Category: Uncategorized

W is for Weird Weather

There are simpler things to do, though, such as planting a tree and taking less energy dependent transportation.

People in the US state of Oklahoma have had a tough year. The state’s “July average temperature was a scorching 88.9 degrees, the warmest to occur in any state during any month on record. State record hailstone measuring nearly 6” from Gotebo on May 23… At the other extreme, Oklahoma recorded its coldest temperature on record on February 10 when Nowata dipped to a frigid -31 degrees. On that same the day, the state’s heaviest 24-hour snowfall on record piled up, with 27 inches measured in Spavinaw. Not to mention non-weather related events, such as the 5.6 magnitude earthquake, the strongest on record.

 


The Sooner State is hardly the only one. Back in the spring, there were already more weather-related fatalities in the US than in all of 2010.  By the halfway point, NOAA had made it official: 2011 Among Most Extreme Weather Years in History. “Near the halfway point, 2011 has already seen eight weather-related disasters in the U.S. that caused more than $1 billion in damages.”

Then August 2011 set records in several locations for “torrid heat, torrential rain, and river flooding. You can thank, in part, an exceptional Plains drought and Hurricane Irene,” another billion-dollar event.

Of course, the question is why. A recent study linked air pollution to extreme weather. California is a leader in places where sometimes the air isn’t fit to breathe.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has urged countries to come up with disaster management plans to “adapt to the growing risk of extreme weather events linked to human-induced climate change.” See the report here. And the deniers are in full force.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. We CAN minimize the damage by making changes. Valmeyer, Illinois “was once a community of about 900 on the banks of the Mississippi River, 25 miles south of St. Louis. The Great Flood of 1993 left 90 percent of Valmeyer’s buildings damaged beyond repair…Valmeyer would be rebuilt on a 500-acre parcel on a nearby bluff overlooking the river…with energy-efficient home construction…resource-efficient institutions and…future renewable energy development. When the Mississippi flooded again, the town was safe, though it would not have been had they rebuilt in the same location.

There are simpler things to do, though, such as planting a tree and taking less energy-dependent transportation. Meanwhile, check out NOAA’s State of the Climate, a Global Analysis. Interesting stuff.


ABC Wednesday – Round 9

MOVIE REVIEW: The Descendants

“If you think being in Hawaii all of the time is paradise, then you’re an idiot; no one’s immune to heartbreak and illness.”

So now it begins. The Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations came out last week, and I usually look at the film choices that I’ve already missed (e.g., Ides of March, Moneyball), ones that haven’t made it here yet (War Horse, The Artist, et al.), and what’s currently available. Having three other choices (Hugo, My Week with Marilyn, Melancholia), I opted to see the film set in Hawaii at the Spectrum Theatre Sunday, while the Wife and Daughter went to a children’s dance recital.

The descendants of the title are a bunch of cousins some generations removed from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries, who own this pristine coastal property, but that, by law, they must sell. Matt King (George Clooney) is wrestling with that decision, while, at the same time dealing with his wife’s boating accident and his sometimes strained relationship with his two daughters. Directed and co-written by Alexander Payne, who created the well-received films Sideways, About Schmidt, and Election, the movie is a sad and occasionally funny tale of betrayal, loss, and reunion.

I was initially annoyed by the seemingly endless voiceover at the beginning of the film; I guess I like my story shown, not told. But the information contained therein 1) was important to the plot and 2) made me think. There was a specific line, which I don’t remember exactly, but it was something like, “If you think being in Hawaii all of the time is paradise, then you’re an idiot; no one’s immune to heartbreak and illness.”

Ultimately, I bought into the characters in the film, stopped thinking, “Hey, there’s George Clooney.” Figuring out fatherhood CAN be difficult. There were a number of strong performances, including Beau Bridges as a cousin, Robert Forster as Matt’s father-in-law, Judy Greer as a woman with something in common with Matt, and Shailene Woodley as the elder daughter. If the movie was a tad pat at times, it may have been the fault of the generally appealing screenplay, rather than the performers.

Still, I was moved by the story – quite a bit, truth be told – and would definitely recommend it.

Helping Those Who Ask For Money

One of the factors about giving out money isn’t whether it’s a legit request; if they’re lying, it’s on them, not me.

