Howl! - 12 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 275

Micah 6:8
James 5:1-3
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?

Born on this date in 1863 was Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. Scream in his honor today.

That reminds me of the beat poet, Allen Ginsberg, and his book, "Howl and Other Poems." That whole beat scene was like gone, Dad. If I had been born sooner, I probably would have been a beatnik. Or not. I mean, my threads are like cubesville, but give me my axe and I can swing like sixteen.

    

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.

Art History! - 11 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 274

Micah 6:8
Ephesians 4:28
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, I'd like to wish a very Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends. May the Light continue to shine forth in the darkness!

Next up, on this day in history, 11 December 1913, the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, La Gioconda (Mona Lisa), was recovered after having been stolen from the Louvre two years before. It's interesting to see what's going on at the Louvre these days in the absence of visitors:

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, today is National Noodle Ring Day. Regular readers of this blog know that food is one of my passions. In fact, I actually eat food nearly every day, rain or shine. Today's food item is kind of fascinating. It's essentially just a pasta dish that's baked in a Bundt pan (or other ring-shaped pan, such as an angel food cake pan). I have to admit that I've never had this, but I'm thinking I'd like to give it a shot.
Who knows? Maybe I try to make a lasagna ring!

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.

Bizarre Fun - 10 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 273

Micah 6:8
2 Samuel 6:14
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?

One of my friends exposed me to this on Facebook this morning. It's one of those things that not only can you never un-see, you can't even look away. It's not that it's disturbing or upsetting or anything like that; it's just bizarre in the Old Gregg kind of bizarre.

The "best" part is that there's more where that came from. For example, this one.
Once you're headed down that rabbit hole, you may as well go all the way, so all the glory that is Leslie Hall is here.

You're welcome.

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.

Doggerel - 09 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 272

Micah 6:8
Hebrews 4:14-16
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 National Llama Day! (Please refrain from praising alpacas today. Thank you.) In celebration of that fact, let me share a great bit of doggerel from the fabulous Ogden Nash:

The Lama

The one-l lama,
He's a priest;
The two-l llama,
He's a beast.
And I will bet
A silk pajama
There isn't any
Three-l lllama.

Ogden Nash

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.

R.I.P. Chuck Yeager - 08 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 271

Micah 6:8
Joel 2:15
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?

Sad news hit the air and the wires today. General Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier (that's flying faster than the speed of sound), died yesterday (on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor). He was one of the original "right stuff" guys, and a hero to many. He will be missed.

On a more celebratory note, today is National Lard Day! No doubt there are many of you out there who can't imagine why anyone would ever celebrate lard. I would submit that those are nearly the same group of people who have never tried a pie crust made with lard (or if they have, didn't know that's why that pie crust was far and away the best, flakiest, tastiest crust they had ever eaten). Pie crust made with lard (and cornbread as well!) is simply better than pie crust made with butter and/or vegetable shortening.

Today is also National Christmas Tree Day. One supposes that means today is the day to set up the tree - and that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Of course this year I think we'll find that there are many folks who've had their trees and other decorations set up for quite a while already. Not exactly any port in a storm, but rather here's something good and true that we can actually celebrate in spite of everything else going on around us. Christmas trees are great (and no, I'm not a pagan who worships the tree, thank you very much.).

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.

Infamy - 07 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 270

Micah 6:8
Exodus 21:12-14
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, December 7, is a day that will live in infamy. This is the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It's the kind of attack that couldn't quite happen today - all the surveillance satellites and radar installations make it difficult to believe anyone could move a mass of ships and planes into position without being seen - but at least it was an actual military operation, attacking a naval base.

We need to remember the sacrifices made by those killed and wounded on that day 79 years ago, as well as those of the men and women who were then tested in the crucible of WWII thereafter. We can really have no idea what they endured, but we can be grateful and inspired by their example.

One of the things that we really can't understand it how out of contact families were during that war. Imagine your father / brother / husband / uncle / friend / mother / sister / wife / aunt being away in Europe or the Pacific when the only way to contact them was by writing a letter. Our son was in the Army and deployed to Afghanistan. We were incredibly fortunate that Skype was there, and we could see and hear him on a fairly frequent basis. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to write a letter, drop it in the mail, and then wait the weeks it would take to find the recipient, for a response to be written and posted, and then for it to arrive back States-side. They were made of strong stuff, our parents and grandparents. Today is Letter Writing Day, so why not look at another blast from the past? Write a letter to someone and post it today!

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 - 06 December 2020 - Plague Journal Day 269

Micah 6:8
2 Peter 3:8-15
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?

  

It's the second week of Advent!

With the current spike in COVID cases in Grosse Pointe, we've paused our in-person worship, probably for the rest of the year. We will only be streaming our services on YouTube until further notice, so please join us online.

Speaking of joining us online, our new streaming solution (all new cameras and software running on a new, video-optimized computer) came at just the right time, and we'll be sharing our first attempt at a virtual choir, so why not tune in and see if it was adequate?

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.

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.