High on Pixie Dust

(c) Disney Parks Blog

I haven't written about Disney in a while, despite their being a few topics that have piqued my interest recently (like Disneyland Forward).  So, as the start of a few entries on the topic, I thought I would start with a recent editorial column from the Orlando Sentinel.

I love Disney World, but wokeness is ruining the experience.

In the column, self-proclaimed Disney superfan, Jonathan VanBoskerk wrote of his struggles in strongly rethinking his family's commitment to Disney (a very interesting way to put it) because of what he characterized as the company's change in values.  VanBoskerk pointed to Disney's recent updating of their company keys to success in cast member training to include Inclusion,  the relaxation of cast member appearance policy to include "gender-inclusive" hairstyles, jewelry, costumes, and make-up, as well as allowing some visible tattoos, the replacement of Splash Mountain with a Princess and the Frog themed flume ride, and changes to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise.  In perhaps his most telling quote, VanBoskerk reveals how he can not separate his enjoyment of the park from the nostalgia inherent in him experiencing the park as he believes he should.  "The next time I ride Jungle Cruise I will not be thinking about the gloriously entertaining puns of the skippers, I will be thinking about Disney’s political agenda. That’s a mood killer."

Look, I'm one of the biggest Disney Parks fans that you will ever meet.  I've been going to Disney parks since the early 1980s and have seen a lot of changes come and go through the parks.  Some for the better and some for the worse.  The original Journey Into Imagination ride has yet to be matched and the ride that exists in its place is a tragedy.  I will gladly join the chorus and bemoan the loss of things like Spectromagic, Horizons, The Great Movie Ride, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

This article however, is patently ridiculous.  Just because you might be blind to how something may be grossly offensive to a sizable population of the visitors of the park, does not mean it is not offensive.  There are definitely cringe-worthy caricatures and stereotypes that are visible in the parks.  Pirates of the Caribbean had a cringe-worthy Asian pirate caricature, addressed long before they ever removed the bride auction.  The bride auction is amazing that it lasted this long and while the new scene isn't handled as deftly as the previous one, with a little adjustment, the bride auction would not be missed.  The Jungle Cruise has always had imperialist, racist caricatures of natives in the ride.  Again, this isn't something we should be saddened by their loss.  From the concept art for the replacement scenes, they look to focus more heavily on animals, and to continue the humor that has become part and parcel of the ride experience.  That's a good change.  And while I've always maintained that Song of the South is more boring than it is problematic, the change to Princess and the Frog will be a welcomed one (especially in Disneyland, where it fits much better), though the animatronics may be a down-grade.

Have we become that self-centered, that narcissistic, that our nostalgia matters more than our empathy?  Have we become that hardened, that we turn a blind eye to whatever doesn't offend us?  VanBoskerk labels himself in the article as a Christian and conservative, making his rant even more troubling.  As Christians, we should be the first to consider the feelings of others and to desire to make them feel included.  To love our neighbor as ourselves and to put them before us.  That is quite literally Paul's entire point in Romans 14.  "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification."  In that passage, Paul in his liberty knew there was no food that was unclean to eat, but put aside his freedom to make sure that his brothers and sisters did not stumble because of his actions.  

And that is in a situation where Paul knew he had the freedom to do so, as did his brothers and sisters in Christ.  He just wanted to protect their consciences.

How much more should we act when we know there are things out their causing our brothers and sisters real offense and hurt.

At the end of it all, it will still be a theme park.  One of the best in the world.  It will still be a place to escape from reality into fantasy, tomorrow, and adventure.  It will still be a place that is the "happiest place on earth."

These changes can just make it a little happier for everyone who visits.

One Bad Apple

There's been a whole lot of use of this phrase going around.  A sentiment that people want us to remember.  I've seen posts that desire to remind us that the vast majority of cops aren't problems, the vast majority of people aren't racist, the vast majority of politicians want what is best for the country (actually no, no one has made that last point).

The sentiment is valid and comforting.  It is true, there is more good out there than there is bad.  It's comforting to remember, that as a whole, people try to do the right thing.  That there are more helpers than there are hurters.

We cling to it especially in times when we witness the actions of bad actors.  When we see the actions of people like Derek Chauvin, abusing their power and authority.  

The problem, is that the sentiment is incomplete.  Like many aphorisms it has been shortened, to its detriment.  Take for example "curiosity killed the cat".  It's used to say that sticking your nose in where it is not welcomed can get you in trouble.  The full phrase had a rejoinder, though.  "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back."  A reminder that curiosity can get us in trouble, but that it is an itch scratched by completion, by knowledge.

The same is appropriate here.  After all, the full phrase is...

"One bad apple spoils the whole bunch."

The point being, if we suffer one bad apple, one bad party, it doesn't stay contained.  It contaminates.  Bad company corrupts good character.  "If you lie down with dogs, you're going to get fleas."

Where we suffer one bad officer, there is a department that becomes corrupted by their silence and inaction.  Look at the Chauvin case.  In that matter, we didn't have other officers in his department speaking out against him, at the outset.  We didn't have other officers trying to stop him in the moment - instead the aided him in his efforts.  The initial police response to the death mentioned nothing about Chauvin's actions and it took four days for him to be charged.  An inexcusable amount of indecision and inaction.

We demand accountability, we pursue action because we have to display, by our words and our actions, that which cannot be allowed to continue.  We speak out against the one, to show everyone else that it's not acceptable.  We point out the bad apples, so the whole bunch is not spoiled.

So if you're going to raise that maxim, at least please follow it through to its conclusion.

Earth Day 2021

Today is Earth Day.  The first celebrations took place in two thousand colleges and universities, primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States.  It now is observed in 192 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network, chaired by the first Earth Day 1970 organizer Denis Hayes.  According to Hays, Earth Day is now "the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year."

Hays created Earth Day in response to the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, which spewed more than three million gallons of oil, resulting in an 800 square-mile oil slick he viewed by plane.  The day is to demonstrate our commitment to environmental protection.  Our commitment to be good stewards of the Earth.

Through the pandemic, we have seen the impact that we can make in that regard.  How our actions (or in this case inaction) can impact the world around us.  And improve things for the better.

While we were in quarantine, we saw truly remarkable reports of environmental improvement around the world.  Our Earth is getting wilder - and cleaner.  Compared to the previous five years, March 2020 air pollution was down 46% in Paris, 35% in Bengaluru, India, 38% in Sydney, 29% in Los Angeles, 26% in Rio de Janeiro and 9% in Durban, South Africa, NASA measurements show.  Smog stopped choking New Delhi, one of the most polluted cities in the world, and Indians had views of the skyline that they have not seen before.  Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the US northeast was down 30%.

The Earth improved because we were not out in it.  Think about that for a while.

I know people who have thought that God sent COVID-19 to slow us down, to get our attention, to put families back together.  What if he sent it to heal His creation?  To fix the damage we have done as poor stewards of His creation?

Our challenge this year, as we can hopefully start seeing the end of this pandemic, is whether we can continue to improve things for the better, or whether, in our haste to return things back to "normal" go back to our past of taking the earth for granted.  Can we bring the positive aspects of going back to normal - human interaction, social gatherings, smiles and hugs - while also keeping the aspects that have had such a positive impact on the environment around us?

