Oh, swell…. More starving adolescent ferrets….

Posted on June 9, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero!

[Seize the day, put no trust in the morrow!]

~~ Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) (65-8 B.C.) ~~

Willow’s Swans

https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/if-we-were-having-coffee-gardens-birthdays-and-canals/

Good morning, by all evidence…. Since I’m up late, we’ll keep it short…. hell, let’s go all the way to dwarfism….

Shall we Pearl?

“Descartes thought an animal, that couldn’t talk, couldn’t think, or so he taught, but I surmise, my cat thinks otherwise.” — sig of Glyn Hanton, Early Computer Geek

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

As is my wont when running late, we’ll go with my default…. In today’s case, that means a couple hours of Yo Yo Ma, playing Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach…. Enjoy!….

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Default Music

Yo Yo Ma

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https://youtu.be/EcR6j_JNwQs

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Aristotle_Bust_White_Background_Transparent

“One thing you learn the hard way is that there is no easy way.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

“Then, one day, you realize the hard way IS the easy way.”

~~ gigoid ~~

The two statements you see above are both true, according to my own experience, as well as that of many others, I’d imagine. I’m not the first to say either one, though, perhaps, I’ve never heard anyone go so far as to follow up the former statement with the latter, in quite this way…. But, no matter; it’s all true, which means we can use it to begin a discussion of Life at Large, and, our own place in that picture….

Or, as is the case any morning I’m running late, I can sublimate, by creating an old school pearl that says much of what I wish to relate…. Let’s do that…. I think we’ll look for ways to show how our Beloved Ruling Class fails to make the grade when it comes to honesty, responsibility, or any sort of honor….

“Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you and act accordingly.” — Thomas Jefferson

“Of all mankind, each loves himself the best.” — Terence

“Death is not the worst evil, but rather when we wish to die and cannot.” — Sophocles — Electra, 1007

“Corruption is not the No.1 priority of the Police Commissioner. His job is to enforce the law and fight crime.-” — P.B.A. President E. J. Kiernan

(Just a bit unclear on the whole concept, isn’t he?….)

“Without followers, evil cannot spread.” — Spock, “And The Children Shall Lead”, stardate 5029.5

“A hungry man is not a free man.” — Adlai Stevenson

“In time of war the first casualty is truth.” — Boake Carter

(Ever notice how often this country is at war, either against another entity, or against some part of our own culture?…. That’s where the truth dies….)

“A politician is an acrobat – he keeps his balance by saying the opposite of what he does.” — Smart Bee

“Success is the sole earthly judge of right and wrong.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), “Mein Kampf”, 1933

Well, that ought to do it…. If, by reading nothing other than the last line, with its attendant irony as applied to today’s American political scene (whose proponents LIVE by this rule, obviously….), then it was a good rant/pearl…. Onward….

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When life calls, ready or not….

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

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Odd… All true, all real, all good stuff, but, odd…. S’okay, it works for me….. Naturally, since we don’t know, it’s got to be about Life…. or, at least, how it seems to those who want to live it with some honor and dignity….

Dry sun, dry wind;
Safe bind, safe find.

~~ Thomas Tusser (c. 1515-1580) — Washing ~~

“Well, it just seemed wrong to cheat on an ethics test.” — Calvin

“Some books are lies frae end to end.” — Robert Burns — Death and Dr. Hornbook

“A broken bone can heal, but the wound a word opens can fester forever.” — Jessamyn West

“… as sight is in the body, so is reason in the soul…” — Aristotle — Nicomachean Ethics, Bl. I, Ch. 6, 10966, lines 29-30

“The fear of death keeps us from living, not from dying.” — Paul C. Roud

“I have lived in this world just long enough to look carefully the second time into things that I am most certain of the first time.” — Josh Billings

“How you do anything is how you do everything.” — Zen proverb

“In the greatest confusion there is still an open channel to the soul. It may be difficult to find because by midlife it is overgrown, and some of the wildest thickets that surround it grow out of what we describe as education. But the channel is always there, and it is our business to keep it open, to have access to the deepest part of ourselves — to that part of us which is conscious of a higher consciousness, by means of which we make final judgments and put everything together. The independence of this consciousness, which has the strength to be immune to the noise of history and the distractions of our immediate surroundings, is what the life struggle is all about. The soul has to find and hold its ground against hostile forces, sometimes embodied in ideas which frequently deny its very existence, and which indeed often seem to be trying to annul it altogether.” — Saul Bellow

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Okay, so, not too late…. Had to cut some corners, but, we made it, and that’s all I care about…. I’m gonna just go now, cuz that’s what seems like the thing to do at this point…. It ain’t proactive, but, close…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I’m still on the streets….

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….

It’s June; we’ll use the shaved version….

Posted on June 8, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“For a man needs only to be turned around not once with his eyes shut in this world to be lost….

Not ’til we are lost…. do we begin to find ourselves.”

~~ Henry David Thoreau, “Walden” ~~

Rock Spire on Mars

Image by NASA’s Rover Opportunity

Good morning…. I love pictures taken by the Mars Rovers, Opportunity, and Curiosity; it always gives me a little thrill to realize the picture I’m looking at was taken, not long ago, on a planet more than 50 million miles from Earth…. THIS, ffolkes, this is what we humans were made for. Anyone who doesn’t understand that, really, is not in touch with their own humanity. Nothing fascinates us more than wondering what is up there, and nothing, in my mind, will stop us from going there, unless it is ourselves, and our own flaws…. If anything in this Universe exists which can be called a destiny, for any living creature, it is my belief the destiny of humanity is to go to the stars…. Not to conquer, not to control, but, to understand, to wonder, to find out…. Maybe, when we get there, we’ll find what we’ve always been looking for, which we cannot even name….

Those among my Gentle Readers with sharp eyes and memories will note the first, opening pearl today is the same one with which yesterday’s final pearl ended. I seldom resort to such tactics, but, the chance to carry on an idea like that was too hard to resist…. It’s a perfect pearl; short, pithy, to the point, and versatile, so, why not use it?…. But, then, much of “Walden” is like that, isn’t it?….

Any who, that’s all for now, just had to get that out…. I’ll be courteous today, by not subjecting y’all to any further attempts at humor, or even ill-conceived and executed attempts at coherence here in the intro; instead, we’ll use those newly-acquired, useful, ruthlessness and executive decision-making skills to get us on down the page….

Shall we Pearl?

“Belief is not the beginning but the end of all knowledge.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Image from hulu.com via Google Images

From about 1957 to 1968, until I left for college, my family spent every Sunday evening in front of the TV, with much of the rest of the country, to watch this show. Although today I wouldn’t be caught dead listening to accordion music, I still have a fondness for good big bands…. Larry brought good music to people who otherwise would have had NONE in their life, even if they didn’t really appreciate it much…. And, he’s got such a smarmy smile, he’s cute, as well as, patently, harmless….

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Lawrence Welk and his Champagne Music

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https://youtu.be/ezvPBINJcAY

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“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” — C. S. Lewis

I find C.S. Lewis an interesting character…. He lived during the mid-twentieth century, in England. His works include a number of fantasies, including the Narnia series, a thinly disguised series of stories with a heavily Christian world-view, composed as morality tales for the modern world, in almost complete euphemist style…. But, he had, in my mind, one of the more inventive philosophical bents of many of the modern thinkers, producing a number of very excellent observations about life, politics, religion, and how they all interact, such as the one with which we’ve begun today’s discussion….

I had intended to speak about that entire set of combined subjects today, but, while researching one bit, I found the following rant from last year, which immediately proved to be serendipitous, as it speaks to the subject at hand perfectly…. Below this paragraph, you’ll find what I consider my finest rant EVER. I read it for the first time since writing and posting it yesterday, & realized it fit in exactly with today’s discussion…. So, to get to the point I’ve been circling for a while now, here is a pretty complete summary of how I view today’s modern world of the future, and, my opinion as to its most likely outcome….

From 9/3/2014:

“It is up with you; all is over; you are ruined.”

~~ Terence — Act i, Sc. 1, 9, (54.) ~~

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/US-military-targets-Islamic-extremists-in-Somalia-5727512.php

Oh… why, look there! It’s us, bombing people again, without a declaration of war from Congress. I don’t know about you, but, I’m getting more than just a little perturbed, not to say infuriated, by the American public’s acceptance of these completely illegal (under our own laws….), immoral, unethical, and fucking useless in any humanitarian, or practical respect, completely unwarranted attacks, on whomever we decide is a threat to our…… our what? What were these, no doubt, evil people doing that threatened us, here in our big houses, across the big ocean, with our big airplanes ready to bomb anyone foolish enough to annoy our corporate masters?….

Oh, right, didn’t I mention? I have no doubt whatsoever that, whomever we’re bombing now, if we examine the expressed reasoning closely, we will find that, somehow, in some way, these people were disrupting the smooth flow of money into the coffers of one, or more, of our corporate masters, er, patriotic businesses… It wouldn’t be supportive of the government to NOT protect the interests of those paying for the bombs, now would it? Of course not…. Naturally, since it costs about $75 million/day to bomb them, at least the arms makers are showing a good profit, yes?….

