Crime, Punishment, and Shameless Self-Promotion - 14 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 247

Micah 6:8
Proverbs 13:5-6
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

First off, whether it affected the outcome or not, whichever way any of it went, if there was fraud in the vote, those responsible need to go to prison for a very long time.
There should be no dispute on that point; and if there is, that's evidence of an attitude that must be totally eradicated from these United States.
Defense of fraud is complicity and should be punished accordingly. 

OK, with that out of the way, it's time for a bit of shameless self-promotion. I have a new book out and available for purchase on Amazon. This is a book of writing prompts, challenges, and exercises designed to help writers build the habit of writing, and then to find it easier to finish the writing they start.
It's a thirteen week program, but only three days a week - Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday - so it's not a huge commitment of time, but it's a discipline that will build the habit needed to keep writing and finish what's been started.

I'd be very pleased to see a few sales show up in my reporting, and I thank you in advance for your support.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Another Friday the 13th - 13 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 246

Micah 6:8
Psalm 27
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?


It's another Friday the 13th! ("Another?" you ask. Indeed. All this lock-down, shelter-in-place, flatten-the-curve stuff started on Friday the 13th back in March, and here we are on another one as the plans look to be to shut us down again. Coincidence? I do not think that word means what you think it means.)

In spite of that (because of that?) I'm happy to note that today is Start A Rumor Day (or Start A Rumour Day for my Canadian friends). In this day of conspiracy theories and fake news and media malfeasance, what could be more wholesome than starting a good old-fashioned run-of-the-mill rumor? Not much, that's what. (Here's a fun video example.)

In keeping with that sentiment, it's also fun to realize that today is Sadie Hawkins Day, a holiday created as part of a work of fiction, but then dragged into everyday real life. Al Capp created Sadie Hawkins Day in the November 15, 1937 Li'l Abner comic strip. In some sense that's a rumor being taken seriously and ending up with a life of its own.


Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Different Kinds of Art - 12 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 245

Micah 6:8
Exodus 35:30-35
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today marks the 180th "birthday" of French sculptor, Auguste Rodin, perhaps most noted for his statue, The Thinker.

  

Of course the Burghers of Calais outside Parliament in London is pretty famous as well.

Well, it's November (as if you didn't know that), and that means it's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month for the uninitiated). Frustratingly, you can't tell it's NaNoWriMo by my output.

Sculpting and Writing are rather different artistic pursuits. Sculptors work to take away everything that isn't what they're sculpting. Writers stare at empty pages, trying to fill them up with everything they're trying to create. I suppose editing is more like sculpting, but I don't think there are many sculptors who create their own blocks of marble to carve. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair, but then, what is? As Matisse said, "Don't wait for inspiration. It comes while one is working." Somehow this pandemicized, locked-down, isolation-riddled year is wreaking havoc with my writing.

I did manage to get a non-fiction book out - ironically it's on how to make a writing habit - but the novel I started a few years ago is languishing in various folders, notebooks, and digital files.

"Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story...."

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Armistice Day? - 11 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 244

Micah 6:8
1 Samuel 11:1-3
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?



Today is Veterans Day in these United States. It's a day we stop to thank those who have served our nation in any of the branches of the US military. (I assume that includes the Coast Guard and possibly the Merchant Marine, but I don't know - I should look that up and post an update.)

Originally named Armistice Day, the celebration on November 11 was to commemorate the signing of the armistice which marked the end of World War I - the war to end all wars. (One has to wonder, why did they name it World War I if they thought it was going to end all wars? It sounds as though there was some chicanery afoot!) Of course as it turned out (?!) it really was but a pause in a giant war that continued with slightly altered combatants in what we call World War II. (maybe those were really the halves, as in a football match?) At any rate, at 11:00am on 11 November 2018 ("the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month"), the armistice was signed. There's a "helpful" graphic at the very bottom of this post that "explains" the origins of WWI.

Having changed the name to Veterans Day (probably since that armistice didn't work as advertised), we now celebrate our veterans, so I'd like to thank all the vets out there for their service. I really do admire and appreciate your sacrifices and the work you put in; thank you.
I especially want to thank my Dad, Jack (US Navy) and my son, Christian (US Army), as well as my great-great-grandfather, Ethelbirt Crouse (Indiana Volunteer Infantry, US Civil War). (You can read his memoir of being captured by Confederate Guerrillas in his book for sale here at Amazon.)

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

 

Big Bird and Books - 10 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 243

Micah 6:8
Luke 4:16-22
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Here's a pair of celebrations for you: today is both Sesame Street Day and National Young Readers Day. 

How ironic, since Sesame Street has probably done more to push children away from books than anything else in American "culture" in the past fifty years or so. With its emphasis on very short bits, rewarding and reinforcing very short attention spans, the show's format militates against anything so slow as reading a book - even a book featuring Grover or Elmo can't move fast enough for a fast-cut-addicted tyke.
Perhaps we should promote books as a random access entertainment format - no need to fast forward, just turn directly to the page you want!
It's very distressing, as the inability to stick with even a short book indicates the inability to follow even a short explanation or argument, which further indicates an inability to think and to function as a citizen of these United States. It's no wonder it seems the electorate is asking to be taken care of. 

Save the nation - read a book!

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

RIPs - 09 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 242

Micah 6:8
Luke 16:19-31
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

What a weekend. 

"The answer is: Norm Crosby"
"Who died the day before Alex Trebek?"
Sad, but correct. Sure, I'm a bit of a fan of Alex Trebek (maybe more of his SNL doppelganger as he engaged in verbal battle with an ersatz Sean Connery. No, not maybe, definitely. Still...), but I think the loss of Norm Crosby looms bigger in my mind than that of the Jeopardy! host.

It was in the Carson days of the Tonight Show that I learned important lessons in public speaking (and singing for that matter) such as the importance of rejecting from one's diaphragm. Double-speaking politicians were no match for me once I had been inoculated by Norm's malaprop mastery. He will be missed (and frankly, has been missed, as I haven't seen him on TV in ages).

Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans - these people are giants, legends; their names are household words. Of course, so's Jell-O. - Norm Crosby

In bizarrely unrelated news, today is National Scrapple Day. Perhaps the most bizarre part of what you'll find should you follow that link (even moreso than the use of LIKE when they most assuredly mean AS) is the photo used to illustrate the day. That looks suspiciously like one of the Golden Arches' lead breakfast products. I wasn't aware (and believe that I still remain so) that there was a McScrapple available, even if only in parts of Pennsylvania. Odd indeed.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Worship - 08 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 241

Micah 6:8
Joshua 24:1-3, 14-15
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

We're still meeting to worship inside the church building in the sanctuary - our fifth Sunday in a row! Masks and physical distancing are still enforced, but we are blessed to be worshiping together.
Special music will be provided by our handbell choir, so you won't want to miss it.
Note that you must have registered already in order to join us, so please join us online if you didn't. 

Speaking of joining us online, this week we expect even better things from our new streaming solution: all new cameras and software running on a new, video-optimized computer. With a week under our collective belts, here's hoping the sound will be more balanced, and there won't be any problems with getting the stream out to our remote worshipers.

Today's stream should just appear as the latest entry on our YouTube channel, here.
You'll find all our previous worship videos right there at that same place, and today's stream will stay there as a recording as well. (This all assumes that everything goes according to plan, so feel free to pray for us!)

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.