Tag Archives: Albert Camus

Slick Willie’s sick sailboat…

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Ffolkes,

“And it’s just a box of rain
I don’t know who put it there

Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare

And it’s just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair

Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there”

~~ Box of Rain by Lesh, Hunter ~~

mars-rover-curiosity-mro

Curiosity Rover trundling across Mars

Photo by NASA orbiter via Space.com


Aw, fuck.

Oh, I’m sorry. Did I say that out loud? My bad…. I guess I should either explain, or start over. Hmm…

Good morning, ffolkes! Yes, yes I did bail on the first beginning…. No explanations for you. “Too bad, so sad, try again next time,” he said, with a nasty smirk. That’s because he woke up in the weirdest fucking mood he’s ever experienced; in fact, ‘weird’ just doesn’t make the grade at all… He has no clue what person to write in, first, second, third, or weird; the latter seems the most achievable, at this point. In fact, we’re going to admit defeat, so we can get on with the rest of today’s mess, a process y’all realize just became even more volatile than usual…..

Why is that? Well, last time I had this issue, the stock market crashed. No, not really, but, I did feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if a million voices had all… wait, no, that’s Obi-wan’s line. Sorry, wrong page.

Okay, I’m busted, I guess. Since I didn’t, and won’t, have a clue as to how to find, or create, yet another exciting, passionate, obviously brilliant opening section, I figured this would serve to fill in. How’d I do? I know, it’s kinda sappy, but, hey, it’s better than most of them, I’d say. Of course, I’m pretty biased, as we all know, especially in THIS instance; I certainly have a vested interest in finding some way to make it work every day. It’s really too bad Reality is never going to cooperate in that goal, since it has absolutely no investment, or interest, in helping me out…. Asshole.

Oops. No swearing at Reality. It’s easily offended, and the payback is, quite simply, a…. you thought I was going to be vulgar, didn’t you? Hah!

Iconoclasm as a way of life… yeah, that’s the ticket!….

Okay, that’s plenty, I’d say. If we, or I, or y’all, or somebody doesn’t assume control here, we’ll be stuck here forever, listening to me try to achieve enough coherence to bring this to a conclusion (at this rate, that would be sometime in the next millennium….). I think it’s time for the application of another colorful metaphor, so to speak….

Fuck it. I’m through being nice…. Luigi, take us in!…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), Beyond Good and Evil

I’m not sure how I should take that…. I AM an individual!…. I guess that makes me rare… or, perhaps, merely sane in an insane world….

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betty-boop-betty-boop-3017627-304-425

Google Free Images


This young lady needs no introduction; her fame is intact. The cartoons I’ve included below are a collection of those banned from TV and theaters for their adult/controversial content…. Certainly a cultural icon, she was the first fantasy girl for many a young American lad….


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Betty Boop

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Dont keep calm

“The more laws, the less justice.”

~~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.) — De Officiis (44 B.C.) ~~


Here is an epic rant from the archives. It first appeared in 2012, and shows up about once a year, it seems, so, it must be okay…. Enjoy, such as you may….

Last posted 4/26/2014:

One of the hardest parts of blogging on a daily basis, I’ve found, is keeping the chosen material fresh, especially when I tend to rely on a small set of subjects upon which to rant on a regular schedule…. As you know, if you’ve been here previously, I do like to take my shots at the BRC, which consists primarily of the men who prey upon the rest of humanity for their own benefit; most especially, I like to take my best shots at those assholes who prey on women and children, enslaving them as sexual objects for their own profit and sick indulgence….

However, as I tried to explain in the last post in which I spoke of this, it is extremely hard for me to write about, as it tends to kick in my PTSD symptoms…. I get a large jolt of adrenalin when I start to think about this, and my mind turns immediately to buying weapons, ammunition, and starting the planning process to go hunting, for pimps, snakeheads, and any other assholes involved in the sex trafficking trade….

Bleeding hearts may proclaim all the sad stories they know, or speculate, stories that might explain why these assholes are the way they are, but, I don’t really give a shit how they got the way they are; to do what they do, a conscious choice must be made, and, to my mind, that is enough to warrant removing them from the society of decent people, permanently…. If that means I’m playing God, well, so be it…. I am liable to be as good at it as any of the delusional versions; I have the advantage of actually having a physical form that can be touched, so there’s no question of my involvement, or my reality….

Just writing those last two paragraphs has me so worked up, my breath is speeding, my heart rate has jumped over a hundred, & my musculature is loosening up, relaxing and stretching…. I’m starting to breathe more deeply, too, as the adrenalin widens all of my blood and air passages in preparation for fight, or flight…. Having spent eleven years living with random adrenalin attacks, while working at Atascadero and Napa State Hospitals, frequently wrestling with the violently insane to save their life, or my own, I am all-too-familiar with those symptoms…. which include the necessity for waiting for up to three or four HOURS for them to wear off completely…. It’s a pain, to be honest, and I don’t like it at all…

Which is why I am going to cheat…. I’m going to reprint a rant from the archives, one of several I wrote during the year it was first posted, when I first began to write about this issue regularly…. This is one of my better rants, so I hope you enjoy it…. I have added, here at the beginning, a perfect pearl that I found as an appetizer to what follows…. Here then, our rant for today…..

“Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.” — Frank Leahy

From 12/4/12:

“Free enterprise ended in the United States a good many years ago. Big oil, big steel, big agriculture avoid the open marketplace. Big corporations fix prices among themselves and drive out the small entrepreneur. In their conglomerate forms, the huge corporations have begun to challenge the legitimacy of the state.” — Gore Vidal

In his book, “Friday”, Robert Heinlein details a society of humanity’s possible future, one in which corporations have continued to grow beyond the boundaries of mere countries, until their interests become paramount even over that of the state, as observed by Mr. Vidal. We, of the society here on Earth in the early 21st century are witnessing that growth, as I write, and as you read…..

The small enterprise markets still exist, but only on the fringes of the economy, the major portion of which is busy manipulating the population into serving the economic trends that the corporations control, in the essential markets that cover everyone… In other words, the corporations monopolize most of the economy, allowing the fringe markets to exist to provide exotic, alternative toys and entertainments for the working classes.

Mr. Heinlein’s character, a young woman with designer genes, genius IQ, and Heinlein’s innate sardonicism, as part of an assignment, is required to perform a research and analysis of how the large multinational corporations affected the political and economic scenes of their society, obliquely referring, of course, to the one we have now. It is a very interesting part of a very good book, and well worth a read, not only for its perspicacity in explaining the piracy we are seeing today, but because Heinlein was a master storyteller, who created fascinating characters in  fantastic situations, making it all seem perfectly normal and real.

“The phenomenality of organic, conscious existence should, could have made impossible the sadism, the unending hurt of our ways. The impotent fury, the guilt that master and surpass my identity carry with them the working hypothesis, the ‘working metaphor’, if you will, of ‘original sin’. To this expression, I am unable to attach any reasoned, let alone historical substance. On the pragmatic-narratological plane, stories of some initial crime and inherited culpability are universal fables  — uncannily profound and lasting. Nothing more. Yet in the presence of the beaten, raped child, of the horse or mule flogged across its eyes, I am possessed, as by a midnight clarity, by the intuition of the Fall.” — Rudolf Steiner, Errata: An examined life, Phoenix — (a division of Orion Books), London, 1998), p. 169

At first, this quote may not seem to be related to the first. However, it is this “original sin” of which he speaks that is the root cause of the problems with corporations in society. Those humans who reject commonality with the rest of humanity are the villains, in this play that passes for modern culture, for they do not accept their debt to the rest of the species, and have determined that they will use whatever means they need to become ascendant over the rest of us. Greed is only the most obvious of the ills that this group has subjected our culture to, with cruelty, dishonesty, and lack of compassion as side attractions. Through the actions of their corporate entities, they work to maintain their power and control of others, all for the sake of their own aggrandizement….

These are the men who run the trade in human trafficking, abducting and abusing children and women, for sex and slavery. These are the men who run the brothels, and the underground casinos, and the money-lending, and the protection rackets, and the drug dealing rings. What many folks don’t realize is that they are also the men who run for political office, or become preachers/priests, and the bankers, and the CEO’s,  and other corporate officers, who make their decisions based on self-interest, never on altruism. They seem, and act like, they are the leaders of society, when, in fact, they are the very reason our society is headed for extinction….

Unfortunately, these men (and they are almost ALL men….) will not give up their power and control without a fight. They will not respond to reason, giving up all their wealth and perceived power, to benefit the rest of mankind. They will not suddenly see the light, and give it all back. They will have to be rooted out like weeds, tough, hardy weeds, and destroyed, if we are to have any chance of survival…. It is unfortunate, but no other method will work, and it brings with it the danger of falling into the same kind of behavior by which they operate. But, I can see no other way to solve the issue, since they will not cooperate with the rest of us for the benefit of all….

1. If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting.

2. What you settle for is what you end up with.

3. If you think that worrying about a problem is the same thing as solving it, then you must live in some other universe where different laws pertain.

–Smart Bee

Note from 2014: To finish this, here is one last pearl, with a perfect description of the assholes who prey on their fellow men, or worse, women and children…. Pearls like this are good channel markers, for helping to identify the dickheads….

“Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.” — Epicurus

Note from 2015: Thank goodness for the Tardis! I’ll leave you with another appropriate closing for THIS year….

“Sometimes I think the world has gone completely mad.  And then I think, “Aw,  who cares?”  And then I think, “Hey, what’s for supper?” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

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Comedy_Tragedy

Written December, 2012, last posted October, 2014:

A Failure to Germinate

Marking the days in elements of sad disarray
only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.
With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel
pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.

Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light
breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.
Just below the surface they patiently hide
to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.

Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand
while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.
Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state
until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.

I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild
only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.
In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold
with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.

My search finds little to support any hope of relief
far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.
The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded
until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.

Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime
of which reality boasted proudly, time after time.
The last answer we think of is always the best
as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.

~~ gigoid ~~


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lao

    Today’s old-school is bifunctional. It’s no surprise Spell Checker doesn’t like that word; I did just make it up, as far as I know. But, that’s true of the pearl, as well, so, hey, symmetry, right? Works for me…. Ask me sometime, & maybe I’ll remember what I meant by that….

“Grasp the whole world of reason, life and sense
In one close system of benevolence.”

~~ Alexander Pope ~~


“He said that there was one only good, namely, knowledge; and one only evil, namely, ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, xiv

“In the midst of winder I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus

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

“I have found power in the mysteries of thought.” Euripides

“Depend on no man, on no friend, but him who can depend on himself. He only who acts conscientiously towards himself will act so towards others, and vice versa.” — Lavater

Euripides says,– Who knows but that this life is really death, and whether death is not what men call life?” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pyrrho, viii

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction, ice
Is also great
And would suffice

~~ Robert Frost ~~

~~ Fire and Ice ~~


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“Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be entertained.” — John Powell

Bwahahahahahaha!….

However, let me assure you, I mean that only in the best of ways….. And, yes. I am endlessly entertained by my own antics, in making my way through this beautiful, ugly, puzzling, simple, wonderful journey called life…. But, that’s probably just me; what do I know?…. With a bit of luck, I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
   and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Riding a busted flush….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Speak out. You’ve got to speak out against the madness.”


~~ Steven Stills ~~





OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA




Tony the Pixie Bob




Apparently, two days off is too many; I can’t seem to find my routine. Naturally, I’m enjoying getting some actual sleep, but, it’s playing hell with my timing. Normally, as far as it ever is here, I get posted by 6 AM; it’s now 6:20 and I’m just beginning. Fortunately, some was done, but, it’s still going to be late. Ah well, so much for planning; I should be getting used to it, the way Murphy hangs his hat here….


I’ll take advantage, however, of this anomalous routine, to shorten this intro section into something resembling how it should always have been. Of course, any sort of normalcy in that respect is NOT to be expected, or even considered. We wouldn’t know how to deal with it, anyway, having never actually experienced anything remotely resembling its mundane status. But, I’m good at faking it, even if I can’t keep my personal tenses straight….


