Jordan Peterson
Jordan Bernt Peterson has become quite the public nuisance recently. He performed at a theater downtown Tuesday night. I did not attend. YouTube has a video of a show he did Saturday night, in San Francisco. It is probably similar to the Atlanta show. The performance is loosely based on the book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.
This report is starting at forty minutes in. JBP is 3 rules into his show, out of 12. JBP says that you should only be around people who support you as a human being. This does not account for instances where you have to be around jerks to keep your job, or because they are in your family. Some of these rules for living are going to be easy to pay lip service to, but tough to actually follow. But, if you are attending the JBP show because you want to make a better person out of yourself… as JBP flatters his followers by saying … then a few inconsistencies are going to be easy to explain away. If nothing else, you just make jokes about the left, which also helps make you a better person.
JBP was talking about the advantages of having a regular sleep schedule, which has never been an issue for me. Meanwhile, I was googling to see what the B stood for. When you type in Jordan Peterson to google, the first thing to come up is sophistry. This is a word a lot of people use to describe this act. Another is “the stupid person’s smart person.” JBP is an example of what Marshall McLuhan meant when he said the medium is the message. A painfully learned man, speaking to you, in polysyllabic bursts, is teaching you how to be a better person. The specific things that he says are beside the point. BTW, the B stands for Bernt, like toast. JBP was born in 1962, in Edmonton, Ontario. He is as Canadian as Hockey, and driving to Florida on I75. June 12 is his birthday.
At 57 minutes, JBP is talking about sleeping, and eating. “What stupid things am I doing that is making my life wretched?” I am tempted to say it is listening to this video, and to motivational speakers in general. However, if I did this, I could not complete this report. I would have to talk about how DJT is screwing up the world, with the profitable assistance of the Democratic party. I could blather about racism. I could look at facebook, and see why my neighbor’s knickers are in a twist. Maybe JBP isn’t so bad after all.
@ggreenwald “Beyond the fact that she treats her audience like 8-year-olds – repeating the same banal points 5 times in increasingly dramatic fashion to make sure they retain it & believe it’s earth-shattering – she’s now the most militaristic, and the most conspiratorial, commentator on TV:” Does it really matter which blow dried talking head this is? The medium is the message. One rule of public speaking is to treat children as though they were adults, and adults as though they were children. It doesn’t matter what the suit on the stage is saying. He is talking, you are sitting quietly in your chair, hopefully your phone is in your pocket, maybe having naughty fun with the vibrate mode, and this is all going to make you a better person.
The next rule is to not let your children do anything that will make other people not like them. This is very, very important, and must be done by the age of four. JBP does not offer many specific tactics for this battle, but spends a lot of time talking about the overall strategy. It should be noted at this point that some people will say that I don’t understand what JBP is saying. This may be true. Or, it could be that I understand it too well. This is true of all criticism. If you say something negative about a leader, to a follower, the follower will say that you don’t understand the message. Maybe the medium is the problem. If the medium were well done, things would taste better.
Rule six is to put your house in order before you criticize the world. Physician heal thyself. On the surface, this is a good rule. Hypocrisy is always a handy argument when someone is generous with their opinions. In a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do world, rule six will get a lot of praise. What blather will JBP illustrate this point with? One might be to save your document, before going back to listening. The redo post is never as good as the one that was lost because you forgot to save your work.
Save is a curious word to use at this point. As you quickly learn, JBP gives you a rule, and then says *stuff*… lots and lots of it … that has little to do with that rule. When the message was paused at 1:22, JBP was talking about creating heaven, and avoiding hell. If you don’t believe hell is real, then you are not paying attention. This is very different from the Christian message about hell, and how Jesus died on the cross… Maybe, hell is sitting in an uncomfortable chair, in a crowded tabernacle, listening to a well paid performer make a better person out of you. At least with YouTube you can pause whenever you need more coffee, or to excrete the coffee already consumed.
Rule eight is not to lie. This is similar to the ninth commandment, and just as liberally interpreted. When the wonder box was paused in self defense at 1:34:01, JBP was railing about the arrogance of using the language to deceive people. There are lots of pithy sentences strewn throughout this monologue, which, as we speak, are already appearing in facebook memes.
