NaClhv

Theology, philosophy, math, science, and random other things
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

A record of the total solar eclipse on 2023-04-20

I chose to observe this eclipse from Australia. I considered Indonesia and East Timor, but eventually decided against them. Australia had better weather for the eclipse, I could cross it off from the list of continents, and I wanted to keep the trip in English. So my goal was to observe it in Exmouth - […]

A moral evaluation of abortion

Roe v. Wade was recently overturned. I think this is an opportune time to organize and express my thoughts on abortion. This is my honest attempt to understand the issue. I chose to tackle a controversial topic, take an unpopular position, then moderate it with nuance. I have no illusions about any benefits or harms I may acquire as a result. My only defense is that this is what I really think, after a genuine attempt to get as close as I can to the truth.

A record of the total solar eclipse on 2021-12-04, in Antarctica

Unfortunately, the best pictures I have of totality are poorly lit and out of focus, and of course we couldn't see the eclipse itself. This isn't what I wanted. It's not what I would have chosen. But it was still beautiful and magical in its own way, in its darkness and flaws. I've always held that reality, compared to any alternate possibility, has a goodness all its own - simply because it's real.

A record of the total solar eclipse on 2020-12-14

The covid pandemic added a new layer of difficulty to everything. Combined with the other challenges intrinsic to such an endeavor, I felt like everything was fighting me every step of the way. In fact, I initially conceptualized this trip as a sequence overcoming these difficulties: I was going to impose my will upon the world in the face of these challenges, and bring about my intended results. We'll see how that turned out.

The Gospel according to Frozen II (or, why Elsa is Jesus)

At that deepest level - at the very heart of the movie - is the Christ-figure of the story. This is the character we really need to understand to grasp the true essence of the film. For everything about Frozen II - its whole world and plot - is built from the ground up with a singular purpose, to place this Christ-figure character at the very center of the story.

A systematic mythology of the "Frozen" universe

There is a being of great power "behind" or "within" Ahtohallan - someone who possesses an incredible degree of consciousness, intellect, and agency, has clear moral priorities and goals, and is responsible for most of the key plot events in the movie. In other words, "Ahtohallan" is not just a place. It - or the being behind it - is something more like "God".

A record of the total solar eclipse on 2019-07-02

I was at La Serena, Chile for the eclipse on 2019-07-02. Here are some pictures from the trip. This was the view from my room. The beach at La Serena is quite pretty. You see that cross-shaped structure in the distance, which juts out into the skyline? That's the Cruz del Tercer Milenio, in the […]

A record of the total solar eclipse

These are some of the pictures I took during the eclipse trip. Venus, in the morning of Sunday, August 20th, the day before the total eclipse of the sun. This is unrelated to the eclipse, but the Morning Star is always a treat. Note how it's bright enough to be the only star in the sky […]
2016-03-07

The want of a mate

"I hate this", said Adam, to his empty dining room. It was late at night. He was alone. His only company at his table were several bottles of wine and his glass. He was just a drunk man, talking to himself out of the anguish of his latest break-up. So it was with mild surprise […]

How to think about the future

This post is a consolidation of a whole series of posts into one post. It's fairly long. Click on the following entries in the table of contents below to jump directly there: The future is completely unpredictable No, really, the future is COMPLETELY unpredictable The future will be like the past, and therefore "predictable" The […]
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