Ramblin' with Roger

Yet more Hot Country Hits of 1986

fun with titles

Here’s yet more Hot Country Hits of 1986, for July through mid-December, one week each at the top of the charts. There are many repeats of artists from the first half of the year.

The thing I like about country tunes is how one could take the titles and make a variety of stories. Feel free to share your combinations!

Everything That Glitters (is not gold) – Dan Seals

Hearts Aren’t Made To Break (they’re made to love) – Lee Greenwood

Until I Met You – Judy Rodman

On The Other Hand – Randy Travis

Nobody In His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her – George Strait

Rockin’ With The Rhythm of the Rain – The Judds

You’re The Last Thing I Needed Tonight – John Schneider

Strong Heart – T.G. Sheppard

Heartbeat In The Darkness – Don Williams, written by Russell Smith and Dave Loggins

Desperado Love – Conway Twitty

Little Rock – Reba McEntire

Got My Heart Set On You – John Conlee

In Love – Ronnie Milsap

Always Have Always Will – Janie Frickie

Both To Each Other (friends and lovers) – Eddie Rabbit and Juice Newton

Just Another Love – Tanya Tucker

Cry – Crystal Gayle

Moi

It’ll Be Me – Exile

Diggin’ Up Bones – Randy Travis

That Rock Won’t Roll – Restless Heart

You’re Still New To Me – Marie Osmond with Paul Davis, written by Paul Davis and Paul Overstreet

Touch Me When We’re Dancing – Alabama

It Ain’t Cool To Be Crazy About You – George Strait

Hell and High Water – T. Graham Brown, written by Brown and Alex T. Harvey

Too Much Is Not Enough – The Bellamy Brothers with the Forester Sisters, written by David Bellamy and Ron Taylor

Sept. rambling: Murdering 60 Minutes

Baseball Walk Up Song Database

**Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian, at the Natural History Museum. Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post via Getty Images**

UN rights chief Volker Türk raises alarm over AI’s ‘existential’ risk to humanity

What students lose when they stop writing

“Murdering 60 Minutes” is what it would look like if “60 Minutes” covered what happened to itself after Bari Weiss took over. The film is available to watch for free on YouTube and at www.murdering60minutes.com.

It’s Not Just Flock. Police Can’t Be Trusted With Our Data

Gloria Steinem Dies at 92. She challenged sexist assumptions, helping women develop self-worth and gain a measure of equality at work, at home, and in society at large. Somewhere in the attic is my copy of the premiere issue of Ms. magazine.

Americans Agree on Almost Nothing. Except Data Centers. Three-fourths of Americans oppose them.

As A Teen, I Wrote A Famous Musician A Fan Letter. 23 Years After His Death, I Finally Got A Response.

Bob Mackie, Designer Who Bedazzled Carol Burnett and Cher, Dies at 87

It’s One of Our Greatest and Most Controversial Novels. How Should “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Be Taught?

He Was a Top Lawn Care Influencer on YouTube. Then Everything Went Haywire.

I Study Successful People. They Have One Habit in Common. The habit is asking for help when you get stuck.

The Glare

The 92-Year-Old Mathematician and the Teenage Apprentice

Any Human Ever

To Protect and Swerve and All Price Tags Go To Heaven, and Denim Dresses Were the Old Black and How Hippos Swim:

Hmm…

‘Beware my power’: White House shares AI-generated video of FOTUS as Green Lantern

EPA Takes ‘Yet Another Sledgehammer’ to Clean Water Act

Vance lies through his teeth about regime’s military missteps

Hegseth vs. the Deep Pentagon

Dozens of Joint Staff members subject to polygraph tests in leak hunt

At $5.85 a Gallon, Diesel Price Hits All-Time High thanks to War on Iran

RFK Jr.’s vaccine lies finally catch up to him

Regime to rescind rule protecting old-growth forests. “The public has until 21 September to comment on the plan.”

Why did FOTUS order up 660 million pounds of mystery meat?

