Time Machine co-ordinates VICXLV649103071

 

Here's the news from October 30, 1971:

Duane Allman, founder and lead singer of the nationally prominent Macon based Allman Brothers Band, was killed last night when his motorcycle spun out of control.

Allman never regained consciousness from the accident and died at 8:40 p.m. at the Middle Georgia Medical Center.

The accident occurred at 5:44 p.m. as Allman was traveling west on Hillcrest Avenue through the Bartlett Avenue intersection according to investigating Bluecoat Officers Ray Gurganious and J. E. Lister.

Allman lost control of his motorcycle just after a truck driven by Charles Wertz had entered the intersection and turned north from Hillcrest onto Bartlett, police said.

In a statement to police, Wertz said, “After completing a half turn (onto Bartlett), I saw a motorcycle about 20 feet behind my truck. I slowed and heard a crush. I stopped and couldn’t tell whether the man on the motorcycle had hit me or not. “I saw a boy lying on the pavement with the cycle going as fast as it could, I walked over and shut it off.”

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Not a happy way to start things today on TM;  things rarely have been this year.  Perhaps we can get them a little cheerier with today's Time Machine, featuring Michael Jackso... uh-oh, what is it this time, Nardole?  

Well, sir, remember all that trouble we had with little Mary McGregor?

You mean the trouble caused when you took her from 1955 instead of 1977?

Yes, and how she somehow got loose in the Tardis?  So our solution to that was to build an anti-child device into the doorway.  It managed to thrust her back into her own time... at least, we hoped so...

Okay...

And then, the little Fleetwood Mac got in some months later due to... uh...

Due to that same error?

No, due to a clause in the contract.  And we forgot to shut it off in getting them.  Apparently we wired it to a faulty connection and it shorted a circuit.  And when we repaired the circuit, the feedback froze it in place.

And you never fixed it?

I, er, believe the switch for the device was shunted into a pocket dimension of 1955...and we haven't been back since.  However, since we were going to be back just after the turn of the year, I thought...

You thought we'd wait.  And your solution for this week's Panel is..?

Well, he'll be in in a moment...

Oh, I can't wait.  In the meantime though, let's get the first of two M10 debuts this week- and from that 1970 lp Half And Half, here's more Four Seasons at #10...

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All right, I know everybody's waiting to see who Nardole got as a guest instead of Michael Jackson to do the Panel.  Welcome everybody....

Good grief!  REGGIE Jackson!!??!

Hi!  What's up?

Gee, Reggie, you've always been a favorite player of mine (EDITORS NOTE:  Except when he played for the Yankees), but I didn't know you were much into music...

Yeah, I used to relax to upbeat stuff.  The O'Jays, the Four Tops, the Beach Boys...

Not so far from what we like!  So did Nardole fill you in?

Yeah, you have a list of songs from 1971 that hit #1 around the country, and you want me to guess the winner.

Well, not necessarily guess, but you can if you want.  I really just want you to introduce them...

Okay, give me the fact sheet and I'll get it going!

Well, normally, I...

Listen, man.  Don't go all Charlie Finley on me.  Just give the mike to the Straw That Stirs The Drink, and I'll handle it.

Now, we have a list of 22 songs from 67 stations, including one from the Netherlands who took Middle Of The Road's hit Soley Soley; three contenders from Australia- Dave Mills with Love Is A Beautiful Song, Drummond's Daddy Cool, and Olivia Newton-John's Banks Of The Ohio; And one for South Africa's #1, which I'm supposed to save for later.  Now, there are four contestants for the finals.  They are:

Cher's Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves.  I never get whether she's supposed to be a Gypsy or an Indian.  Kind of like a switch-pitcher.  I'm gonna say no to her.  But... she was at #5 this week on Cashbox, so we'll see.

Next, The Osmonds with Yo-Yo, at #2.  Since you wouldn't be able to get little Donny in here either, I'll bet you're hoping for a 'no'.

Third is Rod Stewart's Maggie May at #1.  Hard to bet against the big gun.  But, even I have my strikeouts, so we'll think about it.

Finally, we have Isaac Hayes and the Theme From Shaft, at #24 with a bullet.  That's some funky stuff there, but he's kind of behind in the standings.  I'm gonna have to bet the odds and go with Rod.  Back to you, Chris.  Say, you aren't related to that old Yankee second baseman, Billy Martin, are you?  He's done some fine work in Minneapolis and Detroit...

Uh, no, not really...

Too bad, I think he's going places.  I wouldn't mind playing for him...

(Chris gets a mental image....)

Uh, yeah, keep those good thoughts, and thanks for helping out!  

Next, a second debut at #9.  This band came to me from a friend's blog.  The leader is one Ron Keel, who had a small stint as frontman for Black Sabbath.  He moved on into Country metal, and became known as the Metal Cowboy.  He then took a job at a radio station in South Dakota, whose owner had several questionable business ventures (including currently trying to unload a racetrack so badly, that he offered to give the track to the winner of a race he was organizing- no takers.)  The owner also had, get this, a pawn shop/entertainment center, for which he pegged Ron to put together a house band, and so the Badlands House Band was formed.  Needless to say, this collapsed in one of many ruinous heaps by the guy, but the band was so tight, they got a contract under the name the Ron Keel Band.  And here they are with something that just missed the Cover Summer of 2020...

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You ever wonder who Ubu ("Sit Ubu, sit, good dog") productions was named after?  Well, founder Gary Goldberg named it after his Black Lab  named Ubu Roi...

Taken in front of the Louvre...

Ubu comes up because it produced Family Ties, and that 1980s or so TV show had it's theme sung by Johnny Mathis on male lead- except for year 1, when it was Danny Tufano.  Danny was once the lead singer for the Buckinghams, who had many great 60's hits including the #5 Mercy Mercy Mercy.  This song was a cover of a Cannonball Adderley instrumental which was an R&B #2 and pop #11 in 1967.  The back side was Willie Mitchell's Soul Serenade... and this is important because Willie Mitchell was the producer on this week's 6D victim, Al Green's Tired Of Being Alone, #6 without a Panel vote.

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Overseas, if you please:  At #1 around the world:

UK had the same song as we did, Maggie May- not often that happens!

Canada went with Donny Osmond's Go Away Little Girl, which was #12 here.

