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Touching the Face of the Cosmos: Contents as of July 21, 2015

The following are the contents of our anthology, Touching the Face of the Cosmos: The Roots and Future of Human Space Exploration in Religion as of July 21, 2015, three weeks after our official deadline for receipt of essays and stories, and the day after the first humans on the Moon anniversary. There are several important points to keep in mind about what follows:

1. This is not the Table of Contents.  My co-editor Michael Waltemathe and I have yet to decide on the specific order of nonfiction essays and science fiction stories.

2. This is not a final list of essays and stories.  We are still expecting a few additional essays.

3. But the following should give you an ample idea of what to expect in the anthology.  Look for further announcements as we get closer to our expected November 1, 2015 publication date.


Essays

Joshua Ambrosius (Univ of Dayton) "Our Cosmic Future? How Religion Might Shape It"David Brin (Arthur C. Clarke Center, Univ of California, San Diego) "So You Want to Make Gods"Guy Consolmagno, SJ (President, Vatican Observatory Foundation) "A Catholic in Space: Coming Home"Paul Levinson (Fordham Univ) "Religion as a Necessary Engine of Space Travel"Juan Pablo Marrufo del Toro, SJ "Space Exploration as a Religious Pilgrimage"Michael O'Neal (formerly NASA, Kennedy Space Center) "Faith in Space: A Christian Perspective"Barry Schwartz (Rabbi,  Congregation Adas Emuno) "One Earth"Lance Strate (Fordham Univ) "The Touching Interface of the Cosmos"Kathleen D. Toerpe (100 Year Starship) "Shall the Sacred Heavens Be Cast Down"Molly Vozick-Levinson (Director, Children's Learning Center) "Castles in the Air: Young Children Imagining Outer Space"Michael Waltemathe (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) "The Heavens Declare the Glory of God: Religion in a Spacefaring Society"Deana L. Weibel (Grand Valley State Univ) "Pennies from Heaven: Objects in the Use of Outer Space as Sacred Space"Christian Weidemann (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) "Did Jesus Die for Klingons, Too? Christian Faith and Extraterrestrial Salvation"Stories
Kyle Aisteach (author, science fiction) "Birth of a Pantheon"Arlan Andrews, Sr. (founder, SIGMA, science fiction think-tank) "Epiphany"Gregory Benford (Univ of California) "Winds of Mars"Dave Creek (author, science fiction) "Kayonga's Decision"Jack Dann (Nebula and World Fantasy Award winner) "Jumping the Road"Philip Gibson (author, Hashtag Histories book series) "Christmas Message from the Moon"James Heiser (Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America) "Ecce Aqua"Robert J. Sawyer (Hugo and Nebula Award winner) "Come All Ye Faithful"Tom Klinkostein (Hofstra Univ) "The Universe Emerges from Information"James F. McGrath (Butler Univ) "Biblical Literalism in the New Jerusalem"Alex Shvartsman (WSFA Small Press for Short Fiction Award winner)"The Miracle on Tau Prime" Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Ray Donovan 3.2: Beat-downs

The ending of Ray Donovan 3.2 last night says it all: Ray's attempt to get Carl to take the check and wrap up this situation that Ray has been called in to fix ends in a beat-down - of Ray.

No one was holding Ray's arms behind his back.  No one had a gun on Ray or his loved ones.  It was just Ray and Carl.  And although Carl, a Navy SEAL, obviously is in good shape, in previous seasons Ray at least would have put a fight, done something in his own defense even if he restrained himself from hurting Carl, rather than just absorbing three blows including the last one, which was lights out for Ray.

As was clear last week in the season debut, Ray is without moorings.  He would have done and been much better to go home and have dinner with Abby and his family, instead of opting out with the result that the fine dinner went to Abby's appreciative new dog.

And it was, alas, a night for beat-downs for the Donovans.  Although Terry in prison manages to dish out as good as he gets and get the upper hand, he's still left in pretty bad shape after the re-match. And Bunchy, no surprise, gets psychologically whipped in the gym by the female fighter he's coveting.

Even Mickey, who had some moments in the sun last week, gets dissed by the call-girls he's trying to help.  But, kudos again to Jon Voight, whose performance as Mickey is just superb.

With the Donovans now on the losing end of just about every situation, and Ray, in particular, with no staff except for Lena, who's considering an offer to go over to Avi, we'll just have to wait for a break-out occasion, which I hope will come soon.