On this Earth Day, we should remember that we can make a difference.  We're seeing it all around us in this time.  What kind of difference we make when this is over is up to us.

Guilty, On All Three Counts

Former Officer Derek Chauvin, guilty on all three counts.

Yesterday, a jury found Chauvin guilty on the charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for his actions in the arrest and resulting death of George Floyd.  The jury had deliberated for 10 hours and was unanimous in its verdict.

Chauvin's actions in placing his knee on the neck of a handcuffed and subdued Floyd for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds reignited a national movement regarding race relations in the country and police brutality and accountability.  Thanks to a cell phone video taken by a brave teenage girl, the entire country witnessed in excruciating detail as Floyd pleaded for his life under Chavin's knee.

It's hard to ignore the symbolism of the event yesterday.  It's exceedingly rare that a case against a police officer for abuse of their authority would go trial in the first place.  It's even rarer that a jury would find against the police officer.  Juries have a tendency to defer to the police in the exercise of their authority, even in cases of clear excessive force.  That the jury would find Chauvin unanimously guilty on all three counts indicates a clear recognition of the need for police accountability.  Especially when this case was merely the lynchpin of a dialogue that has been increasing over the past several years, resulting from several similar cases, that just seem to keep piling up.

A history of cases.

The cases of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

The case of Daunte Wright, stopped for an expired vehicle registration and shot by an officer who claimed they were reaching for their taser.

Even more disturbing, the case of Ma'khia Bryant, a 16 year old girl, shot by the very Columbus, Ohio police she called 9-1-1 for  assistance.  Shot on the same day the Chauvin verdict came out.

If you can't see the problem, you aren't paying attention.

There is a definitive difference in how police interact with the white and black populations.

There is a problem with the militarization of our police and the increased use of force by its officers.

There is a distinctive problem with a lack of police accountability.  Unions fight against any attempts at an increase in accountability.  Our justice system largely shields them from being held accountable by the public they serve.  Even their own internal efforts to police themselves are often inadequate.  

Think of how often Internal Affairs is played as the bad guy in fiction.  Internal Affairs is never presented as a good part of the police organization; they are always depicted as standing in the way of good cops enforcing real justice or as an inept bureaucracy or as a corrupt organization in and of themselves.  

We've embedded in our fiction that accountability for police action is inherently bad.

That has to change.  Hopefully this verdict is a symbol of that change.  There have been signs to that effect.  There are leaders that are determined to make real and lasting change in this area.

Because that is what this is about - accountability.  

We have accountability because a seventeen year old girl was brave enough and strong enough to film the whole incident.

The question that should haunt you now, is what about the ones that were not filmed?

 

Mitchuation Update - All Over the Place

It's been a while since I've done one of these, so I thought it might be good to pass along a little update about what's going on in our lives.  Especially as the world starts to see the light at the end of the tunnel, regarding this pandemic and how that is impacting the world around us.

I think the last one I wrote in this vein related to an update at the year mark in Indiana.  Since that time, we've traveled back to Texas for a couple of weeks for Spring Break to see family (one thing I love about Indiana schools - two week spring break, two week fall break, two weeks at Christmas/New Years).  Jamie and I have both gotten our first vaccination (I got the Moderna vaccine, Jamie got the Pfizer vaccine).  We're trying to settle back into a routine for these last few weeks of school.  And we got to take our first get away since the pandemic started that was not back to family.  We made a quick weekend trip to Michigan to see tulips and to step in Lake Michigan.  That one was our first trip since moving to Indiana, our first trip that was just the four of us, and our first since the pandemic.

So there will be a new traveler's report coming up with photos from that little getaway.  There will be a few posts this week on the news that has broken today, the celebrations of the week, and prep for the Oscars this weekend.  

In looking over the last year plus of posting, it's also made me realize I have left one part of our story off the blog and I look to correct that - our adoption journey.  We're nearing the completion of our homestudy for domestic infant adoption, so I want to share that story too.  And that will let me talk about why this weekend was so stressful.  That story will come far in the future when I've taken enough anti-anxiety medication to put it behind us.

Lot's to look forward to and lot's to share.   Hopefully can be a little more diligent about sharing it going ahead.

The Cinerama Dome

My photo from across the street for the 2012 TCM Film Festival

Another grand movie theater is shuttering as a result of the pandemic.  The Arclight Cinerama Dome will be closed, as a part of the closing of all Arclight and Pacific Theaters. While the loss of the other theaters in their chains sting, the loss of the Cinerama Dome is particularly hurtful.

The Cinerama Dome opened November 7, 1963, as a venue specifically designed for widescreen Cinerama films.  Cinerama used three projectors to create an 86 foot wide image on the arced screen.  The screen begins to wrap around you and the resulting image cannot be recreated on our modern equivalents.  When they have tried, like in the Blu-Ray for How the West Was Won, the resulting image is shaped to resemble a smile.  That's the only way to preserve the whole picture.

When I wrote about the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, I talked about the special theaters I've been to.  The Cinerama Dome is up there.  I've had the great pleasure of seeing How the West Was Won and It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World there as part of TCM Film Festivals.  How the West Was Won had an interview with Debbie Reynolds before the film, and It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World had a panel with Marvin Kaplan, Karen Sharpe Kramer, Barrie Chase, and Mickey Rooney.  While those interviews definitely color the experience, there is no question that I have yet to experience a theater screen that immerses you in the film like the Cinerama experience.

We're fortunate that the building was declared a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in 1998, but there is definitely something lost by not having films on display.  That's my fear in this pandemic recovery and how it has affected Hollywood - not that the megaplexes will not reopen, but that we will instead lose the small, the classic, the unique theaters that truly make the movie going experience magical.  I know the Royal here in nearby Danville has changed management due to the pandemic and has not yet announced a reopening date.

Hopefully we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I'm ready to light the lights and to share the theater experience again, both for live theater and for great film.  I'm ready for that communal experience that happens with a full theater and a great film.

I just hope we have unique and beautiful places to see them in once this is all done.

To the Cinerama Dome, may you soon return.

Ramadan 2021

Last night marked the beginning of Ramadan, a month long period of reflection, fasting, prayer, and introspection for the Muslim faith.  The month commemorates the revelation of the Qur'an to the prophet Mohammed.  The month is marked by fasting from sunrise to sunset and a devotion to prayer, the reading of scripture, and to charity.  In many ways, it is comparable to the Christian period of Lent. 

To any readers who may be observing Ramadan this year, Ramadan Mubarak. May this Ramadan clear your understanding and Judgement between right and wrong.

Shot #1

One down, one to go. 

I received my first dose of the Moderna vaccine today. Now scheduled for my second on May 6. 

I’m glad to join the ranks of the at least partially vaccinated. Indiana opened up vaccines those 40 and over while we were back in Texas and I signed up as soon as I could possibly do so.  They dropped the age limits even further during our stay and Jamie was able to get scheduled for next week. 

