Greatness... or lack thereof

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

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

Steppin' down while I still got it.

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

Sunday Message

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time Machine week 54.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elton John falls a notch to 10 with Your Song. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lynn Anderson with Rose Garden!


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday message

This week, the readings that the Lord picked out for us had two common themes:  What God demands of man, and the consequences of not respecting those demands.  The consequences are much easier to explai n, and don't show a lot of variation:

Matthew 21:44- broken and crushed to powder;
Joshua 24:20- do you harm and consume you;
Jeremiah 38:18 and 23- burn you down;
Isaiah 46:1-2 go into captivity;
Zephaniah 1:2-3 utterly comsume  all things... "the stumbling blocks along with the wicked".

So the point is, God isn't messing around when He says He wants something from us.  And it actually all comes down to one word, which we will get to at the end, but you won't truly get it unless we explore the facets of it first.

Monday turned out to be the lone New Testament reading, and it was a story carried in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).  It begins with the priests questioning Jesus about His authority, and ends with the parable of the evil vinedressers.  Each Gospel has the priests come demanding Jesus tell them where He draws His authority from.  Jesus tells them:

“I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

Which of course put them in a dilemma.  They knew the people believed John was a prophet, and if they admitted it (even to themselves) they would be admitting their hypocrisy, because they never received it themselves.  So they said, "We don't know," and Jesus responded, "Then I'm not telling."

Two of the gospels then go straight to the parable (while the other throws another short parable in-between) in which the owner of the land makes a great vineyard, hires vinedressers to tend it, and goes off to a far land.  At harvest time, he sends servants to collect the fruit of his land; but the vinedressers abuse, refuse, and even kill these servants.  Finally the owner sends his own son, whom they also kill.  This is the story of the leadership of God's faithful passing from the Jews to the gentiles, with God as the owner, the Jews as the vinedressers, the prophets as the servants, and Jesus as the Son.

Finally, Jesus throws in Psalm 118's warning about the Cornerstone:

²² The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
²³ the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.

finishing with the warning noted earlier, that he who stumbles on it will be broken, and he who it falls upon will be crushed.  Now I want to note three related things God is asking here, and three reactions to it.

First, in the first part, God is demanding us to RESPECT the authority of Christ.  In the parable, by describing Christ as the Son, He is demanding we respect the DIVINITY of Christ.  And a certain line in the psalm- "the Lord has done this,"  which my Bible also translates as "this is from the Lord"- tells us that Jesus' authority is GOD'S WILL.  And their reactions?  In Matthew, at least some of the priests, even though they knew it was talking about them, recognized that they had done wrong to God all these years- though they didn't repent, and in fact became more set against Him as a result.  In Mark, they said nothing- just let it basically go in one ear and out the other.  And in Luke, when Jesus got to the end of the parable and suggested the owner would come and destroy the evil vinedressers, they shouted, "Certainly not!"  In other words, they rejected the authority all together.

That this subject of Authority was underlined three times tells us how important this is- to God and to us.  But it is not yet the main theme we seek.

Tuesday my reading was the 24th chapter of Joshua- famous for his declaration, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  He spent much of the chapter re-telling all the things that God had done to the Egyptians for them- and if you think that got done a lot, consider how easily they kept forgetting.  The people told Joshua they would serve Him as well, but Joshua replied:

“...You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, after he has been good to you.”

But they said, "No, really," and Joshua told them, "okay, you said it... now, you have to do it."  Joshua knew well it was easy to make promises at great occasions surrounded by like minded people.  Going home afterwards and "clearing out the idols" is tougher.  But it is the second of God's demands.

Wednesday I hit the key to it all... but I'm going to save that.  God put it in the middle because it is the CENTRAL demand... I bumped it to the back to make it easier for your humble author to stress it.

Thursday found us in Isaiah 46, which began with an elegant description of the power of foreign gods- "Bel bows down, Nebo stoops..."  The prophet speaking for God tells of the creation of idols out of wood and gold and silver, how they have to be pinned down to stand up, and how the cattle pulling their carts find them a burden.  Then God goes on to describe His own glory, His pre-eminence, and after describing the plight of those who cry to the idols and are not answered, reminds them of "former times" when their belief led God to do great things for them.  "Remember, and take courage", He tells us, and come to Him first in all things.

