We read of a certain Roman emperor who built a magnificent palace.  In digging the foundation, the workmen discovered a golden sarcophagus ornamented with three circlets, on which were inscribed, “I have expended; I have given; I have kept; I have possessed; I do possess; I have lost; I am punished. What I formerly expended, I have; what I gave away, I have.” — Gesta Romanorum — Tale xvi

I have decided, again, to make a change, of at least a temporary nature…. Here is a beginning pearl for your perusal, one that shows well in the early light, and not merely because it is a tale from old Rome…. those always go over well with the breakfast crowd….. This is also a fine way to show off a very old format for Pearls, from the very Dark Ages, before computers were available to the public, and we all had to write stuff down with real pencils, or one of those other actual writing utensils…. Never mind all that, though, and look at the pearl more closely…. You’ll see that there is actually a real-life lesson in there, just waiting for us to learn it….

Of course, we must then assume one is capable of learning, capable, moreover, of learning such an ethical lesson this early in the day…. Not everyone can, you know…. There are a lot of people who can’t learn ethical lessons at all, but, we try to keep them confined to the political arena where  we can keep better track of them…. Hah! I wish it were that simple…. No, there’s actually a good little parable in the above little tale, all about big fish, little fish, etc., compassionate living, ethics, and the pointlessness of arguing with reality, but, in sooth, I just included it there to show y’all how pearls used to be constructed, back in the days before the digital hegemony became extant…. Can we be done now? Okay….

So, yesterday, I made a really dumb statement, and though that isn’t all that unusual, it IS unusual for me to resort to hyperbole when I’m writing, even when being sardonic, or sarcastic…. Part of the trouble with hyperbole is its unfortunate habit of always coming back to bite later on… Yesterday, I spoke of being one of the richest single men in the world, referring to a fortune in the neighborhood of several hundred million dollars….. which, of course, isn’t anywhere NEAR the richest…. The men and/or women who inhabit THAT short list have fortunes approximating several BILLION dollars, a figure they cannot envision any better than the rest of us, in the final analysis…. nor can they take a single penny more than we can with them wherever any of us are going, after we’re done fooling around on this plane of existence….

There…. now that I’ve cleared up that little misunderstanding, I can honestly say that I’ve completely screwed the pooch, in a manner of speaking…. I’ve written myself into another damn corner, and the only way out is to just bail…. I hate to do that, it gets my cardigan all wrinkled from the dive, and it’s always such a hassle to retie all the knots, and restock all the snacks…. But, it does get us to the next section, without having to go back and do any of this over, and without having to resort to sheepish, apologetic shuffling while you look magnanimous and kindly…. Thanks for THAT!….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I am ignorant of absolute truth. But I am humble before my ignorance, and therein lies my honour and my reward.” — Kahlil Gibran
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[7/16/89] “I’ve had no indication from home, nor have we picked up any here that they felt that the US economy was going to move towards a recession.” [10/4/91] “The economy is moving in the right direction.” [10/25/91] “I don’t want to buy into the predicate about [the US being in] another recession. I don’t feel that way.”  [10/31/91] The economy’s turned the corner, headed for recovery.”  [11/8/91] I’m not prepared to say we are in a recession.”  [1/4/92] It will not be a deep recession.”  [1/15/92] Look, this economy is in free fall.”  — President George Bush

Perfect, eh? I think this little collection of quotes from the news is an excellent way to demonstrate my point about the lies that politicians tell on a regular basis…. This group of quotes could arguably be reproduced for just about ANY politician alive, and look almost exactly the same, whether the subject is the economy, gun control, foreign policy, the war on (drugs, poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease, cancer, the middle class…. pick one, they’re all current….), or just their own cupidity…. It’s clear from each and every of the above statements, at each and every time he was queried, this man had absolutely no clue as to what was actually going on with the economy…. and had no intention of ever admitting any such thing….

To be honest, I don’t expect him to have a clue about the economy….. That is a subject of which no one alive has any real understanding; the economy of this nation, and of the world at large, is too big, too astronomically huge and amorphous, with so much inertia inherent in its workings, the effects of ANY kind of cause are delayed, and perverted (which merely means altered unexpectedly…. get your mind out of the gutter, please….) by that inertia, making the behavior of the entire entity rather completely unpredictable by any normal means, and certainly by no means of which we are capable at this point in our mental development…. Even cloud-computing won’t resolve such huge numbers….

The economy of the world, as an outgrowth of the society which engages in it, is suffering in the throes of unbridled, undisciplined growth… The number of people on the planet is bumping right up against the total number of those it is POSSIBLE for the planet to support, in a real, physical sense…. That fact, not factoid, is, of course, calmly being ignored by society at large, and we continue to produce alarming numbers of people, along with the alarming amount of grunge that each person seems to require, every second of every day….. If it were a medical issue, we would call what is happening in the world of money, and society in general, “cancerous”, as it is steadily, unflinchingly, irrevocably eating itself alive from the inside…..

