Grooving to 90's music

I am completely in love with the 90's. This is the decade my older siblings were teens, and I became a teenager in the middle of the decade. I look at it with nostalgia, as my friends introduced me to Nirvana, gangsta rap, and of course the Internet. We had such hope during that decade, and some considerable delusion (in middle school I thought all the great movements were over - and I was sad because I felt like an activist without a cause).

We all just needed medication. Prozac would give everyone the chance to be happy at the cost of losing individuality; to be unhappy was to assert an individuality of one's own. That's one of the weirdest things of the decade - as a nation we were mostly happy. War seemed to be something that would now only be fought with planes and missiles and hardly any Americans would die in them (the other side was expected to die, brutally and with many casualties).

Music reflected our inner division - videos would be full of happy, day-glo colors while at the same time the lyrics would reflect dark times - paranoia, boredom, and the fear of losing individuality. At its core, the 90s was all about asserting your self and becoming unique. MTV fed on this desire, which eventually led in the reality shows of the next decade. There was strong fear (among the young anyway) of being a nobody - just another wage slave to the corporate treadmill. You had to do something brand new, and the Internet offered that chance for us to show off.

The NBC show Friends showed a lifestyle we all hoped to have - rooming with our buddies while we embarked on the path to success. The show suggested we'd all find a niche doing whatever it was we loved - and somehow our life would be successful. Seinfeld was about nothing; in many the decade was about nothing in particular. The biggest thing was just to be cool - and by that we meant taking it easy, living the mellow stoner's life, not worrying about plans but just making waves as drifted down the river of life.

We wanted to reject all commercialism, yet at the same time we were infused with it to a greater degree than previous generations. We wanted to stop the Man from putting us down; we were too lazy to really fight. We wanted to focus the world on the suffering of others; our ADD kept us from focusing long enough.

The 90s didn't end in 2000. They ended in September 11, 2001. Soon after that, humor was no longer carefree. Songs were more about being a member of our country, rather than being anti-social or too cool to  be labeled. After that day, we left the hopeful delusions of the adolescent Internet age and into a sobering adulthood.

The Pirate Flag

For the general edification of my readership and loyal friends, today I'm going to describe why I use this flag as a symbol.

The Flag in question is said to be the symbol of one Richard Worley who was one of the most awesome forbears a man could have. (I don't care if there isn't proof currently. I know there's pirate in my blood.). He was one of the first pirates to fly the Jolly Roger - that skull and crossbones motif associated with good pirates everywhere, even Johnny Depp. He made a compact with his crew to fight to the death and never surrender to authorities - Worley tradition even today. He also fled from the authorities after getting the loot he wanted, then had to go back and get more - also Worley custom. After going to Jamestown, he failed to recognize that two ships in the harbor were warships of the Royal Navy, and not merchants. He rectified his mistake by firing at them anyway, but was then boarded. At this point he either died on board his ship as a casualty of the firefight that had occurred, or was hung. I prefer to believe that he died defending his ship, and that the British hung him anyway just as a precaution. 

Unfortunately, his efforts in piracy were at the time blamed on Blackbeard, and Richard did not gain much notoriety. This would become a inherited curse on the Worley family, which would do many deeds that were attributed to someone else (mostly involving rioting and vandalizing state property).

Although he was fairly mediocre pirate in the annals of history, still the possibility that he could be an ancestor of mine and the fact he's known for piracy's most marketable image, make him pretty awesome. Plus a pirate is the ultimate symbol of anti-establishmentarianism: On the high seas the pirate captain is God -  answerable to none except those who believe in him, and any who follow him have a chance of sharing in that independence. My use of the flag is to demonstrate at a glance my hopeful independence from everything, even when life tries to assert my servility to it with a cannonball across the deck.

Anything Goes...

