Crusty old curmudgeons need love too….

Posted on August 21, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

This is probably the latest I’ve ever posted, but, I decided I didn’t want to go out this morning before the expected random technician, who is scheduled to set up my internet service when he/she arrives, at about 9 AM…. If all goes well, I’ll be hooked up by 10, & posted within a few minutes…. or, possibly a bit later, if we get help from Murphy…. Either way, it shouldn’t be later than 11 or so, so, I’m waiting…. It’s a good one, and worth waiting for, I think, though, like the last two, it has managed to grow into epic proportions…. What can I say? I keep trying to make each one better than the last time, every time; I guess I get carried away by the competition with myself, forgetting how much I’ve already dones…. SIGH…. Enjoy, please….

“According to the proverb, the best things are the most difficult.”~~ Plutarch ~~

(46-120 AD)

— Of the Training of Children —

Your will is my will…..

“Become what you are.” — Buddha

To tell the truth, considering the total message of the three pearls (two text, one a graphic metaphor), I can’t think of single way to follow up that won’t make me look like an idiot, or, at best, perhaps, an egotistical fool…. Oh, wait, I’ve been doing that for years…. Oh well, if there had been any hope of keeping that to myself, I probably wouldn’t have been bright enough to figure out how to do so, anyway, so, I may as well just shoulder the blame for my overweening ambition, at which I’ve had a LOT of practice, then, try to get a little further down the page before I lose control of this completely…. Fat chance, but, hey….

So, how’s the weather where you are? What we’ve seen here in the Bay Area, so far this year, has been completely unpredictable, to a degree I’ve never seen before…. But, that would lead into a rant on climate change, and it’s only the second paragraph… Perhaps that can wait…. Okay, hmm… Oh, the graphic metaphor! There we go…

The picture, cats being the perfect metaphor needed there, is one of my own, taken about five years ago, when the cat, Tony, was about six years old. He was a Pixie Bob, a registered breed, designer bred to resemble a lynx’s (bobcat) pattern of coloration, but, in a domestic feline shape & size… They are a large breed for a domestic cat; as you see, he was about four and a half feet tall when stretched up, and no lightweight, weighing in at just over sixteen pounds… I once saw him jump straight up to the top of the kitchen cabinets, 11 feet off the ground, as if he were being levitated…. I left the eye shine in the picture, because it gives the viewer an idea of the power of his will, as well as supplying a strong metaphoric pillar of support for the following quote from the Buddha, as Tony is, so obviously, exactly what he is…. all cat.

Another striking characteristic of this breed of cats is their behavioral outlook, which somewhat resembles that of a dog, in that they like, even prefer, to be in human company; they will follow their human companion from room to room, will come when called, as well as sitting on command for a treat; he loved nothing better than to sit on laps, or at our feet wherever we were in the house…. This particular cat, at least, got along very well with dogs, especially the one who was there when he came to live with us… Noah, an elderly heeler mix, (10 years old when he and Tony met) became, to Tony, the big brother he had always wanted.

When my house mate brought him home from the shelter, Tony jumped out of the box, took one look at the dog standing about five feet away, walked over, bumped his head on the dog’s chin, rubbing against his leg, & made a big show of affection. Noah, a phlegmatic sort of fellow, looked up at me quizzically, as if to say, “Now what do I do with him?” Tony, being a cat, then walked off, to sniff his new cat tower, and explore his new home…. which, by his demeanor as he looked around, he was determined to memorize by smell, inch by inch… In fact, his curiosity was so great, we gave him the official title of Inspector General…. In our house, no package was ever opened without his having to be there to observe, and inspect the contents completely….

Tony loved Noah, as amply evidenced by how he liked to eat Noah’s food, right next to him; he was constantly following him around, when not following us, & would actually bring him balls to play with (Tony would fetch some types of objects, such as one particular stuffed mouse)…. He somehow knew Noah liked balls, clued in, perhaps by the old tennis balls littering the floor around Noah’s bed, which he collected to bring home on his walks… (Noah had his own odd traits; this one had him finding old, dirty balls, usually tennis balls, which he would pick up, hold delicately in his mouth, carry home, and leave by his bed… He didn’t mind if we washed it first, then he wanted to add it to his pile…)

As Noah got older & had a harder time going upstairs, Tony would follow behind him, batting playfully at his tail, and or his butt, goading him up the steps…. Sometimes, after Noah came back from a long, tiring walk or outing, Tony would come to him where he had laid down, bump his head to Noah’s face, then curl up beside him, guarding him as he rested…. I have a picture of them in that pose, with Tony staring straight at the camera as Noah sleeps…. Sadly, I can’t find it, & don’t have a hard copy to scan… but, it exists, because Tony loved Noah….

Another odd trait Noah had with balls was about fetching, a habit that also extended to sticks…. When out & about, if I picked up a stick, & threw it, he would run & fetch it back, once…. If I threw it again, he would fetch it, bring it halfway back, stop, lay down, put it down, & grin, right at me…. He would then get up, & race back to me, & away down the path, leaving the stick, and/or, sometimes, a ball he got distracted into forgetting (squirrels happen….), never to be chased again…. He just wouldn’t fetch anything more than once; too much dignity, I guess…. Or, just too smart to run around like a fool after a stick…. Hell, here’s his picture, (with the same eyes as Tony)…. you be the judge…

R.I.P. Old Friend

Just before Noah passed away, at the age of 17+ years, I wrote a tribute, which has been reproduced previously here, but, I don’t know when. I also posted it at another site; here is that link, which is still active: http://therealowner.com/dogs/an-ode-to-noah/ Tony, to my knowledge, still lives in the same place with his personal attendant; circumstances led me to move elsewhere when Tony was about six years old, about three or so years ago, & I haven’t seen him since…. but, he was a great cat, one I’ll always remember….

Whew! Talk about falling into reminiscence…. I guess I miss having animals around more than I thought…. It wouldn’t be right just now to take on that responsibility, as I want to travel, further than would be easy to do, even with a companion animal…. Not so hard for me, but, not so easy for the animal to deal with all the changes necessitated in traveling between countries (not to mention the different laws re: dogs, cats, etc. from place to place….). When I’m done seeing what I want to see overseas, I’ll find another friend, one I will learn how to train & certify as medical/companion dog, to aid with my PTSD, and with my increasingly challenging ambulation, which I know will get worse as time goes on…. Oh well… that’s all for later…. I can be patient, until I see a bit more of the world that I’ve yet to see…

I’d say that’s probably….. no, I’ll be honest again, & just say it’s enough…. (That way, I forestall anyone who might mutter, or scream, “it’s MORE than enough, you fool!”) Heck, I’m no dummy…. I know it’s enough for an intro, or three, maybe…. well, two anyway, one for Noah, and one for Tony, either of whom can stimulate a great deal of verbiage when mentioned; witness the above…. Honesty also compels me to think about duty, which means we should be on our way into the rest of today’s unplanned mess…. Improvisation isn’t easy, you know…. ask anybody…. But, it does give me the out I need, to get us back to where we need to be, in order to eventually find our way out again…. Watch your step, please, and duck at once when you hear the command…

‘T is not the whole of life to live, Nor all of death to die.

~~ James Montgomery ~~

(1771-1854)

— The Issues of Life and Death —

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After such a long intro section, I won’t trouble y’all with a rant…. especially when I managed to put together this sort of oldish-schoolish type of pearl, with a mixture of text and photo media…. I think it came out pretty well; I hope you do, as well….

“The average man never really thinks from beginning to end of his life. The mental activity of such people is only a mouthing of cliches. What they mistake for thought is simply repetition of what they have heard. My guess is that well over 80% of the human race goes through life without having a single original thought. Whenever a new one appears the average man shows signs of dismay and resentment.” — H. L. Mencken: “Minority Report: H. L. Mencken’s Notebooks”

Which, naturally, leads me to think of politicians…. besides, I’ve got these cool pearls about that…. Follow the bouncing ideas, ffolkes, for a good chuckle, which is better than crying, because it’s all too true….

“Liberals feel unworthy of their possessions. Conservatives feel they deserve everything they’ve stolen.” — Mort Sahl

“I passed my ethics course. I cheated, of course.”– overheard in the US Senate Bar

“House Ethics Committee” — Oxymoron

“Every actual State is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “Politics”

“The tragedy of modern war is not so much that the young men die but that they die fighting each other–instead of their real enemies back home in the
capitals.” — Edward Abbey

“If I am elected, the concrete barriers around the WHITE HOUSE will be replaced by tasteful foam replicas of ANN MARGARET!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Hence these tears.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Act i, Sc. 1, 99, (126.)

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I still don’t have my internet service, and don’t want to wait two more hours until I can access the online sources I keep to find and pick poetry for this section… which means, of course, another of mine…. Here’s one you’ve seen before (duh!), but, hey, all I can do is all I can do…. Written and first posted in April of 2013:

Random Exposure

If only I knew what I was doing here,
I could give others a clue.
Reality gets stranger every year,
and I’m not sure what I should do.

Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,
gives me a lot of pleasure.
I’m only glad I can still make a choice,
to look at life, to take its measure.

Memorable moments keep passing by
gilded, framed in precious emotion.
I never have to ask anyone why,
no need for a stronger potion.

Everything in life is clear, to me
there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.
We’re all good, as you can see,
members of Life, in good standing.

Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;
the right path is there for each of us to take.
That choice is often a difficult one;
pay close attention to the choice you make.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

“All teachings are mere references. The true experience is living your own life. Then, even the holiest of words are only words.” — Deng Ming-Dao

Okay…. here’s the deal…. For five days now, I think, (it’s all blurred together, which often happens to us when something is a pain in the ass for a long time. We tend to try to block it out in our heads….), I’ve been without internet service at home, and have had to write these pearls ahead of time, then go post them in the morning… which, naturally, complicates the procedure, and, given the somewhat distressing level of pain I’ve been experiencing all week, makes me feel damn heroic just to get them done….

In fact, all four days, I’ve come home and come close to collapsing, one way or the other…. I’ve missed other appointments, but, damn if I didn’t get posted, so, the hell with the rest of it…. This Pearl will be the last one so processed, if all goes as planned, so, tomorrow’s should look different, and may even return to a workable size…. I know I’ve been going a bit overboard in length…. Too much time to think about it, and add to it, (like now), when working on it gets spread out through the day like it has been….

What we have here, to finish this off, are twelve pearls, (plus the opening pearl in this section, which brings the total to a perfectly odd thirteen pearls, all lined up & glimmering, in a gorgeous necklace of virtual gems….), all of which were collected over these last four days, but, without finding the right place to use them, or a graphic to go with…. So, you get them all at once… They don’t make much sense if you try to put them together as a train of thought(s), so, don’t bother… It gave me a headache when I tried, and you don’t want to take a chance on fainting or getting nauseated so late in the final section, do you? No, I didn’t think so….

Just let them sort of trip and tumble in the swift current, over the steadfast rocks in your mind’s ever-flowing stream of consciousness, stimulating a thought, then letting it float away, turning with childlike, astonished delight, to perceive the next…. Laugh if you wish, or cry, or think…. it doesn’t matter in the ultimate analysis, and none of these will be included in the material used for the Quiz….. All you have to do is enjoy….

“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: “O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous.” And God granted it.” — Voltaire

“If there is a wrong way to do something, most people will do it every time.” — Rudin’s Law

“In a crisis that forces a choice to be made among alternative courses of action, people tend to choose the worst possible course.” — Rudin’s Second Law

“Speak more softly to be better heard by a deaf public.” — Joseph Joubert (French writer, 1754 – 1824 )

“During the darkest days of World War II, when each night brought waves of Luftwaffe bombers raining death and destruction on a near-defenseless London, Prime Minister Churchill went on the air to address the British people. “I read this morning’s paper that Herr Hitler plans to wring England’s neck like that of a chicken,” he began, “and I was reminded of what the Irish poacher said as he stood on the gallows. Its seems the poor fellow was approached by a well-meaning if somewhat overzealous priest who, in horrific detail, described the unfading torments of Hades which awaited him if he did not repent of his misdeeds. The condemned man listened patiently to all that the priest had to say, and when he was done, grinned broadly and replied, ‘Eat it raw, fuzz nuts.'” — Smart Bee

A fig for those by law protected,
Liberty’s a glorious feast;
‘Courts for cowards were erected,
Churches built to please the priest. ~~ Robert Burns ~~

(1759-1796)

“He experienced that nervous agitation to which brave men as well as cowards are subject; with this difference, that the one sinks under it, like the vine under the hailstorm, and the other collects his energies to shake it off, as the cedar of Lebanon is said to elevate its boughs to disperse the show which accumulates upon them.” — Sir Walter Scott

“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations,– entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies; the preservation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad;…freedom of religion; freedom of the press; freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected,–these principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation.” — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) — First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

“Boldness is a child of ignorance.” — Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

“A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

— Bother! said Pooh, AS HE FINALLY READS THE INSTRUCTIONS.

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

Sometimes I think I am pretty good at this; I’ve certainly improved according to my own standards over the course of my three years here on WordPress…. Oh, didn’t I mention it? I got notice two days ago, I think, that I passed my third year here, with congrats from the WP team…. At that point, I posted my 1150th blog…. so, I’m feeling accomplished, if not famous or powerfully influential…. My message could use the latter, but, I’ll settle for the former….

Since I’m posting this so late today, I COULD spend a long time here in the closing section, just piddling around, stalling so I don’t have to think about the remaining TWO HOURS until the tech gets here….. It would, no doubt, be more gilding of the lily, but, hey, who ever accused me of good sense?….. I know what it is, but, I never seem to get a firm grip on using it….. SIGH…. I guess I’ll go find a poem, and be done with it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, hopefully at the regular time, between 6 and 7 AM, PDT…..

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

It was planted only yesterday…..

Posted on August 20, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you.”

~~ Aldous Huxley ~~

Reader’s Digest, 1956

Essentially, I am still an unskilled photographer; I’m never completely happy with most shots I take, and have developed the, no doubt, common habit of taking a LOT of pictures, of each subject, to make sure I can print, or use at least one of them… While in Europe last year, I had not yet come to that point of knowledge about the process, so, I had to just take what came as I went along. After all this time, after looking at the couple of hundred photos I did take, (most of which I’ll never show, as they are not very good at all…. But, I was there, & I took them, so they mean something to me….), the above effort may be the one that will end up as my favorite, simple as it is…

It’s a picture of a defensive castle, somewhere off the coast of, I think, Ireland… This would mean it was either defending the approaching waterway to Cork, Dublin, or Belfast, which were the three Irish ports we saw on the cruise…. After a time, to me, the approaches to all ports seem the same, in some ways, so they tend to blur a bit in the memory, unless there is some reason for it to stand out…. I don’t THINK that makes me a jaded traveler, does it? I hope not, because the ports themselves are very different….

I never learned the name of this fort, but, that didn’t prevent me from imagining the battles fought in defense of the coast, and city it protected, and the picture is good enough to have captured some of what I saw….. Well, I like it, anyway…. It isn’t as easy as it might seem to take a good picture on the deck of a ship; it’s always moving, if only a little, which has an effect on the hands holding the camera…. A certain amount of luck is needed to get a clear shot some days, so, I was happy with this one…

I know for a fact my routine is shot to shit; hell, this isn’t even being written today…. Wait a minute…. How can I not be writing today, whatever day it is? Hmm… There’s one I’ll need to think about; this may be a conundrum even the powers of a Time Lord can’t cope with…. I hope not, the Doctor is busy with the new TV show, so, I’ve got to figure out how to operate the Tardis on my own…. Okay, maybe coming clean will turn the trick….

