Casting the runes unnerves some people….

Posted on December 9, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Are you mentally here at Pizza Hut??” — Zippy the Pinhead

There may be many out there who read this, (which shows just how optimistically silly a mood I’m in; I can count, and, only a few hardy souls brave these pages each day…), who will question my use of the infamous pinhead to start out the day, but, to look at the expression on Albert’s face, he knows exactly why Zippy is at the top, as well as the answer to his query, which, naturally, is delivered in a piteously querulous voice, filled with apprehension and angst…. how else? I know for a fact Albert had a very silly side; I have a graphic example, to go along with ample text evidence, which has been presented here previously…. My graphic proof is, of course, this picture….

Previously, I’ve related what Albert said about Life, to wit: “After figuring out the shape and characteristics of space and time, wearing plaid with fuzzy slippers is easy.” (Or something like that….) There’s graphic proof, or suggestive evidence, anyway, of this one, too…. See?….

I’m really not making fun of Albert; I don’t have the chops to carry that off, obviously…. In fact, my irreverence is taken from him, and his own attitudes about living, as I understand those attitudes from my reading about him…. Sadly, he died when I was five, well before I had any chance to realize how wise he was; most of my knowledge of him comes from what he left behind, the legacy of what he wrote, and what others wrote about him…. That alone has been sufficient for me to realize he was one of the two or three wisest men who lived in the twentieth century, not only for his work in helping mankind to understand the physical world, but, for his insights into human nature, and life at large…. Plus, he was damn silly at times, obviously with a great sense of humor, and a keen appreciation for the absurdity inherent in reality…. The latter is a sure way to get MY attention, as y’all know….

Now, a large portion of that legacy, of information of his life, in the form of papers, letters, and pictures, of him, by him, and about him, covering much of his early life, is a much larger body of information, available to anyone who can access the internet. Princeton University, with which Einstein was closely connected for much of his adult life in the United States, has digitized ALL of the papers they had in their possession, and with the approval of the Einstein estate, have posted them online, without restrictions, for anyone to read…. Much of it is in its original German, the language of Albert’s youth, in which language he wrote his personal letters all his life; for those who don’t speak or read German, an English translation of each document is made available….

You can find it all at this address:

http://einsteinpapers.press.princeton.edu/vol1-doc

I, for one, will be spending a great many hours, happily perusing as many of those pieces of Albert’s mind at different points in his life as I can tolerate, both in German, (when I can follow it…. it’s been a long time, and I learned it well after he learned to write it; it will be thick, for sure, but, I’ll have a translation right there to help…. Yay!….), and in English…. Mostly the latter, I’m sure; it has been a VERY long time since I read any German…. But, who knows? Maybe it will break loose a whole big bunch of memories, or give me reason to find someone to speak it with me…. For now, I’ve meandered quite enough… we’ve got a lot of silly to get to today, I think….

Shall we Pearl?

“It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.” — Aeschylus

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

Ffolkes, nobody has a stranger view of the universe than this man…. For your viewing pleasure, I give you now, the world’s most DIFFERENT mind….

Steven Wright Special (1985)

http://youtu.be/UB8ZDrNb3B0

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

“He asked me if I knew what time it was. I said, `Yes, but not right now.'” — Steven Wright

It isn’t every day I delete a rant which I’ve completely finished, but. yesterday, that’s exactly what I did…. I had it polished, buffed, and fitted out with appropriate pearls, all fresh crap straight out of my head, taking aim at myself, the Asininnies, aka the BRC and the Dogma Dogs (yes, that’s their new name…), the drones, and all us fools caught here on this particular plane of existence. Accurate aim, too, I think, though, the longer it’s gone, the better it gets, of course….

Dumb ass that I am, I failed to close the program I wrote it in, which then auto-saves whatever I’ve written there, so, when I inadvertently clicked the shut down button, forcing programs to shut down, all I’d done in the last eight hours, two or three minutes at a time, then breaking for pain, well… it all just went away, to wherever electrons go when they’re not given a memory address to stay in, so we can find them later….. SIGH….

Now what? I know…. I’ll go extreme….

“Hiccuping & trembling into the WASTE DUMPS of New Jersey like some drunken CABBAGE PATCH DOLL, coughing in line at FIORUCCI’S!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Now, THAT is monumentally silly! Sad, yet, silly…. Sort of like today’s Pearl, come to think of it…. I suppose now I’ll have to make a pearl here, to keep from breaking into a song, which would then turn into a rant, against Mary Poppins, or some such idiotic icon of her level of respectability…. If what we’ve seen so far is any indication, we’ll do fine, as long as we can keep from sucking milk up our noses…. Let’s not think about it coming, or going, in ANY other direction, okay?…. Instead, let’s go find some pearls, of the random silly variety….

Birth, n.: The first and direst of all disasters. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“Nobody HAS to do anything.” — McCabe’s law

“Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“Be good to your friends, or they may develop psychokinetic powers and destroy Tokyo.” — Smart Bee

“Where do we keep all our chainsaws, mom?” — Calvin & Hobbes

“A bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down — And won.” — John Prine

HASH, x. There is no definition for this word — nobody knows what hash is. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

Enough! Any sillier, and we’d start circling the drain, clockwise….

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

Nobody does silly better than this poet….

Adventures of Isabel

Isabel met an enormous bear,
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bear’s big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now I’ll eat you!
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry.
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,
Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.
Once in a night as black as pitch
Isabel met a wicked old witch.
the witch’s face was cross and wrinkled,
The witch’s gums with teeth were sprinkled.
Ho, ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,
I’ll turn you into an ugly toad!
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry,
She showed no rage and she showed no rancor,
But she turned the witch into milk and drank her.
Isabel met a hideous giant,
Isabel continued self reliant.
The giant was hairy, the giant was horrid,
He had one eye in the middle of his forehead.
Good morning, Isabel, the giant said,
I’ll grind your bones to make my bread.
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.
She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off,
And when it was gone, she cut the giant’s head off.
Isabel met a troublesome doctor,
He punched and he poked till he really shocked her.
The doctor’s talk was of coughs and chills
And the doctor’s satchel bulged with pills.
The doctor said unto Isabel,
Swallow this, it will make you well.
Isabel, Isabel, didn’t worry,
Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.
She took those pills from the pill concocter,
And Isabel calmly cured the doctor.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

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

I’m not entirely sure what this pearl is trying to say, but, it all seems pretty important, so, I’m letting SB do what it wants with it…. Maybe there will be a point, but, given today’s theme, it’s somewhat in doubt…. making it a perfect ending pearl….

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” — Oscar Wilde (1856-1900)

“Common and vulgar people ascribe all ill that they feel to others; people of little wisdom ascribe to themselves; people of much wisdom, to no one.” — Epictetus

“The doctrine of human equality reposes on this: that there is no man really clever who has not found that he is stupid.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton

“The only lifelong, reliable motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you’ve just done something as well as you can do it.” — Lloyd Dobens and Clare Crawford-Mason, Thinking About Quality

“Integrity needs no rules.” — Smart Bee

“We keep, in science, getting a more and more sophisticated view of our essential ignorance.” — Warren Weaver

“The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.” — Frank Zappa

Oops! Sorry, ffolkes, that last one slipped by me for a moment…. It’s too true to be cut, so, I’ll just find one more pearl, to finish this off properly, and leave it where it is, as a nod to its excellence…. Here’s the right one to end with….

“Time as he grows old teaches many lessons.” — Aeschylus (525-456 BC) — Prometheus, 981

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

My brain is clear, my conscience, though challenged, is clean, and, I don’t even like Jesus just now; I suppose I make a damn poor Amurrican. Since that’s a moniker I hope never to have applied to me, in any fashion, I’m outta here, before it occurs to someone just how silly this all is…. Oh, right. I guess it’s a bit late for that, isn’t it? Oh, well…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can’t talk myself out of it again….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

We boil the spread sheets, but, all clip art gets baked….

Posted on December 5, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Nothing can be done at once hastily and prudently.”

~~ Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 557 ~~

I’ve been using a lot of space photos lately; this one is an artist’s rendering of the newest NASA manned spaceflight capsule, the Orion, as it docks at the ISS. Having always been a space flight enthusiast, an amateur astronomer, and a reader of science fiction, it all fascinates me. I had originally intended to study astronomy or astrophysics in college, and always wanted to be an astronaut, every since the very first manned flights, back in the early 60’s….. I even made a personal vow, at age 11, that I would not die on Earth, but, would be buried on another planet, even if only the Moon…. A bit fanciful, but, I still mean to try to survive long enough to get off Earth at least once….

Chances are getting slim that will ever happen, but, hey, a man has to have a dream, right? My dreams these days involve survival of the species, mostly, as that seems to me to be our most pressing circumstance, as humans…. We don’t have much time left, if any, to make an effort to establish ourselves on another planet, or planetoid, by which, I refer to moons, asteroids, comets, etc…. There are lots of places in our solar system containing abundant natural resources, easy enough for us to find and utilize, though not all of them are other planets…. In fact, there are fewer obstacles to overcome in order to colonize the asteroids than we may encounter trying to live on Mars…. It is amazing how much EASIER it is to live without gravity getting in the way, technologically speaking…..

Whether we try to establish colonies on Mars, the asteroids, our own Moon, Luna, or the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus, (of which there are more than a hundred….), it is becoming more imperative each day that we make some sort of decision, and get started on doing so, without any further delay….. We don’t have a lot of time before living on this planet will become an even greater technological challenge than living in space, with no gravity, and abundant solar and nuclear power, an existence made much easier to maintain than here on Earth. where we will see the necessity to find or manufacture our own air, food, and water…. None of these are impossible tasks, but, they won’t happen unless we first admit the danger, and the necessity to establish more bases for humanity to survive, in various points around the solar system…. If we continue to confine ourselves to one planet, we won’t survive at all….

Okay, I’ve now ranted, though it may not seem as if I have…. It sort of crept up on all of us I think…. After looking over what I’ve written above, I can’t say there is anything missing, or flawed, so, it will do, both as an intro, and as a mini-rant…. I didn’t mean to start out so strongly, but, the picture got me going; a view of the infinity of space will always stimulate my mind’s eye, pointing it toward the possible futures we may experience…. The planetary environmental crisis here on Earth is worsening each day, with new weather patterns being noted all over the world…. The coming year is predicted to be the warmest our planet has EVER experienced, according to all the historical and environmental evidence there is to be found, and we still don’t know how that will affect us, or the rest of our planet’s ecological balance…

Before I hare off in another direction, with a new rant on a new, related issue, I think I’ll take this opportunity to get us out of the intro, and down the line to the video section…. Today’s Pearl is going to be a fairly fresh one, even if the rant section may have to go with an archived piece; I don’t like to rant twice, and this is already enough to make ffolkes uneasy, I’m sure…. We’ll see how it goes when I get there…. for now, I see our turn coming up, so, put your liquid refreshments in their holders, tighten your belts, and hang on, because we’re going in…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.” — Oscar Wilde

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

Okay, so, what did you expect? More cats? No way; I don’t like to repeat myself…. Today, you get PUPPIES!….

