Posts
A collection of shorties, because...
#1- the "roll-out" shipping season began today for us. Five trucks, one cart, 5 guys, and one hour OT. Pretty much the same to be expected I'm guessing for the next three weeks. Add to a very bad dream, wet shoes from last night, a TMI-sequence of draining bathroom trips, an air turner that left little gray marks on black fabric, tearing a truck halfway apart to find two cushions that defied scanning and another with two shipping labels (one seen and scanned, the other hiding on the side), and a half-hour long plant meeting with the company VEEP of production and El Grande Queso, it was a FUUN day.
#2 to say hi to 2 new followers in the last two days! First there is Ron AKA the old geezer, a man with a very interesting personal testimony and a pretty interesting blog. Second is Beliza, who is a member of the Great Postcard Campaign and just got the card I sent here way over there in the lovely land of Luxembourg. You should become a member of the campaign, too, if you are not already. This is a great time to join since I've just sent out my cards for the first round and won't have to again until all of you send one to me!
#3 is a partial attempt at one of my favorite features here at TAW, where I instruct scam e-mailers on how to do things right. My latest victim is one Dr. Oswald Daniel; and I'm not going to go through the whole thing other than to compliment the "good doctor" on his peculiar spin:
I am using this opportunity to thank you for using the internet daily.Due to your effort, using internet programs indoor and in your office, we want to compensate you and show our Gratitude to you with the sum of $6,000,000.00 United States of America Dollars we have authorized Rev, Donald Raymond in capital city ABUJA nigeria to assist you in getting your compensation checks across to you.
He claims to be part of World Internet Programs, which with a little imagination we can see is the great and wonderful entity that "runs" the internet, and wants to thank li'l ol' me for wasting so much time on his company's product. One thing he gets a fail on- Having looked this up on one of the many scam-info sites, I noticed that he changed- or tried to- change his contact man from Mr. Kelvin Green to Rev. Donald Raymond. He gives the contact info for the good rev, but forgot to delete a whole paragraph of info about Mr. Green's part in all this- or at least forgot to swap names. Damnit, Oswalt, this stuff is important! I also think that perhaps you should be grateful to those who use the internet OUTDOORS as well! Overall grade- C+.
#4- Time for all good daddys and their beagle-babies to hit the hay. Good night and God Bless, as Red used to say.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
NHFFL the end of the regular season
First, let me calm any fears- Our ride was 25 minutes longer tonight than usual for the snow, but we survived. The person in the Honda that couldn't top 20 without her ass end sliding down 1000 east probably added 5-8 minutes all on her own, but it's not like we ever topped 40. By the time we hit good enough roads, we hit traffic. Tomorrow should prove interesting- not just for the weather. Our first retail shipment was supposed to get loaded this afternoon at 1, but as per usual for us and trucking companies, he failed to show until 15 minutes before happy go home time, and thus he will join the 6 trucks we have for tomorrow- if, of course, they show.
Second, I just got the word that Ndamekhum Suh got a two game suspension for being an idiot Thursday, just as yours truly predicted. "He will likely miss the next two games, severely hurting the Lions' chances for the playoffs." AWWWW. Maybe if Jim Schwartz could discipline himself, let alone his players, they wouldn't be facing this.
Third, before he slips into media oblivion, let me say one thing about Herman Cain and all the women that the dems and Politico seem to be manufacturing at will. Wasn't Martin Luther King shacked up with a married woman in that hotel when James Earl Ray shot him? Just sayin'.
Now, onto the purpose of this post- the end of the regular season in the NHFFL has arrived. The Rangers finished off their third ten-win season with a 35-27 win against the Angels. The Aguas return to the league with an 8-4 campaign and second place despite dropping the finale 26-19 to the Beagles. The Beagles managed to win just 3 games despite scoring 5 more points than they gave up. Which is ironic since they won a division title last year with an 8-4 record and 22 fewer points scored than given up. The Greenwoods big return also netted them an 8-4 record and a playoff spot, though the Aguas take second on the tie breaker. They closed with a 39-25 victory over the KCAs, who go from 7-5 and a Super Bowl championship to 4-8 and time to work on the ol' golf game.
A tremendous back and forth battle was waged between the Elks and the B2s for the Gold Division title. And in the end, if the Elks could have just counted only Monday night, they'd have had a 33-9 win... but those nine that the Tubers got gave them a 49-42 win and a division title for the first time since they won the first two Dupont Divison titles waaay back in 1997-8. In fact, they were 16-32 since their last non-losing season (2006, 6-6) until this year. In another twist, the B2s scored one less point than they gave up, making them the second champ in 2 years to manage that. The Elks finish in second place free and clear, though, because the Porkchops first season ended with a 44-32 loss to Buzz. The Chops end at .500, good enough for the last playoff spot. Buzz claimed 4th, by the tie breaker against the Ducks, who closed with a 42-20 pasting of the Clock BBQs, who lost their last 4 by a combined 90-157. When the Bills went cold, so did the CBBQs (who had Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson).
