Monthly Archives: February 2012

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Ffolkes,
Wow….good stuff today, all over WordPress! This is wonderful; it literally brought tears of joy to my eyes….of course, I’m a soft touch…..but anyone who doesn’t like this, needs help. Seriously….

adollyciousirony's avatarallaboutlemon-All Around, In, And Out Of My Own Universe

This is really neat…

 On Saturday, April 24th, 2010, over thirty members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and principal cast members from the upcoming production of LaTraviata converged on the Reading Terminal Market Italian Festival. Wearing street clothes and blending in with the crowd, the artists swung into action as the first orchestral strains of the famed “Brindisi” were piped through the market, giving a rousing, surprise performance for hundreds of delighted onlookers who were there to enjoy the Italian delicacies and the everyday treats that the Reading Terminal Market has to offer. The four-minute piece drew an overwhelming crowd, and won a thunderous ovation that included both laughter and tears from the audience.

To those who just loves Opera Music, surely you’d enjoy this 🙂

Have fun!

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*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*, now *2012*

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Ffolkes,
At last, someone who gets it!…. I will sign this in a New York second when it becomes a petition….. I don’t normally send stuff like this via email, or post twice in one day, but I found this on Facebook this morning, and this is the proper venue for it to get to everyone who can make a difference….you.

Warren Buffett, “I could end the deficit in 5 minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971…before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the  Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land…all because of public pressure.

Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the
message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011* (too late, 2012 is here, so let’s delay this no longer….gigoid)

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office
and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All
funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security
system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system,
and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for
any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans
do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay
will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the
same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American
people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen
made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor,
not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours
should serve their term’s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take
three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is
time.

THIS IS HOW YOU (WE) FIX CONGRESS!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it on.

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

gigoid

In the eye of the storm, laughing….

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Ffolkes,
The Muse is near, whispering softly in my ear, sweet phrases to warm the heart and mind. Caught up, time creeps in tiny shoes to a new garden, where, ahh, magnolia, lavender, honeysuckle, and roses reside! Breathing in each essence fills another sense, and another, and another, until, breathless, powerful, bright images in my inner eye crash from side to side, too many to take in all at once; just flashes here, of cunning birds and fiery hair, of passionate lovers; and more images there, of sad-eyed minstrels and passive bears. Kings, and queens, and little tailors, too, parading past like wraiths, gossiping of society in the underworlds. Elegant women, and fashionable men, always guarded carefully, never to see the pain/despair of their own making, never learning to laugh, never learning to live. As the Muse slips away, the calliope winds down to silence, and I am released from thrall, empty now, yet more whole…..
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Far or forgot to me is near;
Shadow and sunlight are the same;
The vanished gods to me appear;
And one to me are shame and fame.
They reckon ill who leave me out;
When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt,
And I the hymn the Brahmin sings.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Brahma

And what was it the Brahmin sang? A song of life. THE song of life. The song we all sing, every day, every minute, every second of every hour, our life sings us along with time. Do we sing, or  are we the song? We may never know, and it will never matter; the song still sounds, and while it sings, we may dance. When we dance, poems conceived come to life. When we live, we are the music, and the poem is how we dance our life. It may not make sense, but it makes sense anyway, doesn’t it?……Music is life, and life is the song we sing; as long as we live, the music will play, the song will be sung, and the dance, oh, the dance, it will go on……

Living Dead
the path is
chosen, to live forever is to die
forever.

