Ffolkes,
Nevertheless, one hopes that they exist.”
~~ Edward Abbey ~~
Tower of London from the Thames
Hajime…. ‘Tisn’t often I’ll begin by apologizing, but, that doesn’t cause it to mean less, to me, at least. Today, I’m doing so to explain the Pearl you will see, as it is one I probably will try to forget, if only for the cost of getting it done. Without complaint or retreat into plaintive excuses, I’ll merely say I was unable to sleep again, until late this morning, thus making me late getting started, as well as beginning another day with fatigue rather than any particular enthusiasm. Oh, well.
That said, the Pearl should, after a fashion, speak for itself. Most of it won’t be too fresh, as I don’t have any fresh on hand, or, for that matter, in mind. In fact, with what I have in mind, I probably couldn’t pass a test to get into kindergarten. I am, nonetheless, rather determined to get it done, no matter how it turns out, if only to soothe my own disappointment. One must find one’s reasons to go on oneself, mustn’t one? One must, and one has done. So be it.
Since I don’t have much, what you see is, once more, what you get. I, for one, am going on; y’all can follow if you like….
Shall we Pearl?….
“Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see each other whole against the sky.” — Rainer Maria Rilke
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Yep. Classical music, as the icon indicates so clearly. Well, it’s clear to me; listen up to the music, and it may do the same for y’all…. or, not. So be it.
Classical Music
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Since I don’t have the wherewithal to produce a rant, here is a rather extensive discussion from early in 2013, on the subject of gun control…. a subject which is rather important to ALL of us, in the long run. Me, I’m of the same opinion as Clint Eastwood, an eminently sensible man, all in all, to wit: “Gun control means, if there’s a gun in the room, I want to be the one controlling it.” Y’ll can do as you like in the matter…. Enjoy!….
From 2/9/2013:
~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~
I’m rather hoping it is, in sooth…. if not, we all are in serious trouble, up the proverbial creek without a hint of a paddle. Not that it should be anything new or unfamiliar, as most of our history has been spent thus occupied. Of course, previous centuries didn’t have the distinct advantage of having either the Brady’s, or Zippy, in all his insane wisdom, as cultural icons, as well as ethical touchstones….. They had to make do with Socrates, and Plato, and stuffy old guys like that….. Aristotle was practically a rock star in his day, and remains a pretty smart dude, by all evidence, but I still prefer Carlin, I think, for the most cogent philosophy for modern times….
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” — The Constitution of the United States of America Amendment 6, 1791
For a moment, I wondered what my unconscious mind was thinking when it made me copy and paste this amendment into the pearl, as a pearl…. especially as it seems to be in conjunction with the Zippy quote…. Here I am, five minutes later, still wondering what the hell I was thinking…. It happens that way sometimes…. just give me a few moments here, and I’ll come up with it…. Aha! Got it! Naturally, I only needed to go back to basics…. The answer to the question of how the two quotes are related is…. Reality….
Aye, that’s right, reality. It’s what we do here, explore reality, and all its implications, ramifications, and delineations. Also, it’s temperature. Well, perhaps that isn’t the right word, but…. Reality, as is clear and obvious to the most casual observer, exists in varying degrees (hence: temperature…. see?). The degree of reality that is included in an out-take from the Brady Bunch is clearly not the same degree of reality that is implied in the Sixth Amendment. I’d say, the Amendment would hit around 8 or 9 on the real scale, with 10 being the Reality of Amber, where all roads lead. (See Roger Zelazny’s book, The Courts of Amber…..), whereas the highest the Brady’s could hope for would be a 2 or a 3 on that same scale. They’re too oppositional in nature to be rated otherwise, as well as being on opposite ends of the scale of Relative Importance to ME and YOU…..
Now we get to the meat of this matter…. Of late, there has been a lot of public discourse regarding gun control, as a result of the media’s steadfast love of gore and manipulation. Another school shooting took place a few weeks ago, wherein some crazy idiot got hold of some firearms and used them in an insane manner. This, of course, all morality aside, is still a reprehensible act, and, IMHO, most easily solved by just taking one of his own guns and using it on him, at the time of his crime. Bang, problem solved, and since he’s standing there over the bodies he has made, no question of guilt. In such cases, the why of his guilt should not matter; whatever it is, it is reason enough to put him down, in defense of humanity. The other questions can be answered after the children have been defended….
