Ffolkes,
Nearly a crisis today, upon arising, but, matters were resolved before any major explosions occurred; all is serene once more…. which leaves me in the usual delicate position of being up, with nothing particularly helpful in my head to get this going…. I could have started this with a fictional opening; I’ve got several percolating in my head, (a really cool one about this orphaned telekinetic girl child on Antares IV, who is trying to find her way back to Earth, has been in there, but, the gimmick isn’t quite right, so it needs to simmer a while….), but, nothing really feels like it will do the trick. I could start rambling and blathering, but, all of my random BS is currently in use on other projects, so….
I suppose I could actually go ahead and write a real introduction, with hints of what is to come, and little verbal tricks to engage your interests, thus pulling you into the rest of today’s effort, before you realize you’ve been captured. But then you might get mad, and just leave halfway through, and we can’t have that; readus interruptus is no picnic, believe me. The shock that gives the nervous system has been known to put me in bed for a week, last time I got mad and left in the middle like that….. I wouldn’t want ANYONE to have to go through that, so, that’s out….
Maybe I could…. no, I forgot…. the sheriff told me I couldn’t use that one anymore because of how the neighbors react…. too many calls to dispatch about the colored lights and strange noises coming out of my cat…. Since that’s out, perhaps we should just let it all go, book a suite on the Queen Mary, and head out for a world cruise…. But, that would use up all the money I saved for taxes, and Uncle Sammy gets kinda upset when you tell him he can’t have his tax money when he wants it…. Not that upsetting him would make me cry very hard….
Since all of that stuff won’t do, I suppose we’ll just have to do like we always do, and fake it…. At least today it’s a relatively short fake, and doesn’t have so much involved that it will leave any marks, or cause any extra trips to the dry cleaner. In fact, this may be one of the cleanest intro’s I’ve put out in many moons, what with all the overt nonsense I DIDN’T put in here today….. On most days when I fall back on this particular technique, there are a lot more instances of JPS phrases and/or concepts (JPS = Just Plain Strange), which tend to create more of a party atmosphere; thankfully, no parties this morning!…..
In fact, not only is there no party, we’re done…. We’ve reached one of the federally mandated limits for introductory sections in blogging sites of this nature, so, I’m taking the money, and running for the border…. Well, sort of…. Actually, this is a variation on emergency intro ending #4, where I blame the feds for it all, and just leave, like this….
Shall we Pearl?….
“And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” — The Beatles, The last lyric of their last song
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Today’s rant is in section three…. It’s a combination of an archived rant, followed by comments from a more current viewpoint, in a form of mild cheating…. This, of course, means that this section will find itself the home of today’s old-school pearl, picked fresh from the depths of the Smart Bee database, under the random direction of my own imagination, down the esoteric paths to where our virtual wisdom may be found…. Or, not… Either way, it’s all good fun, which is something the universe is kind enough to furnish for us, to balance out the crap it puts us through…. Let’s see what we can find today….
“Lawyers: the larval form of politicians.” — Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 53rd edition, 2025 (After the revolution….)
“I HAVE to buy a new “DODGE MISER” and two dozen JORDACHE JEANS because my view screen is “USER-FRIENDLY”!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
“I am NOT a nut….” — Zippy the Pinhead
Accidents cause History: “If Sigismund Unbuckle had taken a walk in 1426 and met Wat Tyler, the Peasant’s Revolt would never have happened and the motor car would not have been invented until 2026, which would have meant that all the oil could have been used for lamps, thus saving the electric light bulb and the whale, and nobody would have caught Moby Dick or Billy Budd.” — Mike Harding, “The Armchair Anarchist’s Almanac”
He that will not reason is a bigot.
He that cannot reason is a fool.
He that dares not reason is a slave.
— William Drummond, “Academical Questions”
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone renounced violence forever? I could then conquer the whole stupid planet with just a butter knife.” — Smart Bee
Non carborundum illegitimi. (Don’t let the bastards wear you down.) — Job, 2433 B.C.
