The Trial Of Lenny Bruce
Towards the end of his Booknotes chat, Nat Hentoff talked about censorship. As a journalist, his views were predictable.
Mr. HENTOFF: Any words at all. Words are–I mean, there is a great–there was a great scene in New York once when Lenny Bruce, who was a friend of mine, was on trial for his words. And Richard Cue, the assistant district attorney, was making a name for himself trying to blast all of the witnesses for the defense. And he got Dorothy Kilgallen, who was a very famous then syndicated columnist, a devout Catholic, a conservative and a great admirer of Lenny Bruce. And he con–he strung together, Cue did, all of the words in Lenny’s monologues that could be considered terribly offensive, and he hit her with them. It was a barrage. `What do you think then, Ms. Kilgallen?’ `Well,’ she said, `they’re words. They’re words. That’s all. Words.’ That’s the way I feel.
When PG heard this, he remembered reading about this trial. With the aid of Mr. Google, a transcript turned up. If you like to read about lawyers saying dirty words, this is the place for you.
Dorothy Kilgallen was, to put it mildly, a piece of work. She wrote for the N. Y. Journal American, and stepped on more than a few toes. A biography, Kilgallen, tells a few of the tales. Today, Miss Kilgallen is best known as one of the original panelists on “Whats My Line?”
The People v Lenny Bruce (Cafe Au Go Go Trial) was tried June 16, 1964 to July 28, 1964 in New York City. The Per Curium Opinion of Judge John Murtagh sets the tone. “All three performances of the defendant, Lenny Bruce, were obscene, indecent, immoral and impure within the meaning of Section 1l40-a of the Penal Law. While no tape is available as to the first performance [past midnight, March 31-April 1], this monologue, according to the testimony, was essentially the same as that of the second [April 1, after 10:00 p.m.] and third [April 7, after 10:00 p.m.] performances. In the latter two performances, words such as “ass,” “balls,” “cock-sucker,” “cunt,” “fuck,” “mother-fucker,” “piss,” “screw,” “shit,” and “tits” were used about one hundred times in utter obscenity. The monologues also contained anecdotes and reflections that were similarly obscene.
Dorothy Kilgallen was called as an “expert witness”. In lawyerly fashion, the prosecutor claimed she was not a genuine expert. After her credentials were established, there were questions like “Will you tell us what the artistry, or the social value, or the merit, or the good is, in the Bruce story of sexual intercourse with a chicken?” After the testimony described by Mr. Hentoff, Miss Kilgallen talks about something that does offend her.
Q. I wouldn’t take much time, but we did discuss before Lenny Bruce’s use of the words ‘mother fucker’ at his audience. Can you tell me when James Jones or Norman Mailer or Arthur Miller has called his audience ‘mother fucker?’
Mr. Garbus: Your Honor, may I object? We are talking about books against monologue. It’s completely an irrelevant question.
Judge Murtagh: We will allow it. Objection overruled.
A. I can’t tell you anything verbatim from the books, because I read them a couple of years ago or more. I would imagine–this would be my best guess–that they did not call their audiences anything. There’s another book called The Naked Lunch which I couldn’t even finish reading, but it’s published, and I think the author should be in jail and he used–
Q. Unfortunately we can’t do everything at once, Miss Kilgallen. Are you judging the non-obscene quality and the artistic quality of Bruce by the fact that The Naked Lunch is a book which, as of this date, is sold in the community?
A. No, I’m not. I just mentioned it because you asked me for some books.
Q. And The Naked Lunch is a book you found impossible to read, is that correct?
A. Yes, I found it revolting.
Q. What was revolting about it?
A. Just the way it was written.
Mr.Garbus: Objection, your Honor.
Judge Murtagh: Objection overruled.
A. It seemed to use words for shock value, not for any valid reason, and I object to that.
Q. And when Lenny Bruce–I ask you to turn to the April 1st tape . . . and read the portion starting–‘tits and ass, that’s what is the attraction, is just tits and ass and tits and ass’–and goes on all through the page, and ask you if you find some shock value in that?
A. No, I don’t think it’s particularly shocking, it’s just a word.. . .
Q.. Do you, in your column, use the words tits and ass?
