Names
Alan Burnett~Bill Gaddy~Bill Medlock~Bill Meneely~Blaze Mills~Buddy Conine
Calvin Bunn~Danny Fields~David Chewning~David Hadden~Charlie Hall~Dwight Dunaway
Freeman Waldrop~Gary Hunton~Gene Haynes~Gene Holloway~Gibson Higgins~Glenn Krause
Greg Scott~Harold King~Hawk~Jerry Pyschka~Jim Anderson~Jim Woodward~Joe Kenney
Joe Vickery~John Harllee~Jon Gordon~King Thackston~Larry Jackson~Layton Gregory
Lee Mullis~Les Friessen~Mac Wilson~Manfred Ibis~Mark Keenum~Mark Rosen
Martin Isganitus~Michael Dollins~Micheal Mason~Moon Moore~O’Gene Donohue
Purl Sudds~Ron Davis~Sam Mitchell~Skeeter Smith~Steve Bedworth~Stuart Davis
Ti Barfield~Tom Aderhold~Tom Selman~Tom Williams~Trion~Winston Morriss
The Monty Python Quiz
No One Expects This Spammish Inquisition – It’s a Monty Python Quiz! turned up on the internet this morning. Yes, the Pythons were funny, but “Beatles of comedy”? In the spirit of copycat posting, here is the quiz. Additional comments, when the interest is there, are by chamblee54.
1. Which one of these was NOT considered as a title for Monty Python’s Flying Circus? Owl Stretching Time, Whither Canada?, The Toad Elevating Moment, Casper & Mandrilaftalen. … PG did not have a clue, so he clicked the last answer. … That’s right! Casper & Mandrilaftalen wasn’t considered as a title for the show but was a Danish cult television sketch show inspired by the Pythons.
2. The Pythons adored dressing up as old ladies with notable, peculiar, high-pitched voices. These characters appeared in many sketches, but what were they commonly known as? Ratbags, Pepperpots, Biddies, Squawkers. … Here again, PG is not Python Trivia Fluent. He has always liked the term “Biddy,” and will guess that. … Not right! While they were certainly biddies they were known by the cast and fans as Pepperpots.
PG has a limited attention span. Twitter and facebook await. New depths in trump derangement syndrome wait behind every sponsored spam salesman. Things are a bit better on twitter. This gem is just one example. Meet Carey Leone: Northborough Mom, Former Dancer Who Lost Her Mind Over Mustard Spill At The Bruin’s Game, Says Video Was Taken Out Of Context. If you want more details, you can use the link. Now back to the full Monty.
3. In the famous Dead Parrot sketch, what creature is offered to the unimpressed customer as a replacement for his deceased avian companion? Wombat, Halibut, Bee, Slug. … PG saw the FDPS, but forgot the details. Halibut it is. … I’m afraid not. The Pythons definitely loved halibuts (and fish of all kind) but a slug was offered as a replacement.
4. The famous foot that squashes the opening credits with an audible raspberry was purloined by animator Terry Gilliam from which famous painting? Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time by Bronzino, The Wedding of the Virgin by Raphael, The Deposition from the Cross by Pontormo, The Garden of Gethsemane by Vasari. … This is getting technical. When in doubt, go with the title that does not mention the bible, which is Venus, Cupid, etc. … You got it! It was Bronzio’s masterpiece that Terry Gilliam nicked the foot from.
5. In the Nudge Nudge sketch, where is Terry Jones’s wife from, which sends Eric Idle into paroxysms of excitement? Penge, Purley, Balham, Banstead. … Banstead is the blandest of the four names. Banstead does not sound like a bell. … You’re off the mark – Terry’s wife was from Purley (squire) not from Banstead – which we may have possibly made up.
6. The famed classical composer Arthur Jackson has a rather unusual nickname, according to the show, but what is it? Liquorice, Two Sheds, Paper Round, Toffee Hammer. … Is Liquorice a foul tasting candy, or something you put in a drink? … Oh no – the composer in question was, of course, Arthur ‘Two Sheds’ Jackson (because he was thinking of buying another shed.) … Maybe the famed classical composer was looking for someone to give him shed.
7. In The Mouse Problem, the telephone number of a mouse advocate was given out during the sketch, but which actual celebrity did the number belong to (and had to be edited out of subsequent repeats)? David Frost, Barry Cryer, Ronnie Barker, Cliff Michelmore. … David Frost was the star of That was the week that was. Ten year old PG felt so cool watching tw3. Sir David Paradine Frost is the only celebrity that PG knows here. … It was! Or, in fact, it was David Frost’s production company offices that got many annoying calls from Python fans.
