Sauté, flambé, it all ends up in the fire….

Posted on November 20, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Do not the spirits who dwell in the ether envy man his pain?”

~~ Kahlil Gibran ~~

Monument to the Victims of the Great Famine in Ireland

Galway

Hajime…. The monument you see is quite a moving experience in person; the events of that time were horrendous, as well as misnamed in the official history of the time. Even the name of the monument, in my mind, isn’t as it should be, for the Famine was not a famine; it was attempted genocide by the British government. Now, such a statement may not match what the world was told, but, it resembles reality much more than the story that eventually was agreed upon, which is all history really is….

Gosh…. That’s pretty heavy, eh? Well, it’s a heavy monument, so, there’s nothing unusual, or wrong about that. I shan’t continue in such a vein, for it’s already hard enough to see the keyboard, but, everyone alive should take a moment often to remember the victims of such crimes, which happen every day, in almost every country in the world, at one time or another. Man’s inhumanity to his fellow man is a subject that’s been covered by greater minds, and writers, than I, so, I won’t bother to try to cover their work, either. What I can do is put together a Pearl, as best I may. So be it.

Hell, we’ll just go do that now. Take us away, Luigi, before anyone notices….

Shall we Pearl?….

“A sky as pure as water bathed the stars and brought them out.” — Southern mail, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 1929

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

Image from amazon.com via Google Images

I never was privileged to see Leon play live before he was gone, but, I’ve seen Willie a couple times, here & there over the years. They played together a lot back in the day; here’s a concert from 1979 I missed, being busy preparing to get married at the end of the month, in California….. Nice to get to hear it now; hurray for You Tube, and old hippies….

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

Willie Nelson & Leon Russell
Live in Passaic, NJ, 3/1/79

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

https://youtu.be/TsQCFLgeusY

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

“I like the way ONLY their mouths move.. They look like DYING OYSTERS” — Zippy the Pinhead

I’ve seen a lot of the Zippy books & cartoons, but, not this one, so, I don’t know for sure if he’s talking about a choir, or, almost anyone on the floor of the US Senate during almost any session. But, then, he COULD be talking about what I used to do, which was to watch the news without sound. The Zipster’s fond observation could describe practically every newscast team, as well, but for the weather folks, who are generally the most interesting, especially without sound. And, please, don’t get me started on the politicians, or police spokesheeple, or other members of the BRC, (you know, the Asininnies) being interviewed; let’s just note Zippy nailed them in one….

I had intended to rant upon the political group, using Zippy’s quote as a springboard, but, circumstances preclude much besides the sort of thing you see in the first paragraph. So, rather than subject y’all to any more of my occasionally infantile humor, (it happens most often in this situation, after the fourth day of not sleeping; the damn cat gets 20 times the sleep I’m getting…. But, I’m not complaining, just explaining the whyfor….), I went searching in Smart Bee for some off the wall, or ‘different’ thoughts with which to entertain y’all, with each one relating in some fashion to my own thoughts on why we’ve ended up in such a mess….

And, what the hell, because I can….

“More comfortable seeing 2 men holding guns than holding hands?” — Sardonic Bee

“I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleges, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.” — Tolstoy

“A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs…” — Epicurus

“If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest shopping center in the world?” — Richard M. Nixon

“Q: How can you tell when a lawyer is lying? A:His lips are moving.” — Sarcastic Bee

“How many gun control advocates does it take to screw in a light bulb? Let the police do it – private citizens can’t be trusted with light bulbs !” — Smart Alec Bee

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

“For neither men nor angel can discern hypocrisy – the only evil that walks invisible.” — Milton, “Paradise Lost”, iii:682-684

“Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse.” — Lily Tomlin

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

Momentary Terror

Absently casual, memories pester endlessly
leaving only bleeding remnants, amiable and loving.
Coming awake, I cry to still the pain, shamelessly.

Elsewhen, time gives surcease, if only to live,
shoring broken pilings, worn and gray.
Passing on, I laugh at the pain, accept all it will give.

Time will build a shelter, warm and ever safe
save for Fate’s busy hands.
Enduring, I follow the pain, knowing it will chafe.

Fixed against a darkened sky of starry black
such beauty brings us to our knees.
Entranced, I welcome the pain, ’tis all I lack…..

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 2/4/2013.

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

Sometimes, Smart Bee is a moralist about Life at Large; today was one of those days. We did manage to find some pretty cogent thoughts about the whole shebang, for what they’re worth. In my mind, that isn’t an insignificant value…. You decide for yourself….

“I grow old ever learning many things.” — Solon

“I certainly wasn’t happy. Happiness has to do with reason, and only reason earns it. What I was given was the thing you can’t earn, and can’t keep, and often don’t even recognize at the time; I mean joy.” — Ursula K. LeGuin

“Hunger is the best seasoning for meat, and thirst for drink.” — Cicero

“Be not ashamed of thy virtues; honor’s a good brooch to wear in a man’s hat at all times.” — Ben Johnson

“Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.” — J. R. “Bob” Dobbs

“It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men as of dogs.” — Eric Hoffer

“The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.” — Chinese proverb

“The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 3

“Better clean death than dirty life.” — Frank Herbert

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

It’s done. The mere fact of its doneness is a testament, to be sure; whether to my will and perseverance, or to obsessive-compulsiveness, is both unclear, and, ultimately, unimportant. To me, anyway, because, hey, done. We’ll try it again tomorrow, ffolkes; one of these times I’ll get it right…. Sure I will….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

C’mon, we’ll ask the elevator elf….

Posted on November 18, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.”

~~ Garrison Keillor ~~

Leelu demonstrating some serious relaxation skills….

Hajime…. The battle begins anew, but, with true Sun Tzu-like efficiency, ’tis already won. Most of what you see below is done; what I’m writing now is fresh. But, those are two separate occasions in time, as much of the material below, though ALL fresh as the day, was done at various times in the past two or three days, as the urge struck, or an idea grabbed me & pulled me to the keyboard (which, I might add, both Leelu and I think is pretty odd behavior….)

It’s odd. I mean, even for me. I can’t think of a single nonsensical thing to say. I mean, other than just saying that. It really doesn’t make much sense to say I can’t make nonsense, when saying so is nonsense itself, now, can I? No, of course not. That would be rude, and possibly could be construed as literary pandering, of the most egregious sort. We’d never do that sort of thing to OUR readers. Of course not, so, just put it out of your minds.

What I can say about it is this; diddly-squat is still diddly-squat, six syllable words or not, right? So, I think, given our predilection for using them gives us the cache, if not the legal right, to use either sense, or nonsense, at our discretion, should we ever find any. We are, after all, not only trained professionals, we are now hopelessly stuck in the royal ‘we’ mode of speaking. Such a bother! We hate when that happens.

Okay, I’ll stop now. I don’t much like the royals, anyway; too many ties to some rather nasty people for my taste. But, that’s neither here, nor there, nor anywhere, which, I believe, is exactly where we are now. Take your pick. Me, I’m going to take my leave, for bigger and better things. Well, other things, one may hope. Luigi will take y’all where you need to go, and, I’ll see you at the closing section…. Oh, you might want to put down your beverages; Luigi gets a bit rambunctious when he’s on his own….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.”

~~ Gray ~~

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

Pearl, Herself

Image from rollingstone.com via Google Images

I read somewhere about a rumored new biopic of Janis’ life and/or times. In honor of that possibility, and, as an excuse to listen to this again, here is possibly her best album, with, I hope, some decent quality sound. It has to be LOUD, you know, to get the full effect, and all the nuances of her voice…. Enjoy, ffolkes; there was nobody like Janis Joplin. Ever.

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

Janis Joplin
Pearl

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

https://youtu.be/HSXwo3jJ0ac

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

“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.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap. xiii

Mssr. de Montaigne, with his plaintive observation of the events of the sixteenth century (in the midst of the Renaissance in European history), he sends an eerily appropriate message to us who live in the twenty-first century. I, too, have come to the firm opinion that anarchy would be preferable to much of what I see happening in the world today. From all I can see, there isn’t much of a future for our species, unless we make a significant change in the way we A) treat our planet, and B) treat each other…..

The only question in my mind at this point is which of these two severely explosive issues, each of which can conceivably lead to the total extinction of our species, will come first to a point of no-return. Both are rife with the possibility of imminent explosion, into such conflagration the world has not seen since the last time this happened (if it did; some say so, though, I don’t see a lot of physical evidence, just racial memory….).

If the society of the world reaches flash point, there are SEVEN BILLION people, all of whom will revert to the law of the jungle in a heartbeat, if it comes down to “me or them”. With the weaponry and technology available today, there is little doubt anyone left living will live at a level similar to how our species lived before the age of electricity.

If the environment reaches one of a number of critical points, there will be no way to stop whatever occurs from happening, for we cannot know exactly how it will happen, nor what will stop what we don’t know of…. All we do know is, if one of two or three events occur, our planet will no longer support life in our form…. at all. It is entirely possible we won’t even be able to breathe the atmosphere that remains on the planet, if certain chemical reactions reach a critical point…. It’s possible there wouldn’t be any oxygen in it to breathe….

“Animals can be driven crazy by putting too many in too small a pen. Homo sapiens is the only animal that voluntarily does this to himself.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s — “Time Enough For Love”

What we are witnessing today, every day, is a very real, graphic example of the truth of this assertion from Lazarus. I’m sure all of us remember the high school science class where we read about, or saw the film about, what happens when rats are put into cages and allowed to breed indiscriminately; the resultant pictures were anything but pretty. Imagine the scenes from our future, if we continue to stretch the resources of our “cage” as we have been doing, without any thought for the future, for many too many centuries…. We have acted as if it was all ours to use as we saw fit, and what we saw has been anything but fit…..

