Facebook User Revolt!

Let me be quite clear about this: these are the reasons I deactivated my Facebook account. 

1. I am troubled by Facebook's linkage, indirect or not, to Russia's interference in our presidential election.
2. I dislike Cambridge Analytica's use of my Facebook information to develop political micro-messaging. A politician with enough money to buy this data gains an edge over his opponents. Political campaigns ought to be conducted on a level playing field.
3. Due to its unfiltered nature, social media in general and Facebook in particular have become an ideal platform for the dissemination of alternative facts, half-truths and outright fake news. This is harmful to society, as it weakens trust in the legitimate media. 
4. Engaging in online political debates is sapping my energy and my tranquility. I am appalled to find out the politics of some of my friends -- educated and mature people that I thought I knew. Sometimes I can't resist the urge to set them straight. Then they fire back. I am weary of this conflict. 
5. My final issue is quite personal. I am a man with an active imagination and time on his hands. It was just too tempting to dream up clever posts and post them on Facebook. But that was only the beginning. I would keep checking to see how people reacted to my cleverness.  Then I'd react to their reaction, a vicious circle that can go on indefinitely. This is attention-seeking behavior. I'm embarrassed to say that I was so focused on obtaining the validation of others. It became too much a part of my daily routine, for no useful purpose. 

I realize that this blog is just another form of social media. Is it fair play to condemn Facebook while hoping people will read my blog? Am I saying that all social media is tainted, except for my blog? One could argue that this blog is simply another example of attention-seeking behavior.

I have to stop thinking about this now. It's all too much for me. Too much to bear. 

Killer Robot Weapons Lab

After watching the dreary Terminator: Genysis movie last night, I read a couple of articles (see links below) about the controversy surrounding "autonomous artificial intelligence weapons." These hypothetical weapons could be available soon, if those articles can be believed.

Photo courtesy of
The Doctor Who Experience.

In crude terms, these could be "killer robots" that seek and destroy without meaningful human control. Steven Hawking, Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak warned against the danger of developing such weapons several years ago. Back then, these noted geniuses believed the technology to deploy armed robotic "quadcopters" (such as those in the Terminator movie franchise) was only a few years away.

That was in 2015. It is now 2018.

If my arithmetic is correct, killer robots may be coming for us any old time now. How would you like to wake up in the middle of the night and find an autonomous artificial intelligence weapon rolling through your bedroom door, flashing and beeping and waving mechanical arms and squawking "Exterminate -- exterminate --" in a harsh electronic voice like a Dalek in a Doctor Who episode?

Let's work together, as Canned Heat counselled in their 1970 hit song. Team up with misfits, weirdos and hopheads. Hide out in cabins in the mountains. Get off the grid in shacks in the desert. Fight back against Daleks, robotic quadcopters or whatever the hell they are. Together we will stand, every boy, girl, woman and man, as ol' Bob "The Bear" Hite counselled nearly 50 years ago.

References

Canned Heat. Let's Work Together. YouTube video.

McLean, Asha. Researchers boycott Korean university over killer robot weapons lab. ZDNet. April 5, 2018.

Shalal, Andrea. Researchers to boycott South Korean university over weapons work. Reuters. April 4, 2018.

Anxiety-Wracked Dream

It’s always a mistake to write about your dreams. But as my readers (if there are any) know, I have never let that stop me in the past.  Anyone patient enough to read this lengthy account of last night's dream will be richly rewarded. It provides key insights into my past, my personality, and my unresolved neuroses. 

In this dream, which falls into the “back-to-school” category, I was confused and disorganized on the first day of school. I couldn’t figure out the names of the classes, or where the classrooms were. 

More than once, I told myself: “I have to get organized…ask someone for my schedule…figure this out…” But there was no time for any of that.  It was always time to move on to the next class.  I’ll do it on my lunch break, I decided.

Deciding to just go with the flow, I began taking notes. No luck there, because the lecture was moving too quickly. My pen didn’t work. Glancing down, I saw that my notes were all illegible scribbling. 

Doubts nagged at me, and paranoid suspicion too. Had the registrar perversely given me someone else's schedule? The classes were just too weird, tackling obscure fringe topics in an eclectic mixture of disciplines I couldn't pin down. A smiling female professor lectured while lying on the floor amidst a pile of pillows. Everyone else thought this was normal.  

Struggling to bring order to my confusion, I asked the person next to me: what class are we in? I also asked the faculty some pointed questions, such as: What is your name? How is this class going to benefit me? I couldn’t get clear answers.  

Then I asked a brusque professor: which department teaches this class? "History," he barked. I found myself trotting along beside this professor,  babbling “I love history. Always have. I wanna become a historian.” He gave me a sidelong glance and walked briskly away. Perhaps I’d been given at least one class I requested, I thought glumly. 

Finally, a pretty girl smiled at me and said “I’m so glad you’re going to be with us here at Columbia.” I marveled: I am a student at Columbia University. How did that happen?

Further Reading

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. Franz Deuticke, Leipzig and Vienna. 1899.

Roman Gold: The Norfolk Hoard

A husband-and-wife metal detectorist team recently found nearly 60 Roman coins buried in a farmer’s field in Norfolk. Six of them are gold and date to between 4 BC and 7 AD. 

