Truth Is Ugly
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Interpretation of Nietzsche’s “We have art in order not to die of the truth.”
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dan gasaway · passed out · alcoholic · jeremy princetta · sin
ryan grim · radio chestnut · stefan paulus · darth buddha · stefan paulus · samheim
Today’s entertainment includes three stories from April 2008. In those days, I was required to clock out for a sixty minute lunch. I would often knock out a quickie post, and email it home for later posting · This is your monday morning reader for a glorious may monday. There is nothing new under the sun, and yet people always find things to say, and think that it is new · After hearing the gongs this weekend, I wanted to hear more. I went to the Internet Archive, and found this: stefan paulus stefan paulus samheim · This is the script for a guided meditation that was presented May 16. Any resemblance between this event, and a serious contemplative practice, is coincidental · “Why does grindr crash whenever the Republican National Convention come to town?” The spell check suggestion for grindr is grin. · We have art so that we shall not die of reality Friedrich Nietzsche · In section 822 of the Will to Power (ed. Kauffman), Nietzsche’s note from 1888 reads thus: “For a philosopher to say, ‘The good and the beautiful are one,’ is infamy; if he goes on to add, ‘also the true,’ one ought to thrash him. Truth is ugly. We possess art lest we perish from truth.” (Will to Power; Section 822) · Amazon ☆ review: “I bought this book as a gift. I was willing to pay the $50 because it was advertised as a first edition. When I opened the shipping box, all i found was a regular used book that I could have purchased for $3! · Profanity makes up only 0.3% to 0.5% of the average person’s daily verbal output, amounting to about 80 to 90 curse words a day. … a study ranked Maryland and Texas among the most profane states, while Arizona stood out as one of the most wholesome · so I saw this man on here. I hooked up with him a few years ago, but fell out of touch. He is eagar to come over, my roommate is out, so i invited him over. he sent texts saying he was on his way. 45 minutes later, i sent him a text asking where he was. there was an uncomfortable text exchange, then he invited me to his place. I declined. · Today is @WorldGothDay. To celebrate, chamblee54 is running pictures from the GSU library. The social media picture was taken March 25, 1961. “Order of the Eastern Star, Grant Park Chapter #178” · George H.W. Bush: “People say I’m indecisive, but I don’t know about that.” Richard Nixon: “Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I wouldn’t want to wake up next to a lady pipefitter.” Herbert Hoover: “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.” · PLAYBOY: “Did you ever have the standard boyhood dream of growing up to be President?” DYLAN: “No. When I was a boy, Harry Truman was President; who’d want to be Harry Truman?” · Pictures today are from The Library of Congress John Collier Jr. took the social media picture in October 1941. “French-Canadian stevedores. Oswego, New York” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah · I disputed that Marilyn Monroe had read Ulysses, and will never know for sure either way. I am not the first person to wonder about this. “Richard Brown, a Professor of Modern Literature at the University of Leeds with a special interest in James Joyce, was intrigued by Eve Arnold’s photos of Marilyn.
Bob Dylan Is 85
Content below was previously posted May 24, 2024. … Hibbing MN is a cold place. At least it’s the birthplace of Robert Allen Zimmerman. That’s Allen, with an e, and double L, just like hell. He legally changed that to Bob Dylan, with no known middle name. The initials are BD. On May 24, 1941, the curly haired wonder boi arrived. Europe was in flames, and eyeing America as fresh cannon fodder. This was twelve years, eleven months, and eighteen days before I graced the planet. A twelve year old in Hibbing MN would have no reason to think of me.
Content below was previously posted May 24, 2024. … a decision was made to go to Nashville. Al Kooper played organ, and served as a music director. A bass player named Joseph Souter, Jr. would become famous a few years later as Joe South. Kris Kristofferson was the janitor. The second session started at 6pm and lasted until 530 the next morning. Mr. Dylan was working on the lyrics to “Sad eyed lady of the lowlands,” and the recording could not start until he was ready. The musicians played ping pong and waited. At 4am, the song was ready. …
Content below was previously posted May 24, 2024. … I met a lady once, who worked in an insurance office. One of the customers was Joe South. His driving record file was an inch thick. … Al Kooper had a life. The former Alan Peter Kuperschmidt produced the first three Lynyrd Skynyrd albums, sold that contract for a nice piece of change, and lived happily ever after. Mr. Kooper was playing a show. I sat in front of the stage. During a break between songs, I asked his friend “what time is it?”. Mr. Kooper heard me, and said it was 11:30.
Content below was originally posted May 28, 2010. … The first BD record that I got was “Blind Boy Grunt”. BBG was a bootleg, recorded in a New York hotel around 1961. … I saw BD with The Band at the omni in 1974, and was not impressed. I won tickets to see BD at the house of blues during the 1996 olympics, and could barely hear what he said, the sound was so bad. … Zimmerman is the birth surname of Ethel Merman. May 24 gave us Queen Victoria and Patti Labelle. On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse sent the message ”What hath God wrought”
Content below was previously posted July 30, 2024. … “I think everybody’s mind should be bent once in a while. Not by LSD, though. LSD is medicine – a different kind of medicine. It makes you aware of the universe, so to speak; you realize how foolish objects are. But LSD is not for groovy people; it’s for mad, hateful orange haired people who want banana revenge. It’s for people who usually have heart attacks. They ought to use it at the Geneva Convention.” PLAYBOY: “Did you ever have the standard boyhood dream of growing up to be President?” DYLAN: “No. When I was a boy, Harry Truman was President; who’d want to be Harry Truman?”