Australia, out of the three that made the Panel, chose ONJ and Banks Of The Ohio, #94 here.

New Zealand had a neat, but hard to type, ballad at the top, The Rumour with L'amour Est L'enfant de La Liberte. (Of course until they sell a giant size keyboard with much bigger keys, they're all hard to type for me...)

And South Africa had local band Charisma's version of Mammy Blue- a song that was on the Cashbox 100 in versions by the Pop Tops (#80) and James Darren (89).

And the big move belonged to Finalist Isaac Hayes, as Shaft went from 67-24, beating out John Lennon's Imagine with a move of 43.  Gee, John gets shafted yet again on TM!

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The remaining M10:

8- At 9 weeks, Saintseneca's In A Van falls at last 3 notches.

7- Acres Wild,who as we learned in last week's comments is NOT the band of the same name from Germany (and I KNEW better!) up 2 with Mirrorball Stars.

6- More from lack of room, Shilpa Ray and HHB slips a pair.

5- Bon Jovi up 2 with Beautiful Drug.

4- After 3 weeks, the Four Seasons relinquish the top, dropping 3 with the Any Day Now medley.

3- Yuno makes our big move, up 5 with No Going Back.

2- Nudging up one is Blue Oyster Cult with Tainted Blood.

And in a week that features songs from bands founded in 1983, 1967, even 1960, it's only appropriate that the new #1 comes from a band founded 50 years ago...

America with Remembering!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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So how did ol' Reg do?

Well, not so good... Maggie May gets you 7.4%.

The Osmonds net you 10.44%...

Isaac Hayes gets you 14.9%...

But yer winnah, with 34.3%...

Cher with Gypsies Tramps And Thieves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know, I'm through trying to guess if the guest for the show will actually make it!  But, God willing, I will be- in 1972!

Wednesday Bible Study: the end of all things- Malachi

 

 

It hasn't been that long since I referenced this week's chapter, the 4th of Malachi. But this time, let's look at it from the angle of how it connects to the end of chapter three.  In the book, Malachi weeds through the excuses the people are giving for their sinfulness.  One by one, they are accused of: saying God isn't there for them (1:2), despising His name (1:6), offering defective "sacrifices" (1:8), considering serving God "weariness" (1:13), false tears to cover their sinning (2:13), unfaithfulness (2:14)... it goes on and on.  But at the end of chapter three, God has had enough:

Mal 3:16  Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.
Mal 3:17  "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
Mal 3:18  Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. 

 

And that was the problem in Israel- they had ignored the Lord so long, they failed to see any distinction between good and evil in their lives, in that they could just do the 'superficial things', call them good enough, and God should be happy with whatever they felt like bringing to Him.

It doesn't work like that- it never did.

God wants us to bring our all, our first, our best to Him.  Not, "Here comes the collection plate, what do I have left in my wallet that I can spare".   Not, "Joe asked for prayer, so, God, help out Joe".  Not, "That idiot cut me off in traffic, I hope God blasts him!"

The chapter goes on to list promises that God made to BOTH the faithful and the unfaithful- and keep in mind, the unfaithful included all those people in the previous chapters trying to rationalize away their short-shrifting of God.  

The promises for the good:

Mal 4:2  But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Mal 4:4  "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
Mal 4:5  "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

Fear of the Lord equals blessing; remembering the Law equals mercy.

The promises for the evil:

Mal 4:1  "For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

Mal 4:6  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction." 

 

But there is a verse in the middle that struck me most.  I have seen a lot of vengeful, "God's gonna get you for that" type Christians who seemingly long for that day when they'll be able to laugh at the destruction of those who hate them- maybe even hope to 'push them over the edge' into the Lake of Fire.  But our interaction with them will be nothing of the sort:

 

 Mal 4:3  And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.

Ashes.  Dirt we won't even notice.  Now, how does Malachi suggest we avoid that fate?  By remembering God, what He has done for us, and treating Him with fear, respect deserved.  By being faithful to His commands, and bringing Him our best every day.

Sunday Message: What did I need, what do I need

 

Honest disagreement doesn't have to be a bad thing.  I had one yesterday that got me thinking on several issues.  Without touching on the actual issues, I'd like to share what I learned in meditating on the discussion.

First, I came into the thing with a preconceived notion- not necessarily a wrong one- of certain 'articles of faith', as I understood them, which totally validated my mindset.  As I worked my way through them, one by one, I began to see where my conceptions on them were strongly Bible based, BUT- but there was also Biblically based evidence to show that my concept wasn't necessarily the case.  For an example of this I turn to Revelation:

Rev 13:16  Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
Rev 13:17  so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

Which to my mind was the mark of damnation; if you take the mark, you are damned to hell.  Therefore, even the act of warning someone not to take the mark would be useless; no one would be getting it by accident or lack of knowledge.  But then, I remembered Jesus's words from Matthew 24:

Mat 24:23  Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it.
Mat 24:24  For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Mat 24:25  See, I have told you beforehand.

Does this mean those who won't be damned might still be fooled into getting the mark?  I don't know, but it certainly put a hole into my monolithic concept.  And as I considered further, most of my rock-hard points had a place where you could logically put in an, "But, it's possible..."

The person I was debating with made a very valid point, one which shows my biggest, "inherited from my Dad" weakness:

I was told in an apologetics class that the biggest mistake of any preacher is to assume everyone thinks as you do, knows what you know, and that you know more than your congregation.

 

The other thing I debated on with myself was my assertion- which I still believe, at its core- is the opinion that it is better to save by teaching grace than with 'fire and brimstone' preaching- that you can lead someone to the glory of Heaven easier by teaching its virtues than scaring them with Hell and hoping they flee it in the right direction.  But my meditations took me to a very powerful question to myself- and I was surprised by the answer:

I was taught salvation by grace- but surrendered to Christ with fire and brimstone right in front of me.

I was educated in the soft, firm words of grace- but it was escape from the enemy that brought me to my knees.  That's when another thing my friend said hit home...

I appreciate you, but you are not in jeopardy. What about those “nice” people who are. 

 

NOW, I'm not in jeopardy. I don't need fire and brimstone so much.  Did I then?  I don't know, but I sure 'had it'.