I’m writing this yesterday, but, posting it today, so I can start working on tomorrow, today, get it? No? Well, neither do I… and I’m the one trying to do it. This may just be the one that does it ffolkes; it may be the one that puts us all right over the edge, into realms of reality where nothing we already know will be of any use to us…. What the hell have I done…. All my caution, all my planning, for naught…. Sorry, ffolkes, I thought we had this under control, but, I’m afraid that there’s no denying it now…. We’re sunk….

The frammistan won’t hold any longer; we’ve pushed it too hard, too long. By the time we could even get a replacement, we will have already consumed enough of the space-time continuum to produce a chain reaction in the remaining dark matter, which will lead, inevitably, to the next Big Bang…. in about twenty minutes…. I’m sorry, but, I couldn’t help it…. it SEEMED like the right thing to do at the time…. (Boy, that would be a good epitaph for Mankind wouldn’t it? “It sounded like a good idea at the time….”)

Oh, wait…. hold on…. what’s that? Oh, look it’s our missing piece! Well, how convenient is THAT? Okay, scratch the doomsday routine; it’s all okay now…. Instead, we’re going to just put this piece right back HERE…. and, we’re good to go to the next section of today/tomorrow’s Pearl…. How ’bout that, eh? It’s almost like magic…..

Shall we Pearl?…..

“He declared that he knew nothing, except the fact of his ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, xvi

Well, of course he did…..

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

This is a long rant, ffolkes…. When I start on this particular subject, I have a hard time stopping…. this time, to the tune of over 2500 words…. I figured I should give fair warning; this is not an easy rant of read, nor will it give any quarter to those it targets as the evil protagonists…. If you don’t feel up to it, then you can skip it…. However, this is an extremely important subject, to me, so, I’m asking you to take the time to read it, think about it, and maybe pass it on…. This needs to change, for sure, and for certain…. I’ve even given it a title, in case I decide to publish it alone, elsewhere….

A True Plague upon Our Houses….

In which we take issue with those who would call themselves Men, having none of the qualities of a Man…..

“Resolved, that the women of this nation in 1876, have greater cause for discontent, rebellion and revolution than the men of 1776.” — Susan B. Anthony

As we know now, 1976 has come, and gone, along with 1776, and 1876; yet, the oppression and ongoing abuse of women continues, unabated and unchecked, in spite of any progress shown by society, which would be thanks to Ms. Anthony, and others, for having instigated, and overcome a number of the legal challenges involved in securing full rights for women, efforts resulting in SOME legislation that SEEMED to make some needed changes, not the least of which was voting rights…

In too many ways, unfortunately, things are worse, due to the ubiquitous attitudes, of misogyny and unreasoning fear of sexuality, which is so ingrained in both the male, and female members of society, there are few who even acknowledge the issue, unless pressed…. at which time, they generally become either defensive, feign indignation, or go into active denial…. This fear, based on ignorance, of course, is complicated by religious attitudes heaped upon men and women from birth, which only encourage such ignorance, in favor of dogma….. Now, 40 years into the next hundred years since the beginning of the women’s movement in America, the same can be said to be absolutely true….. Nothing below the surface has changed at all….

“You, you, you shouldn’t, you shouldn’t traumatize women with sexual intercourse. I should know, I’m a medieval doctor, I own a mansion and a yacht.” — excerpted from the AMA manual of advice for teens and newlyweds, 1910, 1926, 1933, 1947, 1955, and, every year since then, without changing a word….

Okay, so, it’s not really there…. but, it certainly would be, if they could get away with it…. and, is definitely there, in place, in the ingrained prejudices of virtually every male doctor alive…. This idiocy is an example of the attitudes of which I’m speaking; the hidden, slyly perverted belief that women are no more than the sum of the misguided and totally false characterizations placed on them by men, who insist on perpetuating the false image of women, in general and as individuals, as weak, feeble-minded, emotional, sex-crazed, or frigid, selfish creatures concerned only with using their beauty and sex to control men….

These claims are, of course, completely untrue in reality, but, the unreasoning, innate fear of their own sexuality, and the fear of being controlled by women, that permeates male attitudes, causes them all, or mostly all, to believe all of it, true or not… Thus, as the quote below from former President Jimmy C. notes, this belief in a full set of delusions, falsely accusing women of evil intent, is used to justify all of the pervasive objectification, abuse, and oppression of women throughout history, continuing today, no matter how much anyone says to the contrary….

Jimmy Carter sez:

He would know, wouldn’t he?…..

Below this paragraph, I am placing a link, to the web site/blog of a woman who rescued herself from sexual slavery; there is no other term that fits. She was forced, at a young age, to become a prostitute, and spent most of her childhood and teen years trapped in the sex trade…. Her experiences should never happen to anyone; when I read her writing, it takes ALL of my control to keep from jumping up, buying weapons, and going hunting, for human males…. I get so angry it wouldn’t even matter to me WHICH males I started wasting; all bear equal guilt, from at least one point of view…. Otherwise, why would the rest of us, we males who do NOT wish to oppress our species’ mates, ALLOW this to take place? How can we know of this, and not act?

http://rmott62.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/are-we-not-human

Lack of honor is the only answer that occurs to me; there are not enough men, it seems, with sufficient honor to stem the tide of idiocy, gross perversion, and lack of moral fiber that infuses the greatest portion of humanity’s male members…. I would guesstimate that 98% of all males never even THINK about the issue of how women have been oppressed throughout history; most are perfectly happy to enjoy the lack of responsibility that such moral and ethical blindness allows; we are, as a species, after all, lazy by nature…. (Nothing wrong with lazy, as long as it’s not a way of life, but a tool, to make one look for smarter ways to do things….) But, to allow that laziness to act as an excuse for not acting in this respect, can only indicate a complete lack of what I call HONOR…..

This may sound like a harsh accusation; to that charge I say: Yes, it is and so fucking what? It’s a harsh world, and what men have been doing to women for millennia….. not years, not centuries, MILFUCKINGLENNIA, PEOPLE! No exaggeration or hyperbole is necessary or, in my case, desired….

Listen up, all of you men out there, because I am talking to YOU!…. It IS harsh, and I make the accusation without apology, because, I must in all honesty include myself in the group of those who have not done all they could to see the issue addressed; if it is never addressed, it can never be resolved…. I’ve done more than many, perhaps, and I do acknowledge the seriousness and urgency of the issue…. but, I, too, am guilty of NOT doing enough…. S’okay, it just makes me madder, & more determined to keep writing about this….

You see, the whole issue illustrates one small, but, critical facet of human nature that is part and parcel with those other character flaws in us which are leading us merrily down the road to hell, blithely wishing we had a bigger handbasket….. This tendency on the part of human males, to abandon honor and ethical behavior, in favor of allowing their fears and misapprehensions rule them, for our ENTIRE history, has held us back, from becoming all we have the potential to be, as rational creatures with an understanding and appreciation for what is good and beautiful in life.

Instead, we have witnessed, over those thousands and thousands of years, virtually unending wars, conflicts, slavery, abuse of women and children, or anyone considered weak and unable to defend their rights. We have seen people learn to use lying, cheating, aggressiveness, and self-interest as their primary tools for obtaining the resources needed to live, and to hoard what they have taken, by right or threat of force; this process is, in today’s world, considered to be a blueprint for successful living, with the ultimate goal in life being the fulfillment of one’s own personal goals and desires, at the cost of whatever it may take to wrest it from other people, and the world at large….

“Get it while you can!” Do unto others before they do unto you.” Bigger is better!” “One nation under God!” (It would be more honest if they just said what they REALLY believe which is, “As a Christian, I have more rights than anyone who isn’t….”)

Okay, so the last line, in parentheses, is one most people will only say under their breath; you can be sure, though, that every “Christian” alive believes they are the elite of the species, the only ones with the true answers…. This, you see, naturally gives them all a completely unwarranted and false sense of entitlement, one that really annoys the rest of us, who haven’t fallen under the spell of that particular delusion, and couldn’t care less who they think they are…. I GUARANTEE, even if there WERE a God, such as the figment they seem to believe in, I’m pretty sure, as an omnipotent entity, She wouldn’t want to have anything to do with such idiotic wastes of sperm….

Ooh! That was harsh, too, wasn’t it? Oh well… Again, I have to say, so fucking what? If people insist on showing their lack of intelligence in public, they are fair game for anyone who cares to come along and poke holes in their lack of logic, and/or foolishly naive belief in delusions that someone taught them before they could defend their own minds…. It isn’t my problem if they are offended; that is their own reaction, for which THEY bear ALL the responsibility….

I welcome dialogue, and will listen to any argument, as long as it is evidence based…. However, don’t even think about coming at me with something that has nothing more to verify its veracity than “ispe dixit”…. You will regret it to your dying day….. And, so will I, for I am not really mean, or cruel by nature; I just can’t abide people acting as if being stupid is better than ANYTHING else; it isn’t, and wishing won’t make it so…. But, it’s better to put such folks out of their misery, before their ignorance can spread to others….

Men and women are in this together, ffolkes; neither sex can possibly survive without the other, and why would anyone wish to? But, the way things are going now, if we don’t figure out, soon, how to take care of each other, instead of being at odds all the damn time (as all the people who spread jokes about the “war between men and women” keep yelling about, thus keeping the divisiveness alive, and actively harmful….), we will surely reach the point, in the not so very distant future, when our insistence on making the worst of our differences will result in the only possible ultimate end, to wit: our own extinction as a failed species.

The abuse of women, and anyone else; war; sales of drugs and/or arms; and the relative insanity of the divisive elitism as acted out by all organized religions….. All of these blights and plagues upon the spirit and growth of Man, carried out for thousands of years by those in our species who refuse to embrace any sort of beliefs that do not serve their own ends alone, all spring from one source in human nature; the expression of that negativity in our spirit has held sway since the beginnings of recorded history……

It is that part of our inner selves which compels us to use our innate talents for violence, treachery, and selfishness, using them to take advantage of others for our own benefit, using fear, and the threat of reward or punishment to control others, the use of which has led us to the impending threat of doom we face in coming days…. In order to survive, human nature MUST change…. Hmm…. not terribly good odds, I should guess….

I wish I had the ultimate answer; I wish I knew just the right words, and could say “THIS, THIS, and THIS…. just do that, and we’ll all be okay….” I don’t have them, though, any more than anyone else has had so far…. The worst part is, I know what needs to be done; but, due to the fact that I can only make changes to myself, I can’t just DO it, or even just SAY it…. It has to come from all of us, or it won’t work at all….

SIGH…. Damn if I know what to do…. I guess I’ll just go out, shoot a couple of pimps, and call it a day….. Oh, and if those pimps happen to be wearing a uniform of some sort, you may count on them being fully guilty as charged, with sentence carried out according to the dictates of justice…. in spite of any loud noises they might make to the contrary. Any noise they make in these situations is merely an automatic defense against the insistence on them taking responsibility for their actions….

Any lawyers who may try to involve themselves may try to make us feel differently, but, we can discuss that later, right? (We can decide what to do about them when we figure out where to dispose of the bodies….) For the moment, my day will be over, and justice done; it’s all I need to get to sleep….. especially knowing the women freed by my good aim will have the choice and opportunity to start the process of changing out of their slave clothes, into something a bit more free, and of their own choice….

Well, we all have our fantasies, right? Now, the trick is to remove all the above from the realm of speculation and imagination, and make it so, in Reality…. I guess we’ll see how it goes, eh?…. Later, ffolkes, & remember…. Free our sisters, and we free ourselves….

This took a long time to write, because it’s important to me…. Hence, I took a long time to pick a closing pearl, one that had the right feel to it, to express the depth of emotion involved, while still giving a nod to importance of addressing the issue’s less palatable aspects, such as the way women having to live in today’s world, or any world we have seen, are consistently, often brutally, abused, made to feel secondary, and at the very least, completely misunderstood, by their own alleged mates.

I am speaking of men who, in the final analysis, are failing their own species, not to mention failing to understand the concept, or to comprehend the importance, of such old-fashioned words as honor, compassion, and duty…. any one of which requires much more strength than any sort of aggressiveness, or shows of physical prowess…. Such behaviors are those of a child, based on fear, a child who never grew out of being selfish and/or afraid of girls, (i.e., afraid of their own sexuality, and of women’s….), refusing to grow up and truly BE a man…..

We need each other, men and women; nature’s other creatures have shown us how it is supposed to work, using the blueprint of nature’s design…. Each gender of a species is made to contribute certain characteristics to the solving of the puzzle of living, in concert with their opposite half, with the caveat being the simple FACT, that neither can survive, one without the other. Both are needed for the species to prosper, and grow…… It’s a shame there are so many men in the world who are so afraid of themselves, and of women, they can’t learn to act as men….

Between the acting of a dreadful thing
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream:
The Genius and the mortal instruments
Are then in council; and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection.

— William Shakespeare ~~

Julius Caesar — Act ii, Sc. 1

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Some poetry requires nothing from me, and, in fact, is the better for it…. This is one of those poems…

Flower of Love

Sweet, I blame you not, for mine the fault was, had I not been made of common clay
I had climbed the higher heights unclimbed yet, seen the fuller air, the larger day.

From the wildness of my wasted passion I had struck a better, clearer song,
Lit some lighter light of freer freedom, battled with some Hydra-headed wrong.

Had my lips been smitten into music by the kisses that but made them bleed,
You had walked with Bice and the angels on that verdant and enameled meed.

I had trod the road which Dante treading saw the suns of seven circles shine,
Ay! perchance had seen the heavens opening, as they opened to the Florentine.

And the mighty nations would have crowned me, who am crownless now and without name,
And some orient dawn had found me kneeling on the threshold of the House of Fame.

I had sat within that marble circle where the oldest bard is as the young,
And the pipe is ever dropping honey, and the lyre’s strings are ever strung.

Keats had lifted up his hymeneal curls from out the poppy-seeded wine,
With ambrosial mouth had kissed my forehead, clasped the hand of noble love in mine.

And at springtide, when the apple-blossoms brush the burnished bosom of the dove,
Two young lovers lying in an orchard would have read the story of our love;

Would have read the legend of my passion, known the bitter secret of my heart,
Kissed as we have kissed, but never parted as we two are fated now to part.

For the crimson flower of our life is eaten by the cankerworm of truth,
And no hand can gather up the fallen withered petals of the rose of youth.

Yet I am not sorry that I loved you -ah! what else had I a boy to do? –
For the hungry teeth of time devour, and the silent-footed years pursue.

Rudderless, we drift athwart a tempest, and when once the storm of youth is past,
Without lyre, without lute or chorus, Death the silent pilot comes at last.

And within the grave there is no pleasure, for the blindworm battens on the root,
And Desire shudders into ashes, and the tree of Passion bears no fruit.

Ah! what else had I to do but love you? God’s own mother was less dear to me,
And less dear the Cytheraean rising like an argent lily from the sea.

