M10 show, week #41

 

Man, I do NOT know where Chris an' the durn dog are, an' it's gettin' late, so I better try givin' y'all the whut's up myself.  Thing is, I can't get this dadgum console to respond right, so I called in an expert...

 

 Nardole:  Oh, so now I am an expert?  Despite having been laid off these past several months...

E:  Was that MY decision, Noodle?  Just get that video of the debut this week set ta go while I read the copy he' got ready.

N: Very well, let me have a look...

E: I gots faith in ya, pal, that OLD TIME faith! So about the song: "At #10 is a debut from an act that Laurie introduced me too.  One of their tunes floated around the shuffle for several weeks this summer. But now, a song off their BRAND NEW lp just came out, and it debuts this week.  This is- We The Kingdom."  Ya ready, Noodle?

N: Just a.. a moment...

E: C'mon, I just gave the dramatic lead in!

N:  Okay, try it now...

 

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Hey, Nardole!  What brings you here?

N: Your co-host's incompetency...

E:  Where the heck've you two been?  We have a show to do!

Which I have an entire 13 hours before it hits the blog live, so what're you worried about?  We went for a walk, and had dinner, and now I'm here!  I see you played the new song...

E:  Yeah, that's where Noodle came in...

N:  And, sirs, where I am leaving!  It has been... well, the usual...

Well, it was nice to see you again, anyhow!  So one thing I was going to bring up was the established M10 stars we have this week on the M10.  While half the countdown accounts for 5 total hits and one #1 song, the other half claims 37 hits and 15 #1s!

Whut, no Harry Styles update?

As It Was still tops on BB, Late Night Talking at #9 this week.  You sufficiently recovered to do the countdown?

I kinda think y'all oughtta do somethin' around here...

You mean other than go into a needless panic? Sure...

9- Rubblebucket contributing its one hit and one #1, holding here with Morning In The Sun.

8- Contributing 5 hits and 2 #1s to the other side, Silversun Pickups and Alone On A Hill, also holding.

7- Chipping in 7 of those hits and 2 #1s, Brooke Annibale slipping 4 with Be Around.

6- Also dropping 4, the possessor of 7 hits and 3 #1s, Geowulf and Whirlwind.

5- Back to the newbies with Tchotchke holding here with You'll Remember Me.

4- Lucius throws in 9 hits and 5 #1s with Love Is The Disaster, up 3.

3- Newbie Wilco and Hearts Hard To Find up a spot to #3.

2- Another M10 newbie with Blondie's Mr Sightseer up 4.

And our #1 this week- one of 9 hits and 4 #1s....

Dent May and Crying Laughing for a 3rd week!

Wednesday Bible Study: All the Kings, men, part 6

 

And now it's time, having learned as much from fallen Saul as we might, to touch on the Great Transition from him to David.  And the first thing you need to understand here is that the trip from 'dummy' to prideful had left Saul mentally ill- and those around him tried desperately to understand...

1Sa 16:1  The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 

And not only Samuel, who felt like a mentor who had let him down, but David and Jonathon as well, who despite his cruelty, remained faithful to him...

1Sa 18:10  The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.
1Sa 18:11  And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David evaded him twice.
1Sa 18:12  Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul.
1Sa 18:13  So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.
1Sa 18:14  And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him. 

How many of you would still be there to have the second spear thrown at you?  And how many would still take a job from him?  And how many of you would put up with this from your father?

1Sa 20:28  Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.
1Sa 20:29  He said, 'Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.' For this reason he has not come to the king's table."
1Sa 20:30  Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?
1Sa 20:31  For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die." 

Now here is one of the many curiosities of the David/Saul story:  What did he mean by this?  I want to point out a couple of things here.  From wiki:

There are two references in the Bible to people; who bear that name;

• A daughter of Ahimaaz; who became a wife of Saul and the mother of his four sons and two daughters, one of whom is Michal, David's first wife.
• A woman from Jezreel, who became David's second wife, after he fled from Saul, leaving Michal, his first wife, behind, and the mother of Amnon, David's first-born.

