A fight for four pies….

Posted on May 13, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Blood poured down my face from the gash above the eye, annoying but not yet blinding. I slapped a surgiskin patch on it to keep it clean, and keep the blood out of my visor, and wondered how I would live down giving myself the only injury in a live engagement…. I spied a helmet peeking over the fence across the courtyard of the abandoned building, and squeezed off a couple of quick rounds in the general area to let them know I wasn’t asleep.

Now I’m really mad; listening to the DI dress me down for banging my own head on the lander door wasn’t what I had anticipated for my return to quarters after the exercise. I had hoped to catch some extra Z’s, as I’d been boning for the psych strategy test tomorrow, but my clumsiness had ensured a visit to a smarmy, sarcastic medic, followed by the opportunity to hear the dulcet tones of Sergeant O’Brien in full chewing mode……

Enough…. I’m tired of O’Brien, and he hasn’t opened his mouth yet…. Goes to show I shouldn’t let myself write before going to bed…. it always comes out strange when I look at it in the morning…. Either that, or I need to finish one of these little stories when I write it. Oh, I hate when I get all logical on myself….. I’ve had fun before. This isn’t it.

This is getting me nowhere, so I’m going to just get on with this morning’s dive…. Pearling sounds safer than anything else I can think of right now, so…. off we go, then…..
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“Evolution is as much a fact as the earth turning on its axis and going around the sun. At one time this was called the Copernican theory; but, when evidence for a theory becomes so overwhelming that no informed person can doubt it, it is customary for scientists to call it a fact. That all present life descended from earlier forms, over vast stretches of geologic time, is as firmly established as Copernican cosmology. Biologists differ only with respect to theories about how the process operates.” — Martin Gardner, “Irving Kristol and the Facts of Life”, — The Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. XII No. 2, ppg. 128-131

Although this is a very clear, concise statement of facts, it fails to account for one piece of evidence that, while seemingly contradictory, actually is proof of its overall relevance. This is the mathematical certainty that the average intelligence of the species is declining over time; I’ve presented this proof previously, and so will not go over it in its entirety now. But, like with the evidence of the Copernican theory, it has been firmly established, so we must, as a species, find some way to overcome our own intransigence.

Our own competence at killing other life forms has propelled our species to the top of the food chain, at least by all appearances. In doing so, we have removed many of the challenges to our survival that had been a check on how fast we increased our numbers. The removal of these limiting factors has allowed us to breed without restraint, which is why we have negated the normal laws, and applied the special laws of peripheral relevance that are dumbing us down.

We breed so fast that reality can’t kill us fast enough for us to get smarter; the number of lower intelligence members of the species has grown to the point where the number of births far outstrips the number of deaths, and the process continues to spiral down, down, down, toward the bottom of the gene pool….

So, if it seems to you that things are getting crazier, and that more stupid stuff keeps happening all the time, don’t panic…. you are right. It IS much crazier than before, and stupid stuff will continue to happen, right up until our species’ name gets called to board the train for extinction… the same train we have sent thousands of other species on to their demise…. SIGH…..

“No matter how cynical you get, it’s impossible to keep up.” — Lily Tomlin
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Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. — Mark Twain

One of Mark Twain’s most attractive features as a writer was his grasp of common sense. Here is an idea that all of us know instinctively is true; all of us have observed, at one time or another in our lives, just how powerful laughter can be when used against evil.

This is knowledge so ubiquitous that it has been overlooked in today’s political world, and is not used nearly enough to suit me. I think we should, instead of criticizing and degrading folks like Mitt, and Newt, and others of their political ilk, we should just greet everything they say with a burst of sheer delighted laughter, and just point a finger while howling and holding our stomach. I think it would do wonders….

Imagine, if you would, a large room full of average American folks, in their everyday dress, sitting quietly in their chairs,waiting for their hero to come smile and talk to them, just as if they mattered. Instead of hecklers, placed throughout the crowd at strategic points, are people with a well-developed sense of humor, who will proceed to laugh uproariously whenever the candidate makes some outrageous statement, which usually doesn’t take long….

I think, with good timing and the right lines, we could eliminate quite a few of these bozos, embarrassing them so heavily they’ll never show their face in public again…. Well, we can hope, can’t we? And if nothing else, laughter is good for the soul, so they say…. Let’s see if it can’t be useful in creating a new political landscape, shall we? Personally, I look forward to applying this technique in the coming months leading up to November…..
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Inner State

Bereft, mind empty
none remains real or true
The page is alone.

gigoid

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The text above is from “Dune” by Frank Herbert; the image was found on Facebook. If you try repeating this to yourself when afraid, you will find that it is quite effective, not in reducing fear, but in getting past the fear. I speak from experience in this, having first read this when I was in my teens, and then used it innumerable times in my work with the mentally ill…. Most simply put, it works….
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If you are not the poet, perhaps you can be the poem. — Smart Bee

It has happened…. I couldn’t find a suitable pearl, in just under two hours of searching. I was thorough, I think. I visited two different websites, and checked out a number of categories at each, all to no avail. I’ve developed a callous on my index finger from hitting the “next” button on my database of quotes, and keep seeing the ones I’ve used in the last few days. Naturally, since I used Shakespeare as a subject just yesterday, a good 40% of what I was forced to go through was more crap from his quill…. Murphy at work….

So, we have an unprecedented event today… I’m giving up until tomorrow…. What I have already done will have to do….. Disgusted I am, but resigned as well….
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So be it. I’m not going to consider this a loss; I’m going to think of it as an evolution. That way it will be a challenge, and I can approach it just like any other logical problem. Of course, that’s no guarantee of success, but will serve for the nonce to get on with the day. Considering how the first four hours have gone, it promises to be interesting, in all the senses of the word…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Frankly blank, she pondered swiftly….

Posted on May 12, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
With reluctance, I approach my keyboard, shaking and nervous. There is something hidden in there, I know it. I can feel it, desperately poised to leap out and grab my fingers, making them form words from I know not where. If I give in, where will we go? How will I know if what is written will fly, or even walk? Will there be poetry? There is no way to tell, and the time is come to decide, for good or ill. I am afraid…. I am very afraid…..

Okay, now that is out of my head, we can get on with this morning’s normal business, or as close to normal as we ever get around here….. Sorry about the first paragraph; that stuff comes out and jumps onto the screen before I can get my head together. I think it is probably some part of me that wants badly to be paid for writing, as opposed to most of me, who just wants it outside the boundaries of my head, and I don’t care whether it’s rewarded in that respect at all. All I want is a bunch of “Likes” from my friends, and I’m good to go…. Considering how much I write, nobody’s going to want to pay me by the word, that’s for sure; they’d go broke in no time….

It’s all moot, though, so we’ll just get on with the daily Pearl…. always best to let the stuff that first comes out fly freely away, and get itself out of the way. It’s best not to mix that stuff with real pearls…. shall we dive?…..
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“We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.” — Helen Keller

Coming from anyone else, this would have less meaning; from Ms. Keller it assumes the aspect of eternal truth. If there is anyone in the world who suffered more to achieve self-hood, I have never heard of them, in all of my long years of reading and learning.

Having experience in working with the deaf, though never when combined with blindness, I can say without fear of contradiction that it takes a strong will and perseverance of unusual depth to be successful. Those who face the world with only three of the usual five senses of perception face a much more difficult path than those of us who can see and hear, and those who succeed, as did Ms. Keller, have indeed learned to be both brave and patient, in the finest sense of those words…..

Nothing more needs to be said about this, really. It is a powerful truth, given to us by someone who paid the full, complete price to learn that truth, and as such, it behooves us to listen, and to pay attention….
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“His ignorance covers the world like a blanket, and there’s scarcely a hole in it anywhere.” — Mark Twain

This year’s presidential election promises to be, if nothing else, an interesting spectacle. I am completely amazed at how the Republican nomination process has shaken down; the winnowing process was filled with ignorance, misguided appeals to fringe conservative groups, in-fighting, and all the usual nonsense that all the pundits go through during these events. In the end, they came up with….. Mitt Romney?

Yep…. perhaps the most dishonest politician ever to partake of the banquet of money the public payroll provides ( he has used his elected positions unmercifully to increase his own private wealth, taking advantage of insider knowledge and the “good-old-boy” circuit to the maximum) to come down the pike in many years. Well, not so many years, I suppose…. we did have an ex-CIA chief in the POTUS office not too long ago, and we all know how honest those folks are….

But, Romney? I’m sorry, it’s almost as if they have given up, and have acknowledged that there is NO ONE in the mainstream of the Republican pantheon of potential candidates who has any real connection to the American people. Romney is firmly entrenched in the 1%, and no matter how often he says otherwise, nobody is buying his assertion that he is not.

Not only have the rest of the party’s pundits given in, they seem to be letting him continue his policy of shooting himself in the foot every other day, by uttering some new lie. His repeated attempts to perform damage control are necessary, as he doesn’t seem to be able to speak without making something up. I know of two websites whose sole purpose consists of identifying each one of them, as they fact-check what he says every day, and every day find new instances of deliberate untruths…. It’s amazing, and would be amusing, if it wasn’t so scary….

It’s scary because, in spite of all his lying, in spite of his flip-flopping on policies according to whatever audience he is addressing, and in spite of his obvious lack of qualifications to BE president, his political machine keeps right on trundling down the public path to the Republican Convention, where his status as the latest incarnation of “The Great White Hope” will be formalized. The Democratic Party is, no doubt, celebrating almost every night, as he is doing their work for them…. They don’t have to say a word, just smile and point to Romney’s latest gaffes, of which there are legion…. Easy money, as far as I can see….