I have made my choice, have lived my poems, and, though youth is gone in wasted days,
I have found the lover’s crown of myrtle better than the poet’s crown of bays.

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

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Old school is still the best school, particularly when speaking of Pearls of Virtual Wisdom…. Why, look! Here’s an old-school pearl right here! Fancy that! One might almost think it was deliberate, unless one knew me…. Then, of course, they’d KNOW it was deliberate…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s a random, harlequin style, the very best kind, in my world….

“Things equal to nothing else are equal to each other.” — First Postulate of Isomurphism

“You know, Callahan’s is a peaceable bar, but if you ask that dog what his favorite formatter is, and he says “roff! roff!”, well, I’ll just have to…”” — Jake, a number of times since moving South….

(Bonus prize: Anyone who actually knows the references made in the previous quote [To wit: You should know where Callahan’s bar is situated, and why, and, which dog?] may now take the opportunity to relay that knowledge in the comments section, whereupon they will receive the ultimate in prizes…. Full acknowledgment of their superior intellect right here on this blog, assuring them of immortality as a celebrity of the highest acclaim…. All fourteen of my regulars will also give their kudos, as an added treat…. Cool, eh?…)

“People who have what they want are very fond of telling people who haven’t what they want that they really don’t want it.” — Odgen Nash (1902-1971)

“If you are wearing one brown and one black shoe, you have a pair like it somewhere in the closet.” — The Rule of Elderly Survival

“Ignorance plays the chief part among men, and the multitude of words;” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Cleobulus, iv

“Bed Spreaders spread spreads on beds. Bread Spreaders spread butter on breads. And that Bed Spreader better watch out how he’s spreading or that Bread Spreader’s sure going to butter his bedding.” — Dr Suess

“He is the MELBA-BEING… the ANGEL CAKE… XEROX him… XEROX him –” — Zippy the Pinhead

I really, really LOVE nonsense; especially when it makes so MUCH DAMN SENSE!….. I really don’t much care if anyone else enjoyed that one…. I sure did…. I’ll tell ya, though, if you don’t get it, don’t fret…. It’s only teenage wasteland…..

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Well…. it’s done, and about damn time, too. I believe this may just be the longest Pearl I’ve ever created; without checking, I can’t be certain, but, I don’t recall anything even close to the size this one grew into…. So be it…. It’s early morning, and I’ll now go post this, then come home, and hunker down until the urge to write strikes again…. I haven’t decided yet whether to post from home tomorrow, after my new service gets set up, or to go post before the technician gets here…. I suppose we’ll find out tomorrow…. If I post late, after 10 AM or so, it’s from home; if it is there earlier, you’ll know I went out to post it…. Either way, see y’all then…..

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

Straight talk here… Euphemisms are for wimps….

Posted on August 19, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

But, metaphor is the tool of the immortal GODS!….. Oops, got carried away…. Never mind, we’ll start over….

Ffolkes,

Man is his own star; and the soul that can
Render an honest and a perfect man
Commands all light, all influence, all fate.
Nothing to him falls early, or too late.
Our acts our angels are, or good or ill,
Our fatal shadows that walk by us still.

~~ John Fletcher ~~

(1576-1625) — Upon an “Honest Man’s Fortune”

SFGATE Day In Pictures, August 16, 2014

At my age, what will a few more tears do that hasn’t already been done? It isn’t as if I’d never felt enough emotion to make them; in fact, my passion, in life, and for life, is such that my tears often burst free from the restraints I place upon them, and I cry freely….. Since being diagnosed with PTSD, over thirty years ago, my tears have been much closer to the surface, with fewer blocks between them and being set free, than they were throughout the first years of my life…. In fact, there are times, still today, when I awaken from sleep to find them flowing down my face, without a single idea as to why….. It’s a bit disconcerting, as you may imagine….

But, it always passes, if only due to the very human skill of denial, that innate, natural exercise of foolish will power; this ability to reject reality, for us humans, allows us to completely ignore an entire set of perceptions, as if they did not exist, thus insulating ourselves from the emotional content of those perceptions….. If you stop to think about it, this ability to deny the truth is how Reagan, Ford, and both Shrubs, got elected, and how much of the stuff we hear from politicians is bought by the public; denial is a very powerful force in humans, and, when combined with stupidity, is virtually impossible to contend with, at least, on a rational basis….

I’m not at all sure why this subject came up this morning, other than the picture having an effect on me all out of proportion to its cuteness factor…. I guess I reacted more to the very obvious, immensely high level of “Aww….” that is so clearly present in the lion’s family dynamic….. Dad is being very patient with Junior, who is determined to get his/her pop up to play, though, apparently, both are still half-asleep….

I can’t help it, I look at it, and the tears form, threatening to flow down my face uncontrolled; the feelings themselves reaching back thirty-five years, to connect with the time when my own son would do something as cute….. Even as I type this, which provides SOME distance, I feel the pressure in my chest, & behind my eyes, that presages such emotional outbursts…. In our culture, as you might imagine, this tendency to break out in tears at a moment’s notice has some rather embarrassing side-effects, such as the way people look at me when it happens on a bus, or in a store…. Quite the pisser, I can tell you….

(And that doesn’t even address the severe danger in which it places the person in public, who has the failure of grace so far as to be the one who is laughing…. It’s lucky for me I have excellent control over my impulses, or I’d be involved in more than one legal mess, for having aced some idiot before I could stop myself…. It’s come close a few times, but, I’ve managed to avoid homicide, thus far….. Well, if you don’t count that one in Tuscon; the charges WERE dropped, once they showed the video….)

Ah well, it could be worse, I suppose; I could have no control over it whatsoever. At least no one can accuse me of being a typical American male, who refuses to cry at his mother’s funeral, or hug his own children…. That sort of emotional denial can become an unbreakable habit, with some rather nasty side effects on one’s family. The insistence on being the Marlboro Man, (a nasty delusion, to be sure; remember, the Marlboro Man died of lung cancer at the age of 45…. truth….), is a big part of how we Americans have reached the stage where NONE of the policies and beliefs that now are being touted as “American” have an real relation to truth, or anything resembling what is actually true in Reality….

Oh the hell with it; I’m going to just say it straight, and hard…. I regard the typical American male’s emotional stultification to be a big part of the reason our culture is dying…. It is a symptom of the sort of delusional adherence to an outdated, never rational outlook toward life, and toward other people, that has led us to the position we are now facing, with the threat of imminent species extinction. That may sound a bit overly dramatic, but, to be honest with you, it’s not only NOT overly dramatic, it really doesn’t even come close to describing how far along the path to perdition we have come…. Things in Reality are much worse than anyone out there in the public venue will admit, ffolkes, and THAT is the truth….

But, even in this case, or, maybe ESPECIALLY in this case, the truth isn’t going to get us any further down the page, or get this anywhere closer to posting; ranting in the intro seems to be developing into a habit…. At this point, only some drastic intervention by yours truly will be able to save this Pearl from its own form of extinction… I guess I’ll take advantage of this little-known corridor, right HERE; it should get us out of here, & back on the regular trail to the oyster beds…. Mind the steps, please, and don’t pay any attention to anything you see, or hear…. Trust me, you don’t want to know….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“If possible, try to find a way to come downstairs that doesn’t involve going bump, bump, bump, on the back of your head. -” — Pooh in Winnie the Pooh A.A. Milne, English author (1882-1956)

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

As noted in previous posts, this week’s Pearls are being composed at home, ahead of time, then posted each morning when I go to a local coffee house, one with free Wifi to connect to the internet…. It’s a pain, to be sure, which should be over by Thursday, when my new service is scheduled to be set up…. But, as it’s a chosen duty, whattyagonnado? In the meantime, I’m using a lot of archived material… I’m trying to use stuff at least a couple of years old, to prevent too much repetition of purpose, but, I’m pretty sure anyone looking back at this week will find some anomalous entries…. So be it…. Here is a nice little religirant from 2012, which will give a bit more insight into the discussion in the introduction today…..

From 5/15/2012:

However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you
If you do not act on upon them?

~~ Buddha ~~

My religious upbringing was pretty casual, since my parents weren’t particularly devout, at least, not until after most of us had left home. Most of my life we attended Presbyterian churches, but were never heavily involved. The whole story behind Christianity always seemed pretty improbable to me, even at the tender age of four or five when it was first introduced in Sunday School, where the kids in Presbyterian churches were sent during services to keep from either distracting the minister during his sermon, or to distract their parents from their nap during said sermon. (You can’t fool a four-year old about motivation….)

As I grew older, the things about church that first bothered me continued to grow in number, fueled most heavily by the actions of the church-goers themselves. It always seemed to me, what was said in church on Sunday, and what actually happened out in the real world, had nothing to do with each other. Nobody I could see was acting in a Christian manner anywhere but in church, and even then, it seemed pretty self-serving, as if the folks who were discussing morality were showing off for the preacher, more than they were invested in the morals themselves. (You can’t fool a teenager about hypocrisy….)

As my reading list expanded, I found that my suspicions and objections to Christian churches intensified, as I became more aware of what actually went on out in the real world…. As I continued to be exposed to more religions and philosophies, it seemed, at least on the surface, that the proponents of the other big religions in the world were no less hypocritical in their actions than were the Christians, and further evidence of the accuracy of that observation has been in the news daily for a long time. (You can’t bullshit an old bullshitter….)

Nobody in the entire world, as far as I can see, really buys into any of the religions, unless they are so poor that they grasp onto the charitable aspects of their respective creeds in order to survive. I can find no religion, anywhere in the world, that has significantly advanced the cause of morality in humans; it generally has a negative effect instead, providing their constituents with reasons to practice immorality, as long as it is directed against those in other sects.

So, I continue to wage my own personal battle against falling into the ignorance of how reality really works; I refuse to accept the blinders, and the limits on my reason, that all churches demand of their followers. Instead, I prefer to promote rationality and reason as an approach to life; I’ve never seen any sense in encouraging people to submit to what, to me, is just another lie disguised as something supposedly “good for me”…. and I find the following statement to be extremely accurate, not only in the context of when it was written, but in today’s complex world of the future, as well…..

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936), “What’s Wrong with the World

Note from the future: In truth, I really don’t see how I can improve this by adding more; it’s pretty straightforward, and the ending paragraph, and pearl, finish it off perfectly…. Well done, lad!…. (Okay, yes, my arm & shoulder hurt now, from the excessive back patting…. we’ll go on anyway….)

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

The poem(s) I feel are still inside, and not ready to come out…. Here, then, is another of mine, which is the perfect poem to follow the previous section…. I hope you enjoy it….

Rejection

“Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so…”
I’d be crying a river, I thought
if ever such crap I bought.

Sorry if it hurts your sense of style,
but, hypocrisy always gives me bile.
Being lied to accidentally is okay,
but, deliberate lies make me angry, and fey.

Oh, God, hear what I pray!
Keep me from your followers today.
Having to listen to so much that is wrong
makes me puke, before it makes me strong.

I don’t know why it isn’t clear to other folks,
which is alright, you know, different strokes.
But, why should that mean that they must
force me to believe, or fail in trust?

Spare me the lies, and the make-believe,
fairy tales are easier to hear, and to weave.
They give us a lesson which we can feel
but don’t pretend at all to be real.

Reality can scare us, that’s a given fact,
still, met with care it will leave us mostly intact.
Met without fear, standing tall and alone
Life will allow us to make it our own.

Folly beckons, and so many follow
mass delusions seem to me most hollow.
I’ll have to stick to my own chosen way
while so many go so sadly astray.

It’s lonely at times, it may seem sad,
but really isn’t, and I’m quite glad,
that knowledge is always stronger than fear,
year after year, tear after tear…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Just for you, here is the freshest of pearls, constructed from a collection of them chosen at random, for future use…. Since we are now, thanks to the magical time-bending powers of this blog, ensconced in a part of that part of the future for which they were saved, here are seven of the best, a comely collection of glittery little gems, with some comments on life, and how to live it…. or not. It’s always your choice, you know…. Well, aside from Murphy, and those other elements of reality that the Universe is so sticky about letting us control…. But, you know, everything else is up to you…. For sure, and for certain, how you feel about it is completely up to you, isn’t it?…. Yep….

“Did you ever have one of those days when you just couldn’t get rid of a bomb?” — Batman, “Batman” TV series

“If you don’t care where you are, you ain’t lost.” — Rune’s Rule.

Rule #1– When confronted with an apparent infinite or infinitely repeating pattern, expect some variant that keeps it from being infinite.
Rule #2– When all investigation supports Rule 1, look for a situation which violates it.
Rule #3– Be prepared for an infinite oscillation between Rules 1 and 2.
Rule #4– Apply Rule 1.

— Hugh Downs’ Four Rules for Investigating the Universe

“Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.” — Jules de Gaultier

“Hope is the denial of reality.” — Smart Bee

1. Throw it on the bed.
2. Fry onions.
3. Call Jenny’s mother.
4. No one’s got the corner on suffering.
5. Run it under the cold tap.
6. Everything takes practice, except being born.

— Rebecca’s House Rules: At least one fits every occasion. — Sharon Mathews

“Life is hard? True–but let’s love it anyhow, though it breaks every bone in our bodies.” — Edward Abbey

As we used to say in math class, Q.E.D……

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

No matter how many times I’ve done this (according to WP, that number stands at 1148…. just sayin’….), there are times when it comes as a surprise when I reach this final section, still with a lot left to say, but, for all intents and purposes, I’m done….. SIGH…. I guess I could find drama in just about ANYTHING, wouldn’t you say? Since I’m actually not overly fond of drama, we’ll just go along with the dictates of reality, & end this here, in spite of all I have yet to give….. There’s always tomorrow, right? Right…. See y’all then, if I’m reasonably lucky, & continue to suffer from my own delusions of adequacy…..

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

No worries…. it’s only a practice Armageddon….

Posted on August 18, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.

~~ Marcel Proust ~~

As my steps echoed through the still night air, a pale half-moon trailed after me, like a faithful dog following its master home. The stars, few, but bright in the thin air so high in the mountains, fell like freckles across the unclouded sky. Though the night’s beauty lay all around me, beckoning me to stop, look, and feel, my thoughts remained far too dark and heavy to give me such a boon…. Those thoughts…. darker and more terrible even than the blackest depths of night, hid completely all the sheer magnificence I could comprehend….

It pains me to say this, but, I’m not taking this any further; it’s too good. By that, I mean, it’s too well done in one respect, anyway, which is that it had so much promise, it scared me….. I thought for a minute there, it was going to actually pull me into the story, locking me down into a trance-state, one from which I wouldn’t be able to escape…. Trying to decide what those dark thoughts might be is what saved me; it was just confusing enough to let me wiggle free of the grasp on my throat, which the concept had applied with the line about the dog….

Now, many of y’all, and this would include me, in most cases, would think I’d sacrifice a lot to have a good concept like that take hold of me…. But, in my case, at least, a good concept like that could lead right to a book, or a short story, or something else I’d be compelled to try to sell, and get published…. all more of a hassle for me than it is worth….. How is that?, you ask…. Well, let me tell ya….

No, wait…. I don’t think I will tell you…. you’ll just have to learn to live with disappointment. We all do, and we all hate it, but, there you go, you know? You don’t know? Ah….. well, that’s okay, now you do, and there’s no further excuse for any such childishness, is there? Nope….. So, just get in line with the rest of the bozoids, and we’ll get in, get strapped down, and get this slow on the rode….