Content below was previously posted July 30, 2024. … “The only thing I can tell you about Joan Baez is that she’s not Belle Starr.” … PLAYBOY: “Writing about “beard-wearing draft-card burners and pacifist income-tax evaders,” one columnist called such protesters “no less outside society than the junkie, the homosexual or the mass murderer.” What’s your reaction?” DYLAN: “I don’t believe in those terms. They’re too hysterical. They don’t describe anything. Most people think that homosexual, gay, queer, queen, faggot are all the same words. Everybody thinks that a junkie is a dope freak. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t consider myself outside of anything. I just consider myself not around.” …
Content below was previously posted July 30, 2024. … “I go down to Dallas. I get a job as a “before” in a Charles Atlas “before and after” ad. I move in with a delivery boy who can cook fantastic chili and hot dogs. Then this 13-year-old girl from Phoenix comes and burns the house down. The delivery boy – he ain’t so mild. The next thing I know I’m in Omaha. It’s so cold there, by this time I’m robbing my own bicycles and frying my own fish. I stumble onto some luck and get a job as a carburetor out at the hot-rod races every Thursday night.” … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture: “Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform with bouquet of flowers”
Potus Jokes
This content was originally published May 1, 2016. … After the ADHD WHCD, the Washington Post published The single best joke told by every president, from Obama to Washington. It was easier than finding anything coherent said by Kamala Harris.
The pickins are surprisingly slim, especially for the modern era. When everything you do is recorded, something has to be funny. Three recent Republicans show a liberal capacity for humor.
George H.W. Bush, 1989 Gridiron Club: “People say I’m indecisive, but I don’t know about that.”
Richard Nixon, in Ms. magazine, 1971: “Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I wouldn’t want to wake up next to a lady pipefitter.”
Herbert Hoover “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”
Warren Harding was a dog. … “referring to his penis, which he named Jerry, in a 1915 love letter to his mistress Carrie Fulton Phillips: “Jerry — you recall Jerry, whose cards I once sent you to Europe — came in while I was pondering your notes in glad reflection, and we talked about it.”
You have to go back over a hundred fifty years to get a serious laugh.
Andrew Johnson “Washington, D.C., is twelve square miles bordered by reality.”
Abraham Lincoln “If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”
Franklin Pierce about duties after leaving office: “There’s nothing left. . . but to get drunk.”
Zachary Taylor when suggested that he run: “Stop your nonsense and drink your whiskey!”
John Tyler on his death bed: “Doctor, I am going. Perhaps it is best.”
James Madison on his death bed: “I always talk better lying down.”
I found a quote once about Alexander Hamilton, by John Adams. “His ambition, his restlessness and all his grandiose schemes come, I’m convinced, from a superabundance of secretions, which he couldn’t find enough whores to absorb!” A google search for verification led to a reddit page, Fake Founder Quotes, starring John Adams. Apparently, Mr. Adams said something similar to that in a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, sent January 25, 1806. According to this source, the letter was a satire of Jonathan Swift’s Tale of a Tub
George Washington in a 1788 letter congratulating the Marquis de Chastellux on his recent marriage: “Now you are well served for coming to fight in favour of the American Rebels, all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, by catching that terrible Contagion — domestic felicity — which like the small pox or the plague, a man can have only once in his life: because it commonly lasts him (at least with us in America — I don’t know how you manage these matters in France) for his whole life time.” Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture was taken in summer 1938. “Tobacco workers. Florence County, South Carolina.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
World Goth Day
This content was published May 22, 2012. … In case you did not know, I am an old fogey. I have not been hip since before Nancy Reagan said no. It is rather amazing that I would hear about World Goth Day, much less know what it meant. … What exactly was Goth? When was it popular? Who were popular Goths? Where did they buy their lipstick? Why are you reading this?
According to the WGD web facility, “Best 80’s goth band: The Sisters Of Mercy”. In 1991, I hosted a tacky party in my back yard. A person, who arguably had Goth sympathies, went to a Sisters of Mercy concert at the Fox Theater that night.That would date the advent of Goth a bit. In other words, the original Goths are telling their teenage children to behave now.
Getting back to twitter, the Gothoids are tweeting up a storm. Lets take a look. · @crocpunch I’m too depressed to celebrate World Goth Day. · @TonyCowards It’s World Goth Day and the sun is shining brightly, who says God doesn’t do irony? · @JDawgMadden World Goth Day? Do we have to dress up in black and write depressing, Edgar Allan Poe-wannabe poetry? · @prattprattpratt Out of curiosity, what makes today “World Goth Day?” Did the Goths lobby to have a day? Write their congressman? Who decides? Really. · @NotGaryBusey It’s World Goth Day and somewhere Glenn Danzig is cleaning out kitty litter. · @LauraMcCabe “World Goth Day” Pity no goths will see this trending as their too busy away slitting their wrists · @LauraMcCabe_ Just to let Eurovision fans know there is a tranny singing for Croatia on Thursday. Pretty “woman” with long hair, dress&a nice fluffy beard · @noelfielding11 I personally find world Goth day a bit gloomy. Might spend it on my own in the cemetery · @Eve_Barlow If I knew it was WORLD GOTH DAY I would’ve stayed at home and played House Of The Dead in my Beetlejuice leggings with Marmite on my lips.
The WGD facility has a forum, which asks the question Are you a true Goth? There is one comment in the thread. Somebody is trying to generate traffic for his site, www.Vampirewebsite.net. “Keep in mind most vampires have no idea what they are, and most of them will never find out. When looking for a vampire locally probably the worst place to look is in vampire groups, they are generally over crowded with wannabes and posers. It’s best to just use this page and go basically any where, just as an example we all go to the grocery store eventually.”
Bad Goth, Bad! elevates the conversation a bit. “Goths are everywhere these days. The mall, the beach, and some have even been spotted at sports games. Listen guys, THERE ARE RULES FOR BEING GOTH. If you’re going to represent the Underworld and live in the shadows, you can’t just go around being all normy-norms and drinking Cinnamon lattes next to the Christmas Tree. I’m not going to lie- everyone loves goth style and music on some level (HELLO ALEXANDER McQUEEN and THE CURE), but if you are going to own goth, then you must abide by the goth rules, which means you are ultimately an intellectual, emo vampire (which is really actually very cool). So please act like one. Here are some goths who aren’t following protocol and so I present, BAD GOTH, BAD!”
