Today we celebrate rain and wind and convection and hurricanes. Hurricane Harvey is causing way too much anxiety for the East Texas coast.
We are praying for the south Texas coast, especially Corpus Christi and all the surrounding cities. We are praying for Kingsville and Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico, too.
Stevie Ray Vaughan said it best, “The sky is crying.” But this weekend, we are having ourselves a genuine Texas Flood.
This is nothing wrong with death. It is a natural process in the life cycle of living things. Unfortunately, there are circumstances where some of us face death all too soon in our journey here on Earth. American TV advertising floods programming with commercials telling us to buy products which will keep us young and reverse or slow the aging process. Why? Manufacturers think that we are afraid of dying and of looking old. So, they assemble products to “boost” naturally fading hormones. Surprisingly, the Botulinum toxin (BTX) a neuro-toxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum is one of those products. BTX is an acutely lethal toxin that “they think” will stop the aging process through paralysis. Who wants a killing toxin injected into the body, much less injected into the face? Ironically . . . people who are afraid of dying and looking old.
More than 23 years ago, (how’s that for aged?) Scott Hull founded the grindcore band Agoraphobic Nosebleed in Springfield, Massachusetts with Carl Schultz and J. R. Hayes. While many band members have come and gone, Scott is the remaining original. He is a guitarist and drum programmer who can be pointed out as a significant influence on several drum-machine grindcore bands today. Grindcore is a genre of music that is considered ‘extreme’ because it uses slow, industrial laden beats, abrasive-sounding tones, including heavily distorted and down-tuned guitars and grinding overdriven bass. The beat can flip to a high speed tempo with blasting vocals – growls and rumblings, and even screams.
Today, the group is made up Jay Randall, Kat Katz, formerly of Salome, Richard Johnson of Enemy Soil and Drugs of Faith, and John Jarvis formerly of Pig Destroyer and Fulgora. ANb has perfected the “micro-song” characteristic by releasing four studio albums and 27 short length efforts in their career. This includes the EP entitled “ARC” which has a track that puts the listener in the center of a death scene. The EP features vocalist Kat. “ARC” is supposed to be the inaugural effort of a four-work EP series. The purpose of which allows each individual band member to express themselves through the grindcore experience.
What is it like when we lose a dear loved one? Do we only shed tears? If our feelings could speak, would they not also scream and growl and breakdown in loud and sorrowful desperation? What is that one thing we would petition our dying loved one before their life oozed from this realm of pleasure and pain?
I see these once tanned hands. Lots of wrinkly skin around the knuckles. This means — must have been ready to bend into a new shape at the clinch of a fist.
by Lawrence J. J. Leonard (WARNING: adult content)
That’s it! I quit!
We hear you. We’ve all been there at some point hoping to get out of a bad situation. It really takes a lot of bad news to break off a relationship. When it is over, though, it is so over. Usually it is not because of one misunderstanding nor a string of them. The reasons to break up with somebody abruptly can be anything from not being appreciated to cheating and lying. The feeling of hurt mixed with anger is not an easy process to wade through.
One of America’s most eclectic musicians and songwriters who is able to articulate this feeling is DavidBromberg. His musical tastes run the gamut. They are as varied as the many musicians he has played with. These include: Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson, Jorma Kaukonen, Jerry Garcia, Rusty Evans, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Vince Gill, Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, John Hiatt, Ringo Starr and GeorgeHarrison. David’s virtuoso guitar style is featured on 18 solo albums. Although his roots are based in folk music, his songs reflect his life and times. So, what was it that made him so determined to separate from a girlfriend that inspired his iconic break-up song?
David got an idea for the 1976 album “How Late’ll Ya Play ‘Til?” and it involved a big split – but in a good way. The album is a two record / two CD collectors item. The first is a studio session collection of humorous songs. David shows off his guitar blues skill. The second includes his break-up rendition. David must have come face to face with a really unfaithful person. We can feel lost and betrayed when the one who loves us shares their affection with someone else.
Many great stories have been told and written which describe people of good moral character.
Some in the face of temptation and others in the face of anger and death are tested from the point of heartbreak to the point of extinction.
If we as believers are called to be forgiving, surely our actions will appear as defiant to some because many of today’s “authoritarians” do not understand the concept of forgiveness.
Can an argument over an interpretation be good cause to end a relationship?
Science proves primary concepts in Holy Scriptures: According to CERN, the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) using the ALICE detector has confirmed quark-gluon plasma is an ultra-low viscosity liquid. This after colliding lead ions at close to the speed of light, physicists say the Universe is a perfect fluid.
No matter how many times I get told ‘no’ this is what I keep telling myself: that it does not matter
because I know what it takes to make
the system of my life or my business function, fluid,
successful and flexible.
And this is what counts in life.Continue reading →
