The great eighties countdown week 12

Four more weeks to go with this one, folks! the end of the journey nears.

80- Der Kommissar, After The Fire, #5, 1982.  Peer in his eyes, and you'll know why/the more you live, the faster you will die...

79- Sister Christian, Night Ranger, #5, #2 Mainstream Rock, 1984.  Their big breakthrough hit.

78- Things Can Only Get Better, Howard Jones, #5, 1984.  A dude that deserved better here, but was much bigger in the UK.  One of those guys I liked everything from.

77- One Thing Leads To Another, The Fixx, #4, 1983.  The one and only time in 8 years of keeping my own top ten that I matched the top four number for number, this was #4.  It went on to #1 on mine.

76- Allentown, Billy Joel, #17, 1983.  Far and away my favorite BJ tune.

75- All Over The World, ELO, #13, 1980.  From the Xanadu sound track.

74- Only Time Will Tell, Asia, #17, #8 MSR, 1982.  Had I been listening to this when I made up the list, it might have copped a top 20.  A great tune from a great album.

73- Misunderstanding, Genesis, #14, 1980.  Certainly charted much higher here in Fort Wayne.  Genesis and ELO generally did.

72- Almost Hear You Sigh, Rolling Stones, #50, #1 MSR.  This is the song I bought Steel Wheels for.  Next to Miss You, my favorite Stones song.

71- Driver 8, REM, #22 MSR, 1985.  One of my favorite sing-alongs, if only on the chorus.

70- Veronica, Elvis Costello, #19, #10 MSR.  A neat look into someone the world judges as crazy.  The song I bought Spike for; not near as good a purchase as Steel Wheels.

69- Rock And Roll Is King, ELO, #19, 1983.  After the sythesiser-heavy stuff from the last lp, this- even without a string section- was a breath of fresh air.

68- My Hometown, Bruce Springsteen, #6, 1985.  The last of seven singles from Born In The USA, none of which charted lower than #9.  My part is when he puts his son on his lap at the end.

67- Rain On The Scarecrow, John Mellencamp, Unreleased, 1985.  My favorite Mellencamp, and by far his most powerful statement.

66- In The Dark, Billy Squier, #35, #7 MSR, 1981. Another act who was more popular here, at least among my group.

65- 99 Balloons, Nena, #2, 1984.  I loved it as much in German as in English. By the way, you wonder what the German Lyrics really say?  Check it out:

Have you some time for me,
then I'll sing a song for you
about 99 balloons
on their way to the horizon.
If you're perhaps thinking about me right now
then I'll sing a song for you
about 99 balloons
and that such a thing comes from such a thing.

99 balloons
on their way to the horizon
People think they're UFO's from space
so a general sent up
a fighter squadron after them
Sound the alarm if it's so
but there on the horizon were
only 99 balloons.

99 fighter jets
Each one's a great warrior
Thought they were Captain Kirk
then came a lot of fireworks
the neighbors didn't understand anything
and felt like they were being provoked
so they shot at the horizon
at 99 balloons.

99 war ministers
matches and gasoline canisters
They thought they were clever people
already smelled a nice bounty
Called for war and wanted power.
Man, who would've thought
that things would someday go so far
because of 99 balloons.

99 years of war
left no room for victors.
There are no more war ministers
nor any jet fighters.
Today I'm making my rounds
see the world lying in ruins.
I found a balloon,
think of you and let it fly (away).

64- Turn It On Again, Genesis, #58, 1980.  Another great cut from duke.  Hit #8 in the UK.  Being a big soap opera fan at the time, this one hit home big.

63- Hold On Tight, ELO, #10, 1981.  Was neat to hear this get commercial-jingle love a few years back, for coffee I think.

62- Taking It All Too Hard, Genesis, #50, 1984. This might be the mother of all How-did-this-chart-this-low moments.  And now that Genesis and ELO have taken 30% of this week's slots, we wind up with...

61- Abracadabra, Steve Miller Band, #1, 1982.  Their last top 40 hit.  And a part of a very special-to-the-memory trip to the lake.

And that's another round of our countdown.  By this time next week, we'll be hovering over the top 40.  See you then!

Some good, some bad

Today was our day-trip to Syracuse and the lakes.  It was 66 degrees and spitting rain when I got up.

Lovely day to go to the lake, eh?

Along the way, a rainbow!  But looks can be deceptive.

