Only the freshest innuendo served here…..

Posted on May 31, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Yesterday’s title is more connected to reality than I had previously realized; I can feel the changes happening here at ECR as I type. Yet, it all looks the same from this vantage point; a blank, white screen, filled only with trepidation for the need to fulfill my chosen duty….. which is NOT going to get it done. Perhaps if I petitioned for an extension?…..

Reality, however much we would prefer it do so, does not do extensions…. When the bill comes due, it’s payable in full, or deal with the immediate consequences, regardless of whether or not those consequences are something with which we are capable of dealing. In short, duty gets done, or a price is paid. No exceptions, no excuses, and whining, though optional, is considered wimpy, and not encouraged by any right-thinking participants…. Reality itself adopts the cat’s position, i.e., it doesn’t give a shit either way….

Regardless of how much I blather about it, or dance around the point, it remains…. changes are coming to this blog…. In fact, they started yesterday, but, even I didn’t notice…. not that it matters now, does it? Once it’s posted, there’s no more editing allowed; once you set out on that slippery slope of scree, there’s little hope to ever get done with it…. and, given the idiosyncrasies of the WP editing page, I don’t like to chance it, anyway, as one never knows how one’s proposed changes will actually turn out on the page…. That’s too much of a crap shoot for me….

All of this blather, of course, is merely a prelude, to madness and folly, I’m sure, but, that actually remains to be seen…. One thing I DO know for sure, and that is that I am going to be spending a LOT more time out in the BBR, looking for suitable pictures to illustrate the pearls…. I say that because my first outing, yesterday, for that purpose was more of a wash than I like, as you’ll see from the pix taken…. It’s not going to be as easy as I had thought, which is fine….. a little complexity is good for the soul…

I’m wandering…. I can feel it. I’m circling around, just filling in lines until enough of them have accumulated to call it an intro…. AND…. I believe I’ve reached that point already. From what I can see from here, this appears to be sufficient, and I don’t hear any objections from the court-appointed monitors, so, I think we can go on now, and see how this is going to work, exactly…. You see, it’s all new to me, too…. Isn’t that encouraging?….

No? Oh well…. I guess that means we’re all committed to this fabulous folly, so, we may as well just get on with it, before I manage to screw this up any further….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“It’s snowing still. And freezing. However, we haven’t had an earthquake lately.” — A.A. Milne’s Eeyore

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Here is how I’m going to have this work…. First comes the picture; below the picture will be a pearl, followed by some quick, hopefully amusing or engaging prose or poetry from me, then the next picture…. and so on, down the line. It’s not complicated, but, what do you want to bet I can screw it up? Okay, don’t everyone offer money at once; I know I’m a Bozo, so you can’t hurt my feelings…. I do hope you enjoy this new experiment, designed to save the sanity of everyone involved….. That said, let’s be off…. Oh, if it isn’t my own picture, attribution will be listed after the picture, & before the pearl….

This picture came from the SFGATE.com “Day in Pictures” gallery, on 5/30/2014….

“A child is a curly, dimpled lunatic.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Actually, kids are cool…. Ralph, I think, had just spent two days babysitting his nephews, and was a bit overwrought when he wrote this particular aphorism…. This picture is included just because it was so cool; it’s hard NOT to anthropomorphize this one, and believe the hippo is actually smiling at having her picture taken with the little girl, who is more bemused than pleased, to judge by appearances….. It’s also hard to not believe that both are familiar with the whole picture-taking thing, aren’t really INTO it, and are putting up going along with it out of politeness….

See, now isn’t this fun, and educational? Speculating nonsense about odd configurations of animals and people is always a kick in the pants, eh? No? Oh…. Well, we’ll go on anyway…..

“With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. However, this is not necessarily a good idea. It is hard to be sure where they are going to land, and it could be dangerous sitting under them as they fly overhead.” — RFC1925

The picture is a study of a park, across the street from the bus stop where I awaited a bus home from a nearby town. It has no particular significance, other than the desire to get started taking photos for this experiment….. I guess I’ll figure out how to make the pictures fit into the pearls better as the process evolves…. One may only hope….

“Money will buy a pretty good dog, but it won’t buy the wag of his tail.” — Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw (1818-1885))

The picture is the kid’s playground at another park, near my house, next to the field where a local semi-pro baseball team plays, a few blocks from where I live…. The pearl, once again, has little to do with the picture; I just thought it was a good pearl, and a good bit of logic with which to approach reality…. As mentioned above, this process is still evolving, so, bear with me, please…. It will get more compelling, I promise….

“A warped sense of humor is vastly better than no sense of humor at all.” — Smart Bee

This picture is my first attempt at an action shot…. not too bad, all in all. The accompanying pearl is my firm belief, and I hope that whatever sense of humor is possessed by the Gentle Reader will extend itself to include this Pearl, as the first of its kind…. I have a feeling this new technique is going to work out well, if I can only get enough pictures to work with…. If nothing else, it will get me out of the house, and save me from any further descent into sloth and lethargy…. For now, let’s go on, & see if I can pull the rest of this together for today….

“You see things, and you say “WHY?” But I dream things that never were, and I say “WHY NOT?”” — George Bernard Shaw, “Back to Methuselah”

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I’m saving time today by not searching for a poem; here, instead, is one of mine, to keep the blame for all this where it belongs….

Honorable Request

Days, filled to a brim with fluff and time, pass
dimly into memory, bit by combative bit,
ever mournful, yet loud with life and sass,
only in dream do we meet, and dance, and flit.

Souls, spinning ’round in gleeful wonder, comply
as they must, never given a reason,
somberly proper, yet limber and quite spry,
dancing on to greet each bright new season.

Storms, angered by apathetic care, rage
proceeding into ministerial glare, unknown,
clothed in colors, purified solely with sage,
past an infinite future, already flown.

Life, plumbed to its depths and secrets, keeps
flowing with currents, strong and fairly found,
love stands, asking release, as it slowly weeps,
seeking refuge unasked, to stay honor bound.

~~ gigoid ~~

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To finish off today’s effort, an old-school pearl is pretty much a given…. If nothing else, it will give me a feeling of familiarity that should soothe the pain of the newest part of this, which is working muscles that aren’t accustomed to such a workout…. I’m not whining, because I like it; it feels good to stretch out in directions heretofore neglected, and my muscles can use the work. They’re actually more used to being worked hard than they are NOT being used, which is the case far too much in my current position…. Changes comin’ all around, ffolkes…. Hope you enjoy today’s gathering of gems…..

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) Essays: First Series (1841) “Self-Reliance”

“Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.” — Henry Clay (1777-1852) — Speech at Ashland, Ky., March 1829

(This pearl may seem out of place, but, I thought that maybe a politician might drop in to read today, and, if so, it would be good for them to see a reminder of what they are SUPPOSED to be doing….. The rest of the pearls all go together pretty seamlessly, I think….)

“I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment.” — Gautama Buddha

“A thing either is what it appears to be; or it is not, but yet appears to be; or it is, but does not appear to be; or it is not, and does not appear to be.” — Epictetus

“Often, the surest way to convey misinformation is to tell the strict truth.” — Mark Twain

“Men show their character in nothing more clearly than by what they think laughable.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

“The only abnormality is the incapacity to love.” — Anais Nin

Just so you know, this pearl is one for the ages…. I mean it. It’s got a LOT of what is needed to make ourselves into better human beings…. happier, too, if done right….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This certainly put the effort back into the job, I’ll say that. I suppose anything has a learning curve, at first…. Let’s hope it turns out to be worth it…. which I’ll never know if I don’t get this posted, so, 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 the dubious

Failing that, we’ll go subterranean….

Posted on May 30, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I find myself in a position all too familiar, yet strangely, it doesn’t SEEM to resemble the past I remember closely. That probably sounds as confused as I feel, which, obviously, is considerably befuddled. Of course, befuddlement is also a somewhat common state for me, ever since my teens, when I started to question why what I had always been told about the world, and life, was pretty much all wrong….

I mean, can you BELIEVE this? They told me, when I was just a little kid, that I could trust policemen, that they would never harm me, or hurt anyone…. They told me my money would be safest in a bank, and would earn me the most if I let the bankers invest it for me….They told me that merchants and vendors were honest people, just trying to make a living, not trying to cheat me with shoddy products or hidden charges…They told me that the leaders of our country were honest, forthright men and women, who would never lie to the public (George Washington and the cherry tree are often brought out at that point….)….. And, they told me that God loves people, meaning me, and will make sure I live forever, if I just give enough money at church….

Do I have to give the evidence? Is it necessary for me to show y’all exactly how NONE of those things, that we ALL were told when young, are true…. nor have they been true for most of my life…. The world does NOT match the crap that we were all told, and to think it does, in any fashion, is just feeding into the hands of those who would keep us all in the slave’s collar, if they thought they could get away with it….

You watch, some day soon, wearing a slave’s collar will be described as “the latest fashion”, and people will fall all over themselves to get one in a leopard print…. We all may as well face the facts, ffolkes….. You, and I, and every other fool, whether we buy into the crap that the current leaders of society are putting out, or not, are nothing more than pathetic, economic slaves, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it, not any more…. If you don’t believe you are a slave to their form of economics, or that you really have any CHOICE in the matter, well, you are, quite simply, deluded, and all-the-more-perfect fodder for their pillaging….

They’ve got it all tied up, in a nice pretty bow, and nothing we do can cause any real changes to happen, if they don’t want them…. and change is NOT what they want…. Maintaining the status quo is JOB ONE for any politician; how else will the money keep flowing into their pockets?

And what the hell am I doing?….

I’m barely into the intro section, and find myself in a full-on rant…. It all stems from the article I read yesterday, which I’ve included below in section one; not the one about Eric Snowden’s interview, but the response by that prominent fat cat, Dianne Feinstein, which, I note, didn’t come out until well AFTER the interview….

I guess it took some time for Obama, Feinstein, McConnell, and the other players in this drama to confer, and decide who was going to lead off, with whatever lies they’ve prepared to answer Snowden’s latest attempts to communicate with the American people, to try to undermine anything he might say, as being the words of a traitor…. Since DiFi led off the barrage, I imagine today we’ll hear from someone at the NSA (maybe…) or McConnell, or Obama…. all of whom will try to convince the public that Snowden is the liar, not them…. Since there are many of them, and only one of him, they think they have the advantage, and they’re right…. Besides which, they’re all PROFESSIONAL liars, not just your average prevaricators….

I’ll finish this discussion in section one; if I continue here, we may never get there…. Damn it! I had hoped to not have to rant, at all, so I could create one of the new style pearls, with pictures, but, this just HAS to be addressed, or they’ll have the floor with nobody else to speak back, to show how they are the liars….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“It belongs to human nature to hate those you have injured.” — Tacitus (54-119 AD) — Agricola, 42

Ah!….. Well, that explains it…. It’s no wonder the politicians, the preachers, the bankers, et al, hate us all….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is an article regarding the interview of Eric Snowden on NBC a night or two ago…. In it, Mr. Snowden brings out several points which go a long way to helping understand why the government is so inflexible in going after him, and why they are so determined to prove him wrong… (Hint: in their eyes, it justifies their own illegal activities)…. Read the articles, especially the second one, with the egregiously STUPID remarks by someone I had thought was smarter….. not that I’ve ever trusted her, but, I always thought DiFi was smarter than the average Senator…. Apparently not, if this issue is any indication….

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/six-memorable-quotes-from-edward-snowdens-nbc-interview-20140529?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Feinstein-Snowden-never-voiced-NSA-concerns-5514604.php

I’ve decided NOT to rant. I’m just going to say these few comments, then I’ll put together an old-school pearl to make my point…. DiFi makes one obvious error in her statements to the public on this matter…. She claims that Snowden didn’t really blow any whistles to the NSA, he just stole the documents, without ever trying to do what they consider the right thing, which is to ask the lying spies to tell the truth…. Such BS….

Any who, she says E. S. never said anything to his supervisors about his concerns….. and how does she know this?…. Well, ffolkes, that’s easy…. because the NSA told her so…. Sure, Dianne, lets believe a bunch of spies when we ask them what they’ve been up to…. This is the same woman who accused the CIA of hacking into her investigation of them; furthermore, she accused them of obstructing the process of investigation, and lying to her and her staff…. Now, she expects us to believe this OTHER group of spies are NOT lying to us, or to her; she wants us to believe they won’t lie when she asks them if he said anything to them…. Is that STUPID, or not? If you said ‘not’, then, I feel for you, living in a world where cotton candy passes for brains….

Oh, plus, she says that the NSA has no documentation that Mr. Snowden ever wrote anything to them to point out any of the reservations he was having…. Well, of COURSE they don’t…. Silly woman… What does she think they’ve been doing ever since his actions were revealed? Looking for things he wrote, to save them? If they looked for any written notes from him, they did so during their interior auditing process, after discovering the leaks, to look for what they needed to delete and/or destroy…. They’ve had over a year since then to clean up anything that might prove his contentions, and I’m positive they didn’t waste a minute of it SAVING his documents…. just the reverse…. They can lie about this without fear of exposure, because they KNOW they’ve already destroyed all he DID write….

