The summer heat is making our cats languid. As you can see, Della Street still likes a good sunbeam: I considered calling this Cool Cat By The Coolers, but my inner Trekkie came bursting out. Actually, I nearly called it Sunbeam Me Up, O’Brien after the Colm Meany character in TNG and DS9 but wasn’t sure how many of you would get the joke. Make it so, motherfucker. Continue reading Friday Catblogging: Sunbeam Me Up
Anyway, he proves yet again why his name rhymes with anus. A fundraising email landed in my in-box earlier this afternoon. Col. Mayonnaise is raffling off a rifle. The funds will go to protect good Mericans from gun grabbing libruls. The rub is that it arrived on the day the country is reeling from the Charleston church massacre. Way to go, GatorPac.
You can see the email after the break.
I’ve been avidly following the Rachel Dolezal story. I wanted to think through my reaction to the whole mishigas since it doesn’t actually require instant analysis despite the predictable outrage on Twitter and elsewhere on the internets. Most of the reaction, even when justified, has been expressed in cliches, hashtags, and slogans. It’s a tricky story for me because I firmly believe that race is primarily a social and political construct. I did extensive research on the subject of passing when I was writing a law school paper on anti-miscegenation laws in Louisiana. Additionally, living in New Orleans, I’ve heard many tales of … Continue reading The Passing Truth
This is going to have to be posted today – Dunno about next Monday yet.
OK, Freepers – you have got to stop blaming Muslims for EVERY FUCKING THING, got it?
Button up, folks – it’s gonna get nasty.
.
Charleston shooting: Reports of shooting at church
Fox News ^ | 6-17-2015 | web staffPosted on 6/17/2015, 9:45:57 PM by Duke of Milan
Charleston shooting: Reports of shooting at church
****************
Breaking, shooting at church, possibly 8 dead.
To: Duke of Milan
To: lightmanAnd…
?
4 posted on 6/17/2015, 9:50:40 PM by ButThreeLeftsDo (You Don”t Need To Wait For The Next FReepathon To Make A Donation.)
To: ButThreeLeftsDoYou are not aware of the Ramadan Bombathon? http://www.thereligionofpeace.com
To: Duke of MilanShooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston, police said.Police described the gunman as a white male wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans. Police said he was approximately 21 years old.
To: Drew68So presumably a white-on-black crime in a black neighborhood.
That’s an unusual one.
16 posted on 6/17/2015, 10:05:49 PM by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
To: PghBaldyProbably a white hispanic or a white Arab.
28 posted on 6/17/2015, 10:24:35 PM by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.)
To: demshateGod
To: Duke of MilanSorry to hear this.
I am a bit curious why so many people as that are at a church this late.
Could be some staff needing to do work, but reports of this starting at quarter to 11 just make me wonder what was going on there.
41 posted on 6/17/2015, 10:37:28 PM by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVs.)
To: Hillarys Gate Cult
To: Nextrush
Good for Jeb. The last thing you want is for a politician to brag about himself when an entire congregation is mourning. This is just awful and hopefully the shooter turns out to be a liberal somehow.
…because liberals are famous for shooting up black churches…
If now, we will hear about this for a long time.
79 posted on 6/17/2015, 11:22:33 PM by napscoordinator (Walker for President 2016. The only candidate with actual real RESULTS!!!!! The rest…talkers!)
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Ramadan Bomb-a-thon edition”
It’s sleaze time here at First Draft. Nightstand Books wasn’t in business all that long but they ground out a shitload of potboilers. The titles frequently included the words sin and lust, and the tag lines were spicy and suggestive. Interestingly enough, the noted sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison was briefly one of Nightstand’s editors and even wrote this book under the pseudonym of Paul Merchant:
More tawdry book covers after the break.