Okay…. I know I have to take responsibility for that…. I don’t want to, but, I’d have to give up my ranting license if I tried to blame Smart Bee for all of it…. I’m busted; I DID make up some of the author’s names…. there…. Nobody can accuse me of dishonesty…. Of course, I can’t speak to the somewhat eclectic nature of the involved concepts, or how the pearls fit together (though, trust me, they do…), but, I’ll take the blame anyway, since it’s still only the first section, and the pilot’s not here today…. Now we know the guilty party, shall we continue?….
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As I begin this section today, I have no clue about what poem to put in…. Usually I have some idea of what I want, but, my mind/body composite is a bit, shall we say, discombobulated (love that word…. so accurate at times….), so the exact nature of that (what I want, exactly….) can’t currently be determined…. I guess it’s kind of like when the Network Administrator shuts down a server for maintenance or upgrade, and you can’t access certain programs while it’s being used…. you can’t get there from here…. Hence, I haven’t a fucking clue about what I want right now….
S’okay…. If I did, it probably would cause some sort of annoying emotional response…. Been there, done that, not goin’ back…. All this is merely to let you know that whatever follows may be a trifle suspect, being, as it is, the unfortunate result of a very weary, yet somehow concurrently enervated mind’s less-than-completely-frenetic search for peace…. in all the wrong places, patently….
Perhaps its a sign that the day will now take a turn for the better….. In my search, I went with an impulse, and went first to my own stash of bloody pieces of my soul, which I keep in the Poetry folder on my computer…. The first one that caught my eye was this one, and, upon reading it, I understand why…. No worries, it isn’t necessary for y’all to know exactly why, because the poem is good enough (in my estimation) to make it worth reading…. even if it doesn’t rhyme, like most of my poetry…. I hope you enjoy it…. it made me feel better, so, good enough…
Until I knew there was more,
I wanted to know God.
They said he was a nice guy,
& would let me live forever.
All I had to do, they said,
was live my life for Him,
always living by scripture
cleaving only to His Way.
But, everyone I saw in church,
acted different at home.
Living wild, cussin’, and fussin’,
nobody lived like they said.
Still, I tried to be like Jesus,
he was sort of cool.
He never hurt nobody
& walked on the right path.
‘Course they killed him for that,
they couldn’t stand his example.
Turned him into a martyr,
hid his real words among their own.
Then I found the Buddha,
and met Lao Tzu at the gate.
They saw things real different,
showed me how to see straight.
Right thought, and right action
replace blind obedience and faith.
Reality becomes manageable,
fear retreats, the universe expands.
Brother John said it pretty well,
“Imagine there’s no heaven,
it’s easy if you try.”
Sounds like he knew why.
Day to day, life is grand,
we walk in eternal beauty.
Open your eyes and hearts,
find yourself already immortal.
~~ gigoid ~~
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“Everything in the universe exists in duality…. light/dark, life/death, etc. Which side of reality is good, and which is bad, is all in the mind of the folks looking at it…. For some reason, those folks, to wit: we humans, always seem to insist on making judgments about which is which. This is part of why a lot of folks have problems dealing with reality, because reality doesn’t care one way or the other; things are not good OR bad, they just ARE.…” — gigoid
I first wrote the above aphorism on 6/30/2012, as part of a reply to a comment from my friend, and fellow blogger, Willowdot21, which she made after reading the Pearl posted that day, specifically, the following, which comprised section two or three of the Pearl for that date…. I like it, so, here ’tis again, just because I can….
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“I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” — Sir Winston Churchill
“…for DEATH awaits you all, with nasty sharp pointy teeth!” — Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Death. The great equalizer. Nobody gets away from it. As a matter of fact, it has been proven, beyond a shadow of doubt, that everyone who breathes air, dies. So, air must not be good for us, right? That’s logic….. Of course it’s logical. It is also, however, not a true conclusion, and serves as an example of the fact that logic doesn’t always lead to the correct answer to any particular question….. sometimes you gotta just go by what is real…..