Okay, that’s it, end of rant…. But, ffolkes, if any of y’all are buying into this crap the government is spewing about this issue, then, you are living in the land of the blind, and deaf, and more than just dumb…. Here are some aphorisms that may help you to realize how badly the BRC, and the rest of the Asininnies, wants us to believe their lies, and how important it is for them to have our blind trust and obedience…. Without it, they are sunk…. Well, that’s our hope, I suppose…

“Want a taste of religion? Bite a minister!” — Smart Bee

“By trying, we can easily learn to endure adversity — another man’s, I mean.” — Mark Twain

” — Bother! said Pooh, these people are evil.” — NOT Christopher Robin, & NOT A.A. Milne (In fact, your guess is as good as mine…. It SOUNDS very Carlinesque….)

“The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is besides the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.” — Justice Anthony Kennedy, in 91-155

“Is there a Lemon Law for Presidents too?’ — Smart Bee

“And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight…Then he [the Lord!] said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.” — Ezek. 4:12-15 (KJV)

(Just so you know…. That’s disgusting, in every way….. but, typical of the lessons taught by the Bible….)

Lastly, to round off this strange collection of insults and oddly phrased indictments of the BRC, et al…..

“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

Some of you may wonder how religious figures and churches got lumped into the group being vilified today…. That’s just me…. In my world, I tend to lump politicians, preachers, police, bankers, and sexual predators all into the same group, of humans who are either evil by choice and nature, or completely misguided fools, victims of the same propaganda under which we all labor in life, but, worse, because they ENJOY being assholes about stuff…. Any who, the last pearl says it all…. anyone who buys into their BS gets EXACTLY what they deserve…..

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Since I’m in full curmudgeon mode, and have fallen back into my old ways today, here is one of my favorite political poems…. It’s kinda silly, but, it fits my mood….

Geezer to Congress, with Love

Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks;
Though they talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

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In the very olden days, when I first began to post here on WP, the POVW had a different format. It was simpler, merely an intro, followed by a five- or seven-star pearl, and maybe one closing line….. which is the format you see below…. I’m late, and tired, and want to go start taking pictures for tomorrow’s new-style Pearl; since I intend to use my own pix, I’d best start collecting some appropriate pictures to use…. Any who, all excuses and rationalizations aside, this is a good example of how Pearls used to look every day…. They were a lot shorter then, as you will notice….

From 9/25/2011:

Ffolkes,
It is once again Sunday, and it looks as if we’ll get some rain. And talking about the weather is pretty much a useless pastime, but it’s all I’ve got today. I am, for some reason, exhausted, and I just got up. I believe I know the reason for that, though, and will have to take care of it some day very soon. Meanwhile, I’m going to just give you the Pearls today, and they can stand on their own. I’ll write tomorrow, I promise….

“A good many dramatic situations begin with screaming.” — Barbarella

“Communication is next to impossible with someone who has no doubts.” — Limon

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

— Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

“Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by his heart, and his friends can only read the title.” — Virginia Woolf

“Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.” — Smart Bee

“On the other hand, life can be an endless parade of TRANSSEXUAL QUILTING BEES aboard a cruise ship to DISNEYWORLD if only we let it!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Yes, if only we will let it, life can be what it is…..y’all take care out there….

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Lest my habit of accepting the blame for all of this be abrogated, I think I’d best just be done with it, and begone from this place…. I DO have a lot to do today…. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it…. See ya tomorrow, ffolkes…. I’m hoping, anyway….

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.

<big>gigoid the dubious<big>

Revolutionary changes are imperative, it seems….

Posted on May 29, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I don’t know about y’all, but, I’m starting to bore myself, a bit…. It’s hard to do, as we all tend to NOT get bored according to our own choices, but, I’ve gone beyond the normal, past the strange, into the overbearing…. and, apparently, my readership has noticed, as well. Site traffic at ECR has fallen off again, and this time, I think I know why…. I’m probably making myself crazy even paying attention to the site stats, but, in all honesty, my ranting has gotten old, to me, and, no doubt, to those familiar with my writing….

I write a lot, I know, so I always take that into account; a lot of people don’t read fast, and can be intimidated, I’m sure, by the sheer amount of what I’ve created each day…. I average about 2200-2500 words a day, and I know it can be a lot to take in, since not all of it is what can be called easily digested (I hope…). I had hoped that the content, and the relative importance of that content to each and every person alive, would draw folks, and ffolkes, in to read, but, I suppose, after a while, even the most compelling stuff gets old….

That, I think, is where I’m at…. at least, to some degree, enough so to affect my readership, and enough so I am no longer sure it’s what I should be doing here…. Of course, since this is a relatively new idea around here, I also have nothing in the way of replacement material, should I decide to forgo all ranting, or at minimum, avoid such depressing subject matter for a time, to give it a rest, so to speak….

It’s hard to decide, when it’s all so new to me…. Like many ffolkes my age, I am not dealing as well with CHANGE as I formerly did; it tends to make me grumpy….. Or, maybe it’s that I no longer want to put up with changes that I didn’t personally authorize or initiate…. It plays into it, I’m sure… I AM human, after all, so my own likes, dislikes, and preferences are going to play into whatever I decide to do…. Hell, being human, those are the PRIMARY reasons for almost ALL that I do…. as it is for all of us bald monkeys….

I know what I WANT to do…. which is probably a good thing. What I’d like to do is to alter the format some, to include images, and possibly videos; either one of those would enhance the experience here at ECR quite a bit, as well as make it more palatable for those readers who don’t read as fast, depending (as most modern folks do….) on shorter, more intense bursts of less information, more colorfully arranged….

In essence, what I’m saying here is this: I think I need to put my message into a format that is more acceptable for consumption by today’s readers…. The old fashioned, reasoned, logical, even philosophical approach to passing information is just that…. old fashioned…. Modern readers like their information in smaller bytes, so to speak, with more pictures and less text to read….

I suppose what I need to acknowledge is that the modern politicians, with their Twitter feeds, and Facebook presence, are getting the message out better than I can do with my ranting, because they are framing their words in pictures, (InstaGram, or Pinterest work for them….), or creating modern memes that draw attention for a short time, but manage to pass on the necessary information…..

Information is becoming three dimensional; soon our phone calls will include holographic images of the person to whom you are talking, just as if you were in the same room. Anyone who wishes to pass information to the public is going to need to learn how to frame their message in ways that will draw attention, and hold it long enough to inject the information into the person being addressed…. My method of ranting will have audiences limited to those who prefer the old fashioned ways, or who like their information in bigger bytes…. er, bites….

Any who, I will be thinking about this…. I will also be going out into the world, with my camera, to start recording pieces of Consensual Reality to use here, to frame the message I need to put out to people, using fewer words, and more pictures…. I want to use my own pix, for two reasons…

One, I LIKE to take pictures… and two, if I use my own pix, I don’t need to worry about attribution, which will make it much easier…. It can sometimes be hard to remember who is responsible for a picture I’ve found, and saved, as the attribution isn’t always present; I’ll stick to my own, mostly, and avoid the worst of that issue….

For today, let’s see what kind of trouble I can create, by keeping in mind the need for more art, and fewer words…. though, if this intro is any indication, it’s going to be tough as hell to stop writing so much…. I just got good at this rambling, blathering style, and can go on like this almost forever… which, as I say, wouldn’t be good for the blog…. So, instead, we’ll employ emergency method #4 again…. Hang on tight for a moment….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Reason is not measured by size or height, but by principle.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xii

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“The Constitution of the United States guarantees every individual the right to make a damn fool of himself — in public or private, however he chooses.” — Solomon Short

This pearl will be the first of its kind…. Below you will see pictures ( provided I have done this correctly….), all taken with my own camera, during various trips to here and there…. After each there will be a (hopefully) short comment on some facet of life suggested by the photo…. That will, in turn, be followed by a pearl, that will hopefully speak to the picture and comment…. In short, these will be Visual Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, designed to expand, and augment the process of Pearling to a point where it’s more fun than the previous versions….

That’s the plan, anyway…. Let’s see how it comes out, shall we?….
First, imagine yourself standing on one of the ice floes you see in the foreground…., or, better yet, you’re swimming in that frigid water…. Feel the cold that surrounds you, making your breath almost freeze as it leaves your body, forming a thick cloud of icy vapor in front of you with each tortured breath….. Now, imagine standing on the glacier you see further down the stream, literally freezing your butt off….. Now, once you’ve come to understand the true nature of cold, you will realize why I call this picture, “The Corporate Heart”…..

“He knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.” — Old Testament — Proverbs ix, 18
This one needs no introduction; it’s self-explanatory…. Suffice it to say, my father taught me ALL of these, and I still try to live my life by these rules…. If the rest of the men in the world would use only HALF of these, that world would be an entirely different kind of place, one with some degree of rationality, and consequently, some degree of peace…. If you don’t think so, just try using these rules as a standard by which to judge those you see in a political office, and see how many of them they break, on a regular, daily basis…. it will shock many people….

“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.” — G.K. Chesterton
Irish morning? Or, Scottish evening? It could be either one, and is a good illustration of how perception can be uncertain, if one doesn’t know all the pertinent information regarding those perceptions…. But, we get a new one, every day, to keep on trying to get it right…..

“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.” — Horace
Time passes, and none may stop its progress…. and, Life treats us all the same…. badly. It is how we react to that abuse that determines the course of our lives, so, learn to enjoy what you see, and be honest and true in what you do…. I guarantee, it makes it all better than if you don’t do either of those simple tasks….

“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.” — the 14th Dalai Lama, interview in “TIME”, 11 April 1988
I’ve spoken previously of my feelings about Duty…. This picture, to me, defines that concept…. and I’m not really sure why…. I guess it’s because he is out there, all alone, dressed up in a silly costume, playing the pipes, which will only increase his solitude…. yet, he plays on, to complete the duty he has chosen to assume…. That’s the way it works, ffolkes, and any other way of looking at it is incorrect….. Dig it….

“Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.” — Lazarus Long

Well, there you have it, ffolkes, the first of its kind….. I hope you enjoyed it…. I certainly enjoyed putting it together, and I don’t feel all ragged out from ranting, so, that’s good, too…. See you down the page….

“We can be knowledgeable with other men’s knowledge, but we cannot be wise with other men’s wisdom.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592)

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I need some Emily….

I had no time to hate, because

I had no time to hate, because
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish enmity.

Nor had I time to love, but since
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought,
Was large enough for me.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since I created a new-style pearl above, and to avoid a rant here, I’ll go with the archived pearl I had already picked out for this morning’s effort…. Enjoy….

From 1/14/2014:

The following old-school variety will be a unique pearl, put together using a method of timing and selection heretofore untried…. I’m not even sure of my ability to describe exactly what parameters I’ll be setting, as the search for these connected aphorisms has taken place on three separate occasions, none of which were related in any elemental way…. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I have no idea how this will turn out, but, usually, when we try new techniques like this, it seems to work out pretty well, so, I’m confident this will do the same…. Enjoy!..

“The doctrine that the earth is neither the center of the universe nor immovable, but moves even with a daily rotation, is absurd, and both philosophically and theologically false, and at the least an error of faith.” — Roman Congregation decision against Galileo

“To command the professors of astronomy to confute their own observations is to enjoin an impossibility, for it is to command them not to see what they do see, and not to understand what they do understand, and to find what they do not discover.”– Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

“Kids, the seven basic food groups are GUM, PUFF PASTRY, PIZZA, PESTICIDES, ANTIBIOTICS, NUTRA-SWEET and MILK DUDS!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay! That, I think, will give you a clearer idea of where we are headed with this, so, make sure you’re safety harnesses are fully fastened, and you are hanging on for dear life to the soft, fluffy stuffed animals provided by your friendly flight attendants…. Hang on, ffolkes, these last four could get rambunctious….

“All riches come from iniquity, and unless one has lost, another cannot gain. Hence that common opinion seems to be very true, “the rich man is unjust, or the heir to an unjust one.” Opulence is always the result of theft, if not committed by the actual possessor, than by his predecessor.” — St. Jerome (340?-420)

“Heroes as great have died, and yet shall fall.” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Iliad of Homer, Book xv, Line 157

“The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children’s games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games which it is most attached is called, “Keep tomorrow dark,” and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) “Cheat the Prophet.” The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. Then they go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

“History is a lie commonly agreed upon.” — Nietzsche

I rest my case…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Considering the relative newness of today’s process, it didn’t go too badly…. Now I get to see how it posts…. and, I’d best get to it…. See you, tomorrow, ffolkes, if I last that long…..

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

We have uncoded messages for the Betelgeuse delegation….

Posted on May 28, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I don’t care what anyone else says, I like this intro, so, here ’tis again…..

from 12/11/2011:

Ffolkes,
So, I was walking down the street the other day, quietly minding my own, when I came to a point where the street, and all the trees and houses that stood on each side, began to rapidly and silently fade away. All around me, a grey, swirling fog began to collect, shimmering in the air, cloaking the whole visible world with an insubstantial veil, until nothing at all could be seen, in any direction. The wind had died, and all was silent as the grave.