As Athenae pointed out yesterday, the entire Trump “campaign” is an epic troll. It makes the freak show that is the GOP nomination process even more farcical. Call me sick but I love it, especially the thought of Trump in a debate going all Noo Yawk on Jeb, Rubio, and whoever else he feels like pounding on. I may even watch myself in the way that some rubberneck at car wrecks. The 2016 Republican race is God’s gift to satire. It almost gives me religion.. The announcement wasn’t Trump’s only act of blatant trollery, he also stated who he wants as his … Continue reading Trump-Winfrey Won’t Be Rockin’ In The Free World
I missed this one until it showed up in Gambit’s Y@Speak Tweeter Tube feature. Oh well, better late than never. It comes from Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Carter Peterson: The only good thing about the parlous state of the Gret Stet party is that it allows me to use the old Will Rogers quote: “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” Since we’re on the subject of the late, unlamented legislative session, here’s a link to Clancy DuBos’ regular post-session feature da winnas and da loozas. Hint: a certain fast talking, delusional Governor … Continue reading Tweet Of The Day: Gret Stet Politics Edition
At their best, the Fifth Dimension were one of the best non-Motown pop vocal groups of the 1960’s and ’70’s. They were best known for working with swell songwriters such as Jim Webb and Laura Nyro. I went looking for a representative album cover and found two.
First, the group’s debut album Up, Up and Away, complete with hippy dippy Fillmore poster style graphics:
We’ll take you to a Stoned Soul Picnic after the break. If you behave, we might even drink some Sweet Blindness... Continue reading “Album Cover Art Wednesday: The Fifth Dimension”
Donald Trump is not actually running for president: This year marks the fifth time since 1988 that Mr. Trump has suggested he would seek the White House, but he has never before formally launched a campaign. (In the past, his political dalliances have coincided with the launch of a new book or television show.) Donald Trump is not actually running for president: The rambling, hour-long stream-of-consciousness speech was online catnip, from the soundtrack (pure schmaltz, featuring piece from the “Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats”) to the entrance, as Trump descended the escalator to the marble basement of the Trump … Continue reading Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Getting Played? or, the Chocolate Covered Almond Theory of Journalism
Look, nobody would hate you if you could keep your fucking cakeholes shut: “I call it the war on suburbia,” said Brett Barbre, who lives in the Orange County community of Yorba Linda, another exceptionally wealthy Zip code. Barbre sits on the 37-member board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a huge water wholesaler serving 17 million customers. He is fond of referring to his watering hose with Charlton Heston’s famous quote about guns: “They’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.” “California used to be the land of opportunity and freedom,” Barbre said. … Continue reading Just Go Be Rich, Rich People
Every campaign cycle there are a bunch of wishful thinking pieces written, hoping that the coverage will focus on substance instead of polls, ephemeral disputes, personalities, and trivia. I have never written such a post because I know better: it’s the way the MSM covers Presidential campaigns and they’re at at it again. Consider the case of GOP long shot Lindsey Graham: Yet ever since Graham formally announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, his candidacy has been treated as something of a joke. Thus far, Graham’s bachelor status has attracted the most attention. His promise to have “a rotating first lady” … Continue reading Campaign Notes: There They Go Again
Morning, everyone – well, we might as well start with recent events that occurred close to Your Humble Narrator’s home – just 10 miles Northeast of my humble abode.
I’m not going to unearth the countless threads on the McKinney pool party – just use your imagination on that subject.
Instead, I’m going to focus on the Freeperati reaction to the resignation of the officer of the day –
.
First, there’s this:
Ferguson, Baltimore … now McKinney?
WorldNetDaily ^ | June 9, 2015Posted on 6/10/2015 12:21:36 AM by 2ndDivisionVet
McKinney, Texas, has joined Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore as cities known not for their business, tourism, climate or economy, but as communities torn apart by racial controversy.
The Texas town has been targeted by protesters since a video of a white police officer confronting a mostly black crowd of teenagers went viral, leading to claims of police brutality.
But some commentators say the drama in Texas is the latest case of racial agitators deliberately dividing Americans for their own personal gain.
Colin Flaherty, the author of “White Girl Bleed A Lot: The Return of Racial Violence to America and How the Media Ignore It,” says he is outraged at how the press has distorted the story.
“I am constantly amazed at how local and national media are able to ignore and deny basic facts of a story,” he said.
“In this case, huge numbers of black people were trespassing at a private pool, attacked the white people at the pool, bullied and attacked their children, destroyed property and the entire time used racial epithets. And when they were asked to leave, they attacked the security guard.”
Brent Embry, a black local resident, posted a message on Facebook charging “THUGS” were responsible for crashing the party.
According to Embry, it was a security guard, overwhelmed by sheer numbers, who called the police. Embry has reported being called an “Uncle Tom” because of his comments denying the incident was about race. His posting on Facebook has since been taken down…
1 posted on 6/10/2015 12:21:37 AM by 2ndDivisionVet
I’m sure the Freeperati will give this the wise and measured analysis it deserves…
To: 2ndDivisionVetNegro fatigue is rising.
