Time Machine co-ordinates VILVIII49362971

Today as we sail into June 29th, 1971, we see a sad sight.  Soyuz 11 was a Soviet mission to the first space station, Salyut 1.  The whole Salyut 1 adventure had seemed cursed;  the first attempt to dock failed and that crew had to come home.  The second - this one- had its original crew scrubbed when one crew member showed signs of tuberculosis.  The back-up crew became the new crew, and they docked successfully- to find a cabin that smelled of electrical burning; a fire eventually broke out that pretty much cut short the trip.  Before they left, the would-have-been captain warned them to seal a certain valve manually, because he didn't trust the timer on the explosive bolts that would kick off the succession of events that would lead to a separation of descent module from service module.

When the capsule landed at Baikonur sometime after 7 PM our time (after 2 AM Moscow time on the 30th), they found the astronauts dead of asphyxiation- and the previous commander, Alexey Leonov, was eventually proven right.  The bolts, which were supposed to fire separately, fired simultaneously, causing one thing that led to another thing, and the seal that should have kept air pressure in the cabin failed.  They were dead within seconds- Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev.  Leonov later proved that the manual closing of the valve would have taken more than a minute- far more than the 20 seconds of life they had left when it failed.


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So let us leave that sad scene, and get back to earth and the music!  Tragedy comes but life wins out.  As a comic book philosopher once told a personification of death, "We have always defied you by living- TRULY living- under death's shadow."  So what say we go live!?

This week, we have two new songs- one by a returning favorite- on the M10, as well as two songs that dropped last week and move back UP this time around!  Plus, how many singers have to walk past a recording studio to make the 6D song?  A Panel winner that had as many votes as there were TOTAL contestants; the Beatles return for another POTM round; and an upcoming announcement of at least one of the many things prepared for that Anniversary Episode in just 7 weeks!  So let's shoot for the stars!

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First off, let me break tradition and give you this week's higher debut first, just because I am so excited for it!  Now this is from an lp that has spent a bit of time out there, and we had already had one hit from it.  However, I was lazy about getting around to checking the rest of the lp.  But, I have finally done so, and thus, from the lp Backlash, I give you the riotous return of... Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears!





Joe comes in at #8 this week!


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Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles!

Hello, boys!  Ready to do this?

J: Ready as we ever are, I suppose...

R: Except that we hit the buffet bar first this time!

Hope you stayed away from the sausage casserole- I hear there's something up with that.  Anyway, 21 songs from 57 stations- and our winner snagged 21 of those votes!

R:  Well, why don't you just bloody give it away?

G: Really, you should just leave this to the professionals...

P:  John, why don't you have a go first? 

J: Very well, wot, 5 tunes apiece?  Let me have the list...

All right, we have Black Night by Deep Purple.  Some station in Australia that really rocked!  You lot peaked it at #66 in December.

Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds- is that a banking firm?  They had Don't Pull Your Deposit at #9.

R:  John, I believe that says Don't Pull Your Love... do you need those granny glasses checked again?

J:  I KNOW what it says, idiot.  I just think it's ridiculous to name your band after four guys.  What if we called ourselves, Johnathon, Paul, Richard, and Beldevere?

G: Hey!

P:  Actually John, it was three guys...

J:  Fine, Johnathon, Richard and Paul...

G: Hey!

J: The next tune is Dave and Ansell Collins- good Lord, now it's two mates- At #55, and #44 at home, with Double Barrel.

Oh, and I like this one- Beginning Of The End with Funky Nassau at #16.

Finally- for me- Three Dog Night were at #21 here and #25 back home with Joy To The World.

G:  Wasn't that at #1 for several weeks?

J: Oh, who cares?

P: Panties in a bunch, John?

J: No... but my stomach's a bit queer... DON'T SAY IT, Ringo!

G:  All right, let's get back to it.  I have the Partridge Family with I'll Meet You Halfway at #6..

R:  You'll meet me at 3?  It's half past now...

G: At #7 are the Raiders with Indian Reservation.

Then it's -oh good heavens, it's you, Ringo!

R: Oh, good show, me!

G: You are at #3 with It Don't Come Easy...

J: A Badfinger song with his vocals... urrrp!  Uggh..

P: John, did you have the casserole?

J:  I'm... afraid so.  Excuse me please...

G:  AHEM.  Carole King was at #1 with It's Too Late.  

And my last one, Delaney and Bonnie and Never Ending Song Of Love at #50.

R: Is that the number that Sheri Lewis and Lambchop do at the end of their show for the wee ones?

G:  No, that's the Song That Doesn't End- and please, take the list and don't bother singin... oww!

R:  Georgie had some sausage as well!  Anyway, I start out with The Carpenters with Rainy Days And Mondays at #2...

G: OWWW!  

R: Really, you sound like you caught something from Yoko...

P:  DON'T get that started...

R:  Very well.  Some obscure band from LA calling themselves Red Eye had a song called Red Eye Blues at #1 in North Dakota, wherever that is.  At some point it peaked at #78, though our host never found out when.

P:  Nice job, lazy sod...

(George jumps up, runs for door, trips over chair, scrambles to his feet and runs off...)

R:  That will leave a mark...

P:  Somewhere...

R:  All right, then, we have the Laurenco Marques song of the week, South African Country and Western star Clive Bruce with a catchy little number called Sally Sunshine.

Then, it's Eighth Day with She's More Than Just A Woman at #12...

And my final song...

G:  Excuse me, Chris, do you have a change of trousers anywhere about?  I'm a 32 American...

Seriously?  Down past the buffet, turn right, jump down three stories, turn left at the fountain.

G:  Thank you...

P: Well, there's your mark, Ringo...

R:  AS I was saying, my final song is the Five Man Electrical Band- oh, John would have loved that one- with Signs at #41.  Paul?

P: Your turn to get sick?

R: No, I fancied the dessert table instead.  You?