I spend my nights with Insomnia, a friend I've come to know dearly. No matter how tired I am at times, sleep does not come whether I coax it, force it, invite it with comfort, or beg it while watching the clock. Sometimes I have brilliant flashes of insight (well, I like to believe they are brilliant) or I will manage to accomplish a feat that I had been putting off. Sometimes I just read till sleep blackjacks me in the head. (If you've never been blackjacked, then think of being knocked clean out by a kick from Chuck Norris. If you can't think of what that must be like, then I'll be happy to show up at your domicile and demonstrate. Incidentally, you can't press charges, since you were actually asking to be walloped in the head.) But finally, I feel sleep being subtle tonight by causing mini-blackouts while at the keyboard. I think I shall give in, before I find myself with a crick in my neck and a nasty taste in my mouth from sleeping in front of the computer again...

Ode to Junior Cloer

Today I'll borrow a line from one of my heroes, Lewis Grizzard and talk about a friend of mine. My friend T.J. Cloer, is a great American. He is a strong believer in the Constitution, and he has 3 guns per square foot of his home to back up his beliefs. He knows that a good dog is worth more than a lot of women, and can make you cry more over it than a woman who has just left out the door. He knows the value of a fast car, and is happy to race anybody down at the dragstrip. The only fault he has is that he doesn't drink, but there is a coalition of people trying to change this.

T.J. once had to spell his name for a customer service person apparently not located in this country. Even so, they still didn't understand that and wrote it as Tee Jay. T.J. is open to many cultures, but he sure as hell don't care for outsourcing to places that don't understand Southern English.

I've known the guy for nearly 20 years, and despite the number of times he's wanted to punch me in the nose he never has. I think that is what makes for good friends - someone who won't hit you no matter how much you really deserve it.

T.J. once went skydiving and now has a bug for jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. He wants me to try it but I told him that the next time I plan to leave the ground was in the rapture, and I sure ain't gonna look down when that happens either. He insulted my manhood after that, but that is characteristic of him.

In an age when shuttle launches seemed routine and hardly anybody watched, T.J. kept paying attention. He believes our destiny lies out there in space, and America should be leading the pack in everything. He is determined to watch the last shuttle flight in person. T.J. ain't keen on relying on the Russians on something we've been doing quite well on our own.

You can sometimes catch me and T.J. discussing astrophysics to shurikens down at the Waffle King after midnight. Chatsworth doesn't have a Waffle House, but sometimes we'll go to the one in Ringgold and meet interesting characters there as well. A Waffle House after midnight is a unique place in the South, an ephemeral salon where you may meet savants, celebrities, and occasionally normal folk.

Well, I think I may call up ol' T.J. and see if we'll rendezvous at the Waffle King tonight. Take it easy, folks.

Mixed feelings on Bill Haslam.

I admit I have mixed feelings on Bill Haslam. Bill is the current mayor of Knoxville Tennessee who is running for the governorship. He has a clear lead over his Democratic contender, Mike McWhorter, son of a previous governor. Bill's father founded the chain of Pilot Travelcenters aka "truckstops" that are so prevalent along the interstates now.

I think that Bill should be Tennessee's next governor. I see this battle as east Tennessee versus west Tennessee, and I think Bill could bring some much needed development to the eastern portion of the state. (Knoxville is in eastern Tennesse, for those who are rusty on their geography.) Bill has strong ties to the area, including Chattanooga.

Also, Bill went to school in Georgia, at Emory in fact. That's where he met his wife. That's yet another tie to Georgia. My thoughts are that Bill will understand southeastern Tennessee's strong links with North Georgia and understand that the region is very much interconnected. He may also be a governor that could see the potential of a passenger railway between Knoxville-Chattanooga-Atlanta. A rail system has long been talked about between Atlanta and Chattanooga leaders, but has never really gained traction.

Bill is a candidate that North Georgians can root for. We are, after all, affected by Nashville just as much as by Atlanta, as many of us work and shop in Chattanooga. (Also UGA fans must cross into Tennessee every other year, and the same goes for UTK.) I think Bill will work to make ties between the two states much stronger.

Having said all those nice things about Bill, here are a few complaints: Why doesn't he just show his income tax statements? His opponent has done so, and Bill has a clear edge. Not disclosing them sends out a message that Bill is worried about something in the statements. Show them Bill! What could you possibly have to hide?

