Tuesday, April 30, 2013

TFT: Emerson, Lake and Palmer


Not every song that will be featured here will be what is generally considered as being “Christian” in the eyes of this world.  For some will be anguished cries from the pit of despair while others will be quite obviously fervent rants of rebellion.  Nonetheless, be assured that they will all be of our Heavenly Father (in one way or another) and I hope that you have been given ears to hear the message.


Lucky Man
Emerson, Lake and Palmer
He had shite horses
And ladies by the score
All dressed in satin
And waiting by the door

Ooooh
What a lucky man
He was
Ooooh
What a lucky man
He was

White lace and feathers
They made up his bed
A gold covered mattress
On which he was laid

Ooooh
What a lucky man
He was
Ooooh
What a lucky man
He was

He went to fight wars
For his country and his king
Of his honor and his glory
The people would sing

Ooooh
What a lucky man
He was
Ooooh
What a lucky man
He was

A bullet had found him
His blood ran as he cried
No money could save him
So he laid down and he died

Ooooh
What a lucky man
He was
Ooooh
What a lucky man
He was


Karn Evil 9
Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Cold and misty morning
I heard a warning
Borne in the air
About an age of power
No one had an hour
To spare
Where the seeds have withered
Silent children shivered
In the cold
Now their faces captured
In the lenses of the jackals
For gold

I'll be there
I'll be there
I will be there

Suffering in silence
They've all been betrayed
They hurt them
And they beat them
In a terrible way
Praying for survival
At the end of the day
There is no compassion
For those who stay
Yeah

I'll be there
I'll be there
I will be there

There must be someone
Who can set them free
To take their sorrow
From this odyssey
To help the helpless
And the refugee
To protect what's left
Of humanity

Can't you see
Can't you see
Can't you see
Yeah
I'll be there
I'll be there
I will be there
To heal their sorrow
To beg and borrow
Fight tomorrow

Step inside
Hello
We've a most amazing show
You'll enjoy it all we know
Step inside
Step inside
We've got thrills and shocks
Supersonic fighting cocks.
Leave your hammers at the box
Come inside
Come inside

Roll up
Roll up
Roll up
See the show


Left behind the bars
Rows of bishop's heads in jars
And a bomb inside a car
Spectacular
Spectacular
If you follow me
There's a speciality
Some tears for you to see
Misery
Misery

Roll up
Roll up
Roll up
See the show

Next upon the bill
In our House of Vaudeville
We've a stripper in a till
What a thrill
What a thrill
And not content with that
With our hands behind our backs,
We pull Jesus from a hat
Get into that
Get into that

Roll up
Roll up
Roll up
See the show

Welcome back my friends
To the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend
Come inside
Come inside
There behind a glass
Stands a real blade of grass
Be careful as you pass
Move along
Move along
Come inside
The show's about to start
Guaranteed
To blow your head apart
Rest assured
You'll get your money's worth
Greatest show in Heaven
Hell
Or Earth

You've got to see the show
It's a dynamo
You've got to see the show
It's rock and roll
Oh

Right before your eyes
See the laughter from the skies
And he laughs until he cries
Then he dies
Then he dies
Come inside
The show's about to start
Guaranteed
To blow your head apart

You've got to see the show
It's a dynamo
You've got to see the show
It's rock and roll
Oh

Soon the Gypsy Queen
In a glaze of Vaseline
Will perform on guillotine
What a scene
What a scene
Next upon the stand
Will you please extend a hand
To Alexander's Ragtime Band
Dixieland
Dixieland

Roll up
Roll up
Roll up
See the show

Performing on a stool
We've a sight to make you drool
Seven virgins and a mule
Keep it cool
Keep it cool
We would like it to be known
The exhibits that were shown
Were exclusively our own
All our own
All our own

Come and see the show
Come and see the show
Come and see the show

See the show

Man alone
Born of stone
Will stamp the dust of time
His hands strike the flame
Of his soul
Ties a rope
To a tree
And hangs the universe
Until the winds of laughter
Blows cold

Fear
That rattles in men's ears
And rears
It's hideous head
Dread
Death
In the wind

Man of steel
Pray and kneel
With fever's blazing torch
Thrust into the face
Of the night
Draws a blade of compassion
Kissed by countless kings
Those jeweled trumpet words
Blind his sight

Walls
That no man thought would fall
The altars
Of the just
Crushed
Dust
In the wind

