TGeeIF: Day 4, The End of the World, and "WNWU"

Today's Verses

Genesis 11:1-13:4

Matthew 5:1-26

Psalm 5:1-12

Proverbs 1:24-28

Genesis: The most interesting part to me of today's Genesis is "The Tower of Babel." It's the explanation of why we all speak different languages. Basically, if we could all speak one language, "nothing we do will be impossible for us." This was all good and well back in the day, but what about now? I can go to google translate and figure out just about any language. I'm almost positive there are devices that can listen to, and translate on the spot, almost any language on Earth. If we can all speak the "same" language, what is it that we can accomplish as a People. Or, what is it that we can destroy as a People...

Matt: Sermon on the Mount: If you've seen Godspell then these passages carry a new meaning. 

Psalm: A psalm of David: He wants to be blessed because he loves God and detests evil people. Bless him already!

Proverbs: God is pissed! Let's just say, do NOT refuse to listen when God calls or you will die and He will laugh at you.

I mean, it is 2012

So, what can we destroy as a people? The world??? Let's talk about 2012, since we're in it.

Who cares what the Mayans and that guy that lived a long time ago thought, do we really think the world is going to end this year. Below are some of the ways that people believe the world will end this year.

Polar Shift

The Mayan's Prophecy 

Alignment of the Planets (and not the suite by Holst!)

Planet X
Zombie Apocalypse (Warning: Bad language is running rampant in the link, but it's hilarious)
WW3
Running out of oil

I feel like I could go on forever... Let's talk about my favorite; zombie apocalypse.

It just so happens that the marching show that I am planning for next fall is going to be called 2012: Zombie Apocalypse. It's going to be a commentary on all those who believe the world will end this year, and what better way to poke fun than to use zombies. Zombies are really easy to pull of by high school kids and it's just down right FUN! The zombie apocalypse link posted above list 5 scientific ways a ZA could happen (I'm using ZA because I hate typing apocalypse...that took about 2 minutes to type!!!)

#5 - Brain Parasites - We've seen reports over the past year of it happening to ants and bees. In the ant example, it is a fungi causing all the problems and in the bees, it's a tiny fly. But if it's happening in nature with the animal kingdom, who says it won't happen to us? Then there are the rats (which the article talks about). This parasite lives in the intestines of rats and basically makes them eat themselves alive, oh and, over half the human population has the parasite living in them (yessssssss). 

#4 - Nero-toxins - Think Japanese blowfish. The Japanese love to eat these things, but there are parts that  

are highly poisonous. They contain a poison called Tetroditoxin, that when  exposed to, can lead to your heart rate slowing down so much you could be considered dead (or it could kill you if not treated). Once resuscitated by a certain drug(OMG, so many links!), the body in question has the following symptoms: trance-like state with no memory, performing simple tasks such as eating, sleeping, moaning, and shambling around with their arms outstretched. I know what you're thinking (I really do know what you're thinking, you should watch those thoughts) but it has happened in Hati, which ironically enough, is where the word zombie originated. There was this guy that was declared dead and buried. He was found 18 years later wandering around town. The townspeople figured out that a voodoo priest was zombifying people using naturally occuring chemicals to make slaves on his sugar plantation. Nice.

#3 - The Real Rage Virus - A.K.A. Mad Cow Disease. Mad Cow Disease attacks the cow's spinal cord and brain, turning them into a stumbling, attacking cow. So when MCD enters a human, it's called Czeutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Here are some symptoms:

Changes in gait (walking)

Hallucinations

Lack of coordination (for example, stumbling and falling)

Muscle twitching

Jerking or seizures

Rapidly developing delirium or dementia

Hmm... that sounds familiar.

#2 - Neurogenesis - The process of growing back dead brain tissue. It's all in ZA article above, but basically, there are labs that are devoted to reanimation research. Apparently they have been successful, but the problem is that the brain starts to die from the inside out, starting at the cortex...the part of the brain that makes us have feelings, judgment...human. Yeah, that's the part of the brain that dies first. However, the brain is still functioning because of the brain stem, but at the most basic level - eat! This is how a chicken can still walk around after it's head is cut off. Like the article says, all of your human rights are terminated after you are declared dead, so all it would take is someone with the will and the money to make this happen. Yikes!

#1 - Nanobots - these are microscopic, self-replicating robots (they exist!) that can rebuild things that humans cannot physically touch. From the ZA article:

"Scientists have already created a nano-cyborg, by fusing a tiny silicone chip to a virus. The first thing they found out is these cyborgs can still operate for up to a month after the death of the host. Notice how nano scientists went right for zombification, even at this early stage. They know where the horror is. According to studies, within a decade they'll have nanobots that can crawl inside your brain and set up neural connections to replace damaged ones. That's right; the nanobots will be able to rewire your thoughts. What could possibly go wrong?"

Exciting right?! Lovely article.

What's new with us:

We've decided that we're going to hold off on getting a new car until the summer. You see, there are these things called Graduate school loans and they are kicking in in March. We don't really know how living with these loans and our graduate level pay is going to level out, so it's really best to keep track of the funds and make an educated decision during the summer (I guess (: )

Still waiting on that iPhone...

I forgot to mention in my last WNWU post about Addison that she can do some sign language. She knows "food", "more", "please", "bath", and "done", she can blow kisses and wave bye bye, and will give you a hug if you ask (we'll, Kat and I at least). Holly cow, she is growing so fast, did I mention that last time?

Until next time, dear readers...

New Car? (that's a zombie, by the way)