Chamblee54

PG and Uzi decided to brave the traffic and go to the Arts Festival in Piedmont Park. The first step was to find a place to park. They had to drive a bit further down than usual, but a legal looking spot soon appeared.
A few drops of rain appeared. The weather reports had not mentioned rain, but that did not stop the worry. The rain did not last long or hard, and made some nice steam when it hit the pavement.
The artists market held few surprises. The canvas booths lined up on the top of the softball fields, and continued on the north side of the lake. A lady called out for police, saying that a man was harassing her daughter. The man and daughter looked like they just wanted to be somewhere else. PG decided this was a good affair for someone else, and left.
Before long, all the vendors had been visited, and it was time for dinner. PG pulled through Ansley Park, and found a spot to park at Ansley Mall. The space where the Piccadilly cafeteria had been was vacant. The directory said it was there, but the man in the vitamin store said it closed three months ago. It doesn’t seem right.
The Piccadilly on North Druid Hills was open. They did not have white meat fried chicken, and the dining room attendant almost pulled the tray away from PG. This was not appropriate.

PG read “The Making of The Wizard of Oz” by Aljean Harmetz. The book is copyrighted in 1977, which means a lot more of the players were alive when it was written. As is often the case, the behind the camera story is as interesting as what the public saw at the movies. At this writing the finished movie is 70 years old.
Margaret Hamilton, the wicked witch of the west, writes a foreword. It turns out she saw the makeup department, the soundstage, and the hospital ( She was badly burned in one scene, as was her stand in later). She had no part in the writing, financing, or producing of the film.
MGM was the tiffany studio in the thirties. It was also a place where the producer ran the movie. Auteurs need not apply. The producer of TWOO was Mervyn Leroy, assisted by Arthur Freed. You could write a book just about the role those two played, and someone probably has. The producer was yet another part in the overall machine of the studio.
The entire land of Oz was created on a sound stage. The cost was over two million dollars, which in 1938 was enormous. TWOO was one of the first movies in color,  still an experimental process.
There are many legends about TWOO, some of which the book agrees with. It seems the munchkins were not quite as wild as Judy Garland recalls. In fact, the actors in this book have very different memories than Miss Gumm. They recall her as a happy girl, although  sad about her lost childhood.
TWOO was not successful at first. In it’s first release, it lost an estimated million dollars. It did not become a national institution until it was shown on TV every year. It seems that CBS was bidding on “Gone with the Wind”, and was sold TWOO as a consolation prize. CBS got an option to screen the film annually, and a legend was created.
The book is a gold mine of stories, but we will close this post with one. When making the costume for the Wizard, the staff went to a thrift store, and found the perfect coat. One afternoon, Frank Morgan turned the pocket inside out, and found the words ” L Frank Baum”. Mr. Baum had written the book “The Wizard of Oz”, and the coat had been made for him by a tailor in Chicago.

It is nine eleven number nine. The first one was the biggie. The next eight have seen various levels of remembrance. Two days (roman numeral II) after 090909, we get 911 number nine. Did the US Government plan that?
Today is the first 911 since the regime change. Mr. Bush gained much political capitol from the attacks, and used it foolishly. America is stuck in two costly wars. America has gone from a budget surplus to a trillion dollar deficit. Mr. Bush dug Mr. Obama a deep hole to climb out of.
The knee jerk reaction to 911 was to go to war. An invasion of Afghanistan was facilitated by “Operation Enduring Freedom” on October 7, 2001. Eight years later, America is stuck. Al Queda and the Taliban exist, as well as other jihad fighters that have not become famous. Pakistan is in danger. Iraq and Iran are allies. America is being bled white by these wars, and cannot withdraw for fear. This is a self inflicted defeat. The terrorists won.
When PG started this blog, other bloggers liked to tell their 911 stories. A quick glance today says that this custom is fading away. The corporate media is making less noise about 911 now, which is also good. How do you best remember a humiliating disaster?
PG is going to buck the trend, and publish his 911 story for the fourth time. This is written in first person. The company where PG was working no longer exists.
Most of my fellow bloggers are telling their 911 stories. Mine is not that dramatic. I was at work, and someone called out that someone had run a plane into the World Trade Center. I didn’t think much of it, until I heard that the second tower had been hit, then the pentagon, then the towers collapsed, then a plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
I focused on my job most of the day. There was always a lot of melodrama at that facility, and concentrating on my production duties helped to keep me sane. This was roughly the halfway point of my seven year tenure at this place, which featured an unfortunate association with a professional Jesus worshiper. After the extent of the damage became known, he shouted “ They are doing this for Allah” , and prayed at his desk. After seeing just what a hateful loudmouth Jesus created, the spectacle of the PJW praying made me want to puke.
I became alienated from Jesus during these years. Where I had once been tolerant of Christians and Jesus, as one would be with an eccentric relative, I had come to loath the entire affair…and I do not make excuses for Jesus either. I hear of others who found comfort in religion during this difficult time, but that option was simply not available for me.

