Top 5 Tuesday- Iconic Things That Didn't Happen Until the Second Season

They say good things come to those who wait... And it definitely applies to those who follow a show into its second season...

5. Beaker was created for The Muppet Show

  

 

What would the Muppet Labs sketches have been like without the hapless, meeping, undefinable orange thing, Beaker? Well, they would have been a lot like season one Muppet Labs sketches, where Dr. Bunsen Honeydew had to test his exploding neckties and earmuffs on himself. (Beaker is my favorite Muppet, and when I realized he was also a second-season stroke-of-genius, I was inspired to write this list.)

4. David Tennant became the tenth Doctor on Doctor Who

He wasn’t the first Doctor of the series, or even of the relaunch, (technically, the series two he came in on was actually season 28). However, David Tennant’s iteration of everyone’s favorite Time-Lord is definitely a fan-favourite. Doctor Who picked up many new audience members during the tenth Doctor’s run. Which is good.

3. The theme music for The Twilight Zone

Because you know you whistle it whenever something even vaguely eerie or bizarre happens. The first season theme is a lot harder to whistle if you ask me, and it’s just not as memorable. (But it is still good. Go listen to it on YouTube or something).

2. Chekov!

(I’ll admit, if this was a list of my favorite things that happened in the second season, Chekov would be number one. He’s one of my favorite fictional characters ever.) For the second season of their popular space show, Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry and company decided they needed a character on the bridge of the Enterprise who would appeal to a young adult audience. Noting the popularity of The Monkees, they decided to style their new navigator after Davy Jones. The character was almost British, but for some reason or other (exactly what this reason was is debated), Roddenberry came to the conclusion that the character needed to be a Russian, since the U.S.S.R. sent the first human into space. So, Chekov joined the crew of the Enterprise, and his zealous patriotism, proclivity toward switching the letter v with the letter w, and his youth and excitement have been a staple of the legendary group ever since. Oh, and they did decide to keep the Davy Jones hairstyle, but since Walter Koenig’s hair wasn’t long enough when he first came on the show, he wore a really terrible wig.

1. The Vulcan salute

People know the Vulcan salute. People who have no idea who Chekov or Sulu are know the Vulcan salute. People who think Star Trek is Star Wars know the Vulcan salute. People who don’t know what a Vulcan is know the Vulcan salute. And it wasn’t used until the second season of Star Trek. It’s use on the show originated with Leonard Nimoy.He based it off of a blessing he saw the priests do in synagogue as a young boy when he wasn’t supposed to be watching. The salute was first used in season 2, episode 1- "Amok Time".

So, what do you think? Do you have any other examples? More pieces to these stories? Did I include too many Star Trek examples? I'd love to hear from you! 

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora

We Reach for Utopia (Part 1 of 2)

 

My window looks out over a sprawling city. It seems like every ten minutes, some sort of emergency vehicle speeds past, the wail of its siren growing louder, until it echoes eerily off the walls of my room, then fades into the distance.

There is something desperately wrong with society. We as humans know this to be true on a fundamental level. We want to fix it. We want to build a perfect civilization.

Thousands of years ago, the people of the world convened together, and decided to build a tower in celebration of the ideal society they’d thought they’d formed, marked by a single ambition, and united by a single language. This tower would be the crowning achievement of their humanist utopia. They thought that by their own power, by their own greatness, they could make their world perfect. They were wrong. (If you aren't catching my drift, read Genesis 11).

Ever since the failure at Babel, the diverse peoples of earth have continued to strive for such a world, one they could take hold of and make perfect. We seem to think there’s something inherent in our race that makes us great, that makes us conquerors, that makes us world-builders, and that if we can only tap into that something, everything will go right for us.

Don’t believe me? Look at our history. Dictators have gone to extremes to bring out the parts of the human race that they think will lead to a golden future. Look at our philosophy. Great thinkers have theorized on the flaws of society, and what people can do to cure them. Look at our stories. Authors dream up utopian cities, and worlds, and federations, quite similar to the dreams of Babel, where human intuition and goodness has solved all our problems. (Sci-fi fans. You know what I mean.)

But like Babel, all our ambitions lie there unfinished. Why? Why would we long so deeply for a perfect world if we can never achieve it?

You see, humanity lived in a perfect world once. The original man and woman were completely united with one another, and fulfilled to the core of their being. And it all centered around their Creator and Sustainer, God.

