Debbie the Dog-Lady has started yet another getting to know you questionaire. Well, she didn't start it: I think I am actually a fourth generation participant. But it looked fun so I thought I would play along. Plus it gets me out of really having to work on the blog tonight!
1. Do you like blue cheese? Good God, no! As hard as it is for me to believe cheese can be disgusting, that stuff is disgusting.
2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? I have a friend who used to get me to smoke a half of one every now and again, but I never got much out of it and never picked it up on my own.
3. Do you own a gun? No, only because I know how useless it would be for someone who's just happy to hit most urinals to have one. Of course, I don't quite live in the "Wild Wild West" of south Ft Wayne, and the need is not near so great. Yet.
4. What flavour Kool-Aid? Well, since being diagnosed with too high of an A1C for my own good, I have tended to cut back on things which you have to mix 50/50 with sugar to make it worthwhile, so Kool-Aid is "Oh NOOooooooo..."
5. Do you get nervous before a Dr.’s appointment? Nah. The worst than can happen is that "bend over and drop 'em" exam, and that's been done enough by now.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I think most brands were getting to a point that they tasted more like compacted bologna. With the other health stuff, I've been buying uncured to cut the sodium, and they are better than regular. But you can't top Tony Packos!
7. What is your favourite movie? For my entertainment "dollar," I'll take John Wayne any day- dibs on Rio Bravo or The Sons Of Katie Elder!
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Right now my go-to is MIO Energy Blueberry. Affectionately known as "the blue stuff".
9. Can you do a push-up? Sure. It's the sit-ups I struggle with.
10. What’s your favourite piece of jewellery? Depending on whether you have an extreme definition of jewelry, I'd say I'm "n/a" on this one.
11. Do you have a favourite hobby? Again, you'd have to stretch the definition a bit, but I'd say right now blogging is about the length and breadth of it.
12. Do you have A.D.D.? Are you boring?
13. Do you wear glasses? Yes, and they lend me a distinguished-ness my personality sorely lacks.
14. Who was your childhood idol? Daniel Boone, played by Fess Parker.
15. Name three thoughts you have right now. Getting into arguments with people blinded by hate was always a waste of my time; will I get to the end of this before I starve; and will I ever take my other shoe off?
16. Name three drinks you consume regularly. Water, milk, and nowadays Pepsi zero sugar.
18. Current hates? I am trying these days to turn hates in to "Into God's hands you go."
19: Favourite place to be? A beach. Not fussy where. Not right now, though...
20. How did you bring in the New Year? At home, wishing Dick Clark was still around.
21. Where would you like to go? Pretty much anyplace Debbie's been!
22. Name three people who will do this. I don't tend to get a huge response on these things, so I'll have to take an "n/a" on that one as well.
23. Do you own slippers? Damn straight.
24. What colour is your shirt? Currently black with "Grumpy Old Man: My level of sarcasm depends on your level of stupidity" emblazoned on it.
25. Do you like sleeping in satin sheets? Ha! You mistake me for Yul Brynner.
26. Can you whistle? Maybe... but I don't wanna get accused of anything.
27. Where are you now? Command Central, Martin Estate, FT Wayne IN.
28. Would you be a pirate? Not for very long, I'd wager.
30, Least favourite chore? Dusting. I think dust should be outlawed.
31. Favourite food? On a go-to basis, burgers. On a treat basis, Mignon or crab legs.
32. What’s in your pocket? My hand, why? JK. Handkerchief, fidget spinner, change for vending machine.
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Watching a co-worker knock over two small bins of little bitty screws today.
34. What’s your favourite animal?
35. What’s your worst injury? Just prior to starting this blog, my right calf tried to turn itself into a blood-balloon for about three months.
36. How many TVs in your house? One currently manning the living room post, one in Laurie's bedroom, and one cowering in shame under the living room table.
37. Worst pain? Well, it WAS kidney stones, until I had a tooth that suddenly demanded it had to be pulled NOW. That was pushing my BP over 200 for short periods.
38. Do you like to dance? I wouldn't mind it, but my chosen partner is insanely self-conscious, so this is pretty much another "n/a".
39. Are your parents living? Yes, but not on earth.
40. Do you enjoy camping? I'm guessing no- unless we're talking RV.
Last week, I told the story of Dr Martin's Rule #4, and seeing through the "ignorance" that Satan feeds us. And as Paul Harvey used to say, this week, the rest of the story. And that involves rule #5- Prepare for victory's aftermath, or, the bigger they come...
Just moments ago (AKA 5AM Sunday morning) I started listening to a repeat of a message by Robert Jeffress, which he began in part with: "It was the day after the busiest day recorded in the Scriptures of Jesus' ministry. And it began with Him 'rising early and going to a lonely spot to pray.' If ever anybody had an excuse to take a day off, to lay in bed, Jesus did. And if the Perfect Son Of God felt the need to rise up early to pray..."
