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1. Fascinating series of photos chronicling San Francisco in the immediate aftermath of the quake 100 years ago and now.
2. This site was sent to me a couple of days ago. I’m not usually much for sites like that, and some of it is a bit alarmist (I’m very skeptical that most of this will come to pass), but much of it is pretty level-headed. It’s…sobering to read.
3. Coffee Theology yesterday evening was fantastic. Our topic for the week was the necessity of Scripture; in other words, that reading the Bible or hearing its message of salvation is essential to become a true follower of Christ, and also to grow spiritually in our walk with Him. The case was made that our innate sense of the existence of a Higher Power, or even the universal “moral compass” embedded in each of us (our conscience) only supplies us with part of the picture–we need to read or hear the Bible’s message in order to come to a knowledge of God’s plan of redemption through His Son.
4. Vivid dreams last night. I dreamed so lucidly for so long that when I finally woke I was sure I must have been dreaming for hours and hours. I dreamed that I was at the airport, talking with Mr. Kelly (the lead instructor) and preparing for a flight, and a very odd-looking plane landed as I was walking out the back to take a look at the windsock to get a sense of the prevailing winds. My dad arrived and I took him up for a little local flight. I remember tooling around for a while until I realized that the engine had cut out. Even in my dream I immediately set best glide by trimming the airplane and began the restart procedure. It didn’t help at all and the plane simply glided down in a spiral for a gentle landing in a firm, grassy field. I had more than enough room for takeoff if I could only get the engine started. I cranked and cranked but thought I had flooded it. I even got out and tried hand-cranking, to no avail. Finally I got back in the airplane, on the right side this time, and cranked it some more. Eventually the engine sputtered to life and we were off again. After a short roll the plane tore into the sky at a precarious angle and suddenly I was dodging buildings, dipping under bridges and tilting the plane 90 degrees to pass between skyscrapers. I climbed and climbed but the congestion of buildings never abated. People were gathered on platforms and in courtyards high in the sky, discussing academic things and I could hear their conversations as I flew around like a bird trapped in a building, searching for a way out of the glut of concrete and foliage.
The dreamstuff is particularly interesting. I’m tempted to make metaphors out of all of it – it seems like almost any vivid dream has real-world counterparts and influences. Really fascinating stuff.
Pardon me, my cat is meowing and I must go let him in.
I tend to just take it as it comes… There’s so much possible ambiguity in attaching referents to motifs in dreams that I just stay out of it.
By all means, take care of the cat :)