Show, Don't Just Tell - 01 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 415

Micah 6:8
Luke 5:13-15
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?

OK, everyone keeps asking me about Billie. "What kind of dog is that?" Largely, one supposes, the question comes because she's an odd-looking creature.
I think she actually has a very nice look, but many folks (Heidi!) think she looks like a goat. Her penchant for leaping like a goat doesn't help dissuade anyone. As you can see from the pictures here, she is a bit odd, but she's probably the finest example of a Belgian Wire-haired Terrier you'll ever see. (I'm pretty sure that's right. Check with the AKC if you doubt me.)

As you can see, she really enjoys playing with tennis and lacrosse balls. She'll even actually fetch them! Apparently wonders never cease.

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.

Now You've Stepped In It - 30 April 2021 - Plague Journal Day 414

Micah 6:8
Genesis 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?

I've noticed a few folks on Facebook running a "poll" asking "What's the worst thing you've ever stepped on barefoot?" My answer was a bee (and neither of us was happy with the outcome). I think it's interesting that in the midst of that research activity we find that today is National Hairball Awareness Day. Having come to cats later in life (I married into them, you see, and I am happy to have them around), I didn't grow up knowing the "joy" of finding a hairball with my bare feet. I have done so since - generally in the dark, of course - so I can attest that they would rank up in the top few items. Nicely scheduled, calendar.

As if we needed further reason to dump the practice of Daylight Saving Time, I just discovered that on this date in 1916, Germany and her WWI allies became the first countries to use DST, hoping to save energy and aid the war effort. Why would we emulate the Kaiser and his stooges? Let's just move to Standard Time all year.

On a more positive note, it was on this date in 17
89 that George Washington took the oath of office in New York City to become the first President of the United States of America. It was only several weeks later that the French people, perhaps inspired by Washington's refusal to be crowned our king, decided to shorten their monarch using that purportedly humane invention named after J.-I. Guillotin. Interestingly, M. Guillotin and Mr. Washington were both Freemasons. The mind boggles as we look for lizard people and Illuminati.

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.

What Did You Say? - 29 April 2021 - Plague Journal Day 413

Micah 6:8
Isaiah 40:28-29   Esther 3:7
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?


Can watching people play Dungeons & Dragons could be entertaining? If you check out Critical Role.you can decide for yourself, but I've decided that it actually can be. This is a group of friends who are actors (mostly voice actors, I believe) who invite us into their shared D&D world to follow the adventures of their various characters in intricately imagined campaigns with amazing amounts of back story and character development.

OK, watching them play their campaigns is not really that great. Actually playing the game is a lot of fun, but watching someone else tends to be too slow for me. However, when they were forced apart by the lockdown, they came up with a great set of extra videos - Narrative Telephone.

Just like the old telephone game from kids' parties, the friends are tasked with repeating what they heard from the person before them. Rather than a mere sentence or phrase, they get an entire story on a video which they can watch only once and then they have to "repeat" it on camera for the next victim to watch and reproduce.

It's shockingly entertaining.

Here's a link to the latest one, which is actually one of the most entertaining of the two seasons, but go ahead and watch them all. The fun level varies, but is always relatively high. You can find them here, just scroll through the various pages there, as they have other Extras in addition to the Narrative Telephone videos.

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.

Dog Report Plus - 28 April 2021 - Plague Journal Day 412

Micah 6:8
Acts 17:24-28    Joshua 24:14-15
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?

I'm sure you're all desperate to know how my first day of simultaneously covering work and dog management went. I'm happy to report that all went well.
Billie was good all day - I only had to step out of a meeting once to let her out - and she actually made sure I got enough walking in for the day. Bonus win-win, I guess.

Now for the plus. Today is Great Poetry Reading Day. I'm not sure to which part of that the "great" is meant to apply - the Poetry or the Reading - but I'm planning to pull out my Oxford Poetry collection and reprise my rousing reading of "I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra" by Ishmael Reed. Back in my university days everyone used to ask me to read this ... people sometimes requested ... I once read this poem at a party and wasn't thrown out. Ah, the memories. Good times.

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.

Dog Day Afternoon (All Day, Really) - 27 April 2021 - Plague Journal Day 411

Micah 6:8
Mark 7:24-30
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 the 411th day of our two-week work from home regime. I've had weeks that seemed longer than seven days before, but nothing like this fortnight!
(As an aside, it seems that everyone knows 411 means information. What the younger folks might not remember is that at one time 411 was the number for directory assistance, way back before all the 555-1212 business. It's fun to see how old facts become new slang.)
I know it's not Summer yet, but today is my first Dog Day at work. Yes, there's a new dog here at Cleveland. Her name is Billie (because she looks and leaps like a goat) and she's about six months old.
Normally she goes to work with Heidi, but there's a case of kennel cough going around there, so I'm on duty today. I need to remember to let her out, feed her, all that good puppy stuff.
We'll see how it goes - wish me luck!

She's not old, and her name isn't Blue, but enjoy the Byrds anyway!

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.

What's Going On? - 26 April 2021 - Plague Journal Day 410

Micah 6:8
Matthew 16:2-4
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?

On this date in 1925, Franz Kafka published his landmark novel The Trial, a nightmarish account of a man being arrested and prosecuted by a faceless authority for an unknown crime.

I was recently watching a rerun of the American television equivalent of Kafka - Green Acres.
Think about it. Here in Hooterville, where Oliver Wendell Douglas has chosen to live over Lisa's objections. Despite his education and commitment to farm living, he generally has no clue what's going on around him, while all the locals - and Lisa! - navigate the bizarreness with alacrity and aplomb.
If that's not Kafka-esque, I don't know what would be.
It makes me wonder what Lisa did with all those Germans in the attic back in Hungary.

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 - 25 April 2021 - Plague Journal Day 409

Micah 6:8
1 John 3:16-24
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 is the third Sunday in Easter

When the COVID case levels settled down in Grosse Pointe, we resumed our in-person worship.
Yes, we still have in-person worship in the Sanctuary today. You need to have registered ahead of time to attend, and an email went out from the church with all the details!

For our 9:30 worship service we are back to Pastor Ray for the message, an instrumental duet for our offertory time, and a hymn for us to read along while Doug plays. (We're slowly getting back to real Methodist worship - we'll be singing together again one day!) Remember, we'll be streaming for all those who can't join us in person.

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. We're still having trouble with the live stream, but a recording will be posted by late morning if it doesn't stream properly. Sorry about that - we're working on it!

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