Math Jokes
Q:Why do they never serve beer at a math party?
A: Because you can’t drink and derive.
Q: Why won’t Goldilocks drink a glass of water with 8 pieces of ice in it?
A: It’s too cubed.
Q: What did Al Gore play on his guitar?
A: An Algorithm
Q: Why was the Calculus teacher bad at baseball?
A: He was better at fitting curves than hitting them.
Q: Why do you rarely find mathematicians spending time at the beach?
A: Because they have sine and cosine to get a tan and don’t need the sun.
Jokes are from facebook. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Tallulah Bankhead And Billie Holiday
Tallulah Bankhead was born January 31, 1902 in Huntsville AL. She had a year-older sister, Eugenia. Their mother died February 23, 1902. Legend has it her last words were “Take care of baby Eugenia. Tallulah can take care of herself.”
The father of the actress was Will Bankhead. He was a prominent politician, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives in Washington. Mr. Bankhead was on the short list of Vice Presidential candidates for Franklin Roosevelt, but was passed over. The Bankhead national forest and the Bankhead Highway are both named for Will Bankhead.
Tallulah Bankhead was an actress, radio show hostess, and personality. She went to London in the early twenties and became a stage sensation. Returning home, she became a Broadway star with “The Little Foxes.” She made movies, but saved her best public performances for the stage.
Miss Bankhead was known for being sexually active, with both men and women. Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammie in Gone With The Wind, was rumored to be one of her “friends”. Her introduction to Chico Marx went like this “Miss Bankhead.” “Mr. Marx.” “You know, I really want to fuck you.”. “And so you shall, you old-fashioned boy.”
One legend has Miss Bankhead at a dinner party with Dorothy Parker and Montgomery Clift. As might have been expected, the cocktail hour went on most of the evening. At one point, Mister Clift had his head in Miss Parker’s lap. “oh you sweet man, it’s too bad that you’re a cocksucker. He is a cocksucker, isn’t he?” Miss Bankhead replied “I don’t know, he never sucked my cock.”
Her most famous movie role was in “Lifeboat”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Her co stars complained that she was not wearing panties under her dress. Mr. Hitchcock posed the question, is this a matter for wardrobe or for hairdressing?
In the fading days of radio, Tallulah was the host of “The Big Show”. She became known for her deep voice, and for saying “Dah-ling”. More than one guest got big laughs by calling her Mister Bankhead. After “The Big Show” ended, Miss Bankhead remained active on stage and television. She died December 12, 1968.
Miss Bankhead was a staunch Democrat, as is fitting for the political family she was raised in. During the McCarthy era, an actress friend of hers was accused of being a communist. Miss Bankhead made a statement of support for the actress on the radio, and then asked her, are you a communist? The actress said that her daddy was a republican, and so she guessed that was what she was. Miss Bankhead was horrified. “A republican! That’s worse than being a goddamn communist.”
One of Miss Bankhead’s more explosive friendships was with Billie Holliday. “The truth of the matter is that the evidence strongly suggests they probably first met in the early 1930’s during Bankhead’s Harlem rent party and nightclub-slumming days, well before Holiday ever became famous. What is known is that by 1948 they were bosom buddies. A year earlier, Holiday entered the Alderson Federal Reformatory for Women to serve her famous “one day and a year” sentence after being found guilty on dope charges. Four months after her release in 1948, Holiday was appearing at New York’s Strand Theater with Count Basie on the first leg of a cross-country tour. At the same time, Tallulah Bankhead was nearby on Broadway starring in her hit play, Private Lives. Bankhead caused quite a commotion every night thundering late down the ailse during Billie’s show to sit in her special seat to stare in amazement at the gifted & stunningly beautiful Lady Day. Because Holiday’s license to perform in nightclubs where liquor was being served had been revoked (and not renewed) she was forced to earn her living in gruelling tours on the road. For months after the Strand performance, Bankhead traveled with her whenever she could. Also on the tour was dancer/comedian James “Stump Daddy” Cross – nicknamed after his wooden leg, who joined the two famous ladies to make a treacherous threesome.”
“…it appears that during the late 1940s she and Holiday were also lovers. Perhaps they had been all along. Holiday later told William Dufty, who ghostwrote her autobiography, that when Tallulah visited backstage at the Strand Theatre, the thrill she took in exhibitionistic sex made her insist on keeping Holiday’s dressing room door open. Holiday later claimed that Tallulah’s brazen show of affection almost cost her her job at the Strand.”
Before long, Miss Holiday got busted again. Apparently, Miss Bankhead made a phone call to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, asking for leniency. There is a remarkable thank you – you’re welcome correspondence between Miss Bankhead and Mr. Hoover. “As my Negro Mammy used to say ‘When you pray, you pray to God don’t you……I had only met Billie Holiday twice in my life….and feel the most profound compassion for her…she is essentially a child at heart whose troubles have made her psychologically unable to cope with the world in which she finds herself…poor thing, you know I did everything within the law to lighten her burden”. “A giddy and twitterpated Hoover wrote back , “Your comments are greatly appreciated, and I trust that you will no hesitate to call on me at any time you think I might be of assistance to you.”
At some point, the two became less intimate. Miss Bankhead had her own legal headaches, and put some distance between her and Miss Holiday. (Eleanora Fagan was the birth name of the chanteuse. Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was the real name of the thespian.) When “Lady Sings the Blues” was being prepared, Miss Bankhead got an advance copy, and was horrified by what she saw. A fierce note was sent to the book’s publisher, and scenes were edited out. Miss Holiday was outraged. The letter that resulted is a poison pen classic. “My maid who was with me at the Strand isn’t dead either. There are plenty of others around who remember how you carried on so you almost got me fired out of the place. And if you want to get shitty, we can make it a big shitty party. We can all get funky together!”