No real side effects to mention. My arm is sore, but so far, I’m no worse for wear.  So far the microchip isn’t even noticeable. 😉

But seriously, get vaccinated. I know for those in Texas, there aren’t too many limitations on who can get vaccinated - just an unwillingness to do so. 

Stay safe, wear your mask, get the shot. Let’s really beat this thing. 

Resurrected Monday 2021

Easter is now officially over.

The question is, what now?

The Resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.  If Christ is not resurrected, then what hope do we have.

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.  In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God.  For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men."

1 Corinthians 15: 12-18

The greatest hope of the Resurrection is not that Jesus was raised once.  It's that He remains alive.  He is alive and omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.  He is alive and at the right hand of the Father.  He is alive and reigning on high.

And that is something we can and should celebrate each and every day of the year!

For too many people, Easter is the one time of year that the Resurrection is given any thought.  It may be one of only a couple of times the enter the church, likely as a responsibility to family.  It's the only time they hear the story of Jesus' death and resurrection.  And with the Monday after Easter, everything is back to normal.  Easter is over.  The obligations are complete.  Reality sets back in.

Sadly, I think this is the case for far too many Christians as well.  

Oh, they can quote the verses.  They sing "My Redeemer Lives," "He Lives," and "Resurrecting."  They are in services every week, and they would say they believe every word of the Easter story.  They believe in Jesus' death and literal resurrection.

They just don't live like it.

For far too many Christians, the Resurrection is brought out at Easter and then celebrated, but then Jesus is put back in the tomb or back on the cross.

Others may only be celebrating this one time a year; gathering with family for the annual obligation.  Without being able to gather this year, what happened to that obligation?  Did many still view a service out of habit?

Jesus on the cross is marketable.  It's fashionable.  It can be worn on t-shirts and jewelry.  It can be put on Bible covers, hung on walls, and be used as an easily recognizable symbol.  And when Jesus remains on the cross, when he remains a savior that died for our sins, then we have been saved and our present obligation ends.  Likewise, with Jesus in the tomb.

The resurrection is something different.  If Jesus not just rose again, but is alive today, then we have obligations to him.  We have to recognize him as Lord.  As the ruling King of Kings.  And we have to live accordingly.  Jesus as Lord requires more of us.

"For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.  For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So death works in us, but life in you."

2 Corinthians 4: 5-12

Leaving Jesus in the tomb or on the cross misses out on the power that He can demonstrate in our daily lives.  On the mission that He has for us today.  Now.  On the blessings, the comfort, and the LIFE that only He can provide.

This seems to be a great part of why the early church did not use the iconography of the crucifix.  The cross was too recent, too painful, perhaps too close to the reality of what the crucifix did.  It was seen as the instrument of torture that it was.  

Instead, the imagery was focused on the Good Shepherd.  Jesus with a lamb resting across his shoulders.  Jesus with the shepherd's crook.  

And to me, that really re-centers the focus of the Christian life.  Don't get me wrong, the crucifix is still powerful imagery and represents the greatest victory that we have.  There is, however, also a tendency to treat it as a one-time historical event, both in the life of Christ and in our lives.  It's too easy for us to leave Christ on the cross.  To stop at our salvation and not pursue sanctification - to just get "fire insurance" and that's it.  To treat Jesus as just Savior and not Lord.

Focusing on the Good Shepherd reminds us that He is still watching over us.  He is still guiding us and protecting us.  And that we are still required to be listening for His voice.  To follow His voice and His voice alone.  To go where the shepherd guides us and to graze there.   To lie down in good pastures, to drink still waters, to graze along the Paths of Righteousness.

It reminds us that the Good Shepherd is and should be a part of our daily lives. 

So don't let your celebrating end.  Don't let Easter be the end of your remembrance and celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.  Don't keep Jesus in the tomb.

He's alive!

Hallelujah!

Now let's live like it on more than just Easter Sunday.

Easter Sunday 2021

"Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"

Luke 24:1-7

Today marks the greatest celebration of the Christian life.  The greatest news that could be shared.  He is not among the dead.  He's alive, He's alive, He's alive!!  I'm forgiven, Heaven's gates are open wide!

We have hope because He has won the victory over death and the grave.  No matter how dark Friday was, no matter how difficult the waiting on Saturday, it's Sunday and Christ is victorious!

May the joy and grace of the Easter season be on you and your family!  If you do not know the reason why we celebrate, I pray you find yourself surrounded with friends who exemplify the good news and are overjoyed to share. There are plenty of online opportunities today to join a celebration.

God’s blessings on you today and continuing through this year.

Holy Saturday 2021

Here the whole world (stars, water, air, and field, and forest, as they were reflected in a single mind) like cast off clothes was left behind in ashes, yet with hopes that, in lenten lands, hereafter may resume them on Easter Day.

-  C.S. Lewis - 

This year, I've been looking over a post from a couple of years ago on Holy Saturday.  The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  That period between death and resurrection.  The period between the event that causes suffering and the event that brings deliverance.  The eternity between sorrow and joy.

In the Easter week, Friday is definitely a difficult day.  It's the infliction of pain.  It's the day where the death occurs, the suffering is inflicted.

But to me, Saturday, that next day has to be the worst.  It's that period of waiting.  Of reality setting in.  The shock wears off, and everything is real.

On Friday, they were experiencing everything as it was happening, perhaps holding out hope for a miracle to completely change their circumstances that day.  Perhaps in complete shock through the whole experience.

Saturday is the day everything sharpens.  Jesus died.  And for all the disciples know, he is not coming back.  It's that period we all find ourselves in, where all we can do is just wait in our suffering.  And I do not know about you, but I'm terrible at waiting.  I want solutions. I want action.  I want to change things, now.   And the fact always remains that you cannot rush this time.

We're all in the waiting now.  With rolling state-wide and nation-wide stay at home orders, lockdowns and shutouts, everyone is waiting on a change.  Waiting for this to end.  Waiting for hope that this too will pass.  Some of us are adjusting better than others, but we are all struggling to adapt.

The good news is that we know it does end.  It does get better.  "Every storm eventually runs out of rain."  Especially, for those that follow the Way, for those truly living the life He has called us to, we know the end.  Even if we do not see the victory here, we know who holds it in His hand.

It's Holy Saturday.  But Easter is Coming!

Good Friday 2021

"It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.  But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
The Burial of Jesus

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God.  Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.  It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.  Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment."

Luke 23: 44b-56

Today, for those of faith, represents the darkest day in human history.  The day where it seemed all hope died.  Good Friday remembers the day when Jesus Christ, Son of God, was crucified by the Roman government and died a criminal's death.

He suffered through the mockery of a trial, in which the prosecution presented trumped up charges to a judge who found no fault but still sided with the mob and gave into their demands.  He was beaten, tortured, and jeered.  Stripped and dressed in a costume designed to mock the charges against him.  He was forced to carry the beam of his cross in a walk of shame through the city where the same people who cheered his arrival now gawked at the parade of criminals as they worked their way to the site of their execution.  He was then nailed to that beam, in both his hands and feet, raised between two criminals and left to die.