Tine Machine co-ordinates VICXLIV648102370

 

"Elvis!  Elvis, wake up!"

"Um?  Whu.. what's going on?"

"Wake up!  You have to practice for your interview of the Beatles!"

"The WHO?  No, man, I won this week!"

"No, the Beatles did!  Second week in a row, don't you remember?"

"Dadgum it, I tell you I won!  Here, lemme show you right at the end of last week..." (Keyboard clicking)  Look right here!"

"Maybe YOU better look at it, bud..."

"and in an amazing, miraculous event that even I can't figure how it happened,

 the winner- despite only getting three votes between them..."

"...the Beatles with Come Together/Something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"No!  That ain't right! That ain't how it happened!!!"

"Incredible as it seems, huh?  So anyway, here's a list of the things I want you to bring up in the interview.  Pay special attention to page seven..."

"(muttering) This is a bunch of crap...I know I wasn't dreamin'... page seven, here!  'This is what you get for that "Boycott Time Machine" crap last week.  Much love, the Boss.'... YOU SUNNAVA..."

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And that's how Elvis got to start the day on October 23rd, 1970, aboard the Musical Tardis!  Now that I've let him off the hook, why don't you go ahead and let everyone know what's coming up on Time Machine this week?

A fat lip, for one!  We got anuther not-so-close Panel race...leastways there ain't no Beatles songs in the picks... we got 2 new M10 songs... Say, since you have the M10 an' the Martin Era 2.0, why not have the Panel picks get called the Presley Picks?

Because I pick the ten, I decided the era, you do NOT pick the panelists.

That's just avoidin' the question...

Plus you'll never get it past Bellbottom...

HB:  I should say not!  Why the conflict of interest with your estate alone... 

EP:  Oh, please, I always could sweet talk Priscilla inta anything...

Never the less, it's not gonna happen.  Anyway, let's kick off the music with a band that's been floating around the shuffle for a bit... and hasn't been on the M10 since August of 2016!  Here, from Germany is Acres Wild at #9:

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An' now, to help out with the Panel picks, here's the one an' only Priscilla Beaulieu Presley!!!!

P: Wow, you actually take me somewhere with you... and it's a BOX...

E: Honey, this is my afterlife job!

P:  Afterlife?

E:  Yeah, see, this is a Time Machine, and I got hired in and all...

P: Is this another one of your crazy stories to get out of trouble?

E: No, sweetie, I promise!  Chris help me out...

Um, 'boycott time machine..'

E:  All right!  I'll never do it again!

And...

E:  And... I'll invite the Beatles to host the Christmas Party this year!

Wow, you heard it here first!  Okay, yeah, he's legit.

P: So what are we doing?

E:  He's gonna give us some facts an' figures on this here song list from 1970, and we're gonna list off the top bunch of them fer people to guess at which one won... okay dumplin'?

P: Sure, sounds like fun!

Now that that's settled, the Panel list this week has 16 songs named #1 on 76 stations, including the return of the ever-beloved Laurenco Marquez song of the week- German star Michael (Mike) Holm with a tune called Madamoiselle Ninette...

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P: Hey, that was kinda catchy...

E: Yeah, but it ain't gotta chance o' winnin' since he told us about it.

This is true- our winner had just under half the votes!  But, we have a slate of 6 reasonable contestants, so...

E: That means we gotta read off these here songs.  You go first!

P:  All right, dear.. choose from: Cracklin' Rosie by Neil Diamond, #1 on Cashbox this week...

E: Then the Jackson Five- they're a buncha kids, hon- with I'll Be There at #2...

P: Third is the Partridge Family with I Think I Love You at #52 and climbing fast...

E: Then we got the Carpenters, sawin' away with We've Only Just Begun at #4...

P: Fifth is James Taylor and Fire And Rain at #15...

E:  An' finally, the Kinks an' Lola at #14!

Nice job, you two!  Next up, we have the second M10 debut- one pointed out to my by my son and heir, KC!  At #8, from his 2018 lp Moodie, allow me to introduce to you... Yuno!

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I struggled get something fresh that I haven't told about our 6D victim, but failed!  That's okay, though, as we're running long anyway!  The song with the highest spot on Cashbox without a Panel vote was Dawn with Candida at #3.  But let's then move onto the Overseas If You Please, where we find at the top of their charts...

South Africa: Mike Curb Congregation's Burning Bridges- a song that would nip our top 40 next year;

Canada:  Finalist Cracklin' Rosie;

New Zealand: Finalist Lola;

Australia:  Another Carpenters tune, (They Want To Be) Close To You, Which was a Cashbox #1 10 weeks ago;

And the UK: Freda Payne's Band Of Gold, which hit the top ten in July.

And, this week's big mover is Bread's It Don't Matter To Me, 'rising' 24 spots from 45-21.

E:  That was bad, boss...

You should here our company CFO tell his jokes at the quarterly meeting...  

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This week's remaining M10:

10- Castlecomer's Runaway drops three this week.

7- Up those same 3 spots, Bon Jovi and Beautiful Drug.

6- Hanging at 6 a second week, former #1 The Innocence Mission and On Your Side.

5- Are they finally, really going down?  Saintseneca falls 2 with In A Van.

4- Shilpa Ray's Heteronormative Horseshit Blues up one to #4.

3- Blue Oyster Cult bites into that #3 position with Tainted Blood...

Ugh, boss, that's worse...

Don't you have to go call the Beatles?

2- And holding, bridesmaid America with Remembering.

Which means, at #1 for a third week...

The Four Seasons with the Any Day Now/Oh Happy Day Medley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the Panel poll...

If you took the Partridges or the Kinks, you got 5.2%...

If you took the Carpenters, 6.5%...

If it was James or Neil, 9.2%

But the winner, with 46%....

The Jackson Five with I'll Be There!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week, some, most, or all of the J5 and 1971!  

E:  Hey, sweetie, when you go back, after I'm gone, can you have the estate tell him that calling the Panel the "Presley Picks" is a good idea?  Priscilla?

P: You're pathetic....

Wednesday Bible Study: The end of all things- Luke

 

The last chapter of Luke is the journey from the empty tomb to the ascension hill.  And, as I read it, I saw it was OUR journey, too, from idle curiosity about God to a faith that bears fruit.  Follow along with these people and myself.