2 posted on 6/10/2015 12:34:15 AM by Not now, Not ever! (Girlfriend suggested I use pelousy in place of swear words, A good idea, I think)
To: kinguIt’s not a problem with community. It is a problem in their genes. Sorry to say that, but look at every single black community in the world.
5 posted on 6/10/2015 12:58:42 AM by FreedomStar3028 (Somebody has to step forward and do what is right because it is right, otherwise no one will follow.)
To: FreedomStar3028; Jim RobinsonIt’s not a problem with community. It is a problem in their genes. [!!!] Sorry to say that, but look at every single black community in the world.
You richly deserve a lifelong ZOT for channeling the thoughts of Margaret Sanger, founder of the leftist abortion mill, Planned Parenthood. Attitudes such as this are just a step away from advocacy of genocide through mass abortion of those deemed genetically inferior.
Remember when Margaret Sanger called for a genocidal race-purge?
No?
To: re_nortexLoL. Margaret Sanger? Really?
There is something wrong and it goes deeper than community. I would never condone genocide, but the “thug” certainly has something wrong with him. If you didn’t understand the context of this post.
But blacks as a whole everywhere in the world cannot seem to rise above savagery. That’s a truth. An easily verifiable one. The black people I do know that aren’t living thug life ghetto slummin are surrounded by white people. So you tell me what it is then, since you just labelled me a genocidal maniac racist.
15 posted on 6/10/2015 2:20:37 AM by FreedomStar3028 (Somebody has to step forward and do what is right because it is right, otherwise no one will follow.)
To: FreedomStar3028So you tell me what it is then, since you just labelled me a genocidal maniac racist.
It’s not genetic in any way, shape or form — it political. Conservative blacks meet or exceed every known metric of intelligence, income and responsible behavior.
A liberal white is just as thuggish as is a liberal black. That’s indisputable. Take Vermont as but one example of this as proof positive. The state is over 95% white but elected Bernie Sanders, clearly a traitor and enemy to America. He’s a thug every bit as much as Trayvon Martin and Freddy Gray.
.
I never tire of Freepers calling OTHER PEOPLE racists.
It just never gets old.
Reactions to Punch Side-iron’s resignation and so much more after the barrel-roll…
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Slab Manmeat edition”
Barristan the Bold pic.twitter.com/VDMx8MpYpc
— Game of Memes (@GameOfMemess) May 17, 2015
Every deity, man. Every deity is complete asshole.
Mark Kirk, everybody: “He’s a bro with no ho,” Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) joked Thursday about never-married bachelor Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to another member of the Senate Appropriations Committee — a joke that was caught on an open mike. But it is what he said next that compounded the offense. “That’s what we’d say on the South Side.” Mark Kirk, everybody: “I want to make sure we have elected people constantly looking at helping the African-American community,” Kirk said. “With this state and all of its resources, we could sponsor a whole new class of potential innovators like George Washington … Continue reading Today in Clueless Old White Morons
Doc, from two weeks ago: I understand why people who feel that professors are lazy or don’t do work or generally sit in their offices in tweed coats and smoke alabaster pipes all day think tenure is bullshit. Truth be told, those of use who view tenure as a shield hate people who use it as a sword to fend off actual work and shared responsibilities. However, you shouldn’t get rid of the whole system simply because a few useless assholes are taking advantage of it. That’s like throwing away your Cadillac Escalade because somebody jammed gum into the ashtray. … Continue reading Unprotected
Smile was the album that led to Brian Wilson’s crackup and to a huge fight with his band mates. It was shelved and partially salvaged as Smiley Smile. Smile wasn’t released in the form desired by Brian until the 21st Century. It’s quirky, odd, and more like Zappa than the Beach Boys at times. You’ll note that the verses of Good Vibrations have different lyrics than the hit single; they were written by Van Dyke Parks who wrote all the lyrics for Smile. Here’s some Sunday morning lagniappe, Brian and his band playing Pet Sounds live: Continue reading Sunday Morning Video: Smile Live- Brian Wilson
I’m taking this feature back to its roots with the whole Who in football helmets and Saturday song thing. The theme song throwback is down to my featuring a story about the Grateful Dead at 50 and the final shows of the surviving core members. More about that in a moment.
