Making Copies - 13 February 2021 - Plague Journal Day 338

Micah 6:8
Ecclesiastes 12:12
John 21:25
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 was the day I made the books.

No, not a secret set of accounting numbers, nor being included in "Who's Who in Whatever" - this was the day I printed up and assembled the Lenten Devotions books for our church. This is the 20 somethingth year in a row we've published a book of our congregation's devotional writings, and it was a very unusual one. Rather than having to beg for submissions and receiving them at the last possible moment, this year I actually got more than I needed, and I got them early! An embarrassment of riches, as they say.

They'll be posted online as well - check them out daily at the GPUMC blog site.

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.

Am I Blue? - 12 February 2021 - Plague Journal Day 337

Micah 6:8
Psalm 150
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?

On 12 February 1994 Edvard Munch's “The Scream” was stolen. The iconic painting, one of a series of four, was recovered several months later, and is displayed here in its current form.

Exactly 70 years before that theft, George Gershwin premiered his composition, Rhapsody in Blue, playing piano and accompanied by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra (a jazz band rather than a symphony type orchestra, just so you know).

That's a great piece, but I think I enjoy his Piano Concerto in F even more. Take a look here.

Is it bad that I think of Slapshot when I see that it's Oglethorpe Day?

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.

That Fly Is Doing Algebra - 11 February 2021 - Plague Journal Day 336

Micah 6:8
Hebrews 5:12-14
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 is Thursday. Traditionally, that's the night of choir practices at my church. (Practices? Plural? Yes: handbell choir and vocal choir.) So it's quite appropriate that today has a musical celebration for us. It's Get Out Your Guitar Day, and it really is time to do that - I need to play a lot for a while so my calluses don't totally disappear.

In addition to the guitar stuff, it's also Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. Frankly, I can't remember the last time I cried over spilled milk, so it's probably not a big issue for me.
Nonetheless, to celebrate the pair of them, I plan to spill some milk, not cry over it, and grab my guitar and write a song about not crying. Maybe I'll just put new words to that Hank Williams classic, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry; something like "I spilled milk, but I still didn't cry."
I hope that's not too horrible an ear worm for you.

By the way, looking back at historical events on this date, on 11 February 1650 René Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician, stopped thinking and ceased to be.

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.

Floating - in Space? - 10 February 2021 - Plague Journal Day 335

Micah 6:8
Isaiah 23:1-3
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?

Lately I've found myself watching all the various Star Trek series on H&I - and really enjoying even the ones that lost my interest before they finished (viz. Voyager and Enterprise).
I remember when Deep Space 9 came out and thinking that the theme was the best TV theme music I had ever heard. (Well, maybe Super Chicken was up there too.) Then came Voyager and I revised my opinion. That theme by Jerry Goldsmith was just excellent. Jerry Goldsmith was born on 10 February 1929 and died on 21 July 2004. What a great film and TV composer he was. I don't know if he ever wrote any straight concert music, but if he did, I would listen to it.


Next time  you don't sink while working on a cargo ship, you should thank Samuel Plimsoll for holding the line, as it were, against the use of dangerous "coffin ships," and as today is Plimsoll Day, this is the day for doing just that - not sinking while working on a cargo ship. Maybe you could even wear a pair of his shoes on board - they have rubber soles for traction after all.

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.

Mystic Pizza? - 09 February 2021 - Plague Journal Day 334

Micah 6:8
Hosea 5:6-7
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 Extraterrestrial Culture Day (thanks to the New Mexico legisltature). Roswell! It's also Pizza Pie Day - I think I'm really happy that it's not just Pizza day, but the more formal Pizza Pie Day. Then, to complete the trifecta, it's also Read In The Bathtub Day.

(I'm pretty sure he's ordering a pizza!)

Of course there's a song about this!

It seems to me that today would be a great day to read a book about alien cultures while eating pizza in the tub. What to read? "Alien Art" by Gordon R. Dickson? "Dune" by Frank Herbert? "The Amsirs and the Iron Thorn" by Algis Budrys? "The High Crusade" by Poul Anderson? "Bytes Akimbo" by yours truly?

I'd love to see some suggestions in the comments.

Political/Constitutional aside: democrats are using the "shall" language of the Constitution to justify this second Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Interestingly, the line says that "The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments." It doesn't say that the Senate shall try all Impeachments - simply that it is the only body that has the power to do so. If an impeachment comes from the House to the Senate, the Senate has no obligation to try it, and should the Senate decline, there is no other body able to do so.
If what Trump did was actually inciting to insurrection, that's a crime and should be tried in criminal court, not in the Senate.
Further, conviction in an impeachment trial by the Senate removes a civil Officer from office. Following that removal, the Senate can vote to disqualify that convicted Officer from holding office. If the disqualificatyion vote can only after removing said Officer from office, it's unclear how they'll remove a former office-holder from the office he no longer holds before they vote to disqualify him. Frankly, I don't think they care, they just hate and fear him that 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.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Bezos - 08 February 2021 - Plague Journal Day 333

Micah 6:8
Isaiah 58:2-4
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?

 Jeff, Jeff, Jeff:

• Mail-in voting for a Presidential election is great! It makes sure the most people can participate!
  Go America!
• Mail-in voting for unionization is bad! In-person voting makes sure the most people can participate!
  Go Amazon!

Anyone see a problem here? It all comes down to whose Ox is being Gored (or Bidened, I suppose).

As if I needed any more reasons to dislike Amazon and its kleptocratic overlords.

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 - 07 February 2021 - Plague Journal Day 332

Micah 6:8

Mark 1:29-39
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?

 

 

This Sunday is the fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

With the COVID case level in Grosse Pointe, we've paused our in-person worship. We will only be streaming our services on YouTube again this week, so please join us online.

New news - we're planning to be back in-person in the Sanctuary on February 14. You'll need to register ahead of time to attend, but watch for an email from the church with all the details!

Speaking of joining us online, we're back to having a small worship team in the Sanctuary to stream a live worship service again. In addition to the handbell choir at the offertory time, Doug will be back at the organ for opening and closing voluntaries based on familiar hymns - AND - we'll have another sing-along hymn for all of you watching online.

As usual, 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.

On a totally unrelated note, this is Super Bowl Sunday, and as such is the pseudo-anniversary of our finding out that Christian was on the way! Test results were read, and joyous laughter and jumping around ensued in the library at Bob. Those were good times - and they have continued to be!

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.