Was Mae West A Real Girl?
Today would be birthday 122 for Mary Jane “Mae” West. Of course, she died in 1980, so the party is off. PG saw a note on facebook, and made the comment “She was rumored to be a man.” One right click google search later, this post started to take shape.
There is a blogspot site, maewest.blogspot.com. It is still published, with a birthday post today. Five years ago there was a post, Mae West: Penis Rumors. It seems as though Miss West liked to say, to the press, “When I die, you are going to be very surprised!”
A hollywood gossipmonger had a story, Was Mae West…A Man?! Much of her information comes from the tasteful findadeath site. The story here is that Mae West died in 1950, and the death was kept quiet. Her brother made appearances in her place, until the final death in 1980. This would have been quite a feat, considering that John Edwin West died in 1964. That doesn’t stop people from talking.
“…the real Mae West died somewhere around 1950, give or take a couple years, and rather than let the show stop, it was announced that not Mae, but her brother, died. Of course, the brother then became Mae West and carried on until November 1980. If you look carefully at photos from around 1950 on it definitely looks like a different person not to mention the big hands and masculine features, bone structure, etc. I may not have all the details 100% correct but I would almost put money on the fact that the ‘Mae West’ ‘who died in 1980 had a weenie!!”
The hands were mentioned by Raquel Welch. The two were in Myra Breckinridge, the first movie Miss West had made in 27 years. (Miss West appeared on Mr. Ed in 1964.) Miss Welch appeared at a film festival in 2012, and had stories to tell.
“When I went over to say hello to her (one day) I said, ‘Hi, it’s Raquel, remember?’ She sort of extended her hand to me and I went to kiss the ring and one false fingernail painted silver fell to the floor. I looked at the hand and I thought, ‘Oh, I’m getting a vibe.’ I really think she’s a man! At this point in her life all bets are off and you’re not going to be able to doll it up that much. I would say it’s pretty accurate that she resembled a dock worker in drag.” …
“I had this beautiful dress and it was black with a big white ruffle around the neck and a black velvet hat … Apparently Mae got wind of the fact that I was wearing this exquisite dress and I went to the studio that day for our scene together. I got coiffed, got my hair done and went to the closet to get the dress and it wasn’t there. I asked my dresser what happened to the dress and she said, ‘It’s been confiscated. Mae does not want you to wear that dress. You can wear the red dress that you wore in the last scene!’ … Welch was so outraged that she stormed off the set and refused to return until the dress was back in her closet. … “For the scene, we never appeared in a two-shot together. She left after she did her lines and I had someone off-camera reading her lines and I had to pretend she was there.”
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Keyboard Cretins
I talked to a physical therapist once who likes travel shows. If you are in a place of healing, you should not be subjected to stressful media product. ~ I am so happy to live in district 81. ~ Maybe it is the ability to find something later. ~ at 332 am, chamblee54 had one visitor since one am… someone in Canada viewed “Does Mitt Romney wear a wig?” ~ Prager University is not an accredited academic institution and does not offer certifications or diplomas. But it is a place where you are free to learn. ~ While you are at Prager University be sure to see “What They Haven’t Told You about Climate Change” and “The Iran Nuclear Deal” Those guys give free speech a bad name ~ Do you think I should put “arguing with racists, transantagonists, and misogynists on Facebook” as a line on my resume? ~ @JoyceCarolOates “More than one way to skin a cat”– deeply offensive to all cats, as both micro-aggression (as speech) & hate-crime-threat (as action). ~ Prager University, aka PU, is an ultraconservative joke. They might have some good points in this video, but those points can be found elsewhere. This is an example of a broken clock being correct twice a day. For a better example of the PU way of thinking, check out their videos on climate change, or the Iran treaty. ~ @nihilist_arbys Line up to die, lugubrious, as the masters herd you towards the killing floor. As go the cows, so go men. There is no God here. Only Arbys. ~ Maybe it is more accurate to say that Mr. Trump is winning his grip on reality. ~ VergeLeNoir @VergeLeNoir Elena Ferrante Explains Why She Publishes Anonymously: “Books Once They Are Written, Have No Need of Their Authors” KimKierkegaardashian @KimKierkegaard I feel the same about tweets. ~ This is going to be a long, painful election ~ Where are the videos of white sports fans interrupting a presidential candidate? ~ IT’S HAMMER TIME! / RUDE DUDE ~ hot weather and duration paint ~ @otherppl I want someone to write an essay/review comparing/contrasting my interview w/ @tao_lin & @miragonz and the Bookworm interview w Tao & Mira ~ @SlavojTweezek “For God so loved the Germans, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in this should not perish but have eternal schadenfreude.” ~ The Blasphemy of Bibleolatry ~ Caitlyn Jenner Is A Dumb Cunt ~ B.E.E. – Sean Baker – 8/10/15 ~ Black Lives Matter Seattle Protestor Is A Former Tea Party Palin Supporter ~ Do We Alienate Our White Brothers and Sisters? ~ “Which twin has the Toni?” ~ Disgusted By Amusement ~ “Caitlyn Jenner Donates Testicles To Cowardly Obama,” ~ Caitlin Upton ~ Why Black People Don’t Like White Liberals ~ Selected Tweets ~ The 199 Most Donald Trump Things Donald Trump Has Ever Said ~ @sam_kriss #AlternativeNamesForWriters wordbags, keyboard cretins, paragraph barfers, that balding idiot who can’t afford a proper car, dictadullards ~ @sam_kriss #AlternativeNamesForWriters i’m not even going to make a joke here. i hate writers. they just make up things that aren’t real. get a job ~ we look down on them for not knowing how to douche it 1:02:18 ~ @popgoesalicia ~ @awkwardpodcast @ 1:02:18 you say “we look down on them for not knowing how to douche it ” the show is fun to listen to overall ~ @DeadCelebLaugh If you’re not laughing along, then we’re not happy! ~ @nihilist_arbys Arbys for lunch Arbys for dinner In this fetid hellscape There are no winners Arbys tomorrow Arbys today Nothing’s certain But death & decay ~ telling someone that they are the problem is not the solution ~ @WernerTwertzog One is not born German, One becomes German through decades of self-recrimination and despair.Also beer. ~ If you vote in Georgia, you don’t have a choice. The electoral votes will almost certainly go for the Republican. ~ pictures from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest 2015
It is August. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day Elvis allegedly died, and the day Madonna was allegedly born. But that is tomorrow. Today is part one of the annual chamblee54 celebration of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. This is a celebration of bad writing, coordinated through the English department at San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192-0090.