It’s been a news of the weird week here in New Orleans: body parts on the interstate, trucks falling out of the sky ,and endless construction projects. The big Napoleon Avenue drainage project near my house has provoked a lawsuit because of the damage it has done to people’s houses. We’re too far away to have cracked plaster but the construction dust is wreaking havoc with my allergies. I have a tell-tale red allergy spot under my right eye that’s usually only seen during oak pollen season but it’s helping me write this post. Not really, but it’s a colorful image innit?
On to today’s theme song, One More Saturday Night. This rave up Bob Weir rocker first appeared on his kinda sorta first solo album, Ace. I say kinda sorta because his backing band was the Dead. It’s something he has in common with Tom Petty who records solo albums with the Heartbreakers but I digress, which is something I do in every post. But y’all knew that already…
Back to One More Saturday Night. Over the years it has evolved into a set closer or encore. It’s a good thing because Bobby screams like a banshee near the end of the song. I have two versions for your enjoyment. First, one from German teevee in 1972 featuring the honky tonk/Jerry Lee Lewis style piano pounding of the late Keith Godchaux. Second, a 1990 version, which has crappy video but great sound. It features the Hammond B-3 artistry of the late Brent Mydland. Detect a pattern? There’s also Pigpen and my boy Vince Welnick. Grateful Dead keyboard players are to them what drummers are to Spinal Tap. Discuss amongst yourselves…
More Saturday stuff after the break.
Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: One More Saturday Night”
After last week, I figured I was done. I got a great amount of support and I appreciated it. I also got a “PLEEEZ DON’T GO!” text from A, so I told her I’d be back this week. It’s hard to fathom, but I figured, “Hey, I have an idea: Play it safe.” With the Cavs depleted, undermanned and outmatched, it was a perfect time for the “I got my LeBron back” column, explaining that this was the guy I loved. He took a rag-tag bunch with no hope and fought valiantly in the face of overwhelming odds and still … Continue reading Fear Sucks
This is a regular sized Target plastic bag. And a tiny mini-pet. A. Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging: Claire to Scale
Oscar and Della are on strike. It’s too hot to pose for pictures or some such shit. That means it’s time for another visit with Henri le Chat Noir: Continue reading Friday Guest Catblogging: Reigning Cat and Dog
I had a wee discussion on the Love & Mercy post about Brian Wilson’s, God Only Knows. We agreed that it’s not only one of his best tunes but one of the best songs in the history of American popular music. The cover on the single is from hunger: the Beach Boys in sweaters? Not very beachy or Southern Californian. Also, both songs should have been A-sides. I wonder if that was Mike Love’s idea. It’s always fun to blame Mike Love… I’m going to post several different versions of this gorgeous and deeply moving song. Brian’s brother Carl sang it … Continue reading Thursday Night Music: God Only Knows
Christopher Lee, who was a magnificent slice of ham, has died at the age of 93. Lee was best known for his villains and genre pictures but he was an actor of great range and power who made a whopping 281 movies. I got a kick out of describing his career to people who first discovered him as Saruman in the Lord Of The Rings films. I’d boil it down to this: provoking hisses and scaring people shitless long before you were born. In many ways, Lee was the Vincent Price of British cinema, and like Vincent, he was famous for being nice in real life.
The heart of Lee’s career as a hiss provoking villain were the films he did for Hammer productions in the 1950’s and ’60’s. I was an avid consumer of these films on Creature Features when I was a tadpole and still have a preternatural fondness for them. Lee was cast with Peter Cushing so often that they became one of the greatest screen teams of all-time but with a twist: they were often adversaries. Silver screen frenemies for life.
Here’s a picture of Lee, Cushing, and Vincent Price doing that voodoo that they did so well:
It’s appropriate that the announcement came on Pulp Fiction Thursday since Lee was best known in his heyday for horror films, which gives me an excuse to post some more film posters. Before I do that, take a gander at this tribute from veteran Guardian film critic, Peter Bradshaw.
Bradshaw is not as fond of Lee’s horror films as I am but I was never a film snob. I’ll take a good genre flick any day over a film that shoves art down your throat but I digress. Guess you’re used to that by now…
Time for a look at Christopher Lee’s career, Pulp Fiction Thursday style:
More OTT lobby cards and posters after the break.
