Distractions, disctractions, disctractions...

Gotta love life outside of the blogosphere. The Oregon International Airshow was this weekend at the airport just 2 miles away so I was distracted all weekend by the Thunderbirds. Got some great photos of them however, zoomed so close you can see the pilots. Awesome stuff.

Tomorrow expect the next post in the Gilgamesh series. I'm gonna be researching for it tonight and tomorrow morning and should have it up sometime in the afternoon. Plus I've got four days off of work as sort of a mini vacation so expect regular updates the next few days. Something I haven't done in awhile.

Gilgamesh Flood Story Part 1: Intro

I've been trying to figure out how to introduce this one because it's not quite the same as paraphrasing something from the Bible. The other problem is the fact it really is so similar to the story of Noah's flood that I swear at times I was reading the same thing with different names. So the best to start I think is to give you all a link to the flood story from the Epic of Gilgamesh: The Great Flood: Gilgamesh (I really suggest reading it because you'll probably be a tad lost later if you don't)

One thing I want to note is that the flood story from this epic is not about Gilgamesh himself, rather it is told to Gilgamesh by the flood survivor named Utnapishtim (I've actually seen TV documentaries get that bit wrong), who is the story's version of Noah. Utnapishtim even builds an equivalent to the Ark which he takes animals on as well (it's not as apparent while reading it, but that is the case), although it is a giant cube apparently with all sides being the same.

Besides the name there are a couple other key differences to this story. For instance there are multiple gods, in particular the Anunnaki whom you should all know from my adventures into the works of Zecharia Sitchin. In fact it is the Anunnaki named Enlil who apparently rashly decides to destroy humanity with a large flood because they have angered him and many of the other Anunnaki.

The other primary difference is that the flooding process itself lasts only 7 days and 6 nights as opposed to the 40 days of Noah's flood. There is also a really cool description process here telling about gods drawing back gates and releasing water, burning the human settlement, and much more. It's almost like reading about a Viking or pirate raid, only the Vikings and pirates are replaced by gods.

Anyways over the coming days I will get more into detail about these differences, as well the similarities, between this and Noah's flood. Like I said, I swear I was reading the same story at times...truly fascinating.

UFO Sighting on my way to work

Well this isn't what I was originally going to post today, but I figured I better do it before I forget to.

Here in Hillsboro, OR today at around 5:30am while walking to work I saw another UFO that in many ways was the opposite of the fading blue one I saw years ago.

It was fairly dark out, but the sun was just beginning to brighten up the sky and I was enjoying my walk and listening to music, when I looked up at the sky in a roughly northwestern direction. There in the dark navy blueness of the early morning I saw what appeared to be a faint star, but then it did something I've never seen a star do. Suddenly it slowly flared out to about 3 times the size it was, became a whitish orange color, faded for a fraction of a millisecond (didn't even get back to it's original size), then bam...it was gone.

I poked and prodded what I saw all day in my head trying to figure out what it was. I know for a fact it wasn't a star, since stars twinkle and don't grow to 3 times their sizes and vanish in seconds. It was also definitely not a plane as there were no strobes or colored lights with it, plus planes also don't grow in size and vanish. I thought maybe a meteor coming dead on towards me and burning up in the atmosphere, but then well it'd a bit more obvious then a growing light in the sky I think.

So what was it? I don't know, however I will say that the way it behaved reminds me of seeing the engines of ships in Star Wars go into hyperdrive. First the engine appears normal, flares up, fades for a fraction of a millisecond, then voosh...ship is gone. It was almost just like that.

Don't worry...it's coming...the flood of Gilgamesh that is

Sorry I've been a bit lazy in the last week or so, my focus has been a bit more on the mind numbing side of things (TV, games...you know...easy none mind exercising activities.) recently do to summertime heat and humidity as well as being a bit dead after work because of the heat and humidity.

Anyways, tomorrow I should have the intro up to my series on the flood myth from the Epic of Gilgamesh. The fun part is going to be the amazing similarities between this flood and the one mentioned in the Bible. I'll also get to dive into some of Zecharia Sitchin's theories again as well, which for some reason I have a blast doing. Probably the whole alternate history idea with the aliens and what not. I just love that ancient astronaut thing...the were they here, were they not bit, or as I prefer to say it, "It's sort of like a sci-fi story, only with the added possibility it may have been real.", which I think sums it all up. So stay tuned...

