Ffolkes,
So, I was walking down the street the other day, and I came to a point where the street began to fade away. All around me, fog began to collect, swirling and hazing the air, cloaking the trees, fences, and houses with an insubstantial veil, until they disappeared altogether. The wind had died, and all was silent as the grave. Behind me, I heard a slow, eerie, almost liquid scraping noise, as if a large slug were crawling down the sidewalk. I turned slowly, straining my eyes into the fog, trying to make out what was coming out of the mist. As I gazed, a shape began to take form, materializing before me as if created from the very air. The form slowly took shape, and then firmed, and became clear….. it had happened. Our world would never be the same, for the prophecy had been true. At last, it had come……and forever more the world would know know the grace that flows from the healing hands of the Quirky Demon of Happiness, that underworld superstar known to all and sundry as Phil, the half-brother (same father, different mother) of Alice, patroness and protector of short-order cooks and tarbenders, er, bartenders…….
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The pursuit of power is the quest for the unattainable by the unphilosophical though the tactics of the unspeakable.
“If Jesus came back today, and saw what was going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.” — Max Von Sydow’s character in Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters
There are two taglines here, placed next to each other to form a picture in the mind. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but the political scene in this country in the last couple of months has been a delightfully chaotic circus, a veritable fountain of idiotic proclamations, deliberate (and inadvertent) expressions of absolute ignorance, and scary predictions of what would change, should any of the currently frenzied candidates make it to the Presidency. It makes it very easy to come up with stuff to write about, but as it progresses, my sense of sadness, and dismay, grow ever stronger. These people keep saying and doing things that make it perfectly clear that if they were elected, this country would be hastened down the destructive path we’ve been on at an even faster rate of deterioration than is already taking place.
Just recently we’ve been informed that one of the women candidates feels it is just fine & dandy to separate children from their parents, who happen to be illegal immigrants, who have been in this country for 25 years, doing the jobs no American will take, by forcibly sending the parents back to Mexico, or to wherever they came from. Another one wants to get rid of my Social Security retirement benefits, so they can put more money into the pockets of the big drug companies and health management organizations. Another one thinks it is okay to raise the taxes on the poverty level and middle classes, while ensuring a large tax break for the rich. And all of them are spouting bald-faced lies on a daily basis, all documented in the media, and all ignored by the ignorant fools who support these power-hungry sycophants, who will say anything to achieve their ends, because they know that no one will call them on it.
It seems to escape the public in general, but we have created a society where our leaders lie to us continuously. Why? Because there are no consequences for lying. The lies are ignored, or at most commented upon regarding their strategic effects. It pisses me off, big time…..so I’d better go on to the next Pearl, before I start another rant…..easy to do in this atmosphere…..
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“Ignorance is never out of style. It was in fashion yesterday, it is the rage today, and it will set the pace tomorrow.”– Franklin K. Dane
When I first decided to include this little truism, I didn’t realize that the previous Pearl would end up discussing the same subject. It would not be terribly difficult to comment again, as I see this as the single greatest factor in determining whether or not our species is going to survive.
Probably only a few scientists know how grim the situation really is, and they keep putting that message out for public consumption to the best of their abilities. The problem is, it is the ignorant who are already in charge. The leaders of not just our country, but most of the countries in the world, are under the control of people who have no interest whatsoever in confronting the issues of climate change, global warming, air pollution, or destruction of the food chain.
They refuse to place any credence in what they’ve been told, because none of it will help them in meeting their goals of continued domination of the lower classes, and increased wealth for the privileged few. It’s not a pretty picture, but it isn’t going to change until those in society who are NOT ignorant find the courage to confront the powers that be, and force them to change their ways…..I don’t see it happening, unfortunately, but I can always hope, can’t I?……
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“There is timing in the whole life of the warrior, in his thriving and declining, in his harmony and discord. Similarly, there is timing in the Way of the merchant, in the rise and fall of capital. All things entail rising and falling timing. You must be able to discern this.” — Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645)
In other literary works, I have heard this concept expressed in different ways, but the essential message is the same, to wit: Timing is Everything. Knowing when to strike, or when to block, when to move, and when to be still, are essential pieces of knowledge, critical to the smooth operation of any activity. The warrior needs a strong sense of timing, for the correct application of skill at the correct time preserves life, and protects from injury. Timing a block incorrectly can lead to pain, injury, or death. For the business person, knowing when to sell, and when to buy, can determine whether a business thrives or fails. To a chef, it is extremely important to be able to distinguish the correct timing. For example, when pan frying shellfish, it is essential to know when to remove the item from the heat. If it is cooked one second too long, it becomes rubbery, difficult to chew, and devoid of flavor. If removed too soon, the fish are also tough, and have little flavor. The window of opportunity is only open for less than a minute, so one must be alert and focused to achieve the desired result. I guess it’s just one more lesson from Mother Nature about staying awake, and paying attention to what is happening around you…..
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I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you- Nobody- Too?
Then there’s a pair of us?
Don’t tell! they’d advertise-you know!
How dreary-to be- Somebody!
How public-like a Frog-
To tell one’s name-the livelong June-
To an admiring Bog!
— Emily Dickinson
Yesterday, the 10th of December, was Emily Dickinson’s birthday. I wouldn’t have known that offhand, but it was all over the Net. One article I read was by an English professor, who has traveled all over the world to share and discuss her knowledge and insight into this amazing woman. In her travels, she has found that this poem had preceded her to a great many places. The message of the poem, and the insight into human nature, had caught the minds and imagination of anyone who read it. Even when translated, people can understand the power of what she wrote to express her own inner thoughts, feelings, and fears. They seem to identify with the poem very closely, and it becomes clear that this desire for independence, for personal conviction, the need to be Somebody, is universal to the human spirit. She was able to tap into the common thread of experience, and the commonality of the human spirit, and express it so that anyone can understand. Sheer genius, to my way of thinking……Happy Birthday, Emily!…..thanks for being…..
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Women are great! Every man should own one!!!!!
Before you go off, ranting and railing at how sexist I am, let me explain why this is here…..I found it in my tagline data base, and was struck at how incongruous it seemed next to the relatively common sense wisdom of the other entries. I am happy to say that when I saw it, I didn’t smile, even though the structure of the joke makes it hard not to, no matter what entity name is placed into the sentence. But I realized also just how sick it really is; it indicates an attitude, a set of personal rules that are anything but well-considered.
An attitude like this is usually passed on by a parent, or parents, before a man has the ability to reason; it poisons the child’s mindset before they have any defense against it, and they never feel any need to take the belief out and examine it for its relative merit. Hell, most of the folks who would live by this concept don’t think at all; they just operate on auto-pilot, letting all the stupid shit they were taught as a kid dictate how they behave.
Which brings me finally to the point. People who would laugh at this kind of humor are people to be avoided, for the most part; either that or shot. Unfortunately, shooting them creates too much confusion, and can conceivably lead to undesired outcomes. (a better way to say “might end up in a world of shit!”) Besides, shooting them gets added to YOUR Karmic burden, and you could end up in your next life as a frog……one that would not turn into a prince, no matter how many times it got kissed by a princess….
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It’s a good thing I started putting in these lines to separate each discussion; I think if they weren’t there, I would tend to just keep on going, typing away without a care in the world, blithely ignoring the frantic gestures from the rest of the world to try to get me to cease and desist. But since I did, I’ll stop here….. y’all take care out there……
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
Kowabunga!
gigoid 