Time Machine week 55

It's February 15th, 1971.  And the biggest news your internet searching will find you about today is that the British went to a decimal monetary system today.  You see, they had been on a 1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 pence system for centuries, and would now need hand-calculators to figure out if the Good Humour man was ripping them off or not.

I was going to pitch a bitch about, "How long have you been on the metric system and you're just now coming to decimal currency?"  But after turning up a 2004 article on the BBC titled, "Will we ever go completely metric?" I decided, okay, I guess I'm no expert on THAT subject.  The biggest laugh of the whole story was when I read that it wasn't even the biggest story on the British front pages that day, but I defy you to find out what WAS.


Welcome to a Valentine's episode of Time Machine, in which I will be sending out Valentines to all my blog ladies, so if you are A) female, and B) comment semi-regularly on this blog, pay attention this week!  A Valentine is coming your way!  Also, a top 40 debut that wanders into our six degrees, a hot hundred debut that blunders into the birthday song category, and from our lookback special, the song that could not be found!  Step lively, correct change, please!


But first, a sad note.  Rick Huxley, bassist for the legendary Dave Clark Five, passed on Monday, according to Dave.  The 72-year old Huxley is the third of the quintet to pass on, after Dennis Payton in 2006 and lead singer Mike Smith in 2008.  I guess that Catch Us If You Can might not be exactly an apropriate eulogy.

Lenny Davidson on the left and Dave Clark in the middle are the DC2 now.

So out of 7 debuts to the hot 100 this week, we have two to feature this week.  The first, at 82, is Cat Stevens' Wild World; and at 96, Derek and the Dominoes (Eric Clapton and buddies) with Bell Bottom Blues.  This song has a long and struggling history on the charts.  This original version climbed to #91; and two years later- this week, in fact, making it a 40 year birthday song- it was re-released under Clapton's name, climbing to a lofty 78.  Too bad, because as Clapton fans know, it's one of his best.

Speaking of birthdays, here's the rest of this week's bunch!  Turning 30 are Styx's Mr. Roboto, After The Fire's Der Kommisar, and Phil Collins' drum-heavy I Don't Care Anymore.  Turning 35 we have ELO with Sweet Talkin' Woman and Tavares' version of More Than A Woman off Saturday Night Fever.  Joining one incarnation of Bell Bottom Blues at the age of 40 this week are: the Carpenters with Sing, Dobie Gray's classic Drift Away (Remember the Oldies 101.7 ad?  " 'Beat, Boys' ?  I thought he said, 'Give me the BEACH Boys!' "), Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side, and Deep Purple with Woman From Tokyo.  Turning 45 we have Sly Stone and the Family with Dance To The Music, and the recently mentioned Troggs with Love Is All Around.  Turning 50 is Johnny Cymbal's Mr. Bass Man; and turning 55 are a pair of the all-timers: Little Richard's Good Golly Miss Molly and Chuck Berry's Sweet Little 16.  Blow out the candles...

Let's start with the Valentine songs!  Now some of these songs might have a meaning for the recipient beyond the title, and some might not (hence we would send my ex-wife along the lines of "What Kind Of Fool Am I" or "Something Stupid").  I hope everyone will enjoy them in the spirit of the holiday.  Here's one for the little sweetheart at what's on your mind, Monkey Butt - for you I send out  a song that will fit your theme- Smokey and the Miracles with Mickey's Monkey.  For my dear friend from up north, Average Girl,  who occasionally still posts at it's an average life, how about a song that reflects in title what your stories often leave me doing- the Guess Who and Laughing.  For my dear friend Skippy at I make soap , in light of her recent side effects, I send you the Troggs' Wild Thing!  My friend Holly over at Holly's hoots and Hollers , I think it pretty apropos to dedicate Sailcat's Motorcycle Mama.  And winding up round one, I can't think of anything that would remind me of Jo-Anne at Jo-Anne's Ramblings any better than Bobby Russell's Saturday Morning Confusion.  Chocolates to all!

Our big movers are: going down, the former top ten from Led Zep, Immigrant Song, falling 56 spots to 77.  Going up, Janis Joplin's Me And Bobby McGee, climbing 21 spots to #49.

The song at #50 this week was a Bobby Sherman tune- and since we've Where-Are-They-Now'd him previously, it's a good thing we have no room for him this week.

Another five Valentines!  From my fine blogging and artist friend over at Lizard Happy , I thought it meet to send an Aussie song to an Aussie babe, so how about Little River Band and Help Is On Its Way.  For Elsie at Mock Turtle's Musings , I think I would play her Spandau Ballet's True.  For Nain from View From Down Here , I have to imagine her husband sing to her Elton John's Your Song.  For Ms NK Rey at Waiting for God , in her manse on the banks of the Wabash, I send you the great Andy Williams' Moon River.  And for Juli at Surviving Boys , what else could I dedicate but Connie Francis' Where The Boys Are?

