Comic strip mining

Feallengod III

I am in the midst of rewriting "Feallengod" yet again, and I know my readers (five? six, perhaps?) are clambering to know what's up. Just the other day the public appeared clambering at my door, but I had to turn them away. So here is a taste of the rewrite. I hope you like it.

Never have I seen Gægnian. Powers and authorities rightfully deny such things to men such as I was. The buildings rise into the heavens and spread out over the land like nothing upon Feallengod, the legends say, and I believe. The sky and waters, even the soil underfoot lies about in its mean state, richer and purer than anything we might suppose to compare.

Surrounding the domain sit great white formations, stone pure as snow and sparkling like ice, billowing upwards to take their place with the clouds. Just as suddenly their outer rim dives steeply, cliffs crashing into the sea. Waving grasses and flowers fill the valley within, delicate petals playing upon the breeze like an underwater ballet, obeisant to grand stands of trees, some tall and straight like rain, others squat with twisting branches reaching and turning in every direction as if stretching to scratch their backs. Limbs heavy with leaves extend over the ground, rest and shade to creatures great and small, feathered and furred.

A multitude of columns fill the high city, each building supported by a gallery of pillars apparently thrown in place by some brilliant, distracted god, like a cavern of cathedrals. Each post glistens with luminescent color from deep within its core, streaked with golden reds and blue grays, turning every edifice into a petrified forest of sculpture beautiful in its simplicity. Gold domes rise out of the skyline, dominating the innumerable flags and banners ripping in the winds. Broad boulevards, smooth and beautiful, cut slices of the vast acreage, radiating from the central structure, Ecealdor’s palace, radiant with light, blazing with untold splendor, rising through the celestial blue to challenge the sun. But I have never seen.

I think we islanders have a distant memory of the wonderful stuff, even so distant that we can never truly lay hold of it. Without the memory, how else would we know that we miss it, that we long for something better than only the clear pearls of our own fountains? And doesn’t every other heartache pale in comparison? The legends, those stories I stake my life upon now, they say one day the courts of the king will open to us all, and I want to believe, how my heart trembles to believe, for I have seen people who abide there. Tales abound in my homeland about the citizens of Gægnian, about incredible powers and fantastic happenings, and so I have seen. In the days of my disgrace did I meet Mægen-El, emissary from the distant king’s presence, and even then I believed. How dark a heart, to see such things and still turn away.

Marquee suggestion from Kathy Guthrie

Comeduck

Old song, new dress

We're an Easter people, and hallelujah's our song
Glory honor and praise, to the Ancient of Days,
Rise with the dawn.
Maranatha Jesus, You are coming again
All will worship the Lamb, holy living I Am,
World without end.

Wacky Packages

Back when I was a kid there was a general fascination with the grotesque. 'The Addams Family' was on TV and Mad Magazine was coming into its golden age. Popular toys included Wish-niks and Rat Finks. One of the things I remember most fondly are Wacky Packages, produced by Topps Bubble Gum, and apparently they are still being made. The one here was probably my favorite, although there were many great ones. To see more and perhaps gain some insight into just what my problem is, check out this link.

The only temptation of Christ

Hebrews 4:15 tells us that while He walked the Earth Jesus was tempted in every way that we face temptation, but was without sin. But James 1:14 further tells us that every man is tempted from his own lusts, his sin nature. But Jesus, being without sin, by definition had no sin nature. So that was the purpose for going out into the wilderness and facing Satan. Satan himself had to tempt Jesus, for there was no other way for Him to be tempted. But this appears to be an unusual occurrence: Satan is often called the tempter, but outside of Eve and David (1 Chr. 21:1), we don't see him tempt anyone in the OT. You could even argue that he had to get involved to entice Eve, who had no sin nature at the time, and David, a man after God's own heart (see 1 Ki. 15:5); why should he bother tempting the rest of us when we do such a good job of it on our own? (although see 1 Cor. 7:5) More often he is portrayed as an accuser, trying to undermine our standing with God that we have through Jesus' work, not by influencing our own behavior. Anyway, the puzzle pieces come together and offer a reasonable exposition for Jesus going through His wilderness experience.

Delta Upsilon Kappa

Global warming

In the mid '70s we had three harsh winters in a row, and the media was full of information about a new ice age coming. So I've always been skeptical about global warming. Here's an article that suits my agenda.

Privacy

It seems to me, while thinking about the world today, that our idea of privacy is something completely different from perhaps 100 years ago. I was thinking about some of the old movies I've seen about intrigue, with guys nervously whispering into phones or surrepticiously slipping a note to someone else, and about how terrorists have to be tracked down today, and the difference is striking.

There have always been terrorists among us. Before Oklahoma City the biggest loss of civilian life in the country's history was a bombing on Wall Street in the 1920s, a crime that was never solved. Looking through history we could legitimately call Viking raiders terrorists, and Spartacus, and so on. These people were pretty easy to identify and track down in their day because to effectively communicate they had to be physically together. When bad guys have to gather together in the same room, they're relatively easy to catch.

Things changed with the automatic-dial telephone, when there was no longer the chance a human operator might be listening in on a "private" conversation, but still a person had to be at a phone attached to a building, or at least an identifiable public phone. Communication between criminal types was getting easier, but still had restrictions. Today, though, you can have a conference call on your cell phone from practically anywhere you want to stand. You can go to a public library and quietly send mass emails to your terrorist friends throughout the world.

Meanwhile, the idea of privacy has entered our legal system. Birth control items were largely illegal early in the 20th Century until court rulings declared that a "right to privacy" covered the use of such items. That Supreme Court case later was applied to Roe v. Wade, the abortion ruling. So we've got this new idea of the sanctity of privacy, added to the ability to communicate widely in complete privacy.

At this point my thoughts trail off. I think what has struck me is simply that those who wish to hide their plans from public notice have a much easier time of it now than ever before. As usual, what western man has nurtured in his culture, the right to privacy, was meant as a benevolence but is corrupted and abused by those who would do evil.

Chest flatted

How to get to Sesame Street

Hey Bert!

Sign of the times

We've all seen hundreds of stupid church marquees in our lifetimes, but have you ever noticed how stupid the signs at paint stores are? Here's one here in town:

"Paint — It's not for dinner. It's what we do."

Huh?

That has to be the dumbest sign I've ever seen.