Fruitcake
December 27 is National Fruitcake Day PG sees a chance for some text to put between pictures. He would be nutty as a fruitcake to turn down this chance. This is a repost.
Fruitcakes were buried with the dead in Ancient Egypt. It’s true. Ancient Egyptians used to fill the tombs of the dead with all the supplies that they would need to enjoy the afterlife, including food and water. Fruitcake was often put into the tomb of a deceased person because a fruitcake soaked in a natural preservative like alcohol or fruit juice would last a long time. It was thought that the preserved fruitcake would not spoil on the journey to the afterlife. Fruitcake was a staple food of other ancient Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian and Mediterranean cultures as well
Candied fruits are used in fruitcake because using sugar was the only way to preserve the fruit long enough to get it back to Europe from the Middle East. When the Crusaders began carrying exotic fruits back to their European home the fresh fruit would spoil long before they were able to get it home. Ingenious traders began drying the fruits by candying them with sugar which made them an even more delicious treat and preserved them indefinitely. Once the candied fruits were sent to Europe and to other parts of the world they were baked into cakes so that they could be shared with family and friends on special occasions.
Fruitcakes will last for years without spoiling. It’s true. A fruitcake that is properly preserved with an alcohol soaked cheesecloth that is then wrapped in plastic wrap or foil can be kept unrefrigerated for years without spoiling. In the past, before refrigerators came along, families would make fruitcake for holidays and special occasions months in advance of the actual event and then let the covered fruitcakes sit wrapped in an alcohol soaked cloth until the event happened. As long as the cloth was remoistened with alcohol occasionally the cakes not only didn’t spoil, they actually tasted richer and sweeter because they had been soaking in brandy and rum for a couple of months.
To millions of fruitcake consumers, the town of Claxton GA is very special. This south Georgia town, just down the road from Reidsville, is home to Claxton Fruit Cake . The story of the Claxton Fruit Cake company is a sweet one. Savino Tos founded the Claxton Bakery in 1910. He hired Albert Parker in 1927, and sold him the business in 1945. Mr. Parker decided to sell Fruit Cake to America.
No story about fruitcake is complete without mentioning the “Fruitcake Lady.” Marie Rudisill, an aunt of Truman Capote, wrote a book of fruitcake recipes. She became a tv celebrity, before going to the bakery in the sky on November 3, 2006.
The urban dictionary has nine listings for fruit cake. The ones for homosexuals and crazy people are there. UD gets creative with this selection: “The act of releasing green chunky diarrhea onto your partners face then, ejaculating on it, then punching him/her in the nose causing the colors to mix together to form a fruit cake like color.”
If you tire of jokes about fruitcake, you can go to The society for the protection and preservation of fruitcake . (If you click on the “new URL”, you will be invited to join in the green card lottery.) There used to be a link on the society page that enables you to buy Fruitcake Mints. “Keep your breath fruitcake fresh with these festive mints!”
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
White Margarine
PG used to hear old timers talk about margarine being a white paste. The consumer would add the yellow color later. This bit of information had gone undisturbed for many years, until the 12:58 point of the Useless Information Podcast. There was a 1947 radio commercial for Delrich E-Z Color Pak.
Delrich E-Z margarine came in a plastic bag, along with a capsule. You broke the capsule, and yellow dye flowed out. You knead the bag, until the dye mixes with the margarine. It was considered an improvement over the mixing bowl.
Margarine was invented in 1869. “French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès … patented a lower priced spread made from beef tallow. He dubbed it oleomargarine–from the Latin oleum, meaning beef fat, and the Greek margarite, meaning pearl, this last for its presumably pearlescent luster.”
The dairy industry saw margarine as unfair competition for butter. In 1886, the federal Margarine Act was passed. Many oppressive taxes and regulations were put in place. Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio enacted a legislative ban on the use of margarine.
Most butter is dyed. The rich yellow that we associate with butter only comes from grass fed cows. If the cows are grain fed, butter is a pale yellow.
Yellow was more appealing than pink. In an effort to further demonize margarine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and South Dakota required margarine to be dyed pink. The Supreme Court overturned the pink laws, citing the laws’ effect on interstate commerce.
During World War II, butter was in short supply. Margarine became more popular. Finally, the laws requiring the sale of white margarine were repealed. Wisconsin kept the white margarine law until 1967, and forbade use of margarine in public places, unless requested, until 1971.
