Chamblee54

The goings on in Iran have always seemed a bit weird to Americans. The names are unpronounceable. The religious hair splitting is puzzling. With our habit of hating the leaders of “enemy” countries, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has become a star, this years next Hitler. According to Juan Cole, some of these notions may be off base.
Mr. Ahmadinejad is not the supreme ruler of Iran. He answers to Supreme Leader Ali Khamene’i. The two don’t seem to be getting along these days. As Farhang Jahanpour wrote:
The root of the current problem between Khamenei and Ahmadinejad lies in a struggle for power between the two. The open disagreement started over Ahmadinejad’s appointment of his close friend and his son’s father-in-law Esfandiar Rahim Masha’i to the post of first vice-president shortly after the start of his second presidential term…
“Masha’i faced even harsher criticism following his remarks about the Israeli people. Speaking at a conference on tourism in Tehran, he said: “No nation in the world is our enemy. Today, Iran is friends with the people of America and Israel and this is an honour.” His remarks created an outcry among conservatives who criticized such an unprecedented stance towards Israel. Masha’i rejected all criticism and said: “I am proud of what I said and I am not going to correct myself… I would like to announce for the thousandth time, and stronger than before, that we are friends with all peoples of the world, even the people of America and Israel.” Instead of distancing himself from those remarks, Ahmadinejad defended his friend, adding: “Masha’i’s words reflected the government’s stance. It is very clear. Our people do not have any problem with other nations.””
A while back, Mr. Ahmadinejad was quoted, through translators, as saying that he wanted to waste Israel. Many have said that this was a bad translation. Meanwhile, other countries find it to their advantage to publicize the more inflammatory version of his comments. Israel especially is saber rattling, saying that a nuclear program in Iran is a threat to Israel. When Israel is screaming about Iran, they don’t have to comment about the Palestinians.
It is often said that the Middle East is a bad neighborhood. Iran had a horrendous war with Iraq, and shares borders with Pakistan. The former home of Mr. Bin Ladin is an unstable country with nuclear weapons. You could make an argument that Iran needs nukes to stay safe.
The war with Iraq presents a few more ironies. When Iraq invaded Iran, they were the allies of the United States. This was when Iran held American hostages ( an act never avenged), and Washington probably encouraged the invasion. A few years into the war, Iran tried to buy some weapons, and made some deals with Washington. Israel was the middleman on these deals. There was no talk about existential threats in those days.
There is one more element of this story that is just plain weird. That is, until you consider the similarities to Jesus worship religion, and their “Revelations”. At least you don’t see American politicians suggesting that they are the messiah.
“A few weeks ago, a series of documentary films were released called “The Reappearance is Near.” The films referred to the reappearance of the Hidden Imam who according to the Shi’is went into hiding as a child and who will return in the Last Days to crush the enemies of Islam and to establish a reign of justice and peace. A number of people will supposedly accompany the Hidden Imam on his return. The films openly stated that President Ahmadinejad is the embodiment of Shu’ayb bin Salih, one of the saintly figures who will accompany the Hidden Imam. This would give the president a special place above all the ruling clerics as a special companion of the Hidden Imam. In fact, the president frequently takes the entire cabinet to pray next to a well near Qom, from where the Hidden Imam is supposed to emerge. He also starts all his speeches, including the ones that he has delivered at the United Nations, with a prayer for the speedy return of the Hidden Imam.”