Also, I'd like to point out as others have that growing a company via mergers is not job creation. When two companies merge, although the new company may be bigger, nobody new was actually given a job. Creating a Pilot station in a rural community where there wasn't really anything before can create jobs. Taking over somebody else's truck stop doesn't create any more jobs, although it might have saved existing ones. Keep that in mind, Bill.

Saturday Musings

Today is Saturday, and I will be working for my main employer. This means a 12 hour day in a cubicle, with about three other people for company, wondering when stuff will break. I will then go home and repeat this Sunday, and then for a few hours again on Monday.

I am in a crisis management position for my employer, which is a fancy way of saying when stuff breaks, I attempt to fix it. Most things I can fix by myself. Some things require a few phone calls. The perks of the job are that when there is nothing going on, I have a license to read.

During football season, we all try to keep up with our teams, which can be difficult since we can't hang out in the break room for four hours. Since we are deprived of cable tv in our immediate workspace, we often utilize the espn site's Gamecast application to follow games.

The place I work in is as secure as a military installation. There are security mechanisms all over the place. One co-worker who isn't in the same department referred to mine as the "Top Secret Center." He wasn't far from the truth. I do the best I can to keep my work life separate from my personal, and also go to great lengths to protect my workplace. I don't work for the CIA, but many corporations have to place employees in positions of trust and don't like that trust to be broken.

All in all, though I am sometimes frustrated, I've enjoyed the position I have there, and I like my management, and the compensation is good. That's important to have at a work place, and I feel lucky I have that.

My thoughts on the 1956 Georgia State Flag.

This flag, for those of you unfamiliar with Georgia history, was Georgia's state flag from 1956-2001. It was chosen during a time of social upheaval, and may have been chosen to protest desegregation. The contentious part of course is the red field containing a blue St. Andrew's Cross, inlaid with 13 stars. The stars represent the 11 Confederate states that seceded from the Union, with two more stars for Kentucky and Missouri (which did not secede). The configuration is known as specifically as the Confederate Battle Flag, and though it is but one of many flags used during the Civil War, eventually became the most recognizable symbol of the rebellion.
       Rebellion. That is what I always associated most with the Battle Flag. To wear it, to own it, to showcase it was a sign that you were not part of the mainstream. If you wore the flag, good church folk would not try to show you to the Lord, because you were probably listening to Satanic rock music and rode motorcycles and drank 100 proof liquor and therefore beyond human efforts to reach you, beyond everything but prayer. Despite the strong association of the flag with the South and all the Old South stood for, the flag's meaning had changed to be associated mainly with ruffians and non-conformists. In the 90s, Georgia was becoming known as a cosmopolitan center, its capital the economic engine of the South. Georgia wanted (and still does) to keep Southern hospitality and charm, while ignoring the racism and aristocratic attitudes that had created that gentility. Georgian businessmen might still enjoy sweet tea and cornbread for supper, but they wanted to do business with the world. In 1999, they began the real demand for changing the state flag, after the NAACP organized well-publicized boycotts of several states that also had the Battle Flag as part of their state flags.

  Had the NAACP not been pressuring states to change the emblem, Georgia might have been able to change the flag with a simple contest or referendum. The publicity led many who were already antagonistic toward the overall changes of the 90s to see the 1956 state flag as a symbol of a South that was slipping away - the South of small town squares, county fairs, binding handshakes, and furious resistance to Communism. These felt they were being sold out by their Atlanta brethren. They didn't understand the new technology that made Atlanta a leader on the world stage, they didn't trust Atlanta doing business with foreign countries, and they just wished everyone would leave them alone. Thus they began a fight for the old state flag, and cost a governor his job.

