She won’t start for toffy…

Ffolkes,

“Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods.”

~~ Socrates ~~

UraMajorRoqueLosMuchahos-claro

Ursa Major ~~ The Big Dipper

Image from Space.com


Good morning. Today’s Pearl will be an extreme cheat…. There are reasons, but, to tell you would be narcissistic, and whiny, so, we’ll just say they’re compelling enough to keep me from creating anything particularly fresh, or cogent. Neither is within my grasp today, at least, not yet…. Whether I will be able to find ANYTHING within my grasp today is an unsettled question…. Let’s get on with it, while we can….

Shall we Pearl?

“Cicero called Aristotle a river of flowing gold, and said of Plato’s Dialogues, that if Jupiter were to speak, it would be in language like theirs.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Life of Cicero

If that’s true, then, me and Cicero, we’re mates…. Probably why we see so many of his quotes around here….

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

    Since I’ve got nothing in me worth sharing, we’ll go with classical music, which fills up the spirit….. Enjoy!


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Classical Music for Reading

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About Hopi Indian Symbols

    Today, given my brain’s status as a no-show, I thought Kokopelli would make a more appropriate opening thought than our usual Don’t Keep Calm logo; the content today is a bit more unpredictable than usual, and unpredictable is what Kokopelli is all about…. Here’s a piece from the archives, to fill in the necessary space today…. Enjoy!….

From 2/24/2014:

It seems the BRC has captured one of the world’s most dangerous drug cartel leaders, El Chapo, the Dude, of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico…. I have included below a link to the article announcing the capture, and included below that some “interesting” phrases and words used by the anonymous spokescops (who are never authorized to talk to journalists….. but, they do anyway….)…. The words italicized in bold are the ones I’d like to point out to y’all, with a comment or two about them as an addendum…. Read the story, then, we’ll talk…..

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Mexico-captures-Sinaloa-cartel-boss-Chapo-Guzman-5258301.php

“He was caught with an unidentified woman, said one U.S. official, who added that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Marshals Service were “heavily involved” in the capture…… A federal law enforcement official said intelligence from a Homeland Security Department investigation also helped lead U.S. and Mexican authorities to his whereabouts…… Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists. ….. Mexican authorities, based on a series of arrests in recent months, got wind….. ”

“didn’t say how authorities traced him to Mazatlan……” “A U.S. law enforcement official said members of Guzman’s security team helped Mexican and U.S. authorities find him after they were arrested earlier this month. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the case by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.”….. “His arrest followed the takedown of several top Sinaloa operatives in the last few months and at least 10 mid-level cartel members in the last week. The information leading to Guzman was gleaned from those arrested, said Michael S. Vigil, a former senior DEA official who was briefed on the operation.”

Allow me to point out a few little things in this article that give us a little clue as to how things are in the REAL world, where the government has the tools to find and capture ANYONE in the entire world, by the use of their “counter-terrorism” toys, and “executive orders” and the excuse of national security to employ any and all techniques to achieve their purpose, up to, and including torture, lying at will, and the legal clearance to perform their actions in complete darkness, without any public or judicial oversight…..

“an unidentified woman, said one U.S. official, who added that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Marshals Service were “heavily involved”

To my suspicious mind, this tells me that the US DEA and Marshalls used an undercover female operative to lure Guzman into an isolated position, where they could take him without dealing with his security forces…. which they did, perfectly…. In several articles I’ve seen, in addition to this one, the same phrase, “an unidentified woman” was used…. Now, do you you REALLY believe she is ‘unidentified’?… I don’t….

“intelligence from a Homeland Security Department investigation also helped”

Gee, ya think? Homeland Security is authorized to do whatever they want…. why shouldn’t they share their technology, and some of that unlimited data they are picking up from around the world with anyone who wants it…. As long as they’re giving it to another group of their insane compatriots, they’ll share it, with pride, even glee, in their own ingenuity, never caring at all about how unethical it is….

“Mexican authorities, based on a series of arrests in recent months, got wind….. ” “didn’t say how authorities traced him to Mazatlan.”

“Got wind?” Got wind? What the hell does that mean? And, since when do the police go by information they “got wind” of…..  Ffolkes, somebody is hiding something here, ya think? It’s obvious they don’t want to let the public know where they are getting their information, although in this case, they give us another clue about that….

” members of Guzman’s security team helped Mexican and U.S. authorities”

Gosh! That was awfully nice of those fellows…. These hard-boiled, vicious drug cartel security individuals had a complete change of heart, and shared all they knew with Mexican and US authorities, out of the goodness of those hearts, I suppose…. I think it is probably more likely that the word, and technique, “waterboarding” was brought into play, as both a threat, and in actual use… I don’t believe for a minute these guys gave up their boss without a little bit of a struggle…. They come from a culture where “machismo” is paramount, and they would not consider it very macho to talk…. hence, they were “persuaded to help”, and I don’t think the persuasive techniques used were verbal, or anything other than torture….

How do I come to that conclusion from this article? Easy…. they told us, in so many words….

“gleaned from those arrested, said Michael S. Vigil, a former senior DEA official who was briefed on the operation.”

How does one “glean” information from drug cartel security forces? I don’t think it was the promise of some Kool-Aid, ffolkes, do you?…. And, since this mouthpiece was “briefed” on the “operation”, what do YOU think he meant by “gleaned”? I do try NOT to be too naive….

This whole “broken rant” was created for the single purpose of demonstrating how the BRC uses its new toys, provided by us, to wit: you, and me, the not-quite-charmingly naive public, when we allowed them to pass those silly ass Homeland Security bullshit Acts after the 9/11 attacks…. In truth, I don’t really care much that they used it to bring down such a predator…. He was, and is, no doubt, someone we can all do without in our midst, since he insists on preying on the weak and foolish….

But, it seems to me, it was all merely an exercise of domestic discipline, as one set of vicious, insane power-hungry individuals, in the official, authorized, guise of law enforcement myrmidons of the ruling elite, tracked down and captured one of their own type of people, who had the bad taste to try to force his will on others without having the mandate of the public voting apparatus…. When one doesn’t automatically accept the bilge water that is presented to us as the truth, it is easy to see how little difference there is between those who hunted him down, and he who was hunted….

Governments have the backing of the multi-national corporations that control society, whereas the big drug cartels, rich and powerful as they may grow, are merely small businesses compared to them… and, we all know what happens to small business when a mega-corp wants to step into their marketplace…. The pharmaceutical companies don’t like the competition from street drugs, so they keep society amped up in arms against them, so their bottom line profit is not reduced to any significant degree….

The whole War on Drugs, (Y,know? It’s funny how our society’s rulers always deal with a problem by declaring War on it….Then, they throw money at it, and tell people that will make it go away…. Hmm…. how’s that working for ya?….), that has been raging in this country since the mid-1930’s, when the drug companies noticed how popular marijuana was becoming in the mainstream, is merely another example of how the real rulers in society don’t want the people to make their own decision about ANYTHING, not if whatever it is can make money for them….

(It’s why they are making their play for control of the Internet…. It’s a very real, but, still only potential, money cow…. if they can wrest control away, and start charging for access, they’ll essentially control all the information flow…. which also give them the wherewithal to censor information, before it gets TO the information cloud…. If they keep control in their corporate hands, you can kiss 75% of the Internet’s effectiveness as a social communication tool, free of interference, goodbye….)

Instead, the governments, at the urging of their corporate masters, spread outright lies and mountains of false information through their own media outlets, attempting to convince people of the dangers of (whatever), followed by the passage of legislation making any who decide for themselves into criminals in the eyes of society….. Even though, as in the case with marijuana, what they are fighting against is actually better for people than anything they have in the list of drugs they manufacture, (at a 2000% profit-margin, don’t y’know….), they decided to enlist the government’s influence over the people to make it illegal, since they had no actual way to stop people from finding and using it…. It grows EVERYWHERE on this planet, without much effort…. That’s why they call it a weed, you know?….

Okay, I’ve rambled, and ranted enough for one morning…. Ffolkes, the governments, the BRC, the Asininnies, the shadowy corporate slave masters, or, whatever label you wish to place upon those who actually rule this planet, don’t give a shit about me, or you, and they’re going to continue to do whatever they choose, just as long as we let them…. They make my life, and yours, a hundred times more difficult than it needs to be, all for the sake of maintaining control over the power, and resources, with which they are obsessed. I, for one, am tired of playing their game…. What game?….

