New Blog!

I have started a new music blog! The idea is that each week I will update it with a new playlist of songs I've been listening to and think the rest of the world needs to hear. Check it out and download the first playlist here.

Final Preparatory 2!!!! Canada Commences...

We leave for Canada in about an hour! It still doesn't really feel like its real. Russia has just become so much of who I am right now that to leave it all behind seems impossible. You can read my first post about leaving for Russia here where I mostly just talked about how crazy it sounded to go to Russia. Now it seems crazy to leave.  The last day here went really well, the weather warmed, souvenirs were purchased, and blini's were scarfed. It has been kinda sad saying goodbye to all our Russian friends, my roomate already left for work about 4 hours ago. Anyhow, time to say goodbye to internet here, I will never forget the good times we had YOTA. That being said, I can't wait to be home for Christmas and see all my friends again. See yeah soon Canada. "EH" (can't wait to use that in regular conversation)!!

Russia Update 4 - The End is Nigh!!

Last Thursday was the very last class of my semester in Russia. Since then it has been non-stop busy trying to it in all those last minute trips we've wanted to do all semester long but never did for song reason. If I had a real camera I would put up some photo's on this blog once in in a while to show you what I mean, but I only have a film camera and can't work scanners. Somehow, in the past three days, I visited a museum of city horrors, bought some pirated films, visited Vyborg near Finland border, chilled in a legit medieval castle, checked out Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck at the Hermitage (and a giant ancient Roman statue of Jupiter), toured Yusipov Palace, had a Russian walk around Nevsky with all the Christmas and New Years decorations up, visited Church on the Spilt Blood, visited St. Isaacs Cathedral, and seen a modern take on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. I have been busy to say the least. It has been a good busy though. In less then a week I will be in Canada, relaxing with my family enjoying the frosty Saskatchewan air (Saskatchewan is colder then Petersburg BTW) Though I cannot wait to be home for the holiday's, I am going to miss this city dearly.

St. Vincent's "Marrow": Imagination or Reality??

This song has been stuck in my head for at least a week. It's obviously a cry for help, but from what is the question. The video is really well done and adds to the mystery of the song when people from different scenes simply forget what they were doing and follow her. One article suggests that they are all dead people, or maybe she herself is dead. Maybe the whole thing is her imagination, and therefore a cry for help in such situation's is outside of reality. Its up for speculation, and the video rules.

The Christmas Planet

Getting into the Christmas spirit I looked at a couple studies done that try to show the date of Christ's birth. What's really interesting is trying to define what exactly is the Star of Bethlehem. There is a good chance that it wasn't just a star, but rather a conjunction of stars a planets. If we assume that Christ was born in 3 BC, this starts to make sense as there were nine of these types of conjunctions from 3 BC - 2BC. When trying to solidify Herod and Augustus' ruling dates, there are many difficulties. Let's assume that this helpful study, which looks at the works of Josephus, Tertullian, and others, is at least close. This means that the census Joseph and Mary had to get to took place at the end of August, and then Jesus was born a few weeks later probably at the start of September 3 BC. You may be asking, "Then what is all this December 25th snickerbappin' all abouts?!" Well, aside from pagan calendar connotations, its most likely the night when Jupiter shone particularly bright over Jerusalem in 2 BC and when the Magi arrived with their gifts. Of course, giving any actual dates is risky, its easier just to say it happened within this or that six month time frame. But at least we are close.

What's more is all the cool implication's this has for the historicity of Christ's life, that he would have started teaching in 29 AD and been crucified a couple years later. This Christmas I asseverate we include the coolness of Jupiter into our celebration, that way at least we could be more confused about the already ambiguous holiday!

Russia Update 3: A Moscow Tale

Alright, so the title is a little misleading as this is more of an account of real-life events than it is an actual tale. This past weekend I had the privilege to visit the largest city in Russia - also largest city by metropolitan area and arguably population in Europe - with my fellow international students. After living in Petersburg for three months now, the difference in the two cities was extremely obvious to me the moment I stepped out of the train station. For one, Petersburg has restrictions on how high buildings can be built in order to better preserve the original feeling and city aesthetic. In Moscow, this restriction does not exist, and the skyscrapers and massive Soviet architecture overlooks the whole city.

