Reeling In The Years - 05 March 2022 - Plague Journal Day 723

Micah 6:8
2 Timothy 1:3-7
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

As a public service, I remind everyone that today is National Poutine Day - not to be confused with National Putin Day which is the fifth of never.

On a less fattening note, today is also Reel Film Day. This is a celebration that is near to my heart, as I have co-written, co-produced, and co-starred in a couple short films - and by films I do mean they were on film, not a digital format. What great "fun" that editing together of short bits for each scene can be! As a member of the Library Club, later the IMC (Instructional Materials Club), I was carefully trained in the ways of projectors - both filmstrip and 16mm! (Kids, ask your grandparents if those terms seem meaningless.)
Even more timely, thanks to Andreas at Yellow Door, I've seen myself as a toddler. It's a surreal feeling in a more accurate sense than the way that term is usually applied. We found some old 8mm films at my Dad's house and had them transferred to mp4 files and there we are. It's shocking how many things I remember from when I was tiny, now that I've been reminded of them.

On This Day In History!

 

On 05 March 1981 the ZX81 home computer was launched. The British ZX81 was one of the world's first home computer and was sold over 1.5 million times.

(It was sold over 1.5 million times? That makes me wonder: was it so durable it lasted long enough for that many sales, or was it such crap that no one wanted it, but they found over 1,500,000 suckers to buy it from the previous guy anyway? Perhaps they mean over 1.5 million of them were sold. Perhaps.)

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane 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.

Roll for Initiative - 04 March 2022 - Plague Journal Day 722

Micah 6:8
Proverbs 19:21
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is International GMs Day! (That's GM as in Game Master, a generic term that would apply to Dungeon Masters as well!) Apparently the date was chosen because "March forth" is something one would do in a game, while "March Fourth" is a date. Nerds are clever, aren't we?

Interestingly, today is also National Dance the Waltz Day, but that mostly only works in the US 3/4 is how we write the date here, while most of the world would write 4/3. Next month, on the third, the rest of the world will be waltzing to catch up with us!

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane 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.

No Rin, Just Tintin - 03 March 2022 - Plague Journal Day 721

Micah 6:8
Mark 7:27-29
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is the anniversary of the passing of Hergé, the creator of the Adventures of Tintin. Hergé, whose actual name was Georges Prosper Remi, shuffled off this mortal coil on 03 March 1983. Tintin is probably my second favourite European comic (Asterix is number one, natch!), and it's nice to discover that it was penned by a Belgian.

Just four short years after Hergé's demise the world lost another brilliant entertainer, David Daniel Kaminsky - you probably knew him as Danny Kaye. What a great song and dance man he was, but he did so much more. He had a series of really funny movies: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Court Jester, and one that I didn't realise he was in - The Madwoman of Chaillot. That last one isn't so much a madcap comedy like most of the others, but it's a spectacular film which I highly recommend.

Of course he was also a big part of White Christmas, merrily poking fun at Gene Kelly in (my actual favourite movie) An American in Paris.

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane 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.

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down - 02 March 2022 - Plague Journal Day 720

Micah 6:8
Matthew 6:16-18  Joel 2:12-13
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

This may seem odd, coming from someone who publishes a book of Lenten Devotions every year and is fairly liturgical (especially for a Methodist, of course I'm also much more of a mystic than one would expect in a Methodist), but I really don't get Ash Wednesday. (You can check devotions for this and past years here.)

Yes, it's the beginning of Lent, a season of repentance and preparation as we head toward the glory of Easter and the Resurrection, but I'm more specifically skeptical of the imposition of ashes. In fact, I've been planning to write a devotion for our book for several years talking about why I don't take ashes on Ash Wednesday.

Recently I read somewhere about Wesley's attitude toward ashes, and that the practice at the time was to get the ashes but wash them off before going out into the world to avoid showing off. As the post I've linked here (that really does an excellent job of explaining what I've been struggling with) says:

It is a funny thing about badges given for humility.  The moment you accept them you are immediately disqualified.

I can't find that original reference now (it may have been in a book about hymns and Methodism that I recently finished, but it could have been online somewhere, and that means I'll likely never find it again), but that kind of sums it up. Rend your hearts and not your garments, let your fasting be seen by your Father, not by men.

On a totally different not, on 02 March 1962 Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points - in a single basketball game. That's just astounding. Well done, Wilt.

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane 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.

You Were On Such a Roll! - 01 March 2022 - Plague Journal Day 719

Micah 6:8
1 Chronicles 25
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Yes, today is Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Pączki Day, a day to celebrate and get ready to get ready. After all, that's what Lent is all about, right? getting ready for Easter? So today is a day to get things out of your system, to get ready to get ready. As the intro to the first song on a live album by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen went, "we're gonna commence to begin to start to get ready to rock and roll a little here." Indeed. The sentiment, if not the exact words, applies.

Ah, the first of March. Quite a musical day it would appear. On this Fat Tuesday, why not enjoy some Fatboy Slim? Even more, on this date there were quite a few spectacular musicians born:

1810 - Frédéric Chopin,
 

1904 - Glenn Miller, 

1944 - Roger Daltrey,


1994 - Justin Bieber

Well, as the title said, you were on such a roll. I suppose that streak had to end sometime.


Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane 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.

It's Like Pro Wrestling - 28 February 2022 - Plague Journal Day 718

Micah 6:8
Daniel 4:30-37
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Yesterday's freewrite prompt word was Tame, and today's freewrite prompt word - the final one! - is Owe. Here we go:

There is nothing tame about the war in Ukraine now, and I have a theory about it. (Maybe it's really just a hypothesis.) We may owe this war - at least in part - to a medical treatment. It seems to me that Vladimir Putin is looking a bit swollen these days, and we've heard there are some health issues with which he is currently dealing, and his swollen appearance is like what I've seen in folks being treated with steroids for various maladies.

Mightn't the world be suffering from the suffering of roid rage, as it's been known? How many professional wrestlers snapped and injured themselves or loved ones because of abuse of these substances? Why wouldn't an already fairly paranoid and certainly rabidly ambitious autocrat get unbalanced into launching a war for the Russian Empire - and his historical legacy - upon the waves of just such a roid rage?

I think it's quite possible. What do you think?

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our insane 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 - 27 February 2022 - Plague Journal Day 717

Micah 6:8

Luke 9:28-43
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

For our 9:30 AM worship service we have a vocal solo at offertory time and our standard three hymns for congregational singing. Why not join us to find out who the soloist is? We understand the music will be transformed, or transposed, or transfigured, or something like that.

Also, today is the long-awaited day for the distribution of our Lenten devotions book for 2022!

Remember, we'll be streaming for all those who can't join us in person, and intend to continue that practice indefinitely. Still, know that we miss seeing you in person - please come join in corporate prayer, praise, and worship as soon as you feel ready.

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 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