BLFC is named for Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, a 19th century perpetrator of bad fiction. Mr. Bulwer-Lytton is blamed for starting a novel with the phrase “It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents.” As an added bonus, there is a quiz, Dickens or Bulwer? People with too much free time can read a quote, and choose to blame it on either Mr. Bulwer-Lytton or Charles Dickens.
Here are the funny names for 2015. No winners will be chosen. They are presented in the order in which they appeared in the BLFC post. Laura Ruth Loomis, Pittsburg, CA, gets special notice for being having two entries in the swinging 74. The 11 funny names: David Laatsch, Baton Rouge, LA, Myriam Nys, Mechelen, Belgium, Hwei Oh, Sydney, Australia, Rahul Kak, Ann Arbor, MI, Yap Tee Giut, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, Austin Stollhaus, Louisville, KY, James Pokines, Boston, MA, Kathy Minicozzi, Bronx, NYC, Anna Sagstetter, Fort Wayne, IN, Laura Ruth Loomis, Pittsburg, CA, Joseph Pramuk, Napa, CA, Susie Gawriluk, Presque Isle, WI, Clark Snodgrass, Huntington Beach, CA.
One of the value added features of this report is the list of funny names. Many of the contestants have names that make you wonder what their parents were thinking. Surprisingly, many of these odd names produced really bad prose. One of the chamblee54 value added services is to read all 74 entries (4137 words) in the 2015 “winners.” Out of all that punctuation, 26 entries, and a list of names, were chosen. Here is the first installment of the chosen entries. The first one recieves special notice for using the name Caitlin, and spelling it the same way as Miss Teenage South Carolina. The other Caitlyn receives enough publicity. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Caitlin was a Pop Tart kind of girl, but Kyle always ate four Aunt Jemima pancakes with Land o’ Lakes unsalted butter and Mrs. Butterworth’s maple syrup, so they knew they would never marry because of their differences, but they could still fool around. — Kathy Minicozzi, Bronx, NYC
After weeks at sea, Captain Fetherstonhaugh and his hardy crew had at last crossed the halfway point, and he mused that the closest dry land now lay in the Americas, assuming of course that it was not raining there. — David Laatsch, Baton Rouge, LA
Walking through the northernmost souk of Marrakech, that storied and cosmopolitan city so beloved of voyagers wishing to shake the desert dust off their feet, Peter bought a French-language newspaper and realized, with dizzying dismay, that “Camille” can be a man’s name.
Myriam Nys, Mechelen, Belgium
The doctors all agreed the inside of Charlie’s intestinal tract looked like some dark, dank subway system in a decaying inner city, blackened polyps hanging from every corner like tiny ticking terrorist time bombs, waiting to burst forth in cancerous activity; however, to Timmy the Tapeworm this was home. — E. David Moulton, Summerville, SC
Shortly after that interfering do-gooder Snow White had introduced Sneezy to non-drowsy antihistamines, he had to change his name to Brian, where he then left the mines with Ray (formerly Sleepy) who was now a caffeine addict and Bob (formerly Grumpy) who was on 100 milligrams of Prozac a day, and Doc whom Snow pointed out had never actually graduated from medical school and was being sued for malpractice–oh how he despised that high and mighty ho.
Hwei Oh, Sydney, Australia
As Granny sewed the bloody wolf pelt onto the stained red cape, Little Red downed another shot, reminding herself that even alcohol has a better taste than the gastric acid of a wolf.
Rahul Kak, Ann Arbor, MI
When the corpse showed up in the swimming pool, her dead bosoms bobbing up and down like twin poached eggs in hollandaise sauce, Randy decided to call the police as soon as he finished taking pictures of his breakfast and posting them to his Facebook wall. — Laura Ruth Loomis, Pittsburg, CA
When private detective Flip Merlot spotted the statuesque brunette seated at the bar of his favorite watering hole, he was drawn to her like a yellow cat to navy blue pants, and when he sidled up next to her he felt fuzzy all over, kind of like dark blue corduroys get when they’re matted with yellow cat hair.
