Atomically unique physical security devices

In nanostructures, the position of impurity atoms, and their exact shape and size, all influence their properties. This makes it virtually impossible to produce two devices that operate identically. This is a major problem for many applications, but research led by the Young-Quantum group has developed an exciting application for this inherent irreproducibility. Using this effect we have invented the first physical security devices with atomic sensitivity. The underlying security is based on a simple quantum technology.

We rely heavily on electronic devices in our daily lives. For example, we use them to carry out financial transactions, communicate with other people, monitor our health and interact with our environment. Secure operation of digital devices is vital, as they are often trusted to fulfil critical tasks, and normal cryptographic protocols are used to achieve this. These protocols rely on secret information that is either stored on devices or provided by users. It has been shown, however, that attacks on digital devices can leak the secret information stored within, and users are known to be a weak point when it comes to keeping a secret.

Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) are relatively recent inventions, which provide an alternative method to generating a secret. Instead of storing the secret in digital memory, or asking a user to provide it, it is derived from a physical characteristic of the system. A PUF can be constructed in various ways. For example, scattering patterns of an optical medium or chip-specific transistor switch delay variations can be used to generate PUFs. The assumption is that the secret cannot be copied, as it is bound to a physical entity which cannot be cloned. Furthermore, it is assumed that the probability of finding two devices with identical physical characteristics is very low.

Existing PUFs have limitations, as they are often difficult to produce and handle, and more importantly, there is no guarantee that they actually cannot be cloned. Arbiter PUFs, Ring Oscillator PUFs, XOR PUFs, Lightweight Secure PUFs and Feed-Forward PUFs have all been attacked using machine learning techniques. An SRAM-PUF was cloned by Helfmeier et al., and it has been shown that some existing PUF implementations are vulnerable to side-channel attacks.

Operation of QPUF or Q-IDResonant tunneling diodes (RTDs), simple electronic structures exhibiting quantum confinement, were recently proposed for operation as PUF devices by the principle investigators. The RTD encapsulates a quantum nanostructure between two electrical contacts and displays an exotic I-V characteristic not seen in classical devices. The quantum nanostructure behaves such that it only allows electrons to exist at well-defined energy levels within the nanostructure. Only when the energy of the incoming electrons is equal with one of these energy levels can current flow through the device, as the electrons have to quantum mechanically tunnel and use the energy levels as a stepping stone. Thus, this type of diode allows current to flow only at well-defined voltages, which is dependent on the nanostructure placed within it. Further increase of the voltage results in a peak in the spectrum due to a drop in current and a region of negative differential resistance (NDR), a defining characteristic of such a device. This peak is highly dependent on the quantum confinement exhibited within the nanostructure, which is subject to the overall atomic arrangement of the device. Hence, the device was named a quantum confinement PUF (QC PUF), and represents the first PUF whose output is sensitive to atom-scale variations. The probability of creating, either on purpose or accidentally, two devices that are exactly the same is negligible, because each device consists of hundreds of thousands of atoms. Therefore, each manufactured device exhibits a spectrum with a uniquely positioned peak. Properties of this peak can be used as the input of a function providing unique device identification. Alternatively, the information may be treated as a secret and could then be used to derive key material.

A QC PUF, besides preventing cloning, has other important benefits. A QC PUF can be produced together with an integrated circuit (IC) on the same wafer without introducing additional manufacturing steps. As a QC PUF is simple and small in size many can be included within a chip, giving a simple scaling mechanism for the size of the provided secret.

The QC PUFs inception has led to a great deal of excitement surrounding the possibilities for this technology. This proposal will build upon this recent foundational work, investigating how their nanoscale properties can be harnessed to deliver novel functionalities, whilst exploring their fundamental security potential. Methods of implementation, protecting devices against weaknesses inherent in other technologies, will be developed.

Quantum confinement physical unclonable function being tested


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Waiting until they're ready

Be mindful.  Be aware.

Monday, March 9, 2015

“We don’t need more data to tell us we need action.”  The concluding quotation in a March, 2014 article written by Joy Resmovits of the Huffington Post.  The article, entitled “American Schools are STILL Racist, Government Report Finds,” is almost a year old, and yet it stabbed at me as if it had just come hot off the press.  In this report Resmovits rattles off statistics indicating that our education system is racist – the conclusion from a series of data surveys given by the US Department of Education and Civil Rights Data Collection.

The post made for a good morning Facebook conversation with a psychology professor I’d never met. It’s currently eleven o’clock, and I’m still fired up about it.

In the first few paragraphs Resmovits stuns readers with statistics about the percentage of black students versus the percentage of black students who have been suspended or referred to law enforcement.  She also continues by revealing that a higher percentage of students of color are exposed to teachers who “fail to meet license and certification requirements” AND that teachers in areas where there are higher numbers of black students get paid less than those in less diverse districts.

First off, putting unqualified teachers into classrooms of our most at-risk groups of students is the result of decisions made by people who are obviously not qualified to make those decisions.  It would be like sending in a surgeon who hadn’t finished med school to perform an intricate and delicate procedure that, if done poorly, would likely result in death.   Because, often, the result is death – is it not?  Maybe not physical death, but death of opportunity.  Death of self-esteem.  Death of future.

Why are we not spending money on recruiting the thousands of highly qualified and caring educators who are currently jobless to move into these schools?  Why are we spending so much time and energy on assessing, when we already know what the assessments are going to tell us?  In the state of Illinois, property taxes, by county, indicate a significant portion of the income schools receive to run the schools.  I, myself, work in a district where, next door to us is a large district that doesn’t even have busses to bring kids to school!  On the other side of that same district is a district that has enough busses to take everybody to school at the same time.  This is a true picture of inequity.

Racism, according to several dictionaries I consulted this morning, means anywhere from a belief that a race is inferior to another to simply liking or disliking a race based on some judgment.  In all of the definitions I read, there was one commonality – a person (or collective group) who is racist must make some judgment about a race.  So basically what Resmovits is saying in the title of her article is that America’s schools are judging races and have made a decision that blacks are indeed inferior OR that America’s schools just don’t like blacks in general.  Call it picky.  Call is syntax.  That is what she’s saying.

But is that what she meant?

Resmovits continues in her report by bringing up Brown v. Board of Education and the 1964 Civil Rights act that use ambiguous words such as “quality education for all children” and “equal access to education”.  Apparently these historical decisions were supposed to put away hundreds of years of judgment and hatred and learned behaviors.  But one person’s definition of quality education and equal access is not everybody’s.  Enter today’s education system.  A broken system with more holes than a honeycomb.

