If you have come here for solace, boogie now. I got no Happy New Year.
I have been grieving. I am past bargaining and into depression. Acceptance? Ask me after I have had some coffee.
I had champagne and triple cream brie on New Year's Eve. Pancakes with maple syrup and sausages New Year's Day. I am fucking old, so it takes awhile for my liver and brain and heart to get back to normal after all this fucking excitement. And there is no fucking Sun and I am wearing a blanket while I type.
Those who have been reading Real Philadelphia need to know that Ms. Norma and the kidniks are back to honeypots again. I am going to have to finish that fucking story. Walter brought me his extra cookies and a smile.
I am living large, I guess. For now. And watching the Water Protectors. Their fate - our fate. And the first glorious lines of an otherwise dreadful poem keep ringing in my mind:
Carl baby, you ain't white. Your Grandfather had the KKK burning crosses at his house. STFU Carl Paladino. You are an embarrassment to Italian Americans. Uncle Carl is the second person interviewed in this clip - for balance no doubt.
"There were a number of things that surprised me in my initial research. I knew something about our nation's early antipathy toward Catholics and Italians, but I had not fully appreciated the depth of that antagonism. For example, the largest mass lynching in U.S. history took place in New Orleans in 1891 — and it wasn't African-Americans who were lynched, as many of us might assume. It was Italian-Americans.
After nine Italians were tried and found not guilty of murdering New Orleans Police Chief David Hennessy, a mob dragged them from the jail, along with two other Italians being held on unrelated charges, and lynched them all. The lynchings were followed by mass arrests of Italian immigrants throughout New Orleans, and waves of attacks against Italians nationwide." Read more...
- Author Ed Falco wrote "The Family Corleone," a "prequel" to Mario Puzo's crime family classic, "The Godfather."
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. - Sun Tzu
Spirit Warriors facing dogs, poison, severe cold, wounding and death with only an Eagle feather and their own fragile bodies. God bless them. I know S/he does.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe's 1944 hit "Down by the Riverside" was selected for the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress in 2004, which noted that it "captures her spirited guitar playing and unique vocal style, demonstrating clearly her influence on early rhythm-and-blues performers" and cited her influence on "many gospel, jazz, and rock artists". ("Down by the Riverside" was recorded by Tharpe on December 2, 1948, in New York City, and issued as Decca single 48106.
I have been hiding, sort of. I cannot think. I cannot be still enough to write or organize anything more complicated than my morning shyte. Cannot even write to my friends. So I twittered at high speeds for a couple of days.
I am suffering from the rage/racing thoughts part of bipolar disorder. So I went to twitter war with Donald Trump. I figured it was something I could do, KWIM? I posted my favorite pictures to #resistanceparty and #realDonaldTrump.
Twitter, like most human groups, is dismayed by The Me Rampant and my account has been blocked. Always happens. Always hurts my feelings. And they need to suck up to the Trumpolini.
So when I come back from my Sister's Holiday Brunch and Grandchildren Admiring Party, I am going to point out an Artist who speaks to censorship of the odd and upsetting. And the duty and role of the Artist in civilization's progress and in resistance to Darkness.
Taste of community Art in video below.
Miracle of miracles. My twitter account is now working. More roaring from me will go on in 140 characters. And then I am going to post something funny. Maybe. Nothing funny about Trump. Merry merry.
Today is my 73rd birthday. Happy Birthday to Me. And many happy returns of the day.
I ate succulent Peking duck from Sang Kee in Reading Terminal Market. And two desserts. My children sang Happy Birthday. I had some Loud. My friends were kind to me. I ask for no more. Life is good.
Penzey's makes good clean genuine spices and spice mixtures. Before the election mess, I was a customer. I love cooking. And Penzey's is that good.
Now we discover that Mr. Penzey et al are good and they are good. This is the kind of man Bill Penzey is and why he made the news in Nashville.
