Dragons seldom require advice…..

Posted on March 2, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
It is an old threat, but, if I ever find that guy, I will make damn sure he spends the rest of his short life regretting he ever lived….. What guy, you may ask? Well, actually, its a whole slew of guys, each as problematic as the next. They all inhabit this planet, but, as far as I can see, that is their only claim to any relation to other humans, because they just don’t make the grade when it comes to species loyalty, or, as a preacher would call it, morality. All of these men, and the occasional woman (generally brain-damaged) all spend their days working against the best interest of humanity at large, though their words may say otherwise…..

Yes, it’s once again time for some ranting against the BRC. In the last days, I’ve been somewhat preoccupied with other matters, and haven’t had the right degree of angst to rant. Since the election last year, most of the politicos are keeping a low profile, as far as possible. Oh, the POTUS is busy challenging the GOP, graciously trying to slip in a few reforms, and the GOP is busy maintaining their image as clueless white assholes, while the rest of us are trying to get on with living our lives without their interference.

Mostly, though, it’s been pretty quiet on the political front, if you don’t count the gun control issue (which has been raging for well over 200 years without a rational resolution….) (please, note the use of the word rational…. that is the single reason political entities will never find any such solution, as they are constitutionally incapable of that condition of mind, or of achieving any such results…. it just isn’t in them to do so….), and the economic shenanigans being played out this month….

So, I haven’t spent more than a minimum of time picking at them, since it wasn’t very interesting stuff, anyway. I’m hoping for one of them to make some really idiotic remark that I can use as a springboard, so I’ll peruse the news (hey, say that out loud…. it’s a neat little rhyme….) to see if there are any eligible remarks by a pundit, or a talking head. It usually doesn’t take more than a day or two for one of them to say something really dumb, so we’ll see what we see…. Maybe even today…. I’m tired of picking at the priestly hierarchies, and talking about global warming and overpopulation, so I’ll take a few shots at the idiots in Washington D.C. for a while…. I’m looking forward to a little fun….

Now, be aware, this may or may not happen today. I will remind you that Pearls, and pearls, are dependent on the availability of pearls, and on the nature of those pearls. (I know, a bit confusing…. just stay with me, it will get better….) So, if Smart Bee is in the right mood, or there is a good headline worth stealing, I’ll jump on it for a politirant…. (yes, I just made that word up….), as opposed to a religirant (twice, how handy!). We could conceivably end up with both, or neither, as both are likely to appear at times. But, I’ll be keeping my eye on the asses who make their money off the people by governmental decree as opposed to tithing, to ascertain where my shots might be most effective…..

As usual, though, I’ve rambled through several paragraphs of meandering conversation, while the day keeps getting older. Since I’ve already consumed the greater portion of the intro section for this, I should go for my dive, and get this slow on the road. Which I will now proceed to do…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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What we have here is a typical Pearl in the making…. that means I have no idea whatsoever of where it is headed. I’ve ranted in the intro, a bit, then wrote a politirant in the third section, to keep the two separate. I don’t wish to completely numb your minds with another rant, so I’m going with a random old-school pearl, in hopes of getting a worthy group to go along with the rest of today’s post. You are, no doubt, hoping I can find a good group, too, to help you stay awake…. so, here you go….

“If you can’t annoy somebody, there’s little point in writing.” — Kingsley Amis

Thou shalt not get caught. — The Eleventh Commandment

“My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests.” — George Santayana

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

“Do you think there’s a God?” “Well, SOMEbody’s out to get me!” — Calvin & Hobbes

“You are old,” said the youth, “as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door —
Pray what is the reason of that?”

“In my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
“I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment — one shilling the box —
Allow me to sell you a couple?”

— Lewis Carroll, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

“Hello. Just walk along and try NOT to think about your INTESTINES being almost FORTY YARDS LONG!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

There you go…. a rather eclectic group, but well seasoned, I think…. Enjoy!
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For some reason, when I’ve been ranting, I turn to Emily Dickinson to soothe my spirit, though her work is not always soothing. This one is merely deeply insightful, as well as a good example of her unique style and viewpoint…. She always takes my mind away….. She also never used titles, so her poems are generally referred to by the first line…. In that vein, here is….

I measure every grief I meet
With analytic eyes;
I wonder if it weighs like mine,
Or has an easier size.

I wonder if they bore it long,
Or did it just begin?
I could not tell the date of mine,
It feels so old a pain.

I wonder if it hurts to live,
And if they have to try,
And whether, could they choose between,
They would not rather die.

I wonder if when years have piled–
Some thousands–on the cause
Of early hurt, if such a lapse
Could give them any pause;

Or would they go on aching still
Through centuries above,
Enlightened to a larger pain
By contrast with the love.

The grieved are many, I am told;
The reason deeper lies,–
Death is but one and comes but once
And only nails the eyes.

There’s grief of want, and grief of cold,–
A sort they call ‘despair,’
There’s banishment from native eyes,
In sight of native air.

And though I may not guess the kind
Correctly yet to me
A piercing comfort it affords
In passing Calvary,

To note the fashions of the cross
Of those that stand alone
Still fascinated to presume
That some are like my own.

~~ Emily Dickinson
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“He who imitates evil always goes beyond the limits of the example, whereas he who imitates what is good, always falls short.” — Confucius

Perfect! If ever a quote could be applied to fit one group of people, this one would; it fits the folks who occupy elected office in this country like the proverbial glove. Ooh! Ooh! Here’s another one…

“Ignorance: When you don’t know something and somebody finds it out.” — Jethro Burns

Okay, that’s a good start…. Now, we all know that politicians lie to us…. It’s what we’ve taught them to do, by our calm acceptance of all the other lies they’ve told, from the very beginning. We expect them to lie… then, when we catch them at it, there is this huge public outcry, as if it had never happened before.

Sometimes, the behavior of the American public toward the political beast reminds me of a shark…. to wit: no memory of the past to slow down their willingness to rush into dangerous situations….. For millions of years, sharks and dolphins have lived together in the oceans. For just about all that time, whenever a shark attacks a dolphin, it gets killed, unless the dolphin is injured in some way, or, it is a baby inadvertently left alone. Always, if things are even, the shark dies, because the dolphins are smarter, and faster swimmers.

After millions of years, you would think the sharks might learn to let them alone, but, they don’t, which is evidence of their lack of ability to learn. The American voting public has the same problem…. they never learn to expect to be lied to, and always seem surprised to learn that their elected officials are, shall we say, less than perfectly honest? It, quite frankly, drives me nuts…. What is it about people that does that to them? Why are they so unwilling to use the mind that sits between their ears, rather than just carrying it around from toilet to toilet, which is all most folks seem to do with it? (Almost forgot it was a question….) I wish I knew….

“There is one way to find out if a man is honest–ask him. If he says yes, you know he is crooked.” — Groucho Marx

I’m starting to feel a bit of anger, actually, and I have a hard time not letting it out on the voting public, the idiots. But, it really isn’t all their fault, as the people who run for office are the ones who are actively imitating evil, and, obviously, exceeding the limits of their example. And the voting public can’t help never being able to quite reach the good for which they reach. This is why I get angry about it…. The folks who run for office tell the public they are going to work for the people when they are elected; we all know they are lying, but we elect them anyway. Now, how stupid is that? Pretty stupid, in my book…..

On the one hand, the stupidity displayed by the politicians is deliberate, in its adherence to principles of theft and prevarication; on the other hand, the stupidity displayed by the voting public is, perhaps, not deliberate, but at minimum, misguided, and, ultimately, just as evil, in placing its trust in evil people. In the dispassionate view held by the universe, stupid is as stupid does, and the sentence of death is the same for both types of stupidity, deliberate and unconscious. It doesn’t care about why, it only looks at results….

What can be done about this? Not a damn thing…. Not only do I find that most people are unconsciously stupid, but they are stubborn about it, even when it is clear how being stupid is hurting them. Rather than use their minds to find a new way of dealing with these issues, they retreat into platitudes and dogma, and run right back out to vote for another idiot who promises them manna from heaven, or, more accurately, from Washington D.C. If confronted with their idiocy, they become even more stubborn, as they are unwilling to accept they might be wrong, and refuse to either examine any evidence of being wrong, or, will deny its existence altogether.

The politicians, who choose to live in stupidity, by lying and cheating and stealing from their own people, don’t even WANT to choose otherwise. Why should they? They’ve got it easy, with a ready supply of host bodies on which to practice their symbiotic parasitism, a body that not only accepts all their lies, but encourages them to even further depredations with their complete acquiescence with whatever the politicos want. All the politicians have to say is that the public is in danger, from this, that, or the other, and the public will allow them to do whatever they choose, as long as they feel safe from whatever fictional fantasy they have been told is dangerous…..

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift; the rational mind is faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” — Albert Einstein

It’s an interesting spectacle to observe from the sidelines, but it arouses in me a strong feeling of sadness, with the anger underlying, as I watch, day after day, as so many millions of foolish people get taken advantage of by a few assholes. It definitely makes me want to buy a gun, even though I would only use it if pressed; I have a feeling I may get pressed some day, if I continue to make noise about all this.

I’m fairly well protected thus far by a lack of notoriety; the BRC and the PTB aren’t going to worry about me until I have an audience a lot larger than a couple of hundred folks, of which perhaps fifty regularly read my work. If what I am saying began to gain popularity, and was being read by millions, I’d be in danger; until then, I’m as safe as I can make myself with the tools at hand… which, if I say so myself, are not entirely inconsequential…. If I said any more, I’d be giving away my precautions, and that wouldn’t do, so, just rest assured… I am ready to deal with anything short of assault weapons, with what I have on hand…..

“Many, if not all, of my presidential opponents are certifiable idiots.” — Miriam Defensor Santiago — The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1993

See? I’m not completely alone! Actually, if you pay close attention, you will note this was uttered by a politician, about their peers, so it really doesn’t count as support of what I’m saying here. What, exactly am I saying here? Hmm, okay, since I’ve already written about 1200 words or so on this, it’s a good place to wind it up…. so, here goes…

Ffolkes, you are being lied to, daily, and hourly, by those who have been elected to office to look out for your interests. I hate to tell you, but those folks never intended to do anything of the sort. So, it would be a good thing if everybody in this country would OPEN THEIR FUCKING EYES AND GET A DAMN CLUE!!!!!….. I don’t think I can say it any clearer than that….. That’s all, for now…..

“Ignorance kills daily. “– Smart Bee
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Well, maybe it’s not Hemingway-esque, but, it’s certainly gigoidal…. Gee, this making up words is really cool! Any who, I’m done for now; I’ve created all the confusion I can in 2500 words or more, so I’ll go try to find some trouble to cause out in the Big Blue Room.

I’ll be facing a dangerous situation later, as the library is having its annual used book sale, and I have money in my pocket…. I have a feeling, if I attend the sale, that last part won’t be true when I get home…. I’m a sucker for books, especially on sale, cheap…. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s effort…. it certainly was….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

But, the sign says it will sing……

Posted on March 1, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
It is a commonly held belief that Time is on our side; this, I can assure you, is not true, from at least one standpoint. I can attest from personal experience that Time, as has been previously noted, is a big PITA (Pain In The Ass)….. and I mean that in a bad way…..

Some women I’ve known have been known to call Time the Time Bitch, and watch in the mirror daily, to search for signs of her bitchiness, in the form of crow’s nests of lines around the eyes, and tangles of grey in the hair. We men, not quite as concerned with the outward signs of aging, nonetheless have our own issues with the Time Bozo, with no less degree of hatred involved…..

It’s hard on men in general to get old, especially since, for most of our lives, we are seen as, and view ourselves as, strong, competent, and able to withstand whatever the world throws at us, in order to accomplish our duty. This strength is hard to give up, but, give it up we must, as our muscles grow weaker, and we tire more easily, no matter how much conditioning we try to maintain. Yes, it’s possible to keep the worst effects at bay for a while, with proper exercise and rest, and a good diet, but, eventually, even the most athletic of seniors must put aside the bikes, and the hikes, and trade it in for an occasional waltz with your lover….