James M. Vanes, La Porte, IN
With his lamp giving off a dull yellow glow General Washington sat up late into the night contemplating his problems: Not enough food, not enough clothing, not enough men, and that idiot Private Doodle who kept putting feathers in his cap and calling it macaroni.
Dan Leyde, Shoreline, WA
If Vicky Walters had known that ordering an extra shot of espresso in her grande non-fat sugar free one pump raspberry syrup two pumps vanilla syrup soy latte that Wednesday would lead to her death and subsequent rebirth as a vampire, she probably would have at least gotten whipped cream.
Margo Coffman, Corinth MS
He typed like a ninja with no arms, and the text flowed like a drop of blood down a katana blade sharpened with one of those automatic kitchen things you can buy on late-night television when you’re drunk but not too drunk to read off your 16-digit credit card number and security code.
Alex Dering, Brooklyn, NY
I never did see the last thing I saw, the truck and the red light, the last thing I saw was a plus-size girl in a petite ensemble, giving her the appearance of a marshmallow tightly wrapped in dental floss.
Ted Wise, Hanover, PA
Two Podcasts On Selected Tweets
PG likes to listen to things while working on pictures. Last night, the entertainment included an episode of Bookworm. This is a public radio show, hosted by agreeable fuddy duddy Michael Silverblatt. The show has run for years, and has accumulated an enviable archive. The current show features Mira Gonzalez and Tao Lin, talking about a book they produced, Selected Tweets. It is what it says it is, a collection of twitter product, without all the >140 character paraphernalia about favorites and retweets. Here is a brief sample.
The girl I babysit is telling me about her friend Emma who is 55, has blue hair and owns a dragon farm. She has one tentacle and one real arm. ~ This car drives like the baby I aborted. ~ Saw a guy sucking his own dick on Chat Roulette. ~ I wanna tweet something I’m gonna regret in the morning. ~ I’ve created a mess. There is paint everywhere, cupcakes are in the oven and I’m teaching myself chinese embroidery. ~ Generously applying chapstick to my nostrils.
Miss Gonzalez and Mr. Lin, who apparently are not a romantic couple, say strange things about themselves. They both admit to lots of drug use. Someone published a book about people who might be dead before forty. Miss Gonzalez said that might be her, and it might not be a bad thing if she were to die before forty. This is one thing many people change their mind about.
PG was working on Grievance Indication Industry while listening to the show. There were a lot of interruptions, and a few times when PG did not pay close attention. Mr. Silverblatt was good natured about the shenanigans of Miss Gonzalez and Mr. Lin. After you interview David Foster Wallace, it is all downhill. Mr. Silverblatt does not list a twitter handle on the Bookworm site, and may not be familiar with the >140 character lifestyle.
There was a tweet later. @otherppl “I want someone to write an essay/review comparing/contrasting my interview w/ @tao_lin & @miragonz and the Bookworm interview w Tao & Mira.” You are reading the result. PG will not listen to Bookworm a second time.
The host of otherppl, Brad Listi, is hipper than Mr. Silverblatt. Mr. Listi asks Miss Gonzalez and Mr. Lin if they are sober… Mr. Lin took a hit of weed in the car. Miss Gonzalez doesn’t like to get high during the day, or maybe that is during this day. Tomorrow is another day, as Margaret Mitchell observed. (Sunday, August 16, is the anniversary of the death of Margaret Mitchell. It is also the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s last trip to the bathroom. August 16 is the birthday of Madonna. That does not seem like a fair trade.)
Miss Gonzalez has quite the internet presence. She posts revealing pictures of herself, and then is offended when male strangers send her dick pics. Later she says that Jonathan Franzen famously hates twitter, but probably has a secret account. Miss Gonzalez says that she would like to get a dick pic from Jonathan Franzen, who is not Jewish.
There is a one star review at amazon. About as Good as Excrement on Paper for $16.10 At this point I think if I put excrement on paper in the shape of the letters that create “Worthless Dribble” (which would be quite the feat, more so than Lin’s attempt at prose) I could get it published by whoever it is that keeps promoting trash literature such as this, and anything else these two have ever done.
Mr. Lin became notorious a while back. He was in a relationship with a young girl. The couple went out stealing batteries together. After breaking up with Mr. Lin, the young girl became a young man. They is the preferred pronoun.
Some stories got out about this in the tabloid internet. The notoriety cost Mr. Lin considerable peace of mind. There is a statement, from Mr. Lin, at the otherppl site. It has links to all the sensational stories, and tells his side of the story. The tabloid internet moved on to other click bait. This unpleasantness was not mentioned by Mr. Silverblatt, while Mr. Listi did broach the subject.
@mirage (spell check suggestion:mirage) has a lively twitter account. Here are some recent entries. “i need a breakfast sandwich and a quick painless death ~ i used to smoke actual crack and feel fine the next day but now if i drink 2 glasses of wine i wake up all headache-y and complain-y ~ every time something good happens to me i’m just like ‘i hope this makes my ex upset’ then i go back to hating myself ~ i dyed my hair the same color as my bong ~ its really confusing for me to try to make a family tree because i come from a long line of extremely slutty people ~ young, wild and heavily medicated ~ straight outta reasons to stay alive ~ ‘my daily life is probably about as painful as that’ is something i thought while watching a person burn alive in game of thrones.”