8. The first series of the show featured fairly elaborate episode titles (many being rejected names for the show) – but which particular animal featured in two separate series one programme titles? Owl, Sheep, Ant, Moth. … Originally, the dead parrot was going to be an owl. … Not quite – there was only a single owl (Owl Stretching Time) but there were two ants mentioned in episode titles.
9. Python characters and sketches have given their name to innumerable things: fossils, landfill sites, asteroids, rock bands – but a ubiquitous computing term is named after a famous Python scene – what is it? Gumby, Spam, Pither, Biggles. … If you miss this one, you are too stupid to be alive. Spam, hold the glory. … Correct! That delightful phenomenon known as spam, as in junk email, is named after the Python’s famous Spam sketch.
10. The documentary exploration of notorious gangsters The Piranha Brothers reveals that Dinsdale Piranha was plagued by an imaginary giant hedgehog – but what was he called? Spiny Norman, Spiky Jake, Snufflin’ Simon, Sticky Rick. … Norman was immortalized in song by Sue Thompson. … You nailed it! That giant imaginary hedgehog was called Spiny Norman. … PG foolishly clicked onto a video by “Ask a mortician.” Now YT is directing him to shows like To Die & Mummify In LA: Yvette Vickers. The sponsor is “America’s ORIGINAL BUTCHER”, Omaha Steaks.
11. Monty Python’s Big Red Book was, obviously, not red but had a blue cover. The original hardback version also has a sticker on the front – but what did it say? Do not open, Contains nuts, Free for Popes, Very urgent. … The pope gets everything else for free. … That would be a fairly Pythonian book sticker – but the one we were looking for: Very urgent.
12. Upper Class Twit of the Year competitor Simon Zinc-Trumpet-Harris was said to be married to… what? A very attractive table lamp, The winner of the Derby, A small nugget of plasticine, A rather fine bottle of port. … The lamp glows when he turns him on. … Very nice! The spouse of Mr Zinc-Trumpet-Harris was indeed rumoured to be a table lamp. … Or as the gentleman in the Nudge Nudge sketch might say, “nice, very nice, know what I mean” while making a few vaguely suggestive hand gestures. That is a score that even a Gumby would be proud of.
This is amazing. Despite having watched hours of Python product, PG only knew one answer. Through dumb luck, he got 5, of the remaining 11, correct. PG is smart enough not to click the “Share your result” button. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. Arthur Rothstein took the photos in March, 1940. Main street corner. Las Vegas, Nevada
Thanksgiving Story
Thanksgiving was a time our family cherished. It was the only time all of us got together under one roof and mingled. Except for me. ~ I was the the family embarrassment. They were Catholic, and disliked my way of life. I played guitar, loved Heavy Metal, and worshiped Satan. ~ All this explains why my family shunned me. In their eyes, I was the flaw of a nearly perfect gem, but in mine, I was the cream of the crop.
I should’ve known they had something awful in mind when they asked me to join them somewhere. They drove me to the very corner of the ranch. ~ “What the fuck are we doing back here,” I asked. My only reply was, “Shut up you blaspheming fool.”
At last we got to the destination. My father, mother, and sister were standing around, wearing funeral clothes. ~ In the middle was a shallow grave. “What’s that hole for?” I asked dumbly. “Take a guess you satanic fucker!” Was the reply from my father.
I felt a thud on my head. I hit the ground with a loud thlap. I turned in spite of excruciating pain to see my uncle wielding a shovel. ~ I touched the back of my head to find my fingers coated in blood. I suddenly grew light headed and passed out. When I woke up I inhaled dirt. ~ Luckily, my family didn’t know how to properly bury someone so I was able to dig myself out. I sat there and puked for about fifteen minutes.
When I got back, it was Thanksgiving night. through the window I could see my family, sitting there, saying grace like the sheeple they were. ~ Seeing them praying made my hate for them and all Catholics grow. It went from a smouldering, muddled anger, to a flaming, outrageous hatred
I ran into the garage and found my uncle’s shotgun, sitting there, waiting for me, beckoning, saying, “Go ahead, make these fuckers pay.” ~ “Hi Mom!” I shouted as I pulled the trigger, I started laughing uncontrollably as I continued firing at my family until I was empty.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” My father asked, wounded, shot in the gut. “Wrong with me?” I asked calmly. “What’s wrong with you?” ~ With that I threw the gun away and dined. Not on Turkey, but on raw human flesh. It was the best Thanksgiving ever. ~ Twitter serialization by @creepypasta_txt. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Inspiration Is For Amateurs
It is a T shirt treasure, and a coffee cup classic. “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” This gem is blamed on Allan Stewart Konigsberg, better known as Woody Allen. The percentage goes up and down, and life is sometimes substituted for success.