Step one:  Remember

Luk 24:5  And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?
Luk 24:6  He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
Luk 24:7  that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise."
Luk 24:8  And they remembered his words,
Luk 24:9  and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

At this point, you are merely a muser about God, and at some point you remember something told you about Jesus, maybe even something you heard here.  Something that perhaps tugs at you.  What do you do with it?

Step two: Look into it

Luk 24:12  But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

Peter had to check out the story- that's how we go from remembering to something more.  We look into it ourselves.  But that alone is not enough.  ANYONE can look into the empty tomb and just see an empty tomb.  Some are even like the Sanhedrin, paying off the Roman guards to call it JUST an empty tomb.  But to get to the next step, you have to ask yourself the MEANING of that empty tomb.

Step three:  Going to the Word

Luk 24:25  And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Luk 24:26  Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
Luk 24:27  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

It takes Christ to truly show us how His story runs through the scriptures.  The two disciples had the desire to understand what was going on, they had the resources available to them, but they needed teaching to understand how it tied all together.

Step four:  Finding Jesus in the word

Luk 24:30  When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
Luk 24:31  And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
Luk 24:32  They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?"

The realization that Jesus is not just a New Testament teacher- that he is the Man that wrestled with Jacob, the bush that burned for Moses, the pillar of fire by night in the desert, the vision David saw in Psalm 22, the name of the Son in Proverbs 30:4, the 'one like a Son of God' for Daniel's friends in the furnace- is the next step.  You begin to see that not only He WAS to them, but WHAT He was to them.  But what is he to you?

Step five:  He is alive!

Luk 24:38  And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Luk 24:39  See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Luk 24:40  And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
Luk 24:41  And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
Luk 24:42  They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
Luk 24:43  and he took it and ate before them.

Now you've got to get past the part about Him being 'to them' in the past and realize that the empty tomb means He is alive now, for YOU, if you choose to follow.

Step six: Now the teaching comes alive

Luk 24:44  Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
Luk 24:45  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
Luk 24:46  and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
Luk 24:47  and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

If you have gotten this far, and He has become truly real to you, not just a great teacher of the past, He begins your advanced training, opening you up to treasures that escaped you before.  If I say that this is where I am, please don't think it from pride.  This story at every stop has "I coulda had a V8" moments where the women, Peter, the disciples, HAD to be saying to themselves, "But I never saw that before!"  That's me.  When I share these studies with you, I'm learning right along.  And a lot of what I have learned in these 'End Of All Things' posts is just what Clophas and his buddy were learning- how everything in this wonderful book, written over thousands of years by dozens of authors, TIES TOGETHER!  If sometimes it seems like I bring up the same things over and over, it is because the Bible has one consistent message, over and over- and that message is Christ.

Step seven: It's not over yet

Luk 24:49  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

One thing I know from the way Jesus is changing me in knowledge and action is that He has a plan for me.  Whether it is just surviving and thriving in this mess we call 2020, or something even greater, that I don't know.  But if you stay with me on these posts, I know we will find out together.  So where are you on the road?

That dreaded "at home with Misty" post

 So it strikes me that I have yet to do an "at home with Misty" post.  Mostly because where Scrappy lent himself to comedy in a Jethro Bodine sort of way, Misty's more like a Rocket Mortgage commercial.  I will try, though, to give you a peek into a typical Chris and Misty night.  First though, I will have to give you some pictures to establish just what I'm talking about.

The chair, the blanket, the unstuffed toy, the green... well, whatever it is.

The doggie

So much of the night, you can find her laying at my feet as I scroll past "I don't wanna wear my mask" memes and have brief bouts of trying to talk sense to "Bernie girls".  But around 7:30-ish, it's treat time.  She gets a Pupperoni, broken into 6 pieces.  Two she shakes hands for; one I hold up a finger and she freezes until I tell her okay; two more are tossed in the air to be caught; and the last one she gently takes from my lips as I 'hold' it.  At this point, if you are a person who considers lip smacking a pet peeve, you prolly don't want to hear her chewing.  Once they're all gone, a few seconds to confirm by nose that they are, indeed, all gone.  Then, it starts.

It starts with a hastily-grabbed mouthful of dog food, which we keep... well, you can see it in the lower left corner of picture #2.  Then she zips up forcefully into exhibit #1, the chair.  This former recliner has been the subject of so many high velocity canine cannonballs that she literally sheared a bolt in two, and now it has to lean against the window to stay upright (a situation Laurie intends to change in the near future).  Then, it becomes a high-speed game of back and forth, with kibble landing from one end to the other (because she is quite possibly the sloppiest eater among all living things I've ever witnessed), pausing ever so slightly to gather the lost kibbles, get another mouthful, and slam into the chair again.  Then it's time for the green 'whatever'.

This toy was once the inners of a blue outer which met its demise fairly early on.  It is tough, rubbery plastic, great for chewing and/or throwing- as well presumably as other female activities, for which I usually call it by a name I can't use here.  After a few rounds of fetch, Misty style- wait, I better explain that, too.  If I tried telling her, drop, it might actually be legit fetch.  I use it, much to her delight, as an excuse for wrestling, hide and seek, bop the doggie, and several other activities between throws.  For her part, she will run past (or leap over) me and land on the couch and act like "I just want to chew on it."  If one waits long enough, she'll 'drop it' on the floor; look at it (or you) like you dropped it, and then bark until you throw it again.

When I'm done playing with that, that's where the blanket comes in.  If I cover myself in it, she goes nuts (more so), attacking me, trying to pull it off of me by any means possible, and once she finds my face, gives me kisses like she hadn't seen me in years.

 

Then we're ready for the real spaz attack.  By this time, I'm ready to go up and get my shower.  This becomes an experience which includes any or all of the following:

 

-Racing up and down the steps as I ascend, barking all the way, doing spins that crash her head into the stairway wall about 50% of the time... 

- Tearing from up on my bed, out the bedroom door, to the very edge of the steps, full speed (or as close to it as she can manage, and she can manage pretty close), several times as I get undressed...

-Making me chase her from bathroom to bedroom, with her in full attack mode.  I go in the bathroom, shut the door, she breaks it open a half-dozen more times.  I've even sprayed Febreeze at her to get her to be done, to little effect.

