12
THE WORLD AROUND US
Mountain Views News Saturday, January 9, 2016
MEANWHILE, IN A GALAXY NOT SO FAR, FAR AWAY…
The fantasy creations of the “Star Wars” universe are
strikingly similar to real planets in our own Milky
Way galaxy. A super-Earth in deep freeze? Think
ice-planet Hoth. And that distant world with double
sunsets can’t help but summon thoughts of sandy
Tatooine.
The most recently revealed exoplanet possessing
Earth-like properties, Kepler-452b, might make a
good stand-in for Coruscant—the high-tech world,
seen in several Star Wars films, whose surface is
encased in a globe-spanning city. Kepler-452b belongs
to a star system 1.5 billion years older than Earth’s.
That would give an advanced civilization more than
a billion-year jump on us. The denizens of Coruscant
not only have an entirely engineered planetary surface,
but an engineered climate as well. On Kepler-452b,
conditions are growing warmer as its star’s energy
output increases—a symptom of advanced age. If this
planet (which is 1.6 times the size of Earth) is truly
Earth-like, some climate engineering might be needed
there as well.
The planet Mustafar, scene of an epic duel between
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in “Revenge
of the Sith,” has a number of exoplanet counterparts.
These molten, lava-covered worlds, such as Kepler-10b
and Kepler-78b, are rocky planets in Earth’s size range
whose surfaces could well be perpetual infernos.
The planet OGLE-2005-BLG-390, nicknamed
“Hoth,” is a cold super-Earth, with a mass five times
that of Earth and a surface temperature estimated
at minus 364 degrees Fahrenheit. That most likely
means no Hoth-style tauntauns to ride, or even
formidably fanged abominable snowmen (aka
wampas). Astronomers used an extraordinary planet-
finding technique known as microlensing to find
this world in 2005—one of the early demonstrations
of this technique’s ability to reveal exoplanets. In
microlensing, backlight from a distant star is used to
reveal planets around a star closer to us.
Luke Skywalker’s home planet, Tatooine, is said
to possess a harsh, desert environment, swept by
sandstorms as it roasts under the glare of twin suns.
Real exoplanets in the thrall of two or more suns
likely have even harsher environments. Kepler-16b
was the Kepler telescope’s first discovery of a planet
in a “circumbinary” orbit—circling both stars, as
opposed to just one, in a double-star system. This
planet, however, is likely cold, about the size of Saturn,
and gaseous, though partly composed of rock. It
lies outside its two stars’ “habitable zone,” where
liquid water could exist, and its stars are cooler than
our sun—all of which probably adds up to a lifeless
Tatooine.
Endor, the forested realm of the Ewoks introduced
in “Return of the Jedi.” is a moon orbiting a gas giant.
Detection of exomoons—moons circling distant
planets—is still in its infancy for scientists here on
Earth. A possible exomoon was observed in 2014 via
microlensing. It will remain forever unconfirmed,
however, since each microlensing event can be seen
only once. If the exomoon is real, it orbits a rogue
planet, unattached to a star and wandering freely
through space. The planet might have hung on to its
moon after somehow being ejected during the early
history of a forgotten planetary system.
The hunt for exomoons could actually have
powerful implications in the search for life beyond
Earth. If exomoons are shown to be potentially
habitable, this would open another avenue for biology;
habitable moons might even outnumber habitable
planets. Could they have bustling ecosystems, with
life forms even more exotic than Endor’s living teddy
bears, swinging between trees Tarzan-style? Stay
tuned.
You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com.
OUT TO PASTOR
A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder
CHRISTOPHER Nyerges
DYLAN VS. BEETHOVEN: A LESSON
IN FAMILY COMMUNICATION
THE NEW YEAR CALLS
FOR A NEW MIRROR
[Nyerges is the author
of 10 books, conducts
survival skills classes,
and has a weekly podcast
at Preparedness Radio
Network. He can be
contacted at www.ChristopherNyerges.com, or Box
41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041]
One Saturday, with no warning, Paul Martinez
engaged my father in the relative value of pop vs.
classical music. This was probably around 1964
when Bob Dylan was the king of pop, and seemed
to be the messenger of the “secret messages” to the
younger generation. All my older brothers could
fairly accurately be called Dylan fans, if not Dylan
worshippers. We all seemed to regard listening to
Dylan as a more meaningful spiritual experience
than sitting through Mass at Saint Elizabeth’s.
