Naturally, the investment of prior absolution for future transgressions received gratis by agnostics causes catechism envy in devout Catholics, and numerous Episcopalians….

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Ffolkes,

Since retiring in 2011, (2010, technically, but, ’11 was my first full year in that state, so, we’ll use it as the jumping-off point, for the sake of mathematical convenience….), I’ve been slowly, steadily having more problems with my ambulation, as my spine, hip & shoulder joints, and overall level of arthritic deterioration reaches levels of effect that can’t be ignored, or compensated for, without paying a price, measured in steps of the 10-point scale of pain…. This includes whatever pinching of my sciatic nerves is going on to create the numbness that forms on my thighs when I stand, or walk, too long…. I can now only get a couple of blocks before sitting down for a recovery period becomes mandatory, lest I go into distressed metabolic crisis mode from the grinding pain that builds up….

Now, I’m a tough guy, for the most part…. Football, basketball, judo, and kung fu (to name just a few of the sporting activities I once pursued, daily….) taught me well, how to use my body to the limit of its strength and ability, while ignoring certain levels of pain, which were part and parcel of smashing into other’s bodies in football, and other sports, as well as the physical training involved in the martial arts, not to mention throws, kicks, punches, blocks, and many other skills that are painful to learn; learning to turn off pain’s demands on our attention is a primary skill of any athlete, or martial artist…. Pain becomes another motivational factor, not a limitation….

Then, of course, age related issues intervene, and one can no longer tolerate the physical demands of sports and the arts; for me, this began around age 40-45, when certain issues involving digestion became the foremost point of experience for me…. It’s a condition called diverticulosis, and there are physical aspects of having it that preclude certain athletic pastimes, so, starting at that age, my level of conditioning began to decline, and I began to experience more pain, of several different types….

Why, you are asking about now, is he regaling us with these tales of woe from his past? Hell, I’m not exactly sure…. except that this morning, pain is foremost in my mind, since my body decided to gift me with two of three possible types of pain, both at a level I can’t quite get stuffed into the box where it won’t affect me so badly…. which, in turn, is making it hard to concentrate on this Pearl…. So, in what may have been poor judgment, I decided to try to use it as a springboard for discussion, and lead into today’s Pearl that way…. However, it seems to be more of a bitch-fest, and that wasn’t what I had in mind for today, by a long shot….

I think I was going to try to turn the discussion into how to deal with pain effectively, but, since I can’t seem to do that myself this morning, trying to tell y’all how to do it might be asking more of my writing skills than is wise…. It also might be more of an intellectual challenge than I’m up to, as I can’t seem to concentrate for long on any one thought…. That makes writing, or ranting, or even pearling, particularly problematic…. Since that’s all I do here, it’s going to be touch and go as to whether or not this bombs completely….

I’m going to take a chance, though, and continue on to the rest of today’s effort…. It may turn out to be a mistake, but, that’s a risk worth taking, to get past this morning’s wonderful state of agony with a bit of aplomb….

Shall we Pearl?…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I definitely don’t have an organized, official-type rant in me today, so I’m going to use a pearl format that I’ve used a few times previously, to good effect…. I’ll let SB pick out five pearls, then I’ll comment on them, hopefully in a way that will lead us somewhere worth being…. or, we could end up somewhere we’ll never find our way home from…. It’s a risk, but, I’m pretty confident I can find my way back from wherever we find ourselves, so, let’s give it a whirl….

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Criticism, Part ii, Line 15

It’s always good to start with a poetic pearl; it’s just classier…. This, of course, is a very familiar poem, (Okay, it’s actually an excerpt from a larger poem…. be that way….) even to those people who don’t read a lot of poetry. The first line has become almost a cliche in common speech patterns, as it has been used ever since first appearing, to indicate the perils of both possessing knowledge, and the lack of it, when reasoning, or, trying to reason…. It is only those of us who go on to read the rest of the epic poem who can truly understand the poignancy of this lament, as the last two lines of the quatrain show plainly the marked price of original sin…. and, in the process, gives us a hint of WHY we ate the apple…. Powerful stuff, of which Pope created a LOT…..

“You don’t tell deliberate lies, but sometimes you have to be evasive.” — Margaret Thatcher

When I first saw this, I thought it was the PERFECT way to show how the thought processes of politicians operate; upon reflection, I believe it to be even better than that, as it shows not only WHAT virtually every one of them thinks, but, also shows the self-delusion that MUST take place in a pundit’s mind for them to turn that direction….

This little statement implies that, not only is a little white lie okay, when it’s for the good of those who are being led (“good”, naturally, being decided by the one elected, not the folks being led….), it’s practically a duty to lie, in order to be in the position to make that decision for others (you HAVE to be evasive?)….. Of course, this doesn’t admit to possessing, or come anywhere near any display of ANY sort of ethical, or moral reasons for acting in this manner, as there aren’t any that are justifiable…. That, unfortunately, has never seemed to matter much to them, or kept them from making up their lies….

“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.” — Marcus Aurelius

Okay, so, this one ISN’T about politicians, or preachers, or corporate snakeheads…. it’s about Life at Large, and how to live it well… And, darn it, it doesn’t need any more embellishment from me…. Oh, well, onward….

LAWYER: A professional advocate hired to bend the law on behalf of a paying client; for this reason considered the most suitable background for entry into politics. — Definition from “THE CYNIC’S DICTIONARY”

Now THAT’s what I’m talking about!…. This is a wonderful observation, made all the more appealing to me because it SOUNDS as if it is said in jest, when, in truth, it is a perfectly sober, accurate definition, based on long-term observation of Reality, as it pertains to society and culture….

Our government is inundated in lawyers; in certain circles, of which I am a conversant member, we refer to their presence in such numbers as an infestation, which gives a better feel for what they’re really like, to wit: vermin, such as rats, mice, or fleas…. the assholes…. As Jay Leno once noted, the definition of the word “politics” is from the Greek…. That is “poli” from “poly”, meaning “many”, and “tics”, meaning, “small, blood sucking vermin”….

Sorry, maybe I DO have a bit of a rant in there…..

“Nations and empires flourish and decay,
By turns command, and in their turns obey.

— Ovid

Now this is a very deep, incredibly insightful little couplet, from an poetess who lived well over 2000 years ago…. Even then, so long ago, there were enough ffolkes who could see the grand folly that permeates human society and culture, and were able to foretell the outcome of their own era’s repetition of what had gone before…. Now, if only we could get some of those who are in the position of leadership in this country to comprehend this concept, there might be a better chance for us to survive….

I’m not particularly hopeful that will ever happen, though, as I’m firmly convinced the men and women who inhabit the halls of our government wont’ ever get a clue, as they have what they consider more important work to do, that of emptying as much of the public treasury as they can fit into their own pockets; that doesn’t leave them room enough to accommodate, or even entertain, any such altruistic notion as species survival…. more’s the pity….

So, there you have it, a pearl of nondescript origin, in a reasonably new, different format, to take the place of what would probably have been merely another indictment of a lot of guilty folks, which happens often here, and is no doubt becoming a bit stale…. Hopefully, this little breath of fresh air will clear the atmosphere sufficiently to allow us a bit of breathing room, so we can come back to rant again another day…. When I do, I’ll be using this brilliant manifesto of technique, voiced by an old British bulldog, who became a politician, though reluctantly, I think….

“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time–a tremendous whack.” — Sir Winston Churchill

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having begun the day, in section one, with a bit of classicism, it must be time for another reprint of an old favorite, from one of the masters…. Enjoy!….

A Thing of Beauty (Endymion)

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkn’d ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

~~ John Keats ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As noted, today, pain is causing this process to move along at a rapid pace, without a lot of heavy thought, which would be beyond my current capabilities…. It’s really too bad, too, because I’d hoped to spend a bit of time today visiting a few of my regulars, to let them know how much I appreciate seeing them at my site each day…. That will probably have to wait until, at least, later in the day, if I can manage to get some relief… In the meantime, here is a fresh, old-school pearl, with parameters set to let SB pick today, as I don’t have the patience to sit that long…. Hope it comes out okay….

“The more you know, the more confusing everything becomes.” — Smart Bee

“Man, were he not corrupted by Governments, is naturally the friend of Man, and that human nature is not of itself vicious.” — Thomas Paine

“It is not necessary that whilst I live I live happily; but it is necessary that so long as I live I should live honourably.” — Kant, Immanuel (1724-1804)

“Following the Noble Path is like entering a dark room with a light in the hand; the darkness will all be cleared away, and the room will be filled with light.” — Buddha

“It seems like once people grow up, they have no idea what’s cool.” — Calvin & Hobbes

“His own character is the arbiter of every one’s fortune.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 283

“I may not understand what you say, but I’ll defend to your death my right to deny it.” — Albert Alligator, in Pogo, 26 September 1951

Hmm… a little obscure, but, all in all, not bad at all…. I’ll take it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As well, since I have little choice in the matter, at least, none uninfluenced by the level of pain I’m currently living with, I’ll take whatever is above, as is…. No matter how many potential typos it has, it’s going out sans editing or proofing, other than what I’ve managed to do while trying to swim this horse across the Rubicon, or the Styx, or whatever mystical, metaphorical river you choose to call it…. Me, I’m calling it done….

See you tomorrow, ffolkes, God willin’ and the creek don’t rise…. (Pido disculpas por la blashpemia, pero, es necessario para mantener mi dignidad, si no otra razón….) (I know, it’s probably well mangled Español, but, I don’t claim any particular fluency, just basic comprehension, suited to my purpose… Plus, as an obsessive type, I looked up the words I’d forgotten….) Ta ta, then….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

Horrible examples of overt penitence….

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Ffolkes,

“I don’t know, but I’ve been told, if the horse won’t pull, you’ve got to carry the load.” — Grateful Dead

I am uncertain, at this point, which of the Dead’s songs this line came from, but, it certainly fits the events of THIS morning around here…. I’m up late, for me; it’s now 5 AM, & I’m just getting started, after about a half-hour of attempting to wake up enough to even get coffee poured, much less get any writing done….. Beset on all sides by obstacles to getting this Pearl started, (don’t even THINK about getting done yet…), I’m “dappled, and drowsy, and ready to sleep”…. to quote another song (Simon & Garfunkel, I believe….)….. Well, maybe not ready to sleep, but, not quite ready to be awake….

It’s a fortunate thing, for me, anyway, that I had completed a rant yesterday, after reading the news…. Some egregiously avaricious Senator had to come out with more bullshit to try to convince the public the XL Pipeline disaster should be allowed to go forward, and a new climate report, by some agency of the current administration, came out with their report, which, though sufficiently scary, is merely a repeat of other reports that were recently released by climatologists connected to a WORLD organization…. Put together by some group commissioned by the White House, it parrots much of the material that was first noted in the report released by the UN study on the same subject, earlier this year….

Now the White House has jumped on the climate change wagon, trying to convince the public that the administration actually intends to live up to the campaign promises by the potUS to address those self-same issues…. It is, unfortunately, more than merely a day late, and way more than a dollar short of what is needed to actually FIX anything…. But, hey, they’re TRYING, right? Doesn’t that count? In their eyes, it’s supposed to count enough that you’ll actually believe them when they tell you they will…

That, of course, is on YOU, and ME, for electing them in the first place, but, I guess, given the lack of viable choices from which we have to choose, I suppose it is to be expected… Even if it isn’t, it’s another case of too little, too late, and Bob’s your uncle, once again, for society…. That is, IF I have correctly translated that eminently British epithet correctly…. (Willow? Is that correct usage….)

To clarify, no matter WHAT the White House, or any other government agency says or does in re: climate change, they really don’t understand it, or give a shit about it, and will say just about anything to distract the public from the issue, so they may continue their primary function, of looting the treasury….

SIGH… There I go again, ranting away in the intro, just as if it was the right place for it…. One of these days, I’ll find the correct method for getting this done without all the CRAP it puts me through…. Until then, all I can do is all I can do, and THIS, sadly, is all I can do today….

It DOES mean, however, that I’ve reached a point where I can dump this, and get on with the rest of today’s effort…. Thank goodness, too, as I was about to get really, really weird, more than I think you would be able to deal with…. Dodged a bullet there, we did….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“But is such a thing fit to be discovered to the people? shall I do such an unworthy Act?  Ah! my pen falls out of my hand.  Yet my desire to help posterity, overcomes; for perhaps from this gleaning as it were, greater and more admirable inventions may be produced.” — Giambattista Della Porta, Natural Magick

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Waste not fresh tears over old griefs.” — Euripides (431 BC)

http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/Senator-Ukraine-unrest-shows-need-for-Keystone-5456253.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

A blatant, deliberate mix of misguided ignorance, implied corruption, fear-mongering, and outright lies perpetrated by a $250,000/year paid lackey of the energy lobby, er, government is the primary focus of this article. The statements made by this Senator, who, no doubt, has a DIRECT interest in getting the pipeline completed, so he can cash in on the lucrative lobbyist money being thrown around by the companies wanting to build the damn thing, are so egregiously biased, it’s a wonder he ididn’t fall over from the imbalanced weight, in spite of his desperate grip on the podium.

His justification for wanting it to happen? Because Putin and Russia are in conflict in the Ukraine, and we wouldn’t want anything like that to happen here, just because we were too wimpy to build the pipeline…. That’s it, I guess… You, too? I’m still waiting for the rest of the reasoning, that seems to be missing….  I’m having a hard time making the connection with this one, since I don’t have any particular fear about that issue to be fanned…. and I certainly don’t see any way the two issues are connected in Reality….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Fed-report-Warming-disrupting-Americans-lives-5455672.php?cmpid=hp-hc-nationworld

Here, though, is an issue that is firmly entrenched with Reality, tied in a relationship so close, there are NO degrees of separation… Indeed, global warming/climate disruption (the identified new term for that process we’ve initiated with our idiotic, self-serving obsession with carbon-based fuels and the internal combustion engine, along with the attitudes that allow that obsession to permeate all levels of our society), is an issue connected to our very existence.

