Contrary to all the research, it squeaks….

Posted on February 12, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Doing it the hard way is always easier.”

~~ Murphy’s Paradox ~~

“Oh, you said Tokyo! My bad…”

If the picture I took, above, is any indication, in the field of aerotechnology, the human race has made some startling advances since I last checked. The airplane, or jet, or whatever it was, to make a trail like that, had to be moving at least 2-300 mph. I was not aware we possessed the technology to make 90º turn at that speed. Oh, perhaps we have drones that will do it, but, the forces involved would make it hard for a flesh and blood entity to remain conscious, or alive, at the end of the turn. Kinda makes me wonder what we aren’t being told…. again.

Ah well, the intro isn’t the place for such conjecture, I suppose. I just keep stumbling across little pieces of evidence like this, which indicate there are a LOT of things those in charge are keeping from the public. A small item like this, when added to the visit from officialdom I received a couple of days ago, tells me a lot. Sometimes, to hear the music, one must pay close attention to the silences between the notes…. This is not something the mundanes of the world will ever realize, or, even consider, so, it becomes the DUTY of those of us who CAN make out the melody to make sure the orchestra is playing the tune on the program, and not one of their own choosing….

With that said, I will go on to bigger and, well, different things, with the full realization that very few people will ever see this, or even know they are clueless. SIGH…. It makes me want to cry, in sorrow, for all the folks out there who are being ushered down a path to their own destruction, never even knowing they are drawing closer to the edge of a bottomless pit with each step…. Hell, most of them aren’t even aware they are up and moving! They sit and watch their 60 inch TV, thinking what they see is Reality, when all it is would best be described as the mental equivalent of cotton candy, which they continue to stuff into their obese mouths, only to feel what they’ve eaten disappear into thin air, much like their dreams of a life worth living….

It’s a sad, sad world these days, ffolkes, and there are only a few people who are even aware that we are all in trouble, because, nobody in charge WANTS to know (there’s no profit in letting the public know….), and nobody who is going to die thinks it is real…. Some days, such as today, I’m convinced our species is not worthy of surviving…. not if we allow a few idiots to send the rest of us to hell right along with them, as they pursue their insane dreams of power and madness…

I think I’m depressing myself. I’m going to stop now, and go write something else, hopefully not as much of a downer. It will be hard, though, as almost everything I perceive these days, out there in the Big Blue Room, is enough to depress a clown on Prozac….

Shall we Pearl?

“A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world’s torrent.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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It might be a futile attempt, but, if this doesn’t improve your mood, or mine, well, it’s too damn late for us…. Enjoy, ffolkes. This is what life COULD be like, if not for all the assholes in the world….

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Cute Dogs And Adorable Babies: Compilation

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http://youtu.be/ilMzs1UHEmw

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It is entirely possible I will rant no more…. Ffolkes, it’s all gone. Whatever it was that held this world together is broken; we have gone completely and irrevocably insane, as a species, a culture, and, mostly, as individual human beings, a term that, from what I can tell, really has no meaning in a very real sense. Not for long, anyway. I am now convinced, even if a way IS found, to save our sorry asses from killing ourselves, and everything else here, or, at minimum, turning the world into a real life version of Dante’s Inferno’s vision of Hell, nobody would even turn off the TV to listen….

I tried to read the news today, oh, boy…. Ten thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire, it said…. along with a slew of other headlines, each displaying as much sense as these classic lines from the Beatle’s epic song, A Day in the Life. I sometimes use a news reader program that collects news articles from hundreds of sources, so I can pick and choose what to read by perusing the headlines in each category. I’ve been avoiding it, using just the articles and news I pick up in the little time I can spend each day on the blogs of my friends, and the email notifications I subscribe to from my most favored sources.

Well, there are also the emails I subscribe to from the people I feel need watching, like the White House, etc. “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.” is an aphorism all warriors are taught in the cradle. (Well, this warrior was, anyway. If not, they probably would have been better off if they had…) Not that the folks in the White House are necessarily my enemy, but, I certainly don’t trust them to look after MY interests very well. They’ve already proved, on too many occasions, no such intention exists in their world view; not if the emails I’ve received from them in the past seven years are any indication. As a matter of long-standing policy, I accept a lot of what I consider spam, just so I can see what they’re saying to all those who support them blindly…. Good intel, in my book…

As for ranting, daily doses don’t seem to get me much of anywhere that can actually help, other than to a place where I am not so pissed off all the time, simply as a result of the catharsis of writing. Plus, I have had some recent clues come to my attention which have made me reconsider my openness to a small degree. I expect you’ll note a few minor changes in what you see here, beyond the usual lack of regular structure to be expected in a place where we play with reality as if it were playdough, or even better, magic slime. Yeah, that’s the ticket, reality as magic slime…. Hey, anything would be better than the reality in which we all are currently trapped, right? Right….

Oops. I guess that could be considered ranting; I’d best be careful, as I’m not yet used to my new paradigm. Hell, I haven’t even named it yet; can’t change your paradigm unless you have a name for the new one. It just doesn’t work, they are like a vector in mathematics; the direction is required for it to have any real meaning…. Same with a paradigm; you gotta know its true name, or the magic won’t work….

So much for logic, eh? But, logic won’t hold up under the inundation of insanity, greed for power, and general loss of all sense of proportion, or dignity I saw in just a little part of today’s mainstream news…. You see, I only got half-way through ONE news site before I was overcome by a sense of utter futility. Every other article I stopped to read stimulated either amazed disbelief, or tears, from feeling both sorrow, and laughter, when confounded by reports of the antics of the latest form of cosmic vermin, we naked apes, as we caper about the planet, pretending we have a clue….

There are only two things left to say on this subject; consider them well. They MAY be the last of their kind….

“America!! I saw it all!! Vomiting! Waving!

JERRY FALWELLING into your void tube of UHF oblivion!!

SAFEWAY of the mind –”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

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“Inside, I’m already SOBBING!”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

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I have a new poem, but, it isn’t quite ready for me to cut a vein open, and let it leak out. We’ll have to go with another of mine from the archives, to keep from spreading the blame for this…. Here is one I wrote back in 2013, that seems to go right along with the ranting section for today…. Enjoy, please, and remember, ffolkes… Metaphor is my thing….

A Dubiously Soft Morning

Idiosyncratic images, clamoring for regard,
fill up the white, white screen on which I view
my life, never seeing, nor invited to sup
ambrosial remnants of anything new.

Still, yet almost in motion, allegory sails away
bobbing gently, quick and easy to find,
signs of one happy child, seriously at play,
blissfully immersed, focused joy in mind.

Formidable cries of outraged simple justice
echo plaintive relevance, in half the time.
Maladaptive infants, destined for hospice
salvage an only child, daring to sing in rhyme.

Creativity equals unquestioning farce,
often reaching for absurdity, brazenly afire.
Instead, a blow is felt that no joy will soften,
accepting the price, added to the cost of desire.

~~ gigoid ~~

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I’ve never gone for titling Pearls, or pearls, either. But, for this one, if I were asked to give it a title, it would have to be, “The Rise and Fall of Homo Erectus”

We shall never cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

~~ T. S. Eliot ~~

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” — Isaac Asimov

“Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.” — Goethe

“Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.” — Demosthenes

“Expedients are for the hour; principles for the ages.” — Henry Ward Beecher

“If a man could pass through Paradise in a dream, and have a flower presented to him as a pledge that his soul had been there, and if he found that flower in his hand when he awoke – Aye, and what then?” — Coleridge, “Anima Poetae”

Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,–
Now green in youth, now withering on the ground;
Another race the following spring supplies:
They fall successive, and successive rise.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ The Iliad of Homer, Book vi, Line 181 ~~

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If I didn’t know, for sure and for certain, I’d say this was getting easier. But, since I do know, I’ll use the gift horse technique, and merely say I am glad it’s done, & be done with it. Not for nothing have I achieved such an advanced age, one none of us ever really considers, until it smacks us dead in the face…. On that uplifting thought, I think it would be best if I leave now. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided the powers of evil have not yet discovered my hiding place…. Be 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,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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Dodge those taxes with dignity and aplomb….

Posted on February 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Nature abhors a vacuum, but not as much as cats do.”

~~ Lee Entrekin ~~

Turn it off. Now.

Photo stolen from Wolfie, at:

https://europasicewolf.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/mewling-the-blues-to-the-ancient-mythological-cat-goddesses/

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Anyone who has lived with a cat knows the opening quote to be an exact statement of truth. I have never met, or observed any cat, in my entire life, who did not absolutely resent the mere presence of a vacuum, even if not operating, with every fiber of their being. If even one of them ever acquired a set of tools to suit their paws, I suspect, one morning, we would all find our loud, offensive-to-the-nature-of-CAT cleaning appliances in a small neat pile of metal pieces, covered over lightly with dirt, somewhere outside the house…. That one cat would destroy all he found in his neighborhood, then pass the tools and skills on to the first cat he met, until every vacuum in the world was useless…. If they could use computers, it would happen all that much faster…. probably in a matter of hours after booting up….

Yet, still, in the quiet moments between heartbeats, the soft, lyrical sound of simple peace may steal through the rear window of each person’s mind, to fill the air with the almost-painfully somber melody of broken dreams. Nighttime brings panic and fear, not slumber; terror rules the hours until light. Light brings its own baggage, weighting down each one it touches, bearing them down, down, to the pitted earth, never again to rise with any degree of hope….

Boy, that turned a little dark corner there, didn’t it. I have no idea how what I started as a lyrical fantasy, grounded in peace and beauty, to the nightmare of the fight with inner demons…. I suppose I need to watch the road signs more closely; the turn I took was NOT into the street I thought I was headed for, by a long shot….. Of course, by logical concatenation, since the street signs are put up by the government, they could conceivably be a lie….

Okay, sorry…. I know it’s too early for such a drastically rude shot to the head of a pundit, but, I’ve never been one to pass up a good opportunity like that one. I promise, no more ranting in this section, for today, at least. Naturally, this leaves us once more in the clutches of the dreaded “What the fuck do we do now?” beast, with its slavering jaws of death, smellier than the filthiest asshole in creation. Whew! Powerful stuff! I think I’m going to make an executive decision; this intro has gone completely off the wire, and out of the dimension. There’s no hope now of ever getting back on any reasonable track down the page without some sort of drastic intervention…. Hang on, ffolkes, I’m pulling the switch on #4…..

Shall we Pearl?

“It’s a bit hard to bullshit the ocean.

It’s not listening, you know what I mean?”

~~ David Crosby ~~

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One can never watch too many cartoons, I say. We all need regular doses of fantasy to balance out the extreme levels of bullshit that permeates almost every level of our lives in this sad old world…. Besides, it’s always good to spend time with old friends….

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Heckle and Jeckle

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http://youtu.be/0Yvdxk9jxOQ

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Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land?

All fear, none aid you, and few understand.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 261~~

Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, as a blog, continues to evolve, along with me, as I become more competent at formatting the text and pictures, learning to take advantage of how they can work together to strengthen whatever points I’m trying to get through to people. Today, rather than a rant, I’m going to use the principle of “a picture is worth a thousand words”, to deliver my usual indictment of the Asininnies, those who have perverted human culture for their own aggrandizement. You’ve seen all of these before on this site; I seem to have collected enough of them to form a pictorial old-school pearl, filled with my entire pantheon of issues about which to rant….. I don’t think I’ll need to say anything more; from this point on, it’s pretty self-explanatory…

Enjoy, ffolkes; it will be a nice break from the 2-3000 words I could have used to speak to all these pictures, each of which highlights part of the problems we face today, threatened with extinction as a species by the ignorant, cruel, selfishly self-centered actions of a precious few extreme assholes, disguised as human beings….. I might add, all of these pictures are taken from REALITY; there’s no speculation involved in any of these issues…. Remember that, next time you hear one of the Asininnies speak about “conspiracy theories”, or, try to deny culpability for all of their chicanery…. It isn’t a fantasy if it comes straight from reality, to slap you in your very real face….. or, shoot you in your very real heart…..

Flulaval-vaccine-insert-no-controlled-trials-640

There you go, ffolkes. The first ever fully-pictorial pearl. Not too shabby, and, it certainly saved y’all a shit load of reading, didn’t it? I kind of like it, but, it’s going to take a while now to collect enough pointed bamboo sticks to create another punji pit, placing some nice atropine on the points of the sticks, to provide that extra touch of agony to their deaths… Then, we’ll need to find a good spot to put it, where it can catch any stray Asininnies passing by, concealed well enough to ensure they take their final fall, about 12 feet down, to meet their chosen fate.

I find it to be only justice to consider such a cruel method of eliminating these human vermin, justice provided by most efficient bamboo stakes, tipped with a poison to paralyze the diaphragm, adding a touch of terror to their agony, hopefully for a good long while, until the numerous holes in their body bleed sufficiently to allow them to die the death they so richly deserve…. This has the added advantage of reducing the number of targets left to destroy in future revolutionary outbreaks, which I consider a pretty sure thing, given today’s state of world affairs…. It’s always a good policy to get a running start on unpleasant tasks, such as vermin control….

Gee! Do ya think I’m a little pissed off? Well…. you may be right…

gigoid, not speaking much, but, enough….

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After such a compelling graphic rant, only one poem of mine will do….

Geezer to Congress, with Love

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

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

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

Why the hell not?
It’s worth a shot!

~~ gigoid ~~

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I suppose the only proper way to describe what follows would be to call it a tongue-in-cheek pearl. Each one, which SB gave up in its inimitable style, isn’t actually as shallow as it may seem at first, once one gets past the flippancy, or in some cases, the simplicity…. No matter, they’re fun, and there are plenty of them, so, enjoy…. or not. I like to give everyone a choice, as you know….

“Sinners can repent, but stupid is forever.” — Smart Bee

“Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do.” — Bertrand Russell (1872-1967)

“What is becoming is honest, and whatever is honest must always be becoming.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

“Anything may be divided into as many parts as you please.” Commentary: In this case, ‘everything’ may be viewed as a subset of ‘anything.'” — Law of Arbitrary Distinction

“A closed mouth gathers no feet.” — Finster’s Law

“Ah say, son, you’re about as sharp as a bowlin’ ball.” — Foghorn Leghorn

“Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing can ever be made.” — Immanuel Kant

“Immanuel doesn’t pun, he Kant.” — Smart Bee

Doh! Sorry, ffolkes, I couldn’t help myself. SB threw them out there, & I fell right into the trap…. Okay, here is the correct final pearl for this particular group…

“Never refuse to do a kindness unless the act would work great injury to yourself, and never refuse to take a drink- under any circumstances.” — Mark Twain

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Thankfully, most of this got done yesterday; getting it all done this morning would have been impossible, given the state of affairs in my body. Though my refusal to submit to any further med reduction has finally reached a point where I am able to get some sleep, I still awake in more pain than I’ve had to deal with for over seven years. Any thanks I may feel for this gift can be delivered directly to the door of a large soulless corporation, care of two doctors/slaves who are carrying out their draconian policy of punishing anyone who may not wish to submit to wearing a collar.

However, rather than continue to rant here in the closing section, I’ll make a 90 degree turn, and merely say, “See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, when we’ll fire off another round of shots, at those insane fools who would kill us all in their cowardly, insane quest for power….”

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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Burning stacks of cancelled portfolios, in the rain….

Posted on February 6, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past,

but by the responsibility for our future. “

~~ George Bernard Shaw ~~

In the first half of the twentieth century, an American philosopher, H. L. Mencken, offered a comment on modern life as he perceived it. I’ve always liked it, but, until recently, didn’t fully “get” the full impact of the statement, which we offer below:

“Every normal man must be tempted at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”

This morning, I believe I have come to a greater understanding of what he was describing, and can only agree, in full. I say this, because I have reached a point in my life where I am ready to start giving in to such impulses. In fact, I’ve already spit on my hands, and hoisted the black flag; all that remains is to begin slitting throats, a process for which I am already fully prepared. As a life-long student of War, and its Arts, and, as a retired chef, I have a large collection of fine, sharp knives, over half of which are perfectly suited to throat cutting….. Hell, maybe I’ll just use the cleaver…

I have also observed human society now for many years; as a result, I have a long list of candidates for this sort of attention. I could, conceivably, keep myself busy right here in my home state, or home town, for that matter, but, I think it would be more efficacious, for me and for society, if I were to begin my campaign in Washington D. C., or, at a conference of the Tri-Lateral Council, where I would be able to eliminate quite a few of the major obstacles to human progress, all at once.

Actually, anyplace where more than one or two of them are together will do fine; I’ve got some grand ideas on how to use different methods of achieving the same purpose as a throat slitting…. You know, organic bombs, aerosol poisons, lasers, good stuff, all perfectly appropriate for use on groups of evil assholes, in lieu of a sharp blade…

Ah well, fantasy in the morning! Gotta love it. If nothing else, some of that almost constant urge to kill a pundit, or an asininny of some variety, is lessened by enough to keep from rushing out of the house, knife in hand, to go look for the nearest asshole to separate from his blood supply. I figure it’s good practice anyway, to smother that urge to kill, at least to the point where one is not constantly distracted by the need for revenge….

I’m hoping it isn’t just me who feels this way. If enough of us slit enough of the right throats, maybe we humans could make some progress toward fulfilling our real destiny, which has always been the pathway to the stars….. I have believed, since the first time I ever looked up in the sky, and realized those stars were other places in our universe, we were meant to go there, if only to do what we do best, which is to learn…. Our curiosity, stimulated by our imagination, is much greater than can be fulfilled on merely one planet; our destiny is the stars….

These days, it’s becoming questionable if we will ever be able to fulfill that destiny, or any other. I suppose I’ll have to wait, for the time being, before giving in to this urge toward revenge. But, believe me, if they give us much more shit, I’m grabbing the sharpest knives I have, and heading east…. Count on it….

Shall we Pearl?

“Laugh, about it, shout about it when you’ve got to choose–whichever way you look at it you lose.” — Paul Simon

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My mood is so dark, so heavy, I need help. Here is a collection of cartoons from my youth, with one of my generation’s most important heroes. Mighty Mouse gave kids a real hero, a little guy who could beat up big guys, and who always protected the weak and vulnerable from the depredations of the evil bullies who persecuted them (Are you beginning to see the theme here?…. MM was the first hero to show the common man and the forces of evil in eternal combat, with the common man winning every time…)

The weekly battles Mighty Mouse engaged in against evil opponents, always winning, showing them up as bullies in the process, was the perfect mental attitude training for a generation of political and societal activists, which many of us became…. Some of us are still fighting those forces of evil; nowadays, though, finding the evil is much easier, because much of it is to be found in official uniforms, or in government buildings. Sadly, it’s also easier due to the simple fact there are many, many more of them now…. the silly asses breed like rabbits….. Ah well, watching some of these will take me back to those days when we still had a lot of hope…. Now, hope must be aware of how fragile it has become…. Enjoy this little break from reality, ffolkes….

Mighty Mouse

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http://youtu.be/wa9aI2wvofg?list=PLsZwgCf-AbYykMLMsya5lk2sv9gYV485U

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I found the piece below in an old document, in a file folder called “Current docs”. It was written, apparently, on Thursday, ‎September ‎06, ‎2012, at ‏‎2:21:33 PM, entitled:

{Chaos + Entropy } – {Compassion + Love} = 42

SIGH…. there are times, such as this, when I wonder what life might be like without Murphy’s unkind attentions, and, though it might affect the balance of the universe somehow if he weren’t around to see to his chosen task , (that of filling my quota, plus bonuses, of stupid, annoying crap, with which to deal at the most inconvenient times), I’d be more than willing to try it out, just to see if I could deal with THAT any better than I do with him dogging me…. In fact, I’d give serious money to have an opportunity to try….

Sadly for me, and for all of us, I suppose, money won’t buy freedom from Reality, or from the elements of Chaos, and Entropy, that are as much a part of life as are Order, and Beauty…. There are people who believe that money CAN buy happiness, but, as is commonly true with such misguided entities, they are deluded, existing in a way that prevents them from ever really connecting with the universe deeply, or experiencing the finer parts of life, those that come only when one is open to compassion, and to love.

Moreover, these poor, sad fools are completely ignorant of missing out on anything, mistakenly believing themselves to be rich as Croesus…. which, in fact, they may be, in terms of gold, or other substances people value in this plane of existence…. This, however does not prevent them from being, in truth, sadly misdirected, delusionally convinced of their own rightness, in spite of all evidence otherwise, and, ultimately, pathetically overburdened with more THINGS than they can ever use, or even appreciate.

In spite of what they probably feel is true, when they die, none of what they’ve spent their lives pursuing can go with them, wherever they may go…. There’s no conclusive evidence indicating any particular destination to which we go when we pass on, at least, none we can perceive, or comprehend in our current state of being…. S’okay, we don’t really need one; we’re just too curious to let it go….

We wonder still, in spite of knowing, in all of our checkered, but, pretty well documented history, nobody has ever come up with any real, solid evidence for ANY of the theories on the matter, one way or another. Many would, and constantly do, argue this point, but, I know for a FACT, it is for sure, and for certain, wherever our consciousness may go, it won’t be carrying bus fare, or any credit cards…. and nobody, I think, wherever it is we end up, will care at all how much crap they owned while they were here….

Who knows where THIS came from…. not me. I found the first part in an old Pearl intro, and the rest just spewed out…. so be it….

gigoid has spoken….

Okay…. not bad. Since our space for ranting has been taken up with this little side trip into my head, we’ll close today’s section with two links, one to my pal Lou’s web site, where he displayed the article you will find at the second link. It’s an EXCELLENT treatise, one I hope becomes a viral hit on the internet, soon. It will, quite frankly, provide the proper impetus to begin the world-wide revolution, as it exposes, EXACTLY, how Mankind has been DUPED by this ages old conspiracy to saddle the human race with slave collars, welded on their necks by a delusional system forced upon them from birth… Read it and weep, all you religious fanatics; your time is up…..

https://talesfromthelou.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/why-are-you-still-a-christian-after-reading-this/

http://ultratechlife.com/blog/why-are-you-still-a-christian-after-reading-this-thorough/

Pretty clear and simple, eh? Anyone with more than two neurons in their head acting together will see just how they’ve been duped for millennia by these self-serving asses….

So be it.

gigoid has spoken, and he’s not the only one pissed off….

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I can’t seem to find anything more fitting, so we’ll go with one of mine from the archives…. Enjoy!….

When life calls, ready or not….

Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Today’s final old school pearl will be a mystery pearl. The first pearl you see is one I chose yesterday, but, didn’t have time to follow up. I will complete it now, and hope it comes out in such a way as to fulfill the promise of the most excellent opening…. Let’s see how it comes out, shall we?…..

Know then this truth (enough for man to know),

— “Virtue alone is happiness below.”

~~ Alexander Pope — Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 309 ~~

“Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” — Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Return of the Jedi”

“You can kill a man but you can’t kill an idea.” — Medgar Evers

“To give pleasure to a single heart by a single kind act is better than a thousand head-bowings in prayer.” — Saddi

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” — Aristotle

“To him that waits all things reveal themselves, provided that he has the courage not to deny, in the darkness, what he has seen in the light.” — Coventry Patmore

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it–even if I have said it–unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” — The Buddha

“The world exists for its own sake, not for ours. Swallow *that* pill!” — Edward Abbey

“Be the day never so long,

Evermore at last they ring to evensong.”

~~ John Heywood (c. 1565) — Proverbes, Part ii, Chap. vii ~~

Not bad for a mystery, eh?

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

In the time to come, the world will be without the luxury of mercy; whether we like it, or not, the whirlwind is coming. I’ve tried to give y’all as much warning as I can; the rest is up to you, as it has always been. For now, I’ll take my leave, hoping against hope we all have a chance to pull ourselves back from the edge toward which we are rushing….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, optimistic though it may be…..

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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Pete thinks it shouldn’t do that….

Posted on February 4, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Belief is the death of intelligence.”