BHO made a speech about health care last night. At 24:03, Rep. Joe Wilson ( R-SC) shouted “You Lie”. The President paused, said “that’s not true”, and continued with his address. In the show biz department, it was a landslide win for the President.
The comment before Mr. Wilson’s unveiling was a bit misleading. “The best example is the claim made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but by prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. ” Can we say strawman here? True, the Palins of the nation are just as misleading with the “death panel” talk. The comments by the President were show business politics as usual, not a change we can believe in.
A significant percentage of all health care spending is on terminal patients. Many feel that the emphasis should be on keeping people comfortable, rather than going for the expensive, painful miracle cure. This is just one of many sensitive priority issues that needs to be addressed.
The performance by the President was outstanding during the outburst. He kept his cool, and launched into a bit of red meat politics…the government not paying for abortions… at 24:09 on the clock. We do have a master of style in the White House.
During the campaign, BHO got in trouble for not wearing a flag lapel pin. During his speech, he had a lapel pin, which did not come out clearly in the pictures BHO found. It seemed a bit too narrow to be a flag pin, but it was not clear from the video output.
The State is a South Carolina newspaper. As expected, they reported on this latest embarrassment to the state. They should have quit while they were ahead, after Miss Teen Age South Carolina. One commenter at The State makes an interesting point:
We are missing something here. Joe Wilson shouts, “You lie!” and at that very instant, photographer Chip Somodevilla of Getty Images clicks the shutter. The image is clear, focused, well centered, perfectly timed.
Of the hundreds of people in the chamber, why was Joe in Somodevilla’s crosshairs … unless …
Unless the photographer knew what was coming! Was primed for it! Dialed in on Joe, waited for it — then, bingo! Immortalized the angry gesture that drove home those two angry words: the two words that effectively sabotaged press coverage of the entire speech .. its reason, its substance, its lofty hopes and ideals.
The whole thing thing was a set-up! Joe’s emotions didn’t just “get the better of (him)” as he claimed! He is deliberately bringing tea-bag tactics into the legislative process!

PG heard that the Westboro Baptist Church was in town. A schedule was distributed, and a call for counter protesters issued. While PG is not into sign waving,  he can take pictures, and write snarky things.
This was the schedule:
The Ritz-Carlton at 181 Peachtree st 10:00AM-10:30AM.
The CDC from 11:00AM to 11:30AM,
The Jewish Community Center from 12:00PM to 12:30PM
The Atlanta Jewish Times from 12:45PM to 1:15PM
PG got a slack start, and did not want to go downtown. However, the last two stops were in his area. He also did not see WBC going from the CDC to Tilly Mill Road in a half hour. After a while, PG was on his way.
There was a lot of road work in the area. Whether this was part of a grand scheme or not, it did delay PG. Finally, Tilly Mill Road appeared. Eight Dunwoody Police cars were pulling out of a synagogue parking lot.
At the JCC, security men stood in front of a gate. When asked about the Westboro Baptist Church, the man said they had already left. He did not seem to miss them.
The Address for the Jewish Times is an building on Perimeter Center West. PG had delivered to the office. The entire length of PCW was one lane, due to road construction. PG pulled into a nearby parking lot, and started to walk. There was no action at the building at all.
After walking 270 degrees around the building, PG heard some hoots and hollers. He walked up to Peachtree Dunwoody Road, and saw about twenty protesters in front of the Home Depot. (Bernie and Arthur have retired.) They were leaving for the day as PG arrived. He did get a picture of the policeman taking down a barricade.

Henry Kissinger told a joke to Richard Nixon. It became known as Mr. Nixon’s favorite joke. A man asked Richard Wagner, Do you spell your name with a W. He replied, Nien, W.
It is 1027 pm, edt, on September 8, 2009. Soon it will be 09-09-09. It is already that day in Europe and Asia, not to mention Africa. If Africa is backwards, remember that it is, time wise, ahead of America by several hours.
)()()( oops, the shift key just loves to make trouble. Lets try this again. Be sure to leave the 9mm alone. Or use the canine squad. If you see Kay, give her love potion number nine.
090909 is a really neat day. And not just because the day after tomorrow is 911, and we know goes on then. 090909 is the last day of its type until 01/01/2101. A day expressed by three zeros and three single digit numbers.
Nine is the largest of the single digit numbers. It is a baseball team, without the DH. A baseball game lasts nine innings, just like a pregnancy lasts nine months. A pregnancy is not considered a complete game if it is rained out after the fifth inning.
Nine is pronounced the same as No in German. Is today known in Berlin as oh no, oh no, oh no? Will Yoko Ono make an appearance to celebrate? Will The Supremes reunite and square to become the Supreme Court?
Nine is an odd number. Nine is three squared. If you multiply a number by nine, and then add the digits of the sum together, you will get nine. An example is 2×9=18, and 1+8=9.
Nine is six upside down. A pristine pastime popularized 69. Jimi Hendrix wondered if six turned out to be nine, he don’t mind.
The Beatles did a song called Revolution number nine, which said “turn me on dead man” if played backwards. Number Nine, Number Nine, Number Nine.

PG thinks that making a motivational speech to schoolchildren is the best thing BHO has done so far.
The POTUS jobs has two parts…style and substance. The substance part is important, and will be endlessly argued over (as it should be). The speech tuesday is show biz, the President as leader. A speech to school children encouraging them to study hard cannot be anything but positive.
A portion of the audience tomorrow is African American children. Many of these kids have been turned off to education. Tomorrow, a man that millions idolize, the first dark skinned President, will be speaking to these kids. If their performance in school is improved one percent, then the speech is worthwhile.
The speech is also smart politics. Millions of these students will be voting age in 2012, as well as the teachers who will be listening. Maybe that is why the Repubs are so upset about this.
PG is also grateful that this was not tried when he was in school. Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy might have been alright. Lyndon Johnson would lose the crowd as soon as he said “Mah fellow Amuricuns”, and Richard Nixon was not a crook.
BHO is going to make mistakes, and get a few things right. He may turn out to be a disaster as POTUS. The act of making a speech to schoolchildren, telling them to study hard, is one thing he is doing right.

The Levi Johnston story gets stranger every day. The Alaska redneck/babydaddy has a feature in the upcoming Vanity Fair. The magazine…which knows a thing or two about teasers…released a few strategically selected quotes last week. A video was also released, showing scenes from a photo shoot. The co star of the video is “Tank” Jones. Mr. Jones is the manager and bodyguard for Mr. Johnston.
The video is a piece of work. At the 3:20 mark, Jones and Johnston are in a car, discussing posing for Playgirl. That would be Levi on display, unless Playgirl has become a haven for chubby chasers. Mr. Johnston says that if he is going to pose naked, then his manager needs to be there. Levi is spitting in a cup while this goes on.
Sherman “Tank” Jones is a private investigator. ( Here is his twitter account) His primary employer is an attorney, Rex Butler. Mr. Butler defended Sherry Johnston ( The mother of Levi) when she went to court on drug charges. At some point, Tank Jones went to work with the Johnston family, including Levi. Conservatives4palin reported on this May 3, 2009. An audio clip was included of a talk radio show visit by Rex Butler. Tank Jones is described as being a mentor to Levi Johnston.
Before mentoring Levi Johnston, Tank Jones dug dirt in divorce cases. As you might imagine, he says that people can be really, really dumb. This is one story: “When it comes to men who cheat, it’s typically their lack of organizational skill that nails them, Jones said. Like the guy who faithfully got both his wife and his secret lover spendy “undergarments” every Christmas, until one year when he mixed them up. When the wife opened her present, she found undies not only in the wrong size but the wrong gender. The boyfriend was equally dissatisfied with his Christmas gift, and showed up at a family dinner to return the bra and panties.”
A month after the radio show, TheDailyBeast had a story, “Shopping with Levi Johnston“. (This is the source for pictures of the two) Mr. Johnston and Mr. Jones had invented a new persona for Mr. Johnston, “Ricky Hollywood”. Tank was gently reminding Levi that he was in the lower 48, and he should be nice to the weirdos that he is going to meet.
Not everyone is impressed with Rex Butler. Many are questioning who pays the bills for the disabled Sherry Johnston. A commenter at Palinsgate said: ” Having watched Rex Butler in action when he defended the murderer of my nephew, I am ecstatic that Levi chose him as an attorney. Butler is an idiot in court. The Johnstons deserve him “