Link

Norwich couple unearth valuable Roman coin hoard on Norfolk farm

Eastern Daily Press, March 22, 2018

The Uber/Lyft Experience

I'm an occasional driver for Uber and Lyft. On a whim, I turned on the app yesterday while I was driving around doing errands. I had one rider. He paid me $29 to take him to and from a methadone clinic. 

I spent 15 minutes parked outside the clinic, waiting to drive this man home on the return trip.  A steady stream of people seeking methadone came and went as I sat there. It was raining. 

These people need help, and  I feel obligated to help them. This is the third time I’ve taken someone

to or from a methadone clinic. I can’t say I feel comfortable doing it, but I rationalize it by telling myself I'm doing a good deed. It's somewhat like doing volunteer work and getting paid for it. 

But it doesn't pay much. In this case the round trip took about 2 hours, including wait time. That works out to $11.60 per hour before gas expense -- not much for a guy with two college degrees, and this was one of my better days on a per-hour basis. 

The Vianen Hoard

This hoard of about 500 gold and sliver coins was discovered by waterworks employees during excavation work in Holland:

15TH CENTURY POT OF GOLD FOUND DURING EXCAVATION NEAR DUTCH CITY

NL Times, March 1, 2018

courtesy of NL Times

The Voynich Manuscript

This isn't in the same league as the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred's Necronomicon, or the accursed The King In Yellow. But at least it actually exists. 

The Voynich Manuscript: Decode the World's Most Mysterious Book

Childrens' TV of the 1960s

Before senility robs me of these memories, I have assembled this list of lesser-known childrens' TV shows and short serials in the New York metropolitan area during the early 1960s.  In alphabetical  order:

• Bozo the Clown - made a friend of mine cry as a guest on his show
• Clutch Cargo - got a few seconds of screen time in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction
• Ding Dong School - for the very young

• Diver Dan - never managed to hook up with Miss Minerva

• The Magic Land of Allakazam - blonde magician's assistant rode around on a toy train in tights and high heels
• Officer Joe Bolton -  always ended the show with "It's time for all good little boys and girls to go to bed"

• Romper Room - with Mr. Do Bee

• Soupy Sales - before he was a game show guest
• Sandy Becker - Norton Nork and Hambone characters were downright weird
• Shenanigans - with Stubby Kaye, who had quite a career before and after 
• Space Angel - I liked his sidekick Taurus 
• Tommy Seven - "your favorite TV clown" had a magic nose
• Wonderama - host Sonny Fox went on to become a producer in film and TV

This list would not be complete without these highlights from the original Mickey Mouse Club show. Although it doesn't fit my "lesser-known" criteria, it was definitely my favorite, in part due to: 

• Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie, my very first crush - I would have died of embarrassment if anyone suspected back then, but now it can be told.
• The serials, especially The Adventures of Spin and Marty, The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure and Annette

Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie

It was my fondness for these shows that lead my parents to impose restrictive "TV watching hours." The rules were taped to the television set in the basement. But that is another story. 

Links

These two web sites are simply outstanding, comprising the deepest dive into their subjects I've ever seen. 

New York City Local TV Shows Roundup

The Original Micky Mouse Club Show

Strange Things

I want to be clear on this: I don't believe these things. But they are strange.

• Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger and other public figures are in fact dead and are being impersonated by "organic robotoids," according to attorney and financier Peter David Beter. 
• There is a longstanding theory that the Earth is hollow, with access points to the interior at the north and south poles.
• Horror fiction author Whitley Streiber claims that non-human "visitors" to his secluded cabin in upstate New York changed his life forever. 

  

  Ball lightning

• The existence of ball lightning has been debated for centuries.
• A drilling project delved so deep that it reached Hell, according to The Well to Hell hoax. 
• Mel's Hole, an allegedly bottomless pit in the state of Washington, was the subject of a 2008 art exhibit curated by LA Times art critic Doug Harvey.
• The Emerald Tablet, an ancient alchemical treatise, was supposedly discovered in a vault beneath a statue of the god Hermes in Tyana, Turkey, where a corpse on a golden throne held the tablet.  

If you have your own strange story, I'd love to hear about it.

Further Reading

Beter, Peter David. Index of Audio Newsletters. www.peterdavidbeter.com.

Biblioteca Pleyades. http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_tema.htm

Coast to Coast AM Radio: The Latest Paranormal News. https://www.coasttocoastam.com

Colby, C.B. Strangely Enough. Scholastic Paperbacks. 1963.

Streiber, Whitley. Communion - A True Story. Avon. 1987.

The Cridling Stubbs Hoard

Now in display at Leeds City Museum, this hoard of copper coins lay buried in a Yorkshire field for over 1,600 years. Experts believe it may have been hidden around 346 AD to keep it safe from Irish and Saxon raiders.

Copper load of this! Ancient coin stash at Leeds City Museum 

Yorkshire Evening Post, February 1, 2018

The Ring-A-Ding UFOs

By Bob Tralins
Belmont Books. 1967. Paper.

“Ring-a-ding” was an expression popularized by Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack pals. How did it end up being combined with UFOs and a tied-up woman in go-go boots on the cover of this 1967 spy novel? That was a stroke of marketing genius.

The Ring-A-Ding UFOs was the third in a series featuring femme fatale Lee Crosley, aka The Miss From S.I.S. She also appeared in an eponymously titled book and The Chic Chick Spy, both published in 1966.