Some scholars suggest that the two may be, in fact, one person. In 2 Samuel 12:8, God tells David through the prophet Nathan, "I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms." Jon Levenson suggests that this implies David took Ahinoam from Saul. However, Diana V. Edelman disagrees, “Such a presumption would require David to have run off with the queen mother while Saul was still on the throne, which seems unlikely. In view of the possession of the royal harem as a claim to royal legitimacy, Nathan’s comment can be related to David’s eventual possession of Saul’s wives after he ascended the throne in the wake of Eshbaal’s death...”

 

All we really have to go by is context, and if Levenson is right, David would have been married simultaneously to to a woman and her daughter.  One commentator mentioned that insulting the mother is far worse than insulting the person, so this may have been just an unfortunately misinterpreted expression.  Jonathon being at Saul's side when they fell together further corroborates this view.

 

Which is off our point- that those who loved Saul continued that love- even to their harm, even to having to remove themselves from his ability to harm them, and help others to do the same.  Which truly adds another layer to the tragedy of Saul's character.

 

Now Saul had been offered three things by God, as we have mentioned- provision, mercy, and power from God- all of which he rejected in order to provide from his own ability.  David, however, chooses from the start the Lord's gifts:

- He rejects the armor of Saul to fight Goliath, a monster fully 3 feet taller than the tallest Hebrew, and is provided with 'five smooth stones'- and they are enough.

-His understanding and mercy is evidenced by what we've already talked about- and have yet to talk about- in his dealings with Saul.

- and his conviction of God's power is evident in the Goliath scenario:

1Sa 17:26  And David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 

 

This is what God means by 'a man after His own heart'- someone who recognizes the three things God wants to give.  I'm going to go slightly off course here to show you all something that I have noticed...

 

 Pro 3:19  The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;
Pro 3:20  by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.
Pro 3:21  My son, do not lose sight of these-- keep sound wisdom and discretion,
Pro 3:22  and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.

I have found that there are three attributes that Solomon continually admonishes us to seek- Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom.  Not only are these very similar to what God offered Saul and David, but I think if you read Proverbs over and over (as I do), you find you can substitute 'Knowledge' for 'God the Father'; 'Understanding' for Jesus; and 'Wisdom' for the Holy Spirit.  In that vein, it is easy to see why Samuel told Saul he had rejected God himself.  Next time, we'll dig more into how David made the connection.

Two morning walks

 First, here's Friday...

I wanna see PFW play soccer in that...

Hmm... Plex has an outdoor event coming up...

Some fall coloring

That looks like loads of fun

No wonder I could hear the birds but didn't see 'em!

He was in the corner, could only catch his butt

Yeah, back in that corner on the left

I remember when that was a great place to sit and overlook the Ravine.  Nothing stays the same...

Black squirrels playing in the trees.  Their bark is more of a "peep"

"Every morning, here I am getting breakfast, and you two gotta come and take a picture..."

And now, Saturday...

Our cast of characters:  The kitty...

...the bunnies...

...the fingers of dawn, and the mist

Still don't know what's happening at the Plex later...

..but I sure know who's sponsoring it!

On the other side of the trail again- north on Friday, south on Saturday

Roped off to prevent Johnny Appleseed Festival 'free parking'

Misty discovered 2 more deer just off the back trail!  One posed...

And finally, a chipmunk...

...right before home.

M10 show week #40

 Well, another blast from the 1960's past has passed on.  Ramsey Lewis, whose original trio included Red Holt and Eldee Young, died this week at the age of 87.  The trio had a big hit with the instrumental version of Dobie Gary's The In Crowd; the others spun out on their own into Young-Holt Unlimited, who scored with Soulful Strut; their replacements were Maurice White, who was about 3 years away from found Earth, Wind, And Fire, and Cleveland Eaton, who's invite to join the Count Basie Orchestra in 1979 morphed into a 17-year gig.