The worst part of this report, mild and non-accusatory though it may be in tenor, is that it is merely another repeat, of the same information that has been available since the 1960’s, when the environmentalism movement began, & we, the public, first began to take note of the coming changes….

That’s correct, you heard me…. the 60’s…. I went to college starting in 1968; by that time, the basic groundwork of assessing the damage caused, and the potential harm to come, had already been completed, and available to read, for some years.

The green movement was at a grassroots level, but,  after a comparatively short time, it was EVERYWHERE, in essence; all of the information that is in this article was already basic knowledge by 1968, readily available to anyone, though not commonly known among the mainstream, of students, or the public at large….

So, I figure, what this article speaks about is an issue that has been around for, let’s count…. If we start at 1964, (during the Free Speech movement in colleges across the country) that makes it an even fifty years….

Fifty years…. This stuff has been around fifty years, at least…. I know this, for a fact, because I WAS THERE; I READ ABOUT IT, AND HEARD ABOUT IT, IN A NUMBER OF VENUES. There were hundreds of people, all standing right next to me when I heard it, or in the room, reading or listening to the same public radio/TV report, or otherwise exposed to the same information, so, it’s pretty well verifiable….. and, has been so for all that time….

I cannot say whether society’s failure to take the warnings of impending problems seriously was the result of a conspiracy, by those who feel they’d be harmed by this getting out (there are a large number of candidates who fit those parameters….), or whether the public hasn’t the wit to comprehend such scientific information (probably true for at least half the public…. but, then, the other half COULD explain it to their peers….), or whether we’re all just too disorganized, individualistic, and stubborn to pay attention to what is important, preferring to focus on what we FEEL, or WANT to be true….

My best guess is a combination of all three are true… Whatever the ultimate reason, I think we’d BETTER pay attention to this issue, as a society; moreover, it had better happen as close to NOW as it can…. or, we aren’t going to have the time, knowledge, or resources to be able to fix what we’ve broken….. Our parent’s aren’t going to be able to pay the damages, either, so, the planet, our landlord, isn’t going to be very happy, I’m certain….

In defense against any further stimulation of my own depression, here is a viewpoint, on living well, I penned a while back, which gives us at least a chance to find a way to figure out how to not feel so bloody bad about all of this; in the long run, this can only help….

We’re going to need all of our wits about us, if we have any chance at all to survive our own foolishness…. our lack of true understanding of the Universe, and how it’s supposed to work will eventually eliminate us from this plane of reality, if we don’t figure out the correct answers, and pretty damn quickly…

From 7/15/2012:

“Don’t ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun — and neither can stop the march of events.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough For Love

I suppose one could say I am pessoptimist, a word I have just coined to help me conveniently explore another facet of the duality of existence. I watch society, with both anticipation and trepidation, both of which are justifiable when dealing with something as capricious as human behavior. Reality itself is enough of a problem to deal with, given its wildly unpredictable nature, but the universe doesn’t care at all that it is a frightening experience, just to breathe and open one’s eyes to the chaos that surrounds us.  Reality marches on, regardless of our opinion of it; since we have the choice, why not look at the brighter side, eh?

It’s the pessimist in me that sees all of humanity’s flaws; the optimist sees all the beauty that we CAN create when we so desire. What’s difficult is, one never knows where or when the beauty will surface, whereas the flaws make themselves as obvious as dog poop on the shoes, on a daily, sometimes hourly basis…. The pessimist in me knows this, which is why I view each moment rushing at us from the future with a certain small degree of justifiable fear.

Fortunately for me, the optimist in me knows this about Reality; fear is always balanced by that aspect of duality which is inherent in the nature of all that exists, which dictates that whatever takes place has an equal chance of being the kind of experience that brings joy to my world, as it does to create pain. So much bad happens in the world, it can be hard to slough it off; it can come at us unrelentingly, like physical pain from a broken nose, or problems with the DMV….. But, one joyful perception can easily balance the scale…. and will even make us glad for the negative, since it provides the contrast that makes the positive so much sweeter….

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” — Emerson

SIGH… I guess all one can say is, I’m glad that I have the choice, even if making that choice can be a problem in and of itself…. One must remember that the Universe is, no doubt, proceeding as it should, so I’ll just keep my eyes, and options, open….

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

Read the articles, ffolkes…. Think about them, and pass your thoughts on to others, even if they’re bozoid, like mine; that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you know…. In any case, we are all of us, and by that, I mean everyone on the damn planet, going to have to grow up, learn how to accept reality, and yield to the laws of the universe, which we (well, SOME of us…) have been ignoring for a long time…. In the Court of Universal Life, there is no appeal, no do-overs, and no pity…. You obey the laws, as they are, or you die…. It’s that simple….

Me, I’d rather live, so, I’m going to do my best to see that the assholes who don’t believe any of this, but habitually act in ONLY their own self-interests, DON’T get their way, thus, saving us from waking up one final morning, dead…. or something worse…. to be alive, but no longer human….

So be it…. gigoid has spoken…..

“Oh, well, I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes.” — Smart Bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As is my habit, when I find myself without any idea of what kind of poem to include, I turn to my favorite poet(ess), knowing I can always find what I seek, or, if nothing else, something worthwhile, that will suit our (sorry, MY…. gotta break that habit, of using the royal “we”….), my purpose…. Today, Emily seems to end her poem with a metaphorical allusion to what we do here…. or not…. Regardless of my delusional hopes, please enjoy!….

Arcturus” is his other name

“Arcturus” is his other name—
I’d rather call him “Star.”
It’s very mean of Science
To go and interfere!

I slew a worm the other day—
A “Savant” passing by
Murmured “Resurgam”—”Centipede”!
“Oh Lord—how frail are we”!

I pull a flower from the woods—
A monster with a glass
Computes the stamens in a breath—
And has her in a “class”!

Whereas I took the Butterfly
Aforetime in my hat—
He sits erect in “Cabinets”—
The Clover bells forgot.

What once was “Heaven”
Is “Zenith” now—
Where I proposed to go
When Time’s brief masquerade was done
Is mapped and charted too.

What if the poles should frisk about
And stand upon their heads!
I hope I’m ready for “the worst”—
Whatever prank betides!

Perhaps the “Kingdom of Heaven’s” changed—
I hope the “Children” there Won’t be “new fashioned” when I come—
And laugh at me—and stare—

I hope the Father in the skies
Will lift his little girl—
Old fashioned—naught—everything—
Over the stile of “Pearl.”

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~


Aha…. I get it now… So, it’s not about Pearls, but about “Pearly Gates” or a “stile of “Pearl”, in Emily’s mind…. So, too bad, so sad, my bad….. but, it’s a nice poem, isn’t it?….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having thus disposed of the hardest part of these Pearls, we come now to my salvation…. or, at least, my partial redemption, which translates as the last section for today…. I guess, actually, we’ll leave the redemption up to the preachers, and not worry about trying to fit into the small little round hole they are always trying to fit my hexagonal mind into…. I keep telling them it won’t fit, but, they’re bound and determined it will….

In any case, I think, today, I’m not even going to tell Smart Bee what I’m looking for; we’ll let the inherent nature of Universal Entropy have its head, and let SB pick out whatever strikes its fancy…. Should be interesting…. and, at the very least, you won’t have had to try to unravel any mysterious concatenations of my inner demons, which is always a bonus…

“C’est la vie, C’est la guerre, Say no more.” — Smart Bee

“Nothing is more damaging to a state than that cunning men pass for wise.” — Francis Bacon

“The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” — Robert Louis Stevenson, “Virginibus Puerisque”, 1881

“The idea of absolute freedom is fiction. It’s based on the idea of an independent self. But, in fact, there’s no such thing. There’s no self without other people. There’s no self without sunlight. There’s no self without dew. And water. And bees to pollinate the food we eat… So the idea of behaving in a way that doesn’t acknowledge those reciprocal relationships is not really freedom, it’s indulgence.” — Peter Coyote

“People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they’ll have good voice boxes in case there’s ever anything really meaningful to say.” — Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Breakfast of Champions

“It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.” — William G. McAdoo

“Character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses or avoids.” — Aristotle

Well, that was close…. I almost couldn’t find anything to close this out with any dignity, or elegance, or any other adjective of a positive nature… Well, other than a very strange quote from Zippy (what else is new?)…. In the end, I managed to find Aristotle at his finest, instead, at just the right moment…. Serendipity is alive and well, and happily surprising people coast to coast…. Well, maybe not, but it’s a nice thing to hope for…. and, it did come up with a decent pearl, so, back off…. Just kidding….. We’re done here, and a damn good thing….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well…. I’m at a loss for anything to say, which, as we all know, isn’t likely to last long, so, I’ll take this opportunity to just tell you, as required by law, that we’ll be back tomorrow…. Of course, this means you are allowed to begin the process of arming yourselves adequately beginning today…. More kidding, of a half-serious nature, but, accurate in one sense…. We’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, rain or shine, Armageddon or not…. as long as the internet is still there, I’ll be posting…. so, see ya, ffolkes….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

Can we salvage any of the platitudes?….

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Ffolkes,

I’m confused, but, then, nothing new there, eh? Today’s confusion started upon arising, at my semi-usual hour of 4 AM, to find the cat already up, waiting for me, actually being a good kitty, staying out from underfoot until I’d punched the coffee machine on (it doesn’t brew itself until 0430….), and sat down to don my socks…. She then politely bumped my ankle for attention, accepted some ear scratches as if they were her due, then went to lie down in the middle of the floor, in her Mae West pose, looking at me as if I should be bowing and scraping in awe…. Cats are strange, aren’t they? Most mornings she’s a psycho kitty for the first hour I’m up; today, she’s a sphinx, unfathomably inscrutable…. or, that’s what she wants me to believe, anyway….

Cat antics aside, here I am, up in good time, but, with a severe lack of stuff going on in my head…. I’ve ranted enough lately that my angst level isn’t causing any discomfort….. even though there are plenty of issues in the news I could rant about. In fact, issues seems to be jumping off the page, shouting at me to be written up; remember a couple of days ago, I had gathered almost ten article links that needed discussion, piling seven or eight of them into one pearl?…. Ah, those were the days….

Sadly for me this morning, I don’t have the inner emotional turmoil so necessary to providing the driving force behind my rants, so, as usual, I’ll cheat, and use what I can find in my earlier material…. I can usually find something relevant, as the same issues are happening today as were there when I began this particular site, almost three years ago….

Plus, my opinions may evolve, but they don’t generally take a whole new direction, as they tend to follow the antics of the same group of idiots, most of whom act out their own particular brand of insanity in an elected office, or a court seat, or some other public position that, for some stupid reason, makes them believe they should open their mouths, and let everyone know just HOW stupid they can be….

In addition to my lack of drive for ranting today, my thumb is getting worse; I’m thinking it is the repeated use of the mouse that is doing it, as I don’t use it to do all that much knife work any more, which is what caused this the first time it happened. Whether it is the mouse, or the typing, is unclear, and I hesitate to tell my doctor about it, lest the treatment involve a hiatus from doing this specific activity, which is the worst culprit in terms of how often it makes it hurt…. Typing does, that’s for sure, so I’d bet I’ll have to at least cut back severely for a time, to allow the ligament at the base of the thumb time to heal….

Or, I could go to the doctor, & ask him to send me to an orthopedist, who would inject some cortisone, or other steroid, right into the thumb joint…. When that was done last time, it fixed it up right and tight in a jig…. Within seconds, my hand was back to completely normal range of motion, with no pain upon starting any of the activities that caused it previously…. It was like magic…. I just don’t like the idea of steroidal injections like that, unless there is some critical need; I believe it’s better to use more natural, less intrusively aggressive treatment modalities as a first choice….

Whatever I do, this Pearl will have to be done first, so, I suppose I’d best get on with it; the silly thing isn’t going to write itself, now, is it? No, probably not, if past issues are any indication…. That being said, and the usual, legally constructed amount of introductory blather having been produced, I suggest we do that now, before anything untoward has an opportunity to happen….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I don’t pick on politicians. They ain’t done nothin’.” — Red Skelton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As mentioned, since my own store of rantable emotion is a bit depleted, I’m dipping into the past…. This time, WAY into the past, to give you one of the first Pearls posted, with this one first showing its face here in May of 2011, as noted below….. Pearls of that time usually had a paragraph, or two, at the beginning, followed by a group of pearls…. It will appear a bit differently than it did then, as I’ll edit it using my current knowledge, to make it at least come close to what my writing should look and sound like today…. Regardless of all that, it’s a bit long, but, still pretty valid, so, I hope you enjoy it….

From 5/25/2011:

Ffolkes,
I’m not certain how or why, but this morning’s pearl took a serious turn on me, so bear with me. There will be pearls……

Humanity, and the societies that it formulates, are a never-ending source of interest to me.  It provides not only data for my overactive brain to chew on, but also gives me almost limitless subjects for this grist. After the grist is milled of course….. One of the more fascinating areas of observation is about honesty, and its’ root, honor.  When I grew up, half a century ago in the 1950’s, honor and honesty seemed to be part of the fabric of society, as least superficially.

What I didn’t know then was that those particular virtues were only given lip service, especially in the way the public was notified of the doings of government. It became de rigeur for politicians, and concomitantly government agencies, to lie to the public about what they were actually doing, claiming they were telling the honest truth. Truth to tell, it no doubt started well before that time period, but for me it was a disappointment to later find that the very people society chose (with promises of transparency and honesty) to lead them were bare-faced liars and cheats.