P:  No, Linda makes me eat veggies and stay away from grease.  Anyway, I have the Undisputed Truth with Smiling Faces Sometimes at #91.  Ninety-one?

Then comes that bit from Andrew Lloyd Webber, Murray Head and the Trinidad Singers with Superstar at #27.

John Denver was at #44 with Take Me Home Country Roads.

The Dramatics were yet two weeks from debuting nationally here in the States with Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get.

We have James Taylor's You've Got A Friend at #17.

And some blessed station cast an invalid vote for Carole King's entire Tapestry album.

R:  On a singles chart?

Yep, they had a couple of lps in their top five singles.  Thanks my friends.  And... see that you collect your mates and clean up the mess- especially George's Trousers.

R: EWW!

P:  Don't you have a mate that does that sort for you?

No.  Nardole's still not speaking to me after I made him listen to Alfalfa a couple weeks ago.  So anyway, let me give you all a fighting chance here.  Choose from It's Too Late, Indian Reservation, Rainy Days and Mondays, I'll Meet You Halfway, and Joy To The World.


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So one member of the Panel picks this week- General Norman Johnson of the Chairmen Of The Board/Eighth Day was a co-writer of our 6D song.  It was originally going to be a song called Stick-Up (which itself would be reworked into a follow up), but Johnson didn't like how it was going, and when the studio engineer mused that someone should write a song about the section of the paper he was reading (wanna guess which one?) Johnson reworked the tune, lyrically and musically.  The first attempt by the Invictus records /Hot Wax records studio to record it was by a band called Glass House, whose leader was Freda Payne's sister Scherrie.  The General wasn't thrilled, and so Freda and Scherrie tried it together and again he wasn't happy.  Just then Edna Wright of a new girl group called the Honey Cone walked past, and the Paynes invited her to try.  This one was a winner- and now you know the engineer was reading the Want Ads, which was at #4 this time without Panel Love.


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Debut #2 is the first M10 for a new band (to me) called Wet:






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Kicking off the stat pack here's that announcement:  I will MC, but NOT host, the 500th Time Machine post!  Instead, the show will be hosted by two very familiar faces:

Elvis and Wayne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







You KNOW it's gonna be big now!





Anyway, I knew 37 tunes this week- I'm a bit disappointed in myself...


At #101 was our old pal Brian Hyland with a Leonard Cohen tune, So Long Marianne.  IMHO he didn't put a lot into it, and the charts bore it out- it stalled at #120 on Billboard.

Bob Dylan had the #71 in '71 with Watching The River Flow- written with and produced by Leon Russell.  It became the second straight Dylan single to miss Billboard's top 40 by one spot.  On Cashbox, it would top that by ten, stopping at #31.

The big mover was Davy Jones with Rainy Jane, leaping from 86 to 62 for 24 notches.  Ironically, after peaking at #32 for two weeks, he was knocked out of that spot by Watching The River Flow, which would hit its high mark the next week.

And the UK #1- one of my all time favorite Time Machine band discoveries, Middle Of The Road with Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep.


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The remainder of the M10:

The Derevs move up one notch twice- to #9 with It's A Derevolution Baby, and to #2 with Now You Know My Name.

Two of last week's droppers move back up- The nine-week, two time #1 Jeannie Becomes A Mom by Caroline Rose (which now moves into the 13th All-Time slot) from 8 to 7, and Phantogram's Saturday, which returns to whence it came, from 5 to 7 and back to 5.

Family Of The Year spends its 7th week on the chart at #6- down 2- with Let Her Go.

The Jayhawks nudge up a notch to #4 with Everybody Knows;  Shilpa ray gives a notch to #3 with Shoot This Dying Horse.

All of which means that the #1 is just more of the same...

...Caroline Rose, that is, with More Of The Same!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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And now our Panel pick:

If you took the Partridges or 3DN, congratulations!  Each one got you 3.5% of the vote!

If you took the Carpenters, well you got 5.3%...

And the Raiders?  Well, they netted you 15.8 %.

But if you wanted the winner- with a whopping 36.8 %.... you wanted...

...Carole King and It's Too Late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Next week, 1972- and maybe another anniversary announcement!

Can't we just take a walk and love one another?

We start with our hero in search of the bunny he just saw...

Later, we come across this little guy.  Oh, and the two photobombers in the foreground of the first snap...

Here they are... oops, private moment...

I still have no idea what these little guys below are.  What I know:  1) 70% of the time I find them under maple trees;  2) they have strong, woody runners for roots;  3) they go from little white flower clusters to the little green berry clusters you see there, and finally the berries go black.

I saw the big guy in the sun- but not the other one tucked in the shade right by him.

Scrappy did when they took off though, and at a breakneck pace leisurely jog, we arrived at the scene.  Scrappy scouted the area while I held a conclave with his eminence...

With the unsurprising result that Scrappy got all tangled up.

"Would you please get me outta here?"

Daddy and Boy.

Oh, just for you cats that don't get me on FB too, here's some pics of the former shy boy now camera ham...

Wednesday Bible Study: And now, for something completely different: The same old story

Today we are at Ecclesiastes 3:16, and in honor of that, I'm going to approach this one completely differently- by going through the previous verse.

Our verse this week is:


Ecc 3:16  Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 

And boy, isn't that one easy to understand?  Don't we shake our heads and say, "Solomon could have been talking about today!"  And in a way, he was.  But to see that, let me show you 3:15-

From my Bible, the New Open:

That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.

Now, you notice that part I boldened.  I questioned that, wondering what it meant.  So I got on my handy-dandy e-Sword program to see how other versions wrote that phrase.  And, oh, boy....

The Apostolic Bible Polyglot w/numbers:

and God  shall seek the thing  pursuing.

The American Standard:

and God seeketh again that which is passed away. 

"Passed away"? "Pursuing"?  "An account"?  Wait, it gets better.

1965 Bible in Basic English:

because God makes search for the things which are past. 

