Did Joseph Think It Was His Kid?
NOTE: This feature was originally published in March 26, 2013…. As you may have heard, SCOTUS is hearing oral, and possibly anal, arguments about gay marriage today. In a stroke of irony, this is day after March 25, nine months before Christmas. In other words, a crucial day, in the most famous unconsummated marriage in history.
PG began to ponder the traditional marriage of Joseph and Mary. Apparently, Joseph’s last name is lost to history. The question of the day is “when did Joseph and Mary get married?”. Facilities such as Liberty Gospel Tracts and Fish Eaters Traditional Catholic Forum have answers.
LGT (the B got kicked out for some reason) contributes a bible passage, Matthew 1:18-19. 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
Put her away in the privy? That is some kinky business there. Maybe the Christians and Jews have it all wrong. The thirds Abrahamic religion, Islam, might have the answer. A site, TurnToIslam, has another point of view about the traditional definition of marriage.
What about Mary, Jesus’ Mother peace be upon both of them? How old was she when she got pregnant? Not only was it a custom in the Arab society to Engage/Marry a young girl it was also common in the Jewish society. The case of Mary the mother of Jesus comes to mind, in non biblical sources she was between 11-14 years old when she conceived Jesus. Mary had already been “BETROTHED” to Joseph before conceiving Jesus. Joseph was a much older man. therefore Mary was younger than 11-14 years of age when she was “BETHROED” to Joseph. We Muslims would never call Joseph a Child Molester, nor would we refer to the “Holy Ghost” of the Bible, that “Impregnated” Mary as a “Rapist” or “Adulterer”.
“….it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age….”Mary was approximately 14 years old when she got pregnant with Jesus. Joseph, Mary’s Husband is believed to be around 36. Mary was only 13 when she married Joseph. When she first was arranged with Joseph she was between 7 to 9 years old.”
According to the “Oxford Dictionary Bible” commentary, Mary (peace be upon her) was was 12 years old when she became impregnated. So if I want to be as silly and ridiculous as many of the Christians, I would respond to them by saying that Mary was psychologically and emotionally devastated for getting pregnant at a very young age. And speaking of “child molesting”, since most Christians believe that Jesus is the Creator of this universe, then why did G-D allow himself to enter life through a 12-year old young girl’s vagina? Please note that we Muslims love and respect Allah Almighty, Mary, Jesus and Allah’s Message to the People of the Book (The Jews and Christians). In other words, we Muslims would never make fun of Christianity through such childish topic like this one as many ridiculous Christians do make fun of Islam through our Prophet’s (peace be upon him) marriage.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Monday Attitude
so he is not moral enough to go kill people bc he says rude things to a WOC ~ @jaybakker 1- white privilege goes both ways a poc who is depressed can blame it on his color & get tons of support a pwoc who is depressed @jaybakker 2- has no one to blame but themself _ you spoke of Tammy Faye’s frustration at being told of cures that she had already tried ~ The Bitchy Waiter ® @bitchywaiter Someone went to a lot of trouble to create a list of rules for their server so I went to a lot of trouble to make… ~ @jaybakker 3- that is the frustration that I feel when ppl tell me about jesus i have heard about jesus all my life and it does not work @jaybakker 4- for me if you don’t agree with scheme for life after death there is no point in following jesus & i am so tired of the noise ~ At least she used the cliche correctly. So many people say they could care less, which is nonsense. ~ that is not the first participation trophy little marco has gotten, if some of those south beach stories are true ~ A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company. Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina (1664-1718) (Attributed) Sometimes attributed to Oscar Wilde. ~ @WernerTwertzog My #Twitter feed, like your dissertation, is all about intersectionality. Also bears, yogurt, the sublime, despair, and Slavoj Zizek. ~ @usualsuspectpnc Moreover, 39.6% of all statistics are made up on the spot. ~ The district I live in is designed to elect only Republicans. If I could send Tom Price off to Foxnewsistan then I would. ~ #Goldberg refers to american allies…plural.. in the middle east So much for the fiction that Israel is our only ally ~ An Open Letter To Non-Racist Donald Trump Supporters ~ “All credit card PIN numbers in the World leaked” ~ Heart of Atlanta ~ 5 Things You Should Know About Racism ~ The Obama Doctrine ~ pun abuse ~ Allies Remember a Driven Hillary Rodham During ’72 Texas Visit ~ trouble ~ Tao Lin ~ gun talk ~ 1972 was the first election I voted in. There are similarities, and differences, with this year. The enthusiasm for Bernie reminds me of the early buzz about Mr. McGovern. Unfortunately, Mr. McGovern turned into a pumpkin as soon as he won the nomination. Mr. McGovern would have had a tough time against an Incumbent President. Tricky Dick was reasonably popular, and unscrupulous enough to announce an end to the Vietnam war a week before the election. ~ @chamblee54 you say you are not qualified to forgive, but say that you