So the Rangers, who are 0-8 in the playoffs, get the week off to enjoy their third division title and first since 2004. They'll await the winner of the Aguas/ Greenwoods game, both of whom have been out of the league since 2001, and the G'woods have been out of the playoffs since 2000. The B2s, who haven't seen the playoffs since a 32-21 loss to the Ducks in 2006, also get a rest while they await the winner of the Elks/Porkchops game. The Chops, of course, are brand new; the Elks return to the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl XI in 2007.
One last thing- here are the rosters for the all-pro game the week after the Super Bowl. The Purple will have Angels Aaron Rodgers and LeShon McCoy; the Beagles' Beanie Wells and Vincent Jackson; the Greenwoods Ray Rice, Greg Jennings, and reserve Matthew Stafford; the Aguas have starter Calvin Johnson and reserve Neil Rackers; the Rangers send Mason Crosby and the DET D; the KCAs send the reserve D of CIN. The Gold division is lead by Buzzies Cam Newton, Adrian Peterson, and Sebastian Janikowski; the B2s' Arian Foster, Wes Welker, and reserve CHI D; the Ducks Michael Turner and Larry Fitzgerald; the CBBQs' Dez Bryant; the Elks GB D and (amazingly) reserve qb Drew Brees; and the Chops contribute reservist Nick Folk.
Second, I just got the word that Ndamekhum Suh got a two game suspension for being an idiot Thursday, just as yours truly predicted. "He will likely miss the next two games, severely hurting the Lions' chances for the playoffs." AWWWW. Maybe if Jim Schwartz could discipline himself, let alone his players, they wouldn't be facing this.
Third, before he slips into media oblivion, let me say one thing about Herman Cain and all the women that the dems and Politico seem to be manufacturing at will. Wasn't Martin Luther King shacked up with a married woman in that hotel when James Earl Ray shot him? Just sayin'.
Now, onto the purpose of this post- the end of the regular season in the NHFFL has arrived. The Rangers finished off their third ten-win season with a 35-27 win against the Angels. The Aguas return to the league with an 8-4 campaign and second place despite dropping the finale 26-19 to the Beagles. The Beagles managed to win just 3 games despite scoring 5 more points than they gave up. Which is ironic since they won a division title last year with an 8-4 record and 22 fewer points scored than given up. The Greenwoods big return also netted them an 8-4 record and a playoff spot, though the Aguas take second on the tie breaker. They closed with a 39-25 victory over the KCAs, who go from 7-5 and a Super Bowl championship to 4-8 and time to work on the ol' golf game.
A tremendous back and forth battle was waged between the Elks and the B2s for the Gold Division title. And in the end, if the Elks could have just counted only Monday night, they'd have had a 33-9 win... but those nine that the Tubers got gave them a 49-42 win and a division title for the first time since they won the first two Dupont Divison titles waaay back in 1997-8. In fact, they were 16-32 since their last non-losing season (2006, 6-6) until this year. In another twist, the B2s scored one less point than they gave up, making them the second champ in 2 years to manage that. The Elks finish in second place free and clear, though, because the Porkchops first season ended with a 44-32 loss to Buzz. The Chops end at .500, good enough for the last playoff spot. Buzz claimed 4th, by the tie breaker against the Ducks, who closed with a 42-20 pasting of the Clock BBQs, who lost their last 4 by a combined 90-157. When the Bills went cold, so did the CBBQs (who had Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson).
So the Rangers, who are 0-8 in the playoffs, get the week off to enjoy their third division title and first since 2004. They'll await the winner of the Aguas/ Greenwoods game, both of whom have been out of the league since 2001, and the G'woods have been out of the playoffs since 2000. The B2s, who haven't seen the playoffs since a 32-21 loss to the Ducks in 2006, also get a rest while they await the winner of the Elks/Porkchops game. The Chops, of course, are brand new; the Elks return to the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl XI in 2007.