Wait, I forgot about the changes to the routine….. Oh, right, never mind…. Y’all don’t really NEED to know all that; it was just something the cruise director mentioned as a possible afternoon activity, one we call “Let’s legally limbo!”, where we all get together to see who has the most frivolous idea for a law suit to throw at the nearest megacorp polluters…. But, once we actually ran it by the legal experts in shipping, it got nixed, since their calculations indicated it was too much fun for Caucasians….

Rather than having to fall back of some random sub-routine, I think I’ll look around here for some way to get us….. Oh, good, there’s one of what I was looking for right over there….. It’s a way out, which, we, as the dutiful Pearl Drops we are, shall proceed to use, as directed by the signage so helpfully posted on the nearest bathroom wall…. If you’ll step up to the edge there, I’ll give you the required shove….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our inward opinions and principles.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap xi

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

“Watchman, what of the night?” — Old Testament — Isaiah xxi, 11

Per our official policy, (We shall abandon no rant, until it no longer holds the power to offend an asininnie….), and our unofficial habit, of addressing the Second Amendment to the US Constitution on a regular basis, here is a politirant from a couple years ago…. I’ll be editing mildly, to correct anything I missed back then, but, it’s all still the same old story, brought to up-to-date by lighting up the proximity fuse…. which is easier than trying to hit that little thing with one bullet….

From 4/4/2012:

“Guns don’t kill people… bullets do.” — Smart Bee, being a smart Alexi….

Of late I’ve been reading a number of old articles, new items, and posts about gun control, and/or the concept of nullifying the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. The main argument seems to be centered on the obvious fact that society has changed since the Founding Fathers wrote the amendment, and the conditions that prompted its inclusion among the other basic rights they wished to secure are, supposedly, no longer present, or are no longer valid reasons for leaving it intact. Their arguments point to the number of killings and crimes that involve guns, and how much of a plague on society the guns are, how we’d all be better off, and somehow safer, if we took away all the guns from the American citizenry.

I could easily scoff at such naiveté, were it not so dangerous. Dangerous to me, and whether they wish to acknowledge it or not, dangerous for them. So, rather than scoff, I will first acknowledge the presence, if not the accuracy, of their statistics on how much guns contribute to crime. These statistics are, in and of themselves, fairly scary, but, they fail to take in to account a couple of very important considerations that tend to skew, or even nullify, the accuracy of their claims.

For one, these statistics never seem to include the number of deaths and injuries caused by guns IN THE HANDS of POLICE; they only seem to account for the civilians who use guns to commit crimes. I’d say the numbers would increase dramatically, if the times the police use their weapons inappropriately are included…. and, given the smaller total number of police, in relation to the number of publicly-held guns, I would wager the percentage of police incidents of causing death is higher than that of the public.

(For the math challenged: If there are a million publicly-held guns, (there are a LOT more, of course….), and they cause, say, 10,000 deaths/serious injuries a year, that’s a 1% ratio…. If there are only 10,000 police guns, in a force that polices that million people and more, (there are a lot of people without guns, too…. They also get shot by police….), a 1% ratio would be only 100 deaths a year…. I’d wager that same money I just won, doubled, that the true number for that number of police guns is MUCH more than 100 deaths/injuries per year…. and, I’d win again, too…. )

Second, the statistics do not compare the number of incidents to the total number of guns that are owned by citizens. I would, in the absence of hard figures, estimate that the number of incidents of crime involving guns is a very, very low percentage of the number of guns that are actually out there in the hands of private citizens. All the quoted figures are bloated to make them seem larger than they really are in comparison to the whole; the by-far largest majority of gun owners do not use them at all, unless threatened. Most never use them at all, keeping them only for home protection, and most of those have neighbors who probably don’t even know the guns are there.

Then, after addressing these two key issues that are not accounted for in their quoted numbers, I would ask a simple, but key question of those who believe we, as Americans in a modern society, that we citizens should not own guns. That question, simply put, is this: Do you honestly believe that the people to whom we would be entrusting our safety are going to give up their guns? Do you really trust those of our beloved ruling class to all of a sudden stop lying to us? Do you believe, even for an instant, that they would not be laughing all the way to the bank, at you, me and the rest of the American general public? I would say to you, as gently as I can, that you are then ready to put on your collar, and admit that you are willing to be their slave, because that is exactly what will happen….

Our beloved ruling class is NOT going to give up their guns; no matte whether the public agrees to ban private guns or not, they WILL NOT disarm their police forces. They aren’t going to do it…. If you don’t believe me, ask them; it’s one of the few queries to which they’ll give an honest answer. And I don’t care how much you may argue to the contrary, I don’t believe for a nanosecond that anyone in our government, and that includes Saint Barack, can be trusted to hold my best interests in their lying, cheating, sociopathic hands.

Nope, I’m 61 years old, (oops, now 63!…), and have sufficient experience in these matters that I can honestly say, with every assurance of being correct, that those who either seek office, or are in office in this country, are NOT people to whom I would give that kind power over me; not for anything, If you want to label me a NRA Nazi, well, feel free; it’s still a free country, for the present. I should tell you, though, I’m not in the NRA, and I think many of them are just plain crazy…. but, for the most part, they have the right of the basic core idea….

But, if you convince enough citizens of this asininity, and the guns are actually made illegal for citizens to own, it’s not going to be a free country for long. And, if you are naive enough to believe the lies the Powers That Be are handing out re: their trustworthiness, well, then, you will deserve the consequences…… But, don’t expect, for even a second, that I will ever consent to give up my right to own a gun, as I will dispute that to the death. Yours, mine, that is immaterial; if we play that game, it’s to the finish.

I’ve never been a member of the NRA, nor do I feel I have a lot in common with its vocal proponents, but I agree with one of their statements of purpose, to wit: you can take my guns, all right, from my cold, dead fingers, but no other way….. I’m NOT giving up my guns, and letting the assholes in charge of this government keep theirs…. Uh uh, nope, ain’t gonna happen in my lifetime….

“Hollow point ammo – the ultimate in feminine protection.” — Smart Bee

“A society that lacks the patience to read, and loses the ability to do so, is rendered defenseless against its most profound stupidities. As an example, consider the ease with which Americans came to regard a president known for his inaccuracy and imprecision as the great communicator, and by the tendency of American elections to give victory to the candidate who can afford the greatest number of 30-second TV spots.” — Mike Schmoker

(THESE are the people I’m supposed to allow to hold me at gunpoint? Snort!….pathetic….)

Who could imagine
That they could freak out in Kansas
Who could imagine
That they could freak out in Washington D.C.
Everybody’s clean, it can’t happen here, no, no
And they thought it couldn’t happen here
They were so sure it couldn’t happen here
It can’t happen here

~~ Frank Zappa ~~

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“Poetry–even bad poetry–may be our final hope.” — Edward Abbey

One side effect of not having internet service this week is that I can’t go look for anybody else’s work; all I have on tap is my own, and the one in there percolating isn’t ready yet to open up a vein…. So, here’s another of my older poems, which I hope you enjoy…. In fact, here, take two, they’re small, compared to most of what I do here….

When life calls, ready or not….

Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~

Unheralded Sagacity…

To many, who will not see beyond their nose
the world becomes a dangerous place,
a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,
no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.

Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,
men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.
No chains needed, held in thrall for years,
lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.

Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;
Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt
Strength is found in an unfettered mind,
Cry “freedom” with a great shout.

No help from any gods can hinder so much
as our own lack of confidence;
finding the light within, knowing it as such
confirms us, becoming consequence.

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Kirk: “Spock, comment.”
Spock: “Very bad poetry.”

— “Catspaw”, Stardate 3018.2.

(Okay, what wise guy let THEM in here?…. Sheesh! Everybody’s a critic….)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you know, this week’s Pearls are being composed at various times, during the day, when I have the impetus, wherewithal, and relative space from the reality of my body’s issues, so they are ready to post first thing in the morning, after I’ve wended my weary way to a Wifi spot, where I can connect to WordPress and my email…. I should be all done with that in about four days; for now, the routine I’ve evolved is shot to shit, so, this is what we get…. I spent some time perusing SB for some pearls, & after organizing them by category, I found that I had put together at least one pearl group to go along with the rant above, not as support or addition, but, as contrast and balance….

This means that the politirant above is to be weighed against, and with, the religipearl (yep, new word…. gotta keep up with the technology, right?) you see below. It’s a freshly plucked old-school pearl, with comments, advice, and/or insightful insults that are, of course, aimed at concerned with religion, and the ubiquitous perversion of dogma at large….. Enjoy, ffolkes, I DID try to make it light-hearted, if no less sharply pointed….

“The following is not for the weak of heart or Fundamentalists.” — Dave Barry

“By all means, take the moral high ground — all that heavenly backlighting makes you a much easier target.” — Solomon Short

THEOSOPHY, n. An ancient faith having all the certitude of religion and all the mystery of science. The modern Theosophist holds, with the Buddhists, that we live an incalculable number of times on this earth, in as many several bodies, because one life is not long enough for our complete spiritual development; that is, a single lifetime does not suffice for us to become as wise and good as we choose to wish to become. To be absolutely wise and good — that is perfection; and the Theosophist is so keen-sighted as to have observed that everything desirous of improvement eventually attains perfection. Less competent observers are disposed to except cats, which seem neither wiser nor better than they were last year. The greatest and fattest of recent Theosophists was the late Madame Blavatsky, who had no cat.”– Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

— How many Islamic fundamentalists does it take to change a light bulb? 300 million — one to take out the old one, the rest to look for Salman Rushdie in the dark. — Smart Bee

“If there is no Hell a good many preachers are obtaining money under false pretenses.” — William A. “Billy” Sunday

“I think they will be very effective in keeping Catholic legislators away from the Communion rail.” — Idaho Senator Mike Blackbird, about ecclesiastical sanctions against politicians

(I’m really not sure just what that one means…. I just couldn’t resist a pearl that shoots at both politicians and preachers at once, by example, with one of them shooting their own foot in the mouth, or whatever that tired old cliche says….)

REVELATION, n. A famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who know nothing. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

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“This is not my home world!” — I don’t know who said it, other than Smart Bee, and I can’t currently get to Google, but, I feel this way a lot of the time these days, even if that line IS a bit over the top…. Regardless, it’s still the way I feel, especially when I see how much of humanity treats each other, as a matter of course… SIGH…..

But, then, I’m a creature of great complexity, even to myself, and there are many such ambiguously cynical feelings to which I am subject; it’s part of being who I am, I suppose…. And, on that little note of introspection, we’ll leave you for another day; I’ll try to get to any comments each day, once I’ve posted….. See ya tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as I’m still standing….

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

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

Illuminating me softly with his bhang….

Posted on August 17, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Ask of friends only what is honorable.”

~~ Marcus Tullius Cicero ~~

(106-43 B.C.)

I’d never do that….. in fact, I’m going to apply this sentiment to myself. The routine I have established over time to produce this blog on a daily basis is completely in the toilet today; it’s already after 6 AM, two full hours after I usually begin the process. Yesterday, being moving day for Pat, exhausted me, though I personally didn’t do much; that sort of activity is always a bit stressful, even when there are no hard feelings involved….. It is still a big change, as I’m now living alone again…. No worries, I enjoy my own company….

Since the internet was in Pat’s name, I am having to wait about five days to get internet service back online, waiting for one of the multinational mega corps to hook me up with a phone & portal…. I think I went with the Death star logo folks…. Regardless, I’m offline for a week, and will have to adjourn to a Wifi spot somewhere later on to post….. SIGH…. The things I do for my art….

I overslept two hours, and still feel as if I should be abed…. it hurts everywhere…. In fact, I’m going to finish this Pearl, to the point I can go to post it somewhere, then lay down for a while again…. You’ll never know it, all you’ll see is a very late posting from me for today, and possibly for the next few days…. I don’t know yet how hard it will be to get to a spot where I can log on to WordPress, so, that remains to be seen…. For now, I’ll close this intro section, which, strangely enough, is the closest thing to a REAL introduction I’ve had come through here in some time…. Oh, look out, we’re diving now….

Shall we Pearl….

“Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man,–yesterday in embryo, to-morrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hair’s-breadth of time assigned to thee live rationally, and part with life cheerfully, as drops the ripe olive, extolling the season that bore it and the tree that matured it.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 48

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You’re going to get archived material today, ffolkes, that’s all there is to it…. I hurt, I’m tired, and I wanna go to bed, so, old stuff it is…. Here is an unusual piece, for me…. I don’t usually write reviews, or essays on fictional characters, but, for an old closet romantic such as myself, this was irresistible…..

From 4/5/2012:

Visions of Truth and Beauty; The Tragedy of Severus Snape

The character of Severus Snape is, as revealed in the seven novels that comprise the epic creation by J. K. Rowlings, (which I choose to entitle Harry Potter, and The Chronicles of The Infinite Magic of Love, hopefully with her approval and blessing), in my somewhat less than humble opinion, destined to become, if not synonymous, at least analogous, with that of Cryano de Bergerac, John Smith the Puritan, or the man from Tale of Two Cities, whose name escapes me (suffering functional disparity as I am from early onset Alzheimer’s and the subsequent prophylactic application of sour mash bourbon), who said, “It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known”. Sounds a little sappy for gigoid, doesn’t it? Well, you know what? I am completely and utterly serious…..

As I do not know Ms. Rowling, other than through her writing, and her pubic persona, which is carefully controlled, relatively speaking, I cannot say if it was her intent to create a character of such power that he would be forever enshrined amid the most famous of the heroic willing victims of tragedy in literary history. It is moot, anyway, because she has….

Here is a man who spent his entire life enduring unrequited love, love that, in his mind, could have been his, had he chosen differently. Yet, knowing that he could never have his deepest desire without destroying that which he loved, he still acted with honor to do all he could to keep the object of his obsession safe, to honor her and the love he felt, even after her death, and in defiance of the threat of his own. He braved the wrath of the most terrifying of villains for almost 20 years, betraying that master of evil at every turn, to do what he could only hold as his Duty; he did this, knowing full well that in the end, he would have to kill the only man in the world who trusted him, and that he would die because of it. And, he knew as well, that his sacrifice would never be known to anyone but the son of the man he most envied in life, the son that might have been his…..

I’ve read a lot of what may be termed as classical literature, and in all that I’ve read, I have never found a character who fit the mold of the tragic hero any better, or more deserved the title of nobility it implies. Though flawed and miserable, Snape makes the hard choices, correctly, at the most critical junctures of his life, all for love of his Lily. As Dumbledore exclaims when he sees the Patronus that Snape produces, a doe, identical to that of Lily, the only other human being he has ever loved, “Lily! After all this time?” Snape merely replies, “Always….” Now, that is a hero, flawed and unlikeable as he is….. a hero that will go down in history, along with many of the characters from this series of books that will one day certainly be called “classics”……

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

As is patently obvious, all of the material for today’s Pearl came from April of 2012; apparently, it was a good month for Pearls…. Here is one of the poetry sections, which is a bit different…. Any comments, or answers to the age-old question posed in the entry are welcome, even in today’s modern world….

