In late 1966, “Sunday Morning” was the final song to be recorded for The Velvet Underground & Nico. It was requested by Tom Wilson, who thought the album needed another song with lead vocals by Nico with the potential to be a successful single. The final master tape of side one of the album shows “Sunday Morning” only penciled in before “I’m Waiting for the Man“.
Wilson brought the band into a New York City recording studio in November. The song was written with Nico’s voice in mind by Lou Reed and John Cale on a Sunday morning. The band previously performed it live with Nico singing lead, but when it came time to record it, Lou Reed sang the lead vocal. Nico would instead sing backing vocals on the song.
Aiming to create a hit for the album, “Sunday Morning” features noticeably more lush and professional production than the rest of the songs on the album. The song’s prominent use of celesta was the idea of John Cale, who noticed the instrument in the studio and decided to use it for the song.
A cover of the song by the Doug Anthony All Stars was used in a season 1 episode of DAAS Kapital, but did not appear on the DVD set of the sci-fi sitcom due to “contractual reasons… and because we never paid to use it in the first place,” according to Paul McDermott. In its place is the newly recorded original song “Saturday’s The Day For Leaving”.[5] During the song, the DVD displays text to this effect, before mentioning the original version “is still on YouTube“.[6]
The chord progression is used in Kramer‘s “Don’t Come Around“, which includes the lyric, “I love this song,” presumably referring to the Velvet Underground song rather than the Kramer song.
Jump up ^DAAS Kapital DVD, S1E3 “Gluttony” (DVD). ABC. 2013.
_________________
Velvet Underground-All Tomorrow’s Parties
Uploaded on Jun 28, 2010
Video was created using a video from Rai Tre. The video is them jamming live most likely at The Factory in New York. Not sure of year. Song is from The Velvet Underground And Nico. (Album) TheDrakeHotel also uses this video.
Copyright Rai Tre (For Video) Copyright Verve Records (For Song)
Inspiration for the song came from Reed’s observation of the Warhol clique; according to Reed, the song is “a very apt description of certain people at the Factory at the time. … I watched Andy. I watched Andy watching everybody. I would hear people say the most astonishing things, the craziest things, the funniest things, the saddest things.”[2] The song was Andy Warhol’s favorite by The Velvet Underground.[3]
The song was recorded at Scepter Studios, New York, during April 1966. It features a piano motif played by Cale (initially written as an exercise) based largely on tone clusters. It was one of the first pop songs to make use of prepared piano[4] (a chain of paper clips were intertwined with the piano strings to change their sounds). The song also features the ostrich guitar tuning by Reed, by which all of the guitar strings were tuned to D.[3]
Nico provides lead vocals. The song was originally recorded with only one track of her vocals; they were later double-tracked for the final album version. Most versions of the album use this version of the song, though the initial 1987 CD release uses the original mix without the double-tracking.
The earliest known recorded version of “All Tomorrow’s Parties” was recorded on reel to reel tape by Lou Reed, John Cale and Sterling Morrison in a New York apartment loft on Ludlow Street. With Reed on acoustic guitar, the song features a strong folk music sound—particularly in Cale and Morrison’s harmony vocals—which critic David Fricke[5] suggests demonstrates Reed’s fondness for Bob Dylan. This version, released on the Peel Slowly and See box set, is composed of multiple takes, which add up to a time of 18:26.
Single version, July 1966
An edited version of the song was released in July 1966 as a single with “I’ll Be Your Mirror” as a B-side. The song cuts out about half of the studio version at just under three minutes. It did not chart.
The sixth track from The Velvet Underground & Nico, featuring Nico’s double-tracked lead vocals. This sample contains the beginning of the third verse.
Jim Morrison’s sad drug death was followed by Pamela Courson’s sad story!!! pamela courson/ jim morrison interview Interview with Jim Morrison’s father and sister Uploaded on Aug 9, 2010 This interview is from “When You’re Strange” DVD bonus material. I do not own this video and own no rights to it! Pamela Courson Uploaded […]
__________ NICO – I’m Waiting For The Man – (1982, Warehouse, Preston, UK) One of the top 10 songs from The Velvet Underground and Nico is the song “I’m Waiting for the Man I’m Waiting for the Man From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search “I’m Waiting for the Man” Song by […]
The life of Lou Reed (includes videos from 1960′s and 1970′s) ____________ Rock & Roll – Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground – Venus in Furs – Live 1) Lou Reed – Sweet Jane – live in Paris, 1974 Velvet Underground-”Sunday Morning” from “Velvet Underground and Nico” LP Lou Reed From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump […]
Jim Morrison’s relationship with Nico Nico Icon documentary part 1. Nico Icon documentary part 2. ______________ Jim Morrison at Andy Warhol’s Party.wmv (with Nico) Uploaded on Apr 26, 2010 From the Oliver Stone movie. The Doors. _______________________ nico discusses jim morrison. Uploaded on Jan 2, 2008 nico discusses jim, and how he impacted her […]
I really enjoyed the movie “Savannah Smiles” last night and afterwards I looked up what happened to Bridgette Andersen and where she is today. IMDB notes: Bridgette Andersen was born on July 11, 1975 to Frank Glass and Teresa Andersen in Inglewood, California and grew up in Malibu. She always considered it good luck to […]
Today I heard Tim Todd’s testimony about drugs. Related posts: Whitney Houston dead at 48, long history of drugs and alcohol February 11, 2012 – 8:31 pm Sad news about Whitney Houston’s death tonight. I have included some earlier posts about drugs and alcohol and rock stars. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whitney Houston, who ruled as […]
I have written about the “27 Club” several times in the past and I have got a lot of hits in the last 30 days on these blog posts below that deal with Rock and Rollers and drugs. Keith Richards’ wife is a bible believing christian Pete de Freitas of Echo and the Bunnymen is a […]
I’m In A Rock ‘N’ Roll Band – The Singer (Part 1) Jim Morrison – books on tape – w subtitles Light My Fire – The Doors The Rolling Stones – Satisfaction ________________________ The Rolling Stones – The Breakthrough The Rolling Stones – Brian Jones The Rolling Stones- Paint it Black Nirvana – Smells Like […]
Pictures and Videos of Edie Sedgwick and the story of her losing battle against drugs and alcohol Part 2 Drugs and alcohol have taken the life of many people and I have posted many times about their unfortunate deaths. Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Gary Thain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain, and Jim […]
Pictures and Videos of Edie Sedgwick and the story of her losing battle against drugs and alcohol Part 1 Factory Girl – The Real Edie Uploaded on Aug 30, 2011 Friends and family of Edie Sedgwick discuss what the factory girl was really like, and the battles and relationships she went through _____________ Edie Sedgwick Excerpt […]
Around 4 years ago I was in Philadelphia and the local radio station had a talk show that was blasting Alice Walton for coming into town and buying the 1876 Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece “The Gross Clinic” which was hanging at the Jefferson Medical College. However, the people of Philadelphia were given 45 days to […]
The song is about purchasing $26 worth of heroin in a Harlembrownstone near the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 125th Street in New York City. The song is sung from the point of view of the purchaser who is presumably traveling to Harlem from another part of the city; the “man” in the song’s title is a drug dealer. Along with traditional guitar, bass, and drums, the song also features pounding, percussive rock-and-roll barrelhouse-style piano. It is one of the band’s more popular songs, and one of their many compositions featuring drugs as subject matter. After leaving the band in 1970, Lou Reed continued to incorporate the song into his solo live performances.
It was released as a single in October 1971 (with “There She Goes Again” on the B-side) as Andy Warhol’s Velvet Underground on MGM Records.[4]
The song was among a set of early songs to be recorded by Lou Reed, John Cale and Sterling Morrison in the band’s Ludlow Street loft in Manhattan. This version of the song, free of percussion, has a considerably more folk and even blues influence in style than the album version. It is available on the first disc of the Peel Slowly and See box set.
Scepter Studios, April 1966
Before the final album version of the song was re-recorded at T.T.G. Studios, in Hollywood, California, a different take of the song was originally recorded at Scepter Studios in New York City. This take of the song is slightly shorter, the piano is less audible and instead of drums, a tambourine is employed. Also of note is that Reed sings “I’m waiting for the man” at the beginning of the song. Though the album version, Reed sings “I’m waiting for my man.”
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page played the song during their various incarnations in their Plant and Page tours.[19] Robert Plant’s Priory of Brian also did a cover of the song.[20]
Death Cab for Cutie‘s lyric “To a brownstone, up three flights of stairs” in their song “No Joy in Mudville” is a direct, uncredited lift from “I’m Waiting For The Man”.
The lyrics were used in the 2002 ballet by Édouard Lock and La La La Human Steps “Amelia” with completely different music by David Lang.
