A Cynic
“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.” ― Oscar Wilde. This quote is one of Oscar’s greatest hits. If you think about it for a minute, it is not totally accurate. You are not supposed to think. Quoting Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde is about sounding clever, not making sense. Did he really create that definition of a cynic? This is a repost.
Oscar Wilde is a quote magnet. This is more than something you put on your refrigerator. When people hear something clever, odds are good that Oscar will get the blame. As Dorothy Parker wrote: “If, with the literate, I am, Impelled to try an epigram, I never seek to take the credit; We all assume that Oscar said it. [Life Magazine, June 2, 1927]”
Wikiquote says this line is from Act III of Lady Windermere’s Fan. It was spoken by Lord Darlington. Did the play write intend for the line to be taken seriously, or was he making the character look foolish by saying it? With Oscar Wilde, it could be both of these things at the same time.
Principle Four, of the four principles of quotations, reads “Only quote from works that you have read.” In the case of Lady Windemere’s Fan, this would mean a youtube video of the play. There is a posh BBC production available. You don’t have to watch the cell phone recording of high school players.
Lady Windemere’s Fan is a production where upper class Brits say clever things in glorious costumes. Nobody ever goes to the bathroom, or looks less than perfect. Lady Windemere’s six month old child is neither seen, nor heard. Lady Windemere finds out her husband, Lord Windemere, is having an affair with a Mrs. Erlynne. The Lord proceeds to invite the floozy to Lady Windemere’s birthday party.
After the party, the men go to their club, then to Lord Darlington’s room. There are five men in the conversation, beginning with Lord Windemere. Lord Darlington has just told Lady Windemere that he loves her, and wants her to run off with him. Lady Windemere said no. Lord Augustus is a suitor of Mrs. Erlynne, and is begging her to marry him. Cecil Graham, and Mr. Dumby, wear their splendid costumes with conviction.
The scene starts with the men saying clever things, most of them insulting to someone. Lord Augustus, or Tuppy, is the butt of many jokes. Before long, we get this exchange:
Dumby. I don’t think we are bad. I think we are all good, except Tuppy.
Lord Darlington. No, we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
Dumby. We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars? Upon my word, you are very romantic to-night, Darlington.
Cecil Graham. Too romantic! You must be in love. Who is the girl?
Lord Darlington. The woman I love is not free, or thinks she isn’t. [Glances instinctively at Lord Windermere while he speaks.]
A few minutes later, we hear another famous Oscarism.
Lord Darlington. What cynics you fellows are!
Cecil Graham. What is a cynic? [Sitting on the back of the sofa.]
Lord Darlington. A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Cecil Graham. And a sentimentalist, my dear Darlington, is a man who sees an absurd value in everything, and doesn’t know the market price of any single thing.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Ansel Adams And Dorothea Lange
The facebook feed has recently had links to a story, Dorothea Lange’s Censored Photographs of FDR’s Japanese Concentration Camps. Miss Lange was the photographer of the iconic Migrant Mother. After Pearl Harbor, Miss Lange took a job with the War Relocation Authority, documenting the “relocation” of Japanese-Americans to interment camps. The photographs did not please the authorities. They were censored, and only appeared recently. This is a repost.
Ansel Adams also took photographs at the Manzanar, California, camp. In the current stories, he is literally a footnote: quotes were used from a book about his photography. Why is Dorothea Lange receiving attention, while Ansel Adams is ignored?
One answer is that Miss Lange was hired early on, and shows the harsh reality of relocation. “On July 30, 1942, the WRA laid her off “without prejudice,” adding that the cause was “completion of work…. the WRA impounded the majority of her photographs of Manzanar and the forced detentions, and later deposited 800 image from the series in the National Archives without announcement.”
“After Lange’s departure, Manzanar’s director Ralph Merritt visited renowned environmentalist and landscape photographer Ansel Adams and suggested he document the camp — Merritt and Adams were friends from the Sierra Club. Lange, also friends with Adams, encouraged him to take the job. (Coincidentally Adams printed “Migrant Mother” for her ) …Ansel Adams made several trips to Manzanar between October 1943 and July 1944 for this new personal project, and, as Alinder writes, he was primed to try the kind of documentary photography regularly practiced by Dorothea Lange and the Farm Security Administration that he had earlier shunned. Unlike Lange, a white woman who had been viewed with suspicion by her subjects, Adams was welcomed by the incarcerees, even greeted as a celebrity in a cultural community that had a deep appreciation of nature — many incarcerees at Manzanar literally opened their doors to him dressed in their finest clothes. … By 1943, Manzanar’s incarcarees had had time to settle in and enjoy the fruits of their collective work. In less than ideal surroundings, they had collectively built their own post office, town hall, library, auditorium, co-op store system, police station, jail, cemetery with memorial, published their own newspaper (the ironically named the Manzanar Free Press, which was regularly censored by the military), and even their own YMCA.”