“Hello… IRON CURTAIN? Send over a SAUSAGE PIZZA! World War III? No thanks!” — Zippy the Pinhead

People are going to reach the same point as did the rats; count on it. (Especially when they figure out they can’t order any pizza!….) And, there are a LOT of us our here who don’t want to die. So, it’s going to get ugly, ffolkes; I don’t see much of any way to avoid what is coming, because the forces of history, and of climate, are too large and ponderous to stop in time…. Negative, yes; also realistic. All we can do is all we can do, and that’s be prepared, to live, and to help those we care for to live, long enough to see if the light of reason will ever shine again in this world gone dark.

I’ll tell you one thing. I don’t intend to go down easily; I’ll be using the lesson one of our greatest poets gave us, when he wrote,

“Do not go gentle into that good night

but rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

~~ Dylan Thomas ~~

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

For me, some poems bleed out; some just leak. Others have to be squeezed out, but, this one, this sort of oozed out last night as I sat thinking about…. well, stuff. Don’t ask me what it means, not yet. I’m not sure anything I tell you would be anywhere near the truth…. All I know is, I feel better.

Infidelia

There’s a certain
panache,
almost a feeling of
glory,
one feels
upon returning

from

Hell

Purgatory.

Or,
so those say,
who say those
sorts of things,
I guess.

I don’t know,

for sure.

I didn’t go

there.

I only went

Hell.

I only live

Purgatory.

But,

I like it.

Right now,

anyway.

Other times,

not

so much.

It’s not bad,
if I don’t
think.

Sigh.

Too bad.
I
do.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 11/17/2015.

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

I hardly know what to say of this pearl; all of those chosen were offered up without any particular difficulty by Smart Bee, and, each and every one of them is a gem of particular value, in terms of pearls of virtual wisdom. Heck, I could easily write a thousand words in support of each, or, use any one to illustrate some point about modern society. Together, I can’t quite grasp what they are attempting to convey; perhaps y’all have an idea. I had one thought, which is to, perhaps, switch them around a bit, to find the order that brings them all into focus…. At any rate, just thinking about any of them tends to work the mind in a way that can’t hurt, unless one is not accustomed to such activity…. Have fun, it’s a nine-star glittering gem, with a crashing great final pearl…. Well, I think so….

“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” — Aristotle

“One does evil enough when one does nothing good.” — German Proverb

“You should go to a pear-tree for pears, not to an elm.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 674

“The more one judges, the less one loves.” — Honore de Balzac

“I love to doubt as well as know.” — Dante

“In art as in life, form and subject, body and soul, are one.” — Edward Abbey

“I change myself, I change the world.” — Gloria Anzaldua

“The supreme irony of life is hardly anyone ever gets out of it alive.” — Robert Heinlein

“Death the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.” — Sir Walter Scott

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

There you go, ffolkes. I can’t do it any better than that. I’m not even going to TRY to top any of it here in the closing section. I’ll merely note my relief, and happiness y’all made it this far, and, without any injury, or reports of impending litigation. NOW I’m done. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, for sure and for certain. How can we be certain? Well, it’s like Charles Schulz (Yep, him; ‘Peanuts’) once said, “Don’t worry about the world ending today; it’s already tomorrow in Australia.” Ta, then, luvs….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Plus or minus, it doesn’t add up….

Posted on November 17, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Dharma: “What is the greatest mystery of all?”

Yudishthira: “That each day, death walks the earth, and we continue to live as though we were immortal.”

~~ The Bhagvad Gita ~~

The Crane Bar, Galway, Ireland

Hajime…. Since any sort of schedule seems to be currently inoperable, the hell with it. I’ll post late, and hope any of my Gentle Readers will understand…. You see, I slept. Normally, and for a full eight-plus hours. Leelu got worried at my usual time to get up, but, she’s a cat, and understands wanting to roll over and go back to sleep…. She settled right back down for another nap….

Now I’m up, with all this energy, let’s not fool around & waste it. I’ll see if I can cobble together some decent material, and let ‘er fly. In fact, we’ll go do that now. Luigi, fire it up. Yeah, I know, we’re early, but, we’re late, so, it’ll even out. Don’t worry that little head of yours; just fly the plane…. Here we go, ffolkes….

Shall we Pearl?….

“God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent- it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks, please. Cash, and in small bills.” — Lazarus Long

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

George Harrison

Image from clipartzebra.com via Google Images

George Harrison was one of rock & roll’s most beloved icons; the entire world mourned his death. This concert, put together by his friends, among whom numbered some of the world’s best musicians, of ALL types, was a fitting tribute to his memory. It still makes me weep to watch his son, who looks exactly as he did at that age, playing on stage with Clapton, Ringo, Paul, and a host of other famous rock stars who came to play for George. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one is unique….

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

Concert for George

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

https://youtu.be/LG5EdoxBVt0

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

Aristotle

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

I’m really sorry I don’t have the time or energy to rant on the above; it’s so perfectly apt for our current situation in America. But I don’t, so, we’ll make do with a short discussion from 2012, taking a few shots at one of our favorite targets…. our Beloved Ruling Class….

From 9/9/2012:

A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: “Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time.” When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, “The one I feed the most.” — George Bernard Shaw

This is a wonderful anecdote, and one I feel very firmly about, as it is one of the clearest lessons in self-awareness I have ever seen. This one is so simple an idea, that even the ignorant asses who make up the political scene in this country would be able to understand it. They probably couldn’t do it, as they never, ever think about themselves other than as an important person, who doesn’t need to make changes in himself. Anyone who does think of themselves would never, ever consent to be put into a public office…. the two things (introspection vs. public office) just don’t mix…. That is because of the following, from a pretty smart fella, who lived quite some time ago, but seemed to have a good head on his shoulders….

“Neither do the ignorant seek after wisdom. For herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself; he has no desire for that of which he feels no want.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)

“…he who is neither good nor wise” is a perfect description of anyone who wants to be President of this country. I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again, because it bears repetition, that anyone, anyone at all, who actually WANTS to be President can be classified as clinically insane, usually a paranoid schizophrenic, with grandiose delusions of adequacy…. NOBODY is adequate for that job… nobody. And anyone who thinks they are is simply not all there…..

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 Phil Lesh & Robert Hunter ~~

Ah me…. politics and politicians are such an easy target. If it wasn’t so much fun, I might call it a naughty habit, and leave them to their devices, which surely are many….. Since we’re pressed for time today, we’ll leave them be, and just caution y’all to watch out, because their antics can be dangerous, if they are left without supervision for 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 ~~

Written 8/31/2014.

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

“I often have long conversations all by myself, and I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word I am saying.” — Oscar Wilde

Sometimes, when constructing these pearls of virtual wisdom, I feel much as Oscar described; often it’s the fault of Smart Bee, which can be a fractious program (remind me to tell you about software sometime, and how it can act just like any other inanimate object, taking on the characteristics we give it with the application of our will upon it….), but, just as often, it’s my own fault, for letting my mind wander while collecting the pearls. Believe it or not, this process DOES take some focus, or it doesn’t work. Trust me. This one, in spite of my waffling, didn’t wobble, so, enjoy!….

“What’s hard is simple,
What’s natural, comes hard. Maybe you could show me,
How to let go,
Lower my guard,
Learn to be….free.

Maybe if you whistle…
Whistle for me.”

~~ Stephen Sondheim, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE ~~

“Take your life in your own hands and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.” — Erica Jong

“Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul when hot for certainties in this our life!” — George Meredith

“It is not a man’s duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support. If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man’s shoulders. I must get off him first, that he may pursue his contemplations too.” — Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience

“Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.” — William Saroyan

“No pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage-ground of truth.” — Francis Bacon — Of Truth

“It’s easy to come and go… The hard thing is to remain.” — Subtle Bee

“It is a good thing to be rich and strong, but it is a better thing to be loved.” — Euripides

How small of all that human hearts endure
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!
Still to ourselves in every place ensigned
Our own felicity we make or find.~~ Samuel Johnson ~~

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

Well, I did it. Not that I’m completely convinced of whether or not I SHOULD be doing this, but, hey, I was never one to pay much attention to ‘should’. Lazarus taught me at an early age, when he pointed out, quite accurately, that when you hear that word, it is ALWAYS something someone ELSE told you, or thinks you ought to do, or think, or be…. No thanks…. Instead, I’ll just say, see y’all tomorrow; count on it….

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Perspective ALWAYS matters….

Posted on November 16, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“According to the proverb, the best things are the most difficult.”

~~ Plutarch (46-120 AD) ~~

~~ Of the Training of Children ~~

A Garden Path in Galway

Hajime…. We take drugs very seriously at my house… Now, before anyone goes off on some weird tangent, I’ll say this: first, I found the statement in Smart Bee, and it fit so well, I had to steal it…. Second, it’s perfectly true, but, not in the way most folks would think it might be construed. What I mean by such a statement is exactly what it says; we take them, and very seriously.

That being said, we may now proceed on to more important things, such as getting this fucking Pearl done, as it didn’t get done yesterday, thanks to some levels of pain I haven’t experienced in over a decade…. What great fun we had, remembering back to those days of yesteryear, when life was shit, with no cherry, on top or anywhere else….. ‘Twas indeed a day to remember to forget…..

