Smatterings of apologetic sincerity….

Posted on September 30, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
I know that I am falling behind on comments; I knew it would happen, as I don’t have the time online to get to most of them. Lately, it has been all I could do to get posted, and check email, so for those who have commented on any of my posts, please be patient. I’ll get to them ASAP…… If it helps, you all have my abject apologies….

Tomorrow, I’ll be filing my SS forms with the lawyer, and they should be off to the bureau itself by Tuesday…. then I can once again enter the Twilight Zone of waiting for a federal response. Theoretically, it should take less than 90 days for a decision, so I am hopeful of hearing before Christmas…. and if the decision is as it should be, positive, then I may actually get to have Christmas this year, something I’ve had to skip for the last three or four years, since food was more important than gifts….. it is a heartening thought.

Even though I haven’t been Christian for a long time, I enjoy that time of year, because of the temporary state of human society, which manages to put aside much of the normal degree of corruption and slavishness to show some compassion and fellow-feeling. I hate the commercialism of it, but even the corporate excesses that are encouraged every time one turns around by another ad to buy, buy, buy, aren’t enough to dim my pleasure (though the one where the yuppie mom is getting the Mercedes SUV with a bow in the driveway does tend to make me grind my teeth at the sheer elitism…..) For a couple of weeks, the people of the world are almost tolerable, to each other, and to me…..

And, if all goes according to plan, should my SS be awarded before Christmas, then come January, I’ll be off to at least one part of the world where I’ve never been before, at least for a time, even Ireland in the winter, if necessary….. I’m not afraid of rain….. and it will just make the pubs seem all that more cozy….

It’s nice, isn’t it, to be able to think some positive thoughts, and encourage some dreaming. So much better than the dragging depression I’ve been going through lately, I must say….. As a matter of fact, I’m going to take my positive attitude, and put it to work finding pearls. Seems like I might even come up with something positive to write about….. one can never tell…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“Probability factor of one to one… we have normality, I repeat we have normality. Anything you still can’t cope with is therefore your own problem.” — The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
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Here are some true pearls of virtual wisdom from the acknowledged Grand Master of Science Fiction…… arrogantly solipsistic, delightfully honest, absolutely moral according to whim, and eminently useful in pursuing a full life of honor and joy…..

“The only real sin is hurting others unnecessarily. All other sins are made up nonsense…. (Hurting yourself is not sinful, just stupid.)” — Robert Heinlein

“A desire not to butt into other people’s business is at least eighty percent of all human wisdom… and the other twenty percent isn’t very important.”
“You butt into other people’s business. All the time.”
“Who said I was wise? I’m a professional bad example. You can learn a lot by watching me.” –Dr. Jubal Harshaw — Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein

“Don’t store garlic near other victuals.” — from The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“The two highest achievements of the human mind are the twin concepts of “loyalty” and “duty.” Whenever these twin concepts fall into disrepute — get out of there fast! You may possibly save yourself, but it is too late to save that society. It is doomed.” — from The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“There is no conclusive evidence of life after death. But there is no evidence of any sort against it. Soon enough you will know. So why fret about it?” — Robert Heinlein

“The more you love, the more you can love — and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just.” — Robert Heinlein

and lastly….. a statement that serves as an adjunct to Peruaosophy, and indeed, as part of the basis by which that philosophy was created…..

“Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please — this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No – and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don’t do it because it is “expected” of you.) ” — Robert Heinlein
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For The Blind Poet, Embraced

I sit to open a vein, exposed in public places,
happy to be written, judging by the faces.

None can see the price so willingly paid,
at the feet of imagination is that cost weighed.

Still shadows of reality shine quite as well
to hide all the bleeding as if under a spell;

While visions and fantasies vie for attention,
hoping to win a once-hoped-for final mention.

Technology may or may not rue its day
never knowing or caring its part to play.

All the precious moments of inspiration
Fall ever short of our own imagination.

~~ gigoid
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“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.” — Alexander Frazer Tyler (1748-1813), — The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic

It seems to me that we, here in America in the early 21st century, are just about at the selfishness phase(s). We’ve been using and squandering a large portion of the available resources of the planet now for quite a while, and apparently haven’t learned to play well with others yet, as a culture. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that we have entered the complacency stage, as we seem also to feel entitled to have so much, and share so little with the rest of the planet, which is a complacent sort of arrogance. Elitist, to be sure.

And in the election coming up in November, we have, as one of the choices, possibly the most elitist candidate ever to run for the highest office (though Reagan was no slouch at that….) (come to think of it, neither was Franklin Roosevelt, but he seemed to be able to put it aside, for the most part…. He wasn’t nouveau riche, you see…. he still had some degree of noblesse oblige left in him….) Mitt the Twitt Romney is unapologetically elitist, and doesn’t seem to care who knows it, even the voters…..

“Whereas it has been known and declared that the poor have no right to the property of the rich, I wish it also to be known and declared that the rich have no right to the property of the poor.” — Smart Bee

Even if we leave aside all the myriad of reasons that Mitt is unqualified for the position of POTUS, and my use of the word myriad is both intentional and accurate, his sheer arrogance and lack of sincerity should be enough to convince people of his unsuitability for the office. There are literally thousands of reasons not to give this egregious fool such great power, all of which indicate he would abuse that power from day one. But none of those reasons even matter…. to me, his greatest point of detraction is that he is, plain and simple, an asshole, or, as is sometimes used in lieu of that word, a dick….

Actually he is both an asshole and a dick, as those words are commonly defined. The running mate he chose is a perfect indicator of how little he cares about the voters, other than what they can do for him, not the other way around. Pauly, Lyin’ Ryan is, if anything, a bigger asshole than Romney, though he might not be as big a dick, and is no more ashamed of it than his ostensible boss. Each of them is a bare-faced liar. Each of them displays the compassion and sincerity of a Tasmanian devil, on a good day. Each of them is motivated by simple greed, and the desire for power, and, of course, the wish to be handed the keys to the national treasury.

Both have been manipulating the system since their well-funded time in college; neither has ever even held a job that could be considered an actual job; they’ve been sucking at the public teat for their entire adult lives. Now, they are making their grab for the ultimate prize for a thief…. the keys to the national treasury, handed over by ignorant voters who buy into their lies, because they think that these two pieces of white bread will save them from the scary black man as President…. They are counting very heavily on the fear of part of the population to carry the tide of victory in their direction, and are feeding that fear as much as they can, with constant lies and misrepresentations, and without even the benefit of sincerity….

As we all know, I could rant about these two all morning, but there are things I need to do today, even though it is Sunday, and I don’t want to spend any more time stirring up shit, even though the shit is only what clings to the Republican ticket every time one of them opens their mouths to spit out another lie….. But, we’ll get on with the day, and try to find something more positive to do…. Just make sure y’all get out there and vote on November 6th, ffolkes, we need to show these assholes that there are more of us than there are of them, and we still have the vote on our side…..

“If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and measures you want to vote for… But there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong.” — Lazarus Long
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So be it…. this Pearl is a bit choppy, by my estimation, but it will have to serve, as I don’t have the energy today to go back & start over….. as if I ever do…. But, it is what it is, and it can’t be anything else, so Popeye wins again…. whatever that means….. 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!

Only in feverish dreams do we dance….

Posted on September 29, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
With all due apologies to the fish sauce, another morning dawns…. As is often the case, my head is a bit befuddled so soon after arising, yet, here I am, typing away as if I knew just what to say. Which, of course, I do and I don’t, being a child of the 60’s. Very convenient, that….. I just have to mention it once, and all kinds of sympathetic concern is generated…. Shoot, if I tell folks I was actually AT People’s Park in Berkeley in 1969, why, nobody ever expects anything normal from me, especially written; they all KNOW my brain was fried back then…..