The remainder of the article references a survey by the Education Department’s Office of Civil rights and continuously points to the fact that our system hangs minority students and students with disabilities (how being disabled got into the article about race, I have no idea) out to dry.  The entire article is so full of generalizations that it’s tough to grasp the point except that it keeps screaming racism.

One truth that Resmovits discusses is that change is needed.  She even talks about easing discipline and how that won’t help with the increase in school violence.  How the problem has such long roots, that we see these trends even in preschools!  Even the discipline/skill correlation surfaces toward the end of the article.

What would happen if we started treating our students more like people and less like numbers?  What if – and this is a big IF – we honored the gifts of each of our students and allowed them to be themselves rather than the people we think they should be?  What if we knew what our students’ strengths (and I’m not talking about academics) were as they walked into the door, and what if we could use that information to guide them to advocate for themselves?

Our problem is the fact that we have lost focus on what is really important.  Those children and adolescents who walk into our classrooms each day are singularly different – so much so that you could never carbon copy one of them.  To know each one’s strengths and preferences in learning is to empower ourselves as educators to teach the entire child.  More than half of them will not be academically talented, but academics is what we emphasize in school.  Some will have a gift for art, music, or sports – so why do we limit those times to once or twice a week while we pummel them with phonics and math facts?  Believe it or not – the gift of gab that some of them have will end up being their forte in life and may take them places we have never dreamed!  Is their curiosity or creativity not important?  The message we are giving them at school is that it is not.

Before we start pointing fingers at systems for being racist, what we ought to do is take a look at ourselves as a society and reflect on what is really important.  Perhaps it is us who have created a society that embraces a way of life – one in which certain populations of our children are still being treated as unequal.  I am in no way saying that any race behaves a specific way or has a particular strength, but if we step away from skin color and focus on our students as students – we might find that we can see a piece of them that we have never been allowed to see.

What we perceive as negative behaviors may only surface because the whole child is not embraced.  Excessive talking in a kid who is interpersonal becomes a way to cope when math is hard.  Doodling helps visual students get through a tough literature class.  Physical aggression allows kinesthetics a release when a student has been cooped up in school for ninety minute blocks of testing. Once we view our students through these new lenses, we can then begin the task of building them up so that they feel like they want to succeed.

If they have the skills and want to succeed, they will.  Dr. Ross Greene of Harvard University says very pointedly – Kids do well if they can.  It is our responsibility as a society to find out why they are not producing.   Generally speaking – it’s not because they’re black.


Beijing National Day reception 11 million 200 thousand passengers to accept an illegal day tour of 2 9c8950

Beijing National Day reception 11 million 200 thousand tourists accept illegal tour 26 – Beijing, Xinhua news agency, Beijing October 7th news (reporter Lu Chang) reporter from the Beijing Municipal Tourism Committee was informed that during the 2016 National Day holiday, Beijing 11 million 195 thousand passengers were tourists, 2.8% less than the same period last year, total tourism income of 8 billion 400 million yuan, an increase of 1.1%. Statistics show that Beijing received domestic tourists to Beijing 2 million 760 thousand passengers, 1.1% less than the same period last year, but the average consumption of tourists and improve their ability of domestic tourists to Beijing per capita consumption of 2485 yuan, up 3.2%. The reporter noted that this year, Beijing Golden Week tourism market gradually reflect the rational choice of tourists, in some hot scenic spots to take measures to limit the flow of tourists, more consider the change number of tourist destinations, to avoid hot scenic spots. According to statistics, during the golden week, Beijing historical and cultural city park traditional scenic tourists number is less, the the Imperial Palace pre-sale limiting measures, the capacity is limited to 80 thousand people, 7 days of tourists is relatively smooth and orderly. In contrast, the folk custom tour reception popular folk tourism, a total of 4 million 335 thousand tourists trips, an increase of 9.3%, realize the folk tourism income of 440 million yuan, up 7.8%. It is reported that, during the golden week, Beijing City, two district level departments against illegal "day" to strengthen regulation, complaints from the situation, accepting illegal tour 26, down 42% (2015 45), there is no major tourism safety accidents and malignant complaints.相关的主题文章：


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Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)

Algae, single celled plant-like marine organisms, are critical to life on Earth. Marine algae range from microscopic single celled organisms (phytoplankton) to larger mulitcellular seaweeds like kelp. As photosynthesizers, harvesting energy from sun to produce their own food, algae are the base in many marine food webs. Oxygen is another product of photosynthesis, and single-cell algae (phytoplankton) living in the ocean are responsible for half of the oxygen produced on Earth.

Pseudo-nitzschia, a marine algae that can cause domoic acid poisoning.

Algae as a group are immensely important to the functioning of our planet, but there are a few dozen species of algae which can cause serious problems. These species become noticeable during periodic events known as "harmful algal blooms" (HABs). Algae can grow at rapid rates (bloom) and overgrow other species, alter habitats, or deplete oxygen (though algae produce oxygen while they are alive, the decomposition of large amounts of dead algae can deplete oxygen). Some algae are capable of producing powerful toxins that are harmful or deadly to other species. Impacts of HABs include fish kills, injuries to marine invertebrates and marine mammals, and even human illness or death.

Alexandrium, a marine algae that can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.

The causes of HABs are not fully understood. In some cases, environmental changes such as alteration in water flow or water temperature have been observed to coincide with HABs. In many aquatic ecosystems, nutrients (such as nitrates and phosphates) are scarce and this limits algae growth. When additional nutrients are available through runoff from land, pollution or changes in water circulation, this natural control on algal growth is removed, often resulting in rapid growth of aquatic algae. Scientists suspect that increases in nutrients may also play a role in some HAB events. HABs are a threat to living resources, fishing, tourism, and human health. The number and intensity of HAB events appear to be increasing.

Is Shellfish Safe?

HABs Resources

Additional Resources

Detecting Harmful Algal Blooms in the Pacific Northwest

NANOOS Awarded Funds to Study 2015 West Coast Bloom

NOAA Funds HAB Forecasting System

Phytoplankton Bloom in Hood Canal 2016

NANOOS Ocean Technology Transfer Grant for 2014-2017

Overview of 2015 HAB Event

How are HABs Monitored?

HABs Research

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Positioning the Cleavage Furrow

LMU researchers have identified a signaling pathway that restricts cleavage furrow formation to the mid-plane of the cell.

cell biology
Cell division in the C. elegans embryo (magenta: microtubules, blue: TPXL-1, green: chromosomes)

Cell division is a fundamental biological process which ensures that, following the replication of the mother cell’s genome, the two sets of chromosomes are equally distributed between two daughter cells. Chromosomes are segregated by the spindle apparatus, which is made up of fibrous protein structures called microtubules. The spindle apparatus is anchored to the opposite poles of the cell and determines the position of the future cleavage site in the middle of the cell, where a contractile protein ring is assembled. LMU researchers led by cell biologist Dr. Esther Zanin, who heads an Emmy Noether Research Group at the LMU Biocenter, have identified a molecular signaling pathway that restricts formation of the contractile ring to the mid-plane of the mother cell. Their findings appear in theJournal of Cell Biology.