In my own case, I am incensed at how my body is losing function, as I’ve always thought of myself as invincible, perhaps even immortal…. Well, guess what? I’m not either of those things, other than in a metaphysical sense (We are immortal, but not in a recognizable fashion from our current viewpoint in Reality…..), and to be honest, I’m beginning to understand a little better exactly why there are so many older folks running around with a piss-poor attitude. After a while of trying to deal with the things that aging brings with it, the frustration builds up, and there is little choice but to find a way to let it out…. It’s just too bad that other people have to be in the way when that happens, but the other side effect of getting older is that we just don’t give a shit about that….

It’s the one thing that saves us oldsters from getting homicidal, actually, this license to grump. And, whether or not you feel that we are licensed to be so, just remember that we don’t give a shit what you think about it, do we?…. Nope, we don’t. So, get used to grumpy old farts like me toddling around, trying to get our shit done, pushing through our hazes of pain and difficult mobility (you try walking around with 50 lbs. of groceries, being pulled in a hand-cart, riding buses, when your hip is screaming with a pain level of about 7 out of 10, and pain and stiffness in the back at about 5 or 6, having to stand and wait, freezing, for buses that never came, for about 90 minutes…..), while we try to live the way we used to do, but much more slowly…..

I hadn’t intended to rant right off the bat this morning, but what I described in the last paragraph took place last evening, and I guess I’m still a bit pissed about it…. I was the victim of a bus system in the throes of destroying itself through budget cuts and piss poor management, and did actually have to stand at a bus stop for over 90 minutes for a bus that never showed up; I ended up calling a cab, and thank goodness I had a cell phone, or I’d have been stuck walking, two miles from home with 50 lbs. of groceries, part of which was thawing during the delay. By the time the cab arrived, I was in tears, and excruciating pain; it took me almost a full minute to be able to sit down in the seat, I was so stiff, cold, and in pain….

Ah well, I suppose I have to get used to that sort of thing, as our society doesn’t place a large emphasis on caring for the aged. Oh, there’s a lot of talk about respecting seniors, and showing them we care, but, I’m afraid I have to tell you, it’s all just smoke and mirrors…. When it comes down to the sticking point, senior programs are among the first to get budget cuts, far ahead of any cuts to the military, or to bailing out the bankers from their latest scheme to rip off the public….. No, I’m not bitter at all, why do you ask?…..

“Alas! it is not till time, with reckless hand, has torn out half the leaves from the Book of Human Life to light the fires of passion with from day to day, that man begins to see that the leaves which remain are few in number.” — Henry W. Longfellow (1807-1882) — Hyperion, Book iv, Chap. viii

Fuck it…. There isn’t anything I can do about it, so I may as well just bury it, down deep where all the other stuff is kept, the stuff I hate, but can’t do anything about…. That’s okay, though…. all that angst, and bitterness, will sit in there with the other stuff, and percolate, much like compost, until it comes bursting out sometime in the future, as a poem, or a steamy, messy, vicious indictment/rant against….. well, somebody…. In the meantime, I guess the only thing to do is go on with today’s dive, and see if it doesn’t calm me down a bit…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will keep him from the commission of all sins, or nearly all, save those that are worth committing.” — Samuel Butler

Smart Bee showed this quote to me this morning first off; I hesitated to use it, though it seems to lend itself to a discussion, and went on. A few moments later, after supplying a few nice pearls for an old-school format, it brought it up again. It usually knows what its doing, so this time I brought it up for treatment here, though still without a clear idea of what to discuss…..

It’s a good thought, and quite accurate in its assumption of human humor as moral mentor. To me, it seems quite obvious…. Then, I realized that, sadly, there is a significant percentage of humanity that possesses NO sense of humor that can be detected. These folks, handicapped as they are by their lack of chillness, often end up in a small category of life tasks, or jobs, as we call them today….

People without any humor tend to flock together in groups; they may not be fully human, but they do need the company of others of their ilk, just like the rest of us. So, they gravitate into professions where their lack of any sense of proportion, or irony, can be an asset rather than a liability, as it tends to be in most of Life’s activities.

Lawyers, accountants, politicians, preachers, all, by virtue of the nature of their work, don’t need a sense of humor; in fact, it slows them down to have one, as they see what they do as important and dignified, no place for levity. They never understand that, by doing so they are acting as the most hilarious of clowns, while being completely oblivious of how ridiculous they appear to the rest of mankind.

A guy calls 911, in breathless panic. When the operator answers, he cries out, “My buddy and I were hunting deer, and he accidentally shot himself! He looks dead! What should I do?” The operator, trained to be calm, says to him, “Okay, first, go make sure that he’s actually dead.” The guy say, “Okay.”, and puts down the phone, The operator hears some footsteps,then, a gunshot. The guy comes back online, and says, “Okay, he’s dead. Now what?”…..

See? That’s funny, right? Since this joke was chosen by a nation-wide search to find out what people thought was the best joke ever, we may assume it is…. Plus, if it isn’t funny to you, then you may want to get examined by a psychiatrist, as you may have lost the sense of humor you once had; quite frankly, it’s bloody hilarious, and quite true to human nature.

That’s all…. I’m going to leave this here, as I can feel my own sense of irony getting heated up, and I’m liable to start spouting off my own funniest stories…. Given my macabre, perilously close to perverted, and often unexplainable sense of humor about almost everything I perceive, especially if it has to do with people and their antics, that could be disastrous…. plus, we’ve got a long way to go yet today. So, I’ll leave this here, and just say this….

We are all Bozos on this Bus, whether we know it or not; it’s not something we have choice in, it is our nature to be clowns. The best, and easiest way to deal with the universe is to accept this, and not try to force Reality into an unnatural shape to suit our own folly, because when people try to do that, they just end up funnier than usual, to the rest of us, as Reality demonstrates its unwillingness to allow any such alteration. As the Firesign Theater said, so many years ago, “If the nose grows, let it show!”….

“Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?” — Steven Wright
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After my experience last night with the bus system here, I’m feeling pretty lazy, unwilling to make any effort to get past my recovery stage. I’m also feeling too tired to go searching for a good poem, so I’m going to resort to the ultimate cheat around here, and include here a poem of my own, from a few months ago; October of last year, to be precise…. It seemed appropriate for the occasion….. You may have seen it then, but, whether or not you did so, I hope you enjoy it….

Raging at Aging

As old as you feel, we are told, is old as you are,
custom assures such vision will carry us far.
Reality begs to differ, may it be so bold
it is really quite painful, and very, very cold.

The power and strength felt in our halcyon youth
desert us with age, yet another unwelcome truth.
Irony rules our time here on this bountiful earth
as we reflect the changes over time since our birth.

As physical powers fade from this fragile shell,
we learn our mind can serve us quite as well.
The strength that once filled our bones and hearts
is now applied by our will, to more arcane arts.

Life’s greatest gift is our freedom of choice
no matter how often we forget, we still get a voice.
Energy, or apathy, by our will we may choose,
failing to do so, our only way to lose.

Each of us lives in the grip of time and space,
always seeking our balance, our own chosen place.
One must accept reality, for it is true at the core,
all we can do, is all we can do, and nothing more.

~~ gigoid
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Today’s Pearl has apparently been taken over by Smart Bee…. In searching for a final pearl to discuss, it kept giving me a series of related quotes, as if it were trying to tell me which way to go…. Since I’m feeling so lazy today, I have allowed it to pick out a seven star pearl for your reading pleasure, and left it to chance that it will have some sort of relevance to reality….

Of course, each of the following, save the second pearl in line, by Mr. Graham, are worthy of an entire pearl alone…. Even the one by Graham is one I could rant on for a while, and have, in his case, in the past….. But, as I look at them all together, I find them to be not so much a pointed lesson, as a group of lozenges to treat the figurative sort throat that swallowing Reality can produce….. Enjoy!….. They taste almost like cinnamon…

“This universe is a trinity and this is made of name, form, and action. The source of all actions is the body, for it is by the body that all actions are done. The body is behind all actions, even as the Eternal is behind the body. — Upanishads (c. B.C. 800)

“God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are.” — Billy Graham
(Sorry, couldn’t resist including this, as a contrast to the rational material on either side…. this is so full of shit, it would counteract five pieces of real wisdom…. and any number of pearls….)

“It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man.” — H.L. Mencken
(Especially after being exposed to Billy Graham….)

“Say not, when I have leisure I will study; you may not have the leisure.” — The Mishnah

“Having a passionate commitment to social justice does not excuse you from knowing what in the hell you’re talking about.” — Smart Bee

“It is good for a man to eat thistles and to remember that he is an ass.” — E. S. Dallas

“If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.” — W.L. Bateman
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As I sit here on my sore butt, it occurs to me that I need to get a better chair….. Any who, I’m done for now…. After a short break to clear out the cobwebs, we’ll see how it came out….. Hmm…. well, it will do…. Actually, considering the struggle I’m having today just to keep from screaming at something or somebody, it didn’t come out so badly…. good enough. I won’t tempt fate any further today….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Engaging in palliative syncopation….

Posted on February 28, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
In the normal course of events, I don’t spend a lot of time with dead bodies; it has never been, to me, an attractive way to pass the time, nor has it ever tempted me to stop doing even the most onerous chore in order to pursue such mundane activities. However, due to the circumstances I am about to relate, I’ve recently been compelled to spend far too many of my precious minutes in the company of more than just one or two of the poor devils, and I must confess to a certain degree of discomfort in that regard. I mean, it’s not as if they will bore me to death with unwarranted chatter. But, good gracious, my good fellow, must they smell that way?….

Okay, mildly amusing, and just the right touch of macabre I was shooting for. There are times when stopping is hard; this was one, as it was kind of fun to think about what was going on, and what might happen next…. Ah, fiction…. I’ve read as much, or more, than 99% of the folks, or ffolkes, my age, and my lifelong love of reading shows no signs of lessening….

I’ve currently got 10 books on loan from the library, and reading four of them in random rotation, just for fun (Two are old Heinlein books I’ve already read, so they’re just for fun anyway….). I fully intend to write fiction, eventually, but have stuck pretty much to non-fiction in this blog, for the simple reason of maintaining what there is of my sanity….

But, that’s finished…. I’m no longer concerned about my sanity; if the world doesn’t like me the way I am, well, let’s see, how you say in English?…. Ah…. fuck them! Hard!…… Yep, I’m done trying to shield other folks from my mind’s randomness. I’ve decided that I’ve been nice my whole life, and never once killed anyone, in spite of the many, many opportunities, attached to viable reasons, that I’ve encountered over my life, so, society can just deal with all the stuff that holding in those homicidal impulses has created in me….. warts and all.

You may note a bit more harshness to future rants as a result of this decision. The time limit for our making the changes needed for us to survive our racial stupidity is approaching rapidly, and it’s time for me to step up my campaign against the PTB (powers that be), the BRC (Beloved Ruling Classes), and the PPA (preacher/priest assholes), and all those who, for their own aggrandizement, exercise power over others for gain.

It’s time now to take off the gloves I’ve been wearing, and throw some bare-knuckle punches. I’m even considering buying a power-glove to wear, to increase the effect of any blows that land. (A power glove is lead lined, weighs about 2-3 lbs., and effectively turns the fist into a war hammer….) Figuratively speaking, of course…. ( 😉 )

“I ‘m armed with more than complete steel,–The justice of my quarrel.” — Christopher Marlowe (1565-1593) — Lust’s Dominion, Act iii, Sc. 4

Actually, I think I’m kind of looking forward to it. I’ve been relatively nice so far, trying to increase credibility by maintaining a reasonable tone…. but the time is past for shyness, or, for that matter, for being nice to my targets. They have shown no mercy and no ‘niceness’ to any of us, so there is no further reason to do so, even to maintain my own integrity. At this point, laying a few on their chin, and causing some real pain and suffering on their part, ARE acts of integrity, as they serve to give notice of our intent for change.

Until the revolution actually begins, though, I think I can get a few Pearls in…. but, only if I ever learn to shorten up these intro sections and get on with it…. Sometimes, I drive myself crazy….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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Once again, Smart Bee is being cute…. I can’t find anything worth a word or two, after a half-hour search…. To save time, and because it was so much fun yesterday, I’m going to find an Old Pearl to put here…. I’ll be right back…. Okay, that was quick…. Here are two Pearls, both short, as they were in the beginning…. Both were published sometime in 2008…. Actually, the first was published on June 23 of that year; the other a few months later….