Fortunately for us all, pain, like any memory, fades in time, and, though this morning bodes ill for another such day, I have my plans to deal with it, involving yet more drugs…. But, don’t worry, they’re legal in this state. I mean, OF COURSE, they’re legal, if reluctantly. I’m quite sure, if the Big Pharma companies had their way, it wouldn’t be, for the use of these “drugs”, which have been used my mankind since the time we lived in trees and caves, promises, in time, to put them out of their very lucrative business, which involves keeping everyone sick, so they can sell them more poisons.

End of mini-rant. Let’s go on to the rest of today’s mess, shall we? It promises to be a little more pleasant, at least in tone, if not quality. But, then, if you wanted quality, you’d be somewhere else, now, wouldn’t you? Yep. Don’t worry, I know exactly how good all this is, compared to the general run of things online, so, don’t worry you’ll hurt my feelings. Besides, me and pain, we’re old friends…. For now…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate -and quickly.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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

royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

Yep, you know what that picture means, don’t you? Yep. Classical music, which is all I can think of to play right now…. might have something to do with the Grateful Dead jam I’m listening to, which sounds much like a long classical, bohemian piece….. until now, as they begin to break into a jauntier tune, (I Know You Rider), in a famous jam from 1979 or so….. Ah well, you can’t hear it, anyway, unless you’re a Deadhead, and go download it yourself…. But, you can enjoy this collection of great older stuff…. Your choice, as always…..

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

Classical Music

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

https://youtu.be/jgpJVI3tDbY

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

I don’t have it in me to rant, but, given the above statement from Albert, I think we can put together an old-school pearl to show just how the world has been put into the position we now find ourselves, as well as who is to blame, and, how we can make the necessary changes…. Quite a lot for a few quotes, isn’t it? Well, you’ll see…. Enjoy….

“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” — Oscar Wilde

“The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

“You cannot conquer a free man, the most you can do is kill him.” — Lazarus Long

“Forbid a man to think for himself or to act for himself and you may add the joy of piracy and the zest of smuggling to his life.” — Elbert Hubbard

“As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy.” — Christopher Dawson, “The Judgement of the Nations”

“It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.” — H. L. Mencken

“For every disease that doctors cure with medicine, they produce ten in healthy people by inoculating them with that virus which is a thousand times more powerful than any microbe: the idea that one is ill.” — Marcel Proust (1871-1922)

“The highest treason, the meanest treason, is to deny the holiness of this little blue planet on which we journey through the cold void of space.” — Edward Abbey

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

Since yesterday was one of my worst days ever, I thought a poem written on a very similar day might work. You tell me….

Gauges of Pain

Consciousness devolves in pools of gripping fears
holding hostage any hope of serenity,
sharp stabbing motions and greedy tears
nary a moment passes without common calamity.

Always a surprise, nothing soothing ever found,
leaving only breathless clinging pain,
salvation seemingly absent, it muffles all sound,
bringing ever more sadness and rain.

Solitude is ever present to claim my time,
lonely hours and relentlessly long days,
no radio plays such music in secular rhyme
happy, vibrant voices belong to elder ways.

Life can be justified it seems to say,
by hopeful favored moments of pleasure,
seemingly friendly, pointing out the only way,
to bring back happiness in minimal measure.

Days of horror and embarrassing tears
serve ever to drive wretched hours to withhold
promising naught but sorrow in coming years,
black, bitter memories that never grow old.

Cold, cold the days fly by,
can it really be our only token?
Never to say, or know just why
the pain never stops, even when spoken…

~~ gigoid ~~

(Yes, yesterday was NOT a good day…. why do you ask?…..)

Griefe brought to numbers cannot be so fierce,
For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse.

~~ John Donne ~~

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

I’m somewhat surprised at how this pearl turned out; it was mostly serendipity at work, I believe, which dictated the icon you see adorning the top of this final section. It’s a long pearl, with 13 gems shining out with some brilliance. The opening from Keats, and the close by Bryant may, at first seem out of place with the rest of the pearls, but, in truth, the form the perfect bookends to the ideas between, marking a section with some of the more off the beaten track when it comes to advice on living life with some style to go along with the virtue we all seek…. (Sure we do..) Enjoy!

In a drear-nighted December,
Too happy, happy tree,
Thy branches ne’er remember
Their green felicity.

~~- John Keats ~~

~~ Stanzas ~~

“A priest advised Voltaire on his death bed to renounce the devil. Voltaire said, “This is no time to make new enemies” — Attribution unclear

“A gift of flowers will soon be made to you. Don’t eat them this time.” — Cute Bee

“First, learn to love yourself, and then you will learn to love others.” — Chen-It Ong

“Waiting is.” — R.A. Heinlein, ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’

“Think it more satisfactory to live richly than die rich.” — Sir Thomas Browne

“Smile, but sharpen your knives.” — Found without attribution; probably a Fremen proverb (the original would have said “chyrsknife”)

“None but a fool is always right.” — Hare

“It’s not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950)

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

“Character is a victory, not a gift.” — Our old friend, Anonymous

“Courage conquers all things.” — Ovid

The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year,
Of wailing winds and naked woods and meadows brown and sear.

~~ William Cullen Bryant ~~

~~ The Death of the Flowers ~~

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

It’s done. In the final analysis, that is all that can be said of it, as it should be. Having fulfilled my self-imposed duty for the day, (while making no claims of quality, lest we find ourselves in court), I’ll take my leave, post-haste, to go begin the process of consuming sufficient herbal oils and essences to mitigate my agony…. Wish me luck, ffolkes, I’ll need it…. See y’all tomorrow, come Hell, or High Water…. I’ve been through both of late, so, that’s no empty promise….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Chicken bones for dessert….

Posted on November 12, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Xenophanes said,

“I confess myself the greatest coward in the world,

for I dare not do an ill thing.”

~~ Plutarch ~~

~~ Of Bashfulness ~~

A Storm on the Horizon

Leelu in full PK mode

Hajime…. For any Gentle Readers who are wondering why I’m continuing to use the Japanese opening for today’s Pearl, well, I’ll tell ya…. It’s like this: As I write this, it isn’t morning. It isn’t even evening, really, as it will be, in a short time, what is best described by Eric Clapton in his song, “After Midnight”…. That’s pretty clear, right? It’s the fucking middle of the night, again, and, here we sit, me & Leelu, working on a Pearl instead of sleeping, as my body/mind would REALLY like to be doing.

Why I’m up again isn’t important, though it’s probably relevant. But, any sort of discussion would just set me off again, I’d start ranting, and we’d never get out of the intro. So, I’m passing on that, and we’ll go straight to something more fruitful, or, at minimum, less offensive and rude. We do like to avoid rude, whenever possible. Mom wouldn’t like it if we were rude…. We don’t like to disappoint Mom, do we? No, of course not….

The question now, however, becomes once more problematic, as we are proscribed from using the same trick twice. My box of literary tricks is rather empty right now; what with all the recent time spent finding my way back from Hell, I haven’t had a lot of time to read, or study, or, for that matter, think as much as I’d like. Though we are both body and mind in one, the body’s complaints sure seem to take precedence when they occur; this makes it hard to use the mind to balance whatever is happening…. One can persuade one’s self Reality isn’t actually happening for only so long; at that point, Reality switches tools, from a scalpel to a sledge hammer. and has its way, regardless of whether we can fool ourselves, or not….

I’m pretty good at fooling myself, as are most of us human types. This doesn’t mean I like it; I can just accept it…. Now, where were we? And, where were we going? Oh, right, intro. Okay, it looks as if we have enough to satisfy the licensing board, so, why don’t we let Luigi have some more fun, and use the turbo booster? Everybody strapped in? Okay, Luigi, it’s all yours…. (Don’t worry, ffolkes; if we crash, we’ll just switch over to the Tardis, travel back to this instant, & start over….)

Shall we Pearl?….

“Skeptics laugh in order not to weep.”

~~ Anatole France ~~

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

Tom Waits ~ Stencil by The MIVC

Image from 8tracks.com via Google Images

Unique. It’s the only word for Tom Waits; his voice, his musical talent, his lyrics, his persona. Another of mankind’s treasures, to my way of thinking. You can decide for yourself…. This was his debut album, released at age 24; on the page listed below, you can find all of the rest of his body of work, with extras…. Enjoy!….

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

Tom Waits
Closing Time

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

https://youtu.be/lndL46jiEFQ

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

~~ Bruce Sterling ~~

Though I’m afraid he’s right, Mr. Sterling’s assertion does require some definition of terms; “moral relativism” just BEGS to be misinterpreted, in the sense that each person will filter the concept through their own moral viewpoint. So, in order for us to discuss it wit any degree of confidence, I’d best delineate why my own opinion runs, if not parallel, at least in the same quarter of the compass as his statement. Why don’t we do that? I dunno, why not?

Okay. I believe it, moral relativism means exactly what I described above. Each of us has our own moral code (hopefully); we view the world, and its activities, with that code coloring our perceptions. For example, a person who holds the belief they have the duty to help others will view a business transaction entirely differently than one who feels they are entitled to do unto others, first. One will sell their products at a fair price. with service given to each customer. The other will consistently overcharge for cheap products, and act as if they are doing a favor to sell at all.

You see, to me, that’s what moral relativism is; when people make a decision about how to interact with others, for whatever purpose it may be, a certain percentage of our species tends to think it is just fine to rationalize ANY sort of behavior, if it leads to them getting what they want. They can justify lying, stealing, even killing, in the pursuit of their desires, without any compunction, or, really, any thought at all about how others might be affected by their actions. Moreover, many of them are canny, and have learned how to manipulate others of their kind, who have a tendency to be violent, to do their bidding…. They call them ‘police’ these days….