All that said, to no purpose, as usual, I’ll now use it as a distraction to notify the pilot to take us in now. Don’t worry, he’s been practicing, and you shouldn’t feel a thing…. and I mean that in a good way. If y’all would kindly lean down, and, all at once, pull the lever under your seat, the vehicle can assume the proper configuration for landing. Don’t worry, though, if anyone’s lever won’t move, that’s accounted for, so it won’t keep us from getting down…. Ready? One, two, three…. pull!…. Okay, that did it…. hang on, & we’ll be down shortly, ffolkes…..


Shall we Pearl?


“Perfect valor is to do unwitnessed what we should be capable of doing before all the world.” — Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld


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Dont keep calm


Image stolen from Talesfromtheconspiratum.com




“There are two intelligent responses to contemporary Western civilisation: laughter and despair. You’ll note I’m not laughing.”– gigoid, stolen from Smart Bee


Today’s video will serve as the rant for today. I have no way to match John’s staff of writers and tech nerds, all of whom are paid to to put stuff together into video memes and skits, with appropriate Photoshopping, to enhance and illustrate his points during each week’s reports….. I could do it, probably, but, not without expending, literally, tens of thousands of words, most of which would end up putting y’all right to sleep. This is better, trust me….







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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Municipal Violations (HBO) 













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“The media are now the tool of tyrants and despots. 

Tyrants and despots encourage fear, 

because fearful people will accept extreme political solutions,

will demand extreme political solutions.


~~ Jon Carroll, S. F. Chronicle, January 8, 1997 ~~


“I love my country too much to be a nationalist.”


~~ Albert Camus ~~


We the People...



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A-laughing-girl-and-her-camel



    Since the video material fulfilled the sobriety quotient for one day, this section will be filled with the funniest, or weirdest damn pearls I can find, just for the silliness of it….


“I think, therefore I thwim.” — Smart Alec Bee


“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It’s the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then – we elected them.”- Lily Tomlin


“If the world were a logical place, men would ride side-saddle, not women.” — Rita Mae Brown


“If your eyes hurt after you drink coffee, you have to take the spoon out of the cup.” — Norm Crosby


“The problem with the human race is it has very low admission standards.” — Smart Ass Bee


“Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.”- Mark Twain


“You were s’posed to laugh!” — Zippy the Pinhead


Okay, well, I tried…. Never mind; y’all can go on now. I can finish this without you….


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Comedy_Tragedy



    Today’s poem is again one of mine, as usual, to save time…. go figure…..




Lamenting Empathy, No Grace


Strange, strong, passions burn from within

Selling nothing short, nor out

Consumed, loudly, failing to mark the spin

Sad, resigned, in singular redoubt.


Fallow grounds for twisted seed

Become fated, grow, and die.

Experience never fills critical need

Save perhaps once, in ages gone by.


Shouting in severe, dulcet tone

Brittle, flaking, destiny floats away

Making noise, rattling the bone

Simply ageless fears held at bay.


We mask our illusions in faux belief

Tied to reality by matter of rote,

Send them postcards, without relief

Consecrated time, forever remote.


~~ gigoid ~~




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lao



    Today’s final pearl is one Smart Bee is best at putting together. It offers some valuable ideas on how to approach living, so as to maximize one’s own potential for serenity, and peace, which, in today’s world, can be difficult to find, and hold on to…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s all good advice, if you take it….


“Simplicity is always a virtue.” — Edward Abbey


“The only abnormality is the incapacity to love.” — Anais Nin


“Enjoy yourself–it’s later than you think.” — Chinese Proverb


“The best defense is to stay out of range.” — Smart Bee


“What the meaning of human life may be I don’t know; I incline to suspect that it has none.” — H. L. Mencken


“There are two ways of teaching people: You can teach them how to think, or you can teach them what to think. Socrates taught people how to think, Jesus taught people what to think…. and look what happened to them.” — Smart Bee


“Remember that to change thy mind and to follow him that sets thee right, is to be none the less the free agent that thou wast before.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, viii, 16


“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will.” — George Bernard Shaw


“‘Tis not knowing much, but what is useful, that makes a wise man.” — Thomas Fuller


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Not bad for a pearl clapped together in jig time. I’ll take it, and, my leave, as well…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, hopefully, a bit closer to my usual appointed hour….




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch










dozer3




À bientôt, mon cherí….





		
	
					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Our claim to fame is twofold, you see…. Bread, AND butter….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Few people have the imagination for reality.” 


~~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe ~~


wolf mom and pupNow. TELL me animals don’t have feelings. Go ahead.




In sooth, this picture is one that I’ve loved since finding it on Facebook somewhere. By all I perceive. and imagine in this picture, regarding the inner lives and feelings of animals, animals who bear live young, raising them as do humans until able to care for themselves, are no less loving and connected than is any human family. It is my contention, which I’ve believed for a long time, anyone who can, after witnessing animals in such displays, still claim to lack belief in the animal’s capacity to FEEL, well, I’d suggest they take a closer look into their own heart and mind.


Such a belief can only reflect an emptiness of emotion in the one who makes it; no other cause is possible. Thus, such calloused fools miss out on much of what makes life in this dimension preferable to the death we all fear. If one cannot connect to the love within them, which grows most quickly, becoming stronger and more joyously beautiful only when shared, or given away, one loses not merely all of their joy, but, their very humanity as well…..


This understanding makes the quote at the top even more poignantly true. It describes exactly the flaw in those who cannot perceive what is right in front of their face. Reality demands our attention, by its ubiquitous ability to be the very bedrock of existence, solid, defined by its very name, while simultaneously possessing the quality of change; entropy is also part of our reality, thus, our duality of perception becomes more understandable.


We perceive the universe, i.e. reality, in opposites. Light/dark allows us to see; vibration/silence brings us sound, and music, which is made more beautiful by the silence between each note. Our duality of perception reflects the very nature of reality; how else could we know it, without knowing this about ourselves. Those who never learn to understand this shut themselves out of half of what the universe can offer in the way of experience, because they cannot see what is right in front of their face….


See? Isn’t that a symmetrical little discussion? That second & third paragraphs I particularly like, for the way the first, and last sentences echo their arguments with matching phraseology…. Pretty slick, eh, slick? Well, gosh, I didn’t expect applause…. shucks….


Okay, fantasy over. Good morning…. No, I don’t know why that stuff all came pouring out; I guess the picture and quote kind of got into my head, & started fizzing or something, indicating the mutually compatible, catalytic qualities of each, if used conjointly. I just went with the flow, so to speak…. Then, of course, my bozoid nature stepped in, to supply a bit of nonsense to close it out, just to balance the sober logic of the three opening paragraphs. SIGH…. Some day, I swear, I’m going to stumble across a way to open this puppy up each day that doesn’t drive me batty with its unpredictability…..


I suppose it just goes to show the absolute power metaphor has over me, and, for that matter, over all of us stuck in this Reality for our turn on the Karmic Wheel. Our imagination, when using the limitless power residing in the Metaphorse, engenders a heterodyne effect in both; when imagination joins hands with metaphor, the possibilities are, literally, infinite. This, of course, is why we are so fond of both around here; it’s sort of our thing, you know?


Hence our actual blog title, to wit: Exploring Consensual Reality…. I like to think that says just exactly what it is I try to do by posting, taking y’all along with me as I go, flying/diving off into the depths of my imagination, and the world wide web, to find new ways to use the power of metaphor…. In short….


May the Metaphorse be with you…..


Shall we Pearl?


“And weep the more, because I weep in vain.”~~ Thomas Gray (1716-1771) — Sonnet, On the Death of Mr. West


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Oops…. Almost forgot to put in a video…. Hmm…. Okay, here’s one. I hope you enjoy it…. The Deputy and I go way back, to more of those Saturday mornings, long ago during the Jurassic Period, when I was a child. He’s a little strange in spots, but, he’s got a big heart…. Don’t put a lot of stock in the story lines, or try to make much sense of them; it will just make your head hurt…. Just let ’em roll, and don’t worry about it…. Enjoy!….




Deputy Dawg – Oil Tycoons 


















































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Yesterday, due to the effects of long-term stress, I exploded, producing over 5000 words of fresh material to post, mostly in the shape of a rant. Quite simply, I’m exhausted, a state exposed by having slept, real, actual sleep, for over 7 hours, even sleeping through the time to take a pain pill. It’s more sleep than I’ve been blessed with for over two months, so, my body is happy, mostly. 


This does mean, however, there won’t be any fresh ranting today; I think I may have squeezed that lemon all the way dry. But, Smart Bee is still in a good mood, and gave me these seven pearls, all taking a look at the concept of government, as applied by human beings today; each one seems to look at it from a different view, which is handy, not to mention cute…. Enjoy, ffolkes, these tell it like it is pretty well, when it comes to pundits, and their habits….


“Grown men, he told himself, in flat contradiction of centuries of accumulated evidence about the way grown men behave, do not behave like this.” — Douglas Adams


“Civilization is almost exclusively masculine, a civilization of power in which woman has been thrust aside in the shade. Therefore it has lost its balance and is moving by hopping from war to war. Its motive forces are the forces of destruction and its ceremonials are carried through by an appalling n number of human sacrifices. This one-sided civilization is crashing along a series of catastrophes at a tremendous speed because of its one-sidedness. And at last the time has arrived when woman must step in and impart her life rhythm to the reckless movement of power.” — Rabindranath Tagore, before 1941


“Broken promises don’t upset me.  I just think, why did they believe me?” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey


“I love my country too much to be a nationalist.” — Albert Camus


“But, sir, the people themselves have it in their power effectually to resist usurpation, without being driven to an appeal of arms. An act of usurpation is not obligatory; it is not law; and any man may be justified in his resistance.  Let him be considered as a criminal by the general government, yet only his fellow-citizens can convict him; they are his jury, and if they pronounce him innocent, not all the powers of Congress can hurt him; and innocent they certainly will pronounce him, if the supposed law he resisted was an act of usurpation.” — Theophilus Parsons, in the Massachusetts Convention, on the ratification of the U.S.  Constitution — [Jonathan Elliot, ed., “The Debates of the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution”, — (New York, Burt Franklin:  1888), 2:94 ]


“Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.” — Noah Webster




Souls made of fire, and children of the sun,


With whom revenge is virtue.


~~ Edward Young ~~


~~ The Revenge, Act v, Sc. 2 ~~




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Today’s poem is one of mine written in 2014, making it one of the most recent…. I hope you enjoy it; if nothing else, the title fits in quite well with today’s rather ambiguous theme, which is, patently, based almost exclusively on the concept of “What The Fuck!”…. if you catch my drift….







Blithely Untitled


A poem came to me today, willy, nilly,

along with a sharp blow to the head.

Since it left me feeling just a bit silly,

anything that rhymes should lessen the dread.


Manifesting destiny into a small, insidious group

we push on toward sanity, concentrating hard.

Full engaging moments spent navigating the loop

shall ever make a difference to victims found in the yard.


Still corpses of creatures, straight out of nightmare

fill up the corners of our tortured minds.

While ever saddened, the iconic male, most debonair,

gazes softly, ironically, at all the mutual interest he finds.


Moronic public statutes compel outbreaks of sanity,

responding to momentary impulses toward inducing peace.

Still, the motions get completed, in fertile stages of inanity

while the bulk of our inmates can find no surcease.


Reluctant motivation to continue is unbound,

striving to ascertain how far there yet remains to go.

No precognitive guesswork will make any less of a sound

to soften the final strains, or teach us to truly know.


~~ gigoid ~~


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


This pearl is of the type I’ve named “high percentage” pearls, which refers to how they were discovered in my database, the ever-faithful Smart Bee. (You, too, may know the wonders of Smart Bee; it’s free software you can find by just typing the name into Google. You will find many links to the web site where you can get your own copy…. if you wish….) Upon searching for today’s pearls for the final, old school section, the following seven pearls were presented for my perusal almost in order, with only five other quotes even submitted, some of which almost made the cut. So, the percentage of good pearls was a “high percentage”, get it? Good. I think you’ll enjoy whatever the message is; it’s a bit quirky, but, good thinking, all in all….


