Posts
So let us reason together, my friends. President Obama has decided to work around Congress and the Constitution 23 times today on the subject of gun control. To be fair, let's look at what he's commanded from the bully pulpit:
1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system. Shouldn't they be doing that anyway?
...
2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system. Basically, this revolves around doctors sending pertinent mental health info to said databases. We can argue this as an invasion of privacy all we want, but if it gets a Holmes or a Klebold off the streets, I'm fine with it- WITH the caveat that we all get a look at what constitutes an "unnecessary legal barrier first.
3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system. IMHO, The only incentive should be to prevent any more Sandy Hooks. In this case, I wouldn't mind seeing Obama use the stick rather than the carrot, but entitlements are the Democrat way.
4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks. My only problem with this is that our current AG ought to fall into one of said categories.
5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun. As long as it includes record checking on legal and illegal aliens, politicians, and union and NAACP officials as well as white Republicans. If you think that is an unnecessary caveat, have you paid attention what has gone on in Arizona the last couple of years?
6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers. I'm thinking they can keep that with the book they already have and ignore due to lack of inforcement.
7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign. NRA already does this. And so do many local police departments.
8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission). Let me guess, you think Adam Lanza blew open his mother's gun safe. Or William Spengler broke Dawn Ngyen's gun lock. Hmmm...
9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations. IOW, the FBI will have to process EVERY gun from EVERY crime. I'm sure they'll jump right on that.
10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement. Has it been written? Have you talked to LEOs about what kind of data would be helpful?
11. Nominate an ATF director. Did you know we have only had "acting directors" of the ATF since Carl Truscott resigned over abuse of position in 2006- and the current guy is the 5th AD since then? Including three just in 2009?
12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations. Once again, shouldn't this already be in place? At least for the first two... I am more than fine with the third.
13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime. Shoot, Karen Richards will have to do her job then! As will Rusty York.
14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence. How does prevention of gun violence fall under CDC perview?
15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies. So now we think all those kids died because Adam Lanza forgot to set his safety?
16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes. I liked the comment about this I saw on Facebook- "Oops there's another thing we forgot to read before we signed the bill..."
17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities. Why is this a concern?
18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers. I didn't even know what a school resource officer was. " A School Resource Officer (SRO) is a law enforcement officer who is assigned to either an elementary, middle, or high school. The main goal of the SRO is to prevent juvenile delinquency by promoting positive relations between youth and law enforcement. " Among the things you can say about this is, an "incentive" will need to translate into "a way to pay for them".
19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education. I got nothing here. Good idea.
20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover. More "if I'd only read my copy of the Obamacare bill" memos.
21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges. Ditto.
22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations. Ditto.
23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health. Secretary Sebelius' sole qualification for this post (as well as her post at HHS) seems to be she headed the Democrat Governor's group and was pro-choice. Secretary Duncan of DOE was the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, which might not say much about his qualifications for his secretaryship, but speaks volumes about his experience (or need of it) in the mental health field.
So, by the mighty Martin toteboard, the great executive order score is:
Okay with this (5 points): 5 entries.
So far as it goes (4 points): 2.
Really shouldn't have to do this (3 points): 3.
Should have been doing this already, or already are doing through current agencies (2 points):3.
Wouldn't have to be done had you taken the time to write Obamacare properly in the first place (1 point): 5.
Yeah, sure (0 points): 5.
Total score: 2.3 (which means it is mainly "should be doing this already").
Or to look at it another way, 30.4% of this is good ideas, 43.4% is either stupid or really stupid, and 26.7% of it, while not stupid, really isn't neccessary. Either way, it's much better than the usual batting average the POTUS has managed in his four years, so, as a certain national Washington columnist says at the end of a piece, "Congrats... or something."
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Gun control and thugs
Mayor of Ft Wayne Tom Henry had a lovely conference yesterday with the Mayor of Angola and other leaders about taking so-called assault weapons off the street. Good for you, Tom. But what did it accomplish?
At 10 fricking AM this morning, some clown forced a woman into her Garden View apartment, slapped her around, and stabbed her three times with her own knife. If you're surprised, we've had several such incidents in the last few weeks, including another one in Canterbury last night who couldn't manage to muscle a purse away from a lady. Before that, a moron with a "long gun" faced down a couple, who ran and got away but not before the perp hit him with the "barrel".
Okay, let me say this- these guys are nothing but southside thug-lettes, who don't have the balls to make a name in their neighborhoods (because the truly armed thugs live there) and come up here to prey on law-abiding citizens. And why are they being targeted?
Because this city refuses to patrol and enforce the law on the city's southeast side. I have friends who call and call, and report suspicious behavior all the time- but unless there's a DB, the FWPD stays far away. Why, because they are A) too hamstrung by the police budget, B) because city officials are so afraid of being accused of profiling by the NAACP that they will not act unless they absolutely have to, and C) because they know that our joke of a prosecutor will just plea them out or let them go.
My son says, "Ft Wayne only has wannabe gangs", and he's right. And the city has gone from decades of "we have no gang problems" to being deathly afraid of them. A decent, firm hand by the city and the FWPD would prevent 90% of what goes on around here. Instead, only 3 of 30 murders in the city last year have been solved, and two of them are only solved because they were murder-suicides. And the FWPD response was 'it was only 23 murders'.
These dudes pulling this crap are minor-leaguers. Marshall Dillon could have rounded them all up and left Festus playing cards with the Doc. But FWPD can't because the perps ARE NOT AFRAID OF THEM. And who can blame them. So now you can't even go to the store at 10 in the morning in Ft Wayne. But Mayor Henry and his gun control is coming, and it will put a stop to it. What a joke.
Monday, January 14, 2013
The return of Spam comments! But first...
...the KHL had its All-Star game yesterday, which I watched on delay on ESPN3 (because I didn't want to get up at 5:30 AM. The game was much like the last Pro Bowl, with the West side taking a lot less seriousness in it and getting hammered 18-11. The two boys from Lokomotiv had mixed results. Sergei Plotnikov got an assist on a late goal from Torpedo's Michael Varnakov; Staffan Kronwall played defense like he was a gardener watching nearby kids playing. There were some fun things: a discussion between the two announcers about former NHLer Alexander Radulov (who had a goal and 3 assists) and his lack of success in the NHL: "...they say he has million-dollar talent but a dime brain", and "all those tools but no toolbox". Another discussion about league leading scorer Sergei Mozyakin, who'd had three breakaways get stymied (he finally scored 18 ticks into the third) about his efforts: "They used to call that 'a lot of Swedish, but no Finnish' ". The best hit of the game, midway through the first stanza when two west players ran into each other behind the net.