Crucifixion was one of the most cruel forms of death that humans have ever created.  It was public and designed to dissuade its witnesses from perpetrating similar crimes.  Victims were sometimes left on display after death as a warning to any other potential criminals.  The death it provided was particularly slow and painful, leading to the term excruciating, or literally "out of crucifying."  The person executed was usually attached to the cross by a range of methods including rope and nails.  The executed could be tied to the cross such that the ropes would cut into his skin.  To support the weight of a body, nails would be driven into the arm just above the wrist, between the two bones of the forearm.  Nails would also be driven into the feet, also to support the weight of the body, usually without the foot-rest or the seat that is placed on our decorative crosses.  The entire weight of the body would be placed on those nails as the body would continue to pull downward in gravity, keeping the person in continual pain.

When the whole body weight was supported by stretched out arms, nailed to that cross, the typical cause of death was asphyxiation.  The executed would have severe difficulty inhaling and would have to draw themselves up by the arms, leading to exhaustion and pain at the nail sites.  This process could be sped up by the soldiers breaking the condemned's legs, preventing them from pushing up, leaving them to die choking for air.  The executed could further suffer cardiac rupture, heart failure, hypovolemic shock, sepsis, acidosis, arrhythmia, and pulmonary embolism.  The scourging before the crucifixion would exacerbate the potential for sepsis.  Add in dehydration and you have a slow, agonizing death on display for all to see.

And Jesus willingly chose that path.  He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, willingly going to cross to redeem his creation.

To his followers, this day marked a feeling of hopelessness.  It was the day hope died.  Their hope in change for the future.  The possible hope for revolution.  They saw everything they had hoped for vanishing in an instant.

For Jesus, this was also an unprecedented day.  The day when Jesus, the pure, spotless lamb would bear the sins of the world, past, present, and future.  It would be the one time Jesus was completely separated from His Father.  Where God would turn His back on him, for he could not see his son stained with sin.  Eloi; Eloi; Lama; Sabachtha.  My God; My God; Why have you forsaken me?

The first time Jesus experienced despair.

Many of us today on this Good Friday might be experiencing despair.  Might be feeling hopeless.  The physical isolation.  The loss of a job.  The loss of income.  This might indeed be the darkest night.

But we - we know dawn is coming.  We celebrate that Friday is not the end of the story.  Things may look at their absolute darkest, but morning is coming.  Friday may be death, but Sunday is resurrection.

No matter the outlook, it gets better.

It's Friday, but Sunday is coming!

Praise the Lord!

Maundy Thursday 2021

"On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’”  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.  And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.  The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

Matthew 26:17-30

Today marks Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday.  The fifth day of Holy Week, it is truly a day of remembrance.  Remembering Jesus' service.  The way he prepared for his sacrifice.

By washing his disciples feet.

By breaking bread and sharing wine.

In service and in fellowship, with those closest to him.

With all we've gone through over this past year, we long for those larger gatherings.  To enjoy a meal together and to break bread.  There are those with servants' hearts that are longing to get back out and be a blessing to those around them, helping in any way they can.

Remember this feeling.

Just before the darkest hour of his life, Jesus valued service and fellowship above all.  He spent time with those closest to him and showed them how much he cared for them by stooping down and washing their feet.  He took care of his friends.  And what he asked of them, was to remember him.

To remember him when they drank.  To remember him when they ate.  To remember him when they were gathered together.

That's our duty today.  To remember Him.  To remember His sacrifice.  Partake in your own Lord's Supper at home.  Do it in remembrance of Him.

And then, serve in every way you can.  Serve remotely and virtually.  When we can get together, serve physically.  Put that remembrance into action.  Follow his new commandment, from which we get Maundy.

Make the day count.  In remembrance of Him.

Spy Wednesday 2021

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.  And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?  For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”  But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a beautiful thing to me.  For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.  In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.  Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?”  And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.  And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

Matthew 26:6-16

Today marks Holy Wednesday or Spy Wednesday.  The point in the Holy Week that begins the transition from Triumphal Entry to betrayal, torture, and death.  The events of the day reflect two disparate treatments of Jesus: lavish praise and betrayal.  Two responses to Jesus we still see today.

The passages for today open with Jesus at the home of Simon, identified as a leper.  Likely someone who has previously been healed by Jesus.  Its into this scene a woman enters, bringing an alabaster jar of spikenard, a very expensive perfume or essential oil.  The alabaster jar in itself is significant.  It was an expensive jar to hold an expensive oil.  It was special to signify the special contents inside.  And it had to be broken and cracked to pour out the contents inside.  This woman took probably the most precious thing that she had and poured it out to anoint Jesus's head and feet.  Lavishly adoring him.  Her praise, her love literally spilling out because she had been forgiven.

And in response, what do we see?  The disciples quarreling because of her lavishness.  Because the gift could have been put to better use.  Because the money could have been spent "better" in their estimation.

How often do we do this?  How often does our inner voice question the extravagance of someone else's worship?  Of someone else's gift giving?  While I'm not calling for us to put aside all scrutiny, perhaps we should start from a place of granting the benefit of the doubt more often.  To start from a place where we assume the best intentions of other people more often than not.

We also see on this day Jesus's greatest betrayal.  The day Judas decides and confronts the chief priests to discuss handing Jesus over to them.  Selling Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver.  We can debate Judas's motives, whether he was a zealot trying to force Jesus into action or whether he fully believed Jesus had become too dangerous to allow him to continue his ministry.  Either way in Judas, we see that it is possible to be so close to the truth and completely miss the point.  Judas had the best pastor, the best teacher, the best leader, the wisest and best friend, and an incredible small group of friends to help provide guidance, but still ended up betraying Jesus.  Our reflection for today should be how often we miss the point.  How often we are in it for our own motives, our own pursuits, our own desires.

Where are you this holy week?  Are you one lavishing praise on Jesus today?  Are you questioning someone else's motives?  Or are you pushing your agenda through your Christian life?

Assist us mercifully with thy help, O Lord God our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the meditation of those mighty acts through which thou hast given unto us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Letter From Birmingham City Jail

In thinking of the events of the last few weeks, of the insurrection, of the lukewarm condemnation from the right, of their half-hearted calls for unity, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day yesterday, it led me to King's Letter from Birmingham City Jail, written April 16, 1963.  

On April 12, an ally had smuggled him in a newspaper dated April 12, that contained an open letter from eight white Alabama clergy.  Called "A Call For Unity," this letter referred to King as an "outsider" who was directing the events, and urged activists to take up their issues in court not in the streets.  

King rightly saw through these calls for unity for what they were - attempts to control the environment.  To maintain the status quo and avoid the hard fights.   In response, he penned his letter, his famous Letter from Birmingham City Jail, explaining exactly why such actions must continue to occur.  What struck me most, I have highlighted in bold.

"My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without legal and nonviolent pressure. History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and give up their unjust posture; but as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups are more immoral than individuals."

What we have seen over the past couple of weeks are the privileged trying desperately to cling to their privilege.  The privileged that have convinced themselves that they are the oppressed and have been assured of that "fact" by their leadership.