No one remembers how it began, but it was a
legendary conversation that lasted for hours.
My father’s argument was that the music and
lyrics of Bob Dylan were of no lasting value and
the young people were simply too ignorant to
realize it yet. Frank, my father, said that Dylan
would be forgotten in a few years. He compared
Dylan to Beethoven and Bach, and other classical
musicians, and explained that Dylan was not in
any way at the level of the classical composers. Paul
wholeheartedly disagreed.
Their conversation began in the living room
where Frank would sit in his easy reclining chair
and watch TV. Paul sat near him on the couch.
Everyone in the household only became aware
of their conversation when we realized they were
still at it after about an hour. As the conversation’s
volume level would rise from time to time, we
could all hear what they were saying: “Of course
you can put Dylan in Beethoven’s category,” said
Paul in his deep and sincere voice. “Have you
actually ever listened to what he’s saying in his
songs?”
“He just cackles,” said Frank, “and you really
can’t even make out his words most of the time.
And I’m not even talking about the words. And it’s
only important, as you call it, if you take an hour to
explain it all to me. I don’t need any explanation
to know that Bach’s music really is good,” said
Frank as Paul patiently waited his turn in this lively
exchange.
“Well, I’m not saying that Dylan and Bach and
the other classicals can be compared directly.
Obviously, they can’t,” said Paul, giving some
ground to Frank. “But there is obviously something
that millions of people are responding to that you
aren’t seeing – or hearing. Dylan is not just music;
he is also the message. So we’ve got to examine
some of the words and see what he’s really saying.”
This went on, back and forth, quiet and loud, for
another hour. They opened up the record player
and began playing select songs for the other to
listen to.
We prepared the usual Saturday night dinner –
something like hotdogs and baked beans and salad
and some other vegetables. We took a plate into
Frank and Paul, and we didn’t expect them to come
into the kitchen as their debate entered the third
hour.
We heard silence and then the lyrics of Dylan. Sad
Eyed Lady of the Low lands. Hey Mr. Tambourine
Man. Blowing in the Wind. The Times They Are A
Changing. After each short selection, there would
be a brief silence, presumably as Paul removed
the needle, and then they would talk about it. We
couldn’t hear all the details. Then there would be a
round of some of the classical musicians’ work, a
silence, and commentary by Frank.
We cleared the table and washed the dishes, and
I set up the chess board and began a game with a
neighbor who dropped by. Our game lasted nearly
an hour, and Robert won. The Dylan-Classical
debate continued.
And then, all of a sudden, Frank and Paul were
standing in the kitchen doorway, shaking hands as
Paul had to depart. My brother David hadn’t said
much the whole night, but he never did.
It was late and Paul had to go home and so it was
over. A stalemate, we presumed. No clear winner,
each side having done their best to promote their
own arguments to win over the other. But both
Paul and Frank were unbudgeable and they each
stuck to their guns.
For the rest of us, the conversation about the
conversation had just begun.
“Why doesn’t he ever have meaningful
conversations with us,” David asked to no one
in particular. “He engaged with Paul when Paul
challenged, but shouldn’t he take it upon himself
to engage us,” asked David. No one really cared,
but it was clear in the conversation about the
conversation that David didn’t really care about
whose music was best. To David, the conversation
was an example of a father that didn’t take adequate
interest in his own children, but would take
extra time and supreme effort in a very engaging
discussion – but not with David.
I inwardly agreed with David, but I didn’t say
anything. In some very primal way, I am sure that
I longed to have a father who took an interest in
me, who talked to me, who taught me things, who
engaged me in his activities for our mutual benefit.
I am sure that David had a good point that Frank
should do these sorts of things, but I was not bitter
about the fact that he did not do so.
The rest of us had probably long ago accepted
Frank for what and who he was. To me, Frank was
neither good nor bad, right nor wrong – he simply
was my father, doing what he did in his patterns
of somewhat predictable behavior. But to David,
Frank’s conversation was like a slap in the face,
saying that he can take the time with a friend of
the family, but would not take the time with his
own children. At least that’s how I took David’s
reaction.