At 1:40, JBP says “thats all I have to say about that,” and leaves the stage. The emcee, possibly Dave Rubin, comes on, and tells people to think about what they have heard for the last TWO HOURS. This is after 100 minutes, the first ten minutes being the introduction. Maybe the truth telling rule does not apply here. “And think about what was on CNN for the last two hours… aplause and laughter … Wolf Blitzer talking about porn stars. We’re winning. ” The Atlanta show was less than a quarter mile away from CNN headquarters.
The next part of the show is Q&A. @RubinReport sits in one comfy chair, @jordanbpeterson sits in the other. We interrupt our regularly scheduled snark to bring you a pro JBP comment David Joshua Rubin, the sidekick of the Atlanta and San Francisco shows, tweeted this today: @RubinReport Hi, I’m Dave. I’m married to a dude and I eat chicken sandwiches whenever I want.” DJR is a gay Jew, and is matter of fact about both. We are into another level of gay assimilation, where an Intellectual Dark Web® member can be casually queer. The JBP show, whatever its shortcomings, seems to be free of anti-gay nonsense. Some radicals will not approve of the CFA eating assimilation. We now return to your regularly scheduled snark.
During the Q&A, JBP got onto Bill Maher, and the gratuitous, over the top, Trump bashing that went on back stage. JBP thought it was boring and stupid, and, for once, I agree. People are getting tired of the non-stop Trump hating, and it is creating a backlash. Actually, a lot of what JBP says is worthwhile, but you have to wonder how many of his followers actually do tell the truth. Maybe, with 10 minutes to go in the video, this is a good time to wrap up this report. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. Russell Lee was the photographer. The location was Texas, in February 1939. The spell check suggestions for JBP are JAP and BP.
Two Hundred Yards Behind
In 1985, PG went to work for Shaky Blueprints. The real name was a Japanese word that nobody knew how to spell. Two of the previous hires were an athletic young lady, and a fat man. Until better nicknames arrive, we will call them AYL and FM for this story.
AYL was trying to get FM to go jogging with her after work. This was an ongoing conversation, with FM always turning her down. One afternoon, PG wore an old pair of jogging shoes to work, and said that he would go running with AYL.
Shaky was just off highway 400, in what is now part of Sandy Springs. There was a road leading away from it. The road went over the highway, and went in a wooded semi circle for a couple of miles. The plan was to go on this loop, and take sidewalks on Roswell Road back to Shaky.
At one time, PG went running every day. He was out of the habit by this time, and always a slow runner. When the work day was over, PG tied his glasses on with a rubber band, did a few stretches, and was ready to take on the course.
AYL and PG left the parking lot, and started up the road. PG trudged along with his head down. When he got to the bridge over the highway, PG looked up. AYL had taken off like greased lightning, and was already two hundred yards ahead. PG hollered for her to slow down, and finished the course.
Pictures for this repost are from The Library of Congress. Picture #06662 is from “Second International Pageant of Pulchritude and Eighth Annual Bathing Girl Revue, May 21, 22, 23, 1927, Galveston TX.” Have a happy Tuesday.
Atlanta Streets Alive
Atlanta Streets Alive happens three Sunday afternoons every year. A street is closed to motor vehicles, and taken over by bicycles, rollerbladers, strollers, feet, and paws. PG usually walks with Uzi, but he was not available. PG had always wanted to take his bike down, and ride at the event. After determining that the rain was going to go elsewhere, PG rode up to the Chamblee marta station.
The first breeze card machine was not working, and the delay was enough to miss the first train. After standing next to his bike, and holding it upright on the train, PG arrived, at 5 points station, at 5:06 pm. It was a teaching moment. The bike got caught in the fare gate. Fortunately, the marta lady came to the rescue. She made the helpful suggestion to use the handicapped gate next time.
Riding through the Aquarium district, surrounded by hundreds of bicycles, was glorious. Once you got into the pre-gentrified part of Marietta Street, there was a semi-circle of people singing acapella, with a young man singing lead in the front. A brick warehouse church was inviting people to renew their wedding vows. On the return ride, a person in front of the church invited people to take a survey. “Tell us where you came from, we have candy.”