7 songs debut into the top 40 as well.  Up 3 spots to 40 is someone Laurie and I just listened to not long ago- and who will re-appear in today's six degrees- Emitt Rhodes with Fresh As A Daisy.  (No, it was not later used as the Massengil theme!*)  Another three-notch climber at 39 are the Kinks with Apeman.  An 8-slot climb to 36 belongs to Joe Tex with Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone.  The Carpenters leap 13 spots with For All We Know, landing at 35.  The Partridge Family shoot up 11 spots to 34 with Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted.  There are currently three versions of the Love Story Theme on the charts, but the one in the top 40 right now is Henry Mancini's, climbing 19 spots to 28.  And the high debut, up at 27, is Tom Jones, climbing 14 with She's A Lady (Whoa wo wo!!!)  * If you don't get the joke, don't worry.  I'm just being a douche.

Well, attempt #2 at the new way of doing the lookback ran into a bit of a snag- or two.  First, the biggest mover this week in 1951 was someone we've looked at a couple of times already- Guy Lombardo and his merry men with Use Your Imagination.  So I went with the second biggest mover, and hit snag #2.  When a song hit the charts back then, usually more than one version hit at the same time.  So Cashbox would just roll all the versions into one big chart hit.  And the song that moved the second most was a tune called May The Good Lord Bless You And Keep You, moving from 33 to 17.  Three artists shared this particular charting- opera star Jan Peerce (I think that's "Yan", as it is a guy); Bing Crosby; and the first name on the list, Frankie Laine.

Despite not being a big star on the charts, Laine (originally LoVecchio) had an influence on music far beyond his numbers.  A master of many musical styles, he hit the top 3 times- all in a six month span.  August of '49 saw him at the top with That Lucky Old Sun; February of 1950 saw him at the top with The Cry Of The Wild Goose; in between was the western classic Mule Train.  His signature song was the #3 That's My Desire- the last song he publicly sang, two years before his death in 2007.

At the other end of his 70+ years as a performer, he got a start in his youth in dance marathons.  He and partner Ruthie Smith set a world record at 3,501 hours- and he entertained the other contestants with his singing during their 15-minute breaks!

 Oh, and the song that brought us here?  I found no evidence on Billboard that it charted by any of the three- and in fact, that #17 spot was its peak!


And I have a couple of shoutouts for the almost but not quite list this week!  Todd Rundgren peaks this week at 21 with We Gotta Get You A Woman; and Bread at 20 with Let Your Love Go.

 

One last look in the Valentine mailbag!  For Ms CB at the ramblings of Charlie Brown , I thought about the easy joke with the Coasters, but decided instead on something more closer to her lifestyle- Andy Williams again, with Born Free.  For the former Chocolate Angel over at three cats and my coffee cup , I thought something from Hot Chocolate- how about You Sexy Thing?  For Kelli over at the House of Hale , again I went with something I can see her hubby dedicating to her- the Jackson Five with I'll Be There. And for Holly at the Morrow , and in that same vein, the Association and Cherish.

Two songs join the top ten, two drop out.  The droppers are Your Song (10 to 17) and Stoney End (8 to 11).

King Floyd drops from 4 to 10 with Groove Me.

Bobby Goldsboro comes in at 9, up 2 with Watching Scotty Grow.

Diana Ross moves up one spot to 8 with Remember Me.

The Jackson Five rocket from 17 to 7 with Mama's Pearl.

Gladys Knight and company slip a notch to 6 with If I Were Your Woman.

The Bee Gees drop a pair to 5 with Lonely Days.

Dave Edmunds pushes up 2 to #4 with I Hear You Knocking.

Dawn slips another notch to 3 with Knock Three Times.

Which brings us to the six degrees song- Rose Garden, falling from the top to #2.

Rose Garden was written by Joe South, who never charted it.  In fact several acts tried and failed to chart before Lynn Anderson, including the 3 Degrees and one Freddy Weller, who spent 6 years as a member of Paul Revere and the Raiders.  He was the replacement for original member Drake Levin, who Revere fired right before an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.  Levin wenton to join the previously mentioned Emitt Rhodes (who ever thought he'd get two mentions in one episode?) in a west-coast band called the Merry-Go-Round.  Later on, a gent by the name of Rick Dey (No relation to Susan Dey- her birth name was Smith) joined the Merry-Go-Round, after a stint with an outfit called the Wilde Knights.  And the Wilde Knights did the original recording of the song Just Like Me- which Paul Revere and the Raiders, pre- Weller, took to #11 in 1965.

And that means we have a new nuber one, but first, I have one more Valentine, for Laurie:

Andrew Gold, and Thank You For Being A Friend....

ANNNNNND now, the new top dog...

The Osmonds, and One Bad Apple!!!!

Hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day!!!! See you next time!

The stuff I forgot last night...

ITEM:  I think this might be the stupidest conclusion in the history of science, and I have proof.