That’s my secret, you see…. I actually was there, but I survived with mind and memory intact, and no lingering states of confusion due to drugs….. Oh, I won’t bother to tell you I didn’t use them, but I never got so far into it that it became an issue with daily living or cognitive deficits…. So far, as all the evidence clearly indicates, my cognitive powers are completely intact…. They may be ALL I have intact, for that matter, as my body continues to give out at an alarming rate, which has more to do with being too athletic than with overdoing recreational drugs. My doctor tells me NOW that if I’d been less active when younger, I wouldn’t be paying the price I am now….. NOW they tell me…..

C’est la vie, I suppose…. There isn’t a lot I can do about it now, in any case, so I just live with the pain, and try to get on…. and in that spirit, I think we should get on with today’s Pearl…. after this bit of housekeeping…..

Correction, maybe…. Yesterday, I attributed a piece of poetry to Thomas Cowper… I am currently unsure, but that may have been in error. I have evidence that suggests it may have been William Cowper. I will research, and let y’all know…. Silly Smart Bee listed it merely as Cowper, and I filled in the Thomas out of memory…. which I now find may have been wrong…. alas, I am human, damn it!…

“That was Zen, this is Tao.” — Peter da Silva, April 24, 1993

Shall we Pearl?…..
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I’ve been very lucky with my latest incarnation of Smart Bee…. it seems to be giving me a higher percentage of usable quotes than it did before I had trouble with it. In fact, so many quotes are worth saving that I’m starting to group them into subject lots…. Here are a significant number of intriguing and/or interestingly accurate observations on modern life in America, land of the marginally civilized….

Homosexuality is *not* a sickness. Bigotry is. — Smart Bee

“Whether you have an abortion, what you put in your own body, with whom you have sex – these are not the affairs of the state. A government does not exist to control the citizens. When it does, it is a tyranny, and must be fought. The tree of liberty, Jefferson warned us, must be refreshed with the blood of tyrants and patriots.” — Gore Vidal

I swear to the Lord
I still can’t see
Why Democracy means
Everybody but me.

— (Langston Hughes) The Black Man Speaks

“Government is about coercion. Limiting government is the single most important instrument for guaranteeing liberty. We’re working on a third generation which has little in the way of education about what our Constitution means and why it was written. Thus, we’ve fallen easy prey to charlatans, quacks, and hustlers.” — Dr. Walter Williams

“The discovery of America was the occasion of the greatest outburst of cruelty and reckless greed known in history.” — Joseph Conrad

“Democracy is government by the people with open discussion and free speech. This allows those with no ideas to unload their thinking in the most tedious and lengthy manner. After this, a vote is taken, and the least informed will oppose the most confused. The result, inevitably, will be known as model legislation. In time, it will proliferate, and eventually a commission will be formed to review what has been done and why it isn’t working and it will recommend reforms of the previous efforts. All of this will be published in various government journals and cause great debate. There will be a veritable waterfall of newspaper editorials and Johnny Carson will use the whole thing as a part of his monologue. In the end, the reforms will be defeated. –Smart Bee

“Christianity: Please help find the cure.” — Smart Bee

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist…. A few days ago, as I sat in a shady spot outside on a beautiful California day, I began to think, for some misbegotten reason, about Christianity in this country, and I wondered about exactly how many different definitions of the word “Christian” there would be. There are so many different interpretations of the Bible, and so many different definitions of what is “Christ-like”, that I can see no hope of any consensus answer to this question. A conservative guess would be about 5,000 different churches, and varying interpretations of scripture; it’s more likely that Los Angeles and New York City alone contain that many, and the number nation-wide is probably closer to a hundred thousand….. None, I repeat, NONE, of the people who embrace the dogma associated with each of these various cults {yes, cults, by definition…look it up….} are at all willing to even consider any truth in any of the others, and they ostensibly are all worshiping the same dude…. It’s a bit pathetic, when one stops to look at the broader picture…. SIGH… ah well, back to general culture, and the caricaturization thereof…..)

— You may be redneck… if you refer to Mason jars as “the good glasses.” — Smart Bee

“Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

On that note, we will go ever onward, seeking approbation, or at least hoping for poor aim….
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First I thought, “Keats, or Yeats, or Pope” for this morning, as I don’t have a poem ready for bleeding…. Then I had the irreverent but accurate thought, “Long time no Pope….”, so, here is a selection from one of my favorite poets, whom I also consider to be possibly the best ever, from a technical and creative standpoint…. He wrote A LOT, and almost all of it is wonderful…. He definitely makes the star of humanity shine brighter in the heavens….. enjoy!

Chorus of Youths and Virgins

Semichorus.
Oh Tyrant Love! hast thou possest
The prudent, learn’d, and virtuous breast?
Wisdom and wit in vain reclaim,
And Arts but soften us to feel thy flame.
Love, soft intruder, enters here,
But ent’ring learns to be sincere.
Marcus with blushes owns he loves,
And Brutus tenderly reproves.
Why, Virtue, dost thou blame desire,
Which Nature has imprest?
Why, Nature, dost thou soonest fire
The mild and gen’rous breast?

Chorus.
Love’s purer flames the Gods approve;
The Gods and Brutus bent to love:
Brutus for absent Portia sighs,
And sterner Cassius melts at Junia’s eyes.
What is loose love? a transient gust,
Spent in a sudden storm of lust,
A vapour fed from wild desire,
A wand’ring, self-consuming fire,
But Hymen’s kinder flames unite;
And burn for ever one;
Chaste as cold Cynthia’s virgin light,
Productive as the Sun.

Semichorus.
Oh source of ev’ry social tie,
United wish, and mutual joy!
What various joys on one attend,
As son, as father, brother husband, friend?
Whether his hoary sire he spies,
While thousand grateful thoughts arise;
Or meets his spouse’s fonder eye;
Or views his smiling progeny;
What tender passions take their turns,
What home-felt raptures move?
His heart now melts, now leaps, now burns,
With rev’rence, hope, and love.

Chorus.
Hence guilty joys, distastes, surmises,
Hence false tears, deceits, disguises,
Dangers, doubts, delays, surprises;
Fires that scorch, yet dare not shine
Purest love’s unwasting treasure,
Constant faith, fair hope, long leisure,
Days of ease, and nights of pleasure;
Sacred Hymen! these are thine.

Alexander Pope
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“Purity engenders Wisdom, Passion avarice, and Ignorance folly, infatuation and darkness.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

I first read the Bhagavad Gita sometime in my twenties, or possibly just before, while studying at UC Berkeley. I remember my sense of wonder at the depth of the insight into human nature, and my feeling of awe that the words I was reading were written well over two thousand years ago. Here was knowledge that, if commonly understood, could change the very face of human civilization. In my naivete, I couldn’t believe that this wasn’t the basis for everything that society believed, or that any of what I had read was not commonly held by everyone who ever went to school, or had read or heard the words spoken by Krishna to Arjuna……

The words in this little treasure-trove of wisdom had changed the world, when first written, I’m sure, with lasting effects on the culture of India at the time, effects that have carried over into modern times. Unfortunately, these effects have survived in altered state, changed to suit the priests and preachers with the same kinds of twists and perversions as happened to the teachings of a later sage, Jesus of Nazareth. The insight contained in the lessons of both Krishna and Jesus were used to benefit the only the institutions created by the icons, instead of being used to benefit all of mankind, as they were intended…..

The statement quoted above out of the ancient text, regardless of the degradations enabled by the avaricious, remains as true today as when first written. And, as proof of these assertions, I offer the following piece of BRILLIANCE….. pay close attention, it’s subtle….

I took Brad Templeton out to lunch one day, and afterwards, we stopped by a bakery to bring eleven doughnuts back to the office. The baker offered a free sticky bun to pad our order to an even dozen, and Brad refused the bun. After we left, I asked why. He said that he never selects buns, especially pad buns. — Smart Bee

Sorry, I’m incorrigible. Don’t incorrige me….. 🙂 Just a little fun…. any who, if one looks closely enough, the truth is hidden in what has been said here…. hidden right in plain sight, in fact…. Like any such magical gem, it is visible to those who can see…..
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Not bad for a Pearl with no rant…. Mitt the Twitt, and Mr. Lyin’ Ryan have obviously been told to shut the f__k up until after the debates, because they’ve been missing from the front pages in the last few days…. too many days in a row where they were pissing in their own corner, I guess, and their handlers got tired of the clean-up. It’s a nice break for my ears and my sense of outrage, but it’s probably hard on the writers who depend on politics for all their material…. Ah well, the election is almost here, and then Scary Black President can get back to frightening the poor Republicans….. stay alert, ffolkes, and make sure you know where your polling place is….. 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!