We spent the night on a train from Petersburg to Moscow that ended up taking about 9 hours, luckily I slept soundly for most of it to awake in a new city. As we walked out of the train station to meet our driver, we were surrounded by stations going to all the major Russian cities (Kazan, Volgorad, etc.) After dropping our stuff off at the hostel - which was so delightfully called the Chocolate Hostel, where we received real hot chocolate for breakfast - we headed for the Red Square! It was a lot less red then I had imagined, and there was a bit of construction for some event happening at the time, nevertheless, the sight was one of elegance. As you walk through the main gate with the Kremlin wall, an old Russian styled building, and St. Basil's in the distance, your jaw is bound to drop if even in the slightest. The square is so visually pleasing, as if you were standing in a garden of brick and concrete, all four directions have something beautiful and unique to offer the foreign onlooker. St. Basils Cathedral, Kremlin Wall and Clocktower, Lenin's Mausoleum (as well as the graves of many 20th century Russian hero's), numerous old buildings that have since been turned into museums and the like, a second Cathedral, and the largest shopping center in Russia (which looks amazing at night when it's all lit up). There is so much to see even on the outskirts of this square that I will not go into detail in the hopes of someday posting my pictures.

That afternoon, we ventured to the Kremlin where Russia's main government presides. There are three Cathedrals located within the Kremlin walls where many historical icons and Tsarist tombs are located. Having visited these churches, the mausoleum, and the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Petersburg, I completed by quest in visiting all of Russia's leaders since the 10th century, save Yeltsin, who was off by himself somewhere and kinda out of the way.

We also visited Tretyakov Gallery which is home to some of the most famous Russian art in the world, such as the great 'Black Square' by Malevich. The only regret I have of my visit to Moscow is spending only 2 days there, when I very easily could have filled up 4 or 5 days enjoying the historical sights that overwhelms one who tries to do it in a mere two days. I suppose I could have gone into a lot more detail on what exactly I did from hour to hour, but I have to save something for real-life conversation.

(I was surprised at how literally it was a square which is black, like seriously black and seriously square, who'da'thunkit.)

(Edit: head over to Kevin's blog where he just put up some pictures that show some of what I tried to describe)

Caught in Another Lie

If I had a nickel for every time Fox News has deliberately said something not true, I could probably pay for school. It seems like people are becoming more aware to how untrustworthy certain American News programs can be. This is not the first time. Jon Stewart is great for doing this bit on his show.

Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
www.thedailyshow.com
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Interview with SPCU

When a few of us students were asked to do an interview about why we had decided to come school in Russia, I gladly accepted the invitation. The interview has been up on their site for some time now and is in Russian, so I just had to trust our interviewer on the accuracy of the translation. Now that an English translation has been made available, the words 'lost in translation' come to mind at how 6th grade English we all sound. Including my name which is easily mistaken for 'Brandon' almost daily because my name is to hard to say in Russian and most people have never heard it before. Enjoy the interview in English and see if you can notice any differences, such as length. haha.

Sufjan Stevens on Original Sin

Lyrics to John Wayne Gacy, Jr. :
His father was a drinker
And his mother cried in bed
Folding John Wayne's T-shirts
When the swingset hit his head
The neighbors they adored him
For his humor and his conversation
Look underneath the house there
Find the few living things
Rotting fast in their sleep of the dead
Twenty-seven people, even more
They were boys with their cars, summer jobs
Oh my God

Are you one of them?

He dressed up like a clown for them
With his face paint white and red
And on his best behavior
In a dark room on the bed he kissed them all
He'd kill ten thousand people
With a sleight of his hand
Running far, running fast to the dead
He took off all their clothes for them
He put a cloth on their lips
Quiet hands, quiet kiss
On the mouth

And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floorboards
For the secrets I have hid

A Masterpiece ex machina

I am not sure if that title makes sense to anyone, but what I am referring to is the massive amount of priceless art that we(exchange students) have been recently observing for art class. To name a few notable artists, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Rembrandt, Monet, Raphael, Van Gough, and of course a ton more I can't think of at this late an hour. That being said, DO head over to Kevin's much more thorough post about the different paintings we've been considering. You won't regret it, pictures and everything!

Rembrandt - Abraham & Isaac (1634)

(click Isaac to embiggen photo)

Brood of Ukelele Playin Country Folk

This was one of my favorite songs in the summer time.



Elliot Brood is an amazing three-piece folk indie rock country band from Toronto, and they are so good.