From 4/6/2012:

Limericks are art forms complex,
Their topics run chiefly to sex.
They usually have virgins,
And masculine urgin’s,
And other erotic effects.

~~ Anonymous ~~

Haiku are always
calmly directing our eyes
pointing to the way.

~~ gigoid ~~

So, it occurred to me, after writing the above haiku, to ask myself, “Self, which came first, the limerick or the haiku?” At first, I thought I was just being silly. Then I realized I really wanted to know. So, here is the deal….. I would like anyone who has any idea on this to please respond, either by commenting, or by posting a reply; if I follow your blog, I’ll be notified of either method of response, and be able to reply. No prizes will be awarded, though I will mention your name, and your answer to this time-honored query. (Well, it’s been honored for the two or three minutes since I asked it, and by the time you answer, it will be more so….) So, join in the fun, and the challenge, and send me a response today! You won’t regret it, much…..

The Quitter

It’s the plugging away that will win you the day,
So don’t be a piker, old pard!
Just draw on your grit, it’s so easy to quit:
It’s the keeping-your-chin-up that’s hard.
It’s easy to cry that you’re beaten–and die;
It’s easy to crawfish and crawl;
But to fight and to fight when hope’s out of sight–
Why, that’s the best game of them all!
And though you come out of each grueling bout,
All broken and beaten and scarred,
Just have one more try–it’s dead easy to die,
It’s the keeping-on-living that’s hard.

~~ Robert W. Service ~~

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

This section is one of the many done this week ahead of time, to account for not having internet service at home for the week…. It’s a good one, from the time before Pearls of Virtual Wisdom had assumed the format we know and love today…. When first posted, this was one of five sections in each day’s Pearl…. See how lucky you are now? Only three to cope with these days…..

From 4/3/2012:

“A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.” — Matz’s Maxim

Upon reflection, although this is a fine pearl, I’m not going to discuss it now. I’m already tired of thinking, so here is my conclusion on this: he’s got a good point. Now, let’s start this section over…..

“A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires sooner or later always leads to bitter disappointment.” — Albert Einstein

Now, there’s a pearl! Albert Einstein is generally regarded as one of mankind’s most brilliant members, but most people do not have the capability to see how or why this is so, other than knowing that he was responsible for E = MC²; it is only by extension he is blamed for the atomic bomb. But if one takes the time to look past this bit of common knowledge, to look at his statements of philosophy, and life in general, of which there are a great many recorded, it becomes clear at once…. the key to his genius lay in the simplicity of his thought processes.

Albert looked at the world, and the universe at large, through eyes that refused to look away from the simple elegance of the underlying nature of reality…. Instead, he focused on the small, basic thoughts, ideas, or physical properties that best described what is real and true. He also did not add superfluous judgments, or unseen factors to what he perceived, but, rather, again, focusing on that part of the concept that is important, not those parts that are extraneous to its purpose, and our understanding. He thus was able to see further into the nature of reality than is common to the rest of us, who are prone to complicate our perceptions with our prejudices, and/or misconceptions.

The quote above is a perfect example of this quality; it looks directly at human nature, showing us how our own attitudes and desires can, potentially, be the cause of our own difficulties in life, thus giving us the opportunity to turn our efforts in a direction that will ultimately be more beneficial. The statement clearly lays the responsibility for the tenor of our lives right in our own laps, where it belongs, but does so without condemnation or insult, merely dispassionate truth. Albert was truly one of humanity’s greatest treasures, and his words will, hopefully, continue to help guide people through life far into to the future…. provided there is one….. but that’s a different subject altogether…..

“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” — Albert Schweitzer

(I know, I know….. not the same Albert. But, it was deliberate, and I’m just doing what Murphy wants….. As is sometimes common, as soon as I finished the above section, the absolute perfect ending pearl popped up, demanding to be included. I think Herr Schweitzer was thinking of Herr Einstein when he related this thought, anyway….. I know for sure that Albert Einstein was a happy guy; I have pictorial proof, which I have shared below…..so there…..)

Note from the future:

To drive home the point being made in the last bit, I will also report that one of my favorite lines from Albert, again proving his sense of humor, goes something like this…. “After imagining, refining, and proving the Theory of Relativity, which describes a large part of how the entire Universe works, wearing fuzzy slippers with plaid pajamas is easy….” I can’t vouch for the authenticity, but, I swear I read it somewhere, and he really did say it…. You may not believe it, but, I actually have visual proof of it; he said it during an interview in the early 1950’s, for a newspaper back East, which took this picture that day….

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Routine, or no routine, it’s done…. In record time, too; it only took forty-three minutes to do the intro, and fill in two sections. Not too shabby for a Pearl without routine…. Now comes the hard part…. I must wend my way out into the Big Blue Room, taking my computer with me, to go post this somewhere…. Fortunately for me, those sort of establishments have just what I need to assist me in getting it done….. more caffeine and sugar!…. My Doc won’t like it, but, hey, we all do what we gotta do, right? Right…. See ya tomorrow, ffolkes, if things go according to plan….. If Murphy doesn’t hear about it, we could get lucky….

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

Sufficient evidence for acquittal? Priceless….

Posted on August 16, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Putt knot yore trussed in spilling chequers.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Nor, for that matter, should it be placed anywhere in the vicinity of an elected official…. Your trust, that is…. You could say, I suppose, that trust, in any case, is too precious to be handed out to anything, or anyone, who doesn’t appreciate the privilege…. Y’know, that is so trite, and so obvious, I’m going to do a 180° turn here, and head off in a different direction, before I stifle myself….

How about that rose, eh? Isn’t she a beauty?…. and, I can honestly say, I took the picture myself…. did the fixing up, too, with a bit of cropping and a touch of contrast adjustment, to the point it came out quite nicely…. the color of yellow roses just does something for me; I always feel ‘brighter’ for having seen one, and taking a good picture of one makes me feel quite accomplished…. Of course, I’m pretty easily entertained….

Even if that is true, though, there is still the question of what to do today…. Yesterday was a complete loss, once the Pearl was done…. That process was hard enough, but, what came after turned into one of those days I’d just as soon forget….. After completing the tough roe to hoe that was yesterday’s Pearl, I went for a relatively short walk, for my daily exercise…. Within an hour of getting home, my entire skeleton seemed to catch fire, and every joint in my body began to ache, increasingly worse with each moment, until I felt as if every joint and bone in my body was screaming at me….

I started taking drugs, both legal and marginally so, including extra opiates, edible cannabinoids, topical cannabis creams and rubs, and smokables, continuing to do so for a couple of hours, until it all caught up to the pain, and I could actually think again…. Then I went to bed, & slept until I felt a bit more energetic than exhausted…. It was absolutely the worst day of pain I’ve ever had, I think, aside from one memorable toothache, and I have no desire to ever experience that again, if I can avoid it…. The trouble is, I don’t know why, or how it started, or what I can do to prevent it from happening again…..

SIGH…. Oh well, such is life in the big city, I suppose…. Not much I can do, of a prophylactic nature, (unless, of course, I can figure out how to stop aging….), so I’ll just have to make sure I’ve always got enough drugs on hand….. Well, that, or have my neighbors get used to the screaming…. Probably better to keep the former as the case; the latter would, no doubt, become troublesome, for all of us…. Speaking of taking breaks….

Now the tone for the day has been rejected, we can get on with the rest of this mess…. Have a care today, ffolkes…. I’m a little bit on edge. Big events happening today, so I’ll be wandering around the edges of what sanity I have stored up, just to see if there is any difference in how it looks from that side of reality….. In fact, it looks so promising, we’re going to submit our application for take-off, and get this slow on the rode….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Things don’t bug you if you don’t think about them.” — Calvin

Ooh, ooh, look! It’s a two-fer!….

“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I WILL be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation…I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – and I WILL BE HEARD.” — William Lloyd Garrison (1804-1879) — Salutatory of the Liberator, Jan. 1, 1831

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LAWYER, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

Yesterday, I saved several links to articles on the Net, articles which were intended to stimulate my ranting mode; they mostly had to do with the mess of a situation going on in Missouri, where the latest evidence of the racist nature of our society is being rooted out for the whole world to observe…. The actions in Ferguson by the police, then by the public, then by the police, and so on, has played out in such a way as to highlight a couple of the most pernicious perversions of spirit that remain part of our national make-up, to wit: racism that permeates every branch of government, and the widening income gap that tends to exacerbate any interactions between the public and the police, who are more invested in protecting the property and safety of the rich than they are in protecting the rights of the poor….

However, when I thought about the issue this morning, I decided I am tired of ranting about this particular issue…. It’s one that just makes me crazy with rage, at the stupidity, and the insane, deliberate ignorance and selfishness of those in society who buy into the whole Judeo-Christian world-view, that places rich white Christians at the top of the social heap, at the expense of every other race on the planet, no matter how much they may purport to be Christians…. It makes me crazy when I see the assumption of entitlement they all share, as if they had the right to the self-centered, sociopathic dishonesty, and the sheer avarice that compels them to gather and hoard more wealth than they can possibly use….

Since I have now gone ahead and shouted out my complaints for a couple of paragraphs, I’m going to call that the rant for today, and finish this section with a nice, sharply pointed group of sticks to poke in the eyes of any Asininnies who may be in the vicinity, or even in the dimension we currently inhabit…. The quote from Ambrose Bierce that began this section should give you an idea of how this pearl will turn out; all of the entries I’ll be choosing will resemble that one as much as I can make it so….. Enjoy!….

“Diplomats are just as essential to starting a war as soldiers are for finishing it … You take diplomacy out of war, and the thing would fall flat in a week.” — Will Rogers

“Lust of power is the most flagrant of all the passions.’ — Tacitus (55?-120?)

“Bought And Sold…”– proposed new plaque to hang over the entrance to the Supreme Court, the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate….

“Politicians neither love nor hate. Interest, not sentiment, directs them.” — Fourth Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773)

“Audemus jura nostra defendere…” – [Let us dare defend our rights.] — Smart Bee

“In what he called the ‘great tradition of warnings in presidential farewells,’ Reagan reproached the movies, television and young parents for failing to indoctrinate American youth in 200-proof patriotism, the way they did in his day. ‘If we forget what we did,’ said the man who still can’t remember trading arms for hostages, ‘we won’t know who we are.’ The section ended with this weird passage: ‘And children, if your parents haven’t been teaching you what it means to be an American, let ’em know and nail ’em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.'” — Hendrik Hertzberg

“I am not a wimp.” — George Bush

I love the last one; it’s so perfectly shrubby….. Who but a wimp would need to say so?…. Okay, not a bad group, for a quickie…. The people who end up on the national stage in politics are certainly an entertaining bunch of idiots, aren’t they? Well, I think so…..

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

While considering what to place in the poetry section today, I could feel at least two new poems percolating; they aren’t, sadly enough, ready to bleed out just yet. To sublimate the urge for now, here is a poem I wrote in September of 2012, that, somehow, feels as if it would fit in with the two that are still in the germination stage…. I hope you enjoy it….

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Okay, well…. It seems fate has given me an out…. It’s getting late, due to some minor procrastination on my part (go figure….), so I went looking for an archive piece to put in here, and what did I find? A rant, from a couple of years ago, that goes perfectly with my originally intended rant in section one, regarding the ongoing militarization of the police forces in this country; obviously, it’s been going on for some time, as this piece was written almost two full years ago….

It isn’t too long, so, it shouldn’t strain your patience too much…. and, it has some valid points that retain their significance in today’s world… Enjoy…. please?…. Oh, and, I wouldn’t mind if you thought about it, and actually joined in any dialogue that could conceivably ensue….

From 12/6/2012:

“Who will protect the public when the police violate the law?” — Ramsey Clark

Here is a question that is particularly relevant in today’s society. In my time on this sad little ball of mud, I have studied the various parts that make up our culture, and the police, due to their ubiquitous nature, have always been right there at the forefront of my observations. We all have our stories of how we have had to deal with police in various circumstances, not all of which show them in their best light. In fact, next to lawyers, police officers are probably the most reviled members of society, as well as one of the most admired. There are good reasons to support both views….

I cannot say that my knowledge of ALL policemen is complete; I don’t know them all. But my observations over the years have clearly indicated, at least half of those who enter the field of law enforcement, do so out of a desire to have power over others, rather than an impulse to be of service. It is easy to spot these folks….

They’re the ones who never signal a turn in their cars, and are always moving at a speed greater than the posted limit. They assume that the laws that govern the populace are not applicable to them, and act accordingly. They enter any situation with the attitude that “might is right”, and attempt to intimidate anyone who tries to usurp or question their authority. They don’t serve as policemen to keep the peace, but to control the beasts…. two entirely different goals.

I find myself at this point to be in the beginning stages of a rant; this subject is one that frustrates me a lot, as I believe that the police should be offering themselves as an example of honorable, lawful behavior, not to set an example of how to bully one’s way through life. Many of them do so, but, sadly for the rest of us, a larger number have no more interest in serving and protecting, than they have in consuming donuts without those little colored sprinkles. Due to circumstances well within my control, I’m not in the mood for ranting this morning, so I’m going to let this go without further comment. Even about the donuts….

Suffice it to say that society needs to consider the question asked above by Mr. Clark; it needs desperately to take a hard, realistic look at the requirements needed to procure police officers who are of the proper frame of mind to assume the responsibilities involved in public protection. It seems obvious to me that psychological testing of potential officers would be a good place to start; perhaps some of those who go into the field for their own purposes might not be given such power, if they could be winnowed out in the testing process…. Perhaps then we would begin to see the police set the example for the rest of society, rather than proving to be one of the problems we need to solve….

“The superior man is the providence of the inferior. He is eyes for the blind, strength for the weak, and a shield for the defenseless. He stands erect by bending above the fallen. He rises by lifting others.” — Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899)

————————————

Note from the future: It occurred to me while editing this for grammar, etc., a large part of this problem can be described by using certain words to show the difference between how most of the police I’m referring to as, well, buttheads (sorry, but, it just gives the right “look and feel” to how a lot of cops come across, much of the time, when addressing the public….) (sorry, again….almost started re-ranting…. I must be getting tired & distracted… )…

Any who, those guys, the officers who use intimidation as their method of choice for public interaction probably tend to look at their work as “law enforcement”, when, in truth, we, and they, would be better off if they could, or would, learn to think of what they do as “public safety, with an emphasis on protection of individual rights”…. A simple difference, that would make ALL the difference in their approach, don’t you think?….. I do….

“Therefore search and see if there is not some place where you may invest your humanity.” — Albert Schweitzer

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

Since we all know how little it takes to amuse me, I won’t bother to mention that I’m pretty sure this is a good one…. It would be just a bit too self-serving, and I like to avoid that when possible…. Of course, saying so negates the good karma, but, the guilt feels so GOOD sometimes!

Now that I have the sheer psychotic breakdown in my sights, I think I should probably end this before it gets any closer to any actual reality…. and if you can translate that, you spend too much time here….. Just kidding…. I happen to know there are very few readers at all who are coming here very much…. There are several, about 10 ffolkes, who make it by a lot, and a lot of ffolkes who only come by when they are in the mood for my heavy-handed egotism, which I can’t describe as frequent, but, always appreciated….

