Podcasts about man it

Many thanks to you wonderful FGD Radio Show Supporters for keeping the show on the road. For €5 per month, supporters receive higher quality downloads of each show, monthly mixtapes, advance downloads of all our Go Deep releases and a welcome pack of exclusive tracks and mixes. Find out more at fishgodeep.com/radio. You can also support the show by leaving a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts. Arsene - Hot Sweaty Nights Ancient Deep - Warm It Up How I Like It Kirk Degiorgio - Seven Minutes of Funk Inner City - Future (Kenny Larkin Remix) Satoshi Tomiie & Tucillo - Delta Dub 4 Frits Wentink - Spiritual Bassline Gareth Cole - Distinction Santos - Someone Fred Everything & Trevor Walker - E.S.M. (Atjazz Remix) Mark E - Enchantment Under the Sea Chaos in the CBD - Love Language Hanna - Sometimes (N.W.N. Remix) Pat Bedeau & Rona Ray - Lost & Found Close Counters - Freedom We're Needing Sebb Junior - Something Better The S.O.S. & Simkid - Certainly Close Silver Skylarks - Just Can't Get It Right (Ben Hixon Remix) Max Wheeler - The House Sonson - My Blues (Franck Roger Remix) Jordi Cabrera featuring Bumi Thomas - I Am Soul (Eric Kupper Remix) Jon Cutler & E.Man - It's Yours

There's a doctrine around called the Universal Fatherhood of God and the Universal Brotherhood of Man: It says this—that God is the Father of all, and we're all brothers. That sounds good, that sounds so sweet, but there's one thing wrong with it. It's not so. He is the Creator of all of us. And in the broadest sense, with a stretch of the word, you could call Him the Father, but not in the spiritual sense. Not all people are children of God; only those who are born into His family. Jesus said in John 8:44 when He was speaking to the Pharisees, “You are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do . . .” In this world, there are some who are children of God and there are some who are sons and daughters of the devil. We don't become God's child until we're born into God's family. In John 1:12 we read: “But as many as received him [Jesus], to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Here's another verse: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26). God becomes our Father by conception, therefore, and not by creation.  

In this episode, Brian, Kris, Will and Lucas talk about Final Fantasy minigame related trauma. We also talk about Handheld PCs, Hades 2, Pacific Drive, and a smattering of other topics. We're quite unhinged and degenerate about it. Enjoy. TOPIC AND TIMESTAMPS Intro - 0:00 | Brian's Steam Deck - 2:45 | Final Fantasy Related Trauma - 5:13 | Steam Deck and other Handhelds - 9:46 | Hades 2 - 27:47 | Degeneracy - 39:20 | Shogun and Black Sails - 45:39 | Unicorn Overlord (and Fire Emblem) - 49:47 | Star Wars: Thrawn - 53:20 | Pacific Drive - 55:30 | Mods and Steam Workshop on Deck (ft. Balatro) - 59:10 | Conclusions - 1:05:00 | POTENTIAL EPISODE TITLES (EACH "+" IS A HOST VOTE): +Steam Deck +1 +So Many Lightning Bolts To Dodge Before You Get The Best Steam Deck +We Don't Use RPG Sickos In Place Of Something Else, We Use It Because You're Actual Sickos +I Call Myself a Sicko Because I Understand the Depravity To Which I Will Go +FFXIII, Not Even Once +I Would Simply Be Correct And Choose The Right Option +The Gang Discovers Their Least And Most Favourite Final Fantasy Games +Card Games Make A Man Do Strange Things +Todd Howard Has Never Made Anything That "Just Works" +"It Just Works" - Todd Howard, Creator of Some of The Buggiest Games Known to Man +It's Hard To Be This Funny, But Not Hard When You're This Talented +I, Too, Am Deck Ready +Consoles Nowadays Are Just Bad PCs +Reject Modern Game Console, Embrace the Handheld +We Could Be More Unhinged; Many of Us Are, In Fact, Too Hinged +The Sticks Are Stiff, But They Don't Resist +Supergiant Games Don't Miss +Hades is For Everyone, Because Everyone Can Find A Character They Find Attractive In That Game +Girl You Look Like You Could Crack Me In Half, Let Me Buy You A Drink +Nice To Meet You, Please Fucking Kill Me +Karlach.txt +My Sexuality is Karlach +We Are Not Worthy of Supergiant's Character Designs +This Isn't A Public Space, This Is A Private Show, I Run This Place, And I'm A Fucking Pervert +I Reserve The Right To Be Thirsty About Anyone +The Platformers Reserves The Right To Be Horny, In Places You Can Hear Us +Nobody Here Is Barking Like A Dog... Yet +That Is A Load-Bearing "Yet" +"I Do Not Want To Be Shogun", Says The Man Who Very Much Wants To Be Shogun +I Have The Internet, The Internet Will Provide +The Show Is A Little Too Horny For Kermit The Frog +I've Never Been More Disappointed; That's Actually Not True, I've Played Perfect Dark Zero +I Liked Fire Emblem Before It Was About Tubes of Colgate Toothpaste +The Rise, Fall, and Animeification of Fire Emblem +I'm Holding Off on Touching Balatro Mods, Because You'll Never See Me Again +Card Games? That's A Young Man's Game +The Cardboard Crack Is No More +Y'all Got Any More Of Those Booster Packs? +Skator Gator Is A Game You Play on Fridays, IYKYK +Keep Our Name In Your Mouth, But Do It Respectfully [The Platformers Video Game Podcast is created, hosted, edited, written, & streamed by Brian Barnett on Twitch.tv/Ribnax. This episode edited by Kris Cornelisse.]

Retaining Sin Retaining Sina sermon by Rev. J. Christy Ramsey DOWNLOAD A LIVE RECORDING Audio from worship at the 10 AM Worship Service April 7, 2024at St Peter’s Episcopal Church in Carson City, Nevadaedited from a flawless transcription made by edigitaltranscriptions all errors are mine. Acts 4:32-35 ⟡ 1 John 1:1-2:2 ⟡ John 20:19-31 Sermons also available free on iTunes Welcome to Mirror Easter. Last week, who was here last week? No one. Okay, a couple people. All right. So last week, the varsity team was up front, and the spectators were in the pew. All right. So this week, the spectators are up front leading the service. You all coming here on the second Sunday of Easter? You’re the varsity team. You show up the second Sunday of Easter where the substitute for the substitute is leading the service. Ah, commitment. Thank you very much. That’s right, Christy has risen. Is that blasphemy? I don’t know. He’s not here. And we’re all surprised, just like, you know, the other guy. Okay. I know every one of you read the scripture before you came to church today. You’re probably waiting for a doubting Thomas sermon. Those are great. I love those. Not having a church for a while, I’m always preaching second Sunday of Easter. In fact, I looked at the prayer book earlier. My marks from last year were still there. Second Sunday of Easter. And if you want to look at that sermon, Cathedrals and Measles, on the website ExtraChristy.com, go look at that great sermon, Doubting Thomas. Woo boy, good. Not today. This is a varsity group here. We’re going to get a varsity sermon. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to take that little bitty crazy scripture that’s in the gospel. That you probably just went over, because I don’t want to think about it, but we’re going to think about it. You know the one? The one with your namesake, the Saint Peter one? If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. What in the world does that mean? Is there some kind of ginormous ATM? Can we log in on our web and say, I would like to deposit some sins, and I’d like to withdraw some sins? What in the world are they talking about? Now some people say, well that means that, you know, if you’ve been gluttonous or wrath – oh, let’s read them off, I have my list here. Sermon notes: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth. So some people say that if you have any of those, you can get them forgiven. But why in the world would we want to retain them? Okay, maybe gluttony. Rest. What is this? This is a strange scripture on a strange Sunday. Bizarro Mirror Easter Sunday, where the varsity people are in the pews, and the spectators are upfront. It only makes sense if you know that it is plural. That’s right, it’s not singular sense, not just you and me, itty bitty, 10 Commandments, four spiritual laws, kind of individual, you and me, God, we’re here, checklist, I got whatever I want. It is plural. If you all – I used to translate Greek, you all. I got in trouble in seminary all the time, and I argued with them. But if you all retain the sins, they are retained. And if you all forgive the sins, they’re forgiven. Okay, so it’s a community thing. So we get along and get together like Presbyterians and have a committee and vote whether or not someone sinned? I don’t know. That doesn’t sound right, either. But I want to tell you something, this is John. This is the Gospel of John. We even got a little bit of 1 John over there. And for John, that list of sins, not sin, not at all. Sin is not individual moral failings. It is not characteristics. It is not individual behavior. That is not sin. Sin is when you don’t do what God wants you to do. And that’s your whole life. That’s not just in moments of temptation in front of that cookie drawer. Or special magazine. Or website. I guess I should update. But for John, sin is corporate and communal. J.B. Phillips back in 1953 had a book that was really important when I was growing up called “Your God is Too Small,” and every now and then people rediscover it, and it blows their mind. But I want to tell you that it’s not just your God is too small, your sin is too small. We’re not talking about little bitty sins. This is the varsity group. We can handle it. We’re not talking about individual sins on individual Sundays and individual days. We’re talking about great corporate. And, you know, this makes more sense for 1 John. Did you listen to 1 John? Was anybody else upset? You are all sinners? What kind of scripture is that for church? You are all sinners. And you say, “Well, no, I’m not,” and it comes right back. And if you say you’re not, you’re a liar. Oh, I’m a sinner and a liar? How come we didn’t all get up and leave? Were you listening? I’ll make it more homely. You’re racist. And if you say you’re not racist, you’re a liar. Now we’re getting some of the feeling back. I’m not racist. I don’t say the N-word. I have not fired anyone on the basis of their race or creed or color. I don’t have any slaves. I’m not racist. We’re back to that, are we? Back to the individual understanding of sin. Back to the me and God and nobody else. When it’s plural, when it’s corporate, when it’s John, and when things aren’t right in the world, that is the sin, not what any individual may do. I had a good childhood and upbringing. Middle-class life. We didn’t want for anything. Had a big house. Even got air conditioning when it came in. That was a big deal. My parents both had college educations and good jobs. Their parents were able to work in Akron, Ohio, in the rubber companies and got good pay and good money so that they could send their kids to college so that I could have a better life. Well, what’s that about racism, Christy? My grandpa, Christy Ramsey, had to join the Ku Klux Klan to get a job at Goodyear. Because only the Klan members worked in the rubber company. You see the difference between I’m a racist and racism? I’m a benefit of that. I’m benefiting of racism. That got my family out of the West Virginia hollows and into colleges and nice middle-class home in the Highland Square area of Akron. See the difference? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t benefit from racism. John knew that. Now you do. What are we to do? What are we to do? We’ve got to quit thinking that sin is something we do in private. It’s just between me and God or go in a box and confess it, and we’re good to go. Because sin is communal, sins in society. Let’s talk about my parents again. My parents both went to college. Books cost 10 bucks for their semester. Ten dollars. They went to a state school, a university school. Remember back then when the governments actually paid for higher education, actually supported higher education? It’s flipped now. Now the individuals have to pay and not the corporate. And now because it’s an individual choice they have to compete for students and get those out-of-state tuition bucks in there, so they have to put the rock climbing walls and have the sous chef and the other chefs in the back and raise their tuition so they compete against the market pressures on that because the government says we don’t have the money for higher education. And yet people say, “I paid for my college education. Why don’t those young people pay their loans?” You didn’t pay for it. The state paid for it. The government paid for it. Our taxes paid for it. But that has changed and flipped around. Eighteen year olds, we do not allow them to choose to have an adult beverage because their minds just aren’t ready for it. They can’t handle that kind of responsibility of getting a beer. But we let them sign up for a $100,000 debt that’s going to haunt them the rest of their lives. I’d rather risk a beer on them. You hear the sin? In my tradition, every Sunday we say forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Gets really quiet. About half the congregation drops off at that point. Come back for the next one. Corporate sin. That’s not God’s will. John would say, there’s sin right there. We got racism, we got sin. But that savior guy we follow. Remember him? Came back from the dead last week. Big news. Remember? You know, you know he was born in a homeless shelter. There was no room for him. There was no inn. There was no place for him. Public camping was outlawed back then. He was born homeless. It wasn’t too much longer he had to be a political refugee, fleeing across borders against a government that wanted to kill him. Have you read that in the paper lately? Have you seen it on the web? Got to update my notes. They’re sin. That is the sin. And we’ve got a choice. Now you can see the choice. Before it made no sense. But now you see, yeah, we have a choice whether we’re going to fund public education or put our kids into generations of debt. We have a choice. We can retrain that. Or we, what, forgive debt? It’s our choice. Okay? You’re forgiven. That’s the way it’s going to be. It’s up to you, Christians. You can have homeless, or you can house people. What kind of society have we constructed just in my lifetime? That we have revised the tax code and the way we reward people for the work. And that it used to be when they grew up, if you were making a million dollars, every dollar you made at that top end was 90 cents to the government, 90% to the government, we had, oh that’s wrong, take it on down. Now we’ve got millionaires that can go to outer space, while we got millions that don’t have space to live for the night. If you forgive the sins of any, or if you retain them, they will be retained. So when you look around, and you say why does God do this? Why does God do this? Jesus told us. Second Sunday of Easter, varsity team was there, but not everybody. Wasn’t a packed church. He said, you know, it’s up to you. You’ve got a choice. You can retain sins, or you can forgive them. Now, some people listened to him. Some people decided that we ought to try this. You know, Jesus. We heard about it today. People sold their houses, brought their money and gave it to those that need. 100% capital gains taxed? Agh! Right there in the Bible. Right there in the Bible. But I already paid the taxes on the house. If we read a little bit more in the scriptures, we’d find out that that impressed the community so much the community grew and grew. People looked at them and said, wow, those Christians have got something going on there. Look at how they take care of each other. Look at how much they love each other. Look at how much there’s no one in need among them. What kind of craziness is this? It’s Christianity. That’s what it is. You know, when it was time to get us straightened around, God didn’t send us down the checklist. He didn’t send us down the Ten Commandments and saying “Don’t do these things and you’re cool.” He doesn’t send down and say that these are the seven deadly sins, don’t do them and you’re good with me. He didn’t even send down four spiritual laws. He didn’t send down the sinner’s prayer. None of that stuff. Zero paperwork, obviously. I’m afraid God is not a Presbyterian or there would have been more paperwork involved. He sent a person. He sent a person to show us how to live, how we should live with one another. Did you know that Jesus healed people with preexisting conditions? How un-American! I hate to even ask if they were employed, and if it was an employer’s plan or not. He healed people that didn’t deserve healing. He healed the Roman servant, the occupier. Because guess what? It’s not God’s will that anyone suffers from lack of health care. And that’s up to us. We can retain that sin in our society, or we can get rid of it. Other countries have. Are we worse than other countries? I think we’re better than everybody because I was born here so obviously we’re best. Why can’t we get this done? You know, we’ve just got used to children dying in massacres by guns. By mass shootings. Remember when we used to be all upset, and we prayed at church, and we stopped church, and we had special prayers and services. And now it’s just another one. Because we decided to retain that sin and not get rid of it. Again, other countries have. Other countries had one, one mass shooting and said, that’s it, everybody brings in your gun. They go, well, yeah, of course, you know, because why? Because guns don’t die, children do. And they brought them all in, turned them all in. Said no, we’re not going to retain that sin. We’re going to forgive it. We can do it. Or we can pray, oh, please, mental health people, not be mental healthy, little individual sins on individual people who, why doesn’t it stop? Unh-unh. That’s not for this varsity group. We can take on the big game. We can say we’re going to get rid of sin. We’re going to make it safe to go to the mall, go to school, without being in a fortress. It’s our choice. Jesus said that. He came back from the dead to tell us that. We should listen. That wasn’t an easy trip. I think it was something important he had to tell us. Oh yeah, I forgot about the sin thing. I’ve got to go back. And he comes back, and he tells us, and what do we do? Um, I had lustful thoughts. I had an extra cookie. I murdered. Okay, that one. Don’t murder people. That’s a bad thing. But maybe not make it so easy to murder people. He came as a person, and people kept wanting lists from him, and rules. And he kept showing them how to live, over and over again. Remember that woman caught in adultery? That’s in John, too. I’ll go over there. Remember they brought her. This woman was caught in adultery. Okay, time out, time out. Caught in adultery? Where’s the other person? I don’t know. I don’t want to get graphic. Family show. But it should be two people. So there’s a woman caught in adultery, and with some reason the other person’s gone. Don’t know what happened there. But here it is. Let’s stone her. Let the one without sin throw the first stone. What does that mean about our punishment system, our penal code? What does that mean about cash bail? Why do we have cash bail? Only rich people get to get out of jail. Poor people, you go right in jail, and we’ll get around to you someday. It doesn’t have to be that way. Some states have abandoned cash bail. And guess what? Everything’s fine. Most people show up, same as much as cash bail. But think of this, not in terms of politics, but in terms of retaining sin and forgiving sin. And another good thing about this, you know with the individual sin you can feel bad about yourself and be all upset and say, “Oh, oh, I’m just a weak person. I’m not a good person. I’m a sinful person. I’ve done these sins.” But if you’re understanding sin as like understanding that, if you’re a fish, you’re wet. To say we’re without sin is like a fish saying, what’s water? I’m not wet. It’s all around us. At one time it is comforting, and the other time it’s also challenging. And we’re just the people to meet that challenge. Imagine, if you would, if people would look to us and say, “Look at those Christians, how they take care of people. Look how they’re doing nights off the streets. Look how they’re doing that.” Why can’t we be more like that as a society and say no. No one sleeps outside. No. And I’m not telling just pass the law saying it’s against the law to sleep outside. And it’s fair because, you know what, rich and poor are both banned from sleeping under the bridge. Fairness, American style. What do we do? Acts gave us a taste. Acts gave us a taste of what it meant to care and love one another. Imagine people giving up their homes to make sure everybody had enough to eat and a place to sleep and a place to live. Imagine that. It can be that way. We’re so wrapped up in the sin, we can’t even see it. Like that fish in the water doesn’t realize they’re wet. Like me, who doesn’t understand that my privileges come from racism going back generations, when only white people were allowed to have good jobs. But we don’t have to stay that way. We can’t give up. Jesus Christ offers us a way out. We celebrate that in communion. We say that the difference of sin, the way to get out of sin is to live a different way of life. To live in community. To live in love. Christ upon the cross. He looks down. He sees his mother Mary, and he sees who’s going to be destitute, and he sees the beloved disciples. And he said, “Behold your mother. Mother, behold your son.” What does that say about how we take care of the poor and elderly in our country? It says we take care of them like they’re our own because they are. Way back in the Old Testament, in Leviticus 19:33, it’s a scripture. Look it up. It’s actually in the Bible, and it says you shall treat the foreigner in your soil as if they were native-born. Right there in scriptures, 19:33. If you don’t like a little rule thing, and you want a story, read Ruth. “Your people shall be my people. Where you go, I will go.” What does that say about immigration and refugees? It says a lot about what you believe are the privileges and rights of the native-born. There are responsibilities, not just rights. Jesus comes to tell us how we live. And only by living in love, only living in community can we ever hope to get out of the sin that we all swim in, that’s been forced down to us by the institutions and the generations and the choices of others throughout time and space that’s made our society the way we are. They have chosen to retain sin instead of to let them go. But we don’t have to do that. We can be different. There is a TV series, “Fargo.” I beg you do not watch it. It is terribly awful, violent. Don’t do that. I love it. And this, I’m going to spoil the ending for you. Because I would love if this was a spoiler for our society, too. We have the killer, the one that has been pursuing her all the whole series, the one that kills and maims without remorse or hesitation, with efficiency so cold it will give you nightmares, who comes into her house to kill her. And she invites him to dinner. MAN: But the food was not food. WOMAN: What was it? MAN: It was sin. The sins of the rich. Greed, envy, disgust. They were bitter, the sins. But he ate them all. For he was starving. From then on, a man does not sleep or grow old. He cannot die. He has no dreams. All that is left is sin. WOMAN: It feels like that, I know, what they do to us. Make us swallow like it’s our fault. But you want to know the cure? You’ve got to eat something made with love and joy.