The Cutest Puppies Compilation

http://youtu.be/amtuB-2wGeQ

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

I went through the news yesterday, where I found the BRC, and the Asininnies, to be in full control. The news is mostly concentrating on the race issues brought to the surface of the nation’s attention, stimulated by the recent court failures to prosecute police officers who kill citizens. While this is, of course, an issue that must be addressed, it does focus attention elsewhere than on the actions of our leaders, thus giving them the time and space to hide their true agendas from public view, by acting clandestinely to secure their aims…. The lack of any other news of significance is a sure sign that things are worse than they seem….

So much so, I am unable to find a reason to rant…. Oh, it’s not as if there isn’t any subject to rant about; the problem is that there are too MANY subjects to choose from, each of which represents yet another way the predators who prey on society are displaying their lack of compassion for any of the other members of their species, using them simply as a means of consolidating their own powers. To anyone with more than two neurons working together, it is quite obvious; to those who base their lives on accepting what they are told, nothing is amiss, at all…. After all, it’s Christmas, right?

Rather than spend eight or ten paragraphs trying, once again, to bring their chicanery to the attention of anyone happening by to read, I’m putting together an old-school indictment, to indicate to those who come by, exactly where they can see for themselves just how badly we are all being screwed, by those who would have us believe in their altruism…. which, in fact, does not exist at all…. So, here are some observations about those assholes who would be king…. Pay close attention, ffolkes, and any of you folks who might see this; it’s all true as the day….. Let’s see how vicious we can be this early in the day, shall we?….

One murder made a villain,
Millions a hero. Princes were privileged
To kill, and numbers sanctified the crime.

~~ Beilby Porteus (1731-1808) — Death, Line 154 ~~

“The truth is often a terrible weapon of aggression. It is possible to lie, and even to murder, with the truth.” — Alfred Adler (1870-1937)

“The question is, why are politicians so eager to be president? What is it about the job that makes it worth revealing, on national television, that you have the ethical standards of a slime-coated piece of industrial waste?” — Dave Barry, On Presidential Politics

“The American Republic and American business are Siamese twins; they came out of the same womb at the same time; they are born in the same principles, and when American business dies, the American republic will die, and when the American Republic dies, American business will die.” — Josiah W. Bailey

“In many if not most elections, the consequences come to about the same result as two bald men fighting over a comb. Whichever one gets elected is going to commission the design of a new comb, and it is going to be expensive. Of course, most government expenditures are not as significant as the purchase of a new comb, but the point is made.” — Smart Bee

JUSTICE, n. A commodity which is a more or less adulterated condition the State sells to the citizen as a reward for his allegiance, taxes and personal service. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perennially rejuvenated illusions.” — Albert Einstein

And remember, let’s do it to them before they do it to us. — Final line, US Senate Oath of Office

“Man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits… For my part I would as soon be descended from [a] baboon … as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies … treats his wives like slaves … and is haunted by the grossest suspicions.” — Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

“Giving power and money to the government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” — P.J. O’Rourke, former Gulf War correspondent, summing up what he learned during two years of research on how our government functions

“It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Cleveland Press, 3/1/21

Well, it took eleven pearls, but, I think we finally achieved the proper degree of disdain and vituperation…. If not, we can always try again tomorrow….

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

Just to keep this all in my court, here is another old one of my own….

Random Visions/Coloring Between the Lines of Grief

Everywhere is dark, and shining,
with points in dissonant pain.
Sharp, senses dull past divining,
tears burn, a torrential rain.

Escape! Flee within to cower,
find an unconscious cave.
Call on Morpheus’ power
deny reality’s beckoning wave.

Light breaks, drawing the inner eye,
leading to the slippery slope.
Risk is critical, we may only sigh,
yet welcome, for bringing hope.

Sanity seems far out of reach
Insanity’s a stronger friend.
Decisions made will merely teach
our way toward Death to wend.

Lost, while still on familiar ground,
the future yet undesigned.
Making way on paths unfound,
to Now, as yet undefined.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Okay, not bad…. All that is left now is to put together an old school pearl…. I’m getting a bit dazed and confused; it happens sometimes when the news is making me nervous with its lack of stuff to write about; I’m always concerned the Asininnies are busy behind the scenes, preparing more nasty surprises for us, usually springing their crap on Monday mornings, when everyone is busy worrying about getting back to work…. I think I’ll let Smart Bee pick out the rest…. I’ve chosen the the first two pearls, and SB will choose the other five; for fun, you can try to pick out the two I put in, to see if it is as obvious to you as it is to me…. or, you may just enjoy them, taking the meaning as you may….

“If I do not do it now, when shall I do it?” — Dogen Zenji

“Anacharsis said a man’s felicity consists not in the outward and visible favours and blessings of Fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — The Banquet of the Seven Wise Men, 11

“Here is the beginning of philosophy: a recognition of the conflicts between men, a search for their cause, a condemnation of mere opinion, and the discovery of a standard of judgment.” — Epictetus

“If a man take no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.” — Confucius

“Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing.” — Walt Kelly, Putluck Pogo

Well…. There you go. A nearly perfect five-star pearl, to balance the eleven-star version above…. of which I will say this; I could have made that one even longer. There seems to be no end of quotes vilifying the Asininnies; they’ve been a pain in society’s collective ass for a long time… But. these five sparkling gems almost balance out the dirt they tend to toss around….

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

Okay, so much for another morning…. Given the amount of pain in my hands and shoulder, I’m astounded I got this done at all…. I have yet to proof it, but, it felt as if it actually had something worthwhile to say, even if it didn’t say it as well as I might like… Nonetheless, it got said, so, that will have to do for another day…. Living up to that initial quote, from our old friend, Publius Syrus, was harder than it seemed; still, perseverance, as is its habit, managed to win the day…. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Well, that’s my intention, anyway….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

He meant plaster of PARIS!….

Posted on December 2, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“So as this only point among the rest remaineth sure and certain, namely, that nothing is certain. . .”

~~ Pliny The Elder ~~

Today’s picture is one of several I took, of pubs in England, and Ireland, while traveling there in 2013; I showed the first one, of the Old Swan, in London, a few days ago; this one, located in Belfast, is the oldest public house in that city, having been first established by royal license in 1635, on that same spot… This view is of the main room by the bar; I sat at the table just to the right of the fireplace to have my lunch, (you can just see my stick, leaning against the wall by the mantle), consisting of a traditional plate of bangers and mash, and a stout beer…. Some day, I want to tour both islands of the British Isles, to visit at least one pub in every town I see…. I figure I couldn’t get a much better feel for the people than to visit the places where they hang out to eat, drink, and plot revolution….

Well, the last part is my imagination, but, I’ve read enough history to know that many revolutions were plotted in rooms just like this one, perhaps this one itself, and not so long ago…. This pub, called White’s Tavern, has been a popular spot for almost 400 years, many of which saw what the locals call “the troubles”, as the civil war between the Catholics and Protestants in that country waged over the past couple hundred years. I’d wager good money that a lot of the battles in that war were planned right in the room you see above, a wager I would be confident of winning…

Now, all this doesn’t pick my pocket, nor break my bones, to paraphrase Tom Jefferson, pitifully badly, but, it IS interesting. Well, to me, anyway, as a student of both history, and European culture over the ages; whether y’all are interested, or not, is of little concern to me at this point. You see, I’m in the middle of what may be the most cogent, properly executed intro sections I’ve ever created…. Of course, this little intimate conversation, which we now are holding, sort of puts that to the lie, so to speak…. In short, I’ve even managed to screw up THIS one, haven’t I? I think I have, more’s the pity…. It was going so WELL, too!….

Now, of course, we’ll have to abandon the direction we were headed, to hare off in some other wild way…. Where we will find ourselves when I’m done screwing around would be a bit hard to predict, so, I won’t even bother to try; all I’ll say is, sorry ’bout that…. I tried this to keep myself from falling into a rant right out of the gate, but, I seem to have carried it a bit too far away from our normal process, so far we lost track of the time, as well as the desired outcome…. Such sloppiness is, naturally, to be expected when trying such a new, and delicate procedure, but, I managed to find completely new ways to foul it up…. I’m talented that way, if you hadn’t noticed….

Ah well, so much for that one…. We’ll now be compelled to force our exit again, using that new, but already well-practiced skill, developed and installed at such great expense and effort, of ruthlessness, for which I am ever thankful, for having saved us so many times, over such a short period of time…. One of our best buys, no doubt…. To use it does cause a bit of trouble, in that we are using more first-aid supplies, but, those are a small price to pay for ending up in the right place each day…. Well, the right place according to our calculations; I won’t claim infallibility of results, only of intent….

Look out!…. Okay, that should do it… We’re past the worst point now, so, I suppose I should get on with the rest of today’s mess….

Shall we Pearl?

“Thoughts are free and are subject to no rule. On them rests the freedom of man, and they tower above the light of nature.” — von Hohenheim (1493-1541)

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

As may happen with any long-running show on TV, the BBC series with Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes suffered a few miscarries, in terms of falling into clichéd plot lines that catered to disparate elements of the viewing audience, such as spiritualism, or any of the other suppositions about the habits of the world’s most renowned fictional character…. Certain plot lines reached a point where the contents of the story achieved rather a far-out look and feel, as the writers tried to convince the audience of Sherlock’s great powers, as explainable only by extraordinary means….

This episode is one such, featuring the actor who played Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother, in a case he pursued with the help of Watson…. It’s a very enjoyable piece of TV entertainment, and a pretty good small-screen adaptation, definitely one of the BBC’s best efforts…. Enjoy!…..

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes – S07E05 – The Mazarin Stone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TMP52a6Nlc

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

I’ve related in previous posts how the rain we are experiencing here in NorCal has aggravated the arthritis in my hands, to the point of making typing a challenge…. Plus, dealing with the damn things, when added to the other spots on my body that seem to jump to be included in the litany, in dreaded sympathy, is exhausting over time…. all of which occupies my mind far too much for my taste…. It also keeps me from gathering news to use as subject matter…. Hence, another trip to the archives for a rant…. This is rather a mild one, but, fairly cogent, and all too true for comfort….

From 2/22/2013:

“Know that which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

I first read the Bhagavad Gita when I was about 17; along with the Tao Teh Ching, it has had a profound effect on my life, and the attitudes I bring to living it. The above verses are what led me to my belief in the mind’s immortality, as a form of energy like any other in this Universe, thus subject to the Law of Conservation of Energy. This deduction served to remove the fear from Death for me, as I can now view it as a mere change of form, to one whose characteristics I do not know, (or remember), from previous changes. Once fear is removed, Death becomes just another part of Life, and is welcome as such, for the inherent beauty it possesses as the complement to Life…..