@SkipsMcskippy So it’s world goth day, I really can’t be bothered celebrating though @baileyhonsinger I’m totally participating in world goth day. Its my favorite day of the year!! · @ErinDavis88 “@zachbraff: Happy “World Goth Day”, also known as “Where Did My Parents Go Wrong Day.”” · @whitewe9 It’s world goth day. I was going to get depressed about it, but then I remembered that would count as celebrating. · @jczreid @vairi the irony that I got sunburnt in world goth day has not been lost on me, even though I was wearing an impressive amount of black · @SmashinBeauty I just found out that today is World Goth day! Happy Goth Day to goths .. if I had known I would have prepared something .. makeup wise · @azroth World Goth day? But everyday is Halloween. · @paulday15 Are goths happy about world goth day? If they are, are they still goths? · @ohmyblainers World Goth Day? Heeeeyyyyy Tina. Pictures today are from Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken March 25, 1961. “Order of the Eastern Star, Grant Park Chapter # 178” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Cuss Words
This content was published May 29, 2012. … There is a lively feature today, A brief history of four letter words. It deals with the evolution of profanity. HT to Andrew Sullivan. Examples will be used in this feature. If such language offends you, please skip the text, and enjoy the pictures.
“Golly! Zounds! Gadzooks! These are the kind of things Captain Marvel would say. Almost any other superhero would be too mature for such, childish silly words. And yet, during Shakespeare’s time, they made him one of the more edgy writers out there. They’re not just random sounds, but contractions, meant to make absolutely shocking sentiments less outright obscene. Golly, zounds, and gadzooks were, in order, God’s body, God’s wounds, and God’s hocks.”
The body of God, or Jesus, is a big deal to some varieties of Christians. When Shakespeare was in business, it was even more so. Religious profanity is less and less explosive, as bumper sticker’s about God’s last name might indicate. When Europe was fighting wars about the best way to worship, this talk about Godfrey Daniels was explosive.
The third commandment refers to the proper use of sacred names. It’s application is in the ear of the beholder. I think that a “Pledge of Allegiance” to a flag is not the proper use of a holy name. And I am notoriously non Christian.
The Whisper of the River is about a “raised right” young man who goes to college. A yankee neighbor says “good God a mighty”. The raised right young man calls him out about “using the name of the Lord in vain”. I used to work with an obnoxious “Pastor” who was fond of shouting GGAM.
Some people think they are being righteous by not using certain words. The truth is that profanity is a social standard. God has better things to worry about than what words people use to describe procreation. All of the Carlin seven appear in the Bible, in one of the many languages used.
Bitch and ass are two words that used to refer to animals. “Ass is actually two words blended together to become an obscenity. Ass, the swear word, started out as irs, which meant the back end of anything, not just animals. It became arse, and eventually rounded out and emerged as an ass. … Bitch started out as a female dog in breeding condition. From there its meaning expanded to anything female in breeding condition, and eventually it expanded to become promiscuous, angry women … or anything “especially disagreeable.” Sliding between the slightly sexual, the slightly referring to sexuality, and the literal meaning of the word got bitch into general conversation, and most television shows. It also helps that being “especially disagreeable,” rather than meek and accommodating has become a point of pride for both women and male homosexuals, and so even at its most insulting, the word has lost the power to shock as society has moved on.”
Both bitch and ass have become more acceptable. Ass is frequently attached to hole, which describes a (hopefully) functioning body part. This word is a serious insult. Names for genitalia also function, with remarkable versatility, as cuss words.
At the start of the Carlin seven is piss and shit. These were created using onomatopoeia … a word that sounds like what it describes. They refer to excretion, both as noun and verb. Excrete is seldom used as profanity, even though it means the same thing. As time goes down the toilet, both piss and shit have acquired multiple meanings.
Which brings us to the F bomb. It is similar to the German Ficken or the Dutch Fokken. It almost certainly is NOT an acronym. Technically it is not one of the Carlin seven. If it is, then mother is a super cussword. With a profitable holiday in May, mother will always be said on television.
There is a popular naughty word with six letters. It *triggers* people. If Mr. Carlin had used this word in his monolog, his career would have ended. This word was used by Mark Twain. It is used today by millions of people. Many people who use this word are described by it. Our culture might be better off without this word, but America is stuck with it.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture was taken “between 1896 and 1901”.“U.S.S. Brooklyn, “Hogan’s Alley”” These men swore like sailors.
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Another Roadside Attraction Part Two
This content was published May 9, 2016. … This is the second, and final, part of a chamblee54 book report on Another Roadside Attraction, by Thomas Eugene Robbins. The book is due back at the Chamblee library today. There are two possible reasons to hurry up, and finish reading the book. A overdue fine from the local library is less of a burden than a failing grade. The effect can be the same … not stopping to smell the verbal roses, but shovelling the animal product that facilitates growth. FWIW, part one is available for your perusal.
The first note is page 177. John Paul Ziller, and his wife Amanda, decline to get drunk. They consider alcohol to be an imperfect drug. This is a line that I remember from the 1978 reading of ARA. What was forgotten was Marx Marvelous, the narrator of the tale. He proceeds to get sloshed, and quotes Bertrand Russell: there is little difference between a man who eats too little and sees heaven, and a man who drinks too much and sees snakes.
Amanda replies that one of the men sees snakes. She says a lot of things in ARA. It is probably quite charming in person, especially when one is warm for her form. In the text, forty five years later, it can be rather annoying. On page 336, Marx Marvelous learns two things about Amanda: she loves him deeply, and is totally indifferent as to whether, or not, she sees him again. The concept of sexist condescension, germinating when ARA was written, has come to politically correct fruition in the age of Obama. If one is of the mind to do so, they could judge ARA harshly for this.
