It sure has been an interesting last couple of weeks, hasn't it? Nature seems to be running amok wherever you turn. First we have the tsunamis, then we have torrential downpours leading to mudslides in Southern California. Here in the northwest we even got another ice storm to remind us of last year's fun-filled winter. One cannot turn on the television without being subject to some sort of 24-hour disaster coverage from one corner of the globe or another.

As I was making my long, boring drive from San Francisco to San Diego last week, I listened to a popular radio talk show. The subject of the discussion was the public and the media's incessant fascination with disaster coverage. We can't seem to get enough of the images of death, destruction and despair we see captured by the lenses of amateur videographers. The host seemed troubled by this development. However, the callers to the show were nearly unanimous in stating that they loved the coverage, and found it enjoyable.

How have we reached such a point in our culture that we find watching real images of suffering to be good prime-time entertainment? We are so accustomed to instantly receiving massive amounts of information that we have become desensitized to the reality behind the images. Yet we call it "reality TV." Why have we become content with vicarious living? Many of the callers to the radio show stated that they loved the footage because it was "real" or "thrilling." They get to experience the visceral excitement of tragedy without actually having to participate.

However, the footage we see may also have a positive effect. Seeing the horrors of the tsunami's destruction probably prompted many people to contribute to the relief efforts. Before the information age, we wouldn't have even found out about the tsunami for several weeks. So the whole situation seems to me a mixed bag. What do you think?

Just in case you read this blog and were wondering if I'm still alive, the answer is yes. I've been out of town for the past week, in rainy southern California. I had a great time visiting the family, seeing my new niece, travelling to San Francisco for an ethics class, and even giving the Sunday message at my old church.
(BTW if you want to hear it, here's a link: My wonderful sermon
Just click on the "Finding Your Identity In Christ" audio link on the right hand side of the page.

I'll be back to blogging here within the next couple of days. I know you just can't wait.

It's been really hard to write lately, and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I put my blog up against very rigid standards, and end up erasing a lot of what I write without posting it. Also, I keep struggling with the true purpose for having this blog in the first place. Part of me wants to use it as a vent for issues that I struggle with. But that doesn't make very interesting reading most of the time.

You've probably noticed that I've gotten a lot more "political" in the last several months. In a way, I see blogs as a form of journalism. I realize that the people who read this blog probably don't regularly read the type of stuff that I do. So I hope, by posting some of the things that I have, that I have exposed some of you to events, issues, and streams of thoughts that you may not have previously encountered.

There's a lot going on right now, as always. In many ways I feel that I am a different person than I was just a few months ago. I have been waist-deep in the real world, and it has really started to change my perceptions of reality. Priorities that once held a very high position have slipped into the domain of irrelevance.

I guess this is a satisfactory post for New Year's Day. I don't have any resolutions this year. But it feels good to know that, in a sense, I can start fresh and put the past behind me. Of course I can always do that, but it's nice to have an official day to serve as yet another milepost in this arduous and wonderful journey.