Go into the world the way Jesus came into the world.John 1:1-51 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He waswith God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was madethat has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shinesin the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome [a] it.Why did He come into the world?Why do we go into the world?Why did He come into the world?John 3:16-1716 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in himshall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemnthe world, but to save the world through him.He came to save us…sin separates us from GodRomans 5:12-1912 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in thisway death came to all people, because all sinned—13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged againstanyone's account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam tothe time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, whois a pattern of the one to come.15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, howmuch more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, JesusChrist, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man'ssin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed manytrespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reignedthrough that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision ofgrace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also onerighteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through thedisobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience ofthe one man the many will be made righteous.So we need saving from our sin that separates us from God…Only Jesus, through His birth, life,death and resurrection could atone for the sin of humanity.Why do we go into the world? – well…because He said soMark 16:1515 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Matthew 28:16-2016 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them togo. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to themand said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and makedisciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the HolySpirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am withyou always, to the very end of the age.”So how do we go into the world the way Jesus came into the world?GENEROUSLYRomans 5:88 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.2 Corinthians 9:11-1511 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and throughus your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is alsooverflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you haveproved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies yourconfession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and witheveryone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of thesurpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!1. God enriches us…He provides for us to always be generous (every occasion)2. Our generosity will result in people thanking God3. Through the service of generosity, people will see your obedience that accompaniesyour action…they will see your faith in action…as you confess the gospel of Jesus4. They will see you loving them as a result of your faith, and praise GodSo yes, to go into the world the way Jesus came to the world, we would need to do itgenerously.SACRIFICIALLYPhilippians 2:1-112 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort fromhis love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make myjoy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of onemind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others aboveyourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in very nature [a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature [b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.- Another version – the ESV - says that He emptied Himself-- Yet, He was fully God and fully Man-- It could mean that He set aside the privileges of deity that stand between the divineChrist and the shame and degradation and suffering and death of the cross. That's thepoint of Philippians 2:5–8. He moved from such height to such shameful degradation onour behalf.-- And that's the mind-set we're supposed to have as we serve others.Matthew 22:36-4036 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with allyour mind.' [a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love yourneighbor as yourself.' [b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”John 13:34-3534 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must loveone another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love oneanother.”That kind of goes back to people seeing our faith in action and praising GodBUT…John 15:1313 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.What does it mean to “lay down one's life” for someone?It most certainly means die for themIt could also mean to live for someone1 John 3:16-1816 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we oughtto lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessionsand sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of Godbe in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actionsand in truth.-back to love in actionIt's easy to say that we would die for someone – because it's incredibly unlikely- Make a mental list of folks you would die for…you would lay down your life for- Would you live your life for the same people…now we're talking about layingdown our life…Do you see a trend?...to go like Jesus came is to live generously and sacrificially-It doesn't just honor God, but it shows people your faith in action and they will glorifyHim for it.COMPASSIONATELYTo extend love to others requires that we first understand something about their needs. Thatmeans trying to put ourselves in their shoes. - It may mean we observe and ask questions to better understand people's situations- It may first start by CARING about peopleEmpathy is our feeling of awareness toward other people's emotions and an attempt tounderstand how they feel. Compassion is a response to empathy or pity and creates a desire tohelp…it's empathy and pity in action…doing something about it.- Really loving our neighbor requires that, once we understand something aboutanother person's pain, we do what we can to ease it or to somehow lighten theburden. This is where empathy is transformed into compassion.Matthew 9:35-3835 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming thegood news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds,he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without ashepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Askthe Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”- Jesus is telling the disciples, from a place of compassion, to ask God to send us out-o To live like Himo To love compassionately – to love in action – so that people will come toknow HimLuke 7:11-1511 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd wentalong with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—theonly son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was withher. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don't cry.”14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still.He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesusgave him back to his mother.This story gets me, because this is also my story.John 11:33-3533 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her alsoweeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” heasked.“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.35 Jesus wept.Romans 12:15-1815 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony withone another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of lowposition. [a] Do not be conceited.17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes ofeveryone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.How do we show compassion like Jesus?1. Compassion is an action, not just pity.a. Action makes our love easier to see than just pity. In fact, At the end of the day,what the world needs most isn't a bunch of Jesus' followers who feelcompassionate but don't act on it. It needs followers of Jesus who are willing tobe compassionate, and act on it. If it's in your power, or through the power ofGod, then do something…but be helpful…pray for wisdom and discernment.b.2. We need to be open to interruption and involvement in people's livesa. What are our friends and family currently going through?b. Who has God put on your heart right now?...c. Let's pray that God would show usGenerously…. sacrificially and compassionatelyGalatians 5:22-2322 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.Matthew 7:1616 By their fruit you will recognize them….Are we generous to the point where people will glorify GodAre we sacrificial? Are we living our lives for others or ourselves?Are we compassionate? Do we act on our pity and even empathy?- If we go into the world the way Jesus came into the world, people will see our faith inaction…that's being disciples who make disciples…So how do we do that…other than the obvious things we've already talked about?1. If we're loving generously, sacrificially and compassionately, we're keeping Christ inChristmas.2. If there is a “war on Christmas”, it's because the soldiers lost their focus and abandonedtheir positions3. We're not called to verbal battles over “merry Christmas” vs “happy holidays”.Is it possible that we're telling the world to keep Christ is Christmas, but not doing it ourselves?Are we more likely to show Christian outrage more than outreach? We need a re-set if we'rereally going to show people who Jesus is.Poinsettias – elderly or sick – take one…don't take the treesDecember 10, 2023 Scripture ReferencesJohn 1:1-5John 3:16-17Romans 5:12-19Mark 16:15Matthew 28:16-20Romans 5:82 Corinthians 9:11-15Philippians 2:1-11Matthew 22:36-40John 13:34-35John 15:131 John 3:16-18Matthew 9:35-38Luke 7:11-15John 11:33-35Romans 12:15-18Galatians 5:22-23Matthew 7:16

It doesn't matter what they thinkImagine, if you will, a conductor leading an orchestra. Each musician has a different part to play, some play beautifully, others may hit a wrong note, yet the conductor continues, undeterred. He is not swayed by individual opinions or performances but is focused on the symphony as a whole. Our guiding scripture today is found in Galatians 1:10 (NIV): "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."Just as the conductor is not swayed by the opinion of each individual musician, we too, as followers of Christ, must not let the opinions of others deter us from the path God has set before us.1. **The Approval of God vs. The Approval of Man:** It's easy to fall into the trap of people-pleasing, but Jesus warns us in John 15:18-19 (NIV), "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." 2. **The Fear of Man:** Proverbs 29:25 (NIV) states, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." Fear of man leads to compromise and can deter us from the purpose God has for our lives.3. **Living for an Audience of One:** Like the conductor, our focus should be on pleasing God alone, our audience of One. Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV) encourages us, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."Friends, it is God's opinion of us that truly matters. Let us aim to hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:23 NIV) rather than seeking the fleeting applause of men. Let us pray:"Heavenly Father, help us to keep our eyes fixed on you. Give us the courage to live for You, unswayed by the opinions of others. Remind us daily that our worth and identity are found in You and not in the approval of people. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen."Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and forevermore. Amen.