There is an order of renegade monks down the road from the Zillers. An associate, Plucky Purcell (more formally known as L. Westminster Purcell III) is a visitor at this facility. This residency is a marvel of totally unbelievable fiction, and is essential to the plot of ARA. The monks are a Vatican hit squad, and Purcell fits right in. In a stroke of impossible to forsee synchronicity, two *good* nuns stop by for a visit. They are Sister Elizabeth and Sister Hillary. They make two appearances… on page 183 and page 283. Amanda decides it is nun of her business.
The Zillers have a roadside zoo, and hot dog stand. It does not sell coffee, which is disappointing to many road warriors. “They stop for coffee, and feel cheated when they learn the meaning of meaning.” I first heard the phrase “meaning of meaning” in an eleventh grade history class. It was presided over by a basketball coach, who was not interested in the dribbles and shoots of wars and civilizations. For the first test, “Dudley Doo Right” asked the class to write three pages on the meaning of meaning.
As second time readers know, the essential character in ARA is the body of Jesus. It was in the Vatican, until Plucky Purcell found it, and brought it to the Ziller’s hot dog stand. In this edition of ARA, the mummified savior appears on page 222. This is one third of the anti christ. There is something cosmic about a dead Jesus having a numeric value equal to one third of beelzebub. Or maybe it is merely comic, and the author added the extra s by mistake.
One of the joys of google era reading is easy access to fact checking. (The proposed french word for google was a palindrome, googelegoog). On page 280, TER reports that Carmen Miranda wore size one shoes. The page wikiFeet for Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha has pictures, which appear to be larger than size one. The Celebrity Shoe Size List has Carmen Electra (size 7) and Carmen Kass (size 8.5,) but no Carmen Miranda. I suspect this diva detail to be an apparition of overactive imagination.
As ARA rambles on to the uplifting conclusion, a council of war is convened in the hot dog stand. The Zillers, Plucky Purcell, Marx Marvelous, and Mon Cul (John Paul Ziller’s pet baboon) try to decide what to do with the holy remains, known by now as “the corpse.” On page 290, there is a typo, unless “insited” is a scrabble approved word. On page 288, someone is called “utopianist.” This may reefer refer to utopia. A more whimsical vision sees a keyboard musician working for the United Thank Offering. Those Episcopals think of everything.
There are several sides in this debate. Amanda takes the historic approach, and washes her pretty hands of the corpse. Pontius Pilate hands her a bar of soap. Plucky Purcell wants to publicly display the corpse, with the idea of destroying the Catholic church. Marx Marvelous says that lots of Catholics are good people, and telling them that Jesus is dead would hurt their fee fees. Sister Elizabeth, and Sister Hillary, are used as examples.
In truth, the fictional debate has been rendered moot in the post Nixon, but not post racial, world. The Catholic church soldiers on. The revelation that *some* priests like to forcibly sodomize pre adolescent boys has barely mattered to the masses. The church has taken a (catho) licking, and kept on ticking. Co-dependent Protestantism does even better.
Page 290 was where I had to throw down the book in disgust. Plucky Purcell, backing down from his plan to destroy the church, admits that *Jesus* was a pretty good guy after all. Never mind that the story he quotes is from the Bible… written by hundreds of anonymous authors, hand copied by anonymous scribes, compiled and edited by the Romanized church, translated by a queer English king. How can you trust a book like that? And yet, the PR of Jesus persists. Even the most vicious critics of the modern Jesus worship church have a soft spot for the old boy.
One *page 69,* John Paul Ziller warns against anthromorphizing, or assigning human emotions to non-human animals. And yet, 222 pages later, the text anthromorphizes the cult of Jesus. It must work, because the conclusion of ARA leaves the Roman Pedophile Church intact. … Tom Robbins went to the hotdog stand in the sky February 9, 2025. Pictures today are from Georgia State University Library. The social media picture: Ford Motor Company mechanics, Lawrenceville”
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Liberace’s Birthday
What follows is a script for a guided meditation. It was presented May 16, 2026, in Highlands NC. The date and location are central to this exercise. We will be using 4-7-8 Breathing. When we are in Tibet, on the other side of the world, we will practice Loving Kindness Meditation.
Welcome to my guided meditation. Thank you for helping to create this. The theme of the weekend is Transcending Traditions. Or maybe the opposite … Cis Beginning. Either way, we are going to take a different approach. Please don’t take this too seriously. … I am going to be pronouncing names in unfamiliar languages. I will make mistakes. I am also going to be presenting details, which are not guaranteed to be accurate. I would enjoy your forgiveness. If you cannot hear me clearly, please raise your hand, and I will speak louder.
From time to time, we are going to welcome people into our circle. When I say “Welcome ___” you are invited to say the name with me. … Let’s draw the circle close together. I would like for us all to hold hands, or have some other physical connection to the circle. The people on my side can place a hand on my shoulder or thigh, as I will be using my hands. … Please look across the circle, and see who is sitting there. If you don’t remember their name, remember the color of their shirt. Tuck this detail into your mind for later use. · Now, I would invite you to close your eyes. Put your feet firmly on the floor, and make yourself grounded and comfortable.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Highlands NC is at 35.05° N latitude and -83.19° W longitude. We are going to use this as a starting point. Moving north from Highlands, we will go due north until we cross the state line into Tennessee. Bat Harbor TN, Jonesville VA, Hazard KY, Columbus OH, Detroit MI. We will leave land at Bad Axe MI, and move into Lake Huron. We will enter Canada at Blind River ON, and move up to Hudson Bay. We will be back on land in Nunavut (NOO·nuh·voot) Territory, and run out of land at Ellesmere Island. This is 82° N, and is one of the furthest north points on the planet. Alaska only goes up to 71°N. We will skate over the Arctic Ocean, and get to the North Pole. Be sure to say Hi to Santa Claus.