“One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation.” — Oscar Wilde


“I quite agree with you,” said the Duchess; “and the moral of that is — `Be what you would seem to be’ — or, if you’d like it put more simply — `Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to theirs that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'” — Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland


“He who despairs over an event is a coward, but he who holds hopes for the human condition is a fool.” — Albert Camus


“Anything is possible, but only a few things actually happen.” — Rich Rosen


“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it.” — Henry Ford


“OVER the underpass!  UNDER the overpass!  Around the FUTURE and BEYOND REPAIR!!” — Zippy the Pinhead


“If you make a mess, clean it up.” — Mom


See how cool that was? No? Well, I thought so; I shan’t comment on anyone else’s lack of perception, at all, at all… Besides, the only two you really need to figure it out are the second, and the last. How can you go wrong by doing what Mom taught you?…..


Well, okay, I get your point; there are times Mom wasn’t always right on the ball; she DID have a few odd idiosyncrasies…. But, this one is one we all know is a good one, so, moot point, and a fine waste of our time, so thanks very much, you bozos…. Oops, mustn’t call the little voices in one’s head any bad names, even if they’re hopelessly parenthetical…. Sorry, but, shoot, use your head, kids…. Would Mom steer you wrong? No…..


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


Regardless of any comments, or any differing opinions, and, even in my less than stellar state of perception, I know a done deal when I see one; this is a done deal. Since I have very little doubt about that, it enters the realm of ‘fairly possible’ to assume we’ve finished, and will be asked to leave. All of which, apparently, means we are outta here, in some sort of weird individual code, made up just now by my ridiculously silly mind. Whatever the hell it means, or even doesn’t mean, we’re still outta here, so, bye, bye, for now…. Or, as we are commonly wont to say here at ECR, see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. probably.




Y’all take care out there, 

and May the Metaphorse be with you;

Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy

and everyone else, too…


When I works, I works hard.

When I sits, I sits loose.

When I thinks, I falls asleep.


Which is Why….


Sometimes I sits and thinks,

   and sometimes,

I just sits.


gigoid, the dubious


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch


dozer3






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Visions of twisted shorts….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.”


~~ Montaigne ~~


pluto-new-horizons-art


     In the past two weeks, or a bit more, I’ve been experiencing an entirely new kind of pain, to add to the already ample amount I have each day from my back, and hips…. The weather seems to aggravate the arthritis, so, during the times when the barometer is reflecting the conditions which bring us precipitation, my hands, shoulders, and skeleton at large have begun to ache, severely, for long periods of time, ultimately reaching what seems to be a crescendo of pain, where my entire skeleton sings to me of its agony, in no uncertain terms…..


This pain is quite rude, too, in that it pretty much ignores anything I take for it…. The only help seems to come from edible cannabinoids, which is problematic, in that the dose needed to deter some of the effects of the aching joints is sufficient to make me very drowsy, and ready to sleep…. That might be okay, but, it happens in the middle of the day just as often as at night, and I can only sleep so much before even THAT causes more pain, from lying down too long….


Getting these Pearls done has been a nightmare of some proportion, much of the time…. I work on them a day ahead, doing as much as I can before the morning, so I don’t have to do much but write a few lines of introduction, then cut & paste the rest into the right formats for email, and for WordPress…. It seems to me to be a choppy way to compose, but, it’s been working, mostly, so, and, since I don’t have any choice, I’m good with it, as long as my readers are…. Not that there are so many of them it would cause a huge reaction, should I cease to write altogether…. my reason for writing isn’t for them, anyway…. I still don’t know where I’d be if not for this blog; getting a lot of this stuff out of my head has kept me sane for some time now….


So, why am I relating all this, which is probably TMI, anyway? I’m not sure, unless it’s to warn y’all I may not post every day from now on…. If I don’t, it will be because I am unable to write, not unwilling; I just wanted to make that clear…. It isn’t anything anyone should worry about; my pain is here to stay, so, it’s just something I must learn to deal with, no matter how bad it gets….. There is no cure for what ails me, as it goes along with aging…. and there’s no turning back the clock…. I don’t intend to let it keep me from doing what I want to do, so, I’m the one who must learn to cope with its effects….


That said, anyone out there who feels I should do things differently is welcome to say how; I probably won’t listen, but, you’re welcome to chime in with any suggestions you may have…. I’m of an age, and curmudgeon enough, I’ll most likely ignore anything that doesn’t fit in with what I already am doing, but, I’m compassionate enough to know it is well-intended, and will try not to make fun, or be derogatory in my responses…. It’s hard to be nice right now, much of the time, so, I do try to mitigate my responses to reflect less of my mood….


This much typing has taken me almost an hour, in short spurts, and I see I could keep going for almost ever…. but, I won’t…. I’ll mention that the picture, from Space.com, is an artist’s rendition of the Pluto research satellite, which NASA launched years ago; the craft has just been awakened from its hibernation to begin its research, as it is approaching the fly-by range of its cameras, coming ever closer to Pluto, and its companion moon/satellite, Charon after a long voyage from Earth orbit, through the entire solar system…. We humans are on the verge of real space travel, with the only question remaining the question of whether or not we will be extinct before we can get there….


For now, though, I’ve got a Pearl to finish, though it be made much of older, archived material…. which is all my hands will allow today….


Shall we Pearl?


“Slight not what’s near through aiming at what’s far.” — Euripides


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


Just a bit of easy listening to get me through the morning….







50 Golden Moments of Classical Music – The Best of Baroque – Klassische Musik 


































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




Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat,

Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe

That all was lost.


~~ John Milton (1608-1674) — Paradise Lost, Book ix, Line 782~~




http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/09/us-usa-cia-torture-idUSKBN0JM24I20141209?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews


http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/09/truth-guantanamo-torture-abu-wael-dhiab


Due to my inability to write enough to rant today, here is a shortened rant/old-school pearl from the archives, to highlight the idiocy/insanity implied in the above two articles, just two of hundreds on the subject in the news yesterday…. SIGH…. Same shit, different day….


From 8/9/2012:


Since I have already ranted, I’ll save you from another right away by giving this old school pearl…. These quotations all point in the same direction, and will lead eventually to yet another fine reason to mistrust the beloved ruling class…..




Then came the churches,

 then came the schools,

 then came the lawyers,

 then came the rules.


~~ Mark Knopfler ~~




“A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), “The Picture of Dorian Grey”, 1891


“People are always talking about tradition, but they forget we have a tradition of a few hundred years of nonsense and stupidity, that there is a tradition of idiocy, incompetence and crudity.” — Hugo Demartini, in “Contemporary Artists”, 1977


“People are very open-minded about new things  — as long as they’re exactly like the old ones.” — Charles F. Kettering


The Government is my shepherd, I shall not work. It maketh me to lie down on good jobs. It leadeth me beside the still factories. It destroyeth my initiative;  It leadeth me in the paths of the parasite for politics sake; Yea, though I walk in the valley of Deficit Spending, I will fear no evil, For the Government is with me; its doles and its vote-getters they comfort me.  It prepareth an Economic Utopia for me by appropriating the earnings of my grandchildren.  It filleth my head with baloney, my inefficiency runneth over;  Surely the Government shall care for me all the days of my life And I shall live in a Fool’s Paradise forever. — The Government’s 23rd Psalm


“By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more.” — Albert Camus


No matter how you vote, a government still gets elected. — Smart Bee


That should about do it, I think….. if nothing else, one may get a clear picture of how I feel about government…..


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


To go along with the above (not a) rant, and today’s apparent theme(s), here is another fine poem from Ogden Nash, telling it like it is….




À Bas Ben Adhem


My fellow man I do not care for.

I often ask me, What’s he there for?

The only answer I can find

Is, Reproduction of his kind.

If I’m supposed to swallow that,

Winnetka is my habitat.

Isn’t it time to carve Hic Jacet

Above that Reproduction racket?


To make the matter more succinct:

Suppose my fellow man extinct.

Why, who would not approve the plan

Save possibly my fellow man?

Yet with a politician’s voice

He names himself as Nature’s choice.


The finest of the human race

Are bad in figure, worse in face.

Yet just because they have two legs

And come from storks instead of eggs

They count the spacious firmament

As something to be charged and sent.


Though man created cross-town traffic,

The Daily Mirror, News and Graphic,

The pastoral fight and fighting pastor,

And Queen Marie and Lady Astor,

He hails himself with drum and fife

And bullies lower forms of life.


Not that I think much depends

On how we treat our feathered friends,

Or hold the wrinkled elephant

A nobler creature than my aunt.

It’s simply that I’m sure I can

Get on without my fellow man. 


~~ Ogden Nash ~~




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


This is the only fresh pearl today; even this was picked out in that haphazard fashion necessitated by dealing with unrelenting pain…. It didn’t come out too badly for all that, I think…. but, you can make your own judgment on that, can’t you?….


“Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Speaker, 12/15/00


“Our virtues and vices spring from one root.” — Goethe (1749-1832)


“The person who knows how to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused.” — Shirley Maclaine


“It is not the one with many possessions who is rich, but the one who has no needs.” — Philoxenos


“It is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson


“A noble spirit disdaineth the malice of fortune; his greatness of Soul is not to be cast down.” — Akhenaton? (c. B.C. 1375)


“Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.” — Seneca


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


I suppose I should finish this…. By the time I finished that last pearl, I had to take a long break, to feel my hands again…. Never mind…. I’m done, and I can’t, at this point, say whether or not I’ll be back tomorrow…. I hope so, but, I’m not going to get my hopes up…. if you know what I mean…. See ya, ffolkes, some time or another…. maybe….




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


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Last train to Paducah.boarding now on track 13….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




The ruling passion, be it what it will,

The ruling passion conquers reason still.


 ~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~ 


~~ Moral Essays, Epistle iii, Line 153 ~~


11-15-2015 002


     Well…. Don’t worry, my next words won’t be “and, that’s a deep subject”….. Why not? Simply because I’m feeling more dignified than that; it’s too early to give in for the day already…. Of course, dignity is something all of us are able to do without to survive, but, survival sure feels better when we have it…. I suppose we could say that is true of a lot of things we humans feel, to wit: we feel a lot of things that don’t necessarily help us in our most important task as humans…. But, then, ask any two humans what their most important task may be, and you’ll get at least two answers, if not more….. We’re an odd species, to be sure….


That said, and since I am a member of said fickle, yet charming simian phylum, I think I may also say, we are a sorry bunch of naked apes, and will, no doubt, come to an ignominious end, most likely before most of us have a clue as to the time, let alone the ending time…. It’s a natural state when we spend most of our time in this plane of existence struggling AGAINST the basic rules of the universe, trying to overcome our inner confusion by imposing our own sense of order upon the world…. Since that NEVER works, we spend a lot of time, scratching our heads, wondering what went wrong….


Like this morning, for example…. Here I am, once more typing away madly, trying to fill in this space so we can get to the meat of the matter, but, obviously, I haven’t a clue as to how to proceed with any degree of certainty as to my final destination…. Hell, I can barely remember my name this early, but, here I am, making like a writer, just as it I were one…. And, in point of fact, I am enough of one to realize I should have gone with my initial impulse, to comment on the lions in the picture I took, above….


I mean, look how easy it would have been to talk about it, as the two guardians of the steps react to the presence of the leaf blowing across the yard…. See how they both are focused on it, with paw raised in warning, to tell it to stay away…. But, no, I had to go with my second, more dignified, but less interesting discussion of human nature, and it’s all-too-apparent flaws…. Go figure….


Nonetheless, here we are, down the page far enough to declare victory over the forces of obstruction, aka, Murphy and his myrmidons, at least for the day…. Often, if I can beat him off this early, he’ll go find someone else to fuss with; we’ll see how that goes…. In the meantime, I’m going to get started on getting the rest of this mess done, so, hang on while I use some of my vaunted skills at piloting this weird craft, and take us out of here, into the world of Virtual Wisdom, or a reasonable facsimile….


Shall we Pearl?


“I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)


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


It’s a classical day today…..




Four Seasons ~ Vivaldi






































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


In place of today’s rant, which isn’t happening, here is what I collected to give it a start, along with the pearls I found to represent the point I’m making by including the articles…. My original intent was to show how the government of this, and every country in the world, mostly, is actively engaged in oppressing the citizens of their own countries…. But, it began to appear like a subject too big for one little pearl, so, instead, I’ve put the appropriate comment from SB, or whomever it delegates, above each link….