99% Invisible recently did a show, “I can’t believe it’s pink margarine.” PIctures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.” This is a repost.
Solstice
1159 AM The audio entertainment for this morning is another episode of Cocaine and Rhinestones. This is a show about country music, with Tyler M. Coe hosting. Today’s history lesson was about soap operas, before diving into Tammy Wynette and George Jones. TMC got talking about how a George Jones song is the greatest country song ever written. This is kind of the sort of debate that I don’t really have much interest in.
Meanwhile, I am starting work on a villanelle. It was inspired by a 1960 something song, Let it all hang out. LIAHO is an esoteric piece of work, with lines like “makes Galileo look like a boy scout.” I don’t want to repeat copyrighted material, even if one of the villanelle rhymes is hang out. The other rhyming word is defenestration, and it is going to be all four and five syllable words. Some of these words I never knew before, like prefecundation. They are cool words, and will be exploited down to the last syllable. We will get back to George and Tammy, but not before Nashville made a suggestion. “Why don’t you shoot heroin like Ray Charles, instead of using that cocaine that ruins your voice.”
12:58 PM One of the biggest obstacles to getting anything done is Facebook. The temptation to check in on Facebook, or it’s evil sister Twitter, is overwhelming. I saw this post … something about Atlanta history … and they had this these catfish restaurants on Marietta, or Southside, or Alabama. Someone said something about having one on Cheshire Bridge. I had a ad on my computer for this one on Cheshire Bridge. The former catfish king is this building at the bottom of the hill, right next to Peachtree Creek. That building currently is a club called the heretic, and before that it was a lesbian wigwam called the sports page. If those walls could talk …
204 PM I’m experimenting with different styles of photo editing. I’m going to be using some shots of graffiti from east Atlanta. The idea is to go through the motions, until you start to do something that you like. I just finished my coffee. This is one of the turning points of the day, when I finish drinking coffee, and switch to water. Since it’s raining outside so I’m probably not gonna go walking, although I might go up to the gym. I have to take Mac to marta at 5:30, so I can’t really get anything going.
2:52 PM I’m finished with this episode of the show. It was time to sit down for a few minutes, and so I took the laptop into the living room. Next is the last episode of Operator, a show about people that had a phone sex room. In the last couple of episodes, people started to get too greedy and they started firing people. It’s getting into the sad part of the story. I used to read a lot of biographies of showbiz people, and they have a similar trajectory … they would start off poor, and then they work like crazy, and they get their break. They have a run of success, and then they start getting divorced, and taking drugs, and acting like fools. The craft starts to suffer. It’s kind of a typical story.
417 PM in three minutes it will be 420 which is not quite as much fun as it used to be. I’m taking a break from the pictures-and-podcast lifestyle for a minute. The podcast is You Must Remember This, hosted by Karina Longworth. It’s about Hollywood, and stories from the movies. Ms. Longworth is obnoxiously woke. She never misses a chance to remind you that racism is everywhere, and it is just horrible. The latest series is about Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. Ms. Longworth tells about the struggles Mr. Davis faced, in explicit woke fashion. Today was the last installment of the series. Dean and Sammy are dealing with the struggles of being old men. Mr. Davis did not help matters any by foolishly spending money, that he did not have. It was a sad finale to the story. The good news is that Ms. Longworth will move on to another subject, hopefully one with less racism to decry. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Made Myself Stupid
“So many times I’ve made myself stupid with the fear of being outsmarted.” James Richardson (b. 1950) “Vectors: 56 Aphorisms and Ten-second Essays” Michigan Quarterly Review, #17 (Spring 1999) Wish I’d Said That put this up on twitter. I made a copy of the 56AATSE.
It sat ignored on my desktop. until this morning. I was looking for something to work with, and started to pick out aphorisms that spoke to me. The first two to make the cut were #3 and #5, which are key players in the fibonacci sequence. Why not just eliminate all the players, except for the f-numbers? Then use those actors as a writing prompt.
First, we need to look into James Richardson. Turns out he is a recently retired English Professor at Princeton. A princeton.edu document has stories about Dr. Richardson: “Some of his colleagues in English will remember how, as department secretary, he recorded the minutes of meetings in rhyming couplets. … Jim is a philosopher-poet in the tradition of … his fellow baseball fan, Walt Whitman.” Apparently, Jim is a Yankees fan, which we can foregive.