The Simpsons On Evolution/Creationism Debate

Watch for the parody of the Scopes Monkey trial near the end, Homer makes a genius contribution to proving man's ancestry.

simpsons creationism vs evolution
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Russian Thanksgiving is Real

A certain challenge had come my way to try and describe to the blogosphere what a Russian Thanksgiving is like. Fortunate person I am, I actually have participated in the very traditional celebration here and will now share my experience with my devoted readers. It all started back in the early 17th century, different from the first Canadian and American Thanksgiving feast in celebration of Jesus visiting the Americas. The First Romanov Tsar had recently come to power and the first thing he did was make a law to keep all pilgrims out of Russia. At this the people were very pleased because they didn't have to worry about losing their land. So in honor of that noble act. they had a feast. A totally traditional meal that lasted a week long. It consisted mostly of beer, but on the Sabbath all the Russians would prepare a special dinner which is still enjoyed to this very day. It consisted of spaghetti, store-bought ground beef, thai salad, and a little Soviet Cola for the kids. Not to mention the old-style deserts they prepared for days, their now world famous cream puffs. To this day, they mostly just drink beer, but to the occasional foreigners wishing to observe their special day, they will gladly comply. Nothing beats Thanksgiving in Russia, after the meal they sang and dance to their hearts content, knowing their land was safe from the pilgrims.

We Are in Deep Space!

This is too cool!

click the picture to follow the link to National Geographic where you can zoom in and pan the image to follow the hundreds of missions humans have been apart of in our galaxy. Basically, each line represents a mission, and areas, such as the moon, where there are full circles show how many missions have been done in that area. In case you didn't click the link, we have been in space for 50 years now folks! Also, notice how Voyager 1 is about 10 billion miles away BTW!!!

Russian Ballet

St.Petersburg is no stranger to the theatre. Ballets, operas, and plays are taking place every night in numerous locations. Recently I have attended a few ballets, and though I am new to the art, I very much enjoyed the dedication of the artists of, what I will call the two sides. By this I mean there is the one side, the orchestra and conductor, and the second side, the dancers, choreographers, tech crews, etc. Both have an immense amount of work put into any one show, not to mention a lifetime of practice and experience to make to the "big times". The orchestra is seemingly flawless in transitions between pieces, even when they are of different composers, and the dancers are always on their toes, quite literally, when a moment of improvisation is necessary. All of this hard work, from either side, comes together for one spectacular show of beauty and the arts. That being said, here is a few of my favorite scenes from some of the shows I've seen in the past week:

Swan Lake - Tchaikovsky


Firebird - Stravinsky


Sheherezade - Rimsky Korsakov


not that these videos do the real thing any justice, but hopefully you can get a sense of the unity between both sides.

Finally! An Advertisement That Gets ME...

I agree, that Jesus fellow has been nothing but trouble, teaching all our youngin's about no-good downright wrong ideas about hair-length and wearing jeans, quit poisoning our youth Jesus!

Baroque Art: Beauty or Beast?

Recently I took a trip to Peterhof for art class to examine the different influences of 17th century architects. Peterhof is dominated by to art-forms, those being classical and Baroque, and moreso by the latter. After our excursion we were asked to write a short essay about what was Baroque and how it had influenced the design of the fantastic palace. I won't include the full essay, but here is an excerpt that seeks to define "Baroque" in and of itself (slightly edited of course):

There has been much debate over what ‘Baroque’ as a form of art and architecture, as well as a cultural movement in thought, really means. In fact, it is uncertain what the term might literally mean, but one common interpretation is “the pearl of irregular form”. Usually when someone had called something Baroque, they meant that there was something mysterious or irregular about it. The term first appeared in Italy and was commonly associated with things that looked ugly. One critic went even further saying it was the embodiment of all that was “decadent, ugly, and blemished.” Baroque style, in its very nature, opposes itself to everything classical. Indeed, it is downright offensive to the classical style. It was seen quite negatively in comparison, and again, that it is the effect of decadence in art. It was meant to be contradictory and strange all in an attempt to astonish, even shock, its audience. Baroque’s main objective was to leave a strong impression on all who chanced to gaze upon it.

A major shift in worldview had been in process in Europe and influenced much of was to become Baroque. The discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo in science were being recognized by nearly all artists and intellectuals. Isaac Newton’s work in physics and in finding out the laws of nature had so impressed on this epoch that people were left feeling directionless and without anyone to rely on as they once did the Church. The Christian world was no longer whole since reformation. With this in mind, Baroque had aimed its attack against reformation in the catholic world, much like that of the Jesuits. What Baroque wanted was for people to accept a work as a whole and not to be focused on the different directions or details of the work. This is what had distinguished Baroque as its own new and unique style.