Russian Businessman Paid for DT Jr.’s Lavish Wedding After-Party

U.N. approves Equal Earth map in 164-1 vote as U.S. slams it as ideological

Lonnie G. Bunch III has announced his decision to depart as Smithsonian’s Secretary after 38 years of service to the institution. With a storied career dating back to the 1970s, Bunch leaves a remarkable legacy, most notably the founding of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which we visited in 2024. I heard him speak in 2019 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

MUSIC

Baseball Walk Up Song Database

You’re Not Alone – Mavis Staples

Canticle of Light by Akira Nishimura

Best Albums of 2026 (Third Quarter) Report

Brahms’ Academic Overture – The Cleveland Orchestra

Coverville 1592: The Dolly Parton Tribute and 1593: The Bee Gees Cover Story V

Sunshine Boots – Johnson Mkhalali

Gumboots -Paul Simon featuring The Boyoyo Boys

Nightflyer – Alison Russell

Joan Osborne issued an album of 12 Bob Dylan covers circa 2017; she performed some of them live. Full Session – 8/31/2017 – Paste Studios – New York, NY

A Song For You – Donny Hathaway

Beautiful Dawn – The Wailin’ Jennys

Harvest Moon – Cassandra Wilson, jazz star, who died at 70, which reminds me of my late friend Donna

Peter Sprague Plays The Wind Cries Mary, featuring Lisa Hightower, and George, Tell It Like It Is, featuring Sinne Eeg

STAR TREK edition

Do You Miss Me Darlin’ – The Guess Who

This Time Tomorrow – Brandi Carlile

Higher Love – Steve Winwood

We Shall Be Known – MaMuse

Venus – Bananarama

Dopamine (Jamie xx Remix) – Robyn

Something To Love – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

State Farm Insurance doodad

Cambridge Mobile Telematics

When I tracked my mail delivery in early September, I noted that we would be receiving a package from State Farm Insurance; we have no policy with the company. When it arrived, it said it was for a gentleman who has never lived here, at least not in the last forty years.

My wife and I find it odd that we receive mail for people who do not live at our address. We’ve been here for a quarter of a century, and the previous owners, now deceased, dwelled here for about 15 years. It’s happened a fair amount over the years, but it’s become more frequent over the past half-decade.

It’s often from insurance companies. A couple of months ago, I called one insurance company that had sent us three pieces of mail that arrived for the same woman. They were appreciative, and we had not gotten anything for that particular party since.

But not only was the package from State Farm for a person a stranger to us, but, and this happens fairly often, an Apartment #1 is added to our address; we live in a one-family house.

Drive Safe & Save

We’d just toss most of the other misdirected mail into the shred bag. But the package sent from Bloomington, IL required a different response. After it sat around for a few days, I decided to open the package. It’s a Drive Safe & Save beacon, “technology by Cambridge Mobile Telematics.”

“Using your smartphone’s camera, scan the QR code, and then log in to the State Farm app to pair your beacon… “Select my vehicle and complete the setup today!”

I called a State Farm main number. But its touted AI technology couldn’t help someone like me who wasn’t a customer with a claim, a tech problem, or the like.

So what does one do with this? Does State Farm want to send these doodads around the country?

Then a subsequent standard mailing arrived, which I opened. I called the agent, who said that the online application came from the 347 area code. A few minutes later, he verified that the client was actually from Brooklyn, where auto insurance rates are much higher, as I understand it.

But how did he get OUR address? I theorize that he somehow got it from a voter registration roll. The designation of Apt 1 was carried over from my wife’s former address, which she has had corrected.

Sunday Stealing Demands the Truth!

comic book conventions

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week’s meme was inspired by FOMA. He shared 10 random true statements. Let’s see if they’re true of you, too. You can answer with just true or false, or give a more elaborate answer if you’re so inspired.

TRUE OR FALSE: Sunday Stealing Demands the Truth!

