A Place of Brightness: star trek

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Every Star Trek Fan Should be Watching "The Orville"!

With Star Trek veteran Brannon Braga as one of its producers, the new sci-fi/comedy/drama series The Orville, airing on Fox, isn't even trying to hide the fact that it is an homage to that more famous franchise. Change "The Union" to "Starfleet" and "Quantum Drive" to "Warp Speed" and tweak the uniforms, and scenes of the show look like Captain Picard and Warf could come around the corner at any moment.

And that is not at all a criticism! I love Star Trek! So why would I not love a show that essentially gives me my fix of that universe?

And, that said, the show, as it were, boldly goes where no Star Trek series has ever gone before--into a delightful combination of true comedy and engaging science fiction drama.

With Seth MacFarlane (of Family Guy) as the creator/writer, it was always, of course, going to be hilarious. But it is also deeply thoughtful at times and additionally includes plenty of legitimately exciting science fiction/space action scenes.

We're only three episodes in, and they have already accomplished significant characterization of the cast that makes me understand their motivations and truly feel their reactions to situations. Fans of STNG will admit that the entire first season was somewhat choppy in that regard.

So, Star Trek fans, if you have not already done so, catch up while you're only a little behind, and enjoy the freshest science fiction show to air on TV since, well, to be honest...Star Trek: Enterprise went off the air...

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Know Your Bible: Shibboleth

According to the Book of Judges, the men of Ephraim crossed the Jordan River to contend with Jephthah, the leader of Gilead. (Circa 1100 BCE)

When the men of Gilead then defeated the Ephraimites, they took control of the places one could cross the River Jordan. Fugitives from the battle, trying to get back to their own land, claimed they were not from the Tribe of Ephraim.

There had already developed a dialectical difference among the tribes of Israel. And Ephraimites, unlike Gileadites, had no initial 'sh' sound in their language.

Famously, when you don't have a certain sound in your language, you cannot easily just imitate that phoneme. It took me years to learn how to roll an 'r'. And, in Romania, I am called 'Andrei' (my Orthodox name is Andrew) because Romanians, who do not have a 'th' in their language, kept calling me either Keet or Kees.

The Gileadites devised a test to sort out the Ephraimites from innocent bystanders (Judges 12:6). They asked them to pronounce the word for 'stalk of grain' (shibbolet; שבלת).

[A later Hebrew sound change resulted in the 't' becoming 'th', hence the English word Shibboleth.)

The Ephraimites, unable to pronounce an initial 'sh' sound, said, "Sibboleth" (סבלת).

According to Judges 12:6, forty-two thousand Ephraimites died that day because of their inability to pronounce an initial 'sh' sound.

Cultural and Historical Connections

The word 'Shibboleth' has come into our language as a way to refer to any word or custom, the variation or pronunciation of which differentiates those inside and outside some group. It has also come to mean any untrue but yet oft-cited belief or saying.

The term has also now come to describe something people of a certain age, demographic, or specific set of interests, may have in common positively.

And so, for instance, I employ a Shibboleth when I ask someone, "Kirk or Picard?"

[NB: The correct answer is Kirk.]

In Saecula Saeculorum, the 4th Novel in the Valquist Series

In this fourth novel of the Valquist Series, Andrew Valquist is retired (?) from the National Security Agency and teaching Latin at a Classical Academy in the Washington DC area. But in the world of espionage, looks can be deceiving. He's not necessarily happy with the role he has played in all this, but the school was actually a joint NSA/MI-6 Project in which four young people have been unwittingly prepared for a mission to travel back in time to ancient Rome to retrieve information from a library that may save the modern world from certain destruction. They know they have to at least try to save humanity, but can they also save each other?

Next Stop: Spanish, the 3rd Novel in the Valquist Series

This third novel in the Valquist Series can be read as an espionage action-adventure in its own right, but also you can use it as a way to either brush up on your Spanish or learn functional Spanish for the first time! John Valquist needs to learn Spanish. But he's in luck, since his uncle Andrew is a language expert and a former (?) spy who is taking him on a vacation to Spain so he can study the language. In Next Stop: Spanish, you have the chance to see and study the words John studies, and then watch him add more and more Spanish into his dialogue as the story progresses. During this vacation, they get pulled into espionage intrigue (why do these things always happen to the Valquist family?). In the dramatic conclusion, John will need to put together everything he has learned to save his uncle!

Amor Vincit Omnia: the 2nd Novel in the Valquist Series

In this second novel of the Valquist Series, Keith Massey takes you into the halls of the National Security Agency, where he himself worked for four years after 9/11 and an Arabic linguist. You follow our hero Andrew Valquist, as he starts work as a new recruit at the NSA. Little does he know that on his first on the job, he's about to fly off on an unexpected overseas assignment. He'll be even more surprised when he learns that his background in ancient Latin will be crucial to the mission!