To not know when you’ll
die
is to find
life
wherever you are.
— Alagad

More proof, or at least evidence, that life is where you find it…..you just gotta keep your eyes and mind open, so it doesn’t slap you upside the head….
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“If my decomposing carcass helps nourish the roots of a juniper tree or the wings of a vulture – that is immortality enough for me. And as much as anyone deserves.” — Edward Abbey

Good attitude, dude! This is true humility, and the mark of true wisdom lies handsomely upon Edward’s brow. This is not your normal Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, it goes beyond that, into the realm of real wisdom, the kind you can use every day, only to find it never grows old, or untrue. This is the kind of attitude toward life that could get you into the Christian Heaven, even if one had been born and died a pagan, because if there is a God up there who really cares about this sort of thing, She/He would recognize when someone had gotten the message, even if it wasn’t the message that was sent. This is the sort of humility that one sees from a saint, or a sadhi, or a master yogi, or a master of Tao. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first…….
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“The problem … is that we have run out of dinosaurs to form oil with. Scientists working for the Department of Energy have tried to form oil using other animals; they’ve piled thousands of tons of sand and Middle Eastern countries on top of cows, raccoons, haddock, laboratory rats, etc., but so far all they have managed to do is run up an enormous bulldozer-rental bill and anger a lot of Middle Eastern persons.  None of the animals turned into oil, although most of the laboratory rats developed cancer.” — Dave Barry, Postpetroleum Guzzler

Wickedly funny!…wonderful twist of the psyche to describe real events as scathing satire…..Dave forgot to mention that one of the reasons these attempts to make oil were so widely condemned by the Middle Easterners, was because they included using dead Middle Eastern people along with the other carbon based life forms they were bombing. Hell, it’d piss me off, too….it already does, and I wasn’t there. Actually, I’m pissed mostly because the government blokes figured they would be better off if they lied to us about why we were interfering in the Middle East; they didn’t HAVE to tell us it was all about the dictator, and saving all the poor Muslims from their own mullahs. They could have just come out and said, “hey, our oil supplies are looking a bit chancy here; we need to go over and secure some more oil producing countries as our protectorates or something, so you all don’t have to worry about filling up your gas-guzzling SUV’s for Memorial Day weekend. You will however, have to pay four dollars or more a gallon, to help pay for the war, but, hey, what are a few sacrifices in the all-important obsessive pursuit of leisure, and the joy of consuming more than you produce? And it only cost 150,000, more or less, civilian Iraqi’s their lives……there’s plenty more where they came from, right?…..

“The history of the race, and each individual’s experience, are thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910) — Advice to Youth (published 1923)
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Then gently scan your brother man,
Still gentler sister woman;
Though they may gang a kennin’ wrang,
To step aside is human.
— Robert Burns (1759-1796) — Address to the Unco Guid

Nice…. no comment needed. Just read, ponder, & enjoy……and it’s good advice, as well……
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Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before the fight, while the ignorant fight to win.

Here is a very subtle, yet powerful observation, one whose veracity I can personally affirm. I figured out at a fairly young age that people couldn’t always be trusted to act honorably, or even sensibly, on a consistent basis. I also noted that on the occasions when two people ended up in a dispute, it was generally for that reason, that one or both of them was being irrational. As a final conclusion, I observed that in situations where physical force is threatened, or more simply, in a fight, the longer it went on, the higher the chance that I would suffer injury, or worse. This was unacceptable to me, so I began my education in the martial arts with that purpose in mind, to remove fighting as a means of settling a dispute from my existence.

I found that what is stated above is absolute truth; when one is confident of their ability to deal with violence without coming to harm, fear is removed as a factor in the outcome, instead serving as motivation and ally in the quest for a successful result. Without fear, the mind remains clear, and the correct strategy for success is more easily seen. The absence of fear, besides enhancing our mental state, also improves physical performance; the concept of “freezing”, or of reactions being slowed down from the paralyzing effect of fear, is prevented from being a factor. In short, you get faster, and smarter.

This simple fact, that fear is eliminated, is the strongest ally a person can have in such situations, and greatly improves one’s chances of avoiding injury, and defeat. Even defeat is more palatable, for having done all one can do, and for the lessons there to be learned that can help the next time someone gives in to their bozoid tendencies, at a time and place that makes it impossible to ignore, ridicule, or redirect……

“In a philosophical dispute, he gains most who is defeated, since he learns most.” — Epicurus
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Some days it just goes easier than others. As I’m yet unsure as to which sort of day this is (there has been evidence of more than one possible path today could take), I will count my blessings, and declare this one “finis!” As far as I intend to take it anyway…..I do have SOME compassion for others! At any rate, y’all take care out there….it’s getting pretty weird…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

That’s not a real basilisk, is it?….

