Strong Vladimir Putin

Barack Obama must stop talking about calculus (see examples below). Compared to strong Putin, it makes Mr. President sound pedantic and professorial, a philosopher king playing with abstract concepts, fiddling while Rome burns and barbarian Russia runs roughshod over Ukraine. This is Mr. Obama’s idea of tough-talking, bare-knuckles diplomacy:

“…a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus,” Obama said. “That would change my equation.”

-August 20, 2012

“When I said in a press conference that my calculus about what’s happening in Syria would be altered by the use of chemical weapons, which the overwhelming consensus of humanity says is wrong, that wasn’t something I just kind of made up.”

September 4, 2013

“I understand that additional sanctions may not change Mr. Putin’s calculus,” Obama said during a joint news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “How well they change his calculus in part depends on not only us applying sanctions but also the cooperation of other countries.”

- April 24, 2014

Calculus! Equations! Somebody get that man a slide rule. I am concerned that this weakens the standing of the United States in the worldwide  pecking order. When strong Putin, the bare-chested ex-KGB colonel, hears language like this, he just chuckles at our impotence and sends a few thousand more troops to the Ukrainian border.

Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.

This was the second of two theatrically released films featuring Peter Cushing as The Doctor. I saw it during the first run in 1966. It left me feeling vaguely cheated. The presence of Cushing confused me. He wasn't The Doctor I saw on TV. I kept waiting for the real one to appear. None of the actors from the TV show were  in the film. Nor was the theme song.  In fact, the film didn’t resemble the Doctor Who TV show at all, except for the presence of the TARDIS and the Daleks. This was disturbing. It seemed that a parallel Doctor Who universe existed alongside the one I was familiar with.  

Later, over dinner, I tried to explain these issues to my parents. It was akin to the disappointment I experienced years earlier, when I complained that The Mickey Mouse Club was devoting too much time to the "Boys of the Western Sea," and not enough to the Mousketeers (especially Darlene). 

The ABC Cinema in Kingston-upon-Thames (see links below), where I saw this film, has a long history -- much longer than I realized at the time I saw this film. Built in 1932, it took a direct hit from a German bomb during the Blitz. This reportedly damaged only the roof. Perhaps the bomb just crashed through the ceiling, but didn't explode. 

The building remained a cinema until 1976, when it became a bingo hall. By 2011, it was in near-derelict condition. The links below include photos showing the sad state of the place today. A few of these photos show the fine Art Deco features still in place inside the theater. Even at age 12, it seemed more comfortable and welcoming than the nearby Granada, and definitely more upscale than the tacky Kingston Kinema, which was located directly next to the old bus station.

Links:

• Wikipedia article on the film 
• ABC Cinema History 
• More ABC Cinema history
• Sad 2011 photos: the ABC Cinema in recent years

Angelology and The Book of Enoch the Prophet

I’ve finally finished reading The Book of Enoch the Prophet. I began this effort based on the role it played in Danielle Trussoni’s novel Angelology. But upon actually reading The Book of Enoch, I found much more.

Now, the rest of this post may offend people of faith, for whom religion is the foundation of their lives and a comfort in times of trouble. As always, I mean no disrespect to anyone else’s beliefs..

The Book of Enoch dates from the first and second centuries before Christ. It’s “a Jewish apocalyptic text…perhaps the most important text not included in standard Biblical apocrypha….it falls outside the canon of the Old Testament for both orthodox Christianity and orthodox Judaism.” I don’t pretend to be a scholar; all of the above is taken from the introduction.

In The Book of Enoch, I was surprised to find extensive references to concepts I didn’t associate with Judaism, including the existence of angels and devils; the punishment of fallen angels by archangels; the day of the “Great Judgment,” when sinners receive no salvation, but “their souls shall be made to descend into Sheol,” where they are “cast into “an abyss full of fire and flaming,” and “perish in wrath and grievous judgment forever” while the elect inherit the earth; and a Son of Man who is killed and sits beside the Lord of Spirits (intriguing title, that).

Further: the content of the Book of Enoch was “utilized extensively in both the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles… notably in the titles of the Messiah, Christ (the Anointed One), the Elect One and the Son of Man,” according to the introduction. (I hasten to point out that I read the entire book, not just the introduction.)

To me, all this reinforces how Judaism and Christianity are so closely related; the controversies over who was allowed to decide what is holy text; how they decided what is inauthentic and heretical and must be excluded; and how, if men made those decisions, can we view the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Bible or the Torah as anything but a synthesis of ideas which had been circulating in various forms for thousands of years.

The evolution of these texts and what was excluded even from the apocrypha must be immensely complicated. But taking all of this into consideration — and I'm sure I've just barely scratched the surface — I cannot agree that these are the literal words of God. Or even history. There is much more involved here than the literal transcription of received wisdom. It’s fascinating stuff from an intellectual standpoint. It’s a matter for scholars to research and debate. But unfortunately, I can’t accept it as a matter of faith.

If any of this interests you, get the version translated by R.H. Charles, with the introduction by “esoteric scholar” R.A. Gilbert.