Contemporary English Version:

 God does everything over and over again. 

1899 Douay-Rheims:

and God restoreth that which is past. 

Easy to Read:

But God wants to help those who have been treated badly. 

English Standard:

and God seeks what has been driven away. 

Jewish Publication Society:

and God seeketh that which is pursued. 

And the KJV:

 and God requireth that which is past.

So why are there so many DIFFERENT things being said here?  Two reasons:  First, the nature of the word being used; second, the nature of the concept being expressed.  Let's go in reverse here, and put together all the things this verse seems to be saying.

God looks at the past and requires an account.  Why?  That is going to be a key question.

God is seeking something that is past- or something that is passing away.

God is seeking someone being pursued, someone driven away, who has been persecuted.

GOD IS DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER.

Okay, now that we kinda know what we are looking AT, let's explore the original.

There are two key words in the phrase.  The first is the word translated "requires" or "seeks".  And that is a spot on translation.  God is requiring or seeking.  The object of that search is the tricky element.  The word most often translated "past" in these versions, from Strong's concordance:

רדף

râdaph

raw-daf'

A primitive root; to run after (usually with hostile intent; figuratively (of time) gone by): - chase, put to flight, follow (after, on), hunt, (be under) persecute (-ion, -or), pursue (-r).

So we have a lot of elements here:  Something being hostilely pursued; something in the past; something being chased, hunted, or persecuted.  So you see, any one of the differing translations can be shown valid- but which one is meant?  How about, ALL of them?

If you look at the context of our passage, Solomon stars and ends with the basic same conclusion- 

Ecc 3:12  I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 

Ecc 3:13  also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil--this is God's gift to man. 

Ecc 3:22  So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him? 

But how he gets there is from two different angles.  One thing I have learned from Dr David Jeremiah's recent teaching on Ecclesiastes that finally made this book make sense, is the reason for his use of the phrase, "under the sun".  That this indicated Solomon was bending his wisdom to seek a meaning of life WITHOUT including God- under the sun basically meaning, short of heaven.  And previous to our section is the one that Pete Seeger turned into the song Turn! Turn! Turn!- to everything there is a season, and God has His purposes.  After 3:16, however- actually, starting with it- he looks at the same thing without God in the picture- and ends up at the very same place.  It doesn't matter if you believe in God or reject Him, on this earth, it happens to both the same.

NOTE:  Which puts to rest the idea of "becoming a Christian will change your circumstance ON THIS EARTH."  On the contrary, being a Christian changes things in just two ways.  One, you have hope for a future in eternity...

Ecc 3:11  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 

...and two, you begin to see the things of life from their proper perspective- as in 3:13, as God's gift to man.

And this impacts 3:15 how?  Let me bring what we saw in the various versions back down here to dissect.

God looks at the past and requires an account.  Why?  That is going to be a key question.

God is seeking something that is past- or something that is passing away.

God is seeking someone being pursued, someone driven away, who has been persecuted.

GOD IS DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER.

Let's start out with one basic concept- God made time.

Gen 1:5  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 

Next basic concept: as He made time, He is not part OF time.  Therefore, He never changes.

Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie,

    or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

    Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Therefore, everything that has happened has happened before and will again.  To illustrate this, think about today's controversies about fake news and journalism being driven by agenda instead of facts.  Then go back and read about the "yellow journalism" of the 1880's and 1890s.  Got it?  This also means, the way God judges a person, a nation, a people, way back in the times of Noah, he judged in the times of Sodom, of Zedekiah, and will also today.  If you see how He lifts up the obedient Moses or Abraham, He will do the same for the obedient Joe or Sam.

He examines that past, that someone can't say, "Well, He did things that way in the days of Moses, but He does them different now."  All those idiots out there that try to excuse their sinful ways by saying, "But Jesus never specifically mentioned that," this is your cue.  What God called into judgment then, He calls into judgment now.

And for those of you that thought that Easy To Read version was a bit of a stretch, the word used covers it as well.  If a sinner could be forgiven then, he can be forgiven now.  All because He has used one consistent judgment the whole time.

So when we said, "Boy, Solomon sounds like he was talking about today," he WAS.  Over and over, he uses the phrases, there is nothing new under the sun.  And that was and is and will be His plan.

All of which should be to us a comfort- and a warning.  For one thing, for all of us who believe, with good reason, that the End Of Days is approaching- let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Things are bad.  Things were bad before.  In the year 1000, the Church was absolutely convinced it was the End of Days.  One would assume the righteous people of Constantinople felt the same way in 1453.  But we don't know when that day is.  We might have a million years yet to go on Earth before God in His Bright Mercy and patience says, "Enough!"  And you might not ever even get a chance to read this.

So the comfort is, you still have time.  To be saved, to share salvation with others.  The warning- well, let Jesus give that in His own words:

Luk 17:26  Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 

Luk 17:27  They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 

Luk 17:28  Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot--they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 

Luk 17:29  but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all-- 

Luk 17:30  so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 

The new restaurant selection process

It had been a long, hard day at the branch office in the small town across the state line.  Jim saw the sign that said "restaurant" in front of what could have easily been a high priced architect's office.  He eased into the sparsely populated lot and entered through the heavily-shaded glass door.  In what he took to be the wait station was a man in a tuxedo.  Jim looked over his sport coat and slacks, and wondered if he was going to be "dress-coded."  Oh, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

The man barely looked up, and motioned with his eyes to a side area with sofas and a coffee table.

With one eyebrow lifted in bemusement, Jim went over and sat down.  Shortly, a door between one sofa and the big window with overly-heavy curtains opened, and a hand waved Jim in.  This next room was a plain, small office with an office desk, a couple of clipboards and a cup full of pens on it, and just enough room for two chairs- one apparently for him, the other with another high-dressed man waiting.  "Do sit down," he said.

"I think I made a mistake," Jim told him.  "I thought this was a restaurant."