Trafficking and Me

Posted on September 28, 2012 by gigoid

Everything this woman writes is spot on the mark, and she speaks from experience…. a message that should never be ignored, but all-too-often is….Please read and share….

Rebecca Mott

I have thrown backward by the ignorance about internal trafficking, and in this post I thought I would my personal views and experiences, and hope that they connect with the general realities of internal trafficking.

It must be known that internal trafficking is one of the common method to get women and girls trapped in all aspects of the sex trade.

It be known the main focus of those who profit from internal trafficking is trapped young teenage girls or too often pre-teens girls.

It must be known that there is a vast market for young girls in all aspects of the sex trade.

It must be known that there many myths that a prostitution whatever her age has chosen her lifestyle and therefore she can never ever be abused, let alone raped, tortured and mentally abuse.

It is in that context that I write of my personal experiences of…

View original post 582 more words

Mordred’s dream of chaos draws nigh…..

Posted on September 28, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Yow…. Coffee without cream is enough to make one cranky. It is marginally better than no coffee at all, though, so folks will have to take their chances with me until I can get some half & half. The odds of getting bitten for speaking to me too early rise dramatically when the consumption of my morning coffee is disturbed in just about any fashion, and not having an ingredient is a sure ticket to the cranky express for me. Makes it difficult, as I need to speak to people this morning at some point, and don’t want to scare anyone….. or, at least, not deliberately.

Today’s Pearl was mostly composed yesterday, as I need to take much of today to get the form done for Social Security; it’s not difficult, or even particularly complicated, but needs to be detailed. Then, when done, I need to scan it and send it to my lawyer so they can get it right in to SS, well before the ridiculous deadline they gave me. When the process is complete, and I’ve secured my SS benefits, I can definitely feel an exposé on SS percolating in the back of my mind.

From all I can ascertain, the myrmidons over at SS think that it is perfectly okay to throw up every obstacle they can in front of the people applying for their own benefits, and make it as hard as they possibly can for anyone to obtain the very things they have paid for throughout the years. In the process of making it so hard, they are adding to the difficulties of people who do NOT need the aggravation…… So, I’ll be writing a bit of stuff, later, after I’ve secured my own benefits, and cannot be punished for what I write, by their attempting to make it even harder for me to get them…..

Any who, I came across the following again yesterday; it is an old DOS file command line, and is the secret wish of all geeks that it would actually work in reality…. if you know what it means, you’ll know what I mean…. if not, well, it would take two or three pages to explain well enough to be accurate and worth the effort, so you’ll just have to ask a geek to explain it to you…. Any nerdy type who likes to read Science Fiction, and knows what a command line in DOS is, will be able to fill you in….. meantime, Shall we Pearl?….

C:\> erase c:\reality.sys; copy a:\pern\*.* c:
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This is a somewhat old-school pearl, but with a slight difference…. normally (well, you know what I mean…) I would list several quotes, all of which led one’s thoughts in a specific direction, to a foregone conclusion, or at least a conclusion, of sorts….. This pearl however, is simply a grouping of ideas that I thought went together, as sort of a tribute to the relevance of illogic at certain times, and how liberating it is to think not only outside the box, but to kick the box into a shapeless lump of cardboard….. enjoy! BTW, these are all related in one respect, which I’m not going to mention, as it is totally irrelevant…. at least, to the lack of purpose herein implied…..

“The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower. To think otherwise is to demean the Buddha — which is to demean oneself.” — Robert Pirsig, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”

“Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.” — Confucius — Analects, XV.24

“When the music business changed so drastically in the late sixties and rock began happening in such a big way, I went to Count Basie and said, “It’s a complete takeover. What should I do?” Basie waited a beat, looked up at me with those big eyes of his, and said, “Why change an apple?” — Tony Bennett

“I am your density.” — George McFly, in Back to the Future

Tsze-kung asked, saying, “Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life?” The Master said, “Is not Reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” — Confucius (551-479 B.C.)

“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.” — Alan Watts

“As God is my witness – I am that fool!” — Gomez Addams

Okay, so I’m not sure where it came from, or why the last one showed up when it did…. but, it’s a perfect ending, for it fits in with my own self-image this morning….. Onward, into the fray…..
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Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiff, elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid

The following just seemed like an appropriate addition to this section…..

Fate steals along with silent tread,
Found oftenest in what least we dread;
Frowns in the storm with angry brow,
But in the sunshine strikes the blow.

~~ Thomas Cowper
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“About the use of language: it is impossible to sharpen a pencil with a blunt ax. It is equally vain to try to do it with ten blunt axes instead.” — Edsger W. Dijkstra

I do try…. I try really hard to write well. All of my effort in the last year plus that I’ve been writing so much has been with the intent of improving what I do write, and I can see a certain degree of that (improvement….). It isn’t enough, to my mind, and hopefully, never will be enough. Only by making the effort will what we do ever change, and writing well is a skill that requires constant honing, and constant endeavor.

The following paragraph is an example of the kind of impact that a well-written piece should have on the reader…. it’s a beautiful little piece, and even though you could remove the word “God’s” from it, and it would suffer not at all, I left it in, since I didn’t write it…. I only wish I had…..

“As a little silvery circular ripple, set in motion by the falling pebble, expands from its inch of radius to the whole compass of a pool, so there is not a child–not an infant Moses–placed, however softly, in his bulrush ark upon the sea of time, whose existence does not stir a ripple, gyrating outward and on, until it shall have moved across and spanned the whole ocean of God’s eternity, stirring even the river of life, and the fountains at which the angels drink.” — Elihu Burritt

See? A truly lovely thought, and written in a way that it touches a chord of response within the mind and heart of whomever reads it. This is the kind of thing that I am shooting for when I write…. I hit close now and then, but, not often enough to suit me, so I’m going to keep trying until I can write at this level whenever I should so choose…. and if, along the way, someone wishes to pay me for what I write, well, I’m not going to complain…..

Of course, my usual choice of subject matter may have a lot to do with the absent beauty of my writing; it’s a bit of a trick to turn a political or religious rant into a thing of beauty, other than from a logical or tactical standpoint. There can be, of course, well-done passages, even powerfully passionate parts that can inspire, or anger, or merely amuse. But one is not going to impress anyone with the sheer beauty of a treatise wherein one has to discuss the latest lies and deliberate misrepresentations as spouted by political pundits, of any party. Not without a lot more skill than I have, or anyone else I’ve read over time. It’s just not a subject that lends itself to pretty pictures in words….. In addition, one must always remember to actually use one’s mind in a constructive manner when writing about politics or religion, because anyone who actually engages in either one is not going to do so……

One also must remember to always keep the following principle in mind, for anything written, about either politics or religion, must be governed by this thought, or what is produced will not stand up to the test of logic or time….. so stay alert, ffolkes, and use the mind you have for something other than sitting on……

“Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt.” — Bergen Evans, The Natural History of Nonsense (1946)
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All in all, not a bad Pearl, I’d say. And, if there is an expert on Pearls, that would be me….. or, at least, of literary Pearls…. and I am certainly the world’s ONLY expert on Pearls of Virtual Wisdom…..To be honest, I never thought the gems themselves were all that compelling…. they look nice, but don’t seem to me to be as big a deal as everyone makes of them…. Ah well, I’m just a country boy at heart, and good honest sweat is my favorite perfume, so I guess I’m not the best judge of such delicate matters, eh?…… 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!

In a clearing, like a box….