See also Ray Donovan 3.1: New, Cloudy Ray

And see also Ray Donovan 2.1: Back in Business ... Ray Donovan 2.4: The Bad Guy ... Ray Donovan 2.5: Wool Over Eyes ... Ray Donovan 2.7: The Party from Hell ... Ray Donovan 2.10: Scorching ... Ray Donovan 2.11: Out of Control ... Ray Donovan Season 2 Finale: Most Happy Ending

And see also Ray Donovan Debuts with Originality and Flair ... Ray Donovan 1.2: His Assistants and his Family ... Ray Donovan 1.3: Mickey ... Ray Donovan 1.7 and Whitey Bulger ... Ray Donovan 1.8: Poetry and Death ... Ray Donovan Season 1 Finale: The Beginning of Redemption


  different kinds of crimes and fixes

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Masters of Sex 3.2: The Shah, the Baby, and the Book

Well, you couldn't ask for better timing.  A week after the deal is announced that will stop Iran's development of nuclear weapons, we get episode 3.2 of Masters of Sex which features Masters treating the Shah and his wife for fertility problems back in the 1960s.

That treatment was not successful, but, as we discovered in last week's episode, Johnson is pregnant. Not with Masters' baby - as far as we know - but with George's, her ex-husband's.  The episode plays nicely with George as the father of Johnson's baby, and Masters as the co-creator of something wonderful with Johnson, their book.

In fact, this analogy is the focus of what Masters tells Johnson shortly before her delivery, when she worries about her lack of mothering ability. You and I produced a baby, our book, and look how good that came out, Masters tells her.   This analogy affords Masters the chance to be as decent and caring as ever we've seen him so far with Johnson.

And when Johnson has the baby, Masters has decency to leave the waiting room to George.  And he goes - to the bookstore with its display of his and Johnson's book, their baby, which he no doubt thinks will live forever, as do most authors about their work.

And here we are proving him right, in 2015, as we watch this Showtime series, based on Thomas Maier's book.   Well, 2015 is a lot less than forever, but it's still a long way from the 1960s, and the book and the story of Masters and Johnson certainly survived their lifetimes.

As for the Shah, he didn't.  Nor did his regime, which he sought to safeguard by producing an heir.   But what really beat his short dynasty in the end was not a baby or lack of, but a book.  The Koran. The power of the book indeed.

See also Thomas Maier: Masters of Sex and Biography Come to Life ... Masters of Sex 3.1: Galley Slaves

 
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Hell on Wheels 5.1: Rails and Truckee

Hell on Wheels was back for the first part of its fifth and final season on AMC last night, with an episode which set up the story nicely - that is, with lots of grit, action, conflict, and intrigue, which has always been the way of this fine series.

The action takes place in Truckee, California - which sure sounds like a fictitious name but isn't - and at this point features Cullen's challenges in building the Central Pacific west-to-east part of the transcontinental railroad.  His force of workers consists of Irish and Chinese immigrations, the latter of whom work harder than the Irish, get sick less (as the boss of the Chinese syndicate tells Cullen), but are paid far less.   This rankles Cullen - whose democratic instincts would make him a good candidate for President, a sort of Bernie Sanders of his time - who butts heads with the said Chinese boss over this, in what will no doubt be one of the central antagonisms of this season.

The Central Pacific, just to be clear, is in competition with the Union Pacific, Thomas Durant's railroad, which is laying down track from east to west.  Durant's current take on Cullen is aptly captured in a short scene near in the end of the episode, in which Durant calls Cullen a "turncoat," and remarks that you can never trust a rebel.  We also learn in this scene that Durant has a spy in the Central Pacific office.

But probably the most unexpected feature of this new season is the Swede showing up in Truckee, with plans to wrest the leadership of the Mormons away from Brigham Young, but for now just wants to work for Cullen on the railroad.   Why Cullen doesn't just shoot him dead in the night is a question, given all the wrenching horror the Swede has brought to Cullen, including the murder of his beloved Lily.   But, for now, we'll just have to accept that Cullen lets the Swede live, because he needs all the help he can get with the railroad, and the Swede is, if nothing else but demented, certainly a hard worker.  It's certainly good to see him back at the center of the action, after his near exile from the story last season.

And I'll be back here with more next week.