 Domestic dogs are much more likely to steal food when they think nobody can see them, suggesting for the first time that dogs are capable of understanding a human's point of view.



Dr Juliane Kaminski, of the University of Portsmouth's Department of Psychology, has shown that when a human forbids a dog from taking food, dogs are four times more likely to disobey in a dark room than a lit room, suggesting they take into account what the human can or cannot see.


Taking this step by step, how does stealing food have anything to do with "understanding human's point of view"?  I realize humanity is fallen, but how does a dog being a thief reflect our point of view?
Second step, Of course they can tell when mom or dad aren't paying attention.  Just like any other little kid.  You need a scientific study to figure this out?
Third, we tested Scrappy.  Laurie had a near emptied bowl of potato salad that Scrappy was dying to finish.  But see, Scrappy is trained to sit and wait on a treat when told.  So Laurie told him, "Sit, " and so he did.  And when we turned off all the lights and the TV, he never moved.  For half a minute, he kept up a disinterested facade, not budging in the least until given the command, okay.

Dr. Kaminsky and her doggie, Ambula (named after a single ambulance?).  Either he's just dumb, or you should try TRAINING him.

ITEM:  Lokomotiv took to the ice this morning after the week's break for the Oddset tourney in Sweden, and downed Amur 4-1 on a hat trick for Niklaus Hagman, his 10th, 11th, and 12th of the year.  Two games remain in the regular season- against Nizhnekamsk (the "other" Metallurg) on Friday and Sibir on Sunday.  Three playoff spots remain for the taking.


ITEM:  I finally got tired of all the alcohol and substance abuse links thinking that my cap blog is the place to go to pimp their sites, so I clicked on the link to go complain to them.  The link took me to Diaperspace, which is made up to look like Facebook (right down to the "It's free and always will be."), only for ABDL (which, I learned to my regret, stands for "adult baby diaper lovers").  These people have a lot worse problems than spamming MY blog, friends.

ITEM:  I was thinking about the Papal resignation, and my mind came up with this soliliquy.

1871 was a great year for the office of the Pope and for the Church- although neither the Pope nor the Church saw it that way at the time.  Why?  Because in 1871 the Prussians and their German Confederation allies whupped the French in a war.  You see, the Prussians were using the French as a goad to get the smaller German... Wait a minute, hold the story, because it's going off track.  The French defeat meant that the French troops still in Rome had to come home.  Why were there French troops in Rome?  Because Italy had been in the midst of trying to become a united nation since 1848.  It consisted then of the Austrian territories of Lombardy and Venetia, the duchy of Parma, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily (Usually going by the silly name of "the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies")- and the Papal States, a chunk of central Italy ruled by the Pope as a king ever since one Pope forged the "donation of Pepin" saying they ruled the area.

But in 1848, the people rose up in favor of a republic, and the French had to conquer Rome to keep the Pope in power.  Those same French were there as most of the rest of Italy was forged into a single unit under the Piedmontese king.  And when they left in 1871, the Italian army marched in and deposed the Pope from his temporal rule.  The Popes didn't care for that, and it wasn't until a deal was reached in 1929 with Mussolini that the Pope regained an independant nation- albeit a nation 1/72,000th the size it was in 1848.

So how was this good for the popes and the church?  Because, without being busy being a king, the succeeding Popes- Leo XIII, Pius X through XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, the two John Pauls, and a pair of Benedicts- the Popes have become Church fathers, leading the flock rather than playing politics.  The result being a succession of saintly men the likes of which the Church had never seen.  The man stepping down is the latest in a group of holy, humble men who have firmly put the Church's needs ahead of their own.  Yep, 1871 was one of the best things that ever happened to the popes- and the church.

Lotsa Little bits vol. 7

ITEM: Well, I've got quite a collection of stupidity this week for your head scratching pleasure.  And none of it done by me!

ITEM: Sometime after Valentine's Day, asteroid 2012 DA 14 will miss Terra Firma by some 17,000 miles (approximately the distance from here to the Central African Republic after circling the planet once).  This was worrying the mind (such as it is) of CNN's Deborah Feyerick, and she kinda brought it up during an interview with Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

“Talk about something else that’s falling from the sky and that is an asteroid. What’s coming our way? Is this an effect of, perhaps, of global warming, or is this just some meteoric occasion?”
An asteroid approaching Earth being caused by global warming.  Bill of course, was the soul of tact:

“No, no, no, no,” Nye replied to the spaced-out question, before gracefully extending Feyerick a lifeline by saying “except it’s all science. The word meteorology and the word meteor come from the same root, so, uhh…”
Which was nice, polite science speak for "How can you be that stupid and still breathe?"  I myself can only come up with three answers: A) so enrapt in her agenda about global warming, she inserts it into every conversation.  "I was going to by a darling dress at Macy's, but I was afraid it would raise my carbon footprint"; B) She was only paying passing attention to anything said that didn't involve herself, and thus confused what she was talking about; C) she's just that dumb.