Posted on September 27, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
The human mind is a flexible thing….. mine has been hovering around the edge of depression for days now, and nothing that reality provided for consumption had the proper impact to cause it to want to change. Then the mail came yesterday….. Social Security has decided, for some unknown reason, to get at least part way off its duff, and get a move on… I received the package from them that I’ve been awaiting since May 11 of this year, when my lawyer filed the appeal of their initial negative decision.

What I received is, of course, another demand for information, to be coughed up by me in the shortest amount of time they can give…. get this….. after delaying the assignment of my case to an analyst for close to five months (!!!) they now demand I supply them with three complicated forms full of information on my condition, (from myself and up to three other people….) in ten days! Actually, only seven days are given, because the letter was dated three days before I got it….. typical federal bureaucratic behavior…..

But, it’s here! This means that one period of waiting is done, and once these forms are submitted, I’m into the (hopefully) last period, up to three months, of waiting for a decision…. If it’s negative, well, off to court…. but, if positive, then I’ll be all fixed by Christmas, or New Year’s at the latest….. so I’m trying to control myself from dancing a jig, and shouting off the roof tops, as one might imagine…. Don’t want to get my hopes up too far…. it can be long fall if Murphy takes a hand, and he’s well-known around these parts. Instead, I’m trying to pretend it is just another delay; not working, though, because I’m still giddy…,

So, I’m going to distract myself with writing for a time….. Shall we Pearl?……

I can’t be humble — it’s just not honest. — Smart Bee {Calm down, calm down…. it’s a joke, right?….. Sheesh, and people wonder why we are so shy about sharing?…..}
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Possunt quia posse videntur. (They can because they think they can.) — Virgil (70-19 BC), Aeneid, v

On the fictional planet of Pern, there be dragons. These dragons, the creation of Anne McCaffrey, are fire-breathing, and adept fliers, as all dragons should be, coming in a variety of colors, each of which has to do with its social status in dragon society. At birth, the dragons are bonded with a human, who lives with them, rides them into battle, and sees to the health and welfare of their bond-mate. The dragons of Pern have two characteristics which are special to them on their planet…. First, they can teleport, moving from one point in space to another in virtually no time. Second, they are capable of lifting “whatever they believe they can lift” even though it may not be reasonable to assume, given the size of the dragon, and the size of the load to be lifted. If the dragon believes it can, it can…..

This characteristic is only important to them as part of a plot design by the author, in which this talent is used to help solve a technical problem that faces the planet, placing it at extreme risk. But, in reality, the same characteristic may be shown to be present in humans, in this respect…. what we believe we can do, we can do. It has always been thus, throughout history, (as noted in the above statement from Virgil in the Aeneid….) and remains one of mankind’s most powerfully useful characteristics, for those who learn to utilize this elusive talent.

“A man can do all things if he but wills them.” — Leon Battista Alberti

Sound familiar? It should; it is virtually identical in meaning to the first quote. Alberti sounds like a more modern name than Virgil, so it seems that the concept has been a common theme throughout history, and remains so now. Everyone has heard the amazing stories of human accomplishments that seem outrageously unreal. People lifting cars off of loved ones. People climbing the sheer face of a cliff a half-mile high, with no ropes or tools. Soldiers carrying a wounded comrade miles and miles while wounded themselves. A man in the mid-1800’s is documented to have survived a bear attack, and crawled hundreds of miles through wilderness to reach his home, alive.

Many more stories are included in the complete lexicon of human experience. Some of the feats are planned, or trained for; some are the result of instinctive reaction to extreme danger, or need. But, in each story, the common element that remains when the separate circumstances are removed from consideration, is that of the depth and strength of human will…..

The will is not a simple tool; it is not like other talents humans possess. To be its most effective, it must not only be practiced and strengthened by use, but it must be nourished, by experience and motivation, that can only come with life and learning. Those who have chosen their Duty are much more likely to have used it as motivation to strengthen and harden their will to act, than are those who try to act from disorganized, or motivations ignorant of any moral or ethical direction. Like any strength, it can be abused by humans; fanatics have a very strong will, sometimes, at least in their intent to hold on to their delusional beliefs. It has been said that a fanatic is one who redoubles their efforts when they cannot recall or justify their original intent, and that takes a lot of will. But then, karma usually takes care of that particular problem, as they end up reaping the whirlwind that their ignorance gains them…..

This is a subject that needs, nay, is worthy of, further discussion, but reality calls (you know, stuff that CAN’T wait…. stupid Murphy…. bloody feds….), and it will have to wait for another day…. I’ll put it on my calendar for a couple days from now…. please feel free to come on back and see where this takes us, as I meander through whatever occurs to me between now and then…. until then… onward….
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Considering what I’ve been through this morning, this seemed just the right poem, and I had an urge for Emily, anyway…. enjoy! (Not you, Shawna…. you may go on to the next section, if you wish…. 🙂 )

A narrow fellow in the grass
Occasionally rides;
You may have met him,–did you not,
His notice sudden is.

The grass divides as with a comb,
A spotted shaft is seen;
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on.

He likes a boggy acre,
A floor too cool for corn.
Yet when a child, and barefoot,
I more than once, at morn,

Have passed, I thought, a whip-lash
Unbraiding in the sun,–
When, stooping to secure it,
It wrinkled, and was gone.

Several of nature’s people
I know, and they know me;
I feel for them a transport
Of cordiality;

But never met this fellow,
Attended or alone,
Without a tighter breathing,
And zero at the bone.

~~ Emily Dickinson
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“Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle. Some things are within your control. And some things are not. — Epictetus

This statement, and its reappearance in front of me at this exact moment in time, reminded me of why I do this. Making Pearls. Reading, and serendipitously finding a piece of wisdom from a sage of past age that speaks directly to me and my current status in re: dealing with reality without biting myself or anyone else….. Since the start of the morning, to this point, my thoughts and emotions were unreasonably and unexpectedly dragged along on a roller-coaster ride of some proportions, courtesy of, well, let’s just say, a party that I had not expected to be forced to consider as a liability. In fact, I had every expectation of the opposite.

Then, Eureka! On seeing this quote pop up, I realized that my morning’s distress was exactly what I deserved for expecting…. anything. My expectation of how reality would behave is the only problem; without it, I would not be upset… As I’m accustomed to regular adjustment and deletion of expectations, I have now done so….

So, thank you, Epictetus, for saving me from my own folly….. now, I can get on with the day…..
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All things considered, this didn’t come out so badly…. and it will have to do. So be it… 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!

Quantum mechanics isn’t for sissies…..

Posted on September 26, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Time passes, as do tears…. at least this morning, depression is not the first thing that hit me upside the head. So far, the only bad thing I’ve had to deal with is the half & half that looks weird in the coffee because I had to freeze it to get it through the month. Well, that and the urge for a cigarette I don’t have, & can’t afford to buy…. okay, morning whine finished, I’ll go on to a more bracing set of ideas….. I found this whine to be lacking in body, and the bouquet sucked….

So, living with PTSD is fun, what? Between that and the general sense of hopelessness that is conjured in one by the ever-present poverty in which I’m existing, it gets hard to hold onto hope, or even just a resigned acceptance. There are times when I want to go back & exact revenge upon the person I hold responsible for my status, and those thoughts are sweet. But, my karmic adviser is always telling me that is not a good idea, and will end up hurting me more than her. This is not a valid argument, considering the amount of crap I go through. I can deal with it, and better, if I knew that some of it was falling upon her like a horde of Mongols entering Peking (now Beijing….. and the Mongols now come there as homeless beggars…..) But, my plans for that are not completed yet anyway, they’re still maturing…..

I’d like to think I’ve gotten beyond what was done to me, but I see that I haven’t, and I guess I’ll have to do something about that….. soon, I promise. For now, it is these thoughts of revenge, intangible as they are, that get me through the worst of the moments when I’m hitting the bottom. And that is enough of this depressing subject…. I’m going to go look for some pearls to write about, and try to shake off the strangely adhesive feelings that have been dogging me since yesterday…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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SIGH…. the only reason I did not write this in 1988 is that I did not see it until today….. it is never a good policy to suffer a fool gladly, so my code of honor demands a response…. this begins the tale, but by no means ends it….. be warned, and be nervous, if not afraid…..