One last thing- here are the rosters for the all-pro game the week after the Super Bowl. The Purple will have Angels Aaron Rodgers and LeShon McCoy; the Beagles' Beanie Wells and Vincent Jackson; the Greenwoods Ray Rice, Greg Jennings, and reserve Matthew Stafford; the Aguas have starter Calvin Johnson and reserve Neil Rackers; the Rangers send Mason Crosby and the DET D; the KCAs send the reserve D of CIN. The Gold division is lead by Buzzies Cam Newton, Adrian Peterson, and Sebastian Janikowski; the B2s' Arian Foster, Wes Welker, and reserve CHI D; the Ducks Michael Turner and Larry Fitzgerald; the CBBQs' Dez Bryant; the Elks GB D and (amazingly) reserve qb Drew Brees; and the Chops contribute reservist Nick Folk.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday message +
This week, in my looking at the propechies of Christ's coming, I am at Psalms 2. Specifically, vv 4-9:
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break[a] them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
Okay, the big thing I want to look at here is the term "Begotten". When I was a wee lad in Catholic school (for which I forever praise God for putting me there), The explanation of begotten was a little bit difficult, because we could recite in the Apostle's Creed, "begotten, not made, one in being with the Father". Hence it became tied up in a concept of being BEYOND born or created. A magical, mystical genesis, if you will. So then we read Psalm 2 and became all confused. If begotten meant this magical, mystical, always been sort of thing, then what did Psalm 2:7 mean?
So look up the concordance version of "begotten". It simply means born, creating an offspring. Nothing magical or mystical. So just what is going on? Well let's backtrack by going forward. The first chapter of John's Gospel explains that Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God. Always in existance, always part and parcel of who and what God is. But then, an evolution was made- "and the Word became flesh." How is this so? Look to Luke 1:35, where the angel describes to Mary that flesh and God are going to combine in her womb; "Therefore, also, that the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God".
Confusing? Then cast off human perception and follow me. Who we know as Jesus Christ is and was an always-existant facet of God. But at a point in time, this essence took on flesh, becoming both God and man. Thus, God tells Him, "(Now) You are my Son- this day, I have begotten You." So now, not only is Christ a part of and wholly God, but also has become as flesh the Son of God.
So the way we were taught begotten wasn't exactly on-beam; but it was probably about as close as you could get it to first-through-eighth-graders. Come to think of it, it's not much easier now. But guess what? We're dealing with a being that is beyond our concepts of time and space, who wove both atoms and galaxies out of the same cloth. Scientists reject God for this very reason, saying they need "proof" of His existance, and yet to have that proof would remove God from the very concept of "God". IOW, some things aren't meant to be understood in this life. But God gives us enough understanding with which to have faith. Not to mention , He gave us that understanding in a form that could serve both as a propechy when He gave it 3,000 years ago, and as in instruction 2,000 years after He accomplished it!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Now for the "+" in our story. First off, be sure to click on that "Chris' Cap Collection " link to see the prizes I got at the 37th annual "Turkey Trot" beer collectables show yesterday. I assure you, the posts on CCC aren't just dry figures and pictures, but I fill in actual interesting stories, both about the caps and the people who made the beer, as well as how I got them. (And if that still seems boring, then just humor me!)
Next, a look at the FCS playoffs. I didn't get a "thromp" of JMU over Eastern KY, but I did get a win. I said ODU shouldn't (actually, I said "shopuldn't", but since Blogger's spell-check likes to excise whole paragraphs for no apparent reason, that's the way it goes) have any problem with Norfolk St., and they didn't. I said Central Ark. should beat TennTech, and they did; and I thought I was going to mess up giving Stony Brook the edge over Albany. But the Seawolves stormed back from 28-10 down to win 31-28 to make me a perfect 4-0 in round one. So let me try round 2.
Stony Brook gets #1 seed Sam Houston State. Now, I'm not convinced how much that 11-0 record means in SHS's conference, but I'm pretty sure it means more than what it would in SB's Big South, so Sam I am. Montana State meets UNH, and I would've had no problem going with State- until they lost their rivalry game to Montana so badly. I, with severe reservations, will take... UNH. Next up is Northern Iowa vs Wofford, and neither of these teams were just lighting the world on fire at season's end. But since I went with them all year, I'll take Wofford for the upset in Iowa. Montana will be hosting Central Ark., and I will take the home team here. Then it's Georgia Southern against ODU. Actually, you have Southern Conf. vs CAA the next two stops, because the next bracket is Appalachian State vs Maine. I'm pretty confident that the two conferences will split thes games; not so confident on which wins which. Let's say GaSo and Maine advance. That brings us to Towson and Lehigh. Cautiously, he looks around the room and says, "Lehigh". Which brings us to next week's final game, JMU and North Dakota State. I've said all along that JMU had no business getting this spot, and NDST was the #1 team for a while, and they're playing in the great plains. Give me JMU.