As partial proof of this, I offer the (already vetted) facts about the Vietnam conflict (Congress never declared war, so in my mind there was none). When I went to college in 1968 I found out the truth, which was that our government had been in the country, supplying ‘military advice and support’ since 1954, ten years before anyone in government admitted to it, having gone there to protect the interests of our ally, France, who had just been thrown out as colonial overseers, and the interests of the drug trade, in which both of those countries were heavily invested. Not 1964, when the government finally admitted we were there, because the number of troops sent there, and the money being spent, brought the situation into the public eye.

I have believed for a long time, and still believe, that the assassination of JFK was an act perpetrated by people in our own clandestine spook forces, who recruited and trained Oswald. It was designed to distract the American public from the chicanery in Southeast Asia, while at the same time removing Kennedy, who was proving to be an obstacle to the goals of the real government, and becoming far too popular. So, they gave us a martyr, blamed it on the Red Menace, and with the help of their (paid for) lackey, LBJ, proceeded to pour billions of dollars into the war, to continue to protect investments by our corporate classes in the heroin trade.

Today we find ourselves in ever more dire straits, as governments and politicians continue to lie, cheat, and steal, pretty much without any restrictions. The public, dazed and confused by a constant barrage of financial stress, is told lie after lie, confident-sounding utterances created by Spin-Meisters adept at making prevarication sound like truth. All of the politicians have become nothing more than talking heads, whose most valuable asset is their ability to lie with a straight face. And truth be told, there has to be some kind of character flaw in those people who run for office, for what sane person wishes to assume power over their fellow man?

It has gotten to the point that I spend each day fighting the urge to go buy a gun, and start hunting these assholes down.  But that would be giving in to their perversity; better to take up my pen (or laptop in this case) and start my campaign by offering to the public the Truth (as opposed to the so-called truths offered up daily in the news services), and do so in my own unique fashion, that is to say, with Pearls of Virtual Wisdom. With that in mind, we now go into the better part of this daily spew, with Truths from folks throughout the ages.  Enjoy!…..

“Sex! Lies! Drugs! Money! Power! Corruption! Man, I love Congress!” — Smart Bee

“They say you shouldn’t say nothin’ about the dead unless it’s good. He’s dead. Good.” — Moms Mabley

(I particularly like this one. I made a list of folks to whom this would apply, and in less than a minute came up with more than 10 names. Only two of them were already dead, and the other eight were all still out there, spewing their malice onto an unsuspecting public, shamelessly. Doesn’t say much for my tolerance, but then it has been in short supply for some time now.)

Annual drug deaths: tobacco: 395,000, alcohol: 125,000, ‘legal’ drugs: 38,000, illegal drug overdoses: 5,200, marijuana: 0.  Considering government subsidies of tobacco, just what is our government protecting us from in the drug war?” — William A. Turnbow

“I don’t mind being screwed, but the government thinks I’m a nymph.” — Smart Bee

“It’s said that ‘power corrupts’, but actually it’s  more true  that power attracts the corruptible.  The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.  When  they do  act,  they  think of it as service, which has limits. The tyrant, though, seeks mastery, for which he is  insatiable, implacable.” — David Brin, The Postman

Well, that is certainly enough for one morning. It can be a depressing subject, but we can consider ourselves fortunate that we have our own view of reality, and can modify it to suit ourselves.  Y’all take care out there…….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education.” — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy.

While I don’t usually use section two for ranting, the following poem, by an American icon, stimulated the following discussion, as any really good poem might do to someone, at any time…. especially one as powerful as this one….

I hadn’t realized that Walt Whitman was an atheist/agnostic….. It isn’t part of what is taught in your average elementary or high school here in this hypocritical, unabashedly Christian nation, which continuously spouts off about the separation of Church and State, yet gives a tax immunity to churches, even those of other denominations, and/or names of gods worshiped…. (Nor was it made common knowledge that the prevailing opinion, both in his own time, and with modern scholars studying his life, that Walt was probably gay, or bisexual, in his gender preferences…. Not that it matters at all, in the ultimate sense, but, merely knowing it provides some interesting perspective on his work, and his life, eh?….)

I call this (single-mindedness re: Christianity vs. Reality) hypocritical because, while this generosity in tax status displayed to other sects covers their claim of non-discrimination, simultaneously, at every turn of events in society, these single-minded “men of one book” work to weave their “Christian values”, and strictly Christian morals into very fabric of society, negating the entire spectrum of beliefs held by its denizens, by influencing the majority of elected officials to write laws that favor the morality based on Christian dogma, none of whom dare risk their own excommunication, or chance at heaven…. Bless their point little heads….

Aha…. Thankfully for my embarrassment level, I checked with Wikipedia re: Whitman’s religious views…. While I stand by what I stated above completely, it’s slightly out of context, as he was NOT an atheist, or an agnostic, per se, though his beliefs were radically different than those of the average American, especially in the eighteenth century. He is described as a deist, similar to my own stand, as one who believed that ALL religions were correct, and true as far as their metaphorical principles were concerned…

The differing views by all those religions, of what God looks like, or what He/She/It may, or may not have said, or where, or when, held no interest for him (as they don’t for me); his understanding of reality, and, thus, his views on divinity and spirituality were much too tall, and wide, and deep, to ever be confined into one little philosophy, or any one set of dogmatic principles, as seen from only one viewpoint….

To my way of thinking, this is a very intelligent way to think; he has nothing but my admiration for his independent individuality, in the face of a society that could not understand his mind, or his spirit…. Well, and for this poem, which prompted the above, with only three or four lines…

A Child’s Amaze

SILENT and amazed, even when a little boy,
I remember I heard the preacher every Sunday put God in his
statements,
As contending against some being or influence.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~


“Poetry is sane because it floats easily in an infinite sea; reason seeks to cross an infinite sea and so make it finite… he poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world to stretch himself in. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head. And it is his head that splits.” — G. K. Chesterton “Orthodoxy”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since most of today’s Pearl seems to have been produced at other times, I believe I’ll put together an old-school, but fresh, pearl for this section…. Let’s see what Smart Bee can find for us, with no hints as to what we should find, or see….

“Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too self-full to seek other than itself.” — Kahlil Gibran

“I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” — Thomas Carlyle

“Playing the banjo is a lot like throwing a javelin blindfolded… you don’t have to be very good to get people’s attention.” — Smart Bee

“Virtue is the beauty, and vice the deformity, of the soul.’ — Socrates (B.C. 469-399)

“Don’t believe your friends when they ask you to be honest with them. All  they really want is to be maintained in the good opinion they have of  themselves.” — Albert Camus

“They say you can’t do it, but sometimes that isn’t always true.” — Casey Stengel

“Let the greatest part of the news thou hearest be the least part of what thou believest, lest the greater part of what thou believest be the least part of what is true.” — Francis Quarles (1592-1644)

Hmm…. Not too bad, if a bit obscure…. But, all in all, I think it will do; it DOES make a point, though that point isn’t one usually found by any normal means….. But, then, we’ve never worried too much about normal, have we?….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m only sure of one thing at this point…. and that one thing escapes me still….. Be that as it may, all I have to do now is figure out what to say to either make up for what I’ve just put y’all through, or pretend that it’s good for you…. I think…. yes. We’ll go with the second one, because, even if it ISN’T good for you, it WANTS to be…. Intent is 87% of meaning, you know, and though it isn’t quite a much of a sure thing as being 99% sure, it’s not bad…. and, it’s done, so, there’s nothing more that can be done for it now…. Since that’s the case, I’ll see y’all tomorrow….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

Alice, in a fit of pique, beheads the Cheshire Cat….

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Ffolkes,

Well, hell…. Now what do I do? Here it is, 0430 AM, I’m up, coffee in hand, ready to start trying to figure out if there is anything in my semi-conscious mind that would serve to begin today’s Pearl, & what do I find? This…. This is a completed Pearl, dammit! When I found the material below, and gave in to the urge to rant it stimulated, I didn’t realize that I would be usurping this morning’s time slot, thus effectively giving myself nothing at all to do now, except, possibly, proof/edit this, punching it up where it’s soft, & generally tinkering with it until it screams at me to stop….

But, if I do that, what do I do with this intro, that I so conveniently wrote, AFTER completing all of the stuff you’ll see below, including the poem,and the archived piece?….Though, I see now, I DID leave the closing section undone, so, I guess that’s something…. Big of me, wouldn’t you say?

Well, I would, given that I’m playing a practical joke on myself…. I USED to be pretty good at them, during my university days, but, like many of the skills I picked up at Berkeley, not all of them translated into something useful in later life; practical jokes lose a lot of their luster after having a couple of them turn bad, or, worse, ending up as the butt of one…. Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?

But, I DO have some pretty good memories of decorating certain fraternity and sorority buildings in Davis, on the night prior to their yearly homecoming, “Picnic Day”, a gently nostalgic, pandering title, designed to pull money from the alumni and the rich parents of students, who came to relive their own wild youth once a year, while pretending NOT to be envious of all the students by which they’re surrounded…. I lived in a cooperative dormitory, so as representatives of the bourgeoisie, the Greek brothers and sisters made perfect targets for a bit of ridicule….

Oh, not to worry, we didn’t do anything terribly terrorist, or frightening; just some minor breaking and entering, leaving notes and posters, complete with appropriate art work, (no graffiti, just tacked up stuff….) to show we’d been there, or running a few jock straps and brassieres out on the clothes lines between the dorms…. highlighting the  huge, long, signs stating, in two-foot tall letters, they’d been pranked by UCB’s “Society of the Green Hand” (The Society’s formation is a tale for another time; I believe the statute of limitations runs out in another couple of years on that….) Needless to say, we were lucky not to end up dealing with the local law….

Actually, that was close, because, as we were finishing up with the very last tree’s decor, of colored toilet paper, a campus police car drew up under the tree, shined their light on one of us, up in the tree, & queried, “What’s going on up there?”…. With admirable quick thinking, Jeff, the one in the tree, gave them a huge smile, and just said, “It’s Picnic Day!”…. The cop just shook his head and drove away, while we waited breathlessly for them to get far enough away we could breathe, and burst into nearly hysterical laughter… We then piled in our vehicle, drove back to Berkeley, and spent the day sleeping off the adventure….

Gee…. It looks as if I found a perfect introduction for today’s Pearl, at least in terms of being of regulation size and placement…. How this morning’s retrospective will fit in with what goes on afterward remains to be seen, as it does each and every day I put myself, and y’all, through this somewhat torturous process….

Ah well, it never gets bad enough to actually cause bleeding, unless, of course, some of you aren’t telling me when you leave the cabin, to go bang your forehead against the nearest wall, in reaction to some of the stuff that I say, and/or do…. But, then, that’s a personal problem, isn’t it?  So shame on you for trying to make me feel guilty about it…

Wouldn’t work anyway; I gave up guilt, over stuff I say or do, quite some time back, and have never felt better…. On that egocentric note, I think we’ll go now, and find something productive to do with today, since the only thing I have to write this morning is the closing section….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“I have discovered the art of deceiving diplomats. I speak the truth, and they never believe me.” — Conte Camillo Benso di Cavour

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I found these two articles yesterday, after posting the Pearl…. As you’ll see, they provide the perfect jumping point for what follows…. I suppose that, as always, ‘perfect’ is a question-begging word to use, but, hey, I calls ’em as I sees ’em…. when I can find my glasses….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/03/everyone-is-under-surveillance-now-says-whistleblower-edward-snowden

I had originally intended to have some words regarding this article, as it speaks to some rather important points…. but, then, I saw the following article, and my angst went right through the roof, stimulating the rest…. Now, read this one…. & just include it all together; it’s all of a piece, anyway….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/18/cia-torture-architect-enhanced-interrogation

Here, then, is an excellent example of the definition of ‘gigo’, (garbage in-garbage out), from the psychologist responsible for the design and codification of many of the torture methods, including “water boarding”, used by the CIA at Guantanamo Bay, and elsewhere around the world….. His comments, which I will examine below, are so egregiously INSANE, I had to read the article in pieces, as I found myself shouting at him, every time he opened his mouth to make one of the reported statements…

I cannot BELIEVE this man was found to be an adequate psychologist, passing his tests and arguing his doctoral thesis, without having at least the basic innate ability to display even an ounce of compassion; I also don’t understand, at all, how he could be considered anything other than the US’s version of the Nazi scientist, the one at Auschwitz, who sent the Jews into the ovens….

Ah, yes, Josef Mengele…. the infamous, iconic mad doctor, the real version, the model for what all the comics use as the ultimate villain so often, whose insanity threatens the entire world, and everyone in it…. I tell you, ffolkes, those people  in Washington, D.C. are totally out of control….  I’m not kidding; the current crop of elected officials, as well as the appointees put in place by those (I stared at this point for a long time, and still  cannot, for the life of me, think of an expletive that it harsh enough…, so we’ll go with a classic….) assholes, all exhibit every single symptom of the violently insane, who believe their own twisted version of reality is the only real one, who hold on to their paranoid delusions so tightly, nothing, and nobody, can tell them differently….

Hell, I don’t even need, in this case, to resort to my special knowledge and experience, of working with the violently insane as a therapist for over 20 years…. These guys lay it out so clearly, right out in public, there’s no need for me to have to explain…. Their own words convict them whenever they condescend to open their mouths about what they truly believe….

Here, let me show you a couple of examples from the second article listed… The comments in quotes are by the protagonist in this drama, James Mitchell, (Piled High and Deep), Ph.D., formerly of the CIA, the psychologist regarded as the architect of the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation” program…. a description taken straight from the article…. You’ll be able to recognize my comments by the anger and vulgarity the statements produce in me….

“The people on the ground did the best they could with the way they understood the law at the time,” he said. “You can’t ask someone to put their life on the line and think and make a decision without the benefit of hindsight and then eviscerate them in the press 10 years later.”

