Last week The IP noticed something new acrost from Atlanta’s famous Chicken Bone Plaza, that open, public space that the city has been trying to ”manage.”  Take a look at the below pic and see if you can notice it too:

Do you see it?  Look right above the traffic signal.

It’s a camera.  The IP saw some dudes installing it right before he took these pics.  Evidently, the city managers think that the presence of such remote surveillance will somehow help control the alleged “criminal” activity of the CBP.  Yet The IP really wonders if it will make any difference. 

The IP has smelled and seen some use of medical marijuana, and there is a thriving black market in the sale of single Newport mentholated cigarettes and 3-packs of athletic socks, but he doubts a camera will deter most of the folks at the CBP from doing what they always do…which is pretty much nothing.   Well, maybe not “nothing” as most people see it.  In fact, maybe they are doing a lot more than others think.  What does The IP know?

If you have the time and the intellectual energy, check out this piece about the “Mass Observation Movement.” in The New Yorker.

And here’s a related article about the alledged erosion of privacy.

Atlanta is to the rest of the State of Georgia much like Chicago is to the the rest of Illinois.  Each state exhibits a sharp urban/rural divide.  And while that divide is vivid in the political realm, it’s more objectively different in the visual realm; one just sees different things when he gets out of either city.

What follows is just a small photo essay on The IP’s latest time in Putnam County, GA.  The IP spent Christmas Eve and morning at the house (and with the cat!) of some friends.  These friends had recently purchased a circa 1811 house in the small town of Eatonton.  Think “Eaton,” that fancy-pants school in England.  These folks are real Anglophiles, and  in fact, are still in Britain as this is being written. 

The IP has always had a fascination with “Water Tank Towns,” and this trip provided some good examples.”  The IP didn’t coin the term “Water Tank Towns”, but it’s really what they are; usually a small cluster of houses and businesses at an intersection, usually some railroad access, and, of course, a big water tank, on it usually the name of the town.

The IP decided to accept Jesus Christ as his personal saviour in the parking lot of a gas station in Newborn, GA.

Just kidding!!  He only stopped to take the above pic.  Right after he took the pic, The IP noticed some guy in a giant, rumbling diesel pickup truck dressed as Santa.  In fact, this guy was actually big and rotund and had a huge white beard, so his visage was actually a bit disconcerting (maybe it was Santa?).  To add more irony, this “Santa” was yapping on a cell phone.  Nonetheless, he paused in his yapping to ask The IP: “Watcha takin’ a picture of?”  The IP simply said “That old fertilizer building.”  Claus replied:  “There’s a lot of contamination under that building.”  The IP said: “I don’t doubt that.”  Then St. Nick just drove off with his diesel engine going “blum blum blum blumblumblum….”  WTF was that exchange?  All true.  The IP didn’t take a pic of Buford T. Cringle out of respect and maybe even a little fear…he was a BIG guy!!

In just the 5 minutes he spent at this Newborn gas station, The IP saw about a half-dozen male denizens of the area stride into the convenient store, all wearing some form of camouflage, International Safety Orange, or some combination of both.  Then he looked at the parking lot…WTF?

Whoa!  The IP knew he had the wrong vehicle.  He hadn’t seen so many pickup trucks since he worked that Summer at Muscle Shoals TVA in Alabama.

And before the five-minutes was over, he saw a WHOLE FAMILY dressed in camo de-board their construction-cab pickup and march their way into the store.  Man, wife, 4 kids (three boys, 1 girl).  All in camo.  The IP had to leave without purchasing some beef jerky.

After many miles of cows, pecan orchards, churches, doublewides, and McMansions, The IP arrived at a larger water tank town.  The folks in Eatonton would probably not use that term, but the tank itself is hard to ignore.

The IP appreciated the high-speed Intarwebs connection, the cable TV, the nice stove, and comfy bed (and the cat!), and he was able to help, but one real reason he gladly accepted the 3-night gig was to just enjoy an old historic home in what is left of “The Country.” 

Almost like a cover of Historic American Home magazine, eh?

It even included a curious outbuilding.

It also had a fireplace (and a cat!).

Twenty Miles To a Starbucks 

The IP was out of coffee, so he did a Google on the closest Starbucks and it turned out to be 20-freakin’ miles away.  

But the Starbucks was in Madison, a County Seat, and a town on the IP’s tour agenda, so he took a road trip to Madison, GA, another nice, albeit larger, water tank town.

On the way to Madison, The IP made sure to take a picture of a Georgia pecan orchard. 

He don’t know, but he feels that at some point in the near future, if not right now, pecan orchards near Atlanta are doomed.

Madison is close enough to The University of Georgia to be both well restauranted and antiqued.  Most little water tank towns like Newborn don’t enjoy the luxury of having a nearby node of wealth and concentrated population.  The County Intarwebs site is a little over the top.

OK.  To finish off, 2 actual bumper stickers The IP saw on a pickup in the parking lot of the “American Owned” Ingles supermarket in Madison:

Happy Holidays From The IP!!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oh, The IP almost forgot…Here are the lyrics to just one of the many crazy songs he heard on his trip: 

America, Will we be

sleeping?