Phase in...phase out...phase in....phase out....

I was reading over at one of my new favorite blogs, Ghost Hunting Theories, the other day about interdimensional portals and I got to thinking (and shared my thought in a comment on that post)...what if some paranormal entities, such as Bigfoot, the Mothman, etc...which may be tied to portals, are actually, well...tied to the portals. What I mean is that perhaps some of these beings literally only exist in our dimension while these portals are open and when the portals close, they go back to their world, or perhaps fade into some in between place (maybe this could be where some "ghosts" might come from, only they aren't true ghosts), sort of like limbo. Think about it, no one is ever able to find these creatures, or dead bodies, such as those of shot Bigfeet. It's like they vanish into thin air and perhaps they actually do.

I'm a firm believer that the laws of quantum physics and what not have what I would call "fail safes" that go into effect during certain events. For instance I think the reason we don't see people time traveling in and out of our time (or at least not often) is because, well one, most think it's dangerous, but also that any time someone does time travel, it creates a new timeline universe in order to prevent paradoxes. Perhaps dimensional travel works in similar ways, only beings are linked to their original dimensions somehow and can only be in the other dimension as long as the connecting portals are open. Then they either snap back into their world, fade into the possible in between one, or die in some horrible super death with all sorts of fancy lights and what not...maybe turning inside out or something.

There might ways to break the link though, perhaps some sort of device that envelopes someone in a sustaining field of some kind. It would make sense, but probably would require a lot of power, but that doesn't mean it's not possible.

Anyawys as I said in the comment I made over at Ghost Hunting Theories, the best thing about interdimensional portals is that they are scientifically plausible. That means that most likely when the physical/quantum physical conditions are right, then there really isn't any reason for these portals to form...and who knows how often they do.

Noah's Flood Part 3: The Flood

Was there really a global flood thousands of years ago that covered the entire world? Many Christian fundamentalists would say so, but where is the evidence? They claim that it is all around us in forms of things such as canyons or mountain chains, which they say could only have been formed by a global deluge, the waters moving so fast that they cut the canyons and mountains from the stone they're made of. And yes, while can sea canyons perhaps being carved by rapidly moving waters, mountains on the other had are the results of tectonic activity didn't just rise up out of the waters.

Geologic rock layers have been claimed to be evidence for a world wide flood as well, but same layers that tell modern geologists a very different story, one that conflicts with the world wide flood theory. Of course that hasn't stopped some from claiming that all the layers of rock are simply the result of the flood. Floods however leave single layers, not multiple layers stacked on top of each other helping dividing time periods and the fossils of said periods.

Perhaps the biggest problem with the world wide flood theory is that many of the proposed dates for the flood, tend to fall around time periods when there were thriving civilizations that were not wiped out by a flood. However one can assume that would be a reasonable explanation for the many flood myths found around the world, but then the flood must not have been as devastating as it reads in the Bible.

Something I mentioned in an earlier post is that to many people in the early civilizations, the world was only what was known of it to them. That means that most likely a "world wide flood" was just a large localized flood and there is a lot more convincing evidence for that, such as a possible flood in the area now known as The Black Sea.

This theory proposes that possibly around 5,600 years ago there may have been a civilization slowly growing along the shores the Black Sea which at that time likely a large fresh water lake, albeit much smaller then today. Then one day a small area that was holding back waters from the Mediterranean Sea gave way releasing the waters upon the unsuspecting civilization that would had to have dropped everything an abandoned their homes. If true, then this flood may be responsible for not only the story of Noah, but the deluge story in the Epic of Gilgamesh (which will be the next in my deluge myth posts) as well.

Sources and Further Reading:
More Evidence Against Noah's Flood
Noah's Ark - The Skeptics Dictionary
Problems With a Global Flood
Noah's Flood - Where Did all that water come from?-Christiananswers.com (shows some of the theories proposed for where the water came from during the "world wide" flood.)
Ancient Days: The Date of Noah's Flood
The Black Sea Deluge Theory - Wikipedia

Q-Life? This is trippy and oh so Lovecraftian...