“All anger arises out of obstructed desire.” — Bhagavad Gita

This is the second verse from the book I found to be extremely valuable, in learning to live with dignity, with honor, and without fear. This statement, by its very nature, implies that our anger is under our control, thereby placing it into our bag of assets to be used when needed, rather than in our bag of liabilities, or, emotions that keep us from reaching our potential as humans, like fear, anger, greed, etc….. Fear can be seen as the desire to be safe from harm, obstructed, which thus sheltered under our aegis of emotions that can be changed, by merely changing our desire…. By learning to deal with fear, anger becomes our ally, rather than our enemy…..

In turn, these two principles, used congruently, give us the emotional freedom to make clear decisions about reality’s demands and issues, without our emotional responses coloring the decisions with their negative outlook, and tendency toward denial and obstruction. We become immune to the storms that plague most people, for we know how to adjust our attitudes to suit the conditions under which we find ourselves, instead of falling prey to letting the circumstances dictate our response. True freedom, indeed…

Today, when I found this, I was immediately reminded of all of the things I had lost track of in the distractions of living…. All the pain and anger I’ve been feeling since hearing the news of my brother’s illness fell away, no longer able to sustain their hold over my emotions; I am once more able to see how this is not an issue to be angry about, but rather one to use as an opportunity to grow, and to perhaps be able to give my brother the love and support he needs, despite what he may want, in his own grief…. He is afraid, and trying to keep from either showing, or sharing that fear with his family; I won’t allow him to die that way, or to be without his family, when it is so unnecessary…..

So, I am feeling better in that respect, and though I am still filled with sadness, I know now that is just my own self-pity, feeling sorry for myself for having to face his death…. Grief is, in truth, misplaced in looking at death, and in reality is more of a solace for the living, than it is a tribute to the dead; our grief is more a feeling of loss in ourselves than it is sorrow for their passing. It is not, ultimately, a time for sadness, but, rather, a chance to acknowledge the beauty of a Universe that gives us this opportunity to experience the change in our consciousness….

I’m betting when we change over, we are in a place where our minds are much more in tune with the very base of reality, with the ability to direct the formation of the next form it takes…. Hey, it makes as much sense as any of the other suggestions of what happens that I’ve heard, and has the advantage of fitting the facts of observable, recordable reality, pretty precisely….. and if I’m wrong, well, I’ll deal with that when I get there…. 🙂

I’ll tell you this quite frankly…. if the Christians are right, or the Muslims, or any of the other organized institutional churches, then I will definitely have a few words for whatever is passing itself off as God, to answer for the actions of His/Her/Its followers…. and I won’t be taking any BS for a response….

“And now there is merely silence, silence, silence, saying all we did not know.” — William Rose Benet

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

I’m again unwilling to share the blame for any of this, so, once more, you must put up with my own pallid, if pungent, poetry….

Stray Cats

The veils that billow and fold
between dreams and reality
may sometimes part,
showing the visions of one to the other,
blending, bleeding as one,
only to bring us up short,
closely jammed against immovable fate.

Still, we keep our watch,
seeking to find the vision
that brings with it the mark of reality’s regard,
a humble mind, and a compassionate heart.

Events of broad impact draw us away again,
distracting with shiny glitter and tinny music,
leaving our feelings raw and bruised,
the victim of universal disregard.

Now, in the twilight of years, the music is fading,
and the glitter has all gone….
yet the memory of visions remains sharp and clear,
melancholy reminders of reality’s promises,
unkept…..

~~gigoid~~

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

When I went to put together an old school pearl for this section, Smart Bee seemed in a weird mood, presenting a choppy group of quotes, many of which seemed to fit together, but, with as many that did not fit presented right alongside…. I finally figured out SB had something to say about a category of Asininny, specifically the Dogma Dogs… So, I pulled out those that didn’t say much about that, to find this perfect seven-star pearl had come together, all directed at those silly, delusional thieves dwelling among us, who like to wear clothes trimmed in gold filigree, just because they think it’s swell…. when, in truth, it’s an example of how little they do know about Life, or Reality….

“A half truth is a whole lie.” — Yiddish proverb

CLERGYMAN, n. A man who undertakes the management of our spiritual affairs as a method of bettering his temporal ones. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“The easy confidence with which I know another man’s religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” — “I would not interfere with any one’s religion, either to strengthen it or to weaken it. I am not able to believe one’s religion can affect his hereafter one way or the other, no matter what that religion may be. But it may easily be a great comfort to him in this life — hence it is a valuable possession to him.” — I do not see how eternal punishment hereafter could accomplish any good end, therefore I am not able to believe in it. To chasten a man in order to perfect him might be reasonable enough; to annihilate him when he shall have proved himself incapable of reaching perfection might be reasonable enough; but to roast him forever for the mere satisfaction of seeing him roast would not be reasonable — even the atrocious God imagined by the Jews would tire of the spectacle eventually.” — Mark Twain

FAITH, n: That quality which enables us to believe what we know to be untrue. — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

“The least pain in our little finger gives us more concern and uneasiness than the destruction of millions of our fellow human beings.” — William Hazlitt (1778-1830), Works, Vol.X

“An honest god is the noblest work of man. … God has always resembled his creators. He hated and loved what they hated and loved and he was invariably found on the side of those in power. … Most of the gods were pleased with sacrifice, and the smell of innocent blood has ever been considered a divine perfume.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

“I have no problem with God.. it’s his pushy followers I can’t stand!!” — Smart Bee

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

Okay, well, it took a while, but, I managed to get this done in spite of my hands; I can’t say it has been the most fun I’ve ever had, to be sure. But, it’s done, so, I’ll take it, and run…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, even if the rain keeps up….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Spam-tested for your protection….

Posted on December 1, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“What is food to one man may be fierce poison to others.”

~~ Lucretius (95-55 BC) — De Rerum Natura, iv, 637 ~~

The choice of whether to write about the opening quote, or the picture that comes below it, can be a true conundrum, one I generally ignore in favor of my own silliness, or the random blather that so often marks these introductions. Today, I will choose the picture, one of my own, because of the thought that occurred to me as I viewed it this morning….

That thought centered on the church in the picture, surrounded, as it is, by the seemingly limitless row houses, each with its complement of flats and apartments, and each of those filled with a number of low-income Irish folks, who probably work in or around the water, attending the church on Sunday. I am struck, each time I look at these pictures of Cobh, the port town near the city of Cork, in Ireland, at the sheer opulence of the church, as opposed to the shabby houses that dot the hills all around it…

It makes a perfect example of what is wrong in our world, a place where the minds and efforts of the general run of men are focused more on the rewards they expect in the next life, and not on the problems we have in this one…. It makes a perfect visual metaphor for how we continue to have the same issues dog us, year after year, century after century, while we insist there is nothing wrong at all. The Asininnies and the Dogma Dogs have the population of the Earth so bamboozled, they will believe almost anything told to them, if it has the proper provenance, and is uttered by a talking head, either at the podium in church, or on a TV with a national flag behind them….

Ah me, I’ve stumbled again, haven’t I? Ranting before my coffee has settled in my tummy…. With nary a joke, nor a helpful cliche to smooth the way, I’ve no doubt already driven half my potential readers to another blog, without ever getting out of the intro section…. I must be an idiot, which would put me right into the same category with everyone else in the world wouldn’t it? Oh well, at least we didn’t sustain any serious injuries (unless y’all aren’t sharing with us….), or, for that matter, leave a trail of body parts behind us…. not yet, anyway. Nor do we plan to do so, unless, of course, we can’t avoid it…. Sometimes, the sight of the vehicle can cause a bit of panic among the denizens, and they’ll riot, but, as long as we maintain altitude, it won’t bother us….

I’ve about gotten to the desired point; in fact, we’re here. Since we have become more ruthless in our approach to these intros, it has made it easier, mostly, to get us where we need to go…. Well, mostly it just keeps us from getting off the track so far, but, that helps, too. For now, it’s enough to know, and to say, here we are, so, please hang on, while we navigate this rather tricky turn, right around the herd of peacefully grazing metaphorical logic bombs…. A beautiful sight, eh, what?…. Oops, better duck, ffolkes, low bridge a’comin’!….

Shall we Pearl?

“But the only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” — Arthur C. Clarke (1917- 2008) — Profiles of the Future (1962; rev. 1973) — “Hazards of Prophecy: The Failure of Imagination”

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

Today’s video selection is another comic; this one is also a special kind of guy, like George Carlin. His approach is similar, but, entirely different, if you know what I mean…. If not, that’s okay. You’re gonna laugh anyway, because he’s funny as hell…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

Eddie Izzard – Dress to Kill

http://youtu.be/H8ItGMtTCuY

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

“Time has only a relative existence.” — Carlyle (1795-1881)

I’m afraid a fresh rant is out of the question today…. I spent most of yesterday, right up until arising today, buried in intermittent, damn-near=intolerable pain, mostly in my hands, and shoulder joints, with some help from the hips and lower back, just to keep it interesting for me, I guess… It pretty well shot the whole day, after posting in the morning, an event made more difficult by the pain, for sure…. The act of typing has become a struggle, to get my thoughts down on the screen, while nursing the fingers through the aching to get it done…. Not as easy to do as to say/type, trust me….

So, nothing fresh today, but, I have time, so I’ll try to find something not too long…. Ah, perfect…. ‘Tis not a rant, for sure. ‘Tis just an old-school pearl, actually a Pearl, taken whole from the post for the listed day….. This was the original format of the Pearls of Virtual Wisdom (they have gone through at least three format transformations over the three-plus years on this site…); what you see here was the entire post for the date…. It isn’t a rant but it’s not bad, and it takes up the appropriate amount of space and time…. so be it…

From 8/22/2011, entitled, “A Different Sort of Hermaphrodite“:

Ffolkes,

This is definitely a different sort….it floats. Of course if it didn’t we’d just have to find one, of fix one, that would show the same characteristics. It’s a dirty, lonely job, but, somebody has to hate it, so why not us? It’s not as if they aren’t paying us well, right?…..And if it was so bad we couldn’t take it, it would just fall to someone who didn’t know the right way to hold one. So let’s have no more nonsense; just get in there and grab it by the toe and start twisting…..right? Alrighty then…..

The foregoing was brought to you with support from a grant by a local drug dealer with delusions of adequacy. He’s trying to buy his way into respectable society; we don’t think he’ll ever be accepted, but that is no reason we can’t take his money, since we’re doing something about all the lost souls he creates. We turn them into body slaves for sick old men and women who have never been treated for their bipolar disorder. It’s just another public service that we don’t much talk about, because it’s embarrassing to have everyone fawning over us. People sometimes have no dignity…….

Okay, enough fooling around, let’s get down to some serious literature……well, I guess we would, if I could think of something serious. Somehow this morning my brain is refusing to wrap itself around anything too heavy; hence the above two short paragraphs of…….hmm, well of whatever they are. Can’t seem to come up with a description, which isn’t surprising; it’s pretty far out in left field. I suppose we should come in out of the cold now, so with no further ado, I give you today’s Pearls of Virtual Wisdom. Remember to wash up afterward…..

“I once wanted to save the world. Now I just want to leave the room with dignity.” — Lotus Weinstock (I can definitely relate…..)

“Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum — “I think that I think, therefore I think that I am.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“He who has a WHY to live for can bear with almost any HOW.” — F. Nietzsche

“Just as a cautious businessman avoids investing all his capital in one concern, so wisdom would probably admonish us also not to anticipate all our happiness from one quarter alone.” — Sigmund Freud

“Genius is not a possession of the limited few, but exists in some degree in everyone. Where there is natural growth, a full and free play of faculties, genius will manifest itself.” — Robert Henri

” — Bother!” said Pooh. “Eyeore, ready two photon torpedoes and lock phasers on the Heffalump; Piglet, meet me in transporter room three.” — Smart Bee

So, I’m going to end on that note, so I can head down to the transporter room to see them off. Y’all take care out there……

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

Once again, to avoid splashing on anyone else, here is one of my older poems…. Since it’s raining again today, we’ll go with this one…. It’s a bit early, since winter won’t officially begin for three more weeks, but, it’s appropriate to the day, and the way I feel about it…. or, hope to, at some point during the day….

An Old Man, Snoring….

Winter arrives with gusts of wind and rain,
clover spreads green amongst the hedges.
Urban gardens quiver, and dream of spring again,
gargoyles stoically crouch on corniced ledges.

Umbrellas sprout over heads shrouded and hatted,
dotting the sidewalks in colorful profusion.
Urban denizens pose sketches, framed and matted,
adding casual beauty to fill the illusion.

Hissing tires, swishing along with the wipers
join nature’s orchestra smoothly, as percussion.
Dripping gutters sound gong tones, true pipers,
a sudden roar of wind hushes all discussion.

Dreams of summer heat form the crux of desire
as winter chills our souls from without.
Sitting in warmth, gazing into an imaginary fire;
content to know spring will come, no doubt.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Sometimes, putting together a pearl of virtual wisdom becomes an exercise in patience, as well as a perfect real-time example of the old saw, that speaks of how the journey is often more illuminating, and/or satisfying, than the destination…. This took forfuckingever to get done; it’s fortunate that a) I’m retired, and b) I’m stubborn. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have come out as well as it did….

Of course, such a value judgments are perfectly useless, but, nonetheless remain inevitable; we’re all humans here, nothing of which we should be ashamed. In fact, that might just be a good summary of our destination today…. You tell me, if you feel you should; don’t let any subsequent guilt keep you from indulging yourself…. It’s all in good fun, right?…. Well, I’m having fun, so, y’all can do as you like… First, though, read this, and let yourself flow with it to its proper conclusion, whatever form that may take for you….

“To conduct great matters and never commit a fault is above the force of human nature.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Fabius

“Most people would rather give than get affection.” — Aristotle

“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” — Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

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

“Blessed are the forgetful: for they get the better even of their blunders.” — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

FRIENDLESS, adj. Having no favors to bestow. Destitute of fortune. Addicted to utterance of truth and common sense. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“If possible, try to find a way to come downstairs that doesn’t involve going bump, bump, bump, on the back of your head.” — Pooh in Winnie the Pooh A.A. Milne, English author (1882-1956)

Well, there you go…. I don’t think I could have said it better myself…. But, then, how can one not admire a man who wrote both Winnie the Pooh, and the world’s first, and perhaps ultimately, best, murder mystery? (The Red House Mystery)…. He also was a playwright, and poet…. Gotta love those polymaths, eh?….

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

I think I’ll stop now; I don’t think I’ve got any more in me today. I will apologize in advance if I seem to disappear; I have a feeling I’ll be down and out much of the day, under the influence of copious quantities of pain relieving medicines…. SIGH…. Another day down the tubes, so to speak, though what the tubes may be, I haven’t a clue…. Ah well, that’s nothing new….. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

No job for a gentleman….

Posted on November 20, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I count religion but a childish toy … there is no sin but ignorance.”

~~ Machiavel, from The Jew of Malta ~~

~~ Christopher Marlowe ~~

Mei stumbled under the load she carried, as she climbed the path to her parent’s cottage, set upon a small hill just outside the town where they lived…. The town sat on the road leading to the great city of Peking, where the Emperor held court with the great nobles and beautiful ladies Mei saw each day, passing by on the Great Road leading into the city from the south. Mei liked to watch them pass by, seated in their swaying palanquins, distant and aloof, as they stared indolently out at the gaping crowds along the roads, wishing she could see the court, where the bright clothes and sparking jewels of the courtesans were said to outshine the sun…. She just knew it would be the most beautiful sight she would ever see….

Bah, humbug…. I’m already bored with little Mei; I’m pretty sure she’ll end up as another fashion maven, or courtesan, doomed to a short life full of the misery so common to the lower classes in ancient China…. or, at least, if the Emperors back then were of the same ilk as today’s ruling classes, it would be so. I don’t think human nature has undergone any particularly startling changes over the last couple thousand years…. No, the depths of human stupidity are boundless, and I don’t think there are enough of us who can see what is happening to be able to change the direction we’ve taken, one sure to lead us to places we do NOT want to end up….

But, sadly, the Asininnies who run the planet are no smarter than the rest of us….. They refuse to see beyond the needs of their own avarice and lust for power, blithely assuming their invulnerability…. So, I rant, and make my peace with karma, so as to remain ready for the imminent extinction I see as the only remaining outcome to our current state of affairs…. I hate to be pessimistic, as humans do have the potential to make the necessary changes; I just haven’t seen any evidence that would show there are enough ffolkes willing to make those changes, compared to those who prefer to ignore any and all warnings from reality that their actions are not merely unproductive, but, frankly suicidal….

There I go again…. Damn, I sure wish that wouldn’t happen, but, I suppose if it didn’t, this blog wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has…. There is something to be said for stubbornness…. I’m not certain just what that may be, but, hey, I don’t know everything….. That has been made perfectly clear in the past three-plus years, hasn’t it? I do however, have a small degree of control over this vessel, so, I can utilize whatever exit strategies we may need to get us where we need to go…. Well, I’m authorized to do so, even if it isn’t always physically possible…. we do try, though, honest.

Not only do we make a concerted effort to maintain control, we don’t charge any extra fees for doing it, so, I guess that makes us a bunch of bloody altruists, now, doesn’t it? Not a bad reputation for one old, fat fart with flat feet, and a tendency for his nose to grow red and round…. In fact, I think I’ll take this opportunity to rest firmly upon my laurels, insofar as it applies to the task at hand, which, of course, may be seen to be of the category “not at all”….. In point of further fact, I’m now fully in the process of cheating, which hopefully will take us out of this mess, one rapidly losing all hope of ever being rescued…..

In fact, I’m so officially and completely lost, we’re leaving…. NOW….

Shall we Pearl?

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.

~~ William Butler Yeats, “The Stolen Child” ~~

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

After such a strangely apt opening, I think a bit of music to soothe our now-troubled minds would be in order….

Music for reading – Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Debussy, Lizst, Schumann

http://youtu.be/Qc7UzQB8gtI

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

“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” — From The Notebooks of Lazarus Long, by Robert A. Heinlein

Cognitive Synthesis of Perception. Precognitive Forecasting. Looking At The Big Picture. Multi-tiered thought. There are many phrases/words used to try to describe the process of prognostication of future events in human culture, a pastime obviously fraught with the danger of being wrong more often than not. The future has a past history of surprising us with its unpredictability, almost without fail, as we are not as smart as we would like to believe, IN RELATION TO THE BIG PICTURE.

That last part, you see, is a fatal flaw in all of us; by using our intellect, by removing our minds and thoughts from the plane on which we exist with everything else, spending time in our imagination, we tend to lose the connection we have to what is REAL, thereby failing to account for that source of information/perceptions, and/or its influence on what may come to pass.

In short, we forget to calculate OUR OWN effect on events, which, as is patently obvious, is completely predictable, in its insistence on sticking to a pattern of deliberate stupidity in the face of reality. We humans, as a matter of course, will use all our will to deny reality if it doesn’t fit in with our preconceived notions of what we would LIKE reality to be….

Most of the time, our unwillingness to think puts us, according to those who would have us believe without examination, under the control of supernatural being, who will forever relieve us of any responsibility for our actions, and will never, ever make us try to think for ourselves again, once they have surrendered our will to this delusional entity…. This delusion is particularly powerful in its reliance on “ipse dixit” reasoning, which allows the proponents of the blindness the permission to completely ignore any and all contradictory evidence they may be presented with, whether real, or reasoned…. Nothing will penetrate, because they won’t allow it….

If you think I’m exaggerating, then I offer the following as a relatively strong set of proof, of an ilk even the most ignorant could conceivably find acceptable, in that it’s all direct reporting by other humans, all of whom suffer from the same core set of delusions…. even those who seem to be reporting contradictory evidence…. Very few of them actually express any awareness of THEIR OWN prejudices…. but, one must read SOMETHING in order to find ANY kind of thought stimulus….

Below are a large number of links to articles I read on the Net yesterday…. Most express outrage at the bozoid activities they describe, so, at least those authors have some clue as to what is going on, so, what they report assumes a slightly more acceptable level of what might be held as truth…. My point can be found not by reading and studying each and every article, end to end, (as I MOSTLY did…. sigh, I’m tired, too…), but, rather, by looking at the total picture, the gestalt, as it were, that is suggested by considering them ALL as single pieces of evidence of the problem that exists in humanity’s nature…. Some seem to be good news, some are obviously NOT so encouraging, but, all point to the same conclusion, my friends, using any sort of reasoning method you may choose to apply…

In short, looking at the Big Picture will convince you that THE ENTIRE WORLD HAS GONE INSANE, AND THERE IS NO CURE!

Sorry, ffolkes, but, as far as I can see, all the evidence available points to that conclusion, and I do try to be realistic, if somewhat optimistic at times…. Okay, hell, busted; I’m a cynical old curmudgeon…. Nevertheless, I still don’t see much that convinces me people are going to change, not enough to make enough difference against the inertia created by the mass of STUPIDITY and DELIBERATE IGNORANCE I see surrounding me on this planet…. Meanwhile, well, here I am, stuck on this sorry old ball of mud without my space ship, and no other way to get away before it all goes south….. No hills to head out for, so to speak….

Here, read as many as you like…. There are lots more where these came from, and each one is rant-worthy by itself….. Afterwards, I’ll include a few pearls to help illustrate the point….

http://observer.com/2014/11/breaking-doj-moves-to-disqualify-all-defense-attorneys-who-know-of-govt-misconduct/

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/19/3593628/how-did-this-unarmed-schizophrenic-woman-get-killed-by-cleveland-police/

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/11/18/3593645/house-epa-science-advisory-board-bill/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345795/-Gov-Mike-Pence-says-not-giving-food-to-the-unemployed-will-ennoble-them?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/11/18/3593389/congress-postal-service/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345753/-About-these-pundits-and-their-fetish-for-bipartisanship-Can-t-they-just-find-a-toe-to-suck-instead?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/18/1345751/-McConnell-Boehner-struggle-to-find-a-way-around-another-government-shutdown?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/19/hillsborough-inquest-police-story-forced-gate-liverpool-supporters

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/19/nsa-reform-surveillance-usa-freedom-act-section-215

http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/19/man-allegedly-tortured-us-ulk-troops-wins-right-sue-damages

http://time.com/3594482/holiday-shopping-black-friday-thanksgiving-christmas-gifts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29

I would like to point out the sheer avarice our culture encourages as implied by the last article, as well as to have you note that this is an article about buying ‘stuff’ for Christmas, in November, while we are still over a week away from Thanksgiving…. SIGH….