The quote was recently featured at WIST, or Wish I’d Said That. This quote site is known for giving a source, unlike the sites featuring purring platitudes in front of a cultural kitten. The current top offering is “Bach almost persuades me to be a Christian.” Virginia Woolf attributes the baroque comment to Roger Fry who was not afraid of the author.
Getting back to Mr. Allen and success statistics. He accepts full responsibility for the remark. In 1989, notorious conservative columnist William Safire asked Mr. Allen about whether he said life or success. The answer was rather surprising.
“The quote you refer to is a quote of mine which occurred during an interview while we were discussing advice to young writers, and more specifically young playwrights. My observation was that once a person actually completed a play or a novel he was well on his way to getting it produced or published, as opposed to a vast majority of people who tell me their ambition is to write, but who strike out on the very first level and indeed never write the play or book.”
In other words, you don’t just show up empty handed. If you have an idea, you have to employ the writing formula, ass + chair. You have to turn the tv off, leave the beer in the refrigerator, sit down, and push buttons on the keyboard.
The second part of today’s entertainment is an encore presentation, Inspiration Is For Amateurs. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
PG was listening to an interview with a fiction writer. Someone said “Inspiration is for amateurs.” PG has always been more impressed by action than beliefs, and this phrase made sense. This repost is a good excuse to post some more pictures from The Library of Congress.
The phrase is from a painter named Chuck Close. His output is expensive, and widely enjoyed. A spinal injury left him paralyzed, but did not stop him from producing. Here is the full quote:
“The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”
A man once made pottery. It was said that the man only worked with passion, and that if he didn’t feel this passion he did not work. When PG heard that, his thought was that if PG worked that way, he would never finish anything. Most of the sticker pictures take a while to finish. PG always gets tired of the picture before it is through. The idea is to go to the studio, start to do stuff, and before long the enthusiasm will return. Any image requires a certain amount of time with the belly pressed against the work table, or the digital equivalent.
The formula for writing is ass plus chair. A teacher once said to not stare at the blank page, waiting for a bolt of lightening. Start to write something, and the ideas will start to sputter out of the pipeline.
It is not enough to have a bright idea. You have to work the problems out. Sometimes, you spend more time finding out what does not work, than what does. You have to do it wrong before you can do it right. Genius is ninety nine percent perspiration and one percent inspiration. If any cliches have been overlooked, please add them to the comments.
One thing that is helpful is to be focused. The internet can be a problem. When you should be thinking about your product, it is very tempting to see the latest on Facebook or Twitter.
Ukraine KKK
KKK Leader: ‘We’re a Christian Organization;’ Claims the Klan Is Not a Hate Group This article was shared on facebook. A suspicious photo was used to illustrate the article.
This photo seemed staged. A google search turned up 4,010,000,000 results.
One of the top results had this caption: “Supporters dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan, using the occasion of Halloween to mask their faces from the police, express anti-Semitic views in Lviv, Ukraine, on October 31, 2009. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko”
KKK man makes ‘death ray’ against Israel’s enemies
A black teacher asked her students to defend the Ku Klux Klan
Ilhan Omar ‘would be in the KKK,’ human rights activist warns
Four Stabbed ‘With Confederate Flag’ at Klu Klux Klan Rally
‘Racist’ Halloween costumes stir debate
When the KKK Infiltrates Your Church
Marc Thiessen on Fox Says White Liberals Have Made the Confederate Flag Racist
Pourquoi le Ku Klux Klan manifeste contre le retrait du drapeau confédéré ?
Ku Klux Klan convoca una marcha en defensa de la bandera confederada
Editor de jornal do Alabama quer Ku Klux Klan a ‘limpar’ Washington DC
Η Κου Κλουξ Κλαν κάνει τα πάντα για να κερδίσει ο Τραμπ τις εκλογές
The first link in this feature quotes the Late Frank Ancona. Mr. Ancona claimed to be “an imperial wizard with the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Mr. Ancona died in February, 2017. KKK leader’s wife admits to killing her husband
The Library of Congress supplied the pictures for this post.