And it struck me that Jesus grasped Rule # 5 (which, since He is truly the author of "Dr Martin's Rules", should be no surprise). After all the great things He had accomplished, He did not wait for the (humanly) inevitable fall- He prayed over it, that He not lose the ground He covered.
And He, as we see on reflection, is unique. Certainly I am not.
Because, you see, the evening after my story from last week- giving my ignorance to God over tithing- I followed up by consulting oh-so-wonderful kronos and getting my gross earnings from the two-week period just past, tacking on the gross from the bonus, and selecting a ministry to tithe it to. And then it happened.
The ministry I selected is one of a handful I give to which, when trying to donate on Google Chrome, you can try to type in virtually anything and it will just stare blankly at you. You have to switch to Internet Explorer to input any data. Frustration #1. Which, since I was just discovering Rule #5, I let get to me.
So I brought up IE, and every time I tried to do something there, something strange would kick up a screen on Chrome refusing me entry. Slowly- VERY slowly- I realized this was because I had left the original screen open, and it was sucking up my IE attempts to itself. So, I closed Chrome, and then the third frustration came. I am one of those lazy people who takes advantage of Google settings to be able to bring up my financial info by typing in just the first number of my card- thus I only have memorized the first number and the last four. And on IE, on such sites as this one, hitting that first number does jack. And my wallet was upstairs, and despite all the times I had told myself to save the darn number somewhere around my keyboard, I still hadn't done so.
And I got MAD. Ranting, raving, stupid, disobedient mad. Kinda defeating the whole purpose.
Calming down much later, I knew I had to go to God to make things right. In my heart and soul, I imagined Jesus sitting at the other end of my bed, and poured out my self-recriminations, my frustrations, the whole ugly thing. And I began to realize that one word had kept trying to work its way in during the length of my tantrum.
ELIJAH.
See, Elijah had a great moment of victory, embarrassing the false god Baal and destroying the priests thereof. But immediately later Jezebel came at him with everything she had (thereby showing who wore the pants in the Royal Family of Ahab), and he fled, despaired, and asked God to take his life, as he "was all alone." The greater the victory, the harder the fall. And despite the warnings, it was just what I had done.
I may have mentioned I had been hearing a lot of talk about Abraham at the time. So as I poured all these things out to Jesus, and He listened, I began to reflect on ol' Abe. And I realized that he and I had something in common. He had just received the great Promise of descendants from God- and then set out making those descendents in HIS way, in HIS time, by sleeping with the maid at Sarah's request, and only realizing later- when Sarah was demanding he drive Hagar and Ishmael away- what a mess he had made by listening to her in the first place instead of going to God with it.
And I smiled and said, "Perhaps it wouldn't be such a good thing to be like Abraham after all."
And Jesus replied, "No? Perhaps you'd rather David (queue mental image of the whole Bathsheba mess). Or Peter (queue the denial). Or Paul (queue the murder of Stephen)."
Point being that we ALL had the same thing in common- a great victory that, through not preparing for what comes next, we all managed to follow up by making great asses of ourselves. And this realization has two important points to it.
First being, God doesn't want us claiming victory. Pride is anathema to Him; and He certainly doesn't want us to apply it to ourselves over victories HE won. And if you really stop and think about it, what actually hand do we have in these "victories"? God had given Abraham the Promise; He had preserved David in the kingdom; Jesus TOLD Peter (I expect more than once) "You did not learn this from man, but from God." Me? All I did was come out of one stupid streak and barrel headlong into the next.
Second, DON'T FEEL ALONE. Your sin, your failure, is not unique. If God was not only forgiving but USING adulterers, murders, betrayers- how DARE we think our puny sin is so much greater that He can't still use us IF WE CONFESS IT. His sacrifice trumps our sin. Every time.
So many times we go into these messes and do exactly the opposite. We claim a victory of sorts, thus denying God's Glory in bringing us to it; and then falling and thinking we can never recover from it, thus denying the Power of the Cross. In a way, our "victories" are the one time that we should recall the words of former President Barack Obama:
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business – you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.
Of course, he prolly wasn't thinking about God at the time, but you know what God says about that...
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (I Cor. 1:27).
Today we go to February 9th of 1974- a day fairly bereft of notable happenings. Google tried to fool me with a story about the "Great Southeastern Snowstorm"- but sharp eyes noted that the storm happened in nineteen seventy-THREE, not '74 like I asked for. I wish my eyes had been so sharp last week when I gave you the five picks to choose the Panel winner from and left out THE WINNER, Elton John!
Yes, and we're going to be discussing THAT in a bit...
