As I laid down to a nap Sunday, I was reminded that I hadn't gotten to the last of our 3:16s- the main one, from John's Gospel:
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And as I fell asleep, I kept hearing in my mind, "the key is, 'so loved'. "
When I woke up, I began my usual dissecting of the verse, and I noticed in particular two words, which will be the limit of this study. And they both concern the idea of breathing.
The word used for love is the famous agapaō from which we get agape. The highest, most divine love. But poke at the word a wee bit. The Strongs explanation begins, "Perhaps from ἄγαν agan (much; or compare [H5689])", so I compared. "An ancient root- To breathe after."
And isn't that a neat way to view the extent of God's love? Breath, the very symbol of life. He breathes after us.
Next word, 'Him', as in "believeth in Him." Once again the main point is the "reflexive pronoun, 'self' ", but again, dig the next step. Strongs says, "From the particle αὖ au (perhaps akin to the base of G109 through the idea of a baffling wind; backward); ". And that G109, gives us this:
From ἄημι aēmi (to breathe unconsciously, that is, respire; by analogy to blow)
The word for him literally means 'to breathe or blow backwards'. God breathes after us; we breathe him in, to become self. Whether we realise it or not.
This really brings me back to a passage I just read in Spurgeon. At least in the sense that, we are made to breathe in what God breathes out. Spurgeon was talking about the doctrine of election, and how Satan uses it against us. He says:
Why, it would be hell inside a man's conscience if he knew he was condemned merely because God willed he should be. Yet this could never be the case, for the very essence of hell is sin, and a sense of having willfully committed it. There could not be any flames of hell if there were not this conviction in the minds of the people suffering them: "I knew my duty, but I did not do it;"... Also, remember that whatever the doctrine of election may be or may not be, the Gospel gives a free invitation to needy sinners. (Spurgeon On Prayer And Spiritual Warfare, p 351)
Does this, or that whole thing about election confuse you? Don't let it. Spurgeon says a bit later:
Now, you may say, "I cannot reconcile the two..." God knows where these two things meet, even if you do not, and I hope you do not intend to wait until you are a philosopher before you will be saved. If you do, it is likely... you will find yourself in hell, where your wisdom will not do you any good.
Don't wait. Believe now. Complete the circle for which you were made.
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Right now, I am not convinced what to tackle here next. This would be a good time for any and all suggestions. Thanks, and thanks for riding along!
So I thought I might go back and do a slightly modified version of one of my favorites- what's in the news in the world's tiniest countries? Only this time, I look for what might be a more interesting story, rather than the first one. The other rule- has to be a legit news site from that country- remains, but I don't care how much I dig. Also, not going to do the size/population thing again, you can look here to see if you so choose. Also, I'll go from smallest down this time- or I would except I looked up #2 smallest Monaco first, and well, I'm ready to type out this story now, so...
2- Monaco
Got $129 million to blow on a new home? Check this one out:
That pink one, overhanging a cliff, as well as the Grand Prix racetrack, is known as ‘l’Echauguette’, meaning ‘the watchtower’, at Port Hercule, and is up for sale. Sotheby's is starting it at 110 million Euros. It belonged to the guy that brought roulette to Monte Carlo, one Francois Blanc...
He invented what is known as the "single-0" roulette wheel, which they use still in Monaco- one 0 space instead of a "0" and a "00" in America. Through some reasoning, this effectively doubles your odds- or to put it more accurately, from a page I found as I tried to understand this:
It may not sound like much of a difference, but let’s put it into perspective: If it took you ONE hour to lose $1,000 on a European roulette table, you would lose the same amount in HALF the time (30 mins) on an American wheel. So is just one pocket an insignificant difference? And would you prefer to lose twice as quickly?
So come to America, where you can lose your shirt more efficiently.
And now, back to proper numbering...
1- Vatican City
All the buzz- and I mean ALL of it- is on the child abuse scandal, which makes it kinda hard to do a light-hearted post on their situation. However, I do find a bit of it in the last speaker they had during the "Protection of Minors summit" was a Mexican journalist named Valentina Alazraki-
She's a veteran of Church media, and wanted to use her experience as a Catholic, a journalist, and a Mom, to "add some practical advice".
To be able to fulfill her mission to preach the Gospel, Alazraki said, the Church needs a moral guide; “coherence between what one preaches and what one lives is the basis of being a credible institution, worthy of trust and respect”, an institution that reports crimes that may have been committed and follows up with credible procedures. This, is where journalists are called into play, she continued, observing that they are allies – and not enemies – helping the Church “find the rotten apples and to overcome resistance in order to separate them from the healthy ones” and seeking the common good.
Nothing wrong here, nothing funny- except that in the USA, you could make the case that the media needs a 'moral guide', and the Church would be a good one. But with the Catholic Church, outside the USA, it's the other way around.
3- Nauru
Speaking of the differences between the increasingly Godless USA and the rest of the world:
On the eve of Christmas, His Excellency President Baron Waqa delivered the end of year Christmas message of love quoting the Bible’s John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son,” was the beginning of the president’s message to the nation, underscoring that Nauruans are proud to embrace being Christians, especially at this time of celebrating the birth of Christ. President Waqa encouraged brotherly love emphasising that Christmas is a time of happiness, a time for giving and a time for renewing. Christmas 2018 is particularly special for Nauruans as they continue to celebrate the nation’s 50th anniversary of independence.
Preach it, Mr. President! And happy 50 to Nauru!
4- Tuvalu
Well, the closest they come to a news site, apparently, is what they post on Facebook, and ten minutes ago (as I type) they posted pictures of their new police boat...
...I'm somewhat concerned they named it the Terminator 2....
5- San Marino
Last time, I did San Marino on something that ended up being a Japanese story, so anything that actually pertains to this tiny zit on the face of Italy would be an improvement. And so, with a little help from Google Translate, we have:
The Republic of San Marino has an important objective regarding the management of urban waste, ie achieving 70% of separate waste by 2020. A challenge that the Autonomous State Enterprise for Public Services is facing with the utmost commitment, aware that the only way to win it is the extension of door-to-door collection to the entire territory of the Republic. In fact, to date the service does not cover the most populous Castles, ie Borgo Maggiore (with the exception of its historical center), Domagnano and Serravalle, equal to about 60% of resident users.