Depending on who you asked during the various
conversations about the conversation in the weeks
and months that followed, the entire event was
amusing, meaningless, interesting, a waste of time,
insightful, and/or demonstrated that Frank was
capable of in-depth abstract thought and could
maintain an intellectual conversation and hold his
own for hours.
Though I generally disagreed with Frank’s
premise, his performance definitely boosted my
image of him. And likewise my image of Paul was
greatly enlarged. Here was a peer of my brother
who could debate with intensity and authority, and
try to convince my father of a point of view which I
held, but felt totally unable to communicate in any
meaningful way.
The New Year festivities have died down quite
a bit and everything seems calm in our blissful
domicile. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage
is back to her routine of organizing and
straightening everything up. Her motto is: “A
place for everything and everything in its place.”
She is quite faithful in her New Year’s
resolutions. For years, she has tried to get me
involved in New Year’s resolutions and I only
halfheartedly get involved. It does not seem to
work for me though.
I did get a glimpse of her New Year’s resolution
and one was to straighten me up. Ha! Good
luck with that one, sister. If she has not got me
straightened up by now I am not sure it is on the
books.
Everything seemed to be going fine until this
morning when I got up, went into the bathroom
and looked into the mirror. What I saw was most
frightening. I was on the verge of calling 911 when
I happened to realize who was in that mirror.
I cannot tell you how disturbed I was to
discover that I was looking at me and me was
looking back. Oh, what a sorrowful sight it was.
For the last several months, everybody has
been telling me the New Year is upon us and
everything is going to be much better than last
year. The old is gone, the new is here.
Being the skeptic that I am, I did not buy into
it lock, stock and barrel but I did come very close
to accepting the “New” associated with the New
Year. After all, it does make sense. There should
be a time and place where you can start all over
and take on a new appreciation of life. I almost
bought into it. Almost, but not quite.
Then, this morning I went into the bathroom as
usual and looked into the mirror.
What I saw in that mirror was the old face from
last year. In fact, do not let this get out, but it did
look a twinge older than last year. Just a twinge,
mind you. That is when it really hit me. It is not
fair. According to what I have been told, the new
always casts out the old. The old is behind me and
all I had to look forward to is the new.
But the mirror? The mirror told me an
altogether different story.
So I began to think about this. The reason
my old face is in my mirror may be because my
mirror is an old mirror from last year. As I begin
ruminating through this very complex situation,
I think I came up with a solution.
That’s one thing about me. I like to find
solutions. I do not always find them, but when
I do find a solution, I celebrate. I was on the
brink of celebrating when this thought stomped
through my mind.
Because it is a New Year, I need to have a new
face. I cannot afford a facelift because I have
too many chins. I would not know what chin to
eliminate. Never been to a plastic surgeon before,
so I do not know if they charge per chin or what.
I disregarded the facelift idea and thought
about wearing a mask all year. The Lone Ranger
got away with it, maybe I could as well.
The more I thought about that, the less enticing
it was. It would drive me crazy to have someone
next to me always saying “Kemosabe” all day. I
don’t even know what that means.
Getting back to my solution. I think the New
Year calls for a new mirror. I need a new mirror
in my bathroom so I can see what my New Year’s
face looks like.
“A what?” laughed my wife when I ask her
where I could purchase such a mirror. I figured
if anybody knew where to get such a mirror, it
would be her. I just was not prepared for all the
hilarity coming from her direction.
“Does this have anything to do with some kind
of a New Year’s resolution on your part?” She
asked. She barely got that out before she broke
down into more laughter.
Personally, I did not see what was so funny
about all of this.
“If you don’t like what you see in your mirror,”
she said, trying to keep from laughing, “a new
mirror will not make any difference at all.”
That is what I get for asking her a silly question.
My thought is simply this, it doesn’t hurt to try.
Her thought is simply this, it’s just too funny.
I have been backed into a corner now. I cannot
get a new mirror because my wife will know what
I am doing and laugh herself into hysterics. I
thought about breaking the mirror, but she would
figure out what I was doing and it would only
make her laugh all the more.
I was reminded of what the Bible says, “For if
any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he
is like unto a man beholding his natural face in
a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his
way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of
man he was” (James 1:23-24).
It is not outward appearances that are that
important, but rather that I do those things that
are pleasing unto the Lord.
The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family
of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL
34472. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail
jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is
www.whatafellowship.com.
|