"Good heavens, no," the man answered.  "This is where we determine your suitability for any of the actual restaurants in town.  Once I have looked over your survey-"

"Survey?"

"-THEN I will give you the address of any restaurant you qualify for."

Jim shook his head, wondering how he had slipped through that proverbial crack into the Twilight Zone.  Trying to make the whole thing make sense, he ventured, "Sir, I'm looking for a meal, not a job."

"Indeed," the man said without any emotion- except maybe the emotion you would see on the face of some anal-retentive looking at a small stain on another man's tie.  "The various owners of restaurants in this state have banded together, in order to prevent having the horrid experience of serving those they might be offended by in some manner.  They hire our firm to sort you lot out and make sure that you end up at a place appropriate to your lifestyles and opinions.  Now, please, fill out this questionnaire, there's a good man."

Jim took the proffered clipboard, absently reaching for a pen.  "Political affiliation?  Why would you need to know if I'm Republican, or Democrat, or..."

"No, no," the man scolded.  "This is asking for what Party you use when you insult others on social media.  Do you call them 'Nazis', 'Communists', 'Conserva-"

"I don't use terms like that for others," Jim answered.  "I have a little more respect for people- and knowledge of history- than to do tha-"

The man took the board from Jim.  "Here, allow me.  'Submissive.' "

"Hey!" Jim said, quietly straining to keep his cool.  "What makes y-"

"Gender assignation?"  the man asked.

"Male,"  Jim snapped.  "Want to check?"

The man lifted one eye from the clipboard, briefly.  "Not at this time," He said flatly.  "Favorite cartoon?"

"Cartoon?"

The man sighed.  "I really don't have time to go over with you the several well-regarded studies on the predictive value of cartoons in personality..."

"Fine, Scooby Doo.  What does that say about me?"

"That you have a 70% likelihood of being underemployed,  a better than half chance of questionable hygiene habits and/or table manners, and a proclivity to be dominated or intimidated by more intelligent females or allied genders..."

Jim blinked.  " 'Allied genders?' "

"Do you or anyone in your family, at least back four generations, or any of your inner circle of friends, co-workers, or acquaintances, either own, has owned, has fired, has held, or posted about firearms, given to the NRA, the Police Benevolent Fund, or the DAR, been a veteran, are serving in any armed force including ROTC and Scouting Eagle-level or above, or have an American flag or its likeness?"

"Good Lord," Jim explained.

"We'll get to Him in a second. "

"Under all those conditions, I'd have to think yes," Jim mumbled as his stomach growled and he searched his pockets for a stick of Doublemint.

"Hmm," the man grunted.  "Do you have, and are you bringing with you, any children?"

"Do you see any?"

The man pulled out his phone, hit a few buttons, swiped twice, and a miniature bank of security cameras flashed to life.  "Hmm, no I don't", he said, and made a check mark on the clipboard.

"Would you like to strip search me now?"  Jim said sarcastically.  The man didn't blink.  "Well, we don't actually do an invasive search," he explained.  "However, you will have to leave any t-shirts with messages, gender-appropriate jewelry, lapel pins with designs, neckwear that might be construed as religious, and ties above a certain color and design level in your vehicle when you reach the restaurant.  Also, any headwear  unless it represents body parts that you do not possess or functions you cannot perform."

"Can I keep my fricking belt on?"  Jim exclaimed, one half of his brain seeking to keep his decorum, the other looking for an object in the room stout enough to render the man insensate in one blow.

"As long as you do not fasten it in such a manner that it obviously keeps your clothing at waist level,"  was the reply.  "Some restaurants will require, shall we say, 'proof of underwear'".

"Judas Priest!" Jim shouted.

"Oh, yes, the religious thing," the man said.  "What is your position on the expansion of Palestinian territory and the trying of Israeli citizens as war criminals?"


Jim went dead calm.  "Would you really like to know?" he said quietly.

The man watched as Jim wrang his hands.  "Perhaps not."

"Let me ask you a question now," Jim said, reining himself in as best he could.  "The people of this state, the restaurant owners in this state, actually agreed to all this?"

"The ones that mattered," the man replied.  "Of course there were SOME objections- but those people generally eat at home or out of state anyway."

"Uh-huh," Jim replied absently.  "And if you took the information that I've given you, what restaurant would you be sending me too?"

"Ah, yes," the man said as he slid out of a drawer of files a single white sheet with a few lines on it.  "We have Jerry's Burger Barn... but that's across the state line.  There is Moe's Coneys... again, across the state line.  Oh, and here is Chik-Fil-A..but that is..."

"...Across the state line..." they echoed each other.  Jim smiled.  "So then you must not do much of a restaurant business here, do you?"

The man curled the corner of his mouth.  "Well, the majority of restaurant owners are quite satisfied with the arrangement,"  he said.  "After the raising of the minimum wage to $15 an hour with no tipping, they rather like to have... well, less staff."

Jim stood up.  "You know, part of me is saying, 'gimme the address to Jerry's Burger Barn'... the other part is saying, 'If I aim high enough when I pee on your desk, I might not splatter my slacks...' "

The man calmly hit a button on his desk.  A plexiglass window slid between Jim and the desk. 

"You were saying?" the man added, smiling back.

Sunday Message: Accusation vs conviction

I read a story the other day that started some problems in my thinking.  It involved a Church's judgment on a matter.  I am not going into the story itself.  I have always tried to share here things that God has taught me, and in that matter I am not sure if I have learned what I was supposed to.  But what I would like to talk about was my reaction.


I apologize for being vague here.  I want to get to what I did learn without bringing in what I have not.  Basically, the situation in the story had a vague, backdoor pseudo-application to a situation I went through- a situation Satan likes to keep at the forefront, because it is a weak spot in my emotional-spiritual armor.  Because of that backdoor "connection", the story re-ignited a debate in me about whether I was in the Will of God on the subject.  While it wouldn't invalidate anything I have tried to share here, it would have invalidated ME as the sharer- at least in my mind.   And what God showed me was, that that very thing proves this debate was not from God.