Correct segregation of the chromosomes requires precise positioning of the cleavage furrow to the mid-plane of the cell. To achieve this, the spindle apparatus sends out two signals. One of these actively stimulates formation of the contractile ring at the mid-plane of the cell while a second signal inhibits its assembly at the cell poles. The inhibitory signal is known to originate from the so-called astral microtubules, which project to the cell poles from the spindle apparatus. “However, the molecular constituents of this signal have remained unknown until now,” says Zanin. “With the help of a newly developed and highly sensitive method, we have now shown in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans – a popular model organism in cell biology – that the enzyme Aurora A is a central component of the inhibitory signal.”

Aurora A, which is also present in human cells, is known to play a crucial role in the control of spindle assembly, and is activated on the astral microtubules. “We think that the active enzyme then diffuses from the astral microtubules to the cell membrane at the cell poles, where it suppresses formation of a contractile ring.” Zanin explains. In multicellular organisms, the precise control of cell division is not only essential during embryonic development, but also in the adult organism. Defects in cell division can causes numerous diseases including cancers.“ A detailed understanding of this fundamental process is therefore a prerequisite for the development of more effective ways to treat and prevent such disorders,” says Zanin.

Source : LMU Munich


This Friday's Free Downloads | Featured Artistes: Paul Oti, CIA, Jhiedy, Emmanuel Hero, Juwon Johnson, Femi Okunuga, Kunle Kenny

Can you believe that today is the last day of February?  Where did the month go?  Well, I certainly hope this month was an awesome one for you.  Here are seven songs to help celebrate all the wonderful things that happened in February (and usher in the month of March).  In no particular order, enjoy songs from the following artistes, followed by a short excerpt from their press releases:

  1. Paul Oti - Malafakumo (Don't be afraid)
  2. Christ I Abide (C.I.A) - All A'Dem
  3. Jhiedy - Faith Realm
  4. Emmanuel Hero - Nara Ekele
  5. Juwon Johnson - Je Kan Mo (Let them know)
  6. Femi Okunuga - Emi Orun (Holy Spirit)
  7. Kunle Kenny - Ijo Ope

*Let me know which ones you really like!

1. Paul Oti - Malafakumo (Don't be afraid)

Paul Oti is a music minister and vocal coach with passion for God based in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. He has worked with Ebiere and Afy Douglas who are top notch gospel acts in the South-South region and has organised great concerts to promote the gospel of Christ. He loves training choirs and helping people that are not very good singers to be the best.

Dodo, the kid from outer space

Open Day and Why Many Students Hated It

Okay, not all students hated "open day," but let's just say it wasn't an occasion students looked forward to.

Open Day is the one day in a semester/term set aside for parents and guardians to come to their child's school, meet with teachers and decide the fate of that child inspect the child's schoolwork to make sure he or she is on the right track academically.  That's all good on paper.


OP #4 Farewell to Britain

Well my time in England is coming to an end. I have had a wonderful time. One of the best parts of my time here in Britain was my hike through Scotland on Iona. It was such a peaceful place and the hike was really nice. The rolling hills of stone offered me a challenge of trying to climb them and the wildlife was cool as it was different due to the shielding of the big hill on the island.  The sights were amazing from the tops of the small rock hills. Another place that I found to be awe inspiring was Stirling Castle. The castle was massive and showed me what castles of great importance look like. The castle showed me how a castle can still survive and be relevant well into the gunpowder age. I will miss being able to see castles and the weather which we had in Scotland because it was absolutely beautiful. I miss Scotland even now. I really want to go back. I miss Scotland because the landscape is beautiful with its simplicity. I just find the simple low lying grasses and the natural element to Scotland with its rock hills and mountains. I also love the Scottish accent which as it happens is very prevalent in Scotland. This course has changed my perspective on how I look at the United States and has led me to appreciate what we have because even the United Kingdom does not have it. I have a great time in Britain and have grown to appreciate the culture and landscape of Britain.

Portsmouth Harbor

Portsmouth is one of the biggest military naval harbors historically in England. Today, it is still used in some parts as a naval base and training facility for the naval academy.  The HMS Victory was an impressive ship that was built in the late 1700s. It is the oldest ship in continuous military service. The second oldest ship is the USS Constitution. The HMS Victory was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar. Nelson is considered one of the best naval officers in British history. Nelson died at the battle of Trafalgar after the battle as he led his flagship the HMS Victory in the lead into the naval action. The HMS Victory barely made it back to port due to the damage it has sustained during the naval action. The battle at Trafalgar was a resounding victory for the Royal Navy (British). The French and Spanish fleet was resoundingly defeated. This battle took place during the Napoleonic Wars. The ship which is on display in Portsmouth Harbor is massive for its time. It had 104 cannons arrayed on its three decks along with a hold at the bottom of the ship. These cannons included 32 pound cannons, 24 pound cannons and an array of long and normal barreled 12 pound cannons. The poundage of a cannon is based upon the weight of shot that is fired from the cannon. This made the HMS Victory a ship of the line which were the main military ships of the Royal navy although as the flagship it was bigger and more heavily armed than most ships of the same classification. In fact, it was a first-rate ship of the line which means it was fitted with the best materials available and purpose built to be an important ship in the royal navy. It was commissioned by Pitt the Elder a famous tactician in British history.

Portsmouth is also home to a World War I ship HMS M.33. This ship was a small bombardment ship meant for coastal duty with two big 6 inch guns that have a range of at least 6 miles which allowed them to cover the amphibious landings on Gallipoli. The ship had 4 siblings all of which were destroyed by enemy artillery fire during the landings. This was due to their ½ inch thin hull which any direct hit by an artillery shell could destroy the ship. HMS M33 became known as the “luck ship” as it was the only one that survived. The ship then saw service in the support of landings in Archangel in north western Russia to cover the White Russians’ retreat. The ship was repurposed in World War II as a mine layer and a floating office for some officers who were never of note. The ship was decommissioned soon after World War II. The ship is one of three remaining ships that served in World War I and the only surviving ship from the Gallipoli campaign. Portsmouth harbor is a fine reflection of some of the history of the Royal Navy’s illustrious history.