“If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.” — Pentagon official, on why US military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

As far as possible, for the remainder of my life, I will be taking every opportunity I find to expose their asininity, their chicanery, their just plain evil intentions, in as loud a voice as I can muster…. I’d appreciate any help I can get in spreading that exposition around to those who need to see it…. Maybe, just maybe, if I can get this idea into the heads of enough reasonably intelligent people, we all will figure out it is time to stop them…. Then, we can join forces, to create of a large enough repository of the power of human will to overcome the physical entrenchments that have already been put into place, for their protection against that very thing….

With enough people, of good loving heart and infinite compassion, all putting their force of will behind whatever we decide is necessary, I’m sure it would be more than enough to turn the tide, and, in the process, maybe, just maybe, we’ll save our own sorry asses from the depredations we have allowed them to perpetrate in our name…..

“For me, all I can do is spit in the eye of my fears by living each day with as much passion and commitment as possible to what truly counts, such as love and justice. To give the into the fear and hopelessness would be to declare defeat, something I am not ready to do while there is still the will to struggle.” — Lawrence Paradis

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Comedy_Tragedy

    I’ve read poetry all my life, more so at some times than others, but, it’s always been there, a part of the beauty I seek to include in my life…. When I find a poet I like, I am not shy about saying so; that’s why the ffolkes who frequent this blog, a hardy lot, to be sure, end up seeing a lot of Emily Dickinson, Keats, Pope. and other classic poets. I also, occasionally, include on from the poets I’ve discovered hidden here on WordPress. There are several excellent poets, and, “MaggieMaeijustsaythis” is one of the finest….

She recently began writing in a ‘sort of’ new style; it’s very similar to her previous work, but, it’s also different, with more scope, and more freedom, it seems… Here is another of her latest, posted just a day or two ago…. Y’all should go bookmark her site, and buy her book(s); someday, she will be known around the entire English-speaking world, should we humans survive the next fifty years or so…. Any who, forget that, just, enjoy…. Oh, be prepared for some reality, ffolkes….

Doctor, Tell Me

I am going to be. Here,
in a sticky womb,
a living room made for
madness; a sautéed fanciness.

The feast is being set,
just above the chandelier,
they call me by number,
my tattooed slumber calls.

White isn’t always padded
or strapped. Most likely
it only surrounds
the dark blue ring
around the sunburst I look at.

I think I am a painting.
Rembrandt is too gross, but
Picasso, he is enough mystery
to create me.
Half of me sprawls across the cold,
I wait for night-watch to
twist me back to form.

The other girl squats in the corner.
I smell feces and antifreeze.
Do I dream? Can I dissect the fumes of
the dead?
Her charred body crawls toward me,
she removes her teeth.
Everything glitters like a shadow.

Then, I am here. In the morning.
It isn’t the sun that tells me,
but the number, tattooed to
my skull.

Doctor, tell me, has Picasso gone home?

~~ Maggie Mae ~~

http://maggiemaeijustsaythis.com/2015/05/21/doctor-tell-me/


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A-laughing-girl-and-her-camel

    One of the reasons for cheating today is Smart Bee…. Yesterday, it decided to take a dump, figuratively; no matter how many times I uninstalled & reinstalled the program, it wouldn’t act right… I gave up, and am hoping it will work this morning when I install it yet again… If it does, fine, we’ll get a fresh pearl out of it, if I have to use whips and chains…. If not, well, we’ll dip into the archives, which you’ll know because I’ll tell you the date it was first posted…. Go figure…. Enjoy, ffolkes, whatever we end up with….. The first pearls you’ll see are the last I got out of SB before it crapped out….

Aww, wasn’t that cute? SB gave me a joke quote to start today’s search, perfect as the opener for this batch, even though it has nothing to do with the other parameters of the search…. It just…. fits…

Run out of taglines: (A)bort (R)eread (S)teal

~~Smart Bee ~~


Okay, SB. go ahead & steal them; we don’t care, as long as we get a pearl out of it….

He not busy being born

Is busy dying.

~~ Bob Dylan ~~


“In a full heart there is room for everything, and in an empty heart there is room for nothing.” — Antonio Porchia, Voces

“A candour affected is a dagger concealed.” — Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) — Meditations, book 9.

“The truth you speak has no past and no future. It is, and that’s all it needs to be.” — Smart Bee

“Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.” — Robert Frost

“Life is not an exact science, it is an art.” — Samuel Butler (1835-1902)

“If we lose affection and kindness from our life, we’ve lost all that gives it charm.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero

Not bad…. Not bad at all…. Plus, you will note, please, as predicted in the intro section, we once again see Cicero at the ending….

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Well, that worked out fairly well. Since I’m NOT going to do it over, y’all get it just as it is…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, hopefully with a bit more pizazz to offer…. At least I got Smart Bee back on deck…. Ta, then, luvs….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Acceding to protocol, he dressed in mufti….

Ffolkes,

“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”

~~ Albert Camus ~~

odd group 017

    Good morning….

I have but one thing to tell you today, as we begin our daily journey OUT of madness…. Here, right before your skeptical eyes, pigs will fly, lightning will strike twice, hell will freeze over, and eventually, things will get really interesting…

Shall we Pearl?

“No one loves the man whom he fears.” — Aristotle

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commander cody

Image from allmusic.com via Google Images


It’s not pulling my covers to claim this band as a favorite; I’ve never hidden my history as a Hippie. In Commander Cody’s case, I have more reason than just the artwork, the attitudes, the down & dirty, funky blues, and solid rock the Airmen always played…. During my college years, I managed to hire the band for one of our cooperative residence’s parties, a great success in many respects; Yes! The Commander was in my house!….

For that reason alone they hold a special place in my heart, and my liver…. a long, sad story, involving a large quantity of cheap white rum, a quart of mai tai mix, and an eighteen year old fool…. The smell of Ron Rico white still makes me want to puke….

But, I digress…. Unless I managed to screw up the code somehow, you should be treated to all of their music available on You Tube, one after another…. If not, that’s what the link is for…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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Commander Cody
& his Lost Planet Airmen

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Dont keep calm

“We live in the kind of world where courage is the most essential of virtues; without courage, the other virtues are useless.” — Edward Abbey

This is SO true…. Mr. Abbey has, I believe, struck upon what I’d call a universal truth, one true in all of the ages of Mankind…. Hell, I’ve said it before, myself…. Oh, not in those exact, clear words, but, I have posted the following many times, which, essentially, brings out the same point, though it looks at it from the other side of the mirror….

Albert E & true sin

    All of us, at one time in our lives, or another, have been guilty of this; anyone who says differently is, well, they’re lying, whether they believe it or not…. As proof, all I need to do is ask that person the last time they watched a woman walk down the street, and did not punch out the men who whistled at her…. Such public displays of misogyny, though seemingly mild and harmless, (not to mention socially approved), are, in my estimation, a symptom of the problem, stemming from ignorance, and the even greater evil perpetrated by the major religions of the world, who encourage that misogyny in men…. for one single reason, to wit: men’s fear of women, and of their own sexuality….

jimmy sez

    To my way of thinking, it takes a pretty poor excuse for a man to take out his own childish fears on women, when a bit of courage and learning can bring them out of that fear, into a world where both men and women can work together to survive, rather than constantly being at war, instigated by the weaker sex, ie. men…. I would point out that our society’s primary response to any problem is to go to war against it, which is a typically male attitude…. Most women don’t automatically go to war when they want to achieve some end…. Men do, and have proven it for millennia….

Yes, I said men were weaker than women, and I meant it…. If men were so strong, why do women live longer? Why do they give childbirth, instead of us? And, why are they seemingly, according to the evidence given by the behavior of other mammalian species, the natural leaders of each species society? I believe it is because that is the way the species evolved, the way it works best to survive, which is, after all, our primary purpose here on this planet. Our purpose is NOT to rape, pillage, and destroy, all of which seem to be the primary RESULTS of all of the male-dominated societies in history, especially when those societies were driven by Christianity, or any of the other religions whereof the former President speaks…

As far as I can see, the only way to get through to all these assholes, who would rather fight with women than appreciate them, is through shame…. Deserved shame, at that, for using the ONE advantage over women men have, i.e., brute strength, to subjugate the entire other half of our species, all because our our own innate fears, which are easily dismissed when understood…. But, most men, like most humans, even women, are lazy, and would prefer to NOT have to think, or, for that matter, to make the effort to be brave….