You  can’t? Why not? These people were in no danger; there is no danger, no life on the line, when someone tortures another; only the one being tortured is in danger. And if you do something so obviously WRONG, it doesn’t fucking matter a bit how long it is, you SHOULD be vilified in the press. There is no reason on this Earth why anyone shouldn’t KNOW torturing another human being, for ANY FUCKING REASON AT ALL, is NOT morally defensible.  This principle is true even in cases where the ultimate goal is considered good; you’ve no doubt heard the saying, “the end does not justify the means.”

If they didn’t know it was wrong, why didn’t they do it out in the open, where everyone could see what they were doing? Fucking assholes think that their own parafuckingnoia should excuse anything they do….

“Everything you know is wrong.” — The Firesign Theater

“I’m skeptical about the Senate report, because I do not believe that every analyst whose jobs and promotions depended upon it, who were professional intelligence experts, all them lied to protect a program? All of them were wrong? All of these [CIA] directors were wrong? All of the people who were using the intel to go get people were wrong? And 10 years later a Senate staffer was able to put it together and finally there’s clarity? I am just highly skeptical that that’s the truth.”

This one’s easy….and so obvious, I again shouted this at the screen, hoping the asshole would hear me, “Why, yes, you bloody idiot, they CAN, and WERE, all wrong…. and every damn one of them WOULD lie to protect a program, which, in their minds, equals money, or influence….”

Then, of course, I realized I was shouting at my computer, so, I sat, tried to calm down, & began to type, to try to release some of the venom and bile that collected so quickly in the face of such evil insanity…. It started when the assbite used the phrase, “Senate staffer”, with the sneeringly obvious implication that position was only held only by persons of dubious character, and less than average intelligence, when compared to the noble men under his command….

When you start from a premise that is wrong, there is no way to make it come out right; every damn one of those directors started with the idea that whatever they did, right or wrong, shouldn’t be made public knowledge, and that such clandestine prevarication is justified by their goal (which, because it is their goal, they refuse to consider as anything other than right…. perfect “ipse dixit” logic….)

“If you get the first one in the wrong hole, you’ll never get all buttoned up right.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This, of course, is completely contrary to the values upon which our nation was supposedly founded; thus, any acts that indulge in that sort of paranoia, which were made on the basis of that idea, are, from the start, WRONG…. It really is that simple ffolkes, and I don’t understand quite WHY the public doesn’t get that, when listening to these lying, insane fools who pursue their delusional fantasies at the expense of the rest of us….

I reiterate….  “Everything you know is wrong.” — The Firesign Theater

Bloody fucking assholes, every damn one of them…..

“If I had a large amount of money I should found a hospital for those whose grip upon the world is so tenuous that they can be severely offended by words and phrases yet remain all unoffended by the injustice, violence and oppression that howls daily about our ears.” — Stephen Fry

I’d say the good doctor Mitchell would be one of the first admissions…. I’ll leave you to consider the following, which pretty much sums up what I see happening in the world today, just about everywhere I look…..

“It is okay to be ignorant in some areas, but some people abuse the privilege.” — Smart Bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is a poignant little poem, from a poet with whom I’m not very familiar… At first, I was going to pass over it, but, it grows as it settles, becoming more than it appears to be at first….. You’ll see what I mean if you give it a chance….

The Dreams of My Heart

The dreams of my heart and my mind pass,
Nothing stays with me long,
But I have had from a child
The deep solace of song;

If that should ever leave me,
Let me find death and stay
With things whose tunes are played out and forgotten
Like the rain of yesterday.

~~ Sara Teasdale ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Given the theme in section one today, this is a perfect piece from the archives, to finish out the day….

From 7/15/2012:

“I observe that there are two entirely different theories according to which individual men seek to get on in the world. One theory leads a man to pull down everyone around him in order to climb on them to a higher place. The other leads a man to help everybody around him in order that he may go up with them.” — Elihu Root

I’ve also heard it observed that there are only two kinds of people in the world…. Those who make lists about the types of people in the world, and those who are bored to tears by that….. 

     🙂    

Sorry, couldn’t resist, even for such an obviously true aphorism, one that is completely  worthy of pearl status…..

I like to think that I act from the latter motivational base, that of working with my peers rather than against them, with my only thought of reward the good feeling that serving others gives me.

One piece of evidence that I’ve been successful at that, can be seen in my own place near the bottom of what most would consider the social scale. If I had been leaving bloody corpses behind me, I think I’d be enjoying a few more physical comforts than I do, and would have bodies buried somewhere that could be used against me, if they were publicized. When one has nothing, there is nothing to steal, is there?

“If you wish a life of trouble, fill your house with treasures.” — ancient Chinese proverb

I think the morality implied by the original pearl above is obvious, and is one that neither side of the issue would argue. But then, those who climb on the bodies of their peers to advance would never admit to such behavior; rationalization is one of mankind’s greatest skills. But, rationalized or not, they DO know that what they do is immoral; they have merely learned the art of lying to themselves as readily as they do to others.

To my way of thinking, it’s sad, as well as stupid, for far too many reasons to list here; relating one will do. It’s sad because these people will never even see any need to change, until it is too late for them to do anything that might help them. And it is stupid, well, just because it is…. No, sorry, just kidding… it is stupid because, a life that is built on lies, is no life at all…..

Joshu asked the teacher Nansen, “What is the True Way?”
Nansen answered, “Every way is the true Way.”
Joshu asked, “Can I study it?”
Nansen answered, “The more you study, the further from the Way.”
Joshu asked, “If I don’t study it, how can I know it?”
Nansen answered, “The Way does not belong to things seen: nor to things unseen. It does not belong to things known: nor to things unknown. Do not seek it, study it, or name it. To find yourself on it, open yourself as wide as the sky.”

I can see the Way, but cannot point to it, and this makes me pessimistic, for it (the Way) is possibly our last hope for redemption as a species, and the people who most need to find it are not even looking. I am optimistic because I see great promise in Man, even if I am not certain that promise will be kept….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The aforementioned edit/proof session took only about 30 minutes, which makes this one of the fastest Pearls to ever get completed, unless, of course, you’re going to be a stickler, and count the two or three hours spent yesterday in putting it together…. I, personally, don’t have a stick jammed far enough up my ass to feel like that, so, I’m just going to ignore the entire issue, before I say or do something to completely eradicate any dignity or aplomb I may have previously displayed today…. In other words, I’m outta here, before I get caught…. See ya, ffolkes….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

Fat sausages, sizzling in the pan….

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Ffolkes,

Savory pieces of bacon bits flew elegantly through the highest points of the tent, filling all below with joy at the smell of sizzling pork fat; the crowd went wild…. Vendors hawked their plastic Jesus bobble-heads to unsuspecting Muslim tourists, while numerous swift-fingered waifs worked the crowd, lifting wallets from unsuspecting tourists.

Down in the center, two pathetic roosters were being abused so they’d fight each other, while money exchanged hands all over the stands, as winners and losers took turns feeling stupid….Me, I just watched and grinned, since I was the only one who knew the whole building would be coming down around the ears of everyone inside in approximately four minutes….

And thank goodness for that! I don’t think we need to go back there again; I stopped enjoying what I was writing about halfway through that piece of nonsensical farce, having apparently lost all of my sense of propriety, right along with my taste…. That was supposed to be funny, or at least strange enough to feel that way, but, never seemed to reach anywhere like that…. It was probably the bacon bits…. Nasty little things, those little chemical bombs can’t even be classified as food; they’re an artificially colored and flavored food-like substance, and I haven’t a single clue as to why ANYONE would want to eat them, ever….

However, it’s too late now to worry about whether or not the opening paragraphs made any sense, or even any nonsense; it’s already two paragraphs back, and we all know how hard it is to turn back the clock…. In our minds, or our writing, we can alter time, using the chance to do things over, to do them right, but, we all know the real world doesn’t allow do-overs, and couldn’t care less how you feel about that…. Besides, since it’s me, we just need to be aware of how simple it is to fill up space on the page, as I seem able to fill these intros, with pretty much nothing….

Of course, that’s a skill I’ve been developing now for close to three years, on this site; meeting the minimum introductory regulations has become almost second nature, not requiring all of my attention…. which probably shows in these little disasters I call the intro section. But, it DOES get the task completed, at least to the point each day where I am able to break free of it, and go on to finish the Pearl…. Given the methods I use, that is more of an accomplishment than it seems, though I’m not looking for kudos…. Just some new shoes…. and maybe a shot of two of Jack, when it’s quiet at night….

Shall we Pearl?…..

(1) You can’t win.
(2) You can’t break even.
(3) You can’t even quit the game.

— Ginsberg’s Theorem

Every major philosophy that attempts to make life seem meaningful is based on the negation of one part of Ginsberg’s Theorem. To wit:

(1) Capitalism is based on the assumption that you can win.
(2) Socialism is based on the assumption that you can break even.
(3) Mysticism is based on the assumption that you can quit the game.

— Freeman’s Commentary on Ginsberg’s theorem

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Some people confuse boredom with security.” — Smart Bee

I seem to be unable to find any spare neurons this morning, to help me find some small degree of intellect, or imagination somewhere within the reaches of my mind…. Moreover, I can’t seem to work up the energy to care…. I’d like to rant, as there is always so much to rant about in today’s society, as the two segments of mankind continue at war…..

I’m talking about the war between those who want to control everything and everyone, and those who don’t…. Mostly, throughout our species short, bloody history, the bad guys have been winning; today, the gap between the wealthy, and the other 99% of humanity, is as wide as the Mississippi River during flood season, and growing wider each day….

This, of course, means that this section of today’s Pearl will be an old school variety indictment; it’s what we do here as a default, when ranting is an unattainable goal…. I have no apologies, but, I’m sure they are unnecessary, as it DOES spare you from having to listen to yet another seemingly endless diatribe against people who don’t give the slightest shit about anyone else…. Just take in these pearls, complete with comments, and you’ll get the same effect as if you’d listened to me spew…. Enjoy!…. or, not, as you wish…. just pay attention, please….

“One of these days in your travels, a guy is going to come up to you and show you a nice, brand- new deck of cards on which the seal is not yet broken, and this guy is going to offer to bet you that he can make the jack of spades jump out of the deck and squirt cider in your ear. But, son, do not bet this man, for as sure as you stand there, you are going to wind up with an earful of cider.” — Damon Runyon

(And when you’re standing there, with your earful of cider, and a stupid expression, you’ll realize you should never have elected him in the first place….)

“We cannot assert the innocence of anyone, whereas we can state with certainty the guilt of all. Every man testifies to the crime of all the others – that is my faith and hope.” — Albert Camus (1913-1960) — The Fall (1957)

(Albert was a bit of an optimist sometimes….)

“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics but for our contributions to the human spirit.” — former US President John F. Kennedy

(Why am I skeptical of this? Oh, right, because he’s a politician, and he opened his mouth… ergo, it’s a foregone conclusion he lied….)

“Christianity might be a good thing if anyone ever tried it.” — George Bernard Shaw

(Oops! How’d that get in here? Oh, well, they’re (politicians and preachers…) all of a kind, so, it can stay….)

For some reason the little Senators make us laugh.” — Smart Bee

(In my case, that’s a full-blown belly laugh, complete with red face, tears, and runny nose from laughing so hard….)

“A liar should have a good memory.” — Quintilian (42-118 AD) — Institutiones Oratoriae, i, iv, 2, 91

(Is a comment necessary? I think not…. We all know to whom this refers…. and his name is Barry…. or Joe…. or Dianne…. or Paul, or Rick, or George, or Mitch…. or Anthony….)

(The last name refers to Mr. Chief Justice of the scOTUS Scalia, who is more of a politician than a judge… Actually, he’d be what is known as an honest judge, defined as one who STAYS bought, once he’s been paid for….)

“Dogs, ye have had your day!” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book xxii, Line 41

(This last line, from Pope’s Odyssey, is wishful thinking on my part…. this is what I would LIKE to be able to say to any of those assholes I mentioned in the pearl above….)

Thus endeth this modified old-school pearl, picked fresh for your reading pleasure, with completely new, yet exciting comments to stimulate your….. well, to stimulate…. Onward, he said, rushing into the next room….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve been spending some time reading old Pearls, to get new ideas, and, as we have here, to find old ideas, or material, worth posting again…. This poem falls directly into that last category, as one of my favorites, and as one of the best ever written, in my estimation…. I hope you enjoy it….

First posted on 7/15/2012:

For me, one mark of a good poem, and poet, is when one finishes reading the last line, the mind does not immediately let go, but follows the train of thought created by the poem to its conclusion, whatever that may be for each individual reader. Frost is a master at that type of poem, to my mind…. There is so much power in the phrase, “But I wonder….”!…..    Enjoy!

A Brook In The City

The farmhouse lingers, though averse to square
With the new city street it has to wear
A number in. But what about the brook
That held the house as in an elbow-crook?
I ask as one who knew the brook, its strength
And impulse, having dipped a finger length
And made it leap my knuckle, having tossed
A flower to try its currents where they crossed.
The meadow grass could be cemented down
From growing under pavements of a town;
The apple trees be sent to hearth-stone flame.
Is water wood to serve a brook the same?
How else dispose of an immortal force
No longer needed? Staunch it at its source
With cinder loads dumped down? The brook was thrown
Deep in a sewer dungeon under stone
In fetid darkness still to live and run —
And all for nothing it had ever done
Except forget to go in fear perhaps.
No one would know except for ancient maps
That such a brook ran water. But I wonder
If from its being kept forever under,
The thoughts may not have risen that so keep
This new-built city from both work and sleep.
                                        
~~ Robert Frost ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the last few days, I’ve found some rather good old entries, in Pearls posted back a couple of years…. Some of them are worth a reprint, so, here is one of them, which is obviously the larval stage of a complete, adult religirant….. Enjoy!….

From 7/16/2012:

Okay, here is another “old-school” Pearl…. and yes, it makes a specific point. Read all of them, in order, and the message will be crystal clear…..

