inadvertently drawing Kyle Reese back in time and guaranteeing the birth of John Connor, so too Sarah Connor tried to destroy Cyberdyne and prevent the birth of Skynet, thereby inadvertently drawing the Terminator towards the Cyberdyne factory and guaranteeing the rise of Skynet. And this point -- this similarity between the two characters' actions, and the consequences of their actions -- is underscored by visual motifs such as the phone-book scanning.

Read his article and link to YouTube to watch the deleted scenes and decide. For me, the Sarah Connors Chronicles now showing on television is giving me headaches in the way the Terminator story universe is being abused. Nevertheless, as a faithful fan, I shall continue to watch the television series.

All this to prepare me for the Terminator movie, Terminator:Salvation. Look for my coming review of the movie in this blog. In the immortal words of the Terminator, "I'll be back!"

Finding Biblical Lessons in Apocalyptic Stories

In his Christianity Today online article, Jesus and the Terminator, writer Peter Chattaway looks for biblical allusions in the Terminator stories. He notes,

In the first Terminator, Kyle is sent back in time to protect Sarah, and although he does not know it, he will also become John's father. Thus, the film portrays an annunciation of sorts. As the Terminator robot kills everyone who comes between itself and Sarah, the film evokes parallels to the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem. And just as the birth of Christ took place against the backdrop of a cosmic war in which the final outcome was never really in doubt, so too the birth of John Connor is soaked in the blood of battles he is destined to fight. (It's also tempting to suggest that John Connor's initials might have messianic parallels, but they are also the initials of writer-director James Cameron, so who knows?)

The sequels complicate matters in a number of ways, as more robotic assassins and more protectors go back in time to fight over John's life, but the allusions remain. The second film reveals that the day the war with the machines began is called Judgment Day. A spin-off television series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, also makes explicit use of biblical themes, partly because one of its lead actors, Richard T. Jones, who plays fbi agent James Ellison, is an openly devout Christian. Read more

I have been a fan of Terminator stories since the first movie (you may ask what I am not a fan of. Well, I must confess I am not a fan of watching football. No, don't throw that stone!). I have been reading Terminators novels, have my collection of the Terminator movie DVDs and Terminator comics. I even played Terminator computer games which I have truly enjoyed.

Sarah Connors remains an enigma in the series. According to Chattaway, Sarah Connors is responsible for the whole war! He derived this from watching deleted scenes in the T1 DVD.

Just as the Terminator came back in time to kill Sarah and prevent the birth of John Connor, thereby inadvertently drawing Kyle Reese back in time and guaranteeing the birth of John Connor, so too Sarah Connor tried to destroy Cyberdyne and prevent the birth of Skynet, thereby inadvertently drawing the Terminator towards the Cyberdyne factory and guaranteeing the rise of Skynet. And this point -- this similarity between the two characters' actions, and the consequences of their actions -- is underscored by visual motifs such as the phone-book scanning.

Read his article and link to YouTube to watch the deleted scenes and decide. For me, the Sarah Connors Chronicles now showing on television is giving me headaches in the way the Terminator story universe is being abused. Nevertheless, as a faithful fan, I shall continue to watch the television series.

All this to prepare me for the Terminator movie, Terminator:Salvation. Look for my coming review of the movie in this blog. In the immortal words of the Terminator, "I'll be back!"

Star Trek: Corps of Engineers

There has always been a Corps of Engineers – a group who builds bridges, fixes machines, and solves engineering problems. In Star Trek, this group solves engineering problems in space that are too complicated, or take too much time, for a larger starship crew to handle. This series centers on the crew of the USS da Vinci, a Saber-class ship that serves as the transportation of an SCE team. The SCE reports to Captain Montgomery Scot (of the original Star Trek), who serves as their liaison with Starfleet Command and also pitches in when his vast store of knowledge can be of help.

USS da Vinci

Wounds is a collection of eBooks which are republished in a paperback format. This is the 11th collection in the series. I like this series because there is more science and technologies than the average Star Trek stories.