1 “No matter how fast you travel, life walks.” Dr. Richardson is fond of semantics.
2 “Desire’s most seductive promise is not pleasure but change, not that you might possess your object but that you might become the one who belongs with it.” Ditto.
3 “There are silences harder to take back than words.” This is the first one that was noteworthy. This does not mean that I agree. Sometimes, the best thing to say is nothing at all. This goes against a commodity wisdom crowd-pleaser. “The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Say Nothing.” As Mike Hunt once said, “Don’t just do something, stand there.”
Kyle Rittenhouse might have a few things to say about this. He heard stories of angry mobs ransacking businesses, and decided to do something. Mr. Rittenhouse was severely punished for his decision to help out. Many of the people who spoke out, about the trial, should have kept their thoughts to themself. Justice is not a popularity contest.
5 “If it can be used again, it is not wisdom but theory.” 90% of the time, when people say theory, they really should say hypothesis. It is not known how this relates to reuseable wisdom.
8 “Everyone loves the Revolution. We only disagree on whether it has occurred.” There is a activist recipe. “To make an omelette, you have to break eggs.” Whenever I hear this, I feel like an egg.
13 “Like late afternoon, a pale cirrus crosses the nearly transparent moon. They are so alike, meeting, that I feel, suddenly and childishly, They like each other. Somehow I can’t help liking them for that. Somehow I can’t help feeling that they like me liking them.” Like Joni Mitchell, Dr. Richardson really doesn’t know clouds at all. We are talking about an atmospheric mass of water droplets, and a big rock traveling 403,000 kilometers away from earth.
21 “Birds are amazing, newspapers, stoves, friends. All that happens is amazing, if you think about it. All that doesn’t happen is even more amazing, because there’s so much more of it. Only habit keeps us from seeing all this. Habit is really amazing.” Is Dr. Richardson talking to newspapers, stoves, or friends? Maybe he is talking to all three. Of course, this was back when print media was much more popular than today, so maybe a newspaper was his friend. This does not account for the stove.
34 “I seem to need a larger vocabulary to talk to you than to talk to myself.” There are things that you know, that you never have to describe. When you talk to another person, you need to explain.
55 “Happiness is gratitude in search of something to be owed to.” Dr. Jim is probably grateful to the University of Michigan, for publishing his 56 Bright Ideas. When you are a high level academic, you need to publish things. UM is playing Georgia on New Years Eve. Many people in Alabama would be grateful if Georgia wins. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Selah.
Philosophy Of 2Girls1Cup
A few years ago, the video “2girls1cup” was the rage of the day. A trailer for a trash Brazilian movie, the featurette shows two buxom young ladies sharing a plastic cup. The contents of the cup are supposed to be human waste … many suspect it is chocolate ice cream. Later, one of the players shares a technicolor yawn with the other. A plastic supply tube may be a prop.
The video is not in wide circulation today. If you go to the original site, you see 2girls1cup.com nothing but porn, another opportunity to buy smut. It is just as well. Before posting a live address, it is time for the DISCLAIMER.
It is not suggested that you watch this. If you are sensitive, have a heart condition, or have just eaten (like, in the last month), you may want to look at something else. It is gross, disgusting, and without redeeming social value. It is not safe for work, and has great danger for play.
The original film is available at a .ca web address. This commentary goes with it: What is Two Girls One Cup ? Two girls one cup (aka 2 girls 1 cup & cup video) is a trailer that was released in 2007 for the artistic film “Hungry Bitches” made by MFX Media. The daring work of art is an allegory for the concept of spiritual awakening. It examines the prevalent ideologies that are internalized in our culture, and in true post-modern form; the thematic piece tends to raise more questions than answers. The philosophical film has varying interpretations, which is why the 2 girls 1 cup film is still analysed and debated about to this date.
Chamblee54 has weighed in on this “matter” before. If you google “2girls1cup snopes,” Philosophy Of 2Girls1Cup is result number five. The dreaded “number two” result was from the Urban Dictionary, 2 girls 1 cup scam. “It’s probably a mixture of coffee cream cake filling and crunchy peanut butter”.