A. Never.
Q. You know exactly what Lenny Bruce was talking about?
A. Yes. . . . I think there he’s being critical of the monotony of what is on view in Las Vegas.
Dorothy Kilgallen died November 8, 1965. Lenny Bruce died August 3, 1966. Kilgallen biographer Lee Israel was convicted of selling forged celebrity letters. Nat Hentoff was laid off from the Village Voice. This is a repost. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. These images are Union soldiers from the War Between the States. The spell check suggestion for Kilgallen: Millennial.
Things People Used To Say
A blogger named gartalker has a list of words that are becoming extinct. Maybe it is a southern thing, but PG still hears supper used. The rest of the list is amusing, and can make you feel old…even if your age is not an interstate speed limit.
A term I haven’t heard in a long time, and thinking about ‘fender skirts’ started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice like curb feelers. Any body remember them. And steering knobs.’ (AKA) suicide knob, Neckers Knobs. Since I’d been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms, like fender skirts.
Continental kits They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.
Emergency Brakes At some point ‘parking brake’ became the proper term. I miss the hint of drama that went with ‘emergency brake.’
Clutch – Foot Feed – Dimmer Switch. I’m sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the ‘foot feed.’ Many today do not even know what a clutch is or that the dimmer switch used to be on the floor.
Running Board Didn’t you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the ‘running board’ up to the house? You felt like a real G-man. Heck, most of you most likely don’t know what a G-man is.
Store-bought Here’s a phrase heard all the time in my youth but never anymore -’store-bought.’ Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. However, once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.
Coast to Coast Coast to coast’ is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing. Now we take the term ‘world wide’ for granted. I guess that soon it will be Universal.
Wall to Wall On a smaller scale, ‘wall-to-wall’ was once a magical term in our homes. In the ’50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.
In A Family Way – P G When’s the last time you heard the quaint phrase ‘in a family way?’ It’s hard to imagine that the word ‘pregnant’ was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company, so we had all that talk about stork visits and ‘being in a family way’ or simply ‘expecting. The more sophisticated town girls called it P G. (That is not the source of a pen name.)
Brassiere Apparently, ‘brassiere’ is a word no longer in usage. I said it once to my daughter when she was a teen and she cracked up. I guess it’s just ‘bra’ now. ‘Unmentionables’ probably wouldn’t be understood at all.
Picture Show I always loved going to the picture show. In fact, I have written about it in this very blog. I considered ‘movie’ an affectation.
Rat Fink Most of these words go back to the ’50s, but here is a pure-’60s word I came across the other day – ‘rat fink.’ Ooh, what a nasty put-down! These two words could cut like a sharp knife.
Percolator- DynaFlo – Elevtrolux – Spectra Vision Here is a word I miss – ’percolator.’ That was just a fun word to say. What was it replaced with? ‘Coffee maker.’ How dull. Mr. Coffee.
I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like ‘DynaFlow and‘Electrolux..’ (spell check suggestion: Electrocute)Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with‘SpectraVision!’ (PG has a percolator in his camping gear. It works well over a propane stove, but the coffee is way too hot.)
Lumbago- Castor Oil -Food for thought – Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that’s what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil anymore.
Supper Some words aren’t gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most, ’supper.’ Now everybody says ‘dinner.’ Save a great word. Invite someone to supper.
Chimney One last thing, when I was a kid we passed a neighbors house. They had a T V antenna strapped to their Chimney. It was a cold day and smoke was bellowing out the old leaning stack. My mother said, “Look there can’t afford butane to keep warm but they got a television set.” Yes, when I was kid a sure sign of poverty was smoke coming from your chimney. Now you know you are in an up scale neighborhood. A fireplace in the den is a luxury.
This is a repost. The pictures are from The Library of Congress.
Tiny American Faith Groups
As you may have heard, a man killed three of his neighbors in North Carolina. The victims were Muslim, and the alleged perp is white. Since America is now a nation of media critics, the way this incident is covered is getting as much chatter as anything else. The usual comments about lack of media coverage, and the different ways the race of the perp affects what the media calls the person, are being made. If you can’t say anything good, criticize the media.
Some stories report that a dispute over parking spots was behind the slayings. While this may seem trivial to some, parking disputes can be heated. Did the condo community have enough parking spaces? Is killing over a parking spot any sillier than killing because of differing opinions about G-d?
The Washington Post has a story about the killing, Chapel Hill killings shine light on particular tensions between Islam and atheism. “The alleged assassination by an outspoken North Carolina atheist of three of his Muslim neighbors is shining a light on particular, deep tensions between two tiny American faith groups: Muslims and atheists.”