Behind me, veiled in the mist, I heard a slow, eerie, almost liquid scraping noise, as if a large slug were crawling down the sidewalk. I turned slowly, straining my eyes into the fog, trying to make out what was coming out of the mist. As I gazed, a shape began to take form, materializing before me as if created from the very air. The form slowly took shape, seeming to almost dissolve, then firmed, and became clear….. It had happened….. Our world would never be the same, for the prophecy had been true.

At last, in the very Nick of Time, our Blessed Day had come…… Forever more, the world will know the grace that flows endlessly from the healing hands of the Quirky Demon of Happiness, and All Good Shit, that underworld superstar known to all and sundry as Phil, the Frigging Awesome, half-brother (same father, different mother) of Alice, the Wiseacre, patroness and protector of short-order cooks, waitresses and tarbenders, er, bartenders…..

What you need to understand about the previous three paragraphs ….. ( Oh, yeah, wait…. sorry. This is now… I mean, it’s me… Well, shit, can I screw this up any worse? (Or, should that be “better”?….) It’s me, gigoid, and it’s now May 27th or 28th (I’m a little foggy just now, if you couldn’t tell….) in mid-2014…. just so you are on the same page…. of the calendar…. the hell with it… back to the intro….) is that I was suffering, at the time, from as close to boredom as I ever have been, in spite of the time of year….. Allow me to explain…

Well, maybe I’ll wait to explain…. Of course, waiting for an explanation is kind of like waiting for a campaign promise to be fulfilled…. Watch close, and it will never happen at all…. Why, no, I didn’t promise not to rant here in the intro, why do you…. oh, the campaign promise line….

No worries, ffolkes, it isn’t a rant, just an insult to all politicians, which is perfectly legal, and even encouraged on this site. I’ve been thinking of late that particular characteristic may have driven off a lot of old timers around here…. I DO have a tendency to run on and on about the BRC, Pimps, Priestly Hierarchies, and the ever-popular Corporate Snakeheads….

But, since THAT isn’t going to stop, until those particular groups have been either disbanded, eliminated from our culture, or otherwise brought into their own personal extinction, y’all may as well get used to it…. I’m retired from working, and as long as the assholes don’t carry out the constant threat to take away my Social Security money, I’ll have the wherewithal to keep after them for all the shit they pull on the rest of us, and I’ll keep posting these diatribes against them…..

They deserve every bit of my ire, and as much attention I can spare to rag on them, for all the shit they’ve already put us through, in the name of ‘security’….. just as if the word has ANY meaning at all, in a world where THEY live, only existing, as they do, to carry out their habitual predation upon the weaker members of reality….

Okay, that’s enough for now…. I’m ranting again, already, and it’s only the intro….. Once again, this calls for emergency extraction method #4, so, watch your step, and if seated, please make sure your seat belt is fastened….

Shall we Pearl?….

“I readily relapse into my reflections on the uselessness of our education. Its aim has been to make us not good and wise, but learned; and in this it has succeeded. It has not taught us to follow and embrace virtue and wisdom, but has imprinted their derivations and etymologies on our minds. We are able to decline ‘virtue’ even if we are unable to love it; if we do not know what wisdom is in fact and by experience, we are familiar with it as a jargon learned by heart.” — Michel de Montaigne, Essays

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m in relatively high-level pain mode today, so we’re again going with a lot of archived material, because it’s better than anything I could currently come up with for your perusal…. It’s been a while since I took any shots at the churches, bless their pointy little heads, so, here is one of my better salvos, from a year or so ago, good enough it was also used in January of this year…. Enjoy, or, at minimum, pay attention please, there is stuff in here that can actually improve your life, should you choose to accept it….

From 1/16/2014:

This religirant is a bit more pointed than the one above (in another Pearl…. gigoid in 2014) that spoke about the battle in society for the minds of the people; the battle here is the same, but the methods used by the Priestly Hierarchies, and people of the same ilk as Billy Graham, are different than those used by the BRC, though no less demeaning, and no more honest…. This rant is one of my more potent, and very clear as to the targeted group’s identity….. which, as always in anything to do with humans, includes just about everyone….

From 1/29/13:

Delusional material, very dangerous…. Read carefully….

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I may learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for health, that I may do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I may be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for but everything I hoped for.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

– unattributed, even by Smart Bee (I can assign no blame to anyone, for not wanting to take credit for this….)

From the time we are small, our minds are programmed with the ideas and beliefs our parents and families held as truth, regardless of whether or not there is any actual truth to be found in them. We have little, or no, defense against these ideas, as we are naturally inclined to believe what our care givers tell us. While I can understand the way it works, it seems to me to be a shame, that we don’t come with a built in truth detector, to protect us before we are able to reason for ourselves. Until our minds have been trained, we tend to accept whatever someone in a position of authority tells us, which may keep us safe, in a physical sense, when we are small and vulnerable, but, is a dangerous habit to keep when grown.

The above is an example of how churches and the priestly hierarchies attempt to befuddle people into obedience and acceptance of their credos, aimed at those adults who have carried over their trust in authority into their adult views. On the surface, the statements seem to imply a certain morality, one of patience, compassion, and beneficence; but, underneath, they are merely designed to reinforce the ideas they wish to espouse, of obedience, humility, and subservience to authority.

If one is to believe the priestly hierarchies, we humans don’t really stand a chance against the universe…. In their minds, God has it all worked out, and it isn’t our place to question any of His prerogatives; we are here only to do His (translates as: their….) will, and to sing His praises (keeps us busy NOT thinking….). We are weak, bumbling, foolish creatures whose only claim to fame is that God loves us…. according to dogma. It occurs to me to ask, whenever I hear such nonsense, “So, which one of y’all is the one to whom God spoke, when he laid down all this specious crap? Also, when y’all talked with God, how long had it been since you last took a dose of your medication?”

I know, I know, not very friendly approach, but, sheesh, give me a break…. I mean, these people are responsible for a great deal of the suffering and trouble mankind has endured over the last 5000 years or so, and don’t even have the courtesy to take credit, or apologize. In their minds, all that stuff they do to maintain their status quo is justified by their holiness, or whatever it is they claim makes them special. And, all the time, in reality, everything they do is designed, ultimately, to bring coins to their purses, and food to their tables, at the expense of the ignorant mass of believers….

I feel a nasty rant coming on…. Sometimes, when I write one of these rips at religion, I just get SO ANGRY…. I’m mad at the preachers and priests, and those who support them, for their willingness to prey on the public, using the pretension of religious fervor and worship to justify their narcissism, and for the thousands of years of suffering that mankind has endured at their hands.

I am also angry at those people who buy into their bullshit, for not having the courage to use their minds, for blithely accept anything told to them by an authority figure, never even considering that there might be more to life than they are seeing…. It is all such a waste, and my anger knows no bounds….

“Civilization is fun! Anyway, it keeps me busy!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Well, it would keep me busy if I could find any…. I had to include this little side-trip from Zippy in order to bring my anger level down. I was feeling the urge to let out ALL of the vulgar curses I could think of, to express how I feel about all the assholes who perpetrate this entire fallacy on the rest of humanity, knowing how gullible they are, and how little effort it takes to fool them into believing the most incredible bullshit.

I mean, how hard can it be to fool someone who would believe, even for a minute, that the recent spate of cold weather means that global warming is a myth? How hard is it to fool someone who will gladly trade their freedom in this life for the promised reward in the next life? It’s so damn easy that the fools actually come asking for it, to be made into puppets, just so they can believe they are beloved of God, and guaranteed a spot in Heaven…. I often wonder just how fit to survive our species really is, when we can’t even come to terms with our own sense of self, or learn to accept the responsibility for our own actions….

Most folks are so scared to think for themselves that they gladly surrender that chore to the priests and politicians, apparently not even caring how often they lie to them. Even when the lies are exposed, proved false beyond any doubt, people will hang on to their prejudices, and to the belief in supernatural beings that control our every move; they are quite unwilling to let go of what they’ve bought into all their lives, even when it’s clear that none of it is true. Most of the time, they are unwilling to even look at any arguments against what they hold to be true, preferring the solid comfort of their ignorance. Makes me want to puke, it does…. on THEIR shoes….

Ah well, I’ve spilled enough bile and venom for one morning. It would probably be best to move on, and let this one die a natural death. If nothing else, I got some angst and pressure relieved, for the time being. It is almost a comfort to know that the politicians and preachers will be providing more ammunition in the coming days, as they continue their campaign of oppression against the people of the Earth; that means I’ll always have plenty about which to rant…. Happy Days!….

“Those who won’t think will have it done for them.” – Smart Bee

Back to the future: We’ll bring this fine set of indictments to a close with this final note, along the same lines…..

“It’s all good, and, if they can’t take a joke, fuck ’em!” — gigoid, the dubious, in a curmudgeonly mood….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About ten months after writing the religirant in section one, I wrote this poem, which is a comment on that group, as well as the BRC and their corporate masters, all of whom are in the habit of lying to the public for their own ends…. I think this is one of my better efforts, relying only softly on metaphor, so, please enjoy….. To my mind, the final stanza is about as powerful an idea as I can put into poetic format….

From 10/11/2012:

Seeing is Conducive to Belief

Folly sits so comfortably upon my fevered brow
one would easily believe that I would know how
to look at Life with a jaded, weary eye
seeing enough, and more, to know Why.

Such seems the case, as I will it to be,
an open book of a face, it looks so like me;
what’s known to be so, needs no close attention
familiar sights require no minding, nor mention.

The eye is drawn at once to the stark and new,
and sent back to sleep by successful review.
Once we find evidence we feel we understand,
curiosity languishes, dismissed at command.

Ancient sages knew the insidious value of illusion,
preachers and pundits know the power of confusion.
Each pair of eyes contains its own point of reference,
each mind sets its own standards of preference.

Seeing is believing, for those who live in thrall,
accepting what is perceived is all they ever recall.
Unknown to them, reality follows another set of rules,
Deeper, more dangerous, and no place for fools.

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the given date, this entry comprised two sections of the Daily Pearl of Virtual Wisdom, which, at that time, included five sections each day, each with one pearl under discussion…. These two followed the introduction, to which y’all were exposed above, in today’s intro section, as part of this mammoth archive Pearl, put together because I got stuck going through old stuff… I hope you enjoy it…though I know there’s a lot, it’s worth the time…. Well, I think so, or I wouldn’t have written it, now, would I? Nope…. Okay, so I would have, anyway…. It’s still not too shabby….

12/11/2011:

“The pursuit of power is the quest for the unattainable by the unphilosophical though the tactics of the unspeakable.” — Smart Bee

“If Jesus came back today, and saw what was going on in his name, he’d never stop throwing up.” — Max Von Sydow’s character in Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters

There are two taglines here, placed next to each other to form a picture in the mind. Now, I don’t know about y’all, but the political scene in this country in the last couple of months has been a delightfully chaotic circus, a veritable fountain of idiotic proclamations, deliberate (and inadvertent!) expressions of absolute ignorance, and scary predictions of what would change, should any of the currently frenzied candidates make it to the Presidency.

It makes it very easy to come up with stuff to write about, but as it progresses, my sense of sadness, and dismay, grow ever stronger. These people keep saying and doing things that make it perfectly clear that if they were elected, this country would be hastened down the destructive path we’ve been on at an even faster rate of deterioration than is already taking place.

Just recently we’ve been informed that one of the women candidates feels it is just fine & dandy to separate children from their parents, who happen to be illegal immigrants, who have been in this country for 25 years, doing the jobs no American will take, by forcibly sending the parents back to Mexico, or from wherever they came. Another one wants to get rid of my Social Security retirement benefits, so they can put more money into the pockets of the big drug companies and health management organizations. Another one thinks it is okay to raise the taxes on the poverty level and middle classes, while ensuring a large tax break for the rich.

As part of the package, all of them are spouting bald-faced lies on a daily basis, all documented in the media, and all ignored by the ignorant fools who support these power-hungry sycophants, who will say anything to achieve their ends, because they know that no one will call them on it. It seems to escape the public in general, but we have created a society where our leaders lie to us continuously.

Why? Because there are no consequences for lying. The lies are ignored, or at most commented upon regarding their strategic effects. It pisses me off, big time…..so I’d better go on to the next Pearl, before I start another rant…..easy to do in this atmosphere…..
___________________________________

“Ignorance is never out of style. It was in fashion yesterday, it is the rage today, and it will set the pace tomorrow.”– Franklin K. Dane

When I first decided to include this little truism, I didn’t realize that the previous Pearl would end up discussing the same subject. It would not be terribly difficult to comment again, as I see this as the single greatest factor in determining whether or not our species is going to survive. Probably only a few scientists know how grim the situation really is, and they keep putting that message out for public consumption to the best of their abilities.

The problem is, it is the ignorant who are already in charge. The leaders of not just our country, but most of the countries in the world, are under the control of people who have no interest whatsoever in confronting the issues of climate change, global warming, air pollution, or destruction of the food chain. They refuse to place any credence in what they’ve been told, because none of it will help them in meeting their goals of continued domination of the lower classes, and increased wealth for the privileged few.