See also Hell on Wheels 4.1-2: Rolling Again ... Hell on Wheels 4.5: New Blood ... Hell on Wheels 4.6: Bear and Sanity ... Hell on Wheels 4.7: Why? ... Hell on Wheels 4.8: Aftermath and Rebound ... Hell on Wheels 4.9: High Noon ... Hell on Wheels 4.10: A Tale of Two Sicko Killers ... Hell on Wheels 4.11: The Redemption of Ruth ... Hell on Wheels 4.12: Infuriating and Worthwhile ... Hell on Wheels Season 4 Finale: The Buffalo

And see also Hell on Wheels 3.1-2: Bohannan in Command ... Hell on Wheels 3.3: Talking and Walking ... Hell on Wheels 3.4: Extreme Lacrosse ... Hell on Wheels 3.5: The Glove ... Hell on Wheels 3.6: The Man in Charge ...Hell on Wheels 3.7: Water, Water ... Hell on Wheels 3.8: Canterbury Tales ...Hell on Wheels 3.9: Shoot-Out and Truths ... Hell on Wheels Season 3 finale: Train Calling in the Distance

And see also  Hell on Wheels: Blood, Sweat, and Tears on the Track, and the Telegraph ... Hell on Wheels 1.6: Horse vs. Rail ... Hell on Wheels 1.8: Multiple Tracks ... Hell on Wheels 1.9: Historical Inevitable and Unknown ... Hell on Wheels Season One Finale: Greek Tragedy, Western Style

 
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The Bomb: Flirting with the End of the World

I just saw a new documentary about the most powerful technology - nuclear weapons - not only in our lifetime but in all of human history, courtesy of PBS, where The Bomb is set to air for two hours (8-10pm) on July 28.  I always judge a documentary by what I've truly learned from it that I didn't know, or didn't know enough about, before.  There were several such moments in The Bomb including
Some historians believe that Truman never ordered the dropping of the first two atom bombs on Japan in 1945 - which fortunately turned out to be only time a nuclear weapon was used in anger, as one of the historians commented in the documentary. Truman instead just let our military continue on the path it had begun under FDR - making the dropping of those first two atom bombs almost an effect of inertia rather the result of a deliberate Presidential command.  (Truman did, however, order the development of the hydrogen bomb, a few years later, in a futile attempt to stay ahead of the Soviets in nuclear weaponry.)It was the hilly terrain of North Korea that was primary reason we didn't use nukes against them in the Korean war - more specifically, our experts thought the hills would blunt or weaken the impact of the nuclear weapons, and we didn't want to advertise to our Soviet adversaries that the weapons had limited capabilities.JFK called his predecessor Eisenhower for advice in the early days of the Cuban missile crisis. I think I knew that, but I hadn't heard the actual recording of their conversation before, in which Kennedy nervously laughs several times, in a tone that says everything about how worried he was.The bikini bathing suit was named after Bikini Atoll, where atomic tests took place shortly after World War II - I knew that, but I liked the quote of the French swimsuit designer that he hoped the name would call attention to the "explosive" effect that the skimpy bathing suit would have.That last was about the only humor in The Bomb, which is only appropriate, given the grave business of nuclear weapons.  Seen as a connected story, from the discovery of fission in Germany in 1938 to the end of the Cold War in 1991, that narrative could almost have concluded with a happy ending: Kennedy and Khrushchev pulled back from the brink of nuclear war in the Cuban missile crisis, and their successors had the good sense to continue to show restraint and even put a lid on nuclear expansion.   But as The Bomb makes all too clear, the US and Russia are now and have long been not the only countries on Earth with nuclear arms.

Perhaps the agreement reached just a few days ago with Iran will halt that country's development of nuclear weaponry - The Bomb of course was made well before that announcement - but what The Bomb nonetheless tells us is that nuclear capability cannot be unlearned, and, if the human race is to survive, we must continue to learn how not to use it.

See this documentary for a vivid depiction - with breathtaking footage - of how far we have come and how much further we need to go in this life-and-death self-restraint.   The Bomb has never been more timely.

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Deutschland 83: Edge of Your Seat and Memorable Espionage

Just caught the first five episodes of Deutschland 83 on Sundance last night - the new German produced English-subtitled 1983 Eastern German spy in West Germany series - and was impressed indeed.  Fast-moving story, appealing characters, twists and edge-of-your-seat action, all you could ask for in a spy drama, and more.

The obvious comparison is to The Americans, which also takes place in the same period, a time in which Soviet espionage was in high gear, in the keenly ironic position from our 2015 perspective of not being able to stop the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Soviet block less than a decade in the future.

In at least one significant way, Deutschland 83 has an edge on The Americans, which asks us to suspend our disbelief about how two agents, however capable, talented, and brilliant, are able to speak perfect American English despite their being born and raised in the Soviet Union.   In Deutschland 83, Martin the East German has no trouble speaking German in West Germany, because that's after all his language.  He is, understandably, not in touch with the latest in Western popular culture, and seeing him work around references with which he's not familiar is one of the fun parts of this story (and a little reminiscent of Daniel's occasional confusion about current culture after being locked away for so many years in Sundance's other masterful series, Rectify).

