The Warfare Is Mental

On Philosophical Relativism

March 12, 2008

It is common knowledge that certain behaviors we call ‘laws’ govern the physical workings of the universe and Earth. Water is always composed of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Should this mixture vary, we no longer have water but something else. As long as we are under subordination of Earth’s atmosphere, anything you throw in the air will come down, hence, the law of gravity. Now be sure that if I am saying objective reality exists independent of humans, this is not the same as saying humans cannot influence objective reality. If I take a gun and kill somebody, I have just shaped objective reality. But try as I might afterwards, I could not ever shape or change the objective reality that I killed somebody. In these instances we easily grasp the concept of a reality that is what it is regardless of our beliefs, attitudes or assumptions, yet the minute we enter the realm of religion, morality or God all logic seems to go out the window.

Genesis 1:1

March 11, 2008

Genesis 1:1 reads, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." At the most basic level, the first three words of the Bible are currently upheld by Hubble’s Law. Recorded seemingly by the Hebrews alone, the notion that the universe had a beginning is mentioned again in Psalm 102:25-26. Here is another example where scripture is in reasonable accord with the findings of modern science.

Psalm 102:25-26

January 31, 2008

Compiled long before scientific knowledge was available, this proclamation from David in the context of speaking to God both describes and agrees perfectly not only with Hubble’s Law and the findings of the greatest cosmologists, but also with Carnot’s Principle and the findings of Lord Kelvin and the greatest physicists. Based on observations of redshifts from distant galaxies, Hubble’s Law led to a concept described as the Big Bang that conforms perfectly to this verse from the Psalms and the first three words of Genesis as well. As defined by a universe in decay, Carnot’s Principle of entropy, also known as the second law of thermodynamics, states that in any exchange there is always a loss of energy in the form of irrecoverable heat. Left of its own accord, our entire universe would eventually wear out and reach a state in which zero molecular activity would be occurring anywhere.

The relevant verse reads, "In the beginning you laid the foundations of the Earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment."

Illusions Writers Face

January 28, 2008

*This is the first installment of a series on common illusions beginning writers might face. This first post summarizes my career as a scribe to date and serves as backstory; as such it can be skipped and if you want to get straight to the illusions, proceed to part II.

The first time I got paid for writing was in 2000. The father of this friend of mine wanted to write a letter to someone but felt he just didn't quite know what to say, so he paid me $50 to write it for him. I photocopied the money and saved it. It was a weird feeling, a confirmation of a brave idea, a dream come true, an answered prayer, a life-changing event…all these cliche's and much, much more. It was just a year or so earlier I realized I was a writer, and that meant I had an obligation to earn a living from the craft.

The Fossil Record

January 7, 2008

The fossil record is a term used to refer to the sum total of fossils discovered in the bowels of the Earth.

Earth is composed of rock layers called strata, and the science of studying these layers is called stratigraphy. Usually occurring in layers of sedimentary rock distributed around the world, a fossil is any geological imprint of a once-living life form and the study of fossils is known as paleontology.

Mrs. Piety Versus The Non-Persons

November 15, 2007

I had already gulped down my horchata by the time she handed me my change. I took my seat and began the wait for what could be called the skateboarders staple, a bean, rice and cheese burrito. Besides, I love the vending machines in this joint. They sell cool stickers with pictures of homies lifting weights and slinging ink and stuff. It seemed like forever until she called my number. I got my grub and went back to my little corner, hoping to have an uneventful lunch all by myself when some commotion across the street piqued my interest.

On the WGA Strike

October 12, 2007

Although I’ve been a member of the very adult-like Writer’s Guild of America, West for seven years now, I’m undeniably, unquestioningly and unabashedly a kid at heart. A kid’s main motivation is often enjoyment, and I can’t stand the intensely stolid seriousness and false sense of urgency most adults needlessly assign to their careers, most of which are just meaningless peach fuzz on the buttocks of life’s grander scheme.

Selman vs. Cobb County

September 14, 2007

In a controversial decision virtually guaranteed to increase resentment between scientists, educators, fundamentalists and constitutional rights buffs, United States District Court Judge Clarence Cooper ruled against the Cobb County School Board on January 13th that the inclusion of a religiously neutral disclaimer sticker in school science textbooks was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. Prompted by the ACLU, Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science Education (GCISE) and even former President Jimmy Carter, the lawsuit, filed by Jeffrey Selman and four other parents, is an ongoing expression of the religio-political battle raging in education, religion, science and civil liberties.

Are You an Alligator?

August 17, 2007

When an alligator is born, it's basically at the bottom of the food chain. Any one of a number of predators can easily blot the reptile out of existence, but after a certain length of time, the alligator arrives at the top of the food chain. Although it's the most glamorized in the modern media, instant and monumental success in a given endeavor is not the only road to success. Don't be discouraged if it seems like you are fighting to stay alive and progress is coming slow. If you are an alligator, all you have to do is keeping doing what you're doing, which is being an alligator, waiting it out, and before you know it, you'll be at the top of the food chain, feasting.

On Right Livelihood

August 15, 2007

I was on the bus riding home the other day when I saw this truck. It was no ordinary truck, but super blinged-out and all fancy looking: you know, the same kind of truck a guy with small-man syndrome buys to compensate for his lack of power, the same kind of truck that sucks up diesel and spews wretched filth into the air and ultimately every corpuscle of the rest of us, the same kind of truck Jello Biafra pokes fun at in that Dead Kennedy's song about the jocks who beat up the "faggot" for throwing rocks. What caught my attention most were the mirrors: they had motors to automatically fold them in and out, which works well in a crowded city because streets are narrow and it's easy as pie to get your mirrors knocked off if you own a car.

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