A new item in the field south of the Swamp. What will this be?
Almost looks like a river again, but here it is, January 1st, and the river has frozen over twice, but no "Stay off the ice" sign. Last year it was out before Thanksgiving...
Then came COLD weather, a return to work, and other such things, and so it is that it wasn't till this morning we returned to the trails...
...in the snow!
Now, the complex had been shoveled last night, but about another half-inch fell. Here, though, we hit the "you're on your own" phase
"Look, NOW the ice sign is up!"
They actually shoveled the trail from PFW to the Holiday Inn...
Snowplow running down Coliseum
Snow-nose! She eats snow the whole way
Purdue Logic: Clean the sidewalk, but not the lot
More Snow-Nose-ing
First ones into the ravine trail
At this point, we're playing, "Your best guess where the trail is, winter edition"
Squirrel says, "Was that a right or left at Albuquerque?"
Not so much of a show tonight mainly because I am starting round three of sneeze-a-thon '25 for today and have a doubt my humor would be anything but, well, snotty. So A quick look at 1976, and this week's top ten. I have one debut this week- and it debuts at 8 after just 2 listens, so you know this will soon be a contender for another #1 for this lady. Here's new Geowulf...
All right, lets have that look at this week in 1976! First, what was #1? In Australia, ABBA was about to replace Mama Mia (which surprisingly Billboard peaked at 32 here- but played much higher here in Ft Wayne- and 18 in Canada) with SOS (My favorite of theirs, which got 15 here and 9 in Canada).
In Canada, they were about to replace KC and the Sunshine Band's That's The Way (uh-huh, uh-huh) I Like It (Also a #1 here and 5 in Australia) with the Bay City Rollers and Saturday Night (Again a #1 here, but a #45 in Australia).
And here, Cashbox was about to replace Barry Manilow's I Write The Songs (5 in Australia, 3 in Canada) with Diana Ross with the Theme From Mahogany- maybe my second favorite of all of hers (4 in Canada, 38 in Australia). And the big movers this week on Cashbox include:
14 songs that moved up just one;
3 that moved up 2;
8 that went up 3 to 5;
and the top movers were a ten spot for Donna Summer's Love To Love You Baby, a #1 for Canada, 2 here, and 4 in Australia, that moved up to 14 this week;
and a 14- notch for Rhythm Heritage's Theme From SWAT, which topped North America and made #11 in Australia, dropping in at 33 this week.
AHH-CHHOOOOO! Excuse me! My favorite from this week in 1976 is a toughie- we were at the late end of my wheelhouse here. But I would have to say this week I would have topped my chart with the song at #20...
So Abraham, still known as Abram at this point, spends 16 years in Haran, with his entire family. And at this point, though we've only seen these words once, Stephen tells us God spoke to Abram a second time:
Gen 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Gen 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Notable here is "From your kindred, and your father's house". He was to leave family behind in Haran, as he hadn't when he left Ur. The Book of Jubilees tells us that daddy Terah was fine with this, to a point...
And Terah his father said unto him; Go in peace: May the eternal God make thy path straight. And the Lord [(be) with thee, and] protect thee from all evil,
And grant unto thee grace, mercy and favour before those who see thee, And may none of the children of men have power over thee to harm thee;
Go in peace.
And if thou seest a land pleasant to thy eyes to dwell in, then arise and take me to thee and take Lot with thee, the son of Haran thy brother as thine own son: the Lord be with thee.
And Nahor thy brother leave with me till thou returnest in peace, and we go with thee all together.'
So according to the Jubilees story, Abram was supposed to go back and get them! But the problem is, God didn't call them, for they were still idolaters, and given to excuses not to leave their idols behind. Again from Jubilees, Abram tries to talk his father out of his idolatry. His excuse:
And his father said unto him, I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me to serve before them?
And if I tell them the truth, they will slay me; for their soul cleaves to them to worship them and honour them.
