Ffolkes,
~~Written on grave ~~
Image created by Europa’s Ice Wolf Herself
https://europasicewolf.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/let-us-go-you-and-i/
Good morrow…. Today is the day, he said, cryptically…. Change is in the air….
Shall we Pearl?
“If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.” — The Cowboy’s Guide to Life
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David Bromberg
Image via pbs.org via Google Images
This artist is one many people have never seen, or heard of; during the late 60’s and early 70’s he was a favorite of the counter-culture of the time…. His music is a blend of rock, folk, and bluegrass, with a side of damn silly at times…. His song, “I Will Not Be Your Fool” remains one of my all-time favorite versions of the talkin’ blues…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one is a hidden gem….
David Bromberg
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“Our main task for the coming era is… a radical renewal of our sense of responsibility. Our conscience must catch up with our reason — otherwise we are lost. It is my profound conviction that there is only one way to achieve this: we must divest ourselves of our egotistical anthropocentrism, our habit of seeing ourselves as the masters of the universe who can do whatever occurs to us. We must acknowledge what transcends us: the universe, earth, nature, life, and reality. Our respect for other people, for other nations, and for other cultures can only grow from a humble respect for the cosmic order and from an awareness that we are part of it, that we share in it, and that nothing we do is lost, but, rather, that what we do becomes part of the eternal memory of Being, where it is judged… It is also essential that the Euro-American cultural sphere– the one that created this civilization and taught humanity its destructive pride– now return to its spiritual roots and become an example to the rest of the world in the search for a new humility.” — Vaclav Havel, address, Harvard University, June 8, 1995
Václav Havel, (born October 5, 1936, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic] — died December 18, 2011, Hrádecek, Czech Republic), Czech playwright, poet, and political dissident, who, after the fall of communism, was president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and of the Czech Republic (1993–2003).
I thank Mr. Havel sincerely for this quote; it’s a pretty good summary of the root message I have been trying to get through to anyone who reads my work. Having concluded the same root cause to the problems we now face as a species, a culture, and as living creatures, to be found in the lack of willingness of almost every human to take responsibility for their actions. Far, far too many of those who live in today’s world have no idea of their own connection to Life, or the Universe, nor do they have any idea of how they fit into either one….
How did we come to this? Why are there so many people in the world with a sense of entitlement unlike any other creature of which we have any knowledge? Why do people think they have the right to do whatever they wish to make themselves happy, no matter what sort of effect it may have on the world around them, whether other people, animals, or the world at large…. All of it is the property of Man, as seen by these arrogant, hairless apes, who can’t even, most of the time, figure out by themselves how to keep from shooting themselves in the foot.
Well, I can explain…. But, it isn’t a popular concept; not surprising as it is diametrically opposed to most of what you, or anyone has heard all their lives…. There are those who have seen the truth; they’ve tried their best to tell people what they have seen, but, for the most part, people don’t want to hear things that don’t fit in with their longest-held beliefs… Thomas Paine, one of the founding fathers of this country was one such man… He pointed out the culprits as clearly as he could, with words such as these…
“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the bible is filled, it would seem more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.” — Thomas Paine — The Age of Reason
Just a few days ago, this country sold some Billions of dollars worth of arms, in the form of rockets, bombs, ammunition, and supporting technology to Israel, and another of our allies currently waging war somewhere around the world…. Now, it may surprise you to know that we, the USA, are the single biggest dealer of arms in the world; there are people in every corner of the world being killed by our weapons every minute of every day…. Yep, us, the peace-loving, freedom-bearing, rapacious businessmen from Amurica, who will sell anyone the means to fight wars, or, merely oppress their own people….
At the same time, as I read just today, here at home, in Amurica, our own police are killing two citizens, on average, every day, according to statistics gathered by the Washington Post, while video after video hits the news, and You Tube, showing actual crimes committed by police, with no charges ever brought…. My father, who fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II, for four years, would have been appalled at the state of affairs today, in this land he loved.
I can see him sitting at his desk, after having a talk about the material not in the news during the Vietnam War, writing to the Department of the Army, as a retired veteran of that service, asking for explanations for some of what he was hearing…. He got a runaround, for the most part, and became an active letter-writer to the service voicing his concerns…. I can do no less…
But, how many people do YOU know who are willing to say that? Not many, I’d wager. If there were, the world would be different than it is…. No, the corporate snakes, the pundits, the preachers, all have the public, for the vast majority, completely bamboozled, into believing an entire pantheon of delusions, and lies, all of which are intended to keep them ignorant of the truth, and, to keep the money, and the power, in their hands alone….
Let me show this another way…. If I were to read the following verses to the Congress of the United States, how many of them do you think would A) understand half of it, B) agree with ANY of it, or, C) look confused, then angry….. Moreover, how many of them would NOT lie to anyone who asked them about the arms deal with Israel? Okay, I know, I switched horses too fast; I even lost myself with that one…. But, my point remains…. the people who make up our government, all 455 of them (that’s all!!!…), who have almost complete power over the rest of us, do NOT believe ANY of this is true….
Arms are instruments of ill omen… .
There is no glory in victory, and to glorify it despite this is to exult in the killing of men… .
When great numbers of people are killed, one should weep over them with sorrow.
When victorious in war, one should observe mourning rites.
~~ Lao-Tzu ~~
Note, please, Lao Tzu does not say “if great numbers of heroes are killed”, or, “if great numbers of enemies are killed”. He just says “people”.
Now, how many of our Beloved Ruling Class have you ever seen, or heard, express their SINCERE regrets over the losses incurred in our wars? Especially for those valiant defenders of their own homelands, when we have bombed and invaded them, to bring them the “advantages” of democracy and freedom (read: “new markets for our corporate masters”), whom we call insurgents, or rebels, or the current bogey-word of choice, terrorists…..
“The greatness of every mighty organization embodying an idea in this world lies in the religious fanaticism and intolerance with which, fanatically convinced of its own right, it intolerably imposes its will against all others.” — Adolf Hitler, “Mein Kampf”
Right…. None.
I’m done. The reason for that is simple. I’m getting nauseated, thinking about those fat cats, sitting in D.C., thinking they are all that, and deciding for everyone else exactly how they are going to screw them next….
Remember, ffolkes…. you only have the rights you can defend….
“The army commander of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him.” — Confucius
gigoid has spoken, and, he’s pissed off.
So be it.
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“Poetry is the journal of a sea animal, living on land, wanting to fly in the air… Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable… Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away…” — Carl Sandburg, “Poetry Considered”, Atlantic Monthly, March 1923
I’m fairly certain very little of my poetry quite lives up to Carl’s description; I do my best, though, and, I like this one…
Yesterday
I wrote a poem.
It bled out of my head,
like I’d been struck with
an axe,
right through the artery,
in the neck,
spraying blood around
everywhere,
like a pulsing garden hose….
It hurt, at first,
then came the feeling,
of quick relief,
of timeless beauty,
of pain avenged,
of lust aroused,
of outrage aflame,
of deep compassion,
of endless empathy,
of truest love….
Now it’s gone, cast away
like pearls before twine.
(Grin…)
You thought
I was going to call you
a pig,
didn’t you?
Hah!
Well, you’re not.
You’re a person.
I know, because
you’re reading this poem…
if that’s what it is.
I think it is,
so,
maybe it is.
Or, maybe,
it will be,
someday, when it
grows up,
and learns to rhyme.
Whew…
Just in time…..
That’s all.
Reality often sucks wind,
y’know?
S’okay, though….
It keeps us busy,
and out of some of the
mischief,
so much part
of our
nature.
We all can do
only what we
do.
Or, don’t.
Two sides, one coin.
~~ gigoid ~~
Written 8/31/2014
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For an hour – take a nap
For a day – go fishing
For a month – get married
For a year – inherit a fortune
For a lifetime – help someone else.
~~ Chinese Proverb ~~
“Drop the question what tomorrow may bring, and count as profit every day that fate allows you.” — Horace
“Speak in silver, reply in gold.” — Ancient Swahili saying
“I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleges, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.” — Leo Tolstoy
“The glory of riches and of beauty is frail and transitory; virtue remains bright and eternal.” — Sallust (B.C. 86-34)
“A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.” — Japanese proverb
“Truth comes as an enemy only to those who have lost the ability to welcome it as a friend.” — Smart Bee
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Okay, so, I’m not entirely sure what happened here today, but, as far as I can tell, it’s done. So be it…. though I hate to repeat myself. Ah well, it’s a day for changes, so, we’ll all just have to deal with it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, from a new locus…..
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
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
The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.
PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.
“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch
À bientôt, mon cherí….
gigoid 
Had to send you this re the title! Terror in the Breakfast Aisle:
😆
Cool!…. My kind of store….
nrm