Monthly Archives: February 2016

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 1:45 pm on February 5, 2016  

Psychobilly

Here are some of my favorite psychobilly bands. For those not familiar with the genre, “psychobilly” is an unlikely blend of rockabilly, punk, country, dance, goth, ska, bluegrass, glam, roots rock, surf, doo-wop, and soul. The music, fashion, and culture often incorporate an element of B horror movies.

These are “my” bands. The bands that helped shape who I am, roughly in order of how much they mean to me.

Dave Mattingly: The Musical, Part 6

  • Southern Culture on the SkidsSouthern Culture On The Skids
    • Known For: Camel Walk
    • Memories: I once heard Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS) described as the trailer park B-52’s. I can get behind that. They’re independent, playful, and bizarre. At concerts, they often throw food at the audience (fried chicken during “8 Piece Box” and pudding during “Banana Puddin'”).
    • Favorite Songs: Cheap Motel, 8 Piece Box, Dance for Me, Soul City

Go back to Part 5: A Cappella or on to Part 7: Rap and Hip-Hop

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 12:38 pm on February 2, 2016  

Monsters and Aliens in the Bible

I’m a Christian, and sometimes a teacher/preacher.

As a weirdo, I love reaching out to my fellow weirdos.

Monsters Back in the Day…

There are several monsters recorded in the Bible’s Old Testament.

There were giants in the earth in those days. The sons of God bred with the daughters of man, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times. (Genesis 6:4)

The giants were called nephilim. The race of giant is where Goliath came from. The sons of God here could refer to angels (probably of the fallen kind), or of God’s chosen people.

Look at Behemoth, which I made, just as I made you. It eats grass like an ox. See its powerful muscles. Its tail is as strong as a cedar. Its bones are tubes of bronze. Its limbs are bars of iron. It lies under the plants, hidden by the reeds in the marsh. It is not disturbed by the raging river, not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it. The Behemoth is a prime example of God’s handiwork. Only its Creator can threaten it. (Job 40:15-24)

The Leviathan’s double coat of armor is impenetrable. Its mouth is ringed with fearsome teeth. Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together. It snorts flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn. Lightning leaps from its mouth; flames of fire flash out. Smoke pours from its nostrils like steam from a heated pot. Its breath kindles coals, and flames shoot from its mouth. Its heart is hard as rock. No sword can stop it, no spear, dart, or javelin. Iron is nothing but straw to that creature, and bronze is like rotten wood. Arrows cannot make it flee. Stones shot from a sling are like bits of grass. Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins. Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass, that plow up the ground as it drags through the mud. It makes the waters boil like a kettle. Nothing on earth is its equal– a creature without fear. (Job 41:13-34)

In that day the Lord will take his terrible swift sword and punish Leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea. (Isaiah 27:1)

Some have postulated that the Behemoth and Leviathan are today’s hippopotamus and alligator, respectively. Some of the descriptions fit, but the language would have to be hyperbolic. The Behemoth’s tail being as strong as a cedar makes it sound more like a dinosaur to me. And the Leviathan snorting flashes of light and making waters boil like a kettle doesn’t sound like any alligator I’ve heard of.

Another Bible monster is the giant fish that swallowed Jonah and vomited him out onto after three days. It’s possible that he was not alone when that happened. The reason that all the Ninevites repented could be that many of them saw him “ride into town” on a giant sea serpent.

Monsters Coming Soon…

Not all Bible monsters are in the past. As we approach the end times, there will come a monstrous beast.

A beast will come from the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. The beast is like a leopard, with feet like those of a bear, and a mouth like a lion’s. The dragon will give him his power. One of the beast’s heads had been slain, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole earth was amazed and worshiped the dragon and the beast. (Revelation 13:1-3)

This could be allegoric. If the beast is a collection of nations, the leopard could refer to Africa, the bear could refer to Russia, and the lion to England representing three continents.

UFOAliens in the Bible

Ezekiel describes something that sounds very similar to what we’d consider a spaceship with alien visitors.

I saw an immense cloud that flashed with lightning, and shone with brilliant light. The center looked like glowing metal. Out came four beings that looked human but they had four faces and four wings, with a hand beneath each wing. Each of them had a human face in the front, a lion’s face on the right, a bull’s face on the left, and an eagle’s face in the back. (Ezekiel 1:4-10)

Aliens Among Us

There is another kind of alien, and there are some here on Earth right now. You may know one, or even be one.

