Ffolkes,
Once more, I find myself caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, in more than a merely metaphorical sense. In this particular case, as it presents itself each morning, the Devil is represented by the blank page staring me in the face, and the Deep Blue Sea is a metaphor for well… something.
I guess the metaphor breaks down there a bit, thanks to the rather pathetic lack of any rational thought going through my head at this hour. I really don’t see how one can be expected to shine so early in the day, but, then, I’m the one who set the original paradigm, of posting a fresh Pearl every day, so I have no one else available to blame….
Naturally, I COULD blame Murphy; he certainly puts in his bid for attention and acknowledgment on a daily basis. I am, however, honest enough, and resigned enough, to realize I’m not his only target, and cannot lay ALL of the fault at his feet, no matter how tempting it may seem. I could blame it on the hour, but, I’ve been getting up this early for years, so I should be accustomed to the process. I might even be able to persuade at least a few of y’all to believe it has to do with how hard it is to stay fresh when posting each day, but, once again, that isn’t something that is unique to me, so it won’t wash either….
No, my claim to a metaphorical dilemma is more, or less, accurate than I’d hoped, or counted on, leaving the blame for this mess squarely planted in my own lap, with the responsibility for cleaning it up attached…. SIGH…. It might be time to reexamine this determination of mine to maintain a daily presence on the ‘net, in light of the increasing time I’m spending in the BBR, and in light of the increased time happily spent with milady Patricia. Though it seems not to keep me from producing this blog each day, I’m not certain at this point just how much continuing to do so may, or may not, be contributing to my overall level of satisfaction….
For almost two full years now, I’ve managed to post virtually every day; in that time, I believe I’ve only missed a total of five or six days, mostly due to travel and/or internet connection issues. This has been done for the simple purpose of saving my sanity, or what there is of it. I’ve never cared how many people read it, or “Like” it, as the whole point of the exercise has been to get out of my head all the stuff that otherwise would sit in there and cause trouble for me. In that respect, it has been entirely successful; I am as sane as I’ve ever been (though that may not be saying much….). Now, however, things have changed, mostly for the better, and the necessity to protect my sanity is not as critical as it has been for a while….. Happy days, eh?….
I suppose it really doesn’t matter at all, to any of y’all, anyway, just why, or even how, I do this every day…. It only matters to me, and only as much as I care to think about it. Mostly, I just tell myself to forget about all that crap, and get on with it, and, since this little meandering blurb has reached the legal limit for an intro, I believe I’ll do just that…. It isn’t often I get such a smooth segue into the next section, so I’m going to take the money and run….. Shall we Pearl?…..
“I can do a score of things that can’t be done. I can find a thing I cannot see, and see a thing I cannot find. The first is time, and the second is spots before my eyes. I can touch a thing I cannot feel, and feel a thing I cannot touch. The first is your heart, and the second is sad and sorry.”” — James Thurber (1894-1961), “The Thirteen Clocks”
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Sometimes, the process of collecting pearls, and grouping them according to concepts, becomes a rather mystical event, or, at worst, metaphysical, as the pearls will almost throw themselves at me, clamoring for inclusion, with no obvious connection to any that have gone before…. Then, when I reach one of the key numbers, such as five, or seven, it all becomes clear why they have been vying for attention, and the reason for the group becomes clear…. Or, more accurately, becomes perceivable, if not exactly clear…. In fact, clarity has little to do with it; if it did, I’d never get a group together. This one, for some strange reason, picked itself out in about five minutes; even more strangely, it works….
“Blot out vain pomp; check impulse; quench appetite; keep reason under its own control.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ix, 7
“It gets you nowhere if the other person’s tail is only just in sight for the second half of the conversation.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne
“A duty dodged is like a debt unpaid; it is only deferred, and we must come back and settle the account at last.” — Joseph F. Newton
“I’m going to happydance among the stars and wear my stripes anyway I want to.” — Stripes the Tiger
“And die with decency.” — Thomas Otway (1651-1685) — Venice Preserved, Act v, Sc. 3
See what I meant? No? Oh….. Hmm. Well, think about it, I guess….. It will come to you…. If not, you can find aspirin in the first-aid kit under your seat….. We’ll go on now….
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Two months ago, almost to the day, I apparently wrote a poem, of sorts, during, and for, the National Poetry Month Writing Challenge. I had forgotten about it, dismissing it, I think, because it doesn’t rhyme throughout most of it…. However, I read it again today, and it isn’t bad, for a free verse attempt…. It is actually quite a good statement of my personal religious evolution, so, in lieu of a religirant today, I humbly, if egotistically, offer this instead….
Until I knew there was more,
I wanted to know God.
They said he was a nice guy,
and would let me live forever.
All I had to do, they said,
was live my life for Him,
always living by scripture
cleaving only to his Way.
But, everyone I saw in church,
acted different at home.