But the best moment was goalie Konstantine Barulin's. After a goal by the west, with their goalie pulled and 30-odd seconds left, he lined up on the next face-off as a skater, was given the puck, and scored into the empty net, only to have it waved off- since he was lined up as a skater and not a goalie, his goalie stick was illegal. But his BEST moment was the night before, at the "best dancer" competition:
Now, hometown boy Evgeny Kuznetsov might have gotten MVP for his 4-goal game, but I think the player that worked the hardest and did the best was west goalie Vasily Koshechkin of Severstal. Despite giving up 10 goals in his 31-shot half of the game, he made a bunch of spectacular (under the circumstances) saves, including most of the stops on Mozyakin.
________________________________________________
Okay, let's look into Chris' mailbag and see what silliness we can find this week. Before I get to the "comment" section, I have to mentioned the "regular" scam-mail I got today wanting me to look into a job as a mystery shopper. First, whoever has "SSN 2013" at Guilford College, your e-mail has been hacked. Second, if you as a scammer want me as an idiot to send you my personal info in hopes of applying for your ficticious job, you might want to come up with a better closing that, "Sincerely, MANAGER". Just sayin'.
Okay, contestant #1 comes from my beer cap blog:
… Unbelievable , but I just found software which can do all hard work promoting your humbleauthorbsp2.blogspot.com website on complete autopilot - building backlinks and getting your website on top of Google and other search engines 1st pages, so your site finally can get laser targeted qualified traffic, and so you can get lot more visitors for your website.
YEP, that’s right, there’s this little known website which shows you how to get to the top 10 of Google and other search engines guaranteed.
I used it and in just 7 days… got floods of traffic to my site...
…Well check out the incredible results for yourself -
http://autopilot-traffic-software.com
I’m not trying to be rude here, but I believe when you find something that finally works you should share it…
…so that’s what I’m doing today, sharing it with you: http://autopilot-traffic-software.com
Take care - your friend George
Well, gee, thanks George, but I don't think I'm losing sleep over traffic issues.
Coherence: Good- which means not amusing. I will give kudos to putting the link twice since it smacks of TV commercials repeating their phone number four times in a row. 2.
Relevance: Even ambiguousness fails on a specialty blog. 3.
Link: C'mon, George, we need laugh value here. 1.
Score: 2.00.
Contestant #2 comes from Jo-Anne's Ramblings, who I think they think needs cash now:
Instead, as the disclaimer will explain, they merely act as a
medium between you and real online payday loan companies.
Perhaps frequent holidays are being charged or endless hours at
the malls doing more than window shopping. If the fee for borrowing was $20 and you extend it, you will more then
likely own another $20 for keeping the money for just a
few days extra.
Feel free to visit my site ; payday loans online
Coherence: Always a good idea to start in mid-sentence. And the "Perhaps frequent holidays..." sentence made SO much sense. 4.
Relevance: I belive this was a post right after she had a trip to New Zealand, so the "holidays" reference fits in. 1.
Link: Ah, the ubiquitous payday loans. 0 due to overuse.
Score: 1.67.
Contestant #3 comes from a rant of mine against the UN:
What's up to every single one, it's really a fastidious for
me to visit this website, it includes precious Information.
Also visit my homepage : boligityrkia.net
Coherence: Avoided like the plague. 5.
Relevance: All of my posts contain precious information. 3.
Link: Means "Let's go Turkey". Either yet another of Turkey's innumerable spam real-estate sites, or a message from the American turkey council. 3.
Score: 3.67.
Contestant #4 is another of my posts, from the story about the fake Noah's ark:
If you're a beginner collector, take the time to study the market, learning as much as you can and developing a discriminating eye. Other care tips for luxury watches include:. There have been many success stories down the years and many bankrupt stories.
Feel free to visit my web site ... huge.beyarn.com
I didn't know that collecting supposedly-ancient 100ft.-plus ships was a big thing.
Coherence: Pretty good, which means a low score. 1.
Relevance: Unless there is a luxury watch out there with Noah's Ark on it's face, I'd say none. 4.
Link: this is a German payday loans site. 1.
Score: 2, plus a bonus to put it past the first one. 2.01.
Contestant # 5 is from Waiting For God, from an immortal post called "Abbott and Costello Explain Unemployment":
Hi friends, how is all, and what you desire to say about
this post, in my view its in fact amazing in support of me.
Take a look at my web site super casino
Coherence: You find it, let me know. 5.
Relevance: Really hard to tell. 4.
Link: That was what won me over, seeing (the author) at a super casino. 4.
Score: 4.33.
Contestant six is from Juli at Surviving Boys:
I have read so many аrtіcleѕ concernіng the blogger loverѕ excеρt
thiѕ artіcle is gеnuinely a good ρaragraph,
keep іt up.
Also visit my website :: advice how to get your ex back
Coherence: Acceptible. 1.
Relevance: It was more than one paragraph, so 1.
Link: Without telling tales, this was what put this one on the list. 6, just for the anti-relevance.
Score: 2.67.
At this point I want to bring up a couple of non-contestants. I had yet another from Al Penwasser's Made In Spain post, solely noteworthy for this comment:
Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for starters.
May you please prolong them a little from next time?
Al, you're just not windy enough!
The other one was a comment to the recent picture post with Laurie tramping through the woods in her slippers looking for deer- from a Polish payday loans site. Insert your own ethnically-inappropriate joke here, if you want.
Also, I have movie site matchflick.com allegedly wanting to do a guest post. About what, may I ask?
Contestant #7 is a brief one from Grumpy Old Ken's blog:
hepatitus c dating sites http://loveepicentre.com/ world dating partners muscle vegetarian
As much as I'd like to explore "hepatitus c dating sites"...
Coherence: Absolutely none. 4.
Relevance: I can't imagine hep-c dating sites are relevant to anything. 3.
Link: You know the rules- no hyperlink, -2.
Score: losing a point to break the tie, 1.57.
And that is it, other than a couple of other non-contest mentions: one, a comment on what a great job I did on one of my posts, linked to "Neck Pain"; the other, a comment on Momto8blog linked to "Predator Costume." WTH?