Is that tiny America, tiny faith, or tiny groups? How can atheists be called a “faith group?” Maybe we should go back to saying religion, instead using faith as a semantic substitute. Or maybe, just maybe, we should quit labeling people based on their opinions about G-d. Is it really any of your business?
The WP story has a link to the facebook page of alleged killer Craig Stephen Hicks. There are numerous comments criticizing the Abrahamic religions. There are also a puzzle, a video about New Zealand, and a link to a story about what occupations the 50 states have. The Hicks page is not different from most facebook pages.
Perhaps the facebook page has a clue to the real motive for the killing. Mr. Hicks is a Pittsburgh Steeler fan. Mr. Hicks is married, and went to Disneyworld two months ago. Mr. Hicks is in two facebook groups: Atheism on Youtube, and LET’S REACH 1 MILLION PEOPLE CAMPAIGN…It’s a start! LGBT EQUALITY. Mr. Hicks likes the movie “12 Years a Slave.”
This incident is tough to wrap your head around. Mr. Hicks probably did not need to own a firearm. Since he is white, the media guide says he is a troubled individual, which does not seem to be in question. If he had been black or brown, Mr. Hicks would be labelled thug or terrorist. Those two labels also seem to fit, regardless of whether or not this was a hate crime.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. The 1927 pictures were taken at “California Beauty Week, Mark Hopkins Hotel, July 28 to Aug. 2, auspices of San Francisco Chronicle.”
Some Particular Perversion
Apparently I lack some particular perversion which today’s employer is seeking’ Ignatius J. Reilly ~ I would end that statement after the word listen. ~ Is that the East, the South, the West, or the North? ~ There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below. ~ The thought may be the truth, but I suspect the picture is photoshopped. ~ The actions if those people, as described in this story, probably did more harm than good. Making a scene on a dance floor is the wrong way to spread your message. ~ these are the current search engine terms at chamblee54: gwinnett county most wantrd, oreo commercial little girls have pretty curls, advice from an old farmer, what is significant in one’s own existence, kyle dinkheller brannan, you jizz fuck janitress in hospital 2009, andrew sullivan, repost and see what you get, ein nepoline estein shakespeare and the bottom line. ~ @pourmecoffee Opposable thumbs: do they cause wrist fatigue? Are they necessary? We’ll sort out the pros and cons of this controversial anatomic feature. ~ When I first saw this, I thought you said silence. The two words have a similar letter inventory. As for the linkage of science and silence to people in carelessly constructed label groups …. ~ The first part … Jose can you see … is en espanol already. ~ @HolyJunkie @creepypasta_txt Oh my god, what kind of hack wrote this POS? This is like, the worst goddamn thing ever written. I hope the author dies. ~ TED talks have announced the speakers for a conference in Vancouver BC. Session 9: Just and Unjust will include Monica Lewinsky, social activist ~ “It takes a lot of time to be a genius. You have to sit around so much, doing nothing, really doing nothing.” –Gertrude Stein From “Everybody’s Autobiography” ~ The one word-no space thing has a curious result for RAMDASS.ORG ~ Follow me for updates on when/what I’ll be streaming and for my general flow of stupidity. ~ People will do backflips to justify _____ but I’m the bad guy for not buying it? ~ @burgeroise “invented gender neutral pronoun” as opposed to the organic and pure binary pronouns harvested from the soil by kindhearted farmers ~ @freddiedeboer @AryehCW @chescaleigh There is a contradiction in the saying ” “check your privilege” ~ @chescaleigh @freddiedeboer @AryehCW I think many people who scream CYP could benefit from acknowledging this ~ There is a sign on Peachtree Road for oglethorpe.edu. Only one problem. They did not have room for the u at the end. The sign tells you to go to oglethorpe.ed ~ @Kool_Aid_Wino I was a strange kid. I guess you could safely add “very.” ~ The forum is limited to discussions about the content of an article. Please note that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service. ~ @Kool_Aid_Wino I am one of those who do not have a regular name. My name depends on you. Just call me whatever is in your mind. ~ @Edgar_Allan_Poe: #Read, my friends, read until they pry the book from your rotting grip. #NationalLibrariesDay ~ It is still winter, and it is in public, so the dress code will probably be more. ~ pictures for today’s entertainment are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
Happy Birthday Bill Burroughs
February 5, 1914, was the birth day of William Seward Burroughs Jr. For the rest of this piece he will be known as WSB. This is both a handy abbreviation, as well as a touch of irony for Atlanta readers. WSB radio is a 50k watt clear channell am station, owned by the same media oligarchs that own the fishwrapper and channel two. The radio tv clusterfuck has long been the symbol of Peachtree Street white column respectability. Just to be clear/queer, from here on out in this feature WSB will mean a certain junkie writer, not welcome south brother.