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break[a] them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
Okay, the big thing I want to look at here is the term "Begotten". When I was a wee lad in Catholic school (for which I forever praise God for putting me there), The explanation of begotten was a little bit difficult, because we could recite in the Apostle's Creed, "begotten, not made, one in being with the Father". Hence it became tied up in a concept of being BEYOND born or created. A magical, mystical genesis, if you will. So then we read Psalm 2 and became all confused. If begotten meant this magical, mystical, always been sort of thing, then what did Psalm 2:7 mean?
So look up the concordance version of "begotten". It simply means born, creating an offspring. Nothing magical or mystical. So just what is going on? Well let's backtrack by going forward. The first chapter of John's Gospel explains that Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God. Always in existance, always part and parcel of who and what God is. But then, an evolution was made- "and the Word became flesh." How is this so? Look to Luke 1:35, where the angel describes to Mary that flesh and God are going to combine in her womb; "Therefore, also, that the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God".
Confusing? Then cast off human perception and follow me. Who we know as Jesus Christ is and was an always-existant facet of God. But at a point in time, this essence took on flesh, becoming both God and man. Thus, God tells Him, "(Now) You are my Son- this day, I have begotten You." So now, not only is Christ a part of and wholly God, but also has become as flesh the Son of God.
So the way we were taught begotten wasn't exactly on-beam; but it was probably about as close as you could get it to first-through-eighth-graders. Come to think of it, it's not much easier now. But guess what? We're dealing with a being that is beyond our concepts of time and space, who wove both atoms and galaxies out of the same cloth. Scientists reject God for this very reason, saying they need "proof" of His existance, and yet to have that proof would remove God from the very concept of "God". IOW, some things aren't meant to be understood in this life. But God gives us enough understanding with which to have faith. Not to mention , He gave us that understanding in a form that could serve both as a propechy when He gave it 3,000 years ago, and as in instruction 2,000 years after He accomplished it!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Now for the "+" in our story. First off, be sure to click on that "Chris' Cap Collection " link to see the prizes I got at the 37th annual "Turkey Trot" beer collectables show yesterday. I assure you, the posts on CCC aren't just dry figures and pictures, but I fill in actual interesting stories, both about the caps and the people who made the beer, as well as how I got them. (And if that still seems boring, then just humor me!)
Next, a look at the FCS playoffs. I didn't get a "thromp" of JMU over Eastern KY, but I did get a win. I said ODU shouldn't (actually, I said "shopuldn't", but since Blogger's spell-check likes to excise whole paragraphs for no apparent reason, that's the way it goes) have any problem with Norfolk St., and they didn't. I said Central Ark. should beat TennTech, and they did; and I thought I was going to mess up giving Stony Brook the edge over Albany. But the Seawolves stormed back from 28-10 down to win 31-28 to make me a perfect 4-0 in round one. So let me try round 2.
Stony Brook gets #1 seed Sam Houston State. Now, I'm not convinced how much that 11-0 record means in SHS's conference, but I'm pretty sure it means more than what it would in SB's Big South, so Sam I am. Montana State meets UNH, and I would've had no problem going with State- until they lost their rivalry game to Montana so badly. I, with severe reservations, will take... UNH. Next up is Northern Iowa vs Wofford, and neither of these teams were just lighting the world on fire at season's end. But since I went with them all year, I'll take Wofford for the upset in Iowa. Montana will be hosting Central Ark., and I will take the home team here. Then it's Georgia Southern against ODU. Actually, you have Southern Conf. vs CAA the next two stops, because the next bracket is Appalachian State vs Maine. I'm pretty confident that the two conferences will split thes games; not so confident on which wins which. Let's say GaSo and Maine advance. That brings us to Towson and Lehigh. Cautiously, he looks around the room and says, "Lehigh". Which brings us to next week's final game, JMU and North Dakota State. I've said all along that JMU had no business getting this spot, and NDST was the #1 team for a while, and they're playing in the great plains. Give me JMU.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
My camera-how I love it
This morning I thought I'd try actually recording stuff on our walk. I was waiting for deer. Sure enough, we saw them- too far away to get. But as they usually head for the senior living apartments, we followed the trail that way. When we got to the edge of the trail, I thought I'd turn it on record, just in case. After about 45 seconds, the damn thing shut off! When I checked to see if it got anything, I saw this:
WTF? I tried again, several times, as we followed the deer (which we had spotted again) through unfamiliar underbrush and places that SOMEBODY had to get all tangled up in. No matter what I did, I got results like this:
So I says to myself, "You know, I know it's not supposed to work this way, but I wonder if I HELD the record button..."
And a quick test produced this...
Okay, so that must have been the problem, huh? So when we returned to the main trail, I tried it again as we came around the bend towards the bridge. After ten seconds the camera FROZE. As in, the only thing that worked was the on/off. WTF? So I tried again as we crossed the bridge. It saved NOTHING. Now, I'm thouroughly annoyed. But rather than throwing the damned thing as far out into Stony Run Creek as I could, I decided to give it one last try- with my finger once again off the button.