Yes we are, because Sir Elton is the POTM this week, and he and I will be doing the Panel picks and HOPEfully I won't forget anybody this time! Also this week, there's a "shadow" cast across the 6D; ANOTHER OT on the Panel picks; a topsy-turvy M10 that gave me all sorts of unexpected headaches; and the top half of the biggest acts in M10 history! So grab a shovel, just in case, and hang on!
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I have two debuts by two bands so new that I barely have anything to tell you about them! The first, we know a little more about: they are from East LA, and call themselves The Tracks. They are led by 25-year old hard-life survivor Venancio Bermudez, whose story includes watching his father literally drop dead from cancer right in front of him as a high schooler, and working for 4 years in a tortilla factory to support the family- where he, as a legal resident, was harassed by the illegals that made up most of the workforce. But life is better now, and his band comes in at #10:
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So today, as you know, we welcome in Elton John after his exciting OT win last week, to preside over another OT slugfest! Nice to have you here, sir!
Oh, yes, suck up now. After HOW long you've been embarrassing me with THIS picture...
I'm not sure why that picture would bother you; It's not near as bad as SOME I could use...
Oh, good heavens! How many times, though, have you called me "Sir Elton Duck" while using that picture? Borderline libellous, I might say...
Did I mention that I have been doing a new feature featuring the stats of US-UK music aggregator MusicVF to show their biggest act of the year, and John Denver beat you this year of 1974, in the second closest contest ever?
John Denver? Well, the close score tells you THAT was a fluke.
Except he rolled you over in 1975 as well- two years in a row...
AHEM, maybe we should just do this thing...
My thoughts exactly. So this week we have 11 candidates from 37 stations, including another shot for you!
Well, that's only proper... hmm, I see John Denver is NOT on the list, so I guess we'll have a go. First up is the spoken word open letter Americans by Byron MacGregor, at #2 on the Cashbox survey. Next up is a delightful English actor, Max Bygraves, with a tune that was #1 in Australia called Any Dream Will Do. Imagine it was a bit too classical for North American tastes...
I thought it was nice.
Next is... oh, good grief! Benny And The Jets??? I hated that one more than Crocodile Rock! You people have no taste.
And HOW much money did you pocket off those two songs?
Well, er... it was an early vote, as it hadn't charted and wouldn't get the top until April. How on earth does that happen?
Well, some cities don't "get the memo"... some peek at it before they should...
Yes, quite. Anyway, the #3 song on CB was Love's Theme by the Love Unlimited Orchestra. Isn't that the one they use on golf matches here in the colonies?
Yeah, they used to anyway.
Another Aussie station has a vote for... Really? Alvin Stardust? The man is SO tacky.
Yeah, I know- he's made a couple of stop-ins here on TM.
This tune that the Antipodes liked was My Coo Ca Choo. You lot never charted him, did you?
Nope.
Good thing, that. Next is... Oh, the Lorenzo Marquez song this week is my good friend Sir Rod Stewart, with the Faces, and Pool Hall Richard. The Faces never really gave it a go here, did they?
No, and this one didn't chart here, though it was at #24 in the UK, on it's way to a peak of #8.
Terry Jacks was at #10 with Seasons In The Sun. Sad song. You know, he actually had another in the top ten in the UK as well.
I do now...
Jim Stafford was at #9 with Spiders And Snakes. Nice silly bit to balance out the last one. The CB #1 was Barbara Streisand with The Way We Were. Delightful woman.
I'll just say this was a great song and leave it at that.
Hm. Harry Chapin was next, at #53, with WOLD. And lastly was another good friend, Ringo Starr, with You're Sixteen, which was at #4. And, if I may, the UK chart, in addition to Pool Hall Richard, had My Coo Ca Choo at #16, and Love's Theme at #20.
Thanks, Sir Elton. Despite the rocky start, we had some fun.
I suppose so...
ANYhow, you all already know you had a tie at the top, so let me gather up the appropriate ringers...
...And the winner...
...AND the winner, and give you your choices. Choose from Ringo, Barbara, Jim Stafford, Terry Jacks, and the LUO.
Oh, thank heavens you didn't say, "and Elton John." Bad enough to get elected for Crocodile Rock. *******************************************
And now, how about the top ten acts of M10 history, fully updated for this week's chart!
10- The Jayhawks, with 105 points on three songs, most of them on the former Biggest M10 hit of all time, Quiet Corners And Empty Spaces.
9- A couple of weeks ago when I first made the list, this was the #8 act, but got passed last week. With four songs including the #1 Beat Of My Drum, POWERS with 121 points.
8- And the act that passed them- Lucius with 2 #1s already and 135 points.
7- No surprise for Bobby G, as he correctly guessed Mo Kenney would have a spot. She's piled up 148 points with three hits, 2 #1s.
