Just how bad is it ? Many would say that it's "...the worst of times"..... Is there anybody around who might argue that it's the polar opposite of that --- that it's "... the best of times..." ???
Whether you look at the nation's capital or 86th Street in Bay Ridge, things are bad, very bad. --- And even if you are minimally informed, you probably have concluded that things are likely to get much worse before they get even a little bit better --- and many would be justified in arguing that, taken as a whole, these are the worst of times
The same appears to be true when it comes the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so many other specific things in our contemporary world
Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" opened with "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." and several other paired superlative contrapuntal assertions --- Dickens scholars and commentators have said that all those assertions were intended to refer to the times of BOTH the authorship of the work, in 31 installments in 1859, as well as in the historical period during which the action of the novel takes place, from some time before the French Revolution until the early-to-mid-1790s
If we use the descriptions presented by Mr. Dickens in the work itself, our times are only half what the Dickensian times relevant to "The Tale of Two Cities" seem to have been --- these Twenty-first Century times might well be the worst; but they are certainly not the best
13 comments:
It's the worst of times and the proof is on 86th street. Like COVID that damages the brains sense of smell & taste it's also damaged the center of Bay Ridge and spread out to the rest of Brooklyn. 86th street has gone from the bare bones Nedicks and hot shot coffeee shop, The Green Tea Room that was below Gregory dance studio, to be transformed over the decades to high brow boutiques surrounding Century 21. When candidates ran for office it was a sign of success to have a campaign headquarters on 86th street even though all those candidates, Nixon, Congressman John Murphy, and Kevin Carroll all had bad endings. But in politics everything ends badly. The same is now true for brick & mortar retail.
RESPONSE: THE "INTERESTING POV, MASKED MAN" EDITION
TO: "ANONYMOUS SAID... AT 9:39 AM"
SO, ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT CAUSING OR LEADING TO ALL THESE BAD TIMES AND BAD THINGS ARE THE HIGH TECH HUCKSTER MERCHANTS & MARKETEERS THAT NOT ONLY KNOW US ALL BETTER THAN WE KNOW OURSELVES, BUT ALSO KNOW ALMOST ALL THE THOUGHTS IN OUR HEADS BECAUSE THEY PUT THEM THERE ?????
Is this all part of a dystopian hell-scape ala "Hell" by Hieronymus Bosch [the artist, not Michael Connolly's literally literary and literate cable TV detective] or is it the nice scene in Bosch's tryptic "Garden of Earthly Delight" ?????
I saw Johnny Quaglione selling used kids coloring books on a blanket outside Pizza Wagon. Good for him! A true entrepreneur. From now on, I will call him Johnny Boot Straps!
Nothing was ever the same after the summer of 2017. Nothing.
FYI: THE "DELETED MATERIAL" EDITION
BOB WHAT'S-HIS-NAME KEEPS CHATTERING ABOUT ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT HE IS GOING TO MAKE --- BUT WHEN DID HE NOT CHATTER ABOUT ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT HE WAS GOING TO MAKE ???
When it comes to Bob it's all about self-promotion.....
The only announcement from Bobby Boo-boo that might interest us on this blog would be that Bob is willing to admit that he unethically tried to cover for Ratso Vito Bruno's history of sociopathic unlawful business activities over three or four decades by lying in his newspaper column about the very accurate charges being levelled by this blog and others against Bruno during the 2020 campaign.
Is Bob angling to change the open container law?
RESPONSE: THE "NOT ANY KIND OF '... DERANGEMENT SYNDROME' " EDITION
TO: THE AUTHOR OF "COMMENT DELETED... AT 10:27 AM"
CALLING OUT A VILLAIN AND A LIAR, AND NOT AIDING AND ABETTING IN THEIR SELF-AGGRANDISEMENT IS NO KIND OF "DERANGEMENT SYNDROME"
However, it might well be flogging a political corpse when it comes to Bob What's-His-Name.....
[NAME REDACTED] is accused of participating in the January 6th mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. He allegedly live-streamed his participation in the siege, bragging on social media about his role in "The Storm," sources said.
Liam has been verrryyyyyy quiet lately. I'm just saying.
I hear Sliwa will be putting up a real fight for the Brooklyn gop endorsement for mayor..stay tuned suxkers
FOLLOW-UP, UPDATE & BACKFILL: THE "PEACEFUL BUT ARMED DEMONSTRATION IN RICHMOND" EDITION
According to a report in the Washington Post, a day officials had feared might descend into anti-government violence replete with firearms settled into something stranger --- a demonstration by heavily armed protesters holding competing news conferences around Richmond's Capitol Square in the midst of throngs of a variety of media types and a large number of state and local police.
The event was generally uneventful, even though the heavily armed throng were all around the area of government buildings. However, no effort was made to arrest anybody in spite of the obvious violations of local laws prohibiting the open display of firearms during large public gatherings in Richmond --- copies of those laws were prominently posted throughout the area. Among the demonstrators were large contingents carrying banners of the Boogaloo Bois and Proud Boys.
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