Friday brought us to the first two chapters of the minor prophet Zephaniah.  The first chapter is a portrait of all God will do to a sinful and unrepentant world.  I really love the verse I pulled out above where "the stumbling blocks will be destroyed along with the wicked."  The entire network of evil doers and their evil society will be rooted out.  But my point comes at the beginning of chapter two:

Gather together, gather yourselves together,
you shameful nation,
² before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,
before the Lord’s fierce anger
comes upon you,
before the day of the Lord’s wrath
comes upon you.
³ Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you will be sheltered
on the day of the Lord’s anger.

To escape the fate of an evil world, God calls us to Seek Righteousness. That is what will save us from the way things will end. Jesus says, "But seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."(Matt. 6:33)

Which brings us to the summing up on Saturday, courtesy Exodus 15.  This is mainly taken up in Moses' re-telling, in psalm form, of the escape from Egypt (see, I told you this gets repeated a lot!)  But at the very end, they have their first battle with thirst, and God gives them water. Afterwards, Moses goes over God's covenant with them once again:

He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” (Ex.15:26)

So let's break that down.  "Listen carefully (or in my Bible, "dilligently heed") to the Lord your God" is equivalent to the "accepting His authority" from Monday.  "Do what is right in His eyes" is the same as Friday's "seek righteousness".  "Pay attention to His commands (or commandments in my Bible)" equals the "giving Him pre-eminence" of Thursday.  And "keep all His decrees (or statutes) is analogous to Tuesday's "be obedient".  And the promise is that God won't give you "any of the disease I brought upon Egypt"- another words, the plagues used to break the pride of Pharoah- and the unrepentant.

But what was that central thing, that one demand that is really a part of all the others?  We find that in Wednesday's reading in Jeremiah 38.  Here we are at the bitter end of the original Jewish kingdom.  The Babylonian army has been starving Jerusalem for some time, and Egypt does not appear to be coming to the rescue.  King Zedekiah fears the Babylonians that will kill him if the city falls, fears the princes of Judah that will kill and overthrow him if he surrenders the city, fears everybody but God, who has sent Jeremiah to tell him to surrender, for it is God's will that Israel be exiled to Babylon.  Finally, Zed sends for Jeremiah and says, "Don't B.S. me, give it to me straight," to which Jeremiah says, "Why? You aren't going to listen anyway," and Zed replies, "No, really" (Where have we heard THAT before?)

So Jeremiah lays it out for Zed- he can do God's will, surrender the city, and the Babylonians will treat him as a prince in their own land.  Or, he can stand athwart God's will, fight to the bitter end, and the city will burn and everybody will pay.  But like I said, he feared everybody BUT God.  He warned Jeremiah not to say anything to anybody about it until he made up his mind, because he knew the princes would surely kill him if he entertained the idea of giving up.  As a result of his refusal to surrender, the city was destroyed, his sons were executed in front of him and his eyes put out  (so that their deaths would be the last thing he ever saw), and spent the rest of his life in chains in a Babylonian prison.

And so, our central demand of God- SURRENDER.  Surrender pride, the concept of being able to do it yourself.  The idea of having to be right, and the practice of your faith being a "Sunday thing".  Surrender the thought that there are more important things than God.  That is what a righteous God expects of you.  Strong's concordance sheds light on the consequence of refusal- the word translated "consume" in Joshua comes "from a primitive root, meaning 'to end.' "

Lotsa Little bits Vol. 6

ITEM:  I have survived my first week at the new job, despite prototypes that aren't complete when the machine cuts them, a label printer that has claimed to be out of paper some 17 times in three days (none of them true), white chalk that has to be frozen to avoid bending, a visit by Mayor Henry, and above and beyond, my own stupidity at a variety of critical junctures.  Actually, everyone says I've done a pretty good job for my first week.  But in my mind, it's "you wouldn't be saying that had you been sitting on my shoulder today"- a phrase I've said to myself each day this week.

ITEM:  In celebration of my week's survival, I had Laurie buy me a present:

ITEM: Oh yeah, I have to tell you about King Henry coming to cut the ribbon for the company's new building.  Several dignitaries from the company (as well as its creditors), along with the Mayor, reps from the Ft Wayne/Allen County Business Alliance, and a cameraman from 21Alive who proved less than useful, gathered for the celebration.  I almost Volunteered to hold the ribbon, but figured I'd be pressing my luck if King Henry remembered me from any of my less-than-flattering blog posts that I forwarded to him.  When they went to cut the thing after 20 minutes of stirring oratory, we the people were invited to stand behind His Highness and the gang as our boss cut the ribbon.  I nearly stood right next to him, but again advised myself not to.  One lady stood behind me "because I don't like pictures"; observing that she had a good head of height and several pounds on me, I informed her I didn't think I'd be much cover.