Worked perfectly. I guess the problem was I didn't realize the camera worked on the "Cheap Urologist Curtis Smith"* plan- only a 50% chance of working.
*"Cheap Urologist" is my misheard version of "Chief Meteorologist". I think it works better.
WTF? I tried again, several times, as we followed the deer (which we had spotted again) through unfamiliar underbrush and places that SOMEBODY had to get all tangled up in. No matter what I did, I got results like this:
So I says to myself, "You know, I know it's not supposed to work this way, but I wonder if I HELD the record button..."
And a quick test produced this...
Okay, so that must have been the problem, huh? So when we returned to the main trail, I tried it again as we came around the bend towards the bridge. After ten seconds the camera FROZE. As in, the only thing that worked was the on/off. WTF? So I tried again as we crossed the bridge. It saved NOTHING. Now, I'm thouroughly annoyed. But rather than throwing the damned thing as far out into Stony Run Creek as I could, I decided to give it one last try- with my finger once again off the button.
Worked perfectly. I guess the problem was I didn't realize the camera worked on the "Cheap Urologist Curtis Smith"* plan- only a 50% chance of working.
*"Cheap Urologist" is my misheard version of "Chief Meteorologist". I think it works better.
Friday, November 25, 2011
And so, Thanksgiving
Here are pics from probably the most stuffed Thnksgiving ever!
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| L-R Laurie's sister Mary (our hostess), her S-I-L Linda, and Laurie |
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| Linda's daughter DJ |
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| Mary's youngest, Emily |
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| Oldest daughter Rachel and her man, Alex |
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| L-R Laurie's nephew Blaine, his daddy (Mary's oldest) Andy, and you've met Rachel and Alex |
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| Laurie's brother Paul |
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| Mary's hubby Jack, with Linda |
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| Mary, Andy, Blaine |
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| Andy's wife, Kristen |
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| The white fluffball in the center is Baxter. |
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| L-R Laurie's brother Art, Mary's other son Josh, (hiding Laurie) Mary's granddaughter Sierra |
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| Art, Paul, Josh, Sierra |
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| L-R Josh, Sierra and Laurie, Sierra's mom (and Mary's middle daughter) Katie, and Linda |
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| Katie's oldest, Jackson |
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| The new face here is Art's lady friend. Curse me if I remember her name. |
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| This is TJ, Jackson and Sierra's daddy |
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| My buddy Baxter |
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| He actually moved my head off my arm so he could lay there! |
step into my time machine week 83
This week, we get two of the more bizzarre stories to be done on TM, probably the most important birthday song we've done to date, and a special announcement! Shake off the turkey shock- as I am trying to do- and let's go! C'mon, squeeze it in, pal!
9 songs come into the top 100 this week, and I'll mention three of them. First, the next release of Boz Skagg's Silk Degrees, What Can I Say? comes in at 92. If you don't know it, give yourself a treat and youtube it. Barry Manilow pops in at 85 with Weekend In New England, and the Bay City Rollers make 81 with Yesterday's Hero. Not impressed? You should see the top 40 debuts...
I'm going to go backwards of usual on this week's other birthday songs, for a good reason. In 1961, this week Johnny Cash's original Tennessee Flat Top Box debuted. I bring in this one because of my years long love affair with his daughter Rosanne, who in the eighties took it to #1 on the country charts. Having a 45th birthday this week are the Blues Magoos with We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet. Turning forty this week are I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (both versions), Al Green's Let's Stay Together, as well as a song I mention because of the Valley Of The Dolls post a while back- Heaven Bound featuring Tony Scotti and Five Hundred Miles.
Oh and that big birthday? Don McLean's American Pie turns 40 this week. Bye, bye...
Our big dropper has avoided being noted until this moment. John Valenti was, as the lead singer of a band called Puzzle, one of the few white acts on Motown, with a style reminiscent of early Stevie Wonder. He went solo in the 70's and his single Anything You Want, which peaked at 43 a couple weeks ago, falls 20 to #72 this week. Our big mover awaits in the top 40.
I'm thinking of revamping the top songs of other years feature (no, that's not the big announcement), and this may be the last week you see it as it's been. Or not, I haven't quite decided. Anyway, the number for this week is the 2's and 1992 this week was topped by How Do You Talk To An Angel, sung by Jamie Walters- Alex O'brien of The Heights- as the theme for the show. This TV theme- which saw it's show cancelled one week after the song fell from #1- was the first to top the charts since Jan Hammer's Miami Vice Theme did it in 1985. In 1982 this week, the top song was Laura Brannigan's Gloria. In 1972, the Spinners' I'll Be Around; 1962, the Four Seasons' Big Girls Don't Cry; asnd in 1952, a repeat featuree- Patti Page's I Went To Your Wedding.