Keep silent, my son, lest they slay thee.' And these words he spake to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he kept silent.
I think this is important to share, because it shows more of the planks Abram was to be built with. One was that Abram had to accept that God would now be his family, his Father. As Jesus said:
Mar 10:28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
Mar 10:29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,
Mar 10:30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
He could not get the reward he was promised dragging his family along behind. Some people God is going to call to leave their family behind, particularly if that family is stuck in their sinning and rejects Jesus. Abram's family was unwilling to disentangle themselves from the world; in fact, his brothers were even angry (And according to Jubilees, one of them died for the idols!). Also, note that Terah wanted to stay silent, in fear of the world. God will never allow a believer to be silent about their faith.
I have been talking to myself about my sins, and the ways I want to "stay in Haran". But looking at God's promise to Abram, we see the problem with that:
-You miss out on the wonders He wants to show you;
-You miss out on what He wants to make of you;
-You miss out on the blessings he wants to give;
-You miss being the blessing to others He made you to be;
-You miss out on a level of His protection;
- You miss being a part of the future He's building.
Every one of these strike me. Each one tells me I have a long way to go. Abram had over 400 miles to his next stop, his next choice of obedience. And he wouldn't have made it one step past his family, had he not been willing to put the world AND his family behind him to serve the Lord.
So the question left is, Did Abraham ever go back for Terah and company? Answer: no. Did he have a chance? Yes. Terah was still alive, it would seem, when aged Abraham sent Eliazar to His brother's grandson Laban to find a wife for Isaac- though at 200+, it might not have been feasible. The bloodline came to Canaan- but the idolaters never did.
So here I am, at the end of two weeks off, because the company that owns our company is in a business that has had a rough couple of years. And for a lot of reasons, I'm really bummed right now.
Because I have to work? No, God led me to this job, it frankly isn't hard, and it is provision for my family. I don't regret where I work.
What I am regretting boils down to this: we used to be a mid-level player in a specific industry, with dreams of expansion, hopes of extending into related industry. Now, however, we are a constantly-contracting wart on the butt of a much bigger concern that has fingers, toes, and arms into industries both close and far-flung from where we are. But the thing is, our plant is a highly successful wart, and still is getting treated like our masters are considering Compound W.
Since we were sold to this company- an event trumpeted as being a great deal, that would inject $$$ into our efforts, here's what has happened:
-One plant manager had a stress-related heart attack, another jumped ship just as the sale was announced.
-We used to have a Quality exec and an assistant Plant Manager. Both have since been deemed unnecessary.
-We've lost two plants to closure, a VP, a VP-replacement, a President, a HR department, a scheduling staff, and a maintenance man.
- I work in a department that used to run three machines constantly, including overtime; one machine is basically unreliable, another needs a belt and other vital parts that we are jury-rigging around.
- We've lost getting a quarterly bonus and haven't had a raise in at least a couple years.
Our plant is consistently in the 90%s in efficiency; The remaining other plant- who (for them) is conveniently located across the street from our biggest customer- only tops 55% when the Boss from the big company is on the floor. And because they suck, and the other industries our owners are in are sucking, it doesn't matter what we do- no raises, no bonuses, and the little things at holiday times our company USED to do for us, the current Plant Manager does out of his budget.
Though I try not to think about it, it sucks to feel like the whole place has the sword of Damocles over it. Been through this once before, didn't like it then, either. And just like then, it started when a kind hearted, old school owner had to sell to a larger outfit who only see $$$.
It's kind of sitting on me tonight, along with much of the same stuff that came out in my last rant. Today, Pastor Josh preached on Hebrews 12, a message about three 'gauges' we can use to check where we are faith wise. One is the gauge of "being plural", connected to others of faith. And that is a problem for me, though there are options available to me. The second is the gauge of "being light", not carrying the garbage and the things we can't control or don't need; there I think is my bigger problem. The third is the gauge of "Being focused on Jesus", and I think the 'weight' is dragging that gauge down right now.