St. Patrick's Day

Today we have a reminder of the influence of the Irish on our American heritage. Thirty- three million people or 10.5% of our population tracing their heritage to Ireland. There are over five times more people with Irish heritage in America than there are Irish in Ireland.

Today, we recognize them as a pillar of the American melting pot. Celebrated communities in the Northeast. Pioneers in the westward expansion.

And yet, for the majority of their immigration pathway here, they were discriminated against. Viewed as less than. Inferior.

Hated and feared for their religious differences (Catholics v Protestants). For their ethnic differences (Celts v Anglo-Saxon). For a language barrier. For their work class. No Irish Need Apply.

On this day when we celebrate the patron saint of Ireland. His capture into slavery and conversion. His ministry and dedication to Ireland. His driving out Druids, or “snakes,” out of Ireland. And the Irish history and heritage of our country.

Why don’t we celebrate by honoring that history. By owning up to complicated history that it is. And by looking at how we treat any immigrant to our country. By committing to not making the same mistakes.

We can keep up the old traditions. Wear green. Drink green beer. Raise a glass high.

But I think that the list above might be a far better way to celebrate today.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Satellites

When we think of satellites, I think Sputnik and the like are usually the first things that come to mind. Those man made objects that give us television, internet, and radio signals. The things we keep littering space around us with. But the word originates from a much earlier concept. A celestial body orbiting another larger celestial body. The moon is our satellite.  The earth is a satellite of the sun. And so on and so forth. 

The idea of satellites is an interesting one in our faith. As followers of Jesus, we called to be in his orbit. Constantly circling him. Staying close, pulled in his direction. Our smaller body orbiting his heavenly body. 

Another aspect of satellites is their reflective properties, particularly when we talk of those orbiting stars. The moon as a satellite has no inherent ability to emit light. The only light that it gives is what it reflects from the sun. From space, that is also why the earth is as colorful as it is. The earth doesn’t naturally emit its own light. The colors we see on the shots of earth from space occur from the sunlight reflecting off earth. 

Again, so it is in our Christian lives. The only light we have in our lives is what is given to us from the Son. That is what should be radiating out of us.  The overwhelming brightness of the Son. “As all of us reflect the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, we are becoming more like him with ever-increasing glory by the Lord’s spirit.”  2 Corinthians 3:18. 

This is such an important concept in our faith and such a simple one. It highlights why it is so dangerous for us to rely on people, even godly people to spiritually enrich us. At the end of the day, each and every one of us is a cold, dark rock, only reflecting what light and life we receive from the Father. The best and most on fire preacher you heard and the backsliding believer - both the same in that they cannot generate light on their own. The spark you see in them is what comes from the divine. They are just in different phases. One may be more like a full moon, fully facing the Light and reflecting it back to the world. The other may be in a crescent stage. A little light coming in but mostly turned away. 

Think of it, it comes in phases in our lives too. Times when we are fully facing God and His light is just radiating off us. And times when we’ve turned away to some degree, reflecting less, hiding more. 

Two things about that our pastor recently reminded us about. 

1. You cannot face the sun and the moon at the same time. You cannot be looking at the light source and the reflective satellite at the same time. When they may align, one necessarily blocks the other - an eclipse. So in the context of our spiritual life, you cannot be fully facing God and someone else at the same time. When you elevate your pastor, your spouse, your friend, your mentor to a level that they do not belong, you will find yourself seeking light from the satellite. Something it cannot give.  Something that is destined to disappoint. Other Christians in this world are going to hurt us, to disappoint us, to injure us. We’re all fallen and broken people. We’re all cold, barren rocks orbiting the true Life.  This isn’t to excuse that behavior, that disappointment. It should, however, contextualize it and remind us to put our full trust in God, the source, not men. 

2. We don’t stop seeking the sun because we find out the moon is a lifeless rock. 

This is the big point. The reminder that for everyone who has been burned by the church, who has been hurt by other Christians, etc. that this is no reason to stop seeking God. We didn’t stop seeking the sun because we realized the moon reflected its light. Likewise, we shouldn’t stop seeking the Son because of the people who may be poorly reflecting His light.  It’s a reminder for those of us who are hurting and a challenge to those of us who are serving - to remember that there are people watching us. Who are getting some of God’s light from us.

That is humbling. 

That should push us all to be better satellites. To orbit more closely.  To send better signals. To reflect more fully  

Fully face the sun, fully embrace His light. And be that reflection to the world around you. 

The Ides of March

"SOOTHSAYER
Caesar!

CAESAR
Ha! who calls?

CASCA
Bid every noise be still: peace yet again!

CAESAR
Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music,
Cry 'Caesar!' Speak; Caesar is turn'd to hear.

SOOTHSAYER
Beware the ides of March.

CAESAR
What man is that?

BRUTUS
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

CAESAR
Set him before me; let me see his face.

CASSIUS
Fellow, come from the throng; look upon Caesar.

CAESAR
What say'st thou to me now? speak once again.

SOOTHSAYER
Beware the ides of March.

CAESAR
He is a dreamer; let us leave him: pass."

Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II

In Ancient Roman days, they did not number their days from start to finish of a month.  Instead, they had three fixed points in the month, the Kalends, the 1st of the month, the Nones, around the 5th to the 7th of the month, and the Ides, the 13th or the 15th.  In March, the Ides falls on our March 15.  

The Ides of March are most associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar, particularly as dramatized by William Shakespeare.  In 44 B.C., as many as 60 conspirators stabbed Caesar to death at a meeting of the Senate.  Caesar had been previously warned to "Beware the Ides of March!"  On his way into the senate that fateful day,  Caesar joked to the Soothsayer, 

"CAESAR
[To the Soothsayer] The ides of March are come.

SOOTHSAYER
Ay, Caesar; but not gone."

Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene I

So, should someone tell you to beware today, perhaps you should keep an eye out.  Or at least don't laugh at fate. 

"Why should Caesar just get to stomp around like a giant while the rest of us try not to get smushed under his big feet? Brutus is just as cute as Caesar, right? Brutus is just as smart as Caesar, people totally like Brutus just as much as they like Caesar, and when did it become okay for one person to be the boss of everybody because that's not what Rome is about! We should totally just STAB CAESAR!"

Mean Girls

Pi Day

Happy Pi Day all!  A celebration since 1988, Pi Day recognizes the mathematical constant pi (π), whose first significant digits are 3.14.  Pi day is celebrated with the homonyms of both savory and sweet types.  Pizza pies and dessert pies are often eaten.  My office is celebrating tomorrow and sent us gift cards for pizza to enjoy during the Zoom call.  Our church distributed slices of dessert pies to all the teachers in the Brownsburg School district this past week. 

