Ffolkes,

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

Dance of the Ferries, Victoria, BC

Hajime…. In an ugly chair, the old man sits, staring morosely at the computer screen before him, eyes fixed on the vast white space upon the screen, empty of all thought or fantasy. To look at him, you might think, “boy, that’s a tough-looking old guy….”, not able to see beneath the rough exterior, to the confusion and deep sense of pain within. As he blinks at the screen, thoughts swirl in his head, none of which translate into any coherent statement worth typing. He shakes his head, slowly, as the tears begin to fall….

I wish thee a good morrow, though I cannot claim to think it so. Today’s Pearl will be, for me, a saving grace, so, the way it looks from the other side, though of some concern, is completely irrelevant, in comparison to how it will seem from here. Since I really don’t much care how well it turns out, as much as I care about getting it done, I won’t make any claims as to the quality, or even the quantity…. Truly, today’s Pearl is WYSIWYG, as much as it is anything else. I am only doing this because, if I don’t, someone will die today who didn’t have to. Quite simple, really, though a bit alarming to those who have never dwelt in the House of Fear for long…..

Don’t worry, ffolkes. I will be fine. Some day. For now, realize this is what keeps me from turning rogue, keeps me from making serious inroads into the population explosion, first-hand. I developed this method of keeping myself under control almost five and a half years ago now, and it’s all I need, or have, that will save innocent lives. So be it. No tricks today, we’re going on now, simply because I’m tired of trying to make this sound reasonably coherent, when all I really want to do is scream epithets and rage…. To save us both from that, I think we should go on. Now….

Shall we Pearl?….

“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.” — Albert Einstein

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Regular readers here at ECR will recognize this icon, as our default musical position. Here is a collection of some of humanity’s best music, as proven by its survival over the past several hundred years…. Enjoy, please; it’s quite soothing to the savage breast, of which I have a perfect example to offer today….

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Classical Music

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https://youtu.be/5LXhPbmoHmU

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As might be guessed, there won’t be a fresh rant today; here instead is one from the archives. I tried to make it light, as I am not in a mood for much angst, even if I’ve already expunged it once from my system. This will, hopefully, provide some comic, or, at least, lighter material for your perusal…. Enjoy!….

From 3/7/2014:

Early as it is, I won’t give in to my urges to vent….. The easiest, most efficient way to accomplish that goal is to provide myself with a sublimated task, which will give me the sense of venting, without having to actually create the path for it to be released into the blogosphere…. Well, that’s the plan, anyway…. What this means in a practical sense is, of course, an old-school pearl, with parameters set at “rage against the machines”, otherwise known as Sublimated Rant Mode….. Enjoy!….

“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” — Oscar Wilde

“There are scores of thousands of sects who are ready at a moment’s notice to reveal the will of God on every possible subject.” — Smart Bee

“I’d rather that a bigot mistake me for a lesbian than that a lesbian mistake me for a bigot.” — Tovah Hollander

“I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet devised by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” — Thomas Jefferson

“A person is never happy except at the price of some ignorance.” — Anatole France

“The next best thing to doing something smart is not doing something stupid.” — Flo Capp’s Observation

Truckin’, like the do-dah man
Once told me “Gotta play your hand.
Sometimes your cards ain’t worth a dime
If you don’t lay’em down.”
Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it’s been.

~~ Truckin’ by Garcia, Weir, Lesh, Hunter ~~

Wow…. not bad, not bad at all…. I don’t think a pearl has ever come together so quickly, or so seamlessly as this one…. It took a total of eight minutes, as pearl after pearl jumped up to be included, sandwiched between a very few obviously unsuitable quotes, easily dismissed in jig time…. It was almost as if the universe was rewarding me for having picked the correct venue for this group, which, patently, is an excellent one to highlight such valuable gems as these….

From now on, I think you’ll be able to use this pearl when you want to show someone a real-life example of the definition of the word “eclectic”….. You could probably use it with the same effect to demonstrate the meaning of the word “esoteric”, too, but, that might stretch the minds of those to whom you show it to a point of no return…. It’s entirely conceivable that, upon assimilating the concepts contained herein, they would never be normal again, which, all in all, in today’s world, might not be such a bad thing, eh?…..

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“A poem is a serious joke, a truth that has learned jujitsu.”

~~William Stafford ~~

Roses for Noses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

January, 2013

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Our final pearl today is somewhat resistant to categorization; it put itself together, and I haven’t a clue as to what it might mean. It means something, for sure; I just don’t have the wherewithal to figure out what it is. You decide…..

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“The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.”

~~ Buddha ~~

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“I shut my eyes in order to see.”

~~ Paul Gauguin ~~

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“Honesty is the best policy and spinach is the best vegetable.”

~~ Popeye ~~

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“It is sometimes expedient to forget who we are.”

~~ Publius Syrus — Maxim 233 ~~

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What is there more of in the world than anything else?
Ends.

~~ Carl Sandburg, The People, Yes (1936) ~~

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“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends;
but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will be the greatest enemy.”

~~ Bhagavad Gita ~~

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It’s Like This

Even the samurai
have teddy bears,
and even the teddy bears
get drunk.

~~ Linux Songs/Poems ~~

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It’s done. I have less clue about it now than I had when beginning, so, you won’t find me trying to make excuses. Not only do I not have any, I couldn’t honorably use them, or even consider them. Instead, I’ll leave you flat, with the dangerous knowledge of our imminent return, tomorrow morning… I’ll be here if I have to kill myself…. and, no, I know that’s neither advisable, nor possible, Sheesh, even I know, if I’m dead, I can’t write. So, you’ll see me again; count on it. Just don’t expect much other than the fulfillment of the promise; it’s all I may have to offer…. See ya…

Y’all take care out there,
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….