Deadnaming
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Joe Rogan went on a “woke culture” rant the other day, and said this: “you know what else you banned for … you know what will get you banned for life … dead naming … do you know a deadnaming is … if you call Caitlyn Jenner Bruce … banned for life … for life damn ridiculous this is what we’re living in” This set off the bs detector in PG’s fevered mind. As soon as you could say George Jorgenson, PG went to google.
Does twitter permanently ban people for deadnaming? (Deadnaming is using a trans person’s per-transition name.) As they say at snopes, the result is a mixture, half true, half false. Yes, twitter has changed its rules, and deadnaming is no longer permitted. However, it is not clear how strictly it is being enforced. The one case people like to talk about is Meghan Murphy. Ms. Murphy seems to be a nasty piece of work, who went out of her way to make trouble. She is not a typical case. There are no statistics on how many people have been “banned for life for deadnaming.” G-d is in the details.
Twitter has indeed changed its rules. They will be quoted in the next four paragraphs. If you want to skip over, you will be excused. “Hateful conduct: You may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”
“We recognise that if people experience abuse on Twitter, it can jeopardize their ability to express themselves. Research has shown that some groups of people are disproportionately targeted with abuse online. This includes; women, people of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual individuals, marginalized and historically underrepresented communities.” (Women are an estimated 50.8% of the population. If you add the other groups, you wind up with a sizeable majority of the population. You create a situation where white, cis, straight males are the marginalized underrepresented community.)
“We prohibit targeting individuals with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.”
“When determining the penalty for violating this policy, we consider a number of factors including, but not limited to the severity of the violation and an individual’s previous record of rule violations. For example, we may ask someone to remove the violating content and serve a period of time in read-only mode before they can Tweet again. Subsequent violations will lead to longer read-only periods and may eventually result in permanent account suspension. If an account is engaging primarily in abusive behavior, or is deemed to have shared a violent threat, we will permanently suspend the account upon initial review.”
Twitter is a private company, which some say it is a public utility. These rules have inspired many discussions. It is always easy to point out examples of hypocrisy, and uneven treatment. Some of these objections are valid. Has anyone been banned for saying you should “Punch a Nazi”?
This *woke up call* has a New York Times editorial, How Twitter’s Ban on ‘Deadnaming’ Promotes Free Speech. In an ironic touch, this piece about “Free Speech” is hidden behind a pay-wall. For the savvy blogger, a pay-wall is no more effective than a border-wall.
“As a transgender woman, I find it degrading to be constantly reminded that I am trans and that large segments of the population will forever see me as a delusional freak. Things like deadnaming, or purposely referring to a trans person by their former name, and misgendering — calling someone by a pronoun they don’t use — are used to express disagreement with the legitimacy of trans lives and identities. … Kenan Malik argued that banning misgendering will shut down debate on trans issues and strike a blow to free speech. But in fact, the content free-for-all chills speech by allowing the dominant to control the parameters of debate, never letting discussion proceed past the pedantic obsession with names and pronouns.”
The last quote raises more questions than it answers. Who is “the dominant”? Maybe this discussion is about who will be “the dominant” in the next round of the debate. And as for pedantic obsession with names and pronouns… does anyone have a recipe for that can of worms?
The NYT piece had another zesty quote, from certified poopyhead Ben Shapiro. “Is this framework useful? Perhaps Trump is a racist. Perhaps not. Either way, we can have a productive conversation about whether particular Trump statements or actions are racist. But we can’t have a productive conversation that starts from the premise that Trump is a racist overall, and that every action he takes and every statement he makes is therefore covered with the patina of racism. That conversation is about insults, not truth.” Should perceived racial values be a protected category? That is a topic for another discussion. This one has gone on long enough.
To sum things up, Twitter has changed its rules to prohibit transgender trash talk. They probably have good intentions for doing this. It remains to be seen whether these good intentions will lead to hell, or just back into messy everyday life. Twitter is a work in progress, and some well meaning changes run into trouble. It is theoretically possible to get banned for saying Bruce, one time. It does not appear to be happening, yet. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
November 7, 2019
November 7 is just another day. It is three weeks before Thanksgiving. It is a slow day for celebrity birthdays, except for 1879 – Leon Trotsky, 1918 – Billy Graham, 1943 – Joni Mitchell. Chamblee54 has posted material every day for a while now. November 7 has had many topics over the last eleven years. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Nanowrimo is celebrated in November. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, or 1,666 words a day. PG took up the challenge, and produced 58k unreadable words. 110708 was three days after the election of St. Barry to the White House. It was a simpler time.