should “accept warts and all” this is semantic nonsense ~ @jimchines Accept what’s there, as opposed to denying and pretending it doesn’t exist. Accepting something exists =/= approving of it. ~ @ConnerHabib is the number of twitter followers the new penis size? a statistic to be compared and boasted about ~ @jonathanchait Poll: Is the goal of disrupting Trump speeches as a response to his racism An acceptable tactic/An unacceptable tactic @chamblee54 why do you need to say “as a response to his racism”? The obsession with racial attitudes is about to backfire ~ I am taking this a step further. The word has to rhyme with the candidate name. Kasich: sumbitch Rubio: slow Sanders: panders Clinton: done Trump: dump Cruz: confuse ~ Pierre Gallaz Those were the days of good singing without autotune, and indeed SJW are ruining all forms of enjoyment these days. How tragic.~ @wintersong That moment when you kind of want a snack, but seeing someone’s tongue sliced in half isn’t good for the appetite #photographerproblems ~ These notes from last week are bookended by PIctures from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
POC
PG saw a tweet that he agreed with. His reasons for agreement were probably different from the reasons of the tweeter, Black Girl Dangerous. In any event, this is something that PG has wanted to opine about for a while. It will be a good excuse to write text. Something needs to go between the pictures, from The Library of Congress. Permission to quote the tweets has been requested. If this permission is granted, the tweets will be included. This is a repost.
The tweets were about the expression POC. For those who are new here, POC stands for person/people of color. It is a preferred expression for people who are not of european origin, and use a language other than english. People of color is similar to colored people. The latter expression is considered offensive in 2014.
The fine print for @BlackGirlDanger says “Amplifying the voices of queer and trans* people of color. We don’t respond to clueless white tweets.” BGD responded to the comment by @chamblee54. The gravatar image for c54 has a paper bag over his melanin challenged face. Maybe the comment was clueful. In any event, a reply was made.
As for POC, it lumps too many different groups of people, with too many different experiences, together. It doesn’t say very much. Some POC are oppressed. Some POC are privileged. Many people who claim POC status have experienced little of the oppression that many African Americans face.
This is not the first time the BGD has written about this. There was a post recently, 4 Ways to Push Back Against Your Privilege. Part four is about people who think it is cool to say they are POC, when they haven’t really had the experience. The post is copyrighted. You are encouraged to use the link and see for yourself what BGD has to say.
In June of 2012, a firestorm broke out in Atlanta about a drag queen named Sharon Needles. The linked post tells a bit of the story. PG made a comment. He was criticized by a person, who used the expression “those of us who are people of color” in the diatribe.
PG has heard that this person is of Indian origin. The amount of wealth, education, and privilege possessed by them is not known. They are clearly not of African origin, and might be caucasian. It is unlikely that they has experienced the oppression faced by many African Americans. Why does they make angry statements, with the phrase “those of us who are people of color”?
Millard Fillmore And Oscar Wilde In Atlanta
This afternoon’s post at chamblee54 noted an 1854 visit by former President Millard Fillmore. This was brought to the attention of another history minded blog, Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub. The result was some details about the visit, Millard Fillmore, live on Peachtree Street, 1854. The material below is borrowed from that post.
Two years after the Whigs refused to nominate Fillmore for a term of his own, he was out touring the country? Several accounts explain that Fillmore and his wife Abigail wanted to tour the U.S. after his presidency. Unfortunately, she died shortly after he left office. He pined through the rest of 1853, but by February 1854 had decided to tour by himself, without his children, accompanied by friends he could persuade to join him.
That same month, Fillmore decided to take the trip southward that he and Abigail had not been able to take. Given the timing, some observers believed that Fillmore had a political motive in making the journey. They suspected that he might be planning to speak out against the Nebraska Bill [proposed by Illinois’s U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas]. Others were convinced that it was a leisure tour. But whatever Fillmore’s intentions may have been, his speeches to southern audiences were relatively neutral. He restated his faith in the [Missouri] Compromise, but he spent most of his time enjoying a series of receptions, dinners, and parades in his honor throughout the region. A marching band escorted him through the streets of Louisville, Kentucky. Girls scattered his path with flowers in Montgomery, Alabama. A row of trains blew their whistles in greeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Fillmore returned home refreshed and with renewed faith in his fellow Americans. (This paragraph is from Alison Behnke, Millard Fillmore (a child’s history of the man), 2005, page 92.)