For this monumentous occasion, I can think of no better words to share than the following:

3 . 1 4 1 5 9 2 6 5 3 5 8 9 7 9 3 2 3 8 4 6 2 6 4 3 3 8 3 2 7 9 5 0 2 8 8 4 1 9 7 1 6 9 3 9 9 3 7 5 1 0 5 8 2 0 9 7 4 9 4 4 5 9 2 3 0 7 8 1 6 4 0 6 2 8 6 2 0 8 9 9 8 6 2 8 0 3 4 8 2 5 3 4 2 1 1 7 0 6 7 9 8 2 1 4 8 0 8 6 5 1 3 2 8 2 3 0 6 6 4 7 0 9 3 8 4 4 6 0 9 5 5 0 5 8 2 2 3 1 7 2 5 3 5 9 4 0 8 1 2 8 4 8 1 1 1 7 4 5 0 2 8 4 1 0 2 7 0 1 9 3 8 5 2 1 1 0 5 5 5 9 6 4 4 6 2 2 9 4 8 9 5 4 9 3 0 3 8 1 9 6 4 4 2 8 8 1 0 9 7 5 6 6 5 9 3 3 4 4 6 1 2 8 4 7 5 6 4 8 2 3 3 7 8 6 7 8 3 1 6 5 2 7 1 2 0 1 9 0 9 1 4 5 6 4 8 5 6 6 9 2 3 4 6 0 3 4 8 6 1 0 4 5 4 3 2 6 6 4 8 2 1 3 3 9 3 6 0 7 2 6 0 2 4 9 1 4 1 2 7 3 7 2 4 5 8 7 0 0 6 6 0 6 3 1 5 5 8 8 1 7 4 8 8 1 5 2 0 9 2 0 9 6 2 8 2 9 2 5 4 0 9 1 7 1 5 3 6 4 3 6 7 8 9 2 5 9 0 3 6 0 0 1 1 3 3 0 5 3 0 5 4 8 8 2 0 4 6 6 5 2 1 3 8 4 1 4 6 9 5 1 9 4 1 5 1 1 6 0 9 4 3 3 0 5 7 2 7 0 3 6 5 7 5 9 5 9 1 9 5 3 0 9 2 1 8 6 1 1 7 3 8 1 9 3 2 6 1 1 7 9 3 1 0 5 1 1 8 5 4 8 0 7 4 4 6 2 3 7 9 9 6 2 7 4 9 5 6 7 3 5 1 8 8 5 7 5 2 7 2 4 8 9 1 2 2 7 9 3 8 1 8 3 0 1 1 9 4 9 1 2 9 8 3 3 6 7 3 3 6 2 4 4 0 6 5 6 6 4 3 0 8 6 0 2 1 3 9 4 9 4 6 3 9 5 2 2 4 7 3 7 1 9 0 7 0 2 1 7 9 8 6 0 9 4 3 7 0 2 7 7 0 5 3 9 2 1 7 1 7 6 2 9 3 1 7 6 7 5 2 3 8 4 6 7 4 8 1 8 4 6 7 6 6 9 4 0 5 1 3 2 0 0 0 5 6 8 1 2 7 1 4 5 2 6 3 5 6 0 8 2 7 7 8 5 7 7 1 3 4 2 7 5 7 7 8 9 6 0 9 1 7 3 6 3 7 1 7 8 7 2 1 4 6 8 4 4 0 9 0 1 2 2 4 9 5 3 4 3 0 1 4 6 5 4 9 5 8 5 3 7 1 0 5 0 7 9 2 2 7 9 6 8 9 2 5 8 9 2 3 5 4 2 0 1 9 9 5 6 1 1 2 1 2 9 0 2 1 9 6 0 8 6 4 0 3 4 4 1 8 1 5 9 8 1 3 6 2 9 7 7 4 7 7 1 3 0 9 9 6 0 5 1 8 7 0 7 2 1 1 3 4 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 3 7 2 9 7 8 0 4 9 9 5 1 0 5 9 7 3 1 7 3 2 8 1 6 0 9 6 3 1 8 5 9 5 0 2 4 4 5 9 4 5 5 3 4 6 9 0 8 3 0 2 6 4 2 5 2 2 3 0 8 2 5 3 3 4 4 6 8 5 0 3 5 2 6 1 9 3 1 1 8 8 1 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 3 7 8 3 8 7 5 2 8 8 6 5 8 7 5 3 3 2 0 8 3 8 1 4 2 0 6 1 7 1 7 7 6 6 9 1 4 7 3 0 3 5 9 8 2 5 3 4 9 0 4 2 8 7 5 5 4 6 8 7 3 1 1 5 9 5 6 2 8 6 3 8 8 2 3 5 3 7 8 7 5 9 3 7 5 1 9 5 7 7 8 1 8 5 7 7 8 0 5 3 2 1 7 1 2 2 6 8 0 6 6 1 3 0 0 1 9 2 7 8 7 6 6 1 1 1 9 5 9 0 9 2 1 6 4 2 0 1 9 8 9

Happy Pi Day!

Norton Juster

"It provides the same shock of recognition as it did then - the same excitement and sheer delight in glorious lunatic linguistic acrobatics.  It is also prophetic and scarily pertinent to late-nineties urban living.  The book treats, in fantastical terms, the dread problems of excessive specialization, lack of communication, conformity, cupidity, and all the alarming ills of our time.  Things have gone from bad to worse to ugly.  The dumbing down of America is proceeding apace.  Juster's allegorical monsters have become all too real.  The Demons of Ignorance, the Gross Exaggeration (whose wicked teeth were made 'only to mangle the truth'), and the shabby Threadbare Excuse are inside the walls of the Kingdom of Wisdom, while the Gorgons of Hate and Malice, the Overbearing Know-it-all, and most especially the Triple Demons of Compromise are already established in high office all over the world.  The fair princesses, Rhyme and Reason, have obviously been banished again.  We need Milo!  We need him and his enduring buddies, Tock the watchdog and the Humbug, to rescue them once more.  We need them to clamber aboard the dear little electric car and wind their way around the Doldrums, the Foothills of Confusion, and the Mountains of Ignorance, up into the Castle in the Air, where Rhyme and Reason are imprisoned, so they can restore them to us.  While we wait, let us celebrate the good fortune that brought The Phantom Tollbooth into our lives thirty-five happy years ago.  Mazel tov, Milo, Norton, and Jules!"

Maurice Sendak, 1996 in his introduction to the book

Norton Juster passed away yesterday at the age of 91, from complications from an earlier stroke.  An architect by trade, Juster had been given a grant by the Ford Foundation in 1954 to write a children's book about cities.  Instead, he began to be preoccupied with the story of a boy who asked too many questions.  This grew into his most popular and beloved book, The Phantom Tollbooth.

The Phantom Tollbooth was a foundational book in my childhood.  There is a reason that it made my top seven books.  My sister read it first and originally had the copy, I would discover and devour it later.  The wordplay and the concepts resonated deeply with me.  It's a book I revisited in college, as a new parent, and will start re-reading now.

The book is a love letter to learning.  In it, Juster created a version of Wonderland, Oz, or Neverland filled with wordplay and puns, celebrating language and math.  Ruled by King Azaz the Unabridged and his brother, the Mathemagician, the world was filled with the most interesting characters.  The Whether Man.  The Which.  Tock, a literal watchdog.  The Humbug.  The Spelling Bee.  If you saw my online presence in the early internet, you would have discovered my appreciation for Dr. Dischord and the awful Dynne.

Beyond The Phantom Tollbooth, Juster has written such beloved works as The Dot and The Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics, The Hello Goodbye Window, and The Odious Ogre.  