Other works by author Bob Tralins (and there were many) include 5 Wild Dames, Primitive Orgy (both published in 1961; the guy was a writing machine), Law of Lust (1962) and Jazzman in Nudetown (1964).  Based on the titles alone, they remind me of the cheap paperbacks my father kept in the basement when I was a child. 

Further Reading 

Allmusic Guide. Ring-a-Ding-Ding! by Frank Sinatra.
FantasticFiction.com. List of Books by Robert Tralins.
PulpCovers.com. Pulp Covers: The Best of the Worst. 
Wikipedia. Robert Tralins. 

Dow 3000

by Thomas Blamer and Richard Shulman
Wyndham Books, 1982; 206 pages
ISBN 0-671-43224-9

When Dow 3,000 was published in 1982, it was advertised in the back pages of The Wall Street Journal, where dubious books about economic collapse, market timing and investing in gold were often promoted.  As the title implies, it predicted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average would increase to around 3,000. The index was around 1,000 at the time, so achieving that prediction would require it to triple.  

With the hubris of youth, I told my friends that this was ridiculous.  I had recently earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, so I was pretty confident I knew what I was talking about. Here, it seemed, was yet another case of overreach by financial advisors who would push the envelope unmercifully to get customers to buy stocks. 

Dow 3,000 is long out of print, but I recently picked up a used copy. It's my way of keeping myself humble, because the 3,000 I scorned so long ago seems ridiculously small compared to where the index closed today: just over 26,000. 

I spent an interesting afternoon paging through this book recently. To my surprise, it's far from being promotional. It's actually a careful analysis based on fundamental valuation methods and a seven-year forecast horizon: Dow 3,000 by year-end 1989. 

Readers of my generation will recall the horrendous conditions in place when this book was written. In late 1980, when the manuscript was submitted for publication, U.S. markets were in turmoil, beset by double-digit inflation.  30-year Treasury bond yields were in the 12% to 14% range. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading well below its book value, and at less than 8 times earnings.

In this bleak landscape, Blamer and Shulman did a two-pronged valuation analysis. 

• Method #1 was a price-to-book value analysis. The authors presented historical data showing that over long periods, the Dow tended to trade at or above "inflation-adjusted" book value. (Note the focus on inflation, which is everywhere in this work.)  Then they projected the inflation-adjusted book value of the index seven years into the then-future, based on assumptions about return on book value, dividend payout and retained earnings. Result: a projected book value of 3,150. Assuming the market would eventually trade at a price-to-book value ratio of 0.95, it's easy to get to Dow 3,000 with this valuation method.
• Method #2 was a price/earnings forecast. Blamer and Shulman assumed that the price-earnings multiple for the Dow would eventually return to a level consistent with its 60-year average, and that the earnings of the Dow Jones companies would rise in line with inflation. Applying a P/E multiple of 14 to their earnings forecast, they projected the value of the Dow to be around 3,400 by year-end 1989. They then presented an earnings forecast for each of the companies in the index. 

So there you  have it: Dow 3,000 within seven years, supported by two conventional valuation methods. What I thought was stockbroker overreach was actually a nicely reasoned case for multiple expansion and regression to the mean: price/book and price/earnings ratios would eventually return to levels more in line with long term historical averages, driven by a return of confidence. 

Of course the devil is in the details. Blamer and Shulman's forecast assumed an 8% annual inflation rate. That's understandable in light of what was going on when the book was written. But the actual inflation rate turned out to be 3.7% over their forecast period. So something else must have happened to offset that faulty assumption, because the authors of Dow 3,000 came very close to being right about the stock market recovery. Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average did not reach 3,000 by year-end 1989, it did so the following year. In the treacherous realm of market forecasting, that's a fine outcome.  

But what I marvel at is how far the index has climbed since then. As noted previously, the Dow closed at around 26,100 yesterday. An investment of $1,000 in the Dow at year-end 1981, just before Dow 3,000 was published, would be worth an eye-popping $29,832 today. That's a compound annual return of 9.86% for 36 years.

I am humbled. All those years ago, if I’d thought it out carefully and applied what I’d learned in my finance classes, it would have been apparent that "Dow 26,000" was within reach over a 36-year forecast horizon. Regrets aside, this is a great example of the power of compound growth. If you can grow something – anything -- at 9.86% per year for 36 years, you’ll get an amazing result at the end of the line. 

Historical data courtesy of Macrotrends.net: 

•  Inflation
• 30 Year Treasury Yield

Birthday Numerology: The Power of 64

Today is my 64th birthday. This has opened my eyes to many things. I've come to the realization that 64 is a special number. A number great and powerful, like the Wizard of Oz. 

If you divide 64 in half, the result is 32. If you continue the process as far as possible, the result is always a whole even number until you reach the number 1, as shown below: 

• 64/2 = 32
• 32/2 = 16
• 16/2 = 8
• 8/2 = 4
• 4/2 = 2
• 2/2 = 1. 

The fact that you can extend the sequence shown above all the way back to the number 1 is impressive, at least to this blogger. To the ancient Greeks, the number 1 symbolized the first thing that came into existence when the universe was created. Ancient numerologists believed the number 1 represented the origin of all things. All numbers can be produced by adding 1, and only 1, to itself. For example, 3  = 1+1+1. For certain monotheistic religions, 1 represents God.