It started to be less fun at a couple of choke points. At the Howell Mill split, and at 14th Street, there were too many people to ride through. You had to crawl through a few feet at a time, always looking out for others. A jazz band was playing beside a building, and if you wanted to take pictures in front, you had to squeeze through as best you could.
At 6:40 pm, Chattahoochee Avenue was reached. This was the end of the course. After a little bit of the return ride, there was a table. People were writing free poems, custom designed for your prompt. PG contributed a haiku: free poems on demand, give us a few minutes now, only need a topic.
After a few minutes on the return ride, PG realized he was not having fun anymore. He was tired and hungry. The crowded spots were a pain to navigate. People took it upon themselves to carry portable music players, adding to the overall noise level. All purpose grumpiness was setting in. Will PG go to the next event, scheduled for Peachtree Road on October 25? He probably will, and might even bike again. He has learned to use the handicapped gate, and the station elevators. PG will also know to continually save the document, when working on the blog report of this event. A storm knocked out a better version of this report. PG has written about ASA before.
The Corrections
It started with a yard sale. The man had a box of books available for free. PG looked through it. A hardback copy of The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen, caught his eye. Wasn’t that David Foster Wallace’s buddy? Literary types drop the name, and talk behind his back on twitter. . PG picked up the book, and took it home. It sat on a shelf for a few years, along with the other free, or cheap, books that PG had adopted. Eventually, PG decided to try a few pages. 567 pages, and countless dinners later, The Corrections is finished.
It is time to write a book report for the blog, but PG does not know where to start. There are amazon one star reviews, which don’t have enough entertaining snark to bother with. Wikipedia suggests an 2006 interview with Brett Easton Ellis, where you wade through endless chatter to learn that BEE thinks that TC is “one of the three great books of your generation.” This is after the interviewer asks BEE is he has a dog, or a girlfriend.
This is not going to be easy, either to write or to read. PG has been slack about writing lately … being ignored by a billion internet users will do that. TC is just barely interesting enough to write about. Oh, it has its moments. Mr. Franzen is a clever writer, and if you don’t believe him, read a few more pages. Mr. Franzen likes to show off his literary chops. TC is like Infinite Jest lite. Which means the normal reader can finish it, without chemical assistance.
Mr. Franzen is well known for being a pal of David Foster Wallace. If you google “Jonathan Franzen and,” the top three suggestions are David Foster Wallace, Oprah, and birds. You have to wonder what Mr. Franzen really thought of Mr. Wallace. “Wallace’s friend (and friendly rival) Jonathan Franzen declared in The New Yorker in 2011, “he wasn’t Saint Dave.” Franzen upset people further when he casually suggested to New Yorker editor David Remnick that Wallace exaggerated facts and embellished quotes in his non-fiction.”
Maybe the best thing to do is listen to Mr. Franzen on the Charlie Rose show. While this is playing, PG can work on a graphic poem, or stare out the window. The youtube comments are amusing. Nikolaos Mylonas “The interviewer is a famous journalist called charlie rose. Now he is discredited due to accusations of sexual abuse made by his employees” Drew “Interesting that he seems to find reading books so tremendously useless in his utilitarian, food-in-stomach type of way. Yet he writes … from this pleasure of uselessness? …”
At some point Mr. Rose says “We’ve gone this far without mentioning Oprah,” to which Mr. Franzen replies, “And what a pleasant twenty minutes it has been.” Apparently, Mr. Franzen and Miss Winfrey had a well documented disagreement. This dispute focused a lot of attention on TC, and may have helped Mr. Franzen more than it hurt. It should be noted that PG had not heard of the Oprah problem while he was reading TC.
A Million Little Pieces is another book with an Oprah problem. PG paid twenty cents for his copy of AMLP. In the chamblee54 book report, there is a book meme: ““Open your nearest book to page 82. Take the third full sentence on the page, and work it into a post somehow.” For TC, this would be: “When he punted the box from Gary it exploded in a cloud of white styrofoam saucers.” Chip, the number two child in the story, is spending Christmas at home of his older brother, Gary. For some reason, Chip takes his gifts and tries to kick them up the stairs. This Christmas … much of the plot in TC involves another dysfunctional family Christmas … is in the middle of Chip ruining his academic career. Maybe kicking the gift, and having it explode in a shower of styrofoam, is a metaphor.