The first part of this story is a repost. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. “Members of the Atlanta Woman’s Club, during a luncheon for retiring president W.F. Milton, in the AWC banquet hall, in Atlanta, Georgia, March 5, 1937.” Picture of Billie Holiday from The Library of Congress.
The Number One Hit When I Was Born
This post went up for the first time on May 28, 2008. The meme of looking up the number one hit on your date of birth is making the rounds again. It is a good excuse for something to post on a slow day. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
There is a man known as XWinger. He sells Celtic music, promotes DimSum groups, and has a blog.
Once at his place I saw a link to a site that tells you what the Number One song was on that day. The arbiter of number oneness is Billboard Magazine.
The List goes back to 1892. On January 1, 1892, the #1 hit was “Drill, Ye Terriers, Drill” by George J. Gaskin. I imagine that before a certain date this would refer to sheet music, or maybe player piano thingies. Other big hits from the Gay Nineties include “The Fatal Wedding” (1894, George J. Gaskin), “Little Alabama Coon” (1895. Len Spencer) and ” A Hot Time in the Old Town”(1897, Dan Quinn).
When my daddy was born in 1916, the top hit was “M-O-T-H-E-R (A Word that Means So Much to Me) by Henry Burr. When my mother was born in 1922, the top of the billboard charts was “Stumbling” by Paul Whiteman.
In October 1929, the stock market crashed to “Am I Blue” by Ethel Waters. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the big song was “Chattanooga Choo Choo” by Glenn Miller. Mr. Miller joined the Army after the start of the War, and toured with a band to entertain troops. On December 15, 1944, his plane disappeared in France. The number one hit that day was “I’m Making Believe” by the Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald. The Ink Spots played at the Domino Lounge downtown when I was a kid. I heard people say, “the Ink Spots have been around for a while”.
In 1954, this reporter was born. The number one hit that day was “Wanted” by Perry Como. Two years later, my brother was born to the sounds of “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley.
One way to track the hits through the years is to pick a date and follow it. It should be noted that Billboard is the essence of “commercial”. On my tenth birthday, the big sound was “Hello Dolly” by Louis Armstrong. On the verge of the summer of Love, the big hit was “Something Stupid” by Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra. At no time did the Beatles have a number one hit on my birthday. This attitude improved in 1969 with “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” by the Fifth Dimension.
The seventies continued the commercial tradition with “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night. This was in 1971, the year they played a big show at Atlanta Stadium. The disco monster raised its glittering hand with “Night Fever”, by the Bee Gees in 1978.
As the eighties rolled in, I got a job and apartment, and music became less familiar. The first big May hit of the eighties was “Call Me” by Blondie. It was from a movie starring Richard Gere. The movie did not feature gerbils. The decade was not a total loss, as 1983 featured “Beat It” by Michael Jackson.
Moving into the nineties and oughts, my old fogey decrepitude is near total. Or is that the wasteland of pop music? By this time top 40 is all but extinct, am radio given over to all talk stations, and fm music so spread out that no one style of music is dominant. The number one hit on my birthday, one recent year, is “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis.
Of course, the leaders of our country don’t always listen. On May 28, 1915, the biggest song was “I Didn’t Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier” by the Peerless Quartet. And, on May 28, 1964, the number one hit was “Love Me Do” by the Beatles.
Ceremonial Handwringing
display of a link here does indicate approval of content ~ ‘Shitpost’ is the digital word of the year ~ In First Test, Specially Timed Signals Ease Tinnitus Symptoms ~ Court sends case of Georgia death-row inmate back to lower courts over Thomas dissent “Thomas, joined again by Alito and Gorsuch, dissented. In a 13-page opinion, Thomas accused his colleagues of “bending the rules” to show their “concern for racial justice.” “The Court must be disturbed by the racist rhetoric in” the juror’s affidavit and “must want to do something about it,” Thomas suggested. But, he complained, today’s ruling only prolongs the inevitable by sending Tharpe’s case back to the lower courts for a “useless do-over.” And in doing so, he continued, the court delayed justice for Jaquelin Freeman, “the black woman who was brutally murdered by Tharpe 27 years ago.” “Because this Court should not be in the business of ceremonial handwringing,” Thomas lamented, “I respectfully dissent.” ~ The Juror Who Said The N-Word ~ Keith Tharpe And Jaquelin Freeman ~ A juror called this death row inmate the n-word. Now the Supreme Court is sending his case back to the lower courts. ~ Take a Knee Against Trump at the National Championship Game! ~ Supreme Court cites juror’s racism in death penalty reprieve ~ It is not every day that I agree with Justice Clarence Thomas. However, he explored issues in the Barney Gattie interview that the majority opinion, and the press results, did not consider. This is a good case against the death penalty. If Keith Tharpe had been given a life sentence, nobody would have played gotcha with a drunken, elderly juror. ~ SCOTUS issued a ruling on the case January 8, 2018, ~ @nihilist_arbys Bannon is a reminder that, even if you’re a creepy, gin soaked walking corpse covered in bugs and sores, life can still get worse Eat arbys ~ repost. ~ swimming pool q’s ~ Logospilgrim ~ grumpkin’s tail ~ Tua Tagovailoa ~ Shell and Nigeria have failed on oil pollution clean-up, Amnesty says ~ Nigeria: Oil spills lead to increased newborn mortality in the Niger Delta ~ Militants are devastating Nigeria’s oil industry again. Here’s what you need to know. ~ Rebel Group The Niger Delta Avengers Threatens One of World’s Largest Oil Supplies ~ NIGER DELTA AVENGER’S CEASE FIRE ON OPERATION RED ECONOMY IS OFFICIALLY OVER. ~ Boko Haram ~ How it happened: Donald Trump’s “sh*thole countries” remark ~ shibboleth ~ Sheriff: 22-year-old wanted on murder charges in Clayton County ~ Family suspects foul play after 24-year-old’s body found on I-75 ~ endonym map ~ @Galinblue22 I have written a lot of cad comments but today was a first, “subject called law enforcement because she was constipated and could not poop and thought we could help”. No shit. Literally. ~ the spell check suggestion for shithole is shibboleth ~ Has anyone else noticed that Amurica is going bonkers about DJT describing Haiti with a crude expression, but does not seem to care that Haiti is a terrible place to live. Calling DJT names is not going to improve living conditions in Haiti. ~ pictures for this gratuitous linkage today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Killed By Police January 14