There is a controversy about a picture from Afghanistan. A soldier is being treated, after being hit by a grenade. Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard later died.
Few graphic images from the “War on Terror” have been seen on this side of the Atlantic. The burden of the war is on the volunteer soldiers, and the families who support them. Many people in America have no contact with anyone fighting eight time zones away.
Even less is said about why we fight. The revenge for 911 has long ago been taken. Any fantasies about establishing a democracy in Afghanistan are foolish.
The war has spilled into Pakistan with even less debate or public concern than was focused on Afghanistan or Iraq. Nuclear armed Pakistan is an unstable country, with a nervous border with India. The United States is killing women and children in Pakistan from unmanned airplanes.

No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.
“No one” Is this the individual, or the United States? With the individual, death occurs when the body no longer functions. Is this going to happen to the United States?
What is the health care the United States cannot afford? Is it taking over the medical industry, by the government, with all that is implied? The political cost is steep, and perhaps the financial one as well. At what point does the amount of FRAUD ( Federal Reserve Accounting Unit Dollars) in circulation outweigh the goods and services produces enough to render the FRAUD useless?
Should America go broke because she is sick? Fighting an endless war of choice in Babylon, operating health care as a profit center, pumping billions of tons of co2 into the atmosphere…some would say America is sick. Should America go broke because she is sick? Will America die because she cannot afford health care?
Maybe this is the entire planet that is set to die. Out of control population growth is a reality. As the United States is learning on her southern border, this affects us. When you say no one, does that really mean no one. Is the baby in Zimbabwe as important as the Alpharetta housewife? And when does this system break down under the need, and die because it went broke?
At some point choices need to be made. Prevention and healthy living should take a priority over healing the sick. A fair and effective way needs to be found to pay for health care. The economy needs to thrive for the same reason. A way of living that is going to be sustainable needs to be put into place. Heath care is just another stone in the foundation, but the one that, when pulled out, brings the entire house down with it.

John Oxendine is running for governor. He is doing whatever it takes to let people know. A few weeks ago, Mr. Oxendine was feuding with a 15 y.o. blogger. The latest gimmick is a proposal to build an expressway through the uber trendy northeast side of Atlanta.
To be fair, some of his transportation ideas are sound. There is this banana shaped road, going from north georgia to south georgia, that would divert traffic from the Atlanta area. This was the original function of I285. Next time you are on that parking lot at rush hour, remember,  it was supposed to be a low traffic bypass for the Yankees going to Florida.
The idea that has the eyes rolling is the proposal to build a highway in the I485 corridor. The original plan was to build an expressway that would connect highway 400 with the Freedom Parkway. When it was first proposed, it was called I485. It was killed by neighborhood opposition.
PG suspects that Mr. Oxendine knows that this intown expressway has zero chance of being built. At this stage of the game, he is trying to get attention. One idea is to open a restaurant. Atlanta used to have an eatery called the Pig and Whistle. The new version could be the Ox and Dine.
Thank you AtlantaTimeMachine and GeorgiaNavigator for the pictures. The spell check suggestions for Oxendine are trendiness, unending, and spending.