God was was the author of this original utopia. As His creations enjoyed, walked with, and came to know Him, they achieved the purpose of their existence. They lived in the only truly perfect society.

Then, as we are now too painfully aware of, they fell for the ruse we have been falling for ever since. They believed the lie that they could have perfection based on their own power, knowledge, and nature, apart from God. They were wrong. (This account is in Genesis 1-3).

So, now, here our race is. Delving further into the myth that we are the key to flawless existence. That if we only try hard enough, we can do anything. All the while, we are only one step away from the true answer to all humanity’s problems: our Creator and our Lord.

We reach for utopia in every direction but up.

Yeah, I know it's more depressing than my usual fare, but this is only the first part to the story. Tune in for my next Wednesday post, two Wednesdays from today, and I'll continue with the same theme, but with a more hopeful ending. In the meantime, there will be a top 5 Tuesday article that will probably just consist of geeky fluff. I hope you enjoyed. I hope I made you think. I'd love to hear from you!

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

Top 5 Tuesday- Bible Sidekicks

In general, we associate heroes and sidekicks with comic books and superhero stories, but the roots of these character types run deep in human nature. Discipleship and mentorship are part of God’s plan for human relationships. Logically then, we find some of the best examples of heroes and sidekicks in His word, the Bible.

For the purpose of this list I disqualified the twelve disciples of Jesus, (because really, they would take up the whole list, and then some. And their mentor is kind of unbeatable).

So, all that said, here, in no particular order, is this week’s top 5 list:

5. Joshua (Exodus-Joshua)-

As the faithful young aide of the newborn nation of Israel’s leader, Moses, Joshua had a pure heart, a strategic mind, and a fierce devotion to his leader and his Lord. After serving under Moses for many years, he became the leader of Israel himself, during their period of conquest.  God constantly exhorted him to be courageous, and encouraged him with the promise of His faithfulness. One of the most interesting aspects of his life was the way he dwelt in the presence of the Lord constantly while working with Moses:

“So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.” (Exodus 33:11 NKJV)

4. Elisha (1 Kings 19- 2 Kings 13)-

Elisha trained under similarly-named prophet,Elijah, before witnessing his mentor’s ascent to heaven in a flaming chariot. Then, he began his own prophetic ministry, which, in many ways paralleled that of Christ.

3. John Mark (Acts 12, 15; Colossians 4; 2 Timothy 4; Philemon; 1 Peter 5)-

In an amazing, (though subtle in the text), story of redemption, the young man who broke trust by abandoning Paul on a missionary journey became the apostle’s trusted confidant and loyal assistant. Many people believe that the gospel of Mark was written by John-Mark, under the tutelage of Paul.

2. Samuel (1 Samuel 1-25, 28)-

In contrast to the other stories mentioned here, this student ended up teaching his mentor a lesson or two in listening to the voice of God. Despite Eli the priest’s sometimes poor leadership, Samuel served the Lord, and the priest faithfully, and ended up hearing from God

when his teacher could not.  

1. Timothy (Acts 16-20, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Philemon, Hebrews)-

The first Biblical figures we think of when we think of mentorship (other than the twelve disciples, of course), are Paul and Timothy. And rightfully so. Paul found Timothy as a young man, raised in the faith by his mother and grandmother, and took a vested interest in him. Paul served as the Christian father-figure that we generally assume was absent from Timothy’s life. The young disciple experienced amazing works of God during his time with Paul, and became a steadfast servant and leader. Despite his struggles with insecurity and sickness, God used him as a humble, passionate conveyer of the good news, and encourager of churches. The epistle that was most likely Paul’s last was a deeply personal letter to Timothy.

What do you think? Is there anyone I could add? What are your thoughts on Biblical mentorship and discipleship. I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

48 Years Later...

-Everyone knows that space is the final frontier

-Red shirts aren't just red shirts. They are omens of doom.

-When you position your fingers like below, you can draw a reply from most people in the room.

-Scotty is frequently called upon to beam people up.

-We have flip phones.

-We have Skype. (Unfortunately, we still can't Skype Abraham Lincoln to my knowledge.)

-We have computers we can talk to.

-African American women are heroes in our stories, and Russians aren't always the bad guys.

-Seven space-faring characters in colorful uniforms are part of our modern mythology.

-Nerds are cool.

… And this success story of science fiction impacting society began 48 years ago today, when a space show premiered on NBC. The episode was entitled “The Man Trap”, the series, Star Trek. Happy birthday,Trek! Live long and prosper.