Now, as long as he doesn’t manage to fool enough of the voting public to make it close, we’ll be fine, and come December, all of this will be a memory of just another bad dream…. and if not, well, we can always call Al….

“He probably just wants to take over my CELLS and then EXPLODE inside me like a BARREL of runny CHOPPED LIVER! Or maybe he’d like to PSYCHOLOGICALLY TERRORIZE ME until I have no objection to a RIGHT-WING MILITARY TAKEOVER of my apartment!! I guess I should call AL PACINO!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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“Just remember–when you think all is lost, the future remains.” — Robert Goddard

This is one of those pearls whose depth of meaning and relevance are not apparent at first glimpse. But, in examining it further, I have come to believe that this is something I hope that I gave to my own children, as it is an idea that can save one’s sanity, and one’s hope, in the face of whatever challenges life may present to us. Nothing that happens, no matter how all-encompassing it may be, can ever take away this simple fact; the future remains.

It is often the case that we spend a lot of useless time lamenting those events in our lives that set us back on our road to our goals, or in trying to fix whatever has gone wrong. When we are in that state, we are not looking at the entire picture that is there to be seen; we are focused on just what we are doing. It becomes easy to forget that by acknowledging the future, and its possibility for change, we limit our effectiveness at what we are trying to do, thus increasing our own difficulty.

By accepting the presence and power of change, we can use it as an aid to our progress, rather than as an obstacle to be overcome. Simple, like most deep truth, and effective…. the greatest gifts come in the smallest packages, it is said, and in this case, it is perfectly true…..
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“I have tried lately to read Shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me.” — Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

It seems I’m not as alone as I had thought in my lack of enthusiasm for Shakespeare. It’s heartening to know that someone with such a logical mind sees, as do I, Shakespeare’s deliberate obscurity as a vice rather, than the virtue it is made out to be in so many quarters. I freely admit that some of what he wrote is wonderful, in spots, but 80% is crap, plain and simple, and I can only hope that he wrote it on deadline, and didn’t get paid much for it…. That would explain a lot…..

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.” — Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals

I offer in proof of my assertion the following excerpts from various works of his; if you can explain to me either their relevance, meaning, or artistic merit, please do so… I am listening…

“I will show myself highly fed and lowly taught.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), All ‘s Well that Ends Well — Act ii, Sc. 2

“One draught above heat makes him a fool; the second mads him; and a third drowns him.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Twelfth Night — Act i, Sc. 5

“All his successors gone before him have done ‘t; and all his ancestors that come after him may.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Merry Wives of Windsor — Act i, Sc. 1

“A mad fellow met me on the way and told me I had unloaded all the gibbets and pressed the dead bodies. No eye hath seen such scarecrows. I ‘ll not march through Coventry with them, that ‘s flat: nay, and the villains march wide betwixt the legs, as if they had gyves on; for indeed I had the most of them out of prison. There ‘s but a shirt and a half in all my company; and the half-shirt is two napkins tacked together and thrown over the shoulders like an herald’s coat without sleeves.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act iv, Sc. 2

“Wherever the bright sun of heaven shall shine,
His honour and the greatness of his name
Shall be, and make new nations.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry VIII — Act v, Sc. 5

That’s probably enough… pile too many of these in the same place and the odor is incredible! Besides, more proof can be found almost anywhere…. there’s a lot of this kind of crap floating around the pool…. My invitation stands, by the way; if you can show me how this stuff is any good, please do so! Otherwise, thanks for listening to my gripes…. 🙂
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Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea,
Yet never in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.

— Emily Dickinson

I needed this…. While searching for something else, I came across this…. I’ve used it before, months ago, but it never pales. I don’t really have any comments, except…. thank you, Emily…..
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What an odd Pearl! I am sure of only one thing after this…. I’m done with it. Beyond that, I will make no prognostication. Probably a good thing, all in all….

Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Prudish pianos sit, forlorn in the mist….

Posted on May 11, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
The beast has fallen from the mizzen mast, and the jib is down. I was awakened by the laughing of clowns, injecting the first cup of coffee intravenously, to save time. It struck me as I stretched prior to beginning that I had not brushed the cactus, but it looked as if I had. Such thoughts being extraneous to our purpose here, they shall be deleted. Such is the fate of unwanted, unloved cogitations, cast adrift at their most vulnerable moment, salient only to themselves. Thus it began, strangely tart, but uncommonly picturesque. The band refused to play Mozart, so Copeland had to do….

If the above is any indication, it might be a good idea to buckle up…. the ride today promises to be a bit unsteady. Should be fun though… I haven’t felt this much strong whimsy in a while…. I can see the priests, pundits, and bankers running off screaming already, deathly afraid of my savage wit…. Sure, that’s the ticket…. Before I slip entirely under the waves of insanity here, let’s get on with the Pearl, shall we?…. It would be best, I think….
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All things considered, insanity may be the only reasonable alternative. — Smart Bee

This explains this morning’s attitude… I must have been percolating this idea in the back of my mind all night, and woke up with it still buzzing around in there… It makes sense, in a perverted sort of fashion. Especially after looking at what I wrote yesterday. Oh, not that it wasn’t good….in fact, it was one of my better efforts in a while, over 2500 words, all fairly potent. No, what I refer to is the subject matter of which I wrote. A lot of it consisted of indictments of mankind or society for crimes against citizens, serving to show just how bad things are when viewed pessimistically, and how insanity in the face of that seems almost necessary, to maintain any scrap of self-control. Insane may be crazy, but it IS a choice to stay true to oneself, rather than to give in to the insanity someone else may thrust upon us.

People often wonder why there are so many disturbed folks out there, which amuses me no end…. How could it be otherwise? The pressures on every person alive in today’s madcap world is intense and unrelenting; what surprises me is how FEW truly insane people there are to be found outside institutions. Most of the really, truly mad ones are in those institutions, where they have discovered they are safe from the depredations that society forces upon everyone outside the fences. They receive three hots and a cot, and all they have to do is keep from making any sense when the doctor is around, or when anybody with a nursing license is watching, and they have no worries. Free food, free TV, medical care, and all on somebody else’s dime. What a deal!

So, don’t look down your nose at those among us who have chosen the path of insanity in order to cope with the world at large. They may be on to something…. they certainly have a lot less to worry about than most of us do. All they have to do is be creative in their delusions, let out the inner demons now and again, dance a jig in the common room each night, and they can be just as happy as a clam at high tide….

“Once you accept his assumptions even a madman seems reasonable.” — Smart Bee
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~ A wonderful poem by Audrey Hepburn ~ Written when asked to share her “beauty tips.” It was read at her funeral years later.

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

I trot this out now and again, just because it is as beautiful as she was…..
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Political tags – such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth – are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. — Robert Heinlein

This is a truism in my world. I read it many years ago, and after examining it extensively, have found it to be a perfect reflection of reality as I perceive it. It is a very useful statement for the understanding of all sorts of concepts regarding what happens in the political arena, serving as it does as sort of a program, allowing one to identify the players quickly and accurately, according to the role they assume and display for viewing by the public.

What is unfortunate about its veracity is how it seems to work in the modern world. It seems to me that of the two identified types of people, only the first type, those who wish everyone to be controlled, are the ones in office, or running for office. By nature and inclination, the second type does not involve themselves any more than necessary in the political process; it offends their sensibilities to even have to watch it played out in the public arena.

They do whatever is required to maintain their own independence from excessive control by others; that also is natural to them. This, sadly, leaves a great portion of humanity to its own devices, allowing the beloved ruling class, comprised solely of those who wish to control others, to abuse and oppress them to their heart’s content.

Ah well, Mr. Heinlein would suggest that those folks are only getting what they deserve for refusing to use what little intelligence they have to protect themselves, and, in at least that sense, he is correct. It just makes me sad to see so much pain and anguish among them when it is so unnecessary; I’m a sucker for hard-luck cases.

In the end, I suppose it doesn’t matter at all in a cosmic sense; we all will do whatever it is we choose to do, and if that choice is to wear blinders, and bend over when asked, well, we would get exactly what we deserve from life…. Not me, though…. I like my butt just the way it is, thank you very much….

Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.”
— Sun Tzu (fl. c. B.C. 500)
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“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” — Francis Bacon

Francis was a pretty smart man. Smart enough to have folks suspect him of writing a lot of Will Shakespeare’s works, apparently during his copious free time between joshing with the queen and the other courtesans, writing his philosophical treatises, and abusing the peasants. Of course, we see a lot of this quotes lying around, gathering dust, and a short examination of them reveals why…. most of them bore the reader to tears before they get to the point of what he wrote.

Yet this short little piece ascribed to him indicates more, as it is startlingly clear and absolutely accurate. It must have been written in his early years, as it also is in direct opposition to a lot of his later writings, which tend to rely on faith and religious principles he should have avoided altogether. As a matter of fact, now that I mention it, his writing over time seemed to become increasingly heavy and obscure, reflecting the confusion in his mind, no doubt, created by the disparity between the above obviously rational line of thought and the religious doctrine with which he became enamored in later years.

His later writing also demonstrates just how true the above line is, as over time, as he came to believe in more certainties, his writing and mind became more filled with doubts. In his youth, when he allowed himself to entertain doubt, he was clearly more certain of what he knew.