Unlike some spies - including those in The Americans - Martin is conscripted into espionage against his will, but once he's installed in Bonn, he makes the most of it.  Though he loves Annett back home, he has little trouble seducing a target's secretary, and comes to care for her so much that he can't bring himself to kill her when he's ordered to because she poses a big threat to Eastern German plans.  The other East German operatives apparently have no such compunction, which makes Martin a memorable and unpredictable character.

Kramer is one such ruthless operative, but he also plays an essential role in the story, being an East German spy well situated in the West German military, and usually able to smooth things out for Martin when the need arises.   But there's one continuing loophole, which I'll be interested to see if and how it's resolved:  Martin's cover, Stamm (quietly eliminated by the East Germans), is an accomplished piano player - something which Martin can't do.  The East Germans wrench Martin's hand, prior to his going under cover, and the bandage on his hand provides ample excuse when his West German boss, General Edel, asks him to play.  But the bandage is off by the second episode, so isn't it just a matter of time until Martin is asked to play a tune on the piano again?

He'll likely figure out a way out of this, as he's done, more or less, with all the other tight spots in which he's found himself.  I'm looking forward to the remaining three episodes of this series, and hoping they'll be more next year.

 

different kind of spies

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Tyrant 2.5: The Caliphate

Well, Tyrant finally got down to cutting-edge current-development brass tacks last night, in an episode, 3.5, which put the Caliphate aka ISIS front and center in the action.  Not quite as currently relevant as a storyline about Iran, but pretty spot-on ripped-from-the-headlines nonetheless.

And the Caliphate serves the crucial purpose of getting Barry to stay in Abbudin to defend his country and the Al-Fayeed family, which the Caliphate is bent on destroying. Given that Jamal all but killed Barry, who now correctly thinks he's an "enemy of the state," it  could only take a threat as great the Caliphate to get Barry to stay.

Jamal will of course be glad to see Barry when the two eventually meet again, and glad he resisted everyone other than his mother's advice to kill his brother.   And Jamal will need all the help he can get.  Certainly his uncle will be no match for the Caliphate, persisting in his old-fashioned belief that Abbudin's military might is enough to crush any enemy in the country.  That might have worked for Jamal and Barry's father, but times and military threats are a little different these days.

And just to sweeten the narrative pot, Barry's family is on their way back to Abbudin, to support Sammy's contested claim to his inheritance.   Presumably the family will be thrilled when they find Barry's alive, but Sammy's shown a real love for that money, and a tiny or bigger part of him will no doubt regret now losing it.

More important, Molly, Emma, and Sammy will once again be in mortal danger, presumably not from Jamal, but from the Caliphate, who would just love to kidnap and behead them were they to discover Jamal's sister-in-law, niece, and nephew anywhere in Abbudin.

The stage is now well set for an exciting rest of the season, which I'm looking forward to seeing.

See also: Tyrant 2.1: The Tyrant's Character
And see also: Tyrant: Compelling Debut ... Tyrant 1.2: The Brother's Speech and His Wife ... Tyrant 1.3: A New Leaf? ... Tyrant 1.4: Close to the Bone ...Tyrant 1.6: Don't Mess with Jamal ... Tyrant 1.7-8: Coup ... Tyrant 1.9: Tariq ... Tyrant Season 1 Finale: The Truest Tyrant

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and earlier in the Middle East ...

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Ray Donovan 3.1: A New, Cloudy Ray

Ray Donovan was back on Showtime Sunday night for its third season, in a show that was even more of a downer for Ray than usual.  Not that this is a bad or unappealing state for the narrative - indeed, the heart of Ray Donovan has always been occluded for one profound reason or another - but Season 3 three finds Ray on a new, lower plane.

Ezra's death - which made me unhappy, too - is certainly an apt occasion for Ray's darker mood.  But the background of that situation, which we saw come to a head at the end of the last season, is the deepest source of Ray's current view of his world.  Ezra wanted Kate killed, despite Ray's pleas and warnings.  Avi killed her, a betrayal in Ray's eyes in some ways even worse than Ezra's.  This one-two punch in the gut has left Ray without moorings.

Did he love Kate?  Possibly, probably not, but that's not the point.  He liked her enough to not want her killed, even though what she was doing was about to put him in serious danger of going to jail. The superficial explanation of why Ray didn't want Kate dead was that he cared for her so much that he was willing to risk his own freedom to keep her alive.  But I'd say the truer reason is that Ray had confidence in his ability to ride out the storm, someway, whatever Kate did.

And, if that was true, then Ezra's and Avi's betrayals were not just a slap at this feelings for Kate, or a simple case of their not following his commands, but a rebuke and contempt on their part for Ray's capacity to always fix things, including for himself.  At the very core of Ray's being is his belief in his almost omnipotent ability to set things right.