Sorry, guys, but. that’s just the way I see it…. So, wake the fuck up, get out of your stupid head, and get with the program here. We need to work together, WITH women, not against them, if all of us are to survive…. The way we are going now, we won’t make it to the next millennium…. Hell, unless we can come up with some pretty fancy scientific footwork here in the next TEN years, we’re all going to be in deep shit…

Believe it.

So be it.

gigoid has spoken


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Comedy_Tragedy

Sublime Indifference

Faces tell such stories

as these,

we know.

No one saw,

ever.

No one sees,

ever.

But, we know.

Forgotten,

deliberately bought

with

consistent threats

of Sitcoms,

Paisley Ties,

yes, and,

Lava Lamps;

proof offered

unbidden

 of Death.

Only

of Death.

~~ gigoid ~~


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buddah-out-to-lunch_s

    Evolution, as it applies the development of this blog, seems to have brought this section to a place where it becomes our lesson for the day, so to speak…. Many of the pearls, and the pearls they form, of late, have told a message that, when applied by anyone to Life, in a dedicated manner, always seems to make it all work better, helping us to find, and keep, our balance, as well as the happiness, always inside us, if we can learn to feel it….

Today is another of such lessons, this time, seemingly, intended to direct us on a path to…. ourselves….

“Knowledge is the antidote of fear.” — Emerson

“Either you think — or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Self-reflection is the school of wisdom.” — Balthasar Gracia

“Morality is moral only if it is voluntary.” — Lincoln Steffens

“A man does not sin by commission only, but often by omission.” — Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) — Meditations, book 9.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” — Philo

“Be what you is, ’cause if you is what you ain’t, then you ain’t what you is.” — Satchel Paige

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Not too shabby, I think…. Of course, it does help the overall quality when I’m up half the bloody night with dyskinesia, which not only keeps me from sleeping, but, keeps my mind awake from the anger at experiencing it at all (the blame for that can be laid directly at the feet of two doctors and an HMO….), thus providing us with a fresh rant, and a new poem, which finally decided to creep out from where it has been hiding…. Don’t know if y’all noticed it, or not… Any who, it’s done, I’m still up, and it’s 3:52 AM…. Now what the hell am I going to do?

Ah well, I’ll work on that offline…. For now, thanks fer listenin’, ffolkes; it’s been real. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, come Hell, or high water….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


A slight limp is more noticeable….

Ffolkes,

“With virtue you cannot be entirely poor…

Without it you cannot be really rich.”

~~ Chinese Proverb ~~

ISS solar array

Solar Array on the International Space Station

Image from NASA.com

    Good morning…. One is allowed to hope, anyway, since it’s a new day. I’m late, again, but, we’ll forgo any discussion of the reasons, as it would only depress us all…. Instead, we’ll just head on down the page, where we might find a solution, or, at worst, a change of scenery…. You could do worse, on a Tuesday in May….

Shall we Pearl?

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

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Aristotle_Bust_White_Background_Transparent

    Some of my Gentle Readers, who aren’t as familiar with my mind as some others, who have been here longer, won’t quite get why the following video is here today, given the general run of stuff you will see. That’s okay, I’m willing to explain this time, if briefly…. The picture is of Aristotle, arguably Mankind’s most influential teacher/polymath/scientist/philosopher, considered by many to be the founder of Western civilization, with only a couple other candidates (Plato, possibly Homer…). Aristotle, a true polymath, was, nonetheless, a man who frequently admitted his ignorance, in order to demonstrate to his students the proper frame of mind with which to approach any new knowledge.

Today’s very short video demonstrates a very simple idea, which merely takes the very old, simple principles involved in lacing one’s shoes, the traditional way, then, performing an even simpler reversal of the idea, in space, and in thinking, to produce a technique for securing footwear securely, more quickly, more cleanly, and more safely than the old method…. Bloody brilliant in its simplicity is what it is, and I commend the person who came up with it…. I can’t wait to change all my shoes with laces….

See, I’m not such an old dog, am I?….


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Ukrainian Lacing

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About Hopi Indian Symbols

And the wind shall say,

Here were decent, godless people
their only monument the asphalt road
and a thousand lost golf balls.

~~ T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) ~~


Yesterday evening, while waiting for the pain to recede far enough to go to bed, I was struck by an irresistible urge to rant. This is what happened….

My passion has become subsumed in anger; I spend, it seems, the major part of my days battling with physical issues, almost every one of which can be attributed to one medical clusterfuck…. This, I think is why I haven’t been able to collect enough angst built up against the machineries of evil as a whole, other than one specific part of it, to provide enough emotional drive to rant effectively, or, at all, mostly.

That simple fact, the simple inability to fire back at my tormentors, pisses me off, especially, as I can ascribe all of it to the lack of courage, and slavish ignorance of two young people with degrees in medical science, an M.D. and a D.O., both of whom have been brainwashed to believe they are physicians, when they are merely practicing what they’ve been taught to believe is medicine. In reality, it’s a pretty narrow picture of all the medical knowledge available in the world, especially now, in these days when we all have access to the medical information of every culture, in every country in the world.

Losing my passion as a side effect of their clumsy manipulation, apparently, is a tough nut for me to swallow, (not to mention the mixing of metaphors it makes me commit…); I can’t seem to get past the sheer cruelty they have both unwittingly, (mostly… I have to assume that, or I’d have to kill them…), put me through, by their insistence on enforcing a policy of the HMO, which they both know to be ill-advised, due to a) having NO medical justification; b) necessitating a breach of medical ethics; c) ignoring patient rights; and, most egregiously, d) directly causing aggravation of existing conditions, including pain, stress, and, a serious loss of quality of life.

If I were a doctor, or wanted to pretend to be one, I don’t think I’d be able to sleep at night, even if I only had to do this to ONE person; I know for a fact I am NOT the only person to whom this is happening. I’ve talked to them. I’ve talked to their lawyers, and the people who have submitted their complaints, all of which are ignored, completely, by the HMO, which has paid many legislators over the course of many years to pass laws ensuring they cannot be stopped from doing what they do, whatever it is, to ensure their bottom line profits…. This includes making the process of even filing a complaint difficult, complicated, and ultimately, completely useless, as, strangely enough, they NEVER find they’ve ever done anything wrong, in any investigated complaint…

Nor have they ever been found to have done anything wrong by any of the agencies who are supposed to oversee them, and protect the rights of patients…. I can tell you, from personal experience, having talked to all of those agencies, the system is rigged to favor the powers that be, and even IF a private citizen had the time, the money, and the energy (remember. these are sick people, who AREN’T getting the treatments they need….) to be able to follow through on the several levels of appeal, each of them is more complicated, and harder to begin, much less finish, than the one before…. In short, it is impossible, and it’s meant to be that way.

(Gee… y’know? This situation all sounds a bit familiar in its general outline, I think…. Does it remind anyone else of the current situation with the misdeeds police are guilty of committing? I seem to recall hearing a recent federal court deciding a case that indicates that no police officer can be held legally responsible for the death of ANYONE while on duty, and probably when not…. Same, same, all same, same, sounds like to me….)

To protect the rights of the patients? I may be skeptical enough to deserve the sobriquet of ‘the dubious one’, but, even the most trusting soul in the world must be able to see what is happening here; the only entity the laws are made to protect is the corporations, who pay the lobbyists, who bribe the politicians…

Of course, now, thanks to having bribed the Supreme Court many years ago, and finally getting a majority of assholes, er, honestly insane judges on the bench, the corporate powers who influence the making of laws can contribute directly to the politicians, cutting out the lobbyist contingent altogether…. Guess whose money gets saved there…. Yep… Not mine, or yours, that’s for sure…. Nope, now the corporate entities can pool their money, and give it directly to whomever will vote their agenda… Sweet, eh?…

So, what does all that mean? Well, who the hell knows… I sure know how I feel about it, and that is most easily, and succinctly stated as consistently enraged. But, rage is pretty useless, as emotions go; the only time it really works for us is to save our asses in the middle of a fight, to wake us up to do whatever we need to do to survive…. channeling the berserker, I call it… Or, in my case, that would be the bozoid berserker…. Basically, though, any other time we feel rage, it is difficult to keep the consequences from being regretful…. dead bodies are SO inconvenient, and so is having to move to another country…. again….

