Bee Movie

Did you ever see this movie? The reviews were mixed when it first came out, but I watched it and laughed much of the time. I certainly enjoyed it. I really recommend it.

Here is my favourite joke in the film:

During the climactic action sequence when the human heroine faces the terrifying prospect of taking the controls of a jumbo jet a la Karen Black in Airport 1975:

"I can't fly a plane!" she gasps.

"Isn't John Travolta a pilot?" asks her bee compatriot. "How hard can it be?"

Lucifer, The Satan, and Isaiah 14: Why These Three Are Not Related

The pastor at the church I attend has begun a series called Angels & Demons: winning the battle of heart and mind. Yes, my fellow Baptists, Methodists do believe in Angels and Demons. I heard the first part yesterday and did enjoy it. There were a few errors (the traditional ones) but there inevitably are when Christians start talking about an issue as nebulous as "Angels and Demons".

The only error on which I would like to comment is the identification of the Satan with the figure "Lucifer" from Isaiah 14:3-20. They are not the same character. In fact, as a LITERAL reading of the passage indicates, the oracle is about the human king of Babylon, not an angelic or demonic figure.

Now many will concede that the oracle is indeed about the King of Babylon and not specifically an angelic or demonic being but that the King is being compared to an angelic or demonic figure. In this way, some will use the comparison to construct a picture of this figure as being Lucifer or The Satan. I can certainly see that the poetics of verses 12-15 must refer to something other than a man but 16-20 obviously do refer to a man as does all that comes before verse 12.

But what about verses 12-15? Note verse 12:

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!"

The Hebrew phrase "הילל בן־שׁחר" (Helel Ben-Shachar) in verse 12, means "day star, son of dawn". It can be translated "Day Star" or "Morning Star" and properly refers to the planet Venus. In the Latin Vulgate, Jerome translated the Hebrew as "lucifer qui mane oriebaris" (morning star that used to rise early).

There is no Scripture that connects Lucifer (the Morning/Day Star) with The Satan. This connection was made by inference and was mistaken. Because of some of the expressions contained in this these few verses, Christian tradition began to associate the "Morning/Day Star" or "Lucifer" figure as being identical with the Satan. A quite similar passage is found in Ezekiel 28:1-19, which is expressly directed against the king of Tyre.

Please not my definitive paper on the identity of the King of Tyre. The aptly named: The Satan and Ezekiel 28: Reasons Why These Two Are Not Connected

Indeed, the only figure in the Bible I can find that is referred to as the "Morning Star" is Jesus in Revelation 22:16:

"Jesus says: '... I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.'"

No, Isaiah is not referring to Jesus in verse 12.

So what then is going on?

I hold the position that Isaiah is comparing the King of Babylon, not to an angelic or demonic being, but to gods in the Canaanite mythology.

He uses the image of the Morning/Day Star, which rises at dawn as the brightest of the stars, outshining Jupiter and Saturn, but lasting only until the sun appears. This imagery was used in Canaanite mythology about the Morning/Day Star who tried to rise high above the clouds and establish himself on the mountain where the gods assembled, in the far north, but was cast down into the underworld. Just as the Roman poets personified the Morning/Day Star and the Dawn (Aurora), as well as the Sun and the Moon and other heavenly bodies, so in Canaanite mythology Morning/Day Star and Dawn were pictured as two deities, the former being the son of the latter.

That last point is very important. The Morning/Day Star was considered the Son of the Dawn. Isaiah 14:12 refers to the figure as "Day Star, son of Dawn."

How could "Lucifer" or the Satan, or any other angelic or demonic figure have a father?

True, angelic figures in the Bible are sometimes referred to as "sons of God" (Job 1:6), but the context here seems to suggest something other than identifying God with shachar (שחר), the Dawn. In light of its Canaanite origin, I do not think its tenable to identify this passage with The Satan.

We'll just have to settle for the mystery of his origins.