A light in the darkness

Ffolkes,
Last night, the Universe lost one of its’ brightest lights. One of those people who make everyone else’s life better, just from being, has passed on to another plane of existence, and boy, I’ll bet he’s p___ed! George Carlin has left us, and it is no laughing matter, though he would perhaps disagree.

I don’t know if most folks understood just how much compassion he had for his fellow man; what else could be the cause for his particular twisted world view? He was well aware that we laugh to take away the pain of existence, and turned the power of his scintillating intelligence on everyday events that would surely make you cry, if only you weren’t laughing so hard at how ridiculous he made them seem. And the man had no fear; no subject was taboo for him. Be glad that you lived in a time that included his presence; we are all lessened by his passing…..

“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom, in the pursuit of truth as in the endeavour after a worthy manner of life.” — Bertrand Russell, “An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish”

And this one….George would have liked this one….

“Eternity has nothing to do with the hereafter… This is it… If you don’t get it here, you won’t get it anywhere. The experience of eternity right here and now is the function of life. Heaven is not the place to have the experience; here’s the place to have the experience.” — Joseph Campbell

Y’all take care out there….and have a laugh on George!……

Okay, so this next one isn’t so short…. but, it’s a good one….

special stuff

Ffolkes,
It’s Friday. Just saying it makes it true enough….yay! Okay, enough giddiness. This morning’s offering is short, and not so sweet……

“The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self-mastery.” — Reinhold Niebuhr

I’ve never heard this person’s name before, but his observation is spot on; far too many humans take the first choice, and this is what has led us to the precarious world in which we live. War, the state of the economy, dissolution of the nuclear family, global warming, destruction of the ozone layer, all the most serious, species-threatening issues of current events can be laid at the doorstep of this simple idea. People choose gluttony over restraint, profit over compassion, power over others instead of self-control. And it won’t change, unless we, as a species, undergo a shift of paradigm, and become mature. I fear for our children…..

Folly, thou conquerest, and I must yield!
Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain. Exalted reason,
Resplendent daughter of the head divine,
Wise foundress of the system of the world,
Guide of the stars, who are thou then, if thou,
Bound to the tail of folly’s uncurb’d steed,
Must, vainly shrieking, with the drunken crowd,
Eyes open, plunge down headlong in the abyss.

— Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller, The Maid of Orleans

Sorry to be so gloomy, but I calls ’em as I sees ’em…..here, this may help…

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” — Henry David Thoreau

and remember…..

“Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by hitting back.” — Pat Hein

Y’all take care out there……

Well, there you have it…. two days in the work life of gigoid in 2008… and it saved you from a rant! Glory be!…..
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Soliloquy Of The Solipsist

I?
I walk alone;
The midnight street
Spins itself from under my feet;
When my eyes shut
These dreaming houses all snuff out;
Through a whim of mine
Over gables the moon’s celestial onion
Hangs high.

I
Make houses shrink
And trees diminish
By going far; my look’s leash
Dangles the puppet-people
Who, unaware how they dwindle,
Laugh, kiss, get drunk,
Nor guess that if I choose to blink
They die.

I
When in good humor,
Give grass its green
Blazon sky blue, and endow the sun
With gold;
Yet, in my wintriest moods, I hold
Absolute power
To boycott any color and forbid any flower
To be.

I
Know you appear
Vivid at my side,
Denying you sprang out of my head,
Claiming you feel
Love fiery enough to prove flesh real,
Though it’s quite clear
All you beauty, all your wit, is a gift, my dear,
From me.

~~ Sylvia Plath

Brilliant!….
__________________________________

Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled
About the center of the silent Word.
— T.S. Eliot

I’ve always been fond of this little snippet from T.S.; it has a certain charm to it. I find to be pleasantly complex, while yet describing a very basic idea. Of course, it’s not a rantable item, nor particular helpful in any sort of self-improvement activities. But, I don’t much care, I just like it, so there….

Actually, I’ve included it where it is as a filler; Smart Bee is being particularly uncooperative this morning. It’s almost as if it were suffering from what I am, and is trying to tell me, to wit:

” — Bother! said Pooh, as his fur turned gray and he began losing his memory.” — Smart Bee

So, in the face of such obstruction, I have only one defense, and that is to go old-school, reverting back to the type of pearls as demonstrated in section one today…. I give you therefore, the next in a seemingly endless parade of aphorisms, all pointed in one direction, or at least, all located in one dimension….. Let’s see what we find….

Content if hence th’ unlearn’d their wants may view,
The learn’d reflect on what before they knew.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Criticism, Part iii, Line 180

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice: It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” — William Jennings Bryan

“Our genetic heritage endows each of us with a series of emotional set-points that determines our temperament. But the brain circuitry involved is extraordinarily malleable; temperament is not destiny.” — Daniel P. Goleman

“It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all there is to perceive.” — C. W. Leadbeater

“I have learned this at least by my experiment: if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” — Henry David Thoreau, “Walden”

“Metaphysical totalitarianism of any kind stifles the freedom we have as human beings. It is not acceptable to have a religion where the alternative to faith is punishment – that’s how you train dogs, not develop people.” — Deng Ming-Dao

“There was once a man, Harry, called the Steppenwolf. He went on two legs, wore clothes and was a human being, but nevertheless he was in reality a wolf of the Steppes. He had learned a good deal of all that people of a good intelligence can, and was a fairly clever fellow. What he had not learned, however, was this: to find contentment in himself and his own life.” — Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf

Not bad, a seven star pearl, in less than a hundred clicks…. I’ll take it, and run…..
__________________________________

Well, there you have it, ffolkes, another day’s random walk through the back corridors of my mind, such as it is….. Let’s go see how it looks front to back…. I can’t honestly say it’s the best I’ve ever done, but I plead both age and distraction…. My monthly gelt just arrived at the bank, and I get to go shopping for food! Yippee! I can also get my guitar out of hock, I think, so it’s all good…. In any case, that’s all I can do; there’s only so much nonsense acceptable by the universe, so I’m outta here…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Safely insane amid the noise and tedium…..

Posted on February 27, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Unbeknownst to the rest of us, the warranty on this state of reality has expired, and I don’t think there will be any renewal, not for us, and not for the dreams we once held. Sad, but true….. A lesser man might become depressed, or fall into the state of mind where a lack of caring, about anything, becomes attractive, rather than the low-level sense of doom that is the lot of those who have any wit to spare. Instead, I think…. I’ll have a beer…..

Or maybe not…. it’s a bit early for a Budweiser, I suppose. I’m not sure exactly what the above paragraph is all about, other than as a possible lead-in to a rant, and it’s WAY too soon in this process to start that….. I haven’t even had enough coffee to be able to blink without concentrating, and I can’t be trusted to tie my shoes yet, much less start ranting about the environment, or whatever…. Hell, as is obvious, I couldn’t get through an entire paragraph without resorting to silliness….. It may be a gift, in some instances, but, just now, it’s more of a PITA…… If you don’t know that particular acronym, well, that is probably just as well…. If you do, then you’ll get my drift….

As might be apparent by now, I’m a little scattered, a little off, today. In such cases, it’s easy to tell how I’m doing, as this intro becomes rather a battleground for sanity, and gets stranger by the second the longer it goes on, and on, and on, and on…… Now, strange isn’t necessarily a BAD thing, not if it’s adequately appreciated, and taken full advantage of….. It’s when folks try to stop it, or make it normal that it gets all crazy and violent. Some folks never pick up on that, and so spend their entire lives fighting against it, rather than being able to embrace it, and allow it to become an asset, rather than a liability…. It’s easy, fun, and much more comfortable than trying to be a conformist…

Since I don’t wish for that to even have a chance to happen, I might do well to get on with business today, rather than trying to squeeze out every last drop of asininity I can from the beginning of this missive. There’s still a ways to go before I can call it a day, so, I’d best be getting to it….. Shall we Pearl?…..
__________________________________

“Oh my GOD — the SUN just fell into YANKEE STADIUM!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I’ve just spent more than enough time looking for a pearl, and this is the best I’ve seen….. Pathetic, don’t you think? Although I really like Zippy’s little pronouncement for it’s absolutely brilliant level of strange, it doesn’t help in coming up with something, anything, about which I can write. Having already started late today, and now an hour or more into the process, I am, relatively, no further along than when I began, especially if you don’t count the intro section, which is, if not exactly Pulitzer material, at least has the distinction of a small dollop of humor, bordering on verifiable silliness…..

Well, that last sentence certainly wound its way through the grammatical and punctuation minefield, didn’t it? Any who, I was busy complaining about the lack of material…. I’m so dry, in my own head, I’m actually going to resort to a re-post…. Here is an old, and old-school, Pearl, first published, or sent out via email, while I was still working at NSH, which would make it about six to eight years ago….

At that time, the Pearls were all in the format you see below, and were sent out to about 250 hospital employees each morning via the hospital network….It drove the IT dept. crazy when they’d see the network bandwidth patterns go crazy when I sent it out…. Apparently, the Pearls, enjoyed by so many, were a bit of a load for the network at the time of sending….. Oh well…. Any who, enjoy…..

When Reality becomes moot…

Ffolkes,
Spinning, twisting, caught up in the vortex Reality creates, we look about with trepidation, seeking, seeking, and never finding the path to the future that will ease our way. Entropy makes us weep, with deep regret, the choices we never made, the truths we never spoke, the challenges we didn’t meet. In spite of all this, we go on…with courage and good humor. And why? Because we can…..and must.

Did you ever watch Sesame Street? If so, you may remember a repetitive piece called “One of these things is not like the others.” This morning we bring you another version of that, called “Betty Likes It”. If you don’t get it, don’t worry, it’s just about as obscure as I can be, meant to confuse, as the puzzle is an easy one. Comments or criticisms are welcome, though the latter will most likely be cheerfully ignored. You computer ffolkes should like it…..

RTFM – Read The F#*@^| Manual

I admit it, I tried MS-DOS, but I didn’t inhale.

“If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.’ — Weinberg’s Second Law

For Dessert? I’ll take a piece of cherry 3.14159!

The definition of a successful life must include a commitment to serving others.

So, which is different? If you can’t tell, well, just look for the one that feels the best when you use it…. y’all take care out there…..

This Pearl was first published circa 2006…..
__________________________________

Where The Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
and before the street begins,
and there the grass grows soft and white,
and there the sun burns crimson bright,
and there the moon-bird rests from his flight
to cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
and the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
we shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow
and watch where the chalk-white arrows go
to the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
and we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
for the children, they mark, and the children, they know,
the place where the sidewalk ends.

~~ Shel Silverstein
__________________________________

Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land?
All fear, none aid you, and few understand.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Man, Epistle iv, Line 261

Ah, Pope! I regard Alexander Pope as the premier of all the romantic poets…. Deeply insightful, and ornately beautiful, his verse continually amazes me. This poem, Essay on Man, has more couplets and quatrains of great power in it, all of which make excellent excerpts, than in any other work I have ever seen, bar none, save, perhaps, Ode on a Grecian Urn, by Keats. Line after line of great composition, and insight after insight into the nature of Man, Mssr. Pope created one of Mankind’s most precious treasures in this epic work…..

I identify very closely with this couplet, as it is rather a good description of what goes on here. Even though I continue to rant and rail against the people and institutions, and ideas, that I believe are holding us from becoming all we could be as humans, I am often struck with how little response I get from anyone who doesn’t feel the same way….. which is another way of saying that I believe that, most of the time when I rant, I’m preaching to the choir, in a manner of speaking…. It’s more than just a little bit of a frustration, as I believe what I have to say is important to all of us, to, as Alexander so aptly puts it, to “teach, or save a sinking land.” If people continue to ignore what I’m saying, the consequences to be faced are horrendous, not from me, but from Reality…..

“All fear, none aid you, and few understand.” This, too, seems to be a completely accurate picture of ECR and the rants that are fostered here. Actually, if the BRC was a little more nervous, and paid a bit more attention to me, I think I wouldn’t be so frustrated, as what I’m saying SHOULD make them nervous, since most of it pulls their covers ruthlessly. At least, I hope it does…..sometimes, I have a hard time with ‘ruthless’…. too much of a softie….. SIGH…. I can’t help it if I don’t enjoy hurting people…..