By late February 1854 Fillmore had resumed his plans to travel. He perceived that a southern trip would do him good and that the journey would divert his mind from the loss of Abigail. … Fillmore hoped Francis Granger, John P. Kennedy, and Washington Irving would go with him on the trip. Granger lost interest, and Irving was in no mood for politics. …
En route to Atlanta from Augusta on the Georgia Railroad, they stopped at Greensboro where a large crowd of teachers and students of the Female College greeted Fillmore and Kennedy. They dined at Madison. At Stone Mountain an escort committee from Atlanta met them.
At the Atlanta Depot a novel reception welcomed them. A large number of locomotives were present with their steam up. When the Augusta engineer signaled their arrival they all opened up their valves and whistled out a welcome the like of which, reported a newspaper, “no mortal man had heard before.” The shouts from the crowd and locomotive whistles were deafening to one reporter. By carriage the party went from the depot to the Atlanta Hotel where a reception was held.
Fillmore had become hoarse. Nonetheless, he managed to say that he was impressed by the large population and that he had heard that it was a beautiful village in the center of the state. He also admonished the state legislature to to take note “of the array of female loveliness before me” seated at the reception. If they did so, he joked, they wouldn’t hesitate to locate the state capital at Atlanta. At that time the capital was at Milledgeville. Atlanta became the capital in 1877. (This section is from Robert J. Scarry, Millard Fillmore, 1982, pages 247-252 variously.)
A few months later, on October 16, 1854, Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland. On July 4, 1882, Mr. Wilde gave a talk at De Give’s Opera House in Atlanta GA. What happened next is described on page 201 of Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellmann.
Mr. Wilde was accompanied by his agent, J.S. Vail, and a valet, W.M. Traquair. Mr. Vail bought three train tickets for Savannah, the next stop on the tour. The Pullman agent told Mr. Wilde that black people were not allowed to ride in sleeper car berths. Mr. Wilde said that Mr. Traquair had traveled with him throughout the South without incident. The Pullman agent said the next stop was in Jonesboro GA. If people in Jonesboro saw a black man in the car, then they would attack the train. Mr. Wilde gave in, and Mr. Traquair traveled in another part of the train.
This is a repost. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Poetry Saves Time
There is another Marilyn Monroe story floating around. “Someone told me that Marilyn Monroe once remarked that she enjoyed reading poetry “because it saves time.” I like this quotation so much that I’ve never dared to confirm it; I’d feel disenchanted to learn it was bogus.”
Poetry Daily seems to think the quote is legitimate. “That great aesthete and reader Marilyn Monroe once said: “I read poetry because it saves time.” In the age of Twitter, and other tweet-like utterances from all sorts of birdies, not to mention attention deficit disorder on an epidemic national scale, it’s refreshing to find poetry that both saves time and enlarges it. “
PG applied the wikiquotes test. Miss Monroe said in Look Magazine, March 5, 1957, “I’ve been on a calendar, but never on time.” Many people who worked with her agree.
Wikiquots also has a telegram, sent to Bobby and Ethel Kennedy. Marilyn was widely rumored to be seeing Bobby. This was a few weeks before her untimely death. “”I am involved in a freedom ride protesting the loss of the minority rights belonging to the few remaining earthbound stars. All we demanded was our right to twinkle.” (Telegram from Marilyn Monroe declining a party invitation from Bobby and Ethel Kennedy. June 13, 1962.)
A google investigation into the poetry quote led to Did Marilyn Monroe really say all those philosophical quotes? This is in DataLounge, where you “… get your fix of gay gossip, news and pointless bitchery.” The question on top of the thread was “I notice that the must fucked up of my female friends absolutely worship Marilyn Monroe, and are forever quoting her. What’s up with that, and are all those quotes real?? by: Mrs. Johnstone”
There are 148 comments in the thread. Some say Marilyn was an airhead, and some say she was bright. There are some quotes, many of which are probably made up. There is a letter, supposedly written to Albert Einstein. Shelly Winters says the two might have had a special relationship.
“Were I to pursue physics instead of my first love, acting, I would attempt to solve these problems by understanding the reason for these discrete energy states, which are probably due to the fact that standing waves only exist at discrete frequencies. My theory would predict that energy exchanges will be discrete, as observed;… But as I said, I want to be an actress.”