I like the first quote, by Winnie…. should the Christian viewpoint turn out to have been true, I would prefer to meet my maker with this same attitude. To my way of thinking, if it (Christianity) IS true, then God has a lot to answer for. I’m sorry, but I just can’t believe in any deity who would allow his creation to show such perversions as this species has shown. Whenever I bring this point up to a priest, or theologian of any sort, all I get is “God works in mysterious ways….”
Yeah? Is that right? You say there is some hidden purpose to those actions, so deep and mysterious we don’t understand? Well, fuck God then. I don’t care a whit if there is some hidden purpose; there is NO ACCEPTABLE REASON to suppose that a merciful God would condone child molesters, or rapists, or torture, (even during war). I don’t believe it; it is neither logical, nor rational….
Claiming that God is beyond our understanding, and therefore we cannot understand his reasons for allowing such actions, is pure bullshit. If he is that far above us, why are his morals so perverted? I don’t care what you say, I won’t accept the rape of a child as being justifiable from ANY standpoint. None. And if God does have some justification, well, I ain’t buying it. No matter what it is, it isn’t right….. Going along with it, believing the lie, is just another cowardly way of avoiding responsibility…..
Men are responsible for these actions, not God. Men kill, and rape, and pillage, and manipulate and coerce their fellows into performing acts of heinous nature. At times in history, this killing has taken place in the name of God, as the fanatical zealots so common to Christianity throughout its bloody history carried their own particular brand of oppression, for the glory of God, to new lands, forcing the natives to swallow their version of reality, regardless of how they felt about it.
This kind of zealotry continues in today’s world, with the current Republican candidate all set to bring the US right back into the Stone Age, should he, through some cruel quirk of fate, be elected as POTUS. If that happens, I’d wager serious money Armageddon will be close behind, as I don’t think the rest of the world is going to sit still long enough for him to cram his own faith down their throats. Hell, right here at home, should he be elected, I’d be very surprised if there ISN’T a revolutionary upheaval, within a few months of the election.
I know I would certainly be considering assassination as a viable political tool…. It’s now legal for us to use torture as a resource, (if you question this assertion, just perform a Google search of the words “water boarding”…. & read any of the several thousand examples of our government’s use of torture since 2001…), why should we balk at assassination?
Ah me…. I guess I got too much sleep. It seems to have awakened my old hippie instincts; I haven’t talked revolution in oh, six or eight months now…. I suppose I’ll just have to wait until November, to see which way to jump…. let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That’s always the best policy….. for survival, anyway….and that may become our primary goal, if things keep on keepin’ on…..
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Note from the future: Apparently, things in Reality haven’t changed a lot since the election…. I seem to recall mentioning that it is time to consider revolution as little as a day or two ago, so the events and issues that have arisen over the period of time since the last presidential election haven’t served to convince me there is any less of a need for it to take place…. the sooner the better, as is true in the case of ANY needed revolution…..
The American government, as far as I can see, has been usurped from the control of the people, and has become an oligarchy, with only the rich and powerful allowed to participate in any decision making processes that involve all of society…. The common man is no longer a part of the American governing process, even as voters…
This isn’t merely a claim, by the way…. The gap in the income levels of the average American and those who get elected to office in this country is larger than it’s ever been, and growing each day, as the 1%, (Y’know, it’s actually far less than 1% of over 7 billion people, which would be what, 70 million people? Yeah, that’s correct….)
The truth is, the number of people making those decisions is more like maybe, oh, 1000 to 2000 people, or thereabout, world-wide, who actually make the crucial decisions about EVERYTHING that occurs in society….), who control 99% of the money and physical resources in the world, make their daily inroads into controlling the rest of it, as well. In the US Senate alone, well over half of the Senators are millionaires, with the rest making well over $100, 000 per year…. the average joe on the streets pulls down, maybe, if they’re lucky, $15,000-20,000 per year…..