“As for Lange, looking at the historical record, it appears that she was treated differently from the other WRA photographers. She was discouraged from talking to the incarcerees, was constantly followed by a censor, and faced harassment. She was refused access to areas after being given clearance, and she was often hounded over phone charges and receipts. … After being discharged, Lange expressed in letters her dismay that her work was ineffective in helping the people she documented. Her assistant Christina Clausen later noted the ferocity of this body of work also marked the beginning of the photographer’s bleeding gastric ulcers. Lange was unable to work for a number of years after her harrowing experience at Manzanar. She died from esophageal cancer in 1965.”
“In 1944, Adams’s photographs were published as a book, “Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese Americans,” and shown at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Nativists took offense. They saw Adams’s work as a slur on the war effort. He was a “Jap lover.” This quote is from a 2016 article, Let’s be honest, Ansel Adams’s images of a WWII internment camp are propaganda
“Adams visited Manzanar to take photos in 1943 at the request of camp director Ralph Merritt, who was a personal friend. “They don’t look quite as dusty and quite as forbidding as Dorothea Lange’s photos … Indeed, the place that looks barren and depressing in Lange’s pictures manages to look beautiful in Adams’. You get little sense that it was even a detention center, in part because Adams, like other photographers, was not allowed to shoot the guard towers or barbed wire…
There are scenes from a baseball game, kids walking to school, a gathering outside a chapel. Lots of smiles, too, and portraits of camp residents cropped so close, you can see every blemish and stray hair. In Adams’ vision, Manzanar comes off as a place where Japanese-Americans, dignified, resilient and optimistic in spite of their circumstances, built a temporary community in the desert.
(Skirball Cultural Center director Robert) Kirschner said that if Adams’ photos appear to sugarcoat the indignities of life in an internment camp, it is because he did not see himself as a social activist the way Lange did. Still, Kirscher says, Adams was challenging internment in his own way, by depicting its victims as patriotic, law-abiding Americans. Unlike Lange, Adams was given permission to publish his photos. Before the war ended, he did so in a book called “Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese Americans,” in which he warned about the dangers of letting wartime hysteria justify depriving U.S. citizens of their freedom.”
The NPR article mentions a third Manzanar photographer. “Before World War II, Toyo Miyatake had a photo studio in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. When he learned he would be interned at Manzanar, he asked a carpenter to build him a wooden box with a hole carved out at one end to accommodate a lens. He turned this box into a makeshift camera that he snuck around the camp, as his grandson Alan Miyatake explains in the video below, which is featured in the exhibit.
Fearful of being discovered, Miyatake at first only took pictures at dusk or dawn, usually without people in them. Camp director Merritt eventually caught Miyatake, but instead of punishing him, allowed him to take pictures openly. Miyatake later became the camp’s official photographer.”
Pictures for today’s feature are from The Library of Congress. These are pictures that Ansel Adams took at Manzanar. They have been posted at chamblee54 before. The ladies in the bridge game are Aiko Hamaguchi, Chiye Yamanaki, Catherine Yamaguchi, and Kazoko Nagahama.
Thanksgiving Letter to the Family
Margaret and Helen, against all odds, still have a blog. Naysayers insist that it is concocted by a computer savvy grandson. Never mind that most of those types have gone cell phone crazy, and left their blogs behind. One of the traditions at M&H is the Thanksgiving Letter to the Family. Here is the 2018 version. Pictures for this holiday season are from The Library of Congress. The men were Confederate soldiers, from the War Between the States.
Dear Family, As we gather again for another Thanksgiving, I’d like to set up some house rules. I know I’m not the head cook anymore, but I’m still the head of the household so listen up:
No cell phones at the dinner table. No feet (big or tiny) on my furniture. No jello-salad.
Parenting is a full-time job. You don’t get the holiday off. Watch your kids and make sure there is some food on their plate that has color. Carrots. Green beans. Yams. Something more than just mashed potatoes. They might not eat any, but it’s never too soon to introduce them to each other. It would be easier if I was still the cook and everything had a little bacon grease to help it go down, but in this age of vegavegan-gluttenfree-halffat-lesssodium-nosugaradded, I can’t be responsible for how the food tastes anymore. Gone are the days of the three master spices: salt, pepper and bacon grease.
No jello-salad. I’m serious about this. The only thing that jiggles at my house this Thanksgiving will be your Aunt Trudy after a few glasses of wine.
I’ve lived a long life and along the way, I’ve collected a few nice things. I don’t put them away for company and I don’t put them away for family. Eventually your child needs to learn the meaning of the word No. Let’s make that happen today. We watch football in the family room on TV. We throw footballs outside on the lawn. And when you do go outside, shut the door behind you. I don’t need to air condition the whole neighborhood. And if Mr. Briggers next door tells you to stay off his lawn, tell him to stay off my last nerve. That man is the one bad bulb that ruins the whole string of lights.
