Ffolkes,

“Courage is the complement of fear.
A man who is fearless cannot be courageous.
(He is also a fool.)”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

Curious neighbor….

Hajime…. I have, I think, discovered something about my own history here on Earth which may go a long way toward explaining “what the fuck just happened?” During the past weeks, as I have explored the writing and ideas of Joseph Campbell, I had occasion to review my own medical history, as it relates to the physical issues I deal with today on a regular basis. I found, in my past, at least five, or six, occasions, before my 20th birthday, during which I had taken a pretty severe ‘shot to the head’, mostly while engaging in one sport or another. Since then, there have been at least four other times when I was too slow, or, too unaware, & suffered a blow that produced those pesky stars in front of my eyes, followed by the little birdies tweeting & chirping around my head….

In addition, for at least twenty years, beginning at age six or so, I played baseball, spending my time on the field, mostly, sitting behind home plate, letting foul balls bounce off my face mask, sweating through the California summers in full gear. It would be impossible to count how many times I took another shot, but, it was probably a lot more than I remember. Go figure, eh? It kinda makes me suspect my memory has more gaps in it than I would like to guess, but, what the hell? Just because I can’t trust it any more is no reason to get worried, right? Right….

I am unsure why this all came out now; in fact, given the probable state of my mind, I am unsure of exactly how ANYTHING is happening. But, since such a state of indecision won’t get this Pearl done, I’ll put it all aside to do what I need to do to finish this. It’s all there, below, just waiting; the only anomaly is that I haven’t a clue as to whether or not any of it works. SIGH…. It’s tough, at this late age, to find oneself back at Square One, so to speak….

Oh, well. Fuck it. Let’s just do this, & be done with it for another day. Maybe, tomorrow, I’ll remember when it was my fairy godmother came & fixed all the issues with which I’d saddled myself. Or, not. At this point, I can’t seem to drum any enthusiasm for such hopes. But, I can do this….

Shall we Pearl?

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life.
A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

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I know I use this frequently, but, I figure, if you gotta go with old stuff, it may as well be really, really good. This fits that bill quite precisely. Enjoy!….

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Concert For George 2003

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Mad Dogs at Bay

Wicked, angry red scenes of imminent demise
haunt my dreams each night.
Fearful visions of destructive surprise
leave me sweating in terror, as well they might.

Small, mean, ugly, with beady little eyes,
pundits gather like maggots, bloated and vile,
grunting, snuffling, mumbling outlandish lies,
enslaving the ignorant with patience and guile.

Society’s denizens exist as volunteer slaves.
Living and dying by script, completely blind.
Never allowing any resentment, no making waves.
Never knowing joy, nor any peace of mind.

Free men will not be controlled, ’tis said;
No coercion, no illusion can cloud their sight.
No threats, no pain, no fear they dread;
their only duty to keep to the right.

Dreams are mere reflections of our inner fears,
whispering, close against doors shut fast.
Mocking our mostly irrelevant tears,
clearly marking the future as our sordid past.

~~ gigoid ~~

7/15/2015

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Naked Pearls

What’s that noise?….

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“It has long been known
that one horse can run faster than another
– but which one?
Differences are crucial.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

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“As for what you’re calling hard luck
— well, we made New England out of it, that and codfish.”

~~ Stephen Vincent Benet ~~

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“This is the strangest life I have ever known.”

~~ Jim Morrison ~~

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“But since life is cruel, to you and to me, here I am.”

~~ Umberto Eco ~~

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“In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of hislaughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away
— for the Snark *was* a Boojum, you see.”

~~ Lewis Carroll, “The Hunting of the Snark” ~~

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“I have always thought in the back of my mind, cheese and onions.”

~~ The Rutles ~~

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“Are you sure it isn’t time for another colorful metaphor?

~~ Spock, “The Voyage Home,” stardate 8390 ~~

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I’ll be damned! It’s done. Given the nature & content of the introductory section today, I’m going to use my executive powers to bring this to a rapid close; after reviewing the pertinent issues, and the regulations governing them, I find that to be for the best. Don’t ask, & I won’t have to tell any fibs, okay? Okay…. Now we have that out of the way, I’ll bid thee adieu, with no apologies, but, the usual caveat, to wit: I’ll be back, unless I come up with a good reason to abstain. Fat chance of that, so, 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….