26 people were Killed By Police in the United States last week. Here are the links: 018 John Bailon 019 Guillermo Mendoza 020 Jackie Harlan Roberts 021 Jonathan William LeRoy 022 Richard Rangel 023 Richard R. Towler 024 Charles Smith Jr 025 Daniel Arreola-Saavedra 026 Trayvon Mitchell 027 Alejandro Valdez 028 Skyler Burnette 029 Michael Bender 030 031 Eugene Loftis 032 033 Primitivo Macias-Rodriguez 034 035 036 Jose Rosales 037 Justin Coy Adkins 038 Jared S.R. Williams 039 Jonathan Bennett 040 041 Amanuel Dagebo 042 Remi Sabbe 043 Jason D. Whittemore
8 of the victims were white. (021, 022, 028, 031, 037, 038, 042, 043) 4 of the victims were black. (024, 026, 035, 039) 3 of the victims were latino. (025, 033, 036) 034 was asian. The race of 10 of the victims is unknown. (018, 019, 020, 023, 027, 029, 030, 032, 040, 041)
9 of the victims fired at an officer. (022, 023, 024, 029, 030, 039, 040, 041, 042) 15 of the victims displayed a weapon. (019, 020, 021, 025, 026, 027, 028, 031, 032, 033, 034, 036, 037, 038, 039) 3 of the victims were suicidal (027, 028, 034) 3 of the victims were involved in a domestic dispute. (019, 020, 038) 2 of the victims were in a car chase. (034, 037)
021 Jonathan William LeRoy is featured in the picture of the week. “Just before 7 p.m. Saturday, someone called 911 about a man who was attacking family members inside a Pottawatomie County home. About a quarter mile from the home, a deputy saw a man walking down the road matching the description of the suspect. State authorities say the man was carrying a baseball bat. Officials say the deputy made contact with the man, identified as 39-year-old Jonathan William LeRoy. During that contact, the man reportedly began swinging the bat. The deputy then fired his weapon.” (021)
8 other cases are considered noteworthy. “New Mexico State Police say the Valencia County Sheriff’s Department deputies were conducting an investigation into a stolen vehicle around the area. During their investigation, deputies got into an altercation with John Bailon. At least one deputy fired shots at the 40-year old and hit him, during the altercation.” (018)
“Officers ask (Charles Smith Jr) Smith why they were driving fast and why he appears nervous. Smith says they were leaving a party. The teen is then patted down, during which he is heard saying “I can’t go to jail.” Gunfire is then heard and the video, edited and slowed down, shows a gun in Smith’s hands as shooting begins. Chief Davis told reporters that the first two gunshots came from Smith, one of them narrowly missing an officer’s face. He says all three officers on the scene then return fire, shooting multiple times. “These officers were left with no choice but to return gunfire,” Chief Davis said.” (video embedded in story) (024)
Officers were called about midnight Sunday to Luna Lodge … A Lodge resident said he called 911 to report that a “suspicious character” (Daniel Arreola-Saavedra) wearing a hoodie was inside of a vacant first-floor unit in the complex. “He saw me, and I presumed because he saw me, he left the property,” the neighbor said, “but when I doubled back, I heard a kick and he entered through the door.” The neighbor helped direct officers to the apartment, and, later gunshots rang out, he said. “Things went south very, very fast,” he said.” (025)
“Just before 8 p.m., a man flagged down a Lauderhill police officer at 800 N. State Road 7 to report he had been robbed of his backpack at gunpoint moments earlier. The officer learned the robbery happened at a bus stop in nearby Plantation, but the robber headed into Lauderhill, according to Lauderhill Lt. Mike Santiago. Lauderhill police set up a perimeter and Plantation and Davie police officers joined the hunt. Santiago said the search came to an end about an hour later when the suspect was spotted. “Shots rang out,” he said. More than one officer from Davie and Plantation opened fire, he said. No Lauderhill officers were involved in the shooting, he said. The suspect died behind the home in the 700 block of Northwest 39th Avenue. It was not clear whose home it was. A gun was recovered, Santiago said.” (026)
“Trayvon Mitchell, 38, of Fort Lauderdale, died Sunday around 7:40 p.m. He was suspected of pointing a gun at a man and stealing his book bag at a Plantation bus stop. … At the time of his death, Mitchell, of Fort Lauderdale, was found to be wearing an ankle monitor. Mitchell was previously affiliated with two charter school companies, Ivy Schools II, Inc. and Next Generation Charter School, Inc. In January, 2016, he was charged with two counts of grand theft, accused of stealing more than $40,000 but less than $100,000 in 2013 from the Broward County School Board. Mitchell had pleaded not guilty. A Broward Sheriff’s detective found school board money that was supposed to have been spent on students — more than $55,000 — was deposited into Mitchell’s personal bank account, according to an arrest report. Mitchell spent about $20,000 of stolen funds on school operations. A school check card was used to spend more than $2,700 on Louis Vuitton bags at a Neiman Marcus store; some of the bags were returned to the department store and a credit was made to Mitchell’s personal account, police said.” (video) (026)
“The Wisconsin Department of Justice says officers responded to a report of a domestic violence incident at the home. When they got there, they say a man (Skyler Burnette) was threatening a woman with a knife. A deputy with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office shot the suspect, and the man died of his injuries.” (028)