It’s not a pretty picture, but it isn’t going to change until those in society who are NOT ignorant find the courage to confront the powers that be, and force them to change their ways…..I don’t see it happening, unfortunately, but I can always hope, can’t I?……

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s early yet, & I’m done…. but, that’s what happens when I use all archived material, I guess…. It will give me more time to fret and worry over stuff I can’t change, which, in turn, will drive me up the wall, so, I suppose I’d best get on with it, so I can clean up afterward…. none of which makes any sense to you, I’m sure, but, that’s okay, it doesn’t make any sense to me, either, so, we’re even, and good to go…. Lucky think, too, because, look, here we are at the end….. 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 the dubious

A pleasing sound of running water….

Posted on May 27, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Like milk, spilling out of a cereal bowl, fog poured over the rim of the mountain, white, cold, pushing frigid gusts of wind ahead as it rushed down the side of the hills, swooping swiftly toward the camp in the trees at the foot of the peak. As darkness begins to thicken among the trees, the camp’s inhabitants snuggle deeper into their blankets, secure in their tents, heedless of the mist gathering between, turning the air surreal in the twilight. Dim shapes of sentries move around the perimeter of the camp, rifles at the ready; fog made their job more difficult, causing each to narrow eyes to peer into the gloom, and grip their weapon tightly, in fear of what could no longer be seen….

Enough, already…. My old friend is back, and I’m not a particularly happy camper, myself, this morning…. hence, the little fictional opening, to loosen up the old neurons, hopefully with a bit of style, while waiting for my magic cream to take effect enough to let me sit…. Great fun…. But, I’m determined to get this done, regardless of how I feel, so, I may as well get on with it…. no whining allowed today….

I am going to cheat a bit…. I have a lot to do today; this will need to get done, so I can do it all before I give out…. an event I can already predict to occur sometime around 11 AM…. By then, the pain, and gravity, will knock me down and out for an hour or two, so I can get something else done this afternoon…. Sheesh, you’d think I was still working, or had kids or something…. No, just duty, and obligatory completion of same, so, as I said, no whining allowed….

However, that is why this intro is so short, and lacking in rational organization; I just dived in without any plan, other than to get done as quickly as I can…. I am even going to resort to method #4, early in the game, to get us out of the intro without any fuss…. In fact, I see it coming up now, so, I’ll see you in the next section….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“The writer who loses his self-doubt, who gives way as he grows old to a sudden euphoria, to prolixity, should stop writing immediately: the time has come for him to lay aside his pen.” — Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following is a fairly long diatribe, that served me well a few months ago; it was first posted two years ago, and by golly, is still valid…. so, please enjoy…..

From 1/12/2014:

Perception is, perhaps, the most elementally intricate quality we possess as living creatures. Through the five-plus senses we bring to the process, we receive information from the universe that gives us what we require, in order to be able to interact with Reality, (another term for the Universe… for the purposes of this discussion, anyway….) in some sort of way that is meaningful to us.

This information comes to us in a variety of forms, and our minds must utilize the complex, yet subtle qualities of imagination, reason, logic, and all those mental functions that our minds have discovered to organize the information, functions whose etiology are basically unknown to us, as part of our basic nature. We don’t think about, or feel in any way, the process of seeing, or smelling, or touching, except in the context of the sense itself…. We just DO it….

Yet each sense is such that it works WITH all the others, in ways we don’t really understand, to give us the pictures in our heads that show us how our minds perceive the world outside us…. We, being the imaginative creatures we are, have evolved all sorts of ways to organize and utilize our perceptions, all of which are again connected (remember that complexity part…) to another facet of Reality, which is our motivation for what we do, an outgrowth of our judgments of what we perceive…. We perceive, we judge, we act on that judgment, all according to our basic outlook on life, and how we choose to accept, and use, what we perceive….

This subject, I know, is a bit esoteric for such a venue, but, I’m leading up to a point, which is this…. We all perceive the world differently, but, that doesn’t mean the world takes that into any account…. It’s one of our hardest lessons to accept when we are forced to admit that the Universe, in all its majestic glory, couldn’t give a tiny little crap for us, or for what we think of the way things are…. If we choose to interact with it in such a way that we are breaking the basic rules that everything works by, then we will have to pay the price, in the only way that the Universe uses to exact payment, to wit: extinction….

Now, given that, it seems to me that my ranting about all of this*** is a bit like that ant crawling up the elephant’s leg, with belligerent intentions…. In short, it’s not really a productive way to achieve whatever it is I’m trying to do, as I can see only one possible outcome, which, the odds, and logic, would tend to dictate doesn’t include any need for any worry on the part of the elephant…. All that is a long winded, pedantic way of saying that my rants, while satisfying on a personal level for the release they provide, are mostly a waste of breath, in a practical sense…. Nothing will change because I rant, in spite of the need for change being the whole purpose behind the rant…

The major part of that reason, I think, lies in the fact that I’m preaching to the choir…. None of the ffolkes, or folks, who read my blog, (with the possible exception of any bored NSA drones who may be assigned to do so merely because of my anti-government stance, shown by the use of key phrases indicating my opposition….), are in any position to make any of the changes themselves, even though many of them would be willing to do so, I think…. But, the people who inhabit the halls of our government in Washington, and in other capitols around the world, DON’T read my blog, nor do they agree with most of the things about which I rant….

Why is that, do you think? Why don’t the people who govern us agree with any of what I say in my rants? It’s all stuff that can be proven, and is certainly important enough to all of us to warrant discussion… But, they don’t agree… They have their own agendas, which don’t look like anything that anyone in the great unwashed masses could come up with, even though they supposedly represent US…. These are our representatives, ffolkes…. I found this short comment in an old Pearl, which I think sums up most of my point pretty well…..

(From May 12, 2012):

“Such bickerings to recount, met often in these our writers, what more worth is it than to chronicle the wars of kites or crows flocking and fighting in the air?” — John Milton (1608-1674) — The History of England, Book iv

Did you ever wonder why a group of crows is called a congress? I didn’t. It makes perfect sense to me…. Dark, sinister looking creatures who act in odd ways, even for birds. Their behaviors tend to lean toward stealing shiny objects from wherever, or stealing the food of people or other animals and birds. When they speak, it is in a voice that grates on the ear like fingernails on a slate. In groups, they mill around, cackling and grumbling and jostling each other, until they all fly off to different areas to carry out whatever nefarious schemes they have hatched among themselves.

No, I have no problem envisioning a congress of crows; in fact, I believe they are in session, now, in Washington, D.C. …. Why, look! Here’s a list of them now!…..

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/01/10/congress-is-mostly-full-of-millionaires-but-who-are-the-richest/#19551101=0

Them’s some affluent crows, ain’t they?…. That’s what happens when any politician is given the keys to the treasury….. One last query…. Who gets to say how much money members of Congress get paid? Answer: They are authorized to set that themselves…. Okay, one more… Who authorized them? Why, they authorized that themselves, of course….

I’m tired now…. I’ve managed to spout off now about the Asininnies, or, at least, about the 545 of them who inhabit the top levels of OUR democratic bureaucracy, for a good, oh, thousand words or so, and once again, it will end up being read by those who mostly agree… (I’m making the assumption, reluctantly, but, with confidence, that if they DIDN’T agree, they’d leave a comment to say so…. I know MY Gentle Readers would do so….), so, I’m perfectly aware that no changes will happen because of what I’ve written….

I don’t FEEL any better, either, damn it!….. 😦

*** It must be noted that “all of this” should be understood to include: global warming, and the impending ecological disaster, overpopulation, criminality of the Asininnies, most especially the egregiously selfish actions of the Beloved Ruling Class, the Shadowy Corporate Masters, Snakeheads in general, (human predators…. pimps, slavers, pedophiles, and the ilk…), and the Priestly Hierarchies….. Oh, yes, and, on the rare occasion, exposing Pooh’s evil twin….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As is my wont, here is a poem of my own, to prevent sharing the blame, which is more certain around here than sharing the wealth…. there isn’t a lot of that floating around…. I’m wealthy in friends and family, but nothing that could be deposited in a bank…. This MAY be my best poem, period; it was written 2/2/2012…..

Gently Came a Wounded Child

But you shall not escape my iambics.

Soft, sinuous patterns of unearthly beauty
blithely commune with sinking stars,
as pale shadows of former virtue hover
near, ever clean, ever tolerant.
These unbidden habits are worn with age and care,
ready now for dissolution,
welcoming gladly the kiss of Death’s handmaiden.

Unknown to all, the child stands aside,
weeping for the lost days of youth,
days that now shall never be,
nor yearned for ever after.
Only darkness shall lay upon the landscape,
cold, hard, eternal.

Such then are the signs and portents
as we enter into the unknown future,
they are grave indeed.

Uncertainty will be our sole companion,
as the search for hope yields no result.
The lamentations of the gods
shall sound the elegy for Man,
who never learned to see the gift that was made,
so many echoes ago, in the hopeful past;
thus will we pass this plane of existence
as we came, baffled and afraid….

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fortunately for us all, old-school pearls don’t take a long time to create, as long as Smart Bee isn’t playing games at Murphy’s behest…. We’ll see how it does before settling on an archived example…. We’ll leave the parameters random, so SB doesn’t feel constrained to stick to our usual subjects, & see what happens…..

“If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.” — US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

“I think the mistake a lot of us make is thinking the state-appointed psychiatrist is our “friend.”” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.” — Kehlog Albran, The Profit

“Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.” — H. G. Wells

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” — Maya Angelo

“If the government doesn’t trust us with our guns, why should we trust them with theirs?” — Smart Bee

“What you think means more than anything else in your life. More than what you earn, more than where you live, more than your social position, and more than what anyone else may think about you.” — George Adams

“Is this an out-take from the “BRADY BUNCH”?” — Zippy the Pinhead

Hmm… I suppose one can’t complain about quality when in a hurry like this…. It’s okay, it’s just not going to wake up the Pulitzer committee…. I can deal with that, since I’m done…. HAH!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You know it’s been a tough Pearl when I come this close to including the Desiderata…. which is fine, but, a bit sappy. I know it’s just a made up philosophy, thrown together by a song-writer in the early twentieth century, but, a LOT of what is in there has been of very good use to me, in terms of being good advice on how to live life with some dignity and grace…. But, that’s a story for another time…. This Pearl is done, and I’m outta here…. 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 the dubious

PUT THAT DOWN!…. Sir, please, step away from the clown….

Posted on May 26, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

For the opening of yesterday’s Pearl, I used the old reality technique, where I just spoke of what was actually happening at the moment… sort of like this…. This technique, of course, is one I use when I have no urge to purge, or to write anything new and fresh, beyond what is floating around at the forefront of my mind, most of which is not generally very creative, as it mostly deals with recent entries into RAM, not leaks from the part of me that does that sort of thing…. I know, this is getting to be a bit confusing, trying to pinpoint various pieces of my mind long enough to explain them, a futile task in a mind which is fractured already…. Maybe we should alter our direction…

How’s this? We’ll try a fictional opening…

The strangest thing about Mervin’s testicle didn’t come out at the trial, though it had everything to do with why he broke into the clinic. It seems he didn’t even tell his lawyer the underlying reason he was there, caught red-handed by the local constabulary as he was attempting a self-administered castration…. I TOLD him to let the doctors do it, but, since he found out about his Mum and Dad, he’s been a bit sticky between the ears, y’know? Too bad about his sister, too…. They tell me she will probably recover, but, none of the soccer team will be allowed back into the country without first being sterilized….. Of course, they all have to complete the course of the transgender drug regime, but, they’ll get over that….

Okay, I’m bored with Mervin and his sister…. Plus, I think I was almost at a point where it would have required some rather violent, or at least heated, contortions to bring it back near reality, close enough to at least resemble some sort of issue, and I hate that sort of last-minute editing…. No doubt, it could have been a bit more logical, or at least had SOME connection to something someone might want to read…. But, it did get me this far down the page, without having to actually think about much, just throwing words together, as one does with vegetables in a salad…. That must be where the docs got that phrase “word salad”, to describe one of the symptoms of schizophrenia, undifferentiated type…..

Having thus walked up to the edge of insanity, but refrained from jumping off the edge, we will take what we’ve got, with a thankful nod of appreciation, and get on with the rest of this Pearl, such as it may be….. I don’t think it would be a good idea to try to keep this going much longer…. Between the growing numbness and pain in my fingers, wrist, and joints at large, and my foggy brain, it’s becoming a bit of an ordeal…. Who knew, that to be a blogger, one must needs cultivate the same sort of stamina, and ability to ignore pain, that is required on the football field, or the martial arts studio mats?….

But, since I AM being tough, carrying on in spite of the obstacles my body throws up in front of itself, we’ll make a hasty exit from this intro, which is now threatening to get completely out of hand…. In fact, it’s now become prudent for me to exercise emergency technique #4 again, just to get us out of this mess…. Hang on….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“If you want to know all about the sea, you go and ask a sailor, or a marine biologist, or an oceanographer, and they can tell you a lot about the sea. But if you go and ask the sea itself, what does it say? Grumble, grumble, swish swish. It is too busy being itself to know anything about itself.” — Ursula K. Le Guin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On most days, this section would contain a rant, or, at minimum, links to an article or two that would stimulate a rant…. But, yesterday’s outburst of fun got to me, and I don’t feel much like ranting this morning…. Hell, it’s all I can do to feel curmudgeonly today; I seem to have stumbled into some sort of alternate universe, where I feel GOOD in the mornings, rather than awakening to a screaming nervous system, that wants only to consume massive quantities of strong drugs until achieving oblivion, or, at least, a euphoric distance from the elements of pain that are inflamed….. I gotta say, it sure is NICE to feel relatively okay….

