Head-dibs

You know the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words;" or, as Ivan S. Turgenev wrote in his 1862 novel Fathers and Sons, "The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book." Pictures communicate. Back in the old days (young 'uns, listen up) we used to take pictures and put them in large books called "photo albums." From time to time, especially at family gatherings, we would pull out these tomes and as we flipped pages we would point and laugh and enjoy remembering the days gone by together. Most photos captured the joyous moments (birthdays, weddings, parties) and from time to time would contain a few momentoes of other occasions (postcards, newspaper clippings of announcements or special articles). Photos help us remember. The Old Testament book of Ezekiel contains a photo album of sorts. God is reminiscing with Israel: "remember that time . . ." I passed by and saw you there wallowing in your own ...

Abraham, servant to Montague: “Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?” Sampson, servant to Capulet: “I do bite my thumb, sir.” Abr: [asking again, as if in disbelief] “Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?” Sam: [aside, to Gregory, another servant to Capulet]: “Is the law of our side if I say, ‘ay’?” Gre: “No.” Sam: “No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir.” Gre: “Do you quarrel, sir?” Abr: “Quarrel, sir! No, sir!” Sam: “If you do, sir, I am for you: I serve as good as man as you.” Abr: “No, better.” Gre: “Say ‘better’: here comes one of my master’s kinsmen.” [Benvolio approaches] Sam: “Yes, better, sir.” Abr: “You lie.” Sam: “Draw if you be men [drawing his sword]. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow.” [They fight] (Act I, Scene 1, “Romeo and Juliet,” by William Shakespeare.) Watch the clip below if the text is too dry (it’s not the best clip, but it is the most concise): One does not have to be fully inundated in many genres of literature to know Romeo and J...

this morning as i woke up, in that gray foggy place where the eyes are still not open and one is still able to locate his slippers, i had this profound thought: in the same way the sun rises in each morning, so God makes his flaming spirit rise on those who wait for Him. dwelling on that imagery for a few minutes, i successfully and safely gained access to the shower in my somnatic state without scalding or freezing myself, then had another profound thought: what did Ezekiel see? What were those confounded wheels? And images like this came to mind--was Ezekiel having a vision of God through space, without a telescope, as it were? Here are some galaxies taken by Hubble. And what about some of our planets, as Uranus and Saturn (infra red)?