And so, the scoreboard:
Super casino: 4.33
Let's go Turkey: 3.67
Get your ex back: 2.67
Fake Noah's Ark watches: 2.01
George's traffic autopilot: 2.00
Frequent Holidays: 1.67
Hep-C dating: 1.57
Congrats to WFG for the win this time!
But the best moment was goalie Konstantine Barulin's. After a goal by the west, with their goalie pulled and 30-odd seconds left, he lined up on the next face-off as a skater, was given the puck, and scored into the empty net, only to have it waved off- since he was lined up as a skater and not a goalie, his goalie stick was illegal. But his BEST moment was the night before, at the "best dancer" competition:
Now, hometown boy Evgeny Kuznetsov might have gotten MVP for his 4-goal game, but I think the player that worked the hardest and did the best was west goalie Vasily Koshechkin of Severstal. Despite giving up 10 goals in his 31-shot half of the game, he made a bunch of spectacular (under the circumstances) saves, including most of the stops on Mozyakin.
________________________________________________
Okay, let's look into Chris' mailbag and see what silliness we can find this week. Before I get to the "comment" section, I have to mentioned the "regular" scam-mail I got today wanting me to look into a job as a mystery shopper. First, whoever has "SSN 2013" at Guilford College, your e-mail has been hacked. Second, if you as a scammer want me as an idiot to send you my personal info in hopes of applying for your ficticious job, you might want to come up with a better closing that, "Sincerely, MANAGER". Just sayin'.
Okay, contestant #1 comes from my beer cap blog:
… Unbelievable , but I just found software which can do all hard work promoting your humbleauthorbsp2.blogspot.com website on complete autopilot - building backlinks and getting your website on top of Google and other search engines 1st pages, so your site finally can get laser targeted qualified traffic, and so you can get lot more visitors for your website.
YEP, that’s right, there’s this little known website which shows you how to get to the top 10 of Google and other search engines guaranteed.
I used it and in just 7 days… got floods of traffic to my site...
…Well check out the incredible results for yourself -
http://autopilot-traffic-software.com
I’m not trying to be rude here, but I believe when you find something that finally works you should share it…
…so that’s what I’m doing today, sharing it with you: http://autopilot-traffic-software.com
Take care - your friend George
Well, gee, thanks George, but I don't think I'm losing sleep over traffic issues.
Coherence: Good- which means not amusing. I will give kudos to putting the link twice since it smacks of TV commercials repeating their phone number four times in a row. 2.
Relevance: Even ambiguousness fails on a specialty blog. 3.
Link: C'mon, George, we need laugh value here. 1.
Score: 2.00.
Contestant #2 comes from Jo-Anne's Ramblings, who I think they think needs cash now:
Instead, as the disclaimer will explain, they merely act as a
medium between you and real online payday loan companies.
Perhaps frequent holidays are being charged or endless hours at
the malls doing more than window shopping. If the fee for borrowing was $20 and you extend it, you will more then
likely own another $20 for keeping the money for just a
few days extra.
Feel free to visit my site ; payday loans online
Coherence: Always a good idea to start in mid-sentence. And the "Perhaps frequent holidays..." sentence made SO much sense. 4.
Relevance: I belive this was a post right after she had a trip to New Zealand, so the "holidays" reference fits in. 1.
Link: Ah, the ubiquitous payday loans. 0 due to overuse.
Score: 1.67.
Contestant #3 comes from a rant of mine against the UN:
What's up to every single one, it's really a fastidious for
me to visit this website, it includes precious Information.
Also visit my homepage : boligityrkia.net
Coherence: Avoided like the plague. 5.
Relevance: All of my posts contain precious information. 3.
Link: Means "Let's go Turkey". Either yet another of Turkey's innumerable spam real-estate sites, or a message from the American turkey council. 3.
Score: 3.67.
Contestant #4 is another of my posts, from the story about the fake Noah's ark:
If you're a beginner collector, take the time to study the market, learning as much as you can and developing a discriminating eye. Other care tips for luxury watches include:. There have been many success stories down the years and many bankrupt stories.
Feel free to visit my web site ... huge.beyarn.com
I didn't know that collecting supposedly-ancient 100ft.-plus ships was a big thing.
Coherence: Pretty good, which means a low score. 1.
Relevance: Unless there is a luxury watch out there with Noah's Ark on it's face, I'd say none. 4.
Link: this is a German payday loans site. 1.
Score: 2, plus a bonus to put it past the first one. 2.01.
Contestant # 5 is from Waiting For God, from an immortal post called "Abbott and Costello Explain Unemployment":
Hi friends, how is all, and what you desire to say about
this post, in my view its in fact amazing in support of me.
Take a look at my web site super casino
Coherence: You find it, let me know. 5.
Relevance: Really hard to tell. 4.
Link: That was what won me over, seeing (the author) at a super casino. 4.
Score: 4.33.
Contestant six is from Juli at Surviving Boys:
I have read so many аrtіcleѕ concernіng the blogger loverѕ excеρt
thiѕ artіcle is gеnuinely a good ρaragraph,
keep іt up.
Also visit my website :: advice how to get your ex back
Coherence: Acceptible. 1.
Relevance: It was more than one paragraph, so 1.
Link: Without telling tales, this was what put this one on the list. 6, just for the anti-relevance.
Score: 2.67.
At this point I want to bring up a couple of non-contestants. I had yet another from Al Penwasser's Made In Spain post, solely noteworthy for this comment:
Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for starters.
May you please prolong them a little from next time?
Al, you're just not windy enough!
The other one was a comment to the recent picture post with Laurie tramping through the woods in her slippers looking for deer- from a Polish payday loans site. Insert your own ethnically-inappropriate joke here, if you want.
Also, I have movie site matchflick.com allegedly wanting to do a guest post. About what, may I ask?
Contestant #7 is a brief one from Grumpy Old Ken's blog:
hepatitus c dating sites http://loveepicentre.com/ world dating partners muscle vegetarian
As much as I'd like to explore "hepatitus c dating sites"...
Coherence: Absolutely none. 4.
Relevance: I can't imagine hep-c dating sites are relevant to anything. 3.
Link: You know the rules- no hyperlink, -2.
Score: losing a point to break the tie, 1.57.