“I never could see why people were so happy about Dickens’ `A Christmas Carol’ because I never had any confidence that Scrooge was going to be any different the next day.” — Dr. Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist (1893-1990), — on the transience of the Christmas spirit.

“There live not three good men unhanged in England; and one of them is fat and grows old.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act ii, Sc. 4

“We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it.” — Dwight D Eisenhower

“The distinction between Freedom and Liberty is not accurately known; naturalists have been unable to find a living specimen of either.” — Ambrose Bierce “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

“I have often wondered how it is that every man loves himself more than all the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than on the opinions of others.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“I think as long as you suffer for your sins, they don’t count.” — Calvin

“I don’t think we should punish the criminal [a rapist] by killing his child.” — Dr. John Wilke, President, National Right to Life Committee, — Search for Common Ground, taped for television 4/89, as quoted in — The Far Right, Speaking For Themselves, a Planned Parenthood pamphlet

To summarize, once more, with feeling, loud enough for those in the rear of the hall to hear…. say it with me now!…..

“Stupidity is much the same all the world over.” — John Stuart Mill

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

Today’s ending quote in the intro section was a bit of a tease, so, here is another bit of doggerel from our old friend, Willie B…..

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

~~ William Butler Yeats ~~

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

In an attempt to counter-balance the large load of deliberate mendacity described in section two above, here is an old school pearl with advice, comments, and observations about some of humanity’s more sterling qualities, few as they may be….

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

“Virtue alone is happiness below.”

~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~

~~ Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 309 ~~

“My own life has been spent chronicling the rise and fall of human systems, and I am convinced that we are terribly vulnerable…. We should be reluctant to turn back upon the frontier of this epoch. Space is indifferent to what we do; it has no feeling, no design, no interest in whether or not we grapple with it. But we cannot be indifferent to space, because the grand, slow march of intelligence has brought us, in our generation, to a point from which we can explore and understand and utilize it. To turn back now would be to deny our history, our capabilities.” — James A Michener

“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.” — Thomas Jefferson

And it’s just a box of rain
I don’t know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare
And it’s just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long, long time to be gone
And a short time to be there

~~ Box of Rain by Lesh, Hunter ~~

“Have no respect whatsoever for authority; forget who said it and instead look at what he starts with, where he ends up, and ask yourself, “Is it reasonable?” — Richard Feyman’s father

“Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness; on the confines of two everlasting hostile empires, Necessity and Freewill.” — Carlyle (1795-1881)

The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings.

~~ The Buddha ~~

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

Today’s Pearl came together rather quickly, given the fact the ranting section was completed yesterday as I perused the news…. There were so many egregious examples of just how crazy the world has gone, it put itself together…. So, here I am, at 0545, mostly done, and no idea what to do next…. The rest of the world won’t be up for a couple hours, mostly, so, I may as well just go back to bed…. I could, I suppose, try to find something constructive to do, but, what fun would THAT be, eh? I think I’ll go find a bureaucrat to torment, if I can find one out of bed this early…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

We never thought of corn flakes….

Posted on November 17, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~

The tree you see above is a gorgeous old black pepper tree a few blocks from where I live…. Its massive trunk is of a width that indicates it MUST be over a hundred years old, yet it still drips with the small red colored peppercorns that furnish us with such a basic element of quality to our food…. I for one would NOT like to think of a world without black pepper, to bring perfect balance to the salt our bodies need, and crave, an essential ingredient to make our food taste so much better, there is literally no comparison to food without such enhancement…

Looking at such a beautiful old tree makes me sad, to think about how long it has graced that corner, and its coming death from climate change issues…. which is a perfect lead-in statement for a rant, but, doesn’t promise good things for this introduction. Shoot, I’d been hoping to avoid any such ranting in this section; I’m not dressed for it, for one thing, and for another, I’m still half-bloody-asleep…. the coffee doesn’t seem to be quite doing the trick this morning…. It must be the shoes…

Well, perhaps not…. More likely, it’s just the way it is, on these mornings when my blood sugar is a bit slow to level out…. Hmm, I wonder if that has anything to do with the new diabetic control medicine I’m taking; sometimes it can take a while to see all the effects from a new medication. I doubt it, though… it’s supposed to help regulate the way my body processes sugar, so, it shouldn’t make it take that process too far…. What would be the point of that, when the whole purpose is to stabilize, not send it careening up and down like a roller coaster? None, as far as I can see….

Not that the American medical society would pay much heed to that, if the stats could be manipulated to show the pills work the way they want it to; how many times have we seen the pharmacy companies rush a new drug into production, only to find it has bad side effects? I’m not sure of the exact number, but, let me assure you, they don’t much care if a medicine is dangerous, as long as they can make a nice profit from it before they have to pull it from the shelves…. SIGH…. There I go again, don’t I?….

Perhaps it would be best to just get out of the intro, and get on with the rest of today’s mess, before this turns yet again toward one of the groups of assholes who plague us in our daily lives, and are slowly, steadily, killing us all with their intransigent avarice, greed, and lust for power…. They’re just such a good target, it’s hard to resist…. Well, that, plus their all-too-regular acts of idiocy, and their massively stupid proclamations of intent, have a tendency to bury us, daily, if not more often, in a flood of bullshit, lies, and manipulations, designed to keep us distracted, and too busy being afraid to look too closely at what they are actually doing….

For now, though, my hands are getting numb, and my shoulder is killing me…. so, I’m going to take a short break, while the necessary elements of style, and requisite degree of angst and passion are cultivated, stoked, and harvested, all of which takes some time, as well as concentration…. In short, I’m taking us outta here, now…. Hang on, we’re goin’ in!….

Shall we Pearl?

“When you have secured an area, don’t forget to tell the enemy.” — Murphy’s Military Laws, #19

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

I’ve always enjoyed Rod Stewart’s music, ever since first hearing his breakout hit, Maggie Mae, sometime back in the late sixties or early seventies….. So, here is a concert of his for today’s video entertainment…. I like to go to the You Tube pages for the shows I find, to see what other groups or artists they have in the suggested videos on the side of the pages…. It’s like an endless list of artists from my past, and I never know who I might see over there…. For example, just on this page, you will find other shows by artists such as Do Wop groups from the sixties, seventies, and beyond, Cher, Adele, Lionel Ritchie, Elton John, and a number of others…. Any who, y’all enjoy the show….

Rod Stewart One Night Only full concert Live at Royal Albert Hall 2004

http://youtu.be/aVnfZMTUB7Q

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

Ooh, ooh! I found a perfect opening quote for a rant on politics, especially if either our beloved Barry the Obama, or, even better, if the most visible member of the evil empire, the senator from that bastion of ignorance, Kentucky’s own Mitch the Clueless, last of the Dickless Ones, whose last name forever escapes me, (oh, right, it’s McConnell, I think… something like that….) have been living up to their usual level of asininity….

“This ASEXUAL PIG really BOILS my BLOOD… He’s so..so…..URGENT!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Isn’t that just deliciously vicious? And, so vaguely insulting, the pig to whom one might apply it might not, at first, even realize they’ve been insulted…. I can see it now, with some chic reporter from an overseas bureau commenting on some idiotic statement, by asking them why they must be so ‘urgent’ in all their acts of stupidity…. to which either of them may or may not reply…

Right after finding Zippy’s cogent exclamation, I found this great lead-in quote for a nice little rant against those hypocritical manipulators of the public’s fears, our old friends, the dogma dogs….

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

— Rev. John William Henry Boetcker

Have you ever seen a more egregiously sycophantic statement as this?… It very nearly stumbles over into pandering, and, if truth be told, serves to remind me of nothing so much as a mental image I’ve had before…. I envision a priest, or preacher, or, as I like to call them, a dogma dog, kneeling in front of a pundit/talking head (or, alternately, kneeling under the desk in front of the talking head), mouth firmly clamped around their private member, head bobbing, with an adoring look in their eyes, chanting “use me, hurt me, make me eat dirt!”…. Meanwhile, the talking head smiles at a camera, & waves politely to the unwashed masses looking on in horror….

To my mind, it’s a perfect representation of the reality our culture presents, with the BRC, owned and manipulated by the corporate snakeheads, blindly propped up in power by fawning religious sycophants, who preach salvation to the great unwashed masses, in solemn trade for obedience to temporal authority, augmented in their efforts by their myrmidons, the police and military, who are ever ready to supply any amount of violence needed to keep the animals in their pens, slaving away at their masters’ behest….

“Power, like the diamond, dazzles the beholder, and also the wearer; it dignifies meanness; to what is contemptible, it gives authority; to what is low, exaltation.” — Smart Bee

Bah, humbug! My urge to rant is strong, and my anger is great…. Unfortunately for me, (though probably good for y’all….), my hands are giving out rapidly again, making the composition of an adequately large number of epithets and specific curses somewhat problematic, from a physical standpoint…. This is, perhaps, lucky for y’all, as I felt a really BIG rant in there…. Instead, I’ll sublimate the urge into putting together an old school indictment of the assholes under discussion….

Here then are the best Smart Bee can find today, all intended to draw metaphorical blood from talking heads, dogma dogs, and/or faceless myrmidons, as they exist in the wilds of Washington D.C., and the larger urban centers in Amurrica….

“Stupidity is not a handicap … ask a Conservative!” — Smart Bee

“Delay is the deadliest form of denial.” — Parkinson’s Law of Delay

“The Founding Fathers warned us about this!” — Smart Bee

“The Texas Legislature, God forbid, will be with us again shortly, thus depriving many a village of its idiot.” — Molly Ivins

“Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness *positively*, by uniting our affections, the latter *negatively*, by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last is a punisher. Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one….” — Thomas Paine, opening lines of _Common Sense_ 1776 — *asterisks denote Paine’s use of italics*

“1) Don’t cheat. 2) If you do cheat, don’t get caught.” — Opening lines, US Senate Orientation Manual

“CONGRATULATIONS! Now should I make thinly veiled comments about DIGNITY, self-esteem, and finding TRUE FUN in your RIGHT VENTRICLE??”
— Zippy the Pinhead

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

For two days now, my hands and shoulders have been informing me of their disapproval of the recent temperature and weather changes; in spite of all the medications I take, which includes magic cream, they tend to ache, and ache, and ache some more, much of the day…. This, as you may guess, makes typing somewhat of a challenge…. This, in turn, makes me use my archived material more often, a habit which, while convenient, does little to relieve the pressure inside my head…. It also makes what happens here less than amenable to outside influences… In short, I don’t want to place any of the blame for all of this on anyone else…. Today’s blast is from the relatively recent past, a poem that describes well how this works for me…. or not, depending on how one listens to its message…. It seems long, but, it really isn’t; it’s just long….