"... and every time I eat a salad, does an adoreable crouton creature HAVE to die?"

 

ITEM: In Prince Goerge's county, Maryland, the school board thinks it has come up with a great new money making idea:

"Works created by employees and/or students specifically for use by the Prince George's County Public School or a specific school or department within PGCPS, are properties of the Board of Education even if created on the employee's or student's time and with use of their materials."
Yes, this is actually a proposed new rule- one that is one hold as parents and teachers alike are in revolt over the terms.  This would include anything from a school program developed by a teacher for school work to a short story written by a kindergartner.  Anyone else think this is ridiculous?

 Copyright lawyer Lawrence Townsend tells FoxNews.com that while the county has the right under the Work for Hire provision to police what teachers do, trying to stake a claim in what students create won't fly.
"The students are mostly under the age of 18 and federal law protects their rights," he said. Townsend added that unless a parent or guardian signs off on it, what a student creates belongs to the student and not the school.

I guess our president isn't the only one running around shoulting "You didn't build that."

ITEM: The gay community is going after Superman now- specifically Orson Scott Card, one of the writers assigned to Adventures Of Superman.  Card is a Mormon and has been outspoken about marriage as one man-one woman.  For this heineous crime of believing God was working on the "tab A into slot B" plan, one of those annoying online petitions has been started demanding DC comics fire him.  Never mind they don't want to be discriminated against themselves, but are more than happy to discriminate themselves.  So far, DC is inviting them to join Superman in a flying leap.  WAKE UP AMERICA!!!  How long are we going to let the PC elite tell us what we can and cannot say in order to make a living in this world?  While it is tempting to go on a rant about it being "truth, justice, and the American way"  not "American gay", let me just put it this way- I never saw the Man Of Steel question the sexual preference of the old lady he was rescuing from the burning building.

Although I had to wonder about the shorts sometimes...

ITEM: Or how about the woman in New Zealand whose cause of death was tied to the fact that she drank TEN LITERS of Coke A DAY.  Apparently the combination of the excess caffeine (which is a diuretic) combined with all the fluid intake, caused her to piss all the potassium out of her system.  In addition, she had a heart arythmia (surprise surprise), had lost all her teeth, and at least one of her 8 kids was born without enamel on their teeth.  I might consume that much Pepsi in roughly 20 days, which means she would top my yearly cola consumption in something under three weeks.


ITEM:  You really get an idea about how seriously the Obama Administration takes foreign policy.  This morning on the news, I heard how even Russia and China were chastising North Korea for its latest missle test, which is mainly just saber rattling at the US of A, right?  So if they think it makes for a bad situation, how must our government feel?

Asked Tuesday morning whether she expects a strong condemnation from the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said: "We'll do the usual drill."

Not surprising from the woman that blithely did the Meet-The-Press circuit claiming Benghazi was all about a youtube video after anyone with an actually-functioning brain knew better.  Thank God Obama put her at the UN and not an important post.  Still, with diplomats like her serving the administration, it's probably best for Obama that he got his peace prize before he'd actually done anything.

Greatness... or lack thereof

I was first shocked, then numbed, by the news that greeted me on my way home- that Pope Benedict was resigning.  After centuries of stepping down when unable to fulfill the role being anathema, The Pontiff made a decision based upon common sense and care for the Church he was entrusted with, rather than upholding "tradition".  While I think that it is sad to lose a learned and holy man such as Benedict from the leadership of a church that, at least locally, took a blow in the death of another humble and holy man- Bishop John D'arcy- it was by far a better thing to step down if he felt the Church better served by a healthier man.

I was looking up the last Pope who resigned, Gregory XII, in 1415.  Without going into details you could look up, Gregory's resignation (or abdication, as he was a temporal ruler as well) came as the light at the (or near the) end of a long, sordid tunnel.  In fact, it wasn't over even then, as an antipope on the other side of the political fence from Gregory, Clement VIII, resigned 15 years later.  But he didn't count, because of the line of popes that became recognized, and the numbering system for the papal names involved wasn't straightened out for another 400 years.  Given all that, it is a blessing that the next resignation was for the sake of the church, rather than for the sake of a man.

Steppin' down while I still got it.

On the other side of the fence, I give you someone who a lot of people thought was a great man- including some family members- former Presidential candidate and Congressman Ron Paul.  Now, I wouldn't bash him for just anything.  He has some genuinely good ideas buried under the half-eaten acorn shells, and he has that quirky Ross Perot-appeal to him.  But a person should remain true to themselves- especially someone as outspoken and controversial as he is.  But here's the deal.  A group of supporters own the rights to the domain name RonPaul.com.

He argues at length in his complaint that he should have the domain name -- as well as one for RonPaul.org -- for free because he already has a common law trademark on his name. (FoxNews)
And so, he has gone on the warpath to free his name from his supporters- and he's turning to an old enemy to do it.