Once I'm in the shower, though, she goes back to the bedroom and gets her breath back.  Once she hears the water shut off, though, she comes back in and lays down till I'm dressed and ready to go.  If I live through all that, we're pretty good for the rest of the night.

Of course, there are other, rarer things;  I have described her as being a canine Tigger at times, and this is no exaggeration.  She can truly, honestly, jump straight up and spin in mid-air.  She can take a running leap and turn in mid-flight. We have head butting contests that I NEVER win- her head is like a wrecking ball, and it never fazes her.  She'll knock me down while I'm on the floor with her shoulder and then continue in such a way that she ends up upside down with her butt in my face.  Scrappy did skits, she does slapstick.

Time Machine co-ordinates VICLXIII647101669

 

Today, October 16, 1969, the New York Mets won game 5 of the World Series to become the first team established after 1905 to win it all with a 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

The sportswriters were saying, in the first year of 6-team divisions, the Mets would likely finish fourth- and at the start, it looked like they might be right.  But they came on in the end to post a 100-62 record, the first time in their 7-year history they topped 73 wins.

And speaking of races, we actually have a good one for the  Panel winner, a couple of new M10 songs- one of which will require a disclaimer- and if I don't snap this keyboard in two for the wrong keys jumping into the path of my two typing fingers, maybe a live 6D!  And the Beatles are here to celebrate their 12th win- 2nd with Hey Jude!  So let's get the party started!

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And to kick it off, with their first time on the M10, but their 36th year hitting the chart, here's new Bon Jovi...

Beautiful Drug is off the new lp Bon Jovi:2020 and comes in at #10!

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Gentlemen, nice to see you again!

R:  About time!  How long has it been?

Over half a year, actually!  And congratulations on what is likely the biggest victory margin ever!

J: Well, it's really no surprise, people had taste back in those days...

P: John, it's only been the one year for us...

J:  Are you still here?  I thought you were off with Camera Girl recording that new disc of drivel...

Um, guys, I realize I didn't bring you here at the best time in your group dynamic, but for the sake of the children...

J:  Oh, look who's intellectual now! "Group dynamic", indeed.

R:  Hey, what children?

P: He means you...

Guys, can't we get along?  George, help me out here!

G: (Looking up from a note pad)  I'm sorry, what?  I was distracted...

J:  He's also putting together some magic Hare Krishna stuff...

G:  Well, excuse me, let's bow down to the atheist with the homely girlfriend/spirit guide.

Okay, we're getting a little personal here...

R:  Oi, and thanks for the tarts!  Elvis didn't bake these, did he?

P:  C'mon, you know he's sore because we beat him all the time.

R:  I don't know why he minds it being second, Jagger doesn't...

All right, before you lot start a feud with the Stones as well, maybe we could get to the Panel.  We have 33 contestants from 87 stations...

P: Any of our songs in it?

Uh, Come Together got 2 votes, and Something got 1...

J:  Magnificent!  I'm sure that put us right in the finals! There goes that chance to beat Elvis' three weeks in a row he got a while back...

P:  Well, it's not like the band will be together for two more years...

G:  Good on that!  I for one am tired of tripping over empty lo mein boxes and stepping on chopsticks!

J:  Now, see here!  Yoko does not leave...

R:  Er, I think he means me.  Sorry, George!

Okay, guys, focus!  I have five finalists for you to announce...

P:  Maybe you should leave one off.  We fight over everything these days.

I'll do the first one.  Choose from:

The Archies and Sugar Sugar, #3 on the Cashbox chart this week.  Who's next?

J:  Let Paul have it- after all, he won't get much more happiness from music once he's on his own, doing those silly love songs...

P:  I'll take it, because they'll be a refreshing change from oriental mood music!  Next is Mr Presley, where ever he's off moping at, with Suspicious Minds at #6...

G:  Next is this chap Bobby Goldsboro with Little Woman at #1.  Richard?

R: Next is Olivier...

J:  That's Oliver, fool...

R:  Ah, yes, Olivier with Jean...

P:  That's Oliver, like Oliver Hardy, with Jean like Jean Nate, not Jean like Jean-Paul Getty...

R:  Oh, honest mistake.  Anyway, that French classic is at #2...

J: And just to get this over with, the 5th Dimension with Wedding Bell Blues at #24.

R:  I'd be blue as well, if I were marrying...

J:  DON'T say it!

For once, I agree with John!  BTW, this was a close race that had a chance of going to a run-off!  Moving right along though, here comes that disclaimer.  It seems like most times I find something new I like from Shilpa Ray, I have to preface it with a caution, and this one is no exception.  I like this song, but beware- the message is about abusive relationships, the title isn't something you'd normally want on a t-shirt- and the second verse puts things in a way... well, let's just say this is NOT a song for children.  That said, coming in all the way up at #5...

BTW, the song is part of a concept theme she's putting together using herself as the Marilyn-esque Debbie Daydream, and her ex-BF, Lenny LaDouche...

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The 33 hits on the Panel this week were a mix of 17 hot 100s, one flip side, 2 songs that don't chart till next month, one that charted in July, one bubble-under, and at least 4 contenders for the Australian #1- Russel Morris's Part 3 Into Paper Walls and The Girl That I Love, Johnny Farnham with One, and Matt Flinders's Picking Up Pebbles.  

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One of the many places I wouldn't have expected to find the late David Cassidy is at the front of this particular 6D.  I found him as a backing vocalist on an lp called Sweet Salvation by guitarist Jim Krueger.  Jim didn't have anything apparently notable on that lp except a cover of Dave Mason's hit We Just Disagree- a hit that Jim, while playing in Dave's band, wrote for the group.  Now Dave did some notable writing of his own, including a song best known in Joe Cocker's version, Feelin' Alright.  It was also the lead track on our victim's lp Suitable For Framing.  That lp had a plethora of songs written by famous others- Laura Nyro, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Sam Cooke.  But our subject was a song first featured in the musical Hair.  That's right, it's the 5th Dimension (hah, fooled ya!) Three Dog Night with their version of Easy To Be Hard, #4 this week without a Panel vote.