Living wild, cussin’ and fussin’,
nobody lived like they said.
Still, I tried to be like Jesus,
he was sort of cool.
He never hurt nobody
and walked on the right path.
‘Course they killed him for that,
they couldn’t stand his example.
Turned him into a martyr,
hid his real words among their own.
Then I found the Buddha,
and met Lao Tzu at the gate.
They saw things real different,
showed me how to see straight.
Right thought, and right action
replace blind obedience and faith.
Reality becomes manageable,
fear retreats, the universe expands.
Brother John said it pretty well,
“Imagine there’s no heaven,
it’s easy if you try.”
Sounds like he knew why.
Day to day, life is grand,
we walk in eternal beauty.
Open your eyes and hearts,
find yourself already immortal.
~~ gigoid ~~
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“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you’ve got an audience.” — Diogenes
Once again, as I have found innumerable times in the past, one of the ancient scholars has given voice to an observation about human nature that convinces me that, not only did they know, even more so than we do now, just how humanity is flawed, but were aware, as well, of how people are wired for failure by their own lack of courage, and/or integrity. To make such a statement as this, Diogenes seems to have tapped into the modern human mind, and recognized it, as it sits around, watching the pretty lights on the idiot box, where the news anchors, pundits, and talking heads all whistle and dance the shimmy….
“On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are created jerks.” — H. Allen Smith, “Let the Crabgrass Grow”
Sadly, I think we can expand this to include the rest of the days of the week, because, as far as I can tell, TV is available 24/7, and, having sampled something from each time period throughout the day and night, at one point or another in my life, I can assure you, the assault on your sensibilities, and the “dumbing down” process that is entailed by watching it, continues through every one of those hours…. Even the shows that are purported to enter the realm of intellectual endeavor are written for people who have a sixth-grade vocabulary, with charts, graphs, and lots of pretty pictures to help in the understanding of simple ideas
There is NO LIMIT to the amount, or the degree, of stupidity that is displayed every minute of every one of those hours….. Hell, one of mankind’s favorite kind of TV shows to watch are “sitcoms”, which, typically, are half-hour plays with plots designed to make fun of the human condition, making it all okay to be stupid, because, hey, that’s what they do on TV, right?…. According to TV, all married women are smarter than their husbands, children are smarter than parents, and government officials all tell the truth…. on alternate leap years…..
The most valued shows are the ones that display the most stupidity; hence the popularity of The Simpsons, Beavis and Butthea, and previously, shows such as All in the Family, Father Knows Best, Happy Days, or Petticoat Junction, for shit’s sake!
Of course, there was also The Munsters, and The Addams Family, too, so there is some balance, but, mostly, American sitcoms show Americans at their worst, and make them ridiculous, not to mention cheap, grasping, greedy, and, often, obese…. all of which, unfortunately, paints an accurate picture of American culture
“I just heard the SEVENTIES were over!! And I was just getting in touch with my LEISURE SUIT!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
I pat myself on the back often these days, for not having watched any TV at all for over three years now, aside from the random baseball game during the playoff season, and the World Series (some traditions MUST remain, even for us curmudgeons….), so, I’m unaware to any great degree, exactly what current shows are like…. But, from what I read on the ‘net, and what I hear from people, TV hasn’t undergone any philosophical evolution in the meantime, and, in fact, continues to do just about as badly as ever, in terms of living up to its potential as a medium of communication and/or education….
This is a policy, not a mistake, or an evolution, but a deliberate policy, which the BRC (who are the ones who control that particular medium…. who else?…) will continue to employ as long as selfish, unprincipled people own the rights to it, and continue to use it as a means of controlling the information available to the general public, to suit their own ends, just as it has always been utilized…..
I wouldn’t count on TV shows getting any better until it is no longer under ANY sort of regulation; the only regulation really necessary to control TV’s effect on the user is to realize the fact that people always have the ultimate power over a TV set, due to the simple little switch on the side, which turns it on, and off, at the will of that user….. Now all we have to do is teach people to use it to turn it OFF, instead of ON…..
“He who searches for truth must not appease his urge by giving himself up to the narcotic of belief.” — Hans Reichenbach, quoted in _ The Philosophy of Matter in the Atomic Age
TV? TV? Oh, yeah, I remember TV….. This is a phrase I would love to hear more often…..
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“Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or lighthouse, strewn with many a philosophic wreck.” — Immanuel Kant
Without even looking, I know that today’s is a special Pearl…. But, I’m going to look, anyway… besides, gotta proof it, y’know?…. Well, it IS special, but, no doubt, this too will pass relatively unnoticed, given the flood of data that streams across the world’s notice every day…. Ah well, at least I know, and that, ultimately, is all that really matters…. We may not be an island in the currents of Time, but we must all face it alone in the final analysis, to sink or swim as our nature dictates….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
gigoid 