Did you detect a smidgeon of smarmy disdain in the above? If you did, you got it; if not, you’re not paying attention… Not unsurprising, given the brainwashing from which most Americans suffer; the media has helped the Beloved Ruling Class, and their employers, the corporate snakeheads, to spread their manipulations and distractions… oh, hell, let’s just call them what they are…. the lies they use on a regular basis, to distract the public from examining any true facts of what they’re up to, to manipulate the public and the media into believing those lies, as well as believing the other lies they tell, just because they can’t help themselves… just as if it were true, or legal, or had anything to do with helping the common man….

“I wish everybody would have to have an electric thing implanted in our heads that gave us a shock whenever we did something to disobey the president. Then somehow I get myself elected president.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

Hmm… the New American Dream, I’d say…. already half-true….

You may be certain of this… whatever spun-sugar the administration, which (who?) ordered and carried out this bombing, (An act which, again, was initiated without informing either Congress, or the public, anything about it beforehand….), in their Olympian fashion, deigns to tell us in this instance, about why we must bomb the Somalians, whatever THEY are up to, (oh, right… the article explains, they are “extremists”…), will NOT be anything resembling the actual truth, or anything that would help to resolve any real issues…. It will merely be whatever their information spin doctors have told them will fool the public into backing them, and fool the media into reporting all of it as if it were legitimate in any respect…. Count on it….

“The NY Times is read by the people who run the country. The Washington Post is read by the people who think they run the country. The National Enquirer is read by the people who think Elvis is alive and running the country…” — Robert J Woodhead

You may also count on the fact that, most likely, this is all about somebody’s profit line, and protecting a small group of “corporate persons”, aka “the men who would be kings”, who tend to feel that the money flowing into their pockets is theirs by right of entitlement; they firmly believe they are entitled to make a profit, no matter the cost to anyone else… Accept that, believe that, and you’ll have made a start, at finding out the actual truth behind most of what our government does, in any situation that comes to the attention of the public, and the media…. It’s all about covering the corporate ass, you betcha….

Now, you may think I’m being an obsessive conspiracy-monger, but, I doubt that, seriously. I don’t think it is a conspiracy; it’s simply the way it is…. The assholes to whom I refer are the same assholes who have had this country, and, for that matter, the world, in a stranglehold since the dawn of the concept of money…. They are just men, canny, strongly self-centered, and completely amoral, who have made it their habit, and lifestyle, for millennia, to take advantage of the way the system works, which is exactly how they have arranged it to work, with them as the only people in a position to control the whole shebang, from the shadows, where they are safe from those upon whom they prey….

Now, the system has grown to be so ponderous, so huge and unmanageable, that, while still protecting their identities by the very size of the system, it’s getting away from them a bit; a lot of information is now floating around out there on the Web they would rather stuff back into the box…But, sadly, not enough, yet, to make a difference in how things work, or, to change where we are headed, as a direct result of the insane machinations of mankind’s most amoral members… It may be too late altogether, to prevent their deliberate perpetration of the inequities they’ve built into our culture from leading all of us, them included, down that path followed already by so many failed species that have lived, and died, on this ball of mud over the last few epochs, since life began here on Earth….

I have a suspicion that we Humans won’t make much more of a splash, or have any more effect on reality, than did the passing of the Dodo, when Homo horriblus’s (our) voracious appetite for destructive insanity, and our failure to live up to our potential , led us to killing the last of the defenseless birds, just a couple hundred, or so, years ago…. When we have, in our turn, passed into memory, the Earth will, with a resigned sigh, in sorrow for the potential beauty that will never be, shrug its mountainous shoulders, shift around some basic elements, and begin the long slow process of healing the wounds we will have left behind us, in the final cataclysmic throes of our death-song…..

“As Caesar was at supper the discourse was of death, -which sort was the best. “That,” said he, “which is unexpected.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Caesar

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Final note from 2015: Though I really don’t have anything more to say, Zippy does, in re: the ultimate meaning of being human…. Well, TRYING to be human in an insane world, anyway….

“America!! I saw it all!! Vomiting! Waving! JERRY FALWELLING into your void tube of UHF oblivion!! SAFEWAY of the mind –” — Zippy the Pinhead

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Emily, if y’all hadn’t noticed, is my favorite poet, and, some days, she is necessary for my sanity to maintain any semblance of normalcy…. Today is one of those days…. Fortunately, her work isn’t hard to find….

The duties of the Wind are few

The duties of the Wind are few,
To cast the ships, at Sea,
Establish March, the Floods escort,
And usher Liberty.

The pleasures of the Wind are broad,
To dwell Extent among,
Remain, or wander,
Speculate, or Forests entertain.

The kinsmen of the Wind are Peaks
Azof – the Equinox,
Also with Bird and Asteroid
A bowing intercourse.

The limitations of the Wind
Do he exist, or die,
Too wise he seems for Wakelessness,
However, know not i.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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Today’s final, old-school pearl is one of those tough ones; persuading Smart Bee to give up anything useful can be a challenge of major proportions, and, today was no less so than it ever has been…. I’m actually sweating from the effort…. Since I can’t shower off until I’m done, I suppose I’d best get it posted, so there won’t be any further guilt amassed for no good reason…. The pearl itself is a collection of comments on how to approach certain aspects of Life at Large, should you desire something more than a slavish, miserable period of time on this planet…. Take heed, ffolkes, it’s all good stuff, if a bit murky….

“Cease to be ruled by dogmas and authorities; look at the world!” — H.G. Wells paraphrase of Roger Bacon’s works

“History is a lie commonly agreed upon.” — Nietzsche

“Sincerity and truth are the basis of every virtue.” — Confucius

“There’s more to living than not dying.” — Smart Bee

“The laugh of a child will make the holiest day more sacred still.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

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

“When one burns one’s bridges, what a very nice fire it makes.’ — Dylan Thomas

“I prefer tongue-tied knowledge to ignorant loquacity.” — Cicero, De Oratore

“You may not, cannot, appropriate beauty. It is the wealth of the eye, and a cat may gaze upon the king.” — Theodore Parker

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Well, there you go…. Today’s Pearl has been brought to you by sheer stubborn obsessiveness, with a side of confusion. But, don’t worry, neither is toxic, merely inconveniently wearisome. We’ll all get over it. That being the case, I can take my leave without further rigmarole, in the full belief in our own rightness, or, at minimum, sheer effrontery…. Whatever, as they say downtown…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, so long as nobody catches on….

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….

Omigosh! It’s muddling again!….

Posted on June 7, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Th’ MIND is the Pizza Palace of th’ SOUL”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

Pannacotta

Or so it said. Looks more like Zabaglione to me….

Good morning…. Here we are again…. Since I don’t have anything particularly compelling to say right now, we’ll just get on with the scheduled mess, without any feeble attempts at wit so early in the day…. In fact, we’ll do that right now….

Shall we Pearl?

“Though one must first learn skill and ethics thoroughly, one must come to embody them so completely that they become subconscious. Reacting to a situation by asking what is right and wrong is already too slow.” — Deng Ming-Dao

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Image from blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org via Google Images

When the best guitar players in the world get together, it isn’t easy to get them to agree on much of anything. But, when you ask any of them to name the best flat-picker who ever lived, the only name you will ever hear is this man’s…. He was, before his death a few years ago, the acknowledged Master of that style of playing, with, literally, no one else who came close….. Enjoy, ffolkes…..

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Doc Watson

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https://youtu.be/iGReRGvU4GE

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“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the rights of the people by the gradual & silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” — James Madison, Virginia Convention 1788

I am still not quite full of enough angst to prompt a fresh rant…. To sublimate my always-present anger at the BRC, however, I’ve found a pearl from a couple years ago to fill in. It’s a rather fun old-school indictment of the pathological liars who inhabit our governments hallowed halls these days, as Mr. Madison warned us about, having abridged the rights of the people by their “gradual & silent encroachments” upon the basis of our freedom. In short, the assholes have already screwed us….

Gee, I guess there IS a bit more angst in there…. Ah well, this will help…. Enjoy!…

From 8/6/2013:

Yesterday, Smart Bee was a bit off center at times, but, with good grace, and a willing heart, it managed to get me what I needed, and threw in a few extras for today’s post, which I dutifully saved, recognizing them as the lustrous gems they were…. I’ll now go search out a few more, to fill out the dimensions for a proper indictment of the beloved ruling class, and the panorama of human folly we call “politics”, which, as, I believe, Ambrose Bierce pointed out, is a combination word, coming from “poly” meaning “many”, and “tics” meaning “blood sucking insects”….. a perfect description of the general run of that sport’s participants….

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” — H.L. Mencken, “Little Book in C major”, 1916

“Can there be a republic that does not slump under the weight of so much human desire?” — Michael Scully

“Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. . . . the human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who do survive.” — Frank Herbert, Dune

“‘Tis better to be alone than in the company of fools.” — Bobby Matherne, American Philosopher (1940-)

“I had too much to dream last night.” — Electric Prunes

“In our society, the Republicans set out to prove that the Democrats can not be trusted to run the government. And the Democrats set out to prove that the Republicans can not be trusted to run our government. The real problem here is that both the Democrats and the Republicans have come up with something which is absolutely true and perfectly correct. This means that the people get to pull some sort of horrible trick on themselves and live with their choice for four years.” — Smart Bee

“Now I’m concentrating on a specific tank battle toward the end of World War II!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Okay, silly, I know…. but, look closely, and you’ll see how true all of them really are, when compared to reality…. Here, if it’s that big a deal for y’all…. here is a final word, that pretty much says it all… but, without the buffer of humor….