Just kidding…. I hope you knew that, right? Well, if not, that’s okay. I like to keep folks guessing, because all the ffolkes I know would get it without being reminded, or having it pointed out…. I haven’t had to move to another country in many, many years, and, to be honest, have yet to leave any dead bodies behind me, that I know of…. Left a few in a bit less than pristine condition, but, no dead ones, I’m pretty certain….

So, how ’bout them Giants, eh? What, I can’t change the subject? I was done with that one anyway…. That, you know, was NOT a rant…. It was more what I’d call a vent. Having thus removed at least a portion of the bilious crap that collects so quickly, along with all that other noxious shit in my head, (better out than in, I always say….), I suppose I should stop teasing/torturing y’all and get on with whatever comes next…. It can’t be any worse than this, and there is a distinct possibility it could be better…

SIGH…. Okay…. Who am I kidding? We all know it will be…. Ah, well, I’m nothing if not tough…. tough, stubborn, who cares? We all made it this far, didn’t we? What’s to complain about?….

“A poet who reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits.” — Lazarus Long, The Notebooks

SHHHH! Please, don’t say anything, okay?….. I owe the lawyers enough….

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Comedy_Tragedy

    Miss Maggie Mae  (maggiemaeijustsaythis.com, aka, mmijst.com) has graced these pages a number of times over the last almost four years; she’s one of my favorite modern poets, whom I found on WordPress many moons ago…. I think she was one of my first ten ‘follows’ after signing up here.

Her poetry is, quite simply, incredible…. Sharp, incisive, powerful, filled with metaphor, exploring the darkest feelings a human can experience…. and, by the power of her words, implying the presence and power of light, that she just can’t keep from shining out from within her….Enjoy!….

To That

inch of time spent over the sea,

dragging your dead body back
from the sharks I fed you to.

There should be enough salt
to drown in. Now that is something
you don’t hear of!
But, I have heard of Buddha,
and Gandhi,
and what great advice for the
blonde girls in white dresses,
not scratched by hands of
light drinking, or hard gunfire;
the girls untouched by
living a dead life, waking under floorboards
built by their mothers.

Your heavy photograph burns to
my tongue. I spit. I curse you out
of your newly dried grave.
I am ecstatic for your corpse,
it grows on me like tough leather.

Now for her.
I carry a monsoon to her driveway.
She is lit up. A bright pumpkin
ripened for plummet.
She dresses in honeysuckle,
and flickers like whiskey.
I haven’t thought of her name,
she is black as a canvas; a new galaxy
before energy matters.
If her heart happens to
do that, I will carve it out.

I will take it back to July in my teeth
where the desert is waiting for me,
it’s Queen.

~~ Maggie Mae ~~

http://maggiemaeijustsaythis.com/2015/05/17/to-that/


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buddah-out-to-lunch_s

    I’d call these “lesser known” pearls of wisdom; they all give some really strong advice on living life as we choose, but, in ways, and about seemingly small factors, that aren’t common…. Works for me….

“Nature is not benign. Natural laws have no pity.” — Lazarus Long

“It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated… it is finished when it surrenders.” — Ben Stein

“A hug is a heart to heart talk.” — Bobby Matherne (American writer, 1940-)

“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.” — Marcus Aurelius

“Grace is the absence of everything that indicates pain or difficulty, hesitation or incongruity.” — William Hazlitt

“The little girl expects no declaration of tenderness from her doll. She loves it – and that’s all. It is thus that we should love.” — DeGourmont

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

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Okay, well…. I can see I’m going to have to think very hard about this…. But, we’re done, so, that’s for another day…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as nobody comes up with a good enough reason not to do so….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Festooned in gay silk pantaloons…

Ffolkes,

“The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intentions.”

~~ Cicero (B.C. 106-43) ~~

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Site of Aristotle’s School, Mieza, Macedonia

Image from Wikipedia article on Aristotle


Good morning….

Shall we Pearl?

“From out of all the many particulars comes oneness, and out of oneness come all the many particulars.” — Heraclitus

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doobiebrothers

The Doobies

Image from revivemediaservices.com via Google Images


In the interests of keeping things balanced, here’s another American band from the golden age of Rock and Roll…. I spent many a happy hour at concerts by these lads…. though I’ll be honest and admit much of the memory of those times can be a bit blurry…. Go figure, eh?…. Enjoy, ffolkes….

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The Doobie Brothers

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le penseur-rodin

    I’m still fighting the issues I’ve been dealing with for a week now, so, you get something from the archives, the nature of which has yet to be determined at this writing.. I’ll make it a good one, never fear…. Ah, here’s a good one, speaking on the subject of religion, I believe…….

From 11/8/2012:

“Who, being loved, is poor?” — Oscar Wilde

Hmm…. While I happen to agree with this little gem from Oscar, I’m afraid I’m just not in the correct mood to do it justice…. I’ll have to try again…..

“If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” — Jimmy Buffet

That’s better….. This is a perfect quote for today, since it both points out the problem, and the solution in one lyrical phrase. Jimmy’s good at that kind of turning of a phrase, being an excellent songwriter. Now, if only I could find something, anything, that I found amusing enough to laugh about. At the moment, the only thing that seems to work is letting myself picture the SS caseworker undergoing the pleasures of a stint in deepest HELL! When I envisioned some devilish figure poking him with a pitchfork, I have to admit, I chortled. And when the devil then picked him up with the blade and tossed him into a lake of fire, I guffawed…. and felt much better. Shoulda thought of it a long time ago….

“Baby, after considerable thought I’ve reached the conclusion that the only conceivable legitimate answer to the Universe as constituted is a peal of hysterical laughter.” — Keith Laumer, _Night of Delusions_

Yet more proof of this theorem…. I’ve heard it said all my life that the reason people laugh is so they don’t have to cry, and found it to be absolutely correct. I’ve also heard it said, by those who believe in Him, that if God had wanted us to be sober, He wouldn’t have given us a sense of humor….. While I can’t necessarily agree with the idea of God, I can see what they’re getting at, and agree wholeheartedly. (Hey! Look! Something a Christian and I can agree on!…. Who’d a thunk it?….) I mean, why else would a platypus exist at all?….

“It is ridiculous to suppose that the great head of things, whatever it be, pays any regard to human affairs.” — Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) — Natural History, Book ii, Sect. 20

This sounds a lot more reasonable than supposing that God is the sort of weak, spineless entity that requires worship and obedience from His creations. I mean, if you’re going to have a God, then why give him all the worst characteristics of a fool? The only people I know of who demand that sort of obeisance are pretty psychopathic, and take medications for their delusions; or, in some cases, elected officials will get this way. I just can’t see an entity who is capable of creating a universe even spending one second worrying about being worshiped; it just doesn’t make any sense at all, and, quite frankly, I can’t understand how anyone in their right mind could ever buy into that idea. Such worship would make me feel uncomfortable, at best, and I just can’t see a God worrying about it overlong…. If such a God were to worry about anything, it would be wondering how He had screwed up in making such idiots in the first place…. and, in figuring out what asshole even gave them the idea….

“A long tradition has regarded low self-esteem as a powerful and dangerous cause of violence. Our review has indicated, however, that it is threatened egotism rather than low self-esteem that leads to violence.” — Case Western Reserve University psychology study as quoted in Thomas C. Palmer, Jr.’s Boston Globe article (3-31-96),” Self-Esteem Self-Threatening?”

Here is a clue, though, as to how it all came to this….. As noted previously, Christianity, as with any other religion, gives its followers a sense of entitlement, and an opinion of their importance all out of proportion to reality. It is this sense of elitism that leads to a lot of the violence in the world, rather than low self-esteem; when one argues with a believer, their anger is immediately brought out as a defense against having to consider any validity in the arguments presented, and they will often resort to violence to try to force their beliefs on the unwilling. In fact, I’d say that 90% or more of all violence between humans is a result of a challenge to the pride one feels in their beliefs, or to the pre-eminence of their religious mania. Yes, greed enters into this equation, but greed is just another form of that same feeling of entitlement, so it doesn’t alter the facts at all; it supports them…..

The trouble with reality, is that it’s taken much too seriously. — Smart Bee

Smart Bee once again comes through…. it has faithfully supplied the proper quotes for this discussion, and here provides the perfect quote to bring this now over-long treatise to a close. We humans have a talent of screwing things up pretty radically, just because we can; it’s a gift. And then, of course, one must factor in that bloody Irish demi-god, Murphy, whose kind attentions are unwelcome by all. I once saw a pearl that said “God created the world in seven days, and then said, “I’m going on vacation…. Murphy, you’re in charge!”, and I knew…. the Universe is just one big joke, and because of our nature, the joke is on us…. so we may as well learn to laugh, and enjoy it the best we can….

“With YOU, I can be MYSELF..  We don’t NEED Dan Rather..”– Zippy the Pinhead

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Comedy_Tragedy

    This woman’s poetry has been amazing me for about four years now, almost. She was one of the first poets I found on WordPress, and I still find an amazing piece every time I visit her site…. Here is one I first posted back in 2012…. You can find her site at: http://starsrainsunmoon.com/

Obligating Hums

surely we’ve met in midair
sometime ago
your stubborn neck disregarded my smile
apologetically you stirred these mediums
the melancholic instruments attached to my head
on a solid oaken table we wrote
the aloofness of a spell
critiquing the crafty shapes
with your index finger you pointed at me
and shivered
i waited
and thickened your space very slowly
my voice reached your core
i knew then how bitter your loneliness was
tempting these souls to write
and with your little murmur
a flame in my chest i saw
i slowly began to weep
you stroke my head listening to me pray
softening my thoughts
the names that inhabit my soles
the steady pure familiar calm
the wind the golden faces inside this life of mine
designed for staying here
urging trumpets to melodically banner my heart tonight . . .

~~ Mari Sanchez Cayuso ~~


First posted here on ECR 7/30/2012.

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lao

    Here is a classic style old-school pearl, on the rather large subject of life at large….

“For a man can lose neither the past nor the future; for how can one take from him that which is not his? So remember these two points: first, that each thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle, and that it signifies not whether a man shall look upon the same things for a hundred years or two hundred, or for an infinity of time; second, that the longest lived and the shortest lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ii, 14

“Everything flows and nothing abides; everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.” — Heraclitus

“To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge.” — Benjamin Disraeli (Earl Beaconsfield) (1805-1881) — Sybil, Book i, Chap. v

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” — Carl Jung

“Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit.” — Aristotle

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

“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can’t readily accept the God formula, the big answers don’t remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command or faith a dictum. I am my own God. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” — Charles Bukowski

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Ah well, what can I say? It’s done, and, I’m certainly not going to go back & do it over…. In fact, I’m going to take the money, all zero dollars of it, and make a run for the border…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, provided I can continue to fail to find a reason not to do so….

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Filled with inordinately good cheer….

Ffolkes,

“Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.”

~~ Voltaire ~~

AP111205110369-jpg_134718

Super Black Hole eating stars….

Hubble Deep Space Telescope Image


Good morning…. I’m beginning to enjoy the intro section, now I have the option to make it as short or long as I choose…. Today, we’re going with short…. I suppose you could call this minimalist, something you don’t often see around these parts….

Shall we Pearl?

“To a reasonable creature, that alone is insupportable which is unreasonable; but everything reasonable may be supported.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — Discourses, Book i, Chap. ii

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beach boys heyreverbdotcom

Image from heyreverb.com via Google Images


Continuing our theme of bands from the early days of rock and roll, here is an American band, whose music is familiar to probably about a third of the world’s population, having heard it played ubiquitously, in numerous incarnations, (live, radio, TV, Muzak in elevators, commercials, etc.) over the past fifty years…. Yep, I know, long time to rock, eh? But, I got proof…. Here is their 50th Anniversary Concert for you to enjoy today…. So….  Enjoy!!…


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The Beach Boys

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Aristotle_Bust_White_Background_Transparent

Aristotle


I’m feeling a bit lazy today, so here’s a short discussion from three or so years ago, about a very fine pearl…. Give your brains a rest today, ffolkes… All the nasty stuff happening out in the BBR can be wearing, I know….

From 10/7/2012:

“Two-thirds of help is to give courage.” — Irish proverb

To me, this is the very best kind of pearl of virtual wisdom. Nine words, if you count all the short ones, telling a story that is also a lesson, an insight, a truth, and, in the best sense, an admonition, all packaged in a short phrase that burns itself into memory. This can also act as help itself, as just the statement itself gives the courage of which it speaks, to any who doubt of whether or not help is to be found.

Often, merely the offer of help is enough to aid the one who asks to reach a point where the help is no longer needed; just the knowledge that it is available can give one the strength needed to finish the task alone. We humans are very social creatures, whether we admit it or not; we are all aware when two or more people get together to perform any task, the work is lessened thereby, by more than the mere factor of how many are involved in helping. I am constantly amazed at what people can do when they act in concert; often, the very people who join together for a task are surprised by how much they can accomplish together……

I’m not going to say much more about this one; it is what I like to call a stand-alone pearl, needing no adornment beyond its own well-contained self. But, I will add one more idea to our understanding of this concept; I say it is an admonition, because not only does it speak to the effect on the person who has requested the help, it also supplies good reason to offer help to others, by acknowledging the importance of the support, rather than the actual help. Just the fact that the help is forthcoming supplies most of the emotional strength to the act, thus acting as a spur to those who might hesitate to jump in otherwise…..

I love it, and hereby name it a classic pearl of virtual wisdom…..

So be it….

gigoid has spoken.

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13923408614402

“Spot”


Poetry comes in all shapes, sizes, and attitudes, all of which reflects its human origins…. Assuming this was written by an android, it would be a reflection merely one degree removed from human, which is really all an android is; a human, one degree from being fully flesh and blood… If it was written by a scriptwriter, well, it’s still pretty good…. Enjoy!….

Ode to Spot

“Felis catus” is your taxonomic nomenclature:
an endothermic quadroped, carnivorous by nature.
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations —
a singular development of cat communications
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents.
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance,
and when not being utilized to aid in locomotion
it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
O, Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.

 — Lt. Cmdr. Data, “Schisms”, Stardate 46


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A-laughing-girl-and-her-camel

    Y’all are probably aware of my fondness for Zippy; if not, you’re not paying attention, as he shows up here a lot…. I decided to let him put together a pearl of his own thoughts, on life, the world, and living large, Zippy-style….. Enjoy, ffolkes, there’s more to find in this one than you may think at first….. And, for goodness sake, enjoy yourselves…..

“All of life is a blur of Republicans and meat!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“..  bleakness….  desolation….  plastic forks…” — Zippy the Pinhead

“A wide-eyed, innocent UNICORN, poised delicately in a MEADOW filled with  LILACS, LOLLIPOPS & small CHILDREN at the HUSH of twilight??” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Did YOU find a DIGITAL WATCH in YOUR box of VELVEETA?” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Everywhere I look I see NEGATIVITY and ASPHALT…” — Zippy the Pinhead

“How do I get HOME?” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Are we THERE yet?  My MIND is a SUBMARINE!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Civilization is fun!  Anyway, it keeps me busy!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“You were s’posed to laugh!” — Zippy the Pinhead

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I think, today, I’ll let all this go by without any further comment. I’m not sure what took place above; it seems to have gotten away from me there n the final section. That happens a lot with Zippy. Ah well, I get another chance tomorrow, right? Right. See y’all then, ffolkes, should I, against the dictates of all logic AND common sense, find a good reason to continue this charade….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Featured Image -- 4217


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Freshly original excuses for sale or rent….

Ffolkes,

Over the earth, the lake:
The image of Gathering Together.
Thus the superior man renews his weapons
In order to meet the unforeseen.

~~ I Ching ~~

Glasgow-Greenock Port 010

Greenock, Scotland, seaport near Glasgow


Okay, so, here’s the deal. In the usual way, I’d blather, or tell a tale, or, perhaps, hold a chatty gossip session, in order to get this intro section done. Occasionally, when my level of angst is high, I’d rant…. None of them seems to work on a consistent basis, not to my satisfaction…. So, I was thinking, how ’bout we just skip it altogether…. In this section I’ll simply say “Hello, and good morning. Shall we Pearl?”, and that will be the end of it… What do you think? Will it work…. Just for fun, let’s try it today, alright? Here we go….

Good morning, ffolkes….

Shall we Pearl?

“I am ignorant and impotent and yet, somehow or other, here I am unhappy, no doubt, profoundly dissatisfied… In spite of everything I survive.” — Aldous Huxley

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Ella-Fitzgerald-Ella-Fitzgerald--434308

Image from imgbuddy.com via Google images


Though never a huge jazz fan, I don’t believe there’s ANYONE who can listen to these two artists playing together without having a smile come to their face, or tapping their toes in time…. Enjoy, ffolkes…. We’ll never see their like again….