Once, on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell discussed embryological parallelism. Marilyn Monroe: Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. Jane Russell: I was about to say the same thing.
One of the comments had a link to a fun story. Film legend Marilyn Monroe went to bed with fellow actress Joan Crawford – but the lesbian sexual experience only reaffirmed her attraction to men. Monroe left Joan gasping for more liaisons, much to Marilyn’s chagrin. Monroe described the encounter herself in conversations taped by her psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Greeson, recordings which were obtained by the Los Angeles Times newspaper from former prosecutor John Miner, who helped investigate her death. Monroe said, “We went to Joan’s bedroom… Crawford had a gigantic orgasm and shrieked like a maniac. “Next time I saw Crawford she wanted another round. I told her straight I didn’t much enjoy doing it with a woman.”
This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. HT to Andrew Sullivan.
Minority Actors
no free lunch ~ no evolutionary advantage to understanding reality at that level ~ any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him ~ Please do not submit professional head shots or any other flattering photos that are out of date. Photos must be an exact representation of what you look like today. ~ Once, on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell discussed embryological parallelism. Marilyn Monroe: Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. Jane Russell: I was about to say the same thing. ~ @nihilist_arbys Trump: a sentient beef n cheddar who cares for nothing save his own immediate pleasure as he courts the end of all things ~ @WernerTwertzog If you want to imagine the future of higher education, imagine a boot stamping on bunnies forever. ~ Knees are one part of the body that G-d might have done better on. ~ The part of the beltline between the ashby station and the bankhead station is still untamed. ~ @lucygabs hi i’m a slut and no that doesn’t mean i am nothing but flesh to grab with your red stained hands that you’ve sterilised with excuses ~ From One White Gay Male to Another: Calling out the Implicit Racism in Dan Savage’s ‘Liberal’ Politics & the ‘It gets better’ Campaign” ~ Why this radical activist is disillusioned by the toxic culture of the left ~ 3 Differences Between the Terms ‘Gay’ and ‘Queer’ — and Why It Matters ~ Secular Faith: How Culture Has Trumped Religion in American Politi ~ beltline map ~ free inhabitant ~ true meme ~ cheesy jokes ~ weird ~ dad jokes ~ phoenix files ~ The Myth of Black-on-Black Crime ~ Rapper Bankroll Fresh Shot and Killed at Recording Studio in Atlanta ~ The White Riders – Stand Up And Be Counted ~ kkk ~ My Mental Illness ~ How ‘Gay’ Came to Mean ‘Homosexual’ ~ Luther Mckinnon the only color that matters to Hollywood is green. When movies with minority actors make money in the international market, then we will see more minorities cast.~ +sherlock tango IF they never let minorities into the industry, things will stay exactly the same. Everyone needs a stepping stone. You start by letting them play supporting roles, let the audience familiarize with their faces. One little step at a time. I didn’t say you should begin with a unknown actor to play the next batman. Let them play a supporting role first. these things take time. But if you don’t even give them a chance to play any roles except the racial stereotypical roles, nothing will improve.~ Luther Mckinnon Another thing to consider is that most of the money paid to see films today comes from abroad. It is one thing to say what an american audience should think, and another to say what an international audience would think. And who owns the companies making these decisions? Most corporations are owned by a mixture of stockholders, both institutional and individual. To call these corporations “white” is misleading. ~ slavery ~ That is a comma challenged caption. ~ Not to mention “Maro” Rubio. My friend Wayne says it’s not a true meme unless there are grammatical or spelling errors. ~ Or a last line, consisting of one word in the middle of the block of text. ~ @ivan_hernandez I’m proBernie but would vote Hillary as I am a one issue voter and that issue is not opening the seventh seal and ushering in the apocalypse ~ 1- two wrongs do not make one right 2- most anti white noise does nothing to alleviate systemic oppression ~ @MaraEastern Six-Word-Story: Amen and then there was nothing. ~ you see what you want in the bible ~ @kathbarbadoro I hate this NPR-class reverence for comedians as public intellectuals. We are all fucking dumbasses. Listen to people who read books ~ Obama and Putin were walking around out in the country, discussing politics and enjoying the scenery and mild fall weather. On the trail, they came across a herd of sheep. When they approached, the sheep tried to get away, but one had gotten its head caught in the fence next to the trail and became stuck. Putin smiled, walked behind the sheep and dropped his drawers and had his way with it. When Putin was done, he turned to Obama and said, “go ahead it’s your turn!” Obama eagerly walked over, and then stuck his head in the fence… ~ @WernerTwertzog One does not know the complete depths of American vulgarity until one shops for a coffin. ~ I love hearing what you have to say, and I try to respond to all comments here. Thanks for stopping by! ~ @chamblee54 If you are going to post multi tweet messages, post them in reverse order They will make more sense to those who read them ~ always copy tweets you think will get you blocked ~ pictures today are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
The Privilege Of Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates recently appeared on Bookworm. She was promoting The Sacrifice: A Novel. TSAN is a work of fiction, based on the Tawana Brawley rape allegations. Here is what the show says:
“In The Sacrifice (Ecco), a novel drawn from a notorious racially-steeped case of the late eighties, Joyce Carol Oates speaks of the domino-effect that started with one sacrifice and led to another and another, eventually eviscerating an entire town. By inhabiting her characters from the marginal to the central, Joyce Carol Oates asks herself “what would I do?” In this way she brings emotional clarity to the chaos of public experience.”
