"In the Beginning"

Approximately one tenth of this blog's content will be dedicated to God.

It all begins with this:

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

Bereshit bara Elohim et ha-Shamayim ve'et ha-Aretz

In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.

Coupled with verse 2, it is perhaps better translated as "When in the Beginning", but this post and at least one other will focus on the first verse by itself. That is the amazing thing about Hebrew's flexibility - to single out or couple verses together can make small but meaningful changes to what it says, and that is precisely what the authors of the Bible, and the Holy Spirit who inspired them, intended, to make the Bible readable in multiple ways and thus fill each book, each chapter, each verse, each word, and even each letter, full of lessons to teach. One lesson can be learned from the first letter of the first word, this one:

בְּ

It is Bet, which begins bereshit, or "in beginning" or sometimes even just "beginning".

 The first word of the Bible, Bereshit, begins with the Hebrew "Bet". It is shaped almost entirely like a box, save for one opening on the left. All but the one opening is closed off. Because Hebrew is read from right to left, this open side suggests that we shouldn't focus on anything before the Bible. What happened before creation? The ancient rabbis believed that "Berishit" beginning with Bet meant that what happened before creation doesn't matter. 

Why is that?

Because in all likelihood, there might not be anything of meaning to humanity before creation except for God Himself!

It's also because as soon as we open the Bible, we are to close our minds of most influences from outside of it.

This very first word, "Beginning", has a significant placement. First of all, this is where the Bible begins, therefore the first word almost has to be "Beginning". Secondly, the structure is as such in Hebrew that if you were to leave out "Heaven and Earth", you could write it as "God created Beginning,", which answers the matter of God's timelessness. Time is a property of physically existing matter, and as God is not made of the same stuff as matter so much as just being "made out of God", time therefore doesn't have to apply to God, and so when God made matter, God made time. Meaning God wasn't sitting around being bored waiting for something interesting to happen before He suddenly decided to make things. That would imply time applies to God. It doesn't. God just was, and then He made things, creating time with them.

So if creation actually begins with the Heaven and Earth, and in all likelihood, nothing else, because time didn't exist before our universe, what would God have us focus on instead?

The rest of the scripture. Bet closes off all before scripture, setting up the verses as the path you, the reader, are to follow, 

All is in the text of the Bible. Nothing else is to be thought of when reading it. Don't take your own prejudices when reading it. Humble and open your mind to God's teachings, and forget all else, when reading the Bible. Which is a sentiment that will probably upset so many Christians, because many sadly are so tragically "Sola Doctrine", already thinking in terms of pre-determined narratives before atteumpting to think in terms of . Most churches believe that only they and they alone can save, but no one church doesn't have that authority, but rather, only God does, and the Bible is His Holy Word, and any church that honors it can help somebody obtain salvation.

Doctor Who: Ian Chesterton

One could argue that when the series began, he was not only the real star of the series, but also one of the single most useful companions on the physical scale, often knowing how to assemble basic tools to solve problems and not at all a bad fighter.  Ian was often the most vocal about challenging the Doctor's plans, and as a result, he clashed with the First Doctor more than any of his other companions.  This is in contrast to the more understanding Barbara, who generally didn't challenge the Doctor as much, but only because she didn't always see a need to, and would often challenge everybody equally on serious moral matters, one thinks of The Aztecs.

Ian was often one of the Doctor's snider companions, and the ultimate Captain Obvious, as though he was an intelligent person who seldom had intelligent things to say, frequently making immediately observable observations rather than coming up with many new observations of his own.  That was often Barbara's job, or the Doctor's. Despite this, he was also the most fiercely loyal when a decision was made and he accepted it, even if he often expressed concern over potential consequences of the whims of Barbara and the Doctor.

The actor who played the character, William Russel, has returned to this character every so often for specials, as can be seen here:

Gamera

Many daikaiju reflect something far greater.  For instance, Godzilla was a reflection of the horror of nuclear waste and its affects on humankind.

...Gamera, on the other hand, started out as a character who was mostly just competition to Godzilla.  Nothing a whole lot deeper.

Regardless, Gamera is not without his merits.  