It’s actually worse than that, ffolkes, because the ones who get themselves elected are merely the front men for the actual rulers of society…. They aren’t even the most well-paid of the lot the shadowy corporate slave masters have working for them, even though they have to be in the spotlight. They’re just the most easily manipulated of the elite, themselves under the control of those few who have the real power.
None of the actual rulers of mankind have faces familiar to anyone outside their immediate circle; they can’t afford to let people know who they are for sure, as they’d be dead within moments, if their machinations were revealed to those they oppress, as they have done for thousands of years, as a matter of course…..
Corporation: “An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.” — Ambrose Bierce: “The Devil’s Dictionary”
And, corporations are just the LATEST innovation those shadowy masters of society came up with in their reign over mankind…. Ah well, we got past the election to which I refer above, but, the running dog lackey that got elected isn’t much different, on the bottom line, than the one he defeated at the polls….
In defense of that statement, I refer you to the NDAA, signed in secret so the public couldn’t object to any of its provisions, and to the Eric Snowden fiasco, which pulled the president’s covers again, revealing him to be just another myrmidon of the slave masters, doing their bidding while preaching about how much they are helping the people (a process George Carlin rightly identified as “The Fucking of America”….)….
SIGH…. Enough ranting against the Asininnies for one day…. They’ll still be here tomorrow, and will have, no doubt, furnished me with yet more of their egregious lies to expose…. They’ve managed to do it every day of my life so far; I have no fear of them missing one…. In the meantime, keep your powder dry, ffolkes, and for goodness’ sake, take off those rose-colored glasses Obama tricked you into donning, and take a look around at how things actually are, rather than how they tell you they are….
Y’know, I just realized, part of the reason I never give up ALL hope that we (humanity) will find a way to survive is summarized in the following pearl, which, I think, speaks to something about which the Asininnies DON’T think often enough… If they did, they’d realize just how fruitless their selfish cowardice is, in the ultimate sense, for they, too, will come up against the one characteristic we all share as part of humanity, to wit: we’re ALL going to die, naked and alone, just like we came in to this world….
“Pale death approaches with an equal step, and knocks indiscriminately at the door of the cottage, and the portals of the palace.” — Horace (65-8 B.C.)
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Well, THAT was something! Exactly what that something might be, I wouldn’t be so bold as to hazard even a guess in jest…. Today’s Pearl may just have reached that state where it defies all description in any usual sense…. Pretty cool, huh? Since I’m a smart guy, I’m leaving it at that…. See ya next time….
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 the dubious
gigoid 
Gore Vidal had a great definition of politics…..poli, Greek many many and tics, meaning blood sucking insects……
Aye, I’ve always liked that one, and have used it in Pearls in the past… I also like this one, from Ambrose Bierce back in the mid 1800’s…
POLITICS, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of
principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. — from “The Devil’s Dictionary”
Assholes, every one of ’em….
👿
Bierce was a good man…he could see them as they truly are….
Your introductions are very cool 🙂 I must say I would love to read the one involving the “orphaned telekinetic girl child on Antares IV, who is trying to find her way back to Earth…” 😀 And I am intrigued by whatever else may be percolating somewhere in the recesses of your mind! For the moment I will have to make do with pearling I guess…knit one pearl one, knit one , pearl one…knit one….lol I’m really not very good at this you know? 😉 Paws keep getting in the way if you know what I mean!! Great big clod hopping paws that they are!