The third sentence on page 82 is typical of Mr. Franzen’s style. He writes lots of great quotes. Goodreads and schmoop have pages devoted to them.“And meanwhile the sad truth was that not everyone could be extraordinary, not everyone could be extremely cool; because whom would this leave to be ordinary?” “Fiction is a solution, the best solution, to the problem of existential solitude.” “Without privacy there was no point in being an individual.” “He couldn’t figure out if she was immensely well adjusted or seriously messed up.” tags: inspirational-quotes, writing-philosophy.
TC is plot challenged. The schmoop summary can help. TC is about the Lambert Family. They are so mid-western that it hurts, which may be why two children escape to Filthadelphia. Alfred and Enid are the parents, living in a place called St. Jude … it is tough to say what St. Jude is a stand in for, except that it is in the mid-west. Gary, the eldest, married with three sons, is an asshole. Chip, the package kicker, is fired from a tenure track job. He had an affair with a student. Denise, the youngest, a chef, is fired after having an affair with the restaurant owner’s wife. The details of those four sentences takes up about four hundred pages of TC. The macguffin is to get all three kids together for one last christmas. None of the five Lamberts mentioned above is a likable person. The closest thing to a likable Lambert is Jonah, the youngest son of Gary.
One of the side plots involves Lithuania. Chip takes a job there, as a computer geek, working for a post-communist criminal. It turns out this Lithuania exists only in Mr. Franzen’s mind. “In a loopy section of his novel that forms a kind of fantasy-ballet diversion from the main events, Chip, failed academic and failing screenwriter, becomes involved with an internet-based financial scam based in Vilnius. The Vilnius of The Corrections is a gangster’s paradise of teenage prostitutes, fraud, corruption and armed robbery. Although very funny, it is an account unburdened by research. Recently, looking up his own book on Amazon.com, he noticed that Lithuanian readers have begun posting snarly e-mails, in protest at his depiction of their homeland. “I’ve not been to Lithuania, although the ambassador has now invited me to come and see for myself that they don’t eat horse meat. The horse meat has really touched a nerve.””
TC rambles on for 567 pages, with lots of flashbacks and sub plots. Most of the detours are described in excruciating detail. And yet, PG finished the damn thing. TC did not change his life. It was doing good to change Alfred’s diapers. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Rare Public Appearance
Why Jim Gaffigan doesn’t get horse racing ~ Grubby reality inside Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion The study, a musty, gussety fumoir lined with desiccated Playboys and pictures of bright-pink nipples, has barely changed since Hef moved here in 1971. ~ Joni Mitchell makes rare public appearance at James Taylor show in Los Angeles ~ Jimi Hendrix Opens for The Monkees on a 1967 Tour; Then After 8 Shows, Flips Off the Crowd and Quits ~ stacey abrams on democracy now ~ LOOKING BACK: ‘No Justice, No Peace’: The battle of Fair Street Bottom, 20 plus years later ~ Park v. City of Atlanta, 938 F. Supp. 836 (N.D. Ga. 1996) ~ Parkland shooting: Students’ summer activism tour will go to 20 states ~ proverbs 26 As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. ~ This Is What Happened to the David Allan Coe Band, or: Becoming the Centre of the Universe ~ original ~ best podcasts of 2018 ~ UPS employee fired for allegedly posting racist comment on WSB Facebook page Why did Channel 2 feel it was there place to contact the employer, and then brag about it on the air? There is something wrong here. I wonder if the lady has grounds for a lawsuit against channel 2 ~ Kaiser Wilhelm ~ The recall of the judge who sentenced Brock Turner will end up hurting poor, minority defendants ~ most people ~ Trump commutes sentence of Alice Marie Johnson ~ Colin Kaepernick’s legal team expected to subpoena President Trump in case against NFL ~ more racism talk ~ The Corrections ~ kissinger ~ Seven life lessons from Margaret Atwood 1. Anger has to go somewhere 2. Watch out for the zeitgeist – it’s not always your friend 3. Fiction allows us to test things out 4. Be careful who you talk to in a totalitarian state. 