Gamera begins is a surprisingly Western-style movie.

While the movie offers no point except that all problems have a safe solution, and science can be used for good, Gamera's first movie is still rich with decent ideas, starting with his cast, such as the first major "Kenny" of the Gamera franchise, Toshio.

The first "Kenny" of the Gamera franchise, the first boy to see good in him, Toshio developed an attachment to turtles because his biological mother died when he was very little, and her last gift to him was apparently a terrapin named Pee-Wee.  So he was attached to the turtle and took only the best care of Pee-Wee.

Ken inaccurately concludes that Pee-Wee changed into Gamera, perhaps hoping that Pee-Wee was still somewhere to be found.

When he learns that Gamera was globe-trotting, he reminds the adults that Gamera could be lonely, which may actually be true, given that Gamera is quite likely the last of his kind; we've never seen any other Gameras flying about.

Gamera could be treated as a metaphor for man's relationship with scientific advancements, powers we ourselves unleashed that are seemingly beyond our own control, but are ultimately not evil by themselves, only evil because we use them for evil, or at least don't find good uses for them.  Some discoveries are best treated perhaps with the faith and innocence of a child, to only use them in ways that would help people and make them happy, as Gamera would continue to do long after his first movie, regularly saving people and bringing them joy.

Also, no Gamera movies are without songs!

Doctor Who: Captain Jack Harkness

Few characters of this series have drawn more fan fascination than Captain Jack Harkness.

What is the actual explanation behind his popularity?

Was it his dashing good looks? Perhaps, but many companions looked good, including some who actually ended up tremendously unpopular, such as Mel.

Was it his flamboyant expression of LGBT inclinations? Perhaps, but some people who were actually LGBT actually found him slightly pandering and too stereotypically hypersexual, and thus not really their best representation, and frankly, I don't blame them either.

But the main secret to the character's success is probably not difficult to explain:

Comedy.  Captain Jack Harkness had to be one of the single funniest companions the Doctor ever had.  His blunt innuendos pushed all boundaries of decency to the point in which it was hard not to be amused by them.

But he was more than just a funny guy.  Jack Harkness' expression of comedy was often his coping mechanism for the variously dangerous situations he was in, and his means of breaking down tension with the often intense Ninth Doctor, meaning he was not only hilarious, but also a vital means of changing the story's tension, whilst making the story feel more alive and believable to fans watching the show.

But it's only natural.  Like most good characters, Jack Harkness had many sources and underwent lots of changes, which is usually how one creates characters that naturally fit and connect with many others as he did.  His origins lay in the Marvel Comics witch, Agatha Harkness, who was every bit as prone to character development and secret-keeping as he was.  Loosely based on her, Russel T. Davies constructed the character around the idea that he would begin as a cowardly character who would become extremely courageous towards the end, starting as somebody who hid in the shadows and exploited others, but grew into somebody who faced down the Daleks without any shred of fear.

Because of his very peculariar and highly specific function, Jack Harkness unsurprisingly ceased to be the companion when the Ninth Doctor got replaced by the more energetic Tenth.

Of course, this is the good Captain's story function.  What you probably came for was a tribute, and I will never fail to deliver in this area!

How Xehanort Stole Kingdom Hearts

Everybody in the Realm of Light liked the Light a lot.
But Xehanort! Who lived in the Keyblade Graveyard, did not.

Xehanort hated the Light, and all sunny seasons.
Now please don't ask why, no one knows quite the reasons.

It could be that his head wasn't screwed on just right.
It could be that his boots were just too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason to bark
Was that his heart, was two shades too dark.

But whatever the reason, his heart or his boots
He stood there, waiting, hating the coots.
Staring down from his ledge with a sour, X-Blade frown,
As the dwellers of light lit the lights of Disney Town.
For he know that every toon down beneath
Was busy hanging up a Wayfinder wreathe.

"And they're brandishing keyblades!" he said with a sneer,
"We're surrounded by Light! It's practically here!"
Then he growled, with his Heartless fingers mercilessly drumming,
"I must find a way to stop the Light from coming!"