And that is it, other than a couple of other non-contest mentions: one, a comment on what a great job I did on one of my posts, linked to "Neck Pain"; the other, a comment on Momto8blog linked to "Predator Costume." WTH?
And so, the scoreboard:
Super casino: 4.33
Let's go Turkey: 3.67
Get your ex back: 2.67
Fake Noah's Ark watches: 2.01
George's traffic autopilot: 2.00
Frequent Holidays: 1.67
Hep-C dating: 1.57
Congrats to WFG for the win this time!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The overarching message- week one
I mentioned earlier that my daily readings had taken on an overarching message. The message is both simple and comple
GOD IS NOT WHAT YOU IMAGINE.
We started out, as you recall, with Monday's trip through Ezekiel 20, where we learned that, even for a Christian, continued sin leads to a separation from God. This is a gap that we try to fill as best we can, but with our human perspective, we can only get so far. That led us to the Tuesday reading in Acts 17, where we learn we cannot "art" our way or "imagine" our way to God. So, in our study of why God is not what we imagine, we have the first two pillars- God is not what we imagine A) when we allow sin to put a distance between us, and B) when we try to fill that distance with our expectations.
Wednesday, I was taken to 2 Kings 5- the story of Naaman. Basically, Naaman was a foreign dignitary who contracted leprosy, and was told that there was a prophet in Israel who could cure it. He went to the king, who panicked- not being a man of faith himself, he thought Naaman was just setting up an excuse for Syria to attack Israel. What followed is a microcosm of the beginning of a beliver's walk. Elisha the Prophet commanded Naaman to come to him through his servant- just as God's people are commanded to bring those in need to the gospel. When Naaman gets there, he is told his cure is a simple act of obedience- in this case, go in the Jordan and wash 7 times. Now, Naaman has seen great rivers, and the Jordan ain't one of 'em, so he balks. He expects this great miracle with fanfare and trumpets and a choir. How many who look into Christ expect the same to be a part of their experience? But sometimes, it just isn't. The Jordan was the heart of Israel, and seven is the number of God- the whole idea was the simple concept of coming to God and doing an act of obedience. Naaman's servant talked him into it ("If he had asked you to perform some great task, wouldn't you have done it?"), and sure enough, he was cured.
That brought us to two other expectations that Naaman (and we) have. The first was, now, I'm expected to become this great evangelist, or I have to make this drastic change in how I live my secular life. For Naaman, he promised to be faithful to the God of Israel- but if he changed where he worshipped, he'd be out of a job. Would it be okay if he prayed in the temple of their god- but prayed to ours? Elisha told him, "Go in peace." In other words, you don't HAVE to go on a mission, or change to a job where nobody cusses and tells dirty jokes, or uproot your dealings with non-believers. Like Paul told Onesimus, he didn't have to stop being Philemon's servant to be a Christian. Be a Christian WHERE YOU ARE. The second was when Elisha's idiot servant (after Elisha refused any payment) went and got reward from Naaman. It didn't hurt Naaman any to give it; but the servant paid for his greed with Naaman's leprosy. Lesson being, follow God, not the man. The faithful who gave to Jim Bakker in faith didn't get hurt. Bakker pays for his own sins. And the overall message here, just as it was in Ezekiel- simple obedience is what God is after.
Thursday brought me to a passage so complex that it had to be read with a second one set 100 or so years later, with the key being one certain town. Judges 20-21 tells the story of man's way to fix a problem. Nutshelling it, a Levite blunders into a town of the Benjaminites that had a "Sodom" problem. His concubine (who'd already ran off on him once) gets raped to death in his place, and he cuts her body up and sends it to the 12 tribes seeking vengeance. After failing to convince Benjamin to clean up its own mess, they "consulted God" (which actually amounted to throwing the priestly dice), and after two botched attempts, slaughtered the Benaminite tribe except for 600 men who fled.
Next, they start crying and blaming God for the fact that these six hundred are all that's left of the tribe, and they'll die out without wives (which they stupidly vowed not to supply them). So they looked for a scapegoat, and that's where Jabesh-Gilead comes in, because they failed to show at the big meeting. So they killed all of them, save for 400 virgins which they gave to the Benjaminites. Of course, that left them 200 short, so they suggested they just steal wives from the neighboring town of Shiloh, and if anyone complains, just put it on our tabs. Then they all went home, and the situation was summed up with the last verse of the book: "In those days, there was no King in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes." And what a job they did.
The parallel came in I Samuel 11, just after Saul was made King. Once again we find a repopulated Jabesh-Gilead, and this time they are about to play the part of the concubine. They get surrounded by the Ammonites, and the Ammonites say, "Sure, we'll let you surrender, as soon as we poke out all your right eyes and chop off your beards to humiliate you." The townsmen said, "We'll get back to you," and sent for help. Saul found out, and full of the Holy Spirit, summoned the tribes (by cutting up something actually usefull- a yoke of oxen) and with God guiding them, the following changes come to the story:
-EVERYONE shows up for the meeting, and God speaks to them through Saul and Samuel;
-they whup the Ammonites the first try, and no 600 escape;
-when the people sought a scapegoat (they wanted to follow up the victory by killing all those who didn't want Saul as king before), Saul ordered forgiveness instead;
-the problem was solved completely, and the people gathered afterwards to give the glory to God.
You could read the chapters yourself to get some of the other parallels, but here's the gist of what we're getting at:
Man's way was motivated by revenge and not righteousness (the Levite would likely never said a word about the sins of Benjamin if they hadn't killed his prostitute), where God's way was motivated by the Spirit and righteousness.
Man's way "consulted God", while God's way was God-led.
Man's way led to a patchwork of wrong solutions and incomplete answers, and in the end they walked away once they'd done enough damage, while God's way was one correct solution, correctly done, and the people praised Him when it was done.
Man's way was over an unworthy goal ( a concubine, who'd left him to go back to her father, which took him four months of sitting around before he was so motivated to get her; then he fed her to "the dogs", after which he wanted revenge), while God's way was worthy (to save people who'd appealed to Him for help).
Man's way sought a scapegoat, God's way forgave.
That brought me to Friday's reading, in Isaiah 63. So far we've seen sin as a cause of misconceiving God, trying to fit God into our expectations as the means by which we misconceive God, and seeking glory over simplicity, wrong motives, and wrong "consulting with God" as ways we accomplish it. But here, we come to another misconception- that God will, in the end, let everyone off the hook. The passage is an apocolyptic prophecy, that starts with a speaker who does not know Jesus questioning His actions at the Final Judgement.
Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?
Did you get that- "all things come in parables"? A parable is defined as:
1.
To those who do not believe, life is just a story that has an indirect meaning. Our life on earth is a parable that illustrates heaven. And if we don't set misconceptions aside and seek out God, we'll never get to the true meaning.
GOD IS NOT WHAT YOU IMAGINE.
We started out, as you recall, with Monday's trip through Ezekiel 20, where we learned that, even for a Christian, continued sin leads to a separation from God. This is a gap that we try to fill as best we can, but with our human perspective, we can only get so far. That led us to the Tuesday reading in Acts 17, where we learn we cannot "art" our way or "imagine" our way to God. So, in our study of why God is not what we imagine, we have the first two pillars- God is not what we imagine A) when we allow sin to put a distance between us, and B) when we try to fill that distance with our expectations.
Wednesday, I was taken to 2 Kings 5- the story of Naaman. Basically, Naaman was a foreign dignitary who contracted leprosy, and was told that there was a prophet in Israel who could cure it. He went to the king, who panicked- not being a man of faith himself, he thought Naaman was just setting up an excuse for Syria to attack Israel. What followed is a microcosm of the beginning of a beliver's walk. Elisha the Prophet commanded Naaman to come to him through his servant- just as God's people are commanded to bring those in need to the gospel. When Naaman gets there, he is told his cure is a simple act of obedience- in this case, go in the Jordan and wash 7 times. Now, Naaman has seen great rivers, and the Jordan ain't one of 'em, so he balks. He expects this great miracle with fanfare and trumpets and a choir. How many who look into Christ expect the same to be a part of their experience? But sometimes, it just isn't. The Jordan was the heart of Israel, and seven is the number of God- the whole idea was the simple concept of coming to God and doing an act of obedience. Naaman's servant talked him into it ("If he had asked you to perform some great task, wouldn't you have done it?"), and sure enough, he was cured.
That brought us to two other expectations that Naaman (and we) have. The first was, now, I'm expected to become this great evangelist, or I have to make this drastic change in how I live my secular life. For Naaman, he promised to be faithful to the God of Israel- but if he changed where he worshipped, he'd be out of a job. Would it be okay if he prayed in the temple of their god- but prayed to ours? Elisha told him, "Go in peace." In other words, you don't HAVE to go on a mission, or change to a job where nobody cusses and tells dirty jokes, or uproot your dealings with non-believers. Like Paul told Onesimus, he didn't have to stop being Philemon's servant to be a Christian. Be a Christian WHERE YOU ARE. The second was when Elisha's idiot servant (after Elisha refused any payment) went and got reward from Naaman. It didn't hurt Naaman any to give it; but the servant paid for his greed with Naaman's leprosy. Lesson being, follow God, not the man. The faithful who gave to Jim Bakker in faith didn't get hurt. Bakker pays for his own sins. And the overall message here, just as it was in Ezekiel- simple obedience is what God is after.
Thursday brought me to a passage so complex that it had to be read with a second one set 100 or so years later, with the key being one certain town. Judges 20-21 tells the story of man's way to fix a problem. Nutshelling it, a Levite blunders into a town of the Benjaminites that had a "Sodom" problem. His concubine (who'd already ran off on him once) gets raped to death in his place, and he cuts her body up and sends it to the 12 tribes seeking vengeance. After failing to convince Benjamin to clean up its own mess, they "consulted God" (which actually amounted to throwing the priestly dice), and after two botched attempts, slaughtered the Benaminite tribe except for 600 men who fled.
Next, they start crying and blaming God for the fact that these six hundred are all that's left of the tribe, and they'll die out without wives (which they stupidly vowed not to supply them). So they looked for a scapegoat, and that's where Jabesh-Gilead comes in, because they failed to show at the big meeting. So they killed all of them, save for 400 virgins which they gave to the Benjaminites. Of course, that left them 200 short, so they suggested they just steal wives from the neighboring town of Shiloh, and if anyone complains, just put it on our tabs. Then they all went home, and the situation was summed up with the last verse of the book: "In those days, there was no King in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes." And what a job they did.
The parallel came in I Samuel 11, just after Saul was made King. Once again we find a repopulated Jabesh-Gilead, and this time they are about to play the part of the concubine. They get surrounded by the Ammonites, and the Ammonites say, "Sure, we'll let you surrender, as soon as we poke out all your right eyes and chop off your beards to humiliate you." The townsmen said, "We'll get back to you," and sent for help. Saul found out, and full of the Holy Spirit, summoned the tribes (by cutting up something actually usefull- a yoke of oxen) and with God guiding them, the following changes come to the story:
-EVERYONE shows up for the meeting, and God speaks to them through Saul and Samuel;
-they whup the Ammonites the first try, and no 600 escape;
-when the people sought a scapegoat (they wanted to follow up the victory by killing all those who didn't want Saul as king before), Saul ordered forgiveness instead;
-the problem was solved completely, and the people gathered afterwards to give the glory to God.
You could read the chapters yourself to get some of the other parallels, but here's the gist of what we're getting at:
Man's way was motivated by revenge and not righteousness (the Levite would likely never said a word about the sins of Benjamin if they hadn't killed his prostitute), where God's way was motivated by the Spirit and righteousness.
Man's way "consulted God", while God's way was God-led.
Man's way led to a patchwork of wrong solutions and incomplete answers, and in the end they walked away once they'd done enough damage, while God's way was one correct solution, correctly done, and the people praised Him when it was done.
Man's way was over an unworthy goal ( a concubine, who'd left him to go back to her father, which took him four months of sitting around before he was so motivated to get her; then he fed her to "the dogs", after which he wanted revenge), while God's way was worthy (to save people who'd appealed to Him for help).
Man's way sought a scapegoat, God's way forgave.
That brought me to Friday's reading, in Isaiah 63. So far we've seen sin as a cause of misconceiving God, trying to fit God into our expectations as the means by which we misconceive God, and seeking glory over simplicity, wrong motives, and wrong "consulting with God" as ways we accomplish it. But here, we come to another misconception- that God will, in the end, let everyone off the hook. The passage is an apocolyptic prophecy, that starts with a speaker who does not know Jesus questioning His actions at the Final Judgement.
Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, proclaiming victory,
mighty to save.”
mighty to save.”
2 Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?
like those of one treading the winepress?
3 “I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.
4 It was for me the day of vengeance;
the year for me to redeem had come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm achieved salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.
6 I trampled the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground.”
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.
4 It was for me the day of vengeance;
the year for me to redeem had come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm achieved salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.
6 I trampled the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground.”
Those who are ignorant of God will have no escape. In our day of tolerance and touchy-feely "faith", this is the part everyone wants to cast aside, under the excuse that "a god of love wouldn't do such a thing." But that concept isn't one of understanding God as love; it's a concept of Satan telling us "there are no consequences for sin." The chapter goes on with prayer of thankfulness and pleas for redemption from the remnant, but the point lies in this and in this verse later on:
Like a horse in open country,
they did not stumble;
14 like cattle that go down to the plain,
they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people to make for yourself a glorious name.
they did not stumble;
14 like cattle that go down to the plain,
they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people to make for yourself a glorious name.
The Spirit of God leads those who believe; the rest face judgement. Period. And if you are busy like Naaman making excuses (I'll have to change jobs, I'll look silly, etc.), you could lead yourself into this greatest misconcepiton of all.
And Saturday? The week ends with a single verse that makes the end pieces to each side. I could have easily started this whole thing with the first part of Mark 4:11:
11 (Jesus)told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you...
As Christians, the Secrets have been given to us. And we can understand the parts we don't blind ourselves to with sin and false expectations. But the rest of the verse (and the next) explain why there is still going to come the day of Isaiah 63:
...But to those on the outside all things come in parables 12 so that,
As Christians, the Secrets have been given to us. And we can understand the parts we don't blind ourselves to with sin and false expectations. But the rest of the verse (and the next) explain why there is still going to come the day of Isaiah 63:
...But to those on the outside all things come in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
Did you get that- "all things come in parables"? A parable is defined as:
1.
a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
2.
a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.
To those who do not believe, life is just a story that has an indirect meaning. Our life on earth is a parable that illustrates heaven. And if we don't set misconceptions aside and seek out God, we'll never get to the true meaning.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Time Machine week 50
Welcome to a very irritating (to me) Time Machine. What makes a Time Machine post irritating to its "labor of love" author? Let me tease the ways.
-One hot hundred debut worth mentioning- and it has debuted before, and will debut again;
-a six degrees that never gets past the first degree;
-three biggest movers and 2 biggest dropper;
-four birthday songs;
-one of the slowest moving songs ever to hit the top 40 (you thought Yellow River was bad...);
-and 60% of the top ten DOES NOT MOVE!
Oh, and the opening teaser? The most notable thing I found about January 11th, 1971, was that the NEXT day, the first sound of a toilet flushing was heard on TV. Remember what show that was on? Answer coming later. (Gotta have SOMETHING to keep you here!) So climb in, and... no really, climb aboard... please?
First off, let's deal with the debut that wouldn't die. If Cashbox had been up and functional this time last year, we would have seen the original entry into the countdown of Superstar, the theme from Jesus Christ Superstar, performed by Murray Head and the Trinidad Singers. It spent 7 weeks attempting to climb the charts, giving up at #67. This week it starts its second attempt at #99, and in March, it will give up a second time at #50. In about 9 weeks it will begin a third climb that will finally bring it into the top 40. So while Jesus was dead three days before resurrection, JCS will be resurrected twice, making three journeys before reaching the light of day.
That said, and noting that it was one of only 4 hot hundred debuts on the week, we move onto the birthday songs. In 1983, Cashbox took the first two weeks of the year off, so we'll likely have a mess of birthday songs next week. In 1978, we follow up a no debut week with a 6-debut week, the most noteworthy of which turning 35 were Natalie Cole's Our Love and Dave Mason's Let It Go, Let It Flow ( which was most noteworthy for being the title cut from the lp that brought us We Just Disagree). At least turning forty are a couple of classics- the O'Jays' Love Train and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's Lucky Man. And turning 45 is the Cascades' Rhythm Of The Rain. Blow out the candles...
As our debuts dwindle, our big movers multiply like rabbits. Going up, twelve notches apiece, to claim the big climber spots, are Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band with (seriously) Solution For Pollution, at #66; Emitt Rhodes, a one-hit wonder who is actually back in the studio trying for #2 as we speak, with Fresh As A Daisy at #69; and one you've actually heard of, The Osmonds' One Bad Apple at #77.
The big droppers both fell 20 places- Flaming Ember's recent top 40 I'm Not My Brother's Keeper, and Andy Kim's Be My Baby.
At #50, our Where Are They Now is one of the great American groups, Grand Funk Railroad with Mean Mistreater. The original band started with Mark Farner and two fellows who had connections to ? and the Mysterians, Don Brewer and Mel Schacher. Craig Frost was added just as the band came into national prominence, but it was short lived. A hard fight to rid themselves of their producer contributed to their first breakup in 1976. Farner went into a solo career, while the others for a short while formed a new band named after their hometown of Flint. From 1981-3 they reunited without Frost, who went on to become a longtime member of Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. After they split again, Farner went on to some success in contemporary Christian music, while Brewer would go on to the Silver Bullet Band as well, replacing Dave Teegarden (of Teegarden and Van Winkle fame). In 1996-8 they reunited again, and play together from time to time. Farner actually continues to tour with his band N'rG, while Brewer and Schacher with help from former .38 Special-er Max Carl and former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick continue to tour as Grand Funk Railroad. Frost continues whenever Seger tours with the SBB, and Brewer joined them on tours in 2006-7 and 2011. Farner had to have a pacemaker installed in October 2012.
One thing that actually went right on this is that we had a decent crop of top 40 debuts. Eric Burden and War came in at 40, up 9, with They Can't Take Away Our Music. At 37, up 7, is Runt, AKA Todd Rundgren, with We Gotta Get You A Woman. Little Sister, who earlier hit with You're The One, move up 7 to 36 with Somebody's Watching You. Up a big 9 spots is Dave Edmunds, at long last, with I Hear You Knocking.
And then there's the debut at #39. It debuted in the hot 100 eleven weeks ago at 95, stayed there the next week, and then began an old, slow soft-shoe up the charts- 7 spots, then 5, then 6 three weeks in a row. Then all of the sudden it looked like it was finally going to hang onto the bullet, jumping 10, and then 11. Last week it again slowed, moving up 3 to 41, and this week it climbs two spots to #39. Who is this? Mr. Bojangles by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. (Should have caught that from my lyric clue- "the old soft-shoe".)