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Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Ella & Louis (Full Album)

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Dont keep calm

    I’ve decided to be nice…. Below you’ll find today’s rant, such as it is….

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

Really. ‘Nuff said, I should say. In fact, I don’t think I can improve much on that, so, I’m not going to try…. Let’s pearl, instead…. You will find, I’m sure, that each of the following seven pearls can be applied to either politics, OR religion, with equal facility…. Enjoy…..

“The avaricious man is like the barren sandy ground of the desert which sucks in all the rain and dew with greediness, but yields no fruitful herbs or plants for the benefit of others.” — Zeno

“Familiarity breeds contempt.” — Publius Syrus (42 BC) — Maxim 640

“We are what we repeatedly do.” — Aristotle

(What’s this doing here? Easy…. We keep voting, don’t we?…. Or, in the case of religion, we keep believing it, don’t we? Well, some of us do… others, not so much….)

“And out of mind as soon as out of sight.” — Lord Brooke (1554-1628) — Sonnet lvi

(They count on this, a LOT….)

“Any excuse will serve a tyrant.” — Aesop (620-560 B.C.)

“Remember, to them it is us who are the enemy” — N.F.Simpson

“All governments need enemies. How else to justify their existence?” — Edward Abbey

There! Now, wasn’t that better than one of my rants? I though so, and, that’s all that really counts, so, deal with it….

Ooh! Ooh! I found another one, and it’s the perfect closer….

1. No matter what they’re telling you, it’s not the truth.

2. No matter what they’re talking about, they’re talking about money.

~~ Todd’s Political Principles ~~

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Comedy_Tragedy

A dream, weeping….

“Never a dull moment to spare”, he said
with a crooked grin, and a broad wink.
“Can’t keep Reality hanging by a thread….
what would Chaos, or Entropy think?”

So, we plucked up our dreams of old,
to carry us on, in dutiful, strong arms,
stuffed a candle in the remaining fold,
for luck, and perfect proof against charms.

Storms follow the sun,  but, never stay;
lessons round every corner, all free.
Past fleeting doubts, in a sad disarray,
the journey becomes the reason to be.

Simple kindness manifests untold riches,
in defiance of common cause’s demise.
Bold courage, hanging in stitches,
mends wounds that come as no surprise.

Still, waters run deep, ’tis said by many.
Too much pain cannot apprehend
the salient, sharp points of epiphany,
nor, plainly, to wisdom aspire to pretend.

Folly dogs even the simplest truth,
fumes of toxic ignorance and bile,
alienated as a loose rotten tooth;
it often hides itself, for a long while.

Sought after eons ago, we cried out,
to believe, to suffer no more doubt.
But found instead good reason,
for love, and truth, from season, to season.

~~ gigoid ~~


Written 8/30/2014.

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About Hopi Indian Symbols

    Today’s final pearl is somewhat esoteric; it’s what happens when SB is on a tear. I have to take what I can get…. This one seems to be comments on living as a human in this Universe, such as it is, and, such as we are, in it…. I think…. You tell me, if you think it’s something different…. Well, I KNOW it’s different…. I mean, just…. never mind. Enjoy. Please?…. It IS pretty cool….

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

“Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man,–yesterday in embryo, to-morrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hair’s-breadth of time assigned to thee live rationally, and part with life cheerfully, as drops the ripe olive, extolling the season that bore it and the tree that matured it.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 48

“I have everything, yet have nothing; and although I possess nothing, still of nothing am I in want.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Act ii, Sc. 2, 12, (243.)

“Than catch and hold while I may, fast binde, fast finde.” — John Heywood (c. 1565) — Proverbes, Part i, Chap. iii

“The whole life of man is but a point of time; let us enjoy it, therefore, while it lasts, and not spend it to no purpose.” — Plutarch (46-120 AD) — Of the Training of Children

“Hence these tears.” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Act i, Sc. 1, 99, (126.)

“Dying is a very dull, dreary affair.   And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.” — W. Somerset Maugham

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This may be the freshest Pearl in some time. That’s accurate, because it’s just as vague as it can be; look close, & you can see the time period described could be anything from 10 minutes to 10 years…. Gad! I love obscurity!…. Or, it might just be the word “obfuscation” which is one of my all-time favorites, and perfectly applicable in today’s situation. Nonetheless, we’re done here, so, I’ll leave this nonsense where it belongs, here at the very end, and take my leave, post haste, before it catches on…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Layer upon layer of dense frog….

Ffolkes,

“Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily.”

~~ George Santayana ~~

Inverness and Invergordon 007

Invergordon, Scotland, seaport near Inverness/Loch Ness

Yesterday was a bust. A massive attack of vertigo kept me from doing much at all, including a Pearl. It’s the first actual miss in over a year, I think, but, this time, it wasn’t my fault…. (Yes it was….) (NO, it wasn’t….) (Yes, it was….) (Ah, go f__ yourself!…)….

Ah well, regardless of who wins the argument, I’m getting one done today, no matter what it looks like, or how smooth it isn’t; I don’t like to miss a day. Since the primary focus of doing this is NOT the message, or even the fame (well, in this case, the lack of fame….), but, rather, the process as therapy for my own inner demons, it’s more important than mere celebrity…. to me, anyway….

Hmm… a bit somber for an opening, but, I’m too much in the groove to do it over. Besides, I know this Pearl will be choppy. Oh, you won’t be able to tell from where you’re sitting, but, believe me, getting this done at all was a challenge, one answered very well in the affirmative. Of course, it took three dead bodies and two false fire alarms, but, who’s  counting? The bodies weren’t even from my staff, so, that’s good. My budget wouldn’t stretch to training new staff right now….

I’m pretty sure I don’t have much of a clue today; I’m writing pretty much by instinct right now. I am hoping it will get better by the time we get to the rant, but, hey, we take it the way it comes, because we’re legally required to do so, AND, it keeps Momma happy. With Mother’s Day coming up, we all know how important it is to keep Momma happy….. Of course, she ain’t MY momma, but, she thinks she is, and it doesn’t hurt business to let her think so…. I just wish she wouldn’t sit out front & flirt with every guy over 12 who walks in the door….

Okay, I’ve blathered sufficiently, both for the legal requirements, and the personal. Of course, those latter regulations are perfectly non-existent, but, shhh….. the authorities don’t know that part….. Y’know, I think I’d best take us outta here, before this gets any more complicated…. Luigi, hit it!…..

Shall we Pearl?

“Don’t ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun — and neither can stop the march of events.” — Lazarus Long, in Robert Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

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jimmy_buffett

Image from billboard.com via Google images


I was first introduced to Jimmy Buffett’s music in 1978 or 79, not long after the release of his first album, which, if memory serves, was titled, “Livin’ and Dyin’ in Three-Quarter Time”…. His version of southern fried island rock burst upon the music scene with gusto, and he’s never looked back. I’ve seen him in concert many times, for each of his concerts is the world’s biggest party, for five or six hours, depending on how they get rockin’…. Infectiously joyous, funny, and down-to-earth, Jimmy and the Coral Reefers continue to fill up concert venues wherever they play….. Enjoy, ffolkes,. this is good time music….


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Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band

Jones Beach ~~ August 21, 2014

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Dont keep calm

    I had hoped to complete a fresh rant, but, time constraints preclude such an event today, so, here is a somewhat lengthy, but, appropriate rant, on the very same issues the originally scheduled piece was to address…. Go figure….

From 2/16/2013:

“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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Comedy_Tragedy

Relative Cynicism, with Caramel Sauce

Absolute stillness follows violent movement,
  it can happen during a downhill race,
as an immovable piece of asphalt pavement
  meets the once handsome racer’s face.

Yuk, yuk, yuk said that asshole Moe,
 after poking both of Larry’s eyes,
bashing face, head, & crotch of Curly Joe
  and only ever got hit with pies.

Lonely moments never really come along
  when Murphy’s got us in his sights.
Not for money, love, or siren’s song
  will he abrogate his natural rights.

All we can do is sigh, or laugh in pain,
  as Life portions out our ration of shit.
Silver linings melt in the slightest rain,
  so we may as well learn to live with it.