I’m going to set myself a small task… As a finishing exercise for this small rant against the general stupidity of our species, I’m going to go perform a quick data mining expedition on the front pages of the news… I’ll bet I can come up with at least four or five examples from this morning’s batch of headlines that will serve as examples of some part of what I’ve outlined above…. Let’s see what the world is up to, eh?….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Judge-orders-removal-of-San-Diego-war-cross-5059879.php

(Oooh, politics AND religion, in one article…. How many opinion-based arguments will we hear on this one, do you think?….)

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Sunnyvale-car-dealer-pleads-no-contest-to-sales-5060326.php

(Apparently, the urge to lie, cheat, and steal extends into every level, and every corner of society, not merely the government….)

http://blog.sfgate.com/fiore/2013/12/11/im-an-internet-company-im-the-government/

(Another brilliant observation from Mark Fiore, Pulitzer-winning journalist, exposing at least one or two of the falsehoods out there….)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/House-GOP-conservatives-help-propel-budget-bill-5060806.php

(Congress…. Senate…. budget…. Now, how many of these people would you guess are lying, to you, to each other, and to themselves? Can you say, “ALL OF THEM”?…..)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/UN-inspectors-confirm-Syria-chemical-attack-5059352.php

(As noted above, the incidence of diseased ethics is not limited to the government of this country alone…..)

There you go…. easy money, if I was getting paid. The five articles I found were all right there on the front page… didn’t have to search beyond there to find enough examples to complete my self-imposed task. I find that both encouraging, and disheartening at the same time…. So much so, I’m done with this for now…. We’re all goin’ to Hell in a Hand Basket, ffolkes, so, we may as well enjoy the ride…..

Then farewell Horace, whom I hated so,–
Not for thy faults, but mine.

— Lord Byron (1788-1824) — Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iv, Stanza 77
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One’s solace, from tasting the fruit of the tree of knowledge, at times, can only be found in the arms of genius…. and serendipity…. Such is the joy of finding this at just this moment, when I needed it most….

As a practicing hedonist, finding one’s self overwhelmed is an occupational hazard, in a manner of speaking. We’re told our whole lives that there is a price to pay when we over-indulge; at one time or another, all of us have experienced a graphic example of the truth of that little fillip from the gods of laughter, usually bestowed upon us to bring a bit of humor to our lives, at those moments when we least wish to laugh, and most need to…. In short, there’s always a come-uppance when we piss on our own shoes, and crying about it won’t help….

In accepting the truth of that, one doesn’t always give in completely, and learn to “like it”, but, we can learn to live with it, and live with it we must, so, it’s usually best to just do so, and get on with it…. This means, in one respect, at least, that I’m done being sick…. I’ve taken my turn, it’s over now, so can someone else please get on this bus and drive it away? I’m through with it….. Thank you….

Now that’s settled, I can see I have a lot of work to do, in my head, and on this blog…. I’ve managed to write so damn much that most people give up, I think…. Not that I’m writing for other ffolkes, but, it’s nice to know they’re out there, and that I’m not talking to the wall…. Any who, I’m coming to terms with having traveled over 50,000 miles in the past nine months, more than I’ve covered in the previous 12 years, or more, and my body needs to take a break…. This will mean I’m online more, so, we’ll see if I can’t get around to see more of other ffolkes’s blogs, which I do miss being able to get to…. As John Carter of Mars said, “While I live, there is hope….”

Here’s a pearl, composed of random pearls, to finish off this Pearl…..   😆

“How ridiculous and unrealistic is the man who is astonished at anything that happens in life.” — Marcus Aurelius

“Reality is a much bigger concept than I thought.” — Smart Bee

“Education never ends… It is a series of lessons with the greatest for the last.” — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“The most common sort of lie is the one uttered to one’s self.” — Nietzsche

He only earns his freedom and his life
Who takes them every day by storm.

— Goethe, from Faust

“What is the first business of one who studies philosophy? To part with self-conceit. For it is impossible for any one to begin to learn what he thinks that he already knows.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — How to apply general Principles to particular Cases, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xvii

“I grow old ever learning many things.”– Solon 630 – 555 BC

Serendipity, indeed! John Carter was right! Seven perfect, matching pearls, all of great age and luster, but for one, one that serves as an exact counterpoint to the rest, providing the perfect balance…. God, I love this job…. oh, wait….. shoot….. Oh, well, still fun….
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Euripides was wont to say, “Silence is an answer to a wise man.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Bashfulness

Another outburst of egotistical meanderings, just as if anyone cared, or was even listening…. If nothing else, one must give points for persistence, eh? And proofing, I’m good at the proofing, generally…. Let’s try that for a moment or two… I’m really not sure what to think about this…. so, I won’t. I’m outta here, ffolkes, and there’s nothing any of us can do about it now…. See you tomorrow, I think…..

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.