However, any hurt that I cause the BRC is NOTHING, NOTHING when compared to the pain and misery that will be our lot when the massive stupidity our species has displayed for the past 5000 years finally catches up to us…. Yesterday, I posted a quote from Lazarus Long, from The Notebooks Of, that is germane to this discussion…. It said this:

“Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can’t help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” — Lazarus Long

We are writing our own judgment, with our continued denial of the facts about global warming, and the serious effects of overpopulation and pollution on the ecosystem, and are being quite insistent on making it happen as fast as we can. This leaves us little time at all to save those of us who don’t go along with this stupidity, who would sooner survive into the next millennium, rather than die, to the last man, in this one.

I only wish that more people would start to throw off the state of mind that leads to denial, and start kicking some 1% ass, as the issues around all of this aren’t the major problem for us. The main problem is the assholes who are in charge of the world, who don’t have a clue as to just how stupid they are being, and are driving us, blindly, down the road to extinction…. Their intransigence in denying all of the evidence that is there is, in my mind, about as deliberately stupid as one can be, and it’s just a damn shame that, because they are stupid, I have to live with the consequences…. or, more accurately, die from them….

Ah well, c’est la vie! Writing my rants, and shouting the message from the vantage of this blog, are about all I can do…. As I’ve said before, all you can do, is all you can do…..

“Imagine the Creator as a low comedian, and at once the world becomes explicable.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)
__________________________________

I’ll take it…. and there is nothing about “settling” in that decision. It isn’t bad, considering the struggle I went through to write it…. It’s tough to come up with around 2000 words a day, and make it all fresh and excellent…. Not that I’m complaining; I’m the one who decided on this format…. It’s all good, or, as John Lennon’s mom used to say, it’s nothing to get hung about…. Not sure what she meant by that….. 🙂 Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Occasionally, it floated sideways….

Posted on February 25, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Boo hoo? Boo hoo? What a crock of crap!…. Oh, hi, sorry, didn’t realize we’d started…. When I woke up today, the best I could come up with was Boo hoo…. which, as is common knowledge, is no way to start the day….. So, I got some coffee, kicked Murphy off the coffee table where he was snoring, and retreated to the porcelain throne room for a little quiet time with a book. No sooner did I sit down to begin, the damn waterworks start leaking again…. The damnedest part is that I have no frigging clue as to what the hell is causing it….

I mean, I’m still in poverty, relatively speaking, but, I’ve got food, the rent’s paid, and all will be well soon, as I’m just waiting for a decision now on my SS benefits. My kids are doing well, and the lady Ive been sparking is feeling better now, so no personal issues happening, either. My brother’s news regarding his illness was a bit of a facer, but I’m getting a handle on that, so that isn’t it either….

No, it’s just a gift from the gods, I guess, letting me know that my past indiscretions in my choice of work are not completely resolved, at least not to the point where my unconscious is going to give me a free pass….. I can truly be an asshole, when it comes to dealing with myself….

PTSD is an insidious condition…. in many ways, its symptoms and issues are hidden, not only from others, but from the victim themselves, by the person’s unconscious mind, which, in the case of these issues of extreme mental anguish, assumes control over the rest of the person’s psyche.

It’s a pain in the ass, too, I’ll tell ya, as days like today, if not addressed and resolved, can become a daily battle, rather than an occasional skirmish….. Thankfully, I’m currently at a place where the latter is more common than the former…. so, today is a bit of a surprise, though not completely unexpected, given recent events….

The human mind is a complex organism, and we don’t know a lot about how it actually does what it does. Even from a personal standpoint, we aren’t very knowledgeable regarding how our minds work; we know what it does, but know very little about how it goes about doing it.

Not surprisingly, this can lead to a great many issues that a more complete understanding might preclude; unfortunately, that knowledge is currently unavailable, as the mechanics of our mind’s activities is a mystery, for the most part. All we know is what we observe; we know almost nothing about the process, or, for that matter, the end result…. If we did, we could answer the age-old question, “What is the mind?”, with something other than speculation…..

Okay, I’ll call a halt here…. A discussion of brain activity, while interesting in its own right, and in its own way, probably isn’t the best way to begin a Pearl…. neither is a lamentation on the disadvantages of having contracted PTSD in the course of my career choice. So, we’ll drop it now, and get on with today’s business, before I bore y’all to petrification. This is a chatty, fairly erudite intro section, but, it really doesn’t mean much, does it? SIGH….. Someday, maybe I’ll get the hang of this intro stuff…. Shall we Pearl?…..

P.S. A housekeeping note: I noted at least two major typos in yesterday’s Pearl, and am ashamed….. (you can’t see it, but my head is hanging, and I have an appropriately sober, apologetic expression on my face….) I’ll try to proof better today…..

“I feel so inar-inar-inar tic-u-late” — Smart Bee
__________________________________

“I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn’t it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.”– Marcus, Babylon 5

Marcus brings up an interesting point here, when he talks of the general hostility of the universe. I don’t think he quite has a handle on the actual shape of Reality, though, and in his desire to avoid responsibility for his own cupidity, he assigns the universe as villain in his play. Our universe isn’t hostile to us, as he would like to think. Unfair? Yes. Hostile? No…. The universe really doesn’t give a crap about us, one way or another. Things seem unfair, not because they are stacked against us, but rather because they are not stacked in our favor, a slight but distinct difference…..

Reality plays no favorites, beyond a tendency to allow itself to be adjusted by those who have an understanding of how it works, without granting them any dispensation, but rather rewarding their cleverness and wit. Those who believe the universe is out to get them are defenseless against the trials and tribulations that are a natural part of living, because they begin from an attitude of helplessness. Those who at least have the confidence to act in their own behalf are much more able to achieve their goals, than anyone who allows Reality to push them wherever they end up, without any direction made by choice…..

Thus, we can see that courage, as well as knowledge, is necessary to being able to confront Reality on its own terms. Not only is it necessary to pay attention to the way the universe works, and how it interacts among all its parts, but necessary to have the courage to act on what is known, and what the person believes to be right, in a moral sense.

Of course, the universe doesn’t care one way or another if we are moral; it rewards those who act out of immorality as well, if they are bold enough to act. We just feel better about ourselves if we act from right thought, and we make it easier for others to do the same. Acting immorally only benefits the one who is doing the acting…..

But, cowardice is also rewarded by the universe; it just isn’t a very palatable reward, to have our every wish denied, and our every act dismissed, as incompetent, illegal, or just plain dumb….. Lack of courage, and lack of knowledge thus become their own rewards, and the person’s misguided views about reality lead them into issue after issue of conflict with the rest of reality.

In this way, they continually reinforce their own misapprehensions, and will only more firmly believe that the universe is out to get them, and everyone else…. This, in spite of the fact that they are looking at, and dealing with, the same Reality as everyone else, who don’t all seem to have the same problem…. Instead of giving them a clue that maybe they should do things differently, they merely assume that the other people have cheated them somehow…. because that is what they would do….

It’s really too bad in some ways, that so large a percentage of humanity is so lacking in courage and wit as to find the view stated above to be congruent with their own view of the way the universe operates; it’s part of what makes it so easy for those in the BRC and the 1% to control them, and to pull the wool over their eyes.

These folks are so convinced of their own helplessness in the face of all they don’t understand, they will latch onto almost anything someone tells them, if it soothes their fears, and gives them someone or something other than themselves to blame for their misfortunes…. Sad, but true, and a perfect description of what has transpired in society for several thousand years now, as the BRC keeps the majority of humanity in the proverbial dark about what is true, and what is real….. They’ve had a lot of practice, and they’re very good at it….

But, then, it isn’t hard to control someone who is brainwashed to believe that it is the way reality is, so I can’t say it is due to any particularly large degree of wit or talent that allows them to do so…. It is more that the folks who they control are so stupid, they ask to be controlled, because they can’t, and more importantly, won’t, trust themselves to do it….. Sad, but true….

At his point in this narrative, I am becoming a bit enraged, a not uncommon reaction to a rant about the BRC and the 1%…. Heck, this time, I didn’t even have to mention the papists or preachers who are their shock troops, on the front lines of the brainwashing process, in order to get upset and angry over their machinations…. until now. My rage is growing, as it always tends to do when I start to rant on this subject, and I’m not ready to deal with the consequences of letting it get any bigger right now…. too much other stuff to get to today. But, just let me say this…..

Those in our society who deliberately control others for their own benefit are my enemies. I believe them to be responsible for virtually ALL of the social ills we have, as well as the global and environmental issues that are threatening our very survival as a species. They are, for their own personal benefit, hoarding the resources of the planet, and refusing to share them with the remainder of humanity, all because they can, and they want to. The welfare of others is of no concern to them, so they automatically become my foes, in my battle to try to make a world my children, and grandchild, can have the opportunity to live a full and complete life of their own, without being oppressed and controlled by assholes who don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves….. As my old martial arts instructor used to say…. “Fuck ’em….. hard.”…..

— “Bother!”, said Pooh, as he dropped his bombs.
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A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London

Never until the mankind making
Bird beast and flower
Fathering and all humbling darkness
Tells with silence the last light breaking
And the still hour
Is come of the sea tumbling in harness

And I must enter again the round
Zion of the water bead
And the synagogue of the ear of corn
Shall I let pray the shadow of a sound
Or sow my salt seed
In the least valley of sackcloth to mourn

The majesty and burning of the child’s death.
I shall not murder
The mankind of her going with a grave truth
Nor blaspheme down the stations of the breath
With any further
Elegy of innocence and youth.

Deep with the first dead lies London’s daughter,
Robed in the long friends,
The grains beyond age, the dark veins of her mother,
Secret by the unmourning water
Of the riding Thames.
After the first death, there is no other.

Dylan Thomas
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“All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.” — Albert Camus

Without meaning to, Albert gives me hope for the future…. or, at least, for the future success of my writing…. because, boy, if my writing doesn’t fit the description of “ridiculous beginning”, I don’t know what would! 🙂

No, really, I find this to be comforting, especially for us Bozoids, who have a very close relationship with the concept of ridiculous. I mean, it’s what we do, right? Right….. In that vein, I’m going to go old-school again today for this final pearl…. The experiment yesterday, of a completely random process of choice of the pearls to be included, went very well, so we’ll give it another roll today, and see what we can come up with, me and Smart Bee…. Having once again written this PRIOR to the choosing, I have no preconceived idea of what may happen, so, please, don’t forget your helmets and seat belts…. otherwise the insurance drones will pitch a fit….

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

~~ Robert Frost

Hah!….. Fooled ya, didn’t I? While cruising Smart Bee, looking for pearls for this pearl (don’t worry about it…. I’ll explain it again someday….), I had a moment of revelation, an epiphany, so to speak, about the course of my life up to now….

I have to say, it’s been a wild ride, if not particularly dangerous in general; there have, of course, been moments of great terror, and great fear. Nobody escapes completely from life’s vicissitudes, but, mostly, I’ve been able to cruise through life smoothly, without any particular danger that wasn’t by choice (my work, for several years, didn’t fit into that “safe” category at all….).

I’ve also had my share, and more, of pain in life, both emotional and physical, especially in the last 10 years, as my physical strength wanes, and my social life has evolved in ways not particularly comfortable for me. But, I can only feel, and appreciate, that pain because I’ve also had my share, and more, of joy, joy that sustains me in those times when pain is prevalent.

So, I’ve seen, and experienced, the balance and duality that defines our existence in this universe, and come to appreciate its beauty as a whole…. and I see this, because I’ve always felt what Robert Frost spoke so eloquently in this poem, and tried to always follow the road less traveled, wherever I’ve gone in my life. I have to say, I’m glad I did…..

So, there’s your old school pearl, in a new school setting, all shiny, and glowing with its own special inner fire…. enjoy!

“I am covered with pure vegetable oil and I am writing a best seller!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Okay, let’s see how it came out…. Gosh, that’s not too bad, all in all. During the process of putting it together, it didn’t seem all that cogent, or powerful, but, on retrospect, it’s just fine the way it is…. with only one apparent typo, and two added words, for clarity….. In the words of the Artful Dodger, I’ll take it…. and run….. 🙂 In fact, I like it enough, that this is enough….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Our fluffy maroon penguin isn’t satisfied….