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Overseas, if you please: In Australia, the official #1 this week was Part 3 Into Paper Walls;  New Zealand was rocking to Shane and his song Saint Paul; South Africa had Jackie DeShannon's Put A Little Love In Your Heart; in Canada, it was Nilsson's Everybody's Talkin'; and the UK had Bobbie Gentry's version of I'll Never Fall In Love Again.

And the big mover moved like a ball of fire 30 spots from 66-36-  it was Tommy James and the Shondels with, well, Ball Of Fire.

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The rest of the M10 this week:

9- 10 weeks on for Hazel English and Off My Mind- and a #9 spot leaves her in a 4-way tie for 12th all time.

8- Dent May slips out with one song, and from 5 with Pour Another Round.

7- Castlecomer up one more to 7 with Runaway.

6- Former #1 On Your Side by The Innocence Mission is down 3.

4- BOC up 2 more with Tainted Blood.

3- Saintseneca continues to have a resurgence, returning this week to #3 with In A Van.

2- Holding is America's Remembering.

Which means a second week at the top for...

The Four Seasons and the Any Day Now/Oh Happy Day medley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the Panel picks?

The 5D got you 5.7%...

Bobby Goldsboro got you 6.9%...

The Archies got you 8.0%...

Oliver managed 14.9%....

But your winner, with 17.2%....

...Elvis and Suspicious Minds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YEAH, BABY!!!!!! BURNTBURNTBURNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ACH!  Ye gods, where did you sneak in from?

Aw, c'mon, you know I'm never too far away...  An' I'll be here next week with 1970!

Good, because after that heart attack, I might NOT be....

Wednesday Bible Study: The End of all things- Leviticus

I while back I bought a book about studying "the wastelands of the Bible"- chapters like this one at the end of Leviticus in which it is hard to find what applies or even is recognizable.  So I knew that there would be something to find even in this wasteland. And in trying to figure it out, I learned a few things- and found a 'succulent' in the desert to take home.

Basically, what we are dealing with in Leviticus 27 is an appendix to the Law laid down beforehand.  That appendix concerns vows made to God.  Now, all you need to know about vows in a general way is found in Deuteronomy 23:

Deu 23:21  "If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
Deu 23:22  But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin.
Deu 23:23  You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.


In other words, you weren't REQUIRED to make any vows- the Jews stress that, for one to be valid, it must be voluntary- but if you did, it was darn serious business.  And much of the chapter is an attempt by God to 'close the loopholes' in the process, as He knew His people were quite ingenious in turning rules their own way.  That's why Jesus had to teach this:

Mar 7:9  And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
Mar 7:10  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.'
Mar 7:11  But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban"' (that is, given to God)--
Mar 7:12  then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,
Mar 7:13  thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."

Thus, for the most important thing you can 'vow' to God- another human being- a strict value was set, to discourage doing it very often.  In fact, as I studied this, I learned the Jews (according to The Jewish Encyclopedia) had a clever little way out here:

(1) A voluntary promise to bring a sacrifice which he who makes the vow is not otherwise in duty bound to bring; or a promise to give a certain sum to purposes of common charity or education. Such vows are called "nidre heḳdesh" (= "dedications"), and of these there are two specific kinds. (a) When he who promises points toward the object which he intends to give, and says, "This I dedicate to suchand such a holy or charitable cause," then he is not bound to replace the thing if it is lost. (b) If, on the other hand, he says, "I promise such and such an object, or such and such a sum of money, to be devoted to that purpose," then he is bound to replace it if it becomes lost. The former kind of vows are called "nedabah" (= "gift"); the latter kind "neder" (= "promise"). 

So it only counts IF you decide to tack on the monetary value!  Now God set the valuation on people- say you wanted to dedicate your daughter, but changed your mind and wanted to redeem her- purposefully high, I'm sure with thoughts of avoiding it altogether, or at least taking any frivolity out of it.  There's a different twist on animals and the like, which I'll get to in a moment.  Plus, the Jews had a fail-safe that if you regretted your vow, one ordained teacher (or three non-ordained teachers) could invalidate it.  In addition, if you were a woman making a vow, your hubby or dad could call it off- if it was 'harmful to the woman', and if he called it off at the very day he heard about it.

Then God had to explain what COULDN'T be vowed.  The first born of any animal belonged to the Lord; your tithes belonged to the Lord; and anything proscribed ( for example, when God told Saul to wipe out every living thing of the Amalekites, and he disobeyed by saving out king Agag and his flocks).

Now, having explained the process behind all this, as best as I can figure it out, let me reveal that one thing I found that you can apply to your life (other than the value of not making un-thought-out vows).  It comes with that little twist about non-human vows:

Lev 27:11  And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the LORD, then he shall stand the animal before the priest,
Lev 27:12  and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be.
Lev 27:13  But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation. 

And so it goes for everything else you vow and want to buy back:  Where a tithe is 10%, 'buying back from God' costs 20%!  And while I mused on this at work one morning, the application became clear.  Despite always praying to give the day to God and leave all troubles in HIS hands, the minute something goes wrong, I snatched it right back.  In doing so, things got worse- little problems seemed huge, one odd occurrence became 10, and my mood went straight to the dumpster. THEN, I realized, I was 'buying back' the day from God by trying to control things, and it was costing me double in problems and stress.  I gave it back to God, and while the problems and stress didn't go away completely, they eased.  I was paying 10% for grace, and 20% for problems!



So the second lesson is, when you give God the wheel, it's costly to try and take it back.

(Somedays you wish Blogger had a 'random title' option...)

 Today hasn't been the best of days.  I could complain about our mess at work (and mess it is), but I gave it to God and ain't spending the 20% to get it back (see Wednesday's Bible study to figure that one out!).  I was just reading tributes to the late Joe Morgan, Reds 2B during the Big Red Machine era (aka the games I grew up watching).  All I can say is, if one of them was going to live forever, I thought it'd be him.

So I am in bad need of a cheer me up to talk about.  Let's spin around the webs and see what we can find.

One of the first places I USUALLY go for fun stuff in the news is a lighthearted (well, used to be) feature on BBC news called News From Elsewhere.  Today, we have a story about a Turkish teacher going door to door to his students during the covid lockdown- something I suggested the 'depressed pastors in Brazil' do a few weeks back.  Other than that one story, they've had no updates since August 5th.  Nice.