🙂 Maybe you should try crochet…. only one hook to hold…. It IS a smaller hook, generally, but, still, only one…. 😉
I might finish one of those beginnings one of these days, but, it’s a bit of a facer for me to write a whole book, as I can’t sell it…. If I make money, at anything the agency considers work, then my Social Security is reduced by whatever amount I make… It’s only worthwhile if I make a LOT of money on a book, and that’s a little hard to predict…. But, I may do it, just for fun…. I figure then my kids can sell it, and all the other stuff I’ve written and never tried to sell, after I’m gone, so it will be part of my legacy to them… 🙂
I saw by the response on your site that it’s now about 0100 where you are, so, I’m guessing the same latitude as Ireland, or perhaps England as it’s eight hours later than here…. Wherever, have a good night, and enjoy your morning… Take care, milady wolf…. 😎
Crochet…lol 😉 I don’t think so! I can’t knit either!!
Shame Social Security is hindering your potential. You’d think they’d encourage innovative ideas that might make you money and so on. But do it anyway! Wite it that is. Of course your kids could sell it and other stuff you’ve written….or you could be a ghost writer and no one would know it was you…but that might be a bit naughty in the circumstances so maybe not!
Yes…my current location is in the South of England…it’s warm and sunny down here for now and I’m not on a flood plain! Although with my hot water bottle (it’s cold at night) springing a leak overnight…in what had been my nice, warm, dry bed… up till that point lol did leave me wondering this morning if I was mistaken about not living on a flood plain!! So yes…about 8 hours time difference as you say. That would make it around 3.30pm-ish your time ? Have a good afternoon! I shall be off to my DRY, non-hot water bottled bed for a DRY night’s sleep soon!! But right now I fancy pancakes with syrup 🙂 Katch ya later! 🙂
The arena is so filled with rose-perfumed gradu as to make the profession one only chosen by fools. I find it ironic what they do as a matter of job responsibility is illegal in the private sector.
I despise politics with an oral passion. I spent the better part of twenty years working on this or that nonsense before I finally just stopped. When I left the Department of Elections, I was done with politics. I find the modus operandum in this country to defy all manner of logic. I find the constituents continuous tolerance of it revolting.
My only wish is we leave enough of this rock habitable for my grandchildren.
Blessed Be, Brother.
xxx
Red,
Once again, your spiritual strength astounds me! You actually WORKED in politics? I realize you meant peripherally, not as a pundit, or an elected psycho, but, still…. I’m amazed you didn’t leave behind any dead bodies… 😉 I’m sure the temptation was immense!…
With your last line, you and I walk hand in hand, my dear…. I’m so angry at the assholes who have put us all in this position, this brinksmanship in every level of our existence, including our own survival, it is all I can do from day to day to keep talking myself OUT of buying a gun, and a lot of ammunition…. I, too, have a grandson, and it makes me weep to know that his chances of a normal lifetime on this planet are relatively non-existent….
From now on, things are going to get really, really bad, I’m afraid, and there isn’t a whole lot of anything left, in terms of knowledge that will work to help, OR in terms of miracles, supernatural or otherwise, that will have any real chance to stop what is to come…. You know that flash point climate scientists are always talking about, the point where the environmental catalysts have created changes that CANNOT be halted?…. We reached that point in the middle of last year, I’m afraid….
Click to access NCAJan11-2013-publicreviewdraft-fulldraft.pdf
All you need to read here is in the opening paragraph or two, the summary at the beginning…. the rest is just the proof of the assertions made there… It is perhaps the scariest document I’ve ever read, and I hate that it is not a farce, not a fake, and not a lie…. It’s the way it is….
So, like you, my only hope left is that Zack (my almost-three-year-old grandson) will have a CHANCE to experience at least a little of life’s joy, and our planet’s great beauty, before he has to start dealing with just staying alive from one day to the next…. which will be the common fate of everyone alive in a hundred years from now…. That’s my estimate, based on all the data I can find…. Sad, scary, and fucked up, but, true nonetheless….
But, we have today, and maybe, just maybe, if we can somehow ditch the assholes, maybe one of us can figure out another miracle, that will fix things well enough to at least give us all a chance to survive past this century….
There… sorry about the melodrama, and the depressive nature, but, talking about the Asininnies gets me all wound up…
Take care, my friend…. & thanks for commenting….Stay alert, and keep your powder dry….
😎