“Police on Thursday identified the two officers who shot and killed an armed intruder at a South San Jose power plant earlier this week. Adam Hutson and Timothy Faye . … were called to the Metcalf Energy Center at 1 Blanchard Road about 5 p.m. Tuesday after a suspicious vehicle was spotted at the front gate. A man was seen pulling a large object out of the trunk. The officers arrived to find a black Mercedes-Benz unoccupied with a large sword in the driver’s seat, police said. They went through the gate and found a man armed with a 6-foot-long pipe and an ax. Police said the man ignored an officer’s commands to drop the weapons and walked away. The officers followed and continued to tell him to put the ax and pipe down, but he again refused and reportedly yelled “shoot me, kill me” several times, police said. The man then turned around and advanced toward the officers. One officer shot him when he was 5 to 6 feet away and the other opened fire when the man continued toward him, police said. All told, Hutson and Faye ordered the man to drop the weapons 23 times, police said. … A search of the man turned up half a dozen throwing knives, pepper spray and a second ax, police said The man had a criminal history that included resisting arrest and drug and weapons violations, police said. In September, he was admitted to a hospital for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation.” “Officials described the man as an Asian male in his late 20s, 5′ 6″ tall and 145 pounds. He was wearing a black jacket, white shirt, and black pants.” (034)
“Investigators have learned this incident began at approximately 8:04 p.m. in the city of Victorville, when a cell phone retail store was robbed by 4 armed male black adult suspects. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies located the suspect vehicle in the unincorporated city of Adelanto, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The suspects failed to yield, and a pursuit ensued with the suspects travelling recklessly on various highways at high rates of speed, and at times, on the wrong side of the road. The pursuit ultimately culminated on 48th Street East at East Avenue R-8, in the city of Palmdale, after San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies initiated a pursuit intervention technique. Shortly thereafter, a traffic collision occurred between the deputy and suspect vehicles, at which time the pursuit terminated, and a deputy-involved shooting occurred. The three additional suspects fled the vehicle into the surrounding neighborhood. They were subsequently located and arrested without further incident. One male black adult suspect was struck at least once in the torso by deputy gunfire. He was pronounced dead at the scene.” (035)
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Growing Up With Joni Mitchell
A facebook friend went on a Joni Mitchell kick. First it was a link to an interview. Then it was a quote from The Last Time I Saw Richard. A lady said Blue was her favorite album all all time, and a man enthusiastically agreed. This is a repost.
Given the apples and oranges quality of her catalog, it would be tough to pick one album as a favorite. PG then realized that fbf was going to be thirty soon. PG is sixty. These are two different perspectives on the craft of Joni Mitchell. One has driven through the storm, not knowing what was next. The other is presented with an almost complete body of recorded work.
PG has known about Joni since high school, and been a devoted fan since 1976. Joni’s most popular album, Court And Spark, came out in 1974, eleven years before fbf was born. Who would be the equivalent female musical force from 1943, when PG was minus eleven? The answer is nobody. (Coincidentally Roberta Joan Anderson was born on November 7, 1943.)
After the comment about Blue, PG listened to For The Roses. Joni’s craft is like a cluster bomb… there are lines that you never fully felt, bomblets waiting to explode in your gut. Let The Wind Carry Me has one of those hidden threats. Mama thinks she spoilt me, Papa knows somehow he set me free, Mama thinks she spoilt me rotten, She blames herself, But papa he blesses me.
The first thing PG heard by Joni was Big Yellow Taxi. It was on The Big Ball, a 1970 mail order sampler from Warner Brothers. This was when Joni shacked up with Graham Nash. The next year saw Blue, followed by For The Roses, and Court And Spark. PG always thought Joni was someone he should like, but somehow didn’t. It wasn’t until 1976 that PG broke through the barrier, and became a Joni Mitchell fan. Seeing her in concert did not hurt.
On February 3, 1976, PG took a study break. (He scored 100 on the test the next day) Joni Mitchell was playing at the UGA coliseum a few blocks away, and the door was not watched after the show started. PG found a place to stand, on the first level of the stands. The LA express was her band that night, and created a tight, jazzy sound, even in the UGA coliseum. Tom Scott pointed at Joni, said she was crazy, and drew circles around his left ear. The one line PG remembers is “chicken scratching my way to immortality” from Hejira.
The Hissing of Summer Lawns might not be her best album, but it is certainly her bravest. Court And Spark was a commercial success. Instead of producing a bestselling followup, Joni took a ninety degree turn. Summer Lawns, for all its eccentric sparkle, confused the record buying public. The gravy train took off in another direction.
In those days, 96rock played a new album at midnight, which people were known to tape. On the night of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash, the album was Hejira. This was followed by Mingus, another curve ball. Finally, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter appeared, and did not make a good impression.
The eighties, nineties, and aughts appeared. PG, and Joni, lived their lives. 1996 saw a frightening interview in Details magazine. It was startling to see that for all her granola glory, Joni Mitchell might not be a very nice person. In a pot and kettle moment, David Crosby said “Joni’s about as humble as Mussolini.” Music is a tough way to make easy money.
More recently, there was a long interview on Canadian television. She is not mellowing with age. The cigarettes have not killed her, even if her voice is not what it once was. The recent albums that PG heard are strong. There seem to be more on the way. Maybe the facebook friend will have have the “what is she going to do next” experience after all. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
What Is Dirty About Louie Louie?
The sixties were a great time to be a kid. As long as you were too young for a Vietnam Vacation, there were kicks to be had.
One of the more enduring legends was the dirty lyrics to “Louie Louie”. Recorded by an obscure band called the Kingsmen, the song was a massive hit in 1963 (It never was Number One). When WQXI put out lists of the greatest songs of all time, “Louie Louie” was at the top of the list. This is despite, or because of, the raucous sound. The song was recorded in one take, when the band thought they were playing a rehearsal. The vocals are difficult to make sense of, and rumored to be obscene. No one was ever quite sure why. With the garbled sound on the record, the listener could hear almost anything they wanted to.