~~ gigoid ~~


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I find it mildly curious to note, both Socrates, (470-399 B.C), and Laozi, known commonly as Lao Tzu, (604-531 B.C. ),  each died more than 2400 years ago in human history; yet, today, they are still known as, perhaps, humanity’s most revered scholars, one the most influential in Western thought, the other in the East. Each one left a legacy of wisdom, of simple ideas to last a lifetime, giving us the benefit of the workings of their innermost minds, powerful enough to have lasted through the centuries.

In my experience, using a thought from either of them as the basis for a pearl is guaranteed to make it more relevant to reality, not to mention more perceptive and intelligent, in re: the conclusions/lessons/concepts being presented…. It doesn’t seem to matter which comes first, or last, or if only one is included; the pearl comes out  better.  Using them both, especially as bookmarks around the wisdom of five other historical sages, though rare, seems to make the best old-school pearls….

I’m sad to have to report, this pearl, as with each of the individual pearls, was pulled out of Smart Bee using, well, not to put a false face to it, torture; it seems to be the only method working just now. I can’t say I didn’t warn it; it’s been balky for days, & we’ve been through this before…. So, enjoy, please; it cost the poor little database a lot of pain and anguish….

socrates

“Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued.”

~~Socrates ~~


“And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep.” — Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

“They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” — Confucius

“Aristotle was once asked what those who tell lies gain by it. Said he, “That when they speak truth they are not believed.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200AD) — Aristotle, xi

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

“Remember this,–that very little is needed to make a happy life.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, vii, 67

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

~~ Tao Te Ching ~~

lao

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That will have to do. I’m not sure exactly how it got done, or how it came out, but, I’m trusting to the process to carry the day…. Foolish hope, I know, but, hey, remember the second quote today, about optimism? I take that to heart…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if you’re lucky….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

Kowabunga!


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Weeks of feverish preparations, all for naught….

Ffolkes,

“Don’t get hit.”

~~ First rule of fighting ~~

August 1 2014 006 (2)

The Beauty of Aging


Hell, I give up… I’ve been sitting here staring at this screen for twenty minutes, without a single idea for an intro going through my head… This means I have to admit it isn’t going to happen today. It’s going to make for a skimpy intro section, but, y’know what? I don’t care at all. Fuck it. I’m tired of fighting it. Today, we are going to use the ultimate intro technique; moreover, we’re doing it, NOW!….

Shall we Pearl?

“It was a saying of his that education was an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Aristotle, xi

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

    Norton Buffalo passed away in 2009. He was considered one of the finest rock and blues harmonica players in the world, for a time, working with such great artists as Bonnie Raitt, Commander Cody, Steve Miller Band, Roy Rodgers, and many others….. He was also a father, and a good man; he was my friend, as well, and we will all miss him… Enjoy!….

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Norton Buffalo

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Dont keep calm

“When the government attempts to regulate everything, all is lost.” — Thibaudeau

I had a good rant in mind, to go along with the most excellent opening quote you see above…. What I didn’t have is the wherewithal to write one. I am unsure of where my angst has gone, but, it’s really more comfortable without it, so, we’ll just take a break today, and let it go…. Now, you won’t have to do the daily brain exercises we usually insist upon… I know, nothing will change, either way, but, we won’t focus on the futility; instead, we’ll think about what we can do tomorrow…. Sure we will…

Tomorrow, for sure…. Well, okay, don’t put any serious money on it…. But, I WILL be back tomorrow, for sure so, maybe…. Who cares? Well, I do, and, that’s all that is required…. See y’all then….

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Comedy_Tragedy

    The new poem isn’t quite ready, so here is an old one; I did write a new haiku, stimulated by a friend’s haiku; it’s after the old poem… Enjoy!….

Dreaming of Calliope

La belle dame sans merci speaks aloud through endless night,
torturing dreams, with powerful words and stentorian phrases.
Manifest visions bathed in unbearable grace and light,
destroying all direction, standing lost, in unfathomable mazes.

Fate plays a part, one that will never face denial,
as fear and courage eternally vie for ascendancy.
Conflict becomes valid, gifting strength in open trial,
but honest emotion wears no costume so fancy.

Blood, sweat, and tears stroll on avenues of gold,
unlikely heroines heralding as in ancient lore;
Sharp, competent knives cut through tales untold,
eternally shifting reality past the naked shore.

Drifting toward origin, bereft of mandate or cause,
finished, nay, abandoned, tied with a figurative bow.
No simple gift from muses to give comfort or pause,
save that all we need to know, we already know…..

~~ gigoid ~~

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Long dreams of spring rain

brings us to a place of peace.

Faint sounds in winter.

~~ gigoid ~~


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lao

    Sometimes, it’s just too easy….

“If you understand, things are as they are.

If you do not understand, things are as they are.”

~~ Gensha, Zen Master ~~


“A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein

“Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.” — Socrates

“Human progress is furthered, not by conformity, but by aberration.” — H.L. Mencken

“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.” — Epictetus

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

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


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It’s been a long time since I bailed so many times in one blog…. But, y’all didn’t have to hear a rant, so, that’s good, right? In the meantime, I’ve come to the conclusion I can do no more good, nor any further damage, so, I may as well try again tomorrow…. See y’all then….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….


					

Saving up for antediluvian pesto….

Ffolkes,

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

~~ Edward Abbey ~~

2-18-2015 004

    Absent any routine, creating these Pearls every day has become somewhat choppy, at least from the inside. But, here I am again, bemused and befuddled, yet ready to display that fine sense of nonsense to which I’ve so generously accustomed y’all when you stop by…. Of course, this assumes I have a connection to said nonsense, a state which, normally, is quite accessible for us. Today, there might be some small obstacles to full use, and disclosure, as I’m sure you’ve deduced by now. We’re NOT going to allow that to stop us, no sir…. We’ll push through no matter HOW crazy I get….

Which could be pretty damn crazy; I’ve got priors…. Since I don’t wish to go into all that just now, I’m going to again use my executive powers as blog admin to authorize us to use the powers of a Time Lord, as is our wont in such instances…. Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt, though you might want to down one of those seasick pills; it can get a little rough getting through the entrance slots…. But, no worries, Luigi is a master at it, so, let’s be on our way, okay? Okay….

Shall we Pearl?

“It is impossible to get anywhere without sinning against reason.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~


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Liverpool 005

The Royal Isis

The “Actual” Ferry Cross The Mersey


Here’s the first bit of oddness for today. This song, and band, I’m sure, is one y’all haven’t heard, or thought about in at least thirty years…. Any bets? Ah well, so much for the budget…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this is an oldie, but, a goodie….

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GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS

FERRY ‘CROSS THE MERSEY

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Dont keep calm

“No people in the world ever did achieve their freedom by goody-goody talk and moral suasion: it being immutable law that all revolutions that will succeed, must begin in blood, whatever the answer afterward. If history teaches anything, it teaches that.” — Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889)

This short politirant is from 1/12/2012, describing issues we are still dealing with in today’s political world, only, now, they’re even worse….

The Bill of Rights is History

The gravest danger threatening society in this country has been realized. The United States Bill of Rights has been repealed by collusion of the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, and the President; it was signed into law on December 31, 2011, and takes immediate effect on January 1, 2012 (uh, yesterday). It is suggested you read this quote from the article, read the article, then return here for our discussion of its content….

The “Bill of Rights has come to a sudden and catastrophic end with the President’s signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a law that grants the U.S. military the “legal” right to conduct secret kidnappings of U.S. citizens, followed by indefinite detention, interrogation, torture and even murder. This is all conducted completely outside the protection of law, with no jury, no trial, no legal representation and not even any requirement that the government produce evidence against the accused.” –excerpted from the article

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034537_NDAA_Bill_of_Rights_Obama.html#ixzz1iKFhRgjN

The party is now over. Big Brother has assumed control, and the rest of us will be hard pressed to wrest control over our lives back from them without a fight of some kind. The introductory statement above, alluding to collusion amongst the separate branches of our government, is made clear by the very fact that, for this document to even be considered as legal according to the Constitution, the Judiciary Branch would have to be in tacit and written agreement with the two other parts of our three part system, thereby reneging on their duty to act as a check to the legislative and executive branches, to safeguard our Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

All of the first ten given rights in the Bill of Rights have been declared null and void, without any objection from the judiciary. It seems fairly obvious that this country is now in the hands of people who have no regard for human rights, unless it pertains to their own; anyone who disagrees out loud with their new regulations don’t deserve any rights, in their eyes. And according to this new legislation, foisted on society while it was busy being distracted once again by rhetoric and illusory holiday seasons, anyone who is even suspected of being against these laws may now be kidnapped in the dark of night, with never a word of justification of any sort to anyone; none is now required, there is no oversight at all.