No man yields
Who flies in my ship

Danger
Danger
Danger
Danger

Let the bridge computer speak

Stranger
Stranger
Stranger
Stranger

Load
Your
Program
I
Am
Yourself

No computer
Stands in my way
Only blood
Can cancel my pain
Guardians
Of a new clear dawn
Let the maps of war
Be drawn

Rejoice
Glory is ours
Our young men
Have not died in vain
Their graves
Need
No flowers
The tapes
Have recorded their names

I
Am all there is
Negative
Primitive
Limited
I
Let you live
But I gave you life
What else could you do
To do what was right
I'm perfect
Are you

Lyrics From: [LyricsFreak]

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Monday, April 29, 2013

Come Monday...Systemic Malpractice


“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of, or commentary about,  websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time.  Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.”  This is subject to change, however.  In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while.  For rants promote change, and change can be good—right?  Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).

Be assured that I am very much in favor of universal health care, but I have a real problem with the quality of care that is generally available in this country.  Therefore, [Obamacare] would be a huge waste of time and money until great improvements can be made in my opinion.

Of course, the main argument against such a position is that any care is better than none at all, but I would hope that those who hold to that would think differently if they would have had to have gone through what we have.  For aside from the quality of care I have received over the past 20 years, Arlynda has been recently (2-3 months ago) diagnosed with non-alcoholic [cirrhosis] of the liver, and given 2-5 years to live without a transplant.

Okay, I suppose it would be better to know what one is dying from (along with how long they may have to live) than not knowing anything, and seeing a doctor would be a good way of gathering such information.  That is, unless the doctor neglects to say anything, such as in the case with my wife.  For after going through her medical history, she discovered that she had been diagnosed with [fatty liver disease] over 10 years ago, and yet, it was not until her [ascites] became a genuine problem that the rest of the story was actually told to her by a new doctor.

The dots seem to clearly connect to me.  For alcohol breaks down into sugar in the body, and alcoholism is one of the major causes of cirrhosis of the liver.  Therefore, since it was clearly in her medical history that she has non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and she has been being treated for [type 2 diabetes] for a number of years, which is a disease where blood sugar can get way too high, the doctor she has been seeing for her diabetes should have at least said something about her being in danger of developing cirrhosis of the liver, but I am not a doctor—am I?

Her new doctor is absolutely wonderful.  Well, at least he is for now.  For I am quite sure that it will not be all that long before “they” get to him, or drive him out of the medical profession completely.

There are already some indications of that.  For after Arlynda asked him to prescribe something stronger than aspirin or Tylenol to help dull an intensely sharp pain deep down in her upper left side, he told her that it might mask other symptoms, and that she would have to wait until after she had a gall bladder test he had scheduled—10 days from then!

Oh, and she still hasn’t received any pain medication.  Subsequently, she has not been able to actually lie down in a bed to sleep for close to a month now.  In all fairness, she has always been able to go to sleep almost anywhere, but I am thinking that the thought should count for something.

Her new doctor, who is a [gastroenterologist], sent her to a highly-respected liver specialist in St. Louis, who basically told her that a liver transplant was the only viable treatment for her at this stage in the game.  He then informed her (in no uncertain terms) that he would not even consider her eligible to be put on the transplant list until she quit smoking completely ([electronic cigarettes] don’t count) and lost at least 100 more pounds.

She is receiving some treatment for her ascites, but it leaves much to be desired.  For the last time she went to have as much of the excess abdominal fluid sucked out as possible, the doctor in charge declared that they had got it all after only six liters being collected.  Back at home four hours later, a clear fluid started pouring out of her belly button, which was not where they had inserted the [catheter].

Let us now get to the bills we have received for that last procedure.  There is $1,450.52 for the CS Lab, $809.50 for the CS Pharmacy, $506.52 for the CS Radiology Infusion, $980.60 for the CS Ultrasound and $259.00 for the Pathologist, which comes to a grand total of $4,006.14 for what took less than an hour to perform.

Those prices are what someone without health insurance is charged.  Do you really think that the quality of care will improve with the federal government only paying pennies on those dollars?

Alas, I used to believe that the American health care system was at least as good as any offered anywhere.  Then I became really sick and have had to face looking at the blank stares of my doctors after telling them that I feel like I have been suffering from a fairly severe case of the flu since 1993.

