Witch Part Two
PG went to a poetry reading on May 21, 2015. It was a very positive night. Nobody reading was angry, or at least none of the poems were angry. The star performer went on last, and that was that.
PG wrote Witch abut the evening. There was soon a comment on facebook. “i am frequently misgendered throughout this article and it makes me angry.” PG went back, and tweaked the gender references in the post. There is only so much you can do.
The only indication that PG had seen about trans status was a line about pronouns on twitter. The poet said that their pronouns were they and their. The last thing the poet said in the reading was “I am a fricking witch.” Maybe this was a clue.
A few days later, PG went to a building to work. A group was going to use the building… a former elementary school, now used by artists … and the grounds, for a party. In exchange, some people from this group were to come by and work in the building. Although PG had misgivings about the party, he was happy to make a contribution by working in the building. The job this Sunday afternoon was painting a room.
The story of the poet was told. PG was using he/him pronouns to describe the poet. One of the other painters was “aggressive” in objecting to this. PG protested, but wound up not using he/him pronouns. At least that is what PG remembers. The “aggressive” painter says that PG continued to use he/him pronouns. Two people do not always remember a dispute the same way.
The concept of using a plural pronoun like they, to describe a single person, did not make sense to PG. Apparently, this is a common practice. PG appreciates that gender based pronouns can be problematic. However, PG does not feel that redefining they, for use in describing a singular person, is a good solution to the problem.
The rest of the afternoon went by. PG gave the “aggressive” painter a ride home after the work session. PG did not think much more about the incident.
On thursday, the “aggressive” painter sent PG a facebook message. One of the other painters identified as trans. The “aggressive” painter said “You played the role of oppressor … with your intolerant remarks.” The message exchange got nasty and nastier. The “aggressive” painter lost control of their temper, and said some hateful things.
In the week before the poetry reading, PG had tried to promote the appearance by the poet. This mainly consisted of placing notices in facebook groups. PG was irritated that his reward was to be chewed out by the pronoun police.
The poet had said things on twitter that made PG question any trans status. The overall sanity of the poet also came into question. After the incident with the “aggressive” painter, PG kept an eye on the poet’s twitter feed. There was little information about trans status. Most of what PG saw had to do with a cross country poetry reading tour.
A few weeks after all this, the poet had a long series of tweets. Twitter monologs run in reverse order, and can be a lot of trouble to read. PG left a tweet. “don’t you have blog/facebook acct? Your twitter monolog would be much easier to read in order instead of scrolling backwards”
The next few days were quiet. PG went to the poet’s twitter page. You are blocked from following @johnmortara and viewing @johnmortara’s Tweets. And so ends the story. The spell check suggestion for @johnmortara is mortarboard.
UPDATE:Read Poetry and Eventually Die was hacked by by Mr.dexter.305. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Feed The Hamsters
Is arrogance etymologically connected to air head? ~ I am glad it only takes one hand to work a mouse. ~ What you say about Jesus says more about you than it does him. ~ Sin? Sin like love was a word hard to define. It came in two bitter but vastly different flavors. The first lay in violating the taboos of your tribe … The other meaning of sin was easier to define because it was not molded by the murky concepts of religion and taboo: Sin is behavior that ignores the welfare of others. Robert Heinlein ~ @postcrunk white men get called racist for behaving with the autonomy of a black man ~ I have always felt that Donald’s primary talent is media manipulation. The last two weeks either shows that he has lost the touch, or that using the media is uglier than I thought it was ~ we will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security ~ A brief consultation with Mr. Google does not show a source for that quote. ~ The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material. ~ @chescaleigh @KidFury @crissles @gracyact @SholantyTaylor “busy organizing a klan rally” that is not right ~ Google ads has a sick sense of humor. ~ @ChrchCurmudgeon If Trump wins the election, this country will have hell toupée. ~ In discussion forums, a troll is anybody who tells the truth ~ All I see is a blank space. Facebook is not working again. ~ Whoops! There was a problem previewing this document. ~ @alwaystheself Then again, maybe France’s black population is safer if the CIA thinks they don’t exist. ~ If you ask where your phone is, don’t be surprised if they say you are talking on it. ~ donald trump anagrams into pot drum land, plot and drum, rum dot plan d ~ @MarkEglinton @thedavidcrosby the truest words spoken on the twitter forsaken platform that is g-d since its inception. ~ The spell check suggestion for retweeted is regretted. ~ There is a point beyond which perseverance can only be termed desperate folly. Karl von Clausewitz ~ how many have died from gunshots while america was fussing over an obsolete flag? ~ You are going to go to the puniteniary ~ 9 Facts That Show White-on-White Crime Far Exceeds Black-on-Black Crime and How Media Outlets Conceal It ~ EPISODE 21: BLOODLINES (6.5.2015) ~ I, Racist ~ 8 Truths About Race That Every White Person Needs to Know ~ 3- Feed the hamsters that power your server. It is irritating when you look at where a picture should be, and see a blank space. Then you see the comments, and wonder what they are talking about. ~ @WernerTwertzog Whatever does not kill me, is disappointing. ~ Blakes needs to stock up on popcorn. ~ @VeryShortStory If storytelling is his bag does it matter if it is paper or plastic? One is renewable but costs much more to ship. ~ @whitman632 Poetry allows one to exhale with passion. ~ THE LAND OF HEART’S DESIRE ~ #FreeTheNipplesAndTheVowels ~ Post Has Been Removed The post or object that you liked has been removed by its owner and can no longer be liked. ~ Post Has Been Removed The post or object that you were commenting has been removed by its owner and can no longer be commented on. ~ forgive me if I sound ignorant. but what is a troll? ~ We should have a contest. Someone copy an informational email. Then see how long it takes someone else to look it up on Snopes. ~ ask them which one cleaned up the place ~ Join us in our effort to change our world with Empowering Narratives. Share this empowering narrative on your social network of choice and ask others to do the same. ~ I have numerous issues with the culture of attitude mongering, aka positivity fascism. Unfortunately, this article does not have many practical suggestions for improvement. ~ pictures from The Library of Congress. ~ selah ~
Recovering Shoney’s
Lately PG and Uzi have missed a bunch of Sunday afternoons. Either someone is doing something, or it is raining, or it is too hot, or someone falls asleep watching tv and doesn’t wake up until dinnertime. Today was a return to normalcy.
Since it looked like possible rain, the first idea was to go to Little Five Points. If rain comes, you can hang out inside somewhere. You need to park the vehicle first. All the side streets have signs saying that parking is for residents only. The Carter Center was next. Jimmy said it was ok to park there.
Uzi decided he wanted to walk up North Highland Avenue towards the Plaza. Manuel’s was still open, with the threatened construction not yet begun. The buildings behind Druid Hills Baptist Church were not so lucky. About this time the rain clouds were going away, and the sun was out. It got hot. This is Georgia, and it gets hot in July.
Before long it was back in the vehicle, and dinner negotiations started. PG was driving toward the Piccadilly on Howell Mill Road. Uzi mentioned a buffet he knew. It was off I85, south of I285. PG was up for an adventure. Any concerns about Uzi’s directions were tactfully overlooked.
The freeway was crowded with people trying to get on I20. Once you got south of that, it was clear sailing to the airport. Uzi said to get off the freeway at Riverdale Road. PG drove down for a little while, and Uzi said that this was the wrong road. PG took a wrong turn, or two, and found himself in the middle of the airport. Finally, a freeway entrance appeared, and PG turned onto I85 south.
Uzi said to exit onto Old National. Once again, this was not the correct exit. PG went down a few roads, while Uzi tried to get directions on his smart phone. PG pulled into a gas station, and stopped. Uzi played with the smart phone. PG tried not to think about the iron bars on the gas station windows. Finally, Uzi got directions. The route was backtracked. PG went south on I85.
The magic phone said to get off at exit 66. Even though the phone said to turn right, Uzi said to turn left. The buffet was a recovering Shoney’s. It was open on Sunday.
The cashier lady asked you to look at the buffet before you paid for your meal. There were signs asking you not to waste food. The vittles were better than most buffets. PG ate more than he should, got on I285, and was not run over by the crazy drivers.