I also have to say, NICE is a pretty weak word for what it feels like, but, my vocabulary fails me just now…. But, that’s okay, because the way I feel means we’re going old-school here today, and the hell with angst, or anger, or any of the BRC or Corporate Snakes…. I am stuck in the “gotta have fun” mode, and I’m enjoying it. so everyone will just have to deal…. Here, then, are a number of pearls to start the day with a smile….

“If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?” — Will Rogers (1879-1935)

“186,282 miles per second: It isn’t just a good idea, it’s the law.” — Smart Bee

“It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation, which give happiness.” — Thomas Jefferson

“A bird in the hand makes blowing your nose difficult.” — Solomon Short

“Bad cop. No donut! Bad cop. No donut!” — Portland Protest Chant

“Do you call yourself free? I want to hear your ruling idea, and not that you have escaped from a yoke.” — Nietzsche, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”

“You may be capable of great things, But life consists of small things.” — Deng Ming-Dao

There are times when Smart Bee gets too smart for its own good…. I KNOW there is a message in this pearl; I cannot for the life of me figure out what the hell it is…. If y’all have any ideas, let me know, okay? Otherwise, I’ll just mark it down in the “too obscure for common usage, but fun” column…. For now, we’ll go on, just as if it had been normal…

Wait, what was I thinking? Normal? Never mind…. we’ll just go on, without comment…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This poem was written in 2012, in response to another shooting at a school, I believe; it just flowed out a day afterward, after I’d been thinking about the issue for a while, and seems to me to be a pretty coherent reaction to such an event, even if it is written entirely in metaphor…. I hope you enjoy it, it’s one of my favorites of mine, and, I believe, one of my best….

After the odyssey….

Portraits of iconic symbols, crashing, singing, forgotten;
evolving into mature innovation, as yet pale, and rotten.
Still water justly breeds, impenetrable primal verses resound;
unholy moments tarry, emotion swirls in passion unbound

Spiritual ovulation precedes each pregnant pause;
gravid, time moves on, following destiny’s cause.
Cast adrift on waves of confusion, to a final, damp landing;
salvation beckons sweetly, fed well on understanding.

Dreams directly fall, in night’s grey bower, unbidden;
lingering flavors in simple taste, lovingly, cleverly hidden.
Childish laughter sounds, joyful, bright, and clear;
no need ever to hide, no more monsters to fear.

Temper most foul arrives under unregistered mail;
forgotten taunts live on, lashed by an ancient flail.
Plain dealing delivers such lasting specks of honest hate;
savage in retrospect, never hasty, always running late.

Forever, cries an ambient lover of the pending night;
his pale, weak issue forms its own failing light.
Still, fortune favors such as those who apprehend;
Sweet love of Gaia, let it never end.

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since I decided not to rant today, I’m going into the archives again…. This one is just a clarifying statement, to try to help ffolkes understand my take on religions in general… Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I’m trying to help folks understand; I believe that major proportion of ffolkes mostly already do, as they’ve been here before, and seem to keep coming back. Hell, you might even call them the choir, without being untruthful, as I end up preaching to them a lot…

Any who, this may explain at least SOME of why the major organized religious organizations frequently come under my scrutiny, as the recipient of my ire…..

From December of 2011…

“That which leads us to the performance of duty by offering pleasure as its reward, is not virtue, but a deceptive copy and imitation of virtue.” — Cicero (B.C. 106-43)
_____________________________

Ffolkes,

Just so it’s clear…..I’m not an atheist, per se, at least, not in the classical sense of the word. I do hold beliefs regarding the subject of divinity and spirituality, but they bear no great resemblance to those espoused by any organized faith, and I don’t discuss them with anyone. It just causes arguments. I am not a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Unitarian, or a Buddhist, or any other of the virtually countless ‘isms’ people have come up with to try to understand those parts of the universe they do not comprehend.

I’ve read the holy books of most of the major faiths; Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, the Bibles of several different Christian sects , the Tao Teh Ching, the I Ching, and any other related material I could find. Not that I made a complete heavy study of each, but I learned enough to be able to draw comparisons, and judge the validity of each (which I admit, is purely subjective. But then, isn’t any religious belief purely subjective? Why yes, I do believe it is…..).

It occurred to me, just now, that, maybe, for all these centuries we (that’s the human “we”…. meaning all of us as a group….) have sought to explain what we do not understand, we have been looking at things from the wrong perspective, at least in terms of intelligence, with its defined value being such that man considers himself greater than “lower” forms of life. The attitude that we are the pinnacle of creation is a given in almost every approach taken by philosophers and scientists in any explanation of why things are as they are.

Since we have not the ability to create worlds (yet), or stars (yet), or universes (yet?), we attribute the state of things as we know them to creatures of vast wisdom and power, as “far above us as we are above bacteria or amoeba.” How often have you heard the last part? Isn’t that part of any definition of a god, or even God, by whatever name one calls him/her/them/it?

But what if the amoeba IS God? Amoeba are the most ancient form of life we know of, utilizing the simplest means of reproduction available (as far as WE know anyway…), and are an essential step in the formation of other life. Perhaps the entire bacterial level is God’s nervous system, and the amoeba are the thoughts of God. And as other forms of life evolved, maybe each entered another part of the symbiotic whole that is life, non-life, energy, matter, and non-matter, all of which must be present in order for our universe to manifest itself.

All of which makes our viewpoint completely backwards; we are the bottom of creation, not the top. Every other part of the universe, and almost every animal and creature on our planet we know of, except ourselves and our vaunted intelligence, are functioning, and functioning well, according to their place in Nature because they have no need to do anything else. Our intelligence is generally accepted to be that which makes us ‘better’ than the rest of creation, a convenient word to describe something that may not have been created at all, but might just happen to be the way it is, because it wants to be….. At least, most of it does…. So far we haven’t done too well at learning how to be at one with the rest of creation; quite the opposite, as a general rule…..

Hmm…. Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it…… At least with this credo, there’s no guilt, no shame, no incentives, and no rewards….. other than self-respect……

— How many amoebas does it take to change a light bulb? One. No, 2. No, 4. No, 8. No, 16. No, 32……. — Smart Bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I awoke today with great hopes for this Pearl; those hopes, of course, were dashed within moments of arising…. as usual. However, given my state of mind today (perilously unstable….) and the state of the universe, (just plain perilous), I think I’d be disinclined to make any changes to what came out, to be safe…. Safer for y’all, too, as changes at this late date can throw this vehicle into a tailspin in a heartbeat….

All that said, I’m done, & outta here…. See ya tomorrow, ffolkes, and may the Bluebird of Happiness refrain from pooping on your hat…. No, I have no idea where that came from…. I don’t think I want to know, either, and neither do you….

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

NOTHING begins until AFTER coffee….

Posted on May 25, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

As a matter of both policy and custom, the title of these Pearls each day has nothing to do with what is inside; that is a deliberate act on my part, from the early days of Pearling, when I made the decision to not connect the title and text. This decision, of course, gave me license to make up titles out of my head, willy-nilly, without being constrained by the subject matter…. If you watch my titles closely, you will have noted this quality, I’m sure, as they are ALWAYS a bit strange, and (almost) never have anything to do, directly, with the text of the blog…. Oh, once in a Blue Moon, the title will reflect some part of the body subject, but, 99.99% of them are not connected, at all, at all…

Today, of course, is one of the exceptions, at least in the sense that the title makes sense, AND is connected to the material inside… indirectly, but, connected…. Any who, I just wanted to clear that up, as it sometimes will confuse the Gentle Reader, especially the newbies, who are not yet accustomed to the idiosyncrasies that abound on this site… Well, there was that…. plus, it got me this far down the page, without ever suffering any angst, or upset at not having anything to put here…. Bonus!….

Of course, NOW I’m stuck with it, at this painfully awkward point, where I again try to come up with something more than just nonsense to get this started…. Now, I know that nonsense is useful, and is well-used around here, for sure…. but, somehow, it just doesn’t seem appropriate this morning…. I haven’t a clue as to why that may be; it’s not as if nonsense isn’t well-known in this venue. Maybe I’m being too stringent this morning; that has been known to happen, especially before I’ve sucked down enough coffee…. If that were actually the case, though, I probably would have found a body or two on the way to my chair….

I don’t know, ffolkes…. it all seems so futile some mornings…. I write, and write, and spout off about stuff that should be important to many people, yet, nothing changes out in the BBR, not in any significant way…. If I weren’t so damn concerned about the state of the world, and about how long that world is going to last, I wouldn’t be writing at all… I’d be traveling, and making sure I see all those places on this beautiful old planet I’ve always wished to see, before it is all sent down the proverbial tubes by our common stupidity, inflicting upon us the near-certain species extinction we have courted with our ignorance, an event that is now all-but-unavoidable, according to all the evidence….

Well, that was fun…. NOT!

Having thus put myself into a semi-deep depressive state with that mild diatribe, I think I’d better get on with today’s Pearl…. I’m not certain exactly how I got myself to this point so quickly…. I didn’t start out to be so depressive, or feel such a depth of futility…. but, within five paragraphs, I managed to kill any good mood I had going, from having slept fairly well for the third day in a row…. I think, in fact, I’m going to forgo any further attempts to rant, or be serious…. I feel more like having fun today, so, from this point forward, there will be no further ranting allowed…. Instead, we’ll go seek out some fun….. gigoid-style……

That means, of course, that y’all will need to make sure your seat belts are well-secured, and that all of the provided safety devices are deployed (that includes the Kevlar vests, and the emergency stash of Valium included in the first aid kits…. In fact, if I were you, I’d just swallow the Valium now….); we’ve been known to use ALL of them on such days as this… and THAT includes the transgender disguises….

Oh, stop worrying; usually we only need to use about half the included protective devices; it’s not as if we seek out those carnivorous predators…. It’s just that they live nearby, and have learned the signs that we are going to be there, thus giving them ample warning to plan surprises for us….

But, not to worry, nobody has ever died on one of our nonsensical quests for a lightened spirit; it’s come close a few times, but, those were the times we had a replacement pilot, who didn’t know all the ropes…. Also, this is all a load of crap, so, all you really need is your earplugs, to be able to ignore the tour guides spiel when it gets tiring, or actively boring… a state of affairs that this intro is approaching rapidly…. Hmm, maybe we should go for a dive…. In fact, I believe that is becoming imperative….

Shall we Pearl?….

If you want to get the plain truth,
Be not concerned with right and wrong.
The conflict between right and wrong
Is the sickness of the mind.

— Seng-T’san

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since this Pearl, and these pearls, are dedicated to fun stuff, here is something I found yesterday on a random mouse-click, an interactive web site that is really neat…. and that phrase just gave everyone a big clue as to my age, I’m sure…. Any who, here is a link to the site, so, check it out, and enjoy… then we’ll go into an old-school pearl with parameters set to nonsense, or, funny, or whatever SB thinks might fit in with those concepts….

Really cool website and picture from a project completed by NASA, with the help of the people of the world…. ….. http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/155294

“I resolved no to be offended easily by human nature, but I think I blew it.” — Hobbes

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.”– George Bernard Shaw

“Puritanism — The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” — H. L. Mencken

(Well, I think it’s funny….)

“Although war is cruel and brutal, it is also dangerous and stupid.” — Yakko Warner

(I know, marginally funny…. but, it stays, because it’s all-too-true…)

Brutha: “What could I say?”
Om: “Believe in the Great God Om.”
Brutha: “And then what?”
Om: “What do you mean, and then what?”
Brutha: “…Believe in the Great God Om or be stricken with thunderbolts.”
Om: “Sounds good to me.”

— How to be a prophet (Terry Pratchett, “Small Gods”)

AND NOW ANOTHER WORD FROM THE PENTAGON: “Oh, and by the way… about those 45,000 body-bags we had shipped to Saudi Arabia. They’re actually going to be used to smuggle booze in to our troops; otherwise we couldn’t get it to them. Honest. We’re not really sure what we’ll carry back in them though. Any ideas?” — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA.

Lister: Love is what separates us from animals.

Rimmer: No, Lister — what separates us from animals is that we don’t use our tongues to clean our own genitals.

— Red Dwarf – ‘Confidence and Paranoia’

Okay, well, that was…. well, that was…. okay, I have no idea what that was…. I thought it was funny, though, so, it will have to do for now…. Let’s go on, & see what happens…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When one wishes for light hearted poetry, Ogden Nash, or Shel Silverstein will always come through for you…. But, I’m going to go with one of my own today, just because I can…. I’ll try to make it as light-hearted as I can…. In fact, I’ll try twice, as one is really short….

Striking Gold

Madness comes and goes, it’s true,
whenever it chooses to do so.
Living’s much like wearing a shoe,
when all you are is a toe.
~~ gigoid ~~

Roses for Noses

I have a bozoid personality, of the first degree;
nobody, I mean nobody, knows that better than me.
I often wonder, as the world goes around, and around
how many others have realized just what I’ve found….