This is a good day for birthdays. Hank Aaron in 1934. Adlai Stevenson in 1900. Peg Entwhistle in 1908. The last one lived until 1932, when she jumped off the Hollywoodland sign.
A well thought of radio institution called “This American Life” has a show this week, Burroughs101. Actually, there is a class by that name, and there will be an exam at the end of the semester. The show is narrated by Iggy Pop. It begins with a warning. “A warning. The following program contains references to homosexuality, drug use, sex with aliens, violence, and kitty cats. What did you expect?” The show was originally cobbled together by the BBC, which might explain things a bit.
Iggy Pop did a show at the 688 club. PG was in the audience. A man named Ivan Kral was in the band. When Mr. Kral came on stage, he blew his nose, and a white powder booger came out. The performance was not so much a concert as it was an endurance test.
The show has the lazy bloggers friend, the transcript. There are some lovely quotes. This show is not going to candy coat the bastard. This is a man who shot his wife while playing William Tell, and got away with it. As one non admirer says “I don’t just take the Burroughs myth with a pinch of salt. I view it as a unpleasant slug crawling across the lawn of literature. And I like to pour salt on it.”
Or this one. “Having used heroin yourself– I think used is a bit of an understatement. I was a heroin addict on and off for pushing a quarter of a century. For myself, I find the whole Burroughs myth pretty repulsive, actually. Because I understand what happened to me. I was an addict in waiting. I got my form prize or my English prize at The Naked Lunch. And a year and a half later, I was sticking needles in my arm. … You could be lying in some pestilential piss-soaked squat in the bowels of the city listening to some moron totaled on drugs drooling on and talking about Burroughs, because Burroughs was their Leon Trotsky. He was their Archbishop of Canterbury. He was the Pope. “
One of the questions of the early eighties was whether or not WSB was shooting up. Forget the nonsense about there not being any old junkies. Supposedly Ray Charles never really quit using heroin. So, in 1981, WSB was living somewhere in Manhattan, and it was a right of passage to go to the bunker and take heroin to him. Since he was the star, he used the needle first, which was an important distinction in those days … hiv did not have a name but was running wild through the junkie veins and queer buttholes of Reaganite America. We don’t know if WSB got hiv or not. He made it until August 2, 1997, when a heart attack sent him to meet his maker. Contemporary Allen Ginsberg cashed in his chips earlier that year. In Washington, silly billy POTUS was getting knob jobs from Monica Lewinsky, who now gives TED talks by calling herself a social activist. WSB was a social activist, at a time when few would publicly admit to such a distinction.
The answer to your question is, yes, WSB was shooting dope in 1981. Somebody saw this as being an unhealthy situation, and arranged for him to move to Lawrence KS. This was his home until WSB went to live with Jesus, who was pissed because WSB didn’t bring him any smack.
So WSB was living the beat life, shooting dope, fucking boys, and just being a general mess. In his spare time he was writing books. Naked Lunch was busted for obscenity, and became his best known work. It is the first thing by WSB that PG tried to read, making it to page twenty six before declaring the endeavor a hopeless waste of brain cells.
It is not known how much of Naked Lunch Dorothy Kilgallen read. She was called as a witness during an obscenity trial for Lenny Bruce. ” …There’s another book called The Naked Lunch which I couldn’t even finish reading, but it’s published, and I think the author should be in jail and he used– Q. Unfortunately we can’t do everything at once, Miss Kilgallen. Are you judging the non-obscene quality and the artistic quality of Bruce by the fact that The Naked Lunch is a book which, as of this date, is sold in the community? A. No, I’m not. I just mentioned it because you asked me for some books. Q. And The Naked Lunch is a book you found impossible to read, is that correct? A. Yes, I found it revolting. Q. What was revolting about it? A. Just the way it was written.”