I love it when I haven't browsed the Anomalist in awhile because I always seem to find more interesting things there then when I browse it daily. For instance today I found this mind boggling bit of info (read the article there folks, it's well worth your time) on"Q-Life" which is apparently theorized quantum physical life.

Now the thing about this Q-life is that it could fit the definition of what we consider "spirits", "God", etc... It also seems bizarrely like things that fit within H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, with life possibly taking on all sorts of weird forms, such as "quantum life clouds" and "intelligent black holes" (both of which are mentioned in the article) and who knows what else.

Adding to the strangeness is the simple fact it's all quantum physics. That would mean that perhaps if such life exists in the universe/multiverse or whatever, it might be able to transcend space, time, and other aspects of reality, or perhaps exist in all at once. Completely Lovecraftian if you ask me, well minus the horror aspect...unless you consider intelligent black holes scary...the concept sure scares the willies out of me.

Perhaps we should start calling our world "The Lovecraftian Universe"? Hey that gives me an idea new blog!

Noah's Flood Part 2: The Ark

Genesis 6:15 KJV
15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

There you go folks, the dimensions of what may have been (depending on what your beliefs are) one of the world's most ancient boats, Noah's Ark. The exact modern day dimensions are up for debate (not knowing the proper length of a Biblical cubit), however it seems to be fairly well agreed upon that it would have been between 450-500ft long, meaning it was pretty big.

Now you'd think, a 500 ft long boat would be simple to find, especially knowing the location. In this case it's presumably the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4 NIV), where the Bible tells us the Ark settled when the flood waters receded. And indeed there is what has been claimed to be evidence that it is there in the form of what has be called "The Ararat Anomaly".

This so called anomaly was found towards the tip of Mt. Ararat by both spy plane and satellite the 1980s, and apparently by someone in 1949. The object itself appears to be a roughly boat shaped area of rock outcropping. However, evidence that this the Ark is rather lacking, and more recent photos taken in 2003 seem to point to it being nothing more then a natural formation. Add to that the fact no one can investigate the location do to it being covered in ice and snow almost year round, and the Turkish government restricting access to the mountain, little can be investigated other then photos.

There is another potential location that apparently been named the "official" resting place of the Ark which looks more promising just south of Mt. Ararat near the village of Dogubeyazit in Turkey. It not only fits within theorized lengths for the Ark, but also seems to show some the possible interior ribbing of the vessel. Other evidence seems to abound around the site as well.

On the negative side, the location was reportedly found by one Ron Wyatt who apparently does not have the best support in the worlds of both regular and Biblical archaeology and most in both groups claim Wyatt's find is not the true ark. Fundamentalist Christians however do support Wyatt's claim, or at least quite a few of them and it's very evident by some oddball statements made in some of the pages I used while researching for this post, most notably that of fossilized metal rivets.

Fossilization is the process in which organic (of biological origin) material is replaced with inorganic (non biological origin) material like minerals when conditions are right in the environment an organic object is buried in. Metal however is an inorganic meaning it should not fossilize (at least as far as I know, plus if it was I don't think we'd have all our modern tech if it could) and indeed when I searched on whether metal can be fossilized the only places referencing fossilized metal were creationist and fundamentalist websites. That however doesn't mean that the previously mentioned "official" Ark is not the Ark, just that they need to get their science right.

So where is the Ark? I have no idea honestly. There is to much debate around the subject and there are probably a few other locations it could be at if it exists at all. One thing is for sure though, if anyone does find an Ark that everyone agrees to be the Ark, it'd quite possibly be the biggest piece Biblical evidence/support of all time.

Sources and Further Reading:
Noah's Ark Overview - Arkdiscovery.com
Noah's Ark Search: Mt. Ararat
Satellite Sleuth Closes in on Noah's Ark Mystery - Space.com
The Remains of Noah's Ark - Specialityinterests.net

Noah's Flood part 1: The Story

According to the book of Genesis, after man had begun to spread across the world, they started to become corrupt. This didn't sit to well with God, so he decided to wipe out his creations by flooding the world, except for Noah, who he was rather fond of (Genesis 6:5-8). In fact he was so fond of Noah that he decided to give man a second chance through Noah in his family. So he gave orders to Noah to build an Ark (or a boat if you're getting confused with another Ark that Harrison Ford hunted down in a rather famous 80s movie.) on which to rescue 2 of each kind of animal, 7 of some select animals, and various foods to support his family and his beastly cargo (Genesis 6:14-21, Genesis 7:1-4).

