James Pyles's Blog, page 231

The March of the Stuffed Animals

The Fifth Story in the Adventures of the Ambrosial Dragon: A Children’s Fantasy Series One by one, the plethora of stuffed toy animals in Landon’s bedroom came alive. It was late at night and the seven-year-old boy was fast asleep. Everyone living at his Grandpa’s house, Grandpa,Daddy, his baby sister Dani, and even Buddy and […]

Robot News Roundup

News about robots is abundant today. It looks like automation or human-robot relationships are represented by the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Good A story reported by the Los Angeles Times states “Man vs. machine: L.A. sheriff’s deputies use robot to snatch rifle from barricaded suspect, end standoff”. You’ve probably heard about how […]

Batman: Under the Red Hood, a Retro DVD Review

Yes I know, this is old. The animated film was released in 2010, but sometimes I don’t get around to watching things right away. Actually, I’m repurposing an old review I wrote for another blog. Time to let it out for a breath of fresh air. This review is loaded with spoilers, so if you […]

The Last I am

René Descartes is famously quoted as stating “I think, therefore I am,” but there’s quite a bit more to it than that. The three qualities a being must possess to be considered sentient are intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness. Of course I can be “I am” without being sentient. A multitude of life forms can be […]

Life After Resurrection

After Martha brought her sister Mary to meet Jesus outside Bethany, Mary threw herself at his feet weeping, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She was bitter in her heart but secretly hopeful as well. As her sister Martha had told her, “Even now, I know that whatever Jesus […]

Rising of the Ancient

Adam and Sarah Hartley cautiously began their descent into the tomb. The illumination from their flashlights revealed the ancient stone steps leading down into the darkness and into history. They also believed they were being led downward into the ultimate enlightenment. The Hartleys were the world’s most famous married Biblical Archeology team. Well regarded by […]

A Bright Light in the Darkness

The Fourth Story in the Adventures of the Ambrosial Dragon: A Children’s Fantasy Series Buddy the Ambrosial Dragon cast a time dilation spell around young Landon’s room and then began to give the seven-year-old his next lesson in magic. “Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate.” The dragon was coaching Landon as the boy sat cross-legged on the floor […]

When the King of Israel Rules

“We are all Israelis.” The phrase kept repeating itself in Steve’s head as he huddled in the makeshift bomb shelter in the basement of his house. He never thought this day would come. At least he sent Nancy and the kids away from the city to her uncle’s farm in Idaho. They’ll stay safer there. […]

We Are All Israelis

I just read an article called Remembering 911: Five Important Lessons. It was written by Rabbi Benjamin Blech for a Jewish educational website. The first lesson is “We Are All Israelis”. Here’s the relevant quote: Immediately after 9/11, the phrase “we are all Israelis” appeared in some reports. But it was soon forgotten or hijacked […]

Never Forget

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 9-11, 9-11-2001, 911, America, courage, heroism, honor, nyfd, nypd, terrorism