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

Geeky Day Trips: The National Air and Space Museum

     It's hard to resist a good space museum. Especially if said space museum is free.

     A few weeks ago, I was able to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.  It is a veritable treasure trove for history buffs, flight enthusiasts, space cadets, and even sci-fi fans.  I could have spent weeks there. There are far to many things to see and read. But I did feel like I accomplished quite a lot, so I thought I would give you a list of things you can do at the National Air and Space Museum.

Things you can do at the National Air and Space Museum:

1. See the original plane developed by the Wright Brothers




     Now, from what I understand, the framework of the plane is the original framework from the first flight in 1903 that launched the world into the aerial age. The canvas in the picture is newer, and the original canvas is in a glass case nearby for protection. Still, it's a pretty major piece of history to behold.


2. Walk Through Skylab



     Skylab was the first U.S. space station. It orbited the earth from 1973 to 1979 for experimental purposes, including solar observation, and multispectral analysis of the earth. At Air and Space, you can walk through a portion of it to get a glimpse of how its inhabitants lived in space. As a special bonus, you can also  see this creepy mannequin guy.

3.  See a gallery of pictures from Mars



     In the upper story of Air and Space, there is a room devoted to pictures taken of our neighboring planet by the Mars Rover. The exhibit is set up to have a sparse and bleak ambiance, sort of like Mars itself

4. Become more informed about NASA's manned space missions



     Downstairs, there is a cool recreation of the Apollo 11 lunar landing module that you should probably take your picture in front of. Upstairs is an exiting exhibit dedicated to NASA's manned space missions, from Mercury to Apollo. There is a great timeline explaining the missions and listing the key players in each one, as well as a plethora of space memorabilia. (Including some control panels from the flights, which you unfortunately can't play with , because they're behind glass).

5. Make your inner (or outer, if you are me) sci-fi fan smile



     Go down to the very bottom level of the museum gift shop, toward the back of the room. There, you will find the U.S.S Enterprise. You should take a picture with  that, too. Also, on the top floor of the museum in general, right across from the Skylab entrance, there is a series of informational posters, one of which is about the original series of Star Trek, and the way it was effected by and had an effect upon our culture. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this. Also unfortunately, the poster had an entire blurb about the episode "The Way to Eden" on it. I highly doubt that the creator of the sign watched that episode before mentioning it.

     I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my highlights of the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Do you have exciting Air and Space stories you want to tell? Is there anything I wrote that you want to elaborate on? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. 

Keep on glowing in the dark ,
Elora

Unleash the Bible Geeks

 

As geeks, we like to know things. Things like pi to as many decimal places as possible, the atomic number of, say, potassium (it’s 19), the opening scroll of all the Star Wars movies, the flavors of subatomic particles, Klingon, Elvish, Pavel Chekov’s starfleet service number, (which is 656-5827B, but shhh, I didn’t tell you that). Memorizing, knowing, it expands our minds, and challenges our neurons. It gives us a springboard for our creativity, and makes us really, really good at trivia games.  Plus, it’s just plain fun.

As Christian geeks, we have a veritably inexhaustible supply of information to learn and have handy. Which name of God conveys His sovereignty? What is the chronological order of the non-Pauline epistles? How many times does Paul say ‘therefore’ in all his letters put together? What is the genealogy from Abraham to Moses?  

All of these are questions that take us deep into the heart of God’s word. So, why is it so much harder to know the Beatitudes than to know the lines to our favorite movies?

(Feeling lame yet? Don’t worry, me too. But that’s not the point of this post, so keep reading.)

Here’s what it is, plain and simple: It’s a spiritual battle.

The Bible is so potent- so powerful- that the spiritual forces of evil don’t want us to know it. It is one of the two offensive components of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18.) When we decide we want to become someone who wields this weapon powerfully for the Lord, the forces of the world, our own flesh, and the devil will come against us. But the more we fight, by the strength and urging of the Spirit, the more equipped we will become for the fight.

So pray, my fellow Bible geeks, pray. Pray when you don’t want to, when you don’t feel like it. Pray to know the Lord better. Pray for the strength and desire to know His word. And pray for me, too, if you think of it. Pray that God would raise us up as a specialized, spiritual strike force defending and presenting the truth.

Keep praying. Keep fighting. Keep learning Keep memorizing. Keep knowing. Keep doing what you do best.

Geek out.

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora