‘Tis the day I must deal with the banking industry, and most of their cohorts, all of whom insist on sharing what little gelt comes to me from my retirement…. It’s usually a tough one, as I must deal with a number of rather clueless myrmidons, and more than a few mundanes. To sublimate some of the angst I know will ensue, here’s one from a couple years ago, with a reprint of a piece I wrote about my last canine companion, Noah, who passed on in 2011, at the age of almost 18 years. I hope you enjoy it….
Image from Space.com Pictures of the Day, 3/23/2015
“Nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen…” Imagine you’re hearing that on the radio, standing in the shower, thinking about the past…. Then, imagine, for just a moment, you are not naked. What the hell are you doing in the shower fully clothed? Are you nuts? What possessed you to…. Oh, never mind…..
Howdy, ffolkes. As might be noted, I’m a bit under the weather, or, is that over the top? Probably the latter. Nevertheless, this still must get done; hence, the nonsensical BS in the opening paragraph, such as it is. I have little clue as to why that popped out, actually. It just seemed to want to be a part of today’s mess, though goodness knows why. It’s bad enough for us, who HAVE to do this, or go mad; choosing…
Still busy adjusting to new paradigms, as well as spending less time in a chair; this precluded any pearling… but, did give me time to find this one, another blast from the past, when I still ranted regularly. This one, from 2014, also has some archived material, thus giving us an even wider selection of pearls from which to draw. I hope you enjoy it. I’ll be back soon, I think; time will tell, won’t it? The blabbermouth….
“Nadie tiene mas imaginacion que la realidad.” — Miguel de Unamuno, “El Espejo de la Muerte”, 1941
“Nothing has more imagination than reality.” — Miguel de Unamuno, “The Mirror of Death”, 1941
This picture, which I got on the web, somewhere ( I know, it calls for more accuracy than that…. I found it in a photo feature on the London Daily Telegraph web site…..), perfectly illustrates how I feel almost every day when I am trying to create these Pearls…. Because of who I am, such a task, having been assumed as a duty, requires that I give each one my best shot, in terms of using my mind for what it was intended, to wit: …….
Okay, I’m busted, again…. That long, echoing silence you heard was me, repeating to myself all the different thoughts that were NOT running through my mind, in response to the above…
Yesterday got too busy to Pearl, so, today, we’ll go deep into the archives, back to the first few months here on WordPress, to a rather extensive older style Pearl, which, when first posted, got almost no traffic…. I guess nobody knew I was around yet…. It’s a bit wordy, but, not bad; feel free to comment, as it dives pretty deep…I hope you enjoy this little, or, not so little, blast from the past….
“Change your opinions, keep to your principles; Change your leaves, leave intact your roots.” — Victor Hugo
This particular inclusion represents what is, to my mind, an absolutely perfect example of what makes a good Pearl of Virtual Wisdom*. (See below) Fifteen words, none complex, put together in a simple way to present an idea, a concept that is far more profound than the simplicity of its structure might imply. No extra adjectives to suggest passion or unnecessary emotion, while still heeding the need for it as motivation. Good advice, almost a corollary of the Golden Rule, one that goes one step further, to include the possibility and promise of Change. In Peruaosophy, we learned axiom #2: “The nature of the Universe is Change. Unpredictable, innovative transformation of Reality is the Norm. If you have a problem with this, you’re in…
“Where there is much light there is also much shadow.”
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~
A moment of peaceful contemplation…
Hajime…. Below, y’all will find a Pearl. It’s a good Pearl. It’s been created in the past couple days, bit by bit, as the opportunity to sit arose, or was noted as necessary, if not exactly condoned. Suffice it to say, it’s done, and will do for the nonce. I don’t have anything else to say, really, so, I’ll forgo the usual amount of nonsense, & limit myself to this lone paragraph. Y’all can tell me sometime later whether you think it works, or, not. Of course, that makes the assumption, perhaps without warrant, that I’ll actually pay attention. But, life is full of uncertainty, isn’t it? Why, yes. Yes, it is. For now, what is certain is, I am done with this, and we can now get this slow on the toad…. Watch closely, or, it will shoot right past, without anyone noticing….
Shall we Pearl?
“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.
Who looks outside, dreams.
Who looks inside, awakens.”
~~ Carl Jung ~~
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Edie Brickell
Image from Pinterest via Google Images
Though I’ve heard this lady’s music on the radio, I never pursued any of it beyond that; I see now that was a mistake, for she’s done some rather fine work. In addition, she seems to find a lot of rather excellent musicians to play with her, as well as being married to Paul Simon, not a bad performer himself…. Ah, well, we can’t listen to it all, but, I’ll be listening to her more, for sure…. Enjoy!….
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Edie Brickell & Friends
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Dreaming of Calliope
La belle dame sans merci speaks aloud through endless night,
torturing dreams, with powerful words and stentorian phrases.
Manifest visions bathed in unbearable grace and light,
destroying all direction, standing lost, in unfathomable mazes.
Fate plays a part, one that will never face denial,
as fear and courage eternally vie for ascendancy.
Conflict becomes valid, gifting strength in open trial,
but honest emotion wears no costume so fancy.
Blood, sweat, and tears stroll on avenues of gold,
unlikely heroines heralding as in ancient lore;
Sharp, competent knives cut through tales untold,
eternally shifting reality past the naked shore.
Drifting toward origin, bereft of mandate or cause,
finished, nay, abandoned, tied with a figurative bow.
No simple gift from muses to give comfort or pause,
save that all we need to know, we already know…..
~~ gigoid ~~
12/13/2012
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Naked Pearls
Subtle notes on process & program….
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“First things first, but not necessarily in that order.”
~~ Doctor Who, MEGLOS ~~
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“Any fool can know.
The point is to understand.”
~~ Albert Einstein
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“We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.”
~~ Robert Frost “The Secret Sits” 1936 ~~
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“Always store beer in a dark place.”
~~ Lazarus Long
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“Are all your stars shining?”
~~ JD Salinger ~~
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“I think it’s good that everyone becomes food.”
~~ Hobbes, the Tiger ~~
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“It’s a fool’s life,
a rogue’s life,
and a good life
if you keep laughing all the way to the grave.”
~~ Edward Abbey ~~
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Today’s Pearl is, in at least one respect, a most efficient, and iconic example of the genre. Moreover, I’ll not detract from that pristine nature by waxing overly philosophic, or extensively, here at the end. Instead, I’ll merely say, I hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll do it again, soon as I can. Meantime, y’all be alert, stay as happy as you may, & all will be well. How else can it be, but what it is?…..
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.
‘Twas a busy day yesterday out in the BBR, dealing with modern life in a chaotic world. Since I didn’t have time, or inclination, to sit & pearl, we’re going with this one from the archives; it’s pretty decent, all in all, and will serve us nicely to fill in for today’s scheduled mess. I hope you enjoy it; I did….Hopefully, I’ll have a fresh one tomorrow. Until then, enjoy, & stay half crazy, ffolkes; it’s a grand defense against the craziness that surround us today….
I’m here…. purportedly, I’m awake, but, given my state of confusion, and pain, bless its black little heart, I may be incorrect in that assessment. For some reason, which shall evermore remain unknown, and, possibly, unknowable, I have no idea what the date should be. When I began to write this morning, the date that I put above the first line, here in the program where I compose Pearls, said that today is the eighteenth of the month…. but, the little perpetual calendar I use says it is only the seventeenth. Since my phone and computer both agree with the latter, I’m going with that, but, what happened to the sixteenth, or fifteenth, or wherever I lost count? Somewhere in my brain, there is an entire day wandering around, empty and alone, poor thing, destined to never find its way back into the calendar…. Sad story, eh?….
“What I am is what I am.
Are you what you are, or what?”
~~ Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians ~~
Black Pepper Tree….
Hajime…. I have managed to put together a Pearl for today; what I didn’t manage is to find any particularly creative energy within myself to write anything more complicated than a short intro paragraph for the music. The rest is, as they say so often in Silicon Valley, what you get. Suffused, as I am, with the angst so carefully built up over the past few days of watching the US government shake itself to pieces, I find it difficult to find the words to express the degree of horror implied by the massive display of duplicity, ignorance, bigotry, and, well, stupidity we have witnessed, as the Trumpette goes about his business, feeding into the ignorance of his ‘fans’, and rewarding all the assholes who helped him get into this mess….
Any further comments on that would easily fall into ranting mode; I’ll cease and desist now, rather than try to regain control later. The few words I’ve already written today came close enough to cover that, and will sit more comfortably in the psyche of the Gentle Reader if not augmented by further displays of angst. Besides, I’m really NOT in the mood to rant; I feel too good to let it wreck what’s left of the day. Instead, I’m going to go all executive, and cut this off while still in its prime, in favor of just getting on with what I’ve got. For y’all, that’s probably a bonus; it certainly makes my job easier, so, we’ll go with it, and let the chips fall where they may…. That, by the way, looks like this….
Shall we Pearl?
“Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.”
~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~
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I’ve decided to use the music from various artists in this organization as our default, at least for the time being. Since I’m not spending a lot of time at the computer, it will save some of it for actually creating Pearls, which is already hard enough without the extra time. Here is one that I feel is, or should be, the single most important piece of music I know, for it shows humanity where our true salvation lies, to wit: within our own nature, and not in chasing after an illusory supernatural being who loves us, which has no evidence to support it. “It is in the shelter of each other people live.” Here’s one of the building blocks of that shelter….
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Imagine Playing For Change
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Bulletin
Patterns exist to bring sanity, if illusory, at best;
follicular, reality seems to slip and slide.
Still, formal insanity consistently fails the ultimate test,
why place faith in answers. from which truth can hide?
Following the music brings us back in good time;
forever seemingly retreats from relevance.
Crazy, time stands still with yet another innovative rhyme,
no burgeoning intentions for sale, to shimmy. or dance.
Folly sits easily upon this brow;
fateful and afraid, entropy bows in shame.
Into the river of time, slowly, forgetful of how
courage gives strength, no matter the game.
Capricious, the muse demands obedient attention
at risk of exhibiting true durance vile.
Bereft, single copies sit unused, despite all intention;
while singular examples of fate pass at the stile.
Seminal events bring their own weight;
no scale necessary, no guessing by eye, or hand.
Only one lesson to learn, just pay the freight;
the music is playing, and you’re part of the band.
~~ gigoid ~~
8/6/2016
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Naked Pearls
Listen, and learn….
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“The map is not the territory.”
~~ Alfred Korzbyski ~~
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“Be careless in your dress if you will, but keep a tidy soul.”
~~ Mark Twain ~~
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“Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found it was ourselves.”
~~ Robert Frost ~~
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“Immortality lies not in the things you leave behind,
but in the people your life has touched.”
~~ Sagacious Bee ~~
“All I know of love is that Love is all there is.”
~~ Emily Dickinson ~~
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“You thought, as a boy, that a mage is one who can do anything.
So I thought, once. So did we all.
And the truth is that as a man’s real power grows and his knowledge widens,
ever the way he can follow grows narrower:
until at last he chooses nothing,
but does only and wholly what he ‘must’ do.”
~~ Ursula K. LeGuin, “A Wizard of Earthsea” ~~
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“If you do not understand my silence, then you will not understand my words.”
~~ Subtle Bee ~~
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That’s it. That’s all I’ve got; besides, my butt’s done with the chair for now. I think I’ll go for a walk in the early morning cold and dark, & see what sort of mischief there is to find…. I don’t know when I’ll be back with a fresh Pearl, but, you may rest assured, I shall. Until then, y’all be strange, and stay alert. It’s getting pretty weird out there in the BBR…. 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.
Though sitting still remains, literally, a PITA, I’ve managed to do so long enough to go through a couple suggested reads from yesterday’s offering, where I found this one. It’s a rather fun Pearl from the relatively early days here on ECR, which wanders around my head for some time, with pretty good results… I hope you enjoy it… I’ll be back, hopefully sooner than I hope…. Until then, stay strange….
Ffolkes,
Oddly enough, I woke up today feeling odd. That is to say, not quite wrong, but not quite right, know what I mean? No? Well, hmm…. okay, how’s this? As I look around my humble abode this dark morning (well, it IS only 4:30 AM or so…..), and I rest my gaze upon some random item (such as my guitar, rescued at last from the clutches of the pawn shop…. I swear, it’s never going back there again….), out of the corner of my eye, a shadow moves, just enough to catch my attention. Of course, I look over quickly, but nothing is there, of course.
It’s not really disturbing, or scary…. just odd. Well, having had that word applied to me often enough in my life, beginning at a very early age (four year-olds tend toward confusion when one of their peers, me, of course, prefers to stay…
While better, I’m still not ready to write enough to post each day. Fortunately, for me, I have some rather extensive archives to fill in the odd spaces… Oh, right. It’s ALL odd, isn’t it? Okay, well, enjoy it, anyway, okay? I’ll be back, in time….
Ffolkes,
It is always easy to give in, to give up…. Even those of us who make an effort to maintain honor and dignity in life, can find ourselves far too often in a position where life will be made easier, in a sense, by giving in to some kind of action that is less honorable than another, or less dignified, at least. For example, I’m sitting here, just allowing my mind to wander, and tears begin to form, along with a stray thought about how hard it is to get by while waiting for my SS money to start. The tears, while all-too familiar these days, are NOT welcome; I’m tired of seeing myself as broken, no matter how broken I am in reality…..
In this instance, giving in means crying because I am so tired of being unable to create much of any quality of life beyond the…
I am progressing toward being able to write more, slowly. Today, in the time I had to read, I found one of the best Pearls I created in 2012, which I am re-blogging in toto for your reading pleasure (hope springs eternal…).
Ffolkes,
Bilious clouds of smoke, greenish-yellow in the light of the street lamps, poured from the windows, while screams echoed off the walls across the way. As I stood in a shadowed doorway, I spied a figure in a window of the burning building’s second story, hooded, carrying a small bundle. As I watched the panicky movements, the figure suddenly tossed the bundle out of the window, where it fell softly down, almost seeming to float.
Without a thought, my legs moved, propelling me across the street to a point below the window, just in time to catch the bundle, which plopped into my arms lightly, without harm. As light from a nearby street lamp fell upon the bundle, I moved the covering blanket, to reveal the face of a small female child, with somber dark eyes that looked directly at mine, seemingly reading my innermost thoughts, and finding them…
“Life, like a dome of many-colored glass, stains the white radiance of eternity.”
~~ Percy Bysshe Shelly ~~
Late blooming rose…
Hajime…. It has been well over a week since I posted a fresh Pearl; my psyche is feeling the buildup of angst quite frequently. Physically, I am still unable to sit for more than a few minutes before the conditions I’m working to improve tell me it’s time to get up again. There is some slow improvement, and a strong hope/plan to see more. For now, it’s all I’m able to do to spend five minutes at the computer before I’m compelled to go do something less sedentary, in a different gravitational configuration than the one sitting places us automatically. It makes writing, as might be guessed, a bit problematic; reading & surfing are also relatively hard to accomplish standing up for any length of time, so, I’m necessarily finding other things to do, all of which are healthier for me, though not as mentally soothing, in the sense of the release it gives my fractured psyche.
As this is being written in short spurts of sitting, I’m hoping to manage to keep this intro smooth, without exhibiting too much of the the broken timing so obviously a part of such a routine. To promote that hope, I’ll quickly issue an apology for missing so many of the posts of those I follow; I hope to be able to get back to it eventually. But, if I wish to live, with any degree of independence, re-establishing my health is of primary importance; I’ve still much to do before my time here is up, & I’d best be getting to it, before that time runs out. I hope to publish a bit more often, but, if not, I hope y’all can forgive me for being selfish to this degree….
I can’t think of any tricks, and I need to get up & move, so, I’ll end this here, & go close it off so I can get it posted. I’ll try to get by some other blogs today, if my time here in the chair doesn’t become too onerous. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the mess I’ve thrown together for your perusal… For the nonce, we’ll do this….
Shall we Pearl?
“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 ~~
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I believe this organization is doing as much as anyone in the world to promote peace and goodwill among men. I support them with a monthly donation, and feel I get my money’s worth every time I listen to a new tune…. Nothing better than live music ffolkes, and no better way to spend your time, or money than to hear/buy this music…. Enjoy!….
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Playing For Change
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To fill in this space without resorting to the work of others, thus avoiding any embarrassment for them, here is a poem I wrote exactly five years ago yesterday. Since it’s been raining here for about two weeks straight, it fits right in…. I hope you enjoy it….
An Old Man, Snoring….
Winter arrives with gusts of wind and rain,
clover spreads green amongst the hedges.
Urban gardens quiver, and dream of spring again,
gargoyles stoically crouch on corniced ledges.
Umbrellas sprout over heads shrouded and hatted,
dotting the sidewalks in colorful profusion.
Urban denizens pose sketches, framed and matted,
adding casual beauty to fill the illusion.
Hissing tires, swishing along with the wipers
join nature’s orchestra smoothly, as percussion.
Dripping gutters sound gong tones, true pipers,
a sudden roar of wind hushes all discussion.
Dreams of summer heat form the crux of desire
as winter chills our souls from without.
Sitting in warmth, gazing into an imaginary fire;
content to know spring will come, no doubt.
~~ gigoid ~~
12/21/2012
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This pearl came together over several days, managing to maintain its original shape and purpose the entire time. Here then, for your reading pleasure, is a rather classic old-school pearl, with a fine message…. Enjoy….
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“A life without cause is a life without effect”
~~ Barbarella ~~
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You can be happy or you can be miserable – the choice is yours.
~~ Subtle Bee ~~
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“We turn not older with years, but newer every day.”
~~ Emily Dickinson ~~
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“Fear is the lock and laughter the key to your heart.”
~~ Steven Stills~~
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“For water continually dropping will wear hard rocks hollow.”
~~ Plutarch — Of the Training of Children~~
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“If you cannot find it in yourself, where will you go for it?”
~~ Confucius ~~
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“Death is every man’s final critic. To die well you must live bravely.”
~~ Edward Abbey ~~
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Having completed my task, I shall bid thee adieu, until next time, which, hopefully, will be relatively soon. Compared to recent times, that’s a pretty good bet. See ya when I am able, ffolkes…. Stay strange; it’s cool out there….
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 