BBC reminds me I was looking at the international hockey leagues that I follow, to see how they were coping.  All of them save five are playing a postponement-riddled schedule right now.  The five not playing- the Asia League (Japan and Korea) have bagged any regular season and are hoping to have a tourney in March and April;  The British EIHL shut it all down for the year;  the German DEL hopes to start "Mid December at the earliest"; and two of the Canadian junior leagues will start the first weekend of December.  The third, the Quebec League, is playing and postponing already.

Which reminds me about our local team, the Fort Wayne Komets.  Their league is starting a 72-game, 13 team schedule in December for the teams that have clearance from their cities.  The OTHER 13 teams hope to start a 62- game schedule after the first of the year.  Here's the thing:  The Indianapolis team- in a city hit much worse with COVID than us- they get to start in December, we do not.  WTH, you say?  Basically without the long winded excuses, it boils down to this:  Indy gets concessions and parking lot money in their lease, thus they can meet attendance restrictions and still turn a profit.  Here, the Memorial Coliseum gouges the Komets, giving neither shares of concessions OR parking, so the K's can't turn a profit.  Good on you, Coliseum board, good on you.

Well, THAT certainly didn't help the mood; let's try a FB post from a friend's daughter (She's been an exchange student in Japan, but had to come home due to... well, you know why.  Anyway, she asked...

Japan friends! Today I learned about 厄年. Why is 25 and 42 unlucky for men and 19 and 33 unlucky for women? Why those specific numbers? Why is it different for men and women? Thanks!

My answer: "25 is when a man gets married, and 42 is when he wishes he had waited..."  I'm waiting to see who will zap me on the other side of the coin.

 

The Moscow Times says, "Russia Recruits Rare Dogs To Sniff Out Coronavirus as Second Wave Tightens Grip. "  This rare dog is a Lapponian herder-jackal hybrid used by Aeroflot for security.  While not amusing, it is amazing.

Well, anyway, time to give Misty her treats.Keep your heads up, pray for all men, and be here Wednesday to find out what that 20% is all about...

Time Machine co-ordinates VICLXII64610968

 

So today we arrive in October 9th of 1968, and a lot of things happened.  Most significantly in my family, it was the day after my father's father turned 86, the day after my father turned 52, and the day after my sister Sue turned 20. Yep, yesterday was "Bring a Martin into the world" day.  Also today, thanks to the Busy Beaver Button Museum, I am reminded that on this day Richard Nixon in a campaign speech for his first term, said, “Any man who has had a chance for four years and could not produce peace, should not be given another chance.”  That came back to bite him in '72 with this museum exhibit:

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Today, we have POTM Alex Chilton from the Box Tops with us to... uh-oh, what is it Nardole?

He refused to come on.  He heard.

I was afraid of that.  How did he find out?

Sir, Mr Presley is doing a 'boycott Time Machine' over it...

For pity's sake, like it's the show's fault!

I quite agree, sir.  But you know how he is...

Yes, unfortunately.  Folks, what we are referring to is that Hey Jude by the Beatles scored what is possibly the biggest victory in TM history.  It lapped the field a time and a half, and lapped the #2 song just shy of FOUR times.  Which really kind of messes up the whole show, because, in addition to that, NO new M10 debuts this week!  Not to mention a star from just beyond the Martin Era 2.0 purview- Eddie Van Halen- became a member of "rock and roll heaven" this week.

Why don't you do a list of his biggest hits?  You've done that before in these situations...

Hey, good idea!  So while I figure out what constitutes my best Van Halen songs, why not listen to one of my favorites?

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Before we go off the VH deep end, let me give you something to guess at this week- who finished second?  Of course, there WERE 12 other songs that collected 31 votes between them, so see who you think might have been watching the Beatles' collective butt disappearing into the distance.  Choose from:

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Fire, #3 on Cashbox this week;

Mary Hopkin and Those Were The Days, at #23;

The O'Kaysions and Girl Watcher at #7;

and the Beatles, again, with the flip side, Revolution, at #13.  And yes, Hey Jude was #1- for the fourth of a 7-week run.

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So Van Halen's career was neatly divided in two when David Lee Roth left as lead singer and was replaced by the Red Rocker, Sammy Hagar.  But by then, VH had already turned a bit more pop-py, with Roth's last lp scoring hits like Jump and I'll Wait.  But I cut my rock teeth on the OLD stuff, so I'm going to give you a personal Van Halen top 14 here, so you can see what I would put on a personal Van Halen playlist!

14- Dancing In The Street, from Diver Down: It cracked the top 40 at #38, and was #3 on mainstream rock in 1982.

13- Hot For Teacher from 1984; it hit #56 in, of course, 1984.

12- Finish What Ya Started from OU812, the lone "Van Hagar" song on my list. it went to #13.

11- Where Have All The Good Times Gone, a Kinks cover, from Diver Down.  It got to #17 on MSR without being released as a single.

10- Running With The Devil from VH1; it peaked at #84.

9- You're No Good, which was a big Linda Ronstadt hit.  It was an airplay hit from VH II.

8- Beautiful Girls, from VH II.  It also stalled at #84.

7- Everybody Wants Some, from Women And Children First.  Airplay hit.

6- Somebody Get Me A Doctor from VH II.  Airplay, though wiki notes it was released in Japan.

5- Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, from VH I. Released but not charted.

4- The one I played above, You Really Got Me, another Kinks cover, their very first single which peaked at #36.

3- Panama, from 1984.  Another #13 hit.

2- Jaime's Crying, from VH I.  Again, released but not charted.

And my #1 Van Halen song?  Tune in in a bit...

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Ever hear of Seattle-area band the Frantics?  Why , they tore up the charts in 1959-60 with their hits Straight Flush (#91), Fogcutter (#93), and Werewolf (#83).  Still no?  That's okay, they were just one of the bands signed to Dolton records in that time frame.  Dolton had some big successes- albeit through a distributorship with Liberty- first hitting with the Fleetwoods, then a bit later with the Ventures.  They also featured the label's founder- a lady who wasn't having so much success (although she would become briefly a big country star later on) named Bonnie Guitar.  (Yeah, her real last name was Buckingham, but that's a mouthful!)  Bonnie would play acoustic guitar on the Fleetwoods' first big hit, Come Softly To Me.  That song, I saw, was one of a couple of covers that Percy Sledge did live on his Sledge In South Africa lp in 1970.  Another one was a song that was written with him in mind- but since he didn't get right to it, the writers recorded it and it became a big hit for them- their first really big hit in the USA.  And that song is our 6D victim this week- the Bee Gees and I've Gotta Get A Message To You, #4 without a Panel vote.

