I tend to speak about or refer to religion — specifically Judaism and Christianity — quite often. In the process, I will often quote various scriptural passages. However, you might notice at times that my Bible passages may not look exactly like your Bible passages.
2022.158: Purpose Lost
I remember a time when I felt certainty’s hand, a blue-white flash of purpose in the halcyon days of a lost youth I still can’t stop chasing.
I was a young bat when I saw an episode of the children’s educational program Reading Rainbow in which host LeVar Burton offered viewers a glimpse behind-the-scenes of another series he worked on — Star Trek: The Next Generation, a favorite of mine. The clouds parted like a scroll at that moment, and I knew who I was — I would work in television production. (Thank you, LeVar Burton!)
I did not pursue this career, however. It pursued me.
Lower Than the Angels: An Examination of Psalm 8
This post was originally published over a decade ago at my original blog, now long since defunct, and was based on a lesson by the inestimable Uri Harel[1]Uri Harel’s original teachings are gone, for the most part, but you may find some of his teachings at YouTube via this link., may his memory be for blessing.
Psalm 8 is one of my favorite passages in scripture, a psalm I enjoy reading and studying again and again.
2022.145: The End of Silence
In 2019, I emerged from a long, protracted torpor and opened my eyes to a world I no longer recognized… and to a face in the mirror that appeared as alien to me as the face of a foreigner from faraway realms. This was my reintroduction to the world I live in, but it was also my reintroduction to myself: blinking, starry-eyed confusion mixed with dread and instinctual fear.
I nearly flew right back into my cave to shut my eyes and ears as tightly as I could and return to torpor.
2022.145: Introductions
When I glance back at prior attempts to keep a journal, I note a certain lack of reality and specificity. I fantasize. I idealize. I wax poetic and cling to vagaries over people, conversations, and events. When I do specify, my entries quickly dry up briefly after I begin. Specificity does not last, and my entries do not provide the full story at times.
2022.135: The Covenant
Starting today, I am done with living as a wrecked shell of a man with no spirituality, poor health & hygiene, no discipline or stability, severe debt, and a shattered psyche.
Today, with all the Powers of Heaven and all the angels of Earth as witness, I forge a covenant with Adonai and with myself to live as a new man.
Character Study: Darth Vader
Originally published on Star Wars Day 2020. Illustration — titled “Despair” — by Dunebat, completed 2019.280.
The sun burned furiously in the evening skies over PT-187, heat waves shimmering over the bright beachfront as frothy, wind-tossed waves crashed against the sand… but he could feel no sun warming him and no gentle sea wind caressing his pale flesh. The sea salted the air around him, but the artificial olfactory receptors built into his helmet filtered out most of the ocean air, and his nostrils registered only the merest hint of the sensation.
Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith and commander of the military might of the Galactic Empire, would never feel the sun or the wind again. He would never smell anything again, not the way most people detected scent, nor would he hear or see the way others heard and saw.
The armored life support suit he wore saw to that.
Welcome to Dunebat Country
Welcome to Dunebat Country, the official website and online gallery of works for the West Texas artist known as Dunebat. Content will be updated whenever possible, typically on Sundays.