6- With a big #1, followed by a #2, followed by a #3, Agnes Obel rolled up 154 points, just 2 less than...
5- Melody's Echo Chamber, with three #1s and 156 points.
4- There are just 4 acts with 5 or more M10 hits, and they are all at the top! The "or more", with six hits and a #1, Alvvays.
3- Despite two songs still in the top ten this week, the Shacks hold out at #3 with five hits and 2 #1s, for 214 points.
2- Last week's man at the top, Dent May, with 226 points.
1- And even though I thought by now somebody might have caught them they still had enough juice to clear the field by 15 points- a total Dent has a chance of passing in the next few weeks. But for now, still the M10's top act...
...with three #1s and 241 points, Beach House!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our next act is so new, the virtual only thing I know about them is that it is a "indie supergroup" fronted by one JT Daly, who is a writer/producer for a big new act on the alt charts called K-Flay (which to this point has been interesting but just a bit dark for me), and has his own main band called Paper Route (which I have not yet dug into). He has a female partner, an artist by trade named Nikki Barber (and that I found out just minutes ago), and together the call themselves the Voodoo Children. And they debut clear up at #6 with their song...
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So I am going to start our 6D story with one Adrian Gurvitz. His father was tour manager for Cliff Richard and the Shadows, so not surprisingly he is a musician. His musicianship really isn't part of the story, save for that time period where he was asked to be vocalist and guitarist for a new band formed by former Moody Blues founder Grahame Edge. Now Grahame was the writer of Late Lament, the poem read by fellow founder Mike Pinder on Nights In White Satin. Pinder and a third founding Moody, Ray Thomas, were among a group of background singers on the Beatles hit I Am The Walrus. Also appearing on that record, doing much of the deep-voiced "ooh ooh ooh eee eee ees" and other assorted parts, was an outfit called the Mike Samms Singers. And Mike Samms was the deep background vocal on our 6D song- a song written by another Shadows' alum, John Rostill (yeah, the whole Shadows thing was a real stretch, but it worked). That song, sitting at #5 this week without a Panel vote, is Olivia Newton-John's Let Me Be There.
I couldn't find the poster I used to have on my wall, but it looked a lot like this. Thrown away after Physical came out.
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Stat Pack time!
I knew 42 0f the 100 this week. One that I didn't was Johnny Mathis with the #74 in '74, Life Is A Song Worth Singing. It would be his last to crack the 100 until Too Much Too Little Too Late in 1978.
The tune at 101 this week was the last time this act made it this high- Bobby Goldsboro's Marlena- not the same song that the Four Seasons had a hit with years before.
The UK was all about glam- Alvin Stardust was on the chart, the #1 was a glam band called Mud with a tune called Tiger Feet; and one of Gary Glitter's deals was #2.
Oh, and the OT pair? If you didn't pick Ringo or Terry Jacks, you are out- although you should give yourself a pat on the back for Streisand, as she came up a loser in a 9-9-8 contest.
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And now, the remaining M10:
As I mentioned the Shacks were on twice in a topsy-turvy week that had NOBODY end up where I thought they would when I started figuring it up. One of those tunes was Audrey, spending its 8th week on the chart at #9, falling two spots; while Follow Me got caught in the squeeze and also dropped a spot to #5.
Also a victim of the capricious nature of this week's chart was BORNS, who I thought might be climbing but instead dropped 2 to #7 with We Don't Care.
Also dropping, though not AS surprisingly, was Dent May and Take Me To Heaven, getting squeezed out of a one-week stay at the top to #4.
Moving up 3 to the #3 spot, and a main instigator of all the turmoil, was the Decemberists and Severed.
The top was a virtual tie- thought I might have to flip a coin. But I made a decision, and Lucius moves up but one to #2 with Neighbors this week.
And for the third time, (ironically, Dent May did it once), a song RETURNS to the top after a week or so absence; and this time it belongs to...
... the illuminati hottie, Sarah Tudzin, with (You're Better) Than Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the OT winner? why that would be...
...Ringo Starr, as he rolled up a 4-1 win in the overtime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(But don't be too proud; had Barbara gotten that one more vote to go into the OT, she would have whipped them both in the OT... and so would the Love Unlimited Orchestra!)
Do me a favor- look to the right hand side of this blog. "Project IS." Anybody remember what that is? It was God calling to me, saying, "If you want to make a difference against the radical Islamic violence in the world, PRAY FOR THEM. " I invited you all to join me, and we soon saw stories how God has reached not only into the hearts of Muslims- even terrorists- but into people who might otherwise join the ever-growing parade of those who decide to mark their passing into the next life by taking as many as they can with them.
And then, we lost interest. The stories faded; the deaths continued. Even I stopped thinking about it.