The Texas Republican and three-time presidential candidate filed the complaint Friday with the U.N.'s World Intellectual Property Organization...  Paul spokeswoman Megan Stiles said the WIPO was need to settle the dispute because the domain-name owners used a foreign registrar (Australian)  to get the domain name.  (FoxNews)
So let's get this straight.  Ron Paul sponsored the American Restoration of Sovereignty Act in 1997.  The bill was authored by Ron Paul to effect U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations. It would repeal various laws pertaining to the U.N., terminate authorization for funds to be spent on the U.N., terminate U.N. presence on U.S. property, and withdraw diplomatic immunity for U.N. employees. It would provide up to two years for the U.S. to withdraw. (Wikipedia)
Congressman Paul opposes US involvement in the United Nations and sees the entity as a threat to national sovereignty. He has stated that membership in the United Nations is fundamentally incompatible with American sovereignty and the Constitution. He has repeatedly called for the US to end it's membership in the organization, and has repeatedly introduced legislation to force this act. (PoliGu.com).

And this man is going TO this same organization he says he wants to dismantle to evict his own supporters from the website.  What do they think?

The owners of the domain names say they are disappointed by the complaint, considering how many of them -- particularly the young, energetic supporters -- kept Paul’s 2012 run energized through grassroots campaigning and fundraising.
“Like thousands of fellow Ron Paul supporters, we put our lives on hold and invested five years of hard work into Ron Paul, RonPaul.com and Ron Paul 2012,” the owners, who are getting a lawyer and have 20 days to prepare a complaint response, said on their site. (FoxNews)


In addition, they say Paul is falsely claiming they offered to sell him the site- and its extensive mailing list- for $848,000. 

What does Chris think?  I think there's only one way to describe such a man;

I would hazard a guess that Paul won't be running for president again.  But then again, this nation elected Obama twice.  So just maybe...

Sunday Message

One of the great signs that God exists is what He accomplishes when you aren't doing your part very well.  I have been a prime example this week.  In an attempt to keep doing my morning reading IN THE MORNING, I have struggled with my new 5 AM wakeup call, trying to read through bleary eyes and find a time to ponder it afterwards.  I know I have to pick a new time to do this right, but I am afraid that not doing it first thing will lead to it not getting done.  But this week has proved I need not fear, because despite my struggles and poor performance, God looked down on the intent, and gave us a very valuable lesson He tied together Saturday with Proverbs 22:17-21, a passage centered around this verse:
Bow down your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to My knowledge. Now that we see what He has been trying to teach all week, let's go back and see how He intends us to do it.

Monday, I was in I John 2.  This chapter brings up the subject of "antichrists"  those who pretend to be followers of Christ but are anything but.  Teaching the doctrine of the day- which involves in our day such buzz words as "tolerance", "change with the times", and "a loving God wouldn't..."- these antichrists preach conform to the norm, rather than being the light to the world, the salt to the earth, as Jesus asked.  But there is a way to expose the liars and keep your walk pure- John calls it, "abide in Him."  If you use the concordannce to flesh out the meaning of the word "abide", you get these definitions:

Stay;
continue;
dwell;
endure;
Be present;
remain;
stand;
tarry (wait for).

As you ponder those words, you see all the facets of "abide".  It includes living your life in Him, not moving from Him, enduring life with Him, standing up for Him, and waiting for Him.  It is a very powerful concept.

Tuesday, we ventured into Hebrews 11.  If you don't know your Bible well, this is a famous chapter on the Faith of the ancients and the reward it won them- a reward they KNEW they would not see in this life.
These all died by way of faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. And they were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For they who say such things declare plainly that they seek a fatherland.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from which they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
But now they stretch forth to a better fatherland, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (vv 14-16)

By abiding in Christ you can weed out the lies; by faith you understand the long term plan.

On Wednesday, I hit Proverbs 4, in particular the last 2 verses;

Ponder the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established.  Do not turn to the right hand nor to the left; remove your foot from evil.
Think about your choices.  WWJD has become an overused and much-mocked acronym, but it is the core of what this verse means.  Each step should be considred through Jesus.  By doing this you avoid evil.

Thursday I was in 2 Chornicles 30, where Hezekiah is trying to bring Judah back to repentance in the wake of Israel's fall and exile by the Assyrians.  At a certain point, the were trying desperately to celebrate the Passover, but had not enough time nor enough priests to get everyone ritually clean.  So Hezekiah did the one thing he could:

But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, May the good LORD pardon everyone

who prepares his heart to seek God, Jehovah, the God of his fathers, though not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.

And Jehovah listened to Hezekiah and healed the people. (vv 18-20)

Through preparing their hearts, not their flesh, these people received pardon from God.  This is a well-known concept to those of us who have shared in the Lord's Supper, to pray for your heart's receptiveness beforehand.  But God wants us to do this on a constant basis, for then He will provide pardon, or in some translations, atonement.