    In 1999 I was 13 years old, and I became increasing swept up in politics. I wanted Mr Bush for president, because I felt he had better morals than Mr Clinton, and I was positive if we had a Republican governor we could have real change in the state of Georgia. When Barnes unceremoniously changed the flag, I was incensed along with most people I knew. We rallied for Perdue because he promised a referendum on the flag issue, and we refused to see any other issues. Perdue won in a landslide, becoming the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction, and he did it on a single issue: changing the flag back. However, in my naivete, I thought we would still have a mixed legislature. I was proven wrong by later events and the 2004 election.

   Perdue is a pragmatic man. He knew he could win the election based on the flag issue, but as a Georgia businessman he had no intention of changing the flag back. He had no intention of hurting business interests by provoking a boycott. He allowed a referendum, but one that did not include the 1956 flag as an option. In 2003 the current flag was chosen (which interestingly includes elements of the Stars and Bars which was the National flag of the Confederacy).

  At the current time, I'm no longer interested in revisiting the flag battle. I like our current state flag, and the Battle Flag still has a special place in my heart. But I'll never allow a single issue to dominate my vote so much ever again. Perdue disappointed me on that occasion, and I began to realize the Republican party is not where my politics lie. I wanted someone who would overturn the good ol' boy system; I got a guy who is a paragon of it. Symbolic as it of many things, the state flag is nowhere near as important as learning what a candidate intends to do to insure prosperity, improve education, and resolve Atlanta's water crisis. The lesson learned? Substance over symbolism. Give me a candidate who is serious about putting people back to work, and I might not even care if he's a Yankee.

Why Barnes should be elected to Georgia's Governorship:

I've been following the campaign news via reading stolen newspapers and occasionally watching television programs through the windows of wealthy neighbors, and I came to this conclusion: We need former Governor Barnes to be our top guy again. Granted, in 2002, I was not fond of Barnes due to my displeasure at the state flag being messed around without real cause ( the flag then had been chosen in 1956; by 2000 it had been our flag for nearly 50 years and felt like a piece of history which could symbolize many things to people - my feelings were that it should stay as a reminder of that history - I think I will do a separate post on my feelings at that time). But Barnes overall was a guy who seemed dedicated at the time to improving our state. He still is. What most will probably overlook is that Georgia Democrats are still not really agents of the national party. They are far more conservative, fiscally and socially, then the guys in Washington. Georgia Democrats have been this way for many years which is why many switched to the Republican party when they felt that party was more conservative.

  But I think Barnes should win not just because he is a conservative Democrat (a seeming rare thing). He's more ethical than Deal, who before resigning to run for governor, was about to undergo a House ethics probe (see this link for details). Electing Deal, with a presumably full Republican Legislature, will make for yet another rubber stamp administration. Even under the long years of Democrat rule we did have dissent, as even though the Democrats were the majority, they were prone to factional breaks and contention between the Speaker and the Governor (see the Three Governor's Controversy and Tom Murphy ). Electing Barnes will mean electing a Democrat who will have to compromise with Republicans, who won't have a rubber-stamp legislature and who is guranteed to leave in four years. Even those against Barnes have to agree that he will be in no position to do as much harm as Deal will certainly be in. Besides, John Monds doesn't have a chance. (I know my friends are crying, "Say it so, Leo!" but I think it will be a long time before there's a Libertarian governor. Start small, Libertarians. Get a hold of a few towns and districts, introduce a little bit of legislation here and there, and one day the established parties will...assimilate and bastardize your ideas, just as they do with all third-parties.)

Vive Chile!

     Despite being in the backwoods of the North Georgia foothills, we do get a bit of news around here. I'd like to have this first post commend the work of hundreds in concluding a successful end to the saga of 33 miners trapped underground. In this region of the U.S., we are accustomed to such stories not having a happy ending. Mining, while a necessary industry that powers the modern world, has unfortunately usually had a high death toll. My hope is that we have more successful rescues, and never have to simply shut a mine and hope that everyone died mercifully quick (many times, miners have probably been trapped alive; yet there was no way to save them without putting more lives in danger).

   As long as humans are needed to actually go into mines, the business will continue to be risky. Let us hope for advances in robotics and the price thereof to help make this dangerous task no longer require men to endanger themselves.

See the full story on the rescue here at CNN