~~ Robert Anton Wilson ~~

London Daily Telegraph ~ Darek Siustra

I’ve come to learn, over the past three years, there will be days like this. In my world, such days tend to defy description, even for me; I seem to have no issues whatsoever with spouting off on virtually any subject, logical, realistic, or otherwise…. Of course, part of that is due simply to my nature, which is rather crusty from the outset. When one is the middle child of five, it happens. We middle kids get the brunt of the other four siblings’ attempts at manipulation, which took the form of violence, or crying, as we are the perfect target. One can’t beat up the bigger ones because, well, they’re bigger, and can’t beat up the little ones because a) it isn’t fair, and, b) Mom & Dad would paddle ME.

So, we learn our own methods of coping, often having to do with learning stealth, with a healthy dose of our own forms of manipulation. One must, after all, maintain a certain degree of dignity in life…. Naturally, this dignity lasts only as long as we are at home; the world at large tends to alter or adjust whatever attitudes we may take on during our early years, teaching an entirely different set of lessons in how to deal with what life throws in our path. SIGH…. Sometimes, I think it really WOULD be nice if there were some supernatural entity up there somewhere in the sky, taking all the responsibility for all that happens to us; it would be more comfortable than the way the universe is actually constructed; in the real world, reality couldn’t care less what we do, or what happens to us….

I guess that’s too scary for most folks, so, they latch onto whatever religion or set of beliefs that allows them to blame the universe for all the crappy stuff that happens, completely ignoring the fact of their own culpability, or to acknowledge any such concept as Karma, which presupposes we are completely responsible for both…. we bear the responsibility for what we do, and we bear equal responsibility for what happens to us. Most folks can’t accept that responsibility, so, they give up the right to think for themselves, allowing a bunch of manipulative liars to decide for them what they should believe, even though it is one of the most unbelievable stories I’ve ever heard….

Ah well…. I’ve already come far too close to ranting mode here, without intending to do so; I think I’ll show a bit of restraint, by stopping here, so we can try to get something else done before it’s too late to get anywhere worthwhile…. Of course, we have yet to ever get to any such place, but, we do try…. Maybe this time it will work…. All we can do is all we can do….

Shall we Pearl?

“And then, last but the reverse of least, there plunged in all the people who think they can solve a problem they cannot understand by abolishing everything that has contributed to it. We all know these people. If a barber has cut his customer’s throat because the girl has changed her partner for a dance or donkey-ride on Hampstead Heath, there are always people to protest against the mere institutions that led up to it. This would not have happened if barbers were abolished, or if cutlery were abolished, or if the objection felt by girls to imperfectly grown beards were abolished, or if the girls were abolished, or if heaths and open spaces were abolished, or if dancing were abolished, or if donkeys were abolished. But donkeys, I fear, will never be abolished.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Flying Inn

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

I’m in the mood for some smooth, easy listening…. here is a mix with four hours worth of that very thing…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

*4 HOURS* of Classical Music

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

http://youtu.be/n_0Qix6qf5g

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

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

“Sigh… Every day I thank my statuette of Wilma Flintstone that I was born normal.” — Zippy the pinhead

Due to circumstances completely within my control, there won’t be a fresh rant today; I’m not even going to tell you why. I will, however, supply y’all with a short discussion from the archives, just a quick indictment, and a reminder what we see happening in the world today is merely more proof of the old saying…. same shit, different day….

From 2/14/2012:

“I worry about my child and the Internet all the time, even though she’s too young to have logged on yet. Here’s what I worry about. I worry that 10 or 15 years from now, she will come to me and say ‘Daddy, where were you when they took freedom of the press away from the Internet?'” — Mike Godwin

This is something all of us should be thinking about, now that the Bill of Rights, which ostensibly assures us of freedom of speech, has been nullified by another homeland insecurity authorization, approved by our beloved ruling class, including the great Hope, Obama, who stealthily signed it on New Year’s Eve, when he knew nobody was watching too closely. Effective the next day, all of our protections as citizens against being unjustly accused or held in jail without cause or review, free speech, the right to assemble to protest grievances, all of those rights are now null and void. Any American citizen can now be arrested without warrant, taken to undisclosed locations, and tortured (yes, I said tortured; if you don’t believe me go read the damn thing yourself), all because they are SUSPECTED of being in, or aiding a terrorist organization. No evidence, no proof required, merely suspicion.

In addition, the authorities who are authorized to carry out these unconstitutional actions are not required to tell anyone, and there is no judicial or any other oversight; no warrants needed for any of this, and they don’t even have to tell anyone they have done so. It’s enough to make me go out and buy a gun….and prepare to use it. I guarantee that anyone who tries to do this to me will have bitten off more than they can chew; I’m not a pacifist, and I am a free man; I will protect my own rights, thank you, and I will do that until either they give it up, or they’re dead, or I’m dead. No compromises here, folks. I have no intention of being a victim of these assholes, and I suggest to all truly free Americans that they keep their weapons handy, and their powder dry…..

“….secrecy is the keystone of all tyranny. When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, “This you may not read, this you may not see, this you are forbidden to know,” the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrarily, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything–you can’t control a free man, the most you can do is kill him.” — Robert Heinlein, Revolt in 2100, “….If this goes on….”

Note from 2015: There you go: short and sweet. Naturally, I could expand on all of that, but, I’ll be nice…. We’ll go on to our next stop…

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

Here is a poem I wrote in response to one of those school shootings we see every now and again, so the BRC and the Asininnies have a chance to try again to curb our right to own guns…. It’s much easier to work people up into a frenzy when they have incidents of insanity like those to point to; I only wish people would remember those in charge only use those incidents to manipulate the public into doing what they want them to do, which is to be afraid…. of nothing much….

Modest sounds of impatient concern….

Crowds converge at the raw and grisly scene,
comatose to compassion, curiosity tugging at the hem
with sharp, oh, sharp tools made obscene,
filing the essence of future hopes in spite of them.

Yet who has won the keys to the treasure,
who whipped up the fear of another brother?
Who spent the dreams of the old in selfish measure,
with such arrogant blindness grave issues to smother?

Fateful decisions may prompt still another pause,
to catch and release collective images of insanity.
Surely legitimate anger arises with ample cause
wallowing in self-made entrepreneurs, fluent in profanity.

A quartet of eternities must pass to guarantee change,
regardless of need, or desire, or autonomous manipulation.
Ancient rules and modern aggression is only passing strange
when golden delusion grasps futilely at its related illusory station.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

If I were compelled to classify this pearl as to type, I don’t think I’d be able to do so; it defies explanation pretty thoroughly, from what I can tell… As far as I CAN tell, it’s merely observations of reality, with a slight twist toward how to cope with it, in whatever form it assumes…. Or not. Who cares? I’m done now…. No worries, ffolkes, they make excellent operational notes…. The last one is particularly cogent, I think….

“A rolling stone gathers momentum.” — Smart Bee

“Much may be known of a man’s character by what excites his laughter.” — Goethe

“When a man is wrong and won’t admit it, he always gets angry.” — Thomas Chandler Haliburton

“If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.” — Herodotus

“A bee is not a busier animal than a blockhead.” — Alexander Pope

What we leave behind is not as important as the way we lived.” — Smart Bee

“You only live once — but if you work it right, once is enough.” — Joe E. Lewis

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

As I said in the previous section, I’m done. More than done, actually; I blew past done & went straight into bail mode. That, of course, is why you see this ending right here, and right now, rather than later. We do try to at least pay lip service to some sort of routine, even if it’s all an illusion. Y’all should be used to that by now…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, and thanks for dropping by….

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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

First, we kill all the bankers….

Posted on January 28, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Hello again, Peabody here…”

~~ Mister Peabody ~~

Yes, Will, all the lawyers, too… Now, normally, I would not claim any relationship with the title of these Pearls, but, this one was too perfect to pass up…. Given my opinion of the Asininnies, particularly those most guilty parties, the bankers, and the lawyers, both of whom describe a segment of humans who, to the average of about 90%, are complicit in the ongoing oppression and suffering so prevalent in our society. I’d wager, of the 1%, or less, of the world’s population who control 99% of the money and resources, well over half are lawyers and/or bankers, often both at once….

Any more, I am not using the word “maybe”, or “someday” to refer to the possibility of world-wide revolution against those snakeheads who hold power over the masses, wielded in secrecy from the hidden compounds, and anonymous corporate estates, surrounded by high walls and an army of mercenaries to protect them, where they hide from the world, to protect themselves from those on whom they prey. These ‘people’, and I use the term loosely, are well aware, if the rest of the world ever finds out A) who they are, and/or B) where they live, connecting that with their implicit responsibility for the state of the world, well, they wouldn’t stand a chance in hell of surviving the next five minutes….

Hey, we all have our dreams, right? That’s one of mine, but, the intro probably isn’t the best place to start in on persuading the rest of humanity to rise up to throw the assholes into the pit they deserve. Not that such a probability ever stopped me before, but, I do try to show SOME discretion, when I remember…. Hmm, let’s see how else we can screw it up…

Maybe I should…. no. I tried that yesterday, and the day before. Not only didn’t it work, but, I was forced to go through all sorts of contortions, just to remove it, so y’all wouldn’t even know I had tried. I managed to do so, but, it was a pain, so, we’ll forgo that little side trip today. Perhaps we should…. no. That won’t do at all; it doesn’t even float, and we end up in the water on a daily basis, so, not a good idea…. Well, that shoots it, right in the brisket…

My left hand is now numb, demanding I finish this, to take a break, so we have at least a minimal chance of getting done today. In order to do so with some degree of aplomb, I’ll merely point out the upcoming entry portal, ask y’all to finish your cocktails, and, return rapidly to your seats. (Yes, it’s still okay to throw the glass into the fireplace…just be quick about it….) We’re going in, right now…. Duck, please…. Okay, here we are. Please exit the amphibious vehicle in an orderly fashion; you’ll find your flippers and masks on the dock….

Shall we Pearl?

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

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

I enjoyed yesterday’s journey into my past, specifically to those Saturday mornings when the real world held no sway, no power to charm, until AFTER the Saturday morning cartoons were done. Even baseball had to wait on cartoons….. Here is a favorite show; the page to which I’ve linked has a good compilation/collection of this pair’s shows, with links to other pages with even more…. Enjoy, ffolkes; the eternal chase is on…..

Road Runner & Wile E Coyote

http://youtu.be/qWdFIXn2Mdo?list=PL2Jqkt6lP3Y3bQDGZXFLejgsgEP_8Aroz

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

The man that lays his hand upon a woman,
Save in the way of kindness, is a wretch
Whom ‘t were gross flattery to name a coward.

~~ John Tobin (1770-1804) — The Honeymoon, Act ii, Sc. 1 ~~

In my mind, the worst part of reading such a poem, related to the harsh reality it describes, is the mere existence of the issue it addresses, to wit: violence against women, not only in individual acts, but, in the overall treatment of women by men in society. Such acts generally indicate a deeper lack of human compassion than just how the man treats women; such cowards usually treat children, animals, or any creature weaker than they with abusive aggression and violence, if only verbal, as in emotional abuse, or the passive-aggressive violence of neglect. I cannot say I even care how such attitudes are first promulgated in any individual, but, I can say I abhor the degree of frequency with which it appears to manifest.

Our entire culture is infected with this sort of elitist, gender-oriented entitlement, based, almost always, on fear of their own inner feelings of inadequacy. In short, most men are cowardly dogs, not fit for wiping their own ass, and certainly without any understanding of what existing as a man of honor and integrity might mean. Since I do know what it means, in intent, if not perfectly so in practice, I can say without any pride, merely shame, one time in my life I lost control of my emotions, to the point of raising my hand to a woman; no justification is either claimed nor blamed on any provocation I may have had, so I take full responsibility, and am glad I stopped myself before actually harming her, slapping at her once without hitting her, then realizing my mistake…. I consider it one of three events in my life of which I am truly ashamed, and wish I had chosen other alternatives to what I actually did.