If you want to talk politics sit next to me, but if you own a MAGA hat be warned. Your President is an asshat and I’m old enough to speak my mind regardless of your precious feelings. If I were you, I’d practice don’t ask, don’t tell because even when I mind my Ps and Qs, I can still spell bullshit.
No jello-salad.
If your child still wears diapers, you will leave with the same number of them as you had when you arrived. Bag them up and take them with you. The trash man doesn’t come again until next Tuesday and the last thing I need is a trash can full of baby poop. No exceptions to this rule. You’re dealing with a woman who washed cloth diapers so this would be an argument you will lose.
You know I love you. And I am indeed thankful for my family. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke. Follow the rules and we’ll all get along just fine.
No jello-salad. I mean it. Really.
With love, Aunt Helen/Mom/Grandma
The Curious Score
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The Curious Score for John Cage’s “Silent” Zen Composition 4’33”
Joe Rogan asks Ted Nugent which hand he uses.
Zangeres Ari Lennox maakt excuses aan KLM voor gedrag op Schiphol
The Poisonous Left-Liberal Mentality on Dialogue and Race Glenn Greenwald
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On Tim Pool And Ideological Capture And Online Cruelty
The Push for Equity in Education Hurts Vulnerable Children the Most
Expelled from my university course for holding gender critical views
MLB owners lock out players for 1st work stoppage since 1995
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Anger, Shame, Sadness, and Race in America | Glenn Loury & John McWhorter
law enforcement agency’s arrest record of juvenile arrested for felony may be released.
specialized healthcare for transgender adolescents is a relatively new field
Stephen Glass, the most notorious fraud in journalism, decided he would live by one …
Ashford Dunwoody Road/Peachtree Road Intersection Improvement
Ben Roethlisberger expects this to be his last season with Pittsburgh Steelers
Waukesha Killer Feels “Demonized” After Murdering 6 In Cold Blood
Forced choices reveal a trade-off between cognitive effort and physical pain
James Crumbley’s ex says he left them strapped for cash, calls Jennifer a ‘monster’
russia avant garde ~ bob dole ~ s-town ~ James and Jennifer Crumbley ~ adam and andy
pussy tourette ~ artimus pyle ~ kamala ~ repost ~ don rickles
ethan crumbly ~ n-word ~ n-word ~ i’m not gonna rant here ~ pearl harbor
host/hostess ~ 741741 ~ @ShinigamiEyesT ~ Shinigami Eyes ~ maria callas
baby name wizard ~ repost ~ richard richards ~ delve immersive ~ baldwin
garbo ~ truist data breach ~ mathboifly ~ alvin lucier ~ hyphen
repost ~ ted nugent ~ 4’33” ~ swer ~ ari lennox
fauci ~ ari lennox ~ georgia vs alabama ~ Madeleine Albright
In May of 1996, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Madeleine Albright, who at the time was Clinton’s U.N. ambassador. Correspondent Leslie Stahl said to Albright, “We have heard that a half-million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And — and, you know, is the price worth it?” ~ Fact Check: Japan Did NOT Endorse Ivermectin As COVID-19 Treatment — Cases Plummeted For Another Reason ~ False Information Found in Your Post Independent fact-checkers at Lead Stories say information in your post is partly false. To stop the spread of false news, we’ve added a notice to your post. People who repeatedly share false information might have their posts moved lower in News Feed so other people are less likely to see them. Did Japan endorse the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, sending cases plummeting in late August 2021? No,… All fact-checkers who partner with Facebook must be signatories of the International Fact-Checking Network and follow their Code of Principles. Learn more about how Facebook works with independent fact-checkers to stop the spread of false information. ~ @chamblee54 Replying to @GlennLoury and @JohnHMcWhorter “I’m not gonna rant here” Later in the show, Glenn says what the transcript calls [ __ ] . It was probably the magic word. one two @UNCHussman was going to pay @nhannahjones $180k for her services ~ @chamblee54 @GlennLoury @JohnHMcWhorter Increasingly, I find race to be boring Narcotizing disfunction is real. I hear sooo much about race, and the penalties for expressing an unpopular opinion are sooo severe Life is too short ~ pictures today are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
Teachable Moment
PG was invited to view a zoom reading. A group of people submitted poems for an anthology. Some of the poems were selected for publication. Wednesday night, some of these poets read their work.
Before the linked video, a man spoke. He said that racism would not be tolerated. If you said anything racist, you would be kicked out of the presentation. PG found this a bit odd. Poets tend to be painfully woke. Telling poets not to say anything racist is like telling preachers not to worship Satan.