I know for a fact, I’m not the only bozoid one;
too many people laughing out there, having fun.
Is their laughter, though, at themselves first?
Or is it some other impulse, like purple liverwurst?….

I’ve always loved to make others laugh and giggle,
since my tender youth, when my ears began to wiggle.
The world is full of humor, but not always easy to find
so laughing at myself I learned never to mind….

We bozos know each other, here, there, and everywhere
there’s no hiding such joy, it just wouldn’t be fair.
We all have one feature, our great bulbous nose,
and there’s no doubt at all, cuz it just grows….

There’s nothing like a good, big mistake, a disaster,
to show us the folly of living life faster and faster.
Nothing in the world can ever take the place,
of seeing in the mirror, a happy, smiling face….

Don’t be shy, just let it all hang out;
we bozos have more fun, there’s no doubt.
Life’s too somber and gray if we let it get on top
if we don’t stay loose, the pain won’t ever stop….

My advice to all of you, out there in the world,
let noses grow round & red, keep hair tightly curled.
Find a way to let your spirit out often to play,
you’ll never once regret any price you pay.

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I found this the other day, and put it here…. without any clue it would be perfectly appropriate for the day’s theme… (which is because I don’t generally have a theme….)…. Any who, it fits right in, so, it can stay, too…. By the date, this was written just before leaving on our trip to Alaska, so, I must have been in a pretty good mood, if a bit hyper…. not an unusual state for me, at least, not in my head….

From 6/28/2013:

I confess to feeling too hyped to write…. I have a lot in there that wants to come out, but, a bigger part of me just wants to dance, or fall asleep to pass the time until we leave, tomorrow in the early afternoon….. So, I’ll cheat again, and dip into the archives…. This is a short little piece I wrote the day before Halloween in 2011, as part of a pearl created using a really old format, one that encouraged ranting a bit too much…. History aside, I like this one, just because, and it’s a good one to finish with on a day like today…..

_____________________________

“His philosophy was a mixture of three famous schools: the Cynics, the Stoics and the Epicureans – and summed up all three of them in his famous phrase, ‘You can’t trust any bugger further than you can throw him, and there’s nothing you can do about it, so let’s have a drink.'” — Terry Pratchett, ‘Small Gods’

Laughter is probably my favorite part of Life; I can’t think of a single time in my life when laughter was unwelcome. Conversely, I can think of any number of times when it was not only welcome, but life-saving, or at the very least life-preserving. In its way, it also affirms life; it lets you know that you are alive, and that life is good.

The sound of a child’s laughter can bring a smile to the grimmest curmudgeon, and the laughter of a beautiful woman can be either joyous, or cruel. Laughing is our best defense against the tyranny of repressive thought; it can bring a tyrant to his knees, for tyranny lives in fear of ridicule. Laughter cannot cure pain, but can ease it, and make it more bearable.

In its way, laughter prolongs life, actually reversing many of the effects of time. When laughter is in our lives, everything is more colorful; vision, hearing, touch, smell, all are more acute when under its influence. And, when it is long absent, the world turns dreary, washed of all color. Without laughter, our lives become drudgery, merely a time to survive, in silence and despair.

The Universe is one huge joke, and the punch line has yet to come. We can spend our lives in black and white, trudging along the dusty road of Time with head hanging down and steps heavy as sorrow. Or, we can look for the brighter side of Life, and laugh at ourselves and everything around us, marching ahead with eyes up and seeking new vistas, hopeful for the dawn of each new day.

Your choice…..

“Excuse me, but didn’t I tell you there’s NO HOPE for the survival of OFFSET PRINTING?” — Zippy the Pinhead

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m not sure what to think about this one; it FEELS as if it got away from me, but, it LOOKS okay…. Maybe I’ll read it, to see how it came through the ordeal…. Be back in a few….

Okay, so, it must be okay, because I’ve read it, and STILL don’t have a clue as to its value, or even its nature…. which makes it completely typical…. That, of course, means I’m outta here, having done all the damage I can do for one day…. 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 the dubious

Sifting metadata for tidbits of information…. priceless….

Posted on May 24, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Well, this is strange…. For the second day in a row, I slept well, for almost eight straight hours, and woke up feeling a feeling I had not felt in a very long time…. I felt good. No major pain to speak of, no major stiffness, just a normal drowsiness while throwing off the effects of sleep. Coffee’s already on, and I’m sitting here, as ready as I ever am, to dive into another Pearl…. Now all I need to do is find an intro somewhere in the vast, empty reaches of my mind….

For an opening paragraph, that one doesn’t suck…. It doesn’t really impress me all that much with brilliance, but, hey, not sucking is good, it’s okay, right? And, boy, do I sound pathetically codependent, or what? (If I hear ANYONE say “what”, I’ll cry, so, please refrain for the moment…. it’s a cheap laugh anyway….) I suppose I could have found a bit more compelling secondary opening line, but, to be honest, I thought the ‘doesn’t suck’ part to be pretty cool… I smiled when I wrote it, so irony or no irony, it stays, and y’all can go to hell…

Just kidding; if y’all took off for the nether regions, who’d read the Pearl? I’m just thrashing about in random turns, trying to land on a spot from which I can actually get a grip on this…. I’m not sure if it is going to happen, but, if I keep looking, at least I’ll have an excuse when the boss gets here…. Oh, wait, no boss…. Sorry, sometimes I forget I’m retired…. I sit here composing a Pearl, which I did each day for the last five years I worked, and I can slip backwards in time, & believe myself to be sitting in the E.D.’s office at NSH, putting the daily Pearl together, before anyone else arrives…. It’s weird, but comforting…

I know, I’m weird, too…. But, you see, that’s one of the selling points I use when I actually do make a sale on one of these….. Of course, nobody has ever bought one, but, I’ve been trying so long, and the fantasy of actually selling one has been dreamed so many times, it almost seems real…. SIGH…. Someday, somebody will pay me to do this, and my life will be complete….

Until then, though, it would probably be best if I stopped spouting sheer nonsense, just so I can fill up space in an introduction that, once again, has gone terribly wrong…. No organization, no logic, and almost no humor, though not without a large number of attempts…. sad, sad, sad….

Oh well, it DID get me this far down the page, so, I’m going to invoke the subsidiary emergency clause, and declare this a legal, if odd, introduction, and get on with the rest of today’s effort…. It will be for the best, I’m sure, since THIS can go nowhere interesting, or important…. not from here, anyway…. Maybe from over there….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Think hard now! Which one is Shinola?” — Smart Bee, tongue firmly in cheek….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t about y’all, but, I about busted a gut, and literally almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw the pearl above, that closes the intro…. I haven’t heard that expression in damn near thirty years, and it was so perfectly apt as a closing pearl for that section, it made it even funnier…. Whew! My tummy is all stiff and trembling, from the almost four minutes of hard laughter…. It may be hard to start to rant now, but, I think the following links should bring me right back into that mode…. Please read these, so you will catch any references in the comments I’ve included….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/nsa-reform-bill-usa-freedom-act-passes-house?CMP=ema_565

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/22/pentagon-report-snowden-leaks-national-security?CMP=ema_565

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/22/pentagon-report-snowden-grave-threat-overblown?CMP=ema_565

Okay, so we have two separate issues here… actually three, and it is the third I wish to rant on the worst…. We’ll take them one at a time….

First, as to the so-called “reform” bill passed in the House, it seems to be merely a sop to the public, more than any real reform. It doesn’t make any real changes to the way the NSA collects data; it makes only superficial changes to how the data is handled once stolen, er, collected…. And, none of it addressed the real issue, of how illegal, and immoral it is to spy on one’s own citizens…. The entire subject is one that irks me like a burr under a saddle irks a horse; it’s a constant irritation, all because the administration refuses to acknowledge the illegal nature of the process at all, and the public is allowing them to do that without any reaction… they’re just watching in resignation…

Second, we have two views of the same issue, to wit: the Snowden revelations, and the effect it has had on the American Unintelligence programs…. Sorry, just can’t use the word Intelligence to describe people who don’t show any…. Any who, these articles show, first, just how badly the government feels the need to lie, when the pentagon issues a whine, er, report, that doesn’t even address the actual effects of the information that Snowden took, but looks instead at what MIGHT happen, IF he took certain things, but, they don’t know for sure exactly WHAT he took, so it’s all a guess, anyway….

The third article is an opinion column, by a British columnist, explaining how the Pentagon report is, well, useless as a means of transmitting any actual information… It’s merely a long, detailed (with information that doesn’t apply to the issue) WHINE by the idiots who want to keep all they do out of the public eye, and are upset because this American Hero, Eric Snowden, was brave enough to stand up to the entire US government to bring the truth to the public…. If he DOESN’T win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, there is no justice in the world anymore…

Wow, almost forgot the third issue, which is this: I found these articles in a news outlet from the UK, (that’s Great Britain, to the geographically challenged). When I looked in the US news sites, I found ONE report, a video report by the Bloomberg network, a relatively new internet news outlet…. None of the US papers or outlets had anything on either of these two stories….

Now, why do you think that is? A lot of very disturbing reasons come to my mind, but, I’m a cynic… what do y’all think? I am certain, whatever the reason, it can’t be any good news for the American public, as any reason to NOT discuss it can only mean the spread of more ignorance among the unwashed masses of Americans, who already operate in an informational blackout, what with their ingrained preference for lies, delusions, and whatever nonsensical crap they are fed by anyone on TV with a nice smile, a blue suit, with a white shirt, a red tie, and a flag pin on their lapel….

I could rant on this for a very long time, but, good as I feel today, it’s not that simple, or easy… Plus, rather than take the chance of boring some of my less politically minded readers, I’ll switch this pearl in mid-stream, going old-school…. Here, then, is a five-star pearl, with parameters set to give us some pearlish comments on these issues, and the base issue, the corruption and fall of western civilization as we know it….

“I’m glad you asked me that. This gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about the problems with this Congress…” — Vice President Dan Quayle responding to reporter’s — questions about his use of Air force 2 to — go on golf trips at the cost of $26,000/hour

“When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.” — Confucius

“Following the Noble Path is like entering a dark room with a light in the hand; the darkness will all be cleared away, and the room will be filled with light.” — Buddha

“One lie does not cost you one truth, but the truth.” — Friedrich Hebbel

“If it weren’t for politicians, who would fashion disorder out of chaos?” — Smart Bee

I love it when a ~~plot~~ plan comes together….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One more time, I’m using my own poetry, for the simplest of reasons, to wit: if I do, nobody else can get blamed for this…. Besides, it’s all of a kind, today, poking at those assholes in Washington D.C., who keep themselves busy trying to fulfill the paranoid delusions under which they suffer….

Terror at Constitution Hall

Standing quiet, waiting on hope’s bright wing,
a stranger heralds the gift of Time.
Lyrical, spherical melodies we sing,
yet with silence, as a mime.
If fortune favors the bold and free,
truth may be spoken with courage unveiled.
But fortune oft is capricious and cruel,
and truth is naught but cold, with freedom failed.
Humanity has rights, ’tis often said,
if courage and truth can prevail.
If fear and ignorance are the diet we’re fed,
Life without liberty will be the end to this tale.

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having used up both my rant and my old-school pearl in section one, I’m going into the archives again to fill in this last section…. It’s about time to go over one of our only remaining rights, to make sure everyone knows the importance of protecting it as long as we can…. I forget exactly how long ago I wrote this, but, no doubt, there is a clue somewhere in the text to locate us in time… If not, well, it’s as valid today as it was two or three years ago, when it first appeared…. Enjoy, ffolkes, and, please, remember to put on your thinking caps….

“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” — James Madison

I found this yesterday; I’d seen it before, and it seemed serendipitous that it showed up just in time for the event today (psst!…. go vote!….). (Aha! I told you…. so, this was written on election day in 2012….) In my mind, a good standard for figuring out if a person is a true patriot is to get their take on the Second Amendment, and the idea of gun control by the government. As I’ve stated before, I believe the risk of letting the government restrict our rights in this regard, IN ANY WAY, can only lead to the eventual loss of the right altogether, and that is an event that is completely unacceptable to me.

Yes, it means that the world will be a dangerous place, but, guess what, ffolkes? That is something that happened a long time before guns. Taking them away from the general populace is not going to stop mass killings, or unjust, insane use of guns against innocent people. That occurs on a daily basis, anyway, but with the guns in the hands of police officers; that is a fact…. So, don’t tell me that the government is more qualified to use guns than I am, because that is just stupid….

Now that I’ve insulted many of you, we’ll try to go on to the election…. didn’t mean to get off into a rant on that, but, wanted to get it out of the way, so that the discussion may go on to other ways that the government is, quite simply, fucking us left and right…. George Carlin had a lot of good points about the corporate masters and their lackeys, the beloved ruling classes, and the priestly hierarchies. He often pointed out that the world has turned into a massive corporate conglomerate, with all the world governments at the mercy of those few individuals who actually control all the resources, and money. Those are people you never hear about, or see in the news, unless it is by intent…. they don’t allow accidents like that to happen….. But rest assured, they exist, and are perfectly content to let the world believe whatever it wants, as long as their profits, their power, and their control over others continues to grow….