“The truth is that Christian theology, like every other theology, is not only opposed to the scientific spirit; it is also opposed to all other attempts at rational thinking. Not by accident does Genesis 3 make the father of knowledge a serpent- slimy, sneaking and abominable. Since the earliest days the church as an organization has thrown itself violently against every effort to liberate the body and mind of man. It has been, at all times and everywhere, the habitual and incorrigible defender of bad governments, bad laws, bad social theories, bad institutions. It was, for centuries, an apologist for slavery, as it was the apologist for the divine right of kings.” — H. L. Mencken

BIBLE : A bible is a book which one or more religions consider to be holy, and to be something that they should follow. It is of course generally rather impractical to follow books, not just because they  don’t often go anywhere, but also because they are not very good at public speaking, decision making, problem solving, or any of the other qualities recognized as being an advantage for leadership. A religion based around the teachings of any compilation of Toxic Custard would be very strange indeed. To subscribe to this new cult following, send $15 now. — Daniel Bowen’s TOXIC CUSTARPEDIA

“Angels, I read, belong to nine different orders. Seraphs are the highest; they are aflame with love for God; cherubs, who are second, possess perfect knowledge of him. So love is greater than knowledge; how could I have forgotten? The seraphs are born of a stream of fire issuing from under God’s throne… Moving perpetually toward God, they perpetually praise him, crying Holy, Holy, Holy… But, they can sing only the first ‘Holy’ before the intensity of their love ignites them again and dissolves them again, perpetually into flames. ‘Abandon everything,’ Dionysius the Areopagite told his disciple. ‘God despises ideas.’ — Annie Dillard, “Holy the Firm”

“Man has a single basic choice:  to think or not, and that is the measure of his virtue.  Moral perfection is an unbreached rationality — not the degree of your intelligence, but the full and relentless use of your mind, not the extent of your knowledge, but the acceptance of reason as an absolute.” — John Galt

“Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in their readiness to doubt.” — H. L. Mencken

“The sagacious reader who is capable of reading between these lines what does not stand written in them, but is nevertheless implied, will be able to form some conception.” — Goethe (1749-1832)  — Autobiography, Book xviii, Truth and Beauty

There you go…. I can’t make it any plainer than that…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s probably a good thing my energy level is so low this morning…. I refrained from generating a discussion of the possible reasons for that (you can thank me later…), in order to keep from getting all wimpy, & to keep from wasting a lot of time whining about it, thus freeing me up to use that little bit of energy to put together the rest of today’s effort, a word definitely appropriate for what happened here…. Now I’m at the end, though, I’m at a loss for what to do…. This went together so fast, and so smoothly, it makes me nervous…. Ah well, it’s not as if I’ve never been THAT before… As I recall, there was this time in 1988….

Screw it, it’s done…. I’m not going to spend any more time second-guessing myself…. I’ll see you mañana ffolkes, provided we’re both lucky enough to get that far…..

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

Of course it’s soap; we needed radio….

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Ffolkes,

Somnochirgraphy or no, this may turn on us, so I’d advise wearing the Kevlar-lined cold weather gear, not the lightweight stuff…. You’ll recognize the symptoms, I’m sure, if it does go wonky on us, so I’m leaving you here as a sentry, to guard our back trail, as we work on finding today’s pearls…. One can’t concentrate adequately when distracted by having to watch out for the stray bander snatch, or worry about whether or not their vorpal blade is sharp enough to penetrate the armor we’ll face later on….

Okay, break time; coffee’s ready…. Somnochirographism, as you may or may not remember, is the word I coined a few days ago, to describe the typing I found myself doing in my sleep…. It is a word drawn from the Greek, I believe, with parts that follow the same rules as other coined words, to wit: Somno meaning “sleep”, and chirography, meaning “writing”, thus matching another word common to our species’ perverted nature, somnambulism, or, sleep walking….

As may be surmised from the opening paragraph, somnochirographism is no simple problem; the effect on people can be drastic, and daunting, to say the least…. not the least of which is knowing that one has developed a completely new perversion, er, condition….. Moreover, it’s a bit of a facer to realize, not only is this condition new to society, it is new to reality; in fact, since I coined the word, and I made up the condition, one might be able to convince SOME folks that it isn’t a real condition at all, merely another figment of an overactive imagination….

Not only that, but, the word was coined PRE-INJECTION OF COFFEE!….. Now, I realize that a claim like that is liable to create a bit of a stir among the not-so-faithful; that’s okay…. My readers, bless their souls, would never hold that against me, even though they know it adds time and energy to the process of digging ourselves out of the hole we tend to fall into; no, they’d just smile and nod their heads, and go on to the next section, because they know that, eventually, we’ll find our way back to, at least, a semi-current point in reality, from whence we may proceed to regain what little dignity to be found in a post-apocalyptic world….

Actually, to be honest, today’s Pearl may just turn out a little odd, even for me…. I can’t seem to shake off the post-slumber-mode yawns, or get my eyes all the way open…. Add in the right thumb’s insistence on letting the strained ligament voice its complaints in a loud, abrasive tone, which translates into a sharp, stabbing pain, like a needle into a nerve, in the base of the thumb, every time I type another letter (it doesn’t seem to care that it isn’t being abused…. it just hurts every time it moves….), and the overall shape, tone, and nutritional content of this missive could conceivably take a turn for the dark side, if I’m not careful….

All whining aside, ffolkes, it looks as if I’ve rambled incoherently long enough to fulfill the obligatory intro section requirements; five complete, if strange, paragraphs is two over the minimum, so, we’re good to go in that respect….. Now, if I can find even a shred of intelligence in me somewhere, and persuade it to help out, we may just get through this without having to kill any of the hostages…. or, maybe not. We’ll see how it goes, I guess…

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Every one wishes to have truth on his side, but it is not every one that sincerely wishes to be on the side of truth.” — Whately

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a couple of days I’ve been collecting headlines from the news…. As you know, I use them as a springboard for ranting, or for discussions of some idea or another that is stimulated by the article’s contents…. I’ve found, in the last two days, so many egregious examples of all that is wrong with this world, I can’t make up my mind as to which to use to as a jumping-off point…. So, I’ll let y’all create your own angst, and anger, and even your own rant, by letting you read them (I did….) and figure out how each one represents another nail in humanity’s coffin….

There are a lot, so we’d best get on with it…. I might make a comment or two along the way, but, mostly, just realize HOW FUCKING CRAZY the world is getting out there, ffolkes, and be alert…. As you know, the world can always use more lerts….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/GOP-presidential-hopefuls-met-with-donors-on-sly-5442909.php

(Politicians, meeting shadowy corporate interest lobbyists in the dark…. why, who would believe it?….)

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ryan-holds-meeting-with-black-members-of-Congress-5443187.php

(More than just a little arrogant, don’t you think? Plus, why is it still an issue? Why does a white conservative Congressman feel he needs to abase himself before a token organization, one whose very existence hearkens back to the day when racism was the law of the land? Gosh, do you think they (rich, white men….) are finally cluing in to the fact they are NO LONGER the demographic majority in this country?….)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/world/europe/us-and-germany-fail-to-reach-a-deal-on-spying.html?_r=0

(This might fit better in the international group, but, it came first, on the front page…. When you read this article, you’ll note that our beloved leader didn’t even bother lying to Ms. Merkel…. he just said they’d stop listening to her…. but, nobody else was mentioned…. Golly, y’think they’re serious about not wanting to offend anyone with their data collection? Nope, I don’t think so, either….)

http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2014/05/01/judge-rules-state-farm-does-not-have-to-pay-for-exploding-corpse/?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea#20571101=0 

( !!!!!! At first, I didn’t even WANT to know about this, but, it IS another example of how business interests always come first now, ahead of what may be right for an actual flesh and blood person….)

And, finally, a quick synopsis/summary of the day’s international headlines, as seen from the eyes of the editors of SFGATE, on the left coast of the USA…. What do you suppose those editorial idiots use as parameters for picking which stories will be written? Given the nature of the stories I found, it seems that at least ONE of those parameters is that there must be blood, or death in the story, or it isn’t news….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Ukraine-strikes-at-east-2-helicopters-shot-down-5447270.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Toll-up-to-19-dead-in-car-bomb-in-Nigerian-capital-5447483.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Attacks-in-Egypt-kill-4-including-police-soldier-5447351.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Seoul-subway-trains-crash-scores-injured-lightly-5447451.php

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Nigeria-police-276-abducted-girls-still-missing-5447560.php

Well, there you have it ffolkes, yet another NOT-A-RANT, structured for your convenience, perfectly set up for rapid, accurate consumption, and ease of comprehension…. Too bad it makes such an ugly reflection of Reality, isn’t it?….

“It’s not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 3/14/08

“There is a case for telling the truth; there is a case for avoiding the scandal; but there is no possible defense for the man who tells the scandal, but does not tell the truth.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 7/18/08
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ve used this in the past, because it is one of my all-time favorite poems, by one of my favorite poets…. This is deeper than it seems, and is as close as they came in Ogden’s day to criticizing the monied elite… something that only poets may get away with…. It is just as apropos today as it was when it first appeared, pre-1960 or so….

Bankers Are Just Like Anybody Else, Except Richer

This is a song to celebrate banks,
Because they are full of money and you go into them and all
you hear is clinks and clanks,
Or maybe a sound like the wind in the trees on the hills,
Which is the rustling of the thousand dollar bills.
Most bankers dwell in marble halls,
Which they get to dwell in because they encourage deposits
and discourage withdrawals,
And particularly because they all observe one rule which woe
betides the banker who fails to heed it,
Which is you must never lend any money to anybody unless
they don’t need it.
I know you, you cautious conservative banks!
If people are worried about their rent it is your duty to deny
them the loan of one nickel, yes, even one copper engraving
of the martyred son of the late Nancy Hanks;
Yes, if they request fifty dollars to pay for a baby you must
look at them like Tarzan looking at an uppity ape in the
jungle,
And tell them what do they think a bank is, anyhow, they had
better go get the money from their wife’s aunt or
ungle.
But suppose people come in and they have a million and they
want another million to pile on top of it,
Why, you brim with the milk of human kindness and you
urge them to accept every drop of it,
And you lend them the million so then they have two million
and this gives them the idea that they would be better off
with four,
So they already have two million as security so you have no
hesitation in lending them two more,
And all the vice-presidents nod their heads in rhythm,
And the only question asked is do the borrowers want the
money sent or do they want to take it withm.
Because I think they deserve our appreciation and thanks,
the jackasses who go around saying that health and happi-
ness are everything and money isn’t essential,
Because as soon as they have to borrow some unimportant
money to maintain their health and happiness they starve
to death so they can’t go around any more sneering at good
old money, which is nothing short of providential.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the blogs I follow is posted by a teacher, one Ivon-san, who has an appreciation for the beauty to be found in the world, and for the mindfulness that can be found everywhere, if one leaves themselves open to find, and use it…. He recently posted the poem below, in the format you see, with the drawing of the warrior embedded in the text…

I think the poem is, perhaps, the finest expression of the state of being one seeks as a “Warrior of the Light” that I’ve ever seen, taking into full account how the flaws in our nature can be used to find our strengths…. I’ve included a link to the post on Ivon’s site, as well as reproducing here the most excellent picture, with the accompanying powerful text message…. Enjoy!….

http://ivonprefontaine.com/2014/04/30/every-warrior-of-the-light-paulo-coelho/


everywarrior-coelho

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In spite of, or, perhaps, because of the handicaps under which this morning’s Pearl was constructed, it came together quite efficiently….. The whole shebang took only an hour and a half, rather than the usual 3 or so hours; since it’s done, I’m not going to look in the horse’s mouth, but will just accept the gift as it is intended, or, as it is found…. That might be somewhat indulgent, but, hey, I’m retired, so, I’m allowed… Regardless of any such inanities, the silly thing IS done, so, I’m outta here, with the hope you enjoy today’s effort…. See you tomorrow, given half a chance…..

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

One of the new Innuendo Class ships…..

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Ffolkes,

Knew I not better, it would be my guess Murphy is in cahoots with Mother Nature; how else to explain such weather? Unless, of course, one wishes to believe the global warming theories, which, based as they are on scientific principles, and the collection of accurate data, don’t stand a tinker’s chance against the ignorant denial which so many of our democratic brethren bring to bear upon the issue….. Nope, one American idiot can put serious hurt to all of the ideas so presented, especially as so many of them are elected members of our national congress (of crows?…. Well, they do both sound alike, and both make as much obscene noise as any sane person can tolerate…)….

Once again, it seems the urge to rant grabbed me before I had a chance to stop it, or to throw a password on the keyboard…. That’s the only explanation I can give for the above opening paragraph…. Dry, stilted, poorly judged attempts at humor, with barely enough vitriol to annoy a congressional aide, much less a Senator, all of whom are practiced at not listening to what is said to them….

They’re special, you know, and aren’t required to waste their precious time listening to what peons may think…. even if those peons elected them. They know, or believe, anyway, that the fools who elected them the first time will continue to pull the wool over their own eyes, thus perpetuating the entire mess for yet another elective cycle….

“If you get somebody to give you a dollar, they’ll vote for you for the rest of their lives.” — Hugh Parmer, Democratic candidate for the 1990 U.S. Senate, from Texas

Wow…. I must have let my angst build up for too long…. I’m having a hard time getting through a single paragraph without falling right back into ranting mode… This is going to make it tough to get very far…. I do enjoy the ranting process as it manifests in me, mostly, but, it can be a trifle disconcerting to anyone watching it happen from the outside…. not to mention the degree of splash that makes it such a messy modus operandi…. But, since I’m a guy, messes are second nature, and that part of it has always been a snap….

Of course, one must also maintain a certain degree of clinical objectivity to rant; if I want to do a decent job of tearing down our leaders, I can’t afford to have sympathy for them, now, can I? No, of course not; that would be counter-productive, to say the least, not to mention the confusion it could cause for them…. the congresspersons, I mean….