“Our legislators are not sufficiently apprized of the rightful limits of their power; that their true office is to declare and enforce only our natural rights and duties, and to take none of them from us.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1816

As Tom’s observation from the early days of the Union show, the problems we face today have their origins in that very same beginning, as those who serve only themselves worked their lies and manipulations to gain control of government almost before the ink was dry on the Constitution. He recognized in this, and other writings, how the bankers and preachers had conspired, naturally, as is their nature, to pervert the legislators from day one of the first Congress, lobbying to have their own wishes made law….

And they’ve done it. Our world today is under attack by large corporations, and their owners, who number far fewer than many might believe. They wish to control everyone’s habits, and finances, and health, and every other aspect they can seize. They have made sure the laws favor them over any other member of society, and now have almost free rein to attempt to order everyone’s lives, so we all live in the same houses, watch the same TV shows, eat the same poisonous foods, go to the same doctors who feed us more poisons, then send us to church on Sunday to celebrate our slavery, by worshiping a delusion who promises us our next incarnation will be better.

Bah, humbug! Not for me, thanks…. I’ll take it the same way it’s laid out in the Constitution of this nation, as written. Period.

gigoid, the dubious, has spoken.

So be it.

“When, in the course of human events,…. etc.”

~~ Declaration of Independence of the United States of America ~~

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

For some reason, this one, though recently created, seems to fit in with today’s rant; since I can do what I want, here ’tis….

Mad Dogs at Bay

Wicked, angry, red scenes of imminent demise
haunt my dreams each night.
Fearful visions of destructive surprise
leave me sweating in terror, as well they might.

Small, mean, ugly, with beady little eyes,
pundits gather like maggots, bloated and vile,
grunting, snuffling, mumbling outlandish lies,
enslaving the ignorant with patience and guile.

Society’s denizens exist as volunteer slaves.
Living and dying by script, completely blind.
Never allowing any resentment, no making waves.
Never knowing joy, nor any peace of mind.

Free men will not be controlled, ’tis said;
No coercion, no illusion can cloud their sight.
No threats, no pain, no fear they dread;
their only duty to keep to the right.

Dreams are mere reflections of our inner fears,
whispering, close against doors shut fast.
Mocking our mostly irrelevant tears,
clearly marking the future as our sordid past.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 7/15/2015.

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

What follows is what I would call a true pearl of virtual wisdom; in fact, in this case, it approaches the real thing. Most of it will definitely be on the Quiz, so, if I were y’all, I’d take notes, at least…..

“Reality is a group hunch.”

~~ Frank Zappa ~~
———-
“We do not perceive reality. We conceive it.”

~~ Oskar Haeml ~~
———-
“If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself.”

~~ Native American Proverb (Minquass) ~~
———-
“Never pretend to be something you’re not.”

~~ Things We Can Learn From Dogs ~~
———-
“Be and not seem.”

~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~
———-
“Truth never tranquilizes.
The defining property of truth is its ability to disturb.”

~~ Solomon Short ~~
———-
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”

~~ Erich Fromm ~~
———-
“When someone loves you for a long time,
really loves you, then you become Real.
Generally, by the time you are Real,
most of your hair has been loved off,
your eyes drop out,
but this doesn’t matter . . .
when you are Real you can’t be ugly.”

~~ The Velveteen Rabbit ~~
———-
“Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

~~ Dylan Thomas ~~

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

Some of you may have noted, or, not, I failed to actually tell y’all why I used the opening word; it shows how easily we humans can be distracted by them, adding more evidence to yesterday’s discussion of Socrates thought on the use of language, and how it can be evil when used improperly. Which is, again, a digression. Each Pearl you’ve seen, and continue to see, has been a fight to produce; I’m in sad shape, in a lot of ways, and the mere fact it’s getting posted at all is a victory, in a way. It means I survived another fight, which, at times, is the only possible way to win at all.

Since it’s been such a daily fight, we begin as every Judo, Karate, and Japanese martial art of any sort begins a match…. The irony, of course, is we are done now, but, it does mean I’ve survived this far, at least. Now I post, then, begin the fight to survive to do it again tomorrow…. Considering my record so far, the odds look good again…

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Too late for palliative measures….

Posted on November 11, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Misfortune shows those who are not friends.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

Leaving Galway on a Train

Hajime…. There are times, such as today, when I wonder why I push myself to do this. Then, I just do it. That’s what we will have to do today, ffolkes, thanks to some physical issues demanding attention, and, the realization that Reality is about to step on me, big time. I’ll let y’all know if I live through it.

In the meantime, I got most of this done last night during one of my insomniac periods during the night; even so, some of it is rather truncated, due to well, taking on more than I was prepared to handle. So be it. I have no more to say, until the end, so, let’s start working our way down to that end….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 4/19/30

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

Out on the town in Bedrock

Image from free-extras.com via Google Images

Yesterday, I made a slip of the fingers, typing ‘Fred and Wilma’, when I meant to type ‘Fred and Ethel’, referring to the Mertzes, of course. Since it reminded me of this show, which I had not used previously, I figured it would work today, which, oddly enough, it does. Enjoy!….

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

The Flintstones

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

https://youtu.be/tDHDGAJu7FI?list=PLQzuPQmNCoFaohiJt-XUD66qfsSgunV2m

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

“The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.”

~~ Socrates ~~

Today’s rant will be more of an ‘exploration’ of an idea than our usual ‘explanation’ of how an idea functions, and the resultant angst that function creates in me. If you think about it, a rant is more of the latter, and thinking is what I’d like to encourage with this particular piece, in myself, and in the Gentle Reader, if you acquiesce. Otherwise, it may get a bit boring, or, at least, uninteresting, two related, yet, not equal states. The second is not necessarily a choice, the first always is…. but, once again, I digress. The idea Socrates brings up in the above quote is our focus, so, let’s examine it while I have the wherewithal, and the urge….

In this assertion, Socrates echoes an opinion I’ve seen expressed by other sages, to wit: the language we choose to use in our speech influences our thinking, thus affecting our behavior, equally as much as the process works the other direction, with our thoughts influencing speech. When we choose, as we often do, we humans, to allow our feelings to guide what we say, rather than what we may think, it tends to roughen our language; it becomes simpler, perhaps, and plainly expressive, but, with such feeling attached, often negative, it becomes vulgar. This can lead to allowing feelings to dictate behavior as well, so, the common use of vulgarity tends to encourage that indulgence. To maintain a rational level of sustainability for all in our interactions, upon which our behavior is such a vital factor in the outcome, we must learn to detach ourselves from the feelings involved, and that is best encouraged by using language that does not retreat into either excessive passion, or vulgarity.

Not to say vulgarity doesn’t have its place in language; anyone who DOESN’T cut loose with some serious vulgarity when a carbon-steel hammer comes down unexpectedly on their finger is missing out on the best way to release the frustration, if not the pain. And, if they HAVEN’T done so, well, quite frankly, I’d put down serious money to bet they’re lying about that…. We all have our secrets, especially those who deny ever having evil thoughts, or having never made a moral or ethical mistake i.e., a bad choice, of words perhaps most often…. Since much of the language I hear in the mainstream culture to which I’m exposed is pretty vulgar, as a whole, when not merely perverse and ignorant, I would say Socrates’ point has been made rather graphically.

So, now we know evil is rampant in the world, as evidenced by the language you can hear any/every day, in the news, movies, on TV, on the radio, on the net, all of it together makes up a picture of culture, and, by all I can tell, this one is pretty well fucked. I mean, just look at religion, and the stranglehold it has, and has had on society for practically forfuckingever…. I’m not the only one to have noticed you know; just read some of the lesser known passages in the Bible, describing the victories the ancient tribes had in their wars to spread the word of Yahweh, the bloodthirsty asshole… Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to get vulgar…. Let’s see what somebody else has/had to say on the subject….

“Strange, because they are so frankly and hysterically insane — like all dreams: a God who could make good children as easily as bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave his angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice and invented hell — mouths mercy and invented hell — mouths Golden Rules, and forgiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man’s acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites this poor, abused slave to worship him!” — Mark Twain, _The Mysterious Stranger_

I’m afraid this rant has gone a bit south on me; I keep finding pearls which, though they fit in with the overall theme, exploring how society has gone wrong over time, also seem to want to go all over the map to find those responsible for much of it…. For example, while thinking of how to next demonstrate the principle we’re dealing with, i.e. how our language reflects our attitudes, and thus, our reality, Smart Bee gave me the following pearl, defining another class of people who have caused more than their fair share of damage to others…. our old friends (NOT!…), solicitors/counsel/officers of the court, to wit: lawyers, or as most of us here on the streets call them, fuckheads in suits…..

Q: What do you call 5000 dead lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A: A good start! — Smart Alec Bee

Lawyers, of course, once they have rotted on the vine for a while, generally become politicians, so, Smart Bee came up with the following pearl to show his diverse talents….

“Anyone can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.” — Cicero

Gee, does this remind y’all of anything you may have seen/heard before about the post-larval lawyer class? For example, in the news lately, we see how the US government, at the behest of, and in collusion with the Big Pharmacy companies, have conspired to keep the knowledge of how powerful a cancer drug cannabis is, for more than 40 years. The FACT that cannabis cures cancer has been withheld from the American people and the world for all that time, the secret held by a few traitorous politicians and their pet scientists. In short, all of the more than 20 million people in this country who died from cancer since 1976, when the research was classified, have been, essentially, murdered by their own government….

http://www.naturalnews.com/051881_cannabis_oil_cancer_treatment_Big_Pharma.html

Okay, I’m sick of talking about those assholes, the scum of our species, the oligarchs, politicians, preachers, pimps, police myrmidons, professional military assholes, and especially lawyers, who prey upon their fellow man… To finish off this now epic diatribe, let’s go 180º, and find some pearls to show us how things COULD be, if we just kicked their asses to the curb….