Then, suddenly, blue skies!!!

Arriving at Syracuse Lake- beach, trails, so I was led to believe.  But I pretty much had the whole beach in the picture, and as for the trails...



... well, it was all SIDEWALK!  This rock pretty much said it all.

I held out hope because Hoy's beach was along our "trail".  And here it is...

...that's right, a 20-feet-wide strip of land between two properties.

As I waited to see if the tree was actually going to turn right, I told Laurie, "I don't think Syracuse is going to come off real well on the blog."

Oh, and I was promised a boardwalk!  Here it is- all 40 feet of it.  On a channel, no less.

Now, this tiny little kiosk is where we ate- actually beneath it, as the Down Under Bar and Grill was, actually, down under.  Not bad for only having one dude working.

So we moved on to Lake Wawasee at North Webster.  The first thing we see is Dixie the paddlewheeler.  We were too early for the tour, though.

Their town park was much nicer, if not much bigger.

And yeah, I hadda get in.  Water was nice and warm, never mind what Laurie said.  ("Chilly")

So we dangled feet and watched the waves for a while.

CHRIS:  Is that a turd?  LAURIE: Ewww!!  It was just a float off a seaweed clump.  We saw a bunch of them...

...including this one, which looked like a dancing guy.  Here, let me show you...

On the way, we saw a sign that said "Point Of Interest, 1/2 mile".  A half-mile later, we saw a sign that said "Point Of Interest" Next to a well at the side of the road.  Apparently an artesian well, with "plenty of parking" nearby.  Much like the beach at Syracuse "Interest" and "plenty" were relative terms.

________________________________

I'm not going to say a lot about the sad scene at Aurora, CO, or the walking brain-death that did it.  I will however, sink my claws into this story:

As the story began to break, ABC News' "chief investigative reporter" Brian Ross came out with this o-so-helpful comment on-air:

During the network’s breaking news coverage of the shooting at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, Ross stated that there is a “Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado page on the Colorado Tea Party site as well, talking about him joining the Tea Party last year. Now we don’t know if this is the same Jim Holmes, but this is Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado.”

Later, Ross clarified his reporting, saying: “An earlier report that I had was incorrect that he was connected with the Tea Party in fact that’s a different Jim Holmes. He was not connected to the Tea Party and what we do know about him is he is a 24 year old white male who went to Colorado for a PHD.”

Any high school freshman on the school paper knows you don't inject something like that into a story unless you know the P's and Qs.  This was no mistake- this was yet another cheap shot by the masters of same, the liberal media.  A deliberate attempt to cast aspersions onto the "enemy".  Oh, he knew what he was doing, and in a perfect world Colorado Tea Party member Jim Holmes ought to be able to sue ABC News out of existance for libel.  Of course we know that won't happen, but I sure hope Ross' Karma bank gives him an "insufficient funds" penalty.

But, y'know?  This is all the liberal PR machine is good for anymore.  And I know I have readers who'll say (as they lurk) that, hey look what the GOP is doing with this 'You didn't build that' thing.  And I have an answer for them.
1. I have read the whole speech, and the quote is MILDLY out of context.  But it points out, no matter how you slice it, that there is a clear divide between conservative and liberal concepts of government.  Conservatives see government as providing building blocks to enable businesses to grow.  Does the building block build the business? Not effin' hardly.  The liberal side believes, as Obama does, that the role of government (as I posted just a day ago)  is "as Daddy, taking the ignorant unwashed masses by the hand and guiding them where they belong.  "

2. WAKE UP!  we're really going to compare political jousting with using a tragedy of this scale to score cheap points!?  Gimme a break!  The liberal side is replete with out and out LIARS and SCUM like Ross and David Axelrod, and while I draw electronic breath, this blog IS GOING TO EXPOSE YOU!

3. I know there are good hearted liberals out there, who believe in their causes just like conservatives do theirs.  As long as you are truthful, you have nothing to fear from me.  You may believe what you wish, because in the end, those that are TRULY working for the good of this nation, whether they agree or not, are going the same way (eventually).  Some of you may use worn out phrases like "Obama Basher" against me, and as long as you recognize I have a consciencious reason to do so, go ahead and be childish. (though remember, you do set yourself up for jabs from me for it!)  Brian Ross is a scum who took information he KNEW to be unvetted and used it with no other intent than to attack political enemies.  HE is a liar. He I shall nail.

