Ffolkes,
Lazy doats and mersey boats moved silently past the statue, but I saw them. They were dark, and evil, and up to no good. So, in the burgeoning night, I sent them all back to hell with gusto……
Whoops….sorry, wrong crowd….some days, the key is to just jump in without even checking the water temperature; it’s the shock that gets the old heart moving, albeit reluctantly. It’s not as effective as a good cup of coffee, but it serves the purpose adequately. Can’t always have everything just the way we like it, can we? Learning to live with that idea is one of the keys to reducing one’s overall stress level, and it’s probably good karma to not bite anyone before breakfast…..
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Some random thoughts I picked up here and there, on everyone’s favorite controversy…… the images were found on Facebook, so I’m not sure of the original attribution…… but both are pretty mainstream, and most likely intended for the public domain….
“As a man can drink water from any side of a full tank, so the skilled theologian can wrest from any scripture that which will serve his purpose.” — Bhagavad Gita
“What is it the Bible teaches us? – rapine, cruelty, and murder. What is it the Testament teaches us? – to believe that the Almighty committed debauchery with a woman engaged to be married, and the belief of this debauchery is called faith.” — Thomas Paine — The Age of Reason
Relaxed Agnostic–I don’t know any answers–I’m not looking very hard, either.
“It [the Bible] is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910) — Letters from the Earth (1905-1909)
Oops! I think I just heresied on several important religions. Oh well, Clint will protect me, never fear…..My take on the above? The library, or a forest, or a lake; all are good places to spend a pleasant Sunday.
“There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.” — Bob Dylan
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“Say not unto thyself, “Behold, truth breedeth hatred, and I will avoid it; dissimulation raiseth friends, and I will follow it.” Are not the enemies made by truth, better than the friends obtained by flattery?” — Akhenaton? (c. B.C. 1375)
Note the date the statement was made; 1375 B.C. That is three thousand, three hundred and eighty-six years ago (3386). I find it to be an encouraging note when I contemplate the subject matter, for if mankind was thinking about such subjects as honor, truth, and dignity so long ago, then there is hope that we can find a way today to make it reality.
Of course, that is the optimist in me speaking; the pessimist would note that it is a very long time to have passed without having come up with some kind of reasonable answer to such a basic question. And I don’t think all the funny words he used were enough to confuse the issue; I think it has more to do with our tendency toward laziness when it comes to hard work…..
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“I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.” — Pogo, character in “Pogo,” comic strip by Walt Kelly
The curmudgeon in me just adores this! I’ve been using it for many a year as a means avoiding superfluous arguments or power struggles with people who have difficulty whistling and walking at the same time. As a matter of fact, on more than one occasion I have said this to some ignoramus trying to pick a fight, and had them blinking at me in confusion, then walking away muttering to themselves. In all this time, however, I never knew where it originated.
It pleases me no end to know that Pogo was the first to put it into play. Now I can use it without any feelings of guilt for misappropriating someone else’s intellectual property; I’m sure Walt Kelly intended it to be used, as he put it out there for the entire country to see….. plus, as we all know, Pogo was written with the intent of providing folks with ammunition in the age-old war against stupidity…… and this one is definitely a .457 Magnum hollow point with a maximum powder load, for use in close quarters……
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You beat your pate, and fancy wit will come;
Knock as you please, there ‘s nobody at home.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Epigram
Consider this an accurate picture of gigoid attempting to write poetry……
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“I admire men of character, and I judge character not by how men deal with their superiors, but mostly how they deal with their subordinates, and that, to me, is where you find out what the character of a man is.” — General Norman Schwarzkopf
A picture is worth a thousand words…..Q.E.D……
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Hack, thppt, bbbolloks! That went well, eh? Sometimes it just moves along better than what is the usual case. I imagine that’s a good thing, though now I’m uncertain what to do with the rest of the day……oh, well, I’ll figure out something. Meantime, y’all take care out there…..,
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
Kowabunga!
gigoid 
Lol @ Clint Eastwood’s words. Very frank & true.
Thats why I love reading this blog – bits & pieces of knowledge from so many sources all condensed into each single blog entry 🙂
Rohit…. Thanks! 🙂 I’m glad you’re getting a kick out of my blog; it sounds to me, after reading your About page, as if you are a burgeoning polymath, as am I. Keeping my blog fresh and comprehensive is my way of sloughing off the karmic baggage that builds up each day inside us, merely by keeping contact with the world at large. As a voracious, self-made learner (student is too mild a word to describe what polymaths do with information…) you have entered the vast universe of diffuse knowledge, and will remain there for the rest of your life. Welcome… I enjoyed the post you wrote on the 24th of January, of you licensing experience. I was struck with how similar it is to what now occurs here in California, in the USA. I’m glad I got mine 45 years ago; if I had to do all the stuff they do now, I’d probably end up biting the driving inspector….. 🙂 Any who, keep it up, young paduan. I’m enjoying your emerging talent…..
Fair warning, though. For the next four days, my blog will be somewhat more serious in nature, describing events that took place in my life when I was much younger. After the fourth episode, I’ll return to the Daily Pear format… keep on keeping on!….
Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.
gigoid
Never thought any1 in the US would have a similar licensing experience…always pictured things to be professional & well organized there !
Thanks for the wonderful words Sir !
Btw One lifetime isn’t enough to be truly knowledgable….so we will always be burgeoning polymaths 🙂
Rohit…. once a bureaucracy reaches a certain size, it begins to show the symptoms of overpopulation. This is one of the world’s most urgent and mostly unacknowledged problems, in my opinion. These symptoms of a sick society are everywhere these days. When I was 16, back in the 1960’s, I walked into the local DMV office, took the test, drove for the examiner, and was issued my license, all without ever seeing anyone else come into the office. Today, one must make an appointment to take the test and driving exam, and the wait is up to 6 to 8 weeks. Breakdown of social systems is inevitable over time, so for now we just need to learn patience for those times we are forced to deal with large bureaucracies of any kind, government, state, local county, or big corporation (phone companies, etc…). Eventually, of necessity, society will collapse under its own weight, as history teaches us that all do, and what we will need to know will enter a completely different sphere……
Whew, sorry, got caught up in an unexpected rant….any who, I’m glad you liked this post….and I always enjoy dialogue with readers a lot….see ya around WordPress…. take care…
Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.
gigoid