The poets spoke. There was one Latino, no African Americans, and White People. Anything they read had been chosen for publication. Did the editors include a racist poem in the anthology?
Facebook had another well intended meme. It was about a teacher, telling her class about the Salem witch trials. PG does not know the full story of the SWT. He suspects the legend does not accurately describe the real event. However, the SWT story provides a “teachable moment.” It is easy to substitute “racist” for “witch”.
“One of my friends told me about a powerful lesson in her daughter’s high school class this winter. They’re learning about the Salem Witch Trials, and their teacher told them they were going to play a game. “I’m going to come around and whisper to each of you whether you’re a racist or a normal person. Your goal is to build the largest group possible that does NOT have a racist in it. At the end, any group found to include a racist gets a failing grade.”
The teens dove into grilling each other. One fairly large group formed, but most of the students broke into small, exclusive groups, turning away anyone they thought gave off even a hint of guilt.
“Okay,” the teacher said. “You’ve got your groups. Time to find out which ones fail. All racists, please raise your hands.” No one raised a hand. The kids said the teacher had messed up the game.
“Did I? Was anyone in Salem an actual racist? Or did everyone just believe what they’d been told?” And that is how you teach kids how easy it is to divide a community. Keep being welcoming, beautiful people. Shunning, scapegoating and dividing destroy far more than they protect. We’re all in this together.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Podcasts 2021
People who like to share opinions have been posting “Best podcasts of 2021” pieces. PG is a podcast consumer, and has written on the subject before. (one two three) This is a good time to catch up on 2021. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
The sport of downloading podcast files continues to evolve. If a show is no longer available, there will be a dozen more. Sometimes, you are not smart enough to find a link, and must listen to the show at a website. Another option is the megaphone feed. This is a page, with many lines of code. You scroll down the page, and see title, and the name of the episode. You scroll a bit further down the page, and see an .mp3, usually in blue letters. Highlight this file, left click, select Save Link As, and click ok. These shows depend on support from listeners. If you want to help, all these shows will offer you a way. If you support a show, you are a wonderful human being.
Blocked and Reported comes out at 10 am, EST, on Monday. It is a star podcast for 2021. Perpetrated by Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal, BAR tracks various instances of internet wierdness. K&J have a good natured antagonism which borders on obnoxious, but does not go over the line (yet.) K&J cover many social justice embarrassments, with quotable results.
Once Upon a Time… at Bennington College is a sequel to OUAT … In the Valley, which chamblee54 discussed here. The current show is about the college adventures of Bret Easton Ellis, Jonathan Lethem, and Donna Tartt. Host Lili Anolik has a slightly tacky style, which works well for a slightly tacky story. Bret Easton Ellis is heard from, unlike Donna Tartt. She has sent lawyer letters, telling the players to take down the show.
Bret Easton Ellis has his own podcast, which has long been a PG favorite. That is, when BEEP is available for free. Bret plays the paywall game, which is tons of fun. BEEP was available on stitcher earlier this year, then it wasn’t. PG got into the habit of googling BEEP rss, hoping to find the show. A few weeks ago it turned up on Stitcher again. Who knows how long it will last.
PG was delighted to see BEEP return because of The Shards. This was a 27 part serial about the high school days (daze) of young Bret. TS has sex, drugs, high school drama, murder, more sex, much more drugs, conspicuous consumption, money, more sex, and more drugs. One BEEP disappearance was 13 episodes in, so when BEEP returned, there were 14 episodes to binge on. Mental health is overrated.
Blog pioneer Andrew Sullivan has a show. A few of the episodes were great. The Glenn Greenwald episode had two aging queens taking potshots at each other. Michael Wolff goes on about the mental illness fueling Donald Trump, and never bothers to mention his racial attitudes. The Democrats did America a disservice by making “the resistance” all about racism.
Bari Weiss has a dandy show. The first edition that PG heard was about Amy Cooper, the “Central Park Karen.” That story has a lot of details that never got widespread circulation. Ms. Weiss is someone that PG takes a cafeteria approach to. Many of her podcast episodes are excellent. OTOH, some of her opinions about Israel are beyond horrible. Another opinion comes from The Root: “Bari Weiss, a fellow white woman who is in the running for Kareniest Karen who ever Karened in the history of Klanned Karenhood.”
Cocaine & Rhinestones returned for season two, and it is a doozy. Many shows last over an hour, and open with a discussion of topics ranging from bullfighting to refrigeration. This season focuses on George Jones, and Tammy Wynette. There is so much to wade through here.
Love is a Crime tells the story of Joan Bennett and Walter Wanger. The latter was known to say “Everyone talks about agents, but I’m the one who did something.” LIAC was co-hosted by @KarinaLongworth. She is the host of You Must Remember This, and perhaps the ad reader in podcast land. YMRT is continuing to crank out shows, with Sammy and Dino telling the story of Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. YMRT is well crafted, and fun to listen to.