4. Mitt Romney, I know that you would be, in my mind and heart, a THOUSAND times better for this country than the LIAR in the White House.  But, keep in mind- I'm watching you, too.

Time Machine week 25

It's July 20th, 1970.  A rainy 66 degrees F in Fort Wayne.  Today on Alcatraz, the prison island has a first- a baby, born during an American Indian sit-in.  Tonight, Bill Singer of the Dodgers throws a 5-0 no-hitter against the Phillies.  He hit Oscar Gamble, the second batter of the game, but the only other Phil to reach base was Don Money who reached on Singer's own error in the middle innings.  It was his 7th win against 3 losses; unfortunately for him, injuries would catch up to him soon after, and a 7-3 win over Montreal ten days later would be his last win of the season.  Speaking of baseball, Sports Illustrated posted a timeless interview on this date:

To A Stripper, Boyer's Hipper

Morganna, the large stripper whose hobby of running out on baseball fields to kiss players has not hurt her career a bit ("She's the highest-paid stripper in the country," says her agent. "She's booked a year ahead"), has rated some of the victims she has lipped.

She says of Wes Parker: "He doesn't kiss good, but he runs fast."

Billy Cowan: "I thought Cowan had sexy lips until I read in the paper that I kissed his ear. Now I'm really confused."

Frank Howard: "The poor thing. He almost fainted. I don't even want to mention him."

Pete Rose: "He cussed a lot."

Clete Boyer: "He kisses good. I told him I loved him. He said, 'I love you, too.' A week later he came into the club where I was dancing and jumped up on the stage and kissed me. He said, 'Now we're even.' "

In case you don't recall the legendary "Kissing Bandit", here's why the writer described her as a "large stripper":

Anyway, this isn't a T & A machine, but Time Machine (Although it is the six-month anniversary of the Time Machine Beauty Contest), and a far more normal one than last week.  We have a lot of debuts, a lot of birthdays, one of music's first supergroups,  how a pissed-off ex-wife led to a famous singer's biggest hit, and the return of a lady featured way back last August in six degrees who makes a return trip.  Belt in, and we'll ease on down the road...

We had 11 hot 100 debuts this week, and the five I knew were big ones!  The Spinners' first big hit, It's A Shame, comes in at 95.  Anne Murray makes her first big splash in the US of A, Snowbird coming in at 93.  Clarence Carter's moving Patches debuts at 71.  Chicago tips the scale at 67 with 25 Or 6 To 4.  And at 65, the Guess Who jump the game with Hand Me Down World.

Those songs all turn 42 this week.  Our other birthday songs start out at 30 years ago when Frank and Moon Zappa (who barely missed a mention in the six degrees) hit with the infamous Valley Girl.  Omigod!  Turning 35 this week are a half-dozen including Foreigner's Cold As Ice, Carole King's Hard Rock Cafe, The Bee Gees' Edge Of The Universe, KC and the Sunshine Band's Keep It Coming Love, Carly Simon's Bond theme Nobody Does It Better, and Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever.  Three more turn 40: Bread's Guitar Man, The Bee Gees (again) with Run To Me, and Easy Living by Uriah Heap.  Two more turn 45:  the double sided hit Pleasant Valley Sunday/Words by the Monkees, and Jay and the Techniques' Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie.  Finally turning 50 are one of my favorite doo-wop groups, the Duprees, with You Belong To Me.  Blow out the candles...

Today's look back in time takes us to what can only be called the prototype supergroup.  Previous featuree Billy Murray was told by his bosses they wanted to hear him in a quartet like the dominant ones of the time- the Hayden Quartet and the Peerless Quartet, both of which were also featureees in the past.  So he was hooked up with John Bieling and William F. Hooley of the Haydens, and Steve Porter of the Peerless group.  The group was best known as the American Quartet.  Murray was signed with Victor for discs (and the Quartet was the American), but was exclusive to Edison for cylinders (and they called the quartet the Premier Quartet).  The group was formed in 1909, and racked up 50 top 40 hits, 48 top 10s, and 6 #1s.  The membership wasn't static: their producer was a slave driver and Bieling quit in 1913 because of voice damage.  He was replaced first by Robert Armour, then by John Young.  Hooley was also replaced after his death in October 1918. 

