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Boing Boing asks, What came before the Big Bang? The article it cites says that the Big Bang theory is widely accepted by physicists as making “a lot of sense. Except for one small thing. That initial (infinitesimally small) point (of origin of the universe), called a singularity by physicists, is a physical impossibility. According to the models we have today, the temperature of the universe at that first moment would have had to be infinite, which mathematically makes no sense. Also, the singularity doesn’t do a good job of explaining where all the matter and energy we see today in the universe came from. So, physicists are increasingly starting to look at other branches of physics, to see what they can do to replace the singularity with a more reasonable proposition.”

What if they look into cosmogony, the study of the origin of the universe, where science and theology meet? What about God as the uncaused first cause? If we are going for the simplest explanation here (Occam’s Razor anyone?), Creatio ex Nihilo would be where I’d bet the farm on, instead of going for string theory concepts that look like physicists’ very own “God of the gaps.”

• Salon.com Books | We are meant to be here People are not the result of a cosmic accident, but of laws of the universe that grant our lives meaning and purpose, says physicist Paul Davies.

My kids and I have already watched the Finding Nemo DVD several times since we got it on Wednesday. While watching the ‘bonus features’ part of the DVD, I counted three Pinoy-American Pixar employees who were featured in the Making Of segment. There’s art director Ricky Nierva whose previous work appears in Monsters, Inc.. There’s also production artist Nelson Bohol who, along with Nierva, had his likeness permanently etched onto the Tiki dolls found in the dentist’s aquarium. Then there’s story supervisor Ronnie del Carmen who, as far as I can tell (by his intonation), is Philippine-born. Oh yeah, he’s got a blog as well! Gini Cruz is a Pinay artist from Pasay City who animated the Ellen DeGeneres character, Dory, but who didn’t appear in the DVD.

Now onto Matrix Revolutions. I saw it yesterday with the crew from work. I don’t have much to say about the film. Like Robert, I lowered my expectations before seeing it (Mark here has some right-on observations about the movie). Revolutions delivered as an action film. In that regard, I’m satisfied. Beyond that, I don’t care about the schizoid philosophical mess the trilogy has become. The Wachowskis did their best to tie the loose ends together, albeit unsatisfactorily.

(spoilers next)

Saw the eagerly-awaited Matrix sequel today on opening day. Surprisingly, lines weren’t long at all. Well I suppose it helped that we watched the 12:35 p.m. matinee show. Yes, I took the day off. I’ll have to make my hours up on Saturday.

[next: spoilers, possibly]

I’m not going to do a full movie review but I’ll just say that I wholeheartedly agree with this one here. The reviewer’s observation that some scenes look like a computer game is one I share (see also my Hulk post). The freeway scene was amazing, however, and was shot in nearby Alameda/Oakland. The concept of “programs” as figures in the Matrix intrigued me but I soon realized that Tron already made use of this concept a couple of decades ago. Isn’t underground Zion something we’ve seen before? Doesn’t it remind you of the mutant underground society in Beneath the Planet of the Apes? Or was it the regressed society in The Time Machine? Anyway, the Zion council meeting looked like a Haight-Ashbury neighborhood meeting, didn’t it? Multi-cultural Zion is refreshing although the “rave” scene has got to go. Seemed pointless. In the first movie the allegorical rise of a messianic figure had clear biblical reference. Eastern philosophy, also present in the first movie, is given more consideration in the sequel and indeed, pagan imagery, more prominence. Which is okay, for this shift serves to distance Neo’s reluctant messiah role from any true biblical analogy. All in all, an enjoyable movie.