For tomorrow, he knew...

All the toon girls and boys,
They'd wake bright and early.
They'd rush for their toys!

Oh, and all the noise, noise, noise!
That's one thing he'd hate.
All the noise noise noise!

And then, they'd sit down to a feast.

And they'd feast!
And they'd feast!
And they'd feast, feast, feast, feast!
They'd feast on vanilla pudding
And on animated beasts
Which was something Xehanort couldn't stand in the least.

Then!
They'd do something Xehanort liked least of all
Every toon, the tall and the small
Would stand together, with the town bells ringing
Every toon would join their hands
And start singing!

And they'd sing! And they'd sing!
And they'd sing, sing, sing!
And the more Xehanort thought of this toon Christmas sing
The more Xehanort thought, "I must stop this whole thing!"
Why, for seventy-five years, I've put up with it now!
I must stop this from coming...but how?"

The significance of appearances: Ansem and Xemnas

Many fans treat Ansem as though he was nothing more than a mere extension of Xehanort, and Xemnas as though he were Terra's Nobody.

I'm going to explain why this view is completely wrong.

First, there is physical appearance.

On a first glance, Ansem may more closely resemble Xehanort due to his similar fashion sensibilities, but upon a second inspection, his face has its similarities, but also its differences.  His hair and skin color is Xehanort enough, but many of his other facial features are a mix of Xehanort and Terra.  First there are the eyebrows, which have a shape halfway between that of Xehanort's and Terra's, and the same is true about his chin.  As for the nose, it's more prominent and pointy, like Terra's, and he has round Terra ears.

As for his personality and motivations, they still lean most strongly towards that of Xehanort's, but not without Terra's distinctive streak of seeking out more wisdom in the process (not that gaining more wisdom ever seems to do Terra any good; his learning curve is flatter than Larxene's chest).

All in stark contrast to Xemnas.

Xemnas has prominent cheekbones and a straight, flat nose, his chin is very much the same as Xehanort's.

So if he's at least partially Terra's body, why does he look almost exactly like a 30-year-old Xehanort, and also act very much as his own person?

This boils down to what Nobodies are.

Nobodies are more than just reanimated bodies without hearts.  They are actually primarily the outlines, the impacts that hearts leave in this world, inhabiting the bodies left behind.  To understand this, try imagining making a footprint in the sand.  Then for some reason, your body loses your heart to darkness, and it triggers something in the sandy footprint.  The old body falls apart and rebuilds itself from scratch, but without the heart, in the footprint.

The result is that Nobodies won't always look identical to their complete counterparts if their complete counterparts were storing other hearts.  Case in point? Roxas.  Sora stored part of Ventus' heart inside of himself, and so when he became a Heartless, the imprint Ventus' heart made on the multiverse took over the fading body, giving it a new life and personality of its own, resulting in an individual easily distuishable from both Sora and Ventus.

Xemnas is no different.

Terra-Xehanort, or as he's more popularly known, "Terranort", had elements of the hearts of both Xehanort, and Terra.  As a direct result, the Heartless is both Xehanort and Terra, but Xemnas is different.  Xemnas may be Terra's body, but the imprint of his heart animating him is Xehanort's, resulting in an almost wholly Xehanortian appearance, and yet, because he was just a heart outline that filled itself with its own experiences and connections, Xemnas has come to assume much of his own identity apart from those of both Xehanort and Terra.

Whosday: Susan Foreman

Because the show Doctor Who was never meant to be exclusively about the Doctor, it naturally meant that his earliest companions were all fleshed out, and who better to talk about than the very first onscreen companion, Susan Foreman?

Susan was the pseudonym of the Doctor's granddaughter, back when the Doctor was basically meant to look even more elderly than the actor playing him was, and not the reverse (to the point where William Hartnell always wore a wig and sometimes a cap to conceal his hairline in order to make his Doctor look old), and so it would not have seemed strange at all that the Doctor had a granddaughter.