Another expert witness to testify … to a BBC reporter, not a New York courtroom … is Marcus Ewert. A Dunwoody native, Mr. Ewert took literary groupiedom to ridiculous lengths with Allen Ginsberg and WSB. “We’re getting into bed, and I’m sticking my legs down under the covers. There’s this bump that my legs feel. And I’m like, “Oh, what’s this hard thing my legs are bumping against, William?” And he said, “Oh, that’s the gun.” I said, “Is it a loaded gun?” He said, “Of course it’s loaded.” You’d sleep with a lover with a loaded gun in your bed. That’s kind of a metaphor waiting to happen.”
Mr. Marcus is now a children’s book author. An Amazon reader says this about 10,000 Dresses. “I returned mine today and was appalled as I read the story to my son before reading it to myself. Kids need to feel safe at home, especially when dealing with gender non-conformity. I wish the author would have reconcilled the reactions of the family members. It is great to have stories out there addressing gender non-conformity in kids, but we have a huge responsibility to make sure they are sending the right message.”
The death of Joan Vollmer is discussed. This is the lady who was playing William Tell one night, with fatal consequences. Some say accident, some say intentional. The word uxoricide is used, meaning the act of killing one’s wife.
The cut up technique is discussed. The show goes on to talk about how much WSB liked cats. He died, and people said nice things about him. Pictures tonight are from The Library of Congress.
Jesus Gets A New Nickname
There is a video making the rounds now. The title involves Jesus, and a certain racial slur, delicately known as the N word. The video is embedded above. You can feel the magic for yourself.
Here is a story about the song, with the edgy language bleeped. “One pastor is trying to spread the word of God with an edgy rap song. The rapping pastor and his wife claim they have “Christian swag” while tossing around the n-word. … The video of the rapping pastor was recently uploaded to YouTube but it’s not clear when it was filmed. It was taken at a church in Iowa which closed in 2004.” Another helpful interneter has the lyrics.
In case you didn’t know, Pastor Jim Colerick, and Mrs Mary-Sue Colerick, are melanin deficient. They are, as Bette Midler once said about Karen Carpenter, so white they are invisible. It is not considered good manners for Caucasians to use this word, with or without salvation.
There is another angle to this equation. Many Jesus worshipers see not using cusswords as a sign of righteousness. As a result, many Jesus worshipers use the words G-d, and Jesus Christ, as tools of their anger. This violates the third commandment. Now, this use of a sacred name, as profanity, is being extended to using a sacred name as a racial slur. Someone is always ready to manipulate language to serve an agenda.
When you call a book “the word of G-d”, you give certain words too much power. When you designate the lazy way of saying black as a super duper naughty word, you give those six letters way too much power. Now, we see the convergence of these two taboos. Let the party begin.
This is a repost. Pictures of Pastor and Mrs. Colerick are taken from the video. The other images are from The Library of Congress.
Blackface Drag At Club Sheba
Mary Cheney became famous in a traditional way. Her father is Dick Cheney, former VPOTUS, hunting guide, and terrorist. Apparently Ms. Cheney felt the need for attention recently. She posted the following matter on facebook.
“Why is it socially acceptable — as a form of entertainment — for men to put on dresses, make up and high heels and act out every offensive stereotype of women (bitchy, catty, dumb, slutty, etc.) — but it is not socially acceptable — as a form of entertainment — for a white person to put on blackface and act out offensive stereotypes of African Americans?”
When it comes to getting people to look at you, Mary Cheney is not in the same hemisphere as RuPaul. By remarkable coincidence, there is going to be a new season of a cable tv show, about drag queens, hosted by RuPaul. The comments by Ms. Cheney were seen by RuPaul as an opportunity to promote product. The video is embedded above.
We are not going to discuss the moral calculus of blackface vs drag in this post. That’s what facebook, twitter, and comment sections are for. This blog does not have the intellectual gravitas as youtube comment sections. Mary Cheney and RuPaul are getting the attention they require.
The pictures today are from The Library of Congress. These ladies were participating in “Inter city beauties, Atlantic City Pageant, 1925.” There is something appropriate about beauty pageant pictures illustrating a discussion of the relative political correctness of blackface and drag queens. If you want a picture of Mary Cheney, go somewhere else.
The second part of this feature is a repost. The show was performed in 1979. I recently saw “Carroll.” He lives in Pennsylvania today, and has a beard nine inches long.
Reading about Shirley Q. Liquor brought back memories of a night long ago. A young man, who I will call Carroll, grew up across the street. In his spare time, he did drag shows. What I was expecting was Carol Burnett and Lily Tomlin, using his own voice. One Sunday night, free admission and a buffet was all I needed to venture downtown and see the show.