The Governor of Indiana, Matthew Welsh, banned radio stations from playing the song in that state. On February 7, 1964, Attorney General Robert Kennedy got a letter from an outraged parent about the lyrics to “Louie Louie”. An F.B.I. investigation followed. After thirty months of investigation, the Bureau concluded that they could not make sense of the lyrics.
PG had a neighbor named Carol. A tomboy who could whip most of the boys, she had a pet skunk named Napoleon. Carol claimed to have heard a band at Lenox Square play “Louie Louie”. “He said the words real slow so you could understand them. I can’t repeat what he said, but it was dirty”.
Louie, Louie Oh no, me gotta go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, said, ah
Louie, Louie Oh, baby, me gotta go
A fine little girl she waits for me Me
catch a ship for cross the sea.
Me sail that ship all alone Me never think how I make it home.
Ah, Louie, Louie No, no, no, no, me gotta go.
Oh, no. Said, Louie, Louie Oh, baby, said we gotta go.
Three nights and days I sail the sea Think of girl, oh, constantly.
Ah, on that ship I dream she there
I smell the rose, ah, in her hair.
Ah, Louie, Louie Oh, no, sayin’ we gotta go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
but, ah, Louie, Louie Oh, baby, said, we gotta go.
[Yelled] Okay, let’s give it to ‘em right now! [instrumental]
Me see Jamaica, ah, moon above.
It won’t be long, me see me love.
Take her in my arms again, I got her; I’ll never leave again.
Ah, Louie, Louie Oh, no, sayin’ me gotta go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
But, ah, Louie, Louie Oh, baby, said, ah, we gotta go.
I said we gotta go now, Let’s get on outta here.
[Yelled] Let’s go.
Transcribed by David Spector Sept. 2000 Public Domain. If anyone reading this can explain what was so dirty about this song, please leave a comment. Thank you Wikipedia for your help in assembling this. This is a repost. Pictures by The Library of Congress
Lost Atlanta
Lost Atlanta is a coffee table book. The content is the buildings, and institutions, that no longer exist. Atlanta has a long love affair with the wrecking ball. General Sherman was a minor player. Pictures for your Wednesday morning entertainment are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. This is a repost.
PG is a native, and knows a few things about the city. While looking through LA, he began to take notes of things he did not know. The names behind the Ferry Roads is one. Plantation owner James Power established Power’s Ferry in 1835. Hardy Pace established his ferry in the 1850s. The fare was 62 cents for a full wagon, 50 cents for an empty wagon, 12 cents for a man and a horse, and 4 cents per head of cattle. The last ferry to cease operations was the Campbellton Ferry, in south Fulton county. The Campbellton Ferry ceased operations in 1958.
Wheat Street Baptist Church is a prominent Atlanta institution. If you look for Wheat Street on google, all you see is Old Wheat Street. It turns out that Wheat Street was renamed Auburn Avenue. “Originally called Wheat Street, the road was renamed in 1893 at the request of white petitioners who believed Auburn Avenue had a more cosmopolitan sound.”
Bald Hill, aka Leggett’s Hill, was leveled in 1958 to make way for the East Expressway, later known as I-20. On July 22, 1864, the Battle of Atlanta was fought there. After the unpleasantness, Frederick Koch bought farm land on the site. His house was at 382 Moreland Avenue. The house was demolished in 1953. South of I-20, 1400 McPherson Avenue has a monument. Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson was killed at that location.
The outfield wall at Ponce De Leon park was covered with advertising. One sign was for Southern Bread. The picture had a “Southern Colonel”… apparently the only type of officer in the CSA … saying “I’d even go North for Southern Bread.” This ad was also painted on the side of a building on Tenth Street, just off Peachtree. The late Jim Henson produced a tv ad for Southern Bread.
Jacobs Drug Store was a prominent chain at one time. It was founded by Joseph Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs had a store in the Norcross building, on Peachtree Street at Marietta Street. In 1886, the soda fountain mixed John Pemberton’s patent medicine with carbonated soda water. The rest is history.
There are a few notes, which do not justify a paragraph. The Governor’s Mansion was at 250 The Prado, in Ansley Park, until a new GM was built on West Paces Ferry road. The Henry Grady hotel did not have a thirteenth floor, but went from 12 to 14. This did not stop the building from being demolished, to make way for the Peachtree Plaza hotel.
When Laurent DeGive built his grand opera house at Peachtree and Houston (Now JW Dobbs,) people were horrified. The central business district was south of five points. The area north, where the opera house went up, was residential. In 1932, the opera house was renovated, and opened as the Loew’s Grand. In 1939, it hosted the world premiere of “Gone With The Wind.” On the other side of Houston Street was the Paramount Theater, and across Peachtree was the Coca Cola sign. The GP building occupies the site today.
When You Agree With Justice Thomas
SCOTUS sent the death penalty case of Keith Tharpe back to the lower courts today. This is the Pontius Pilate approach, which might not save Mr. Tharpe from eventual execution. Here is the opinion, and the dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Chamblee 54 has written about this case twice before. Keith Tharpe And Jaquelin Freeman is about the case itself. The short version is that Mr. Tharpe allegedly murdered his sister in law, and raped his estranged wife, after kidnapping both. There is little doubt that Mr. Tharpe is guilty. A jury sentenced him to death, after deliberating for two hours.
The Juror Who Said The N-Word is about the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ of this case. Seven years after the crime, a lawyer interviewed a juror, Barney Gattie. The gentleman said some rude things about black people. This post has a verbatim rendering, and some more information that is salient to the case. “Gattie’s remarkable affidavit—which he never retracted— presents a strong factual basis for the argument that Tharpe’s race affected Gattie’s vote for a death verdict.”