The divided-by-two sequence works because 64 is a doubly even (or evenly even) number, which means it is divisible more than once by 2.  A doubly even number is even and its quotient when divided by 2 is also even.

Viewed from another angle, 64 can be expressed as: 

• 8 to the second power = 64. Therefore, 64 is a square number (8 x 8).  A matrix with 8 rows and 8 columns contains 64 squares. That is the number of squares comprising a chess or checker board. 
• 4 to the third power = 64. Therefore, 64 is also a perfect cube (4 x 4 x 4). 
• 2 to the fifth power = 64. I am still groping for the meaning of that one.  

These ideas are not original. The Pythagoreans believed that we live in a world of numbers, i.e. that all things are made up of numbers and "are ruled by mathematical constancies and regularities," as Will Durant said (see Further Reading below).  All odd numbers were believed to be masculine, and even numbers feminine. The number 5 symbolized marriage because it is the sum of the first odd number and the first even number (2 + 3 = 5).

"The so-called Pythagoreans, who were the first to take up mathematics, not only advanced this subject, but saturated with it, they fancied that the principles of mathematics were the principles of all things." Aristotle, Metaphysics 

"The most important and first study is of numbers themselves: not of those which are corporeal, but of the whole origin of the odd and even and the greatness of their influence on the nature of reality." Plato, Epinomis

"The best-known instance of numerology is the “number of the beast,” 666, from the biblical Revelation to John (13:18). Curiously, Revelation is the 66th book in the Bible, and the number of the beast occurs in verse 18, which is 6 + 6 + 6. " Encyclopedia Britannica, Number Symbolism

My brain is whirling, on fire with numbers. So many numbers. The year ahead is going to be a great one, driven by the power of 64, because today is my 64th birthday.  But wait - the year ahead is actually my 65th year of life. Last year was my 64th year of life.  Perhaps last year was my special year and I didn't even notice it. Patterns and mysteries can be found wherever you seek them, if you just search hard enough. Whether those patterns mean anything, I cannot say.

Further Reading

Durant, Will (1953). The Story of Philosophy. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Hall, Manly P. (2003). The Secret Teachings of All Ages. New York: Penguin Group.

Michel, John (1971). The Dimensions of Paradise: Sacred Geometry, Ancient Science, and the Heavenly Order on Earth. United Kingdom: Garnstone Press

Stewart, Ian. Number Symbolism. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/number-symbolism#ref849704 January 17, 2018.

Wikipedia. The Number 64. Retrieved from  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64_(number) January 2, 2018.

University of Rochester Sexual Harassment Case

I noticed today that two female professors at the University of Rochester are among those named “Person of Year: Silence Breakers” by Time Magazine. I imagine that has stomachs a-churning in the university administration building. 

This is a tangled tale, but briefly: these women accused a male colleague, Dr. Florian Jaeger, of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, stark-naked hot tub parties with grad students at which someone overdosed on something... and more. The women later accused the U of R administration of retaliating against them for reporting the matter. This turned into a very damaging complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by the two professors and six other faculty members.

All this has attracted  national media attention (see Further Reading below). Like a train wreck, it's fascinating in a prurient way, even though it must be a nightmare for the people involved. The world will little note, nor long remember, the comments of this observer, but as an alumnus I'm going to make some observations anyway. 

I am not uninformed. I have read every statement I could find by the university administration on this matter, including U of R president Joel Seligman’s letter describing the internal investigation lead by in-house attorney Catherine Nearpass, its multiple internal reviews and the appeal. I have also read the articles listed below and the 111-page EEOC complaint (see link in the New York Times article).

Based on all that reading, I have to question whether the university's internal investigation was properly conducted and accurate in its findings. It cleared Jaeger of any violations of school policy. But what about those policies themselves? One has to wonder whether they are robust enough.

"The fact that Seligman and [Provost Robert] Clark were sleeping with their subordinates may have dulled their sensitivity to the perils Jaeger’s behavior posed to students and UR’s reputation." - Particulars of Charge of Discrimination, Aslin, Canton et al v. University of Rochester

The university's investigation apparently dismissed all the allegations against Jaeger as ”hearsay” and “unproven” or simply not worth pursuing. But didn’t the administration have a responsibility to dig deeper and ascertain if there was any truth to the hearsay, instead of simply dismissing it as unproven? When your employees come to you with allegations of harassment and discrimination, should they be dismissed because the accuser failed to prove them? 

I think not. That standard sets the bar much too high. It gives the appearance of a university that hides behind the rules of evidence instead of protecting its employees and students. 

Most of all - and I cannot stress this enough - I am shocked that Dr. Jaeger was promoted to full professor with tenure while the university's own internal investigation was still underway.  President Seligman has called this a "mistake," but I call it inexplicable and impossible to justify. It never would have happened at any of the corporations I worked at during my 36-year career. 

In fact, if I had behaved the way Jaeger did, I would have been fired or asked to resign long before the matter reached the advanced stage the university finds itself at now. As I understand it, Jaeger is now on some sort of suspension ("administrative leave"), but apparently still an employee. 

I never thought I would see the day when the University of Rochester was embroiled in such a sordid affair. Apart from the damage done to lives and careers, it's very disillusioning to me personally because it conflicts so sharply with my memories of the time I spent at this fine school. This was a formative stage in my life. I was very impressed with this community of highly intelligent, well-educated people who chose to live on the isolated, frozen River Campus in upstate New York because they were serious about scholarship and academics. Back when I was a freshman, I was proud to have even gained admission to the University of Rochester. But now the school's reputation has been damaged on the national stage. 