Everything gets presented as so grand and complicated that it is hard to take in all at once. The techniques used are all done specifically to evoke a feeling of absurdity to the viewer, as if one had just entered a new reality.

And I thought Russian was hard...

I had just finished my Russian Language homework for the night when I happened to read THIS. Karyn Traphagen teaches Hebrew Language every year, and every year she has students with the same feelings about how hard it is only a month in. I can completely relate to this! and I am even willing to bet money that Russian is harder then Hebrew, any takers?? Anyhow, enjoy musing at the "oddities of English" as James Mcgrath refers to it. I feel sorry for all the students here trying to learn English now, hah!

Church History in 4 Minutes!!!

Thanks a lot Alan Guenther, I could have just watched this instead taking that long-winded two-part history course. *note to all freshmen - memorize this song and ace the exam!

Did Jesus Know He Was God?: Game Theory Approach

James McGrath asked the question of Did Jesus Claim to be God? in a recent post that was quickly followed up by many comments and a helpful response from Doug Chaplin.  The question 'Did Jesus Claim to be God?' might better be phrased as 'Did Jesus Claim Divinity?', or even further 'What did Jesus claim about Himself?'. These are all good questions and the response could obviously be turned into a full 500 page book. I could have tried to engage the debate and completely immerse myself in it, but I thought it might be more interesting, and more fun, to try out some applied mathematics in the world of theological questions. First, I had to make sure I was asking the right question.

I think that a significant yet simple way to phrase the question is 'Did Jesus Know He Was God?', forget what he did or did not claim for just a minute in order to allow this experiment to work, and evoke a way of thinking about what Jesus probably knew about his own divinity.

Game theory can be used this way. It is most often used in economics but it also has been found to work in politics, biology, philosophy, sociology, etc. If it can be used in all these areas of thinking, then why not theology, if only for arguments sake. Essentially, game theory is a formulaic way of finding out what is the most advantageous scenario when players are given a number of choices. Its most basic form, the strategic form, is what I used in the to answer the question 'Did Jesus Know He Was God?'.

I will save you the eyesore of viewing my original MSPaint drawing that looks like a freehand nightmare a pre-schooler might have done and share this more legible chart I developed. (which also resmebles that of an artistically inclined pre-schooler)

If your staring in confusion, please don't give up now, it is really very simple and all based on logic, allow me to explain. The 'game' is to find out which scenario (KNOW indicated by K and DON'T KNOW indicated by DK) will be most advantageous to the players (Jesus v. God). Each player is has only two options, in this case either they know Jesus is God or they don't know Jesus is God.

God, being omniscient, must know that Jesus is divine, represented by the green 3 in the bottom left hand corner. (Number 3 represents the most advantageous scenario to that player, and 0 the lowest). If God does not know it is least advantageous, therefore 0 in the top right corner. Now, the strongest scenario for Jesus (in his humanity) is to know he is God, in the top left corner, where both Jesus and God know Jesus is God. God gets a 2 because it is the second best option in God's favor. It is least advantageous to Jesus if God knows and he doesn't so Jesus gets a 0 in the bottom right.

Leaving only the bottom right corner, where both Jesus and God don't know that Jesus is God, to be the third most advantageous option for both players. However, say that the players make this move in an attempt to be harmonious towards one another, they are then in a sense equal in their knowledge of Jesus' divinity. Here is where it gets interesting.

By way of Nash Equilibrium, the players can decide to change their position after the fact of moving into the harmonious 1, 1. Say Jesus decided that he now actually knows he is God, but God does not know, Jesus receives a 2 and God 0. Jesus wins and game over, however, this is illogical in the situation at hand and therefore is an impossibility. Say that God changes his mind that he now knows Jesus to be God, and Jesus remains not knowing, God receives a 2 and Jesus receives a 3.

Solution: The best possible scenario for each player, by way of Nash Equilibrium, is for God to know Jesus is God and for Jesus to not know. Both players end in the box where they each have no incentive to change; and because God is a good God I am sure you can see why he would want the best for both of them. Of course it can get much more technical, and maybe when I have more time I will try a more elaborate method.