“…when all government… in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1821

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Note from 2015: There…. doesn’t that feel better? To finish off this indictment, here is one last thought on our beloved leaders, an actual FACT, of which they are all fully aware, utilizing to their advantage on a regular basis….

“Crime does not pay … as well as politics.” — Alfred E. Newman

There you go….

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Here’s one of mine we haven’t seen for a couple years….. Enjoy!….

Funny Bones

Dreaming the way home, lost, unseen,
from the dance, where
he felt so free, and clean.
Sorrow couldn’t find him there.

Waiting, filling up the hours, hoping,
some connection can be found
keeping busy as bees, coping.
Love creeps in, without a sound.

Fat days, skinny nights, passionate
visions of semi-conscious entities,
cannot seem to fully illuminate
or hide our innermost frailties.

Resolute, find the perfect sense, codify
simple rules with every breath
never waiting, anxious to modify.
fear nothing in life, not even Death.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Today’s finals pearl is what I’d call an esoteric pearl about Life, (hence the ankh). Each of the individual pearls speaks to a part of Life important to living well, but, from a direction one often doesn’t remember to view….. Enjoy!…..

“Cato said the best way to keep good acts in memory was to refresh them with new.” — Francis Bacon (1561-1626) — Apothegms, No, 247

“Although war is cruel and brutal, it is also dangerous and stupid.” — Yakko Warner

“All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.” — Alexandre Dumas

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

“A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.” — Jack London

“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 (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 20

“For a man needs only to be turned around not once with his eyes shut in this world to be lost…. Not til we are lost…. do we begin to find ourselves.” — Thoreau, Walden

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I have fulfilled my vow…. Well, at least, for another day. I’m tired now. I think I’ll go back to bed, & start again in a couple of hours…. Hopefully, this short episode of creative reverse peristalsis won’t have gone sour by then…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided Fate doesn’t have other plans for me…..

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….

Flibbertigibbets for sale or lease….

Posted on June 6, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Instead of being born again, why not just grow up?”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Emma

Good morning. We meet again…. What? Who is Emma? Oh, just a lovely young cat I met, while off playing in the BBR this last week…. She’s a peach, for sure. But, since we have much to do, we’ll leave Emma to go chasing her lizards, and get on with our business….

Shall we Pearl?

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Today’s video selection is a concert, from 1991, by two string instrument virtuosos, who played for a long time together. Their first album together, called Old And In The Way, which is what they called their two-man group for a while, changing it to Grateful Dawg later on. Together, they gave us some of the finest music of the twentieth century…. Enjoy!….

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Jerry Garcia & David Grisman

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https://youtu.be/PJl-zvWLitY

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“The effects which follow too constant and intense a concentration upon evil are always disastrous. Those who crusade, not _for_ God in themselves, but _against_ the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better, but leave it either as it was, or sometimes even perceptibly worse than it was, before the crusade began. By thinking primarily of evil we tend, however excellent our intentions, to create occasions for evil to manifest itself.” — Aldous Huxley — The Devils of Loudun

I’ve seen, and probably used, this quote previously, to act as the centerpiece of a rant…. I’m not quite ready to write any fresh ones, so, again, here is the piece created for the first time this situation occurred here on ECR…. Don’t fret, ffolkes, it’s a short, but, pithy one, not a long, passionate one….. No drama today…. Well, no huge drama, anyway….

From 9/15/2012:

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

See? There, now, I’ve been saying this for years, and here’s old Marcus Aurelius, that Roman cogitator extraordinaire, putting it straight out there way back around the time of J.C.’s failed attempt at societal reform. A very cogent, yet poignant description of human nature and the preponderance of Ego that drives most of humanity to act out of their own ignorance, rather than consider the veracity or usefulness of someone else’s ideas. This format for stating this answer to one of the great questions is one that all the best philosophers choose when creating aphorisms; clear, simple language and brutally honest self-examination provide us with true wisdom, like it or not……

What particularly gets me about people at large is the high percentage of folks who fall into the trap that Ego sets; for some reason, people seem to prefer the cozy blindness with which ignorance can cover them to the cold, harsh light of self-knowledge. The very ego that sets them apart from the rest of the animals who inhabit this planet becomes also the greatest threat to survival, when it is allowed to dictate how one views reality.

The state of society in today’s world rests on the brink of total collapse; any number of issues currently in play in the world can lead us to upheaval unseen since the last Ice Age. Pollution, created by mankind, is pumping tons of carbon monoxide into the air every minute, and all those precipitates are eventually bound to cause changes to climate that we will have no power to stop, or reverse.

The economy of the world is constantly on the verge of collapse in these times, due mostly to the unacknowledged crimes of the 1% of mankind who controls 99% of the money and resources. These crimes arise, again, out of Ego, as the elite of the world believe that they are “different” from the rest of humanity, and deserve to make all the decisions, which oddly enough, are only beneficial to themselves….. again, the power of Ego trumps virtue…..

I’m a smart guy, pretty much, but this is a problem for which even I cannot find a solution, other than the age-old, time-worn, and always ineffective war between the classes. That solution has been tried innumerable times throughout history, and each time the same structure of society re-settles into the same old shape, with a few people at the top, making all the important decisions for the rest of humanity. All because we, as individuals, and as a species, cannot learn to control our ego, to persuade it to act for the benefit of all, rather than just looking out for itself….. I figure that whatever happens will be what we deserve, and I can’t say that I think it will be very pretty, for the species….. or for a lot of individuals…..

Maybe there is a solution…. as a matter of fact, there is one that has been around for as long as mankind has been writing stuff down…. and it’s always the same little piece of advice, a little idea that can change one’s entire life and world-view….. but only if it is accepted, and believed, and applied to reality…… Everybody knows this, but, how many actually live it?…..

“Do unto all as you would wish to have done unto you, and reject for others what you would reject for yourself.” — Mohammed

That’s right, the Golden Rule…. a basic tenet of EVERY philosophy that Mankind has ever formulated; even most religions will acknowledge the wisdom of this, though it doesn’t serve their interests as well as they would wish. But, throughout history, we have always known what is the right way to act…. we’ve just always chosen not to apply the principle in interacting with others…. Instead, we allow our ego to dictate how we behave, thus bringing us to the current world, with all of its problems and dangers…..

SIGH….. It’s really quite easy, and it’s the only answer that will work, in the long run. It really is too bad that most of humanity isn’t buying into it, isn’t it?……

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Visible life

Forty-two days of pressure and internal rain,
leave marks of salvation, often in pain.
Such sharp reminders of yesterday’s remorse
fight heavily to keep a straight course.
Rash moments, bright, and routinely immense
Give us pleasure, bereft of common sense.

Still the night comes soft and eternally dear
to bring out wishful dreams so vitally clear.
Life’s myrmidons give freely in protest
lifting with skill, soul pieces first to infest,
Loudly brash, with no such voices to remain
Sealed in infamy, branded ugliness all too plain.

Now come brave signs of chapter and verse
Shielded by ignorance, irritable and terse.
Gravid portions of in-between retaliation
leave only pale marks of initial gestation
With hope even pallid warriors grow brave
Leading all humanity, to a warm, stale grave.

Hope never falters, nor leaves any trace
Yet lingers forever in a welcoming space.
Cheerful faces yet shine out of time
for tricking and fumbling sweet melody sublime.
Fill in the spaces with a long, strong retort
life is ever visible, if only as last resort.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/15/2012

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The very first time I failed to post a Pearl, after beginning in August of 2011, was on 9/14/2012. Since I missed a few days here in 2015, (though yesterday was not one of those…), I went back to find the pearl I first created back in the day, on the occasion of my first failure to post…. This is one of the offerings from that day’s Pearl…. It’s a good one, so, you won’t be missing out on anything you might otherwise have seen today…. Got that?…. Good, because I’m totally confused…..

From 9/15/2012:

Here is an old-school pearl, using quotes from fairly famous people….. and some not so famous outside SF fandom. All of the quotes, when co-mingled and mixed up like a smoothie, will give you a really good philosophy of life, and lots of good advice for living with a serene mind….. good luck!….

“He who knows does not speak, He who speaks does not know.” — Lao Tzu

Water wears the rock — Smart Bee

“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” — Buddha

“Human beings do not survive on bread alone … but on the nourishments of liberty. For what indeed is a man without freedom … naught but a mechanism, trapped in the cogwheels of eternity.” — Harry Mudd, “I, Mudd,” stardate 4513.3.

“Virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency.” — Aristotle (B.C. 384-322)

“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.” — Joseph Conrad

“Yeah, but you’re taking the universe out of context.” — Smart Bee

There, see how painless that was? You’ll never even know you’ve been enlightened, until you wake up in the middle of the night, mumbling something about “he who speaks….”….. Onward into the fray!….

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Gosh! Will you look at that? It’s a Pearl….. Moreover, it’s done. Wow, Moms, look what I found….

Okay, I’ll stop. But, it’s all true, so, we’ll fly with it. Besides, what else can I do with a finished Pearl, but, post it? Nothing, that’s what. So, I’ll go do that, and, when you’re done reading all this nonsense, you can do that, too…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, should the Universe decide to give me one more break….

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….

Diamonds really don’t last forever, you know….