Jim Morrison’s sad drug death was followed by Pamela Courson’s sad story!!! pamela courson/ jim morrison interview Interview with Jim Morrison’s father and sister Uploaded on Aug 9, 2010 This interview is from “When You’re Strange” DVD bonus material. I do not own this video and own no rights to it! Pamela Courson Uploaded […]
__________ NICO – I’m Waiting For The Man – (1982, Warehouse, Preston, UK) One of the top 10 songs from The Velvet Underground and Nico is the song “I’m Waiting for the Man I’m Waiting for the Man From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search “I’m Waiting for the Man” Song by […]
The life of Lou Reed (includes videos from 1960′s and 1970′s) ____________ Rock & Roll – Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground – Venus in Furs – Live 1) Lou Reed – Sweet Jane – live in Paris, 1974 Velvet Underground-”Sunday Morning” from “Velvet Underground and Nico” LP Lou Reed From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump […]
Jim Morrison’s relationship with Nico Nico Icon documentary part 1. Nico Icon documentary part 2. ______________ Jim Morrison at Andy Warhol’s Party.wmv (with Nico) Uploaded on Apr 26, 2010 From the Oliver Stone movie. The Doors. _______________________ nico discusses jim morrison. Uploaded on Jan 2, 2008 nico discusses jim, and how he impacted her […]
I really enjoyed the movie “Savannah Smiles” last night and afterwards I looked up what happened to Bridgette Andersen and where she is today. IMDB notes: Bridgette Andersen was born on July 11, 1975 to Frank Glass and Teresa Andersen in Inglewood, California and grew up in Malibu. She always considered it good luck to […]
Today I heard Tim Todd’s testimony about drugs. Related posts: Whitney Houston dead at 48, long history of drugs and alcohol February 11, 2012 – 8:31 pm Sad news about Whitney Houston’s death tonight. I have included some earlier posts about drugs and alcohol and rock stars. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whitney Houston, who ruled as […]
I have written about the “27 Club” several times in the past and I have got a lot of hits in the last 30 days on these blog posts below that deal with Rock and Rollers and drugs. Keith Richards’ wife is a bible believing christian Pete de Freitas of Echo and the Bunnymen is a […]
I’m In A Rock ‘N’ Roll Band – The Singer (Part 1) Jim Morrison – books on tape – w subtitles Light My Fire – The Doors The Rolling Stones – Satisfaction ________________________ The Rolling Stones – The Breakthrough The Rolling Stones – Brian Jones The Rolling Stones- Paint it Black Nirvana – Smells Like […]
Pictures and Videos of Edie Sedgwick and the story of her losing battle against drugs and alcohol Part 2 Drugs and alcohol have taken the life of many people and I have posted many times about their unfortunate deaths. Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Gary Thain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain, and Jim […]
Pictures and Videos of Edie Sedgwick and the story of her losing battle against drugs and alcohol Part 1 Factory Girl – The Real Edie Uploaded on Aug 30, 2011 Friends and family of Edie Sedgwick discuss what the factory girl was really like, and the battles and relationships she went through _____________ Edie Sedgwick Excerpt […]
Around 4 years ago I was in Philadelphia and the local radio station had a talk show that was blasting Alice Walton for coming into town and buying the 1876 Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece “The Gross Clinic” which was hanging at the Jefferson Medical College. However, the people of Philadelphia were given 45 days to […]
Pamela Susan Courson (December 22, 1946 – April 25, 1974) was the long-term companion of Jim Morrison, singer of The Doors. After the deaths of Morrison and Courson, her parents petitioned an out-of-state court to declare that the couple had a common-law marriage.
Courson was born in Weed, California. She was described as a reclusive young girl from a family that did not mix with the neighbors very much. She did well in school until junior high, when records show that her family was contacted about truancy. Courson hated high school, attending Orange High School, and her grades declined when she was sixteen. That spring, she left for Los Angeles, where she and a friend got an apartment. Rumor has it that Neil Young wrote the song “Cinnamon Girl” about her, as well as “The Needle and the Damage Done“, but both have been denied.[1]
In his 1998 memoir, Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors, former keyboardist Ray Manzarek stated that Courson and Morrison met at a nightclub called London Fog on the Sunset Strip in 1965, while she was an art student at Los Angeles City College. Courson’s relationship with Morrison was tumultuous with loud arguments and repeated infidelities by both partners.
Courson briefly operated Themis, a fashion boutique that Morrison bought for her.[2] Her death certificate lists her occupation as “women’s apparel”.[citation needed]
Deaths of Morrison and Courson
On July 3, 1971, Courson found Morrison dead in the bathtub of their apartment in Paris, France. The official coroner‘s report listed his cause of death as heart failure, although no autopsy was performed. Questions persist over the actual cause of death. Under Morrison’s will, which stated that he was “an unmarried person”, Courson inherited his entire fortune. Lawsuits against the estate would tie up her quest for inheritance for the next two years. Courson did not remain in contact with the remaining Doors members after she received her share of Morrison’s royalties.
After Morrison’s death, Courson became a recluse in Los Angeles, using heroin and showing signs of mental instability. In his follow-up book to the seminal Jim Morrison biography, No One Here Gets Out Alive, Jerry Hopkins mentions that Courson might have prostituted herself after Morrison’s death, probably to keep up with the costly lifestyle she was used to, and was apparently pimped by a former Doors chauffeur. Doors historian Danny Sugerman became friendly with her in Los Angeles after Morrison’s death. Many years later he wrote in Wonderland Avenue that Courson’s heroin addiction progressed to the point that when she smuggled her drugs in her car she hid them in different-colored balloons.[3] She planned to swallow them if an officer pulled her over, and to “shit them out” upon returning home.[4]
On April 25, 1974, Courson died of a heroin overdose on the living room couch at the Los Angeles apartment she shared with two male friends. A neighbor said she had talked about looking forward to seeing Morrison again soon. Her parents intended that she be buried next to Morrison at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, and they listed this location as the place of burial on her death certificate, but due to legal complications with transporting the body to France, her remains were buried at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California, under the name Pamela Susan Morrison. Several months after her death, her parents, Columbus and Peny Courson, inherited Morrison’s fortune. Morrison’s parents later contested their executorship of the estate.
Estate controversy
In his will, made in Los Angeles County on February 12, 1969, Morrison left his entire estate to Courson, also naming her co-executor with his attorney, Max Fink.
When Courson died, a battle ensued between Morrison’s and Courson’s parents over who had legal claim to Morrison’s estate. On his death, his property became Courson’s; on her death, her property passed to her next heirs at law, her parents. Morrison’s parents contested the will under which Courson and subsequently her parents had inherited their son’s property.
To bolster their positions, Courson’s parents presented an unsigned document that they claimed Pam Courson had acquired in Colorado, apparently an application for a declaration that she and Morrison had contracted a common-law marriage under the laws of that state. The ability to contract a common-law marriage was abolished in California in 1896, but the state’s conflict of laws rules provided for recognition of common-law marriages lawfully contracted in foreign jurisdictions. Colorado was one of the 11 U.S. jurisdictions that still recognized common-law marriage. As long as a common-law marriage was lawfully contracted under Colorado law, it was recognized as a marriage under California law. However, neither Morrison nor Courson had signed the document, nor was there any proof that either of the deceased had even been aware of the document’s existence. Neither Morrison nor Courson was ever a resident of Colorado.
Whatever the circumstances of the unsigned document, the court case, and the controversy surrounding it, the California probate court decided that Courson and Morrison had a common-law marriage under the laws of Colorado. The effect of the court ruling was to close probate of Morrison’s and Courson’s estates and to reinforce the Courson family’s hold on the inheritance.
Zacchaeus was the most hated tax collector ever (although President Obama is trying to come in 2nd place) Part 2
People are starting to resent paying such a large portion of their income to the government in taxes. Back in Bible times the most hated man was the taxcollector that was collecting money for Rome which the Romans could use to hire more soldiers to torture more Jews. Now our representatives just can’t to say no to governemnt spending either.
The Washington metropolitan area has become America’s wealthiest region because trillions of dollars are taken every year from the productive sector of the economy and then divvied up by the politicians, bureaucrats, lobbyists and interest groups that benefit from federal largess.
But there’s always an appetite in Washington for even more money. Former Senator Kent Conrad just wrote in the Washington Post that “Our country needs more revenue to help us get back on track.”
I guess that means back on track to becoming Greece, though I suspect he would have an alternative explanation. All I can say for sure is that he probably wasn’t paying attention when I testified to his Committee last year about pro-growth tax policy.
But it’s not just Democrats who are greedy for more of our money. Republican Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma joined the Charlie Brown Club by stating, “we’re willing to put more revenue on the table.”
If you ask politician why they want more revenue in Washington, they invariably state that America’s long-term fiscal challenges are so large that you need a “balanced” package.
But why should there be “balance” between tax hikes and spending cuts (which would merely be reductions in planned increases) when more than 100 percent of America’s long-run fiscal problem is because of a rising burden of government spending?
Does that sound like an exaggeration? Well, check out this data from the Congressional Budget Office’s 2013 Long-Term Budget Outlook.
As you can see, tax revenues are supposed to jump substantially as a share of GDP in coming decades. Indeed, they will rise far above the long-run average of 17.7 percent of economic output.
In other words, a big increase in the tax burden already is set to occur, largely because of real bracket creep. This means tax cuts (ideally accompanied by tax reform) are needed to protect taxpayers from rising tax rates.
P.S. Do you need more evidence that taxes should go down rather than up? Well, the New York Times inadvertently revealed that the only “grand bargain” that actually resulted in a budget surplus was the 1997 pact that lowered the tax burden.
I have talked about the morality of conservatism concerning welfare, and the morality of the free enterprise system, and today I am looking at the life and times of the most hated tax collector of all time, Zacchaeus!!!
A Sinner Meets a Seeking Savior, Part 1 (Luke 19:1-10) John MacArthur
I would invite you to open your Bible now to the nineteenth chapter of the gospel of Luke. Luke chapter 19 and the opening ten verses which provide for us one of the most familiar New Testament stories in all the Bible. If you were raised in the church and if you attended Sunday School, you were taught the story of Zacchaeus, a little man who climbed up a tree to see Jesus. Here is that wonderful story. It is only recorded by Luke, does not appear in the other three gospels, but Luke’s account is rich and instructive. Luke chapter 19 and I’ll read, starting at verse 1 down through verse 10.
“And He…meaning Jesus…entered and was passing through Jericho. And behold, there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus and he was a chief tax-collector, and he was rich. And he was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. And he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’ And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly. And when they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’ And Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the So9n of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.'”
That final verse, verse 10, that final statement of our Lord Jesus is the most valuable, the most glorious and the most important truth ever revealed in Scripture. As far as we are concerned, this is why we are saved, because God is a seeker and a saver of those who are lost. This is true to the nature of God. From the fall of man in the garden, when the Lord came searching for Adam and Eve who were hiding from Him, and He said, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:8 and 9, God has continued to seek for lost and hidden sinners. It all began in the garden and it still goes on. In one of the most beautiful Old Testament passages, Ezekiel quotes God as saying this, “I will seek the lost. Bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the weak,” Ezekiel 34:16. God is a seeker of those who are lost and in grave danger. This is critical. This is foundational to our understanding of the Bible and of God’s divine purpose in history. We need only to be reminded from Romans 3:11 that no man seeks after God to be grateful that God seeks after us. In our sinfulness, in our fallenness, in our reprobation, in our blindness, in our ignorance, in our association and relationship to the kingdom of darkness and under the power of Satan, we cannot seek after God, we do not seek after God. There would then be no reconciliation, no salvation, no forgiveness, no hope of heaven if God did not seek after us. God does the initial seeking. God does the saving of those who apart from Him would hide themselves from Him like Adam and Eve, running from His presence with no capacity in them to ever turn and pursue Him.