Their biggest hit was the #1 Moonlight Bay in early spring of 1912; but their biggest stretch of success came in the run-up and then the declaration of war in 1917, including three straight #1s- Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh; Goodbye Broadway, Hello France; and George M. Cohen's Over There.  From 1918-20 Murray was a free agent, and the band recorded with various labels under several variations of the "American" name.  But then another big (and previously featured) star of the age, Henry Burr, made a package deal for him, his quartet (the Peerless), and Murray, where the Peerless group sans Burr would be Murray's American Quartet (while still recording as the Peerless with Burr).  Murray and Burr got $35,000 each, the other three guys got $15,000.  Critics believe that Murray was still recording with his original group by the vocal qualities on their recordings.  But they were never quite so big after that 1917 streak.

The Delfonics score the biggest dropper with a tune that peaked last week at 41, called Trying To Make A Fool Of Me, and falls 18 to #59.  The fastest climber in the countdown this week is Edwin Starr's War, up 30 notches to #49.

 

 

Edwin Starr and Ringo Starr:  apparently not related.

 

 

Which brings us to our Where Are They Now segment, and sitting at #50 are the Who with their cover of Summertime Blues.  Now most of us know that there are but two survivors of the original Who:  Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend.  Keith Moon ODed on an anti-alcohol drug in 1978, and some may remember that John  Entwistle also passed from a cocaine-induced heart attack in 2002.  But the remaining duo work on a lot of projects together including the November 2011 establishment of the Roger Daltrey and Peter Townshend Teen and Young Adult Cancer Program at the Ronald Reagan UCLA medical center.  They've also announced a tour based on their 1973 classic lp Quadrophenia that kicked off for 35 dates starting two days ago.  The band will include Zak Starkey (Ringo's son; see what happens when you give the man a foot in?), Pino Palladino (who replaced Entwistle after his death), Simon Towshend (Pete's "little" brother), and Chris Stainton (who replaced Gary Wright way back when in the band Spooky Tooth, which is best known here in the States for being the band Gary Wright started out with).

Six songs make their top forty debut this week, three of which we just got done playing to see if we knew them (results, 0 for 3).  Up 11 spots to #40 is Tommy Roe with Pearl.  Up from 49 to 38 is Ronnie Dyson with If You Let Me Make Love To You.

James "the vacuum guy" Dyson and Ronnie Dyson:  Apparently not related.


Moving up 10 to #36 are the Three Degrees with Maybe.  Robin McNamara, a cast member of Hair, hits at 35, up 9, with Lay A Little Lovin' On Me.  Englebert Humperdink moves 11 to 34 with My Marie.  and Eric Burden and War jump 16 to #26 with Spill The Wine.

Two songs make BIG moves into the top 10, two fall out.  Our boy Miguel Rios drops to 11 after one week at 9 with A Song Of Joy; Vanity Faire falls 5 to 13 with Hitchin' A Ride.

Bread storms up 13 spots to #10 with Make It With You.
The Jackson boys fall 5 to #9 with The Love You Save.
Up two to #8 are The Five Stairsteps with O-o-h Child.
The Pimpkins (AKA Tony Burrows) hold at seven with Gimme Dat Ding.
And that brings us to our week-delayed six degrees victims.

Blues Image (which tumbles one spot to #6 with Ride Captain Ride) had their first mainstream success with this song from the lp Open.  Along with Ride, one of the tracks on Open was a cover of Ritchie Valens' La Bamba. Ritchie's original included a lady who got a spot in the six degrees way back on Time Machine' Vol. one's week 70.  Carole Kaye (and you can see some of her many credits in her six degrees appearance here ) was a guitarist on this track as she was on so many others.  One of those others was Wayne Newton's Danke Schoen (a song that was supposed to be Bobby Darin's follow-up to Mack The Knife, but Bobby heard Wayne sing and gave it to him).  Wayne's most known hit, though, is probably Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast- but it took a pissed-off woman to get it out there.  Rosalie Trombley was the programming director at Detroit's CKLW, when it came to her station- and she was looking for a way to shame her ex-husband into using his visitation rights with their children.  She gave it heavy airplay, and it took off from there.  Whether deadbeat dad did the same I don't know.