Tonight, and last night as well, I have been reading Franklin Graham's Decision magazine. And I realized it is the time again. IS stands for, "I Stand." What do I stand for? I stand for bringing to God in prayer the people who desperately need Him- whether they think so or not.
I read the story by Joan Mack, about how, just weeks before his groundbreaking LA crusade, Billy Graham had hit a low point in a crusade in Altoona. "In his memoirs, he considered his 1949 Campaign in Altoona his biggest flop, a time of testing. But for my family, it was a great success. It was at this campaign that...my parents went forward and trusted Jesus Christ as Savior."
Her parents went on to found several ministries- amongst businessmen, the prisons, foster care. The led her uncle to Jesus, and he started a foster care ministry. Every one of her five siblings, along with her husband and herself- and many of the next generation- have done the same.
PRAY FOR PEOPLE. It doesn't take much to make a difference.
I read Frank Hinklemann's article about the state of faith in Europe. "While the % of evangelical Christians remains low, we see that many people today long for some sort of spirituality. Especially the younger generation...are very open to an authentic and relevant expression of faith.
"Let me close by briefly touching on the recent inflow of refugees... while many are from Muslim backgrounds, many of them are totally disillusioned with Islam, and they are reaching out to Christians to hear about their God."
PRAY FOR PEOPLE. You never know what need, what spark, might be flickering under that hijab, or that jean jacket.
I read Bob Paulson's article on Norway, the supposed "happiest nation on earth. "Ali Yosefi, originally from Iran, has lived in Norway for 17 years... 'People need God here,' he said. 'Many work five days a week, party 3 nights a week, and on Monday they are miserable again... he also sees people sleeping in the streets... even though the government provides them with money and a place to live, they would rather sleep in the streets, where it is easier to continue their hopeless routine of drug abuse.'
"Henriette Wroldsen... put it succinctly: 'We've been rated as the happiest country, but there are lots of people who are lonely as well.' "
PRAY FOR PEOPLE. You never know what hides behind the polite smile... or what demon has led to their condition.
I read elsewhere about a pastor of a church in India. After months of death threats, intimidation, and other attacks against him, his family, and his congregation, he was found hung in his own living room. Not long ago, it struck me that I had been very mouthy about the violence, the disrespect for life, in India, but I had never really brought THEM to God in prayer. PRAY FOR PEOPLE. If you have a group you harbor anger against, because of their evil, or their different ways, odds are pretty good they NEED your prayers.
I read many other stories, and I am just overwhelmed how some people are so sold-out to Christ that they can move the world in amazing ways. And sometimes, it makes me look at my "filthy rags." I ask what I have done. And yes, I have made some changes, and I am not going to brag on them here because I know very well that they are from God, and God is doing them in me and through me. And I know very well Doc Martin's Rule #5- The greater the victory, the easier the fall. More on that one Sunday.
I used to think of myself as a prayer warrior. Even against what I am doing right now, I find myself ashamed for ever thinking that. And the ultimate sign of that shame is the dust up there on top of that Project IS logo.
So I am asking you to join me. Have a concern on your heart? Write it down, pray on it every day. A group you would really just like to beat about the head until they get common sense? Write it down, pray for them every day. A place in the world where the suffering is so bad you'd just rather push it out of your mind? Write it down, pray on it every day. Neighbor's pissing you off, boss is impossible, paper didn't get delivered? Pray for them every day.
Someone you love with all your heart? Pray for them every day.
And I tell you what. Place the prayers to God with a cc to Project IS. I will add "Project IS prayers" to my daily list, and join you in those prayers. I don't need to know what they are, God knows.
I don't want to bore the non-sporties out here (and we became friends HOW, lol?), but I have to make some comments on last night's lovely Super Bowl game.
1- Line of the night
For you all that didn't watch, in the first half, New England tried a flea flicker that involved Tom Brady catching a pass. However...
...he was frightened by the approaching defender that didn't exist and dropped it. As wide open as he was, he'd have looked like Stephan Diggs beating the Rams. Instead, he looked like a man too busy calculating the seconds it would take him to run for cover out of bounds to pay attention to the ball. Laurie then delivered the best burn on Brady ever heard. Rather than just type it out, I made a commemorative meme...
Not long later, Philly's QB DID catch a flea flicker pass- for a TD. Thereby making the difference between winning and losing the team that had a QB that can catch the ball. I guess now, Brady's nickname of GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) will have to be changed to Glanced Off A Thumb.
2- Two words, beyond which nothing need be said, but I will anyway-
...Cris Collinsworth.