No Place Like Home tells about the disappearance of the Ruby Red slippers, worn by Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.” To Live and Die in LA returns for a second season, full of slimy characters doing awful things. This is another show that PG stumbled onto after a few episodes, and spent a few lost days binge listening to all the criminality. There are lots of other shows out there … and out there is the appropriate phrase to use. Just remember to eat, and get enough sleep. You will be ok.
Racist Romance Writer Smackdown
In twitterland, there is a list of trending topics. The other day, the top trend was #IStandWithCourtney The trend topping #ISWC tweet: Jingle Elle Maruska (they/them) @ellle_em “#IStandWithCourtney Calling out racism is not being racist Pointing out someone’s unethical behavior is not being unethical I stand with Courtney because white feelings are in no way more important than fighting for marginalized people’s right to exist in any & all spaces” If you think you know where this is headed, you are probably correct. This is a repost from 2019.
Perez Hilton puts it all in a nutshell. “What’s it all about? It’s about racism, injustice, and of course erotic tales of ribald fantasy. Yep, it’s drama in the world of romance novelists! This month the Romance Writers of America suspended author Courtney Milan (presumably asking her to turn in her badge and her quill) over what they called a violation of their code of ethics.”
“So what had Milan, the author of such historical Harlequins as A Kiss For Midwinter … done to deserve this literary excommunication? Apparently fellow novelists Suzan Tisdale (Secrets of the Heart) and Kathryn Lynn Davis (Too Deep For Tears) filed a formal complaint over a twitter thread … in which Milan — a Chinese American author — called out one of Davis’ books for being racist.”
Smart Bitches Trashy Books, LLC has more on this bodice-ripping badass, with documentation galore. (Davis complaint, Tisdale complaint I, Tisdale complaint II) “… whether it’s a publishing house deciding that a contract with a white supremacist is a good idea, or a writer’s organization deciding that white supremacy is the right decision ethically … “
The twitter thread is can’t-miss reading. @courtneymilan read a sample of Somewhere lies the moon. There was a twitter reaction, that will live in infamy. @courtneymilan “And we’ve been talking about Sue Grimshaw? Someone sent me a link to a book written by the other editor, Kathryn Lynn Davis, and is a fucking racist mess.”
The Davis complaint notes that the Milan opinion is based on reading a sample of SLTM. By her own admission, @courtneymilan did not finish the sample, much less read the book. @courtneymilan “Here’s the book. I didn’t finish the sample. I didn’t need to.”
Racism smackdown fans are probably asking, what was so fucking racist messy about SLTM? The accuser is Chinese-American, as is the racially besmirched character. No forbidden words, beginning with N, were used. It is not that type of racism.
The damning nanoagressions are documented in a series of tweets. Here are a few. The part following a link is by @courtneymilan. Transcribed screen shots are identified as (SS). If you click on the link, you can see the entire screen shot. This might help you understand the situation better.
@courtneymilan “This book is like a bingo card of OH GOD DID YOU REALLY. Start out with the heroine, who is the obligatory blue-eyed half-Chinese woman.” (SS) “Lian was twenty-five, tall and lithe, with the thick black hair and bronze skin of the Chinese”@courtneymilan “I mean…. that doesn’t really happen. (Genevra is half-Indian and also blue-eyed.) But also… like. Of course. This is like such a standard racist trope. WHY.”
@courtneymilan “Here is our half-Chinese woman remembering her past, where she is explicitly told that the future is the West, and that for Chinese women, compliance is the rule. SIGH.” (SS)”I am a captive of my own history, but I have raised you to be free, to move forward toward the future – and the future is the West.” “I was no’ askin’ what your parents wanted, but what ye want for yourself” “It is not important. It is not a question I ask myself. In China Shun, compliance, is the rule for women”
@courtneymilan “Here she is, meeting another Chinese family in London. I’m gonna be honest: I don’t know how I feel about “bronze” as the “standard” for Chinese skin (prior tweets), but I *do* know how I feel about “yellow.” And about almond eyes.” (SS) “…their thick blue-black hair and bronze faces, turned slightly yellow by the London climate, were unmistakably Chinese, as were their slanted almond eyes” @courtneymilan “Note that this in Lian’s point of view. She was raised in China. She only describes the Chinese people by skin color/eye slant, not the white people. She’s literally describing absolutely normal people to her as if she were a white woman talking about a foreigner.”
@courtneymilan “Oh, I was searching for something else and found this: In China, women didn’t learn anything.” (SS) “In China, no woman was taught much more than cooking and sewing and the graceful art of pleasing her husband.”