Favorite Songs [Updated]

“Albinoni Adagio G Minor” – Remo Giazotto

“All Along the Watchtower” - Jimi Hendrix

“All Apologies” - Nirvana

“All Summer Long” - The Beach Boys

“Also sprach Zarathustra” – Richard Strauss

“American Pie” - Don McClean

“Another One Bites the Dust” - Queen

“Bachelorette” - Bjork

“The Barber of Seville Overture” – Gioachino Rossini

“The Blue Danube” - Johann Strauss II

“Bohemian Rhapsody” - Queen

“Brandenburg Concerto Allegro No. 2 in F Major” – Johann Sebastian Bach

“Brandenburg Concerto Allegros No. 3 in G Major” - Johann Sebastian Bach

“Brandenburg Concerto Allegro No. 6 in B Flat” - Johann Sebastian Bach

“China Girl” - David Bowie

“Concerto in F” – George Gershwin

“Coronation Mass in C Major K.317” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Così fan tutte, opera, K. 588 Act 1. Aria. Un' aura amorosa” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Creeque Alley” - The Mamas and the Papas

“Danse Macabre” – Camille Saint-saens

“Deathwish” - The Police

“Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527 Finale” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527 Lasciala, Indegno! (Moonlight Trio)” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527Overture” - Wolfgang Mozart

"Don't Come Around Here No More" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

“Drifting” - 4 Non Blondes

“Emergency Exit” - Beck

“The End” - The Doors

“Die Entführung aus dem Serail, opera, K. 384 Act 2. Aria. Martern aller Arten” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Esther” - Phish

“Every Night” - Paul McCartney

“A Face in the Crowd” - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

“Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, for 2 string orchestras” - Ralph Vaughan Williams

“Fee” - Phish

“Fire Water Burn” - The Bloodhound Gang

“Friend of the Devil” - Grateful Dead

"Girl Don't Tell Me" - Brian Wilson/The Beach Boys

“The Godfather Waltz” - Nino Rota

“Going to California” - Led Zeppelin

“Granchester Meadows” - Pink Floyd

“Green Onions” - Booker T. & the M.G.s

“Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves” - Cher

“Heaven” - Talking Heads

“Hello” - Lionel Richie

“Heroes and Villains” - Brian Wilson/The Beach Boys

“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” - U2

“Home” - Brian Eno and David Byrne

“Hot Wax” - Beck

“Hunter” - Bjork

“I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'” - George Gershwin

“I Only Have Eyes For You” - The Flamingos

“The Imperial March” - John Williams

“It Ain't Necessarily So” - George Gershwin

“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” - Bob Dylan

“‘Jupiter’ Symphony No. 41 in C major K. 551 1. Allegro vivace” - Wolfgang Mozart

“KRS-One” - Sublime

“Lara's Theme” - Maurice Jarre

“The Last Day of Our Acquaintance” - Sinéad O'Connor

“Late Home Tonight Pt. 1” - Roger Waters

“Lather” - Jefferson Airplane

“Laudate Dominum (from Vesperae solennes de confessore for soloists, chorus & orchestra), K. 339” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Lawrence of Arabia (Main Theme)” - Maurice Jarre

“A Life of Illusion” - Joe Walsh

“Like a Rolling Stone” - Bob Dylan

“Linus and Lucy” - Vince Guaraldi

“The Longest Time” - Billy Joel

“Loser” - Beck

“Mary Jane’s Last Dance” - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

“Monday, Monday” - The Mamas and the Papas

“Moonlight Sonata” - Ludwig van Beethoven

“Mrs. Robinson” - Simon and Garfunkle

“My Life” - Billy Joel

“Nadia’s Theme” - Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr.