May 16 is the 136th day of 2026. 229 days remain. On May 16, 1770 – Marie Antoinette married the future King of France. Cake was served at the reception. · May 16, 1777 – In Savannah GA, Lachlan McIntosh killed Button Gwinnett in a duel. Mr. Gwinnett was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the namesake of Gwinnett County GA · On May 16, 1919, in West Allis, Wisconsin, Wladziu (VWAD jew) Valentino Liberace was born. He was known to friends as Lee, and to the world as Liberace. Please join me: Welcome Liberace, You will make our journey more fabulous with your presence. · On May 16, 1929, in Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony took place. · Other fabulous people were born on May 16 include Janet Jackson, 1966, and Tucker Carlson, 1969.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Moving down from the north pole, we are going to go south at 83° E. At 74°N, we will go into Russia at Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District (Tie-MEER-skee Dol-GAH-nah Neh-NETS-kee). We will go through Russia into Serebryansk (seh-reh-BRYANSK) Kazakhstan, and on into Tacheng (tah-CHUNG) Prefecture, Xinjiang (SHIN·jaang) China. Soon, we will move over the frontier into Tibet, which is governed by China today. At Gêrzê (GUYD tsay) County, Ngari (NAH-ree) Prefecture, we will be at 35.05°N/83.19°E. This is the other side of the world from North Carolina.
At this time, I would invite you to think of a person that is special to you. I am going to say “I want”, and leave a silent space. When I leave the silent space, I want you to substitute that person’s name. We are going to wish for this person to be happy, healthy, prosperous, and safe. · Repeat after me. · (Breathe in, said by the presenter only) … I want __ to be happy. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be healthy. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be prosperous. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be safe.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Moving through the Himilayas, we go through Dolpa (DOHL-pah) Nepal, before entering India at Gorakhpur (goh-RUK-poor) Uttar Pradesh (OO·taar pruh·DAYSH). We have been going through some cold lands, with very few people. Once we cross into India, that will change. We will leave India at Tantadi (TUN-tuh-dee) Andhra Pradesh (AAN·druh pruh·DAYSH), move into the Bay of Bengal, and on into the Indian Ocean. We have been in Asia for 3,898 miles.
We are going to be in the Indian Ocean until we reach Antarctica. As we go over the eastern equator, we can introduce the seven wiccan goddesses: Isis, Astarte, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna, Diana. Please join me: Welcome Isis, Astarte, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna, Diana
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
At some point in this ocean, we will reach 35.05°S/83.19°E. This is directly on the opposite side of the earth from Highlands, NC. If you were to take a laser beam, and point it at the center of the earth, this is where it would come out. · At 66.6° S, we will reach Antarctica. We have spent 5,761 miles on the Indian Ocean. Soon, we will reach the south pole.
At the north pole we talked about births on May 16. At the south pole, we will talk about deaths. In 1984, we lost Andy Kaufman. In 1985, we lost Margaret Hamilton, the wicked witch of the west. In 1990, we lost Sammy Davis Jr. and Jim Henson.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Crossing the South Pole, we will return north at -83.19° W. Soon, after 2,829 miles in Antarctica, we will enter the Pacific Ocean. There will be no more land in the Southern hemisphere. South America is completely east of -83.19°W. Soon, we reach 35.05°S/-83.19° W, and move on up to the equator.
As we go over the western equator, I would like to welcome four men onto our journey. These men have been central to the connection between Man and the divine. These four men are Siddhartha Gautama (suh·DAAR·tuh GAU·tuh·muh), better known as the Buddah, Jesus of Nazareth, Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh (muh-HAM-mud ib-n ab-DUL-lah) , and Elvis Aaron Presley. Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Elvis. Join me: Welcome Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Elvis.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
After 5,590 miles on the Pacific Ocean, we will reach land at Pavón Puntarenas (pah-VOHN poon-tah-REH-nahs) Province, Costa Rica. Soon we will be on the waters of the Gulf of MEXICO, before reaching land at Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. After passing through Cabo Gracias a Dios, Honduras, we will again sail over the Gulf of Mexico, and on to Bahia Honda (bah-HEE-ah ON-dah) Cuba. There will be one last trip on the Gulf of Mexico, before hitting North America at Horseshoe Beach, FL. We will cross the state line at Nasty Pond GA, go past Milledgeville, before arriving at Highlands, NC.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
This is the midway point of our journey. The next portion will be east at 35.05°N. This will be shorter than the North South portion, which covers the circumference of the planet. The only time this would happen east-west is at the equator. A degree of latitude is always 69 miles, while a degree of longitude is 56 miles at 35°N. Our total trip around the world is 24,840 miles going north-south, and 20,420 miles going east-west at 35.05° N.
We start the east-west part of out journey in Highlands NC, and move on to Rocky Bottom SC, (Always dreaming about Rocky Top TN). We go back into North Carolina south of Charlotte, before hitting the Atlantic Ocean at Ocracoke (OW·kruh·kowk) NC. Once again, our time on the Ocean will be uninterrupted, with 3,913 miles between North Carolina and Larache (la RAYSH), Morrocco. At Sidi Boubekeur (See-dee Boo Bake ER), Algeria, we will hit 35.05°N/0°E-W. We will go through La Laouata (Lah Lah-oo-AH-tah), Tunisia, before hitting the Mediterranean Sea. We will visit the islands of Crete and Cyprus, before hitting land at Soda Khawabi (So-dah KHAA-wa-bee), Syria.
On May 16, 1916, Great Britain and France signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This was an agreement regarding the Ottoman Empire properties once WW1 was over. France would get Syria, while Great Britain would get Palestine. These occupations did not go smoothly. The Sykes-Picot agreement was one step in the process of West Asia becoming the mess that it is today.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Moving east from Syria, we will go through Baiji (BY-jee), Iraq, which would be included in a future Kurdistan. We go through Hasanabad-e Shir Mohammad (Huh-sun-uh-BAUD-eh Sheer Moh-hum-MUD), Iran, Puza Aw (POO-zah AHH) Afghanistan, miss Turkmenistan by a few miles, before going through to Bagh Dehri (BAHG DAY-ree) Pakistan. Soon, we will be North of Kashmir, where it is tough to say who the government is. The next stop is Tibet/China, where we will once again at Gêrzê (GUYD tsay) County, Ngari (NAH-ree) Prefecture, where we will be at 35.05°N/83.19°E. … the other side of the world from North Carolina. In 390 miles east, we will be at 90°E.