A good example of what to avoid, I would say, if one wishes to maintain any rationality in their thinking. It sure did mess up poor Frankie’s work…. I mean, who would WANT to be known as Willies ghost-writer, anyway?…..
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The path is the way.
The way is the truth.
It is found, but not held;
walked on, but not followed.
— Tao Teh Ching

When I was 16, my father took me on a trip to visit the UC Berkeley campus, to see if I really wanted to attend there after high school. We drove up from our home near the Central Coast of California to the burgeoning megalopolis on the east side of the SF Bay where Berkeley sits, with my eyes and mind on overdrive, taking in a completely new landscape, one completely foreign to my naive mind, which had spent most of the previous years living in a town of 750 souls. In retrospect, I don’t think that I could have made any other decision, as I was in the throes of intellectual ecstasy, taking in vast amounts of new perceptions and experiences as fast as I could swivel my head.

One of the places we visited on campus was the bookstore at the student union. Having been a book addict since the age of 9 or so, it was like falling into heaven. My dad had a hard time getting me to leave to go look at other stuff, as I was entranced by all the books I’d never seen.

On a table near the check-out stands, on a clearance table, was a slim book with a beautiful black and white image of a typical Chinese painting of mountains with bamboo shoots in the foreground, and some ideograms running down the side. The English title of the book, at the top, read merely, “Tao Teh Ching”. Visually, it was the most beautiful book I’d ever seen. Little did I know how much that simple tome would change my whole life, and the way I viewed the world.

It goes without saying at this point that I bought the book. On the drive home, I lost myself in Lao Tzu’s 88 verses that comprise the Tao Teh Ching, and have been lost in the beauty and truth they provide ever since. “The Way that can be known is not the true Way.” That is the first line of the book, as per that translation, and my mind was freed from all its previous restraints.

It was as if I had been awakened from a long sleep, and awoke with eyes so clear that only the truth could be seen. My father, I’m sure, thought I’d lost all sanity as I read, gasped, and made little moans of awakening surprise at the things that the book showed me. It is a day I will never forget, and one that, in my mind, set me on the scholar/warrior’s path that I have walked to this day…..
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I suppose by this time I should be accustomed to my own lack of organization when it comes to these Pearls. When I awoke this morning, an hour later than I thought I would (thank goodness for an hour of sleep that I wasn’t expecting!….), I was, as usual, unsure of where we might end up. As usual, I needn’t have worried, as it all came out okay, and didn’t take all that long. I’m content. Well, as content as I ever am, anyway. So, y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Layered in pugnacious pyjamas….

Posted on May 10, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
I’m beginning to think that my habit of writing an average of 1500 words every morning is depleting my store of inspiration; if not, it is at least getting weary, and hiding from me more often. I can’t really blame it, as I’ve asked it to perform miracles almost every day, turning pearls, and what is in my head, into something worth putting down on paper (note: that phrase is rapidly losing all meaning, as computers become more ubiquitous….). That’s a lot of miracles in just about 300 days.

“This writing business. Pencils and whatnot. Overrated, if you ask me.” — Winnie the Pooh

But, having set myself the goal of posting a Pearl every day (set long ago, and too late now to worry about changing…), I feel duty-bound to make the best effort I can to meet that goal. So, I carry on, in spite of the increasing difficulty. I suppose it has to do with how writing is not for the weak-minded, or for those with no staying power to their will. Since I’m now not a chef, or a psych tech, or an executive assistant, writing is what I do, so I’ve left myself with very little choice but to keep on keepin’ on, as Jerry and the boys would have said….

I see my life go drifting like a river
From change to change; I have been many things –
A green drop in the surge, a gleam of light
Upon a sword, a fir tree on a hill,
An old slave grinding at a heavy quern,
A king sitting upon a chair of gold –
And all these things were wonderful and great;
But now I have grown nothing, knowing all.
Ah! Druid, Druid, how great webs of sorrow
Lay hidden in that small slate-coloured thing!
— William Butler Yeats, “Fergus and the Druid”

What does that mean for this process? Well, nothing really…. but it got me two more paragraphs of semi-literate, if relatively meaningless discussion of a personal problem, and a great pearl from Yeats, and that ain’t nothing…. so, we’ll just use that as a very, very loose segue into today’s dive for pearls…. shall we Pearl, then?…..
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“I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round.” — John Lennon

Men are afraid of women… hence all the jokes about them taking over, over slyly ruling us without us knowing it. Men’s fears of just that thing are what cause him to hate women, because they do not understand them, and fear arises out of lack of understanding. Here are a few examples of such lies, the lies that perpetuate the war between the sexes…..

“My notion of a wife at 40 is that a man should be able to change her, like a bank note, for two twenties.” — Warren Beatty

A lady is one who only shows her underwear intentionally. — Smart Bee

— Yo momma……so fat she has to buy two airline tickets. — Smart Bee

“A beautiful woman is paradise for the eyes, hell for the soul, and purgatory for the purse.” — Smart Bee

“Passionate kiss like spider web, lead to undoing of fly.” — Confucius say (No, he didn’t, but liars don’t care….)

Really, really sexist, misogynistic, and paranoid, yes? Yes….

The mere existence of these jokes, and others like them, indicates clearly what men are afraid of in women, and that is their sexuality. We… well, men, not necessarily we men, because not all of us hate them… No I don’t understand them, but that doesn’t make them any less fascinating or wonderfully different. I am aware of my own self, and my own powers, and they have naught to do with what women can do; I feel no need to compare the two, or to assume one is stronger or better. They are just different, and what is different about women is not to be feared, even if not understood. It is just to be learned, and appreciated, that’s all….and the learning is a totally awesome trip, I assure you….

But, back to the sexuality that men fear. Their fear exists because these men have never learned to understand themselves, or their place in the scheme of things; that makes them unable to understand women, and turns their ignorance to fear, and from thence to hatred and abuse against them.

Men cannot stand the thought that a woman might be more important than him, and that is a certain sign of lack of confidence, and of ignorance. Men who know their place in life, and who are confident of their own ability to cope with that place and its demands, have no need or desire to be more important than anyone; they are complete within themselves….

Too many men in this world don’t come anywhere close to this kind of self-knowledge; most go through life without exercising more than two neurons at once, and those tend to lose function whenever the blood goes elsewhere than the brain (such as during an erection). Most men are so afraid of women that they spend half their life telling jokes like the above, and spreading the nonsensical lies that perpetuate this atrocity.

Yes, atrocity, because it is this fear and loathing, of both themselves and women, that leads to issues such as domestic abuse, sex trafficking, prostitution, and abuse of children. The only women who are actively engaged in these activities are those who have been brainwashed to believe the crap they’ve heard all their lives, and who have given up their own humanity; they are very few in number. Otherwise, it is men who perpetrate these vile actions on women…. all because of their own fear and ignorance…. I say, shame on them, for they are not men, in my world…. They are vicious, irredeemable beasts, and should be put down like the dangerous creatures they are…..

“In the dark colony of night, when I consider man’s magnificent capacity for malice, madness, folly, envy, rage, and destructiveness, and I wonder whether we shall not end up as breakfast for newts and polyps, I seem to hear the muffled cries of all the words in all the books with covers closed.” — Leo Rosten
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“The power of a bold idea uttered publicly in defiance of dominant opinion cannot be easily measured. Those people who speak out in such a way as to shake up not only the self-assurance of their enemies, but the complacency of their friends, are precious catalysts for change.” — Howard Zinn

I would like to take a moment here to acknowledge a very honorable, and brave, act by the President of this country, Barack Obama. Yesterday, in a press conference, the President put the power of his office behind the defense of human rights, by stating that his administration was fully convinced that legislation that denied marriage to gay couples, or to anyone else, was directly in opposition to the Constitution by which we live. He made this a national announcement, and set the stage for what is sure to be a fire-storm of protest from the political and religious factions that have made this issue their rallying cry.

The idea that marriage between people who are not male and female is acceptable is one whose time has obviously arrived. Current polls nationwide have borne out the fact that a large majority of the population agrees with that assessment. But it doesn’t detract from the bravery required to mount that horse at this time, for it had to be known that it would be a decision that would create a lot of noise from those who feel differently.

So, I am, for once, proud of what a President has done; it is something I cannot recall ever happening in the past, at all. Most of the time I am forced to shake my head and hide my face in shame, agreeing fully with the Dixie Chicks when they apologized for Bush to the rest of the world.

Let us all take this time to appreciate how this President has taken the reins of leadership firmly in hand, to direct our country toward a future where human rights are more important than living in fear and ignorance…. Yay, Barry!…. Good Job!

“A commitment to diversity is not a commitment to blacks or gays or any other group. A commitment to diversity is a commitment to respect and value each individual employee (person) for who they are, a commitment to help them become the best they can be by honoring their nature.” — Callan Williams
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OPERA
For centuries now, Opera has been the foremost method of humiliation available to the security forces. It began in the late 1600s, when peasant rebels were made to dress up as ridiculously fat people and get up on wooden planks in front of hundreds of their peers and shout the same things over and over and over, to a musical accompaniment. By the time the French Revolution came rolling along, it was the aristocrats who were forced to the stage to sing, gesticulate wildly and loudly perform plays devised to spread Revolutionary propaganda. Nowadays, Opera has been driven underground, but is still carried out by the perverse, the deviant, and those with very big tits (both men and women), their audiences made up almost exclusively of establishment figures. — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA

That’s what I’m talking about! Opera, to me, seems like a perfect example of how a lot of folks get all worked up over something that everyone else says is cool, but really has nothing to justify that opinion. Sure, there is some good music that came out of opera, and a few cool songs (far fewer than any opera buff would have us believe…), but for the most part it is just a bunch of hype that normally smart folks seem to fall for on a regular basis, just because a consensus says they should. It seems to me that anything that anyone does because they ‘should’ gets exactly what they deserve, i.e., twaddle… and a good portion of it.