I didn't know how to finish this, or if to even publish it- just let it sit and be cathartic. I flipped over to X just now, though, and read this:
"Did you know that the most mature person in Christ has further to go than he or she has already come?
"Gee James, I'm sure glad we have eternity with Jesus to figure this all out!" "
Okay. 'Suck it up, buttercup', I guess is the motto for the night, and be glad Jesus still walks with me. Reminds me of another tweet I saw today. "Satan thought he took everything from Job; but he couldn't take God from him."
Alright, I am recovered from my rant of Wednesday night and am ready to get on with the regular M10 countdown- and I am taking the unusual expedient of going two years back to target year 1977 this week...
Elvis: Well, why'd that be?
Because my friend, with one single exception of a song that moved up 4 (Neil Diamond's Desiree), every one of the songs for January 7th, 1978 (since they had a freeze week on the first) moved up only one spot! This way, we have the right week AND a moving chart! Also, we have a first of 2025 M10with but one debut- a song my son KC put me on to! Here's bluesman Robert Finley at # 10...
Hopefully, ya didn't mess up yer links this time...
Yeah, my hope as well. So this week in 1977, we had three 9-spot movers and 2 eight-rung movers. So our top five in week one of 1977:
5- Barry Manilow, Weekend In New England. In a couple weeks this would officially be the original M10's first #1. Up to 34 this week, it would peak 73 in Australia, but 9 in North America.
4- The Jacksons, Enjoy Yourself. Michael and his bros would peak 6 here, 5 in Canada- but AWOL in Australia.
3- Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Night Moves. Up to 35 this week, the first of the 9-spot movers peaked at 25 Australia, 5 in Canada, and 6 here.
2- Stevie Wonder, I Wish. Stevie was about to embark in a golden age, and this one, climbing to 13 this week, would top the North American charts and get to #51 in Australia.
And this week's top dog:
1- Rose Royce, Car Wash. From the movie of the same name (wish wasn't near so memorable), this one dropped in at #13 this week; it would peak 1 in North America and #12 in Australia.
Hey, ya fergot the #1s this week...
So I did. Go for it!
Shure. In the US of A, on Cashbox at least, it was Marilyn McCoo an' Billy Davis, aka two of the Five Dimensions, with You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)...
Never one of my favorites, BTW...
It also swept North America, and another #12 in Aussie-land.
Meanwhile, Canada was still stuck on Rod Stewart's Tonight's The Night, which was top a couple weeks back in the US, and made it ta three in Australia.
An' Australia was stuck even farther back with Chicago an' If You Leave Me Now, which swept all the charts at differnt times.
Wow, that list wuz about as easy as it gets!
Great timing for you! My #1 for this week in 77 would be Bread's Lost Without Your Love, up 4 to #23 this week...
What about '78? Jus' because nobody moved don' mean ya ain't got a fave there...
True enough, I suppose... maybe Player's Baby Come Back, would've been a tight race...
Anyway, the final five...
5- Real Estate, Somebody New. Their 4th straight #1, it hit in late May.
4- Lucinda Williams, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. My vote for Best Beatles cover ever, she had a 3-week run at the top in December.
Which ya can't get on other charts!
So true!
3- Beabadoobee, Beaches. My favorite pure fun video of the year, she hit the top for 2 weeks in August/September.
2- Decemberists, Long White Veil. This would finish tied for #13 all time, and grace the top spot in most of August.
And the top M10 tune of 2024...
HOLD ON! Suspense, remember? Lemme give the rest of the M10 first...
Have at it!
9- an' down 2, Matt Berry an' I Gotta Limit...
8- an' holdin' again, Linkin Park an' Cut The Bridge...
7- an' up 2, Japanese Breakfast an' Kokomo, IN...
6- an' down 1, Lucinda and her weepy guitar...
5- an' up one, Midlake an' Roscoe...