Posted on February 24, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
Try as I might, I don’t have it in me, much as I wish I did…. what it might be, well, your guess is as good as mine. I’m often struck in the mornings at how empty is the mind at low tide….. Then, I wake up, and it all seems so pointless. Well, maybe not pointless, but confusing, anyway. Of course, I’m used to confusion…. it sometimes seems as if confusion is a state I never leave. But, it all adds up after a while, and even if I knew what I was speaking of, I probably wouldn’t have a good way to describe it….. Nor would you….

There, hows’ that for pointless? Just thought, or rather, felt, today needed a bit of insanity at the start, just so we don’t lose track of what is important…. which is maintaining at least a semblance of normality, at least long enough to get past the social worker’s visit at noon. Why, you may ask, is a social worker coming to visit?….. I don’t know, I guess they’re worried that I’m going too crazy here by myself, and want to see if I need a companion to live with me…. Actually, that’s a lie…. there’s no social worker coming over, and I’m not in any social need…. I just made it up, because it seemed to fit the way the paragraph was headed. Then, I realized, there’s no justification for a SW, and no plot reason I can make up quick enough, so, I gave up, and told you the truth….

I suppose I might now show a little class, by turning the discussion to the concept of telling the truth…. but, what I just wrote above seems to me to be a good example of how the truth can be really, really hard to find, and recognize when its found, because, just like me, they might be making it up…. and how are you going to be able to tell?… Answer me that, Mr. Smartypants…..

Sorry, didn’t meant to call names…. As you might have guessed by now, this is sort of an experimental intro section…. I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I just jumped in and started typing, almost randomly, until some direction suggested itself…. A bit like trying to put together a bicycle at Christmas, using the instructions that were written by a three year-old Japanese student of English…. “Insert tab A into hole B, to be pleasing the handlebar”….. So far, I’m not sure how its working…. y’all would be a better judge of that, cuz you’re the handlebar, so to speak…. It isn’t particularly difficult, as it’s kind of nonsensical, and I fit right into that slot….

I suppose it isn’t particularly enlightening either, so I will cease and desist for today, and get on with the scheduled dive….. At this point there is little choice left for me, without starting over, and that is way too complicated for me…. I’d probably hurt myself, whining….. Since I promised myself I wouldn’t whine any more, I will now begin to tell the truth….. Well, I should say, I’ll tell you my version of it, as I see it….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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Since my mind is somewhere out in left field today, I figured I’d try an experiment, using an old-school pearl format….. Rather than having a thought in mind when I went diving for pearls, I let my unconscious mind take over, and pick whichever pearls it wanted, without really paying any attention to what they were about…. I have written this short intro PRIOR to looking at them, so I don’t know if they will fall together into a real pearl, or just sit there and look pretty, as the aphorisms they already are….. I’m a little nervous…. let’s see what Smart Bee has for us this morning, shall we?….

“Conscience and cowardice are really the same things.” — Oscar Wilde
(An interesting notion…. I may use this again for its own discussion, another time…..)

“Find out just what any people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; … The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” — Frederick Douglass, U.S Marshal, son of a slave, 1857
(See the above, re: Oscar, and, ditto….)

“Do I look like someone who cares about what God thinks?” — Zippy the Pinhead
🙂

A shot rang out, “BARNEY” hit the floor. No more purple dinosaur!”– Smart Bee
(YES!!!!!!)

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me and turn my inner eye to follow its path. When the fear is gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” — The Litany Against Fear (Frank Herbert, -Dune-, 1965)

“Dianetics is a milestone for man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his invention of the wheel and the arch.” — L. Ron Hubbard
(I can see L. Ron, laughing himself into a puddle, as he contemplates the fact that all those Dianeticians took him seriously when he said this…..)

A king who was mad at the time,
Decreed limerick writing a crime;
But late in the night
All the poets would write
Verses without any rhyme or meter

— Smart bee
🙂

“Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind
down the foggy ruins of time
far past the frozen leaves
the haunted frightened trees
out to the windy beach
far from the twisted reach
of crazy sorrow.

Ah, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
silhouetted by the sea
circled by the circus sands
with all memory and fate
driven deep beneath the waves
let me forget about today until tomorrow.

— Bob Dylan

Hmm… an interesting group…. I’ve added some comments, prompted by the pearls as I read them, but, otherwise, I think it floats by itself, don’t you? It’s kind of like a summary of stuff I write about, each with its own representative pearl…. cute!….. Onward, he cried!…..
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A lot of you may have heard of Philip K. Dick; he was a science fiction writer in the mid- and latter-part of the twentieth century, one who achieved only moderate success during his life, but has since become one of the most revered authors in the genre, as more of his work is published and brought into the public eye. He wrote the story that was made into the movie, “Minority Report”, and several other of his novels either have been so immortalized, or are in the process of being made into films. He wrote over fifty novels, but was never been known for his poetry; in fact, before these were found, most didn’t know he wrote it at all. One of his children apparently found these three poems in his papers after his death, and I share them now, to demonstrate just how powerful his writing could be…. Enjoy!…..Note: The picture itself was found on Facebook, at the Philip K. Dick page his fans have created……
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“Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience.” — Adam Smith

This is so true, I want to shout it out from the rooftops…. It is the kind of insight that leads to jokes like “Lord, protect me from the works of thy followers.” which are so prevalent in our society. We’ve all witnessed the excesses of fanaticism at times, and, I’m sure, have suffered indignity of some sort at their hands at some point in our lives. Nobody escapes it, as such fanaticism is like having roaches; they are impossible to completely eradicate. Of course, there are methods of killing roaches that are foolproof (placing them in a complete vacuum, for example), but it means killing off the entire species , and the rest of us would doubtless find objections to that scenario…..

“It is hard to be brave, when you’re only a Very Small Animal.” — Piglet, Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

These simple minded fools who become fanatics, whether it is over their country, their religion, their race, or their collection of plastic flamingos, all suffer from the same lack of courage as Piglet describes here. In their case, it isn’t because they lack the ability to be “larger”, like Piglet, but because their minds see themselves as “small”, in relation to all they don’t understand, and this gives them the same sense of constant fearfulness that comes with never knowing when some larger creature will notice you, and eat you, or not notice you, and crush you under foot, with careless indifference….

“Again, our observations of the stars make it evident, not only that the earth is circular, but also that it is a circle of no great size. For quite a small change of position to south or north causes a manifest alteration of the horizon. There is much change, I mean, in the stars which are overhead, and the stars seen are different, as one moves northward or southward. …All of which goes to show not only that the earth is circular in shape, but that it is a sphere of no great size: for otherwise the effect of so slight a change of place would not be so quickly apparent. Hence, one should not be too sure of the incredibility of the view of those who conceive that there is a continuity between the parts about the pillars of Hercules [the strait of Gibraltar] and the parts about India, and that in this way the ocean is one.” — Aristotle, De Caelo, Fourth Century B.C.

As a consequence of all that fear, most of the folks who assume fanatical stances refuse to see, or perceive, as much as they possibly can, and this includes reading, or watching, or listening to things that challenge the truth of what they have chosen to believe. The things they DO choose to believe never challenge them to think, or to go outside their comfort zone in any way; any such suggestion is viewed with anger, mistrust, and fearful rejection, no matter how nonthreatening it may be to normals…. If it doesn’t fit into their narrow little view of things, it is evil, and not to be trusted, in their minds, or what passes for one….

As the quote from Aristotle shows, mankind’s knowledge of the natural world has grown beyond the guesses and speculation that are rampant in the ancient writings about religion, and, thankfully, most of the world is able to understand, and accept the facts in question. It is only those whose fear of the universe is such that they cling to outdated, misguided systems of belief that, though they offer comfort to their preconceptions and misapprehensions, have nothing to do with the real world on any level. And, damned if they don’t get upset, and violent, when those misapprehensions are challenged in any way!…. Idiots….

Sorry, I get disgusted sometimes, especially when I think about those assholes who encourage the idiots, i.e., the priests, preachers, and other members of the priestly hierarchies…. I regard them as the WORST of humanity, in complete lock-step and purpose with that other group of reprehensible semi-humans, the BRC, or 1%, as they’re known these days in the news. The entire purpose of the religious institutions on this planet is to provide behavioral control of the population to the ruling classes, under the guise of religion, by manipulating the masses of believers into following whatever dictates the ones in power may come up with, in order to receive their heavenly rewards…. I swear, it’s the biggest, longest running scam in history….

I’ve already gone a bit overboard here, and really haven’t begun to roll with my indictment/rant yet. Since this is the last pearl for today, I’ll stop here, and just say this…. There are a lot of really stupid people on this planet, as well as a great many good, intelligent, compassionate ffolkes…. but, the money, and the power, reside with a very small number, with representatives from both groups, and as far as I can see, most of them are bat shit crazy, in the sense that they don’t care at all about any of the rest of humanity, as long as they get theirs….. We, the intelligentsia, are perhaps the only hope left to the world before it is too late…. Only if enough of us rise up and throw their sorry asses into the pits will we have a chance of seeing another millennium on our calendar…. THAT is a fact, not a guess; the evidence is there for anyone to see….

So, wake up, ffolkes, and folks, because the day is coming when you will wish you had listened to people like me…..
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Well, it’s been a fascinating process today…. Let’s go back and see how it all came out…… Once again, I’m forced to admit, it ain’t bad…. I’ve seen, and written, better, perhaps, but, it will do for today…. I’m feeling lucky, so we’re going to fly, right from here….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..
—

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

gigoid

Running fast in sequined socks….

Posted on February 20, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
A soft breeze stirs the fragrant air, scents of exotic flowers mingling with the calls of sea birds circling over the beach, adding to the sense of serene isolation. Slow, rhythmic, the murmur of waves brushing against the sandy shore serve as background to the racing thoughts of the man lying on a lounge chair, near the sparkling water of the infinity pool. Long, pale, slender, the man sits up, brushing a hand through his luxurious hair, as he gazes around the pool area, constantly searching for anomalous shadows. His eyes, dark, with heavy brows, narrow in speculation as the door leading to the bar flies open, emitting a blast of sound from the blaring jukebox, rudely dispelling the quiet of the night…..

Not too shabby, I think, but, I’m stuck right where I left it, with no clue as to where to go from there. Too many choices, I suppose, and given my track record over the last two days, I’m not going to make any choices whatsoever…. What a bloody cock-up, as my friends across the water would say, if they were as vulgar as I am…. There were some rather good high points, but, several moments of sheer terror, as I realized just how bozoid I can be sometimes, and embarrassment washed over me for the stupidity I displayed…. Yes, ffolkes, me, stupid, all in the same sentence, and quite more intimately acquainted than intended, let me assure you…..

First, the EOA episode on Monday, when I transposed the names of Ayn Rand and Anais Nin in my head, so firmly that I exchanged one for the other several times in one rant, all about the WRONG person’s ideas…. I think the correct words to use would be….. hang on a sec, the thesaurus is across the room….. okay, that would be…. either “tiresomely ignorant” or “completely lacking in wit”, take your pick. Both are appropriate, though each is just slightly short of the mark in terms of degree…. perhaps, “incredibly dim” would fit best….

Yes, almost a thousand words, possibly more, all based on my dyslexic confusion of authors who were not even the same sex, much less clones that could be confused on sight…. No, just my own stupid habit of not checking what is coming out of my head for accuracy, a habit that I need to break, as it doesn’t fit with my own beliefs in the scientific method. Checking sources for accuracy should be automatic, and I skip that step far too often…. There is no possible excuse other than laziness, and that is an unacceptable reason, in my book….

Second in my list of faux pas, I had a long, very interesting dialogue with a reader from Europe (I know this, because Spell Checker tells me…. the spelling of two words by the Euro method, i.e. “ise” instead of “ize” at the end, is a dead giveaway….). We spent a couple of hours trading comments, and I was thoroughly charmed to be so gently put in my place as a curmudgeon gone mad…. This reader was compassionate, sensible, and erudite, and used many of my own thoughts to remind me of why I should hold on to hope for the future. I was very pleased to have met and traded ideas with such a fine philosopher…. a philosopher whom I assumed was a man, but, in reality is a woman….. DOH! (Picture an old fart slapping his forehead with his open hand….)