There is likely more to come. The findings of yet another investigation will be made public in a few weeks. The EEOC complaint still has to be resolved. The publicity accompanying those events is going to be brutal. Sadly, with everything that has come to light, people are going to wonder what else the U of R has swept under the rug. Meliora!

Further Reading

Cauterucci, Christina. An Example of the System Gone Awry. Slate. September 14, 2017.

Pauly, Madison. She Was a Rising Star at a Major University. Then a Lecherous Professor Made Her Life Hell. Mother Jones. September 8, 2017.

Wang, Vivian. Rochester Launches New Inquiry Into Harassment Accusations. New York Times. September 20, 2017. Includes link to EEOC complaint.

Wits, Alexandra. Nine Researchers Sue University of Rochester Over Sexual Harassment Allegations. Nature. December 11, 2017.

Update: January 13, 2018

The report of the independent investigation conducted by Debevoise & Plimpton LLC is now available at http://urindependentinvestigation.net/ .

The Cluny Hoard

It's been a big week for those interested in buried treasure. The latest issue of Coin World magazine reports two significant finds.

In France, archaeologists have discovered a huge hoard of about 2,200 silver and gold coins while excavating the ruins of an abbey. They were probably left there about 850 years ago.

The Cluny Hoard

And in England, a metal detectorist found a gold coin from the reign of Richard III. It was buried  about 16 inches below the surface in a farmer's field in Warwickshire. Richard III reigned from 1483 to 1485, so the coin may have been there for over 500 years.

The Warwickshire find is especially intriguing for two reasons. It was discovered a few miles from Bosworth Field, where Richard fought Henry Tudor and died in the battle described in Shakespeare's Richard III ("My kingdom for a horse").  And the fact that it came to light in Warwickshire has special significance for me, because two of my ancestors were born there around 1650.

Coin of Richard III

Medieval Hoard of Coins Found in France at Abbey of Cluny - Coin World, Dec. 4, 2017

Detectorist Finds Rare Richard III Gold Half Angel Coin - Coin World, Dec. 4, 2017

West End Final

A friend sent me this London newspaper poster recently.  It reminds me of the hawker who sold newspapers in the Baker Street Underground station in the late 1960s. He was always trying to lure customers over by barking “Final! West End final!” 

There was something wrong with his voice. It was a strangled croak. Sometimes I’d croak back at him when I walked past. It made him angry. Unkind of me, I’m afraid, but I was a schoolboy and hadn't yet learned that life can be cruel and unfair. One day a very distinguished English gentleman (suit, umbrella and all) witnessed this and told me “You mustn’t do that. This man fought in the war.”  

I didn’t mock him again. Eventually, I bought one of his papers.  That was as near as I could get to an apology. After that The West End Final Man nodded and waved at me every time I walked past. 

In memory of The West End Final Man

Thanksgiving Risk Management

Thanksgiving is a time for happiness, and family, and togetherness. On this day we set aside our differences and share the blessings of good food and good fellowship, like the pilgrims in days of yore. 

But let us not forget the importance of risk management. Sober, prudent risk management. 

I require all my guests to wear steel-toed safety boots when they come to my house on Thanksgiving. Foot protection is essential. If an 18-pound turkey fell on someone's foot, the toe damage could be devastating. 

Furthermore, all guests are asked to sign an indemnification and hold-harmless agreement absolving me of all responsibility for anything that may happen on our property, including pain, suffering, mental anguish and the loss of the capacity for the enjoyment of life if something goes horribly wrong during Thanksgiving celebrations.

Some will say that I worry needlessly about worst-case scenarios. But my fears have their roots in something that happened long ago. I have never quite gotten over an incident which occurred when we invited the next-door neighbors to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. We all gathered around the beautifully set dining room table. Steaming heaps of food were placed before us and our new puppy frolicked on the floor, hoping for scraps.

As the turkey was brought triumphantly in, the little girl who lives next door announced that the puppy had "done a stinky." Translation: the dog had taken a dump under the dining room table. Now we had another steaming heap to deal with, a pungent pile contrasting horribly with the sumptuous harvest of nature's bounty on the table above. 

I had to get down on my hands and knees in front of everyone and clean it up while our guests held their feet out of harm's way. I tried to joke my way through it, chuckling wryly, but it was no use. The mood in the room had soured, and it stayed sour for the rest of the evening. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

Disturbing Hallowe'en Decorations

A house in our neighborhood is decked out with the most disturbing Halloween decorations I've ever seen. The theme: an insane asylum, possibly haunted.  Particularly troubling are the bedsheets stretched across the windows... from the inside. Scrawled upon them are the words "Danger -- Keep Out" and "Help" in ghastly red letters.

Something's not right. Apart from the obvious -- someone may be in danger -- those messages conflict with one another. If a person is being held in that house against their will, why would they create a sign that says "Keep Out" right next to the cry for help?

This has gone too far. Perhaps I should call the police. Or better yet, launch my own covert rescue operation....make a citizen's arrest, if necessary...tonight.