PG doubts that the creators of this epic had a message. They just wanted to make a bit of cheesy scat porn. Just because the creators of a work don’t intend for it to be a myth, that doesn’t stop the determined believer. Did the Council of Nicea intend their church canon to be taken as the inerrant Word of G-d? The texts in that canon were often allegorical stories, not literal truth.
Is there a deeper truth inherent in a tawdry vignette of snacking sisters? Maybe the cup is the Christ figure. The deposit in the cup represents the sin of mankind, forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus took the sins of man on his shoulders, and paid the price for these sins, just as the cup received the product of a young lady’s digestive system.
The trouble is, the girls then ate the forbidden flop. This compares to the way the church of Jesus Worship recycles sin. The poisonous anger and rudeness that Jesus paid for on the cross are fed back to the eager believers every Sunday.
After the excremental dessert, the actress hurled onto the breast of her willing dining companion. This stands in for the verbal abuse showered on worshipers every Sunday. Professional Jesus Worshipers project a vile output on the pew warmers. They think they are going to heaven as a result. Was this the message the producers of this video intended? The best course of action might be refusing to partake of the product. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
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.
Democrats Do Not Respect The Law
Georgia Democrats do not believe in the orderly rule of law. Three high profile incidents demonstrate this lack of orderly governance. While none of these incidents are on the same level as the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, they all show the same contempt for basic law and order.
In August 2017, progressives held a convention in Atlanta. Democratic candidates for Governor spoke. While Stacey Evans spoke, actors in the crowd disrupted her speech, chanting “trust Black women.” As “author and zen priest” Angel Kyodo Williams says, “This is what democracy looks like.”
Later, the candidate who was allowed to speak, Stacey Abrams, defended shouting down her opponent. “I do not believe that you silence those who feel they are voiceless, because the minute we do that we are no better than those who tell people they can’t kneel in protest.” The DSA, who staged the disruption, is far from voiceless.
As many of you know, Ms. Abrams won the Democratic primary, and came very close to winning the general election. The central issue of the Abrams campaign was voter suppression. While the votes were being counted, some actors decided to have a rally inside the state capitol. State law clearly prohibits disruptive protest inside the capitol. (O.C.G.A. 16-11-34.1 (g)) Like a church, or a court of law, some activity is not acceptable inside the state capitol.
State Sen. Nikema Williams chose to violate this law, and was arrested. She was widely praised for this action, and later elected to the U.S. Congress. Almost no Democrats condemned this illegal protest by Sen. Williams. Many of these same actors routinely call on Republicans to disavow support from anyone deemed unworthy.
Two years later, the legislature passed SB 202. This law regards voting access, and is loudly denounced by Democrats. Many observers see SB 202 as being a mild bill. One provision calls for voters to write their drivers license/state id number on absentee ballot applications. SB 202 has turned into a political disaster, with the racism-happy POTUS calling SB 202 “Jim Crow on steroids.”
The March 25, 2021, bill signing, for SB 202, was a bi-partisan embarrassment. Governor Brian Kemp held the signing at the Capitol, immediately after the bill was passed. This was possibly done to provoke Democrats, who seldom need a reason to behave badly.
State Representative Park Elizabeth Cannon took the bait, and got arrested. She made a scene outside the bill-signing. Rep. Cannon tried to get arrested February 26, but the State Patrol did not comply. Once again, this disruption was widely praised by state Democrats.
Democrats have made great gains in Georgia, and may possibly win the Governor’s office next November. They will face many problems, not least of which is declining respect for law and order. When you look at the lack of respect that Democrats show for Georgia law, you wonder how they are going create respect-for-order in the general population. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.”
When You Can’t Say Anything Good
Writers block is real. You have all of modern media at your beck and call, and yet you don’t have a message. TwentyTwoWords posts the story of a medical study into writers block. The study wastes no words in it a pithy treatment of this issue. It is an unspoken masterpiece, the treatment that dare not speak it’s name. The research was financed by a block grant.
The findings of this study were replicated in 2007. The report is included here, in it’s entirety. The editor noted “I did not change one word, and this is a first in my tenure as editor.” There is no word on whether the report was submitted before the deadline.
Ben Hecht tells a story in his autobiography “Child of the Century”. As a young, underpaid newspaper writer in Chicago, Mr. Hecht was hired to participate in literary debates. In the era before movies and radio, these were considered after dinner entertainment. One night, Mr. Hecht got together with his opponent, and hatched a plan. The topic of the debate was “People who attend literary debates are idiots”. The first speaker did not say a word, but gestured towards the crowd. The second speaker said, “you win.”
