It's Astronomical! - 15 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 429

Micah 6:8
Psalm 19
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 Astronomy Day! Break out the telescopes and binoculars and have a look at the sky!

Probably my top memory of using my own telescope would be when we set it up as a projector to show a solar eclipse on a screen so we didn't have to get any of those fancy solar goggles. (I don't know if they existed at the time - I was probably in Middle School at the time.) I do remember using the solar filter and seeing sunspots through the telescope, as well as getting some pretty good views of the Moon. I never did have a good enough telescope to see the Lunar Landers or Rovers up there, but I still believe they actually did go there. I always thought I'd go somewhere like that someday, but it's looking less and less likely as the years go by.

Anyway, what better soundtrack could there be for this day than a bit of Pink Floyd, eh? First off, let's take a look at a video of Astronomy Domine (thanks, KQED!), followed by Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun! Out of this world, folks!


Keep Calm and Stay Away.

Still Pink Floyd - get it?

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.

Cowboy Medicine - 14 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 428

Micah 6:8
Genesis 41:14-36  Exodus 9:1-7
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?



On this date - 14 May - in 1796, the first smallpox vaccination was administered by the British physician, Edward Jenner. Dr. Jenner successfully inoculated an 8-year-old smallpox patient using material from a cowpox lesion. The reason I mention this (admittedly historically important) event is the current widespread vaccination drive you may have noticed. I found it interesting that the word “vaccine” is derived from the Latin word for cow (vacca). Yes, vaquero really does mean cowboy! Vaccaro does too - you've got to love those Romance languages, eh?

I remember reading a story by Harry Turtledove in his Agent of Byzantium series (a bunch of alternate history stories) where this discovery was made in the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire. I can't recall the title, but all of the stories I've read by him have been quite good, so go find one and read it.
You're welcome.

In totally unrelated news, today is also the birthday of Facebook co-founder and current ruler, Mark Zuckerberg. I found it refreshingly appropriate that Zuckerberg was born in 1984. Surveille on, Mark!

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.

The Eyes Have It - 13 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 427

Micah 6:8
Isaiah 55:10-13
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 was thinking about Jack (my cat) the other day as I rubbed my itching eye. (Frigging Allergies!) The trees are conspiring to make my life miserable, and they're doing a pretty good job of it, from a rhino-ocular perspective. This has to be one of the worst tree-pollen seasons I can remember, and my eyes are not at all happy about it.

The itching is one thing, the crusty mornings are another, and I actually had to take an antihistamine the other day for the first time in years.

Why was I thinking of Jack? Well, as you may know, he has glaucoma, and I have to put drops in his eyes two or three times a day (depending on which eye we're discussing). His right eye gets a bit runny fairly often, and I have to believe he's not feeling much better than I am in that regard.

I also think of Billie (our new dog), since a couple times recently on walks we've gone through an area where I noticed an odd "aroma" in the air, and not long after had semi-asthmatic feelings. I think we were under trees both times, and it may well have been a cloud of tree pollen (one supposes is may also have been some kind of chemical treatment that had been applied to said trees). At any rate, I'm not enjoying this part of the season, and am looking forward to its swift ending.


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.

Tomfoolery - 12 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 426

Micah 6:8

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 being the birthday of Edward Lear (he of Nonsense Books fame!), we also celebrate Limerick Day! I remember watching a cartoon show (back around 1970) called the Tomfoolery Show. It featured the nonsense of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll, and as a result I got a copy of the Nonsense Books of Edward Lear. (I believe I had already read both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by then.) What wonderful stuff is in those books.
Not only do we get the Owl and the Pussycat going to sea, but a series of Limericks that served to popularize that classical form of poetry.

I remember that in High School I discovered some "translations" of the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll. This may have marked the beginning of my poetry performance career, as I declaimed Jabberwocky in French and German in the band rehearsal room. Good times indeed.

In completely unrelated fashion, today is also National Root Canal Appreciation Day. One day many years ago I was called upon to assist at an emergency root canal procedure. I can still remember every bit of it, and would feel confident in doing so again, should the need ever arise. Just remember - if your tooth needs its roots reamed out, I'm standing ready to assist your actual, trained dental professional.

There once was a tooth causing pain,
The root of which could not remain,
We drilled and we reamed
While effluvia steamed
And our patient we had to restrain.

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.

If You Close One Eye and Squint ... - 11 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 425

Micah 6:8
Luke 17:20-24  1 Samuel 16:7
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 we can celebrate the birthdays of two very different visionaries of the 20th Century. On 11 May 1904, Salvador Dalí was born, and fourteen years later (that's 1918 so you don't have to do the arithmetic), Richard Feynman joined us.

Two brilliant men working in very different fields who each came up with new ways to visualize the universe, space, and time. Dalí shared his skewed vision of (sur)reality with us by his paintings, while Feynman shared his insight into the inner workings of the universe through his Feynman diagrams.

If you've ever taken a Physics course beyond the basics, you should have encountered some of his diagrams. Even if you haven't, you should look them up - and his lectures were legendary for making the most incomprehensible parts of particle physics seem understandable. A remarkable teacher and scientist indeed. (You may remember him from the Challenger investigations and the O rings demonstration. Again, look them up if you don't.)
As to Dalí, you've no doubt seen his melting clocks and watches, but there's more to him than that. Seek out some of his art today - you may start looking at the world through a slightly skewed set of eyes, possibly from the seat of a goat cart.

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.

Watch Out For Pumas! - 10 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 424

Micah 6:8
1 Samuel 17:34-37
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 - 10 May 1869 the first U.S. coast to coast railroad was completed, complete with the famous ceremony including the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah. (You can see that spike at a museum at Stanford University if they ever allow people into places like museums again.) That was when the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad systems were joined. It was a really big deal for these United States and for the whole continent.

I first learned of this from the 1961 educational recording, "The Two Sides of the Smothers Brothers," a masterpiece of fun, entertainment, and information. It appears that they didn't always include all of the historical information when doing their presentations - here is a video of the lecture which gives the viewer the full flavor of their teaching style. For historical reasons (i.e., the Golden Spike part of the story) I'm also providing this link to an audio-only version of the recounting.

Enjoy! (Please, if you try the dish they mention, leave a comment here telling us all whether or not you enjoyed it 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.

Worship - Mother's Day - 09 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 423

Micah 6:8
1 John 5:1-5
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 fifth 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 celebrating Communion - and Mother's Day! - we have the handbell choir for our offertory time, and a hymn for us to read along while Doug plays. (We'll eventually get 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