Mad Max Tour and Avebury Stone Circle

The Mad Max tour is a bus touring company that we used to get from place to place today. The company was called Mad Max due to the owner of the company Madeline or Mady for short who owns the company. When she gave bus tours, she would bring her dog Max with her and thus the company became known as Mad Max. During this tour, the class visited ancient places such as Stonehenge and Avebury Stone Circle. The Avebury Stone Circle is located in the town of Avebury in England. This stone circle is connected to Stonehenge by an ancient road or route that is about 17 miles long between the two sites. The surrounding area is has a high concentration of chalk which has not helped the scientific dating because chalk does not preserve pollen which is used to easily tell what plants lived in the area at that time. The scientists thus turned to snail shells as they are incredibly diverse and many varieties exist according to their environment. Through this process scientists have learned that in the Avebury area a giant oak forest once stood. The site at Avebury is by far the largest in size for that period in England with the next closest being a quarter of the size. The henge seen at Avebury that can be seen today started construction in roughly 3000BC and was added to periodically until 2400BC. It is expected that prior to the placing of the stones in Avebury and other henge sites that there were once wooden poles set which served the same unknown purpose as the stones. The purpose of these stones are unknown although one can surmise that they had a religious purpose and that it had to do with the sun, moon, and stars. At the site, there is a rock that has a natural outcropping which is called the devil’s seat as bad luck has been said to befall people who sat in the “seat”. Long after other people came to the area such as the Romans who left the stones intact. It was not until the late medieval period that people saw a problem with the stones. England at this point had converted to Christianity and they saw the stones as a symbol of the devil hence one stone being called the devil’s seat. They began pulling the stones down, but this was stopped by the death of a barber-surgeon who was crushed by a stone as it fell. The locals may have believed that these stone could feel or were somehow alive and thus to pull them down they needed someone with medical training. Avebury remained generally unknown throughout time expect to the locals in recorded history. It was not until the 1695 that there was any significant mention of Avebury in any recorded and widely publicized works. It was included in the Britannia which is equivalent to the modern-day encyclopedia. The site came to be as it is today through the efforts of Alexander Keiller who bought the land and righted the fallen stones and mapped out the places where stones once lay.

Edinburgh Castle OP #2

Edinburgh castle located in the Scottish city of Edinburgh which holds the seat of government for the Scottish Parliament, today. Edinburgh Castle is the rock which commands the heights above the city of Edinburgh.  The castle was besieged many times by both the Scottish and the English multiple times as it was of major importance for control of the region. The castle was originally built by the Scottish although records do not show when it was built. It first pops into existence upon the death of the Scottish King Malcom III. While King Malcom III might be the earliest king associated with Edinburgh Castle, the earliest building remaining in the castle is St. Margaret’s Chapel. It is a small stone structure roughly in the center of the complex. The castle was rebuilt and used during the wars of independence and switched hands repeatedly. The Scottish King Robert the Bruce eventually took the castle and slighted it (removed the defensive fortifications of the castle). This was done to prevent the English from retaking the castle and the Scots having to re-siege the castle.

The castle was redesigned with the advent of cannons being used consistently in siege Also at this time. The castle became the armory for the lowlands and by the time of Mary Queen of Scots’ attempt to seize power in Scotland in housed the majority of the heavy cannons in Scotland. The castle held for almost 2 years of siege until the forces opposing Queen Mary’s ascent to the Scottish throne called upon England for support. Mary’s cousin Queen Elizabeth was more than willing to help and sent heavy siege artillery up to Edinburgh and after only a relatively short time in comparison to the siege time which had already gone on. The castle surrendered, and with it the last bastion of support for Mary Queen of Scot’s bid to the throne of Scotland. This was longest siege to take place at the castle.

After the Act of Union, which joined the two countries of Scotland and England into one nation. The castle was used for various purposes though mainly for military purposes such as the housing of soldiers of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards which now has a museum dedicated to them and their exploits. They are still an active unit although they no longer ride horses, but tanks and other mechanized engines of war. The museum is dedicated to their service throughout the centuries from the Crimean War to World War II to the Boer Wars in South Africa. Alongside this museum stands a memorial to those who fought in World War I and World War II from various Scottish regiments.

The castle still retains its own importance and traditions. The castle houses the Scottish regalia which is the royal pieces that are only to be held by a Scottish king or queen. One important tradition that is still carried out is the firing of a cannon at one o’clock in the afternoon. This was done at one to save gun powder. This has gone on uninterrupted for centuries except during WWII. In the modern day, the United Kingdom’s soldiers use a modern artillery piece to fire the shot at one o’clock. This is Edinburgh castle in a nutshell.

Official Post #4

During the class, I have learned a tremendous amount about the people of the 14th century lived. They lived in a much simpler time compared to today because they could not travel the vast distances that are regularly travelled by people today. The people were not living in fairy tale as is sometimes romanticized in movies nor were they living in the worst conceivable situation. Death was much more common than it is today and people just accepted this more so than we do today. There were many more ways to die back then than there is today. In fact, the average age was in the 40s to low 50s for those that reached adulthood which was 20. This was a feat considering the staggering infant mortality rate of the time which left many dead before they had their first birthday. This would also have been compounded by the physicians of the time not having the faintest idea of modern medicine which generally made the patient’s situation worse than before the person was treated. This paints a bleak picture, but in contrast the people of the time loved to dance, listen to music, or listen to stories. People did not want to dwell on the death that was all around, but instead focus on life. The humor of the 14th century tended towards what would today be seen as practical jokes.

The world in which they lived was filled with dangers which was a reason for not traveling as there were robbers and thieves on the road. This road violence would increase in times of bad harvests because there was not enough food so people would endeavor to obtain some through theft. Violence was a part of everyday society with some being seen as sport such as bullbaiting and cockfighting which was considered a children’s game. There was no real law like the police of modern day and each person had to be able to defend themselves. The law was there, but it was hard to enforce due to the lack of communication over the island. Travel time was a factor given that most people travelled on foot as the primary mode of transportation. Travel on horseback was expensive and one had own a horse in which to ride. Travel by sea was risky because of pirates and rough seas could drive a ship away from the coast or wreck her on the shore. Finding a place to stay was another reason for travelers not to go as inn keepers would not accept people that were not willing to pay for room and board. It was considered preferable to find a private residence in which to stay. This was seen as the more proper way of traveling because one must have some type of relation usually to be allowed to stay in a private residence. Another alternative for travelers is to stay at a monastery or other religious compound or building. Generally, the religious will take anyone in because it is seen as part of their duty to uphold their religious vows. Thus, the people in the 14th century are quite different from the people of today.