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” — Greek Proverb

“The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.” — Henry L. Mencken

“It is our duty to make the best of our misfortunes, and not to suffer passion to interfere with our interest and public good.” — George Washington

“Let us face a pluralistic world in which there are no universal churches, no single remedy for all diseases, no one way to teach or write or sing, no magic diet, no world poets, and no chosen races, but only the wretched and wonderfully diversified human race.” — Jacques Barzun

That’s all, ffolkes. I’m done, having bitten off more than I can chew. At least I spit it out….

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

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….

Written 3/23/2013.

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

It’s a pearl, and that’s about all I have to say at this point. It does have a meaning; I’m just not up to explaining it. Enjoy, anyway, please….

“Some people are, through no fault of their own, sane.” — Smart Bee, talking about gigoid again

“A dead man cannot bite.” — Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey)

“Fortune is unstable, while our will is free.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Epicurus, xxvii

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” — Doug Larson

“A man makes no noise over a good deed, but passes on to another as a vine to bear grapes again in season.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations, v, 6

“Think not that thy word and thine alone must be right.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Antigone, 706

“It’s not what we don’t know that gets us into trouble, it’s what we know that ain’t so.’ — Will Rogers

“Dreaming permits each and everyone of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.” — Charles William Dement

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

It’s done, and that’s the best I can say of it. Moreover, it’s all I SHALL say, for I am, for once, out of words. See y’all tomorrow…. I hope.

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Bill them for the bastardized version…

Posted on November 10, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

~~ The Beatles, The last lyric of their last song ~~

Memorial to the Famine Victims, Galway, Ireland

Boy howdy, ffolkes…. Life, in all its glory, can be a bumpy ride at times; I guess that’s what drugs are all about. Of course, such a smarmy, sardonic statement so early in the day indicates a somewhat less than perfect status of the mind to take as a good sign, but, I think we can overcome any objections anyone might have, by merely saying, if you ain’t tried it, you don’t have nothing to say. Or, as Lily Tomlin, I believe, once put it, “Reality is for those people who can’t handle drugs.”….

All controversy aside, it’s a decent morning, thanks in part to the magic of cannabis, along with a bit of marginally risky application of a thaumaturge disguised as a cabbie, I’m alive, awake, and typing. Who knew? But, again, I digress, out of sheer relief and gratitude for a job well done, if not fully completed, or documented. This completes your morning dose of prevarication tempered with real-time compassionate intent, all for the amazingly low price of (FREE)!. What a deal!

And, hell, I’ll throw in the nonsense for nothing, too. We’ve got plenty in stock, believe me. By the way, the Pearl you will find below is not merely an odd one, it was unique, in that none of it was particularly vituperative, or even very snarky. It is, however, complete as I can make it, and that will have to do, as always. We don’t have any contracts right now, anyway, so it’s all part of the service we provide in these slack times for everyone. Besides, that way, we can keep up your dependence without having to spend anything extra…. bonus!

I can’t think of anything more for this section; I’ve emptied out my bag of BS already. I guess we’ll just give Luigi his head again, and get on over to the oyster beds, before we get into any deeper water. Hang on, ffolkes, he’s getting a little rambunctious these days…..

Shall we Pearl?….

It is better to deserve honours and not have them than to have them and not to deserve them.” — Mark Twain

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

Lucille Ball

Image from ebay.com via Google Free Images

Lucille Ball was one of the most powerful women in Hollywood during her day, long before powerful women were even seen as such. She lived her life exactly as she wished, and for that, if nothing else, deserves our respect. She’s also one of the greatest comediennes to ever trod the stage or screen. Enjoy ffolkes, as we all did as kids, for a half-hour to an hour a week, when Lucy, Desi, Fred, and Wilma (oops, Ethel….wrong sitcom) joined the entire USA in their living rooms….

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

I Love Lucy

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

https://youtu.be/aqSY3C_2woA

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

Le Penseur, The Thinker, by August Rodin

I don’t feel like ranting today; so be it…. Here instead is some self-revelation, all of which still applies…. Damn! Too much consistency enters the realm of hobgoblinship, so to speak. Oh, well, I like me, mostly, so, we’ll go with what Brother John told us, and “Let it be”…..

Last posted on 7/21/2014:

From 11/30/2013:

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

Introspection has always been a hobby of mine, but, since turning the ripe old age of 63, (note from the future; made it to 65…) it seems to have become even more of a time-consuming process for me than has been true for most of my life….

I can remember laying on my bed in the state of Washington, when my father was stationed there at Fort Lewis…. I would stare at the bottom of my brother’s upper bunk, and imagine all manner of things, including about myself, and my place in the universe…. Even at the tender age of 8 or 9, as the son of an Army sergeant, I had been many places, and seen more of the world than is usual for anyone other than Army brats…. our proud designation for ourselves…. The quest to maintain one’s personality in the face of all the changes going on around us gave me the impetus to perpetually be aware of more than is the norm for kids of that age; at least, it always seemed so, from what I can tell from my knowledge of others of that age….

Now that I’ve reached an age that completely got skipped in my earlier musings of what life would be like, I seem to be thinking back and forth more often, making connections with the past that explain certain elements of my own persona as they manifest today…. My hair, for example…. (I know, I know, my hair isn’t generally the subject of a rant, but, that’s not really what this is…. this is more of a…. a retrospective, yeah, that’s it…. a retrospective…. so, calm down, I’m not going to get all graphic, or gloomy, or pick at anyone in particular, other than myself…. ‘kay?…. ‘Kay!….)

So, I was looking at my picture on my About page, and can only say that, well, there I am…. My hair is even longer now, (a bit grayer, too….). as I see no particular reason to cut it…. which is the root thought that stimulated this entire subject today…. A little while ago, I was standing outside a moment, with my hair not yet tied back into the usual ponytail, and the wind was blowing it around a bit…. I started to get annoyed, then realized I could only blame myself for it getting in my face, because the solution to that problem is right over there in the drawer, where the scissors live…. I thought to myself, how many times has someone asked me, “why don’t you cut your hair?”, and realized I couldn’t count that high….

My own reaction to that particular query is to think, (again…), to myself, “Well, actually, the question that occurs to me to ask is, why don’t I NOT cut my hair?”…. It seems to me, when I stop to consider the matter logically, and reasonably, that if the hair grows, as it has always done, it must have some sort of evolutionary purpose for doing so, right? It seems logical to me…. Therefore, it seems logical to ask, as well, “who am I to fuss with evolution?” This line of reasoning, naturally, tends to piss of most of the folks who make the original statement to me…. but, I figure that sort of anger is a personal problem, don’t you? I can’t go around taking the heat for what other people don’t like about me, when their anger is based on THEIR beliefs, not mine….

In a way, I suppose it’s the old hippie in me…. Aha, you say, now we’re getting to the meat of the matter! And, typically, I am supposed to say, at this point, “Just what do you mean by that? I don’t know what you’re talking about….” Then, I smile, and get on with what I was doing, which is explaining why being a hippie is not what most people would think…. I mean, there were a lot of popular misconceptions floating around all during the 60’s (Believe me, it was a very confusing time…. I know, I was there….), when there were a lot of people who thought that there was something wrong, or even evil, about being described as one of those misunderstood knights of the sub-culture….

Yes, I said knights…. Jedi knights, before they were the iconic, eternal, peaceful warrior as made popular in later years…. Hippies were the knights of the 60’s and 70’s, diligently tilting at all the windmills we could find, poking our noses into the business of the military-industrial complex, which I now refer to as the BRC, until they were sick of the sight of anyone with long hair…. Back in the day, even the most rigid of conservative hawks understood that they were witnessing a change of culture, and there was nothing they could do to alter the course that history was taking…. The power of love, and compassion, and freedom swept through the entire world, as well as refreshing American society, with repercussions still being felt today….

One of the most important characteristics of hippies that I don’t think most people understood is that we were only interested in revolution in the sense that revolution means change; no hippie worth the name ever wished to violently overthrow anything that didn’t threaten violence first…. But, it is also true that real hippies have no objection to using violence to defend themselves, a fact which always comes as a big surprise to those who would try to oppress them. As with any tool, honor has to be the regulatory agency for determining which tool should be used, and how…. This, sadly, is a concept that those who prey on other people, who seek power over them, can never truly understand, as it is not a part of their perception of reality….

I see that I’ve reached a point where this must either get very pointed, or fade into the background for the time being…. I’m feeling mellow, due to re-connecting with the halcyon days of my youth, so I’ll show mercy here, and opt for the latter…. Besides, I’m all out of introspection for the nonce, and there’s no telling when it might drop back by…. I’ll leave y’all with one final pearl, to seal the deal….

“Oh, how we fear the metamorphoses through which we truly become fledged humans, real mensches of the species homo sapiens. Yet even if we do not willingly undergo them, changes pursue us just the same. The woman who never bears a child metamorphoses in different ways. We may dig in our heels and dare life never to change, but, all the same, it changes under our feet like sand under the feet of a sea gazer as the tide runs out. Life is forever undermining us. Life is forever washing away our castles, reminding us that they were, after all, only sand and sea water.” — Erica Jong: Parachutes and Kisses

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

This one goes with the above treatise, as it was last posted on the same date last year…. Enjoy!….

Roses for Noses

I have a bozoid personality, of the first degree;
nobody, I mean nobody, knows that better than me.
I often wonder, as the world goes around, and around
how many others have realized just what I’ve found….