A few minutes ago, I asked you to note who is sitting across the circle from you. I want you to think of this person, and say their name when I say leave a silent space. Repeat after me. · (Breathe in, said by the presenter only) … I want __ to be happy. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be healthy. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be prosperous. (Breathe in) … I want __ to be safe.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
Moving out of the mountains, we will exit Asia through Rizhao Shandong (REE-jaow SHAN-dong) China. This is 4,707 miles from Syria. We shall visit Gwangju (GWAANG·joo), South Korea, and leave land for good at Minamiboso (mee-nah-mee-BOH-soh), Japan. After a while in the Pacific, we get to where 35.05° N hits 180° E-W. We will spend 5,698 miles on the Pacific before coming ashore at Pismo Beach CA. We will only spend 4 miles in Nevada, before going through Flagstaff AZ, Zuni Reservation NM, Amarillo TX, Hobart OK, and Conway AR. The Tennessee-Mississippi border is legally intended to be at 35 degrees north latitude. However, due to errors in surveying technology, the actual line (often called the “Winchester Line”) is about a mile south of the 35th parallel. We will go through Memphis, -90W, and Chattanooga, before arriving in Highlands NC. This is 2,632 miles across America from Pismo Beach CA.
Breathe in (4 seconds) Hold (7 seconds) Breathe out (8 seconds).
We are now back where we started. When you are ready, gently open your eyes. You may want to be careful when you stand up, and get used to being back in North Carolina. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the day. Pictures today are from Georgia State University Library The social media picture was taken September 27, 1955. “West Peachtree and Peachtree Streets”
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Archons Cannot Approach
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“Interfered with by the state of the times” The Rothschild Archive …
Woman bitten on foot by venomous copperhead: ‘I’ve never felt pain like that’ | WSB-TV
Angine de Poitrine – Live at Electric Ballroom, London, 11/05/2026
Tenants, businesses scramble to regroup after Chamblee apartment fire
You guys warned me and It finally happened, be careful where you stay in Tennessee
Jesus Revealed 1 Metal Chosen Ones Must Wear Around Neck — Archons Cannot Approach
Civil society should be resisting Trump’s authoritarianism. It’s succumbing to it …
ב-1983 תבעתי את “טיים” עם שרון. התיק נגד “ניו יורק טיימס” קשה יותר
Jesus Revealed 1 Metal Chosen Ones Must Wear Around Neck — Archons Cannot Approach
morrison farms · oil · david lloyd george · clarence carter · ron hudspeth
noah church · angine de potrine · rex reed · deepak chopra · confederacy · chuck mccann
This is your monday morning reader for day 73 of Bibi’s Dream War. The stock market is up 38 points. The price of oil is $80.42 USD. The bottom has not fallen out. The orange haired idiot will find a way to make things worse. · The title of my monday morning reader is chosen more or less at random. It is usually a short phrase in on of the links. The social media picture is something that catches my eye for some reason. What is not planned is the way X tags the picture with the title. · “7. We are exhausted from having to defend our existence to strangers.” The problem is, people in Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and Iran are exhausted from having to defend their existence FROM strangers. I knew two things on October 7. 1 – Israel would exponentially over retaliate. 2- We are going to be hit with a tsunami of rhetoric. The Jewish homeland is doing horrific things right now. All the rhetoric in the world cannot change that. · The claim that the Paris branch of the Rothschild bank supported the Confederacy while the London branch supported the Union during the American Civil War is a topic often discussed in alternative history and financial conspiracy theories, but it is not fully supported by mainstream historical evidence.While the Rothschild family maintained banking houses in both cities, historical records suggest a more complex, largely neutral, or even cautionary approach to the conflict rather than direct, split, and opposing support.Key Historical Context:Neutrality over Sides: Rothschild family archives indicate they were generally cautious, avoiding significant direct investment in Confederate bonds, which were seen as high-risk, especially after the Union blockade began to work.Belmont’s Role: The Rothschilds’ main representative in the U.S. was August Belmont, based in New York. Though often associated with Southern interests, Belmont was a loyal Union Democrat who used his position to support the Union’s financial stability, fearing that a Union collapse would wipe out investments.European Interests: While the Confederacy attempted to obtain financial support from Europe (cotton bonds), and some European investors were involved, the main Rothschild houses in London (N M Rothschild & Sons) and Paris (de Rothschild Frères) were primarily concerned with the stability of their European investments and minimizing risks from the war.Accusations and Rumors: The Rothschilds have often been accused of trying to influence British and French governments in favor of the Confederate cause, largely due to the need for cotton in Europe, but the family’s actions were driven by business risk management, not a desire to see the U.S. divided.Some interpretations, as mentioned in literature like “The Suppressed History of American Banking” or online forums, argue the family “played both sides,” but this is often presented to fit a narrative of international bankers driving the conflict. Mainstream historians generally focus on their role as cautious investors navigating a crisis. · The lady asked the Buddha what would happen when she died. ‘These are not the things that you need to know. The thing that you need to know is how to deal with suffering, because at this very moment, what made you ask that question was suffering.” · are you keeping up with the news from west asia. The latest reports say that Israel trains German Shepards to rape Palestinian prisoners. … What you want to bet that there are some queens who think it would be hot to get raped by a German shepard? · Today’s entertainment includes three stories from April 2008. In those days, I was required to clock out for a sixty minute lunch. I would often knock out a quickie post, and email it home for later posting. · At this time, think of someone at random. Whoever the first person you think of, hold onto this person’s name. When I leave a silent space, softly say that person’s name. Breathe in … I want __ to be happy, Breathe in … I want __ to be healthy, Breathe in … I want __ to be prosperous, Breathe in … I want __ to be safe · I cannot fulfill this request. I am programmed to be a helpful and harmless AI assistant. My safety guidelines prohibit me from producing, displaying, or assisting with sexually explicit content. · From 2010 … The biggest winner of the US-Iraq war (aka World War W) is Iran. This new influence in Persia is very troubling to Israel, which is loudly rattling its nuclear saber. When Israel makes noise about Iran, it takes attention away from the Palestinian tragedy. · Next time the r-subject comes up, see how many times someone says talk, and how many times someone says listen. If anyone says listen at all. · “what do you even say at this point?” We knew DJT was a crook, with massive personality flaws, in 2016. · Democrats made the central issue of that campaign calling DJT a RACIST. And if you disagree, then you are a RACIST. DNC thought that was how to win. The were wrong. · It is as if God wanted to design a method for spreading disease with receptive anal sex. The agent stays warm, moist, and dark inside the body. · The world is so bright when i pull the mask off , like the sky is so clean after a rainstorm. 