Ffolkes,

“Life moves pretty fast.
If you don’t stop and look around once in a while,
you just might miss it.”

~~ Matthew Broderick ~~

~~ in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, screenplay by John Hughes ~~

Big Ben, from the other side….

Hajime…. Bedraggled, bothered, and bewildered, as is often the case around here at 4:30 in the morning, the old man sits again to write his sanity into being. Since only he knows whether or not it works, we’ll forgo any predictions; instead, we’ll merely note the severe case of separation currently extant, as it is patently clear the old fart hasn’t a clue about his own state of mind. If he did, he’d be writing this in the first person, rather than hiding his actual feelings in the third person. Go figure…..

Hmm…. What do you think? Is that sufficiently nonsensical? Does it distract anyone from reality sufficiently to begin a Pearl? It certainly distracted me; shocked me right back into first person, it did. Go figure, eh? See, I can be Canadian, if I try. But, when I do, all bets are off, for, I’m not only NOT Canadian, I don’t even like Canadian beer, very much. But, then, I’m not a big beer fan, anyway. Most of them seem too, well, too damn filling. Whiskey is much less filling, and one achieves the primary purpose for consuming alcoholic beverages much sooner. I’m all about efficiency, when I can find it…..

Having spent the last 72 or more hours in a deep funk, with tears popping up to embarrass me on a too-regular basis, I am now pulling myself out of that, into a more productive mien; Leelu is, I think, trying to help, in her own way. I’m going to assume that, because I don’t want to believe she doesn’t care. I know, I know, that’s anthropomorphizing something terrible, but, it’s what we humans do, for the most part; try to make reality fit what we want, or perceive, rather than just taking it as it comes….

SIGH. Oh, well, such is life, right? It’s all a crap shoot, once the balloon goes up, so, one may as well hedge their bets, or, find another game, which could be difficult, given the intransigent insistence on reality’s part to maintain a status having nothing at all to do with quo…. As it seems I’ve reached the point of abstruse complexity which somewhat precludes immediate comprehension, I think it might be best to find our way OUT of my head, and back onto the track which will lead us into the meat of today’s always messy effort. In short, it’s time to get the slow on the toad. If that STILL isn’t clear, well, the best I can tell you is, hang on, because you’ll need to be alert, as well as fast, to make it to the end…. Don’t fret, the music should help; it’s pretty decent.

Since I can’t speak for the rest of it, with any degree of confidence, anyway, we’ll just resort to our newest technique, and end this, right here, right now. If you watch closely, you might catch the transition…. or, not….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

********************************

Phish

Image from http://www.jambase.com via Google Images

I only began listening to this band last year, when I happened across a video of a live webcast from Austin, Texas. I was amazed at the quality of their music, as well as the originality I had thought gone from the modern music scene…. Here is another webcast concert, from early this year…. Enjoy, ffolkes; these guys are damn good….

********************************

Phish Live
Riviera Maya, Mexico
1/15/2016

********************************

https://youtu.be/NJrTA7Sb5SA

********************************

********************************

********************************

“A right is not what someone gives you; it’s what no one can take from you.”

~~ Ramsey Clark ~~

As human beings, we are all subject to the laws of this universe. One of those laws is this; everything that lives, dies. In the final analysis, this is your ONLY right, as a living being. Nothing else in this universe is promised to you for being alive; death is our only unchosen duty. It is also one nobody can take from you; any other so-called ‘rights’ are nothing of the sort, for you only have those rights you can defend. Any of the things we regard as our ‘rights’ can only be taken; the universe does not gift them to you. If you believe it does, you are in for some rather nasty surprises, as long as you live, for nothing exists in this universe that is not subject to its laws. Not even us…..

Albert Camus made a statement I find to be true, to wit: “Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is.” In reality, this often manifests with a human being trying to act as if the rules of life do not apply. We have become slaves to a set of delusional beliefs, none of which are supported by reality; this has led us to our current unstable position, with the most likely outcome the complete extinction of not only our own species, but, the unwilling inclusion of most other species who live here with us in that extinction, as we have fouled our own nest without any concern for the outcome, denying the connection we have to all other life in almost every aspect of our culture…..

This, naturally, is disappointing, especially as there are some of us who do NOT subscribe to the same set of delusional behaviors as the majority of our brethren. For these sages, life is not a competition, but, a panorama of beauty and grace, that can only be completely embraced by acknowledging our place as a part of the whole. Any other path leads us away from what is real; the further we get from reality, the harder we try to make it fit our preconceived notions, thus showing the characteristic insanity so common to our breed…

Not only is it disappointing, but, so unnecessary. Life, if approached with an open heart and mind, can be truly simple to live, with joy balancing pain, and the beauty in which we exist is seen for itself, whole and complete, not for its possibilities as a commercial commodity. Of course, there are some rules to living with such grace and intelligence, which naturally follow the same lines as those that exist in reality… Rather than continue to explore such an esoteric set of ideas, we’ll finish off this discussion with a few old-school pearls, which will, I hope, give us an idea of how such a life might be lived, with dignity, love, and joy as the hallmarks of existing… Good advice here, ffolkes, so, listen up.

*******

After all there is but one race – humanity.

~~ George Moore ~~

*******

“Happiness and freedom
begin with a clear understanding of one principle.
Some things are within your control.
And some things are not.”

~~ Epictetus ~~

*******

“Justice is having and doing what is one’s own.”

~~ Plato ~~

*******

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me.
If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them;
if I find them too obnoxious, I break them.
I am free because I know that
I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”

~~ Professor Bernardo de la Paz ~~

*******

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”

~~ Kris Kristofferson ~~

*******

********************************

Retrospective, defined in folly….

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 ~~

8/31/2014

********************************

Naked Pearls

How it is to be….

*********

“HELLO, everybody, I’m a HUMAN!!”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

*********

“You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.”

~~ Aristophanes ~~

*********

“Dream as if you’ll live forever.
Live as if you’ll die tomorrow.”

~~ James Dean ~~

*********

“There may be many reasons for who we are, but there are no excuses.”

~~ Limon ~~

*********

“Learning isn’t a means to an end; it is an end in itself.”

~~ Robert A. Heinlein ~~

*********

“Simplicity is always a virtue.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

*********

“Do not the spirits who dwell in the ether envy man his pain?”

~~ Kahlil Gibran ~~

*********

“To perceive is to suffer.”

~~ Aristotle, De Anima ~~

*********

“Don’t ask me where I’m going,
Just listen when I’m gone
And far away you’ll hear me singing softly to the dawn”

~~ Pippin ~~

********************************

Okay, so, that went pretty well, all things considered. So well, I’ll not fuss with it further, but, will leave you with our usual caveat, to wit: I’ll be back, most likely tomorrow morning, with yet another misguided attempt at levity and/or intellectual fun and games. Or, maybe I’ll create another fresh Pearl. Whatever happens, it will be right here, tomorrow around this time. So be it…. gigoid has spoken, for better, or worse….

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….