So, don’t fall for this nonsense folks. Remember, friends don’t let friends go to an opera… unless they’re mad at them….
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Underneath this sable hearse
Lies the subject of all verse,–
Sidney’s sister, Pembroke’s mother.
Death, ere thou hast slain another,
Learn’d and fair and good as she,
Time shall throw a dart at thee.
— Ben Jonson (1573-1637) — Epitaph on the Countess of Pembroke

And as she looked around, she saw how Death the consoler,
Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed it forever.
— Henry W. Longfellow (1807-1882) — Evangeline, Part ii

“For good men but see death, the wicked taste it.” — Johnson

“Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead.” — Scottish Proverb

Mankind has always had a fascination with Death, which, I suppose, is natural, considering it is one of the few things in this universe that all of us will experience at the same time in our lives. It is the Great Equalizer, in its finest sense; no one escapes. There are probably more books and treatises on Death, or involving some manifestation of Death, than of any other subject, save perhaps Love, another subject that deeply affects us all.

My writing about it probably enters the realm of superfluousness, but I found these great pearls, so I couldn’t resist…. Besides which, as I move ever closer to my own time to have a face to face with the Reaper, I find myself turning my thoughts to the subject, somewhat morbidly I’m sure….

How each of us faces that particular moment is about as personal as things can be, for we are all ourselves, little as we may understand that phrase, and the things we have learned in our lives are what will determine whether we are able to greet Death with dignity, or pitch a fit of major proportions….

I’m not going to go any further into this at this time, as I’m not so close to my time as all that. But, I will say that I hope that I can approach my own demise with some aplomb; I really hate to make a scene. It’s so embarrassing to wash one’s dirty linen in public, and I hope I have more panache than that…. I guess we’ll see, won’t we…. like we had a choice in the matter…. 🙂
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“Most people want security in this world, not liberty.” — H.L. Mencken

Mr. Mencken has put his finger firmly on what I see as wrong in our culture today, to wit: the average person in this country has assumed the “slave” mentality, and has adopted security as their preferred state over that of being free. Far too many of my countrymen, and women, have given up the right to think for themselves, opting instead to let the beloved ruling class decide for them what they may think, and what they may do.

They have given up this right for the illusion of security; I say illusion for the word ‘security’ has no meaning in Reality. One can never be completely secure; it just isn’t possible in a world where there are so many people devoted to taking advantage of one another.

Most folks who allow this degradation of their own liberty don’t realize that they have chosen an illusion. They believe that the people who have promised them security can not only give it to them, but are doing so because they care about what happens to their constituents. This, of course, couldn’t be further from the truth, for not only are they NOT doing it for their constituents, they are deliberately lying to them to get them to believe it.

The actual danger of being taken advantage of does not come from outside our country, but from those very folks who tell us we need to be secure, rather than free. The very people who they think are helping them are the ones who are ripping them off with both hands….

“Any body of men who believe in hell will persecute whenever they have the power.” — Joseph M. McCabe (1867-1957)

It’s enough to make a man want to drink… a lot…. At least when I’m stone cold drunk I don’t feel so bad about it. Of course, in that state I don’t feel bad about anything, so it’s obviously not a solution, but it does offer some temporary relief from having to watch it happen. Ah well, so much for the American Dream, eh?…..
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Well, I must say, this has been one of the most interesting, and chaotic Pearls that I’ve ever composed. It seemed to go all over the map as I was writing, taking me from subject to subject willy-nilly, and having a grand time about it. On looking back over it all, it seems to have held together fairly well, so I’m going to go with it once again without trying to make any sense out of why…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

Kowabunga!

Transformers in a creamy sauce….

Posted on May 9, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
I think everyone out there has experienced being left on hold by some large corporation with whom you have tried to conduct business over the phone. Once, while speaking with my internet service provider, I got left on hold, and forgotten, three times, over the course of a 45 minute call, that dealt with an issue that took 20 seconds to correct. I’m sure you all have a horror story or two to add to this; it’s a common practice these days, for companies to increase their profit margins by reducing services, such as phone operators. It is also a big pain in our collective ass….

My whole life is currently on hold, by the Federal government, bless their pointy little heads. The Social Security Department, having decided in their wisdom that I am not yet worthy, have denied my disability application, so I am compelled to go through the appeal process, adding perhaps another 6 months to the time I will have to survive without the additional funds that SS will provide from the money I have put into the system over the last 45-50 years.

Six months more of this…. This includes never being able to go anywhere, as I cannot afford a car, and riding buses, though efficient financially, is very slow and laborious, not to mention hard on my back. Riding across town to buy my bread at the discount store is a four hour bus trip, to cover a distance I could drive in 8-10 minutes each way. Also, the buses don’t run before 8 AM or after 9 PM, so no staying out late or starting early.

No going out to dinner, and no going out for a cocktail; those events are not even close to being included in the monthly budget. Hell, if I buy more than a hundred dollars or so of food, it puts a strain on things. I don’t starve, by any means; I do have more than many families with kids have to get by, and for that I am grateful to my 29 years of state retirement contributions.

But, there are no extras included in there…. no laundry, no clothing, no shoes can be purchased, without first doing without something else that may be critical. I am impressed more and more all the time with the creativity shown by the families who are getting by on less than my retirement; this isn’t easy, at all.

Living this way has given me two things… One, as stated, a feeling of intense admiration for the folks in society who get by on the pittance that they can earn, given the lack of jobs and the determination of the 1% to keep things this way. Two, a burning, intense hatred (a word I don’t much use, as I consider it unhealthy in general…) for that same 1%, in which I include all politicians, priests, preachers, rabbis, imams, bankers, industrialists, and specifically Mitt Romney’s asshole of a wife. (Well, him, too, but she is particularly noisome…. “average housewife” my dying ass…..) It is clear by the daily nonsense I see in the news just how little they care, or even comprehend, about the situation in today’s culture of disparity. And, as far as I can tell, by all available evidence, it is deliberate on their part; they just don’t care about anyone else….

Ah me…. I had not intended to rant first thing this morning. But, having awakened once again in pain, followed by a bout with my PTSD’s lovely gift of depression and tears this morning, it just sort of flowed out of my head and onto the screen. I don’t wish to make this sound like a litany of whiny complaints. I know I have it better than a lot of folks.

But, damn it, it doesn’t have to be this way, and if there was even one person in government that I could point to and say, “Look, there is an honest man, trying to make things better for those who elected him,” then I would feel at least a little bit encouraged. As it is, I can only look forward to more of the same, for at least six more months…. and I defy anyone out there to tell me I’m wrong here. It should be easy, one would think…. all you have to do is find ONE person in office you can show me who is trying to do right. One, that’s all…. go ahead, I dare you…..

That will take you a good, long while, so in the meantime, I’m going pearling…. y’all can come along, or not, as you wish…. I’m too much in the depths of depression to care….. but, you are welcome, if you so desire…. let’s go…..
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O men with sisters dear,
O men with mothers and wives,
It is not linen you ‘re wearing out,
But human creatures’ lives!
— Thomas Hood (1798-1845) — The Song of the Shirt

Yesterday, I reblogged an article posted by rmott62, a very strong, inspiring young woman who writes about her experiences as a sex trade slave. I use the word “slave” deliberately, for no other word describes the women, and children who are trapped, abducted, or even tricked into becoming prostitutes. I have reblogged her work, and the work of a couple others who have been fortunate enough to have exited the system in which they were entrapped, several times, and I will continue to do so as long as she, and I, still are publishing. I do this because I am ashamed….

Yes, ashamed…. I am ashamed at myself, and of all the other men in the world who turn their faces away from this issue, and pretend that there is nothing they can do about it. I am ashamed that this practice, of raping and abusing women and girls, just for their own pleasure (though I fail to see how it can be pleasurable to rape or abuse…), just because they can, not only has been present for thousands of years, but continues unabated in today’s supposedly enlightened culture. To my way of thinking, all of us men are responsible for this, and it is our DUTY to do whatever we can to put a stop to it.

Back in the days when mankind lived in caves, when a man in the tribe became dangerous to others in the tribe, for stealing, for abusing others, for whatever reason they had that went against what was good for the tribe, the other men in the tribe made it a point to discipline that man. It may have been merely a physical beating, or banishment from the tribe, or even death, but the other men took it upon themselves to see that the will of the tribe was upheld. Somehow, when culture grew, and started inhabiting cities, and there was more interchange between various tribes, the system broke down. The people of the society were now supposed to be protected from such depredations by law….

But, at about this time, the unscrupulous among us started to solidify their power over society; the richest among the tribes were those who made the laws; they were also the same ones who saw nothing wrong with raping and abusing women, assuming that was their privilege as one of the beloved ruling class. And so the laws were made to reflect that attitude, and the die was cast.

This system has survived the centuries, and now the attitude that prostitution is an integral part of society is so ingrained that even those without any other kind of power over others can go to a brothel and act out their sick fantasies, at the expense of a woman or child who has no defense against the violence that occurs if they should object…. and if there is a discussion it is always about a “victimless crime”….

It disgusts me, right down to my core. It is perhaps the sickest part of our society, and very few people are even aware of it. There is certainly no discussion in the public at large of the issue; it is far too volatile for any politician to ever take the chance of siding with the women who are being abused. Hell, a good half of those assholes in office are trying to take away the few rights women have managed to get into law over the last 40 years; Roe vs. Wade has already been set aside, and the asshole men who can’t stand the thought of a woman having the right to choose anything, much less their own sexual nature, are trying to make sure it never gets revived.

I’m not sure what can be done, at least not on a society-wide scale. The attitudes, and laws, have been so set in stone for so many years that it may require surgical removal to make any progress. But, on a smaller scale, I can make noise about it, and try to shame any man who believes otherwise that he is not only a fool, but an asshole fool, and doesn’t deserve to call himself a man.