Brad Listi paid Miss Gonzalez, and Mr. Lin, a sincere compliment. He left a copy of the book on the commode in the studio bathroom. A collection of tweets would seem to be a good compliment for bowel movements. There is none of the messy complications of a whodunit, nor the bodice ripping drama of romance novel heartbreak. It was noted in both shows that tweets, with the 140 character limit, is structurally similar to haiku. The evolution of social media zuckerbergs on to its lmao limit.
Caitlyn
When you type “Caitlyn Jenner is” into google, the two options are Bruce Jenner and Who. PG was looking for something else. On this weeks Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, B.E.E. – Sean Baker – 8/10/15, trans issues are discussed. BEE discussed an online post, Caitlyn Jenner Is A Dumb Cunt. Technically, stupid prick is probably more anatomically accurate.
PG has tried to ignore Caitlyn Jenner. The step grandmother of Kayne’s baby is everywhere. People are praising her for courage, saying she is pretty, or denouncing her as a terrible person. What PG heard from Sick Of Your Crap was not praise.
“So now that we all seem to finally be winding down from the exhausting, weeks-long Insincerity Parade, celebrating Caitlyn Jenner’s “coming out”, while tripping over each other in a rush to prove just how uber-modern, accepting, and progressive we all are towards a meticulously media-packaged, celebrity transsexual, I say we all get back to addressing the fact that Caitlyn Jenner is a dumb cunt. … You really want to know who Caitlyn Jenner is? Caitlyn Jenner is that driver that aggressively tailgates you on the freeway when you’re in the right-hand lane, but still chooses not to pass. … You know, that driver that you’d like to pull out of their fucking car and beat with a tire iron? Right. Caitlyn Jenner is THAT asshole. … Sure, trans people have it rough, and by conservative numbers, they’re the victims of at least 150-200 violent crimes a year – … Last year there were over 30,000 deaths via auto accidents. Auto accidents caused by assholes like Caitlyn Jenner. Maybe she should be speaking out about THAT. “
The February car crash has not gotten as much publicity as the sex change. PG just now heard about it. A surveillance video does not really show much. Mr. Jenner denies texting while driving. This type of aggressive driving is traditionally blamed on having too much testosterone in the system.
There are only a few comments at SOYC. Heidi Honeycutt You are disgusting! I seriously hope you know how degrading this is to all trans people who have fought hard for what they have. I hope you enjoy diminishing Caitlyn’s accomplishments. Mitchell Boone Just wait until she runs over your loved ones. Lou Rusconi You are a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, VILE man!! (way to start the blog off with a BANG) JLH I am a transgender woman (fully transitioned in my early 20’s) and I completely agree with this post 100%. In fact let me go further in saying that Ms. Jenner is one of the worst possible public faces of our community that I can imagine. In addition to the fact that she is 65 years old (why did you wait until 65 to transition, Caitlyn?!?) and I don’t think anyone should transition that late for a host of reasons I won’t go into now, she is a fame-obsessed narcissist and an abject idiot. I have been beyond annoyed with the fact that she KILLED SOMEONE and she seems utterly unconcerned about it. The media also is utterly unconcerned about it for obvious reasons. I knew the moment she started the process that she was becoming a woman despite the lies that everyone told about it at the time, and I also sighed a deep sigh because I knew our community was in for a long and bumpy ride. I only hope that she will fade into obscurity sooner rather than later. This is not at all the person who I want to be the face of our community.
The SOYC piece is tasteful compared to Disgusted By Amusement. ” JESUS, look at those horrible fake tits cemented to that chest. And let’s not even speculate on what’s down below. A dick and shriveled scrotum with no balls? No dick? A tattoo of Kris Jenner’s face for a cunt? JENNER, YOU ARE A GRUESOME, LOATHESOME, DETESTABLE EXAMPLE OF BARELY SOLID PUTRESENCE. If you GO AWAY I wish you luck. If you stay a cinder in the public eye, I wish you a fatal car accident from a driver just as self-involved and twisted as yourself.”