Retrospective, defined in folly….

Yesterday
I wrote a poem.

It bled out of my head,
like I’d been struck with
an axe,
right through the artery,
in the neck,
spraying blood around
everywhere,
like a pulsing garden hose….

It hurt, at first,
then came the feeling,

of quick relief,
of timeless beauty,

of pain avenged,
of lust aroused,

of outrage aflame,
of deep compassion,

of endless empathy,
of truest love….

Now it’s gone, cast away
like pearls before twine.

(Grin…)

You thought
I was going to call you
a pig,
didn’t you?

Hah!

Well, you’re not.
You’re a person.

I know, because
you’re reading this poem…
if that’s what it is.
I think it is,
so,
maybe it is.

Or, maybe,
it will be,
someday, when it
grows up,
and learns to rhyme.
Whew…
Just in time…..

That’s all.
Reality often sucks wind,
y’know?

S’okay, though….
It keeps us busy,
and out of some of the
mischief,
so much part
of our
nature.

We all can do
only what we
do.

Or, don’t.

Two sides, one coin.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Today’s old school pearl will be random, harlequin style, with parameters picked out by Smart Bee…. Honest, I had very little to do with this, so, you can’t blame me for it…. Well, not entirely, anyway…..

FOOL, n. A person who pervades the domain of intellectual speculation and diffuses himself through the channels of moral activity. He is omnific, omniform, omnipercipient, omniscient, omnipotent. He it was who invented letters, printing, the railroad, the steamboat, the telegraph, the platitude and the circle of the sciences. He created patriotism and taught the nations war — founded theology, philosophy, law, medicine and Chicago. He established monarchical and republican government. He is from everlasting to everlasting — such as creation’s dawn beheld he fooleth now. In the morning of time he sang upon primitive hills, and in the noonday of existence headed the procession of being. His grandmotherly hand was warmly tucked-in the set sun of civilization, and in the twilight he prepares Man’s evening meal of milk-and-morality and turns down the covers of the universal grave. And after the rest of us shall have retired for the night of eternal oblivion he will sit up to write a history of human civilization.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.” — Lin Yutang

“Who does not trust enough will not be trusted.” — Lao Tzu

“I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition (Christianity) one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology.” — Thomas Jefferson

“George Washington, as a boy, was ignorant of the commonest accomplishments of youth. He could not even lie.” — Mark Twain

“To the intelligent man or woman, life appears infinitely mysterious. But the stupid have an answer for every question.” — Edward Abbey

“You can lead a yak to water but you can’t teach an old dog to make a silk purse out of a pig in a poke.” — Opus

Hmm…. It seems Smart Bee had a few comments to make on Life at Large….. Not bad, all in all…. it can stay….

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

It seems a trifle strange to consider, given our opening status today, but, I do believe we’ve done it again…. It certainly LOOKS done; I’ll do a quick proof, and get back to you on that, okay?…. I love it when I’m right; since it happens so seldom in any significant arena of existence, I’ll take it. Not only that, but, I’ll take it, and run with it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, unless somebody talks me out of it….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

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

Posted on November 15, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

The ruling passion, be it what it will,
The ruling passion conquers reason still.

~~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744) ~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shall we Pearl?

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

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

It’s a classical day today…..

Four Seasons ~ Vivaldi

http://youtu.be/GRxofEmo3HA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ronald Reagan: “Maybe we should save the women and children.”
Richard Nixon: “F**k the women and children!”
Bob Packwood: “Gee, do you really think we have time?”

~~ the Stilt Man ~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Till their own dreams at length deceive ’em,
And oft repeating, they believe ’em.

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

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

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

~~ Kahlil Gibran ~~

Fine and Good, Good and Fine

A pig in a poke’s got nothing on me,
cuz I’m as confused as a man can be.
This ol’ world’s got me spinnin’ around
cussin’ and spittin’, a penny for a pound.

Forty ‘leven times since I was a kid, well,
I’ve fallen in love, ‘least too close to tell.
Every damn time, it all went to crap,
Forty ‘leven times I’ve felt like a sap.

‘Course, each time it happens, I forget the last;
why not? I’m havin’ such a blast….
Livin’ in each moment, filled with joie de vivre,
’til it’s all gone away again, nothin’ left up my sleeve.

Don’t want y’all to think I’m sad or blue,
life’s full of sorrow, lots for me, and/or you..
T’other side of that coin, we can be glad,
is joyful love, and that ain’t at all bad.

My road’s been littered with parts o’my heart,
each one colored with trust, which ain’t always smart.
Yet, long as I don’t lose my connection to joy,
I’ll find my own true love, and be a happy boy.

It’s been some kinda fun, even when I’d take a fall,
and doin’ it over makes no sense at all, at all
Day after day, I keep on keepin’ on, as it’s said;
Guess I’ll keep on doin’ that ’til I’m dead.

‘Nuff said….

~~ gigoid, tongue firmly in cheek ~~

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

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

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

    If I were a jolly archbishop,
    On Fridays I’d eat all the fish up —
    Salmon and flounders and smelts;
    On other days everything else.
                                                              Jodo Rem

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

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

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

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

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

God’s plan made a hopeful beginning
But man spoiled his chances by sinning.
We trust that the story
Will end in God’s glory,
But at present the other side’s winning.

~~ Smart Bee ~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Sheboygan’s best chance to chlorinate itself….

Posted on November 12, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were — I have not seen
As others saw — I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.

~~ Edgar Allan Poe, “Alone” ~~

Today, for an unknown reason, I’ve got nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada damn thing. My brain is fried, it seems, and is refusing categorically to function beyond the point needed to put condiments in coffee; anything more complex will have to wait until much later….

That being the case, I am going to try a completely new intro technique, called the Sandbag…. I’m starting out just as if we were going to ramble and blather in our normal fashion… In truth, however, we are going to drop you here like a hot potato, and just get on with it… Kinda cool, and a big surprise, I know, but, hey, deal with it, because it’s too late to change your mind…. You’re credit card has already been charged, so you may as well sit down, shut up, and pray…. because this is all the intro you’re getting today…. Bonus! It rhymes…. and, you don’t have to listen to any more of my blather….

Oh, the picture is from another Day in Pictures on the London Daily Yell (Telegraph), about a week ago. It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? A woman took the picture from an airplane, looking down through the clouds to the reflection on the ocean, of the rainbow produced by the conditions…. More convincing proof of my old assertion, that ‘timing is everything’, eh what?…. Okay, that’s it, we’re outta here…. Hang on….

Shall we Pearl?

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

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

Today, we’ll have a bit of classic rock…. From 12/8/1983, The A.R.M.S. Concert in New York City…. with a cast of thousands of old rockers, who were then in their prime….. Enjoy!….

Eric Clapton,Jeff Beck,Jimmy Page,Ron Wood,Bill Wyman,Jan Hammer,Charlie Watts @ Madison Square Garden

http://youtu.be/lcEW2dj6Dfk

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

I am, as stated, fried to a crisp, apparently. Not only do I NOT have a rant in me, I think I’m going to hide today, in general, & reschedule anything I had planned…. so I can stay home and stay invisible to the world…. Just don’t feel like dealing with what is out there for me today, I guess… We are all allowed a day off from our bravery now and then, to coddle ourselves…. and, even if we aren’t so privileged, I’m gonna do it anyway….

For y’all this means you don’t need to put up with a fresh rant from me; instead, here is an older pearl, re-posted in 2013, but, coming from the dark ages of Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, way back in 2011…. Back then, what you see in this section comprised one entire Pearl for the day…. I was nicer then….

From 6/2/11:

Ffolkes;

According to Princess Irulan, beginnings are delicate times, a phrase neatly turned to tell us all something we already know in the deeper parts of our souls. Time is gravid, huge and vital with might be’s and maybe’s and what if’s. It is well at these times to act with extreme caution, knowing the slightest misstep can bring catastrophe; it is also well to use caution in choosing when to act, for prematurity can be as deadly as sloth. Inaction is moot, a null choice, though choice it be; not choosing is choosing as well.

Once chosen, we are once again witness, hopeful that our choice is meet, and the birth of new events will see us still standing, afraid but unbowed. Thus the cycle of life turns, and we can only hope that we have once again the chance to choose, to act correctly at the proper moment, and reap the benefits of karma….

“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” — Agatha Christie

“A man who carries a cat by the tail is gainin’ valuable experience. He will never be dim, or doubtful. Chances are he won’t carry the cat that way again, but I say, if he wants to, let him!”– Mark Twain

“Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes with plaid is easy.” — Albert Einstein

“Purity engenders Wisdom, Passion (engenders) avarice, and Ignorance (engenders) folly, infatuation and darkness.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” — Oscar Wilde

Further than this, deponent saith naught…. y’all take care out there….

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

As noted, I’m in lazy mode… more from the past…..

From 7/21/2013:

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, ‘O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless–of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.’ That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” — John Keating, Dead Poet’s Society

Early Observations

Until I knew there was more,
I wanted to know God.
They said he was a nice guy,
and would let me live forever.

All I had to do, they said,
was live my life for Him,
always living by scripture
cleaving only to his Way.

But, everyone I saw in church,
acted different at home.
Living wild, cussin’ and fussin’,
nobody lived like they said.

Still, I tried to be like Jesus,
he was sort of cool.
He never hurt nobody
and walked on the right path.

‘Course they killed him for that,
they couldn’t stand his example.
Turned him into a martyr,
hid his real words among their own.

Then I found the Buddha,
and met Lao Tzu at the gate.
They saw things real different,
showed me how to see straight.

Right thought, and right action
replace blind obedience and faith.
Reality becomes manageable,
fear retreats, the universe expands.

Brother John said it pretty well,
“Imagine there’s no heaven,
it’s easy if you try.”
Sounds like he knew why.

Day to day, life is grand,
we walk in eternal beauty.
Open your eyes and hearts,
find yourself already immortal.

~~ gigoid ~~

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

Don’t ask…. Sometimes, it’s just the way it is….

Because my name is Daffy,
They think that I’m insane
Please pass the ketchup,
I think it’s going to rain!

Oh, you can’t bounce a meatball,
Try with all your might.
Turn on the radio,
I want to fly a kite!