The dissent tells a different story. “More than seven years after his trial, Tharpe’s lawyers interviewed one of his jurors, Barney Gattie. The resulting affidavit stated that Gattie knew Freeman, and that her family was “what [he] would call a nice black family.” The affidavit continued that, in Gattie’s view, “there are two types of black people: 1. Black folks and 2. Niggers.” Tharpe “wasn’t in the ‘good’ black folks category,” according to the affidavit, and if Freeman had been “the type Tharpe is, then picking between life and death for Tharpe wouldn’t have mattered so much.” But because Freeman and her family were “good black folks,” the affidavit continued, Gattie thought Tharpe “should get the electric chair for what he did.” Gattie’s affidavit went on to explain that “after studying the Bible,” he had “wondered if black people even have souls.” The affidavit also noted that some of the other jurors “wanted blacks to know they weren’t going to get away with killing each other.”
A couple of days later, the State obtained another affidavit from Gattie. In that second affidavit, Gattie stated that he “did not vote to impose the death penalty because [Tharpe] was a black man,” but instead because the evidence presented at trial justified it and because Tharpe showed no remorse. The affidavit explained that Gattie had consumed “seven or more beers” on the afternoon he signed the first affidavit. Although he had signed it, he “never swore to [it] nor was [he] ever asked if [the] statement was true and accurate.” He also attested that many of the statements in the first affidavit “were taken out of context and simply not accurate.” And he felt that the lawyers who took it “were deceiving and misrepresented what they stood for.” “which he never retracted.”
“A state postconviction court presided over Gattie’s deposition. Gattie again testified that, although he signed the affidavit, he did not swear to its contents. Gattie also testified that when he signed the affidavit he had consumed “maybe a 12 pack, [and] a few drinks of whiskey, over the period of the day.” Tharpe’s lawyers did not question Gattie about the contents of his first affidavit at the deposition. They instead spent much of the deposition asking Gattie unrelated questions about race, which the state court ruled irrelevant—like whether he was familiar with Uncle Tom’s Cabin or whether his granddaughter would play with a black doll. The lawyers’ failure to address the contents of Gattie’s first affidavit troubled the state court. Just before it permitted Gattie to leave, the court advised Tharpe’s lawyers that it might “totally discount” Gattie’s first affidavit, and it again invited them to ask Gattie questions about its contents. Tharpe’s lawyers declined the opportunity.
The state court also heard deposition testimony from ten of Tharpe’s other jurors and received an affidavit from the eleventh. None of the jurors, two of whom were black, corroborated the statements in Gattie’s first affidavit about how some of the jurors had considered race. The ten jurors who testified all said that race played no role in the jury’s deliberations. The eleventh juror did not mention any consideration of race either.”
Justice Thomas goes full Scalia in this closing paragraph. “Today’s decision can be explained only by the “unusual fact” of Gattie’s first affidavit. The Court must be disturbed by the racist rhetoric in that affidavit, and must want to do something about it. But the Court’s decision is no profile in moral courage. By remanding this case to the Court of Appeals for a useless do-over, the Court is not doing Tharpe any favors. And its unusual disposition of his case callously delays justice for Jaquelin Freeman, the black woman who was brutally murdered by Tharpe 27 years ago. Because this Court should not be in the business of ceremonial handwringing, I respectfully dissent.”
There is a lot of legalese in this document, which makes IANAL heads hurt. One wonders if the second affidavit qualifies as a retraction. Maybe SCOTUS felt the need to virtue signal on racism. There is also a lot of talk about whether the statements by Mr. Gattie should be allowed to influence the appeals process. Pena-Rodriguez is cited, along with many other cases. This is what lawyers do.
The majority opinion, as well as most press reports on today’s ruling, does not mention Mr. Gattie’s intoxication during the first affidavit. Indeed, since Mr. Gattie never read this affidavit, nor swore to it, there is no telling how accurate it is. We don’t know what questions attorneys were asking the elderly drunk. Did the lawyers lead him on, and put words in his mouth? The ethics of interviewing an intoxicated man, to try to save your client from execution, are questionable.
One might also ask what this says about the death penalty process. The state bends over backwards to give the illusion of fairness, and due process. An attorney goes out, interviewing jurors seven years after the trial, trying to find dirt. Getting a criminal off on a technicality is a regrettable consequence of our judicial system. Maybe in this case justice would have been served with a life sentence, without fishing trip juror interviews.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. These details are from picture #06666, documenting “First Internation[al] Pageant of Pulchritude & Seventh Annual Bathing Girl Review at Galveston, Texas.” It was taken in 1926.
