Sliding Doors - The Multiverse

Stephen Hawking's multiverse theory suggests that there may be multiple universes out there, each with its own set of physical laws and properties.

It's like having a cosmic buffet of universes, where each one has its own unique flavors and ingredients. Imagine this: you're at an all-you-can-eat restaurant, and instead of just one buffet table, there are countless tables, each representing a different universe. On each table, you have different dishes, representing the laws of physics in that particular universe.

Some universes may have gravity that's stronger or weaker than ours, some may have different numbers of dimensions, and who knows what other bizarre things could be happening?

Parallel universes are no longer just a feature of a good sci-fi story. There are now some scientific theories that support the idea of parallel universes beyond our own. However, the multiverse theory remains one of the most controversial theories in science.

Our universe is unimaginably big. Hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of galaxies spin through space, each containing billions or trillions of stars. Some researchers studying models of the universe speculate that the universe's diameter could be 7 billion light-years across. Others think it could be infinite.

But is it all that's out there? Science fiction loves the idea of a parallel universe, and the thought that we might be living just one of an infinite number of possible lives. Multiverses aren't reserved for "Star Trek," "Spiderman" and "Doctor Who," though. Real scientific theory explores, and in some cases supports, the case for universes outside, parallel to, or distant from but mirroring our own.

My Multiversion

In my parallel universe
I am married to Russell Crowe
we live in a fabulous house in the lakes
with a multiverse of trees.

I make a living by writing
I won the Nobel prize
now everyone knows my name
they've even made me a dame.

Our son was Wimbledon champion
our daughter's a concert pianist
I only live there when I'm sleeping
because I am a realist.

We're each in our own little bubble
just trying to survive
but it's really nice to fantasize
it helps us to get by.

If there really is a multiverse
it couldn't be better than this
I have a lovely grand-daughter
and every day life is bliss.

Thanks for reading. Adele 

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Worlds apart?

I despair sometimes, I really do. Watching the news, I see all the terrible things going on on this little speck of a planet and wonder why we do it to ourselves? All the pain, all the fighting - Why? Have we not learnt yet from millions of years of existence on our world, that greed, war, discrimination, disrespect, intolerance, lead nowhere? Purely leaving us to continuously carry on the merry-go-round of negativity, never evolving into something better. Every single person on this earth is capable of respect, tolerance, fairness and forgiveness. We all need to embrace it more. In a daft way, I think that's why I think the late Gene Roddenberry had the right idea when he wrote Star Trek. Fair enough, in the series, we had sorted out all of the negative things on our own planet, but venturing out into space we encountered many new species from other worlds that hadn't got that far. The challenge was to see if we could make them see things from a new perspective whilst still trying to respect their different ways. The journey would almost certainly continue forever.

So, yes, I may be an idealist, but I am still the same as you. That's the message I have tried to get across in this weeks poem below.


Worlds apart - yet the same ... :

In a world where we have famine, 
war, disease and poverty too,
where we discriminate against one another,
by race, gender, sexuality, religion (they're just a few),
Is it not fair to say that we are doomed to repeat
histories most heinous acts if we do not alter 
our minds, perceptions, cultures and ways
or every time we will stumble and falter?
It is not big or clever to make someone feel
inferior or worthless in any way, 
whatever the so called reason
if you can't say something nice, then you have nothing to say.
Realise that you are not always right
Show some respect if you want it in return,
observe that other cultures have different traditions and ways,
whether you agree with it or not, it's not your concern.
Instead of dividing ourselves into separate mini worlds
by religion, straight or gay, or wherever our living space,
we all need to understand that while we're all different
we are ONE WORLD, and ONE HUMAN RACE!


Thanks for reading my ideological waffle. ;-) x

P.S. Don't forget that it's the Lancashire Dead Good Poets' Open Mic Night tonight!!! We'll be meeting at our new venue - The Moo Bar, Queen St, Blackpool from 6pm onwards, for a night of what will no doubt bring some mooooooving poetry. ;-) If you prefer to sit and listen instead of getting up reading and performing, then you're still more than welcome. The more the merrier!! The theme (which is NOT compulsory to stick to) is "celebrations". Hopefully see you there!

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Data Overload

There are weeks when the blog's theme causes a vast blank space to enter my mind, and then there are weeks - like this week - when an idea arrives almost instantly. And (because great minds think alike) it connects with Vicky's post from yesterday.

*             *             *

I've written a lot about the Sundays of my childhood. I guess they are the easiest days to recall because they followed a pattern: activity, Sunday Lunch, activity, bath and an episode of a 1960s television programme. When my sister and I offered up grumbles about there being no colour in those programmes, or laughed at the terrible special effects, my Dad would simply state, "It's  a classic. They don't make them like this anymore."  Whether it was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants or Star Trek: The Original Series, his response was always the same.