This is what our Lord is saying here. He is the seeker. He is the saver of those who are lost. And the story is an illustration. A man out of a massive crowd sitting in a tree has a divine appointment with the seeking, saving Lord who spots him, names him and by divine necessity says, “I’m coming to your house because this is the day of your salvation.” This is one of the great biblical illustrations of sovereign salvation, of God seeking not just sinners in a general or vague way but seeking sinners in a very specific personal way. And this is the work of the Son of Man. The Son of Man in verse 10 is a title which Jesus used of Himself more than any other, by far. It refers to Him as man, that is His humanity but far more than that, it is a messianic title referring to Him as the all-glorious, chosen One by God to rule and reign over an ever-lasting Kingdom. That is prophesied as He is there identified in Daniel chapter 7. So it sees Him yes in His humanity, but far more in His divine glory and everlasting rule. Son of Man has come…has come refers to His incarnation, not has come to Jericho, but has come into the world, at His birth He came, incarnation, for the purpose of seeking and saving. Those are two infinitives which means it starts with to, t-o. That’s an infinitive, these are what we call in the Greek infinitives of purpose, two purposes to seek, to save. The word seek, zeteo,means to pursue, to look for, to search for. To save means basically to rescue from harm, to deliver from danger. And the amazing irony of it all is that God sends Christ to seek and to save those who are headed for His own wrath and judgment.
To sum that up, God seeks to save people from Himself, from His own wrath and His own holy judgment. The ones that He seeks to save are identified here as that which was lost, that which was lost. Literally in the Greek it’s a condition of being, the having been lost one, the one who is in a permanent state of lostness. But even being lost doesn’t express the fullness of this word. It’s a very strong word in the Greek, apollumi, any Greek students know, it’s a familiar word, it means to be ruined, it means to be destroyed. The Son of Man then was incarnated coming into this world for the purpose of pursuing and saving those who are in a condition of ruination and destruction and headed for damnation. Couldn’t be more clear. Jesus did not come into the world to be a good teacher. He did not come into the world to be a moral leader. He did not come to espouse religious ideas. He did not come to raise the religious consciousness of the people in His community and society. He did not come into the world to show us what a good life looks like. He came into this world to rescue doomed sinners. That is the Christian message. That is the only Christian message. Everything in the Old Testament points to that. Everything in the New Testament defines that.
Sin has devastated all of humanity and all of humanity is marred, corrupted, evil ruined, headed for eternal damnation. We are all in that same condition. In fact, that condition needs to be understood and so we read in Romans 3, starting in verse 10, a very careful description of that condition. “There is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave. With their tongues they keep deceiving. The poison of asps, or snakes, are under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths. The path of piece have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” So writes the Apostle Paul and every single sentence he drew from the Old Testament. This is not a new description of man, this is God’s description of man’s sinful condition from the start.
In Ephesians chapter 4, an even more concise description of the human condition. Verse 17, “We walk in the futility of our minds, darkened in our understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance in us, because of the hardness of our hearts we are callous given over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of purity with greediness.” We can never get enough impurity. This is the human condition. And the purpose of the coming of the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus into the world, is to rescue sinners from this condition with its inevitable result of eternal damnation. So God sends Christ to rescue the lost from God’s own wrath and to preserve them safe and unharmed in heaven’s eternal joys. That is the Christian gospel. That is the Christian message. Nothing less and there could be nothing more.
So I say, verse 10 is the most important truth laid out in all of Scripture, that God seeks and saves otherwise damned sinners. It should have been clear from the very beginning that this is true. Matthew 1:21, the angel says upon announcing the birth of Jesus, “Call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” At His very birth it was clear that that is why He came. First Timothy 1:15, Paul writes, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost.” He came to save sinners. At the very birth of the Lord, the announcement was made, He will save His people from their sins and here at the end of His ministry as the exclamation point of His itinerant ministry, He reiterates the reason He came, the same reason announced at His birth, to save lost sinners. And so, at the beginning and the end of His life, the purpose for His coming is clear.
No writer in the New Testament puts more emphasis on this than does Luke. In fact, Luke’s marvelous and unique emphasis is found in chapter 15. Go back to it for a moment. It will be a wonderful memory for those of you who were with us when we went through chapter 15, to be reminded that God likens Himself to a shepherd seeking a lost sheep, a woman seeking a lost coin, and a father seeking a lost son.
In the first parable that the Lord gives, verse 4, “What man among you if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them doesn’t leave the ninety and nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” This is God, the shepherd, who goes after the lost sheep who is in grave danger. “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing, comes home, calls together his friends and neighbors saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I tell you in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” The joy of God and the joy of heaven is in the recovery of lost sinners. That’s the point of the story. The Lord finds His heavenly joy and the joy of all the saints and angels that surround His throne in the recovery of lost sinners. God does it for His own joy. He does it for His own glory.
And then the second story about a woman. God is first likened to a shepherd, then He is likened to a woman who had several…namely ten silver coins and lost one. Lit the lamp, swept the house, searched until she found it. Same response. Called her friends and neighbors saying, ‘Rejoice with me, I found the coin which I had lost, in the same way there’s joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” And again, here is God the seeker looking, searching, finding the lost, bringing the lost home and all heaven celebrates the joy of God and the joy of all who surround Him.
And then the next story. You remember the son who was the prodigal. The father pursued him. He was coming back with a lot of misconceptions. But verse 20 says, “While he was still a long ways off, his father saw him, felt compassion for him, ran, embraced him, kissed him.” Here is the seeking shepherd, the seeking woman, the seeking father. God seeks to save the lost for His own joy and the concomitant of all the inhabitants of holy heaven. God finds His own satisfaction in the recovery of lost sinners. He finds His own delight in it.
In Isaiah 62:5, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.” And here is an illustration as the highest joy in human life is the joy of a man and a woman in love coming together in the union of marriage. God finds His highest joy in the restoration and recovery of sinners. The Old Testament even says God shouts for joy, He’s exuberant.
Jeremiah 32:41 says, “And I will rejoice over them to do them good and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all my heart and with all my soul.” It is all soul and all heart for God to recover lost sinners. He does it because it’s His greatest satisfaction and highest joy. And none of us is going to seek God unless God seeks us.
The Bible talks about men seeking God. It talks about sinners seeking God. But when you put the two together, it’s pretty clear the only way we can ever seek His…seek Him is if He seeks us. And I think John summed it up when he said, “We love Him because He first loved us.” Once God begins that seeking, once He opens our understanding to our own sinfulness, once He illuminates us as to the glory of the gospel, once He takes away the blindness and the darkness, once He gives life to our deadness, the awaken sinner, the enlightened lost one, the one who has been given life responds by seeking the one who sought Him.
And then Proverbs 8:17 says, “Those who diligently seek Me will find Me.” And Isaiah 65:6 says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found.” And Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Amos 5:4, “Seek Me that you may live.” Or Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added.” Or Matthew 7:7, in the same Sermon on the Mount, “Seek and you shall find.” We are only enabled to seek when God has first sought us. That’s exactly what happens in the story of Zacchaeus. Out of nowhere Jesus seeks him and before it’s over, his heart responds by seeking Jesus. Any seeking on the part of a sinner must be in response to the seeking on the part of God. The generation of those who seek the Lord, in the words of Psalm 24:6, are those whom the Lord has sought.
So here the Lord seeks a man who then seeks Him. Now once more, for the last time, Jesus is headed for Jerusalem, leaving His ministry behind as He heads for the cross in a few days. He’s about to give His life as the only acceptable sacrifice that satisfies God, the only ransom price paid to God for sin. It is imminent. He’s wrapped up His earthly ministry. Spent most of that last year in Judea, just before this occasion had made a little foray into Galilee and then down through Peraea, crossing the Jordan to the east so as not to go through Samaria which the Jews did not traverse normally and coming down the east side of Jordan back across the river, headed through Jericho up to Jerusalem for the Passover. This would be His last time. And so He arrives at the city of Palms, as it was called, the city of Jericho six miles north of the Dead Sea and six miles west of the Jordan River.
As I told you last time, it was really a wonderful city. It was the garden city of the ancient world, certainly of the land of Israel at that time. Far more wonderful place then than it is frankly is now. It was fed by springs that were producing ample amounts of water which was brought by aqueduct into the city and used to irrigate the area so that it bloomed in a magnificent way. It was a walled city, new walls, not the ones that fell down in the Jericho of the Old Testament. There was a theater there, there was an amphitheater there built by Herod. There was a new palace as well. Gardens designed by Achilleas, it was a magnificent, magnificent place. Edersheim, the great historian, says, “It was characterized by groves of feathery palms rising in stately beauty, stretched gardens of roses and sweet scented balsam plantations. The largest behind the royal gardens of which the perfume is carried by the wind almost out to the sea and which may have been given to the city…may have been used as the reason the name was given to the city, Jericho. Jericho meaning ‘the perfumed.'” Edersheim says, “It was the Eden of Palestine, the fairy land of the Old World.”
Deep down in a hallowed valley it sits, massive limestone mountains to the west. The sunken Jordan Valley to the east and off in the distance the purple mountains of Moab, a remarkable place, the streets filled with a motley throng. Pilgrims from Galilee and Peraea, priests who live there and serve there, traders from all lands, it was one of the high density trading centers, there were routes going north, east, west and south, it was a busy, busy place, full of good people in a human sense, full of the wretched, the worst who occupied places where there was lots to steal. The robbers were there in mass. The great caravans came through there. There was ample supply for those who stole, as well for those…as well as for those who bought and sold. Soldiers were there, courtiers were there, the worst of everything, the best of everything, tax collectors had a high profile there because it was one of the three regional tax centers in the land of Israel, the northern one being Capernaum, the central one on the coast being Caesarea, the southern one being Jericho.
