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PERRIN LOVETT

~ Fiction, Freedom, and The West

PERRIN LOVETT

Tag Archives: entertainment

Dunkirk

26 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Dunkirk, entertainment, movies

I don’t normally recommend movies at all, let alone war movies. Dunkirk is more of a retreat movie.

dunkirk_1

Nolan.

It’s a well put together story about overcoming blunders. And everyone goofed this overlooked historical subject matter – the Brits, the French, and the Germans.

I’ll say it was very good. Check for showtimes.

Tweetsie Railroad

20 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

amusement, autumn, children, clean, entertainment, family fun, happy, Mountains, North Carolina, safe, trains, Tweetsie Railroad

I have several burning hot and trenchant columns underway but this morning I figured they could wait. Christmas is almost here and this short post will brighten your day and lighten your heart – positive material for a crazed world.  It has nothing to do with law, government, or any political or economic topics.  It’s a the story about a great American business and tradition.

When it chances to rain I sometimes don a high-quality, hooded raincoat emblazoned with a “12” logo patch. People occasionally inquire as to the meaning and origin of the garment. I love telling the tale.

Tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, about halfway between Blowing Rock and Boone, just off U.S. 321, there is the most remarkable hideaway. There one will find a tiny, tiny little (very small) amusement park on the side of a mountain.

Disney World it most certainly is not (praise God). It is a chapter from an older, homier book of Americana. It may be the ultimate roadside destination, a place to shame South of the Border or Wall Drug. Tweetsie Railroad is one of my absolute favorite places anywhere. Time stands still in the mountains.

Tweetsie started in the 1950s and, instantly finding perfection, hasn’t changed.  I first went there in the very late seventies and was awed.  Many years later, when my daughter was a tiny tot, we decided to visit the park for a family getaway.  I was over-awed this time.  Tweetsie was (and is) the only place from my childhood that is exactly the same as I remembered it from my youth.  It literally coverts you into a little kid again.  More magical than any kingdom.

The name from crafted from the defunct East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad. Tweetsie is also the name of old No. 12, the park’s flagship steam locomotive. Yes, they have real, full-size, and fully functional trains. No. 190, The Yukon Queen, puffs along on alternate days. The trains are the preeminent attractions.

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No. 12 in station.

All day long these fire-breathing beasts of iron and steel haul delighted families around the mountain. The passenger cars are manned by cowboys. About a third of the way around the train stops at a little village. The cowboys get off and engage in gunplay. Sometimes it’s the result of a robbery. Later the show stops at a fort where another battle unfolds against a tribe of hostile yet inept Indians. Cowboys and Indians in the 21st Century. The fun is neither political nor correct, yet fun it is.

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A chairlift carries patrons to the top of Miner’s Mountain. There, and down below, are a variety of shows, acts, rides and entertainment. Up top the summit is ringed by a smaller train ride. The smaller train enters a tunnel and stops so folks can watch mice ride around on an even smaller train. A train within a train within a train.

Behind the mine tunnel is a petting zoo filled with animals. Good, inexpensive carnival food abounds. Midway up the mountain is an arcade, a ferris wheel and a race track. Special occasions are common, including dog shows and Thomas the Tank Train. Thomas is there in the late spring: full size too. He’s propelled by No. 12 at Mr. Tophat’s request.

Tweetsie is open from early April through Halloween. Tickets are $44 for adults and $28 for children (toddlers enter for free). Season passes are $95 an $65, respectively.

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Fun for all ages.

Fall is, in my opinion, the best time to visit. The scenery is perfect and the temperature is always ten to twenty degrees cooler than the low lands. The park is open at night around Halloween for the Haunted Train experience.

This is truly an old-fashioned family friendly place. There’s something for everyone. I have been many times during different seasons and always had a grand time. The type of thuggery and foolishness too common these days is simply not tolerated. I’ve never seen anyone out of line. I suspect the cowboys would shoot any hooligans.

Accommodations, from rustic cabins to modern hotels are all over within a ten-mile radius. Boone and Blowing Rock offer numerous other fantastic activities. Everything up there is clean, safe, refreshing and jolly. The smell of wood fires, pumpkins and apples permeates the air. The sounds are of laughter, wind in the trees, and falling water.

Tweetsie even boasts a number of convenient Cigar smoking locations. The towns are also Cigar friendly. Boone hosts a few small tobacconists while the gas station in Blowing Rock has a well stocked Humidor and a decent wine selection. Good food and ale is available in plenty. Blowing Rock even has a local brewery. The place to eat at is The Peddler Steakhouse. They have the finest beef and fare and are operated by attractive co-eds from App State.

Plan a trip if you can. Again, I really recommend the fall. Do be mindful of Appalachian State home football games on fall Saturdays. Even on game weekends early planning will provide a room reservation. I think the place would even benefit the modern micro-aggresion obsessed set. Initially, duct tape could ensure they don’t complain about the cowboys and Indians. The tape could be removed when they start laughing along with the normies. Highland therapy for the soul. Perfection incarnate. Plan a visit soon.