Posted on June 5, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Wit is educated insolence.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

Good morning…. I’ve missed two days now; it might even be three. And I don’t care a whit. Life and time go on, and nothing untoward took place in re: Space or Time, so, I figure I’m ahead of the game…. The picture I’ve used to begin may show you part of the reason why, just as the last picture that opened a Pearl for me… which was a photo of the same scene, taken from near the posts you see in the mid-left of the picture today. Cool place, eh? It’s the Fool Family Farm, on a private road whose name is Go Away…. and it hides the actual location of my sanctuary, which I’ve retreated to for 40 years, since two of my water brothers moved there to get out of civilization while they had the chance….

I’ve now been here five days, and, as always, feel replenished and new, ready to begin again to take up the reins of my life, including responsibility for my health, as it should have been for the last twenty years. (I can say “should” because I’m speaking only of myself, not anyone else…) (though I DO recommend each and every one of us take responsibility for ourselves…. it’s quite invigorating, as a matter of fact….) Now, all I have to do is put up with the five hour bus ride to get back to home base, and I can start resting up & getting prepared for the next journey, scheduled to start next week sometime after Tuesday…. Yay!…

So, I don’t have anything ready, & not much time to do this, so, we’ll see just what we can find, eh?…. Let’s get right to it….

Shall we Pearl?

“It has long been known that one horse can run faster than another – but which one? Differences are crucial.” — Lazarus Long

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Since I’m short on time for completing this, we’ll go with my default choice for entertainment….

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Classical Music

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https://youtu.be/Y4xRlnO7-Ps

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Since today’s poem is from 2012, here is a short religirant from that year to fill in this section, since a fresh rant is currently out of the question….. Enjoy!….

From 12/5/2012:

One day a gate breaks down between heaven and hell. So St. Peter arrives on the scene and calls out for the devil.

And the devil saunters over and says, “What do you want?”

And St. Peter says, “Satan, it’s your turn to fix it this time.”

And the devil says, “I’m sorry. But my men are too busy to worry about fixing a mere gate.”

And St. Peter says, “Well, then, I’ll have to sue you for breaking our agreement.”

And the devil says, “Oh yeah? Where are you going to get a lawyer?”

— Soupy Sales

It occurs to me, Soapy’s next line from St. Peter would have to be…. “I don’t need one, I’ve got a fix in with the judge….” That would give not only balance to the argument, but would accurately reflect the actual level of corruption implied in the picture of the universe painted by the Judeo-Christian model of religion. It would also probably more closely reflect Soapy’s sense of humor, which was much more pointed than he got credit for…. People just thought he was a little strange sometimes, not recognizing lines that were making active fun of the establishment (as we old hippies were wont to call the mainstream of American society…..).

In reality, this joke is another example of the bad press that the Devil always gets; it isn’t often you’ll see a joke that ends up with Satan coming out on top. No, he is always given the role of the asshole, the manipulator, the one who wants to drag us down into Hell for eternal torment. Everyone seems to forget that they have ascribed omnipotence, and omniscience to God, and that He is the one who a) made the Devil the way he is, and b) could change it if he wished…. which seems to indicate that he DOESN’T wish to rid us of Satan, but prefers he be around to tempt and distract us…. That sounds to me like just a bit of manipulation in itself; how ’bout y’all?….

The preachers would have us believe that God allows Satan to exist out of his sheer benevolence, forgetting this is the same God who, in the Old Testament, sent forty bears to a town to kill all the children, just because a few small boys made fun of one of His prophets. He is also the one who threw Satan out of Heaven for objecting to some of what He had done on Earth, then turned around and allowed him free access to us humans, just so He would have a ready-made way to test us at His convenience. Just a little self-serving, don’t you think? This God, to my way of thinking, acts more like a spoiled little kid than a deity capable of creating universes…..

Okay, I’ll quit now. It’s really too easy to shoot at dogma; it never tries to hide, and just stands there, looking dumb, as you sight in on its forehead. But, hey, it’s a necessary job, and somebody’s got to do it…. Boy, it sure would be nice, though, to see humanity grow up, and learn to face reality without crutches, and without having to invent a supernatural being to explain away the stuff that isn’t clearly understood…. But, I guess it is job security, in that sense, because it means I’ll always have something about which to write….

“I’m RELIGIOUS!! I love a man with a HAIRPIECE!! Equip me with MISSILES!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

___________________

Note from today: The actual correct finishing pearl for this (as perceived from the vantage point of the future…) would be:

“Christ believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment.” — Bertrand Russell

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A Seasonal Approach

Absolute stillness grips a frozen field,
anticipating dawn with such patient yield
morning burgeoning in dark winter’s hold
brings promise of tales yet to be told.

Lengthening days of pale sun unto night
slowly tell of time’s subversive flight
bringing such original songs of natural fire
with melodies complex in casual attire.

The months are certain they will always win
it is just the way it has always been.
None may argue, nor yet slow life down
Nor dim the eternal beauty of nature’s gown.

Winter evolves from fall into spring,
sending flocks and hearts ever awing.
Summer follows suit, t’other way ’round
Spring into fall, often without a sound.

Life is meant to be lived, beginning to end
choices abound, and change can be a friend.
Yielding with grace to reality’s compelling ploy
fills our plain existence with clean, honest joy.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 10/2/2012.

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A simple little pearl, that will speak for itself, thank you very much…..

“Who is more foolish: the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?” — Maurice Treehill

“Anger is a momentary madness, so control your passion or it will control you.” — Horace (65-8 B.C.)

“Nothing helps scenery like ham and eggs.” — Mark Twain

“Force has no place where there is need of skill.” — Herodotus

“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.” — John Irving

“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

“Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no.” — J. R. R. Tolkien

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That’s all, ffolkes. Well, all there is time for me to get done, anyway. For now, and, until tomorrow…. Ta, then…. Stay alert, ffolkes, it’s gettin’ pretty crazy out there…..

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….

Passive salivation…

Posted on June 4, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Humankind cannot stand very much reality.”

~~ T.S. Eliot ~~

This is what distracts me.

Hello, ffolkes…. Some of y’all will have noticed the last few days inconsistency in getting posted (gigoid’s long winded way of saying he missed a couple days…). The picture you see is a big part of the why, as the scene you see is right outside the door of where I’m staying…. So, the angst and build-up of inner conflict with which we live in the urban world just doesn’t have a chance to collect to any large degree…. Hence, no posts….

Today’s post will also be truncated, and tomorrow’s may not appear at all, again. But. by Saturday all should be back to normal, if only until I take off again on the road…. We’ll see…

That said, you only get what is already ready, or can be added quickly, because, I’ve got stuff NOT do….

Shall we Pearl?

“A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” — Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910)

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No video today; I’m not currently watching much of anything…. I can suggest going to You Tube, type your favorite artist or subject’s name into the search box & watch whatever you find… Enjoy! After all, you’ll have chosen it….

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Anyone who’s been here at least twice should have known I’d use one from the archives…. Here’s a pretty standard politireligirant from April a couple years ago….

From 5/5/2013:

The thorns which I have reap’d are of the tree
I planted; they have torn me, and I bleed.
I should have known what fruit would spring from such a seed.

~~ Lord Byron (1788-1824) ~~

~~ Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto iv, Stanza 10 ~~

Here, in a three line verse, Lord Byron has explained the flaw that exists in human nature, a flaw that will one day drive the species to extinction, if we don’t find a way to alter its effect on us, as a species. This flaw doesn’t manifest in every human, only in a certain percentage, not particularly large, but full of the people who affect society the most, i.e., the leaders, the politicians, the aristocracy (the rich, or as I call them, the bankers….), and the preachers, all of whom are supposed to be ordering society to benefit ALL of its members.

Instead, these individuals, who have this fatal flaw, have ordered events to suit themselves, hoarding the largest part of the available resources, showing absolutely no compassion or willingness to share, and dismissing as unimportant all of the pain and suffering their actions cause to other people…. This selfishness gene will eventually kill us all, because the BRC, or Beloved Ruling Class, are so focused on their goals, and so unwilling to entertain the idea that their actions are wrong, they cannot comprehend the danger they have created by their pathology, to themselves as well as to the rest of us….

That is the unfortunate thing about any mental aberration; it’s very presence tends to limit what the victim can understand, because they are unwilling to look at the evidence….. No one wants to believe they are mentally off; it doesn’t fit in with our self-image as a competent human being. These folks never understand at all that the way they are leading their lives is a threat to the rest of us; they will only accept evidence that supports their unrealistic view of reality.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, these people are also the ones who are the most willing to use violence, and weapons, to enforce their will, and they already have control of more force than the rest of the public can possibly contend with to force a change. It is a very complex, delicate problem, with no solution that I can see as practical, or with any large chance for success….

The time we have to make the necessary changes to society is growing shorter every hour, as more and more millions of tons of CO (carbon monoxide) is pumped into the air, along with other particulate pollutants. This material in our atmosphere has almost completely destroyed the ozone layer, and the amount of heat reaching the planet from the Sun has raised the ambient temperature of the planet a full two degrees…

Two degrees may not seem like much, but, the fact that the change has taken place in less than a hundred years is a clear indicator that it is quite enough, as it continues to change the climate of the planet drastically. The polar ice is melting more rapidly than ever before, and at a geometrically increasing rate. The amount of oxygen in the air is decreasing in relation to other substances; if it changes two percentage points, there won’t be enough of it for our lungs to breathe; we will suffocate ourselves if it continues. The weather is changing all over the world, as the water from the polar ice melts, and changes the chemical balance of the air everywhere…. As plants die, the process will accelerate, and it will be a toss-up to see what will kill us first….