5. Developments in biotechnology could change our society 6. America should be wary of a Gilead-like regime 7. The future is not pre-determined ~ NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch: Some women “wouldn’t know what masculinity was if it hit them in the face” The line between reality and satire has been erased ~ I regret regret voting in the Democratic primary. Now I will not get to choose between tweedle dumb, and tweedle dumber. ~ xxx Senator McCain’s cue to reply, “I like the presidents who don’t need pardons.” ~ ‘Dancing doctor’ claimed lawsuits are racially motivated in secret recording ~ Sneaking Pot into Disneyland with Shel Silverstein ~ 10 Famous Mark Twain Quotes That He Never Said ~ Middle English Mondays: “Queynte” and Sexual Euphemisms. ~ @louminatto I think “c-nt” is a wonderful word, and it looks especially charming when inked in Chaucer’s spelling: “queynte” ~ another Einstein quote bites the dust ~ I stumbled onto this video by alleged comedian Dylan Marron. They say “surface gestures are totally cool but they do nothing to dismantle systemic patriarchy” Could they be talking about Colin Kaepernick when he says this? ~ @SheriffClarke “.@realDonaldTrump should invite JUSTIFY to the White House lawn for winning the Triple Crown. Justify is a WINNER like Trump who could care less about leftist identity politics. #MAGA” @ghostdancer2017 “Justify might poop on the lawn, but he would still be better behaved than some NFL players.” @JessicaHuseman “He knows Justify is the horse right” ~ Color film was built for white people. Here’s what it did to dark skin. ~ tao lin video ~ Is it a good idea to have an event at a swimming pool on Friday the 13th? ~ The Myofascial Experience “Please refrain from using the word massage from here on out. Myofascial Therapy” I had a few reactions to this. One, how do you pronounce myofascial? That is an unfamiliar, scary sounding word. I have known you for a while, so I am not as put off by this as a newcomer might be. Maybe, a guide to pronunciation would help. Or maybe, a less scary name. ~ After crossing the railroad tracks with my bike, a train came by. The engine was Union Pacific 9666. ~ Getting yelled at by Francesca Ramsey is not going to benefit my mental health ~ This case became famous because of a victim impact statement that *went viral.* The court of public opinion is more interested in sensation than facts. Putting judges at the mercy of the howling mob is a danger to justice. ~ The victim in the Brock Turner case, Jane Doe, when told of the Judge’s recall vote, said “I’ll drink to that” ~ #MalcolmJenkins must be stupid not to realize that people are going to be offended by this stunt. Just because you say it is about police/racism (the motive is constantly changing) does not mean that people who see you not participating in ritual patriotism and not going to take offense ~ The realtors around here used to put a tiny flag on your lawn, whether you wanted it or not. It was an ad gimmick. Do I have to tell you what happened to those flags? ~ I got this call from a drone voice representing victory processing. Would I be interested in taking part in a survey about the upcoming election. Just answer the questions by pushing the buttons on your keypad. “Do you think Georgia is on the right track? Push one for yes, push two for no, push three for not sure, I pushed three. In Georgia, not sure is usually the correct answer, no matter what the question. The robobot then said “Thank you for taking part in this telephone survey. Good night.” ~ The spell check suggestion for Kardashian is Guardianship ~ .@TylerMahanCoe You should add a trigger warning to the Louvin Brothers episode Ira was a religious fanatic with alcohol and anger management issues This is a very troubling subject for many of us _ spell check for Louvin is Loving ~ Facebook nation: A famous person made the decision to end his life. There is a word, ending in -ide, that describes this act. This s-word is in a lot of social media headlines right now. Please consider that someone who is not feeling well might see the s-word on your time line, and be reminded that this is an option. ~ Actually you could copy, delete, paste, correct, and feel good about yourself ~ @WernerTwertzog Dear Neighbor: Please pardon me, for I accidentally have eaten your emotional support pig. You will be pleased to know that he was delicious. Yours, Werner ~ .@MollyJongFast why would you celebrate #fire your social me diapers on day #fireyoursocialmediapersonday ~ mccain meme “Senator McCain’s cue to reply, “I like the presidents who don’t need pardons.” The only President who needed a pardon is Richard Nixon. He negotiated a treaty with North Vietname to release the POWs. ~ I have been looking for a source of this quote. All I can find is a tweet by @davidfrum, with the comment “”Senator McCain’s cue to reply, “I like the presidents who don’t need pardons.” I suspect this quote is the product of a creative journalist. ~ @chamblee54 .@davidfrum did John McCain say “I like the presidents who don’t need pardons”? If so, when and where? ~ When you are an adult, does that mean you have a better way of expressing concern/apathy than saying you do/don’t give an obscenity? ~ If BS had not been a Democrat when it was convenient to him, HDRC would be POTUS today. While this would not be not a perfect state of affairs, it is much, much better than DJT. ~ I thought putting a period after every word was tacky Then it became an emoji after every word ~ is your neighborhood good for walking? The streets here are a constant parade of joggers, bicycles, and the housewife/stroller/dog/cellphone critters ~ (when typing lots, PG said lost at first) ~ It is a reflex action. They have no control over it. ~ @ChrchCurmudgeon 10 signs of passive-aggressive leadership: oh, never mind. you probably don’t even want to read it. ~ @crymeariver6666 I am a white privileged straight woman. Until this THING is out of office, I am black, I am gay, I am muslim, I am poor, I am trans, I am mexican, I am an immigrant, I am incarcerated for weed, I am a feminist, I am against pedophilia(yes, that needs to be said), I am an American @chamblee54 you are also an idiot @upchuck66 This tweet is the most spiritual one I’ve read since being on Twitter. I love it! I love that, while Trump is pounding on the door of our collective dark side(fear/ hate/ rage/ envy/ greed/ separation) you are quietly knocking at the door of our collective true self. Bless your heart. @crymeariver6666 You just made me cry. Thank you. I think it’s important that the people that are not actually impacted by anything trump does, fight until the end to the ones that he does impact @rizingashren Ditto, amen, hallelujah… bless you. Any chance you wanna run for office? @crymeariver6666 I know, I just am having an empathy waterfall. And I am just so angry for everyone. So angry. ~ pictures for this regurgitation of last week’s digital dinner are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
History From The Stable
The following is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
PG read “Churchill, Hitler, and the unnecessary war” by Patrick Buchanan. It makes interesting points, and is luxuriously footnoted. This is not to say that PG believes all of it.
Part of the problem is Pat Buchanan. He is a former speechwriter for Richard Nixon, and a public nuisance since. He gave a hateful speech at the Republican Convention in 1992 which is known as the “Culture War” speech. This speech alienated many people, and helped elect Bill Clinton.
The book starts with the deal making before World War I. Germany was ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm, the grandson of Queen Victoria. He tried to arrange an alliance with Great Britain. Instead, Britain entered into a secret alliance with France. In 1914, Europe blundered into war. The conflict turned into a ghastly stalemate, which continued until 1918. The victorious French forced a vengeful peace on the Germans, setting the stage for the second world war.
Great Britain made many mistakes. They severed an alliance with Japan. They allowed Hitler to advance, then gave a guarantee to Poland that they would defend her in a war. This guarantee to Poland is the biggest blunder of all, according to Buchanan. It made war all but certain.
Eventually, Nazi Germany was defeated, but at a frightful cost. The millions of dead in the war produced an East Europe under Communist Rule for 50 years. The British Empire was a shadow of its former self. The United States came out of the war looking good, but much of Europe was destroyed, and ruled by Communists.
Winston Churchill does not look good. He is seen cheering the start of war in 1914. He makes numerous blunders, especially when encouraging the invasion of Gallipoli. Churchill was an inspiring leader in the second war, with an actor making speeches for him on the radio. Mr. Hitler, who read his own speeches, was also a charismatic leader.
As with all history, this book needs to be taken with a bit of skepticism. Tom Robbins makes a comparison of history to animal husbandry. A herd manager mixes bloodlines to create an improved breed. A historian takes “facts”, and mixes them to support an agenda. Both are usually up to their ankles in s**t.
After PG finished the Buchanan book, he started one by Deepak Chopra. The title was “Why is G-d Laughing?“. The first chapter tells the story of a famous comedian. He goes to the hospital when his father drops dead of a heart attack. The comedian cannot help but think of jokes. PG is going to return this to the library without reading any more.