What Drunk Author Are You turned up in 2009. Facebook had a quiz, and google supplied non-proprietary versions. … Yes, this post is going downhill in a hurry, and you are still reading it. The next stop on this downward spiral is Things to do in Chicago When you are Drunk! This feature sinks to giving advice, like “don’t try to save your marriage with orgies!” and “don’t get drunk and buy drugs by yourself in the hood when you are white!.” … A facility called Wikinut chimes in with Writing While Inebriated (or, How to Be a Drunk-Writer) . This feature has a coupon for a product called Nylabone, a chewable merchandise that is designed for dogs. The headlines include “Keep alcohol on hand, Pour yourself a drink and minimize distractions, Allow inspiration to kick in ” and “Ignore the naysayers“.
Stage Names is about entertainers having creative names. Often, the name is more enjoyable than the performance. The red paragraph features: SheLia Twatt ~ Anne Tissipation ~ Sharon Sharalike ~ Bertha DaBlues ~ Dee Boner ~ Sue Nahmi ~ Amanda Hugankiss ~ Amanda Shagg ~ Davida Loca ~ Unita Muzzle ~ Cincy DeFlesh ~ Kay Keenitet ~ Lucy Lastic ~ Phyllis Steen ~ Shelita Hamm ~ Dale Neverknow ~ Natalie Attired ~ Gladys Overnow ~ Dora Jarr ~ Eileen Dover ~ Emma Roydz ~ Helen Wait ~ Helen Wheels ~ Jenny Tull ~ Anita Dump
The Rose And Bret Show is about an appearance by known idiot Rose McGowan, on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast. The episode is currently in paywall purgatory. Miss McGowan has a number of opinions, and shares them generously. This feature is illustrated by a poem. The text is copied out of the Psalm 51. “in sin did my mother conceive me, behold thou desirest truth, in the hidden part thou shalt, make me to know wisdom purge me, with hyssop and i shall be clean, wash me i shall be whiter than snow.” Party on Garth.
Esoteric And Pedantic are autological … words that describe themselves. PG once wrote a poem using autological words.If you don’t know what esoteric means, count yourself lucky.
The first time PG heard esoteric was life changing. A D.H. Lawrence story, The Rocking Horse Winner, was read in tenth grade English. Many wondered why they had to read something this boring. Finally, one girl asked why anyone would write something this esoteric. The teacher had never heard the word esoteric, and was charmed.
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Being An Adult
Why do we have 2 different puking emojis,
and not ONE that depicts “crying from cuteness overload”?
Friend 1: I got engaged! Friend 2: I got a new job!
Me: I finished a whole tube of chapstick without losing it to the washing machine
As much as I hate to say this: jumpsuits are a tool of the patriarchy to get us naked faster
Being an adult at a festival: putting Tylenol in your fanny pack instead of amphetamines
Uber Eats: “contact the restaurant” Restaurant: “contact Uber Eats”
Me: “this is exactly why my parents are divorced”
My spirit animal is a raccoon because I’m cute but love garbage,
and you probably shouldn’t let me near your loved ones
I just got all excited to bite into a chocolate chip cookie, only to discover it was oatmeal raisin,
so don’t ever say I haven’t been through shit
My biggest obstacle is that I only like salads when they’re made by other people and cost $16
The 10 Commandments of Lizzo:
1. Don’t text me, tell it straight to my face 2. We don’t fuck with lies 3. We don’t do goodbyes
4. We just keep it pushin like aye yi yi 5. If he don’t love you anymore, just walk your fine ass out the door 6. I’m always gonna hold me down 7. Look in the mirror like “damn she the one” 8. Throw it, throw it like a girl 9. Run it, run it like a girl 10. Do your thing, run the whole damn world
Other girls’ dream weddings: a flower arch, 6 foot tall centerpieces, a naked cake with edible flowers that cascade down the side in an ombré pattern
My dream wedding: it happens and the groom shows up
Im less of a gym rat and more of a gym groundhog.
I pop in once a year then decide to go back to sleep for another six weeks
last night I got drunk and read Casey Anthony’s entire Wikipedia page
Once I finally accept that the club soda in tequila soda
does not actually hydrate you, it’s over for you hoes
Once you realize highlighter is basically repackaged eyeshadow, your life can truly begin
My therapist: Why do you think you’re afraid of commitment?