Anyone detect a theme this week? I hear kimonos are comfortable even though I’ve never worn one crimson or otherwise. Perhaps we can start a whole new cliche: a blogger in a kimono instead of pajamas.
Samuel Fuller made hardboiled films for a cult audience. He was a genuine auteur as he wrote, directed, and produced The Crimson Kimono. It’s a tough-minded film noir, which is set in LA’s Japantown and features a Nisei detective. That may not sound like much but given the fact that Mr. Moto was played by the German Peter Lorre, it was a break through. It was also banned in some Southern states for a bit of interracial canoodling.
Here’s the poster:
Continue reading “Pulp Fiction Thursday: The Crimson Kimono”
Being embarrassed by the Louisiana legislature is not an unusual state of affairs. They’ve passed many crazy laws over the years but their latest act of self-mortification really takes the biscuit. It involves a letter sent by 11 Republican legislators to Grover Norquist begging for his absolution as if he were the Pope. I wasn’t aware that Grover had the power to grant indulgences to sinners in the church of Norquist but these bozos act as if he does. And that is why the Gret Stet Grover Grovellers are malakas of the week. When I first heard about this, I thought it … Continue reading Malakas Of The Week: The Gret Stet Grover Grovellers
No, this post isn’t about gangbangers, my favorite newspaper, or the NBA Finals. It’s about the most perceptive thing I’ve read about the McKinney, TX swimming pool mishigas. It was written by a former cop named Seth Stoughton: The two officers in this brief video represent two different policing styles, two different mindsets that officers use as they interact with civilians: the Guardian and the Warrior. As a former police officer and current policing scholar, I know that an officer’s mindset has tremendous impact on police/civilian encounters. I’ve described the Guardian and Warrior mindsets at some length here and here; … Continue reading Guardians versus Warriors
I believe the name Sparks is in the dictionary under the phrase quirky bands. What’s not to love about an LP with a title punny enough for the pun community? It is, of course, a pun on the Rosemary Clooney hit, Come-on-a My House. I haven’t heard this album for awhile but the music is pretty darn good as well.
Kimono My House originally caused a stir in music circles by not having the band or album name on the cover. Those were obviously simpler times:
Here’s a faded scan of the LP in its gatefolded glory. It looks like it spent too much time in the sun:
Continue reading “Album Cover Art Wednesday: Kimono My House”
This is the part that stuck with me: The McKinney Police Department said officers went to the pool because they got calls about unruly teenagers. “The initial call came in as a disturbance involving multiple juveniles at the location — who do not live in the area or have permission to be there — refusing to leave,” it said. “McKinney Police received several additional calls related to this incident advising that juveniles were now actively fighting.” Who do not live in the area. I wonder how it was possible to tell. Just, you know, on sight.I wonder if there was something about … Continue reading multiple juveniles at the location who do not live in the area
Or maybe you just suck, dude: Cowherd said that Chris Rock and other comedians have suggested that stand-up on college campuses is increasingly difficult because of the level of political correctness, and Seinfeld — who has never been a particularly controversial comedian — said that he doesn’t play colleges. He says that he hears that college students — and the entire younger generation — are too politically correct. Jerrers, you have one joke. It’s about being a sticky, obnoxious asshole who surrounds himself with other sticky, obnoxious assholes who have one joke each. Back when nobody had ever made a show like … Continue reading Nobody, Like, GETS Jerry Seinfeld Anymore
I’m a notorious biopic curmudgeon, especially when I know something about the subject. The new Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy leaves me almost nothing to kvetch about. Its only sins are minor ones such as condensing and over-simplifying BUT they overdo neither and they nail the big picture. As to sins of omission, there were a few but I usually let that slide when a film is as well done as Love & Mercy. The film features fine performances by Paul Dano and John Cusack as the Brian the younger and elder. There’s universal acclaim for Dano, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the … Continue reading Love & Mercy
The appeal of the entire homeschooling phenomenon has always eluded me. I think that kids need to be socialized as much as they need to be educated. It’s become a right wing evangelical thing over the years; one that erstwhile Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is eager to tap into in his upcoming run for the GOP nomination. The key player in this strategy is PBJ’s right-hand man, Timmy Teepell who was homeschooled himself. My old friend Lamar White Jr. has written a swell post about Bobby, Timmy, and the homeschool movement at Salon. Check it out. Btw, neither Lamar nor I … Continue reading Homeschooled