The Scribbler tells us that Janine is being blacklisted by the "internazis" of Red Hollywood, who resemble "vermin like psychotherapists and 3-term mayors."
And while the Scribbler strongly supports our right to smoke in public, he launches this attack on Hollywood for teaching us to smoke in the first place, an indication that the Scribbler might feel some ambivalence about cigarettes.
Further down the plywood, we see a compatriot of the Scribbler has provided some cryptic mathematics:
Bloomberg = 8 yrs =/+ 11 BILL
Smokers 8 yrs, 10-12-PACK
What could it mean except: "Smoking Good, Bloomberg Bad"? And fascism lives. "But," says a newcomer in barely legible ballpoint, "smokers don't." Live, that is. "Be grateful!"
The addition of the Communist hammer and sickle might indicate the red politics of this writer, which I will call the Communist Smoker. It also begs the intriguing question: Could the anti-Red Scribbler and the Communist Smoker be on the same side? Could they be alters of the same individual?
Read back:
Scribbler 1
Scribbler 2
I think the Scribbler might be expanding his or her canvas too. Noticed a few, uh, scribbles about Bloomy on the plywood at Fourth Avenue and 13th Street.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of smoking...
ReplyDeleteAs a smoker, I often feel like the last pariah. I was yelled at by a woman at Mermaid Parade this year, because she had brought her infant & I was smoking outdoors. Now when I was a kid, I ran straight into someone's cigarette, so whenever I notice kids coming down the street, I lift my cigarette to make sure that they don't suffer the same fate. Anyway, I yelled back & pointed out that it was an outdoor event attended by many smokers, and drinkers & perhaps she should have brought her infant to a more suitable event.
Went to Lincoln Center bandshell to catch the Gories/Death show on Saturday. I was yelled at by some woman with a clipboard who told me that I couldn't smoke there. I asked WHY? She told me that people were working the event & could breathe it in. I was sure that only related to servers, waitresses & the likes, so... Then she got a security guard involved & he told me that I couldn't smoke because it is private property. Yet by the fountain, there were ashtrays to be used by the public & I asked a porter who told me that those people were wrong, I could smoke. Later, at the Rock & Roll show, they announced on the mic that "if you were going to smoke, you needed to be courteous of your neighbors."
I know smoking is bad for your health, so are lots of things. But it's getting ridiculous. Man, I used to smoke pot walking through the East Village & nobody cared. We've come a long way, down the wrong road. What's next? I'm going to have to side with the Scribbler on this one.
i started smoking at 13 - quit - - for the LAST TIME - at 47 - now 52 - and must admit i'm an obnoxious exsmoker - - cos if i smell too much tobacco i dream it and can't get it out of my nose hairs for days - makes me feel horrible. it was hell many times over to quit and then go back and if i knew i only had 6 months to live i'd prbly smoke tobacco again because it's ultimately my main drug of choice ... but alas i have unknown countless years ahead (ha!) and can't bear the effects.
ReplyDeletebtw - when i smoked i was a regular a**hole: blatant and self-righteous (except when i felt like a pariah).
- - S - you seem a good guy/gal - I hope i don't treat you bad when you puff in my midst, you are likely worse off enuff.
Look, I'm happy for anyone that quits, but I don't need to be told that I can't smoke in public open air. Tell me I can't smoke in public, indoors, or at the discretion of an establishment. But don't tell me that i can't smoke outdoors. The parks are up next & you have to think ahead & ask, "what's next on the list?"
ReplyDeleteThe truck that just passed me on the street was far more noxious smelling than anyone's cigarette could ever be.
sorry, but I really feel sick when your smoke fills up the "public air" that goes into my private lungs.
ReplyDeleteHow does it feel when the smell of truck/car fumes, the Gowanus & hot garbage fill your public air & reach your private lungs? I'd rather inhale smoke than the smell of the old Meat Packing district. How did you survive NYC?
ReplyDelete