Melanie and friends slide 2 to #5 with Lay Down (Candles In The Rain). 
Climbing two to # 4 is Freda Payne and Band Of Gold.
Roasting its way through the top ten from 11 to #3 this week, the Carpenters and (They Long To Be) Close To You.
Holding at #2 are the Temptations with Ball Of Confusion.
And at #1 for a second week... Three Dog Night with Mama Told Me (Not To Come)!!


See, a lot easier than last week's haunted house countdown.  Be back Saturday for the eighties countdown!

If I'd have known all it took was to hang a bird water bowl...

It started with a minimal bit (eighth of an inch or so) when I brought the feeder and water bowl home.  About 2:30 AM, the weather radio went off.  North of us, though.  Then at 6 AM, thunder and blessed rain.

So, yeah, had I known putting out water for the birds was all it took, I'd have done it months ago!


OOps, forgot I was going to share this with you:

Nice of Obama to concede THAT, huh?  See, and that's the problem.  He sees the government as Big Daddy, taking the ignorant unwashed masses by the hand and guiding them where they belong.  WE view things that the government provides (infrastructure et al) as building blocks provided which we use to build pieces of the life WE choose for OURSELVES.  Big difference there, sir.

Oh, and I recently had a bloggy friend request a Facebook friendship.  I've seen others do this, but have been a bit ambivalent.  Perhaps it's overcompartmentalization, or the fact that I do my facebooking on Laurie's page, or that we mainly use it to comment and not so much updating status (since we lead such sedentary lives), or that Laurie plays Words With Friends.  But in the interest of not being a neo-luddite, I'll give you all this one-time chance to be our facebook buddies.  Just click here and I assume you will be magically whisked to a place which will allow you to send a friend request.  Just be sure to send a note of who you is if it ain't clear from your blogoverse handle.  Otherwise I might confuse you with the distant relative of some friend's sister and ignore it.

Lawrence Krauss and the Universe From Nothing

Now, I am scratching my head.  I just looked at an article on the HuffPost's science blog Talk Nerdy To Me.  Cara Santa Maria was interviewing author Lawrence Krauss, and he had some unusual thoughts about "Nothing".  Bear with it, it's a transcript from a taped interview.



Why is there something rather than nothing? What existed before the Big Bang? How can everything we know to exist in the entire observable universe have spontaneously erupted out of thin air?
That's the focus of theoretical physicist and author Lawrence Krauss's new book, "A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing." I spoke with him in search of answers to these timeless questions. To hear what he had to say, watch the video above (or click the link below for a complete transcript). And, don't forget to weigh in by leaving a comment at the bottom of the page. Talk nerdy to me!
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT

LAWRENCE KRAUSS: The question ‘why is there something rather than nothing’ has been around for as long as people have asked questions. It's perplexed people because the question is what-- people want to understand their origins. The fact that we’re living in this vast universe and understanding our place in the cosmos is really what good science is all about, and it may not produce a better toaster or a new car. That’s why people often value science, is for the practical applications, but it seems to me what’s really important are the ideas, because they change our perspective of our place in the universe and that’s what good science, art, literature, is all about.
CARA SANTA MARIA: Hi everyone. Cara Santa Maria here. And that's Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist and author of "A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing." I sat down with him to talk about what existed before the Big Bang, and how cutting-edge physics is changing the way we think about our place in the universe.
LK: Why is there something rather than nothing? Well, ultimately there are a variety of answers, which is why I wrote a whole book about it. But the remarkable thing is that our picture has changed completely because we changed what we mean by something and nothing. Nothing is far more subtle than you might imagine, for the Bible for example, nothing would have been a vast, eternal empty universe. That would have been, you know, a void. Well that kind of nothing we now understand--namely empty space if you get rid of all the particles and all the radiation--that kind of nothing is actually quite complicated. In the modern universe it’s a boiling, bubbling brew of virtual particles popping in and out of existence on a timescale so short you can’t see them. So there’s nothing there but actually lots of stuff is happening. You just can’t see it, and that kind of nothing, one of the remarkable things we’ve learned is that kind of nothing is unstable. Empty space is unstable.
CSM: But how can we possibly know that? Virtual particles exist in such a short time frame, we can't measure them. So, how do we know they're there?
LK: We can’t measure those particles directly, but we can measure their effects indirectly, because they affect the properties of atoms for example. And when we include them, and we can include them in the calculations and predictions we make, if we don’t include them we get the wrong answer. If we do include them, we get the right answer to nine decimal places, the best predictions in all of physics. The only place where you can predict final numbers from first principles to nine decimal places is there. So we know those effects are happening because we can measure them indirectly, and that’s why we’re so confident.
CSM: Okay, so the calculations pan out. We know that the universe came into existence 13.72 billion years ago, at the time of the Big Bang. Something came from nothing, a nothing more dynamic than we ever knew. But where is that something--the universe, us--where is it going?
LK: All of the galaxies we now see are moving away from us faster and faster and faster. And eventually, they’ll be moving away from us faster than the speed of light. It’s allowed in general relativity and they’ll disappear. So in the far future, the rest of the universe will disappear and we’ll be alone in a vast, dark, empty universe, which is the way we thought it was originally. I find kind of a poetry in that, but, and in fact eventually our stars will burn out and you’ll have nothing left. And in fact, as my late friend Christopher Hitchens who was writing a foreword for the book before he passed away, said, "Well you know in that case, nothing is heading towards us as fast as can be." And the simple answer of the question why is there something rather than nothing should be, "just wait. It won’t be for long."
CSM: From nothing to nothing. That may not sit well for some people, but as Lawrence reminds us:
LK: The important thing about the universe is, it doesn’t give a damn about what we like. The universe is the way it is whether we like it or not, which is the one thing that I really hope people would understand. But it, the way it is it’s fascinating. It may not be the way we like it to be, but it’s so fascinating that we should rejoice in this remarkable accident that lead to our existence. And that you and I are here and having this conversation. That consciousness evolved on a random planet in the middle of a random galaxy in the middle of nowhere. Four billion years into that time, consciousness evolved and we can have this conversation and enjoy learning about the universe back to its early moments and out to the indefinite future. It’s amazing, and the meaning in our lives is the meaning we create and we should enjoy it, and make the most of our brief moment in the sun.
CSM: Anything else?
LK: The two lessons I want to give people is that, you’re more insignificant than you ever thought, and the future is miserable. And those two things should make you happy not sad.
CSM: Does that make you happy, not sad? Reach out to me on Twitter, Facebook, or leave a comment right here on the Huffington Post. Come on, talk nerdy to me!

So, if you are interested in the scientific doublespeak, read the whole thing.  If you are like most people, then let me call your attention to the two passages I boldfaced.  I'd like to point out some things about them.

#1- Nothing is far more subtle than you might imagine, for the Bible for example, nothing would have been a vast, eternal empty universe. That would have been, you know, a void.   So, according to this great intellect and admitted pal of virulent atheist Chris Hitchens, says that the Biblical view was that in the beginning there was nothing, whereas proud science shows that if you throw a few atoms in, their calculations explain everything.  Let us look at exhibit one:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  This is Genesis 1:1.  Perhaps Mr. Krauss could step over here and show me where the void (translated here as "empty") had any NOTHING.  Hmm, I see a world, though formless.  There was a "deep", complete with a surface.  There were "waters", over which the Spirit of God hovers.  In other words, whether you believe in a big bang or not, believe in a God or not, the only thing Krauss proves in his openning salvo is that his reading comprehension is a bit lacking.

#2- The two lessons I want to give people is that, you’re more insignificant than you ever thought, and the future is miserable. And those two things should make you happy not sad.  This should be the poster child for WTF moments.  I would love to ask Krauss why it is that he feels insignificance should make anyone happy.  The only people I know who would be happy in such a state are the guilty seeking a hiding place from judgement.  But if there is no God, why should that matter?  It would also be interesting to ask why a miserable future should make anyone happy, but I cannot imagine an answer coherant enough to make a difference.

Please keep this in mind.  This man is a science professor at Arizona State.  This man espouses the science that your children are being taught at all levels.  Even if you believe in science and not faith, WHY ON EARTH would you want your children learning from a man who comes up with statement #2?  Or who will twist sources in such a way to serve an agenda as he does in statement #1?  I am not anti-science, though I don't believe anything man's uncovered has even put a dent in the possibility of a Creator-God.  But I do detest lying to support your agenda.  And I seriously am against anyone teaching children that insignificance and misery are positives.  But like Cara said, talk nerdy to me!  What do you think?

There is something weird at the end of this post...

...but I've got a few things to talk about before I get there.  No peaking!

#1, I have been tangnetally involved in a discussion over at Pastor Jeff's Ramblings that wandered into a discussion with a "faithful" (you'll get the joke in a minute) follower of his who argued that even proof of Jesus' rising from the dead would not constitute proof of His Divinity.  You see, he is an atheist (I hope the description fits, he's rather sensitive about these things) and will accept nothing other than first-hand proof that God exists.  Unfortunately, as with most atheists, the evidence of faith is excluded to the point of derision.  I don't want to get into the whole battle here, just two small parts of it.

One of those involves that in the interests of merely pointing out that his mindset is covered in the Bible without trying to start a whole thing, I posted the verse from Luke at the endof the Lazarus and the Rich Man parable- when Abraham tells the rich man that, if they don't believe Moses and the prophets, they would not believe even if one should rise from the dead.  Somehow, this verse made him state that I was terming him a liar.  After scratching my head, I asked him how that was.  He said that if he saw a miracle, he'd believe.  I responded that, out of respect for his already based opinions, I have know way of knowing that's true unless we watch a miracle together.

You see, this gentleman had got sensitive with Pastor Jeff over Jeff trying to extrapolate what he believes in order to carry on the conversation, and then the dude tells Jeff that the problem with most Christians is "They try to tell me what I think."  Even when trying to be respectful of the guy, he was antagonistic.

For my part, I explained to him we had two different belief sets, accepting different kinds of evidence.  The element of faith is accepted evidence in mine, while it is not in his.  At which point, he said that he thought we were at a dead end, and I agreed.  On the Pastors end, he mentioned that their were certain concepts that people like this fellow were afraid of, faith being one of them.  He replied (naturally) we was not afraid of the concept of faith, but he refused to deal with it in a spiritual connotation because of the "religious baggage" it carried.

In other words, unless you cut the heart out of the word, he wouldn't recognize it.  Because accepting spiritual faith as a concept meant that he wasn't looking at all options; by deleting it, his worldview still held sound.  Which at last brings me to my two points.

I do not believe that a miracle would convince this man.  For the simple fact that miracles happen all the time in this world.  Call them coincidence, etc., they are out there.  What he probably meant to say is that he would believe IF the miracle happened right before his eyes, and IF it was a miracl of the sort that would prove Christ's divinity. Two problems with that will probably keep it from ever occuring.

The first is that Jesus is the Bread of Life.  Spiritual food.  Even when He was on earth, miracles were performed solely for the HUNGRY- those that had FAITH enough to believe He could do as He said.  Though I cannot speak for Jesus, I'd say the evidence is pretty clear that Jesus isn't going to grant a miracle to someone who simply isn't spiritually hungry.

The second comes up when one argues, "What about Thomas?  He demanded the same kind of proof and received it!"  Very true.  However, Thomas was coming from a position of HOPE.  Thomas wasn't trying to prove his world view, nor was he daring God to do something.  He was HOPING that something he longed to believe was true.  Again, evidence suggests that Thomas would have never had the opportunity to put His hands in the Nailprints if his attitude was, "Prove that You are God."  Thus, I do not believe that a miracle would convince Pastor Jeff's follower of anything.  But the one thing that could make it happen even though all this is the reason Jesus allowed it to Thomas- He had a job for Thomas.  And that is between Jesus and this man.

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And if you've scrolled down this far looking for the weird thing, hang on because I've got one more quick story to tell.  Last night, the Detroit PD got a bomb threat at Comerica Field during the Tigers game.  As it was the third such threat this week, all false alarms thus far, they didn't evac the stadium, but searchd quietly and found no bombs.  They should have checked the bat rack in the Angels' dugout.  Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, Alberto Callaspo, Kendrys Morales, and some guy named Pujols all hit home runs in a 13-0 rout of the Tigers.  I think the Tigers would disagree with the "no bombs" diagnosis.

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If you are still here, here's what you've been waiting for.  Last night around 11 PM Scrappy and I took a walk.  Across from the park, a car pulled up to us.  Two men wearing gas masks were in it.  The driver asked me if I knew where ground zero was.  I laughed and said "Ground Zero?"  He said, "Yeah, we're trying to find it," and drove away.  They come out early in this neighborhood.

NOTICE!

Next to the Martin Hall OF Fame link, I now have a new page- the story and poetry page.  Links to the poetry and the "fictional" stories I've put on the blog over the years.  Check it out, you will enjoy it!

(PS: this does not constitute a money back guarantee.  Just check it out, okay?)