I know for a fact, I’m not the only bozoid one;
too many people laughing out there, having fun.
Is their laughter, though, at themselves first?
Or is it some other impulse, like purple liverwurst”….

I’ve always loved to make others laugh and giggle,
since my tender youth, when my ears began to wiggle.
The world is full of humor, but not always easy to find
so laughing at myself I learned never to mind….

We bozos know each other, here, there, and everywhere
there’s no hiding such joy, it just wouldn’t be fair.
We all have one feature, our great bulbous nose,
and there’s no doubt at all, cuz it just grows….

There’s nothing like a good, big mistake, a disaster,
to show us the folly of living life faster and faster.
Nothing in the world can ever take the place,
of seeing in the mirror, a happy, smiling face….

Don’t be shy, just let it all hang out;
we bozos have more fun, there’s no doubt.
Life’s too somber and gray if we let it get on top
if we don’t stay loose, the pain won’t ever stop….

My advice to all of you, out there in the world,
let noses grow round & red, keep hair tightly curled.
Find a way to let your spirit out often to play,
you’ll never once regret any price you pay.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 1/27/2013.

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

I’d call this an Advice on Life at Large pearl, if I had my way. Oh, wait. Right. My blog. Okay, it’s an advice pearl…. Enjoy, ffolkes, it’s got some good stuff in it, which, if utilized, can make your life, well, better…. Try it, you’ll like it….

“Sleep is the best meditation.” — Tenzin Gyatso, XIV Dalai Lama

“Do not speak harshly to any one; those who are spoken to will answer thee in the same way. Angry speech is painful: blows for blows will touch thee.” — The Dhammapada (c. BC 300)

“Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy.” — Lazarus Long

“Just think of the tragedy of teaching children not to doubt.” — Clarence Darrow

“You cannot run away from a weakness; you must some time fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand.” — Robert Louis Stevenson, _The Amateur Emigrant_

“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

“Only that in you which is me can hear what I’m saying.” — Baba Ram Dass

“Why should we take advice on sex from the Pope? If he knows anything, he shouldn’t.” — George Bernard Shaw

(Oops! Sorry, that one slipped by me…. but, it’s funny as hell, isn’t it? I guess, it fits, if one looks at it with the right eyes…. Okay, one last good one, to make up the difference….)

He that will not reason is a bigot.
He that cannot reason is a fool.
He that dares not reason is a slave.

~~ William Drummond, “Academical Questions” ~~

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

Leelu is lobbying HEAVILY for the application of her morning cuddle & scritch, so, we’re done, as she INSISTS it happen NOW! See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as the sun comes up. Odds are good on that.

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Pugilists do it with padded gloves….

Posted on November 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Why doesn’t everybody leave everybody else the hell alone?”

~~ Jimmy Durante ~~

Abbey Court B&B, London

Hajime…. ‘Hajime’, (Hah gee may) is the Japanese word for “begin”, used at the start of all martial arts matches…. I figured, since I have to go through a fairly brutal fight to get most of these done, it’s appropriate. And, if not, well, it gave us something to put at the top, right? Right. Now we can go on to even bigger, and, no doubt, better things…. I’m a natural optimist, you see….

I’m also a natural Bozo, though, so, it balances out, as all things must in the end. One must, after all, take such matters into account when deciding how to approach our Life at Large; otherwise, it all seems too complex to bother with. Trying to make sense of what we see, especially when it concerns the behavior of our own species, is usually more effort than the result is worth; that’s probably why we end up with all these religions, and governments, and other forms of unnatural bullshit. If nothing else, it’s a grand distraction from what we SHOULD be doing with ourselves….

Everyone, of course, has their own idea of what that SHOULD entails, which is why is gets so complex. Ah well, I guess we’re not going to make any sense out of it here in the intro; if ten thousand years of history hasn’t brought us any order out of the chaos, it’s certainly not going to happen in three or four paragraphs, especially paragraphs such as these seem to be, or, at least, were meant to be. Whatever THAT may mean….

Yep…. It’s pretty clear, isn’t it? I’ve lost it, completely. This means I’ll have to take a short break here, after wrapping up this section, to go find what’s left of my mind before continuing on…. For now, we’d probably just let Luigi have his head again; it sure is saving us a lot of time, and, around here, that’s a good thing…. Let’s do this, okay?….

Shall we Pearl?….

“A child is a person who can’t understand why someone would give away a perfectly good kitten.” — Doug Larson

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

We’re having a bit of trouble today, which isn’t unusual…. Rather than fight it, we’ll just fall back on several centuries of classical music to find a bit of listening pleasure….. Enjoy!….

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

Classical Music

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

https://youtu.be/n_0Qix6qf5g

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

Today’s rant is from the archives, written during the period before the 2012 election here in the US. I like it, but, then I wrote it, which is more than I’m capable of today…. Enjoy!…

From 4/19/2012:

“Ignorance can be compounded, made denser, until the light of our spirits is smothered.” — Deng Ming-Dao

As I read this pearl, my immediate thought was that it is a very clear, very accurate take on the 2012 election process that is currently unfolding before us in the daily news. The end of the political scale that is represented so raggedly by what is left of the Republican Party, and the mislabeled liberal end of the scale who claim to be Democrats, are both engaging in ongoing battles to see who can display the deepest ignorance.

The leading candidate for the “loyal opposition” to the party in power, Mr. Romney, seems to have a proclivity for alienating the very people from whom he is trying to win votes; women, immigrants and Hispanics, animal lovers, seniors, teachers and students, all have been told, in no uncertain terms, that they matter not at all to him. His plan? We’ll stop taxing the rich altogether, and that will fix everything…. Sometimes I wonder if he is getting all of his information on voter wants and issues of importance from old newspapers from the 1980’s, because he certainly hasn’t a clue as to what is happening out in America in this decade….

The other party, led by our first Black President, is busy hiding what the left hand is doing by distracting everyone with the tax and healthcare issues, to keep them unaware of how few of the Bill of Rights are left to us. “Executive Orders” signed by the POTUS this year, beginning on New Year’s Eve, while the voters were all busy celebrating the advent of the new year, include provisions that allow police to stop, search, and arrest any citizen of this country whom they suspect of any form of terrorism, or even of protest against the provisions of those orders.

These same police are not required to tell ANYONE that they have arrested and imprisoned a citizen, nor are they ever required to provide any evidence of their suspicions in a court of law. Even though there may be no evidence, they can subject these CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY to torture to obtain a confession, or whatever it is they are after. There is no oversight to these orders; they don’t go before Congress to be approved, nor are they reviewed by the courts. Both of those particular checks on the power of the Executive Branch are completely out of the loop on this…. and they aren’t even complaining about it!

Does it physically hurt to be that stupid? — Smart Bee

My guess at the answer to this is, No. It can’t hurt very much to be that stupid, as we continue to go out each time there is an election and vote these same lying, cheating, avaricious assholes back into the same positions from which they have been oppressing the American people for oh, a hundred or so years now. I’d say that around the time of the Depression was when the first real strangle-hold on the national throat was first achieved…. the pure bullshit the government was spewing back then can be seen to have been the first real time that the government’s outrageous lies were swallowed whole by a reluctant public, who had nothing else to eat, and thus nothing else to risk…

“He was born stupid, and greatly increased his birthright.” — Samuel Butler

So, how does it feel? Does it physically hurt to be so stupid as to be part of the crowd that continues to buy into all the bullshit lies that our own government heaps upon us every day? To keep going to the polls, just as if it really matters who gets elected? Get real, folks. You will not find a name on the ballot that belongs to someone who is not a willing tool of the powers of oppression, the money-changers who are the power behind the scenes of every government in the world. Not going to happen; they’ve been the real power in the world for centuries, and they’re not about to give up all they have, just to be nice, or because they’ve all of a sudden grown a heart.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty fucking tired of being lied to, and cheated, and looked at as just another idiot for them to shit on….. and I’m not going to put up with it for much longer, without some kind of return fire….. believe it…. I don’t think I am alone in this, either…. No way to tell for sure, but I find it hard to believe that EVERYONE is falling for all of it…. but, even if I’m alone in this, I refuse to knuckle under any further, and can only say that I will do all I can to see things turn in a direction that will return my Rights, and those of the rest of the American people…. or at least those not stupid enough to hand them over without a fight….

“He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

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

Gently Came a Wounded Child

But you shall not escape my iambics.

Soft, sinuous patterns of unearthly beauty
blithely commune with sinking stars,
as pale shadows of former virtue hover
near, ever clean, ever tolerant.
These unbidden habits are worn with age and care,
ready now for dissolution,
welcoming gladly the kiss of Death’s handmaiden.

Unknown to all, the child stands aside,
weeping for the lost days of youth,
days that now shall never be,
nor yearned for ever after.
Only darkness shall lay upon the landscape,
cold, hard, eternal.

Such then are the signs and portents
as we enter into the unknown future,
they are grave indeed.

Uncertainty will be our sole companion,
as the search for hope yields no result.
The lamentations of the gods
shall sound the elegy for Man,
who never learned to see the gift that was made,
so many echoes ago, in the hopeful past;
thus will we pass this plane of existence
as we came, baffled and afraid….

~~ gigoid ~~

written 2/2/2012.

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

Today’s final old-school pearl is what I’d call an Emily pearl; quiet, plain, unassuming, but, powerful and elegant, in its way. Oh, I do hope you like it!….