There will be just one more, before we go back to the pictures. A house in Massachusetts has a sign. “Caitlyn Jenner Donates Testicles To Cowardly Obama,” Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Sanctuary
These people are the closest to the war than anyone else, and they are stuck in a yucky grey area while everyone else sees it as black and white. ~ World’s most patient sheriff arrests the world’s most self-righteous young woman ~ Chechen women swindle ISIS via social media: ‘We need roubles to join you xx’ ~ The Crimson Tide poster in the background is an ironic touch. ~ Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction. ~ Rachel Carson (1952) ~ Girl Thinks She Knows The Law But Ends Up Getting Arrested! ~ Thank goodness for corporate-mandated classes. Otherwise I’d never have known that it’s bad form to call disabled people “crippled” or “retarded.” ~ Is it acceptable to refer to corporate-mandated classes as “crippled” or “retarded”? ~ Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock. ~Ben Hecht ~ I read his autobiography years ago, and I seem to remember this quote, Of course this is not the same standard of verification I expect from others, but it is better than goodquotes dot com. This was inspired by a twitter comment, and getting this down to 140 characters, minus the address of the original commenter, changed the meaning a little bit. When in doubt take out “the” & “and.” Btw, the zen idea meme you put up a few minutes ago is a potential poem in the making. ~ If only I wasn’t dead then I could run for President of the United States. But you are, Blanche, you are dead as a doornail. ~ @postcrunk pizza is a story of successful immigration and assimilation ~ I thought it was the clown bus. ~ That is not what parents said in 1964. ~ Can you put a moratorium on new members? ~ We could call it the boozy cougars ~ the legend goes that when faeries started to manifest that various people began creating different groups … Out of the Woods ~ What You Mean By #AllLivesMatter ~ Wild Fermentation: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Cultural Manipulation (DIY) ~ one group called itself the radical faeries to distinguish that group from the other group ~ “we are not a fad like the latest trend in fashion” no, but we do like to wear them ~ ride my bike, walk, work with pictures, read, write, stay out of facebook discussions ~ You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life. Jiddu Krishnamurti ~ Household Income 48k, Property Value 29k, Local Ethnicity 88% Caucasian ~ A lady told William Faulkner that she had read Sanctuary three times, and did not understand it. Mr. Faulkner said to read it a fourth time. …. I heard a teacher tell this story. Mr. Faulkner said something similar in an interview with the Paris Review. ~ @ethicistforhire #FunFact: Bobby McFerrin’s original song title was: Don’t Worry, Be a Nihilist… ~ A person who does not feel appreciated will frequently do less than is expected. ~ @SlavojTweezek Commentary of transcendental brilliance from the world’s sexiest living Marxist social theorist and cultural critic. Is this thing on? ~ Putting the sin back in synonym. ~ “a blaze of egomania” Glenn Beck’s website is called The Blaze. ~ pictures from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
The Article
A facebook link woke up PG the other day.It was an article for the New York Times Sunday Magazine, Out of the Woods. It was about a place, in the Central Time Zone, where head for the hills has a new meaning. The article is about a “radical faerie” redoubt, known in the article as “the commune.” Many say the author violated the trust of the participants in researching the piece, that the privacy of the facility was compromised, and that bad things are going to happen. Others say it is part of the process, and the sun will rise tomorrow, and hopefully bring more rain. The farm is currently under noseeum occupation. The insects contacted by the NYT had no comment.
The article has a golly gee tone, while missing, or distorting, radical details. The outhouse is universally known as the chapel. You go with g-d, number two only. Number one is distributed in a place away from foot traffic. Visitors are constantly told not to pee in the chapel. If someone does pee in the chapel, everyone in the county learns why this is a bad idea.
The best feature about the place is the land. PG has been to the establishment many, many, times, and always feels a surge when he gets on the last dirt roads. The land is a collection of ridges, with steep ravines. The stream of consciousness flows through the bottoms… not the only bottom available.
Years ago, one of the ridges was reserved for wimmin who camp, and was called wimmin’s ridge. About twenty five years ago, the wimmin camping spot was moved to another ridge, and wimmin’s ridge became sex change ridge. PG hasn’t heard that expression in years. The NYT dude was charmed. The spell check suggestion for wimmin is swimming.
As was mentioned earlier, this is a bastion of radical faerie retro reality. PG does not care for the r-word (radical), and just says faeries. That is a minority opinion. Speaking of minorities, most of the folks at the oudekerk are PWOC cis males. Many are Jewish. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a fashionable presence at the resort, are a glittering by product of the Roman Pedophile Church. Recovering baptists, like PG, are tolerated.
With the internet, there is information. If one knows where to look, one can learn about the place. One portal reports “Household Income 48k, Property Value 29k, Local Ethnicity 88% Caucasian.” Someone else says “Dietary Practice: Omnivorous (plants and animals) Alcohol Use: Yes, used often. Tobacco Use: Yes, used seldomly, or ceremoniously.”
One site lists a recent tenant, “The Foundation For Fermentation Fervor, Inc.” This is probably connected to Sandor Katz. He likes to make tasty fermented food. He has written books, including Wild Fermentation: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Cultural Manipulation (DIY).
The article recieved many comments. This one stands out. Copy/paste blog journalism is wonderful. Femmy Rose Liberty, TN “Readers should know that the Board and Steward’s of “The Commune” have a years-long standing consensus of zero-visibility on the Internet. This boundary was shared with the author and photographer of this article and is in the minutes of our meetings. Publishing our location goes against this boundary and is indicative of the cultural imperialism associated with corporate media and unchecked privilege. I’m extremely disappointed in the New York Times and Alex Halberstad for exploiting “The Commune”. Changing our name to the “Commune” is not enough. By embedding us within an article that also talks about “the faeries on the mountain” you might as well have used our name. It also is EXTREMELY PROBLEMATIC that every photo is of a white person who, as far as I know, identifies as a cisgendered man. This only maintains the white privilege and sexism that plagues our community and the queer movement in general. This article invisibilizes so many people who make up our community. To associate himself with Captain Cook and compare our community to Harry Potter novels speaks to the colonial mindset of the author and the New York Times’ journalistic style. I’m devastated and disappointed and will never trust the New York Times again.” This comment was recommended 153 times. Blessed Be.
The Gift Of Cultural Appropriation
There is a tasteful video on the innertubes today, WTF is Cultural Appropriation. This is not about WTF Podcast. Hopefully Marc Maron will not wear his hair in dreadlocks. The video shows a black man, jumping around in front of the camera, sharing his ideas about cultural appropriation.