“Whenever I see a photograph of some sportsman grinning over his kill, I am always impressed by the striking moral and aesthetic superiority of the dead animal to the live one.” — Edward Abbey

Not a pretty picture, is it? Unless, of course, you are one of the power elite, the BRC; then, you’re the one with the gun…. I’m sorry to have to bring doom and gloom into the morning, but, this is a subject that won’t go away, so I pound on it whenever I can…. The quote above, from Lord Byron, stimulated my sense of outrage at the sheer selfishness of the 1% (yet another name for those with the flaw of extreme self-interest….), so I ranted, if mildly. What bothers me the most is that what I’m saying here is absolute truth, and the people who read it are NOT the ones who need to change…. Of course, those folks wouldn’t believe it if they did read it, so it’s rather a thankless task, and relatively futile, to boot…..

“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are good.” — Anne Frank

I think Anne was a better person than I am, because I have lost my belief in what she says here…. I do believe that the majority of mankind is good, or at least tries to be good; I just don’t believe that those ffolkes are the ones that matter to our future, as much as the folks who are NOT basically good, for as long as the innocents allow the harm their leaders continue to cause to the environment in which we all have to live. I don’t know of a solution, other than the obvious one of becoming violent myself, and doing to them what they want to do to me, but doing it first….. But, then I become like them, and I’d have to kill myself, because I’d never be able to look in a mirror again….. I guess there’s only one thing left to do…..

Petition me no petitions, sir, to-day;
Let other hours be set apart for business.
To-day it is our pleasure to be drunk;
And this our queen shall be as drunk as we.

~~ Henry Fielding (1707-1754)

~~ Tom Thumb the Great, Act i, Sc. 2 ~~

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Early Observations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 5/12/2013

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

~~ Buddha ~~

You know? I don’t think this pearl needs any more; that pretty much says it all for me…

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That’s all, ffolkes…. for now. I’ll be back Saturday…. Be real, stay alert, & try not to hurt anyone, okay?…

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….

Terror in the breakfast food aisle…

Posted on June 1, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I had a hunch something like this would happen.”

~~Written on grave ~~

Image created by Europa’s Ice Wolf Herself

https://europasicewolf.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/let-us-go-you-and-i/

Good morrow…. Today is the day, he said, cryptically…. Change is in the air….

Shall we Pearl?

“If you’re ridin’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.” — The Cowboy’s Guide to Life

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David Bromberg

Image via pbs.org via Google Images

This artist is one many people have never seen, or heard of; during the late 60’s and early 70’s he was a favorite of the counter-culture of the time…. His music is a blend of rock, folk, and bluegrass, with a side of damn silly at times…. His song, “I Will Not Be Your Fool” remains one of my all-time favorite versions of the talkin’ blues…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this one is a hidden gem….

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David Bromberg

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https://youtu.be/MNzSMdGINyQ

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“Our main task for the coming era is… a radical renewal of our sense of responsibility. Our conscience must catch up with our reason — otherwise we are lost. It is my profound conviction that there is only one way to achieve this: we must divest ourselves of our egotistical anthropocentrism, our habit of seeing ourselves as the masters of the universe who can do whatever occurs to us. We must acknowledge what transcends us: the universe, earth, nature, life, and reality. Our respect for other people, for other nations, and for other cultures can only grow from a humble respect for the cosmic order and from an awareness that we are part of it, that we share in it, and that nothing we do is lost, but, rather, that what we do becomes part of the eternal memory of Being, where it is judged… It is also essential that the Euro-American cultural sphere– the one that created this civilization and taught humanity its destructive pride– now return to its spiritual roots and become an example to the rest of the world in the search for a new humility.” — Vaclav Havel, address, Harvard University, June 8, 1995

Václav Havel, (born October 5, 1936, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic] — died December 18, 2011, Hrádecek, Czech Republic), Czech playwright, poet, and political dissident, who, after the fall of communism, was president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and of the Czech Republic (1993–2003).

I thank Mr. Havel sincerely for this quote; it’s a pretty good summary of the root message I have been trying to get through to anyone who reads my work. Having concluded the same root cause to the problems we now face as a species, a culture, and as living creatures, to be found in the lack of willingness of almost every human to take responsibility for their actions. Far, far too many of those who live in today’s world have no idea of their own connection to Life, or the Universe, nor do they have any idea of how they fit into either one….

How did we come to this? Why are there so many people in the world with a sense of entitlement unlike any other creature of which we have any knowledge? Why do people think they have the right to do whatever they wish to make themselves happy, no matter what sort of effect it may have on the world around them, whether other people, animals, or the world at large…. All of it is the property of Man, as seen by these arrogant, hairless apes, who can’t even, most of the time, figure out by themselves how to keep from shooting themselves in the foot.

Well, I can explain…. But, it isn’t a popular concept; not surprising as it is diametrically opposed to most of what you, or anyone has heard all their lives…. There are those who have seen the truth; they’ve tried their best to tell people what they have seen, but, for the most part, people don’t want to hear things that don’t fit in with their longest-held beliefs… Thomas Paine, one of the founding fathers of this country was one such man… He pointed out the culprits as clearly as he could, with words such as these…

“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the bible is filled, it would seem more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.” — Thomas Paine — The Age of Reason

Just a few days ago, this country sold some Billions of dollars worth of arms, in the form of rockets, bombs, ammunition, and supporting technology to Israel, and another of our allies currently waging war somewhere around the world…. Now, it may surprise you to know that we, the USA, are the single biggest dealer of arms in the world; there are people in every corner of the world being killed by our weapons every minute of every day…. Yep, us, the peace-loving, freedom-bearing, rapacious businessmen from Amurica, who will sell anyone the means to fight wars, or, merely oppress their own people….

At the same time, as I read just today, here at home, in Amurica, our own police are killing two citizens, on average, every day, according to statistics gathered by the Washington Post, while video after video hits the news, and You Tube, showing actual crimes committed by police, with no charges ever brought…. My father, who fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II, for four years, would have been appalled at the state of affairs today, in this land he loved.

I can see him sitting at his desk, after having a talk about the material not in the news during the Vietnam War, writing to the Department of the Army, as a retired veteran of that service, asking for explanations for some of what he was hearing…. He got a runaround, for the most part, and became an active letter-writer to the service voicing his concerns…. I can do no less…

But, how many people do YOU know who are willing to say that? Not many, I’d wager. If there were, the world would be different than it is…. No, the corporate snakes, the pundits, the preachers, all have the public, for the vast majority, completely bamboozled, into believing an entire pantheon of delusions, and lies, all of which are intended to keep them ignorant of the truth, and, to keep the money, and the power, in their hands alone….
Let me show this another way…. If I were to read the following verses to the Congress of the United States, how many of them do you think would A) understand half of it, B) agree with ANY of it, or, C) look confused, then angry….. Moreover, how many of them would NOT lie to anyone who asked them about the arms deal with Israel? Okay, I know, I switched horses too fast; I even lost myself with that one…. But, my point remains…. the people who make up our government, all 455 of them (that’s all!!!…), who have almost complete power over the rest of us, do NOT believe ANY of this is true….

Arms are instruments of ill omen… .

When one is compelled to use them it is best to do so without relish.

There is no glory in victory, and to glorify it despite this is to exult in the killing of men… .

When great numbers of people are killed, one should weep over them with sorrow.

When victorious in war, one should observe mourning rites.

~~ Lao-Tzu ~~

Note, please, Lao Tzu does not say “if great numbers of heroes are killed”, or, “if great numbers of enemies are killed”. He just says “people”.

Now, how many of our Beloved Ruling Class have you ever seen, or heard, express their SINCERE regrets over the losses incurred in our wars? Especially for those valiant defenders of their own homelands, when we have bombed and invaded them, to bring them the “advantages” of democracy and freedom (read: “new markets for our corporate masters”), whom we call insurgents, or rebels, or the current bogey-word of choice, terrorists…..

“The greatness of every mighty organization embodying an idea in this world lies in the religious fanaticism and intolerance with which, fanatically convinced of its own right, it intolerably imposes its will against all others.” — Adolf Hitler, “Mein Kampf”

Right…. None.

I’m done. The reason for that is simple. I’m getting nauseated, thinking about those fat cats, sitting in D.C., thinking they are all that, and deciding for everyone else exactly how they are going to screw them next….

Remember, ffolkes…. you only have the rights you can defend….

“The army commander of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him.” — Confucius

gigoid has spoken, and, he’s pissed off.

So be it.

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

“Poetry is the journal of a sea animal, living on land, wanting to fly in the air… Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable… Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away…” — Carl Sandburg, “Poetry Considered”, Atlantic Monthly, March 1923

I’m fairly certain very little of my poetry quite lives up to Carl’s description; I do my best, though, and, I like this one…

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

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

If you want happiness…
For an hour – take a nap
For a day – go fishing
For a month – get married
For a year – inherit a fortune
For a lifetime – help someone else.

~~ Chinese Proverb ~~

“Drop the question what tomorrow may bring, and count as profit every day that fate allows you.” — Horace

“Speak in silver, reply in gold.” — Ancient Swahili saying

“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.” — Leo Tolstoy

“The glory of riches and of beauty is frail and transitory; virtue remains bright and eternal.” — Sallust (B.C. 86-34)

“A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.” — Japanese proverb

“Truth comes as an enemy only to those who have lost the ability to welcome it as a friend.” — Smart Bee

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

Okay, so, I’m not entirely sure what happened here today, but, as far as I can tell, it’s done. So be it…. though I hate to repeat myself. Ah well, it’s a day for changes, so, we’ll all just have to deal with it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, from a new locus…..

