‘Important’ is just another personal judgment anyway, right? Right…. the universe treats us all alike, with complete, massive indifference to our wishes or our sensibilities…. It’s just the way it is, so, what becomes important is how we react to whatever we are presented with in our lives…. much of which is not under our direct control…. As always, the only thing we can really count on being able to control is ourselves; beyond that, all is up for dispute…. Nobody likes that part of karma, or existence, or whatever we choose to call life when we are speaking metaphorically; we don’t have to like it. All we have to do is deal with it, for there is no other choice…

That being said, we do have SOME choices; in fact, that is our saving grace, to my way of thinking. We have the choice to act, or not, always…. That is a powerful tool, though sadly misunderstood to be so critical…. But, then, it takes more than just two neurons bumping up against each other to have a chance of cluing into that fact, so, a lot of folks out there just don’t have the wherewithal…. This is what creates so much tension and difficulty in the world, because of their thrashing around, trying to control everything they don’t understand, using the only tool they know, which is aggression and violence….

There, how’s that for a three paragraph summary of world history, with a valid, pertinent appraisal of human nature, and a solid, short, rational description of the root causes of the mess we call current events in world-wide society, or, as we usually think of the issue, Life As We Know It? Not too shabby, I’d say, even if it is a little bit heavy on the assumption of guilt part…. Hey, stupid is as stupid does, as Mama Gump says, so, I’m not apologizing for any of it, not even to the Buddha…. I was only trying to help!….

Never mind, we’ll just go on…. Today’s picture is one of several I took yesterday on my walk, taken when I discovered the local colony of pine cones, in their original habitat…. Apparently there was some kind of formal gathering going on, so several of them agreed to pose in the formal attire, right there in the pine tree where they live…. It was interesting, and gave me a little better insight in the Wise Old Pine Cone, and the environment from which he was, shall we say, sent forth unto the world, to carry out the dictates of his Arts….

Now, now, calm down, no need for drama…. Remember, this is all fantasy, so, I can say all this, and it doesn’t mean a damn thing, unless….. wait for it…. hold on…. unless….. YOU MAKE UP THE MEANING!….. See how that works? I rest my case, and my arguments, and my tired grey cells…. Well, not tired, just confused, their normal, default state after such a bout of philosophy, combined with fantasy, and a dollop or two of humor, all in one sitting…. All prepared prior to even awakening, too; I’ll bet you didn’t even notice that part, did you? Nope, but, don’t feel bad….. There was no way you could know I was writing ahead, or, in my sleep….

Since I’ve discovered I have the powers of a Time Lord while writing here, it’s getting a little hard for even ME to keep track of when stuff gets done…. but, as long as I don’t cross the streams, we’ll be fine…. Well, that’s what Ray said…. and Luigi backed him up on it, so, I’m letting it fly….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Who needs astrology? The wise man gets by on fortune cookies.” — Edward Abbey

And, in the same vein….

“I drank WHAT???????” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.)

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On most occasions, the first section is comprised of either a rant, or an old-school pearl, or some combination thereof…. Or, it may start with links, to articles that stimulate my discussion/ranting, which often turns out to resemble my nose, i.e., large, round, & red, with a tendency to HONK when squeezed….. or, on rare but entertaining occasions, when looked at with the plain intent to squeeze…. Today, we, or, dropping the royal personage, I, am going a completely different direction…. sort of…..

The link you’ll see below is to an article from the sports page of SFGATE, the SF Bay Area news website run by the SF Chronicle, about the home team’s latest exploits, in this case, a Giants’ win, night-before-last in Philadelphia, a tough win in 14 innings on the road…. It’s an upbeat story, with a lot of good signs for Giants fans regarding the second half of the season…. Read it, even if you don’t know baseball, for the change of pace from the usual fare around here, which, I am aware, is generally rather intense in nature….

http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Posey-extends-game-in-9th-Crawford-lifts-Giants-5640059.php?cmpid=hp-hc-sports

The last line in the above article kept me smiling for a long time…. Don’t skip down to it, or it won’t make any sense…. You must read the entire article, or at least skim it down to the last couple of paragraphs, to get the sense of the game, and the fantastically humorous, ironic ending lines…. Brilliant!…..

Now what?….. Hmm, I guess we’ll wait until something occurs to me…. I know, let’s see if Smart Bee can come up with a five-star pearl that is “happy-making”, in a manner of speaking…. I’d try to explain, but, English is the wrong language for that…. Oh, hell, let’s just see what happens…

“Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment… They do everything but watch television.” — Lewis Thomas

“I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second time into things that I am most certain of the first time.” — Josh Billings

“By definition, when you are investigating the unknown, you do not know what you will find.” — The Ultimate Principle

” The difference between a politician and a snail is that a snail leaves its slime behind.” — Gerrold’s Pronouncement

“One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that the cat has only nine lives.” — Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson

Mad, adj.: Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence … — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“The forces of evil can marshal even more support than the forces of good, especially when pizza is served.” — unknown

Okay, so, I can’t count…. I’m happy, so it all balances out, right? Right…. Onward, before they have a chance to catch up….

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What we have below is a typical old-school, random pearl, picked out by myself and Smart Bee, acting in mind-meld-mode, where SB brings up quotes as suggested by whatever the meld is telling him I am looking for…. Well, it works something like that, anyway; maybe one of these days we’ll let the folks at Princeton test us for their ongoing studies into telepathy…. Or, maybe not…. I think this came out rather well, all things considered; in all honesty, I’m not entirely sure my mind has been in attendance, at all, while creating this Pearl today…. Hmph…. No matter, just enjoy….

“It behooves a prudent person to make trial of everything before arms.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Act iv, Sc. 7, 19, (789.)

“What is done with joy is always better done.” — H. L. Mencken

“After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” — Aldous Huxley

“I agree with the realistic Irishman who said he preferred to prophesy after the event.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 10/7/16

“Nobody does good to man with impunity.” — Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

“Distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful.” — Nietzsche, “Thus Spake Zarathustra”

“And furthermore, my bowling average is unimpeachable!!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Also, ffolkes, you need to consider this….. If it wasn’t, would I tell y’all? Probably not….. and, what that has to do with any of the above remains as much a mystery to me, as it does to you….. I also suppose, if you stop to think about it, isn’t particularly unusual for this process….

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Well, that was interesting…. It isn’t every day my brain takes a working vacation, while still putting a Pearl together; I can’t say what kind of effect it had, but, I suppose I’ll see when I go proof it….. SIGH, I guess I’ll do that now, while I’m still in my coveralls….. I’ll be back…..

Well…. Contrary to all the available evidence, I’m speechless. But, that is, by definition, and by its nature, a good place to bring this to a close. It’s logical, if only to a fault, never approaches any sort of politically correct terminology, and, bonus, it’s on sale….. How can you lose? Hell, I’m pretty sure we now take Bitcoins, so, it’s even more convenient….. If you act now, we’ll even throw in the chocolate sprinkles….. Or, not, your choice….. My choice, should I choose to accept it, is to make my way outta here, which, I will proceed to embrace, here, and now….. I must, for I’m out of both pomposity, and, more critically, chutzpah….. See ya…..