So here Jesus came with His disciples headed for Jerusalem, not just His disciples but all other kinds of followers that had collected with Him, plus all the pilgrims headed for a Passover. It was a huge crowd that crossed the Jordan and came into…entering says verse 1, and passing through Jericho. And the question was on people’s minds…is this Jesus the Messiah? Is He going to bring the promised Kingdom? They knew He had miracle power, He had filled the land with His miracles. They knew He was a teacher like no other teacher. And in Jericho they knew He had raised Lazarus from the dead because just up the hill a little ways from Jericho is Bethany before you enter into Jerusalem where Lazarus lived and was well known and it was only a matter of weeks before this event that He had raised him from the dead. And the word would have spread everywhere, we know it spread, it spread right up to the upper echelons of the leadership of Jerusalem. We can be certain that it spread down the hill into Jericho that He had power over death as well as disease, as well as demons.
So He was followed by a curious pilgrim crowd. And when He came into town, it was a customary thing that when pilgrims came through your town, to come out and greet them, asked them if they needed a drink, asked them if they needed something to eat. That’s what you did. That’s just normal in the course of events. But in this case because it was Jesus, the crowd was bigger coming in and the crowd coming out of their homes would have been greater than normal as well. It was a melee, it was a mob of people because it included Jesus of Nazareth, the Prophet, the Healer and perhaps the Messiah. It is to this huge crowd in this city that Jesus declares He is come to seek and to save the lost and gives a magnificent example of that in the salvation, the sovereign salvation of Zacchaeus.
So Luke is telling us the story of Zacchaeus, but it’s really the story of God. It’s really the story of the purpose of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ. But let’s meet the sinner, okay? Then we’ll meet the Savior. And then we’ll talk about salvation.
Let’s meet the sinner. Verse 1, “He entered and was passing through Jericho and behold, there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus and he was a chief tax-gatherer and he was rich.” So into this little paradise, as it was called, the city of Jericho, comes Jesus with His massive accumulating crowd. Comes in to this crossroad city, highway going to the north headed toward Damascus, Tyre and Sidon. Great trade centers of the north. Highway going through the west through Jerusalem, headed for Caesarea and Joppa, great trade centers also on the Mediterranean Sea. Highway going through headed to Egypt in the south and cities east of the Jordan into Moab and the far east from which all kinds of products came and went, great exchange center. This city would have had many, many tax collectors. This man is identified as a chief tax gatherer.
As you know, because we’ve seen our tax gatherers before, this is number six in the gospel of Luke. This is the sixth time our Lord has an encounter with a tax gatherer. And by the way, all of them are favorable. So He defies the conventional wisdom and the attitude of the people toward these men. And in so doing, reminds us that it’s not a crime to be a tax collector. That may encourage those of you who are. It is a noble calling if you do it right because taxation is a divine institution. Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” Pay your taxes, He did. Paul said, “Custom to whom custom is due, tribute to whom tribute is due, tax to whom tax is due,” Romans 13. The entire theocratic kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament was basically functioning by a very carefully laid out taxation system in which every Jewish person paid essentially twenty-three and a third of their average income to the theocratic kingdom in order to fund the government. The Lord instituted taxation because He instituted government. Powers that be are ordained of God. The Lord never had a problem with the people who collected tax because He never had a problem with tax as such. But the Lord does have a problem with abusive taxes with illegitimate taxes, with corruption, dishonesty, crime and separating people from their money illegitimately by use of physical force and cruelty, which is what the tax collectors in the ancient world did.
In order to have a tax franchise, you had to buy it from Rome. So you were a traitor from the very outset to your own people who were occupied by the Roman idolatrous and despised pagans. Rome would set a certain amount that the tax gatherer had to pay. Whatever else he could collect, he could keep…a formula for corruption for sure. And there were so many ways to tax. The people had no idea what they were supposed to pay. Yes, there were some sort of foundational taxes. There was, for example, an individual tax, kind of a poll tax for men from 14 to 65 and women from 12 to 65 and they paid that tax. There was a ground tax called like a property tax, one tenth of all grain or something the equivalent of grain, one fifth of wine and oil. So there were some fixed taxes. Even a kind of income tax which was about one percent of a person’s income. So they had those that were fixed. But beyond that, you could tax anything that you could get away with taxing. You could tax everybody’s commerce by taxing every wheel, every axle on their cart, taxing every animal pulling the cart, taxing every product that they bought and sold, every way imaginable. And so tax collectors became filthy rich because what they paid Rome was only a portion of what they actually collected. They also became despised and hated. They couldn’t attend the synagogue. They couldn’t have any social relationships with people because the people wouldn’t get near them because they were considered unclean and anybody who came near one of them would be polluted. So the only people they could associate were the people who were also unclean, and so they were the collection of people called the tax collectors and sinners that we meet so often in Jesus’ ministry, the very people that God loves to save. “He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” In fact, Jesus spent so much time with the scum and the riff-raff, the tax gatherers and their assorted criminals, that they called Him, Luke 7:34, Matthew 11:9, “a friend of tax gatherers and sinners.” They would have said that with such disdain you couldn’t imagine it. And it is really why they thought that He represented Satan because He spent so much time with the people that they thought belonged to Satan.
Well here’s one of them. There was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus. Now his mom and dad had good intentions for him when he was born. Zacchaeus means, are you ready for this?, clean, innocent, pure and righteous. Nice try, things didn’t go the way they intended them to go. So he in his life defies the intent of his parents and becomes unclean, guilty, impure and unrighteous.
It’s interesting that He gave him a name. This is the first for us to see a tax gatherer who actually named other than Matthew who is called an Apostle by Jesus. Why the name? Well again, remember when we studied Bartimaeus and we suggested the church historians have said that Bartimaeus later became a very prominent Christian and his name was used because everybody knew who he was and this would have associated him with that great moment in his life when he was given sight and saved in Jericho. Well here you have, according to some church historians, a similar situation. It’s Clement of Alexandria, one of the church fathers, who says that this man, Zacchaeus, became a very prominent Christian leader and ended up a pastor of the church in Caesarea, later to be succeeded by none other than Cornelius, the centurion. That’s from church history. We can’t find that in the Word of God. So perhaps it’s so and that’s why his name was used.
Nonetheless this is Zacchaeus, he was, it says, architelones, architelones, actually means commissioner of taxes, commissioner of taxes. He was at the top of the pyramid, top of the pile. Everybody who collected everything, and there were lots of tax collectors, had to pay him a piece of the action. So everything came up the…up the pyramid and landed eventually in his pocket. Everybody extorted for him. He got a piece of everybody’s action. And as a result, he was rich…a combination of legitimate and illegitimate activity, the people saw him as a sinner, verse 7, they all began to grumble saying He’s going to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. That category is not simply a commentary on his personal life, that is not a commentary on his character, it is a statement of the category in which he belongs. He is in the category of outcasts. He is in the category of the defiled. He is in the category of those that you don’t go near or you will become defiled. He is sorted. He is outside the pale of social contact. He can’t go the synagogue and no one can come near him without a defilement. So this man was left to live with the rest of the scum who were disallowed from any social or religious contact with the rest of the population. Life would have been pretty tragic for him…a lot of money but outside of everything that was good and noble and meaningful.
Verse 3 tells us that he was interested in Jesus. He was trying to see who Jesus was. Everybody heard about Jesus, he probably had heard about the fact that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and he got the word from the folks that were first in the crowd coming into town that Jesus was in this pilgrimage group and he wanted to see who Jesus was…which one in this pilgrim crowd was Jesus. He was trying to see Him, perfect tense, he was in an ongoing continual effort to try to see Jesus. And you can just see the picture of him because you know his stature was small and the crowd is massive and he’s bouncing up and down, bobbing back and forth trying to get a glimpse of this massive people flowing between two crowds on either side of this dusty road and he can’t see Jesus. Is he curious? Sure he’s curious. Is it more than that? Sure it’s more than that, he has a dissatisfied heart. He knows he’s alienated from God. He knows he has no eternal life. He knows that he’s overwhelmed with guilt and sin. He knows the kind of man he is. I don’t know exactly what was going on in his heart, but he was after Jesus for more than just curiosity because the Holy Spirit made sure he was in the right place at the right moment for Jesus to look at him and speak to him.
Now he had two problems. Simple, verse 3, big crowd, small man…two problems, he was unable to see Jesus, see who He was, because of the crowd for he was small in stature. The crowd was too large and he was too small. Can’t see past them because they’re too thick, can’t see over them, he’s too short. But he’s determined to see Jesus, setting aside all sense of embarrassment and these guys would probably keep to themselves and not expose themselves to large crowds very often because they didn’t want to take the abuse that came to them because of who they really were. He sets all of that aside, he ceases to be self-protective, or self-conscious as he normally would have been. He comes out of his low profile kind of existence and he determines that he’s going to see who Jesus is. We can be sure he’s being prompted by the Spirit of God, so what’s he going to do? Well, you’ve got to get ahead of the crowd. So verse 4, he did what is obvious, he ran on ahead. He climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him for He was about to pass through that way. He knew the route, through the street, up the hill to Jerusalem, he knew exactly the path that Jesus would go. So he ran ahead of where Jesus was, ahead of where all the crowd was and got beyond the crowd and he found a sycamore tree, sometimes indicated as a mulberry tree. What’s important to know, it’s a very…very low tree, short fat trunk and low broad branches that a little guy could climb rather easily and get up above the crowd and perch himself in those branches. And that’s exactly what he did. It’s a lot like an oak tree, some writers tell us, with very low branches. And he sits there in the tree, waiting for Jesus to arrive.