~~ D. Duck (daffy@wb.com) ~~

“On n’est jamais si heureux ni si malheureux qu’on s’imagine.” (One is never so happy or so unhappy as one thinks.) — Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld

“And on the 8th day, God said, “Ok, Murphy, you’re in charge!”” — Smart Bee

“Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.” — W. Somerset Maugham

HIPPOGRIFF, n. An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. The hippogriff was actually, therefore, a one-quarter eagle, which is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoology is full of surprises.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“If chocolate is the answer, the question is irrelevant.” — Smart Bee

“I feel a random Act of Violence coming on.” — gigoid, on frequent occasions

I will offer no claim to blame, nor to any excuse for any of the forgoing…. Only mild embarrassment, and it will pass…

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

Well, that went…. I won’t make a value judgment as to HOW it went, thus saving myself from perjury, or hypocrisy…. That probably won’t last long, so, I’d best be on my way out into the BBR, or, at minimum, stick my head out the window, & check the weather…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

A Hound is on the scent…

Posted on November 8, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The very flower of youth.”~~ Terence (185-159 BC) ~~~~ Act ii, Sc. 3, 28, (319.) ~~

In the “very flower of youth”, we find these seven people, who are, quite obviously, the surviving members of the Munchkins, of Munchkin Land, in Oz…. They had come, at great expense and effort, to Earth to be honored at the 75th anniversary of the release of The Wizard of Oz, the iconic movie with a young Judy Garland, and a cast of amazing versatility (the woman who played the Wicked Witch remains to this day the most well-known example of an evil witch in our culture…. no other comes close….). The surviving Munchkins, among them one of the Lollipop Guild, and the Lord Mayor of Munchkin Town, still appear to be enjoying life to the maximum…

Well, I guess the guy on the extreme left end does appear to be a bit constipated, but, hey, at their age, I can testify, and relate…. But, then, he’s also wearing what appears to be the costume of a religious figure, (note the bishop’s mitre on his head…), I suppose he’s a right to be bummed out…. or, maybe he’s just got some bad gas…. I’ll also note the huge grin on the Lollipop kid’s face should bring the old fella around; who can resist a face with such happy camaraderie in it? He certainly is enjoying being in the limelight again, even if only for a moment…. (The picture itself was taken from sfgate, but, I saw it all over the news at the time of the event…..)

Maintaining a happy outlook on life, when one stops to consider, is a very good attitude with which to approach getting old, especially if one is a Munchkin, or a dwarf in a society that places a premium on physical normalcy. I have no doubt that all of those actors spent many years struggling to make a living, at anything, much less acting; our society is not known for the morality, or the gentle hand, with which it treats the weaker members of the common group…. They would, no doubt, have suffered discrimination at the hands of those they probably call the Bigs, all of their lives, from the time it first became apparent they weren’t “normal”….

Having taken a vow to stop ranting in the intro section, I’ll stop that discussion there, before I’m tempted to speak further on the subject of societal morality, which, as we all know by now, is what might be called a shadow, in that it has little substance in the minds of most of society, and as much influence as the images we make when blocking the light, i.e., none to speak of…. That little blurb right there is edging too close to ranting, so, I’ll just use this opportunity to change the subject, before I get caught with my words down…..

That decision, sadly, leaves me no choice but to turn to my new-found, and newly established protocol of ruthlessness, which I’ve learned to embrace, at least for the times we encounter here, attempting to end these intro sections…. I’ve discovered such a hard line is completely necessary, and should have been instituted the first time it came before the board…. But, I’m stubborn, and hate to give up any right, even if the exercise of it is less than productive…. It’s just a bad habit to accept the abrogation of a right, any right at all, something those in our government would do well to remember….

Since I AM now a relatively ruthless person (compared to previously, anyway….), I will assume the stance, and proclaim the hour…. ‘Tis time to get on with this mess, or it will again take over, and we’ll never be able to show any influence over where we end up…. No telling where that might be, either. Since I see an opening, right over there, we’re going for it….. Sit back, and enjoy, ffolkes…. it looks like it will only take a triple-loop to get through the opening, so your seat belts should keep you safe….

Shall we Pearl?….

“If you understand, things are as they are. If you do not understand, things are as they are.” — Gensha, Zen Master

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

I’m in the mood today for a bit of Sherlock and Watson….. Here is a good one, another story with horse racing as a basic element of the story….. Enjoy, ffolkes…. It’s a really relaxing way to spend an hour, and, it has NO commercials…. though there are pauses written in that indicate where they once were shoved upon the gentle viewer….

Sherlock Holmes – Season 5 episode 3 – Shoscombe Old Place

http://youtu.be/RHhd0_pXEFE

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

“I am quite sure that (bar one) I have no race prejudices, and I think I have no color prejudices or caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. Indeed I know it. I can stand any society. all that I care to know is that a man is a human being – that is enough for me; he can’t be any worse.” — Mark Twain — Harper’s Magazine, September, 1899

After reading the following, it will be a good test of how alert, and informed, the Gentle Reader may be, to ask them if they are at all surprised by the information contained…. It’s a rather long article, as it covers a lot of obfuscation and chicanery by the corporate and governmental assholes involved; clarifying such murky waters can take a bit of care, and the article is quite thorough in presenting its arguments….. Read it, and weep….

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/06/intelligence-agencies-lawyer-client-abdel-hakim-belhaj-mi5-mi6-gchq?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2

In the article, you will find an embedded .pdf document, which, if all goes aright, you will see below, a scanned copy of the legal complaint against the spy agencies in the UK, where the suit against them is being pursued…. It clearly states which privileged legal communications between plaintiffs and their counsel were intercepted, and used (illegally) to build cases against those plaintiffs…. It’s pretty damning evidence, showing clearly the sheer disdain the governments of the US and the UK have for the privacy rights of the individuals who make up the population of their countries…..

https://www.scribd.com/doc/245744930/2014-11-05-PUB-Belhaj-Gov-Amended-Response-to-RFI-and-All-Policy-Disclo

Can you believe the sheer effrontery of the spies who cleared this shit? Sorry, vulgarity and expletives are necessary adjuncts to a rant like this one will be…. I’m relating, with evidence, the criminal acts of the very people who are supposed to protect our rights, and they are NOT going to like any of it…. They are creatures of the darkness; any light shone upon them hurts them, making them want to lie even louder, and scuttle off into the nearest crack in the wall or floor, to regain the shadowy confines of darkness, where they may plot, and plan their next round of abuse, and/or, theft….

I’m sick of these assholes…. Let’s go around the ‘Net, & see what else they’ve been up to, or into…. I’ll make a short comment on each, just below the links….

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1342689/-South-Carolina-exit-poll-asks-whether-blacks-are-getting-too-demanding-over-equal-rights?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29

Once my mouth closed from it’s fully dropped-open-in-disbelief-and-shock position, all I could think when I saw this was, “Are you shitting me?”…. That was yesterday, when I first saw it; as I look upon it today, that is STILL my only reaction….

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1342646/-Alabama-passes-law-banning-sharia-law-because-of-course-they-did?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29

As the title says, of course they did….. I think there must be a law on the books in Alabama that prohibits anyone with an IQ over 75 to live in the state…. which, if you think about it, is a good thing, as it keeps a large number of them all in one place, where they’ll be easier to keep an eye on, so they can be monitored for self-harm through ignorance….

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1342626/-Intensive-anti-voter-fraud-effort-finds-no-instance-of-actual-voter-fraud?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29

Yep…. out of more than a hundred MILLION votes cast at this election, the paranoid hate group monitoring the voting areas for fraud were planning to prove their pet theory, that the level of voting fraud was rampant, and a huge problem, which would justify both their paranoia, and their insistent efforts to take away the voting rights of the poor and disenfranchised citizens among us…. Working as hard as they could, they were able to come up, nation-wide, with eight instances they classified as fraud, five of which were a bit specious, as they dealt with broken voting machines, not fraud by any individual…. But, that was ALL they could find….

Let’s just look at that fractionally, which would be 8/120,000,000…. If we figure the percentage of occurrence of this HUGE problem, it comes out to a figure many thousands of times smaller than a single percent…. Boy, what a humongous problem THAT turned out to be….

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/06/1341593/-Cartoon-Christie-Cuomo-s-guide-nbsp-to-nbsp-Ebola?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailykos%2Findex+%28Daily+Kos%29

The Cuomo/Christie fiasco surrounding “THE EBOLA CRISIS” explained, and made fun of quite well…

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29950946

This article makes clear the police and intelligence agencies of the governments are working as hard as they can to penetrate the ‘Dark Net’, upon which the Tor Network is operated. The Tor Network (whose operation is explained in the article) is designed to be able to keep government snoops, hackers, or anyone wishing to look at private communications, from knowing where those communications come from, and where they go…. Naturally, this upsets the police. who want access to EVERYONE’s data, and computers…. They are apparently making progress, as this article relates how their latest attempts have gained them some ground in the quest to find a way to get into the dark net to follow all those who use it, so they can invade their privacy in their quest of complete power….

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/07/us-binladen-seals-idUSKBN0IQ2RC20141107?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

I have to be honest. I didn’t read the last listed article, from the Reuters news feed, re: two ex-Marines, both of whom claim to be the one who killed bin Laden, simply because I didn’t wish to subject myself to the sheer ignorance, and complete cluelessness of the people involved in such a ridiculous argument… and, if I need to explain WHY, y’all haven’t been paying attention….

This is, perhaps, the single greatest public display of stupidity, not to mention amorality, EVER. Ever…. No body, in my extensive memory, or in my no less extensive store of knowledge derived from reading, in history, has ever made such a completely asinine fool of themselves, right out where everyone can see and hear….

SIGH….. I believe I’ve made my point, ffolkes, so, let’s go on to something not so depressing…. Oh, shoot…. by saying that, I won’t be able to use one of MY poems!…. Oh well, I’ll cheat…. it’s easy, and y’all can’t see what I’m doing anyway….. or, can you?…. Hmm, I’ll have to think on that….. Meanwhile, onward….

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

If you’ve been here a time or two, you’ll already know who today’s poet will be…. Since these are small, but chewy, we’ll have two….

A Cloud withdrew from the Sky
Superior Glory be
But that Cloud and its Auxiliaries
Are forever lost to meHad I but further scanned
Had I secured the Glow
In an Hermetic Memory
It had availed me now.Never to pass the Angel
With a glance and a Bow
Till I am firm in Heaven
Is my intention now.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

——————————————

A Dying Tiger—moaned for Drink—
I hunted all the Sand—
I caught the Dripping of a Rock
And bore it in my Hand—

His Mighty Balls—in death were thick—
But searching—I could see
A Vision on the Retina
Of Water—and of me—

‘Twas not my blame—who sped too slow—
‘Twas not his blame—who died
While I was reaching him—
But ’twas—the fact that He was dead—

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

Today’s old-school pearl came together yesterday afternoon, and it makes no apologies for any misconceptions regarding human nature it may puncture like the soap bubble they so closely resemble…..

“There was, I think, never any reason to believe in any innate superiority of the male, except his superior muscle.” — Bertrand Russell, Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind (1950)

“I am further of opinion that it would be better for us to have [no laws] at all than to have them in so prodigious numbers as we have.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap. xiii

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” — Mark Twain

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” — J.K. Rowling, Padfoot Returns, — Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, spoken by the character Sirius Black

“A skunk is better company than a person who prides himself on being “frank.” — Smart Bee

“The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.” — Edmund Burke, letter, April 3, 1777, to the Sheriffs of Bristol

INCOMPOSSIBLE, adj. Unable to exist if something else exists. Two things are incompossible when the world of being has scope enough for one of them, but not enough for both — as Walt Whitman’s poetry and God’s mercy to man. Incompossibility, it will be seen, is only incompatibility let loose. Instead of such low language as “Go heel yourself — I mean to kill you on sight,” the words, “Sir, we are incompossible,” would convey and equally significant intimation and in stately courtesy are altogether superior. — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

Well, of course it would….

