![\"Messina](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/06\/Strait_of_Messina_from_Dinnammare.jpg\")
<\/a>A few months ago, motivated by nothing in particular, I re-read T. E. Shaw\u2019s translation of The Odyssey<\/em> of Homer. \u00a0(For those who might be unaware, T. E. Shaw<\/em> was a pseudonym for T. E. Lawrence, who is otherwise known as \u201cLawrence of Arabia\u201d \u2014 a character who has fascinated me for much of my life. \u00a0There is much more to him than is contained even \u00a0in the [great] David Lean film about him.) \u00a0It was the first time that I\u2019d read any version of the Odyssey<\/em> in quite a while; I thought that it was time to rekindle my acquaintance with one of the most important books in the history of western civilization.<\/p>\n Last night, one of the reading groups to which my wife and I belong \u2014 one to which we\u2019ve belonged for decades now \u2014 discussed a well-received and still relatively new translation (2017) of the Odyssey<\/em>, done by Emily Wilson<\/a>. \u00a0So I reread the book. \u00a0We had a good discussion. \u00a0I liked Professor Wilson\u2019s translation quite a bit, and I recommend it to anybody who might be interested in reading or re-reading Homer. \u00a0She has also released a fresh translation of the Iliad<\/em>\u00a0(2023), which I haven\u2019t yet seen.<\/p>\n \u201cSpace photo of the week: Record-breaking James Webb telescope image captures 1,678 galaxy groups at once: Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope for the largest and deepest sample of galaxy groups, some of which were up to 12 billion light-years away.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n When you keep in mind the fact that the universe as a whole is only (!) 13.7 billion years old, it\u2019s apparent that, in considering this image, we\u2019re peering back to very near the beginning of everything of which we know or can<\/em> possibly know in the entirety of the physical cosmos.<\/p>\n But, please, take a moment. \u00a0Try to imagine how very immense the universe is<\/em>. \u00a0Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is estimated to contain somewhere between one hundred billion and four hundred billion stars, and at least a roughly equivalent number of planets. \u00a0For purposes of consideration, let\u2019s assume that to be somewhat near the cosmic average. \u00a0Some galaxies are smaller; some are larger. \u00a0So what we\u2019re seeing in this new NASA image \u2014 which represents only a tiny portion of the sky that\u2019s visible from Earth at any given time \u2014 is not 1,678 galaxies. \u00a0It\u2019s 1,678 galaxy groups<\/em>. \u00a0I have no idea how many galaxies would be in each group, but let\u2019s arbitrarily say that there are, on average, ten each. \u00a0That would yield 16,780 galaxies in this small photograph alone. \u00a0Now, let\u2019s multiply that figure of 16, 780 galaxies by one hundred billion. \u00a0That would give us a lowball estimate of 1,678,000,000,000,000 stars and planets in this image. \u00a0Or, using the figure of four hundred billion cited above, we would come up with a total number of 6,712,000,000,000,000 stars and planets.<\/p>\n I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name. . . .<\/p>\n And worlds without number have I created; . . . and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. \u00a0(Moses 1:3, 33)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Amazingly, something new has just appeared on the never-changing website of the Interpreter Foundation: \u00a0\u201cInterpreter Radio Show \u2014 May 25, 2025, including Doctrine and Covenants in Context for June 16 \u2013 June 22 covering D&C 64 to 66\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n For the 25 May 2025 iteration of the Interpreter Radio Show, John Thompson and Martin Tanner, with their special guest Val Larsen, discussed Val\u2019s recent article in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em> and the Come, Follow Me<\/em> Doctrine & Covenants lesson for June 16 \u2013 22. \u00a0Their recorded conversation, edited to remove commercial breaks, is now available for your listening pleasure and unrestrained delight. \u00a0(You can listen in the privacy of your own home, where there are essentially no public legal limits to the way in which you express your joy.)<\/p>\n The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard on Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640. \u00a0Or, if you prefer or if your distance from the Salt Lake Valley or your personal schedule leaves you with no practical alternative, you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Moreover, I want to remind you that videos of the presentations given at the most recent Interpreter Foundation conference are now available online for the customary Interpreter Foundation fee, which is nothing: \u00a0\u201cAbraham and His Family in Scripture, History, and Tradition.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Such events (as well as our books, our journal, and our other productions) do, however, incur unavoidable expenses. \u00a0So, if you appreciate what we do, if you would like to ensure that we remain able to do it, please feel free to make a tax-deductible donation: Donating to the Interpreter Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n And, finally, just to ensure that certain readers out there don\u2019t become too complacent, here is a quartet of stories, retrieved from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122, that illustrate the stark and terrible fact that the horrors caused by theism have not yet been entirely eliminated:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 A few months ago, motivated by nothing in particular, I re-read T. E. Shaw\u2019s translation of The Odyssey of Homer. \u00a0(For those who might be unaware, T. E. Shaw was a pseudonym for T. E. Lawrence, who is otherwise known as \u201cLawrence of Arabia\u201d \u2014 a character who has fascinated me for much of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":31703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38804,35124,29660,18374,2872,35127],"class_list":["post-110558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-emily-wilson","tag-homer","tag-james-webb-space-telescope","tag-lawrence-of-arabia","tag-nasa","tag-odyssey"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/a>\n