You see, God, through His Holy Spirit, CONVICTS us of sin.

John 16   7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He [c]will take of Mine and declare it to you.


The word convict here has nothing to do with sentencing or levying of punishment.  Among the words the concordance uses to translate the word "elegcho" are reprove, admonish- and yes, convince.  This is to a Christian, the Spirit working through what we call our conscience.  When God has a problem with your actions, He has the Spirit admonish and convince you of your wrong-ness.

On the other hand, the Devil's very name means, "false accuser".  He was false when he tried to accuse Job;  he was false in his accusations of the High Priest Joshua.  Like with Eve, he accuses with just a fragment of truth- enough to convince you to doubt.  To throw you into trauma, make you question things that you shouldn't.  As I write this, I just finished reading Paul's trials before Felix and Festus in Acts 22-25.  Over and over, the Jews made accusations they could not prove- such as claiming Paul had brought a Greek into the sacred part of the Temple, with their only proof being that some had seen him in the city with Trophimus, and they made the assumption.  But Paul knew the difference between conviction of the Spirit and the accusation of Satan.  And he had confidence in God.

Act 25:10  But Paul said, "I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. 
Act 25:11  If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar." 
Act 25:12  Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, "To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go." 

Now if you are a Christian, you can count on one thing- God will not convince you by driving you nuts with guilt.  I want to prove that in two ways.


First, remember Satan's goal is to destroy.   1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  And Peter would know more than most about that destruction.  Jesus told him at the Last Supper, "Satan has asked to sift you like wheat."  And sift he did- not even the first crow of the rooster kept Peter from denying Christ three times.  Consider that next time you commit that habitual sin.  And also this- one of the first things the Risen Jesus did was to have an off camera reconciliation with Peter- and later, a public one.  His conviction came with love and sorrow- and Peter responded in repentance and renewal.

On the other hand, look at Judas.  And, if you would, his parallel in King Saul.  Both had the tremendous, beyond-other-men chance to be WITH God and to serve Him.  Both turned the chance down- and without God, they were unable to silence the accusations ringing in their minds.  Both committed suicide, and that is no coincidence.  Like I said, Satan's height of creativity is destruction, and with destruction these two men paid for their rejection.


As I have been studying the concept of SERVANThood as I described last time, I had to look fresh at the "breastplate of Righteousness" and how we are to "put on the whole armor of God."  And I realized that I was doing this all wrong.  Making a mental image of God's righteousness in front of you makes no more sense than trying to "put on" that helm of salvation.  This is going to be difficult to explain what I mean.  You see, you think you "put on" this breastplate, and you go around trying to be righteous like Christ, and then an arrow of sin hits you, and you think, "Well, I didn't have THAT mounted in the right spot, because the arrow got me."

WRONG.

When you are saved, God puts that breastplate on you- not over your body, but your SOUL.  Sure, your body gets hit all the time with arrows of sin.  But your soul?  Once Christ forgave your sins, He forgave them both proactively and retroactively.  Past, present, future.  His breastplate- HIS righteousness snuffed out that arrow before it ever got to your soul.  Got your flesh?  Don't matter, soul-wise. BUT...

Here's the thing.  You commit that sin, you feel bad.  Bad enough, sometimes, you wonder if a God who has ALREADY forgiven you for it could EVER forgive you for it.  In the dark moment on my face in my bedroom, I tell God, "I'm so worthless, so sick of my sin.  Why should You even bother with me?"  Which has a fragment of truth- I AM that worthless, AND I would be just as worthless if I never committed that sin, or any other.  But that is what Jesus died for- to give us His worthiness, His righteousness.  In feeling bad about one sin, I commit the worse sin of saying that Jesus was incomplete in His sacrifice, fickle in His promises, and not able to forgive the way He commanded us to forgive.  My sin didn't destroy my witness- my worse sin was BELIEVING it had.


So in the end, while I am not sure I learned anything from the original problem, I learned a LOT from my reaction.  I learned that even were I outside God's will (don't want to speak for Him on that matter), He would have brought it up A) with loving admonition, not accusations;  B) at the time of the fault, not years later like a goad- 'remember that time when you...' and C) it would have been through a story like the one Nathan told David, that matched ALL the details, and not just a less-than-a-tenth part of the story being "just like what happened to me."  So let me end this by bringing up anew the story of the High Priest Joshua, and let you see what God's reaction is in Heaven when Satan accuses a believer:

Zechariah 3:1Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” 3Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.

6And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua, 7“Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

Time Machine co-ordinates VILVII49262270

So today we go to Mexico city, where one day ago- today being June 22nd, 1970- Brazil, perhaps the best soccer team ever according to some experts, won the World Cup with a 4-1 win over Italy.  Pele had a goal in this one.  The USA was not invited to the finals.  Although they managed to split with Canada and swack Bermuda twice in the first round of qualifying, round two saw them get shut out twice- by Haiti.  The Haitian powerhouse was then eliminated from the Cup final grouping by El Salvador, who would then go no goals in three games in the actual Cup.  The last of those was against the Soviet Union, who would get knocked out at the start of knockout phase by Uruguay, who at least would give Brazil a decent match in the semis.  So you might say that the USA team was a cousin to the finals, four times removed.

"But only an eediot would do so..."

And with that, welcome to a special treat Time Machine.  This week, I'm kicking off a special three-week Fourth of July countdown, and a great earth shaking announcement (at least if you turn the volume up)!  All that, plus the longest song in M10 history by 1:54!  And, Henry Mancini awaits!  Let's kick it, gang!


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So I had the thought a few days back to do something special for the Independence Day week TM, and here's what I came up with.  I looked up all the 4J #1s- on Cashbox AND Billboard- and amazingly, there were a total of 30 of 'em in the Martin Era 2.0!  Then I arranged them by MusicVF points, and came up with a top 30 Fourth of July #1s- which I shall share with you ten at a time over the next three weeks!  Without further ado, here are the first three for this week!