Weather can have a big impact on specific wagers for sports bettors. How does the time of day affect NASCAR races? What about wind direction and speed for golf and football? Does the thinner air of the Rocky Mountains really impact baseball games at Coors Field? Mike Szvetitz from Front Page Bets joins the show and discusses how weather changes the game  — football, baseball, golf, auto racing, and more. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the meteorologists? Call 609-272-7099 and leave a message. You might hear your question and get an answer on a future episode! About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the Lee Weather team: Matt Holiner of Lee Enterprises' Midwest group in Chicago, Kirsten Lang of the Tulsa World in Oklahoma, Joe Martucci of the Press of Atlantic City, N.J., and Sean Sublette of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. Episode transcript Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically: Hello, once again, everybody, I'm meteorologist Sean Sublette. And welcome to Across the Sky, our national Lee Enterprises weather podcast. Lee Enterprises has print and digital operations in 77 locations across the country, including in my home base in Richmond, Virginia. I'm joined by my meteorologist colleagues from across the sky, Matt Holiner in Chicago and Joe Martucci in Atlantic City at the Jersey Shore. Our colleague Kirsten Lang taking some time off in Tulsa to be with family, for a few weeks. Gentlemen, we've got a really good interview today. Our pal here in Richmond, Mike Szvetitz , who runs Front Page Betts. And we're going to talk about weather and gaming. The weather and gaming industry. I think most of us kind of know about about the football situation, but there are other aspects out there as well. Joe, you are an AC man. So so talk a little bit about what you know there. Well, you know, we're in the actually the capital of sports gaming. Fun fact, Sean, New Jersey actually has more sports gaming revenue than Nevada. And it might sound crazy, but the difference is in Nevada. And this might have changed recently by not sure. You can only bet in Nevada if you sign up for an account at the casino in New Jersey, you don't have to go to a casino. You just sign up on your phone wherever you are. Does it matter if you're in Cape May or in Sussex County? So we we are very ingrained in sports betting here. And New Jersey, of course, do so responsibly. I do some myself. I did pretty good with our March Madness, you know, biting I talk about is dodgeball is March Madness picks should followed mine I had UConn wedding the sign out a future bet on UConn. But it'll be a it's a it's a good episode Mike makes a good guy too and we're happy to have him leading the charge over at front page bets. And what was interesting for me is that we didn't limited to just baseball, football because that's what you kind of think about in the sports. You know, we do get a lot of interest in the betting world, but it was interesting to think about all the different sports that are impacted by weather. And we covered them all. I think I think we got through all we talked about golf, we talked about NASCAR, we talked about horse racing. And you. First, it doesn't hit you. But then you realize, man, weather has. Such an impact on so many different sports and betting, therefore. So this is a really fun episode. Yeah. So we're going to talk to Mike's event. It's about all those things here. I was really fascinated by the NASCAR stuff, the horse racing stuff, tennis, golf, all of that. That's up ahead with our conversation with Mike's that it's general manager and content director of Front Page Bets here at the Enterprises. Our guest this week is Mike Stead, its general manager and content director of front page Vets here at Lee Enterprises. That's our sports and betting portal, Educate, inform and of course, entertain sports fans from across the country, especially in this blossoming sports betting enterprise that is out there. Mike, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast. MAN Hey, guys. Thanks for having me. Awesome beer. So I think intuitively we understand that there is always going to be some kind of weather impact on a game, right? I know football comes to mind at first, but can you talk a little bit about some of the nuances that that aren't obvious to the to the casual observer? Could you speak to baseball first since that one might be even less obvious? Yeah, I think, you know, anytime you're playing outdoors, you know, you always got to take the weather in effect, as you guys you know, as you guys know, I mean, some of the most popular are and the most popular content on any of our websites here in the enterprises or even in your local TV market is the weather. When you know with what's going to do today our apps everybody's got the weather app. So then when you put sports into it, you're always are you know is it going to rain. How cool for just for the fan perspective right. Is it going to rain? How cold, How warm? You know, what time's the game? What what's going on with all that stuff. So it's so important. And then when you come in from a competitive perspective, from players to, you know, coaching in the way you game, the way you scheme and then, you know, and then what we do in sports betting, if you are going to place a bet, if you're if you're looking to wager on a game legally and now it's legal, it's legal across, you know, sports betting is legal and more than 30 states across the country, including Washington, D.C. So, you know, if you place a legal ban, you're looking and all that kind of stuff, you want to know, how can I get the best advantage? Right. So where is where is the best advantage? How can I how can I maximize what I know versus what what intangibles are out there in sports? We all know you can't predict. That's why, you know, sports, even even, you know, the underdogs have their day. But in sports betting particularly and in competition, you want to be able to control or at least know about everything that you can and can't control the weather. But if you know going in, how this is going to affect whether if you mentioned baseball, whether it's going to affect the ball fly at the pitching, you know, just kind of how cold or warm it is, all that stuff takes into account. Now, baseball is a little bit different. Football probably is has the most impact. The weather has the most impact, and football, just because you're putting the ball in the air a lot, kicking game planning, how hot, how cold, all has an affect on everybody across across the board. Baseball. It's a little bit different because there's not so much margin going on. There's not you know, you pitch, you hit, you catch. And and I think and I'm not trying to simplify baseball and saying it's less complicated, but I think the impacts on weather are fewer at a baseball game than they would be less than a football game. So but there are some things that do happen that can control that. But it's not so much almost who's going to win or lose because of the weather. It's more on the proposition bet, more of a player bet. How is this pitcher going to perform in the heat? How's this pitcher going to perform when it's raining? How's this batter going to perform at Coors Field in Colorado with thinner altitude versus in Miami, where it's really humid and moist? All the time? How is all that going to play an effect in the proposition bets? And those you know, for anybody who doesn't know what a prop bet is, it's a it's a proposition of a player or a team will do X win or lose. That's that's not a prop. And that's just the MONEYLINE or against the spread over under. You know how many points they'll score you know over this or 100 that. But a prop bet is, let's say, you know, Aaron Judge will hit two home runs tonight, plus or minus. You know, the odds are and if it's minus, you know, 100, that means for every hundred dollars, you bet you get that back. So -100, basically, you have to bet 100 to just stay even to get it to get 100 back. If it's plus. So if it's minus anything in the minus means it's pretty good. That probably going to happen. The odds are that it will happen. Anything in the plus means it's not as likely to happen. So, you know, and that's why you see a lot of these proposition bets at 1.5 instead of two home runs, it's 1.5. So you can't you get two homeruns you pushed. If you bet it's at 1.5 you over one, which is two obviously, or under which is, you know, one or less. So you look at those kind of bets in baseball and how the weather's going to affect you all right. So we're playing in Wrigley Field. The wind's blowing out. It's a day game. You're going to have a better, you know, opportunity to hit home runs versus if you're playing, let's say it at old Candlestick Park in San Francisco will wind swirls and you never know which way it's going to go. So all of that comes into effect, but it's not so much who will win or lose. Yes. And that that all depends. If you got a guy that hits five home runs, chances are that teams can win. But more for the proposition bet more for the player, individual bet, how they're going to perform in the weather and in that time in space. So we can talk a lot more about individual things like that. But overall, I think that's kind of how weather will affect baseball in particular. And, you know, obviously any outdoor sport, an indoor be that as it may, you know how much does the weather affect the indoor. Well there's there's been times where at hockey games weather has affected the ice and you know I remember what the Philly the fliers and I think it was the islanders back in the eighties in a playoff game it was so warm that the condensation was coming up from from from the ice. And it was almost like the fog bubble inside, you know, And, you know, times I remember even in Richmond, Virginia, there was a basketball game played at the old Richmond Coliseum right up the road from where we're at, from where I'm at, I'm at. And they had the ice underneath. They did clear the ice and the ice was too much condensation on the floor. They had to stop the game. I think it was Michigan and UVA. This was back in the in the eighties or nineties where they had to they couldn't play the game because the floor so slippery because the ice was coming coming up through the floorboards. So it happens on indoor events, just less likely, more so than outdoor. Hey, Mike, it's Joe here. And on behalf of everyone, stay in New Jersey. We just want to say you're welcome for having sports betting across the country. Here we were. You guys are the ones who really broke it open. Appreciate it. But. But do questions for a year. Yo, out of all the sports mess that are place, do we have a percentage or a number? How much is placed on baseball? And then my second question is talking about the weather. Right. And I have to imagine oddsmakers are factoring in this weather into play. But I see you know, I've seen a host of Twitter accounts that show where the value is in comparison to what the lines you know, what the lines are placed. As anecdotally, you know, you'd have to talk to a sportsbook to give you the breakdown of how much in every book is different right now since especially since mobile betting legalized where you don't have to go to Atlantic City anymore, you don't have to go to Vegas to place a legal bet. You could do it. You know, you could take your phone out. If you're in a legal state and and download an app, whether it's DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, MGM, you know, whatever it is. Even certain states have certain ones Bet365, which is legal in New Jersey and Virginia and Colorado, but nowhere else. So anyway, depending on where you are, you could sit from the comfort of your own home on your phone and place a bet which has increased betting across all sports. You know, we do know anecdotally, at least from doing this the last year, there's more. NFL is the most popular sport to bet. You know the Super Bowl and opening and opening weekend of the NFL are the two most bet days of the calendar year across the board. Now, baseball's a little bit more, I think more maybe more people per capita bet football, but baseball has a lot of you know, I guess it's almost more consistent betting. You know, you got guys that are betting and ladies who are betting on baseball prop bets. You know, every day you got 262 games a year. So probably, you know, pound for pound, that's probably more bets. But I think the popularity of football, college football, NFL, just because it's I think it's a little bit more mainstream for a lot of people to bet and and and it's more popular. You know baseball used to be America's pastime. I'm in the I'm in the camp where now football's America's pastime. But, you know, we will get into that that debate. But I think, you know, if you're betting on 162 games and you have 32, you know, NFL t excuse me, Major League Baseball teams or wherever we're at now, you know, you're going to have more bets per year, per game, Per season in baseball. But again, I think you're seeing more prop bets, more bets on strikeouts with this pitcher strikeout X number of players with this player hit X number of home runs rather than are the Phillies going to be, you know, the Mets tonight just because that money line and the run line is you know, it's it's it's negligible and you're you know, the value that you'll get by betting the Phillies to win is probably not as if you parlayed you know, how many home runs is Bryce Harper going to hit versus you know, how many strikeouts you know, Max. Charles Gosh, I'm sure anyway, I'm I'm not sure that goodness, I get like seven names popped into my head at one time. This is hard. This is. But yeah, so Scherzer strikes out X and Harper hits X, you're going to you can parlays those together and make more because the odds of both of those happening at the same time are less than if the Phillies would win. So all of that to be said. I think you know the the I guess the percentage of bets are what you also like to bet. Do you like to bet? Are you are you a better who just wants to, you know, watch the game and bet you know who's going to win because you get right then you've got a lot of like I think you know emotional ties to that. If you're a fan, you want your team to win. You might place place more bets on them to win versus how this player's going to do. So. It also depends on on what you like. Are you going to go are you going to live back to which the the influx of live betting. Now you can say on your phone and bet the next inning, third inning, how many outs, how many hits, how many strikeouts for both is this? You know, who's going to score first? What's a halftime score going to be in golf? Probably one of my favorite things to do, sit on the couch on a Sunday and just go home for a whole like, all right, is Jon Rahm going to beat Max Homa on this whole today? You know, and and, you know, taking all that into consideration and, you know, it's a it's a pretty, pretty enjoyable way to watch sport, especially if you're not that big of a fan of that sport. I find myself watching more NBA basketball because of individual bets like that than I would if I was just, you know, a casual fan. And Joe, your second question, it escapes me because I talk to my so I completely forgot what that second question is. You kind of intertwine both on him. I was, I guess, my guy. You're fired. I was really kind of wondering, do we have a dollar amount and how much you actually bet on baseball across the country? I don't know. I would know. It's it's pretty significant, I'm sure. Yeah. Mike, you mentioned golf, and that's what I kind of want to talk about. You know, baseball, football, cause they lots of attention, lots of bets going there. But the betting in golf and maybe other outdoor sports like tennis, What can you say about that? And weather's influence? Do you see weather impacting any bets on golf, tennis, other outdoor sports besides baseball and football? Yeah, I mean, I think tennis I think it's a little bit it's harder or something like that. That's smaller space, more confined the way the arenas are. And obviously rain is probably win not so much, maybe a little bit in tennis, but I think I think golf probably is the sport that is most affected by weather. Just on rain versus no. Right. Because now you're talking about with a ball run out on a wet fairway. If I hit the ball, will it stop at plug greens? Green's green speed is a huge deal. You know, if it's colder, the ball's not going to fly, you know, obviously saying that kind of thing with baseball, anytime a ball is in the air for a long period of time, more weather can affect that. You guys know that better than you know. I mean, you guys are that you guys are the meteorologist here. I'm just I just know when I hit a ball high in the air like I was doing yesterday on the golf course and it's 30 mile an hour wind, if I'm hitting it into the wind, is not going as far as I'm hitting it with the wind. Right. So you have to be a genius to figure that out. We saw it in the Masters, too, with the rain. How will the scores be affected at a course that everybody knows? But it's really hard and then it rains, it's colder. How does that affect it versus if you're playing, let's say, the U.S. Open on Father's Day weekend somewhere in southern states where it's nicer, a little bit more humid, the ball travels a little bit further. So it all takes into account. But again, it depends on what kind of bet you want to make. If you want to do a player bet, proposition bet, or if you want to bet overall on a MONEYLINE, who will win or will lose that all that all into consideration. And Joe, you had mentioned, you know, Twitter accounts and everything like that and taking in, how does this affect I think that was part of your second question. There's so much data that goes into it and so much research that goes into this buy by bettors, by people who make the bets, by people who set the lines, by the oddsmakers that go into this. Again, you know, and baseball, as you guys know, has stats like what a left handed batter does on Wednesdays during day games in January or June, I guess whatever you make, you throw it out there. There's a stat for it there. Now, if you're going to bet a lot of I'd bet five or ten bucks maybe I don't dig into that. But if I'm betting five or $10,000, which some people do now, I want to know where am I? You know what? What's the affected? Okay, This is a day game on a Wednesday. How again, educating yourself to be able to place the best bet that you can to maximize your potential of winning. Man It's all about the stats, Mike. That's that's for sure. Now, I want to go back to two prop bets for a minute. How these things you have, these prop bets that are happening almost instantaneously, right? Like the next inning, the next hole to the best of your knowledge, when you have these types of bearish short term bets like this is bet the next 15, 30 minutes and the weather sometimes, you know, change is really, really fast. I mean, we all know that especially in the summertime, in the spring, it could be fine for ten or 15 minutes and then boom, you got a gusty wind and a shower that kicks in for an hour or whatever. But, you know, if those rapidly changing weather conditions are incorporated in some of these prop bets, in these different sportsbooks. So, for example, if I don't know, I'm a meteorologist and I know there's a really good chance a squall line is coming through in the seventh inning and that game is going to be canceled. Do you think the oddsmakers know those things as well? I mean, do you have any inkling about that yet? I'm sure they do. You know, they they've got people who are a lot smarter who do this, have been doing this a long time. And they take a lot of information. And they where they get the information is places like us. Right. So they come to Richmond dot com or the president Lantern City and they say okay what what is Martucci saying today about this weather. Okay so if I'm making an odds, if I'm making a bet, I'm say, okay, what is what is Martucci saying about X? Okay, I'm taking that. Then we're going to say, okay, what is Michael Phillips at Richmond? You know, Richmond Times-Dispatch. What is he writing about this? Let me take all this information because where else are they going to get it? They don't want boots on the ground. So they're reading our information. They're taking all that. They're talking to sources, talking to players, talking to people, not players, but people, you know, as much as they can figure out. And then that's what's educating the lines that they said. And then people are also reading up and saying, okay, how is that going to affect this bet or this situation? I think you got a lot of that happening pregame going in now. I will. What you get in the game sometimes you don't have enough time to to really research a lot of that. Now if you know if you have an insight or if you're paying attention, you know, and you have the ability to check something real quick and make a bet, you know, you're going to you're going to get that. But I think live betting is all kind of about the feel, a feel of the game, how the game's going, the feel about like, okay, it is the wind is blowing. Now we've seen a lot of we've seen, you know, this player every time he gets up, he said that he said, no, you know, it's foul, just barely down the right field line, you know. And so you've seen how the games go in. You're seeing all that and you've taken that in consideration in your life. Bet. Are you just have a gut feel or you are you're chase it right. You lost a big bet in the first inning. Now you're chasing the rest of the game, but trying to make your money back. Right. So you've got a lot of different scenarios happening at the same time. The reason golf is for me kind of fascinating is because you're playing the same course over four days. So by Sunday, I have a pretty good idea of how, let's say Jon Rahm has played the second hole, right? I know he's birdied it three of the last four rounds. I know that, you know, the teams are back now. The wind's blowing downhill. If you watch a golf broadcast, it's all about the wind, all about the direction, all about where the holes cut, all about where the tee boxes are. So now I've got three days of data that I can say just as a novice, just as somebody who's not doing any research on that crunching numbers. And I have a spreadsheet that I'm a abacus out on my protractor, right? I'm just there watching the game, watching the match, and now I can say, Oh, I bet he's going to do this. But if I'm more in-depth in that I've already done my research going into that now I can make more of a feel better of how things are going by for the novice. And that's what really what and again, we're not we're not advocating betting as much as we are saying people are doing it. Lots of people are doing it. Lots of money is being spent doing so. If you are going to do it, here's how we can educate you to make the best bet or to at least inform yourself enough to where you feel comfortable maybe stepping out there if you don't want to. Hey, that's fine too, because you can read our stuff and talk about it at the water cooler. You can get on the podcast with your friends to talk about it. You can go have a beer and say, Oh, guess what severity would you know? It's some of my favorite. Not favorite. Some of the most funny things are is last year when we first started doing this, you know, we launched Super Bowl week of last year and then March Madness was right around the corner. So I filled out my bracket, you know, and I posted online and I everybody. So I was I was hanging out to dinner on a Friday, the Friday night of the week of the first round of the tournament. And a buddy of mine comes up and he's like, Man, I thought you knew what you're talking about. I didn't have time to fill in my bracket, so I just copied yours, have filled it out. You suck. And, you know, and it. And I did it. It was terrible. But he, you know, so it's kind of like you've got you've got people who pay attention to this and they're like, oh, this event is really nobody's talking about though he does it. I keep track of every winner lost and I have then a football season I pick against the field, against the spread and straight out MONEYLINE and you know and so if you go by my picks some weeks, you're happy with me, some weeks you're not. But again, I try to do as much research and educate myself as best possible to provide that, just like you guys do. Right. You're not waking up one day going, Oh, man, it's cloudy. It is probably going around you guys, you know, you guys are doing your research. You have all the tools at your disposal. You know, you've been around the game. I've been around college and professional sports for more than 20 years. So, you know, you mean you kind of get that feel into it and just like, you know, fans, you know, you want some people only bet on the team that they know. Some people that only bet on their team because they're like, I watched this team long enough to know what's going to happen. Yeah, exactly. You really want to have as much information at your disposal as possible. We'll get more into that on the second side of this break to stay with us. We'll be right back with Mike that it's general manager and content director front page BET's your lead enterprises on the Across the Sky podcast. We'll be right back. And we're back on the Across the Sky podcast. Our guests this week, Mike Sweat, its general manager and content director across the hall as we're over it, front page that's here at the Enterprise IT that's our sports and sports betting portal educate, inform and entertain sports fans and the blossoming sports gambling and gaming enterprise. Mike We talked a lot about sports with golf balls, baseball basketballs, footballs. Well, what about auto racing, right? I got to think NASCAR racing is specifically track temperatures, things like that. Do we see much of an impact in the weather impact, knowing how that's going to play out with specific drivers or specific tracks? Any information on that? Yeah, I think, you know, anytime you're talking about 45, 43 vehicles going very, very fast in close proximity to each other, any little change in weather track temperature, tire wedge adjustment, you know, tire pressure is going to affect something massive, right? You get that big speed, that many things happening at one time, one little degree, £1 a wedge, one half a pound of of of torque here, whatever it is, it could have a big impact. We see it a lot, especially at the super speedways like Talladega was two weeks ago. You get the fastest track in NASCAR, two and 5.2 and a half, 2.55 mile track. Right. And the the the drafting and the amount of speed that they can garner up when they're in line with each other, nose to tail. And if you watch it, I mean, they are touching each other going 200 miles an hour. So everything is, you know, you got to take into consideration for an outcome there for safety reasons. One, But then also what car is doing the best in that condition because some cars really run well. One, they're by themselves. Some of them run better in a pack, some of them run better in front, back side left, high line, low line. So all that kind of stuff take into consideration. We talked about the weather, obviously. Are they going to even race? We saw Dover was postponed, you know, the Dover and they said the mastermind was supposed to be Sunday afternoon. He got postponed to Monday. So will they race? They won't race if it's wet, if it's raining, too much danger. They're talking about wet, wet racing conditions with tires and stuff. That's still we have not seen that. And I think if you ask any driver, they don't want to take any more chances out there. Safety hazards, all that kind of stuff. So if it's rain, if it's cloudy, sunny, the track temperature warm up. A lot of things happen when a track goes from day to night and we don't see it in too many races. Charlotte is probably one of the only tracks on Memorial Day weekend that we see. The race starts in the days a 600 mile race, the longest race that they have on the NASCAR circuit, starts in the daytime track. Temperatures are usually a little bit hotter. They're rolling and then it goes to night. Track cools off. You see the track changes to almost two different races at Charlotte from night and day. We saw it even at Richmond. Richmond races used to race at night. Not the best racing cooler track temperatures. Tires would get eaten up a little bit more, kind of somebody would get out front, stay out there, better racing in the day, hotter track temperatures, tires, you know, matter a lot more. So you have you have that. So when are you racing? Are you racing the day? Are you racing at night? Are you racing day into night? We see the Darlington and as well Labor Day, you see a lot of those track temperatures, the early spring races, you know, it's cold out there. How does that affect, you know, in the fall? How does it affect running, you know, a race, you know, in 90 degree, 90 degree heat? And then what? The track temperature is probably 120 inside the car. You know, it's even hotter than that, you see. How does that affect the driver? So there's so much in NASCAR Now when it comes to betting, it's hard to really gauge that unless you're super into it, unless you really geek out. But you can tell talk. Well, I bet you see how a driver or car is doing at a certain track. You go in and saying, this driver's got a lot of success there. Maybe the car's not running real well in the corners. You know, somewhere like Bristol, where you have to have a better turning car into the corner, a smaller track versus a superspeedway like Daytona or Talladega, where you don't have to have much turn. You just have to find the right line and hold it steady. So all out of that comes into play. But you could see that more live than you do pre pre-race going into that because you want to see how that car is going to perform, especially when there's, you know, 40 other cars around it. And Mike, sticking with the racing theme, let's talk about horse racing a little bit because I imagine there's some similarities here, but also some important differences about whether in horse race. Yeah, I mean, you know, track surface like, you know, are they running like they get the Kentucky Derby, the run on dirt and mud, Where they running grass are they running on, you know, what kind of dirt, what kind of sand? You know, all of that plays into a fact. If it's raining muddy vision, how do the horses run? Do they like to get wet or is it hot? How do the horses fare in the heat and when you're talking about again on it's not like the horse can tell you, like, yeah, I feel great today, right? You could tell by how it how just like a car you can't tell how it's going to run until you kind of get out there. Maybe you hear something, you feel something. That's why the jockey is so important. I think in horse racing, we got the Kentucky Derby coming up on Saturday. What's the weather going to be like that for that? How is that going to play even the wind like running into a headwind? How is that going to affect, you know, also, you know, you want to get on the pole too early, you get on the rail, you're in trouble too late. You you've got to make up a lot of ground coming, you know, coming across the field. So all of that plays, plays it into effect. And, you know, you talk about the Kentucky Derby coming, one of the most fun days, one of the most bet days as well, because even if you're not a horse racing fan, you're there. You're like, I'm, you know, throw. And if you bet last year on the longshot to win the Kentucky Derby at 80 to 1 odds. You know nobody did that on purpose by the way they were just doing a up ten bucks on the long shot. But nobody who knew what they were doing actually bet you know, the long shot. And so I think I think you've you have you kind of have again, what bets are you going to make? And then are we going to have some fun? You know, you want to watch the Kentucky Derby, you want to watch a sporting event. It's a little bit more interesting or a lot more interesting if you've got money on it. Right. If you're not bet on it, you know who has it doesn't matter. You throw a couple of bucks down, now you're vested. You want to know, all right, this better win. We do. And so but you look at you also got to look at the history, right? We talked about the dad of horse racing, especially. How do they run? How do they run at this mile? How they run? You know, do they have any other races that we could, you know, look at? What about the jockey? What about, you know, the track conditions, some race better on grass, those kind of things, too. So you're looking at all that information as you go. But, you know, horse but horse racing, you can't bet live post time you're in and whatever. You bet. That's what. You bet. Hey, Mike, talk to us. This is no bother, per se, but tell us about the difference between betting and horse racing. I think it's called parimutuel betting as well. So what you see when you are, you know, betting on baseball or football, you know, you could bet on a horse to win. You can bet on a horse to win place to show which is first, second or third. You can bet trifecta boxes. Where are super factors? You can bet. All right. These three horses are going to finish in the top three somewhere, right? You can bet exact that this horse is going to finish exactly in this position. Right. So and the more you add to that bet, the worse the odds are going to get. So the more payout you could have. So, you know, you in. It's more fun to bet horse racing, in my opinion at the track. Right. The buzz everything's going around you're you know you might have a mint julep or two and you're feeling great. You get to the window and you're like, All right, here we go. Six horse in the seventh race, you know, whatever, whatever. And then you got the, you know, the person behind the counter. If he screwed up, they look at you like you can't make that bet. So that's really kind of intimidating. So you got to know what you're talking about. You got to get in there. But it it's really fun. My brothers and I took my dad two years ago to Kentucky for a bourbon trail tour. Right. We somehow ended up at Churchill Downs on a Friday, you know, matinee race. We somehow found our way to the ticket line and with a few drinks in our hand and had a really good time. Now, had my brothers ever bet on horse racing prior to that? No, because they'd never been to our they had it. They never went in. But since we were there like, oh man, we got a bet. We got we're here, right? So you get caught up in that kind of thing. And I think that's where you start. Talk about the popularity, Sean. You mentioned if you know, the blossoming sports betting world, people are finding out that, you know, if you do it responsibly, you make you make wise choices. You don't get yourself into trouble. You set a limit. All those things. It's fun, You know, it's enjoyable, it's populated. The sports have gotten more popular because of it. I think you're seeing a lot more. You can't watch a sport now without seeing a DraftKings ad or FanDuel ad, and obviously their marketing to that, to that, to those constituents. But they're also because people people are finding like, hey, this is fun and the sports are growing and more people are being evolved in and I think, you know, as long as you do it responsibly and make sure that you set yourself limit, it's fun to do. That's why when I go to a horse track, I carry the cash that I'm going to spend. I leave my wallet in the car because I know, like if I especially if I lose it now, I start chasing. I'm like, Oh man, I got my money back. It's just like you go to the tables of Vegas or Lake City. John Are you, you know, I've been down to the Borgata. You've been sitting there. You know, I get around, I get around and, you know, I'll just say it, You know, you're there. You bet. Long enough. The house is always going to win. So you got to make sure you're setting yourself in position to at least, you know, maximize your losses. Yeah. You know, the one thing I remember when I first went to go was to a casino in Atlantic City when I was 21 years old. Back in the day, I still remember the signs all over the place and and I forget which casino it was, but it was the sign was there. Said bet with your head not over it. Yeah, that. That is what you always have to remember. Get. Don't bet any more than you think you can lose or you plan to lose. A few times I've been to casino, whether it was in Vegas or in a see, this is exactly right. You take this amount of money this is it. After that, the party's over. Go home, spend it wisely, risk it wisely. Else you get into a lot of trouble really fast. I'm like, Shawn, real quick. Just a just a plug for that, though. You know, now, these sports betting mobile apps, they have these parameters on there. They have these you know, it's almost like a it's almost like a child lock. Like if you gave your kid a cell phone, you could lock it down. You can set parameters where you could set a bet limit per day, a number of bets per day. You go in there, you set that stuff. So when you're at your limit, it will let you do any more. And you can't you can't bypass that unless you have the code. But if you're doing it right, have somebody accountability partner, somebody set that up for you. So there are there are these things that I take into account where you can't get in over your head. And so that's why I think it's so regulated. Sports betting is so regulated, especially in New Jersey. Joe You guys got some of the the strictest rules, which I think are really valuable to have because you've been doing it for so long, you know, the pitfalls. But again, you want people to do it responsibly. So the more you regulate it and you could talk about whether it's alcohol or marijuana or anything, regulation is going to really help police some of the stuff where people are doing it anyway. Might as well, if you're going to do it legally, do it responsibly. So it's one of those things, too, where we're Sean to you know, to your point, if you're mobile betting, there are those there are those safety. You know, features on there to help you, you know, really, really be responsible. Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to to focus in on as we wrap it up for somebody who just is entering this this space, they're curious. They want to get involved, but they're going in kind of they're putting their proverbial toes in the water. Well, as we as we close out, what is some of your suggestion? What are some of the ways they should approach this carefully, tactfully, so it doesn't get out of hand in a hurry? Yeah, I think I think what we just talked about. Right. No, no, your limit. Right. If you are if you are if you struggle with an addictive personality, I think you got to know going in that like you need to make sure that you have some guardrails right for anything. Right. Like, you know, don't drink. You drive right. Just stupid. Not stupid, but just baseline rules of like, you know, don't be dumb. Right? And so I think there's you got that. But I think also, you know know what? You know what you're doing right? If you are if you don't know about a lot about a sport, maybe watch it, figure it out. Try to educate yourself as best as possible before you put before you put money down on it. And I think, you know, it's just being responsible, educating yourself, making sure that you're not that. And also don't do it in the dark. Make sure people know, you know, don't try not to hide things. You know, things that are in the light tend to stay in the light and tend to have a lot more of a of a better outcome where people can ask you about it and those type of things and and seek help if you find yourself, you know, in a position in chasing is one of the things we kind of joke about. But you know, if you lose early, you know, it's probably best not to chase, right? You go to it, you go to the casino. You bet. Place a bet. You take your money in there, you lose it in the first 5 minutes. You know that that that's a that's a tough that's a tough pillar for a lot of us to swallow. Hey, I'm in Vegas for the next three days. I lost all my money in the first 45 minutes. Well, you didn't have a plan. Have a plan going there saying, here's the deal. It's kind of like I tell my kids right before you go out, already know what you're going to do if you find yourself in a situation, right. You got to have a plan. You got to make sure that you're you have an exit plan, you have a plan to talk to. And if you do, what happens if you win, right? That not just lose, but what happens if you win? And you got to know when you know, Kenny Rogers was alive, You got no one to hold him. No one to fault him. Because if you stay long enough, you're going to you're going to lose. And so I think that's why you just got to be be smart, talk about it, educate yourself. You know, listen, stuff like this, this is the again, there's plenty of podcast, there's plenty of information out there about about sports betting, but also about how to make sure that you're doing it responsibly. So so just do that, you know, and and don't don't, don't. And the other thing I'll say is don't take my March Madness picks. So many other thing what you said there have a plan that is something that is very good for all kind of risk. Right. Well, because all risk is gambling. There is risk in the world, whether it's weather risk, whether it's sports gaming risk. There is risk. Have a plan B ready for whatever is out there and so that you are prepared when it does hit, whether it's good or bad. Mike, for we wrap up, where could people find out more about front page bets? All right, front page, Pets.com, all one word, front page, Pets.com. You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. That front page bets. You know, it's just we've been doing this a little bit more than a year here. Lee Enterprises would grow an audience for having a lot of fun with it. You know, we're getting really good feedback and so I'm excited about it set about, you know, educating, informing people, having fun too, as well. Doing podcasts like this, doing videos that we do, you know, it's really fun. And sports just must be fun, right? And especially, you know, when you take the weather in consideration, there's a lot of times that weather is is not fun. And it's it's you know, there's there's a lot of things that can go wrong. Same thing in sports betting. But, you know, we're here to educate and we're here to inform you guys. And so just like these fine meteorologists that that are on with me, you guys, you know, I check out shorts. You know, I live in Richmond. I check out Shaun every morning as weather video. What I what do I need to do? And so I just I really appreciate you guys having us on in front page BET.com and on social from page bats and you know we hope to see you guys soon. Thanks Mike so much. So much good information for those getting into this space, understanding this space, because it can be overwhelming. So thanks so much. We will talk to you again soon, Mike, Our guys, thanks a lot. So I learned a lot from that interview, that discussion with Mike. You know, I had not thought about that much with tennis and golf. As we said at the outset, the classic baseball and football immediately come to mind. But I really had not thought about those those immediate bets during a golf tournament, guys. Yeah. So in other words, interesting. I actually really like the NASCAR, what with the difference in the track between a day and night. Am I like a big NASCAR fan? But I didn't I didn't realize the impact that the day and night time timing had on, you know, the track conditions and how you bet for it as a result. So I thought that was pretty cool. I tell you what, I'm not a big sports better. I did it once when I went to the Kentucky Derby, I had to place a bet being at the Kentucky Derby. I've also done it a couple of times when I've been to Vegas, just because, you know you're in Vegas and got a bet. Let's do some sports betting. College football, that was kind of fun. But every time I've done it, I have I've not well, I've won, but I placed multiple bets and that's where I've I fail and I lose money. So I am not a big sports bettor. And boy, after listening to Mike, I'm more intimidated now, thinking about all the different things and all the ways whether it could impact the outcome. I'm like, now that I'm making the right choice and not engaged on it, that's sports betting on a regular basis. It would not end well for me. Yeah, as you said, got to be very careful. This stuff has gotten so big so fast. If you don't go into this very carefully and very deliberately, it can take hold of you and go go very bad. So his his recommendations are certainly, certainly well taken as I'm like you. I mean, I used to be much more of a big sports head when I was in my twenties and very early thirties, but I just don't pay as much attention as I used to. So the temptation is there for me. I you know, I do the occasional football wagering, but but this is not that is not that big. Certainly not as big as it is. Jersey there. Mr. Martucci Hey, listen, man, I'm going to grill I have a group chat with like nine of us today, and there's a lot of sports betting talk, and I think it's just a different Yeah, we're just used to it, you know, with Atlantic City here for so long, it's just. It's just a different way of life. But I have to ask you, Sean, what is what what determines very early thirties? And I'm wondering if I'm exiting that that scope of very early thirties, I'm going to say 32 after 32. You're not in your early thirties anymore, you toward the mid-thirties. Okay. All right. So I got another year because I'm 31 now. You know, the other thing, like I'm like sport is you also don't have children, at least not yet. And that will take up a lot of time if you and Seany decide to go in that direction. Yes. That also takes up a lot of time that I used to use a lot of brain cells I used to use to pay attention to sports. I had to start paying attention to to two small, small children. Right. So that's another big thing, right? I do that, you know, one thing, too, and I forgot to ask him whether impacting the hot dog eating contest on 4th of July, that makes dinosaurs shaking his head at me. I'm telling you, there's a difference. And I think I'm going to reach out to majorly eating. I think we're going to do a podcast on that. We're going to see. But there's something there because you can bet on the hot dog eating contest, too. You know, there are lines out there. That's nasty. I'm sorry. That's nothing nasty. I can't watch that stuff. I can't I mean, if they all want to do it, knock that stuff out there. But that might be a lucky one. As to what they do to that, though, the pods you get the pod bones in the one is that me? And I'd rather do almost anything else a nap. It's just off and that's enjoyable at all. I go, Oh man, I mean, no. My gosh. So okay, let's wrap this up as I don't want to I don't want to get into that any. We've got some cool things coming up in the pipeline. Tropical cyclones in the Mediterranean Sea. We don't think a lot about hurricane formations, tropical type formations and the Mediterranean. We'd be talking about that in the coming weeks. And also we've got a guest in the pipeline from Penn State who has been studying for ever. So we're going to talk about hail in the weeks to come. So lots of good stuff coming up there in the next coming a few weeks here on the Across the Sky podcast. But for now, with my colleagues in Atlantic City, Joe Martucci, Matt Holiner in Chicago, our meteorologist Sean Sublette at the Richmond Times Dispatch in Richmond, Virginia. Thanks for joining us on the Across the Sky podcast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hamlin Boyz Life.  Yes, it is.  Work, Family, Money, Health, it's a journey.  Every time the Boyz gets to talking, especially when recording those conversations, it seems inevitably one, some, or all of these components of life will come into play in one form or another.  Some produce funny moments, some give serious pause and still, others make them think a little deeper than they might otherwise.  If you have followed the Boyz for any length of time; you already know this and hopefully that's the very reason you keep coming back.  By-The-Way, thank you to all of you who have written in with your comments, questions, and ideas for topics.  The Boyz and the studio crew love sharing all of this with you. So next time you find yourself wondering what The Boyz might be up to these days; you are sure to find out by checking out the JUST ROLL TAPE podcast on your favorite platform.  Meanwhile, enjoy ‘The Hamlin Boyz Life' !!! Vince Hamlin Edward Hamlin TRACKS Life The Art Of Pursuit Get Back Whip Nature's Call Looking Good Anxious or Afraid? I'm A Man (It's A Journey)  MUSIC COMPOSITION / PERFORMANCE CREDITS “Life” > K-Ci & JoJo / K-Ci & JoJo 1999 “Searching For Love” > King Soma / King Soma 2020 “Get Back” > Lennon McCartney / The Beatles 1969 “Gotta Go” > Burnsev / Burnsev 2019 “Looking Good” > Ronnie Earl / Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters 2001 “Anxious” > Ollie / Ollie 2020 “I'm A Man” > Demun Jones / Demun Jones 2020 Recording Engineers: DB Cooper & Dick Goesinya Producers: Tiffany Rosedale & Sofonda Peters Studio Consultant: Jack Herer Transportation: Harley Davidson --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/edward-hamlin/message