Wait a minute…. confusion, congress…. hmm…. actually, it sounds as if ranting at them, in the final analysis, may be the best thing we can do for them, as it allows them to indulge themselves in their favorite, most natural state, i.e., deep confusion, and paralyzing ignorance, without any feelings of inadequacy, due to our lambasting of their integrity, their honesty, and their very nature, which is ugly, ugly, ugly….

Or, it that just Paul Ryan? It sounds like him….

Oops, did I just get personal? Oh my…. I’m ashamed of myself….. NOT! Ha! Oh well, just consider that my opening shot for the 2016 presidential election, an event of significant importance for all of us in the modern world, and not only in THIS country…. It is also an event of note for humanity as a species, one I predict may just be, barely, a precursor to the upcoming revolution….

Oh, no, I’m not referring the one the people of the world will be having sometime soon…. No, I’m talking about the one Mother Nature has in store for us, sometime in the next 100 years or so, when the atmosphere we breathe changes, becoming increasingly toxic to us…… It’s all of a piece, you know…. everything is connected, and what happens in the upcoming years leading up to the election will play a big part in how the next few years unfold out in the real world….

Okay, I think I’ve rambled and blathered long enough on this, or any subject…. As a rant, the above falls way short of the usual sort; in fact, it’s rather broken up, without any real organization, which always tends to devalue the effect it may have on a reader…. That’s what happens, when I allow such vituperation and angst to show in the intro, without any attempt to turn it into something useful…. I guess it’s all of a piece today…. In fact, it’s a pretty fair picture of just how confused I am this morning…. I’m surprised I’ve been able to get this far….. Typing on autopilot, I guess…

Since this isn’t going anywhere particularly valuable, or attractive, we’ll abandon all hope of saving any of it, and just get on with the rest of today’s effort…. That, actually, will probably be for the best, as this is going nowhere, fast….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“Your face, my thane, is as a book where men
May read strange matters.
To beguile the time,
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,
Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under ‘t.”

— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Macbeth — Act i, Sc. 5

Lately, Will’s quotes have been fitting in nicely with my themes…. He was so damn prolific a writer, SOME of what he wrote HAD to come out okay, though I’m still of the opinion that most of what he wrote is way over-rated…. This, however, is a perfect set of lines to go with my shot at our newest Republican presidential hopeful, Paul “I’m just a regular asshole” Ryan…. and I didn’t have to pay the million monkeys for it!…..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I noted above, I’m a bit disorganized this morning; I’m so discombobulated (what a great word!….) (…. and such a perfect description of how I’m feeling!….), that I’m forced into the archives for self-protection…. But, I’ll be nice, and give you this, which is a discussion of the concept of forgiveness…. First posted on 12/31/2012, this one is pretty good, so, pay attention, please…..

🙂

Forgiveness. How does a person without faith in a higher power obtain this boon? Certainly not from themselves…. I know, if I have done something for which I feel the need, or desire, to be forgiven, then I most likely don’t deserve it, and refuse to give in to self-indulgence.

According to the preachers, God forgives all, but damn me if I can see any reason to do so, no matter how ‘merciful’ he/she/it might be. How can anyone expect moral behavior, if even our most grievous sins are forgiven? Because of the promise of reward for compliance, or threat of punishment for refusal to conform? I agree with Albert Einstein, that any such philosophy is not realistic, and certainly not moral…..

“In his private heart no man much respects himself.” — Mark Twain

All of us, without exception, have things we hide inside ourselves, secrets that nobody else will ever be told. Whether it is a memory of an act one is not proud of, or a bit of severe foolishness, or something so shameful that to share it would be to become a pariah, all of us humans have secrets. I would guess that almost all of them are akin to what is described in the first paragraph, to wit: acts that want, or request forgiveness, but do not deserve it.

I believe that this may be a method by which one can tell another person’s outlook on religion, for almost all religions are based on this principle, of divine forgiveness. Even though we may do things in life that are unforgivable, the gods, or God, for the monotheistic among us, are so merciful, that they will do so, if you but acknowledge their divinity, and admit they are your higher power…..

It’s a good deal, all in all, if one buys it. Myself, I’m a bit sanguine about it, since I only have the word of the preachers that it is so; there is no real evidence to be found that supports the theory, and the scientist in me wants at least a little bit of proof before accepting something as truth. I’m not going to buy anything just on someone else’s word, or assertion of truth; I’ve been alive long enough to know that doing things like that can only lead to losing something, if only the advantage of self-respect.

“His ignorance covers the world like a blanket, and there’s scarcely a hole in it anywhere.” — Mark Twain

Wait, I thought we were talking about religion, not the last Republican President, Shrub, the Junior….. Sorry, couldn’t resist…. Any who, it all comes back to the basic idea of how we view reality, in terms of the concept of God, or a power greater than ourselves, that is responsible somehow for everything that exists, and thus, for us. By giving away that responsibility, I think, we are showing our own cowardice; I’m not willing to do that, not without more compelling evidence than hearsay.

I’m not blind to the other evidence that many religionists claim as being proof of God and his will; I’ve burst into tears myself at the sight of a particularly vivid sunrise, without knowing why, other than the beauty of it was so arrestingly powerful. I’ve seen good things happen everywhere, in human interaction, and in Nature. I’ve witnessed what priests like to call “grace”, and will admit that such events are not always explainable by ordinary means.

I’ve also witnessed the other side of existence, where human nature turns dark and cruel, while Nature reveals its own complete indifference for human suffering, and cannot accept that the same entity would dare to assume, or want responsibility for such a wicked universe, even if the balance of good and evil is maintained by the presence of the other.

That assumption is purely human, and thus does not qualify, in my mind, as evidence of divinity in the form of God, by any of the visions held by any of the churches of Mankind. Unless, of course, one goes beyond doctrine, into philosophy, where the above contradictions do not apply, or can be explained by one further assumption. That assumption is a hard one for most humans, as it involves taking responsibility for EVERYTHING that they do, and for everything that happens to them. (Yep, that’s a paraphrase of the basic principle of Karma…)

In other words, as Robert Heinlein put it so aptly in Stranger In a Strange Land, “Thou art God.”  I know, it’s blasphemous, but, hey, been there, done that, let’s get past it…. It is the only explanation that fits ALL the facts in evidence, and even if a bit grandiose, really isn’t, because we are, after all, just a bunch of bozos on the bus.

Being God, though, would be a really boring job, the way the job descriptions in all the churches read, and I don’t think I want to take that on, particularly. It may be the only way I can find any forgiveness for those things I’ve done in my long life of which I am not proud, but, since I don’t feel that I SHOULD be forgiven for them, I think I’ll just accept the responsibility, along with the consequence, a certain lessening of my self-esteem, and try to act in the future in ways that won’t make me feel that way….

It really isn’t hard to be good, in reality, as long as you care…. The problem is, not enough people care, or even think about stuff like this….. Me, I can’t help myself…… Caring, to me, is what being human is about; those who don’t care aren’t fully human, and won’t be until they do…..

“I am covered with pure vegetable oil and I am writing a best seller!”  — Zippy the Pinhead

Note from the future: I don’t know about the best seller, but I kind of like the vegetable oil concept….. what do you think?…. Actually, I think it would be best if we just go on to the next section….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today certainly resembles a dream, which I am desperately struggling to keep from becoming a nightmare…. In hope of helping with that, here is a classic poem from a classic poet…. a bit of a dreamer, was Poe, but, elegantly so…..

A Dream Within A Dream

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

~~ Edgar Allan Poe ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aha! Made it!….. There were moments today when I wasn’t sure I would get this far; it’s been touch and go ever since I first got up….. That’s all good, now, so I can relax, and enjoy the process here in section three, where we find ourselves in preparation for a dive to find today’s old-school variety pearl…. I’m pretty sure that if I dared to set any strict parameters, the whole damn thing would probably explode, in a fireball much resembling the Big Bang, from a couple of billion years ago…..

Far be it from me to take chances with the lives of my Gentle Readers….. plus, who needs a new Big Bang? We haven’t yet figured out what to do about the first one, so another would just be more than we can deal with…. So, I’ll go for a nice, refreshing dive, to see what SB has for us today….

Man, in the unsearchable darkness, knoweth one thing
That as he is, so was he made; and if the Essence
And characteristic faculty of humanity
Is our conscient Reason and our desire of knowledge
That was Nature’s Purpose in the making of man.

— Robert Bridges

“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.” — George Bernard Shaw

“A politician has to be able to see both sides of an issue, so he can get around it.” — Smart Bee

“All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few.” — Stendhal

The villa’s and the chapel’s where
I learned with little labor
The way to love my fellow man
And hate my next-door neighbor.

— Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

“It is not every question that deserves an answer.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 581

“If our behavior is strict, we do not need fun!” — Zippy the Pinhead

When I began putting together pearls of virtual wisdom, I had no idea the process itself would become as critical as the end result; I suppose that was naive of me, as almost everything in life obeys that rule, to wit: The journey is more important than the destination…. In today’s case, that rule has been proven yet again…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one is a good one…..

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Today’s Pearl has been brought to you by the letter D, and the number 42, for better or for worse…. No metaphors were harmed in the production of this blog, though we tried our hardest…. All is serene on the home front, so, I’ll be taking this show on the road now, again, for better, or for worse…. I’ll see you tomorrow, unless, of course, you see me first…. Dosvedanya, gospodin…. I THINK I spelled that right….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

YOW! The Zipster said he’d let us sift some of his debris!…

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Ffolkes,

In the course of human events, logic and/or intelligent design aren’t included in the blueprints, though there are some among us who pride themselves on having or using both…. Those poor deluded souls are usually the ones struggling the hardest to find either one in themselves…..

Those of us who actually LIVE with those elements, as part of the fabric we have woven, know better than to expect it from the normal run of human; it just isn’t part of their bag of tools, or as some call them, tricks….  Expecting them to show logical behavior is a pointless exercise, because it’s just not in them….

There, I said it…. Now will you leave me be? Oh, hi, ffolkes, come on in…. Don’t mind him, he’s just an iconic force of nature, who forced his way in here to start badgering me about ranting, for some unknown reason, at this ungodly hour of the day…. A PITA, to be sure…. but, I’ve given him what he demanded, a short, pointed statement on the 90% of humanity who reside on the sloped portion of that famous bell curve, upon which humanity’s every characteristic may be described as falling….. Which bell curve? Okay, I’ll tell ya….

In humans, almost every one of the characteristics that describe how our species exists, our species’ characteristics, in terms of the efficacy of our thinking, sort of, can be said to be accurately portrayed by the use of a bell curve, that mathematical model which best matches our nature…. In this model, about 5% of mankind are genius, on one end of the curve, while another 5% exhibit less than normal intelligence, at the other end; in between are the 90%, the bulk of mankind, whose minds are relatively normal…. On a straight-line curve, it would look like this….

— Genius –Talented — Average — Challenged — Stupid —

Obviously, that’s a bit simple, but, it gives y’all the general idea…

Of course, such simplistic models are necessary, to keep the questions to a minimum, and to present such arguments without creating any MORE resentment among those whose level of intelligence is part of that 90% that possesses less than what might be called optimum IQ….

Plus, it’s hard to have any discussion of this, without questions of motivation arising, a process that, once started, has no good ending…. In fact, discussions about this subject tend to be fraught with all kinds of potential to go wrong, thus, they end up creating more misunderstanding than is cleared up…. which, in my haste to find an intro, I forgot…

So, I am going to be a coward, albeit a smart coward, having resolved to drop this whole subject, as one I don’t really want to pursue…. Nothing useful can come of it, so, hey, why not bow to reality? It’s not as if I had so much invested in it that I’m unwilling to give up on the effort, is it?

Nope, cuz, as it is plainly obvious, to me, at least, just how LITTLE interest in finishing it I really had…. I’m not sure why I started in on that in the first place…. I guess the sight of all that blank whiteness threw me off for a minute, fooling me into thinking I needed to be serious, and sober…. Piss on THAT, eh?

In fact, I see by the above that I’ve managed to spew out enough BS to fill up the intro again…. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I’d planned it this way…. Nah! No way that much thought went into this!….. Whatever the case may be, as to motivation, and/or execution, we made it this far, and that, in the final analysis, is all that matters….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Always obey your superiors–if you have any.’ — Mark Twain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having thus given away the whole secret right there, with that quote from Twain, I will now tell you the GOOD news, which is that I’m not up to a rant today; not a fresh one, anyway…. I also don’t feel like spending the time & energy to go find something appropriate in the archives…. In point of fact, I’m feeling altogether lazy, which makes me a bit nervous re: the outcome of this Pearl…. But, I am smothering my fears, as I type, since I’ve decided that there is nothing wrong with being lazy…. Not a thing….

Truth be told, I’m feeling very CAT-like today; I really, really don’t give a shit…..about much of anything. I don’t feel like ranting, or pearling at all, for that matter; it’s only my damned sense of duty that keeps me chained to this desk, with periodic breaks for pain relief measures, until I get this done each day…. I guess today is no exception…. So, to save further issues of any kind from developing, I’m now going for a dive, and I won’t be back until I’ve found a seven-star pearl to fill this section…. Parameters? What parameters? I’m just going to hold a gun to SB’s head until I get what I want….

“Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s worth the effort.” — Goebel’s Law of Useless Difficulty

“It’s good to be just plain happy; it’s a little better to know that you’re happy; but to understand that you’re happy and to know why and how, in what way, because of what concatenation of events or circumstances, and still be happy, be happy in the being and the knowing, well, that is beyond happiness — that is bliss, and if you have any sense you ought to kill yourself on the spot and be done with it.” — Henry Miller, “The Colossus of Maroussi”

“Find time still to be learning somewhat good, and give up being desultory.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ii, 7

“All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” — Sean O’Casey

“We get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking…” — Albert Camus

Cynic, n.: A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.  Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic’s eyes to improve his vision. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“In the bigger scheme of things, the universe is not asking us to do something, the universe is asking us to be something. And that’s a whole different thing.” — Lucille Clifton

Not bloody bad for a pick-up-sticks kind of day, eh? That first quote, to my way of thinking, may just be the best definition of modern American politics I’ve ever seen…. Okay, so I’m a cynic, which is okay, because I have no plans to travel anywhere near Scythia….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As stated above, my laziness today is legion…. You’ll have to put up with another of my old poems…. In fact, I’m SO lazy today, you get a two-fer, all because I couldn’t work up the energy to decide which one to use…..

Yoda says, “learn to like it, you must, or forever will you lump it…”

I know I’m in the now, if only…..

Oh, there it is again, fiddle faddle;
  Begone, I said, vamoose, skedaddle!
It looked at me as if I were insane:
  Scoffed, it did, filled me with pain.

Where does it come from?
Where does it live?
I’d stick out my thumb,
if I had more to give.

If only, should, would, could it be?
  It went away again, this time free.
It will be back again, this I know;
  or I’m wrong, and it won’t show.

Who cares?
Who hears?
Such goings on wobble the sphere,
I wish it wouldn’t do that here.

I’ve been wrong before…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Intelligent Crimes

The value of wit is often said to cause harm,
for those who think, such is its greatest charm.
The new and the bold cannot be fulfilled
if innovation and change is left unwilled.

Society behaves at its base as a mob
conformity and submission its primary job.
Any sign of rebellion against the mob’s rule
is met with resentment, naming such rebel the fool.

Intellect and talent are looked at askance,
expressing artistry stands nary a chance.
To stand out from the rest of mankind
is fraught with danger, for body and mind.

Often I stand to watch in solemn dismay
as beauty and joy are left by the way,
ignored and reviled by the unwashed masses
who prefer darkness, and acting like asses.

With shouts of derision the normals make known
their fear of intelligence, greater than their own.
They hope to stop all semblance of progress;
for thoughts and ideas, they couldn’t care less.

The world struggles on in spite of all opposition,
managing to maintain its advanced position.
Pulling the foolish along in spite of reluctance,
helping each to learn the survival dance.

Hard though it may be to keep up with the future
genius manages its plans to develop and nurture.
In the final analysis, those who live by reason
enjoy life the most, season to season.

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s final pearl will be of the odd-duck variety, our newest incarnation, complete with link, a great deal of chutzpah, and a five-star old school pearl to make the point of the missing rant…. Here for your reading pleasure is the latest article from Mark Morford, lexicographer and vocabularian extraordinaire, with a very cogent take on the latest example of a corporate sleaze-bucket parading his bigotry in public…. Read this first, then enjoy the pearl that follows, all about assholes like the one who owns the Clippers….

http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2014/04/29/rich-white-thugs-begone/

“I sense that much of this historic moment is escaping you.” — Brain

“Hit the road, Jack, and don’t you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.” — Ray Charles, and the Raylettes

MYRMIDON, n.  A follower of Achilles — particularly when he didn’t lead. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“If the whole human race lay in one grave, the epitaph on its headstone might well be: `It seemed like a good idea at the time.'” — Rebecca West

Angels and ministers of grace, defend us!
Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn’d,
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou comest in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee: I ‘ll call thee Hamlet,
King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me!
Let me not burst in ignorance, but tell
Why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death,
Have burst their cerements; why the sepulchre,
Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn’d,
Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws
To cast thee up again. What may this mean,
That thou, dead corpse, again in complete steel
Revisit’st thus the glimpses of the moon,
Making night hideous,
So horridly to shake our disposition
With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls?

— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act i, Sc. 4

I know this one doesn’t SEEM very vituperative, at first glance; as well, it MAY just be a bit TOO esoteric for even my Gentle Readers, who should be used to me by now…. However, it gave me a chance to use what I believe to be Will’s BEST piece of work, while the rest of the entries performed the stimulation a good pearl needs…. If that seems like a lot to read into five little quotes, well, maybe we need to practice more…. This is a very good pearl, ffolkes, so absorb it, even if you don’t ‘get it’ right off…. The power of metaphor can be abstruse, and slow-acting, but, it’s like a river that floods its banks…. inexorable….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I hope something GOOD came in the mail today so I have a REASON to live!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

It probably says something about me, that such statements from Bill and Zippy strike me as so apt, at certain moments in time…. This one just jumped up into my face out of Smart Bee, demanding I use it here, in the closing section…. Actually, it tried to bully its way into the last pearl, but, I made it wait for the proper venue, and time, while distracting Zippy with a shiny coin…

Now that I seem to have purged myself of all the nonsense and crap that built up in there since yesterday, I’m going to, as they say, cut my losses, and hit the proverbial road…. Oh, don’t worry, I’ll proof first, but, I’ll do that in stealth mode, so it won’t disturb the natives, or, any of you….. See y’all tomorrow….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

Baklava, balaclava, it’s all Greek to an Armenian….

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Ffolkes,

NOOOOO!…. I’m MELTING!….. Well, perhaps not, but, it sure feels that way….. it’s almost like a bad flashback, like those we saw in the propaganda films back in the 60’s, where they showed the guy’s face melting in the mirror as he watched, horrifyingly stoned to the gills on LSD, or “acid”, as those who used it named it…. Or, maybe like the Wicked Witch of the East in “Dorothy In The Land of Oz”, the classic child’s horror story by L. Frank Baum….

What? You think the Oz books weren’t horror stories? Who are you kidding? Have you actually read them, because, if you have, you’d know they’re some of the scariest books for children ever written… In the original book, those flying monkeys were NOT cute, nor cuddly, at all; their favorite battle technique was to dismember their opponents, ripping off their arms, legs, and heads…. Nasty creatures, and not what I’d call the makings of a fanciful daydream for a child….

I’m not sure how I got off into that little foray into book criticism, but, I’m cutting it off here, as I’m experiencing some rather new and disturbing pain messages from my body…. Now, my right thumb is getting extremely painful, as I type; each time I hit the space bar with my thumb, a shot of excruciating pain shoots through to my wrist, and the whole joint feels stiff and arthritic, which, I suppose, it is…. That, and the swollen tendon, that has occurred before, back when I was cooking for work…. It comes from a tendon over the thumb-pad, that gets strained and swollen from overuse….

Back in the day, when I was cooking, it would start to catch on another ligament, freezing the thumb in place, painfully…. It isn’t quite that bad yet, which is good, because, then, the only cure was a shot of cortisone in the joint, which hurt like hell, but provided amazing relief for the condition…. Since it isn’t that bad yet, I just need to rest it, which I’ll do, once this Pearl is done…. I guess the typing is getting to the joint, after almost three million words created, and placed on screen…

Many of those words have been crafted right here, in the introductory section of these Pearls, as they’ve gone from short, to long, to medium, all searching for that one consistent format that I could use daily…. That has never been found, but, I keep managing to put down enough CRAP to fill up the page, so, that’s something, I would suppose…. I’d say it’s better than the alternative, which would eventually have driven me completely bonkers, without the advantage of doing so in an orderly fashion, as I do here at ECR….

Why, look! I’ve done it again…. I’ve blathered and spewed sufficiently to meet all the requirement, so, since each word takes me to a new level of pain, we’ll cut this off here, and get on with the rest of today’s effort…. I’m thinking it would be the wisest course, given the predictable ending…. Well, it’s predictable for me, cuz I’m writing it, but, even the dimmest bulb in the box can see I’d be stretching the limits of believability if I tried to tell you it wasn’t…. Or, I would, if I could, but, I can’t, so I won’t…. so there…

Shall we Pearl?…. Actually, I think we better go do that NOW….

“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Carl Sagan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since a lot of typing has been removed from today’s equation, I’ll adjust the format a bit, and keep my personal ranting to a minimum…. First, some links, to articles in the recent news, from some European and American sources…. Each one demonstrates yet another aspect of modern life that shows how the BRC and their shadowy masters are running around, killing, stealing, lying, buying court decisions and legislators, and generally doing pretty much whatever they want to do, as long as it benefits them more than anyone else….

Just read the articles with a big load of salt nearby, to supply an adequate number grains of it to balance out the lies and bullshit being poured upon our heads by our beloved leaders…. I’m not even going to comment, until afterward, and even then, we’ll pull from the archives for the arguments of indictment …. For now, just be aware of this….

The governments of this world, ALL of them, ours especially, are NOT concerned, at all, in taking care of, or protecting, or helping, or in any way benefiting the people over whom they rule…. They are concerned with filling their own pockets, increasing their own sense of control over others, and justifying their own sense of entitlement…. If the people benefit, even the tiniest bit, you can bet it is because they have calculated that it is MORE beneficial for them, or it wouldn’t be happening….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/28/drone-civilian-casualties-senate-bill-feinstein-clapper?CMP=ema_565

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Sheriff-s-deputy-not-charged-in-fatal-crash-5437026.php?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/10796808/Julian-Fellowes-Modern-version-of-wealth-and-power-can-be-very-ugly.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10793543/Story-of-four-year-olds-near-death-experience-transfixes-America.html

Sorry, I HAVE to comment on this one…. The most significant statement in this article came from a quote regarding the film made by a self-proclaimed atheist, who said, “”Only in America could a book like this be classified as non-fiction…..“At age four, an inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality is charming. But among American adults, widespread identification with the mind of a pre-schooler is scary.”

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/29/supreme-court-cellphones-privacy-search-seizure

All of the above are pretty scary, taken either individually, or as a group; the implications for society of the flaws exposed by such reports is, to me, just about as obvious, and as frighteningly real, as it can be…. especially the last article, which examines our own Supreme Court, in an article written published in a British news outlet, but with what is apparently a very clear-sighted view of the issues….

It also points up how the asshole who is the Chief Justice of that court is, in my opinion, the most egregious example of a judge who has been bought and paid for by corporate interests…. His every legal opinion, for his entire judicial career, has been obviously motivated by the need to protect his business dealings, and his corporate masters….

Oops, caught me ranting, didn’t you? Okay, I’m done for now…. Instead, here is an older politirant, that, oddly enough, still makes perfect sense…. well, it does, to me, anyway…. Enjoy…. or, if not, pay attention, because it’s all true shit, and shouldn’t be forgotten, or ignored…. We do so at our own risk….

From 4/14/2012:

“We, the people, are not free.  Our democracy is but a name.  We vote? What does that mean?  We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” — Helen Keller

Odd, don’t you think, that the most insightful views of society are often presented by those who have no sight at all? Helen Keller was, obviously, an intelligent woman; no matter how patient the teacher, a stupid person could not have become the woman Ms. Keller became, without at least a modicum of basic ability to think. To think well, one must learn to observe well, and she has definitely got that down, for in no other way could this statement have been made. And that, to me, is the point. She is(was) a smart woman, and this observation can be considered to be true. (Differences of opinion on that point may be presented, and welcome, but for another discussion…. for now, lets discuss this….)  If so, why isn’t anyone doing anything to address the issue?

Well, I’ll tell ya, pardner, it’s like this…. Tweedledum and Tweedledee already fixed the election, and nobody noticed. Yup. It’s true. I would say that the voting process in this country has been a sham for oh, about 49 years, give or take a month or two. It got shot to hell, right about the same moment the rifle bullet struck the back of Jack Kennedy’s neck on that fateful day in 1963 when he was assassinated, and the last hope of the American people died with him……

When LBJ took office, it was the end of democracy as we know it. From that time to now, there has been NO candidate for the Presidency of this country who would be allowed to run, if the true rulers of the nation did not approve. Our true rulers have been underground, in the background, for a long time; they don’t like the public’s eye turned upon them, for they know that if the light falls on them, it won’t take long for all their evil to start to show. These men (there are no women in the group, other than those who become even more male than their counterparts, in their vicious disregard for the rest of humanity) have been in effective control of the political process for even longer; it just became more obvious at the time of Kennedy’s demise, and has been harder to cover up ever since.

I find it disturbing to see Mitt Romney out there, seemingly with their approval, as he is far too close to what one of their inner circle looks like, and they aren’t shutting him up. This implies they no longer care if anyone sees their manipulations, and that they believe they don’t need to hide as much as before, because there is NOTHING anyone can do to change the outcome that they have already decided on. Or, it could be a sort of sleight of hand…. present Romney for people to watch, then get Obama safely elected, and settle right back into the process of eliminating the Bill of Rights, a project they’ve been working on for some time now.

I feel I must point out to all the folks out there who believe our current president to be a new hope, that this is the same man who signed the National Defense Authorization Act into effect on New Year’s Eve, while the American public was busy drinking and celebrating the new year, completely unaware that their oh-so-liberal president had just handed the Bill of Rights over to the National Security Agency, and its myrmidons, to do with as it pleased….. If you doubt me, check the news from that day…. It’s a fact, it happened, and it is now too late…. officially.

The first and middle rounds are done folks. It is now the final rounds, and we are now officially at war with our own government, by their own decree. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m stocking up on ammunition, food, water, and body armor…… because the day of the final showdown is not far away. One of these days, and it is not far off, the gloves are going to come off all the way, and you will see the government of this country firing weapons at its own citizens, in the name of “public security”….

I’d think about this, if I were y’all, and think seriously. Try not to believe whatever they tell you; examine anything with a critical eye, and speak up. But, be ready to duck, because I have a feeling they are no longer going to even give a warning shot, or yell, before they fire at us….. If you look at them, you will see that the ‘executive orders’ in the NDAA say they are not required to do so….