30-

-Bill Conti, Gonna Fly Now! From 1977, the Rocky Theme had one week at #1 on BB.

29-  

Gordon Lightfoot, Sundown!  From 1974, this had a week on each chart.

28-  

The Association with Windy! Surprisingly for such a low point (keeping in mind MusicVF combines Brit and US charts, but it's still fun), Windy had 2 weeks at the top on CB and FOUR on BB!


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Next up. let me float out the big announcement- or prelude to a big announcement I've yet to come up with, really.  If you look at our co-ordinates, you'll see we are rapidly approaching my 500th TM-related post.  Well, the week we hit 500- the M10 turns three years old!  Plan on a big celebration!  Elvis is bringing the cake!

"Long as I don' hafeta jump outta it, I'm okay with that..."

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Ladies and gentlemen, Henry Mancini!  Nice to have you aboard!


Yeah, thanks!  Interesting... decor you got around here.

Well, it is a time machine, after all...

Hmm... well, I guess if Elvis don't mind hanging out here...

E:  Beats being dead, friend...

H:  Yeah, there is that.  

E: And a buffet...

Uh, yeah, can we get on with this?  19 candidates from 61 stations this week- with the return of the fabled Laurenco Marques song!

E:  Say, aren't you that Pink Panther guy?

Oh, he's more than that- some of the most beautiful pieces of music ever recorded belong to him!  Romeo and Juliet, Moon River...

E: Yeah, but the Panther's funny!

H:  Why thank you, young man!  So, here we go!  Our first song is the Temptations with Ball Of Confusion at #17 this week.  I know it confuses me...

Then comes the lovely miss Freda Payne and Band Of Gold.  At #21 this week.  Do I really have to keep saying 'this week'?

Please, no.

S'alright.  Next, The Carpenters- what a lovely act- with Close To You at #70, second week on the chart.

Tom Jones is at #12- and, it says here, #28 in the UK- with Daughter Of Darkness.

Vanity Faire is at #6 with Hitchin' A Ride.  Wondered if we'd hit a big one or not.

Then comes Melanie Safka with the Edwin Hawkins Singers, and Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)- appropriate for the time I'm doing this.  You'd be amazed how noisy rain on the top of a police box is... oh, and she's at #7.  Well, they are.

The Beatles are at #1 with The Long And Winding Road, maybe Phil Spector's masterpiece.

The Moments sit at #22 with Love On A Two Way Street.

The Jackson Five are at #4 with The Love You Save.

Three Dog Night are at #10 with Mama Told Me (Not To Come).  And I agree!

Here's one I'm not totally familiar with- the Three Degrees with Maybe, at #90.

White Plains is at #11 with My Baby Loves Loving.

At #28 we have The Five Stairsteps with Ooh Child.

Ah, here's a band with a good orchestra -usually the London Symphony- the Moody Blues with Question at #20 here, #17 in the UK.

Blues Image was at #9 with Ride Captain Ride.  Did anyone ever figure out where they were sailing to?  

E:  Bermuda.  They got caught in the Triangle, that's why you never heard from them again.

H:  Ah.  Eric Burdon and War were at #69 with Spill The Wine.

That's the second time in as many weeks we almost have the  #_ in'_ on the Panel.

The "what-in-what?"

Never mind.

Okay, then.  We got El Chicano with Viva Tirado at... well, it peaked two weeks ago and fell off already.  But it did get to #27...

We have the Poppy Family with Which Way You Going, Billy at #2.

And finally, the Laurenco Marques song of the week- Christie's Yellow River, which was #4 in the UK but wouldn't be big in the states until January.  And there you go!

All right, thanks Henry- and friend... so we really had a two horse race this week.  In fact, one song looked like it was going to run away with things- until another came out of nowhere and actually passed it!  But in the interests of not making it too easy, I'll throw in three from the "best of the rest" category.  Choose from:  Mama Told Me; Long And Winding Road; The Love You Save; Which Way You Going, Billy; and Ride Captain Ride.  I'll let you know if you got a winner or a stinker in a bit.

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More of the Fourth of July List:

27-   

Alan O'Day's Undercover Angel!  It got 1 week at the top on CB in '77.

26- 

"Yep, me again..."

Henry Mancini with his POTM song, Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet!  He spent 2 weeks at the top on BB.

24 (tie-)

Starland Vocal Band- with Beauty Contest points for Margot Chapman (brunette) and Taffy Nivert- with Afternoon Delight!  It collected 3 Cashbox weeks over the Fourth in 1976.

And-  

David Rose with The Stripper!  He had two CB weeks in 1962.


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And now our sole debut- the one I warned you about last week.  Warning: this song clocks in at 8:59 on Spotify- beating out Duran Duran's Paper Gods by nearly two minutes!  This is actually the new single by the Derevolutions, and comes in at #10:





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So here's the thing with our 6D song.  The original of Get Ready was written by Smoky Robinson, who was also producing the Temptations at the time.  But there was a little more to the story...

It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer.

Their version crapped out at #29, and sure enough, Whitfield got the next single.  But here's the funny thing:  Our 6D song is Rare Earth's cover, which clobbered it, reaching #4 on BB, and being this week's #3 without Panel Love on CB.  So then, Whitfield became the Temp's producer, and Rare Earth covered one of HIS Temps' productions, (I Know) I'm Losing You- and they beat them on this one too- by a more respectable #7 to #8, this time.


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Your hint for the week- if you took the J5, the Poppys, or Blues Image, you took a stinker!

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Stat Pack time!

I knew 49!  Go me!

The big move belonged to Panelist Ooh Child, 35 spots from 70 to 35.

The #70 in '70 was- in it's 12th week and on it's way down- Norman Greenbaum's Spirit In The Sky.