Further Reading
The Old Torrance Mental Hospital --  abandoned and reputedly haunted
The Truth About Halloween -- my post from last year

When Worlds Collide: X-Men/Game of Thrones Crossover

The next X-Men movie spinoff, The New Mutants, features Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane. This sets up an earth-shattering possibility. It has taken me some time to figure out how to explain this, but stay with me.

Ms. Williams is best known for her role in HBO's A Game of Thrones. Another young English actress, Sophie Turner, is in a very similar situation, portraying noblewoman Sansa Stark in A Game of Thrones and mutant Jean Grey in the X-men franchise (including the soon-to-be-released  X-Men: Dark Phoenix). The two are sisters in A Game of Thrones, but in the X-Men films..... who knows?

Let your imagination run wild. Imagine an X-Men movie in which Wolfsbane (Williams) encounters Jean Grey (Turner). They discover that each of them also exist in the  Game of Thrones universe. They have the power to move between these parallel universes. This would be a bit like those "crossover" issues of comic books, in which one character suddenly appears in another's story arc (e.g. Spiderman meets Thor, or Doctor Strange meets Sergeant Fury and his Howling Commandos).

Archie Meets The Punisher

This would be no mere combination of comic book characters. My fevered daydream envisions a crossover between a comic-based film franchise and a fantasy television series. Sansa Stark could appear in an X-Men film, or Wolfsbane could be in a Game of Thrones televison show.  What happens when these two worlds collide?

Yes, that's pretty far-fetched. But on the most mundane level, it would set the stage for sequels, a mind-numbing string of films stretching off into the distant future and ensuring job security for these two actresses. Envision Maisie and Sophie becoming confused between their dual characters, unsure which universe they're in, spouting Game of Thrones dialogue in the midst of  an X-Men movie or vice-versa, and driving directors insane.

In a way I feel sorry for these young actors caught up in comic book movies at such an early stage in their careers. I'm sure they're making plenty of money, but they become committed to multiple installments of films which may or may not be any good. It holds the potential to limit their careers and the way they are perceived by directors and audiences. Shailene Woodley had the same predicament with the Divergent films, and Natalie Portman with the Star Wars movies.

Further Reading:
The New Mutants
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
The Twelve Weirdest Comic Crossovers Ever
DC vs. Marvel Comics Crossover Series

The Lincolnshire Hoard

Metal detectorists recently found 282 Celtic coins in a farmer's field in Lincolnshire. This hoard is particularly interesting because the coins weren't Roman. Buried about a foot deep, they were of the Corieltauvi tribe, Celts who lived in Britain before the Roman conquest. Experts are still trying to determine when the hoard was buried. 

Courtesy of Coin World

Courtesy of Coin World

Further Reading

Brothers-in-law find ancient coin hoard ‘of national significance’,  Coin World, Oct. 16, 2017

Corieltauvi tribe, Wikipedia

The Bible-Reading Project

I recently decided to read a page of the Bible each day. Through this effort, I reasoned, it will take only 2,179 days to read the entire book. 

Before anyone finds out about this, I must clarify a few things. My friends (if I still have any) may jump to the conclusion that I have suddenly discovered religion, had a spiritual awakening, or worse yet, fallen under the influence of television preachers.  

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is not like the Bible schools and discussion groups that churches conduct for children and converts. When I began this effort, my motivation was not religious in nature. I am a skeptic in these matters, as readers of this blog (if there are any) are aware. My motivation was threefold. 

First, I was simply curious to see what is contained in this book that so many people live their lives by and accept as absolute truth -- even though I do not. Having survived for so many centuries, I reasoned, there must be something meaningful here. Now that I am retired, I have the time to explore this. 

Second, I wanted to read certain things in their original context. I wanted to track down the source of various church doctrines, as well as the anti-Semitism of the New Testament as outlined in the book Constantine's Sword. 

Finally, during my university days I learned that the Bible contains passages of great depth and beauty that are worth reading even by those who lack faith. That was one of the things I took from Dr. Russell Peck's course in classical and scriptural backgrounds of English literature. I took that course, which was required of all English majors, as a college freshman in 1972. I wish I'd been mature enough to fully appreciate it at the time.  

My page-a-day Bible reading project has already had an unexpected benefit. I keep coming across phrases I recognize from literature and everyday life. I had no idea they originated in the Bible. Here are a few examples.

The place name "Bethel" is found all over the United States. Bethel, or Beth-El, was an ancient city in Palestine described in Genesis 12:8 and 13:3. 

"Born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards" is a phrase I remember from a Herman Wouk novel. The source seems to be Job 5:7.

On a lighter note, Genesis 45:19 states: "You may live on the fat of the land." I clearly recall that phrase from an episode of the Dennis The Menace TV show (1959 - 1963). Dennis' long-suffering neighbor Mr. Wilson decides to go camping. Clutching a hatchet, he declares that he will live on the fat of the land. Dennis wants to go with him. Trouble ensues. 

Further Reading

• New Oxford Annotated Bible With The Apocrypha - New Revised Standard Version, College Edition. Annotations clarify the sometimes hard-to-understand phrasing in the original material.  Extensive commentary and background with an ecumenical attitude, including the supposed authorship of each book - the scholarly position, not church dogma.
• Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews - by James Carroll
• Dr. Russell Peck
• Bethel - Wikipedia
• Dennis the Menace - Internet Movie Database

Urim and Thummim

Among the pleasures of retirement is the freedom to research anything that arouses my curiosity. That is what led me to the Urim and the Thummim. These oddly-named and hard-to-pronounce objects came to my attention when I decided to read a page of the Bible each day.  That effort is further explained in a separate post, The Bible Reading Project. 