So we watched the 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00 news and saw not one speck of it anywhere; nor does extensive searches on the Mayor's website, 21Alive News, the Alliance's site, or anywhere else.  And we topped it off with an hour and 40 minute's worth of OT to make up for the festivities.

ITEM:  Speaking of news, have you heard the latest?

Homeland Security has advice for confronting mass murders: scissors

• By S.A. MILLER, Post Correspondent
• Last Updated: 5:44 AM, January 31, 2013
• Posted: 1:09 AM, January 31, 2013

WASHINGTON — Is your workplace getting shot up by a crazed gunman?
No problem — just grab a pair of scissors and fight back!
That’s some of the helpful advice in a new instructional video from the Department of Homeland Security that was posted on the agency’s Web site just a month after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
“If you are caught out in the open and cannot conceal yourself or take cover, you might consider trying to overpower the shooter with whatever means are available,” says the narrator in the video, which shows an office worker pulling scissors out of a desk drawer.


Thank you, NY Post.  I've always thought that the left wanted us to bring a knife to a gun fight.  Guess it actually was scissors.  But make sure they aren't assault scissors, eh?

ITEM: Quick note on Lokomotiv.  We split this week's games, beating Torpedo 2-1 on goals by Daniil Apal'kov (7), and Staffon Kronwall (9), and a 31-save performance by Curtis Sanford.  Curtis followed that up today with a 23-save, 5-2 loss to Atlant, with the last goal an empty net job with 2 ticks left.  Yegor Averin (11) and Alexei Chernikov (8) tallied for us.  This leaves us 5 behind Red Army in our division, as SKA continues to run away.  They clinched the best overall record with a 3-1 win over Dynamo Moscow that put them at 35-10-4 for 110 points, 9 points up on Avangard.  Since last time we checked, Severstal, Salavat Yulaev, Barys Astana, and Sibir all clinched playoff spots; six teams are still fighting for the last three spots in the West, while just two remain contesting the last chair in the East. except for the two Czech/Slovak teams tomorrow, no one plays again until Wednesday, and we (23-16-10) get Amur (11-32-6) that day.

ITEM: and now, a brief look at my latest collections of spam comments, shortened to the amusing stuff to fit in the post.  First we stop by the lovely Waiting For God blog, where we find our author's aggravated rant against drivers who forget to go on the green light being called a "pleasant post", and linking to a German social media spam purveyor from which we can only learn that it takes Germans 13 letters to spell "services".

We follow that with a post on Monkey Butt's site that recieved an invitation to the website "werewolf romance".  Things are getting pretty hairy there...

Next, on the blog of Grumpy Old Ken, an elderly English gent who isn't near as grumpy as he claims, he gets a letter from " Mary Popovaks" who told him:
Hi all
I'm Mary, 22 years old :)
I am looking for good man. If he exists...
I'm love sport and... Hope you understand

She went on to "try" to send him a picture of herself (probably resembling Man'te Teo's girlfriend), then claimed the link was "corrupted" (probably the one truth in the whole thing) and sent the typed out link instead.

Next, we visit A Beer For The Shower, where you have to wonder why the scammer would ask the author of the blog this question:

Hі therе Deаr, aгe you actuаlly vіsiting this wеb site dailу,
if so afteгωard you will ωithout dοubt obtain good knowledge

No, Dear, I would never visit my own website.  You don't know the kind of people who write it!

The fun part is when they pay you such compliments while proving they've never seen your blog.  Al Penwasser does a bit where he finds a silly picture, puts an even sillier caption to it, and stands back to watch the mayhem is regular commenters have with it.  On one such post, he got this:

Follow me on facebook fanpage and blog
I'm very concerned about this, please. :)

The picture this person was so conerned about was a seal hovering in midair, just about to be swallowed relatively whole by a great white.  So I doubt they were near as concerned as the seal was.

My beer cap collection blog certainly is the target of some confused commentors, sending me links to such sites as "What is an alcoholic" and "how to quit drinking".  Of course, I did have a Coors at Red Robin tonight, but that didn't count because it was with dinner, and well, it WAS a Coors...

Remember my review of the great Beach Boys reunion lp, That's Why God Made The Radio?  It's gotten many comments lately, including:

WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching
for www fredricksofhollywood

I think you MAY have spelled it wrong when you searched it.  Another poster on that review linked to "wedding insurance comparisons" (WTH is wedding insurance?) and started out, not surprisingly, by saying:

Hey there! I know this is somewhat off topic...