Me: because if I get in a relationship, my jokes won’t be as funny.
Material from the twitter feed of @sarafcarter Editor in Chief Betches Host Not Another True Crime Podcast Fka Sgt. Olivia Betchson New York, NY. @sarafcarter inspired two poems, jumpsuits and therapist office. Material is used with permission. Pictures from The Library of Congress.
Bridget Phetasy
Joe Rogan Experience #1367 – Bridget Phetasy hit the ether last week. Miss Phetasy bills herself as Writer, Comedian, Verified Nobody. Her real name is Bridget Anna Walsh. The visit to the Rogan show was impressive. Three minutes in, Miss Phetasy made a meme worthy comment.
03:00 “I don’t blame myself for that happening but I do have to take responsibility for the fact that when you’re a woman or a girl and you’re out getting blacked out … bad things happen.” Where was this voice of reason during the Brock Turner circus? A young lady, with a history of blackout drinking, passes out behind a dumpster. This was scarcely mentioned in all the outrage about Brock Turner.
Before going further with this, we can mention a couple of youtube gadgets. If you look under the viewing window, you see three dots. If you click on those dots, you will be able to see a transcript of the show. You copy some of this text, and make a comment. If you put the time of the text in your comment, youtube will make a link to the text. That is how the link, at the start of the paragraph above, was made. The link goes directly to the “don’t blame myself” comment.
Bridget Phetasy is a cool person. She has a youtube show, Dumpster Fire. She likes to make fun of sjw goofiness … a topic that never runs out of material. At 3:48 of the latest episode, she dropped this tidbit: “moving on … clapping banned at Oxford University to stop people from being triggered” She ranted for a few minutes, leading up to this: “around this they banned clapping banned it like I’m gonna end up in the gulag someday fucking clapping I know by these people.”
PG had never heard of this, and wanted to know more. There were several tabloid articles, and this: ‘University of Oxford Clapping Ban’ Rumor. This is the danger of saying “google it.” Someone might find information that you don’t want them to find.
“The first Student Council meeting of the academic year, … passed the motion to mandate the Sabbatical Officers to encourage the use of British Sign Language (BSL) clapping, otherwise known as ‘silent jazz hands’ at Student Council meetings and other official SU events. … BSL clapping is used by the National Union of Students since loud noises, including whooping and traditional applause, are argued to present an access issue for some disabled students who have anxiety disorders, sensory sensitivity, and/or those who use hearing impairment aids.”
Clapping out loud is not banned. Nobody is going to the gulag for applauding. While some noise-weary people might appreciate the use of jazz hands, this ban is simply not going to happen. Bridget Phetasy does not always know what she is talking about. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The spell check suggestion for Phetasy is Pheasant.
Oscar And Milo
Oscar Wilde was being cross examined by Edward Carson, the attorney for the Marquess of Queensberry. Mr. Wilde had filed a libel suit, because the Marquess said Mr. Wilde was a somodite. The Marquess was the father of Lord Alfred Douglas, the boyfriend of Mr. Wilde. The cross examination saw many witty comments by Mr. Wilde. It was going well, until it wasn’t.
C– Do you know Walter Grainger? W–Yes. C– How old is he? W– He was about sixteen when I knew him. He was a servant at a certain house in High Street, Oxford, where Lord Alfred Douglas had rooms. I have stayed there several times. Grainger waited at table. I never dined with him. If it is one’s duty to serve, it is one’s duty to serve; and if it is one’s pleasure to dine, it is one’s pleasure to dine. C– Did you ever kiss him? W– Oh, dear no. He was a peculiarly plain boy. He was, unfortunately, extremely ugly. I pitied him for it. C– Was that the reason why you did not kiss him? W– Oh, Mr. Carson, you are pertinently insolent.
Milo Yiannopoulos is no Oscar Wilde. There was no gasp in the courtroom when he made his comments about “Father Michael.” The interview went on youtube September 30, 2015, and has been waiting for its time. In an ironic touch, one of the ads preceding the three hour video starred Leslie Jones, or someone who looked like her.
Bill Maher said, before introducing Mr. Yiannopoulos, “Stop looking at the distractions and the clown show and look at what matters.” There was a panel discussion, with Milo and four other men. The distraction, and the clown show, made comments that seem ironic a few days later.