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Ffolkes,
It’s morning, and I mean that in a good way…..of course, I could be lying. Or, alternately, I could be telling the truth. There’s no way to really know, is there? All human communication revolves around that one little question, to wit: Is this idiot telling the truth, or is he living up to the poor expectations of the world around him, and lying his little butt off?  I never thought about it before, but it turns out that when we sit down to read something, we are expecting the truth.

We just naturally assume (or perhaps not so naturally at all….) that the person of whom we have requested information, or are merely conversing with, is going to deal fairly, and tell the truth. But, you know something? The person to whom we are speaking has given no guarantees of the that, not usually. We don’t walk up and begin by saying, “Where is the men’s room, and please don’t lie to me….?”, now, do we? No we don’t. We just assume we’re getting the real deal, when in fact, we could be wandering around in a daze, looking as confused as we really are….
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“Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.” — G. K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, 9/11/09

Here is a line you probably won’t see in the letters to the editor section these days, though I see it did at least get published. It’s a pretty good example of how the beloved ruling class runs things; they tell the public what they should be afraid of, and shroud their lies in partial truths. They make demons out of the regular folks who live in another country, telling the public how they want to kill us and take away our freedoms, of which they are supposedly jealous.

I’ll tell you what, I don’t think they’re jealous any more; I think they’re afraid of us, because we keep coming over and dropping bombs on them when they won’t sell us enough oil, or try to jack up the price too much. I think this country has no moral justification for the way we treat other nations; there can be none when the primary motivating factor is so obviously the money. Where’s the money? Just ask that question and watch them scurry around like the little parasites that they are…..
___________________________________

As I learn to trust the Universe, I no longer need to carry a big stick, semiautomatic pistol, and bowie knife.

This process is running backward for me. The more I experience, and the more I observe in the world around me, the stronger becomes my urge to arm myself in more than merely a figurative sense. And if one intends to obtain arms for use, there’s no sense in them being of second rate or smaller caliber.

I figure a 16 gauge pump action over & under, a good rifle or two, two or three different range handguns, and assorted peripheral weapons of a sharp nature, for both hand-to-hand (daggers, stilettos, bayonets, swords) and at-a-distance fighting (shuriken, throwing knives, blowguns; maybe a slingshot with explosive pellets, or a crossbow with explosive bolts, just in case). That list ought to allow the flexibility for me deal with most situations. If not, well, it won’t be for lack of planning, or fire power, on my part…..
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“Virtue is its own reward.  There’s a pleasure in doing good which sufficiently pays itself.” — Sir John Vanbrugh, The Relapse

….A few days ago, we (that’s the royal ‘we’, meaning me, or I, or both of us in here…) discussed the reverse of this proposition, to wit: “Stupidity, like Virtue, is its own reward.”–David E. Williamson. It was the contemplation of this subject from which the inspiration for axiom #4 of Peruaosophy sprang. That axiom reads, “Excellence is its own reward”, and remains as one of the lynch-pins of my personal beliefs.

I discovered the truth of this proposition at a young age, and the attitude served me well enough over the years that I was adjudged as valedictorian of my high school graduating class. Mind you, that’s not a guarantor of success in life; there aren’t any guarantees issued to any of us for that. But, it sure is a good way to give what one actually does the greatest possibility of succeeding. It is certainly more effective than just doing the minimum required, with the bonus of feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that never accompanies a half-hearted effort……
___________________________________

“The hardest part about gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche. As long as that niche is occupied, evidence and proof and logical demonstration get nowhere. But once the niche is emptied of the wrong idea that has been filling it – once you can honestly say, “I don’t know,” then it becomes possible to get at the truth.” — Robert A. Heinlein

Bob obviously sees this in a clear light. But the way he said this seems to imply that emptying out a false belief is not extremely difficult to do, and can even be useful in assisting others to see the light. That just isn’t so. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more difficult than getting someone to give up on a false belief, especially if it has been held since childhood. People treat these types of beliefs as if they were carved into stone, sent down from heaven on a tablet carved by the hand of God, because they were led to believe in its truth at an age when they had no preconceptions, or any defense against them, and accepted everything they were told by their parents as valid information, with no need for verification.