I don’t do it to get readers, anyway, as you know…. I do it so I can still say I’m sane enough to do so…. But, it’s always nice to see that someone enjoyed it, and that keeps me content…. Now that I’ve put y’all back to sleep, I see we’ve landed, so, grab your stuff, & let’s head on out into the day…. See y’all 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

In my left ear, sir….

Posted on August 15, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Pearls should…

Long, deep thoughts always

bring truth to the eyes of man,

and light into dark.

~~ gigoid ~~

Today’s Pearl will be, to some extent, similar to the above picture, in that, the participants of the activity recorded are having as much, or more, fun, than those who are observing and recording…. Now, it’s true, such a statement only takes into account such factors as how much fun it is to watch others work, how much the elephant enjoys being sprayed, but, has no clue as to whether or not the guy washing the beast is gay, straight, or in-between… Of course, the latter has nothing at all to do with anything, but, it was shocking enough to get your attention, wasn’t it?….

Just a little trick to open up…. sort of like the old pull a coin from the ear trick, but, with letters…. None of what is included in the above paragraph had any particular meaning, or significance; it was all a set-up for the punch line…. I also know that it is currently considered a faux pas to use gays, lesbians, or other alternative choice adherents as the butt, or even the subject, of any sort of joke…. I guess they’re too sensitive? I don’t know, and don;t care; it’s a fucking joke, ffolkes, so get over it…. Nobody here is laughing at gays; I laugh at those who are afraid of them, or hate them, as I know, for a FACT, it is usually because of their own fear of feeling attracted to the same sex that prompts them to be cruel or stupid.

I didn’t mean, actually, to get into anything so controversial right off; in fact, I was trying to figure out how to tell y’all I was just going to re-blog an older post…. then, I sort of fell into this discussion, whereupon I decided I was up, so I may as well Pearl…. So be it….

I don’t know where this will end up; I do know we won’t be targeting any hapless LGBT enthusiasts in any of our rants, as I figure they don’t need any help from me…. The last twenty or thirty years of constant societal interaction has brought the issues to a head, and, in the process, has made veteran activists out of many people who otherwise would never have even thought about it…. There is still a long way to go, as there are a LOT of ignorant people out there, none of whom care to admit their ignorance, or try to learn anything new, but, the tide has turned in society, and the forces of ignorance are currently in full retreat from their position of intransigence regarding sexuality…

This isn’t saying I won’t support them, I’m just not devoting this entire Pearl to their issues…. In fact, I haven’t a clue as to what issues we may touch upon, but, it’s not going to be that one…. unless, of course, some headline jumps up, grabs me by the eyes, and says, “here, look at THIS!”…. It’s been known to happen…. I think I’m beginning to unravel here….

It’s probably best if I stop here, and get on with the rest of today’s effort…. I’m getting further and further away from any sort of coherency in this section; we’d be better off to get on to the next….. This means, naturally, since we are so firmly entrenched in this, we’ll need to apply another emergency exit strategy, in order to return to any semblance of dignified competence…. Not that such is anything like normal around here, but, we do try to maintain a certain level of protocol and tradition, even if it constantly blows up in our faces….. Who knew Murphy was allergic to protocol?….. Not me….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Belief gets in the way of learning.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

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

After reading the following diatribe-style pearl, it is clear that two pearls are necessary to start it off with the correct frame of mind…. anything less would be hazardous to your mental health….

“Perhaps I know why it is man alone who laughs: He alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“Kids, don’t gross me off.. “Adventures with MENTAL HYGIENE” can be carried too FAR!” — Zippy the Pinhead

When I first began today, I had intended to re-blog an older post, and still may use something from the archives….. for now though, I’ve collected another set of links to articles that continue to explore the problems we have in society that are leading us to our extinction, more rapidly than we are willing to admit…. there are only three articles, but, the two issues covered are, perhaps, two of the more serious issues we face, to wit: climate change, and the effects of racism on modern society (that racism, as I see it, is the primary contributing factor behind the militarization of the police forces in this country, as well as around the world….)

If you don’t think I’m being accurate, or that the police forces around America aren’t becoming militarized, allow me to provide you with some Art that clearly indicates what I mean…. The picture you see (which has been used in a number of sites and reports…. I believe it’s an Associated Press picture….) shows the county police in Ferguson, Missouri, during one of the community protests over the shooting of an unarmed civilian…. This, ffolkes, is how the modern police force is views the public they allegedly serve…… as their enemy….. After looking at the picture, read the two articles, which, of course, are from a European news outlet…. our own news companies won’t talk very much about the issue…. Oh, they’re reporting on it, but, they don’t even MENTION any of the military style equipment or tactics, except in passing….

These yahoos are in a small town in central Missouri, but, by their dress and equipment, you would think they were about to be attacked by armed Jihadi forces in another country…. And, let me ask you this….. are these guys going to carry around all those neat battle toys, and not want to USE them? Just a thought, as it seems to me, they would WANT to see what all their new stuff can do…. I mean, just LOOK at all that weaponry, the armored assault vehicle, the radar or sonic weaponry, the battle helmets, armored vests, automatic rifles, sharpshooters…. it’s a regular assault force there….

Also, just what IS that thing on top of the battle truck? I believe it is a targeting device for some sort of automatic weaponry, or possibly for rockets?…. I’m not currently up-to-date on weapons tech; I just know it doesn’t make a lot of sense to see ANY of these articles of war deployed against our own citizenry…. You think? Okay, read the articles, then tell me if you disagree with any of this….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/14/obama-ferguson-police-excessive-force-michael-brown

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/14/ferguson-cops-military-weapons-michael-brown-shooting-protests

“…witnessed teargas being shot directly at a camera crew with al-Jazeera America. Photographs later showed police officers dismantling al-Jazaeera’s broadcasting equipment after the crew fled. ”

Now, of course, we see why the American news reporters are reluctant to write about what the police are doing…. The people who would report on them are being targeted; in the article you will see where the county police arrested two reporters in a fast food restaurant, then released them only because the chief of police intervened…. Do you think maybe the reporters are getting a bit leery of making the police the subject of their writing? I certainly do; they’re human, and aren’t going to put themselves at risk if they can avoid it….

Next comes something about the issue of climate change, from one of my favorite columnists, who always has an even-handed, insightful approach to such issues…. I’m giving up now, as the picture above tends to send my outrage through the roof…. After that, if I start in on this issue, I’ll overload, and possibly end up in bed again from exhaustion…. Not going there, believe me…. Instead, after you enjoy Mr. Carroll’s words, I’ll put together an old-school pearl, to try to soothe my fevered brow….

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/Tons-of-methane-tons-of-garbage-What-fun-5684628.php

Okay, lets see if I can work off some of this angst with some pearls that shoot in the direction of the Asininnies….

“Teach a parrot the terms “supply and demand” and you’ve got an economist.” — Thomas Carlyle

“We haven’t the time to take our time.” — Eugene Ionesco

“The difference between a lawyer and a rooster, is that the rooster gets up in the morning and clucks defiance.” — Smart Bee

“A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” — Robert Heinlein, The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

“A very ancient and fish-like smell.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), The Tempest — Act ii, Sc. 2

“When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school…” — Paul Simon

(Okay, so, it makes more sense when the next line is included….)

“It’s a wonder I can think at all….” – Paul Simon

Well…. It seems that seven stars don’t quite cut it…. we’ll need to expand to nine…. hold on, we’ll find two more, & be done with it…..

“The award for All-Time Champion and Protector of Youthful Morals goes to Representative Clare E. Hoffman of Michigan. During an impassioned House debate over a proposed bill to “expand oyster and clam research,” a sharp-eared informant transcribed the following exchange between our hero and Rep. John D. Dingell, also of Michigan…..
DINGELL: There are places in the world at the present time where we are having to artificially propagate oysters and clams.
HOFFMAN: You mean the oysters I buy are not nature’s oysters?
DINGELL: They may or may not be natural. The simple fact of the matter is that female oysters through their living habits cast out large amounts of seed and the male oysters cast out large amounts of fertilization…
HOFFMAN: Wait a minute! I do not want to go into that. There are many teenagers who read The Congressional Record.”

— Smart Bee

“There is no freedom without the power to defend it.”– Smart Bee

Close enough…..

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

First posted on 10/24/2012:

“What do you want me to do? Say it again in worse English?” — Robert Frost, when asked about the meaning of one of his poems.

A Late Walk

When I go up through the mowing field,
The headless aftermath,
Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew,
Half closes the garden path.

And when I come to the garden ground,
The whir of sober birds
Up from the tangle of withered weeds
Is sadder than any words

A tree beside the wall stands bare,
But a leaf that lingered brown,
Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought,
Comes softly rattling down.

I end not far from my going forth
By picking the faded blue
Of the last remaining aster flower
To carry again to you.

~~ Robert Frost ~~

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

Rather than try any more to do what I cannot do, I’m going to the archives, for a piece I wrote a couple of years ago that seems to fit in with my mood today, if not my subject matter under discussion…. I guess, all in all, this one’s got a bit of a lot of things in it…. Enjoy, please….

From 10/27/2012:

“I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word I am saying.” — Oscar Wilde

AOL!….. LOL…. “AOL!” is hacker slang for “me, too!”, patterned after the typical AOL user’s response to a witty statement in a chat room…. in this case, I can honestly say that Oscar and I have this in common, especially the part about not understanding a word I’m saying….. I would say that puts me in some pretty good company, what?….

“The trouble with using experience as a guide is that the final exam often comes first and then the lesson.” — Smart Bee

Oscar once made a statement that ran parallel to this one, as well. It is a hard lesson for all of us to learn, but, it is one of those common pieces of natural law that affect all of us at one time or another in our lives. Life, like the physical universe, just doesn’t care whether or not we are ready for an experience, it just happens. It is our own reaction to that which determines whether or not we are able to cope with the experience, and learn from it, or whether it buries us…. an all-too-common fate. It’s a tough room, as the comedian said….

“If you’re smoking after sex then you’re going *WAY* too fast!” — Smart Bee

This is not a perfect segue into the next item for discussion, since I’m a) not sure what that was, and b) this wasn’t it, but it does exemplify what I like to call the “silly factor”, an offshoot effect of the natural bozoid tendencies that all of us humans possess as members of this silly species…. Murphy’s Law is merely an observation, but is one that could only be made by our species (even though I’ve noted that other species, that associate with us, can sometimes be pulled into Murphy’s influence, to do his bidding, and occasionally, to act as co-victims….), because he takes full advantage of our tendencies toward bozoid behavior, to set traps for us; traps that cannot, and never do, fail to catch us unawares.

“I sometimes think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Even if one considers that God did not exceed his capabilities when making Man, he certainly made a rush job of it, and left certain design characteristics out of the final production, facets that would have gone a long way toward making this world a lot more pleasant a place than it has turned out to be, with Man in his current foolish state. Ah well, it just goes to show that one shouldn’t depend on a notion like creationism to provide us with excuses for our behavior….. accepting that kind of indulgences, or even assuming it, has obviously led us to the state of affairs we now face in the world, as the great majority of people continue to behave just as if they had the right to use the universe as they choose, rather than as they should do as moral creatures….

“Instead of being born again, why not just grow up?” — Smart Bee

That about says it all, don’t you think? Mankind would be far better off if we all decided to act as grown-ups, rather than clinging to the ages-old fantasies that have put us in this position. Only a child acts without regard to consequences; our species has been refusing to grow beyond that avaricious stage for millennia now, and the world is showing the deleterious effects of that sense of entitlement. We cannot continue to treat this planet as our toy, to be used and discarded like it was some piece of manufactured plastic, or we will most certainly suffer the very real consequences of that foolish attitude.

“Morals today are corrupted by our worship of riches.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

In spite of all the massive quantities of evidence that it is harmful, we continue to pump millions of tons of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere every minute of every day…. the effect of that on the balanced ecology of the planet is reaching a critical flash point, and may already be at a point from which there is no turning back…. This is FACT, not supposition….. but, the world carries on, certain that we may depend on the same old idea, that we are invulnerable, and not subject to the laws of nature…. a sincerely stupid idea at best…. It is almost enough to make one want to tear hair out and start shooting…. but, unfortunately, there isn’t enough ammunition to shoot all the folks who need to be shot, and it’s probably too late now, anyway….. Besides, who wants to be the one who has to decide who to shoot first? (I do! I do!…. which just proves that we humans can’t handle that sort of godly decisiveness….)

“All the secrets we may be able to keep from any and every god and human being do not in the least absolve us from the obligation to refrain from whatever actions are greedy, unjust, sensual, or otherwise immoderate.” — Cicero, On Duties

It’s really too bad that this idea never caught on…. oh, many folks learned to use it, to lie to the rest of us, but, in reality, nobody ever really does this, they just say they do….. It kind of makes one wonder whether we deserve to keep living, doesn’t it? Well, it makes ME wonder…. with not a little bit of sadness, for our species holds such promise…. a promise we have never learned to keep….

“It is only the superficial qualities that last. Man’s deeper nature is soon found out.” — Oscar Wilde

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

Well, ffolkes, it’s done; I wasn’t completely sure I would be able to get it to this point when I started, and, half-way through, I almost gave up again…. I think we can mark this one down under the “Serendipity” category tab, as I don’t know how to explain it any other way…. I’m only guessing here, but, I think proofing would be superfluous at this point, so, off we go to post…. See y’all tomorrow, given half a chance….

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

….. and then he lightly touched down….

Posted on August 14, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving till the right actions arises by itself?”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

I would like to think that one of these two pieces of introductory material would be enough; reality seems to indicate otherwise, as neither the picture (mine, of some rather beautiful little flowers), nor the most excellent quote from Lao Tzu, seem to be stimulating much in my mind… In fact, I can feel a rather disturbing loss of function there, of about 30% or more, even after a few sips of coffee…. Normally, I’d be able to type…. oh, wait, I AM typing…. Okay, see, I’m not even fully cognizant of what all the various parts are up to yet; I had no idea I was already a paragraph in….. imagine that!

All levity aside, (and no snickers or snide comments about not having to put aside what never was there….), I’m having a bit of trouble today with the old grey cells, as Hercule was so fond of calling the mind…. or should I say “Agatha”?….. Whomever said it first, my brain is feeling a bit resembles a fricassee this morning, more than it does an organic computer, and, it’s been almost 40 years, since I was at the Culinary Academy back in 1987, the last time I made a fricassee…. so, I’m a little unclear in my memory as to how that looks…. I remember a lot of blank white, or boring light colors…. much like this page looks….

Of course, it’s not completely blank, it’s got all these markings all over it…. I suppose I should just forget about achieving any sort of normalcy, or actual literary coherency today; if the results so far give any hint, I’d say just tossing it in might be for the best…. I’m feeling as if I can be funny, but, I’m not sure I can be factually clear, or organized enough to present any rantable material…. Hey, there’s no need to be cruel; stop all the cheering already…. Sheesh! Okay, so, I won’t rant, at least not a fresh one…. In fact, that’s a fine idea…. I’ll use archived material, for the most part, and avoid the whole nine yards of trouble and pain that creating anything would naturally bring….

Okay, now I have to go on a quest, to find the right stuff…. See what you’ve done? Oh, right, I did it…. Never mind, then, I’ll just go over here and start my search, while y’all get yourselves settled into your seats…. and, if I were y’all, I’d fasten them belts up real right & tight…. The pilot is a bit flaky today (that’s me, if you hadn’t clued in yet….), and it could get a bit bumpy out there….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“It matters not how long you live, but how well.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 829

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

Okay…. I found a good religirant for this section, which you will find below…. I had to go back a couple of years, but, it’s still pretty relevant…. I hope you enjoy it….