After the links, you’ll find an old-school pearl, with some rather pointed remarks regarding those who engage in the public orgy of masturbation as displayed on a daily basis in the halls of Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court, all of which are in varying stages of corporate enslavement, or are otherwise showing the signs of insanity common to all sociopathic personalities….


“No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the Legislature is in session.” — Lysander Spooner


http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/press-freedom-new-censorship


“A free press can of course be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom it will never be anything but bad… . Freedom is nothing else but a chance to bet better, whereas enslavement is a certainty of the worse.” — Albert Camus, Resistance, Rebellion and Death (1960)


 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2472148,00.asp


I could have added a number of other headlines, with the concomitant pearl to highlight its point, but, I’ll show some restraint, and confine myself to finding a balanced number of pearls of virtual wisdom, all of which will further expose the assholes for what they are, or, at minimum, take a shot at a vital spot with our barbed missiles…. The first pearl kind of sets the proper tone, with the rest adding in their own melodies, all of which will form a charming little tune, to show the fuckheads for what they are, in the space of a nine-star pearl….




The Three Stooges, the sinking ship, and the lone lifeboat:


Ronald Reagan: “Maybe we should save the women and children.”

Richard Nixon: “F**k the women and children!”

Bob Packwood: “Gee, do you really think we have time?”


~~ the Stilt Man ~~




“Keeping freedom safe from democracy” — Vision statement of the GOP, 2016


“Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business.” — Tom Robbins


“A government solution to a problem is always followed by the creation of at least two additional problems, either of which was worse than the original problem which the government set out to solve.” — Smart Bee


“A leader leads from in front, by the power of example. A ruler pushes from behind, by means of the club, the whip, the power of fear.” — Edward Abbey


“Men who allow their love of power to give them a distorted view of the world are to be found in every asylum: one man will think he is the governor of the Bank of England, another will think he is the king, and yet another will think he is God.  Highly similar delusions, if expressed by educated men in obscure language, lead to professorships of philosophy, and if expressed by emotional men in eloquent language, lead to dictatorships.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)


“It is more than a crime; it is a political fault,” — Joseph Fouche (1763-1820) — Memoirs of Fouche


“In a democracy you can be respected though poor, but don’t count on it.” — Charles Merrill Smith




Till their own dreams at length deceive ’em,

And oft repeating, they believe ’em.


 — Matthew Prior (1664-1721) — Alma, Canto iii, Line 13




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




“Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.”


~~ Kahlil Gibran ~~


Fine and Good, Good and Fine


A pig in a poke’s got nothing on me,

cuz I’m as confused as a man can be.

This ol’ world’s got me spinnin’ around

cussin’ and spittin’, a penny for a pound.


Forty ‘leven times since I was a kid, well,

I’ve fallen in love, ‘least too close to tell.

Every damn time, it all went to crap,

Forty ‘leven times I’ve felt like a sap.


‘Course, each time it happens, I forget the last;

why not? I’m havin’ such a blast….

Livin’ in each moment, filled with joie de vivre,

’til it’s all gone away again, nothin’ left up my sleeve.


Don’t want y’all to think I’m sad or blue,

life’s full of sorrow, lots for me, and/or you..

T’other side of that coin, we can be glad,

is joyful love, and that ain’t at all bad.


My road’s been littered with parts o’my heart,

each one colored with trust, which ain’t always smart.

Yet, long as I don’t lose my connection to joy,

I’ll find my own true love, and be a happy boy.


It’s been some kinda fun, even when I’d take a fall,

and doin’ it over makes no sense at all, at all

Day after day, I keep on keepin’ on, as it’s said;

Guess I’ll keep on doin’ that ’til I’m dead.


‘Nuff said….


~~ gigoid, tongue firmly in cheek ~~




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


As I searched for the pearls found in section two today, these little gems kept popping up at random intervals… Since they all pertain to one particular subject, all having to do, at least peripherally, with an aspect of religion, or those who play with them; I like to call them “dogma dogs”, a term I coined because it gives the proper feel to how I think they should be viewed…. preferably with gloves and mask in place, to prevent any possible inhalation of their spew….. In other words, all of these take a shot at some portion of the dogs’ anatomy…. Enjoy! I did….




ARCHBISHOP, n.  An ecclesiastical dignitary one point holier than a bishop.


    If I were a jolly archbishop,

    On Fridays I’d eat all the fish up —

    Salmon and flounders and smelts;

    On other days everything else.

                                                              Jodo Rem


 ~~ Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary” ~~




“Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, “To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi


“Accurate reckoning — the entrance into the knowledge of all existing things and all obscure secrets.” — Ahmes the Scribe (17th cent. B.C.)


“– How many PRESBYTERIANS does it take to change a light bulb?  None. Lights will go on and off at predestined times.” — Smart Bee


“What is a church? Our honest sexton tells, ‘Tis a tall building, with a tower and bells.” — Crabbe




God’s plan made a hopeful beginning

But man spoiled his chances by sinning.

We trust that the story

Will end in God’s glory,

But at present the other side’s winning.


~~ Smart Bee ~~




“There is not enough love and kindness in the world to permit us to give any of it to imaginary beings.” — Nietzsche


“Writing science fiction for about a penny a word is no way to make a living, If you really want to make a million, the quickest way is to start your own religion.” — L. Ron Hubbard


“Concentrate on th’cute, li’l CARTOON GUYS! Remember the SERIAL NUMBERS!!  Follow the WHIPPLE AVE EXIT!! Have a FREE PEPSI!!  Turn LEFT at th’HOLIDAY INN!! JOIN the CREDIT WORLD!!  MAKE me an OFFER!!!” — Zippy the Pinhead


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


Well…. What? Did you really believe that of me? That I would end this the same way it began? Okay, busted…. But, having caught myself in time, I’m able to plead not guilty, and use the opportunity to make my escape…. Besides, it’s done, or, as done as it is going to be, so, there’s little point in dragging this out any further…. On that note…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Stay alert, the world needs all the lerts we can find….




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


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Twelve reasons to spit, rather than swallow….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee.” 


~~ Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vi, 3 ~~


11-8-2014 002 (2)


     To look at this piece of furniture, you wouldn’t believe it to have any particularly extraordinary qualities, beyond a simple functionality and inoffensive appearance…. By using Marcus Aurelius’ advice, however, we find a peculiar aspect of its existence which may not be explainable by any normal means…. I got the chair at a thrift store, as part of my thus-far-never-ending quest to find a chair that is suitable to sit in for the time I need to be in front of this computer, to compose, to read, and to otherwise multi-task, in short bursts when I can sit for a while without having to squirm, or get stiff… In trying it out in the store, it seemed to be a bit low, but, otherwise might work well for a time….


Well, as it turns out, it IS too low to type comfortably, but, is quite comfortable for watching a video, such as one of my Sherlock Holmes stories, or for reading the news, if no great amount of mouse work is needed…. Unfortunately, the chair also seems to be so comfortable, whenever I’ve sat in it for more than 5 minutes, I start falling asleep, sitting up, which will always give me a stiff neck, from dropping my head forward when I drowse…. This has happened five times now, without fail…. It’s getting to the point I’m beginning to believe the chair has been infused with some kind of magic cannabis cream, or just plain magic, to cause it to turn into a sleep chair, rather than an office chair…


It’s okay, though, I don’t mind having one spot where I know I can get drowsy; the way my sleep pattern goes, I can use all the spots like that I can find…. It’s also given me another intro section, without the need to go off on anyone’s religion, or take a side trip to the land of Odd, (which isn’t far away, in my head…), or even find some actual introductory remarks of a literary nature…. All I had to do is engage in some minor hyperbole, with a dash of stretching the truth of its effect on me, and there we were, two paragraphs down, and running strong….


Of course, right about HERE, we will start to see it fall apart, as my imagination begins to tire, having not yet consumed sufficient coffee, or sugar, to fuel such a complicated, stressful task as this has turned out to be…. I also suspect, if I want to be able to finish this out, without resorting to marginally legal acrobatics, I’m going to have to end it now, before it grows any hair…. The fuzz is already too thick for scissors, and my lopping shears are all dull from using them on my cacti….


It is, no doubt, a good thing the opening to the real world is right over there; we seem to have made good time…. This is what happens when we are lucky enough to start with a decent run at the wall; it doesn’t draw any blood, and we get where we need to go with less fuss, and less chance of litigation, which always pleases my lawyers….. Oops, sorry, got to talking and almost missed the turn…. Hold on ffolkes…. today’s missive could be a bit of a tough roe to hoe…. not to mention the possibility of cloning that is always a risk on Sundays…. (bet you didn’t expect me to remember, did ya?….)


For now, though, it is enough to know, we’re on our way, and nothing the government can do will stop us now….


Shall we Pearl?


“I was contemplating the immortal words of Socrates, who said… I drank what?” —  Shared by Chris Knight (Val Kilmer), Real Genius


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


Today’s video is a political cartoon from Mark Fiore, who makes brilliant short animated videos commenting on current world and national events…. I could not figure out how to embed the video, without joining a web streaming site, which I didn’t wish to join…. But, just follow the link below, and you can see this one, which is another outstanding observation regarding the recent midterm elections…. I won’t ask you to enjoy it, but, I will ask you to watch, and reflect on the information it has to impart….







Oh, heck…. Here, here’s a video for your morning laugh….




Adults Taste Baby Food



































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


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


“But a short time elapsed after the death of the great reformer of the Jewish religion, before his principles were departed from by those who professed to be his special servants, and perverted into an engine for enslaving mankind, and aggrandizing t heir oppressors in Church and State.” — Thomas Jefferson, [letter?] To S. Kercheval, 1810









Oops…. It seems there is a bit of snark going on between the delusional leaders of one of the more delusional religious organizations, and the political representative their particular group managed to land in the Senate…. It all makes a pretty good example, for me, of how the separation of church and state has been quietly eroded to the point the religious group feels comfortable in making public their influence over their flock members who inhabit the halls of government, using the blackmail of guilt and threat of excommunication to try to force their desires to the forefront of the political agenda.


Now, the bishop of the church, in this case, is in trouble, for bringing it all into the light of day, more than any other reason…. I doubt very much the other church elders had intended for their influence to be outed in that manner, so, they will publicly chastise him, but, in the end, won’t really do much to him, other than muzzling his mouth by moving him to some position not accessible to the media for comment…. Having the Senate majority leader as a church member is a position those leaders will NOT jeopardize for any minor bishop’s cluelessness…. They’ll sacrifice him faster than Pontius Pilate gave up Jesus…


“I have short-term memory loss, though I like to think of it as Presidential eligibility.” — Paula Poundstone







I think I’ve become more angry at this president than any other since, well, I guess the Junior shrub made me maddest, but, then, Bill Clinton was a Bozoid of major proportion, too…. In fact, I think, in my entire life, there is only one man who was elected to the presidency who managed to garner my respect, without making me angry for having to listen to constant, unrelieved lying, or plain stupidity…. and that President (the ONLY one for whom I will capitalize the title….) was probably the LEAST effective of all the twentieth century office-holders, because he spent his entire time in office being neutralized by a Congress held by the opposing party….


His name was Jimmy Carter, and though I don’t usually admire preachers, he is the only HONEST politician I’ve ever seen at that level… the ONLY one…. and, he is the only president in the last century who didn’t made a career out of dishonesty, cheating, and public theft… and I mean the ONLY one…. Every other president, from the beginning of the last century, to the latest rogues elected in this century, has lied to the American public, almost without pause, from the first time they opened their mouths on national TV….


I had hope when Barry was elected; I didn’t know much about him, and some of what he said promised some hope of reform, in at least some areas…. But, he has been one of the greatest of my disappointments, as he has lied the MOST, of any president in recent memory, which is quite a feat, given the past few presidents…. It was unexpected that Obama would be a worse liar than either of the two Shrubs, but, he has proven time and again he is NOT going to tell the entire truth to the American people, especially about his clandestine activities, spying on his own citizens without compunction, and with impunity, thus far…..