Sadly, there are two segments of humanity who don’t agree with this logical outcome. One segment is what I term the humanitarians, a misleading term, since it usually involves the denial of much of human nature. The other, of course, is our old nemesis, the BRC…. our Beloved Ruling Class…. Neither of these groups will agree that allowing people to have guns should be allowed, or that killing the killers is a proper solution for the issue. In both of these positions, they are dead wrong, and, more, they know they are. This serves to make their arguments more shrill, more emotionally based, and, in their eyes, more valid, in some strange form of weird logic….
~~ Frank Zappa ~~
One of the most edifying parts of this discussion, for me, is how it makes it so easy to identify those who are wearing the uniforms, and from what camp they are from, according to their colors and insignia. You can tell the humanitarians, they’re the ones wearing the faux-camouflage pants, in support of the troops, they’ll assure you; they want the police to be the only ones who carry guns, believing, for some unknown reason, that police are somehow more moral or ethical than other people. (Of course, they also would have trouble if you asked them to define the words, “moral”, or “ethical”, in any other terms than those used in a philosophy paper they memorized in college, or in seminary….)
The BRC are always easy to spot, as their sense of entitlement provides them with all the armor against opinion, or law, they ever need. They want guns to be only held by the militia, (which they control), or the police (whom they also control), because it makes them nervous as hell to know there are guns out in the land, in the hands of people who would use them, for certain, if they attempt to perform their illegal lying, cheating, and stealing anywhere in their presence. It also makes them nervous knowing that they would be in danger for real, if the truth about what they do is ever made public with enough evidence to convince the masses to act…. They don’t want to have to worry they will be over-matched in firepower when that day comes along….
SIGH…. I’ve opened a can of worms, again, I know it….. I’m not going to claim to have all the right answers to the situation we find ourselves in today. Though it is a different world, technologically and culturally, from the time when the Second Amendment was written, deciding to abandon its precepts on that basis is not, and should never be, enough to justify any change in a law that is so important to the common man, the very people for whom the laws were created, to protect them from the self-same usurpation that is now being attempted. Once the law is amended, and weakened, the term “slippery slope” becomes very real, and a valid fear for those people.
To put a cap on it for now, I’ll say this…. Quite simply, I do not trust those who would take the right to bear arms from the people. I have seen NO evidence, in history, or in recent current events, that ANY governing body, or ANY group, or ANY single person, of ANY persuasion can be trusted to have guns, and use them solely for the benefit of the people, without turning them to their own purposes, first. NONE. You can’t show me any, either…. Go ahead, I’m listening….
I have studied people every day of my life, and I know too much of human nature to ever believe what I’m told of another person’s intentions; even the best intentions can change in mid-stream, turning its back completely on any commitments made previously. People lie, they cheat, they break in their minds, and they can’t, as a whole, ever be trusted to act rationally on a consistent basis….. at least, not any more rationally than can I myself….
~~ Oscar Wilde ~~
Such being the case, I’d rather keep my guns, thanks. I’ll accept the risks that go with that freedom, which includes the risk of bad people getting their hands on guns, and doing bad things to others. Don’t worry, if they do it in front of me, I’ll help…. and not by running away and hiding…. Life is dangerous, ffolkes, and one either learns to get along with that idea, or one spends a lot of time worrying about shit that can’t be changed…. A very unhappy state of affairs, to my way of thinking, and not very realistic in the long run….
it is quite soothing to watch the sun rise in the East.”
~~ gigoid~~
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A poem came to me today, willy, nilly,
along with a sharp blow to the head.
Since it left me feeling just a bit silly,
anything that rhymes should lessen the dread.
Manifesting destiny into a small, insidious group
we push on toward sanity, concentrating hard.
Full engaging moments spent navigating the loop
shall ever make a difference to victims found in the yard.
Still corpses of creatures, straight out of nightmare
fill up the corners of our tortured minds.
While ever saddened, the iconic male, most debonair,
gazes softly, ironically, at all the mutual interest he finds.
Moronic public statutes compel outbreaks of sanity,
responding to momentary impulses toward inducing peace.
