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- Buck
I was thinking about the complexity of the universe (yeah, apparently I have that kind of time). Anyway, from the macro (the infinite expanding universe, super black holes, galaxies) to the micro (atoms, particles, cosmic strings) and everything in between (planetary systems, global weather, politics, relationships) it all seems just way too complicated to me. Call me crazy (many people do) but doesn't it seem nature should tend toward a simpler, or even the simplest of all forms?
I got to thinking that maybe reality isn't, um, real. Maybe it is a prototype. A plan. Maybe it's just a dream of something else.
That could explain a lot of the inconsistencies, or otherwise nonsensical things in life that we observe (or think we are observing because we aren't really real and neither are our observations). The oddities, unnecessary complexities, and other things that just don't fit might differ between us; maybe UFOs and socks worn with sandals defy all logic for some of us, and for others it is dark matter and ecosystems of the planet Earth, while for others still it's tax forms and non-alcoholic beer. Could be you don't get why Woody Allen is funny (which I can relate to) or how radio and television waves, let alone wireless networks and satellite communications, can possibly work. Or flight! Lasers! Magnetism! Gravity! Time! Procreation! Evolution!
Or how life can even exist at all, forget consciousness or intelligence!
Sure, you could chuck it all up to that cosmic catch-all we refer to as God or Allah or Angelina Jolie (hey, to each his own). But really, does that explain it any better? Honestly? Well, maybe it does apply... maybe that's what I am getting at after all.
But I've gotten ahead of myself. Alright, let's back up. Let's rewind the conversation, and the entire universe, to the beginning. Whether you are a believer in the Old Testament or in the Bing Bang theory, the concept is basically the same... there was once nothing (or just a single thing) and then, boom, there was everything. (OK, that's probably the Dumbing Down of the century, but you get the idea.)
Instead of God, I will refer to the nothingness/one-thing as The Point--that single point of existence that all things stem from. OK, now my thinking is that The Point is fairly simple compared to what we have now, regardless of its level of awareness, it can't be all that complex, relatively speaking. So, it's a point, a tiny, infinitely concentrated, and beautifully simplistic point. The very thing that all of creation should tend towards, in my opinion. After all, there is really no need for it to be anything more.
But let's say for the sake of argument, that The Point is sentient, and yes, omnipotent. It is aware of what it is, and that it is everything, and that it is perfect in its simplicity. Wow, right? Now let's say that it considers the possibility of something less perfect, but more complex. It thinks this new thing through to the finest detail, considering every interaction, every dependency, every permutation... every single component of this huge and mind-boggling elaborate Other Thing.
Now, can it be said that since The Point has imagined the Other Thing to the nth degree, that in a sense the Other Thing is real? What if The Point had put so much thought into this Other Thing that it took on a life of its own, like when a writer is pouring his heart into the little universe and cast of characters of a story? But, what if that Other Thing isn't real in the sense that we, the fictional players on the ultimate stage, understand the concept. What if The Other thing is just, for all intents and purposes, just a thought? A consideration? A daydream of that one point which is utterly alone and all-powerful?
What if our universe--and everything in it, including us--is nothing more than God's imaginary friend?
Or, what if I had just a little too much wine tonight. Either way, I'm tired.
Peace out.
- Buck
My name is Needles, and I live in a college dorm on-campus. At least, that's according to the dream I had Saturday night.
I wasn't me anymore. I was a college student that everybody called Needles. They called me Needles because I had a tendency to go around poking people with pins and needles for no good reason whatsoever. I would just walk up to somebody and stick a bunch of needles in their skin and move on.
That's just wrong. What kind of f'ed up dream is that?!? I wasn't even me, but some creepy character with a pain fetish!!
And then it hit me... My wife is a college student, and she's been getting acupuncture treatments.
What a way for these things to manifest themselves in my dreams. The subconscious mind is such a trip...
- Buck
Dreamed this last Friday night...
I was in a pirate-themed amusement park and damn it was weird. It was an island, with a mountain and a beach, and a river of sorts.
Anyway, there were your average park tourists, swimming, taking pictures... and buying churros and cokes and crap...