To Britain

It is almost time for the trip to Great Britain. I am really excited and cannot wait to go. I am looking forward to experiencing the British enthusiasm for football and hopefully to go and see a game, although the season is ending for them. It may be too much to hope for, but I would love to see a game. I am a really big soccer fan in the United States and I am looking forward to seeing the dramatic difference between how Americans talk about soccer and the British talk about football (not American). I have been keeping track of how the English Premier league is going, and the club that I like is most likely going to be relegated which is horrible. Relegation for those that do not know is when a team in a division finishes in the bottom 3 and they are sent down to the league under it and the top 3 are sent up although there are different rules for some divisions, but this generally remains true through the various divisions. I am also looking forward to just seeing the sites especially the castles because I have never actually seen one in person before. The preparation class has taught me about how the castles are built and how they are designed for defense. I have read books about castles since I was young enough to read and had a glorified picture of how it was to live in one. I want to learn about the realities and try to understand the people that lived in the castle on their own terms. In the famous words of Dr. Walther “I want to do history.”

Caernarfon Castle

Image result for caernarfon castle history

Caernarfon Castle, a castle in northern Wales, was built by the Normans to solidify their control over the Welsh. The castle was built during the reign of King Edward I, but it came from more humble beginnings. At first, the castle was an old Roman fort which was controlled by local Welsh after the Romans left. Then, the English invaded and an Earl built a small motte and bailey castle in the same place as the later castle would be built and the castle would incorporate the original motte of the Earl’s castle into the defensive works of the later castle built by King Edward I of England. The castle was built at the same time as two other castles were being built at Conwy and Harlech. Caernarfon castle holds a very strategic location by sitting so close to the river which feeds into the channel between the mainland and Anglesey Island. During the construction of Caernarfon castle, a rebellion broke out in Wales and the Welsh rebels destroyed much of the castle that was built which had yet to complete the outer walls. The castle was retaken by the English about a year later and a building spree began to repair and finish the castle. The castle of Caernarfon was picked by the English to be the administrative center for the region of Caernarvonshire. The castle also played an important role as the English prince Edward of Caernarfon who was both born in the castle and given the title of Prince of Wales in 1301. The building of the castle went on uninterrupted until the Scottish war in 1304 which was led by William Wallace. After its completion in the early 1300s, the castle was garrisoned and kept English rule in the area. The castle was besieged in 1403 by Welsh and French forces and held until the end of hostilities. This was during the rule of Henry Tudor who gave rights back to the Welsh after the war ended. This led to the end of garrisoning of the castle, but it still remained the administrative center for few more years until this responsibility was taken over by the town outside the castle. The castle continues to exist to this day although there was a point in the 1660s that there was a call for the destruction of the castle and to sell off its materials because the castle was not being used and was taking up space in the town.

Caernarfon castle is built as a reminder of the English presence in the area. The first tower that was supposedly completed was the Eagle Tower which was the housing apartment for the nobles of the castle and may have even been the residence of the Edward I when he visited and the place where Edward of Caernarfon was born although records do not say this for certain. There were nine towers built altogether with each one serving a purpose beyond the defensive measures they afforded. The castle had one main gate as well as two side entrances that led off towards the water ways. Caernarfon castle is still an impressive sight to behold.

William the Conqueror

King William I of England or more commonly known as William the Conqueror of England. He is most famous for his conquest of England. William would usher in a new era in England with his victory at the battle of Hastings in 1066 C.E. William would usher in an era of Norman domination over the previously Anglo-Saxon peoples that populated England at this time. William started with more humble beginnings which shaped him into the man he was when he became king of England.

William was born an illegitimate son of the Robert, Duke of Normandy. His father legitimized him as his heir before his death, but some in the duchy did not accept his claim to the duchy. William was 6 when he inherited the duchy of Normandy. There were regents and guardians placed so as to care for William and take care of running the duchy. Williams early years were filled with intrigue as one after another his guardians and regents were assassinated. Eventually his cousin led a rebellion with the help of many nobles in Normandy to take the duchy away from William. William was forced into exile at the palace of the French king. In 1047, William would return to Normandy and crush the rebellion and was merciless to those who rose up against him. Thus, William solidified his control on Normandy which allowed for the events that would take him to be the king of England.

William in 1051 was visited by his cousin Edward the Confessor who while in these meetings promised William the crown of England because Edward had children in which inheritance could be passed on. This was even supposedly solidified over an oath on a sacred object. The problem that developed was that upon the death of any English king a council of English nobles chooses the next king and this was a long held belief. Thus, upon the death of Edward, the witan, as this council was called, chose Harold son of Godwin as the next King of England. William was said to have been enraged by this and planned an invasion of England. Lucky timing favored William for at the same time roughly his ships set sail for England. The English army led by Harold was locked in battle with a Norwegian invasion force which the English defeated soundly. Harold after the victory marched south to meet William. The armies met at the Battle of Hastings on the 14th of October 1066. The battle was won by William and saw the death of Harold’s two brothers and Harold himself. This victory for William gave him the power to be crowned king of England on Christmas Day 1066. The south of England saw William as king while the northern parts of England would continue to resist William’s rule for years to come.

William I changed the landscape of life in England. Many of the nobles in England lost their land to William who gave it to loyal Norman nobles. A massive building spree of castles and fortified positions were built to impose Norman rule on the people. William ordered the creation of what is known as the Doomsday book which is a detailed record of everything taxable in the whole of England that William I controlled. William would spend most of the rest of his life fighting to hold onto his lands both in England and Normandy. William I would die on 9th of September, 1087. He would split his holdings in two with his eldest son getting Normandy and his middle son getting England.

Carlisle Cathedral

In our recent work in class, I did some research into the cathedral at Carlisle. The cathedral at Carlisle was built by the Normans after their conquest of Cumberland County which contained the town of Carlisle and it was in this town that a cathedral was built. The diocese itself was established in 1133 A.D. by Henry I of England. The creation of the diocese served more as a defense against the encroachment of the Scottish bishops into northern England. This kept the Scottish bishops from claiming parts of England as part of their diocese. The cathedral was poorly maintained throughout its existence more because it simply needed to exist to maintain its purpose which was to keep the Scottish bishops at bay. The surviving parts of the cathedral include: two bays of the nave, the southern part of the cross patterned church, and the crossing. Churches at this point in time were built in the shape of crosses. The crossing was the middle portion of the cross where the four arms intersect. The cathedral was built in a typical Romanesque style of the time. Some of the decorations that were carved into the surviving walls still exist. For example, a zigzag pattern still is visible as one looks at the walls. The parts of the church that were destroyed were caused by human error whether it was poor maintenance or purposeful destruction. The first damage done was by a fire in 1292 A.D. This led to a rebuild that continued for a majority of the 1300s. The northern part was destroyed in 1380 A.D. by its own tower crashing down on it. This was rebuilt in the early 1400s. The rest of the damage was done during rule of Oliver Cromwell. This period was known as the Commonwealth period due to the fact that there was an attempt made to create a republican government, but this descended into Oliver Cromwell becoming more or less the military dictator of England. This time period saw a massive movement across England to root out Catholic influence which was why these people destroyed many cathedrals or in this case just part of it as in the Western part of the cathedral and the other parts of the nave in 1650 A.D.

