Ffolkes,
Okay, then. Another day is dawning (almost; it’s 5 AM), and I’m once again up and ready to type. If only my brain were as ready to spew! Mostly, what is floating to the top of the pool indicates that some stagnation has set in, and it might be a good time to clean out the filters. Not to worry though; I can do that on the fly……
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“I’m not intending to imply insult or judgment here but I am curious to know in order to be able to respond to your posts in an appropriate manner, so please forgive what appears to be, but in fact is not intended as, an insulting question: Are you stupid?” — Melinda Shore

This is a thought that goes through my head several times a day; it seems to pop up whenever I read a new story on the current political scene. I picture myself in one of the crowds flocking to see some Presidential wannabe, forging to the front, and asking the candidate this question in front of cameras. I get quite a charge imagining what their responses might be. No matter what his answer may be, it will reveal a lot about the character of the candidate. (I can say “his” now because both Bachman and Palin have faded into the background; Ms. Palin never filed to run, and Bachman dropped out after Iowa, or Kansas, or somewhere out there in the Midwest)

I know, I know, it’s hardly cricket, but they are the ones who wanted to go out there and have everyone microscopically examine their every twitch, and every word. I figure it’s their lookout, not mine. I’m just a guy trying to have fun…..and to survive with my sanity intact, in this mad, sad world they have created…..
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Green be the turf above thee,
Friend of my better days!
None knew thee but to love thee,
Nor named thee but to praise.
— Fitz-Greene Halleck (1790-1867)
— On the Death of Joseph Rodman Drake

I don’t think I could find, or think up, a finer epitaph. If someone can say this about me after I die, then I will have lived my life well. At least, by my standards. But, I think, it would also be anyone’s standards, because the highest form of human love is to live in service to mankind, and such altruism as indicated by these lines would be recognized by all who knew such a person. We all remember those people who give their all, especially when our own lives have been touched by them. Though humans generally will remember an insult far longer than praise, no one forgets kindness, when it is applied to them.

Well, they don’t unless they are sociopathic, but sociopaths are not really like the rest of us, and shouldn’t be expected to react the same way. As a matter of fact, that is one of the ways that such a disorder is identified, i.e., by noting how they react to positive stimulus. A sociopath will take a compliment as their due, and attempt to use the feeling behind it to manipulate the other person to their advantage, as opposed to most folks, who regard compliments in a different light. Whatever the case may be, I would much rather have this poem on my headstone…. it’s like Plato said, “After I die, I’d rather have people ask why I have no monument, rather than asking why I do.”……
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“Mr. Coolidge is the best Democrat we ever had in the White House. He didn’t do nothin’, but that’s what we wanted done.” — Will Rogers

I have changed my mind. There is such a thing as the ‘good old days’, and here is proof…..Would that today’s society could claim the same!…But I’m 61 now, and I can truthfully say that the only President in my lifetime that deserves any respect at all is Jimmy Carter. And that is for the same reason as that stated above so elegantly by Mr. Rogers….. Of course, Jimmy also had to contend with a Congress with a Republican majority, so anything he tried to accomplish, as a Democratic President, was challenged at every turn, and so, very little work actually got done. But, as Will said another time, “The people never suffer so much as when Congress is full of ideas!” And that’s the truth…..thpppppt! Hak! Brrt. Sorry, hairball….
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“The Book says BURN and DESTROY repent and redeem and revenge and deploy and rumble thee forth to the land of the unbelieving scum ’cause they don’t go for what’s in the Book and that makes ’em BAD.” — Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa was one of the twentieth century’s most little known and unappreciated genius’. His patterns of thought, his art, his very being were so different, so strange compared to the normal, that most people just gave up trying to ‘get’ what he was saying with his music, or his words. I would wager a significant amount of money that he will, in 200 years, or possibly less, be universally considered as one of the century’s premier philosopher/bards.

One of his albums, released sometime in the 1970’s, I think, was called “Shut Up and Play”; the entire three disk album was instrumental, with Zappa playing many of the instruments. In the course of the album, he took rock, blues, pop, and contemporary jazz into entirely new realms, with melodies and structures never before seen by man. And, as he probably expected, the reviews were rife with complaints that the listeners could not understand the music.

But, if one looks at the evolution of music in the last 30-40 years, his insight into the future can be clearly seen. Hip Hop and Rap are both developments of stylistic touches in Zappa’s earliest works, though very few will admit to that. But, if you want to know what the future may bring in the way of musical evolution, go back and listen to some of Zappa’s material from the 1960’s, and you’ll get a pretty clear picture……and check out his thoughts on modern society, too. It’s pretty amazing stuff…..
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“Don’t take life too serious. It ain’t no ways permanent.” — Pogo, by Walt Kelly

Ahhhhh! Datsa nice! It’s been entirely too long since we had a taste of Pogo, one of the all-time best cartoon strips ever. Ever…. Walt Kelly had an amazing knack for feeling the pulse of American society, and remarkable facility for reporting on its health, or lack thereof, using humor as adeptly as surgeon with a scalpel. He set new meaning to the concept of political cartooning, even though the political remarks his strips contained were only a fraction of the understanding of human nature and human society that it displayed on a daily basis.

Cartooning is, in one perspective, a form of poetry, using a combination of images and words to create the desired point of view, rather than words powerful enough to create the images in the mind’s eye. Cartooning also has an advantage over poetry, or rather, an adjunct characteristic, of not requiring a lot of thought in order for the point to be driven home; it is obvious, right before the eyes, with the words supplying the frames for the pictures, defining their meaning without needing to ponder.

This characteristic is what makes cartooning a palatable alternative to poetry for the masses of people who either don’t have the educational background to appreciate poetry, or just learn differently than those who gather their knowledge from books. Some folks learn better outside a classroom; that’s been obvious for a long time. And those are the folks who most appreciate cartoons as their preferred method of political observation. Long live Pogo! And all of his ilk…..
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So, I’ve been told that my criticism of the little poem I wrote two days ago was too harsh. At least one of my faithful readers informs me that it was well received in that quarter. As this is the case, I must then withdraw my remarks, as I respect my readership a lot, and if someone liked it, then it was better than I thought. I guess this means that I get to be part of the 4% with an asterisk; that’s good enough for me; better than being part of the crap. I suppose at times I can be critical (No! Really?….hadn’t noticed..), and I am aware that I apply that faculty to myself much more stringently than to others. I have very high standards when it comes to my own work; I guess I can afford to show a bit more lenience in regards to myself. SIGH….

I don’t know, though. I’m very sensitive to crap, with a highly developed, elegantly defined crap detection protocol, and I tend to run everything I read through it, especially if I wrote it. I’m not going to lower my standards, but I can adjust the parameters I use for judging, and I’ll do that, if only to see what effect it has. So, thanks, Carolyn, for the kind words, and the stimulus for another couple hundred words today….. y’all take care out there…..

—
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.gigoid

Kowabunga!