James Baldwin And The Six Letter Word
In the spring of 1963, KQED filmed a show, “Take this hammer”, about James Baldwin. The snippet in the video above seems to have been the last three minutes of the show. Here is a transcript. Mr. Baldwin discusses a six letter insult. The n-word is more about the speaker, than the spoken of. A 2010 blogger had this to say.
What resonated with me about this particular video though, is the universal experience we’ve all had being referred to, thought of as, or called something we inherently are not. Not because of something we’ve done, mind you – but because of the way others “interpret” us. Those of us that “transgress” gender norms are often given titles and names that don’t fit who we are – but are more representative of the fears and desires of others. I’ve often felt that people’s projections of me are oftentimes just that – their projections. However, Baldwin’s ending sums up a solution to this perfectly: “But you still think, I gather, that the n****r is necessary. Well he’s unnecessary to me – he must be necessary to you. Well, I’m going to give your problem back to you…you’re the n****r, baby…not me.”
It is now 2015. (All discussions of race must mention the year.) The TV show was fifty two years ago. A few things have changed. To many white people, overt expressions of racism are seen as bad manners. The n-word is taboo in polite company. The overall attitudes may not have changed, but most white people are careful how they say things.
African America is keeping the n-word alive. But it is still about the speaker, not the one spoken of. When people say the nasty word, they are talking about themselves. African Americans are now the people James Baldwin is talking about. This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. These men are Union soldiers, from the War Between the States.
A few weeks ago, this blog published a feature, James Baldwin And The Six Letter Word. At the center was selection of James Baldwin talking about the n word. There was a transcript available, which makes today’s exercise a lot easier.
Mr. Baldwin was discussing this nasty word, and offered an insight into who the user of this nasty word was really talking about. Now, there is another nasty word being casually tossed about these days. This other nasty word is racist. What would happen if you took Mr. Baldwin’s talk, and substituted racist for nasty? It is an interesting way to look at things. What follows is not a perfect fit, and may be offensive to some. A few times, it is very close to the truth.
Who is the racist? Well i know this…and anybody who has tried to live knows this. What you say about somebody else (you know) anybody else, reveals you. What I think of you as being is dictated by my own necessities, my own psychology, my own uhm fears…and desires. I’m not describing you when I talk about you…I’m describing me.
Now, here in this country we got somebody called a racist. It doesn’t in such terms, I beg you to remark, exist in any other country in the world. We have invented the racist. I didn’t invent him, white people invented him. I’ve always known, I had to know by the time I was seventeen years old, what you were describing was not me and what you were afraid of was not me. It had to be something else. You had invented it so it had to be something you were afraid of and you invested me with it.
Now if that’s so, no matter what you’ve done to me I can say to you this, and I mean it…I know you can’t do any more and I’ve got nothing to lose…and I know and I have always known you know and really always..…I have always known that I am not a racist…but if I am not the racist…and if it is true that your invention reveals you…then who is the racist?
I am not the victim here. I know one thing from another. I know that I was born, am gonna suffer and gonna die. And the only way that you can get through life is to know the worst things about it. I know that a person is more important than anything else. Anything else.
I’ve learned this because I’ve had to learn it. But you still think, I gather, that the racist is necessary. Well he’s not necessary to me, so he must be necessary to you. So I give you your problem back. You’re the racist baby, it isn’t me.
Where Was That Place?
This blog has an email address listed. It is seldom used. The host is a faded internet company that rhymes with booboo. Once proud email has become a spam magnet. The email address there is checked every once in a great while. Yesterday was one of those times. There was a surprise.
Friday, June 5, 2015, 2:52 PM
Do you know exactly where the Agora Ballroom was in the Georgia Terrace Hotel Also I am trying to locate photos of the following locations – Does you any that we can use? Please let me know ASAP – I am on an extremely tight deadline need photos by Monday morning if possible. Exteriors or interiors are great. Please let me know if you have any.