That brings us to our #49 song, AKA the Where Are They Now victim. And this week we have a fast moving song I've been avoiding because a) I liked it about as much as Bobby G. likes Disco Duck, and b) I wasn't sure anyone would remember it anyway. It is the big-band-influenced disco hit Cherchez Le Femme by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (Buzzard pronounced buzz-ARD). This group was the brainchild of one Thomas August Darnell Browder (then going by August Darnell) and his brother Stony (I didn't name 'em). They put out three lps from 1976-9; and then, playing on their mixed ethnicity, Darnell became Kid Creole and formed Kid Creole and the Coconuts with fellow DBOSB member Andy Hernandez, AKA his sidekick Coati Mundi. In this ensemble they had three top 10 and 7 top 40 hits in the UK, but pierced our hot 100 only once- getting to 90 with a team up with Barry Manilow called Hey Mamba in 1987. They did get American exposure through a handful of movie soundtracks, notably the track My Male Curiousity on the movie Against All Odds. Darnell still leads the Coconuts on tour, and they released a new album, I Wake Up Screaming, a couple of months ago, although the only remaining original member with him is "Bongo Eddie" Folk.
And the top 40 debut list is just as long as the big mover list- one song. At 40, up 31, is Rose Royce's Car Wash.
I do want to give a Almost But Not Quite shoutout to Peter Frampton's Do You Feel Like We Do, which (although it made top ten Billboard) peaked last week at 13, and drops to 23 this week. It was recorded exactly 36 years and three days ago, and nearly didn't make the lp. When Frampton submitted the what-he-thought-was-going-to-be-a-single-disc Frampton Comes Alive to his record execs, the response was, "Where's the rest of it?" So they put together a second disc, and Do You Feel was on it.
The list of songs entering the top ten is also just one tune long, so the only dropper is Beth, falling from 7 to 17.
Alice Cooper cracks the top 10 at the leadoff spot, up 4, with I Never Cry. Steve Miller's top dog Rock'n Me drops 5 to #9. Firefall, which was basically a regeneration of the Byrds, moves up 1 with You Are The Woman to #8. At 7, up three, the Spinners yet again with The Rubberband Man. Nadia's Theme moves up 2 to #6. The Bee Gees (and glad to hear that Robin's finally out of the hospital this week) move up1 spot to #5 with Love So Right; also moving one place up is Boston's More Than A Feeling. And that brings us to a one-man six degrees.
The drummer on Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald was longtime session man Jim Gordon. By this point, Jim had put together an amazing resume. In the sixties, he'd played on such classic lps as Pet Sounds and Mason Williams' Classical Gas; as time rolled on, he piled up a discography too long to count, which included lps by the Byrds, Bread, Jackson Browne, Stephen Bishop, Glenn Campbell, and the Carpenters. He was a member of the Delaney and Bonnie touring entourage, and split off with Clapton to form Derek and the Dominoes. The Dominoes first gig was being the band on George Harrison's masterpiece All Things Must Pass; then they did the Layla lp, which Jim actually composed and played the piano part of that long, beautiful ending. He was also the drummer on Seals and Crofts' Hummingbird single, as well as on Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic lp, including the single Rikki Don't Lose That Number. He was drummer on the lp Alice Cooper Goes To Hell, as well; but then he went into a hell of another sort.
Years of substance abuse began to warp his mind. "Anyone who has ever wondered about the destructive horrors of substance abuse, " a friend writes, " should know about Jim. It's one of the saddest stories ever." He began to hear voices, and this somehow became his mother in league with the devil. In 1983 he bludgeoned her with a hammer, then stabbed her to death. In California, his heretofore undiagnosed Schizophrenia was no defense, and in 1984 he got 16 years for the murder. Twice denied parole, he spent most of this time in the psychiatric ward; and though he should have been released sometime this year, I could find no evidence that it has happened as yet.
Deep breath, pause, move on. #2 again this week is Muskrat Love, and the story is the same at the top, too- Rod Stewart at #1 with Tonight's The Night.
And now, that annopuncement. As the Great Sixties Countdown was one of this blog's big successes, with 42 comments over its 16-week run (Which is a drop in the bucket for some, but almost 6% of all the comments I've EVER got), and I've had two highly influential requests to do this, I'm announcing that, probably next Saturday, I'll be starting the GREAT SEVENTIES COUNTDOWN!!! I'm still doing some tweaking of the lower rungs, but it will be a 300 song, twenty-a-week format just like the sixties. Just remember- IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!! And God Bless you for it! So tune in then.