Which brings us to Friday- a very difficult chapter, as it was Exodus 7, the story of the plague of bloody water God called down on Pharoah.  But as you look at it, a couple of important concepts emerge.  First, in v. 17 God explains that He will act in such a way that everyone will know that He is the Lord.  This has a corrolary in Romans 1:20, where Paul says everything we need to comprehend the existance and nature of God is in the natural world, creation itself, so that those who refuse to believe have no real excuse.  But God goes a step further for Pharoah; He gives him unmistakable signs, such as the blood-water.

But Pharoah, looking for excuses not to believe, has his "magicians" seem to do the same thing.  Yep, they can cause water to turn red in a bowl or a pool, too.  That was all Pharoah needed to cling to to sustain his disbelief- despite the fact that his people were being sickened by the fish dying in the river, and digging their wells ever deeper in the hopes of finding some place God hadn't affected them.  Just so, part of apply God to our lives includes the ability to see the signs that others willfully ignore.

So the answer to "How do I apply my heart to His knowledge" is this:

Abide in Him (put every part of life in His care).
Have faith, that you may understand the long-term goal.
Ponder your path; avoiding evil.
Prepare your heart every day.
Look for God's actions in your life.

In other words, go beyond worship being a Sunday thing, or a few minutes in the morning.  Makje it an everyday practice, as natural to living your life  as anything else you do.  As John said, the reward is eternal life.

Time Machine week 54.

Today is February 8th, 1971.  A rather peaceful day, with the biggest news- the opening of NASDAQ- hardly earth-shaking.  However, 6 hours and 42 seconds into tomorrow, that's exactly what the news will be- a 6.6 earthquake that hits in the San Fernando valley in SoCal, commonly known as the Sylmar quake.

The quake killed 65, severely damaged two hospitals (including this one), collapsed two interchanges, and missed crumbling the Lower Van Norman dam enough to unleash a catastrophic torrent by 6 feet.  The quake, which scienists consider a precursor to the Northridge quake some 23 years later,took out a hospital building that was just one month old, and led to greater earthqake prepareness in California building codes- as well as inspiring the film Earthquake three years later.

Welcome once again to Time Machine, where we delve into questions such as:  What band counted  as members a famous actor's dad and a stock broker?  What singer who was saved, and then died, here in Fort Wayne gave us the big hit The Cincinatti Dancing Pig?  And what lp containing a top ten song this week had among the artists on it people responsible for a soap opera theme, a movie theme, and a TV show theme?  Paddle faster, friends, I hear banjos! 

We have 11 debuts this week on the hot 100, of which three merit our attention.  The Carpenters come in all the way up at #48 with For All We Know; Andy Williams comes in at 94 with the theme to Love Story (Where Do I Begin); and Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley with One Toke Over The Line at #99.  Our birthday songlist wouldn't be so exceptional if it weren't for one year claiming  half of the tunes!  Turning 30 this week are Journey's Separate Ways and Dan Fogelburg's Make Love Stay; turning 40 are the Stylistics with Break Up To Make Up, Vickie Lawrence's The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia, and the Guess Who with one you make have to Youtube (but you won't regret it), Follow Your Daughter Home.  Turning 45 are Gladys Knight and the Pips' The End Of The Road, the Delfonics' La La Means I Love You, and Blue Cheer's Summertime Blues.  Turning 55 is Connie Francis' Who's Sorry Now.  But wait, you say, what about the songs that turned 35 this week?  Why, there are NINE of them:
Rod Stewart's Hot Legs;
Andrew Gold's Thank You For Being A Friend;
Gordon Lightfoot's The Circle Is Small (not a happy song, but the music cheers me)
Parliament's Flashlight;
Jackson Browne's Running On Empty;
Styx's Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man);
The Trammp's Disco Inferno;
Roberta Flack and Donnie Hathaway with The Closer I Get To You;
and Waylon 'n' Willie with Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.

You're going to need a lot of breath to blow out all those candles...

There was a savage battle for the biggest dropper this week; Ray Price dropped 44 notches to 74 with For The Good Times- and finished second.  The big dropper was Stoned Love, falling half the countdown from 21 to 71.  Big mover?  Come back during the top 40 debuts.

The Where Are They Now contestant this week is a song called I'm So Proud by the boys that brought you Everybody Plays The Fool, the Main Ingredient.  The band that took their name from a coke bottle began with three men who called themselves the Poets, then the Insiders, before that pause that refreshes led them to their permanent moniker.  Just before they hit big, lead singer Donald McPherson contracted a fast-striking leukemia and died in 1971.  The survivors soldiered on by hiring a new singer- Cuba Gooding, Sr.  He was the voice on the hits you knew and loved.  Still, success wasn't for long, and they broke up for the first time in 1977, with Luther Simmons becoming a stockbroker and abandoning the biz altogether- except during some of the reunions of the group.  They were reborn in 1979, 1986, and 1999.  Original Tony Sylvester passed in 2006; Simmons retired once and for all, and Gooding, Sr. still leads the band today.

