Ffolkes,
Today, like any other day, has yet to show its true potential, though even now, the feeling of pregnant possibility is almost palpable. It’s hard to describe, actually, this feeling of electric, buzzing anticipation of…. what? The very unknown qualities of the future, far-distant or immediate, add a certain tingle of both fear, and burgeoning joy, to the mix of emotions that swirl as we ponder the day’s dawning….
For some, this jittery, bouncy feeling is too much of a morning, so, they bury their nose in a paper, sip their coffee, and try not to think about what might happen… But, for others, such as meself…. well, let’s just say that there’s no better start to the day than to feel as if it will be filled with challenges, with problems, with solutions, and with both joy, and pain…. Not a bad day, for a human… It’s like Lazarus used to say….
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love
I can do all of the above, except program a computer (I can learn, though, and am in the process of doing so, slowly….), and balance my checking account…. Well, actually, not true… I have had it balanced, once or twice in the dim, dark past; now, I just let the bank do it, and keep track of it online… So, this means I can consider myself a human, by these standards, which I consider to be an accurate summation, and much the same as the conclusions I had already come to in my life. Of course, reading Heinlein’s work since the age of 11 hasn’t hurt a bit in developing those beliefs and standards….
Nor did it hurt to be raised by a Master Sergeant…. I always call my dad that, but, I wouldn’t want to give the impression that was ALL he was… He lived for 72 years, but spent only 20 of that in the army, so, there was more to him than that…. But, in my mind, the fact that, after those 20 years of service, he ended up at that rank as his permanent billet, (though he was promoted after retiring; that is standard. By the time of his death, he had been promoted to major….), is an indication of what kind of man he was…. It is a well-known, and accepted, fact that in the army, Master Sergeants are the ones who actually run things…. smart officers leave the bulk of their duty to the sergeants, merely giving good orders, and staying out of their way….
But, my father was more than merely a Master Sergeant; it’s just a convenient handle to describe him, and to give an idea of what sort of guy he was…. Any who, I’ve wandered around again, without much purpose, and seem to have ended up in a place where I can’t find an easy way out, and into the Pearl… Not unusual, I suppose, merely bothersome…. Oh well, I think I’ll use emergency procedure # 1, which is in its place at the head of the entire group of techniques for saving my ass because it always works… It’s called the Bail-Out, for good reason: it just stops, and…..
_____________________________
And, you never hear from me again on whatever subject was at hand…. Pretty cool, eh? It ALWAYS works…. So, having been dumped here in the first section, clueless as to something to write (No, nothing new in that, I know, but a PITA, nonetheless….). I guess I’ll go old-school, like I had any intention of doing anything else…. 😆
“An older student came to Otis and said, “I have been to see a great number of teachers and I have given up a great number of pleasures. I have fasted, been celibate and stayed awake nights seeking enlightenment. I have given up everything I was asked to give up and I have suffered, but I have not been enlightened. What should I do?” Otis replied, “Give up suffering.” — Camden Benares, “Zen Without Zen Masters”
“When the rich make war it’s the poor that die.” — Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), “Le Diable et le bon Dieu”, 1951
“His seat back is not in the full upright and locked position.” — Smart Bee
“Food, sleep, fear, propagation; each is the common property of men with brutes. Virtue is really their additional distinction; devoid of virtue, they are equal with brutes.” — The Hitopadesa (600?-1100? A.D.)
“All but the hard hearted man must be torn with pity for this pathetic dilemma of the rich man, who has to keep the poor man just stout enough to do the work and just thin enough to have to do it.” — G. K. Chesterton, Utopia of Usurers, 1917
“There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure truth.” — Maya Angelou
“Never commit yourself to a cheese without having first examined it.” — T. S. Eliot
_____________________________
Poetry such as this needs no adornment from me…..
‘Perspective betrays with its dichotomy:
train tracks always meet, not here, but only
in the impossible mind’s eye;
horizons beat a retreat as we embark
on sophist seas to overtake that mark
where wave pretends to drench real sky.’