Still, the motions get completed, in fertile stages of inanity
while the bulk of our inmates can find no surcease.
Reluctant motivation to continue is unbound,
striving to ascertain how far there yet remains to go.
No precognitive guesswork will make any less of a sound
to soften the final strains, or teach us to truly know.
~~ gigoid ~~
2/7/2014
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Today’s final old-school pearl is the only fresh material I can provide today; in spite of its relative freshness, it’s a little strange. But, it works, as it is merely giving us some stuff about living we may have either forgotten, or, overlooked in our haste to be…. In any case, none of it will hurt you, and may even help… Go figure…..
Few use the grand prerogative of mind.
How few think justly of the thinking few!
How many never think, who think they do!
~~ Jane Taylor ~~
~~ Essays in Rhyme, (On Morals and Manners, Prejudice, ) Essay i, Stanza 45 ~~
“The hard questions always have more than one right answer. The easy questions have no answers at all. That’s the universe’s way of keeping things balanced.” — Solomon Short
“It is better to know nothing than to know what ain’t so.” — Josh Billings
“Yesterday is but today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream.” — Kahlil Gibran
“Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, viii, 22
“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” — Hugh Downs
~~ Max Beerbohm ~~
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It’s done, and that’s the best I can say of it. Today is what we call REALLY trusting the process. So be it. I’ll try again tomorrow, if I can manage to rest/sleep enough to waken with a functioning neuron or two. In any case, see y’all tomorrow; personally, I don’t seem to have much choice, if I am to remain in the vicinity of sanity….
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 
Good one…it oughta get some juices following in certain quarters…..I have made my feelings known about this subject and especially about the 2nd…I do not believe it was to protect the people from the government but rather the opposite….the original intent, that is…..good tunes…..but today I need Hendrix…LOl have a great day my friend….chuq
Ah, Jimi… Y’know, I haven’t done him yet…. You’ll see him tomorrow….
Glad you enjoyed this one; the rant is one of my favorites, in subject, and for that particular one. I’ve never owned, or needed a gun, but, if one is to face one, well, the first rule of being in a gun fight is to bring a loaded gun, so, I’ll get one if necessary. The right to do so is the right we have to protect, and we have NO rights unless we can defend them.
As you see, I still have more in there on this….so, I’ll cut it off here, to go on to the next step, getting caught up to yesterday, so I can start on today….
Have a great day, amigo…
gigoid
I grew up with lots of guns in the house, my daughter grew up with lots of guns in the house and I still do not feel the necessity to tote one around like some crazed gunfighter from yest-year….Jimi will be great! chuq
I’ve never felt the need for one, either, though I was raised by an Army MSGT, and so was trained to respect them. But, my dad also taught us our best weapon sits between our ears, and using it usually can preclude the need to use a weapon, of any kind. To use a weapon, to him, was to have had a failure of intelligence in seeking a resolution to whatever the issue was.
I also figured out, on my own, when one carries a gun, eventually, someone will shoot AT you. So, I learned other ways to defend myself, and the eyes, ears, & mind are the best source for that.
I’ll see if I can find some live Jimi for tomorrow’s vid…
See ya…
gigoid
Cool! I agree the best weapon is the mind….shame more are not trained to use it…..chuq
Ah.. the gun issue.. almost as fun as discussing abortion…
and whether or not God exists.. and truly debating these
issues will all the egg head folks like me on the Wrong
Planet website.. during my 66 months of dentist drill
like pain in my right eye and ear..
that no drug would touch
is all that kept me going..
and truly my greatest wish
before i tolerated hell would have
been to have any gun i could operate
then to end it quickly and as painlessly
as possible.. but wait.. even dousing myself
with gasoline and getting all lit up in heat
was preferable to that pain.. that was
beyond any imagination in migraine
way before hell
came knocking
in my right eye and ear..