So we meet the sinner, the sinner that Jesus is going to save. And this sinner is going to get the shock of his life. Man, he’s going to be the shock of the town, too. Secondly, we meet the Savior in verse 5. “And when Jesus came to the place,” the place where he was sitting in the tree, the exact spot, “He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus,'” I think if that were me at that moment, I’d have fallen out of the tree, landed on my head and had to be taken to the hospital and been unconverted because Jesus would have kept going. He said his name. This is a reminder that the Son of Man knows who He’s seeking. It reminds me of Nathaniel in John 1 and Nathaniel said, “How do You know me?” And He says, “I knew you before you ever showed up.” He knows His own. He never expected to catch the eyes of Jesus. He never ever dreamed that Jesus would know him. But He does. And He says, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
Whoa! The first stunner must have been the eye contact. The second stunner, “Zacchaeus.” The third one, “Hurry and come down, I’m coming to your house to stay.” The jolt to that poor little Jew’s system must have been beyond description. But it was an irresistible call…an irresistible call because verse 6 says, “And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.”
Now I just need to kind of take this part a little bit for you for a minute. “Hurry and come down,” that’s an imperative, calls for immediate action, no delay. Why? “For today,” listen, God not only knows who He will save, He knows when He will save and where He will save. “Today is the day of your salvation…today I must stay at your house.” Well who said? Who determined that? This is what we call the divine necessity, a little particle deiin the Greek, d-e-i, transliterated in English, dei, it’s used throughout Luke for divine necessity. For it must be, it is necessary, this is divine necessity, it is predetermined before the foundation of the world, if you will, that this is the day that I come to your house.
Wow. “Today, I must stay at your house.” And that phrase, “stay at your house,” indicates to spend the night. I’m coming and I’m going to stay overnight. This is not, by the way, a request and he didn’t run a Bed and Breakfast. This is a divine command. Zacchaeus never could have anticipated anything like this because he knew he was a defiled person and no one who considered himself righteous or clean would ever come near him, let alone near his house, and worst of all, eat a meal with him which was tantamount to affirmation and partnership. Yes, Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was, but far more than that, Jesus wanted to see Zacchaeus. So in verse 6, he hurried, came down and received Him gladly.
It would have been the first time any righteous, clean, noble, respected person had come to his house. And here is the Lord, like that father, throwing his arms around a stinking prodigal son, kissing him all over the head and reconciling him and embracing him. Of course he received Him gladly, profusely because he was so overjoyed. Contrast that with the crowd in verse 7 and you understand the difference between the heart of God and apostate first century Judaism. “And when they saw it, they all said, ‘Isn’t it wonderful to see the grace of God toward a sinner.'” Oh, is that what it says? Afraid not. What it says is, “They all began to grumble,” that is in the Greek an onomatopoetic word. You remember what an onomatopoeia is? It is a word whose meaning sounds like it. The word is diagonguzo, da-ga-da-go, diagonguzo, it’s a compound strong term.
This is absolutely predictable. This is…you know they’re going to do this, outraged propriety, religious incorrectness, no self-respecting Jew would ever expose himself to such severe pollution by staying at the house of the chief administrator of taxation, the most corrupt of all tax gatherers and then to eat a meal with him, to sleep at his house, absolute outrage. And then you’ve got to realize that there are people in the crowd who are just looking for some action on the part of Jesus to take them on the last few steps to being convinced that He’s the Messiah, and instead He does something that would literally undo all of their previous idea that He would be the Messiah by defiling Himself in this way. It’s just against the grain of everything that was a part of their religious thinking. He’s gone to be the guest of a man, that is a Greek verb, kataluo, and it means to loose in a…in a compound sense, to take off. What it means is to be a guest…He went to take His clothes off to stay the night, He went to loose His clothing. It’s also used to unhitch an animal. It’s only here and in Luke 9:12. But it means to take everything apart, to take all your clothes off, get ready for the night. And this man is a hamartolo, he’s in the category of the wretched that spies the rejected, the category of those people who are the unclean and the untouchable.
No Jew would go to his house because then he would be basically a partaker in his evil deed. He would be guilty of all his crimes and all his corruption. But Jesus goes to his house because He seeks to save this lost man. He is on a divine mission, established by divine sovereign grace and a divine timetable. He knows exactly who he is though he’s never met Him. He knows his name though he’s never heard it. And he has an appointment with salvation. He received Him gladly. What a contrast. And when they saw it, they began to grumble. They never got it. People of Israel never got it. All the way to the end they’re holding on to their vile, damning self-righteous religion while Jesus is saving sinners who have no merit, nothing to commend them to Him.
At this point the curtain goes down on that day. Jesus has gone now to Zacchaeus’ house. What happens? Come back next week. We’re out of time. But what happens is the best thing that can ever happen to anyone and we’ll see that next time.
Father, again we thank You for the revelation, the wonderful and rich revelation that You are the seeking God. That You pursue the sinner before the sinner could ever pursue You. We thank You, Lord, that You know our names before we can ever introduce ourselves because our names are already written down in Your book and they were written down before creation. You know us, You know those You will seek and save. And, Lord, we would ask that today even this day You might come to the house of some poor sinner here, that You might call that poor sinner and say, “Today, I must come into your life. Today, salvation is coming to your house.” I just pray, Lord, that there are some Zacchaeus’ here. They came. They’re sitting in the tree this morning and You’ve passed by and they’ve seen you. I just pray, Lord, that this would be the day when You would call out to them and go to their house and bring them salvation. Do it for Your own glory and for Your own joy as well as the joy that comes to the rescued sinner. We thank You. We want to live for Your glory, all this because of Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.
Milton Friedman – The Negative Income Tax Published on May 11, 2012 by LibertyPen In this 1968 interview, Milton Friedman explained the negative income tax, a proposal that at minimum would save taxpayers the 72 percent of our current welfare budget spent on administration. http://www.LibertyPen.com Source: Firing Line with William F Buckley Jr. ________________ Milton […]
Welfare reform was working so good. Why did we have to abandon it? Look at this article from 2003. The Continuing Good News About Welfare Reform By Robert Rector and Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. February 6, 2003 Six years ago, President Bill Clinton signed legislation overhauling part of the nation’s welfare system. The Personal Responsibility and […]
With the national debt increasing faster than ever we must make the hard decisions to balance the budget now. If we wait another decade to balance the budget then we will surely risk our economic collapse. The first step is to remove all welfare programs and replace them with the negative income tax program that […]
(Emailed to White House on 1-30-13.) President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is […]
nico discusses jim, and how he impacted her creatively, in interview. footage: “La Cicatrice Interieure,” a film she wrote (1972, director Philippe Garrel)
Not much is known by Doors fans about Nico, in most biographies about Jim Morrison she appears in licentious escapade with Morrison cavorting naked on a parapet of ‘The Castle’ in L.A. In Oliver Stone’s The Doors she appears as a German accented amalgam of Andy Warhol’s Factory groupies, but if Nico’s and Jim Morrison’s words can be believed their relationship was much deeper. Nico died July 18, 1988.
Nico was born Christa Pafggen October 16, 1938, it’s hard to say how her family reacted to Hitler they moved to the country possible to avoid the Nazi’s but Nico’s father enlisted in the army and later died in a concentration camp. In post-war Berlin the 13 year old Nico went to work as a seamstress but due to her statuesque good looks was soon modeling lingerie, it was around this time she was discovered by photographer Herbert Tobias who gave her the selenium Nico, he also took her to Paris where her modeling career took off.
Her modeling career led to small television appearances which, in turn, led to roles in movies most notably Frederico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. In 1965 Nico’s music career began when she met Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones and she recorded the song I’m Not Sayin’ with a ‘B’ side of The Last Mile which was produced by Jimmy Page. Through Jones Nico met Andy Warhol who soon became enchanted with her and put her in The Velvet Underground, a then struggling rock band he had started to manage. Warhol put together a multimedia show called the Plastic Exploding Inevitable which featured Nico backed by the Velvet Underground. Warhol toured the show to Los Angeles where Nico probably met Jim Morrison for the first time.
Nico and Morrison were introduced at ‘The Castle’ a Los Angeles mansion of the 20’s which was being rented by Arthur Lee and Love and had become a hangout for the Los Angeles/Sunset Strip rock scene. They were introduced by Danny Fields (see video above) who thought they ‘would make a cute couple.’ Both Nico and Morrison had taken LSD and had an immediate attraction to one another, although it was by no means an ordinary meeting, Morrison and Nico, later that night did end up naked and walking on the parapet of ‘the castle.’
Nico’s and Morrison’s story doesn’t end there, Morrison encouraged her writing and soon Nico was calling Morrison her ‘soul brother’ and Morrison seemed to reciprocate this telling people he thought of her as a sister. Morrison eventually did return to Pam Courson, and Nico seems to have become obsessed with Morrison and realizing his preference for red-heads she dyed her hair red, and she did resemble Courson a bit. Though Nico dyed her hair Morrison didn’t pursue the relationship, but such was the obsession of Nico’s that she left her hair colored red even after Morrison’s death.
In the 70’s Nico alternated between a film career and a music career, starring in films directed by Phillipe Garrel. She also recorded the albums The Marble Index, The End, Drama of Exile, and Camera Obscura. As well as opening for bands like Tangerine Dream.
Nico died on July 18, 1988, while riding a bike she suffered a small heart attack while riding a bicycle and fell off injuring her head and causing a cerebral hemorrhage and died later that evening. She was 49.
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Pictures and Videos of Edie Sedgwick and the story of her losing battle against drugs and alcohol Part 2 Drugs and alcohol have taken the life of many people and I have posted many times about their unfortunate deaths. Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Gary Thain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain, and Jim […]
Pictures and Videos of Edie Sedgwick and the story of her losing battle against drugs and alcohol Part 1 Factory Girl – The Real Edie Uploaded on Aug 30, 2011 Friends and family of Edie Sedgwick discuss what the factory girl was really like, and the battles and relationships she went through _____________ Edie Sedgwick Excerpt […]
Around 4 years ago I was in Philadelphia and the local radio station had a talk show that was blasting Alice Walton for coming into town and buying the 1876 Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece “The Gross Clinic” which was hanging at the Jefferson Medical College. However, the people of Philadelphia were given 45 days to […]
Acoustic live version with guests: Robyn, Adam & Bebban (Shout Out Louds), Daniel (The Concretes), Lars (Laakso) and Mikael (Hjalmar). Director: Ted Malmros + Christian Haag
Li Lykke Timotej Svensson was born in Ystad, Skåne; her mother is a photographer and her father, a musician, is a member of Dag Vag.[3] The family moved to Stockholm when Zachrisson was a toddler and when she was six moved to a mountaintop in Portugal where they lived for five years. The family also spent time in Lisbon and Morocco, and winters in Nepal and India.[3][4] She moved to the neighborhood ofBushwick, Brooklyn in New York for three months when she was 19.[5][6][7] She returned when she was 21 to record her album.[8]
Lykke had some success with the EP “Little Bit” in 2007. Stereogum named her an artist to watch in October 2007 and described her music as a mix of soul, electro and “powdered-sugar pop”.[9]
Lykke’s debut album, Youth Novels, was released on LL Recordings in the Nordic region on 30 January 2008 and received a wider European release in June 2008. The album was produced by Björn Yttling ofPeter Bjorn and John and Lasse Mårtén and was reportedly inspired by a previous relationship of three years.[10] It was released in the United States on 19 August 2008. The album was released in the UK and Ireland in June 2008, promoted by a performances of “Little Bit” on Later… with Jools Holland on 25 May 2008.