Before I go on, a sad note.  Reg Presley, lead singer of the Troggs on the party classic Wild Thing and the beautiful Love Is All Around, has passed at the age of 71.  Born Reggie Ball, he had his name changed by his agent- and had to find out about it in a magazine.

It's time for the top forty debuts, and Jerry Reed kicks it off with Amos Moses, climbing 11 to #40.  Next is a band called McGuinness Flint, an English supergroup fronted by Manfred Mann bassist Tom McGuinness and John Mayall drummer Hughie Flint, with a song that would go top ten in the UK, When I'm Dead And Gone.  It edges up 2 notches to 39.  The Four Tops climb ten with Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) at #38.  Up eleven spots to 34 is Wilson Pickett with Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You.  and the high debut/biggest mover is CCR with Have You Ever Seen The Rain, up a big 30 spots to #33.

I'm going to do my lookback a little different now that I'm moving into the 50's.  Each week I'll find the biggest mover in the countdown and salute the main artist. There was a tie this week in 1950, and I'll take the higher charting, leaping from 37 to 9.  Red Foley, who was in that spot with Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy.  Red had a chart career from 1944-69, mainly on the country chart where he hit the top ten times.  He hit the top ten on the pop charts 4 times, including the curiously named Cincinatti Dancing Pig, which made it to #7.

The story of Red's death was fascinating, and I'm lifting it from wikipedia for your benefit.

On September 19, 1968, Foley appeared in two Opry performances in Fort Wayne, Indiana sponsored by the local Sheriff's Posse that included Billy Walker and 20-year-old Hank Williams, Jr., son of his long-time friend Hank Williams. Before the second show, according to Walker, Foley came to his dressing room and Walker shared his faith in Christ: "[Foley] said, 'Do you think God could ever forgive a sinner like me?' He began to tell me all the rotten things he had done in his life and I looked him in the face and said, 'Red, if God can forgive me, He can forgive you.' I prayed with Red, he went out and the last song he sang was "Peace In The Valley". He came over to side of the stage and said, 'Billy, I've never sung that song and feel the way I do tonight.'" Foley suffered respiratory failure that night and died in his sleep, prompting Hank Williams, Jr. to write and record (as Luke the Drifter, Jr.) "I Was With Red Foley (The Night He Passed Away)". According to the song, which charted that November, his last words were, "I’m awful tired now, Hank, I’ve got to go to bed." The moon that night was blood red, in remembrance to the great singer. Foley had sung "Peace In The Valley" at Hank Sr.'s funeral. Red Foley was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.

Three songs climb into the top ten, three drop out. Perry Como slides a pair to 12 with It's Impossible; My Sweet Lord drops from 6 to 15.  And One Less Bell To Answer falls from 8 all the way to 25.

Elton John falls a notch to 10 with Your Song. 

Diana Ross moves to #9, up a pair, with Remember Me.

And sliding a notch to #8, our six degrees victim.

Barbra Streisand's Stoney End lp included a lot of name- and rep- players.  Among them:  Randy (Short People) Newman; Eric Weissberg, who wielded one of the Dueling Banjos; Perry Botkin, Jr., one of the duo who gave us Nadia's Theme (The Young And The Restless); Hal Blaine, from Elvis' Wrecking Crew; Larry Knechtel who would soon join Bread; and Larry Carlton, who played lead guitar on Mike Post's Hill Street Blues theme.  The title song was a composition by the late great Laura Nyro, who probably holds a record for most songs written to hit the charts when she herself never topped #92.  That was with, ironically enough, a cover of the Drifters' Up On The Roof.  That #1 was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and Carole played piano on the Drifters' single.

The Osmond Bros leap from 16 to 7 with One Bad Apple.

That handsome sod Dave Edmunds hits #6, up 6, with I Hear You Knocking.

Holding at 5, Gladys Knight and the Pips with If I Were Your Woman.

Also stuck at 4, King Floyd's Groove Me.

The Bee Gees drop 2 from the top dog spot to #3 with Lonely Days.

Holding in the runner up slot, Dawn with Knock Three Times.

And the new #1, climbing from #3....

Lynn Anderson with Rose Garden!


Okay gang, shake'r easy, and I'll see you here next week!