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….

Mayo, peanut butter, & pickles… Yum!….

Posted on May 30, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“One’s mind is like a knife.

If you don’t sharpen it, it gets rusty.”

~~ Nien Cheng ~~

Doh! NOT Downwind, Leo! You’re supposed to stalk upwind!

Image of Dumbest Lion in Africa from UK Guardian Animal Pictures of the Week

Good morrow, Gentle Reader…. Not to worry; today’s intro is being returned to its most efficient format…. Watch and learn….

Shall we Pearl?

“Don’t teach your children what to think; just teach them to think.” — Tannenbaum

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

free-vector-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail_080696_monty-python-and-the-holy-grail

Image from 4vecter.com via Google Images

As I sat to think of a video for today, I had an inspiration, stimulated by a random thought. I had thought to use videos today for the ranting section, so, in this section, I thought to go with something a bit silly…. When I thought of what group, or character might fit the bill, only one name came to the surface… I wrote the name dutifully into the proper area, and will now proceed to go find the proper video to give y’all a proper taste of the group of characters who have laid claim to the word “Silly”, to such good effect, they are the first to come to mind…. I give you the inventors of the Silly Walk, the legendary British Improvisational Group…. Monty Python….. I’ve started y’all off with their opus magnum, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in the full movie version… Plenty of other choices to see by visiting the You Tube page link below….

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

Monty Python

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

https://youtu.be/tW3Se4WDcXE

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

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

Today’s ranting section will be a bit different…. I always like to try new stuff, so, here is a video rant, using the almost perfect mini-rants (though, in reality, they’re not so mini….) by John Oliver, on his weekly show, Last Week with John Oliver…. To cover the subject completely, I decided to include a rant against four groups of Asininnies, to wit: Corporate snakeheads (Wealth Gap), Myrmidons, (Police Militarization), Poly Pundits (Elected Judges), and, Spies and Lies (Government Surveillance). Each one will also provide any number of other fine mini-rants to choose from, by visiting the You Tube page where the video lives…. Enjoy, ffolkes; it’s bound to be an improvement over listening to me rant….

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

Wealth Gap

https://youtu.be/LfgSEwjAeno

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

Government Surveillance

https://youtu.be/XEVlyP4_11M

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

Police Militarization

https://youtu.be/KUdHIatS36A

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

Elected Judges

https://youtu.be/poL7l-Uk3I8

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

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

Last posted on 6/22/2013, this is a somber poem, but, has always been a favorite of mine…. The author, naturally, needs no introduction….

There’s a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings, are.

None may teach it anything,
‘T is the seal, despair, —
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, ‘t is like the distance
On the look of death.

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

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

The old-school pearl for today turned out to be a fairly good one. Parameters were set for more silliness, with a side of good advice on Life at Large…. This is what happened…. Enjoy! Oh, and, take notes. Some of this will be on the Quiz….

“Once when Phocion had delivered an opinion which pleased the people,… he turned to his friend and said, “Have I not unawares spoken some mischievous thing or other?” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Phocion

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

“The universe is intractably squiggly.” — Charles Suhor

“The silence depressed me. it wasn’t the silence of silence that bothered me; it was my own silence.” — Sylvia Plath

“It’s a good idea to obey all the rules when you’re young just so you’ll have the strength to break them when you’re old.” — Mark Twain

“The wisest man is generally he who thinks himself the least so.” — Boileau

“You may not be responsible for falling down, but you are for getting back up.” — Smart Bee

” What then in the last resort are the truths of mankind? — They are the _irrefutable_ errors of mankind.” — Nietzsche

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

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

I’ll take it. I have to, it’s mine. That being said, I’m outta here…. Two and three-quarter days to lift-off, and the details are in the devil. Whatever that means…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if only in your dreams…..

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….

If yes, then, no. Otherwise….

Posted on May 29, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“When in doubt, tell the truth.”

~~ Mark Twain ~~

Artist’s rendition of EUSA Mars Lander “Insight”

Due to land on Mars in 2016, recorded by two satellites soon to be in orbit around Mars.

Image from Space.com

Good morrow, mon amis…. Today’s Pearl is somewhat special…. It was created mostly yesterday, with some from even the day before. Parts of it are from the archives, including the following intro section from a Pearl a couple years ago that speaks of some recent discussions here, and, in my opinion, is quite good, if your standards aren’t strictly Puritan…. It might not be Ibsen, but, it’s art, to paraphrase a character in a book…. (Go figure….)

The rest is, I think, also pretty fair, all things considered, though not necessarily in the same order as all things.

Huh? What did he say?

Ah well… Don’t fret; we’re going to just go on ahead as if it never happened. Two minutes from now, I promise, you’ll have forgotten this moment of disturbance in the Metaphorse completely….

Alright, Luigi; they’re as ready as I can get them. Take it away….

From 6/22/2013:

Ffolkes,

‘Tis a sad commentary to note one’s entire life boils down to one moment, particularly when, in that moment, one realizes the greatest skill one has developed is the ability to dither, or blather, or, as they used to say, to speak piffle….. Disheartening, to say the least; I had hoped for something a bit more dignified, or at least more useful. Piffle, as it was called in the previous century, is only useful to those who speak it, or, to those who understand and appreciate it; it’s a very small number…. The rest of society views piffle somewhat askance, as they have no idea either what is said, or what it may mean…. which, ultimately, is their loss…..

Of course, I can’t claim to be anywhere near as good at it as, say, Lord Peter Wimsey, from Dorothy L. Sayer’s novels; her books tend to intimidate as much as educate, as I believe she wrote with the Oxford Dictionary at close hand (seldom having to open it, I would guess…). Every page she wrote was filled with brilliant demonstration of a writer who loved the English language, one who seemed to use ALL of it in her writing. In my most egotistic dreams, I write only half as well as she did, for I don’t ever expect to be able to match her expertise, or her originality. Only someone with such a strong love, and full understanding, of the language could use it in such a way as to make it ironically humorous, while at the same time, pointedly insulting, laughingly charming, thrillingly suspenseful, or scathingly brilliant.

SIGH…. To my everlasting regret, I can’t do that, not as well as I’d like. It is a constant disappointment to me that I cannot; it’s one of the few skills in my life that I can say truthfully that I have been unable to master, once I set my mind to its acquisition. Perhaps, before I pass on to the next dimension, or whatever happens after we die, I’ll get closer to writing better piffle; I hope so. If not, well, I can always go back and read more of Ms. Sayers’ work, though I believe I’ve already consumed all of her Lord Peter stories…. They are the kind of books one can read over and over, finding something new every time….

All of the above is what could be called a distraction. I wrote it as a sublimation of the desire to whine about the intro again, hoping to distract both y’all and myself from the fact that this section once again is filled with material that has no real connection to anything, other than as a means to pass the time until my brain kicks into gear sufficiently to start writing something more nourishing to the mind. There may be those among you who would point out the lack of ANY material here that meets that standard, but, I don’t expect them to speak up; they’ve been threatened about doing so, and have assured us of their silence in this matter….

Of course, I can’t expect that threat to hold them off forever, so it’s probably better to just get on with the business of the day…. According to the stats I’ve seen recently, very few readers will see this anyway…. My number of followers keeps growing, but the number of Likes per day continues to drop…. I’ve averaged about four Likes per day for over a week now, though stats indicate my following is up to 270….

I don’t much care if ffolkes don’t always Like what I write, but, it’s a bit disheartening to think that no one at all cares to read it…. But, it doesn’t really matter, since I don’t much care one way or the other about fame, or money…. only about sanity (my own…), and sanity is the reason I write…. Not that what you see here is particularly sane by normal standards, but those aren’t valid here without permits anyway…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat.” — Robert A. Heinlein

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

All us hippies are getting old…. Here is the fourth band who is celebrating their 50th anniversary as a band this year; the Stones, of course, decided to go on tour, I suppose to show they’re not too old to rock…. If their music is any indication, they’re definitely not too old…. Enjoy, ffolkes… I do suggest not looking too closely at the boys; the tour date I’ve included was just last year, and they’re looking a bit worse for wear….

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

The Rolling Stones

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

https://youtu.be/a3KJg8qw47E

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

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

“To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks.”

~~ Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne ~~

OCCIDENT, n. The part of the world lying west (or east) of the Orient. It is largely inhabited by Christians, a powerful subtribe of the Hypocrites, whose principal industries are murder and cheating, which they are pleased to call “war” and “commerce.” These, also, are the principal industries of the Orient.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

Recently, the Supreme Court, or one of the higher Federal Courts below them, made a decision which vindicated Edward Snowden completely (though you couldn’t tell that by the actions of the current administration, who continues to seek to prosecute him to literal death…), ruling the collection of data performed by the NSA was just as illegal as everyone knew it was…. I’m a bit under the weather, enough to preclude a fresh rant today, so, here is one of the better politirants from 2013; in fact, from the same day as the introductory section used above… Go figure…

From 6/22/2013:

“The rights of one are as sacred as the rights of a million.” — Eugene V. Debs, US labor leader.