The Hamlin Boyz Life.  Yes, it is.  Work, Family, Money, Health, it's a journey.  Every time the Boyz gets to talking, especially when recording those conversations, it seems inevitably one, some, or all of these components of life will come into play in one form or another.  Some produce funny moments, some give serious pause and still, others make them think a little deeper than they might otherwise.  If you have followed the Boyz for any length of time; you already know this and hopefully that's the very reason you keep coming back.  By-The-Way, thank you to all of you who have written in with your comments, questions, and ideas for topics.  The Boyz and the studio crew love sharing all of this with you. So next time you find yourself wondering what The Boyz might be up to these days; you are sure to find out by checking out the JUST ROLL TAPE podcast on your favorite platform.  Meanwhile, enjoy ‘The Hamlin Boyz Life' !!! Vince Hamlin Edward Hamlin TRACKS Life The Art Of Pursuit Get Back Whip Nature's Call Looking Good Anxious or Afraid? I'm A Man (It's A Journey)  MUSIC COMPOSITION / PERFORMANCE CREDITS “Life” > K-Ci & JoJo / K-Ci & JoJo 1999 “Searching For Love” > King Soma / King Soma 2020 “Get Back” > Lennon McCartney / The Beatles 1969 “Gotta Go” > Burnsev / Burnsev 2019 “Looking Good” > Ronnie Earl / Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters 2001 “Anxious” > Ollie / Ollie 2020 “I'm A Man” > Demun Jones / Demun Jones 2020 Recording Engineers:DB Cooper & Dick Goesinya Producers:Tiffany Rosedale & Sofonda Peters Studio Consultant:Jack Herer Transportation: Harley Davidson --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/edward-hamlin/message

(sorry i missed a couple of weeks - been crazy busy)   Quail Seed A timely tale of marketing and social networking. [Saki was often way ahead of his time!] Announcer - Jennifer Dixon Mr. Scarrick - John Lingard Jimmy - Will Watt Lucy - Tanja Milojevic [Lightning Bolt Theater] Boy - Reynaud LeBoeuf Man - Anthony D.P. Mann [Horror Etc.] Miss Fritten - Robyn Keyes Mrs. Greyes - Jennifer Dixon Mrs. Gordon - Judith Moore Gloria - Beverly Poole Other women - Julie Hoverson Music by Kevin McLeod (Incompetech.com) Picture by lucias_clay, found with help from Bill Jones.   Quail Seed Cast: Announcer Mr. Scarrick, shopkeeper Jimmy, Assistant Lucy, Jimmy's girl Boy Man/Beard Miss Fritten Mrs. Greyes Mrs. Gordon Miss Jones Miss Smith Gloria Mrs. Lipping   SAKI OPENING MUSIC SOUND      SHOP DOOR, BELL, FOOTSTEPS LUCY     Hello?  Helloooo? JIMMY     [close]  Morning, Lucy! LUCY     [startled gasp]  Jimmy! There you are.  Bit... empty in here, isn't it? JIMMY     [heavy sigh] A bit. LUCY     But where are all the Christmas shoppers? JIMMY     Shh!  Whatever you do, don't ask that in front of Mr. Scarrick.  You'll quite set him off.  LUCY     Oh! JIMMY     It's all right, he's out at the moment. LUCY     [impressed] He left you in charge? JIMMY     [heavy sigh, morose]  Only in the certainty that there won't be a stampede on our services. LUCY     That bad, eh? JIMMY     Quite. SOUND     DOOR, BELL, FOOTSTEPS Miss Smith     Hello? SOUND     QUICK STEPS JIMMY     Yes?  How may I assist you? Miss Smith     [nervous] Oh, I was -um- just looking for a railway timetable?  I'm going up to the city-- [breaks off] JIMMY     Sorry.  Clean out.  Perhaps next week. MISS Smith     Ah.  Thank you. SOUND     FOOTSTEPS, BELL DOOR LUCY     You might have made a sale! JIMMY     She just wanted to look. LUCY     You don't know that. JIMMY     [bitter admission] She's the fourth today.  Everyone would rather take the train to town and shop in a big department store than [quoting] bother to take advantage of the convenience-- SOUND     DOOR BELL MISS Jones     Hello? JIMMY     ...and that's five. MUSIC SOUND     PUB SCARRICK     The outlook is not encouraging for us smaller businesses. SOUND     POURING DRINK SCARRICK     These big concerns are offering all sorts of attractions to the shopping public which we couldn't afford to imitate, even on a small scale--reading-rooms and play-rooms and gramophones and Heaven knows what. BOY     [normal, commiserating] People like shiny objects. SCARRICK     And they don't care to buy half a pound of sugar nowadays unless they can listen to Harry Lauder and have the latest Australian cricket scores ticked off before their eyes. MAN     Seems like quite a trip for sugar. SCARRICK     With the big Christmas stock we've got in we ought to keep half a dozen assistants hard at work, but as it is my nephew Jimmy and myself can pretty well attend to it ourselves.  In fact, I've left him in charge.  I've never done that before. BOY     I'm sure he'll be fine. SCARRICK     [drinks] It's a nice stock of goods, too.  I could run it all off in a few weeks time, but there's no chance of that--not unless the London line was to get snowed up for a fortnight before Christmas. MAN     [musing] How you gonna keep them home on the farm? MUSIC SOUND     SHOP DOOR, BELL MRS. GREYES     --so tedious, but there it is, and what else is one to do? MISS FRITTEN     We shall simply wait for the next--  SCARRICK     May I help you ladies? MRS. GREYES     Oh!  [evasive] Really, we just stopped in to see about --- about-- MISS FRITTEN     Bootlaces.  MRS. GREYES     Bootlaces!  Yes!  I've been in dire need of some-- SCARRICK     [hearty] Of course.  Over on the left wall, near the back. MRS. GREYES     Of course.  [whispering]  You knew he'd try and sell us something if we came in here!  Bootlaces indeed.  I already have more laces than boots! MISS FRITTEN     At least if we do make a purchase, they're small enough to carry when we go to-- MRS. GREYES     Shh! SCARRICK     Finding everything? MRS. GREYES     Oh, yes.  This is the best ... um... anchovy paste.  Just what I was looking for. MISS FRITTEN     Just lovely! SCARRICK     Perhaps you ladies could help me.  I was thinking of adding a little entertainment to the shop. MRS. GREYES     Oh? SCARRICK     I did have a sort of idea of engaging Miss Luffcombe to give recitations during afternoons; she made a great hit at the Post Office entertainment with her rendering of 'Little Beatrice's Resolve'. MISS FRITTEN     [very uncertain] Oh, that would be ...just ... lovely. SOUND     DOOR OPENS, BELL RINGS ODDLY SCARRICK     What? SOUND     ODD FOOTSTEPS ENTER SCARRICK     [excusing himself] Your pardon. SOUND     SCARRICK GOES TO THE COUNTER MRS. GREYES     [whispered] Perhaps we should just do our shopping here. MISS FRITTEN     But I'm in my best hat! MRS. GREYES     Shh! Shh!  Look at that! MISS FRITTEN     What an odd looking boy.  Brown as a nut, but we've not had sun in weeks! MRS. GREYES     And those clothes.  Like something out of the Arabian nights! SOUND     CLANG BOY     [accented now] Six pomegranates, please, and a packet of quail seed. MISS FRITTEN     What's the bowl for? MRS. GREYES     To carry the pomegranates? MISS FRITTEN     Why not a string bag? MRS. GREYES     Allergies?  Shh! SCARRICK     [business as usual]   Here you are.  We have some lovely pomegranates. MISS FRITTEN     He doesn't even look surprised! MRS. GREYES     The boy must have been here before. SOUND     COIN SKITTERING, CAUGHT BOY     The wine and figs were not paid for yesterday.  Keep what is over of the money for our future purchases. SCARRICK     [formal and serious] As you wish.  SOUND     BOY LEAVES, DOOR SHUTS SOUND     SKITTERING OF LADIES FEET MISS FRITTEN     [to Scarrick, hinting] A very strange-looking boy? SCARRICK     [final]  A foreigner, I believe. MRS. GREYES     Does he shop here often?  Surely there can't be much call for ...quail seed... at this time of year. SCARRICK     It takes all sorts. SOUND     DOOR OPENS SOUND     HEAVY OMINOUS FOOTSTEPS MISS FRITTEN     [gasp] MRS. GREYES     Oh!  [covering her consternation]  Oh, I forgot those bootlaces!  [hissed] Come on! SOUND     THEY SKITTER AWAY MAN     [accented] I wish for a pound and a half of the best coffee you have. SCARRICK     [wary] Certainly sir. MRS. GREYES     Look at that beard! MISS FRITTEN     Like a comedy Russian. MRS. GREYES     No, more like an ancient Assyrian. MISS FRITTEN     Who do you think he is? MAN     [suspicious] Has a dark-faced boy been here buying pomegranates? SCARRICK     Can't say that I've seen anyone like that. MRS. GREYES     Oh!  [muffles self] MISS FRITTEN     [whispered]  How could he! SCARRICK     [offhanded] We have a few pomegranates in stock, but there has been no real demand for them. MAN     My servant will fetch the coffee as usual SOUND     COIN SKITTERS, HEAVY FEET START TO WALK AWAY, THEN STOP MAN     [very importantly] Have you, perhaps, any quail seed? GREYES AND FRITTEN [gasp] SCARRICK     [unhesitating] No.  we don't stock it. SOUND     FEET WALK AWAY MRS. GREYES     [whispered] What will he deny next? MISS FRITTEN     And I always believed Mr. Scarrick to be such a truthful man.  Heavens! He just presided at a lecture on Savonarola. SOUND     DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES MRS. GREYES     Don't let's bother about the 3.12.  Let's dash, and talk this out at Laura Lipping's MISS FRITTEN      Perhaps we should buy a few things first.  Since we're here. MUSIC SOUND     TEA MISS FRITTEN     [recounting lusciously] Turning up the deep astrakhan collar of his long coat, the stranger swept out of the shop, with the air of a Satrap proroguing a Sanhedrim. MRS. LIPPING     Do Satraps prorogue? MISS FRITTEN     [coldly superior] Have you ever seen one that didn't? GLORIA     I don't even know what a Sanhedrim is.  Is it a dance? MISS FRITTEN     It is a simile and hardly matters.  Or do I mean an allegory? MRS. GORDON     And the boy? MRS. GREYES     I should have though him Greek, but after seeing that beard-- MRS. LIPPING     They could have been unrelated. MISS FRITTEN     Unrelated?  And both asking for "quail seed"?  Mark my words.  There's something afoot. MRS. GREYES     What bothers me most is this unprecedented streak of falsity in our local grocer! GLORIA     I've never known Mr. Scarrick to prevaricate like that before! MRS. GREYES     It's the influence of that artist that took the flat above the shop.  Mark my words.  [importantly] Bohemian. MRS. GORDON     [tragically] I shall never again be able to believe what he tells me about the absence of colouring matter in the jam. MUSIC SOUND     DOOR, BELL SOUND     BROOM LUCY     Jimmy? JIMMY     Here. LUCY     Goodness, it looks like a tornado touched down. JIMMY     Fabulous, isn't it? LUCY     But, what happened? JIMMY     This afternoon, from tea onwards, we had a constant stream of shoppers.  LUCY     Is this something to do with the odd individuals who may or may not have been in this afternoon? JIMMY     [overly innocent] Whom do you refer to? LUCY     Come on!  It's all over town.  People talked about it at tea, and more people talked about it at supper.  I expect they're all talking about it over Bridge even as we speak.  The dark young man and the Beard.  JIMMY     Sounds a bit like a music hall act. LUCY     [speculatively] Yes... yes, it does.... MUSIC AMBIENCE     SHOP [MANY CUSTOMERS] MISS SMITH     Is this the freshest jar of pickles? JIMMY     Miss?  I suppose so. MISS SMITH     It looks a little dusty. JIMMY     That would be my fault-- SCARRICK     [commanding] Jimmy!     JIMMY     So sorry, must jump. MISS FRITTEN     [whispered]  Do you think they will return? MRS. GREYES     I have it on good authority someone's rented that house at the far end of Plummergen. MISS FRITTEN     But why should they come all this way to shop? MRS. GREYES     [knowing] Plummergen drapers don't stock quail seed.  MISS FRITTEN     [getting it] Ah! SOUND     REGISTER NOISE SCARRICK     That will be three shillings and four pence. SOUND     COINS MRS. LIPPING     I'm looking for something interesting for a savory.  Have you any-- SOUND     GENERAL HUSH MRS. LIPPING     [nervous] --any, um-- SCARRICK     [as if nothing is amiss]  I have some pickled olives.  Imported from turkey. MRS. LIPPING     Yes, anything. SOUND     JAR SET DOWN, CASH REGISTER SOUND     JABBER BEGINS AGAIN SOUND     DOOR OPENS, BELL, JABBER SLOWLY DIES AWAY. SILENCE SOUND     BOY WALKS IN. SOUND     BOWL SET DOWN. SCARRICK     [normal]  What can I get for you today? BOY     I require a pound of honey. SOUND     BREATH BEING LET OUT ALL OVER BOY     and - [quieter] and a packet of quail seed. SOUND     GENERAL INTAKE OF BREATH, GIGGLE QUICKLY MUFFLED SCARRICK     Very good, sir. SOUND     CONVERSATIONS, FORCED LAUGHTER, BUT MUTED, LISTENING MISS FRITTEN     [excited whisper] We might be living in the Arabian Nights. MRS. GREYES     Hush! Listen! SOUND     THINGS PLACED INTO BOWL, BOWL REMOVED, BOY STARTS TO LEAVE. SOUND     QUICK FOOTSTEPS JIMMY     [hurried, fraught with meaning] We have some very fine Jaffa oranges.  Around behind here. SOUND     QUICK SHUFFLE OF FEET SOUND     DOOR OPENS, MAN STRIDES IN. SOUND     GASPS SCARRICK     [unperturbed]  What may I get for you today, Sir? MAN     A pound of dates and a tin of the best Smyrna halva. MISS FRITTEN     Halva?  What is that? MRS. GREYES     It comes from Smyrna - that's figs, isn't it, Smyrna is? GLORIA     Who would want dates AND figs? MRS. LIPPING     Hush. SCARRICK     There you are.  MAN     hmm [evaluating noise]  Yes. SOUND     COINS DROPPED MAN     Has the dark-faced boy, of whom I spoke yesterday, been here to-day? GLORIA     [stifled squeak of excitement] SCARRICK     We've had rather more people than usual in the shop to-day... but I can't recall a boy such as you describe. SOUND     [gasps] MRS. GREYES     [satisfied] Didn't we say? MISS FRITTEN     It's too too terrible. MUSIC TEA MRS. GREYES     It is deplorable that anyone - particularly someone in a position such as Mr. Scarrick -should treat the truth as an article temporarily and excusably out of stock. MISS FRITTEN     More quail seed!  Those quails must be voracious!  [realizing]  or else... perhaps it isn't quail seed at all. MRS. GREYES     I believe it's opium, and the bearded man is a detective. MRS. LIPPING     I don't.  I'm sure it's something to do with the Portuguese Throne. MISS FRITTEN      More likely to be a Persian intrigue on behalf of the ex-Shah.  The bearded man belongs to the Government Party. The quail-seed is a countersign, of course; Persia is almost next door to Palestine, and quails come into the Old Testament, you know. GLORIA     [exasperated] Only as a miracle.  [knowing] I've thought all along it was part of a love intrigue. MRS. LIPPING     I distinctly saw a snarl of baffled rage as the man departed, sandwiched between that heavy moustache and upturned astrakhan collar. GLORIA     I can't imagine that that boy is the guilty party here.  Much more likely he's simply perishing of love for someone - perhaps the daughter of the beard, but the match is quite unsuitable-- MISS FRITTEN     Honey and pomegranates - of course!!! MUSIC SHOP, NIGHT, QUIET SOUND     DOOR, BELL JIMMY     [calling from off] Closed! LUCY     I know, mutton head. JIMMY     Oh, Lucy! SOUND     BROOM DOWN, STEPS LUCY     Another busy day? JIMMY     The busiest.  Another day or two of brisk trade and we'll be--[cut off with a gasp] SOUND     KISS LUCY     [laughing] I was here today, you know. JIMMY     [uneasy] Oh? LUCY     [indulgent] You were quite the hero.  Hustling that poor young man off behind the biscuit tins in the very nick of time. JIMMY     [flustered] Well, I have a good view of the street from my post at the cheese and bacon counter. LUCY     [pouty] Jimmy.  Have you EVER known me to gossip? JIMMY     You, Lucy?  I don't think so. LUCY     Quite a vote of confidence. JIMMY     I didn't mean that-- [sigh] No.  No I've never known you to gossip. LUCY     Let me in, then!  Perhaps there's something I can do to help? MUSIC PUB SCARRICK     It was quite marvelous!  And we sold out of that blasted Halva. MAN     It looked crowded, but were they actually buying? SCARRICK      They bought and bought - some came back three or four times, just to have an excuse to linger.  BOY     "Oh, I forgot" and "silly me, one more thing." SCARRICK     exactly.  Even those women whose purchases were of modest proportions dawdled over them as though they had, uh-- MAN     Brutal, drunken husbands to go home to? SCARRICK     [chuckles] I've even had to take on a couple of extra assistants for tomorrow. MUSIC STORE - BUSY MISS FRITTEN     What do you think?  Is this bowl anything like the one that young gentleman carries? MRS. GREYES     Nonsense.  His is brass.  Or bronze, perhaps.  That one is copper. MISS FRITTEN     Still, it's got a lovely patina. MRS GORDON     Ducks? SCARRICK     [distracted] Pardon? MRS GORDON     Ducks?  I found a lovely recipe for Bombay duck, and was wondering if a domestic duck would suffice. SCARRICK     I suspect that ducks are much the same the world over-- [small gasp] SOUND     DOOR OPENS, BELL GENERAL EXPECTANT HUSH MRS GORDON     oh! SCARRICK     You'll excuse me. SOUND     BOY'S FOOTSTEPS, SCARRICK MEETS HIM SCARRICK     Sir?  BOY     Yes? SCARRICK     [overtly confidential]  I must warn you-- SOUND     [gasps] SCARRICK     [as if saying something else] We have run out of quail seed. MRS GORDON     Oh nO! BOY     [shocked and disappointed] Oh.  I should-- I must-- SOUND     SCUTTLING FEET JIMMY     [excited]  We do have some much finer oranges today, if you want to step over here. BOY     [dramatic gasp] SOUND     BOY RUNS MISS FRITTEN     [whispered] Watch the door! SOUND     DOOR SLAMS OPEN, BELL SOUND     OMINOUS FOOTSTEPS MRS. GORDON      [voice over] I found my self sub-consciously repeating "The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold" under my breath. SCARRICK     [very tense]  Ah.  Coffee again today sir?  Perhaps figs? MAN     I am looking for-- LUCY     [in disguise, foreign sounding]  Jaffa oranges, I think. MAN     What? MRS GREYES     [voiceover] She slithered out of the aisle like the lady in the lake. LUCY     Your Excellency does his shopping himself? MAN     [suspicious] I order the things myself.  I find it difficult to make my servants understand. MISS FRITTEN     [voiceover]  How ever did we miss a mysterious veiled lady, right in the midst of us all? LUCY     I was saying... They have some excellent Jaffa oranges here.  [tinkling laugh] SOUND     HER FEET TAP AWAY TO THE DOOR, BELL MAN     [considering] Hmph.  MRS. GORDON     [gasp] MAN     You! SCARRICK     [tense] Yes? MAN     You have, perhaps, some good Jaffa oranges? GLORIA     [voiceover] Everyone expected an instant denial on the part of Mr. Scarrick of any such possession, but before he could answer‑‑ BOY     No! SOUND     RUNNING FEET, DOOR, BELL MISS FRITTEN     [voiceover] Holding his empty brass bowl before him he dashed into the street. His face was masked with studied indifference SOUND     THE VOICEOVERS START TO FADE INTO TEA MRS GREYES     Overspread with ghastly pallor! MRS. LIPPING     I would call it blazing with defiance. GLORIA     How defiant could he be!  He was so terrified his teeth chattered! MRS. GORDON     I distinctly heard him whistling the Persian National Hymn. MISS FRITTEN     But the bearded man - his face was a mask of abject terror! MRS GREYES     I thought he would dash out after the boy, but he just paced to and fro like a caged animal - seeking an outlet for escape. GLORIA     He couldn't take his eyes off the door. MRS GORDON     Did he ever come back for his purchases?  Or send his servant? MISS FRITTEN     I've not had the nerve to ask Mr. Scarrick.  The whole thing was so ...  overwhelming. MUSIC LUCY     It was so overwhelming.  Trying not to laugh while watching all their faces. JIMMY     You did a fabulous job. LUCY     You like me in a veil? JIMMY     I can think of a veil I'd like to see you in. LUCY     [interested, pleased] Really? JIMMY     Mm-hmm  [yes] SOUND     KISS MUSIC PUB SCARRICK     I can never thank you fellows enough. MAN     We enjoyed the fun of it.  [laughs, then  talks like beard]  And the figs. BOY     It was a welcome vacation from posing for hours for 'The Lost Hylas' MAN     You just have to sit still.  I'm the one who has to make you look good. SCARRICK     What do I owe you? MAN     No, no.  It was far too entertaining.  BOY     We did get all those lovely pomegranates. SCARRICK     At any rate... I insist on paying for the hire of the black beard. END