The venue was an unpretentious bar called Club Sheba. The clientele was mostly lesbians, many of whom were African Americans.
Club Sheba was located on Forrest Avenue. The street was named for Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate General who, some say, founded the Ku Klux Klan. Forrest Avenue late became Ralph McGill Boulevard, named after the former editor of the Atlanta Constitution.
As show time approached, I saw a table that had empty seats. I pulled back a seat, and a beefy lady informed me that she did not want a man to sit at that table.
The first act was what I expected. The reputation of Carol Burnett did not suffer, and Lily Tomlin was still in the closet. After the first act, I shot a game of pool with my friend, and went to the buffet for a second plate. A lady stopped me. ”You’re not supposed to get full”
I went back to the pool table. After a while there was a crowd standing around, and it was evident that a second act was going to start soon. I saw a black lady in the crowd making faces at me, took a second look, and realized that it was Carroll.
He did not use his voice this time, but lip synced to Grace Jones and Diana Ross. He wore blackface, and an afro wig. The crowd at the Club Sheba enjoyed this part of the show. Many of the Black Lesbians went to the stage and stuffed dollar bills in his faux bosom.
Blocked From Following
@TheTweetOfGod Alabama’s gay marriage ban has been ruled unconstitutional in what is hopefully the first step towards Alabama being ruled unconstitutional. ~ where did he say that? i just discovered the podcast, which is a great accomplice for multi tasking. I have a que of downloaded podcasts already, with new product discovered all the time. I hope FC can keep going, but if he doesn’t then something will take its place. the blogosphere is a self composting ecosystem. ~ Devolving ~ Neil – You shouldn’t have sex with your friends Bob – Do you prefer your enemies? ~ Is a person perpetrating this product a booger? ~ @Kool_Aid_Wino Propaganda encourages the imagination of children. ~ The Grateful Dead used to have a saying, “Steal Your Face” ~ The next time they are needed in Atlanta we might have another governor. ~ Somewhere in hell, Lyndon Johnson does not know who Ann Althouse is. ~ When Georgia wants to execute someone, nothing will stop this. The state is determined to kill a man with an i.q. below room temperature. There are plenty of other men on death row that can be killed to provide a deterrent to future killers, and satisfy the blood lust of the kill a crook for Jesus crowd. It is a mystery why Warren Hill is so important. ~ Is anyone aroused by scrolling to the end of 174 comments whenever facebook tells you there is a new entry to this thread? ~ didn’t people used to say balls when they heard a lie, the way we say bullshit today? ~ Warren Hill died at 7:55 pm. Witnesses say the transition was peaceful. Apparently, the mystery drugs did the trick. The #blacklivesmatter crowd is silent. Apparently this black life does not count. ~ THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT AND NOT AN ACTUAL NEWS ARTICLE, BLOG, OR CONSUMER PROTECTION UPDATE. ~ Three of the five men on the Georgia parole board are black. This is important to some people. ~ @pourmecoffee “I saw the best bloggers of my generation destroyed by glibness, tweeting hysterical naked.” ~ I think he was talking about Andrew Sullivan, who needs to keep his clothes on. ~ Personally, I hate to have to think of any man as of a definite race, creed, or color; so few men are really worth knowing that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free association with one who is. H.L. Mencken ~ The Old Testament is responsible for more atheism, agnosticism, disbelief — call it what you will — than any book ever written; it has emptied more churches than all the counterattractions of cinema, motor bicycle and golf course. A.A. Milne ~ @therebelgod We need to learn how to think morally ourselves. We cannot be dependent on a book or a pastor to dictate to us what is right and wrong. ~ It is difficult to say. ~ @polotek Your police wear a wristband in support of a murderer and claim first amendment rights. You ask for your right to live and you’re “radical”.@polotek @steveroggenbuck BULLSHIT Show me one policeman wearing a wristband supporting a murderer photoshopped pictures don”t count. ~ @hawkinsdotbiz Facebook Where a person can be judged not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character assassination. ~ @marcmaron @serial if adnan killed the girl then it was the only one, so he is not a cereal killer ~ @marcmaron @serial didn’t you say in today’s wtf that you are going to give up twitter? maybe you are a serial tweeter ~ @AManShouIdBe @JesusIsAJerk Is your daughter sexually active? No, she just lays there and doesn’t do anything. ~ Contributions to the Black Conservatives Fund are not tax-deductibl as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. ~ You are blocked from following @KasimReed and viewing @KasimReed’s Tweets. Learn more ~ At the end of the video, the host says “that sure is the longest answer to that question that I got in this series”. He must not have talked to many Jesus worshipers. … a religion chock full of vocal chord self admiring motormouths. ~ a hi-q haiku – print blue black or sepia – go ammonia ~ Why is all this construction going on when we don’t have a dependable source of water? ~ I found a copy of that book at a yard sale last fall. ~ pictures from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
Good Bye Andrew Sullivan
As is often the case these days, the news came on twitter. @JoeMyGod Andrew Sullivan To Stop Blogging: Citing recent health issues, his marriage, and the stresses brought on by 15… Joe had a link to his blog, where there was a link to the Sullivan facility.
