• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Rick Kinnaird

Fantasy

Day 1286 – God, The Universe, The Duality of Belief

July 27, 2020 by Rick Kinnaird 1 Comment

Monday July 27, 2020

97 Days until the election on November 3rd

177 Days until the Inauguration on January 20, 2021

In this screed I will explain all.

I have recently been taking a closer look at ancient Egypt. Whenever I do this I am struck by one thought, “Didn’t anyone ever say, ‘Hold on, how long have we been doing this? Is there any evidence that it is working?’ “

And in a greater sense can’t you ask this of any belief system? (Ie Cult, religion, horoscope, astrology, etc.)

This is where, for me, I get into what I’ll call ‘The Duality of Belief.” Or “Yeah, we know it’s crap, but we’ll do it anyway just in case.”

Most of the pyramids and tombs of Egypt were robbed. Many in ancient times. Much was done to thwart robbers. There is evidence that some of these robberies were inside jobs. That is to say the robbers knew where to go and what to avoid. 

So what does this say about their belief system? Maybe, I should make that plural: systems. They worshipped bulls, crocodiles, hawks, lots of things. Did their worship of these animals or of the dead pharaohs bring them anything? Did it change anything? 

I often wonder about the Christian concept of death and afterlife. It’s not your body but your soul that goes to heaven. But where exactly is that? 

I often see people crying at funerals or at someone’s death. They are comforted by other folks saying, “They are in a better place now.” Are they? Or is it like the little boy who woke up half way through the explanation of Easter and said, “Nope, once you’re dead; your’e dead.”?

It seems to me that that young man had a better grip on reality than all those good Christians. 

We also know that Jesus wasn’t always the son of god. That came years after his death. He was one of many guys wandering around the Levant pissed off at the Romans. He probably said he was the messiah and that he brought good news. What he meant was “you all can rise up and get rid of the Romans.”

The Romans did what they do in those cases. Round up the followers and the leader and kill ‘em. Paul slipped away and made it to Rome where he cranked up the PR machine. The rest, as they say, “Is history.”

How Jesus became God is another story. There are things we know for sure. Like he wasn’t born in Bethlehem. That was written one hundred years after his death to make him more appealing to a certain segment of the Jewish population. And, he didn’t raise Lasurus from the dead. That is an Egyptian folk tale. They took out the name of the pharaoh and put in the name of Jesus.

So why is it that we as a species are so willing to believe despite no evidence of it being true? There are explanations in conspiracy theory. Why do outlandish idea about deep seated conspiracies exist, and seem unwilling to die? You might ask the question about religion in the same breath. Psychologists have pointed to a need for closure, for an explanation, something to hang onto, to believe in. 

I recently put up a meme saying tax the church. The meme said if we did our taxes would fall to 3%. Whether that is true or not is a big question in my mind. Some pointed out that if their church was taxed it would “go out of business,” maybe they said fail. I forget. Really? Huh. Not a very strong belief I guess. To those I would say, “Hey, look with your decreased taxes you can give more money to your church, and leave me out of it.”

Graffitit spray painted on a wall in India

So this idea of death and where do we go after we die has been an idea that spans cultures. There is the idea that the king lives forever, up in the stars, or somewhere. Yet, there is no evidence that any of that is true. The fact that robbers would break into the pharaoh’s pyramid suggests that there were some that weren’t too worried about going to hell or wherever bad people go. When I see people crying at funerals and being told that their loved one is in a better place I think they know that yeah maybe, but maybe not. As that little kid said about Jesus and Easter and rising from the dead, “Uh huh, once you dead. You dead.” Has more resonance for me as the years go by.

Now we get to the universe. How big is it? Really F*ing big. When did it start and from where? It seems to have started from everywhere all at once and it’s getting bigger. Can that happen? Yes, no, maybe. Yeah. I believe so.

Next.

PS Bleea

Filed Under: Fantasy

Day 1169 – Time to Read a Thick Book?

April 1, 2020 by Rick Kinnaird Leave a Comment

Day 1169 – Time to Read a Thick Book?

Wednesday April 1, 2020

214 Days until the election on November 3rd

294 Days until the Inauguration on January 20, 2021

I was talking to a buddy of mine who said he got into the Russian authors and read a lot of them. Wow. If you haven’t read Russian authors let me tell you, their books are like the country they come from.: huge, long, and confusing. I remember Masterpiece Theater when they were doing Anna Karina. Every time I turned on the TV there was Alistair Cooke sitting in a wing chair saying something like “We are now on episode 3,124 of Anna Karina. In this episode …” OMG! Shoot me now. Play catch up? I don’t think so.

I read “Crime and Punishment.” It was tenth grade. It was a slog. But there were times when something happened that I truly got wrapped up in.

I took a Great Courses course on “Great Literature.” In it the teacher said that great literature was oftentimes hard. He was right. I’ve tried “Ulysses” by James Joyce two or three times. It’s too clever, too much playing on words in German and what-not that I don’t understand. I give up in the early morning scene where the milk maid comes in and he’s shaving. (Chapter One, I think.)