“A politician is a man who stands for what he thinks the voters will fall for.” — Smart Bee


If I were the type to use religious expressions, I’d thank God for Edward Snowden, a man I believe future generations will regard on the same level as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Nathan Hale, as one of our greatest patriots…. It pisses me off no end that Barry the O continues to bad-mouth him, as well as refusing to acknowledge his own culpability, as do the rest of the 455 kidnappers of the American Dream, who inhabit the halls of Congress, the White House, and the Federal courthouses…. I accuse them all of treason, not lightly, and not in fun…. Assholes, every damn one of them, only concerned with increasing their personal power, and lining their pockets with our money…..


I know this is the ranting section, so such vituperation isn’t out of place here…. However, this morning I’m a bit on edge, and typing is getting harder every day, so, I’ll leave my rant at that point, which, some would say is quite enough…. It isn’t every day that I accuse the entire government of the US of treason…. but, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one to keep from calling a spade a spade, nor am I one to suffer fools gladly….




But we, who name ourselves its sovereigns, we,

Half dust, half deity, alike unfit

To sink or soar.


~~ Lord Byron (1788-1824) ~~


~~ Manfred, Act i, Sc. 2 ~~




Our government, long ago stolen by corporate and religious influence, to work the will of those who prey on the weak and ignorant, depending on their gullible trust in authority to allow them to lie, cheat, and steal without consequence, has now gotten to a point where they don’t even bother to hide what they’re doing very hard…. They don’t care any more, as they know that nobody has the means, or the wit, to turn against them…. They have fooled 98% of the population into believing them, in whatever they say, and know they won’t be disturbed during their cleaning out of the public’s pockets…..


Bah, humbug! I’m pissed….. and there isn’t much I can do, except this…. So, having done this for today, I’ll leave it here for now…. Stay alert, ffolkes, and call them a liar when they lie… Maybe there is still a chance, if a couple more Ed Snowdens come forth, and tell the people how much they are being fooled, and screwed….. Until then, I’ll keep yelling at them, and about them, as often as I can….




Who could imagine

That they could freak out in Kansas

Who could imagine

That they could freak out in Washington D.C.

Everybody’s clean, it can’t happen here, no, no

And they thought it couldn’t happen here

They were so sure it couldn’t happen here

It can’t happen here


 ~~ Frank Zappa ~~


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


On a day such as this, it’s gotta be Bukowski…. He’s the only one real enough to suit my crusty mood….






hello, how are you?


this fear of being what they are:

dead. 


at least they are not out on the street, they

are careful to stay indoors, those

pasty mad who sit alone before their tv sets,

their lives full of canned, mutilated laughter. 


their ideal neighborhood

of parked cars

of little green lawns

of little homes

the little doors that open and close

as their relatives visit

throughout the holidays

the doors closing

behind the dying who die so slowly

behind the dead who are still alive

in your quiet average neighborhood

of winding streets

of agony

of confusion

of horror

of fear

of ignorance. 


a dog standing behind a fence. 


a man silent at the window.


~~ Charles Bukowski ~~




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


Today’s old-school pearl came together in a rather fractured fashion; nonetheless, it came out well…. Well, it came out, anyway…. I’m not altogether certain the point it is trying to make is one of particular import, other than to each of us on an individual level…. I guess you should just let it flow over you, and if it feels right, let it flow through…. Otherwise, just take it all as good advice for living a life that makes some kind of sense, on a larger scale than the merely personal…. Hmm…. I suppose that may be asking a bit much of an obscure seven-star pearl, but, we’re like that around here….


“Integrity has no need for rules.” — Albert Camus


“When the need arises — and it does — you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don’t farm it out — that doesn’t make it nicer, it makes it worse.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s  “Time Enough For Love”


“In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.” — Aristotle


“As a rule, there is no surer way to the dislike of men than to behave well where they have behaved badly.” — Lew Wallace


“Lampis the shipowner, on being asked how he acquired his great wealth, replied, “My great wealth was acquired with no difficulty, but my small wealth, my first gains, with much labor.” — Epictetus (c. 55-135 A.D.)


“The world has taken on a thickness of vulgarity that raises a spiritual man’s contempt to the violence of a passion.” — Charles Baudelaire




How lov’d, how honour’d once avails thee not,

To whom related, or by whom begot;

A heap of dust alone remains of thee:

‘T is all thou art, and all the proud shall be!


~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — To the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady, Line 71 ~~




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


Once more, I’ve pushed beyond my zone of comfort to get this done…. Oh, don’t worry, I’m not saying it makes me special, or that any admiration is due; I’m just glad it isn’t toxic, or overtly offensive to anyone but a preacher, a politician, a corporate snakehead, a pimp, or a myrmidon…. They, of course, may choke on it, as far as I am concerned…. For now, I’ll just bid thee adieu, until tomorrow….


See ya, ffolkes, and remember what Tommy Toilet always says… “Always wipe thoroughly, kids! Rectal itch is NO PICNIC!”© (R. Crumb, 1966, or so….)


Sorry, couldn’t help myself….




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


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
“Banging” seems popular this season….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Friends are needed both for joy and for sorrow.”


~~ Yiddish Proverb ~~


fuzzy Albert


     With a brilliant smile, and a pithy remark for the kids, the Samurai baking enthusiast shouldered his pack, took up his walking stick, and left the building with Elvis…. They didn’t know where they were going, but, they sang happily as the strode along, down the wide pathway leading from the city to the river’s edge. When they came to the water’s edge, they kept walking, straight into the swiftly flowing stream, step by step, until the water covered their heads. A couple of moments later, both men emerged, head-first from the water, as they continued their stroll up the far side of the river’s bed, to the roadway above….


Sliding into the multi-colored VW bug parked at the side of the road, the Samurai baker, turning to Elvis as he turned the key in the ancient car’s ignition, remarked, “Well, do you think any of them bought our story?” “They must have,” replied the King. “They didn’t hassle us about leaving, and if they’d known the whole story, we’d be locked up right and tight!” “You’re right, I guess,” sighed the Samurai, picking a bit of flour from his eyebrows. ” I wonder if they’ll ever get that stuff out of their town fountain’s filter?” “Who cares?”, Elvis grinned, “we’ll be on Mars by then!”


Hmm… a bit cheeky, but, not bad. I suppose, one of these days, I’m going to have to take this process a bit more seriously, by finishing at least a short story based on one of the introductory paragraphs I’ve created here over the years…. If I had any interest at all in ever making any money at this, I’d do that…. but, I don’t, so, if I were y’all, I wouldn’t hold my breath too long….


Speaking of which, I’m not going to make y’all wait too long today to get going. I’ve got a lot to do out in the BBR today, all of which promises to be a lot of fun, and very satisfying, to boot. One is allowed to hope, at least, so, I will. What I will NOT do is belabor any more points, or keep us wandering around in this section. Instead, I’m going to take advantage of that opening right THERE…. and get us out of here…. Hang on, it’ll be another bumpy ride, but, should get us where we need to go…..


Shall we Pearl?


“If we are not stupid or insincere when we say that the good or ill of man lies within his own will, and that all beside is nothing to us, why are we still troubled?” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxv


Very good question, Epi…. We’ll get to that….


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


Today’s video selection is another blast from my past… James Taylor’s album titled after one of his biggest hits, is probably one of the all-time best selling albums from that era, so much so, it can be considered to have achieved icon status… I know that it is one of the most fondly remembered albums of my youth, and still manages to hit all the sweet spots…. Enjoy, please…. I did, and am….






 


James Taylor – Sweet Baby James (1970) (Full Album) HD





























































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


“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.” — Isaac Asimov


In the upcoming days/months/years, you’ll see a change in the articles I’ll be using to supplement my arguments, on those subjects about which I rant. I am really tired of depending on just one, or three, or even four news purveyors, as they have all become sycophantically similar in the weight of their computing footprint; loading their pages can take forever, even at current speeds, because they like to include as many photos, videos, and income producing ads as they can… This is an example of how businesses pander to the stupid; they have determined that most of the people on the ‘Net, especially those who will click on anything bright, shiny, or lurid, prefer pix and vids, because they don’t have to read, or think; that’s all done for them…


SFGATE, the New York Times, even the UK Guardian, all have gone to a format heavy on less than challenging materials, though some in-depth, text-heavy reporting can be found on the Guardian, with a bit of digging. Other, internet based companies, like Huff post, and Bloomberg, etc. were already more like People magazine than a hard-line news reporting outlet…. Many of them now also want the reader to register on the site before being allowed to read anything other than headlines; this is so they can obtain your profile data, allowing them to sell that information, opening the registered reader to copious amounts of spam emails, all wanting to sell something, or seduce more data out of the victim…


Rather than spending my time to search far and wide every day for interesting material, both to read, and to use to discuss current affairs, I downloaded a RSS feed aggregate program, from Source Forge, the open source software development organization online, a clearinghouse for programmers working to develop new and more powerful tools, free to all, each one written in open source programming language(s), making them open to being improved by all who use them….


Now, any time I wish, I can open the RSS Owl, and find the latest news from virtually, and literally, any number of sources I wish, including all those I used to have to visit on my own…. The aggregate organizes all of it into appropriate categories, so I can find just the type of news I wish to explore, from all over the world… It starts with several thousand RSS feeds, from all over the internet, and the world, and can filter the results to fit any key words, or types of stories I want it to focus on, giving me just those in the categories I choose…. Pretty nifty, eh? Any time I find a new source of information with an RSS feed, I can add those to my reader, and see whatever they post, within seconds of it going online….


With the national, state, and local midterm elections coming up in a couple of days, I thought it would be good to start the new format/source utilization with a report on some of the issues being decided on Tuesday, all over the country… It’s a pretty good summary piece, and pretty fair-minded for a progressive site like the Daily Kos…. Other examples of new material will follow, as sort of a new kind of pearl…. I’ll see you at the end, hopefully not a bitter one….


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/02/1340952/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Round-up-Fear-and-lying-edition?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29


Well, there you go, ffolkes… This is how the new format, for this section, will look… or, knowing me, by tomorrow it may be completely different… But, rather than keep you now, glazing your eyes over with a rant on the upcoming election tomorrow, I’ll wait until AFTER the election, which promises to provide a wealth of material upon which to rant, as the Democrats and Republicans continue their battle for control of America’s wallet…. I’ll leave y’all with an appropriate thought, or two, as identified by our resident dB, Smart Bee….


“You are all depending for your spirituality on someone else, for your happiness on someone else, for your enlightenment on someone else…. You have been accustomed to being told how far you have advanced, what is your spiritual status. How childish! Who but yourself can tell you if you are incorruptible?… I desire those, who seek to understand me, to be free … from the fear of religion, from the fear of salvation, from the fear of spirituality, from the fear of love, from the fear of death, from the fear of life itself…. You can form other organizations and expect someone else. With that I am not concerned, nor with creating new cages, new decorations for those cages. My only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free.” — Krishnamurti (1895-1986) From his last speech to the Theosophical Society


Me, too….


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


One of the blogs I follow is that of a poetess of great talent, who writes under her own name, Mari Sanchez Cayuso…. She posted a blog with a short paean to Ms. Plath, which reminded me it had been a while since we’ve used her poems…. Here, then, is one of my favorites of hers, though all of what she wrote is pretty amazing…. Loosen up any resident constraints upon your imagination, ffolkes, you’ll need it to read Sylvia….




Witch Burning


In the marketplace they are piling the dry sticks.

A thicket of shadows is a poor coat. I inhabit

The wax image of myself, a doll’s body.

Sickness begins here: I am the dartboard for witches.

Only the devil can eat the devil out.

In the month of red leaves I climb to a bed of fire.


It is easy to blame the dark: the mouth of a door,

The cellar’s belly. They’ve blown my sparkler out.

A black-sharded lady keeps me in parrot cage.

What large eyes the dead have!

I am intimate with a hairy spirit.

Smoke wheels from the beak of this empty jar.


If I am a little one, I can do no harm.

If I don’t move about, I’ll knock nothing over. So I said,

Sitting under a potlid, tiny and inert as a rice grain.