12th Gate Coffee House (located on 10th street in Midtown,) Club 112 (located at Lavista and Cheshire Bridge,) Lenny’s (either or both of their two locations in the Old Fourth Ward,) Great Southeast Music Hall (either or both of their two locations Lindberg Plaza or Cherokee Plaza,) Echo Lounge (located in East Atlanta,) Hedgens (located in Buckhead,) Agora Ballroom (located in Georgia Terrace hotel,) Muelenbrink’s Salon (located at the Underground.) Joeff Davis Photo Editor Creative Loafing
Thursday, July 9, 2015 11:12 PM
Hey I apologize for the tardy answer. I don’t use this email very often
The Agora was at the end of an alley off Peachtree. It was next door to the Ga Terrace Hotel, though not in the Hotel building itself. The ballroom was in a fire in the early eighties, and was torn down. I don’t have any of the pictures that you needed a month ago.
Friday, July 10, 2015, 11:49 AM
Thanks here is the piece we did: That was then, this is now
Friday, July 10, 2015, 1:21 PM
Hey thanks for getting back to me. The article was cool, even without my contribution. This seems like a good excuse for a blog post. I have a some comments about some of the locations listed. For instance, my mother bought groceries at the Cherokee Plaza A&P every thursday for 37 years.. I would like to use your letters, and link to your article, in my post.
Chamblee54 has had posts about four notable Atlanta performance venues: 688 Spring Street, Georgian Terrace Ballroom, The Great Southeast Music Hall, and Richards. Two were on the list of requests. As for the other two, 688 Spring Street, home of Rose’s Cantina and 688, is now a doc-in-a-box facility, Concentra Urgent Care. The site of Richards, across from Grady stadium on Monroe Drive, is now the meat department at Trader Joe’s.
The CL article, That was then, this is now, is fun to look at. There are some good pictures. There are a couple of mistakes in the piece, which this post will try correct.
The Great Southeast Music Hall is the scene of many cherished memories for those of a certain age. The post linked here has more comments than any other Chamblee54 post. There are two google earth images, one for Broadview Plaza, and one for Cherokee Plaza.
In Broadview, (now known as Lindbergh something or another,) the Music Hall was in the corner of an L shaped building. The space is currently a part of the parking deck for Target. According to google earth, the Home Depot takes up almost the entire parking lot of the old shopping center.
In Cherokee Plaza, the space where the Music Hall was is the south part of a Kroger. CL says it was in the parking lot, which simply is not so. This parking lot is too small, which is one reason the Music Hall failed there. In the nineties, the A&P expanded, and took over the space occupied by the theater. In 1998, A&P closed their Atlanta operations. The stores were taken over by Kroger.
The third google earth image is for the intersection of Peachtree Street and Ponce De Leon Avenue. This is the location of the Georgian Terrace Ballroom. This was the setting of Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom and The Agora Ballroom. This facility was in a fire, and torn down. An annex to the Georgian Terrace Hotel was built. This annex is roughly where the Ballroom was.
One of the places CL mentions was Backstreet. A picture of Lang Interiors, on Peachtree Street at Sixth Street, is included today.This is the building that became Backstreet. This building was a series of nightclubs in the early seventies. Backstreet opened in late 1974. It was the premier chacha palace in Atlanta for many years. When the property became valuable enough to attract the money of developers, the city discovered enough violations to shut down the party. (1974 was somewhat of a golden age for Atlanta nightlife. The Great Southeast Music Hall, Richards, and Alex Cooley’s Electric Ballroom were all in operation in 1974.)
Club 112 catered to an African American clientele. The space had been many businesses over the years, with a Fred Astaire dance studio next door. Around the time Backstreet was getting started, the space was called the Locker Room. A drag show, featuring the Hollywood Hots, performed there. The Locker Room was a “private club,” and was able to stay open on Sunday night. It was the only place open on Sunday, and was packed. The Locker Room was owned by Robert E. Llewellyn, who was later convicted of having a business rival murdered.
The 12th gate was in the middle of the block, somewhere on tenth street. It was not on the corner of Spring Street. A seedy Jim Wallace gas station was nearby. This place was mostly before PG went out much. There is a hazy memory of seeing the Hampton Grease Band there. After the show, Mr. Hampton walked up to PG, holding a thumb and finger making a circle in front of one eye. Mr. Hampton asked PG what sign he was.