As you might recall, Tawana Brawly accused men of raping her. This created a firestorm of controversy. As the book sales pitch says, ” domino-effect … eventually eviscerating an entire town.” When the authorities investigated, the story by Miss Brawley was seen to be a lie.
At the 7:30 mark in the show, JCO said “The tremendous impact of Ferguson MO and the aftermath of the Eric Garner case in New York City are relatively recent and this has a snowballing or avalanche effect on the protests across the nation have been very exhilarating and very wonderful and I’m completely on the side of the protesters”
There are things you can say about the protests over Eric Garner and Michael Brown. There is a lot of turmoil. People saying hateful things about their neighbor. Relations between black people and white people have suffered. This is what JCO calls exhilarating and wonderful.
Many people feel caught in the middle. Yes, there probably is a problem with the way some policemen treat black people. There is also a lot of heated misinformation being generously distributed. If you don’t believe everything you are told, you might be called a racist. This is what JCO calls exhilarating and wonderful. JCO clearly has a certain amount of privilege.
Typical of the Ferguson rhetoric is a piece in PuffHo, The 10 Kinds of Trolls You Will Encounter When Talking About Mike Brown. Number two, after “The Full-Blown Racist Troll,” is “The “Wait for Evidence” Troll.” No matter how many times you are lied to, if you don’t believe what you hear, you are a troll and a racist.
This blog posted a poem in November, when the Missouri grand jury released a decision. This decision was recently confirmed by the Department of Justice, albeit accompanied by stories of police misconduct. The poem said that justice should not be a popularity contest. The men Tawana Brawly accused might agree. O.J. Simpson probably has a few thoughts on the subject as well.
The next day, there was an anonymous comment at chamblee54. “Thanks Luthor, your racism never disappoints.” This is what JCO calls exhilarating and wonderful. This repost has pictures from from The Library of Congress. These are Confederate soldiers from the War Between the States.
Blonde Stories
A blond and her boyfriend are out in the woods hunting when the boyfriend collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The blond takes out her phone and calls 911.
She gasps: “My boyfriend is dead! What can I do?” The operator says: “Calm down, I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the blond says: “OK, now what?”
A Blonde is watching the news with her husband when the newscaster says “Two Brazilian men die in a skydiving accident. The blonde starts crying to her husband, sobbing “That’s horrible!!! So many men dying that way!! Confused, he says, “Yes dear, it is sad, but they were skydiving, and there is always that risk involved.”
After a few minutes, the blonde, still sobbing, says, “How many is a Brazilian?”
A blonde had just totaled her car in a horrific accident. Miraculously, she managed to pry herself from the wreckage without a scratch and was applying fresh lipstick when the state trooper arrived.
“My goodness!” the trooper gasped. “Your car looks like an accordion that was stomped on by an elephant. Are you OK ma’am?” “Yes, officer, I’m just fine” the blonde chirped. “Well, how in the world did this happen?” the officer asked as he surveyed the wrecked car.
“Officer, it was the strangest thing!” the blonde began. I was driving along this road when from out of nowhere this TREE pops up in front of me. So I swerved to the right, and there was another tree! I swerved to the left and there was ANOTHER tree! I served to the right and there was another tree! I swerved to the left and there was ….”
“Uh, ma’am”, the officer said, cutting her off, “There isn’t a tree on this road for 30 miles. That was your air freshener swinging back and forth.