He tried hard(ly) not to show a Patriot bias that was simply bubbling out of his mouth like slobber all night long, but was a particular maestro in "analyzing" two Philadelphia scores that, had he had his way, would have both been overturned. They were not overturned, and anyone with a basic football knowledge and no bias for the Patriots would have seen that. Instead, he bloviated on about how he just didn't understand the rules anymore if he was wrong. Al Michaels gently tried to save him both times (his Pats bias a lot more concealed), but he forged onward to make sure his foot had the very deepest part of his mouth.
As I googled up the image above, my search page was inundated with stories like "Fans call for head of Cris Collinsworth over 'bias' play-by-play ", "Cris Collinsworth's 'biased' Super Bowl broadcast performance slammed by NFL fans", and the second- a play where all America saw Zach Ertz take several running steps before diving into the end zone while Collinsworth insisted he was still "in process of catching the ball" was so bad, one Tweeter nailed it perfectly:
God, Collinsworth, shut the hell up. He got married and had three children with the ball before he hit the ground.
Before I step a little to the left, I'd like to share a story from years ago that always makes me laugh. I was listening to WLW Cincinnati and their Sports Talk show with former Bengal Bob Trumpy- who despised Collinsworth, newly retired and coming on the air next. Trumpy and his guest LOCKED THE DOOR TO THE STUDIO- leaving Collinsworth banging on the door, pleading to be left in- very much on the air- while Trumpy and friends laughed their butts off. As did I.
3- The one thing that Collinsworth actually got right last night came right after the replay official made an ass of him the second time:
"I cannot wait for them to change this rule."
That rule being of course the convoluted and completely unnecessary "process of the catch rule" that is the bane of every fan everywhere. Al Michaels, in what was either a sigh of agreement, a prayer for his partner not to screw up any more reviews, or a wry smackdown that Collinsworth would never catch, replied, "Hopefully before the end of the game."
But the NFL prolly won't change anything. Know why? Because EVERYBODY wants them too. And the NFL will go out of their way to prove they're right and the whole world is wrong. Don't believe it? All season long fans AND players griped and grumbled about games on Thursday night. Viewing stats showed fairly conclusively, that overexposure was dragging down ratings. And the Wednesday before the Super Bowl, the NFL announced a five year, $550 million deal with Fox for Thursday night games.
It used to be the NFL internal motto was "protect the shield".
Apparently now the motto is, "plaster the shield on every man woman and child, 24/7/365, resistors will be eliminated."
I wonder if maybe I should ask permission to use that picture from the NFL...
I have a story for you this week about Dr Martin's Rule #4. What, you say? Where is 3? It'll come up- as well as the attached-to this-story Rule #5 in due time. But right now, I want to set the backdrop on how rule #5 came my way.
Last week, Congress decided that a bill protecting a 20-week old fetus from being aborted, on the basis of scientific proof that a fetus at that moment of development feels pain, was not right.
Apparently this "mass of tissue" isn't alive enough to prick the consciences of 46 congressmen who are less morally convicted by doing the right thing and more intimidated by people like this:
Now this is NOT about to become a post on the politics of abort, on the minority groups that steer policy in a land SUPPOSEDLY under majority rule, or an attack per se on militant feminism. What it is about is the facts as God sees them- and why some people don't see them that way. This is just one case.
In my opinion, the facts as God sees them in this case include:
A baby is a baby at conception.
13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;[b] Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. (Ps 139)
And that there are people like the ones in the protest above who are simply bent on evil. Nothing else can explain demanding full-term abort rights or shooting down this ban. I'm not talking about you who, under a certain circumstance might weigh your options early on. To you abortion might be a simple sin, a terrible one, but a mistake- and we all make those, as I will get to. Evil is activists who only see it as part of an agenda and give no feeling to babies or mothers, and politicians who cannot distinguish right from wrong, or don't care to. Now, let me change the paradigm.
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The past month, David Jeremiah has been focusing on giving to the Church. As I have mentioned, I was called to tithe recently, (well, I paid attention recently) and this week Jeremiah brought up the question, "Do you tithe from gross or net?" Now I don't get a paper pay stub; to look at mine, I have to log into Kronos, and any of you that have to deal with Kronos prolly know what a pain-in-the-butt THAT is. So I, without thinking, had just been looking at my direct deposit from my credit union.
Here, Satan interjected- and God allowed him to, for a reason. We recently got our quarterly bonus, and we get a paper print for that- and it was still in my pocket. I pulled it out- even though I knew what it said- and quickly calculated FIFTY percent, instead of ten. (Thus, I have rule #4 nicknamed for my benefit "the 50% rule".) Which started my mind into a panic- how could I give gross if it only leaves me thus and so, nothing left for anything else, I don't believe...
And at those last three words, I stopped. I turned the radio off. I said to myself, "What promise has God not kept? What trouble has He not guided me through? How DARE I say, 'I don't believe' about ANYTHING?"