Though he will be missed, we are fortunate his work lives on, continuing to delight and surprise new readers, and to inspire us all.

"You must never feel badly about making mistakes ... as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons."

One Year of Change

My first photo in Indiana

It's amazing what all happens in a year.

One year ago today, I started this new journey - my new job at Cummins, my new home in Indiana, and not far removed from an adjustment to work-from-home life.  March 9, 2020, I got to go into the office, to meet all my coworkers and to start getting adjusted to this new life.

Jamie and the kids had not come up yet.  They would wait another week so Jamie could spend a little more time, see Wills Point's OneAct, and stay through her mom's birthday.  Splitting it also allowed us to drive both cars up.  I drove up first, would fly back and leave my car at the airport.  Then would drive back with Jamie the next week.  

For this first week in Indiana, I stayed at a Stay Alfred apartment just a few blocks away from the airport.  Got to walk downtown Indy for a bit, past Soldiers and Sailors Monument every day, and generally get to know the city.  Everything was still open at this point.

When we brought up Jamie and the kids, everything closed down.  Work from home and Zoom training.  We still didn't have a house at this point and spent a month in an AirBNB in Old Northside.  

In the months since, we've found out home to rent and have settled in very well.  We've found our hometown here in Brownsburg.  We've met and made friends with neighbors.  We've found our church and developed deep friendships with members of our church and our small group.

We've seen family and friends come up to visit, and we've shared a lot of good food we've found, and the aspects of this life we've come to love.  The trails and the walkability of the town.  The great bakeries.  Snow and sledding.  

We've laughed a lot, we've cried some, we've been stretched and we've grown a lot this year.  We've started our adoption journey, and have a lot a plans a head to travel when everything is open.

It's been a year of change and it has felt like a decade, but it has been a great year.

I can't wait to see what is ahead.

International Women's Day 2021

Women belong in all places decisions are being made.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Today is International Women's Day.  Originally created and celebrated on February 28, 1909 by the Socialist Party of America, March 8 became the day of celebration after women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917.  The day was finally adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.  In some places, it is a day of protest, in others, a day that celebrates womanhood.

The day is a national holiday in 26 countries.  In others, it is widely observed but not an official public holiday.  In the United States, it is recognized but not an official public holiday, though attempts have been instituted since 1994.

Each year since 1996 has had an official theme named by the United Nations.  This year's theme is
"Choose to Challenge," reminding us that a challenged world is an alert world.  That a challenged world leads to a changed world.  We can join in by challenging and exposing gender bias and inequality where we see it.

The goals for the initiative seek to:

• By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes
• By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education.
• End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
• Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
• Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Gender equality is one of the things that always amazes me that we still have to keep talking about it.  That we haven't solved it yet.  And that there are people who would view it as a negative for society.  Sure, they won't couch it in such terms, they'll focus on traditional women's roles or "family values."  Look no further this year than the pastor who encouraged women to be trophy wives to keep their husband's interest, and relayed that Melania Trump was the ultimate trophy wife.  Yeah, there's a lot to unpack there in a future blog.

Here's what we still have to fight:

• Women on average still make only 80% of what men make for the same job
• That gets worse in minority populations ranging from 53% to 77% (the discrepancy is slightly less in Asian populations at 85%)
• The gender pay gap shrank between 1980 and 2000, but has largely stalled since then, closing by less than a nickel up to 2017.
• One in eight women live in poverty and women are 35% more likely to live in poverty than men
• 90% of adult sexual assault victims are women
• Every 98 seconds an individual is sexually assaulted in the United States
• One in three teenaged girls in the United States is reported as being a survivor of sexual violence, with young women of color and LGBTQ being particularly vulnerable
• Girls are sexually abused at a rate 4.4 times higher than boys, and their behaviorable reaction to trauma is often criminalized
• Fifteen percent of sexual assault and rape victims are under 12
• Nearly half of all female rape survivors were assaulted before the age of 18
• Girls between the ages of 16 and 19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault
• One in five women are sexually assaulted while in college
• Only 66% of voting age women have access to proof of citizenship with their current name
• About two-thirds of individuals in the United States believe it is easier for a man to be elected than a woman
• We still cannot pass the Equal Rights Amendment, making gender discrimination unconstitutional
• Maternal mortality rate has risen in the United States by 27% from 2000 to 2014

And that's the tip of the iceberg.

We have a long way to go, but we can get there.

Together, as equals.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:2

I #ChoosetoChallenge

Remember the Alamo ... Drafthouse!

In one of the saddest bits of corporate news for me personally coming out of this pandemic, the Alamo Drafthouse has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  The company is selling all of its corporate assets to Altamont Capital for restructuring and reorganization. The worst part is the closure of three of their theater locations:  Kansas City, Missouri, New Bruanfels, Texas, and the Alamo Ritz, Sixth Street, Austin, Texas. 

The Alamo Ritz location closing hurts. This was a rescue of a classic movie theater on Sixth Street, restoring it to its hey-day. Built in 1929, the prime location at 6th St and Trinity had been a first run movie theater, an adult film theater, a music hall and a comedy club. Restored and reopened by the Alamo in 2007 as a replacement for their original location, the Drafthouse at the Ritz became the center of the Alamo world. A fixture of Fantastic Fest, of Butt-Num-Athons and many of their unique offerings. Sure, the Alamo had several other theaters around town, but they looked like the Alamo product opened in cities across the country. For those of us old enough to know so, the Ritz was the Alamo. 

For me, the Ritz was home to several of my favorite film experiences. The 70mm road show presentation of The Hateful Eight, with the overture and intermission. The Holiday Sing Along with two friends of friends that I just met, leading into caroling the bars on Sixth Street. The Blazing Saddles quote-along, with Tim, complete with whoopie cushions for the beans scene, a cap gun, kazoos, and a very uncomfortable confirmation that the audience was all white. Then busting out into a pie fight in the middle of Sixth Street, with oncoming traffic. 

An apple pie fight I might add. 

I’ve seen films in a lot of great theaters in Texas. The Paramount on Congress Ave for White Christmas. The Texas Theater in Dallas for a special TCM presentation of Rio Bravo with Ben Mankiewicz and Angie Dickinson.  Jaws on the water in Lake Austin. 

But the Alamo Ritz will always hold a special place in my heart. 

Remember the Alamo Drafthouse!  Here’s hoping the new owners don’t change you too much more. 

800

Another milestone in the blog - post number 800! 

First, I want to thank you all for your readership and your kind words.  I remain humbled by the response.  To everyone who has let me know you are reading, ever liked a post, or commented, thank you.  It is appreciated more than you could know.  To those of you who read in silence, thank you as well.

I would also like to use this time to post a reminder of the blog rules, and to provide advance warning.  There will be blogs that will either make you mad or will upset you or challenge your position on a particular topic.  The blog is my personal writing exercise and soap box, so it will reflect my biases and my contrarian streak.  I will also likely question things that many people believe are and should be settled.  I am open to civil discourse on almost any topic.