As social creatures, we need to be able to make that assumption, that what others tell us is true. But reality often differs from our assumptions, because a lot of humans don’t abide by the same rules as everyone else does. A significant proportion of people, knowing that others tend to believe what they’re told, will use that characteristic to take advantage, lying their little hearts out to achieve the goals on their agenda, not caring at all whether they have used the other person selfishly.

It is therefore in our best interests to submit any information from others to our own personal crap detector, to determine whether the data can be trusted…. everyone has one, everyone is issued one at birth. Most folks tend to forget it is there, so it gets rusty from disuse; it’s there, though. One merely needs to learn to use it on a daily, or even hourly basis….. and don’t be afraid to use the delete button with joyful abandon……
___________________________________

A rabbi spoke with God about heaven and hell. “I will show you hell,” God said, and they went into a room which had a large pot of stew in the middle. The smell was delicious, but around the pot sat people who were famished and desperate. All were holding spoons with very long handles which reached to the pot, but, because the handles were longer than their arms, it was impossible to get the stew back into their mouths.

“Now I will show you heaven”, God said, and they went into an identical room. There was a similar pot of stew, the smell was delicious, and the people had identical spoons, but they were well-nourished and happy. “It’s simple,’ God said. “You see, they have learned to feed one another”. — Medieval Jewish story

Now, see, isn’t that a fine little parable? Another piece of evidence, in my mind, that all of the major forms of religious belief have their roots in the truth, even if the reality of life they observe and pursue is based on unjustifiable faith. When one stops to think about it, that is actually a pretty good description of how most, if not all, of the major religions operate. The basic truths they espouse are the same, for the most part, (humility, honor, compassion, justice, charity), but the method of expressing those virtues varies widely, according to cultural habits that dictate the specific form it takes.

In simpler terms, people invariably distort the basic premises upon which religions were founded, turning the articles of faith into a tool for manipulating other people, for their own personal gain. It has happened time after time throughout mankind’s short but eventful history, and continues to this very day. It’s also the primary reason that I avoid most churches and religions as I go about my business; the interactions invariably turn into dangerous neighborhoods of discussion, often ending in clashes of discordant argument, and mutual resentment. Better all around that I just leave them to their own devices…..which I tend to do, religiously….
___________________________________

Not a bad morning’s work, if I do say so…. it’s certainly more than good enough for government work, a beast with which I am all-too-familiar. Brr, makes me shiver, just remembering….. well, another day out there to explore. Let’s see what trouble we can stir up today….. Y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Unless the Hottentot objects, we’ll have the nachos….

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Ffolkes,
FATAL LOGIC ERROR – Engage Brain and (R)etry  Click….ah, there we go. Okay, back online. Sorry, got caught in an early morning endless loop, and almost couldn’t find the kill switch. But all is well now. Well, all is as well as its gonna get, what with global warming, overpopulation, growing famine and drought, conservative reactionism, and this year’s version of the swine flu. At least the ozone layer is okay….oh, wait, that’s almost gone too. Hmmm, okay, so maybe things aren’t all that great right now. But, at least you still have your health, yes?…..
___________________________________

“Winston Churchill, the present would-be British Fuhrer, is a person with a range of ideas limited to the adventures and opportunities of British political life.  He has never given evidence of thinking extensively, or of any scientific or literary capacity…  His ideology, picked up in the garrison life of India, on the reefs of South Africa, the maternal home and the conversation of wealthy Conservative households, is a pitiful jumble of incoherent nonsense.  A boy scout is better equipped.  He has served his purpose and it is high time he retired upon his laurels before we forget the debt we owe him…” — H. G. Wells, Tribune article, December 15, 1944

History is written by the winners….and Winnie had way more than his 15 minutes in the spotlight at center stage….. which is perhaps why it seems to mean more when such a damning criticism comes from such an unimpeachable source. H.G. Wells can certainly be considered one of the most erudite and realistic of modern philosophers; certainly his imagination of the possibilities inherent in new technology certifies him as more than merely intelligent, even somewhat spookily prophetic.