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Believe Your Way To Hell
These 666 words are a repost from 2010. It is based on a post at 22 Words. At that time, 22 Words was a quirky blog, with the emphasis on comments of 22 words or less. Today, 22 Words is a corporate blog. The top trending story now is “This Is Why You Should NEVER Put Toilet Paper On a Toilet Seat.” If you want to skip over the text, and look at the pictures, you will be forgiven. These monochrome pictures are from the FSA/PWI collection at The Library of Congress.
This post is about life after death, and belief. Originally, the comment was going to be about gaining life after death through belief in Jesus, but the comment was over the 22 word limit. To get to the limit, the reference to Jesus was taken out. Did this substantially alter the meaning of the statement? Is it the matter of belief that counts, or does it have to be a specific belief about Jesus? And why should this matter to living people?
PG feels the pain that Jesus has caused him on a daily basis. He is not likely to change his mind about this religion, no matter how many people talk about it. It is unlikely that very many Jesus worshipers have changed their mind either … questioning your beliefs is the opposite of “faith.” Many are scared of going to hell if they have the wrong opinions. This is not how PG wants to live.
22 Words is a regular stop for PG. The idea is to say what you need to say in 22 words or less. The owner of the blog does not enforce this rule, and few commenters practice it. The opening serve of the thread was “Do difficult times make you more or less empathetic? For me the answer is both. Some struggles I’ve faced make me more understanding of others. But sometimes I feel like: “I got over it; why can’t you?” (36 words). The comments took on the colors of Jesus Worship, which is to be expected at TwentyTwoWords.
Chamblee54/ “I feel that way about life after death obsessed Jesus Worshipers. Is there an etymological link between arrogant and air head?” Christen “Speaking of life after death, I’m just starting Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven and very convinced on the importance of being much more focused on our life after death. What did you mean by that, Chamblee?” chamblee54 “I feel the emphasis placed on life after death is mistaken. I disagree with the Jesus worship beliefs on life after death.” christen “Thanks for the reply, chamblee. I think I’m either inexperienced in “the emphasis placed on life after death” debate/issue (?) and “Jesus worship beliefs” or just don’t understand what you’re saying. Either way, I know I can’t wait to be in that place with that person!”
At this point, PG saw the dialog spinning off topic. This was his fault, to a degree, and he felt a responsibility to bring it back into line. The suspicion was that Christen was a Jesus Worshiper, who had never questioned a set of beliefs handed to her. A key portion of this was the life after death issue, which to PG is a fundamental flaw with Jesus Worship Religion. (PG disagrees with the concept of attaining life after death through holding certain beliefs about Jesus. PG also disagrees with the emphasis place on life after death in Jesus Worship.)
Chamblee54 “This is starting to get off topic. I suspect you have never questioned the concept of acquiring life after death through beliefs.” That clocks in at precisely 22 words. The original comment was about acquiring life after death through belief in Jesus. To bring this under the 22 word limit, PG decided to eliminate the reference to Jesus. And there was a realization that the fundamental meaning of the comment was not changed. If the status of one’s post-mortem soul can be changed by a belief during life … a highly suspect concept to PG … does it matter what the belief is?
Flying Spaghetti Monster
There has been talk about the flying spagetti monster. FSM was originally created in response to the Kansas State Board of Education. KSBE ruled that alternatives to evolution needed to be taught in public schools, including some contraption known as intelligent design. There was talk about whirlwinds rampaging through warehouses, and creating jet engines.
FSM is a satire religion, in the footsteps of the invisible pink unicorn. Bertrand Russell wrote of an interplanetary teapot, which can contain the beverage for the spaghetti supper. FSM is often used as a substitute for the G word, G-d. Whether or not Mr. Dammit approves is uncertain. OTOH, nobody ever said the FSM got an under-aged virgin pregnant.
In this rumble for the hearts and minds of the unwashed masses, G-d has an advantage over FSM. The G word is a marketing dream. It is short, easy to say, and understood by almost everyone who speaks English. While people have different ideas about G-d, everyone recognizes the name.
FSM, has eight syllables. Spaghetti is notoriously tough to spell. Unless you have heard about the antics of the FSM, you can expect some empty stares when you talk about her.
When PG was in school, he wrote a restaurant article. He did not know how to spell spaghetti. The dictionary showed nothing of value in under spe and spi, where logic tells you to look. Finally, PG got the yellow pages out, and looked for a spaghetti restaurant.
This is a repost, with pictures from The Library of Congress.
Thanksgiving Story
Thanksgiving was a time our family cherished. It was the only time all of us got together under one roof and mingled. Except for me. ~ I was the the family embarrassment. They were Catholic, and disliked my way of life. I played guitar, loved Heavy Metal, and worshiped Satan. ~ All this explains why my family shunned me. In their eyes, I was the flaw of a nearly perfect gem, but in mine, I was the cream of the crop.