Live, her performances were as startling as they were riveting: armed with a paired down drum kit, a necklace made out of percussive instruments, a guitar, a bass and a microphone, many were confounded by how much energy, emotion and heart came out of one very simple set-up and one hell of a singer. Youth Novels skyrocketed to the top of many of the year’s Best Of lists and saw Lykke Li sell out tours across the globe, including lauded sets at massive festivals such as Glastonbury Festival, Coachella Festival, Lollapalooza, also her appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien.[11]
She appeared on Swedish musician Kleerup‘s self titled album, contributing vocals to the track “Until We Bleed”. She also worked with Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp on their 2009 album Junior, contributing vocals to “Miss It So Much” and “Were You Ever Wanted”.
Lykke appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly on 18 February 2009. She covered “Knocked Up”, originally recorded by Kings of Leon who had approached Lykke to cover a song of her choice, and “Gifted” in which she performs with Kanye West. Lykke performed at the 2009 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 19 April, as well as the 2009 Lollapalooza festival on 8 August as part of the promotional tour for Youth Novels.
A remixed version of her song “I’m Good, I’m Gone” was featured in the 2009 horror film Sorority Row.
The song “Possibility” was written for the 2009 film The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Lykke had been asked to write a song to the film soundtrack but she was reluctant to commit to the project. It was after she had seen an early screening of the film that she decided she wanted to contribute to the soundtrack. The soundtrack was released on 16 October 2009.
The song “Get Some” was featured in the fifteenth episode of the first season of Hawaii Five-0 titled “Kai e’e” which aired January 23, 2011. The song was also used in ABC Family‘s drama Pretty Little Liarsin the eighteenth episode of the second season which was titled “A Kiss Before Lying” which aired January 30, 2012. The song was also used in the nineteenth episode of the second season of The CW‘sVampire Diaries, titled “Klaus” and originally aired April 21, 2011,[12] as well as the sixth episode of the first season of Teen Wolf, titled “Heart Monitor” and originally aired July 4, 2011.[13] The song was also used in Premium Rush movie as one of its soundtracks.
Lykke’s song “Melodies and Desires” was featured in the 2010 Australian film Griff the Invisible and an edited version of “Get Some” was featured in the Catwoman trailer for the video game, Batman: Arkham City.
She collaborated with singer Kleerup on the song “Until We Bleed”, which was featured on an episode of UK TV series Misfits and an episode of the television series Ringer.
Lykke Li contributed on the 2012 compilation “Volym 1” with the track “Come Near” released by the swedish artist collective and record label INGRID where she’s a founding member. She also contributed a cover of “Silver Springs” to a 2012 Fleetwood Mac tribute album, which also included renditions from the likes of Best Coast, Marianne Faithfull, and MGMT.[15]
In September 2010, she was announced as the official face of the Levi’s Curve ID Collection, alongside Pixie Geldof and Miss Nine.[16] In January 2012, she signed up to the books of the Viva Model Management agency.[17]
In 2009 Lykke Li won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.
“I Follow Rivers” was remixed by The Magician and has been a huge club success in Europe, taking the track to number 1 in Romania, number 2 in Ireland and number 7 in Greece.
Double Vision – Foreigner Foreigner- Urgent Foreigner – Cold As Ice _____________________________ The Lou Gramm Band – Redeemer (great song) Uploaded by SacredWarrior1991 on May 2, 2011 This song is taken from The Lou Gramm Band (LGB – 2009). ____________________________________ Lou Gramm Knows What Love Is – CBN.com Uploaded by CBNonline on Nov 4, 2009 […]
Katy Perry Dedicates Song to Tim Tebow at Super Bowl Party Sun, Feb. 05, 2012 Posted: 07:01 PM EDT Flamboyant pop star Katy Perry dedicated suggestive song “Peacock” to evangelical quarterback Tim Tebow at a pre-Super Bowl party Saturday night. Perry, the daughter of Christian ministers, said “This one goes out to Tim […]
Wikipedia reported: Blondie Chris Stein and Deborah Harry in 2008 Background information Origin New York City, US Genres New Wave punk rock[1][2] dance-rock[3] pop punk[3][4] post-punk power pop Years active 1974–1982 1997–present Labels Chrysalis/EMI Beyond/BMG Epic Sanctuary Private Stock Website http://www.blondie.net Members Debbie Harry Chris Stein Clem Burke Leigh Foxx Matt Katz-Bohen Tommy Kessler Jimmy […]
Chynna Phillips is open about her Christian faith jh31 “Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS) is a very popular show. I have only watched it a little, but I am a big fan of Chynna Phillips. I love a lot of her music. Dancing With the Stars: Chynna Phillips Speaks Openly About Her Christian Faith Actress […]
In-Studio Interviews – Tyson Ritter ‘The All American Rejects’ Interview: Kids In The Street I enjoyed the concert in Little Rock on 12-13-12, and lead singer Tyson Ritter wrote a song on his latest cd that we should all pay attention to because it covers an issue that both him and many other lead singers […]
The Poison – The All-American Rejects Avril Lavigne and Tyson Ritter from All American Rejects Talk Almost Alice The All-American Rejects – Dirty Little Secret Tyson Ritter, the leadsinger of the All-American Rejects has admitted that he was a jerk for the last couple of years when he lived a sexually impure life by sleeping […]
The All-American Rejects Music Interview Tyson Ritter Full Band only on The Artist Spotlight The All-American Rejects – The Last Song The All-American Rejects – It Ends Tonight I got to go hear the All-American Rejects in Little Rock on 12-13-12. Here are some of my reactions. Tyson Ritter admitted that he lost his way […]
The All-American Rejects – Swing, Swing The All-American Rejects – Move Along Tyson Ritter in Little Rock below: Sent from my iPhone On 12-13-12 I got to hear the All-American Rejects and their lead singer Tyson Ritter play at Juanita’s in Little Rock on Clinton Ave. The performance of music was very good. However, Tyson’s […]
I’m In A Rock ‘N’ Roll Band – The Singer (Part 1) Jim Morrison – books on tape – w subtitles Light My Fire – The Doors The Rolling Stones – Satisfaction ________________________ The Rolling Stones – The Breakthrough The Rolling Stones – Brian Jones The Rolling Stones- Paint it Black Nirvana – Smells Like […]
Take a look at two atheists who try to affirm that morality is simultaneously objective and subjective.
Atheists deny that there is any design for the universe – they think there is no Designer. That means there is no way that the universe ought to be, objectively speaking. I.e. – when there were no humans around, there was no way the universe ought to have been. When humans appear, they evolve arbitrary customs and conventions in order to live together more peaceably. These are not real in any sense – they are just aids to survival and group cohesion. Different groups in different times and places evolve different rules, and no set of rules is any better than any other, because there is no way we ought to be. We call this atheistic/evolutionary form of morality “moral relativism”. It stands in contrast with the theistic view of morality, which is called “moral objectivism”.
In their view, slavery is not really right or wrong, it’s just a matter of opinion decided by majority rule in different social groups living in different places and times. Some groups in certain places and times think it’s right, and some groups in some places and times think it’s wrong. In our view (theism), God creates the universe, and he designs it to be a certain way. There is a certain way we ought to be. So if God thinks slavery is wrong, then it really is wrong, and his opinion of right and wrong becomes a duty for us.
What’s wrong with moral relativism?
I found this list of the seven flaws of moral relativism at the Australian site Faith Interface.
Here’s the summary:
Moral relativists can’t accuse others of wrongdoing.
Relativists can’t complain about the problem of evil.
Relativists can’t place blame or accept praise.
Relativists can’t make charges of unfairness or injustice.
Relativists can’t improve their morality.
Relativists can’t hold meaningful moral discussions.
Relativists can’t promote the obligation of tolerance.
Here’s my favorite flaw of relativism (#6):
Relativists can’t hold meaningful moral discussions. What’s there to talk about? If morals are entirely relative and all views are equal, then no way of thinking is better than another. No moral position can be judged as adequate or deficient, unreasonable, acceptable, or even barbaric. If ethical disputes make sense only when morals are objective, then relativism can only be consistently lived out in silence. For this reason, it is rare to meet a rational and consistent relativist, as most are quick to impose their own moral rules like “It’s wrong to push your own morality on others”. This puts relativists in an untenable position – if they speak up about moral issues, they surrender their relativism; if they do not speak up, they surrender their humanity. If the notion of moral discourse makes sense intuitively, then moral relativism is false.
I sometimes get a lot of flack from atheists who complain that I don’t let them make any moral statements without asking first them to ground morality on their worldview. And that’s because on atheism morality IS NOT rationally grounded, so they can’t answer. In an accidental universe, you can only describe people’s personal preferences or social customs, that vary by time and place. It’s all arbitrary – like having discussions about what food is best or what clothing is best. The answer is always going to be “it depends”. It depends on the person who is speaking because it’s a subjective claim, not an objective claim. There is no objective way we ought to behave, on atheism. What atheists are really talking about when they say that something is right or that something is wrong is that in our group, we have evolved these beliefs that this behavior is good or this behavior is bad – we have these group preferences.