One morning a blonde’s husband was watching the traffic report on TV. They were talking about some maniac who was driving along the highway in the wrong direction and disrupting traffic. He knew his wife would be on that highway on her way to work and he didn’t want her to get hurt, so he called her to let her know.
“Honey, watch out this morning, there’s a lunatic driving the wrong way up the highway” he said.
Sounding terrified, she replied “It’s not just one!”
On a plane flight from Seattle to Chicago, a blonde was sitting in economy class. About half way through the flight, she got up and moved to an empty seat in first class. A flight attendant who observed this, went over to her and politely explained that she had to move back to economy class because that was what her ticket was for. The blonde replied, “I’m blonde, I’m beautiful, I’m going to Chicago and I’m staying right here.”
After several attempts to explain to the blonde why she had to return to economy class, the flight attendant gave up. She went to the cockpit and explained the situation to the pilot and co-pilot. The co-pilot said, “Let me try.” He went up to the blonde and politely tried to explain to her why she needed to return to her seat in economy class.
But the blonde only replied, “I’m blonde, I’m beautiful, I’m going to Chicago and I’m staying right here.” Frustrated, the co-pilot returned to the cockpit. He suggested that perhaps they should have the airline call the police and have her arrested when they land.
“Wait a minute,” said the pilot. “Did you say she’s blonde? I can handle this. My wife is a blonde. I speak Blonde.” So he went up to the woman sitting in first class and whispered something in her ear.
“I’m sorry,” said the blonde, and she promptly got up and returned to her seat in economy class.
“What did you say to her?” ask the astonished flight attendant and co-pilot.
To which the pilot replied, “I just told her that first class isn’t going to Chicago.”
Two sisters, one blonde and one brunette, inherit the family ranch. Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble, and are down to their very last $600.00. In order to keep the bank from repossessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull so that they can breed their own stock.
Upon leaving, the brunette tells her sister, ‘When I get there, if I decide to buy the bull, I’ll contact you to bring the trailer with the truck to me so we can haul it home.’
The brunette arrives at the man’s ranch, inspects the bull, and decides she wants to buy it. The man tells her that he will sell it for $599, no less. After paying him, she drives to the nearest town to send her sister a telegram to tell her the news. She walks into the telegraph office, and says, ‘I want to send a telegram to my sister telling her that I’ve bought a bull for our ranch. I need her to hitch the trailer to our pickup truck and drive out here so we can haul it home.’
The telegraph operator explains that he’ll be glad to help her, and then adds, it will cost 99 cents a word.’ Well, after paying for the bull, the brunette realizes that she’ll only be able to send her sister one word. After a few minutes of thinking, she says, ‘I want you to send her the word ‘comfortable.’
The operator shakes his head ‘How is she ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup truck and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send her just the word ‘comfortable?’
The brunette explains, ‘My sister’s blonde. She’ll read it very slowly… ‘com-for-da-bul.’
A blond was sitting at the local bar after work one evening watching the television. There was a news story on the tube about a man jumping off the roof of a ten story building. The bartender says “I bet $20 he will jump”. The blond says “you are on, I bet he won’t jump”. A few minutes later the man jumps and the blond starts to hand the bartender the $20 she just lost. The bartender confesses that the story was not live and he had seen it earlier in the day so he could not in good conscience take her money. The blond replies that he should take the money anyway as she had seen the story earlier in the day too and really didn’t think the guy would do it twice.
This is a repost. These whimsical tales were originally published at Rapture Ready. Pictures, from “Inter city beauties, Atlantic City Pageant, 1925,” are from The Library of Congress.
The Henry Ford Meme
There is a meme going around. It has a quote, “Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him, better take a closer look at the American Indian.” The credit/blame for the quote is given to Henry Ford. There are so many things to say.
You might ask if the quote is genuine. A bit of research leads to a foundation that studies the life of Henry Ford. They have a spreadsheet of his quotes. A search for the words happy, Indian, and prosperous do not show this quote.
The second comment is about what might be termed political correctness. The term American Indian is now considered offensive. If you consider the historic relationship between Native Americans, and the European conquerers, you see a history of land theft, treaty violation, and genocide. That this could be considered “letting the government take care of him” is a sick joke.