The discussion began with an audience question about a trans Berkley student. Mr. Maher said she, and Mr. Yiannopoulos said he, with the intention of misgendering the individual. “I make no apology from protecting women and children from men who are confused about their sexual identity.” Maybe Father Michael was confused. “I think that women, and girls, should be protected from having men who are confused about their sexual identities in their bathrooms.” Mr. Maher looked down at the desk, and said “that’s not unreasonable.” Less than a minute of the video had elapsed.
Larry Wilmore said “I think its sad, because the same arguments that we use against gay people, treating them like aliens who want to fuck anything that moves, and that we should avoid them at all costs.” Mr. Yiannopoulos tried to say something, and Mr. Wilmore asked to be allowed to finish his thought. …..”You can always find the extreme person that becomes the object of your attack, that you assign that to everybody.” Given the prevalence of people using paedophilia as an all purpose argument against gays, it seems like Mr. Yiannopoulos went sashaying into a trap. Just let the idiot speak long enough, and he will hang himself. Whether this will have any negative effect on the overall LGBT population is not known.
At 2:33, Mr. Yiannopoulos starts to talk fast, and amateur transcribers (cis-scriber?) might make mistakes. “Your saying that (unintelligible) the victim is some sort of discrimination… this is a psychiatric disorder.” Some might say that a 14 year old. fooling around with a priest, is a victim, and a psychiatric disorder. Mr. Yiannopoulos is an entertainer, and likes to make flippant comments.
In his libel suit, “Wilde did his best to turn the proceedings into a joke with flippant answers. Always the artist, he seemed to be reaching for creative, witty answers, even if they contradicted earlier ones.” One sees the same pattern of behavior in Milo Yiannopoulos.
At 5:39: Mr. Maher said to Mr. Yiannopoulos “This is the beginning of your career, people are just starting to hate you.” “I’ve got so many more years.” This was less than a week before a fox news headline, JUST IN: Milo Yiannopoulos Resigns From Breitbart News.
“You have the potential to morph. You remind me of a young, gay, alive Christopher Hitchens.” Or maybe just young and alive. As an obituary of Mr. Hitchens notes, ” He was almost expelled from school for homosexuality and later boasted that at Oxford he slept with two future (male) Tory cabinet ministers. … he eventually became a dedicated heterosexual because, he said, his looks deteriorated to the point where no man would have him.”
Malcolm Nance got into the act, with the comment “You’ll take Russian spies over Saudis. OK.” Our knowledge of the role of Russians played in the 2016 election is evolving. Much better known is the fact that of the 19 hijackers on 911, 15 were Saudi.
At 10:50, Mr. Nance, a former Intelligence officer, said “Wikileaks… is a laundromat for Russian Intelligence.” The troubles of Mr. Yiannopoulos were noted in a tweet from @JulianAssange “US ‘liberals’ today celebrate the censorship of right-wing UK provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos over teen sex quote.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Whiteness On YouTube
What would happen if you were to type *whiteness* into the youtube search engine? PG hears a lot of talk about whiteness. Almost none of it is positive. Maybe an education is needed. A couple of comments before we start. (1) Only videos lasting less than ten minutes will be considered. Panel discussions lasting seven hours are too much work. (2) While listening to videos without a transcript, it is easy to misunderstand what people say. What is reported here is a good faith representation. (3) There is a lot of talk about whiteness on youtube. Most of it is either boring, or annoying. This feature will try to weed those out. If you want to see more, you are encouraged to type whiteness in the youtube search engine. Pack a lunch. This is a repost.
Franny Choi – Whiteness Walks into a Bar A young lady, of Asian descent, reads from a phone. The poem takes “walks into a bar”, and turns the preacher, priest, and rabbi into whiteness. “whiteness walks into a bar with a golden retriever, the golden retriever promptly takes a (shit) on the floor, the bartender’s like what the, whiteness says whoa-oh-oh-oh, tone, meanwhile the dog is started to run, as the shit’s spraying wet feces everywhere, and whiteness is like, you know if you want me to respect you and your cause you could try being a little less confrontational”
The Expanding Definition of Whiteness This is boring. A black lady talks about how Irish and Italian people were not considered white, until they were. She then moves on to Jews. At 3:23, something “took away the racial taint from Jewishness.” What does the perineum have to do with Jewish whiteness? This performance is neither educational or entertaining.