None of the vituperation poured on me, nor the accusations of non-existent grievances, none of the deliberate bumps, or pushes, or slaps, nor the shoe thrown in my face, taken singly, or all as one, none of it is an excuse for my loss of control, however temporary. In retrospect, I saw a number of times I could have walked away to disengage from the altercation; hindsight is always accurate. It still doesn’t make me feel any better to know I broke my own standards of behavior, or, worse, to know my father would be disappointed in me.

This event also had the salutary effect of strengthening my own set of standards for relationships with anyone, not merely women, for whom I’ve never had anything but deep respect and love. (Well, some frustration, too, at times, but, that will happen when two consciousnesses, of any kind, cross paths, due to the inherent differences in perception… Lack of understanding doesn’t have to create fear, or resentment; it can stimulate curiosity and affection as well…) I realized anew what I’d always known, thanks to my father, which can be most simply stated as the concept of personal responsibility, in relation to the related concept of Duty. One cannot exist without the other….

Most men in today’s world do not know this, about themselves, or in general, at all, for, they were not ever taught about honor, or duty, or respect by their own fathers. I know I am fortunate in that respect…. so, I hold myself responsible for the events I can control, and don’t, or didn’t, without shirking that responsibility. I may not always be capable of fixing whatever it was, as it happened in the past. I can, and certainly do, make sure it never happens again, as well as attempting to atone in the present, by making it a self-appointed task to make some noise about the treatment of women in the world of today, which is so completely corrupted by the insanity of a powerful, cowardly men…. and, as the original quote above maintains, ’tis being kind to name them cowards….

You see, it is only fear which makes these men the way they are; they fear their own weakness, they fear their own sexuality, they fear the control that women can have over them, assuming that unless they dominate them, oppressing them in every way, to keep them from ever threatening their cowardly little egos, they cannot truly be men. The truth is, they never will be real men, for real men are not afraid…. especially not of women, who are our complement in nature, not our enemy….

When viewed from a less unnaturally fearful perspective, one of common cause as members of the same species, it is simple to see those qualities in women which are the perfect complement to the qualities possessed by men, by virtue of the differences in each gender’s native physiological and biochemical makeup. Each and every person, male or female, is different from the other, mentally and physically; these differences, between male and female, do not make us adversaries, but, rather, two individuals on the same path, each with naturally complementary qualities that enhance the survival chances of each one, as well as the species.

The same pattern of two genders, each complementary to the other in their functional differences, exists in every species with the same type of reproductive makeup, possessing the same biological imperatives. Other species besides ours are not naturally monogamous, any more than are we, though there are exceptions in every species, but, every other earthly species’ genders show each other the respect of common cause, not a pattern of consistent abuse and/or oppression, simply because of cowardly fear….

For millennia, the male of our species has consistently chosen to ignore the reality of existence as it has evolved, perverting society and culture to reflect their own weaknesses, adding fuel to the fire of insanity which has been consuming mankind for thousands of years…. It is exactly as Jimmy Carter, former US President, and one of the rarest of people, one who actually lives by the precepts of Jesus Christ, that great reformer whose ideals have been corrupted since shortly after his death….

Their intransigent cowardice of men who refuse to acknowledge their own ignorance in this issue, or, who through that ignorance, merely accept and go along with what they’ve always been taught, is a large contributor factor to the issues which threaten our survival; moreover, the threat is not only to our species, but, very real for many others along with us….. By ignoring the signs of pervasive abuse, or by simply doing nothing, most men are tacitly giving their approval to the cowardice being displayed, manifesting in real life as persistent abuse and oppression of women, children, or anything weaker, simply because it is unnatural for the species to behave this way, contrary to the forces of nature which have dictated our own inner nature…. This sort of apathy of spirit, this attitude of indifference to the injustice done to women is, unfortunately, not confined to women…. As Albert Einstein observed, and this picture so clearly illustrates,

This all-too-commonly male attitude of indifference, of divisive elitism, bigotry, chauvinism, or other kind of deliberate ignorance based on cowardice and fear, should be repellent to every man…. just as it is repellent to its victims, i.e., every man, woman, child, and animal to whom it is displayed…. These ignoramae perpetuate their ignorance by belittling women, turning them into objects, which can then be despised without guilt, using such shop-worn divisiveness as implied in statements such as “Men and women are two different species, descended from different animals.”, pretending it is a joke. Or, they make women the object of vulgarity, thus ensuring they can feel superior, with disgusting, idiotic nonsense, such as the ever popular “What do you call useless flesh around a pussy? Woman….” I can think of no better term for such idiots than “fucking assholes”, or, in its more elegant faux-Latin form, “assholios supremos”…..

Sadly, most men never consider those who suffer because of their inaction…. They figure as long as they personally don’t make a habit of hitting women, or abusing animals, or children, or discriminating against the gender-different, or even other races of humans, in an active way, they’re not a part of the problem….

They are dead wrong…. and, I am as ashamed of them, as I am ashamed of myself, for those times in my life I have either acted in such a way, (once, as noted), or failed to act when I should, (twice, irrelevant to this discussion, but, the lesson I learned is intact). I will never forgive myself, for there is no such thing as forgiveness for such crimes in my world; there is only acceptance of responsibility, and enduring any consequences that may justly come to pass. I will also never forgive any man who acts in such a manner, actively, or passively, or, who fails to act when he should…. Nor should he ever consider forgiving himself…

If I did, I couldn’t look myself in the eye each morning in the mirror…. could you?….

True to my tendency toward loquaciousness, I will leave this discussion with the following three thoughts, which I feel are appropriate to the moment….

“Every person is an individual; we all have a set of designer genes.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

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

“He is the freeman whom the truth makes free.”

~ William Cowper — The Task, Book v, The Winter Morning Walk, Line 733 ~~

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

Injustice, swift, erect, and unconfin’d,

Sweeps the wide earth, and tramples o’er mankind.

~~ Alexander Pope — The Iliad of Homer, Book ix, Line 628 ~~

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

Let there be an end to this madness!

gigoid has spoken….

So be it.

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

Here is another old one of mine, used for the reasons given yesterday, to wit: no blame for anyone else….. Enjoy, please

Unheralded Sagacity…

To many, who will not see beyond their nose
the world becomes a dangerous place,
a bullet in every gun, a thorn with every rose,
no magic comes to save us, reality leaves no trace.

Minds closed, wrapped tight in manufactured fears,
men become clay, easily molded into complacent form.
No chains needed, held in thrall for years,
lies become gospel, when dishonesty is the norm.

Shed the chains you wear in durance, in kind;
Oh, ye of little faith, and much doubt
Strength is found in an unfettered mind,
Cry “freedom” with a great shout.

No help from any gods can hinder so much
as our own lack of confidence;
finding the light within, knowing it as such
confirms us, becoming consequence.

Illumination…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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

“I’m worried that the universe will soon need replacing. It’s not holding a charge.” — Edward Chilton

I know exactly how Mr. Chilton feels; I’ve felt the same at frequent moments in my life, quite frequently of late, it seems. Since I have observed reality for some time, I am convinced our time here on this planet is limited, so, I thought it would be helpful, perhaps, to pass along a few of the lessons I’ve learned in my life, about living life, about how to approach life, about, oh, everything we need to know, as far as I have been able to figure out, and, can still remember…. Yes, I could have been more vague, but, I figured this would be confusing enough….

I hope you enjoy this little grouping, and please, no comments from the gallery re: smarm, or re: sap, or, most importantly, re: bozoid tendencies…. Each of these is something I’ve learned about living, and really is a group y’all should pay some close attention to, if for no other reason than to give you ammunition for the expected jeering…. I’d rather have cheers, but, we take what we can get, as long as a response is stimulated….

“Beware of that person who is slow to anger. For when it is long in coming, it stays longer and is warmer and dies not so easily. Abused patience is a very strong fuel for a fire not easily put out by any known means.” — Smart Bee

“How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance.” — Petrarch

Shame is an improper emotion invented by pietists to oppress the human race.” — Robert Preston [Toddy], “Victor/Victoria”

“Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

If a person deceives you once, shame on that person. If a person deceives you twice, shame on you! For of all hard things to bear and grin, the hardest is being taken in. — Smart Bee

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” — E. E. Cummings

“Do not be intimidated by reality.” — Master Sergeant R.H. Moore

The last pearl, by the way, is one my Dad taught me, (to wit: Msgt. Moore). He never actually SAID this; it’s just the way he lived, thus, teaching me by example….

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

Having completed much of this yesterday, between ranting to myself about the soulless indifference of corporate assholes, currently so ubiquitous in my life, and suffering silently, completing today’s Pearl really didn’t take long, for which I’m thankful, as the long weeks of battle are starting to wear on me…. But, we’re done for now, and, it’s good. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I wake up in time….

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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Reality’s version of twisted flaws….

Posted on January 23, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

A man so various, that he seem’d to be
Not one, but all mankind’s epitome;
Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong,
Was everything by starts, and nothing long;
But in the course of one revolving moon
Was chymist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon.

~~ John Dryden ~~

~~ Absalom and Achitophel, Part i, Line 545 ~~

Mars Rocks ~~ NASA

Have y’all figured out the mystery of dejá vu, mentioned in yesterday’s Pearl? If any attention at all has being paid, you’d be able to answer in the affirmative, because the feeling is directly tied to the opening sights here at ECR, as well as the stimulus for the discomfort we feel at finding out we aren’t as attentive as we supposed…. Perhaps, it is more accurately described as a feeling the Universe is fucking with us in some unknown way…. which, in this case, is perfectly true…. Look again at today’s title, then compare it to yesterday’s title, and the title from the day before…. Then, you may groan, and groan again, before congratulating me on a good trick….

End of quiz…. Now we’ve settled the question of just how silly and desperate I am, we can go on, though, frankly, I haven’t a clue as to where we might go. Naturally, thanks to my large, red, round proboscis, I forgot to figure out what to do AFTER explaining about the titles…. Now, I’m at a loss for anything to do, a sensation, which, however familiar it may be, isn’t one of my favorite emotions, by any means. I’ve been stuck here so often in the past 3 years, I’ve PROVED the old saw about familiarity, and contempt.

Aha! Got it! I’ll talk about the photo, above, at the top of the page…. It’s one of the latest photos from Mars, taken by the Curiosity Rover, as it trundles its way across the Red Planet to its ultimate goal, Mount Somethingorother, chosen years ago on Earth. This particular picture is significant, but, only for the effect it has produced among some of humanity’s fringe elements. The pile of rocks in the center of the photo has some oddly shaped rocks, a couple of which lend themselves to the human brain’s tendency to “fill in” details not actually present, in shapes that are somewhat amorphous in Reality, such as when we see the shapes of animals, or other objects, in the clouds in the sky….

A number of our more susceptible minds back here on Earth believe the shapes indicate the presence of life on Mars, because they resemble carved animals, such as made by ancient civilizations here…. The close-up pictures do, indeed, resemble such carvings, but, not so much as to assume, from several MILLION miles away, we can tell whether they are the product of intelligence. But, these folks are convinced, and proceeded to trumpet the news all over the Internet, so the rest of the world could share their delusion….

In the interests of saving your ass from any such indignity so early in the day, I will NOT use this silliness as a comparison to OTHER delusions, rather more familiar to all of us…. That sort of comment could easily lead to a rant, which is already taken care of for the day, as you will see below…. No need to drive y’all off before we even get started, is there? Nope….

I notice I have distracted myself long enough to finish the intro; what we see above is definitely a sufficient supply of relatively sober discussion, all pointed at moving us along to where we are scheduled to be at this point in time. (Please remember, there is no legal requirement it has to make any sense at all….) As usual, the process to bring us to this point here was, by all evidence, fully unconscious, thus protecting us from claims of evil intent, if not from the odd accusation of deliberate emotional abuse of the unwitting, or, as we call it down at the Philosopher’s Club, screwing with the natives…. All of that, being moot, can be ignored, at which, as is patently obvious, we are VERY good….

Look! It’s our opening! Let’s all brace ourselves, bring our masks into position, grab your partner’s hand….. We’re all going to jump together, okay? At the count of one….. Wait for it…. There! ONE!…. Jump, quick, or we’re all dead meat!….