In the next quarter century, the surplus grew, thanks to Bukowski’s nearly graphomaniacal fecundity. “I usually write ten or fifteen [poems] at once,” he said, and he imagined the act of writing as a kind of entranced combat with the typewriter, as in his poem “cool black air”: “now I sit down to it and I bang it, I don’t use the light / touch, I bang it.”
As could have been predicted, it started with a post at Dangerous Minds. The feature was about the late Charles Bukowski, who was called Hank by those who knew him. The writer/drunk had always been a bit of a fascination to PG. Out of the millions of useless drunks feeding the urinals of planet earth, at least one will turn out to have had literary merit.
A trip to Google city is made, quotes from the bard are found, along with the wikipedia page. All of this leads to a New Yorker piece about the gentleman. After nine paragraphs, and two poems, there is the phrase that set off PG…graphomaniacal fecundity.(spell check suggestion:nymphomaniac)
As best as we can figure, g.f. means that Hank wrote a lot of stuff. This is a good thing. PG operates on the notion that if you keep your quantity up, the quality will take care of itself. Hank seems to agree, spitting out product “like hot turds the morning after a good beer drunk.” He seemed to take pride in doing what Truman Capote said about Jack Kerouac…he doesn’t write, he types.
If you google the phrase graphomaniacal fecundity, you can choose from 71 results. The top six apparently quote the article in New Yorker. A blogspot facility called poemanias quotes the paragraph from the New Yorker, with the title “On Bukowski’s afterlife”, while Fourhourhardon reprints the entire thing. Neither provide a link back to the original.
Goliath and Petey Luvs Blog take the same copy-paste approach. The first tries to get you to pay for more reading material. This forum also does the control A-C-V approach, but yields this comment : “He was a contemporary of the Beats, but not quite one of them because he was darker and not as willing to smoke a joint and sing Phil Ochs songs on the lower east side. ” The truth is, Hank hated marijuana, and had the classic alcoholic attitude about it. And so it goes.
Keep and share copies the complete New Yorker feature, but has some other thumbsuckers about Mr. Bukowski. It may be fun to read someday. Pictures today are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.

The first picture in this episode is a family portrait of the Quin family in Washington Georgia. The nine surviving children of Hugh Pharr Quin are sitting for the camera. Mr. Quin had joined the Georgia State Troops of the Army of the Confederacy at the age of 16, and after the war went to Washington to live with his sister. Mr. Quin was in the church choir of the First Methodist Church when he met the organist, Betty Lou DuBose. They were married January 22, 1879.
The original name of Mrs. Quin was Louisa Toombs DuBose. She was the daughter of James Rembert DuBose. His brother in law was Robert Toombs, the Secretary of State of the Confederacy, and a man of whom many stories are told.
In this picture, Mrs. Quin is holding the hand of her second youngest daughter so she will not run away. This is Mattie Vance Quin. She is my grandmother.
After The Great War, Mattie Vance Quin was living in Memphis Tennessee, where she met Arthur Dunaway. Mr. Dunaway was a veteran of the war, and was from Paragould, Arkansas. On July 23, 1922 her first Daughter, Jean, was born. This is my mother.
Mr. Dunaway died in 1930, shortly after the birth of his son Arthur. There were hard times and upheaval after this, with the family settling in Atlanta. There her third child Helen Ann Moffat was born on December 12, 1933. This is my Aunt Helen and my mother’s best friend.

Jean lived for many years with her mother and sister at 939 Piedmont, among other locations. She joined the First Baptist Church and sang in the choir. She got a job with the C&S bank, and was working at the Tenth Street Branch when she met Luther McKinnon. He was a native of Rowland, North Carolina. They were married October 6, 1951.
They moved into the Skyland Apartments, which in those days was out in the country. Mom told a story about Dad taking her home from Choir practice, and going home on the two lane Buford Hiway. There was a man who went to the restaurants to get scraps to feed his pigs, and his truck was always in front of them. This was a serious matter in the summer without air conditioning.
Soon, they moved into a house, and Luther junior was born on May 6, 1954. This is me. Malcolm was born May 10, 1956, which did it for the children. Neither of us had children, so that is where that ends.
The fifties were spent on Wimberly Road, a street of always pregnant women just outside Brookhaven. It was a great place to be a little kid.
In 1960, we moved to Parkridge Drive, to the house where my brother and I stay today. The note payment was $88 a month. Ashford Park School is a short walk away…the lady who sold us the house said ” you slap you kid on the fanny and he is at school”.
In 1962, our family followed the choir director from First Baptist to Briarcliff Baptist, which is where my parents remained.
In 1964, Mom went back to work. She ran the drive in window at Lenox Square for the Trust Company of Georgia until it was time to retire. She became a talk radio fan when RING radio started, and was a friend of her customer Ludlow Porch. She gave dog biscuits to customers with dogs.
During this era of change, Mom taught me that all people were good people, be they black or white. This was rare in the south. She later became disgusted with the War in Vietnam, and liked to quote a man she heard on the radio. “How will we get out of Vietnam?”” By ship and by plane”.
Eventually, it was time to retire. Her and Dad did the requisite traveling, until Dad got sick and passed away February 7,1992. Mom stuck around for a few more years, until her time came December 18, 1998.