Mind you, this place is something under 1/4th the size of Fort Wayne, and they only get 60% of the trash picked up? Is there waste company "Fiume Rosso"?
6- Liechtenstein
Well, you can have two ways to go with Liechtenstein. One is a promotional "news" site that gives you all that lovely banking info I found so boring last time, and the other was a local site I finally stumbled onto, with not much on it but traffic accidents. To wit:
In the night on Friday, an alcoholic driver collided in Vaduz while driving on the roundabout 'Linde' with an iron post. He then left the scene of the accident without informing the state police or the injured party. The driver drove his car around 01:00 clock on the main street 'Heiligkreuz' in the direction of the roundabout 'Linde'. Shortly before he wanted to leave the roundabout, he collided head-on against the iron post on the roadside. Based on a witness statement, the fallible car driver could be explored. The state police ordered the blood collection and took the accident causer provisionally from the driver's license.
Loving that Google translate! And that he didn't inform the "injured party" when he amscrayed- although, since HE was the injured party, it might have seemed a bit redundant.
7- Marshall Islands
I thought that here, too, I was going to have to depend on a Facebook site, and that page was one party after another, making me wonder why it wasn't higher on those "happiest nation in the world" lists (answer, didn't get ranked). But the FB page actually had a link to their real news site, and as you can tell from the beginning of the lead story, it isn't much different there...
The Majuro Day celebration at Laura Ball Field last Friday saw thousands of participants in what seemed to be another unique festivity — courtesy of Mayor Ladie Jack and his local government.
On top of the upbeat performances by students and the MALGov women and the military-style drill from the honor guards, the crowd had their eyes fixated on the several creative floats, namely the princess and warriors’ float from Marshalls Christian High School, which featured masculine and beauty on a decked out rear-cart. 8- St Kitts and Nevis
Ready for another record scratch compared to the USA? This was in an article where the PM describes their poverty alleviation program, which seemed like it might be just another hand out deal. But, the results were vastly different than we get here...
“This programme has affirmed that we are a virtuous people. Several of the 3,500 Beneficiaries of the December 2018 payout have reported to the relevant government departments, such as Social Services, Accountant General or Sustainable Development, that their circumstances have changed and they could not in good conscience accept further payments.
Wow...
9- Maldives
Okay, so democracy works here thanks to one man's appeal... but you gotta wonder why he bothered....
The Supreme Court has struck down amendments brought to the political parties law in 2013 that barred losers of primary elections from contesting as independent candidates. The constitutionality of the provisions was challenged by former lawmaker Abdulla Jabir after he lost the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party’s primary for the Kaashidhoo constituency. Jabir, a resort owner and special envoy of the president, was soundly defeated by a 35-point margin.
Of course, this is a guy just having come through legal action after giving the President a 6-figure bribe in 2014, so....
And finally,
10- Malta
Well, Malta had a Saturday night like our Sunday...
The wild winds that whipped across Malta from Saturday night turned the island's roads into a veritable obstacle course. Uprooted trees, PV panels and even boats stood in the way of those brave enough to get into their cars.
According to the story, their winds peaked out at a record 62 MPH. By comparison, we topped out according to Weather Underground at 47.
This week a news story was shared by a friend on FB, about a woman tax consultant in Indiana who told a lesbian couple she had filed taxes for the last 4 years she would no longer do it- because they had gotten married in the past year, and now she considered it offensive to her Christian faith. I took some time to consider this, and the related stories of the Kentucky state official who refused to do LGBT marriage licences and of course the whole cake decorating deal.
And I decided I needed to look at this from a new point of view. Last week, I heard Dennis Miller mention he didn't want a WWJD band- he wanted a WDJD band- What DID Jesus Do. I have adopted that as a new tool in studying, so I prayed that God would show me the WDJD in these cases.
And God likes it when you use His tools. I got a lot of responses.
The first place He brought to my mind was the woman at the well in Samaria. This was A) a woman, which Jesus by Jewish law shouldn't have been talking to. B) she was a shamed woman, having gone through husbands like Phyllis Diller without the humor. C), she was a Samaritan. Any of the three would have sent the Pharisees into apoplexy, and it very nearly did the Apostles when they arrived. And He didn't start out preaching- He asked for a simple drink of water. He didn't question her on race, religion, or sexual orientation.
That the Apostles had the reaction when they did begs the question- how many times did THEY send someone away on some pretext, only to have Jesus say, "Bring them here, and deny them not"?
Then, He reminded me of Paul- he was a tent maker. He made tents to give himself a living in every city he visited. Does Acts ever say, "He made tents for the Brethren"? He made tents in Corinth, the archetypal sinful seaport. You suppose he ever asked if the tent was going to be used at some pagan festival?
I think one reason God let me "have it", so to speak, on this request was something I myself need to remember- and a lot of these others do too. That is: Your JOB is NOT your MINISTRY (unless, of course, you are IN the ministry). Your ministry AT your job is to LIVE your faith. Where I have MY problem is, once I get past my morning "ritual" of prayer, reading, and listening to Jeremiah, Beg, and Swindoll, it's 'time to relax' and what I learn fails to translate over.
What our three examples have is a different problem, and we'll get back to them in a bit.
Next came the example of "food sacrificed to idols" from 1 Corinthians. Here we begin to see that it is a matter of maturity. Some people have a problem facing tasks like these once they become Christians, some don't. I'll expand on this a little bit more later.
Then, once again back to Paul, who "withstood Peter to his face" on the subject of acting one way in front of one group, and another way in front of another. Lesson: You TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME.
I have one final example God gave me, but first I want to look at the three jobs. First, the cake making. The bakers claimed they didn't want to celebrate sin- and felt making the cake was doing so. This is where the food sacrificed to idols comes in. To one Christian, you are just doing your job. If you didn't come to the wedding and eat some of the cake, you probably haven't "celebrated the lifestyle". To another, it might depend on the message they request. Here's the thing, though- this is a world where sin and sinners are an established fact. Being "in the world but not of it" doesn't mean you get to ACT like it doesn't exist. If you are in business to serve the public, you will serve people who do not think the same as you. If you can handle that, good on you. If not, then maybe instead of being a "public" business, you should limit your baking to just those in the Church. But which denomination? If I was a member of a UMC church when we started baking, and have a circle of fellows in the church that patronize us, and then we move to an SBC church, do we tear up the old list and only serve the new church? What if my customer attends the church, but isn't baptized, what then? Once you start drawing lines, they get more numerous- and harder to defend.