“I don’t know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.” — George Bush in Free Inquiry magazine, Fall 1988

Actually, George, the Pledge of Allegiance has no legal standing, in relation to the Constitution of this country, or for that matter, in relation to what our forefathers were thinking when they founded the nation. In fact, what was said here by such an upstanding Constitutional scholarly type, is, in reality, completely contrary to everything that makes a true patriot, or an American citizen. The part in the pledge, (which no one at all is legally required to take, or state…), that says “under God” was only added in the middle of the twentieth century, by the same Congressional idiots who perpetrated McCarthyism, and the Red Scare, on the American public. It has nothing to do with the Constitution, and in fact, could be construed as a Constitutionally illegal statement, considering the intended separation of church and state that is the backbone of what our forefathers wished us to have as our legacy…. True freedom, not Christian usurpation of freedom….. A person’s religious belief, or lack thereof, is protected by the Constitution, and a patriot is one who supports the Constitution, not a church, or a corporation…..

And if his name be George, I ‘ll call him Peter;
For new-made honour doth forget men’s names.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King John — Act i, Sc. 1

(I know, I don’t much like Will’s stuff, but, law of averages, remember?….. Give me a break, it was the only George quote I could find….)

This kind of thinking from the Shrub, whichever one it was, Junior or Senior, is the same kind of narrow-minded fundamentalism that the colonists were escaping from in England back in the 16-1700’s when they came to the New World. The churches and corporations, both of which were singled out as dangerous to the republic by Jefferson, Franklin, Paine, Adams, Hamilton, and many of the other founding fathers, have tried to usurp the Constitution ever since it was ratified. Their writings, to each other, and in public venues, were filled with precautionary admonitions about allowing corporations and preachers to have access to, or influence over, members of government. And, their fears were justified, as we now are facing just the situations they predicted….. corporations are manipulating our “professional thieves”, otherwise known as politicians, to vote for laws that favor them (really, “corporations are people?”… I don’t think so…), and the ranks of our leaders are rife with fundamentalists and religious nuts of all varieties.

“Men tend to have the beliefs that suit their passions. Cruel men believe in a cruel God and use their belief to excuse their cruelty. Only kindly men believe in a kindly God, and they would be kindly in any case.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)

It’s difficult sometimes to tell which ones are more dangerous, or more disgusting: the corporations who buy votes from those who fit the definition of “good politicians” (…. a good politician is one who stays bought…..), or the religious demagogues who want to oppress everyone who doesn’t believe the same set of dogmatic constraints as they do. Neither one is particularly hard to spot, but they are protected by their tame dogs in Congress, who will do and say anything to make sure the cash keeps flowing…. right into their pockets.

As indicated by the almost 500 words yesterday, and again today, you can see that the Romney/Ryan ticket disturbs me; I have no problem ranting without end right off the top of my head about the lies and distortions of reality that continuously fall from their lips. As I mentioned yesterday, a lot of people are catching on to this, as Ryan was roundly booed offstage at the AARP meeting he attended to try to sell their rape of Social Security (Smart? No. Arrogant? Completely.). But, even this is disturbing to me, as it shows just how little they care, that they are showing themselves to be only interested in lining their own pockets, and the pockets of those who own them. They aren’t even trying to hide their lies anymore; they just keep repeating them, even after having been shown to be false, believing that if they repeat the lies enough, people will buy it….

“Men are most apt to believe what they least understand.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap. xi

Unfortunately, they are right, to a large extent. Millions of people in this country, who have hung on to their prejudices and bigotry with desperation as the minorities have become majorities, are supporting these assholes, merely because they are white. They don’t realize, or seemingly care, that these are the same assholes who will be screwing them over completely as soon as they get sworn in, preferring to trust in the lies, because it soothes their fears of having a black President.

Beware of the half truth. You may have gotten hold of the wrong half. — Smart Bee

This is why I keep reiterating that this election is bringing this country to a crossroads. The outcome will show whether we intend, as a nation, to continue to fight all attempts to curtail the freedoms that were bought and paid for by our forefathers, with blood, sweat, and tears, or will become just another religious, corporate-controlled entity, with a nation consisting of slaves and their masters. I don’t know about y’all, but I’ll be at the polls as soon as they open, and will urge everyone I know to do the same…. vote early, and vote often (just joking…), but vote. We need to send a message to these fools, that there are still patriots and citizens of this country who believe in the vision embraced and established by the men and women who began this noble experiment in self-government…..

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” — Aldous Huxley
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A Failure to Germinate

Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.

Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.

Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.

I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.

My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.

Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
that reality has boasted of proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.

~~ gigoid

Now back to the normal confusion we count on around here…..
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“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence… From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security, and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable…. The very atmosphere of firearms every- where restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.” — George Washington (bogus?)(who cares? I don’t, it doesn’t make it any less true if it was said by someone else…..)

I am constantly hearing people these days spouting off about gun control, and how guns should be outlawed. This is a viewpoint that I have never understood, because it makes a totally unwarranted assumption (more than one actually, but one that is most important….), i.e., guns cause violent behavior, and if people couldn’t legally own them, violence would stop. This is naive, and unreasonable, given that there is absolutely no evidence to support such a contention. There is no evidence whatsoever that violence is NOT part of human nature; this is a psychological FACT, not subject to debate. People have violent tendencies, and violence is the primary response of a great many people who have never learned how to use their reason to control their emotions.

Though I’ve never owned or carried a gun, I am a firm believer in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, in its most literal sense. Without the right to bear arms in our own defense, we, as citizens, would be at the mercy of whomever was in office at the time, and would have no recourse at all to any redress of grievance against those officials, since they could not be forced to comply with law. I do NOT trust any elected official to act in MY best interests; human nature also decrees that they will act in their OWN interests first, with no compulsion to even consider anything else. Making it a law that only police and government lackeys could legally be armed is a sure way to guarantee that the average citizen would be at the mercy of these so-called leaders, mercy being a quality that they have never heretofore demonstrated in any fashion.

As I said, I don’t own or carry guns, yet. I’ve trained myself to be dangerous without the use of them, and feel no fear that I cannot deal with an armed man to my benefit; this is simply because it is the person holding the gun that is the danger, not the gun itself. Speed, power, and accuracy are the key elements to controlling a violent situation, along with some forethought and preparation, and the ability to keep a clear mind when under duress. When a person is holding a gun, they feel ten feet tall and invincible, but they remain human, and humans can be controlled with superior strategy and tactics. It does no good to hold a gun, when the target won’t sit still, or even remain visible….. and in these cases, that sense of imperviousness becomes a liability to the gun-wielder.

However, most Americans do not have this sort of skill set, nor the state of mind that makes it work. In the hands of a skilled warrior, a gun becomes a dangerous weapon indeed, for it will be used to achieve the warrior’s goals, as any weapon would, and not employed to merely bully others into doing what is desired, which is the usual use of these kinds of weapons in the hands of the ignorant and deceitful. And politicians, by the very nature of their sociopathy, do get rather deceitful in the pursuit of their self-centered ends. The desire to be in public office, to me, is a sure sign of a sick mind, as a healthy one has no need to assume power over others, being content to be in control of themselves.

So, I would say to those who would get rid of or alter the intent of the Second Amendment, get a grip on reality, and shut the fuck up….. truly, your lack of sophistication and knowledge of human nature gives you no right or reason to speak……
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Well, that turned into quite a little rant…. I guess I needed to get that out. In reading back over it, I have nothing to regret, for it is all the plain and simple truth. So, I’ll send it out there, with the ever-present invitation to come back at me with any thoughts you that may occur to you….. Arguments, for or against, are welcome and appreciated. Constructive criticism is also welcome, wherever it is deemed to be warranted; ignorance will be ignored if harmless, or ruthlessly exposed for what it is if not, at my discretion. But, please don’t get upset if I don’t answer a comment; I intend to answer all comments, and try to get to all of them, but my internet time just now is limited, and I’m probably missing some comments.