Yes, once again, in my mad rush to fulfill my own internal agenda, I skipped over details that would have given me a clue to the fact that my assumptions were erroneous. I’m getting tired of the embarrassment factor, and will, you can be sure, making some procedural changes in my head. I’ll also be watching out much more closely to make sure that what I’m saying, and writing, is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. Reality doesn’t DEMAND that we pay heed to the principle of notary public, but, it sure makes it less frequently embarrassing if we do….

Well, having consumed a pretty fair-sized portion of crow, I am going to try to suppress my nausea long enough to at least finish this intro, and then get on with the dive for today. I think I’ve covered all I need to in regards an apology; now all I have to do is wait for the guilt and angst to fade away…. no worries. I know that this intro is risking losing interest, but, I had to get this stuff out of my head, to make room for all the nonsense that needs to be let out into the light of day, before it causes any further trouble…. Better out than in, right?…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“For getting attention, there’s nothing like a good, big, mistake!” — Bozo the Clown, Tuesday, 1963
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Okay, here is the deal…. Each of the following is a pearl of virtual wisdom, and each one can be categorized into a different group than each of the others, to wit, in order: Art, Science, Politics, Sex and Psychology (Sexy Psychology), and Philosophy. As you can see, the categories together make a fairly wide, fairly accurate description of Life at Large, or as we call it here, Consensual Reality. Each has its own message for the universe, with its own kernel of wisdom buried inside….

However, even though they don’t seem to have anything at all to do with one another, they are all subsets of the larger category, and, as such, worthy of inclusion here. The point they make, taken together, would probably drive the average reader insane, but, I have faith and trust in the perspicacity and flexibility of the readers of this blog…. Hell, if they weren’t capable of those characteristics, they wouldn’t be hanging around here for long…. Taken together, the point is blunted, but nonetheless effectively wise, as virtual wisdom goes….

Due to the patently obscure nature of this pearl, not only will it NOT be on the Final Test, but, you will receive bonus points for never mentioning where you saw it…. We here at ECR will, in turn, never mention that you were here…. Don’t forget your helmets and body armor….

‘I don’t mind what language an opera is sung in so long as it is a language I don’t understand.” — Sir Edward Appleton

Relativity for Children: Time moves slower in a fast moving vehicle. — Smart Bee

“One claim for the value of the British monarchy is that its existence precludes anyone from aspiring to absolute rule. I have a theory that the American presidency serves a similar purpose, precluding anyone from managing the government.” — Smart Bee

“One of the prison psychiatrists asked me if I thought sex was dirty, and I said it is if you’re doing it right.” — Woody Allen, “Take the Money and Run”

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” — Buddha (B.C. 568-488)

I think they made a movie about these pearls…. starring Jack Nicholson, in one of his finest performances.. It was called, “Five Easy Pieces”, and I never understood it at all, until reading this pearl…. Who knew?…. 🙂
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Lately I’ve been exploring the poetry of Sylvia Plath, a poetess I’d never delved into before last year, for reasons that are irrelevant to this discussion. What I’ve found is an incredibly talented wordsmith, and a ton of poems I haven’t previously enjoyed…. so, I’m doing so now…. This one doesn’t have any particularly intimate meaning for me, I just like it, as it is a good demonstration of the depth of her talent…. Enjoy!

Mirror

I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

~~ Sylvia Plath

Wow… those last two lines just grasp your shirt-front and shake, don’t they?….. Whew!…. 🙂
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“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain

As I sit here, I can almost feel myself getting older…. It seems to be a predilection of being this age, that one becomes somewhat introspective, looking back over our time here on Earth, and making judgments about what we’ve done, or are guilty of leaving undone, in our lives. This preoccupation seems to be innate, but, I don’t necessarily see a lot of it in others my age, in my experiences out in society at large.

Here, on WordPress, the normal demographics of population diversity seems to run a bit higher, in that respect, than it does out in the Big Blue Room…. probably something to do with the fact that those here on this site are, if nothing else, highly educated enough, and/or affluent enough, to partake in the Internet’s community dialogue…. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that there are still millions of folks out there who have never, and never will, see any of what transpires here, for whatever reason, educational, financial, or merely indifference…. In that group of people, those my age are concerned much of the time with survival, and tend to be directed outward, to deal with the mechanics of that critical issue.

To that group, introspection is a luxury they cannot afford to indulge in themselves, as it takes time away from activities and mental attitudes necessary for surviving. I have been living on the edge of that group for a couple of years now, and can only be thankful that I am close enough to the edge to be able to afford this luxury; I do have to make sacrifices to have it, so I appreciate it a lot. It was a pain in the derrière, literally, to have to leave home to find internet access, so, not having to do so is a big plus for me.

In my time of introspection, I’ve spent a lot of it fighting off guilt, for the things I’ve done in my life that don’t meet with my own approval, as so aptly referred to by Mr. Twain. We all have those things hidden in our memories, those failures of ethical or moral standards we set for ourselves, and looking back on them is hard, as there is nothing we can do to change it. We have to learn to forgive ourselves for such transgressions, because no one else, not even God, if ones choose to believe in the traditional dogma, can change the past. (Query: Can God build a wall so strong He can’t knock it down, or a rock so heavy He can’t pick it up?…. Just wondered; sorry, little side trip….)

Since we cannot change the past, nor go back and try to make things better, if nothing else, we must learn to hold those little kernels of painful memory inside us, and find a way to deal with the little nugget of discomfort that will always accompany such memories. It is a delicate procedure, as we must deal with chastising and scolding our own selves, while still maintaining our self-love, without which we can never be comfortable, or comforted. One cannot accept love from another unless they feel it is deserved; it will sour and spoil all the flavor of the interaction, dooming it to failure, and pain.

How do we maintain this self-image of someone who is worthy of being loved by others? Well, that, my friends, is a very long story, indeed, and one I’m not going to start here and now, as it could be days before I surfaced again, and we’re already at the point where most folk’s minds, as well as those of regular ffolkes, will be losing interest, unless I pull some literary magic, or set off some figurative fireworks. Currently, my supply of fireworks is low, so we’ll leave a deeper discussion of this subject for another time. For now, let me say this….

We are all creatures of a Universe that puts a premium on flexibility, especially of mind. This flexibility is enhanced when we spend time on ourselves, in introspection, and inner dialogue, and is ultimately part of what is the only way to ever really achieve any balance or stability in life. It gives us the proper perspective on how we fit into the rest of the picture, and points the way to the greatest degree of successful interaction with the other parts of that universe. It is the best way to stay in touch with what we are, and what we need to be, to survive, and to make our lives meaningful in some way.

“We are injured and hurt emotionally – not so much by other people or what they say or don’t say – but by our own attitude and our own response.” — Maxwell Maltz, “Psycho-Cybernetics”

Well worth a dollar, or a moment or two of your time, I’d say…. Try something new and different, spend some time in your own head…. Of course, one should (careful, there’s that word!….) be cautious in this, as with any potentially mind-altering activity like mindful introspection…. You never know when a preconceived notion will jump up and bite you….. and those ingrained prejudices can be hard to spot, as they tend to hide behind walls of ignorance and fear….. Remember yesterday’s pearl…. The Snark might actually be a Boojum…. Catch it, cook it, eat it with some fava beans and a nice Chianti, and then get on with your life…. 🙂
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All things considered, today’s effort will make the grade…. which, given the struggle I had to produce it, is a good thing. I feel as if I’ve gone six rounds with the champ…. but, I think I won, if only on points awarded for honesty, and the bruises will fade in time….. Since I can’t really think of anything further I can do to cause trouble, or to cure any, I guess I’ll go find something constructive to do until the library opens, and I can go find a book to read…. gigoid has spoken; so be it….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Subtle signs of imminent success….

Posted on February 19, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
As the author of the original Theory of Bozoid Tendencies, it is not unknown for me to provide entertainment to the world at large, by acting out my own particular brand of nose-honking, giant-shoe wearing, pie-throwing hilarity. I didn’t, however, expect to find myself in the position of having my own brain commit a mental screw-up of such major proportion as to challenge Barnum & Bailey for the most clownish activity in a single event, all for the sake of a rant that would otherwise have been overlooked as being pretty tame, compared to some that have been set free in this venue. However, when the nose grows, you have to let it show….

Ayn Rand is NOT Anais Nin, by any stretch of the imagination; just ask Google, as I should have done…. One wouldn’t think so, anyway, unless they read my rant from yesterday, wherein I completely transposed the two, not just once, but, numerous times. I can only plead E.O.A., a medical condition for which there is no known remedy or cure, other than quasi-voluntary euthanasia…. (E.O.A. = Early Onset Alzheimer’s…) I can also only apologize to the shade of Ms. Nin, who didn’t deserve my accusatory defamation, since the ideas that prompted it belong entirely to Ayn Rand…..

Somehow, in the vast cavern of emptiness that I call my mind, the two names were interchanged, one for the other, and I ran with it all the way to the wrong goal, on the wrong field, in the wrong stadium, in the wrong city, in the wrong country, on the wrong continent, and on the wrong planet…. Other than that, I stand by everything I said…. Embarrassing as all get out, you betcha, but, honoring the truth includes exposing my own transgressions, if I expect to have the right to examine those of others….. Damn it…..

On a more positive note, if nothing else, my literary, and literal, faux pas DID give me a certified excuse to write the above paragraphs ahead of time, (i.e., yesterday….) which I jumped on right away, as it will give me a bit of space in the morning to come up with something appropriate for the intro section, other than the hyper-entropic convolutions I’ve been spewing recently. Not to say they’ve been bad, just frighteningly random, to someone who is fond of their serenity….. and that is probably quite enough of a head start…. everything after this point is fresh; everything before this point is, well, not stale, but not fresh…. you know what I mean….

I’m going to try make it difficult to tell though, so, no worries….. Actually, I’d thought to spend a bit more time apologizing for my foolishness, but, I figure some of y’all got a good laugh out of it, so I can probably get by with what I’ve got so far, without having to worry that guilt will rise up and smite me later on. And now, of course, I’ve begun to babble, James Joyce-style, which means we must be getting near the required number of words and paragraphs to meet the intro standards….. thank goodness!

Not that I was getting nervous or anything, but I’ve already had to wring out my t-shirt twice since starting today, so maybe we should just let all this go, and get on with the true object of today’s post, to wit, some cogent postulations on events in reality. Or, I could take a break here, and let it percolate for a bit….. Nah, it would no doubt get snatched up by Murphy, who would then proceed to change a letter here, a word there, and before I know it, another letter from a lawyer to report more legal action against me….. No, thanks, I’ll just stay right here, and get started on today’s dive for something to chew on…. Shall we Pearl?
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Yesterday, on Monday, the 18th, another blogger came by the blog to read my post, and made the comment below…. It was such a compelling comment, I am reproducing it here, verbatim, to attempt to give it the attention it deserves, as a very good question indeed….

“I just finished a book by the NY Times ‘The Ethicist’ called Be Good. It was about how to be ethical in various practical circumstances. It made me realise how little I care about being ethical in many minor ways. Just by living it seems that we inflict suffering – it’s impossible to be completely in the right at all times, or for one’s impact on the world to be only good (car driving, for instance, or milk drinking). So the aim is to minimise the bad rather than eliminate it – every bad thing not done is something to feel slightly better about.???” — butimbeautiful, 2/18/2013

In the final analysis, I agree with the part of this that states that it isn’t possible to be perfect in our attempts to be completely ethical, without entering into the realm of good vs. bad, and having to make a decision that is not exactly the most ethical, or that will cause pain or hurt to another. Sometimes, as is pointed out, we must do so for the sake of our own safety, or for another ethically acceptable reason, but, mostly, it turns out to be a decision based on expediency, or, what is most convenient, or most comfortable, for the person making the decision. Ms. beautiful surmises, then, that the aim should be to minimize the effects, and to accept the karmic burden without guilt over things we cannot control….. if I am reading it right….

I am compelled by my own beliefs to disagree, to a certain extent…. In my mind, ethical perfection is a goal, one that we are constantly trying to reach…. Once we start lowering our own standards in the struggle to reach that goal, we take the risk of allowing this expedience to become an acceptable reason to abrogate our duty; it becomes not an anomalous decision, but a common one, used any time we have our own reasons to not wish to comply with a certain ethical request, or decision to be made. There is an old saw about the “slippery slope” one enters when deciding to make ethical decisions, and this is exactly what it refers to…. taking that first step onto the slope is risky, and often disastrous…..