Now being a wise man, Noah obeyed God because he was loyal to God, and because it's not a good idea to cross a guy who is capable of flooding the whole world. So Noah built the Ark to God's specified directions (generally it's presumed the Ark was around 500 ft long. No exact dimensions are known since no one is settled on the exact length of a biblical cubit) and prepared for the deluge.

When the specified day arrived and all the animals were on board, Noah and his family boarded the Ark, and God was nice enough to personally shut the door (Genesis 7:13-16). Then for 40 days the flood came (the exact way which it flooded is up for debate), covering the Earth up to the highest mountain peaks, with the water staying for 150 days after the flooding stopped . Every living thing that flew, walked, or crawled, perished in the waters, unless they were aboard the Ark(Genesis 7:17-24),or of course were aquatic or amphibious creatures, which seemed to have been forgotten somewhere in the story.

Days before the waters receded, Noah would release a dove to see if it would come back with evidence the water was leaving. One day the dove came back with an olive branch and the following day the dove did not return and Noah knew God had let the waters recede and the Ark eventually came to rest somewhere in the mountains of Ararat (important detail that is) (Genesis 8:1-12).

They remained on the Ark until the world was completely dry and God asked Noah, his family, and the animals to come out. Then the animals were allowed to go out and reproduce their numbers, and Noah built an alter and made burnt animal offerings to God, who swore never to destroy mankind again, even if it was wicked (Genesis 8:15-21), because he so enjoyed the smell of the BBQ.

The End

Next time: Details on the Ark and the Flood

Deluge Myths: Intro

Image: The Deluge by John Martin 1834

The word deluge means an overflowing of water, or put simply, a flood. Throughout history stories of great floods sent by God or other deities have been told. These are known as deluge myths.

Noah's Ark in the Biblical book of Genesis and the story of Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh are two of the most widely known of such stories. Deluge tales however exist many other religions and mythologies around the world and is sometimes used as proof of a "world wide" flood such as the one described in the story of Noah.

Was there such a flood? The only ones who know for sure are the ones who have faith in the stories of these floods. To them they are quite real and they even sometimes find evidence in geologic layers which may or may not prove them for everyone. Still others, whether they believe in the floods or not, search for relics of the events, such as evidence that Gilgamesh was a real person, or the Ark of Noah resting somewhere in the mountains of Ararat.

Throughout the next week or so I intend to visit these stories, share them with all of you, and take a peek at some of the evidence that may just prove that perhaps there was a flood of global proportions. Then again we might find that perhaps these floods were not more then localized events, keeping in mind that to many at the times these events were recorded, the world was only what was known of it.

So tomorrow we will begin our study of deluge myths with the classic story many are told as children, Noah's Ark.

Something funny about the Nephelim in the Bible

In Genesis chapter 6 verse 4 says this:

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. - The Bible NIV edition

Shortly there after God decides to kill every man and creature on Earth with the flood because man had become corrupt, saving only Noah, his family, and 2 of each animal.

Suddenly though, generations after the flood and just after Moses has lead the Israelites out of Egypt, we come across this verse when they are preparing to enter the land God promised them.

Numbers Chapter 13 verse 33

We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." - The Bible NIV Edition

So what happened here? By all means shouldn't the Nephilim have been wiped out by the flood? Did some of them escape the flood? Something must have happened that allowed them to live, or maybe there is more to it.

Now assuming that the Nephilim are the same thing as the Anunnaki of Sumerian myth then there is that chance they are Zecharia Sitchin's alien astronauts. Perhaps though were supernatural beings capable of withstanding the deluge, or even escaping it through some means as of yet unknown to us. Or maybe it's as simple as Nephilim being a term for people of larger then average stature, aka giants, who were assumed to have been related to the real Nephilim that existed before the flood.

Or still perhaps I just need to get myself a copy of the Book of Enoch, which from my understanding features both the Sons of God and the Nephilim, explaining the whole thing in better detail then what the Bible does.

Anyways, it was just an interesting tidbit I found.

Also, tomorrow expect to see my first post of a series about deluge myths.