Last week, Bill Penzey Jr., CEO of Penzeys Spices sent an email to customers, as he does each week, with a message that left many customers quite offended. The email focused on Thanksgiving and the United States as a nation of immigrants, with, of course, a marketing message (he is a businessman after all). The email ended with the following:
"My advice: Get at least one of the $10 Kind Heart Boxes, but a half-dozen might be even better. What happens going forward will be all about hearts and minds. The open embrace of racism by the Republican Party in this election is now unleashing a wave of ugliness unseen in this country for decades. The American people are taking notice. Let's commit to giving the people a better choice. Our kindness really is our strength."
I will go out of my way to the Bourse to buy ALL my spices now. Unthinkable to buy McCormick paprika in a pinch. Yeah that is a pun and I committed it. Make a point of shopping Penzey's where they have more than one kind of paprika. Try the yummy smoked paprika on deviled eggs!
"Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!" Trump said on Twitter. It was not immediately clear what prompted the timing of his complaint. Read more...
Update: Trumpolini did it because he was annoyed. Read more...
Kurt Eichenwald @kurteichenwald 20 hours ago
I have searched everywhere. I cannot find anything saying there was a $4B cost overrun in 3wk old Air Force One contract. Trump made it up.
And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Mark 11:17
Some work is by juried Artists whose work is in galleries and museums. Some Folk Art work is by unknown Artists. All of it amazing.
I will give attribution where and when I can find it as the day progresses. Enjoy. The last work does not feature Trump as Pig. It does illustrate Trump being a Pig.
Rei Ramirez and Ivan Roque giant mural titled When Pigs Fly.
TITAN PRESIDENTE TRUMP: KISS MY ASS GRINGO by CSuk-1T
My mean is rampant and starting to take over. I need some fun. Allen Sherman is funny. Also go to Trumpgrets if you like a laugh with your schadenfreude. Enjoy. Just a stage of grieving. No need to feel guilty.
You can put wings on a pig, but you don't make it an eagle. - William J. Clinton
I am the people, I'm not the pig. You got to make a distinction. And the people are going to have to attack the pigs. The people are going to have to stand up against the pigs. That's what the Panthers is doing, that's what the Panthers are doing all over the world. - Fred Hampton
Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?", here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!” - Andy Rooney
To eat the boiled head of a pig sliced like salami is very strange. It may seem cutting edge, but it's actually a lot older than any of the other traditional salami. - Mario Batali
I just got thrown off the RELIGION channel on disqus. I forgot I was banned. Hurt my feelings. I am mad, as in Hatter, so I get thrown out of lots of human groups. Still hurts.
Group question was: Is Jesus God?
I get thrown out for saying things like this below. Maybe it is a poem.
Oh and I get thrown out for saying I am a christianhindutaoisttranscendentaljew. And I mean it. I would say I am a Hicksite Quaker but they kind of threw me out too.
jesus is god
you are god
i am god
it is all God
God is divine nothingness that gives life to the universe.
"Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.”
― Pablo Picasso
My Magic Google Finger seeks to discern the Group Conscience by following the Artists in our midst. Somehow Art opens a Way. On the Fascism Bingo Board, I call Disdain for Human Rights and Unchecked Corporate Power.
“If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud.”
― Émile Zola
I am feeling kind of challenged in my HATE THE COPS stance. Here is why and here below is a video of what an Iraq Veteran thinks about peaceful protesters and the role of the Police - notice the capitalization and the respectful address. I remembered this video from Occupy Manhattan.
Standing Rock, North Dakota — Widespread outrage over both the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline and violent police crackdowns rages on. That outrage is spreading even to police agencies now returning from deployment to the reservation. Two departments have already refused to return, citing personal and public objections. As if that wasn’t enough, an army of sympathizers is re-purposing social media to combat police efforts in Standing Rock. Read more...
Ron Hemming, who reportedly is a retired deputy in Washington, shared his thoughts:
“As a retired deputy in Washington state, I would have refused to go on a detail such as this. As I am also part native blood, I stand with my relatives on the front line protecting the water from the black snake. Be safe. Stay strong." Read more...