Flaming, or fanaticism, or personal attacks will be either cheerfully deleted, or prosecuted/persecuted, depending on the severity of the idiocy therein…. 🙂 Oh, and keep always in mind that I pay little attention to my attempts at humor, other than as an artistic tool; making fun of it can only improve it, I’m sure….. 😉

Not your standard disclaimer, but I think it works…. 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!

On the trail of inner peace….

Posted on September 25, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
It is never a good sign when I start leaking tears within a few seconds of sitting up in the morning; it is a bit disconcerting to find oneself immersed in depression first thing in the day, even pre-coffee…. or especially pre-coffee….. So disconcerting, I have had to take some time to recover my equilibrium. Took a shower, had a smoke, and went back to bed for a bit….. and still feel like hell…. I’ve got to say, when my ex-boss perpetrated the bureaucratic blitzkrieg that forced me into retirement, I’m betting she had little idea just how effectively she was damning me to perdition, or at least poverty and misery….. so, to make myself feel just a tad better, I made a quick phone call, and asked her secretary, (my FORMER friend….) to pass on to her just how happy she could be with herself….. a little passive aggression always helps, ya know?……

Two hours later, and equilibrium is still just beyond reach…. but, life must go on, balance or no, so I’m casting my fate into the wind for the time being, and just going with the flow….. perhaps some time in the library will settle things; it is one of my places of power, so there should be something here to pull me out of this hole I’ve dumped myself in….. and if not, well, at least I tried….

All of that being said, or whined, as the view may be, I think it’s time to get on with it…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“Writing is HELL!! Every word is like giving birth to twins.” — Andy Shedlock, May 12, 1998
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“Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.” — Eric Hoffer

I am occasionally amazed at how one short phrase, well-turned, can be applied to such a huge range of human activity; this one from Mr Hoffer is one of those. This little idea gives one a perfect way to understand the phenomenon currently being played out on the public stage here in America. The election coming up in a little over a month illustrates very well that many, many of our countrymen spend their lives in fear of things they do not want to know, and will go as far as cutting off their own noses to keep from having to look at reality without the aid of rose colored glasses….

Take, for example, the millions of middle class IDIOTS who have decided that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are the answer to their fears of having not only a BLACK man as President, but a progressive-minded one at that. They shut off their brains whenever news of something going right is published, and listen instead to the lies and misrepresentations being mouthed on a daily basis by the Republican candidates. Even when the lies are exposed, they just turn to another and start repeating it over and over, sort of like a little kid sticking their fingers in their ears and singing “la la la la, I can’t hear you” in order to shut off the truth that is in front of them.

I watched a short video of Paul Ryan the other day, when he was roundly booed by a gathering of AARP senior citizens while trying to convince them that his party’s platform was going to help them, an obvious lie, considering the platform outlines how they intend to gut Social Security and give all the money back to Wall Street and the 1%. The expression on his face was priceless! He was trying to smile, but his color had gone to an embarrassed shade of red, and his words ground to a halt, as everything he was saying was being booed by the audience, who were not about to fall for his bullshit. It was quite fun to watch, I must say….

I’m also looking forward to the upcoming Presidential debates, when the cool, compassionate demeanor of the President will be set up against the cold, uncaring, obviously prejudiced Mitt the Twitt. I wouldn’t be at all surprised, given Romney’s habit of shooting himself in the foot, if he (Romney) totally lost it, and started ranting and mouthing racial epithets. It is obvious that Mitt hates Americans of any color other than pure white (his purity being one more lie, since his family has no doubt had the same skeletons in their background that any other American family has, and he can probably claim only about 40% pure white ancestors….) and having to try to be civil, even on national TV, may be more than he is capable of being…..

I’m a bit worried about the eventual outcome, as I am fully aware of how deeply stupid the American public has become in the past 50 years, as corporate America has deluged the public consciousness with tons of lies and brainwashing, and there is almost no limit to the number of people in this country who fall for the demagoguery every time. I mean, how else could Ronald Reagan, GW Shrub, and GWH Shrub have ever been elected, if there were not an already massive number of idiots out there susceptible to their nonsense? Yes, there are plenty of fools available….

“Crime must pay, or politicians wouldn’t seek re-election.” — Smart Bee

But, this election, I think the rest of America, the true majority of which is NOT bigoted and racist, has become so outraged at the degree of disdain shown by the Republicans for real Americans that they will come out to vote, and send these fools packing off to their bankers, to soothe the pain and embarrassment of their failure with some malicious business practices…. you know, ship a few jobs overseas, count their money in the Caymans, take a quick trip to Switzerland to check their bank accounts there….

So, join the crowd this November, come on out to vote for President Obama, and help send the false Americans back into their holes, or more accurately, make them crawl back under the rocks they came from…..

“When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” — Richard Cardinal Cushing
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Cultural Exchange

In the Quarter of the Negroes
Where the doors are doors of paper
Dust of dingy atoms
Blows a scratchy sound.
Amorphous jack-o’-Lanterns caper
And the wind won’t wait for midnight
For fun to blow doors down.
By the river and the railroad
With fluid far-off going
Boundaries bind unbinding
A whirl of whistles blowing.
No trains or steamboats going–
Yet Leontyne’s unpacking.

In the Quarter of the Negroes
Where the doorknob lets in Lieder
More than German ever bore,
Her yesterday past grandpa–
Not of her own doing–
In a pot of collard greens
Is gently stewing.

Pushcarts fold and unfold
In a supermarket sea.
And we better find out, mama,
Where is the colored laundromat
Since we move dip to Mount Vernon.

In the pot behind the paper doors
on the old iron stove what’s cooking?
What’s smelling, Leontyne?
Lieder, lovely Lieder
And a leaf of collard green.
Lovely Lieder, Leontyne.

You know, right at Christmas
They asked me if my blackness,
Would it rub off?
I said, Ask your mama.

Dreams and nightmares!
Nightmares, dreams, oh!
Dreaming that the Negroes
Of the South have taken over–
Voted all the Dixiecrats
Right out of power–

Comes the COLORED HOUR:
Martin Luther King is Governor of Georgia,
Dr. Rufus Clement his Chief Adviser,
A. Philip Randolph the High Grand Worthy.
In white pillared mansions
Sitting on their wide verandas,
Wealthy Negroes have white servants,
White sharecroppers work the black plantations,
And colored children have white mammies:
Mammy Faubus
Mammy Eastland
Mammy Wallace
Dear, dear darling old white mammies–
Sometimes even buried with our family.
Dear old
Mammy Faubus!

Culture, they say, is a two-way street:
Hand me my mint julep, mammny.
Hurry up!
Make haste!

Langston Hughes

A comment from me is hardly needed here, but I would like to have each reader ask themselves if they can envision Mitt Romney ever reading this poem, start to finish….. I didn’t think so…..
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I’m tired, and hungry, and this Pearl, though soothing to create, is getting longer than I can deal with well, so I’m going to cheat, and insert here a visual Pearl, which is, no doubt, self-explanatory….. I will note that it is applicable not only to life at large, but also to the subject above, i.e., the upcoming election….

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Well, that was…. something. Exactly what remains to be seen….. I’m broke again, so it will be a couple days until I can publish the email Pearls, so please have patience. In addition, I don’t get a lot of internet time, since I’m at the library until payday, and I only get two hours there…. It will have to do, for the nonce….. 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!

September Speech

Posted on September 24, 2012 by gigoid

As usual, a powerful piece from rmott62…..

Rebecca Mott

FOREWORD

I give this speech to a radical conference in Glasgow.

After speaking it, I crashed very hard. I realise I had been ignoring or coping with trauma for a year.

I had been ill, but learnt to ignore that. I had flashbacks, but learnt to put them in boxes. I had been full of extreme grief, but did not know what to do with it.

After speaking this speech, I spoke for days to good friends, but it still crashed into me.