Dear Friend, As-salaam aliekum….. I am contacting you as a matter of urgency about a huge transfer of ($9,700,000.00) Nine Million Seven Hundred Thousand United State Dollar. But I want to first transfer $1,700.000.00 (One million seven hundred thousand USD) from this money into a safe account and after which we will transfer the remaining (8M) I have only written to seek for your indulgence and assistance. You will be providing a designated bank account of your choice. My name is Mr. Ibrahim Abdullah. Director of integrated finance of a bank here in West Africa . Thus, for your indulgence and assistance (morally and financially), i propose a 45% share of the total amount to you after the transfer has been successfully effected. Kindly, state your interest by replying immediately and i shall furnish you with details and procedures preceding the transfer. ALLAH BLESS YOU Mr Ibrahim Abdulla How are you doing today? I write to inform you that we have already sent you USD5000.00 dollars through Western union as we have been given the mandate to transfer your full benefited sum of $1,800,000.00USD via our office here (Western Union) by the United nations in conjunction with the Nigeria Government as a compensation. I called to give you the information through phone as internet hackers were many but i cannot reach you yesterday even this morning.So,I decided to email you the MTCN and sender name so that can pick up this USD5000.00 to enable us send another USD5000.00 by tomorrow as you knows we will be sending you only USD5000.00 per day. Kindly pick up this information and hurry up to the nearest western union money office that is close to you and pick up this first payment that has been sent to you now and as soon as you are done with the pick up kindly get back to us in order for us to send you another payment by tomorrow,as you know that we shall be sending you $5000usd par day. Manager :Mrs.Anita Daniel Email me once you picked up this USD5000.00 today Here is the western union information to pick up the USD5000.00,With due respect please get back to us urgently after the pick of the money and if you have any problem you can as well contact us immediately. Thank Mrs. Anita Daniel. western union Office. Dear Customer!!! Dear One, I am Madam Aidata Hinda I am a widow being that I lost my husband,my husband Late Mr Hinda Norman was a serving director of the Cocoa exporting board until his death. He was assassinated by the rebels following the political uprising, before his death he made a deposit of Six Million Five Hundred Dollars ($6,500,000.00USD) here in Ouagadougou Burkina Faso in one of the Security Company,he intended to buy a Cocoa processing Machine with the fund. want you to help me for us to retreive this fund and transfer it to your account in your country or any safer place as you will be the beneficiary and recipient of the fund which we will use for joint investment in your country. I have plans to do investment in your country, like real estate and industrial production. This is my reason for writing to you. Please if you are willing to assist me and my only Duaghter Nora ,indicate your interest by replying urgently Beware of dog. Contestants have been briefed on some questions before the show. Limited time offer, call now to insure prompt delivery. You must be present to win. No passes accepted for this engagement. No purchase necessary. Processed at location stamped in code at top of carton. Shading within a garment may occur. Use only in well-ventilated area. Pictures tonight are from The Library of Congress . The text is from the internet. If it is on the internet, it must be the truth.

May 6 is a day in spring, with 35% of the year gone by. It has it’s fair share of history, some of which did not turn out well. In 1861, the Confederate Congress declared war on the United States. In 1937, a German zeppelin named “Hindenburg” exploded while trying to land in New Jersey. In 1940, Bob Hope did his first show for the USO, somewhere in California.
In non metric news, in 1954 Roger Bannister ran the first sub four minute mile. The current record is 3:43.13 by Hicham El Guerrouj on July 7, 1999, with a party with Prince to celebrate. Since most track meets now use 1500 meters, the mile record is more or less obsolete.
On this day, Georgia has strapped two notable prisoners onto the gurney of no return. In 2003, Carl Isaacs was put to death. Mr. Isaacs was the ringleader in the Alday family killing, in Donalsonville GA, 1973. Five years later, in 2008, William Earl Lynd was poisoned by the state. This was the first execution, after the Supreme Court ruled that execution, by poisoning, was constitutional.
According to Wikipedia, which is never wrong, several notables were born on May 6. Included are: 1758 – Maximilien Robespierre//1856 – Sigmund Freud//1895 – Rudolph Valentino//1903 – Toots Shor//1915 – Orson Welles//1924 – Patricia Kennedy Lawford//1931 – Willie Mays//1937 – Rubin Carter//1945 – Bob Seger//1953 – Tony Blair//1954 – PG//1961 – George Clooney.
To make room for these folks, someone has to die. For May 6 this would mean: 1862 – Henry David Thoreau//1919 – L. Frank Baum//1992 – Marlene Dietrich.