And yet another was asking me how to get listed on Yahoo News, while sending me the link "Washington unemployment website".  I've also gotten one hawking "How to stop snoring naturally.  If that was you, Scrappy, you've hardly room to talk!

I can't help mentioning the post on Momto8blog entitled "Opportunity Knocks" and gifted with the link "remedies for menstrual pain."  I don't think that was opportunity knocking...

And finally, one more from Grumpy Old Ken's place, which has to be the stupidest link I've seen yet:  "Click through the next webpage".

ITEM:  That's it, kids! Stay warm (unless you are Mynx or Joanne, in which it is "stay cool") and have a nice day.

Time Machine week 53

It is the first of February, 1971.  We are stuck between the fading glow of Apollo 14's launch ( and the subsequent round of lunar golf played by Allan Sheppard) and Canada's announcement that they were going to officially recognize Red China.  (You'd have thought that after 22 years, they might have at least seen a picture!)  AAAnyway, Here it is Thursday night( for me), and while I haven't had the energy to bloviate much around here as I get used to the new job, I'll doggedly trudge on through this weekly bout of musical longing.  This week, a big birthday week, with no less than a baker's dozen of HUUUUGE hits celebrating birthdays.  Also, a song debuts twice, neither one by the act you know it by; Bridget the Midget; the only time a father hit the top forty AFTER his daughter had already done so; a look back that includes the last name nobody wants; and we connect the Fifth Dimension on six degrees to the Four Seasons, and we do it through Louis Prima!  All Aboard!!!

Commander, look out!  Your drive is heading for that Time Machine!

We open probably the biggest birthday week in Time Machine history with the hot 100 debuts for this week.  Among the 16 debuts are 5 of the best known hits of the era- Tom Jones' She's A Lady (56), CCR's Have You Ever Seen The Rain (63), The Temptations' Just My Imagination (66), Ike and Tina's cover of Proud Mary (86), and Janis Joplin's Me And My Bobby McGee (88).  In addition to these monsters of the midway, the Guess Who hit with Hang On To Your Life at #79.  And in an oddity, the same song debuts by two different acts- and I'd bet you've never heard either one, even though you know the song.

The first act, debuting at 82, is the Collective Consciousness Society, or CCS, a studio instrumental group whose closest brush with TM-style fame was bass player Herbie Flowers, who played the recognizable bass line on Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side.  The other was "King" Curtis and the Kingpins.  The "King" was best known as a side man, notably as the sax player on the Coasters' Yakety Yak, and with the Kingpins were Aretha Franklin's back up band on her Live At Fillmore East lp.  What is the song, you ask?  Believe it or not, it was Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love.

Baby, I'm not foooooolin'....

Now let's see the other classics that celebrate birthdays this week.  Turning 30, three more huge hits- Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton popping up We've Got Tonight, Hall and Oates with One On One, and Greg Kihn's Jeopardy (even though it hit #1 still probably better known by Weird Al's parody I Lost On Jeopardy)- along with Jefferson Starship's Winds Of Change and Stephen Bishop's It Might Be You (from the movie Tootsie).  Turning 35, we have Barry Manilow's Can't Smile Without You, and three hits off of Saturday Night Fever- If I Can't Have You by Yvonne Eliman, Boogie Shoes by KC and the Sunshine Band, and the Bee Gees' Night Fever.

Turning 40, another huge hit, Dawn with Tie A Yellow Ribbon, along with Bread and their most beautiful ballad Aubrey, Johnny Nash's Stir It Up, Jim Croce's One Less Set Of Footsteps, and Deodato's 2001 theme, Also Sprach Zarathustra.  Turning 45, The Four Tops with their excellent cover of Walk Away Renee and Kenny Rogers (again!) and the First Addition with the hippie ballad Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).  Yeah, Yeah, ohhhh yeah.....Turning 50, one of the biggest hits for the Kingston Trio, Greenback Dollar, along with Ruby And The Romantics' Our Day Will Come.

Turning 55 was another big hit- the biggest hit Johnny Cash ever had on the pop charts- Ballad Of A Teenage Queen.  And rounding it all up, 60 years ago Patti Page first brought us The Doggie In The Window.  Take a DEEP breath, and blow out the candles....

The high and low climber feature is a real mess this week, and we're going to sweep it into the top forty.