So let's go to the example of the public official who refused to give out marriage licences. Don't you think LGBT citizens' taxes help pay your salary? If you don't feel you can serve the ENTIRE electorate according to the laws in place, you are in the wrong business and should resign. But wait, you say, if I stay in my position, I can do this 'civil disobedience', and call attention to the issue- I can 'strike back' at the fallen morals of the world.
Here is where this last thing God shot my way comes in. "Civil disobedience'? Jesus could have done that. He certainly had the 'experts' to show him where and how to strike. Simon (not Peter) wasn't called "the Zealot" because he was gung-ho. He was a member of the Zealot Party- a group actively seeking ways to turn the Romans out of Judea. And Judas was surnamed Iscariot because his father was a member of an even more radical anti-Roman group, the Iscarii. And how much guerrilla type actions did Jesus have His Apostles do?
Zero. Zip. Nada.
So my thought to the civil servant- whether Christian or just opinionated? If you cannot do your job by the letter of the law- resign. Stop wasting the public dime, and/or God's time.
Which brings us to the last part- the tax preparer and the lesbian couple. I didn't read the story, though I had a few questions. Was her conversion a recent one, too? How did she rationalize serving them the OTHER four years? Were they not 'official lesbians' until they married?
I didn't read it to find out because it DOESN'T MATTER. Peter and James taught defiance IF the government was telling you to do something that wasn't WDJD. Paul told you to obey the king, God put him there for a reason.
Tax preparation is not a SALVATIONAL ISSUE. Refusing them the right to come into a public business and do what they reasonably expect is not good versus evil, it is one of two things:
1- You are immature and do not see how this goes against Jesus' command to love your enemies;
or 2- Your hate is showing. You put all Christians in a bad light.
Your job is not your ministry. Your LIFE is. And I'm beginning to think that these are just a lot of glittering fails. THAT SAID- this is an occasion to keep that "food sacrificed to idols" passage in mind. Not everyone is at the same point of spiritual development, and I can see in the cake deal, and even the goverment deal, where it might be crossing a line. And it is true, we need to be cognizant of weaker brothers. But get out of your mirror and see your stand as those you should hope to reach see it.
Today we go to February 22, 1957. Today the Duke of Edinburgh became a Prince of the United Kingdom.
And everywhere you look for "what happened on February 22, 1957", you get, "Why is Phillip a Prince and not a King?" Quick American answer: The Queen is not so dumb....
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Welcome to this week's Time Machine, where -and I know you are all probably expecting Frank Gorshin...
"I know, I can't believe he didn't ask me! When is a riddle not a riddle?"
-we will actually have the (relatively) real Nelson Riddle on board! Also, see if you can tell me what Johnny Cash, Elvis, the Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis,Glen Campbell, Pat Boone, Bert Kaempfert, Frank Sinatra, and Carl Perkins have in common- and what they have to do with a dude named Charles Singleton! Also, is THIS the week that we get our 100th M10 #1? Stay tuned and find out!
And a big welcome to Nelson Riddle! Always great to have a vet from The Big One on the show!
Thanks! Although I was in after all the hard work was done...
That's all right! You stood up for our country, and that's what's important.
Thank you.
So, how's Rosemary Clooney?
WHAT? Wh- wh-what, er, how, er, why do you ask...?
Well, you just started appearing on her TV show...
Oh, well, yes, er, of course you're right. She, why she's just fine...
I'm sorry if I upset you. My understanding was that you didn't start your affair until later on...
Af- Good God, shhhhhh! The-the-there's no affair! Please, if my wife's here...
Oh, don't worry! The audience is...
AUDIENCE??? Oh, my... (sound of running steps)... SLAM!
"Well, That certainly went well..."
I know, right? I wonder if he's suffering from PTSD from the war...
S: ..... Nardole: If not, he'll certainly get it once he returns home...
I suppose you two ought to figure out where he went, before he makes the gift shop and Elvis sells him one of his "I BANGED CLOONEY" t-shirts...
N: All right. Come along, Scrappy. S: (Translated from Old High Beagle) Hey, I need to go pee... N: Of course you do.
I guess that means I get to fly solo here. I actually had a legit Panel this week- 10 contestants from 18 stations. Before we get started, how about we listen to the week's lone debut? At #10, here's some Leon Bridges...
So here we go with the Panel picks this week! This was not an overly close race, and ALL songs that got more than one vote are in the final- all 3 of 'em! The seven that didn't make the list...
Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat Song (Day-o) was at #5 on Cashbox this week. There was another version- just different enough CB didn't combine it with Harry's- and we'll get to it a bit later.
Tab Hunter's version of Young Love- shared with another version we'll get to a bit later- was at #2. His version by itself was #1 on Billboard.
That other version was tied on BB at #3 with the CB #1 for the week- Elvis's Too Much. Pretty much what I always say...
One station had an entire lp at it's #1- Norrie Paramor's New York Impressions. While he did have a couple of low ranking singles on the Brit charts, he didn't chart here.
Another non charter to make the list is Les Elgart's For Dancers Only.
Former winner Andy Williams' version of Butterfly was in a shared spot with Charlie Grace at #32 on CB. Billboard had Andy at 42- a debut- and Charlie at #31.
And one song was a bit ahead of the curve- Perry Como's Mi Casa Es Su Casa, which would peak later in March at #50.
And that leaves you your three choices for this week's winner:
The Tarriers- they were habitually late, not small dogs- with their take on the Banana Boat thing, #6 this week.
Sonny James' version of Young Love- the one that was tied with Elvis at #3 on BB but sharing #2 with Tab on CB.
And finally, Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders with that song many of us learned on Captain Kangaroo- Marianne, sharing a spot with the Hilltoppers at #8 on CB, one spot ahead of the Hilltoppers at #11 on BB.
Tarriers, Sonny, or Terry- who gets the nod this week? Take your pick and find out in just a bit.