The horror of atheism, then, is that they reduce murder and slaver to beingmatters of opinion. And these majority opinions are arbitrary and can be different in different times and places. When you are talking to an atheist, you are talking to a person who literally thinks that the decision to rape or not rape is the same as the decision to drive on the left side of the road or the right side of the road. In both cases, it’s just something that groups decide one way or another arbitrarily, depending on how they evolved in different places and at different times.
All Christians should be able to draw out the moral relativism of atheists and challenge them on it, because once they are forced to affirm objective morality, they have to affirm God as the moral lawgiver. Take some time and read the linked article, then ask your atheistic friends to justify their talk about right and wrong. What do they mean by right and wrong? Why would they sacrifice their own self-interest in order to do “right”? Is the only reason that atheists have to be “good” far of being caught and punished by their group for breaking these arbitrary rules that vary by place and time? Do atheists only do the “right” thing when others are watching?
E P I S O D E 1 0 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode X – Final Choices 27 min FINAL CHOICES I. Authoritarianism the Only Humanistic Social Option One man or an elite giving authoritative arbitrary absolutes. A. Society is sole absolute in absence of other absolutes. B. But society has to be […]
E P I S O D E 9 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode IX – The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence 27 min T h e Age of Personal Peace and Afflunce I. By the Early 1960s People Were Bombarded From Every Side by Modern Man’s Humanistic Thought II. Modern Form of Humanistic Thought Leads […]
E P I S O D E 8 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode VIII – The Age of Fragmentation 27 min I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, […]
E P I S O D E 7 Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode VII – The Age of Non Reason I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act […]
E P I S O D E 6 How Should We Then Live 6#1 Uploaded by NoMirrorHDDHrorriMoN on Oct 3, 2011 How Should We Then Live? Episode 6 of 12 ________ I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in […]
E P I S O D E 5 How Should We Then Live? Episode 5: The Revolutionary Age I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Francis Schaeffer noted, “Reformation Did Not Bring Perfection. But gradually on basis of biblical teaching there […]
Dr. Francis Schaeffer – Episode IV – The Reformation 27 min I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to […]
Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 3 “The Renaissance” Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 3) THE RENAISSANCE I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer really shows why we have so […]
Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 2) THE MIDDLE AGES I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer points out that during this time period unfortunately we have the “Church’s deviation from early church’s teaching in regard […]
Francis Schaeffer: “How Should We Then Live?” (Episode 1) THE ROMAN AGE Today I am starting a series that really had a big impact on my life back in the 1970′s when I first saw it. There are ten parts and today is the first. Francis Schaeffer takes a look at Rome and why […]
Francis Schaeffer: “Whatever Happened to the Human Race” (Episode 5) TRUTH AND HISTORY Published on Oct 7, 2012 by AdamMetropolis This crucial series is narrated by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer and former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. Today, choices are being made that undermine human rights at their most basic level. Practices once […]
The opening song at the beginning of this episode is very insightful. Francis Schaeffer: “Whatever Happened to the Human Race” (Episode 4) THE BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY Published on Oct 7, 2012 by AdamMetropolis This crucial series is narrated by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer and former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. Today, choices […]
Francis Schaeffer: “Whatever Happened to the Human Race” (Episode 3) DEATH BY SOMEONE’S CHOICE Published on Oct 6, 2012 by AdamMetropolis This crucial series is narrated by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer and former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. Today, choices are being made that undermine human rights at their most basic level. Practices […]
Francis Schaeffer: “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” (Episode 2) SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS Published on Oct 6, 2012 by AdamMetropolis This crucial series is narrated by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer and former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop. Today, choices are being made that undermine human rights at their most basic level. Practices […]
It is not possible to know where the pro-life evangelicals are coming from unless you look at the work of the person who inspired them the most. That person was Francis Schaeffer. I do care about economic issues but the pro-life issue is the most important to me. Several years ago Adrian Rogers (past president of […]
This essay below is worth the read. Schaeffer, Francis – “Francis Schaeffer and the Pro-Life Movement” [How Should We Then Live?, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?, A Christian Manifesto] Editor note: <p> </p> [The following essay explores the role that Francis Schaeffer played in the rise of the pro-life movement. It examines the place of […]
Don’t Eat Your Dog: The Surprising Moral Case for Free Enterprise
I have talked about the morality of conservatism concerning welfare, and the morality of the free enterprise system, and today I am looking at the life and times of the most hated tax collector of all time, Zacchaeus!!!
My pastor at Fellowship Bible Church Mark Henry recently said in a sermon about Zacchaeus that he a wealthy, short, and intensely disliked tax collector. Henry noted that tax collectors back then would charge extra and pocket the surplus after the give Rome the taxes they wanted. That money was used by Rome to keep a firm grip on Jerusalem and keep the Jews under their control. These factors made Zacchaeus the most hated tax collector that we have ever heard of before (although Obama is trying to catch up to him.)
Then Mark read this passage of scripture:
Luke 19:1-10
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Zaccheus Converted
19 He entered Jericho and was passing through.2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a [a]sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”6 And he hurried and came down and received Him [b]gladly.7 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone [c]to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”8 Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I [d]will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I [e]will give back four times as much.”9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Next Mark Henry made these observations:
1. Jesus chooses to use this greedy, self-serving man as an example of what saving faith looks like.
2. Jesus called Zacchaeus by name and He’s always calling people by name.
3. This is in the Gospel story for a reason to clearly illustrate for us what Jesus’ mission really is.
4. Jesus could have mocked Zacchaeus up in that tree but instead he sought to “seek and to save that which was lost.”
The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. […]
The Bible and Science (Part 05) Why Can’t Morals Be Grounded In Society? Published on Aug 31, 2012 Dr William Lane Craig was invited by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Christian Union, London to give a lecture titled “Can we be good without God?” In this video Dr Craig answers a question about […]
The Fruits of Atheism (Part 2) Uploaded on Apr 10, 2009 Examining the Creation/Evolution Controversy in Light of Reason and Revelation The Bible and Science (Part 04) Eastwooding Richard Dawkins’ Moral Argument Objections Published on Oct 20, 2012 For more information and resources visit: http://www.reasonablefaith.org On September 29th, 2012, William Lane Craig participated in the Contending […]
Milton Friedman – The Negative Income Tax Published on May 11, 2012 by LibertyPen In this 1968 interview, Milton Friedman explained the negative income tax, a proposal that at minimum would save taxpayers the 72 percent of our current welfare budget spent on administration. http://www.LibertyPen.com Source: Firing Line with William F Buckley Jr. ________________ Milton […]
Welfare reform was working so good. Why did we have to abandon it? Look at this article from 2003. The Continuing Good News About Welfare Reform By Robert Rector and Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. February 6, 2003 Six years ago, President Bill Clinton signed legislation overhauling part of the nation’s welfare system. The Personal Responsibility and […]
With the national debt increasing faster than ever we must make the hard decisions to balance the budget now. If we wait another decade to balance the budget then we will surely risk our economic collapse. The first step is to remove all welfare programs and replace them with the negative income tax program that […]
(Emailed to White House on 1-30-13.) President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is […]
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers: Billy Ray (screenplay), Richard Phillips
Stars: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Max Martini
In theaters: October 11, 2013
Copyright @ Sony Pictures & The Guardian
_____________
Tom Hanks Live! With Kelly & Michael Interview
Last night I went to see the movie “Captain Phillips” and I really got a lot out of it. Paul D. Miller does a great job in the review below. I just wanted to add a few thoughts and I must say that there is a spoiler alert. Miller noted:
Captain Phillips is a story about reaping and sowing. The choices we make matter: the actions we take cultivate our characters and ultimately define who we are. “The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish,” (Proverbs 14:11). The contrasting character studies aren’t the main focus of the movie—more time and attention is spent on ratcheting up the tension and showing the precise moves each side makes in the fateful march towards resolution—but it is there, and it helps make Captain Phillips one of the best movies of the year.
_____________
Have you ever thought of the meaning of Proverbs 21:8 “The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.” Think of what happened to Haman and how he was hung on the gallows that he built for Mordecai,
__________________
Proverbs 21:18 means something like Proverbs 11:8 which says, “The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.”
The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous,…. Not to make satisfaction for them, as Christ is a ransom for his people; but as a ransom is in the room of another, so the wicked cometh in the stead of the righteous, and into the trouble he is delivered from; as Haman for Mordecai, which instance Jarchi mentions; see Proverbs 11:8; or when a body of people are threatened with divine vengeance; and this falls upon the wicked, whose sins caused it, and the righteous are delivered from it; as in the case of Achan, and the seven sons of Saul, Joshua 7:26. And sometimes God turns the wrath of the princes of the earth from his own people, and causes it to fall upon the wicked, and so they are a ransom for them; as Sennacherib intended the destruction of the Jews, but was called off in providence to fall upon the Egyptians, Ethiopians, and Sabeans, and therefore they are said to be a ransom for them; see Isaiah 43:3;Proverbs 11:3 New International Version
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
Proverbs 19:3New Living Translation
People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.
Paul Greengrass previously directed The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), the latter two installments in the Matt Damon spy thriller trilogy. The Bourne movies enjoy an implausibly high critical and popular reception—the last of them won 3 Oscars, has a spot in IMDB’s list of the best movies of all time, and has a 94 percent rating on RottenTomatoes.com. To me, having read the books by Robert Ludlum of the same name, the movies seemed like run-of-the-mill action films with especially bad cinematography.
What others liked about Bourne—the documentary-style realism, the attention to human details in the midst of carnage—finds much better material in Greengrass’ superb new movie, Captain Phillips. Phillips is a better vehicle for Greengrass because it is a true story. In Bourne Greengrass’ approach was a distracting, showy, sort of pretentious realism (way too much shaky-cam); in Phillips, the same techniques enhance the story.
Captain Phillips is the true story of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship by Somali pirates off the coast of Africa in 2009. In case you don’t remember how that incident ended, I won’t give away the ending of the movie. Suffice to say, the film is a harrowing, intense, nail-biter. It is equal parts a heist movie, procedural, and war movie—a sort of cross between Heat, Apollo 13, and Zero Dark Thirty, on a small scale.