Ad hominem comments are just too easy to make. Henry Ford had a reputation for extreme anti-semitism. Mr. Ford was no fan of labor unions, and fought them fiercely. There are many other stories about what a horrible man Henry Ford was. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Open Mic
Last fall, PG read poems at a family gathering in Tennessee. There was a great response. PG decided to look for a performance outlet in Atlanta. On Oscar night, five months later, PG went to his first open mic. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Java Monkey is a coffee house. It is across the street from the Dickhater marta station. PG had been reluctant to go there, for a number of reasons. Dickhater is a long drive down skinny, four lane Clairmont Road. Red lights fester impatient drivers. Once you get to the end, there was the question of where to park.
Last week, PG got some good information about where to park. This week, when Sunday evening arrived, PG decided to take the plunge. The idea was to go one week, and see how this open mic thing works. Be an observer first, before participating. Before walking out the door, PG found some poems he had printed out, and put them in his back pocket.
The show was about to start when PG arrived. He got a cup of the basic house coffee, which is the reason this report is being written after midnight the same night. The performance room is an indoor space, with an open fourth wall leading outdoors. There was an empty seat. The mild late February night was just right, neither too hot nor too cold.
People who think poetry is boring should go see it performed. The readers were a mix of black and white. Everyone was supported, and got a healthy round of applause. Some people performed from memory, while others read. The stage was well lit, unlike some stages that PG has seen. While some people did read from telephones, it was not necessary.
After a while there was a break. The MC said that the sign up list would be closed after the break. PG decided to add his name to the list. Piers Gaveston was about to make his Atlanta debut. After the featured performer, and a few more open mic peeps, Piers Gaveston was the last person to perform. The MC pronounced Piers Gaveston correctly.
The audience applauded, and several people said they enjoyed it. PG did not feel the magic that he felt in Tennessee, but was pleased overall. Next week, a carefully selected piece can be rehearsed. There is no where to go but up, unless the parking lot is full.
Asp In Her Fig Basket
The inclusion of the G word is a violation of the third commandment. ~ @MikeDrucker That moment when you realize Kanye West and Donald Trump could switch tweets and you wouldn’t know the difference. ~ We haven’t had a President with facial hair since William Howard Taft. It is time for another one. ~ this is fun with the sound cut off ~ Beyoncé has hot sauce in her bag… Cleopatra asps in her fig basket? OK, OK. I won’t belabor the comparisons, but I think they’re complex and compelling. ~ Al Gore won the popular vote. ~ ARF is connected to a publicity shy facility in Central Time Zone. You will probably hear about it. They might be able to give you some input towards your community goals. ~ l And just how much of a backlash has it been? Outside of Fox news, not much. Isn’t this whole faux controversy just a gimmick to get attention for some commercial product, which is what that silly little song is. ~ @kanyewest To Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, New York Times, and any other white publication. Please do not comment on black music anymore. ~ The PSA was more about prejudice than racism. I guess the semantics were different then. ~ @miragonz look, no pop culture event will ever be as good as when britney spears shaved her head ~ Actually, you might be better off voting in Wisconsin. Georgia is generally written off as being a Republican state. In November, the Georgia electoral votes WILL go for the Republican nominee. Now, I don’t know what the primary story is in Wisconsin. The Georgia primary is March 1, and it appears the Democratic race will still not decided. Georgia is also an open state, where you can vote in either primary. Sometimes, a strategic vote in the Republican primary is the way to go. ~ After the funeral of Mr. Nixon, I noticed a very large American flag at half staff. It was over a hamburger stand. The name of the hamburger stand was “Checkers.” ~ The UDWK disbanded 12/29/2015 this site will continue to be a voice for the White American Patriot. Stay Tuned! ~ You do not have permission to add comments. ~ Stories like this cause a loss of productivity ~ @YoMikeBrown comments about beyonce are part of formation publicity i was told to shut up because of silly ditty i would rather ignore ~ if I can’t find the source on the first page of google in less than five minutes the quote is disputed ~ @griftdrift with all the race/class/sexual identity fussing it is odd to think of anti catholic prejudice who has the time and energy? ~ Every POTUS has to kill men, women, and children. BHO is behind on his quota, and it trying to make up #Libya ~ Mr. Rock said that in November 2014. ~ @dubstep4dads ME: so is the vagina like… in a girls butt? where is it? DRIVE-THRU WORKER: honestly idk either dude ~ @pourmecoffee Who can lose by ten? Cover it with spin. Take away no delegates and act like it’s a win. Rubio can. ~ Things Get Heated Between Jason Whitlock & Shaun King ~ Peyton