(Note: Debs received one million votes in 1920 as candidate for US President, while serving a 10-year jail sentence for having said in June 1918: “Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder…the master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.”) — Smart Bee

This has been sitting around for a couple of days, since I found it in SB. It’s the perfect beginning for a politirant, and the news of late has provided a number of interesting side notes to this idea, so I find myself in the position of being compelled to rant, which is the best attitude to start with….

The recent news has shown a number of items concerned with the revelations just released a few weeks ago, when a former NSA contractor spilled the beans about how the US government has been spying on its own people, collecting personal data from phone records, mercantile records, and from review of emails and other data mined from the internet… The revelations, of course, are in the process of being denied and/or devalued by that government, who are trying to convince the public that the spying is “transparent”, and that the information is NOT being collected to investigate American citizens…. This, of course, is a bald faced lie, and anyone who believes it deserves anything that happens to them….

The government of this country is in the hands of people who are controlled by the corporate masters of society, sometimes willfully, most times without their complete knowledge. They (the corporate masters…) don’t give a SHIT about the rights of anyone else, so the above statement that got Mr. Debs in trouble is shown to be perfectly true. The people who control society don’t believe in the sacred nature of rights, for anyone who isn’t them, so it can be said that the rights of one are as sacred as the rights of a million, because to the 1% (a number that is actually far larger than the number of real masters of society…. that’s probably closer to .001%…..), neither one is sacred at all….

What disturbs me a lot of the time is that there are still a lot of people who believe that, of the choices available in the political spectrum, one side or another is better, and showing support for one of them will direct matters to a more favorable (for the people) resolution…. The fact is, neither the Republicans, nor the Democrats, nor any of the Independents who are in office, or trying to get into office, have any interest at all in doing anything other than establishing their own agenda as the one used by society. Those agendas have nothing to do with helping the general public; they are designed to benefit only those who ascribe to the correct philosophy. No matter which political party or entity you choose, you’re going to get screwed, in the final analysis.

“The art of government is the organization of idolatry.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

If you still think that Barack Obama is going to help the common man, well, I suggest you listen to the crap he is putting out right now about this surveillance. Remember, too, that he signed the law that killed the Bill of Rights, on New Year’s Eve of 2012, the infamous National Defense Authorization Act, which makes it legal for the government to arrest citizens without a warrant, to hold them in an unknown place, without any oversight or review of rights, and try them in a secret court, without legal representation. It authorized the use of drones in a domestic fashion (which they continue to lie about, and say they aren’t using them…. when reports from all over the country provide relatively incontrovertible PROOF that they ARE using them….), and, most assuredly, authorized the illegal wiretapping and internet data mining that is currently going on, even though it has been exposed.

We may as well begin referring to the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution as the Bill of Former Rights, because, face it, ffolkes, you don’t have them anymore. I’ve heard it said that they are not rights, anyway, as a right is something nobody can take away from you…. More accurately, you have no rights that you are unable to defend…. and the government has slyly convinced most people that they don’t want those rights anyway…. Look how many formerly intelligent people are jumping on the bandwagon about gun control, forgetting all that our forefathers cautioned us about, when they warned about the possible encroachment of big business and the churches into the workings of government…. Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Mason, Franklin, all of them mistrusted the corporate interests and the preachers, having suffered much at their hands, and they tried to warn us against listening to them….

But, what happened to Eugene Debs back in 1919, when he was sent to prison (in direct violation of the right to free speech….) was not the first indicator that things had regressed, and the trend toward government takeover of the rights of US citizenry has continued right up to today. The recent revelations about spying, you will see, will be quashed, and ignored by those in power, as there is now nothing we can do to stop them from doing whatever they want…. According to the laws we let them slip by us, it’s all legal ffolkes…. We are screwed, and the only good thing I can see about it, is that, due to global warming, climate change, and the imminent destruction of the human species by our own pollution, we won’t have long to put up with it….

Books are burning
In the main square, and I saw there
The fire eating the text.
Books are burning
In the still air
And you know where they burn books
People are next.

~~ “Books Are Burning”, XTC ~~

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

This poet needs no introduction; as well, you’ve seen him frequently on these pages…. Here is one I’d never seen until today; it confirms my opinion of Ogden’s poetry, as the work of a genius, who like to hide his talent behind silliness… and did it very well….

The Bargain

As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven lives;
Seven lives,
In seven sacks,
Like seven beeves
On seven racks.
These seven lives
He offered to sell,
But which was best
He couldn’t tell.
He swore with any
I’d be happy forever;
I bought all seven
And thought I was clever,
But his parting words
I can’t forget:
Forever
Isn’t over yet.

~~ Ogden Nash ~~

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

The pearl for today’s final section was created ahead of time; I managed to find a period of space yesterday morning while trying to distract myself from physical issues, combined with the near constant hunger that goes along with dieting, as a matter of course…. So, it’s a little different, not in the quality of the pearls, or of the message it somehow imparts rather well…. It’s just…. different…. I think you’ll enjoy it, and, if not, well, you can always get your money back…. Just ask the laughing Buddha for it…

There is a time in the tides of men,

Which, taken at its flood, leads on to success.

On the other hand, don’t count on it.

~~ T. K. Lawson ~~

“In the dark colony of night, when I consider man’s magnificent capacity for malice, madness, folly, envy, rage, and destructiveness, and I wonder whether we shall not end up as breakfast for newts and polyps, I seem to hear the muffled cries of all the words in all the books with covers closed.” — Leo Rosten

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” — Winston Churchill

“Freedom is a hard-bought thing – A gift no man can give.” — Opening lines, Settler’s Song, by Jessamyn West

“He that respects himself is safe from others; He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.” — Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

“It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say ‘I don’t know’.” — W. Somerset Maugham

“Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.” — Abraham Lincoln

“To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.” — Mohandas ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi

He who knows man is clever;
He who knows himself is enlightened.

He who conquers men has force;
He who conquers himself is truly strong.

~~ Lao Tzu ~~

See? Told ya…. different. Now, maybe you’ll listen…. You can trust me. I’ve never been elected to anything….

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

Done…. and, amazingly smoothly, too. It makes me a bit suspicious…. Ah well, we’ll trust the Universe, for once, though my experience tells me to have caution; a lot of times, when deciding to trust, it turns out badly. But, since my hands are going numb this morning, we’ll have to go with it…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I can feel my hands….

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….

Boy, that is one sick puppy….

Posted on May 27, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought.”

~~ Lord Peter Wimsey ~~

~~ Dorothy L. Sayers, “Gaudy Night” ~~

Mars Rover Curiosity ~~ May, 2015

Image from Space.com, via NASA Images

Good morning….

Today’s opening quote is a jab of irony at myself; quotations are lifeblood to me, and my mind…. For some reason, using quotations seems to make the wisdom they impart more personal, and more understandable to me, and, hopefully, to others…. It’s also damned entertaining, and a memory workout, to come up with the appropriate quote to cover any situation in real life…. In fact. that is where the irony exists…. Socrates, Aristotle, etc., all were noted for proclaiming their own ignorance, in order to deliver the lesson that only then can one be open to learning….

In the book, and in the movie, Gaudy Night, when Lord Peter makes the statement you see re: quotations, he is speaking at dinner, to the Warden and Fellows of Shrewsbury College, a fictional women’s College of Oxford University, during the investigation of a mystery there. The Warden, one Dr. Baring, says in reply to his statement, “I think you are excessively modest, Lord Peter. The apt quotation is no mere intellectual sleight-of-hand. It’s a form of wisdom.”

I like that sentiment, for it confirms my own thoughts, in a way which helps me justify this entire process… if only to myself. Lord Peter, bless him, added another reason, for reason, to wit: “The only kind of wisdom that has any social use, Warden, is the knowledge of one’s own limitations.”, thus paraphrasing Socrates, Aristotle, and other ancient and modern sages.

It also tells me, though I won’t go into it now, WHY doing this helps me stay sane…. which I am quite thankful for, to be sure…. For now, we will leave this little introspective discussion, for two reasons. One, I’ve no doubt bored some of y’all to tears, prompting the second, to get on with the business of the day, i.e., pearling our little hearts out….

Luigi, my good fellow!…. Would you be so kind as to hit it!…. Follow me, ffolkes….

Shall we Pearl?

“A zygote is a gamete’s way of producing more gametes. This may be the purpose of the universe.” — — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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

Best Friends Forever

While looking at a story on this blog, https://makingsenseofcrazy.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/worlds-first-phodographer-dog-wears-heart-rate-monitor-with-camera-that-takes-pics-when-he-gets-excited/ , I found the video below, as one of the choices after the video in the article. The picture you see of the BFF’s is one I found several years ago on sfgate.com, but, could never find out anything about the two animals involved in the picture. Finally, I found them, and the story of their friendship is one that can melt the hardest of hearts…. Enjoy, ffolkes, these two show us all what life is all about….

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

Suria and Roscoe

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

https://youtu.be/MDStH49W5Hk

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

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

“Nature does nothing uselessly.”

~~ Aristotle ~~

Today’s idea for discussion seems, at first glance, to be either too vague, or, too simple. However, a bit more consideration provides the meaning a bit more clearly, when one realizes he is speaking only the simplest of truths; everything that happens does so, for, and with, a purpose, whether known to us, or not…. Our own understanding of what that purpose might be doesn’t seem to have any real effect on the ultimate truth of the assertion; when we act as if we believe it, bending our efforts to make it true, or, act as if we don’t believe it, working against it, the end result is the same, to wit:

All nature is but art, unknown to thee;
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;
All discord, harmony not understood;
All partial evil, universal good;
And spite of pride, in erring reason’s spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.