Shall we Pearl?

“A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser to-day than he was yesterday.” — Alexander Pope

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

Today’s video is one I’ve seen, which shows an animated play-by-play description of how the Curiosity Rover landed on Mars, about a year or two past…. It is an incredible feat of engineering; just think of the problems that could have kept it from working! Brilliant! And, a small piece of hope among all the terrible news we have to contemplate, here on Earth…. It’s pretty cool….

NASA Rover Curiosity Landing on Mars

http://youtu.be/LiEoGUHEobo

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

“One Galileo in two thousand years is enough.”

~~ Pope Pius XII ~~

“The abundance of things engendereth disdainfulness.” — Proverb

It’s almost too easy. Both of the first two pearls, one text, one text/graphic, are both rather incontrovertible, in terms of their relative Truth. Both are documented statements, since Popes, right from the start of the tradition, have always kept immaculate records, which often don’t show much sense about their desire for secrecy, as most of it tells the absolute truth, without embellishment, in spite of its origin. In short, they’ve pulled their own covers innumerable times throughout history, with statements such as these two, always with corroboration in other documents from the same period….

Thus, the importance of the third pearl climbs to new heights, for it sounds like it is a mere observation; in light of the words of Leo and Pius, the assholes, it becomes nothing less than an indictment, and a very pointed one, at that. The very corruption so blatantly spoken, and displayed by these predators of the Middle Ages, shows its effect on the populace it has oppressed, in the mildness, and simplicity of the language, in direct contrast to the opulence the Church has espoused from its beginnings… thus showing their arrogance and true natures were not going completely unnoticed….

The Catholic Church, whose public face has often belonged to folks like those two above, not merely in the Middle Ages, touts itself as the champion and protector of the poor, in such hypocritical tones of unctuous sanctimony, I often consider just slapping one of them. It enrages me when they get started spouting off about “Christian Charity”, thinking nothing of making such statements on TV, in elegant, rich robes lined with actual gold thread, standing on the steps of a palace, in which the treasures and riches collected in two hundred centuries of outright thievery from those same poor people, collected in one ten-penny per pound tithe at a time, from people who cannot buy the ingredients for stone soup.

(Now, don’t think I was raised Catholic, and have a bone to pick with them; I extend my disdain to ALL religions based on a deliberately fostered delusional belief in a powerful, supernatural imaginary friend, whose love for me is limitless, just because…. That makes up just about the whole list, as far as I can tell… still checking, so I’ll let you know if and/or when I find one…. I use the Catholics mainly because the Popes, like those above, have been so fucking obvious, and often, stupider than even those they enslave, about their disdain for the poor and downtrodden they purport to care about… I KNOW they love them: without the poor, and ignorant, where would they be?…. Dead and buried, most likely…)

The delusional system built up by the Church educators is designed to prevent any real original thinking; as any logician knows, it is not possible to reach a correct conclusion when the data is skewed in a particular direction, for a basic reason, to wit: any results of using the data will have no corresponding corroboration in Reality, anywhere…. In short, you can’t make Real out of Unreal…. no matter how often one repeats the assertion that it can, and has been done…. Honest, trust me, and you, too, can live forever!….

Pretty good grand prize, eh? Take the worst fear anyone has, fan it with stories of a burning, eternal pit of suffering for not believing, promise them it won’t happen to them if they never again think for themselves, and they will be able to live happily forever, surrounded by all those they love, in peace and everlasting harmony, by the grace of…. who? Oh, that guy nobody has ever been able to show any real proof of seeing, touching, or anything, other than by sloppy reasoning, or assumption of magic signs and portents, telling only those who can see how God’s existence is proven by the way the wind is blowing today…. Even though it has blown the same way every day of their life, without ever offering anything other than “ipse dixit” for proof of its relevance….

When I first learned the stories and justifications given by preachers, and adults, back before my fifth birthday, it all seemed rather improbable to me, not to mention downright vicious and petty, in terms of the scariness of the lessons about certain things…. Plus, death, and living forever aren’t concepts kids like to think on for long, so, when I did, it just didn’t make sense…. I couldn’t figure out why God wanted Adam and Eve to get kicked out of Eden like that; it was obvious to me he did, or why would he put the tree there, then tell them to leave it alone? I sort of felt like Calvin, when he said, to, I think, his Sunday School teacher after hearing one of the kid’s Bible tales, when she asked him if he liked the story….

“Hard to say, Ma’am. I think my cerebellum just fused.” — Calvin, Bill Watterson’s Calvin & Hobbes

Yet, people buy it, mostly because they are taught to believe it at a very young age, before they actually possess any power of reasoning for themselves…. So, those people they want to spend eternity with, who are alo victims of a millennia-old scam, based on belief in a supernatural best friend of great power, and limitless authority over all of us, because WE ARE SUCH GULLIBLE FOOLS, in their turn, pass on the very same set of delusions, using the same techniques now used by the spies, and governments, who train their agents to brainwash prisoners, or those they wish to control…. Repetition, rote, behavioral modification, based on key basic functional fears works every time…. except, it seems to a lucky few….

But, hey, to each their own, I say…. Just don’t ask me to buy into it; it leaves me cold….

“A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self.” — Eric Hoffer

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

I’m working on a new poem, which, oddly enough, came to me yesterday while watching the opening of an old video…. Since it isn’t ready to share itself with the world yet, we’ll go with the work of a poet needing no introduction, whose work always hits the mark, for me…. I give you, Emily….

A clock stopped — not the mantel’s
Geneva’s farthest skill
Can’t put the puppet bowing
That just now dangled still.

An awe came on the trinket!
The figures hunched with pain,
Then quivered out of decimals
Into degreeless noon.

It will not stir for doctors,
This pendulum of snow;
The shopman importunes it,
While cool, concernless No

Nods from the gilded pointers,
Nods from seconds slim,
Decades of arrogance between
The dial life and him.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

Today’s old school pearl came together quite nicely, without much interference on my part. I didn’t even have to rearrange the order in which they appeared, which is unusual. There were no parameters given, but, it seems to be a rather obvious comment on Life at Large, one of our default categories….. Enjoy!….

“If entropy is increasing, where is it coming from?” — Smart Bee

“You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. ” — Lazarus Long

“Don’t count on ever having both at once; they’re mutually incompatible in practice.” — gigoid’s corollary to Lazarus Long’s Observation

“Consider well the proportions of things. It is better to be a young June-bug than an old bird of paradise.” — Mark Twain

“How many Bodhisattvas does it take to change a light bulb? One – “If the thunder don’t get you, then the lightning will” — Smart Bee

“Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.” — Thoreau

“Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it…. Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ix, 29

It is the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It is the dream afraid of waking
that never takes a chance.
It is the one who won’t be taken
who cannot seem to give.
And the soul afraid of dying
that never learns to live.

— Bette Midler, The Rose

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I don’t want to even THINK about what it took to get this done…. It’s all sort of a blur, so, bear with me if the resulting Pearl is a bit off the norm…. whatever meaning THAT word has for us…. I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, hopefully with less sawdust in my brain….

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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Tarnished silver, six feathers, and boiled mutton…

Posted on January 20, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you
If you do not act on upon them?

~~ Buddha ~~

Click on picture to enlarge

When I stop to think of our world, spinning around its axis, while simultaneously moving at a stately pace around the sun, with our lovely, big Moon obediently trailing us, spinning its own way around the planet, as the entire solar system, sun and all, races away from the point of the Big Bang, about 15 billion years ago, I get really, really dizzy…. No wonder! Trying to hold all those separate, spinning, moving vectors of acceleration in my head, well, it’s almost as bad as the vertigo to which I’ve become all-too-familiar of late. I suppose it’s a good thing I don’t think about it often….

Posters such as the one above, celebrating one of the newest planets to be found by the Kepler Planet-Finder Telescope, from its orbit high above the Earth, don’t cause vertigo, just wanderlust. I’ve included a picture now of all three NASA has posted at their web site. as a nod to the progress Mankind has made in moving into Space. This goes right along with my belief in Mankind’s true destiny, which, coincidentally, may be our only hope of survival as a species of life. The environmental crisis our foolish behavior has made inevitable has added new impetus to the necessity of establishing colonies of human elsewhere in the solar system… because we don’t have a lot of time left to get there before this planet becomes an extremely hostile environment to our kind of life….

The posters also have provided me with three good opening sections, gracing the top of the page, thus stimulating my muse below….Works for me… The only problem with it is the same one I always come up against, which was demonstrated in the last paragraph, to wit: the risk of ranting is ever-present with items like this, as it brings up the subject of our species’ Bozoid tendencies, by association. This, naturally, stimulates my ranting gland, which seems to have grown out of all proportion to all my other hormonal sources; it’s a bit inconvenient at times, but, it does make it easy to find stuff to write about, if only my own inner chaos, resulting whenever I attempt to transfer what is in my head onto the screen for y’all to peruse, and digest….’

Hmm… I don’t believe I want to examine that last part very closely; too many gross images come to mind right away to make it comfortable, or, for that matter, prevent the nausea that would naturally ensue. In fact, I have the distinct impression we’d better make a complete about-face, and move rapidly away from this entire category of material, lest we take a turn for the worse, ending up somewhere that would challenge even my iron stomach’s ability to keep its cool….

In fact, I think now would be a good time to bail. I see a relatively safe exit point coming up ahead, so, let’s all tighten up those belts, put down our morning beverages, and take the plunge, okay? Okay…. I’ll inform the pilot, while y’all get it all zipped up properly. Here we go, ffolkes…. hang on!

Oh shit! What’s th….. Oh, whew! Nice move, pilot!… Almost bought the farm that time, didn’t we? Hope the hippo is okay…. Okay, ffolkes, you can disembark as soon as we’ve come to a complete stop, and don’t forget your flippers…. The lost items box is getting full…

Shall we Pearl?

And taste
The melancholy joy of evils past:
For he who much has suffer’d, much will know.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ The Odyssey of Homer, Book xv, Line 434 ~~

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

In keeping with today’s opening remarks, our video choice is a documentary on Space Flight…. There are a lot of other choices to watch on the page where I found this, so, clicking the link below will give a much wider choice, to suit your own fancy…. As a bonus. I’ve also included a video of Gustav Holst’s symphony, The Planets, played by the Berlin Philharmonic; the perfect choice for today’s theme….

Enjoy, ffolkes, this is our destiny…. as well as our probable salvation….

3D _ Space Flight through the universe

http://youtu.be/GynQVq2Si60

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

G. Holst – The planets Op. 32 – Berliner Philharmoniker – H. von Karajan

http://youtu.be/83J68Y7Z1nk

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

“Ius summum saepe summa est malitia.” [Rigorous law is often rigorous injustice.] — Terence (185-159 BC) — Heautontimoroumenos, Act iv, Sc. 5, 48, (796.)

“Rigorous law is often rigorous injustice”

How true this is…. Our own country, and the pictured document, are the victims of this concept, in truth, and reality. Nowhere, other than perhaps in the field of illegal spying on its own citizens, does this become more clear. than in examining how corporations, i.e. the oligarchy which controls the entire world, have perverted the field of medicine, or, as we call it today, “The Health Care Industry”, a nice, grand, rolling phrase which gives the impression of neological compassion, and a ruthless efficiency in its approach to its scope of supplying medical services to people….

Well, I will admit, it IS ruthlessly efficient, but, not at health care, which remains as much of a hit and miss operation as when we lived in small farming communities, for the most part, and looked to our local wizard, or wise woman, to deal with such matters…. No, these huge, soulless corporations are very efficient at ~~stealing~~, er, making money off the public, ruthlessly exploiting the ignorance of the common man, so well encouraged by churches, and our schools, even going so far as to label their victims, er, patients, as “members”, like it’s some sort of exclusive club. In reality, their actual motivation shows in the only piece of information with which they identify each of their “members” to wit: a member NUMBER, which ties them into the computer programs they have developed, to keep track of every penny they are able to squeeze out of the wallet of the person who, to them, is that number…

I’d wager that, at the upper echelons of corporate management, the people who are “members” are thought of, and possibly even referred to, as “guaranteed profit producing units, individual”, as opposed to, the even more money-making “groups”. Me, I’m in a “group”, thus, the fact I have my “numbership” thrown in my face at every turn of the bureaucratic wheel is not unexpected…. But then, I am slightly more perceptive than the average number….