“All the knowledge in the world is not wisdom.” — Albert Einstein

“Men show their character in nothing more clearly than by what they think laughable.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Words are the physicians of a mind diseased.” — Aeschylus (525-456 BC) — Prometheus, 378

“Virtue knowing no base repulse, shines with untarnished honour; nor does she assume or resign her emblems of honour by the will of some popular breeze.” — Horace (B.C. 65-8)

“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.” — Marcus Aurelius

“Action should culminate in wisdom.” — Bhagavad Gita

“…life is long enough if it is well-spent.” — Erasmus

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

Done. As such, nothing further needs be said, or done, beyond this final outburst. Which, today, will be brief. How brief? This brief. See ya….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Saved by the smell of a bell….

Posted on November 8, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“History has the relation to truth that theology has to religion

— i.e., none to speak of.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of NGC 7049 in the constellation of Indus, in the southern sky. A family of globular clusters appears as glittering spots dusted around the galaxy halo. Astronomers study the globular clusters in NGC 7049 to learn more about its formation and evolution. The dust lanes, which appear as a lacy web, are dramatically backlit by the millions of stars in the halo of NGC 7049.

Constellation Indus, NGC 7049

Click to see enlarged image

Buenos dias, gente…. In my most egregiously avaricious dreams, I’ve never really wanted much; to live about 200 years, and, to see my kids happy is about what it has boiled down to. Beyond that, I’m pretty content with what I’ve got, and what I’ve always had…. Money, other than as a tool, has never entered into anything I’ve wanted. It’s probably due to having heard, somewhere from someone, before the age of 11, “If you wish a life of trouble, fill your house with treasure.” For some reason, that struck a chord in my young mind, so, I thought about it pretty long and hard, considering. The result was a firm conviction to never seek treasure, or possessions, or more than I needed to survive relatively comfortably.

Of course, I didn’t think it quite that way at 11; some of that evolved over time, as I learned to apply it to my life over the years…. Now I’m an OOF, I can look back, and feel pretty good about it all; you see, other than those times I’ve made bad internal decisions, same as any human, I’m happy with all I’ve done, and have now…. In looking back over HISTORY (all caps intentional, giving it oomph, to imply ALL of it….), I can honestly say I’ve lived my life at least as honorably as I could, (not to mention, a good deal more honorably than many of histories more famous figures) given the handicaps implied in having the unfortunate luck to have a Human nature, which pushes us all to find and take the easiest way much of the time, rather than the right way…. It’s a basic flaw in all of us; male, female, skin color, whatever, we all are inherently lazy(*), and, it’s gotten us in trouble for centuries now….

(*) About the hard stuff in life, anyway…. stuff such as physical work, morality, ethics, emotional growth, cultural growth…. You know, nothing most folks can’t do without, as long as nobody asks them to be responsible for anything.

Gosh. That’s sort of heavy, isn’t it, for an intro? I don’t know exactly what happened, other than to say, sorry, if appropriate, for engaging too many neurons right off the bat, especially after the light-hearted feel to the opening line from Lazarus. It all just flowed out; even Leelu was entranced…. Well, for a while…. She came up, sat & watched intently as I typed all of the above; she got up then, walked directly in front of my face, and went to lie elsewhere, a clear clue to change direction, I’d say. Especially since it’s NOT morning, nor is this even today’s Pearl I’m working on (I think; sometimes I can’t always remember where the Tardis has left me, especially when I’m writing….)

There. That should do it. We’ve successfully disengaged from the serious vein with which I started this mess; now, we can really start fucking things up, as is our usual habit this time of day. You know, we’ve had some good results from letting Luigi indulge his love of speed; I think we’ll try it again today. That means restraints are now optional, but, we insist you put your beverage in the holders provided…. Thanks…..

Luigi! They fell for it; take it away!….

Shall we Pearl?….

“What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.”

~~ last words of Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator [1890] ~~

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

Itzhak Perlman

Image from palmbeachpost.com via Google Images

I tried to download the entire playlist, consisting of 98 videos, but, apparently, they’ll play, but not follow. Ah well, just let the music play; anything this man plays becomes better than originally intended by the composer. I first saw him play when he and I were both children, on the Ed Sullivan show, where I was astounded at the talent he displayed, playing some classical tune I don’t remember, but, with such obvious joy, it impressed me very strongly…. Witness now possibly the finest violinist of the twentieth century, and beyond, one of mankind’s treasures, and a testament to the power of the human will, to not merely overcome his handicaps, but, to show how truly insignificant they are in comparison to the human spirit…..

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

Itzhak Perlman
Tango

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

https://youtu.be/dsU9zmnZ37g?list=PL5EBFB25FBF920152

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

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

Morning Muse

I’m having a bout of insomnia, thanks once more to my lovely personal physicians, may they always be infested with fleas…. Normally, or, as close as we ever come to normally, that would/could produce a rant of its own; tonight/today, however, it has stimulated merely some mild annoyance, and a wish for a bit of peace (some sleep would be nice, too…. SIGH…. Ya never know what you’re gonna miss until it’s gone, do ya?). We’ll deal with that in our default manner, with a short, meandering little pearl from 2012. Enjoy, please, or suffer the consequence, to wit: a short period of severe boredom….

From 9/8/2012:

“It is popularly supposed that between those who use the word “God” and those who do not there is some great gulf. But the gulf lies elsewhere. It lies between those who dogmatize, either positively or negatively, and those who recognize in great humility that something within them bears witness to realities which may be momentous in our lives, but which lie beyond the grasping net of our categories of thought.” — Smart Bee

Yet more proof of Murphy’s presence in Life…. or, in my life, anyway….. Yesterday I wrote about this subject, expounding as I am wont to do with no little enthusiasm, trying to bring some clarity to a naturally murky subject (it’s hard to pin down anything solidly when the subject under discussion is a matter of conjecture, not physically present to be examined….). Then, later in the day, I come across this one short paragraph, that summarizes my 3-400 words succinctly in three lines, and very clearly, for all its brevity. SIGH….. So much for originality, eh? Though I don’t know who said it, I salute them….

“In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.” — Edward P. Tryon

Once more, I have to agree with the author, especially as it gives a sort of pat on the shoulder to the paragraph above, as if sharing an obvious point. Serendipity, I say, and well met….

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” — Bernard Bailey

This one, when viewed in light of the previous two quotes, made me smile, big….. now, why is that? Because when he says a lot, he means, A LOT OF PEOPLE!…..

“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways, Yossarian continued There’s nothing mysterious about it, He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?” — Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Funny how people under stress always get so close to the truth; it makes the one who hears it more nervous and upset than he who said it…. or it that just me? Of course it is…. Why shouldn’t it be me? What’s the matter with me? Don’t you like me?….. Sorry…. any who, let’s see what else the magic can find….

“Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror. But what shall we substitute in its place? you say. What? A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives. I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast and you ask me what you shall put in its place?” — Voltaire

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?…

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

~~ T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” ~~

I’m not sure why, but this excerpt from T.S. Eliot seems to be the perfect finishing line for the above meandering treatise…. and it is as close to a verifiable point as we’re going to get today, I can tell…. so, best leave it be for now, and go on to something else…. Or, in this case, to something the same….

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

On 9/8/2012, when I wrote and posted the above treatise, I also used this poem as the choice for the day. It still fits, and makes perfect sense, given the ending of the above section…. Enjoy!….

Portrait of a Lady

Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself–as it will seem to do–
With “I have saved this afternoon for you”;
And four wax candles in the darkened room,
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet’s tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid.
We have been, let us say, to hear the latest Pole
Transmit the Preludes, though his hair and fingertips.
“So intimate, this Chopin, that I think his soul
Should be resurrected only among friends
Some two or three, who will not touch the bloom
That is rubbed and questioned in the concert room.”
–And so the conversation slips
Among velleities and carefully caught regrets
Through attenuated tones of violins
Mingled with remote cornets
And begins.
“You do not know how much they mean to me, my friends,
And how, how rare and strange it is, to find
In a life composed so much, so much of odds and ends,
[For indeed I do not love it . . . you knew? you are not blind!
How keen you are!]
To find a friend who has these qualities,
Who has, and gives
Those qualities upon which friendship lives.
How much it means that I say this to you–
Without these friendships–life, what cauchemar!”

Among the windings of the violins
And the ariettes
Of cracked cornets
Inside my brain a dull tom-tom begins
Absurdly hammering a prelude of its own,
Capricious monotone
That is at least one definite “false note.”
–Let us take the air, in a tobacco trance,
Admire the monuments,
Discuss the late events,
Correct our watches by the public clocks.
Then sit for half and hour and drink our bocks.

T. S. Eliot

I don’t care what anyone says…. this is some good stuff….. a worthy goal to shoot for, wouldn’t you agree?…… Not in hope of exceeding, but merely to equal the power of this man’s work is worthy of any effort…..

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

You may wonder why the girl is laughing, and, sure enough I’ll tell you…. She’s laughing at me, for my emotional investment in how these come out; while this one was processing itself, I went through all sorts of mental contortions trying to decide what it meant, and, getting all worked up at HOW it came together….

It seemed at first as if it would go on forever; I had the first seven gems in place in no time. It then took a strange turn, and the pearls became rare as their counterparts in reality. Eventually, it sorted itself out, sort of; I still am unsure of exactly what it’s trying to say about Life at Large, beyond the obvious advice to use one’s mind to one’s best advantage…. Perhaps that’s enough…. Either way, the little girl had fun, and so did the camel….

Xenophanes speaks thus:–

And no man knows distinctly anything,
And no man ever will.

