E.T. for World President!

by John C. A. Manley | March 21, 2009

If things got really bad — down here on “mostly harmless” planet earth — could we rely on extraterrestrial neighbors to bail us out?

Last week’s, just-for-laughs, post (Roswell Crash and Politician’s Birthdays) seemed well received. In all seriousness, getting man out of his complex global mess may come down to alien intervention…

In fact, one of the senior monks of Paramhansa Yogananda told me that the great yoga teacher predicted alien intervention might become necessary to save humanity. Sort of God’s hand working in an “inconspicuous” way. Particularly, in the case of an out-of-control nuclear war.

Probably not the first time.

Couple that with all the predictions about a major shift for life on earth coming around 2012 …

The Roswell Crash and Politicians’ Birthdays

by John C. A. Manley | March 11, 2009

Roswell Daily Record, July 8, 1947, announcing the capture of a flying saucer.

I received this amusing, yet completely inaccurate, email-forward from Duane Tucker (poetryofthesoul.com) about the birth of certain American politicians and the UFO incident at Roswell, New Mexico …

Why I Recommend Stardust the Film
Over the Novel

by John C. A. Manley | March 6, 2009

The novel Stardust was published in 1998. 9 years later the film hit theatres grossing $135,553,806 (www.wikipedia.org).

“A philosopher once asked, ‘Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?’ Pointless, really… ‘Do the stars gaze back?’ Now that’s a question.”

Those were the opening lines to the 2007 film Stardust which Nicole and I rented last weekend.

As much as I have made an earnest effort, I’m no fan of Neil Gaiman’s writings. In fact, Stardust was the only novel he has written that I actually completed. Gaiman’s rambling narratives and humor don’t …

The Mystical 108 in the Bible, Eastern Religions
and the TV Show LOST

by John C. A. Manley | February 28, 2009

Did you know that when you add up the mysterious numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 from the TV show Lost it equals 108? Find out more in today’s post…

Two weeks ago, I wrote (Our Sun, Planet Earth and the Hoary 108) explaining how the sun is 108 times the size of the earth.  Attillio, and other readers, asked, “Could you perhaps mentioned all the other 108 numbers that come up in the Bible and astronomy?” I’ll cover the astronomical occurrences another time. Today I’ll deal with the first half of the question… …

Are We Drunk On Oil?

by John C. A. Manley | February 19, 2009

The new documentary, Escape From Suburbia: Beyond the American Dream looks at how our current global system would be affected by peak oil.

“The American way of life is non-negotiable,” says Dick Cheney, quoted in (Temporary) Continuance of the American Way of Life At State in Iraq. Maybe so Mr. Cheney…until REALITY catches up with modern man’s consumption and there simply isn’t enough resources (namely oil) to keep that “way of life” moving forward.

I just saw a fascinating set of trailers for a new documentary called Escape from SUBURBIA: Beyond the American Dream. It deals with the issues of peak oil and the possible inability of the global system to supply our needs for much longer.

(Peak oil refers to a pattern observed in individual oil fields where  production reaches maximum output and then suddenly diminished rapidly. This should eventually happen on a global level …

Our Sun, Planet Earth and the Hoary 108

by John C. A. Manley | February 11, 2009

A view of the Earth directly between the Sun and the Apollo 12 spacecraft during its journey home from the Moon.

Buddhists, Hindus and many other spiritual followers regard 108 as a holy number.

To back up it’s cosmic significance I’ve heard that 108 appears in astronomy quite a bit. The diameter of our Sun, for example measures 108 times that of the Earth. Sort of a divine signature on our little life-supporting solar system.

Well, I wanted to verify that this was true …

Time Travel Without Your Dental Fillings:

A Review of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveller’s Wife

by John C. A. Manley | January 16, 2009

When it was first released, some five years ago, Audrey Niffenegger’s novel caught my attention because of the title alone. The Time Traveler’s Wife. It made me think of some absent-minded inventor, tinkering away on a H.G. Well’s style time machine. His experiments would result in frequent travels across past and future, leaving his wife alone at home.

Finally having read the book, I can report that my interpretation of the title does not do the book justice.

Niffenegger’s time traveler, a Chicago librarian, Henry DeTamble, is far from a absent-minded professor type. Instead, he suffers from a genetic disorder that causes him to …

Did Jesus Really Multiply
All Those Fish and Loaves?

by John C. A. Manley | January 5, 2009

At age 15, my parents sent me off one summer vacation to “Catholic Camp” in Ohio (my first time leaving Canada). The food tasted stale, the sleeping conditions did not encourage an unconscious state and the beautiful surrounding woods were “off limits.”

During one of the daily services a priest talked about the parable of Jesus feeding 5,000 people by multiplying a few loaves and fish.

“While I’m sure Jesus could have used his powers to do such an act,” said the priest not so confidently, “I’d rather think differently. I feel Jesus merely convinced one person to share what they had. Then others, seeing the first person sharing, began to share what they had.”

My young mind sat their thinking, “That sounds nice and all but… …

Why There’s No Santa in Norway

by John C. A. Manley | December 23, 2008

I almost froze my fingers trying to take this photo of my son Jonah and I. We were bracing the first of a series of endless blizzards last weekend. According to CBC News, it’s going to be the first coast-to-coast White Christmas Canada has seen since 1971.

Anyway, I know Christmas keeps you busy — so I’ve made sure the following story is short and worthwhile… …

The Day the Earth Stood Still… Again!

by John C. A. Manley | December 16, 2008

“Based on the early, hostile reactions to the news that Twentieth Century Fox was remaking The Day the Earth Stood Still, you’d think the studio had planned to spray-paint the Mona Lisa,” writes Martin Marrow of CBC News.

It shocked me. Keanu Reeves and Twentieth Century Fox remaking this classic sci-fi film.

I haven’t bothered to watch it. Maybe never will. “Another fast, loud, CGI-driven hurricane,” say reviewers, “with a reliably bloodless Keanu Reeves as the… …