Our lookback is one of the great ladies of music who became one of the great ladies of TV- Dinah Shore. She was born Frances Rose Shore, and had to choose between developing her musical talents and her degree in sociology from Vanderbilt. She did auditions all over New York, usually doing a popular song called Dinah- and a DJ who forgot her name called her "the Dinah girl", and the name stuck. Despite being turned down in auditions by Benny Goodman and both Dorsey brothers, she managed to hook onto a radio show, singing with Frank Sinatra. That got her noticed by Xavier Cugat, and she sang with his band for a while. That opened the door to a 1940-60 career that boasted 4 #1s and 30 top tens. Her home life stabilized by a 19-year marriage (1943-62) to western star George Montgomery, she racked up a streak in 1946-7 in which she hit the top ten 9 times, including the #1s Gypsy and The Anniversary Song.
She began doing variety and music shows through the sixties, and she had two long running shows in the 70s- Dinah's Place (1970-4) and Dinah! (1974-80). She became almost as famous for a long relationship with Burt Reynolds. Her biggest hits were 1944's I'll Walk Alone (from the movie Follow The Boys) and 1948's Buttons And Bows. Ironically, her last charting single was I Ain't Down Yet- which hit #103 in 1960.
Two songs enter the top ten, two drop out. Falling are Tears Of A Clown (7 to 17) and No Matter What (9 to 32).
Bluesman King Floyd moves up a pair to #10 with Groove Me.
Van Morrison also climbs two to #9 with Domino.
Led Zep rises two as well with Immigrant Song, to #8.
The Partridge Family arrests their fall this week, climbing back up a notch to #7 with I Think I Love You.
My intended six degrees victim was the first of six straight songs that hold their place from last week, the Supremes.2 with Stoned Love. While couldn't find a good link up to anything, I did learn some very interesting things about the song itself. It was supposed to be Stone Love, and represented the kind of solid love that would be needed to keep two people together (or end the Vietnam War, which was the songwriter's original intention). That songwriter was a teenager named Kenny Thomas, who had participated in a talent search on CKLW. Motown producer Frank Wilson went to his house, and Kenny played the song to him on a guitar with only two strings. They then played it for Supreme Mary Wilson, and with a little arrainging they recorded a demo. Of course, Berry Gordy pitched one of his famous bitches that he didn't like it, but they got the song recorded. At this point some idiot at the record factory enters the picture, putting Stoned Love instead of Stone Love on the label. Which of course got it instant popularity in the counterculture and problems with radio stations playing it because it was "a coded reference to drugs". But quality rises to the top, and here we are in the top ten.
With everybody holding their places from here on, I'll just remind you: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is by Chicago at 5, Santana's Black Magic Woman at 4, The 5Ds with One Less Bell To Answer at 3, Dawn's Knock Three Times at #2, and with a fourth week at #1...
George Harrison with My Sweet Lord!!!
And the show that had TV's first toilet flush?
Of course, Archie Bunker on All In The Family! See you next week!
-One hot hundred debut worth mentioning- and it has debuted before, and will debut again;
-a six degrees that never gets past the first degree;
-three biggest movers and 2 biggest dropper;
-four birthday songs;
-one of the slowest moving songs ever to hit the top 40 (you thought Yellow River was bad...);
-and 60% of the top ten DOES NOT MOVE!
Oh, and the opening teaser? The most notable thing I found about January 11th, 1971, was that the NEXT day, the first sound of a toilet flushing was heard on TV. Remember what show that was on? Answer coming later. (Gotta have SOMETHING to keep you here!) So climb in, and... no really, climb aboard... please?
First off, let's deal with the debut that wouldn't die. If Cashbox had been up and functional this time last year, we would have seen the original entry into the countdown of Superstar, the theme from Jesus Christ Superstar, performed by Murray Head and the Trinidad Singers. It spent 7 weeks attempting to climb the charts, giving up at #67. This week it starts its second attempt at #99, and in March, it will give up a second time at #50. In about 9 weeks it will begin a third climb that will finally bring it into the top 40. So while Jesus was dead three days before resurrection, JCS will be resurrected twice, making three journeys before reaching the light of day.
That said, and noting that it was one of only 4 hot hundred debuts on the week, we move onto the birthday songs. In 1983, Cashbox took the first two weeks of the year off, so we'll likely have a mess of birthday songs next week. In 1978, we follow up a no debut week with a 6-debut week, the most noteworthy of which turning 35 were Natalie Cole's Our Love and Dave Mason's Let It Go, Let It Flow ( which was most noteworthy for being the title cut from the lp that brought us We Just Disagree). At least turning forty are a couple of classics- the O'Jays' Love Train and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's Lucky Man. And turning 45 is the Cascades' Rhythm Of The Rain. Blow out the candles...
As our debuts dwindle, our big movers multiply like rabbits. Going up, twelve notches apiece, to claim the big climber spots, are Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band with (seriously) Solution For Pollution, at #66; Emitt Rhodes, a one-hit wonder who is actually back in the studio trying for #2 as we speak, with Fresh As A Daisy at #69; and one you've actually heard of, The Osmonds' One Bad Apple at #77.
 |
| "We've got to pitch in.... to clean up America..." |
At #50, our Where Are They Now is one of the great American groups, Grand Funk Railroad with Mean Mistreater. The original band started with Mark Farner and two fellows who had connections to ? and the Mysterians, Don Brewer and Mel Schacher. Craig Frost was added just as the band came into national prominence, but it was short lived. A hard fight to rid themselves of their producer contributed to their first breakup in 1976. Farner went into a solo career, while the others for a short while formed a new band named after their hometown of Flint. From 1981-3 they reunited without Frost, who went on to become a longtime member of Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. After they split again, Farner went on to some success in contemporary Christian music, while Brewer would go on to the Silver Bullet Band as well, replacing Dave Teegarden (of Teegarden and Van Winkle fame). In 1996-8 they reunited again, and play together from time to time. Farner actually continues to tour with his band N'rG, while Brewer and Schacher with help from former .38 Special-er Max Carl and former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick continue to tour as Grand Funk Railroad. Frost continues whenever Seger tours with the SBB, and Brewer joined them on tours in 2006-7 and 2011. Farner had to have a pacemaker installed in October 2012.