That same sound bite now spills from my mouth when I'm watching one of the 'classics' of my generation - almost impossible for the vocal cords to resist the sentiments of nostalgia.

*             *             *

Just over a year ago, after searching Netflix for a new TV series to watch, I decided (without intention of watching past episode one) to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation. This was the start of what my boyfriend calls "an addiction" - working my way through each available series before starting from the beginning again. Currently, stuck on a cliff-hanger at the end of Season Six, I estimate I've probably watched all episodes up to this point at least four times. I can recite the opening monologue in time with Patrick Stewart and bore Shaun (who has only inadvertently watched occasional episodes) with analysis of characters, plots and themes.

Among the many episodes there are a few which a return to more frequently. Usually these episodes centre around Data as he explores and attempts to be more human. There are many human behaviours and characteristics that Data experiments with. From writing himself a new (and rather amusing) subroutine for small talk to attempting to learn about humour on the holodeck, Data forces us to re-examine and question what it actually means to be human.

One of the more central aspects of human identity that Data explores extensively throughout the series is creativity. Through the playing of music, acting, painting and even the writing of poetry, Data (the android incapable of feeling) engages with (sometimes more successfully than others)the very activities that enable us to express.

My favourite Data moment has to be from "Schisms" (Season Six, Episode Five) where Data gives a poetry recital to other members of  Enterprise crew.

Throughout the ages, from Keats to Giacomo, poets have composed odes to individuals who have had a profound effect upon their lives. 

In keeping with that tradition, I have written my next poem in honor of my cat. I call it, "Ode to Spot." 

                Felis Catus is your taxonomic nomenclature, 
                An endothermic quadruped carnivorous by nature. 
                Your visual, olfactory and auditory senses 
                Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defences. 

                I find myself intrigued by your sub-vocal oscillations, 
                A singular development of cat communications 
                That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection 
                For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection. 

               
                A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents: 
                You would not be so agile if you lacked its counter-balance. 
                And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion 
                It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion. 

                Oh Spot, the complex levels of behaviour you display 
                Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array, 
                And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend 
                I none-the-less consider you a true and valued friend. 

              

                Lieutenant Commander Data

Thank you for reading,
Lara

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Stardate: -716000

Would it make too much mess if I picked apart a sentence?  The theme this week is 'space' and I can't think the word without it being pestered by its fellows, ':' and 'the final frontier'. 

It's quite economic, as sentences go.  And it's a metaphor.  It reminds me of the way Sir David Attenborough describes locations in his voiceovers: The Sahara: a vast swathe of scorching earth.  Or Antarctica: the planet's ice box.  Something like that.  But the Star Trek quote is more evocative than that.

Being an American TV series which started in 1966, Star Trek was riding on the tailcoats of the great Westerns.  Bonanza was the top rating TV series that year, and had been for the two years before.  It was also the year that The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly was released in US cinemas. 

The American Frontier, that push westwards, since the 17th century, of Americans as they spread across the continent, was still fresh in the imagination.  New territories, ie farmland as yet unclaimed, became almost impossible to find after the 1890s.  By the 1960s the Americans were reminiscing fondly about the days of outlaws, goldrushes and, before the truth of the Trail of Tears was widely known, their dominance over the American Indians.

In 1966, the US space programme was also at the forefront of imaginations.  They had yet to walk on the moon, but the Project Gemini took astronauts into space for longer and longer periods and Project Apollo was costing the modern equivalent of $205billion with the aim of putting the first men on the moon.  Three years later, it would succeed.

Roddenberry's intentions behind the TV series are crystal clear in those first four words.  He saw space as the new Wild West and Americans as THE human race.  In the future, he imagined, John Wayne would ride through the stars, an outlaw captain writing the rules and disobeying authority, finding love on every planet and outsmarting every menace. 

This concludes my examination of that short metaphor.  And it goes to show just how much cultural punch you can pack into a few carefully chosen words.  Poetry: cultured concentrated.

Captain James T Kirk

John Wayne

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It's worse than that...

 by Ashley Lister 

 Captain's log, Stardate 24601.69.

Over the past week or so there have been some changes here aboard the NCC-Dead Good Blog. Away teams have been lost. New crew members have beamed aboard. Radical shifts in the space/time continuum mean there have been some alterations to the programming schedule of the blog.

These changes are ongoing for the moment.

We hope regular readers appreciate the good stuff we’ve had and, like the rest of us aboard the NCC-Dead Good Blog, look forward to the great stuff that’s still to come.

As soon as the shit is wiped from the fan dust settles I’ll explain more about the new line up. By then you’ll probably have worked it out for yourself. You’re an astute reader and there’s not much slips past you.

But, until everything has settled, I thought I would share a song. Perhaps it will help to explain what’s been happening. Or, perhaps it won’t.

Captain's log, supplemental. As always, we aim to keep the Dead Good Blog fun and, over the future months, we look forward to boldly going with you, where few poets have gone before.  

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