I urge you as strangers and aliens to abstain from sinful desires that battle for your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They admitted that they were strangers and aliens on earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

Alien here is used with the meaning of foreigner or outsider.

I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1)

This is not our home. As Christians, our citizenship is heaven. We are here as ambassadors to a foreign land, representing our king and his kingdom.

We should live lives of such distinction that we seem to be from another planet. Some of us has a head start on that aspect. 😉

Go out there and be an alien for God.

Download

You can download the slides here.

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 10:00 am on February 1, 2016  

Cool Job: Wolf3D

I’ve done a lot of things for a living over the years, and my next job after NASA was also one of the coolest.

Cool Job, Part 2: Wolf3D

After getting the human race back into outer space, I helped get us into virtual space.Wolfenstein 3D Intro

I took a job at a startup virtual reality company back in 1992, I believe. Alternate Worlds Technology (AWT), which would eventually become Agora Interactive.

Wolfenstein 3D was the most popular PC game at the time, by a longshot. I recommend the book (or audiobook) Masters of Doom for an excellent history on the game, the creators, and the culture. Id Software was on my (very) shortlist of game companies that I’d have loved to work for. A group of friends made games that were so good, they earned millions each year from shareware (a “pay what you like” business model), which was completely unheard of.

The Reality Rocket was a sit-down arcade game cabinet that could take any PC game, and pump it into a VR headset. Players could see the gamescape as they ran down the hall attacking bad guys. They could also use the helmet to turn their heads to see around corners and such.Reality Rocket

My part of this project was to take that amazingly cool game, and reprogram the software so it would work with a virtual reality helmet, which I did.

I also got to use my artistic skills to create new graphics and to “skin” the game differently just as that idea was beginning to grab hold of the developer community.

The technology and the game cabinet had the potential to go far, but a few things got in the way. First, the VR tech wasn’t quite ready for long-term usage by most people. The graphics were low-resolution (CGA), and many people (5 to 10%) experienced some motion sickness. Second, the project’s financial backer had some… problems with law enforcement.

I’m glad I got to work on such a cool project that let me help advance the state of the industry.Wolfenstein 3D Play

But around that time, I was beginning to lose my taste for electronic games. At first, I’d considered game development to be a programmer programming a game. But over time, I felt more like the game was programming the gamers, and the whole experience began to sour for me. Even now, I’ll play some word games here and there on my phone, but my days of electronic action gaming are decades-long gone.

Go back to Part 1: NASA or on to Part 3: Floor Show

Unknown's avatar Dave Mattingly 7:54 am on February 1, 2016  

A Cappella

Over the years, I’ve realized that my favorite musical instrument is the human voice.

A cappella eventually became the largest section of my music collection. At one point, I think I had 500 or so a cappella albums.

Here are my favorite professional a cappella bands. Collegiate a cappella has become its own genre, and will be covered in a later post.

These are “my” bands. The bands that helped shape who I am, roughly in order of how much they mean to me.

Dave Mattingly: The Musical, Part 5

  • The Bobs The Bobs
    • Known For: Helter Skelter
    • Memories: When I first saw that album came with a warning label that all the sounds were made on or by the human body, I knew I’d enjoy them. I’d always love when Gunner Bob’s Levi’s commercial would air. You wouldn’t have to argue hard to make the case that they single-handedly quartet-handedly created beatbox style a cappella as a genre. The musical world recognized it too, and awarded the band a Grammy for Best New Arrangement for their cover of Helter Skelter.
    • Favorite Songs: Particle Man, March Fanfare, Banana Love, Helmet, Psycho Killer, Ring of Fire, You Can’t Do That
  • The Acappella CompanyRockapella
    • Known For: Elijah Rock
    • Memories: The first song I heard from the Acappella Company was Elijah Rock, which is still a favorite. But I was told that the band was Rockapella, not this one. I spent a few years looking through Rockapella albums to find this song, to no avail. When I finally found the right band, I was thrilled to find an extensive repertoire of new a cappella music to explore.
    • Favorite Songs: Give Thanks, We Bow Down, Only Truth, Rock of Ages, He Gave Her Water
  • The Trenchcoats / The CoatsTrenchcoats
    • Known For: I Can See Clearly Now
    • Memories: The Trenchcoats attack a cappella with enthusiasm and goofiness. I love that they jump into weirdness with both feet. They could almost qualify as a comedy band.
    • Favorite Songs: All You Can Eat, Faith, Mary’s Nachos, These Boots were Made for Walking, 500 Miles, Down on the Corner

Go back to Part 4: Parody Music or on to Part 6: Psychobilly