Y is for Yogurt

yogurt (noun):  a slightly sour foodstuff made from fermented milk, sometimes eaten plain and sometimes with sugar or fruit added. Alternatively spelt yoghurt in some countries. 

Yogurt is mentioned several times in Scriptures, translated as curds in older translations. In ancient Middle Eastern traditions, milk was cultured and fermented to preserve it, yielding a yogurt-like food. Some modern English translations use the word yogurt to make the culinary imagery clearer for modern readers.

Finally, Yogurt is one of the major characters in Mel Brooks' SF comedy film Spaceballs, being a parody of Yoda from Star Wars. He is played by Brooks himself.

X is for X-Wing

The Incom T-65 X-wing starfighter is the primary interceptor and dog-fighter of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic. Each X-wing is equipped with four laser cannons and a pair of proton torpedo launchers. The fighter has two flight modes: one where the wings are flat and another when they are expanded into attack position, making an X-shape and thus giving the wing-tip laser cannons a larger fire area.

Star Wars is an epic SF franchise, created by George Lucas in 1977. The first film in the series became a worldwide phenomenon, and five further films were released - all became box office successes. A further film is due to follow at the end of this year...

W is for Winnebago (Eagle 5)

An unusual one, this. This spacecraft is in fact a 1986 Winnebago Chieftain 33 with wings attached, forming the 'Eagle 5' spacecraft. It comes complete with a periscope, secret hyperjets and an infrared scanner.

Spaceballs is a 1987 comedy film, co-written and directed by Mel Brooks. Essentially a parody of the original Star Wars trilogy, it also made references to the Alien and Planet of the Apes films.

My Brother

"You're my friend and You are my brother
Even though You are a king
And I love You more than any other,
So much more than anything..."

A group of us were deep in study at our local House Fellowship group as part of our Lent course, looking at various names that people have used over the years for Jesus. A little light came on when the words 'my brother' came up. This brought to mind one of the verses from 'As The Deer' (lyrics by Martin J. Nystrom, verse noted above). It also planted a little thought in my head which led to this post.

Now, if I start to think about Jesus as my brother, it doesn't necessarily bring with it any pre-conceived ideas. I never had a brother or a sister when I grew up. Well, strictly that's not true. I have a half-brother and a half-sister (my dad was married and had two children with his first wife; after she passed away he married my mum and they had me). However, these two of my family were that much older than I, therefore they never grew up with me; I never developed that sort of closeness you get with siblings. So, essentially, I was raised as an only child.

Which of course means that I never climbed trees with a brother; we never had adventures together; we never went through the same life experiences together. There wasn't that brotherly bond that this term seems to imply.

So, how can I begin to identify with Jesus as 'my brother'? Perhaps I should take some examples from modern popular culture?

Bart Simpson and his sister Lisa?
Sherlock Holmes and his brother Mycroft?
Barry and Paul, The Chuckle Brothers?

Err ... perhaps not.

Well, a quick glance along my science fiction DVD shelf gives me quite a few examples of sibling relationships, unfortunately many of these don't seem to work very well either. Here's a few of the better-known ones, after a few minutes brainstorming:

Data and Lore (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Thor and Loki (Marvel Comics)
Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch (Marvel Comics)
The Human Torch and The Invisible Woman (Marvel Comics)
Peter and Nathan Petrelli (Heroes)
Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia (Star Wars)

I guess that I have more chance of understanding this if I take a broader view of 'brotherhood'. More than just simple genetics, this sort of 'brother' would be closer than a friend, indeed becoming so trusted and so close that you would be close as a member of your own family. And closer still ... sticking together, no matter what ...

And that's the kind of relationship Jesus wanted with mankind. He gave up so much when He came down to Earth as a human being, yet He wanted to become our 'brother' so he could have a chance at achieving that sort of intimacy. Closer than just friends. Closer than shared blood lines. Closer even than shared parents. Shared lives. Walking each step of the way together.

Hebrews 2:11-12 (NIV)
Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.”

The offer is still open.

Happy Easter to you.
:)

Trust Your Feelings?

Time for some really deep questions... Are we, as human beings, designed with some sort of inbuilt defence mechanism to protect us? Should we therefore follow our feelings, our instincts?

I've been giving this question some serious thought during the last month, during my monthly break from blogging.

You see, over the past few decades it seems to me that it's become socially acceptable to follow your feelings. It assumes that something deep within you will steer you right. If you feel strongly about something, it has to have some meaning. It's also become part of our popular culture - Luke Skywalker is encouraged to "trust his feelings" in the original Star Wars film (1977, pictured above). However, how logical - and therefore, how safe - is it to let your feelings control your behaviour?