From 7/2/2012:

“Since I’ve seen this *several* times in this group, the actual context of the God is dead quotation of Nietzsche: The Madman. — Have you ever heard of the madman who on a bright morning lighted a lantern and ran to the market-place calling out unceasingly: I seek God! I seek God! — As there were many people standing about who did not believe in God, he caused a great deal of amusement. Why! is he lost? said one. Has he strayed away like a child? said another. Or does he keep himself hidden? Is he afraid of us? Has he taken a sea-voyage? has he emigrated? — the people cried out laughingly, all in a hubbub. The insane man jumped into their midst and transfixed them with his glances. Where is God gone? he called out. I mean to tell you! *We have killed him*, you and I! We are all his murderers!….” — from THE JOYFUL WISDOM

I have no doubt whatsoever that Nietzsche was not a popular character with the clergy of his time, given the rather high degree of blasphemy this quote entails. But, I think that what the theists are upset about is not so much the claim that God is dead, but rather that people are shown as the creators of God, not the other way around, as they would have us believe…. It is anathema to their existence to have people even consider such a proposition; they spend most of their time convincing their parishioners to NOT think about the nature of God, or theology in general, at all. If they could figure out how to keep people from thinking about anything, they would gladly do it….

“However, on religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God’s name on one’s behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I’m frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D.” Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of “conservatism.” — Senator Barry Goldwater, from the Congressional Record, September 16, 1981

I spend a lot of time and effort here working toward the opposite end; I want people to think all the time, rather than seldom, or never. If I can get people to question some of the dogmatic principles upon which they base their lives, I consider it a good day. If even one person’s faith is disturbed by what I write, then I have achieved, at least partially, what I set out to do. I see this as the single greatest barrier to our survival, to wit: people just don’t want to think. They’re lazy, thinking takes effort, and they’ve been taught all their lives to avoid putting any effort into that practice. It’s not encouraged in our society, unless the thinking one does is done within the narrow guidelines set out for them by the clergy and the beloved ruling class.

“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” — Thomas Paine

So, vilify me if you must, discourage me at every turn if it makes you feel better. But, none of what is said to me, or done to me, will ever keep me from thinking, or from trying to get others to do the same. Our beloved ruling class, and the clergy of ALL religions, would have us believe that what they tell us is Truth, when in fact it is anything but that. They know that the less the people think, the less they are educated, the easier they will be to manipulate, and they will expend every effort to see that the practice of thinking is discouraged. So, I have chosen to dispute that at every chance, and care not how they feel about it. So far, they’ve had things their way, and it’s time we took back some of our independence from them…..

“I count religion but a childish toy … there is no sin but ignorance.”– Thomas Jefferson, paraphrased.

gigoid has spoken. So be it….. Here is a bit of Art to go with the above discussion

Note from the future…. Unfortunately, I have no idea what Art I was supposed to have here…. It didn’t come through in the cut and paste into the backup, so, I would have to go back & find it online, and, sorry, just too much, so, it will have to make do without today…. maybe next time….

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

I had originally intended to have only one poem, but, the first one came up in front of me while I was searching the archives, and it HAS to be included today, just because…. It’s from a poetess on WordPress, Mari Sanchez Cayuso, and she is incredible…. I first posted this in July of 2012….

I have previously brought you poems from este poeta, but this one is special. She amazes me time after time with the passion, the power, and the beauty of what she writes….. which is only matched by her own luminous eyes…. there is only one thing to do with pieces such as this, and that is…. Enjoy!

Obligating Hums

surely we’ve met in midair
sometime ago
your stubborn neck disregarded my smile
apologetically you stirred these mediums
the melancholic instruments attached to my head
on a solid oaken table we wrote
the aloofness of a spell
critiquing the crafty shapes
with your index finger you pointed at me
and shivered
i waited
and thickened your space very slowly
my voice reached your core
i knew then how bitter your loneliness was
tempting these souls to write
and with your little murmur
a flame in my chest i saw
i slowly began to weep
you stroke my head listening to me pray
softening my thoughts
the names that inhabit my soles
the steady pure familiar calm
the wind the golden faces inside this life of mine
designed for staying here
urging trumpets to melodically banner my heart tonight . . .

~~ Mari Sanchez Cayuso ~~

Here is her web site: http://starsrainsunmoon.com/

In the interests of both levity, and brevity, here is a master of both types of poetry; by the evidence of this poem, he used both, effortlessly….

The panther is like a leopard,
Except it hasn’t been peppered.
Should you behold a panther crouch,
Prepare to say Ouch.
Better yet, if called by a panther,
Don’t anther.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

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

One of the brightest lights of our world took his own life a few days ago….. By now, everyone has heard of how Robin Williams passed, a victim of his own inner demons…. When I heard of it, my sadness grew almost too much to bear; he was one of the great comic geniuses of our time, or any other, a brilliant improvisational artist…. I can only wish my own rants approached the level of insight and humor he displayed in all he gave us….

I don’t feel up to writing much more of a tribute, and the spotlight being focused by the media on the depression that killed him doesn’t appeal to me right now…. I’m too depressed, and if the irony of that doesn’t register, you need to find yourself another irony bone…. I’m going to just do this…. Below, you’ll see a picture, found years ago on Facebook, or somewhere on the Net, that gives us all a perfect idea of just what Robin felt like much of the time, as well as the actual solution to the issue itself…. but, that’s another story…. This, though, describes the process of fighting inner demons quite well, as it identifies them as what they are…. our own hearts and minds….

Now, here is a retrospective, and comments, upon Robin’s demise, from a writer I respect a lot; his insight helped me to gain some perspective, so I hope it can do the same for y’all….

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/08/12/a-little-spark-of-madness/

I guess, all that’s left now, is to say this:

Goodbye Robin, you will be missed, and not just by Mork’s Mindy…. The entire world grieves at your loss…. Thank you for all you gave us of yourself; any debt that any of us owe for our lives, you repaid in full, with interest, with laughter, and love….

(He opens a tome, and begins.)

It says: “In the beginning was the Word.”
Already I am stopped. It seems absurd.

The Word does not deserve the highest prize,
I must translate it otherwise.
If I am well inspired and not blind.
It says: “In the beginning was the Mind.”

Ponder that first line, wait and see,
Lest you should write too hastily.
Is the Mind the all-creating source?
It ought to say: “In the beginning there was Force.”

Yet something warns me as I grasp the pen,
That my translation must be changed again.
The spirit helps me. Now it is exact.
I write: “In the beginning was the Act.”

~~ Goethe’s Faust ~~

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

It’s going to have to do; I don’t have it today. I believe I’ve gotten it done, to the point it can be posted…. but, it wasn’t easy, and almost didn’t make it at all, (a story for another time….). For now, it’s done, and I’m going to take it, and run…. See y’all later, 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

Look honey! It’s the official White House Pornographer…..

Posted on August 13, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies,

for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task.

~~ Diogenes ~~

I’m enjoying the latest format for these Pearls; it took me close to three years here on WordPress to figure out how to give myself the impetus to begin each day, but, with a quote, and a picture, it’s almost too easy….. I can go with one of them, or the other, or I can use both, or neither; any of those seems to work just fine to get me going…. Today, you should know I found this, again, in the photo collection on the London Daily Tell, er, Telegraph, from a week or so ago, This Week in Animal Pictures, but, I gave it my own title, “crane style kung fu”, since it is a rather perfect representation of that style of the art’s “look and feel”…. The two huge birds, disputing over a patch of the lake, give us the exact form to emulate…

Of course, once I’ve used the picture, or the quote (in this case, obviously, only the former…. the quote stands alone, and really doesn’t need anything from me today….), then I have to once more figure out where to go from there…. Sometimes, the picture, or the quote, or, most often, the combination of the two, will provide that direction…. I screwed it up today, going for the attribution, and the kung fu reference…. That, as you can see, has left me right here, in the middle of nowhere, with nowhere to turn…. I am, indeed, a Bozo, of the First Degree….

However, even a Bozo gets productive on occasion; we just don’t like to let that get spread around too much, as it can de-sillify the image…. and, yes, I just made that word up, de-sillify, which means, to make a Bozo less silly than before… Before what? Why, before being de-sillified, of course… There isn’t a Bozo alive who can convince me they enjoy the process, even WITH all the modern improvements to keep the bleeding to a minimum, so don’t bother asking….

There…. that feels better…. Sometimes, when the nose grows, you just gotta let is show, you know?…. Today, I think you may need all the silly I can provide, as the rant/discussion/essay/sober, reasoned discourse in section one, which I began yesterday, has grown beyond all reason, and is probably long enough for three Pearls…. In fact, it’s so involved, I’m going to use one of the best emergency methods for getting us out of here…. You may recognize it…. #4? I thought you might…. Here it is, in fact, so….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” — Albert Einstein

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

Ffolkes, you will probably need to gird your grid for a big one….. The pearl below has been evolving for a full day, growing beyond my ability to restrict its size, due to the relatively verdant field of subject matter with which I chose to work, the scope of the discussion, and the critical nature of the issue on which I am trying to focus, to wit: all of the available evidence at hand indicates that the human race has entered a stage of civilization that, in every historical case, has led directly to its demise, and disappearance. Moreover. because of the technological advances we have made, as a species, this time, that demise will be world-wide, and will preclude any possibility of ever rising again…

Now, I know that sounds rather pessimistic, as well as cynical; I can’t help that. The evidence is too ubiquitous, and too convincing to me, to ignore, or to minimize. Below, I am going to provide links to articles from only ONE source of news. The breadth of the problems described in those articles are connected to the worst characteristics of human nature, and are symptomatic of the culture’s deterioration we are facing. Each one shows humanity at its worst, and the worst part of it is, all of the protagonists in the stories, on both sides of whatever issue is being discussed, all demonstrate those qualities that continue to cause the problems to be insoluble by any known means…

I’ve got a lot to say about this, so, we’ll start with some art…. It’s just a picture of me, and one of the guys I’ve talked all this over with…. though in the case of this gentleman, our conversation was completely non-verbal…. Now that I stop to think about it, it made it all much less susceptible to misunderstanding…. Below the picture, we’ll begin our assault on the Asininnies latest shenanigans, and our discussion of how it all connects to create another link…. showing the path to extinction we are all following so blindly….

“At once it struck me what quality went to form a man of achievement, especially in literature, and which Shakespeare possessed so enormously — I mean negative capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.” — John Keats (1795-1821)

Trust a poet to come up with exquisitely crafted, delicately balanced, subtly nuanced, completely negative statement (otherwise known as an insult….), about someone mostly everyone in the world admires, and make it almost sound as if he is administering praise, when, in fact, he just poked Willie S. with a very sharp stick in the reputation…. Of course, it is also obscure enough that you may question exactly how it applies to blogging here in section one, which is generally reserved for rants, or rant-like facsimiles…. and, it would be a good question, as the connection IS rather tenuous, at best…. However, I’ll try to make it clear….

I speak often about how the world is screwed up, an assessment of existence for which I lay much of the blame on several aspects of human nature, and the way those characteristics affect our society and culture…. I think it can all be boiled down to one particular area of examination, which is the way we, as human beings, deal with the matter of Truth…. There is, of course, more than just this issue involved, but, how we handle clear, correct expressions of Reality, in our dealings with the world, and each other, is one that has far reaching side effects on every area of human discourse, which is a long winded way of saying, on our history….

“Honor isn’t about making the right choices. It’s about dealing with the consequences.” — Midori Koto

In today’s complex world of the Future, it can easily be shown how Truth is considered to be something that is susceptible to human alteration, according to whatever whim or reason they may have for doing so, whether honorable, or otherwise, whether selfish, or otherwise…. I’ve shown many, many instances of how the government of this country, and many of its other official entities, such as the courts, the police, the churches, and ALL of the bankers, continuously, and purposefully lie to the public…. Not only that, but, they spy on us, and keep their own secrets about doing so….

Then, when confronted, they create a huge hullabaloo, all starting with denial, fading into reluctant admission, then justification, then distraction, then…. time passes, and the public is given some other catastrophic event to put fear into them, such as a mass shooting, or an alleged terrorist threat….. It always follows the same basic pattern, with the intent, and result, of nothing changing at all….

Below you’ll find a number of links, to articles that show how the White House, the Congress, the Federal Courts, the police, and, even the public attitudes toward Truth, are shown in the light in which they use them, to wit: they all regard Truth as more of a myth than a reality…. The article on how resumes for work contain falsifications is particularly disturbing, for it shows just how far the corruption has spread to the general public…. Well over HALF the public saw fit to include lies on their resumes… The companies doing the hiring reinforced the corruption by, to some extent, rewarding almost half of the resumes with lies, by considering other factors other than the lies in the hiring process…. In other words, about half of the lies were accepted as OKAY….

SIGH…. The last article is different from the rest, though it touches on the general issue quite nicely…. Mr. Carroll offers another viewpoint than mine, with some similarities, and some differences…. As always, his thoughts on the matter are quite insightful, making an excellent addendum, and ending note, for what would otherwise be completely depressing material….

I’ll let you get to the articles now, with this bit of housekeeping… I tried to help a bit, to indicate the point being made by the inclusion of each article, by including the excerpts I pulled out below each link…. They show the most disturbing points in each article, to my way of seeing them…. Good luck, I know it’s a lot, but, this is turning out to be something of a manifesto of my world-view, & I think it will be worth the effort to cover all of it…..

http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Judge-won-t-force-U-S-to-release-spying-program-5681970.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

“Michael Rumold, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the lawsuit has been successful but the ruling was disappointing….”It’s troubling to see courts sign off on government secrecy arguments when the general public knows the truth,” he said.” — excerpted closing lines from the article, summing it up nicely….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Vandalism-looting-after-vigil-for-Missouri-man-5680580.php

“Witnesses have said that Brown had his hands raised when the unnamed officer approached with his weapon drawn and fired repeatedly. ” — excerpted from the article

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Chief-Police-killed-California-robbery-hostage-5681892.php

“….. results of a preliminary ballistics report show that police in the city of Stockton fired the 10 bullets that struck Misty Holt-Singh, 41, and all her wounds likely came during a final burst of gunfire,….”

“33 officers fired at the vehicle, most of them during the final shootout. Officers were under constant fire and were concerned the suspects would kidnap other hostages, take over businesses or even a school.”….

“We believe July 16, 2014, brought dynamics never before seen in law enforcement,” he said, adding that the suspects attempted to kill officers, fired more than 100 bullets and had about 200 rounds remaining when the gunfire ended.” — excerpted from the article

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/State-Supreme-Court-yanks-Citizens-United-measure-5682420.php

“If approved by the voters, it would have asked Congress to submit a constitutional amendment to the states that would authorize federal lawmakers to limit campaign spending and would specify that only people, not corporations, have the right of political free speech.”

“In the 2010 Citizens United ruling, a 5-4 majority of the nation’s high court said federal laws that limit spending by corporations or labor unions on political causes violated freedom of speech….. ” — excerpted from the article

http://blog.sfgate.com/gettowork/2014/08/12/most-memorable-resume-lies/#25719101=0

“58 percent of hiring managers in a recent CareerBuilder survey saying they have caught a resume lie.”….. “Fifty-one percent of respondents said they would automatically throw out a resume containing a lie, 41 percent would base their decision on the type of lie, and 7 percent would overlook a lie if they liked the job candidate.” — excerpted from the article

http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2014/08/06/what-would-the-founders-say-cagop-barring-media-from-qa-with-party-chair/

“…. a response from GOP state vice chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon…. “There are open press and closed press events at every convention (Brulte) has run. There will be open press events and press conferences at this convention. Closed press is to allow delegates to ask him sensitive questions about strategy and finances that the public and our opponents are not entitled to know. … And neither does John Burton (the Democratic state chairman) invite the Chronicle to every meeting of delegates to his party.”

“We asked Tenoch Flores, spokesman for the California Democratic Party, about its rules regarding press coverage of convention events. His response: “It is our policy that any delegation meeting taking place at convention is open to press.”– excerpted from the article

and, finally, a voice of reason….

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/Notice-your-urges-when-I-say-you-can-5682102.php

“I favor considered opinion over uninformed opinion. It’s a liberal bias…..”

“Experts are not always right. Scientists are not always right. But most of the time they are. We built a very fine country on the basis of Enlightenment rationality. Thomas Jefferson and those folks very much favored knowledge over ignorance, reason over superstition.”– excerpted from the article

Truth. Lies. Human nature….. What a mess, eh? I can only hope that, somehow, the strength and beauty of human nature, the incredible creativity and passionate imagination our spirits have the potential to express, just as much as it does our flaws, will gain ascendancy in the coming years, becoming the rule of human behavior, rather than the exception, and that we can overcome the reckless, selfish, violent spirits among us to reach for that potential…. Being a curmudgeon, and somewhat of a cynic, at least in regard to human nature, I find myself reluctant to hope…. but, it’s like Emily always said….

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

Here is a poem, that you may have seen just recently, as I only wrote it less than a month ago…. However, in searching for another poem of mine I was going to use, I opened this one, and found it to be a perfect match for the theme in section one…. I wrote this last month, on the 19th, so all of it must have been in my head when I put together the above rant…. Any who, I hope you enjoy it, it’s not bad…

A Few Words of Note

In place of ranting and raving about assholes every day
maybe I’ll try something more fun.
Rather than throwing words at all the assholes on public pay
I’ll switch to shooting at them, with a gun….

Should I actually hit one, purely by mistake,
maybe it would wake them up.
Maybe, if they had to think, or actually cut us a break,
we’d see a chance to win at life, to take a step up.

Our nation, such as it is today, was founded by men who told the truth;
that morality disappeared long ago.
Simple ethical strength so bright, so prevalent in our country’s youth
was soon corrupted, corporate interests now run the show.

Nothing would please me more than to fire off some rounds,
if only to gain their attention.
But, I can no longer run, I’ve gained too many pounds;
so, my keyboard and intellect must serve to fulfill my intention.

I won’t stop, of that you may be sure
I love my freedoms, and the philosophy from which it springs.
Tom, and Ben, and John, and Pat, those patriots pure
gave me their example, and the inner peace it brings.

If bullets won’t persuade our elected liars to toe the ethical line,
I’ll throw my most powerful words…..
If nothing else, it will make them wriggle to escape, or voice their pitiful whine,
thus exposing themselves for what they are…. plain and simple turds.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Since the first section went so epic, we’ll go simple here in section three for today…. An old-school random harlequin pearl should do nicely, all fresh and sassy…. I’ve always wanted to call a pearl “sassy”…. I think seven stars today would be just fine….

“Lawyers: the larval form of politicians.” — Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 37th edition (not really)

“To use words but rarely is to be natural.” — Lao Tzu

“We have met the enemy; in fact, we elected him.” — Cruickshank’s Law #1

“The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.” — Dr. Robert Anthony

“Albert, stop telling God what to do.” — Niels Bohr

“The ability of our people to deceive themselves is the highest art of the nation.” — Smart Bee*** (see below)

***(It should be noted that, for this pearl, I Googled it, to see if anyone had actually claimed this bit of sardonicism…. and found that there were, literally, dozens of politicians who have used this…. I’m hoping they were making a joke, but, sadly, I don’t think they were…..)****

****(all of that, of course, is a big, fat lie…. It COULD be true, but, I did make it up…. Full disclosure: I didn’t want to tell you it wasn’t real…. It SOUNDS as if it could be, that’s the problem….)

Now, for the final, most excellently silly pearl, we will rely on our old friend….

“Awright, which one of you hid my PENIS ENVY?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

I could make excuses, but, I won’t. In fact, I’m so burnt from creating this, I’m going to put it up without even proofing it…. and the typos can just go to hell…. 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

Soliciting salsa for the homeless….

Posted on August 12, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“An Irishman is not drunk

as long as he can hang onto a single blade of grass

and not fall off the face of the earth.”

~~ Irish “wisdom” ~~

One might think I’d lost my mind, if there were not already ample proof of that having happened more than a decade in the past…. Yes, I know the quote is Irish wisdom (such as it is… it’s honest, anyway, right?….), and the statue is a figure study of Robert “Robbie” Burns, a Scot, and damn proud of it…. as the tartan scarf and tam o’shanter demonstrate so clearly. (I wonder, though…. I didn’t check to see if the plaid is the correct one for the Clan Burns, or if it is a statement of some kind, that only another Scotsman would comprehend…. Ah well, one of life’s little mysteries, I suppose….)

Arguably, such an obvious juxtaposition might be considered an error, or the result of ignorance…. Nope, not in this case…. it’s just my little poke at the concept of nationalism, one of the nastiest mental diseases suffered by mankind…. In today’s world, in fact, the disease is threatening, again, to set England and Scotland at odds, with an election coming up soon where the Scots will vote on whether to remain part of Britain’s commonwealth, or go independent, as Northern Ireland did from the rest of the island….

It’s all a social/political/nationalistic mess, complicated by thousands of years of antagonism, periodic outbreaks of violence, and the insistence on maintaining a divisiveness, emphasizing all their cultural differences, rather than seeking to build a community united with a common purpose, comprised of the English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh, all of whom claim their own little corners of the British Isles….

If countries who basically speak the same language, and have shared cultural characteristics for thousands of years cannot learn to live together peacefully, what chance do those which don’t speak similarly have? Very little, I should think, and made even more doubtful when one considers how the average human being is getting dumber over time….

That little fact is not very well known, but, is none the less true for it…. It is a mathematical certainty, demonstrable by equations which show the process in humans, describing how, every year, with every new birth to one of the BILLIONS of souls crowding this planet, humans are becoming less intelligent, on average…. It is a function of the extremely high number of people, and the effect that has on the average…. I won’t trouble you with the figures now, but, trust me, they exist, and are incontrovertible…

That is part of the problem…. Nationalism is what could be called an “attractive nuisance” (well, I consider it that, even if our BRC doesn’t….) for people…. Throughout history, people have fallen for the foolish lies told by politicians, who have an agenda that doesn’t jibe too closely with what most people want, but know how to make their lies attractive to the ignorant, by playing into their fears, and manipulating their emotions…. with the end result you have large groups of brainwashed people who will fanatically throw themselves into battle to “protect” their lifestyle, without ever really understanding why they would do so….

Ah well…. I see I’ve stumbled again, and began ranting in the intro…. probably a result of being up late, and still a bit groggy…. I’ll quit now, and let this argument pass into history, as one more incidence of the secret to life getting passed over, and tossed away before anyone in the human race even knew they were holding it in their hands….. SIGH…. I love my country, but I sure hate the people who have usurped the control of it, giving it over to the assholes who live only to take advantage of other people, or those who are ignorant enough to be easily controlled by corporate interests… which, these days, is almost anyone with a degree in law, or law enforcement, which is actually what most of the ignorant are attracted to as their vocation….

There I go again, starting up another rant, right in the middle of trying to end one…. Sheesh!…. Oh well, we’re going to have to resort to some pretty drastic measures here, and now, anyway, just to get us out of this intro, where we seem to have become stuck, just as if someone had duct-taped us into our seats…. Hell, maybe they did, when I wasn’t looking…. Oh well, let’s just do this….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Many things do not happen as they ought. Most things do not happen at all. It is for the conscientious historian to correct these defects.” — Herodotus

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

Since I have already used up my stored-up angst with the rant above, this article no longer seems so important to note…. When I read it, I saw a couple of statements that could have begun the process of creating some outrage in me, but, now, they’re just part of what is obviously a set piece, designed to fill space with information that only serves to obscure the actual issue, which is that ALL of them are lying, and spying, and cheating on their oaths of office… Feinstein, Obama, the CIA, the Supreme’s, Congress, damn near every one of them, save a couple individuals, they are all more concerned with maintaining their own status quo than with anything the public might need, or want.

This faux fight, described here as a bipartisan issue, at the core, is actually all a distraction from what they don’t want the public to realize, which is NOTHING has stopped, NOTHING has changed; the spying that WAS happening is still happening; the torture is a piece of that whole arena of paranoid overcompensation that so delights our leaders, as it provides a constant source of spin for them.

They can talk, and talk, and talk about how they’ll reform the NSA, and shut down Guantanamo Bay, and get us out of all of our illegal wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever else we are currently dropping bombs… Oh, yeah, Iran, or wherever those ISIS rebels are chasing the Kurds, who we were chasing a few years ago…. Now, of course, since we’re not, but, some of our enemies are, we will be sending them weapons, so they can fight back…. Of course, Putin’s Russian government, with their own set of corrupt, self-serving Asininnies, but with a Russian accent, will be arming the ISIS group, so it will all balance out, right? Sure….

Does any of this make any sense to you? It sure doesn’t make any to me, and I’m pretty smart… Read the article, then go wash up, ffolkes, & we’ll talk shortly about the second headline for today…. Believe me, you will WANT to wash up after wading through so much BS….

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Feinstein-winning-fight-with-CIA-Obama-over-5679304.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

Next we have an article about the woman who was videotaped while being beaten by a California Highway Patrol officer, on the side of the road, the tape being shot by a passing motorist on their cell phone…. It was a pretty brutal video; this officer really went off on this poor woman, who was, at the time of the attack, homeless, and in the throes of a psychotic episode, brought on by the stress of living on the streets…. The officer, of course, is being protected by the Blue Wall of police solidarity…. It’s a sad situation, one that is, unfortunately, all to representative of the current state of affairs between the police and the public, both here, and around the world….

Again, I won’t rant, but, I do need to say this…. All of this stuff we see every day in the news is symptomatic, of a culture that is dying…. Just about any competent historian can tell you how many of the controversial or shocking things we see each day are merely indications of the stress that daily life puts on each and every one of society’s members, and can be shown to have a direct correlation, and similarity to, historical events that preceded the fall of more than just one civilization…. The signs we see now are indicative of a culture that no longer looks to the future, but is desperately trying to maintain the status quo…. Sorry, but, LIFE, and the UNIVERSE, don’t operate like that, so, we can either change, or die….

Maybe I’m wrong, but, since my track record on such predictions is pretty good, I’d say we, as a species, are in big trouble, ffolkes, and our day of reckoning with Mother Nature is not far away…. Go ahead, read the article, clean up again, (for you WILL feel a bit soiled afterward….), and then come back, for an old-school pearl designed to make us all feel better, by reaching out for some radical silly…. I don’t know about y’all, but, after all such discussions, I always feel better for allowing myself to engage in a bit of silly….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/APNewsBreak-LA-woman-punched-by-patrolman-speaks-5680552.php

“When attempting to predict and forecast macro-economic moves of economic legislation by a politician, never be misled by what he says; instead — watch what he does.” — Smart Bee

“I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.” — Thomas Jefferson

“History doesn’t repeat itself — historians merely repeat each other.” — First Rule of History

“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” — Francis Bacon

“A lot of people voting for Pat Buchanan say they are doing so to send a message. Apparently that message is, Hey, look at me, I’m an idiot.” — Dennis Miller

“[History] hath triumphed over time, which besides it nothing but eternity hath triumphed over.” — Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) — Historie of the World, Preface

“Don’t look now, but the man in the moon is laughing at you.” — Smart Bee

Hmm…. well, it looks as if, somehow, I confused Smart Bee, because there is more sardonic in there than there is silly…. But, they all seem to fit, sort of, with the theme, so, we’ll let it fly, and get on with the rest of today’s effort, which, thus far, has been going just about as slowly as I can make it go….. SIGH…. This is only to be expected, as I am up late, in pain, and have yet to hear from Murphy…. which means he has something really special planned for me today….

Oh, joy…..

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

Sorry if I seem to go here a lot, but, I need some Emily D…..

Delight becomes pictorial
When viewed through pain,–
More fair, because impossible
That any gain.

The mountain at a given distance
In amber lies;
Approached, the amber flits a little,–
And that’s the skies!

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

That doesn’t seem to be enough; we’ll have another, if you please…..

______________________

Death sets a thing significant
The eye had hurried by,
Except a perished creature
Entreat us tenderly

To ponder little workmanships
In crayon or in wool,
With “This was last her fingers did,”
Industrious until

The thimble weighed too heavy,
The stitches stopped themselves,
And then ‘t was put among the dust
Upon the closet shelves.

A book I have, a friend gave,
Whose pencil, here and there,
Had notched the place that pleased him,–
At rest his fingers are.

Now, when I read, I read not,
For interrupting tears
Obliterate the etchings
Too costly for repairs.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

Ahhh…. that’s better…..

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

As I noted somewhere above, I’m a bit late today, so this last section with be put together as fast as I can do it; this may lead to an unforeseen result, so, be warned…. This pearl may be like no other…. It is essentially parameter-free, as well as, most likely, judgment impaired…. Oh, well, at least I’m not getting paid for any of this….

“I do not distinguish by the eye, but by the mind, which is the proper judge of the man.” — Seneca (8 BC) — On a Happy Life, 2, (L’Estrange’s Abstract, Chap, i.)

“Old men are dangerous; it does not matter to them what is going to happen to the world.” — George Bernard Shaw

“There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far above all the quaintness of wit.” — Alexander Pope

“I like people better than principles, and I like people with no principles better than anything else in the world.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

“No matter how hard you throw a dead fish in the water, it still won’t swim.” — Smart Bee

“Fortune is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 274

“I’ve got an IDEA!! Why don’t I STARE at you so HARD, you forget your SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I gotta say, that went well….

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

I have done all the damage I can do for now, to this, and to myself…. Don’t make me come out there and do it to you!….. Actually, there’s little danger of that, now, isn’t there? It sounds cool, though, and does have the bonus effect of really throwing a wrench into everyone’s sense of reality…. I’m only glad to be of help….. On that nearly psychotic note, I’m outta here until tomorrow, ffolkes…. See ya…..

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: August 2014

Crusty old curmudgeons need love too….

It was planted only yesterday…..

Straight talk here… Euphemisms are for wimps….

No worries…. it’s only a practice Armageddon….

Illuminating me softly with his bhang….

Sufficient evidence for acquittal? Priceless….

In my left ear, sir….

….. and then he lightly touched down….

Look honey! It’s the official White House Pornographer…..

Soliciting salsa for the homeless….

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