Perhaps we should summarize what @the1janitor has to say. He does not give a shit what people do with their hair. (Does he gift wrap the shit when he does give it?) T1J is not concerned over whether Iggy Azalea sings rap songs. Most culture today is a mix of influences, and T1J is cool with that. This chill does not extend to a pro football team in Hyattsville MD, whose nickname rhymes with bed sins. T1J, aka Kevin Peterson, does not think that is appropriate.
T1J wears dreadlocks. Many Amerikans see this hairstyle as connected to the Rastafarians in Jamaica. T1J is not a rasta, but is not accused of any appropriative wrongdoing by wearing his hair in dreadlocks. It seems the reason for this acceptance is his African American origin.
This is similar to the situation with BHO. The half white POTUS was raised by white people in Hawaii and Indonesia. And yet, because he has dark skin, BHO is unquestioningly accepted as a black man. The POTUS uses the style of black culture that he learned as an adult. When a white fool shoots up a black church, BHO goes to a funeral, sings “Amazing Grace,” and is praised.
Many of these cultural and racial debates are very shallow. Judgements are made on outside appearances, rather than the real person under the skin. The dream of people not “judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” has turned into a nightmare of petty wrangling over white privilege and cultural appropriation.
So much for content. What caught PG’s eye was the background. There is a Crimson Tide poster on the wall, behind the speaker, that seemed familiar. PG has seen T1J before, in a video titled Why I Disagree With Morgan Freeman. T1J says we need to talk about racism, then talk some more, and then talk more after that. The word listen is not used as often.
The University of Alabama football team poster is an ironic touch. NCAA football teams are highly exploitative of young people. The young men who play work long hours for their education. Many of the football players are rushed through school, taking easy classes so they will be eligible to play. Many of these young men will suffer crippling injuries playing a contact sport. Meanwhile, these football programs are hugely profitable for the institution, especially at a football factory like the University of Alabama. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The men in the seven photographs were members of The Tuskegee Airmen
Slaughterhouse-Five Part Four
This is part four of a Vonnegutian appreciation of Slaughterhouse-Five. Parts one, two, and three are already available for your amusement. This segment will deal exclusively with Chapter five. It is 45 pages long. KV says “so it goes” 19 times, which will be inventoried in this chapter. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
This chapter is going to be a new adventure. PG bought a laptop, which is currently on the work table in the middle bedroom. Since PG sits down too much these days, the idea is to have a stand up work station. This is a work in progress. Today is the first time that PG has operated this machine without having in plugged in. Portable work capability is essential to the useful operation of a laptop.
At the start of chapter five, Billy Pilgrim is on Tralfamadore. This is a new experience for him. BP notices that, instead of stars, the Trallie sky is full of luminous spaghetti. Some speculate that this is the origin of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
BP asks for something to read. The only thing available was Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann. This is a trashy book that was popular when SF was being written. 11 pages later, BP is a POW camp hospital. There, the only book for him is The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane. It is about the horrors of war. TRBOC is loved by the same high school english teachers who sneer at VOTD. The soldiers in TRBOC would have enjoyed the drugs available in VOTD.
The neat thing about time travel is you keep moving around. Soon, young BP is with his parents. They are on a ledge in the Grand Canyon. Someone asks the guide if anyone ever kills them self by jumping into the canyon. The guide says they have about three jumpers a year. SIG037.
Soon, BP is back in the war. His uniform was been deloused, and all the little critters in it are dead. SIG038. After the uniform is put on, BP goes to a German official, he writes the name “Billy Pilgrim” in a ledger book. At this point, BP is no longer MIA, but is elevated to POW status. SIG039.
The next step in the process is giving BP a dog tag. It was made by a Polish laborer, who was dead now. SIG040. The dog tag has a split in the middle. When the POW dies, the tag is split in two. One half will identify the grave. This is what happened to Edgar Derby. SIG041.
The Amerikan POW were ushered into a shed with British POW. The Yanks were enthusiastically greeted by British POW. The limeys had been captive since Dunkirk, and were having a fine time during the war. The Amerikans were greeted with rodomontades, a form of jollyoldchap speech, and given soap. Nobody officially knew what the soap was made of. SIG042.
At some point BP began to spazz out. He was taken to the six bed hospital, shot up with morphine, and given “The Red Badge of Courage.” Edgar Derby came in to look over him. SIG043.
Before long, BP was on the road again, or whatever thoroughfare you use when time traveling. The scene was the mental ward of a VA hospital. It was 1948. BP thought he was losing his mind. The mental state of BP may, or may not, have been improved by his nuthouse roommate, Eliot Rosewater, the star of a later KV novel, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.
Mr. Rosewater is another curious character. He is a science fiction fan, and introduces BP to Kilgore Trout. This is another recurring character in KV stories. Mr. Trout is a resident of Ilium NY, and might be a member of the Iliumnati.
Both BP and Mr. Rosewater enjoyed negative attitudes. They came by them honestly. Mr. Rosewater shot a 14 year old, thinking he was a German soldier. SIG044. A Trallie would say not to worry, that the young man would have been a soldier if he had lived. As for BP, he was in an underground building when Dresden was eliminated. SIG045. In a couple of paragraphs, PG sees a dead glass of water on a table. SIG046
The dead glass of water was next to a living cigarette belonging to BP’s noname mother. Eliot Rosewater talks to her, while BP hides under the covers. We learn that Mr. Rosewater’s mother is dead, SIG047, and that BP’s father is dead, SIG048. KV says it is a chat between a “dumb, praying lady and the big, hollow man so full of loving echoes.”