When I was in college, the women’s rights movement was in its beginnings, and there was a phrase coined that says it all, to me…. Free our sisters, free ourselves…. None of us men will ever be truly and completely free until we have freed our sisters from such servitude.

That is a fact. It is not just my opinion, it is a fact, and we would do well to pay heed…. and those who engage in this industry had best watch out, for if no one else does, I will be looking for them, and when I find them, I will do all I can to end them. And you can interpret that however you wish; I have no doubt in my mind as to what I mean, and I mean “end them”…..
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“It is ridiculous to suppose that the great head of things, whatever it be, pays any regard to human affairs.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book ii, Sect. 20

This has always been an issue in my mind, from the very earliest times I was exposed to religious instruction, in some Presbyterian Sunday School when I was a young lad. Even at the age of five or six, I had a hard time understanding two things about God, if what they were telling me about Him was true. First, I couldn’t believe that a God, supposedly able to create an entire universe, would take the time and/or energy to care whether or not I was paying attention to His rules. (I also questioned why He would make rules in the first place….)

Secondly, the whole idea of worship made me uneasy…. it seemed a bit, hmm, needy, or vulnerable, to me. I knew that the admiration of others made me feel weird; uneasy and uncomfortable with their fawning (baby sisters & brothers, little kids, and others who show such feelings for their older, more accomplished siblings….). Even the admiration I held for my older siblings, and my heroes, made me a bit uncomfortable. So, I could never understand why an all-powerful being would want any part of such a thing.

So, even then, before I had any real defenses, I suppose my ability to reason made it hard for me to accept a lot of what I was told. It never made sense to me that the pictures I saw of God made him look just like some human patriarch (hmm… no Freudian comments?); I mean, if he was so far above us, how did we know what He looked like? I didn’t remember seeing any photos of Him, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, (another questionable entity to the mind of a five-year old….) playing in the Dead Sea surf, nor did I recall any such word from God Himself. There were a lot of folks saying that the Bible is the Word of God, but the only ones saying so were people, not Gods.

So, maybe I’m a bit different than the average young bear cub, but much of what they tried to foist upon my unsuspecting mind never took hold, as I found it completely unbelievable. It just didn’t make any sense, even by the rules they were setting up for it. If I, a little kid, didn’t like to be worshiped, why would an omnipotent being have anything to do with it? Give me a reasonable, rational answer, and I will consider the concept. But, I think you’d best bring a new and different set of arguments, because the ones that have been in play for several thousand years just don’t cut it in my book….

“Everybody has the right to be stupid, but they’re abusing the privilege.” — Smart Bee
___________________________________ Today’s material has been a bit heavy, to match my mood, so this is here merely to provide a bit of comedic relief before we go on…. silly looking, isn’t he?…. But happy, too…. The picture was found on No Ruff Days, a WordPress blog site that has wonderful pictures paired with quotes, all about dogs and their relationship with mankind…. the address is: http://www.noruffdays.com
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“You can have a winner [in a nuclear war].” — George Bush, 1980.
In 1984, he said, “I never said that.” — The original interview had been taped…

The funniest part of this is that he continued to deny it after hearing the tape…. There isn’t really much more about this I can add; it’s pretty clear as it is. I’ll just say this: It’s not his fault…. Yep, I said that. It’s our fault. We, the voting public, are the ones who not only overlook this sort of asininity, but show our approval by electing these same liars time and time again. As long as this habit continues, then we will continue to see nothing but liars in office, and our journey toward a rational society will be put off that much longer….

Just desserts, I’d say…. If you need an example from current times, just go to any of the several sites that have been set up with the expressed purpose of showing the lies that just ONE candidate has been spewing all over the airwaves, to wit: Willard Mitt Romney. This man is possibly the most clueless candidate to come down the pike in many a year, and he still has millions of people willing to ignore his lack of ability to speak the truth…. Pretty sickening, to my way of thinking…. but, deserved, nonetheless….
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“All riches come from iniquity, and unless one has lost, another cannot gain. Hence that common opinion seems to be very true, “the rich man is unjust, or the heir to an unjust one.” Opulence is always the result of theft, if not committed by the actual possessor, than by his predecessor.” — St. Jerome (340?-420)

Funny, isn’t it, how certain religious figures from the ancient past seemed to have an entirely different view of reality than did the prelates of the churches of which they were a part? I suppose it is just another example of how those in power are corrupted by their position, and become the very thing against which they preach. I would imagine that today’s modern church has de-canonized St. Jerome, as his philosophy seems to have diverged from what is common practice in the church; they are far too deeply involved with stealing from the people, and supporting those politicians that support them in that practice. Beware the man who says he is doing something “for your own good” for he is reaching into your pocket as he speaks…..
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Well, that was certainly a journey of some distance; I wasn’t sure if it would ever get to a point of closure. But, as always, I fooled myself long enough, and everything came out alright. It’s done, anyway, and that is all I care about at this point. It’s been a struggle, pain-wise, but with a lot of breaks, not too bad; I’m no worse than when I got up, and that is a decent starting point. I’ll just take an extra pill, and see how it goes. Most importantly, it is going…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Posted on May 8, 2012 by gigoid

This young woman knows whereof she speaks… and she speaks the truth, with no shadings for comfort… Are you strong enough?…. I’m glad she is…

Rebecca Mott

This week the week of Shakespeare’s birthday, and I think of –

“If you cut me, do I not bleed?”

That may be said by a male character, but it is true for all prostituted women and girls.

It is true we are cut, we are raped, we are verbally abused, we forced into ignoring all human emotions – and always it is made of no importance.

Could it really be that it is more than just punters and sex trade profiteers who are the instruments of making the prostituted class sub-human.

It is the majority of most cultures and societies that makes our wounds and hurting invisible – this includes those who claimed to be on our side, but still view the prostituted as sub-humans.

Let us look at the normal existence of many of the prostituted – look with eyes of denial, eyes that make the normal abuse of…

View original post 523 more words

Negotiating terns with aplomb….

Posted on May 8, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Round and round and round it goes…. and what we find here we’ll never know. Thankfully, too…. It goes to show that one can never tell just exactly what the universe might be up to when we aren’t paying attention, because it sure is always a surprise to me. And that is just the way I like it, for the most part.

Oh, there is that part of me that enjoys, and even craves, routine and known limits. Life is much safer, and less dangerous when well organized and maintained on a schedule. But, it can also get boring, which is not allowed in this version of reality. I decided long ago that to admit boredom is to admit being tired of my own head, and what is going on in there, and I will not permit that to take place. Not going to happen on my watch, nope, no sirree….

“The chain of habit coils itself around the heart like a serpent, to gnaw and stifle it.” — Hazlitt

Thus having banished all boredom and ennui (figured while I was at it, I’d make it a useful decision, and get rid of some other crap I don’t need….), we come to this. Why, you may ask, would I wish to punish others like this? And that, I say to you, is just plain cruel, not to mention judgmental. You may not have seen it, but in my disclaimer, published many moons ago, I told everyone that all criticisms would be cheerfully ignored, and so they shall be. I’ll let it go this time…. but don’t let it happen again, or you won’t be allowed in the pool, much less on a dive…. sheesh, interrupting my spiel with critical remarks…. some gall….

Where was I? Oh, right, no ennui…. so, we end up with Pearls, rather than just sitting around staring at walls and complaining. I figure that alone has to be worth something, even if it is only self-congratulations.

But, worthy, or worthless, this is the name of the game, and for the moment, it is the only game in town (that’s why I start at 5 AM in my time zone….). All that being said, necessary or not, it does clear the way down to the water’s edge, and the bags are all ready to collect some pearls…. shall we dive in then, and seek the makings of a Pearl?……We shall….
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“Happiness follows sorrow, sorrow follows happiness, but when one no longer discriminates between happiness and sorrow, a good deed and a bad deed, one is able to realize freedom.” — Buddha

“It’s a good rule to follow the first law of holes: if you are in one, stop digging.” — Denis Healey

I’ve put these two pearls together to form two sides of an idea, sort of (“sort of” is a very precise term from the social sciences, referring to the dubious practice of making things up to try to explain something beyond explanation….)… The first part of the idea, from the Buddha, is very subtle, and is most likely not well understood by the layman theologian. This is why I’ve inserted the second line; it helps the reasoning process to start in a simpler place, and it can’t get much simpler than the first law of holes….. Of course, it is a law that, in spite of its simplicity, its wide distribution, and its commonly-agreed usefulness, there are still folks who end up breaking it…. go figure…..

But, once someone has conquered the intricacies of thought that are involved in figuring out how to keep themselves out of holes, it becomes desirable to move on to greater thoughts…. or at least possible. It must be admitted that the Buddha’s statement here is one of the most basic, and most subtle, concepts in Buddhist thought, and is quite possibly the most difficult for Westerners to grasp in its fullness.

The Western mind is very attached to things; we are trained consumers from our first exposure to TV at a very young age, and the pressure to acquire goods and services, to spend, spend, spend continues throughout our lives. Accepting the valuelessness of all we buy and sell is a hard step for us to take. It’s not easy being green….