So this a different Ray we see at the beginning of this third season.  It will be fun to see how he copes with his new client, and a potential new adversary - the Church itself.

And I'll be back here next week with a new review.

See also Ray Donovan 2.1: Back in Business ... Ray Donovan 2.4: The Bad Guy ... Ray Donovan 2.5: Wool Over Eyes ... Ray Donovan 2.7: The Party from Hell ... Ray Donovan 2.10: Scorching ... Ray Donovan 2.11: Out of Control ... Ray Donovan Season 2 Finale: Most Happy Ending

And see also Ray Donovan Debuts with Originality and Flair ... Ray Donovan 1.2: His Assistants and his Family ... Ray Donovan 1.3: Mickey ... Ray Donovan 1.7 and Whitey Bulger ... Ray Donovan 1.8: Poetry and Death ... Ray Donovan Season 1 Finale: The Beginning of Redemption


  different kinds of crimes and fixes

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Masters of Sex 3.1: Galley Slaves

Hey, I thought it was long since time for me to start reviewing Masters of Sex on Showtime, seeing as how I've been enjoying the first two seasons so much, and last night's debut of season three was a great place to start.

First, it's important to keep in mind what that little advisory on the screen at the end says - that the children depicted in the series, the children that Masters and Johnson have from their separate marriages, are fictitious.  In reality, Masters and Johnson did have children from their prior marriages, but not the ones seen in the series, and in all likelihood not participants in the powerful scenes we saw last night.

Indeed, as often happens in docudrama, these were the best scenes in the show - Johnson's daughter, drunk and partly undressed, kissing a surprised Johnson, whose son see this, and proceeds to curse out his father and throw his precious manuscript up in the air at the edge of the water.

The single-minded devotion that authors have for their galley manuscripts - the first embodiment of their written work beyond the pages they typed or (going back centuries) penned - is, however, a fundamental truth to which every author including me can attest.  We just returned from seven splendid weeks on Cape Cod, where I've been going for parts or all of summers since 1982, and many were the times I'd be slaving over galleys, cursing and correcting errors usually made by the typesetter, while the family was frolicking down on the beach.  Fortunately, this summer I was writing a new novella, not reading galleys, and if that sounds like much more fun, it is, certainly for me, and I suspect for most authors.

Masters of Sex last night captured that role of galleys in Master's life just perfectly, though he has mixed feelings about a lot of what he does, business as well as pleasure, as does Johnson.  But as the narrative moves into the mid-60s, both are looking better, fed by the recognition of their pathbreaking brilliance that's beginning to come in, and moving towards their own marriage which our history records as happening in 1971.

And I'll be back here well before then with more off-the-cuff commentary.

See also Thomas Maier: Masters of Sex and Biography Come to Life

 
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True Detective 2.4: Shoot-out

Well, True Detective 2.4 featured quite an extended, brilliant, fast ballet of violence last night, in a shoot-out that was a veritable Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and one of the best I've ever seen on television.

Each of our three major police were in action, and in fine form, outgunned and brave, and it was fun to see what each of them did and how they reacted.

Paul was probably the best shot, and standing tall and cool at the end as he put his gun back in his holster.   His coolness was especially notable, given what he had been through earlier in the day, waking up in bed after a gay one-night stand, finding he got his girl friend pregnant, and proposing to her and professing his love as he struggled with what had happened the night before and what that meant about who he was.

Ray broke down and cried after the shoot-out, stunned by all the bodies around him, cops and innocent people - including a bus driver he and Paul couldn't save - as well as the bad guys.   Unlike Paul, Ray wears his heart on the sleeve of his plain clothes.   He's also world-wise, and gives Paul some good advice as they drive before the shoot-out begins.

Ani's a fearsome warrior, cursing as she runs, shoots, and dodges bullets, and ready to use her knife against assailants with automatic weapons if all else fails.  The very last scene, with all three of them standing amidst the bodies and rubble, was a sight to behold - for us in the audience, that is, not the authorities, who you just know are not going to be very happy about this.

Meanwhile, Frank is not too far away, he hears the explosion, and tells his wife to go for cover and safety. But the point of True Detective is that is no place is safe, never was, never will be, and that's what makes the series so appealing.

See also Season Two: True Detective: All New ... True Detective 2.2: Pulling a Game of Thrones ... True Detective 2.3: Buckshot and Twitty

And see also Season One: True Detective: Socrates in Louisiana ... True Detective Season One Finale: Light above Darkness

 
Like philosophic crime fiction?   Try The Plot to Save Socrates ...

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