Before long, BP is back in the POW hospital. Somebody comes in, and talks to Edgar Derby, who tells the story of his capture. Germans were tossing shells around, and lots of people got killed. SIG049. Soon, BP is back in the nuthouse. His mother is gone, and is replaced by his fiancee, Valencia Merble. The young lady is rich and fat. It will be a good, practical, move for BP to marry her. This is not the same thing as wanting to do it.
Before much longer, Edgar Rosewater talks about a book. It is an alternative version of the Jesus story, where the murder of Jesus is a bad thing because the son of G-d is well connected. SIG050. SIG051. The reaction of Valencia Merble is not recorded.
Before you can say Tralfamadore, BP is in a geodesic dome 446 quintillion miles from earth. The atmosphere outside the dome is cyanide. BP is on display, a source of amusement for the Trallies. There is a non functioning TV in the dome. Taped to the picture tube is a picture of Cowboys and Indians killing each other. SIG052. The book was written in an innocent age. Even the most enlightened author thought little about referring to Native Americans as Indians.
The dome had a refrigerator. On the door of the device was a picture of a “gay nineties” couple riding a bicycle built for two. This is another expression you don’t hear much anymore. PG did a little math, and realized that the time from 1898 to 1968 was the same amount of time as between 1945 and 2015. Seventy years just doesn’t last as long as it used to.
BP has some conversations with a Trally, which are frustrating to both parties. There is talk about reproduction, and talk about killing. This is the historic yin yang, life death, egg and sword duality.
The Trally tells BP how the universe will end. Some careless Trally has an accident. There is an experiment for flying saucer fuel, and the universe is blown up. SIG053. This is the middle point for the 106 SIG in SF. If PG misses any, he is not going to go back and look for it.
The time travel unsticks again, and BP is in the middle of his wedding night. It is the night his son, Robert, is conceived. Robert is a troubled youth. In the movie he expresses regret for his misdeeds, when BP is recovering from the plane crash. Robert goes on to be a Green Beret.
At least Robert was not in a German POW facility. BP wakes up in the hospital, and needs to piss. He finds an improvised latrine, which is in shoddy condition. Another Amerikan says that he *excreted* his brains out, without the critical detail, number one or number two. This excretionary Amerikan is KV, the author of this chronicle.
The conduct of Amerikans concerned the British and the Germans. An officer produced a document about this shoddy behavior, written by Howard Campbell. He was an Amerikan, who was working for the Germans. Mr. Campbell will hang himself, while awaiting trial after the war. SIG054. Mr. Campbell had the highest IQ of any war criminal put to death by hanging. SIG055.
Howard Campbell is the primary character in another book by KV, Mother Night. In this story the Schenectady NY native makes radio speeches for Germany, which are coded messages to the allies. He lives after the war. While Howard Campbell is notorious, he is never tried for treason. Amazon one star reviewer Roy E Pratt said “This was pointless. No real plot to it. Just a bunch of ramblings. I do not recommend it to anyone”
Some have speculated that “Mother Night” is similar to the journey of Jane Fonda. The story goes that the trip to Hanoi was made on behalf of the American government. Miss Fonda was rewarded with two Oscars, marriage to Ted Turner, and the hatred of chicken hawk patriots.
Meanwhile, back on Tralfamadore, Montana Wildhack has been installed in the dome. The idea is to create live action pornography for the entertainment, and education, of the Trallies. We soon learn why BP was chosen for this adventure. The dude has a porn star penis. Why did we learn this with Montana Wildhack, and not with Valencia Merble Pilgrim? Does BP really stand for Big Penis, with Billy Pilgrim conveniently grafted on later to appease the censors?
In the movie, Montana Wildhack was played by Valerie Perrine. Her birth name is Valerie Ritchie Perrine. If you google the name, the suggested searches include photos, measurement, imdb, and net worth. Other prominent roles for Miss Perrine include Honey, the wife of Lenny Bruce, Eve Teschmacher in Superman, and Delores Pierce in As the World Turns.
BP had a 1968 wet dream about Montana Wildhack. When he woke up, he dressed and went to work at the Ilium Optometry shop. A lady came in, with her 12 year old son. The ladies husband had been killed in Vietnam, in a fight over hill 875. SIG056. This is the end of chapter five.