They are turning the burners up, ring after ring.

We are full of starch, my small white fellows. We grow.

It hurts at first. The red tongues will teach the truth.


Mother of beetles, only unclench your hand:

I’ll fly through the candle’s mouth like a singeless moth.

Give me back my shape. I am ready to construe the days

I coupled with dust in the shadow of a stone.

My ankles brighten. Brightness ascends my thighs.

I am lost, I am lost, in the robes of all this light. 


~~ Sylvia Plath ~~




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


Y’all have been here before (unless you’re a virgin Gentle Reader…), you know what to do…. So, do it…. Today, we are, once again, talking about LIFE AT LARGE, as it applies to us naked apes….


“Everything is in a state of metamorphosis. Thou thyself art in everlasting change and in corruption to correspond; so is the whole universe.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ix, 19


“The need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind.” — Albert Camus


“Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.” — Friedrich Nietzsche


“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free.” — Nikos Kazantzakis


“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will.” — George Bernard Shaw


“Sometimes I think we’re alone. Sometimes I think we’re not. In either case, the thought is quite staggering.” — R. Buckminster Fuller




Pity this busy monster, manunkind, not.

Progress is a comfortable disease.


~~ e.e. cummings, One Times One ~~




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


Today’s Pearl is now in that state in which I am able to pronounce it done… or, close enough for our purposes…. Since the BBR is calling me, I shall be off…. See y’all tomorrow, 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


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!




 À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
And another one bites the dust, dubiously….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“Life is the sum of all your choices.”


~~ Albert Camus ~~





It might look like as spoked wheel or even a "Chakram" circular weapon wielded by television's fictional warrior Xena, but this ringed galaxy is actually a vast place of stellar life. A newly released image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the ga

NGC 1291, through NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope


Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 




The Beatles first major international hit song was “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, with Paul belting out the high notes in that pure Scottish tenor, as yet untrained to any great degree, but, showing the promise of his later efforts. That song came out in 1963, before my birthday, so I was still 12 years old…. A few years later, they released another song, about aging, from the point of view of a twenty-something, titled, “When I’m 64”. That song became one of their biggest hits, off one of their best selling albums, and to this day remains an iconic number, that McCartney still plays at his concerts, now and then….


A few days ago, I explained its relevance, but, my site hasn’t had a lot of traffic lately, so I’ll reiterate for those who’ve been avoiding my incredibly long rants, or have been otherwise busily occupied…. Today is my 64th birthday. I had hoped to have a good day, but, it isn’t looking promising at this point. Without going into tedious details, let it suffice to say I’ll be continuing my battle with an incredibly huge, incredibly evil HMO corporation…. They’ve won the last couple of battles, thanks to some support from their equally evil co-conspirators against the public good, to wit: the government….


Both of them are working at their usual stand, doing all they can to make life less comfortable, and much less profitable for the public, while simultaneously continuing to rip off every penny they can from the public treasury, and the pockets of their so-called “members”, with their selfish padding of every salable item they offer as a ‘service’…. Really? Each tissue one uses in a hospital stay is worth $12 a box? A pill taken by a patient costs $2 or more EACH, when it is impossible for the cost of production to exceed a percentage of ONE PENNY…. Those are typical price points in the healthcare field, and are NOT an exaggeration, so, they are making a profit, hand over fist, on everything they charge for, an endless list….


I see I have indulged myself already, by making a good start on a rant here in the intro, as is my bad habit…. In the interests of efficiency, we’ll call that an intro, but, we won’t be proud of it, okay? I AM trying to rant here less often, but, there are so many targets in our world, they seem to jump up while I’m writing, to insist on being discussed, or included in the day’s subject matter listings, with such piteous expressions of sincerity and purpose, I can’t resist…. Ah well, at least it brought us to this point, where we may do this…. Hang on tight….


Shall we Pearl?…..


“It is as useless to argue with those that have renounced the use and authority of reason as to administer medication to the dead.” — Thomas Paine


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


As mentioned, it’s my birthday, so, today’s selection is a nod to my status as a hippie, since the age of seventeen, when I went off to college at UC Berkeley, where I found a city full of like-minded young, inquiring minds…. This band, if any musical group could be said to do so, epitomized the ambiance and philosophy of the time….. Enjoy, and especially enjoy some of the concerts listed on the same page you find this sound track…. When you learn to ignore the occasional miscue in tuning of guitars, and the weak voices of young artists still reaching for their potential, you can see, and hear, the improvisational genius  that was this band’s legacy….. Abondanza!




The Grateful Dead: American Beauty – Full Album



















































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


Since it’s a special day for me, I don’t much feel like putting myself into ranting mode, though, if the intro is any indication, it wouldn’t be too difficult to get there in my head…. But, let’s do this instead…. Nearly a couple years ago, I wrote some pretty good rants, one of which I will reproduce this morning, as the subject matter, i.e., Sun Tzu’s Art of War, has been much on my mind of late, due to my ongoing battles with HMO organizations… Rather than work myself up this morning, here is a good sublimation to fill in this section…. As most of my rants are, it is still very relevant to today’s issues in our society…. or, what passes for society amongst the humans on this planet….


From 1/29/2013:




In difficult ground, press on;

In encircled ground, devise stratagems;

In death ground, fight.


~~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War (circa 400 B.C.) ~~




The Art of War is still considered by military experts to be one of the definitive books on warfare and strategy, after more than 2000 years. I’m not certain, but would certainly be surprised if it is not still used as a reference at West Point, Annapolis, The Citadel, and the Air Force Academy in classes on tactics and strategy in battle, and in peace time. In the book, which is actually quite short, Sun Tzu gives the basic tenets for success in war, and was so perfectly correct that it remains valid today, even though the landscape of war has grown much larger, and more complex. The issues that can decide victory or defeat remain the same……


One of the most surprising features of the book is the idea that Sun Tzu presents regarding the perfect warrior. In his mind, warriors came in a number of types, each of which required a different method of leadership. The surprise lies in his choice of the type of warrior that he considers to be the most valuable; oddly enough, on the surface he chose… the Spy…..


Not the weapons master, not the brilliant tactician, not the engineer… the spy. According to Sun Tzu, a properly trained and experienced agent provocateur was, by far, the most valuable type of warrior, for, with the proper application of truth and lies, and the correct timing, battles might be won without loss of life or property, or with a minimum of effort, due to the efforts before the battle by the spy. This choice indicates that Sun Tzu recognized the true battle that is waging at all times when people interact with each other…. the battle between truth and lies…..


We see this battle raging in our own society every day, as the politicians vie with each other to see which one can get the furthest from the truth and still convince people they aren’t full of shit. When we see priests telling us that we aren’t the masters of our own bodies or minds, and expect us to not even ask why, we are witnessing the constant struggle for control of our minds… and our pocketbooks…. The former, of course, will always lead to the latter, and you can bet your booties that it is the pocketbooks that the preachers and politicians are concerned with, not just our minds, or our souls….. You betcha, compadre…




She was a wight, if ever such wight were,–

Des. To do what?

Iago. To suckle fools and chronicle small beer.

Des. O most lame and impotent conclusion!


~~ William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Othello — Act ii, Sc. 1 ~~




Normally, or as close as we get to normally, I wouldn’t use a Shakespeare quote, and this one probably shows why, very well… I can’t for the life of me figure out what the hell any of it means, but the last line struck home for this discussion… Before what I am saying reaches the point where the last line might apply, I will refer you to the book itself…..  The Art of War, by Sun Tzu;  copies of it are available at any bookstore, and probably online in a number of places.


It is a fairly quick read, (though there are points that do require some thought and pondering), being less than a hundred pages in most of the versions I’ve seen. As I said above, it’s pretty simply written, but covers all that is needed to get his point across, which has to do with winning, not just at war, but in life. As with many things in Chinese culture, there is more to the subject than may be apparent on first view, and it is worth the time to look more deeply into what Sun Tzu has told us….




But war ‘s a game which were their subjects wise

Kings would not play at.


~~ William Cowper (1731-1800)  ~~


~~The Task, Book v, The Winter Morning Walk, Line 187 ~~




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


While perusing old Pearls to find material for today, this came up, a poem which fits today’s general theme too perfectly to resist….


From 2/7/2013:


Of late, I’ve been writing quite a bit on aging, and it’s effect on me…  an occupational hazard, I suppose, for us retirees. Last night, I was reading some WordPress blogs, and was introduced to this Australian contemporary poet, David Lewis Paget. In looking through his poems on PoemHunter.com, I found this one, which speaks very eloquently of this period of life, and beyond, and I’m happy to include it here as part of the ongoing discussion…. It’s a bit long, but worth it…. Enjoy!….




Age Rage


I was wandering through the Nursing Home

In the town of Morton Rise, 

Seeking an old and weathered face 

That I’d known in another guise, 

For Richard Spratt was my father’s friend

That I hadn’t seen for years, 

I was going to let him know his friend

Had taken a turn for the worse.


The eyes that stared from the armchairs there

Were blank, and devoid of pain, 

They’d taken the pills that dulled them down

So they wouldn’t be restrained, 

The nurses treated them all as fools

This gross humanity, 

Whose only sin was they’d given in

To age, and infirmity.


It was all so very depressing, I

Imagined my future there, 

Staring in immobility

From the prison of one of their chairs, 

Waiting my turn to be spoon-fed

By a very impatient nurse, 

Who shovelled the food all over my chin

As I sat, and inwardly cursed.


I wandered the home there, room by room

In search of his friendly face, 

This Richard Spratt in a cricketer’s hat

I remembered from Ambergate, 

He’d batted a decent fifty, while

My father polished the ball, 

And took five wickets alone that day

In his bowling, over all.


It was nigh on forty years before

That I’d watched them play as a child, 

Out on the green at Ambergate

With the weather, warm and mild, 

But the years dismay as they pass away

And my father grew so old, 

Now he lay in bed in a kind of dread

As the bell of his lifetime tolled.


I said that I’d find his friend for him

And let him know, at the last, 

That he was remembered, thick and thin

For a friendship, forged in the past, 

There were days when they both had sunny skies

And met each day with a grin, 

But time drew shrouds like storm-filled clouds

And the end was looking grim.


I heard a shout from a private room

And went to investigate, 

Quite a commotion in the gloom, 

I hoped I wasn’t too late, 

And there was a nurse stood over him

In a wheelchair, Richard Spratt, 

He’d thrown his meds all over the room

And sat in his cricketer’s hat.


‘You know what to do with your pills, you witch, ‘

He shouted, and turned to see

Just who was stood in the doorway, I

Was grinning from ear to ear, 

‘Well I’ll be… You can get out of here! ‘

He said to the wayward nurse, 

Who said, ‘If you’re going to be like that…’

And left the room, with a curse.


I told the news of my father then

And I swear, he sat and cried, 

Just a couple of tears escaped

That he hid, he still had pride, 

‘Life is a trail of sorrow, son, 

But we’re all on the same long train, 

Your dad and I in the tunnel, while

Your carriage is still on the plain.’


‘What do you value of life the most? ‘

I saw the pain in his eyes, 

‘Youth was that great and precious thing

That with age, you realise! 

I’d give it all for an hour to spend

In the glow of my lady’s eyes, 

The touch of her skin and a hint of sin

But the thing that we love, it dies! ‘


‘I’ve often thought of those balmy days

On the green in our cricket whites, 

And think I hear the crack of the ball

On the willow of sweet delight, 

I remember your father’s terse ‘Howzat! ‘

When he scattered another’s bails, 

Now I sit in this prisoning wheelchair, here

And all I can hear are wails.’


‘Wails from the ones who want to die, 

Wails that they want to live, 

The future is lost to the best of us

We have but the past to give.

You’d like to know how I feel right now, 

Like a leopard, caught in a cage, 

If only I could be young once more…

But all that I feel is rage!’


David Lewis Paget  


4 October 2012


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


Other than the intro and closing sections, this is the freshest part of today’s Pearl…. It’s an abstruse little group, commenting, it seems, once again, on the vagaries and idiosyncrasies that occur as part of being human, focusing, as always, on how live a full life, in an ethical fashion that preserves honor, rather than destroying it….