Don’t be distracted, ffolkes, by all the yammering going on about taxes, or healthcare, or racism, or any of the other bullshite that is currently touted as “what the American people care about”.  I care about my rights. I care about being able to live my life as I choose. I care about human dignity, and freedom, and compassion for others. But this election isn’t about any of those things, not what is in the papers, and not what s in the people’s hearts. It is about control over society, and money. That’s it.

It has been about that for a long time now. Unless the American public comes to its senses, it isn’t going to change, either, until Mama Nature steps in, and sends us all back to the drawing board as another failed biological experiment. That is Reality folks, and is not subject to our manipulation. We can control what we see of Reality, but we can’t change its nature, and it will end us as surely as the sun comes up every morning, if we don’t make some drastic changes. And, unfortunately, none of those changes will be allowed by the beloved ruling class, so….. end game…… Deal with it….

Once you’ve tried to change the world you find it’s a whole bunch easier to change your mind. — Smart Bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m in the mood for gritty…. so, we’ll go with my own stuff… to save time, and embarrassment for anyone else’s reputation…..

Geezer to Congress, with Love

Politicos don’t care much ’bout seniors and their ilk,
except for their money, I thinks;
Though they talk as if they’d cozen them in silk,
what they actually do, it stinks.

“The banks are failing, we can’t allow that!”,
steal from the aged, that’s their plan.
“Their life’s ending, that’s plainly where they’re at,”
lie shamelessly, because they can.

Maybe just once, if we all act together,
it couldn’t miss.
Right on their shoes, no matter the weather,
take careful aim, and piss.

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a while since I ranted on religion, though I’ve managed to include them in some of the recent politirants, as supporting cast members of the show to which we are treated daily on the public stage…. Reminds me of Punch and Judy, sometimes… Any who, relax, I’m not going to rant now; what happened in section one fulfilled all the daily requirements, and I’m not motivated for that just now….

So, old-school, of course, but with the parameters set to find aphorisms, quotes, taglines, or punch lines about those happy, deluded creatures, the preachers, priests, pastors, vicars, reverends, cardinals, bishops, popes, shamans, imams, sadhu, or, whatever other titles are accorded to those who encourage others to buy into their divinely inspired delusional systems…. Enjoy, and be careful not to step in any of it….

“Our hope of immortality does not come from any religion, but nearly all religions come from that hope.” — Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899)

“I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.” — Garrison Keillor

“THINK! Your brain’s only evolutionary advantage over sponge cake!” — Smart Bee

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

“Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil.” — Lazarus Long

“Men have fiendishly conceived a heaven only to find it insipid, and a hell only to find it ridiculous.” — George Santayana

“Boys, you have ALL been selected to LEAVE th’ PLANET in 15 minutes!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

THAT was simply amazing! The entire group of pears for this section, minus the first one, which I found yesterday, came up in SB in less than two minutes, and the whole seven-star version was completed in five…. It may be, for a pearl of this quality and shine, the fastest ever….

And, as a bonus, all of the chosen aphorisms are perfectly appropriate, without the usual smarm…. well, maybe there’s a little smarm, but, not so much it will call for a trip to the dry cleaners…. That, by itself, shows the beneficial nature of this pearl, and proves my point nicely…. Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did…. and do….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is most likely for the best that I’m already done with this…. Since I barely noticed it while in the process of creating it, it’s probably appropriate that I have no clue about what it may be like, or much of what is in it, to be honest…. Maybe if I proof it….

Well, that was fun, but, I’m still not sure about what happened here…. but, I’m not going to let it worry me, because, hey, it’s done, right? Right…. And, since I’m in charge, I get to say this, on my way out the door….. See ya, ffolkes….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3

All Papal proclamations are to be digitally titillated prior to release….

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6

Ffolkes,

Must type…. must write…. NO! NO! Don’t take my antique Corona Note Master!…. Not that!…..  Brr!…. Huh? What’s that noise?….

Whoa, wait a minute, here…. What’s happening here? I was asleep, in my bed, having some sort of dream, about the BRC myrmidons at the door, with a warrant to take my typewriter….. when, all of a sudden, I wake up, to find myself sitting at the computer, coffee already poured and sipped, with the first line up there, staring back at me from the screen….

Well, damn! This means my worst fear has come true…. I’m sleep-typing again, just like the old days, before the incident that we don’t discuss took place, altering forever the landscape of my existence, as well as providing me with yet another neurotic fear to deal with….

This one, however, isn’t what I’d call completely neurotic, as the basis for the fear is rooted in real events, events of extraordinary danger, as well as of extraordinary complexity, which can tend to create little pockets of fear in us, like camouflaged grenades, stored with the pins already pulled, just waiting to go off at the slightest touch.

I mean, how would YOU feel if you were attacked, physically AND emotionally, by your own clothing…. It isn’t pretty, although I’ve heard of certain perverted haute couture designers who actually get off on this sort of thing, but, then the depths of human nature are always looking for new record-holders for their asshole awards…

Now I’ve done it, and done it good…. I’m lost, ffolkes…. When I began to write this morning, I had a place to go; it was not a normal place, even for us, but, somewhere between there, and here, I lost track of where it is, in relation to where we are, due to the confusing nature of what I was trying to write….

I know, it sounds weak, and confused, and you’d be right about that…. That’s exactly what I’m saying, actually…. I don’t know where we are, and I don’t have a clue as to how to get anywhere we need to be… I don’t know about y’all, but I need some more coffee… Be right back, after a few sips…

Well, bless my garters! That didn’t work at all! I’ve never had coffee disappoint me like that, and I am the one who made it! But, wait, there’s more! Call now, and we’ll include this complete set of faux deer horn flatware, free of charge! Send in three boxtops with your check, for $10.95 per ordered item, and we’ll send those out to you on the next Fed-Ex truck we can flag down….

Whoa! What’s happening here? I keep getting little cracks in reality, ffolkes, with strange things taking place in the gaps between now, and then…. What will become of this blog if we are lost in space/time? How will I cope, with no real coffee, once it runs out? Why am I asking you? None of you have any more idea of what is going on here than I do…. Of course, I’m also supposed to be in charge of this mess…. You can see how well THAT is going….

Oh, look, ma! It’s an intro! Look what I found, sitting right here on top of this pile of crap! Another legal-sized, and, more importantly, legally-produced introductory section, (even if created in a fashion more perverted than creative….), that passes all the requirements the authorities set upon us, as well as those less stringent, though no less pointless rules and standards we apply to our own work…. In other words, I’ve spewed sufficiently, and will now go on to more complex, even MORE twisted brain farts, as is required by law, and custom….

Shall we Pearl?…..

“A man who can fool chiefs, and even gods, must still face the monsters he himself created.” — Old Maori saying

Hmm…. Is that good news, or…. never mind, or we’ll never get out of here….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the news on 4/28/2014:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Judges-financial-conflicts-of-interest-revealed-5434148.php#photo-4664440

I am, I’m afraid, moved to express an expletive with religious overtones of blasphemy, so, move on a bit if that offends you…. There’s nothing like it for getting such toxic vitriol out of the system….

Oh. My. Fucking. God….. This…. article, for lack of a more telling word, is nothing short of appalling….

All of it, it’s all wrong, and evil, and perverted…. The picture of democracy painted by this article describes a country that does not even RESEMBLE the country in which I grew up, the country to which I gave, and would gladly still give, my allegiance….. I’m sorry, ffolkes, but there is just too much going on here for me to even begin to rant, not at this moment, anyway, as I would be entirely too distressingly impassioned to think clearly…. I’ll be taking a break, now that I’ve read the first page, and most of the second, before I go back, to try to finish absorbing the evil content it contains…. Be back soon… oh, right, I forget…. you’ll never know WHEN I actually come back, will you?….

Oh, well… I will. And, do…. See, here I am, and none of y’all have any idea of when this took place, do you? Nope, didn’t think so…. but, hey, it’s irrelevant, anyway, so let’s go on…

When I was growing up, we were taught certain things in school about our country, and about the problems our forefathers had with the English monarchy before coming here to get away from all that. Certain ideas of what a government should do for it’s people, and ideas of what should NOT be allowed, were clearly laid out to us, with a strong message/warning firmly attached, confirming for us that honesty, integrity, and compassion were the key components to what our Founding Fathers had in mind as our legacy….

In light of that, I have always believed that the members of our judicial branch should never have ANY involvement in ANY activities, especially of a financial nature, that could conceivably come into conflict with their work as a judge. Such financial dealings can only lead to both the appearance of corruption, and the actual perpetration of corruption by those judges, allowing themselves to make legal decisions based on anything other than the law…. It’s always been my belief that ANY such dealings can only lead to problems, and usually those problems dump their results on the public, not on the participants….

I feel as if I’m not angry enough for this now; I’m not being particularly vitriolic, which the subject matter deserves…. I must have allowed myself to cool off too long after reading this yesterday. Since I am NOT living up to my own expectations for a rant (not enough vitriol, or vivacious vituperation happening for my taste….), I’m going old school, just because I CAN, and because it’s the only way to save this pearl from the shit-pile it’s heading for otherwise….

Here then, some pearls to show how this subject annoys me, no end, and why y’all should be making sure your powder’s dry, and there’s plenty of scrap metal to make bullets…. We might need them, sooner than any of us believes….

“Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it’s hard to get it back in.” — H. R. Haldeman

“When Demaratus was asked whether he held his tongue because he was a fool or for want of words, he replied, “A fool cannot hold his tongue.” –Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of Demaratus

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse steals trash; ‘t is something, nothing;
‘T was mine, ‘t is his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.

— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Othello — Act iii, Sc. 3

“Our sires’ age was worse that our grandsires’. We their sons are more worthless than they: so in our turn we shall give the world a progeny yet more corrupt.” — Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) (65-8 B.C.)

“Any appeasement of tyranny is treason to this republic and to the democratic ideal.” — William Allen White

“Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Measure for Measure — Act ii, Sc. 1

“America is at that awkward stage. It is too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.” — Claire Wolfe

Well…. That’s not bad, such as it is…. It IS an unusual pearl, for certain; it’s not often I’ll use two from Shakespeare, but, when it works, I’ll go with whomever I find…. If any of the punchlines or references aren’t clear, well, think about it; it’ll come to you…. Or, ask, and I’ll provide further clues…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those who have been here often enough know how I feel about Emily D., in spite of Shauna’s disapproval of her work… (That’s a joke, Shauna…. Everybody gets to dislike someone…. mine is Shakespeare, and, as proven above, I’ll even use his work, if it fits….) Any who, today, I looked for one that might go with what the pearl in section one had for a theme, but, Emily didn’t seem to write a lot of politically oriented material, so, this is what I’ve picked, as it comes as close as anything she did in that respect… Enjoy, please….

No Rack can torture me

No Rack can torture me—
My Soul—at Liberty—
Behind this mortal Bone
There knits a bolder One—

You cannot prick with saw—
Nor pierce with Scimitar—
Two Bodies—therefore be—
Bind One—The Other fly—

The Eagle of his Nest
No easier divest—
And gain the Sky
Than mayest Thou—

Except Thyself may be
Thine Enemy—
Captivity is Consciousness—
So’s Liberty.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

” In spite of all evidence to the contrary, the entire universe is composed of only two basic substances: magic and bullshit.” — G’s Third Law

“There is no magic…” — H’s Dictum

I really do hate that this might be true; it’s one of those assertions that I will forever be reluctant to accept, especially on faith, and would do so unwillingly, ONLY if presented with concrete, verifiable evidence…. Thankfully, that is not completely true, yet, so, there is hope for reality…. That being said, I’m at a loss for anything worthwhile to put here in section three today, so, I’m dipping into the archives yet again, simply because it’s there, and there is so much of it, going back to read some of it is like finding completely fresh, newly minted material…. but, not….

Any who, this pearl, from the days when each Daily Pearl contained five of them, fits perfectly with the theme of section one, providing further evidence of how our country, especially those parts of it that comprise the three branches of the government,  a) has gone to the dogs, and b) how much that pisses me off….

From 4/14/2012:

Morality is learned, not legislated. — Smart Bee

This will be a very short section. The above is something I believe to have the force of natural law; as such it is not susceptible to our ability, or desire, to change it. It’s just the way it is. And I wish, for all of our sakes, that all the idiots in government, i.e., all the liberals, conservatives, libertarians, and independents, as well as all of those who indulge themselves in the religious organizations of all creeds, of ALL sects, cults and, denominations, would get this concept into their heads….. More importantly, I really wish they would learn to accept the fact that there is NOT A FUCKING THING THEY CAN DO TO CHANGE THIS…..

No matter how strongly they wish it weren’t so, this is so. No matter how many laws they make and/or pass, in the attempt to legislate into law whatever it is they believe to be morality, each and every effort in that direction will fail. Mankind’s long history, during which the attempt has been made by EVERY society that existed for any time, has proved beyond any shadow of possible doubt the futility of such manipulation; it has been tried  literally thousands upon thousands of times, failing EVERY time, which makes it no longer a subject for serious debate. It hasn’t been successful even once, for thousands of years, though people seem to act differently, continuing to complain, and continuing to make their illogical and futile attempts to “make it so”…..

So, please, those of you who wish that the rest of society would just be like you, forget it. Not going to happen, and you can’t pass a law to make it so…. Get over it…….please. All the noise and crap you subject the rest of us to is getting tiresome….

Horatio: O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!
Hamlet: And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

— W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene V

(I know, it’s from Willie, but when it fits, I use it, no matter whose it is…..)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, ffolkes, all in all, I would say I’m getting pretty good at this; it may be a bit egotistical to say so, but, hey, somebody’s got to be, right? Besides, reality will step in, in short order, if the past is any indicator, and slap me down in some fashion, so, don’t fret…. karma will adjust matters to suit the Universe, not me, not you, and not anybody else, so, it’s best just to try to get along with it as it comes…. That having been said, not for the first time, I’m sure, I’m outta here, until the next time…. See ya, ffolkes, as long as you don’t see me first…

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
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

dozer3