Just below, I have included a discussion of this subject, a series of thoughts which occurred to me after a doctor called me at home, in the modern equivalent of a House Call, the original having long been only a relic of a bygone era, except for the elite oligarchy…. who prefer not to risk being recognized, and tend to stay within their compounds, surrounded by their private armies of mercenary soldiers, perverted warriors, without any personal honor or virtue, to keep out the rabble….

The same rabble, who, if…. no, WHEN they realize who these human predators, these traitors to their own species, actually are, seeing how they have corrupted the world, this same rabble would, and, if I have any say in the matter, shall, virtually instantly, engulf them in the overwhelming, irresistible flame of human righteousness…. Then, we would come for the executives, and bankers, and preachers, and politicians, and police, who have done their bidding for millennia…. Whether they have acted as foolish puppets, or willing slaves, they, too will pay the price of true justice….

From yesterday, 1/19/2015, at 0745…..

House Calls

As I have recently been examining many facets of the current societal medical model, as dictated to us by the oligarchy ruling our world, which establishes every rule of society affecting themselves to suit themselves, it occurred to me , the formerly practical concept of a doctor’s house call has been removed from society’s list of options people have when they are ill, or otherwise incapable of getting about with ease, in order to obtain medical help.

If we were to ask virtually anyone in the middle or lower economic classes, under the age of 50, what the term ‘house call’ meant, I’d wager 90% of them would never even have heard of it. To them, a house call is always made by an ambulance, at great expense and bother…. and to very little good result. Sick people have to go to a hospital, or doctor’s office, or a street clinic, to get medical help. That is the common attitude, and belief of those who live on the streets, or close by, always on the verge of joining those without shelter….

The recent national hullabaloo over Obamacare, and the reforms needed in that industry, highlighted much of this issue, when it became clear that MOST of the lowest income people in this country do not have medical insurance…. and, in spite of the improvements, the situation has NOT been improved much, other than to make a lot of money for insurance companies, medical health organizations, and, of course the Big Pharms….

Everybody else, even those of us who already HAD medical insurance, have merely had to spend more on health care, because ALL of the costs of the reforms are being passed to the consumers by those entities…. The laws that were made do nothing to keep these corporations from what they believe is their right to make a profit margin THEY set, and they own enough politicians to ensure that NOTHING has changed to alter their “right” to a profit; any extra cost involved in providing healthcare to the poor won’t be shouldered by them…. you may be sure of that…..

So, we see how the concept of a House Call is one the executives of the big HMO’s decided isn’t profitable, unless they can charge outrageous prices to provide such services outside their own venues. Sure, anyone can still get a house call…. as long as they are able to afford, A) a personal physician willing to make one, which is guaranteed to be so expensive, nobody making less than millions of dollars a year could possibly afford it regularly…. B) another outrageous amount of money to get any real treatment at home, and, C) enough money to afford to buy drugs, equipment, and necessary supplies, at what are guaranteed to be prices 99% of the world cannot afford….

In other words, only the elite, the oligarchs, the Illuminati, and those minions of theirs who make enough to be able to bypass the normal societal requirements to obtain WHATEVER service they desire, are now able to get house calls from a doctor…. unless, maybe, they are dying, or dead.

Only then MIGHT a doctor come to see you…. but, you can rest assured, the company approves of THOSE kinds of visits, for, besides being inordinately expensive to pay for a health call at home by a doctor, bringing in a tidy sum to their coffers, it preserves one of their numbered monetary units of income for a longer time, so they are thus able to squeeze more profit out of them before letting them die….

Plus, have you SEEN the prices they want today, just to BURY us when we are dead? Tens of thousands of dollars, without counting the cost of the casket, or the land for the grave….. It is INSANE…. Hell, they charged me $150, just to give mercy to my ancient, suffering old dog, when it came time for him to go….. and that didn’t count the cost of any burial, just the charge for the vet to give him the injection…. It still makes me furious to think of it….

To reiterate, it is INSANE….. but then, that merely reflects how crazy the rest of the world has become….

gigoid has spoken….

Viewed from the summit of reason,

all life looks like a malignant disease

and the world like a madhouse.

~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~~

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

For a bit this morning, I thought there might be another new poem ready to leak out, but, apparently it’s still percolating somewhere in my mind, and isn’t ready to come out to play…. So, we’ll give a treat, and find someone else’s poetry to enjoy today….. Let’s see now…. Ah, here is a good one, speaking, to me, of the battle with corporate malfeasance in which I’m currently embroiled…. Powerful stuff, this one…. Enjoy!

A Challenge To The Dark

shot in the eye
shot in the brain
shot in the ****
shot like a flower in the dance

amazing how death wins hands down
amazing how much credence is given to idiot forms of life

amazing how laughter has been drowned out
amazing how viciousness is such a constant

I must soon declare my own war on their war
I must hold to my last piece of ground
I must protect the small space I have made that has allowed me life

my life not their death
my death not their death…

~~ Charles Bukowski ~~

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

“It all seems so stupid, it makes me want to give up.

But why should I give up, when it all seems so stupid?”

~~ Martin Gore ~~

Map of gigoid’s Gentle Readers

I started this blog on Word Press in June of 2011; before that, I’d been posting at the SFGATE members blog site for a few months. Those were my first attempts at posting Pearls of Virtual Wisdom online; previously, they had only gone to a select few friends, or to colleagues at work, via email, since first beginning to compose them in 1998 or so, after attending computer school to obtain my training in computer science, so long dreamed of by this life-long science fiction aficionado…. It seemed like FOREVER until Reality caught up with Imagination….

At very long last, I was able to access the Web…. The rest, patently, is history, in the sense, all of it is still available for reading, somewhere out on the Web…. The format has changed in that time, to what you see today. The pearl below was the entire post for the given date, a couple months after first beginning on WP, when I was just spreading my wings as a full time writer, so, kindly bear with my older style…. The philosophy part is just the stuff I’ve done all my life, one way or another, in my head, at any particular moment free of duty…. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into our developmental past…. I kind of like it, but, hey, we know why THAT is, don’t we?….

From 10/8/2011:

Ffolkes,

Yesterday’s discussion of the nature of Reality was fun, as usual. This morning I’d like to comment on another aspect of the subject that is quite as important as understanding the inner nature of what is real. I’m speaking of the concept of perspective, a purely subjective stance that is partially responsible for determining our reaction to what we perceive. If, for example, one’s perspective in the morning is measured pre-coffee, the results would be rather on the negative side.

Post-coffee, the world at large assumes a warmer, friendlier tone, and a more positive approach to deciding the day’s activities is enabled. Our perspective is a key feature of our attitude, and its degree of plus or minus can make a huge difference in how we react to our perceptions, and in how we decide on whether or not to act, and whether that act is one of defense, or one of attack. Or any other type of action that falls between the two extremes.

Since perspective is subjective, it follows that it is within our powers to make changes in that perspective. Our reasoning mind can persuade other facets of our nature to view data in varying ways. We can set up filters, to keep unwanted factors out of play, to block out unwanted perceptions. We can set up rule systems to categorize incoming perceptions into certain channels that are pre-set to process that type of data.

We can put on rose-colored glasses, if we wish, and perceive everything as positive. Or we can put on black lenses, and sink into neurosis; this is unfortunately an easy method to start and maintain, as it rewards negativity, becoming an ever-stronger, repetitive cycle that ultimately leads to madness and despair. Negativity is an insidious trap; it seems so useful at first, keeping one sheltered from possibly harmful events. But over time, it becomes obsession, dragging one down into depression, a very deep hole from which to climb.

It becomes easy to see that self-examination is important; introspection on the subject of ourselves can determine the shape and color, and the emotional content and effect, of our life’s events, and can be a powerful ally in the daily battle with the forces of an uncaring, indifferent Universe. Holding our mind’s course to a straight and narrow path can be tricky, to say the least. The Universe has a lot of tricks up its sleeves, and isn’t afraid to use them on us. Staying positive in one’s outlook is a powerful weapon, as is negativity. The bad news is that it is all our choice. The good news is that it is all our choice……choose well…..

Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.

“An ancient buddha said, ‘Mountains are mountains; waters are waters.’ These words do not mean mountains are mountains; they mean mountains are mountains.” — Dogen

“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; re-made all the time, made new. — Ursula K. LeGuin, The Lathe of Heaven

But Memory blushes at the sneer,
And Honor turns with frown defiant,
And Freedom, leaning on her spear,
Laughs louder than the laughing giant.

~~ Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) ~~

~~ A Good Time going ~~

“A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another’s.” — Jean Paul Richter

“Wow! Look!! A stray meatball!! Let’s interview it!’ — Zippy the Pinhead

Zippy always makes a good point at which to call a halt to these pieces; his unbridled enthusiasm is hard to resist. Plus, his comments always seem to add just the right touch as counterpoint to the rest of the Pearls. Tres bien!….. y’all take care out there….

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

Today’s Pearl, thanks to the wonders of time travel, (as has been our saving grace, ever since acquiring the powers of a Time Lord), has turned into an epic, it seems. I suppose it’s only natural, since pieces of it have been accumulating for several days, whenever I’ve had a spare moment of peace from the storm of shit in which my asinine doctors have plucked me down, to cope, or not to cope, howsoever I choose….

At least it gets them done, without my having to sweat and groan for hours each morning…. and that’s probably TMI…. In order to avoid any further such demonstrations of wimpiness, we’ll take our leave, with dignity, and self-regard intact…. Well, okay…. as intact as it ever is…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the shit stays out of the fan…. I’m keeping it unplugged, just in case….

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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Use a little filigree for the nose….

Posted on January 17, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

A monk said to Joshu, “Your stone bridge is widely renowned, but coming here I find only a heap of rocks.”

Joshu said, “You see only the stones and not the bridge.”

The monk said, “What is the bridge?”

Joshu said, “What do you think we are walking on?”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

“Zensense: The Wisdom of Joshu”

Today’s picture, which seems to go so well with the entry from the Wisdom of Joshu, is, truthfully, one of my own, taken on a train trip in 2013, when I visited a friend in Oregon…. I took the picture though the train window, while crammed into my tiny little cubicle, laughingly referred to as a luxury compartment by the thieves who run the trains…. I know, the bitterness kind of takes away from the peace and tranquility implied in the photo…. Still, it came out rather well, don’t you think? I do, but, then, I do have some investment to say so….

All that aside. I like the koan from Smart Bee’s stash of the sayings of Joshu; the title, “Zensense, The Wisdom of Joshu” is my own fictional contribution, which I made up because I thought it was an appropriate word…. I may have coined the word ‘Zensense’, but, I’m not sure, and I’m not going to claim it without knowing for sure; it’s pretty neat, all in all, in more ways than one, a good word to describe the category of ideas we get from Zen koans, or other examples of Zen Buddhist philosophy…. and, it should make it much more convenient to talk about the category, just as if it were lumped into one of the concomitant categories, like Nonsense, or Common sense, etc…. Bonus!

Now I’ve established that, for what it was worth, (I’d guess about $2.95, retail, with a drop to $2.00 on EBay….), we can, legally, go on to our regularly scheduled nonsense. What do we have on tap for today? Your guess is, naturally, as good as mine; this process is fully randomized. I have little to no idea of where we’ll end up, until shortly after I begin writing.

Even then, it’s always a hit and miss issue, as to whether we end up anywhere worthwhile. I try to make it, at minimum, interesting, or funny, but, as with any human endeavor, I frequently fall short, often, spectacularly enough to make me question why I do this at all…. Fortunately, I also possess the quite human ability to deny reality at the drop of a cliche, so, it all works out in end…. or, somewhere near the end….