In case you didn't hear, Harry Styles got that record for weeks at #s 1 or 2, with As It Was claiming a 2nd straight- and 13th overall, week at #1.  In the meantime, Elton John scores his 2nd duet on the top 40, with the same kind of treatment he and Dua Lipa gave to Rocket Man in their duet, Cold Heart.  This time, it was he and Britney Spears, molding Tiny Dancer into the song that debuts at #6, Hold Me Closer.  My opinion:  The first duet played to Sir Elton's remaining skills; this one does not.  Dua either can sing or knows how to use a voice machine; Britney, at least here, does not.  Dua and Elton are at #41 in their one year anniversary on the charts.  I doubt he and Britney will say the same.

Frankly, Britney sounded more like the duck...

Elvis:  Man, you're cold tonight, boss!

Yep, and I may well be right where the name of our lone debut suggests on this!  At #8, here's Silversun Pickups...

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So after all the specials we've had going for the last little while, All I had was that and the ten...

 

Hmm... explains why you gave the obit on a one-hit wonder...

Shows what you know!  He was in the top 40 SIX times, and darn near made it again with a top 20 soul single in 1975 with the aforementioned Maurice White and the boys...

 

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Ok, me an' my big mouth..

Did you ever chart with a duet?

Uh... not while I was alive... Colonel Parker prolly thought I was too big too give someone else a fair credit...

That, or he was too greedy...

Yeah, that too, I 'spect.

Okay, anyway, here's the rest of this week's ten:

10- Built To Spill gets one more week out of Fool's Gold, dropping 4...

9- Also dropping after a tour at the top is Rubblebucket's Morning In The Sun, down 5...

7- A 3-spot climb for Lucius and Love Is The Disaster...

6- Up 2 for Blondie and Mr Sightseer...

5- Holding is Tchotchke's You'll Remember Me...

4- Up three for Wilco and Hearts Hard To Find, a song I never thought would grow on me this much...

3- Holding, Brooke Annibale's Be Around....

2- Holding, Geowulf's Whirlwind...

And at #1 for a second week...

...Dent May and Crying Laughing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you next time, right?

 

Wednesday Bible Study: All the Kings, men part 5

 

So at this point, many years have gone by, and Saul seems to have finally caught on to the kingship game...

1Sa 14:47  When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them.
1Sa 14:48  And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

1Sa 14:52  There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself. 

So a lot of what happens in the final rejection of Saul by God seems counter-intuitive.  God had decided to eliminate Amalek once and for all, by destroying the kingdom of Agag, or more precisely, the Agag of Amalek.  Samuel gave God's precise, no-deviations-allowed, instructions for the task:

 

 1Sa 15:1  And Samuel said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD.
1Sa 15:2  Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt.
1Sa 15:3  Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"

Cruel, maybe, but God had His reasons- not the least of which was their past treachery and current barbarity.  And Just like God had shown Saul His provision, mercy, and supernatural strength, He was willing to guide Saul in those steps again:

Provision:1Sa 15:4  So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah.

Mercy and comfort: 1Sa 15:6  Then Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 

Power: 1Sa 15:7  And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.
1Sa 15:8  And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.

There is one little word in that last passage that should catch your attention: "alive".  Why was this? Well, Saul was KING, and he should be able to humiliate his enemies after his victory, right? WRONG.  It was God's enemy, God's victory, and in disobeying God's command, He was spitting on all three.  And Agag wasn't all:

1Sa 15:9  But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. 

So now Saul had saved out his OWN provision, granted his OWN mercy (to Agag), and was basking in his OWN power.  And with that, God had had enough.

1Sa 15:10  The word of the LORD came to Samuel:
1Sa 15:11  "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments." And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.

Samuel was clearly attached yet to Saul, perhaps considered him a protege, and by this time Saul should have learned the lessons of Godly kingship- but had not.  Just as the people had turned from God by demanding a king, Saul turned from God by being a king- rather than being GOD'S king.

But here's the thing about their relationship: Saul still wanted to please Samuel.  To him, Samuel was God-made-flesh, he was the connection between himself and God, between God and the people, and without him, Saul feared for his legitimacy- as well he might.  So he tried various ways to excuse himself before Samuel...

First, the straight out, obvious lie...

1Sa 15:13  And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD."
1Sa 15:14  And Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?"

Excuse #1, "I did it for God"...

1Sa 15:15  Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction."

Excuse #2, "It was the people, not me"...

1Sa 15:21  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." 

Excuse #3, "I screwed up, but it wasn't a big thing"...

1Sa 15:24  Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
1Sa 15:25  Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may worship the LORD."

But even if Samuel was going to be persuaded by words, something had occurred before he got there that had given Saul's game away...

1Sa 15:12  And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, "Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal."

He had glorified himself first, and THEN went down to Gilgal to sacrifice "to God".  And Samuel had one reaction to all the lying and excusing...

1Sa 15:16  "Be quiet!" Samuel said. "I'll tell you what the LORD told me last night." Saul told him, "Speak." 

 

At this point, not only was God going to reject Saul, but so was Samuel...

1Sa 15:26  And Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel."
1Sa 15:27  As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
1Sa 15:28  And Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.
1Sa 15:29  And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret." 

 

At this point, Saul asked him for a 'show of unity' for appearance's sake, and Samuel went with him, but only to humiliate Saul as Saul had done to God's command- he borrowed a sword and "hacked Agag to pieces", taking from Saul the self-glorifying "parade your enemy down main street" he obviously had planned.

So from this we draw the excuses we use not to do what we know God wants, and the repercussions thereof.  Like Saul, who remained king for a good many years, the results may take a while, but they will be devastating- particularly if you're trying to look like you are "following the command of the Lord".  Next time, we'll begin to see how miserable those repercussions will be.

Friday and Saturday walks

 So we start on our Friday walk...

"Patchy dense fog", lol

A  bright, cool dawn

Nothing says Autumn's coming like a tree turning yellow and sleeping geese

The fog and the dawn combined for some awesome shots

This was cool, watching the mist move along the rays of sunlight

Coming up into the bunny field, 2 deer

He stood like that watching us until we passed by.

Lots of postcard moments...

As we left, Mr Squirrel with a chestnut bigger than his head.  Stay tuned...

And, that afternoon I watched Champions League Hockey while the girls dozed...

That brings us to Saturday- a walk during which every time I thought nothing was going to happen, something happened...

Believe it or not, I saw a hummingbird visiting the clusters in this tree.  But trying to get a pic?

"Nope, all you get is me."

So as you can see, nothing happened from the tree all the way to the river, (other than a lady jogger petting Misty).  But we came to the bunny field, and just as I told Misty, "No deers today", I turned my head...

Trying to see if I could get the airplane

And this is because Misty was... uh, indisposed.  The last two walks, she had to... you know... in the same 2 exact places.  Regularity not a problem here!

Just for perspective, we see our wildlife in the very shadow of 'civilization'

Into the ravine.  Just missed a black squirrel and a chipmunk.

And here were are at the bridge, where I once again told Misty, "Nothing shakin' here." Literally 20 steps later...

...yep, more deer.

So now, it's down the back trail, and I was just musing on how long it's been since we saw anything down it...

...the backroad bunny makes a reappearance!

Later, Misty talks me into checking out the golf-path bridge for a drink.  No water, but she was surprised bu SOMETHING in the drain that spooked her.  I wasn't watching because I was surprised to see Mr Owl fly by...

Still haven't fixed the walkway...

On the north golf trail, Misty senses some varmint-age nearby, but long enough ago she never got intense about it.

And finally, same squirrel, same spot, yet another oversize prize!