And then there's the debut at #39. It debuted in the hot 100 eleven weeks ago at 95, stayed there the next week, and then began an old, slow soft-shoe up the charts- 7 spots, then 5, then 6 three weeks in a row. Then all of the sudden it looked like it was finally going to hang onto the bullet, jumping 10, and then 11. Last week it again slowed, moving up 3 to 41, and this week it climbs two spots to #39. Who is this? Mr. Bojangles by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. (Should have caught that from my lyric clue- "the old soft-shoe".)
Our lookback is one of the great ladies of music who became one of the great ladies of TV- Dinah Shore. She was born Frances Rose Shore, and had to choose between developing her musical talents and her degree in sociology from Vanderbilt. She did auditions all over New York, usually doing a popular song called Dinah- and a DJ who forgot her name called her "the Dinah girl", and the name stuck. Despite being turned down in auditions by Benny Goodman and both Dorsey brothers, she managed to hook onto a radio show, singing with Frank Sinatra. That got her noticed by Xavier Cugat, and she sang with his band for a while. That opened the door to a 1940-60 career that boasted 4 #1s and 30 top tens. Her home life stabilized by a 19-year marriage (1943-62) to western star George Montgomery, she racked up a streak in 1946-7 in which she hit the top ten 9 times, including the #1s Gypsy and The Anniversary Song.
She began doing variety and music shows through the sixties, and she had two long running shows in the 70s- Dinah's Place (1970-4) and Dinah! (1974-80). She became almost as famous for a long relationship with Burt Reynolds. Her biggest hits were 1944's I'll Walk Alone (from the movie Follow The Boys) and 1948's Buttons And Bows. Ironically, her last charting single was I Ain't Down Yet- which hit #103 in 1960.
 |
| Burt and "the Dinah girl". |
Two songs enter the top ten, two drop out. Falling are Tears Of A Clown (7 to 17) and No Matter What (9 to 32).
Bluesman King Floyd moves up a pair to #10 with Groove Me.
Van Morrison also climbs two to #9 with Domino.
Led Zep rises two as well with Immigrant Song, to #8.
The Partridge Family arrests their fall this week, climbing back up a notch to #7 with I Think I Love You.
My intended six degrees victim was the first of six straight songs that hold their place from last week, the Supremes.2 with Stoned Love. While couldn't find a good link up to anything, I did learn some very interesting things about the song itself. It was supposed to be Stone Love, and represented the kind of solid love that would be needed to keep two people together (or end the Vietnam War, which was the songwriter's original intention). That songwriter was a teenager named Kenny Thomas, who had participated in a talent search on CKLW. Motown producer Frank Wilson went to his house, and Kenny played the song to him on a guitar with only two strings. They then played it for Supreme Mary Wilson, and with a little arrainging they recorded a demo. Of course, Berry Gordy pitched one of his famous bitches that he didn't like it, but they got the song recorded. At this point some idiot at the record factory enters the picture, putting Stoned Love instead of Stone Love on the label. Which of course got it instant popularity in the counterculture and problems with radio stations playing it because it was "a coded reference to drugs". But quality rises to the top, and here we are in the top ten.
Now I wanna tell ya--of a great love--ohh
It will light up
It will surely light up--darkened worlds
If you just believe...
Stoned Love, Mmm..
Oh yeah
A love for each other will bring fighting to an end
Forgiving one another
Time after time doubt creeps in
But like the sun lights up the sky with a message from above
Oh yeah, I find no other greater symbol of love--
Yep, sounds like a drug song to me.It will light up
It will surely light up--darkened worlds
If you just believe...
Stoned Love, Mmm..
Oh yeah
A love for each other will bring fighting to an end
Forgiving one another
Time after time doubt creeps in
But like the sun lights up the sky with a message from above
Oh yeah, I find no other greater symbol of love--
With everybody holding their places from here on, I'll just remind you: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is by Chicago at 5, Santana's Black Magic Woman at 4, The 5Ds with One Less Bell To Answer at 3, Dawn's Knock Three Times at #2, and with a fourth week at #1...
And the show that had TV's first toilet flush?
Thursday, January 10, 2013
And if you don't want to sit up at 2:30 AM, or go to the woods...
...just take a nap at 5 PM, and look what comes out!
 |
| They came out of the briars in the right side of the woods. |
 |
| They, look, there's people in the window! |
 |
| Man, I smell those cherries from here! |
 |
| Fine, eat that old, dry stuff. I'm having dessert! |
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Laurie's deer adventure
Second, I had to share with you what I saw just after posting said post on WANE.Com.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) The Fort Wayne Police Department is looking for two suspects after an attempted bank robbery on Wednesday.
Police said they responded to called of a bank robbery around 10:43 a.m. at Freedom Financial Credit Union at 1802 Inwood Dr.
Employees told police that two men, one armed with a long gone, were seen outside near the bank.
The employees said they immediately activated security measures, including locking the bank's lobby doors. The suspects could not get into the bank and were seen leaving on foot into a residential area.
Police tracked a trail with K9 officers but lost the scent.
This is the fourth time Freedom Financial has been targeted by robbers in the last two years, according to police.
Police ask that anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers at (260) 436-STOP (7867).
Did you catch it? Here, let me point it out:
Employees told police that two men, one armed with a long gone, were seen outside near the bank.
This, despite the fact that the story was word for word what the Journal Gazzette had, except the "long gone" was "long gun"... and they had the CU having been hit five times rather than four. Gotta love journalism in Ft Wayne.
Now, onto the reason for this post. Having got home early, we decided to take Laurie on a deer-sighting expedition.
 |
| Marching off into the wild... |
 |
| However, we both forgot that she was wearing slippers, so things got rapidly soggy... |
 |
| Looks like she's having fun, huh? |
Okay, since we have to rename Blogger "Booger" because picture posting is still buggered up, I can't separate the pictures without using captions. Hey, no sweat, it's only been most of a week...
Anyway, we move on to just before we leave the woods, wet feet and all, and then what do we see?
 |
| The gang of four! Not the same four me and Scrappy saw this AM... |
 |
| Last time, they ran whenever I got in the clear. Tonight, they just posed... |
 |
| All bucks, but young ones with small racks. |
 |
| Notice the one buck had just one antler.
|
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