But, we must learn to be green, if we really want to be free…. free from the emotional morass, free from the eternal fire sale, free from the need to even pay slight attention to all the nonsense that is thrown at us to convince us to partake of the material world’s offerings…. but, once we realize that all of that is no more substantial than cotton candy, that all of what we are being asked to buy is just an illusion, having nothing to do with happiness or freedom at all, then we become truly free to think and do what our minds tell us is right, instead of just going along with whatever is on TV…. and that is a start toward being truly free….Free of influence, and free to think…. the truest and most basic of freedoms….
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“A friend once asked if it was true that no politician ever failed by underestimating the intelligence of the peasants and livestock. I told him we would never know, because their intelligence was something that was impossible to underestimate.” — President Weishaupt, “Church & State” by Dave Sim

I’m pretty sure that this is another of those observations that the beloved ruling class would rather didn’t get too well known. It is obvious to the most casual observer that those in power have no respect for those they rule…. if they did, they wouldn’t feel it necessary to lie to us at all, much less all the damn time. But the fact is, they don’t respect the public’s intelligence, and rightly so, for the public hides any intelligence it might have even from itself.

Acts of rebellion, or challenges to authority, are not only against the law, they are against custom, which is much stronger than law in controlling behavior. It is a strong, free man indeed who can act against what society holds as customary, for he will certainly be reviled for doing so. People don’t like to be told they are stupid, especially if they are….

SIGH…. This is a subject upon which I could rant all morning, but it is also one I recognize as being relatively useless to rant about. Nobody wants to hear it. Nobody who needs to hear it, wants to hear it, for sure. Sometimes I think that most people actually enjoy being led around by the nose, told what to do, what to buy, what to think. I guess it is a very simple, easy way to live, precluding as it does any need to think or do for one’s self….

I suppose if that is what one wants out of life, then it is a form of justice that that is what they get… All I know is that I hate to be included in that segment of the population, and will fight to the end to keep from having to put up with that sort of control over my life…. even if they won’t respect me in the morning…..
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“The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn’t want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.), 55 BC

Once again, I will proceed to shout into the wind, knowing ahead of time that what I say here will cause no particularly large ripples of effect upon society’s pool of serene, calm water. But, it has to be said…. Mankind has to be considered to be a biological failure, by all the available evidence, such as the above statement. Though uttered about 2100 years ago, this might have been stated by Rush Limbaugh, quoting the Great Communicator (known in my world as the Great Fabricator….), and could be considered as the platform for the current Republican party, minus, of course, the little complaint about moderating and controlling authority.

2100 years, and we are still arguing over this sort of nonsense! Whether or not the stated ideas are necessary to the health of society is completely unimportant; the mere fact that we are dealing with the same class of concepts is what is disheartening. If we are to accept this, we must admit that we have made no progress whatsoever in dealing with human nature as it applies to society; we still find the same idiotic dances being danced, and the same idiotic processes keeping us from getting anywhere in a real sense.

Nor will we ever see any progress in this area, because this points out another fact that is not widely known or accepted, to wit: not only are we no smarter than we ever were, but we have actually lost ground over time, as the general intelligence of the average man continues to drop.

My cynicism is, unfortunately, justified, and I am not happy about it…. Ah well, at least it’s never a dull moment here in the real world; there is always something to keep us from getting bored…. too bad one has to wear a hazmat suit to watch TV these days….
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“Faith lives in the same apartment building as Doubt. When Faith was out of town visiting her uncle in the hospital, Doubt fed the cat and watered the asparagus fern. Faith is comfortable with Doubt because she grew up with him. Their mothers are cousins. Faith is not dogmatic about her beliefs like some of her relatives. Her friends fear that faith is a bit stupid. They whisper that she is naive and she depends on Doubt to protect her from the meanness of life. In fact, it is the other way around. It is Faith who protects Doubt from Cynicism.” — J. Ruth Gendler, The Book of Qualities

Awww…. isn’t this so cute? Isn’t it just the sweetest little thing you’ve ever read? And isn’t it just the biggest pack of BS you’ve ever seen? Yes, to all three…. This is a perfect example of how far someone whose faith-based beliefs will go to convince people of the value of their delusions. If one follows the logic that is apparently here, it all seems quite valid.

But a closer examination shows that there is NO logic here at all. It is all an emotionally based argument. “Their mothers are cousins.” What tripe! This is logic? I don’t think so…. What is worst here is that they make Cynicism sound like something to be avoided, rather than something anyone with a logical mind uses as a tool of great versatility….

But, it is quite attractive, don’t you think? It’s a very pleasant little trip into fantasy, and as such, lulls the reader into acquiescence with its precepts. It is a very dangerous form of lying, as it doesn’t claim to be truth. It even admits to a bit of Doubt (“They whisper she is naive…”), just so one will think it is even-handed, and respectful of truth.

But, in truth, it is a vicious lie, intended to trick the reader into believing what is obviously not so by appealing to the cuteness gene we all hide from each other until a picture of a puppy is produced, whereupon we all go, Awwww, and agree that there is nothing quite like a puppy picture.

Guess what? This isn’t a puppy picture…. it is a picture of a dead puppy, disguised as a cat and a fern….

“Someone’s got to raise some hell, it might as well be me.” — Jimmy Buffet
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God’s Problem Now: His wife’s graveside service was just barely finished, when there was a massive clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance. The little, old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, “Well, she’s there.”

Okay, okay, I know…. I’m not a Christian, and I’ve used it before, but it’s funny as hell, so it stays…. Besides, I’m done fighting with Smart Bee for the day…. I won’t go into it heavily, but I will say that finding pearls today was a real fight. I’m hoping to spend some time later today searching out new sources of pearls, so hopefully this won’t happen again…. In the meantime, it’s not a bad ending; gotta be worth a chuckle, at least…. 🙂
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What an ordeal! I must have rebooted Smart Bee 25 times, trying to find a different set of pearls to choose from, without any success to speak of at all. Either it needs updating, or I’ve run through all 111,111 quotes in there. Hard to believe, even as long as I’ve been using it. Ah well, I’ll just have to resort to Google tomorrow, and more often…. which is fine, just a bit more time consuming than depending on what I have on disk. So be it…

One of these days, well, it will be another of these days…. but we’ll deal with that bridge as we cross it. In the meantime, y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

Curiously lacking inflation collars….

Posted on May 7, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
As a general rule around here, titles and/or subject lines don’t have any connection to material. Today’s title came within a hair’s breadth of breaking that unwritten rule, until it morphed into final form, which was well out of the range of possible inclusion (I don’t keep any inflation collars on hand, so….). But, it didn’t look good there for a while, when I couldn’t seem to find the proper non sequitor phrase… A close call, but all is well now….

As well as is possible at this point, anyway…. What with the interruption of almost making sense, combined with a certain lack of spirited energy, this morning’s turn at the keyboard is turning into more of an effort than I had imagined. I already took an extra hour in bed, and it looks as if I won’t be making that up anytime soon, the way things are progressing. I think it would be best if I get started, before any further interruptions can occur…. let’s go Pearl, shall we?…..
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I don’t have an attitude problem–it’s supposed to be like this. — Smart Bee

I like this. It’s what I’ve said to any number of folks who have challenged me regarding my intransigence in the face of ignorant behavior. I am always tempted to add, “I am an American citizen, and it is not only my right, but my duty to challenge authority,” mainly because I believe it to be absolutely true, thought not an attitude currently favored by most of society, more’s the pity…. We’d be a lot better off if more folks took their duties as citizens more seriously….

“I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.” — Thomas Paine

All of our founding fathers were convinced that only an educated populace had a chance of maintaining the freedoms they secured for us. They knew firsthand how unscrupulous churches and governments, working hand in hand, had oppressed and subjugated the people for centuries, and they were determined that it should NOT happen here. So they engineered a system whereby each citizen has the opportunity, and the right, to a complete grounding in basic knowledge, in order that they could make informed decisions regarding the laws with which they would be living….

The Church hates a thinker like a criminal hates the police. — Smart Bee (So do politicians…)

For over 200 years now, the beloved ruling class and their hidden supporters, the prelates of the churches and synagogues, have been repeatedly and subtly attempting to undermine the purpose behind educating people, trying to limit the amount spent on education, or luring people into believing the nonsensical alternatives that religion offers in lieu of independence of thought, thus minimizing the effects of the education received outside their influence.

They (the politicians and priests/preachers….) continuously bombard the public with lie after lie, until the lies are accepted as truth, just because there is nothing else offered. They then use those lies to further confuse the public as to what is really happening, and go about their business of stealing and grabbing power wherever they find the opportunity….

“I’m completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.” — George Carlin

So, my attitude is not the problem…. the problem is that not enough of us have this attitude, and the PTB have virtually no competition in their fight for our attention; there is nobody allowed on the political stage who is singing a different song than the one approved for public consumption by those who control such matters…. Hell, we’ll know we’re making progress if even one such person ever gets the chance to even speak…. In the meantime, all we can do is for those of us who know our duty to keep plugging away, calling them out for their lies, and making as much noise as we can, to try to draw some attention to those places where it isn’t appreciated, but needs it the most…..

“Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror. But what shall we substitute in its place? you say. What? A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives. I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast and you ask me what you shall put in its place?” — Voltaire
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I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen,
Of Meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were,
With morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see,
For still there are so many things that I have never seen:
In every wood in every spring there is a different green.
I sit beside the fire and think of people long ago,
And people who will see a world that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think of times that were before,
I listen for returning feet and voices at the door.
— J.R.R. Tolkien

There was a lot of pretty good poetry in Tolkien’s work, a fact sometimes overlooked in critical essays. Some of it isn’t very good, of course, but many of the verses, such as this one, are very good efforts, and not only fill in the story background, enriching it, but would very easily stand alone, and still deserve reading out of context. I’m not going to say any more, as this one just makes me feel good….
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O Proserpina,
For the flowers now, that frighted thou let’st fall
From Dis’s waggon! daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty; violets dim,
But sweeter than the lids of Juno’s eyes
Or Cytherea’s breath; pale primroses,
That die unmarried, ere they can behold
Bright Phoebus in his strength,–a malady
Most incident to maids; bold oxlips and
The crown imperial; lilies of all kinds,
The flower-de-luce being one.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Winter’s Tale — Act iv, Sc. 4

Delivers in such apt and gracious words
That aged ears play truant at his tales,
And younger hearings are quite ravished;
So sweet and voluble is his discourse.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Love’s Labour ‘s Lost — Act ii, Sc. 1

Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness!
This is the state of man: to-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hopes; to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride
At length broke under me and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:
I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have:
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.
— William Shakespeare, King Henry VIII — Act iii, Sc. 2

Kirk: “Spock, comment.”
Spock: “Very bad poetry.”
— “Catspaw”, Stardate 3018.2.
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A young man came to Socrates, asking to be admitted to his school, that he might learn from the master himself. Socrates grabbed the young man, dragged him into a pool of water, and ducked him under until he was gasping and clawing for air. Finally he released the young man, and waded back to dry land. Then Socrates questioned the man. `What did you most want just now?’ The young man replied, `Air.’ `When you want knowledge as much as you just wanted air, you shall have it.’

When I was a mere lad, around 11 or 12, I first heard this story; when I heard the last line, I had an epiphany, and the search for truth became my primary goal in life from that point on, lasting to this very day. I had not seen this story in print for many years, so it was just like finding an old friend, and I am filled with good memories. I remember with fondness the breathless feeling I still get when I have learned something new, or seen a new poem, or witnessed a new sunset…. and how the process of learning has always been the same to me as breathing, an essential part of life, one that I will never forswear….
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“Anarchism is the only philosophy which brings to man the consciousness of himself; which maintains that God, the State, and society are non-existent, that their promises are null and void, since they can be fulfilled only through man’s subordination. Anarchism is therefore the teacher of the unity of life; not merely in nature, but in man.” — Emma Goldman “Anarchism: What It Really Stands For”

This probably looks a bit intimidating…. I know I was when I first looked at it. It is probably also much too deep a subject to take up as the last pearl of the day…. so I won’t.

I will go so far as to say that while I can agree with much of what Ms. Goldman says here, I cannot fully embrace Anarchy as a viable form of government for mankind. For such a system to work, every member of society MUST be educated and aware of their own place, and their own duty to BE their own government, their own moral guide.

Unfortunately, though I have to applaud the idea, it is far beyond what the average person is capable of either understanding, or of practicing. Hell, look at the world as it is… and then, when you stop laughing, you can just nod your head in agreement that humanity at large is not ready for Anarchy, as attractive as it may sound to those of us who might be willing to try….
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Whew! That was a struggle, to be sure…. I hope it turns out as well as it could be hoped; I’m not doing it over, so once again, it will have to fly on the wings it has…. It’s a big relief, though, just getting it done, so I’ll take that and run…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

For lovers of panache, a film noir…

Posted on May 6, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
As I walked to answer the knock at the door, I wondered who could be disturbing the usual quiet of my retreat; my granny unit house isn’t generally reachable from the street by the casual seeker. The door opened to reveal a suit, with some dorky looking white guy about 5’10” filling it up to the point of nearly-bursting buttons, standing, hip-cocked, and holding a clipboard (what else?….), sweating in the 85 degree afternoon sun.

He had a pleasant enough, if a bit vacant, expression, and immediately launched into his obviously memorized by rote routine, “Good afternoon, sir, I am a college student….” I interrupted him to demand, “Who let you in here? How did you find this house?” in my most intimidating voice. If this guy was really a college student selling magazines, he should be easily intimidated, and demanding they stop their spiel always disturbs their timing. Usually…..

This young man, however, had a different reaction…. he smiled, and started to reach into his jacket…. without thought or hesitation, the knife that I keep by the front door was in my hand and at his throat while he was still lifting the hand. I spun him around, knife still in place, and pulled him inside the door, kicking it shut with my foot. Reaching up, I grabbed his head and rapped it sharply, once, against the door (looks like nice wood, but it’s metal…), and my unwanted guest slipped silently to the floor, out like the proverbial light.

I started to gasp a bit, in reaction to the adrenaline now surging through my bloodstream, but keeping my wits, bent down to frisk my faux collegian. My instincts were rewarded as I pulled out a very lethal-looking Glock 9mm from a shoulder holster, a deadly stiletto from the lining of the coat, and a few other little surprises from his pockets, one of which was an ID card. This surprised me, and worried me as well…. if he is carrying ID, he’s probably from my own government, and I’m now guilty of assaulting an officer of the so-called Law…..

Alright, that’s enough of that…. You can see from the above just where my dreams have been going of late… One might get the impression from this that I don’t trust my government. You’d be right in that….. The only part of the above that isn’t true is the guy in the suit…. The rest of it is exactly how my place is arranged, and how I have it prepared for unwanted visitors…. Of course, it doesn’t mention the subtly placed web cameras watching the yard, or the little buttons here by my computer, that lead to the small, shaped charges in random spots around the grounds…. or any of the other little surprises that may be encountered if one is an uninvited guest…. I wouldn’t want to scare away any real visitors…. But then, of late, there aren’t any of those anyway, so it’s all moot….

Probably enough fooling around for one morning…. It’s time to get to the Pearl, so I’ll quit screwing about, & bragging about my setup… probably a good idea not to advertise it too widely anyway…. shall we dive for Pearls?….
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“Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of other persons.” — Mark Twain, “Notebooks”

Sounds as if Sam nailed me again…. Though I make no claims as to the first part of the above statement, I think I’m too-often guilty of the latter. I can’t help it; people just keep on doing really dumb stuff, right in front of me. Not just in front of me, in front of the whole world! Hell, let’s just take a moment, and go over to a news site, and pick out a random headline to demonstrate this point…. be right back….

“UC Berkeley adviser fired after affair” This is the headline of the first story under the three feature articles on SFGATE, so it is considered to be pretty hot news…. Apparently, a female at UCB doubled the salary of her paramour during their 15 month affair while she worked as an assistant vice chancellor. This is just one example of the chicanery that is typically part of what we see each day, as the human circus performs all around us in way more than just three measly rings. Finding this article took about 30 seconds, but choosing which of the many examples that presented themselves took about five times that long…. I opted to avoid any articles that entailed bloodshed, to respect pre-breakfast sensibilities…

I don’t think I’m especially good compared to most folks; I know exactly what goes on in my head. I know that most folks are just regular folks trying their best to get by without trouble, a commodity life presents all of us with without any help. But there seems to be a lot of folks out there in the world who just don’t have a clue as to what is right and what is wrong. Or, if they do, they don’t seem to care that they consistently choose the wrong, or even admit that they do so.

I don’t get it. It’s like head-banging is becoming a national sport; I wouldn’t be surprised to see a reality game-show where young idiots would sign up to run full tilt into a wall, head first, with no helmet. The winner would be the one who could do it twice…. and he would get $10,000 for his survivors, and free coma-care for what was left of his life…. Nope, wouldn’t be surprised at all, considering some of the game shows I’ve seen, such as the one where they do extremely dangerous stunts for cash prizes…. fucking crazy, is all I can say….
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“All men possess in their bodies a poison which acts upon serpents; and the human saliva, it is said, makes them take to flight, as though they had been touched with boiling water. The same substance, it is said, destroys them the moment it enters their throat.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book vii, Sect. 15

Interesting idea from Pliny…. Not having read the entire work listed, I can’t say whether he presents any evidence to support this assertion… I can only say from my own experience that though it may not be true, it is useful as an operating principle, at least in one respect. Though not poisonous to them, I am sure that our odor, and especially that of our saliva, is somewhat repugnant to snakes, if only because it indicates our presence, which is not usually very healthful for them when it occurs; they tend to get bashed with the nearest big stick or rock if they don’t hasten elsewhere….. a fact of life that I am sure gets widely distributed among the snake population….

Thus, even if one is confronted with a large, even poisonous snake, spitting at them first can be an effective defensive maneuver, at least initially, and may surprise the snake as much as he/she surprised you…. It is also good to remember that, as a human, you are not completely without defenses against a snake (such as the aforementioned rock/stick combination), and need not freeze in fear. In truth, with focus and concentration, that movie trick you see where the martial artist hero snatches the snake out of the air, mid-strike, by hand is not all that far-fetched. The human hand is MUCH faster than a snake, even in full strike, when not restricted in its speed by fear.

Mongooses use this kind of speed when they fight snakes (not just cobras, they hate them all….). They are amazing to watch, allowing the snake to strike at them, fading back just a half-inch from the snake’s snout to the end of its length, then smoothly and wickedly fast, swerving around to bite them just behind the head, killing them instantly. In tests, the human hand has been clocked at a speed 6 times faster than that of a snake in full strike…. more than fast enough to catch them, if one can move past the fear…. Pliny may not have been completely correct in his assumptions, but he at least approached the subject objectively, and didn’t let fear affect that study….
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“All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.” — Leonardo da Vinci

Even when invasive events smash this concept upside their heads, there are people who do not understand this principle of reality. In truth, I would say that very few people at all even think about such concepts as the subtle difference between perception and knowledge, much less use it as a coping tool in their lives. I’m not certain why, though my cynicism could certainly supply some reasonable theories, since, unlike those folks, for me it has long been an obvious signpost that shows the path to successful living. Knowing the difference can make all the difference, you see….