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Ready for that all-time Van Halen favorite of mine?  First let me point out that, if you went by chart performance, their top 5 would look like this:

1- Jump (#1)

2- Why Can't This Be Love (#3)

3- When It's Love (#5)

4- Oh Pretty Woman (#12)

5- Panama, I'll Wait, and Finish What Ya Started (all #13)

NONE of which is my top song!  My best VH, from Women and Children First- the only single from that album, peaking at #55....

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The Overseas if you please was also dominated by Hey Jude- New Zealand, Canada, and Australia had it at the top.  Finalist Mary Hopkin's Those Were The Days was the top in the UK, and South Africa had the Flames With For Your Precious Love- a largely spoken word, but still pretty good, track.  And the big mover this week was Cream's White Room, flying up 35 spots from 52 to 17.

On the South Africa thing... I think we may have found Elvis's vacation home!  The Beatles only ever charted their 4 times- Help! hit #1, We Can Work It Out and Ticket To Ride hit #2, and Paperback Writer #9. Now Elvis himself hit 14 times (keep in mind, they didn't start charting till 1965-6), hitting #1 with Crying In The Chapel, Suspicious Minds... and, uh, Do The Clam...

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The M10 shuffles thusly:

10- Absofacto drops from 7 with Someone Else's Dream.

9- Dent May moves up one with Easier Said Than Done...

8- ...as does Castlecomer with Runaway.

7-  Hazel English pulls into the all-time top 20 with Off My Mind.

6- Blue Oyster Cult up 2 with Tainted Blood.

5- Dent May again, Pour Another Round down a pair.

4- Resurging Saintseneca up 2 to #4 with In A Van.

3- Last week's #1, The Innocence Mission and On Your Side.

2- America up 3 large with Remembering.

And the new #1?

...the Four Seasons with the Any Day Now Medley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, as for the runner up this week, imagining drum roll for lack of suspense...

The O'Kaysions got 2.3% for Girl Watcher...

Mary Hopkin got 4.65% for Those Were The Days...

The Beatles raked in another 9.3% for Revolution...

And it was CWAB and Fire coming in second with Fire at 15.1%, just 44.9 behind Hey Jude...

Somebody let Elvis know, from his hiding place somewhere in Pretoria, that the Beatles will be here next week to do 1969....

Wednesday Bible Stuidy: The end of all things- Lamentations

This week we are at the end of the Book of Lamentations, Jeremiah's poems of anguish right after the destruction of Jerusalem.  The first 4 chapters are elegant, acrostic (each verse starts with the next letter of the alphabet, 22 letters in Hebrew) poetry; the fifth is stripped down, stark, no longer acrostic.  The lesson I want to share today is something I didn't know- that this is one of four books whose last verse is so dire and terrible, that the Jews (and some KJV versions) repeat the second to last verse so there's a little more hope to the ending.  This will be the third of the four; the only one left is the only one I knew did that before now, the Book of Malachi.  So instead of staying here, I want to look at those 4 terrible lines, and see what they say to us.

I'm going to run them in the order that makes the most sense, and the earliest one is from Solomon, ending Ecclesiastes...

Ecc 12:13  The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecc 12:14  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. 

I put both the last verse and the one that gets repeated for contrast.  As he wrote this, Israel was at the top of her game, and had been for 40 years.  But that time, his time, was coming to an end; and just as Ecclesiastes is a testimony that even his wisdom did not preclude failure, Israel was going to have to examine themselves, as a nation and as individuals, to stay in God's good favor.  And they didn't- as a result, the nation split.  Israel never did have another king who respected God; Judah would be 85 years before the next, and as soon as his priestly mentor died, he reverted to type.  It is true that every nation gets the government it deserves; Watching that first debate (last night as I type this) tells you the sorry state this nation is in- if social media hasn't already.

Next, I'll take you to Lamentations, just 22 years after the last holy king died in Judah.  By this time, the people had been so soaked in the sins of Amon and Manasseh that the revival Josiah brought lasted about as long after his death as Jonah's shade plant, and God drew a line and said, no more.  Here are the last lines from Lamentations:

Lam 5:21  Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old--
Lam 5:22  unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us. 


This time, they had begun to get the idea that they had made God mad for the last time.  One thing that comes to mind here is that, as Jeremiah prays in the name of "all" the people, not all of them are with him, as the tale of what happened after the fall in Jeremiah's own book relates- conspiracy, murder, fear, defiance, and as usual with the nation at that time, asking for God's word and never obeying it.  Two things you can see here.  One, the people who were faithful, or repented, would be renewed; the others were utterly rejected.  Two, asking God's will should NEVER be a "and it better match MINE" thing.  Even running to Egypt, the consequences of defying God- and Nebuchadnezzar- found them out.


Let's go to the one in Malachi next.  The occurs after the people have returned from exile, and before Nehemiah's second trip to Jerusalem, when he found them disobeying God yet again...

Mal 4:5  "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
Mal 4:6  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction." 


This was the prophecy of Elijah's return, of which Jesus said,

Mat 11:11  Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Mat 11:12  From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
Mat 11:13  For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John,
Mat 11:14  and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
Mat 11:15  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

This was a clear warning to the once-again sinful population that what happened before could happen again, if the people rejected God.  And they did- hanging Jesus on the Cross- and it did, over a 50 year or so period starting about 67 AD, after which even the name Jerusalem was replaced.  Lesson to us:  You made it through the consequences of your sin by repentance?  Good for you.  But don't slip back into the comfort zone- it can always happen again.

Finally, we go to Isaiah, who, if you recall from a few weeks back, had a very graphic description of the world of the Second Coming:

Isa 66:23  From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.
Isa 66:24  "And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." 

Don't pass off hell as a place where Billy Joel will cry with the sinners because they're much more fun.  Rejecting, denying, ignoring God ends you up in one place.   And it sure don't look that fun to me.