Periodically, but especially in November and December, I contemplate my personal policy with regards to those who come up to me and ask me for money. Some folks, including a former pastor of mine, are adamant that one ought not to; there are registered charities for that purpose. I’ve not been comfortable with that absolutist position, though, and I take it on a case-by-case basis.

There was a day this fall, though, where my instincts were just…off. Something had happened at work earlier in the day that frustrated me. When I got off the bus downtown, a guy asked me for money to buy some food. As it turned out, we were right in front of a Subway sub shop. My first instinct was to say, “Hey, why don’t we go in here, and I’ll buy you a sub?” I had the time (it was a Thursday and choir was in an hour) and the means (a $5 sub wouldn’t break me). Moreover, I wouldn’t have to worry that the money was going to be used for another (“inappropriate”) purpose, and, by going into a well-lit restaurant, I would feel relatively safe and secure. But my answer was “no”; and it was as though I was watching myself say that, because it surely couldn’t have been me. It bothered me for DAYS, because my grumpiness had robbed me of the opportunity to do good.

It didn’t help that the lectionary reading a few weeks later was Matthew 25, all that good stuff about seeing the hungry and feeding them.

That wasn’t the only thing that went wrong that day. After that incident, I then went to the library and gave someone what turned out to be bad advice about whether he had time to get a coffee before his computer time came up; I didn’t realize that the computer clocks were 10 minutes fast, and he missed his turn and had to rejoin the queue, so I felt bad about giving such lousy advice. I was so distraught that I didn’t even end up going to choir, but rather ended up calling a few of my friends, none of whom were home.

One of the factors about giving out money isn’t whether it’s a legit request; if they’re lying, it’s on them, not me. It IS about security, though, and I am loath to pull out my wallet in front of strangers, especially at night. I’ve recently started carrying dollar coins – another good use for them – which I can dig out of my pocket, which is also easier.

Do any of you struggle with this?

Holiday Blues QUESTION

I still remember Christmas Eve in 1990. I was at a choir party when we heard that our tenor section leader, Sandy Cohen, had had a heart attack.

There seems to be this myth – and most every thinking person knows it is – that the holidays are wonderful, joy-filled days for nearly everyone. Au contraire: they can be quite tough for some people. As About.com put it, “It’s okay, however, to admit that [family] get-togethers aren’t always a fancy-free walk down Candy Cane Lane.” Even those who generally love the season can feel worn down by too much shopping/cooking/traveling to do.

A few years ago, my church had a service about a week before Christmas for those struggling with the holidays. It wasn’t greatly attended; a LOT of that was the weather. But I also wonder if one did want to self-identify as one of THOSE people who find the time frame to be a bit of a drag.

I still remember Christmas Eve in 1990. I was at a choir party when we heard that our tenor section leader, Sandy Cohen, had had a heart attack. Soon thereafter, we got word that he had died. And THEN we had to go sing at the 10:30 p.m. service; talk about tough.

So does Advent/Christmas bring you down a little, and if so, how do you combat it? For me, it’s eggnog and amaretto.
***
To Xmas and beyond

What Christmas Means to Me – Stevie Wonder, possibly my favorite pop song Christmas tune.

Snow Days

It was so much easier the year the wife and the daughter went to the same school district a couple years back.

As an itinerant teacher, my wife works in two different school districts. My daughter goes to school in another. The thing that would be most disruptive involves snow days.

Oh, not snow days for me. I got to leave early on a Valentine’s Day storm a few years ago – and a good thing, too, since the buses stopped running shortly thereafter – but generally, I work every day, regardless of the weather.

If wife’s school districts and daughter’s school district are all open or all closed, it’s no problem. If wife’s districts are closed but daughter’s is open, not an issue. But if either of my wife’s districts are open and my daughter’s is closed, that would mean that I would have to take a vacation day off.

The other situation involves snow days not taken. If there are no, or fewer snow days used than scheduled, there may be extra days off and that may mean me taking off in May because it DIDN’T snow. It was so much easier the year the wife and the daughter were in the same school district a couple of years back.

An interesting thing they are considering in Ohio: telecommuting to class. If they did something like that around here, it would help the students not miss so much class because of the elements. I’m not sure, though, how such a program would relieve a parent working outside from missing work, or in the alternative, dragging their children to work in a blizzard.

Jingle Bells – the Fab Four

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