Today is the National Day of Prayer . PG has this to offer: Pictures are from The Library of Congress
Good Morning G-d. Please give me the slack I need to make it through this busy life. I have a birthday tomorrow, and am getting older. Please give me less pain, both above and below the neck. Thank you for letting me get this far. Thank you for the gift of sobriety, and the memory of inebrience. The gift of moderation would have been appreciated. Help me overcome chemistry telling me to be unhappy.
Please tell the Jesus Worshipers to shut up. They make too much noise. Help me to forgive them. Give Jesus Worshipers a bit more humility. Help Jesus Worshipers to get over their confusion, and quit hating gay people. Let people know that G-d does not write books. Let men know that A REAL MAN KEEPS CONTROL OF HIS TEMPER. Please tell the proud people praying today that it is better to listen than to talk.
Please find a happy medium for Atlanta water. Let us have neither drought nor flood. It would help if the developers would move to North Carolina, and the politicians would grow a conscience. This may be asking too much.
G-d, Please try to get along better with Allah. This is important. Maybe if you and her got along better, then all those religious crazies would hate each other less. Help white people and black people get along better. Please be good to the people who have already lived, and are now deceased. Please understand that I am not in a hurry to join them.
Help Mr. Obama with the mess this country is in. Help Israel get along with her neighbors, and live within her borders. Help the world solve the carbon dioxide problem.
Thank you for the birds that sing. I will listen to them, and not an electronic device. Thank you for dogs, and dog owners who clean up. Thank you for earth, air, fire, and water. Thank you for the people who enjoy this prayer. Help those who are offended to get over it. Namaste, amen, all my relations, Good Bye.