So our 6D at Cashbox's #3 has quite a few people attached to it. One, by having the same writer as one of HIS hits, is Frank Sinatra. A track almost disposed of by Frank as a "piece of $#!t" after session man Glen Campbell screwed up his part on take one, it was written by one Charles Singleton. Singleton composed our subject song as well, and sent it as a demo to Elvis, " where it laid UNOPENED, in Elvis' words "with all the junk that comes there", according to wiki. However, Elvis eventually did a fast version of it in the jam session by what became known as "the Million Dollar Quartet" with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Somehow or another it became a hit by another star; after which it was covered in the Hamburg years by the Beatles. As he was arranging- and signing them to a contract with Tony Sheridan for Polydor- this is where Bert Kaempfert heard it. While the Beatles versions were never recorded, apparently, Kaempfert did a version on his Wonderland Of Bert Kaempfert lp. So what WAS this song, and who made it a hit?
Why, it was Pat Boone (back in leather in "response" to popular demand) with Don't Forbid Me, #3 on CB without any Panel love.
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Stat Pack time!
We had a double Big Mover this week. Both went up ten spots- George Hamilton IV with Only One Love at 34 and Bad Boy by the Jive Bombers at 35.
Thanks to the BB list I have a #100 this week, and it's a biggie:
The Panel's presence in the UK consisted of the Young Love boys- Tab at #1, Sonny at #12. I knew 7 in the UK and 13 at home, including the slowly dropping hits, Love Me Tender, Blueberry Hill, Ain't Got No Home (Clarence Frogman Henry), and Bing and Grace doing True Love.
This time, unlike last week, there were only 7 "combined hits" on CB, and one of them tickled me, because I used to own another shared hit by the same too men. The men were Bill Hayes and Fess Parker, doing a tune called Wringle Wrangle- together they were #12 on CB, separately they were 34 (Bill) and 21 (Fess) on BB. The other song they both recorded that I know- The Ballad Of Davy Crockett. Hayes' version (which we had) hit #1 on BB and CB; Fess's hit #6, and Tennessee Ernie Ford chipped in a version that hit #5, as well as #4 country.
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And most of the M10 for a change:
The Fast Romantics do a slow climb, up one spot to #9 with Mexico.
boygenius is stuck again, with Bite The Hand spending a second week at 8.
Leonard Cohen up a pair to 7 with You Want It Darker.
This week's "dropping to get out of the way" tune is The Essex Green's Sloane Ranger, down 3 to #6.
Then, three straight one-notch climbers: The Dig's You're Not Alone at 5, Santana's In Search Of Mona Lisa at 4, and Criminal Hygiene's Greetings From A Postcard at 3.
Roseanne Cash settles for a second week at #2 with The Only Thing Worth Fighting For, which means we wait another week for #100. For a third week at the top:
...Liz Cooper and the Stampede and Outer Space!
And the Panel? With a whopping 38.8%...
....Sonny James and Young Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today we come to the penultimate study of our 3:16 series- Revelation. And this is one of the more famous verses on the list. As per usual here towards the end, I'm adding some context:
Rev 3:14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. Rev 3:15 "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! Rev 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Rev 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Rev 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
As I studied this, I wondered what the key God wanted here was. Was it the facts on the field about the city? The comparison to our present-day church? What they had versus what they needed?
In the end, I found it in not one, but two of the commentators, and it was not in our main verse, but in v18:
I counsel (sumbouleuō). Present active indicative, old compound from sumboulos, counsellor (Rom_11:34), as in Joh_18:14. Almost ironical in tone. (Robertson's Word Pictures)
Irony. What was the irony in what Jesus said? First, go back a verse to the self-opinion of the Laodicean church:
Rev 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
"I am rich, I am getting richer. I need nothing." Now, you could say, "Boy there's the Catholic Church for ya," but it's EVERY denomination. Every denomination who is saying, "Let me be more inclusive. I need not the Bible, I can look at society and say, it's all right to be gay, to be Muslim, to do what I want. I need to be a church that reflects society, not God. Surely God will be pleased with that." And which denominations are saying that?
Which ones aren't? Even the Southern Baptists faced a sexual cover-up scandal the last couple of weeks. By now you will have read last Sunday's message and James McDonald's fall. You've seen the Catholic Church divided over both the Pope's lack of action on THEIR sex scandals, and his devil's deal with China. EVERY church is having their Laodicean moment now, whether they have meekly accepted or are tearing themselves apart resisting.
Because the Laodicean church- past and present- has chosen to promte society to God and demote God to adviser, Jesus says, "I cousel you..." in v18. The Laodicean church is one He NO LONGER COMMANDS. Because, they don't need Him, they have everything. In their eyes...
But what does God see? He sees the back half of v17. The word used as "wretched" means that they are enduring a trial-and failing. They are pitiable- a word Paul also uses when he says that if Christ did not rise from the dead, 'then we are of men the most pitiable'- so here, it means they entertain a false hope. The word for poor is a typical Paul word used by John, to denote the most abject of poverty.
Irony continues in the fact that, instead of being like the other churches, who have a relationship with Christ and receive the gifts of grace, Laodicea is "advised" to "buy from Him". AND THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO, because the grace He offers is not for purchase. It was bought with Christ's blood. This reminds me of God's challenges to Job:
Job 40:6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
Job 40:7 "Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.
Job 40:8 Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
Job 40:9 Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?
Job 40:10 "Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
Job 40:11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
Job 40:12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low and tread down the wicked where they stand.
Job 40:13 Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below.
Job 40:14 Then will I also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you.
Jesus talks to them in these impossibles, because they have lost the idea of grace and replaced it with what society calls wealth. He wants them to see for themselves how little their "wealth"- both in money (like McDonald's elders) and their "spirituality"- will actually buy them.
But He does 'advise' them what they are lacking:
First, Gold refined in the fire. 1 Peter 1:17 teaches us that what is referred to here is faith tested by adversity. This church steers away from adversity- they choose the path of least resistance, so they can get along with everybody. What faith do you have when you reject the Bible and allow for LGBTQ acceptance, vote for politicians who support abortion, define 'tolerance' as accepting whatever the rest of the world accepts?
Second, white garments to hide the shame of your nakedness. A few verses above, when Jesus addresses the Church in Sardis, he GIVES white robes to those who conquer, "who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy." (v4) These people in Laodicea, not only have they soiled garments, they have NO garments- they are not only failing Christians, they are NON-Christians!