I should’ve known they had something awful in mind when they asked me to join them somewhere. They drove me to the very corner of the ranch. ~ “What the fuck are we doing back here,” I asked. My only reply was, “Shut up you blaspheming fool.”
At last we got to the destination. My father, mother, and sister were standing around, wearing funeral clothes. ~ In the middle was a shallow grave. “What’s that hole for?” I asked dumbly. “Take a guess you satanic fucker!” Was the reply from my father.
I felt a thud on my head. I hit the ground with a loud thlap. I turned in spite of excruciating pain to see my uncle wielding a shovel. ~ I touched the back of my head to find my fingers coated in blood. I suddenly grew light headed and passed out. When I woke up I inhaled dirt. ~ Luckily, my family didn’t know how to properly bury someone so I was able to dig myself out. I sat there and puked for about fifteen minutes.
When I got back, it was Thanksgiving night. through the window I could see my family, sitting there, saying grace like the sheeple they were. ~ Seeing them praying made my hate for them and all Catholics grow. It went from a smouldering, muddled anger, to a flaming, outrageous hatred
I ran into the garage and found my uncle’s shotgun, sitting there, waiting for me, beckoning, saying, “Go ahead, make these fuckers pay.” ~ “Hi Mom!” I shouted as I pulled the trigger, I started laughing uncontrollably as I continued firing at my family until I was empty.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” My father asked, wounded, shot in the gut. “Wrong with me?” I asked calmly. “What’s wrong with you?” ~ With that I threw the gun away and dined. Not on Turkey, but on raw human flesh. It was the best Thanksgiving ever. ~ Twitter serialization by @creepypasta_txt. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
The Cynic’s Word Book H – I
What follows are selections from The Devil’s Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce. TDD began as a newspaper column, and was later published as The Cynic’s Word Book. TDD is in the public domain. TDD is a dictionary, going from A to Z. Today’s selection covers H to I. More selections are available. (A – D E – G ) Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
HABIT A shackle for the free.
HAND A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm,
and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.
HANDKERCHIEF A small square of silk or linen, used in various ignoble offices about the face and especially serviceable at funerals to conceal the lack of tears. The handkerchief is of recent invention; our ancestors knew nothing of it and intrusted its duties to the sleeve.
HAPPINESS An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another.
HARANGUE A speech by an opponent, who is known as an harangue-outang.
HASH There is no definition for this word—nobody knows what hash is.
HATCHET A young axe, known among Indians as a Thomashawk.
“O bury the hatchet, irascible Red, For peace is a blessing,” the White Man said.
The Savage concurred, and that weapon interred, With imposing rites, in the White Man’s head.
HEART An automatic, muscular blood-pump. Figuratively, this useful organ is said to be the seat of emotions and sentiments—a very pretty fancy which, however, is nothing but a survival of a once universal belief. It is now known that the sentiments and emotions reside in the stomach, being evolved from food by chemical action of the gastric fluid.
HEATHEN A benighted creature who has the folly to worship something that he can see and feel. According to Professor Howison, of the California State University, Hebrews are heathens.
HEAVEN A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while you expound your own.
HEBREW A male Jew, as distinguished from the Shebrew, an altogether superior creation.
HEMP A plant from whose fibrous bark is made an article of neckwear which is frequently put on after public speaking in the open air and prevents the wearer from taking cold.
HERMIT A person whose vices and follies are not sociable.
HOMICIDE The slaying of one human being by another. There are four kinds of homocide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy, but it makes no great difference to the person slain whether he fell by one or another—the classification is for advantage of lawyers.
HOSPITALITY The virtue which induces us to feed and lodge
certain persons who are not in need of food and lodging.
HOUSE A hollow edifice erected for the habitation of man, rat, mouse, beetle, cockroach, fly, mosquito, flea, bacillus and microbe. House of Correction, a place of reward for political and personal service, and for the detention of offenders and appropriations. House of God, a building with a steeple and a mortgage on it. House-dog, a pestilent beast kept on domestic premises to insult persons passing by and appal the hardy visitor.
HUSBAND One who, having dined, is charged with the care of the plate.
HYPOCHONDRIASIS Depression of one’s own spirits.
Some heaps of trash upon a vacant lot Where long the village rubbish had been shot
Displayed a sign among the stuff and stumps— “Hypochondriasis.”It meant The Dumps.
IGNORAMUS A person unacquainted with certain kinds of knowledge familiar to yourself, and having certain other kinds that you know nothing about.
Dumble was an ignoramus, Mumble was for learning famous.
Mumble said one day to Dumble: “Ignorance should be more humble.
Not a spark have you of knowledge That was got in any college.”
Dumble said to Mumble:”Truly You’re self-satisfied unduly.
Of things in college I’m denied A knowledge—you of all beside.”