I think it is better, most of the time, to try to maintain one’s ethical standards, no matter the cost to my own feelings, or to anyone else’s. The respect I gain for myself by doing so can easily outweigh any guilt or discomfort I might feel from having to let my standards down, and makes the effort worthwhile, in my mind. I’m not always going to succeed, as I am human, like everyone else, but, if I can, I will NOT lower my standards for the sake of expedience….

So, I guess what I’m saying is, I agree that we, as humans, cannot always meet the ethical standards we set up for ourselves…. but, it is a mistake to believe that not meeting those standards is okay…. I think that ethical perfection is not only possible, but critical, and the practice of always trying to maintain one’s standards is worth the pain it may cause, both to myself, and to others…. because, in the final analysis, I refuse to give up my self-respect for the sake of expediency, that modern society forces us to confront every day….. Patting myself on the back for NOT doing bad isn’t the same as doing good, no matter how logical it may seem….

In my head, all these arguments and discussions eventually get to a point where the easiest way to express my own thoughts on the matter is to bring in one of my oldest pearls, one I’ve used often, one that fully explains, and fully expresses my feelings on morality and ethics…. I will use it now to finish off this pearl, before it gets any more cumbersome…. just pay attention to this one, as it forms a large part of my own personal view of life, and how it should be lived…..

“Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please — this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!

So learn to say No – and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don’t do it because it is “expected” of you.) ”

— Lazarus Long, in Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein.
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Well, I knew there was a poem floating around in there somewhere…. and, gosh, here it is! I can’t say I’m completely happy with it…. I think in the future, it may grow some more verses…. but, for now, it’s done, so…. what do you think?….

Waiting to Find

Feeling and looking routinely fabulous,
seldom seems as hauntingly ridiculous,
scintillation is hardly more perilous,
or quite as fascinatingly anomalous.

Gaia pales in the face of redundancy,
yet welcomes elemental shades of necromancy,
never failing, episodic bouts of philanthropy,
can often be misconstrued as misanthropy.

It’s all much too fancy,
yet not sufficiently chancy,
to fulfill the promise made for pants.
It can’t be the thyme,
so it must be the rhyme.

~~ gigoid
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“In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away
— for the Snark *was* a Boojum, you see.”

— Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark

I came across this little gem as I cruised Smart Bee this morning, immediately copying and pasting it over here…. but, without any clear idea as to why I did so, beyond its obvious appeal as nonsensical metaphor. So, I’m now sitting here, staring at it, wondering how the hell to turn it into a pearl worth publishing with my name attached to it….. In most cases, it wouldn’t be an issue at all, as I can generally turn nonsense into further nonsense without conscious effort, but, something about this today is tickling my unconscious, and I won’t be able to do anything else until I figure out what that may be….

In one way, what I said about it being a nonsensical metaphor is absolutely correct…. one not even particularly obscure, that could easily be applied to describe the first section of today’s Pearl, at least up until the point of the final pearl’s inclusion. But, as I ponder its deeper significance, I see that it could also be a metaphor for the last three years of my life, if not all of it…. which surprised me to some extent, until I realized that this will help me to endure the waiting I have yet to experience in my quest for disability benefits, at least to the extent of allowing me to see the humor, and irony, that life always includes as part of our package of experiences on this planet.

“.. are the STEWED PRUNES still in the HAIR DRYER?” — Zippy the Pinhead

See, that’s the Snark….. which, given my history with prunes, is more apropos than you can imagine…. but, then, when you consider this….

“I just forgot my whole philosophy of life!!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

…. you will realize, as did I, that this, this is the Boojum, you see….

Now, I realize, at this point, you are having some questions as to my sanity, and may be wondering about when my next dose of medication is due….. but, allow me to assure you, I am quite lucid, and just playing with your head, and mine….

What I’m trying to say here, is that nonsense, and metaphor, have been instrumental in the maintenance of my sanity over the last three years, as I have been compelled by circumstance to watch the state and federal government bureaucracies grind their way to a decision on my disability application.

If it weren’t for Zippy’s wild, yet stabilizing influence on my moods, I’d say it was a distinct possibility that someone would be dead, and I’d be in jail…. or more likely, a mental institution, but this time without the advantage of carrying a key to the outside doors….

However, Zippy does exist, as does Pooh’s evil twin, and any number of other characters who can get me, and keep me, in touch with my bozoid side, where the world is always happy, or at least blissfully ignorant…. Making puns and bad jokes is, I would guess, more socially acceptable than leaving dead bodies strewn over the landscape, so it is a good thing, all in all, that I am in tune with that side of reality, and can use it to protect myself, to a degree, from the depredations of the rest of reality, with its massive indifference to human suffering….

I guess you could say that nonsense and whimsy provide me with the rose colored lenses my glasses need for me to be able to see the world in a form with which I can cope….. long enough for reality to catch up with my plans, and dreams…..

— Bother! said Pooh, as he hacked up a hairball.

🙂
__________________________________

Well…. I’m speechless. All I can say is, it’s done, and I don’t know for sure how I feel about that….. I’ve gone back over it once, and still don’t get it… It all sort of hangs together okay…. I don’t know….. Oh, well, it will have to do, as it’s too late now to start over…. besides, no matter what else someone else might say or think, I like the poem, so…. you’ll just have to deal with the rest of it…. I did…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Muttered curses followed the abbot out the door….

Posted on February 17, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
I’m here. I’m up. I don’t want to be, but here I am. Why am I forcing myself to do this? No frigging idea…. I could be in bed, warm and comfy, trying to get a bit more sleep. I could be, but, I’m not, thanks to….. karma. I know, I know, you’re saying, “what?!” It’s too early for dealing with karma, mostly, but, that’s all it could be. The only thing I can figure is that over time, several small things must have snagged on a curve in the pipes, and built up into a major event that needs accounting.

(Note the clever use of metaphor, karma being equated to raw sewage, sans graphic illustration…. Not too bad, pre-coffee….)

Typical bookkeeping on the part of the universe, to hit me with the bill for this all at once, at 0530 in the morning…. I don’t see why it couldn’t have waited an hour or two, or submitted separate bills for each transgression… But, no, that would be too easy for me…. the karma droids have apparently been taking lessons from Murphy, the asshole….

Not that karma has no resources of its own to exact payment for our foolishness. No, indeed, it does just fine finding ways to allow the universe to fall on us, in a way that not only hurts, but humiliates as much as possible. I suppose if one had to do that kind of work, such little perks would be an important part of the compensation, though I can’t see myself doing it for long without some sort of side bonus that would add to the enjoyment. But, then, that’s me, and I’m special….

That’s it…. I can’t take this any more…. I’m wandering around here, trying to find a way to open this Pearl with some style, and this is the best I can come up with…. Pathetic! Coffee’s ready, so I’m outta here for a minute or three…. I’ll be back when I’ve regained my senses….

I’m back, but I’m not certain I’ve regained much in the way of creativity. I’m still stuck here in this pathetic pastiche of minimally related ideas and words, desperate to discover a path back to some kind of literary credibility, and hoping for even a smidgen of inspiration…. Diversionary tactics and distracting trips down the path to nowhere aren’t going to get the job done, no matter how badly I want it to…. No big surprise there, though…. SIGH…. What is it about mornings that brings out the fatalist in us?

Okay, I’ve got it! I’ve just had a flash, an idea of such importance I’m not sure if I can even describe how big it is…. I just realized that Murphy, as much of an asshole as he is, still has to have a boss, right? Somebody has to sign his check on payday, I bet, just like the rest of us…. All we need to do is find that guy, and remove him from reality, or take away all his pens, or something ….

Murphy isn’t going to keep doing what he does without getting paid; he’s too big of an ass to work for free (I think, to do his job, one would HAVE to be free of any kind of altruistic impulse, or any sense of compassion….), so if we keep him from getting paid, maybe we could get, if nothing else, a little break from his attentions, at least until they find a new patsy, er, force of nature….

What do you think? Will it work? No? I was afraid of that…. Oh, well, you can’t blame a guy for trying…. and, if nothing else, it got me the rest of the way to the end of this intro section…. Sorry about the obvious use of the distraction, but I really thought I had an idea there for a minute…. Just goes to show one should never, uh… well, one should always… No, wait…. Okay, people shouldn’t ever…. Oh, never mind, this is all screwed up anyway, so let’s just get on with it, okay?…. Shall we Pearl?
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“Any body of men who believe in hell will persecute whenever they have the power.” — Joseph M. McCabe (1867-1957)

This statement is made as an assertion, without any supporting evidence, other than the author’s confidence in making it. While it happens to be relatively accurate, it points out the danger of making any such assertions when applied to human nature. One may never predict, with any expected degree of accuracy, just how a human being will act in a given situation; that is part of what makes us human.

But, observation over time can give us a pretty clear indication of some of the more likely reactions, as people tend not to hide even their basest impulses in situations involving power over others…. In fact, one might accurately say that, very often, the opportunity to have power over others will prompt those base impulses to manifest themselves in action, giving rise to such aphorisms as “power corrupts….etc.”….

In beginning this pearl, my initial thought was to explore and rant, but, I’m more curious about a part of this issue that seldom is examined, to wit: What is it in human nature that causes us to more often choose the path of weakness over that of virtue? By this I mean that, if one assumes the truth of what Mr. McCabe has said, then what is it in men that makes it so?

Why is it human nature to choose to ignore evil, giving our tacit approval by our silence, rather than showing the courage to speak out? Why do people make the decision to put aside their compassion and empathy, and live life without any regard for what effect their actions have on those around them? In short, what is it in mankind that makes us such assholes?…..

I don’t think that is an unreasonable question, vulgarity aside, and given the evidence of history, I don’t think it is an unreasonable conclusion to draw from the available facts. People, given half a chance, will choose to fuck over somebody else rather than give up a single thing they consider their right to have, or to do; I don’t think there is anyone who can deny that this is an unfortunate truth about people, as a group, and as individuals. Too many people refuse to use the mind they are born with, and spend their entire lives living with blinders, and blundering around reality, breaking china and annoying the other customers…..

“All our actions take their hues from the complexion of the heart. As landscapes their variety from light.” — W. T. Bacon

Sure, there are a few of us out there who do use their minds to better purpose, for the most part, and generally try to find, and employ, virtue and morality as best we can. But, it seems that in order to be the kind of person who cares about other people, one must give up that part of their human nature that allows them to take advantage of other people, to deny empathy or compassion, and live according to only one rule, which says, “Me First!”…..

Those are the people who WANT to be elected to office, so they can legally steal, and arrange matters to better suit their own needs and desires; people who care about others don’t want any part of having power over them, and thus are never, or, at best, rarely seen in the public venue….

I don’t know what that part of human nature is, precisely, that makes people choose evil over good, but, it is common in our world, and the people who display that particular characteristic have managed to gain a stranglehold on the rest of us, by their insidious, hidden, obsessive hoarding of resources and power.

It isn’t a situation that is going to respond to normal pressure in order to resolve; drastic, extreme measures are the only method that will have any lasting effect…. Unfortunately, I don’t think any such action is going to take place outside of the realm of speculation, because it is already too late, and nobody is paying attention to how close the final curtain is to coming down…..

Now that I have thoroughly depressed myself, and you, I’ll go on to another pearl, with this admonition… Please think about this fact, that there are a small number of people whose choices of how to live are going to kill all of us, themselves included, unless society makes changes in the way it works on a moral level…. This is not speculation, there is ample evidence to be found, based on scientific fact, and supported by logic and observation. Whether we as a species go out with a bang, or a whimper, is up to us…. as it has always been….

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start my friend, anyone can start from now and make a brand new end.” — Carl Bard
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A Faery Song

{Sung by the people of Faery over Diarmuid and Grania, in their bridal sleep under a Cromlech.}

WE who are old, old and gay,
O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told:
Give to these children, new from the world,
Silence and love;
And the long dew-dropping hours of the night,
And the stars above:
Give to these children, new from the world,
Rest far from men.
Is anything better, anything better?
Tell us it then:
Us who are old, old and gay,
O so old!
Thousands of years, thousands of years,
If all were told.

