"Stunt Doubles, Only!"

"We are not in the situation of poor Alexander the Great, who wept, as well indeed he might, because there were no more worlds to conquer." - Washington Irving, Salmagundi : Or, The Whim-whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, Esq. and Others (1835)

 This is not the exact book that David St. Hubbins lists as being in his "Namesake [Sequence] of Cassettes" as being read by Julius Erving (or, "Dr. J", as they call him in his team's town of Philadephia - coincidentally, the town from which Virgil Tibbs hails, IIRC ...) but which has just made my Namesake Sequence of MP3s.

From Wikipedia's entry on Islamic Views of Jesus's Death, "Muslims believe He [Jesus] was raised to Heaven without being put on the cross and God transformed another person to appear exactly like Jesus who was crucified instead of Jesus. Jesus ascended bodily to Heaven, there to remain until his Second Coming in the End Days." There is no Islamic consensus on who precisely took Jesus's place on the cross, but here is one popular theory:

Ibn Abbas said, "Just before Allah raised Jesus to the Heavens, Jesus went to his disciples, who were twelve inside the house. When he arrived, his hair was dripping with water (as if he had just had a bath) and he said, 'There are those among you who will disbelieve in me twelve times after you had believed in me.' He then asked, 'Who among you will volunteer for his appearance to be transformed into mine, and be killed in my place. Whoever volunteers for that, he will be with me (in Paradise).' One of the youngest ones among them volunteered, but Jesus asked him to sit down. Jesus asked again for a volunteer, and the same young man volunteered and Jesus asked him to sit down again. Then the young man volunteered a third time and Jesus said, 'You will be that man,' and the resemblance of Jesus was cast over that man while Jesus ascended to Heaven from a hole in the roof of the house. When the Jews came looking for Jesus, they found that young man and crucified him."
  - Al-Nasa'i, Al-Kubra, 6:489

I like to believe that this is the correct theory, and that this man's name was Alexander, and that, when he is reunited with Jesus in Paradise, he too will "[weep], as well indeed he might, because there [are] no more worlds to conquer."

Update 10/26/2013: Well, maybe one world left to conquer

Rügen Island Vice

I have a theory that Martha Wayne used to secretly go clubbing on the town using the pseudonym "Kathy Roland", and it was something she said one night while doing this <Mary Reilly> that led to her and Thomas Wayne's fatal encounter with Joey Chill, not Thomas Wayne's testimony against the gang boss Lew Moxon several decades before; does anyone know if there is evidence in the comic book literature to support this hypothesis?

Update 08/06/2012: It may have had something to do with her t-shirt is a competing theory that has emerged.

Stone'enge!

Just a quick little Disney pic for today:

Find this image and more in Henry M. Caroselli's book Cult of the Mouse. (Don't worry: Steve Hassan - bestselling author of Combatting Cult Mind Control - assures me personally via email Disney doesn't meet his official criteria for a destructive cult :)) (OK, it's a small joke; I actually found the image at <http://bit.ly/wWIZFg>.)

Hello, World!

Hello, world!

This will be my new blog on the wonderful world of international soccer (as seen through the eyes of an avid spectator who was captain of his US high school team - twice! - but didn't quite qualify for his college team), junior college teaching in Buffalo, NY, and mayhap even the small amount of higher mathematics research.

Feel free to come along for the ride!