At the center of the story is the titular Richard Phillips, whose memoir is the basis for the movie. (Which is not really a spoiler since the introductory credits tell us as much). Phillips is played by Tom Hanks, one of the best actors working today not named Daniel Day-Lewis. Hanks gives a strong performances as a man who starts the movie as a reserved, no-nonsense businessman, shows depths of selflessness and quick thinking as his ship is attacked by pirates, and is forced to confront his own powerlessness by the end. Hanks’ final scenes are wrenching.
Phillips faces off against the pirate captain, Abduwali Muse, played by Barkhad Abdi. This movie is the only entry in Abdi’s IMDB entry; if this really is Abdi’s first acting job, it is a miracle. Abdi carries half the film convincingly. Muse is not the biggest pirate, nor the loudest, but he is the most self-assured. In an early scene he faces off against a fellow Somali, one larger and more well-armed than he. The way he calmly and swiftly demonstrates his dominance establishes both the character’s courage and his cruelty.
In the rivalry between Phillips and Muse the film gives us two pictures of leadership, notable for their similarities as much as for their differences. Both men are driven by bosses; both are simple businessmen. (Muse repeatedly assures his American hostages “no al-Qaida here. Just business.”) Both have a job to do and a crew to manage. Insofar as Muse shows grit, determination, and ingenuity in his job, the audience begins to sympathize with him. But the similarities end there, as does our liking for Muse.
Phillips takes responsibility even when the situation is out of his control: he takes initiative and even improvises creative strategems. Muse is passive and fatalistic: late in the movie Phillips pleads with Muse to let him go, but Muse simply responds “I’ve gone too far. I can’t go back now.” Muse refuses to take responsibility for where is choices have led.
Phillips is selfless, telling the pirates to kill him instead of his crew and volunteering to be taken as a hostage in exchange for his ship. Muse is not; when he is briefly taken captive, he demands his fellow pirates do whatever they have to to free him. Phillips cares for his crew and even shows compassion for the pirates; Muse is ruthless towards one and callous towards the other. In the end, Phillips is a servant leader; Muse is an autocrat.
The movie thus gives us two pictures of command, highlighting the roles that choice, selflessness, and initiative play in shaping a leader. It is similar to Slumdog Millionaire, a movie that showed two brothers who came from the same slum but ended in diametrically opposite places because of the choices they made. Phillips and Muse didn’t start from the same place, but they worked a similar job, made different choices, and ended with different fates.
Captain Phillips is a story about reaping and sowing. The choices we make matter: the actions we take cultivate our characters and ultimately define who we are. “The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish,” (Proverbs 14:11). The contrasting character studies aren’t the main focus of the movie—more time and attention is spent on ratcheting up the tension and showing the precise moves each side makes in the fateful march towards resolution—but it is there, and it helps make Captain Phillips one of the best movies of the year.
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. (I have posted John MacArthur’s amazing […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. It is tough to guard your […]
Over and over in Proverbs you hear the words “fear the Lord.” In fact, some of he references are Proverbs 1:7, 29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10;14:26,27; 15:16 and many more. Below is a sermon by John MacArthur from the Book of Luke on 3 reasons we should fear the Lord. What does it mean to fear […]
Ecclesiastes 6-8 | Solomon Turns Over a New Leaf Published on Oct 2, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 30, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I […]
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how […]
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how […]
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]
Ecclesiastes 6-8 | Solomon Turns Over a New Leaf Published on Oct 2, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 30, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series […]
Ecclesiastes 4-6 | Solomon’s Dissatisfaction Published on Sep 24, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 23, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider ___________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope […]
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]
Ecclesiastes 8-10 | Still Searching After All These Years Published on Oct 9, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 7, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _______________________ Ecclesiastes 11-12 | Solomon Finds His Way Published on Oct 30, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | October 28, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider […]
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. _______________________ Tom Brady ESPN Interview Tom Brady has famous wife earned over 76 million dollars last year. However, has Brady found lasting satifaction in his life? It does not […]
Adrian Rogers: How to Be a Child of a Happy Mother Published on Nov 13, 2012 Series: Fortifying Your Family (To read along turn on the annotations.) Adrian Rogers looks at the 5th commandment and the relationship of motherhood in the commandment to honor your father and mother, because the faith that doesn’t begin at home, […]
Ecclesiastes 1 Published on Sep 4, 2012 Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider _____________________ I have written on the Book of Ecclesiastes and the subject of the meaning of our lives on several occasions on this blog. In this series on Ecclesiastes I hope to show how secular humanist man […]
Adrian Rogers – How to Cultivate a Marriage Another great article from Adrian Rogers. Are fathers necessary? “Artificial insemination is the ideal method of producing a pregnancy, and a lesbian partner should have the same parenting rights accorded historically to biological fathers.” Quoted from the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, summer of 1995. […]
Tom Brady “More than this…” Uploaded by EdenWorshipCenter on Jan 22, 2008 EWC sermon illustration showing a clip from the 2005 Tom Brady 60 minutes interview. To Download this video copy the URL to http://www.vixy.net ________________ Obviously from the video clip above, Tom Brady has realized that even though he has won many Super Bowls […]
If you give me what I want
Then Ill give you what you like
When you turn off the lights
I get stars in my eyes
Is this love?
Maybe someday
So dont turn on the lights
Ill give you what you like
Emotions arent that hard to borrow
When was the word you never learned
And in a room of empty bottles
If you dont give me what I want
Then youll get what you deserve
When you turn off the lights
I get stars in my eyes
Is this love?
Maybe someday
Ive got this scene in my head
Im not sure how it ends
Is it love?
Maybe one day
So dont turn on the lights
Ill give you what you like
David Archuleta – Crush Crush (David Archuleta song) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Crush” Single by David Archuleta from the album David Archuleta Released August 12, 2008 (See release history) Format CD single, digital download Recorded 2008 Genre Pop Length 3:33 Label Jive Writer(s) Jess Cates, David Hodges, Emanuel Kiriakou Producer Emanuel Kiriakou David Archuleta singles chronology “Crush“ (2008) “A Little Too Not Over You“ […]
Uploaded on May 11, 2011 “What About Now” is the seventh single from American rock band Daughtry’s eponymous debut album. The song is a ballad, that was written by Ben Moody, David Hodges (both former members of Evanescence), and Josh Hartzler, who is married to Amy Lee (the lead singer of Evanescence) It is one of […]
Evanescence – Bring Me To Life From David Hodges website: David Hodges is a Grammy award-winning writer/producer/artist hailing from Little Rock, AR. As the former writer and keyboardist of the band Evanescence, he and his band mates took home Best New Artist as well as the Best Hard Rock Performance trophy for their hit “Bring […]
Carrie Underwood | There’s A Place For Us | Music Video Uploaded on Dec 27, 2010 Music Video of Carrie Underwood – There’s A Place For Us – The Chronicles Of Narnia – Voyage Of The Dawn Treader Soundtrack This video is created using various trailers from the film The Chronicles Of Narnia – Voyage Of The […]
Evanescence – My Immortal From David Hodges website: David Hodges is a Grammy award-winning writer/producer/artist hailing from Little Rock, AR. As the former writer and keyboardist of the band Evanescence, he and his band mates took home Best New Artist as well as the Best Hard Rock Performance trophy for their hit “Bring Me To […]
Christina Perri- The Lonely (official music video) Distance (Christina Perri song) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia “Distance” Single by Christina Perri featuring Jason Mraz from the album lovestrong. Released March 20, 2012 Format Digital download Recorded 2011 Genre Pop Length 3:55 Label Atlantic Writer(s) Christina Perri, David Hodges Christina Perri singles chronology “A Thousand Years“ (2011) “Distance“ (2012) Jason Mraz singles chronology “I […]
Evanescence – Going Under From David Hodges website: David Hodges is a Grammy award-winning writer/producer/artist hailing from Little Rock, AR. As the former writer and keyboardist of the band Evanescence, he and his band mates took home Best New Artist as well as the Best Hard Rock Performance trophy for their hit “Bring Me To […]
Kelly Clarkson – Because Of You From David Hodges website: David Hodges is a Grammy award-winning writer/producer/artist hailing from Little Rock, AR. As the former writer and keyboardist of the band Evanescence, he and his band mates took home Best New Artist as well as the Best Hard Rock Performance trophy for their hit “Bring […]
On June 28, 2013 Underwood was back on top with a song that Little Rock native David Hodges who graduated at Arkansas Baptist High School help write. Carrie Underwood “Sees” No. 1 Again onTop 20 By Sarah Wyland | Leave a Comment Carrie Underwood photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville. Carrie Underwood current single title is prophetic. She makes […]
Christina Perri ‘Safe Haven’ Interview- New Album Coming! Published on Feb 6, 2013 http://bit.ly/ClevverMusic – Subscribe to ClevverMusic! We caught up with “Jar of Hearts” singer Christina Perri at the Safe Haven movie premiere where her song “Arms” is featured on the soundtrack. We chatted with her on the red carpet about the song, and […]
David Hodges is a graduate of Arkansas Baptist High School in Little Rock and he co-wrote the song “A Thousand Years,”with Christina Perri. It was featured in the movie “Breaking Dawn Part 2.” David is one of the three founding members of Evanescence and he has written for Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, […]
The “American Idol” contestant-turned-actress is getting positive reviews for her role in “Smash.” The singer plays an actress who is competing for the part of Marilyn Monroe in a Broadway show. The Hollywood Reporter calls it “‘Glee’ for grownups” and Entertainment Weekly calls McPhee “mediocre” but “very likable.” Great song: Uploaded by KatharineMcPheeVEVO on Nov […]
Little Rock native and Arkansas Baptist High School graduate David Hodges co-wrote a song for the blockbuster movie “Breaking Dawn” that comes out this Friday. Interview: Breaking Dawn’s Christina Perri Twi’s Hard, Dreams Big By Leah Collins, Dose.ca Nov 1, 2011 More Images » OMG. Christina Perri went from a […]
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