William Butler Yeats
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“Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, viii, 51

Okay, that does it! Now I have two-thousand year-old philosophers making fun of me! Marcus must have somehow entered a time warp, found a laptop with internet access, and read a couple of my intro sections; only if that were true could he have nailed me so well…. Shoot, and I thought I had everyone fooled…. This is embarrassing, to say the least. I’m so upset, I’m going to have to resort to an old-school pearl to calm myself down enough to get done with this missive. Oh, well, at least with an old-school pearl, I don’t have to try to think on a conscious level, so I should be able to avoid any further humiliation at the hands of a dead celebrity…..

This will be an unusual pearl, as the entries have yet to be picked, and will reflect solely what seems apropos at that moment in time…. which COULD end up brilliant, or it could be crap…. let’s go see what Smart Bee has for us today…..

“When will I learn? The answers to life’s problems aren’t at the bottom of a bottle. THEY’RE ON TV!” — Homer in “There’s No Disgrace Like Home”, from The Simpsons

“It’s amazing how much “mature wisdom” resembles being too tired.” — Lazarus Long

“If you juggle with knives, you’re likely to get cut.” — Kieran Donegal

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on,–
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone.

— John Keats (1795-1821) — Ode on a Grecian Urn

“I speak truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare; and I dare a little the more as I grow older.” — Michael de Montaigne (1533-1592) — Essays, Book iii, Chap ii, Of Repentance

“God: What one human uses to persecute another.” — Smart Bee

Okay, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before…. Here are two pearls, either of which would make a fine closing pearl for this group, though with totally different outcomes…. I’m giving them both, and you can use the one you like better, or both, or neither…. Reader’s Choice, as it were…. here you go….

“I am a traffic light, and Alan Ginsberg kidnapped my laundry in 1927!” — Zippy the Pinhead

or…..

“Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it.” — Oscar Wilde

Ta da! Cue music, fade lights, and, exit, stage right, or left, or, hell, just go….
__________________________________

For a while there, I thought they were going to win, but I was able to persevere, and emerged the victor in the end…. Now that I have finished sharing my delusions, I can go forth and carpe that old diem…. Well, maybe I’ll have some oatmeal first….. I’m satisfied, if not content, with today’s effort, and, since it is done, so are you…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Well, it does match the door stop….

Posted on February 16, 2013 by gigoid

Ffolkes,
One week into the six, and my ass hurts already….. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it all six weeks here in front of the computer without suffering from some major ass bite. Which is fine, if only I had some way to exercise without turning into a lump of pain. That, to me, is the worst part about having the type of pain I do, i.e., I can’t DO anything I used to do, in the way of physical exertion…. it’s all history, thanks to the cumulative effects of hard physical exercise during the first 40 years of my life…..

Some years ago, when I was first seeing my doctor about my back, and the pain therein (which, at the time, was constant and unrelenting….), he told me that my condition was becoming increasingly common in men and women who had been athletic for much of their lives…. It seems that in later years, the body begins to break down faster, and to a greater degree, than those of people who were not so sports oriented. According to him, my years of playing football, basketball, and baseball, when added to my martial arts conditioning, and over 700 fights in which I engaged in my work, all served to take its toll on my back and joints…. If I had stuck with being a nerd, rather than a warrior/nerd, I’d have been better off, it seems….

I found, and still find, it ironic, that the very activities that I was always told would keep me healthy until my dying day are responsible for the rapidly deteriorating tissues and joints that are giving me fits, here in my declining years. And still, because of the way our culture is skewed, sports and physically extreme activities are encouraged, because it is a billion dollar business, selling sports, and sports accessories.

Sports figures are made into cultural icons, and even held up as examples for the young to emulate, no matter how strange or stupid they may be….. There are a number of things that the BRC encourages among the populace, such as sports, for one, that are NOT what they seem to be….. More than anything else, these activities, (the movie industry, travel industry, and others) exist for the benefit of the BRC, not the people, and actually serve to distract the public from what is actually going on…. The public is actually encouraged to take part in these activities, as the leaders know that those things keep the public busy with stuff that really doesn’t matter, and not focused on what they are doing behind the scenes, about things that DO matter….

How the hell did that happen?….. Here I am, only four or five paragraphs into the intro, and I’m ranting already…. I didn’t even notice when I slipped on the Ratty Old Robe of Outrage and started in on the BRC…. it’s becoming too natural, I guess; I barely know I’m doing it…. Well, it could be worse, I suppose…. I could be the kind of person who didn’t give a shit, and not get outraged at all…. which wouldn’t make ME a happy camper, though there might be some who would smile and nod in approval….

Ah well, it’s quite liberating to let that kind of angst out, so I’ll just let it go without further comment, and get on with today’s Pearl…. Once more, I’ve managed to create an intro out of virtually nothing; that’s got to count for something, right? It says so right here on the label….. Right….. Shall we Pearl?….
__________________________________

“Laws are only words words written on paper, words that change on society’s whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool.” — John J. Miller, And Hope to Die (in _Jokertown Shuffle – Wild Cards IX_)

Fiction is the repository and temple of the Metaphorse…. which explains this passage from a novel I haven’t read, but obviously need to get around to finding, so I can. This is such a perfect statement of Reality in society today, it could only be said in a work of fiction, because anyone stating this in the public venue would be shouted down by the aforementioned politicians, lawyers judges, policemen, and may I add, preachers/priests and the rest of the priestly hierarchies…. none of whom would wish for the truth of the idea become commonly held knowledge, or even a point of discussion…. They have too much invested in keeping things just as they are to allow any such utterance, without the protection of metaphor….

With metaphor, in both prose and poetic form, the truth can be intimated, and made clear for those who otherwise would never even consider the concepts involved, without being connected directly to Reality itself. Most of society has been brainwashed since birth, and are trained to accept as true anything told to them in a newspaper, on a TV by a person in a suit, or by someone holding a Bible, no matter how disconnected from Reality that may be. Reading things in a book, a piece of fiction, they are taught, is suspect, and not to be believed without corroboration from someone in authority….

“God said it, the Bible told me, and I believe it, so that’s the end of it!” How many people do you know who would say that? It saddens me no end to know that even I, who tend to drive that sort of person crazy in no time at all, know several folks who feel this way. I have to say, if nothing else, these folks are stubborn, but, stubbornness is not always a survival technique… it can also serve as a death warrant. One has to learn to give up knowledge that is shown indisputably to be false, or face consequences not to their liking.

As I’ve stated before, I have no issue with ffolkes who are sincerely devout in their beliefs…. I’ve found that people who do try to live by the rules that Jesus put forth are generally good people, with good instincts, and have a lot of compassion and kindness in their nature. I have at least two people in my own family who fit that description, and at least three of the people with whom I grew up are what I would call true Christians, because they use their faith as a supportive tool to enhance their lives, not as a crutch, or a reason to feel entitled…..

In other words, they don’t use their faith as a mask, to hide from the world what they really are like inside…. or, as tool of manipulation, to further their own agenda, which generally involves theft from everyone else, in one form or another….. I have found, by experience with real people in the real world, that a good 95% of those who claim to be Christians are NOT true believers…. Only about 5% of those who call themselves Christians make any attempt to live up to that social reformer’s rigorous standards….

Of that figure, 95% of all self-identified Christians, the great majority can be considered, and are generally labeled, as the ignorant masses, whose minds have been under the control of someone else their entire lives. The smaller percentage of that number, probably only about 1 or 2% of the 95%, are those who either don’t believe in the dogma at all, but use it as the modus operandi for their sociopathy, or those who at least believe it on the surface, but only because it is to their advantage to do so… They would believe anything at all, if it kept them in power….

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

I’m not sure whether those who stubbornly cling to their faith (i.e., they walk through the Forest with eyes closed….) are like that because of their nature, or their nurture, and in the final analysis, it doesn’t matter. But, it sure would be nice, for those of us who ARE aware of the truth behind the lies we’ve been told all our lives, to have a few more of us out there, working against the small percentage of people who are taking advantage of the massive ignorance and apathy of the great masses of people, who don’t have the time or mental energy to care about anything but what is happening right in front of them.

Those who control society for their own personal benefit, without any regard for the rest of humanity’s suffering at their hands, aren’t going to change, and they aren’t ever going to give up what they’ve got without a struggle…. I can only wish for enough ffolkes like myself, who can see the truth, to find a way to save at least a few of our species, if only for some galactic zoo of extinct species…… If enough of us get together, there is still a small chance, though the odds of success are diminishing, second by second….

“I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.” — John Wayne

(Did your jaw drop as far as mine when you read that?)

Bah! Enough pessimism for one day…. let’s go find something a bit more uplifting, shall we?….. As a parting thought, please note the following, which serves to illustrate and define the general feeling in modern society, in terms of ethics and morality…. Consider, if you will, the cultural paradigms that are needed to make this statement a joke, one that no one at all would think was out of place…. In other words, by its calm acceptance of the implied lack of ethics, it shows how deeply ingrained is the attitude (made crystal clear by Mr. Wayne…), in the members that make up that society….

“I think our No.1 problem is that nobody wants to take responsibility for anything, but don’t quote me.” — Randy Glasbergen, “The Saturday Evening Post
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The Meehoo with an Exactlywatt

Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Me!
Me who?
That’s right!
What’s right?
Meehoo!
That’s what I want to know!
What’s what you want to know?
Me, who?
Yes, exactly!
Exactly what?
Yes, I have an Exactlywatt on a chain!
Exactly what on a chain?
Yes!
Yes what?
No, Exactlywatt!
That’s what I want to know!
I told you – Exactlywatt!
Exactly what?
Yes!
Yes what?
Yes, it’s with me!
What’s with you?
Exactlywatt – that’s what’s with me.
Me who?
Yes!
Go away!
Knock knock…

~~ Shel Silverstein — from the book “A Light in the Attic” (1981)
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Having spent most of my severe angst in section one, I’m not even going to try to start another rant, but will instead move right to an old school pearl…. Gotta save a little of that negative energy in case some store clerk gets uppity…. 🙂

This one is truly random, with just a hint of order hidden amongst the entropy and chaos, kind of like a hidden treasure, y’know? Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work, anyway. If not, well, it’s all good stuff to think about, and will get us through to the end….. or close enough for our purposes here today…. Someday, I’m going to have to figure out just what that is…..

“The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: “Of course it is none of my business, but –” is to place a period after the word “but.” Don’t use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“When you live in the shadow of insanity, the appearance of another mind that thinks and talks as yours does is something close to a blessed event.” — R. Pirsig

“I know th’MAMBO!! I have a TWO-TONE CHEMISTRY SET!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
(You’ve got to love Zippy’s ability to put his finger on what’s REALLY important!….)

A word is dead
When it is said
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

— Emily Dickinson

“Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman–a rope over an abyss. A dangerous across, a dangerous on-the-way, a dangerous looking-back, a dangerous shuddering and stopping.” — Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus Spake Zarathustra”

— Bother! said Pooh, as he talked Kanga and Roo into a threesome.
(Oh, that Pooh!…. such a naughty bear…..)

“Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have kindled this inner light.” — Albert Schweitzer

Well, there you go…. If y’all can’t figure out a moral, or a hint of one, from that seven, well, I’m failing in my task…. But, if you can’t, no worries, as it’s my fault for being too obscure, and not leaving enough sign posts to the clues…. We don’t grade in this class anyway, it’s not even pass/fail, and doesn’t count toward graduation…. In fact, the only way to take this course is to audit it unofficially…. Ah well, as I said, they will all stand alone, anyway, so…. if nothing else, enjoy!….
__________________________________

I don’t like to judge these Pearls as they go out, other than from the basic standards I apply to everything I do in life, so I’m not going to say anything about this one except I’m satisfied with it, and it’s done…. Those last three words alone make it all worthwhile, given the effort it took to get there…. So be it…. there’s another three appropriate words for today…. 🙂

Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

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

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gigoid

Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: Anonymous

Dragons seldom require advice…..

But, the sign says it will sing……

Engaging in palliative syncopation….

Safely insane amid the noise and tedium…..

Occasionally, it floated sideways….

Our fluffy maroon penguin isn’t satisfied….

Running fast in sequined socks….

Subtle signs of imminent success….

Muttered curses followed the abbot out the door….

Well, it does match the door stop….

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