The 1960s was also probably the most emotionally mature decade of the show (in a similar fashion to how the 1970s was perhaps the most intellectually mature decade of the show, but that's a whole other article) until the revival in the 21st century, and thus that meant that there was sometimes interpersonal conflict, and there was sometimes strong sentiments towards other characters.  Susan often expressed this the most, seeing the world with young, innocent eyes in contrast to the more paranoid and cynical worldview of her grandfather, the Doctor, and so they often clashed, such as when she did whatever she could to defend the innocence of her Earth teachers, and later the Sensorites.  

She was also, being essentially the youngest of the TARDIS team, was often depicted as the most vulnerable both physically and emotionally, often needing rescuing by both of the Doctor's other companions, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.  However, unlike Ian and Barbara, Susan's personality was not always too terribly fleshed out, depite how emotionally mature the show was and how much effort there was into making Ian and Barbara multidimensional.  However, given that Barbara was a highly complex character, this probably has almost nothing to do with Susan being a girl, and everything to do with how young her character was, especially when one takes into account that the most clearly defined personality traits of Susan were her insatiable curiosity (a trait she may have gained from her equally inquisitive Grandfather), general lack of guile, stubbornness (a trait she also shared with her grandfather), strong sense of justice towards the innocent, and her morbid sense of humor (also a trait of the First Doctor's).

However, this article desribed Susan's personality and her role in the show, not her history.  To learn Susan's history, I suggest you watch this video:

Musical Monday: So This is Love

Cinderella may not have the same dark panache as other Princess movies, but it undoubtedly had one of the more likeable leading characters.  It is therefore hard to believe that Cinderella was subject to a particularly troubled production by Disney standards, having at least eight people heavily involved in the development of the story.  While these numerous writers played a valuable role in developing the Cinderella character, Cinderella's likeability can also be attributed to her voice actress, Ilene Woods.

Of course, Ilene Woods is a stage name.  Her real name was Jaqueline Ruth Woods.  She was born in 1929, and her mother worked behind the scenes of film sets.  Jaqueline herself had dreams of becoming a schoolteacher, but had eventually followed her mother's footsteps and pursued a career in cinema.

Whoever deserves the most credit for Cinderella's likeability, in the end, she became Walt Disney's favorite Princess, because her work and her efforts to get somewhere struck a chord with Walt, who had to deal with an unpredictable father and had struggled with being recognized in his early days as an artist.

She sang multiple songs for Cinderella, such as this one, So This Is Love, a romantic ballad between Cinderella and Prince Charming.

This would be the first duet between a Disney Princess and a Prince (though sadly not the first Prince with personality of his own; that wouldn't be a thing until Sleeping Beauty's release around 1959, nine years after the release of Cinderella).  It was originally meant to show her dancing on a cloud to symbolize how she felt from looking into his eyes, but this was changed because, barring the talking mice and the fairy Godmother, Cinderella has fairly few fantasy elements and Disney wanted to keep it that way.

Her life leading up to her death was truly a sad story: She developed Alzheimer's Disease, and not only forgot that she sang this song, but forgot that she ever voiced Cinderella in the first place.  However, she liked another Cinderella song, A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes, and would take comfort every time she heard it play in the nursing home, and it was played as often as possible until her death in July 1, 2010.

The Science of the Heart

Tired of the fake hearts and the sugary candy? Want to talk about the bleeding human heart instead?

Gladly!

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the heart is that it keeps beating on its own, without us ever having to conciously think about it.  This is because the heart actually has ganglia surrounding it, sometimes called the heart-brain.  That means that basically, the heart sends more information to the brain than the brain does to the heart, and the heart doesn't merely keep beating because of signals from the brain, but also because of the very nervous system it is tied to.

Seuss Saturday: The 500 Lives of John Snow

In the beginning, John Snow didn't have 500 lives.  He had only one life.  It was a normal life that came from his parents.  It was the simplest life in all of Westeros,  but Jon liked it well enough.

Part of Westeros was ruled by King Jophery.  His palace stood high on the top ofive the mountain.   From his balcony, he looked down over the houses of all of his subjects.  First, over the spires of the nobleman'so castles,  across the broad roofs of the rich men'should mansions, then over the little houses of the townsfolk, to the huts of the farmers far off in the fields.