1. I’m married.

Yes, for 27 years

2. I’m raising a teenager.

No. A couple of years ago, I was.

3. I recently vacationed in California.

Not recently. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve been to California since Rebecca and Rico’s wedding in 2005. No, that’s not correct; I went to tend to sister Leslie when she had an accident in 2018. Regardless, it’s the state I’ve visited most often outside the Eastern Time Zone. I’ve been to San Diego Padres games six times, the Oakland A’s, California Angels, and San Diego Chargers once each.

4. I have traveled to Asia.

No, alas. I’d probably go to Japan.

5. I have a dog.

I haven’t had a dog since I was a child.

Not a lot of money

6. I received money from a class action settlement.

I’ve received several really tiny payments. Last year, maybe a half dozen, totaling less than $250.

7. I’ve been in the waiting room when a family member had surgery.

Yes. My wife had foot surgery in 2017, and my daughter had an adenoidectomy in 2007; the latter was somewhat traumatic for parents and child. I swear my wife had oral surgery, but I don’t seem to have written about it.

8. I have attended a convention.

Several comic book conventions, including some local ones. Also FantaCon, in 1979-1981, 1983, 1988, 1989, and 2013. San Diego Comic-Con in 1987 and 1988. Undoubtedly others.

9. I subscribe to my local newspaper (either print or online).

Yes: the Times Union, plus the New York Times, the Guardian, and a couple of others.

10. I recently had work done to the exterior of my home.

Well, technically. We got a new fence connected to our back porch.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Hot Country Hits of 1986?

Tom Petty!

Were there any country hot country hits of 1986? The year had 51 songs that went to number one. The only reason there weren’t 52 was that the charts remained “frozen” for the last week of the year.

This occurrence was a manipulation by record labels, radio stations, and others to have as many #1 hits as possible. But when you have a #1 every single week, what is really hot? It’s quite an embarrassment in retrospect.

For the listener, it’s very difficult to really know most of these well. The last #1 song that year, for two weeks, was Mind Your Own Business by Hank Williams Jr. It was written and recorded by Hank Williams Sr. in the late 1940s. This recording features Willie Nelson, Reba McEntire, Tom Petty, and Rev. Ike! It likely would have topped the charts for a longer period.

Here are the others in chronological order:

Morning Desire – Kenny Rogers, written by Dave Loggins, second cousin to Kenny Loggins

Bop – Dan Seals

Never Be You– Roseanne Cash, written by Benmont Tench and Tom Petty of the Heartbreakers

Just In Case – Forrester Sisters; I have a 1990 album of theirs, Come Hold Me

Hurt – Juice Newton

Makin’ Up for Lost Time (the Dallas Lovers’ song) – Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris, written by Dave Loggins and Morris

There’s No Stopping Your Heart – Marie Osmond

Still The One

You Can Dream Of Me – Steve Wariner, written by John Hall (formerly of Orleans) and Wariner

Thinking About Love – Dolly Parton

I Could Get Used To You – Exile

What’s A Memory Like You (doing in a love like this) – John Schneider. The guy from The Dukes of Hazzard.

Don’t Underestimate My Love For You – Lee Greenwood, co-written by Dave Loggins

100% Chance of Rain– Gary Morris

She and I – Alabama

Cajun Moon – Ricky Skaggs

Now and Forever (You and Me) – Anne Murray

Once In A Blue Moon – Earl Thomas Conley

Grandpa Tell Me About The Good Old Days – The Judds

Ain’t Misbehavin’ – Hank Williams, Jr. The Fats Waller song; his given name was Thomas.

Tomb of the Unknown Love – Kenny Rogers

Whoever’s In New England – Reba McEntire

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby– Ronnie Milsap. It is a 1957 song originally performed by the Tune Weavers

Life’s Highway – Steve Wariner

Mama’s Never Seen Those Eyes – The Forester Sisters

Livin’ In the Promiseland – Willie Nelson. A true patriotic song

I’ll do the next half of the year soon