Thursday April 28 PG woke up at 6am, and was on the road by 7:15. The three days before this had seen several rider cancellations, and a serious storm in north GA. Finally, PG decided to ride by himself, and waited until the weather radar said it was clear ahead.
The ride went smoothly for 98 miles, until the traffic slowed down to 5 mph. There was tornado damage around Ringgold, and it took about an hour to go three miles. The sky was overcast all though Chattanooga, with some threatening clouds to the east. After going through Monteagle Pass, the sun broke through. For the time being, it was glorious.
Arrival and departure at SMS can be a production. You drop off your gear at the top of the hill, and move your car to the parking spot two miles away. You hike back, and hopefully your gear is down the hill. After lunch, you find a place to set up, grab a wheel barrow, and move into your Tennessee mountain home. Before long, it is time for the dinner circle.
Every night before dinner, the community gathers on the knoll. Inevitably, someone has an announcement. This first night, it was mentioned that the people who had been to gatherings before should mentor the new arrivals. PG wondered if this was really a good idea.
After dinner, the first night, PG helped some neighbors set up a tent. He left their site, found one of the trails, and started to walk. Before long, he realized he was lost. It was not raining, and there were extra flashlight batteries, so panic was not appropriate. After a while, PG found the garden, and was able to backtrack to his tent. The next morning, he counted the steps, from the drying shed to his tent.
Friday April 29 After settling in for a day, it was time to do something. The reason gatherings are so cheap is, all the work is done by attendees. After breakfast Friday, PG went up the hill to greet people arriving for the weekend. It is a fairly simple process…say welcome home, show them where the bags go, and give them a parking slip for their vehicle. Next, you give directions to the parking area, help them back their vehicle up without going over the edge (the hills at SMS get steep fast), and direct the new cars in and the leaving cars out. The time goes by fast.
At 4:20 on Friday, a memorial for Crazy Owl was held. One day, the former Charles Hall asked to be sat up. He was propped up, and stared off into the distance. A few minutes later, he left this planet.
A procession started at the knoll, and went up the ridge to the memorial grove. A stone had been carved for Dr. Owl, and was passed around the circle. PG began, and ended, his comments with the words “all my relations”. Whoops from a nearby party could be heard throughout the remembrance.
During the day, people continued to pile into the sanctuary. Someone went around the dinner circle Friday night, and counted 225 people. PG long ago learned to be on the edge of the circle closest to the kitchen, and to walk fast the instant the circle broke.
A dance party was held Friday night in the pavilion, with drumming by the fire. Both events were too crowded for PG’s comfort. He went to bed early.
Saturday April 30 The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence had a procession, to carry merchandise from the storage tent over to the pavilion, for the auction. PG wound up carrying the front part of a large, heavy, picture display. After he picked up his end, a person made a speech that seemed to go on forever. Finally, the procession started, and was soon over.
After lunch, PG was wandering around aimlessly, when the parking commandant appeared. Someone up on the hill has been there a couple of hours, if you want to go relieve him that would be great. At one point, a carload that had been wandering lost arrived, and was ecstatic to have finally arrived in the right spot. After a while, PG had to go back downhill, and get the truck driver to go back up the driveway, and bring a load of gear down. All in a day’s work.
Sunday May 1 This was the first Beltane for PG. He had been to the Maypole dance twice before, in 1987 and 1989,back when it was called Mayday. After the maypole was covered in ribbons, PG put his hands on it, and gave thanks for the 22 years since the last time. *It rained all day on Beltane*.
Monday May 2 After breakfast, there was a heart circle on the knoll. The sun was out, PG got too much on his back. He drew the Knight of Swords card, which told him to go get a shirt. This was not in time to prevent a sunburn.
A friend asked PG if he could use a cell phone. To get the device, and then to ride up to the top of the driveway (the only place at the Sanctuary where there is reception), PG rode in the community golf cart. This was a first, and made PG feel that much more of an insider.
At dinner circle Monday, it was announced that a heavy rainstorm was on the way, and blackberry winter temperatures. It was also mentioned that a car was laying on it’s side, on the road to the parking lot. PG joined the crew of men…three of whom were wearing skirts…that went to push the Ford Tempo upright. On the third push, the vehicle fell back onto four wheels. All the wheels had air, although one looked like it might need fixin soon. As Goatboy said, “This is a first”.
Tuesday May 3  The reports of heavy rain and cold temperatures were not exaggerated. PG spent most of the day wandering around, discovering the limits of water resistance in his gear. This was the last full day of the gathering, and a spectacular dance party was held in the main house. In one room there was a “Soul Train” theme. In the kitchen, there was “Solid Gold”. It was the last outbreak of glitter until the next time.

Today is the National Day of Prayer This is a repost , written in first person. Pictures are from the “Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
So much for world affairs. It is time to tell a story, with no moral and no redeeming social value.
In 1980, I was staying at a place called the Sea Haven Hostel, affectionately known as Sleaze Haven. This was in Seattle WA, as far as you can get from Atlanta, and still be in the lower 48. I was working through Manpower, and staying in a semi private room for $68 a month.
There was a Christian group that met in the basement on Sunday Night. Now, as some of you may know, I am a recovering baptist, who hasn’t been to church since 1971. However, the lure of a free meal was hard to resist, so I went to a few meetings.
One night,after doing quality control work on the local beer supply,I cheerfully joined in the discussion. This was the night when I realized that the Bible is not the Word of G-d, a concept that has been very handy in dealing with the clumsy efforts of our Jesus-mad culture to convert me.
They seemed to like me, though, and welcomed me back. Maybe it was the southern accent.
One Sunday, after the dinner was finished , it was time to have a prayer to begin the meeting. I raised my hand.Now, Jesus Worshipers enjoy prayer as entertainment. When they bow their heads, you see them stretching and deep breathing, in anticipation of a good, lengthy, message to G-d.
My message was a bit of a disappointment. Instead of a long winded lecture about Jesus and the magic book, I said what was on my mind. Lord, thank you for letting us be here today. What else do you need to say?