It’s very telling that one of the most important events in the Christian Calendar generally coincides with what is, at least for the Northern Hemisphere, an even older celebration.  Long before the Catholic Church put Galileo Galilei under house arrest, we “Northern” humans celebrated the moment in the astrological calendar when the sun reached its apogee; And many of us still do!  It’s both the longest night of the year and the beginning of a period of incremental increase in the amount of daylight.

The IP is not going to rant about how Christmas is just a continuation of pagan traditions.  He’s not going to provide links to Winter Solstice celebration sites on the Intarwebs.  He’s not going to go on and on about how, in Neolithic times, humans understood full well the importance of the sun in annual affairs.  Nope.  He’s just not gonna do it.

He’s not gonna say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons’ Greetings” either.  Nope.  He’s just gonna say:

Recommended solstice listening (actually on The IP’s TT right now):

BERNARD HAITINK

Title: THE PLANETS (GUSTAV HOLST)

Label: PHILLIPS

Record Number:6500 072

MADE IN HOLLAND  

As a daily news peruser, The IP just really loved today’s ABC International story about that “dead” British canoeist.  ABC didn’t break the story, but The IP likes the way the article put together all the info; it’s well written too.  The story itself is almost tailored for a TV movie. 

Check out the article here.  

Today Mitt Romney did his JFK imitation in Texas, trying to stave off critics who think Mormons are weird.  And if you believe the above headline on The Google, some are even worried that he might be at the bidding of the LDS.  It’s the same shit that JFK  went through for being a Catholic, although JFK went through a lot worse.  Isn’t that kinda funny?  Now Mormonism has joined Islam as a reviled religion.  There are several Catholics running for president without much criticism for being so, and they can all thank JFK for that.

Whether he was wearing that special underwear The IP can’t say, but he can say that Romney’s speech, which was ostensibly about religious freedom, was more about the establishment of religion.  It was full of god-talk and constant declarations about how we are a “Christian” nation.  JFK’s speech about his Catholicism, one some might have expected to be conciliatory, was a really powerful declaration of the separation of Church and State.  Basically, JFK said “My religious beliefs are none of your business and I don’t bring them to work.”  Romney says “I’m a Christian and I’m running for the presidency of a Christian nation.  The position of the two men could not be more disparate.   

I don’t know about you pithecanthropes, but for The IP, Romney is no weirder than any of the other candidates in terms of his religious self-profession.   All the candidates make sure that people know they are “Godly” Americans and, most important, that their “god” is Christian.  None are anything close to JFK.  None are close to MLK (and Mitt invoked him in his speech, albeit in an anecdote about his father).  More important for The IP, none are willing to say they are actually atheists.  For a good analysis of what The IP is saying go here.  

So who is what? 

DEMOCRATS: 

Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden: Roman Catholic

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: Methodist

Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd: Catholic

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards: Methodist

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich: Catholic

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama: Christian

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson: Catholic

REPUBLICANS:

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani: Catholic

California Rep. Duncan Hunter: Baptist

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: Southern Baptist

Arizona Sen. John McCain: Episcopalian

Texas Rep. Ron Paul: Baptist

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: Mormon

Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo: Presbyterian

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson: Southern Baptist

The above is not really a good sampling of our country’s religious affiliations.  Here is a better list:

Catholic

Protestant

Muslim

American Indian

Nation

Rasta

Jewish

Church of Christ

Pentecostal

Moorish

Buddhist

Jehovah Witness

Adventist

Orohodox

Mormon

Scientology

Atheist

Hindu

Santeria

Sikh

Bahai

Krishna

It could be longer, but The IP only wants to say he appreciated JFK drawing a line between State and Religion.  He hopes the next President will do the same thing, but it’s not likely.

The IP just got back from the Great Smoky Mountains, and boy, did he eat his share of biscuits and apple butter!  But he also spent a lot of time in the park, so you get to see some of the sites.

What follows is Part I of The IP’s Smoky Mountain Breakdown, a pictorial essay of his latest trip to a SE National Park, this time, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in TN & NC.

Three days before the road to Clingman’s Dome was to be closed for the Winter, a wet cold front passed through The South, arriving at the Smoky Mountains in the early evening.  For those folks in valley areas like Gatlinburg, TN (like The IP), it was a tepid rain, but the next day The IP and his coworkers found out what it was like over 6000’ up on Clingmans Dome.

The spur road up to Clingmans Dome provides the opportunity for a classic American ride; twists, turns, accelerations, decelerations, and panoramas that make it hard to keep your eyes on the road. 

And when all the trees above a certain elevation are sheathed in crystalline ice & bathed in sunlight, it can truly inspire.  

On this particular trip to Clingmans Dome, The IP found himself in a unique landscape.  The famous fog and drizzle of the Smokys had combined with sub-zero temps to create a frosty scene. 

Here is NPS intern Joshua Shepherd and Cultural Landscape Specialist Dianne Flaugh.  The IP is the boss of the former; he’s actually paid by The SCA.

Just part of the 521,085.66 contiguous acres that  constitute one of our country’s premier parks.

A scene from the “trail” that leads to Clingmans Dome

The observation tower at the top of the Dome is a work of utilitarian beauty.

A curving ramp allows you to gain elevation while watching the 360-degree panorama unfold before your eyes.   

The Intern

The rime ice formed the previous evening in a heavy wind, producing some interesting patterns.

You want ice fries with that?

The NPS radio tower became just another ice sculpture.

The End of Part I

In Part II, we’ll go visit some comfort stations…