The Old Testament

The Urim and the Thummim are briefly and cryptically mentioned in Exodus 28:30, in which God directs Moses to make "a breastpiece of judgment," to be worn by the high priest Aaron:

"In the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart when he goes before the Lord; thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the Israelites on his heart before the Lord continually."

There is a similar reference in Leviticus 8:8. But apparently the Bible contains virtually no direct explanation of what the Urim and the Thummim actually are.  They seem to be objects, since they are put in the breastplate.  Based on 1 Samuel 14:41, scholars suggest that they were somehow used in divination by the high priest. These may have been objects (perhaps stones or bones) which were cast in attempting to discern God's answer to a yes-or-no question. 

I hasten to add that these are the findings of biblical scholars, not my own. But I will offer this observation: the names Urim and Thummim are vaguely disturbing. I can barely pronounce them. Thummim is particularly bothersome. It contains too many "m" letters. Those words sound ancient, far removed from any modern language. They remind me of Bifur, Bofur and Bombur, the dwarves in The Hobbit, or something from an H.P. Lovecraft story. 

The Mormon Connection

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons), claimed that he possessed the Urim and the Thummim. He stated that this came about after he was visited in 1823 by the Angel Moroni, who had been sent by God. 

The angel, Smith said, revealed the location of the breastplate of judgment, with the Urim and the Thummim attached, and golden tablets revealing "the fullness of the everlasting Gospel." Upon looking into the Urim and the Thummim (two "seer stones" set in silver bows), Smith claimed to receive revelations from God. He also claimed that he used the Urim and the Thummim to translate the tablets into at least part of what ultimately became The Book of Mormon. 

There is much more to this story, involving magic spectacles, a sword, a second set of golden tablets, and the bizarre process by which the translation occurred (one witness claimed Smith dictated the words while gazing into his hat). The matter is complicated by conflicting accounts from Smith's associates, his wife and the prophet himself. Those with an interest can consult Fawn Brodie's excellent and objective biography of Smith. It reveals that in addition to Urim and Thummim, Joseph Smith had certain "peep stones" that enabled him to detect the presence of buried treasure of a very secular nature. 

The New Age

Among New Age mystics, interest in the Urim and the Thummim continues to this day. Authors have published entire books on the subject, despite the fact that virtually nothing is known beyond what I've summarized above. And to my dismay, I have discovered products for sale which are supposed to be replicas of Urim and Thummim and the breastplate of judgment. In fact, I was given one of the latter years ago as a housewarming gift, and did not even know what it was supposed to be. 

Further Reading

• No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith - by Fawn Brodie
• Urim and Thummim: A Guide for Using the Breastplate of Judgment for Decision-Making, Advice and Divination -  by D.W. Prudence
• The Breastplate of the High Priest: Unlocking The Mystery of The Living Stones - by Gwen Mouliert

Metaphysics

I read recently of the theory of the multiverse, which states that our reality may be just one of a huge number of parallel universes. Articles on this can be found all over the internet; this one is from one of the more authoritative publications.

The Case for Parallel Universes - Scientific American

Setting aside astrophysics, string theory and the like, I understand that some things are hidden to us, and always will be. They exist even though we are unaware of them. There are limits to what humans can perceive. What we do perceive cannot be the complete reality.

Suppose that there are an immense number of parallel universes, existing side by side, only one of which we can perceive. Close but not touching...beyond time, beyond reason, beyond comprehension. If so, who created all those different universes? The inhabitants of one of these bubbles would reason that something must have created what they believe is "everything." They would call that entity God, the supreme being. But what about all the other universes? Must each and every one of them necessarily have been created by the same God? If there are an unlimited number of universes, could there also be an infinite number of beings which created them? Must there be one entity which is supreme over all?

The very concept of a supreme being is imponderable. Every thing -- at least, every concrete thing - we can think of is exceeded by something greater. The largest number you can think of is always exceeded by something larger. You may be strong, or smart, or beautiful, but there is bound to be someone stronger, smarter, more beautiful. You may be the fastest gun in the West, or the best guitar player in the world, but inevitably you will encounter someone faster or better.

Where does it end? People of faith believe that there is something greater than everything, and they call that God. But if there are multiple realities, it is at least possible that each was created by a different being -- not supreme, but merely superior: an artisan, who like a watchmaker assembled that particular universe and set it in motion. Must there be a supreme being who created all those artisan gods and has dominion over them? Or is there no supreme being, just an endless series of higher and higher beings, each greater than the next, on and on to infinity?

Or perhaps there are no higher beings at all. If something exists, must it have been created by something else?

These are questions with no answers.

Unofficial Retirement

Such has been my status for the past three years. I never pictured myself as the sort of person who retired early. But somehow events and chance brought me to this point. Two corporate mergers in four years left me out of a job at age 60. At that age professional options narrow considerably, especially when you’re as specialized as I am and unwilling to relocate. 

At this point the relocation issue hardly matters. Most corporations don't spend tens of thousands of dollars to relocate a well-paid professional who is less than 2 years away from normal retirement age.