9 songs come into the top 100 this week, and I'll mention three of them. First, the next release of Boz Skagg's Silk Degrees, What Can I Say? comes in at 92. If you don't know it, give yourself a treat and youtube it. Barry Manilow pops in at 85 with Weekend In New England, and the Bay City Rollers make 81 with Yesterday's Hero. Not impressed? You should see the top 40 debuts...
I'm going to go backwards of usual on this week's other birthday songs, for a good reason. In 1961, this week Johnny Cash's original Tennessee Flat Top Box debuted. I bring in this one because of my years long love affair with his daughter Rosanne, who in the eighties took it to #1 on the country charts. Having a 45th birthday this week are the Blues Magoos with We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet. Turning forty this week are I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (both versions), Al Green's Let's Stay Together, as well as a song I mention because of the Valley Of The Dolls post a while back- Heaven Bound featuring Tony Scotti and Five Hundred Miles.
Oh and that big birthday? Don McLean's American Pie turns 40 this week. Bye, bye...
Our big dropper has avoided being noted until this moment. John Valenti was, as the lead singer of a band called Puzzle, one of the few white acts on Motown, with a style reminiscent of early Stevie Wonder. He went solo in the 70's and his single Anything You Want, which peaked at 43 a couple weeks ago, falls 20 to #72 this week. Our big mover awaits in the top 40.
I'm thinking of revamping the top songs of other years feature (no, that's not the big announcement), and this may be the last week you see it as it's been. Or not, I haven't quite decided. Anyway, the number for this week is the 2's and 1992 this week was topped by How Do You Talk To An Angel, sung by Jamie Walters- Alex O'brien of The Heights- as the theme for the show. This TV theme- which saw it's show cancelled one week after the song fell from #1- was the first to top the charts since Jan Hammer's Miami Vice Theme did it in 1985. In 1982 this week, the top song was Laura Brannigan's Gloria. In 1972, the Spinners' I'll Be Around; 1962, the Four Seasons' Big Girls Don't Cry; asnd in 1952, a repeat featuree- Patti Page's I Went To Your Wedding.
That brings us to our #49 song, AKA the Where Are They Now victim. And this week we have a fast moving song I've been avoiding because a) I liked it about as much as Bobby G. likes Disco Duck, and b) I wasn't sure anyone would remember it anyway. It is the big-band-influenced disco hit Cherchez Le Femme by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (Buzzard pronounced buzz-ARD). This group was the brainchild of one Thomas August Darnell Browder (then going by August Darnell) and his brother Stony (I didn't name 'em). They put out three lps from 1976-9; and then, playing on their mixed ethnicity, Darnell became Kid Creole and formed Kid Creole and the Coconuts with fellow DBOSB member Andy Hernandez, AKA his sidekick Coati Mundi. In this ensemble they had three top 10 and 7 top 40 hits in the UK, but pierced our hot 100 only once- getting to 90 with a team up with Barry Manilow called Hey Mamba in 1987. They did get American exposure through a handful of movie soundtracks, notably the track My Male Curiousity on the movie Against All Odds. Darnell still leads the Coconuts on tour, and they released a new album, I Wake Up Screaming, a couple of months ago, although the only remaining original member with him is "Bongo Eddie" Folk.
And the top 40 debut list is just as long as the big mover list- one song. At 40, up 31, is Rose Royce's Car Wash.
I do want to give a Almost But Not Quite shoutout to Peter Frampton's Do You Feel Like We Do, which (although it made top ten Billboard) peaked last week at 13, and drops to 23 this week. It was recorded exactly 36 years and three days ago, and nearly didn't make the lp. When Frampton submitted the what-he-thought-was-going-to-be-a-single-disc Frampton Comes Alive to his record execs, the response was, "Where's the rest of it?" So they put together a second disc, and Do You Feel was on it.
The list of songs entering the top ten is also just one tune long, so the only dropper is Beth, falling from 7 to 17.
Alice Cooper cracks the top 10 at the leadoff spot, up 4, with I Never Cry. Steve Miller's top dog Rock'n Me drops 5 to #9. Firefall, which was basically a regeneration of the Byrds, moves up 1 with You Are The Woman to #8. At 7, up three, the Spinners yet again with The Rubberband Man. Nadia's Theme moves up 2 to #6. The Bee Gees (and glad to hear that Robin's finally out of the hospital this week) move up1 spot to #5 with Love So Right; also moving one place up is Boston's More Than A Feeling. And that brings us to a one-man six degrees.