Finally, I wanted to pass along a reminder that I have an email subscription option on the page.  With that, you'll receive an email link each time a new post is added.  There is also an RSS feed option, in case anyone prefers that method.

Further, an update of the reminders previously posted:

1. This blog represents largely a writing exercise and an outlet for me to get thoughts out of my head.  It contains my opinion on variety of issues from serious to silly and is filtered through my experiences, biases, etc.
2. I promise, I will post on topics that are so niche-focused, so utterly nerdy that anyone but me is going to be bored to tears.  I try to keep those to only once or twice a week and to rotate through a variety of topics throughout the week to keep it interesting.  I use the labels so that you can screen out certain topics if you want to.
3. I will post things that you will disagree with and that will potentially make you upset.  I know I am more liberal than the majority of my audience.  Probably regarding doctrine and politics both.  These are both topics I'm going to write on from time to time.  I personally favor moderation and lean center-left, but will post on a variety of viewpoints from center-right to hard left (maybe even hard right in a few instances).
4. I am going to be harder on Republicans than I am on Democrats.  While I am not a fan of many politicians of many different political parties, I am growing to despise what the Republican party is becoming.  And I reserve the sharpest criticism for them due to one fact above all: the perverse mixture of politics and religion that Republicans promote. Because they purport to hold themselves out as the Christian party, I'm going to hold them to that impossible standard.  I also hold them more accountable partly because they are in power, and I'm going to criticize whoever has power more than those in the minority.
• I'm going to be extremely hard on the current administration and this president in particular.  This administration has moved much farther beyond normal bounds and are in completely new levels of deterioration.  Their actions must continue to be called out and we cannot allow them to be normalized.  
5. I am likewise harder on churches and Christians than I am on non-believers.  Those who profess to believe have identified themselves as recognizing a higher standard.  To put it simply, "we should know and act better."  And do so based on a reading of the entire Bible.  Sadly, we all to often fall far short of this.  While I do want to extend grace to those that slip, when errors occur as abuses of power in the church  or in ways that belittle the faith they claim to hold, I will be discussing it. 
6. I'm generally more interested in questions than concrete answers.  I think we as a collective are less curious than we should be and settle for comfortable answers when we should still be asking harder, more difficult questions.  
7. I am completely open to disagreement and debate. Honest and open dialogue is the only way we can move forward in any civilized society.  However, I have a few ground rules for debate:

• I will not tolerate name calling or muckraking.  When the thread resorts to calling each other racists, "liberal snowflakes," "libtards," or four-letter words, I will shut it down.  Likewise, I'm not going to let stereotypes and sweeping generalities go unchallenged.  All liberals do not want the destruction of our country, all conservatives are not bigots, etc.
• I hope for discussion that will foster conversation, not end it.  So I expect more than "guns don't kill people, people kill people" in a discussion on gun control, for example.  I will not let those conversation-enders stand unchallenged.
• Compromise is not a dirty word.  And likewise, I do hope people change their mind from time to time based on what they learn. Including me.
• I follow this hierarchy for the value of information: facts then informed opinions then general opinions.  Saying "that's just my opinion" is going to get nowhere with me if it is not supported by the facts.

As always, thank you for reading.

Texas Uncovered

Well, I guess Texas really wants a fourth surge.  Citizens of Texas should start preparing now.

Yesterday, Govern Abbott issued an executive order lifting the state's mask mandate and occupancy restrictions.  "We must now do more to restore livelihoods and normalcy for Texans by opening Texas 100 percent."  Businesses are left to their own discretion regarding individual mask or social distancing requirements within their doors, but starting next Wednesday, March 10, 2021, any business in the state of Texas will be able to have 100% capacity with no mask requirement if they so choose.  It also removes any kind of enforcement capabilities local governments could have to enforce their own mask and social distancing requirements.

Meaning - Texas is taking off the mask come hell or high water.  And damn the consequences.

It's hard to write about this without being punchy, because it's so short sighted.  Yesterday, when Abbott made this announcement, Texas had 7,747 new cases.  271 new deaths from Covid-19.  Only around 7.5% of the population has been fully vaccinated.  Texas is no where near where it would need to be regarding potential herd immunity either from the virus or the vaccine to where it could start easing restrictions designed to stop this virus from running rampant.

The sad thing is, by easing restrictions in the name of "freedom," Texas is only making things more difficult for small business owners who want to continue to protect their employees and families by continuing a mask or social distancing requirement for their business.  Make no mistake, masks are still going to be required at your big national chains.  You will still have to wear a mask at Wal-mart.  You will still be asked to wear a mask at HEB.  And there will be small businesses who wish to continue to require it there as well.  What Abbott has done has encouraged entitled egotists to flaunt the requirements and provoke altercations with front line employees at those businesses.  

It's been sickening to scroll through Facebook and see the number of people praising this decision as if it were on the level of Texas Independence.  Or as if it "restored a fundamental freedom" on the level of the Civil Rights Act.  In reality, it revealed that we do not have it within us anymore to sacrifice for the greater good.  We do not have it in us anymore to care more for the people around us and make small concessions for their well-being.  It revealed that we don't have what it takes to endure a minor setback in the grand scheme of life.

That's the most frustrating aspect of the whole ordeal - we only had another few months to go through to where easing restrictions could start to make sense.  The announcement today indicated that vaccine production should be ramped up enough to where all American adults could get vaccinated by the end of May.  Two more months, and we could really start pulling things back and restoring normalcy, whatever that was.

But we can't wait.

Make no mistake, this was political theater.  It was designed to distract Texas from the utter failure that the Texas government displayed through their lack of preparation for a winter storm, not learning the lessons from 2011, and their total mishandling of the whole affair during the storm.

We're at that moment in Jaws where the citizens have caught a tiger shark and the mayor goes out and proclaims that everything is safe.  Everyone should go back out, everyone should go to the beach and visit Amity Island.  We need those tourist dollars.  Think of the Fourth of July.

That decision didn't work out well for the citizens of Amity and I fear this decision will not bode well for the citizens of Texas.

Stay safe.

Wear your mask, no matter what the governor may say.

Keep your distance.

There is light at the end of the tunnel; we just have to persevere.

Texas Independence Day 2021

On March 1, 1836, a committee of five delegates of the Convention of 1836 were appointed to draft a document declaring independence from Mexico.  The draft was produced, quite literally, overnight, as the Alamo in San Antonio was under siege during its preparation.  After a brief review, the declaration was then adopted by the delegates of the convention at Washington (now on the Brazos) then next day, March 2, 1836.

From that period on, Texas has always maintained a sense of independence.  A defiant attitude that is all its own.  An individualism that runs to its core.

It's a place that is big enough for everyone.  That embraces its oddballs, and we have our fair share.  Whose vast and wonderful geography contains the best of all possible worlds.

A mix of cultures and races that continue to create and develop the best in art, food, and music.

And one of the only states with international recognition and perception.

"Texas is neither southern nor western.  Texas is Texas."  Senator William Blakely

Though we may no longer reside there, we will forever be Texan.

Here's to you Texas!  Happy 184 Birthday!  To many many more...

“I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion. And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox. But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.”

John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America