Third, 'salve to annoint their eyes'. And what kind of eyesalve are we talking about? I think perhaps the kind expressed in Ephesians 1:
Eph 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us, the ones believing according to the working of His mighty strength
By the things they are counselled to buy, we see that Christ does not see the church of compromise as a real church, or even saved believers. The last verse I printed shows this:
Rev 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
That they find themselves rich and needing nothing should be making them question whether they are included in the love of Christ. If the world accepts us, WE should question it as well. If faith for you is easy street, there is a problem. Turn to Christ while He gives grace freely, before He 'counsels you to buy from Him...'
So while sitting at the service station this morning, a gentleman mentioned to me that of 59 emergencies declared by our Presidents since 1916, 32 are still on the books. All but one of these are from Clinton, GW Bush, Obama, or Trump. I thought it might be an interesting subject to look at, and perhaps I was right. For example, Congress in 1973 discovered that there were four active emergencies on the books (wow, 4?) and established a committee to see if they were needed. While two were fairly recent- two from Nixon: a ED for the postal strike in 1970, and the other to help stabilize the economy after he took us off the gold standard- the OTHER two were FDR's bank holiday from 1933, and the other was Truman's Korean War declaration. And it took Congress a 'mere' 5 years to end them.
So right now, FDR holds the record with an emergency that lasted 45 years. However, Jimmy Carter is closing in, with his Iran sanctions at 40 years and counting. So the dividing line is the Clinton administration- only one of 22 before that is active, while 31 of the 37 since are still active. In fact, the only ones deactivated since Bill Clinton made his first ED (emergency declaration, not... you know) are:
Clinton:
One to prohibit new investment in Myanmar/Burma;
One to allow the NATO bombing of Serbia over Kosovo;
One that banned rough diamonds from Sierra Leone during their civil war;
Bush 2:
Sanctions over the civil war in Ivory Coast;
Obama:
One to help hospitals during the H1N1 flu outbreak;
...and one for Russian sanctions over what they were doing with enriched uranium from dissembled nukes (surprisingly, this one was declared AFTER the Clinton Foundation supplied that uranium deal to them).
I noticed a lot of the active ones are sanctions against various nations:
Iran (2)
Sudan
Albania (for sending insurgents into Macedo- er, North Macedonia)
Zimbabwe
Syria
DR Congo
North Korea
Somalia
Libya
Yemen
Russia (over the Ukraine war)
South Sudan (just to cover all the bases)
Central African Republic
Venezuela
Burundi
Myanmar (over the Rohingya situation)
Nicaragua
I should point out that of this list, Somalia through Burundi are Obama babies.
Among the highlights I found on the list:
Wilson's first ED- to get the nation to make more emergency shipping available just prior to our WWI entrance;
A Roosevelt one that enforced neutrality from the start of war in Europe in September of 1939- until, oddly enough, 1952, in the midst of the NEXT war.;
A string of EDs extending the Export Administration Act of 1979 (which kept defense contractors from joining the Arab boycott of Israel), from Reagan, Clinton, and both Bushes, ordered by Congress to be rescinded in 2018, but kept alive by Trump soon afterwards.
Supposedly that whole 1973 mess led to a law that put a limit on how long they can last, but whatever that limit is, I couldn't find it. Plus, when the limit hits, the President just re-ups it. And Congress can always repeal it- of course, that takes 2/3s of each House and the POTUSs signature, so yeah, that's gonna happen.
It took me very little time to discover this would be a very good day to do a MWN post. And, I get to lead it off with Green New Deal stuff, so that's a big bonus!
ITEM 1: From an op/ed by Stuart Varney:
In New York City, the light bulbs in 23 housing projects are being changed, switching from the old incandescent bulbs to the energy saving LEDs. You may be wondering why we are spending time discussing light bulbs. Well, here’s why: It cost $1,973 for each apartment. Repeat: $1,973. That’s because, light bulb changing must be done by unionized electricians , who make $81 in base pay and $54 in benefits, per hour. Total cost for the light bulb switch in 23 projects: $33.2 million. To change the light bulbs. These outrageous numbers are reported by The Wall Street Journal. This editorial is not about the high cost of union labor. It’s about the Green New Deal (GND). You see the GND demands the refitting of every single building in the country for energy efficiency. If it’s nearly $2,000 per apartment to change the light bulbs, who can calculate the cost for every structure in America. And when it comes to your building, don't think you can avoid high-priced union labor: The Green New Deal demands quote: "High-quality union jobs that pay prevailing wages."
So Statista says there are 127.59 million households in the USA, at $1,973 per... that's $251.7 BILLION just to replace yer light bulbs. How's your R rating?
ITEM 2: Next up, Ms Ocasio-Cortez seems to think her "victory" over Amazon trying to move to the Big Apple frees up money that she can then spend elsewhere...
“If we were willing to give away $3 billion for this deal, we could invest those $3 billion in our district ourselves, if we wanted to. We could hire out more teachers. We can fix our subways. We can put a lot of people to work for that money, if we wanted to,” Ocasio-Cortez said last week after the technology giant announced on Thursday that it had dropped plans to build the new headquarters in America’s largest city amid pressure from politicians and activists.
Of course the problem is, that the $3 billion was in tax incentives- you know, tax breaks Amazon WOULD have gotten had they set up shop. And why is that a problem?
On Sunday morning, de Blasio responded in the affirmative when Chuck Todd of NBC News’ “Meet the Press” asked if the tax breaks offered to Amazon weren’t “money you had over here. And it was going over there.” The Democratic mayor said: “And that $3 billion that would go back in tax incentives was only after we were getting the jobs and getting the revenue." “There’s no money — right,” de Blasio added.
Of course, Chuck and Bill had to be shaking their heads at the thought that this was something that had to even be brought UP in an adult conversation.
I keep telling people that her apparent lack of lucidity is just a cover for what she's REALLY planning. It is getting harder and harder to do this with a straight face.
ITEM 3: From the BBC:
If you wonder how an electorate can elect someone like that (Ask the Allen County Democrats about Tommy Schrader), here's a story from the Ukraine that will help shed some light...