@Chamblee54 On Twitter June 8
Twitter is a popular means of expression, 240 characters at a time. PG is a frequent participant in the conversation, and sometimes gets a reply. With a three digit follower count, PG is not a major player. However, he does have fun, and says things that need to be said. June 8 was just another day in the neighborhood. We can start with a few unconnected tweets. When an explanation is needed, it will be given. The delete key is for quitters, and commie fellow travellers.
@chamblee54 “this could be the turn around issue for DJT” This was in response to this: Trump says he is likely to support ending blanket federal ban on marijuana @chamblee54 “#NBAFinal is not as much fun as #WorldSeries #SuperBowl or #StanleyCup The dribblers need to get better at branding” @chamblee54 “a bunch of millionaire jocks not standing for the national anthem is not going to help the american people” @chamblee54 “”as presented in the Bible” Maybe we should say as the Council of Nicea “elevated women” We have very little idea what Jesus and Paul really said. Maybe we should talk to Mary Magdalene She is the one who would know”
@chamblee54 .@TylerMahanCoe “Ira was a religious fanatic with alcohol and anger management issues This is a very troubling subject for many of us A trigger warning might be in order _ spell check for Louvin is Loving.” PG has been binge listening to Cocaine & Rhinestones. Episode CR006 was The Louvin Brothers: Running Wild. Apparently, Ira Louvin was an incontinent preacher. Combined with alcohol abuse, this *holy spirit* fueled unholy temper tantrums. Jesus and anger is a nasty combination. The *bully pulpit* has left PG with an intolerance for Xtianity. (FWIW, at the end of every episode, CR host @TylerMahanCoe tells people to tell one person about the podcast. On the optimistic assumption that somebody reads this post … you should listen to Cocaine & Rhinestones. It is addictive, but that never stopped you before.)
Media Matters posted a tasteful item. Known Idiot @DLoesch was quoted as saying Some women “wouldn’t know what masculinity was if it hit them in the face” When you played the video, the sound was turned way, way down. @chamblee54 “Please sync the sound better on your videos I had to turn the volume up to 10 to hear this idiot” There was a block of text, to show context for this foolishness. PG took that text and made a blackout poem.
Anthony Bourdain chose to end his life. PG does not have cable, and had never heard of the gentleman, before his well publicized demise. Mr. Bourdain made some comments about Henry Kissinger, and Cambodia. PG used this text to produce a blackout poem.
One well meaning tweeter made an unfortunate mistake. @awhiskypalian “If you want to honor Tony Bordain stick up for undocumented workers, understand that someone’s grandma deserves a James Beard, and don’t be afraid of your neighbor.” @chamblee54 “If you want to honor the gentleman, spell his name correctly” @awhiskypalian “Until Twitter blesses us with an edit button, that typo will have to stand.” The spell check suggestion for awhiskypalian is Episcopalian.
Whenever a celebrity chooses to end their life, the word suicide is frequently, and conspicuously, mentioned. PG became concerned about the impact of the s-word on unhappy, impressionable people. This comment on facebook followed. “Facebook nation: A famous person made the decision to end his life. There is a word, ending in -ide, that describes this act. This s-word is in a lot of social media headlines right now. Please consider that someone who is not feeling well might see the s-word on your time line, and be reminded that this is an option.”
A facebook meme triggered the last story we will share today. “John McCain tweets in response to claim Trump can pardon himself: I like presidents who don’t need pardons.” PG’s first reaction was to leave a comment, “The only President who needed a pardon is Richard Nixon. He negotiated a treaty with North Vietnam to release the POWs.” After making this comment, PG began to wonder if the quote was legitimate. The only source Mr. Google had for the quote was a tweet. @davidfrum “Senator McCain’s cue to reply, “I like the presidents who don’t need pardons.”” @chamblee54 “Here is a meme about this quote. Is this quote a result of your overactive imagination?”
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Balboa Beach Bathing Beauty Parade, 1925 “Notes: J278572 U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright deposit; M. F. Weaver; September 14, 1925, Copyright claimant’s address: L[os] A[ngeles], No. 4100-2. May be a fashion parade. Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. No renewal found in Copyright Office.”