And then I pulled the stub out of my pocket again. And calculated TEN percent. And said, "Chris, you moron."
And understood that the thing that ties the opening story and my flub together is Dr Martin's Rule #4:
The only way to overcome Satanic ignorance is by seeing things God's way.
It was only when I prayed, reminded myself of all the benefits of obedience- including in this case, being able to do third-grade math. And I soon saw the connection between the two stories, and all the stories out there where society is trying to pull away from morality and decency under the guises of "freedom" and "tolerance".
For example, I had to shake my head on a Catholic FB friend's post on the abortion subject. A woman was arguing with him over the Church's stand. She honest-to-Bob said this, which I am paraphrasing in lieu of copying her posts. "I AM a Catholic, I AM Pro-Life. That said, I believe in a woman's FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE on the subject." (Emphasis mine.) Several people tried to explain to her that you can't have it both ways- either abortion is both murder and a sin, or it isn't. Either you believe in the tenets of the Church, or you believe sin is an allowable choice. And a couple defended her. But NO one could convince her she was sitting on top of a razor and not a fence.
Without God's guidance, you can talk yourself into false logic such as this. If you find yourself at odds with the Church, or with God, over something- perhaps you need to give such a blind spot to Him, and see what opens up. And THAT'S what this one is about.
Today, we sail into Ground Hog Day, 1973 (Phil saw his shadow), and watch the very first regular-schedule episode of the ground-breaking Midnight Special...
But was it REALLY the Midnight Special without ME?
That's right, Helen Reddy hosted that first show, singing I Am Woman; guests included Curtis Mayfield (Superfly), Don McLean (Dreidel), Rare Earth (I Just Want To Celebrate), the Byrds (So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star, Mr Tambourine Man), and a comedy bit from George Carlin. Note on the way to researching this: Most appearances on the Midnight Special? One of my favorite bands... and I'll slip in the answer later.
Welcome to the fun and hijinx of Time Machine, where we have the guy with the most hot 100s without hitting the top 40 meets the song that charted the most without cracking the top 40; M10 does something that it has only done twice before; a special feature that I darn near forgot I had set up for you all this week; the crappy job the top 10 on Cashbox did on the Panel picks; and a glimpse into living with my Mom....
All that, and Don McLean fresh off his Midnight Special appearance! AOWWWOOOOO!!!!!
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Let's bring Don McLean into the Musical Tardis! Don, nice to have you here.
Nice to be here! I feel 45 years younger!
You ARE 45 years younger! Are you ready to dig into the 12 candidates from 44 stations?
You bet! I guess one of the perks of being an act from the 70s is the list I have to read is a lot shorter...
Usually it doesn't get this short- but two songs split 28 of the 44 votes between them, and nearly forced 2 overtimes! Let 'er rip!
All right, we start off with Dr Hook and the Medicine Show doing Cover Of The Rolling Stone, which was at #30 on Cashbox. Then came the week's #1 nationally, Elton John's Crocodile Rock. King Harvest was at #14 with Dancing In The Moonlight. And Steely Dan's Do It Again was at #11. Say, we AREN'T hitting Cashbox's top ten much...
No, this week was bad for the Cashbox top ten. In fact, while not mentioning the highest song without a vote (AKA the 6D victim), we also saw no votes for #5 (Hurricane Smith's Oh Baby What Would You Say), #7 (Loggins and Messina's Your Mama Don't Dance), #8 (Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man), #9 (War's The World Is A Ghetto), OR #10 (Brighter Side Of Darkness' Love Jones), which has to be the most top tens ignored in Panel History!
Wow- the downfall of the top ten, brought to you by Don McLean! Anyway, the next candidate is one of two songs on the list by Lobo- Don't Ask Me To Be Your Friend. It was at #12; while the vote getter from Lorenzo Marquez this week was his I'd Love You To Want Me, which peaked here in December. Dueling Banjos from Deliverance was at #29... I'll stay off the pig jokes...
Good move.
Wings are at #6 with Hi Hi Hi.
The O'Jays are next with Love Train at #26. Next comes a pair from Stevie Wonder. Superstition was the #2 song on Cashbox; while one of the continental US stations didn't get the memo and had a song called Superwoman at #1- a song that peaked everywhere else SIX MONTHS AGO...
...or else they made a really unfortunate typo... ...And we round out the pack with Carly Simon and You're So Vain at #2!
Here, read this envelope, too...
Okay... ah. The act with the most all-time appearances on the Midnight Special, with four, is...
...The Electric Light Orchestra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, sir! Thanks, Don, and let me give you your choices. Of course, you know we have a big two and everyone else, so let's give you a couple of throw ins just to keep you nice and confused. Choose from Superstition, You're So Vain, Hi Hi Hi- AKA the three top tens- Love Train, and Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend. That gives you all but 7 of the votes! I'll narrow it down to the overtimers in a bit.