The grounds where Carlisle Cathedral stands was at first a priory which was then added onto by the construction of the cathedral. The Augustinian Priory of St. Mary in Carlisle was found in 1122 A.D. by Henry I. In 1540 A.D., the priory was dissolved during the Commonwealth period. The cathedral at Carlis9le became a pilgrimage center which before their removal was run by the priory of St. Mary. The main focus of devotion was to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Carlisle Cathedral during the Commonwealth period was used as a place of worship while the monastic buildings were reduced to rumble and ruins. After the Restoration of the monarchy which occurred after the Commonwealth period. There was a time of rebuilding, but the cathedral at Carlisle was not near the top of the list, so it fell even more into disrepair. The first steps were taken in 1764 by the bishop to rebuild, but most of this was redone in the nineteenth century restoration. It was never completely rebuilt until the 1850s when people retook an interest in the building. It was not until the mid1900s that the cathedral was finally completed of all its restoration work.


tthis article was written on March of last year during the “season” of Sta. Cena or the Holy Supper inside the Iglesia Ni Cristo. While going over the recent comments of one of my dear friends Mario, he mentioned this article. I went over it and as Mario has said it is a timely piece so my friends, I post it again for those who may have missed it. I also thank  Mario for reminding me. Take care dear brother.

  • William

The_Last_Supper_nameplates_01march, so it appears for us  is the month of the Holy Supper, “Banal na Hapunan,” or “Sta. Cena.” It is an event characterized by so much preparation.  From the “panata” to the “pagdadalaw, pag-aayos ng mga kaso,” and so forth.  It is the belief that anyone who partakes of the Holy Supper should be worthy and no hindrances should exist to prevent God from making His presence felt during the solemn worship service. Thus,  ministers and officers designated to lead the Holy Supper are carefully selected to ascertain the sacredness of the role assigned to them. Or so it seems …

016kThe hilltop at dawn is always a very beautiful place to be, overlooking the quiet neighborhood just starting to awaken. The night sky and the stars slowly fading away as the glimmering sun calmly pushes its presence across the distant horizon.  A cool breeze brush your shoulders as you stare at Goofy and Katy trying to keep snugly in place.  They must be wondering why I must always come here when their porch is the most comfortable place to be.  We walked down and jogged a few paces before reaching home.  Both were breathing heavily especially Goofy who had shorter legs.  They rushed to their bowl of H2O. I stared at them both. So innocent, so naive, so dependent. Goofy would not touch food served by anyone else but me.  I remember the time I had to go to Aurora province for a few days. The food bowl had to be filled without Goofy knowing who had put it there. That was the only way she would touch her food thinking I left it there for her. It was “TRUST.” She had faith in me to such an extent that she distrusted others to serve her food.

The organizational set-up of the Iglesia ni Cristo is in a sense a Theocracy or Ecclesiocracy meaning, it is a”government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. Or as the The Oxford English Dictionary would define “A form of government in which God (or a deity) is recognized as the king or immediate ruler, and his laws are taken as the statute-book of the kingdom, these laws being usually administered by .. his ministers.., claiming a divine commission; ..”

dictatorshipThus, this same claim is used by our administration in implementing all of its functions including the officiating of our Sta Cena which was actually based on the Last Supper of Christ and continued thereafter by the apostles.  All Christianity have their own versions of the Holy Supper, us included.  The only difference is we claim sole authority.

As we all know Judas Iscariot was one of the original 12 apostles but lost face when he betrayed Christ for 30 silver coins. He was also designated Treasurer and had been stealing for 3 and a half years from the treasury at the time. (Ironically, others claim that Judas did Christ a favor because without him the setting in motion of the events that led to Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection would not have taken place. Interesting ..)

With the axe of credibility hanging precariously above its head, the INC now needs to ask itself, “Does God and Christ still acknowledge our Holy Supper?” Is the TRUST still there, or putting it bluntly:

“Kung si Hudas Iscariote and mangangasiwa ng Sta. Cena, tatanggap ka ba?”

(Ironically too, if Ka Jun Santos shares limelight with Judas Iscariot as “Treasurer” of the Church, will his fortune be identical with Judas in also restoring the Church to its former glory, unblemished and pristine? Nagtatanong lang po …)


Archive for March 23, 2009

The current financial crisis has been running riot on global markets now for more than a year. After many bank collapses, desperate central bank attempts to save the financial market and seemingly forever dropping stock prices, it’s so bad now that we don’t even hear anymore that the worst might be over (even though just today Obama spun some light at the end of the tunnel) – we actually are getting softened up by governments and economic pundits for worse to come. This crisis is the worst capitalism has experienced since the Great Depression in the 1930s. And it is not just a financial crisis – we actually moved towards the centre of a deep social and environmental crisis, which again shows that the capitalist system is not just unrulable but also impotent to cater for our welfare and survival needs.

demoThis disaster is not a natural catastrophe. Ostensibly it seems the result of the bursting of the US housing bubble and the collapse of the credit pyramid built by the shadow banking system in recent years. But in reality this crisis is systemic, the product of a system in which capital as a form of a society’s wealth circulates around the world on the hunt for huge financial returns for a few individuals. It is the result of global imbalances that have been increasingly exacerbated over the last few years, and it is rooted in policies that deliberately expedited deregulation and liberalisation of financial markets and in the process eliminated the industrial production capacities of countries like the UK and the US. This crisis is also the result of a bottom-to-top wealth redistribution, which primarily made the concentration of fortunes possible in the hands of such few and dramatically widened the gap between the haves and have-nots.

Banks worldwide so far had to write off trillions of dollars, investment banks have basically disappeared, and the rest of the banking system has been deeply shaken. Stock prices have more than halved and despite a recent respite might decline further. But the really afflicted aren’t the financial managers and stockholders; they are for example those millions of Americans who have lost their homes and pensions. They and millions more worldwide who will lose their jobs over the next year or two are the ones who are bearing the brunt of capitalism’s systemic failure. Let’s also not forget the people in the so-called developing world who have been and will be particularly hard hit by the expanding world economic crisis; they had very little to begin with and will sink even deeper into poverty or simply die. And what about the general populations in societies all over the world who have to bankroll the gigantic bank bailouts with their taxes while sacrificing public service deliveries such as in health, education and social welfare in the process?