At 101 was Tommy Roe's Pearl- which started an odd run of single success-or lack thereof- for Tommy off his lp We Can Make Music.  BB Peaked it at #50- and so too the next one, Stir It Up And Serve It.  However, they were nicer to the third single, the album's title cut- it got an extra notch to #49.

And another familiar song at the top of the UK charts, Mungo Jerry's In The Summertime.

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Last three of the countdown for this week:

23-   

Neil Diamond's Song Sung Blue! 1 week on each chart in 1972.


22- 

The Captain and Tennille with Love Will Keep Us Together!  It took 2 weeks on CB and 4 on BB in 1975.

And, 21-    

The Four Tops with I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)!  They had 2 BB weeks in 1965.


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And now, the rest of the M10:

Boz Scaggs holds onto #9 with Rock And Stick.

Eight weeks on and at #8 for Caroline Rose with Jeannie Becomes A Mom.

Phantogram slides down a pair to #7 with Saturday.

So too illuminatti hotties with Shape Of My Hands at #6.

Up 3 places for the Jayhawks and Everybody Knows to #5.

Last week's top dogs Family Of The Year tumble to #4 with Let Her Go.

A big 4-spot to #3 for the other Derev's tune, Now You Know My Name.

Shilpa Ray holds at #2 with Shoot This Dying Horse.

And, as promised, the studio version of the new #1- up from debuting at #6:






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So that left you with Panel contenders The Long And Winding Road and Mama Told Me.  One got 26.2 % of the vote; one got 24.6%.  And that one was...

...The Beatles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tune in next week for more hijinks with the Fab Four, (most likely) Elvis, and maybe little Mary MacGregor!

Wednesday Bible Study: You can't make this up

This one is going to be just a little different.  Because, as I applied the Kalko Rule, I found that each verse as you went out from our central verse parallelled the one on its other side.  And not surprisingly as we bounce over Psalms and go to Proverbs 3:16:


Pro 3:16  Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. 


Now "she" in this case is Wisdom.  And I believe there is a case to be made that Wisdom in this personification is actually the Holy Spirit.  Regard chapter 8:

Pro 8:22  "The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 
Pro 8:23  Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 
Pro 8:24  When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 
Pro 8:25  Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 
Pro 8:26  before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. 
Pro 8:27  When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 
Pro 8:28  when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 
Pro 8:29  when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 
Pro 8:30  then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 
Pro 8:31  rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man. 

Now, that is not required believing, just how I take the verse.  Anyway, back to our verse, I believe we are looking at a semi-literal description of the Holy Spirit here.  And what She (being the author's determination of gender) has in Her hands are very special.  In the left- and tied to the preceding verses- She holds riches and honor; but as we go through them, we see it is not earthly riches and honor, but heavenly riches and honor.  It matches the description of Her attributes in chapter 8, and is echoed by Paul many times in his descriptions of the rewards that await "at the end of the race."  In Her right we find Long Life; the first description in Strong's concordance of the word orek ("length" in "length of days") is forever;  I take this to mean that we are not looking as much at mortal life on earth but eternity- and therefore, salvation.  With these two principles in mind, let me be a (hopefully) bit briefer as I unpack the parallel verses.

Left:  Pro 3:15  She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. 

Right: Pro 3:17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 

The pleasantness and peace of spirit we find in this wisdom is better than anything we imagine we want.  I Corinthians 2 reads, "9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."  Isn't that the same as "nothing can compare?"

Left: Pro 3:14  for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. 

Right: Pro 3:18  She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. 

In my Bible, "hold her fast" in v18 is translated "retain"; I thought that as a perfect picture of man's riches versus God's.  Man's gold you can GAIN, but you can't RETAIN.  The gifts of the Spirit are given, not gained by work, but once given, you retain them into eternity.

Left: Pro 3:13  Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, 

Right: Pro 3:19  The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; 

This was the coupling that really showed me that these were matched sets.  In following wisdom, what we are really doing is following the example set by God since Creation itself.

Left:  Pro 3:12  for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. 

Right: Pro 3:20  by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew. 

This might be the most important coupling.  Because, the parallel shows us that the correction of God- in whatever form it takes, is to be considered a renewing gift, like "dew falling upon the earth.  My favorite passage for this is in Job, from Elihu's oration:

Job 37:5  God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend. 

Job 37:6  For to the snow he says, 'Fall on the earth,' likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour. 

Job 37:7  He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it. 

Job 37:8  Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens. 

Job 37:9  From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. 

Job 37:10  By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. 

Job 37:11  He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. 

Job 37:12  They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. 

Job 37:13  Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen. 

Job 37:14  "Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God. 

Or, you might just turn instead to James:

Jas 1:2  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 

Jas 1:3  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

Jas 1:4  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

Jas 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 

And again, it goes back to wisdom...

Left: Pro 3:11  My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, 

Right: Pro 3:21  My son, do not lose sight of these-- keep sound wisdom and discretion, 

See how these parallels address you directly- "My son"?  The connection is firm between God's discipline and God's wisdom.

Left:  Pro 3:10  then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. 

Right:  Pro 3:22  and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. 

I think this one is pretty self-explanatory; I will add that "adornment" in v 22, my Bible translates as "Grace".  While adornment makes more sense in the verse context, Grace really makes it shine in the overall picture.

Left: Pro 3:9  Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 

Right: Pro 3:23  Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. 

This might be the coupling that goes together the best;  Be obedient, receive protection.

Left: Pro 3:8  It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. 

Right: Pro 3:24  If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 

Wow.  Healing on all levels: physical, spiritual, emotional.

At this point I ought to say, these passages should be a great proof of the truth of God; what man could give a passage the meaning it has written front to back, and even richer meaning written inside to out?

Left:  Pro 3:7  Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. 

Right: Pro 3:25  Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, 

All about avoiding evil.  Doing it in our own wisdom, our own strength, courts disaster.  In Wisdom, you needn't fear it.

Left: Pro 3:6  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 

Right: Pro 3:26  for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. 