Back during the Clinton administration, Mr. Sullivan had been the editor of some high faluting magazine. There was talk about having a gay, English, catholic in this conspicuous position. Eventually, he left, and started what was once called a “vanity website.” The first time I heard the word blog was in reference to Mr.Sullivan. It was short for web log.
At some point there was a piece, Why I blog. “Rudeness, in any case, isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a blogger. Being ignored is. Perhaps the nastiest thing one can do to a fellow blogger is to rip him apart and fail to provide a link.” The Dish never linked to Chamblee54.
There were links to some good stories at The Dish. There was a bit of foolishness. An obsession with the parentage of Trig Palin was given much play. It is ironic that Mrs.Palin is seen as an embarrassment to the conservative “movement,” at a time when Mr. Sullivan retiring. The similarity of the conservative movemeny to a bowel movement is more obvious than ever.
Not everyone is upset by the departure of Mr.Sullivan.
@gaywonk I’m going to honor Andrew Sullivan’s retirement by talking down to everyone I meet and trying my best to blend in with straight people.
@thejoshuablog Is it me, or was #AndrewSullivan’s deathbed confession eerily similar in tone to Norma Desmond’s speech at the end of #SunsetBoulevard?
@DostoevskyShade It is sad that the only time ever that #AndrewSullivan has trended on twitter is when he announces an end to his writings that no one reads.
Tonight’s Episode of Amazing America with Sarah Palin: Mom Hangs Out with Ted Nugent!
There are reports about the death of blogging. These are rather exaggerated. The days when any Joe Blow could set up shop in mom’s basement, and instantly get a million followers, are probably over. Twitter, and Youtube, are where a lot of the action is. 600 words has been reduced to 140 characters, or talking into your cell phone camera for mass consumption.
Blogging is like writing poetry… the supply greatly exceeds the demand. There are people who write blogs because they enjoy it. Chamblee54 is one. It is a fun game, even if Andrew Sullivan ignored Chamblee54. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. These details are from picture #06665, “Bathing Beauty Pageant, 1925, Huntington Beach CA”
Coexist
The custom of expressing your innermost thoughts on the back of your vehicle has taken a curious turn. One popular emblem says coexist. The seven letters are equipped with symbols, both religious and secular. One hopes that no one receiving this message has forgotten to stop, and hit the car with the coexist symbol on the bumper.
When PG was young, there was a miniature golf course on Cheshire Bridge Road called Putt Putt. The first bumper sticker he saw said “I play Putt Putt.” Is coexist an improvement?
When this post was first conceived, the i in coexist was perceived to be unadorned. It was as if the religion of i was receiving due recognition. Upon closer examination, it seems as though the tittle has a five pointed star. This means that the i is a sorcerers wand. The i apparently stands for paganism.
The c, x, and t of coexist are pretty obvious. They are symbols for the three Abrahamic religions. O is a peace sign, and e has the male and female symbols. The religions they represent are not apparent. The s is a yin yang, which is somehow related to Taoism.
Buddhism, Atheism, Communism, and Hinduism are not represented. They spell out Bach. The composer Johann Sebastian Bach produced glorious music for the Lutheran church. Perhaps the e in coexist represents the left out denominations. If this E is combined with BACH, you can spell out BEACH. This is a repost. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
The GD Ad
As you may have heard, this sunday is the stupid bowl. It is the end of the NFL season, the excuse for lavish parties, and a showcase for advertising. Every year, companies spend billions of dollars producing ads that will stand out … which is not always the same things as outstanding.