I tried “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and gave up when he went into the listing of fish phyla. Umberto Eco “Foucault’s Pendulum” did the same thing: listed fish phyla and oyster and clam phyla, but by then I was pissed off and slogged through the first eighty or one hundred pages until I got to the interesting stuff. The story revolves around a man waiting in a church (or was it a cathedral?) on a particular night for an event to take place. Then he wonders if he in fact has the right night and he goes through thinking about how, over the years, the calendar has changed, and it could in fact be another night. I thought about Richard Halliburton’s account of being locked in Hagia Sophia one night, wandering in that magnificent space. When the book ended, I realized once again that it was the thoughts of one person, for one night. Wow. And he never explained Foucault’s Pendulum! (And I won’t either. It is left to the student at google time to do so.)

Staircase – The Red Pyramid

Yes, a big thick book. One that rambles and twists. One to get lost in. Aye, that’s it.

Maybe, I’ll give “Moby Dick” another spin? 

214 Days until the election on November 3rd

294 Days until the Inauguration on January 20, 2021

PS The Red Pyramid’s staircase.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Romance, Travel

Day 954 Trump Given Greenland

August 17, 2019 by Rick Kinnaird 1 Comment

Day 954 Saturday August 17, 2019

445 Days until the 2020 election and 527 days until the Inauguration

DENMARK BUYS U.S. 

GIVES TRUMP GREENLAND  

DECLARES HIM KING

DATELINE Copenhagen:

Denmark today bought the United States of America.

It was a surprise move after they told president Trump Greenland was not for sale.

They offered instead to buy the U.S.

In moves reminiscent of other takeovers, notably KKR buying Nabisco with junk bonds in the 80s and the Pew Charitable Trust’s taking of the Barnes Collection by putting up the assets of the target as collateral, Denmark managed to convince president Trump that he could be king if he’d immediately move there and sign a declaration giving the United States of America to Denmark. In exchange, Denmark would give Trump Greenland, the title of King of Greenland, and a large strip of land in Greenland on which to build a condo complex and three 18 hole golf courses.

“It’s a great deal,” said Mr. Trump. “What with climate change and the melting ice in Greenland, every day we are reclaiming more land.”

In order to cinch the deal Denmark promised to pay the top 1% and the top 1/10th of 1% billions and billions of Krona, financed with Chines junk bonds. They also promised to make Ivanka a princess.

“Who doesn’t want their daughter to be a princess?” said Mr. Trump. Jared will be a prince, of course. 

“He already is a prince,” said Mr. Trump. “Just look what his family business has done to that shithole called Baltimore.”

Erik and Donald will become duke and arch-duke, respectively.

“Why can’t I be an arch-duke?” asked Eric.

“Because I am,” said Donnie.

“Oh,” said Erik.

“See Spot run!” said Jane. (Wait, how did that get in here?)

The family has been put aboard the Presidential yacht and are now steaming toward their new home.

Updates to follow.

Happy Trumpy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS Guatemalans blacklisted by Trump

 

445 Days until the 2020 election and 527 days until the Inauguration

Filed Under: Fantasy, Trump

Magnets

August 14, 2019 by Rick Kinnaird 1 Comment

Magnets

On most of my trips I have collected coffee mugs.

They remind me of where I’ve been.

But now?

I have so many, and Europe is full of great art.

I decided to switch over to magnets.

Shelby came to me holding these two stacks and said, “Is this a bit excessive?”

two stacks of magnets of works of art
Isn’t this a bit excessive?

To which I replied, “No, I don’t think so.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I discovered two more stacks and said to myself, “Maybe this is excessive.”

four stacks of magnets
Maybe this is excessive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I discovered two more stacks, small stacks, and thought, “Yeah, maybe a bit too much.”

two more stacks of magnets
Okay, maybe this is excessive.

But.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s better than trying to bring come all those as coffee mugs!

Filed Under: Fantasy

The Dark Knight

August 14, 2019 by Rick Kinnaird Leave a Comment

The Dark Knight

Behold! I guard my master’s abode.

metal figurine of a knight
The Dark Knight

All 12.75 inches and 2 pounds 15 ounces of me.

I stand at the glove table of his front door.

Beware all ye who come to do him harm.

I am descended from a mighty tradition.

Made in Germany by real makers of things.

I was guarding the glass of tourist case of knick Knacks at Marksburg Castle only last week when my master found me.

I traveled through many lands and saw nothing, as I was packed in white styrofoam.

But alas, I am free.

I guard his home and to my left the world!

metal figure of a knight and beside him a globe
The Knight, The World

Forsooth.

Filed Under: Fantasy

Primary Sidebar

About Me

Rick Kinnaird
I’m Rick Kinnaird, a writer of fictional adventure and travel. That means I write stories about things that never happened in places I’ve never been. This way facts don’t get in the way.

Recent Posts

  • Day 802 – An Historic Day
  • Day 800 – Econ, Politics, Liberal Ideas vs Conservative BS
  • Day 800 – The Final Weekend Report
  • Day 799 – The Mid-Weekend Report
  • Day 797 – Mid-weekend Report from Seattle

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2017
  • January 2017

Categories

  • Bryce Holliwell
  • Fantasy
  • Holiday Letters
  • Mayan
  • Romance
  • Stocks and INvesting
  • Travel
  • Trump
  • Uncategorized

Copyright © 2023 · eleven40 Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in