The stories in this collection are:

Malefictorum by Terri Osborne

Lost Time by Ilsa J. Bick

Identity Crisis by John J. Ordover

Fables of the Prime Directive by Cory Rushton

Security by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Wounds, Book 1 by Ilsa J. Bick

Wounds, Book 2 by Ilsa J. Bick

It is a good collection of short stories/novelettes to read and I have enjoyed myself reading it during Dark Saturday.

Star Trek: Corps of Engineers

There has always been a Corps of Engineers – a group who builds bridges, fixes machines, and solves engineering problems. In Star Trek, this group solves engineering problems in space that are too complicated, or take too much time, for a larger starship crew to handle. This series centers on the crew of the USS da Vinci, a Saber-class ship that serves as the transportation of an SCE team. The SCE reports to Captain Montgomery Scot (of the original Star Trek), who serves as their liaison with Starfleet Command and also pitches in when his vast store of knowledge can be of help.

USS da Vinci

Wounds is a collection of eBooks which are republished in a paperback format. This is the 11th collection in the series. I like this series because there is more science and technologies than the average Star Trek stories.

The stories in this collection are:

Malefictorum by Terri Osborne

Lost Time by Ilsa J. Bick

Identity Crisis by John J. Ordover

Fables of the Prime Directive by Cory Rushton

Security by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Wounds, Book 1 by Ilsa J. Bick

Wounds, Book 2 by Ilsa J. Bick

It is a good collection of short stories/novelettes to read and I have enjoyed myself reading it during Dark Saturday.

The Day of the Triffids

This is one of the earlier science fiction books I read which has hooked me to science fiction ever since.



The Day of the Triffids
John Wyndham
(1951)

Wyndham’s novel has two strands of catastrophe. Firstly, lights from a meteor shower blind anyone who watches it (and that’s most people) and the visionless society completely breaks down. Then the triffids – walking, killing, meat-eating plants – take advantage of the whole situation and go on the rampage.

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The Day of the Triffids

This is one of the earlier science fiction books I read which has hooked me to science fiction ever since.



The Day of the Triffids
John Wyndham
(1951)

Wyndham’s novel has two strands of catastrophe. Firstly, lights from a meteor shower blind anyone who watches it (and that’s most people) and the visionless society completely breaks down. Then the triffids – walking, killing, meat-eating plants – take advantage of the whole situation and go on the rampage.

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Tank Warfare in Warhammer 40,000

After a busy day of preaching twice and giving a talk, I am happy that I am able to relax by reading a novel on tank warfare. I wish to thank all my prayer partners that literally prayed me through this grueling day.

I found this book, Gunheads by Steve Parker at the MPH bookstore. It is a novel about Warhammer 40,000.


From the wiki

The Warhammer 40,000 game setting is a space opera that takes place
in a gothic science-fantasy universe. Set in the 41st millennium, most of the major storylines that provide the backdrop and history span over millennia. Central to the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the Space Marines, somewhat anachronistic combinations of genetically enhanced super-soldiers with world-destroying firepower, and crusading knights with an unswerving, fanatical loyalty to the God-Emperor. While Space Marines act as the special forces of the Imperium, the bulk of mankind's military power is found in the Imperial Guard, which consist of billions of regiments, each thousands of soldiers strong. Their quintessential opposition is the Chaos Space Marines, who betrayed the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, led by Warmaster Horus (who was eventually killed by the Emperor). Much of the Milky Way galaxy is controlled by the Imperium of Man, though it is not the only galactic power. Other races include the Orks, a barbaric humanoid green-skinned semi-fungoid race; the Eldar, survivors of an ancient fallen civilization reminiscent of classic fantasy Elves; the Tau, a young and technologically-sophisticated civilization of aliens that work for the "greater good" of their empire and its inhabitants; the Necrons, soulless living metal constructs tricked into slavery by star gods; and the Tyranids, an all-consuming, all-organic, bio-engineered, extragalactic hive-swarm. Each of these races have playable armies. Other playable armies include the Witch Hunters and Daemonhunters, organizations within the Imperium, as well as the fallen Dark Eldar and the capricious Daemons of Chaos.

Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a science fantasy universe. I have watched a few games being played but am not involved in the inticracies of the game yet.

picture source here and here

Tank Warfare in Warhammer 40,000

After a busy day of preaching twice and giving a talk, I am happy that I am able to relax by reading a novel on tank warfare. I wish to thank all my prayer partners that literally prayed me through this grueling day.

I found this book, Gunheads by Steve Parker at the MPH bookstore. It is a novel about Warhammer 40,000.


From the wiki

The Warhammer 40,000 game setting is a space opera that takes place
in a gothic science-fantasy universe. Set in the 41st millennium, most of the major storylines that provide the backdrop and history span over millennia. Central to the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the Space Marines, somewhat anachronistic combinations of genetically enhanced super-soldiers with world-destroying firepower, and crusading knights with an unswerving, fanatical loyalty to the God-Emperor. While Space Marines act as the special forces of the Imperium, the bulk of mankind's military power is found in the Imperial Guard, which consist of billions of regiments, each thousands of soldiers strong. Their quintessential opposition is the Chaos Space Marines, who betrayed the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, led by Warmaster Horus (who was eventually killed by the Emperor). Much of the Milky Way galaxy is controlled by the Imperium of Man, though it is not the only galactic power. Other races include the Orks, a barbaric humanoid green-skinned semi-fungoid race; the Eldar, survivors of an ancient fallen civilization reminiscent of classic fantasy Elves; the Tau, a young and technologically-sophisticated civilization of aliens that work for the "greater good" of their empire and its inhabitants; the Necrons, soulless living metal constructs tricked into slavery by star gods; and the Tyranids, an all-consuming, all-organic, bio-engineered, extragalactic hive-swarm. Each of these races have playable armies. Other playable armies include the Witch Hunters and Daemonhunters, organizations within the Imperium, as well as the fallen Dark Eldar and the capricious Daemons of Chaos.

Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a science fantasy universe. I have watched a few games being played but am not involved in the inticracies of the game yet.

picture source here and here

A Canticle for Leibowitz

An excellent science fiction to read if you are looking for good books



A Canticle for Leibowitz
Walter M. Miller Jr.
(1961)

A nuclear war has devastated the world. The monks in a Catholic monastery in an American desert are attempting to preserve books that could save humanity. Miller was part of a bomber crew that helped destroy the Monte Cassino monastery in Italy during World War II and that experienced served as an inspiration. A Canticle for Leibowitz won a Hugo Award in 1961.

A Canticle for Leibowitz

An excellent science fiction to read if you are looking for good books



A Canticle for Leibowitz
Walter M. Miller Jr.
(1961)

A nuclear war has devastated the world. The monks in a Catholic monastery in an American desert are attempting to preserve books that could save humanity. Miller was part of a bomber crew that helped destroy the Monte Cassino monastery in Italy during World War II and that experienced served as an inspiration. A Canticle for Leibowitz won a Hugo Award in 1961.

Good to Great Science Fiction Books

Double Star Robert A. Heinlein

The Hugo Awards and the Nebula Awards are the traditional yardsticks for fantasy and science fiction writing. Since 1953 when the Hugos began, (the Nebulas started in 1965) there have been 82 titles awarded one or the other prize - and 19 titles with the distinctive honor of winning both. We've listed them all for your perusal. The Fine Books Company in Rochester, Michigan, is offering first editions of all the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novels for a cool $116,530. From Asimov to Zelazny, every book which won either (or both) award is here. And that's not all. The listing includes 126 books, and 95% of them are signed or inscribed, and in fine or better condition. David Aronovitz, from The Fine Books Company, describes the collection as a unique gathering of books that has never been offered for sale anywhere before and in all likelihood will never be offered again. See all the award winners.

A Case of Conscience James Blish

Dune Frank Herbert

Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A. Heinlein

Rendezvous with Rama Arthur C. Clarke

Ender's Game Orson Scott Card

To Your Scattered Bodies Go Philip Jose Farmer

A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller

Lord of Light Roger Zelazny

Read more

Though I cannot afford the collection, there is a great list of good science fiction books here. I am happy to note that I have read almost all of them. Great stuff.

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