Some clarity first - when I talk about "feelings", I'm making a clear distinction between emotion and intuition. Blindly following your emotions is clearly not a good idea. If we continue our comparison with the Star Wars movies, you will recall that characters are warned that emotions can lead you to the Dark Side. I can't argue with that in the real world, either!

The problem with feelings is having a sound base to start from. If our thoughts are based on incorrect information or on false assumptions, then consequently any feelings associated with these thoughts are bound to be equally distorted—and hardly to be trusted. For example, if you truly believe you are in a "hopeless" situation, the subsequent feelings of despair that you'll experience could well be overwhelming. On the other hand, you might truly believe that you can have anything you ever wanted - that "the world is your oyster" - so it's clear that you will probably feel unfairly treated the first time that anyone says 'no' to you.

Both of these situations are based on a false assumption - therefore, any consequent feelings cannot be reasonably justified. Hence, we should always try to seek the truth first. However painful that truth may be.

More later... as I unpack this further.

Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Failure Is Not An Option

I'm a particular fan of the Ron Howard movie 'Apollo 13', based of course on the true story of NASA's efforts to return three astronauts back to Earth following an accident that had crippled their ship.

I now know that Gene Kranz (pictured above) never actually coined the phrase "failure is not an option" which is mentioned in the movie. The line was written in - however, Kranz so liked the line that he used it as the title of his autobiography (published in 2000).

I like it too. However, I've been wondering whether living your life by strict adherence to this adage is actually possible.

Interestingly, a reluctance to accept the possibility of failure is pretty much common to all my favourite SF genre shows:

"Do or do not... there is no try." - Yoda (Star Wars)

"I don't believe in the no-win scenario." - Kirk (Star Trek II- The Wrath Of Khan)

Is this view reflected in our modern lives? I've come across many bosses in my time who motivate others by simply not allow for failure in their planning. Are our standards too high? Do we ever permit ourselves the possibility of failure? Surely the easiest way not to fail is not to try? And what's wrong with 'try' anyway? You may gather that I've spent some time mulling over the subject this week.

You hear it so often, don't you, "I’ll try". Are they really going to give it a go, or does try actually mean "I'll do what you've told me to do, but don’t blame me if it doesn't work". When we make our wedding vows, do we say "I’ll try" or "I do"?

Can you ever imagine the Apollo missions with only an "try" attitude. It just wouldn't have succeeded. The difference between try and do? Commitment. If you do, failure is not an option. If you simply try, failure is a convenient alternative.

Sure, everybody louses it up from time to time. But it only becomes a failure when you give up. Listen to these words from scripture:

Proverbs 24:16 (CEV)

"Even if good people fall seven times, they will get back up. But when trouble strikes the wicked, that's the end of them."

God knows we're going to fall down every once in a while. Yet, He also stands by us and helps us get back on our feet.

I know I personally find it tough to accept when I've loused up. I'd rather hang on to Gene Kranz's point of view; not to include it in my options! Letting others down makes me depressed. However, God helps me here to work through my anger and disappointment. Usually disappointment in my own inactions! He wants us to pick ourselves up; to acknowledge our shortcomings and work to better ourselves.

So, it's only failure when you don't get up again. And that's not an option I'm open to.

Misleading Movie Descriptions

Accurate but deceptive summaries of popular films. Just shows how easy it can be to 'bend the truth' sometimes.

"Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again."
(The Wizard of Oz)

"Disaffected farm boy destroys military installation, killing thousands"
(Star Wars)

"A floppy-eared alien meets two robed humans who take him on a series of increasingly disturbing adventures, including an attempt to acquire a small boy on a bet."
(Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace)

"A former soldier tries to find someone in the Big Apple but is frequently distracted by the colourful locals and their interesting lifestyle choices."
(Escape From New York)

"Time travellers attempt to steal an endangered species just to save their own behinds."
(Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

For a longer list, click over to Filmcritic.com

:)

Y is for Weird Al Yankovic

"I love Rocky Road"

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter who specialises in satire and parody. There are a whole host of works to his name, and he has earned three Grammy Awards and several gold and platinum records. I've been an admirer of his work for a while. Check out 'Bohemian Polka' (a cover of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen), 'Bob' (in the style of Bob Dylan, but composed entirely of palindromes), 'Yoda' (a parody of 'Lola' by The Kinks, retelling the plot of 'Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back'), and 'Trapped in the Drive-Thru' (a parody of 'Trapped in the Closet' by R. Kelly). The last one is a favourite of my son, who introduced it to me!