The Where Are They Now feature is Bridget The Midget- actually, that is the song at #50 courtesy of Ray Stevens.  Ray has such a long and varied career, from the ridiculous (see above) to the sublime (Everything Is Beautiful, Misty), that I am going to go straight to the "now".  Ray in recent years has become the balladeer of the Tea Party, ripping into the left (and some of the center) with YouTube hits such as Throw The Bums Out (on healthcare), Come To The USA, God Save Arizona (illegal immigration), The Nightmare Before Christmas (non-PC Santa gets thrown in jail), Grandpa Voted Democrat (voter fraud, natch), and The Global Warming Song.  In addition, he spent the last two years compiling the greatest comedy records of all time into The Encyclopaedia Of Recorded Comdey Music, a massive 96-song, 8 CD labour of love.  And who would know better?

With trepidition we venture into the top forty, where we find first the week's biggest dropper, the Chairmen Of The Board's Pay To The Piper, which is also one of of our two that drop out of the top ten, falling 30 spots from last in the top ten to last in the top forty.  I finally whittled the highest climbers down to a pair of 12-spot risers ( after wading through a half-dozen that climbed ten).  Wadsworth Mansion takes one of those spots climbing into the forty from 43 to 31 with Sweet Mary, while the Jackson Five move to 26 with Mama's Pearl.

The other entrants into Airplay Alley are: The Grass Roots with Temptation Eyes, going from 42 to 38; Liz Damon's Orient Express (so named because the Hawaiian's original backup singers were all Asian) and their one hit wonder, 1900 Yesterday; and (Do The) Push And Pull by a gentleman named Rufus Thomas, climbing nine to #32.  Rufus, who hit the top ten in 1963 with Walk The Dog, became the first man to chart for the first time AFTER his daughter had- his offspring Carla Thomas hit the top ten two years earlier with Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes).

Our lookback brings us to a crooner by the name of Dick Haymes.  Dick (whose brother Bob also had some songwriting and acting credits) hit the charts from 1943-1956, scoring 35 top 40s, including 19 top tens.  He was at his best right at the beginning of his career; his debut was the #2 hit It Can't Be Wrong, his second was his lone #1, You'll Never Know; and his third was the #7 In My Arms.

He was also successful in duets, his main partner was a lady named Helen Forrest.  Their act hit the top ten seven out of eight releases (the eighth made #12), the biggest of which was Long Ago (And Far Away).  Having been born in Argentina, he at first got out of service in WWII because of his Argentine citizenship.  But Hollywood gossip queens Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper began to question his patriotism, so he went to a recruitment office an was promptly 4F'd for hypertension.

Like many of his contemporaries, he also got in front of the camera, though not very often.  He was the lead in the 1945 musical State Fair, and much later did a guest shot on ADAM-12.  In later years he filed for bankruptcy, and it was no surprise as the man was married SIX times.  The first was to a "dame" who lied about being pregnant and he had it annulled after learning the lie 3 months later.  Among the others were Rita Hayworth and an actress by the name of Joanne Dru (she was the female lead opposite the Duke in 1949's She Wore A Yellow Ribbon).  Her real last name was LaCock, and if you know your TV trivia, yes, that would make her the sister of one Peter Marshall.

Do you SERIOUSLY think I would work around the likes of Rose Marie and Paul Lynde as "Peter LaCock"?

The other of our dropping pair is Immigrant Song, falling 5 to #14.

Perry Como croons into the top ten, climbing 6 notches to #10? It's Impossible.

Elton John slips a notch to 9 with Your Song.

The Fifth Dimension slides 5 to #8 with One Less Bell To Answer, our six degrees victim.

The song was written by the late great Hal David and Burt Bacharach, actually intended for a young lady named Keely Smith.  She was a half-Irish-half-Amerindian jazz singer who had her best success singing with Louis Prima.  Among the many songs they hit with was a Cole Porter tune called I've Got You Under My Skin, which among it's many incarnations was the 1966 version by the Four Seasons that hit #9.

Annnd our first contestant for the third annual TM Beauty Contest...

I didn't say Barbra Streisand had a butt of rock.  I said she had Stoney End, climbing 7 to #7.

George Harrison slides from 2 to #6 with My Sweet Lord.

Climbing a pair to #5 Gladys Knight and the Pips with If I Were Your Woman.

King Floyd holds at 4 with Groove Me.

Lynn Anderson rises 3 to #3 with Rose Garden.

Dawn joins the list of acts mentioned twice this week. with Knock Three Times slipping out of the top dog position down to #2.

ANNND our new #1, up 4 (count 'em, 4) spots to take the top spot...

The Brothers Gibb, who make five acts mentioned twice, with Lonely Days!


Glad you made the trip, hope the golf ball did you no permanent damage, and see you next week!