On that note, with visions of endings cluttering our viewscreen, I think we should probably get on with the business for which we came today…. Once I get the memo telling me what that might be, we’ll get right on it. In the meantime, I think we’ll take advantage of that little hole in the barrier I see just ahead, and dive into the unknown, unguessed future that awaits us in the pearl beds…. See, that one right over…. wait for it….. THERE! Dive, dive, dive…..

Shall we Pearl?

AGE, n. That period of life in which we compound for the vices that we still cherish by reviling those that we have no longer the enterprise to commit. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

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

All the recent rants you’ve seen here on ECR in the last few days have been generally involved with calling out the lies our Beloved Ruling Class tells us on a daily basis. I try to be fairly light in my treatment, always including what I would term a joke of two, usually at the expense of one of the more vulnerable pundits, such as one of the Shrubs, or Tony Blair, or Dickless Cheney; you know, the assholes. Any who, I figured today, I would shoot for even more comedy, by going with the man who always did it best…. Here is someone’s compilation of his funniest work, all pointed in one direction…. Enjoy, ffolkes, George tells jokes, but, every damn one of them rings with the full volume of TRUTH….

The Best of George Carlin: Exposing our government and fall of humanity one joke at a time

http://youtu.be/6_zwB6GLpo4

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

“Everything that deceives may be said to enchant.”

~~ Plato, The Republic ~~

Today, I plan to avoid any undue unkindness in my writing. Therefore, I’ve decided for today to NOT compose a fresh rant, as I am, oddly enough, not dubious about how it would turn out. Without going into too much, or, for that matter, any detail, allow me to say I’d either be arrested, or at minimum, receive my first hate mail, a fate I have somehow managed to avoid, in spite of publishing my email address for the entire web to find… I consider that to be merely a chance happenstance; it’s less depressing than to think I’ve never offended anyone… It’s also better than assuming nobody who isn’t already in the choir ever comes by to read what is here….

When I’m being truthful with myself, I admit to the probability of the latter being the correct case. But, right now, I’m lying to myself, and pretending it’s nice of me not to subject y’all to any of what is currently running through my head…. I am of the firm opinion, for the first time, better in than out….

That doesn’t mean I can’t at least make an indictment, if only by using the Metaphorse, that powerful tool of literary nature which saves us closet activists from complete obscurity…. Here, then, is an old-school pearl with a series of comments on our beloved ruling class, and the sham of a government we have inherited, thanks to the inattention of the general public, and the inhumanity of the oligarchs…. Enjoy!

“de-moc-ra-cy (di mok’ ra see) n. Three wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner.” — Smart Bee

“There is but one element of government, and that is THE PEOPLE. From this element spring all governments. “For a nation to be free, it is only necessary that she wills it.” For a nation to be slave, it is only necessary that she wills it.” — John Adams (1735-1826), Letter to John Taylor, 1814

“We lie about the truth, that’s what ruins us here. And do you know why we lie about the truth? Not because we like to, but because we are scared to death of it. If we looked the truth in the eye nine out of ten of us would run to the graveyard and demand to be buried at once.” — Babbaluche the cobbler

“Don’t ever tell anyone they ain’t free, ‘cos they’re gonna get real busy killin’ and maimin’ just to prove they are.” — Terry Southern (script for Easy Rider)

“If you attack Stupidity you attack an entrenched interest with friends in government and every walk of public life.” — Robertson Davies

“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.” — Aristotle

“I hope in the future Americans are thought of as a warlike, vicious people, because I bet a lot of high schools would pick “Americans” as their mascot.” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

“During his 1956 presidential campaign, a woman called out to Adlai E. Stevenson “Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!” Stevenson called back “That’s not enough, madam, we need a majority!” — Smart Bee

Oops! Did you see that? It seems one of the pearls included is NOT part of the indictment, but, rather, an expression of how it all got the way it did, in a fashion…. Can you guess which one of them gives us a clue to both the cause of our current state, and the way to correct it? I can, but, then, I did write it…. Feel free to leave your answer in the comments…. or not…. I’m betting most of y’all will ignore this part, and rush on to the poem…. but, I’m a cynic, so, what do I know?….

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

Here is one of mine, from a couple of years ago, written soon after breaking my long hiatus; it’s a few thoughts and impressions about, as we call it around here, LAL, or, Life At Large….

Choosing a Theme

Powerful words playing hide and seek in my mind,
teasing with subtle cruelty, pretending to be kind.
Grand visions and flowery verses of beauty and truth
evaded my inner eye all through the days of my youth.

Affable interludes interspersed with allegorical wit
softened the crimes, against all reason, to finally acquit.
Time became at once an enemy, and an ally
Never once compelled to provide an answer why.

Giving gifts of simple kindness are their own pay,
spreading ripples of compassion are felt far and away.
Love given freely is precious, we are ever told,
increasing love received, more than a hundred fold.

Living long and with passion has centered my soul,
allowing me room, and time, to choose my own goal.
Now that I’ve gone past any need to pretend
I love everything in life, even knowing it will end.

~~ gigoid ~~

10/21/2012

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

This pearl, for reasons unknown to modern science, or, for that matter, to me, is damn near perfect! Go figure….. Enjoy!….

Like leaves on trees the race of man is found,–
Now green in youth, now withering on the ground;
Another race the following spring supplies:
They fall successive, and successive rise.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ The Iliad of Homer, Book vi, Line 181 ~~

“As for life, it is a battle and a sojourning in a strange land; but the fame that comes after is oblivion.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ii, 17

“Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910)

“Life is full of little surprises” — Pandora

“After I’m dead I’d rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one.” — Cato the Elder (234-149 B.C.)

“In handling a stinging insect, move very slowly.” — Lazurus Long

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

“Remember that man’s life lies all within this present, as ‘t were but a hair’s-breadth of time; as for the rest, the past is gone, the future yet unseen. Short, therefore, is man’s life, and narrow is the corner of the earth wherein he dwells.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iii, 10

Oh, sons of earth! attempt ye still to rise,
By mountains pil’d on mountains to the skies?
Heaven still with laughter the vain toil surveys,
And buries madmen in the heaps they raise.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

See? All in the wrist….

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

Today’s Pearl is brought to you by…. the wonders of modern technology. Obviously. Since I don’t have any piece of whatever advertising you may see here, none of that part of it concerns us. All we know is what I write, which isn’t either predictable, or kosher, (hell, it’s barely classifiable at all….), though we do make it without any of the proscribed ingredients…. Well, okay, we don’t put any faith in there, but, all the rest of it is part of the recipe. We leave faith to those who require the panacea of its embrace…. Me, I’ll take my reason, and doubt, any day….

Which statement brings us, fortunately, to our closing for the day…. I hope you enjoyed today’s nonsense and angst; if not, well, just remember what you paid for it….. 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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Four is a very friendly number….

Posted on January 14, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

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

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

From The London Daily Telegraph Pictures of the Week Feature

When I sat down to begin today, I had intended to start with the opening paragraph of another fanciful fictional piece, which come to me when I allow my mind to flow along certain lines…. However, plans changed when I was struck by the need to write my doctor a summary of an issue we are discussing re: my treatment, as part of the ongoing battle with my HMO to get the treatment I want, not what THEY want…. Battling with large, soulless corporations takes time, so, all of what I intended for this time has been usurped….

What does that mean for us now? Simple…. you win. No nonsense, no blathering, (other than what you are now seeing….), and no long, involved rant or introspection in this section…. I don’t have time now, as it’s already close to the time I generally try to get posted. So, this paragraph is the last one you’ll get today, almost as if it were a REAL introduction section. It’s funny how that works, isn’t it? I write copious amounts of, occasionally, good stuff, and, it’s mostly useless… Oh well, I suppose I’ve stumbled across another metaphor for my life…. SIGH….

Shall we Pearl?

“Don’t overestimate the decency of the human race.” — H.L. Mencken

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

They’re everywhere, they’re everywhere!

Today’s video choice is designed to take me back in time, to a simpler, more innocent age…. Wait…. No, that’s a different video…. This one takes us back, but, not to a time with any more innocence than is present in the world today…. It does, however, take us to some pretty good music, so, it will do for our purposes here today, which may defy description, but will nonetheless fill the bill… or the charlie, or the mary ellen…. Probably won’t fit in your pockets, though…. Maybe we should just go watch it….

Grateful Dead 9-30-89 Shoreline Amphitheater Mountain View CA

http://youtu.be/AdEkNVN_eao

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

“And today’s generation – growing up in a mess of a world created for them by the baby-boom generation, often has little respect for political authority. They do not trust – and often rightly so – political leaders, and bear a cynicism previously unseen in this country and around the world. How can they have any respect for governments trying to control the flow of information about bombs on the Internet, when those same governments are responsible the sale of arms and the subsidization of arms industries worldwide, resulting in the death and destruction of countless innocent people worldwide?” — Jim Carroll, 1997 Canadian Internet Handbook

http://talesfromtheconspiratum.com/2015/01/13/brilliant-idea-to-stop-police-brutality-citizens-engage-in-a-new-form-of-crowd-funded-direct-action-against-police-state/

Ffolkes….. I am afraid. I’m very afraid. The world is going to shit, and the only people who might be able to do anything about stopping it have any means to do so…. The inertial power to resist changes in society is not subject to manipulation by small, individual forces, other than by how they can affect the majority to make changes; there is no one alive today who has enough influence over enough people to stop the forces at work that will lead us to the End Game….. This is NOT speculation on my part; it is a logical, organized belief, based on the events transpiring today in the world, and an extensive knowledge of history, and human nature…. If you look at the signs from the past, and at the base flaws so obvious in our nature, it becomes obvious that we are a species destined to join the dodo, and T-Rex among the failed experiments on this planet….

There are, occasionally, signs of hopefulness among the populace; the above article outlines a very good sign, though one that holds its own dangerous elements of predictability…. How long do you think this society can last, when the vast majority of the population has been oppressed by a minority for millennia, and, because of advances in technology, finds out how they have been fooled for so long? The quote at the beginning of this section is all too true, boding ill for all of us when that mistrust comes to a boil….

The reaction by the people of Stockton gives us a clue, which, if extrapolated to suppose the effect on a world-wide basis, would indicate that a massive upheaval of the society of the entire planet is imminent, possibly even BEFORE the coming environmental crisis, which is completely unstoppable by any means we possess. It is entirely possible that revolution in society will take place at the same time we are fighting for our very lives as a species, as the planet’s ecosystem goes bonkers from all the chemical crap we’ve been depositing in the air, in the sea, and in the land, for centuries….

Won’t THAT be fun! You betcha!….

“Don’t look back, the lemmings are gaining on you.” — Smart Bee

I’ve stated this belief previously; I’m sure it’s getting to be old, at least in terms of the freshness of the material. But, I can’t seem to help myself; I’m afraid it’s already too late, and I can’t seem to keep from trying to wake people up to the danger we face…. Heinlein’s Crazy Years are upon us, but, we don’t have the advantage of being fictional, and our survival is NOT as simple as writing a new plot that solves all the formerly unsolvable difficulties we face, right here in REALITY…. I am afraid that, this time, we are not going to see a happy ending to our story…..

This makes me sad…. so sad, I am done ranting, and have begun to weep….. We are all going to die; that is something we all must come to terms with,at some point in our lives…. It makes me sad to know that our entire race will be faced with that, sooner than most of them realize, and all of our BEAUTY, all of our HOPE, all of our DREAMS are going to die with us…. and, as far as I can see, the people who could do something about it not only don’t seem to know of it, they wouldn’t care, as long as they could figure out a way to keep it from happening for THEM…. I guess the justice of life is that they are wrong, and they cannot escape their fate; I just wish they hadn’t taken all of us along with them on their ride to Hell….

I shall leave you now, probably with your thanks for cutting this short ringing in my ears…. That’s okay…. At this point, I’m feeling rather useless, anyway…. I’ll just leave you with the most appropriate thought I can find, which comes, naturally, from an old friend….

“Life is full of surprises when you’re up th’ stream of consciousness without a paddle…” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

Since I’m late, you get Emily…. Or, make that, I get Emily; you get something other than my own poetry, always a bonus, I’m sure….

Because I could not stop for Death–
He kindly stopped for me–
The Carriage held but just Ourselves–
And Immortality.

We slowly drove–He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility–

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess–in the Ring–
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain–
We passed the Setting Sun–

Or rather–He passed us–
The Dews drew quivering and chill–
For only Gossamer, my Gown–
My Tippet–only Tulle–

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground–
The Roof was scarcely visible–
The Cornice–in the Ground–

Since then–’tis Centuries–and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity–

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

One thing I’ve learned over time; a pearl will fly if there are at least three of the key concepts present. Key concepts, of course, are the characteristics of human nature or existence which make for a life well-lived. There aren’t many of them, but, they’re powerful… They are also easy to identify, but, each person must figure out their own methods for doing so; that is what makes us all different…. Well, other than the simple fact of inhabiting different bodies, and positions in space…. In this pearl, those three necessary components are listed right there, in the pearls, for all to see…. but, just to be clear, if you look for thought, duty, truth, and virtue, you’ll figure the rest out, I’m sure…. Enjoy!….

Remembrance and reflection how allied!

What thin partitions sense from thought divide!

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 225 ~~

“Perish discretion when it interferes with duty.” — Hannah More

“We accept many notions because they seem to be the logical answers to our questions. But have we asked the right questions?” — Harold L. Klawans, MD

“A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently.” — St. Augustine

“Truth has not special time of its own. Its hour is now — always and indeed then most truly when it seems unsuitable to actual circumstances.” — Albert Schweitzer

“Virtue is its own reward. There’s a pleasure in doing good which sufficiently pays itself.” — Sir John Vanbrugh, The Relapse

Though man a thinking being is defined,

Few use the grand prerogative of mind.

How few think justly of the thinking few!

How many never think, who think they do!

~~ Jane Taylor (1783-1824) ~~

~~ Essays in Rhyme, (On Morals and Manners, Prejudice, ) Essay i, Stanza 45 ~~

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

Though I’m not as late as it might seem, to my sense of propriety, I’m in White Rabbit mode. Don’t fret, that merely means I gotta go now… See y’all tomorrow ffolkes, as long as the internet stays up….

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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Uh oh…. I see dragon poop….

Posted on January 12, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.”

~~ Socrates ~~

Remember the goofy dog in yesterday’s post? This little charmer’s picture came from the same blog post, as attributed in the Pearl previous to this one…. I found it on my friend Lou’s site, in which he shared the link to the original post; just click on the “Previous” button at the top of this blog page, to find them…. Great photos, sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face first thing in the morning, or any time it pops up in front of their eyes…. Just look at that face! Who can resist?…. Any negative answer I came up with would only stimulate a rant, for it would take a very flawed, nasty person, (I can’t use ‘human’; it wouldn’t fit…), to be indifferent to such a charming smile, even if it IS most likely because the poor lad has gas, or just enjoys his cluelessness….

SIGH….. Onward, he said, with considerable ambivalence…

In the apartment where I live, one circuit, visiting each room, with measured steps, covers 50 paces. At about 2.5 feet per stride, that is 125 feet, equal to 41 yards, rounded off. Let’s call it 40 meters, to simplify the multiplication we will use to find the results we seek…

1 kilometer = 1000 meters

1000m/40m = 25 circuits

Therefore, I need to pace one circuit of the house rooms 25 times to walk one kilometer…. Not too bad, though I’d guess the scenery will get a trifle repetitive, after the first, oh, 10 circuits… It’s a nice, even floor though; no big hills to complicate the trip… I suppose I could listen to music as I pace; I seem to be doing a lot of it lately, thanks to the ongoing battle with Kaiser, which is causing me interminable discomfort due to dyskinesia; hence, the frequent need to pace… I’d call it serendipitous, if it didn’t piss me off so much… It will help, I would also guess, with my weight-loss regime, helping to melt off the pounds, even though I’m not yet trying to get aerobic…. Once I’ve lost enough to exercise a little harder, without so much risk of hurting myself worse, the weight should fly away even faster….

This information will help when it’s raining outside, I suppose…. Finding silver linings is an occupation fraught with frequent disappointment, as you can see….

Some of y’all may be wondering what all this is doing here; those familiar with this blog won’t be surprised, but, will probably skip down a section at this point, knowing they’ll be okay, as long as they stay in their seats, and don’t ask for the steward to bring them a fresh drink until we’re done here. They know, too, you won’t quite be convinced of anything until surrendering all previous expectations, thus freeing their imagination to accept the method of expression that prevails on this site….

Of course, y’all can always ignore it all, and just read, but, that carries its own risks; those risks were posted on the entrance, right under the water fountain in the southeast corner of the compound. But, don’t worry, the insurance covers anything short of maiming, so, it’ll all be okay by the closing section, if you just trust us…. You may do that without fear of betrayal, as we have previously proved we have no connection to any form or category of Asininnie, and thus can be trusted to tell you the truth, even if it hurts….

Now that we have wandered so far from any possible hope of finding our correct path, we’ll just dive in right here, where it appears we may do so without the usual fanfare…. Hang on, and, please, use the handrails….

Shall we Pearl?

“The wise man will always reflect concerning the quality, not the quantity of life.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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

During a period of time yesterday spent in the throes of a full-out rage, which I will deal with in my own time, I was compelled to self-administer some rather exotic/esoteric therapeutic techniques, with the intent of bringing me to a more stable emotional state, where I would then be able to use my mind productively, some way other than it wished at the time, which was to leave the house and find some innocent party to torment and destroy….

One of the techniques I employed was to put on some music I knew could distract me, because of its connection to me, and my past…. This is one of the pieces I used, to give me an opportunity to imagine my youth, rather than imagining scenes of bloody violence, or massive destruction…. and, no, it wasn’t much fun…. This, however, will be, so, enjoy, please… John Prine and I go WAY back….

John Prine – Sessions at West 54th (full concert)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvUAu89O95c

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

“He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers.” — French philosopher Charles Peguy

Fresh ranting is rather out of the question; I have slept so little in the last three days, I can’t trust my mind to stay within the bounds of polite expression. I do feel, however, the need to express SOME sort of truth, even if it must come from the archives…. Here is a rant from about a year ago, to keep me happy, if not completely sane….

From 1/25/2014:

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”

~~ Lewis Carroll ~~

~~ from Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872 ~~

When I close my eyes, sometimes, I can hear it…. Maybe you can, too. I hope so, The more of us who can, gives me hope for those who don’t….

I can hear the murmuring voices, too soft to make out any words or sense, but, always there, in the background of my mind’s attention to what I perceive…. It takes a bit of concentration to hear it, at first, but, with time, it becomes more of a real perception, and thus, subject to both reason, and will….

What do I hear? I hear mankind, suffering in silence. I hear everyone’s inner self, alone, crying out for company, and the comfort of simple touch, in a terrifying universe full of indifferent powers we don’t understand, desperate to know there is another mind out there that feels, that is afraid, that wants more….. I hear the cries of innocents, and the screams of the oppressed and abused. I hear the bombs and guns singing their song of death and destruction. I hear the hissing grunts as the bankers count their gelt…. I hear my own voice, telling me, time and time again, how hopeless it all is, that it’s too late…. And it hurts to know it’s true….

Yet, what I hear is possibly our salvation, as well….. Mankind exists on a bell curve; I’ve said this before, and it remains true. Much of human progress has always been accomplished according to the efforts of those on the curve who live at the ends, whether they are very, very smart and/or with extraordinary abilities, or very, very simple, with other types of abilities, not always appreciated, but there, nonetheless… I believe that the key to our survival as a species is now dependent upon how well we can learn to utilize those fringe abilities to our advantage….

Mankind has many mental strengths which we seldom use; this is patently obvious, given the state of affairs in the world. Reality has proven to be malleable to the human will, when it is applied in the correct manner; used poorly, the universe just plows on under its own power, and will flatten anyone getting in its way like the proverbial pancake. But, when we learn to use our will in the manner in which it works best, then we can accomplish amazing things, altering Reality according to our desires and/or needs….

The key to utilizing the untapped power we have to change reality is not to be found if we continue, as a species, and culture (as amorphous as it may be with so many different parts to that culture world-wide….), to put our physical and personal wants and needs ahead of our spiritual and communal needs. We need to acknowledge that allowing self-interest to guide the decision making process can only lead to the horrors we are now facing. It is now not merely desirable, but, imperative that Mankind develop a connection to the inner spirit which we possess, but, not with the delusional submission of that spirit to an imaginary supernatural friend, but, with clear, open eyes and compassionate intent for all guiding both our perceptive capabilities, and our actions….

In other words, we need to look inward, and connect with those others in our species who are similarly inclined, to search for, and, hopefully to find, a way to unleash the power of the mind on the problems we face, even though the immediacy of those problems will not make it easy….. As I see it right now, we don’t have many options at all, and if placing some hope on the human talents that are now hidden, or poorly understood will cause change, any change, in what people are DOING, then, I’ll do all I can to promote that campaign… Hell, as I said, and, as I see it, we don’t have much choice, so, why the hell not?….. Let’s go find some magic, and some telepaths, and a dragon or two, to help us turn the tide against the forces of stupidity that have ruled our society since the beginning of our history….

So, that’s what I’m going to do as my new project, out in the Big Blue Room, and here on the internet…. I’m going to look for the fringe elements of our society and culture, those that have a connection to the true nature of reality, and have shown it in the past. I figure at least one or two of them ought to have an idea, if only of where to look next, and if it helps me find and pull together the resources that are necessary, then, it’s worth a shot, in my mind…. and, it will give me something to do other than worry about how much time is left to get it done…..

Wish me luck…. If I’m right, and succeed, at all, there is hope…. If I don’t, well, nothing will change, and we all know how that story is going to end, don’t we?…..

“Until the pain of remaining the same hurts more than the pain of change, most people prefer to remain the same.” — Richard D. Dobbins

“A process which led from amoeba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously progress – though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known.” — Bertrand Russell

Those oft are stratagems which errors seem,
Nor is it Homer nods, but we that dream.

~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Criticism, Part i, Line 177 ~~

I won’t say I’m sorry, because, hey, I’m not…. but, the 3-star pearl finish is just because I really like all three, and, upon inspection as a whole, fit the above rather nicely…. “Onward”, he said, with obvious delight at the serendipity….

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

Yesterday will pass from memory eventually, with a great sigh of relief on my part. Without going into details, I’ll merely state that it was a day spent in the state of Misery…. without any desire for company, either. During the time in 2011 and 2012 while I was waiting to obtain my Social Security benefits, I was living in the state of Poverty, with occasional visits from Murphy to give me a little trip to Misery, just for the change of scenery, I suppose… I wrote this after a day much like yesterday, so, it will do fine for today….. I won’t say enjoy; I didn’t enjoy what brought it into existence…. but, it does tell a story, such as it is….

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 ~~

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

This pearl built itself over the course of yesterday’s battle with the forces of chaos; each one showed up individually, mixed in among a host of other quotes that didn’t make the grade in some manner. Each one is a statement about the characteristics of a life lived in search of truth, and honor…. I consider this one a victory of some proportion, for being done, and done so well, given the difficulty involved in its creation; believe me, I’ve done worse, and seldom done better….

“It is the edge and temper of the blade that make a good sword, not the richness of the scabbard; and so it is not money or possessions that make man considerable, but his virtue.” — Seneca (B.C. 3-65 A.D.)

“Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak; and at last some crisis shows what we have become.” — Brooke Foss Westcott

“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 17

“The comedy of man survives the tragedy of man.” — G. K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, 2-10-06

“To be alive is to take risks; to be always safe and secure is death.” — Edward Abbey

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

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

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

Having thus completed my self-chosen duty for today, I will take my leave, not without some relief. It has been, and promises to continue to be a difficult time, as I wage war with corporate intransigence, my subconscious mind, and my body’s advancing deterioration; I can only hope, at this point, the results will justify all the effort…. Not a bad metaphor for much of life, eh? On that little note, plaintive though it may be, I will take my leave…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, should fate allow….

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

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

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