By the time Lenny’s was in business, PG was a retired drunk. He seldom went downtown after dark. Somehow, the party went on without him. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Erick Erickson Wants Donations
@EWErickson Trump’s rise is part of the unintended consequences of the GOP trying to compress the Presidential primary cycle. This message was retweeted. Blue Gal/Fran! Excuse me I gotta go buy more popcorn. (The spell check suggestion for retweeted is regretted.)
Erick Erickson is a piece of work. He is the grand wazoo at Red State, a “conservative” web site. RS gave Chamblee54 a 601 Database redigestation error onetime. This required a visit to the computer shop to get the malicious code off the machine.
Today’s tweet linked to a post at Mr. Erickson’s current blog, Stop Complaining About Donald Trump. If you want to see it, you can follow the link. This post is not going to concern itself with “conservative” commentary about the latest golden boi of the wig party.
The last five words of the post are “think of another “F” word.” Below that, you are encouraged to “Support the work at Erick on the Radio.” You can “Select an Amount” and click “Next.” At this point credit card numbers become involved. Never give a credit card number to someone who has given your computer malicious code.
Erick Erickson has a daily radio show on WSB. This is a 50,000 watt clear channel am station. WSB is part of the Cox media team that dominates Atlanta. His show is sponsored by advertising, and is probably a profit center for the Cox bean counters.
Why does Erick Erickson feel the need to ask for donations on the Internet? Is the free market, advertising based, model of talk radio not working for him? Apparently not. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Comedy Sketch
There is a comedy video on MTV now, Was that Racist? An Inside Out Parody | Decoded | MTV News. It was created by Franchesca Ramsey, who is famous for the viral video Shit White Girls Say…to Black Girls. In the credits, it says: “Brought to you with love by: MTV Other.”
A young poc lady goes into a coffee shop. The barista is on the phone, and holds up a finger to indicate that he will wait on her in a minute. The young lady is escorted by her emotions: Shade, Paranoia, Weariness, Fury, and Hope. All except Fury are ladies. Shade, Weariness, and Hope are wearing tacky wigs.
At :57 the young lady asks the barista if they have iced coffee. The barista ignores her. Paranoia asks if this seems a little racist. Hope says he is busy. At 1:01, Fury looks straight into the camera and says the barista is busy organizing a klan rally.
At this point, PG turned the video off. Yes, this is satire. But many people are encouraged to let their emotions out. It is highly believable for someone to say the barista is busy organizing a klan rally.
Lets turn the tables around. Lets say it was a pwoc customer, and the barista was a poc. The customer doesn’t get waited on immediately. The customer says the barista is busy planning a robbery. A lot of people would think that goes too far for a comedy sketch.
A white customer shows up. The poc and pwoc smile at each other, acknowledging the poor customer service. One of the emotions says “he gets it.” Fury says something about showing basic human decency, and should be buy him a cookie. In case you don’t know, when a pwoc points out that they do not engage in “racist” behavior, this is known, with derision, as asking for a cookie.
The barista comes out, and looks in the direction of the pwoc customer when he asks for the order. Fury says “this guy is officially the most racist barista in America … it’s because we’re black.” Flames are coming out of Fury’s head.
The pwoc customer says that the poc was here first. One of the emotions says we are living in a post racial America. At 2:09, the barista hands the poc the coffee. Under the edge of his shirt sleeve is seen a stars and bars tattoo. Fury raises his arm and says “called it.”
This is supposed to be entertainment. Probably some viewers will get a kick out of Fury, and his mouth. There will be some who think this is a bit much. Most will just shrug it off. Many people have encountered others, who do not have the grace to keep their emotions under control, and say foolish things. It is not pretty. PG did not think it was funny
@chamblee54 would a coffee shop allow a barista to have a visible csa tattoo? i doubt it
@chescaleigh @chamblee54 is it possible to suspend your disbelief for a 2 minute comedy sketch?
Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
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