Lord, what fools these mortals be!!! (possibly volume I)

So said Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and here in this midwinter evening, I tend to agree.  Let me lead off the parade by inviting you to check out Miss CB's blog, not because she IS a fool, but because she did such a good job of ranting about one particular group of fools- these overzealous school officials handing out suspensions and expulsions to kindergartners and grade schoolers for the heinous crimes of threatening others lives with paper handguns and bubble-firing assault weapons.  I bring this up not only to congratulate her for a job on the topic I'm envious of, but to get you to read my humourous comment on the post.  No, wait!  I brought it up to add tonight's example of this rampant stupidity, courtesy FoxNews:

A Colorado second-grader may be suspended from his elementary school after he disobeyed a key rule of no weapons, real or imaginary, when he tossed an imaginary grenade Friday during recess and went, 'pshhh,' to indicate that the imaginary device detonated, KDVR.com reported.
Alex Watkins,7, who attends Mary Blair Elementary in Loveland, said he was playing the game "Rescue the World." He plays the role of a heroic soldier out to rid the world of an evil threat.
His duties led him to throw the imaginary grenade into a box he pretended contained evil forces. He said he didn't make any threats and was playing by himself, KDVR.com reported.
The school has a list of 'absolutes' that states no weapons, even if they're imaginary. A phone call Tuesday morning from FoxNews.com to the school was not immediately returned.
"Honestly, I don’t think the rule is very realistic for kids this age," Mandie Watkins, Alex's mom, told KDVR.com. "I think that when a child is trying to save the world, I don't think he should be punished for it."
Alex, for his part, told the station that he can’t believe he got "dispended."


I can't believe he got dispended, either.  THIS IS GONE TOO FAR!!!  I would dearly love, as I said in that comment you should have read by now, to interview an official that REALLY thinks this is a good idea.  I want him to face a mirror as he/she talks, and woe betide them should they use the phrase "zero tolerance" as an excuse. Alex, I invite you to come over and throw hand grenades at my house anytime!  But, beware, because I'll be playing Underdog and I will still be standing after your bomb goes "pshhh"!

When teachers are stupid, I am not slow,
it's hip, hip, hip, and awaaaaay I go!

Another story from FoxNews might not be stupid, but it has potential:

Americans should work less, play more -- and in doing so, save the planet. That’s the basic formula a Washington think tank is shopping around as a way to cut down on global warming.
The shift from a U.S. work model to a more "European" one – which includes shorter work weeks and more vacation time -- could cut as much as half of the expected global temperature rise by 2100, according to a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The study claims that scaling back on work hours could bring down greenhouse gases.
“The calculation is simple: fewer work hours means less carbon emission, which means less global warming,” economist David Rosnick said.
Assuming that 40-to-60 percent of potential global warming is already locked in, about one-quarter to one-half of the warming that is not already locked in could be cut by scaling back hours, Rosnick, who wrote the study, said.

But it's not all umbrella-drinks and beaches. There is a trade-off that many people may not like, he said.
“Obviously, if you are working less, you’re buying less,” he said. “That’s the flip side.”
Rosnick’s study released this week is similar to a 2006 one he co-wrote with economist Mark Weisbrot that looked at the potential environmental effects of European and other countries adopting the American ethic of longer work hours.
In that report, the authors found that “Old Europe” currently consumes about half as much energy per person as does the U.S....If they choose to follow the U.S. model, they would apparently consume 30 percent more energy than they do now.


I've never wanted to serve the green more than I do right now.

Next up, A friend who wishes to remain anonymous sent me this link, with the admonition "read the reviews.  If you are too busy saving the environment to click through, it is an Amazon.com page her husband found selling an honest to gosh can of radioactive uranium.  the comments and reviews are hilarious- for example:

I purchased this product 4.47 Billion Years ago and when I opened it today, it was half empty.

So glad I don't have to buy this from Libyans in parking lots at the mall anymore.

After my neighbour experienced sudden hair loss, she shared her secret with me. Now I enjoy the ease of Uranium Ore(tm) and have thrown out my razor and home hot wax kit for good. Since the first application, I have not had any regrowth. I don't think I will ever need to visit a salon for those embarrassing bikini wax sessions!
Thank you Uranium Ore(tm)!

As I was typing this, she sent me two more links, which I shall look into right now.  Please, talk among yourselves until I get back...

Okay, the first one is for bacon scented soap.  Well, some reviewers say it smells just like bacon, others say it smells rather chemically.  And there are still others...

I was dropping over $40 a month at the butcher shop just to get that delicious bacon-scrub smell every morning, but the lard buildup sure wasn't helping my skin. Now I have clear skin and an extra $36 to spend at the fish market for my evening baths! The neighborhood cats love me...

The third one was for bacon cake frosting.  I'm lying, you say? 

The reviews here, it seems, were something less than mixed.

I then found yet a fourth link, this one for bacon band-aids.  Each box has a toy surprise inside.  I'll bet you can't wait to see what kind of surprise they put in bacon band-aids.  Hurry, just 16 left!
_____________________________________________________

Finally, I thought I'd mention that, in the last 24 hours, I've gotten no fewer than six comments on the cap blog telling me everything I didn't want to know about drug and alcohol addiction, four from the link "what is addiction" and two more from "alcohol rehabilitation centers".  It would almost be worth the spam involved in going to these links and asking, "Would you PLEEEASE just read the article, you'll see I'm dealing with THE CAP, not THE BOOZE!!!"

I hope that I have encouraged you all out there that at least, no matter what you messed up today, you didn't- and wouldn't- do this!