4- an' down one, Maggie Rogers an' Don't Forget Me....
3- an' up one, the Cowsills an' She Said To Me...
2- an' holdin', Geowulf an' Dreaming...
An' the same ol' #1....
Wait! Shouldn't we stop for 'suspense'?
Whut suspense? Everone knows it's gonna be...
...Junior Senior and Move Your Feet, for a third week!
Well, fine! And now, the top M10 song of 2024, and 8th all time- from one week in April at the top, and-4 weeks later- one week in May....
I know I'm supposed to be typing up this week's M10 post now. But I'm not.
By now, most of you know what has happened in NOLA and Vegas. Let me bring up things I've only seen on X so far.
-The very-little reported fact that closed circuit tv saw 3 men and a woman planting pipe bombs in New Orleans' Catholic Cathedral early this morning, which police found and exploded safely.
-The fact that the Tesla blown up at Trump Las Vegas was built so well that, where a normal suicide car might have taken out several people, this vehicle contained the explosion so no one was killed but the idiot driving it.
-The attacker in NOLA was former Army- and while the networks show a list of the commendations he had, another source says he was reprimanded at least twice for extremist views, and was prevented from joining the National Guard for that reason.
-His bio shows a man who spent money like it was nothing, cheated, divorced twice- heavily in debt at this point. Wouldn't be too hard to radicalize a man like that.
-Apparently the Armed forces aren't willing in the Biden Era to follow up reports of radicalism, because of fear of being "racist". Same thing that allowed the Fort Hood shootings.
-As I type, FBI and police have a large section of Houston (where he was supposedly from) cordoned off while they investigate a possible sleeper cell he belonged to.
This is not going to be a "Muslims are poison" post. Like everyone else, some are- some aren't. What this is about is, how damn stupid it is that we have had political leaders so willing to compromise essential services- such as the FBI, CIA, and FEMA- that we cannot rely on them to do the simplest parts of their jobs correctly. That our Armed Forces are so infected with DEI that they refuse to stop a threat because they might hurt someone's feelings. That a city that had ALWAYS before made3 sure Bourbon Street was blocked off properly, allowed a F-150- a big, lumbering pickup truck- go go AROUND a police car parked in the street (but not on the sidewalk), and accelerate away before the officer inside woke up enough to react. (I saw the video; the officer should have had the car running beforehand, and RAMMED the truck before he tried to pass; instead, the truck was well out of the picture before the officer finally got out of his unit and pursued on foot.) Let's also bring up that the chief of police in charge of the thing is a once-retired, once fired, Granny Clampett look alike, appointed by the latest in the series of idiots that NOLA seems "hell bent" to elect as Mayors. Her latest notoriety was running over two pedestrians in August.
Then internet is all over the "this blood is on so-and-so's hands." Guess what, America? This blood is on YOUR hands. Every one of you who vote in the same old pols who pack police forces, disaster agencies, etc., with political appointees who are trained to go after 'the other guy' instead of doing the job they need to be doing. I'll even name you an example. In California, Gavin Newsome promised in March 2023 to build 1,200 'tiny homes' at a cost of $625K A PIECE for the homeless. He has not had ONE built. In the meantime, Pennsylvania Amish went to Western North Carolina, having raised $300,000 from their own people, and built 12 tiny homes in 48 HOURS - $25K per, for the hurricane victims that FEMA is screwing over.
It ain't impossible to do the job. You need to CARE. And not about your own power. FEMA no longer cares. They're too busy forcing inspectors to condemn the tiny houses and keep the homeless homeless, and checking yards for Trump for President signs. The FBI doesn't care. They're too busy finding unqualified women of color to run out in front of the microphones. The Army doesn't care, they're too busy making sure the barracks are DEI. And apparently the voters in many places are not; they're too busy 'voting the way my daddy and his daddy voted.'
So that's what I have to say. Come get me, FBI, I don't care. You'll only prove me right.
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