“A man’s true wealth is the good he does in the world.” — Mohammed (570-632 A.D.)


“One cannot play chess if one becomes aware of the pieces as living souls and of the fact that the Whites and the Blacks have more in common with each other than with the players. Suddenly one loses all interest in who will be champion.” — Anatol Rapoport


“… denn da ist keine Stelle, die dich nicht sieht. Du musst dein Leben andern.” ~~ (… for there is no place that does not see you. You must change your life.) — Rainer Maria Rilke, “Archaic Torso of Apollo”


“Nobody does good to man with impunity.” — Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)


“A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart, his next to escape the censures of the world.” — English Proverb


“Why, then, do you walk as if you had swallowed a ramrod?” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. xxi




I have known noble ones who lost their highest hope,

and then they disparaged all high hopes.

They lived shamelessly in temporary pleasures,

and hardly had an aim beyond the day.

“Spirit is also voluptuousness,” they said.

Then they broke the wings of their spirit;

it now creeps about, and defiles whatever it gnaws at.

Once they thought of becoming heroes,

but they have become sensualists.

A trouble and a terror is the hero to them.

By my love and hope, I implore you:

do not cast away the hero in your soul.

Maintain holy your highest hope.

Thus spoke Zarathustra.


~~ Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” ~~




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


I have yet to go back over this, to see how it turned out…. I will say this, though…. I’m pretty sure it isn’t too bad, and is certainly more than I intended when I began today…. In any case, it’s done, so, I’ll get it posted, then go see if I can find some kind of mischief to get into that will help me feel a bit younger, if only for a short time….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. I have high hopes of that, anyway….. Maybe I can find that hero in my soul….




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


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….





					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Meatloaf, with no ketchup….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.” 


~~ Thomas Jefferson, “Writings” Vol. XVI ~~


odd group 017


     One wouldn’t think so, but, the quote from Jefferson, above, is perfectly appropriate for the picture…. which is shot of the flower I picked, and brought to leave at the grave side of my friend Carol, when two other classmates of mine went with me to visit her, at her final resting place, at the Templeton town cemetery (Templeton is the small farming town in Central CA where we all grew up….)…. and, I should have know better than to try to start the day with a reminiscence….. Now, I am leaking copious amounts of salty fluids out of my eyes, making it difficult to see what I’ve typed; damn this frigging PTSD!….


I suppose there is nothing actually wrong about crying; under the proper circumstances, it can be quite cathartic, and may even release tension and/or built up feelings of guilt, or loss, or whatever emotion assails us, when we get to the point where we must cry, or burst…. But, this is different…. Any time I feel ANY damn strong emotion, whether happy, or sad, or in any way poignant, my tears begin to flow, almost as if I were a child of two or three, with no emotional control over my feelings at all. For a man of my age, and capabilities, it is not merely embarrassing to have it strike as it does, willy-nilly, with no warning or pattern I can find, it is demeaning, as well…..


How we got into this emotional morass is simple, and my mistake…. I should know better than to start of talking of Carol; it brings out my strong emotion every time, as she is sorely missed. Carol was the kind of person we all know some time in our lives; she’s the one who always had a smile for you, no matter how she felt herself; one of those people whose presence makes others feel happy. She baked, and, I am positive, though I was not there, that her house was the one all her children’s friends hung out at, because there were always cookies, or a cupcake, and a warm smile from Mom… I envy her husband, for all the years he was allowed to have with her; we grew close in the last couple of years before she died, and I am glad, for she was one of the BEST people I have ever known…. and I say that, even though I never even ate one of her cookies…


It is fortunate, for me especially, that writing a blog is not a form of performance art, at least not in the sense of having a camera on us, recording us as we pound away at the keyboard…. though, in my case, it would be, if nothing else, NOT boring, as I never sit still for very long; I am up and down from the chair every few minutes to ease some painful bone or another, with these movements interspersed with periods of absolute stillness, as I compose in my head, then mad, desperate typing, as I try to get it down before it fades away, into that limbo we authors fear the most, where our best ideas get lost, never to be seen again….


Okay, well, that was something…. I’m not really certain just how to view the above…. it’s done, so, it stays, naturally. But, I am pretty sure I’ve never done anything quite like it…. In addition, I must say, I’m glad for that, and I hope never to go through this particular opening process again, as it hurt, in a lot of different ways, not all physical…. I’m STILL trying to clear out my sinuses from the crying jag I’ve already gone through, THRICE…. I’s okay, though; it got us this far down the page, so, silver lining, I guess…. Whatever the method, we’re here, so….


Shall we Pearl?…..


“I leapt headlong into the sea,and thereby have become better acquainted with the soundings, the quicksands, and the rocks, than if I had stayed upon the green shore, and piped a silly song, and took tea and comfortable advice.” — John Keats


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


Having fulfilled my promise to pre-screen any more video movies, I can honestly say, this show, a long running BBC series, is NOT one of the reasons I stopped watching TV…. This, in spite of being on TV, and, no doubt, chopped to pieces by commercial interruptions, is excellent…. Fortunately, in this format, on You Tube, one need no longer put up with those ads, so, the story unfolds seamlessly, without the jolting stops and starts…. Moreover, it is one of the best of the Holmes stories, well adapted to the screen, with a wonderful cast of very strong actors…. Enjoy!….




Sherlock Holmes: The Copper Beeches

















































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




“The last vestiges of the old Republic have been swept away.” 


~~ Governor Tarkin ~~




Governor Tarkin’s words from Star Wars, Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back, assume an eerie precognitive accuracy in today’s world. Our country, which began, perhaps, as the world’s first truly democratic republic, has been so completely taken over by corporate interests, who hold private, dangerously delusional ambitions, which, over time, has prompted them to establish and maintain a world order according to their own avaricious agenda, one which has effectively altered the way the government operates, to the point we can no longer call it anything other than what it is in reality, an oligarchy…. government by, and for, the rich….


Absolute control of virtually all the monetary and physical resources of the nation (and, really, the whole planet…) is, and has been for some time, firmly under the control of a very small number of very rich assholes. (Well, the last word isn’t part of the actual definition, but, is most certainly my own opinion…). That control now extends to define every domestic and foreign policy carried out…. by ANY administration…. Even the makeup of those government administrations is controlled by those with money; they’ve paid the courts enough to ensure the laws will favor anything they wish to do to maintain that control, by putting their own stooges in a position to make the laws they need, and to judge those laws the way they wish….


For example….



http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/22/torture-obama-cover-up-cia


“At this point, it’s becoming hard to believe anything Obama says about torture. The New York Times’ Charlie Savage reported Sunday that this administration is considering reinstating the Bush administration’s absurd interpretation of the United Nations treaty against torture, signed by the US decades ago, so that the US can claim the UN actually meant that any torture happening outside one’s own country essentially, you know, doesn’t count. Military and intelligence lawyers “say they need more time to study whether it would have operational impacts.” Really? I thought we stopped torturing people five years ago.”


“If Obama were to adopt this radical interpretation, sure, it would contradict all of his promises as he came into office, but as legal professor David Lubon describes, it would also directly violate US law.”


— excerpted from the above article


“Extreme avarice is always mistaken; there is no passion which is oftener further away from its mark, nor upon which the present has so much power to the prejudice of the future.” — La Rochefoucauld


It has become obvious, at least, to me, the unseen, shadowy masters of society no longer particularly care so much about keeping their agenda hidden…. The future La Rochefoucauld predicted is NOW…. The current collection of Obamadrones, who inhabit the White House, originally promised, as part of the pre-election set of lies the public wished to hear, ( Specifically designed, very effectively, as it turns out, to convince voters to put them in office….), to be the “most transparent administration ever”, along with murmurs about closing Guantanamo, and getting us out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East wars….


But, what has actually happened? Guantanamo is still operative, and, as the article shows, isn’t going anywhere soon, in spite of all the controversy; the torture continues, too, despite the insistence it does not…. just another lie, as it turns out. This administration is responsible for continuing the illegal spying done by the NSA, as well, having never even bothered to deny anything…. They just keep taking journalists and potential whistle blowers to court, for having given away their secrets, with charges based solely on provisions of that most evil document, the Homeland Security Act, a poorly disguised euphemism for Big Brother’s Mandate, a document that abrogates virtually every one of the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution…..


Yet, we still have troops on the ground all over the world, and, we are STILL bombing a number of foreign countries in our search to kill “terrorists”, with planes, AND with robot drones…. It’s said we spend $75 million/day for that bombing; I wonder who’s getting that money? Arms dealers, ya think?….


In order to distract critics, a fair amount of reform has been accomplished in the healthcare field; but, a close look at the resulting structural changes shows that, in essence, once again, the major winners are not the people, but, rather, the insurance companies, the HMO’s, the pharmaceutical companies, and all those other nice folks who charge the little people up the ass for their medical care, which, when one thinks about it, should be the right of every citizen, regardless of their position, or financial status….


What is society for, if not to share common knowledge (i.e., medical expertise and accumulated knowledge which is the legacy of the species, not the doctors, or the government…), to provide a clearing house for such skills so that all members of that society have access to them, to obtain the benefits of living in the group? If not for this, what is it for? 


Perhaps I am not the most qualified judge, but, I know for certain, the legacy of the species does NOT belong exclusively to those who possess them, or to those who control them… They belong to us all, and it is only human avarice, and the predatory nature of man, with its unfortunate tendency to fall into evil, that precludes such a boon… As long as the corporate masters have their way, somebody will have to pay them to get what is actually theirs by right….


On that subject, here is a good article, with some excellent points of reason, which, by contrast, sound out cleanly and clearly amongst all the crap one generally finds in the mainstream media….


http://www.theguardian.com/news/2014/oct/21/-sp-the-truth-about-evil-john-gray


Given what is in this article, I am not certain of how to continue; to my mind, there is little hope of changing human nature, especially at this late hour…. In spite of all the technological advances and civilization we have built up over the last millennia, we are STILL just a weak, frightened hairless ape, with the same set of emotional and reasoning patterns and responses we carried with us when we still were huddling in caves, cold, naked, and afraid of the dark…. Seriously, I am often amazed at how our species STILL acts according to the same primitive emotions, and even more primitive attitudes, of aggression, theft, and violence that characterized those creatures, living in the wild, struggling to make sense of the mass of perceptions their too-massive brains took in…


We are still just hairless apes, no more civilized than those poor, ignorant savages; we just dress better, and have learned a few tricks since our cave days…. Our emotions, and the cult of ignorance adopted by society, haven’t changed a whit….


This is long enough, and I don’t have any viable solutions to offer…. so, we’ll call this a rant, and be on our way to the poetry section, where we MAY find a small piece of what DOES make us different from the other creatures with whom we share this globe, and, one of the FEW characteristics about mankind that I find to be of any redeeming value….. poetry…..


“Give them an opposable thumb, and they think they’re special.” — Smart Bee


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


In my opinion, Charles is cool…. I say that, knowing full well the use of that word will date me…. I still think he’s cool….




Be Kind


are always asked

to understand the other person’s

viewpoint

no matter how

out-dated

foolish or

obnoxious.


one is asked

to view

their total error

their life-waste

with

kindliness,

especially if they are

aged.


but age is the total of

our doing.

they have aged

badly

because they have

lived

out of focus,

they have refused to

see.


not their fault?


whose fault?

mine?


I am asked to hide

my viewpoint

from them

for fear of their

fear.


age is no crime


but the shame

of a deliberately

wasted

life


among so many

deliberately

wasted

lives


is.


~~ Charles Bukowski ~~




Powerful stuff, eh?….


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


Here is an old school pearl of vintage variety; moreover, I let Smart Bee pick out most of it, only intervening to format each quote’s position in the pearl at large…. Let’s see how it came out….




F = MA;

Things fall down;

You can’t push a rope.


~~ The three laws of physics ~~




“Never promise more than you can perform.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 528


“Remember:  Silly is a state of Mind, Stupid is a way of Life.” — Dave Butler


“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe. And what do we teach our children in school? We teach them that two and two make four and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are?” — Smart Bee**


“Life is the sum of all your choices.’ — Albert Camus


“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read.” — Mark Twain




I ‘m weary of conjectures,–this must end ’em.

Thus am I doubly armed: my death and life,

My bane and antidote, are both before me:

This in a moment brings me to an end;

But this informs me I shall never die.

The soul, secured in her existence, smiles

At the drawn dagger, and defies its point.

The stars shall fade away, the sun himself

Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years;

But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,

Unhurt amidst the war of elements,

The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.


~~ Joseph Addison (1672-1719) — Cato, Act v, Sc. 1 ~~




** (According to Dean Hannotte, a collector of quotes, with a web site here: http://www.hannotte.com/Quotes.htm, this was as quoted on page 8 of Richard Kehl’s 1990 quotation anthology entitled Further Departures ….. but, he didn’t say with whom it originated…. Hence, SB gets the credit for today…..)


There you go, ffolkes; not too shabby for one with so little direction provided at the outset…. sort of a series of comments on Reality, and our place in it, so to speak…. It’ll do to finish, quite nicely….


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


Due to circumstances completely within my control, I’m very late getting up to finish and post this mess… but, it’s done, so I’m not going to either belabor the circumstances, of bemoan my choice to not assume the necessary control of events…. In short, I don’t care, it’s done…. Moreover, I’m outta here, having done all the damage I can do…. so to speak…. See y’all tomorrow, 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


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….




 

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Fricasseed rutabaga with mulled acorn sauce….

			
						

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Ffolkes,




“History has the relation to truth that theology has to religion — i.e., none to speak of.”


~~ Lazarus Long ~~




more Invergordon 005


     The picture today goes to show that, a) timing IS everything, and b) even amateurs get lucky sometimes…. I took this from the deck of a cruise ship while docked in Scotland, at Greenock, the port town closest to Glasgow. After some mild fixing of the picture’s features to bring out it’s best appearance, it became clear the sky to the right side is different from the sky on the opposite, left side, with the rainbow serving to mark the line between the two opposing filtered views…. One obviously is where the rain is still falling, producing the rainbow as the light is broken up passing through the raindrops, each of which acts as a small prism, breaking the white, transparent light into its component colors…


For me, knowing what is happening doesn’t reduce the beauty, or the wonder of a rainbow….. One does not have to subscribe to the myths that grow up around such natural displays in order to appreciate the beauty; for me, just seeing it is wonder enough. That I can comprehend the process makes it more precious to me, as an example of how the universe yields its treasures to us little by little, exposing us to its idiosyncrasies and oddities one at a time, to allow us to study, and reason, and apply the power of our imagination to satisfy that  monkey-curiosity, so much a part of us, which demands we know the WHY of all we see before us….


That, as you can see, is a fairly objective, yet accurate assessment of part of our nature, or, at least, that part of it I allow to affect my life…. We do, of course, have options, choices of what to believe, and how to act; as we learn, we know more how to make those acts the right actions, that will make life better for all of us, rather than choosing to behave in ways that cause trouble, for myself, or for others…. Sadly, mental discipline, and the power of reasoning, is all-too-often utilized by those who have chosen to assume the mantle of predator, a choice our entire culture seems to adopt at times, a choice which has turned our society into one marked by violence, and, in my view, insanity on a global scale….


Now, perhaps, you will see my own problem, at least in terms of writing this blog…. Starting out with the beauty and wonder of a rainbow, I end up ranting about human nature, with implications of impending global doom, in less than four paragraphs…. If it weren’t such a PITA, I might consider it a gift, of sorts….. But, my readership numbers seem to indicate it has become old, which, I am sure, it is…. Even I am getting tired of spouting off against the idiots who are making our world such a fucked up mess, threatening to kill us all by drowning us in our own shit (figuratively speaking, though, not by much….); my spouting doesn’t seem to have much effect….


Plus, if I rant here in the intro section, it diminishes the impact, if any, of whatever rant I’m planning for section two…. SIGH…. It’s a conundrum for which there may be no solution, given my own nature, and my need to write in order to maintain any semblance of sanity….. Oh, well, there isn’t anything to be done about it just now, so, I guess I’ll take advantage of the exit I see coming up, thus kick-starting the rest of today’s effort, such as it may be…. Hang on, ffolkes, that exit hole looks a little tight….


Shall we Pearl?


“A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.” — Buddha


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


Whether you realize it or not, you’ve heard this woman’s music…. In today’s world, it would be hard NOT to hear it, as she, and her band of string artistes, made the music for a movie that all of society has either seen, or heard of….. I speak of the Lord of The Rings, of course, in the movie version…. Angele and the band played the theme song written for the first movie, The Fellowship of The Ring,  entitled “Concerning Hobbits”, which you will hear in one of the first two or three pieces in this collection of their work; it will sound very familiar, as it has been all over the airwaves since the movie came out…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this is a great band….




Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà: 50 videos







































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


I am apparently burnt on ranting; I don’t seem able to work up the angst to begin…. Ah, well, I’ve done so much of it in the past, there’s always one that will work…. here, for example, is a good one from last year, just after I got back from Europe…..


From 5/30/2013:


“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle


For much of my life, since reaching what I like to call the age of reason, at about 10 or 11 years of age, I have been aware of this aphorism from Aristotle. If not the aphorism itself, the principle was clear to me from a young age, and I chose then to always strive to be excellent, in whatever I chose to do. You see, I also found out, it requires a deliberate choice to pursue excellence, because it a) doesn’t just happen by itself, and b) it annoys other people. It is the second factor that dictates the need to make a deliberate choice; most people make the opposite choice, to be average, to not stand out too much, unless it is to their advantage to do so, to control or impress others, not for the state of being excellent.


More explicitly, most people try to excel at tasks, or games, or whatever, in order to promote their own agenda, not for the sake of just wanting to do things right, or to scratch the itch of curiosity, or to be the best person one can be. And society at large is quick to show their disapproval if someone is too different in this respect; the normals are afraid of both of the other ends of the human spectrum, the incurably unintelligent AND those who perceive more, and when most people are afraid of something, they make life hard for it, if not downright unbearable, and/or dangerous. Pink monkeys don’t go over well in a brown monkey tree….. They tend to either leave the forest, live in misery, or dye their fur brown, in short order….


This is why the choice must be made, to pursue excellence; it’s not an easy decision, but critically important. It is also a decision that can’t be made half-way; once committed, it extends to EVERY area of one’s existence, requiring effort and dedication to achieve to any significant degree. I can only speak for myself, but it was the best decision of my early years, and I have never regretted making it, because the rewards are much greater than mere comfort, or any other I can think of that comes with giving in to peer pressure; to live with not seeking all there is to see, hear, and do in life, and do it with style, intelligence, and honor.


“By steadily disciplining the animal nature, until it becomes one pointed, it is possible to establish conscious awareness of The Eternal.” — Lao-Tzu


This is a bit metaphorical, but describes well the intensity and consistency of effort that is required to maintain an excellent attitude about life. It’s hard to keep it up all the time, and I have to admit I’m as human as anyone else, and get tired, not to say just plain frustrated, when I cannot easily, or even eventually, reach the goals I’ve set for myself. Fortunately, I also know that being human is okay, and just because I am not always at my best, does not mean it is not still within me, ever within my reach, whenever my perceptions are clear enough to show me the way. The path to Truth, fortunately, is always well lighted, though it may get confusing, and sometimes seem dark through the power of illusion; it never stops being the Truth, though, and that makes it always attainable….


Perhaps there will be some who will read this treatise, and think it arrogant, or condescending; I hope not, because it isn’t intended to be so. It is intended to be a sharing, of the understanding I have that can be of help to anyone in their life. This understanding is based on what I know to be true, and not on fear, or lack of understanding of what is real, in both Nature, and in people. There is great potential in people, much more than we, as a species, or as individuals, ever achieve…. partly because much of humanity is content to be normal, to sit back and let other people decide how the world should go, because it’s too much work to try to control their own world.


We can be so much more than a society of couch potatoes, sagely listening and nodding our heads in agreement with the talking heads we see on the Tube, or laughing ourselves mindless over the insane, or downright stupid acts of imaginary people meant to be metaphorical, but only seen as role models for a reality that doesn’t exist. Even the advent of computer technology, with all its nearly unlimited potential for what only twenty years ago would have been called “magic”, has not inspired people to strive to be excellent, in work, in play, or in ethics; certainly not in government. Instead, we are drowning ourselves in fashion apps, or photo apps, or social media apps, and losing even more connection with the real world in the process….


Ah well, I suppose all will turn out how it will, in spite of my objections, or anyone else’s indifference. C’est la vie, as the French would say…. such is life; I think it appropriate that we hear from the ancient sages about that, as we started, to close this series of thoughts and rambles perfectly… well, maybe only one ancient sage…..





Epictetus sez


    So be it…. gigoid has spoken.


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


According to the above rant, this poem of mine goes well with the theme, so, here ’tis….




A Failure to Germinate


Marking the days in elements of sad disarray

only holds me thrall, as I laugh while I may.

With cold, hard hands so impatient and cruel

pulling me to this vale of tears, a pathetic old fool.


Feelings sit silent, cast in shadows and light

breaking forth to implicate such vengeful might.

Just below the surface they patiently hide

to sally forth bravely, colors bright as they ride.


Tears and pain transform valued assets in hand

while comfort and serenity retreat to a far land.

Bold, bright patterns of hope garnish my ruinous state

until reality enters, full of disdainful portions of hate.


I sort out the illustrious measures of vision gone mild

only to find them transformed, now vicious and wild.

In my deepest desires I find myself calloused and cold

with faithless advocates whose souls have been sold.


My search finds little to support any hope of relief

far too much time has passed to bolster such belief.

The sad becomes real, and real becomes unfounded

until flights of such fancy are all dead, and grounded.


Nature has informed me of the newly hatched crime

that reality has boasted of proudly, time after time.

The last answer we think of is always the best

as we come to terms with fate, our hope at rest.


~~ gigoid ~~




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Man, n.:  An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be.  His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth and Canada. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”


Day before yesterday, for some unknown reason, I took a moment during the day to sit down & just go through Smart Bee, to see if it had resolved whatever issue(s) that have been bothering it, preventing it from cooperating with any searches to any appreciable degree…. I don’t know yet if it has resolved those issues, but, this time, it regurgitated so many pearls, all on the subject indicated by the entry above, from the Dictionary I use most often, including, it seems, the concomitant subject of Life at Large, especially as it applies to Life in this country…. It was so prolific I had to create the first-ever 13 star pearl, just to include all the stuff it threw at me that fit…. plus an intro, and a closing pearl, to seal the deal with a flourish…


Enjoy, ffolkes, and don’t worry; this one explains itself as it goes along. You won’t have any trouble keeping up…..


“Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of the colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. Each time a person stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” — Robert F. Kennedy  Speech, South Africa, 1966


“I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of.” — Clarence Darrow


“He who dies for virtue, does not perish.” — Plautus (B.C. 254-184)


“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war.  Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin.  But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.” — Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961)


“Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and miss.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”


“If it is not seemly, do it not; if it is not true, speak it not.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, xii, 17


“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” — The Constitution of the United States of America Amendment 4, 1791


“The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it seems to me the deepest root of all evil that is in the world.” — Max Born, physicist


“Aryse ye techno Serfs! Let us seek out the bloated aristocrats, and roast them in their own juice upon the fires of righteousness and justice!” — Dan, rabble rousing the contractors


“In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it.” — George Bernard Shaw


“Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.” — Laurens Van der Post, The Lost World of the Kalahari (1958)


“The three branches of government: lobbyists, media, PAC’s.” — Smart Bee


“I love my country too much to be a nationalist.” — Albert Camus


See? Told ya…. However, my lawyer tells me I should provide a disclaimer with this one, so, here it is, in all its marginally (il)legal glory….


“I demand IMPUNITY!” — Zippy the Pinhead


YOW!    ‘Nuff said….


So be it….


gigoid has spoken, more’s the pity…..


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So much for planning…. Without going into the details, let me just say…. HONK! That’s all ffolkes, I can do no more damage, and may just cause actual trouble if I continue, so, I’m outta here…. 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


PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.


Kowabunga!






À bientôt, mon cherí….