Ffolkes,

“It is never too early or too late to care for the well-being of the soul.”

~~ Epicurus ~~

Late summer bloom….

Hajime…. In human experience, it is clear that the subject of ‘delayed gratification’ is associated closely with a great many of our difficulties. Taking the short-term view, while gratifyingly immediate, can often lead to long-term consequences, very few of which are as beneficial as our intentions would have them. In short, we screw our own pooch, regularly. I would say this is not an arguable conclusion, as the evidence is overwhelming.

Now, one might assume, from the professorial tone of the previous paragraph, today’s post will be another long diatribe against the machine. And, you’d be right. However, my diatribe, which has, in segments, been ongoing for several years, won’t be our major feature. In fact, there’s no rant, at all, in any real sense. There is material in that section today, but, you won’t find it hard to get through, as it turned old-school. We have music, we have a new poem, and a damn fine group of excellently polished pearls for your edification. You could say, this one has it all, and be correct. Go ahead, say it….

Okay, so, the obligatory nonsense is in place, we’ve got some rational dialogue, and we’re three paragraphs in; couldn’t ask for better progress. I mean, after all, Dave Letterman coined the perfect phrase to describe us, when he said, “Hopelessly lost, but, making good time….”. That’s us, to a T. Or, if necessary, to a Z. Whatever either of those means. I don’t believe I ever really ‘got’ that one, but, hey, it’s embedded in the language, so, gotta use it now and again, or it goes bad. Words do that, you know….

I think that, right there, is a good indicator, showing us it’s definitely time to get on with this, before it all goes wonky. I’ll be rational, and executive-like, & make the decision to cut this off, ruthlessly. How’s this for ruthless?….

Shall we pearl?….

“As great scientists have said and as all children know,
it is above all by the imagination
that we achieve perception, and compassion, and hope.”

~~ Ursula K. LeGuin ~~

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I had no intention of ranting today, though the urge often occurs. I’m trying to keep from that sort of indulgence for the time being. Sometimes, when looking for pearls for the old-school, Naked Pearls section, I do come across pieces such as these, which I can only describe as perfect pearls, for they create an entire discussion in one’s own head, in order to ascertain the full import of the relatively few words used. In short, they compose a pearl of virtual wisdom, which can, in its essence, only be considered a rant, against all the elements of human nature that cause us so much misery, and keep the bulk of us from feeling or experiencing life as it CAN be lived. I hope you enjoy this trip into the minds of a number of rather smart people….

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Thoughts on the Human Condition….

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“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered.
But for those of us who can’t readily accept the God formula,
the big answers don’t remain stone-written.
We adjust to new conditions and discoveries.
We are pliable.
Love need not be a command or faith a dictum.
I am my own God.
We are here to unlearn
the teachings of the church, state,
and our educational system.
We are here to drink beer.
We are here to kill war.
We are here to laugh at the odds
and live our lives so well
that Death will tremble to take us.”

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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“…there is no poison on earth more potent, nor half so deadly,
as a partial truth mixed with passion.”

~~ Michael Jay Tucker~~

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“The entire world is being driven insane by this single phrase:
‘My religion alone is true.'”

~~ Ramakrishna ~~

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“There is no nonsense so arrant
that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority
by adequate governmental action.”

~~ Bertrand Russell, “An outline of Intellectual Rubbish” ~~

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“And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon Gods they’d made.”

~~ Paul Simon ~~

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“The more laws and order are made prominent,
the more thieves and robbers there will be.”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

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“… But when he [the people’s champion]
has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty,
and there is nothing to fear from them,
then he is always stirring up some war or other,
in order that the people may require a leader.”

~~ Plato, “The Republic” ~~

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“What happens to your fist when you open your hand?”

~~ Zen Buddhism ~~

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Image from lastfm.com via Google Images

I finished a poem last night; don’t know why, but the last three stanzas just bled out in about an hour. In honor of poetry, here’s a performance by one of the greatest musician/songwriter/poets of the modern era. I consider his “Sound of Silence” the definitive poem/song of the latter part of the previous century; I know it’s just my opinion, but, go listen, then tell me it doesn’t nail modern society with one swift bullet. In any case, this is a pretty decent collection of his work, in a good studio, with good sound, and, his usual collection of great musicians to play with him…. Enjoy!….

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Paul Simon
BBC Sessions ~ 2006

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Illusory Time

Viewed from askance, the river is long;
deep, uncompromisingly intent, swift, strong.
In duality, perception creates our only reality;
such faux metaphoric paradox enforces mutability.

By two we perceive, both zero, and one;
digital, binary, on or off, such fun.
Separate, melded, we exist, knowing not what we know
ego, striving to be solitary, looks above, sees below.

Furiously asleep, cultural anomaly claims a victim of choice;
validly unconscious, nobody speaks, nary a voice.
Potential escapees stir in dreams, fighting to wake,
until taking the wheel, for their own bloody sake.

Pots boil in due time, when the fire’s hot,
time exists to our advantage; or, not.
The solitary warrior, head bent in pain,
fights on, with, or without gain.

Night fell, day after day it persisted;
of those who knew, none showed any care, or resisted
Angels, ministers, none had any defense, nor grace;
all that remains is a face.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/22/2016

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Naked Pearls

Serenity’s arcane art….

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I’m going to happydance among the stars and wear my stripes any way I want to.”

~~ Stripes the tiger ~~

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“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;
it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

~~ Lucius Anneaus Seneca ~~

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“To dare is to lose your foothold for a moment.
Not to dare is to lose your self.”

~~ Soren Kierkegaard~~

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“How could the drops of water know themselves to be a river?
Yet the river flows on.”

~~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~~

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“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it,
you will live along some distant day into your answers.”

~~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~~

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“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow,
you gotta put up with the rain.”

~~ Dolly Parton ~~

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“Take a breath of the new dawn and make it a part of you.

~~ Hopi proverb ~~

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“Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.”

~~ Glenda Cloud~~

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“The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the road has gone
And I must follow if I can.
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way.
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”

~~ J.R.R. Tolkien ~~

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Boy! That’s a big one, isn’t it? So big, I’ll forgo further torment, and just say, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. I believe we can safely say it is now an obsession, without being inaccurate. So be it….

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….