I Was Silenced! - 26 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 471

Micah 6:8
Job 23:16-17
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 escaped without any flooding or damage from the severe storms and torrential rain in Grosse Pointe. We did not, however, escape being cut off from the world of modern communications due to a near-total AT&T outage - landline, internet, cell phones, all were out.

At least I managed to get back online in time to post this. My streak continues, despite the communication breakdown!

Keep Calm and Don't 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.

Please Be Quiet! - 25 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 470

Micah 6:8
Proverbs 29:9,11
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 just heard that the NHL is planning to move from rock and country to hip-hop as the "soundtrack" of their games - at least in the playoffs and cup finals. Never having been to an NHL game, I can't comment directly, but I can make some sports+music observations from events which I have attended.

My first encounter with sports' apparent need to fill every moment with either action on the field/pitch/court was at an Arena Football game at Joe Louis Arena. The Detroit Drive were hosting another team (sorry, I have absolutely no idea who they played) and I was a bit excited because I had been pitched on the AFL by ESPN and thought it had a decent chance to make it. (It did, lasting 32 seasons until having to file for bankruptcy in 2019.)
Imagine my chagrin when there was absolutely no way to talk about the play or the experience, as the arena's sound system spewed a high-volume rock soundtrack beginning with the end of each football play and only stopping as the ball was being snapped.
The only time one could talk about a play was during the next one - it was simply that loud. It was simply that annoying. I never went to another game.

We faithfully attend every Labour Day Classic game in Hamilton, Ontario (it's on Labour Day, and it really is a classic matchup between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and (almost always) the Toronto Argonauts - by the way, Argos Suck). They do play loud, raucous music, generally rock, but not between every play - the stadium announcer actually gets to tell us what the results of the previous play were - but when there are extended time-outs, whether called by one of the teams of for a TV commercial break, that's when the speakers come to life. Still, it's usually something somewhat related to the game, and it's also a real, honest-to-goodness outdoor stadium, so it's still possible to talk to and hear the folks in nearby seats.

Why must we fill in every moment with noise? (No, I'm not calling all hip-hop noise.) Why can't we have a moment to savour the plays and the fellowship of our fandom? I think if I end up at any indoor sporting event I'll be bringing earplugs of some sort.

Keep Calm and Don't 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.

Out Of This World, Man! - 24 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 469

Micah 6:8
Hosea 5:6-8
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?

What an interesting day it is today. Not only have the masks come off in Michigan (!), but today we also celebrate to out-of-this-world holidays: World UFO Day and International Fairy Day.

One wonders at this overlap of old-fashioned and newfangled fascinations. Were we to listen to the Ancient Aliens folks, we would likely conclude that fairies - or more to the point, faerie folk - are in fact simply aliens whom our ancestors presumed to be supernatural beings.
I think they've got it exactly backwards. It is they who are presuming supernatural  beings to be space aliens, and presuming incorrectly at that.

Take a trip to Iceland and see the activity of the elves there. Watch the documentary, Troll Hunter, to see the activity of trolls in Norway. Take a trip to the US/Mexico border and see the activity of the chupacabra there. This stuff is all right there for us to see, and there's no need for the Occam's Razor-dulling assumptions of aliens to explain it all.


Today is also Museum Comes To Life Day - certainly a great day to watch that classic film, Night at the Museum and maybe give a quick re-reading to the award-winning From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

(note the change here!)
Keep Calm and Don't 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.

At the Mountains of Madness - 23 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 468

Micah 6:8
Luke 11:31
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?


23 June 1961 The Antarctic Treaty comes into force. The treaty was the first arms control agreement signed during the Cold War. It sets Antarctica aside as a scientific preserve and prohibits military activities on the continent.
Given the history of Antarctica, that seems like a very foolish prohibition. We know the US Navy checked it out after WWII and returned with no official reports of anything, but with numerous tales of crazy happenings. We know from the documentary directed by Christian Nyby and Howard Hawks that powerful beings were stranded there at least decades ago. We know from the events chronicled by Howard Lovecraft that frightening, powerful beings exist there. We know from the Stargate project that powerful weapons are there.

Have we ceded control of Antarctica to "someone else" in order to buy peace or time or something? One hesitates to hope for any kind of proclamation or pronouncement from the powers that be here and worldwide. "Stay inside and don't look South" doesn't seem like the best policy recommendation.

It makes one wonder why we always hear about the aurora borealis, but almost never about the aurora australis. Clearly it's time we awaken from our foolish somnolence to our impending doom.

I, for one, do not welcome our new overlords, whether frozen or thawed.

Still, I'll probably break out my recording of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Sinfonia Antarctica to celebrate. You should too.

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's What You Look Like?! - 22 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 467

Micah 6:8
1 Corinthians 13:9-13
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?


Today, in Michigan, the masks come off. No more hiding behind face coverings. No more wondering if there's a smile behind the muffled words we hear. No more sticking our tongues out with impunity.

Will society ever recover from a free exchange of information? It seems unlikely, as the current pattern of things is to restrict, disparage, delete, and cancel any opinions or facts that don't comport with the currently-accepted (imposed?) narrative.

Still, I rejoice to see complete faces with actual open smiles. It's been quite amazing to realize how much expression really does come through others' eyes, but I want it all - I'm hungry - perhaps even greedy - for the real, honest communication that can only come with a full view of eyes, body language, and facial expression. Oh, and to hear words spoken clearly without mask-induce muffling is something we've all dreamed of, no doubt.

Enjoy it while you can. If we've learned anything, it's that our freedoms are only ours as long as we exercise them.

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.

Cover Me! - 21 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 466

Micah 6:8
Psalm 96
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?

Cover versions of songs can be great or horrible. 

One worst case scenario is an attempt to simple recreate the exact same song. There's no more reason to do that than to remake an old movie - the only reason is lack of creativity. Making a new version based on the original, but from ones own point of view / artistic perspective / whatever is a perfectly reasonable endeavor; just using someone else's work is not. 

The cover of The Sounds of Silence by Disturbed is a great example of the right kind of cover. It brings out the same meaning as the original, but in a different way - one which apparently Paul Simon appreciates as well.
Then there's a rap/hip hop version of A Horse With No Name that I heard once - once! and it sticks in my memory for these twenty years or mor - and I can't find anywhere, and I have tried many times. It's kind of like the Cajun version of Rocky Top that I can't find either - teeth as white as mayonnaise - I still dream about that.

Anyway, I told you that to tell you this. When you're writing, singing, drawing, whatever, no matter what your inspiration might be, make the product your own, not just a copy of something that you like. Go ahead and be inspired, but don't be locked in - be yourself and let your audience know who you are by what you create.

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 - 20 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 465

Micah 6:8
Mark 4:35-41
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 Father's Day! (and the first day of Summer)

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, and we're not requiring masks for fully vaccinated worshipers! You still 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 have the triumphal return of our chancel choir actually singing live and in person at offertory time, and two hymns for us to sing while Doug plays. Yes - we're back to congregational singing. We're Methodists again!
Remember, we'll be streaming for all those who can't join us in person, and intend to continue that practice indefinitely.

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.

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