THE HISTORY OF WHITENESS Kat Blaque is a piece of work. She once went off on PG, who said he did not like the sound of cis-. In this show, Miss Blaque discusses history. She begins by saying that Spanish slave traders invented something called “scientific racism.” This was in the 17th century. The term racism was not used before 1933 In this history based talk, a lot of *facts* are thrown out, in rapid succession and high volume, with a few links for documentation. It is tough to say how much of this chatter is true. What is easy to say is that Miss Blaque does not say what whiteness is, except a system of laws and cultural norms that benefit white people. Whiteness has an elastic definition. It means whatever the speaker wants it to mean.
Everything Wrong With “Whiteness” is a catchy title. Edwins Generation read an article, The Video of the Man Saving the Rabbit From the Fire Captures Everything Wrong With Whiteness in 30 Seconds. EG wondered if the article was satire. Gizmodo websites are often confused for satire. The article is about a man saving a rabbit from a forest fire. “maybe the whitest thing I’ve ever seen.” The battle cry to Examine Your Whiteness just got more complicated.
Jon Hamm ‘White Thoughts’ This is a mock infomercial for a product called “White Be Gone.” WBG will eliminate whiteness from your lifestyle. Is this over the top (under the bottom) white self loathing, or is it a satire? After a while, is it worth worrying about? A response video, How to fight “Whiteness,” takes WBG seriously for 45 minutes.
At 4:23 in “White Thoughts”, a black choir sings behind the talent. Mr. Hamm says that whiteness leads you to wear sheets, and burn crosses. A picture is shown, of a white pride after party in Coweta County, GA. A white peoples march had been planned, and fizzled. A few of the whitebois went to a field, and burned a swastika. The “participation trophy” rally is the picture shown at 4:23.
STEPS TO HEAL YOUR TOXIC WHITENESS is another fake commercial. It refers to a program at Everyday Feminism, Healing From Toxic Whiteness. – 10-Week Program “Learn how to free yourself from toxic whiteness to begin developing an anti-racist white identity. Price $297.” The EF program is promoted by VICE. Want to Heal Yourself from ‘Toxic Whiteness’? This Class Can Help “The people behind the self-help/intersectional feminism publication Everyday Feminism are offering a course that aims to educate people of privilege so “individual people of color don’t have to.”
‘It’s Impossible to Imagine Trump Without the Force of Whiteness’ It is inevitable that we would talk about Donald Trump today. In this video, Ta-Nehisi Coates talks. “…endorse someone who had only whiteness to offer.” PG had to listen to that gem three times, to make sure he got it right. So, all that Donald Trump has to offer is whiteness? Really? Is it the quality of DJT whiteness, or the quantity? After all, most of the other candidates were white. Mr. Trump “ran on whiteness as his sole attribute.” This video is released along with an article, The First White President. The article has lots of zesty quotes about DJT, and whiteness.
The Fire This Time: Claudia Rankine on Whiteness as a Brand This post started out as a good idea, but got boring fast. Thank you for reading to the end. What better way to end this than with Claudia Rankine, whose work is being discussed on this blog. “One of the things that we don’t say explicitly is that whiteness is a brand.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Four Part Rules
When PG was a kid, his grandmother lived in a side apartment, in a house on Virginia Avenue. The owner of the house was Mrs. Stuckey. (PG never learned her “real” name, and assumed that checks were made out to Mrs.) There was a framed piece of paper in Mrs. Stuckey’s hall. The top said “The Four-Way Test of the things we think, say or do” , and featured the logo of the Rotary Club. The four rules were simple, on the surface. Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all Concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
The four way test was written by Herbert J. Taylor. In 1932, Mr.Taylor took over the bankrupt Club Aluminum Company of Chicago. Trying to revive the company during the depression, Mr. Taylor wrote a code of ethics, hoping that it would be the basis for the company’s actions.
Many said that the four way test was not practical for the business world. The balancing of integrity and ambition can be daunting. It was said that “This emphasis on truth, fairness and consideration provide a moral diet so rich that it gives some people “ethical indigestion.”
These thoughts are for you to use. They were articulated by a man named Don Miguel Ruiz. They are called the Four Agreements. . HT to activecitizen54..
PG does not claim to live up to these ideals. Number two is especially tough for him. The main thing is to try, and to always do your best. This is not about what you believe or think, it is about what you do.
agreement 1 – Be impeccable with your word – Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
agreement 2 – Don’t take anything personally – Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
agreement 3 – Don’t make assumptions – Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
agreement 4 – Always do your best – Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
This is an edited repost. The original post has more information about the Rotary Club rules for living. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Chamblee54 
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