I know nothing about haute-couture but I do like the worlds of the darkish surreal with its oddly dreamlike sequences parading the bizarre and the fantastic. Just looking at Inhabitat’s borrowed (from the NYT) images of those weird and unreal yet startling looking models in Alexander McQueen‘s “trashy production” for Paris Fashion Week, I immediately wanted to know more. So here is the wonderfully bewildering, as presented by Yuka Yoneda’s .Inhabitat fashion post.

Wake up and smell the rubbish, people!

That’s what king of couture, Alexander McQueen’s tantalizingly “trashy” production for Paris Fashion Week seemed to roar, leaving the audience with eyes wide and mouths aflutter. The show — which featured models that resembled creepy crossbreeds between a blow-up doll, Pinhead from Hellraiser, and Blythe (incidentally the postergirl for McQueen’s line with Target, but more on that later) sauntering among black heaps of junky old props from the designer’s past shows — sent uneasy waves through the crowd. Are the dead-on silhouettes of Dior’s New Look and Givenchy’s little black dress meant to poke fun at us? Why are the models wearing umbrellas and aluminum cans on their heads? What does it all mean?!!!

One thing is pretty certain: if the current economic disaster unfolds further, hitting Americans harder, the chances for social unrest are increasing. We already had large scale demonstrations and uprisings in many countries all over the world, including the still ongoing conflict in Greece and last week’s demonstrations and a general strike in France in which up to 4 million people participated – and will continue to give support to. Small demonstrations in the US are currently directed and channelled by the media against AIG senior staff, but that anger can multiply when people realise the Obama government is in cohorts with the banking industry and big business and is doing nothing to alleviate the plight of the average person.

But even if the economic situation improves miraculously and the government and the large corporations escape unscathed, there’s still another upheaval looming: global warming and its social consequences. And there has been ample evidence of government representatives expressing concern about future social unrest and the need to be prepared to curb it. Clandestine operations to gather early evidence of protest movements dangerous to the ‘authorities’ (meaning spying), the employment of combat troops against the American civilian population and internment camps are not far fetched in this context. Chossudovsky’s following reflections therefore should at least make us a bit more sensitive to and investigative of what’s going on the home front in the US. Guys, beware!

Detailed print and online imitations

The paper has a circulation of over half a million.

Slightly edited version

Senator Stephen Conroy

Image by neeravbhatt via Flickr

… and it is starting, as this Age article reports, with those critical of Conroy, known for his useless and invasive Web and Bit Torrent filtering scheme. Feels a bit like a lighter shade of China descending upon the Australian blogosphere:

Tender documents issued by the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy reveal it is looking for a “monitoring service for print and electronic media”. The department later attached a clarification confirming this included “blogs such as Whirlpool“.

Whirlpool has strongly criticised Senator Conroy’s plan to filter internet content and his handling of the Government’s $15 billion national broadband network. It is a community-run forum devoted to discussing broadband internet access.

Senator Conroy’s spokesman said: “Whirlpool … covers a wide range of topics across the telecommunications sector. It and other web sites provide valuable insight into the industries in which we work.”

Seems like the Australian government is becoming more and more obsessed with controlling activities on the Net. Sure, they won’t censor blogs critical of them (at least not right now), but what will those bureaucrats and pollies do with data they collect? Making the tax-payer funded marketing of their schemes more effective is one thing, which is bad enough. But what will they do with the information they gather about individuals? How will their spying for example affect certain job prospects they might have? And what will the Rudd government ‘monitor’ next?

If the government would really be interested in what the community thinks and feel, it would engage, using forums like Whirlpool to begin a dialogue. Snooping on them instead says a lot about governments in general and the arrogant, self-righteous, autocratic and control-freak attitude of Rudd and Co in particular.

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Kevin Purdy at Lifehacker posted yet another top 10 Windows utilities, and again some of them seem to be quite useful. They’re the little things that (in this case) make a Windows system so much better, especially when use less than 10MB of memory to make your life easier. Go to Lifehacker to check out those 10 apps that pack a lot of greatness into very little space.


Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: To Love a God or the Ethics of Mortals & Gods Together

zeus & europa

One of the things that is fairly common in many religions is some sort of erotic relationship between gods and mortals. Especially in various pagan pantheons, gods frequently have sex with mortals, often resulting in the creation of some sort of superhuman child. This is where we usually get the heroes of many of these myths. These heroes are able to stand up to gods and monsters of all kinds, but not all of the children created from these unions are good. In fact, some end up being vicious monsters or even just powerful humans using their godly abilities for evil. Either way, the union between gods and mortals ends up creating a powerful elite class of beings. With that being said, is it ethical for gods to ever have an erotic relationship with a human if the union can create such powerful and dangerous beings? Furthermore, when there are powerful and immortal people sleeping with changeable mortals, this creates a whole other set of issues involving the large power imbalance between the two people involved.

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Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: The Lucifer Season Finale & Feminist Theology

Almost a month ago the Lucifer season finale premiered and I enjoyed the heck out of the episode. I loved everything from seeing Lucifer pray to getting a glimpse of hell, but the show really threw me a curve ball with Lucifer’s final line in the episode and the feminist theologian in me isn’t sure how to feel about it.

Major spoilers for the Lucifer season finale after the jump.

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Lady Geek Girl & Friends’ Best of the Blog Sundays

Hiatus Spongebob Pic SundayWe’re still on hiatus until January 6th. Happy New Year, everyone, and we’ll be back soon!

Oh, My Pop Culture Unchristianity: Sandman’s Humanizing Subversion of Common Christian Tropes. Syng illustrates how Sandman plays with common Christian tropes.

An imperfect God is easier to believe in. Just as a mystical pregnancy that doesn’t result in special children (because statistically, so few people are likely to become Great; why should children of mystical pregnancies be any different from typical humans?), and the death of a son of god being much more personal than a momentous world-saving act is easier to believe in.

Oh, My Pop Culture Religion: Religious Practice in the Potterverse. Stinekey speculates on how magic and religion work in the Potterverse.

However, there are a few canonical instances where wizards do actually practice (Christian) religion in the series. St. Mungo’s, the wizarding hospital, is actually named for a real saint. St. Mungo, also known as St. Kentigern, was a Christian missionary who performed miracles and founded the city of Glasgow. The Fat Friar is the ghost of Hufflepuff House and was a monk in his former life.

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Oh, My Pop Culture Pantheon: Gods Alive!

Many stories circle around one particular religion or mythology. However, I think it can be equally interesting when a book or show addresses multiple mythologies simultaneously—when a story posits that all the gods and goddesses from various religions exist and interact. What are the politics like between these groups? The power dynamics? Let’s look at a few examples.

