Our buckets weren’t anointed first….

Posted on October 21, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“When someone loves you for a long time,
really loves you,
then you become Real.
Generally, by the time you are Real,
most of your hair has been loved off,
your eyes drop out,
but this doesn’t matter . . .
when you are Real you can’t be ugly.”

~~ The Velveteen Rabbit ~~

Glacier melt run-off, Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska…

Hajime…. Today didn’t begin well. I’ll skip the details, as relating them would only serve to reignite my feelings, which I’ve just managed to put back into the bottle. Suffice it to say, I’m not in the best of moods, and shall be making a strong effort to keep from allowing my human nature to assert itself. If I don’t, there could conceivably be much to regret tomorrow.

That said, I’ll also make another ruthless, executive-style decision about today’s Pearl, to keep this intro, and the closing section, short and sweet. Well, short, anyway. To do so is, in truth, quite a simple matter, which I should probably employ more often. I won’t, but, I should. But, if they all looked like this, I’d go off the deep end in a matter of days. Wouldn’t want that, would we? No…. So, let’s do this, instead….

Shall we pearl?….

“Anyone who has got a book collection/library and a garden wants for nothing.”

~~ Cicero ~~

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

Image from http://www.flickr.com via Google Free Images

Given my incredibly foul mood, I’m going today with some relaxing mood music, that always seems to soothe my Celtic soul…. Enjoy!….

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

Celtic Music

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

Is It Alive?

Fighting into the light, words push hard to exist
each step closer to real brings another unique twist.
Shedding meaning for meaning, until bright, alone, and right
sculpting useless shapes, yet undefined, in pale morning’s light.

Never knowing the face is part of the lasting charm
bringing elegant focus, before sounding the alarm.
Advantageous time sends out messages, fears finding voice,
mulling options for flexibility, virtually without choice.

Fortunate man, who embraces the power of change;
’tis magical knowledge, bonding common to strange.
Weaving words of wonder, made strong by love and duty,
into a tapestry of life, and everlasting beauty.

~~ gigoid ~~

1/10/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Notes on Life at Large….

*********

“I’ll talk a word with this same learned Theban.”

~~ William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act iii, Sc. 4 ~~

*********

“Character is who you are in the dark.”

~~ Lord John Whorfin ~~

*********

“I have not ceased being fearful,
but I have ceased to let fear control me.
I have accepted fear as part of life,
specifically fear of change and fear of the unknown;
and I have gone ahead despite
the pounding in the heart that says,
turn back, turn back,
you’ll die if you venture too far.”

~~ Erica Jong ~~

*********

“If you think education is expensive,
Try Ignorance.”

~~ Andy McIntyre ~~

*********

“As you go the way of life you will see a great chasm.”
Jump.
It is not as wide as you think.”

~~ Native American advice ~~

*********

“The psychic task which a person can and must set for himself
is not to feel secure,
but to be able to tolerate insecurity.”

~~ Erich Fromm ~~

*********

“If you can’t be with the one you love,
love the one you’re with.”

~~ Steven Stills ~~

*********

An it harms none, do what thou will.

~~ Wiccan Credo ~~

*********

“Here’s Looking at you, kid.”

~~ Casablanca ~~

*********

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

I stated above this would be short, so, short it will be. How short? This short…. I’ll be back, hopefully with a bit more positive attitude. If not, well, so be it. 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….

It all seems suitably combed….

Posted on October 20, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.”

~~ Jean Anouilh, Ardele, 1948, (2, translated by Lucienne Hill) ~~

Spider!….

Hajime…. It used to be I’d sit here, staring at a blank screen, wondering where, and when, I’d find anything in my head worth setting down for others to read. Now, I sit here, wondering which of the various approaches I’ve developed over the past five years of blogging to use to begin the day’s mess. Perhaps the one I choose is what makes it a mess, or an offering. Or, perhaps, it’s my own attitude. Ya think? Oops, cover pulled….

Okay, we’ll use the cat method for that one. It never happened, I didn’t say it. So be it. To avoid any possible reenactments, I’ll go back to an older method, though, not far, as it actually was employed (or, is that ‘deployed? Ah, well, no matter…), yesterday. It’s our most ruthless intro format, and it looks pretty spartan, if elegantly smooth and simple. It works just like this….

Shall we pearl?….

“What is the first business of one who studies philosophy?
To part with self-conceit.
For it is impossible for any one to begin to learn
what he thinks that he already knows.”

~~ Epictetus — How to apply general Principles to particular Cases ~~

~~ Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xvii ~~

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

Image from https://thefreethoughtproject.com

This is what I call a WSYIWYG rant. The meme you see above from the Free Thought Project pretty much says it all, though to be completely accurate in describing my thoughts, it would include all religions along with nations as being worthy of being fucked….. but, that’s just me. We don’t NEED any of it….

‘Nuff said.

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

We are going simple today, with a mix of classical music someone collected as a means of encouraging students to study. Works for any kind of reading, so, enjoy!…..

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

Classical Music

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

Dreaming, I wait….

In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.

Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.

Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.

Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.

Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.

When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.

Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art.

~~ gigoid ~~

8/18/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Serving the truth….

*******

“I am the shadow my words cast.”

~~ Octavio Paz ~~

*******

“In’I no expect to be justified by the laws of men.”

~~- Bob Marley ~~

*******

“Brains first and then Hard Work.”

~~ Eeyore, Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne ~~

*******

“It is one thing,
to show a man that he is in an error,
and another,
to put him in possession of truth.”

~~ John Locke ~~

*******

“The human condition is such
that pain and effort are not just symptoms
which can be removed without changing life itself;
they are rather the modes in which life itself,
together with the necessity to which it is bound,
makes itself felt.
For mortals, the ‘easy life of the gods’ would be a lifeless life.”

~~ Hannah Arendt ~~

*******

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

~~ Anais Nin ~~

*******

Costing not less than everything.

~~ T.S. Eliot ~~

*******

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

Well, there you go. A bit esoteric in spots, but, altogether, a fine little Pearl for your consumption. I’ll skip any comments on process, or program, or even potential quality, and just say, see ya tomorrow, ffolkes. It seems to be a habit I can’t break…. Not that I want to, mind you…. More to follow….

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….

Affability can be an asset….

Posted on October 19, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“In the moment between stimulus and response lies freedom.”

~~ Steven Covey ~~

Grrr….

Hajime…. Sometimes in the morning, one receives a lesson. Today is not such a day. Any lessons I might have learned this morning would have been fruitless, as my mind resembles nothing more than a colander; most everything is leaking right out. In order to successfully produce today’s Pearl, I will be shortening this intro unmercifully, since anything I write would be suspect. How merciless are we going to be? Well, I’ll show you….

Shall we pearl?….

All that is harmony for thee, O Universe,
is in harmony with me as well.
Nothing that comes at the right time for thee
is too early or too late for me.
Everything is fruit to me that thy seasons bring, O Nature.
All things come of thee, have their being in thee, and return to thee.”

~~ — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 23 ~~

Today, while appreciating this sentiment from our old friend Marcus, all I can say is, “I wish”….. Onward, he said, grimly….

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

During the process of yesterday, (you know, getting by, getting through….), I had occasion to use one of Bob’s best lines, to wit: “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, …”, etc., (from “Redemption Songs), in a comment on FB. Since I have a touch of OCD about such, using it required looking up the exact wording, which took me to a page with ALL his video mentions in Google, i.e., the Google playlist for his work. I began to listen, naturally, whereupon I decided the mix of songs was perfect for today’s Pearl. Hence, Mr. Marley…. If you listen long enough, you’ll hear everything of his there is to hear, some more than once…. Excellent….

Following the music from Bob, I’ve included a video of an unknown street performer, somewhere unknown in the world, which I found while cruising You Tube. You will NOT believe how good this man is on the guitar, or why you have never seen nor heard of him…. Watch, and try to keep your jaw from dropping; you don’t even have to know anything about guitar to see what a genius he is….

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

Bob Marley

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

Choosing a Theme

Powerful words playing hide and seek in my mind,
teasing with subtle cruelty, pretending to be kind.
Grand visions and flowery verses of beauty and truth
evaded my inner eye all through the days of my youth.

Affable interludes interspersed with allegorical wit
softened the crimes, against all reason, to finally acquit.
Time became at once an enemy, and an ally
Never once compelled to provide an answer why.

Giving gifts of simple kindness are their own pay,
spreading ripples of compassion are felt far and away.
Love given freely is precious, we are ever told,
increasing love received, more than a hundred fold.

Living long and with passion has centered my soul,
allowing me room, and time, to choose my own goal.
Now that I’ve gone past any need to pretend
I love everything in life, even knowing it will end.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/21/2012

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

Naked Pearls

Who knew?….

*********

“Reality is a cliche from which we escape by metaphor.”

~~ Wallace Stevens ~~

*********

“Who are you?”

~~ Curious Bee ~~

*********

“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving till the right actions arises by itself?”

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

*********

“If you would hit the mark,
you must aim a little above it:
Every arrow that flies
feels the attraction of earth.”

~~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~~

*********

“Do thou restrain the haughty spirit in thy breast,
for better far is gentle courtesy.”

~~ Homer ~~

*********

“Gli arcobaleni d’altri mondi hanno colori che non so.
Ma lungo i fiumi d’altri mondi nascono fiori che non ho.
[The rainbows of other worlds have colors I don’t know.
But along the rivers of other worlds flowers are born that I don’t have.]”

~~ Fabrizio De Andre ~~

*********

“The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.”

~~ Leo Tolstoy ~~

*********

“What is man’s chief enemy? Each man is his own.”

~~ Anacharsis (f1. c. 600 B.C.), Scythian philosopher ~~

~~ Stobaeus, Flor., II, 43 ~~

*********

“In every enterprise consider where you would come out.”

~~ Publius Syrus — Maxim 777 ~~

*********

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

Following the prophetic words from Publius Syrus, we have come out precisely where we intended. Since the ruthlessness displayed in the intro was so effective, not to mention efficient, let’s carry on with that here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I’m still breathing, and able to type….. good odds on that….

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….

Toad in the road….

Posted on October 18, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Time discovers truth.”

~~ Seneca ~~

Lasers locked on target, Captain…

Hajime…. Howdy, ffolkes. While creating today’s offering, I came to a realization about why I haven’t been able to find the angst necessary to produce a good rant. The realization came as I looked for a pearl to place at the beginning, to indicate the direction the piece would follow; there were so many issues, and so many pearls, I couldn’t make up my mind. It isn’t the angst after all; there’s plenty of that, as a direct result of having plenty of cause. So, I gave up, as is my wont of late, and decided to wait until one of the issues assumed a cloak of dire need, then give it a shot….. Otherwise, I’d be writing forever, without any resolution, for there aren’t many good answers to be found.

Now that I’ve provided myself with a plenitude of future excuses to be lazy, I’ll tell you today’s Pear is a good one, if rant-free. Fine music, perhaps my best poem, and a damn fine old-school lesson, sort of. I’m happy with it, & that’s all that matters ultimately. Y’all will, as always, need to decide for yourselves whether your time has been wasted, or augmented. Sharing your decision is, of course, optional. When I see such comments, I tend to feel a small portion of guilt, right before ignoring them altogether, so, it’s not my favorite thing to occur; I gave up guilt long ago. But, I’m fair-minded, mostly, so, have at it, if you wish…. No worries; I don’t own a gun.

Okay, that’s about enough of that for one day. It’s all getting that red color that happens right before Reality begins to swirl and fade away, so, perhaps it would be best to get on with the rest of this mess. It’s not as if we are concerned with our sales figures, but, I hate casualties, and so does the insurance guy. So, we’ll get the slow on the toad, and be done with it for another diurnal period. Besides, it makes it harder to catch me this way…. See ya down the page….

Shall we pearl?….

“Entropy requires no maintenance.”

~~ Amanda Walker ~~

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

Stevie Ray Vaughan, in his short time with us, left a large mark on the musical scene. He was already considered a master when he passed, and, fortunately, left a substantial body of recorded work to enjoy. This concert, though not the greatest picture, has good, clear sound, essential for full appreciation of his genius. Enjoy, ffolkes, it doesn’t get any better……

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

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Live in Tokyo ~ 1985

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

Unheralded Sagacity…

To many, who will not see beyond their nose,
the world becomes a dangerous place;
a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose.
No magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.

Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,
men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.
No chains needed, held in thrall for years;
lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.

Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;
oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt.
Strength is found in an unfettered mind;
cry “freedom” with a great shout.

No help from any gods can hinder so much
as our own lack of confidence;
finding the light within, knowing it as such
confirms us, becoming consequence.

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~

4/17/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Potpourri

*********

“I have been a stranger in a strange land.”

~~ Old Testament, Exodus ii, 22 ~~

*********

“What we wish, that we readily believe.”

~~ Demosthenes ~~

*********

“You grow up the day you have your first real laugh — at yourself.”

~~ Ethel Barrymoore ~~

*********

“Anyone without a sense of humor is at the mercy of everyone else.”

~~ William Rotsler ~~

*********

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

~~ T. S. Eliot ~~

*********

“He who has a WHY to live for can bear with almost any HOW.”

~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~

*********

“Self-trust is the essence of heroism…
It speaks the truth, and it is just, generous, hospitable, temperate,
scornful of petty calculations, and scornful of being scorned.
It persists; it is of an undaunted boldness,
and of a fortitude not to be wearied out.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Essays” ~~

*********

“He who laughs, lasts.”

~~ Mary Pettibone Poole ~~

*********

“Deserve your dream.”

~~ Octavio Paz ~~

*********

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

There you have it; short, but sweet. I’m going to go now, before it all loses focus, and turns on us, which can happen here at the end, if we aren’t mindful. Of course, that particular state remains fitfully inconsistent, but, we’re working on it. See y’all tomorrow, if I, once again, can find no good reason to NOT do so….. Trust me, I won’t…. and, I WILL be here, one way, or another…. Hope for the one, the other is bloody dangerous…. for everyone….

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….

Patterns in the dust say otherwise…..

Posted on October 17, 2016 by gigoid

FFolkes,

Good morrow. Smart Bee is in a snit, holding back the best pearls in favor of crap. Plus, I’m tired, even though sleep hasn’t been a problem. All that probably gives you the correct idea, which is I didn’t complete a Pearl for you, and will be re-blogging an old one. Pretty old, too, since it came from almost four years ago, when I was still working on format and my own style… Of course, that actually never did gel, but, we’ve learned to cope. For today, coping means going back to sleep for a while…. It’s good to be retired from working, y’know? There are disadvantages to aging; we’ve all heard the stories. I find the perks to be more of a compelling reason to celebrate this time of life. I get to be grumpy when I want, and nobody can tell me when or where to be…. Pretty cool, in my book.

Enjoy today’s offering, ffolkes. I’ll be back tomorrow, to torment and challenge y’all once again. Go figure….

See ya

gigoid, the dubious

gigoid

Ffolkes,
My schedule of posting is all screwed up…. First, I missed a day from rain. Today, the day I am writing this, is Christmas Day, one which I have worked very hard to both ignore, and to reach, and is another day I will be unable to post again, as there are no buses, the library is closed, and it is too far to walk to the nearest Wi-Fi spot (at Starbucks, about a mile and a half away)…. In addition, even though I wasn’t able to post on two days, I still wrote a complete Pearl for them. Now, I’m sitting on two days worth of material, and losing track of what goes where, and in what tense I should be speaking…. In the words of our dark little bear of little brains, Winnie the Pooh, “Bother!”…..

I don’t believe I’ve ever had this much material done ahead…

View original post 2,027 more words

Up to some very old tricks….

Posted on October 16, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Let ignorance talk as it will, learning has its value.”

~~ J. de La Fontaine (1621-1695) ~~

~~ The Use of Knowledge, Book viii, Fable 19 ~~

I swear it went inside here….

Hajime…. Thanks to goodness knows what, I’m running late. This is both good, and bad, like most things human. We do tend to try to strip it down to bare bones when possible; today’s post will, no doubt, require us to do so rather ruthlessly, if we hope to find our way to any sort of conclusive resolution. Of course, that also implies we actually know what we’re looking for, or where we’re going, neither of which approaches the truth of Reality in any portion. Go figure that one, eh?

There. That should make it clear you’ll get nothing rational out of me today. That happens to me consistently, I’m afraid, though you wouldn’t know it to watch me perform my antics. I’ve now had an officially long time to practice making it look normal, and, much as the effort costs, it seems worth it to keep those around me from worrying, or, for that matter, from bursting into flames when I look at them. Always a bonus out in public to avoid being noticed for such happenings. I can assure you, I don’t miss the drama….

Okay, that’s all you get today. I’m clean out of fresh ideas, at least for now, so, I’ll bite the bullet, and get this done, so I can say I did without lying about it. I do hate to have to lie, about anything; for us humans the facility comes too easily. I prefer to try to meet Reality on its own terms, which won’t work if we don’t use the rules. Another go figure, but, hey, we’re used to that. I’m going to stop tormenting all of us now, and use this very ruthless technique to get us down the page to where we need to be…. Watch closely, or you’ll miss it….

Shall we pearl?….

“Arouse the mind without resting it on anything.”

~~ Diamond Sutra ~~

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

Today I feel like some classical music. I also want to hear the guitar, so, what better way than to hear over two hours of some of the finest classical guitar ever played, by the acknowledged master of the genre, Andres Segovia…. I hope you enjoy it; it will be hard not to do so, since its probably some of the best music ever created by humans… Abondanza!….

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

November Dreams of Spring

Crass and cold, the beggar finds me swollen, so frail and fat
with painful stepping motions, running, like a Republicrat.
Building with straw and spittle, should artists come aground,
we all pay heavily, a billion for a bloody pound.

Too desperate, too ashamed to play such a part
We ask for belief, and sweet liberty, dressing up so smart.
It falls between the simple cracks, always in a hurry
To find a shrunken ego, ashen, swift, and full of worry.

Never there was a more penitent group, such a sterling way
To fast in luxury, making sure the guilty enter, but do not stay.
Forgotten gods can find their diffident suitors tonight
With dream-fitted convention, and a natural sense of delight.

For all the silken babies cried, to see the broken dreams of power
forgiven moments of certitude serve, filling up the maiden’s bower.
All the patient, loving veterans of ancient foreign time,
give up their first impressions, dying, dying for a rhyme.

~~ gigoid ~~

9/19/2012

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

Naked Pearls

Warning: thinking caps required….

*********

“I certainly wasn’t happy.
Happiness has to do with reason,
and only reason earns it.
What I was given was the thing you can’t earn,
and can’t keep, and often don’t even recognize at the time;
I mean joy.”

~~ Ursula K. LeGuin ~~

*********

“If possible, try to find a way to come downstairs
that doesn’t involve going bump, bump, bump, on the back of your head. -“

~~ Pooh, in Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne ~~

*********

“How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness
is in fact for most men at all times
the secret motive of all they do,
and of all they are willing to endure.”

~~ Dean William R. Inge ~~

*********

“There is, nevertheless, a certain respect
and a general duty of humanity that ties us,
not only to beasts that have life and sense,
but even to trees and plants.”

~~ Michael de Montaigne, Essays, Book ii, Chap. xi, Of Cruelty ~~

*********

“Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old;
seek what they sought.”

~~ Matsuo Basho ~~

“Good taste is always an asset.”

~~ Rudy Bakalov ~~

*********

“Fear is the lock and laughter the key to your heart.”

~~ Steven Stills ~~

*********

“After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

~~J.K. Rowling, The Man with Two Faces, ~~
~~ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 1997 ~~
~~ spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore ~~

*********

“Aw Mom, you act like I’m not even wearing a bungee cord!”

~~ Calvin ~~

*********

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

Despite some rather spirited competition from the cat, I got it done. I’m going to cut my losses at this point, since, by posting, I win. Of course, it’s only myself I beat, but, hey, gotta take the kudos where you find ’em, or, you might not get ’em at all. I will, as consistently threatened, be back to do this again tomorrow, I imagine…. Odds are running even right now, but, they’ll improve; bet on it. 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….

Always follow the left-hand wall….

Posted on October 15, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

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

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

Alaskan Taxi….

Hajime…. Burning with brilliant lines, he ached to begin. However, he is lost, though he’s making good time. So much for brilliance, eh? I suppose to assume that mantle, it might help to begin with something more than mediocrity at hand. Such is Life, neh? And, such is karma, for Murphy knows just when to apply the heat, to melt all our hopes, desires, and expectations. Ah, well, that’s the way the cookie meets its doom, when karma is in the house. So be it….

Whatever plans I had at the outset, having met the fate of all plans in the face of reality, are now defunct. That means I have to resort to plain talk. I’ve got an extensive Pearl for y’all today, though I don’t know exactly how it came together, as about a third of it was done while three sheets into the wind; our old friend John Daniel’s made a short visit last night, and, boy, was he in a mood. The result is a ranting section, composed of two text pearls, and a video pearl of the text…. I’m not sure if the point being made will fly smoothly into your comprehension, but, there is a point to it…. if I could just remember my drunken logic…. Ah, well, it’s a chance to hear what could be considered the very best song written during the twentieth century, all in all, so, I’ll take it as it plays….

There’s also some rather fine blues, a poem, and an old-school pearl that got away from me a bit. You’ll see. And, you’ll enjoy it, too, or you can have all your money back. What a bargain! On that rather commercial note, I’ll stop fussing around, and get on with the process, which can then lead to a program, thus fulfilling my own internal requirements for daily sanity…. Who knew it would be so delicate an operation? Not me. I ain’t delicate, nohow….Ah, hell, let’s do it; I can’t think of anything else to put here, so, follow the cursor down the page, to your next assignment….

Shall we pearl?….

“Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.”

~~ Things We Can Learn From Dogs ~~

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

Muddy Waters

Image from http://www.organissimo.org via Google Images

I felt like the blues, so, why not have the best? No reason not to, so, here ’tis…. Go ahead, enjoy!…..

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

Accentuated Lessons

Bold statements of calculated intent
Become common rule of the malcontent.
Avarice assumes such attractive wear
Beguiling deception, illusory and fair.

Grasping and pulling with ghostly hands
Legally proper in all the signatory lands.
Seeking and finding each vulnerable soul
Anguish as payment for exacting the toll.

Wraiths of commerce’s invisible dead guards
Still haunt the dreams left in sad empty yards.
While absentee nobles sit in stiffly elegant splendor
Served by sad-faced detainees in abject surrender.