“November Rain” - Guns N’ Roses

“Le nozze di Figaro, opera, K. 492 Overture” - Wolfgang Mozart

“The Ocean” - Led Zeppelin

“Ordinary World” - Duran Duran

“Otto e Mezzo” - Nino Rota

“Paranoid Android” - Radiohead

“‘Paris’ Symphony No. 31 in D major K. 297 (K. 300a) 1st movement” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Pay No Mind” - Beck

“Peaches in Regalia” - Frank Zappa

“Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major K.467” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K. 332 (K. 300k) 2. Adagio” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Piggies” - George Harrison

"Positively 4th Street" - Bob Dylan

“Prelude #2” - George Gershwin

“Rape Me” - Nirvana

“Reuters” - Wire

“Rhapsody in Blue” - George Gershwin

“Rocket Man” - Elton John

“Roy Walker” - Belle and Sebastian

“Runaway” - Del Shannon

“Scarborough Fair” - Simon and Garfunkle

“Der Schauspieldirektor, opera, K. 486 Overture” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Serenade No. 10 for winds in B flat Minor” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Sex Machine” - James Brown

“Smooth Criminal” - Michael Jackson

“Something” - The Beatles

“The Song Remains the Same” - Led Zeppelin

“Space Oddity” - David Bowie

“Stayin’ Alive” - The Bee Gees

“Stranglehold” - Ted Nugent

“Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 Prelude” - Johann Sebastian Bach

“Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” – Crosby, Stills, and Nash

“Sultans of Swing” – Dire Straits

“Summertime” - George Gershwin

“Superfly” - 4 Non Blondes

“Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Take My Hand” - Toto

“Tales from the Vienna Woods” - Johann Strauss II

“Tangled Up in Blue” - Bob Dylan

“Terrapin Station” - The Grateful Dead

“That’s the Way” - Led Zeppelin

“These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” - Nancy Sinara

“The Thieving Magpie” - Gioachino Rossini

“Train” - 4 Non Blondes

“Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major K. 216 3rd Movement” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major K.219” - Wolfgang Mozart

“‘Waisenhausmesse’ Mass No. 4 for soloists, chorus & orchestra in C minor” - Wolfgang Mozart

“Wake Up Little Susie” - The Everly Brothers

“Waltz 2 from Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra” - Dmitri Shostakovich

“When the Levee Breaks” - Led Zeppelin

“Where It’s At” - Beck

“White Rabbit” - Jefferson Airplane

“White Wedding” - Billy Idol

“Who Are You?” - The Who

“Won’t Get Fooled Again” - The Who

“Wynona” - Primus

“Die Zauberflöte, opera, K. 620 Aria. Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” - Wolfgang Mozart

Recent, Very Good Music

I've been exploring the musical landscape now for a year as I write my novel which uses music as a very important theme. As last year ended I had been listening to a lot more "World Music" and music from various countries and cultures. Also a few obscure groups (well, obscure to me) and some of the side projects of more famous bands. With regards to the latter, I've been working my way through the solo and side projects of the various members of the Grateful Dead.

I've also been listening to a lot of Krautrock recently (no offense). I like Faust, Neu!, The Can, Grobschnitt, and Amon Düül II in particular.

Here are a few albums that I have been listening to recently.

Tanz der Lemminge (English: Dance of the Lemmings) - Amon Düül II

Copperopolis - Grant Lee Buffalo

Demons and Wizards - Uriah Heep

The Magician's Birthday - Uriah Heep

Oracular Spectacular - MGMT

Rockpommel's Land - Grobschnitt

Ten Silver Drops - Secret Machines

Tio Bitar - Dungen

Want One - Rufus Wainwright

[If I had listened to this last album prior to Jan 1st 2010 (The Year We Make Contact), it would have been on my Top Ten List.]

Allow me to mention a few a lot of the recent groups I've been listening to that are worth your time (some of them you will certainly recognize):

Damon Albarn, Amon Düül II, Belle and Sebastian, Blur, David Byrne, Camel, The Can, Nick Cave, Crowded House, Ry Cooder, Deep Purple, Nick Drake, Dungen, Brian Eno, Faust, Gentle Giant, Grant Lee Buffalo, Grobschnitt, The Hives, The Lemonheads, MGMT, Mudhoney, Neu!, The Pixies, Lou Reed, Screaming Trees, Secret Machines, The Stooges, Talking Heads, Uriah Heep, Violent Femmes, Rufus Wainwright, Wire