Just as tightly woven at the end as at the beginning.  As I actually get to the point of typing this all out, I am even more in awe of God and the way He wrote the Word than I ever have been.  As I might say in a more frivolous vein, "You can't make this stuff up, folks!"

A little sorta good news

You know why I haven't posted anything but the Twitter things Sunday for the last 2 days?  Because there is a lot of hate and suck out there, and today, I am deciding to do something about it.

I am going to look for anti-hate, anti-suck- but not "gag me cute" stuff to brighten our days.  And I just found a perfect one on FoxNews to start.  Let me say I am not a big fan of Emmanuel Macron.  But after this story, he's my favorite sitting French President...


French President Emmanuel Macron gave a teenager a lesson on etiquette after the youngster used a nickname to address him. 
Macron was in the middle of taking selfies and shaking hands with people in Paris on Monday when a teenager stopped him in his tracks, Sky News reported.  “How’s it going, Manu?” the teenager asked the French president, using a familiar nickname for "Emmanuel."

However, Macron scolded the teenager, who was with a group of friends.

“No, you can’t do that, no, no, no, no,” Macron told the teenager. The teenager apologized to Macron and referred to him as “Mr. President.”

However, Macron was not finished explaining the importance of good manners.  “You’re here, at an official ceremony and you should behave," Macron said. "You can act like a clown, but today, it is the 'Marseillaise,' and the 'Partisans Song,' you call me 'Mr President of the Republic' or 'mister.'”

The teenager started to sing “The International,” a Soviet anthem, as Macron continued to lecture.


“The day you want to start a revolution you study first in order to obtain a degree and feed yourself, ok? And then you can lecture others,” Macron continued.


Talk about the PERFECT response... let's see what else we can find...


CNN has a contribution as well... I had to really look for it... and once again, we go to Paris...


It's not often a morning train delay announcement provokes smiles.
There again, it's not often that services are halted so someone can give birth surrounded by commuters.
That's what happened in Paris on Monday when a woman went into labor on board a busy RER A rail service.
To celebrate the unexpected event, the newborn has been offered free rail travel throughout the city up until the age of 25.
The boy was delivered with the help of passengers, emergency workers and rail staff at around 11:40 a.m. while the train was held at the city's Auber Station.
"We can confirm that everything is going well," a spokesperson for French public transport operator Régie Autonome des Transports Parisien (RATP) announced on the network's Twitter feed.


Hopefully he won't be riding it singing the Internationale..

From the BBC, this is actually an update on a post of there's I saw earlier.  Apparently, former tennis champ Boris Becker is having some lawsuit problems vis-a-vis his recent bankruptcy.  He found a rather clever way of getting out of the suits- so he thought- diplomatic immunity. 


Lawyers for the 50-year-old three-time Wimbledon champion say he was appointed a sport and culture attache to the EU by the Central African Republic in April.

No seriously, this is a real place-  been called that since Independence in 1960 (except for 1976-9, when it was the Central African EMPIRE.)  So, he had diplomatic immunity- or did he?  Today, we find...

The CAR embassy in Belgium confirmed it had issued him a diplomatic passport.  However, a top official in the CAR foreign ministry told a French news agency the passport was fake.

Cherubin Moroubama told AFP the serial number on the document matched one of a batch of "new passports that were stolen in 2014".  He added that the passport, dated 19 March 2018, does not bear the signature or the stamp of the foreign minister.

CAR foreign minister Charles Armel Doubane later told Reuters an inquiry was being launched into who had issued the passport.

Hopefully, Becker will get this all straightened out before his score becomes "love serving time..."


Next up, the Moscow Times also has an update to a story I read a few days back- a deaf cat named Achilles who predicted Russia's fortunes in the World Cup.

Who doesn’t remember Paul the Octopus who rose to fame after correctly predicting the outcome of the 2010 World Cup?

Not to be outdone, at least 11 Russian animals have been enlisted to pick winners during this summer’s tournament, the Interfax news agency reports. After all, it is always wise to get a second, third or even 11th opinion.

Besides Achilles, the list includes:

Garik the otter
Pushok the bunny
Nathan the Raccoon
Milya and Glyasik, hippos
Spartak the lemur
a wolf, unnamed in the article
Yasha the reindeer
Puziryok the beluga whale
and, Cleopatra the tapir

No word on how well they are doing, other than that Achilles and Puziryok picked Russia over Saudi in game one (and who wouldn't?) and that Cleopatra sees the final as being Argentina over Spain.


On Xinhua, I had to get a little dirty to get this story...


China's imports of solid waste dropped significantly in the first quarter of this year as the government steps up enforcement of a ban on solid waste imports.

IMPORTING solid waste, you say?  Well, they do mean garbage, not poop...

China began importing solid waste as a source of raw materials in the 1980s, and has for years been the world's largest importer, despite its weak capacity in garbage disposal. Some companies illegally bring foreign garbage into the country for profit, posing a threat to the environment and public health.

Given rising public awareness and a green development drive, the government decided last year to phase out and completely halt such imports by end of 2019, except for those containing resources that are not substitutable.

China's customs authority seized 137,000 tonnes of illegal trash imports last month in what it called the largest campaign against trash smuggling in recent years.


And we thought WE were getting the crappy end of trade with China...



Best I could do on the Japan Times was the headline:

Why do the Japanese suck at learning English?

Answer:  lotsa reasons.  But my two favorites:  1) Eigo arerugii ("allergic to English"); and 2)...

We’re also taught that the English sentence is composed of three main components: subject, verb and object (S, V and O), and the stark black-and-white clarity of it all is jarring. The Japanese are used to muting the subject in a conversation to the point that it’s often hard to discern whose thoughts are being expressed, and by whom. Names and nouns are often left out. News reports refrain from 実名報道 (jitsumei hōdō, using real names in their reporting).

In other words, it's too easy to know what you're talking about.  When was the last time you heard THAT about English?