~~ Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Pyrrho, viii ~~

“Better be ignorant of a matter than half know it.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 865

“Doth perfect beauty stand in need of praise at all? Nay; no more than law, no more than truth, no more than loving kindness, nor than modesty.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 20

“To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“He who knows best knows how little he knows.” — Thomas Jefferson

“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” — Benjamin Franklin

“Look to the essence of a thing, whether it be a point of doctrine, of practice, or of interpretation.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, viii, 22

“It is not length of life, but depth of life.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Death never takes the wise man by surprise, he is always ready to go.” — La Fontaine

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

Some days this process sort of runs itself; much of today’s post fits into that category easily. But, it has that one distinctive characteristic for which we constantly strive, to wit: it’s done. As such, we’ll go post it, and start on tomorrow’s mess, to get a running start at it, so to speak. Until then, y’all be chill, and good to each other…. I’ll be back, and we all know who said that….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Baleful stares, tinged with envy….

Posted on November 7, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The company of just and righteous men is better than wealth and a rich estate.”

~~ Euripides ~~

Trained consumers on Portobello Road

Another day dawns, bringing with it the promise of change, as it does each morning…. How we meet that possibility can determine not only how goes the day, but, lest we find some alertness quickly enough, for many days to follow…. It would be swell if I could figure out a way to recapture the feeling of power and hope with which it has been my wont to greet the day; these days it’s more a feeling of resignation combined with the will required to actually move my aching bones out of bed….

Fortunately for me, and, quite frankly, for everyone else who may come into contact with me today, there is coffee. Also quite frankly, on the day anyone tells me I would have to give it up, or die, well, I’m afraid that’s the day I’d die, even if it were true. Harsh, maybe, but, true as the day. But, I digress….

Not bad for trivial, eh? How else to start such a grand day at the office. Oh, wait. Never mind. Well, the triviality part is true, so, we’re good, even if we don’t have to go into any office any more. Hey, look, it’s a literary device! What will he think of next to get out of actually coming up with a real introduction? Easy, duh…. Anything at all will do, since the only way to find out is to keep coming back to see. Hah!

Whoops. No teasing the GR’s, dude, or I’ll take away the time you’re allowed to access the keyboard. Who am I talking to? Why? Does it matter? It COULD be one of my alternate personalities, ala The Belle Jar. It could be robot I once used to write, the day I didn’t feel like it. Or, it could just be another device, which, for those of y’all who’ve been here before, is the surest bet for any real money. But, again, I digress.

Why look, ffolkes! It’s an intro. It’s of legal length, has been in and out of reality at least three times in four paragraphs, and is still at a point where it could fall into a mini-rant, had I less discipline. As it is, I’ll once again bow to the one fatal flaw we humans share, our tendency to go for what is most expedient, by using this as another plot device to get us the hell out of here, and, on with the slow, er, show…. What did you expect at these prices, eh?

Shall we Pearl?….

“Don’t be confused by surfaces; in the depths everything becomes law. What is necessary, after all, is only this: solitude, vast inner solitude. Walk inside yourself and meet no one for hours–that is what you must be able to attain.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

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

The Divine Miss M in Flight

Image from wsj.com via Google Images

Okay, so, the recording quality on this one isn’t the best; You Tube can be inconsistent, depending on the age of the recording and the skill of the recorder. But, Bette’s laser voice is in clear evidence, and that’s good enough for me…. Enjoy, ffolkes; she’s one of the best performers ever, in my opinion, with one of the most expressive voices I’ve ever heard.

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

Bette Midler
Kiss My Brass Concert
2004

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

https://youtu.be/WyxY-Cl4XUM

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

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

Having been offline so long, I’m still getting caught up to what’s been in the news of late (I don’t watch TV or listen to radio anymore….), my rants have little upon which to fix their focus, so, we’re dipping into the archives to sublimate…. Here’s one about the wealth gap, and the Asininnies, which I think remains relative…. Enjoy!….

From 1/31/2013:

“A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined into one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks.” — Johann L. Uhland (1787-1862) — Speech, May 27, 1836

Mr. Uhland is correct in his observation, if a bit slow in making it. In truth, most likely, the usurpation of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights began within moments of its adoption as law, and has been continuing on a daily basis ever since. In the fight against that usurpation, a major battle was lost sometime around the middle of the 19th century, around 1836 or so, when a corrupt federal judge, at the insistence of his corporate masters, approved a legal decision that gave corporations the same rights as people, opening the door to further machinations by which the banks and corporations could, have, and continue to, steal from the public without consequence…..

Today, there is a new push to reform some of the laws that enable the moneylenders to control society as they do; the concept of corporate personhood is under fire by an enraged public, tired of the endless cycle of working to try to get ahead, only to find that there is no path visible to go anywhere but down. As that astute social philosopher, George Carlin, pointed out, they (the bankers and corporate rogues) don’t want a populace capable of critical thinking; they just want workers smart enough to operate the machines, but not smart enough to wonder why they are doing so for so little compensation.

Modern technology has, thanks to the Internet, made keeping this issue out of the public eye impossible, and the corporate stranglehold on society is being challenged much more often. In one sense, this newfound spread of information is holding back the needed changes, as a lot of energy is dissipated in the public discourse that might otherwise build up into the kind of frustration that leads to revolution, and societal upheaval. But, it is also making it much harder for the miscreants who want to control everyone else keep their machinations out of the public eye. There are too many holes for them to plug….

The power these self-serving assholes hold over the rest of us is accustomed to being able to hide from public scrutiny, and I’m sure there will be attempts made to curtail some of the information they are concerned about making common knowledge. In fact, according to some of my latest email updates from the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), there are a number of bills trying to get forced through Congress, without public discussion when possible, that are intended to limit the freedom of speech that is currently unrestricted, for the most part. A recent setback occurred when an honest judge (i.e., one that stayed bought….) rewarded his corporate masters with a decision regarding cell phones that is a serious threat to a number of technological freedoms…. In other words, the fight continues today, and it is just as important today as it was back in 1776, and 1836, when the battle was joined…

The Beloved Ruling Class, and their corporate owners, will do all they can to limit the public’s awareness of what they are doing, and they will continue to try to erode the rights of the common man. They have, by their historical behavior, and their current actions, indicated their intent quite clearly… and that intent is to arrange matters so that what they want is law, and the rest of us can go fuck ourselves silly…. because they don’t care. These people are not concerned with anything that does not serve their own ends, and will lie, cheat, steal, and kill to maintain their power…. This is not supposition, this is fact, based on history, and on observation of current events….

I guess the only real question to be answered is, how long are the rest of us going to allow them to have their way? They are killing us all with their indifference to anything but their own purposes, and we are letting them do it. Myself, I’m getting a bit tired of it, and would like to see society become a bit more active in the resistance shown to the chicanery toward the rest of us, all perpetrated by the Powers That Be… up to and including revolution…. But, then, that’s me…. I’m a bit impatient, and I’m tired of their shit….. I’m hoping more people are getting that way, as our only hope of survival in the long run is to kick the bastards out…..

“All the world over, I will back the masses against the classes.” — William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898)

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

Old/New Glory

Political truth…
Oxymoronic, and trite.
Politics is crap.

~~ gigoid~~

written 7/29/2014

********

Confidentially Paranoid

Only when the bright sunlight of dreams draws nigh
can the dark glass of reality factor true value..
Destiny’s horses run in fear as time goes dry,
for grappling with fate in such traitorous venue.

In pallid costumes made of graven cast-off tales,
fallen angels and demons show the measure of faith.
No sad transactions should escape these well-marked trails,
no angry relatives cast insults to a sedentary wraith.

Meaning can always hide in literal cold intent,
yet show mere facets of honor to perishable youth.
Sincere contentions leave with sorrowful bent,
while bastardly arguments fill in poorly for the truth.

Gone are moments filled with florid blasts of rhyme
left to moulder on the shoulders of unreasonable hope.
Only courage can save these measures of unspoken time
to gather new issues, powerfully broad, painful in scope.

~~ gigoid ~~

written 2/25/2015

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

This is what I’d call a pearl of destiny… Oh, not because I believe in destiny, naturally; way too constricting, especially if one attempts to account for reality. But, I digress. I call it that because it just sort of found its way to where it needed to be, all on its own. All I did is keep hitting the correct key to examine the next random oyster to find the right pearls. At first, it seemed to head one way, then veered off in another, finally settling in the form you see before you. Actually, I like the way it turned out, a lot; it has, if I may say so, a certain elegance, which can be a good indicator of the quality of the results…. You tell me, and, please, enjoy the exercise…..

“knowledge is a polite word for dead but unburied imagination….

think twice before thinking.”

~~ e.e. cummings ~~

“What kind of conflict do you like? Where will you jump in and fight the good fight — body, heart, mind or spirit? If you say you don’t like conflict at all, then you have stopped growing, because it is only through engaging differences to find common ground or to triumph that we become new and invigorated. Pick your battles, but always have some place you embrace conflict.” — Callan Williams

“In charity there is no excess.” — Francis Bacon

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

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” — Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

WARNING: The Meaning Of Life Is Subject To Change Without Notice. — Classic Smart Bee

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” — Albert Einstein

“The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them… Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will.” — Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592), 1580

“My life is light, waiting for the death wind,

Like a feather on the back of my hand.”

~~ T.S. Eliot ~~

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

Well, we’re up a bit late, so this is a bit late getting posted; oh, well…. Such is life in the blog world, so they say; of course, nobody listens, but, hey, they said it, and it’s got to count for something!…. Enough, she said. I’ll see y’all tomorrow; as I’ve noted previously, nothing seems to keep me from doing it, so, why not, eh? See ya…..

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

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

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: Anonymous

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: