Well, here I am again, sans a fresh Pearl for today, thanks to playing outside too long. I did find this one, from late in 2014, almost three years ago, as I was, unwittingly, on the stair steps to Hell, suffering the first and foremost symptom, to wit, sleeplessness on a regular basis. Creating these Pearls, for the most part, kept me distracted much of the day & night, allowing me to not notice how miserable I felt physically. Apparently, such distraction works just fine for the creative process, as it’s all pretty decent blather. I hope you enjoy it as sublimation for today’s non-starter. I’ll be back in a day, or two; there’s a festival at the waterfront today, & I may not have much for tomorrow…. but, we’ll see how it goes. Meantime, y’all stay strange, & alert…. which, when you think about it, merely means, be mindful….
“I count religion but a childish toy … there is no sin but ignorance.”
~~ Machiavel, from The Jew of Malta ~~
~~ Christopher Marlowe ~~
Mei stumbled under the load she carried, as she climbed the path to her parent’s cottage, set upon a small hill just outside the town where they lived…. The town sat on the road leading to the great city of Peking, where the Emperor held court with the great nobles and beautiful ladies Mei saw each day, passing by on the Great Road leading into the city from the south. Mei liked to watch them pass by, seated in their swaying palanquins, distant and aloof, as they stared indolently out at the gaping crowds along the roads, wishing she could see the court, where the bright clothes and sparking jewels of the courtesans were said to outshine the sun…. She just knew…
“In every outthrust headland,
in every curving beach,
in every grain of sand
there is the story of the earth.”
~~ Rachel Carson ~~
Off for a sail on the Bay….
Hajime…. Without going into superfluous detail, I’ll say this: Balderdash! Having thus made the obligatory attempt to regain self-control, I’ll go on to say, there almost wasn’t/isn’t a fresh Pearl for today. The various elements are, if not in place, ready to be; I’ll go ahead and post today, & let it fly with the hope nobody notices the lack of coherence. Perhaps coherence isn’t the exact word for the sentiment I wish to convey, but, it will have to do, as it does supply the correct ambiance to describe the morning’s progression of nasty surprises followed by outbursts of frustrated angst. I’d blame it on Murphy, but, that would be self-indulgent, as Murphy is, in the final analysis, only an expression of our own tendency to try to find something other than karma to blame for how we feel….
And, I will add…. THAT is just about all the philosophy I’ve got today. It saved me from a full day of blowing off the world, so, I’ll take it, but, I won’t try to go any further with it, lest I fall back into the pit yawning in front of me. I only managed to keep from falling in by the grace of a moment’s reflection, so, I’m going to finish posting this, then get back to the reflection part; it’s the only bright note so far today, & I’d better hang on to it. Odd to act so mature, but, what the hell…. I AM 22 for the third time; some might say a bit of maturity wouldn’t be out of place. Go figure, eh? Ah, well, such is life in the big city….
Before the irony registers, let’s get on with it, shall we? I’m just faking this anyway, so, there is little point in continuing to waste electrons on nonsense like this. Rather than even think about any of what this all means, I’m using executive privilege to take us away, to what I hope will be a better place, if only because I’m not blathering at you…. Hang on, this one can get tricky…..
Shall we Pearl?….
“What does not destroy me, makes me strong.”
~~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~~
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For anyone who hasn’t figured it out, today is a default day; use of default fillers for any section not fully sanctioned or certified as freshly created is not merely advantageous, but, de rigeur….. Again, I can say, go figure, eh?…. I do hope you enjoy it; it’s all good stuff….
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Classical Music
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Because, occasionally, it bears repetition….
“I have thought many times since that if poets
when they get discouraged would blow their brains out,
they could write very much better
when they got well.”
~~ Mark Twain ~~
Random Exposure
If I only knew what I was doing here,
I could give others a clue.
Reality gets stranger every year,
and I’m not sure what I should do.
Singing happy old tunes, in an old, gravely voice,
gives me a lot of pleasure.
I’m only glad I can still make a choice,
to look at life, to take its measure.
Memorable moments keep passing by
gilded, framed in precious emotion.
I never have to ask anyone why,
no need for a stronger potion.
Everything in life is clear, to me
there is no doubt, no misunderstanding.
We’re all good, as you can see,
members of Life, in good standing.
Life can be hard, or it can be great fun;
the right path is there for each of us to take.
That choice is often a difficult one;
pay close attention to the choice you make.
~~ gigoid ~~
4/22/2013
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Naked Pearls
Notes on Life at Large….
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“Life, as we know it, does not exist.”
~~ Subtle Bee ~~
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“A belief is not true because it is useful.”
~~ Henri Frederic Amiel ~~
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“It’s getting hard to be someone, but it all works out.”
~~ The Beatles ~~
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“If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.”
~~ Things We Can Learn From Dogs ~~
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“Intellect annuls fate.
So far as a man thinks, he is free.”
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
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“Ever notice that what the hell is always the right decision?”
~~ Marilyn Monroe ~~
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“But groundless hope, like unconditional love,
is the only kind worth having.”
~~ John Perry Barlow, “Cynthia Horner’s Eulogy”, Apr. 1994 ~~
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“I wanted a perfect ending …
Now I’ve learned, the hard way,
that some poems don’t rhyme,
and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Life is about not knowing, having to change,
taking the moment and making the best of it,
without knowing what’s going to happen next.
Delicious ambiguity.”
~~ Gilda Radner ~~
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“Carpe Diem, lads. Sieze the day.
Make your lives extraordinary.”
~~ Robin Williams, “Dead Poet’s Society” ~~
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Rather than belabor a point already beaten to death, let’s just use this section as it was intended, as a closing. To do so with dispatch, all you need to to is watch, while I turn out the lights, and make my way to the door, where I wave, say, “See ya”, and trundle off into the sunrise I can see lightening the sky outside in the BBR. Y’all take care, & I’ll be back, eventually…. Here’s where the “See ya” comes, 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.
I had way too much fun yesterday, which is fine, but, it kept me from getting much done otherwise. However, I did find this Pearl to use today; it’s a rather fine specimen, I must say especially considering I was at the tail end of my descent into hell, & spent a LOT of time in a pretty crazed state. There is excellent music, possibly my best-ever rant, and an epic old-school pearl. It got some decent traffic & comments, but, is good enough to go around twice. Well, in my opinion, anyway. Y’all can decide for yourselves. Hopefully, I’ll have a fresh one done for tomorrow; that old blabbermouth, Time, will tell. It always does….
“You can lead a yak to water but you can’t teach an old dog to make a silk purse out of a pig in a poke.”
~~ Opus ~~
Scottish Coastline near Invergordon
Hajime…. Yesterday, I took advantage of some cat nap time to complete today’s Pearl, which turned a bit epic on me. There’s a fresh discussion of human nature & society, an old poem from 2012, and a rather epic old-school pearl to finish it off. Quite the mess, I should think, which is why the music should make it all better….
Since this is done, for the most part, I’ll stick it in the Tardis, & deliver it to the WP editor in the morning, once we figure out the proper settings. This, of course, is a bonus, because now I can work a day ahead, giving me more time to play with Leelu; the older…
“By space the universe encompasses and swallows me up like a dot;
by thought I encompass the Universe.”
~~ Blaise Pascal, “Pensees”, n. 265 ~~
Prim morning beauties….
Hajime…. I’ve missed posting a fresh Pearl for some days now; I even blew off yesterday entirely, spending the whole day in pursuits not connected to a computer at all. Y’know what? I don’t feel any guilt, nor angst for having done so, which is rather a good indicator, in at least three respects, none of which I’ll bother explaining. In fact, the only identifiable feeling I have this morning is an almost irresistible urge to be silly…. Go figure, eh? Just another day here in…. Hmm, where are we, actually? I suppose, since we’re all not here, exactly, we could be considered as guests in cyberspace; can’t live there, obviously, but, we do manage to spend a lot of time there, mostly with little purpose. Why would I be different?
There. That manages to be obscurely intelligent sounding, without any hint of silliness. Quite an accomplishment, all things considered, and not one I’m going to examine too closely, lest I notice how close to home such nonsense can strike. Instead, since I have all the correct elements already in place, I’ll use the time to convince y’all I’m much more competent than I appear, even in the distorted mirrors we typically have at out disposal. Hmm… funny word to use about our sensory input, but, hey, we’re trying to achieve a specific purpose, & such micro-management wouldn’t hold up long, anyhow. Let’s move on, to the next paragraph, where we may find a spot of the sense we currently lack.
Or, not, as the case may be. I really can’t say ANY of what is passing through my mind this morning is very sensible. Nor did it ever get truly silly, or even comprehensible. I guess, since we’ve tallied no viable successes, it would be best if we just gave up for today, & hope our next effort can find us a bit more integrated. Whatever THAT means. I don’t think I’d be the best choice to find the answer today, & rather than belabor the point any further, let’s go see what there is to see down below. I know the music for today is excellent, (in my humble opinion), there’s a decent poem from the archives, and a fine set of pearls for the final section, where we once again dive deep in the metaphoric metamind, to poke around in the human psyche… Great fun for all, you’ll see….
Shall we Pearl?….
“There’s an old saying that life begins at 40.
That’s silly.
Life begins every morning when you wake up.
Open your mind to it; don’t just sit there, do things.”
~~ George Burns (1896-1996) ~~
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Sawyer Fredericks
Image from Facebook via Google Images
The somewhat eclectic-appearing young man you see above entered the 2015 contest on The Voice USA, performing a classic standard called A Man of Constant Sorrow for his audition. Within seconds of beginning to sing, three of the four coaches had turned to watch, & the fourth only held out until the chorus. His voice, and style, are unique, as is his musical upbringing, giving him a feel and style completely his own. I’ve embedded the initial audition, & included the link to his own You Tube page, where you can find a lot of his work, including some recent live performances…. He blows me away with his talent, & I intend to follow his career with great interest; he is massively talented, & well worth the time…. Enjoy!….