Interviews for several local jobs in my chosen profession produced no results, and also confirmed what I already knew: I have lost my appetite for corporate life, with the attendant stress, anxiety and long hours I endured for decades. 

I thought I was prepared for this situation. My fallback plan was to finish my working years in a less demanding job, or even a menial one: limousine driver, casino employee, night watchman, or something of that sort. But I can’t bear to think about the drudgery and poor working conditions of such a job, especially when there is no financial need for it. 

On a lark, I applied for a job with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As I worked my way through the application process, I found myself warming to the idea of being an airline security officer (i.e. bag screener). I knew I would do that job properly and thoroughly. I pictured myself as a man doing important work, protecting our nation. A commanding figure in a uniform and badge,  directing air travelers to take off their shoes and step through the metal detector. I stated that I was willing to work nights, weekends, part time, full time, overtime and split shifts. But the TSA had no interest in my candidacy, as recruiters say. What’s the big deal? I’m only 63 years old. 

So, here I sit, weighing the remaining options: Community service? Volunteer? Start my own little business, doing God only knows what? I'd better begin by pulling  myself out of this funk. A trip to the gym would be a good place to start. 

The Gnostic Gospels

By Elaine H. Pagels
1979; Vintage Books/Random House; 182 pages
ISBN 0-679-72453-2

I wasn't seeking religious enlightenment when I started reading this book. I bought it mainly because I'm interested in archaeology and history. But I got much more than I bargained for.

First, as to the archaeology and history which so intrigued me: in 1945 an Egyptian peasant discovered a jar buried in the desert near the town of Naj Hammadi. In it were 13 papyrus books, bound in leather. Sold on the black market through antiquities dealers in Cairo, some were eventually acquired by a Dutch biblical scholar. The first line he translated was: "These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke, and which the twin, Judas Thomas, wrote down." 

He recognized this as the first line of the Secret Gospel of Thomas. Written by a gnostic Christian sect in the second century AD, this was one of many texts that early church leaders excluded from the New Testament. As Pagels put it:

"What we call Christianity – and what we identify as Christian tradition – actually represents only a small selection of specific sources, chosen from among dozens of others. Who made that selection, and for what reasons? Why were these other writings excluded and banned as 'heresy'?"

Pagels makes a convincing argument that what we know as Christianity was influenced not only by competing religious beliefs, but also by church politics in the first two centuries AD. What follows is a summary of Pagels' key ideas.

The roots of this conflict lay in disagreements over the nature of the creator, and how one gains  access to the supreme being. Some of the gnostic Christians who wrote these gospels believed that the self and the divine were identical. They believed that to know oneself at the deepest level is simultaneously to know God. 

The gnostic Christians believed in a supreme being who started the process of creation - brought the universe into existence out of nothingness. But they also believed that a lesser and imperfect divine being, the demiurge, took what the supreme being created and fashioned it into the form and substance of the universe - an artisan god, if you will. Since the demiurge was not perfect, this explained why the universe is not perfect.

Gnostics believed that orthodox Christians were mistakenly worshipping the demiurge, believing it to be supreme being. They also believed that the bishops and priests of the established church understood only the elementary doctrines. The gnostic Christians claimed to offer access to secret mysteries and higher teachings, which came from the supreme being. 

Thus, for the gnostics, the established church could not be the ultimate religious authority. The individual gnostic did not need the established church hierarchy in order to attain self-knowledge, and thereby to know God.  

This brought the gnostic Christians into conflict with the orthodox church, which insisted that there is only one God. Orthodox Christians believed their church's legitimacy came directly from the 12 apostles, who had direct contact with Jesus during his lifetime.  The apostles' successors, and the inheritors of their authority, were the bishops, priests and deacons of the established church. Therefore, according to orthodox church thought, theirs was the one true faith, and none could come to the father except through Jesus, who died to save the world from sin and thereby redeem all believers.

In contrast, gnostic Christians viewed Jesus as a spiritual instructor who came from the supreme being to show the path to God, which proceeded through self-knowledge. Once the individual had attained this gnosis (usually translated as "knowledge"),  Jesus was no longer the instructor, but an equal.

For these reasons, gnostic Christian beliefs represented a threat to both the doctrine and the authority and hierarchy of the established church at Rome. That, Pagels says, is probably why the gnostic gospels were called heresy, suppressed, and excluded from the New Testament.

I was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church. But I have never been a person of faith, because the church's concept of God has internal contradictions that I can't accept. I cannot accept the idea of a creator, king of the universe, who loves us but also stands ready to judge each and every one of us for doing or thinking the wrong things. I can't bring myself to believe that a supreme being with the power to create all things visible and invisible would also watch us and insist that we worship and obey him. But to this reader, what Pagels has written is nuanced and acceptable. History is written by the victors. Christianity is a doctrine shaped by the victors in a dispute over fundamental matters of theology. The gnostic scriptures put the early church in a less than divine light. 

Further Reading

The New York Times, June 14, 2003 - The Heresy That Saved A Skeptic (interview with Pagels)

Gnosis.org -  The Gnostic World View: A Brief Summary of Gnosticism 

The Catholic Encyclopedia - Gnosticism

Wikipedia - Catharism (two Gods, one good and the other evil)

The Internet Classics Archive - Timaeus, by Plato (demiurge as a craftsman who created the visible and tangible world as a model of something greater)