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This week, the M10 does something it has only done before on April 27th, 2016, and on July 12th of 2017- NO new debuts! And that would have meant that I had no songs to play for you this week, and that would be sad. But I had gotten thinking about an old, old song that was among the many my Mom liked to sing around the house when I was little- and one of the few that she actually sounded good singing. You see, she was, you might say, Edith Bunker before Edith Bunker was, except that she would sound bad on purpose, to annoy you. But I never heard her do that on this song. So I looked it up the other day, and surprisingly, It only cracked the top 40 anywhere twice- it came from a movie soundtrack sung by Leslie Caron and Mel Ferrer which hit #30 here in 1953, and Richard Chamberlain made it to #20 in the UK in '63. Mom's not near so deep-voiced as Richard, and IMHO the Caron/Ferrer version was terrible, but I found a good match to Mom's style and pitch by Shelby Flint, which I will share with y'all.
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So I was wondering the other day, what, pray tell, is the biggest act in M10 history? And I figured it up, starting by saying to myself, "they have to have multiple hits and more points than the biggest hit of M10 history, Mo Kenney's Unglued with 92." As of this week, that gives us 20 acts- and I'll give you 11-20 this week, and the top ten next week. Of course there may be a little jostling in that list by then, as right now 4 of the top ten are on the charts this week! So, that first 10 goes like this:
19 (tie)- Jana Kramer and Ducktails (93 points). Jana is one of just 2 acts that made the list without a #1- and they are Laurie's 2 favorite acts! Go figure..
18- Northern Faces, 94.
16 (tie)- Tangerine and Ruth B, 96.
15- Radiation City, 97.
14- Laurie's other favorite, the Monkees 98.
13- The Explorer's Club, 100.
12- The Pom Poms, 102.
11- The Shakes, 104.
And next time, I'll give you the rest.
But right now, here's your big clue: If you picked Stevie, Wings, The O'Jays, or Lobo, go sit down. If you have Carly or Elton, you have 14 votes and a trip into the wonderful world of the run-off election!
The year 1973 on MusicVF says that Gladys Knight pipped the Carpenters for top act of the year.
Our #73 in '73 was the last charting single for the Raiders, called Love Music. Despite being up here on CB, it only got to #98 on Billboard.
At #101 a surprise- a song you should know! Vicki Lawrence started her journey to the top here with The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia.
Big Mover this week is a bit of an irony- legend says it was written about our POTM, Don McLean! Roberta Flack moved 19 from #58 to #39 with Killing Me Softly.
I knew 41 of 100 this week. Go me!
And the #1 in the UK this week was Sweet with Blockbuster. It peaked at #73 over here. As for how the Panel picks did over there- You're So Vain was at #3, Hi Hi Hi was at #13, Superstition was at #24, and Croc Rock was at #45.
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I didn't get very far in researching the 6D victim this week, the #3 Why Can't We Live Together by Timmy Thomas, because I noted that his producer was Steve Alaimo. Steve, if you know if you have been around the ol' Musical Tardis for a while, is a record holder with 13 singles that made the hot 100 without EVER cracking the top 40. The highest he got was with a song that peaked at 46, called Everyday I Have To Cry. And when I looked into that song, I found that it and Steve have something in common. Five times this song has made a musical chart- without much better luck than Steve. The composer, Arthur Alexander, took it to #45 in 1975; ten years earlier, the Gentrys only got to #77. Bob Luman had a little better luck on the country chart, getting to #23 in 1969. HOWever- the Bee Gees took it to #3 in 1966- in Australia, the only place that they released it as a single.
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The M10, for a change in its entirety:
Sunflower Bean holds off all comers and stays in the countdown at #10, down a pair with I Was A Fool.
Mo Kenney is officially off the roof, falling from 3 to 9 with On The Roof.
Moon Taxi- who made a brief TV appearance on last Sunday's NHL All-Star Game- move up 2 to #8 with Let The Record Play.
The Shacks had kind of a mixed bag week- they dropped 2 to #7 with Audrey, and were stuck at 4 with Follow Me.
The Decemberists move 3 to #6 with Severed.
BØRNS moves from 7 to 5 with We Don't Care.
Lucius pounces up the chart 3 spots to #3 with Neighbors.
illuminati hotties slip surprisingly out of the top spot to #2 with (You're Better) Than Ever.
And that makes the new numero uno, in the wake of the best "lobbying campaign" since Wayne Newton was jamming The Letter up the chart...
...Dent May and his third #1- Take Me To Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the winner of an 8-5 run-off OT...
...Elton John and Crocodile Rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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