‘Well then, if we agree, it is not odd
that one man’s devil is another’s god
or that the solar spectrum is
a multitude of shaded grays; suspense
on the quicksands of ambivalence
is our life’s whole nemesis.
So we could rave on, darling, you and I,
until the stars tick out a lullaby
about each cosmic pro and con;
nothing changes, for all the blazing of
our drastic jargon, but clock hands that move
implacably from twelve to one.
We raise our arguments like sitting ducks
to knock them down with logic or with luck
and contradict ourselves for fun;
the waitress holds our coats and we put on
the raw wind like a scarf; love is a faun
who insists his playmates run.
Now you, my intellectual leprechaun,
would have me swallow the entire sun
like an enormous oyster, down
the ocean in one gulp: you say a mark
of comet hara-kiri through the dark
should inflame the sleeping town.
So kiss: the drunks upon the curb and dames
in dubious doorways forget their monday names,
caper with candles in their heads;
the leaves applaud, and santa claus flies in
scattering candy from a zeppelin,
playing his prodigal charades.
The moon leans down to took; the tilting fish
in the rare river wink and laugh; we lavish
blessings right and left and cry
hello, and then hello again in deaf
churchyard ears until the starlit stiff
graves all carol in reply.
Now kiss again: till our strict father leans
to call for curtain on our thousand scenes;
brazen actors mock at him,
multiply pink harlequins and sing
in gay ventriloquy from wing to wing
while footlights flare and houselights dim.
Tell now, we taunt where black or white begins
and separate the flutes from violins:
the algebra of absolutes
explodes in a kaleidoscope of shapes
that jar, while each polemic jackanapes
joins his enemies’ recruits.
The paradox is that ‘the play’s the thing’:
though prima donna pouts and critic stings,
there burns throughout the line of words,
the cultivated act, a fierce brief fusion
which dreamers call real, and realists, illusion:
an insight like the flight of birds:
Arrows that lacerate the sky, while knowing
the secret of their ecstasy’s in going;
some day, moving, one will drop,
and, dropping, die, to trace a wound that heals
only to reopen as flesh congeals:
cycling phoenix never stops.
So we shall walk barefoot on walnut shells
of withered worlds, and stamp out puny hells
and heavens till the spirits squeak
surrender: to build our bed as high as jack’s
bold beanstalk; lie and love till sharp scythe hacks
away our rationed days and weeks.
Then jet the blue tent topple, stars rain down,
and god or void appall us till we drown
in our own tears: today we start
to pay the piper with each breath, yet love
knows not of death nor calculus above
the simple sum of heart plus heart.
~~ Sylvia Plath ~~
_____________________________
I haven’t ranted today, and I rather think I’ll not do so at all, being, as I am, in a state of mind NOT conducive to the proper critical assault of some deserving asshole in the public venue…. although, I’m certain, there is SOMEONE in the news today who deserves an insult or two as payback for their asininity…… Hell, I could easily take two or three minutes, peruse the news headlines, and come up with the name of one or two appropriate candidates…. I’m just too lazy this morning to do so….
I’m gonna go for another old-school pearl, as you probably knew I would, once you saw the word ‘lazy’…. Let’s see what The Notebooks of Lazarus Long have for us along the lines of some ironic, or possibly sardonic, observations on that historically ubiquitous obstacle to the progress of mankind, Religion, or as we like to call it here, the Priestly Hierarchies…. All of these are from Robert Heinlein, via Lazarus, with just a bit of help from Smart Bee….
“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.”
“One man’s theology is another man’s belly laugh. “
“Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.”
“The most preposterous notion that H. sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. yet this absurd fantasy, without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest, largest, and least productive industry in all history.”
“God split himself into a myriad parts that he might have friends.” This may not be true, but it sounds good — and is no sillier than any other theology.”
“God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent — it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks, please. Cash and in small bills.”
“Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.” — Smart Bee
Well, there you have it, ffolkes…. My own personal invitation to Hell, if the Christians have their way…. 😉
_____________________________
Okay, so, they can’t all be brilliant…. Now, if only I could get ONE of them to approach that, I’d be happy…. Let’s see where on the scale this one falls….