This is why I have been unable to write – I cannot think without wanting to cry, to die, to run away – so I have made my mind dead.

THE SPEECH

It is amazing to be in Glasgow, and to be in a vibrant radical feminist environment.

This is so rare these days, for we are so often suffocated by the views of liberal feminists. This…

View original post 509 more words

Celebratory moments on parade…..

Posted on September 24, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Being a geek never felt better…. yesterday, in frustration, I uninstalled Smart Bee again from my computer, then re-installed it, and gloryoski, Skeeter, it worked! It’s back, and looking grand, I must say….. SIGH…. I feel much better now……

So much better, I slept well, and woke early, just to get a good start on this Pearl…. it’s really good to have material to work with. I’ve grown dependent, I guess, on having sufficient quotes from other smart ffolkes to stimulate my thought processes, and not having them was taking its toll. Now I feel so good, another poem dripped out last night while I was basking in the glow of a successful install. Not great, but pretty good, I think…. and all original, so that has to count for something, right?…. It all rhymes, too, so Mrs. Lowe and Mr. Olsen would be proud…..

Without further ado, let us get on with today’s process….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“OVER the underpass! UNDER the overpass! Around the FUTURE and BEYOND REPAIR!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

In celebration of the return of SB, I offer this brilliant aphorism from Zippy as thanks, and as a tribute to the power of nonsense in Life. If it weren’t for the concept of ridiculousness, I’d be just another bozo on the bus, rather than a sharp, progressive purveyor of reason and honor…. and Pearls of Virtual wisdom might never have been liberated from their shells….

In the Harry Potter books, and movies, I was particularly impressed with Ms. Rowling after reading the part about Boggarts in the second novel, and finding out the spell that banished them, to wit: Ridikulous! shouted in stentorian tones while thinking of what you fear in a comical venue. Such sharp insight! It was a perfect, perfect piece of story-telling, and gave me a whole new perspective on the depth of the whole Hogwarts experience…. “Never tickle a sleeping dragon” indeed!….. With that in mind, and in recognition of the return of plenty to a world in dearth, here is an old school pearl, with a message about how to live well, and happily….

“Don’t try to have the last word. You might get it.” — Lazarus Long

“Ignorance is not bliss — it’s oblivion.” — Phillip Wylie

“Stereotypes are like a supermarket. They are convenient, economical, and useful. They do our thinking for us. We don’t have to waste time trying to make sense of our ignorance. Stereotypes slice through the niceties of language, tide us over the loose ends we don’t understand and wrap up into a comfortable package our narrow – mindedness about everything and everybody except ourselves” — Chuck Stone (Washington Post 6/3/96)

“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln

“A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful. Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either. But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain

“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live. It is asking other people to live as one wishes to live.” — Oscar Wilde

“As God is my witness – I am that fool!” — Gomez Addams

And, on that note, we shall forge onward with renewed vigor, and a carefree heart!……
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Confidentially Paranoid

Only when the bright sunlight of dreams draws nigh
can the dark glass of reality factor true value..
Destiny’s horses run in fear as time goes dry,
for grappling with fate in such traitorous venue.

In pallid costumes made of graven cast-off tales,
fallen angels and demons show the measure of faith.
No sad transactions should escape these well-marked trails,
no angry relatives cast insults to a sedentary wraith.

Meaning can always hide in literal cold intent,
yet show mere facets of honor to perishable youth.
Sincere contentions leave with sorrowful bent,
while bastardly arguments fill in poorly for the truth.

Gone are moments filled with florid blasts of rhyme
left to moulder on the shoulders of unreasonable hope.
Only courage can save these measures of unspoken time
to gather new issues of powerfully broad and painful scope.

~~ gigoid
__________________________________

It is time, the Walrus said, to speak of many things…… or at least one…..

“Shakespeare was an intellectual ocean, whose waves touched all the shores of thought; within which were all the tides and waves of destiny and will; over which swept all the storms of fate, ambition and revenge; upon which fell the gloom and darkness of despair and death and all the sunlight of content and love, and within which was the inverted sky lit with the eternal stars — an intellectual ocean — toward which all rivers ran, and from which now the isles and continents of thought receive their dew and rain.” — Robert G. Ingersoll (American lawyer and orator)

Now, to look at this, one might think that this Ingersoll person was a smart fella, having obviously read a lot of Shakespeare. I am forced to point out, however, that being able to read does not necessarily mean one can think, or that one is entitled to an opinion. There are clues within this statement that reveal its weaknesses, the foremost of which is that it is a large load of bullshit…… I, too, have read a lot of Shakespeare, though not by choice. At first, I read him because it was assigned in school by some ignorant English teacher who had fallen under the normal delusion taught in most schools about Will, i.e., his stuff was good…. when in reality, most of what he wrote is just a pile of shit piled really high….. Afterward, I read him to find further examples of his failings to show people in proof of my assertion, to wit: he is the most over-rated, and most egregiously pandered to author of all time….

Oh, he was prolific, and wrote a lot of stuff that is fairly good, by any standards…. but, given the massive amount of stuff he wrote, that is merely proof of the law of averages. For the most part, what he wrote is too wordy by half, obscure in meaning that clouds the story, or has no connection to the story at all, and tends to a flowery saccharine flavor by the choice of his words. He did achieve a large popularity in his own time, either due to good press, or the normal bad taste of the public; I don’t really care. In today’s world, his story lines are trite, and tend to stick to common themes that every author treats; in addition, his use of slang went completely overboard, and has turned what may have been decent rap in his day, into such tripe that it just sounds like random noise, similar to the common run of rap today…. it amazes me how many bad musicians there are in the world…. but that is another story….

In order to demonstrate for you the absolute nonsense that flowed from his pen, I’ve included some samples of his work below…. they pretty much speak for themselves….. badly…… so I’ve added my comments in parentheses…..

O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon ‘t,
A brother’s murder.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act iii, Sc. 3
(Ooooh, such tension and horror….. NOT…. merely mundane, as far as I can tell…..)

“The venom clamors of a jealous woman poison more deadly than a mad dog’s tooth.” — William Shakespeare
(I’ll bet Will was real popular with the women of his time….. NOT)

Where the bee sucks, there suck I;
In a cowslip’s bell I lie.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Tempest — Act v, Sc. 1
(Huh? What? Is this part of the play?…..Which part?…. Which play?)

O, that he were here to write me down an ass!
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Much Ado about Nothing — Act iv, Sc. 2
(Don’t worry, Will, I’m here…..)

A plague of sighing and grief! It blows a man up like a bladder.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act ii, Sc. 4
(I suppose if your society doesn’t yet have rubber, or balloons, a bladder is the best you have…..)

Most forcible Feeble.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act iii, Sc. 2
(Oh, aye, what a handy turn of phrase…. NOT… What does this mean?….)

They fool me to the top of my bent.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act iii, Sc. 2
(Uh, to where? I think more likely, he’s the one trying to fool…. the audience….)

O, never say hereafter
But I am truest speaker. You call’d me brother
When I was but your sister.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Cymbeline — Act v, Sc. 5
(Honestly, this sounds like something I’d write when really, really drunk, and think it was hilarious…..)

Okay, that’s probably enough for one day…. I’ve got well over four pages full of stuff of his like these, so there is a lot to choose from…. Just doing what I can to spread the truth, as I see it…… and this truth needs telling, to get society away from this ridiculous celebrity worship when it comes to him, and to artists like him, who rely on public opinion more than Art to determine the value of their material…. Call me Ishmael, if you must…. just don’t forget to call me…..
__________________________________

Boy, that was great fun! Lots of material, old friends to pick on, and a new poem, which is always better out than in…. can’t beat that with a stick. I’m going to sign off here, so as not to tempt Fate into retribution so early in the day….. 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!

Stealing from politicians is not a crime, by definition….

Posted on September 23, 2012 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Far into the night, I searched within, only to find….. nada…. No quotes. No ideas. No nothing. So I went to bed, and figured the morning would bring some inspiration…. fat chance! Now I’m stuck, writing off the top of my head, which is already complaining. I may have to retreat back to bed, just to get away from the drama, which I do not enjoy, and refuse to put up with in my life at all anymore. I have even considered putting my No Drama Allowed sign up on my front door, just so it is clear to all and sundry who approach….. I have yet to do that one, but it’s close, it’s close….

For the nonce though, we’ll have to come up with something for today’s Pearl, which is looking a bit thin at this juncture. Aha! I’ve got an idea, and it should work well…. let’s go see….. Yep, I think it will work…. It may be disturbing to know, in this age of digital everything, but today’s quotes are all taken from books…. real, physical books, that I held in my hand and read by turning the pages….. It was fun….. and reassuring to know that even though my database of quotes is gone (until further notice), I still have a place to go to find what I need…. And it is a very fulfilling feeling to pull it out of the pages; I’ve always been a heavy reader, and it’s good to remember that real books are still the best source of, well, everything you want to know….

Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged few.” — Helen Keller

Being in my current position, it is natural to fall into the trap as described above by Ms. Keller. It reminds me in a way of the same thought from Socrates (I believe) who said, “If every man brought his troubles to a central place, where it was said that all men would bring theirs, and each would take away an equal amount, most would be happy to just take up their own troubles and go home.” I guess it has always been a natural tendency among us humans, to compare our own situation to that of others, and make a judgment about relative worth…. not an admirable trait, but understandable, given our ego-driven natures.

I do know for a fact that I am better off than most of the world; I am still overweight, and much of the world hasn’t enough food to ever get to that state. I also live indoors, with plumbing, and have enough clothing to cover myself in inclement weather. I have a steady, if currently small, source of income, even though retired. I have medical insurance, and even though the co-payments are hard to handle, I have no fear of not receiving medical care if needed. All of this is much more than probably 50% of the people alive on this planet have as resources, so I can hardly consider myself to be entirely poverty-stricken…. I’ve actually been there, or close to it, and this is not the same…..

One time, in my early twenties, I fell into an unemployed state for several months, and during the last month and a half, it got to the point where I was actually hungry a lot of the time. I was living in my truck, on the streets of Berkeley; the truck, fortunately, had a camper, so I did have a place to sleep and stay dry, but couldn’t ever get off the streets for long. I lived one entire month on a jar of peanut butter, some bread given to me by friends, and a jar of excellent multivitamins, which kept my teeth from falling out of my head from scurvy, and the like….. It was not a pleasant experience, at all, and I didn’t particularly enjoy the feelings of depression and despair that went along with it. At the end of the month of PB and vitamins, I was able to find a job, and have not been unemployed for long since then, for the most part.

Having felt at least some of what the folks who are stuck living in such poverty feel, I empathize with their situation completely. I also feel a great deal of disdain for the average American, who has no idea of how fortunate they are to be living in this country, where the opportunities to pull one’s self out of the hole of poverty are so much more available than in much of the rest of the world. I listen to these political pundits, screaming their outrage at how the poor are shiftless, and only want handouts, and to have society provide them with food and shelter, all at the expense of “hard-working Americans who pay taxes”, and I am completely filled with my own sense of outrage. These people have no idea of how lucky they are, or how little part they played in securing the resources they command, and have no idea at all of what it is like to not have those opportunities available to them.

These people are the same ones who spend so much time chasing the Devil, and spouting off about religion. They assume that the poor of the world are poor because God wants them to be that way, or that they are somehow responsible for their own poverty, having offended God. Ms. Keller also had something to say about them, which I believe completely, and share in her wish to see more of it in the world….

” It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.”

Pretty smart lady, that Helen Keller….. the world will never see her like again, and that is a shame, to be sure……
__________________________________

Children’s Rhymes

By what sends
the white kids
I ain’t sent:
I know I can’t
be President.
What don’t bug
them white kids
sure bugs me:
We know everybody
ain’t free.

Lies written down
for white folks
ain’t for us a-tall:
Liberty And Justice–
Huh!–For All?

Langston Hughes

This poem gives voice to and defines the vast distance that still exists in this country between the folks who feel this way, and their opposite numbers on the other side of the issue. Racism is alive and all-too-well in this country, and this election is proof of that pudding. The Republican Party has adopted a platform that just barely avoids outright statement of such bigotry, but not by much. Their inner circle has already made public that the agenda of the GOP is to make Obama a one term President; there is no mention of taxes or the economy, jobs, medical insurance, war, or any other of the possible issues that are under the public eye. Their single goal is to get the black man out of the Oval Office; they don’t care, obviously, how many people they alienate in their efforts, either, as they chose the single most contentious candidate possible.

Yesterday, or the day before, I mentioned that this country is at a crossroads, which elicited some support among commenters, with good reason. This election is going to show exactly how many people are still out there ready to buy into any set of lies in order to maintain their own bigoted outlook. The Romney/Ryan team, and the GOP, has given up any hope of mainstream acceptance, and has sided with the fundamentalists and fanatics who believe that government should be secondary to religion. They have managed to alienate about 75-80% of the American public with their fascist, religion-based platform, while still garnering the support of millions of dim-witted people who are only concerned with their racist agendas. The campaign has already shown how racism has survived intact, and on election day, every bigot, every fanatic, and every religious nut in the country is going to vote to show their support for policies that will be the worst possible thing that could happen to them, all because they believe that a black man should not be President.

I am appalled, not only by the actual people who are voicing these asinine concepts, but by the media, who reports what the GOP candidates say, just as if it made any sense, thereby lending credence to the idiocy they espouse. But, I am also encouraged at the response to all of this, which appears to be swinging in favor of the incumbent President. All the most recent polls show the Democrats to be leading, in every issue, and the GOP campaign is scrambling around in terror, in absolute shock that their policies are being rejected by the majority of Americans. I am growing more hopeful of an outcome that we can live with, instead of one that promises to send society into chaos. It may be a slim hope, but it is a strong one, and I can only hold good thoughts for the ascendancy of reason over ignorance in our society in the years to come…..
__________________________________

I came upon a treasure trove of quotes in one of my copies of the Bathroom Reader’s Institute’s tomes, called Uncle John’s Ahh-Inspiring Bathroom Reader…. If you are unfamiliar with these books, take the time to access their website, where you can get a good idea of what they are like…. fun, interesting, and chock full of both nonsense, and sense…. Here are a series of quotes from some modern and historical figures, all of which pertain to the current campaign for the Presidency in this country…. at least peripherally….. These all have a pointed remark that leads us to some disturbing conclusions about public life in America, but, what else is new?…..

“Fundamentalism isn’t about religion. It’s about power.” — Salman Rushdie

“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

“A little learning, indeed, may be a dangerous thing, but the want of learning is a calamity for any people.” — Frederick Douglas

“The universe is an intelligence test.” — Timothy Leary

“There is no place in a fanatics head where reason can enter.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

“There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no honor.” — Benjamin Disraeli

There, that should lead to the proper level of confusion and glassy eyes…. I’m just glad the polls are showing some progress in the number of folks who have come to realize that the Romney/Ryan ticket would be disastrous, for everyone, not just a few. Perhaps there is still a chance for common sense to assume a place in public life…. one can always hope…..
__________________________________

Another odd Pearl today, ffolkes…. it’s getting to be a habit. I can’t say it wasn’t fun, trying to figure out how to create material out of nothing much, but I think I’d rather try to get back to the old routine one of these days…. This waiting game is getting tedious, to be sure, and I will be very glad when something happens to change my situation….. It is said that having to wait for change leads to patience, but in this case, I wish they would just keep their bloody mouths shut…. I guess I’m getting cranky, which is understandable, if not desirable. So be it……. 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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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Monthly Archives: September 2012

Smatterings of apologetic sincerity….

Only in feverish dreams do we dance….

Trafficking and Me

Quantum mechanics isn’t for sissies…..

On the trail of inner peace….

September Speech

Celebratory moments on parade…..

Stealing from politicians is not a crime, by definition….

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