Arlynda’s sister came close to dying when her main doctor failed to recognize the smell of rotting flesh (for several weeks) coming from an infection in the incision he had made clear across her lower abdomen, and now it is my wife’s turn to suffer under the care of a hospital system that frequently runs commercial advertisements about them being one of the top 100 in this country.

In all fairness, Leslie’s ordeal was under the care of the other major hospital system in this town, but they also claim to be one of the top 100 in this country.  By the way, just how indestructible are you?

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

A Sunday Drive


Back during my childhood, our parents would often load up my brother and me after Sunday morning church services for a leisurely drive around where we lived.  Even though we were seeing mostly familiar sights, it was still good to see them, and this is why “A Sunday Drive” sounded about right for the name of a weekly series revisiting familiar sites that are well worth seeing again and again.  The link below the image is to the site itself, and the image is linked to the post it was first included in here.





















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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Trib Updates



This is a weekly series that will include a brief summary of the latest articles that have been published on The Tribulation Times Herald-Exhorter.  Hopefully, this will encourage you to go check out some truly outstanding articles that have been published by a number of truly outstanding authors.  Moreover, I hope this will also encourage you to want to become a contributing member/author, as well.  The “Hear Ye!  Hear Ye!” site explanation near the top of the side-bar should answer many of your questions.  Yes, this series also included an “SOS! (Spam On Saturdays)”  segment before, but it just wasn’t working for me.  Therefore, that will be replaced by a republishing of one of the Trib articles.

[ESPN Additions] goes to show what a bad influence soccer can be upon social behavior.

[WhiteHeart Wednesday] contains a video and the lyrics for How Many Times (Seventy Times Seven).

[Not Seeing So Well] has a video and the lyrics for The Jayhawks’ Stumbling Through The Dark.


An old joke has flood waters creeping closer to where a man sits on the roof of his house.  In a loud voice, he prays, “Lord, please come to my rescue in my hour of great need!”  A few minutes later, a neighbor paddles his canoe up next to the man and invites him to come join him in the canoe.  “No,” the man answers, I have prayed to the Lord, and I must remain where I am until He sees fit to deliver me out of this peril.”  As the neighbor was paddling away while shaking his head in disbelief over the man’s refusal to be rescued by him, he noticed that the flood waters were now almost up the man’s waist as he clung to the chimney sticking out of the roof of his house.  In an even louder voice, the man prayed again, “Lord, please come to my rescue in my hour of great need!!”  A few minutes later, a large rubber raft, with several members of the Navy onboard, floated right up next to him, and a Naval officer told him to reach out his hand in order to make it easier to be brought into the raft.  Again, the man answered the call for him to accept help, “No, I have prayed to the Lord, and I must remain where I am until He sees fit to deliver me out of this peril.”  The Naval personnel all had looks of great shock on their faces as they speed off to go help someone else, and after they had went a fair piece away, one of them told the commanding officer that he had seen through a pair of binoculars that the man was now hanging from the top of his chimney, with his head barely above the water line.  In a voice that now sounded more like a scream than a prayer, the man cried out, “Lord, please come to my rescue in my hour of great need!!!”  A few minutes later, a Coast Guard helicopter eased over his position, and a rescue diver dove into the water to help him get into the basket that was being lowered from the helicopter.  Again, the man answered the call for him to accept help, “No, I have prayed to the Lord, and I must remain where I am until He sees fit to deliver me out of this peril.”  The helicopter was not quite out of sight before the flood waters rose above his head, and the man drowned.  When the man stood before the Lord on Judgment Day, he asked Him, “Why did you not come to my rescue?”  With great sadness in His voice, the Lord answered him, “My son, I sent two different types of watercraft and a helicopter, but refused to see my hand at work.”

The absolute truth of the matter truly is that far too many in the Christian community fail to see our Heavenly Father’s hand at work because of the situation at hand not fitting in with their beliefs.  Alas, who can truly see without looking at things through His eyes, but who is so blind as the one who refuses to see?

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Sites To See


The SOLE purpose of this weekly series is to help call attention to sites that I think many would find most interesting—in one way or another.  Just to be clear, inclusion in this series is not necessarily meant as a recommendation, and I have included sites that are rather disturbing to me.  The link below each image is to the site itself, and each image is linked to the particular post from which it was taken when applicable.  Please, go see for yourself.  Oh, and as of August 10, 2012, I will be no longer including sites that have auto-play and word verification engaged.


 Link: [Archive]



















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