A cheesy website company called godaddy is taking a shortcut. They produced an ad. Adorable puppy is tossed out of a pickup truck. After surviving an Indiana-Jones-like journey, adorable puppy finds a way back to the farm. Danica Patrick sees adorable puppy, and says adorable puppy has just been sold. The sale was made on a godaddy produced website. In the final shot, adorable puppy is seen in an open shipping box, leaving in a delivery van.
Allegedly, there has been a facebook/twitter/talkshow outrage. This facebook exchange is what PG saw. This exchange is what alerted PG to the existence of this ad.
Anyone who works in dog rescue is totally appalled by this ad on many counts. And all the nut jobs out there just call us liberal PETA psychos for hating this ad. WTH? … Not just the puppy mills, but the selling of dogs on these sites. Some end up as bait dogs or in the hands of animal abusers. Remember Puppy Doe? Also showing the puppy getting thrown out of the truck even by accident gives teens the idea to throw them out of moving vehicles for sports even more than they already do. Especially when the ad shows that the puppy survived. Most end up mamed and killed. They die a slow death where they land. Not a good ad at all. I’ve tried to educate people, but a lot just think I’m a PETA loving crazy liberal. … ___ you are a responsible, well-informed, and compassionate person. Anyone who would label you otherwise is ignorant.
PG saw this exchange, and wondered if he was missing something. “all the nut jobs out there just call us liberal PETA psychos for hating this ad.” Where are these people? More Americans are concerned with how much air is pumped in Tom Brady’s balls.
Which got PG to thinking. Just how much outrage was there about this ad? Who made those angry tweets? Does anyone, outside of the “PETA loving crazy liberal” cabal, really pay attention?
Maybe, just maybe, this is manufactured outrage. By making a show of pulling the ad, godaddy has gotten lots of people to look at it. Instead of competing with the big money sponsors on sunday, godaddy gets lots of attention on wednesday. It is standing alone, which is also different from outstanding. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. These men were Confederate soldiers, during the War Between the States. They did not pull their advertising because of a few angry tweets.
Pageant Of Pulchritude
The fun started when PG clicked on the link to Can You Answer 11 Basic Intelligence Questions? Like many internet trolls, PG fancies himself a fart smeller smart feller. The quiznation clickathon (spell check suggestion:quantization catholic) sort of confirms this.
As the title suggests, there were 11 questions. The first one is typical … 1- How many 10 cent stamps are there in a dozen? 120, 12, 10, 20. 9 were multiple choice, and 2 were true/false.
Number 6 was true/false, and it caught PG. Do flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? PG thought of mobile and immobile, and said that the f words have opposite meanings. In one of those delightful english language quirks, those two words mean the same thing. Question 7 … What does JFK short for? … makes you wonder if this quiz was written by an engish speaking human.
The questions were sponsored by a facility selling 75% Off Drug Tests. “75% Off Drug Tests 5 panel: $1.17 & 10 panel $2.50 w/ Free Cups, FDA 510K, Free Shipping.” In a big brother moment, Amazon drops by the advertise Joni Mitchell product.
Two words that apparently mean the same thing were responsible for missing a question on Can You Use 11 Commonly Misused Words Correctly? “Our family _______ from Ireland twenty years ago. emigrated, immigrated.” “Emigration is the act of leaving one’s native country with the intent to settle permanently or temporarily elsewhere. Conversely, immigration describes the movement of persons into one country from another.”
You may get the impression that somebody does not have much to talk about. You may be correct. The last item is an edited selection from the comments at Peach Pundit. Here is the soundtrack.
January 26, 2015 at 9:51 am More American heroes! Gotta like it! Can’t wait for the disgraceful, bed-wetting libs to bust their chops like they did Chris Kyle’s. By the way, remember when the bed-wetters criticized Chick Filet’s founder for his beliefs? The next couple of days made Chick Filet’s earning for that week the biggest in the company’s history. Their insults are doing the same for Clint’s movie, too! Way to go, weenies! LMAO
January 26, 2015 at 11:27 am Doesn’t hurt me. My point is that your insults aren’t any more palatable than anyone else’s, and that you’d be better served saving your anger to defend something more important than a public entertainment. Of course you’re free to spend your time as you wish and I don’t have to read your comments so we’ll both get by.
The pictures today are from The Library of Congress. These details are from picture #06666, documenting “First Internation[al] Pageant of Pulchritude & Seventh Annual Bathing Girl Review at Galveston, Texas.” It was taken in 1926.
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