And, of course, pirates. Crazy pirates wielding swords and chasing folks down. You were forced to fight them as part of the experience. I had to battle one after another to get up the mountain to the parking lot.
It was a good time. If somebody were to build one of these, I'd go.
- Buck
I decided to go for it... my first novel. I'm into the second chapter. Not going to get into the details here, but I am posting the prologue.
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Humankind has spent the better part of its brief, but amusing existence studying a great deal of the physical world around it; the fleshy vessels that each of its members inhabit, the watery planet on which it resides, and the alluring universe beyond its reach.
Unfortunately, it completely missed the point.
Oh, to be sure, plenty of humans were, and still are, on the right track to varying degrees—-philosophers, artists, poets, musicians, psychics and, to some extent, theologists are among them. The really interesting and important questions were never about the nature of the universe, but rather the nature of consciousness: Where did it come from? How does it work? What can it do? And are there any harmful side effects?
Unfortunately, this story doesn't answer these questions-—not entirely. More questions this story will not answer are: Is there such a thing as a soul? What is the meaning of life? And, what do women really want?
So as not to discourage the reader, here is one burning question that will be answered immediately (consider it a consolation prize): Does God exist? And the answer is, He does. Hurray! Good news (especially if you had any money riding on it).
The bad news is, He ran off on a sort of sabbatical long ago, and isn't expected back for, well, the rest of eternity.
You see, when God was rather young—-just after He had set the whole wonderful, expanding, soon-to-be-teaming-with-life universe in motion, and before the actual formation of stars, galaxies, planets, and such—-He was, quite rightly, basking in the glory that was Him. Just as He is feeling quite satisfied with Himself, He turns around (in a strictly metaphysical sense) and, for the first time ever, gets a glimpse at the Bigger Picture Yet. He was humbled, to say the least, for as far as He knew, He was It-—the Alpha, the Omega, the only game in town. Suddenly, the truth is something else entirely. No longer was He It, but only a very small part of It.
After a short period of awestruck paralysis—-ending around the time of the first generation of star factories—-curiosity got the best of Him. Ever since He could recall, He had wondered why He should be and what was it that allowed Him to reason, choose, and manifest matter and energy from nothing at all. So, He stepped out of His still baking universe, and into the Even Bigger Expanse Beyond, in search of the answers.
Now, He got the point.
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- Buck
Loved this dream...
So, I'm in Mexico visiting my folks with Corinne and the kids--just like we are planning to do in June. Somehow, I get separated from them and get lost.
It gets dark, I'm on foot, and I'm going down one road after another, hitting dead-ends and private properties with broken down farm equipment... just completely lost. And, of course, I don't speak Spanish (beyond "uno mas cerveza, por favor") and am not getting any help.
Retracing my steps over and over, going in circles... I finally step into a market to attempt to ask for directions and there is a commotion outside. Me and the locals in the store run out and there's a UFO flying overhead (as in so many of my past dreams...they are tracking me again). We start chucking stuff at it like rocks and empty beer cans.
Woke up before I found my family, so I hit snooze and tried to go back. It didn't work.
- Buck
This dream scared the crap out of me.
Me and my son Ayden were near a cliff overlooking a canyon. Something below caught my eye, and I said to him, "Look at that."
Without the slightest hesitation, Ayden walked up and stepped off the edge... and fell. It was so quick--and just unfathomable!--I didn't have time to stop him.
I woke up immediately. Freaked out.
This one was not pleasant at all.
I finally got to sleep, and then I had the "alien slave dungeon" dream. Maybe I shouldn't have the buffalo chicken sandwich from Port 'O Subs anymore.
-Buck
We've been invaded! And enslaved!
Had a wicked dream... I was in a dungeon with a bunch of people being shepherded by large grey aliens. Many of us were shackled. In fact, at one point I was assigned the duty of placing shackles on other slaves. (Why does this remind me of my job? I dunno.)
So, yeah, this was a freaky dream. Most people would not care for having this kind of dream but I see it more like a movie. It was entertaining.
But then, I'm weird.
See you in the dungeon. ;)
-Buck
Here's a list of things that I don't believe are really necessary to say, but we do it anyway...
- Buck
12 unwritten rules of the road:
- Buck