Knowledge originates in perception, but does not end there, and that is what many do not see. The mere act of perception is only the beginning of what is needed to make right actions arise from right thinking. What we have perceived must be evaluated, for truth, for accuracy, for intent, for its relative importance in many different lights, all before it can be effectively used to create action. Acting only on the perceptions, without evaluation, can be more than just erroneous; it can be deadly.

With this last piece of understanding, it becomes more clear just how the beloved ruling class uses this misunderstanding of perception and knowledge to their advantage… for it is said that, “True power is control of the routes of perception…” (gigoid, 1974) That same ruling class is in full control of the media, and assiduously applies its influence to reduce and/or control the amount and quality of the information available for the general public to perceive.

We only hear what they want us to hear on TV and the radio…. only in the last few years, since the advent of the internet, has their control of this source of data been challenged. Even here, on the information highway, the Powers That Be continue to try to pass laws that will allow them to control what is put out there for publication, because they know they are doomed if they cannot achieve the control over information that they have thus far enjoyed. Only an ignorant public is easily manipulable…. Ffolkes need to remember that all one sees and hears is NOT all there is to see and hear, and to remember to always check out any perceptions you may take in for their relevance and truth…. it is for your own good, believe me….

“It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive.” — C. W. Leadbeater

“Take away the right to say ‘fuck’ and you take away the right to say ‘fuck the government.'” — Lenny Bruce
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“Ah, you know the type. They like to blame it all on the Jews or the Blacks, ’cause if they couldn’t, they’d have to wake up to the fact that life’s one big, scary, glorious, complex and ultimately unfathomable crap shoot — and the only reason THEY can’t seem to keep up is they’re a bunch of misfits and losers.” — A analysis of Neo-Nazis, from “The Badger” comic

I’m using this as a form of a cheat-sheet…. I could rant for days, and not come up with a better way to describe the motivation that drives our beloved ruling class (those lovely political thieves…), the 1%, the clergy and the churches, the bankers and megacorp CEO’s, and all those who choose deliberate ignorance over the pain of original or independent thought. Not only does this save me a rant, it saves you the time and energy to read through it… I should get a medal or something….

But, being the modest, unassuming sort of fellow that I am, I’m just going to leave it at that…. You may consider yourself ranted upon, minus the spew…. 🙂

According to Descartes, Rush Limbaugh doesn’t exist. — Smart Bee
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…The Universe is thronged with fire and light,
And we but smaller suns, which, skinned, trapped and kept
Enshrined in blood and precious bones, hold back the night.
— Ray Bradbury

Ah, serendipity! I was lamenting the lack of poetry that so far had passed before me this morning in my search for pearls, when this perfect gem from Mr. B popped up, and ended the search. The poem itself is such that my comments won’t add to its beauty, so I shan’t make any other than to say that this is a very nice way to look at our place in the universe, nice being, of course, totally inadequate to express its power… but, nice it is, nonetheless… Enjoy!
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Another day, another Pearl… it works for me. This has taken an inordinately long time this morning…. good thing it’s Sunday, and there’s nothing much of importance going on, so all is good….

Oh, and for those bloggers I follow…. I have had some problems accessing sites, not just here on WP, due, I think, to a browser update from Mozilla that isn’t quite up to snuff… beta versions can be that way sometimes… So, please don’t think I haven’t tried to get by to read anyone’s work… I’ve been limited to a few sites that don’t seem to have the difficulty, but I’ll keep trying, and will catch up eventually…. thanks for your patience….

Enough dithering…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

Kowabunga!

Alone with brazen pastries….

Posted on May 5, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
I started to write about retirement this morning, and how the system screws with us over our own money, but it turned into a bitch-fest, and I really don’t feel like going there, so I deleted those two paragraphs, and am starting over….. much better….

I’m barely awake yet, and I was already getting all worked up over the fat cats in Congress and the government organizations that eat all our money for their perks (such as subsidized healthcare and retirement, at our expense….). It is getting all-too-easy to rant on the subject, I’m afraid…. all I have to do is think about it, and my fists clench up, along with my jaw, and I start looking for something at which to spew….

Such instant angst is counter-productive, when it arises so quickly; it tends to cause spew before thought, which may be satisfying from a cathartic viewpoint, but seldom lends itself to good writing. I’ll often find myself three paragraphs deep in a rant, with no place to take it to finish it off; if one wishes to reach a destination, one must plan a route there first….. The first and only thing on one’s mind at those moments is to shoot, shoot, and shoot again, not particularly caring how many times one hits the target, as long as we can get it to duck, or produce some reaction.

Ah me, t’is all moot, anyway, as I’m not going there just now. It would be too easy, and at the same time, too depressing to think about stuff like that so early in the day…. Instead, we’ll just dive into the WWW for a few pearls, and see if we can’t find something a bit more productive to talk over….. sound good? Okay, then, let’s be off to Pearl…..
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“In boxing they have the “undisputed heavyweight champion.” Well, if it’s undisputed what’s all the fighting about? Undisputed means everybody agrees. Some guys are getting beat up pretty badly over something apparently we all agree on.” — George Carlin

SIGH…. I miss George. Don’t you miss George? I do, a lot. Nobody could impale the dignity of the government like he could, effortlessly. With either a dead-pan face, or a sly, knowing grin, he could pull anyone along with him into his world, where wickedly accurate social commentary was commonplace, generally skewering the reputation of some public figure or institution that definitely deserved it.

There are truly only a few human souls that could approach the stature that his genius grew into; his body of work will someday be the subject of complete college courses on social history, I am certain. I’m also certain that we will never see his like again, more’s the pity….

“It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 3/14/08
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“One of the inadequate preparations being young allows is that you are not prepared for the time when you will be old.” — Smart Bee

In this case, who cares? My only thought was to wonder just exactly was going through both of their minds just then…. though knowing that couldn’t make it any less funny or cute…. found on Facebook….
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Tho’ lost to sight, to mem’ry dear        / Thou ever wilt remain;
One only hope my heart can cheer,–       / The hope to meet again.
Oh fondly on the past I dwell,            / And oft recall those hours
When, wand’ring down the shady dell,      / We gathered the wild-flowers.
Yes, life then seem’d one pure delight,   / Tho’ now each spot looks drear;
Yet tho’ thy smile be lost to sight,      / To mem’ry thou art dear.
Oft in the tranquil hour of night,        / When stars illume the sky,
I gaze upon each orb of light,            / And wish that thou wert by.
I think upon that happy time,             / That time so fondly lov’d,
When last we heard the sweet bells chime, / As thro’ the fields we rov’d.
Yes, life then seem’d one pure delight,   / Tho’ now each spot looks drear;
Yet tho’ thy smile be lost to sight,      / To mem’ry thou art dear.
— George Linley (1798-1865) — Song

I’m pretty sure I’ve included this triple verse poem before, but I can’t help it; I love these! So, just enjoy it for it’s creativity and competence, and we’ll move on….
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“In search of cognitive dissonance…” — Smart Bee

Perfect! I’ve been searching for just this concept, oddly enough. It is the perfect accompanying phrase to go along with “Exploring Consensual Reality” I believe… let’s try it out….

“Exploring consensual reality, in search of cognitive dissonance….” Yep, it works just fine… and I think it will be a clearer indication of what I try to accomplish here every day than just the initial part. I do explore reality as I see it, but much of what I end up examining can be put in the realm of dissonance more easily than it can in any other category.

Of course, that may merely be an effect of the observation process; there is certainly more dissonance than harmony out there to be observed in society. Perhaps it will help me to look more closely at events, to seek out the harmony that I know must be hidden somewhere…. perhaps not.

On second reflection, however, I don’t believe I’ll make the change to the title of this blog, at least not now…. For one thing, I’m not sure I want to go in to that part of the Dashboard today, to try to figure out how to make the change in the Appearance tab. And for another, perhaps it is concentrating too hard on just one side of the coin. I already tend to look at things with a cynical eye, and searching directly for dissonance could conceivably become habitual.

There…. not bad, eh? Four paragraphs of waffling, all over a non-event prompted by someone’s randomly sardonic wit. Does this mean I’m a writer? Or does it mean I should go back to bed? Tough questions…. neither of which is particularly crucial to the day. I suppose I should just let this die a natural death, and get on with the remaining bits of drivel….
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Okay…. I’m going to be a bit narcissistic here… Below is my philosophy… I mention it occasionally, but have not posted it here since last year (I think)…. any who, this is what I developed about 25 years ago, when I thought to myself, “Hey, if Plato, Sartre, and Descartes can have one, why not me?” So, here is my take on Life and All That Stuff….

Peruaosophy
Or
The wisdom of pearls…
(The world is my oyster; which way to the pearls?)

Axioms

1) I think I am; that’s close enough.

2) The nature of the Universe is Change.
Unpredictable, innovative transformation of Reality is the Norm.
If you have a problem with this, you’re in for a rough ride in Life.

3) Thou art God, you know. Let’s do lunch.

4) Excellence is its’ own reward.

5) Girls think differently. So do boys. Don’t fight it.

6) Axiom #2 X axiom #5 = And God so loved the world, He said, “Quit whining!”

7) Do your Duty. Respect Life. Honor the Truth. Share your Love.

8) Go back. Everything you need to know is in the first seven axioms.

gigoid

“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.” — Albert Einstein
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After some serious threats of falling into complete disarray, today’s effort has come to a satisfactory state, and may even fly; it’s a bit ungainly, but so is a bumblebee, and they do fine…. It doesn’t matter now, anyway, as it is done, and I’m not going to do it over after so much blood, sweat, and coffee…. I did manage to avoid subjects that might make me cry today, easy as that is these days of active PTSD…. ah well, t’is done, and all will be well in the end, it is said… Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Kowabunga!

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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