Dreaming the way home, lost, unseen,
from the dance, where
he felt so free, and clean.
Sorrow couldn’t find him there.
Waiting, filling up the hours, hoping,
some connection can be found
keeping busy as bees, coping.
Love creeps in, without a sound.
Fat days, skinny nights, passionate
visions of semi-conscious entities,
cannot seem to fully illuminate
or hide our innermost frailties.
Resolute, find the perfect sense, codify
simple rules with every breath
never waiting, anxious to modify.
fear nothing in life, not even Death.
~~ gigoid ~~
5/3/2013
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Naked Pearls
Solilquery….
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“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go….”
~~ Dr. Seuss ~~
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“All life is an experiment.”
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
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“I am made from the dust of the stars, the oceans flow in my veins.”
~~ Rush, “Presto” ~~
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“Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.”
~~ Rainer Maria Rilke in Letters to a Young Poet ~~
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“Besides learning to see, there is another act to be learned
— not to see what is not.”
~~ Maria Mitchell ~~
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“There must be some kind of way out of here…”
~~ the joker to the thief ~~
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“Flee at once, all is discovered.”
~~ Sardonic Bee ~~
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Okay, I did it, finally. Though Leelu keeps interrupting for her cat hammock time, I WILL post today. To insure compliance, I’m gonna strip this section bare, & be off to do that. See y’all in a day or two, ffolkes, with more bells on…. Stay strange… Maybe it isn’t for everybody, but, it sure works for me….
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.
I could spend a while detailing the events which prevented me from finishing a fresh Pearl of Virtual Wisdom for today, but, that would be self-indulgent, as well as self-serving, to say the least. So, I won’t, other than to say ‘it’s all good’…. To sublimate the urge to post, which is again reasserting its relevance to my state of mind, here is a rather fine Pearl from five and a half years ago, with a number of attractive features, including poetry, ranting, AND a contest, which stimulated & made the comment section quite as entertaining as the Pearl itself…. I hope you enjoy it…. My day is filled with fun, but, should allow me to finish what I have in store for the next fresh entry; the fun part is, I get to have a doctor come to my house for a wellness visit. She doesn’t know me, so I was polite, & gave her fair warning that I am a tough room, so to speak. She didn’t seem to catch the reference, so, she’s on her own, & may provide me with some fun, without intention or awareness of the part she plays…. In any case, I get to socialize, to a small degree, which can only improve matters…. Yes, I’m being deliberately obscure, for my own protection….
Okay, I’ll quit fooling around. Here’s today’s offering, which I do hope brings you some small pleasure… If not, well, you can always come by tomorrow to complain…. or, praise, if such be warranted. Only time will tell how it all turns out, so, let’s let it flow, & see what happens…. Stay strange, ffolkes… it’s more important than you might realize….
Ffolkes,
As I sit here, laughing at myself, I have to admit, my Bozoid tendencies are in full swing this morning…. I’ve been steadily plugging along, filling in the blanks as I go through the morning routine, for about 35 minutes now. Got a lot done too, on starting a Pearl. I even had the intro section completely done, and was dutifully searching for pearls, when I was confronted by my own silliness and failure to be a Lert….. or, if you insist, alert…..
I started to paste a poem below, and realized I was posting it into tomorrow’s Pearl template. This is also where I had already composed and written an intro section leading into the Pearl….. see my problem? Complete time distortion ensues…. Now I’m dazed again, much like the first 5 minutes of being up, before the first sip of coffee kicks in enough to raise the…
As has been my habit of late, I didn’t get any significant work done on a fresh Pearl yesterday; too busy playing around in my head, at least, when not out ambling about. I did put in about 3 or more miles, so, I’m a bit sore today in the hips & legs; the good part in that is that more walking will fix it…..
To keep myself from any overt guilty feelings for not writing or posting, here is a Pearl from 2015, shortly after the birth of my now 2-plus year old granddaughter, with a rant I consider worth reposting any time, as well as one of my better poems, and a good-sized pile of relevant pearls for perusal. As an example of an iconic Pearl, it’s perfect. Well, as close as it ever comes, anyway. I hope you enjoy it, and your weekend… I’ll be back with some fresh stuff fairly soon; in the meantime, y’all stay alert, & be as strange as your nature allows; the stranger, the better, I always say….
“Blot out vain pomp; check impulse; quench appetite; keep reason under its own control.”
~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) ~~
~~ Meditations, ix, 7 ~~
Artist’s rendition of a mining base on Luna, Earth’s Moon, from Space.com
Get your intro here! Intro, intro, read all about it!….
No? Well, it was worth a shot…. I’ve tried everything else I can think of to begin this blog. This has to be the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, to come up with an interesting hook each day, one after another, ad infinitum, or, until I get tired of doing this. Since my sanity seems to hinge upon getting it done, I guess I’ll keep at it…. the alternative is unthinkable, to me…
Once again, I’m stranded here. Nothing in my empty brain, not a damn thing sitting around to stimulate me…. Ooh, ooh, I just remembered!…. I’m a grandpa…
Scottish Coastline near Invergordon
gigoid 