Manning ~ twitter ~ Cam Newton ~ defense ~ Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton answer voters at Las Vegas town hall ~ “No one asked me if I was a citizen or not, and my dad came from Poland,” Sanders said, referring to the so-called “birther” movement that has questioned Obama’s legitimacy as president. “Gee, what’s the difference? Maybe the color of my skin.” ~ @TheKevinAllison 1-finished all 3 stories turned off shit-myself-story twice but came back to finish black stereotypes in 1st 2 tales @TheKevinAllison 2-then a possible reason for this shaky behavior in 3rd tale race is a tough subject for me talk about shitting himself @TheKevinAllison 3- during ritual is less obnoxious than repeated “I am black” chest thumping it was not funny, but i did finish show ~ We are electing the POTUS. This is not necessarily a saint, an honest person, or a nice person. It is someone who will work, with/against a corrupt congress and hostile foreign nations, to get results. With that in mind, this video might be the most profound endorsement of Hillary Clinton available. ~ Wasn’t Ann Hedonia performing in town last week? ~ Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me ~ Ted Cruz says naughty word ~ Cleopatra ~ BS memes ~ Fiction Points: Tao Lin ~ No One Showed Up To That Anti-Beyoncé Rally, Which Might’ve Been A Prank To Begin With ~ There’s powerful evidence that racial attitudes drive Tea Party support ~ Chaplin Emmanuel Foster’s Monthly Sermon ” Gay Pride Gets God’s Hate” April 2015 ~ story challenge ~ BLM, N.W.A. Prove It Takes 1,000 Tweets To Hold Us Back ~ Google shows two sources for the quote, “a riot is the language of the unheard.” One is a speech at Grosse Pointe High School – March 14, 1968 The other is a 60 Minutes interview on Sept. 27, 1966 The quote appears to be legitimate. ~ Pictures are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
Interview The Suspect
Recently, Points: The Blog of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society published an interview with Tao Lin, a traditional author. In the post Beyoncé-gate malaise, any excuse for writing will do. Here are the questions given to Mr. Lin. PG will answer them. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Two nuns and a penguin approach you at a bar, and you tell them you’re a writer. When they ask you what you write about, how do you answer? Do nuns and penguins really exist? I guess nuns do, because I have know people who went to Catholic school, and were traumatized for life. I don’t know about penguins, and probably don’t care. … Ok, so this terrible threesome approaches me in a bar. I am a retired drunk, and only go to bars to participate in jokes. I would tell them that I write musicals about the joy of abortion. I understand that should be popular on the south pole.
Points is a blog primarily for drug and alcohol historians. What do you think this audience would find most interesting about your work? The rainbow font, pictures of dogs, and the true confession stories about women who go shopping wearing hair curlers.
What led you to write about drugs and alcohol in the first place? The division of drugs and alcohol is silly. Alcohol is a drug. The only reason that duality is implicit is the legalization of alcohol. If alcohol were illegal like the other drugs, and not endorsed by politicians, media freaks, football wankers, not to mention nuns that go to bars with penguins, there would be more people in jail for alcohol use. Whether or not this is a good thing we cannot say.
How would you describe the way that drugs function in your work, whether in terms of thematic concerns or the choices you make about how to craft a narrative? Do you think there are things that you wouldn’t be able to explore as successfully if drugs weren’t in your writing arsenal? Drugs and function are two opposed concepts. The reason people take drugs is not to function, unless you are trying to get an unwilling person to have sex, in which case it is different. As for the second question, the fecal impact of Donald Trump on the body politics cannot be adequately explained without use of ibogaine, which only the late Hunter S. Thompson knows how to procure.
What do you personally find most interesting about how drugs work in your writing, and where do you see that interest leading you in future projects? Since I don’t take drugs myself, I have to vicariously function through the drug use of others. Last night, I listened to a RISK show. It was about a black man… and he said he was black about a dozen times… who had shit shame. He was ashamed of his feces, and only took two craps a week. This man went to an ayahuasca ritual, shit in his pants, and is now regular. What goes around comes around.
This led to a three part tweet to the perpetrator of RISK. @TheKevinAllison 1-finished all 3 stories turned off shit-myself-story twice but came back to finish black stereotypes in 1st 2 tales @TheKevinAllison 2-then a possible reason for this shaky behavior in 3rd tale race is a tough subject for me talk about shitting himself @TheKevinAllison 3- during ritual is less obnoxious than repeated “I am black” chest thumping it was not funny, but i did finish show
BONUS QUESTION: Let’s hope that one of your novels or other work gets made into a major motion picture. If you have your choice, which is it, and what song do you fantasize about hearing as the credits roll? Disco Duck.
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