05. Nibiru
New year, new thoughts, Terrible Writing.
Am I remembering this right?
Did the pope once tweet about Nibiru? No not the one in Star Trek, but the conspiracy-theory Nibiru.
Now that I searched for some links, I think I am NOT remembering this right. I think the pope’s alleged message about Nibiru is more conspiracy theory BS. Someone on Facebook (from high school, probably) must have posted about that, then I unfriended them. Also, I misremembered Nibiru as a planet that shared Earth’s orbit on the opposite side. (Oh, I guess that’s called a Counter-Earth.)
Okay why is Moose talking about Nibiru?
First, I think it’s a sweet name for a sci-fi setting planet. In fact, the next time I host a game of Wanderhome by Jay Dragon, I want to set it in a custom campaign setting, inspired by the 70’s Canadian sci-fi show, The Starlost. (Starring Keir Dullea with a sweet ‘stache! Watch episode one, but really one is enough.)
If you are thinking about playing a roleplaying game, please check out Wanderhome. It’s cottage-core animals on an extended road trip. It’s diceless, very charming, and there is zero combat.
Meanwhile, The Starlost is about three young people from (not) Amish dome exploring a huge generational spaceship with multiple, separate biodome-of-the-week on a collision course (with … ?).
I mean, the combination is so very, “you got your peanut butter in my chocolate”. In the campaign bible I started drafting, the generation ship full of animals set out not from destroyed Earth, but from Nibiru.
Anyway, there’s something else …
I heard about this thing from Rohan
Rohan Salmond (secret identity of The Knitter) brought up Celestial Seasonings Tea in a recent issue of his substack, Modern Relics. Long story short, something something, weird cult with a holy book about: the origins of Earth and humans, many planets had their own Son of God, and the real name of Earth is Urantia. Naturally, I searched for this book in my library catalog AND THEY HAVE A COPY!!!
So of course I put a hold on it.
I was not prepared for the SIZE OF THIS BOOK! What the picture doesn’t show is that it’s printed (with a serif font) on that really thin paper that they use for some Bibles, which is to say that in addition to being a LARGE book, it is also a LONG book.
I peeked in it and there is a cosmology that would make any Dungeon Master weep. Levels upon levels upon levels. The end of the book is about the life of Jesus and there’s some strange stuff in there, too. (Did you know the most crucial years of Jesus’s life were ages 14 & 15? I didn’t. Lol, “Seminary professors don’t want you to know!”)
However, I cannot recommend this book. It’s full of weird racist stuff. Like, even weirder than the Book of Mormon’s weird racist stuff. Blue people, red people, green people, etc. and how this type of white person is a mix of those types of blue/green/etc. people. Gross.
Is there more to say?
Maybe. Although, if I tried I’m sure I could.
Back at summer camp, we used the D.R.A.G. steps to process our activities. Do, Review, Analyze, and Generalize. We got so good at “processing” that we even made a game to challenge each other to find teachable lessons from everyday objects. We did a lot of strange things at camp.
So, what could I say about all this talk of hypothetical planets and alternate names (& mythologies) of our planet? Probably this: looking at our own planet, it’s the only one we’ve got. “There is no Planet B.” So let’s take care of this one; it’s the only one we’ve got. And while reusable straws can help, we also have to make big polluting corporations responsible for environmental damage. And we have to effect systemic changes to reduce environmental damage (like more public transit and bikeable/walkable cities and fewer lanes of highways).
Finally, a list.
I talked about making lists like those in The Pillow Book of Seishonagon, and I wasn’t kidding. This prompt is from my book club. I recently nominated “A Gift Book” to read, meaning that lots of people have received books as gifts, so let’s all pick one for ourselves and get together and have a show & tell.
Here's the full list of gift books from the book club
Playing With Myself, R. Rainbow
Nothing But Blackened Teeth, C. Khaw
An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good, H. Tursten
The Raven Boys, M. Stiefvater
Red, White, & Royal Blue, C. McQuinston
The First Human, A. Gibbons
A Feast For Crows, G. R. R. Martin
“Fake Boyfriend” series by E. Finley
Dancer From The Dance, A. Holleran
Buddha, K. Armstrong
Pink, J. Harris
Harley Quinn: Reckoning, R. Allen
El Desorden Que Dejas (also a Netflix show The Mess You Leave Behind), C. Montero