Politics

27 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

academic, Alex P. Keating, America, Amerika, anarchist, budget, bullshit, Congress, conservative, Constitution, coroporations, D.C., debt, Debt Clock, democracy, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, drones, due process, Emperor Palpatine, entertainment, evil, faction, Family Ties (TV show), Federal Reserve, finance, Founder's Almanac, George Washington, government, Greek, H.L. Mencken, Heritage Foundation, history, illegal, insurance, interest, libertarian, libertarians, Liberty, lies, media, Medicaid, Medicare, military-industrial complex, Minority Report, money, Obama, ObamaCare, office, P.J. O'Rourke, parasites, Parliament of Whores, political parties, political theory, politician, politics, poly, ponzi scheme, Presidency, Rand Paul, Republican, Ron Paul, Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, Social Security, special interests, States, stupidity, tariffs, taxes, television, terrorists, the children, The People, three branches, ticks, War, Washinton, welfare

“Politics” comes from ancient Greek roots.  “Poly,” of course, means “many” and “Ticks” are little blood-sucking parasites.  Thus, “politics” means: many little blood-sucking parasites.  I really wish I could attribute that definition to my own genius but I feel overly honest today.

palpatine

(Emperor Palpatine, the ultimate politician. Source: Google Images.)

Wikipedia says “politics” is  “the art or science of influencing people on a civic, or individual level…”  See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics. 

I have studied politics (formally and informally) since around 1980.  In those days, everyone in the South tended to be Democrats, party-wise.  My parents were proud Democrats at the time and were horrified when Ronald Reagan won the Presidency.  I watched on.  As the years progressed, I decided I was a “conservative” and, therefore, a Republican, much like Reagan. 

I watched Family Ties back then and might have been influenced by the antics of Alex P. Keating.  Then came the Rush Limbaugh era; I listened everyday after high school while working as a runner for a local law firm.  I knew Rush was right.  Well, something in my subconscious had doubts.  In college I drifted into libertarian thought and have remained there ever since.  As the years pass I become closer and closer to a full-blown anarchist. 

During this time, while I descended from a believer in minimal government to a dreamer about no government, reality took a turn for the worse.  The whole of my dear country seems to have gone the other way!  Whereas we had a big government when I was a child, now we have a GIGANTIC monstrosity of a government that seems to grow geometrically ever second.

Hence my disconnect from the world of practical politics.  It is patently obvious that there is no discernible difference between the two major parties in America – they both lead to bigger and more controlling governance.  Over the years I supported several politicians in various ways – both Republicans and Libertarians (I have Democrat friends too).  My support usually faded away with my short, rambling attention span.  I have never been a member of any party. I am proud of that; I hate political parties.

Deer Ticks (file/credit: Getty Images)

(Politicians soliciting contributions.  Google Images.)

In his Farewell Address to the nation, President George Washington devoted nearly two pages to warning the people about party politics.  He began: “Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party, generally.”  Thereupon he listed the many dangers of “faction” at the expense of Public Liberty.  He closed with a thought on excessive party politics: “A fire not to be quenched; it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest instead of warming it should consume.”  See: The Founder’s Almanac, pp. 309 – 310, The Heritage Foundation, Washington 2002.  Given Washington’s fame and standing you would think more people would have listened; they did not and American “democracy” became an all-consuming conflagration.

H.L. Mencken wrote in the Minority Report (1956): “Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule – both commonly succeed, and are right.”  Mencken defined “democracy” as “the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”  Every election since has proved him right on both counts.

The most excited I ever got about any election(s) was in 2008 and 2012 supporting Ron Paul.  I knew then Dr. Paul was an anomaly in American politics.  My fellow citizens chose a different path and now Dr. Paul is retired.  With him, at the end of 2012, went Rep. Dennis Kucinich.  Washington is now devoid of any statesmen whatsoever and the only small impediments to Total Government are gone.  I would like to believe Dr. Paul’s son, the other Dr. Paul, will follow in his father’s hallowed footsteps; I don’t think it will happen.

I have decided to waste no more time following the stupidity (which worsens daily) of field level politics.  My personal academic concentration is now centered on political theory or philosophy and the history thereof.  A good friend of mine says that America is finished, like a $500 car in need of $5000 worth of repairs.  For our generation I fear he may be on to something.  Still, I hold some hope for the future.

My fledgling professional academic career is and will be focused on educating younger persons about the mistakes of faith in politics and government, the evils resulting from such faith, and alternatives to the status quo.

Perhaps the most honest book ever written about American politics is Parliament of Whores by P.J. O’Rourke (1991).  The title says it all.  Inside the reader will discover, among many other witty things, a whole section of chapters entitled, The Three Branches of Government: Money, Television and Bullshit.  Perfect.

Government and politics in general, particularly in America, really do center on O’Rourke’s three “branches.”

Money in politics is not necessarily the root of all evil, but it certainly is the tool of all evil in politics.  It takes a lot of money to get elected to national or state office in the first place.  Savy politicians set up campaign funds legally designed to break or sidestep any campaign finance laws in the way.  Then the ticks turn around and suck blood from any source to fill their funds.  Sometimes they contribute a little of their own money but most of it comes from “donors.”  People all over give a little here and there to help some bozo get elected; once elected the bozo ignores the little people.  The big bucks come from the special interest groups, they get the politician’s attention post-election.

Money flows into Washington, D.C. and the several State capitals by the dump truck load.  Giant corporations and the super rich constantly brib ..er.. give to elected officials in all kinds of ways.  Sometimes they support a pet project of the tick’s (charity, etc.), sometimes they provide booze and hookers, they give kickbacks and favors, and sometimes they just give plain old cash in brown- paper grocery bags.  The amount of money flowing into the Capital is astounding, but it pales in comparison to the money flowing out.

This year, like last year, the federal government will spend something like 3.5 Trillion dollars per its official “budget.”  I just put “budget” between quotation marks because Congress hasn’t put forth an actual budget, as required by the Constitution, in years.  Alarmingly, the vast majority of federal spending is on UnConstitutional programs.  The government spends a huge percentage of that money out of debt.  Fully a third of the budget is borrowed these days.  Check out the U.S. Debt Clock for a good fright: http://www.usdebtclock.org/.  In fact, I believe the borrowed sum exceeds the amount paid by individual taxpayers.  Corporations also pay for a larger portion of the budget than do the individual taxpayers.  However, as with any business expense, corporations pass their taxes along to customers via higher prices for their goods and services.  So the People ultimately pay those taxes as well.  Aaaaand, guess who guarantees the huge debts run up by the ticks?  Yes, taxpayers again.  So, Ma and Pa America have to pay for all the illegal, unnecessary spending of the government, even when they receive no representation for their money.

Like I said, most government programs are not grounded in the Constitution and are therefore illegal.  Of the $3.5 trillion spent, Medicare and Medicaid get about $800 billion.  They are not in the Constitution.  Social Security, the third rail of tick-dom, gets a similar amount.  Not in the Constitution.  Our never-ending, foreign, undeclared wars of aggression get a slightly smaller amount.  Being undeclared and indefensible, they to are also illegal.  The total of interest on the national debt, federal pension costs, and various welfare programs get a similar amount of funding.  Like undeclared warfare, specific welfare is also illegal.  As none of the programs are needed there is no need for all the federal employees vested in those pensions.  If the government didn’t spend so damn much money there would be no debt and, thus, no interest.  The “legitimate” functions of the federal government are mostly unnecessary anymore, and those that are should really only cost us a few hundred billion dollars per year at most.  That could easily be covered by tariffs and import fees – as the government was supposed to be funded and was funded for years without trouble.

I could go on and on with the money stuff but we still have television and bullshit….

Television is really representative of all major media, both news and entertainment, in this nation.  Whether you get your news on TV, from the radio, or from a print medium, it’s all the same.  The government puts out a line of crap and the media runs with it.  Very seldom in America are we treated to any critical reporting anymore.  Remember those special interests?  They own the media nearly completely.  Towing the line is part of the overall scheme.

This scheme extends into non-news entertainment.  Reality shows, pro sports, pop music and other trivial pursuits are the modern bread and circuses of Amerika.  While you drunkenly watch 300-pound men decked out in pink play with a ball, the government is stealing you blind and destroying your country.  The ticks laugh at you too.

Bullshit.  It’s a crude term but it accurately describes everything I’ve been writing about.  It’s also all you ever get from the government.  Mostly everything you hear, see, or read from the government or its pet media are outright lies.  Very little the ticks do is honest or important so they have to concoct wild stories to get you to go along – provided you even pay attention, most people do not.  For instance, when Washington goes to war the ticks always say it’s over something noble like “keeping the world safe for democracy” or “fighting the ‘terrorists’.”  Saying they want to keep profits high for the military-industrial complex (a special interest) doesn’t sound as good.  When President Obama announced ObamaCare, he didn’t say he wanted windfall profits for the insurance and finance companies of America (special interests).  He said it was all to help the children, or the less fortunate, or you and me.  Bullshit!

And when the government and the ticks tell the truth, it’s truly frightening.  The Whitehouse says it will use drones to kill Americans without Due Process.  You better believe they will!  When Congress authorizes an illegal ponzi scheme like Social Security or an illegal monopoly like the Federal Reserve (the biggest special interest of all), they do so openly and with impunity. 

My point is … well, I’ve already made it – I do not like modern, practical politics and for good reason. 

The next time you come into contact with a tick, instead of giving it money and voting it into office, get out the tweezers and the alcohol.  I’m Perrin Lovett and I approve this message.

Perrin Lovett

perrinlovett@gmail.com

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