Intro/Outro: The Future is Email by Scott Making CentsArtist 2: Say AnythingSong 1: WoeSong 2: A Walk Through HellSong 3: Yellow Cat (slash) Red CatArtist 3: They Might Be GiantsSong 1: OlderSong 2: Three Might Be DuendeSong 3: Man It's So Loud in HereScott Making Cents' new album "Sad Songs That Suck" is out now and available to stream or purchase. 

Man It has been a minute since I put out a show.  I was out for the count for a minute but now your boy is back and I'm picking up where I left off.  Of course in this episode I give my thoughts on the trade and how I think it will work out for the 49ers.  I also discuss the past few weeks that I missed and what I feel needs to happen.  I also touch on the up coming game against the Chiefs and how that game may go.

No sugarcoating this one folks. Wasn't planning to do a quick episode about this, but well, the internet happened. So here we are. Ladies, Gentlemen, Nerds, Geeks, and everyone else I missed. Jane Foster was Thor in the comics, and looks like she's also Thor in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder movie. If you hate the idea of "Lady Thor" (or as she is properly known, The Mighty Thor, Goddess of Thunder) because "Thor is a MAN/It's Thor OdinSON, not OdinDaughter" or whatever other bullshit superficial reason, kindly go fuck yourself with a sideways pineapple.

Series GENESIS – THE BOOK OF THE BEGINNING with Pastor Kurt Piesslinger, M.A. 3.CAIN AND HIS LEGACY Negative actions will be followed by bitter consequences. Memory Text: Genesis 4:7 - If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. 3.5 The Wickedness of Man It is unbelievable how bad actions go on and on into the next generations. My God bless you today and always. For video recording: vimeo.com/697130459

This week mum reviews Netflix doom-fest Don't Look Up, starring Leo DiCaprio and "Hummingbird" (Jennifer Lawrence). She has also seen spy-prequel The King's Man ("It's hard-hitting stuff – lots of dagger work").

We're back!! Blake and James are back in action and today they are talking about network switches. Tune in to learn a little bit more a bout the basics of what separates a $60 switch from a $600 switch.2022 Brain Bytes is now more accessible than ever. Each episode now has a professionally produced transcript! Happy New Year and lets get techy in 2022!MAN - It's good to be back.

Episode 134 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “In the Midnight Hour", the links between Stax, Atlantic, and Detroit, and the career of Wilson Pickett. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a fifteen-minute bonus episode available, on "Mercy Mercy" by Don Covay. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Errata I say “After Arthur Alexander had moved on to Monument Records” – I meant to say “Dot Records” here, the label that Alexander moved to *before* Monument. I also misspeak at one point and say "keyboard player Chips Moman", when I mean to say "keyboard player Spooner Oldham". This is correct in the transcript/script, I just misread it. Resources No Mixcloud this week, as there are too many songs by Pickett. The main resource I used for the biographical details of Wilson Pickett was In the Midnight Hour: The Life and Soul of Wilson Pickett. Information about Stax comes primarily from two books: Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax by Rob Bowman, and Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon. Country Soul by Charles L Hughes is a great overview of the soul music made in Muscle Shoals, Memphis, and Nashville in the sixties. The episodes of Cocaine and Rhinestones I reference are the ones on Owen Bradley and the Nashville A-Team. And information on the Falcons comes from Marv Goldberg. Pickett's complete Atlantic albums can be found in this excellent ten-CD set. For those who just want the hits, this single-CD compilation is significantly cheaper. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript A quick note before I start, just to say that this episode contains some discussion of domestic abuse, drug use, and abuse of employees by their employer, and one mention of an eating disorder. Also, this episode is much longer than normal, because we've got a lot to fit in. Today we're going to move away from Motown, and have a look at a record recorded in the studios of their great rival Stax records, though not released on that label. But the record we're going to look at is from an artist who was a bridge between the Detroit soul of Motown and the southern soul of Stax, an artist who had a foot in both camps, and whose music helped to define soul while also being closer than that of any other soul man to the music made by the white rock musicians of the period. We're going to look at Stax, and Muscle Shoals, and Atlantic Records, and at Wilson Pickett and "In the Midnight Hour" [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett: "In the Midnight Hour"] Wilson Pickett never really had a chance. His father, Wilson senior, was known in Alabama for making moonshine whisky, and spent time in prison for doing just that -- and his young son was the only person he told the location of his still. Eventually, Wilson senior moved to Detroit to start earning more money, leaving his family at home at first. Wilson junior and his mother moved up to Detroit to be with his father, but they had to leave his older siblings in Alabama, and his mother would shuttle between Michigan and Alabama, trying vainly to look after all her children. Eventually, Wilson's mother got pregnant while she was down in Alabama, which broke up his parents' marriage, and Wilson moved back down to Alabama permanently, to live on a farm with his mother. But he never got on with his mother, who was physically abusive to him -- as he himself would later be to his children, and to his partners, and to his bandmates. The one thing that Wilson did enjoy about his life in Alabama was the gospel music, and he became particularly enamoured of two gospel singers, Archie Brownlee of the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi: [Excerpt: The Mississippi Blind Boys, "Will My Jesus Be Waiting?"] And Julius Cheeks of the Sensational Nightingales: [Excerpt: The Sensational Nightingales, "God's World Will Never Pass Away"] Wilson determined to become a gospel singer himself, but he couldn't stand living with his mother in rural Alabama, and decided to move up to be with his father and his father's new girlfriend in Detroit.  Once he moved to Detroit, he started attending Northwestern High School, which at the time was also being attended by Norman Whitfield, Florence Ballard, and Melvin Franklin. Pickett also became friendly with Aretha Franklin, though she didn't attend the same school -- she went to school at Northern, with Smokey Robinson -- and he started attending services at New Bethel Church, the church where her father preached. This was partly because Rev. Franklin was one of the most dynamic preachers around, but also because New Bethel Church would regularly feature performances by the most important gospel performers of the time -- Pickett saw the Soul Stirrers perform there, with Sam Cooke singing lead, and of course also saw Aretha singing there. He joined a few gospel groups, first joining one called the Sons of Zion, but he was soon poached by a more successful group, the Violinaires. It was with the Violinaires that he made what is almost certainly his first recording -- a track that was released as a promo single, but never got a wide release at the time: [Excerpt: The Violinaires, "Sign of the Judgement"] The Violinaires were only moderately successful on the gospel circuit, but Pickett was already sure he was destined for bigger things. He had a rivalry with David Ruffin, in particular, constantly mocking Ruffin and saying that he would never amount to anything, while Wilson Pickett was the greatest. But after a while, he realised that gospel wasn't where he was going to make his mark. Partly his change in direction was motivated by financial concern -- he'd physically attacked his father and been kicked out of his home, and he was also married while still a teenager, and had a kid who needed feeding. But also, he was aware of a certain level of hypocrisy among his more religious acquaintances. Aretha Franklin had two kids, aged only sixteen, and her father, the Reverend Franklin, had fathered a child with a twelve-year-old, was having an affair with the gospel singer Clara Ward, and was hanging around blues clubs all the time. Most importantly, he realised that the audiences he was singing to in church on Sunday morning were mostly still drunk from Saturday night. As he later put it "I might as well be singing rock 'n' roll as singing to a drunken audience. I might as well make me some money." And this is where the Falcons came in. The Falcons were a doo-wop group that had been formed by a Black singer, Eddie Floyd, and a white singer, Bob Manardo. They'd both recruited friends, including bass singer Willie Schofield, and after performing locally they'd decided to travel to Chicago to audition for Mercury Records. When they got there, they found that you couldn't audition for Mercury in Chicago, you had to go to New York, but they somehow persuaded the label to sign them anyway -- in part because an integrated group was an unusual thing. They recorded one single for Mercury, produced by Willie Dixon who was moonlighting from Chess: [Excerpt: The Falcons, "Baby That's It"] But then Manardo was drafted, and the group's other white member, Tom Shetler, decided to join up along with him. The group went through some other lineup changes, and ended up as Eddie Floyd, Willie Schofield, Mack Rice, guitarist Lance Finnie, and lead singer Joe Stubbs, brother of Levi. The group released several singles on small labels owned by their manager, before having a big hit with "You're So Fine", the record we heard about them recording last episode: [Excerpt: The Falcons, "You're So Fine"] That made number two on the R&B charts and number seventeen on the pop charts. They recorded several follow-ups, including "Just For Your Love", which made number 26 on the R&B charts: [Excerpt: The Falcons, "Just For Your Love"] To give you some idea of just how interrelated all the different small R&B labels were at this point, that was originally recorded and released on Chess records. But as Roquel Davis was at that point working for Chess, he managed to get the rights to reissue it on Anna Records, the label he co-owned with the Gordy sisters -- and the re-released record was distributed by Gone Records, one of George Goldner's labels. The group also started to tour supporting Marv Johnson. But Willie Schofield was becoming dissatisfied. He'd written "You're So Fine", but he'd only made $500 from what he was told was a million-selling record. He realised that in the music business, the real money was on the business side, not the music side, so while staying in the Falcons he decided he was going to go into management too. He found the artist he was going to manage while he was walking to his car, and heard somebody in one of the buildings he passed singing Elmore James' then-current blues hit "The Sky is Crying": [Excerpt: Elmore James, "The Sky is Crying"] The person he heard singing that song, and accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, was of course Wilson Pickett, and Schofield signed him up to a management contract -- and Pickett was eager to sign, knowing that Schofield was a successful performer himself. The intention was at first that Schofield would manage Pickett as a solo performer, but then Joe Stubbs got ideas above his station, and started insisting that the group be called "Joe Stubbs and the Falcons", which put the others' backs up, and soon Stubbs was out of the group. This experience may have been something that his brother later had in mind -- in the late sixties, when Motown started trying to promote groups as Lead Singer and The Group, Levi Stubbs always refused to allow his name to go in front of the Four Tops. So the Falcons were without a lead singer. They tried a few other singers in their circle, including Marvin Gaye, but were turned down. So in desperation, they turned to Pickett. This wasn't a great fit -- the group, other than Schofield, thought that Pickett was "too Black", both in that he had too much gospel in his voice, and literally in that he was darker-skinned than the rest of the group (something that Schofield, as someone who was darker than the rest of the group but less dark than Pickett, took offence at). Pickett, in turn, thought that the Falcons were too poppy, and not really the kind of thing he was at all interested in doing. But they were stuck with each other, and had to make the most of it, even though Pickett's early performances were by all accounts fairly dreadful. He apparently came in in the wrong key on at least one occasion, and another time froze up altogether and couldn't sing. Even when he did sing, and in tune, he had no stage presence, and he later said “I would trip up, fall on the stage and the group would rehearse me in the dressing room after every show. I would get mad, ‘cos I wanted to go out and look at the girls as well! They said, ‘No, you got to rehearse, Oscar.' They called me Oscar. I don't know why they called me Oscar, I didn't like that very much.” Soon, Joe Stubbs was back in the group, and there was talk of the group getting rid of Pickett altogether. But then they went into the studio to record a song that Sam Cooke had written for the group, "Pow! You're in Love". The song had been written for Stubbs to sing, but at the last minute they decided to give Pickett the lead instead: [Excerpt: The Falcons, "Pow! You're in Love"] Pickett was now secure as the group's lead singer, but the group weren't having any success with records. They were, though, becoming a phenomenal live act -- so much so that on one tour, where James Brown was the headliner, Brown tried to have the group kicked off the bill, because he felt that Pickett was stealing his thunder. Eventually, the group's manager set up his own record label, Lu Pine Records, which would become best known as the label that released the first record by the Primettes, who later became the Supremes.  Lu Pine released the Falcons' single "I Found a Love",   after the group's management had first shopped it round to other labels to try to get them to put it out: [Excerpt: The Falcons, "I Found a Love"] That song, based on the old Pentecostal hymn "Yes Lord", was written by Pickett and Schofield, but the group's manager, Robert West, also managed to get his name on the credits. The backing group, the Ohio Untouchables, would later go on to become better known as The Ohio Players. One of the labels that had turned that record down was Atlantic Records, because Jerry Wexler hadn't heard any hit potential in the song. But then the record started to become successful locally, and Wexler realised his mistake. He got Lu Pine to do a distribution deal with Atlantic, giving Atlantic full rights to the record, and it became a top ten R&B hit. But by this point, Pickett was sick of working with the Falcons, and he'd decided to start trying for a solo career. His first solo single was on the small label Correc-Tone, and was co-produced by Robert Bateman, and featured the Funk Brothers as instrumental backing, and the Primettes on vocals. I've seen some claims that the Andantes are on there too, but I can't make them out -- but I can certainly make out the future Supremes: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Let Me Be Your Boy"] That didn't do anything, and Pickett kept recording with the Falcons for a while, as well as putting out his solo records. But then Willie Schofield got drafted, and the group split up. Their manager hired another group, The Fabulous Playboys, to be a new Falcons group, but in 1964 he got shot in a dispute over the management of Mary Wells, and had to give up working in the music industry. Pickett's next single, which he co-wrote with Robert Bateman and Sonny Schofield, was to be the record that changed his career forever. "If You Need Me" once again featured the Funk Brothers and the Andantes, and was recorded for Correc-Tone: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "If You Need Me"] Jerry Wexler was again given the opportunity to put the record out on Atlantic, and once again decided against it. Instead, he offered to buy the song's publishing, and he got Solomon Burke to record it, in a version produced by Bert Berns: [Excerpt: Solomon Burke, "If You Need Me"] Burke wasn't fully aware, when he cut that version, that Wilson Pickett, who was his friend, had recorded his own version. He became aware, though, when Double-L Records, a label co-owned by Lloyd Price, bought the Correc-Tone master and released Pickett's version nationally, at the same time as Burke's version came out. The two men were annoyed that they'd been put into unwitting competition, and so started an unofficial nonaggression pact -- every time Burke was brought into a radio station to promote his record, he'd tell the listeners that he was there to promote Wilson Pickett's new single. Meanwhile, when Pickett went to radio stations, he'd take the opportunity to promote the new record he'd written for his good friend Solomon Burke, which the listeners should definitely check out. The result was that both records became hits -- Pickett's scraped the lower reaches of the R&B top thirty, while Burke, as he was the bigger star, made number two on the R&B chart and got into the pop top forty. Pickett followed it up with a soundalike, "It's Too Late", which managed to make the R&B top ten as there was no competition from Burke. At this point, Jerry Wexler realised that he'd twice had the opportunity to release a record with Wilson Pickett singing, twice he'd turned the chance down, and twice the record had become a hit. He realised that it was probably a good idea to sign Pickett directly to Atlantic and avoid missing out. He did check with Pickett if Pickett was annoyed about the Solomon Burke record -- Pickett's response was "I need the bread", and Wilson Pickett was now an Atlantic artist. This was at the point when Atlantic was in something of a commercial slump -- other than the records Bert Berns was producing for the Drifters and Solomon Burke, they were having no hits, and they were regarded as somewhat old-fashioned, rooted in a version of R&B that still showed its roots in jazz, rather than the new sounds that were taking over the industry in the early sixties. But they were still a bigger label than anything else Pickett had recorded for, and he seized the opportunity to move into the big time. To start with, Atlantic teamed Pickett up with someone who seemed like the perfect collaborator -- Don Covay, a soul singer and songwriter who had his roots in hard R&B and gospel music but had written hits for people like Chubby Checker.  The two got together and recorded a song they wrote together, "I'm Gonna Cry (Cry Baby)": [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "I'm Gonna Cry (Cry Baby)"] That did nothing commercially -- and gallingly for Pickett, on the same day, Atlantic released a single Covay had written for himself, "Mercy Mercy", and that ended up going to number one on the R&B chart and making the pop top forty. As "I'm Gonna Cry" didn't work out, Atlantic decided to try to change tack, and paired Pickett with their established hitmaker Bert Berns, and a duet partner, Tami Lyn, for what Pickett would later describe as "one of the weirdest sessions on me I ever heard in my life", a duet on a Mann and Weil song, "Come Home Baby": [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett and Tami Lyn, "Come Home Baby"] Pickett later said of that track, "it didn't sell two records", but while it wasn't a hit, it was very popular among musicians -- a few months later Mick Jagger would produce a cover version of it on Immediate Records, with Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, and the Georgie Fame brass section backing a couple of unknown singers: [Excerpt: Rod Stewart and P.P. Arnold, "Come Home Baby"] Sadly for Rod Stewart and P.P. Arnold, that didn't get past being issued as a promotional record, and never made it to the shops. Meanwhile, Pickett went out on tour again, substituting on a package tour for Clyde McPhatter, who had to drop out when his sister died. Also on the tour was Pickett's old bandmate from the Falcons, Mack Rice, now performing as Sir Mack Rice, who was promoting a single he'd just released on a small label, which had been produced by Andre Williams. The song had originally been called "Mustang Mama", but Aretha Franklin had suggested he call it "Mustang Sally" instead: [Excerpt: Sir Mack Rice, "Mustang Sally"] Pickett took note of the song, though he didn't record it just yet -- and in the meantime, the song was picked up by the white rock group The Young Rascals, who released their version as the B-side of their number one hit, "Good Lovin'": [Excerpt: The Young Rascals, "Mustang Sally"] Atlantic's problems with having hits weren't only problems with records they made themselves -- they were also having trouble getting any big hits with Stax records. As we discussed in the episode on "Green Onions", Stax were being distributed by Atlantic, and in 1963 they'd had a minor hit with "These Arms of Mine" by Otis Redding: [Excerpt: Otis Redding, "These Arms of Mine"] But throughout 1964, while the label had some R&B success with its established stars, it had no real major breakout hits, and it seemed to be floundering a bit -- it wasn't doing as badly as Atlantic itself, but it wasn't doing wonderfully. It wasn't until the end of the year when the label hit on what would become its defining sound, when for the first time Redding collaborated with Stax studio guitarist and producer Steve Cropper on a song: [Excerpt: Otis Redding, "Mr. Pitiful"] That record would point the way towards Redding's great artistic triumphs of the next couple of years, which we'll look at in a future episode. But it also pointed the way towards a possible future sound for Atlantic. Atlantic had signed a soul duo, Sam & Dave, who were wonderful live performers but who had so far not managed to translate those live performances to record. Jerry Wexler thought that perhaps Steve Cropper could help them do that, and made a suggestion to Jim Stewart at Stax -- Atlantic would loan out Sam & Dave to the label. They'd remain signed to Atlantic, but make their records at Stax studios, and they'd be released as Stax records. Their first single for Stax, "A Place Nobody Can Find", was produced by Cropper, and was written by Stax songwriter Dave Porter: [Excerpt: Sam and Dave, "A Place Nobody Can Find"] That wasn't a hit, but soon Porter would start collaborating with another songwriter, Isaac Hayes, and would write a string of hits for the duo. But in order to formalise the loan-out of Sam and Dave, Atlantic also wanted to formalise their arrangement with Stax. Previously they'd operated on a handshake basis -- Wexler and Stewart had a mutual respect, and they simply agreed that Stax would give Atlantic the option to distribute their stuff. But now they entered into a formal, long-term contract, and for a nominal sum of one dollar, Jim Stewart gave Atlantic the distribution rights to all past Stax records and to all future records they released for the next few years. Or at least, Stewart *thought* that the agreement he was making was formalising the distribution agreement. What the contract actually said -- and Stewart never bothered to have this checked over by an entertainment lawyer, because he trusted Wexler -- was that Stax would, for the sum of one dollar, give Atlantic *permanent ownership* of all their records, in return. The precise wording was "You hereby sell, assign and transfer to us, our successors or assigns, absolutely and forever and without any limitations or restrictions whatever, not specifically set forth herein, the entire right, title and interest in and to each of such masters and to each of the performances embodied thereon." Jerry Wexler would later insist that he had no idea that particular clause was in the contract, and that it had been slipped in there by the lawyers. Jim Stewart still thought of himself as the owner of an independent record label, but without realising it he'd effectively become an employee of Atlantic. Atlantic started to take advantage of this new arrangement by sending other artists down to Memphis to record with the Stax musicians. Unlike Sam and Dave, these would still be released as Atlantic records rather than Stax ones, and Jerry Wexler and Atlantic's engineer Tom Dowd would be involved  in the production, but the records would be made by the Stax team. The first artist to benefit from this new arrangement was Wilson Pickett, who had been wanting to work at Stax for a while, being a big fan of Otis Redding in particular. Pickett was teamed up with Steve Cropper, and together they wrote the song that would define Pickett's career. The seeds of "In the Midnight Hour" come from two earlier recordings. One is a line from his record with the Falcons, "I Found a Love": [Excerpt: The Falcons, "I Found a Love"] The other is a line from a record that Clyde McPhatter had made with Billy Ward and the Dominoes back in 1951: [Excerpt: Billy Ward and the Dominoes, "Do Something For Me"] Those lines about a "midnight hour" and "love come tumbling down" were turned into the song that would make Pickett's name, but exactly who did what has been the cause of some disagreement. The official story is that Steve Cropper took those lines and worked with Pickett to write the song, as a straight collaboration. Most of the time, though, Pickett would claim that he'd written the song entirely by himself, and that Cropper had stolen the credit for that and their other credited collaborations. But other times he would admit "He worked with me quite a bit on that one". Floyd Newman, a regular horn player at Stax, would back up Pickett, saying "Every artist that came in here, they'd have their songs all together, but when they leave they had to give up a piece of it, to a certain person. But this person, you couldn't be mad at him, because he didn't own Stax, Jim Stewart owned Stax. And this guy was doing what Jim Stewart told him to do, so you can't be mad at him." But on the other hand, Willie Schofield, who collaborated with Pickett on "I Found a Love", said of writing that "Pickett didn't have any chord pattern. He had a couple of lyrics. I'm working with him, giving him the chord change, the feel of it. Then we're going in the studio and I've gotta show the band how to play it because we didn't have arrangers. That's part of the songwriting. But he didn't understand. He felt he wrote the lyrics so that's it." Given that Cropper didn't take the writing credit on several other records he participated in, that he did have a consistent pattern of making classic hit records, that "In the Midnight Hour" is stylistically utterly different from Pickett's earlier work but very similar to songs like "Mr. Pitiful" cowritten by Cropper, and Pickett's longstanding habit of being dismissive of anyone else's contributions to his success, I think the most likely version of events is that Cropper did have a lot to do with how the song came together, and probably deserves his credit, but we'll never know for sure exactly what went on in their collaboration. Whoever wrote it, "In the Midnight Hour" became one of the all-time classics of soul: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "In the Midnight Hour"] But another factor in making the record a success -- and in helping reinvent the Stax sound -- was actually Jerry Wexler. Wexler had started attending sessions at the Stax studios, and was astonished by how different the recording process was in the South. And Wexler had his own input into the session that produced "In the Midnight Hour". His main suggestion was that rather than play the complicated part that Cropper had come up with, the guitarist should simplify, and just play chords along with Al Jackson's snare drum. Wexler was enthusing about a new dance craze called the Jerk, which had recently been the subject of a hit record by a group called the Larks: [Excerpt: The Larks, "The Jerk"] The Jerk, as Wexler demonstrated it to the bemused musicians, involved accenting the second and fourth beats of the bar, and delaying them very slightly. And this happened to fit very well with the Stax studio sound. The Stax studio was a large room, with quite a lot of reverb, and the musicians played together without using headphones, listening to the room sound. Because of this, to stay in time, Steve Cropper had started taking his cue not just from the sound, but from watching Al Jackson's left hand going to the snare drum. This had led to him playing when he saw Jackson's hand go down on the two and four, rather than when the sound of the snare drum reached his ears -- a tiny, fraction-of-a-second, anticipation of the beat, before everyone would get back in sync on the one of the next bar, as Jackson hit the kick drum. This had in turn evolved into the whole group playing the backbeat with a fractional delay, hitting it a tiny bit late -- as if you're listening to the echo of those beats rather than to the beat itself. If anyone other than utterly exceptional musicians had tried this, it would have ended up as a car crash, but Jackson was one of the best timekeepers in the business, and many musicians would say that at this point in time Steve Cropper was *the* best rhythm guitarist in the world, so instead it gave the performances just enough sense of looseness to make them exciting. This slight delayed backbeat was something the musicians had naturally fallen into doing, but it fit so well with Wexler's conception of the Jerk that they started deliberately exaggerating it -- still only delaying the backbeat minutely, but enough to give the record a very different sound from anything that was out there: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "In the Midnight Hour"] That delayed backbeat sound would become the signature sound of Stax for the next several years, and you will hear it on the run of classic singles they would put out for the next few years by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Booker T. and the MGs, Eddie Floyd and others. The sound of that beat is given extra emphasis by the utter simplicity of Al Jackson's playing. Jackson had a minimalist drum kit, but played it even more minimally -- other than the occasional fill, he never hit his tom at all, just using the kick drum, snare, and hi-hat -- and the hi-hat was not even miced, with any hi-hat on the actual records just being the result of leakage from the other mics. But that simplicity gave the Stax records a power that almost no other records from the period had: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "In the Midnight Hour"] "In the Midnight Hour" made number one on the R&B charts, and made number twenty-one on the pop charts, instantly turning Pickett from an also-ran into one of the major stars of soul music. The follow-up, a soundalike called "Don't Fight It", also made the top five on the R&B charts. At his next session, Pickett was reunited with his old bandmate Eddie Floyd. Floyd would soon go on to have his own hits at Stax, most notably with "Knock on Wood", but at this point he was working as a staff songwriter at Stax, coming up with songs like "Comfort Me" for Carla Thomas: [Excerpt: Carla Thomas, "Comfort Me"] Floyd had teamed up with Steve Cropper, and they'd been... shall we say, "inspired"... by a hit for the Marvelettes, "Beechwood 45789", written by Marvin Gaye, Gwen Gordy and Mickey Stevenson: [Excerpt: The Marvelettes, "Beechwood 45789"] Cropper and Floyd had come up with their own song, "634-5789", which Pickett recorded, and which became an even bigger hit than "In the Midnight Hour", making number thirteen on the pop charts as well as being Pickett's second R&B number one: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "634-5789"] At the same session, they cut another single. This one was inspired by an old gospel song, "Ninety-Nine and One Half Won't Do", recorded by Sister Rosetta Tharpe among others: [Excerpt: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Ninety-Nine and One Half Won't Do"] The song was rewritten by Floyd, Cropper, and Pickett, and was also a moderate R&B hit, though nowhere as big as "634-5789": [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Ninety-Nine and One Half Won't Do"] That would be the last single that Pickett recorded at Stax, though -- though the reasoning has never been quite clear. Pickett was, to put it as mildly as possible, a difficult man to work with, and he seems to have had some kind of falling out with Jim Stewart -- though Stewart always said that the problem was actually that Pickett didn't get on with the musicians. But the musicians disagree, saying they had a good working relationship -- Pickett was often an awful person, but only when drunk, and he was always sober in the studio. It seems likely, actually, that Pickett's move away from the Stax studios was more to do with someone else -- Pickett's friend Don Covay was another Atlantic artist recording at Stax, and Pickett had travelled down with him when Covay had recorded "See Saw" there: [Excerpt: Don Covay, "See Saw"] Everyone involved agreed that Covay was an eccentric personality, and that he rubbed Jim Stewart up the wrong way. There is also a feeling among some that Stewart started to resent the way Stax's sound was being used for Atlantic artists, like he was "giving away" hits, even though Stax's company got the publishing on the songs Cropper was co-writing, and he was being paid for the studio time. Either way, after that session, Atlantic didn't send any of its artists down to Stax, other than Sam & Dave, who Stax regarded as their own artists. Pickett would never again record at Stax, and possibly coincidentally once he stopped writing songs with Steve Cropper he would also never again have a major hit record with a self-penned song. But Jerry Wexler still wanted to keep working in Southern studios, and with Southern musicians, and so he took Pickett to FAME studios, in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. We looked, back in the episode on Arthur Alexander, at the start of FAME studios, but after Arthur Alexander had moved on to Monument Records, Rick Hall had turned FAME into a home for R&B singers looking for crossover success. While Stax employed both Black and white musicians, FAME studios had an all-white rhythm section, with a background in country music, but that had turned out to be absolutely perfect for performers like the soul singer Joe Tex, who had himself started out in country before switching to soul, and who recorded classics like "Hold What You Got" at the studio: [Excerpt: Joe Tex, "Hold What You Got"] That had been released on FAME's record label, and Jerry Wexler had been impressed and had told Rick Hall to call him the next time he thought he had a hit. When Hall did call Wexler, Wexler was annoyed -- Hall phoned him in the middle of a party. But Hall was insistent. "You said to call you next time I've got a hit, and this is a number one". Wexler relented and listened to the record down the phone. This is what he heard: [Excerpt: Percy Sledge, "When a Man Loves a Woman"] Atlantic snapped up "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, and it went to number one on the pop charts -- the first record from any of the Southern soul studios to do so. In Wexler's eyes, FAME was now the new Stax. Wexler had a bit of culture shock when working at FAME, as it was totally unlike anything he'd experienced before. The records he'd been involved with in New York had been mostly recorded by slumming jazz musicians, very technical players who would read the music from charts, and Stax had had Steve Cropper as de facto musical director, leading the musicians and working out their parts with them. By contrast, the process used at FAME, and at most of the other studios in what Charles Hughes describes as the "country-soul triangle" of Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and Nashville, was the process that had been developed by Owen Bradley and the Nashville A-Team in Nashville (and for a fuller description of this, see the excellent episodes on Bradley and the A-Team in the great country music podcast Cocaine and Rhinestones). The musicians would hear a play through of the song by its writer, or a demo, would note down the chord sequences using the Nashville number system rather than a more detailed score, do a single run-through to get the balance right, and then record. Very few songs required a second take. For Pickett's first session at FAME, and most subsequent ones, the FAME rhythm section of keyboard player Spooner Oldham, guitarist Jimmy Johnson, bass player Junior Lowe and drummer Roger Hawkins was augmented with a few other players -- Memphis guitarists Chips Moman and Tommy Cogbill, and the horn section who'd played on Pickett's Stax records, moonlighting. And for the first track they recorded there, Wexler wanted them to do something that would become a signature trick for Pickett over the next couple of years -- record a soul cover version of a rock cover version of a soul record. Wexler's thinking was that the best way for Pickett to cross over to a white audience was to do songs that were familiar to them from white pop cover versions, but songs that had originated in Pickett's soul style. At the time, as well, the hard backbeat sound on Pickett's hits was one that was more associated with white rock music than with soul, as was the emphasis on rhythm guitar. To modern ears, Pickett's records are almost the definition of soul music, but at the time they were absolutely considered crossover records. And so in the coming months Pickett would record cover versions of Don Covay's "Mercy Mercy", Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and Irma Thomas' "Time is on My Side", all of which had been previously covered by the Rolling Stones -- and two of which had their publishing owned by Atlantic's publishing subsidiary. For this single, though, he was recording a song which had started out as a gospel-inspired dance song by the R&B singer Chris Kenner: [Excerpt: Chris Kenner, "Land of a Thousand Dances"] That had been a minor hit towards the bottom end of the Hot One Hundred, but it had been taken up by a lot of other musicians, and become one of those songs everyone did as album filler -- Rufus Thomas had done a version at Stax, for example. But then a Chicano garage band called Cannibal and the Headhunters started performing it live, and their singer forgot the lyrics and just started singing "na na na na", giving the song a chorus it hadn't had in its original version. Their version, a fake-live studio recording, made the top thirty: [Excerpt: Cannibal and the Headhunters, "Land of a Thousand Dances"] Pickett's version was drastically rearranged, and included a guitar riff that Chips Moman had come up with, some new lyrics that Pickett introduced, and a bass intro that Jerry Wexler came up with, a run of semiquavers that Junior Lowe found very difficult to play. The musicians spent so long working on that intro that Pickett got annoyed and decided to take charge. He yelled "Come on! One-two-three!" and the horn players, with the kind of intuition that comes from working together for years, hit a chord in unison. He yelled "One-two-three!" again, and they hit another chord, and Lowe went into the bass part. They'd found their intro. They ran through that opening one more time, then recorded a take: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Land of a Thousand Dances"] At this time, FAME was still recording live onto a single-track tape, and so all the mistakes were caught on tape with no opportunity to fix anything, like when all but one of the horn players forget to come in on the first line of one verse: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Land of a Thousand Dances"] But that kind of mistake only added to the feel of the track, which became Pickett's biggest hit yet -- his third number one on the R&B chart, and his first pop top ten. As the formula of recording a soul cover version of a rock cover version of a soul song had clearly worked, the next single Pickett recorded was "Mustang Sally", which as we saw had originally been an R&B record by Pickett's friend Mack Rice, before being covered by the Young Rascals. Pickett's version, though, became the definitive version: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Mustang Sally"] But it very nearly wasn't. That was recorded in a single take, and the musicians went into the control room to listen to it -- and the metal capstan on the tape machine flew off while it was rewinding. The tape was cut into dozens of tiny fragments, which the machine threw all over the room in all directions. Everyone was horrified, and Pickett, who was already known for his horrific temper, looked as if he might actually kill someone. Tom Dowd, Atlantic's genius engineer who had been a physicist on the Manhattan Project while still a teenager, wasn't going to let something as minor as that stop him. He told everyone to take a break for half an hour, gathered up all the randomly-thrown bits of tape, and spliced them back together. The completed recording apparently has forty splices in it, which would mean an average of a splice every four seconds. Have a listen to this thirty-second segment and see if you can hear any at all: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Mustang Sally"] That segment has the one part where I *think* I can hear one splice in the whole track, a place where the rhythm hiccups very slightly -- and that might well just be the drummer trying a fill that didn't quite come off. "Mustang Sally" was another pop top thirty hit, and Wexler's crossover strategy seemed to have been proved right -- so much so that Pickett was now playing pretty much all-white bills. He played, for example, at Murray the K's last ever revue at the Brooklyn Paramount, where the other artists on the bill were Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, the Young Rascals, Al Kooper's Blues Project, Cream, and the Who. Pickett found the Who extremely unprofessional, with their use of smoke bombs and smashing their instruments, but they eventually became friendly. Pickett's next single was his version of "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", the Solomon Burke song that the Rolling Stones had also covered, and that was a minor hit, but his next few records after that didn't do particularly well. He did though have a big hit with his cover version of a song by a group called Dyke and the Blazers. Pickett's version of "Funky Broadway" took him to the pop top ten: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Funky Broadway"] It did something else, as well. You may have noticed that two of the bands on that Paramount bill were groups that get called "blue-eyed soul". "Soul" had originally been a term used for music made by Black people, but increasingly the term was being used by white people for their music, just as rock and roll and rhythm and blues before it had been picked up on by white musicians. And so as in those cases, Black musicians were moving away from the term -- though it would never be abandoned completely -- and towards a new slang term, "funk". And Pickett was the first person to get a song with "funk" in the title onto the pop charts. But that would be the last recording Pickett would do at FAME for a couple of years. As with Stax, Pickett was moved away by Atlantic because of problems with another artist, this time to do with a session with Aretha Franklin that went horribly wrong, which we'll look at in a future episode. From this point on, Pickett would record at American Sound Studios in Memphis, a studio owned and run by Chips Moman, who had played on many of Pickett's records. Again, Pickett was playing with an all-white house band, but brought in a couple of Black musicians -- the saxophone player King Curtis, and Pickett's new touring guitarist, Bobby Womack, who had had a rough few years, being largely ostracised from the music community because of his relationship with Sam Cooke's widow. Womack wrote what might be Pickett's finest song, a song called "I'm in Love" which is a masterpiece of metrical simplicity disguised as complexity -- you could write it all down as being in straight four-four, but the pulse shifts and implies alternating bars of five and three at points: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "I'm In Love"] Womack's playing on those sessions had two effects, one on music history and one on Pickett. The effect on music history was that he developed a strong working relationship with Reggie Young, the guitarist in the American Sound studio band, and Young and Womack learned each other's styles. Young would later go on to be one of the top country session guitarists, playing on records by Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Waylon Jennings and more, and he was using Womack's style of playing -- he said later "I didn't change a thing. I was playing that Womack style on country records, instead of the hillbilly stuff—it changed the whole bed of country music." The other effect, though, was a much more damaging one. Womack introduced Pickett to cocaine, and Pickett -- who was already an aggressive, violent, abusive, man, became much more so. "I'm in Love" went to number four on the R&B charts, but didn't make the pop top forty. The follow-up, a remake of "Stagger Lee", did decently on the pop charts but less well on the R&B charts. Pickett's audiences were diverging, and he was finding it more difficult to make the two come together. But he would still manage it, sporadically, throughout the sixties. One time when he did was in 1968, when he returned to Muscle Shoals and to FAME studios. In a session there, the guitarist was very insistent that Pickett should cut a version of the Beatles' most recent hit. Now obviously, this is a record that's ahead in our timeline, and which will be covered in a future episode, but I imagine that most of you won't find it too much of a spoiler when I tell you that "Hey Jude" by the Beatles was quite a big hit: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hey Jude"] What that guitarist had realised was that the tag of the song gave the perfect opportunity for ad-libbing. You all know the tag: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Hey Jude"] And so on. That would be perfect for a guitar solo, and for Pickett to do some good soul shouting over. Neither Pickett nor Rick Hall were at all keen -- the Beatles record had only just dropped off number one, and it seemed like a ridiculous idea to both of them. But the guitarist kept pressing to do it, and by the time the other musicians returned from their lunch break, he'd convinced Pickett and Hall. The record starts out fairly straightforward: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Hey Jude"] But it's on the tag when it comes to life. Pickett later described recording that part -- “He stood right in front of me, as though he was playing every note I was singing. And he was watching me as I sang, and as I screamed, he was screaming with his guitar.”: [Excerpt: Wilson Pickett, "Hey Jude"] That was not Pickett's biggest hit, but it was one of the most influential. It made the career of the guitarist, Duane Allman, who Jerry Wexler insisted on signing to his own contract after that, and as Jimmy Johnson, the rhythm guitarist on the session said, "We realised then that Duane had created southern rock, in that vamp." It was big enough that Wexler pushed Pickett to record a whole series of cover versions of rock songs -- he put out versions of "Hey Joe", "Born to be Wild" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" -- the latter going back to his old technique of covering a white cover version of a Black record, as his version copied the Vanilla Fudge's arrangement rather than the Supremes' original. But these only had very minor successes -- the most successful of them was his version of "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies. As the sixties turned into the seventies, Pickett continued having some success, but it was more erratic and less consistent. The worlds of Black and white music were drifting apart, and Pickett, who more than most had straddled both worlds, now found himself having success in neither. It didn't help that his cocaine dependency had made him into an egomaniac. At one point in the early seventies, Pickett got a residency in Las Vegas, and was making what by most standards was a great income from it. But he would complain bitterly that he was only playing the small room, not the big one in the same hotel, and that the artist playing the big room was getting better billing than him on the posters. Of course, the artist playing the big room was Elvis Presley, but that didn't matter to Pickett -- he thought he deserved to be at least that big. He was also having regular fights with his record label. Ahmet Ertegun used to tell a story -- and I'm going to repeat it here with one expletive cut out in order to get past Apple's ratings system. In Ertegun's words “Jerry Wexler never liked Crosby, Stills & Nash because they wanted so much freaking artistic autonomy. While we were arguing about this, Wilson Pickett walks in the room and comes up to Jerry and says, ‘Jerry,' and he goes, ‘Wham!' And he puts a pistol on the table. He says, ‘If that [Expletive] Tom Dowd walks into where I'm recording, I'm going to shoot him. And if you walk in, I'm going to shoot you. ‘Oh,' Jerry said. ‘That's okay, Wilson.' Then he walked out. So I said, ‘You want to argue about artistic autonomy?' ” As you can imagine, Atlantic were quite glad to get rid of Pickett when he decided he wanted to move to RCA records, who were finally trying to break into the R&B market. Unfortunately for Pickett, the executive who'd made the decision to sign him soon left the company, and as so often happens when an executive leaves, his pet project becomes the one that everyone's desperate to get rid of.  RCA didn't know how to market records to Black audiences, and didn't really try, and Pickett's voice was becoming damaged from all the cocaine use. He spent the seventies, and eighties going from label to label, trying things like going disco, with no success. He also went from woman to woman, beating them up, and went through band members more and more quickly as he attacked them, too. The guitarist Marc Ribot was in Pickett's band for a short time and said, (and here again I'm cutting out an expletive) " You can write about all the extenuating circumstances, and maybe it needs to be put in historical context, but … You know why guys beat women? Because they can. And it's abuse. That's why employers beat employees, when they can. I've worked with black bandleaders and white bandleaders who are respectful, courteous and generous human beings—and then I've worked with Wilson Pickett." He was becoming more and more paranoid. He didn't turn up for his induction in the rock and roll hall of fame, where he was scheduled to perform -- instead he hid in his house, scared to leave. Pickett was repeatedly arrested throughout this time, and into the nineties, spending some time in prison, and then eventually going into rehab in 1997 after being arrested for beating up his latest partner. She dropped the charges, but the police found the cocaine in his possession and charged him with that. After getting out, he apparently mellowed out somewhat and became much easier to get along with -- still often unpleasant, especially after he'd had a drink, which he never gave up, but far less violent and more easy-going than he had been. He also had something of a comeback, sparked by an appearance in the flop film Blues Brothers 2000. He recorded a blues album, It's Harder Now, and also guested on Adlib, the comeback duets album by his old friend Don Covay, singing with him and cowriting on several songs, including "Nine Times a Man": [Excerpt: Don Covay and Wilson Pickett, "Nine Times a Man"] It's Harder Now was a solid blues-based album, in the vein of similar albums from around that time by people like Solomon Burke, and could have led to Pickett having the same kind of late-career resurgence as Johnny Cash. It was nominated for a Grammy, but lost in the category for which it was nominated to Barry White. Pickett was depressed by the loss and just decided to give up making new music, and just played the oldies circuit until 2004, at which point he became too ill to continue. The duet with Covay would be the last time he went into the studio. The story of Pickett's last year or so is a painful one, with squabbles between his partner and his children over his power of attorney while he spent long periods in hospital, suffering from kidney problems caused by his alcoholism, and also at this point from bulimia, diabetes, and more. He was ill enough that he tried to make amends with his children and his ex-wife, and succeeded as well as anyone can in that situation. On the eighteenth of January 2006, two months before his sixty-fifth birthday, his partner took him to get his hair cut and his moustache shaped, so he'd look the way he wanted to look, they ate together at his assisted living facility, and prayed together, and she left around eleven o'clock that night. Shortly thereafter, Pickett had a heart attack and died, alone, some time close to the midnight hour.

POINT OF CONTENTIONDATE: 8/31/21HOST: ZACH CO-HOST: JAMES | JAYINTROWelcome to Point of Contention. Five Subjects Five Minutes. Five Points of Contention. Im Zach, Jade Hoye is producing.Coming up on the show...Will Daryl trade 25? Confounding Cavs! Lillards Lips are Sealed? The Ancient Lakers and Free Agency Winners and Losers. In this corner, Flynt Michigan native, Pistons expert, Clippers fan, and future author of the book “Bad Boy: How Stan Van was not the Man”It's James Edwards III.James, the new Kanye? Classic or Flaccid?And in this corner…from the hard streets of Springfield Mass, Celtics beat reporter, and future author of the book From the Mid Ainge: The rise and fall of Danny Ainge … Jay ‘The Kid' KingJay, is Damian Lillard the greatest NBA rapper of all time?(Banter)SEG 1Jade start the Clock! A matter of when not if!***From The Athletic's Shams Charania dateline August 30***Since July the 76ers has conducted “expansive” discussions with several teams, including Minnesota and Toronto, but neither a Timberwolves package nor the Raptors' proposals have appealed to the 76ers as of yet. Rival executives believe it's only a matter of when — not if — the All-Defensive team stalwart is moved. For now, all signs continue to point to 25's career in Philadelphia coming to an end.(BREAKING NEWS) Hold on we got some breaking news happening right now. From Keith Pompey 25 now says he no longer wants to be with the 76ers! Whoaaaaaaa! From the Philadelphia InquirerBen Simmons let it be known that he wants out. In a meeting with the 76ers last week in Los Angeles, Simmons told team co-managing partner Josh Harris, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, general manager Elton Brand and coach Doc Rivers that he no longer wants to remain a Sixer, according to multiple sources. Sources said the three-time All-Star also does not intend to report to training camp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

POINT OF CONTENTION DATE: 8/31/21 HOST: ZACH  CO-HOST: JAMES | JAY INTRO Welcome to Point of Contention. Five Subjects Five Minutes. Five Points of Contention.  Im Zach, Jade Hoye is producing. Coming up on the show...Will Daryl trade 25? Confounding Cavs! Lillards Lips are Sealed? The Ancient Lakers and Free Agency Winners and Losers.  In this corner, Flynt Michigan native, Pistons expert, Clippers fan, and future author of the book “Bad Boy: How Stan Van was not the Man” It's James Edwards III. James, the new Kanye? Classic or Flaccid? And in this corner…from the hard streets of Springfield Mass, Celtics beat reporter, and future author of the book From the Mid Ainge: The rise and fall of Danny Ainge … Jay ‘The Kid' King Jay, is Damian Lillard the greatest NBA rapper of all time? (Banter) SEG 1 Jade start the Clock! A matter of when not if! ***From The Athletic's Shams Charania dateline August 30*** Since July the 76ers has conducted “expansive” discussions with several teams, including Minnesota and Toronto, but neither a Timberwolves package nor the Raptors' proposals have appealed to the 76ers as of yet.  Rival executives believe it's only a matter of when — not if — the All-Defensive team stalwart is moved.  For now, all signs continue to point to 25's career in Philadelphia coming to an end. (BREAKING NEWS)  Hold on we got some breaking news happening right now.  From Keith Pompey 25 now says he no longer wants to be with the 76ers!  Whoaaaaaaa!  From the Philadelphia Inquirer Ben Simmons let it be known that he wants out. In a meeting with the 76ers last week in Los Angeles, Simmons told team co-managing partner Josh Harris, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, general manager Elton Brand and coach Doc Rivers that he no longer wants to remain a Sixer, according to multiple sources. Sources said the three-time All-Star also does not intend to report to training camp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The 80's Montage! (music, mateys and cool shit from the 80s) Your Hosts Jay Jovi & Sammy HardOn, singers from Australia's 80's tribute band Rewind 80's. We take you back to living in the 80's: music, artists, TV commercials and video clips. Episode 57: Shaddap a You Face! - 80's Novelty Songs. It's a ripper! Please rate, review and enjoy! Music licensed by APRA/AMCOS Theme music ©2019 M. Skerman see Facebook for links to videos & songs mentioned in this episode! Email: planet80sproductions@gmail.com Rewind 80's Band : www.rewind80sband.com Facebook : the80smontagepodcast twitter: 80_montage instagram : the80smontage Links from Episode 57: Shaddap a You Face! - 80's Novelty Songs.Patreon Link With Thanks x https://www.patreon.com/the80smontagepodcast www.the80smontage.comLinks: The Firm - Star Trekkin': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCARADb9asEAusten Tayshus - Australiana (Official Uncensored Version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StcXGhuliRkDigital Underground - The Humpty Dance (Official Music Video): https://youtu.be/PBsjggc5jHMI'M TUFF George Smilovici: https://youtu.be/602B5AXT0GQStutter Rap - Morris Minor & Majors: https://youtu.be/JAIOzM7SsMoCliff Richard & The Young Ones - Living Doll: https://youtu.be/gGOU0o9K89gHitler Rap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu2NqfISm9kShaddap You Face - Joe Dolce: https://youtu.be/sFacWGBJ_csJoe Dolce being a stingy cunt: https://youtu.be/fUPwKOhQH-cVegemite 1985 - TV commercial.: https://youtu.be/2p42oBbsPlQThe Timelords / The KLF - Doctorin' the Tardis: https://youtu.be/rnFR_5-EyiAWeird Al" Yankovic - Eat It: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJjMnHoIBIWeird Al" Yankovic - I Love Rocky Road:https://youtu.be/beTsDOBRs8IThe 12th Man - It's Just Not Cricket (Official Video): https://youtu.be/Qh0FFVjvUicThanks for listening!

喜欢一个人，即使当自己独处，想起心中的那个他/她，嘴角也会不觉地轻微上扬。喜欢一个人，爱一个人，当自己吃到好吃的东西，也会不由得想和他/她分享。爱情，就是那么简单，纯粹，今天分享一组来自于Sundae Kids的描述爱情的插画，The first date第一次约会Man: “Sorry, I'm late.”不好意思，我迟到了。Woman: “I've waited 20 years to meet you. Just 10 more minutes would be okay.”我等了二十年才遇见你。所以再多等这10分钟也没什么。A smile is a beautiful gift微笑是最美好的礼物Both to receive and give彼此收到，彼此给出Man: “You've got a very beautiful smile.”你的笑容好美。Woman: “I got it from you.”我从你那收到的。The best words about love关于爱最好的对白-My girlfriend is like Google.我的女票就像Google。-Because she knows everything?因为她什么都知道?-No. Because she has everything I'm searching for.不。因为我想找寻的都在她那里。True love is giving him the last slice真爱就是把最后一块披萨让给他You know how much I love pizza. But I will give you the last slice. That's how much you mean to me.你知道我有多喜欢吃披萨，但是最后一块还是让给你。你对于我来说是如此重要。It's never too early to see your face.能越早看到你越好Woman: “Am I too early?”我是不是太早啦?Man: It's never too early to see your face.能越早看到你越好。

喜欢一个人，即使当自己独处，想起心中的那个他/她，嘴角也会不觉地轻微上扬。喜欢一个人，爱一个人，当自己吃到好吃的东西，也会不由得想和他/她分享。爱情，就是那么简单，纯粹，今天分享一组来自于Sundae Kids的描述爱情的插画，The first date第一次约会Man: “Sorry, I'm late.”不好意思，我迟到了。Woman: “I've waited 20 years to meet you. Just 10 more minutes would be okay.”我等了二十年才遇见你。所以再多等这10分钟也没什么。A smile is a beautiful gift微笑是最美好的礼物Both to receive and give彼此收到，彼此给出Man: “You've got a very beautiful smile.”你的笑容好美。Woman: “I got it from you.”我从你那收到的。The best words about love关于爱最好的对白-My girlfriend is like Google.我的女票就像Google。-Because she knows everything?因为她什么都知道?-No. Because she has everything I'm searching for.不。因为我想找寻的都在她那里。True love is giving him the last slice真爱就是把最后一块披萨让给他You know how much I love pizza. But I will give you the last slice. That's how much you mean to me.你知道我有多喜欢吃披萨，但是最后一块还是让给你。你对于我来说是如此重要。It's never too early to see your face.能越早看到你越好Woman: “Am I too early?”我是不是太早啦?Man: It's never too early to see your face.能越早看到你越好。

Man It's a Wrap!! The Speak The Truth Cast Discuss The Ending Of The Stars Phenomenon, Power!