“Child of the Century” is now out of print. In 1994, PG thought he was going to have to move, and the first step was to throw away things. His copy of “Child of the Century” was one thing he pitched.
The sound that you hear is one hand clapping. Those reading with one hand can join in with the other one. Appreciation is always welcome. Vintage pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
This is a repost. PG thinks writer’s block should be called writer’s tackle, but few agree.
CK7 Hot Dog
Hot Dog “3 – verb to perform in a conspicuous or often ostentatious manner especially : to perform fancy stunts and maneuvers (as while surfing or skiing).” A hot dog is more than a sandwich. Show offs have been called hot dog for a long time. This is a repost. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Which brings us to Colin Kaepernick. PG has thought there was something fishy about #7 since his protest began in 2016. What would happen if you google “Colin Kaepernick Hot Dog”?
In 2013, after the Niners beat the Falcons in the NFC championship game, a restaurant in Turlock, CA, held a contest to name a hot dog in honor of the Niners young quarterback. “Kaepernick Special: Hot dog wins competition in Turlock Colin Kaepernick is a hot dog. That’s not a critique of the quarterback’s playing style; that’s a fact. The Kaepernick Special made its first appearance on the menu at Main Street Footers Thursday. The restaurant, a mainstay in downtown Turlock for decades, held a contest to come up with a hot dog named for the former Pitman High football standout. … Football and hot dog aficionados submitted a variety of ideas … One suggestion: a hot dog topped with crab, shrimp and cocktail sauce. … Jim Yettman, 76, said he entered the contest “on a whim” … Yettman’s concoction: A hot dog with chili, cabbage, red and yellow bell peppers, jalapeños and a secret sauce consisting of mustard, horseradish, thousand island dressing, and cayenne pepper. … He beat out a pulled pork-topped hot dog and a pizza-themed version with pepperoni and olives.”
As you may have heard, Mr. Kaepernick sat down during the National Anthem, before a 2016 pre-season game. One of the first casualties, in the uproar that followed, was the CK7 hot dog. “A hot dog named in honor of Colin Kaepernick at a restaurant in his hometown of Turlock, Calif., no longer is available. The hot dog called CK7 — Kaepernick’s initials followed by his jersey number — has been pulled off the menu at Main Street Footers after the San Francisco 49ers quarterback refused to stand for the national anthem before a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Friday. The hot dog that was topped with chili, coleslaw, jalapenos and “Kaep Sauce’’ was a hot item for $6.05 when Kaepernick helped lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season but had become a “political football,’’ restaurant co-owner Glenn Newsum said.”
In 2016, the Carolina Panthers were coming off an NFC championship. Their star quarterback, Cam Newton, gave an interview with GQ, and said some controversial things. After the Niners played the Panthers, Mr. Kapernick and Mr. Newton were photographed together. Some twitter wits speculated about what was said. @TribalThrasher “Kaep: A hot dog isn’t a sandwhich.. Cam: SQUARE UP”
Don’t be surprised if a google search for “dog” yields a story featuring Mike Vick. “Colin Kaepernick tweets Stockholm Syndrome definition after Michael Vick advises him to get a haircut Recently retired NFL quarterback Michael Vick has some advice for Colin Kaepernick, who is still looking for a job after opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in March. “First thing we gotta get Colin to do is cut his hair,” Vick said Monday. … (photo comment) Kaepernick had short, neatly cut hair when he led the 49ers to the Super Bowl following the 2012 season. But before last season, he grew it all out, often sporting a large Afro or sometimes cornrows. … “Just go clean cut, you know? Why not?” said Vick, who sometimes wore his own hair in an Afro or cornrows in his younger days. … “The most important thing that he needs to do is just try to be presentable.” … it’s not the Colin Kaepernick that we’ve known since he entered the NFL. … I love the guy to death and I want him also to succeed on and off the field. … “He is a great kid and the reason he’s not playing has nothing to do with the national anthem, I think it’s more solely on his play.” … In what some are interpreting as a response to Vick’s comments, Kaepernick took to Twitter and Instagram on Tuesday morning and posted the definition of Stockhom Syndrome.”
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
Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but …
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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The Emotions Recognized in Vocal Bursts Within this interactive map …
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.
Chamblee54 
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