“The rifle and handgun are “equalizers” – the weapons of a democracy. Tanks and bombers represent dictatorship.” — Edward Abbey

But, the invisible rulers don’t like the Second Amendment…. it leaves too much chance for independence in the hands of the people, and in case the people ever find out what they have been up to, they want to be able to know where all the guns are that might threaten them…. Having the general populace of this country continue to have access to any significant firepower is not in their best interests, so they work behind the scenes to get people to believe the nonsense about gun control, and how keeping guns from the hands of the citizenry will make life safer…. which is just so much bullshit, plain and simple. Ultimately, the only real effect of making guns illegal will be to make a large percentage of the American people outlaws, because I don’t think any of us will give them up without resistance, whether overt, or covert….

“The right to buy weapons is the right to be free.” — A. E. Van Vogt, The Weapon Shops, — in Astounding Science Fiction, December 1942

How, you may ask, does this relate to the election? Well, it doesn’t, directly…. it’s just a pet peeve of mine, and an example of another of our basic rights that are being eroded by politicians, preachers, and those who ignorantly buy into their lies. I don’t trust the Democrats any more than I do the Republicans; perhaps even less, because the Republicans seem to be far more open about their lack of concern with the rights of the people. In that sense, they are easier to spot, and to resist. The Dems are being more subtle, but that doesn’t make them trustworthy; they do, after all, seek that power over others as well. There just seem to be more of them who are motivated to do so out of some community feeling, and concern for others, and those are trying to encompass reforms that are sorely needed.

“A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation.” — James Clarke

The difference between the two parties that have the only chance at the seats of power is extreme in this election; very seldom has the choice that needs to be made been clearer (even though it continues to be a choice between the lesser of two evils….). One can choose to move forward into a future with a chance for some change, or one can try to return society to the middle ages, with all of its injustice, and misery. It is that simple, and anyone who wishes to argue with that is welcome to present their views…. I’ll knock them down easily, with headlines from the daily news that, although not exactly unbiased or always true, are nonetheless balanced out by the outrageousness of each side’s contributions.

“Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.” — H.L. Mencken

The facts are all our there to see, and they clearly show one candidate whose only interest is in increasing his own power and wealth, and protecting his cronies on Wall Street, his cultish church, and the ruling class; he cares noting about the common man, and makes his disdain obvious. The other is, well, definitely the lesser of two evils…. on the apparent surface he is a dedicated, honest man, seeking reform and change, but, there are indications of less than stellar activity in his administration, too.

But, he obviously cares about the common man much more than his opponent, and since the common man is the one who will be affected the most by what happens this time, the choice is clear. If you don’t want to have to take up regular use of Vaseline and Preparation H, then vote the incumbent…. If you really want to get a good screwing in the nether regions, then vote the opposition…. it is that simple ffolkes….

“There is but one element of government, and that is THE PEOPLE. From this element spring all governments. “For a nation to be free, it is only necessary that she wills it.” For a nation to be slave, it is only necessary that she wills it.” — John Adams (1735-1826), Letter to John Taylor, 1814

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Well, it’s long, it’s complicated, and it might make someone think about something other than their oatmeal…. I’ll take it. All those qualifications make for what I consider an excellent Pearl, no matter what anyone else may believe…. Deal….. (Just kidding…. there’s a bit of humor in all of this, in spots, so, it’s not ALL heavy and depressing…. only most of it….. Oh, well, tomorrow’s another day, and I’ll be here, to try again…. See ya, ffolkes, from just another ffoole on the hill….

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

Decorated with marzipan fleurettes…..

Posted on May 23, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Yesterday, I was struck by an idea…. Well, actually, it was a fairly tall, agitated Armenian street vendor who struck me, but, it made me think of something, so, considering that he caused me no damage (which, sad to say, he cannot say of me…. I DID respond to his attentions in kind, with a greater degree of efficiency than he showed, to his regret….), I’m ignoring his part in the formation of the concept that came to me….

All of which is a long-winded way to bring out the idea that came to me, after dealing with the minor annoyance…. and, I still don’t know why he got mad…. unless it’s an Armenian insult to wear plaid….

I mean, it WAS a rather loud plaid, but, that’s not usually enough to bother most ffolkes, even in today’s insane world…. Or, it could have been the way his eyes were rotating in their sockets in opposite directions…. When I noticed that, I figured he might be somewhat less than fully cognizant of reality, which is why I was prepared when his fist came flying out of nowhere….

It only grazed my shoulder, having been easily misdirected with a backhand block, followed by ippon seoi nage, the classic Judo technique, a hip-throw, which puts the opponent right on his back, with enough force to guarantee he was no longer interested in hurting me…. Instead he was probably thinking to himself, “What the fuck have I gotten myself into now, and how do I keep him from hurting ME?”

Okay, that’s all…. I can’t do this any more…. All of the above, as might be suspected, is a load of BS, a complete fabrication, only there because I couldn’t think of a damn thing else to write…. There was no angry Armenian, and no ‘ippon seoi nage’, which IS a hip-throw I learned in Judo, many years ago, but, it’s also one I haven’t used in twenty years or more, having grown out of bar altercations, and given up working in violent jobs….

None of what I wrote in either of the first paragraphs was drawn from reality; it’s all straight out of my tortured head, and, upon reflection, not very good…. I was trying to make it light, and maybe even funny, but, for some reason, just couldn’t quite get there….. SIGH, oh well, I tried, and I’m well aware that not everything I write will be good….

I just wish SOMETHING would come out the way I want it…. ANYTHING….. Ah well, no worries…. the Universe hates us all, and shits on us regularly…. What makes a difference is the way we deal with that…. for the moment, I’m going to go wash off some of this smelly stuff, then come back, and finish putting together this morning’s effort…. I helped myself out by doing a bit of it yesterday, so, it shouldn’t take long, and I think I can keep the blood loss to a minimum….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Socrates was in the right to insinuate, in his elegant Greek expression, that what is got over the Devil’s back is spent under his belly.” — Alain Rene Le Sage (1668-1747) — Gil Blas, Book viii, Chap. ix

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“It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Cleveland Press, 3/1/21

I was planning to rant here this morning, but, for some reason, the urge has passed, or gone into hiding for the moment, so, we’ll go with this, instead…. Here’s a picture, of some lovely young people, graduating from the Coast Guard Academy (wherever that may be…. Oh, right, Connecticut…), complete with the caption I found with it, giving attribution, as well as a very, very ominous piece of information, that, were it not for my sharp eye and suspicious nature, would have passed me, and everyone else, right by (as it was no doubt intended to do….)…. Here, look at this…. the caption is right underneath….

Caps are tossed into the air as newly commissioned Coast Guard ensigns divest themselves of all symbols of cadet life at the conclusion of their commencement exercises at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Wednesday, May 21, 2014, in New London, Conn. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who assumed command of the coast guard during a ceremony at the start of the exercises, delivered the commencement address to the cadets. (AP Photo/The Day, Sean D. Elliot) MANDATORY CREDIT.

Very uplifting, yes? Well, it might be, were it not for this little snippet, added in as apparent afterthought…. to wit: “Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who assumed command of the coast guard during a ceremony at the start of the exercises” ….. !!!!!

Does it bother anyone else that the new Department of Homeland Security now has it’s own military force, with the Secretary of the Department as its commander? Well, it bothers me, a lot….. and, I guess I AM going to rant….

This new department, of Homeland Security (What a crock! Even the name is blatant pandering to paranoia…. Very Goebbels-like…. You remember Goebbels, don’t you? The Nazi military genius, responsible for creating and running the SS?) which our beloved leaders foisted upon us after the hullabaloo on 9/11/2001, already has the force of executive privilege behind it, as part of the government that was never included as even an imaginary part of the original Constitution.

By executive privilege, I mean that the power of Executive Orders (not the law, just the president’s idea of how things should be….) already allows them to spy on, arrest, and lie to the American public, all without any judicial, congressional or public/private oversight… Why do they need their own navy/army/military police force?

Could it be that they foresee a need to police the public? Do they see a need, or future plan, to use the threat of force, or actual force, to control or intimidate the people of their own country, to force compliance with any new ~~oppressive, illegal~~ regulations they plan to issue? Or, are they just setting themselves up for the future, when they will be the equivalent of Hitler’s SS, running around the US digging out terrorists (translation; private citizens of this country, who refuse to engage in their paranoid delusional behavior….), and making them disappear into one of the detention centers they already have in place around the country….

Now, some people might think the above paragraphs indicate some paranoia on MY part…. but, I’ve had a LOT of experience dealing with paranoiacs in my time, and I can honestly, and professionally say, none of what is in the above paragraphs meets the criteria for paranoid delusional material….

You see, for any of the above to be a delusion, by definition, there must be NO basis for the belief in reality…. whereas, I can easily point out very real evidence of every accusation I made…. They ARE arresting people, and locking them away, without any oversight…. and if you don’t believe that, well, you are definitely bordering on delusional belief, because, ffolkes, these assholes are already doing most of what they are denying they do….

If you don’t believe me, how do you explain the Snowden papers? For more than ten years the NSA has been spying on its own countrymen, and the administration STILL has the gall to deny it; they are doing everything in their power to hide that process from the public eye, lying through their teeth at every turn, and generally acting exactly like the people they say we should be afraid of…. Guess what? I’m afraid, but it isn’t fear of terrorists…. it is fear of my own government, which has been stolen by the forces of darkness, the same forces that own and control all the other governments in the world…..

Now, in addition to the cyber spying going on by the government’s pet hackers at the NSA, as well as having the services of agencies such as the FBI, and the CIA, and the other federal agencies that deal with security, the NSA has a completely established, nation-wide military service at their command…. What the hell are they going to do with them? And don’t try to tell me they will ONLY be used to patrol our borders…. Please, don’t insult my intelligence, as they are doing to the public….

Step by step, the forces of the corporate snakeheads who control the governments of the world are solidifying their power base, right under the noses of the people they wish to control…. To be honest? They already have all the controls they need; this is all merely a process of maintaining that control, by extending it into every walk of life….

Ffolkes, none of what I’ve said is arguable; it’s all based on what can be seen right out there in the public eye…. Maybe I look at it all with a bit more clarity, and more skepticism than some, but, I don’t think I’m unique, by any means…. All I can say at this point is, stay alert, and keep your powder dry….

So be it…. gigoid has spoken….

“It is the duty of all persons, when affairs are the most prosperous, then in especial to reflect within themselves in what way they are to endure adversity. ” — Publius Terentius Afer (195/185–159 BC), more commonly referred to as Terence, Phormio, Act II, scene 1, line 11 (241).

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Over the past few days I’ve had a lot of pain, some of which I’ve shared with my Gentle Readers; some might say it’s TMI, and they’d no doubt be correct…. but, no longer…. I’m here to say, now, I will NOT allow it to rule my life, not for another single day…. or multiples, either….

I’m tired of being so focused on bad stuff, that I forget about all the good stuff in life there is to see and do…. So, I’m going to do my best to put it on a back burner, where it belongs…. This is an older poem, from April of 2013, on the subject that has plagued me this past week, from which I can gain some small perspective, I think, and hopefully, you can gain a moment’s enjoyment….

Momentary Terror

Absently casual, memories pester endlessly
leaving only bleeding remnants, amiable and loving.
Coming awake, I cry to still the pain, shamelessly.

Elsewhen, time gives surcease, if only to live,
shoring broken pilings, worn and gray.
Passing on, I laugh at the pain, accept all it will give.

Time will build a shelter, warm and ever safe
save for Fate’s busy hands.
Enduring, I follow the pain, knowing it will chafe.

Fixed against a darkened sky of starry black
such beauty brings us to our knees.
Entranced, I welcome the pain, ’tis all I lack…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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Possibly the best old school pearl I’ve done…. ever…. From 4/22/2013:

So, there I was, cruising around Smart Bee, looking for pearls, when it occurred to me, I was engaged in a futile pastime, from the standpoint of the Universe…. I mean, what do I hope to accomplish with this stuff I write?…. Nobody’s mind will be changed, nobody will stop the carbon monoxide from getting pumped into the air, nobody is going to get mad enough to throw out all the assholes who are screwing us all….

This makes what I’m doing an exercise in mental masturbation, essentially, with as much hope of changing society as….. well, there is no hope for society, so I can’t think of a metaphor for it…. Nor is there much hope of anybody taking any of this seriously, even if read…

Having thus determined the absolute uselessness of our pastime, I shall, nonetheless, continue, fully cognizant of how lame it is…. I’m calling this a Pearl of Forlorn Lost Hope….

Actually, it’s a subliminal pearl, and will worm its way into your head, where it will work on your attitudes, polishing and brightening them without you ever noticing…. By late this afternoon, you will have done a complete 180 from wherever you were, and will enjoy the rest of the day (that’s a subliminal post-hypnotic suggestion….) Enjoy…..