2026 is so sweet this time of year. It is light outside and the air is sweet after baking in the sun all day. The layer shirt is out of the bag, and will feel good as a barrier agains the chill breeze. Why do the letters look funny with a double tap, and how do i control it for my use. Maybe it is a useless bug feature, like the 3 second video on an iphone. · I finally got out the door at 10:12 drove up new Peachtree Road turned on to Buford Highway I’m going to take Buford Highway up to Buford decided that it would be a good idea to stop at a Raceway and get a cup of coffee I usually don’t drink coffee but this is I’m on vacation I’m going to do things a little different today my first entertainment is Billy Corgan talking to Penn jillette and I was going to turn it off at first but then I I stuck with it and then pin Gillette made the most amazing point about atheism and agnosticism he said that an atheist is an theological question and an agnostic is something another episode epistemic or something like that one of those happy words and that he said that the basic notion of of agnostic is that he quoted his Christopher Hitchens and he said that I don’t know and I don’t think you do either and it is open to the possibility of a God but basically not you just don’t know either way you don’t know and this is very close to what I think because I might notion is that you should say agree rather than believe and to base a God on believing in it is not what I want to do but what I will do want to do is go inside that racetrack and buy a cup of coffee and then get on the road · Pictures today are from The Library of Congress Russell Lee took the social media picture in May 1941. “Dancers at large dance hall in San Diego, California” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Sunday Morning Drabbles
This content was published May 18, 2025. … Today is May 18, 2025. I am going to write new material for my blog today, based largely on content from May 2008. This was the first year that chamblee54 was on WordPress. I was driving a truck in Marietta, and listening to am talk radio. The 2008 election was going on. John McCain was going to be the Republican candidate, and Barack H. Obama was the Democrat wannabe. The 2008 economic meltdown was a few weeks away. After the economic meltdown, I lost my job, and the election of Obama became inevitable.
Another shot in the arm deals with capital punishment. On May 6, 2008, Georgia was preparing to off a convict. … Semantic timeout. While hung, shot, or beheaded are obvious verbs for more archaic means of execution, what is the expression for “executed by lethal injection”? What do you call the process where a GDC employee shoots up a person with substances that will cause their demise? Injecticide? … With all the corruption, lawyers, and rampant egomania in the justice business, how can the death penalty ever be administered fairly? Was this practice ever intended to be fair?
There was a comment thread at a Christian blog. The topic of preaching at funerals came up: “I want to see God’s grace and name honored.” Preaching an unwanted message to grieving people does not honor God. Christians frequently do not respect non-believers. Christians feel that if they only repeat their message over and over that others will agree with it. However, many of us have made up our minds. The more you try, the more you alienate us. A heavy religious message at a funeral is an example of this. Many incontinent evangelicals are like dogs that will not quit barking.
Like many men of my degeneration/generation, I had long hair. The problem is, with a Georgiawhiteboi like me, hair turns into worms after about three centimeters. It is way too much work to take care of. So I bought a pair of clippers. It was the modern version of letting my freak flag fly … I was in the church’s fried chicken on Broad street downtown. The two drag queens were in front of me in line.They got their food and left. When I stepped to the counter, I heard this girl say to her friend ”Her hayyer is so preeiitee”
Tallulah Bankhead was making a movie, “Lifeboat”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Some of the other actors commented that Miss Bankhead was not wearing panties. Mr. Hitchcock wondered if this was a matter for wardrobe or a matter for hairdressing … Did Mohawks really shave their heads except for a stripe of hair in the middle? That would seem to be a lot of trouble for pre-modern men living in upstate New York. A Mohawk haircut is high maintenance, just like many who display them. … When asked how long it takes to do her hair, Dolly Parton replies. “I don’t know I am not there”
A clean pair of socks is change you can believe in. … The intangibles include respect, good will, and trust. Semantic fine tuning aside, these words mean the same thing. … A man has to believe in something. I believe I will have a drink. W.C. Fields … Mr. Barnum once said “there is a sucker born every minute”. This belief served Mr. Barnum abundantly … Miss Teenage South Carolina gave a famous speech. The first three words were ” I personally believe” … Anyone can quote the Bible. To do so without the trust of the listener is to speak in vain.
Opinions are like a smelly, though productive, body part. What does this say about beliefs? … Believe is a seven letter word. The first two letters are BE. The next three letters are LIE … Cher had a hit song called “Believe” The hair is a wig, the plastic surgery is paid for, but do you believe. … John 3:16 has more than 22 words. That verse helps reduce Jesus to a scheme for life after death. … My opinions about G-d, the Bible, Jesus, and Life after Death are none of your business. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The social media picture: “Private Lucien Love of Co. D, 43rd Virginia Cavalry Battalion … Photo shows young identified soldier. Lucien Love is one of six Mosby Rangers executed by the Union in September 1864 near Front Royal, Virginia.”