Stop Turning Yourselves Into Heroes
display of a link on this page does not indicate approval ~ Lake Superior State University’s 43rd Annual List Of Banished Words Unpack, Tons, Dish, Pre-owned, Onboarding / Offboarding, Nothingburger, Let that sink in, Let me ask you this, Impactful, Covfefe, Drill Down, Fake News, Hot Water Heater, Gig Economy ~ Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) ~ Breaking the Silence. ~ Black Lives Matter Leader, Sir Maejor, Arrested for Impersonating An Officer ~ maupin trailer ~ Logical Family: An Evening with Armistead Maupin The first part, of this otherwise enjoyable show, is a bit over the top. Mr. Maupin makes a dramatic statement, and the orchestra plays the theme from “Gone with the Wind.” ~ budweiser WE NEED TO CHECK YOUR ID YOU MUST BE OF LEGAL DRINKING AGE TO ENTER THIS SITE ~ The Origins of 10 Great Insults 3. Jerk (n), “A tedious and ineffectual person.” Steam engines were awesome—way better than sailing around Cape Horn if you needed to get from New York to California. But, since they ran on steam, they needed to be refilled with water ridiculously often. “Water-stops” were built all along the railroad lines. These were just water towers, with hanging chains that the boiler man would “jerk” to start the water flowing. Towns sprang up around many of these water-stops. Some thrived, and some were just jerk-water towns, populated with “jerks.” ~ The Battle for Iran ~ Perry Noble and the story of an average car ~ @OJLove_ more i think on the hotep vs sjw shit its like they competiting styles on who gon be submissive to different white men ideologies. sjw perspective is like they paralyzed under racism and hotep be like racism in the system dont exist at all. ~ Opinion | How Ta-Nehisi Coates Gives Whiteness Power ~ @EricTrump Shocking… once again, here are the @Twitter “suggestions” of who I should follow. #DeepState ~ Steve Bannon Was Never That Smart ~ The Second Burning of Atlanta ~ Barak: make peace with Palestinians or face apartheid ~ Daughter recalls John Wesley Dobbs’ part in mission to unmask Jim Crow ~ @PostCultRev FUN FACT: Uber lost about $5B last year. If fares were set high enough to just break even they would cost more than a traditional taxi. Every rideshare you take is subsidized by the finance industry in a ploy to profit off the destruction of unionized companies and public transit ~ Uber has two paths to profit: One is to eliminate drivers entirely through self-drive tech that is still years away from even working right, possibly decades from full legality/logistical feasibility. ~ The other path is through eliminating competition by burning unholy amounts of capital to keep fares unsustainably low until they have a monopoly they can exploit and rates go way up to whatever profits them most. ~ Less than 1 ounce of marijuana leads to arrests of over 60 Georgia partygoers ~ We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid. (questionable; not found in Franklin’s works and unknown before the twenty-first century) ~ 3 False Teachings about Jesus ~ Laughing in the Face of Patriarchy: A Conversation With Myriam Gurba ~ Dear White Gay Men, Stop Turning Yourselves Into Heroes ~ People today take the present setup… 50 semi autonomous states, controlled by an increasingly powerful federal government … for granted. When the colonies won independence, this was not the plan. The concept of United States, not conquered by an imperial ruler, is unique ~ imKierkegaardashian ~ I tuned in, and set the broadcast into a random spot in the middle @RichardBSpencer said “I can see an ethnostate in space” That was I all wanted to hear ~ @KimKierkegaard You can achieve rosy cheeks by stepping out into the cold. This is eternity’s comfort for the sufferer ~ Steam engines were awesome—way better than sailing around Cape Horn if you needed to get from New York to California. But, since they ran on steam, they needed to be refilled with water ridiculously often. “Water-stops” were built all along the railroad lines. These were just water towers, with hanging chains that the boiler man would “jerk” to start the water flowing. Towns sprang up around many of these water-stops. Some thrived, and some were just jerk-water towns, populated with “jerks.” ~ @Andywarski I set the video to a random spot in the middle Mr. Spencer said “I can see an ethnostate in space” I did not want to listen after that ~ @realDonaldTrump ….Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star …. to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius….and a very stable genius at that! ~ @PostCultRev FUN FACT: Uber lost about $5B last year. If fares were set high enough to just break even they would cost more than a traditional taxi. Every rideshare you take is subsidized by the finance industry in a ploy to profit off the destruction of unionized companies and public transit ~ Uber has two paths to profit: One is to eliminate drivers entirely through self-drive tech that is still years away from even working right, possibly decades from full legality/logistical feasibility. ~ The other path is through eliminating competition by burning unholy amounts of capital to keep fares unsustainably low until they have a monopoly they can exploit and rates go way up to whatever profits them most. ~ pictures for your monday morning snow jam entertainment are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. The little sign in the back corner of the Fox Theater said “Colored Entrance” ~ selah
.
Killed By Police January 7
21 people were Killed By Police in the United States last week. Here are the links: 1185 1186 Heath Wayne Hodges 1187 Matthew Riehl 1188 Ernie Macias 001 Mark Steven Parkinson 002 Derrick Staton 003 Archie Lawhon III 004 Gary Johns 005 David Melton 006 Shana Musquiz 007 Ronald Elliot 008 Louis C. Miller 009 Orestes Amador Jr 010 Shaleem Tindle 011 Brandon O. Cude 012 Robert Cassidy Hansen 013 Andy Vo 014 Ledarren Mixon 015 Gregory Stough 016 Tyler Miller 017 William B. Oleson KBP case 001 for 2018 was in Georgia.
15 of the victims were white. (1186, 1187, 1188, 001, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 010, 012, 013, 015, 016, 017) 2 of the victims were black. (002, 014) 006 Shana Musquiz was female. 009 Orestes Amador Jr was latino.The race of 3 of the victims is unknown. (1185, 008, 011)
5 of the victims fired at an officer. (1185, 1187, 1188, 001, 006) 12 of the victims displayed a weapon. (001, 003, 004, 005, 007, 008, 010, 011, 012, 013, 014, 017) 3 of the victims were involved in a domestic dispute. (1185, 004, 008)
1187 Matthew Riehl is the story of the week. Douglas County Deputy Zackari Parrish died during the incident. Matthew Riehl was an Iraq war veteran. He was very vocal about his opinions. Mr. Riehl made numerous you tube videos, many of which involved profane rants against local law enforcement. His facebook page, Matt Gonzo, has been disabled.