The drummer on Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald was longtime session man Jim Gordon. By this point, Jim had put together an amazing resume. In the sixties, he'd played on such classic lps as Pet Sounds and Mason Williams' Classical Gas; as time rolled on, he piled up a discography too long to count, which included lps by the Byrds, Bread, Jackson Browne, Stephen Bishop, Glenn Campbell, and the Carpenters. He was a member of the Delaney and Bonnie touring entourage, and split off with Clapton to form Derek and the Dominoes. The Dominoes first gig was being the band on George Harrison's masterpiece All Things Must Pass; then they did the Layla lp, which Jim actually composed and played the piano part of that long, beautiful ending. He was also the drummer on Seals and Crofts' Hummingbird single, as well as on Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic lp, including the single Rikki Don't Lose That Number. He was drummer on the lp Alice Cooper Goes To Hell, as well; but then he went into a hell of another sort.
Years of substance abuse began to warp his mind. "Anyone who has ever wondered about the destructive horrors of substance abuse, " a friend writes, " should know about Jim. It's one of the saddest stories ever." He began to hear voices, and this somehow became his mother in league with the devil. In 1983 he bludgeoned her with a hammer, then stabbed her to death. In California, his heretofore undiagnosed Schizophrenia was no defense, and in 1984 he got 16 years for the murder. Twice denied parole, he spent most of this time in the psychiatric ward; and though he should have been released sometime this year, I could find no evidence that it has happened as yet.
Deep breath, pause, move on. #2 again this week is Muskrat Love, and the story is the same at the top, too- Rod Stewart at #1 with Tonight's The Night.
And now, that annopuncement. As the Great Sixties Countdown was one of this blog's big successes, with 42 comments over its 16-week run (Which is a drop in the bucket for some, but almost 6% of all the comments I've EVER got), and I've had two highly influential requests to do this, I'm announcing that, probably next Saturday, I'll be starting the GREAT SEVENTIES COUNTDOWN!!! I'm still doing some tweaking of the lower rungs, but it will be a 300 song, twenty-a-week format just like the sixties. Just remember- IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!! And God Bless you for it! So tune in then.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thankfulness
Okay, so we are all thankful. For friends, for food, for a wonderful country. But, you realize that to be thankful, you have to be thankful TO SOMEONE. Other wise, you're just glad you have something. Sentence requires subject (I/You), verb (am/are thankful), and object. For me the Object is God.
Psalm 136 gives us a lot of good reasons to be thankful to God. Vv 4-9 speak of the creation He has made. 10-22 give a rehash of what He did for Israel, true, but look deeper. Dig and you will find His deliverance, His power, His ability to lead us through obstacles, His protection, His control despite the mighty of the world, the possessions He has given us.
Verse 23-6 reminds us of His remembrance of us in our lowliness; our rescue from our enemies; and the requirements of life. But the main reason to be thankful is in every other line of this Psalm:
"For His mercy endures forever." What is mercy? The definition is "unmerited favor". Mercy is getting up each morning to a new day of possibilities. It is the breakfast we start the day with, the job that pays our bills, the roof over our heads. It is the friend who sends a greeting card, or calls to wish us a happy day. It is the dog who takes me for a walk, and the friend who is there when we get home. It is the children who call me "dad", the doctor who calls me "patient", the governor who calls me "constituent." And it is the Savior who calls me "child".
And lest I forget, it is all of you reading this. I have made friends here that I am very appreciative of. For those I contacted yesterday, to those I didn't or couldn't get ahold of, Happy Thanksgiving. I (subject) am thankful (verb) to God (object) for you (you prepositional phrase, you!)
Psalm 136 gives us a lot of good reasons to be thankful to God. Vv 4-9 speak of the creation He has made. 10-22 give a rehash of what He did for Israel, true, but look deeper. Dig and you will find His deliverance, His power, His ability to lead us through obstacles, His protection, His control despite the mighty of the world, the possessions He has given us.
Verse 23-6 reminds us of His remembrance of us in our lowliness; our rescue from our enemies; and the requirements of life. But the main reason to be thankful is in every other line of this Psalm:
"For His mercy endures forever." What is mercy? The definition is "unmerited favor". Mercy is getting up each morning to a new day of possibilities. It is the breakfast we start the day with, the job that pays our bills, the roof over our heads. It is the friend who sends a greeting card, or calls to wish us a happy day. It is the dog who takes me for a walk, and the friend who is there when we get home. It is the children who call me "dad", the doctor who calls me "patient", the governor who calls me "constituent." And it is the Savior who calls me "child".
And lest I forget, it is all of you reading this. I have made friends here that I am very appreciative of. For those I contacted yesterday, to those I didn't or couldn't get ahold of, Happy Thanksgiving. I (subject) am thankful (verb) to God (object) for you (you prepositional phrase, you!)
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