Percy Jackson/The Red Pyramid:

The original Percy Jackson quintet doesn’t touch on any sort of gods outside the Greek pantheon, and on its face, The Kane Chronicles (of which I’ve only read The Red Pyramid) is entirely about Egyptian mythology. However, there was one really interesting moment in The Red Pyramid when the two main kids are hiding out in New York and they look over to Manhattan, seeing thunder and lightning over the Empire State Building (new home of Mt. Olympus in the Jackson books). When they ask their mentor about it, they are told that Manhattan is Greek territory and Egyptian deities don’t go there. This suggests a world where all the pantheons of previous civilizations still exist, are aware of each other, have at some point agreed upon divisions of American territory between themselves, and respect each other’s power. This one throwaway line made me wonder what other pantheons Riordan will eventually delve into—Norse? Aztec? Hindu? I’m excited to see.

Lady Geek Girl touched on the fail of Supernatural where it concerns Hinduism last week, but I’d say that it fails concerning pretty much any non-Christian religion. The idea that the show appears to work from is that the gods of all other traditions, including ancient ‘pagan’ (the name they give to any sort of Druidic or less-well known gods, mostly Anglo-Saxon) traditions, still exist, but their power is derived from their worshippers, and they no longer have as much clout in the modern world because of the rise of Christianity. LGG pointed out that in this mindset, the Hindu and other Asian gods should be much more powerful than they are portrayed, but most deities of non-Christian mythologies, although more powerful than the average ghost or demon, can usually be killed with a fancy stake or bled-upon ram’s horn. Nothing from a non-Christian pantheon can come close to the power of the angels or other Christian powers, and the non-Christian deities are portrayed as having to band together to protect themselves from complete destruction.

American Gods:

American Gods is a wonderful book by Neil Gaiman.  It also works from the idea that gods are only as powerful as the population of their worshippers can make them, but takes this concept in a far different direction from Supernatural. This story posits that the gods of the Old World immigrated to the US like so many other groups in the last two centuries, and have lost much of their power. Now, the old gods are banding together, and they are massing to make war against the New Gods of America—not Jesus or the Judeo-Christian God, but rather powerful personifications of Media, Celebrity, Drugs, and other fascinations of modern culture. The focus of this story is on Norse myth, but many other traditions’ gods are portrayed, in what I think is a realistic way: they all are aware of each other’s powers and are justifiably suspicious of each other, but have grudgingly put aside their differences to defend their place in America.

What stories have I missed? Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comes to mind, but I figured I’d focus on the more topical of Gaiman’s works here. Anyway, let me know in the comments, and, as always, tune in next time to get some religion!

Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: O Death!

Do I really need to explain why death is important to religion? Life, death, and the afterlife are key parts of any religion. That mysterious force that is death has perplexed humanity for… well, ever. Why do some people die while others live? And what part does God have in it all? Well, let’s look at my three favorite examples of Death as he/she is often personified in pop culture.

Check out the first appearance of Supernatural’s Death.

Man, doesn’t that video just give you chills.

The portrayal of Death in Supernatural is one of my favorites. Despite looking completely normal, if a bit skeletal, Death is clearly a wholly other being of great power. When Dean Winchester first meets Death it becomes very clear fighting Death will not be plausible. That becomes even more obvious when Dean actually talks to Death. Death describes how he is so powerful that to him Dean appears like nothing more than an ameba and even describes Lucifer, arguably one of the most powerful angels in exist as “a bratty child.” But Death’s power becomes even more obvious when he talks about God. He describes himself as being as old as God, maybe even older. He furthermore explains how in the end even God will die and he’ll reap God. And though it’s never shown in the TV series, it is implied that Death talks to God and knows where God is—God has been notably absent in the show. Death, like God, sees the big picture and understands how the world works. Because of his power and his ability to understand seemingly everything, Death appears as this indifferent larger-than-life figure.

Death spares Chicago because he likes the pizza, he pulls Sam’s soul from hell, but refuses to do the same for Adam, and seems to only do this because he wants something from Dean. The only person that Death seems particularly fond is actually God. When Dean, Sam, and Bobby bind Death to them in order to kill Castiel, who proclaimed himself god, Death doesn’t understand that they want him to kill the Castiel god and thinks that they want him to kill the God. Death tries to stall. He lies and says that he can’t, and when Castiel shows up calling himself god Death makes fun of him, calling him a “mutated angel” and says, “I know God, and you sir, are no God.”

I think the Death of Supernatural is portrayed as he is because he is based on humanity’s own feelings about death. Death is the awe-inspiring, impartial, unfeeling force in the universe, but for those of us with some spirituality we also have a sense that Death is part of something greater and more important. In this respect, Death in Supernatural is portrayed extremely well.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

I’m not ashamed to say that Good Omens is perhaps my all-time favorite novels with one of my all-time favorite portrayals of Death, or I guess for these purposes we should call him DEATH. In this portrayal, DEATH is not impartial. DEATH is excited for the end of the world. It is described by him and the other horseman as waiting for Christmas or your birthday. At the end of the novel, the antichrist Adam faces down DEATH because he doesn’t want the world to end. DEATH wants the world to end and tries to convince Adam to follow along with his nature, but when Adam and his friends defeat the other horseman, DEATH grudgingly concedes that the apocalypse cannot continue, but makes of point of saying that he is not defeated.

The heat of their stare faded. Adam scratched his nose.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “There might be a way.” He grinned back.

DEATH himself cannot be defeated and even the other horsemen seem to continue to exist in some form, but Adam implies that perhaps there is a way. I think this might be implying the idea that Christ defeats it in the act of his crucifixion and resurrection, or even the obvious fact that if DEATH does go through with the apocalypse there will either be Hell on earth or Heaven on earth, meaning that DEATH would no longer need to exist. In enacting the apocalypse, DEATH would actually be killing himself.

Neil Gaiman apparently owns my soul because he has another portrayal of Death that is my absolute favorite. Death in the Sandman Comics is very different for several reasons. First, unlike most portrayals of Death, this Death is a woman, shown as being a young attractive goth chick. She is also very different in the way that she functions. This Death is not distant, impartial, uncaring; she is invested in the world. She adds the spark of life to all babies when they are born and remembers them all, calling them by name when they die. She enjoys life and enjoys humanity and the many other creatures that inhabit the Sandman universe. She is often seen giving advice to her brother Dream and genuinely seems to care about everyone.

This Death is clearly a benevolent and caring one who understands the importance of Death, while understanding the fear and misunderstanding of Death that comes from those finite beings that can’t see the larger picture.

I hope all this talk about Death hasn’t depressed anyone. Personally, I find it extremely hopeful. This makes me think that though we humans fear our own death, we fear the death of everything just as much, while at the same time many people long for the end of days. Weird, right?

Next time on Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: The End is Here

Tune in next time and find some religion!