Okay, well, I’m impressed… I was barely paying attention, and this came out pretty good…. I’ll have to try this more often, if I can figure out whatever the hell it is that I did differently…. See ya, ffolkes…..
Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
gigoid 
Reblogged this on gigoid and commented:
The verdict is bursitis, already on the mend. Still hard to sit, or type, so we’ll reblog this excellent Pearl from 2013. Enjoy, ffolkes; I’ll be back sooner than expected….
gigoid
“An older student came to Otis and said, “I have been to see a great number of teachers and I have given up a great number of pleasures. I have fasted, been celibate and stayed awake nights seeking enlightenment. I have given up everything I was asked to give up and I have suffered, but I have not been enlightened. What should I do?” Otis replied, “Give up suffering.”
— Camden Benares, “Zen Without Zen Masters”
HA! yeah..
giving up
being
human
is down
wrong stupid..
Books
tend to
do that..
But
within..
feels better..
at least that’s
what god feels Free..
@lEAst for mE.. heHE..
Seriously.. Eckart
Tolle Dance
naked..
i think
not..
and sure
he’s missing
out on noW more SeNsinG FeeLinGS..
Now without peaks and valleys iSREAL2..
And Monks.. and the Old Pope’s at least
rarely
took
a selfie
with a grin..
for the biggest win..
in Heaven noW.. per
Luke 17:21.. of whomever
or whatever scribe scripted that then..
anyway.. it Brings me some sense of
righteous indignation.. considering
the Gnostic Jesus per Gospel of
Thomas vs. 37.. of who
scribed that verse..
that the Jesus
promoted stripping
down naked and shedding
the cultural clothes of lies
away from God Free within..
with absolutely zero shame..
Alive now as star duST plUs..
Adding a verse to the UniVerse wHole..
without
some
clothes..
i’LL go with Verse
37 of Tom.. and file
away 3:16 of John in
dusty old clothes of liFE rot then2..;)
Let’s see what else.. as once
aGain a theme/meme/theleman as such is Set..;)
“When the rich make war it’s the poor that die.”
— Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), “Le Diable et le bon Dieu”, 1951
Unless you are in the U.S..
and can ignore the bigger
bombs
over
tHere
over
theRE
and not over
hEar.. except for
a sparkler
and
such..
ah.. the
zOne of warless sOils..
and those who suffer at the
hands of those who don’t give a FucK…
“His seat back is not in the full
upright and locked position.”
— Smart Bee
Human Ergonomic Injury comes from
chronic and repetitive specialization
of moving sidewalks and chair same ways..
yes.. sitting still is sAMe movement as tiny tiny muscles
and big one’s too have to maintain “sTill” in fiber movement
this IS A way to eventual potential permanent pain.. as
without
change
use it
and lose
it applies
to all stuff
staying same..
Move.. Connect.. and
Create in constantly changing
ways away from specialization in
all stuff or grow basically ‘retarded’
and functionally disabled in so many
pain ways of life too.. the Forest
never
sits
still..
always moving..
connecting and
creating and never
for Rest alone of death as liFE..
Even decay moves more than
sitting still human dead beings..
but sTiLL less or more sitting STiLL moves
in purgatory sAMe A path @lEAst to Hell isREAl..;)
“Food, sleep, fear, propagation; each is the common property of men with brutes. Virtue is really their additional distinction; devoid of virtue, they are equal with brutes.”
— The Hitopadesa (600?-1100? A.D.)
Yeah.. but lovers
with fear
are
wimps too..
don’t leave
out the dARk
as nerds are
awful boring.. and
rarely ever fully alive…
and least what i’ve seen oF mE..
the dARk
that’s
liGht thAT iS..;)
“Specialization is for Insects”..
-Lazarus Long
But wait..
don’t forget..
focusing on things SoULY..
can make real miracles happen too..
as in all stuff
balance..
and
sacrifice
for more too..;)
And oh by the way…
Psychopaths CAN make excellent
warriors when they are contracted out of the hEARd..