So.. with that and loss
of all of my emotions i can
understand the challenges
of living dead as alive.. and
when i discuss these things..
i never fall clearly on one side
or the other.. as my mind tends
to spread out in all directions as it
were and is for now.. sTiLL heheRe..
but living as a weak and defenseless
person relatively speaking with not much
user gained instincts skills in abilities into
how to operate my body in full three dimensional
space.. no matter if my legs pressed a quarter of a ton
then.. vs. a half a ton now.. when i lost the ability to even
go into a Whataburger for 5 minutes.. or even make it
to the shower for a bath as i was so weak.. i came
to find out why some folks wanna have
more protection than fists of fury
and kicks of feet.. and generally
speaking ninja sKills
as not all folks
are cut out
to earn
that way
all naturally
like i have now..
with zero doubts..
i cannot have a gun..
as a gun could spell a quick
end to me.. if that pain ever came
back.. no matter what i might say/feel now..
as pain and loss of emotions can change
all about a human
being.. except
perhaps a strict
moral code..
like mine sure..
that prevented me
from acting out on any
dead heart/spirit/soul way of being
alive then.. but anyway.. guns are not
for everyone.. and when human beings
live in large enough groups where folks don’t
know each other that iS really insane considering
how we are naturally evolved to be to connect
to 150 to 200 friendly eyes.. the super
altruistic nature of human beings..
more than even Bonobo when
free.. becomes one of
closer to devil
than angel true..
in large ‘civilized’ cities..
eyes look down and away
instead of bright connecting
and shiny stars of cooperating
for survival.. and we become
killers of humanity rather
than lovers together
for survival..
so the gun is
the equalizer
for hearts grown
to stone.. and sadly enough
the equalizer that makes love unknown….
as always survival is the bottom line.. so yes..
GUN.. a necessary
evil as tool
no different than
the written words.. cultures
and religions that take Love
out of the word HUMAN.. and
the other deadLINE.. as long as
human is human iT iS
easier to kill with
stone
than
fist.. wheRe
only life lives
WeLL.. wITh HeARt..
and yeah.. the fAct that all my
so-called redneck neighbors are
armed to the hilt with guns and i live
in a state where property trumps life..
they pay the price for me to live fearless
in a neighborhood.. that is safe enough
to leave the doors open… as only a
person who would welcome
death.. would enter
one of these
Florida
homes..
baby.. as hell
yes this is the wild
wild west.. where gun
draws are real in drawers..
and hidden
socks
of
ending life..
i live fearlessly now
with zero anxiety and
aLL Love ALL n ALL..
iT works for me..
and the new
style thugs
in bar parking
lots after seeing
what i can do with
my body.. move away
from me.. in smart phone eyes..
and pudgy fingers that rap tap now..
particularly as i look like i would carry
a gun
and be
sKiLled with
it as Law enforcement
heads will often do..
and so often
confused
as
undercover
wherever i go..
ah.. the privilege.. white
of the male.. the muscle..
and the fearless looking
alpha head dude.. it even
trumps Trump one on one..
if ya add in the brains and heARt wONe..;)
Two things you hit upon are key…
Guns are a tool.
Perception, for most, is reality….
A gun is nothing more than a rock, which became a hammer, then a thrown rock, then a rock from a sling, then an atl-atl, and so on, until we now have the Uzi, one of the more lethal personal weapons to be conceived… Ed Abbey noted such weapons are the tool of the despot, the tyrant, the oligarchy, who MUST enforce their wishes by violence and lies. The handgun and rifle are the weapons of a man, if needed…. the only honorable such guns, for they are under personal control, instead of a robot/trooper/goon.
That said, if one understands the second part, those who use guns become no more than annoyances, for they only perceive what they allow themselves to see… So, those who can alter the perceptions of others by their actions, and appearances, are safe, as long as they understand the one they are interacting with…
People who use guns forget a lot, because having it makes them feel invulnerable, thus negating half of their mental acuity, instantly… This is what protects me, for I do not ever forget, and know a dozen ways to use a rock (a real one), or a rope, or a “long tooth” (as Tarzan called it), that are completely invisible to anyone with a gun, and effectively, neutralize their advantage of firepower with the tactics of the spy, and being invisible to their understanding…
In short, ya gotta see what you shoot at, and what if what you see doesn’t look like a threat?….
Any who, yes, I can discuss this all day as well, but, gotta go, cuz now I’m really exhausted, & my daiughter’s coming for dinner….
See ya, my friend…. I’m glad you found your path out of hell; it can be a singularly challenging task, as we both know….
Love
gigoid
SMiles.. my friend.. gigoid..
and you have an enjoyable
dinner with your daughter..:)