As time goes on, our society continues to advance very tidily along the same pathway into the future that Mr. Wells envisioned when gripped in the powerful and creative fist of his inspiration. His condemnation of Churchill’s curmudgeonly manners and persona are perhaps justified in the main; however, how can one not appreciate the attitude needed to carry on this famous conversation by the PM at his finest: “Mr. Prime Minister!” said the outraged Duchess of Whatever, “you are a drunken boor!” “Churchill merely responded with, “Certainly, madame, but tomorrow morning I won’t be drunk, and you will still be ugly.”…. If it’s a true anecdote, (I haven’t personally tried to verify its provenance…), it’s well worth an occasional re-telling, if only to remind us of proper protocol when consorting with those who wear sable and ermine to dinner…..
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“I may not understand what you say, but I’ll defend to your death my right to deny it.” — Albert Alligator, in Pogo, 26 September 1951

It’s an election year, and the circus has started early. Six of the eight supposed candidates for the Republican nominee who will be offered up as a sacrifice at the altar of Obama next November have already talked themselves out of the contest (such as it is…), and now we are sentenced to at least six or eight more months of only three brands of ignorance, any one of which would be a disaster in the making as President.

If any one of the three currently leading candidates should, through some form of dark magic, happen to be elected, I’d wager serious money that we would be on the brink of World War III within a matter of weeks….it’s pretty scary. Especially when one of the front runners admits to being committed to passing a law that would make it illegal to operate the government of this country using any standards but those of the conservative right.

Yes, folks, the fanatical right-wing dingbats are coming out of the closet, and we had best remember that they too are heavily armed citizens. Only our own right to bear arms has kept them under control this long; if we aren’t careful, we’ll be living under strictly religious precepts, whether we like it or not…..

“Here’s to the New Boss, same as the Old Boss…and I get on my knees and pray we don’t get fooled again.” — Pete Townshend
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If on my theme I rightly think,
There are five reasons why men drink,–
Good wine, a friend, because I ‘m dry,
Or lest I should be by and by,
Or any other reason why.
— John Sirmond (c. 1589-1649) — Causae Bibendi

Beautifully stated! This is the type of poetry one wants on hand when some busybody asks why one is taking a drink, any time they consider it inappropriate. There’s just something about seeing a man having a drink that arouses the outrage of women (mostly of Mrs. Grundy’s ilk), preachers, reformers, and Second Lieutenants, every time. It’s getting so a man can’t sit down to a bottle of beer without some blathering idiot telling him he’s gonna get fat, or trying to make him feel like a heel for not spending that money on some charity of their choosing.

Don’t stop me now, I’m on a roll….. no, not really. I just think it’s weird that so many people feel like everyone should live by their rules, and are not shy about telling everyone they meet that they are the best judge of what (they think) should be considered acceptable behavior. Nine times out of nine, you’ll find that these moralists (a more polite way of saying bigoted, hypocritical assholes)  are guilty of every act they ascribe to others, or, if not, sure wish deep down that they could be…..
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But you shall not escape my iambics.

Soft, sinuous patterns of unearthly beauty blithely commune with sinking stars, as pale shadows of former virtue hover near, ever clean, ever tolerant. These unbidden habits are worn with age and care, ready now for dissolution, welcoming gladly the kiss of death’s handmaiden. Unknown to all, the child stands aside, and weeps for the lost days of youth, days that now shall never be, nor yearned for ever after. Only darkness shall lay upon the landscape, cold, hard, and eternal.

