Howdy, y’all…. how’s it shakin’?  The lines written above are all smoke, only there to provide a platform for the first word, which, all by itself, is a word of such class and power, it can support an entire paragraph, one with no real information in it, and no meaning at all, turning it into a thing of, well, if not beauty, at least, interest….. Well, for me, it does…. I love the word…… “balderdash”…. it’s got everything a word needs to make it special. Odd spelling, funny sounding, and an ancient meaning, that has little modern relevance, beyond its use, as in this case, as a prop for words that otherwise would have little purpose, and draw no attention whatsoever….

I’m running much later than I have for awhile; late night, dealing with issues, so you’ll need to be careful where you sit. Why? Oh, sorry, forgot to tell y’all…. I got my shipment of plastic Jesus holders, perfect for the dashboard of your car, to sell on EBAY, but the box broke during shipment, and sort of exploded when they threw it on the porch from the truck, so there are plastic shards, some of them quite sharp, and a mass of those styrofoam packing peanuts, everywhere….. It was a bloody mess, I can tell you; thank goodness it wasn’t the fish sauce that’s getting delivered tomorrow…… If that gets broken, I’ll be fighting off cats for weeks….. Any who, I didn’t have time to clean it up last night, so watch where you park your butt….

Alright, I’ll stop now…. It is a terrible thing to wake up to an empty mind; equally terrible, as you can see, is what happens when I try to write anyway. SIGH…. (That’s a big, drawn out, fully ironic, Clare County sigh….)  I don’t really mean to do that to people, but, what else can I do in such instances? Order in? Outsource? Give up? None of those options is palatable for me, as they all involve admitting I’m unable to do it myself, and I’m not going there. I HAVE to write…. I get all twitchy, and irritable, if I go too long without spewing some of what is in here, and can bite if severely tested; my insurance won’t cover any of that, and the damn police get so irritated when they have to come talk to me about another dead body….

Okay, I’m done now…. really, I am. I think that’s enough to be able to call it an intro section…. it doesn’t actually introduce anything, but, it does kind of give you an idea of what you’ll be dealing with in the way of thought processes. You might want to take advantage of the full-body armor, and the upgraded helmets today…. The weather looks a bit chancy for this kind of diving, and flying…. Without any further literary abuse, we will now head out to corner Smart Bee, and find a few appropriate articles of stimulation….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Is this the line for the latest whimsical  YUGOSLAVIAN drama which also makes you want to CRY and reconsider the VIETNAM WAR?” — Zippy the Pinhead

I’ve decided to publish a book, I think…. It’s actually already written, so it should be out within a few months, as soon as I figure out a way to complete the publishing part….  🙂   Actually, that sounds as if it is a joke, but, I’m quite serious, which is the funniest part of the joke. I even have the title, sort of… or, rather, I’ve got some ideas for one, but need to pick one & quit waffling…

The basic premise is to polish up the best Daily Pearl from each month I’ve been writing them, put them together into one document, and have an agent see if anyone is interested in it…. I’ll make sure to include my own poems in the appropriate sections of each Pearl, so I don’t have to worry about any attribution for the work of others…… I’ll use the Introduction to deliver the basic necessary accessory concepts, to wit: Peruaosophy, the Philosophy of Pearls, the definition of ffolkes vs. folks, Pearls vs. pearls vs. pearls, etc.  I’ve heard of a blog publisher who may be able to help, and I’ll contact her soon, too… when I’m ready with the finished document of Pearls…. Oooh, inspiration strikes!…. I’ve got it…. the title….

A Necklace of Moonstones ; Pearls of Virtual Wisdom*

*Not recommended for use as Real Wisdom. Any use not intended may lead to joyful chuckling, or in severe cases of exposure,  cogitation.

No, whatever money I make from a book, or books, will go to people and organizations that are working to improve our chances of survival, or to working on taking mankind to the stars, which I still believe to be our destiny, should we manage to survive our infancy, and the moral childishness that threatens our continued existence. Other than being able to eat, live indoors, see a doctor when I’m sick, play occasionally, and travel a bit, I don’t have a lot of expenses…. oh, and a phone and computer, with Internet access. Beyond those, my needs are few, if any, so I don’t think I’d have any problem with putting the money to work for people….

Talking about it isn’t going to get it on the market, no matter how convincingly I write out the plan…. I have to DO it…. and I’ll start later today, after this Pearl is posted, and I’ve finished any chores that need doing (the trash is getting a bit smelly, full sink, etc……). No worries!

🙂   Wish me luck!….. I will, no doubt, need it…..
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Anatomy of the World

A Valediction Of Weeping

Let me pour forth
My tears before thy face, whilst I stay here,
For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,
And by this mintage they are something worth,
For thus they be
Pregnant of thee;
Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more,
When a tear falls, that thou falls which it bore,
So thou and I are nothing then, when on a diverse shore.

On a round ball
A workman that hath copies by, can lay
An Europe, Africa, and an Asia,
And quickly make that, which was nothing, all;
So doth each tear
Which thee doth wear,
A globe, yea world, by that impression grow,
Till thy tears mix’d with mine do overflow
This world; by waters sent from thee, my heaven dissolved so.

O more than moon,
Draw not up seas to drown me in thy sphere,
Weep me not dead, in thine arms, but forbear
To teach the sea what it may do too soon;
Let not the wind
Example find,
To do me more harm than it purposeth;
Since thou and I sigh one another’s breath,
Whoe’er sighs most is cruelest, and hastes the other’s death.

~~ John Donne
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“We are going to have to find ways of organizing ourselves cooperatively,sanely, scientifically, harmonically and in regenerative spontaneity with the rest of humanity around the earth…. We are not going to be able to operate our spaceship earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common.” — Buckminster Fuller

Bucky said this some time around 1968 or 69; Google would know….. but I remember it well, as part of the argument that first convinced me of the imminence of the danger from overpopulation, pollution, climate change, and all of the other foolish, self-destructive behaviors in which our specie has engaged for millennia. The cumulative effects of all of these issues is approaching a flash point, a point that, quite possibly, may already have been reached, and passed, without anyone noticing…..

“What are the facts? Again and again and again — what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history” — what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!” — Lazarus Long

But, the stupids keep on decrying any changes have happened, and blithely ignore the warmer, dryer winters, the cooler, wetter summers, the shrinking polar ice (at BOTH poles!…), the instability in the biosphere, the tons of carbon monoxide and particulates being added into the atmosphere every second, and all of the other evidence that PROVES them wrong. It isn’t a matter of there not being any real evidence, it is a matter of the evidence being ignored, or challenged, that is proving to be the hardest obstacle to be overcome if we are to survive beyond the next 100 years….

“Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can’t help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” — Lazarus Long

Now, I know there is hope, and that everyone who reads this will give me positive reasons for that hope…. and I agree with all of them. I don’t want to die, and I don’t want my children, or their children, to have to face the same issues in order to save themselves. I’d much rather just shoot the motherfuckers who are causing all of it right now, and be done with it…. Sadly, that won’t work, so we’ll have to figure out something else to do…. I am not enough of a genius to be able to figure out exactly what that might be, though I have some ideas that would help, I’m sure…. But, I’m not in a position now to have those ideas instituted, so they are moot, unless I can assume such a position….

Hope is, therefore, just about ALL I have left….
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I suppose I should finish this now, since it’s done….. A moment, if you please…. Okay, not too bad, all in all. It felt a bit rough, while putting it together, but it seems to be standing up just fine, so…. I’m going to declare it “done” before I can change my mind, or my shirt, whatever that means…. I’m going now….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..