“Does history repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce? No, that’s too grand, too considered a process. History just burps, and we taste again that raw-onion sandwich it swallowed centuries ago.” — Julian Barnes

“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

“But whether there’s some grand design really matters little to me. My only hope was this: to see what might be, to believe that it should be, and then to do all I could to bring it to pass, whatever the cost. When a life spins out as joyfully as mine has done, then the price, once paid so painfully, is now recalled in gladness. I have received full value. Here among the shepherds, my cup is filled with the water of life; it overflows.” — Orson Scott Card, “Treason”

But sure the eye of time beholds no name
So blest as thine in all the rolls of fame.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book xi, Line 591

” It is now some years since I detected how many were the false beliefs that I had believed to be true since my earliest youth. And since that time, I have been convinced that I must once and for all seriously try to rid myself of all the opinions which I had formerly accepted, and begin to build anew, if I wanted to establish any firm and permanent structure for my beliefs.” — Rene Descartes, Meditations

The human heart has hidden treasures,
In secret kept, in silence sealed.

— Charlotte Bronte

“There is no cure for birth and death other than to enjoy the interval.” — George Santayana (1863-1952)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s Pearl is done, thank goodness…. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get it done today, but, my decision to put aside the issue that I’ve been fighting has been of good use, so, I’m content, for the nonce…. That said, superfluously, I’m sure, I’m outta here…. See ya tomorrow, 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 the dubious

Don’t push that envelope; stick a stamp on & mail it….

Posted on May 22, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

It took a while, but, I finally figured out a way to defeat the lack of creativity with which I awoke today….. It’s a busy day, with early appointments and lots of activity going on, so it’s not a good day for my head to take a break…. but, it doesn’t care about any of that, and has issued enough evidence to let me know it isn’t going to do any REAL work today…. So, I’m filling in from the archives today, shamelessly, as I found some good stuff, which will work for this Pearl nicely….

I’m so happy with what I’ve found, which is going to keep me from having to strain myself to come up with new material, I’m not even going to blather here in the intro any more than is necessary to get us on down the page a ways, so I can cut and paste the chosen archived material to my heart’s content…..

Some out there might think I’m being lazy, but, given the way I’ve felt for the last week or so, pain-wise, y’all are free to think anything you want; I simply don’t give a rat’s ass, and will do what I want anyway….. I’m not very likable sometimes, I suppose, when I’ve been in pain for several days…. and can’t bring meself to care much at all, at all…. I’m sure you’ll understand, and if not, oh well….

Hmm…. I hope I didn’t drive anyone off with that sort of curmudgeonry; if so, well, so much for honesty, eh? S’alright, I’m good with solitude, as long as I know I have been truthful, and not deliberately cruel…. I mean, I AM an American, and we can be real assholes, given half a chance, right? That is certainly our reputation over much of the rest of the world, a reputation that has been, I’m afraid, well-earned, though not by the average American…. No, our rep around the world is based strictly on what the assholes in our government do in their international relations, which is, mostly, bomb the shit out of little brown people….

Oops! Almost started in on the BRC there, and it won’t be necessary today, and certainly isn’t needed in the intro, much as it may fit in there sometimes…. Today, we’re looking for something a bit more rational, and, by golly, I think we’ve got what we need right here, right now… which is a damn good thing, as my wrists and fingers are beginning to become painful enough to cause some serious difficulties typing…. Thank goodness this is now legal…. even if not what could be called “good”…..

Shall we Pearl? Yes, yes, we shall…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had intended to put something else here, but, I found this while looking for the one I’d chosen…. It’s equally appropriate, and more on point than the other, so, you get this, instead…. This diatribe was first included in the Pearl posted on 6/16/13:

“Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” — William Pitt (1759-1806) speech on the India Bill, Nov. 18, 1783

I had not intended to start with a political rant, but this just came up, so here we go…. This is as true today as it was in 1783, perhaps even more so. Since 9/11/01, when those fanatic idiots carried out their insane delusions of grandeur on the world stage, the “necessity” for Homeland Security has been the watchword of the political pundits who, unfortunately, are in charge of the legislative and executive branches of our government. Bill after bill after bill keeps coming down the pike, bulling their way through into becoming law, or even worse, created by executive order, without the benefit of review by Congress, useless as that may be.

The entire incident that happened that day was blown completely out of proportion by the media. Yes, it was a terrible tragedy, in which something over 3000 American lives were lost, in three separate incidents. The videos of those planes hitting the buildings in New York must have been replayed a thousand times before noon, all over the country, until every American who had access to a TV was informed of what had occurred….

The American media, and the political machinery that manipulates it so effectively, then proceeded to flood every channel with the after-effects, making sure that the sorrow and fear of every person they could find willing to speak of it on camera was put on the evening news, and ensuring that no rational, dispassionate examination of the events would take place. Before the first day had passed, the national reaction had been whipped to a frenzy, stirring the fears of every paranoid in society, and making it seem as if the entire nation was filled with anger and vengeful righteousness. Though I didn’t join in the paranoia, I could feel it happening all around me, as normally intelligent people became so angry they lost all sense of proportion, or for that matter, all sense of truth.

In the ensuing years, whenever the politicians have wanted to distract the nation from what they were actually doing, all they have needed to do was mention the word terrorism, or national security, to immediately put attention off of them, and onto the pitiful group of fanatical Muslims they blamed for the attacks (completely ignoring all the reasons those same politicians had provided those fanatics in the first place, with the justifiable reasons that were, in truth, actually designed just for that purpose, to stimulate an attack….). And thus, the Hunt for Osama bin Laden was on!

In this country, as a result of those attacks, approximately 5000 American lives were lost (that figure is larger than the actual number, purposely…. it is near enough to correct to make the point…). At this time, in the quest to find Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, over 50,000 Afghani civilians have been killed. In Iraq, which we somehow decided to invade, even though they had nothing to do with 9/11, well over 250,000 civilians have died to soothe our national pride.

In that same period, we lost another 1000 or so soldiers in fighting and bombings, not counting those allies we convinced to support us in our insane paranoia. And, as a side effect, the US Bill of Rights has been effectively eliminated, by Executive Order, disguised as Homeland Security (June, 2013 — Now, the abrogation of those rights are authorized by what is so laughingly called the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012…. signed by President Obama on New Year’s Eve of 2011, while everyone was partying, not paying any attention to their so-called “rights”…..).

“Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated” — George Bernard Shaw

So, what is my point here? My point is this…. those pathetic fanatics killed more Americans than they had ever been able to kill before, once…. yep, one time. Since that one time, our country has killed over 300,000 civilians in retaliation; you can call it what you like, I call it schoolyard revenge by bullies. It has caused every politician in this country to wrap themselves in the flag, not to proclaim their patriotism, but to manipulate the unreasonable fear they created in the public to keep them from realizing the truth of the matter.

That truth is this: we are in no real danger from Al Qaeda, or Qaida, or whatever, or from any other splinter faction terrorist group, nor have we ever been in any real danger from any of them. They may be able to pull off stunts such as this one occasionally, but for the most part, the world has gotten pretty good at either catching them in hiding, or stopping their plots before they actually carry them out. Governments have a LOT more resources than terrorists, no matter how rich they may be personally.

No, the pathetic, desperate people who become terrorists are created by those same political pundits who are reviling them and hunting them down. They are not a real threat to anyone, as they don’t have the wherewithal to perform more than one act of violence at a time; they cannot wage a war, they can only try to act as guerrilla forces, at best. Mostly, they are just sad schemers, planning glorious deaths, that ultimately have no meaning, other than to provide the Western politicos another unreasonable fear to use against the American public, in order to continue their raping and pillaging among their own people.

The entire issue is one that is repugnant to me; I have watched in horror, not as terrorists have been hunted, but as the rights of the American people have been taken away in the name of “security”. Security from what? We don’t need more security from terrorists; those techniques for dealing with it are well-established, and effective, as they employ the very same methods used by the fanatics to achieve their ends. No, we need more security from our own pundits, who have utilized this tragic events for their own benefit, to the everlasting regret of every true patriot….. bloody assholes, every one of them…..

“I have formed a very clear conception of patriotism. I have generally found it thrust into the foreground by some fellow who has something to hide in the background. I have seen a great deal of patriotism; and I have generally found it the last refuge of the scoundrel.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Judgement of Dr. Johnson, Act III

So be it…. gigoid has spoken….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since today’s material came from past Pearls, here is a poem of mine, one of the last I wrote in 2013…. I hope you enjoy it….

Fine and Good, Good and Fine

A pig in a poke’s got nothing on me,
cuz I’m as confused as a man can be.
This ol’ world’s got me spinnin’ around
cussin’ and spittin’, a penny for a pound.

Forty ‘leven times since I was a kid, well,
I’ve fallen in love, ‘least too close to tell.
Every damn time, it all went to crap,
Forty ‘leven times I’ve felt like a sap.

‘Course, each time it happens, I forget the last;
why not? I’m havin’ such a blast….
Livin’ in each moment, filled with joie de vivre,
’til it’s all gone away again, nothin’ left up my sleeve.

Don’t want y’all to think I’m sad or blue,
life’s full of sorrow, lots for me, and/or you..
T’other side of that coin, we can be glad,
is joyful love, and that ain’t at all bad.

My road’s been littered with parts o’my heart,
each one colored with trust, which ain’t always smart.
Yet, long as I don’t lose my connection to joy,
I’ll find my own true love, and be a happy boy.

It’s been some kinda fun, even when I’d take a fall,
and doin’ it over makes no sense at all, at all
Day after day, I keep on keepin’ on, as it’s said;
Guess I’ll keep on doin’ that ’til I’m dead.

‘Nuff said….

~~ gigoid ~~
tongue firmly in cheek….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exactly a month after creating the above rant, in section one, I wrote this, a piece I re-post periodically, to keep things honest….. This was LAST posted on 7/16/2013:

I’m not feeling lazy, but, I AM feeling lazy, so I’m dipping into the past to come up with today’s third section…. It has been some time since I posted this, which I try to do at least once a year, to keep new ffolkes apprised of my history, and provide some background for the stuff I write here…. some of the back story, as it were…. So, here is my philosophy of Life, and some of the rationalizations that prompted its creation….. Though Peruaosophy originally was composed in the 1980’s, this article was posted on the site, GoodBlogs.com, sometime in early 2011, prior to starting this blog on WordPress….

Birds Do It, Bees Do It
So Do I…

In the dim, dark past, when I was, sort of, attending college at UC Berkeley, (1968-70) discussing philosophy was standard in many of the BS sessions in which I participated. In order to not be thought of as someone who was ignorant in the field, I naturally read the classic tomes by such philosophers as Friedrich Nietzsche, Soren Kierkegaard, Aristotle, Plutarch, Plato, Socrates, Epicurus, Solon, and Jung, as well as more modern folks, such as Bucky Fuller, Sartre, and John Lennon (yes, him too…his philosophy tends to lean way to the left…).

One day later on, sometime in the 80’s, I was involved in learning to raise kids, deal with a wife, and in general going quietly crazy trying to balance all the balls one must keep in the air to get by in today’s world. As I sat this particular day, it struck me how long it had been since I stretched my mind. It seemed as if I’d been buried in mundane details forever, and upon examination & reflection I decided I wanted to expand my consciousness, using the flight of imagination to lift me above the everyday cares and woes to which I had fallen prey. And I found, as well, that I had been unconsciously acting according to many of the precepts that I had learned in those halcyon days of my youth.

Encouraged by this revelation, I went one step further, and made the decision to codify my own personal philosophy, to put down in writing those things that I consider to be essential to becoming a well-grounded, well-rounded, productive and contented member of society. The process went more quickly than I had imagined, and I came up with seven basic concepts, all of which I hold to be an integral part of what I believe. Axiom #4 was added later as a necessary part of the whole, overlooked in the initial version, bringing the total number of axioms to eight.

The word I coined to describe this philosophy is Greek; “perua” means “pearl”, and of course, “osophy” is “the study of”. Thus I give you Peruaosophy, the study of pearls of wisdom. Each axiom stands alone, and together they describe fairly well how I approach Life…..

Peruaosophy

The wisdom of pearls…
(The world is my oyster; which way to the pearls?)

Axioms

1) I think I am; that’s close enough.

2) The nature of the Universe is Change. Unpredictable, innovative
transformation of Reality is the Norm. If you have a problem with this, you’re in for a rough ride in Life.

3) Thou art God, you know. Let’s do lunch.

4) Excellence is its own reward.

5) Girls think differently. So do boys. Don’t fight it.

6) Axiom #2 X axiom #5 = And God so loved the world, He said,
“Quit whining!”

7) Do your Duty. Respect Life. Honor the Truth. Share your Love.

8) Go back. Everything you need to know is in the first seven axioms.

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Regardless of how it may seem from your side, this was NOT an easy Pearl to put together…. It’s done though, so, I’m content, if not happy. Enough so I will now post this, and be done with it…. The Big Blue Room is calling…. 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 the dubious

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Monthly Archives: May 2014

Only the freshest innuendo served here…..

Failing that, we’ll go subterranean….

Revolutionary changes are imperative, it seems….

We have uncoded messages for the Betelgeuse delegation….

A pleasing sound of running water….

PUT THAT DOWN!…. Sir, please, step away from the clown….

NOTHING begins until AFTER coffee….

Sifting metadata for tidbits of information…. priceless….

Decorated with marzipan fleurettes…..

Don’t push that envelope; stick a stamp on & mail it….

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