IMAGINATION A warehouse of facts, with poet and liar in joint ownership.
IMBECILITY A kind of divine inspiration,
or sacred fire affecting censorious critics of this dictionary.
IMMODEST Having a strong sense of one’s own merit,
coupled with a feeble conception of worth in others.
IMPARTIAL Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from
espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two conflicting opinions.
IMPIETY Your irreverence toward my deity.
IMPOSTOR A rival aspirant to public honors.
IMPROVIDENCE Provision for the needs of to-day from the revenues of to-morrow.
INCUMBENT A person of the liveliest interest to the outcumbents.
INDIFFERENT Imperfectly sensible to distinctions among things.
“You tiresome man!” cried Indolentio’s wife, “You’ve grown indifferent to all in life.”
“Indifferent?” he drawled with a slow smile; “I would be, dear, but it is not worth while.”
INDISCRETION The guilt of woman.
INEXPEDIENT Not calculated to advance one’s interests.
INFIDEL In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion;
in Constantinople, one who does.
INFLUENCE In politics, a visionary quo given in exchange for a substantial quid.
INGRATE One who receives a benefit from another, or is otherwise an object of charity.
“All men are ingrates,” sneered the cynic.”Nay,” The good philanthropist replied;
“I did great service to a man one day Who never since has cursed me to repay, Nor vilified.”
“Ho!” cried the cynic, “lead me to him straight—With veneration I am overcome,
And fain would have his blessing.””Sad your fate—
He cannot bless you, for I grieve to state This man is dumb.”
INJURY An offense next in degree of enormity to a slight.
INK A villainous compound of tannogallate of iron, gum-arabic and water, chiefly used to facilitate the infection of idiocy and promote intellectual crime.
INTIMACY A relation into which fools are providentially drawn for their mutual destruction.
ITCH The patriotism of a Scotchman.
Did The KKK Endorse Donald Trump?
In the last days of the 2016 election, people began to say that Donald Trump was endorsed by the KKK. @DefiantLionUK Don’t forget President-elect Donald #Trump is a hate-filled, #KKK endorsed, #racist & that simply can’t be tolerated #TrumpProtest. @Eti_Verde Vote! American democracy in action! Stop Trump & his white nationalist KKKlan!
The consensus was that DJT was endorsed by the KKK, and that DJT is a racist. Therefore, if you support DJT, you support the KKK, and you are a racist. There is a name for this type of logical fallacy. The net result is the election of DJT.
It is tough to say how much impact this KKK talk had on the election. By November 8, America had been hit over the head with political talk for two years. The various factions tend to live in echo chambers, where they only hear information that reinforces what they already think. People say what sounds good to them. If someone does not agree, then they are a racist. People seem to assume that their neighbor will agree with them, if only you insult them enough.
Google “kkk endorses donald trump.” The top result is in the Washington Post, KKK’s official newspaper supports Donald Trump for president. “It is called the Crusader — and it is one of the most prominent newspapers of the Ku Klux Klan. Under the banner “Make America Great Again,” the entire front page of the paper’s current issue is devoted to a lengthy defense of Trump’s message — an embrace some have labeled a de facto endorsement.”
There is no link to the endorsement. If you google the Crusader, you find this. The Crusader is a tacky little newspaper, headquartered in Harrison, Arkansas. It is “The official Newspaper of The Knights Party.” You get “4 Big Quarterly Issues” for $20. “The Charge on your Credit Card Statement will show up as Christian Books and Things”
The truth is that the Ku Klux Klan is an obsolete movement. There are a few dozen chapters, who often do not get along. The hand wringing by “liberals” empowers the Klan. If people would ignore the Klan, they would go away.
“The KKK is split into many smaller subdivisions, explained (KKK Imperial Wizard Frank) Ancona, and often times, banished members of a larger branch will attempt to start their own. Ancona believes this is the case with Murray, who is not even known to the Traditionalist American Knights. “He basically made up his own name,” Ancona said, explaining that Murray may not even be on his birth certificate…. Half of them don’t have the rituals for our ceremonies.” Frank Ancona died in 2017.
Despite it’s fierce reputation as a “racist terrorist” organization, the KKK is in bad shape. It has less credibility than the Westboro Baptist Church. The custom of wearing bedsheets makes them the easy target for jokes. The Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center say the membership of the KKK is dwindling.
A good argument could be made that anonymous publicity is helping the KKK. It makes bedsheets look dangerous. While the three digital stooges of anonymous/facebook/twitter are focused on bedsheets, more dangerous white (and other color) hate groups are operating in darkness. With people fascinated with who is under the bedsheets, people that can do damage are buying ammunition, and buying elections.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. These men were Union soldiers, in the War Between the States. They did not post on facebook. This is a repost from 2016.
Chamblee54 
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