OTP Now Means One True Pairing
“How can we make a good case for it?” You can start with humility. You can show respect for people who are not as “radical” as you. Last, you should demonstate that this workshop will be a safe space. This will be difficult, when you consider this:” I’m willing to sacrifice the comfort of white folks in order to work towards the incredibly radical idea of a space with less white supremacy. ” ~ I don’t think this is a safe space, either for honest discussion beforehand, or the event itself. I have numerous objections, but don’t feel comfortable expressing them. It is just easier to stand aside, and let other people do what they want. Since I don’t participate in alcohol sale events, I will not be affected. BTW, has anyone considered the irony of a “radical” group raising money by selling alcohol in a bar? As for facilitating this event through SQFP, they had a TPOC only cookout at their recent weekend. What does that say about inclusiveness? ~ ” in many cases people use silence as a way to express discomfort without confrontation” . Perhaps I should have been clearer. I referred to facebook discussions. It is *clear* that facebook is not a safe space. If I am not interested in an event, it is easier to stay away. ~ ” in many cases people use silence as a way to express discomfort without confrontation” . Perhaps I should have been clearer. I asked whether this facebook discussion is a safe space. ~ When you click on 30+ Resources to Help White Americans Learn About Race and Racism, there is the inevitable popup ad. It reads “The EVERYDAY SELF-LOVE COURSE Free yourself from toxic self-talk and build a daily practice of self-love JOIN TODAY SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE ~ According to this list OTP now means “One True Pairing” ~ @BettyBowers #TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter “OK God, about your Bible. So many contradictions! Get an editor. And SLAVERY? Really? And lose some begets.” ~ @postcrunk all lives matter why isn’t there a straight pride parade or a white history month stop playing the race card and what does marginalized mean @chamblee54 “why isn’t there a straight pride parade” there is nobody to do the decorations ~ Your frustration at human ineptitude is probably mild compared to what the cats think. ~ the top search engine terms at chamblee54 today: truman capote, judy garland last photo, international disturbed people’s day, worst conserrvatives in history ~ @whittmman I’ll admit that when I first heard of FriendFeed I thought it was an ingenious method of disposing of the remains of murdered relatives. ~ From Gamergate to Cecil the lion: internet mob justice is out of control ~ The dirty old man was drinking with a married couple. When the husband passed out, DOM started to flirt with the wife. “Why don’t you move to L.A. You can get a job as a waitress and support me” ~ @bungdan Reported for years from ME and SEA. Still affiliated with the Christian Science Monitor but also moving on. Don’t ever buy a pan you can’t put in the oven. ~ The same reason they never worry about fuel. ~ Is Auntie Nym going to get back together with Uncle Compoop? ~ A free Bible on your phone, tablet, and computer. YouVersion is a simple, ad-free Bible that brings God’s Word into your daily life. ~ topics on atlanta twitter : 1- #NationalGirlfriendDay 2 -Stone Mountain 3 – #BobbiKristina 6 – #PraiseInThePark ~ #MySpiritAnimal was killed by a rogue dentist ~ It is more important to practice kindness and respect, than to believe. ~ The fashion industry is a cesspool of cutthroat capitalism and moneylender malpractice. It is tough to say who makes money on those sweatshop produced shoes. ~ “Facebook is a place for careful discussion and acknowledging other people’s points of view.” The quote marks are important. ~ @BagofDoosh’s Tweets are protected. Only confirmed followers have access to @BagofDoosh’s Tweets and complete profile. Click the “Follow” button to send a follow request. ~ @postcrunk your reality is interfering with my convenient worldview ~ David Crosby retweeted your tweet. Luther Mckinnon @chamblee54 @FoxH2181 @thedavidcrosby David Crosby on CSN at 24:01 “We douche it together” ~ a vile commented was deleted per request of the commenter ~ pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Bing Crosby And David Crosby
Last night, PG was editing pictures while listening to Hardcore History 51 – Blueprint for Armageddon II. The show is three hours of a man talking about the first month of World War I. It has been called the worst August in history. Many say that Germany lost the war when it did not win in the first 900 hours. It took four years, and several million dead soldiers, for this phase of the twentieth century wars to be over.
At some point, PG took a break and looked at twitter. David Crosby was holding court. PG has written about Mr. Crosby before, and tweeted him several times. The tweets are usually ignored. Fair is a baseball hit between the bases. PG decided to try again.
@chamblee54 @thedavidcrosby Did you ever meet Bing Crosby?
@thedavidcrosby “@chamblee54: @thedavidcrosby Did you ever meet Bing Crosby?” Yes I did
@FoxH2181 @thedavidcrosby @chamblee54 DC tells the late robin williams about it on youtube
@FoxH2181 @chamblee54 did you find the crosby /williams encounter on youtube?
@chamblee54 @FoxH2181 listening to a history podcast now – I may, or may not, look for it – there is so much to listen to & i have a big backlog.
PG eventually decided to listen to part one of the Robin Williams and David Crosby chat. Early in the show, David talks about being in the first class cabin of an airplane. David was in full hippie glory, in contrast to the general three piece suit ambience. Soon, a celebrity came on board, Bing Crosby. A man went up to Bing, and asked for an autograph. All that was available to write on was a can of beans. Bing Crosby was very gracious to the fan, which impressed David Crosby immensely.
There was an empty seat beside David Crosby, and Bing Crosby sat in it. “These other guys don’t know who you are, but I do. I like your music. ” And that is the story of David Crosby meets Bing Crosby. The rest of the interview was a comedian, who used to do too much coke, talking to a musician, that went to prison for doing too much coke. There was a lot of comedic riffing and character playing, which fans of Robin Williams might find enjoyable.
PG is easily amused, and decided to go for part two. David Crosby tells a story of going to see the symphony as a young boy. He is impressed by the sounds that are produced by all the elbows sawing on violins at the same time. David Crosby winds up as someone that likes to collaborate, to be a part of a team. At 24:01 of the show, David Crosby says, regarding CSN, “We do shit together.”
@chamblee54 @FoxH2181 @thedavidcrosby David Crosby on CSN at 24:01 “We douche it together” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z1R__IcNww
David Crosby retweeted your tweet. @chamblee54 @FoxH2181 @thedavidcrosby David Crosby on CSN at 24:01 “We douche it together” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z1R__IcNww
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Chamblee54 
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