Such then are the signs and portents as we enter into the unknown future, and they are grave indeed. Uncertainty will be our sole companion, as the search for hope yields no result. The lamentations of the gods shall sound the elegy for Man, who never learned to see the gift that was made, so many echoes ago, in the hopeful past; thus will we pass this plane of existence as we came, baffled and afraid…..

Well, sorry….this was supposed to be a poem, but it just ran away with me there for a few minutes. I’ll have to come back later and look at it with fresh eyes….. Okay, so it’s not bad, as a not-poem goes. I’ve certainly created worse…..I’ll just have to put it out there, and let it fly or not, as it chooses… (I do tend to anthropomorphize fairly often; its a gift…..)
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Teach me to feel another’s woe,
To hide the fault I see;
That mercy I to others show,
That mercy show to me.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
— The Universal Prayer, Stanza 10

Perfect poem! The Golden Rule never smelled sweeter, and could rightly be called a rose in this guise, but by no other name would it smell as sweet. Who knows what I really mean by that? I certainly don’t; it sounds good, though, eh? I’ll settle for that…
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Having thus discharged another morning’s duty (remember, duty is a choice!), I shall now release your attention from my control, and send you on your way into the day, hopefully infused with good karma and positive attitude, our best weapons against the minions of evil that cross our paths each day. Y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid –The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Parsing algorithms at the Sign of the Four….

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Ffolkes,
Often times the words flow freely, tripping out lightly to rest momentarily before someone’s eye, then fluttering away to tease and please the children playing nearby. The flow grows, and the the pace increases, the words assume more urgency, more passion, more, more, more, until they are practically exploding onto the page, assaulting the eyes demanding meaning, scaring the children as they rush by, intent on mayhem. The flow then slows, reassumes the passive, lazy feeling of a late summer day, long lemonade in hand, with the only purpose of killing time, killing it so well, no charges are brought. But then, for some reason, the flow stops…… and I take another sip of coffee…..let’s dive in, shall we?…..
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Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
While all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
— Joseph Addison (1672-1719) — Ode

I don’t have any comment here, not of any great profundity. I just like this poem, for several reasons that are too personal to go into just now; it would take too much time, trying to explain something that I don’t fully understand within myself in a way that would be understandable to others. This actually happens a lot to me when I am judging art; I  don’t know much of anything about painting, or sculpting, or the finer points of writing poetry, only what I’ve read. But I do know what I like, and what I don’t, so I just go by that, and let the rest take care of itself as best it can….and I know I like this poem…….you enjoy it too, so this won’t be a complete waste of our time together, what?….
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“I, for one, do not think homosexuality is the latest advance over heterosexuality in the scale of human evolution. Homosexuality is a sickness, just as are baby-rape or wanting to become head of General Motors.” — Eldridge Cleaver

While I can in no way agree with Eldridge’s opinion on homosexuality, I do agree with his definition of sickness, one that goes beyond the usual defined parameters of the concept of sickness, past the physical into the behavioral. Pedophilia can, I think, be placed in the category of something that everyone recognizes, as an abnormality that produces behavior that is extreme, to put it decorously. Unfortunately, we also have another subset of humanity that engages in avarice and power-seeking in the extreme, who have somehow convinced most of the rest of humanity that they are not only not sick or broken, but are just the type of folks that anyone could want in a position of responsibility.

Now, obviously, that’s a crock of BS. No rational person would ever consider taking the reins of power over others without serious doubts as to their ability to do the job well; such jobs preclude any but the most serendipitous results by their very nature. But, to those folks who want that power, it is their ticket to ride the gravy train of public service, and they will lie, cheat, and steal to whatever degree is necessary to secure their desired place atop the heap.