Always Take Sides
This content was originally published May 15, 2019. … “Always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” This meme, illustrated by the gnomic face of Elie Wiesel, turns up on facebook a lot. (Elie Wiesel is pronounced like Elly Mae Clampett) Some find it inspiring. Others think it is simplistic and manipulative.
There are two questions. Did Mr. Wiesel say that? What was the context? The quote appears in the acceptance speech for the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize. The next sentence is “Sometimes we must interfere.” We immediately go from the absolute always, to the conditional sometimes. That is progress, even if it does not fit on a bumper sticker.
“Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Romania, in 1928. … In May 1944, Wiesel was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp along with his parents and his sisters. Wiesel and his father were slave laborers at Auschwitz. His father died in January 1945 during a forced march to another camp, Buchenwald, and his mother and younger sister were murdered as well. After the war, Wiesel moved to France, where he worked as a journalist.”
The Israel-Palestine problem was just as vexing in 1986 as today. Here is what Mr. Wiesel said in his speech. “More people are oppressed than free. And then, too, there are the Palestinians to whose plight I am sensitive but whose methods I deplore. Violence and terrorism are not the answer. Something must be done about their suffering, and soon. I trust Israel, for I have faith in the Jewish people. Let Israel be given a chance, let hatred and danger be removed from her horizons, and there will be peace in and around the Holy Land.”
Who is the oppressor in the Middle East, and who is the victim? Many sides can make a case for their cause. Who is the better at persuasion? Who is better at playing the shady game of influence, and money. Often, more noise encourages the tormentor. The answer to age old conflicts is seldom found in bumper stickers, or facebook memes.
“…to whose plight I am sensitive but whose methods I deplore.” “Always take sides” means that you pick one side in a conflict, and use the tools of rhetoric to promote that cause. It can be tough to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Simplistic rhetoric is *never* the answer.
In 1986, the Iran-Iraq war was raging. Hundreds of thousands of men died. Many said the war was allowed to go on intentionally. Allegedly, if Iran and Iraq were not fighting each other, they would be fighting Israel. The United States was allied with Iraq, while making arms deals with Iran. Israeli dealers participated in the United States-Iran arms trading. The profits from those deals went to supply terrorists in Central America. “Sometimes we must interfere.” … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Jack Delano took the social media picture in May 1940. “Interior of general store at Stem, Granville County, North Carolina, with high school boys dressed up because it’s Election Day.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
Cadavre Exquis
This content was originally published May 7, 2024. … When you are the featured poet at a reading, it is good manners to show up on time. I was scheduled to feature at the Little 5 Poetry bash, but the traffic had other plans. I got to Java Lords at 1832, got a cup of coffee, and went into the lobby of 7 Stages theater. It was empty. I sat down, and took a notebook out of my backpack. As I was looking for an inkpen, Rosser Shymanski walked in, wearing a lovely pair of lime green shoes.
The event was outside on the patio. Han Vance, the primary perpetrator of the event, was on the microphone. “Tomorrow is my first UNNIVERSARY, would-be 13th wedding anniversary so I’m gonna do a special set before you go.” It was an emotional evening for Mr. Vance, but he pulled through. There were only two more poets reading, Mitchell Padgett and Mark LaFountain.
After a while, Rosser pulled some clipboards out of a box, and introduced a parlor game. Each person would start a group poem. You write two lines. Fold the paper over the first line, and pass the clipboard on to the next person. They write two lines, hide the first one, and pass it on to the next person. When you fill up the page, you have a poem.
“Cadavre exquis is similar to the old parlour game consequences – in which players write in turn on a sheet of paper, fold to conceal what they have written, and pass it on to the next player – but adapted so that parts of the body are drawn instead.
It was invented in 1925 in Paris by the surrealists Yves Tanguy, Jacques Prévert, and Marcel Duchamp. The name ‘cadavre exquis’ was derived from a phrase that resulted when they first played the game, ‘le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau’ (‘the exquisite corpse will drink the new wine’).”
Some killjoy observed that stream of consciousness is more fun to write than it is to read … and don’t even think about editing. There is a discussion to be had whether consequences, with or without truth, should be chosen before an exquisite corpse.
Anglo Persian Oil Company
This content was originally posted May 19, 2010. … People are talking about the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. TomDispatch has a paragraph about one of the key players, British Petroleum (BP): “Originally known as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (later the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, still later British Petroleum), BP got its start in southwestern Iran, where it once enjoyed a monopoly on the production of crude petroleum. In 1951, its Iranian holdings were nationalized by the government of Mohammed Mossadeq. The company returned to Iran in 1953, following a coup that put the Shah in power. It was finally expelled again in 1979, following the Islamic Revolution.”
If you look at the problems of the world in the last forty years, so many are affected by Iran. The 1953 revolution left great resentment, which became manifest in the 1979 revolution. Soon Iraq … whose border with Iran was clumsily drawn by the British … decided to attack Iran. A gruesome eight year war was the result, with the USA supporting both sides. The idea was, if they are fighting each other, they will leave Israel alone.
After this war is over, Iraq has a problem with Kuwait, in large part because of a war debt. Another war is the result, with the USA involved. Iraq is vanquished, but some in the USA are not satisfied, and after a few years the USA invades Iraq again. That war is still raging.
The biggest winner of the US-Iraq war (aka World War W) is Iran. This new influence in Persia is very troubling to Israel, which is loudly rattling its nuclear saber. When Israel makes noise about Iran, it takes attention away from the Palestinian tragedy.
Tom Dispatch is still publishing content. The situation with countries-that-start-with-I is worse than ever. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Arthur S. Siegel took the social media picture in August 1942. “Interlochen, Michigan. National music camp where 300 or more young musicians study symphonic music for eight weeks each summer. Couples dancing at a Monday night dance jamboree” ©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah
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