That being said, I will leave the semi-whine behind. Reality doesn’t give a crap…. So Be It. I can adjust to most of what is thrown at me, and I’ll adjust to this, too, whatever it may be. (I’m trying to be discreet, without falling all the way into inscrutability…..) Most likely, the best idea is to just ignore the whole issue, and get on with pearling. This particular activity has been my salvation for over a year now, so I’ll take advantage of that right now…..

Hmm…. I could rant, I suppose. I saw some police in action last night, and what I observed only confirmed my opinion of most of them I’ve seen lately….. All of the officers I’ve seen in action in this town seem to be more concerned with maintaining their image, and exercising their sense of entitlement, than they are with public safety. I’m standing out front, watching the rush hour traffic, when a police car goes down the hill toward the signal to my left. As it comes up behind the second car in line at the signal, a little white car shoots up the hill, going a bit fast, but less so than much of the normal traffic flow, which tends to speed along this section. Well, the noise of the little car sounded like it was going bat crazy for hell leather fast, but, as I said, not as fast as I’ve seen many times, including MOST of the police cruisers going up the hill…. it was just a bit loud…..

Well, the two cowboys in the cruiser decided they would save us all from the massive danger of a tiny car going fast. So, as the little car slowed down, signaled, and turned right at the next block, the police cruiser performed a hasty, wide, badly executed 3 point turn to get turned around, then punched it and raced up the hill after the miscreant. From what I could hear, the little car had either slowed way down after going around the corner, or it had parked immediately, as I could no longer hear its little sewing machine engine. The cops raced to the corner, took it in a wide, fast turn, and raced away, hell-bent on doing their duty, and making the owner of the little white car have a miserable, and probably expensive, night.

Now, I might not get so upset at police doing their duty, if it were a matter of just that. But, I see cars flying up that hill all day and night, with never a cruiser in sight. Indeed, 98% of the cruisers go by at such a speed that I wonder how they can even SEE what is happening on the sidewalks. They certainly never slow down for any of it, as I’d estimate the average speed of a police car up the hill is about 50-55 mph, when the speed limit is posted at either 30 or 35 mph…. it IS a residential district. Plus, after living in this city for a bit over two years now, I can truthfully say that I have NEVER ONCE seen a police car give a turn signal. Not once….

That is annoying to me, as they are SUPPOSED to set a good example when they are in public.  Plus, there is the way I see the few of them who are actually out of their cars, walking up to people on the street. They walk like they are John Wayne on his way to kick some bad guy ass; big and ponderous, with an expression of disdain in place before they even speak. The couple of times I heard their conversations, they sounded as if they were being pretty antagonistic toward the person they were questioning, which to me looked like some random homeless guy, poorly dressed and groomed, with a very scared face…..

Okay, so there isn’t much I can do about it right now, except little rants like this to let off steam. One of these days, though, I think I’ll toddle over to a city council meeting, and drop a dime or two on the police, and give them the observations I’ve made over the last couple of years of watching them operate. In those two years, in this small town, there have been more than 10 officer involved shooting deaths, with the greatest number of them involving people who were either not armed, or armed with toys, rather than real weapons. Those numbers alone give an indication that the officers are not well-trained, and the other items that I have noted definitely support that theory….. They need more officers, and they need to take away their sense of entitlement, and replace it with some genuine public concern….

Rant over, thank goodness…. the police here in Vallejo probably aren’t much worse than other places. But, I have to point out that the city of Berkeley has, for many, many years now, required that all of their officers have a college degree, without exception. They then train those well-educated young men in how to deal with the extremely varied population of a world-famous University town, with intelligence, and dignity for all concerned, public and officers alike. It seems to be a good policy; you very seldom hear of a problem between the BPD and the public, and any shootings are completely justified by the review boards. Perhaps other cities could learn from that decades long record of exemplary police work…. and it certainly couldn’t hurt…..

While we’re waiting for reality to catch up to what we need from it (like THAT will ever happen….) I think it’s time….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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In keeping with our long-held belief in public spirit, I have included below for your perusal and enjoyment a series of statements, made at various times, in various situations, by our beloved, most Uncarved Block, Pooh Bear…. who, as you will come to see, has a darker side that many in the world do not know…. It is sinister, indeed, how many different ways Pooh has explored the Dark Side, but, as you will see, he is quite adept at navigating his way there, and isn’t afraid to involve himself in things unsuitable for a Bear with Very Little Brain…. He seems to like it though, so how can we deny him his illicit pleasures?…. it’s got to be hard to maintain that saccharine attitude all the time…. I’m surprised he hasn’t gone off on Barney before this…. ah well, it’s all good to know, so, here are some of his less known adventures, summarized, so to speak…..

— Bother! said Pooh, as they clear cut the Hundred Acre Wood.

— Bother! said Pooh, as the firing squad took aim.

— Bother! said Pooh, as his lock-on indicator wailed.

— Bother! said Pooh, as he stomped Barney’s butt to Jello.

— Bother! said Pooh, as Rabbit pushed him off the speeding train.

— Bother! said Pooh, as he assembled the Grand Grimoire.

— Bother! said Pooh, as he denied paternity.

and finally, for his latest adventure, in two parts…..

— Bother! said Pooh, as he crashed through the police road block.

— Bother! said Pooh, We’d better nuke ’em from orbit.

Okay, so I’m weird…. but, I gotta admit, I like this Pooh much better than the one who gets so worked up over honey….
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Tuesday’s Child, from an Oblique Angle

When I really stop to think, it isn’t too much to expect
a warm bed, a bite of food, a loving smile to reflect.
We all need such comfort and supportive attention,
so basic to our soul, there is no real need to mention.

Life often offers us opportunities disguised very well,
illusions are rampant, what is real can be hard to tell.
To honor old ties may seem like the only thing one can do,
but evidence is real, despite one’s wish it were untrue.

Those who love us truly, without thought of any gain,
hate for us to experience life’s portions of pain.
They also know we each must follow our own chosen way,
for the lessons we learn, we all have our own price to pay.

Still, wishing and hoping can’t do any true harm
and wishing good things to friends feels welcome, and warm.
The pageant of society will pass on to the next day
what surprises it will bring me, thankfully, I can’t say.

~~ gigoid
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It’s not every day I’m compelled to write about religion, politics, philosophy, and the Unified Field Theory, unless in separate pearls…. Taking them all on together might seem a bit egocentric of me, but I’ve never been one to dismiss a challenge, unless it was one that didn’t interest me… this one definitely hits all the high points of my particular bent, or bents, so what the hell, let’s see what happens…..

“Each religion, by the help of more or less myth which it takes more or less seriously, proposes some method of fortifying the human soul and enabling it to make its peace with its destiny.” — George Santayana

This idea is one that makes it possible for me to get through a lot of days without becoming homicidal toward a lot of people who bandy their religious beliefs about as if I were at all interested in them. I am aware that there have been a lot of good people throughout history, including current times, who are devout believers in one religion or another, and are sincere in their beliefs, and in their efforts to live their lives according to the precepts of their religions.

Some of them are even preachers, or priests of one sort or another, but the percentage in those categories of sincere belief is most certainly smaller than in the general public…. Let’s face it, most of those who go into the business do it because they aren’t any good at anything else, and the work is pretty easy…. Being a preacher is only hard if it gets taken seriously enough to try to help other folks, but most of the ones I’ve met are more concerned with convincing everyone of their piety to worry about actually helping…. and to most of them, the process of proving their own piety is accomplished by challenging everyone else’s beliefs, and sticking their noses into other people’s business….

One of the most insidious attractions of religion to many people, sad to say, is that it provides such a convenient vehicle for going through life without ever having to come up with an original thought or feeling. Every system of religious dogma, from no matter what cult, or division, or schism, or whatever it may be called, is designed to give people answers to their questions about life and all the things that happen that they don’t understand, thus creating a sense of dependency. This is very convenient for political pundits, who manage to take advantage every time the preachers pull another scam on the public….

“The mockingbird can change its tune eighty-seven times in seven minutes. Politicians regard this interesting fact with envy.” — Smart Bee

Unfortunately, those answers, comforting as they may be, seldom reflect reality very well, but are based rather on how that particular sect views the issue at hand…. and you can rest assured that those answers are designed to benefit the sect, and the preacher, in rather more ways than they will benefit the person with the questions…. But, I’m sure it is very comforting to know that if you just go along with what they say, you are somehow guaranteed something….. I never could understand that part very well, as there was nobody who could tell me just what was being promised…. other than I’d have to wait until I was dead in order to see it…. (The politicians like this one as well, because it gets people used to being promised something,  i.e. campaign promises, then having those promises unfulfilled…. )

“There are so many ways that we sabotage our own divinity, our own possibilities. and the mythologies of race and gender may well head the list.” — Callan Williams

Ah yes, the mythologies of race and gender…. Consider this…. each of us who are of the genus homo sapiens is a unique individual, no matter what color our skin, or whether we are male or female. Unique in our own right, beginning with the pattern of DNA that dictates and defines the characteristics of the organism that is each one of us. Unique. This is indisputable scientific fact. And yet, there are still people who choose to believe that there are characteristics shared by certain groups of homo sapiens that make them somehow superior or inferior to another group. Which of those characteristics they claim as exclusive is always based on articles of faith, and never on any physical evidence. The basis for these articles of faith are outlined in the myths, myths that ignorance breeds, born out of fear of the unknown….

These fears are pretty formless, as the people who have them don’t like to think about them. First, because then they feel uncomfortable, and being comfortable is preferable to thinking, no matter how much it may alleviate the fear.  Second, it is also hard to clearly define something that one rejects all evidence of knowing about; the fear is a known factor, and knowledge is not. These behaviors are a very childish reaction to serious adult issues, but then, a large number of people never learn to deal with life after a certain age; the techniques of denial and avoidance that children rely on are hard for some to give up, especially in matters of emotional or psychological import.

“The ability to accept responsibility is the measure of the man.”  — Roy L. Smith

This is very true, and actually would be claimed as their own by many folks who make a habit of refusing to even consider being responsible for anything outside their own little world. The flaw in their world-view is that they firmly hold that what they perceive is the only true way that the world CAN be perceived; they seem to be constitutionally unable to entertain any idea to the contrary. It makes compromise with them somewhat of a difficult proposition, as their belief in their own rightness gives them a feeling of entitlement, of believing that they can lie and cheat others without consequence, because the “others” are, as unbelievers, not worthy of honorable treatment. (Hmm, I can’t decide if this sounds more like a fundamentalist Christian, a ruthless rich business man (is there another kind?), or a politician….. since it fits all three, I guess it fits Romney like a second skin…..)

“It is a great advantage for a system of philosophy to be substantially true.” — George Santayana

This second quote from Mssr. Santayana points out another flaw in the philosophy held by those who follow many religions, under their own interpretations of the scriptures that are used by them. This flaw is obviously based on the relatively inarguable fact that all of them are faith-based philosophies…. grand, and grandiose, well considered, beautifully constructed philosophies, whose basic premise is an entity whose existence cannot be evidenced in the physical world.

There are innumerable thoughtful and elegant “proofs” of the existence of these entities, all of which, again, are constructed entirely of words and ideas. Some use logic, some history, some use hope, some use delusion, and some use an amorphous idea that cannot be pinned down…. none of them have actual pieces of physical evidence that incontrovertibly points to the existence of such an entity. If anyone knows of one, or two, or more, please let me know of it/them; I would be very interested in the information, and its provenance, to be sure….

In short, one theory to explain how it all works…. There are many, including Mr. Hawking, who believe that knowing this can possibly lead us to a closer idea of the answer to the Why it all works the way it does…. by design, or by chance? Did God lose a bet, or win one? Or is there some as yet unknown reason beyond our current ability to understand? Being able to SEE and KNOW how it all works can only give us clues about the origins of it all.  Even if it doesn’t give us all the answers we seek, we will have a better understanding of the Universe, and ourselves, and thus, perhaps, a better idea of our true place in all of what we see…..

Whew! If you made it to here, you are indeed worthy…. and probably tired, confused, and a bit troubled, with doubts as to my sanity. S’okay, I understand…. and I don’t blame you. I should have handed out warning notices at the beginning…. Ah well, t’was fun for me, and that will do….. Stop me, please, I can’t seem to shut up….. wait, don’t pull that pl……
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Well, it’s really too bad I’m not charging by the word, now, isn’t it? I could retire with ease in a couple of weeks at this rate….. I’m not sure where it all came from, or how long it has been percolating in there, but it’s obviously been a while now…. You know how I feel about it, though…. better out than in, at least from my standpoint…. everyone else is on their own, in this respect…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..