For the most part, we let them do it, if only because we don’t have the ruthlessness and disregard for human rights that are the hallmark characteristics of those who would be king. But then, if we did, we would be them, and that is just as unacceptable. We just need to find a way to keep them as poorly funded and poorly supported as possible, so they don’t do as much harm in their thrashing about…..
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“Look at these three words written larger than all the rest, and with special pride never written before or since — tall words, proudly saying “We the people” .. these words and the words that follow … must apply to everyone or they mean nothing.” — Kirk, “The Omega Glory,” stardate unknown.

“No one need think that the world can be ruled without blood. The civil sword shall and must be red and bloody.” — Martin Luther

The American Dream isn’t as shiny as it used to be; the fact of its existence only contributes to the feeling that it is an unattainable dream, a lie promulgated to keep the ignorant going each day to their little job, eyes focused on the big bright picture of SUCCESS! that hovers ever out of reach. Each successive generation who is disappointed once again, who sees no fundamental changes in the way things are run in the world, soon understands that it is mostly futile to fight the status quo. Thus, the soil of American thought grows to be ever more fertile ground to nurture change, more ready to accept the fact that it is probably a good time to hold the next American Revolution, wherein the forces of reason will battle the forces of ignorance, hopefully to settle the matter, once and for all………. now that we’ve had our serious political discussion for the morning, here are a few thoughts in a lighter vein, if no less sarcastic….

“He who knows nothing, loves nothing. He who can do nothing understands nothing. He who understands nothing is worthless.” — Paracelsus
(But he can still run for President! This is like a job want-ad for a Republican POTUS, and all the current candidates fit right in there….)

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.” — Elbert Hubbard

What this country needs is more unemployed politicians.

“Congressional terms should be … ten to twenty with no possibility of parole.” — Walt Handelsman

A little sweet, a little tart, a little savory, and you’ve got a flavorful stew…..
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“Marjoe and Doshen were meditating in a field when Doshen just went and smacked Marjoe upside the head.  “What the hell did you do that for?” asked Marjoe.  “Nyuck nyuck nyuck,” replied Doshen. At that moment, Marjoe ordered pizza.

Hackish humor can be pretty subtle. This isn’t particularly surprising, as working in abstruse fields of mathematics can cause some interesting changes to the mind, leaving it open to new vistas of previously little-known parts of reality. This koan is a clear indicator of this kind of vision; it is true to the principles of Zen thought, while immersing itself completely into modern hacker culture, with an almost calculated  irreverence thrown in for decorative purposes. The funniest part of it, to me, is that I can see myself having this interchange with some of my friends; and, yes, we are all considered a bit strange by the Mundanes. At least it keeps me off the streets….

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” — Buddha
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If reality wants to get in touch, it knows where I am.

Am I a dreamer, dreaming that I write? Or am I a writer, writing my dream? Reality is always a slippery slope, if only because taking one’s attention away from dealing with it can be either help or hindrance. And only in retrospect can one tell which took place….. I always liked the way Philip K. Dick defined reality, as “…what is left when you stop believing in it.” This viewpoint shows both insight and experience, in a man who should know; he spent much of his life struggling with a form of Schizophrenia that makes any perception suspect, even those we hold to be most familiar.

It is no picnic trying to get along in life when one’s sense of what is real is constantly being challenged by what is perceived. It can’t be easy to be in a crowd when one believes they can hear what others are thinking; we who do not suffer from this sort of delusion or hallucination cannot really understand how terrifying it is to live with this every day.

I’ve had some struggles of my own in this respect; reality takes on a very dark, foreboding aspect when one is suffering clinical depression, and the climb back into the light can be an exhausting effort. So, one learns to adjust feelings in ourselves, to make changes to the only part of reality over which we have any power to do so. We can change ourselves, if we wish, but we cannot change anything in reality, beyond exercising our means of perceiving it. In my younger days, when I knew so much more than I know now, I once wrote, “true power is control over the routes of perception.” I didn’t know then that I was closer to the mark than I thought……
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As the words flow gently toward the final destination,let us bid adieu to another trip through the nether portions of my mind. I’m happy that I could still find my way out; we could have been stuck there for days!….. Y’all take care out there…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!