 Want more 100x? Follow Pedro on Instagram @PedroMAdao, like us on Facebook 100x or go to www.100xacademy.com. Today Pedro Adao does a little reframing work. As Kingdom Entrepreneurs, we need to re-frame our minds to only rely on what our Father says about us and not what men say.  Quick Episode Summary: Pedro shares a story Who do men say that I am Who does God say that I am Looking at the life of Jesus Fear of God vs Fear of Man It is all about identity Blessing those who hurt you Being rooted in sonship God can trust you more Heart wounds Don't fall for flattery 

Today is episode 7 of our green series. Second to last one one, people. If you stuck it out, this is the one that matters most to almost all of you. Man… It was a long journey but worth it in the end. I'm compiling this entire series into an ebook which will be available on Amazon. Look for that in fall of 2019. Brief overview of the green series: We started with software, zoomed out to the server hardware, to electrical systems to the philosophy behind green data centers, to automation and efficiency and here we are today at green cooling. If you're interested in reducing your carbon footprint as a data center operator, this is the place to be! You've made it. Next week will take off from this topic in order to discuss kinetic edge data centers, then the week after we will be talking with Keith Perry principal at DAO Technologies – that was a great interview. After that will be our last episode in the series: energy reclamation. Really looking forward to that one. Our sponsor this week is Green Lane Design. Green Lane has been designing, engineering and building critical facilities for over ten years including major enterprise customers as well as colocation facilities. GLD has designed and developed an integrated stack of design disciplines. If you would be interested in a free assessment go to http://www.greenlanedesign.com/contact/ and mention the podcast. Our music is algorithmically generated by Jukedeck. Create your own at http://jukedeck.com. Try it out. It's free.

  Today, I'm gonna to tell you about my very favorite book… *Spoiler Alert* … it’s NOT one of Russell’s ;-)   There's a really important lesson that goes along with this… so make sure you don’t skip any of this… or you won’t get the payoff.   I'm psyched to tell you about this book... because it literally transformed my life.   I've only ever shared the story of why this book is so powerful and important in a few select places. At OfferMind (my own event right back in November...  you guys can get tickets now at offermind.com),  I finally recorded the strange story of how this impactful book came into my life.     … so, y'all ready?   THE TWO VOICES   The game's hard for a while, right? You're proving yourself to... life, existence, God, the universe, the market, EVERYBODY…   You’ve decide,  "I want this cool thing? Sweet!”   Then, for a while, the path tends to be:   Objection   Objection   Objection   Constraint   Constraint   Constraint   ...Right?   If you’re at that stage don’t worry about it. Start publishing about your journey… ‘cause funnily enough, those are the things that people will follow you for.   For me, it was around business try #8... that was the time when things started to get me down. It was rough, man!     I was one of the only people in the entire world,  besides Russell, that I even knew who was doing this... and he didn't know who I was.   I didn't know how to describe what I was doing to other people well. So it kinda got lonely.   Crap was kinda hitting the fan for me mentally.   I was trying to stay true my mission, but I had two voices in my head:     I know it's there. This is going to be super. I just need to keep going.     But man, am I just being stubborn? Should I get a job?     ...You know what I mean?   There was this conflict back and forth: “Is it really there... or am I just believing in a mirage?” And that's when a lot of the self-doubt started to creep in…   MARRY THE PROCESS   Although things were still tough, there was this moment where I started learning enough that I would kinda get in fights with my marketing professors...   And for whatever reason, at that moment, things started turning for me.   When you declare what you want and start walking towards it, things begin to conspire for you.   It doesn’t mean that there won’t be opposition... but most people aren't even willing to declare what they want publicly, in a big enough for things to conspire in the first place.   Declare your intent and stuff will begin to happen for you, and for your sake... I believe it's God. That moment had NOT quite happened yet for me, but it was close.   89 CENT BEAN BURRITOS...   I was sucking it up on several different business attempts, and life was really challenging.   I was:   Broke   In the Army   Studying in College   Married   A father   It was a lot...   My wife and I, would go to like a Taco Bell, or somewhere like that for our date nights because 89 cent bean burritos were all we could afford. It was fun…     But it was extremely humbling... and a constant reminder of what I wasn't.   Papa Larsen realness coming out here...   As I started trying my next business, I was excited. I told Princess Babe (my gorgeous wife) about it... and she wanted to believe in me.   But it was challenging…   And when she asked, "Is this the one?"   On the outside, I was, "Yeah, babe. I'm your man. I will provide." But I wasn't providing at all. We were living off loans, and it was really tough.   Then one day, EVERYTHING changed...   THE MAN   It was a grey rainy day, and I’d just finished the most boring class on earth, #Quantitative Economics... Man, it sucked!     As I walked to my next class my head was full of doubts and questions:   Crap, is this the one?       I wanna feel like a man.       I wanna provide.       I wanna be her man.       Am I good enough for this?       Maybe I’m NOT good enough.?       Maybe I should go get a job?       But $8 an hour won’t pay the bills.       Should we keep living on loans?     All these doubts and questions were running through my head… the noise was intense.   Have you ever have felt the noise? It was like, "Shut up… I can do it… but am I psycho?"...       Is this the one?     I don't know if this is going to work? “I don't either.”   Let's put money on it. "Are you serious?"   Let's go get money for ads! “What? We can barely eat…” A lot of my passion comes from this situation because I know a lot of guys are still there... and I want to get you through it.   All these voices were competing in my head as I walked. Suddenly, I see an old gentleman (who I'd never seen before) sitting on a park bench. It had just stopped raining... and (super-cheesy straight out of a frickin movie), the clouds part...   He was sitting on the bench reading a book, and the dude was just wearing wealth. Just so filthy freakin’ rich. You could just tell.   I'm still some way off when a limo pulls up in front of him.   This dude with an unnaturally straight posture gets out of the car, walks around the front, opens the car door, and does a little half-bow…   I was starting to get a little bit closer now…   The older gentleman stands up, and they exchange looks. You could tell they knew each other. Maybe he's been his driver for a while... I don't know, but I know there’s a history.   They exchange a few words, then the older gentleman starts to get into the limo…   By this time I'm getting pretty close..,   And as the driver starts to close the limo door, something in me, out of sheer desperation, made me run…   I ran ‘cos I wanted it.   I ran full speed and slammed my hand in the door right before it closed... which hurt...I wanted him to know I was there.   I was like, "Hey, what's up? I know you don't know me". Then I asked, "How did you get this? I'm sure you get asked it a lot. How did you get all this?".   Once he realized that I wasn't going to hurt him, he stopped, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "Yes, a lot of people ask me that".   I said, "How do you do it? It's not that I'm not trying... I'm launching, I'm doing the stuff. What is wrong? Other people have success and I'm don’t. I'm the variable. What is wrong with me? What is it?"   He looked at me for a moment, then he reached down, and handed me a book. Then he said, "Read this".   It was the book that he’d been reading on the bench before the car pulled up.   He said, "If you will read this for 20 minutes every day... and then spend the next 40 applying it, you will not recognize your life in two years."   I was like, "That's super random... the clouds parted. Maybe that was a message?” It was so cool.   So I spent the next year; 20 minutes reading the book, 40 minutes applying. 20 minutes reading, 40 minutes applying... I spent the whole year like that.   And, in one year, just as he promised, stuff started happening in my life.   I stopped looking at the clock and I stopped judging my self-worth based on how fast that guy or this lady achieved success.   I stopped looking at the clock, and I just put my head down.   After that day, I didn’t see him again for quite some time… That was four years ago!   Four years ago, he handed me the book and drove off.   MY GIFT TO YOU   Since being in Russell's world, I have a lot more connections... my Rolodex has grown a lot, and eventually, I managed to trace the guy who so generously changed my life with that one book.   I reached out, and said, "Hey man, just so you know, that was a huge deal to me".   Since then, we’ve been in communication quite a bit now, which is really fun, and when I told him my story he said that I could give each reader of my blog a copy of his book... which is really exciting. I know right? It's awesome!   I’m a very slow reader, so I asked if I was licensed to read and record the book. He said, “Yes.”   So I have:   An Audiobook for you   A Checklist so you guys can make sure that you're implementing correctly.   Since then, he and I have gained quite a relationship and he wants to do a private event in about six months from now.   It's going to be in his house, so it’s ONLY OPEN to 20 people.   It’ll be an event with him and me where we'll actually apply EVERYTHING you learned from the book.   It's gonna be in 6 months from now; so that you’ll have time to read the book and follow the checklist. Sound good?   So you guys get the:   Book   Audiobook   Checklist   Opportunity to attend a private event for 20   Sound good?   Who's ready to buy something?     BUT FIRST, SOME QUESTIONS… (...and a confession)   What did I just do with your emotions there?     Do You want the book?     By the way…   That's all fake. I’ve read that book in my life. It’s just a random one off my shelf.   THE MORAL OF THE STORY   Q:  Why do you want the book?   A: *THE STORY*   Everything about how you sell has everything to do with the story you tell.   All of that was FAKE...   But when I told the story at OfferMind, and asked: “Who wants the book?” Even people who’d heard the story before raised their hand.   Let me ask you…   Q: Did you feel more of a connection to my wife because of that fake story?   Interesting, isn't it? The power of story is a huge deal. All of that was fake. None of that happened, but yet you probably felt a connection   Q: What about the story makes it so impactful?   A: I painted your exact situation.   Q: How did I know that?   A: Because I've been there... I know my red ocean customer. I know you. I know the stories you've been in. I know the scenarios you're in. A lot of it is because I've been there as well.   If you understand your red ocean it allows you to craft a story for your sales that connects emotionally with your ideal customer.   A purple sales message Did I talk about the chapters in the book? No! But people still wanted it.   Too many people are like, "Oh, I gotta build this last feature in my offer to make it sell”.  No! That's NOT what makes it sell.   The sales message is what sells. It has nothing to do with the product. It's all about the story selling. Story is the sales mechanism. The product just fulfills on its promise.   That's what’ll make you scratch the itch and go:   "Oh my gosh, I remember that chapter he talked about". Even though I didn't.   "Oh, this chapter is amazing. I remember the backstory. I wonder if this is what he was reading on the bench?"  Even though I didn’t mention that at all   You begin to romanticize certain elements of the product.   So when you see the product for the first time, you're like, "I know the backstory behind this feature. I know why this was such a big deal".   It is one of the most common things that I run into when I'm coaching people... "Steve, I haven't launched yet, because my product's not done"... *WRONG*   It has nothing to do with the product.   STORY SELLING   We often use product development as a logical excuse, (although it is NOT), for why we haven't launched. It's, “How I can sell something that isn't yet made?”   Take the money. It's NOT bait and switch. Your customer knows the product isn’t  made yet... and then, once the market has voted with their wallet, then you go make it.   I call this the purple sales message... the power of it is that you’re able to test a whole bunch of stories that allow you to make your product with security rather than risk…   Don’t want to spend 8 months building a product (as I did my first time) that isn’t market validated.   Russell sent me a message saying, "Dude, you've got to stop telling that story. They're not gonna believe you when you actually go sell something".   That's the point I'm trying to help you guys understand that this is how stuff is sold. It's got nothing to do with the product.   No one gives a crap about your features. It's not the reason why someone buys.   You can still obsess and over-deliver for your clients and your customers. I believe in that…   BUT do it with the understanding that this is NOT what puts money in your wallet.   What puts money in the wallet is the sales message. Products never sell themselves. The sales message and product are two separate and independent assets   Boom! If you're just starting out you're probably studying a lot. That's good. You're probably geeking out on all the strategies also, right? That's also good.   But the hardest part is figuring out what the market wants to buy and how you should sell it to them, right? That's what I struggled with for a while until I learned the formula.   So I created a special Mastermind called an OfferMind to get you on track with the right offer, and more importantly the right sales script to get it off the ground and sell it.   Wanna come?   They’re small groups on purpose so I can answer your direct questions in person for two straight days.   Hold your spot by going to OfferMind.com. Again, that's OfferMind.com.  

Here's an idea. Put out a tremendously simpleton and cynical sermon on social morality and when people label it simpleton and cynical, declare their defensiveness to be a certain sign that you were right. How long have you been beating your wife, Mr. Man? It's okay to hate the world. Or at least Gillette and their stamped out safety razors.On this week's Last Men on Earth podcast we dive man-head first into that moronic and incredibly obvious Gillette "The Best Men Can Be" short film, discuss Mariah Carey's assistant's lawsuit for tit humiliation, Matt and I argue over the racism level of the NFL and how Colin Kaepernick came to be the large-living version of Malcolm X, we talk about the case of the Butch Lesbian suing Chili's for suggesting she dress in women's clothing, and I try to ridicule Matt for his article slamming people who love their dogs too much. I'm not sure how that goes, but I'm giving myself a perfect ten like that midget girl from UCLA on the floor exercises.Please, please, please don't forget we run advertising free and entirely off of your Patreon sponsor donations, We're like PBS, but with dirty words and more empty malt liquor bottles. Take the time to donate a few shekels and enjoy our current show and epic archives of podcast divinity. Thanks!Lex See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are you an early Man? It's the March school holidays in Singapore this week! Y1 the Family man is flooded with school holiday activities so he is not in this week episode. Not to worry, Z1 the Sceptic man and A1 the Lost man, are around to carry on the show in HAPAPAP Podcast Episode 41! What about you, what type of man are you? An early man or are you a Wo-man? ?Get it? wo-man? ? What did we do the last week? ? Z1 Did not watch Lara Croft nor Red Sparrow but he watched Early Man instead ? A1 Watched Fullmetal Alchemist for 15 minutes. Decided to continue watching One Piece instead ? Y1 Currently engaged in March School Holidays Activities ?‍?‍?‍? News from our Google Feeeeeeeed ? Coffee shop bribery failed. Heng Heng! ☕️? Google Infographic. Some interesting information about Google you never knew ? You might want to check on your water bottle. This sick guy peed in his co-worker's water bottle ?? ?Health Hazard Products Alert! Do check if you are using any of these! One of it has 7,000 times the amount of mercury permitted! ☠️ Word of the Day Chao Keng Hokkien. Literally means smelly fake. To act/pretend to be busy in order to avoid doing something for selfish reasons Usage Example This guy always chao keng, when got work to do he always says he got a stomachache.

Jesus, Man – Episode #27 In This Episode... In the next two weeks we talk about the two natures of Jesus. This week, we focus on Jesus's humanity. Today, Mormonism is the fastest growing “Christian” religion in the world. We’ve been visited by Jehovah’s Witnesses. They both speak of Jesus. What makes our Jesus different? Does it matter? Important questions we felt needed answering. 01:04 – Segment 1 We start the discussion by talking about how Jesus is the most popular Sunday school answer. Why is it important to talk about Jesus Himself? John C. has been shunned by members of his family as they are Mormon. The wrong Jesus can’t save anybody, therefore, this is an important topic. Jesus has two natures, so we’ll discuss them in two episodes. We give an overview of the next two weeks including a definition of nature. How do you pronounce Chalcedonian? The branches have a brief discussion on a history lesson about the early church and coming up with a formulation and battling heresy. The ditches that can occur with this topic land you in heresy. 09:37 – Segment 2 We go through the various characteristics of Jesus’ human nature. Jesus is truly God and truly Man in one Person. The glorified state of Jesus' body is discussed. We feel sorry for James, the brother of Jesus. A relevant discussion on Nestorianism and other early church heresies is had. 23:46 – Segment 3 There is a further discussion on heresy and why it logically doesn’t make sense to separate Jesus’ natures. We continue to discuss the different attributes of the humanity of Jesus. Next, we ask, did Jesus have a soul? All of this is fine, but we finally get into the why. So, why does Jesus need to be truly Man? It brings great rest that Jesus understands what we go through, and we have all the tools that Jesus used to not sin. Scripture Discussed in the Show 2 John 7 Episode Verse Luke 2:40 Luke 2:52 John 19:28 Matthew 11:19 Matthew 5:7-8 John 12:27 Matthew 26:38 John 13:21 John 11:35 Matthew 8:27 Matthew 15:54-56 Hebrews 4:15 2 Corinthians 5:21 Matthew 24:36 John 2:14-15 Visit us and give us a 'like' on our Facebook page and also, don’t forget to like this podcast below! Episode Length 45:13 Thanks so much for tuning in. Join us again next week!

Sermon on Matthew 16:13-17 titled Who Is The Son of Man? It was preached by Ryan Cyr on January 1st 2017 at Manhattan Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Manhattan, Kansas. You can learn more at ManhattanPres.com

What exactly is this New Covenant offering to Man? It is unique!. This new covenant, written and sealed in the Blood of Jesus promises you: a New Nature that yearns for God, Forgiveness of Sins that frees you from your past and releases you into a new day and an Eternal Inheritance in a never ending relationship with God

We started off with the with Let It Snow! Let It Show! Let It Snow! Who else is in our BluzNdaBlood stocking that's stuffed with great tunes? We've got , Chick 4 Christmas; , Man It's Christmas; , Run Rudolph Run; , Christmas Everyday; , Santa's Messin' with the Kid; Mr. Vegas Man, Hey Santa; , I Want You With Me Christmas; , Blue Christmas; , Blues for Christmas; , Christmas Snuck Up On Me Again; , Don't Plan No Party This Christmas; , May Christmas Bring You Happiness; s, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; and dedicated to all the honorable men and women serving our country away from home this Christmas, we end the show with , I Want My Baby For Christmas.

Continuing our miniseries with a very politically-connected religious leader, one with upwards of one thousand “front organizations”, the “Reverend” Sun Myung Moon. Music Joel Lightman Band…”Step It Up” Derek K. Miller…”Clouds or Smoke?” Jimmie Bratcher…“Man It’s Christmas” Unification Church Links http://www.azstarnet.com/news/156684 Follow up article: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04188/342412.stm SEARCH ARTICLES: http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_search&Itemid=99999999&searchword=moon&submit=Search&searchphrase=any&ordering=newest Moon Front Groups: http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/m/moonies/front_groups.htm A very disturbing...

What are Christingles & Chrismons? What do they mean and what can you do with them? Find out more about Christingles at whychristmas?com Find out more about Chrismons at whychristmas?com Music Theme: Bryan Duncan and the NehoSoul Band??This Christmas? Song: Jimmie Bratcher…”Man It’s Christmas” The post Day 7 – Lifespring! Advent Calendar “Christingles & Chrismons” first appeared on Lifespring! Media.