“Authorities in suburban Denver were investigating what led a 37-year-old man to fire more than 100 rounds in his apartment on sheriff’s deputies, killing one (Zackari Parrish) and injuring four others. Two civilians were also injured. The Douglas County coroner identified the suspect as Matthew Riehl. … The incident began around 5:15 a.m … Authorities had left the home barely an hour earlier in response to a complaint of a “verbal disturbance” involving two men, the sheriff’s office said. One of the men told them the suspect “was acting bizarre and might be having a mental breakdown” but the deputies found no evidence of a crime. When deputies were called back, a man who had left came by to give them a key and granted permission to enter the home, leaving again before shots were fired. “The suspect was just making a ton of noise and annoying everyone around him,” (Douglas County Sheriff Tony) Spurlock said. Spurlock said deputies came under fire almost immediately and were shot “very, very quickly” after entering the apartment and trying to talk with the suspect, who was holed up inside a bedroom. “They all went down almost within seconds of each other, so it was more of an ambush-type of attack on our officers,” Spurlock said. “He knew we were coming and we obviously let him know that we were there.” The wounded deputies tried to pull the fallen officer, Zackari Parrish, out of the line of further gunfire but were unable to because of their own injuries and only managed to “crawl to safety,” Spurlock said. Four officers, including Parrish, were shot from a bedroom around 6 a.m., forcing the retreat. A SWAT team entered the apartment at about 7:30 a.m. in an exchange of gunfire that left the gunman dead and another officer injured.” (1187)
9 other stories are considered noteworthy. “Texas DPS reports that Heath Wayne Hodges, 36, of Iowa Park, was shot at around 10:30 pm Saturday. The officer involved was not injured. The exact details of the shooting have not been made available at this time. … It is believed Hodges was at his hunting lease at the time of the shooting.” (1186)
“Delano Police say it happened at about 8:50 a.m., when two officers with the Delano Police Department responded to a suspicious vehicle parked in an alleyway in the 2100 block of Norwalk Street. As officers approached the vehicle on foot, the suspect vehicle began accelerating toward one of the officers. Police say the officer feared for his life and fired his firearm, striking the driver. ( Ernie Macias ) The driver died from his injuries. The passenger inside the suspect vehicle fled into a nearby home; after about an hour of negotiations, the man came out and was taken into custody.” (1188)
“… officials say early Monday morning at about 3:15 a.m. Walker County deputies were called to the 100 block of Meadowview Drive in Rossville, GA for a welfare check after a 911 call was made. The caller said a female at the home was threatening to kill herself and her children. When Deputy John Chandler arrived he saw Mark Steven Parkinson in the home with a weapon. The GBI said, deputies announced multiple times that they were from the Walker County Sheriff’s Office. Parkinson pointed the weapon at Deputy Chandler and that is when Deputy Chandler fired multiple shots at Parkinson.” … “The GBI confirms that the initial 911 call did not come from inside the Parkinson family home. They are currently investigating who made the call and why.” (001)
“Maryland State Police said 16-year-old Derrick Staton of Clinton, Maryland was crossing the roadway on Crain Highway (Route 301) at Chadds Ford Drive when he was struck by a vehicle being driven by Officer Gary Bottalico at about 1 p.m. Bottalico was off-duty while heading to work in his marked K9 truck at the time of the collision. He and his K9 partner were not injured during the incident. Bottalico has been placed on routine administrative paid leave. Authorities say 16-year-old Derrick Staton of Clinton, Maryland was struck and killed in Brandywine, Maryland on Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. MSP said its preliminary investigation indicates Derrick may have made a “pedestrian error,” perhaps contributing to the crash. … Derrick’s family said they have several questions about his death, including why the busy intersection has no crosswalks or sidewalks.” (002)
“Witnesses reported that Ronald Elliot, age 49, was armed with a gun and had locked himself inside his bedroom. Prior to an Ozark police officer arriving at the home, a woman had entered the bedroom in an attempt to disarm Elliot. When the local police officer entered the bedroom, witnesses heard the officer instruct Elliot to put down the gun, followed by the sound of a gunshot.” (007)
“On January 3, 2018, at approximately 4:41 p.m., an on duty BART Police Officer dressed in full police uniform was inside the West Oakland BART Station when he heard an active shooting taking place. The BART Police officer responded to the shooting which was located near the intersection of 7th Street and Chester Street. The officer observed two males in a struggle with each other; one of the men possessed a handgun. After several commands were given, the officer discharged his firearm striking the man who was in possession of the handgun; he later succumbed to his injuries. Investigators are attempting to clarify how the other man, who was listed in stable condition and has since been released from the hospital, sustained his injuries.” (010)
“A man was fatally shot by Long Beach police early Friday after he allegedly held a Holiday Inn employees hostage with a gun, officials said. The incident occurred about 12:50 a.m. when a man apparently left his pickup truck parked at an adjacent Chevron station and went into the hotel, police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt told KTLA. Police then received a call from one of the employee who was allegedly being held hostage by the suspect at the Holiday Inn. … Responding officers found the man armed with a gun. They tried to “make contact” with the man when the officer-involved shooting occurred, Pratt said. She did not elaborate on what led to the shooting.” (013)
“An officer made contact with Gregory Stough in his Pontiac Bonneville around 3:21 a.m. The officer discovered Stough was wanted on four traffic warrants related to vehicle inspections. Stough also had a suspended driver’s license, police said. Another officer arrived to help take Stough into custody. Stough resisted arrest, and during the struggle, he put his car in reverse with the driver’s door still open, police said. He accelerated backwards, trapping an officer between the door and the car. According to the news release, the suspect continued driving in reverse and “propelled the officer violently into a parked police vehicle.” The initiating officer then opened fire. Stough put the car in drive and traveled toward the officer firing at him, police said. The officer continued firing on Stough, killing him. … Family members said Saturday they weren’t sure why Stough was at the church parking lot, but his father speculated his son might have been out drinking in the area. Stough might tried to stay with some family who lived near the church, but then tried to “sleep it off” in the parking lot. Stough had some trouble with the law and with drinking but had recently been trying to turn himself around because he has daughters, according to his sister. ” (015)
“The FBI The FBI says a 51-year-old man is dead following an Arizona shooting involving a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer who was not injured. The FBI identified the man killed in the Friday night incident as Tyler Miller and said he was last known to be living in Kansas. FBI spokesman Glenn Milnor didn’t immediately respond Saturday to a request for Miller’s last-known place of residence in Kansas. The FBI said the shooting occurred on U.S. 89A in Oak Creek Canyon north of Sedona but released no information on circumstances of the shooting.” (016)
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
leave a comment