Mrs. Dora Stainers
Some pictures have longer captions than others. Shorpy published one with a mouthful.
Mrs. Dora Stainers, 562 1/2 Decatur St. 39 years old. Began spinning in an Atlanta mill at 7 years, and is in this mill work for 32 years. Only 4 days of schooling in her life. Began at 20 cents a day. The most she ever made was $1.75 a day & now she is earning $1 a day when she works. She is looking for a job. Her little girl Lilie is the same age she was when she started work, but the mother says, “I ain’t goin to put her to work if I can help it. I’m goin’ to give her as much education as I can so she can do better than I did.” Mrs. Stainers is a woman of exceptional ability considering her training. In contrast to her is another woman (this name was withheld) who has been working in Atlanta mills for 10 yrs. She began at 10 yrs. of age, married at 12, broke down, and may never be able to work again. Her mother went to work in the cotton mill very young. Location: Atlanta, Georgia.
The photographs of Mrs. Stainers were made in March, 1915. The photographer was Lewis Wickes Hine. “Working as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Lewis Hine (1874-1940) documented working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924.” “In 1954 the Library received the records of the National Child Labor Committee, including approximately 5,000 photographs and 350 negatives by Lewis Hine. In giving the collection to the Library, the NCLC stipulated that “There will be no restrictions of any kind on your use of the Hine photographic material.”
The house that Mrs. Stainer lived in is long gone. 562 1/2 Decatur Street is across the railroad tracks from the Fulton Cotton Mill. With real estate agents demanding names for all neighborhoods, the area is known as the Old Fourth Ward. The building at 552 Decatur Street is A & R Welding.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Midtown
The neighborhood along Peachtree Road has always been a great place to be a freak. For a long time it didn’t have a name. It is north of downtown, between Piedmont Park and Georgia Tech. Sometime in the early eighties, people started to call it Midtown, and the name stuck.
In the time after the War Between the States, this area was a shantytown called “Tight Squeeze”. It evolved into a pleasant middle class area. In the sixties, hippies took over. The area was known as the strip, or tight squeeze. Many stories could be told.
After the flower children moved on, the area went into decline. Gays started to move in, with the battle cry “Give us our rights or we will remodel your house.” Developers, worshiping the triune G-d of location, location, location, began to smell money. The neighborhood became trendy, then expensive, then more expensive. The freaks with money remain. This is a repost. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
There is a nifty webcam up now. It shows the progress of a high rise going up now at 12th and Peachtree in midtown. The location of the camera itself is not certain, with the speculation centering on 999 Peachtree, two blocks south on Tenth Street.
A glance at the image reveals a curve in the road, between the two glass boxes under construction. Atlanta does not have wide, straight boulevards extending to the horizon. It is said that Atlanta did not build roads, but paved the cow paths.
People of a certain age will remember this area as the strip. The tenth street district was a neighborhood shopping area, up until the mid sixties. At some point, the old businesses started to move out and the hippies moved in. For a while, it was a festive party. Soon enough reality returned, and the area went into a crime filled decline.
The 999 complex is the neighborhood story in a nutshell. Before 1985, it was a block of small businesses. There was a hardware store, with the peace symbol set in tiles in the sidewalk. On Juniper Street stood the Langdon Court Apartments. They were named for PG’s great uncle Langdon Quin. Ru Paul used to stay there. He would sit out on a balcony, and wave to the traffic going by.
Across the street was a chinese restaurant, the House of Eng. A staircase on the side led to the Suzy Wong Lounge. Behind the building was an apartment building. It was one of the residences of Margaret Mitchell, while she wrote “Gone With The Wind”. She called it “the dump”, which was fairly accurate. The museum on that site would have amazed her.
PG went to the House of Eng for lunch one day in 1985. He noticed that he was the only customer in the house, at 12:30 pm on a weekday. After finishing his lunch, PG knew why.
At some point, it was decided to build a high rise there. Heery was one of the equity partners, along with a law firm and an ad agency. The building was designed by Heery (duh).The ad agency folded before the building opened, followed within a couple of years by the law firm. Heery was sold to a British company. PG does not know who owns 999 Peachtree now.
This is a repost, with pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. The building, at 12th and Peachtree, is finished.
Chamblee54 
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