~~ Alexander Pope ~~

~~Essay on Man, Epistle i, Line 289 ~~

Unfortunately, a large number of people can’t deal with such ambiguity; it makes them uncomfortable, as it requires effort, especially in the direction of learning, to use the mind, and to understand as much of what we perceive as we can…. For many, that is as frightening as any other fear they have, for it means they must always be dealing with the unknown. In short, they find using their own mind tedious, difficult, and uncomfortable….

The resultant vulnerability arises from one simple fact; the Universe, and Life at Large, are ambiguous, by their very nature. As you see, a conflict at the most elemental level is generated, compromising their intelligence, and their ability to be anything other than what they are told to be…. Freud, who tended to think in terms of diseases of the mind, identified it this way….

“Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.” — Sigmund Freud

These unfortunates, clueless to understand themselves. or the world around them, thus, without ever realizing it, become vulnerable, to anyone with the boldness to assert their own ability to mitigate those fears, if only the fearful ones will accept what they say as the truth…. This willingness to trust, to believe what is told to them, fearfully driving them to act against their own self-interest, firmly fastens a slave collar on every person alive who gives in to gives in to their fear, without ever realizing they are fully capable of learning to cope with life themselves…

One of the ways those with no ethics, or compassion, who ignore any such niceties as justice, or equality, sublimate their fears into bending all their efforts to control others, to get them to believe in what THEY tell them… To accomplish their ends, they form rigid systems of belief, often offering supernatural protections, or rewards of immortality in exchange for implicit trust, and the surrender of will… These systems reflect the fears of their creators, in their own inability to tolerate ambiguity, i.e, the REAL nature of reality… Another author noted this most succinctly this way….

“Intolerance of ambiguity is the mark of an authoritarian personality.” — Theodor W. Adorno

Then, of course, we may find classic social commentary, cleverly disguised as whimsical fairy tales/children’s stories, such as The Wind in The Willows, a short animated film from the early twentieth century, produced by one Kenneth Grahame, in which one of the story’s characters, quite famous in his own right, observes….

“To the small of brain, Ambiguity is pain.” — Mr. Toad

The only hope many people have of ever breaking their collars, to learn to learn, as it were, to use their own minds to find their own truths, is with the help of a teacher, or, at minimum, some sort of personal epiphany, either of which may convince them they CAN learn, and, more importantly, they CAN control their own lives…. Though hard to find, such teachers still exist, not only in books, but, as hidden gems, often not in schools, though one may find more of them there; at least those in that field are people committed to learning, even if their own beliefs may hinder the complete liberation of their minds…. There are even those who try to teach other teachers how to help, as demonstrated by this:

“Part of teaching is helping students learn how to tolerate ambiguity, consider possibilities, and ask questions that are unanswerable.” — Sara Lawrence Lightfoot, “In a World of Ideas,” 1992

Staying free isn’t as simple as it may sound by our discussion; I’m not implying people can be free just by wishing it, or by suddenly becoming more aware…. A certain degree of courage, and will, is also required, which many people never find within themselves, though it it there, in all of us. Sadly, a great number of people never do find any sort of freedom, not the sort they have never known, as there are a number of people in the world who actively work to prevent the masses from ever realizing their own slavery….

Bankers, preachers, politicians, even many educators, all victims of the same asinine beliefs in supernatural entities who will protect them, all are controlled by a few, insane, sociopathic oligarchs, masters of deceit, who, for millennia, have hidden behind the scenes, manipulating others for the sole purpose of fulfilling their own personal agendas, all of which are based SOLELY on their own wishes and desires, with absolutely no connection to their shared humanity.

Of the wisdom that is the legacy of all mankind, these assholes (no better word to describe their true nature…) pick and choose from the highest sounding, to justify their own selfishness, using their own expertise at psychological manipulation, and lying with a straight face, to achieve their own, perverted ends…. For example…. the following piece of wisdom, though perfectly innocent in its intent (to share knowledge of how to make oneself safer), provides them with the perfect excuse for their behavior, based on lies….

“All warfare is based on deception.” — Sun Tzu (ca. 500 BC)

What is really a shame is that far too many Westerners, especially those of a financial or political persuasion, seem to have read a mistranslated copy of the Art of War, wherein this line was translated as, “All life is based on deception.” It’s the only explanation for how a perfectly good concept, an essential truth, can be perverted and taken to its logical extreme, all for the loss of meaning in one word…. In this case, here on Earth, which we see around us today, nothing seen, heard, or read can be trusted; the truth is considered a weapon of last resort, only to be used as a distraction from the ‘true lies’….

“There are some remedies worse than the disease.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 301

SIGH…. I’m getting tired, and I need to finish this off before it gets away from me, so, we come to this final idea…. To get rid of the oligarchs who have been oppressing the majority of humanity for centuries, the most obvious, and quickest method, is to become like them, showing no compassion or concern for the rights of anyone but themselves. The numbers would be, patently, on the side of humanity in such a conflict, but, to use their own methods of violence to usurp their power can only mean, ultimately, we will become the same as them, thus, turning any attempts at achieving liberty into a mere transformation of power. from one sociopathic entity to another….

So, what is the solution? Well, at this point, at (unfortunately) 2:23 AM, on an unseasonably cold night in California, after hours of sleepless tossing and turning, I can’t say I have one, other than, possibly, my own, which involves me, a large supply of arrows, and a map to the oligarch’s houses. I’d be willing to sacrifice my own honor, in that way, to save humanity, and wouldn’t even mind dying afterward…. It’s the stain on my soul I don’t think I’d care for….

I’m working on it, though. It’s a tough problem, to figure out how to get rid of the assholes without becoming one…. I guess I could spend my time watching reality TV….. But, since I don’t much care for TV, I guess I’ll figure out something else…. When I’ve got something workable, I’ll get back to you…. Until then, let me leave you with one final thought, one which points up the ultimate solution for our difficulties, provided for us by Reality. It is also one which everyone, masters, slaves, and rebels, must eventually come to know….

There is a reaper whose name is Death,
And with his sickle keen
He reaps the bearded grain at a breath,
And the flowers that grow between.

~~ Henry W. Longfellow ~~

~~ The Reaper and the Flowers ~~

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

Walt Whitman ~~ 1875

Image and poem from an article at: https://creativesystemsthinking.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/dismiss-whatever-insults-your-own-soul/

What is there left to say in admiration of this man. One of the Great Souls, Walt Whitman was an example of the best of mankind. If a solution to our problems can be found, it could well start by beginning with this man’s views on how to live…. We could do worse….

Dismiss Whatever Insults Your Own Soul

Love the earth and sun and the animals,
Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
Stand up for the stupid and crazy,
Devote your income and labor to others,
Hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,
Have patience and indulgence toward the people.

Take off your hat to nothing known or unknown,
or to any man or number of men,
Go freely with powerful uneducated persons,
And with the young, and with the mothers or families.

Re-examine all you have been told
in school or church or in any book,
Dismiss whatever insults your own soul;
And your very flesh shall be a great poem…

And have the richest fluency, not only in its words,
But in the silent lines of its lips and face,
And between the lashes of your eyes,
and In every motion and joint of your body.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

~~ Preface to Leaves of Grass, 1855 edition ~~

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

Okay, so here’s the deal…. Today’s final old-school pearl is kind of silly, but, it’s still a good pearl…. Moreover, at the end, you’ll find a method whereby you, and only you, can make it the perfect pearl for YOU…. Enjoy, ffolkes, whether it seems so, or not, it’s a pretty good set of ideas about Life at Large to consider, even if they’re without the usual degree of sobriety…..

“There is no opinion so absurd that some philosopher will not express it.” — Cicero

“Half of the people in the world are below average.” — Smart Bee

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There is no difference between theory and practice in theory, but there is often a great deal of difference between theory and practice in practice.” — Chuck Rei

“These days, the wages of sin depend on what kind of deal you make with the devil.” — Kara Vichko

“There are worse things than dying.” — Kalas

“Most of all, I’ve learned that a good time to laugh is anytime you can.” — Linda Ellerbee

“Take everything you like seriously, except yourselves.” — Rudyard Kipling

As a bonus, for today’s final pearl, YOU, the Gentle Reader, get to choose the final entry for this section… Choose one of the following; all have been cleared as perfectly appropriate finishing pearls for this pearl…. If you’re so inclined, tell us in the comments why you made the choice you picked…. Choose wisely, young paduans….

Z #1) “GOOD-NIGHT, everybody.. Now I have to go administer FIRST-AID to my pet LEISURE SUIT!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Z #2) “Hold the MAYO & pass the COSMIC AWARENESS…” — Zippy the Pinhead

Z #3) “I feel better about world problems now!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Et Voilà…. I keep telling you, and telling you, and telling you…. It’s all in the wrist….

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

It’s hard to tell at this point, but, I’m pretty sure this one turned out pretty well. Or not. Since it’s still shy of 3 AM, and, I’ve been in misery for hours, frankly, I could care less, because it’s done, and, now I can try to get some sleep. Y’all have a good day, I’m gonna be busy sawing logs, I hope. Until tomorrow, then, I bid thee a fond, if somewhat sappy, adieu! Or, as we used to say on the streets…. well, no, I’d better not. I will, however, be back tomorrow to try this 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….

gigoid

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

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