It’s hard
to say
who really
‘saved’ the world..
at least a stray Meteor
paved the way for warm and fuzzy we’s..
never discount
the benefit
of
a biggest
Catastrophe of
all.. yeah.. like a
Big Bang too.. or more2.. eTc..eT..aL..;)
“All but the hard hearted man must be torn with pity for this pathetic dilemma of the rich man, who has to keep the poor man just stout enough to do the work and just thin enough to have to do it.”
— G. K. Chesterton, Utopia of Usurers, 1917
The modern way
of work
just
plain
sucks..
Master
Slave
Master
Slave
for
pay pals dARk..;)
“There’s a world of difference between truth
and facts. Facts can obscure truth.”
— Maya Angelou
The scientific method is based on observable
phenomenon that is replicable in
more than one experiment..
i am neither
an experiment
or replicable..
Science will never truthfully
FucKinG understand aLL of mE..
and on top of that i beat
many science
averages..
like you top out
at strong StiLL..
at age 30 based
on an overall sedentary
society of replicating sitting robots..
functionally
disabled
as such
growing less less twitter less..
in Zombie Apocalypse ways..
with Terminator Machines and
Avatars fully on display and for sale..
in terms
of dollar
bills and
new likes..
shares.. and
virtual followers too..
sure.. i know and feel better
but back to the sacrifice thingy too..
Altruism doesn’t have to make rational sense..
or
does
it..hmm…;)
“Never commit yourself to a cheese without having first examined it.” — T. S. Eliot
i often find that
science cheese stiNks..
it rarely gets out to SinG and DancE Free..
or
does it..
hmm.. yum..;)
“Poetry such as this needs no adornment from me…..”
i’LL decorate
literAlly
fiGurAtivELy
anything
juST for FuN..
whether it needs it or not..
and that’s
also
play..
you do
it.. juSt ’cause
it FeeLs FucKinG Good..
cheap thrills
need no
dollar bills..
likes.. shares..
hehe.. or followers.. per se..;)
“History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.”
-Lazarus Long
Apparently Lazarus
didn’t study
Anthropology
or even understand
that rationality is only
one relatively small component
of human
intelligence..
whatever
works LaZ works..
it’s called fluid intelligence..
and MoVinG.. ConNecTinG..
and CreAting.. iN FaCt iMaGinAtiOn
and realiTy don’t have to
make sense aT aLL..
even Mark
Twain
got
that pARt
correct.. @lEast for mE.. hehe..
As truly some folks when they walk
in a church.. cannot understand folks
are really there for the small talk of being toGeTher..
it doesn’t matter where you go.. to a Football Game..
to a political rally.. or even to this or that better
or worse school.. humans bind
together for a common
purpose be that
liGht or DARk..
bottom line
what makes
survival IsREAL..
working with thrive or not..
and sure science proves this out
too now.. as countries with great religious
social programs that provide for the general
populace use that religion of Government to
get the same job done of social connections
for survival that the DArkest and silliest
of other connections do.. in religion..
yeah.. like the Quarterback of
God. Mohammad..
as last
prophet
is better
than the Quarter
Back Jesus of the
Christian Video game..
that people play that gives
him the super power of only begotten son of God..
It’s Human Nature and Nature as whole and like it
or not
Laz
that makes sense..
even if it doesn’t have to.. hehe..;)
“One man’s theology is another man’s belly laugh.”
-Lazarus Long
True.. amazingly insane as it may
seem there are actually
Folks who
fully support
either
Hillary
or Bill Trump..
neither God makes sense..
but again.. they don’t have to..;)
“Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream
up a god superior to themselves. Most gods
have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.”
-Lazarus Long
Take me for example.. now of course..
And i’m not even an only Son of God..
i AM a spoiled child.. in liFe.. but
somehow i came
back as liFe..
away from
spoiled
in
liFe..
now
that’s
an iSREaL
Miracle.. if i’ve ever done one..
and this version of i AM iS
even more than 2.0..;)
“The most preposterous notion that H. sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. yet this absurd fantasy, without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest, largest, and least productive industry in all history.”
-Lazarus Long
God is..
Bottom line..
like or lump it..
it is
what
it is..
don’t need no
fancy words
or dollar
bills
for
my cheap thrills..
God is fun to me.. as IS mE..;)
“God split himself into a myriad parts that
he might have friends.” This may not be true,
but it sounds good — and is no sillier than any other theology.”
-Lazarus Long
As far as i’M concerned
that’s the smArtest thing
Laz has said about God yet..
’cause it is testable even in science and
true.. depending on semantic arguments of course..
and once
again.. like
i say.. don’t need
no fancy words
for my
cheap thrills as iS..;)
“God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent — it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks, please. Cash and in small bills.”
-Lazarus Long
Ha! ya gotta be kidding
lAZ.. even the Old Testament
proves God has a Beginning
and that
makes
no logical ‘since’..;)
In other words..
God is Beyond
words…
so what’s
your argument.. Lazarus..;)
Leave all the labels behind Laz
and experience God
as is.. NoW..
oKAy..
be smArter
and feel and sense
more for those who live
life in words.. as i for one
sacrifice to do too.. heHE..;)
“Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.”
— Smart Bee
i question..
but i refuse to
feel doubt.. as
that is a negative
and cynical emotion..
that only brings folks down..
in the
long
run
oF course..
and of course
that is only a rhetorical
and semantic argument..
but that’s what words
inherently
do as
all
words
are only
more as
metaphors..
Dance speaks
better as hips and
eyes.. most.. tale fewer lies..
for those who can read them
without FucKinG words.. as
science shows.. some folks
literally cannot with
non-verbal
learning
disabilities
who seem really
smArt in words but
are lacking the metaphor
of right brain intelligences..;)
Okay that was fun to me
@least in a decorative way..
hA! perHaps i’ll be a fashion
designer or hair stylist next…
but nah..
that’s a label..
just a
word
is all they are..
juSt for fUN
@lEAst foR Me..
Hope you are doing
aS WeLL as well can be
iN yOur UniVerse mY FriEnd..
after all is said and done.. they
are all multi-Verses from within..
there are as many Flavors of God
as tHeiR are eYes and other Sentient
ways of
seeing
stuff
mY FriEnd..
no need to get
in a rush to limit absolutely
anything or everything2…;)
*grin* I love when you go off on my nonsense…. A bit of background on Lazarus…. He’s the alter-ego of Robert Heinlein, a character he defines as “The Eldest”… In the book, Time Enough For Love (which you should read, btw.), at the opening, Lazarus has reached the ripe age of 2400+ years, He attempts to self-terminate, but is saved by relatives, who wish to preserve his store of wisdom; this takes the form of a long series of conversations with him, detailing some of his life’s adventures, and the knowledge he distilled over two millennia of living a full life…
In reading over your observations on his words, I am reminded a bit of Shakespeare, to wit; “Methinks he doth protest too much” I’d have to add, assertions, even of personal revelations, are not evidence of existence… That should stimulate more dialogue, I think… *grin*
Typing this much has been an extreme effort; I’m trying, but, right now, I can’t keep up with your output, but, know I am reading as much as I can of it, & love all I read….
Take care, bro; my shoulder will heal. I’m not giving it any choice…
Love
gigoid
On words for evidence.. gigoid..
and protesting.. hehe..
just for fun.. Now
of course.. noW..
SMiLes.. my Friend..
most all assertions are
words/
science..
except
for the
one’s that dance
and the song that
touches A heARt..
tHere is little evidence
for An existence of A
heARt
except
for A
one that feels..
and senses more or
less depending on mileage
or the make of the vehicle that
houses more than letters and words..
and numbers too..
i’ve traveled
in many different
vehicles in life.. i am
equally blessed and cursed..
to drive an OIdsmobile with many shells..
and a Jaguar
as Facebook
recently
said
with
no known limits..
as just another name for a Leopard..
Panther.. Cougar.. or Mountain Lion.. my FriEnd..;)