Considering some of what has been written here, and in other places where the author’s work may be found, they will be coming for me very soon….oh excuse me, someones at the door…. be right back…..

Note from 2015: Well, they didn’t get me that time, obviously…. My only thought on this now can be expressed this way:

And the sentence you’re paying is too high priced
While you’re living beyond all your means
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he’s made on your dreams

~~ Traffic ~~

~~ The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys ~~


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Comedy_Tragedy


Premises, premises….

Tricked, I stumble, and I fall
   dreaming, through an abandoned palace.
Frightened and wary, unheard my call
   fading into memory, no cup, no argent chalice.

The people, crushed, cry out to be freed
   asking only to take part, or travel.
Nascent oaths spotlight such bursting need
   fed by treachery, deep from our well.

Only the wicked shall find their way blocked
   justice seeks them, snug in their hole.
Faint praises never touched, but naked, stalked
   singing no gospel, no soul, no rock and roll.

Only the promised will remember the way
   from unforgiven trails of sorrow.
To live life, and give death no sway,
   saving grace for our only tomorrow.

~~~ gigoid ~~


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buddah-out-to-lunch_s

    Today’s final old-school pearl had simple parameters for the search to find appropriate aphorisms…. Those parameters can best be stated thus: What is it like to be gigoid, the dubious? What does it MEAN! Let your mind flow with these nine stars, and you will know….

  Into the silent land!
Ah, who shall lead us thither?

~~ J. G. Von Salis (1762-1834) — The Silent Land ~~


“Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon or star.” — Confucius

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle

“A closed mind gathers no thoughts.” — Smart Bee

“Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense.” — Carl Sagan

“I love those who yearn for the impossible.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust

“Only the imagination is real; I have declared it time without end.” — William Carlos Williams

“He who learns but does not think, is lost!  He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.” — Confucius

“I joined Scientology at a garage sale!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

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Well…. I’m speechless, for which, I’m sure, you are eternally grateful. It’s done; y’all know what that means, right? Right. We’ll all have to deal with it as best we may. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..

So be it….. gigoid has spoken.

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

dozer3


À bientôt, mon cherí….

 


Your own, private Readme.txt….

Ffolkes,

“If you never assume importance you never lose it.”

~~ Lao-tzu~~

August 1 2014 031 (2)

Gratuitous image by gigoid


Okay, ffolkes, we’re gonna do this a bit differently today….. This is an introductory section, right? Right. So, here is today’s Pearl of Virtual Wisdom. Pearl, meet your readers. Shake hands. Good boy. Now, go & get to work…. “Okay, boss!”….

There, that was easy, wasn’t it? Now we can just get on with it…. I like this….

Shall we Pearl?

“The truth is always the strongest argument.” — Sophocles (496-406 BC) — Phaedra, Frag. 737

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“If you get confused, listen to the music play.”

~~ Robert Hunter ~~

syf 3


Robert Hunter, whom you see quoted above, has been the primary lyricist for the Grateful Dead since shortly after their formation, back in the early 1960’s; their 50th anniversary as a group will be celebrated this year, on July 4th in Chicago. The remaining band members will be giving a concert for three days, with Jerry Garcia, the heart and soul of the band, and, one of the most influential rock musicians ever, the only member who won’t be there, having passed in 1995, at the age of 53. The video link below, and the player, provides you with all of the collected videos for this years Dead Covers Project…. Enjoy!….

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Dead Covers Project 2015

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le penseur-rodin

Le Penseur ~ August Rodin


It’s not late, but, I have stuff to do right away today, so, here is a change of pace….

From 4/3/2014:

I originally intended to rant about this article, but, after perusing it myself, I find it’s only more proof of the prediction I made last week, as to how the pundits in Washington, (you know, those assholes who hang out at the White House, and in the halls of Congress), would be acting in the coming weeks,  after the poTUS (Please note: the word president is NOT capitalized deliberately; sufficient respect for the office to justify capitalization must be earned….) stated his intention to “ask Congress” to reform the NSA regulations on spying…. So far, the president has mouthed his lies just as predicted, and the expected response has gone exactly according to what I said would occur…. It’s a gift…..

No, really, they’re going through ALL the contortions I figured they would, just as if they were paying attention to what I said…. which makes it, sort of, lacking in virtue to rail at them right now…. They’re being so PATHETICALLY stupid, it’s hardly worth the time it takes to run them down, and, in fact, doing so might just be considered abusing the handicapped….

So we’ll do this… Read the article, so you know just what they’re up to, silly as it may be…. Right now, they’re just doing as I said, and creating more questions and confusion around the issue of the torture report Feinstein and the Senate want to see, while Obama came out with some new, toothless suggestions for changes to the regulations that don’t really change much of anything…. all of which is muddying water that was already unclear….

After that, come back to this section, where you’ll find the latter half of this pearl, which will consist of an old-school pearl, with the parameters set, once again, to shoot at our beloved ruling class, in all its ugly glory….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Demands-grow-to-release-Senate-torture-report-5369929.php

“Official truths are often powerful illusions.” — John Pilger, _Distant_Voices_, 1992

“This isn’t Anarchy, this is Chaos.” — Smart Bee

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

MACHINATION, n.  The method employed by one’s opponents in baffling one’s open and honorable efforts to do the right thing.

So plain the advantages of machination
It constitutes a moral obligation,
And honest wolves who think upon’t with loathing
Feel bound to don the sheep’s deceptive clothing.
So prospers still the diplomatic art,
And Satan bows, with hand upon his heart.
R.S.K.

— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“I looked up the word “politics” in the dictionary and it’s actually a  combination of two words; “poli,” which means many, and “tics,” which means bloodsuckers.” — Jay Leno

“Every man’s life, liberty, and property are in danger when the Legislature is in session.” — Gideon J. Tucker

“By all means, take the moral high ground — all that heavenly back lighting  makes you a much easier target.” — Solomon Short

Not bad at all for a game of “pick up sticks”, post-neo-intellectual version, eh? I think, in truth, if any pundits forgot to duck, several of them COULD be bleeding now….

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Comedy_Tragedy

    I found another triple poem, written by a classical author of prose and poetry, in the three-poems-in-one style I like immensely. The effort it takes to even THINK about making one of these is daunting, to be sure, but, some day, I’m going to try my hand at this…. This one, I think, is damn good But, then, Blake DID have a pretty decent reputation, didn’t he?

The Tyger

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright          What the hammer?  What the chain?
In the forests of the night,          In what furnace was thy brain?
What immortal hand or eye             What the anvil?  What dread grasp
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?      Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

In what distant deeps or skies        When the stars threw down their spears,
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?         And water’d heaven with their tears,
On what wings dare he aspire?         Dare he laugh his work to see?
What the hand dare seize the fire?    Dare he who made the lamb make thee?

And what shoulder & what art,         Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
Could twist the sinews of they heart? In the forests of the night,
And when thy heart began to beat      What immortal hand or eye,
What dread hand & what dread feet?    Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

 ~~ William H. Blake (1757-1827), ~~


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lao

Lao Tzu


This one needs little introduction….

“Life is doing things, not making things.” — Aristotle

“I am ignorant of absolute truth. But I am humble before my ignorance, and therein lies my honour and my reward.” — Kahlil Gibran

“There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.” — Han Suyin, “A Many Splendored Thing”

“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, iv, 43

“Faith does not offer the least support for proof of truth.” — Nietzsche

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” — T. S. Eliot

Although a cloth be washed a hundred times,
How can it be rendered clean and pure
If it be washed in water which is dirty?

~~ Nagarjuna (c. 100-200 A.D.) ~~


Honor. Courage. Reason. Patience. Compassion. Humility. Perspective. Not in that order, necessarily, but, all present & accounted for…. I don’t know; it all sounds like a pretty good approach to living, don’t you think?…. Well, I do….

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Well, ffolkes, I made it. Having done so, and without any bloodshed, I’ll softly fold up my tents, and fade away into the day. See y’all tomorrow, presumably….

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

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

Which is Why….

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

gigoid, the dubious

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

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À bientôt, mon cherí….