Escape from reality is illusory at best
Often we falter and fail its daily test.
Only when focused on inner strength
Does peace stay with us for any length.

Peace lies within, always…..

~~ gigoid ~~

9/27/2012

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

If you are distressed by anything external,
the pain is not due to the thing itself,
but to your own estimate of it;
and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

~~ Marcus Aurelius ~~

The Sound of Silence

Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone
Neath the halo of a streetlamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light, split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw, ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared, and no one dared
To stir the sound of silence

Fool, said I, you do not know, silence, like a cancer, grows
Hear my words and I might teach you, take my arms then I might reach you
But my words, like silent raindrops fell, and echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they’d made
And the sign flashed its warning in the words that it was forming
And the sign said the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls, and whispered in the sounds of silence

~~ Paul Simon ~~

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

Naked Pearls

Progress Notes….

*******

“Always store beer in a dark place.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

*******

“We have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”

~~ Tombstone epitaph of two astronomers ~~

*******

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold,
it would be a merrier world.”

~~ J.R.R. Tolkien ~~

*******

“Man is what he believes.”

~~ Anton Chekhov ~~

*******

“Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.”

~~ Rumi ~~

*******

“To make the individual uncomfortable, that is my task.”

~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~

*******

“Why don’t lawyers lie on the beach?
Cats would bury them.”

~~ Non-sequitor Bee ~~

*******

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

Done. Not sure just how that happened, but, I’m sure y’all are familiar with the old one about gift horses, right? Right, then. Since I can’t think of any further crap to throw at y’all, I guess I’ll go do something less productive for awhile. (Hmm… Just how long IS ‘awhile’?…. Oh, well, no matter…) Sorry for the little side trip there. Okay, let’s post this bad puppy, and get on with our day, shall we? See y’all tomorrow, come hell, or, high water….

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….

Tales of electricity and corn….

Posted on October 14, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“There are no other colours without the blues.”

~~ Doctor Who ~~

Oregon in autumn….

Hajime…. I am not sure, & don’t feel like spending the effort to find out for sure, but, I believe it was R.D. Laing who said, “Insanity is a sane reaction to an insane world.” The past few days, and, hell, weeks, have offered quite a lot of evidence in favor of the truth of that. My own involvement in the process of sanity/insanity maintenance is a core issue much of the time, though it is carried out behind the scenes, so to speak. I am hopeful the picture of me seen by the outside world is one which promotes confidence, but, also imagine that’s a groundless hope. Of course, what other kind is there?….

In the past two days, sanity took a back seat for much of the day. Somehow, I’ve managed to post; in looking back, that seems to have been slightly over-confident, as the rest of both days was spent in the morass of my own mind, trying to keep my balance, a process complicated by living with a small, fur-bearing extortionist, whom I love dearly, but have quite a time finding the inner serenity with which to handle her with any aplomb. It’s a constant day in school, learning ways to adjust to another creature’s needs and desires…. Who knew it could get so complicated? Ah, well, it’s only because I’m so damned self-critical; it’s too late to change that, and I wouldn’t want to, anyway, as it’s part of who I am….

I suppose I should make a choice here; keep wandering fruitlessly through my transparently muddled thoughts, or get on with the process of posting today’s effort. Given my state of mind, the latter is our most likely, and most amenable choice. To keep from getting completely out of hand with the chatty nonsense, I’ll do that now, and do it the quick, easy way. That looks like this….

Shall we pearl?….

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.”

~~ Oscar Wilde, “Oscariana” ~~

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

Image stolen from Google Free Images

While searching for some music, I came across this concert, which happened to be the first time the old boys had been invited to the Glastonbury Rock Festival in England. Go figure, eh? At any rate, it’s hot, right from the start, so, here ’tis. Enjoy, ffolkes; the old boys still bring it….

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

After the odyssey….

Portraits of iconic symbols, crashing, singing, forgotten;
evolving into mature innovation, as yet pale, and rotten.
Still water justly breeds, impenetrable primal verses resound;
unholy moments tarry, emotion swirls in passion unbound

Spiritual ovulation precedes each pregnant pause;
gravid, time moves on, following destiny’s cause.
Cast adrift on waves of confusion, to a final, damp landing;
salvation beckons sweetly, fed well on understanding.

Dreams directly fall, in night’s grey bower, unbidden;
lingering flavors in simple taste, lovingly, cleverly hidden.
Childish laughter sounds, joyful, bright, and clear;
no need ever to hide, no more monsters to fear.

Temper most foul arrives under unregistered mail;
forgotten taunts live on, lashed by an ancient flail.
Plain dealing delivers such lasting specks of honest hate;
savage in retrospect, never hasty, always running late.

Forever, cries an ambient lover of the pending night;
his pale, weak issue forms its own failing light.
Still, fortune favors such as those who apprehend;
Sweet love of Gaia, let it never end.

~~ gigoid ~~

3/10/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Framed in Idyll….

*********

“He who has the courage to laugh
is almost as much a master of the world
as he who is ready to die.”

~~ Giacomo Leopardi ~~

*********

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,
we must carry it with us or we find it not.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Essays” ~~

*********

“I see my life go drifting like a river
From change to change; I have been many things –
A green drop in the surge, a gleam of light
Upon a sword, a fir tree on a hill,
An old slave grinding at a heavy quern,
A king sitting upon a chair of gold –
And all these things were wonderful and great;
But now I have grown nothing, knowing all.
Ah! Druid, Druid, how great webs of sorrow
Lay hidden in that small slate-coloured thing!”

~~ William Butler Yeats, “Fergus and the Druid” ~~

*********

“Nature, whose sweet rains fall of just and unjust alike,
will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide,
and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undetected.
She will hang the night with stars
so that I may walk abroad in the darkness without stumbling,
and send the wind over my footprints
so that none may track me to my hurt:
she will cleanse me in great waters,
and with bitter herbs make me whole.”

~~ Oscar Wilde, “De Profundis” ~~

*********

“Sometimes you win,
sometimes you lose,
sometimes you get rained out.”

~~ Satchel Paige ~~

*********

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

I’m happy I found our final pearl of the day. It reminded me of what’s truly important, which is, as we all know, the ability to be comfortable with ambiguity. I mean, hell, that’s about all we get from Reality, right? May as well learn to like it…. In any case, we’re done here, so, I guess I’ll call it a day. I will, in all fairness, warn y’all; I’ll be back again, to test your sense of complacency. Get used to 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….

Bargaining with Murphy….

Posted on October 13, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If a man insisted always on being serious,
and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation,
he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.”

~~ Herodotus ~~

Spring morning ~ Ketchikan, Alaska….

Hajime…. According to all I’ve been told most of my life, there are limits to what we may expect from Life. I don’t remember ever quite believing it, since all I could observe around me failed to support such a thesis. (Yes, I was precocious….) So, I’ve always tended to go beyond what others might feel is prudent, which was fine with me, but, tended to make my young life a bit more, shall we say, ‘interesting’? But, then, nobody ever learned much from never being challenged, did they?

Y’all might, at this point, wonder just what the hell I’m getting at, but, that would show your own self-absorption. If you thought about it a moment, you also might remember you shouldn’t expect what you expect around here, and it wouldn’t surprise you to find out I’m not getting at anything. Well, nothing particularly meaningful, or, for that matter, relevant. I was just sort of wandering around in my head, and that’s what I found. I do that a lot, which, if you’ve been here any number of times, you’d already know, and have skipped down to the music.

For any Gentle Readers who remain at this point, it probably won’t cause any further feather-ruffling to announce we’re done here, and will be moving on, as soon as I figure out a reasonably intelligent way to get myself out of this cul-de-sac of reasoning in which I’ve inadvertently placed myself. I’m afraid I’m going to have to resort to an old, tried-and-true method, we used to call #4….. Actually, it’s pretty cool, not to mention efficient. How does it work. Easy. Just like this….

Shall we pearl?….

“A reverence for life does not require one to respect nature’s obvious mistakes.”

~~ Robert A. Heinlein ~~

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

Norah Jones

Image from desktopimages.com via Google Images

A friend reminded me to include music, which I do using his own stated preference, with great pleasure. Especially for the opportunity to include the music of this daughter of an icon, sister of another, as well as an iconic talent herself. In today’s world of hype and illusion, her music stands out, as real. Here’s a live concert from a few years back, purported to have good sound quality…. Let’s go see if that holds true, shall we?…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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

Stray Cats

The veils that billow and fold
between dreams and reality
may sometimes part,
showing the visions of one to the other,
blending, bleeding as one,
only to bring us up short,
closely jammed against immovable fate.

Still, we keep our watch,
seeking to find the vision
that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard,
a humble mind, and a compassionate heart.

Events of broad impact draw us away again,
distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music,
leaving our feelings raw and bruised,
the victim of universal disregard.

Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading,
and the glitter has all gone….
yet the memory of visions remains sharp and clear,
melancholy reminders of reality’s promises,
unkept…..

~~gigoid~~

4/12/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Justifiably Inane….

*******

“Words must be weighed, not counted.”

~~ Polish Proverb ~~

*******

“The truth is always the strongest argument.”

~ Sophocles — Phaedra, Frag. 737 ~~

*******

“Hypotheses are not to be multiplied without necessity.”

~~ Occam’s Razor ~~

*******

“The shortest distance between two people is laughter.”

~~Victor Borge ~~

*******

“My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool;
it gives me all the world and exiles me from it.”

~~ Ursula K. Le Guin ~~

*******

“If you are out to describe the truth,
leave elegance to the tailor.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

*******

“Appearance must not foil, nor shifted sphere confuse thy brain.
Ample are time and space–ample the fields of nature.”

~~ Walt Whitman, CONTINUITIES ~~

*******

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

It may be premature of me to make any judgments, so, I won’t. What I will do is continue the efficiency so bravely provided in the intro by using the old #4. In the closing section, that looks like this…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. Just try to stop me…. Hah!….

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….

If only they knew, or even suspected….

Posted on October 12, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Do not go where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

Sidewalk Show….

Hajime…. Although we are always good to go when it comes to doubtful challenges to our purpose, there is no profit for anyone in being coy. Also, let it never be said we have been anything but obscure, lest, for good reason, we end up in court. Nobody likes going to court. Therefore, in the interests of fair play, and good whiskey, I am hereby declaring this Pearl open, with the concomitant, and irregular, degree of nonsense, as well as a complete, full helping of blather. Not bad for 0600, eh?

Now I’ve got that out of my system, I’ll tell you a bit about this Pearl. It’s done. There isn’t much of it, and what there is, is a bit strange, even for us/me. There’s no point in fretting over it; Reality is what it is. I’ve included one of my older poems, just because I can, and it seemed to fit the mood. There’s an old-school pearl, with a decent, if obscure message to decipher, for those inclined to make a foray into my less than normal cogitative processes. Just don’t take any of it too seriously, and all will be well.

I’m also going to be nice, since the day began otherwise, as a sort of attempt at balancing the scales. By that, I mean we are leaving now, to make our way down the page, manually or on auto-scroll, your choice. Or, you can do it the simple way, just reading and using the down arrow on your keyboard. It makes no never mind to me; remember, I’ll never know which one you choose, so, your privacy is intact. More than you can say in most cases today, right? Right…. Let’s do this, before I lose my chutzpah….

Shall we pearl?….

“We must respect the other fellow’s religion,
but only in the sense and to the extent
that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.”

~~ H. L. Mencken ~~

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

A Dubiously Soft Morning

Idiosyncratic images, clamoring for regard,
fill up the white, white screen on which I view
my life, never seeing, nor invited to sup
ambrosial remnants of anything new.

Still, yet almost in motion, allegory sails away
bobbing gently, quick and easy to find,
signs of one happy child, seriously at play,
blissfully immersed, focused joy in mind.

Formidable cries of outraged simple justice
echo plaintive relevance, in half the time.
Maladaptive infants, destined for hospice
salvage an only child, daring to sing in rhyme.

Creativity equals unquestioning farce,
often reaching for absurdity, brazenly afire.
Instead, a blow is felt no joy will ever soften,
accepting the price, added to the cost of desire.

~~ gigoid ~~

7/26/2013

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

Naked Pearls

Notes on Process and Program….

*******

“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.”

~~ Oscar Wilde ~~

*******

“Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker.
Expose your ideas to the danger of controversy.
Speak your mind
and fear less the label of “crackpot”
than the stigma of conformity.”

~ Thomas J. Watson, Sr. ~~

*******

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”

~~ E. E. Cummings ~~

*******

“A process which led from amoeba to man
appeared to the philosophers to be obviously progress
– though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known.”

~~ Bertrand Russell ~~

*******

“The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears,
for there’s no risk of accident for someone who’s dead.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

*******

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty, –that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

~~ John Keats — Ode on a Grecian Urn ~~

*******

“Let us endeavour to live that when we come to die
even the undertaker will be sorry.”

~~ Mark Twain, Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Calendar (1894) ~~

*******

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

Once again, chutzpah or no, we’ve made it to the end of another Pearl. Yippee…. Before we are undone by such enthusiasm, allow me to get the hell out of here. I will, in spite of all advice to the contrary, do this again tomorrow. Take warning, take heed, take a chill pill, & I’ll see you next time…. Hasta la bye-bye, amigos….

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….

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Monthly Archives: October 2016

Our buckets weren’t anointed first….

Affability can be an asset….

Patterns in the dust say otherwise…..

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