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

Some days, this process goes better than others; this one wasn’t bad at all, considering….. In any case, it seems to be done, except for the final part, where I go through and miss all the errors…. I’ll do that, and get it right out…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided nobody comes after me with a warrant, in which case, it is conceivable I could disappear for a while, until I can find safe haven…. For now, though, enough is enough….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Ten superlative reasons to cease and desist….

Posted on November 4, 2014 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Be not diverted from your duty by any idle reflections the silly world may make upon you,

for their censures are not in your power,

and consequently should not be any part of your concern.”

~~ Epictetus ~~

A Moon of Saturn Throws Its Shadow on the Great Red Spot

Life’s a funny business, isn’t it? We humans have a cultural icon, whom we have named Murphy. This force of nature, representing the power of Entropy in our lives, is common to all cultures on our planet, as a result of our perceptions, which are based on the the principle of the symmetrical balance of force that exists throughout reality; in short, everything exists as part of a universe in which every action has a reaction, every dark a light, every down an up, every yes a no. Our very organs of perception are designed to notice those differences in the substances we perceive, to give us information from the surrounding environs which will enable us to survive…. That is the intent, anyway….

Bit, given the power of stupidity that rules most people’s lives, most of them not only never realize how their senses work… much less what their perceptions MEAN. They also haven’t a clue as to what that might MEAN to them, in a larger sense, as applied to how their own actions affect that universe in which we all reside. This lack of understanding leads to a number of issues that have conspired to delay human advancement over the centuries, especially in terms of the development of the human mind, and cultural advancement…. In truth, we haven’t really gone too far from our origins, as savages, huddling in the cold around a fire we found by accident…

Truth be told, most of the people alive today would be perfectly comfortable living in a cave, with a fire for light and heat, wearing the skins of dead animals to cover them in the cold; those same people are uncomfortable living in today’s world, which asks them to actually USE their brain, rather than just following along behind it, scratching their ass and mumbling about being late for dinner…. Emotionally, we react to the world much the same as those cave dwellers, becoming angry to cover our fear, living with superstitions and delusions as to how the big, scary world out there is so incomprehensible…. So, we make up these supernatural entities who are responsible for all that stuff, and we don’t have to think about it….

I am NOT ranting. I’m not. It may SOUND as if I am, but, let me assure you, I am not…. That will come later, in section two…. I am laying out a premise, which, if reflected upon for a time, can be of use to us…. You don’t have to take it, and put it to use, but, it CAN help in dealing with others, to understand that, most of the people you meet in the world are clueless, and afraid, all the time… They don’t understand why they have to work so hard, just to get by, and never really get anywhere…. They don’t understand the stuff going on around them, so, TV becomes their source for all their opinions, or thoughts of any kind beyond what comprises their next meal…

You may think this discussion shows me as one who does not like people much; in that you’d be perfectly wrong. I love everyone; I also realize most of them don’t have the wit to understand much of what is happening in the world; what is more, some of them are plainly assholes. Those two groups generally end up in conflict, as the assholes try to take all the others have, and push them around unmercifully, while the group being bullied isn’t even aware they are operating in a Stygian darkness, out of which they will never climb to see the light…..

Ah well, that’s life, as they say…. I’m not sure just WHO says it, but, I’ve heard it said, so, that will have to do…. I see I’ve managed to wander around in my own head long enough to call this an intro, so, I’m going to take the money and run…. (What money? Oh, ffolkes, do I really have to explain?…. Sheesh….) Any who, I’d suggest you grab the closest stanchion, or other method of securing your position, because we’re going in, and it could get bumpy….

Shall we Pearl?

“I reject that philosophy. The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.” — Douglas Adams through Dirk Gently

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

Today, or, rather, yesterday, while working ahead on this Pearl, I was feeling a bit curmudgeonly, with a side of sardonicism…. hence, the rant you see below, about the current circus on the public stage around the Ebola virus outbreak…. To counter the sobriety of the piece, while simultaneously providing supportive argumentation for the rant, here is a video that should bring a smile to your face…. Well, unless you have no sense of humor at all, it will…. Plus, if you aren’t careful, this guy will also make you think….

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

http://youtu.be/6_zwB6GLpo4

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

“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.”

~~ from The Notebooks of Lazarus Long ~~

http://time.com/3554336/ebola-poll-quarantine-health-workers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29

The article I wish you to read today, which you may find by following the above link, concerns a poll taken regarding the subject of the Ebola virus, and its visible effects on the American psyche…. Quite simply, I was surprised, nay, astounded beyond belief, at the quantity of SHEER FUCKING STUPIDITY displayed by the American public in this poll… Seven out of ten IDIOTS in this country believe that healthcare workers should have their rights taken away, just because they had the compassion to go to Africa, to help protect THOSE SAME FUCKING IDIOTS from the disease, by treating it there….

As a reward for their compassion, patriotism, and selflessness, seventy-one percent of the Americans polled thought it was okay to confine the workers in quarantine for 21 days, EVEN IF THEY WERE TESTED, AND WERE NOT CARRYING THE VIRUS! This number clearly indicates how the average American mistrusts science, (because they refuse to spend the energy to understand any of it….), and will do, or agree to ANYTHING, no matter how it affects anyone else, in order to feel safe behind the massive wall of their ignorance….

“In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

The dreaded sea-change, so feared by our founding fathers, has happened…. The American public has been brainwashed to a degree where they will surrender every right they used to have, if only they don’t have to think, or take responsibility for the consequences of their STUPIDITY!

“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise.” — Tom Paine

The Ebola virus, as I have determined (How? Oh, it wasn’t hard; there is a shitload of information already on file on the ‘Net….), by the evidence we have, is no more dangerous to us than is the virus that causes the common cold, or the yearly flu strains we all are encouraged to be afraid of….as if it were someone else’s planet we live on…. Sure, it’s a nasty little bug, and, it can kill, but, so can a cold, or the flu, if not treated, and allowed to take over the body’s systems, to its detriment…. But, with treatment, the victim has a very good chance of survival, as medical technology has advanced to a point where most people, no matter how ill they become with a viral or bacterial disease, can at least be supported enough to be able to survive, if uncomfortably during the course of the treatment….

But, comparing the number of people who catch it, and those who die, reveals a mortality rate no more disturbing than that of those who have contracted the AIDS virus… which we have learned to fight to a draw in many cases, with hope for future breakthroughs in treatment. This Ebola virus is made more dangerous than it actually is by the reaction of the political leaders of the “civilized” world, who look at the issue as a tool to use to solidify their hold on power, a perfect opportunity for Public Relations posturing; by the media, who use the issue to sell more papers & ads; and by the public, who are too stupid to investigate on their own, allowing the government and media flunkies to blow their fears completely out of proportion, so they can more easily be manipulated…

“How come you never see a politician laugh? Because they know what they’re getting away with, and if they started laughing, they’d never stop.” — Smart Bee

I was extremely proud of that nurse, Kaci Hickox, who has so courageously flipped the finger to all of those stupid people who would, if they could, turn her into another victim, this time at the hands of HER OWN PEOPLE…. The very people for whom she braved the wilds of Africa, to fight their battles at the front line of defense…. For this, that stupid lot of bloody gits turns on her, taking her rights, and trying to make her the victim of their fears and ignorance…. Good on her!….

That’s enough; y’all get the point…. Don’t listen to the idiots, ffolkes…. Let the doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals deal with it, and tell the Beloved Ruling Class, the Preachers, Priests, Imams, and all the other Asininnies who would live their lives in the darkness, if only they can feel safe and protected, without the need to think, or show courage, or, live with any dignity….. well, just tell them to go fuck themselves, hard, in the most inconvenient orifice they possess…. No lubricants allowed….

Now I’ve been vulgar, it must be time to draw to a close…. I’ll leave you with this final thought, with the caveat that you use it as intended….

“Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but habituate yourself to something else.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — How the Semblances of Things are to be combated, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xviii

Obviously, too many people assumed Epictetus was speaking of “thinking”, and decided to habituate themselves to something else…. In which case, they would do well to remember the following, and apply it, instead, to their approach….

Step with care and great tact
And remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

~~ Dr. Suess, Oh, the Places You’ll Go ~~

In short….THINK!

So be it….

gigoid has spoken.

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

It’s an Emily day….. In fact, let’s do double-duty; they’re small…. at least, if all one considers is the number of words…. The images and ideas thereby produced can hardly be judged by the same standard….

Delight becomes pictorial
When viewed through pain,–
More fair, because impossible
That any gain.

The mountain at a given distance
In amber lies;
Approached, the amber flits a little,–
And that’s the skies!

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~
—————————————————————-

I died for beauty but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?
“For beauty,” I replied.
“And I for truth,–the two are one;
We brethren are,” he said.

And so, as kinsmen met a night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

Today’s fresh, old-school pearl was compiled mostly by Smart Bee…. I am a bit distracted, all in all, (no, I don’t know why, and don’t have the time or inclination to worry about it right now….), but, I think it came out okay, as long as one has a healthy tolerance for nonsense, and/or, implied sardonicism…. That may be so because, for the most part, they are comments about common human behaviors, to some degree… In any case, I should think that virtually anyone can find a chuckle or two in the grouping, and, if lucky, possibly even a chortle….

Col Mustard: “How many husbands have you had?”
Mrs White: “Mine, or others?”

— Clue —

Apparently heard at a public lecture by the famous C. Northcote Parkinson at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras: Government’s handling of a difficult matter by appointing a Commission of Enquiry is just like a person going to the toilet — there is a sitting, a report, and then the matter is dropped. — Smart Bee

“I was born by Caesarian section…but not so you’d notice. It’s just that when I leave a house, I go out through the window.” — Steven Wright

“If you use a waffle iron for a pillow, be sure it is unplugged.” — Gary Owens

“Any man, in the right situation, is capable of murder. But not any man is capable of being a good camper. So, murder and camping are not as similar as you might think.” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

“I love to go down to the schoolyard and watch all the little children jump up and down and run around yelling and screaming…They don’t know I’m only using blanks.” — Emo Phillips

Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow;
The rest is all but leather or prunello.

~~- Alexander Pope — Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 203 ~~

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

For a morning rife with reasons for things to go badly, today’s effort went well…. I guess that’s karma in action for ya; one never knows how one’s karmic balance stands, do one? Sometimes, I think it’s a bit difficult, because it never seems to match my figures…. I suppose that means that our karma is like a checkbook…. hard to keep in balance…. On that singularly silly note, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

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

View Full Profile →

	katiemiafrederick on Are those Foster Grants to blo…
	katiemiafrederick on Funk-o-matic accessories are o…
	katiemiafrederick on Dodge those taxes with dignity…
	katiemiafrederick on Dodge those taxes with dignity…
	katiemiafrederick on But…. but…. what a…

gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Ambrose Bierce

Casting the runes unnerves some people….

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: