Thursday, February 24, 2011

Ceci N'est Pas une Peep

In comments to my last post, former NYC resident Thunder asked the burning question:

Was it teh prudes/Disney that put Times Square porno outta bizness? Or the internet.

My response in the comments was:

It was the gentrification/Disneyfication combo that put the venerable Peep World out of business.

The main impetus to close the peep shows in Times Square occurred in the 90's when gentrification and the "Tough on Crime" Giuliani Time was in full swing. Show World was one of the larger venues, and died a slow death as tighter regulations forced all of the "blue" venues to devote a certain percentage of their space to non-pr0n product. If I recall correctly, the theaters started showing wuxia and cult films (I have to admit, I never liked Times Square, so my memories of the neighborhood aren't very vivid). Judging from this photo, it seems that Peepworld is still a going concern- gotta dig the juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane (and I leave it up to the reader to determine which is which).

In the modern, sanitized Times Square, in which a store like M&M's World can exist, I think a revamped Peep-O-Rama would be a logical addition.

Gadzooks, if there's one thing I find more repulsive than Times Square, it's marshmallow peeps... make that two things, that candy corn that comes out around Halloween is even more off-putting than peeps, and this is coming from a guy who eats kidneys and tripe.

UPDATE: Having mentioned Giuliani in the body of the post, I just want to comment about the kerfuffle over Gov. Cuomo fils receiving communion during a Roman Catholic Mass. I don't recall this ever coming up with regards to the thrice-married Giuliani. Why do only Democratic politicians have to put up with this bullshit? This kind of nonsense is what turned me from a Shane MacGowan Catholic to an apatheist. Well, this kind of bullshit, and the whole child-abuse nightmare.

8 comments:

fish said...

related

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

I'm thinking... wouldn't a stale peep be less buoyant?? Maybe I should have used stale peeps.

Posted by: Jennifer | March 23, 2010 at 01:31 PM


Isn't "stale peep" redundant? Like a 'tuna fish'.
~

Whale Chowder said...

There was a movement among Catholic clergy during the 2004 elections to deny the sacrament to politicians who supported abortion rights. This is nothing new, though it's annoying.

For myself, I'm a lapsed Catlick because I figured out 'way back in about 5th grade CCD that it was all bullshit.

The anti-women, anti-gay, pro-child-fucking stance of the church was just the horrific icing on the goatse cake.

Jennifer said...

fish should have used this this

Jennifer said...

that should have been this "link"...

I'm going back to bed.

M. Bouffant said...

Candy Corn rules! (The real thing, not just the Beefheart number.)

Are you some kind of Moose?

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

For myself, I'm a lapsed Catlick because I figured out 'way back in about 5th grade CCD that it was all bullshit.

It's funny what vestiges remain, even after you've pretty much left the fold- not eating meat on Fridays, buying sfingi on St. Joseph's day... hell, even Dan Savage indicated that he was a cultural Catholic.

Are you some kind of Moose?

Well, I'm certainly not a Jughead!

TruculentandUnreliable said...

Peeps are nastiness embodied.


Candy corn, however, is glorious. I don't care that it's waxy and so sweet it melts your face.

Also, too.