A Ukrainian prankster thought it would be a laugh to see how many people would turn up for a fake election rally on the promise of cash, and was surprised by the scale of the response. Oleksiy Utkin used social media to offer 1,000 hryvnyas (£28; $37) of "easy money" to anyone willing to turn out in freezing conditions for three hours in support of Serhiy Filatov's bid to become president of Ukraine. They would get a bit more if they brought a friend, 1+1 TV reports. But the catch was that there was no candidate Filatov. More than 200 people turned up on Kiev's popular Andriyivskyy Uzviz street, chanting pro-Filatov slogans on cue, unaware they they were being broadcast on the internet via Mr Uktin's web camera - and equally unaware that they were not going to be paid for their trouble. The channel's cub reporter Halyna Petryshak went among the crowd in Kiev to ask what they thought of their candidate. "I'm for Filatov, or Frolov, or whoever he is, as long as they pay up," one person told her. Another anonymous interviewee was more positive about the presidential hopeful. "He's a great guy!" he declared. The crowds dispersed without incident as night fell and no money appeared, so Oleksiy Utkin decided it was time to end the Filatov campaign.
He rounded off the prank by announcing online that Serhiy Filatov had fallen down a drain and died, so the second round of rallies would be replaced by a wake.
Yes, there is a real Serihy Filatov. No, he did not fall down a drain and die. I wonder if Utkin will launch a write-in campaign...
ITEM 4: In the meantime, the archpriest of a little town near KC's KHL team in Niznekhamsk just got de-frocked. Why, you ask?
Archpriest Vladimir Golovin, who had gained notoriety for his racy services, was suspended in August by the diocese in Russia’s republic of Tatarstan for several public remarks that it said “bordered on blasphemy and mockery of Christ.” Russian Orthodox officials rebuked Golovin for openly addressing topics in his sermons including pornography, choice of lingerie and advising women to “imagine how a man performs [his] physiological functions.” A church court found Golovin guilty and defrocked him for infractions including slander and “engaging in activities that embarrass believers,” the Chistopol Eparchy announced on its website Thursday. Golovin was also found guilty of distorting church teachings about prayer, creating a community that opposes the church and “persistent disobedience” toward his bishop, the church court said.
But wait, there's more! After he was first told to stop preaching ( an order he ignored), apparently he went to a service with a mob of "fans" to hear the Bishop's explanation of why he was being shut down- an explanation that also included (if I get the gist) unauthorized faith healing, using Catholic prayers in his services, and encouraging the singing of hymns by couples during sex. He walked out on the Bishop, but his mob stayed- chased the Bishop and an assistant into the refectory and BEAT. THEM. UP.
I'm guessing that this story might not be over yet...
ITEM 5: Here's a story that will make you long to follow Shinto:
INAZAWA, Aichi Prefecture--A raging sea of about 9,000 half-naked men struggled to touch a "lucky" man, at a "naked festival" here, hoping to protect themselves from evil spirits and disease. Shuki Matsumoto, 27, chosen by the shrine as this year's "shin otoko” (man of god) was immediately swarmed by the frenzied men clad only in traditional "fundoshi" loincloths when he appeared on an approach to the Owari Okunitamajinja shrine, also known as Konomiya shrine. The shin otoko's role is to take all of humanity's misfortunes onto himself, relieving those who touch him on his way up to the shrine of their burdens.
Think of how many more people you could get to altar call with "a raging sea of 9,000 half-naked men"....
ITEM 6: This last story from Denmark I have to give you in three parts. First the headline, and take a little time to think on this...
Are Danish men becoming less intelligent – or is it the army’s test that’s at fault?
Hmmm. Okay, now let's tell the story, so it makes sense...
When young men are called up to do national service in the Danish forces, they have to take a test in four parts to measure their intelligence. The test was developed by psychologist Børge Prien back in the last century and has remained more or less unchanged from 1957 until 2010, when it was digitalised. However, men’s scores in the test have been going down every year since 1998, reports Berlingske newspaper. Speaking to TV2, Thomas Teasdale, an associate professor with the Department of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen, feels that although three parts of the test are still valid, “I’m a bit in two minds about the last part. It seems outdated and might have been easier for a young man in 1960 than today”.
Okay, so that makes sense, considering the battles we've had with SATs and ISTEPs and all those other tests (an old friend might not forgive me if I don't throw in our 'favorite', the NIMSQT.) But now, let me throw in one more paragraph- with its header- to put this firmly into MWN territory:
The bright don’t breed Michael Woodley, a British researcher into intelligence, has another theory. He reckons that the fall in intelligence levels is due to the fact that increasing numbers of less intelligent people are responsible for the majority of population growth.
Oh, you Brits sure have that way with words...
God likes to wait until you are comfortable to make you uncomfortable....
A few weeks back, without mentioning names at the time, I told what I knew about the sad story of pastor James McDonald, who has apparently fallen from grace. I don't want to go into a lot of details, but it's out there if you want to read it. Basically, we have a man who at one point preached the Word of God faithfully, through a huge multi-church organization, several books, and a radio ministry, becoming a bullying power-freak. This week, his fall from the church was complete after a man he himself led to Christ- a man who is a radio host who once did a syndicated radio show that one of our local stations carried, one "Mancow" Muller- as a last resort after repeated calls to McDonald to resign and get help- played an audio tape that sunk him once and for all. A tape in which he claimed a handful of generally disgusting and untrue actions against those he perceived as enemies. After the tape's excerpts were played Wednesday on WLS, the Elders finally fired McDonald from all association with the church's organization.
It's real entertainment, this story.
But here's the thing, after I had done my research, dug for updates, and finally laid down to refresh and pray about it, that God gave me a thought and made me get back up.
Just a speculation: This is a man who seems to have lived a double life. I've heard his sermons, found nothing overly disturbing in them. Now "all of the sudden" (and the fact or fiction of that statement can invalidate the whole thing), he becomes this utter monster. His radio shows have been axed, his books are being pulled off the shelves.
And as I prayed, the thought came to me: What caused this? Is it a moral failing, or perhaps something physical? Could he have a brain tumor that brought this change on (if change there was), or a mental illness? I'm not trying to find an excuse for him, but there is somebody- a few somebodies- that I am about to damn. Regard: If this WAS the case, and say three months down the road, we find McDonald is suffering from an "inoperable brain tumor" or somesuch, he's not quite so guilty for his actions.
Not so his elder board, who went along with and covered up his misdeeds, only firing him when the Mancow tape made it clear to them it was either jettison McDonald or be sued into non-existence. If McDonald indeed did some pretty reprehensible things while in charge of Harvest Baptist, they stood by and let him, instead of seeking to find out what was wrong with him.
Now, withdraw the part about McDonald being ill. He DID reprehensible things, and THEY covered it up. At one point, a group of former elders pleaded with them to do something about McDonald. Let's pick up the story from the lady blogger I mentioned in the earlier post- Julie Royes- about what happened then...
While I am heartened that the elders finally removed MacDonald, he should have been fired five years ago. That’s when eight former elders sent a letter to the sitting elder board, warning them that MacDonald was disqualified for office. Yet instead of investigating MacDonald, the board excommunicated some of the messengers. And shockingly, two of the elders who participated in a video slandering those men, Steve Huston and Paul Inserra, remain on the board. Huston even chairs the Executive Committee of the Elders. In addition, Jeff Smith, the chairman of the finance committee who’s clearly failed to oversee properly the finances of the church, remains an elder. So do Fred Ananias and Scott Stonebreaker, who wrongfully fired Pastor John Secrest from HBC Naples. And let’s not forget that the entire elder board recently pledged their unconditional support for MacDonald, showing a grievous misunderstanding of what it means to be an elder. All of them should step down and a transition team should be put in place.
On the other blog mentioned, The Elephant's Debt (the one where McDonald sued the two bloggers AND their wives), they had a post involving an attempt by former member Dave Jennings to reach out to fix the mess...
The reality is that LOADS of us did try, and were then either shown the door, rotated out of ministry, or -in my own case- simply gave up after years of sending emails like this one and consistently getting replies that chastised me for their length in lieu of engaging their content.
In other words, McDonald didn't have a board of Elders as elders are supposed to be- he had a board of sycophants hanging onto him for their own power. THESE men committed the greater sin, had the greater failure. Was it because of the good they saw in McDonald, or his charisma? More likely it was because the shell-game they were playing with Harvest's money was making them very wealthy. Every church property was collateral for one or more OTHER church properties; despite the vast monies coming in, the organization was deeper in debt than Congress; and the whole thing was set up so poorly that one church failing might have taken down the whole lot of them.
And still might.
Tit 1:7 For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, Tit 1:8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. Tit 1:9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Tit 1:10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. Tit 1:11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.
I don't know individually how many of Paul's rules for elders that these men broke, but I do know they ALL broke the one I highlighted. What was their excuse? Did they ALL have brain tumors? No, they just had their eyes on the "golden goose" of McDonald- their Golden Calf- instead of God, their calling, their integrity. James McDonald might be a monster, or he might be a sympathetic character. But in his fall, he becomes cover for the REAL monsters of Harvest Baptist. As long as everyone stays focused on McDonald's next move, they can still slink away with his ill-gotten gain. Thank God for people like Julie and Mancow for taking a stand to see that doesn't happen.
Today the Barry-less Tardis goes, not to 1955 as advertised, as the 1955 portion of the Martin Era 2.0 doesn't start until May. Instead we go to 1956, where we run into this:
The full story I got from an earlier story in the Montana Standard. Apparently both these teams, and a Brooklyn Dodgers-Milwaukee Braves set-to, were cancelled because two years previously the Birmingham city council passed an ordinance banning blacks and whites from playing baseball together- as well as dice, dominoes, checkers, and "a long list of other games". This was apparently the first couple of times the rule had been tested, and the Dodgers weren't about to let Jackie Robinson take a back seat to anyone. The A's GM, Parks Carolli (if I read the fine print right), told the press that "if Birmingham has a city ordinance to that effect, the A's won't play." Good on my A's! Makes me wonder though, whether the Red Sox cancelled their game with their minor league team there. The Bosox- last team in MLB to integrate, surprise surprise- not only had no black players, they wouldn't have their FIRST one until midway through the third season AFTER Jackie Robinson retired.
I would go on about this disgusting story, but you're here for the music, right! This week we go back to '56, discuss the Cashbox policy of combining all versions of a song on their chart, shoot the breeze with an ADULT Mary MacGregor, play two new M10 debuts, speculate whether this is the week we get our 100th M10 #1, and tell another 6D that starts with a obscure Olivia Newton-John fact! So let's hop in the musical Tardis, where ALL men were created equal!
Our M10 debuts come in at #s 9 and 10, but it really is a David and Goliath situation between the two. First, the "David" at #10, from Calgary, Alberta, here are the Fast Romantics:
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Let's see if we can bring in Mary MacGregor...
Hello, and it's nice to meet you as an adult this time!
Are you sure? As I recall, you didn't really like my song...
Well, honestly, I don't believe a man can conceive of his woman loving both him AND another guy. So yeah, a song like this without pots and pans crashing in the background seems a bit unfulfilling to me. Nothing personal.
And in honesty, my former husband felt the same way about the song. Not that I'd ever DO such a thing...
Yeah, I get that- but you're the hubby at home, and your wife thinks this is a proper song to make your name on...
I knew it was taking a risk. But people whose opinions I respected told me to go ahead, it's just a song, and it was a big hit.
Regrets?
Ask me when the royalties run out. You did grab me from 1977 this time.
As hard as that is to believe, we did get that right. Anyway, because of the way the charts shake out, we have to do things a little different in the earlier years like this. Anyone who got a top ten vote from Billboard, Cashbox, and the only two stations I had available, KTOP and WJR, makes the list, and I gave 'em points based on where they finished on ALL the charts. That gives us a 20 song list, with two repeats by different artists. So I'll have you go up the list until we hit the top 4, and they will be our audience choices.You good?
I'm ready. Do you want me to read off the points?
Nah, just give the Billboard and/or Cashbox rankings, keeping in mind CB combined different versions where BB did not, and the list also has the top tens from the two "Panelists".
Okay. So from the bottom up, we start with one of two versions of a song variously known as the Moritat, the Theme From The Three-Penny Opera, and one day Mack The Knife. This first time of two in the picks, Louis Armstrong did it, titled by Three Penny Opera but sung as Mack The Knife.
That was one of the coolest tunes on the list...
But he only was in a tie for #60 on BB. Next was Otis Williams "and his new band"- so it says on the label- and That's Your Mistake. It was #39 on CB. Then, we have Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers with Why Do Fools Fall In Love- it was the only version, but still CB had it up at #25 while BB was way down at #86.
Not that this had anything to do with it, but BB's was a top 100 (which I didn't always have access to all 100), while CB was a 50.
You're right, that wouldn't have a thing to do with it.
Gee, haven't changed much, have you?
Next we have the Blue Stars with an instrumental Lullabye of Birdland. It was pretty close on both charts- 34 on BB, 31 on CB. Then it's one of two versions of Tutti Fruitti, this time by Pat Boone.
I'd like to see him do THAT song wearing that leather get-up he had on on his metal album...
Oh, me too! Tee hee! He was 23 on BB and a shared 15 on CB. Anyway, next is Gale Storm's Teenage Prayer. It was #9 on BB and a shared 17 on CB. Then we have Don Cherry's Band Of Gold- not the Freda Payne song- at 6 on BB and 7 on CB. The Dream Weavers had a tune It's Almost Tomorrow next. It was 9 on BB and a shared 16 on CB.
Strange- you'd think that CB's placement would be higher on the shared songs since it combined two versions, but that's twice it didn't happen.
I know! Eddie Fisher was next with Dungaree Doll, an 8 on BB and an 11 on CB. Then comes the Crew Cuts with Angel In The Sky, 13th on both charts!
Wow, how'd that happen?
The other version of the Moritat- an instrumental by the Dick Hyman Trio- was 19 on BB but all the way up at #9 on CB! Les Baxter's Poor People Of Paris made #14 on CB but way down at 46 on BB. Tennessee Ernie Ford was at 4 on BB and 8 on CB with 16 Tons. The other Tutti Fruitti- by Little Richard- was 27 on BB. Curious about him doing this in leather?
There are probably pictures out there, knowing him...
Dean Martin was at #1 BB and #4 CB with Memories Are Made Of This. Wow, you'd think this wold be higher on your list...
Problem was, WJR only had a 12-song list, and they boned him. If I'd have done it by average, he might have won.
Hmmm. Last one on the non-finalists then is Bill Haley and his Comets with See Ya Later Alligator, with a 7 from BB and a 6 from CB.
And that brings us to the final four- a group that split 595 of the 1794 points I gave out! Here, Mary, let us in on the finalists...
Okay, we have the Platters and The Great Pretender, #2 on BB and #1 on CB... Kay Starr and her Rock And Roll Waltz, 3 and 2... Nelson Riddle and his orchestra with Lisbon Antigua, 4 and 3... ...and finally the Four Lads with No Not Much, 13 (tied with the Crew Cuts) on BB and #5 on CB!
All right, thanks for the help, Mary! So you have the Platters, Kay Starr, Nelson Riddle, and the Lads to pick from!
So what do the singles Let It Shine by ONJ and One Bad Apple by the Osmonds have in common? (Besides three word titles, same era, hated by rockers...) Well, both of them had the same song for a b-side... He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. Made a hit by the Hollies, they actually had it in the UK charts twice. Originally it hit #3 back in '69, and after being part of a Miller Lite ad, charted again and hit #1 in 1988. It was co-written by Bob Russell (who died just 5 months after the Hollies release) and our 6D victim... a man so talented he was a professional musician at the age of 11, could play piano, vibraphone, accordion, cello, clarinet, and double bass, as well as sing- and the song he sang, not the same as the Sam Cooke song, was Chain Gang, it was at CB's #10 ( which means I did an oopsie and somehow missed him- but hey, bigger moment of fame, buddy!), and he was Bobby Scott.
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Eerily, we have a debut at #9 by another gentleman who died barely two weeks after the song in question was released, in the fall of 2016. I heard it on one of the Battle Of The Bands posts two weeks ago, and it just caught me. Debuting this week is 82-year-old Leonard Cohen...
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So I had to puff up Stat Pack this week, since for the time being we lose the #56 at '56 because the chart only goes to #50, and that also kills our #101 song. But what I did do was delve into the phenomenon of CB's combining songs together in one chart position. Just in our Panel picks, we had the two Tutti Fruittis, as well as Jo Stafford sharing It's Almost Tomorrow with the Dream Weavers, and Gloria Mann sharing with Gale Storm on Teenage Prayer. In fact, 12 of CB's 50 had more than one artist combined- one of them had 4 competing versions! (of course, only two of them charted on BB- but the biggest of those was the only chart hit for Green Acres' Eddie Albert! ) So given those numbers, you had a chance that as many as 66 acts could have been on one 50-song chart! But the number was actually "just" 53- the Platters, the 4 Lads, Bill Haley, Tennessee Ernie, Pat Boone, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Al Hibbert, and Gale Storm each had two hits- and the Crew Cuts and the Four Aces had three each!
In the remaining stats, we had Why Do Fools Fall In Love as the big mover, a whopping dozen spots from 37 to 25; I knew 14 of the US 50 and five of the UK 20, which included Panelists Memories Are Made Of This (4), Band Of Gold (19), It's Almost Tomorrow (16), and the #1, 16 Tons.
boygenius moves out of that 10-hole to #8 with Bite The Hand.
Castlecomer spends week 9 in #7, down 5, with She's So High.
The Dig dig up 3 spots to 6 with You're Not Alone.
Two songs get stuck, two others leapfrog them. The stickers: Santana and In Search Of Mona Lisa in #5, The Essex Green and Sloane Ranger in #3; the froggies, Criminal Hygiene's Greetings From A Postcard (6 to 4), and Roseanne Cash's The Only Thing Worth Fighting For (4 to 2)- both of them having gone farther than I thought when I started them on their journeys.
And this week's top dog is last week's top dog-
Liz Cooper and the Stampede with Outer Space!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the winner of the Panel? It was a tight race, with just 0.6 % between the four! The Lads got 141 points, the Platters and Kay each got 150, but the winner with 154....
Nelson Riddle and his merry men with Lisbon Antigua!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tune in next week as we join Nelson and crew in 1957!
